I mentioned a long, long time ago that a 60-foot-tall statue of Gigantor was being built in Kobe, Japan — looks like it’s finally been completed.

Designed as a permanent tourist attraction, the Gigantor monument was organized under the NPO Kobe Tetsujin Project to honor the work of the late cartoonist Mitsuteru Yokoyama, a Kobe native and the genius behind such manga classics as Sally the Witch and Giant Robo.

Gigantor is also a symbol of the rebirth of Kobe after it was devastated by the 1995 earthquake that killed more than 6,000 people. January 2010 marks the 15th anniversary of the tragedy.

Ironically, Gigantor was inspired by Yokoyama’s experiences in World War II, specifically the awesome sight of U.S. B-29 Superfortresses flying over Kobe, which was bombed to ashes.

This comes after Japan recently completed a giant Gundam statue — a Gundam statue that actually moves, let me add. Come on, America, we’re falling way behind — there is now a significant giant-robot-statue deficit here!

Gigantor, the Space-Age Robot! He’s at YOUR COMMAND!

Remember Gigantor? You know, the ’60s-era Japanese cartoon about a little boy and his pet giant robot who run around fighting evil? Very goofy stories, as I remember them, but very influential, in both Japan and America.

The city of Kobe, Japan loves Gigantor. They love him so much, they’re building a life-sized statue of him.

The 18 meter high, 70 ton Ironman-28 will carry the price tag of 135 million yen. The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2008.

(…)

The statue will serve as a double memorial, marking both the birthplace of creator Mitsuteru Yokoyama, who passed away in 2004 in an apartment fire, as well as celebrate the revitilization of the area, which was devastated in the 1995 Kobe earthquake.

I’m sorry to say it, but Japan is completely kicking our butts on the building-giant-statues-of-robots front. Statues of guys on horseback just can’t match giant robots for coolness…

(Link via Kevin Church)