After all he’s seen an experienced in a short time, Riku
boldly declares his intention to form his own Force in GBN. With Yuki, Momoka and Sarah already on board
and with the blessing of several verteran players, Riku sets out to recruit
members to his new team. There are
already two prospective players in a disillusion former GBN player and a
mysterious Ninja Girl who’s shadowing Riku and his friends. But there are also still a large number of
Mass Divers still wrecking havoc in GBN.
Who is behind the distribution of this game breaking technology and what
will it take to stop them if the Mass Divers become truly uncontrollable?
Monday’s Premiere of Gundam Build Divers felt like an
extended invitation to join in the greatest Gundam Experience for all
ages.
Today’s set goes beyond the
welcome and dives (no pun intended) into the real reasons why GBN is such an
amazing experience for fans of both Gundam and Gunpla.
In many ways, the show is reminding me of
Gundam Build Fighters and how it captured the sense of fun and wonder that made
me a Gundam fan during its Toonami heyday.
More than that though, this set also addresses one of my biggest
complaints of the Build Fighters follow up and keeps a promising new character
from falling into the same trappings as one of my least favorite people in the
entire Gundam franchise.
I feel like I’m
gonna gush a lot in this one because there isn’t anything really negative to go
over really.
Let’s just jump right into
the next chapter, shall we?
First let me talk about that Build Fighters Try
reference.
In that series, there was a
character named Yuuma Kousaka, who was such a promising Gunpla Builder that he
was heralded as the “Second Coming” of OG Build Fighters protagonist Sei Iori.
However, after one Gunpla Duel left his
Gunpla destroyed beyond repair, he Yuuma sunk into a depression and wanted to
leave the hobby behind.
In my opinion,
even though he’s forced onto Team Try Fighters and does help them eventually
secure many victories, Yuuma never recovers from this depression and never grows
as a character.
He’s just stuck in the
same slump of wanting to get out of the Gunpla Game ASAP and is one of the
reasons Build Fighters Try not only fails at being a good follow up to Build
Fighters, he also turned what looked like the best thing ever in Gundam into
one of the most joyless experiences in existence.
Which brings me to one of the newest characters in the
Build Divers Roster, Koichi Nanase.
He’s
the brother of Nanami Nanase, the girl who works at GBN’s HQ in Tokyo.
Koichi builds the Gunpla displays and units
that can be rented (as Momoka did) and they all look incredible.
His skill is renowned even by Veteran
players.
However, Koichi used to do
Gundam Duel’s with his friends the old school way as shown in Build Fighters
and Build Fighters Try (so are they not all part of the same timeline?).
Once GBN took off, Koichi’s friends made the
transition and Koichi didn’t, leaving him alone and dejected.
He still continues to build Gunpla for his
sister but that’s about it.
Now, Build
Divers could have just had Koichi retread the same ground as Yuuma and be a
depressed mess.
But thanks to the
encouragement of Riku, Yuki and Momoka and Koichi learning that players like
Tigerwolf and Shahryar, who is one of the top builders in GBN, have serious
respect for him, Koichi starts to move past his torment.
But it’s not until he sees the kids working
on finishing the Gunpla he’d abandoned was the real kicker.
I was moved to tears as much as Koichi.
I’m no longer worried he’s gonna turn out
like Yuuma, not with a beacon of hope this bright.
This is the kind of magic that’s making Build
Divers on par with Build Fighters and far superior to Build Fighters Try.
Case in point, one of the major themes resonating with
much of this episode set is the power of the bonds formed through friendships
and how it can fuels ones love for Gunpla that echoes in ones Gunpla
build.
As illustrated by the too cool
for school Shahryar, if you slap on a bunch of weapons without a care for how
they work or how the Gunpla will function with that much gear, a Gunpla will
suffer for it.
The Gunpla used by our
main team all have a tremendous amount of heart and soul put into them and you
can see how each experience Riku and Yuki have had with their battles and
interactions with the Veteran Players is fueling their passions. On top of that,
they’re just having a blast exploring more of this vast world of
possibility.
Heck, there’s even an
episode dedicated to a festival featuring the popular Mecha Bear Gunpla models,
the Bearguys.
You cant not look at one
of these things and just want one as a keychain or a plushie.
And you know what, this obviously isn’t your
normal Gundam series, so I’m ok with cute fun like this…especially if the very
cute and super serious Ninja Girl Ayame can get in on that fun as well (as much
as she tries to deny she doesn’t like Bearguys).
Ayame is still a bit of a mystery and doesn’t get fleshed
out as much as Koichi in his intro episode.
I worry about how Riku will react when he learns she is connected to the
guy distributing Break Decals and thus expanding the threat of the Mass
Divers.
That confessional scene is gonna
be a heartbreaker cause at some point, Ayame’s job shadowing Riku and the
others will no doubt falter due to the trust she’s building with them.
Speaking of the Break Decals, they did make a
couple of appearances in two very different ways.
We see that theyre being acquired by players
of all kinds.
For some, they want to
just be absolute jerks and grow their power to crush any and all in their
path.
For others, there’s most
desperation to it.
I actually felt bad
for the girl Riku had to face during the Bearguy Festival, who unleashed a
Break Decal to beat him in a duel so she wouldn’t get kicked out of her team if
she messed up.
Those former guys deserve
the trouncing coming their way.
As for
the latter, it’s sad that in a community so welcoming and open to helping
anyone and everyone that some players might feel like they don’t belong or are
holding their teams back.
It’s only a
matter of time before one of these Mass Divers starts doing more serious damage
to GBN that puts the whole game at risk.
Lastly, I have to touch on the debut battle of Team Build
Divers.
We got the return of Rommel and
the return of everyone wanting to scratch his belly and pet him cause he’s an
adorable not Weasel.
Riku’s newly minted
team faced off against Rommel’s newest recruits and I’m surprised things went
so well.
With Koichi on their side, the
Build Divers had actual strategy on their side and were able to outmaneuver and
outclass Rommel’s team at just about every turn.
It was so funny watching Rommel lose his
composure the more the fight went on to the point where his spirit had left his
body (he’ll have to screen new recruits more closely).
All in all, it was a solid first outing for a
team that’s only just recently united for the first time.
Those were fresh faced recruits though and as
Ayame said, not every fight is gonna be that easy.
I’m sure Riku will learn that the hard way
when he inevitably wants to go up against Kyoya.
Seriously, I don’t wanna say I’m in love with Gundam
Build Divers but right now, it’s making the Gunpla Builder and 13 year old in
me still watching Gundam Wing on Toonami at home so freaking happy.
This show has heart and the messages of strong
bonds, stronger friendships and love being a key factor in the best Gunpla
never feels heavy handed (it hits me in the feels but I’m sort of easy for that
kind of stuff).
I’m always looking
forward to the next area or next player Team Build Divers will meet.
I’m ready for more adventures and we wont
have to wait long as Gundam Build Divers continues This Friday right here at
the Gundam Anime Corner.
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