Emotional Fans Say Goodbye to Tokyo’s Life-Sized Gundam: ‘Thank You For Your Service!’

After almost 10 years, the life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue in Odaiba in Tokyo has ended its operation, with fans turning out in the thousands to take one last look at the towering mecha.

The Unicorn Gundam statue currently present in Tokyo is actually the second to make its home outside of the Diver City shopping center in Odaiba, replacing a statue mimicking the look of the RX-78 Gundam from the original TV series. This latest 19.7m statue, beyond its towering appearance, stood alongside one of the largest Gundam Base stores selling Gunpla and memorabilia for the franchise, and made its debut in 2017 shortly after the conclusion of the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA series on which the statue is based. In the evenings, a regular rotation of light shows involving the moving of the statue’s visor and other events has taken place for onlookers.

Since its debut, the statue has become somewhat of an iconic figure in the area, with even non-fans coming to gawk and take photos with it. To celebrate such a beloved figure, its closure was marked with major celebrations, including a major musical performance on August 29th featuring Hiroyuki Sawano, composer of the soundtrack for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, as well as vocalist SennaRin, who recently sang an insert song for the recently released movie in the franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe.

Thousands more fans also turned up a few days later to watch the final light shows and celebrate its end of operations on August 31st, with many fans recording its final moments, taking photos, and sharing emotional messages of their love for the statue. Counting down to the official end of operations at 10pm JST last night, many fans in attendance can be heard shouting their gratitude and thanking the statue for its service over the past years. Many were similarly slow to leave the area, knowing it was their last chance to see it.

謎のカウントダウン、3分前あたりから「ユニコーン」の雄叫び時々リディ。

そして、バナージからメッセージでした。

バナージの「お疲れ」を聞いて、ユニコーンは機能停止、サイコフレームは光らず、周囲のライトにも照らされなくなったよ……。#実物大ユニコーンガンダム pic.twitter.com/MlX8wBqG0g

— パナ (@i_am_pana_) August 31, 2026

That being said, as of the morning of September 1, demolition of the Gundam has not yet begun, though it will likely not be long until the statue is removed from the plaza. Bandai Namco is also yet to confirm what (if anything) will replace it, with speculation over a number of recent mobile suits from the series, including XVX-016 Gundam Ariel from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, being mentioned by fans as potential choices for what could take its place.

Living in Japan, a visit to Odaiba never felt complete without seeing the life-sized Gundam, making it genuinely a little sad to see it disappear after all these years. While I’m sure it’ll be replaced before too long, what will take its place (and how long it will take to receive that replacement) remains to be seen.