50-ton statue in Kobe is delayed while funds are collected via Tetsujin Curry

Not-So-Daily Links of the Day: The Asahi Shimbun paper reports that the city of Kobe is still planning to erect a 15-meter (49-foot) statue of the Tetsujin 28-gō (Ironman #28 or Gigantor) robot, although the unveiling has been pushed back from last spring to this summer since the project still needs more funds. 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 that has since been rebuilt and revitalized. The statue also celebrates the life of one of Kobe's most well-known native sons: Mitsuteru Yokoyama, the creator of Tetsujin 28, Giant Robo, and Sally the Witch.

The project has not collected all of the 135 million yen (about US$1.47 million) it needs, although the city has pitched in 45 million yen (US$489,000). The sales of "Tetsujin Curry" have also brought in more money to the coffers. Under the revised plans, the statue will weigh 50 tons. Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Mobile Police Patlabor , Avalon) wrote and directed a stage play adaptation of the manga with a six-meter-tall (20-foot-tall) robot replica this year, while Hong Kong's IMAGI studio (TMNT, Astro Boy) began streaming a computer-animated teaser video last month.

Image © Hikari Productions/Kobe Tetsujin Project 2008