In a desert battlefield stage, the Full Package‘s shield absorbs a hyper mega launcher blast from a Marasai and is undamaged. The Marasai fires again, but Reiji fires his beam rifle, which overpowers the Marasai and destroys it. Two researchers examine the Full Package’s record and conclude that its construction is heavily customized. One of them thinks it’s fate since Sei is the son of Takeshi, the runner up in the 2nd world tournament. He says that the battle has begun before entering the battlefield, and the two walk into a concert by idol singer Kirara. After the battle, Fellini congratulates Reiji on winning round two. Reiji thinks it’ll be easy to win, but Fellini warns him not to lower his guard and screw up. At the hobby shop, Rinko asks Sei to help a customer with some Gunpla. A cute girl named Mihoshi asks for a GM Cold Districts Type from Gundam 0080, which Sei finds for her. She says that she loves the GMS from War in the Pocket, which excites Sei. China approaches the shop because she wants to build Gunpla, but she stops when she sees Mihoshi talking to Sei. Reiji walks up and wonders who Mihoshi is, and China leaves without a word. Later, Reiji asks Sei if Mihoshi is his girlfriend, but Sei says she’s just a customer. He says that he’s never met a girl before who knows so much about Gunpla. At school, Sei tells China that she can ask him for help with her Gunpla, but she’s too nervous to speak. After school, she walks home and recalls a conversation where Sei said that Mihoshi was just a customer. She spots Sei and wants to approach him, but Mihoshi does first. Yuuki pulls up in a car and says he recognizes Mihoshi from somewhere, but he’s not sure. Sei and Mihoshi sit down in a park and drink tea. Mihoshi asks to see Sei’s Gunpla for the tournament, so he shows her the Full Package. Sei begins to tell her about a secret backpack gimmick, but he suddenly feels terrible and runs to the bathroom. China reaches the park and spots Mihoshi with the Full Package just as Sei returns from the bathroom. China runs off and passes by Ral as he exits the bathroom.
The next day, China stands outside the tournament building and is hesitant to go in until Ral drags her in. During a battle, Yuuki’s Zaku Amazing destroys a Justice Gundam. Sei sees that the Gunpla has been tuned up more, and Reiji boasts that they’ll show their power. Yuuki wants to see that, but he cautions them that their next opponent has won the first two rounds by default. A bunch of fans start chanting Kirara’s name as she comes out and sings. Reiji asks what’s going on, but Sei doesn’t know. Yuuki looks at Kirara and realizes where he knows her from. Plavsky particles disperse and create a city stage. Reiji’s Full Package takes off, followed by Kirara’s pink Gerbera-Tetra. Kirara dodges Reiji’s beam rifle and kicks the Full Package’s shield, knocking it back. When the Full Package touches down on the ground, its left leg snaps off at the knee, followed by its right arm. Sei looks at the joints and sees that they’re scratched. He doesn’t understand how that could happen since nobody has touched the Gunpla. He then realizes that Kirara is Mihoshi and that she approached him already knowing that they’d be opponents so she could sabotage him. Kirara says that the battle begins before you enter the battlefield and attacks. Sei thinks it’s dishonorable to win in such a manner, but Kirara counters that she doesn’t care about Gundam or Gunpla. Her agency decided to position her as an Akihabara-style Gunpla idol, so she had to do a bunch of research on Gundam. Sei doesn’t believe that because she built such a good Gunpla, but Kirara explains it was built by fans. If she wins and gains media exposure, she can debut as a singer. Kirara destroys the shield and rushes in with a beam saber for the last blow. Sei tells Reiji to use a specific weapon slot, and the Build Booster backpack separates and transforms into a fighter. The Build Booster fires its cannons from above and destroys the Gerbera-Tetra. Sei is disappointed that he won’t be able to talk with Mihoshi about Gunpla anymore. He thinks he can teach her the toys of Gunpla, but given how much she’s crying, Reiji doesn’t think so. Ral congratulates Sei and Reiji on their victory, as does China, who asks for Sei’s help in building Gunpla. Outside, a man named Allan Adams tells Yuuki that the master is sick, so he’s come to pick up Yuuki and make him abandon his name.
This episode takes us through Sei and Reiji’s second and third fights at the tournament qualifier. I got a good laugh over the Marasai being piloted by two losers who look like Jerid and Kacricon, which is very fitting. We’re also introduced to Kirara, a Gunpla idol who is clearly willing to do anything to get to the top, including going undercover to sabotage her opponents before a match. The way she fangirls around Sei as Mihoshi creates some trouble for China, who clearly wants to get closer to Sei but is nervous about how to execute that. Given that you’ve got things like gold farmers in MMOs, it’s not surprising that someone would take part in Gunpla Battle solely for personal gain and not care at all about Gundam. Ral’s continued appearances are getting weirder and weirder, and pretty soon he’s going to end up having more screen time than the actual Ramba Ral. The Build Booster’s fighter gimmick is shown off, but I wonder how it’s actually controlled within the context of the game. Finally, a new character and cryptic dialogue add some mystery to Yuuki, which makes him even more Char-like aside from a red Zaku. We’ll have to see how that plays out.
Build Fighters Info
Director:
Kenji Nagasaki
Writer:
Yousuke Kuroda
Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Kanetake Ebikawa
Junya Ishigaki
Junichi Akutsu
Kenji Teraoka
Character Designer(s):
Kenichi Ohnuki
Suzuhito Yasuda
Musical Composer:
Yuuki Hayashi
Airdates:
Japan 10.07.2013 – 03.31.2014
Streaming 10.07.2013 – 03.31.2014
MAHQ is now officially on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mahqdotnet.bsky.social.
Our future on this cursed app is unclear, but expect more posts over there.
Cutaway diagram of the VF-1J Valkyrie Fighter Mode from “This is Animation Special: Macross Plus”(1995). Larger versions on my DA profile:
https://www.deviantart.com/marchly/art/Macross-VF-1J-Valkyrie-Cutaway-Diagram-detailed-973372931
https://www.deviantart.com/marchly/art/Macross-VF-1J-Valkyrie-Cutaway-Diagram-clean-973371729
Art by Kiyomi Tanaka. Original concept by unknown Macross fan. Image built by me
#Gundamn278; Next Episode! With our special guest, Sophia, we finally tackle the second half of the latest chapter of the #Gundam Franchise; #WitchFromMercury! Join us live on 07/20/2023 @ 10:15 p EDT! #MAHQ #Mecha #Anime #Podcast #G_Witch
Live Stream: https://youtube.com/live/fqw4pnuOYF4?feature=share
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