The 1970's was the era of the "super robot" genre pioneered by Nagai Go's MAZINGER Z. A young boy would pilot a flashy-looking robot, often designed by his father or uncle, and fight a legion of bad guys on his own. This trend dominated the 70's, producing shows such as GRANDIZER, COMBATTLER V, and GOLION (better known as VOLTRON in the U.S.). Then in 1979, a show came along and forever changed the face of giant robot animation.
Its name is MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM.
Tomino Yoshiyuki, the creator of GUNDAM, is no stranger to the giant robot genre, having made his share of contributions such as IDEON and ZAMBOT 3. And GUNDAM does exhibit some traits of the genre that it derived from, such as the brightly-colored, powerful robot designed by the protagonist's father. But at the same time, it also introduced concepts that were—at the time—groundbreaking, such as the treatment of the mobile suit as military hardware, and a detailed set of theoretical physics to make it seem plausible.
In doing so, GUNDAM became the primary influence that steered the genre towards increased realism. Shows such as MACROSS (better known to some in the U.S. as ROBOTECH) is a result of the trend towards realism started by GUNDAM. And there have been other examples as well; many shows have borrowed something from, or been directly influenced by, GUNDAM. Twenty years after its release, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM has become one of the longest-enduring franchises in the anime world, with numerous TV and OVA sequels and several theatrical features.

 

The second Alternate Universe series following Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Gundam Wing (or simply "GundamW" as it was originally known) follows a story similar to that of the original One Year War saga. The year is After Colony (AC) 195, and after long years of war over rights to indepedence, the Earth based government has seized full hold of the colonies. In an effort to free themselves, rebel forces from five of the colonies send five young men in five powerful Gundams to Earth in order to combat the Earth Sphere Alliance and the secret organization responsible for their misery, OZ (Organization of Zodiac).

Trained to be mercenaries, the five fifteen year old boys, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei, begin a desperate battle to uncover and destroy OZ, only to find that the situation was not as straightforward as once thought. In the midst of it all, one of OZ's top pilots, the mysterious Zechs Merquise, is fighting a private war of his own to right the wrongs in his own past. And in and out of the center of conflict, one young girl named Relena Darlian is struggling to find her way and help settle the war with as little loss to either side as possible. There is no real good or evil; only each man or woman's perspective on war and how mankind should live in order to further its own existence.

Unlike G Gundam, Gundam Wing is a story heavily dependent on the philosophy of war as opposed to a true love story. The relationships between characters are sometimes sketchy at best, and their interactions are often best defined in conflict; whether against one another or in aiding one another in battle situations. In addition, it is believed by many that Wing was shaped as it was to attract a larger audience to gundam, extending it to females, whereas G reached out to the Super Robot genre. The series was later followed up with an OAV entitled Endless Waltz, which brought the AC story to a close and dealt with the original organization that ordered the Gundams sent to Earth. It was later released as a movie version with additional footage.