Japan's Giant Robots

Above, the Gundam display at the Bandai Museum.
Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To the outsider, Japan seems to have a fixation on giant robots. Some of their pop culture focuses on mechanical giants from Gundam to Mechagodzilla.

The Japan Times has an interesting article on Japanese giant robots, "Dōmo Arigatō, Giant Robotto."

It states, in part:

But how, exactly, did giant robots come to be synonymous with Japanese pop culture? Anime director Shinji Aramaki, who designed transforming vehicles for the 1980s “Transformers” and “Robotech” series, believes they represent a natural flip side to Japan’s obsession with miniaturization. 

Robots came to the literal rescue when Japan began rebuilding its shattered infrastructure in the late 1940s and early ’50s. Retooling what had been weapons factories into toy factories turned out to be a quick way to jump-start the economy. Tin robot toys, the earliest made out of cans discarded by the Occupation forces, represented some of Japan’s first exports abroad after the end of the war.

To read the full article, go here.