Thursday, September 10, 2015

Special Review-Gundam Build Fighters


I am surprised it took me this long to get around to Gundam Build Fighters.  The series and it’s sequel, Gundam Build Fighters Try, have both been available of Sunrise’s GundamInfo Youtube page since they debuted a couple of years back.  I was always curious to check it out but I guess just never got around to them.  What a mistake that was.  Gundam Build Fighters took a concept that was risky with a franchise like Gundam and in the end, struck me right in my heart as a fan of this decades spanning giant robot franchise.

The series is set in present day, decades after the initial boom of Gunpla (short for Gundam Plastic Models).  Gunpla is everywhere now and is now recognized as a world sport, both modeling and battling.  A special system has been invented which can allows builders and fighters to participate in Gunpla Battle, virtual simulations where Gunpla can clash at their leisure.  Sei Iori has been a Gundam fan since birth.  His mother runs a Gunpla shop and his father is a Gunpla building legend.  But Sei isn’t a fighter and his dreams of becoming a world champion like his father seem very distant despite his love for Gundam.  That all changes when he meets Reiji, a mysterious boy who feels like he’s from another world and has never heard of Gunpla Battle.  But once Sei introduces him to it, Reiji is hooked and he quickly commandeers Sei’s skills to build, manage and support a Gunpla he can pilot.  Oh and Reiji just happens to be a Prince from another world that might have a strange connection to the particles that power Gunpla battles…yeah just go with it, it’s hardly ever brought up after the first time.

After finishing the first series, im kind of at a loss of where to start talking.  The plot? The multitude of Gundams?  The strange but loveable cast?  The annoyances that never really cleared themselves up? The fact that I want this world to actually exist and talk Gundam with everyone all day?

Oooooook, let’s take a breath.

Like I said, with so many emotions as to why I enjoyed this series, I have to remember how this show should not have worked.  I mean yes, Gundam Plastic Models have been more the lifesblood of Mobile Suit Gundam than the shows themselves.  Every time a new show rolls out, new models appear for sale and Gundam’s popularity has thrived off of that.  It got an especially added boost after Gundam Wing took the US by storm in 2000 and unleashed it’s merch as well.  But to make a series based off these popular items and forgo Gundam’s usual war torn set up?  This was kind of attempted with the first alternate reality Gundam Series, G Gundam, with Gundams used more for martial arts combat than a real war.  I have mixed feelings about that series: love the mechs but think the lead character is a waste of time and effort (Yes Internet, I hate Domon Kasshu…deal with it).  So why did Build Fighters impress me?

Sei is a key factor.  In his first scene, showing a couple of customers around his familys shop, he immediately goes into the full spec and historical details of the Wing Gundam from Gundam Wing.  That is basically my inner Gundam fan on display there.  So excited, so thrilled, so happy to talk about it with others.  He’s basically the little brother I didn’t think I wanted in life but there he is.  His passion for Gundam is one people can understand as it isn’t different from ones dedication to sports, which Gunpla Battle is recognized as I remind you.  And he’s nowhere near as creepy as Gundam 00’s Graham Acker…who let’s face it basically wanted to (CENSORED) a Gundam.  Sei’s spirit drives many of the events of this series and while he isn’t the best fighter, he is still a good teacher for Reiji, who ends up becoming his best friend. 

Yeah I mentioned Reiji is from a kingdom in another dimension…really that isn’t really talked about much until right before the end of the series and it’s rarely brought up before hand, everyone kind of just ignores it.  Reiji’s Prince status is evident in his attitude which did make him irksome from time to time.  At some points I felt like he never gave a crap about Sei and his thoughts on Gunpla and just wanted to fight to win.  But Reiji came around and found a friend and even a family once he was taken in by Sei’s insanely hot mother, Rinko.  Once Reiji figures out his deeper reasons for enjoying Gunpla, he becomes Sei’s equal and voices his enjoyment of the battle with pride and happiness. 

The cast is as diverse as they come, especially since the latter half of the series find Sei and Reiji in a Gunpla Battle World Tournament.  There’s the cat like building genius Mao, my personal fav; Italian flirter Fellini; an American Science Ninja (yes that’s a thing) Nils; a beautiful European child prodigy Aila; and there’s even a Char knock off in the form of Tatsuya who takes on the mantle of a legendary Gunpla fighter Meijin Kawaguchi.  Oh and believe it or not, legendary Zeon Ace Ramba Ral from the original Mobile Suit Gundam, is a main character, serving as Sei and Reiji’s chief mentor in their journey.  You want more fan service, Episode 23 features a Gunpla festival with cameo appearances from pretty much every chief Gundam character from the last 35 years, talk about whoa.


Next to Sei, the Gunpla battles are definitely my favorite part of this series.  Immeidatley, I was naming off models left and right as this series has no distinct set of suits.  Nope, every series in Gundam history is repped here in one way.  And because this series is just that full of imagination, we get special custom forms of beloved favorites like the Gundam Mark 2, Deathsythe, Exia, Epyon, even non Gundams like Tallgeese, GM and Goufs.  It’s a total nerd gast seeing the franchise clash in epic fashion.  I was a little worried when we got to the World Tournament just before the second half of the series began as I was worried they were going to drag out the remaining episodes of a relatively short series for a Gundam.  But seeing the Gunpla in a battle royale, even a race or test of various hilarity degrees alleviated my fears.  And then we got some truly epic battles to sate the hype.  Sei and Reiji had so many great back to back battles in the finals: their putting Nils in his place and their battle with Fellini both stood out the most.

The only limits to how far this series can go with it’s battle and mech choices are the limits of the staffs imagination.  And I think that’s what I enjoyed the most.  It was so fun back in the day to collect Gundam action figures and have Amuro’s RX-78 take on Heero’s Wing Zero or Kira Yamato’s Strike Gundam.  Build Fighters is a Gundam fans playground, with a long library of mechs, both original and custom to build from.  I so wanted this world to be a reality, this Yu Gi Oh meets Mech fighting amazement.  I felt so at home and eventually sad that the series came to an appropriate end after 25 episodes.  While I have begun watching Gundam Build Fighters Try, ill admit that show will have to work a bit harder to suck me back in since it picks up years later and there’s been no sign of Sei, Reiji or their allies from the original series.

It’s been a long time since ive cared about a series this much and of course it had to be a Gundam one.  Did I have problems with it?  Oh yeah.  I was sick of Nils trying to use science and statistics to win instead of having fun like everyone else…though he got better after fighting Sei and Reiji.  Oh and I HATED the Tournament President who had a mysterious connection to Reiji but refused to tell us why and just whine about it.  We do learn the secret but it seems like such a let down after such an angering build up I wish he had been replaced all together…his assistant was pretty hot though and it was funny he originally met her when she cosplayed as Sayla Mass from Mobile Suit Gundam.

I loved this series, faults and all.  It’s the vision I have of Valhalla…within an Anime Convention.  It reminded me that it’s ok to be a nerd and enjoy something you love so long as you don’t lose faith in it.  For me that’s Anime and chief of those is Gundam.  Gundam Build Fighters shouldn’t have been a hit with me.  It looks like a kids show with Gundam meeting Yu Gi Oh.  But it’s more than just a kid friendly entry in the franchise: it’s a love letter to fans of the legendary mobile suit from past to present.  And it rocked for 25 straight episodes.

Yeah, it’s getting a 9/10…check it out and never let your imagination die.
 

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