# Japanese Politicians Considering Building Real Gundam



## Densetsu (Jun 27, 2012)

_やべぇ本気で行ってるぜ！_
_[Shit just got serious!_]​

The Liberal Democratic Party are slated to discuss the possibility of building bipedal battle mechas in an upcoming live broadcast of NicoNico Live. The 12-hour-long broadcast will take place on the official LDP website on Thursday, June 28, at 12:00pm (Japan Standard Time).

The actual Gundam debate will begin at 8:00pm JST. This might help if anyone is actually going to watch it.
In every Japanese source I've looked at, there seems to be a public outcry against this idea. Looks like the Japanese citizens aren't willing to pay the taxes that would be necessary to fund something like this. My verdict: nothing will come out of it...yet. Just posted it for the lulz.




Source 1 (Japanese)



Source 2 (English)


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## Fear Zoa (Jun 27, 2012)

Oh god I love Japan so much sometimes.
Its like every crazy idea you have ever had goes there and becomes not only reasonable but something they actively pursue


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## Thanatos Telos (Jun 27, 2012)

If only.


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## ferofax (Jun 27, 2012)

As *20th Century Boys* so aptly put out, Gundam proportions are impossible, short of using unobtainium alloys. The feet just cannot support the weight of the torso, much less any ordinance.

However, if they're aiming for much more realistically possible proportions, they should look at Front Mission and Mechwarrior (but this one's western so...). blocky robots that look like trucks.


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## jarejare3 (Jun 27, 2012)

Why am I not surprise?


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## ZAFDeltaForce (Jun 27, 2012)

It would be kick ass if they did


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## loco365 (Jun 27, 2012)

If they did this, I would have a reason to visit Japan.


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## TheDarkSeed (Jun 27, 2012)

If only Politicians all over the world wanted to build real Gundams.


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## The Milkman (Jun 27, 2012)

Why isn't the rest of East Asia this cool? All the rest has is military police, mass population and whatever North Koreans are.


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## ferofax (Jun 27, 2012)

Zantigo said:


> Why isn't the rest of East Asia this cool? All the rest has is military police, mass population and whatever North Koreans are.


China will immediately copy the resulting robot, color it red and yellow, and then accuse Japan of copying their design. Then on the maiden voyage of China's prototype, it falls apart majestically, killing dozens of collateral damage civilians.


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## The Milkman (Jun 27, 2012)

ferofax said:


> Zantigo said:
> 
> 
> > Why isn't the rest of East Asia this cool? All the rest has is military police, mass population and whatever North Koreans are.
> ...



Funny, but shame on you for the racism


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## Gahars (Jun 27, 2012)

Laugh all you want, they already have a working prototype in their hands.



Spoiler











Gentlemen, you are looking at the future of warfare.


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## The Milkman (Jun 27, 2012)

Gahars said:


> Laugh all you want, they already have a working prototype in their hands.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No, no. That's the AMERICAN prototype. Cant you see the state-of-the-art armor and weapons?


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## mameks (Jun 27, 2012)

Global economic crisis?
Fuck that we've got Gundams.
Best. Idea. Ever.


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## Hyro-Sama (Jun 27, 2012)

I guess South Korea can defend itself by creating the Zerg


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## Zero Aurion (Jun 27, 2012)

I fucking love this thread, so hilarious XD


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## Frank Cadena (Jun 27, 2012)

ferofax said:


> As *20th Century Boys* so aptly put out, Gundam proportions are impossible, short of using unobtainium alloys. The feet just cannot support the weight of the torso, much less any ordinance.
> 
> However, if they're aiming for much more realistically possible proportions, they should look at Front Mission and Mechwarrior (but this one's western so...). blocky robots that look like trucks.



Haven't you heard? They're going to make it out of Gundanium alloy found only by mining asteroids in space.


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## SSVAV (Jun 27, 2012)

No, for real.

Is this REAL? They REALLY are planning to build giant bipedal robots? Are inflatable replicas not enough?


