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.

 

T5W#4-Top 5 Anime Based Video Games

I’ll be honest about it up front: I haven’t played too many of these.  However I have played my fair share and have enjoyed these select five titles based on their gameplay, fun factor and authenticity to the shows on which theyre based.  These are the games you played when you wanted more and wanted to be a bit more involved with your favorite characters.  So no sense in wasting time, let’s get to it.

#5-Gundam Wing: Endless Duel (SNES)

If you were lucky enough to get a copy of this game, youd wish that Gundam Wing came out in the US in 1996 after the show had wrapped.  That way the game could still come out when the Super Nintendo was in it’s final glory days and this could have been a good send off.  At the time, this was the Gundam Wing game we sort of wanted but appreciated anyway.  The roster was a small one but the combat was very much reminiscent of Street Fighter and ended up being a good brawler.  Plus hearing some of the Gundam Wing themes in 8 bit form will make you so giddy inside.

 

#4-Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (PS2)

SAC isn’t a perfect game, it’s more of a guilty pleasure.  It moves a bit…clunky and the gunplay isn’t the greatest.  Yet this still feels like a Ghost in the Shell story and game.  It’s definitely helped by the addition of the voice casts from both dubs.  Plus you get to control Motoko, Batou and even a Tachikoma through many intense levels of bullets, hacking and even some hand to hand combat.  It could have been a bit more polished but I do enjoy it for the Stand Alone Complex feel this game brings.  Just wish I could find a copy of the soundtrack somewhere.  It’s not Yoko Kanno work or quality but for a game it’s one of the most fitting ones ive ever heard.

 

#3-Dragon Ball Z Budokai (PS2)

Up until the release of this game, there had been so-so attempts to get a fighting game out of Dragon Ball Z, the closest decent attempt was probably Dragon Ball GT Final Bout.  But Budokai brought us not exactly to the perfect DBZ fighting game but was a step in the right direction.  The CG characters moved well and the fighting spirit of the show was there.  The roster wasn’t the greatest of numbers, mostly cause it only went from the Saiyan Saga thru the Cell Saga, but your favorites were all there and ready to play.  For anyone who owned a PS2, this game was a dream come true…well for me it was almost, the real one was yet to come.

 

#2-Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 (PS2)

Dragon Ball Z Budokai laid the groundwork for the possibility of an amazing DBZ game.  Budokai 2 was…a little better but Budokai 3 not only took Budokai’s fun to the next level, it perfected the style began in the first entry.  With a roster of fighters that goes up through GT, dozens of arenas to choose from and even a CPU vs CPU option to watch your dream match up of Yamcha vs Kid Buu play out…in the most unexpected way depending on it’s mood lol, Budokai was the ultimate love letter to fans of DBZ.  Plus it has SSJ4 Gogeta as a possible fusion and his ultimate attack is a borderline God Mode Cheat in every possible way

#1-Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)

This game was an amazing dream come true whose packaging hid more of it’s true treasure than advertised.  Not only do we get a wacky story that brings together the cast of almost every single Gundam entry (through 2010’s Gundam Unicorn and Gundam 00 The Movie…which was DLC only) but it brings along a mass Iron Legion sized library of Gundams and various other Mobile Suits from the franchises history.  Working from the ground up to level up pilots and collect blueprints for stronger Mobile Suits offers hours of fun as there’s a character for everyone to love and a suit of choice for tearing up hundreds of enemies at a time.  It’s repetitive as all know how…but come one how can I not love Haro giving me orders over the communique or forcing Duo Maxwell into the Operations Manager role and hearing him complain about it?

 

I know im missing quite a bit since these are just from my experience.  Any titles out there that take the cake for you?

Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem

In a far corner of the universe, four members of a popular Alien rock band have been kidnapped.  Brought to Earth, they are brainwashed and turned into the next big thing, under the guidance of a powerful record producer.  Racing to save them is an intergalactic hero named Shep, who also happens to be a fan.  Even if he can reach the band, there’s still the brewing questions this tale presents: why was the band abducted and brought to Earth?  What is this producers endgame for them?  And what is the terrifying truth behind the Secret Star System located in Darkwood Manor?  The answers may change the fate of two races forever.

Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem was conceived back in 2001 while Daft Punk was hard at work on their second album, Discovery.  In several interviews they had noted how Leiji Matsumoto (Galaxy Express 999, Captain Harlock, Space Battleship Yamato) and his works had been a huge influence on their own music and they had sought to do an animated piece alongside him.  A marriage of brilliance and culture, a celebration of music, Anime, fandom and the past.

While I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is Anime’s answer to Disney’s Fantasia, Interstella is still one very amazing piece of musical animation.  The film has no dialogue so I can see how that might hamper casual viewers enjoyment of it…and that’s a shame.  I think the movie did a good job of telling us everything we needed to know about the world and story without a single word being spoken by any character.  Even the lyrics of some of the songs did the job just fine.  It’s easy to get from beginning to end without needing much clarification.  That being said, one thing I was confused about at times was how much the band knew about their lives when they got their memories back.  Did they know they were aliens or just think they were brainwashed artists from Earth?  It’s a nitpick really and I think you can make your own conclusions with your own viewing.

The music is the stuff of legends…obviously this is Daft Punk.  Personally I see no reason why this duo cant just produce the score for every film or Anime for the rest of time (Tron Legacy aka the best part of that movie, will probably be the closest we get to them doing a film score again for a while).  That being said, this is a rare treat to have their music used this way.  Every single track from Discovery is used in it’s entirety with very few edits, if any.  And as I said above, the music tells the story with only song lyrics at times, though the way it meshes with the animation, you wouldn’t need those lyrics either.  Still, two of my personal favorite parts (Digital Love and Something About Us), involving Shep and Stella, the beautiful lead Guitarist of the band, meld beats with honest lyrics and are both inspiring and also heartbreaking given where they respectively take place in the film.

