{"id":44835,"date":"2025-07-30T16:04:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T23:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=44835"},"modified":"2026-08-17T11:02:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T18:02:48","slug":"mantanweb726","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/mantanweb726\/","title":{"rendered":"Mantan Web<\/em> article, July 12"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Analysis: An Unexpected Collaboration Between Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> and Gundam<\/em>, A New Kind of “Pilgrimage” Fun<\/h2>\n

By Mitsuru Anima<\/em><\/p>\n

Published at Mantan Web, July 12, 2026. See the original post here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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A collaboration between the popular anime series Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> and Mobile Suit Gundam<\/em> has become a hot topic. The life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue located in Odaiba, Tokyo (from the anime Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn<\/em>) appears in REBEL 3199<\/em> Chapter 6. Although the story of Yamato 3199<\/em> takes place in the year 2207, one might wonder: why did the life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue appear?<\/p>\n

The Harutoshi Fukui Connection<\/h3>\n

At the end of Chapter 5, Yamato<\/em> crosses a space-time node, attempting to travel to a future approximately 1,000 years ahead. However, the location it actually reaches is Tokyo in the year 2026, about 200 years in the past. Many viewers were likely stunned by this shocking development, which saw Yamato<\/em> hovering in the sky above Shinjuku. Chapter 6 depicts scenes of Yamato<\/em> flying over Tokyo, passing landmarks such as the Tokyo Skytree, the statues of Saigo Takamori and the The Thinker in Ueno, and the life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue. The scene featuring the Cosmo Hound at Daiba Park (Battery No. 3) also made a powerful impression.<\/p>\n

The life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue stands approximately 19.7 meters tall and weighs about 49 tons. It has been installed in Daiba since September 2017, with its exhibition scheduled to end at the close of August. Harutoshi Fukui, who wrote the story for Mobile Suit Gundam UC<\/em>, serves as the chief director for Yamato 3199<\/em>. This connection helped realize an unexpected collaboration between the Yamato<\/em> and Gundam<\/em> franchises.<\/p>\n

Yamato 3199<\/em> appears to depict issues humanity is currently facing, such as anxiety about war, control of the masses through information management, peer pressure, the rise of AI, and the loss of humanity. The appearance of Yamato<\/em> over Tokyo serves as a reminder that, while Yamato 3199<\/em> is a work of fiction, its story is deeply connected to our own reality.<\/p>\n

Fukui remarked, “There was one thing Yamato<\/em> couldn’t do for a long time: ‘pilgrimages’ to real-world locations. Now that the story has been brought into the modern era, we have free rein to create such pilgrimage sites.” Although the exhibition of the life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue is coming to an end, fans will likely be delighted that the opportunity for such pilgrimages has finally arrived.<\/p>\n

A video titled Yamasanpo: Tokyo Edition<\/em> is available on YouTube. It documents the location scouting trip undertaken by Fukui and director Naomichi Yamato for the production of Yamato 3199<\/em> and should serve as a useful guide for fans planning your own pilgrimages.<\/p>\n

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A world where Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> does not exist<\/h3>\n

Yamato<\/em> appears in the skies over Tokyo in 2026, and astonished onlookers snap photos with their smartphones. However, they do not realize it is Yamato<\/em>. In other words, the anime Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> does not exist in this world. Conversely, the presence of the life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue implies that the Gundam<\/em> series does exist.<\/p>\n

Both Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> and the original Mobile Suit Gundam<\/em>, the first entry in the Gundam<\/em> franchise, are masterpieces that revolutionized Japanese anime. It is often said that Mobile Suit Gundam<\/em> might never have been created without Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>.<\/p>\n

At a stage greeting for Chapter 6 held on July 9, Mr. Fukui revealed that he and screenwriter Hideki Oka had discussed the question: “How did Gundam<\/em> come to exist in the world of Yamato 3199<\/em>?” Their discussion led them to the conclusion that it was likely inspired by Space Carrier Blue Noah.<\/em><\/p>\n

Blue Noah<\/em> was a TV anime series planned and originally conceived by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, the same man behind Yamato<\/em>, that began airing in October 1979. Given that Mobile Suit Gundam<\/em> premiered in April 1979, the implication for the Yamato 3199<\/em> universe is that Blue Noah<\/em> was produced before Gundam<\/em>, resulting in a timeline where Yamato<\/em> was never created.<\/p>\n

(Read all about Blue Noah<\/em> here<\/a>)<\/p>\n

While pondering these intriguing narrative details and the story’s world-building is certainly enjoyable, the greatest pleasure for fans is the chance to go on a “pilgrimage” to these Yamato<\/em>-related sites. Despite the sad news that the life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue is ending its run, why not look up at the Tokyo sky and explore these newly established pilgrimage spots? <\/p>\n

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Return to previous article<\/a><\/p>\n

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