SD Gundam Force Emaki Musharetsuden
SD Gundam Force Emaki Musharetsuden Bukabuka Hen is a sequel to the SD Gundam Mushamaruden series. Like its predecessor, the manga was released alongside a promotional series of gunpla making it the first SD Gundam manga to be specifically overseen by Sunrise. The series also has a single volume prequel that was released later titled SD Gundam Force Emaki Musharetsuden Zero.
The Comic BomBom stories were published in 18 chapters on 3 volumes, with each volume containing 6 chapters.
Plot
The actual story is a revival of the very first Musha Gundam storyline focusing on Ark's "Seven of Light" defenders, seven brave Musha Gundams who defend the land of Ark by order of the Shogundam. This basic story was presented in Musha Retsuden Zero, whilst Musha Retsuden was set a few years later. Just about all of the legendary defenders have fathered sons and are training them to one day assume their father's roles.After the war against Yamikoutei, Ark is ruled by evil forces. Descendants of the Seven of Light defenders scattered across the land, in search of the Bukabuka armour that can bring peace to the world. One day, when Retsumaru's family was threatened, a sword from the armour set appeared in front of Retsumaru, and so the story began...
- Volume 1- Years ago, the forces of good and evil met in a climactic battle. Now, Ark is ruled by various tyrannical warriors. Retsumaru, son of the legendary hero Rekka Musha Gundam, sets out to form a new band of heroes and restore Ark's former glory.
- Volume 2- Uniting with their fathers, the new generation of defenders prepare to strike the final blow against the demonic warlord Capiturn.
- Volume 3- With the defeat of Capiturn, the young defenders have gone their separate ways. However, Retsumaru soon becomes aware of an even greater danger. Matured by his adventures, Retsumaru must launch a covert mission into the heart of enemy territory.
The instructions for the model kits also presented a full colour manga side story. This sidestory, despite using elements from the main manga, appears to conflict with it, most notably in the portrayal of characters. The sidestory was primarily used to show the gimmicks of the kits in action in a story setting. Additionally, some of the kits had brief 4-panel humour comics on the bottom of their boxes. These comics made reference to events happening in the main manga story.
Characters
Team Rekka (烈火隊)
- Shōnen-Musha Retsumaru - Son of the legendary Rekka-Musha Gundam with very bushy eyebrows. After the family had been exiled, Retsumaru has been trained by his mother with a heavy wooden bat, seeing weapons were banned. Upon facing his first real threat, the large Bukabuka No Goutou sword was crafted from flames in his hand and with it a magical living phoenix scabbard. Somewhat cocky and arrogant, Retsumaru becomes leader of a new generation of defenders. After the successful defeat of Capiturn, Retsumaru becomes aware of a greater villain who abducts his teammates which leaves him to rescue them. During this period he becomes a big brother/father figure to the mysterious child Saizo. He is also a fan of baseball.
- Jimusuke - Retsumaru's best friend and squire, he joins his friend on his travels. As a running gag, he is often shown to be as ineffective as the GM mobile suits he is based on. However, he eventually proves his worth when he is able to bring the various children together to lend their power to Retsumaru. He attempted to later join Retsumaru on his covert mission into Barzam Shogun's fortress but was refused, reuniting with his friend when the mission was over.
- Shōnen-Kenshi Ranmaru - Son of Zeta. A pretty boy, Ranmaru initially meets Retsumaru whilst under the employ of Ebirhu. When Ebirhu orders him to murder innocent civilians, Ranmaru realises his mistake and joins up with Retsumaru and Jimusuke. Despite the legendary teamwork of their fathers, the two boys often engage in rivalry. Ranmaru is the guardian of the Bukabuka No Hatou helmet, which grants him the power of flight.
- Shōnen-Hoshi Kirimaru - Adopted son of Nu. He greatly respects his somewhat over-protective father and struggles to live up to his legacy. When he is extremely angered, however, he is possessed by a dragon spirit which goes ballistic on everything in sight. Kirimaru is plagued by self-doubt, often relying on Retsumaru to build up his confidence. He wields the Bukabuka No Tenyoku fan, which splits into powerful Fin Funnels to attack. Ironically, Kirimaru and Nu are probably the pair which have one of the most demonstrative father-son relationships.
