Overlord: An 18-meter-tall Gundam statue stands in front of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza on Thursday, the opening day of the commercial complex in Tokyo's Odaiba waterfront area.
The facility, called DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, is situated in the Odaiba neighborhood in Koto Ward, where it is guarded by an 18-meter Gundam statue. "Diver" is a play on the name of the neighborhood.
The facility will have a number of retail outlets, including H&M, Armani Jeans, Uniqlo and Zara.
The main attraction is Gundam Front Tokyo, an entertainment spot run by Bandai Co. and other companies. The facility features "real-scale" attractions of the popular animation series, including Dome-G for dynamic images of famous scenes in the animation, and computer images of new works projected inside a 16-meter-diameter dome.
In the Experience Field area, visitors can view models, including a full-scale Core Fighter Ver.GFT "mecha" from the first series and a life-sized bust of Strike Freedom Gundam Ver.GFT from the "Seed Destiny" series, with a 1/3000th scale model of the A Baoa Qu space fortress to boot.
Customers can also have photos taken with their favorite characters at the Character Photo Spot of the Experience Field.
The Museum Space area includes the Archive Counter, where people can use a touch panel to select images and information to be projected on a wide screen for other visitors at the venue.
Also on display are newly created original drawings by robot designer Kunio Okawara and animator Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, as well as early designs. A wall panel features a guideline on all of the Gundam series, including wars, organized in chronological order.
More than 1,000 "Gunpla" plastic models of Gundam robots and battleships are exhibited in another section.
The guide map for the complex and notices for viewing the projections at Dome-G are provided in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. The Gundam Front Tokyo website is also rendered in these four languages.
The complex charges an admission fee for all but a few sections.
Chilli and yoghurt sauces: Japan Times, Gadget, Gundam Front Tokyo
Yaaaaay,, it's finally open!!!!
