World Beyblade Organization by Fighting Spirits Inc.

(Mar. 19, 2021  12:15 PM)LOL-y Rancher Wrote: [ -> ]Beyblade Burst Sparking - The ENTIRE Season (Anime Review)

Spoiler (Click to View)

Beyblade Burst Sparking is probably the most divisive season of the franchise since 4D/Metal Fury and Chouzetsu/Turbo, and it's not hard to see why. With a season that focuses on a trio of rookies taking down the legends, it's bound to be somewhat controversial with fans of the returning cast.

For me however... it's a season that definitely leaves a lot to be desired. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to like but it's overall a very flawed season to me. The issue I have with this season is that I feel there's not much of a reason to get invested into the story as we aren't really given a reason to (I'll get into that when I talk about the characters), not helping that this show has a handful of fillers which drags the show even more.

The pacing of the season can be a bit too fast, which results in a lot of moments feeling rushed. I know, it's a pretty short season (as short as Zero-G and Gachi) but it feels like the story feels almost static as things just go through the motions. Plus, any potential arcs set up for the characters, more specifically the returning cast, get dropped pretty quickly or don't have the most satisfying payoff.

• For example, what happened to Free's "revenge" against Lean? I'm not expecting Free to defeat Lean obviously (that would be silly), but when it was finally time for the two to duke it out again in episode 45 with Free and Sisco VS Lean and Shu, the battle ended up being too quick and Free never got the chance to even go near Lean as he was too busy dealing with Shu instead (with the latter quickly knocking Fafnir out).
  
• Another example would be Ranjiro. Whilst he did get the badass boost later on in the season, we never got to see him train and get stronger as it's all off screen so it ends up feeling more like "Hey guys, I'm back and I'm stronger than before!". I would've honestly liked to have seen a bit of his progress.
  
• Lui and Drum's friendship, whilst it was very cool to see them both as chums, felt underdeveloped and a bit forced. I know they were the spares out of the Legendary Bladers with dragons and therefore needed someone to pair up with, but I never really got the impression that the two could be friends in such a short time. Yes, Lui was impressed with Drum's fighting prowess in episode 25 and acknowledged him as worthy, but I'm sure he has said that about everyone he deems strong like Valt, Aiga, Free and yet doesn't really attempt to befriend them (merely seeing them as respectable rivals). To be fair, Drum is the sort of person who is centred around the theme of friendship and is good at making friends, but even he took time to truly befriend Delta in Gachi so... The friendship between Lui and Drum was still cool, but I wish we saw more of that.
  

To me, the Legendary Bladers felt like set-dressing and just secondary goals for the main characters to aim when their real goal was to defeat Lean.

Of course, these examples I've listed are about the returning cast and this season isn't about them, which only leaves us with the new cast who will inevitably kick their behinds and become champions. Now personally, I don't mind that the returning cast get their butts kicked by the rookies as it's inevitable anyway, just as long as these new characters are interesting or cool. That's where the season falls a bit short for me. Hyuga, Hikaru and Lean feel rather wasted as characters because whilst they have a lot of potential, there's not a lot about them that stands out and therefore makes a very bland cast of new characters. They're likeable, but lack anything that makes me want to root for them especially outside of just being the protagonists of their season. I'll only talk about the new characters, as there's not much to be said for the returning cast (besides Shu).

• Hyuga - Starting off with the "zoom zoom!" kid himself, Hyuga is another hot-blooded Burst protagonist with a fiery spirit and acts before he thinks, but with one small factor that just makes him a little bit inferior to me. He simply doesn't stand out at all nor does he have anything interesting about him as a character, outside of being the comical idiot which makes him feel very flat and boring. If you take Hikaru out of the equation and leave Hyuga as he is, what does that leave? In my opinion, a very bland protagonist with not much going for him. And yet, the show insists he's the main main protagonist of the show (above Hikaru) because he's the one with the Attack-Type. He does have his moments that show some sort of growth such as growing out of his laziness and becoming less reckless, but I could never get invested in his character because he's uninteresting to me and we're never given a reason to. I'll get more into it, once I finish talking about Hikaru.
  
• Hikaru - Hikaru is a bit more unique than Hyuga, because he's the first protagonist in the franchise who utilises his brain over brawn. I mean Gingka was also knowledgable himself, but Hikaru had more emphasis on his intelligence and analytical skills. There were moments where he felt insecure, especially with Hyuga possessing natural talent and growing faster as a blader compared to him, and those moments made him sympathetic. Unfortunately, he's a bit more underdeveloped as he has to share focus with Hyuga (who gets a bit more in comparison). I would've liked it if he was a standalone main character who was a nerdy fanboy of legends and therefore wanted to live up to them. But sadly, he had to sacrifice his already thinned out screen time with Hyuga, and much like his brother we're not given a reason to root for him outside of being the main character.
  
