Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
"Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket" was produced by animation studio Sunrise in association with toy company Bandai. Kenji Uchida was the former representative and Minoru Takanashi was the latter's producer. The series was created to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the "Gundam" franchise, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino in 1979. "War in the Pocket" was directed by Fumihiko Takayama, known for his work on "Orguss 02" and "", marking the first time anyone other than Tomino directed a "Gundam" show. The screenplay was written by Hiroyuki Yamaga, with scenario by , while the character designer for this series was Haruhiko Mikimoto.
Gundam
"Mobile Suit Gundam" was developed by animator Yoshiyuki Tomino and a changing group of Sunrise creators with the collective pseudonym of Hajime Yatate. The series was originally entitled "Freedom Fighter Gunboy" (or "Gunboy") for the robot's gun, with boys the primary target demographic. Early production had a number of references to freedom: the White Base was originally "Freedom's Fortress", the Core Fighter was the "Freedom Wing" and the Gunperry was the "Freedom Cruiser". The Yatate team combined the English word "gun" with the last syllable of the word "freedom" to form the portmanteau "Gundom". Tomino changed it to "Gundam", suggesting a unit wielding a gun powerful enough to hold back enemies like a hydroelectric dam holding back water. In keeping with the concept, Gundam are depicted as prototypes or limited-production, with higher capabilities than mass-produced units.