After standing tall for more than a decade, yesterday, 31 August 2026, marked the final day of the 1/1-scale Unicorn Gundam statue at Odaiba DiverCity, where it had served as a beacon for Gundam fans from around the world to flock to. While it is certainly a sad turn of events, I think it is better to send off this iconic statue with a joyous swan song and remain optimistic that Bandai has its own plans for what comes next.
Personally, I am very grateful that I had the opportunity three years ago to visit the Odaiba Unicorn Gundam. It was the final stop in what became a Gundam statue hat-trick during my 2023 Japan trip, when I managed to visit all three life-size Gundam statues across Japan in a single journey.
Although the Unicorn Gundam is personally my least favorite of Japan’s three life-size Gundam statues, I was still very happy to have made it there before the statue was eventually taken down. At the very least, it enjoyed a considerably longer run than the life-size walking RX-78-2, which remains, in my view, the crown jewel of Japan’s Gundam statues.
I still believe Bandai would be prudent enough to prepare a replacement for the dismantled Unicorn Gundam. The question is what form that replacement might take—and whether it will even return to Odaiba DiverCity. Whatever Bandai has planned, I will certainly be curious to see what comes next.
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