Mythology Gag / Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE

It wouldn't be an entry in the Gundam Build series without a load of Gundam references and Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE does not disappoint!

Series-wide

• Parvis gave the Valkylander the additional name of "Morgiana", just like Wufei sometimes calls the Shenlong or Altron Gundam "Nataku" (for bonus points, they're all dragon-themed).
• Knight Justice is based on Infinite Justice. In fact, Knight Justice was one of the names considered for Infinite Justice.
• The Core Gundam's variations have modes and color schemes reminiscent of other Gundams:
  • Mercuone has the same dark blue and fins as the Mermaid Gundam.
  • Veetwo has the same color and focus on armaments as the Full Armor Gundam, Leopard Gundam, and Gundams Dynames, Cherudim and Zabanya.
  • Earthree has a lot in common, color and design-wise with many mid-range Gundams, but the most obvious one appears to be the Duel Gundam.
  • Marsfour is very likely designed after Gundam Epyon and Sword Impulse Gundam, given its red color and focus on close range combat.
  • Jupitive visually resembles the GP-01 Zephyranthes Full Burnern, and is likewise a space unit. Its unique equipment being focused on defense while still giving firing room brings to mind the F90K, which likewise features portable defense equipment.
  • Nepteight is a mostly-white pack that strongly resembles the Stargazer, and has a massive halo-like ring attachment that works the same way.
  • There is a red Core Gundam with a different head existing within GBN independent of Hiroto, similar to the relationship between the F90 Gundam F90 and the OMS-90R Gundam F90.

Episode 1

• The episode opens with the smoldering carcasses of God Gundam (in Wing Zero Custom colors), Guison, Mahiroo, Batalla and Mud Golem lying on the ground.
• Two of the remaining Gunpla of the Survival Match is a GM Sniper II armed with Wing Gundam's Buster Rifle and a Gundam "Alex" with the Kampfer's shotgun. For an added bonus, the Alex is the Master Grade 2.0 version. Their pilots are wearing Chuck Keith and South Burning's uniforms.
• The promo for GBN 1.78 shows off the original Gundam, the Mk-II, the Awakened Unicorn and the Xi Gundam.
  • The version number itself (1.78) is also a reference to the Gundam Mk-II (RX-178).
• The promo also uses the phrase "You'll be the one to blaze new trails". It closes off with the On The Next Episode Of Catchphrase of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, "Will you be able to survive?"
• Emma Sheen appears as a mascot for the G-Cafe's employment advertisement.
• The Immortal Patrick Colasour is back, wearing a snazzy suit and walking with another girl.

Episode 2

• At the Gunpla Base, some customers complain about their food being undersalted. In response, a chef who looks almost identical to the White Base's chef says that they are almost out of salt, a reference to a subplot in an episode of the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Judging by the customers's enthusiastic cheering for the chef, the gag is in-universe as well.
• The colors of the manager's enormous parfait are the exact same as the RX-78-2 Gundam.
• In a brief moment, Colasour can be seen walking away when the group are discussing their plans for the next stage of the story.
• The three kids from the Mountain Village (Asha, Towana, & Hulun) resemble Katz, Letz, & Kikka from the original Mobile Suit Gundam.

Episode 3

• Patrick makes another freeze frame cameo walking past our heroes.
• When Hiroto is having his flashback, a swan is seen taking off into the sky. Swans were quite common with these moments, especially when they involved Lalah Sune.
• An Eldora Brute hops off one of his fallen comrades' heads, leading to Kazami to yelp out "He used him as a springboard?!" similar to what happened with the Black Tri-Stars.
  • And just right before that, Kazami yells out Kira Yamato's last line before he defeats Rau Le Creuset, right down to almost perfectly mimicking Soichiro Hoshi's voice.
    Kazami: Even so, I've got a world to protect!!!

