Bakugan

Bakugan (爆丸バトルブローラーズ Bakugan) is a Japanese-Canadian action adventure[1] television series produced by TMS Entertainment and Japan Vistec under the direction of Mitsuo Hashimoto. The story centers on the lives of creatures called Bakugan and the battle brawlers who possess them. Though initially a failure in Japan, the series became popular in the United States and Canada, prompting the creation/order of several follow-up seasons, (Battle Brawlers, New Vestroia, and Gundalian Invaders) which aired in other countries before Japan. The fourth, Mechtanium Surge, was never broadcast in Japan and instead aired in Canadian and U.S. markets. The new season arrived the (Tech Warrior, Earth Attackers, Inferno Fighters and Legacy Berserk) will be aired in Europe, Japan and America. The Bakugan franchise are co-productions from Nelvana Enterprises, Spin Master (owns trademarks and characters), Sega Toys and TMS Entertainment, with animation by TMS Entertainment in association with Sega Toys.

Battle Brawlers
The first episode of the anime television series (produced by TMS Entertainment and Japan Vistec under the direction of Mitsuo Hashimoto), made its debut in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 5, 2007 and was rebroadcast six days later on BS Japan. Nelvana Limited produced the English-language version and premiered the series on the Canadian network Teletoon on July 2007 and then on Cartoon Network on February 24, 2008.

New Vestroia
In March 2009, TMS and Nelvana Entertainment companies announced that a follow-up series, Bakugan Battle Brawlers New Vestroia (爆丸バトルブローラーズニューヴェストロイア Bakugan Batoru Burōrāzu Nyū Vesutoroia?), consisting of 26 episodes was in production.[4] The series began airing on April 12, 2009 on the Canadian network Teletoon and then on Cartoon Network on May 9, 2009. Due to the ratings in Canada, Teletoon asked that New Vestroia be extended leading to an additional 26 episode order.

The Cartoon Network website aired a special called Maxus Unleashed, and marks a synopsis about the first 26 episodes.

The New Vestroia series in Japan, aired on the TV Tokyo Network on March 2, 2010, at 7:00PM. The opening song, titled "Cho! Saikyo! Warriors" is once again done by Psychic Lover, while the first ending, "Bang! Bang! Bakugan!", is done by Yoshifumi Ushima and the second ending "Communication Breakdown" by Crush Tears.

Gundalian Invaders
Publicly announced through Bakugan.com, the official My.Bakugan.com community, and other media, Spin Master announced a third series, titled Bakugan Battle Brawlers Gundalian Invaders (爆丸バトルブローラーズガンダリアンインベーダーズ Bakugan Batoru Burōrāzu Gandarian Inbēdāzu?). It premiered in Canada on May 23, 2010, and aired in the United States on May 29, 2010. The Japanese version premiered on April 3, 2011 and ended in January 22, 2012, before being replaced by the Japanese dub of Zoobles! in its initial timeslot. The new series ties into the online game Bakugan Dimensions through the use of special heat-reveal DNA codes on the new series of Gundalian Invaders Bakugan.[5][6]

The first opening song "Ready Go!" is done by Sissy, while the second opening, "Mega・Meta", is done by Yu Kobayashi, who is Dan's voice actor. The first ending song, "Love the Music", is done by LISP, while the second, "Tan-Kyu-Shin", is done by KREVA, and the third is "Love Go! Courage Go!", which was performed by TAKUYA.

Mechtanium Surge
In September 2010, Nelvana Entertainment announced a fourth and final season to the Bakugan series titled Bakugan Battle Brawlers Mechtanium Surge (爆丸バトルブローラーズメクタニウムサージ Bakugan Batoru Burōrāzu Mekutaniumu Sāji?), which launched on February 13, 2011 in Canada and in United States on March 5, 2011. It was originally set for 26 episodes but was later extended to 46. As of February 18, 2012, there have been no announcements whether or not this will air in Japan. Also, in this season Kubo helped to Hashimoto for some episodes. However, late in 2012, Taiwan and Hong Kong did air a version based off the original Japanese version, though using a modified version of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers: New Vestroia Opening and Ending animations and songs.

