is a televised anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series, created by Sunrise

Sunrise (company)

is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...

. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino

Yoshiyuki Tomino

is a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art...

, it premiered in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 on Nagoya Broadcasting Network

Nagoya Broadcasting Network

, Nickname: Mētele is a TV station joining All-Nippon News Network in Nagoya. It is broadcast in Aichi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, and Mie Prefecture.-Analog:JOLX-TV*Nagoya TV Tower - Channel 11...

 on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes. It was the very first Gundam

Gundam

The is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....

series, which has subsequently been adapted into numerous sequels and spin-offs.

The series was later re-edited for theatrical release and split into three movies in 1981. The characters were designed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

is a Japanese animator and manga artist in the anime industry.Yasuhiko dropped out of Hirosaki University and was hired by Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Productions in 1970 as an animator. He later went freelance and worked on various animation productions for film and television. In 1981 he won the Seiun...

 and Kunio Okawara

Kunio Okawara

is a mechanical designer in the Japanese anime industry. A mechanical designer is similar to a character designer, but the design is for robots, ships, and other mechanical items found in a particular show. Okawara was the first in the industry to be specifically credited as a mechanical designer...

 was responsible for the mechanical designs, including the titular giant robot, the RX-78-2 Gundam.