Force Battle is the seventh episode of Gundam Build Divers.
Synopsis
Riku has finally formed his new force, Build Divers, and for its debut he chooses a Force Battle that only teams can enter. As they prepare for the battle one week hence, the members steadily make their preparations, upgrading their Gunpla with the help of Koichi's advice. However, an unexpected problem has come to light.[1].
Plot
After lots of grinding, Riku's team - Build Divers - is finally high leveled enough to be entered as a full-fledged Force. Koichi apologizes for holding up everyone, but Riku brushes it off, especially with how quickly Koichi caught up with everyone. Magee arrives, congratulating the newly formed team. Riku thanks him, saying that they wouldn't have gotten that far without his earlier kindness, which touches Magee. Magee then proclaims its time for the next big thing: Force Battles.
In the real world, Riku and Yukio are looking over various Force Battle types. When a confused Momoka asks why, Yukio says they have to make a big impression for their debut, so they have to find the right match. When Momoka expresses confusion on what Force Battles are specifically, Yukio explains how they work and that winning them puts them on a different ranking scale than their player ranks and winning unique items. Riku finally finds one - a 5 vs. 5 elimination match for beginners. At the Gundam Base, the kids explain to Koichi and Nanami what's going on and congratulate Koichi for getting a job at the Gundam Base. Nanami is quite proud of Koichi joining her, but her description leads Koichi to snark that she's no better than he is.
With a week before the battle, Riku's planned some power ups for the Gundam 00 Diver. Recognizing what Riku wants to do and using a special molding device, Koichi suggests a Striker Packs a SEED-type backpack and creates the pieces Riku needs. Momoka approaches Koichi with her own designs, causing him to panic. She's worried that it might be impossible, but Koichi clarifies it would be easier to scratch build it. When Koichi mentions Sarah's Gunpla, Riku and Yukio panic: Sarah doesn't have a Gunpla. When Koichi suggests maybe getting a rental, Momoka protests, claiming Sarah as their "goddess" or "mascot", so it's okay for her not to have one. Koichi relents, but that means they're outnumbered for their match. As they muse for ideas, Riku spots a familiar figure: Ayame. He races over to her and calls her out. He thanks her for helping them in Perisia and asks if she can join his Force. While she warns she's an SD Gundam user, she agrees, seeing as she's been playing solo and it seems fun to do something different. Koichi tries to introduce himself, but it doesn't go too well.
With the team complete, they decide to start plans, which Ayame starts by revealing the Force Nest that Forces gain. As they make themselves at home, Sarah gets sleepy and passes out, which confuses everyone before they start making plans. In the week that passes, the team makes their plans and build their new Gunpla, ready to meet their opponents head on. On the day of the match, they're surprised to see their opponent, Cunning Rommel himself. Koichi, Riku and Yukio are in shock, but Momoka and Sarah find him incredibly adorable and go to pet him. Yukio tries to stop them, but Rommel doesn't mind. They think he's their opponent, but he clarifies he's here to cheer them on, along with Magee, Tigerwolf and Shahryar. Their opponents are the newest members of Rommel's Force.
Before the match, Magee, Tigerwolf and Shahryar cheer Riku's Force on, all the while Shahryar keeps sniping at Tigerwolf. On the bridge of his craft, a lounging Rommel is surprised that they came all this way to cheer them on. They felt they had to - it was their debut battle. Soon, they're joined by Kyoya and two of his subordinates. He apologizes for being late, as he had other matters, but made sure to send Riku a message of encouragement. As the match starts, Magee briefly chastises Rommel for changing his team's name briefly to sneak his team into a beginner's match. Rommel explains that rookies need to experience the taste of victory and that he's a commander who's good at giving rewards.
The leader of the rookie team has his team set up and waiting for Riku's team, expecting them to have their sniper-type MS set themselves on the high ground and having explosive wire traps waiting for them. The 00 Diver Ace seemingly hits a trap, causing an explosion, with two others going off. The leader calls them amateurs for taking all three paths and sends his team to finish them off. Two members, a High Mobility Zaku II and an MSV Action Zaku reaches one of the sites only to find a Kapool dummy with a sign reading "Miss". When the Zaku II moves the doll, the'yre greeted by mines which nearly catches them off-guard, allowing the GM III Beam Master to attack as the Gabaldy Rebake and Momokapool move in to deal first blood. At another spot, two Zakus realize they've been used and when one hits a wire, they're attacked by a trap using the 00 Diver Ace's GN Sword IIs, allowing Riku to race in and attack, forcing them to retreat.
