Countdown to life-sized Gigantor's Oct launch

Juniper Foo | Aug 04, 2009

(Credit: Kobe Project)

What, no giant Hello Kitty statue? Amazingly, it's Nil: 1 for the Sanrio feline which is everywhere, but not when it comes to anime bots, so it seems. With Gundam in Tokyo dominating the skyline, there's now two months to go for Kobe's 135 million yen (US$1.42 million) Gigantor statue (Tetsujin 28-Go to anime fans) to emerge in life-sized glory. Stats-wise, it's about on par with the Gundam mecha at 18m (59ft) tall, though a lot stouter at 50 tons to Gundam's 35 tons. Too bad Kobe, better known for its beef, isn't making a ride out of this or allowing visitors to climb up to the head. But at least this manga bot gets a shot at longevity compared with Gundam which will be dismantled soon. Of a life-sized Kitty, there's no sign. Still, let's not discount the pervasive power of the lipless one just yet.

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