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Beyblade


Beyblade (ベイブレード Beiburēdo) is a spinning top toy produced by Takara starting in 1999/7. In 2002, Hasbro produced Beyblade based on the corresponding anime TV series.

In the basic rules of the game, one player wins by knocking the competitor's beyblade out of a dish (commonly called a Beystadium) or to outspin the competing top(s).

Beyblade Toy information

Here is information on the details of Beyblades the toys:

  • Basic system
  • Magnacore system
  • Engine Gear
  • Hard metal system
  • Beyblade list

Other parts

Like the TV show, some Beyblade tops can be controlled after they are launched. For head-to-head battle between 2 RC tops, 2 RC launchers with separate frequencies are required.

Entertainment Media

In anime and manga, the story is about a group of children battling with highly powerful spinning tops enchanted with sacred 'bit beasts' or spirits of mythical and powerful creatures.

The show focuses on the battles between beyblading teams. The protagonist team, the Blade Breakers, includes Takao Kinomiya (Tyson Granger in the dubbed English version), Kai Hiwatari, Max Mizuhara (Max Tate), Rei Kon (Ray Kon/Ray Kong), and Kyouju (Kenny) who battle it out against teams across the globe to be the world's best beybladers.

The Beyblade anime is licensed by Nelvana in North America. The Beyblade manga, made by Takao Aoki, is published in English in North America by VIZ Media and keeps its original right to left format, though names are changed to match the English anime version. In Singapore, it is published in English by Chuang Yi.

There have also been several video games based on the show, spanning the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation and GameCube. However, as is the case with many video games based on licensed properties these games have been critically panned.

American changes

Arriving in United States, Beyblade was significantly changed by Nelvana. The most notable of the changes include:

  • New intro/opening sequences.
  • Several characters' names were changed, many characters having their Japanese names changed to English alternatives (presumably more American).
  • Instrumental soundtracks were changed to pop-punk style music, with lyrics. There wasn't any original Japanese soundtrack remaining.
  • Logos originally displayed in Japanese were redesigned in English.
  • Some scenes considered inappropriate for children were cut, although Beyblade was not originally designed with only younger viewers in mind.
  • In V-Force, Ray's first new beyblade was called Driger 5, but its original name is Driger V. Nelvana must have been very confused to believe that V was 5 in Roman numerals.
  • AJ Topper and Brad Best were added to make comments about the tournaments; these were originally only made by DJ Jazzman.
  • Kenny's "bitbeast", Dizzi, was added for comic relief during the first two seasons. It was said in the dub version that she accidentally entered his laptop causing her to speak. She did not appear in the third season. Originally, in the Japanese version, she couldn't speak, but somehow she existed.
  • Before every official fight, a small scene talking about the bladers and the stadium appears. First, it shows the stadium, in different angles, with its name. Then it shows an image of the blader, his/her attack, defense and endurance points, name and special attack. An image and name of the bit beast also appears.
  • Elements of the dialogue were also changed, sometimes leading to incongruity between the dialogue and what happens onscreen.
  • Every episode and season had its title changed from its Japanese counterpart, except for the third season's title (G-Revoluton).
  • In the conclusion of G-Revolution,Beyblade's last season,the original version contained some images showing all the characters that ever made an important appearence,like those in V-Force and those who didn't returned in G-Revolution.For some reason,Nelvana censored the images,although they were nothing but images showing all the characters.


TV series

Beyblade has a total of 3 seasons with about 51 episodes in each. The Japanese names for each season have been put in the brackets. In season one the beyblades were drawn by hand only, but in seasons two and three they were brought to life with a mix of drawings and CGI.

