Gundam Build Fighters: GM no Gyakushuu

*THIS'LL BE A SHORT ONE; AND ALSO SPOILERS*

Let's be honest here. If you enjoyed Gundam Build Fighters and checked out any of the other installments (or knew of their existence), you were probably wondering when there'd be another story involving Sei and even Reiji. I know at least a few people were. So, GM Counterattack (get it?) is here to deliver, and it does so in a way that truly feels like an extension of the series and everything it ever stood for. Heck, for my money, I found it even better, on par with the absolute best episodes of that show. Why, you may ... ask? Well, let's find out, shall we?

STORY: 8/10

Basically, the Gundam Mafia (that thankfully used GMs) has been tracked by Sei's dad and the Gunpla organization, so, in order to get off their tail, they flee to a brand new tournament that Nills built, while trapping the returning fighters (who came because they wanna fight in tomorrow's opening ceremony) because the mafia is a bunch of assholes, with some putting themselves in theoretically perfect matchups to screw over our heroes. Hell, they even stole Sei's Gunpla because they're the fucking mafia, what are you gonna do, stop them? No, you get riddled by GMs, which are basically their equivalent of fucking tommy guns. Did no one learn from the 1920's? I'd love to imagine Al Capone and his goonies firing a million GMs at that poor Real Grade Exia you just built, you'd feel dead inside. Moving on!

Of course, since this is a kids battle anime, there has to be a deus ex machine somewhere, and there are a few, but the most notable one is Reiji's return just in the nick of time as Sei and everyone are trapped by a devious manipulation of particles. At least they explain why he came back, though I'd imagine that reasoning might make Aila pissed 'cuz knowing him, "borrowed" probably means "took while she was sleeping". Also, the true final battle between Sei as Reiji is pretty cool, as an added extension of just how far Sei has grown, kinda like a souped up version of their battle in episode 23, except they reach galaxies. Still, part of why this work so well, particularly for a kids show, is more attention to detail with the references and the fact that we have actually competent villains, not to mention that every fighter in the good guy team is here for their own reasons (excluding Iori, she just wanted to tag along with Sei). Hey, would you look at that, it's a cool segue.

CHARACTERS: 7/10

Basically, all of the characters are the same, just with more experience and barring Sei, Iori, and Mao (and maybe Kirara and Misaki, who are barely in this), they're also taller or in some way look older. Given that this is just a side-story extra episode product, you'd think they'd all just be here for a reason that amounts to "the plot told them to go here because it's in line with their only motivation to go" and well, they're all going to battle, but for their own personal reasons rather than just "this looks fun and it's where the plot starts; let's go make our studio some money". I've said enough spoilers so I won't reveal those reasons (plus, that requires more effort and I got 13 or so of these seasonal things to review this month so...), nor will I reveal the identities of any names character in the mafia (though one of them had really fallen from "grace" since his minor appearance in the series). For as one-dimensional as these mafia hooligans are, they're at least competent villains for this kind of show that you're supposed to take seriously as an antagonist (unlike the chairman from last time), so they're already an improvement. Oh, and speaking of improvement...

ART: 9/10

The art is pretty much on point here, even more so than with the series. The digital effects somehow look even better here and the animation is never ever choppy, unlike a few moments I the show. The Gunpla detail and designs are also on point too, with my favorite new design (that isn't a modified version of the original like the new Wing Feniche that can transform into a goddamn motorcycle because fuck you, Fellini is cool as shit) is the Ninpulse Gundam. The fights look better choreographed as well and I never thought I'd see the day that there was a golden diamond encrusted Buand Doc (why give such a piece of junk such luxury?). There is also very minimal CGI here and that's good. Now for the only minor downgrade from the series to this...

SOUND: 7/10

Not gonna lie, I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of new tracks for this one, and the few new ones that were there (one track towards the end and the ED) weren't really up to par with the music of the original show, though there. Of bad. Just eh when you compare it to some of the better tracks of the show and the 2nd ED. The music that they used from the original was also rather eh, not even bringing back any of the cooler tracks such as Star Build Strike theme and PowerResonance. It's still decent overall, I just wish they lifted some of the best tracks from the original and made more interesting new ones.

ENJOYMENT: 8/10

Akin to Build Fighters fashion, I found a lot of fun to be had here from both the references and the actual battles themselves. Seeing the ways the expanded on the original series was also a delight, especially the ending to this special, which I won't spoil. It's raw mecha fun for kids and adults and anyone in between or beyond, and that's always a plus (unless you here mecha...*cough* loser *cough*), and obviously, this is best saved for after you finish Build Fighters. So yeah.

