I’ve made no secret about the fact that I’m not a huge fan of the original TV show version of the Wing Gundam. But I sure seem to like variants of it. For instance, I love the Real Grade version quite a lot. And I love the topic of today’s build, the Wing Gundam Fenice, from the 2013 anime Gundam Build Fighters:
Is this really my first kit from the original Gundam Build Fighters? I guess it is, which means we have to begin with a little bit about the show.
About Build Fighters
Build Fighters was unusual for a Gundam TV show. It was only 25 episodes long, rather than the “standard” length of 48-501. It was also major departure in regards to its story, which features no war, no militaries, and no future setting.
Instead, it takes place in a world that isn’t too different from ours, save for the existence of a bit of Applied Phlebotinum in the form of Plavsky Particles. These particles magically have the ability to bring plastic model kits to life, and make their weapons work against each other, and make them remote controllable by a human operator.
This leads to the creation of “Gunpla Battles”, in which competitors build and “pilot” Gundam model kits in battle against each other.
With this “simple” premise, Build Fighters becomes many things all at once:
- It is a Shonen-style tournament anime, with all the tropes that entails.
- It is an advertisement for Gunpla, as the show is laser focused on showing off real, existing kits that you can buy today.
- It is an advertisement for new Gunpla made just for the show, almost all of which are heavily customized versions of existing (and usually famous) mobile suits.
- It is a general celebration of the entire Gundam metaseries, as it features cameos by lots of different characters from past shows, as well as references to famous scenes, dialogue, etc.
A show like Build Fighters had every reason to be little more than a giant commercial. But it just so happened to be directed by one Kenji Nagasaki, who would later go on to direct the mega hit show My Hero Academia.
I don’t know how much of each show’s quality should be pinned squarely on Nagasaki, but the man seems to have a knack for taking over-the-top concepts and grounding them with solid, character focused storytelling.
Yes, Build Fighters is a commercial for Gunpla. But it’s also a gushing love letter to Gundam fandom in general, as well as a shonen-style anime that is bursting at the seams with heart and genuine affection for its cast. I find it hard not to root for the show’s dual protagonists, as well as the cast of supporting characters surrounding them. In fact, I’m not exaggerating when I say this is one of my favorite Gundam shows of all time (yes, I’m serious).
About Ricardo Fellini
We can’t really talk about the Wing Gundam Fenice without talking about its builder and operator, as the two are inextricably linked. Ricardo Fellini is a fantastic example of why Build Fighters is such a great show, as he manages to both embrace and reject a number of classic anime tropes.
At his core, Fellini acts as a rival, mentor, and a sort of big brother figure to the show’s main protagonists. But there’s a lot more to him than just that.
He is portrayed at first as a suave ladies man who can win over a woman by building her a Gundam rather than buy her a drink:
But as the story goes on, he’s revealed to be a huge nerd at heart, who’d rather chew a girl’s ear off about Gundams than try and get in her pants:
As a mentor, he trains Reiji early on to help him hone his raw fighting talent into skill as a Gunpla operator. He does this with no ulterior motive, and with no trace of condescension. He just wants to help the kid reach his potential.
As a builder and competitor, Fellini is portrayed as one of top fighters in the world. He is the reigning champion of Italy, which lends him a certain degree of international fame. What’s more, he wins with a Gunpla that is extremely old and difficult to operate (more on that later), which means that his success is due to his raw skill and smarts.
He’s even able to win while hung over:
As a rival, Fellini is about as good as you can ask for. He’ll give it his all during a fight, and he’s not one for trash talk, or for putting down (or underestimating) his opponents.
So yeah. I’m a fan of the Italian Dandy. He’s one of the few characters in the tournament who is good at building and fighting, and on top of that, he’s a good Gundam fan, a good competitor, and a great friend.
Not a Kid
Unlike Sei and Reiji, Fellini is an actual adult. In fact, quite a lot of the competitors in the tournament are adults. It's interesting (and a little refreshing) to see supporting characters in a shonen tournaent anime sharing (alcoholic) drinks together, driving cars and motorbikes, etc. It's also what lends to his "big brother" vibes.About the Mobile Suit
In-universe, the Wing Gundam Fenice is a heavily customized version of the original 1/144th scale “no grade” Wing Gundam released all the way back in 1995:
A series of montages in episode 15 show that Fellini’s been using/fixing/rebuilding/customizing this one single model kit for as long as he’s been competing at Gunpla Battles.
Since he has such a long and special relationship with his model, he’s the only competitor that refers to his Gunpla as his “partner”.
Compared to the original Wing Gundam, the Fenice has a nearly entirely different arsenal. While it still ostensibly carries a buster rifle, the gun now has a secondary, more-standard beam rifle build into it (presumably so that it can engage in regular small arms fire as needed).
It trades in standard beam sabers for a beam rapier and it’s standard shield for a beam cloak, which looks an awful lot like a matador’s cape.
Punching Cape
The Fenice can also wrap its cape around its fist to help enhance its punches, which it uses to (mostly) great effect.
Lastly, it has a hidden beam cannon in its right shoulder, which is handy for firing while charging forward.
All in all, it’s a well armed and versatile model kit. The only thing it really lacks compared to the original Wing Gundam is the transformation mode, though there’s a very good reason for that …
About the Visual Design
It wasn’t that long ago that I said I’d leave the visual design to the end of a given build, but in this case it’s important to tackle it now. The Fenice’s visual design is really what makes it special.