Episode 4

• The Captain Zeon Cold Opening has plenty:
  • The team the Three Gaza Brothers defeated is comprised of the Freedom, Justice, Buster, Blitz and Duel Gundams.
  • The Gaza brothers are named after and use Gaza-Cs from Zeta and ZZ.
  • A Diver resembling Merrybell Gadget is seen at a booth.
  • Captain Zeon shouts "Anaheim Fusion!" when boarding his Nu-Zeon suit, referencing the Anaheim Electronics company that developed both the Nu Gundam and Sazabi mechs from Char's Counterattack it is a fusion of.
  • Captain Zeon's Finishing Move is dropping the asteroid base Axis on the battlefield, Char Anzable's Evil Plan to force migration from Earth into space in Char's Counterattack.
  • Captain Zeon also weirdly references the Antarctic Treaty from the original UC Gundam continuity that forbids the use of nuclear weapons, mistreatment of prisoners of war, and Colony Drops...while he's performing a colony drop.
  • The next episode teaser features Patrick Colasour, dressed in a familiar green alongside Captain Zeon.
• Jed is revealed to be part of 08th Resistance Team. Even Parviz notes the similarities.
• A Stardust Plate is given to two patrons who look like Kou Uraki and Cima Gaharu. The Kou lookalike even freaks out at the sight of carrots!
• A kitbashed mobile suit of Wing Zero from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz and Freedom from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED flies by Parviz and Hiroto on their rooftop meetup spot. It is soon joined with Gundam Heaven's Sword in Attack Mode and a Gunpla using Moonlight Butterfly.

Episode 5

• A Zanzibar can be seen flying through the sky at the very beginning.
• In Magee's bar, he also has a sign bearing Orga's last words "Don't you ever stop".
• The Patrick cameo this time has him on a screen wearing Lalah Sune's yellow dress.

Episode 6

• Patrick is seen in his EAU Uniform showing off his GNX-603-HP unit, as Parviz is looking up improvements he can make to his Valkylander.
• Rather like Team Archangel in the first season, Mu Dish is the Cosmic Era-themed Force of this series. Their mechs are recolored versions of the AWACS DINN, the BuCUE Tactical Reconnaissance Type, and the Gunbarrel Dagger. The Mu in their team name refers to Mu la Flaga (presumably "Dish" just refers to their use of radar dishes).

Episode 7

• Blink and you'll really miss it, Patrick can be seen in Shiro Amada's Federation Uniform Drinking a juice and looking like he's upset at getting so little screen time.
• More Cosmic Era representation this week:
  • The Captain Zeon video has him taking on the Destroy Gundam.
  • At the end of the episode, you can see two Divers dressed up in Lunamaria and Meyrin's ZAFT outfits.

Episode 8

• This time Patrick's cameo shows a woman fawning on him while he wears a Zeon Uniform.
• Those Two Guys in Hiroto's class look like a male Yurin L'Ciel and Heero Yuy
• A player in Rau Le Cruest's mask can be seen conversing with players. One of them, ironically enough, is wearing the male junior Earth Alliance uniform.
  • Fa Yury and Kamille Bidan can also be seen walking around the lobby server.

Episode 9

• When launching Kazami uses the same vernacular and speech cadence as Garrod Ran.
  • Hiroto says the same thing Athrun Zala does when launching.
• The Reveal of the Mobile Doll May leaping out of the wreckage of her destroyed Wo Dom Pod brings to mind both the reveal of the Gundam Nadleeh and Yzak sacrificing the Duel's Assault Shroud armor to tank Forbidden's blast that would otherwise have ended him.

Episode 10

• The requisite Patrick cameo has him in a message box for G-Pedia, an "immortal project", where he requests editors to help with their "special" powers and to do addition, communication, and correction.
• Kazami uses the Peacock Smasher to shoot fireworks for the village festival.

