Run! Giant Robots Have Landed in Tokyo!

Update: It's come to our attention that the giant robot is not a Transformer, but a Gundam from the Japanese anime. Real Transformers 2 premiere pics can be found after the jump. We say Transformers battle these giant things in the next installment. Whaddya think?

Grab your loved ones and go! Pray that there's still time left to find sanctuary! Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen enjoyed its world premiere in Tokyo earlier this week, and someone managed to snap a photo before running to safety! Why does the sight of a giant robot in Tokyo make me want to use as many exclamation points as possible?!!!

All credit to "smashfanatic," who posted this at Photobucket. (Check out a larger image of the robot below.) Setting up a giant robot falls into the category, "Really Cool Movie Marketing." I'm not even a fan of the first Transformers movie, but the sight of this sucker towering over Tokyo in the background may prompt me to buy a ticket. In addition to the Transformer pictured above, our old friend Bumblebee attended the premiere and posed for photos with Michael Bay and the cast. (We have that one of those images after the jump.)

Gallery: Giant Robot Towers Over Tokyo

You might remember that a similar stunt was pulled for the DVD release of the first film in late 2007. Patrick Walsh provided photographic evidence of an 18-foot-tall Bumblebee standing guard over West Los Angeles. Now, I'm obviously no expert on the Transformers, so which one is pictured above? And which one was it that roller-skated down the freeway in the first movie? I'd like to see that one roller-skating across America, a kind of touring Transformer. Even if you don't want to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen when it opens on June 24, don't you want to see a giant robot in your hometown?

UPDATE #2: Ack! The egg is on my face. Thanks very much to the commenters for kindly pointing out my grievous error. (That explains why I couldn't find any information on "giant Transfomer in Tokyo.") I saw the picture and jumped to conclusions, which I should never have done. The life-sized statue was built "to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the mecha / anime / manga / toy / video game franchise," as reported at Kotaku (via commenter jekyll). It's a staggering 59 feet tall and will remain for two months. Head over to Kotaku to read the details. -- Peter Martin.