Bakuten Shoot Beyblade G Revolution

(Second review! Eeep!)

Story: Though the story for this season is a bit overused, it holds true to its constant surprises and keeping people wondering what will happen next. Finally gaining some more depth than season one or two, many things happen to show that everything has changed and that life goes on whether they like it or not. Some Shonen-ai hints,generally almost non-existant, might be detected both in the Japanese and English versions, but this is more of a best friend thing compared to anything serious,turning out to be quite touching. I also found the speeches that Takao (Tyson) gave more realistic and down ... to earth. Story gets an 8.

Animation: A definite improvment from season two and a 200% improvment from season one, the characters finally look their age, although at the end they are drawn considerably more mature. The battle scenes are smooth and bring a huge impact, even though some do repeat themselves. But that is compenstated by the great attention to detail, both on the Bit-Beasts, on the characters, on the blades and on the background. This is even more impressive as the show is Shonen so it deserves its 10.

Sound: New tournaments, new music. The standarts haven't dropped from the previous two seasons. A variety of new sound brings some freshness into the show, adding impact to the various scenes. Deserves a 9.

Character: The biggest surprise is how much the charecters have matured, both physicaly and emotionaly. I was also pleased to find that none of their characteristics were too drastically changed, from the brooding/dark Kai to the happy-go-lucky Takao(Tyson). More about them is found out throught this final season, about regrets that never seemed to be there, a new wave of overprotectivness and the discovery of lost family members. This final season brings out the best in all of them, though at first you might find cheering for those you never thought you would. A 10 all the way!

Enjoyment: It gives you that feeling of wanting to find out more. More often than not you might find yourself standing with your fist raised in the air yelling 'YESS!!' so that your brother or sister look at you strangely. More exciting than real sport and more magic than in any normal-kid anime this is definitely something you should check out.

Overall: A very nice, full ending to the whole series, this final season brings everything to a close while at the same time leaving quite an open- ended ending, so at the same time you get that feeling of satisfaction and dissatisfaction which brings a pleasant mix of emotions. Many things complement each other and you just can't help but feel that yes, this series is awesome!If you like competion, sports, friendship, rivalry and and a bunch of cute guys this anime is fo you^^ And so a 10 is granted.

[When I say shonen-ai hints, I am refering to one of the love/hate relationships that is considered by many Japanese magazines as Canon. Please do not bash my review because of this.]

(My first review... let's see how this goes (pls don't bash on it if it's too bad :L))

So after re-watching the original Beyblade series for like the 12th time (lost count, lol), I decided to right a review and stuff.


Story: The story of this show tries it's best to grab your attention and prepare you as much as possible, and it achieves this quite well. Though in my opinion the story could of been better, it still contains many breathtaking moments whilst is goes way more in-depth than it did with the first two seasons. The dialogue has also improved quite a bit in this ... season, along with more emotional moments being included.


Animation/Artwork: To be honest, I'd say this season has the best animation out of all the original series; it just looks pretty damn stunning. I really can't see how they could improve the animation from this show in all honesty (ok, they kinda did for the metal saga, but that's a different story). As for artwork, I could say exactly the same, apart from certain character designs which I'm not really a fan of (key word: certain... as in some). You can read more about my character opinions down below, though.


Sound:
Sound Effects: The SEs in this season in my opinion are a huge improvement over the first two seasons; they sound way more realistic etc.
Voices: Not really much different from the previous seasons, and to be honest, I prefer the original voices better, as they just suited each character in my opinion. This doesn't mean I don't like the voices in this season; I still think they're pretty great, just not as good :P
Music: Now the music from this season is arguably the best from the series. With tracks such as "Rise Above the Storm" and "I'm Not Going Down", this show has tracks everyone of all ages will love! Also, may I add that every song plays at the exact right time and fits in with the scene they play in perfectly.
10/10 for sound.



