It's really sad to think THIS was the peak of Gundam's

>>13994900
Because nobody knew which or what of the available Gundam series at the time to localize next.

0079 is only for purists, since the aged art was a turn-off to anybody not a "gundam fan" and only a "fan of gundam."
G was not in the "real robot" vibe that a lot of people who watched Wing liked (myself included), and I didn't thusly give it a shot until I figured out liked "Gundam" in general for its own merits.
What was next after those?

>>13994920
>What was next after those?
08th MS Team maybe? My memory of those early years is all jumbled up though, it might not have shown up until after the first English localizations of earlier UC series.

>>13994920
If you ask me Gundam X would have been a perfect follow-up after Wing

>>13994900
>worldwide
you type well for an American

GOONDAM

>>13994966

We've talked about this a dozen times. X bombed in Japan and there weren't any toys that they could bring over.

GOONDAM WING

>>13994900
Found my new smug reaction image, thanks OP!

Gundam fandom has stabilized as the years have gone on like a fine wine, and the hardcore portion may not be the same size as the Wing fanbase, but it has also grown substantially compared to what it was when Wing/G were airing. Does it really matter that it isn't toonami levels of popular anymore when we're getting most major series officially released now the same time as japan, affordable blu ray releases for UC shows (before Wing even, mind you), same day streaming of most new episodes of content (G Reco and IBO on Hulu), and model kits which are really no harder to order/find than any major hobby western kit?

Don't lament the lack of fans. Get out, be social, and introduce the shows you love to friends who are open-minded. I've been doing that for over a decade and I've converted dozens of anime fans into wider gundam fans.

Things kind of sucked 5 years ago when Bandai ENT was in decline, but the market has changed now for the better for the fandom. /m/ really needs to drop the "Gundam is dead in the west" meme, because it simply isn't true, especially relative to other anime franchises that aren't something like AoT, FMA, Dragonball, Naruto, Pokemon, or Sailor Moon.

>>13995137
I'd hate to say it, but I really think the Blu-Ray releases of Unicorn and the former ability to watch Gundam on GundamInfo really helped to show Bandai/Sunrise that there's still a market for it in the West. With the DVD release of Turn A, Gundam: The ORIGIN manga releases, Blu-Rays for MSG, Z and ZZ we're definitely seeing a renaissance for Gundam fans in the West.

>>13994900
>It's really sad to think THIS was the peak of Gundam's worldwide popularity

Why is that sad? If you knew the circumstances of which it aired, it isn't so surprising. Wing premiered on a childrens' cartoon network and it appealed to a young but fairly large demographic and it was perfectly encapsulated story which didn't require you to watch any of the older stuff to get a background for context of the setting. The robots looked cool enough and animation quality was great for episodic television show.

>>13995188


Bingo. Wing was the ideal series to bring over to introduce the franchise. It's not my favorite by any means... but all UC TV shows were connected to 0079, so you couldn't start with Victory or Zeta and really have it feel right. X was a fiscal failure so they weren't going to do it. Turn A was just airing, and G was too non-traditional for an introduction.

That left the self-contained, higher budgeted Wing. Far from my favorite show, but it was perfect for the US audience in so many respects. Only 00 or IBO would be later comparable options. Seed was too fujoshi friendly and flopped.

>>13995328
>IBO
You just said X was a fiscal failure

>>13995013
The majority of the overses Gundam fan base has never given a shit about gunpla. The shows have always been more imoorland to the fans, just not to Bandai

>>13995448
Actually, part of the gun about Gundam Wing when it was airing as a kid was that my friend introduced me to gunpla. They were over in a far-ish Toys'R'Us.

Picked up a lot of HG Wing stuff that way, and a lot of the shittier old models that came in smaller-than-HG boxes (whatever grade that was).

GOONDAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNj5UaE6SAc

>>13995468
OK but understand you don't speak for the majority. Moat kids just watched the show.

Which is another big difference from Japan. Gundam's fan as here was primarily kids, not Gunota.

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>>13995013
>We've talked about this a dozen times. X bombed in Japan

okay and? A lot of shows have different receptions across the pond.

Big O got a whole second season because the US viewers ate it up

Im not saying we would have funded the missing episodes but the show probably woulda done alright on toonami

>>13994900
Gundam has never been broadcast on TV here.

Anime is strictly for pirates, except for a few shows on Netflix I guess.

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>>13994900
If this were 2007 I'd bitch with you however we've been getting a ton of Gundam stuff in the west lately that I never even thought we'd get like X so I don't give a shit what was popular in 2000 anymore.