Anime / Gundam Build Fighters

"Gundam plastic models... Gunpla. Building them or fighting them, it all depends on you. Unlike the Mobile Suit Gundam story, we're not in a state of war, and we don't have to put our lives on the line. It's just played for pleasure. But... No, for that very reason... People can be enthralled by Gunpla and Gunpla Battle. Because it's a game, they can take it seriously!"

— Mr. Ral

Gundam Build Fighters is a 2013 Gundam animated series directed by Kenji Nagasaki (No. 6) and written by Yosuke Kuroda (Mobile Suit Gundam 00). It takes the idea of Gunpla battles from Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G further.

In the near future, new technology has been invented that allows people to animate and control plastic models in sporting competitions known as "Gunpla Battles." The protagonist, Sei Iori, hopes to one day make it into the Gunpla Battle world championships using his custom model "Build Strike Gundam." Unfortunately, despite being an excellent model builder, he's a terrible pilot. Sei's luck turns around, however, when he meets a mysterious boy with incredible piloting skills named Reiji. Together, they set off to realize Sei's dream To Be a Master.

The show is known for being Continuity Porn with numerous mobile suits, cameos, and so forth from previous Gundam series appearing alongside original model designs. A listing of these Mythology Gags can be seen here.

Gundam Build Fighters aired from October 7, 2013, to March 31, 2014, on TV Tokyo and Gundam.Info. Has a prequel manga, Gundam Build Fighters Amazing, that focuses on Tatsuya Yuuki's life before the TV show. A sequel anime, Gundam Build Fighters Try, started airing in October 2014. In 2017 a couple of new OVAs were also announced, namely Gundam Build Fighters: GM's Counterattack, set 3 years after the events of the original series, and Gundam Build Fighters Battlogue, set at random points within the same continuity (covering Try), available online from August 2017. Further sequels with the now called Gundam Build Series would follow with 2018's Gundam Build Divers, 2019's Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE and 2023's Gundam Build Metaverse.

Beginning Trope Particle Dispersal...

• Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Sei's school has a Gunpla Battle machine set up in the gymnasium; lampshaded and justified when one student remarks on how expensive the machines are and another says that Yuuki's father donated the funding to the school.
• The Ace: Sei's father is shown via Flash Back to be a masterful Gunpla fighter, defeating a Re-GZ and Asshimar using the classic RX-78-2 Gundam.
• Ace Custom: Wholly encouraged and practically the main selling point of the franchise, in and out of universe. Nearly every mobile suit used by a character is heavily personalized, and even the gunpla of extras will have at least a unique paint job. Any well made custom gunpla will beat bog standard ones in terms of performance.
• Achievements in Ignorance: China's stuffing her Bearguy Gunpla with cotton. It was a completely unexpected move that won her a battle against her rival, but the only reason she did it was to adhere to Bearguy III's backstory.
• Affectionate Parody: To the entire genre of "collector battle" anime like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Beyblade, where kids treat games as Serious Business. Gundam Build Fighters uses the same kind of concept, but is utterly tongue-in-cheek and full of comedy beats and Lampshade Hanging over how ludicrous the entire concept is. Of course, it does have its moments of genuine drama, as well, though generally on a personal level rather than the world-spanning conflicts of previous Gundam series.
• The Ageless: In the GM's Counterattack OVA, all of the main characters look exactly like they did at the end of the series proper where most of them were 13 and even wear the exact same clothes, even though the events of the OVA take place during Sei's final year in his academy, which is both a middle school and a high school.
• Alliterative Name: Nils Nielsen.
• All Part of the Show: In Episode 11, PPSE claims that the 1/48 Mega Sized Zaku storming the battlefield was part of a special stage event.
• Almighty Janitor: Despite largely being a side character and not an active Fighter, Mr. Ral is instantly recognized (and respected) almost everywhere he goes, and has a vast knowledge of the Gunpla world that allows him to influence events. The finale shows he is indeed an incredibly powerful Gunpla battler worthy of the respect he's given.
• Animate Inanimate Object: Gunpla are able to move thanks to the Plavsky Particles interacting with the type of plastic they are made of.
• Animation Bump: Discussed in Episode 10, when Ricardo goes on praising the animation in the Battle in Three Dimensions special. Also done with the fights themselves whenever animated by Shingo Abe, Munetaka Abe or Masami Obari.
• Applied Phlebotinum: Plavsky Particles not only animate Gunpla, but make the Beam Sabers and other weapons work within it.
• Art Shift: In Episode 20, Sei gets treated to some hypnosis, which causes him to recite all of Amuro's lines from Mobile Suit Gundam. During this, his face is redrawn to mirror the style of the original series.
  • In episode 3, when Reiji explain to Sei that he comes from another world. The whole sequence is drawn in crayon.
• Ascended Extra: Gawain in GM's Counterattack. In the main series he only had about one sentence worth of lines, no personality, and existed only to get his ass kicked by Alia to establish how good at Gunpla Battle she was. In the OVA, he's given a flamboyant, beauty obsessed personality, a habit of painting his Gunpla in absurdly gaudy colors, and an obsession with creating "the world's most beautiful Gunpla." Also he joined the Gunpla Mafia after he was fired from Team Nemesis.
• Ascended Meme: EVERYWHERE. Several memes get nodded or ascended to.
  • Even one of the show's own memes (Gundam Valhalla) became ascended, with Word of Saint Paul (as related by Mao's VA Minami Fuji) confirming that all Gundam characters exist in Build Fighters' world and live happy, peaceful lives.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever:
  • More of Attack Of The 5 Foot Whatever, Episode 11 ends with an appearance of a giant 1/48 Mega Size Zaku II vs 1/144 scale Gundams that are normally 7 inches tall.
  • GM's Counterattack takes a slightly different direction with the Psycho GM, which is supposed to be the same scale as the 1/144 Build Fighters mecha, but being based on a WMD with legs, is roughly the same size as the Zaku-II anyway.
  • Build Fighters Battlogue goes back to the 'typical' direction, with a giant Acguy of indeterminate scale being composed of nothing but leftover Beargguy parts, and the recently-released 1/60 PG Gundam Exia.
• Audience Surrogate: As both Reiji and China are new to the world of Gunpla at the start of the show, they're often used by the writers to have someone for Sei or Mr. Ral to spew Exposition at.
• Backup Twin:
  • GM's Counterattack. The Gunpla Mafia was somehow set up by Mashita's twin brother at the same time as PPSE, who somehow had his own Arista the whole time.
  • Build Fighters Battlogue has the Renato twins being joined by a Renato triplet.
• Badass Normal: While many of the new fighters such as Sei, Nils, Mao, and Aila have Gunpla that can manipulate Plavsky Particles, there are plenty of other fighters like Fellini, Luang, and Kawaguchi who get by with pure skill, experience, and determination.
  • The cake has to go to Takeshi Iori, who made it all the way to the World Gunpla Battle Championship finals in the RX-78-2 Gundam, a machine that is pretty much outclassed by almost everything his opponents fielded.
• Baseball Episode: Towards the end of Episode 13. Possibly the strangest thing done with moving plastic models yet.
• Batman Gambit: Sir John Ayers Mackenzie fakes a heart attack, so that his grandson Julian will replace him in the semi finals, and ensures the gunpla he'll use is Julian's old F91 Imagine—all so that Julian could return to Gunpla Battle.
• Battle Couple: Reiji and Aila work surprisingly well together.
  • And for the final battle in Episode 25, we have all four couples—Sei/China, Reiji/Aila, Fellini/Kirara & Nils/Caroline—going into battle with their gunpla.