Character: Personally, I'm gonna have to rate the characters overall an 8/10. Why? At first I was gonna rate the character a solid 10, but looking back to how the creators made certain characters weak in this season (such as Lee, Tala, Michael and so on), the fact that some of the good characters from the first two seasons were left out (or us rarely being able to see them), and that certain characters' designs suck compared to previous seasons (but it isn't a major deal, I guess). I could go on about negative points about some of the older characters, but bleh. Again, this is just my opinion.
As for everything else however, I have no problem at all; most characters, if not all matured quite a lot by the end (and not as annoying as previous seasons (for example: V-Force's Tyson)) and even more! Apart from some of the characters being made weaker, this season definitely tries its best to bring out the best in each character.
Again, an 8/10 for character.


Enjoyment: Very enjoyable show, and honestly I find it way better than just watching your average sport on TV. 10/10. Nothing else to really say here, apart from go and look at the other segments of this review for more information and opinions (saves me repeating stuff, etc).


Overall: This was, in my opinion, an almost perfect ending, if not a perfect ending to the original Beyblade series. Great story, good enough characters, amazing soundtrack, it has it all! I really do wish they'd make a sequel to this season, but judging by the pretty much perfect ending, I doubt it'd happen.
As for other general negative points about this anime... I really can't think of anything, haha.

Overall I'd rate this season (and probably the whole series, actually) a 10/10.
If you're into competition, sports, friendship, rivalry, want a lot of lovable characters and a lot of action, then this anime is definitely for you!


Could have made this review quite a bit longer if I wanted to, but I figured it'd be way too much to read, so I'll leave it at this.


Oh and did I mention... Original Beyblade is still one of my favorite anime to date :3 (...I just find it too nostalgic to let it drift away from me ok?! ;~;)

Story 8/10

This season does away with the generic subplot of "badguy tries to steal bitbeasts" that Season 2 and the end of Season 1 was about and instead focuses on what made the Beyblade series as a whole an enjoyable watch: watching very likeable and realistic characters that you feel emotionally invested in participate in a sport that they are passionate about while developing as people. Throughout this season, there aren't really any "bad guys" - just conflicting views and different personalities, which makes the season as a whole very unique in comparison to similar anime.

The first arc takes up two thirds of the season ... and follows the World Tournament circuit, with Tyson as the main focal point. This is a nice change, since Tyson, as likeable as he was, did not receive much explicit character development in the first two seasons. The main characters from the season prior go their separate ways which allows for interesting new developments in their character arcs. While I was happy with the finale of this arc, I think that it would have been even better if the outcome was the opposite, as it would have rounded off the character arcs very nicely and given some pretty useful life lessons to both the characters involved and the viewers.

The second and final arc sees Boris return and supposedly tries to turn a new leaf by establishing a professional beyblading organisation, BEGA. The gang suspect something fishy and end up having to battle BEGA's top bladers to save the day. Stakes get high during the final battle. I thought that this . arc, while short, was pretty well done thanks to the addition of characters Brooklyn and Garland, but I was left puzzled by Hiro's actions and Boris' true motivation.

Art 8/10

The art and choreography significantly improves in this season, and gets even better as it progresses and battles become even more intense. Character designs, in terms of art, are very good and makes each character feel more personable as opposed to the gimmicky artworks of many characters in Season 1 and the generic designs of Sesaon 2. Compare Brooklyn's design to Zeo's. Zeo's design is generic and boring, whereas Brooklyn's really has the subtle aura and represents his character very well. They put a lot more effort into the art in this season, and it paid off well.

The battles are much better in this season. The Bitbeasts' abilities seem a lot more creative like in Season 1, but have the updated graphics to make them better. Even the clashing of the beyblades themselves feels both more realistic and more impactful. There was a weird part at the end of the first arc and the whole of the second arc where it seemed that characters were also fighting with their beyblades, but I interpreted this as just how it seemed to be in the view of the battlers.

Sound 8/10

While a lot of the soundtrack from the previous seasons were reused in this season, there were new songs added which were a welcomed addition. Voice acting seemed to improve from the first two seasons too. You can tell even through their voices that the characters have matured throughout their ordeals in the past and they do a really good job at portraying how the characters are feeling.

Characters 9/10

As said before, the characters are what makes this show as good as it is. This season does what season 2 did not, and focuses mainly on the characters and their growth as people. It was great seeing many old characters from the White Tigers, the All Stars and the Demolition Boys in this season with their own roles to play and updated. However, it was strange how characters from season 2, such as Zeo, Kane's team and the Saint Shields, never returned outside of the ending song in the final episode - let alone even being mentioned. I will go into detail on characters which I felt were important to discuss.

