OSAKA -- That's a big old box, for a supersize battlebot.
A figurine case as big as two buses is drawing admirers at a busy railway station in Osaka.
It honors the revered Mobile Suit Gundam anime series, which features robots in a land of war. Gundam is one of most successful manga-anime franchises in history.
Fans may be disappointed to discover that the box is empty—that is, there's no genuine robot inside. Instead it houses booths for traders of plastic models known as Gunpla. Around 400 million have been sold in the past three decades.
The models' earliest fans are now in their 30s and 40s. Many of them now have children.
"We want fans across generations," says manufacturer Bandai Co. "Our target: both father and child."
The display can be seen at the JR Osaka station until Aug. 21.
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