Interstella 5555 is a movie that while I wish there could be an expanded series, is thankfully one of a kind.  Daft Punk got to live it’s dream of working with an artist who drove them to make music that we got to hear in this movie.  And we got to enjoy a film about music and stardom, love and sacrifice, adventure and exploration, all of the good things that made Anime from the 70’s and 80’s so memorable.  If you’re a Daft Punk fan or a fan of techno/dance, I recommend it.  If you’re an Anime fan, I recommend it.  If you want a fun and soothing massage for the sense that involves music and Anime…oh yeah this one will make you feel alive again after a hard day.

9/10

Lock and Load for next week as we head back to Roanapur for the long awaited second season of Black Lagoon.  The Second Barrage begins, see ya then.

AMV Friday #4-Final Fantasy Inception

Video: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Audio: Inception Trailer 2

(The following video is a fan based production.  All titles are property of their respective owners, please support the official release.)

Inception was the big movie of 2010 and the previews helped sell the movie very well.  It was after I had seen it at work that Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within popped into my head.  FF was another movie that dealt heavily with dream interpretation and dreams being very integral to the plot of the film.  I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my Red vs. Blue trailer and try to sync audio and video as best as I could.  This is one of my favorites because it does just that and it is one of my much better fares with Final Fantasy than a certain Expendables trailer I did only a few weeks prior. (May show that one at a later date…maybe…maybe not…still thinking.  Im kind of just pulling AMV’s from a grab bag at this point haha.

T5W#3-Top 5 Favorite Anime Heroines

Anime has it’s more than fair share of ultimate bad ass heroes.  But there have always been an equal amount of female power houses right along side them.  From the early days of femme fatales like Queen Emeraldas from Galaxy Express 999 (above) to Asuka Langley Soryu of Neon Genesis Evangelion to Ryuko Matoi from Kill La Kill.  So for this weeks T5W, I’m counting down my current Top 5 favorites Anime Heroines, not just cause they’re gorgeous but because they can stand more than equal alongside their male counterparts, sometimes even higher.

 

#5-Celty Sturlson (Durarara)

At first glance, Celty might seem like an odd one to have on this list.  But you know what?  She’s not just awesome, she surprisingly very human for someone without a head.  Despite her powers and knack for wielding a pretty sick sythe, she gets frustrated, excited, joyful and even scared just like anyone else.  Her romance with Shinra brings out the best in her and you gotta love how she conveys her emotions with a shiver and a type on her cellphone.  Plus she’s got a headless horse that can turn into a motorcycle or whatever she needs it to be, points for major imagination.  Celty’s a being you need to see to believe and when you do, you’ll want to hang with her just like all the other cool company of Ikebukero.

#4-Revy (Black Lagoon)

Short shorts and dual guns, how could I not fall in love at my own risk?  Revy’s the kind of girl you don’t bring home to mother simply because she’d probably try to kill your mom on the account of being told off for her foul mouth.  Her true love is death and she enjoys moonlit walks on the beach that end in an old school wild west quick draw shoot out.  Revy can make a bloodbath look so tragic but so cool at the same time.  Her no mercy no words needed erasure of a ship full of Neo Nazi’s says all you need to know about her.  Revy’s the ultimate gun youd want on your side.  Keeping her content, now that’s a challenge.  Just throw her a dirt bag in need of hurting and you should be fine.

#3-Misato Katsuragi (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Anyone who puts up with someone as insufferable as Shinji Ikara should be on anyones list of bad ass heroines.  True it was Misato’s looks that caught my attention right off the bat but you gotta love the tough girl underneath the sexy exterior.  Misato may use her looks to flirt and get her way but that doesn’t mean she wont draw her gun on you and blow your head off if she feels it’s necessary.  Even though she’s older than the core trio, Misato is just as damaged like everyone on the show.  Still, she's one of the characters of Eva it's ok to root for, which is saying something for anyone in the cast of Evangelion.  I'd want her coordinating any operation anyday.

#2-Rin Toshaka (Fate/Stay Night)

This one is a bit more recent.  I had seen Rin pop up here and there across the net and got my first exposure to her in Fate/Zero.  Even for a little kid, I loved her determination and kind heart and it only evolved further when we saw her again in Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works.  But here Rin was now a full fledged, battle ready mage even if she was still learning along the way.  She’s tough and tries to act like a cold hearted bitch but also still a girl crushing on her newfound ally, Shiro.  And in truth when UBW got really irritating, it was Rin who always kept me in good spirits, whether it was kicking ass or realizing her own feelings for Shiro.  There’s something about her that screams admirable and likeable…maybe it’s the pigtails or the fact that she could be Anime’s answer to Zatanna at a younger age.  Whatever it is, Rin made a hell of an impression on me, so much I put her at #2 on this list.

 

#1-Sailor Mars (Sailor Moon)

My first and eternal Anime love.  Rei Hino is a tough girl with a heart of fiery gold who looks plain beautiful in a Sailor Fuku.  I know many hold other Sailor Senshi like Mercury, Pluto or Jupiter (a lot of people love Makoto).  And I can see and understand why.  But Mars has always stuck with me from my first Sailor Moon promo and will probably never be topped.  She may act high and mighty (not to the degree of Uranus and Neptune) but she’s still always there for her friends and her Sailor Moon especially.  Rei is the true Princess of Mars for me and always will be.

Im sure everyone list is far different and for other reasons.  Any other #1 favorites or wifus amongst Anime’s stunning females?  Let me know in the comments below.