Well, then you´re saying gunpla players care more about their machines being unique than them being strong. Which is unrealistic. And you could always take a Red Warrior-gunpla and start customizing that one yourself. We´re talking about MASSIVE fundamental differences in strength between the various gunpla-models we´ve seen so far! Why would you participate in a tournament, when your gunpla doesnt have anything special at all, while there are opponents that can absorb plavsky particles, or use them to use super attacks, or have extreme shields, or super speed, or, or, or? If I were to build a gunpla, I´d take a look at the gunpla of the champion and try to incorporate at least equally amazing features to mine, so I have options in battle.

I think we just have to admit that all of this is done for drama purposes, and that´s alright, I guess. The newest opponent needs to have the stronger, cooler looking gunpla. It´s a kid´s show after all.