• Battle in the Rain: Meijin Kawaguchi III vs. The Renato Twins.
• Beach Episode: The first half of Episode 7.
• Beta Couple: Fellini and Kirara qualifies as an example of this by Episode 20.
• Big Bad: Chairman Mashita is the closest the series has to one, doing everything in his power to eliminate Sei and Reiji from the world tournament because he is a criminal from Arian. Made more apparent by the second opening, in which Mashita is shown sitting in classic Bond Villain styling and sporting a Slasher Smile while the silhouette of the Exia Dark Matter flashes its eyes in the background.
• Big Damn Heroes: In Episode 11, when Reiji and Sei come to the aid of Ricardo, who's severely outnumbered by Team NTR. And then, when it seems like they're in over their head Mao pulls off an epic One-Hit Kill to finish off the fight.
  • In Episode 12, Nils manages to destroy two of the Mega-Zaku's missiles before they could take out Mao and Ricardo, while Meijin stalls it long enough for Reiji to deliver the finishing blow.
  • Reiji tries to do this in Episode 20, But is One Hit Killed by Aila.
  • In Episode 25, a few of these happen:
    • Mao shows up with the Crossbone Maoh and unleases his Wave-Motion Gun, clearing the way for the team to storm the fortress.
    • The guard team (Fellini, Kirara, Mao, Nils & Caroline) are on the ropes, and are about to be overwhelmed... and then there's a dramatic entrance and Combination Attack by Ral and Master Chinan! Kirara sums it up best.
  Kirara: They're...absurdly strong...
  • China and Aila are down, Sei and Reiji are desperately trying to protect them, and are close to being overwhelmed...and then Yuuki arrives in the Amazing Exia Repair and curbstomps the mooks.
  Yuuki: Rage on, Exia! TRANS-AM!^note ''Moeagare, Exia! TRANS-AM!
  • Even then, he just buys them a little breathing room, until Takeshi shows up in the Perfect Gundam and blasts a hole through the Colony Laser, and then unloads his beam cannon on the mooks, giving Reiji and Sei the chance to go for the crystal.
  • A lot of these in GM's Counterattack:
    • Nils is about to be backstabbed when China and Beargguy III show up and drive a beam saber through the last Gunpla Mafia mook.
    • Fighting the Gunpla Mafia boss, Sei is on the ropes, until in quick sucession Yuuki, Mao, Nils, Fellini and China show up to even the odds.
    • The Gunpla Mafia boss drains everyone of Plavsky particles, and is about to land the finishing blow on Sei, who's struggling to move his gunpla... and then like the wind, Reiji appears!
• The Big Race: The penultimate stage of the World Tournament preliminary rounds is a free for all gunpla race.
• Black and Nerdy: Nils Nielsen, who is obsessed with samurai culture, in addition to holding three Ph.Ds.
• Blank White Eyes: Everyone's "WTF?!" reaction during the climax of Reiji and Aila's battle in Episode 21.
• Bling-Bling-BANG!: Gawain's Baund Doc in GM's Counterattack is painted metallic gold and coated with Diamonds. That Diamond coating makes it practically invincible against Beam Weapons.
• Book Ends: Sei and Yuuki's final match in the final episode is an exact mirror of Reiji's first battle against Sazaki in the first episode, with Sei emulating Reiji's fighting style.
• Breakout Character: Ramba Ral, a Villain Of The Week turned Ensemble Dark Horse from all the way back in the 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam, returns to serve as a regular supporting character in Build Fighters.
• Breather Episode:
  • Episode 23.
  • Episode 9, being a rare China focus episode that eventually ties in with the main plot in time for next week.
• Buddy Picture: Sei is the Gundam builder, Reiji is the Gundam fighter, and together they are Gundam Build Fighters!
• But Not Too Foreign: Nils Nielsen, the African-American Gunpla Battle champion, is half-Japanese (on his mother's side).
  • Similarly, Caroline Yajima. She's half-Japanese and half-European, but the only thing that really sets her apart from the other Japanese kids is her blond hair.
• But Now I Must Go: In the finale Reiji is forced to return to Arian now that the source of Plavsky Particles on Earth is destroyed.
• Butt-Monkey: AU suits in general tend to be treated this way when going against their UC counterparts. Special mention goes to the SEED^note outside of Sei and Nils' suits units, which can't seem to catch a break anywhere. However, UC and CE have notably more units to use than all other series' and thus make the most cameos. As well as the show's nature where custom gunpla trump stock or repainted gunpla all day every day.
• Call-Back:
  • Amusingly, a look at GundamInfo's video page thumbnails reveals that GM's Counterattack will have the Star Burning Gundam launching with the exact same camera angle as the Build Strike way back in episode 3!
  • Also from GM's Counterattack, the Ninpulse Gundam takes its color scheme from the Hyaku-Shiki that Nils is first seen piloting back in episode 8.
• Calling Your Attacks: Everyone does this from time to time.
• Call on Me: Reiji promises to come and help Sei, no matter where he is or what crisis he's facing.
• Cassandra Truth: Reiji believes this whenever he reveals his backstory of being the crown prince of a country from another world called Arian, since everybody who hears it laughs at how ridiculous it is. Except for Mashita, a petty thief from Arian who stole the artifact that made Gunpla Battle possible at all in the first place.
• The Cameo: Several mobile suits from various Gundam side-stories have made appearances as assembled kits in the background, including the S Gundam, the Crossbone Gundam X-1, and the Gundam Aesculapius from the Wing side-side story G-Unit. Hell, even the G-Saviour (from G-Saviour, which has been essentially ignored by Sunrise and the fandom both since its release in 2000) has made an appearance.
  • In many cases, even the fighters or various audience members are obvious shout-outs to various Gundam characters, such as Jerrid and Kacricon from Zeta Gundam being paired together in the pre-qualifiers, or Sergei Smirnov from 00 cheering from the audience in the same episode that a brunette Soma Peries pilots the Kyrios.
  • There's also Chibodee Crocket from G Gundam who appears in Episode 14 in his own Gundam Maxter.
  • And the blond (and female!) Heero Yuy piloting a Mercurius from Wing alongside our heroes for a 3-on-3 battle, as well as the black-haired Allenby Beardsley piloting a custom-colored Nobel Gundam.
  • He hasn't appeared on-screen, but the fact that Patrick Mannequin, aka "The Immortal" Ensemble Dark Horse from Gundam 00, is a finalist in the tournament made many fans very excited.
  • Just look at the Mythology Gag page. It also doesn't hurt that one of the voice actors has said that "In the world of Build Fighters, all Gundam characters live in peace," making this a sort of Gundam Valhalla for the franchise.
• Cheaters Never Prosper: Practically a lesson. Everyone who tries to cheat or play dirty by bending the rules is eventually smacked down, usually in a publicly humiliating fashion.
  • When Kirara attempts to sabotage the Build Strike's joints before a match, she's defeated by the Build Strike's jet-fighter-like booster pack.
  • When the Renato brothers bend the unit deployment rules to try and sabotage the Kampfer Amazing mid-fight, Meijin snatches victory from them and guns down their suit and its support unit.
  • Caroline's attempt to humiliate China by buying a souped-up custom Gunpla built by an expert for the girl's-only tournament ends in her Knight Gundam being literally and physically thrown out of the match.
  • The Flana Institute attempting to push an illegal system modification—Embody—through as a cosplay eventually results in Aila snapping at them, quitting the team, and ruining what was implied to be a very profitable sponsorship for them. When they try to do the same to Yuuki, Sei and Reiji snap him out of it too and it brings down the house on Chairman Mashita and PPSE after the Arista crystals start going haywire.
