Yesterday was my 29th birthday, so the wifey treated me to a trip to Gundam Front – a museum dedicated to one of my favourite subjects!
Gundam Front is a 2,050 square meter “theme park” located on the 7th floor of Diver City(right by the full size Gundam). Attractions include a panoramic-dome theatre, various show production materials and more. Arriving just before our 5pm entry slot, we swapped our 7-Eleven purchased tickets(from the in-store copier machine no less) for some cool official tickets with Amuro Ray on them and proceeded to head down a corridor and wait for entry into the theatre. The walls were adorned with Gundam lineart, standing in an exact point brought Wing Zero into view, and another part had a big black box titled “Next Gundam” teasing whatever they have planned next.
No photos were allowed in the theatre. The show started with a short history of the 1/1 Gundam statue, and then the series history. It was only after this the screen went fully panoramic and we were treated to full cg sequences featuring the Nu Gundam, Unicorn and the good old RX-78, both CG quality and panoramic effect were excellent and really put you in the action!
Show over, we were ushered out into the main area, where you can roam around the exhibits freely. Firstly, we checked out all the production materials which were mainly related to the Gundam SEED HD Remaster, it was really interesting to see how much work goes into every frame of a show, and what a huge achievement SEED HD is.
Also on display were actual parts from the 1/1 Gundam, which were great to see up close, they’ve put so much effort into the smallest details! No photos were allowed in either of these areas sadly.
Back in the main hall, some huge spectacles greeted us! Firstly, a full-size Strike Freedom torso! Makes me hope the RX-78 won’t be the only Gundam statue in years to come.
And a full-size Core Fighter too! Albeit a little crashed and broken. Attention to detail was great, especially in the cockpit where a photo of Amuro and friends was tucked into the side. I didn’t know this or Strike Freedom were exhibits so they were both a pleasant surprise to see 🙂
Other attractions included a Gundam Unicorn cockpit scene you could sit in for photos, large monitors with a touchscreen interface allowing you to pick anime characters to pose with and a huge replica of A Baoa Qu! Spent quite a while in here just enjoying the atmosphere and taking lots of pics.
Outside the exhibition hall was the G-Strict clothing store, full of lots of expensive designer gear the average Gundam fan would probably not be interested in. They did sell Haro roombas though!
Finally, we visited the Gunpla Tokyo part of the exhibition, I’d safely assume every single Gunpla figure ever was on display here!
Emma challenged me to find my “Perfect Gundam” which resulted in me walking her around the whole place commentating on various kits the whole time – never did pick one but I really must praise Emma’s patience 🙂
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It was then time to head out to the 1/1 Gundam and wait for 19.30pm, when the “Gundam Stand Atop Tokyo” show would begin. A light, sound and projection show which is very different to the other performances throughout the day, photos & video below! (HD embeds don’t work, but be sure to crank this video up to 720p!)
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The light show lasted about 8 minutes, and was really cool to see. This coupled with Gundam Front made for a brilliant day 🙂 Gundam Front Tokyo is located in Diver City, Odaiba. Closest station is Daiba on the Yurikamome line. Entry costs 1000 yen if you book in advance and 1200 on the door – it’s a popular exhibit though and entry is at set times throughout the day – so prebook to avoid disappointment!
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