[Yellow Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPLIT LIP

It's called giving a shit, and making the most of what you got. Of course all of Gundam exists to kock model kits, but at least other series attempt to also tell a story along the way.

I see this excuse brought up all too often, as if it's infallible, this idea that being completely unashamedly self-aware somehow makes for a better story than, like, actually trying to tell a story. So what if Build Fighters "knows what it is?" All Gundam series know what they are, but they don't give up and go for the easiest, lowest-common-demoninator take on product shilling there is. It's, in my view, lazy "storytelling."

G Gundam to me was a far superior attempt at self-ridicule whilst also having a heart. It knew it was silly, and the more absurd, abtract Gundam designs directly poke fun at the need to shill model kits, no matter how ludicrous, in Gundam. But it did so with an earnest love for its wacky little universe. It wasn't literally the toys fighting each other.

It's like if in Pokemon, the Pokemon weren't real, they were just YuGiOh-style projections in a card game in the show. Or if the Transformers weren't alien robots, they were actual toys that came to life like Toy Story.

Build Fighters' oh-so-commendable self-awareness about being a toy shill is undercut by the fact that it is still a relentless, cynical toy shill.

On top of, you know, having stories with actual conflict and stakes. There's no stakes in Build Fighters because it's just a game about toys. You don't have to have constant fighting or death to have stakes or conflict, but real people with real problems are generally far more relatable than children playing with toys.

Making Gudnam a toyline in its own universe makes it mundane.

Except Build Fighters did have a story you might not like it but it did have one.

Build Fighters' story was about a kid learning to have confidence in himself and make his dreams come true Reiji and Sei both talk about this in the last episode.

Build Fighters was also a giant love letter to the Gunpla community showing the creativity and joy that comes from Gunpla building which is why so many enjoyed it.

Frankly I think it's sad that that makes it "cynical" to you.

So Sei's confidence issues,Mao's desperation to beat a rival,Nils' learning to loosen up and enjoy himself more and Yuki's using Gunpla to escape from others' expectations of him aren't relatable?

Build Fighters did have stakes the pride in winning with the model you built with your own hand or losing and having it destroyed. They aren't world changing or life&death but wholly relatable to anyone who's played a sport or game competitively.

I'd rather have a fun show that's a love letter to the fandom like Build Fighters or Gunpla Builders over patronizing anti war dreck like SEED,AGE,Wing or Tomino at his worst any day.