When people talk about anime being filled with ninjas, beautiful (deadly) women, and giant robots, they're right. We've done ninjas and beautiful women already, so it's time to introduce one of if not the most enduring image in anime history - the Gundam.
Gundam has a long, rich history, and has been running off and on in various guises since 1979. The original series, "Mobile Suit Gundam" told the story of a young kid who finds himself aboard a military space ship as the pilot of a new weapon - the Gundam, a giant robot. That spawned a couple of spin-off series, and a three movie compilation of the original series.
Later, other series would take the mobile suits and place them in other timelines - alternate histories, all defined by the year designation. Original Gundam series are called "UC - Universal Century", G Gundam is "Future Century", Gundam Wing is "After Colony", and Gundam SEED (the latest series, and IMHO, the best) is "Cosmic Era".
Gundam is interesting in that there is a distinctive lack of "Bad Guys". Everyone in the series (with maybe one or two notable exceptions), is doing what they're doing with the best intentions. Also, the distinctive design of the mobile suits remains fairly intact. (Note the vanes coming off the head, in particular). Gundam Seed is currently running on Cartoon Network, Saturdays at 10:30, Gundam WING and other Gundam series are available on DVD and videocassette at your local retailer and amazon.com.
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