Gundam 30th Anniversary.

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the mother of all mechas, Gundam. The original TV series, Mobile Suit Gundam (written, directed by acclaimed Yoshiyuki Tomino (富野 由悠季), debut in Japan back in 1979 and produced by Sunrise), arguably started the by now a norm trend of sci fi anime sets within realistic settings. Robots are no longer singular, super powered being to save the day ala Mazinger Z. But instead, they are part of the numerous, standard war machines use by each side to achieve often pyrrhic victories. The focus instead is on the often emotionally flawed characters, political intrigues and manipulations, the effect of war on the participants etc. The series and its subsequent sequels (same/or different timeline) are also well known for its realistic application of scientific and technical aspects. Admittedly, I am not a die hard fan of this series. I only watched the series in the late 80s, from the original to its subsequent sequels, the last being Char's Counterattack. But by mid 90s, the MS 08 Team series caught my eyes and mind, and remain one of favourite OVA until now. Maybe it is due to, comparatively, the animation is more "up to date" and the storyline is more "down to Earth" perhaps. It also explain why I die die also must get a Gouf Custom under the Gundam Fix/Zeonography series.