• Both Hyuga and Hikaru - I know that the theme that defines Hyuga and Hikaru as protagonists are that they're the first duo protagonists in Burst and their focus on teamwork, but that leads me to another point... why are we rooting for them? I've mentioned that we're not given a reason to care about the story, and that's because the show doesn't give us much of a reason to care about why Hyuga and Hikaru deserve to win against the legends, of all characters. All they've done is bicker and go "No, me first!" back and fourth whenever they want to challenge the legends. I mean don't get me wrong, they're likeable as they are and I have no problem with them defeating the legends but what is it about them that we should root for? Because they're the main characters? Why do we want them to defeat the legends? Because the show said so? There's not really an incentive to vote for them over the returning cast because we're never really given one (or at least a good one). The show never gives us a reason as to why we should cheer for them above everyone else. I mean with Valt, we cheered for him because he made a promise to Shu to make it to the finals and in the second season, he had to save Shu from himself. With Aiga, we rooted for him because he was struggling to fight the darkness within and had to stop Phi from causing terror and havoc against bladers. With Drum, he and Team Victories had to stop H.E.L.L from taking over the WBBA and to help Gwyn understand the concept of friendship, giving him a new perspective. But the Asahi brothers? I dunno, there's no goal outside of "I wanna get stronger, because I wanna get stronger". I guess they're the only ones with a big enough flare to take on Lean? No, because Valt managed to defeat him without flare. Because Lean destroyed their beys? No, because Lean also destroyed Ranjiro's bey. Because the Legendary Bladers were mean to them? No, I mean outside of Sisco and Lui, they've all been respectable towards the brothers. The only thing I can think of is to give Lean a reason to continue blading after defeating the legends, since Lean did have that temporary dilemma where he questioned what else is left for him after defeating the legends. Despite my criticisms, I like their teamwork and I enjoy moments where they feel in sync with each other during tag-team battles as they were able to come up with some interesting strategies and great joint special moves..
  
• Gun, Raika and Chuck - Boring superfluous characters. Next.
  
• Lean - A very divisive character in an already divisive season. His detractors hate him because of how easily he schooled the returning cast and accuse him of having too much "plot armor". I personally don't mind that, since he's supposed to be the powerful main antagonist with the same goals as Hyuga and Hikaru. He's supposed to be the parallel of the brothers, a rookie trained under the wing of a Legendary Blader but worked solo instead of as a duo (at least at first). However, much like Hyuga, Lean is a boring character but from the evil side. I like the concept of him being a rookie blader too who eventually was able to surpass everyone including his mentor Shu, but unfortunately it's held back my his lack of personality outside of screaming "take my flare!". He had moments that humanise him outside of that, but they were far and few between as he was mostly a one-note character who was rather flat and we didn't really learn anything interesting about him. There were flashbacks, but they don't really explain much about him as a person. There's not much to him for me. Yeah, he has Harry the Hedgehog but to be honest, I think the only reason for Harry's inclusion is to disguise Lean's lack of character by giving the illusion that he has a softer side because of his fondness of Harry, except Harry doesn't appear much at all and hardly factors into the story or Lean's character growth so... I call it a bust. He does have a bit of development, where he learns to work with Shu more as a team as the series progresses so that's a plus.
  

On a positive note, the battles really were pretty fun. It gave us a lot of variety, whether it was 1v1, battle royales, tag team battles and unlike other seasons, we get quite a lot of each so there's always fun to be had. There were some really cool special moves from the bladers, unique techniques from the characters and the results amongst the Legendary Bladers can be unexpected at times. It's always enjoyable to see how each blader from the highest caliber will be able to deal with each other's skills during battle, as well as how they'll coorporate with each other despite their contrasting skills. It gives us cool joint special moves like "Raging Tempest", "Twin Break Impact" and the one where Ranjiro and Aiga combined "Hyper Tornado" and "Infinte Buster". The different variety of stadiums in this season helps give us some interesting results too.

Not all of it is great though. There were some predictable or boring battles too, as a lot of the results can be extremely predictable and some battles get cut short so we don't get to enjoy the extent of what they could've been (I'm looking at you, Free and Sisco VS Lean and Shu). With that said, the battles were still good.

If there's another thing I can absolutely praise, it's the animation. The animation is some of the best this season, especially the ones in the battles. Aside from being bright, colourful and good lighting, there were always some really fluent animation from the characters whenever they do their battle calls or activate their special moves, and there were also some really good animation from the beys themselves from their fast-paced battles. The effects to make the special moves visually pop with explosive auras and flares that enhance the battles. It's always a visual treat whenever they experiment with different effects for the battles, especially the ones that have the characters create a metaphorical representation during their battles.

However, great battles and stunning animation aside, the season lacked in its story, pacing and characters as well as some wasted ideas. It's sadly the least enjoyable season of Burst for me as a result of these glaring issues. I know it's a toy commercial, but the previous seasons have been able to give us something more interesting and something to follow through. And that's why I think the season is heavily flawed and leaves a lot to be desired. It's not horrible and younger kids might enjoy this one, but for me it's definitely a disappointing season that's mostly hit-or-miss with great ideas but lackluster execution.

(Mar. 19, 2021  12:31 PM)Limetka Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 19, 2021  12:15 PM)LOL-y Rancher Wrote: [ -> ]Beyblade Burst Sparking - The ENTIRE Season (Anime Review)

Spoiler (Click to View)

Beyblade Burst Sparking is probably the most divisive season of the franchise since 4D/Metal Fury and Chouzetsu/Turbo, and it's not hard to see why. With a season that focuses on a trio of rookies taking down the legends, it's bound to be somewhat controversial with fans of the returning cast.

