Mobile Fighter G Gundam
"Mobile Fighter G Gundam" was produced by Sunrise in association with advertising agencies Sotsu and Dentsu, and toy company Bandai. The series was created to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the "Gundam" franchise, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino in 1979. "G Gundam" was directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa, known for his work on the "Giant Robo" and "Getter Robo Armageddon" original video animations (OVAs). "G Gundam" was chiefly written and supervised by Fuyunori Gobu, a veteran screenwriter for various Sunrise properties such as "Shippū! Iron Leaguer" and "The King of Braves GaoGaiGar". Many of the principal production crew members for "G Gundam" were carried over the previous season's "Mobile Suit Victory Gundam", including character designer Hiroshi Ōsaka and mechanical designers Kunio Okawara and Hajime Katoki. Manga artist Kazuhiko Shimamoto collaborated on the show's character designs. Kimitoshi Yamane acted as a back-up mechanical designer and has since worked on Sunrise's acclaimed series "Cowboy Bebop" and "The Vision of Escaflowne". Hirotoshi Sano, previously credited for "Tekkaman Blade", was responsible for directing the mechanical animation in "G Gundam", but also produced much of show's promotional artwork seen on home media covers. The musical score for "G Gundam" was composed by Kohei Tanaka. The opening theme song "Flying in the Sky" performed by Hitofumi Ushima and the closing theme by Etsuko Sai are played for the first 25 episodes of the series. The opening theme "Trust You Forever" by Ushima and the closing theme by Takehide Inoue are played for the remaining episodes. List of Mobile Suit Victory Gundam episodes
"Mobile Suit Victory Gundam" is a 1993 Japanese science fiction anime television series created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino and produced by Bandai Visual, Sotsu Agency, Sunrise, and TV Asahi with music production by Starchild Records and Apollon. Spanning 51 episodes, "Mobile Suit Victory Gundam" is the final television series following the Universal Century timeline in the Gundam franchise. The series premiered in Japan on TV Asahi on April 2, 1993 and concluded on March 25, 1994. Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
"Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket" was produced by animation studio Sunrise in association with toy company Bandai. Kenji Uchida was the former representative and Minoru Takanashi was the latter's producer. The series was created to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the "Gundam" franchise, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino in 1979. "War in the Pocket" was directed by Fumihiko Takayama, known for his work on "Orguss 02" and "", marking the first time anyone other than Tomino directed a "Gundam" show. The screenplay was written by Hiroyuki Yamaga, with scenario by , while the character designer for this series was Haruhiko Mikimoto. Yoshiyuki Tomino
In 1979, Tomino directed and wrote "Mobile Suit Gundam", which was highly influential in transforming the Super Robot mecha genre into the Real Robot genre. Mark Simmons discusses the impact of "Gundam" in his book, "Gundam Official Guide":
In an interview published in "Animerica" magazine, Tomino discusses what he was trying to accomplish with "Mobile Suit Gundam":
Although the last quarter of the show's original script was canceled and it had to be completed in 43 episodes, its popularity grew after three compilation movies were released in 1981 and 1982. "Mobile Suit Gundam" was followed by numerous sequels, spin-offs and merchandising franchises, becoming one of the longest-running and most influential, popular anime series in history, being chosen as No. 1 on TV Asahi's "Top 100 Anime" listing in 2005.
Superior Defender Gundam Force
, is a 2004 Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. The series was released to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Gundam media franchise, and was the first Gundam series to be entirely animated in cel-shaded 3D computer graphics (3DCG), and the first full-3DCG series to be broadcast on Japanese television. The show was directed by Yūichi Abe. Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt
A 4-episode original net animation adaptation, produced by Sunrise, was confirmed on 28 October 2015. It was directed and written by Kō Matsuo, with character designs from Hirotoshi Takaya and mechanical designs from Morifumi Naka, Seiichi Nakatani and Hajime Katoki. It premiered on 25 December 2015 with the last episode officially aired on 8 April 2016 via pay to watch service in Japan, with early access from the Gundam Fan Club app service on 11 December 2015. The first episode was streamed outside Japan for a limited time from 25 December 2015 to 7 January 2016. A 4-episode second season was announced by Bandai Visual on 18 November 2016 and premiered on 24 March 2017. Sunrise announced in the 2017 Anime Expo that the second season will receive an English Dub. Clover (toy company)
Instead it was Bandai who capitalized on the show by selling model-kits that became extremely popular. Gundam had started the Real Robot trend which changed the focus to "realistic" robots instead of the "super robots" which Clover were used to making. They tried to adapt to the new market by sponsoring shows such as "Xabungle", "Dunbine", and "Srungle" (the first 2 being directed by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino) but folded in 1983. Plamo-Kyoshiro
Plamo-Kyoshiro was written by Hisashi Yasui and illustrated by Koichi Yamato. In 1981 Kodansha had released the first issue of its magazine Comic Bom Bom. At that moment, the publisher was planning to launch a manga adaptation of the "Mobile Suit Gundam" movies, but the publisher was unable to get Sunrise's permission at the time. As an alternative plan, the publisher contacted Hisashi Yasui to create a new series, thus creating Plamo-Kyoshiro. Furthermore, the Plamo-Kyoshiro manga was created as a tool to publicize the Gundam plastic models that Bandai was launching at the time. List of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn episodes
In the June 2009 issue of the Japanese monthly manga magazine "Gundam Ace", it was announced that an anime adaptation of "Gundam Unicorn" was green-lit for late 2009 and later moved to spring 2010. It is directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi and features screenplays written by Yasuyuki Muto. Hajime Katoki, who was the mechanical designer for the novel, works on the anime alongside veteran designers Junya Ishigaki and Mika Akitaka, and newcomer Nobuhiko Genba. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's character designs were adapted for the series by Kumiko Takahashi, and the music is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. It was planned to be six 50-minute episodes with a worldwide release. However, on May 13, 2012, Bandai announced that the storyline will wrap up with a seventh episode. The series premiered on PlayStation Network Japan for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable systems on February 20, 2010. The Blu-ray Disc edition was released simultaneously worldwide on March 12, 2010, featuring both Japanese and English audio and subtitles in five languages (Japanese, English, French, Spanish and Chinese). Bandai Entertainment released the first four episodes of "Unicorn" on DVD before shutting down in 2012. Sunrise released the OVA series on DVD in North America in four volumes with distribution from Right Stuf Inc. beginning in August 2013. The OVA ran from February 20, 2010 to June 6, 2014. Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam
Tobia decides to be with the Vanguard, who reveal to him that the Jupiter Empire has spent several years building up its military strength to destroy the Earth Federation, with whom it has a partnership. Now armed with this information, Tobia is trained in mobile suit piloting by Kinkedo and to discover his own Newtype abilities. He flies into action as pilot of the XM-X3 Crossbone Gundam X-3 mobile suit."Crossbone Gundam" has had four sequels, all written and illustrated by Yuichi Hasegawa:The characters and mecha of "Crossbone Gundam" often appear in the "SD Gundam G Generation" video game series. The series also appears in "2nd Super Robot Wars Alpha", part of the long-running "Super Robot Wars" franchise; it is the first non-animated series to be given plot significance in a "Super Robot Wars" game. In 2010, "Crossbone Gundam" appeared in "", Super "Robot Wars"' action counterpart. Omega Force
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, originally released in Japan as , is a series which based on the "Gundam" anime series. Games were developed by Omega Force and published by Bandai Namco Games. List of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans episodes
, also referred to as , is a 2015 Japanese mecha drama Anime series and the fourteenth incarnation to Sunrise's long-running Gundam franchise. It is directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and written by Mari Okada, a team which previously collaborated on "Toradora!" and "". It aired in Japan on MBS and other JNN stations on October 4, 2015, making this the first Gundam series to return to a Sunday late afternoon time slot since "Mobile Suit Gundam AGE". On American television, the series began airing on Adult Swim's Toonami block on June 4, 2016, making it the first Gundam series to air in the US since "Mobile Suit Gundam 00". Mobile Suit Gundam 00
