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
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.