For me however... it's a season that definitely leaves a lot to be desired. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to like but it's overall a very flawed season to me. The issue I have with this season is that I feel there's not much of a reason to get invested into the story as we aren't really given a reason to (I'll get into that when I talk about the characters), not helping that this show has a handful of fillers which drags the show even more.

The pacing of the season can be a bit too fast, which results in a lot of moments feeling rushed. I know, it's a pretty short season (as short as Zero-G and Gachi) but it feels like the story feels almost static as things just go through the motions. Plus, any potential arcs set up for the characters, more specifically the returning cast, get dropped pretty quickly or don't have the most satisfying payoff.

• For example, what happened to Free's "revenge" against Lean? I'm not expecting Free to defeat Lean obviously (that would be silly), but when it was finally time for the two to duke it out again in episode 45 with Free and Sisco VS Lean and Shu, the battle ended up being too quick and Free never got the chance to even go near Lean as he was too busy dealing with Shu instead (with the latter quickly knocking Fafnir out).
  
• Another example would be Ranjiro. Whilst he did get the badass boost later on in the season, we never got to see him train and get stronger as it's all off screen so it ends up feeling more like "Hey guys, I'm back and I'm stronger than before!". I would've honestly liked to have seen a bit of his progress.
  
• Lui and Drum's friendship, whilst it was very cool to see them both as chums, felt underdeveloped and a bit forced. I know they were the spares out of the Legendary Bladers with dragons and therefore needed someone to pair up with, but I never really got the impression that the two could be friends in such a short time. Yes, Lui was impressed with Drum's fighting prowess in episode 25 and acknowledged him as worthy, but I'm sure he has said that about everyone he deems strong like Valt, Aiga, Free and yet doesn't really attempt to befriend them (merely seeing them as respectable rivals). To be fair, Drum is the sort of person who is centred around the theme of friendship and is good at making friends, but even he took time to truly befriend Delta in Gachi so... The friendship between Lui and Drum was still cool, but I wish we saw more of that.
  

To me, the Legendary Bladers felt like set-dressing and just secondary goals for the main characters to aim when their real goal was to defeat Lean.

Of course, these examples I've listed are about the returning cast and this season isn't about them, which only leaves us with the new cast who will inevitably kick their behinds and become champions. Now personally, I don't mind that the returning cast get their butts kicked by the rookies as it's inevitable anyway, just as long as these new characters are interesting or cool. That's where the season falls a bit short for me. Hyuga, Hikaru and Lean feel rather wasted as characters because whilst they have a lot of potential, there's not a lot about them that stands out and therefore makes a very bland cast of new characters. They're likeable, but lack anything that makes me want to root for them especially outside of just being the protagonists of their season. I'll only talk about the new characters, as there's not much to be said for the returning cast (besides Shu).

• Hyuga - Starting off with the "zoom zoom!" kid himself, Hyuga is another hot-blooded Burst protagonist with a fiery spirit and acts before he thinks, but with one small factor that just makes him a little bit inferior to me. He simply doesn't stand out at all nor does he have anything interesting about him as a character, outside of being the comical idiot which makes him feel very flat and boring. If you take Hikaru out of the equation and leave Hyuga as he is, what does that leave? In my opinion, a very bland protagonist with not much going for him. And yet, the show insists he's the main main protagonist of the show (above Hikaru) because he's the one with the Attack-Type. He does have his moments that show some sort of growth such as growing out of his laziness and becoming less reckless, but I could never get invested in his character because he's uninteresting to me and we're never given a reason to. I'll get more into it, once I finish talking about Hikaru.
  
• Hikaru - Hikaru is a bit more unique than Hyuga, because he's the first protagonist in the franchise who utilises his brain over brawn. I mean Gingka was also knowledgable himself, but Hikaru had more emphasis on his intelligence and analytical skills. There were moments where he felt insecure, especially with Hyuga possessing natural talent and growing faster as a blader compared to him, and those moments made him sympathetic. Unfortunately, he's a bit more underdeveloped as he has to share focus with Hyuga (who gets a bit more in comparison). I would've liked it if he was a standalone main character who was a nerdy fanboy of legends and therefore wanted to live up to them. But sadly, he had to sacrifice his already thinned out screen time with Hyuga, and much like his brother we're not given a reason to root for him outside of being the main character.
  
