Though its central plot is nothing new or innovative, it is a highly competent rendition of your standard athlete's story. It cuts away a lot of the fat of other narratives in the same vein, like the threat of a club shutting down or some inter-school rivalry. Instead, Build Fighters focuses squarely on the competitive tournament aspects of its story. It lets its characters' motivation and competitive spirit carry the emotional weight and create stakes instead of resorting to some external pressure. Where it shines is that Build Fighters goes beyond the regular trappings of a typical sports anime in what it can do with its matches. Even though they are narratively just plastic models, the battles between these heavily modified mobile suits are spectacular, rivalling the main series. Although the stakes are technically far less since there is no threat of death, it is still nonetheless emotionally compelling with the attachment the characters have to the Gunpla they made themselves. Like other good sports anime, it concentrates on emotionally investing viewers in the aspirations and goals of the characters to make the outcome of matches matter. In fact, Build Fighters uses the lack of death as a threat to its advantage in how brutal its battles can get. With no danger of injuring its pilots, the amount of damage that the show puts its mobile suits through is extreme. Going beyond the damage that could realistically be shown in traditional Gundam narratives, Build Fighter's battles often outdo all but the most climactic clashes of the mainline series. It ratchets up both dramatic tension and spectacle, putting many fights in more "serious" shows to shame. In addition, it gets exceedingly creative with the type of battles the characters fight, bolstering its traditional one-on-one matches with some creative clashes like armed races and mass free-for-alls.
Backing its spectacular battle scenes is its fantastic mobile suit designs. Not only do they have a whole arsenal of iconic models, but the new mobile suit designs are excellent as well. They exude creativity and add style with their modifications on the original mechas they are based on. The battle sequences themselves often take advantage of the Gunpla battling premise to allow more fantastical mobile suits and weapon systems instead of being forced to adhere to the more real robot or realistic style options. This gives the action a myriad of options to wow the viewer and keeps things interesting. The only limit to what kind of style or strategies the various competitors can employ is the writers' creativity. It includes the use of support mecha, detachable remote weapon systems, and even mobile armours, to name a few of the ideas utilised during the various battles. This adds an additional element to the usual battle-focused story's attribute pillars. Beyond just the combat skills and strategy, there is now an emphasis on the construction quality of the fighter's Gunpla. Though this idea is somewhat nebulously represented at times since it is questionable how aesthetic elements like a better paint job, a matt overcoat, or panel lining would make Gunpla superior in battle. Even then, this is more a reflection of the ideals of what makes a real-world Gunpla model good translated into the show.
This trifecta of skills necessary to compete well in Gunpla Battles gives the show's characters differentiated strengths. Build Fighters makes the excellent choice to have its protagonist Iori Sei be an outstanding builder but very limited in his ability to actually control his Gunpla. It does wonders for his character since he is not all capable on his own, making his relationship with other characters necessary as he relies on their help. His timidity in most areas is sharply contrasted with his obsession with all things Gundam, making him a strong surrogate for the audience while still being his own, highly endearing character. This is contrasted by Reiji, who has excellent fighting abilities but knows absolutely nothing about Gunpla, their capabilities, or how to build them. The symbiotic dynamic between the two creates some great character moments both when they clash and come together. Sadly, Reiji is the weaker part of the duo due to how straightforward and rather simply he can be read most of the time. That and his part of the plot surrounding his origin and the mystery of the plavasky particles feels tacked on. As if the writers did not feel confident enough in their own ability to tell a compelling sports narrative that hinges on the investment of the audience in the goals of the characters. Instead, the general mystery surrounding the plavasky particles feels weak and actually detracts from the core plot of the Gunpla battle tournaments. It is far too fantastical for a series that focuses on more down to earth themes like good sportsmanship and love of the sport.
That being said, Build Fighters is very tongue in cheek about many of its supporting cast and the references it draws from the main Gundam series. The series even has its own Char clone in Yuuki Tatsuya, which everyone, from time to time, does note how absurd the situation with his identity is. That and Rambal Ral becoming a coach character for our protagonist all serve to keep the show's light-hearted tone while celebrating the Gundam franchise as a sort of mash-up. While these references may go over the heads of Build Fighter's main audience, these elements give older viewers the occasional tidbit that will definitely put a smile on their faces. In addition, the whole supporting cast is quirky and entertaining in their own right, the easy standout being Yasaka Mao as one of Iori's direct peers. Sadly, some supporting characters like China, who were incredibly endearing in their earnestness, fell by the wayside towards the end as she faded more into the background with the height of the tournament. Nonetheless, the supporting cast is still one of the show's great strengths that adds charm to its fairly by the numbers plot and heightens the emotional connection to each of the battles.
Overall, Build Fighters is a mash-up and love letter to the Gundam franchise. Its premise and characters are exceedingly endearing, and it never fails to put a smile on even an older viewer's face with some of its references. Despite it frankly being a glorified toy commercial since the entire premise revolves around the product of Gunpla, it is undoubtedly glorified to the appropriate level to make Build Fighters its own story worth watching. Despite the plain and simple fun that Build Fighters offers, appealing to every Gunpla fan's inner child, the shoehorned mystery of the Plavasky particles does drag it down somewhat. Combined with the relatively standard striving to best the best sports tournament plot, it is hard to say Build Fighters is truly standout since it is not very creative in this aspect. That being said, the plot is exceedingly competently executed and is an excellent example of a classic sports story done right. Overall, Gundam Build Fighters is a solid 8 out of 10. It is definitely something all Gundam fans should watch to put a smile on their faces since they will get the most out of it.
