Heads up, Gundam fans! Staff of the Anime NYC Convention just announced this Monday that they will be hosting none other than Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of legendary mecha series Gundam himself! Tomino’s guesting at the Anime NYC is part of the celebrations for the franchise’s 40th anniversary. Make sure to cop tickets to this event fast, as this will be Tomino’s first and only US appearance!
According to Anime NYC’s official website, Tomino will be participating in panel discussions, autograph sessions, and other yet-to-be-announced special events. All these activities, which are part of the franchise’s 40th anniversary festivities at the convention, also include the finals to the 2019 Gunpla Builders World Cup.
Anime NYC describes Tomino’s contributions to the anime industry as such:
”Central to Gundam is Director Yoshiyuki Tomino. His realistic approach to war and robots defined Gundam and redefined storytelling in the anime industry. Gundam’s impact continues to this day and has influenced countless popular titles including Evangelion, Macross, Patlabor, Code Geass, Full Metal Panic, Knights of Sidonia, and VOTOMS. Mr. Tomino has remained involved across Gundam’s 40 year history, and he’s personally created and directed many of Gundam’s television series and feature films including Zeta Gundam, Gundam ZZ, Char’s Counterattack, Gundam F91, Victory Gundam, Turn A Gundam, and Gundam Reconguista in G.”
The Gundam franchise began with the Mobile Suit Gundam series, which was first released in 1979. The first series, set in the futuristic Universal Century era, is centered on the war between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation. The Universal Century era, eventually referred to simply as “UC”, was adapted into subsequent Gundam series as the fictional universe’s timeline. While it initially performed dismally in terms of TV ratings, the franchise acquired massive popularity largely thanks to the release of Bandai’s Gunpla models, which were based on the mecha featured in the Mobile Suit Gundam series. Reruns over the next few years and a theatrical release of the anime ultimately led to the success of the Gundam franchise, thus revolutionizing the giant robot genre. Since its inception, the franchise has spawned several series, movies, and Gunpla model sales are still going strong.
Anime NYC will be held from November 15 to 17 at the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan.
Source: Anime News Network