Gunplas, aka Gundam Plastic Models, are some of the hottest-selling pieces of anime merchandise that have been created in the history of the medium. Selling over five hundred units to date since the first plastic model was created in the 1970s, fans might be surprised to realize that The Witch From Mercury has hit a major milestone when it comes to the prolific merch. With the second season of the latest Gundam anime arriving, the President of Namco Bandai revealed just how popular the Gundam Aeriel has become.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury once again introduces new takes on the classic mechs that have arguably become the most popular pilotable mechanical suits in the medium. The big wrinkle for the series isn’t just that the latest anime gives fans the first female protagonist of the series, but it also introduces a university wherein skirmishes can be determined by mech battles. With Suletta attempting to find her way in a universe that has outlawed Gundams and is ruled by a conglomerate of corporations, the second season recently released its premiere episode to fans of the latest iteration.
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How Popular Is Gundam Aeriel?
The Namco Bandai President, Masaru Kawaguchi, not only discussed how popular The Witch From Mercury has become with the highest initial sales for the Gunplas, but noted other major anime franchises the company has dipped its toes into over the years, “Looking at established intellectual property, such as Mobile Suit Gundam, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Ultraman, and Digimon, we were able to expand product roll-outs, not just in Japan but worldwide. With Mobile Suit Gundam, the plastic model of the Gundam that played the lead role in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury recorded strong results. Among the Gundam versions, it had the highest initial sales in history, and it currently continues to be popular.”
If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out the latest entry in the Gundam anime universe, here’s the official description for the anime series that introduced us to Suletta Mercury, “A.S. (Ad Stella) 122 ― An era when a multitude of corporations have entered space and built a huge economic system. A lone girl from the remote planet Mercury transfers to the Asticassia School of Technology, run by the Beneritt Group which dominates the mobile suit industry. Her name is Suletta Mercury. With a scarlet light burning in her pure heart, this girl walks step by step through a new world.”
