ガンダムビルドファイターズ / ガンダムビルドファイターズトライ
The story is set in the near future when GunPla Battles, competitions
that pit Gundam plastic models against each other, have become popular
worldwide in the "Second GunPla Boom." Sei Iori, a first-year
middle-school student and the only son of a model shop owner, is
talented at building GunPla, but inexperienced in the GunPla Battles. He
encounters a mysterious boy named Reiji, who happens to be an
accomplished Gundam Fighter. Together, they strive for the GunPla Battle
world championships. It's standard 'kids battling with toys' fare. The
art isn't amazing, and neither is the voice acting. BUT! When you put
that aside, what you've got is a good, solid, fast paced anime that's a
lot of mindless fun. This is Gundam in name only - no deep romances
between characters or long, drawn out nuances in conversation (SEED
Destiny), just kids blasting it up, and Ral. Ramba Ral, the best reason
to watch this show, with his manly build and giant mustache. The best
thing about this series though is the nostalgia factor. Without going
into spoilers, let's just say Mr. Ral has the same voice actor as
another Ral in a separate series. If you haven't watched UC and the rest
of the AU series perhaps this series will seem average, since you won't
know the characters, references and unit types. Having said that, if
you are a true Gundam fan, this should be the show for you. Just have
fun with it, and don't take it too seriously.