  • Beyblade
  • Beyblade V-Force
  • Beyblade G-Revolution

Broadcasting

  • Australia: Cheez TV
  • Brazil: Jetix (and some time ago, Globo(TV Xuxa's block), but not any more.)
  • Canada: YTV
  • Estonia: TV3
  • Finland: Nelonen
  • India: Cartoon Network (Toonami block)
  • Ireland: RTÉ Two (The Den block)
  • Japan: TV Tokyo
  • Korea: SBS (Korea) (hangul:탑 블레이드, Top Blade)
  • Mexico: Canal 5 XHGC(Televisa)
  • New Zealand: TV2
  • Norway: TV2
  • Pakistan: Cartoon Network Pakistan
  • Philippines: ABS-CBN, HERO TV
  • Poland: Jetix (and some time ago, Polsat, but not any more.)
  • Portugal: TVI and Canal Panda
  • Peru: Andina de Television
  • Spain: Antena 3
  • United Kingdom: Toonami and Five
  • United States: ABC Family (JETIX block) and Toon Disney


Movie

Beyblade: The Movie - Fierce Battle is chronologically between second and third TV series, but Daichi appeared in the movie. A new Beyblade team named Shadow Bladers (consisting of new beybladers Steven, Ashley, Daniel, and Henry) was introduced.


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A new Beyblade team named Shadow Bladers (consisting of new beybladers Steven, Ashley, Daniel, and Henry) was introduced. The ethical implications of producing, distributing, or watching fansubs is a topic of much controversy even when fansub groups do not profit from and cease distribution of their work once the series has been licensed. Beyblade: The Movie - Fierce Battle is chronologically between second and third TV series, but Daichi appeared in the movie. Watching subtitled Japanese versions is usually seen as the intended method of watching anime by enthusiasts.
. Although it is a violation of copyright laws in many countries, some fans watch fansubs, recordings of anime series that have been subtitled by fans. In season one the beyblades were drawn by hand only, but in seasons two and three they were brought to life with a mix of drawings and CGI. DVD releases often include both the dubbed audio and the original Japanese audio with subtitles, are typically unedited, and lack commercials.

The Japanese names for each season have been put in the brackets. For the fans who may object to the editing and dubbing of anime, DVDs may be their preference. Beyblade has a total of 3 seasons with about 51 episodes in each. The anime may also be edited to alter cultural references that may not be understood by a non-Japanese person and companies may remove what may be perceived as objectionable content.
. Licensed anime is modified by western distributors through dubbing into the language of the country. The most notable of the changes include:. Anime is available outside of Japan in localized form, referred to as licensed anime or Dubs.

Arriving in United States, Beyblade was significantly changed by Nelvana. Prequels and alternate stories are commonly adapted from the original. However, as is the case with many video games based on licensed properties these games have been critically panned. Not all successors to an anime are a sequel to the original story. There have also been several video games based on the show, spanning the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation and GameCube. Originally an OVA, it spawned three movies, three television series, and several spinoff titles and specials. In Singapore, it is published in English by Chuang Yi. A good example is Tenchi Muyo!.

The Beyblade manga, made by Takao Aoki, is published in English in North America by VIZ Media and keeps its original right to left format, though names are changed to match the English anime version. A title that starts as a popular television series might then have a movie produced at a later date. The Beyblade anime is licensed by Nelvana in North America. It is very common for one title to spawn several different releases. The protagonist team, the Blade Breakers, includes Takao Kinomiya (Tyson Granger in the dubbed English version), Kai Hiwatari, Max Mizuhara (Max Tate), Rei Kon (Ray Kon/Ray Kong), and Kyouju (Kenny) who battle it out against teams across the globe to be the world's best beybladers. Most anime can be categorized as one of three types:. The show focuses on the battles between beyblading teams. Many non-Japanese cartoons are starting to incorporate mainstream anime shortcuts and symbols to appeal to anime's tremendously growing fanbase and cut costs.

In anime and manga, the story is about a group of children battling with highly powerful spinning tops enchanted with sacred 'bit beasts' or spirits of mythical and powerful creatures. This approach combined with Otsuka's "money shots" make key animators important individuals in the style and production of an anime film. For head-to-head battle between 2 RC tops, 2 RC launchers with separate frequencies are required. The Hakkenden is particularly extreme, showing constantly shifting styles of animation based upon the key animator that worked on that particular episode. Like the TV show, some Beyblade tops can be controlled after they are launched. The most extreme examples of this can be found in Mindgame or The Hakkenden. Here is information on the details of Beyblades the toys:. In Japan starting with the animation director Yoshinori Kanada (as a means to save time and money) each animator brings his/her own style to the work.