According to Hiroomi Iketani, one of the Gundam 00 producers, planning for Gundam 00 started in 2005, under the tentative name "Next". Iketani approached Seiji Mizushima, who previously had worked in the first "Fullmetal Alchemist" anime series, for the first time at the end of 2005 to be director. Mizushima was initially reluctant about accepting the job due to his lack of knowledge regarding the Gundam series. Yoshiyuki Tomino
Tomino, began his career in 1963 with Osamu Tezuka's company, Mushi Productions, scripting the storyboards and screenplay of the first Japanese anime television series, "Tetsuwan Atomu" (also known as "Astro Boy"). He later became one of the most important members of the anime studio Sunrise, going on to direct numerous anime through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Tomino is perhaps best known for his transformation of the "Super Robot" mecha anime genre into the "Real Robot" genre with 1979's "Mobile Suit Gundam", the first in the "Gundam" franchise. He has also won numerous awards, including the "Best Director" award at the recent 2006 Tokyo International Anime Fair (for the 2005 film ""). Two anime series directed by Tomino ("Mobile Suit Gundam" in 1979–
80 and "Space Runaway Ideon" in 1980) won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award. Mobile Fighter G Gundam
The "Mobile Fighter G Gundam" television series originally aired in Japan the terrestrial channel TV Asahi from April 22, 1994 to March 31, 1995 for a total of 49 episodes. The show would not reach North American audiences until many years later. "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing", a series that succeeded "G Gundam" on Japanese television in 1995, was first localized in North America by Bandai Entertainment in early 2000. "Gundam Wing" was a moderate success in the United States while being broadcast on the popular afternoon Toonami block of Cartoon Network. In late 2001, Bandai acquired the rights to distribute an English-dubbed version of "G Gundam" with voice casting recorded by Ocean Productions in their Blue Water studio in Calgary, Alberta. The English-language version of "G Gundam" premiered as a free screening at the Sony Metreon Action Theatre in San Francisco on March 30, 2002. "G Gundam" began airing on Toonami on August 5, 2002. Due to the channel's censorship policies, some edits were made for the broadcast. This mainly involved altering the names of several mobile fighters, such as changing God Gundam and Devil Gundam to Burning Gundam and Dark Gundam respectively. The show was also aired on the channel's "Midnight Run" and as part of its Saturday programming in November 2002. Cartoon Network officially dropped "G Gundam" from its afternoon schedule the following June. The series has since been re-broadcast on the Japanese cable network Family Gekijo and the satellite channel Animax. Cultural impact of Gundam
The Gundam franchise covers nine universes that comprise a dozen TV series, over twenty animated movies, and dozens of novels and manga. Bandai is the fourth largest toy manufacturer in the world and "Gundam" merchandise makes up 20% of its sales. In 2004, Gundam sales resulted in profits of , growing to annual profit by 2007, and annual revenue per year by 2014. The franchise had sales of 11.9million home video units by February 2006. List of Mobile Suit Gundam characters
was voiced by Banjo Ginga in the original Japanese version. In the English dubbed series and movie adaptations the character was voiced by Hiro Kanagawa and Doug Stone respectively. One of the heads of the Principality of Zeon, Gihren is the oldest son of Degwin Sodo Zabi, the ruler of Zeon and the instigator of the war with Earth. With the death of Degwin's favorite son Garma Zabi in battle, Degwin withdraws from day-to-day duties as Zeon's leader which effectively made Gihren the leader of Zeon. This was most evident in the speech Gihren gave at Garma's state funeral. This speech was notable for possibly being the debut of the trademark salute "Sieg Zeon!" American Rock musician Andrew W.K. dubbed a famous speech of this character in his cover album "Gundam Rock" released during the 30th anniversary of the Gundam franchise. Mobile Suit Gundam
Despite being released in 1979, the original "Gundam" series is still remembered and recognized within the anime fan community. The series revolutionized mecha anime, introducing the new Real Robot genre, and over the years became synonymous with the entire genre for many. As a result, for example, parodies of mecha genre commonly feature homages to "Mobile Suit Gundam", thanks to its immediate recognizability. Cultural impact of Gundam
The giant robot anime franchise "Gundam" is a popular culture icon in Japan. The "Gundam" franchise had grossed over in retail sales by 2000. Its owner Bandai Namco was earning up to per year from products based on the Gundam characters by 2007, rising to per year by 2014. As of June 2018, "Gundam" is the 15th highest-grossing media franchise of all time, estimated to have generated more than in total revenue. List of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED episodes
The "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" anime series is animated by the Japanese anime studio Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. It aired from October 5, 2002 to September 27, 2003, with fifty episodes on TBS. As with other series from the Gundam franchise, "Gundam SEED" takes place in a parallel timeline, in this case the Cosmic Era, the first to do so. In this era, mankind has developed into two subspecies: Naturals, who reside on Earth and Coordinators, genetically-enhanced humans capable of withstanding the rigors of space who inhabit orbital colonies. The story revolves around a young Coordinator Kira Yamato who becomes involved in the war between the two races after a neutral space colony is invaded by the Coordinators. Mobile Suit Gundam
Hoping to capitalize on the success of "Gundam Wing" from the previous year, Bandai Entertainment released a heavily edited and English-dubbed version of "Mobile Suit Gundam", premiering on Cartoon Network's Toonami weekday afternoon after-school action programming block across the United States on Monday, July 23, 2001. The series did not do as well as "Wing" but the ratings were high enough for the whole series to be aired and to spawn an enormous toy line. Due to the September 11th attacks, Cartoon Network, like many other American TV stations, began pulling, and editing, war-themed content and violent programming, resulting in the cancellation of the series. However, the series finale was shown as part of Toonami's "New Year's Eve-il" special on December 31, 2001 and the unaired episodes were aired in reruns during 2002. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, originally released in Japan as , is a video game based on the "Gundam" anime series. It was developed by Omega Force and published by Bandai Namco Games. Its gameplay is derived from Koei's "Dynasty Warriors" and "Samurai Warriors" series. The "Official Mode" of the game is based primarily on the Universal Century timeline, with mecha from "Mobile Suit Gundam", "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam", and "Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ" appearing in the game, as well as a few units from Mobile Suit Variations "" and "" appearing as non-playable ally and enemy units. The "Original Mode" of the game also features mecha from the non-UC series "Mobile Fighter G Gundam", "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing" and "Turn A Gundam". A newly designed non-SD Musha Gundam designed by Hajime Katoki is also included. Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senjō no Kizuna
Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senjō no Kizuna (機動戦士ガンダム 戦場の絆, lit. Mobile Suit Gundam: Bonds of the Battlefield), is a Japanese arcade game set in the original Gundam universe (Mobile Suit Gundam). The game was created by Bandai Namco and Banpresto and was released late 2006. Play involves stepping into a P.O.D. (Panoramic Optical Display) and doing battle with other players across Japan. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
An anime adaptation of the manga, focusing on the stories of Casval Rem Deikun (more famously known as Char Aznable) and his sister Artesia (aka Sayla Mass), produced by Sunrise was released between 2015 and 2018 in six parts. Yasuhiko was the chief director of the adaptation, with Sunrise veteran Takashi Imanishi as director, and Katsuyuki Sumisawa as the scriptwriter. Liquid Comics
Virgin Comics LLC" and Virgin Animation Private Limited" are collaborative companies formed by Virgin Group entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and Gotham Entertainment Group (South Asia's largest comics publisher) in 2006. The companies spun out of the previously announced partnership between Chopra, Kapur, and Gotham Entertainment (but not Branson). "Gotham Studios Asia" was announced in late 2004, planning its first release in 2005, which failed to occur. "Variety" reported in January 2006 that Gotham Entertainment head Sharad Devarajan and Chopra's son Gotham were the key movers, and approached Branson as a potential partner. With Branson on board, Gotham Studios Asia became "Virgin Comics and Animation", with Devarajan taking the role of CEO, with Gotham Chopra as chief creative officer, with Indian advertising executive Suresh Seetharaman running Virgin Animation from India. The companies are based in Bangalore with the comics arm having its headquarters in New York. Variety reported that Devarajan and Chopra planned to spend 2006 "staffing the Indian operation with approximately 150 people, most of them artists". Gundam (fictional robot)
