Bandai Namco and Sunrise have set up a new Gundam utility hole cover in Japan’s Niigata prefecture. People can find the uniquely designed cover in the city of Minamiuonuma.
The new cover features the RX-78-2 Gundam with the Koshihikari rice plant as its backdrop. The Niigata prefecture has been known as the largest rice-producing region in the country, and Minamiuonuma City also hosts some of the Koshihikari rice paddy fields in the region.
The video showing the placement of the Gundam utility hole cover in Minamiuonuma is also available to watch via Asahi Shimbun Digital’s official X account:
The RX-78-2 Gundam will not be the only design to appear in Minamiuonuma. The city revealed in May 2024 that it will also place another utility hole cover featuring the YMS-15 Gyan with Mount Hakkai as its background.
These utility hole cover placements are part of the Gundam Manhole Project, which has been ongoing since February 2020. Sunrise temporarily stopped accepting new applications in June 2022, as many cities and towns across Japan have lined up for the project. The studio plans to clear its backlog by the 2024 fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2025.
The utility hole covers are based on the 1979 anime Mobile Suit Gundam, which has also been getting various merchandise ranging from si-gu-mi paper art puzzles to Crocs footwear. The show’s compilation movies that originally launched in the 1980s are also available to watch worldwide via Netflix.
Published: Aug 7, 2024 04:00 pm