Mobile Suit Gundam Meteor (1994-96 Japanese broadcast; 2000-02 North American broadcast) was the first introduction many non-Japanese viewers had with the lengthy Gundam franchise and with the Universal Century continuity in particular. For many it was the 'gateway drug' for fans to be introduced to the 'mecha' genre of animation, the nearest approximation of which in the North American experience was The Transformers, nearly two decades prior. The success of Meteor is all the more surprising given its origins in two failed Gundam series, Mobile Suit Gundam F91, and Mobile Suit Victory Gundam.
F91 had always been intended to be a full-length series but had been shortened to a single movie [1]. After the cancellation of Mobile Suit Victory Gundam while still in preproduction [2], Yoshiyuki Tomino and some of his staff took a year off and polished out the series' story and visual style while the Gundam franchise was on hiatus, taking some of the characters and designs from the cancelled Victory and reintroduced them in an all-new story, centered around "Operation Meteor", from which the series derived its name. On consultation with contacts at Sunrise (the series treatment was still being done on Tomino's own time at this point), the new series would feature a team of Gundam pilots instead of a single 'hero' character. This would allow each character the freedom to operate independently or in small groups, as well as all together. It was also decided that the series would focus more on the characters operating outside of their Mobile Suits and interpersonal drama, with combat scenes given more weight by using them more sparingly [3].
Picking up plot elements introduced in F91 and the unmade Victory, Operation Meteor was a "vengeance operation" by the defeated Crossbone Vanguard against the Earth Federation, infiltrating a small number of extremely powerful Mobile Suits patterned after the Gundam series [4] onto Earth with the express mission of executing precision attacks to weaken and ultimately topple the Federation government. Although starting as members of the enemy faction, the main characters' experiences on Earth would ultimately change their allegiances, turning them against the very people they were once considered fanatically loyal to.
Themes of vengeance, forgiveness, loyalty, love, and redemption were threaded throughout the series, providing the through line for each character's journey towards their ultimate goal of peace.
When Sunrise began planning its 1994 season Tomino was able to drop Gundam Meteor as a complete package, with most of the story and concept work already complete. Unsurprisingly it was accepted with some edits that were easily accommodated [5]. Perhaps Tomino's greatest feat was laying out the story so that it could easily be paced as either a single or double-length season, depending on how generous with funding Sunrise would be, avoiding the 'plot crunch' of trying to fit a story into a format too small for it Tomino was all too familiar with [6]. Impressed with the treatment, Sunrise approved of the full-length series, although it would be split between two distinct seasons, necessitating the inclusion of a Season One climax. The requisite story changes were complete within a week, although Tomino had been canny enough to make the season finale a cliffhanger to try and avoid Sunrise pulling the plug on Season Two.
He needn't have worried, Mobile Suit Gundam Meteor performed better than anticipated on broadcast in 1994, marking what would be called the start of "Gundam's Next Generation", a reference to Star Trek's revitalization. While it would be Tomino's last work on the UC Gundam timeline, the franchise would continue to produce OVAs and movies set in the Universal Century.
Tomino's next offering in the Gundam franchise, Turn A Gundam (1999) for the franchise's 20th anniversary, would introduce the franchise to alternate timelines via the "Correct Century" and the implication that there could be multiple Gundam universes beyond the familiar UC continuity (and not just the decidedly non-canon SD Gundam).
[1] As in OTL, this does a good deal to explain the pacing issues F91 has, proceeding at break-neck speed through its second and third acts.
[2] The 1993 broadcast slot originally slated for Victory was taken up by SD Gundam Masterforce Sengoku, the first in the mini-franchise not to have a connection with the main Gundam continuity, which endeared itself to audiences for its comedic telling of the Sengoku Jidai IN SPACE. Characters from "SDG Sengoku" would make cameos in many later Sunrise works, usually as toys seen in the background.
[3] This would ultimately make the series remarkably successful with female demographics, though this was not explicitly planned for at the time. It would also be credited for popularizing the "Shoujo Mecha" genre alongside Vision of Escaflowne.
[4] Each would be a variation on the unused Victory Gundam, tailored to each character's particular talents and combat style. Following the design style started in F91, the newest Gundams would be smaller and more agile than previous generations, despite having a greater power output. Meteor would hold the distinction of having both the smallest (the Meteor series themselves) and largest (Psycho Gundam III "Babylon Gundam") Gundams in the UC continuity.
[5] Primarily character related. Relina's role was expanded, Noin was made less malevolent (that role would be picked up by Adams) and more professional, Zechs had a total redesign to make him more visually distinct (incidentally resulting in his becoming the first unquestionable "Char Clone" in Gundam's fandom).
[6] Gundam Reconguista in G is just the latest of many Gundam and Tomino creations to suffer this fate OTL.