• Both Hyuga and Hikaru - I know that the theme that defines Hyuga and Hikaru as protagonists are that they're the first duo protagonists in Burst and their focus on teamwork, but that leads me to another point... why are we rooting for them? I've mentioned that we're not given a reason to care about the story, and that's because the show doesn't give us much of a reason to care about why Hyuga and Hikaru deserve to win against the legends, of all characters. All they've done is bicker and go "No, me first!" back and fourth whenever they want to challenge the legends. I mean don't get me wrong, they're likeable as they are and I have no problem with them defeating the legends but what is it about them that we should root for? Because they're the main characters? Why do we want them to defeat the legends? Because the show said so? There's not really an incentive to vote for them over the returning cast because we're never really given one (or at least a good one). The show never gives us a reason as to why we should cheer for them above everyone else. I mean with Valt, we cheered for him because he made a promise to Shu to make it to the finals and in the second season, he had to save Shu from himself. With Aiga, we rooted for him because he was struggling to fight the darkness within and had to stop Phi from causing terror and havoc against bladers. With Drum, he and Team Victories had to stop H.E.L.L from taking over the WBBA and to help Gwyn understand the concept of friendship, giving him a new perspective. But the Asahi brothers? I dunno, there's no goal outside of "I wanna get stronger, because I wanna get stronger". I guess they're the only ones with a big enough flare to take on Lean? No, because Valt managed to defeat him without flare. Because Lean destroyed their beys? No, because Lean also destroyed Ranjiro's bey. Because the Legendary Bladers were mean to them? No, I mean outside of Sisco and Lui, they've all been respectable towards the brothers. The only thing I can think of is to give Lean a reason to continue blading after defeating the legends, since Lean did have that temporary dilemma where he questioned what else is left for him after defeating the legends. Despite my criticisms, I like their teamwork and I enjoy moments where they feel in sync with each other during tag-team battles as they were able to come up with some interesting strategies and great joint special moves..
  
• Gun, Raika and Chuck - Boring superfluous characters. Next.
  
• Lean - A very divisive character in an already divisive season. His detractors hate him because of how easily he schooled the returning cast and accuse him of having too much "plot armor". I personally don't mind that, since he's supposed to be the powerful main antagonist with the same goals as Hyuga and Hikaru. He's supposed to be the parallel of the brothers, a rookie trained under the wing of a Legendary Blader but worked solo instead of as a duo (at least at first). However, much like Hyuga, Lean is a boring character but from the evil side. I like the concept of him being a rookie blader too who eventually was able to surpass everyone including his mentor Shu, but unfortunately it's held back my his lack of personality outside of screaming "take my flare!". He had moments that humanise him outside of that, but they were far and few between as he was mostly a one-note character who was rather flat and we didn't really learn anything interesting about him. There were flashbacks, but they don't really explain much about him as a person. There's not much to him for me. Yeah, he has Harry the Hedgehog but to be honest, I think the only reason for Harry's inclusion is to disguise Lean's lack of character by giving the illusion that he has a softer side because of his fondness of Harry, except Harry doesn't appear much at all and hardly factors into the story or Lean's character growth so... I call it a bust. He does have a bit of development, where he learns to work with Shu more as a team as the series progresses so that's a plus.
  

On a positive note, the battles really were pretty fun. It gave us a lot of variety, whether it was 1v1, battle royales, tag team battles and unlike other seasons, we get quite a lot of each so there's always fun to be had. There were some really cool special moves from the bladers, unique techniques from the characters and the results amongst the Legendary Bladers can be unexpected at times. It's always enjoyable to see how each blader from the highest caliber will be able to deal with each other's skills during battle, as well as how they'll coorporate with each other despite their contrasting skills. It gives us cool joint special moves like "Raging Tempest", "Twin Break Impact" and the one where Ranjiro and Aiga combined "Hyper Tornado" and "Infinte Buster". The different variety of stadiums in this season helps give us some interesting results too.

Not all of it is great though. There were some predictable or boring battles too, as a lot of the results can be extremely predictable and some battles get cut short so we don't get to enjoy the extent of what they could've been (I'm looking at you, Free and Sisco VS Lean and Shu). With that said, the battles were still good.

If there's another thing I can absolutely praise, it's the animation. The animation is some of the best this season, especially the ones in the battles. Aside from being bright, colourful and good lighting, there were always some really fluent animation from the characters whenever they do their battle calls or activate their special moves, and there were also some really good animation from the beys themselves from their fast-paced battles. The effects to make the special moves visually pop with explosive auras and flares that enhance the battles. It's always a visual treat whenever they experiment with different effects for the battles, especially the ones that have the characters create a metaphorical representation during their battles.

However, great battles and stunning animation aside, the season lacked in its story, pacing and characters as well as some wasted ideas. It's sadly the least enjoyable season of Burst for me as a result of these glaring issues. I know it's a toy commercial, but the previous seasons have been able to give us something more interesting and something to follow through. And that's why I think the season is heavily flawed and leaves a lot to be desired. It's not horrible and younger kids might enjoy this one, but for me it's definitely a disappointing season that's mostly hit-or-miss with great ideas but lackluster execution.

How would you improve Drum's and Lui's friendship? For me it was the highlight of the season - characters from different seasons that have never interacted before becoming friends in a season that's supposed to make them do exactly that. None of the other legends really did that (outside of interacting with the brothers), they always just stuck with people they already knew.

