They are a little pricy at 1.35 million dollars each baseline (options cost you more), but in the first month they went on sale they took orders for 3,000 of them. Called the Kuratas after their designer, Kogoro Kurata, when you order yours from their web page you can even have it customized with the various weapons systems they offer. They have been out for about a year now, and they do have a disclaimer on their home page that these are sold as works of art, not as combat mechas. Thanks to Rocket News 24 for the heads up on this one.
After watching yesterday’s video I explored a bit more, and somebody is actually compiling the best, or at least strangest, commercials from Japan each week or 3. These include some serious genre references and products along side the merely wacked out, and I enjoyed them too much to keep them to myself. I particularly enjoyed the Kyary Pamyu Pamyu spots on each video, using her music to promote her fashion line, and the Mecha spots they had long before we started doing Iron Man commercials..
Not just any Pacific Rim trailer, this is the one they showed at Wondercon. It has to be Guillermo del Toro’s tribute to Japanese movies and anime, and I am very ready to see it. It will hit the big screen on July 12th, and has a great little viral site.
When I first saw Alien, I loved the exoskeleton Ripley wore in her battle with Mama Monster. Some folks in Japan have now built it, and not just as a prototype, but as something you can use in emergencies or on a construction site. It would also form a worthwhile core for a good Giant Mecha suit, getting us one step closer to that reality as well. Thanks to Crunchyroll for the heads up on this one.