Episode 11

• To prepare for the battle in space, Parviz touched up the Valkylander into the Avalanche Valkylander. This new alternate form is based off of the GNY-001F/hs-A01D Gundam Avalanche Astraea Type F', which in of itself was an alternate variant of the GNY-001F Gundam Astraea Type F that derived parts from the GN-001/hs-A01D Gundam Avalanche Exia'.
• During the above scene, behind Par are a group of Divers — Patrick included — wearing outfits worn by Haman Karn. Of note is a pink-haired girl wearing Haman's school outfit from Char's Deleted Affair.
• Kazami refers to Freddie as their "Goddess of Victory". While the Gundam Astraea is named after Astraea, the goddess of victory, the title is more based off of Cagalli Yula Atha's nickname from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.
  • It can also be a reference to Chall Acustica calling the Gundam Astraea itself a goddess in SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays.
• The handgun May is shown using in the episode against Alus is the same kind of firearm used by the members of Celestial Being.

Episode 12

• Going side by side with Episode 11, the Kill Sat's destruction of the Resistance Base has shades of A-Laws' use of Memento Mori throughout Gundam 00 Season 2. The fact that the base was destroyed by someone who was treating the war they were stuck in as if it were something else (Saji Crossroad trying to stay out of the war and treating it as it being part of a "different world" and Kazami blurting out the location while still thinking it was a game) adds to the similarities.
• As BUILD DiVERS falls to Eldora, the heroes use different ways to survive reentry.
  • Parviz rescues May by using Valkylander as a glider, similarly to how Judau saves Puru with the Zeta Gundam in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.
  • Before Kazami's saved the same way with the Earth Armor, he attempts to use his shield as a block, similar to how the RX-78-2 Gundam uses its shield and a coolant to survive reentry in the Gundam Movie Trilogy.
  • Hiroto saves himself and Freddie by pulling out a film cover from the Core Gundam's crotch area, similar to how the Gundam did it in the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
• Patrick, wearing Corin Nander’s clothing, is one of the first people to get teleported back as the GBN suffers from connection issues.
• The title of this episode is similar to one of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team ‘s episodes 10 and 11.

Episode 13

• Just like in the original Gundam Build Divers, the heroes are in total shock at Parviz's real look and the fact that he's super rich.
• When the BUILD DiVERS and his sister Mizuki come to visit Masaki Shido in his hospital room, there's a motorcycle helmet sitting on the stand next to him. Said helmet, the Motorcycle Helmet Type Char, is an actual real product released back in 2002 and sold through Bandai’s LalaBit Market online store.
• In the flashback about Masaki, we see him doing the classic "Gundam of Gundam" pose atop a mountain of Gunpla, which includes the Hyakku Shiki, the GP-02, the AGE-1, the Gundam Mk-II, a GM, the Stargazer and more.
• The revelation that the Masked Man is a hero Reforged into a Minion for a villain seeking genocide towards a particular kind of people puts him in the same boat as Mu La Flaga as the brainwashed Neo Roanoke.

Episode 14

• Most of the episode might as well be called "Freddie watches a Build Divers marathon".

Episode 15

• When Parviz tries to google Eldora, he gets no results, and the search engine instead suggests not only EL-Divers, but also a bunch of similar names from Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, including Elle Vianno, Elpeo Ple, Eldo Moon... and also, somehow, "Patrick Colasour".
• The title of this episode ("Mission, Once More...") is a reference to the title of the last episode of Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ ("Warrior, Once More...").

Episode 16

• Patrick Colasour appearing on somebody's shopping bag nods to how Gundam 00 was one of the few seasons where the heroes' antics were fictionalised in-universe (in the form of Celestial Being: The Movie).

Episode 17

• Patrick gets not one, but two cameos this episode — as a reused scene cheering with his teammates and as a large billboard poster.
• Parviz is shown holding up on of Wing Zero Custom's wings while in thought.
• Kazami's room has Captain Zeon paraphernalia, this Mobile Suit Gundam SEED poster, a Master Grade Justice Gundam and, in a flashback, he picks up a No-Grade Aegis Gundam.
• Hiroto's father describes one of his awful early novels "a dark history I'd rather forget," a broad-strokes refernece to the background of ∀ Gundam.

Episode 18

• Hiroto finishes off the Alus Earthree in a manner akin to the Last Shooting, ruining one arm just to make a killer headshot.

