Beyblade - Let It Rip! (Vol. 1) (Geneon Signature Series)

Rating:
Summary: "Beyblade" let it rip, then shortly flop!
Review: **REVIEWING IT AS A WHOLE SERIES**

For years, I have seen many marketing schemes in anime clothing. I've seen shows that deal with some adolescent becoming the best using pocket monsters, gigapets, creatures within compact discs, cards 'with souls', and now, an adolescent who wants to be bested from anybody... by using spinning tops! Wow! What a stupid concept.

"Beyblade" deals with a generic children's marketing conglomerate story about a boy named Tyson who has a dream of being at his prime at a world-wide, popular toy-battling profession. So he and his friends become a team called Beybreakers and, with their so-called 'beyblades', those customizable spinning tops that have "a special connection with each individual", prepare themselves as they go to tournaments and face unlikely, skillful opposing teams that they must face in order to reach their goal, no matter what 'peril' awaits them. In other words: they go to an arena, battle some egotistical rivals, go to another arena, battle some more egotistical rivals. That's all it is, and it's hardly amusing.

If the story sounds uninspiring, then it's the same for the production value in this series. The animation quality in "Beyblade", well, the word I like to use to describe it is 'Chunky'; the company that made this anime seems to put much effort in designing beyblades, and even those designs are mediocre at best. The dubbing in the series will have 'Sailor Moon' a run for its money. The characters sound boring and I believe most of them sound like 30-something-year-olds who just had their tonsils removed after a hangover.

I know I'm being harsh, and many people would say, "C'mon! This is a children's show. This was made to entertain the younger audience." Yes, this is a children's show, but it's not even a half-decent one. Unlike other animes like "Pokemon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" where the children will not only be entertained, but know more about strategy and proper care with what the young'uns have, "Beyblade" is just a one-step execution.

Many should know how spinning-top battles play. They got devices that holds the top and by pressing a button or pulling a plastic stick, the top releases and it starts spinning. The two tops then constantly bumping each other like bumper cars until one of them stops spinning. There's no strategy in this, just luck.

The characters in this series also tend to exaggerrate in a ludicrous way. The main characters will jog, lift weights, meditate, while the enemies are sweatin' themselves to do vicious schemes, all for these wobbly, plastic contraptions. Hello, I'm talking about spinning tops here! I could've at least expect the beyblade battles to be entertaining, but at its best, one battle can last no longer than 4 minutes just as two beyblades bump each other in their 'beast' form; "Wow. That's exciting."(sarcasm). Impratical, unintelligible, and humdrum: these adjectives does not make a good children's show.

"Beyblade" is a ridiculous gimmick idea gone worse in a cartoon; it has some qualities to make this an anime, but that's about it. There's almost nothing instresting about it that's worth buying, renting, or even wasting 5 min of anyone's time just watching it on television. If your a person that like spinning tops, buy the "Beyblade" products, don't watch the series. The children who like action, ideas, and fun should rather stick with 'Pokemon'.

Rating:
Summary: Beyblade anime serie
Review: I agree that this serie is an toy selling tool, but at the same time, i can't help but to love the cute characters. They are boys with attitude. Afterall, characters are what you watch for in shows that keeps you coming back for more. This serie is definately targeted at a younger audience than most animes. However, even though it's light and funny toned there are some seriousness to it, like Kai's past and evil scientists themes.
As for audience gender, this serie would most likely attract boys for the combat nature and lack of more female characters (ok, there are only 3 worth mentioning, Mariah, Hiliray, and Salima). But girls may be attracted to the (again) cute boy characters.

Rating:
Summary: Take it from me...
Review: I dont know what people find it wrong with this show. But personally... I love it! I love it! I love it! And this is a fair warning, this review kinda covers the whole first season to which this particular DVD is just the first.

Sure it maybe about spinning tops. But c'mon, in game gimmick animes, cards and electronic geegaws are so mainstream, they became boring. Atleast for me. Beyblade brings a nice new spin on game anime, pardon the pun.

