Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
The series aired in Japan on the terrestrial TV Asahi network. It ran for 49 episodes; beginning on April 7, 1995 and ending on March 29, 1996. It received multiple manga adaptations, as well as video games. Four original video animation (OVA) episodes were produced including a retelling of the series, "Operation Meteor", and a direct sequel, "". In 2010, Sumizawa started writing the novel "", another sequel to the series. While the series fared modestly well in Japan, it found greater success in the United States and popularized the "Gundam" franchise in the West.
Kunihisa Sugishima
Sugishima started his career on Sunrise in the 1980s, having worked as the setting producer for "Heavy Metal L-Gaim"s episodes 1 to 18, as well as the director and storyboarder for other episodes. Another major work in his early career was his involvement with the "Gundam" series; he directed some episodes of "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam" and "Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ". His first work as main director was in 1994 when he directed at Sunrise a single-episode special titled "Shinizokonai Kakarichō". His subsequent works were not at Sunrise; he directed "Gokudo" (1999) at Trans Arts, "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters" (2000–2004) at Gallop, and "Speed Grapher" (2005) at Gonzo. For the latter company he also directed the original video animation "Strike Witches" in 2007. After directing "Nabari no Ou" at J.C.Staff in 2008, he went to direct four "Beyblade"-related television series and one film at Tatsunoko Productions and SynergySP between 2009 and 2012. He returned to work for Sunrise where he was the director for two "Battle Spirits" anime; "Burning Soul" (2015) and "Double Drive" (2016).