Yokoi Brings Four Decades of Sunrise Mechs to Chibi Form
Kōji Yokoi (横井孝二), the illustrator behind the original SD Gundam designs, drew all six new super-deformed robots for the fair's second volume. The full lineup covers an impressive stretch of Sunrise's mecha catalog:
- Billbine from Aura Battler Dunbine (1983)
- Elgaim Mk-II from Heavy Metal L-Gaim (1984)
- Zeta Gundam from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985)
- King Exkaiser from Brave Exkaiser (1990)
- Zegapain Altair from Zegapain (2006)
- Lancelot from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (2006)
The selection is notable for reaching well beyond Gundam. Dunbine and L-Gaim represent Yoshiyuki Tomino's non-Gundam Sunrise work from the early '80s, while Brave Exkaiser kicked off the entire Brave series in 1990. Zegapain and Code Geass round things out with mid-2000s entries that each built devoted fanbases.
What's on the Merch Table
According to Comic Natalie's report, Yokoi's chibi illustrations appear on a range of goods including acrylic dioramas for each robot, T-shirts pairing Dunbine with Billbine and Elgaim with Elgaim Mk-II, an acrylic plate featuring the key visual, and hologram pin badges and stickers.
The Sunrise World TOKYO location gets an exclusive: Yokoi's autographed frame art in all six designs, limited to 25 units each. For collectors, that is likely the headline item.
Spend ¥3,000 (approximately $20) or more at any location's merch counter and you receive a random bonus mini reproduction shikishi from a pool of three designs. Each shikishi celebrates a Sunrise anniversary: Fang of the Sun Dougram (45th anniversary) drawn by legendary mecha designer Kunio Ōkawara (大河原邦男), Matchless Raijin-Oh (35th) by Takahiro Yamada (やまだたかひろ), and The Vision of Escaflowne (30th) by Kimitoshi Yamane (山根公利). The Tokyo shop will also feature a message corner where visitors can leave notes.
The fair runs at six Sunrise World locations: TOKYO, YOKOHAMA, HAKATA (Fukuoka), KYOTO, SENDAI (Miyagi), and KOSHIGAYA (Saitama), all starting July 17, 2026.
Looking Ahead
Sunrise has already released a silhouette visual teasing Vol. 3 of the fair. No details on which mechs will appear, but three volumes deep suggests the shop chain plans to keep cycling through the studio's back catalog for a while.
Sunrise World shops are physical retail locations operated by Bandai Namco's amusement division and are currently only in Japan. International fans without a trip planned will likely need to rely on proxy shopping services for any of the fair-exclusive goods. No online sales have been announced.