Editor's Blog
The fifty-four-foot-high Transformer-like mecha — replicated right down to its double-nozzle jet pack — sits as the centerpiece of the Green Tokyo Gundam Project. This towering robot is intended to raise funds for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s push for a more environmentally friendly future:
Except this mecha is not a Transformer. It is a full-sized replica of Gundam RX-78-2, an offshoot of the 1979 Japanese cartoon series Mobile Suit Gundam, and the older cousin of Transformer Optimus Prime.
Optimus Prime is perhaps the best-known character from the Transformers universe. His robot form — as any 5-year-old can tell you — transforms into a cab-over-firetruck. In July, the movie sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen became the first film of 2009 to gross more than $300 million at the U.S. domestic box office. Optimus once again leads human troops and his own team of Autobots — including newcomers Arcee, Sideswipe, Jolt — to fight the Decepticons in this latest installment of the Transformers franchise.
“Living in Japan can suck at times,” says one Japanese Transformers fan, “especially when we have to wait until last to be able to see Transformers.” The new Transformers movie isn’t due out in Japan until August 2009.
It should come as no surprise that the original Transformer toys, known as Diaclone, were created in Japan before being turned into a global phenomenon in the early 80s by the U.S. toymaker Hasbro. The original Diaclone designs came from Mobile Suit Gundam and ushered in a new era of anime.
The original name of the Japanese series was Freedom Fighter Gunboy, or simply Gunboy for the gun the robot carried. The name morphed into Gundom — a combination of "gun" and "freedom" — and ultimately Gundam.
Which is cooler, Transformer or Gundam? “I feel that some of the Gundam anime designs of late have been lacking imagination,” says our young Japanese fan, “but the new transformer designs are most coolsome.”
Which is cooler, Transformer or Gundam?
Unlike the radioactive Godzilla (Gojira) — a mutant byproduct of the Atomic Age who attacks and attempts to destroy Tokyo in numerous B movies — RX-78-2 is a freedom fighter and no less a symbol of the greening of space-conscious industrial Japan than the Toyota Prius.
“The theme of ‘Mobile Suit Gundam’ contains a passion for the environment that matches with Tokyo’s plan to expand the city’s green areas,” says Yasuo Miyakawa, managing director of the Gundam Character Works department at Sunrise Animation, the creator of Mobile Suit Gundam. “From its beginning, the series told of a time when tension existed between people on earth and those who migrated to outer space as a result of the planet not being able to accept further population growth following environmental degradation and damage incurred by industrialization.”
“Gundam brought the animation level up to the real world and fascinated young adults,” explains Keiji Yamaguchi, a creature developer at Industrial Light & Magic whose work appears in both the 2007 and 2009 versions of the Transformers films. “It also raised the animation culture from that of being geared towards kids’ toys to sophisticated storytelling. There was no more cheesy fantasy. It did not cheat the kids, and it did not take their smarts for granted.”
Like RX-78-2, most Gundams are large, bipedal vehicles controlled from cockpits by a human pilot. The majority of these "mobile suits" have a cockpit in the torso of the mecha, with a camera built into the head to transmit images to the cockpit.
Here’s a short cartoon video from the Gundam series showing RX-78-2:
Kunio Okawara, the designer of the full-scale Gundam, was responsible for the mechanical designs of the original RX-78-2. His highly realistic mecha are pilot-controlled vehicles capable of locomotion that can wield a sword, fire a rifle, and mobilize into a fighter plane.
The giant RX-78-2 constructed for the Green Tokyo Gundam Project will be able to pivot its head and spray mist and emit light from fifty locations. “Each gimmick,” says director Miyakawa, “is made to challenge what the old-school fans envision, or what old-school fans fantasize about, and turn it into the real thing.”
The Japanese are clearly obsessed with the idea of giant robots – in some cases, so much that they became "otaku" or "obsessive geeks.” Such is today’s cultural meme that these machines are seen as positive forces –- and, unlike the terrorizing monster Godzilla, they don’t glow in the dark.
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12 Comments
Great article! I can tell from the size of a cherry picker, this Gundom is huge. It would be cool to see it. The Odaiba park is relatively new hang out place for young to middle age people. There used to be so many restaurant, shops, and hotels there, but after bad economy hit, they lost many business. They had to come up with something to draw attention and utilize the space efficiently. Too bad it is not the Transformer. I have to say the Gundom is not as cool as the Transformer.
The Video you guys showed at the end was from “Mobile Suit Gundam-Gundam SEED”
That show does not have the RX-78-2 in it…Its the GAT-X105″Strike Gundam”
Thats an almost 20 year Difference between the two..
But nice article none the less
I think the author better do his research. If my memory serves me correctly, Optimus Prime was a cab-over 18 wheeler. I remember always wondering where the trailer went to when he transformed in the cartoons.
Optimus Prime wasn’t a firetruck, he was a semi-truck.
Thanks for the complement on the article. I stand corrected on the GAT-X105… it’s hard to tell from the video, and it looks a lot like the RX-78-2 to me
The original (Generation 1) Optimus Prime was a cab over firetruck, but there are a number of alternate modes: Freightliner Cab-over-engine Class 8 tractor (Later forms have usually been variants of the original), Cybertronian truck (Various Comics), Cobra Sentry Missile System tank (Devil’s Due), 1920s style truck (Devil’s Due), Kenworth Truck (Combat Hero), Mid’90s Western Star 4964EX Tanker Truck (Laser Rod), Lamborghini Diablo (Go-Bot), Dump truck (Autoroller), Dodge Ram SRT-10 (Alternator)
I don’t see why Transformers was even brought up in this article, besides a shamless attempt to promote a movie which has virtually nothing to do with the purpose of the statue. The story is about Gundams and the environment, NOT Michael Bay’s explosion ridden creations.
I didn’t know the robot was built to promote an environmental cause. It seems odd to me. Is the robot built from environmentally friendly materials or something? Cuz that thing looks like it took a lot of industrial output to produce.
I’m a huge Gundam fan and just thought it was there to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Gundam.
Why is it that a Japanese creation like Gundam, would have standard alphabetic characters on it, instead of Kanji(Japanese characters)?
I respectfully disagree- Gundam> Transformers
I think you are off on the Optimus Prime. He is an 18 wheeler truck cab/trailer, not a firetruck(the firetruck is another character(Rescue?) that has his own cohorts of rescue friend vehicles. Optimus’s trailer carries his mini-helpers and Ultra-transform center that lets him become a fortress center. Don’t confuse the pentagenarian kids.
There is a major diferrence between the two, Transformers are for Western Kids, and Gundam is for Eastern.