(3-July-2009)
A construction video of the "life-size," 18-meter-tall statue of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Tetsujin 28-gō (Ironman #28 or Gigantor) robot has been posted on the YouTube website on Tuesday. The parts of the 59-foot-tall statue will be transported to the final site at Kobe's Wakamatsu Park for assembly at the end of July. It was scheduled to be constructed in August, but its completion is now planned for the end of September with a ceremony on October 4. (The initial plans called for a spring 2008 opening.)
The Kobe Tetsujin Project's statue is intended as a symbol of the city's revival after the 1995 Kobe Earthquake. It is being build in Nagata Ward, the city's hardest hit neighborhood which has since been rebuilt and revitalized. The statue also celebrates the life of one of Kobe's most well-known native sons, as Yokoyama not only created the Tetsujin 28 manga and anime, but also Giant Robo and Sally the Witch.