Tyson: Throughout the first arc, Tyson deals with the pressure of being the World Champion and the strain that it begins to have on his performance. Tyson doesn't understand the actions that his friends took at first, most likely due to underlying abandonment issues, but through time gets to realise why they did what they did. He begins to realise that he needed his old friends not only for their skills, but also to keep him in check. Last season taught Tyson not to slack off and get lazy, and he doesn't, but this season is all about Tyson maturing as a person - which he does by the end of the first arc thanks to the support of his new teammates. G-Revolution is basically Tyson learning to stand on his own and be a mentor and friend instead of constantly acting like a champion.

Kai: Kai's character arc in the first arc is him dedicating everything towards being the best - and he achieves it. With the exception of Ray (who he defeats anyway) and Tyson (who he only narrowly loses to while being handicapped), Kai easily defeats all of his opponents. I think that Kai begins to miss the Bladebreakers, though he never admits this, as seen through his interactions with them when they battle in the tournament. In the end of the second arc, Kai really displays how much he's grown as a blader and in spirit.

Daichi: Most people dislike Daichi because he can be loud, obnoxious, and they would prefer Tyson just team up with his old friends again because Daichi is new. While I don't particularly like Daichi that much (I don't mind him), I think he was a good addition to the series. It means Tyson has to step up as a mentor, and we see this through Daichi's development as a character. He also makes a contrast between the other characters to show us how much they have grown.


Max: Max's character arc in this season takes his development of confidence and skill from the previous seasons and puts him in a new team where he has to step up as the star player, while being the only person to put his foot down and talk back to Rick, who is (for lack of better words) a dick. The Max we once knew grew up and begins acting like a leader and this was very heartwarming to watch. He also learns some things from Rick too, and the two form a sweet bond.


Rei: Unlike Max and like Tyson, Rei has no one to contest him on his team because he is easily the most skilled. He tries to act out of character as a strict and tough leader, which probably stems from his lack of self-confidence as he tries to behave like someone he isn't for what he thinks is the best for the team. Rei learns his lesson throughout the tournament and by the end of it reignites his bond with Lee and the rest of the team, who feel more like a family than any other team. By the time Rei finally gains full confidence, he is able to put up incredible battles against Tyson, Kai and Crusher.

Brooklyn: Brooklyn was a great addition to the series. He is a born genius that became the best through natural talent and his overpowered bitbeast Zeus. My theory is that either Zeus corrupts or lives inside Brooklyn (like Naruto and the Kyubi), or that Brooklyn is actually Zeus in human form. Brooklyn's design tells a lot about him: he wears white and gold which are known to be colours of divinity and purity. This represents Brooklyn's god complex, and when comparing it to his black and red blade, colours that represent rage and despair, can show the internal conflict within Brooklyn that we see later in the series. The main characters are supposed to be the answer to help Brooklyn. During his 2nd battle with Kai and his battle with Tyson you can see that they are being overpowered yet they are always getting up to which Brooklyn reacts maliciously as if he is denying his own freedom. During his final battle with Tyson, Brooklyn becomes insane and shows his true colours. We find out what he really is aiming for: freedom. Depression was shown during his childhood and acceptance is shown when he finally calms and enjoys his battle with Tyson. TL;DR, OP character done right!

Tala and Hiro: Tala and Hiro were perhaps the only characters who I think were wasted. I expected Tala to play a bigger role in both parts of the season, but he took a more back-seat approach and being used as a benchmark to observe other blader's progress in skill. He is still a respectable battler, but the cold, fierce, overpowering Tala from Season 1 is not present here. I expected him to battle in the final part of the season, and while he does contribute, he is again used to show how powerful the opponents are. Hiro had a lot of potential as Tyson's brother, and while he does help Tyson with a lot of personal development in the first arc, his actions in the second arc make absolutely no sense.


Enjoyment 10/10

While I am personally biased as I loved beyblade as a kid, I can honestly say I loved G Revolution still today. Watching these characters develop and solve realistic problems while keeping up with what makes them passionate is very relatable, and really makes the viewer emotionally invested. Easily the best season of the series.

Overall 8/10