Bakugan Battle Brawlers: New Vestroia

After the final downfall of the rogue Bakugan Naga, peace was brought back to Vestroia. With the help of Danma Kuusou, his companion Pyrus Dragonoid, and other Battle Brawlers, the Infinity and Silent Cores were combined and the realm was recreated.

However, New Vestroia will not be given any respite as humanoid alien invaders, the Vestals, arrive and conquer the Bakugan world in one fell swoop. Armed with a fearsome machine capable of restricting Bakugan into their ball forms, they aim to enslave the race as a form of entertainment.

Now, the only force standing in their way is the Bakugan Battle Brawlers Resistance—a group of humans, Bakugan, and Vestals who oppose the idea of annihilating a sentient race. Led by Danma, they must venture into enemy-occupied New Vestroia and repel the invaders, to assure the survival of the entire world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kazami, Shun Main

Suzuki, Chihiro Japanese

Phantom, Spectra Main

Mamiya, Yasuhiro Japanese

Kuusou, Danma Main

Kobayashi, Yuu Japanese

Drago Main

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Marukura, Chouji Main

Hirohashi, Ryou Japanese

Fermin, Mira Main

Yukino, Risa Japanese

Grit, Ace Main

Takumi, Yasuaki Japanese

Rich, Baron Main

Kubota, Ryuuichi Japanese

Masquerade Supporting

Hoshi, Souichirou Japanese

Gehabich, Alice Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Hashimoto, Mitsuo Director

Iida, Satoki Sound Director

Matano, Hiromichi Episode Director, Storyboard

Tokoro, Toshikatsu Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Dec 1, 2024

LancelotSB

Recommended

The second season is much better than the first. While the new characters were fine, I still prefer the original cast, which made me uneasy about how the old characters were treated.

The pacing of the season was acceptable, and the opening and ending songs were okay, though they weren't particularly memorable. There was an improvement in animation and sound quality, and the voice cast's performances were solid. However, the portrayal of the villains was weak, similar to the first season.

The battle system was a bit confusing and complicated, but that didn't bother me much. Overall, I would recommend it if you don't have ... anything else to watch, but it's essential to watch the first season before diving into this one.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jun 26, 2021

KeyboardKlutz

Recommended

Mild spoilers, nothing too big.

This is my first review so please give me some breathing room here. The first season of Bakugan was certainly enjoyable in it’s own right. Fun battles and tactics, good use of the game mechanics, and some interesting characters (especially Alice). Unfortunately, it was bogged down by lackluster pacing, an inconsistent protagonist, and a child-friendly coating that kept most of the darker elements from taking center-stage.

This completely changes with the second season: New Vestroia. This sequel takes what season 1 did right and expanded in ... each of the areas. The improvements are plain as day, so much so that you almost forget it’s targeted towards kids… or is it? That is probably the biggest reason why this is such a great improvement over Battle Brawlers, the fact that New Vestroia makes it clear that things aren’t going to be as easy to digest as the previous season, a bigger stage for the characters and audience.

Airing just over a year after the completion of Battle Brawlers, the target demographic for this series remains largely the same, but with just enough development for kids to realize that this is going to be much different that season 1. The kid friendly coating is still present, but far less prominent overall. Instead of the basic good vs evil plot, this season focuses on the familial and extraterrestrial struggles between worlds.

Story

Let’s start with the plot. The story already fairs better from the beginning. Battle Brawlers had a good start, introducing us to the game mechanics right away, but dragged when it came to hooking the audience into the plot. New Vestroia immediately let’s us know just what is happening and what needs to be done to stop it, as well as showing us the changes to the battle system.

Afterward, the story builds on it’s new aspects and lore with new twists that provide a darker subtext to the series, more so than that of season 1. What makes it different from season 1 however is the way it’s presented and how it plays out. Every episode has a meaning beyond just introducing a character or playing a match, while the pacing appropriately matches the scene or battle at hand. The story is constantly moving forward without forcing itself through.

The focus of the Vestals and their inhabitants of Vestroia is a primary plot thread of the season, with their lack of understanding of the world and the conflict with the resistance providing an engaging storyline that gets better with each episode. Whenever the focus transfers back to Earth, it feels like the pacing slows down somewhat, but also serves as a nice break from all the intensity.

