0079

0079 refers to the year 0079 in the Universal Century (UC) timeline of the Gundam franchise. In UC, years are counted from the establishment of the Universal Century, and 0079 marks the outbreak of the One Year War between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon. The designation is most closely associated with Mobile Suit Gundam, a 1979 anime series that established the setting, themes, and political backdrop later central to the franchise.

The original Mobile Suit Gundam follows Amuro Ray aboard the Earth Federation ship White Base as Zeon forces attempt to seize Federation assets. The crew pilots advanced mobile suits, notably the RX-78-2 Gundam, and confronts the brutal realities of war. The series, produced by Sunrise and created by Yoshiyuki Tomino with mecha designs by Kunio Okawara, ran 43 episodes from 1979 to 1980 and became the cornerstone of the Gundam universe.

Impact and legacy: Gundam 0079 is widely credited with pioneering the real robot genre in anime, emphasizing plausible mechanical design, battlefield tactics, and the human costs of war. It introduced a long-running multimedia franchise, including sequels, spin-offs, films, novels, and video games, all set within the UC timeline. The original series’ influence extends across Japanese pop culture and international anime, shaping how mecha stories balance action with political and ethical questions.

In common discourse, the term Gundam 0079 is used to reference the original series and its UC-era setting, distinguishing it from later Gundam installments set in alternate timelines or eras.