鉄人２８号

I wrote a post on 15 June about the giant 18-meter (59-feet) tall Gundam robot in Tokyo (Click here to read it.).

But soon it won’t be the only 18-meter tall robot in Japan…in August, construction is set to begin in 神戸 (Kobe, Japan) on an 18-meter tall 「鉄人２８号」 (“Iron Man #28“).

The Gundam robot in Tokyo is temporary and will be removed next month (August 2009). But the 「鉄人２８号」 (“Iron Man #28“) statue is set to be completed in October 2009…and will remain there permanently.

The reason that this statue will be in 神戸 (Kobe) is because the creator of the 「鉄人２８号」 (“Iron Man #28“) manga, Mitsuteru Yokoyama, was born in 神戸 (Kobe) in 1934 and he died in 東京 (Tokyo) in 2004…so this statue is a tribute to him.

The story of 「鉄人２８号」 (“Iron Man #28“) is about a Japanese scientist who tries to make a giant robot to help Japan win World War 2. His first twenty-seven attempts weren’t successful…but the 28th one was. But by the time the scientist created the 28th Iron Man robot, Japan had already surrendered and the war was over. So he gave the 18-meter robot to his son, who used it as a crime-fighting robot.

The 「鉄人２８号」 (“Iron Man #28“) manga debuted in 1956 and some people say that the American comic book character “Iron Man“, which debuted in 1963 was an uncredited copy of the Japanese character.