Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Early in the show's North American run, Bandai reported that "G Gundam" had the top ratings of any anime show for the period. The company considered the show to be a "hit" at the time. However, officials for Toonami recounted in 2006 that no "Gundam" series earned significant viewer ratings after the first North American airing of "Gundam Wing" in 2000. "G Gundam" received an overall positive critical reception amid its mainstream exposure in the United States. Nonetheless, views on "G Gundam"s plot remain largely mixed. Negative reactions to the plot mostly stem from its stark contrast to preceding "Gundam" entries that have traditionally focused on deep political and social issues in the midst of war. AnimeNation writer John Oppliger considered "G Gundam" to be "the plague of the "Gundam" franchise" and "one of the biggest mis-steps in anime history" due to its elimination of such serious subtext. Both Bamboo Dong of the Anime News Network and Duncan Scott of "Protoculture Addicts" were also initially disappointed for the same reason, with the latter writer feeling that the series features "Gundam" in its title purely for marketing reasons. Derrick L. Tucker of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews called the series' episodic storyline its "most profound weakness", whereby "the narrative exists to move the viewer from fight to fight". Tucker also found that the potential for its more dramatic themes, such as tension between Domon and Master Asia or Domon's romantic relationship with Rain, is "overshadowed from start to finale by the show's domineering, if repetitive action sets".
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Bandai has marketed a large amount of collectible merchandise based on "G Gundam" in both Japanese and North American territories. This includes plastic model kits ranging from 1:144 to 1:60 scales; expensive garage kits made from resin; and action figures, some of which are exclusive to North America. Sunrise produced a promotional short film centered on "G Gundam" as the third entry of an OVA series known as "Gundam Evolve", packaged as a limited edition bonus with the Master Grade GF13-017NJ Shining Gundam model kit. Numerous guide/art books relating to "G Gundam" have been published. There are two Japanese books published by MediaWorks: released in August 1994 and released in June 1995. Another book, , was published by Dai Nippon Kaiga Co. in September 1995. Rapport released an art book titled in 1994. Hobby Japan published a book in its "Gundam Weapons" series in July 2002, dedicated to collecting and building scale models based on the show. An English-language guide book, "Mobile Fighter G Gundam Technical Manual", was released by Tokyopop in North America on November 12, 2002. The Japanese clothing company Cospa sells officially licensed apparel featuring "G Gundam".