Episode 19

• Two of Hiroto's old friends from the last days of GPD are near identical to Kai Shiden and Hayato Kobayashi.
• Hiroto manages to fire off a Beam Magnum using a dismembered Unicorn Gundam arm. The Silver Bullet Suppressor from Gundam Narrative was only able to use a Beam Magnum by having a row of replacement arms, as the Unicorn was the only mech capable of using it without shattering an arm (the recoil even makes the Unicorn arm come off altogether while the Gundam shattered its remaining arm).
• The Core Gundam in the flashback is in the exact same paint style as the RX-78 "G3" Gundam.
• Patrick Colasour is the first opponent Gundam Mercuone fought.

Episode 20

• The Jupitive Gundam is joined by the XM-0 Phantom Gundam from Crossbone Gundam: Dust
• Patrick Colasour is back where he was in the previous series, watching the fight with the second Coalition of Volunteers.

Episode 21

• The Saturnix system's claw and drill are intended by Hiroto to tear apart Gundam Frames. Hiroto's explanation of this fact is followed by Kazami commenting that it's "perfect for hunting a demon", referencing how the Gundam Frames are named after the seventy-two demons of the Ars Goetia, as well as the nickname Mikazuki got in the second season of the show: "the Devil of Tekkadan".
• To work on Cuadorn's new wings, not only do Hiroto and Par use Haro avatars that Momo first started out with last season, they use Karel units from Mobile Suit Gundam 00, just as Celestial Being often used Haros with Karels for manpower with maintenance and repairs.
• On Patrick's shelf are two SD Gundam Gunpla book-ending two photos. The one on the right is Superiorlander, the Main Protagonist of Gundlander II: Saint Sword that Seals Evil, while the one on the left is Sanada Yukimura Gundam in his Dragon Form.

Episode 22

• When Par activates his Gundrams-Am system to compete with the enemy Arche Gundam's Trans-Am it gains the iconic Innovator eyes.
• At the end of the episode, two icons are shown answering Magee's call. The first is, of course, Patrick Colasour. The other is the head of the Build Gamma Gundam from the manga Gundam Build Divers Break.

Episode 23

• Magee's in-game bar features a picture of Orga's last words, "Don't you ever stop".
• Patrick pulls a sneaky one as his icon has him sporting Trowa Barton's hairstyle.
• One of the teams wanting to fight BUILD DiVERS is called "Is Your Order INLE?" A reference to the Watership Down named Gundam TR-6 [INLE] from the Advance of Zeta saga.

Episode 24

• The 40 attempts it takes to finally clear the Lotus Challenge lines up with the 40th Anniversary of the Gundam franchise.
• A Dictus from the Crossbone Gundam manga can be seen among the volunteers' Gunpla as the Lotus Challenge is about to kick off.
• Riku and Hiroto's meeting after the battle resembles the meeting between Kira Yamato and Shinn Asuka at the end of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.

Episode 25

• The heroes use laser propulsion to launch themselves into space. This method of movement was first used in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory while also mirroring elements of the finale for Mobile Suit Gundam SEED CE.73: Stargazer.
• While analyzing the Dubious Arche Gundam, KO-1 realizes that Trans-Am running for so long would cause the GN Drive to self-destruct. GN Drive Taus, which the Arche ran on, had that terrible problem.
  • Additionally while discussing it they also talk about how it lacks a safety feature to disengage the system whenever the suit is damaged, again something that the true GN-Drives had but the Tau drives lacked.
• Kazami destroys the Fake Nu Gundam by transforming into its Mobile Armor form, grabbing the suit, then unleashing its "Scylla" cannon, blasting it in two. This was what Athrun was gunning for during his fated fight with Kira in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, but this time, Kazami has the power to pull it off.
  • Before that, Kazami balks at the suggestions his viewers were giving to help him out of his predicament against the Fake Nu's funnels, because he rightfully points out that the battles they cited, the Stark Jegan vs Kshatriya from Unicorn episode 1 and the Hyaku Shiki vs Qubeley in Zeta were all fights where the non-funnel user lost.
  • Before his attack, Kazami shouts out "Then, I'll become a funnel, too!" This is a nod to Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative when Jona takes control of the Unicorn Gundam Unit 03 Phenix, he shouts out that he'll "become a bird, too"
• The Re:Rising Gundam is a cavalcade of gags:
  • While the Core Changes are obvious Super Robot Combining Mecha sequences, the idea of multiple independent units combining clearly brings to mind the last Super Robot-esque Gundam in the franchise, Tryon 3
  • Also from Build Fighters Try, it's the protagonist's last-ditch combination of parts donated by his teammates for the climactic showdown of the penultimate episode, just as Sekai's Try Burning used parts of the Star Winning and Lightning Full Burnern for his final round against Wilfrid Kijima's Transient, complete with the opening theme as the Theme Song Power Up.
  • It also has a Golden Super Mode, just like the Hyper Modes of Mobile Fighter G Gundam.
• Patrick is literally behind Magee, following them as they walk off to prepare for the ambush against Alus.

