I have to preface this review by saying that Bakugan *the anime* is only about a third of the Bakugan experience. Another third, which is arguably the most important, are the toys themselves, of which you should have at least a few in your possession while you watch. (They're *really* cool and really cheap, just grab a few from eBay. The toys were what so attracted me to this franchise.) Finally, the triad is completed by having other kids to play with. It's best experienced in 2008 when the playground is a battlefield—and also when you can only watch one episode a week, if you're
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lucky. If this review encapsulated all of that, it would easily be a 10/10. (Needless to say, I am hugely nostalgic for Bakugan, lol. Not to brag, but I was the reigning champion of the schoolyard...) Unfortunately, this review is for the anime only, so let's go back to being objective.
Bakugan, as creatures, are essentially a combination of Final Fantasy summons and Pokémon. As shonens made to sell toys go, I would say that the show solidly above average; but I also feel like it could have been so much better. (I should note that I was alternating between watching episodes of Bakugan and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, and kept wishing that Bakugan was as epic.) But the cast was solid and well-rounded, and the creature designs were exactly what they needed to be. I would say this is definitely an anime to watch dubbed, as the somewhat campy voice acting (especially how Dan always delivers his lines with a bit of a Sonic the Hedgehog attitude) really adds to the charm of the show. (However, I have been informed by someone who is not nostalgic for this show that a lot of the characters have annoying voices.) Having not seen the sub, I just feel like it would be a lot more bland, especially since one of the biggest draws of watching Bakugan in [current year] is the nostalgia factor; even if you didn't grow up with it, it has the charm of shonens of its time. With this general overview out of the way, let's move on to pros and cons:
+ The characters of the main cast are solid, and each person's partner Bakugan fits them perfectly. Dan is an impulsive shonen protagonist, but Drago is an older, formal, and more thoughtful being who isn't afraid to reprimand him. Marucho is an overly polite nerd who was sheltered by his family, but Preyas is an over-the-top comic relief character, yet they nonetheless have a believable bond and good chemistry. Shun is an angsty, arrogant ninja kid with a sensitive side, and Skyress is just his mommy (but like, in a cool way). I also love that each of the Bakugan have little dynamics with each other as well. Furthermore, the characterizations of the main cast are believable. Occasionally I'd find myself getting annoyed with Dan's attitude, but then I'd remember that he's like 10, and I'd think yeah, that's how he probably really would act.
+ I also love that they are stuck in little marble form while on Earth and they have to hop around, and like Dan has to scrub Drago with a toothbrush. There is a surprising amount of fluff in this show, yet it never feels gratuitous or out of place.
+ Shun is such a good character. He's Dan's foil: cocky with the skills to back it up, serious, and has actual ninja training. Yet he also has a sad backstory, which he uses to propel himself forward rather than wallowing in it or using it as an excuse. He's genuinely a kind person, despite when he and Dan butt heads.
+ Random, but I love how everyone's parents get involved in the later episodes to love and support their kids even if they "don't really understand this whole Bakugan thing." Dan's mom has multiple conversations with little marble Drago. I just find it unique, at least in my experience, to see a shonen where the protagonist isn't like "ok bye mom!" and then we never see her again.
+ Not to sound libtarded, but I really enjoyed the amount of female Bakugan in this show. You get a nice variety of them, too: Skyress, Tigrerra, and Wavern are elegant and epic, while Harpus and Sirenoid are also epic but also kind of sexy. (I'm a girl LOL)
+ The character designs of the humans are so visually appealing. I especially love Runo's hair and outfit, it's just so cute~
+ SPOILERS: Alice's whole arc was awesome, and I love how Hydrenoid was still her loyal Bakugan even after she was no longer externally Masquerade.
+ The best part of the show was the arc where everyone was undergoing the trials to try and evolve their Bakugan. You learn more about their backstories and how they think and feel. Shun's was by far the best one. However, Dan's was extremely disappointing—wasted potential.
- The battle system is just nothing. The actual game is just as simple as rolling your marble, flipping over a card to see who has the higher number, and then maybe playing an ability card to add a second number to your Bakugan's base power. All of the fun comes from the marble (and the roleplaying). Naturally, this is difficult to translate into an exciting anime battle. This results in the show just kind of making up the rules, giving ability cards extra effects (but not explaining them at all), and sometimes blatantly disregarding the structure of turns; or, for example, having a Bakugan randomly power up because of friendship, etc. The brawls are structured extremely loosely and so are hard to follow and be invested in. Another drawback of the brawls is that they all take place in an abstract, perfectly flat void, as opposed to in a real-world environment, which would be much more interesting. Furthermore, there's a brawl every episode, and they are mostly all very very boring. Even the ones that are exciting are kind of boring.
- The show is mostly filler. It definitely did not need to be 52 episodes long. It feels like nothing consequential really happened except right at the beginning, right at the end, and maybe a few episodes in the middle. Furthermore, the plot itself is extremely straightforward: the evil Bakugan wants to destroy the universe with the power center of evil magic, and the good Bakugan wants to stop him using the power center of good magic. There are elemental realms that are exactly what you'd expect them to be, sans anything creative; but most of the show takes place in the real world anyway. I just really feel like they could have done so much more with the plot, but it just seemed very phoned-in, or like they were afraid to take any risks, or something. There was even filler in like, the last 5 episodes.
- Plot threads are resolved quickly, uncreatively, and unsatisfyingly; particularly Shun's arc, the effects of everyone's Bakugan evolving, and the ending. It was kind of just like, "ok, we're done now!"
- Nothing ever feels like it has real stakes, or like that anything will actually go wrong. There's no tension.
- SPOILERS: I have no idea why they tried to shoehorn in a relationship between Dan and Runo in the very last episode. They had absolutely zero chemistry the entire series, but they're the male and female protagonists, so I guess they're on a date now, and it's the last scene of the show...
Overall, Bakugan was fun. It really did drag sometimes, and I will admit that sometimes I only paid half attention, but there were also a lot of moments that had me laughing out loud, and it was just a good experience—especially with my little Aquos Dragonoid by my side. I would recommend it as a nostalgia trip if you had the toys as a kid, and I would recommend it if the toys interest you and you'd like to learn more about their lore. However, if you have no memories of Bakugan and no interest in the toys, there are probably better things to watch.
8.5/10 (biased)
6.5/10 (unbiased)
Jun 14, 2023
Bakugan Battle Brawlers
(Anime)
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I have to preface this review by saying that Bakugan *the anime* is only about a third of the Bakugan experience. Another third, which is arguably the most important, are the toys themselves, of which you should have at least a few in your possession while you watch. (They're *really* cool and really cheap, just grab a few from eBay. The toys were what so attracted me to this franchise.) Finally, the triad is completed by having other kids to play with. It's best experienced in 2008 when the playground is a battlefield—and also when you can only watch one episode a week, if you're
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Jun 14, 2023
Blue Dragon
(Anime)
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I don't usually write reviews, but this anime is somewhat meaningful to me and I have thoughts to share about it. The first time I saw Blue Dragon was when it aired on Cartoon Network in the late 2000s. Being a young kid, it was one of the only anime I had access to at that time, so I always looked forward to it airing and I watched every episode that was available on our limited Comcast streaming service. That is to say, I have a good amount of nostalgia for this show and its characters, so I may not be entirely objective.
The majority of ... |