Primary Mobile Suit featured in the 1989 OVA "", designed by Yutaka Izubuchi. The first direct variant of the RX-78 to be animated, it helped pave the way for the appearance of other variants, such as those from "", as pivotal elements of the plot. In "War in the Pocket", the Alex was developed to replace the RX-78-2 and optimized for the increased reaction time of Newtypes, though its test pilot Christina MacKenzie was not a Newtype herself. With its panoramic cockpit, the Alex serves as a retconned technological link between the original series and "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam". SD Gundam
The series first started on Carddas trading cards with the story set in the "Saddarc World" (Carddas spelt backwards). Soon after it expanded to Gashapons, plastic models, manga and games. The Gundams in the Knight Gundam series are portrayed as living beings just like in the Musha Gundam series. But later on in the series giant robots known as "Kihei"(機兵) were introduced thus creating a weird picture of a Gundam piloting a Gundam. Also different from Musha Gundam, Knight Gundam has important human characters like Knight Amuro and Princess Frau throughout the whole series.In the past most of the SD Gundam games are turn-based strategy video games and brawling-type games with shooting. However, the recent SD Gundam games started appearing in other genres. David X. Cohen
Cohen co-developed "Futurama", along with "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening. Cohen served as head writer, executive producer, and voice director of the series. He was also the voice director of the "Futurama" video game. After spending a few years researching science fiction, Groening got together with Cohen in 1997 and developed "Futurama", an animated series about life in the year 3000. By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and storylines; Groening claimed they had "gone overboard" in their discussions. Groening described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of [his] grown-up life". The show premiered on March 28, 1999. Mobile Suit Gundam F91
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Kunio Okawara returned to work on the movie with Tomino to recreate the core team from the original "Mobile Suit Gundam" series. Yasuhiko hadn't done anything aside from character designs after "Mobile Suit Gundam", but he participated on the condition that he would get to help create the story like he did in the original. In the end, however, he did not participate in the story's development, and instead arranged parts of the animation and designed and colored some elements, such as the normal suits (the space suits used in the film). Okawara returned from his design role in "Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ" to design every mobile suit that appeared in the movie. The mobile suits he designed were ones that came from conversations with Tomino, much like how it was when they worked on the original series, but they found themselves disagreeing on how radically to change the design elements and theme. Okawara originally took care to keep the number of lines in his designs to a minimum, as the difficulty of animating them for a feature-length film would increase, but Sunrise requested that he use as many lines as he could. Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Imagawa credits himself for conceiving a majority of the various Gundams participating in the finals of the Neo Hong Kong arc. The director worked closely with mecha artists to create these "one-shot" opponents and found many of the comical and eccentric designs very charming, especially the windmill-shaped Hurricane Gundam of Neo Holland. The designs for Neo Singapore's Ashura Gundam and Neo Malaysia's Skull Gundam were included in the show as winners of contests held by the Kodansha publications "Comic BonBon" and "TV Magazine"; Imagawa expressed regret that these Gundams were used as enemy characters, since they were designed by young fans of the anime. Ginga Hyōryū Vifam
The series was conceived by "Gundam" creator Yoshiyuki Tomino and directed by Takeyuki Kanda. It included mechanical designs by artists Kunio Okawara (who previously designed mecha for the "Mobile Suit Gundam" anime series) and Mamoru Nagano, as well as character designs by the late Toyoo Ashida (famous for his work in "Magical Princess Minky Momo"). Gundam Sentinel
In March 2003, Hajime Katoki redesigned and released the S and EX-S Gundam in an oversized Plan 303E Deep Striker package under his Gundam Fix Figuration line of high-quality action figures. He later collaborated with Bandai to produce figures for the Robot Damashii KA Signature collection, starting with the Gundam Mark V in 2013. The line has since progressed to include a version of the Mark V in Earth Federation colors, and the MSA-007 Nero as a trainer model, Task Force Alpha unit, and the EWAC version. Gundam (fictional robot)
In the "Super Robot Wars" series of tactical role-playing games, the "Gundam" franchise is the chief representative of the "Real Robot" genre and one of the three mainstays of the series (the other two being Mazinger and Getter Robo), and the original Gundam itself is referred to in the series as the in order to distinguish it from its many successors. White Base
The "White Base" is designed with a 3 plane view method by Kunio Okawara, however, it is not specially designed for the anime series Gundam, it was actually a salvaged design from the anime "Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3". The idea of having a space carrier from the director Yoshiyuki Tomino is partly inspired by the earlier science fiction anime "Space Battleship Yamato", in which he claimed to be a fan of. It was intended to be in a more realistic black colour, but was changed to white by the order of Sunrise, similar to the colour change of the main mecha Gundam was changed from a grayish white to white, red, blue and yellow. Director Tomino showed great disgust in the colour change, also noticing the unrealistic non-aerodynamic design of it after the show was on air, said in an interview that such design would never appeared in the real world, since it would be a sitting duck from fighter aircraft. Tomino still held a grudge 10 years after the show aired and stated in an interview in "Newtype" 1989 April issue that the imaginary enemies of Gundam are Sunrise, sponsors and television stations. This ship also appeared in the Kodansha Pocket Encyclopedia series, listed as spacecraft carrier(UchuuKubou, 宇宙空母). The "Zukai Uchusen The space ship" listed it the 6th fictional spaceship(and 3rd in anime) after the Imperial Star Destroyer, Millennium Falcon, Enterprise, Macross and Spaceship Yamato, and the ship that made the Pegasus Class of ships famous. Mobile Fighter G Gundam
During the North American DVD production interviews for "Mobile Fighter G Gundam", Imagawa was asked to address the message "See you again Gundam Fight 14" shown at the last cut of the final episode. He answered that it was simply word play and had no intention of affirming a sequel to the anime. Granted its large number of manga side-stories, Imagawa surmised that it would be "impossible" to create an animated sequel or OVA series to "G Gundam" and disclosed he would not direct it if there were. He said, "I believe "G Gundam" is a series that started as a program for kids and eventually worked out because I stayed vividly aware of that until the very last moment, overcoming a lot of obstacles and bad situations (in terms of directing)." Cultural impact of Gundam
The popularity of Gundam resulted in its first specialty magazine, "Gundam Magazine", which ran from December 1990 to June 1991. In 2006, the magazine was reprinted in a six volume box set. In 2001, "Gundam Ace" magazine began publication, moved from a quarterly to a bi-monthly to monthly serialization in 2003. The magazine boasted a circulation of 161,417 copies between October 2008 and September 2009, and 133,584 copies between October 2010 and September 2011 according to the Japan Magazine Publishing Association. Mobile Suit Gundam
Despite initial low ratings that caused the series' cancellation, the popularity of "Gundam" saw a boost from the introduction of Bandai's Gunpla models in 1980 and from reruns and the theatrical release of the anime, leading to the creation of a prolific and lucrative media and toy franchise. The series is famous for revolutionizing the giant robot genre due to the handling of mobile suits as weapons of war as well as the portrayal of their pilots as ordinary soldiers, as opposed to the previous style of portraying hero pilots and their giant super hero robots. Gundam Reconguista in G
