Gundam Build Fighters Episode 15
What They Say:
Sei and Reiji have no choice but to win their next battle. But their opponent in the final period turns out to be the Italian champion Ricardo Fellini, who has been undefeated up through the seventh period. Whatever the results of this last qualifier, his qualification for the tournament finals is already decided. Now Fellini wonders whether he should give Sei and Reiji their victory, and preserve his own machine, by deliberately losing, or…? With mixed emotions, Fellini confronts the Star Build Strike.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The World Tournament has definitely been interesting as it’s gone on with the way things have been spiced up, which brought the reality of the Gunpla Mafia into Sei and Reiji’s world, something they didn’t know existed. That revelation has completely ticked off Reiji who goes storming off to one of those organizers of the event in power since he doesn’t like that the matches have been interfered with. It’s brazen and problematic in its own right with how he approaches it, but the mental reveal from the man he’s threatening is another piece of the puzzle; Reiji is actually the crown prince of Arian. That certainly opens the windows even more to what’s going on with this series, leaving you very curious to see what other twists are in store for when they do more reveals.
With the Chairman now in a panic and talking about the secret of the Plavsky particles and hoping that Reiji never remembers the things he’s forgotten, we get a nice layer of intrigue in the background that makes you wonder who else is keeping a secret and what their twist might be. Which is all the more exciting as we get into the next battle as both young men must win this match as there’s so much riding on it. We get some good lead-up material to it with a few other battles that are fun to watch as the various mobile suits are used and the action is solid as it all moves toward the finals itself. All of this leads towards the battle that pits Sei and Reiji against Ricard Fellini, a battle that even gets others more interested than they may normally be in matches when it comes to the participants.
The second half makes for an impressive battle across the board as the two fight against each other as we get a simple natural surroundings in a darker setting that puts the two opponents hard at each other. It’s a bit more brutal than some of the other matches we’ve seen in a way with the way the damage goes, especially since it avoids doing anything comical, but it also brings in some decent little nods to Ricardo’s background which shows why he fights the way he does as well as the absolute love he has for Gunpla in general. There’s some good if basic motivators out there for a lot of the characters and Ricardo plays it well here to show the bond with his piece and the kind of fight he brings to the table. It has a natural and expected twist along the way, but the end result is one where after dealing with a lot of opponents, Ricardo becomes the first one that I actually really liked and wanted to see more of as both sides put their all into the match in a way that really inspires others.
In Summary:
Gundam Build Fighters is obviously teasing us well with what the larger story will be here and that’s definitely keeping me interested. But even in its basic attempts at what it wants to do in terms of the Gunpla kits and action itself, it’s really won me over in a more general sense. We’ve had some great action episodes, some decent character material and a whole lot of fun. But we also get these kinds of episodes mixed in where you realize just how much they’ve drawn you in and how excellent it can be. The fight between the boys and Ricardo is top notch here, in terms of action and kits used and in providing the right kind of background for Ricardo to make him engaging to watch as he fights against the leads. Very solid stuff that leaves you wanting more.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Official Gundam YouTube Channel
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.