New Mobile Suit Gundam art from the legendary Yoshikazu Yasuhiko has been revealed, alongside two new, highly limited Gunpla model kits.
As reported by Crunchyroll, the new art and model kits are part of the new Gundam The Origin exhibition being hosted by the EJ Anime Museum in Tokorozawa, Japan. The exhibition celebrates the art of the Gundam The Origin manga series, which was written and illustrated by Yasuhiko from 2001 - 2011. In addition to his work on the Gundam franchise, Yasuhiko is widely considered one of the most influential artists in the industry and worked on classic anime such as Space Battleship Yamato and Venus Wars, and was the original character designer for Dirty Pair. The 73-year old artist created a new illustration from the exhibition, which depicts Amuro, the Gundam's original pilot, with his rival, the charismatic but slightly genocidal Char Aznable. The new illustration, as well as many others from Yasuhiko's run on the Gundam manga, will be on display at the museum from January until March of 2022.
Fans who want to take a piece of the exhibit home with them can also purchase two exclusive Gunpla models at the exhibit. The new 1/144th scale High Grade kits of the RX-78-2 and Char's custom Zaku II come with shields that have Yasuhiko's art painted on them. These new models will be available at the exhibition and only 12,000 of these kits will be produced.
The new Gunpla for the exhibit aren't the only event exclusive models to be released in Japan recently: The Gundam Base, a franchise museum and specialty shop in Yokohama, recently announced that it was giving away a special "Ecopura" RX-78-2 model kit to attendees of its upcoming Sustainability Day. The Ecopura model kit is unique in that it is made entirely of recycled materials. The event will also feature free tours of the location's massive, life-sized Gundam statue and is also encouraging collectors to bring in their left-over model kit runners for recycling.
In September, Bandai announced that it had partnered with sneaker manufacturer Nike to create both a pair of Gundam Unicorn inspired sneakers, as well as a set of Nike-branded Gunpla model kits, which were repainted versions of the HG 1/144 Unicorn and Banshee Gundams in their Destroy modes. Both the sneakers and the models were produced in limited quantities and predictably sold out quickly after they were released.
Yasuhiko's Gundam The Origin manga is available in English from Vertical Inc. The anime adaptation of the series is currently available for streaming on Hulu.
Source: Crunchyroll