  • Even the mysterious "C," the mafia man who tries and fails to sabotage Sei and Reiji's events at the tournament and outside of it, eventually ends up being beaten up by Ral, then falling into a urinal and flushed before being arrested by Takeshi.
  • Special credit goes to Chairman Mashita, who repeatedly tries to rig the entire tournament to cheat Sei and Reiji out of any legitimate chance at victory, and fails miserably every single time in increasingly unexpected, very highly visible ways, garning all the attention that he didn't want on Sei and Reiji.
• Chekhov's Gun: The stone Reiji gave Sei in first episode becomes this in Episode 21. Sei has China give Aila the stone, which allows Reiji and Aila to reconcile and connect together. Chairman Mashita also has a similar stone that reacts to this as well. Nils also finds out the stone is made out of pure Plavsky Particles. And then in the final episode, Aila uses the Arista she was given in Episode 21 to follow Reiji to Arian.
  • Aila's helmet as well. Previously implied to just be used to hide her identity, Episodes 20 and 21 reveal that it actually has a program in it called the Embody System which improves her combat skills and increases her reaction time. And at full output, it comes at the cost of her consciousness.
• Cherry Tapping: When challenging the fighters at the Zeon Bar, Reiji deliberately asks to take the weakest Gunpla they have, which is a simple Ball. He then proceeds to utterly trounce his opponents with it.
  • In Episode 8, Aila proves her skills by trashing a championship player's Devil Gundam. With a Jegan.
• The Chew Toy: Poor, poor Cziommer. Bad enough that he lost his girlfriend, but now he's become Fellini's personal Team Patrick.
  • Mao kind of goes through this for a few episodes after his date goes very wrong, culminating in the Gundam X Maoh getting blown to bits in a training battle against Julian's F91 Imagine.
• Color Failure: Sei in Episode 2, while freaking out about Reiji's teleportation skills.
  • Rainer Cziommer in Episode 11, after Mao One Hit Kills his gunpla moments before he's able to deliver the finishing blow to Ricardo.
  • Kirara gets one in Episode 13 after a foul ball knocks her drink out of her hand, causing it to nearly take out two random bystanders.
  • And then Nils gets this in Episode 19, when Caroline unilaterally declares him to be her boyfriend.
  • Rinko, Sei and China get those in Episode 22, when they see Aila coming out of the bathroom wearing a towel.
• Combat Breakdown: Happens often in the really big fights, as missing limbs, malfunctioning equipment, and one Wrecked Weapon after another take their toll on both players' suits. Particularly spectacular examples include the battles between the Build Strike Full Package and Zaku Amazing in Episode 6, between the Star Build Strike and Wing Gundam Fenice in Episode 15, and between the Kampfer Amazing and GM Sniper K9 in Episode 18.
• Combination Attack: An absolutely devastating one pulled off in Episode 25 by Mr. Ral and Master Chinan. Ral uses his Gouf's Heat Rod to create a vortex that sucks in vast numbers of surrounding enemies, leaving them easy prey to the Chinan Kick!!.
• Composite Character:
  • Build Strike Gundam Full Package is a mix of a few models from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, adding the shoulder armor of Strike Freedom Gundam and a booster pack based on the Akatsuki's Oowashi pack in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny on top of the original Strike Gundam design, along with some design cues taken from the Burning Gundam from Mobile Fighter G Gundam.
  • The Build Gundam MK-II is the Gundam MK-II with a stripped-down version of the G-Defensor and a pair of beam rifles taken from a Gaplant.
• Continuity Cavalcade: Episode 23 references several earlier episodes, but it's also full of cameos of characters from other Gundam series (most notably Char Aznable). In fact, most of the cameos are of characters who had bad fates in their own canon; the episode depicts broken families reunited and Star-Crossed Lovers being happy together.
• Cosplay: In 1st end credits, various giant versions of the main characters dress up as their Gunpla Models.
  • Sei as Build Strike Gundam Full Package in Spring.
  • Reiji as Build Gundam Mk-II in Summer.
  • Yuuki as Zaku Amazing in Fall.
  • China as Beargguy III in Winter.
• Creator's Culture Carryover:
  • A very egregious example happens in Episode 20, when everybody from Team Nemesis bows towards its president the Japanese way after he left the scene, except they're supposed to be Finnish.
  • On the other hand, this is defied like hell in the same episode: One can suppose Kirara, being Japanese, could easily understand the reasons why the Italian Fellini is trying to self-destruct his Gunpla. It turns out she's calling him out for trying to do this kind of behavior and he changes his mind after that.^note It's very possible since the series is geared toward younger audiences, Sunrise doesn't want to promote suicide, even if it's handled in a figurative sense. Taking into account how common this problem is in Japan, this is justified.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Happens often. The first Zaku Amazing/Build Strike duel, ALL of Aila's battles except against Fellini and Reiji, and the Renato Twins/Luang battle. Even the very first battle in the series (Sei's Wing Gundam vs Sazaki's Gyan) sees Sei on the receiving end of a curbstomp (and neatly demonstrating his utter lack of piloting ability, despite his skill at making gunpla).
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Aila to Fellini's Fenice and the Dark Matter to the Star Build Strike in the first half of their fight.
  • The greatest and most hotblooded example of this is in Episode 25, when Ral and Chinan use their Combination Attack to destroy a ridiculously awesome number of mooks, before just killing the fuck out of everything they see.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Averted, funnily enough. When Baker mentions that Mashita could use PPSE's resources and technology to essentially take over the world, Mashita brushes off the idea, saying that world domination is too much work and he's happier getting rich off Gunpla battles.
  • However, played straight in his grudge against Reiji. Even after knowing that Reiji doesn't recognize him at all, Mashita puts way too much effort into trying to eliminate him from the tournament, even resorting to outright illegal methods that could get him and his company in serious trouble if he were found out.
• Cuteness Proximity: Caroline's reaction to the Beargguy III is to fawn over it and even refer to herself as "Caro-chan", the nickname she utterly despises.
  • In Build Fighters Amazing, Yana tries to invoke this with her Nyaia Gundam ^note  a Gaia Gundam mocked up to look like a ridiculously cute kitten; the idea is that it'll be so cute, it'll distract her opponents, and they wouldn't be able to bear attacking and damaging it. Sadly, Yuuki's hotbloodedness means he's immune to its charms.
• Day in the Limelight:
  • Episode 8 focuses almost entirely on newcomers Nils and Aila. Sei only makes two brief appearances.
  • Episode 9 is mostly focused on China. It goes from her using her gunpla as a way to get Sei out of his room to her own blossoming interest in Gunpla battles.
  • Episode 17 is entirely focused on Mao and his backstory.
  • Defeat In The Limelight: Typically whenever one of the major rivals are about to lose in the tournament, a good chunk of the episode is dedicated to them and their motivations. The ones so far have included Fellini, Mao, the Renato Twins, Nils, and Aila.
• Designated Girl Fight:
  • Justified with China when she entered a girls-only amateur Gunpla Battle tournament (or was rather persuaded by Caroline to enter).
  • Otherwise averted with Kirara, as she was already in the same tournament as Sei & Reiji prior to her first appearance.
• The Determinator: Special mention has to go to American champ Greco Logan, who keeps fighting even after his Tallgeese Valkyrie loses both its arms.
  • Ricardo Fellini proves himself to be made of similar stuff, especially in Episode 15.