Episode 26

• Patrick's cameo this episode has him be in an advertisement for an apparent in-universe crossover event between Captain Zeon and Kazami called Triple C (Captain Zeon, Captain Kazami, and Colasour). In the same scene, a Wang Liu Mei look-a-like can also be seen.
• Mr. Ken's GBN avatar is really just Henken with his real life hairstyle. His non-fatal case of Taking the Bullet on a Gunperry also recalls the way Matilda Ajan was killed in Mobile Suit Gundam.
• Momo is picked up by an Umi Tryon piloted by Mister MS, a Suspiciously Similar Substitute for Minato Sakai introduced in Rize (right down to the voice actor), adding even more confusion about whether or not there are two different Build universes or not.
• One of the Gundam's battling is the winner of a contest that was held for Gundam Battle: Gunpla Warfare. It uses the head and back of the Red Frame Sengoku, the body and arms of the Gundam Barbatos 4th Form and the legs of the Astray Red Frame as well as the legs famed Bisect ability. An ad for the game itself is in the foreground in the first and last scenes of the offline meeting of Kyoya, Katsuragi, and Ms. Tori.
• During the final battle, a lot of obscure mobile suits make an appearance, several who now had their first animated debut. Among them are the F99 Record Breaker, Gundam Sandrock Armadillo Armor, AGX-11 Over.on, TR-6 Woundwort and even the Phoenix Gundam.
• The Anima Rize from the Build Diver Rize manga appears alongside the Alex and GM Sniper from episode 1, as well as the Gaza Brothers.
• Tsukasa makes his return, once again using Nena's purple Haro from Mobile Suit Gundam 00 as his avatar. When he takes over piloting the Lord Astray Double Rebake from Koichi, he declares "I have control!" like Allelujah Haptism from the same series, and then attacks the One-Eyes aggressively with his claws like Allelujah's Superpowered Evil Side Hallelujah likes to. Also, like the Reborns Gundam from the same series, it has two modes, an artillery and melee mode, that it can switch between by turning around.
  • The Double Rebake's default appearance is also an Expy of the Gundam De:OZ, which is likewise one mode of a dual-pilot system (the other being Gundam Scuri), from Operation Galiarest, a sequel to the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing sidestory Dual Story: G-Unit. Incidentally, De:OZ and Scuri's combination mechanisms^note they're a single Combining Mecha that changes modes based on the arrangement of the two component Gundams Castor and Pollux use an incredibly blatant plug socket mechanism typically associated with the backpacks of Gunpla models, making Tsukasa's design choice oddly fitting for the series.
    • It's not the first Astray with the ability to change robot forms either - that would be the Mirage Frame from the Seed vs Astray spinoff.

Build Divers Battlogue

• May appears in her Mobile Doll MS form, but in a color scheme we haven't seen yet - it's actually what a Gundam Base exclusive recolor of the HG model might turn out like.
• Patrick's face is seen on a book commentator Freddie is holding.

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