(Mar. 20, 2021  8:05 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]

Spoiler (Click to View)

Alright so I’m just some share some umm, “thoughts” about sparking. A lot of the things I’m about to say are things I’ve said before but this is basically my final pitch. The first thing I wanna say is that I think the bar we all set for Sparking was a little too high. As I’ve mentioned a while back, burst has really taken some hits that have reduced the potential it could/can have. The series switched studios, lost a large portion of the cast size and half of its episode time. Now just think about it, you have to make a good series with half the episode and cast size, but the same number of episodes and arcs. Surely, it isn’t going to be easy even if you’re a good writer because you lose more than just your resources, you lose your work ethic. Furthermore, fan service is also a very big factor here because it only increases the potential disappointment. When people see their favourite characters they want to see the best of them and Sparking just didn’t have the tools necessary to provide this. People could never be happy with the series progression because it would have inevitably been either the bros constantly beating the legends (which is what we got) or legends thrashing the bros only to suddenly to lose to them when they get some unexplained amp in their final moments (this was the other route). We also ended up getting all those cramped up “bros vs legends” arcs and those were also a huge problem. Now there is one problem that I think is particularly the biggest problem with fan service, a problem greater than rest the rest. It’s that people want the legends to have more screen time, but the fact of the matter is that they are just recurring characters. When this happens the screen time is torn between the retuning characters and the actual main characters causing a major hole is the progression of the season. The reason for this is that the legends lose despite getting all that extra development while the bros look dumb since they hardly bond of resonate but somehow still win. Don’t believe me? Well how many times did Hyperion and Helios bond, resonate or synergize properly with Hyuga and Hikaru? The answer is: hardly at all and certainly far less than any other protagonist. Sparking was just very experimental with all these weird changes and Hiro Morita/Takara tomy  just didn’t think a lot of the new changes through; having two protagonists won’t work for beyblade just cause it worked for Pokémon, bringing back old characters won’t automatically make people happy, bringing in old characters also doesn’t compensate for the lack of new ones. A lot of those changes all have one thing in common and it’s that they are more opportunistic and half thought out with a lot of risk. Ultimately, Sparking was a concept that was set out to fail but despite that, I do like the creativity, the attempt to please the fans and the openness to certain new concepts. Hopefully, with a more suitable usage and consideration of what they have to work with and a new mindset towards their work ethic, the writers can learn from their mistakes and bring us season with new, but realistic concepts in season 6.

(Mar. 20, 2021  8:05 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]Alright so I’m just some share some umm, “thoughts” about sparking. A lot of the things I’m about to say are things I’ve said before but this is basically my final pitch. The first thing I wanna say is that I think the bar we all set for Sparking was a little too high. As I’ve mentioned a while back, burst has really taken some hits that have reduced the potential it could/can have. The series switched studios, lost a large portion of the cast size and half of its episode time. Now just think about it, you have to make a good series with half the episode and cast size, but the same number of episodes and arcs. Surely, it isn’t going to be easy even if you’re a good writer because you lose more than just your resources, you lose your work ethic. Furthermore, fan service is also a very big factor here because it only increases the potential disappointment. When people see their favourite characters they want to see the best of them and Sparking just didn’t have the tools necessary to provide this. People could never be happy with the series progression because it would have inevitably been either the bros constantly beating the legends (which is what we got) or legends thrashing the bros only to suddenly to lose to them when they get some unexplained amp in their final moments (this was the other route). We also ended up getting all those cramped up “bros vs legends” arcs and those were also a huge problem. Now there is one problem that I think is particularly the biggest problem with fan service, a problem greater than the rest. It’s that people want the legends to have more screen time, but the fact of the matter is that they are just recurring characters. When this happens, the screen time is torn between the retuning characters and the actual main characters causing a major hole in the progression of the season. The reason for this is the legends losing despite getting all that extra development while the bros look dumb since they hardly bond or resonate but somehow still win. Don’t believe me? Well how many times did Hyperion and Helios bond, resonate or synergize properly with Hyuga and Hikaru? The answer is: hardly at all and certainly far less than any other protagonist. Sparking was just very experimental with all these weird changes and Hiro Morita/Takara tomy  just didn’t think a lot of the new changes through; having two protagonists won’t work for beyblade just cause it worked for Pokémon, bringing back old characters won’t automatically make people happy, bringing in old characters also doesn’t compensate for the lack of new ones. A lot of those changes all have one thing in common and it’s that they are more opportunistic and half thought out with a lot of risk. Ultimately, Sparking was a concept that was set out to fail but despite that, I do like the creativity, the attempt to please the fans and the openness to certain new concepts. Hopefully, with a more suitable usage and consideration of what they have to work with and a new mindset towards their work ethic, the writers can learn from their mistakes and bring us a season with new, but realistic ideas in dynamite battle

(Mar. 20, 2021  9:04 PM)LOL-y Rancher Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 20, 2021  8:05 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]

Spoiler (Click to View)