• Didn't See That Coming:
  • Meijin did not expect the GM Sniper K9 to have an EXAM system. At the same time, the Renato brothers didn't expect Meijin to lead them to the forgotten jettisoned weapon binder, and were definitely not expecting his gatling gun.
  • Most of Baker's plans to get Sei and Reiji eliminated should have worked, if not for them pulling out something she had no reason to expect, such as the RG System in Episode 13, fighting Fellini to a draw in Episode 15, or defeating Nils ^note no selling his Partical Fai Jin with instant glue and Aila^note By Reiji having a heart to heart talk with her and then flirting his way to victory, along with some mild Gone Horribly Right for Aila..
  • Absolutely no one saw it coming when Beargguy III unleashed it's ultimate weapon the comically huge amount of cotton stuffed inside. China herself didn't realize it could be a weapon, much less such a powerful one, because she did it to keep in line with Beargguy's story of being a teddybear turned into a machine.
• Dirty Old Man: Master Chinan's favorite female Gundam character is SEED's Murrue Ramius. His reason for liking her? Her boobs bouncing whenever the Archangel took a hit. Even so, he's unashamed to admit it (complete with hentai eyes and drool), which quite ironically is a hint toward the Gunpla Shingyo School's true philosophy^note which is actually played straight and completely non-perverted.
• Disappears into Light: Reiji's body fades into red motes when he teleports back to wherever he came from, much to Sei's astonishment, though it only happened once. Until the finale, where both Reiji and Chairman Mashita disappear like this.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Upon seeing Reiji at the tournament, the CEO of PPSE freaks out. So much so that he spills his drink all over the crotch of his pants.
• Doing It for the Art: In-universe. Mr. Ral explans to Reiji that not everyone builds Gunpla to battle, but to represent their love for Gundam and anime like his HG Gouf that he doesn't use in battle, and to reenact scenes from the franchise.
• Double Knockout: In episode 15, Star Build Strike and Wing Gundam Fenice's match ends with a final, explosive blow that leaves both gunplas non-functioning. The fight is even declared a draw.
• Dynamic Entry: Several times in Episode 25. First is Mao unleashing the Crossbone X Maoh's Satellite Cannon on the mooks, and then Master Chinan and Ral, who barge in, rally the cast, and then unleash their ridiculously awesomely hotblooded Combination Attack.
• Early-Bird Cameo: A meta example: We can see the Real Life-sized Gundam from Odaiba along with the real-sized Char's Zaku II, who is planned to be built in Japan in 2014. Since the series takes place in the future, it's very possible the statue was already finished by that time.
• End of an Age/Dawn of an Era: After Greco's defeat at the hands of Nils, Fellini reflects that the old guard of Gunpla fighters are quickly being supplanted by a new generation of upcoming fighters. He outright calls this a "reformation" of the entire sport.
  • To be specific, the era of Fellini and Roman was characterized by fighters who were highly skilled with slightly custom Gunpla. The "new" generation, epitomized by Nils, use highly modified Gunpla which manipulate Plavsky particles to their advantage.Ral and Master Chinan prove that there's still a place for the old guys, as their Big Damn Heroes moment proves.
• Enemy Mine: One for the villains. Baker hires the Flana Institute, who were previously supporting Team Nemesis, so she can use their Embody System to power up the Meijin.
• Energy Absorption: Star Build Strike's shield can absorb beam attacks, and channel the power into the suit's Super Mode.
• Emotions Versus Stoicism: Nils (stoic) and Greco (enthusiastic)'s fight in Episode 8 is a clear-cut example. In particular, after the Tallgeese Valkyrie loses its arms, Nils tries to convince Greco to surrender and Greco responds by trying to ram the Sengoku Astray into a nearby rock formation.
• Evasive Fight-Thread Episode: Episode 23. Reiji and a basic Gunpla versus Sei and a custom Gunpla. Who wins? They don't show us.
• Everybody Lives: Although given the show's setup you wouldn't expect characters to die, it's still Gundam...
• Evolving Credits: With Episode 8, the background and characters present have changed in the running sequence, indicating a new leg of the story.
• "Eureka!" Moment: In Episode 9, China says she gave her Beargguy III a backstory^note He was an ordinary teddy bear who turned into a robot, which is why she stuffed the model kit with cotton. This makes Sei realize that he's been hamstringing himself by keeping the Build Strike as something that might actually exist in the Cosmic Era universe rather than letting his creativity flow freely, which ultimately results in his creating the Star Build Strike.
• Face Palm: When Rinko and China surprise Sei with tasty treats, Aila comes in Modesty Towel, prompting Sei to bury his face on his hands.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: The Wing Gundam Fenice, which is much fancier on its left side than its right.
• Flashy Teleportation: Reiji's teleportation turns him into red motes when he gets teleported most likely to where he comes from whenever his time is up.
• Four Is Death: The battles in Episode 13 are preceded by the entrants using a lotto machine to determine which weapons package they will be given. Sei draws 44, which he and several others take as an ill omen.
• Formula-Breaking Episode: The tournament offers a few unusual rounds when leading up to the final 16. Best shown when a relatively normal match between Sei and Luang turns into a baseball match.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: During Episode 12, the windmill that Don Quixote is charging towards is the Nether Gundam. During Episode 15 we have a Leon Szpilman (Poland) vs. Rosemarie (Jamaica) match, both are main characters from Roman Polański's famous films.
  • There's also one in the final episode. When Aila goes to Arian with Reiji, observe the Arista she's wearing—it's glowing.
  • Early in Episode 9, there's a horse mixed with the crowd. It's actually Caroline's ride.
    • Later on, when Sei and Reiji reach the All-Girls' Tournament, the bread shop owner that Reiji stole a bread from way back in episode 1 can be seen. You can also spot Sazaki Susumu a couple of times.
  • In Episode 16, Aila watches a little girl asking her mother to buy her a Haro. Later, we see a shot of the child with a Haro in her hands, leaving the mall with her mother.
• Friendly Rivalry: While they are rivals in the World Championship, the majority of the named gunpla players are very supportive of each other, and in in some cases outright cheer their competition on.
  • Gets a major lampshade in Episode 15: After their big fight, the post-credits scene show Sei and Fellini working side-by-side to repair their Gunpla; Reiji remarks that the way they're acting you'd hardly believe they were fighting so hard not that long ago.
• Friend-or-Idol Decision: A variation in Episode 15: Going into the final round, Fellini's already got a lock on a Top 16 spot. His opponents are Sei and Reiji, which leads to a conflict of friendship versus pride: let the boys win in order to get them into the finals, or fight for real and run the risk of eliminating them and smashing their dreams. In the end he decides that he didn't build Wing Fenice to sit on a shelf and gives it all he's got, resulting in an epic battle that ends in a draw, which still gives Sei and Reiji enough points to make the Top 16.
• Fun with Acronyms: Everyone knows the GM, the well-loved Federation Mook suit - here it can also stand for Gunpla Mafia, confirmed to be the antagonists of GM's Counterattack.
• Genre Shift: The battle in Episode 13 revolves around each competitor being limited to one random weapon that they are given at the start. What are Sei and Reiji given? A baseball mitt, visor and three Ball-motif balls. And then the stadium rises around them...
  • Episode 14 takes the cake with Gunpla Temarii (ala Sport Days in Japan) and Gunpla race (ala Wacky Racing)
• Gone Horribly Right: A softer example. Aila has the ability to sense and see the flow of Plavsky particles. This usually allows her to preempt her opponents, but in her battle with Reiji, the RG System's particle output is so high it blinds her, allowing Reiji an easy hit.
