Spoilers for all preceding Gundam Build series up to Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
"PURSUE YOUR GOALS WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT."
"A half-century has passed since the human race plunged into the vast world of the Net. That world has brought many changes to peoples' lives, and to the boundary between the virtual and the real. Gundam and Gunpla have been incorporated there, too. You can meet friends, talk about each other's works, and buy Gunpla. Share Gunpla building techniques, show off your models, and finally... enjoy the new form of interaction called Gunpla Battle. This virtual universe based on Gundam and Gunpla... is known as the Gundam Metaverse."
— Opening Narration
Gundam Build Metaverse is an Original Net Animation animated series created by Sunrise. It is part of the Gundam Build Series sub-franchise and celebrates ten years since the release of Gundam Build Fighters.
In the near future, new technology has allowed Gundam plastic models, aka Gunpla, to be scanned into a new version of a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game now called Gundam Metaverse. In the game, players can control their models as Humongous Mecha in various PvE and PvP competitions called Gunpla Battles.
Rio Hojo, a Japanese-American boy living in Hawaii has recently become interested in Metaverse, taught about Gunpla by a local hobbyist named Seria Urutsuki and Gunpla Battles by a mysterious woman known only as "Mask Lady". After customizing an Entry Grade RX-78-2 Gundam into his very own "Lah Gundam", Rio seeks to explore the wider Metaverse community, and with Mask Lady's help Rio begins to cross paths with iconic battlers of the past. However, when a woman with a grudge against his teacher appears, Rio must fully prove himself as both a builder and battler...
The series began streaming on Gundaminfo's YouTube channel on October 5.
Tropes Featured in this Series:
- 10-Minute Retirement: Seria gave up being a Gunpla fighter after Maria lost a fight during a tournament and had a fit, feeling that she was so better above her sister it wasn’t fair. When Maria beats her again, she tries to pull it again, but Jeff, Fumina, and Magee pull her out.
- Ace Custom: As customary to this series, the main heroes have one. Rio's is the Lal Gundam, a modified Entry Grade RX-78-2 Gundam with a smaller buckler-type shield and a beam lance.
- Age Lift: or rather, not lift — The Build Fighters and Build Fighters Try casts appear to be the same ages they were in their respective series', despite the seven-year difference Time Skip in their own canon. This is especially notable with the Sazaki siblings in episode 3, where Gyanko appears much older than Susumu, who's still a preteen despite the fact that he's supposed to be her big brother.
- Always Someone Better: This is what drives Maria's Freudian Excuse as she finds herself in Seria's shadow and can't stand it.
- And the Adventure Continues: The series ends with Rio and Seria preparing to fight each other for a chance to fight Maria, who has finally achieved her goal of becoming Lady Kawaguchi VII.
- Bat Family Crossover: This marks the first meeting between the characters from the Fighters and Divers era
- Beware the Silly Ones: Rio Hojo found out the hard way when his Lah Gundam got decked in the face and sent crashing into a meteor by Momoka's Momokapool, damaging his Gunpla.
- The Bus Came Back: The series sees multiple characters from the previous Gundam Build series return, both in major roles and in a voiceless cameo capacity:
- From Gundam Build Fighters: Sei Iori, Reiji, and Tatsuya Yuuki, who were last seen in Gundam Build Fighters Battlogue, and China, Rinko and Takeshi Iori and Susumu Sazaki, who were last seen in Build Fighters proper, and Mr. Ral, who was last seen in Build Fighters Try.
- From Gundam Build Fighters Try: Sekai Kamiki, Kaoruku Sazaki, Mahiru Shigure, and Keiko Sano, who were last seen in the Island Wars OVA, and Fumina Hoshino, who was also last seen in Fighters Battlogue.
- From Gundam Build Divers: Divers Riku, Momoka, Sarah, Yuuki, Koichi, Tigerwolf, Shahryar, Ogre who were last seen in Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE, and Ayame, Magee, and Kyoya Kujo, who were last seen in Gundam Build Divers Battlogue.
- From Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE: Hiroto, May, Kazami, Parviz, and Freddie, who was also last seen in Divers Battlogue, and Maiya, Stola, Asha, and Hulun, who were last seen in Re:RISE proper.
- From Gundam Breaker Mobile: Ryūsei Fudou, Sana Miyama, Touma Aizen, Rindo Kuzunoha, Ren Kotomori, Yuri Ichinose, Misa Satsukino, Takuma Nagitsuji, and Kentaro Mahara, who were all last seen in Gundam Breaker Battlogue, and Katsunori Nishi, who was last seen in Breaker Mobile proper.
- Canon Welding: The series fully combines the Fighters and Divers series, which previously appeared to be similar but disconnected continuities, making Metaverse an upgrade of the Gundam Battle Network MMO, and revealing various Fighters and Try characters like Tatsuya Yuuki and Fumina Hoshino exist in this universe and have moved on from playing the real-life Gundam Battle to the MMO version.
- Clark Kenting: Rio doesn't realize Seria and Mask Lady are the same person despite spending prolonged amounts of time around both and the Mask Lady avatar being a Paper-Thin Disguise that Rio realizes is Seria the moment her goggles fall off.
- Continuity Nod: Magee's shelf is displaying his own Gundam Love Phantom as well as the Gundam Bael he used in Build Divers Battlogue.
- Cool vs. Awesome: Basically what the series as a whole is, uniting four iconic spin-off series into one mini-series. The final episode really gets into it: Sekai vs Hiroto, Song Dyansty Vase (and Gyanko’s siblings) against Hyakki and even Tatsuya vs Kyoya!
