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NEWS: Gundam Cafe in Akihabara to Expand to 4 Times Current Size




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cookiemanstah



Joined: 09 Dec 2013
Posts: 546
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 5:01 am Reply with quote
that's messed up
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cyberdraco



Joined: 30 Jun 2013
Posts: 619
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 9:01 am Reply with quote
cookiemanstah wrote:
that's messed up

How? this sounds great for Gundam fans.
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Lo Wang



Joined: 18 Dec 2019
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 9:33 am Reply with quote
cyberdraco wrote:
cookiemanstah wrote:
that's messed up

How? this sounds great for Gundam fans.


If there were any of them left. Mecha is a dying genre because the current gen of Japanese Otaku care more "cute girls" than substance.
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cookiemanstah



Joined: 09 Dec 2013
Posts: 546
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 9:36 am Reply with quote
cyberdraco wrote:
cookiemanstah wrote:
that's messed up

How? this sounds great for Gundam fans.


personally hate money excessively thrown out on stuff like this than what matters in life. Japan is oddly big on it though. I've seen Resident Evil cafes before. Do normal people visit them?
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Replica_Rabbit



Joined: 23 Aug 2015
Posts: 354
Location: Portland
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:38 am Reply with quote
Lo Wang wrote:
cyberdraco wrote:
cookiemanstah wrote:
that's messed up

How? this sounds great for Gundam fans.


If there were any of them left. Mecha is a dying genre because the current gen of Japanese Otaku care more "cute girls" than substance.

Gundam is like there Star Wars, they build a giant Gundam and sending a Gunpla to space and have a big tournament abut building Gunpla. Lastly, if they weren't doing good they wouldn't be expanding four times and Gundam isn't just an Otaku thing, it becomes mainstream. Gundam is making that real money
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Replica_Rabbit



Joined: 23 Aug 2015
Posts: 354
Location: Portland
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:58 am Reply with quote
cookiemanstah wrote:
cyberdraco wrote:
cookiemanstah wrote:
that's messed up

How? this sounds great for Gundam fans.


personally hate money excessively thrown out on stuff like this than what matters in life. Japan is oddly big on it though. I've seen Resident Evil cafes before. Do normal people visit them?

Yes, normal people do visit (if they didn't, they wouldn't be in business). It a tourist trap, I'm ok on them building theme cafes, it way better than theme parks.
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DeTroyes



Joined: 30 May 2016
Posts: 520
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:48 am Reply with quote
Great! I'm heading to Japan in September and this was one of the places I'd hoped to visit. I'll be really interested to see what they do with the expansion.
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doctorx0079



Joined: 26 Jun 2010
Posts: 55
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 3:11 pm Reply with quote
I don't think some of you realize the actual size of the Gundam franchise. I know it's still kind of niche in the West and you can debate whether it's really growing or shrinking in America. But in Japan and throughout east Asia Gundam really is comparable to Star Wars. I mean it's still HUGE. The latest 1:1 Gundam statue is going to move around, and it really is news in Japan. By 2014, annual revenue of the Gundam franchise reached ¥80 billion per year, and Gundam model kit sales are bigger than ever.
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Lizon



Joined: 28 Jan 2020
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 8:06 pm Reply with quote
Lo Wang wrote:
If there were any of them left. Mecha is a dying genre because the current gen of Japanese Otaku care more "cute girls" than substance.


Wait what? Gundam and Mecha is absolutely massive in Japan. Gundam Narrative was highly successful in the box office and fans are giddy at the upcoming Hathaway's Flash. There is another Gundam statue being built that walks. The entire franchise is a billion dollar behemoth that dwarfs everything else in Japan. That includes the likes of Fate, Idolmaster, and Onepiece.

In terms of Mecha, need I remind you that Promare is Mecha and that movie was a huge success both in Japan and overseas.

Cute girls come and go. But Mecha is forever.
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-SP-





PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:37 pm Reply with quote
doctorx0079 wrote:
I don't think some of you realize the actual size of the Gundam franchise. I know it's still kind of niche in the West and you can debate whether it's really growing or shrinking in America. But in Japan and throughout east Asia Gundam really is comparable to Star Wars. I mean it's still HUGE. The latest 1:1 Gundam statue is going to move around, and it really is news in Japan. By 2014, annual revenue of the Gundam franchise reached ¥80 billion per year, and Gundam model kit sales are bigger than ever.

Did they seriously make 80 billion yen ($730 million+)? That's way more then I expected.
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doctorx0079



Joined: 26 Jun 2010
Posts: 55
PostPosted: Wed Jan 29, 2020 5:25 pm Reply with quote
-SP- wrote:
doctorx0079 wrote:
I don't think some of you realize the actual size of the Gundam franchise. I know it's still kind of niche in the West and you can debate whether it's really growing or shrinking in America. But in Japan and throughout east Asia Gundam really is comparable to Star Wars. I mean it's still HUGE. The latest 1:1 Gundam statue is going to move around, and it really is news in Japan. By 2014, annual revenue of the Gundam franchise reached ¥80 billion per year, and Gundam model kit sales are bigger than ever.

Did they seriously make 80 billion yen ($730 million+)? That's way more then I expected.


It's from the Namco Bandai 2014 annual statement: https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/E8A39CE8B6B3E8B387E69699EFBC88E88BB1EFBC89.pdf

I don't know if it's decreased since then, but I suspect it's still pretty big. Sunrise is working with Legendary Pictures (the Pacific Rim people) to develop a live-action Gundam movie and Brian Vaughn is supposed to be writing it.
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