gundam

Out of the Toyko Game Show and onto the Internet sneak a trio of hands-on videos for three Mobile Suit: Gundam-themed iOS apps. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of giant Japanese robots, specifically those from the Gundam anime franchise--there are more than 30 Gundam action figures/models littering my desk as I write--so I'm excited to see these apps in action.

Two of the demonstrated applications are games. Gundam Fighting Spirit is a stylized 2D-fighting game where players battle their favorite giant roboto against one another. Gundam G Generation Touch is a slower paced, turn-based strategy RPG populated with supercute versions of the same 'bots. The third app, NDAM Tool Box, presents what appears to be the cockpit of the titular Gundam mech, through which users are presented with shortcuts to other apps such as Safari or Mail.

These apps will be available on iOS devices in Japan in the coming months, but there's no word if we'll ever see a U.S. release. However, if my obsession with Gundam has taught me anything, it's that (for now) this franchise will remain strictly import-only. Check out Gundam Fighting Spirit in action in the embedded video below. The dialogue is in Japanese, but you'll still get an idea of what's going on:

Two more videos of Gundam G Generation Touch and NDAM Tool Box are after the jump.

(Source: TouchArcade. Thanks to Twitter user @jimtay for the tip.)… Read more

This week, Crave branches out onto our friendly neighborhood tech blogs to bring you a super fantastique, ultra huge, raver-friendly digital turntable thingie...and a bottle opener. Don't be too let down by that second one: it's over-priced and attaches to your bike, so it still has some cache. Also, Donald and Eric get extremely excited over a glorified statue, an electric Datsun leaves a Nissan GT-R in the dust, and a giant robot arm is put to good use. Plus, Jasmine squeals over an elephant with some monstrous dental work, and we take a look at a camera lens cleavage coffee mug.

We've been following the proliferation of giant robots in Asia, and while the threat to humanity they pose is terrifying, there's little doubt that they look transcendentally awesome in time-lapse videos.

As we mentioned earlier, the iconic Gundam RX-78 robot from the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise has returned to Japan in the form of a 59-foot statue, recently erected in the city of Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo. This time it's clutching a giant beam saber.

The video below, featuring billowing clouds and Gundam apparently coming alive at dusk, was shot by YouTube user darwinfish105 just before the … Read more

Robot one-upmanship is happening at an alarming pace in East Asia as the Chinese have unveiled a giant Optimus Prime in Beijing, no doubt to counter giant robots recently built by the Japanese. Is a clash of the robo-titans imminent?

The Transformers icon stands nearly 40 feet tall and weighs 6 tons. Fittingly, the head Autobot was fashioned out of recycled car parts such as engines and tires. It took five truckloads of parts to put Prime together.

The colossus dwarfs puny humans at the new Green Dream Park, located northwest of Beijing's "Bird's Nest" National … Read more

These days, it's more likely to be a Japanese anime hero swooshing across the skies than DC Comics' Superman. Taking to the air this time is Gundam, given a 30th anniversary salute by Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) with graphics of the giant meca splashed down the left side of a Boeing 777-300, and its huge head outlined on the right of the jet airliner.

This comes via the ANA x Gundam Sky Project initiative, which will also retail special-edition Gundam plastic model kits in 1/144 (domestic flights from July 1 to August 31) and 1/48 … Read more

This time it's armed.

Japanese robot fanatics are planning to rebuild the giant Gundam statue that wowed millions of visitors at a park in Tokyo in 2009. But this time, Gundam will have a lightsaber. What are they thinking?

Well, a beam saber, to be precise. The iconic mecha robot from the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise will tower over Higashi-Shizuoka Station, southwest of Tokyo, for five and a half months starting July 24, according to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.

Conceptual images of the new installation show the Gundam RX-78 with a glowing beam saber in its right hand, and … Read more

A giant, fire-breathing robot has taken over part of Osaka's city hall.

Its baby face makes it the perfect instrument for striking terror into the hearts of the 2.6 million residents of this Japanese metropolis.

The metal monster is called Giant Torayan and it stands over three stories tall. It can spew 20-foot-long jets of flame from its infant lips. See the video below.

Constructed of steel, aluminum and brass, the robot is the brainchild of Japanese artist Kenji Yanobe, who describes it thus: "This Giant Torayan doll is the ultimate child's weapon, as it sings, … Read more

For every macho, giant-size tribute to Gundam out there, there's going to be a more froufrou version coming along. Ying for the yang. So while the guys will probably be gagging over this girly, bejeweled Gundam (in pink, no less), it actually looks quite fetching with its bedazzled flowery legs and armor. With love from China, of course, since no Japanese worth his anime salt would discredit this cult war robot on its 30th anniversary.

(Source: Crave Asia via Lifedoor Blog)

What's even cooler-looking than a full-size Gundam towering over Tokyo? A full-size Gundam towering over Tokyo at sunset, its light- and mist-emitting 59-foot frame shadowed by a stunning sky.

We first mentioned this mecha monument last week. Bandai built it in Tokyo's Odaiba Shiokaze park to mark the 30th anniversary of the highly successful Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, which kicked off as a Japanese television series and went on to spawn numerous spinoffs, including movies, novels, comics, and video game adventures.

The giant RX-78 Gundam replica with the moveable head will officially be unveiled on July 11 and … Read more