I’m a card-carrying old-school anime fan, and over the years I’ve gotten much enjoyment out of the Mobile Suit Gundam series, especially the “Universal Century” shows, set in the same universe as the original 1978 series. I kept hearing good things about the new Gundam Build Fighters — okay I’ll be honest, I was snared by fanart of Rinko’s butt which has become quite a thing on Pixiv — and decided to give the series a try. The show is set in our universe, but in a future time when Gunpla (er, Gundam plastic models) that fans put together can be plugged into a fighting system called Gunpla Battle, which allows them to “pilot” their Gundams in a super-realistic video game simulation. Gunpla Battle has become the world’s most popular sport, and there are stadiums where thousands of fans go to watch top-ranked players fight each other. It’s frankly the smartest way to market toys since Toy Story, and just a few episodes in I was fondly remembering building Gundam models with my son and planning which new models I wanted to build. The show is filled with fun Easter eggs and other references for fans of the previous Gundam series, and I recommend it a lot!
I’m a fan of Gundam Build Fighters…and Rinko’s butt.
