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.
Mobile Suit Gundam 00
Licensing for a North American release of "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" was announced by Bandai Entertainment at New York Comic Con 2008 on April 18, 2008. "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" is the first Gundam series to air on national television in the United States since "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" and began airing twice weekly on November 24, 2008 on SCI FI (now known as SyFy). The first season concluded its first run on Sci-Fi on February 9, 2009. The second season also aired on the same network and time slot on June 29, 2009 and concluded its run on September 21, 2009. Due to the closure of Bandai Entertainment, the series and movie have been out of print. On October 11, 2014 at their 2014 New York Comic-Con panel, Sunrise announced they will be releasing all of the Gundam franchise, including "Gundam 00" in North America though distribution from Right Stuf Inc., beginning in Spring 2015. This will also include the previously unreleased "Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Special Edition".