The reaction to the series was mixed. Toshio Okada, a co-founder and former president of Gainax, has voiced concerns regarding the show's comprehensibility. He stated that "Ordinary people watch this and don't know what's happening," and "It's fine to make it for today's kids, but who does he think kids today are? Who does he think the kids that watch "Yo-kai Watch" are?" Lauren Orsini of Anime News Network criticized it in her review of the Gundam series as a whole. Stating "The storytelling is so confusing, it may take the entire series for you to figure out what's going on." She recommended against watching it entirely. Meanwhile, Japanese social critic and editor-in-chief of the "PLANETS" magazine, Uno Tsunehiro, gave it a highly positive critical response, stating that "[It is] in my humble opinion, this disorientation is somewhat intended... What we see here may be an intense message that goes against the times." He went on to state that it reflects the dilemmas that humanity faced in the 20th century, and how technology and digital age culture has made us lose our ability to perceive and understand these detached realities. Likewise, writer Gen Urobuchi wrote a highly positive critical response to it, stating "If there are infinite possibilities in writing, is it possible to write a story about the potential danger of stories? A story that renounces stories? Yes it is. Reconguista of G did it", and "When I saw the end credits I was just moved, and exclaimed " they did it!". I had been worried about the limits of storytelling, and was just thankful for this slap from a veteran creator to me. Reconguista of G made me genki." Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Like other early mecha anime, the "Mobile Suit Gundam" franchise was backed by sponsors whose main interest was having television programs advertise plastic models and toys. "Gundam" fiction set itself apart from others in the same genre with its dramatic plot devices, morally complex characters, and depictions of the horrors of war. These aspects, combined with its "Real Robot" mecha approach, made "Gundam" immensely popular for several years. After the broadcast of "Victory Gundam" beginning in 1993, Imagawa, a young protégé of Tomino, was selected as the director of the next installment in the franchise, titled "Polcarino Gundam". However, as "Gundam" popularity dwindled and sales began to drop by this time, the sponsors forced the creators to reboot the brand with the newly titled "Mobile Fighter G Gundam". Conceived as a less realistic "Super Robot" series, "G Gundam" abandoned its military roots and was aimed at younger viewers to increase toy sales. Alterations including a lack of a warfare-centered plot, Gundams stereotypically based on nationality, and Earth as a ring were originally seen as blasphemous to Imagawa and much of Sunrise's staff. Notwithstanding, Imagawa became more supportive of the changes after seeing some impressive, complex designs in "G Gundam"s sponsor-created toys. He eventually settled into his position, taking advice from his mentor. "If you continue to make a copy of a copy of a copy," he stated, "eventually the image degrades to nothing." Imagawa thought it was important for creators and sponsors to buy into each others ideas for the benefit of a product's success. The director also commented that in order to sell a product like "G Gundam" to an audience resistant of such ambitious changes, creators must instill their own personalities to overcome hardships and make the work unique. By the end of production, Imagawa considered it meaningless to compare "G Gundam" to other parts of the franchise and disregarded the concept of a "conventional" "Gundam" series. "This is MY "Gundam"," he proclaimed, "And I've made a "Gundam" that I can be proud of." Brain Powerd
"Brain Powerd" was produced by Sunrise and directed and written by Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of the long-running Gundam franchise. "Brain Powerd" is often compared to the Gainax's popular "Neon Genesis Evangelion", a 1995 anime series with similar themes to "Brain Powerd". Tomino claimed that the plans and overall storyline for "Brain Powerd" were made even prior to the airing of "Evangelion". He stated that he "never meant ["Brain Powerd"] to be an antithesis to "Evangelion"" despite the inevitable comparisons they would receive when his own series debuted in 1998. After deciding not to make any changes to "Brain Powerd", he "resigned" himself to the fact that the public would label his anime an attempt to best "Evangelion". Tomino was enthusiastic about his first attempt at the "organic" mecha subgenre in place of the purely metallic robots he had worked with for so many years in his career. He wanted to write an interesting story for "Brain Powerd" in order to allow those who watched it to do so without "having a nervous breakdown" and to show fans "that there were often other things out there better than anime". Tomino has wished that more animators would see themselves as entertainers, though he admitted that he felt that "Brain Powerd" was not very entertaining and thus a failure in this regard. Respect Gundam
Respect Gundam (リスペクト ガンダム) is a mini compilation of Gundam-related work created by Hiroyuki Tamakoshi, Kenki Fujioka, Tohru Fujisawa, Hiro Mashima, Minoru Sugiyama. It was published on the Gundam Magazine bundled with the November 2006 issue of Comic Bom Bom. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
"Gundam Wing" was not the first series in the "Gundam" franchise to be dubbed and distributed in the U.S. (the compilation movie version of the original "Mobile Suit Gundam", as well as the OVAs "" and "", preceded it by about two years), but it is well known as the first "Gundam" series to be aired on American television. This dub was produced by Bandai Entertainment and the voice work was done by Ocean Productions. The series aired on Cartoon Network's weekday afternoon after-school programming block Toonami; premiering on March 6, 2000. In the first extended promo leading up to the series' premiere, voice actor Peter Cullen narrated the back story, evoking memories of "Voltron's" opening credits. The promo was said to be so riveting that Bandai decided to use it as the official promo for the series. History of anime
Alongside its super robot counterpart, the real robot genre was also declining during the 1990s. Though several "Gundam" shows were produced during this decade, very few of them were successful. The only "Gundam" shows in the 1990s which managed an average television rating over 4% in Japan were "Mobile Fighter G Gundam" (1994) and "New Mobile Report Gundam Wing" (1995). It wasn't until "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" in 2002 that the real robot genre regained its popularity. Gundam Reconguista in G
, also referred to as , is a 2014 Japanese science fiction anime television series and the thirteenth installment in Sunrise's long-running "Gundam" franchise. Created for the Gundam 35th Anniversary celebration, it is the first Gundam TV series to be written and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino since "Turn A Gundam" in 1999 and features character designs by Kenichi Yoshida of "Overman King Gainer" & "Eureka Seven" fame. Airing in the MBS/TBS networks' Animeism block starting in October 2014, it is the first traditional Gundam TV series to be initially released as a late night anime. Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam
Unlike the previous series that are set up in the same general universe (Universal Century or Cosmic Era), the background of this game is set up in the real gaming world in 2030, which the Gundam vs. Series produced many spin-offs for each series at that time. The Devil Gundam has somehow invaded into the game systems and merge the different worlds into one. In order to restore the order of the game nature, various heroes from different Gundam Series are joined together to fight against the Devil Gundam. Turn A Gundam
The titular WD-M01 Turn A Gundam is notable because it is the first Gundam mecha designed entirely by a foreigner, the famous American visual futurist and conceptual artist Syd Mead, whose designs have been used in many sci-fi films in the U.S. The first design of the new Gundam created by Mead was rejected at first by Yoshiyuki Tomino due to its extremely exotic appearance, since Tomino decided that he wanted a figure closer to previous Gundam designs. Because of its quality and impressive appearance, the old design was not discarded at all by Tomino, instead renamed and used by him as the antagonist Mobile Suit design "Sumo". Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
The series was licensed by Bandai Entertainment for the North American market. The English adaptation was produced by Bandai Entertainment in association with The Ocean Group and the English-language dub was recorded at Ocean Studios. The series was released on twelve DVDs in North America in uncut bilingual format between March 14, 2006, and January 8, 2008. The Final Plus episode was announced to have been licensed in July 2007, with a single DVD released on April 15, 2008. Two "Anime Legends" DVD boxes volumes from the series were later released on January 13, 2009, and May 19, 2009. "Gundam SEED Destiny" began its Canadian broadcast on YTV's Bionix programming block on March 9, 2007, at 9:30 p.m. YTV did not air the special recap episode, "Edited". On January 11, 2008, "Gundam SEED Destiny" was moved to the 10:30 p.m. Bionix timeslot starting with episode 40, switching timeslots with "Bleach". On March 28, 2008, it ended its first run. In 2007, the series was available on demand from May through June with Comcast Cable in the United States. In July 2007, only episodes 1 to 22 have been aired and was thought to be discontinued on Comcast Cable; however, in September 2007, it has been made available again, this time with the English-dubbed version. Comcast Cable aired the 50th English episode at the end of February 2008. Due to the closure of Bandai Entertainment, the series has been out-of-print. On October 11, 2014, at their 2014 New York Comic-Con panel, Sunrise announced they will be releasing all of the Gundam franchise, including "Gundam SEED Destiny" in North America though distribution from Right Stuf Inc., beginning in Spring 2015. Sunrise will release the HD remaster of SEED in North America and will feature a brand new English dub produced by NYAV Post. Toshihiko Sahashi