Alright so I’m just some share some umm, “thoughts” about sparking. A lot of the things I’m about to say are things I’ve said before but this is basically my final pitch. The first thing I wanna say is that I think the bar we all set for Sparking was a little too high. As I’ve mentioned a while back, burst has really taken some hits that have reduced the potential it could/can have. The series switched studios, lost a large portion of the cast size and half of its episode time. Now just think about it, you have to make a good series with half the episode and cast size, but the same number of episodes and arcs. Surely, it isn’t going to be easy even if you’re a good writer because you lose more than just your resources, you lose your work ethic. Furthermore, fan service is also a very big factor here because it only increases the potential disappointment. When people see their favourite characters they want to see the best of them and Sparking just didn’t have the tools necessary to provide this. People could never be happy with the series progression because it would have inevitably been either the bros constantly beating the legends (which is what we got) or legends thrashing the bros only to suddenly to lose to them when they get some unexplained amp in their final moments (this was the other route). We also ended up getting all those cramped up “bros vs legends” arcs and those were also a huge problem. Now there is one problem that I think is particularly the biggest problem with fan service, a problem greater than rest the rest. It’s that people want the legends to have more screen time, but the fact of the matter is that they are just recurring characters. When this happens the screen time is torn between the retuning characters and the actual main characters causing a major hole is the progression of the season. The reason for this is that the legends lose despite getting all that extra development while the bros look dumb since they hardly bond of resonate but somehow still win. Don’t believe me? Well how many times did Hyperion and Helios bond, resonate or synergize properly with Hyuga and Hikaru? The answer is: hardly at all and certainly far less than any other protagonist. Sparking was just very experimental with all these weird changes and Hiro Morita/Takara tomy  just didn’t think a lot of the new changes through; having two protagonists won’t work for beyblade just cause it worked for Pokémon, bringing back old characters won’t automatically make people happy, bringing in old characters also doesn’t compensate for the lack of new ones. A lot of those changes all have one thing in common and it’s that they are more opportunistic and half thought out with a lot of risk. Ultimately, Sparking was a concept that was set out to fail but despite that, I do like the creativity, the attempt to please the fans and the openness to certain new concepts. Hopefully, with a more suitable usage and consideration of what they have to work with and a new mindset towards their work ethic, the writers can learn from their mistakes and bring us season with new, but realistic concepts in season 6.

I agree with a lot of points in this review, the series was definitely too ambitious for how little they can afford but the higher expectations for the series definitely adds to this as well. I'd say that having a concept like Sparking is a rather risky one, as they risk disappointing people with any decisions made for the direction of the legends.

Personally, I didn't mind that the Legendary Bladers were defeated by the new characters. It's something that's inevitably going to happen no matter what. My main problems with the new characters are that they aren't given much interesting moments to get invested into them and the biggest crime, not given a reason to care about their goals to defeat the legends outside of being the main characters. If they gave us a reason as to why we should root for them above everyone else, I think I'd like the series more. I know I've complained about the arcs from the legends being rushed as a result of their reduced screentime, but it would've been completely forgivable if the new major characters were at least interesting or well-written (and sadly, they aren't IMO).

To me, this is almost the Beyblade equivalent to Power Rangers Super Megaforce. Not nearly as bad, but it suffers from similar issues. They were both seasons meant to capitalize the fan service by giving us returning faces from the past seasons (in Power Rangers' case, it was it's 20th anniversary) but their reliance on the fan service over story made their seasons dry and they gave less focus on characterization of the new main cast of heroes which results in making them feel empty and wasted.

I can tell that they've tried, especially with a handful of limitations in their way and the pandemic. So I definitely wouldn't say it's a horrible season, just a very flawed one that could've been pretty good.

(Mar. 20, 2021  11:38 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 20, 2021  9:04 PM)LOL-y Rancher Wrote: [ -> ]

Spoiler (Click to View)

I agree with a lot of points in this review, the series was definitely too ambitious for how little they can afford but the higher expectations for the series definitely adds to this as well. I'd say that having a concept like Sparking is a rather risky one, as they risk disappointing people with any decisions made for the direction of the legends.

Personally, I didn't mind that the Legendary Bladers were defeated by the new characters. It's something that's inevitably going to happen no matter what. My main problems with the new characters are that they aren't given much interesting moments to get invested into them and the biggest crime, not given a reason to care about their goals to defeat the legends outside of being the main characters. If they gave us a reason as to why we should root for them above everyone else, I think I'd like the series more. I know I've complained about the arcs from the legends being rushed as a result of their reduced screentime, but it would've been completely forgivable if the new major characters were at least interesting or well-written (and sadly, they aren't IMO).

To me, this is almost the Beyblade equivalent to Power Rangers Super Megaforce. Not nearly as bad, but it suffers from similar issues. They were both seasons meant to capitalize the fan service by giving us returning faces from the past seasons (in Power Rangers' case, it was it's 20th anniversary) but their reliance on the fan service over story made their seasons dry and they gave less focus on characterization of the new main cast of heroes which results in making them feel empty and wasted.

I can tell that they've tried, especially with a handful of limitations in their way and the pandemic. So I definitely wouldn't say it's a horrible season, just a very flawed one that could've been pretty good.

Spoiler (Click to View)

Yeah I definitely agree, I don’t particularly have a problem with legends losing unless it’s because of some dumb occurrence or reason (like Lane’s dumb flare outbursts). I also really agree with the point you made about the writers not really giving us a reason to root for Hyuga and Hikaru. I feel like that really ties into one of the points I made about how Hyuga and Hikaru should have gotten more screen time. You see, the more screen time you have, the more productive your character is expected to be so although it would mean less legend screen time, the audience would grow more fond of Hyuga and Hikaru since they could learn more about them and their goals while coming to accept their ascension over the legends. It would also allow people to better appreciate what we do get from them.

