My generation grew up watching Japanese cartoons which contributed in one way or the other to our current selves and how we perceive... the world. Just kidding. But, seriously, our generation's exposure to tv and media in general is far from what today's kids are having. Anyway, getting out of topic.
Among the most famous animated cartoon television shows of our time (mind you, the term animé didn't exist yet, at least in our town, during the 90s) were about robots, Voltes V being, arguably, the most famous.
Mazinger Z is another famous robot anime but I never really watched it and not familiar with the show. And there's Gundam. Unfortunately, I dropped my liking for anything anime when I was in college. The last anime that I enthusiastically followed was Naruto, and a few years back, tried Attack on Titan, and most recently, One Punch Man, but also stopped watching both.
Fascination with Robots
Though, Gundam still appeals to me for its intricate details and 'cool', high tech, designs. Whatever that means. And I also know some people who are enthusiasts and collect the models. After all, I am really interested with robot techs (not with the complicated science behind them, but just on what the robots can do). I remember following the development of Asimo, and now, the more advanced humanoid and animal robots that can perform incredible tasks that seemed impossible a decade ago (i.e. acrobatic robots with insane balance, flying robot bats, AI dog robots, etc.).Anyway, Odaiba, a district in Tokyo, is where you can find the The Gundam Base Tokyo. At the time of our visit, the life size statue of Gundam Unicorn was also in exhibit.
After our visit in Shibuya, Odaiba was next in our itinerary (click here to see our full Japan Itinerary).
There are a few things that you can see/do in Odaiba, but specifically we went there to see the Gundam Statue (and didn't know by then about The Gundam Base), did a quick shopping inside the DiverCity, and photographed the Liberty Statue (replica) and the Rainbow Bridge, which wasn't rainbow colored at that time.
I thought I would write everything about those places here, but when I looked back at the photos, I found out I have a lot of photos of the Gundam Statue alone. Apparently, I was amazed by the details and it would be a waste if I didn't include them here.
Unicorn Gundam Life Size Statue in Odaiba
The Life Size UNICORN GUNDAM STATUE
Unicorn Gundam Transformation (Videos)
And here's a video of the Unicorn Gundam transforming!Sound on! 🔊
Not a lot of movement, though. I was expecting it would move its arms or fingers but I guess that's too much for an outdoor display.
The lights off state:
See? All those joints but no movement. 🙄 But still, quite impressive!
Inside The Gundam Base Toyko, DiverCity, Odaiba
Some Old, Classic Gundam Models
Gunpla, apparently, means Gundam Plastic, and refers to the plastic models!
The HGUC 1/144
Some of the models here are for sale and the price could range from 1080 Yen up to 27,000 Yen or 13,000 PHP (251 USD), like this HGUC 1/144:
And these look awesome, too:
A Quick Takoyaki Break
Then we got hungry and had some takoyaki.
Unicorn Gundam at Night
It was dark already when we went outside to go and see the Rainbow Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.It was an opportunity to take some long exposure photos of the Unicorn Gundam with its lights on!
How awesome would it be if a robot this big could actually walk, right? Maybe future tech can eventually make that happen, right?
Conclusion
The giant Gundam display and the Gundam Base may seem to be not for everyone but I appreciated it anyway. After all, I was once fascinated with cartoon shows about robots and with robots in general.The DiverCity Mall has some really nice shops anyway where you can shop. We got ourselves a few clothes from one of the shops inside and they weren't that expensive.
Lastly, There's a dining area with a lot of food choices including some known Japanese foods like the takoyaki.
-
Travel Period: October 2017
-