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## mameks (Jun 27, 2012)

SSVAV said:


> No, for real.
> 
> Is this REAL? They REALLY are planning to build giant bipedal robots? Are inflatable replicas not enough?


I think we can all agree that the real things are so much better than inflatables.


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## Ultymoo (Jun 27, 2012)

What's the U.S. release date and where can I preorder one?


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## Foxi4 (Jun 27, 2012)

LOL, zero tactical advantage, slow movement speed, hardly-balanced, poorly armed walking targets. Gundam-Style Mechs are fun to look at, but they're not the best "battle machine" ever made.

Mech Warrior Mechs - now that's a different story. Those are *slightly* more plausible.


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## EthanObi (Jun 27, 2012)

Japan to America: We be building Gundam YahYah!
America's reply: WTF is a gundam?
China's Interjection: Gundam be big robot! We Copy robot Now? Yaya!
*Japan goes to war with china*
America:*Facepalm*


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## CrimzonEyed (Jun 27, 2012)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand pre-orderded at http://GetYourGundam.com


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## Gundam Eclipse (Jun 27, 2012)

ferofax said:


> As *20th Century Boys* so aptly put out, Gundam proportions are impossible, short of using unobtainium alloys. The feet just cannot support the weight of the torso, much less any ordinance.
> 
> However, if they're aiming for much more realistically possible proportions, they should look at Front Mission and Mechwarrior (but this one's western so...). blocky robots that look like trucks.


I read 20th Century Boys and liked this. D :

Also, this is p. much my reaction:


shlong said:


> Global economic crisis?
> Fuck that we've got Gundams.
> Best. Idea. Ever.


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## Frank Cadena (Jun 27, 2012)

Talking about Mechs, having played SRW Z2 Hakai/Saisei-Hen, wouldn't VOTOMs be slightly more plausible, real world wise? Aside from the synthetic muscle cylinders to simulate real muscle movements and 'rollers' for speedy land transit that is.


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## triassic911 (Jun 27, 2012)

Fuck Gundams, give me Voltron!


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## Veho (Jun 27, 2012)

So they're planning on making humanoid mecha, but smaller? Patlabor!


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## Foxi4 (Jun 27, 2012)

Frank Cadena said:


> Talking about Mechs, having played SRW Z2 Hakai/Saisei-Hen, wouldn't VOTOMs be slightly more plausible, real world wise? Aside from the synthetic muscle cylinders to simulate real muscle movements and 'rollers' for speedy land transit that is.


Uhm... Why would a Mech "carry" a gun like a human when it can have one mounted, automatically solving the problems of ammunition feeding and the problem of "holding" it.

A MADCAT/TIMBERWOLF, now that sounds lovely...


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## DarkStriker (Jun 27, 2012)

Foxi4 said:


> LOL, zero tactical advantage, slow movement speed, hardly-balanced, poorly armed walking targets. Gundam-Style Mechs are fun to look at, but they're not the best "battle machine" ever made.
> 
> Mech Warrior Mechs - now that's a different story. Those are *slightly* more plausible.


I say they would if they can sustain all kind of missiles. A walking wall that doesnt fall. Who doesnt want that in a war.. But by then the tanks should also have it lol......

EDIT: Kinda hard to understand but im saying they would be useful in some way.


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## Foxi4 (Jun 27, 2012)

DarkStriker said:


> I say they would if they can sustain all kind of missiles. A walking wall that doesnt fall. Who doesnt want that in a war.. But by then the tanks should also have it lol......


Except it won't survive that kind of damage, it will be susceptible to falling over and in fact, nobody wants a walking wall on a battlefield - people much prefere to be concealed to stay safe from aerial attacks, and it's sort of hard to hide a gundam.


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## DarkStriker (Jun 27, 2012)

Foxi4 said:


> DarkStriker said:
> 
> 
> > I say they would if they can sustain all kind of missiles. A walking wall that doesnt fall. Who doesnt want that in a war.. But by then the tanks should also have it lol......
> ...


