YMMV / Gundam Build Divers

• Abandon Shipping: The reveal that Ayame's Diver, Aya, is a high-schooler drove off a fair amount of Ayame/KO-1 shippers, given Nanami is out of school and Koichi is even older than she is making for a pretty significant age gap.
• Ass Pull: The 00 Diver Ace's Energy Wings. While Super Attacks were mentioned earlier via Tigerwolf, Riku never bought one with his Diver Points like Tigerwolf suggested. It comes about when Sarah admits her feelings about being with everyone, so it comes off as an awkward moment of The Power of Friendship. Even worse, it comes at a point where Only the Author Can Save Them Now as Tsukasa's Break Decal power was so strong, not even Trans-Am could break it.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Was Do-ji determined to attack Riku just to get revenge for his loss, or that he wanted to prevent the latter from spilling the fact that he collects Diver Points from newcomers by baiting them? After all, his brother Ogre is a person who has distaste for those who cheated others.
  • The Game Master letting Build Divers win can also be interpreted as him being a shipper of Riku and Sarah.
  • One that's even asked in-series: Has Riku's victories and strength been his own or was he relying off of Sarah's power unwittingly? After their fight in episode 21, Ogre acknowledges that Riku's for real.
• Americans Hate Tingle:
  • Due to how many Western Gundam fans were left unimpressed with the first season, the news that the show got a second season came as a surprise for them. Values Dissonance plays a big part in this, as Build Divers relies on a lot of aspects of Japanese MMOs that don't apply to western ones (mainly concerning the perceived incompetence of the moderation team), leading to Western fans to interpret several instances of realistic outcomes as Willing Suspension of Disbelief breaking. It doesn't help that Gundam fans in the US are older than the intended audience of Gundam Build Divers.
  • Riku and Sarah are heavily criticized in the West for their perceived lack of character, with Riku being a Stock Shōnen Hero who runs on The Power of Friendship and Sarah being a Mysterious Waif with a Mysterious Past who is tied to a Captain Obvious Reveal.
• Captain Obvious Reveal:
  • There would have been more tension about the identity of the mastermind behind the Break Decals as Koichi's friend from GBD, Tsukasa Shiba if his appearance in the flashback from episode 6 didn't have him wear the exact same outfit he wears in GBN as opposed to his more casual clothes from his later in-person appearances.
  • Sarah being revealed as an AI is treated as a shocking revelation, but fans had called it as early as episode 1 due to fitting into common MMO cliches. Her mysterious powers and the fact that she is the only character who is acknowledged to lack a gunpla yet visit GBN anyway are also dead giveaways.
• Cliché Storm: A major complaint for some viewers is how it doesn't break much ground as far as MMORPG anime go. A Stock Shōnen Hero, his Mysterious Waif ally, his glasses-wearing nerdy Lancer best friend, the Plucky Girl in a cute Gunpla and two Aloof Allies. The breaking point for these viewers was Episode 12, where the day is saved by a combination of Power Gives You Wings, The Power of Friendship and Deus ex Machina.
• Crazy Is Cool: One of the few things fans praise this show for is how unique and creative the Gunpla designs get, even in comparison to Gundam Build Fighters and Gundam Build Fighters Try. And the fact that the show has an MMO setting with customizable avatars means that the staff could get away with using this philosophy on pilot designs as well. Examples of this include an ermine in a military general's outfit piloting a Grimoire that looks similar to the Scopedog, a Bare-Fisted Monk Anthropomorphic Wolf piloting an Altron Gundam that acts more like a Mobile Fighter, a Ninja girl piloting a Ninja SD Unicorn Gundam, a Cat Girl piloting a cartooney penguin-themed Kapool, and an elf piloting a Post Disaster-themed Galbaldy. And those are just a couple of examples from major characters.
• Crosses the Line Twice: The pet store from episode 16 features a product called Blu Duel Dogfood. Yikes.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: The Diver whose avatar resembles Patrick Colasour is incredibly popular, despite his sole contribution to the plot is joining the Coalition and retreating. Many fans consider his appearances to be the main reason to watch the show, comparing it to Where's Waldo?!
