News
18-Meter Robot Statue to Stand at Creator's Birthplace
posted on by Egan Loo
The city of Kobe, Japan will erect a 18-meter (59-feet) tall, 70-ton statue of the Sally the Witch—one of the first magical girls in anime. IronMan 28 is considered the first "giant robot," and the first human-controlled robot, in manga and anime.
The Kobe Nagata Town Management Organization is claiming that the "life-size," steel-plated monument is Japan's largest for a manga character. One-third of the needed 135 million yen ($1.09 million) has already been raised, and the TMO hopes to finish the statue by the Golden Week holidays in Spring of 2008. In response to questions, the TMO specifically says the monument will not move, its eyes will not light up, and visitors cannot go inside it.
The Nagata Ward of Kobe is eventually planning a memorial hall for the artist. The project also celebrates the decade-long revival of this ward, which was the hardest hit in the 1995 Kobe Earthquake.
Source: Asahi Shimbun
Image © Hikari Pro
Update: The Kobe Nagata TMO notes that the memorial will be the tall enough to look into an apartment complex's sixth-story window. The lying on its back. Kobe's IronMan 28 statue will be fully upright.
