Gundam Build Fighters Try - Becomes a Family Affair

Gundam's remarkably fun model battle spin-off returns October 8th with the sequel Gundam Build Fighters Try. The new series revolves around three-person teams and one of the heroes is Yūma Kousaka (voiced by Yūma Uchida), younger brother of the first season's support character China. While his main mech is the Lighting Gundam, he also has a newly revealed custom "Bearguy F," ('F' as in family) a unique spin on his sister's fan favorite.

Now, is the cub just being cute or is it a secret weapon?!

Another legacy character is Kouroko Sazaki, the no-longer-so-little sister of season 1 minor antagonist Susumu Sazaki. She still worships her big brother and, along with Zeon-cosplaying Team "Vase of the Northern Song Dynasty" brings a custom R-GyaGya to the battle.

Teammates from Odessa Academy include Mahiru Shigure, who has always attended all-girls school and has weird ideas about boys, and net addict Keiko Sano.

Other newly previewed mecha include the Ez-SR Intruder, Ez-SR Eliminator and Ez-SR Shadow Phantom

Also newly introduced are the Seiho Academy's Plamo Club's Daiki Miyaga and Eri Shinoda, who attempt to recreate lead Fumina Hoshino away from the Gunpla Battle Club

The series will be streaming on platforms including Gundam Info, Docomo Anime, Video Pass and Hulu.

In less positive news, while the beloved Ral-san is slated to be featured in the anime, the series site has posted that 66 year voice actor Masahiro Hirose has had to be admitted to the hospital for an extended stay and wished him well in recovery.

Gundam Voice Actor Masashi Hirose Hospitalized

The Gundam Build Fighters Try anime's website announced on Wednesday that voice actor Masashi Hirose is being hospitalized for an extended stay, to treat an unspecified illness. The announcement offers a prayer for his quick recovery. His agency Production baobab posted a similar announcement.

In both Gundam Build Fighters and its Try sequel, Hirose plays the Gundam plastic model expert Ral-san — a name reference to arguably his most famous role, the pilot Ramba Ral in the first Mobile Suit Gundam series and movie trilogy. He also played Ramba Ral in many spinoff anime and game projects, as well as supporting roles in other Gundam projects. The Gundam Build Fighters Try website's announcement does not specify what will happen to Hirose's role in the anime, which will premiere on October 8.

In other anime, he played the sumo wrestler Rikishiman in the Kinnikuman franchise, Hideyoshi Ushiromiya in Umineko When They Cry, Soichi Ayukawa in Basquash!, Professor Tange in Honey and Clover, Kan Yu in Armored Trooper Votoms, Cole in Taiyou no Kiba Dougram, and Riku Dold III in One Piece.

Japanese Firm Plans to Build Space Elevator by 2050

It looks like Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino isn't the only one making progress on their space elevator! On the eve of the debut of his Gundam Reconguista in G, which, from its inception, revolved around the science fiction-ish concept, a Japanese construction firm has announced their plans to make it a reality.

ABC News Australia reports that Japanese construction firm Obayashi has a 2050 completion date in mind for a space elevator will reach 96,000 kilometers (59,652 miles). Constructed using carbon nanotechnology for its cables, the elevator will carry around 30 people magnetic motor powered robot cars on a journey that will take seven days to finish.

"The tensile strength is almost a hundred times stronger than steel cable so it's possible," Obayashi Research and Development Manager Yoji Ishikawa said.

"Right now we can't make the cable long enough. We can only make 3-centimetre-long nanotubes but we need much more... we think by 2030 we'll be able to do it."

You can read more about the project here.

Gundam Build Fighters Try second season coming soon with all new characters

Gundam Build Fighters is a popular Japanese anime cartoon that’s just about to begin its second season in October. What makes this anime different is its target audience. Most of the Gundam anime TV series have been traditionally aimed at teenagers since the series inception in 1979. Gundam Build Fighters is aimed at elementary school students. As such, this Gundam series doesn’t feature any violent space conflicts, but rather has kids piloting miniature Gundams in virtual reality arenas from popular previous Gundam series. The kids build their Gundams from models and then use the model in the virtual reality arenas.

The quality of their build determines how good their Gundam will be at fighting, and if their parts break when fighting, then they’ll have to repair them. This new season will add many different types of Gundams including (but not limited to), Burning Build Strike Gundam, Zeta Gundam, Lightning Gundam, and Winning Gundam. All of the Gundams in the show are based off of Gundams from other popular Gundam series. Sunrise Inc (the makers of the show) have not revealed too much about this season other than it takes place seven years after the first one and has three all new characters.

Hoshino Fumina is a third grader in junior high who wants to enter the Gunpla Battle Championships. The only problem is you need three people to form a team and enter the Gunpla Battle Championships. She’s also the only member of her schools Gunpla club.

She then is joined by a transfer student to her school, Kamiki Sekai, and a mysterious Gunpla builder Kousaka Yuuma. The three then form a team to enter the Gunpla Battle Championships. Other than that, not much is known about the show other than it’s in the same universe as the first show.

For more information about "Try," visit the official website at (http://gundam-bf.net/).