• Epileptic Trees:
  • Due to a number of visual cues both in the opening and in the first episode, many fans were convinced that Nanami was actually Magee, pulling the Obfuscating Stupidity card to keep people from putting two and two together. This was pretty much jossed as of Episode 6 with scenes featuring both Nanami offline and Magee online at the same time, and ultimately debunked as Nanami later joined the game with her own distinct avatar.
  • Fans deduced pretty quickly that Tsukasa was out to destroy GBN as revenge for it indirectly depopularizing Gunpla Duel and hoped to bring back the old way of Gunpla battles. This was confirmed in episode 12.
  • Seeing how incompetent the administration of GBN has been about the Break Decals, some fans have postulated that some, part or even all of the administration is working with Tsukasa in some capacity. Turns out they really are just that incompetent. None of them are working with Tsukasa.
• Fan Nickname:
  • After the prologue, the Grimoire Red Beret gained the Fan Nickname "Grimoiredog" for being a magnificent Expy of the Scopedog.
  • Not surprisingly, the very premise of the anime led to several of these like Gundam Battle Network, Gundam Art Online, Ready Plamo One, Gundam Build Ex-Aid...
  • The fat oni Do-ji was immediately dubbed "Evil Biscuit". Alternatively, "Fat Kirito" due to the character being voiced by Kirito's voice actor.
  • Tigerwolf earned the name Woofei for being a wolf and having a custom Altron (piloted by Chang Wufei) as his mecha.
  • Ayame was given the nickname "Ninja Waifu" or even Adult!Akatsuki after her full appearance in episode 5. Alternatively, "Ninja Asuna" due to the character being voiced by Asuna's voice actress in the English dub.
  • Yukio's GM III Beam Master was given the nickname "Cheesemaster" due to its virtually-all-orange look.
  • Ogre's GP-Rasetsu was given the nickname "Getter Robo Gundam" or even just "Getter Gundam" as head is strikingly similar to the titular robot like, especially Shin Getter-1.
  • Sarah's Mobile Doll form at the end of the episode garnered the nickname "Kimaris-chan" upon release of her Model Kit, thanks to sharing the color scheme with the Gundam Kimaris, albeit with more white than purple.
• Fanon: Given Aya's small bust size compared to her avatar's slightly larger bust, some fans portrayed her as a girl with an A-Cup Angst. However, several other interpretations include her being shy on her large bust, which made her to wear a chest binder instead.
• Genius Bonus:
  • The Gundam 00 Diver's name is actually an Incredibly Lame Pun in Japan. The suit's name is read "Double-Oh Diver" in both English and Japanese. However, the Japanese, because of phonetics, would pronounce it as "double oh daiba"...or more easily "double odaiba". Odaiba is where The Gundam Base is located in Real Life. Not as bad as the A-Z Gundam in Gundam Build Fighters Battleouge being a one big Amazon.com reference, though.
  • Tigerwolf and Shahryar can pull off a Combination Attack of sorts called "Soukyoku Silk Road". The Silk Road is the legendary trade route that cuts across Asia, connecting China and the Middle East, which is precisely where Tigerwolf and Shahryar are themed after, acknowledging how they're similar.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • The final episodes become much darker after Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE reveals that Sarah's bugs were much more dangerous then they seemed and were only being kept in check by her older sister Eve. Eventually, she couldn't contain the corruption anymore and her friend Hiroto was forced to Mercy Kill her; going by the versions on the Gundam Info YouTube channel, Sarah's reveal as an AI and Eve's death both happen about 8:52 into the 20th episode of both shows. That final lap to safety in 00 Sky? Hiroto could have shot down Riku and stopped him from saving Sarah out of sheer hatred. Even years later in-series, he still loathes Riku and Sarah for their unintentional role in Eve's death.