- Younen-Gunshi Ikazuchimaru - Son of Double Zeta. Although only roughly toddler age, his father has built him a powerful set of armour which can combine with his motorized tricycle in various ways and even combine with the armour of his father. Ikazuchimaru uses his youth to mislead enemies into a false sense of security. He is one of the first to realise Jimusuke's hidden potential and pressures him to show it, and does not reveal his identity as a powerful strategist until the final battle.
- Shōnen-Ninja Kakuremaru - Trained in the ninja arts like his father, he often uses these abilities to play tricks on others. He is the guardian of the Bukabuka No Shunkyaku, gigantic shoes which enable him to crush most enemies. His hiding techniques are very basic and obvious, but seem to work against enemies. For most of the series he referred to his Bukabuka-armed form as the "Ally of Justice Veiled in Mystery" and refused to acknowledge that it was he under the disguise.
- Susamaru - Son of Gyakubatsu and wielder of the Bukabuka No Tekken, gigantic arm extensions. Gyakubatsu and his son are from a line of musha that also possess 'the blood of ogres'. To combat this, Gyakubatsu left his family very early and left his son an ogre-mask to rein in his aggressive nature. The measures did not work and Susamaru was taken over by the ogre-mask, becoming a single-minded machine of destruction, bent only on collecting all the Bukabuka and defeating his father. Susamaru is only able to see the truth and forgive his father after he has died.
- Saizo/Blank Form 0 - A robot resembling a young Musha, it is perhaps the most lifelike of Mk II Titan's creations and is required to control the Tekki Musha Psyco Mk-II. Whilst being secretly transported, the convoy delivering it is attacked by Retsumaru. As Retsumaru is the first thing it sees, Saizo imprints on Retsumaru as father. Saizo can transform into weapons for use by Retsumaru, and is able to summon ancient war machines with a flute. The war machines later become part of Psyco Mk II's body.
Seven of Light (光の七人衆)
- Rekka-Musha Gundam - A famed hero of Ark who vanished during the last war. At the start of Retsumaru's quest, Rekka returned to life briefly in a borrowed body. He then appears whenever possible to aid his son and allies.
- Hurricane Swordsman Zeta - Trusted friend of Rekka and leader of a powerful force of horsemen. Zeta is always ready to use his skills to defend his country.
- Dragon Monk Nu - Nu carries a glaive into battle but usually prefers to merge with his dragon spirit.
- Hot-blooded Mechanic Double Zeta - A budding inventor, he has produced a set of advanced armour for himself which includes a powerful cannon and also serves as inventor and mechanic for the Seven.
- Covert Ninja Noomaru - A ninja warrior, Noomaru has seen the biggest change from his original design and now has a distinctive yin yang inspired black and white armour. He fights with a ninja star, each blade housing a different weapon. Noomaru wears an eyepatch over his right eye. The model kit implies this is just a bluff to fool enemies and that he has two healthy eyes. Rekka Musha Gundam's younger brother.
- Soaring Hunter Mk II - Seemingly the only warrior not to have fathered a son, Mk II hides a great secret...
- Black Cavalryman - A mysterious horse-mounted swordsman who provides aid to Retsumaru during his infiltration of Barzam Shogun's fortress.
- Mecha Musha Psyco - Having received great damage in the last war, Psyco is later revived as a mindless servant of Barzam Shogun. However, when the emotional bond between Saizo and Retsumaru broke Barzam's control, Psyco emerged from Psyco MK-II. After the war against Yami Jashin, Psyco's old data was used to resurrect the old musha.
Others
- Kishiria - Wife to Rekka and mother to Retsumaru, Kishiria has mostly raised her son by herself. However, she remains loyal to her husband and has raised her son to follow in his father's footsteps. With a tough attitude, she is perhaps the only person Retsumaru fears.
- Mobile Musha Rekka Dai Hagane - A large mechanical Gundam left in a lake, Retsumaru is led to it to use in his battles against Musha Turn A's gigantic land battleships.
- Ball Gundam army's infantry soldier.
