Man builds giant robot to realize his anime dream
Engineer always wanted to ride inside a giant robot, so he built his own!
Masaaki Nagumo has always dreamed of riding inside of a giant robot, just like the characters in his favorite anime series, “Gundam,” one of the most popular franchises in Japan.
![PHOTO: Sakakibara Kikai's bipedal robot Mononofu is pictured during its demonstration at its factory in Shinto Village, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, April 12, 2018.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/japanese-robot3-rt-hb-180413_hpEmbed_11x8_992.jpg)
The 44-year-old engineer built the “Landwalker Mononofu,” or “LW-Mononofu” for short, a humanoid robot that stands nearly 30 feet tall and weighs over 7 tons, according to Reuters.
Nagumo can control the robot’s arms and feet from inside of a cockpit, which is accessible only through a mechanical lift. The robot even comes equipped with an air gun that can shoot sponge balls at 86 mph.
![PHOTO: Sakakibara Kikai's engineer Masaaki Nagumo controls the bipedal robot Mononofu from its cockpit during its demonstration at its factory in Shinto Village, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, April 12, 2018.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/japanese-robot2-rt-hb-180413_hpEmbed_3x2_992.jpg)
Nagumo works for Sakakibara Kikai, a maker of farming machinery that also develops robots and other amusement machines. Renting the LW-Mononofu, or any of Nagumo’s other robots, costs about $930 an hour.
![PHOTO: Sakakibara Kikai's engineer Masaaki Nagumo controls the bipedal robot Land Walker during its demonstration at its factory in Shinto Village, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, April 12, 2018.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/japanese-robot4-rt-hb-180413_hpEmbed_22x15_992.jpg)
Nagumo hopes that other fans can live out their “Gundam” fantasy, just like he has.