This series is considered a groundbreaker for NOT being based on a manga, but instead making its debut as a manga (comic) and a television series simultaneously. Beforehand, every animated series in Japan had been based on a comic; the manga would have to prove itself before its television adaptations (known as "terebi manga" - television comics) followed. However, the success of this series generated a new term - anime.
Many of the Gamilas are named after famous German public figures. Leiji Matsumoto holds a fascination with German culture, particularly German names; however, this got him in trouble when a protest came from a German person about Germans being cast as villains. Matsumoto claimed "it was just the German army mania in me!".
In the first episode, Susumu Kodai angrily questions Captain Okita as to why he did not return for his brother, Mamoru Kodai, and the Captain can only say "I'm sorry." This was taken from an actual experience Leiji Matsumoto's father, a commandant-pilot in the Japanese Navy, recounted to him.
The name of Dessler combines "Dess" ("Death") with "Ra" (Sun), which would make his name mean "The Sun of Death".
Beforehand, most space scenes were drawn as the classic jet-black colour with white stars, and were rendered using poster paints. However, Leiji Matsumoto wanted to create an impression of "an outer space that was alive and overflowing with matter, light and energy", so he directed the use of dark blue "Sakura", a watercolor paint used at the time by schoolchildren. At first, the animators were opposed to using this colour, but after some experimentation they saw how well it looked and used it from then on.