. In most animation produced around the world animators are all forced to conform to a set style by the director or animation director. In the basic rules of the game, one player wins by knocking the competitor's beyblade out of a dish (commonly called a Beystadium) or to outspin the competing top(s). Another unique aspect of anime not found in other commercial animation markets is the lack of a directoral system. In 2002, Hasbro produced Beyblade based on the corresponding anime TV series. In contrast, titles such as Only Yesterday, a film by Isao Takahata, take a much more realistic approach, and feature no stylistic exaggerations.
Beyblade (ベイブレード Beiburēdo) is a spinning top toy produced by Takara starting in 1999/7. Some titles make extensive use of common stylization: FLCL, for example, is known for its wild, exaggerated, stylization.

United States: ABC Family (JETIX block) and Toon Disney. The degree of stylization varies from title to title. United Kingdom: Toonami and Five. Embarrassed characters will invariably produce a massive sweat-drop, which has become something of a stereotype of anime. Spain: Antena 3. Male characters will develop a bloody nose around their female love interests (typically to indicate arousal) -- this is supposedly due to blood rushing to the face in an exaggerated blush. Peru: Andina de Television. Angry women will sometimes summon a mallet from nowhere and strike someone with it, leading to the concept of Hammerspace.

Portugal: TVI and Canal Panda. Angry characters may exhibit a "vein" or "stressmark" effect, where lines representing bulging veins will appear on their forehead. Poland: Jetix (and some time ago, Polsat, but not any more.). Other stylistic elements are common as well; often in comedic anime, characters that are shocked or surprised will perform a "face fault", in which they display an extremely exaggerated expression. Philippines: ABS-CBN, HERO TV. Another variation of this style is "chibi" or "super deformed"; which usually feature huge eyes, an enlarged head, and small body. Pakistan: Cartoon Network Pakistan. Indeed, through Ribbon no Kishi, Tezuka set a stylistic template that later shōjo artists tended to follow.

Norway: TV2. [1] When Tezuka began drawing Ribbon no Kishi, the first manga specifically targeted at young girls, Tezuka further exaggerated the size of the characters' eyes. New Zealand: TV2. Cultural anthropologist Matt Thorn argues that Japanese animators and audiences do not perceive them as inherently more or less foreign. Mexico: Canal 5 XHGC(Televisa). Some Western audiences have interpreted such stylized eyes as more Caucasian. Korea: SBS (Korea) (hangul:탑 블레이드, Top Blade). Tezuka found that large eyes allowed his characters to better express their emotions.

Japan: TV Tokyo. The most common is the large eyes style drawn on many anime characters, common mainly due to the influence of Osamu Tezuka, who was inspired by the exaggerated features of Western cartoon characters such as Betty Boop and Mickey Mouse and from Disney's Bambi. Ireland: RTÉ Two (The Den block). Some examples have become so common that they are often described as being definitive of anime in general, and have been given names of their own. India: Cartoon Network (Toonami block). While different titles and different artists have their own unique artistic styles, many stylistic elements have become extremely common. Finland: Nelonen. Some higher-budgeted television and OVA (Original Video Animation) series also forego the shortcuts found in most other anime.

Estonia: TV3. Other animators like Tatsuyuki Tanaka (in Koji Morimoto's Eternal Family in particular) use squash and stretch, an animation technique not often used by Japanese animators; Tanaka makes other shortcuts to compensate for this. Canada: YTV. Directors such as Hiroyuki Imaishi (Cutey Honey, Dead Leaves) simplify backgrounds so that more attention can be paid to character animation. Brazil: Jetix (and some time ago, Globo(TV Xuxa's block), but not any more.). Some animators in Japan overcome production values by utilizing different techniques than the Disney or the old Tezuka/Otsuka methods of animating anime. Australia: Cheez TV. These movies have much higher production values, due to their anticipated success at the box office.

