[NEWS] 35 years since debut, GUNDAM continues to attract legions of new fans.

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OSAKA–On the second floor of a multi-tenanted building in the city’s lively Dotonbori district, a unique bar welcomes aficionados of “Mobile Suit Gundam.”

“Axis Iolite,” which opened one and a half years ago, is just one sign that the robot anime series continues to be popular 35 years after its debut.

Inside the watering hole, patrons tip their glasses as they talk about memorable scenes and plastic models of robots and vehicles from the Gundam universe, collectively known as “Gunpla.”

Named after an asteroid from the anime, the bar has about 200 plastic models scattered throughout.

“Most of them were left by patrons,” said manager Yuichi Suzuki, 37.

Koji Matsutani, 40, a company employee from Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, who dropped by the joint after work on the evening of July 8, is one of the patrons who keep their Gunpla models at the bar.

“My wife just doesn’t understand,” he said with a smile, adding that he buys several models every month.

Matsutani was lured into the hobby by his friends when he was a third-grader. He was particularly fascinated by the imagination it took to paint the plastic model kits.

He steered away from Gunpla during his senior high school and college years, but reignited his passion for the hobby after graduation and getting a job.

As for why he is crazy about Gundam, Matsutani said: “It is not just a simple story about good and evil, so adults can enjoy it, too. We can enter the universe through Gunpla.”

Identifiable characters with depth add to the charm of Gundam, he added.

Ryo Murata, 21, a company employee and was transferred to Osaka from Tokyo last year, who was seated next to Matsutani, eagerly nodded in agreement.

Murata developed a love for Gundam when he was a first-grader after watching the “Turn A Gundam” series that aired 20 years after the original “Gundam.”

“Gundam has been running for 35 years. We can have lively conversations that go beyond generations,” he said before engaging in a discussion on Gundam with Matsutani, who is nearly 20 years his senior.

The original “Mobile Suit Gundam” series focuses on the war involving humanoid weapons called mobile suits between the Principality of Zeon, whose members comprise people who have moved to space colonies, and the Earth Federation forces.

The show started airing in 1979, followed by a sequel, “Mobile Suit Z Gundam,” in 1985.

The latest in the franchise, “Gundam: Reconguista in G,” will hit the airwaves later this year. A three-part film adaptation and other projects are also in the pipeline.

Today, Gundam’s fan base has not only gone beyond generations, it has also crossed borders. This can be attested to by the conspicuous presence of foreign tourists in the Gunpla section of Joshin Denki Co.’s Super Kids Land Character Hall hobby shop in the Nipponbashi electronics area in Osaka.

“In South Korea, there are people who study Japanese because they love Gundam,” said Lee Jung-woo, a 19-year-old university sophomore visiting Japan from the country on a sightseeing trip, standing wide-eyed in front of store shelves filled with Gunpla merchandize.

According to Bandai Co., which manufactures and distributes Gunpla products, and other entities, the toymaker started sales of model kits in 1980, a year after the TV series began. Gunpla models have sold a cumulative total of 434 million units as of March. Sales of Gunpla, including related merchandise, have been on the increase, posting sales of 44.7 billion yen ($440 million) in fiscal 2011, 65.2 billion yen in fiscal 2012 and 80.2 billion yen in fiscal 2013.

An annual worldwide contest for Gunpla modelers to show off their skills has been held for the past three years.

“Adults can also enjoy (Gundam) because it not only features realistic descriptions of robots and other machines but also includes difficult themes such as the innovation of mankind,” said Yasuhiro Yamura, 38, editor in chief of Monthly Hobby Japan magazine, which specializes in plastic model kits. “With new products coming out every year, quite a lot of fans enjoy it with their children.”

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the original “Gundam,” a special art exhibition devoted to the space opera franchise is currently taking place in Osaka, where a passionate fan community exists.

Gundam creator and chief director Yoshiyuki Tomino was one of the guests who participated in the ribbon-cutting at the opening ceremony held July 12.

Titled “The Art of Gundam,” the exhibition claims to be one of the largest-ever art events for Gundam.

Organized by The Asahi Shimbun Co., Sotsu Co., Sunrise Inc., Bandai and other companies, it runs through Aug. 31 at the Osaka Culturarium at Tempozan facility in the city’s Minato Ward. In addition to about 1,000 production materials, including original illustrations of characters and mobile suits drawn by character designer Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, parts of footage from the new “Gundam” series being produced under the helm of Tomino are being shown at the venue.

A special theater modeled after the main deck of White Base, the space warship for the main characters, is another big attraction.

The exhibition is open seven days a week during its run. Admission is 2,000 yen ($19.70) for adults and university students, 1,500 yen for senior and junior high school students, and 800 yen for elementary school students and children aged 4 or older.

For more information, visit the exhibition’s official website at (http://www.gundam-ten.jp/en/).

To liven up the event, entertainment offerings are also available elsewhere in Osaka.

A “life-size” wall painting of Gundam, about 18 meters tall, has been set up inside Osaka Municipal Subway’s Namba Station building, catching the eyes of passengers.

“I’m a Gundam fan, too. Many people take pictures of the wall painting with their smartphones,” said Takuya Kosugi, 33, an official of the city’s Municipal Transportation Bureau who helped set up the painting.

Travelers on the rail system can also take part in a stamp print-collecting game. They receive a button badge featuring an illustration of a Gundam character if they collect all six stamp prints at the Ogimachi, Ebisucho, Tennoji, Namba, Higobashi and Nodahanshin stations.

Memorable scenes from the anime series also adorn a wall of the passageway connecting the Hankyu Umeda Station and the Hankyu Umeda Main Store in the city’s Kita district.

A Tokyo edition of the art event will be held July 18-Sept. 27, 2015, at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in the capital’s Roppongi district.

By MASHIO TAKEDA/ Staff Writer