- Defeat Means Friendship: Rio does this after defeating Maria in the finale.
- Evil Counterpart: Mask Lady's rival Mascarilla wears a black version of her red outfit, along with headgear that evokes demon horns.
- Fun with Homophones: Ayame has a custom female Ninja themed SD Gundam F91 called the F-Kunoichi Kai. In Japanese "F-Kunoichi" is written as F-9ノ1, but has the same pronunciation as F くノ一, the word for a female ninja.
- Hand Wave: When Reiji shows up with his Gunpla, the SB-011 Star Burning Gundam, Sei Iori wonders how did he appear from Arian, his home. Reiji simply tells him "it does not matter" and states that they will fight together just like old times.
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: Seria was a serious contender to take up the title of "Lady Kawaguchi", but when Maria lost a match, Seria decided to drop out because she wanted to fight against her sister. Maria's subsequent fit and storming off convinced her to stay away from Gunpla as a whole until Jeff gave her her job and Rio asked her to be his master.
- Magical Computer: The Metaverse, succeeding the Gunpla Battle Network, is so mystifyingly powerful, it can not only allow EL-Divers to exist and communicate seamlessly with the alien world Eldora, but is somehow also connected to an entire other dimension where Arian exists!
- Meaningful Name: The word "Lah" (spelled as "lā") in the Lah Gundam's name is the Hawaiian word for "sun", referring to Rio's Hawaiian background.
- Megaton Punch: Momoka nails Rio with one, the "Tenchi Hokosho".
- Mid-Season Upgrade: With the exception of Fumina, everyone has modified versions of their iconic Gunpla.
- Sei pilots the Build Strike Cosmos Exceed, a modified Entry Grade Strike Gundam that not only uses the RG System of past Build Strikes, but a brand new "EG System" unique to this one.
- Sekai pilots the Shin Burning Gundam, a refinement of the Kamiki Burning Gundam.
- Riku pilots the 00 Diver Arc, a new version of his old 00 Diver with inspiration from the Gundam AGE-FX.
- Ayame pilots the F-Kunoichi Kai, a modified version of her very first Gunpla, which was only stated in the instruction manual to her Figure-Rise Standard model.
- Momoka pilots a bunny-themed variation of the Momokapool, which makes it resemble a blue-colored Sankapool from Gundam Breaker Mobile
- Hiroto pilots the Core Gundam II+, an enhanced version of the Core Gundam II. He also has the Pluto Armor, created from Ecopla, which can combine and form the Plutine Gundam.
- Tatsuya has upgraded to an Amazing Barbatos Lupus, which takes the Barbatos and adds some of the gimmicks from his previous Amazing Exia with a color scheme similar to Amazing Red Warrior. Not only that, Amazing Barbatos Lupus even has beam weapons at its disposal.
- Motivational Lie: When Rio meets Riku and Sarah for the first time, Mask Lady tells him that many players take up avatars based on characters they like to calm him down. He doesn't cotton on that they, along with Momoka and Ayame, are the real members of Force Build Divers until he gets Riku's friendship notification and sees the iconic logo of their team.
- Mythology Gag: It’s a Build series, what do you expect?
- The place Rio and Lady Mask fight at is Colony Moon Moon, an infamous location in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ and the main setting of Mobile Suit Moon Gundam.
- After shooting down the Command Gundam’s missiles, a surprised Riku utters "After images that have mass?". Iron Mask says the same thing dealing with F-91's MEPE in Mobile Suit Gundam F91.
- The Raid Battle takes place in a battlefield resembling Eldora and Cuadorn’s temple.
- Numerous famous battle stations are the backdrop for the Gunpla Rumble, including Messiah and Libra.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Seria's Mask Lady avatar is simply her with a tan, fancy VR-esque goggles, and a slightly different hairstyle.
- Remember the New Guy?: The show quickly establishes that Seria is acquaintances with Tatsuya Yuuki, Magee, and team Build Divers, despite her being nowhere to be seen in the Fighters and Divers shows.
- Self-Duplication: The F-Kunoichi Kai has the "Ayame Special Technique: Scramble Maneuver", which splits up the suit into three, each one donning the helmet and gear of the three iconic SD Gundams - Commander, Musha, and Knight.
- Status Quo Is God: The majority of the Fighters, Try, and Divers casts have all returned to their original character designs from their original shows in the Gundam Metaverse MMO. For instance, Riku, Sarah, and Momoko have all returned to their younger Divers avatars despite having had changed them by the time of Re:RISE. Only Fumina Hoshino has an all-new design for her avatar, and Tatsuya Yuuki only uses his second Meijin design as an avatar.
- Therapy Is for the Weak: Apparently, after the Urutsuki twin sisters had a fallout in the past, there were no attempts of family counseling for a long time. It results with an unresolved tension festering between Seria and Maria until Rio Hojo came along to help the two reconcile by fighting with Gunpla.
- Took a Level in Badass: When Sekai arrives to challenge Rio to a battle onlookers identify him as THE Japanese champion instead of as a member of Team Try Fighters. This would imply that Sekai had successfully won a national championship on his own.
- Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: Even more than the previous Build series, with Rio crossing paths with the leads of all the previous Build shows, rather than just mechs from all the Gundam series.
- Villainous Breakdown: When Rio manages to get the upper hand by making quick strikes on her Gundam and its attack unit, Maria is left shocked by how he managed to survive her attack and execute a quick, decisive counter. The moment that Rio announces his resolve and determination is when she finally snaps and angrily rants about why she loathes Seria while trying to fight back against Rio and his Lah Gundam in unbridled, all-consuming rage.
