Protagonist Sei & mysterious Reiji meet, GunPla builders Mao & Ricardo introduced in video

The second promotional video for the Gundam Build Fighters television anime series began streaming on Friday.

In the video, protagonist Sei meets and receives a strange stone from accomplished Gundam Fighter Reiji. Reiji tells Sei that if he uses the stone, he will come to Sei's aid no matter when and what the circumstances are. The video introduces the character Ricardo Ferrini and his Wing Gundam Fenicce as well as Mao Yasaka and her Gundam X Maō. Sei also presents his customized Gundam plastic model (GunPla) Build Strike and engages in a GunPla battle with Reiji.

Characters revealed on August 9 include:

Mao Yasaka (pictured below) is Sei's rival from Kyoto and a master GunPla builder. She started building GunPla from a very young age and is hailed as the next successor in her line of GunPla craftsmanship. Despite her gentle demeanor, Mao has a fierce fighting spirit.

Ricardo Ferrini (pictured below) is a regular participant from Italy in the GunPla Battle world championships. The "Italian dandy" travels the world and undertakes a mission with Reiji. He boasts an 80% success rate in his GunPla-making girl hunt.

Rinko Iori (pictured below) is Sei's mother and the shop manager of the Iori model shop. Despite that, she has limited knowledge of plastic models, particularly the GunPla that her son is concerned with. Her special skill is cooking.

Takeshi Iori (pictured below) is Sei's father and a two-time runner-up in the GunPla Battle world championships. He leaves the Iori model shop in the care of his wife and son and travels the world to promote GunPla.

The anime's official website also announced the theme song artists on Saturday. Back-On will perform the opening theme song "Nibun no Ichi," and Airi will contribute the ending theme song "Imagination > Reality."

The series will feature not only new mecha designs, but also customized designs from previous Gundam projects such as Build Strike Gundam (Gundam Seed), Zaku Amazing (first Gundam), Wing Gundam Fenice (Gundam W), and Gundam X Maō (Gundam X). The anime will tie into an HG Build Fighters model kit line that encourages customization with the accompanying HG Build Custom line of accessories.

The story is set in the near future when GunPla Battles, competitions that pit Gundam plastic models against each other, have become popular worldwide in the "Second GunPla Boom." Sei Iori, a first-year middle-school student and the only son of a model shop owner, is talented at building GunPla, but inexperienced in the GunPla Battles. He encounters a mysterious boy named Reiji who happens to be an accomplished Gundam Fighter. Together, they strive for the GunPla Battle world championships.

Kenji Nagasaki (No. 6) is drecting off scripts supervised by Yousuke Kuroda (Gundam 00). Kenichi Ohnuki (Mobile Suit Gundam Seed C.E.73: Stargazer, Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time – A Tale of the Eight Guardians, Garzey's Wing) is designing the characters in collaboration with Suzuhito Yasuda (Yozakura Quartet, Durarara!!, Devil Survivor 2 The Animation). The mecha designer roster includes Kunio Okawara, Junichi Akutsu, Junya Ishigaki, Kanetake Ebikawa, and Kenji Teraoka.

The series will premiere on October 7 on TV Tokyo.

Images © Sotsu, Sunrise, TV Tokyo