Gundam is a Japanese fiction media franchise. The franchise features giant robots, or mecha, known as "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979 with Mobile Suit Gundam, a TV series that defined the "real robot" mecha anime genre by featuring giant robots called mobile suits. The popularity of the series spawned a whole industry of plastic model kits known as Gunpla. There are now a variety of TV series and hundreds of Gunpla kits, at a variety of price points and scales, primarily made of plastic, with many featuring resin and even die-cast parts. For beginners and expert model builders alike, there is definitely something for everyone in Gundam.