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Gundam Build Fighters Try
Episode 11

by Lauren Orsini,

On its surface, Gundam Build Fighters Try is a show for kids, starring middle schoolers who like to play with robot toys. Episodes like “Neilson Labs,” however, demonstrate its depths. Try can be enjoyed on multiple levels depending on how far you get into Gundam lore.

For example, the first scene hearkens back to a character from Gundam Build Fighters: Nils Nielson, the “Early Genius.” Am I the only one that completely approved of Nils taking his wife's name after marriage? Considering that Caroline Yajima's family basically made Gunpla battles what they are today, it makes sense that Nils would want to associate with that surname. And if he ever misses his old last name, he can just head down to the lab he named after himself, presumably before becoming Mr. Yajima.

As the episode continues, we get deeper down the rabbit hole. Remember that silly song Fumina and Sekai were singing in the car on the way to training camp? Turns out that's word-for-word the Gundam ZZ intro song—well, they added the part about going to Nationals themselves. It's one of those small tidbits of Gundam knowledge that make things a little more clear in perspective, like when you consider that Fumina and Sekai are singing “It's not anime!” … in an anime.

I almost missed this next reference. New challengers appear at training camp, and while two of the team members appear to be a couple of figurative garbage men, their considerably more decent caption is a blue haired fellow named Matsunaga. Now, Mobile Suit Gundam fans with really long memories will recall Shin Matsunaga, the forgettable Zeon pilot who was also known as "The White Wolf of Solomon.” Sure enough, this school has named their Gunpla battle group “Team White Wolf.” Now there's an obscure one.

Let's talk about Saga Adou's desperado Gunpla that appears as this episode's final challenger. Wikipedia and official art tell me that this is Gundam The End, and while you can deduce that from the names of some of his attacks, they haven't explicitly labeled it as such in the anime yet. The End is extremely custom, but I think its most recognizable characteristics are borrowed from G Gundam's Master Gundam (especially the red cloak), and Devil Gundam, which also exhibits multiple Gundam faces on different parts of its body.

Obviously, the team behind Gundam Build Fighters Try really know their stuff. Director Shinya Watada has directed four Gundam series previously. Mecha designer Kunio Okawara has been conceptualizing Gundams since 1979. As a result, the Gunpla used in this show aren't just mashed together willy-nilly. Every choice has a reason. With Gundam The End, the immediate message is that Sekai's Build Burning Gundam—also a G Gundam riff—may have finally met its match.

Considering the formidable new opponents and their ominous Gunpla introduced this episode, Try is starting to get real. Fumina, Sekai, and Yuuma might not make it out of training camp with their Gunpla still intact—and that's exactly the kind of high stakes situation that Try was missing.

Rating: A

Gundam Build Fighters Try is currently streaming on Gundam.info.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.


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