Short answers, pulled from the story.
Sunrise produced Space Runaway Ideon in 1980 immediately following the massive success of Mobile Suit Gundam. The series premiered on TV Tokyo and ran from 1980 through 1981 before transitioning into two feature films released in 1982.
Yuichi Higuchi created the mechanical designs at Studio Submarine for the television series version while Tomonori Kogawa handled character designs throughout the entire franchise. Higuchi received full credit for the subsequent films while the television series credited only the design studio itself.
The events occur on the planet Solo in the Andromeda Galaxy where archaeologists discover three large armored tanks capable of combining into a godlike mecha. Cosmo Yuki and his friends activate these tanks to repel an initial assault by soldiers sent by Gije who belong to the Buff Clan military force.
Both races were wiped out completely as humanity and the Buff Clan scattered to the end of the universe after the Ideon released infinite power using Karala's baby as the trigger. Their souls traveled through space to be reborn as wise and kindhearted beings who would use technology more wisely.
An HD Blu-ray set finally arrived on the 5th of February 2019 after fan complaints cancelled an initial SDBD version planned for the 11th of December 2018. A previous Blu-ray box set had been released on the 2nd of February 2013 offering improved quality compared to earlier formats.