Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
"Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket" was produced by animation studio Sunrise in association with toy company Bandai. Kenji Uchida was the former representative and Minoru Takanashi was the latter's producer. The series was created to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the "Gundam" franchise, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino in 1979. "War in the Pocket" was directed by Fumihiko Takayama, known for his work on "Orguss 02" and "", marking the first time anyone other than Tomino directed a "Gundam" show. The screenplay was written by Hiroyuki Yamaga, with scenario by , while the character designer for this series was Haruhiko Mikimoto.
Cultural impact of Gundam
The giant robot anime franchise "Gundam" is a popular culture icon in Japan. The "Gundam" franchise had grossed over in retail sales by 2000. Its owner Bandai Namco was earning up to per year from products based on the Gundam characters by 2007, rising to per year by 2014. As of June 2018, "Gundam" is the 15th highest-grossing media franchise of all time, estimated to have generated more than in total revenue.