Gundam’s First Official Gunpla Box Art Fashion Collection Focuses on Amuro and Char’s Rivalry
Image by Charlotte DavisMore than four decades of rivalry between Amuro Ray and Char Aznable have been turned into a new series of official Gundam T-shirts, using six of their most famous mobile suits to trace the pair from the original anime through to Char’s Counterattack.
The first-ever “STRICT-G JAPAN Gunpla Box Art T-Shirt” collection combines artwork associated with Gunpla packaging with Japanese brush-style illustration, creating six designs featuring the Gundam, Char’s Zaku II, Dijeh, Hyaku Shiki, ν Gundam and Sazabi.
STRICT-G is Bandai’s dedicated Gundam apparel label, regularly adapting mobile suits, factions and imagery from across the franchise into clothing that ranges from graphic T-shirts to jackets and accessories.
Its JAPAN series takes a more traditional approach, reworking familiar imagery with energetic brush strokes and Japanese-inspired presentation, with this collection seeing some of the most recognizable Gunpla box art illustrations recreated in this style.
The six initial “Gunpla Box Art T-Shirt” designs are especially well suited to being released together, as they can effectively be divided into three pairs representing different stages of Amuro and Char’s long-running story.
The “Gundam” T-shirt returns to the RX-78-2 piloted by Amuro during the original Mobile Suit Gundam, the machine that established him as one of the Federation’s most formidable pilots during the One Year War.
Its counterpart is the “Char’s Zaku II” T-shirt, representing the customized red mobile suit used by Char during the same conflict and one of the earliest visual symbols of the rivalry between the two characters.
The collection then moves forward to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam through the “Dijeh” and “Hyaku Shiki” designs.
Amuro pilots the Dijeh after returning to combat alongside Karaba, making the mobile suit one of the more recognizable machines associated with his period between the original Gundam and Char’s Counterattack.
The Hyaku Shiki represents Char during his time operating under the identity Quattro Bajeena, with its gold armor making it one of the most visually recognizable mobile suits from Zeta Gundam.
The final pair brings the rivalry to its conclusion through the “ν Gundam” and “Sazabi” T-shirts, representing the two mobile suits used by Amuro and Char during their final confrontation in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack.
ν Gundam was designed specifically around Amuro’s abilities and incorporates his Fin Funnels, while Sazabi gives Char his own large Newtype-focused mobile suit equipped with funnels and an imposing red color scheme.
Using those six machines means the first collection does more than simply gather popular Gundam designs, as it follows Amuro and Char from their first battles through their later reunion and eventual final confrontation.
Each shirt places its respective mobile suit into a dynamic composition that merges Gunpla box art with brush-style effects, giving the mechanical designs a presentation closer to traditional Japanese illustration.
Bandai has also given the packaging its own display appeal, with every T-shirt presented in a format inspired by a vinyl record jacket rather than conventional folded apparel packaging.
All six “STRICT-G JAPAN Gunpla Box Art T-Shirts” are priced at ¥5,500 each (approx. $34 USD / £25 GBP) and are made from 100% cotton.
The collection went on sale in Japan on August 29 through STRICT-G locations at Tokyo Solamachi, NEOPASA Shizuoka and Taga Service Area.
A further release is scheduled for September 2 through “THE GUNDAM BASE ANNEX in BHCPDII MUSEUM”.
The collection is not being sold through STRICT-G’s Tokyo Odaiba store or Premium Bandai, making the participating physical locations the only officially announced places to purchase the shirts at the time of writing.
It may be possible that the collection will appear through international platforms such as Premium Bandai US at a later date, as STRICT-G collections are now frequently being offered by Bandai outside of Japan after their initial release.
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