Gundam is a very popular franchise in Japan about large realistic mechanical suits called Mobile Suits (MS). Gundams are Mobile Suits with much more advanced technology then other previous Mobile Suits. Large stores and cafes have been themed around the franchise, due to it’s current popularity.
In 1979, Mobile Suit Gundam aired for the first time. Mobile Suit Gundam is an anime about the first Gundam designated RX-78-2 “Gundam”. It was popular but widely disliked due to how much it differentiated from other mech shows at the time. During that time mech shows were kid friendly, and usually involved easier topics. Mobile Suit Gundam changed this, as it was about the war between the Principality of Zeon against the Earth Federation. In the first episode scores of people are killed, completely going against the status quo at the time.
During the time that Mobile Suit Gundam ran it’s 43 episodes, one of its sponsors, Clover, made widely popular die-cast toys of the Mobile Suits featured in the show. When Mobile Suit Gundam was cancelled, Bandai bought the rights and released plastic model kits made of the Mobile Suits that costumers were required to build, paint, and glue. With the advantage of being extremely cheap, at the equivalent of $3, These Gundam Plastic Models (Gunpla) kits became widely popular. This allowed the anime to begin again as Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and leading to what we have now.
The first Gundam anime in english to be aired in America was Gundam Wing and was very popular, although not being as popular in Japan due to taking place in the After Colony (A.C.) timeline, in the future after the Universal Century in which most gundam shows had take place.
Gunpla models have also evolved further, no longer needing to be painted and glued but just simply snapping pieces together, although many put more effort to making them look nicer then simple snap builds. Gundam and Gunpla has become popular around the world although not nearly as popular as it is in Japan. The Gunpla Community has grown and members teach one another to make better, well crafted Gunpla models.
With each new gundam show and character, new Gunpla models come continuously, at various grades and styles. Although, even with the new shows and Gunpla, The original show still holds well, with remakes of the original Gundam being made into new model kits often. Gundam is a awe-inspiring and enjoyable franchise with many aspects to discover.
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