  • Rommel's reason to side with the administration over the EL-Diver situation in order to preserve the world of GBN where those who cannot walk and talk in the real world can do so in virtual reality, tooks on a more heartbreaking angle as everything Rommel metioned is exactly what happened to Parviz in the sequel Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE, who suffered from a glider accident that permanently crippled him, forcing him to be wheelchair-bound in real life, with accessing GBN being the only way for Parviz to revive his love for the skies again after his accident.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • An important scene in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans has Cookie and Cracker Griffon very nearly get hit by a car, but found lying on the road anyway. Here, Do-ji, who resembles their brother Biscuit, is apparently guilty of pulling a Staged Pedestrian Accident.
  • One for the Opening theme "Diver's High" by Sky-Hi: Ayame's voice actress previously performed another anime's opening theme, entitled "Climber's High."
  • Episode 6 has something of an Enforced Plug, with Koichi shown with the newly-released MG Deep Striker in a flashback. Apparently the backlash over the actual Deep Striker model is what broke up Koichi's team.
  • Going back to Ayame in Episode 8, her act of immediately cuddling a Petit'gguy may very well be a Shout-Out of sorts to Nagato's similar act towards a squirrel; which is also funny in itself considering the first name of Nagato's seiyuu is Ayane. Also, it wasn't the first time Ayame's seiyuu voiced a character cuddling something soft.
  • The fan backlash against Build Divers' departure from Build Fighters' setup became this as it turns out that GBN's low-risk gameplay practically replacing classic Gunpla Battles and their heavy risk lead to the villain having the exact same reaction as those fans.
  • Ogre's Hannibal Lecture to Riku in episode 21 is mostly him accusing the latter of relying on Sarah’s power to reach the top tiers at such a rapid pace - something that the series up to that point was constantly criticized for, despite her power only being used if a Break Decal is invoved.
• I Knew It!:
  • Many fans guessed it correct that Tsukasa sells Break Decals and wants to destroy GBN because of his inability to move on from GPD. The fact that he used a customized Astray Red Frame is not a huge stretch since he piloted an original one 4 years ago.
  • "The Truth" was framed in story as a shocking reveal, but the majority of the viewership had been guessing that Sarah is an AI since the first episode.
• Just Here for Godzilla: Many fans were usually watching the series for Ayame, the obligatory Patrick Colasour cameo for the episode, and any sighting of Magee's tightly sculpted ass.
• Memetic Bystander: The Patrick Colasour Diver makes Once per Episode cameos often relegated to the background, and yet many consider him one of the main reasons to watch the series.
• Memetic Mutation: Here we go, folks.
• Misaimed Fandom: Big Bad Tsukasa Shiba suffers from this. He's played up as a "Stop Having Fun" Guy who hates GBN because it's not his type of gameplay style and that those who enjoy it are nothing more than fakers who will never understand a real battle. While we are meant to side with Riku and that both kinds of gameplay are both fun and we shouldn't dismiss the other for being different, some viewers, especially those who dislike the series, side with Tsukasa because his actions are trying to bring back the Gundam Build Fighters-style of fighting.
• Periphery Demographic:
  • More than probably any other mainline Gundam series, Divers is aimed squarely at a younger crowd. Yet while it's underperforming in its target demographic, it is relatively overperforming among teens and young adults. The number of Mythology Gags might keep older Gundam fans coming back even if the show might be a bit simplistic for them.
  • There is also a not-inconsiderable number of furries who are there solely for Rommel, Tigerwolf, and Shahryar rather than the plot or the Gunpla. The presence of many background characters with similar traits has only boosted the appeal, especially with regards to self-insertion work.
  • Thanks to the extremely genuine portrayal of Magee and the not particularly subtle Ho Yay going on between Tigerwolf and Shahryar, there is also a noticeable niche of LGBT fans.
• One-Scene Wonder: The Tequila Gundam Daniel Custom that appeared in Episode 4, due to the sheer Crazy Is Cool factor of customizing a walking Mexican stereotypeinto a badass Vaquero with Shout Outs to Django, The Sabata Trilogy and the vocal patterns of Jack King from Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo of all things. Many people have been clamoring for Bandai to make an actual kit of it. For those who hadn't already warmed to the Tequila Gundam, this was what redeemed the suit in the eyes of fans.