There are two types of custom Gunpla in Gundam Build Fighters. There are those that are little more than a recolor of an existing model kit, and there are those that are full on customs, that take an existing design and make significant changes to its body parts and weapons. Wing Gundam Fenice is an example of the latter, and in fact may be the best example of the latter.
This model tells a story with its body. The following is an non-exhaustive list of of some of the ways in which it differs from the original Wing Gundam:
- Obviously the color scheme is different. Fenice’s colors are based on the Italian flag, which checks out given its owner. It’s also a really nice paint job, one that I prefer to the original color scheme.
- It’s eyes are heterochromatic
- The armor on the left knee is a alternate replacement part
- The right side of the model features significant differences:
- The right arm has an alternate shoulder pauldron (that’s where the hidden beam cannon is)
- The wings from the right side of the body have been moved to the left side. Not only does this give it its cool, asymmetric look, but it’s also the reason the transformation feature doesn’t work.
- The right side of the head suffered some sort of past damage, which Fellini refused to fix. As a result, the right half of the V-Fin is missing, as is the right “ear”.
The Wing Gundam Fenice isn’t just a custom job. It’s a custom job that shows off its owner’s years long love and passion for the hobby. It feels worn and lived in in a way that none of the other models in the show do, and arguably takes the concept of “real life models come to life” more seriously than any of the other custom units in the show.
Seriously Good
The instruction manual for this kit states that because the wings are on one side of the model, it's unbalanced and generally difficult to maneuver. Yet this never seems to bother Fellini, which is another subtle example of just how good he is at Gunpla battles. He's technically fighting with a handicap, and still winning.Furthermore, it's an extremely old kit, which lacks many of the features and niceties that came from the gradual evolution of Gunpla technology. Yet it still manages to hold its own against most of its competition. This not only speaks further to the skills of its operator, but also to his skills as a builder. Fellini and the Fenice truly are special among the show's cast of characters.
Fate of the Gundam Fenice
This is another way in which Build Fighters bucks trends. As one might expect from a Shonen tournament anime, there comes a time where the rivals must battle. Sei and Reiji face off against Fellini for a chance to enter the finals of the Gunpla Battle World Tournament.
However, there are two twists. The first is that, having gone undefeated so far, Fellini already has his ticket to the finals. He can afford to lose the fight in order to ensure that all three of them make it in.
However, he refuses to do so, not only for his own pride, but out of respect for his friends. Thus begins one of the best battles in the show:
Fellini ends up dominating most of the battle, taking advantage of Reiji’s weaknesses as a pilot:
As well as dismantling some of the tricks that Sei built into the Star Build Strike Gundam.
He even goes into “teacher mode” with some harsh words:
But after Sei and Reiji spring a trap explosion on him, the Fenice ends up being just as damaged:
Leading to the opponents to engage in raw, brutal close combat:
Which ultimately ends in trading final punches:
Which leads to the second twist. In most shonen tournaments, the protagonists would win this fight by the skin of their teeth. But not here. The battle ends in a draw, as both mobile suits are literally too broken to fight any longer:
All three make it to the finals, they all showed each other their hot blooded passion, and everyone remains friends. These kinds of fights never end this way, but it happens here, and it’s great.
Ultimately, however, Fellini does lose a match. If you’ll allow me to use a bit of wrestling lingo, he eventually partakes in a squash mash against Aila in order to show off just how strong her and her Quebley Papillon are.
The beatdown gets so bad that Reiji tries to interfere in order to stop the match. But it’s to no avail, and in the end, the Fenice is literally broken to pieces.
(I’m not going to show you a screenshot, since it’s just too sad).
Thankfully, before the end of the tournament he’s rebuilt his partner into the Wing Gundam Fenice Rinascita:
In this new form, it’s symmetrical once again, and it gets back its flight mode.
About the Model Kit
While the in-show version of Fenice is based on the original No Grade Wing Gundam, the real life model kit is instead based on the much more modern HGAC version, which launched only a few months prior in 2013:
I have no idea, just how many of the original parts these two models share, but I guess we’ll find out one way or another.
About the Build
Since this is supposed to be an old, well worn model kit, I’m planning on using brown panel liner, and maybe even a bit of brown weathering compound. I want to give the impression that this thing has been around the block, and has accumulated some dirt and grime in the process.
Fun Facts
The Fenice has a little … scooter thing it sometimes rides:
Yes, it’s kind of goofy. Yes, it contains a bunch of the original parts, like the original gun and shield. And yes, you can buy it in real life as a separate accessory pack.
One neat thing about Gundam Build Fighters is that the age of each competitor tends to dictate what Gunpla they use. For example, older opponents tend to stick to Universal Century designs, while the teenagers mostly use kits from Gundam SEED, Gundam 00, and other shows from after the turn of the century.
And then there’s Fellini, who - along with his friendly rival Greco - is a 90’s kid, which is why both of them use Gunpla from Gundam Wing.
Here’s another interesting quirk about Fellini - while he’s Italian, many fans have pointed out that he’s portrayed more like a Spaniard. He uses “Seniorita” instead of “Signorina” when referring to a woman, his first name is spelled the way it is in Spanish speaking countries (in Italy he’d likely be named Riccardo), and the whole “cape and rapier” thing of the Fenice is more reminiscent of a matador than anything from Italy.
My personal guess is that this is a simple case of the folks in Japan getting their cultural references mixed up.
- I say that, and yet all the sequels to Build Fighters were also 25 episodes, and the currently airing Witch From Mercury also plans to be that long. So maybe it’s not that unusual. [return]