Beyblade G-Revolution. Exceptions to these rules are early classic films, such as those produced by Toei Animation up until the mid 1960s, and recent big budget films, such as those produced by the enormously successful Studio Ghibli. Beyblade V-Force. Animator Yasuo Otsuka was the pioneer of this technique. Beyblade. These are commonly referred to as "money shots" outside of Japan, where more effort is put into the animation of one scene to give it emphasis over the rest of the work. In the conclusion of G-Revolution,Beyblade's last season,the original version contained some images showing all the characters that ever made an important appearence,like those in V-Force and those who didn't returned in G-Revolution.For some reason,Nelvana censored the images,although they were nothing but images showing all the characters. There are often scenes where the frame rate of the animation far exceeds the quality of the rest of the production.

Every episode and season had its title changed from its Japanese counterpart, except for the third season's title (G-Revoluton). (See also limited animation.). Elements of the dialogue were also changed, sometimes leading to incongruity between the dialogue and what happens onscreen. The overall effect of these techniques, such as reduced frame rate, several still shots and scrolling backgrounds, has led some critics to accuse anime of choppiness or poor quality in general. An image and name of the bit beast also appears. Anime studios have since perfected techniques to draw as little new animation as possible, using scrolling or repeating backgrounds, still shots of characters sliding across the screen, and dialogue which involves only animating mouths while the rest of the screen remains absolutely still, a technique not wholly unfamiliar to Western animation. Then it shows an image of the blader, his/her attack, defense and endurance points, name and special attack. This was intended to be a temporary measure to allow him to produce one episode every week with an inexperienced animation staff.

First, it shows the stadium, in different angles, with its name. Osamu Tezuka adapted and simplified many Disney animation precepts to reduce the budget costs and number of frames in the production, though it should be noted that Disney films made in the west are not anime. Before every official fight, a small scene talking about the bladers and the stadium appears. This may be due to a philosophy of applying more effort into each of a few drawings than less effort into one of many. Originally, in the Japanese version, she couldn't speak, but somehow she existed. The drawing style used in anime is counter productive to the animation process, having far too many details and subsequently making it difficult to keep the number of drawings comparable to other cartoons with design ethics that stress simplicity. She did not appear in the third season. Another type of Anime CDs release are Drama CD, featuring songs and tracks which makes use of the seiyū to tell a story, often not included in the main anime.

It was said in the dub version that she accidentally entered his laptop causing her to speak. Despite the word "image" in the CD's name, it only contains music and/or "voice messages" (where the seiyū talks with the audience or about herself), making the listener think that the character him/herself is singing. Kenny's "bitbeast", Dizzi, was added for comic relief during the first two seasons. In addition to the themes, the seiyū for a specific anime also frequently releases CD for their character, called Image Albums. AJ Topper and Brad Best were added to make comments about the tournaments; these were originally only made by DJ Jazzman. Opening and ending themes, as well as insert songs, are frequently performed by popular musicians or Japanese idols, so in this way, songs become a very important component of an anime program. Nelvana must have been very confused to believe that V was 5 in Roman numerals. ED) often make commentary about the plot or the program as a whole, and are often times used to highlight a particularly important scene.

In V-Force, Ray's first new beyblade was called Driger 5, but its original name is Driger V. Insert songs and ending songs (abbr. Some scenes considered inappropriate for children were cut, although Beyblade was not originally designed with only younger viewers in mind. The theme song (also referred to as the Opening song or abbreviated as OP) usually matches the overall tone of the show, and serves to get the viewer excited about the upcoming program. Logos originally displayed in Japanese were redesigned in English. BGM is used to set the tone of a given scene, for example Neon Genesis Evangelion 's "Decisive Battle" is played when the characters are making battle preparations and it features heavy drum beats and a militaristic style which highlights the tension of the scene and hints at the action to follow. There wasn't any original Japanese soundtrack remaining. The most frequent use of music in Anime is background music or BGM.

Instrumental soundtracks were changed to pop-punk style music, with lyrics. Anime series with opening credits use the opening theme song as a quick introduction to the show. Several characters' names were changed, many characters having their Japanese names changed to English alternatives (presumably more American). Skilled BGM composers are highly respected in the anime fan community. New intro/opening sequences. It is for this reason that anime music is often composed and performed by 'A-list' musicians, stars, and composers. Beyblade list. Anime soundtracks are big business in Japan, and are often times met with similar demand as chart topping pop albums.

