City wins battle for robot nerd-fest
Hong Kong this week becomes the first site outside Japan to host a Gundam exhibition
Gundam may be loved for its giant robot battles, machine gun shootouts and politically charged space colonies, but the science-fiction franchise's long history and profound themes are what lies behind its appeal to fans. And now it's come to Hong Kong.
"It's not merely the battling, but the human grammar that makes Gundam so popular," said Kazuichi Kojima, a representative from figurine-making and video game distributing partner Bandai. "It carries timeless messages of love, energy, war and peace."
It's not merely the battling, but the human grammar that makes Gundam so popular. It carries timeless messages of love, energy, war and peace
"The first syllable 'gun' is combined with the last syllable of the word 'freedom' to form 'gundom', but it was later changed to 'Gundam' because it is like a powerful dam that can hold back enemies and also carries an anti-war message of freedom," he added.
The franchise is mounting its first display outside its native Japan starting tomorrow in Times Square, with the launch of the "Gundam Docks at Hong Kong" exhibition.
The display will feature two towering Gundams, one-third of the size of those in the animated series, that stand six metres high and weigh two tonnes each.
It also features several human-sized robotic figures in the mall's covered piazza and a space shuttle hovering in its atrium.
Joshua Young Yi-en, a Gundam fan of 13 years, said it's "a man's chick flick, with robots."
"I think it has maintained its popularity because of its mature concepts that touch upon the reconciliation of different cultures and cross-galaxy species, and as well as its ability to intertwine interesting storylines with giant robots and shooting," Young explained.
Even with the onset of the digital age, the popularity of the Gundam franchise is reflected in the scale of its profits, which are estimated to be US$1.2 billion annually in Japan alone, according to Shin Sasaki, director of Sunrise studios, which created the original anime series.
"Gundam is the most important of all our animations, commercially and in terms of its popularity," said Sasaki. "We've come to Hong Kong as our first international destination because the Bandai head office is set up here - it is the gateway to our Asian market."
Kojima added that Hong Kong Gundam fans span a much broader demographic base than their counterparts in Japan, who he described as mostly "geeks".
Katherine Poon Kak-kak, promotions and advertising manager at Times Square, said the project had been in planning for a year and had been launched in the summer to attract the biggest possible number of Gundam fans.
The influence of the multimillion-dollar franchise is visible in Tokyo's Gundam theme park, as well as a Gundam Academy that started up in 2009, the first academic institution based on a cartoon.
Gundam's Hong Kong fans have a feast ahead of them as an anime convention this Saturday and Sunday rounds out the week.
The "Gundam Docks at Hong Kong" exhibition will run from July 25 until September 1. Thursday's opening will include characters to meet and greet fans.
