when TTGL first came out, at least in the english speaking world it was just like any other anime.

Anime back then wasnt anywhere near as mainstream, it was a big meme chans but it wasnt comparable to how people talk about Jojo today. it was just a good anime.

I remember that it was hard to get merch at first, i dont think they anticipated as many people would enjoy it. For me, the world was captivating and the robots inspired me a lot more than Gundam. (´ー` )