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Gundam flags, posters celebrate abundance of animation studios in Tokyo’s Suginami Ward

Courtesy of Suginami Ward
A Gundam flag is displayed at the entrance to the shopping street at the west exit of Ogikubo Station in Suginami Ward, Tokyo.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

10:47 JST, December 10, 2022

Flags and posters for the Gundam series of TV anime are on display around Ogikubo Station in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, as part of an event promoting the fact that Suginami has the highest number of anime production companies in Japan.

Thirty flags depicting the main characters and “mobile suits” from five popular shows in the series are on display in Ogikubo Suzuran-dori shopping street, which extends about 300 meters from the west exit of the station. They include the first program in the series, “Mobile Suit Gundam,” as well as “Mobile Suit Gundam Seed” and the latest show, “The Witch from Mercury.”

Posters for 12 shows — including “Mobile Fighter G Gundam” — can also be seen in the Ogikubo underpass that connects the north and south sides of the station.

The event was planned in tandem with the relocation last year of Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., which produces the Gundam series, to Ogikubo from Kamiigusa in the ward.

The shopping district hopes visitors will enjoy shopping amid the popular anime created in the local area.

According to the Association of Japanese Animations, 149 of the more than 800 animation production companies in Japan are based in Suginami Ward, giving it the largest concentration of leading production companies of any municipality.

The Tokyo Polytechnic University Suginami Animation Museum is scheduled to reopen in Kamiogi in the ward on Dec. 17 after completing renovation works. The ward’s industrial promotion center is urging people to visit Suginami this winter, which is booming with animation.