Why Did Gundam Struggle in America After Gundam Wing?

gamerant.com:

While Americans may have Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings as cornerstones of toy merchandise, over in Japan the undisputed titan for nerds who love figurine collecting is Gundam. The franchise started out as an anime called Mobile Suit Gundam that premiered on April 7th, 1979. It would be hailed as an instant classic for its realistic settings, focus on political warfare, and characters who could (at times) be morally ambiguous. The series was then edited down into three motion pictures, where the box office success would propel the franchise into pop culture forever.

Soon after TV sequels followed, along with spin-offs and lots of merchandise. Lots and LOTS of merchandise! While this original anime and movies were brought to America early on, it wasn’t until Gundam Wing hit Cartoon Network’s Toonami that the franchise got real exposure in America. It was so popular it even (temporarily) de-throned Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon as the most popular anime in America. Gundam’s huge success was poised to continue the winning streak in America…until a crucial mistake brought the whole thing to a screeching halt.

What The Upcoming Gundam: The Witch From Mercury's Prologue Tells Us About The Anime

While Gundam was a huge franchise in Japan, for decades it was something that only underground nerds in America really knew about. As mentioned above, the original trilogy of Gundam movies was brought over to America, but for the most part, general audiences were largely unaware of the franchise. Parent company Bandai Entertainment was always interested in making Gundam a hit franchise in the west, but never really had any luck in selling the show to a wide enough audience to make that plan feasible. Without the potential to merchandise