Gundam Build Fighters Ep. 12: Discharge

Ral runs to the stadium since he forgot to set his alarm clock. He arrives just in time to see the enormous Zaku enter the battlefield. Reiji asks Sei what the Zaku is. Mashita’s assistant, Baker, informs him that the auto-controlled Gunpla has been sent into battle as he requested. She also tells him Reiji’s name, which makes him worried. The tournament’s announcers are surprised by the appearance of the 1/48 scale Zaku. Sei notes that there was no Gunpla like that when the Battle Royal started, and the Zaku opens fire with its machine gun and leg rockets. The Meijin notices the explosion from the city and realizes that the Zaku is an unmanned computer unit. He then calls Allan and tells him about the Mega Size Zaku. Allan reports this to Mashita and thinks they should stop the tournament, but Mashita wants to leave it as is. Allan asks Mashita if he sent it out, and Mashita answers that they should make the tournament extravagant for fans watching around the world. Barthes calls Aila and tells her to stay in space to avoid the Zaku. After destroying a ZnO with his Hy-Gogg, Julio Renato tells his brother Mario that they shouldn’t get involved with the Zaku. Announcers try to pass off the Zaku’s appearance as a surprise event. Rinko wonders what’s going on, and China comments that it seems to be targeting the Star Build Strike. Reiji opens fire on the Zaku, which jumps in the air and tries to grab the Star Build Strike. Reiji asks Sei if they should discharge and escape, but neither of them wants to do that. Reiji rushes in and tries to shoot the Zaku’s joints, but it defends itself. Nils wonders why Reiji is pointlessly fighting the Zaku and compares it to Don Quixote tilting at windmills. Reiji tries to get in close with his beam saber, but the Zaku tosses out a blinder cracker. A second cracker is tossed after Reiji crashes into the ground, but Fellini and Mao destroy it. The Meijin heads for the desert to fight the Zaku, but Allan tells him not to get involved with Mashita’s game. Reiji, Mao and Fellini coordinate their attacks and destroy the Zaku’s head, but it keeps fighting. Sei tells Reiji to use the rifle’s discharge and release all the particles in one shot. The Gundam X Maoh and Wing Gundam Fenice provide cover for Reiji and take the brunt of a cracker. The Zaku fires rockets at them, but they’re destroyed by a sword from Nils’ Sengoku Astray. The Zaku grabs its bazooka, but a sniped beam shot makes its footing unsteady. Reiji then fires the discharge, and the attack destroys the Zaku.

With the Zaku’s destruction, the Battle Royal ends. Reiji asks Sei about their condition, but Sei assures him they’ll be fine since he has a spare shield. Sei asks Mao about his condition, and Mao mentions that he has a spare satellite cannon. Ral wonders why the Zaku was sent into battle and why it seemed to be targeting Reiji. Fellini encounters Nils in a hallway and thanks him for his assistance. Nils counters that all he was doing was prolonging the battle to study their Gunpla. Fellini asks if it was worth it, and Nils reveals that he learned the secret of the Star Build Strike. It doesn’t erase beams, but rather absorbs them and stores them for later discharge. Knowing that, he can prepare to fight them now. Mashita looks over Reiji’s file and sees that his name and appearance are too much for just a coincidence. He wonders why Reiji hasn’t done anything to him yet. The Meijin storms into the room and asks him to refrain from selfish actions. Mashita credits the Zaku with raising TV ratings, but the Meijin squeezes his arm and repeats the demand until Mashita agrees. After he leaves, Mashita whines and asks Baker to make the pain go away. The Meijin tells Allan that he can’t stand Mashita’s selfish actions, but Allan counters that the Meijin is selfish too. He knows that the Meijin fired the Kampfer Amazing‘s long-range sniper rifle during the battle to help Reiji. The Meijin asks what the point is of defeating a damaged Gunpla and says a Meijin should defeat opponents at their best. Back at the hotel, Sei works on repairing the Star Build Strike and asks Reiji to get him some food when he goes out. Sei realizes that the other fighters must now know the secrets of the Absorb and Discharge systems, which may require them to use the third system. Reiji leaves a convenience store and is tossed a meat bun by Aila, who says Reiji gave her too much money before. Aila didn’t want to owe him money, but he doesn’t want the bun because it’s cold now from her waiting for him. Aila insists that Reiji take the bun, but he doesn’t want it. A couple of punks walk by and heckle them, so Aila calls them idiots. Reiji steps in and starts a fight, even though one of them has a metal baseball bat. Baker asks why Mashita’s so obsessed with Reiji, but he refuses to tell her. She informs him that she’s set up Reiji to fight Luang, thus assuring his defeat. Elsewhere, Reiji winces in pain from the injury to his wrist.