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.
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.