Cultural impact of Gundam
The giant robot anime franchise Gundam is a popular culture icon in Japan.
Gundam has appeared on postage stamps, the Gundam name was used as a codename for a
Commercial
In 2011, the
The Gundam franchise had grossed over $5 billion in retail sales by 2000.[3]
Museums
Gundam Base Tokyo is a dedicated museum to Gundam. Among its major attractions is the Gundam Statue of the RG 1/1 RX-78-2 Gundam Ver. GFT[Gundam Front Tokyo]. It features a display collection of over 1000 Gunpla models and the biggest exhibition of Gunpla in the world.
Gundam statue
The Gundam statue or "Odaiba Gundam" has been a major icon of the museum since its unveiling. First completed in June 2009, it stood for a month before being disassembled, but had attracted over 4.5 million visitors during that time.[7] In 2010, it was erected in Shizuoka, and it was shown in pieces in 2011 in order to raise money for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami relief effort.[7][8]
"China Gundam"
A large robot statue was debuted in China's Floraland park in 2010, which immediately drew much negative press surrounding its creation as a copy of the original Gundam Statue. According to reports, a spokesperson for the park declared it as "completely original". While it bore a similar design, the robot's bore logos for the EFSF and WB, the 'Earth Federation Space Force' and 'White Base'.[9][10] The form of the robot was made by a frame that was covered with fabric.[11] In January 2011, the robot was reconstructed with significant alterations which still attracted some negative press on its appearance.[12]
Other museums and exhibitions
In 2013, the
Academics
As part of MHI Jobcon 2005 (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Job Convention 2005), a recruiting event of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, seminars were held in six Japanese cities. The topic of these seminars was "Mobile Suit Gundam Development Story"; which indicated the requirements and processes that Mitsubishi would have to implement if the company had been required to build an RX-78 mobile suit.[15]
On 24 August 2008, a conference was held in
Magazines
The popularity of Gundam resulted in its first specialty magazine, Gundam Magazine, which ran from December 1990 to June 1991.[20] In 2006, the magazine was reprinted in a six volume box set.[20] In 2001, Gundam Ace magazine began publication, moved from a quarterly to a bi-monthly to monthly serialization in 2003. The magazine boasted a circulation of 161,417 copies between October 2008 and September 2009,[21] and 133,584 copies between October 2010 and September 2011 according to the Japan Magazine Publishing Association.[22]
Industry
The concept of Isuzu VX-2 is inspired by RX-178
In 2018, Japanese engineer Masaaki Nagumo from Sakakibara Kikai completed construction of a functional bipedal mecha inspired by the Gundam franchise. The device, standing 8.5 meters tall and weighing about 7 tonnes, possesses fully functional arm and leg servos.[28] In 2023, Japanese robotics company Tsubame Industries unveiled a quadrupedal mecha that was also inspired by the Gundam franchise. Dubbed Archax, the robot weighed 3.5 tons, was 15-foot tall and could be piloted from the inside by a human.[29]
Military and aerospace
The code name for the under-development
Government
In 2007, Japan's Ministry of Defense presented a paper titled "Towards the Realization of Gundam (Advanced Personal Equipment System)", which Anime News Network noted as using "elements of popular culture to attract young people for recruitment and public relations."[35]
In 2012, Japan's Liberal Democratic Party had discussed the possibility of building a working Gundam, in 2008 the estimated cost to build a Gundam was US$725 million for the parts and materials. During a 12-hour coverage on
The
The RX-78-2 Gundam and 2 Medea transport planes were featured in a fire fighting poster in Japan. The RX-78-2 was equipped with water spraying equipment instead of weapons.
Tram station monument
In 2008, a RX-78 Gundam monument was displayed at Kami-Igusa Station.[41]
Gunpla Builders World Cup
There is a yearly tournament that is held in 16 countries since 2011 that has various hobbyists submitting their very own custom built Gunpla Models.[42]
Ink and wash painting
In 2008, the
30th Anniversary music
Throughout 2009, Japanese record labels released various albums to honor the 30th anniversary of Gundam. The first of these albums was album
- Gundam 30th Custom
- 2009 'Tobe! Gundam' & 'Eien ni Amuro': covers of the opening and ending themes featuring Akira Asakura of Romantic Mode, Mami Ayukawa, Yoshifumi Ushima of Top Gun, Tomohisa Kawazoe of Top Gun & Lindberg, TSUKASA, Jyosei Nagatomo of infix, MIQ, Hiroko Moriguchi, and Chihiro Yonekura
- Moeagare! Gundam Brass by Naoto Ohtomo leading the Tokyo Symphony Brass
- Gundam World Dance Track 0079
- Gundam Unplugged: Acogui de Gundam A.C.2009
- Gundam Symphony by Toshihiko Sahashi leading the London Symphony Orchestra
- Gundam Songs 145, a 10-disc box set featuring every piece of Gundam theme music up until the 30th anniversary and a special book detailing the musicians
MTR X Gundam
The Hong Kong MTR issued a special set of tickets featuring Gundam theme in December 2009.[46]
"Char Custom"
There are many products that have special "Char Custom" editions in Japan, which are normally a red version of a product with Zeon emblems. This imitates the custom mobile suits, particularly a red (rather than green) MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type, used by Char Aznable, a main character aligned with the Zeon forces in the first few Gundam series. Such examples include a red Nintendo Gamecube and Game Boy Advance SP.[47]
See also
References
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- Nikkei Asian Review. 6 December 2015. Archived from the originalon 18 July 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "Gundam Wing Phenomenon Grows With Addition of New Licensees as Television Ratings and Toy Line Sales Surge". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. 13 June 2000. Archived from the original on 21 August 2000. Retrieved 8 January 2017 – via Yahoo.com.
- ^ "Gunpla Tokyo Floor Guide". Gundam Front Tokyo. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
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- ^ "Flower Gundam keeps watch in Odaiba". Japan Today. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
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- ^ "MHI Jobcon 2005" (in Japanese). 4 February 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2007.(Website prevented deep linking, see Year of 2004 and link to 4 February 2005 Archived 30 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine)
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- ^ Chugoku shinbun online 中國新聞
- ^ GNN Gamer News Network Taiwan
- ^ Lewis, Leo (1 November 2008). "Gundam cartoon academy to turn science fiction into reality in Japan". The Times. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ a b "Original Gundam Magazine Republished". Anime News Network. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
- ^ "2009 Japanese Manga Magazine Circulation Numbers". Anime News Network. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
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- ^ Mobile Suit Gundam-san (Kidou Senshi Gundamu san), p. 123.
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- ^ Vella, Matt (26 November 2007). "Nissan Redesigns a Japanese Icon". Businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "三菱重工|「機動戦士ガンダム」のシミュレーターを製作 アミューズメントエキスポに試作機を参考出展". Mhi.co.jp. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- Straits Times. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ "This Real-Life Gundam Suit Could Be Yours—for $3 Million". The Daily Beast. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
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- ^ original pdf file from Technical Research And Development Institute Ministry of Defense Archived 2 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, ガンダムの実現に向けて(先進個人装備システム), Aiming to achieve (in building a) Gundam (Advanced personal equipment system).
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