His works include the original soundtracks for "Zipang", "Ghost Sweeper Mikami", "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED", "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny", "Gunslinger Girl", "Black Blood Brothers", "Seijuu Sentai Gingaman", "Kamen Rider Kuuga", "Kamen Rider Agito", "Kamen Rider Hibiki", "Kamen Rider Den-O", "Full Metal Panic!", "Hunter × Hunter", "Simoun", "Reborn!" and composed all three Saint Seiya anime series. Together with the London Symphony Orchestra, two symphonic albums have been released, each arranging his compositions from "Gundam SEED" and "Gundam SEED Destiny". For the "Mobile Suit Gundam" franchise's 30th anniversary, he again collaborated with the London Symphony Orchestra for another symphonic music album. Kunihiro Abe
He died on 15 August 2018 at the age of 50 of undisclosed cause. Abe's daughter shared one of the late Gundam animator's illustrations, and noted that "she knew her father loved to draw and could not live as anything other than an animator". Gotham (TV series)
Gotham is an American crime drama television series developed by Bruno Heller and based on characters published by DC Comics and appearing in the Batman franchise, primarily those of James Gordon and Bruce Wayne. Danny Cannon directed the pilot, and he is an executive producer along with Heller. The series stars Ben McKenzie as the young James Gordon. It premiered on Fox on September 22, 2014. In May 2018, Fox renewed the series for a fifth and final season of 12 episodes, which premiered on January 3, 2019. Cultural impact of Gundam
The concept of Isuzu VX-2 is inspired by RX-178 Gundam Mk-II as concept design arts released in the Jan/Feb 1998, as seen in issue no. 71 of the magazine "Axis" published in Japan. According to Gundam-san 4 koma comic, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution appearance is influenced by the RX-78-2 Gundam. Nissan Chief Creative Officer Shiro Nakamura said that the angular lines and high-tech vents of the GT-R (R35) were inspired by the Japanese anime series Gundam. Mitsubishi has cooperated with Bandai to create a simulator for concept cars, the test-type of this simulator will be decorated like the Gundam cockpit and become a simulation theatre in the Toyota theme park, Mega Web, located in Tokyo. Mobile Suit Gundam 00
Licensing for a North American release of "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" was announced by Bandai Entertainment at New York Comic Con 2008 on April 18, 2008. "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" is the first Gundam series to air on national television in the United States since "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" and began airing twice weekly on November 24, 2008 on SCI FI (now known as SyFy). The first season concluded its first run on Sci-Fi on February 9, 2009. The second season also aired on the same network and time slot on June 29, 2009 and concluded its run on September 21, 2009. Due to the closure of Bandai Entertainment, the series and movie have been out of print. On October 11, 2014 at their 2014 New York Comic-Con panel, Sunrise announced they will be releasing all of the Gundam franchise, including "Gundam 00" in North America though distribution from Right Stuf Inc., beginning in Spring 2015. This will also include the previously unreleased "Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Special Edition". Mobile Suit Gundam
"Gundam" was not popular when it first aired, and in fact came close to being cancelled. The series was originally set to run for 52 episodes but was cut down to 39 by the show's sponsors, which included Clover (the original toymakers for the series). However, the staff was able to negotiate a one-month extension to end the series with 43 episodes. When Bandai bought the copyrights to build plastic models for the show's mecha, which was a relatively new market compared to the old Chogokin series Clover was making, things changed completely. With the introduction of their line of Gundam models, the popularity of the show began to soar. The models sold very well, the show began to do very well in reruns and its theatrical compilation was a huge success. Audiences were expecting another Super Robot TV show, and instead found "Gundam", the first work of anime in an entirely new genre: the Real Robot genre. The Anime ranked #2 on "Wizard's Anime" Magazine on their "Top 50 Anime released in North America", and is regarded as changing the concept of Japanese robot anime and the turning point of history in Japan. Gundam War Collectible Card Game
Gundam War is a collectible card game based on the Gundam anime series. It was first released in Japan in February 1999, and later a Traditional Chinese version and an English version was released in early 2005. The English version of the game was discontinued after three sets. The Japanese version of the game still continues to be released, with over 45 sets to date. Turn A Gundam
"Turn A Gundam" is the last entry of the Gundam franchise (not counting the compilations and future video game cut scenes) to be mostly hand painted on cels. "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED", released in 2002, was the first series to switch entirely to digital ink and paint. List of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 chapters
Two TV broadcast-based manga series exist to date. One is serialized in Kerokero Ace and drawn by Kouzoh Ohmori. Minor changes are present compared to the anime, such as the use of more visually comedic facial expressions. First volume was released on March 26, 2008 by Kadokawa Comics.
The other manga adaptation series of the same name is also based on the television series, and is drawn by Oto Taguchi. The two manga series essentially follow the same story as the anime's main plot, but vary in the sequence of events that unfold (for example, certain battles and events in the anime were skipped over in the Kouzoh Ohmori manga) and are drawn under different artistic styles. With the past New York Comic Convention, Bandai Entertainment has confirmed that they have acquired the rights to Kouzuh Ohmori's manga adaptation. Mitsuo Fukuda
Anime directed by Fukuda that have won the "Animage" Anime Grand Prix award have been "Future GPX Cyber Formula" in 1991, "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" in 2002, and "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny" in 2004 and 2005. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
"Gundam Wing" was a greater success in North America, however, and is credited with single-handedly popularizing the "Gundam" franchise among Western audiences. Just over a week after its premiere on Cartoon Network on March 6, 2000, the series was the top rated program in all age groups. During the summer of 2000, it remained as the first or second top-rated show among kids and teens during its twelve airings per week on the Toonami block. "Gundam Wing" was ranked the 73rd best animated series by IGN, calling the series "so good that even those opposed to anime have to give the show its due credit". Gundam
"Gundam" has spawned over 80 video games for arcade, computer and console platforms, some with characters not found in other "Gundam" media. Some of the games, in turn inspired spinoff novels and manga. Most "Gundam" video games, except "", were released only in Japan. Gundam
"Mobile Suit Gundam" was developed by animator Yoshiyuki Tomino and a changing group of Sunrise creators with the collective pseudonym of Hajime Yatate. The series was originally entitled "Freedom Fighter Gunboy" (or "Gunboy") for the robot's gun, with boys the primary target demographic. Early production had a number of references to freedom: the White Base was originally "Freedom's Fortress", the Core Fighter was the "Freedom Wing" and the Gunperry was the "Freedom Cruiser". The Yatate team combined the English word "gun" with the last syllable of the word "freedom" to form the portmanteau "Gundom". Tomino changed it to "Gundam", suggesting a unit wielding a gun powerful enough to hold back enemies like a hydroelectric dam holding back water. In keeping with the concept, Gundam are depicted as prototypes or limited-production, with higher capabilities than mass-produced units. SD Gundam
SD Gundam originated from a contributed illustration of a junior student from Nagoya by the name of Koji Yokoi to the "Model News" magazine that Bandai was issuing in the 1980s. The illustration is of a Gundam but with an unusual proportion where the overall height of the Gundam is equal to twice that of its head. This illustration interested the chief editor and led to Koji Yokoi serializing SD Gundam in 4 frame comics in "Model News". Mobile Suit Gundam
