Claim: Sunrise created anime from 1979 to 2008.

, also referred to as the , is a science fiction media franchise created by Sunrise that features giant robots -LRB- or `` mecha '' -RRB- called `` mobile suits '' , with titular mobile suits that carry the name `` Gundam . ''   The franchise started on April 7 , 1979 , as an anime TV series called Mobile Suit Gundam , which was revolutionary in that it defined the real robot genre of anime by featuring giant robots in a militaristic war setting . The popularity of the first TV series and the merchandising that followed spawned a franchise that has come to include works released in numerous media . Titles have appeared in the form of multiple television series and OVAs , movies , manga , novels , and video games . The franchise has also led to the creation of one of the biggest toy and hobby franchises in the Japanese toy industry .   As of 2014 , the Gundam franchise generates revenues of 80 billion yen a year . The 2014 retail sales of Gundam toy and hobby items totaled 18.4 billion yen . In the 2008 ranking of average sales figures for anime copies sold in Japan -LRB- 1970 -- 2008 total sales figures averaged by episode -RRB- Gundam series were in four of the top five places : Mobile Suit Gundam ranked second , with Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny third , Mobile Suit Gundam SEED fourth , and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam fifth . Also , Mobile Suit Gundam Wing ranked 18th and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ ranked 20th . Gunpla -LRB- Gundam Plastic model -RRB- holds 90 % of the Japanese character plastic model market .   Academics in Japan have also viewed the series as inspiration , with the International Gundam Society being the first academic institution based on an animated TV series .