OVERALL: 8/10 RAW SCORE: 76/100

If you enjoyed Build Fighters, there's no reason not to end up liking this one as well. In many cases, I'd argue it's better than that one overall as it's like watching one of the show's best episodes without dealing with any of the weaker ones, and for a kids battle anime, that's still a proud achievement, so, like it's Gunpla builders/fighters, GM Counterattack should lift its head high. Well, with all that said, I bid you adieu.

The first Gundam Build Fighters anime was a big success for the franchise because not it brought back many fans back to the series after the disasters that were Gundam AGE and Gundam 00 movie but it managed to introduced people to the franchise. Gundam Build Fighters Season 1 was my re-introduction to the franchise after over a decade ago with me watching Gundam Wing on Cartoon Network and I loved it to the core. Yes, it had its flaws but honestly, they didn’t bother me because of how much I loved it.
After that success that was Gundam Build Fighters Season 1, it would have ... been 3 years of time until getting an actual squeal to the first season of Gundam Build Fighters. Am not including the Gundam Build Fighters Try Stuff because they were just awful and in my opinion shouldn’t exist. When the squeal for the first Gundam Build Fighters series came out in OVA format I was really excited the characters that I loved again in this finale/epilogue of the first series.
After watching the OVA did it really live up to the hype or did it fell flat in its face?
Let's find out, shall we?

Story.
The day before the ceremony marking the completion of the Yajima Stadium, Nils Nielsen invites Sei Iori, Meijin Kawaguchi, and others to an exhibition battle using the new large-scale battle system he has designed. Now that they are all reunited, Sei attempts to show off the Build Strike Cosmos that he has upgraded for the exhibition, but then he notices something missing. Meanwhile, an origination called the GM Mafia takes control of the stadium’s systems that seals Sei and his friends inside. Now Sei and his friends must defeat the GM mafia in order to stop their evil schemes as well free themselves and get Sei’s Star Build Strike Cosmos back.
Honestly, there is not much story here really. It’s mostly a 30-minute finale/epilogue for the original series. It’s just typical villain organization plot where villains steal stuff as well trapping the heroes in a room where the only way you get out is by beating the villains. Typical kids plot. However, while the story was basic it makes it up with character interactions and Gundam references.
Like the Bikini Babe showoff from Victory Gundam where female characters were that suit to distract the male with the sexy beauty.
Lastly, we have the ending which was a great send-off for the original build fighters cast which honestly made me tear up knowing that we won’t be seeing half of these characters again in Build Fighters Try unless you count Battlelog OVAs.

Characters.
The characters haven’t changed at all since the TV series but lucky they still have that charm in them. Yes, they are a bit taller this time around but personally wise they are the same group of character that we loved from season 1. Am glad they didn’t devolve as characters to a point they became almost as bad from the characters from Build Fighters Try which is a squeal to this show mind you.
As for villains being the Gundam Mafia they were fun decent villains overall.
Overall the characters in Gundam Build Fighters GM Counterattack are still great as ever.
9/10

Visuals.
Visually Gundam Build Fighters GM Counterattack is mostly the same as the series but there were a few things different about it. For starters, the Gunpla battles here are smoother and consistent compared to the series making the fights more appealing to watch.
The show has generally better lighting compare to the TV series which was a plus.
Also, the mecha designs are still as great as ever.

Sound.
The soundtrack is still great that features a lot old and new tracks.
Unlike the first series, this hasn’t got an English Dub but I hope it does get one at some point as being actually one of few people who didn’t mind the English dub of the original Build Fighters series.

Final Thoughts.
Overall this was a great Gundam OVA overall.
The story while being cliched was still good and entertaining to watch, the characters were still charming as used to, the visuals were amazing and the soundtrack is still great as ever.
This was such a great finale/epilogue to an already great show and I highly recommend this ova to any Gundam fan.
Final Score 8/10

As a bridge between Build Fighters and Build Fighters Try, this certainly goes through the motions of connecting the old series to Episode 1 of the sequel, but it does little else. If you've ever heard of Build Fighters, you've probably heard the criticism that it's "just mech fights," and, although there are copious mech fights, that's not exactly true. The first series was also a loving sendup of Gunplay culture and Gundam itself, often taking time to make fairly esoteric jokes just because it could.

Try downplayed that element of the show quite a bit, and this ONA discarded it entirely. It's a very mechanical ... story that serves to get our old heroes together, gives them a villain, and then puts them in a gauntlet of mech battles, after which it ends.

Good thing I personally like mech battles, because this will be very disappointing for you if you're looking for something more.