Hard metal system. Much like western live-action cinema, anime uses music as an important artistic tool. Engine Gear. Hanaukyo Maid Team is based on the French maid fantasy. Magnacore system. Ashita No Joe is about boxing. Basic system. For example, Initial D and éX-Driver concern street racing and car tuning.

Some anime titles are written for a very specific audience, even narrower than those described above. Genres and designations that are specific to anime and manga:. The same can be applied to a romance themed anime in that it may involve a strong action element. It is not uncommon for a strongly action themed anime to also involve humor, romance, and even poignant social commentary.

A show may have a seemingly simple surface plot, but at the same time may feature a far more complex, deeper storyline and character development. This can make categorizing some titles very difficult. Most anime includes content from several different genres, as well as a variety of thematic elements. Such genres include adventure, science fiction, children's stories, romance, medieval fantasy, erotica (hentai), occult/horror, action, and drama.

Anime has many genres, with as many as traditional, live action cinema. Anime features a wide variety of artistic styles which vary from artist to artist and is characterized by stark, colorful graphics and stylized, colorful images depicting vibrant characters in a variety of different settings and storylines, aimed at a wide range of audiences. This term is much more common in Europe since Manga Entertainment started out in the UK. An alternate explanation is that it is due to the prominence of Manga Entertainment, a distributor of anime to the US and UK markets.

Among English speakers, manga usually has the stricter meaning of "Japanese comics". In Japan, manga can refer to both animation and comics (although the use of "manga" to refer to animation is mostly restricted to non-fans). In more recent years, anime has also frequently been referred to as manga in Europe, a practice that may stem from the Japanese usage. Since anime or animeshon is used to describe all forms of animation, Japanimation is meant to distinguish Japanese work from that of the rest of the world.

The term Japanimation is much more commonly used in Japan to refer to domestic animation. In general, the term now only appears in nostalgic contexts. The term survived at least into the early 1990s but seemed to fade away shortly before the mid-1990s anime resurgence. It saw the most usage during the 1970s and 1980s, which broadly comprise the first and second waves of anime fandom.

Anime is sometimes referred to by the portmanteau Japanimation, but this term has fallen into disuse. Anime can be used as a common noun, "Do you watch anime?", as a mass noun, "How much anime have you collected" or as a suppletive adjective, "The anime Guyver is different from the movie Guyver". Hence, the pronunciations "ah NEEM" and "uh NEEM" are generally considered incorrect. As with a few other Japanese words such as Pokémon and Kobo Abé, anime is sometimes spelled as animé in English with an acute accent over the final e to cue the reader that the letter is pronounced as [e].

Some theorize the word comes from the French animé ("animated") or "les dessins animés" (animated drawings) and pronounce it as "ah nee MAY", though the Japanese themselves deny this theory, and the fact that it is written in Japanese syllables as アニメ (anime) rather than アニメイ (animei) further lowers its credibility. The English word anime is a transliteration of the abbreviated version of this Japanese term, and it is typically pronounced as /ˈænɪˌmei/, or "ANN ih may" ("AH nee may" is a less common variant). The term is a broad one, and does not specify an animation's nation of origin or style. Both the original and abbreviated forms are valid and interchangeable in Japanese, but as could be expected the abbreviated form is more commonly used.

It is a direct transliteration and reborrowed loanword of the English term "animation." The Japanese term is abbreviated as アニメ (anime, pronounced: /ɑnimɛ/ ). The Japanese term for animation is アニメーション (animēshon, pronounced: /ɑnimɛːʃɔn/), written in katakana. The 1990s and 2000s saw an increased acceptance of anime in overseas markets. In the 1980s, anime was accepted in the mainstream in Japan, and experienced a boom in production.

During the 1970s, anime developed further, separating itself from its Western roots, and developing unique genres such as mecha. The history of anime begins at the start of the 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques that were being explored in the West.
. .

Anime may also be adapted into live action television programs. Anime is often influenced by Japanese comics known as manga. Anime may be broadcast on television, distributed on media, such as DVDs, or published as console and computer games. Anime is aimed at a broad range of audiences because there are a wide range of different genres that any series may be categorised under.

