A new video showing off the next life-sized Gundam statue released.
The new promo video was uploaded to one of the official Gundam YouTube channels, and shows off a new CG-animated version of the redesigned Nu Gundam. The Gundam is shown firing its single, oversized long-range funnel at a capital ship before engaging in combat with a Neo Zeon Geara Doga unit. The trailer also shows off some of the details that are going into the massive new statue, such as its new rifle and newly recolored version of Amuro's unicorn emblem, which did not appear on previous images or videos of the statue. The trailer ends by revealing that the statue should be completed sometime next spring.
The Nu Gundam was previously featured on several Japanese newscasts, as crowds in Fukuoka, Japan gathered to watch as a massive construction crane lowered the mobile suit's head onto its shoulders. The statue was first announced in the summer of 2021 and has been the subject of some controversy within the Gundam fandom. While the infamous RX-78-2 statue in Yokohama and the transforming RX-0 Unicorn Gundam in Tokyo were painstakingly faithful recreations of each mobile suit's classic designs, Fukuoka's Nu Gundam features a substantial redesign from the mecha's appearance in 1988's Char's Counterattack. Notably, Amuro's final Gundam loses its most iconic feature -- its shoulder-mounted array of remote controlled weapons, known in-universe as "funnels" -- and trades them for a single, massive cannon. The change was reportedly done because the Nu Gundam's original, more complicated design wasn't feasible in reality, but nonetheless hardcore fans have been vocal about their desire to see a more accurate representation of the mobile suit. The Nu Gundam's color scheme has also been changed from its original black-and-white design to feature a color scheme reminiscent of the original RX-78-2, with bright blue, red and yellow colored pieces throughout the unit.
The official unveiling of the Nu Gundam is just one of many things Gundam fans have to look forward to in 2022. A new anime series, entitled Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, is also scheduled to make its debut in 2022. The franchise will also return to the Universal Century for its next movie, Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island. The new film will recreate and expand the story from one of the most famous episodes of the original series. A teaser trailer for the movie was released in December. The film is scheduled to premiere in Japan next summer.
Source: YouTube
