In 1979, Japan had found itself with a new genre that heavily featured giant robots, this genre was to be known as Mecha. as this genre started out the robots were more seen as ridiculous power-ups for the young heroes. however, this would change thanks to Mobile Suit Gundam. created by Yoshiyuki Tomino. the series would be a more realistic and militaristic view on the giant robots making the show more of a space opera that heavily featured political drama and focused on the characters. The first series was released on April 7, 1979, and ran for 43 episodes. the series followed a boy named Amuro Ray who gets caught up in the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. he takes the prototype mobile suit that his father made and joins the side of Earth, fighting against the series main villain, Char Anzable.
the show was not a hit when it first came out in Japan and was almost cancelled but it grew in popularity once Bandai stepped in to create the model kits for Gundam, these were known as Gunpla kits.
after it’s 43 episode run it spawned a few sequels before the story of the original series ending with the movie Char’s counterattack, after which it spawned off into multiple spin-off series all taking place in different places in the Gundam timeline, sometimes even returning back to the timeframe of the original series.
Gundam has since become a massive cultural icon in Japan and in the west, with a statue being erected in Japan (originally of the first Gundam but now of the Gundam Unicorn).
many of its spin-offs are praised for their excellent storytelling such as Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and Gundam Unicorn. Iron-Blooded orphans is one of the more gritty Gundam series as it deals with heavy themes such as child soldiers, slavery, political corruption and poverty; the series handles these themes well and was critically acclaimed.
The first time the west got to experience Gundam was with the series Gundam Wing which aired on Toonami and was the first of the Gundam series to be dubbed for the western market. it was also one of the rare dubs of that time to remain uncensored or ‘dumbed down’ for the western market.
Thanks to Bandai’s Gunpla kits, Gundam became one of the most popular animes to be created, with it’s dark and realistic storytelling and it’s themes of war and kinship it garnered praise the world over.
