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.
Gundam Mk-II
The Mk. II appeared years before the official North American release of "Z Gundam" on the talk show "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in a commercial bumper. Featured on an episode originally aired on September 30, 1998, the "Conan Mk. II" was formed from a Mk. II model kit altered with O'Brien's face, and a cartoon-like head on the shield, as typical of "Late Night" bumpers of the period. "Zeta Gundam" was not officially released in the North American market by Bandai until 2004. "Late Night" graphical designer Pierre Bernard is a self-stated anime enthusiast, though if he specifically created the "Conan Mk. II" bumper has not been confirmed by any official source.