With the enemy in disarray, Koichi tells Riku to follow his group, but keep back as he beings to use his Rebake's heavy cannon to bombard Riku's targets from afar, sending the leader into a panic, especially as his Borjarnon evades an attack by the RX-Zeromaru. Riku presses the advantage, using his Super GN Sword II's grappling line to disarm one of the Zaku IIs. The High Mobility Zaku II and Action Zaku continue to be pressed by the GM III Beam Master before they realize they've fallen into another trap, hitting the disguised water and being dragged in by the Momokapool, really annoying Rommel who tries to keep brushing off his team's failures. The High Mobility Zaku II takes off out of the water, leaving him open to Yukio and the GM III Beam Master's ultimate attack, Fusion Beam. The Momokapool continues to fight the Action Zaku, but her attempt to use Rolling Attack fails when it hits a rock, but saves it from a beam saber attack. The backup unit escapes, scratches the Action Zaku's face and kicks it away before returning to the main unit, standing it up and finishing it with the Belly Beam, causing Rommel to throw a fit.
Soon, Ayame and Riku have chased their targets into a corner, but the other team is confident in a win. They start their counterattack, which ends when Koichi arrives. Ayame chastises Koichi for being late before they put their plan into motion. Ayame finishes off the Zaku Cannon-Gatling Type through the "Displacement Blade Technique: Ayame Slash" attack while Koichi uses the Gabaldy Rebake's scissor claw to split the Zaku II F2 Type in two. Riku finishes off the last one through a unique A-shaped slash attack, ending the match with a victory for Build Divers. Tigerwolf praises the strength and experience Koichi and Ayame have while Shahryar is impressed with the Momokapool and the GM III Beam Master. Kyoya, however, is impressed with how strong Riku has grown, though Rommel thinks he should change his tactics to punish failures like that. At the GBN citadel, a group of players talk about how impressive the fight was, catching Ogre and Do-ji's attention. Ogre muses that Riku wouldn't be a novice forever, causing Do-ji to panic.
Riku and Rommel shake hands, Rommel congratulating him and admitting defeat, requesting a rematch one day. The others congratulate the team with Kyoya's really exciting Riku. Yukio calls Riku over for something before Riku calls Sarah back from petting Rommel again. Asking her to open her hands, Riku chooses an option, allowing a pretty flower necklace to appear in her hands. Riku explains that it's for protecting him after the fight with Ogre, apologizing for damaging the fireweed flower she had, something the others agreed to. Sarah thanks them for it and Momoka goes to put the necklace on her friend. With such a victory, the team is called over to the others for a group picture, one that the photographer is too slow to join in on.
Stats
Characters
- Riku Mikami
- Yukio Hidaka
- Momoka Yashiro
- Nanami Nanase
- Sarah
- Magee
- Shahryar
- Tigerwolf
- Koichi Nanase
- Ayame
- Kyoya Kujo
- Rommel
- Do-ji
- Ogre
Mecha
Quotes
Music
- Opening: Diver's High by Sky-Hi
- Ending: Ashita e by Iris
Notes & Trivia
References from previous Gundam series
- The ball grenade on Rommel's wine glass is a reference to the Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team's 9th Episode, where Ginias (also voiced by Shō Hayami) placed the grenade on the glass.
Errors & Goofs
- At 8:53, Riku uses the air brush to paint the parts without the pipe & the compressor attached.
- At 16:36, The Act Zaku's front "nose" sections is miscolored grey.
References
| Gundam Build Divers Episodes | |
|---|---|
Welcome to GBN | Chaotic Ogre | The Protector | Tigerwolf of the Sacred Mountain | Holy Land of Perisia | Past and Future | Force Battle | Festival! | Return of the Ogre | Coalition of Volunteers | Ayame's Tears | Shining Wings | Duel | A New Power | Lotus Challenge | Friends Reunited | Joint Front | A Man's Will | Nadeshiko-athlon | The Truth | Your Feelings | Devoted Heart | The Fateful Two | Decisive Battle | A New World |