• Rooting for the Empire: Some fans who also disliked the change from the Build Fighters style of fighting found it easy to sympathize with Tsukasa’s motivation in trying to destroy GBN.
• So Okay, It's Average: This is ultimately the general consensus fans have for Build Divers, especially in regards to how the show uses a bunch of tropes and cliches, and how pretty much everyone saw its "big" twist coming a mile away. This has led to the Gundam fanbase feeling vehemently underwhelmed with the show.
• Special Effects Failure:
  • In episode 4, when Nanami shows off the rental Gunpla, it is quite obvious that all except Airmaster, Aile Strike Rouge and Ball are just clip art of various mobile suits. As well, Harry Ord's Gold SUMO turns into a normal SUMO the very next scene.
  • When Ayame is warming up for the Nadeshiko-athon, the show represents her jumping by literally moving her static character model up and down. Thankfully she's not the focus of the scene but it's a jarring bit of Limited Animation.
• Slow-Paced Beginning: Viewers were wary of the series due to the fact that it started off very slowly by spending its time with massive world-building and its slower-paced fights. They started to come around starting with episode 10, citing the rising stakes the apparent conclusion to the Break Decal storyline was bringing about as well as diving into Ayame's backstory.
• Superlative Dubbing: Upon hearing the dub, even many fans who disliked the series were actually quite surprised at how well it was done. One of the many positives people have noted was that Riku, Yukio and Momoka's voices are just a little more older-sounding, thus they don't come off sounding like a bunch of kids.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
  • In a similar vein as Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Gundam Build Divers is an alternate universe take on Gundam Build Fighters, hiding a dark plot to ravage a video game world out of sheer jealousy within your standard shonen-type isekai-like series, toning down the insane, high-octane fights for something a little more standard and grounded and focusing on world-building and character development. To that end, fans who loved Gundam Build Fighters and Gundam Build Fighters Try dislike Gundam Build Divers for those changes, claiming its too straightforward and that there's nothing at stake.
  • The High Grade Galbaldy Rebake kit had upset half of the fans for not resembling the stylized look present in the show (the show design cheats to turn many of the rounded parts of the original Galbaldy into hard edges to better resemble Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans designs).
  • The Astray No-Name High Grade kit got criticism for not being color-accurate to its anime depiction (its only appearance at the time of the kit's release had it fight in a battlefield with brown light that made its black parts look brown, but the stock photos and all other lineart of it keep the sections black) and the articulation of the new parts being somehow worse than the 2013 kit it's based off on.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: A common complaint against the series is that the show has many fun and interesting personalities, but that most of them are sidelined with too much focus on Riku and Sarah.
  • As far as the members of Team Build Divers go, Momoka gets the short end of the stick. After being introduced as the Naïve Newcomer of the gang and a Passionate Sports Girl, she is put Out of Focus, especially after Ayame is introduced and makes her role as the team's Action Girl redundant, and doesn't get A Day in the Limelight like Yukio to counteract her diminishing importance.
  • An unfortunately large number of gunpla from the second half of the show don't get much screentime and serve minor roles at best. Special note goes to the GBN-Base Gundam, which as the powered-up version of the GBN-Guard Frame that was involved in a plot-heavy moment, would be expected to serve a major role. Instead, it appears for less than a minute in the final episode as a One-Scene Wonder.
  • The dark version of Sarah is initially implied to hold quite a bit of plot significance with the way she is foreshadowed. She is however never fully used and only really appears in a single scene before disappearing from the plot. Thankfully this plot thread would be picked back up in Build Divers Re:Rise.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: A common complaint among Western fans is that the series doesn't quite tap into as much of the potential of its plot points as it should’ve done and that many characters don't get much Character Development.
  • Episode 6 featured the old style of Gunpla Battle, harking back to the style of Gundam Build Fighters and Gundam Build Fighters Try. Except we only get to see one full fight with this style.