If they could fly i say they do way better than tanks if lets say the have the same equipment and the hull(Is that what u call it?) being of the same material.


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## mameks (Jun 27, 2012)

Foxi4 said:


> DarkStriker said:
> 
> 
> > I say they would if they can sustain all kind of missiles. A walking wall that doesnt fall. Who doesnt want that in a war.. But by then the tanks should also have it lol......
> ...


have you ever watched Gundam Wing?
they hide behind damn _trees_


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## Foxi4 (Jun 27, 2012)

DarkStriker said:


> If they could fly i say they do way better than tanks if lets say the have the same equipment and the hull(Is that what u call it?) being of the same material.


...but they won't be able to fly, they're not aerodynamic in any way and don't count on jetpacks.

The only difference between this and the average tank will be the use of a bipedal chassis. I personally think that if Japan wants to get into the Mech biz, they should probably start with quad-pedal machines, like some Armored Cores - that would make the construction far more solid. Y'know - baby steps.

I can see the advantage as an X-pedal machine will clearly be able to traverse through terrain on which threads and wheels simply fail, but there's more negatives than positives as of today.



shlong said:


> have you ever watched Gundam Wing?
> they hide behind damn _trees_


I... I have no response other than "not all battlefields consist of forests".


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## DarkStriker (Jun 27, 2012)

Foxi4 said:


> ...but they won't be able to fly, they're not aerodynamic in any way and don't count on jetpacks.
> 
> The only difference between this and the average tank will be the use of a bipedal chassis. I personally think that if Japan wants to get into the Mech biz, they should probably start with quad-pedal machines, like some Armored Cores - that would make the construction far more solid. Y'know - baby steps.
> 
> I can see the advantage as an X-pedal machine will clearly be able to traverse through terrain on which threads and wheels simply fail, but there's more negatives than positives as of today.


When did you become a sherlock homles reading the damn future lol.


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## Gahars (Jun 27, 2012)

DarkStriker said:


> Foxi4 said:
> 
> 
> > DarkStriker said:
> ...



We have something like that already. They're called planes.

Mechas are cool and all, but like Foxi said, they are the definition of impractical.


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## Foxi4 (Jun 27, 2012)

DarkStriker said:


> When did you become a sherlock homles reading the damn future lol.


I'm not reading the future, I'm telling you that something is physically impossible. 

I can see the practical use of small mecha suits as means of riot control, a'la Appleseed - heavily-armored infantry units would definitely be something useful. Larger machines would have to be quad-pedal and their functionality would likely be limited to anti-air defense, LRM deployment in difficult terrain etc.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jun 27, 2012)

If we ever created actual bipedal mechs, all we need to do is build giant Legos and throw them on the ground.

That stops this bipedal mech in his place. More effective than landmines.


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## mameks (Jun 27, 2012)

Guild McCommunist said:


> If we ever created actual bipedal mechs, all we need to do is build giant Legos and throw them on the ground.
> 
> That stops this bipedal mech in his place. More effective than landmines.


OR EXPLOSIVE LEGOS

or they could go like the transformer in Big (the film) and have ROBOT BUILDINGS


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## ferofax (Jun 27, 2012)

Zantigo said:


> ferofax said:
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> 
> > Zantigo said:
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I can live with that. I don't hate Chinese per se, but I hate the stupid things they do. Especially when it's atrociously stupid. Like carbon copying the bullet trains, and then saying it's THEIR technology? And then crashing it on its first go and killing everybody.


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## SSVAV (Jun 27, 2012)




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## AlanJohn (Jun 27, 2012)

Spoiler



I wish they would finally start building EVA's.


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## EZ-Megaman (Jun 27, 2012)

I could see this using technology similar to hovercrafts, exerting air pressure to keep it afloat. It'd take a lot of pressure to keep a mech levitating, and it's really impractical.
It would be interesting to see one, though.


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## KingVamp (Jun 27, 2012)

ferofax said:


> let's start with exosuits


Do you mean like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSo6C_gE4w8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ysb-Oko3Bg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2W23ysgWKI


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## Pleng (Jun 27, 2012)

Zantigo said:


> ferofax said:
> 
> 
> > Zantigo said:
> ...



