Summary

People across GBN are shocked to hear that Sarah is an electronic lifeform. Riku wonders where Sarah has gone. Elsewhere, Sarah runs through a forest and tells Mol not to follow her. The Build Divers travel to every place Sarah has been to in an attempt to find her, but they’re unsuccessful. In school, Riku is distracted in math class and can’t answer a teacher’s question. Do-Ji calls Yukki and asks him what he’s going to do. Riku wakes up from a nightmare where GBN-Guard Frames attack Sarah. He runs to The Gundam Base and thinks to himself that they have to find Sarah, and he’s surprised to see Momo and Yukki there as well. Yukki thinks that Sarah is OK for now because Koichi, Ayame and Magee are logging in as much as possible to search for her. Yukki wants to log in first thing in the morning to look for Sarah, and Riku wonders what he can do. Administration staff report to the Game Master that they can’t find Sarah because she keeps rewriting her ID. He also tells them to finish the patch within five days. The Game Master then leaves to meet with Ms. Tori, who asks if he’s going to eliminate Sarah. She calls Sarah a new lifeform, but the Game Master counters that he only sees her as a bug, not a living being. Ms. Tori states that he only thinks that because he’s never met her. She says that Sarah has emotions and that people think of her as a friend, but the Game Master points out that GBN is being destroyed because of her. He says it’s his duty to protect GBN and its 20 million players, and Ms. Tori points out that Sarah once saved GBN. He thinks that despite that she’s a menace because she’s affecting both the main and backup systems. He tells her that this decision is final and leaves. Nanase calls Koichi and asks why he hasn’t logged in, and he tells her he’s working on something. He keeps thinking about what Ms. Tori said and decides to talk to someone. Sarah keeps walking through the forest and yells at Mol to get away from her. She starts crying and hugs Mol, and she hears a Gunpla flying overhead. As it starts to rain, Kyoya approaches Sarah and promises that he’s not going to turn her in. He asks if she’s aware of her situation and what she wants to do. Koichi meets in person with Tsukasa and asks for his help. Riku flies in the 00 Sky and is suddenly attacked by Ogre’s new Gundam GP-Rase-Two.

Riku asks what’s going on, and Ogre asks Riku why he withdrew from their Matching Battle. Riku answers that he had to search for Sarah, and Ogre attacks and asks if that’s the only reason. Ogre says that Sarah generates bugs like the Break Decals, and he asks if Riku has been using her powers to build up his strength. Riku denies that claim, and Ogre demands that Riku fight him and prove that he’s not lying. Riku isn’t able to dodge some attacks, and Ogre taunts him as not being able to fight without Sarah. Ogre slams Riku into the ground and attacks from above, but the 00 Sky starts generating wings of light. Ogre ridicules Riku’s sword skills and tells him that he’s a fake won’t accomplish anything. Riku goes on the offensive and attacks Ogre, activating Trans-Am Infinity. Ogre responds with Ogre Trans-Am, and the two attack each other midair. Ogre asks Riku what he can do if they Sarah and if they’re going to buy time to destroy GBN. The battle returns to the ground, and the 00 Sky generates a large beam sword to counter the GP-Rase-Two’s fire sword. The two swords clash and set off a massive explosion. Elsewhere, Kyoya takes Sarah to the Avalon Force Nest and asks if she wants to contact the Build Divers. She doesn’t, and he says he’s trying to find a way for Sarah to coexist with them. Emilia enters the room and tells him that the Game Master and Rommel have arrived. Kyoya meets with them, and they immediately demand he hand over Sarah. Rommel thinks Kyoya is being sentimental, and Kyoya points out that Rommel also knows Sarah. Rommel reminds him that the Coalition of Volunteers was formed to protect GBN and asks why Kyoya is now doing the opposite of that. Rommel says he doesn’t want to lose GBN because there are people who can only walk or talk or be themselves within the game. He says that GBN is a part of people’s lives, so he wants to protect that. Sarah enters the room and wonders if everyone can be happy if she disappeared. Riku tries to get the damaged 00 Sky to move, and Ogre tells Riku that he’s definitely a real fighter. He wants to see more and demands that Riku show him his determination. Ogre moves in to attack again, and Riku imagines that Sarah is there with him. The 00 Sky then reactivates and blocks Ogre’s sword. Riku repeatedly punches Ogre and vows that he’s going to rescue Sarah. Riku slams Ogre into rocks and says that it’s his turn to protect Sarah after all she’s done with him. He then stabs the GP-Rase-Two with his beam saber, and Ogre counters with a beam attack. Riku fires beams from his sky leg guards, but the battle is interrupted by a global announcement from Kyoya. He states that the Coalition of Volunteers is being reformed to deal with the threat of the EL-Diver, and Rommel announces that they have Sarah in custody. Earlier, Rommel suggested reforming the Coalition to keep watch over Sarah until the patch is ready. If another solution is found by then, they’ll consider it. Kyoya declares that his only wish is to protect GBN, and Riku screams in agony. Koichi talks to Tsukasa about his plan to save Sarah using Break Decals in real life, and Tsukasa thinks it’s reckless.

Commentary

Sarah spends this episode alone and on the run until she’s discovered by Kyoya, the only person making a reasonable suggestion about what to do regarding these bugs. At the same time, Riku is attacked by Ogre, who understandably accuses him of cheating to get ahead. He wants to see if Riku is really a fighter or not, and he concludes that he is, but I’m not sure on what basis. Riku doesn’t demonstrate any special skill here, and he still relies on gimmicks like Trans-Am Infinity, so what’s different? In the debate over what to do about Sarah, the Game Master makes it quite clear that he doesn’t see her as a lifeform, but just a bug to be squashed. Rommel also wants to deal with the situation, and he makes the valid case about protecting GBN for players who come from marginalized backgrounds or have some other hardship. A virtual world like GBN can be an outlet for who they can’t be in real life, and it makes sense that Rommel would want to preserve that. Still, the current situation could have been completely avoided if the Game Master had consulted earlier with Ms. Tori, or taken a more open-minded approach like Kyoya. On another front, it speaks to Koichi’s desperation that he would turn to Tsukasa of all people to save GBN.

Overall Rating
3/5

Gundam Build Divers Info

Director:
Shinya Watada

Writer:
Noboru Kimura

Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Kanetake Ebikawa
Junya Ishigaki
Junichi Akutsu
Kenji Teraoka
Ippei Gyoubu
Naohiro Washio
Takayuki Yanase

Character Designer:
Shuri Toida

Musical Composer:
Hideakira Kimura

Format:
1 episode (prologue), 25 episodes (TV)

Airdates:
Japan 04.03.2018 – 09.25.2018
Streaming 04.03.2018 – 09.25.2018

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