  • Fans who were expecting Koichi and Tsukasa's parallels and past history to be a part of the Break Decal arc were disappointed that they do not meet again until said arc is over.
  • The second opening and ending suggested that Nanami would become a Sixth Ranger, but this is rather quickly dropped, despite the end of her first episode in GBN hinting that she would build a gunpla of her own. This is remedied in the sequel, which shows that not only did Nanami build her own gunpla, but she's really good at piloting it.
  • The fact that 'Gundam Build Divers exists in a separate continuity from Gundam Build Fighters and Gundam Build Fighters Try prevents the series from exploring how Gunpla Battle Network would affect the setting from those shows. How would characters like Tatsuya Yuuki/Meijin Kawaguchi III, Fumina Hoshino or Sei Iori deal with the shift to GBN? What would happen to the World Gunpla Battle Tournament? Tsukasa and Koichi's roles could have easily been filled by returning characters from the previous series, giving older viewers more investment in the story.
• Tough Act to Follow: Gundam Build Divers follows in the footsteps of the near-universally well-received Gundam Build Fighters and its more divisive, but still ultimately considered decent, sequel, Gundam Build Fighters Try. However, where this series lies in people's eyes tend to be a hotly contested subject as there are some who feel that Divers can't reach the original Fighters but also believe it’s either an improvement or a step down from Fighters Try.
• Unexpected Character:
  • They only show up as a short cameo in episode one, but really, who expected the prehistoric mobile suit blobs from the Mobile Suit SD Gundam Mk V short "Genesis: Pikilienta Pohles" to make an appearance? Riku and Yukki certainly look surprised to see them.
  • Several gunpla from the show's side materials show up in the final episode, to the shock (and joy) of many viewers.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic:
  • A minor example with the Mass Diver impersonating Shahryar in episode five, as the main characters call his customised Xamdrag tasteless and lacking in love. While his actions were indeed reprehensible and his build quality leaves much to be desired, the fact that he made a Xamdrag that could transform into a humanoid Gundam with an original design has led to many fans disagreeing with the main characters.
  • Game Master and the admins who want to delete Sarah to prevent the destruction of GBN are clearly shown to be in the wrong. As much as GBN is Serious Business, the narrative and viewpoint characters see Sarah as a person, albeit a digital one. However, due to the logical fact that GBN being destroyed would result in Sarah's death anyway, plenty of fans see the decision to patch Sarah away as being a pragmatic Shoot the Dog moment rather than being a potential Moral Event Horizon one.
• The Un-Twist: Episode 20 has the shocking reveal that Sarah, the Mysterious Waif who is only shown in the game and has special powers, isn't a human at all, but actually just a digital entity that exists only in GBN.
• Values Dissonance: A major problem with Western fans concerning the GBN, which they claim breaks the Willing Suspension of Disbelief, is that the Mass-Divers seem to wreck havoc with impunity, allow the Break Decals to try to damage the game itself, and that the Divers themselves are the only ones to stop them with no GM, Mods or Devs around to slap the banhammer on people. In Japan, many MMOs are essentially self-policed by the players and they rarely get GMs or Mods involved unless it is really devastating, unlike Western MMOs, where players will willingly hunt down GMs for even the smallest infraction. Indeed, another Sunrise and Bandai production, .hack, had the same concept, essentially allowing the fate of The World being rested on the players themselves than using the higher ups.
• Win Back the Crowd: In terms of Gunpla, both the Divers Nami and Ayame kits were seen to be leaps and bounds better than the Gundam Build Fighters Try/Gundam Build Fighters Battlogue line of female models, due mostly to being a part of the Figure-Rise Standard line. The trend continued with the release of the Mobile Doll Sarah kit, which is itself a dedicated HG Gunpla, but with alternative parts to display her in diver form.
• The Woobie: Sarah. She's an AI in the form of an adorable young teenage girl that knows what she is, but feared of being seen as weird. Now she's being told that her existence is threatening the game and trying to fix this may kill her, especially now that she's being hunted by Game Master and the administration for existing.