• Guy in Back: The builder in fighter/builder teams act as this. At first it's pretty much only Sei who does this (with Reiji as his fighter), but by the end of the series a lot of fighters are using them — the Renato brothers, Allan to Meijin Kawaguchi III, and Nine Barthes to Alia, most notably.
• Hammerspace: Invoked and lampshaded in ep. 9 - Caroline Yajima's bodyguard deliberately pops into the frame for a split second to pass her the poster that she seemingly pulls out of nowhere.
• Heroic Second Wind: Episode 15. Despite his Wing Gundam Fenice getting the crap beat out of it, Fellini rises to his feet and fights the Star Build Strike to a draw.
• Hero's Evil Predecessor: Meijin Kawaguchi II had a win-at-all-costs attitude, which is why Julian MacKenzie at first dislikes Yuuki Tatsuya, though as Meigin Kawaguchi III, Yuuki is a deliberate throwback to the friendliness and good sportsmanship of the original Meijin Kawaguchi, and dislikes the second Meijin fully as much as Julian does.
• I Let You Win: Subverted in Episode 15. Everyone expects Fellini (who has a guaranteed place in the Top 16) to give Sei and Reiji an easy victory, not only so that they can secure their place in the finals, but to also preserve both their gunplas from damage. However, his pride in both himself and his gunpla refuses to accept this outcome, and he chooses to charge into battle guns a-blazing.
  • Nils offers to take a dive for Sei and Reiji, if they'll tell him the secret of Plavsky particles (since he suspects PPSE will welch on their promise). Both boys refuse, and Reiji challenges him to fight for real.
• Imagine Spot: Both Sei and Mao have one where they imagine the battle between their Gunpla. Mr. Ral puts a stop to it so they can have a proper fight that isn't in their imagination.
• Improbable Weapon User: Everyone becomes this in Episode 13, since the battle is themed around random weapons. Some people get more standard weapons (Kawaguchi gets tonfas, his opponent gets a railgun), some get weird but still functional items (Fellini gets heat scissors that he wields like a sword, Nils gets a yo-yo^note If that seems odd, remember that the yo-yo was invented to be a weapon, and has a track record of being used as such by humongous mecha), and some fall squarely into this trope (Mao gets a paint spraygun, Sei and Reiji get baseballs).
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Rainer Cziommer, the German champ, has a major revenge-on against Fellini for stealing his girlfriend^note though Fellini insists that she came onto him and he just has an "open door" policy. He doesn't even care about the championship, just about ruining Fellini's chances. Unfortunately for him, he's becoming less and less of a threat as time goes on; compare his debut, where he would have gotten Fellini if not for Mao, to Episode 14, where he's literally not even a bump in the road.
  • This can be justified, as he spent most of his time building a mobile suit carrier, which doesn't have an official model. So he probably spent all of his time building that. Since it was destroyed, he was forced used an older model which he probably never upgraded unlike Fellini's Fenice. Leaving him with an outdated model.
  • Rainer's continuing ineffectiveness gets cemented during the Gundam festival, where he keeps getting beaten by random kids, including a kid that resembles Alfred Izuruha.
• Innocent Innuendo: The entire Reiji and Aila scene in Episode 11 is most definitely not sensual, yet impossible to see it objectively◊.
• Irony: Sei is very good at making Gunpla, and his father was a world champion-level Gunpla Battler... but Sei himself has crap reflexes, so he has to rely upon someone else to "pilot" his machines.
  • A Meta-example occurs in Episode 14, where we see a lookalike of Fonse Kagatie, the leader of the Zanscare Empire, whose mobile suit is...the V2 Gundam, Zanscare's greatest enemy^note Though interestingly, the V2 is painted to look like the Zanspine, Zanscare's equivalent of the V2 and an SD Gundam G Generation Original Generation machine.
• Invincible Hero: Star Build Strike becomes this after Episode 15. While the Sei and Reiji team making it to the final fight is to be expected, the way each of their battles go after the duel with Fellini is very underwhelming. Once Star Build Strike activates its RG System and launches the Build Knuckle, nothing can stop it. Nothing. It doesn't help that Build Knuckle is relatively boring for a Finishing Move. It's somewhat justified since the Absorb/Discharge System is no longer useable (as everyone and their grandmother knows its weaknesses), which means the RG System is the only super attack that the Star Build Strike has left. Still rather jarring however, especially when the Star Build Strike's main selling point (such that it's a standard feature with its model kit) is its horribly underused Plavsky Wings.
  • Showy Invincible Hero: While it finishes fights with the Build Knuckle and wins 99% of the time (hey didn't some other guy always end with the same finisher?), what leads up to the Build Knuckle can vary wildly and is typically fun to watch. In one episode the Star Build Strike can be in a strategic battle that echoes the Universal Century, but in a later episode it'll be in a kung-fu battle straight out of G Gundam. And the Absorb/Release System gets one final hurrah in the next to last episode, where the Aqua Mode is finally revealed.
• Joke Character: Ral-san's favorite Gunpla. He's a decent pilot, and the Gouf itself a great machine... but his kit is a Best Mecha Collection Gouf, a really old model with crappy articulations that really can't compare to the newer stuff in terms of mobility. Reiji keeps trashing it (a melee oriented suit at that!) by rushing in and beam saber-ing it to death. His actual combat gunpla is a different matter, however.
• Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better: Justified when it comes to Star Build Strike, since its Absorb Shield basically makes it immune to beam weapons.
  • Yuuki's Zaku Amazing plays this straight, with plenty of missiles, a heavy sniper rifle, revolvers and heat machetes.
  • Ral is also a believer in this. His Gouf R35 is equipped with ten autocannons and two heat swords.
• Leitmotif: "The Crimson Comet ~ The Usual Flamenco at Three Times the Passion~", Yuuki's theme, which is heard several times: Episode 2, Zaku Amazing vs Build Strike, Episode 6, Zaku Amazing vs Build Strike Full Package, and in Episode 18, Kampfer Amazing vs. GM Sniper K9. It's also remixed for "Meijin ~ Six Times The Passion Of Ordinary Flamenco", which plays in Episode 22, Amazing Exia vs F91 Imagine.
• Lighter and Softer: It's a show about kids making and battling Gundam models in order To Be a Master, a far cry from the usual tales of horrifying world wars.
  • Actually discussed in-series; Reiji asks why people take Gunpla Battle so seriously, and Mr. Ral says that since it's not a real war like the original Gundam anime and no lives are at stake, people can have fun and become very passionate about it.
• Lost Food Grievance: Reiji and Aila get into a fight over a meat bun and accidentally threw it into a nearby river in the ensuing struggle. Naturally, they start yelling at each other, marking the official start of their rivalry.
• Lost in Translation: In Japanese, the name of China's Beargguy III is pronounced "Beargguy-san", i.e. "Mr. Beargguy" in English. The official subtitles resolve this by rendering the name as "Mr. Beargguy III".
• The Mafia: Episode 15 reveals that there's a Gunpla Mafia, who'll take any dirty job (including "C"'s attempt to disqualify Sei and Reiji in the previous episode). Sei's reaction serves as a lampshade on how ridiculous the idea sounds.
• The Magic Goes Away: In the end, the giant Arista, source of the Plavsky Particles, is destroyed, marking the end of Gunpla battles... only to be Subverted in the epilogue, where it's shown that Nils and Caroline have successfully synthesized the particles.
• Man Hug: Fellini and Greco engage in a friendly hug when they meet, complete with light pounding on the others back.
