Bakugan Battle Brawlers: The Battle Begins!

Pikachu! I choose-- No, wait... I summon Obelisk the Torme-- No... All these shounen battle game titles are starting to blur together. For now, let's talk about Bakugan Battle Brawlers. As with all these shounen battle game titles, it's all about the merchandising. The game, the anime, the toys...but now Del Rey brings us a cleverly designed graphic novel based on the Bakugan television series. The story follows young Dan as he and the rest of those darn kids today are swept up in the latest fad, a game called Bakugan. One day, cards started raining down from the sky, all over the world. People used the cards to design a game where they use elementally based balls that transform into monsters to duke it out. The game itself requires a little bit of math and strategy, much like Pokémon meets Yugi-Oh, but the reader can just follow along for now seeing as how the comic doesn't fully explain how the game works in this first episode. It almost feels as if this isn't the first episode at all, but it's actually picking up partway through the season. Even so, it's still easy to follow. Bakugan isn't just a game. What the players don't realize is that these other worlds where their toy monsters come from actually exist in another universe. The fate of these worlds lie in the hands of the players, especially the anticlimactically named Dan, for a reason to be explained later...hopefully. The evil Naga attempted to seize ultimate power but failed, which threw the balancing forces of the universe into upset. Now the six elemental worlds are open to each other, setting the darkness world Darkus on the offensive. A Darkus Bakugan breaks through to Pyrus, the fire world, and attacks Drago the red dragon. Their battle bleeds into Dan's world, and Drago ends up as Dan's new ally (read: plastic ball that sits in a box with the other plastic balls). Del Rey took screen shots and dialogue from the anime and assembled them into graphic-novel form. This technique retains the vivid colors and original artwork. Even the script is almost identical to the English dub. The book appears to have fewer edits than the TV series; however, it's always a little difficult to follow the action when it's not in motion. The comic is not an originally drawn book, which might have made the action a little bit easier to follow. To make up for this, the action is narrated, which helps but feels a little patronizing at times. Bakugan is a quick read and clearly aimed at young kids. It's nice to give them the option to read the same story in addition to watching it on television. It may not be particularly clever or original, but the sci-fi element of saving the alternate dimension makes it a fun and adventurous read. For an older child or teen looking for a similar series, something a bit more mature like Yugi-Oh might be a better choice. -- Courtney Kraft

This book has a nice guide for characters in the beginning. Story moves fast, but drops too many details at times.

The popular TV show/battle game comes to print via Random House and the Cartoon Network. The Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Dan, Runo, Marucho, Julie, Shun, and Alice take on a battle far bigger than they first imagine. With the falling of the Bakugan cards, and the discovery that the throwing down of the cards unleashes a violent battle in two dimensions, a new game, Bakugan is created. Little do they know that more than a `game' is being played, and the appearance of their Bakugan unleashes forces in Vestroia, an alternate dimension. There, a power struggle between the six elements, Aquos, subterra, Haos, Ventus, Pyrus, and Darkus rages. The opening of a portal during a bakugan match on earth between Shuji and Dan corresponds to the escape of Naaga and a fate he cannot escape. With images taken from the Nelvana production, Battle Brawlers is a great introduction to the world of Bakugan. The images are well chosen, and the resulting book is easy to follow and understand. I have watched bits and pieces of episodes, never understanding exactly what the show was about. With this `Bakugan Begins' episode, I know more. For the bakugan fan in your family, Let the battle begin. Tim Lasiuta