It's a Gundam Pen

There are two types of people in the world: People that get excited about filling the shit out of their taxes with a Gundam pen, and people who are dead inside. Who are you? [Strapya via Technabob via Dvice]

And They Lived Happily Ever After... Until the Giant Gundam Smashed Them

OK my dearly beloved, I don't care if you dress up as characters from the anime series to get married under a full-size Gundam in Tokyo. Just don't get married, ok? Unless you get to leave flying the damn thing. More »

A 50-Foot Michael Jackson Gundam Almost Destroyed Las Vegas

Las Vegas is the most horrible place on earth, so I'm almost sad it wasn't destroyed by a 50-foot robot Michael Jackson wanted to build in his image that would stomp around the desert. No, I'm not making this up. More »

Man Goes Ape Shit After Mom Throws Out Gundam Action Figures

A 29 year old from Kasai City, Japan, who doused himself with kerosene, torched his house—yet escaped without injuries—told police he wanted to kill himself because his mother tossed "his valuable Gundam plastic models." More »

Full-Size Gundam Get Attacked by Laser During Inaugural Ceremony

I am not a full-size Gundam in Tokyo—although I want to be one when I grow up—but if I were attacked with greeeeeen lasers during my inauguration ceremony, I would get pretty damn pissed off. Then I would destroy everything in sight, and go to have a carrot cake and coffee afterwards. [Mainichi Daily News]

The Tokyo Gundam Like You Have Never Seen It Before

Now fully finished, the amazing full-scale Gundam has become an unofficial Tokyo landmark. The robot is so impressive that photographers are populating Flickr with beautiful photos showing every single little detail. More »

Preeeeetty Pink Gundam Confuses My Masculinity

I love Gundam. Seriously, I really love love love it. But this pink hellokittyzed Gundam makes me have doubts about my sexuality. More »

Full Size Gundam Video: It Moves! It Moves!

Yes, not only it looks amazing at night but the full size Gundam protecting Tokyo right now actually moves, as this video shows. You can check all its details up close in these videos: More »

Tokyo's Life-Sized Gundam is Just About Finished

We've seen just the legs awkwardly standing there, but now we can witness the full scope of Tokyo's new 59-foot-tall Gundam statue. And it is awesome.

Robo-One Robot Street Fighter: Actual Robot Chicken Beats Metal Ass, But Where's the Beef?

Twice a year Japan holds the Robo-One championships, which is like Street Fighter for robots. The most awesome one by far is Leghorn, a robot chicken (hell yes) that beats down other tin cans with its "Chicken Chop." But is that really all they've got? One of the dudes said it's all about making robot battles from anime a reality, so um, where the hell are the lasers and finger missiles? Or even, buzzsaws, smashers and bashers like Battlebots? I mean, someone went so far as to calculate how to make real-life Gundam, so I know they can do better. Next time, I want explosions and robot gore. [Reuters via Gridskipper]

Muscle Robot Suit Makes Most Powerful Carpenters Since Jesus

While we're all about powered exoskeletons to accelerate soldiers' badassery, Japan builds them for stuff like carpentry. Apparently the suckiest aspect of the job is fitting in ceiling boards, which requires a lot of raw power in an unnatural body position, since it's all done over-the-head. Nagoya University's robot suit basically makes their arms like Jax from Mortal Kombat, so they can toss 'em up there, slam in the screws and be done without breaking a sweat. I wanna wear a robot suit to work. [Physorg via The Raw Feed]

How Much Would it Cost to Make a Life-Size Working Gundam?

A full-scale Gundam robot is one thing, but how much would it actually cost to build one that could actually walk? According to an estimate published on the SciencePortal website run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the total cost for parts alone would be $725,000,000. That figure would not include labor, fancy weaponry, or any flying capabilities. The whole shebang would be powered by and IBM Blue Gene supercomputer and 30 giant 400KW motors. More »

Tokyo National University Begins Anime Graduate Program, Otaku Applicants Surge Overnight

Starting next year, the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts will have something that's long overdue for an otaku-rich country: a two-year graduate degree in anime production—the first for a non-private institution in Japan. Courses will be taught by full-time professionals from the anime world including Koji Yamamura, and students will leave with two or three full-fledged works under their belt. We're jealous, but we think we might hold out for the Ph. D. in Gundam Suit fabrication studies. One day. [Yomiuri Shimbun]