Stategic game
A strategic game called Bakugan was developed by Sega Toys and Spin Master and released in conjunction with the anime series, albeit beginning a year before the anime even started (2006). The game uses spherical, spring-loaded miniature figures, representing the Bakugan, which pop open when rolled onto special metal Gate cards. The objective of the game is to capture three Gate cards. You can change the rules of battle with ability cards.[8] Battle is engaged when opposing Bakugan magnetically pop open on the same Gate card. Each Bakugan has an attack strength called "G-Power", which can be modified by the Gate card landed on,Ability cards from players' hands,special optional pieces called Traps and some Bakugan carry Battle Equipment and bakunano. To win a Gate card, you need to use the gate card's G-power boost added to the G-Power score of your Bakugan. The Bakugan with the highest combined G-Power wins the battle and captures the Gate. Some bakugan are called Mechtogan. These are bakugan action figures, they do not fold up to a ball, but instead, you slap the card onto its back to show its secret functions and G-power. Your bakugan's G-power combine with the Mechtogan's G-power to make the total g-power, e.g.: bakugan g power; 600g, mechtogan g-power: 150g = 750g, so you will have 750g power

The game can also be played with up to four people. The rules remain the same as a regular game. Bakugan may also be played in Big game style where players use six Gate Cards, six Ability Cards and six Bakugan, instead of three of each as in a normal game. Instead of capturing three Gate Cards, a player must capture six to win the game.

The game has spawned numerous accessories, such as carry clips to store three Bakugan marbles at a time, launchers to fire the marbles at the game arena, soft plastic and hard plastic play area mats and special gauntlets (based on the ones used in the second season).

Attributes
There are a total of 6 attributes: Pyrus (fire), Aquos (water) and Haos (light) make the power triangle. Opposite them, the trio of Darkus (darkness) , Ventus (wind) andSubterra (earth) make the triangle of power. Battle gear and Bakunano come in gold, silver, and copper.

Power Sources
There is the Infinity Core, Silent Core, The Sacred Orb, The Attribute Energies, The Code Of Eve and others. They are power sources. They contain enough power in them to bring life to anything in the Bakugan world. They contain light and darkness to keep the world balanced.

Special Treatment
Special Treatment Bakugan exist, such as Clear, Dual Attribute, Pearl, Translucent, and White. In the game, most Special Treatment Bakugan have multiple attributes or can take on the attribute of an opposing Bakugan under certain circumstances. Note that special effects are NOT attributes except for Clear and White.

Reception
Bakugan marbles have been one of the top rated toys for children, winning awards and selling thousands of marbles a year.[citation needed] The original series 1 and 2 (B1 Bakugan) were smaller, and all Bakugan after series 3 called Bakupearl (B2 Bakugan) are larger and the current size.

According to IGN, it was one of the leading kids games for the Nintendo DS in 2009.[9] The Toy Industry Association gave Bakugan Battle Brawlers the 2009 Property of the Yearaward, recognizing the property that has had the greatest success spreading its brand throughout the industry that year.[10]

Card Game
The card game is played with a deck of 56 cards, consisting of 5 each of ranks 1-10, plus six additional cards which have special abilities in addition to a rank. There is no suit distinction. Although it's conceptually a trick-taking game, the player who wins the trick only saves one card on his score pile, discarding the rest; this allows for special cases where there is no single winner. At the beginning of each hand, each player rolls one die to determine the target number of captures. At the end of the hand, that player accumulates a penalty score equal to the difference between the target number and the actual number captured. The game lasts until some player has scored ten points, and the lowest score is the winner.

List of episodes
Main Article: List of Bakugan episodes

Film Adaptation
Warner bros. Pictures, MGM Studios and New Line Cinema have planned the movie for Bakugan.

Toys and electronics
In August 2009, Digital Blue announced a line of Bakugan branded electronics for the 20-55 (as confirmed in an interview of popular toys marketed at kids) age group. Products include branded digital cameras, alarm clocks and other electronics. The line was released in retail in Spring 2009.[11]

Video games
On June 6, 2010, Spin Master announced on Bakugan.com that they were working on the online game 'Bakugan Dimensions' which would be released online for all Operating Systems that supported Adobe Flash. It was released for open Beta on June 2, 2010 but the beta was shut down on June 30, 2011 because the season for Gundalian Invaders had finished.

The DS, Wii, PlayStation 2 and 3 and many other systems also had a Bakugan game developed and follows the story of your character with a Bakugan who came from the Doom Dimension. It acts as an alternate plot to the series.

Food product promotions

 * In 2009, Frito-Lay introduced a set of 26 Bakugan tazos in packages of Cheetos in India. The promotion, which ran from June 10 to August 10, 2009, included a contest in which consumers could win other Bakugan prizes.[12]