Yet another giant robot replica to be built in Japan

Other nations erect giant homages to former leaders and heroes. Japan does the same, only its heroes lately all seem to be of the giant robot variety.

Japanese theme park Fuji-Q High Land has announced their intention to unveil a life-sized mock-up of the titular Unit EVA-01 robot from the hit anime series "Neon Genesis Evangelion." Built at a cost of some 150 million yen, the statue -- actually a massive shoulders-up bust -- stands nine meters tall, and will make its in-park debut on July 23.

The EVA-01 joins the ranks of a series of similar life-sized homages to robots from anime shows that have been springing up all over Japan, including the thirty-five-ton Gundam statue first unveiled in Odaiba last year, a five-meter-tall Robot Soldier standing atop the Studio Ghibli Museum in suburban Mitaka, and the enormous Tetsujin 28 statue erected last year in the city of Kobe. One can only speculate that more are on the way.m