It’s been about ten years since the first entry in the Project: Build Series of the long-running and legendary Gundam franchise. Sunrise has decided to release a three-episode OVA titled Gundam Build Metaverse with a brand new cast of characters to participate in Gunpla Battles to celebrate this momentous occasion. The anime is set to begin streaming sometime in October 2023, so a trailer celebrates both the previous series entries while teasing the coming OVA.
Sunrise has set up an English-language promotional home page for the anime alongside the standard Japanese home page and maintained their official Twitter page for Gundam Build, where they recently announced the anniversary OVA. Sunrise also released a key visual with three of the principal cast members.
Build, Play, Battle
Gundam Build is set in a universe where the Gundams and their pilots are fictional characters. Gunpla (Gundam Plastic Model) is part of the series merchandise where fans can buy and build figures and sets. They saw a rise in popularity in the 1980s and a second wave in the future where technology has enabled those same hobbyists to assemble their Gunpla and pilot them and wield their Earth-shattering power in special facilities where yearly tournaments are held.
Gundam Build Metaverse expands upon the technology that brings these Gundams to life. The Metaverse is an internet realm where people can buy, build, and battle Gunpla with their own avatars. I’d imagine it’s something akin to .hack or Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS that people log in and move around the space. The main character is Rio Hojo, someone new to the world of Gunpla. He studied Gunpla building techniques offline with Seria Urutuski, learned how to take part in Gunpla Battles from Mask Lady in the Metaverse, and became a better combatant day after day.
Rio would eventually complete his own original Gunpla, the Lah Gundam, and encounter the champions of the past in the Metaverse. It’s unknown who these past champions are. But since the show is seen in the trailer, they would likely be the protagonists of the older shows, Sei Iori, Riku Mikami, and so on.
Gundam Build Metaverse Origins
The Gunpla figures that people can buy in the real world were first turned into its own multimedia franchise with the premiere of Gundam Build Fighters, which aired from October 7th, 2013, to March 31st, 2014, in a total of 25 episodes. It spawned manga and light novel adaptations and continuations in differently connected anime, such as Try, Try Island Wars, Gundam Build Fighters: Battlogue, and GM’s Counterattack.
A different series began airing years later titled Gundam Build Divers. This show aired from April 3rd, 2018, to September 25th, 2018, in another group of 25 episodes. Like Fighters, Divers was adapted to manga and light novel forms and saw continued stories with Re:RISE and Gundam Build Divers Battlogue.
There was even a live-action version titled Gundam Build Real. This anime aired in only six episodes between March 29th, 2021, and July 19th, 2021.
The J-List shop has a recommendation for those who feel a bit nostalgic for the classic days of Gundam and the waifus that piloted death machines. The Lunamaria Hawke 1/8 Figure Swimsuit Ver. — GGG (Gundam Girls Generation) from the Mobile Suit Gundam section is available now for pre-order, just in time for Summer.
Are you looking forward to seeing Gundam Build return? Have you collected and built your own Gunpla figures? Do you think you could be an ace Gunpla pilot in your own favorite Gunpla unit? Let us know in the comments below.
