The Gundam

1. A franchise of Japanese animation television series, OVAs, and movies, along with manga, models, video games, and other connected merchandise. Gundam is the property of Bandai of Japan and it's subsidiary Sunrise Incorporated, headquarted in Kobe Japan. The origional Gundam TV series, which aired in 1979 was called Kido Senshi Gundamu (Mobile Suit Gundam) and was the brainchild of anime legend Yashuyuki Tomino. Gundam as a general term can be used to denote not only the origional series, but any work that came after it. The UC series created by Tomino himself are regarded by critics and die-hard fans as being vastly superior to any of the newer incarnations. 2. A high performance mobile suit used in a work which is part of the Gundam franchise. Gundams, like all mobile suits are large humanoid combat vehicles inititially developed for use in outer space conflict. The first Gundam was developed as part of the Earth Federation V-Project in 0079 of the Universal Century, to counter the Principality of Zeon's technological superiority. Needless to say, it was a success. Gundam can be used to refer to any of the derivatives of the Gundam in the UC universe, or any copies in alternate universes. Gundams are characterized by their signature V-Antenna, two eyes, and a somewhat blocky anthropomorphic design. They are often white, with red and white components, and are usually piloted by the heroes of the story. Note:All Gundams are mobile suits, but not all mobile suits are gundams.