Japan is home to numerous attractions that bring fictional worlds to life. Across the nation, numerous life-sized Gundam have recreated the famous massive humanoid robots (though one of these titans in Tokyo was recently taken down after nearly two decades of service). You can even visit Dragon Quest Island, an entire theme park designed to make you feel like you’ve stepped into the world of the games. Most of these examples, however, have only been willed into existence by almost half a century of loyal support. Capcom, meanwhile, is capitalizing on a more recent cultural phenomenon, announcing that it will soon be erecting life-size statues of two of the most iconic Monster Hunter creatures.

Monster Hunter has been a phenomenon for the company since the PS2 days, though for many years this success was mostly localized to domestic Japanese fans. It was Monster Hunter Worlds that really transformed this domestic hit into a global phenomenon.…