Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
"Gundam Wing" was a greater success in North America, however, and is credited with single-handedly popularizing the "Gundam" franchise among Western audiences. Just over a week after its premiere on Cartoon Network on March 6, 2000, the series was the top rated program in all age groups. During the summer of 2000, it remained as the first or second top-rated show among kids and teens during its twelve airings per week on the Toonami block. "Gundam Wing" was ranked the 73rd best animated series by IGN, calling the series "so good that even those opposed to anime have to give the show its due credit".
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Commemorating the 15th anniversary of the "Gundam" brand, "G Gundam" was produced to reboot the waning popularity of the long-running franchise. It is the first "Gundam" series with a self-contained plot set in an alternate calendar era from the original "Universal Century" timeline. Additionally, the show casts aside many of the conventions set by its predecessors and takes many new steps for its franchise, such as a focus on martial arts and decisive, personal duels as opposed to large-scale military conflicts. "G Gundam" was directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa, with its settings and characters significantly influenced by the director's interest in world cinema. The anime's real world locales were drawn from numerous foreign films and were planned using location scouting. "G Gundam" ran for 49 episodes on Japan's TV Asahi from April 1, 1994 to March 31, 1995. An English-language version produced by Bandai Entertainment aired in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami block beginning on August 5, 2002. Since its original broadcast, "G Gundam" has spawned manga, audio albums, video games, guide books, and several lines of scale models.