A full-size replica of a giant robot from the popular Japanese science fiction Gundam anime has been completed at the venue of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.

Following a Shinto ritual on Wednesday, a crane placed the statue's 2-meter-long head onto its body.

The statue is roughly 17 meters tall, about the same as stipulated in the Gundam anime series. It is taking a knee, with its right arm reaching skyward.

The statue will be on display during the expo, which is scheduled to open next April. The work is next to a Bandai Namco Holdings pavilion designed to introduce the worldview of Gundam anime.

Bandai Namco Holdings says this is the first time for a Gundam statue of its size to be set up in the western region of Kansai.

The company says the statue is made of materials used in another life-size Gundam replica that was shown in Yokohama, near Tokyo, until the end of March.

Bandai Namco Group Chief Gundam Officer Sakakibara Hiroshi says the new statue's posture is meant to show that the robot is looking to the future, ready to work with humankind to pave the way for a new space era.

Sakakibara adds that he hopes the statue will inspire people to think about space and the future.