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.
After War Gundam X
, is a 1996 Japanese anime television series and the seventh installment in the long running "Gundam" franchise that started in 1979, but takes place in an alternate timeline called . The series has 39 episodes, aired in Japan from April 5, 1996, to December 28, 1996, across TV Asahi's ANN stations. It was directed by Sunrise veteran Shinji Takamatsu ("Mobile Suit SD Gundam", "The Brave of Gold Goldran", "School Rumble"), and the screenplay was written by Hiroyuki Kawasaki. The series was released on DVD in North America in 2016.