Gundam : Star Trek of Japan

Gundam is the definitive Japanese mecha series. Many people consider it the "Star Trek of Japan" because of several striking similarities. The first series in each franchice suffered poor ratings in their initial runs, only to enjoy massive success in reruns. Both were resurrected as feature films, and both enjoyed continued success with many spinoff series. In the case of Gundam, this success has created 10 TV series, 5 OVA series, and 3 movies to date. When Bandai Entertainment began releasing anime in 1998, some of the first things it released included the Gundam movie trilogy, Gundam 0080 and Gundam 0083. The franchise was rather low key in the U.S. until Cartoon Network broadcast Gundam Wing in 2000 and it became a runaway success. In each subsequent year, Bandai has released several UC and alternate universe series, most recently Gundam SEED DESTINY. In Japan, Bandai is releasing a Gundam SEED DESTINY Special Edition, and a Gundam SEED theatrical film is in the works.