Gundam Build Fighters Try

Episode 10

In Gundam Build Fighters Try, filler episodes are where the magic happens. The creators treat episodes that are light on plot as a sandbox to let old and new characters become more fully realized. In fact, instead of “filler,” you could call this a “character driven episode.”

We begin by figuring out what happened to Sekai. He “assimilated” with his Gundam, according to Yuki, who as we recall holds the title of Meijin and is all-knowing in regard to Gundam topics. He compares Sekai to Sei, but I don't recall Sei ever getting hurt while Gunpla battling. It's yet another sign that a lot has changed in seven years, and there's still a lot to this world that we haven't been told yet. Regardless, Sekai's “assimilation,” his ability to trade physical pain for increased power and prowess as a fighter is a cool mechanism because it seriously raises the stakes. If Sekai gets hurt while battling, he'll get hurt in real life! Will Sekai play it safe from now on?

Anyway, that's as heavy as this episode gets. A Gunpla race between models? A rockstar who lives and breathes Gunpla? This gem of an episode was bound to be silly from the start. It's also worth noting that Fumina's gossipy mom and Sekai's obliviousness were made for each other—though Fumina's mom makes me seriously miss Mrs. Iori, who was just as fascinated in Sei's potential love prospects as Fumina's mom is with Sekai.

After a weeks-long Gunpla tournament that had us viewing the same Gunpla models over and over, this episode showcased a slough of new mecha, including a color-inverse version of Turn A Gundam. Turn A Gundam is not available outside of Japan (at least not until Right Stuf releases it in 2015), but it's a very unique model that Western fans are likely to be familiar with. One notable feature is the tubelike pipe in the crotch where the pilot sits. Keep an eye on that for a gag that happens during the competition. I'm willing to come out and say Gundam Build Fighters Try is the only anime in recent memory to feature a robot punching another robot in the junk.

Of course, the star of the show is Mirai's new custom Bearguy, Bearguy F or Bearguy Family. (I just bought it before writing this review, so I guess I can't argue with people who tell me this show is just a toy commercial. It's a very effective toy commercial!) It's hard to believe they found a way to make Bearguy cuter, but adding a petite robot to sit on Mama Bearguy's backpack certainly did the trick. Mirai's been extremely modest about her Gunpla skills in the last nine episodes, but it should be no surprise that anything her little brother Sekai can do, Mirai can do better. It was gratifying to watch Mirai exchange her modesty for justified rage when she had a reason to fight in earnest.

Now that we're firmly ensconced in the present and in love with the new characters, the show has deemed it safe to start bringing back tons of cameos from the past. I missed many of our episode one friends at the beginning, but now I see the wisdom in waiting so long. If they had revealed them too soon, we wouldn't have bothered to follow Fumina, Yuuma, and Sekai's stories as closely or cared as much about getting to know them. Now we're seeing our favorites from last season coming from every direction. It'll only be a matter of time before Sei, Reiji, and Aila make their triumphant returns.

Rating: A+

Gundam Build Fighters Try is currently streaming on Gundam.info.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.