Gundam Build Divers

In the near future, where the Gundam franchise is at its peak and the popularity of Gunpla is soaring to new heights, a new virtual reality massively multiplayer online game (VRMMO) game called Gunpla Battle Nexus Online (GBN) is made. In Gunpla Battle Nexus Online, players can upload themselves and their Gunpla online through the virtual space and battle with players from across the world. In the game itself, the player assumes the role of a Gunpla Diver, and each year a special tournament called "Gunpla Force Battle Tournament" is held to prove who is the best Gunpla Diver. The story revolves around Riku Mikami, a 14-year-old junior high school student and an admirer of famous Gunpla Diver Kyoya Kujo. He and his friends Yukio and Momoka love Gunpla and play GBN together. However, his own life changes as he meets a mysterious female Diver named Sarah as strange events take place in the GBN with the appearance of Mass-Divers. Now guided by his new allies, he forms their first Gunpla Diver group, embarking on epic adventures with his friends and to see who is the best fighter in the GBN world which would soon bring unforeseen forces to Gunpla. ==Characters==

Build Divers ; / : (Japanese), Erik Scott Kimerer (English) :Leader of the Force , he is a 14-year-old middle school student who looks to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Gunpla Battle champion Kyoya Kujo, however he didn't know he ended up following similar footsteps to one of the champion's force's best members. Riku's Gunpla is the GN-0000DVR Gundam 00 Diver, later upgraded to the GN-0000DVR/A Gundam 00 Diver Ace. After the Diver Ace is destroyed in a battle with Tsukasa, Riku rebuilds it from scratch into the GN-0000DVR/S Gundam 00 Sky. ; / : :Ogre's younger brother who bullies rookie Divers for their points in GBN. On Riku and Yukki's first day Do-ji tricks them into exiting the training stage into Free Battle Mode so he can destroy their Gunpla, but despite damaging Yukki's GM III Beam Master, he loses to Riku's Gundam 00 Diver. His Gunpla is the xvt-mmc Geara Ghirarga. He later apologizes to all Build Diver members because of his shameful actions, including bullying rookie Divers and the usage of the Break Decal. He was later mentioned by Yukki, wanting to introduce himself in the real world but was busy on other matters. ; : :Leader of , who is determined to defeat Kyoya to become the new world champion, and Riku's arch-rival. His Gunpla is the GNX-803OG Ogre GN-X and later, the RX-78GP02R Gundam GP-Rase-Two. ; / : :Leader of and an acquaintance of Magee, his GBN world avatar is in the form of an anthropomorphic wolf. Tigerwolf trains Riku and Yukki in honing their skills as Divers. His Gunpla is the XXXG-01S2龍虎狼 Gundam Jiyan Altron. After hearing Sarah is an electronic lifeform, he became a freelance diver and teamed up with the Build Divers. His human identity is similar to that of a fitness trainer. ; / : :Leader of and a veteran Diver, who is among the top two Gunpla builders in GBN. Shahryar is very passionate about Gunpla, struggling to find love within a kit's construction, build quality, and presentation. His Gunpla is the GN-1001N Seravee Gundam Scheherazade. His human identity is of a wealthy foreigner, much to everyone's shock, except Magee. ; : :A member of Force Hyakki. A female Diver who pilots the Jagd Doga Thorn, her strength has been recognized by Ogre himself. Other characters ; : :Once a member of Koichi's GPD club, he loathes GBN not only because it replaces GPD, but according to him, GBN does not have the thrills of a true battle, with players fighting at the risk of getting their Gunpla damaged or even destroyed. Thus he started distributing the "Break Decals", illegal programs that boost a Gunpla's capabilities, but creates several bugs in the GBN system, with the intention of destroying it. He later joins forces with Koichi in his plan to make use of a Break Decal to save Sarah without running the risk of breaking GBN, known as a Build Decal. His Gunpla is the MBF-PNN Gundam Astray No-Name. Despite successfully saving Sarah, he is still avoiding loose ends away from Kyoya, Magee, Kotaro and Ruck Arge because of his past actions. ; : ; / : :The administrator of the GBN who oversees its functioning. His avatar is based on a SD Gundam Force character Gundiver. ; : :The developer and creator of the GBN. Her avatar is based on the Crystal Phoenix from SD Sengokuden Densetsu no Daishogun. ==Production==

The series was first teased after the airing of the 5th episode of Gundam Build Fighters: Battlogue in December 2017, with the working title "Gundam Build Next Battle Project" On the official press conference held in The Gundam Base Tokyo in Japan reveals the series after the prologue ONA is streamed. Though Gunpla battles is the main aspect of the series, virtual reality and massively multiplayer online game games with will be part of series's theme in terms of the series's storyline and also the theme surrounding Gunpla Battle Nexus Online. Alongside the reveal, several character designs were revealed for both the prologue ONA and the anime as well as the main mechas of the series. Staff members from Gundam Build Fighters also returned to produce the anime, with some of the mecha are designed by Kunio Okawara, Kanetake Ebikawa, Junya Ishigaki, Ippei Gyobu, Kenji Teraoka, Shinya Terashima, Takayuki Yanase, and Naohiro Washio. Mecha battles in the series are directed by Masami Obari alongside animators Shinya Kusumegi and Sakiko Uda. ==Media==

Anime The anime premiered on all TXN network stations in Japan on April 3, 2018, replacing Idol Time PriPara on its initial timeslot. The opening and ending themes from Episodes 1-13 are "Diver's High" is by Sky-Hi and is by Iris in Japanese while the opening and ending themes from Episodes 14-25 are "Infinity" by SWANKY DANK and "Start Dash" by Spira Spica. The series was later streamed on Funimation's FunimationNow streaming service in North America on March 28, 2019. A sequel, titled Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise premiered in October 2019 on Sunrise's new "Gundam Channel" on YouTube. Most of the staff members returned to reprise their roles. Manga A sidestory Manga titled began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's monthly Gundam Ace Magazine in June 2018 to October 2019. The Manga was illustrated by Shiitake Gensui (Go to Helln) and written by Ryōji Sekinishi with mecha designs from Takayuki Yanase. Video games One of the series's Mobile Suits, Gundam AGE II Magnum appeared in the 2018 PlayStation 4 game New Gundam Breaker. Merchandise Part of the series's merchandise was released under Bandai's long running Gunpla line of scale models and sub-collectible line such as Robot Spirits figures. == See also ==