T5W#418-Top 5 Ways Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise Could Have Been Better

If my 2/10 score wasn’t indication enough, I didn’t like Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise very much. It was Gundams attempt to jump into a genre it really didn’t need to, that being the still wildly popular Isekai genre. On top of that, dull and uninteresting premise and a continuously frustrating story did nothing to improve things and the only time I actually enjoyed the show was when the original Build Divers cast returned for the finale. Re:Rise is littered with missed opportunities that could have been taken advantage of and on todays Top 5 Wednesday im gonna talk about what could have made this not just a solid Build Divers entry but a love letter to the Gundam franchise as a whole. These are my Top 5 Ways Build Divers Re:Rise could have been better

 
#5-Look at the Transition Period

It’s always been a little ambiguous if Gundam Build Divers exists in the same universe as Gundam Build Fighters. The same GP Duel tech of the latter is seen in both shows Build Divers series and looks like it was phased out completely once GBN launched. One thing Re:Rise did right was showing us a little bit of this transition period between the two mediums. This could be a nice mini arc to delve further into, exploring the prospect of a bold new frontier to explore while also examining potentially leaving something special behind as GP Dueling meant a heckuva lot to alot of people in Build Fighters and Build Divers.  Plus take it one step further and show us the first days of GBN itself.  Did it launch in huge numbers or gradually grow over time (truthfully it probably had the biggest entertainment launch of all time).
 

#4-Force Avalon

Besides Parviz, I didn’t like the new Build Divers very much. Hiroto and May spent too much time brooding (also it was hard to tell who was the data manifested entity when they acted so much alike) and Kazami needed a freaking mute button. One thing we came to learn about Hiroto was that he was part of Force Avalon, led by Kyoya Kujo himself. From what we glimpsed Hiroto was well liked by his team and Vice Captain Karuna had a particular soft spot for a guy he saw as a younger brother. If the premise of Re:Rise doesn’t wanna change then at least include a cast that we already know and can expand on, like Karuna continuing to mentor Hiroto or Emilia maybe having feelings for her Commander. Also they’re way more upbeat and balanced than the darker, constantly beat upon newbies.

 
#3-More Frequent Appearances from the Old Cast

The best part of Build Divers Re:Rise, or rather the only part I had no complaints with at all, was when the original Build Divers team and their allies from the first series returned for the finale.  Until then, Magee had popped up here and there and Shary made a blink and you’ll miss appearance as well.  Riku, Yuki, Momoka, Ayame, Koichi, Sarah and Tigerwolf all could have made reappearances as well outside of the flashbacks to the concluding events of Build Divers.  Heck, I’d say have these guest appearances culminate in them coming together Avengers style like they did in the end.  Most of all, not having them around sucked as they continually offered rays of hope the new incarnation of Build Divers spent forever trying to find.
 

#2-Make it an Anthology

GBN is chock full of various players from Solo mercenaries to long time teams whose experience and history goes all the way back to the days of GP Duel.  One possible approach that could have been taken is to make Re:Rise about these other teams and players.  Maybe there’s a connective through line between them all but tbh, I’d say make them all stand alones, with a couple of two partners thrown in for good measure.  I already talked about Hiroto being an unknown member of Avalon, show us how they met.  Or let’s check in with Ogre, Doji and their team of Divers or Ayame’s former teammate and their team of all SD Gundams.  You could even do some fun short featuring SD Gundams and Bearguys.  Lesson is, keep reminding everyone GBN is a place to have fun or remember how to do so.  Some familiar and new fresh faces can certainly help with that.
 

#1-Celebrate the Damn Franchise

I spoke about this several times during my reviews but it’s my biggest point of contention.  Build Divers Re:Rise came out in 2019, the 40^th Anniversary of the Gundam Franchise.  The thought of a “Story Mission” being added to GBN had so much potential but instead the show used it as a smokescreen to set up a conflict on another world with Aliens and evil AI.  What’s so wrong with having fans of the franchise celebrate the Anime that brought them together and gave them their favorite hobby?  Make “Story Mode” a collection of greatest hits from across the franchise.  Have players run though the Battle of Odessa or the Eve Wars or battling the Turn X on the Moon or joining Celestial Being on an Armed Intervention.  What about some gladiatorial duels with Barbatos and some of the Future Centuries finest?  See, all of those sound way more appealing and worth honoring Mobile Suit Gundam than being flung halfway across the universe to protect fuzzy Aliens from certain doom…seriously that’s a Macross series waiting to happen, leave that to them.