9/10

Characters

New Vestroia introduces a plethora of new characters, mainly because… well… aliens are a thing now and they need characters to fill those positions. New heroes and villains are present at almost every turn, each of which bring something different to the table, while returning characters have exceptionally strong development.

Let’s start with the returning characters. Dan is back as the main protagonist, and has significantly improved. His personality has been more streamlined with a greater focus on his impulsiveness and relationship with Drago. Marucho is relatively the same, but with some added quirks related to Elfin and Preyas, especially in the second half. Shun and Ingram are probably the strongest duo, especially with how Shun has developed from season 1.

The new brawlers are competent and fun additions to the series. Mira is tied to the story in a natural way, and functions as a morally complex individual that is easy to connect to. Baron is fun loving and the classic superfan type, already fitting into the group rather well. Ace is somewhat of a loner like Shun, but lacks the development of the other two. Nevertheless, he remains a competent addition to the cast.

The villains are the Vexos, each with a different personality and fighting style that compliments both their attribute and Bakugan. Spectra is the most complex, both due to his own desires and the story revolving around him(plus his design is just really good). Gus is a good second to Spectra, while Miylene is a good background manipulator. Shadow is just pure fun with his Joker-esc personality, and Lync is substantial as a developed child character who just seeks enjoyment. Volt is relatively basic unfortunately, but has some nice moments here and there.

Zenoheld and Hydron aren’t very prominent throughout the first half, but get much more time during the second. It is sad to say this, but they are pretty one-dimensional as far as villains go, especially Zenoheld. Hydron does somewhat come into his own during the last portion, but it didn’t really stick with me personally.

The supporting cast is about what you would expect. The old brawlers return as background characters initially, but take a more prominent role as the story goes on. Overall, the supporting cast fills the role of secondary characters well, but sometimes they feel purposefully undermined for the sake of spotlighting the brawlers.

8.5/10

Battles, music and animation

The battle system has gained all sorts of new quirks and additions. Only one gate card is active at a time now, while abilities can be chained together. Bakugan traps make their debut, which would later go on to inspire the battle gear and mechtagons of following seasons.

These additions are mostly positive, with each bringing something new to the battle without overcomplicating the system like Mechtaniam Surge did later. The additional usage of multiple abilities makes battles even more intense, with every turn changing the course of the battle dramatically even with the nerf to gate cards.

The life gauge is a system adopted from YuGiOh, with brawlers losing when it drops to zero. People can also win Bakugan from opponents now with how the system works. Every battle has a sense of suspense, especially with how vicious the Vexos can be with their battles and Bakugan. There is a constant worry that the battle could end in disaster, especially with how skilled each member of the Vexos is.

The animation is an unfortunate black smear, but it has gotten better from the previous season. While many of the character and Bakugan designs are pleasant and downright fantastic, the animation style itself is simplistic and screams kids show. The same can be said for the english voice acting. Japanese is fine, but english ranges from average to bad. The animation does significantly improve during action and battle sequences, especially during climaxes, and it certainly isn't overall bad, but it doesn't compare to other shows of the same genre.

There isn’t much to say on the music of Bakugan because it isn’t that memorable. Some tracks amp up during emotional sequences but the overall soundtrack is pretty forgettable outside of action.

7.5/10

Final verdict: 8.5 out of 10.

New Vestroia is an amazing upgrade from Battle Brawlers. The story, characters, and action have all improved dramatically while the music and animation are still very much lacking due to the low bar set by the target audience. If you don’t mind these issues, then I recommend giving this season a chance, especially if the first season turned you off with it’s lack of direction and Dan’s infuriating personality.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jul 30, 2012

RDEmperorAsh

Not Recommended

The next series into the Bakugan world really seemed boring as hell. The characters don't feel like themselves in this series. We get one girl out of three girls we get in the last series. They tried to keep Dan not stale but he felt too in the spotlight. I mean Dan and Drago seem like the strongest team out of everyone they had and no focus were there except for Dan,Mira,Spectra. The others were much in the background and the music in Japanese was the best out of the series. Ace and Baron felt boring and empty.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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