Interest
Life-Size Grendizer in Saudi Arabia Unveiled as World's Largest Metal Statue of a Fictional Character
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Saudi Arabian media company Manga Productions announced on Thursday that its life-size statue of the Grendizer robot from the Mazinger franchise has been acknowledged by the Guinness World Records as the world's largest metal sculpture of a fictional character. The 33.7-meter-tall (110.5-foot) statue is situated in Riyadh's Boulevard World zone, which opened on November 21.
Manga Productions partnered with Gō Nagai's Dynamic Productions studio to use characters from the UFO Robo Grendizer series for games, amusement facilities, and events. The series is extremely popular in Saudi Arabia, overshadowing even its popularity in Japan.
The Boulevard World is a multicultural zone of Riyadh Season, Saudi Arabia's state-sponsored annual entertainment and sports festival. The area includes a "Japan Anime Town," which recreates Tokyo Tower, as well as restaurants and stores imported directly from Japan. The facility will be open until January 22, 2023.
Manga Productions CEO Essam Bukhary commented: "Because anime is such an effective means of invigorating events and tourist destinations for both domestic and international tourists, we decided to use the widespread popularity of UFO Robo Grendizer to enhance all forms of entertainment. The world's largest statue was a good place to start. Because this project is such an important milestone for Manga Productions' business, we really wanted to create an unparalleled entertainment experience for all the fans through this partnership. We have partnered with several Japanese companies in the past, and would love to do so again."
UFO Robo Grendizer was the third installment of Nagai's Mazinger giant robot franchise (after Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger). The original Grendizer anime and manga launched in 1975, and the anime was later imported to the United States as part of Jim Terry's Force Five project. The anime and manga would also inspire three anime films.
In France, the anime was titled Goldorak when it premiered in 1978. The series helped to boost the impact and popularity of anime in the country. That led to French publisher Microids (formerly Anuman Interactive) and Dynamic Planning announcing an action game last year.
Nagai launched the Grendizer Giga manga in Akita Shoten's Champion RED magazine in September 2014, and ended it in July 2015. The story is a complete reboot of Nagai's UFO Robo Grendizer story. When a great fleet of flying saucers invades Earth, it awakens the true power of Daisuke Uryū. (The main lead of UFO Robo Grendizer was named Daisuke Umon.)
The manga received an animated promotional video in April 2015 to commemorate the launch of the first compiled manga volume, as well as Grendizer's 40th anniversary.
A new UFO Robo Grendizer project will be unveiled in 2023.
Update (12/19): Title updated to clarify that the statue is the largest of a fictional character.
Source: Press Release via Hachima Kikо̄
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