Tomino met mechanical designer Kunio Okawara when he first worked in two television series from Sunrise. Tomino liked Okawara's work and asked him to collaborate with him in his upcoming project. Originally, the anime would be called "Gunboy" but it was renamed "Mobile Suit Gundam". The "White Base", the mothership of the protagonist crew members, is designed with a 3 plane view method by Kunio Okawara, however, it is not specially designed for the anime series Gundam, it was actually a salvaged design from the anime "Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3". The idea of having a space carrier from Tomino is partly inspired by the earlier science fiction anime "Space Battleship Yamato", in which he claimed to be a fan of. It was intended to be in a more realistic black color, but was changed to white by the order of Sunrise, similar to the color change of the main mecha Gundam was changed from a grayish white to white, red, blue and yellow. Director Tomino showed great disgust in the color change, also noticing the unrealistic non-aerodynamic design of it after the show was on air, said in an interview that such design would never appear in the real world, since it would be a sitting duck from fighter aircraft. Tomino still held a grudge 10 years after the show aired and stated in an interview in "Newtype" 1989 April issue that the imaginary enemies of Gundam are Sunrise, sponsors and television stations. List of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans characters
"Gundam" is the name for 72 unique mobile suit frames produced and developed alongside the Alaya-Vijnana System by Gjallarhorn during the late stages of the Calamity War 300 years ago, considered instrumental in ending the war. A Gundam-Frame unit is equipped with two Ahab Reactors, which generate Ahab Particles, giving the mobile suit unparalleled power, but it is difficult to keep the reactors in synchronous operation; hence the rarity of these machines. A Gundam's high power and maneuverability can also pose a problem by creating a heavy burden for the pilot. However, this is mitigated by the implementation of Inertial Control from the use of the Ahab Reactors and the cockpit is positioned in front of the reactors to take advantage of this. Only 26 of the 72 Gundam-Frame suits are confirmed to exist in operational form in the present day. All Gundam Frames were named after the 72 Demons of Ars Goetia.The Valkyrja Frame, produced during the late stages of the Calamity War, is an advanced but not very well known mobile suit frame, as it was first produced at the same time as, and was completely overshadowed by, the much more prolific Gundam Frame. Despite its obscurity, its performance and track record were impressive enough for Gjallarhorn to use the Valkyrja Frame as the source of inspiration for the mass-produced Graze Frame. It is speculated that because of the frame's relative obscurity, less than ten units were ever produced. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3, known in Japan as , is a tactical action video game based on the "Gundam" anime series, and the sequel to 2008's "". It was developed by Omega Force and published by Bandai Namco. The game was revealed in the September issue of Famitsu and was released on December 16, 2010 in Japan, June 28, 2011 in North America, in Europe on July 1, 2011 and it was released in Australia on July 12, 2011. Yoshiyuki Tomino
After working on the CGI short "Ring of Gundam" for Gundam's 30th anniversary in 2009, Tomino returned to the franchise again for its 35th anniversary in 2014 in a new work in which he wrote and directed, "Gundam Reconguista in G". Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
, also known as Gundam IBO and and Tetsu oru (鉄オル), is a 2015 Japanese mecha anime series and the fourteenth installment in Sunrise's long-running "Gundam" franchise. It is directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and written by Mari Okada, a team which previously collaborated on "Toradora!" and "". It aired in Japan on MBS and other JNN stations from October 4, 2015 to March 27, 2016, making this the first Gundam series to return to a Sunday late afternoon time slot since "Mobile Suit Gundam AGE". A second season premiered on October 2, 2016. The series follows the exploits of a group of juvenile soldiers who establish their own security company after rebelling against the adults who betrayed them on a futuristic, terraformed Mars. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin
Sunrise announced in June 2011 that an anime adaptation of "Gundam The Origin" was in production. In March 2014, it was announced it will be a four-episode OVA series with event screenings at Japanese theaters, in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Gundam, and centering on the stories of Casval Deikun and his sister Artesia. The first episode, titled , premiered in limited Japanese theaters on February 28, 2015. Sunrise produced an English dub recorded at NYAV Post for the first time since Bandai retired their Gundam license. Another two-episode OVA series, "Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin: Loum Arc", was released in 2017 and 2018. Cultural impact of Gundam
Gundam Front Tokyo is a dedicated museum to Gundam. Among its major attractions is the Gundam Statue of the RG 1/1 RX-78-2 Gundam Ver. GFT. It features a display collection of over 1000 Gunpla models and the biggest exhibition of Gunpla in the world. In 2012, "Robots Gone Bad" covered the museum and stated that it houses 90% of the kits ever made. In 2012, a large topiary Gundam made of ten thousand begonias, zinnias, and star daisies was on display to promote the green movement. Gundam Reconguista in G
"Gundam Reconguista in G" is Yoshiyuki Tomino's first major original animated work since "The Wings of Rean" in 2004, though he had directed a CGI short for "Gundam's" 30th anniversary in 2009 called "Ring of Gundam". The character designs of the series are by Kenichi Yoshida, who had his first character designs credit in Tomino's "Overman King Gainer". The mechanical designs are by Akira Yasuda, who previously worked with Tomino as character designer in "Turn A Gundam" and mecha designer in "Overman King Gainer", Kimitoshi Yamane, who also worked with Tomino in "Overman King Gainer", and Ippei Gyōbu, an advertising illustrator who was working on his first mechanical designs. Yuugo Kanno is the composer of the music. Gundam: Battle Assault (series)
Gundam: The Battle Master, later known as Battle Assault, is a series of fighting games released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The series features mobile suits from several eras of the Gundam metaverse and some non-traditional fighting game elements. Every entry was developed by Bandai in co-operation with Japanese developer Natsume, who also made the 1996 "". Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
Bandai Entertainment licensed the animation of "Gundam SEED" on February 15, 2004, and it began airing in the United States and Canada in 2004 and 2005 respectively. The English adaptation was produced in association with The Ocean Group and the English-language dub was recorded at Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The series was released on ten DVDs in bilingual format between August 10, 2004, and May 10, 2005. The epilogue was not released on the North American DVD release because it was not licensed to Bandai Entertainment by Sunrise; however, it was released on the final European DVD release. Beez Entertainment also published the series in ten DVDs from June 13, 2005 to March 6, 2006. A two part box set called the "Anime Legends Edition" was released on January 8, 2008, and March 4, 2008, with each set containing five DVDs. Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (video game)
Development of the game began when Akihiro Hino and Level-5 were first hired by Sunrise to develop a Gundam video game. Interested with working for the Gundam franchise, Hino wrote a plot summary for an anime which Bandai eventually saw and decided to create an anime based on it. During the anime's airing, the game was announced and was released on August 30, 2012 in Japan. Galaxy Fräulein Yuna
"Galaxy Fräulein Yuna" originated in 1992 when Red Company, in association with Hudson Soft asked Mika Akitaka to create a video game for the PC Engine Super-CD console. Mika Akitaka was an established artist and mechanical designer, having worked on several Mobile Suit Gundam anime titles, including Zeta Gundam, , and . Hudson Soft released "Galaxy Fräulein Yuna" in Japan in 1992, with Mika Akitaka as character designer and writer. Kunihiro Abe
Abe was known for his mechanical animation, in particular his animation for various projects in Sunrise's Gundam franchise, including Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: The Afterglow of Zeon, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Operation Meteor, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed C.E.73: Stargazer, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Mobile Suit Gundam UC, Gundam Build Fighters, Gundam: Reconguista in G, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, and Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt. He was also a notable animator in various AIC projects, such as Bubblegum Crisis, Dangaioh, Vampire Princess Miyu, Dragon Century, Megazone 23 Part III, Sol Bianca, Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, Armitage III, El Hazard - The Magnificent World, and Blue Gender, among numerous other credits. Yoshiyuki Tomino
In 1993, Tomino directed his next Gundam series, "Victory Gundam", which (like "F91" before) attempted to relaunch the Gundam saga with a completely new cast. Gundam Ace
Gundam Ace started as a quarterly publication from vol.1 to 3, moved to a bi-monthly publication from vol.4, and on April 25, 2003 (with vol.10) it became a monthly publication. The producer is Shinichirou Inoue of Kadokawa Shoten who also produces Newtype and Shonen Ace. The chief editor is Hideaki Kobayashi. Gundam Universal Century technology
