Gundam Build Real Ep. 3: The Hole in the Team

Hiro tells the rest of the team that he ran into Sendo outside of Jin’s house. He says that Sota is being tricked by Jin and he went there to ask why he switched sides, which is when he saw Sendo. He says that because MONSTRE got Sota to join, they canceled all their weapon orders with Sendo, so now he’s willing to make weapons for BRIGHT. Sota presents Jin with a rebalanced heat hawk for the Zaku and suggests scanning and trying it out, but Jin says there’s no need because he can see how good it is. Satsuki sees Hiro sitting outside the clubhouse by himself and asks what he’s doing. She asks if he’s still mad about Sota, and he lies that he isn’t. He then reveals that it’s humiliating because they’ve always been friends. She wonders if this is something Sota decided on his own, but Hiro is convinced that he’s being tricked. He thinks Sota isn’t the type to betray his friends, and Satsuki jokes that Hiro sounds like he got dumped by a girl. She then says girls become petty after being dumped so that the guys regret dumping them. Later, the team sits by the waterfront and Kentaro comments that it might be too hard for Takumi, who has fallen asleep, to fill Sota’s shoes. The team presents Takumi’s weapon design to Sendo, but he concludes that it’s no good. He explains that the Char’s Zaku used by Jin is very fast, so increasing the power of the RX-78’s weapon will make it heavier and reduce its mobility. He tosses the design sketch on the floor and tells them to start over. Back at the clubhouse, Takumi feels dejected and Hiro tries to cheer him up by getting his favorite rice balls at a convenience store. Hiro runs into Satsuki outside the store and walks along the waterfront with her. He asks Satsuki about her earlier comment and asks that if the person who left you is happy, would you still want to make them regret leaving? She answers yes, because if they can’t make the guy feel regret, they can’t get over him. She says that if she can become petty after having her heart broken, she’s gained something. They return to the clubhouse and find Sota inside, so Satsuki leaves. Sota asks if Hiro is getting along with Takumi, and Hiro answers that he apologized, but he’s not sure how things are between them. Hiro then says he doesn’t understand why Sota left, and Sota packs up his things to leave. Hiro looks at Takumi’s design sketch and sees that Sota left a bunch of comments on how to improve it. Later, Sota works on weapons at the MONSTRE headquarters and Jin sees that he’s using his old tools. Sota tells Jin that it looks like Sendo is teaming up with BRIGHT now. Hiro and Takumi take the revised design to Sendo and explain that Sota made the revisions. Sendo asks Takumi if he feels embarrassed that Sota not only left them but took pity on them and fixed their design. Hiro counters by asking if Sendo feels embarrassed by MONSTRE dumping him and if he wants to see them go down. Later, Taichi complains that Sendo is charging them so much for the parts and isn’t even doing the assembly. Based on when the parts will arrive, Hiro concludes that they might need to develop an alternate strategy for the tournament. Hiro asks them to remember the lessons of Char and notes that after Roberto died, Char didn’t succumb to emotion and moved onto the next operation. He thinks they should’ve started preparing themselves the day after Sota’s betrayal and quotes Char about thinking two or three steps ahead of the enemy. Hiro’s speech is interrupted by Mana, and they stop to watch the girls prepare for a stream. Listening to their conversation, Hiro thinks that psychological warfare might be an option, and they discuss digging up embarrassing information on their opponents.

Later, Taichi wraps Hiro’s head in bandages as a psychological warfare tactic to make their opponents think that Hiro is injured. Takumi works on assembling the new weapon and complains that Sendo’s instructions are hard to follow. They all line up when their opponents arrive – the all-girl team GIRLSKY. Even though one of the girls trips, the guys are all amazed by how hot they are. Taichi introduces Hiro as their pilot, and the girls all take pity on him. The girls perform their team cheer, and the guys realize that their ploy failed. Taichi tries to motivate them with a Char quote that Hiro realizes is fake. They see that they’re up against a customized pink Freedom Gundam, and Taichi notes that the paint doesn’t help performance. Takumi adds that the wings aren’t built well, and Kentaro says their build can’t draw out the full power of the Freedom Gundam’s Full Burst. Hiro and opposing pilot Reika Miyauchi put on their VR headsets and begin the battle in Earth orbit. Reika dodges Hiro’s shots because the bandages wrapped around his head are blocking his sight. Reika pulls out a Petit’gguy and uses it to smack around Hiro. Takumi loads the new weapon in round two, but Hiro struggles to wield it. Takumi tells him to switch to mace mode, and Hiro uses it to knock out Reika’s left arm and shield. The weapon is depleted after a single use, and Reika prepares a Full Burst attack. Takumi tells Hiro that he can withstand the Full Burst since their build isn’t good. Hiro rushes in during the Full Burst attack and uses his beam saber to slash at Reika’s torso and get the K.O. After the battle, the team goes to Taku-chan to plan out their next steps. Taichi tells everyone he wants to get Satsuki a DSLR camera as a birthday present because he heard the girls talking about getting one to improve their streams. Kentaro tells him that he’ll creep her out with that gift because they’re not even dating. Hiro suggests a mug, but Taichi says he already bought it using team funds. He thinks it’s not a problem since he provides most of the team’s funds. Takumi takes the RX-78 and the new weapon to Sendo, who suggests getting rid of Hiro. Sendo compares Sota to a top athlete and says that a top athlete goes where he knows he’s valued most. Takumi asks to study under Sendo, but Sendo tells him to leave because he has a visitor: Jin. Jin gives him an envelope with the cancellation fee and a second envelope with money for a new exclusive contract. Sendo takes the first envelope and says that Takumi made the first offer of wanting to be a student. Jin then suggests to Takumi that he should also join MONSTRE.