Gundam has released countless stories in the past that feature the anime mechs, with this year set to receive a new anime series and feature-length film in Gundam: Witch From Mercury and Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island. With the Mobile Suit franchise continuing to release numerous pieces of merch, a recent financial report shows how Gundam remains the king of anime mech franchises as the series has pulled in its biggest sales numbers to date.
In a new report, Bandai Namco Holdings revealed that Mobile Suit: Gundam had its best fiscal year to date, earning a staggering $783 million USD across the board. With this being a seven percent increase from the previous year and nearly doubling the overall amount that the anime franchise brought in for the year 2010, it’s clear that the mech franchise isn’t going anywhere any time soon. While Gundam didn’t come within swinging distance of Dragon Ball, which pulled in an estimated $983 million USD for the same fiscal year, it proves that there definitely is still a market for mobile suit merch.
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One of the biggest sources of income for the Gundam series is the Gundam Plastic Models, aka Gunplas, which saw a serious uptick in sales as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. With many anime fans being quarantined during lock-downs, many looked to the model kits to help pass the time, and it seems as though the need for these sets has stuck around despite lock-downs being eased in many countries around the globe. Gundam toys alone sold an estimated $340 million USD in 2021 and with Gunplas having already sold over five hundred million units, it’s quite an accomplishment.
While sales for Gundam have risen, the franchise recently ran into a snag with regards to its Walking Gundam statue in Japan, as the life-sized mech had to be placed on a long hiatus for maintenance, though it should get to stepping once again later this summer.
What do you think of Gundam’s overall sales numbers? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of
