Gundam Build Fighters Anime Review

Hold up a sec, first off why am I reviewing something that I've never even mentioned when I've been procrastinating on doing the Golden Time. Well...I'll be serious for a second here—originally this blog was supposed to promote anime I think deserve more attention or bring a different perspective to what I perceive as a one sided argument...I say as I do a super-positive review of Kill La Kill.

What is Gundam Build Fighters? Fanservice. This is pure fanservice. Want to see what would happen if Big Zam went up against Gundam X, Gundam Wing, and the Strike Freedom? You got it. Want to see the F91 Imagine go up against Exia. We have you covered. Hell there's even a reference to the original Gunpla anime with the new and improved Bearguy. So needless to say, if you haven't watched Gundam, this'll be the worst possible entry point.


Animation---I was kinda disappointed... It's not bad or anything, but I recently I watched the first episode of Captain Planet. So any kind of visual spectacle that Build tries to pull feels sub par. That it does look good, that's for certain. It just isn't as good as AGE or Gundam 00. Though part of the feeling of the battles. They aren't as epic a spectacle as the other gundam series, instead taking on a lighter tone.

At this point you're probably wondering, 'why bother watching it?' To that I say situations. A lot of the fight scenes are a lot more fun in some ways. Nowhere else in a gundam series will you see Gundam racing, playing baseball or

Plot-- The concept of the anime is that Gundam have become an international sport—the international sport. Each person builds a model gundam called a Gunpla. The Gunpla's strength comes from the quality. Now without even getting into how ridiculous it is that Gundam become the international sport everyone craves, I'll introduce the characters. You've got Iori Sei, a master builder and Reji, a master fighter. Together they dream of making it to the championship...The rest of the plot is kind of irrelevant. There is technically a over-arcing plot, but it's introduced and resolved so quickly, it's best not to pay attention.

Now I have to talk about the last episode because frankly it was both the worst and best episode of the series. You can't get any more fanservice if you combined Freezing, Kill La Kill, and To Love Ru.  Now of course this is from the perspective of a Gundam 00 fanboy, but...Exia! They have freaking Repair Exia in here? What more do you want?! At the same time, the shoehorning of a plot into the anime is utterly shameless. It made no sense, led to more questions being asked than answered and just...it was bad, let's leave it at that. 


Sound--If there's one thing that I can trust Sunrise in, it's the sound department. It's fantastic. The little things are what counts. When a gundam goes into trans-am the exact sound clip plays, gundam make that sound when their eyes flash, it really all plays into the nostalgia factor. the soundtrack's all good, mixing electronic with soundtracks that fit whatever nation the fighter they represent. Don't take my word for it

Voice acting is...you don't really come here for the drama and heartbreak now do you? It's not like it's bad or anything;it's just not anything that'll blow you away. Oh and if this isn't the most gay opening to an anime I've ever seen, I don't know what is.



Characters----Cheese. I don't think that characters are really the focal point of the series, but they're all more or less the stereotypes you'd expect from this kind of anime. Yeah there are some touching moments, but overall they're pretty static. There's little to no character development, but there doesn't need to be. Like I said with Kill La Kill; They all are interesting enough to play their parts. Pretty much every character is worth seeing onscreen, and you'll really never find a character that you'll be bored to tears with. So yes, the characters lack the depth of other gundam protagonists, but we also don't have any kind of Marina Ismail in sight.

The controversy---For those of you who don't know, there's been a huge backlash against this anime by hardcore gundam fans—not all of them, mind you, but enough that there are flame wars in the comment sections. Is this a good gundam series...no. It doesn't have the kind of character development, the complexity, the political intrigue, the intensity that other gundam series hold. That's why I have to classify as something else. You can't really compare it with the other gundam series; they're too different, but for the same reason that I love G gundam, I also love this anime. It's a ton of fun, a love letter to anyone who has spent time with the gundam franchise over the course of its 30+ run. It's a nice break in what seems like the same thing recycled over and over again. I could tell you exactly what's going to happen in Gundam AGE without even seeing it. It's something completely different that doesn't rely on some other series for inspiration...yet it's all about fanservice... As much as I love Gundam 00, it took a lot from Wing. As much as I liked Seed, it took a lot from the original. 

 What Build lacks in intensity, it makes up for in crazy events, like gundam baseball (still can't get over that). What it lacks in a plotline it makes up for with smaller more personal arcs that are resolved much quicker, what it lacks in scale it makes up for with all of the cameos, and what it makes up for in character development it makes up for with interesting characters and no Ismail.

Is it worth watching?  If you've ever watched a gundam series, the answer is a definite YES! If not, I'd recommend watching at least one other gundam series before this. Likes, follows and stuff are much appreciated, and are always welcome. Thanks for watching, and hope to see you next time.