Page "Mobile Suit Gundam" Paragraph 8

Gundam was not popular when it first aired, and was in fact almost cancelled before the series was intended to end.

The series was originally set to run for 52 episodes but was cut down to 39 by the show's sponsors, which included the original toymakers for the series.

However, the staff was able to negotiate a one month extension to end the series with 43 episodes.