I love the characters! For me, I can see the great divercity in all of the characters, and I have found some characters who show up a little later (not in this DVD, but later in the series, which I have watched in whole) plainly hilarious! Who wouldn't find Max's antics even a little funny?

The plot may have it's loop holes, but what anime doesn't? I dont want to go too in depth about the plot in fear of spoiling it for you. But the plot is a bit more than spinning tops and tournaments, and in the the end of the first season it does get a little dark and somewhat disturbing. I dare anyone here to go over a poisonous snake pit on monkey bars. (The end of the season will explain that one)

Kids in the family will LOVE this. But it may not be exactly for the very young viewers (no one younger than 9 or 8), as it does get a little dark at times.

If you're over 9 and maybe seen the dub, you dont know what you're missing. The dub cut out all the good stuff to be honest. And I'm proud to say that I'm glad my 12 year old cousin got me into this series.

It's a well-worth item for pre-teens, and maybe even for family viewing. And I have a feeling girls will love this one just as much as boys. Though maybe for different reasons.

Rating:
Summary: Teh Cool
Review: Now... I don't know what that other person down there was ranting on about how Beyblade is childish, stupid, blah blah blah... Right.

You see... those are the kinds of people that maybe watch 5 mins of it, come to the conclusion that the show is meant for people with the mentality of a banana, and then go and rant. They don't appreciate the story, the characters, whatever.

Now the concept may be a bit... odd. Spinning tops. Alot of people think that the game originated from the show. Wrong. Show came after manga came after game. Top came first. Manga created by Aoki Takao. Manga adapted to TV show by d-Rights. Aired on TV-TOKYO in 2001. Yeah... it's an uberly long commercial for a toy line that's been around since 1996. But it still rocks.

The story revolves around a 10-year-old boy named Kinomiya Takao (or 13-year-old named Tyson Granger according to the dub >>;) that is a beyblader. He has been beyblading practically his entire life, ever since his older brother started when he was Takao's age. That, and he manages to do kendo as well. =P

I'd go on, but that's too much to type. Later on you get introduced to the rest of the main characters -- the enigmatic Hiwatari Kai, kitty-boi Kon Rei, and the hyper cutie Mizuhara Max.

For a show about spinning tops, it's gained some older fans too (like me ^_~). I'd watch it if I were you.

Rating:
Summary: The world's longest toy commercial
Review: Okay, some anime fans whine about shows like this being nothing more than a vehicle for a line of toys like POKEMON or YU GI OH. But this is one case where they would be dead right! BEYBLADE is based on an old Japanese game of spinning tops hitting each other in a confined space. Whichever top stops spinning first looses. The toy itself is the same idea, just with a hyped-up launcher and a small arena(now available at Toys R Us!). The anime based on this idea has been re-running to death on ABC Family for a while now. Here Tyson is a martial artist who switches his training to playing Beyblade, which apparently in this show is a big sport where whole stadiums are created with thousands of spectators, all for the thrill of watching two tops hit each other?! Tyson's "Blade" has a special edge though called a Bitbeast. These are ancient creatures that live inside the Blades and come out only when competing against another Blade. His is a Dragoon monster. Tyson forms his own team called the Bladebreakers, and they tour the world taking on other Beybladers. So basiclly its POKEMON, but in the real world with magical tops instead of Pokeballs. If you really like the game, or kiddie shows like MEDABOTS where kids fight with hi-tech gear(but not really with each other), then this might be for you. Otherwise, skip it.

Rating:
Summary: Junk food for the brain
Review: While its true that this show is nothing but a shameless plug to brainwash unsuspecting kids into buying the extensive line of toys for this series (the toys actually came first before the anime and the toys only took off when the show started airing in Japan), I am not ashamed to say that I enjoy watching it ^.^;;;

As someone who's a huge fan of X and Senkaiden Houshin Engi I'm sure this is probably strange if not sacrilegious, but hey--you gotta lighten up every now and then and beyblade, while not having the greatest plot in the world (hey, who am I kidding--what plot?) still sets out what it intended to do in the first place--and that is to entertain people, which it does.

And to give it credit, the characters are cute and quite lovable. Rei and Kai are reasons enough for me to keep on watching this series till the end.