This show had potential to be as great as any other Beyblade series. The villains had personality and the plan at the end was mind blowing. However, our heroes are bland and the plot doesn't seem very though-out until the end. And even at the end, several events still don't make much sense.
Characters: our heroes are Sho, Jin, Leon, Covey, Marche, and Nicole. Most are pretty boring, stock shonen protagonists. The exception is Leon, who isn't much better. Our villains in this series consist of Ryan, Matthew, Lucy, Odin, Glen, David, Gigante, Jake, and Sting. Most of the conflict I was invested in wasn't heroes vs villains, it was villains vs villains. Sting's and Glen's trauma and recovery made for a better story than anything the heroes did, and in a way, the heroes caused said trauma in the first place. Jake stole every scene he was in. The villains didn't get enough screen time though. We ended up with portions of great story arcs instead of a full series of them.
Plot: it's strange. We start at the world championship finals. Sho vs Jin. Sho wins, claiming his second title and becoming Team Estrella's best wheeler. Team Estrella is currently comprised of Sho, Jin, and Leon. And a member of the team has won the world championship for 3 straight years now. Suddenly, the Dominators start terrorizing the streets, and Team Estrella tried to protect people. The Dominators challenge Team Estrella to a tournament, where there will be 4 1v1 matches and one 2v2. Each team will have 6 wheelers and whoever Wong 3 out of 5 matches wins. If the Dominators win, Estrella must stop their attempts at defeating the Dominators, and if Estrella wins, the Dominators must leave Destection City. Sho, Jin, and Leon recruit Covey, Nicole, and Marche to be a part of their team. At the tournament (called Judgement Bey, love the name) Team Estrella wins the 5th match, claiming its 3rd win. Ryan then reveals he was the behind the Dominators' attacks, and that he organized this tournament in order to find strong wheelers that could help him open a gate to another dimension. He says that when he was younger, he found the gate but when he tried opening it, his hand was scarred and he could no longer launch, making him retire. Because of this, he needed other wheelers to open the gate for him. Sho nearly accepts, until he finds out Ryan is attempting to take over the other world. Battles ensue as Estrella tries getting to the gate before the Dominators open it. As Estrella gets closer, Ryan tries using a mechanical hand to launch and it works. Ryan beats Odin when he turns on Ryan, and the final battle is Sho bs Ryan. Ryan is defeated, but the gate does open. This leads into season 2, Beyraiderz.
Action: Can't say I'm disappointed. Despite the battles being between wheels, there was emotion tied to them as well as captivating visuals. Probably the best part of this series. Moments like Herculeo setting itself on fire, Fireblaze and Destroyer causing a landslide were cool to watch. The final battle between Pegasus and Kerbecs was very well made and had great music
Overall: the blandness of our heroes drags this score from probably a 9 or 10 down to a 6. Jake, Sting, Gigante, and pretty much every character except for our heroes, Matthew, and Lucy were strong enough to carry their own story. Jake managed such a strong characterization with so little screen time I can't help but think what could happen if he got more. But we didn't get more.
Characters: our heroes are Sho, Jin, Leon, Covey, Marche, and Nicole. Most are pretty boring, stock shonen protagonists. The exception is Leon, who isn't much better. Our villains in this series consist of Ryan, Matthew, Lucy, Odin, Glen, David, Gigante, Jake, and Sting. Most of the conflict I was invested in wasn't heroes vs villains, it was villains vs villains. Sting's and Glen's trauma and recovery made for a better story than anything the heroes did, and in a way, the heroes caused said trauma in the first place. Jake stole every scene he was in. The villains didn't get enough screen time though. We ended up with portions of great story arcs instead of a full series of them.
Plot: it's strange. We start at the world championship finals. Sho vs Jin. Sho wins, claiming his second title and becoming Team Estrella's best wheeler. Team Estrella is currently comprised of Sho, Jin, and Leon. And a member of the team has won the world championship for 3 straight years now. Suddenly, the Dominators start terrorizing the streets, and Team Estrella tried to protect people. The Dominators challenge Team Estrella to a tournament, where there will be 4 1v1 matches and one 2v2. Each team will have 6 wheelers and whoever Wong 3 out of 5 matches wins. If the Dominators win, Estrella must stop their attempts at defeating the Dominators, and if Estrella wins, the Dominators must leave Destection City. Sho, Jin, and Leon recruit Covey, Nicole, and Marche to be a part of their team. At the tournament (called Judgement Bey, love the name) Team Estrella wins the 5th match, claiming its 3rd win. Ryan then reveals he was the behind the Dominators' attacks, and that he organized this tournament in order to find strong wheelers that could help him open a gate to another dimension. He says that when he was younger, he found the gate but when he tried opening it, his hand was scarred and he could no longer launch, making him retire. Because of this, he needed other wheelers to open the gate for him. Sho nearly accepts, until he finds out Ryan is attempting to take over the other world. Battles ensue as Estrella tries getting to the gate before the Dominators open it. As Estrella gets closer, Ryan tries using a mechanical hand to launch and it works. Ryan beats Odin when he turns on Ryan, and the final battle is Sho bs Ryan. Ryan is defeated, but the gate does open. This leads into season 2, Beyraiderz.
Action: Can't say I'm disappointed. Despite the battles being between wheels, there was emotion tied to them as well as captivating visuals. Probably the best part of this series. Moments like Herculeo setting itself on fire, Fireblaze and Destroyer causing a landslide were cool to watch. The final battle between Pegasus and Kerbecs was very well made and had great music
Overall: the blandness of our heroes drags this score from probably a 9 or 10 down to a 6. Jake, Sting, Gigante, and pretty much every character except for our heroes, Matthew, and Lucy were strong enough to carry their own story. Jake managed such a strong characterization with so little screen time I can't help but think what could happen if he got more. But we didn't get more.
