What better way to celebrate a massive media franchise’s 40th anniversary than to release limited edition collectibles? That’s exactly what Sunrise’s Gundam franchise did, with its collaboration with Japanese watchmaker INDEPENDENT. They have recently released 40th anniversary limited edition luxury watches, which feature Principality of Zeon themes.
INDEPENDENT has released two designs: one is a Char Aznable edition, which is based on the red and gold color scheme of his Red Comet Zaku.
The other design has a green and grey color scheme, which is similar to the mass-produced Zaku mecha.
The watches currently retail at 54,000 yen (around USD 489).
The Gundam franchise began with the Mobile Suit Gundam series, which was first released in 1979. The first series, set in the futuristic Universal Century era, is centered on the war between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation. The Universal Century era, eventually referred to simply as “UC”, was adapted into subsequent Gundam series as the fictional universe’s timeline. While it initially performed dismally in terms of TV ratings, the franchise acquired massive popularity largely thanks to the release of Bandai’s Gunpla models, which were based on the mecha featured in the Mobile Suit Gundam series. Reruns over the next few years and a theatrical release of the anime ultimately led to the success of the Gundam franchise, thus revolutionizing the giant robot genre. Since its inception, the franchise has spawned several series, movies, and Gunpla model sales are still going strong. The latest project in the franchise is the Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative movie, which was released in Japan last November 2018. The movie is set for a one-day only release in the US this February 19.
Source: Stuff online gadget magazine, Gundam Info