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Farewell Final Ceremony announced for Tokyo’s life-size Gundam statue, will stream live

Full-scale anime robot statue’s time in Tokyo is coming to an end, leading to an unsure future regarding mecha in the capital.

We’re sadly down to the final few days for Tokyo’s life-size Gundam statue. Since September of 2017, a 1:1-scale replica of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam anime mecha has been proudly standing in the plaza outside the entrance to the Diver City shopping center in the city’s Odaiba neighborhood. This past May, though, the announcement was made that the 19.7-meter (64.6-foot) Unicorn Gundam won’t be making it to its ninth birthday, and will be removed at the end of August.

With less than a week left, it’s probably too late to put together a trip to Tokyo if you don’t already have one in your travel plans. That doesn’t mean that you’re going to have to miss out on the farewell festivities, though. On August 29, the Life-size Unicorn Gundam Statue Final Ceremony will be held, and for everyone who can’t make it to Odaiba to say goodbye in person, the event will also stream live on the official Gundam Channel YouTube channel.

The ceremony kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Japan time, and will include a special live performance by Hiroyuki Sawano, soundtrack composer for the Gundam Unicorn anime series and Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway movies, and vocalist SennaRin, performer of the insert song for Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe, the most recently released piece of Gundam animation.

▼ Sawano (left) and SennaRin (right)

However, while the “Final Ceremony” is taking place on August 29, that’s not actually the final day for the Unicorn Gundam statue. August 31 is listed as the last day it’ll be on display, suggesting that the dismantling process will start on September 1. At night, the statue cycles through a series of video and light shows every half hour between 7 and 9:30 p.m., and from now through the 31st (excluding August 29), a new Unicorn Gundam Statue-Beyond Possibility program will play at 8 p.m.

The Strict-G Gundam fashion shop inside Diver City will also be selling commemorative T-shirts and mugs starting August 29, which can also be ordered through the Premium Bandai online store from August 28.

▼ The shirts are priced at 5,830 yen (US$37) and the mug 1,980 yen.

This is actually Odaiba’s second time to have to say goodbye to a life-size Gundam, as previously the Diver City entrance plaza was the home of a life-size statue of the RX-78 Gundam from the original 1970s Mobile Suit Gundam anime series. The double-dose of mecha loss, though, could also be a sign of hope. When the Unicorn Gundam Statue was installed, its associated anime, Gundam Unicorn, had aired its last TV episode just one year prior. Now that we’re a decade on from that, it’s possible that rights-holder Bandai wants to build a new life-size Gundam statue that ties in with a more recent part of the Gundam franchise. There’s been no official announcement to that effect, though, and even if Bandai is plotting to build another 1:1-scale mobile suit, there’s no guarantee it’d be placed in Odaiba, which has lost some its tourism luster in recent years.

It’s not clear how late into the night the statue will be visible on its final day. However, the official Gundam website still lists a light/video show on the schedule for 9:30 p.m. on August 31, so it looks like you’ll be able to see the Unicorn Gundam until at least that time.

Related: Gundam Channel, Premium Bandai
Source, images: Gundam official website
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