Popular anime “Gundam Build Divers” featured a familiar Philippine resort in its most recent episode.

Episode 15 of the Gundam plastic model-centric anime briefly featured the restaurant area of the Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort in Tiaong, Quezon. The scene was used to highlight a conversation between the characters Tigerwolf and Magee as they talked about the show’s main protagonist Riku.

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Filipino fans of the show somehow recognized the scene’s background and shared a comparison photo of the real Villa Escudero on the Gunpla Fan-Club Facebook page.

“Gunpla” is shorthand for “Gundam plastic model,” which refers to the plastic model kits that depict robots from the “Gundam” anime franchise. “Build Divers” focuses on the idea of having these Gunpla kits “piloted” by the people who build them and then engage in tournament battles through virtual reality.

Other Filipino cultural references have appeared in anime before as far back as 1995. At the time, the movie “Ghost in the Shell” was released. The film featured the cyborg character Batou popping open a can of San Miguel Pale Pilsen on several occasions.

The most recent reference prior to “Build Divers” came from the 2015 supernatural TV anime series “Charlotte.” In its 13th episode, main character Yuu Otosaka traveled the globe in search of people with supernatural powers. He then passed through the Philippines and ended up in a brief fight with a kid with powers. The place happened to be an actual area in Angeles City, Pampanga.

As the anime industry moves forward to create more regionally appealing content, fans may see more parts of the Philippines being accurately depicted on the Japanese medium. /ra

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