I really fail to see how, considering your original post, you have the right to call anybody's comments racist.


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## The Milkman (Jun 27, 2012)

Pleng said:


> Zantigo said:
> 
> 
> > ferofax said:
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That was the joke one would think the  face would indicate that.


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## Pleng (Jun 27, 2012)

Zantigo said:


> Pleng said:
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> 
> > Zantigo said:
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ah cool. It's ok to be an arse as long as you know that you're being one...


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## SSVAV (Jun 27, 2012)

Pleng said:


> ah cool. It's ok to be an arse as long as you know that you're being one...



lol wut? i du nuts uderztande yur poynt.

me be veri intelcoregent.


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## Frank Cadena (Jun 27, 2012)

Foxi4 said:


> Frank Cadena said:
> 
> 
> > Talking about Mechs, having played SRW Z2 Hakai/Saisei-Hen, wouldn't VOTOMs be slightly more plausible, real world wise? Aside from the synthetic muscle cylinders to simulate real muscle movements and 'rollers' for speedy land transit that is.
> ...



While an integrated weapons approach would certainly be advantageous when feeding ammunition and eliminates ever 'losing' the weapon accidentally, there is something to be said about having hands and using them to manipulate the surroundings. Besides, belt-fed rifles with ammo carried on packs should help and once ammo is depleted, the mech can use the rifle as a melee weapon or ditch it.

Personally though, I want a Variable Fighter 01 aka VF-1 from Macross. Old school Macross. Only... no protoculture unit/drive doesn't exist to give the fighters ability to change forms and minimise G-Forces during manoeuvres...


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## Vampire Lied (Jun 28, 2012)

Next up: American Politicians Considering Building Real Metal Gear.


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## Foxi4 (Jun 28, 2012)

Vampire Lied said:


> Next up: American Politicians Considering Building Real Metal Gear.


As far as Metal Gear REX is concerned, it's actually not a bad design at all. Do note how the feet are constructed:







They can work both for moving forward as it "stands on its tip-toes" or to stabilizing its position when it uses the rear support beams. It has no "arms" to speak of and it's designed to have the center of its weight dead-center - it's actually a really good design for a real-life mech. It wouldn't be nearly as agile as the one seen in games, but it still is a good LRM-deployment vehicle, and with proper additional weaponry it would also be great for crowd control AND anti-air defense, even as a jetfighter-killer, considering the radar mount. It's far more plausible than a Gundam-style mech and it's more practical.


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## Deleted_171835 (Jun 28, 2012)

Foxi4 said:


> As far as Metal Gear REX is concerned, it's actually not a bad design at all. Do note how the feet are constructed:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The bigger issue here is that it's a walking *nuclear* tank.


Just imagine that in the wrong hands. 


(But as a mech, it'll be okay)


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## Foxi4 (Jun 28, 2012)

soulx said:


> The bigger issue here is that it's a walking *nuclear* tank.
> 
> 
> Just imagine that in the wrong hands.
> ...


Suspension of disbelief only goes so-far.  I'd expect it to be armed with normal warheads, not nuclear ones - just as much as I wouldn't expect it to have a railgun.  All I'm saying is that the design is quite alright - generally most Metal Gears were, until someone thought of RAY.


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## Sterling (Jun 28, 2012)

ferofax said:


> Zantigo said:
> 
> 
> > Why isn't the rest of East Asia this cool? All the rest has is military police, mass population and whatever North Koreans are.
> ...



I can't believe I caught the Iron Man reference. Also, this plan will be cool if they succeed.


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## mameks (Jun 28, 2012)

I love how this thread basically discusses what the best design for a mech is


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## DSGamer64 (Jun 28, 2012)

Not possible on the scale that people would expect, the weight would be too much and the costs even more extreme. If they made customized mobile armor suits similar to the Elemental Battlemech from the MechWarrior universe, that might be considerably more feasible. I'd sooner see advancing technology in mobile assault machines that are a little more realistic in terms of scale and have the ability to traverse more rugged terrain that other ground weapons can't get to.


