Gundam Build Fighters Episode 18
What They Say:
The Thai champion Luang Dallara has fallen! Luang, who once fought a fierce battle with Sei and Reiji, was defeated by the Renato brothers of Argentina, dark horse contenders in the tournament. Their trick of destroying an opponent’s Gunpla without using weapons, as if by magic, is a power they have kept in reserve until the tournament finals. In their second battle, these Renato brothers now face Meijin Kawaguchi. Kawaguchi presses forward with a frontal attack, but finds himself in peril thanks to the Renato brothers’ clever tactics.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The movements in the tournament as it’s progressed has been pretty good and we’ve seen how various people have grown and changed with it. The previous episode focused heavily on Mao and what he learned in the past that brought him here as we saw him go through his battle. We’ve gotten some decent things about Reiji and Sei in different ways as they’ve participated in the tournament in general but mostly it’s been about realizing their dreams and supporting each other and understanding each other. It’s also been fun to see how Sei’s mother has come on board finally and we’ve had his potential girlfriend cheering him there the whole time. Predictable to be sure, but some nice changes from how Sei was at the start.
The focus here begins to turn onto the Renato brothers after they seemingly came out of nowhere to defeat Luang. The brothers haven’t gotten a lot of screen time nor have they been particularly noteworthy in battles, which is what’s throwing off those that watch it as they’ve played a quiet game, something that doesn’t seem to fit with their personalities. The first half plays this well as we see them getting ready for what’s next, showing the views of others along the way and also playing some simple time for Sei and Reiji as they enjoy the time off from the tournament that comes up here and there. They’re still largely young kids and that means just getting out and shopping, and almost something of a double date that occurs when Sei and Kousaka end up out with Reiji and Aila are together and showing just how similar the two of them are.
The second half is heavily focused on the battle itself that forms up for the next match as the Renato brothers get to go up against Kawaguchi. The battle is one that really is engaging to watch as they do a block by block fight against each other in the ruins of a city as the rain falls, making for a markedly overcast and atmospheric setup that really is thrilling to watch. The fight dominates the second half and with the way the two sides go at it, there’s a lot of really good sequences here that aren’t cut short and are allowed to play out fully, which is just great to see. I don’t have any particular affection for either the Renato brothers or Kawaguchi, but they both put on a hell of a fight here that definitely makes for an exciting self contained battle within the larger World Tournament.
In Summary:
Gundam Build Fighters moves us through another segment of the tournament, another that doesn’t include Sei and Reij fighting, and that kind of dynamic is welcome. While I like our two leads, I also like the variety that we get with the other matches and that they’re not constantly fighting in it and facing opponents. They get some decent bits of downtime here, but the main focus is all on the second half with a strong fight sequence in a great location with skilled adults players going at it. It’s just a thrill to watch it from a technical point of view alone.
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.