Life-Size Unicorn Gundam Statue to End Exhibition on August 31, Fans Turn Out for Emotional Final Ceremony

The event began with a segment looking back at the history of the life-size Gundam statues, starting with the history of the life-size Gundam statues itself. The first life-size Gundam statue, the "RX-78-2 Gundam Ver. G30th," was displayed at Shiokaze Park in Odaiba in 2009, drawing around 4.15 million visitors over 52 days; it went on to be exhibited at three locations — Shiokaze Park, Higashi-Shizuoka, and Odaiba — with modifications made along the way. It was also explained that, over the following 17 years, a total of eight statues were put on display, including the Unicorn Gundam in Odaiba, the Freedom Gundam in Shanghai, the Nu Gundam in Fukuoka, and a new Gundam statue at the Osaka-Kansai Expo site. Other spin-off projects born from the statues were also introduced, including the "Moving Gundam" unveiled in Yokohama.

Attention then turned to the life-size Unicorn Gundam statue itself, whose exhibition is ending to the regret of many. Modeled after the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam Unit 1 from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, the statue reproduces the unit's signature features: the opening and closing of its antennas and the glow of its Psycoframe. The presentation, featuring comments from those involved in its design and manufacturing, touched on the considerable difficulty of achieving the V-fin antenna's opening and closing motion while maintaining durability and safety.

When Okawa commented on why the Psycoframe glows, quoting a famous line from the series — "Even we don't know" — the venue broke into laughter. He then posed two quiz questions to help the audience learn more about the life-size Unicorn Gundam statue. According to the answers, on-site assembly of the statue took about two and a half months, partly due to frequent rain. It was also explained that the "TWC" in the statue's current "Ver. TWC" designation stands for "Tokyo Waterfront City," referring to the waterfront district where the statue stands.

This brought Okawa's affectionate presentation of the "History of the Statue" segment, delivered by a die-hard Gundam and Gunpla fan, to a close. Next came the grand finale: a special live music segment. Hiroyuki SAWANO, who composed the music for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative, and Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway, took the stage together with vocalist SennaRin. They performed "yet.," for which SennaRin wrote Japanese lyrics to "Sternengesang," an insert song from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, as well as "ENDROLL," an insert song from Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: Circe's Witch.

On the wall of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, footage from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn was projected alongside the live performance, while the statue's Psycoframe changed color in sync with the music. It made for a special performance that brought the world of Gundam vividly to life before the audience's eyes.

After the performance, Sawano and SennaRin shared their thoughts on the statue and the Gundam series. Sawano said that working on the music for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and the statue had been "deeply moving and an honor," while SennaRin spoke about her connection to the Gundam series and the statue, as well as the feelings she put into her performance at the event. After performing "ENDROLL," Sawano also remarked, "I think I understood a little of how Hathaway must have felt," a comment that seemed to reference the scene in Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: Circe's Witch where the song plays as Hathaway runs through the rain. After introducing that day's band members, they performed "Cage enD," a rearranged version of "Cage," the theme song of the life-size Unicorn Gundam statue, created especially for the occasion, delivering their gratitude to the statue through an emotional vocal and musical performance. In response, the Psycoframe's glow shifted through delicate colors, lighting up the plaza like a farewell glow.

After the performance, the event moved on to the main "Life-Size Unicorn Gundam Statue Final Program." A special video titled "UNICORN GUNDAM Statue ― BEYOND POSSIBILITY ―," edited from footage of the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn TV series and the animations previously projected on the wall, began playing, tracing the statue's nine-year history.

When fireworks launched at the end of the video, the crowd erupted into cheers. Okawa then took the stage once more at the special booth to say a few words, bringing the ceremony to a close. But there was one more surprise in store. Alongside the closing footage, newly recorded farewell messages from Koki Uchiyama, who voices Banagher Links, and Ryo Hirohashi, who voices Haro, played, bringing the Final Ceremony to a dramatic close. Amid loud applause from the crowd, voices of "thank you" to the statue could be heard from all around, making for a moving finale.

(C)サンライズ