Evil Musha army (邪悪武者軍団)
- Capiturn Kyo - The initial main villain of the story, he draws power from evil spirits to launch his plans to conquer Ark. Initially portrayed as somewhat comical, he shows his true deadliness in a one-on-one battle against Retsumaru.
- Gyakubatsu /Musha X - Capiturn's most trusted general, he is a descendant of demons.
- Zirah -
- Jabaco - Killed by Rekka-Musha Gundam.
- Bertigo - The only female general in the army. She can reanimate dead units. Revived unit has bell on its head.
- Zans - Jabaco's regular soldier.
- Muzo - Zirah's regular soldier. A cone-shaped robot half the height of regular SD unit, with 3 eyes in triangular formation. The name came from the term '有象無象', or mob.
- Jenice - Bertigo's foot soldier wearing coned hat and wield spanner.
- Dautap - Bertigo's foot soldier.
- Giros - Zirah's henchman, and Retsumaru's first opponent.
- Ebirhu - Zirah's henchman, and Retsumaru's second opponent. Ranmaru followed Ebirhu until Retsumaru challenged Ebirhu second time.
- Shy-Tarn - Jabaco's henchman. Deputy captain of the investigation team. Its body is filled with eyeballs. Shy-Tarn hid in the haunted house visited by Retsumaru, Jimusuke, Ranmaru. Shy-Tarn was killed by Retsumaru and Ranmaru.
- Sandhoge - Jabaco's henchman and captain of the investigation team, possessing a centipede-like body. It appear in the rubble after the death of Shy-Tarn. It was killed by Rekka-Musha Gundam.
- Jenicus - Bertigo's henchman.
- Septem - Bertigo's henchman.
Mecha Musha army (鉄機武者軍団)
- Barzam Shogun - A powerful warlord who has experimented in creating artificial Musha Gundam soldiers. His armour hides a great secret...
- Psyco MK-II - Once a member of the Seven of Light, Barzam Shogun took Psyco's damaged body and rebuilt it to be his most deadly robotic warrior. However, it requires Saizo to operate.
- Marasai - The leader of the transport that carried Saizo.
- The 3 Sharp Point Brothers - The 3 brothers Hambrabi, Himbrabi, Humbrabi worked for Barzam to uncover ancient weapons, and specialized in using their sharp heads as weapons. However, their schemes tend to backfire. When Barzam revealed his plan to replace citizens in Ark with machines, the brothers changed sides to fight against the mass-produced machines.
Others
- Yamijashin - The force of evil given physical form by the creation of a copy Armour of Buka Buka by Barzam Shogun. He hopes to make this creation his most powerful minion but the powerful Yamijashin refuses. Realising the danger he has unleashed on Ark, Titan Mk II self-destructs in a failed attempt to destroy the monster. Without Retsumaru's sword, the Bukabuka armour is incomplete, and unable to keep the armour. Yamijashin was sealed away by Daishogun.
Model kits
This model kit series is also the second time a BB senshi Musha Gundam model series printed with Romanized names. Previously, Romanized Musha Gundam names were used on models based on the first SD Sengokuden series, running from BB #23 to BB #41, and also a limited box set which included BB #113, #158, #232 . Romanized names were included with BB models 265-278.
In 2009, a new series titled BB Senshi Sengokuden Bushin Kourin was announced. The series will reuse molds from this line with additional parts to make the Gundams resemble actual historical samurai such as Takeda Shingen. Most of the kits will also come with a Ball or Zako soldier. Coming at the same time as the similar Sangokuden Sidestory, the line is likely a response to the Late-2000s recession. Although designs for ZZ and Psyco were shown in initial announcements, no such kits have been released as of April 2010. The line instead opted to reuse two unrelated Dai-Shogun kits from previous BB Senshi Musha Gundam series.
- BB #265- Retsumaru
- BB #267- Rekka Musha Gundam
- BB #270- Ranmaru
- BB #271- Musha Zeta
- BB #274- Kirimaru
- BB #275- Musha Nu
- BB #277- Ikazuchimaru
- BB #278- Musha Double Zeta
- BB #279- Onmitsu
- BB #282- Musha Mk II
- BB #283- Mobile Musha Rekka Dai Hagane
- BB #284- Tekki Musha Psyco
- BB #286- Dai-Shogun Evolve Version