Cartoon Network has a new anime to tag along with Pokemon on Saturday mornings, and it even follows along the same genre as Pokemon. Introducing Bakugan Battle Brawlers, the battle-game anime about five friends who play a game to save the Bakugan universe as well as their own.
What Bakugan Battle Bralwers is About
One typical day, there was a very atypical rain shower of game cards all over the world. Protagonist Dan and his friends decided to create a game with these cards. However, this game brought out the true power of the cards. When the cards were put into play, each card gave life to a creature called a Bakugan. The battles of these Bakugan became less like a game and instead very, very real.
Like all good things, someone has to come along and wreak havoc. His name is Masquerade, and he introduced the Doom cards to the game. These Doom cards send the losing Bakugan to the Doom dimension, where they ultimately disappear, never to play the card game or see their masters again. Dan and his troop of Brawlers team up to become strong players with one goal: to defeat Masquerade and stop his master plot to destroy all Bakugan and create the Ultimate Bakugan to rule over Earth and the world of the Bakugan.
Bakugan: Similarities to Other Battle-Game Anime
The premise behind Bakugan is very much like other familiar battle-game anime, such as Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon. Players battle to become stronger and train their Bakugan. Players usually have a very tight bond with one of their Bakugan, and this Bakugan becomes their primary fighter in the brawls. Bakugan have to fear being sent to the Doom dimension by an evil villain, much like how Bakura and Marik sent cards to the Shadow Realm in Yu-Gi-Oh.
Even the characters of Bakugan take on the typical personality types found in battle-game anime.
- Dan - the spastic, brightly colored leader
- Shun - the tough and brilliant emo
- Runo - the valley girl/tomboy who really isn't very good at battling
- Julie - the beautiful model
- Marucho - the short, sensitive, glasses-wearing geek
To the point, if you're a fan of either Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon, chances are that you will enjoy this anime as well.
Anime Suitable for All Ages
Like most cartoons and anime found in the morning timeslots, Bakugan is suitable for all ages. The Bakugan battles have some emotional moments, but are not violent enough to be inappropriate for viewers under the age of seven. There are even some witty comments thrown in for adult viewers, for the older fans or those who are stuck watching it with the young'uns.
Bakugan Battle Brawlers airs on Cartoon Network every weekday morning at 8:00 a.m. EST with new episodes airing every Saturday at 11:00 a.m. EST.
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