Although fictional technologies seems to carry no real-life significance, these technologies are referred to in almost all of the series of Universal Century. They became a normal reference of the serial story and attracted publishers to publish books on them. These technological settings have also since influenced a lot of anime and manga to have their own technological background to a certain degree. Although it could be viewed as following the "Star Wars" trend, nothing similar has started before the 1981 publishing of Gundam Century. Bandai (with its branch Sunrise) noticed the tradition and has hired writers to write articles for other Gundam series too. In the Cosmic Era time line, one of the authors of Gundam Century articles (while still a high school student at that time), Shigeru Morita, who had become a regular employee of Bandai, was assigned to write these kinds of technological articles, possibly a method used by the company to attract Universal Century techno fans to watch the new series. The series' technology is now serving as the inspiration for academic research in different fields, which could include moon settlements and mega-particle cannon. Mobile Suit Gundam 00
It is directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and features character designs by Yun Kōga. The 25-episode season was officially announced by Sunrise during a 15-second trailer on June 2, 2007. The series aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 5, 2007 to March 29, 2008. The second season began on October 5, 2008 and concluded on March 29, 2009. A movie sequel, titled "", premiered in Japan on September 18, 2010 and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 25, 2010, in Japan. "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" is the first Gundam television series to be animated in widescreen and in high-definition. List of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny episodes
"Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny" is the anime sequel to "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" produced by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. The series spanned 50 episodes, aired in Japan from October 9, 2004 to October 1, 2005 on the Japan News Network television stations Tokyo Broadcasting System and Mainichi Broadcasting System. Set two years after the original "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED", the plot follows the new character Shinn Asuka, a soldier from ZAFT, composed of humans born genetically enhanced labelled as Coordinators. As ZAFT is about to enter into another war against the regular human race, the Naturals, the series focuses on Shinn's as well as various returning characters' involvement in the war. Gundam Mk-II
The Mk. II appeared years before the official North American release of "Z Gundam" on the talk show "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in a commercial bumper. Featured on an episode originally aired on September 30, 1998, the "Conan Mk. II" was formed from a Mk. II model kit altered with O'Brien's face, and a cartoon-like head on the shield, as typical of "Late Night" bumpers of the period. "Zeta Gundam" was not officially released in the North American market by Bandai until 2004. "Late Night" graphical designer Pierre Bernard is a self-stated anime enthusiast, though if he specifically created the "Conan Mk. II" bumper has not been confirmed by any official source. Turn A Gundam
"Turn A Gundam" was directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, who is the main creator of the "Gundam" franchise, and who had written and directed many previous "Gundam" works. Tomino created the series as a means of "affirmatively accepting all of the "Gundam" series", which is reflected in the series title's use of the Turned A, a mathematical symbol representing universal quantification. Gundam Build Fighters Try
The series is directed by Shinya Watada and written by Yousuke Kuroda, who wrote the first series. Character designs were done by both Kenichi Ohnuki and Suzuhito Yasuda. The series was officially unveiled by Bandai on May 15, 2014, and began airing on TV Tokyo in Japan while streaming on YouTube in limited areas internationally on October 8, 2014. A novel spinoff is currently running in Hobby Japan starting in December 2014. Gundam Sentinel
Once the fan community built up the anticipation of "Gundam Sentinel", Bandai decided to go ahead with the serialization of Sentinel, beginning with the September issue of Model Graphix. While Model Graphix would hold the rights to the story, characters, and mobile units, Bandai would have the sole copyright of releasing its models. Wanting to hold onto their partnership, Bandai displayed all five of the sample model kits for the "Gundam Sentinel" line with full descriptions at the 1988 Japan Hobby Show. The Model Graphix team regarded that year's event as a "Victory", compared to the previous show in 1987, where only a lone Superior Gundam was displayed without any descriptions. Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
, is a 1993 Japanese science fiction anime television series. It consists of 51 episodes, and was directed by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. The series was first broadcast on TV Asahi (and its ANN stations). It is the fourth installment in the "Gundam" franchise and the final full series to be set in the Universal Century calendar. Turn A Gundam
"Turn A Gundam" has been cited by Director Tomino and other sources as a show that would unify the stories from the various "Gundam" series into one. Throughout the show, mobile suits resembling those from the eras depicted in previous "Gundam" shows and indicated to be preserved by nano machines for thousands of years, including as those of the Universal Century, are excavated by the show's various factions. In Episode 42, this plotline comes to a culmination as the history of the Correct Century timeline is shown in a collection of clips known as the , which is revealed to be events that took place in different "Gundam" series prior to "Turn A Gundam", thus making those events part of the Correct Century timeline's history. Cultural impact of Gundam
The RX-78 Gundam was recognized as a culturally significant subject by the nation of Japan on 23 October 2000, with the inclusion of the suit and the main pilot on two stamps in the 20th Century Stamp Series. On 25 March 2011, a set of 10 stamps called "Gunpla Frame Stamp Collection 30th Anniversary" was released in Japan. Featuring 10 of the titular Mobile Suit RX-78-2 Gundam's plastic models for 1980 to 2010. Additionally, the mobile suit and other notable mecha from various Gundam series were recognized in the second set of "Anime Heroes and Heroines" stamps, released in 2005. It was one of only four franchises to be given the honor; the others were "Pokémon", "Galaxy Express 999", and "Detective Conan".
The RX-78-2 Gundam and 2 Medea transport planes were featured in a fire fighting poster in Japan. The RX-78-2 was equipped with water spraying equipment instead of weapons. Mobile Suit Gundam 00
Four TV broadcast-based manga series exist to date. One was serialized in "Kerokero Ace" and drawn by Kouzoh Ohmori. Minor changes are present compared to the anime, such as the use of more visually comedic facial expressions, and the omission of certain characters and subplots. The first volume to this version was released on March 26, 2008 by Kadokawa Comics. It has been released in English in North America by Bandai Entertainment, with the first volume released on September 23, 2009. Gundam (fictional robot)
The RX-78-2 Gundam is a fictional manned robot (mecha), introduced in 1979 in Yoshiyuki Tomino's and Sunrise's anime series "Mobile Suit Gundam". In the series, it is a prototype weapon for the Earth Federation when it falls into the hands of Amuro Ray, the son of its designer in story (Tem Ray), who goes on to pilot it in the Earth Federation's war against the Principality of Zeon. Comic BomBom
"Comic BomBom" was established in 1981. The first issue was published on October 15, 1981. "Mobile Suit Gundam" was extremely popular at that time. Although the "Gundam" boom is centered at the higher age group, the fire slowly spread to the lower age group in the form of gunpla and thus it was decided to mainly publish gunpla content. Many popular series were published in "Comic BomBom" like the "SD Gundam" series, "Rockman" series and "Medarot" series, just to name a few. Amuro Ray
Amuro is the hero of the anime series "Mobile Suit Gundam". He is the son of Tem Ray, the project leader for the Earth Federation's Project V, which produces the prototype mobile suits Gundam, Guncannon, and Guntank to combat the Principality of Zeon's Zaku. At the beginning of the "Mobile Suit Gundam" TV series, Amuro is merely a 15-year-old civilian, along with his friends Fraw Bow and Hayato Kobayashi, living in Side 7, one of the few space colonies untouched by the One Year War at the time. Amuro is a talented amateur mechanic, who spends a lot of time in building different mechanical parts with little social interactions with other people, and as a hobby designed the basketball-sized talking robot Haro. Gundam