• Meaningful Name: Wing Gundam Fenice, Italian for Phoenix. The meaning becomes very clear in Episode 15, as we see how Fellini keeps rebuilding it after every defeat, until it becomes the Ace Custom it is today.
  • Its second form is the Fenice Rinascita. "Rinascita" is Italian for "rebirth".
• Meet Cute: Reiji and Aila in Episode 10. They try to buy a store's last meat bun at the same time. Hilarity Ensues.
• Merchandise-Driven: Even more than regular Gundam, with Bandai deliberately making the Original Generation models very Toyetic and giving practically every single one of them some form of Mecha Expansion Pack, weapons kit, or other add-on which gets a separate release for fans who want to use them with other models.
  • In fact, Episode 16 is quite detailed on what to do with a basic build, including clear coating.
  • A drunk Ricardo Fellini at one point even brings up the Blu-ray-exclusive miniepisode for Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team.
• Metagame: A variation: A lot of the newer powerful Gunpla fighters out there have learned to fight using not only their skills and their Gunpla's simulated weapons, but also by manipulating the very particles moving their models. A point is made that Gunpla fighters who haven't adapted, like Greco Logan and Ricardo Fellini, are at a disadvantage.
• Meta Sequel: Instead of being a sequel to another Gundam story, it's a spin-off set in a world where the Gundam franchise is fictional, allowing for a lighter tone and commentary about what Gundam stories are usually like.
• Midseason Upgrade: Typically a Gundam last at least 14 episodes. Build Strike Full Package and Zaku Amazing lasted 6 episodes, and each received an upgrade at Episode 11.
• Miracle Rally: In Episode 14, after breaking free from the enemy gunpla that was holding them up, Sei and Reiji active Star Build Strike's Discharge Mode and make a mad dash for the finish line. Unfortunately for them, it's Discharge Mode runs out of juice in the final straight, causing Star Build to come in second place.
• Mood Whiplash: Episode 21 piles on the feels, with Reiji's hate and Aila's despair, then heartwarming as they reconcile... and then Aila calls out Barthess, Kankaansyrjä and his grandson, then Reiji and Aila get into a shouting match over who's going to win, and then they spend the rest of the match flirting while beating each other up.
  • Episode 23 is a dedicated breather episode, with funny and heartwarming moments aplenty and a thrilling battle between Reiji and Sei at the end. Fast forward to The Stinger where we see a very brainwashed looking Tatsuya standing with the completed Exia Dark Matter, saying that it's time to battle.
• Mundane Utility: Technology has been created that can give life to inanimate plastic models. Mankind has decided to use this technology for sporting competitions. The Hand Wave is that the Plavsky Particles only react to the plastic in Gundam model kits.
  • Plavsky Particles are later revealed to be made out of antiparticles, which has many potential uses in many fields of science. However the company that produces Plavsky particles keeps the production process completely secret for unknown reasons.
• Musicalis Interruptus: At the end of Episode 2. When Sei and Reiji are having their Against the Setting Sun moment, a fittingly rousing BGM plays...which abruptly cuts out once Sei starts to freak about Reiji randomly transforming into a human glow lamp.
• Mythology Gag: Has so many references to other Gundam series that it warranted itself its own myth gag page.
• Nerds Are Sexy: Generally subverted throughout the series. Some examples:
  • Yuuki is the typical #1 most popular guy at school, but his Gunpla obsession is seen as flaw by his fangirls, who like him despite the fact that he's a Hot-Blooded nerd.
  • Invoked by Kirara, who seems to be hit it well with Sei via her extensive knowledge, even making him dreamy and blush. Turns out Sei just REALLY likes her as a fellow Gundam otaku.
  • Played straight with Ricardo Fellini. For crying out loud, the guy almost hooked a date with a Victory Gundam model kit.
  • And in the manga sidestory Build Fighters Amazing, we have Yana Kuramochi, who switches from a busty meganekko meido who's shotacon for Yuuki into a hardcore Gundam fan at the drop of a hat.
• Noblewoman's Laugh: Caroline has one.
• "No More Holding Back" Speech: Sei gives a speech during his final battle with Yuuki, stating how his friends and family have helped him become a better Gunpla builder and fighter.
• Official Couple:
  • Sei and China, who are paired up quite early in the show, and are implied to have started dating by the world tournament arc.
  • Aila and Reiji, whose encounters are filled with Belligerent Sexual Tension. One of Aila's themes is even called "Aila – Reiji's Custom Tsundere". Aila also follows Reiji back to Arian in the finale, after wishing they could stay together.
  • Nils and Caroline, with Caroline initially saying Nils is her boyfriend, and then upgrading him to her fiance a few episodes later. In the end, they're still together, and were on the International Space Station recreating Plavsky Particles.
  • Ricardo Fellini and Kirara/Mihoshi, who start dating during the world tournament and appear to still be together after the one year time skip in the season finale.
• Power Glows: The frame under Star Build Strike's armor glows bright blue whenever it uses its RG system Super Mode.
• Punny Name: Bearguy III's name in Japanese is pronounced as Bearguy-san which would be Mr. Bearguy.^note Adding the -san suffix to animal names is common among Japanese children.
• Puppy Love: Borderline, as most of the cast are in their early teenage years, yet every romance (or potential thereof) is portrayed as innocent and down to earth. Major example is Sei and China's dynamic.
• Recruited from the Gutter: Aila was "rescued" as a poverty stricken orphan by Nine Barthes, who treats her less than pleasantly. Later Reiji rescues her from him and she goes to Arian with him in the finale.
• Recursive Canon: The show takes place in a 20 Minutes into the Future version of the real world, where all the other Gundam series are fiction.
  • China's Beargguy III for example is a modification of a model from Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G (itself set in a version of the real world where all the other Gundam series are fiction), Build Fighters own spiritual predecessor, which was itself a modification of an existing gunpla.
  • Mao's debut episode shows the Extreme Gundam, originally from the Gundam Vs Series. The latest game in the series, Extreme Vs. Maxi Boost, is slated to add Build Fighters to its burgeoning roster.
• Reed Richards Is Useless: Nils points out that the existence of the Plavsky Particle has massive scientific potential, but PPSE keeps the method of manufacture secret and only seems interested in using it to animate Gunpla.
• Relationship Upgrade: Eventually, Fellini and Kirara quietly become the show's Beta Couple, while the Official Couple pairs of Reiji and Aila and Sei and China are still feeling their way into their relationships.
  • Also seen with Nils and Caroline. At first, he's just her belonging. Then, in Episode 19, Caroline upgrades him to her boyfriend. Then, in Episode 23, she declares him to be her fiancee. Though the show prefers to play it for laughs. Though the epilogue implies they're pretty much together for reals.
    • Gundam Build Fighters Try confirms they got married.
• Self-Deprecation: In Episode 16, the show takes a little rib at itself at there being endless versions of the same gunpla.
  Reiji: "Just how many of these Zaku things are there?"
• Serious Business: Considering there are next to no stakes in battles between miniature plastic models, fights get surprisingly dramatic.
  • Justified by Mr. Ral in Episode 6. People take Gunpla seriously because it's a hobby they don't have put their lives on the line for, unlike in the wars of previous Gundam shows. Gunpla battling can be a pure expression of personal skill / creativity / passion.
  • There's a "Gunpla Mafia", along with an "International Gunpla Police" who can arrest you for cheating in Gunpla Battles! Sei lampshades the ridiculousness of the former. ^note That said, every sport will have its own regulatory and enforcement bodies to ensure no cheating is taking place.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Sei denies Caroline's presumption that he's China's boyfriend, only to get embarrassed when China doesn't deny it too.
