Beyblade

OK, so I am 25 years old and have decided to watch a number of TV shows from my youth. I found my old Beyblades and was inspired to watch the original series from beginning to end. I was concerned that the goggles of nostalgia would lead me to being disappointed watching it now. However, I was wrong and truly enjoyed watching this original series.

The concept of Beyblades is quite simple. Spinning tops fighting in a stadium for sport. Along with that there are strong overriding themes of family, friendship and teamwork. It is cheesy at times but still enjoyable. Interweaved with this are the negative themes of deceit, cheating and betrayal. It works well in the context of the series, although it was sometimes slightly too predictable as to the outcome.

In series 1, Beyblades are suggested to be the main players in a Beyblade battle. Makes sense, right? The bitbeasts were suggested to contribute special attacks and were connected to their player. Not all Beybladers had a bitbeast, so it would make sense that Beyblades themselves were the workhorses that drove a battle. However, in series 2 the concept shifted quite dramatically. In this case, a Beyblade battle was actually just a battle between bitbeasts and the Beyblades merely mirrored what was going on as the bitbeasts waged war on each other. This made slightly less sense since not all players had bitbeasts. It was also very different to how we were made to understand Beyblades in series 1. Series 3 brought a middle ground, which I believe worked best. Gone was the major focus of bitbeast battles and a new concept of Beybladers having a special link with their Beyblade. The Beyblade could be considered "possessed" by their bitbeast and the main focus of battle was now blade- on-blade, rather than beast-on-beast hologram battles.

The animation quality in series 1 was representative of the time, being quite unrefined and slightly messy at times. The Beyblades in battle lacked detail. This all changed in series 2 and 3, where the animation quality was a lot crisper and the Beyblades looked as they did if you bought them in stores. The issue I had was in series 2 where the main characters went from looking like teenagers to more like pre-teens. This was rectified in series 3 and they looked their age and had the superior animation quality.

Finally I just want to touch on the stories themselves. Series 1 was quite simple since it wanted to set the premise of Beyblades. It revolved around various championship battles and the final arc brought an interesting twist. Series 2 was quite different and I think they tried to hard to make a story. It felt quite disjointed and the actual reasoning behind the ancient origins of bitbeasts was poorly explained in my opinion. It presented a great opportunity to do what they did in the final series of Yu-Gi-Oh! to explain where the monsters came from. Series 3 went back to much of what series 1 brought and I honestly thought it was the strongest series of the three.

All in all, I recommend you watch the original series of Beyblades. If I were to rank them, I would make it 3 > 1 > 2. If you had to miss a series, I would say series 2 could be missed. However, none of them were really 'bad', it is just that some were slightly confused and poorly conceived. What I can say is that nostalgia did not blind me, Beyblades are still great fun!

I love English dubbed anime. I know a lot of people say its bad and the Japanese version is far superior but its good how they change the show to suit our culture, making it easier for children (their main audience) to understand. The other review says its repetitive but what sport isn't? This was as big as Pokemon and Dragon ball Z at my school, everyone loved it. People say it was only to sell toys, well it did that and it did it good. What kid doesn't want to be a part of something that can save the world like in a TV show. The people who say it isn't very good are usually older people who come across the show while channel surfing, the show isn't aimed at you so its not fair to hate it.

"Beyblade" is about a kid named Tyson and his friends who go/travel around battling others with their beyblades (a metallic top-like thing). That's what this series is mostly about and that's it's flaw, that and the fact that there was never exactly a clear explanation of what a "bit beast" was/came from etc. However if you look past those, it's a good series with excellent animation and original music. They should focus on more than just beyblade battling and practicing though.

Also, I see all of these toys being sold related to this series. I hope this is not just a big advertisement to sell toys (no big surprise if so, wasn't the first time _that's_ happened!).

I wonder how long they can keep this going...

This show's about a team called the Bladebreakers and how they go round the world, fighting in tournaments. It brings out the importance of team spirit. Pretty much a kiddy and anime-crazed-teens show.

I don't watch anime, except for this, that is. This show doesn't suck, honestly, don't just go watch a few episodes and decide how 'good' it is.

It has a good english voice over team, and the characters got their own distinct personalities. You can tell the different traits between everyone, that is how I find Kai, the introvert so interesting.

There may be some boring episodes, but other than that, I like it. I watch it for Kai!

I've only seen the dub version of Beyblade, and I rather like it. The premise is original, the characters are well-developed, and it's not completely PWP-ish. PWP means "Plot? What Plot?"

The basic story for the first season is the Bladebreakers (Tyson, Max, Ray, Kai, and Kenny) are trying to win the Beyblade world championships. While it may seem simple, it truly isn't. In Asia, the 'breakers meet some of Ray's old acquaintances and Ray must convince them that he didn't abandon his home. In America, Max finds that his mother is sponsoring another team and tensions arise from that. And in Europe, the 'breakers are stranded and have to make their way to Russia all alone, and they meet the Dark Bladers along the way. The Dark Bladers seek to steal the 'breakers' bit beasts (animal spirits trapped within the Beyblade). And in Russia, with the Dark Bladers still after them, the 'breakers learn that Kai's grandfather is seeking to take over the world by stealing other bladers' bit beasts! Ray ends up in the hospital, and Kai turns traitor for a while! The Russian Tournament turns into more than just a game!

The second season, V-Force, begins with the 'breakers having split up. Kai is going to boarding school, Max is in America, and Ray went home to China. Then mystery bladers show up, and then it seems that everyone wants the 'breakers' bit beasts! The only tournament so far wasn't a real tournament, but an evil organization pitting the 'breakers against a team of its own. This season, the animation style is different, making the 'breakers look younger than in the first season.

I haven't seen the original Japanese version, but I suspect that it's better than the dub, seeing as the producers may have cut out "inappropriate" scenes and/or ideas.

I really like Beyblade and would recommend it to others as a good anime. It's as good as Gundam Wing or Rurouni Kenshin, in its own way.

My favorite character: Kai

My least favorite character: Hilary, because I don't know what her purpose in the series is.