Gundam Air Ionizer Freshens Room, Saves Humanity

Banpresto's releasing 7 odd Gundam-styled accessories next month, but the most interesting one is this Gundam USB Ionizer. It's shaped like the "White Base", white apparently looks like a lion lazily stretching itself after an afternoon nap. We're not sure which parts of the Gundam takes in the air and which part excretes it with slightly more ionization, but it's probably those jets on the legs. Oh, and there's also a USB hub in there that looks like some kind of explosive box, but that's slightly less cool than a friggin space lion. [Akihabara News via Sci Fi Tech via Everything USB]

Japan Gets a Zaku 2-Style Helmet Phone from Sharp and Softbank

This must be the only cell phone I can think of whose charger is larger than the phone itself. Sharp and Softbank's charmingly-titled 913SH Full Face is a slider (closed, its looks give more than a nod to the iPhone, IMHO) which comes with an enormous Zaku 2 helmet that you stand the phone on to admire, charge, admire and charge. We thought you might like a gallery to brighten up your Monday. More »

Japanese Bureaucrats Busted for Editing Gundam Wikipedia Entries on the Job

Six Japanese government drones in the Agriculture Ministry were given a verbal wag of the finger for dumping hours of worktime into editing Wikipedia, with one guy racking up over 260 contributions to Gundam-related entries. Speaking for the ministry on the matter, an official commented that "the Agriculture Ministry is not in charge of Gundam." (No joke.) Yeah, that would be the Ministry of Giant Robots. (Joke. Maybe.) [Yahoo!/AP, Flickr]

Gundam Helmet is not for Keeping your Golf Clubs in

Another day, another helmet. But this one is awesome. It wasn't stolen from a Giant Panda, neither would it look better on your butt. No, this is a bike lid that looks like our favorite robot. Available in Japan, there's a price on Gundam's head and another image after the jump. More »

$1,690 Gundam Shirt Teases Us With Vomit

These days, wearing a giant robot on your shirt just isn't enough to be ostracized from the party. Step up your game with the the Swarovski crystal hand-stitched Gundam tee. Not only is it a worthy homage to your favorite battle robot, but to Swarovski-covered tech everywhere. (On a side note, when will manufacturers tire of the same old, cover it in crystal method of making gadgets more expensive. How about just manufacturing more amazing tech?) More »

Gundam Skull Speakers

Harvested from the rusted out corpses of Gundam suits that died with valor in suborbital space combat. Powered by two AA batteries and the drool of thousands of Otaku nerdypants Robot lovers. –Brian Lam More »

Haro Gundam Mac Mini Case

If you've been a Giz reader long enough, you'd remember the Gundam Haro case for mini PCs. Well, Bandai (or whoever made this) has retrofitted it for Mac minis as well. The case itself is actually more impressive in motion than it is in still shots, extending out its "ears," "legs," arms, and lighting up its arms, all while shouting annoyingly in Japanese. We suppose that's what the character's known for in the Gundam universe? More »

Life-sized Gundam Wakes Up, Destroys Enemies, Takes a Nap?

If you are planning to go on vacation this July and you like huge robots (of the anime variety, not LG product ninja skinjobs), get a ticket to Japan, visit the Fuji entertainment park and get drunk with sake! More »

Platinum Gundam Protects Very Small Countries

Mounting cardboard boxes on our arms, legs, and head and running pretending we were Gundam is much easier these days since we get so many packages in the mail (FedEx/UPS Gundam ftw). But a Gundam made of platinum is pretty outrageous even for Japan. More »

Gundam Razor Defends Earth While Making You Presentable

Although there's no real benefit to having a Gundam razor as opposed to, say, a non-Gundam razor, you'll still feel safe using a razor sanctioned by a 50-foot Japanese defense robot. Then again, actual Gundam pilots are only 13 years old, which means these haven't actually been tested on real human beings. Wait, did we just confuse Gundam with real life? Uh oh. – Jason Chen More »

Japan's Makes Maid Robot That Surprisingly Looks like Gundam, Not a Sexy Lady

If you imagined Japan's roboticists making a robot that pours tea and washes dishes, you'd imagine some kind of sexy maid with a short skirt and gigantic knockers. Well, you'd be wrong. The University of Tokyo went in the complete opposite direction and made a robot that looks like a Gundam. More »

Remote Controlled Gundam Robot Walks Better Than Stephen Hawking

GUNDAM!! Who hasn't watched a Gundam cartoon and wished they were 13 years old and piloting one of these huge mechs? Here's the next, next, next, next best thing to that. The remote controlled Gunwalker robot lets you walk the guy in "true two leg walking action" by using the "Magna Traction System". More »

Domi Arigato, Mr Roboto: The Mother of all Gundams

Kotaku reports that, in the Land of the Rising Tentacle Porn, they've built a 7-meter tall Gundam. And it only took them 10 months to construct, complete with hydraulic pistons. One of them supposedly located in its More »