Comment by zdw
6 hours ago
Eh, Gundam is Japan's Star Wars. Released about the same timeframe (late 70's), tons of sequels and spinoffs, etc.
Evangelion is what happens when someone does a very successful riffs on the genre that Gundam is the most prolific example of.
wouldn't it be more accurate to say its their star trek? admittedly not a gundam fan but I don't see it talked about or merchandised nearly as often as evangelion.
Maybe not in Western countries, but Gundam is HUGE in Japan and neighboring countries like Taiwan. A big part of it is that the merchandise is heavily focused on model kits, like Warhammer on steroids.