(Mar. 20, 2021  11:38 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 20, 2021  9:04 PM)LOL-y Rancher Wrote: [ -> ]I agree with a lot of points in this review, the series was definitely too ambitious for how little they can afford but the higher expectations for the series definitely adds to this as well. I'd say that having a concept like Sparking is a rather risky one, as they risk disappointing people with any decisions made for the direction of the legends.

Personally, I didn't mind that the Legendary Bladers were defeated by the new characters. It's something that's inevitably going to happen no matter what. My main problems with the new characters are that they aren't given much interesting moments to get invested into them and the biggest crime, not given a reason to care about their goals to defeat the legends outside of being the main characters. If they gave us a reason as to why we should root for them above everyone else, I think I'd like the series more. I know I've complained about the arcs from the legends being rushed as a result of their reduced screentime, but it would've been completely forgivable if the new major characters were at least interesting or well-written (and sadly, they aren't IMO).

To me, this is almost the Beyblade equivalent to Power Rangers Super Megaforce. Not nearly as bad, but it suffers from similar issues. They were both seasons meant to capitalize the fan service by giving us returning faces from the past seasons (in Power Rangers' case, it was it's 20th anniversary) but their reliance on the fan service over story made their seasons dry and they gave less focus on characterization of the new main cast of heroes which results in making them feel empty and wasted.

I can tell that they've tried, especially with a handful of limitations in their way and the pandemic. So I definitely wouldn't say it's a horrible season, just a very flawed one that could've been pretty good.

Yeah I definitely agree, I don’t particularly have a problem with legends losing unless it’s because of some dumb occurrence or reason (like Lane’s dumb flare outbursts). I also really agree with the point you made about the writers not really giving us a reason to root for Hyuga and Hikaru. I feel like that really ties into one of the points I made about how Hyuga and Hikaru should have gotten more screen time. You see, the more screen time you have, the more productive your character is expected to be so although it would mean less legend screen time, the audience would grow more fond of Hyuga and Hikaru since they could learn more about them and their goals while coming to accept their ascension over the legends. It would also allow people to better appreciate what we do get from them.

(Mar. 21, 2021  2:55 AM)Valtryek Aoi Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 20, 2021  11:38 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah I definitely agree, I don’t particularly have a problem with legends losing unless it’s because of some dumb occurrence or reason (like Lane’s dumb flare outbursts). I also really agree with the point you made about the writers not really giving us a reason to root for Hyuga and Hikaru. I feel like that really ties into one of the points I made about how Hyuga and Hikaru should have gotten more screen time. You see, the more screen time you have, the more productive your character is expected to be so although it would mean less legend screen time, the audience would grow more fond of Hyuga and Hikaru since they could learn more about them and their goals while coming to accept their ascension over the legends. It would also allow people to better appreciate what we do get from them.

Also just the battles in general felt skimpy. Many things the legends had or knew in the past were basically disregarded since filler and exposition took up most of the episode. For example, episode 47. When Hyuga and Free were the last two left, it would have been more satisfying to have a clash between Nothing Break and Burning Strike in a fashion similar to their final round of clashes in episode 10. It wouldn't make Free look so bad, but more importantly, it would pay homage to another episode, which did have an important resonance moment.

I know Zeutron dislikes Free, but at least let the legends give it their all and THEN lose. It's annoying to know that a better battle could have been produced.

(Mar. 23, 2021  10:06 PM)KataXHerc Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 22, 2021  2:32 PM)Beyblade8986 Wrote: [ -> ]I'm happy that Sparking end because it was unlucky season for me. I'm sorry but I laugh from Sparking fans. Welcome great DB

I just don't understand from your standpoint how can you blindly call DB great. The anime is not even out, and you are just sightlessly calling it a good season. Superking was better than GT to me. I would probably never watch the burst anime anymore but the products in DB really interests me. I haven't looked at this final episode yet and not will but I heard Lane turned good and HH won (which was expected since the beginning of this arc). It would be a shame to giveaway Superking closure with a title of a glorified GT ending, but it's true. Lane is basically the Gwyn in this season but much better. Anyway, my take on Superking was an average season. I like the take on returning characters but not in a way where they lose to an ignorant antagonist (considering most of them are prestigious top-ranked bladers who lose to a rising blader. It's like saying Pot or Blind defeat Lui, Aiga etc.), get their faces kicked, and are out of the show. It's just a shame that lots of these characters are just present in this season just to be played around and get utterly disrespected most of them are not even returning which just does not feel right to the end of their stories.

(Mar. 23, 2021  10:16 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 23, 2021  10:06 PM)KataXHerc Wrote: [ -> ]I just don't understand from your standpoint how can you blindly call DB great. The anime is not even out, and you are just sightlessly calling it a good season. Superking was better than GT to me. I would probably never watch the burst anime anymore but the products in DB really interests me. I haven't looked at this final episode yet and not will but I heard Lane turned good and HH won (which was expected since the beginning of this arc). It would be a shame to giveaway Superking closure with a title of a glorified GT ending, but it's true. Lane is basically the Gwyn in this season but much better. Anyway, my take on Superking was an average season. I like the take on returning characters but not in a way where they lose to an ignorant antagonist (considering most of them are prestigious top-ranked bladers who lose to a rising blader. It's like saying Pot or Blind defeat Lui, Aiga etc.), get their faces kicked, and are out of the show. It's just a shame that lots of these characters are just present in this season just to be played around and get utterly disrespected most of them are not even returning which just does not feel right to the end of their stories.

