Recently, a strange statue appeared in the Turkish city of Ankara. One might wonder what this has to do with Japan, but quick-witted Japanese netizens immediately noticed that it bore a striking similarity to “Zaku”, a type of mobile suit from the long-running mecha anime series Gundam.
While there is currently a large, life-like Gundam in Japan on display in Odaiba, Tokyo, Turkey is the last place one would expect to find something like this.
On various social media outlets, Gundam fans tried to solve the dual mystery of what type of Gundam it was meant to rip off and why the statue was even built in the first place.
From Yahoo! Japan:
Imitation Gundam Statue Appears in Turkish Capital
A statue bearing a strong resemblance to the enemy mobile suits (robotic weaponry) from the Gundam cartoons appeared at a major intersection in the Turkish capitol of Ankara on April 2
According to local media sources, it was built under the supervision of Ankara’s mayor İbrahim Melih Gökçek and is part of a publicity campaign aimed at building a theme park that would feature this kind of exhibit. But citizens took to Twitter, saying “April Fool’s is over, Mayor”.
Right now there is one criticism. The theme park was declared to be in violation of city planning and was stopped by an order from the courts. Yet reports indicate the mayor remains determined.
Comments from Yahoo! Japan:
oms*****:
The foreign media is saying that it’s a Transformer, and that the governor is a fan….Is he alright?
b*u*s*u*1192:
If they’re going to copy Gundam then I’d like them to try just a bit more to get it right.
hw1*****:
Since it’s Turkey shouldn’t it be a “Minaret Gundam”?
col*****:
I thought this was going to be an article about
joy*****:
What is the purpose of this? Defense? Art? I have a taste for Turkish food but this…I don’t get.
zzr****:
If there’s no picture then what’s the point?
Are you getting paid to write articles like this?
aka*****:
One of ISIS’s weapons, perhaps?
Do Nuts Kimchi:
Don’t tell me that Koreajanai Robot has appeared in Turkey! w
倍返しだァ～!:
On the whole it looks like Zaku, but the face kinda looks like Tetsujin No. 28..
Comments from 2ch.net:
名無しさん＠１周年:
Are they going to paint it red next?
名無しさん＠１周年:
Send them a proper Zaku head from Japan
名無しさん＠１周年:
Just what do they want to do with that statue anyway?
名無しさん＠１周年:
If you’re going to go through all the trouble and spend the money to make something this half-assed, partner up with Sunrise and pay the licensing fee.
If only they could have actually made a cool-looking Zaku.
名無しさん＠１周年：
What were they thinking when they made that?
名無しさん＠１周年：
w
名無しさん＠１周年:
I’m amazed at how surprisingly well-made it is
名無しさん＠１周年:
Does he want to build a robot theme park? w
名無しさん＠１周年:
The eyes, nose and mouth look a bit like Mazinger Z
名無しさん＠１周年:
Is the mayor a Gundam fan?
名無しさん＠１周年:
If this were another country, that mayor would be out of a job.
名無しさん＠１周年:
I’m really curious to find out who built and why w