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## DSGamer64 (Jun 28, 2012)

Foxi4 said:


> Vampire Lied said:
> 
> 
> > Next up: American Politicians Considering Building Real Metal Gear.
> ...



Considering it has a rail gun, something that is hardly used in modern military weaponry due to it's cost and accuracy, I doubt we would see a Metal Gear style walker, especially one that could launch nukes, be developed as part of world wide military use. People don't seem to understand the concept of just how heavy something of that size is. It would be one of the most difficult forms of weaponry to transport since they would probably weigh in excess of 15 tonnes fully loaded, but they would be dangerous in the hands of renegade military personelle who might decide to go rogue and hold the world hostage with such a lethal weapon.


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## Foxi4 (Jun 28, 2012)

DSGamer64 said:


> Considering it has a rail gun, something that is hardly used in modern military weaponry due to it's cost and accuracy, I doubt we would see a Metal Gear style walker, especially one that could launch nukes, be developed as part of world wide military use. People don't seem to understand the concept of just how heavy something of that size is. It would be one of the most difficult forms of weaponry to transport since they would probably weigh in excess of 15 tonnes fully loaded, but they would be dangerous in the hands of renegade military personelle who might decide to go rogue and hold the world hostage with such a lethal weapon.





Foxi4 said:


> Suspension of disbelief only goes so-far.  I'd expect it to be armed with normal warheads, not nuclear ones - just as much as I wouldn't expect it to have a railgun.  All I'm saying is that the design is quite alright - generally most Metal Gears were, until someone thought of RAY.



Nobody's expecting to see military application of railguns on it. As far as "holding the world hostage" is concerned, there's an "off" switch on things like that in a remote location, plus, nobody says anything about arming it with nukes - just with LRM's, and there's a difference.


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## ferofax (Jun 28, 2012)

KingVamp said:


> ferofax said:
> 
> 
> > let's start with exosuits
> ...



yep, except those are pretty much prototypes (the 2nd one looks very polished though). we need something bigger, like the power loader from Aliens. it already looks like a small robot, reacts quickly enough, and from the looks of it, it's stable enough to be loaded standard fare ordinance (guns, maybe micro missiles or grenade launchers). the preferable last phase of that would be the one from Avatar, with its controlled environment cockpit that would let pilots survive harsh environments.




Sterling said:


> I can't believe I caught the Iron Man reference. Also, this plan will be cool if they succeed.


I... can't believe you found a reference. Believe it or not, the red/yellow was actually a reference to the dupe that the Chinese made of the Odaiba Gundam. it looks silly as hell, and they had the gall to call it an original design. mainlanders. feh.


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## Clydefrosch (Jun 28, 2012)

....weird how people suddenly become engineers, weapon specialists and experts in strategic warfare in these threads.

in general, all these weapons here would be pretty much impractical. a huge bipedal tank with dozens of weapons looks cool and intimidating until you realize that all those weapons would be far more practical to use if they all came on their own vehicle with wheels or... those things tanks use, where i dont remember the english term.

i'd guess just a few of those tank destroying missles / projectiles would completely disable the metal gear. as for the gundam like giant robots, its the same, just worse. i mean, did you see the way small robots move? how slow they are? and how they are everything but agile and dynamic moving as they are in the anime? if they cant imitate human movement on a small scale, how would they ever do it on a giant scale?


on a different note, give me tachikoma


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## The Milkman (Jun 28, 2012)

Holy crap. People are taking this seriously.


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## RiderLeangle (Jun 28, 2012)

Was anyone reminded of this video? I mean I'm sure a military one would be more practical than that one someone with spare money made but meh, point is something close has already existed even if it's impractical lol


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## Frank Cadena (Jun 28, 2012)

What did you expect? It's robots and weapons of (mass) destruction. Robots and W(M)Ds are serious business


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