• Ship Tease: Sei x China and Reiji x Aila get heavily implied throughout the series, without either actually becoming a couple. The ending pretty strongly implies both couples are together.
  • Played for Laughs in case of Fellini x Mihoshi, who appear to be dating during the world tournament, only for Fellini to regularly screw things up, though they eventually hook up. And as Episode 23 shows, when it comes to Mihoshi, Fellini is completely whipped.
  • There's also Mao and Misaki, which again is also Played for Laughs, because even though he does manage to go on a date with her, it quickly ends when he tries to kiss her.
  • Heck, even Nils and Caroline fall into this, particularly with Caroline's unilateral relationship upgrades.
• Shout-Out:
  • Kirara does the Ranka Lee Kira! pose.
  • The Gundam X Maoh's ability to compress and release Plavsky Particles and the special feature of the Star Build Strike's Absorb Shield has a sound effect and function that is almost similar to Accelerator's Vector Manipulation.
  • In Episode 3, Blue Destiny Unit 1's visor uses the Space Runaway Ideon light up effect.
  • In Episode 4, the scene depicting Kirara's idol agency has a poster of an idol who looks suspiciously like Mami Futami from The Idolmaster. Makes more sense when you know that both series are owned by Bandai.
  • The "Meijin Kawaguchi" title is an honorary shout-out to Gunpla builder Katsumi Kawaguchi, who works for Bandai Hobby and is essentially their spokesman for all things Gunpla, and builds their display models.
  • Similarly to how the original Nobel Gundam is visually based on Sailor V, the one that appears in Episode 9 has been painted to look like Sailor Jupiter.
  • Also in Episode 9, the way China depicts her Beargguy III eating from a honey pot may bring to mind Winnie the Pooh.
  • Nils's parents are an ace detective (father) and a martial arts master (mother), referencing Case Closed.
  • Caroline Yajima's SD Knight Gundam does the Shoutmon X4B when it changes into Centaur Mode.
  • The three fighters Meijin fights in his debut battle in Episode 11 are Geki (F91), Kai (GN-X), and Yoku (Ground-Type GM Head) from Brave Command Dagwon.
  • In Episode 12, the way the Mega Zaku's head exploded made it look like it was hit by Kenshiro.
  • Episode 13:
    • The Zaku Flipper is painted in Standing Tortoise colors.
    • Nils' uses the Shamisen no Yuji Yoyo finisher from 1981 series Shin Hissatsu Shigotonin.
    • This might also be a reference to Master Asia using the same finisher in Episode 35 of G Gundam.
    • The baseball match between Abigorbine and Star Build is a shout out to Shippu! Iron Leaguer.
  • In the second opening, Wing Fenice does Klein Sandman's trademark pose from Gravion (another Masami Obari anime).
  • In Episode 15, Build Strike and Wing Fenice headbutt each other in a reference to s-CRY-ed. ^note doubles as an Actor Allusion; the two rivals in s-CRY-ed were voiced by Soichiro Hoshi and Hikaru Midorikawa, who also played Kira Yamato and Heero Yuy—the pilots of the Strike and Wing Gundams respectively
  • Takeshi introduces himself to Gunpla Mafioso C using Cutey Honey's "Sometimes I'm X, sometimes I'm Y, but the truth is Z" intro speech.
  • Team Nemesis' bus in the world tournament is the same one used by Zero in Season 1 of Code Geass.
  • Episode 22 introduces a Briton named John, his grandson Julian, and a Gunpla named "Imagine". Sound familiar?
  • The Contest Winner Cameo Zssa in Episode 23 looks a lot like a Destroid, particularly the Koenig Monster.
  • The hand gestures Rinko pulls in Episode 23 while recoiling from being ogled by Chinan looks suspiciously similar to Sailor Moon's hand gestures.
  • Sazaki's third Gunpla, the Gyan Vulcan, is likely a play on Sun Vulcan.
  • In Episode 25, right before the Miss Sazabi deploys, it is seen with a Badass Arm-Fold, that with it's head-crest and mono-eye, makes it look like another badass mech piloted by an Action Girl.
    • During the final battle, that same Gunpla performs the Spinzaku Kick.
  • The Star Build Strike's Build Knuckle may be just a powered up punch, but its awfully to the signature move of another mecha fan turned pilot, namely Ryusei's T-Link Knuckle.
  • The Sengoku Astray tends to be animated differently than the other suits, with highly-emphasized highlights, strong shadows, and dramatic poses. Which is awfully like the animation style of another mecha anime.
  • Episode 3 of Gundam Build Fighters Battlelogue is just one big shout-out towards Pretty Cure.
• Sniper Duel: The battle between Tatsuya and the Renato brothers in Episode 18 kicks off with a particularly spectacular one.
• So Last Season: The new generation of Gunpla fighters have surpassed many of the previous generations, with newcomers defeating long time tournament fighters and even the previous World Champion. In particular, clever manipulation of Plavsky particles becomes at least as important as traditional building skills, and those battlers that don't keep up get annihilated.
• Spiritual Successor: Builds off the ideas of Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G, while taking place in a completely new continuity.
• Split-Personality Makeover: Played for Laughs. The normally laid back Tatsuya Yuuki slicks his hair back whenever he reveals his Hot-Blooded side during gunpla battles.
• Squee: Sei gets a little too enthusiastic about Gundam in general. To the point where he gets irritated whenever Reiji "just doesn't get it."
  • It runs in the family — Takeshi is shown to be just as enthusiastic (to the point where Reiji is left wondering "Who does this old guy remind me of?").
  • And the girls at his school get just as enthusiastic over Yuuki.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Reiji makes a habit of this. It's often lampshaded.
• "Stop Having Fun" Guys: In-universe. Yeah this show does get a bit serious with it's toys but most of the characters play it in good fun. A couple do have this mindset however such as the Renato brothers and Meijin and only seem to care about winning. However, in the later's case, it's a ruse to subvert the image set upon by the second Meijin, who believed in this, and show that Gunpla is supposed to be used for fun.
• Student Council President: Tatsuya Yuuki.
• Super Mode: Star Build Strike's main gimmick involves 4 super modes that can increase the suit's performance for a limited time: Speed Mode, Rifle Mode, Aqua Mode (that we never get to see) and RG Mode.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: Meijin's denial to Sei and Reiji of being Yuuki is rather detailed about the person he is not supposed to be.
• Take That!: The series likes to make fun of a lot of things, including the audience and itself.
  • In general, nearly all of the random battles have U.C. era suits prevailing over their AU counterparts, especially those from SEED; this was observed not only by members of the Western fandom, but also of the Chinese fandom.^note On the other hand, most of the main Gunpla employed by the main characters are from AU series, and often trounce UC mobile suits in return.
  • The early episodes poked fun at units that rely on giant beam weapons by having them get taken down before their long charge rate can finish. Such as Wing Gundam's Buster Rifle getting disarmed by a shield toss, and Gundam Double X getting comically destroyed as it charges its Satellite Cannon.
  • Episode 4 has one at the whole Japanese idol industry.
  • The G-Saviour being destroyed by a single stroke in Episode 8 could possibly be a jab at its less-than-well-regarded movie.
  • As delivered by Reiji: "Just how many different kinds of these Zaku things are there?"
  • Episode 17 briefly pokes fun at SEED's tendency to subject Murrue Ramius' chest to bouncing at every opportunity.
  • Episode 20 has a lecture about how stupid self-destructing your unit is, poking fun on the tendencies of the suits from Wing being blown up.