In all honestly, I think you’re freaking out for no reason. English isn’t his/her first/strong language from what I’ve seen and when you take that into consideration, they could have meant a lot of things. Besides, who knows? Maybe they had a good first impression from the trailer and presumed that DB simply looked great for what it currently is, after all, that’s what trailers are for.

(Mar. 23, 2021  10:18 PM)KataXHerc Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 23, 2021  10:16 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]In all honestly, I think you’re freaking out for no reason. English isn’t his/her first/strong language from what I’ve seen and when you take that into consideration, they could have meant a lot of things. Besides, who knows? Maybe they had a good first impression from the trailer and presumed that DB simply looked great for what it currently is, after all, that’s what trailers are for.

Well...I apologize if my reasoning felt "freaking out" to you. Besides anyway, if you like DB that's great. IMO, Bell is nothing but a wannabe edgelord who will arrive in that same Aiga plot capitalize on Shu here, he is there just to do the same thing he has been doing for the last 2 seasons when he appeared.

(Mar. 23, 2021  10:29 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 23, 2021  10:18 PM)KataXHerc Wrote: [ -> ]Well...I apologize if my reasoning felt "freaking out" to you. Besides anyway, if you like DB that's great. IMO, Bell is nothing but a wannabe edgelord who will arrive in that same Aiga plot capitalize on Shu here, he is there just to do the same thing he has been doing for the last 2 seasons when he appeared.

I mean, I think he’s more like an ironic case than an edge lord (based on what the manga implies). 

Also, another thing you mentioned in of your early comments was that y out didn’t like the way legendary bladers were showcased in s5 but  despite the fact that the legendary bladers weren’t treated the greatest, it’s not as bad as you think. Rookies beating top bladers occurs in almost every burst season. It’s not to say that Hyuga and Hikaru got the proper development to back up their claim but at the end of the day, all powerful bladers are always getting punked by rookies. Valt basically beats Lui (would have won if not for that crack) who has won 4 national champions AND been the runner up in every single world championship since it’s formation. He beats Ben Azuki on his first try, and Ben is a top ranking nationalist as well (for Japan). In God, he beats Free, who has been the world champion ever since the very creation of the system (as confirmed by Hiro Morita although this seems like manga canon), Silas who is also a blader known worldwide, Kurt, who is also a former world champion with years of experience and many others. Do I even need to go over Aiga? It seems more like you don’t like characters you’ve become fond of losing.

(Mar. 24, 2021  1:05 AM)Valtryek Aoi Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 23, 2021  10:29 PM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]I mean, I think he’s more like an ironic case than an edge lord (based on what the manga implies). 

Also, another thing you mentioned in of your early comments was that y out didn’t like the way legendary bladers were showcased in s5 but  despite the fact that the legendary bladers weren’t treated the greatest, it’s not as bad as you think. Rookies beating top bladers occurs in almost every burst season. It’s not to say that Hyuga and Hikaru got the proper development to back up their claim but at the end of the day, all powerful bladers are always getting punked by rookies. Valt basically beats Lui (would have won if not for that crack) who has won 4 national champions AND been the runner up in every single world championship since it’s formation. He beats Ben Azuki on his first try, and Ben is a top ranking nationalist as well (for Japan). In God, he beats Free, who has been the world champion ever since the very creation of the system (as confirmed by Hiro Morita although this seems like manga canon), Silas who is also a blader known worldwide, Kurt, who is also a former world champion with years of experience and many others. Do I even need to go over Aiga? It seems more like you don’t like characters you’ve become fond of losing.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, but yeah, rookies beat oldies all the time in this show, even from the most favored characters like Lui, Valt, or Shu. Sure, we have more of a connection to them which is you could believe that they should beat rookies all the time, but it's not like Hikaru and Hyuga didn't train either or do anything new. Personally, their power development wasn't too bad considering the first 20 episodes were dedicated to training and they didn't start making big bank until the Super Tag League.

Whatever, main point is that rookies beating the more experienced is pretty common in Burst.

(Mar. 24, 2021  5:12 AM)Zeutron Wrote: [ -> ]

(Mar. 24, 2021  1:05 AM)Valtryek Aoi Wrote: [ -> ]That's not necessarily a bad thing, but yeah, rookies beat oldies all the time in this show, even from the most favored characters like Lui, Valt, or Shu. Sure, we have more of a connection to them which is you could believe that they should beat rookies all the time, but it's not like Hikaru and Hyuga didn't train either or do anything new. Personally, their power development wasn't too bad considering the first 20 episodes were dedicated to training and they didn't start making big bank until the Super Tag League.

Whatever, main point is that rookies beating the more experienced is pretty common in Burst.

Yes exactly, it’s not really a bad thing. People just hate their fav characters losing, that’s all.