NHK Program Will Show Giant Gundam Being Taken Down

The January 8, 2025 episode of Kaitai Kingdom on NHK will focus on how staff took down the giant Gundam display in Yokohama. You’ll be able to catch the program from 7:57 AM (2:57pm PT/5:57pm ET on January 7, 2025). [Thanks, Hobby Watch!]

The main theme of the show focuses on whether or not people can take apart this giant Gundam without damaging any of the parts. Since the Gundam will next appear at the Gundam Next Future Pavilion in Osaka, the staff can’t afford to damage it during the dismantling process. In some screenshots of the show, we can see them using giant cranes on both land and sea. According to the description on NHK’s website, one of the potential dangers in taking apart the figure comes from using the ocean crane. This is due to the presence of mines that the American navy set up during the Pacific War.

The 60-foot-tall Gundam figure was first installed in December 2020 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam. It can move its limbs, move forwards and backwards, and kneel. 1.75 million people visited the Gundam display between December 2020 and late March 2024. More might have made the trip to see it, but they had to restrict the number of visitors during the pandemic.

The Gundam episode of Kaitai Kingdom will air on January 8, 2025 in Japan.