The anime network Crunchyroll began airing “Mobile Suit Gundam,” the original series within the iconic Gundam franchise, as one of its library of more than 1,000 Gundam titles, opening up more opportunities for licensees.
The Crunchyroll consumer products team currently manages the international merchandise rights for five Gundam titles with North American licensees including Bioworld Merchandising, Just Funky, FigPin, Trends Intl., and Loot Crate.
For the uninitiated, it’s hard to overstate how popular Gundam products are in the anime fan world, and Mobile Suit Gundam is the classic show that started it all back in 1979. Crunchyroll says all 42 episodes of the original series will be aired on the streamer starting Jan. 25. The show follows a young pilot named Amuro Ray as he controls the gigantic Mobile Suit Gundam, essentially a giant battle robot.
In the original series the rebel space colonies of the Principality of Zeon launch a war of independence against the Earth Federation, using humanoid fighting vehicles called mobile suits to overwhelm the Federation Forces and conquer half of Earth’s surface. Months later, the Federation has finally developed its own prototype mobile suits at a remote space colony. But when the colony suffers a Zeon surprise attack, these new weapons fall into the hands of a motley crew of civilians and cadets, including ace Gundam pilot Amuro Ray.
The series spawned several other Gundam titles including 10 that are now streaming on Crunchyroll as well, and an astonishing array of toys, figures, and other products.
Since the original series aired the Gundam series have generated more than $20 billion in retail sales, and are especially popular in Japan where Gundam figures make up an estimated 90 per cent of the character plastic model market, with more than half a billion models sold to date.
The consumer products team at Crunchyroll provides global anime fans with products in the categories of lifestyle, home goods, fashion and more, managing all-rights for more than 350 anime series, with more than 100 global licensees. Today Crunchyroll serves more than 90 million registered users and 3 million subscribers in more than 200 countries and territories. Crunchyroll’s robust online community also includes more than 45 million followers across social media.