Mobile Suit Gundam, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino in 1979, is a popular anime series that helped to popularize the mecha genre of anime, which features giant robots.
The robotic pet, such as Sony's Aibo, has become a popular form of entertainment and companionship for people who cannot keep real pets.
Japan has a fascination with mascots, and there are thousands of them representing everything from cities to prisons.