Bandai, "Gundam" primary licensee, produces a variety of products. Other companies produce unofficial merchandise, such as toys, models and T-shirts. Products include Mobile Suit In Action (MSiA) action figures and Gundam model kits in several scales and design complexities. Each series generally has its own set of products, MSiA and model lines such as Master Grade and High Grade Universal Century may extend across series. The most popular action-figure line has been the Gundam Fix series, which includes the mecha in the animated series, manga and novels and accessories to create an updated version. In addition to Master Grade and High Grade Gundams, Bandai released a 30th-anniversary series of Gundam models in 2010. The Real Grade (RG) Gundam series combined the Master Grade's detailed inner structure with additional colour separation, making the 1:144-scale series complex in design and compact in size. After the introduction of the RG Gundam series, Bandai released the Metal Build series in March 2011 (beginning with the 00 Gundam). Anime composer
Shigeaki Saegusa, composer for "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam" in 1985, was a classical composer who produced a symphonic score for this series, which went on to be extremely popular (one of the foundation successes of the Gundam franchise). While Saegusa produced only a little more anime music, his "Zeta Gundam" soundtrack is still considered a classic among "otaku". For many of them, Saegusa and Hisaishi were the first to inspire the idea that anime music could be of very high quality. Mobile Suit Gundam
Following the closure in 2012 of Bandai Entertainment, the series has been out of print. At their New York Comic-Con 2014 panel, Sunrise announced their plans to re-release all of the Gundam series on home video in North America, starting with the original series. They will be distributed via Right Stuf Inc.. They will release the series on Blu-ray and DVD in October 2015. Mecha anime and manga
By 1977, a large number of super robot anime had been created, including "Brave Raideen" and "Danguard Ace". The market for super robot toys also grew, spawning metal die-cast toys such as the Chogokin series in Japan and the Shogun Warriors in the U.S., that were (and still are) very popular with children and collectors. The super robot genre became heavily commercialized and stagnant, creating an opening for innovation, which was seized upon by Yoshiyuki Tomino in 1979 with the creation of "Mobile Suit Gundam", a complex "space saga" that was called the ""Star Wars" of Japan" and birthed the real robot genre, which featured more realistic, gritty technology. Tomino did not like the formulaic storylines and overt advertising of the super robot shows he had worked on, and wanted to create a movie where robots were used as tools. While the response to "Gundam" was lukewarm at first, efforts by dedicated fans led to it becoming a success. It created a massive market for mecha model robots, and became an industry that earned Bandai ¥42.8 billion in 2004. Many real robot series and other media were later created, such as "Full Metal Panic!" and the video game series "Armored Core". Mobile Suit Gundam
The "Mobile Suits" of the show were inspired by the powered armor from the American novel "Starship Troopers" from 1959. Mobile suits were conceptualized as human-like robots which would not only appeal to children. Yoshiyuki Tomino's original plot for the anime was considerably much more grim, with Amuro dying halfway through the series, and the crew of the White Base having to ally with Char (who is given a red Gundam), but finally having to battle him after he takes control of the Principality of Zeon. The original concept found expression in a series of novels written by Tomino soon after the show's conclusion, and elements of the storyline weaved themselves into "Zeta Gundam" and "Char's Counterattack". List of Gundam Build Fighters Try episodes
The series is directed by Shinya Watada and written by Yousuke Kuroda, who wrote the first series. Character designs were done by both Kenichi Ohnuki and Suzuhito Yasuda. The series was officially unveiled by Bandai on May 15, 2014, and began airing on TV Tokyo in Japan while streaming on YouTube in limited areas internationally on October 8, 2014. The first opening theme is by Back-On, and the ending theme is by Screen Mode. The second opening theme is "Just Fly Away" by Edge of Life, while the ending theme is by StylipS. Both songs debuted in episode 14. Parallel universes in fiction
The anime "Turn A Gundam" attempted to combine all the parallel Gundam universes (other incarnations of the series, with similar themes but differing stories and characters, that had played out at different times since the debut of the concept in the 1970s) of the metaseries into one single reality. List of Mobile Fighter G Gundam episodes
This is a list of episodes from the anime series Mobile Fighter G Gundam. The series originally aired on TV Asahi in Japan from April 1, 1994 to March 23, 1995, and later aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami block in the United States from August 5 to October 16, 2002. SD Gundam
are Gundam units modelled after samurai, ninja, or other forms of feudal Japanese warriors. Musha Gundam first appeared in "Plamo-Kyoshiro" (Story by Craft dan and art by Koichi Yamato). In the story, the "SD Gundam" is an original Gundam created by Kyoshiro (protagonist) for a showdown with Shigeru (antagonist). The original design of the SD form Musha Gundam is credited to Koichi Yamato, and Yasui Hisashi. The story of Musha Gundam, SD Sengokuden, originated from the manga "Seven Gundams" of the "Comic World" series by MARSHI (a.k.a. Susumu Imaishi). The Musha Gundam series is the longest running SD Gundam series, since the series is set in the Warring States period the use of katakana is avoided, and kanji is used heavily. Asatsu-DK
Asatsu-DK is also involved in producing and providing its services to numerous anime series, through itself as well as its subsidiaries, including recent installments of Sunrise's Gundam series, such as the latest series "Mobile Suit Gundam 00", "Turn A Gundam", "Mobile Suit Gundam Seed" and "Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny", as well as several other anime titles. Kunihisa Sugishima
Sugishima started his career on Sunrise in the 1980s, having worked as the setting producer for "Heavy Metal L-Gaim"s episodes 1 to 18, as well as the director and storyboarder for other episodes. Another major work in his early career was his involvement with the "Gundam" series; he directed some episodes of "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam" and "Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ". His first work as main director was in 1994 when he directed at Sunrise a single-episode special titled "Shinizokonai Kakarichō". His subsequent works were not at Sunrise; he directed "Gokudo" (1999) at Trans Arts, "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters" (2000–2004) at Gallop, and "Speed Grapher" (2005) at Gonzo. For the latter company he also directed the original video animation "Strike Witches" in 2007. After directing "Nabari no Ou" at J.C.Staff in 2008, he went to direct four "Beyblade"-related television series and one film at Tatsunoko Productions and SynergySP between 2009 and 2012. He returned to work for Sunrise where he was the director for two "Battle Spirits" anime; "Burning Soul" (2015) and "Double Drive" (2016). Gundam model
Gundam models are model kits depicting the vehicles and characters of the fictional "Gundam" multiverse by Bandai. These kits have become popular among mecha anime fans and model enthusiasts in Japan and in other nearby Asian countries since the 1980s. Gundam modeling spread in the 1990s with North America and Europe being exposed to "Gundam" through television, video and manga. Gundam models, as well as the hobby of assembling and painting them, is known in Japan as , a portmanteau of ""Gun"dam "pla"stic "mo"del", plastic being the most common material for the retail kits. After War Gundam X
, is a 1996 Japanese anime television series and the seventh installment in the long running "Gundam" franchise that started in 1979, but takes place in an alternate timeline called . The series has 39 episodes, aired in Japan from April 5, 1996, to December 28, 1996, across TV Asahi's ANN stations. It was directed by Sunrise veteran Shinji Takamatsu ("Mobile Suit SD Gundam", "The Brave of Gold Goldran", "School Rumble"), and the screenplay was written by Hiroyuki Kawasaki. The series was released on DVD in North America in 2016. Gundam model
The Gundam FIX Figuration (aka G.F.F.) series of collectible figures was started based on the Gundam mechanical designs of Hajime Katoki and his 'Gundam FIX' illustration artbook and are released by Tamashii Nations, a Bandai's characters based toys line. These figures share similar features as those found in the MSiA series, but are considerably more detailed and often include more accessories. Changeable parts and variant models are often utilized throughout the line, offering the collector a wide variety of display abilities. The collectible figures use PVC (with some ABS plastic) for construction materials, and a recently introduced expansion to the line use metal in the skeleton of the figure. Gundam FIX figures are designed to be true to Hajime Katoki's vision, and as such often adopt design elements and styling found throughout his artwork. The Fix series caters to Gundam fans who enjoy the scale, possibility and durability of the MSiA line, but seek the extensive details and variations that can often only be found in the Master Grade Gundam model-kits.