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Japanese animated robot Gundam's 30th Birthday

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 TOKYO: Japan's most popular robot animation, Gundam, turns 30 this year, and the creator of the anime series says the times have caught up with the futuristic show launched in the late 1970s."Gundam has presented many propositions that we face today in the real world," said Yoshiyuki Tomino, the TV show's executive director. "It will certainly live on for many years to come, perhaps another 50 years."The animated sci-fi series "Mobile Suit Gundam" first aired in 1979. It was set 100 years in the future amid a space war between the Earth Federation and hostile space colonies. The show's popularity quickly skyrocketed and further Gundam series, comic books, video games and films were spun off.To mark the 30th anniversary of Gundam's launch, a massive replica of the robot is being erected at Tokyo's Odaiba seaside park. It is scheduled to be unveiled Saturday and can be viewed until Aug. 31 — part of Gundam's birthday celebrations.

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