The scene is an exact reenactment of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime, complete with CG special effects.

Gundam: one of Japan’s most iconic creations. The giant fighting robot that first emerged in an anime from 1979 has inspired dozens of series and hundreds of model kits, and even life-sized statues have been erected in their honor. Such a magnanimous franchise deserves great tributes, and what better way for a fan to express their love than to use actual Gundam models in a stop-motion video?

YouTube user Rihito Ue, an amateur filmmaker, put countless hours into reenacting scenes from the original Gundam anime using his own Gunpla Models in his fantastic fan-films, “One Shot Gunpla: The StopMotion Works”.

This incredible play-by-play rendition of a major scene from the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime is almost the perfect homage to the iconic franchise. While the model Gundams fight and shoot guns at each other, actual audio from the anime describes what is happening. In fact, the video includes shots from the anime, which is playing on a television in the background, while the models are shown replicating those scenes.

Ue has also made sure to include the explosions and laser weapons that are essential to any standard Gundam battle, in the form of CG special effects, which are slightly corny, but awesome nonetheless.

The video was shot using various methods to get the look that Ue wanted. While the battles between the models were made using stop-motion filming, the actual scenery of the house was taken with one shot. Mirrors were also used to give a more dynamic representation of what was happening around the room, which gives the filmography a kind of seamless feel.

▼ Ue has a “Making of” video that shows exactly how the film was created.

The first video is a little rough around the edges, but there are two sequels, and each one is better than the last. The quality of these films is surprisingly high for an amateur stop-motion video, and the overall storytelling is awesome, so Gundam fans will love these faithful reenactments.

Ue also has video tributes to classic Japanese monster films, like Gamera and Moguera, which are shot in the same style. Even if you’re not familiar with those characters, the reenactments are still enormously entertaining to watch, so hop over to his channel to check out what he’s got!

If you’re looking for something from a different franchise, Pokémon Go has been the subject of an outstanding (albeit gruesome) tribute, and a fan film of Dragonball Z has proven to be better even than Hollywood renditions. You’ll definitely want to check them out!

Source: YouTube/Rihito Ue via Japaaan Magazine
Images: YouTube/Rihito Ue