Gundam Build Metaverse

Gundam Build Metaverse was recently announced on the opening day of the 61^st Shizuoka Hobby Show (10 May 2023). It’s a 3 part anime story to stream in Japan from October 2023. The anniversary will also include a lineup of Gunpla as well. Some were announced at the show, and it is expected more releases will be added.

It’s a part of the 10^th anniversary of Gundam Build, which kicked of with Gundam Build Fighters (October 2013), Gundam build Fighters Try Gundam Build Divers and Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise. Expect to see reprints of all of the Gunpla from these series.

Gundam Build Fighters was a little different to the previous series and was set in a world similar to ours where battles took place between your Gunpla and someone else’s on an artificial battlefield. This series was unique requiring no previous Gundam knowledge and focused more on the Gunpla models themselves.

The 10^th anniversary celebrations will transport fans back in time and introduce heaps of new updates to all the favourite Gunpla of the Gundam Build Fighters franchise plus we’ll hopefully see a range of new Gunpla added.

The Story

A new Internet service has been born in the world of Gunpla. Within the Metaverse realm, the user can control their own avatar, interact with other users, play Gunpla Battle, and purchase actual Gunpla. Rio Hojo is a boy who has dived into this new world. Studying Gunpla building techniques in the real world with Seria Urutuski, and absorbing Gunpla Battle know-how from Mask Lady in the Metaverse world, he has been honing his skills day by day. After completing his own original Gunpla, the Lah Gundam, Rio happens to encounter some past champions of Gunpla Battle in the Metaverse realm. (Source Gundam Info)

Main Character

Introducing Rio Hojo - a Boy who lives in Hawaii and loves Gunpla. He is interested in Japanese culture, Samurai, Ninja and so forth thanks to the influence from his grandfather who came from Japan. His personality is cheerful and positive. He doesn’t fret even when he’s lost a battle as it’s more important to him to have fun. (Source Gundam Info)

A piece of Gunpla which Rio built using ENTRY GRADE RX-78-2 as its base. It was customized according to the “Japanese spirit” as understood by the boy who grew up in the Aloha State, and “Lah” in its name means “the sun” in Hawaiian. Even though he was a first-timer, the machine was meticulously finished through repeated trial and error, and Rio’s sunny admiration toward Gunpla Battle was incorporated in it. (Source Gundam Info)

New Gunpla

Here’s what we know so far. The protagonist mobile suit in the 10^th anniversary OVA is Gundam Lah. Gundam Lah will be released as an Entry Grade (EG) 1/144 Gunpla. The Lah Gundam is equipped with a javelin type weapon that can be split in half and can be holstered on its backpack when not in use. It is also equipped with a shield and beam rifle for long range use. It is based on the EG RX-78-2 Gundam.

Entry Grade offers a large amount of colour separation and articulation, bringing a new experience to the 1/144 GunPla series of model kits. Release date October 2023.

Next is another Entry Grade (EG) release. The 1/144 EG Build Strike Exceed Galaxy. We’ll add more information about this release as it becomes available. Release Date October 2023.

But here’s where a lot of you will become much more interested. Scheduled for a November 2023 release next in the line up is 1/144 HG Shin Burning Gundam. Shin Burning is an upgraded version of Kamiki Burning Gundam. Not much else is known at this stage about this kit.

The 1/144 HGBM Gundam 00 Diver Arc is next in the lineup. Diver Arc is an upgraded version of the Gundam 00 Diver Ace. There also appears to be similarities to the AGE-FX Gundam. Scheduled to be released in December 2023.

And finishing off the first of the new releases planned for the Gundam Build Metaverse is 1/144 HGBM Plutine Gundam. This Gunpla is a variant of the Core Gundam II. It appears to take most of its key design features from HGBD:R Uraven Gundam Released December 2023.

Rounding out the very latest releases is another addition to the SDCS product line. SD Cross Silhouette F-Kunoichi Kai. Released November 2023.