Storylines may feature a variety of characters and may be set in different locations and in different eras. Anime is characterized by character and background styles which may be created by hand or may be assisted by computers. Anime (アニメ) is a style of animation originating in Japan. Opening credits, closing credits, and eyecatches may sometimes be found in OVA releases, but not universally.

Popular OVA titles include FLCL, Bubblegum Crisis, and Tenchi Muyo!. Titles often have a very regular, continuous plot best enjoyed if all episodes are viewed in sequence. As a general rule OVA anime tends to be of high quality, approaching that of films. They are most commonly released directly to video.

OVAs are typically two to twenty episodes in length; one-shots are particularly short, usually less than film-length. OVA (Original Video Animation; sometimes OAV, or Original Animated Video) anime is often similar to a television miniseries. "Eyecatch" scenes are often found in TV series anime and are generally similar throughout the series. Most TV series anime episodes will have opening credits, closing credits, and often an "eyecatch", a very short scene, often humorous or silly, that is used to signal the start or end of the commercial break (as "bumpers" in the United States are used in a similar fashion).

One full season is 26 episodes, and many titles run half seasons, or 13 episodes. Most episodes are about 23 minutes in length, to fill a typical thirty-minute time slot with added commercials. Television series are generally low quality compared to OVA (Original Video Animation) and film titles, because the production budget is spread out over many episodes rather than a single film or a short series. Television series anime is syndicated and broadcast on television on a regular schedule.

There are also theatrical shorts derived from existing televisions series and billed in Japanese theaters together to form feature-length showing. These may, however, be longer than the average movie. Other types of films include compilation movies, which are television episodes edited together and presented in theaters for various reasons, and are hence a concentrated form of a television serial. Some examples of these are Winter Days, and Osamu Tezuka's Legend of the Forest.

Some anime films are only released at film or animation festivals and are shorter and sometimes lower in production values. Popular anime movies include Akira, and Spirited Away. Films, which are generally released in theaters, represent the highest budgets and generally the highest video quality. An example of this style is Gravitation.

This term is being phased out in Japan due to references to pedophilia, and is being replaced by the term "Boys Love" (BL). Shōnen-ai: Japanese for 'boy-love', refers to anime or manga that focus on love and romance between male characters. Shōnen: Japanese for 'boys', refers to anime or manga targeted at boys, for example Dragon Ball Z. Shōjo-ai: Japanese for 'girl-love', refers to anime or manga that focus on love and romance between female characters, for example Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Mahō Shōjo: Subgenre of Shoujo known for 'Magical Girl' stories, for example Sailor Moon. Shōjo: Japanese for 'young lady' or 'little girl', refers to anime or manga targeted at girls, for example Fruits Basket.

    . Sentai/Super Sentai: Literally "fighting team" in Japanese, refers to any show that involves a superhero team, for example Cyborg 009. Seinen: Anime or manga similar to Shōjo, but targeted at teenage or young male adults, for example Oh My Goddess!.

    Progressive: "Art films" or extremely stylized anime, for example Voices of a Distant Star. Moé: Anime or manga featuring characters that are extremely perky or cute, for example Little Snow Fairy Sugar. Mecha: Anime or manga featuring giant robots, example Mobile Suit Gundam. Kodomo: Japanese for 'child', this is anime or manga that is aimed at young children, for example Doraemon.

    Josei: Japanese for 'young woman', this is anime or manga that is aimed at young women, and is one of the rarest forms. However, in Japan the term used to refer to the same material is typically Poruno or Ero. Hentai: Japanese for 'abnormal' or 'perverted', and used by Western Audiences to refer to pornographic anime or erotica. Contains mild sexual humor, for example Love Hina.

    Ecchi: Japanese for 'indecent sexuality'. Bishōnen: Japanese for 'beautiful boy' blanket term that can be used to describe any anime that features "pretty" and elegant boys and men, for example Fushigi Yugi. Bishōjo: Japanese for 'beautiful girl', blanket term that can be used to describe any anime that features pretty girl characters, for example Magic Knight Rayearth.