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 (闇皇帝), Ark is ruled by evil forces. Descendants of the Seven of Light defenders scattered across the land, in search of the Bukabuka (武化舞可) 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.
This form of the storyline was backed up by a model kit line which featured all of the fathers and sons, as well as their Mobile Musha secret weapon. Each of the kits had elements of interchangeable armour, with a story point being that one certain combination gave the central father and son pair a Dai-Shogun form. This form itself was released as the final kit of the line, based on how it appeared in Gundam Evolve 14.
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 (such as armour changing) 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 (少年武者 烈丸) - 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 (號刀) 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. Character based: Impulse Gundam, Strike Freedom Gundam (Combined Buka Buka Weapon system), Sword Impulse Gundam (Repair Retsu Maru), Destiny Gundam (Moda shou Retsu maru). Goutou (號刀) - The sentient sheath of Retsumaru's sword, he gives advice to the young Musha during the adventure, but is also used for other purposes. The sword also includes a knife (炎の小刀(ほむらのしょうとう)) on the sheath, designed for the wielder who has yet to achieve the power to unsheathe the sword. While Retsu is not able to unsheathe the Goutou for a long time, he does find other ways and means to use it, such as the Karamitsuki Mode and making the scabbard spit flames at enemies.