Last year, I visited Tokyo as a life-sized replica of an early Gundam robot was being erected in Odaiba. Several years ago, I went to the Bandai Museum when it was in Machida City and saw the upper torso of the full scale replica. A few months ago, a Gundam cafe was opened in Tokyo at the JR Akihabara Station. Sadly, this was after my annual visit this year.
Gundam is an anime icon whose story has spanned the decades and whose appearance changes with the seasons. I have always admired how the designers can keep the look of the giant mechas fresh, inspiring, and bascially awesome. Except for one series in the Gundam history where the look was utterly forgettable.
All Nippon Airlines, ANA, previously had a Pokemon themed airplane that I had the chance to fly on while taking a domestic hop from Haneda in Tokyo to Chitose on Hokkaido. It had Pokemon characters decorating the exterior while special trinkets were offered for sale during the flight. Once again, ANA is partnering up with another japanese icon, Gundam. Beginning July 16th, selected domestic flights will sport a Gundam head on one side and a Gundam laying on his back on the other side. He oviously flies first class to get all that legroom. The flights are expected to last until the end of March 2011.
The earlier flights will be offering for sale the special colored Gundam model shown below. After about a month, ANA will sell a different model for the duration of the promotion. As I will in Japan during the early part of next year, I hope to be able to catch one of these flights so I can peruse the gift catalog and see what else they have to offer.