  • Episode 25 made fun of bootleg mobile suits, which is what Fellini calls the final Mook units in the battle of A Baoa Qu. Hell, they're even called Mocks!
• Taking the Bullet: A Gunpla-based variation in Episode 25: China and Aila pushed Sei and Reiji before the fortress' Wave-Motion Gun opens fire.
• Technician Versus Performer: Best represented by the battle during the finals against Nils, with Reiji and Sei as the Performer and Nils as the Technician. As is often the case with this trope, Nils is portrayed as the scum that doesn't really understand what Gunpla Battles are about and has to learn a lesson. Ironically, early in the series during China's battle against Caroline, the situation is inverted with Caroline being the spirited competitor relying on drive (and some outside help from Nils) while China has a cute but basic Gunpla and winds up winning because she followed the directions to make the Bearguy too closely.
• Tender Tears: Sir John Ayers Mackenzie has this in Episode 22, watching the conclusion of Julian and Meijin's battle, and seeing Julian's return to gunpla.
• Theme Song Power Up: In Episode 12 when Sei and Reiji begin charging the Star Build Strike's BFG, the ending theme "Imagination > Reality" starts up.
  • In Episode 18, Meijin is on the ropes, and the Renato Brothers move in to finish him off... and then his leitmotif kicks in and he spectacularly turns the tables on them.
  • And then a more spectacular example occurs in Episode 22, as Meijin activates Trans-Am set to "Meijin - Six Times the Passion of Ordinary Flamenco."
  • And then the first OP plays during Episode 24, in the Star Build Strike's battle with the Exia Dark Matter.
  • And the second OP gets its glory moment in Episode 25, when Sei and Reiji are charging at the Giant Arista inside of A Baoa Qu.
• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Master Chinan says this to Takeshi in Episode 24, when the latter prepares to have the Sei/Reiji vs. Kawaguchi fight suspended due to the blatant rules violation of a mid-battle field change.
• Trailers Always Spoil: Bandai's Gunpla release schedule pretty much spoils what mobile suits will show up later in the series.
  • Trailers Always Lie: On the other hand, The second opening shows six silhouetted Gunpla behind Chairman Mashita, implying that they're going to be part of his attempts to eliminate Sei and Reiji. However, out of the six, only two (the Hell Zeong and Exia Dark Matter) were actually enemies, while all the rest belong to good guys like Reiji and Aila.
• Training Montage: Episode 9 has one for China and her Beargguy.
• Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: The series allows mobile suits from every Gundam continuity to battle for supremacy, including Strike Gundam, Wing Gundam, Zaku II, Gundam Mk-II, Gundam X and even Knight Gundam.
  • The Battlelogue series goes even more direct, using a quasi-personality system that effectively lets Gunpla be piloted by actual Gundamverse pilots. The first episode features a battle between Char Aznable and Ribbons Almark; the fourth episode sets up Setsuna F Seiei and Lockon Stratos as bosses.
• Undercover Cop Reveal: Sometimes he's the owner of a back-alley model store. And sometimes, he's a Gunpla fan, travelling around the world to promote Gunpla. But his true self is...International Gunpla Battle Official Referee, Takeshi Iori!
• Unexpected Character: Episode 8 start with Nils fighting a G-Saviour. The thing was ignored by Sunrise and Bandai for more than a decade, got excluded from all supplement materials as if it never existed, and even caused faulty rumor among fans that it got removed from Universal Century timeline. Yes, it's truly The Un-Favourite of Gundam. Yet, it makes its anime debut here.
  • And that episode scored a double whammy by introducing an explicitely Shout-Out-based design, namely Thai champion Luang Dallara's custom Abigor themed after Aura Battler Dunbine's titular mech.
  • In Episode 23 marks the animated debut of the Shuffle Heart, which was detailed in Mobile Fighter G Gundam's side materials but never appeared because its proper owner (Master Asia) had his own Gundam to use.
• Unknown Rival: Caroline is obsessed with defeating China, considering China her Arch-Enemy. China, however, is unaware of the animosity, and even refers to Caroline by the Affectionate Nickname of "Caro-chan".
• Vader Breath: The Mega Zaku does this when introduced.
• Villainous Breakdown: A humorous example. In Episode 13, when Mashita's secretary's plan to get Sei and Reiji eliminated from the tournament fails, she refuses to speak and looks away in shame for the rest of the episode.
  • She also has been losing her cool more and more as Sei and Reiji continues through the tournament finals; by Nils's defeat she is left speechless.
• Wave-Motion Gun: One was spotted inside the A Baoa Qu fortress in Episode 25, which took out China and Aila's Gunpla.
• We Will Meet Again: In Episode 1, after his attempt to locate Reiji falls flat, Sei dramatically vows that they will meet again. They do, once he returns home.
• Wham Episode: Episode 14. At the beginning of the episode, Sei and Reiji are on an unbroken winning streak and are among the top contenders... then the Chairman's latest meddling results in them almost getting eliminated from the tournament altogether. On the other hand, the Chairman's reaction to a very (and rightly) pissed Reiji kicking down his door was priceless...
  • Episode 20 is this too, by having Aila destroying the Wing Gundam Fenice and Reiji's Beginning Gundam without any hint of regret or self-constraint (Due to the berserker-like system imposed on her). All this just so the Chairman can see his grandson see the Qubeley Papillion win... and also pulls out The Reveal towards Reiji.
    Reiji: "I said what are you doing, Aina?!"
  • Episode 24, all of it: The chairman is a wanted criminal of Arian who arrived on Earth the same way Reiji did, and the reason he antagonizes him is that he doesn't want to be identified; when cornered in the end, he accidentally summons an entire Space Fortress in the middle of the stadium.
• Wham Line: Episode 21. Reiji drops the bog-standard heroic "I'll beat you" speech which itself isn't unusual... until he says something that instantly makes the Chairman go Blue with Shock.
  Reiji: "In our next battle, we'll beat you for sure! ON THE HONOR AND PRIDE OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF ARIAN!!!"
• Wham Shot: Nils and Caroline exploring underneath the tournament arena at the end of Episode 23 and finding a gigantic plavisky particle crystal.
  • Episode 24: a entire Space Fortress manifested in the middle of the world tournament's stadium.
  • The Stinger for Episode 23, which shows Yuuki with the infamous Embody System.
  • The Stinger for Episode 24, which shows A Baoa Qu materializing in the middle of the stadium.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: While not covering everyone, there is a final epilogue showing a few different shots, including:
  • Sazaki showing off in his Gyan Vulcan, to a little girl who looks remarkably like him. (Presumably his sister).
  • Mao and Chinan fooling around with some kitbashed gunpla (which were made by Sei and Iori's voice actresses in real life!).
  • Misaki working at her inn, now aided by Tatsuzo and his gang.
  • Kirara performing at a huge concert, with Fellini watching on from the back.
  • Yuuki and Allan working a Gunpla workshop for some young kids, with Yuuki apparently successful in reforming the image of Meijin.
  • Mashita and Baker selling the new PPSE mock-Gunpla in Arian.
  • Caroline and Nils together at the International Space Station, successfully synthesising the Plavsky Particles. Also, Yajima Trading has absorbed PPSE and is now organising the Gunpla Battle World Championship.
  • China, Takeshi and Rinko watching Sei compete in the 8th Gunpla Battle World Championship Qualifiers.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: The battle between Meijin and the Renato Brothers basically amounts to them trying to counter each of the strategies and weaknesses of the opposing Gunpla.

---