#bakugan analysis

[minty-the-demon]

Something cool I realized is that Masato and McQ had very similar experiences. Both had their dreams crushed by the same person, both have felt like Shun was in the way of their success and both don’t want to be seen as weak.

Masato tried being successful within Kazami International Holdings, but is unable to meet Ichiro Kazami’s (Masato’s uncle and the president of KIH) high standards and he almost gets fired. Ichiro put a lot of pressure on his family to be perfect. Masato has been raised to think there is no room for failure. After his dad got fired from KIH, he started becoming a perfectionist and strived to not be a “loser”. Masato envies Shun because Ichiro is less harsh on him and Shun has a better chance of being the next leader of KIH.

McQ had a successful business selling devices until the KIH sold better devices. McQ’s company is bankrupt and he turns to a life of crime. McQ does have an interest in the popular stuffed animal known as Tumpy, but he hides that interest from strangers and even his own gang. An adult who likes playing with stuffed animals is usually seen as childish by society. McQ likely hides his interest in stuffed animals because he’s afraid of being seen as weak/not manly. Some people try to get others to feel ashamed about their interests or something they can’t control.

Both Masato and McQ have been pressured into not being vulnerable. But Masato went into The Maze (right before he got fired) and stayed there for ten years. He separated himself from his emotionally neglectful uncle and found out there is more to life than being what your family wants you to be, grew closer to Shun and Ichiro and got what he wanted from the beginning (running KIH). McQ hasn’t been so lucky. McQ and Masato both envied Shun and were rivals of his. I really wish Masato and McQ interacted with each other more and became rivals.

[shunsellon]

its so funny how people will fall for bakugan's sympathy for imperialists bait every fucking time lmfao

[marukrawler]

meta masterpost

✨characters✨

alice gehabich's character arc and what masquerade represents

julie hayward and the spicy latina stereotype

lync volan and his one act of selflessness

marucho marukura and the importance of his nickname

mira fermin and why she's worst girl

dan, anubias, noah and the concept of heroism

the sun, the moon, the phoenix, and shun

in defense of sellon

dan and his lacking leadership skills

joe brown and the white ones

dan kuso and why season three was his best season

✨relationships✨

my comprehensive maruren meta

love the music analysis in relation to maruren

maruren scenes comparison (eng sub vs dub)

shunsellon and what makes it appealing

shunsellon (a sub vs dub comparison)

a long post about anudan

my thoughts about specdan

myleneshadow scenes comparison (eng sub vs dub)

my thoughts on renfabia

my thoughts on danruno

danruno and their relationship status throughout the show

✨parallels✨

alice and ren pt 1 and pt 2

hydron and barodius

marucho/ren and julie/billy

ren and marucho

ace and gus

alice gehabich and kageyama "mob" shigeo

ren and killua pt 1 and pt 2

ren and katie pt 1 and pt 2

✨episode specific✨

s3ep17

✨headcanons✨

marucho headcanons

spectra headcanons

maruren headcanons

✨(crack) theories✨

zenoheld is gus' dad

brontes is a reaper/nemus love child pt 1 and pt 2

nurzak and barodius' dad had a situationship

✨miscellaneous✨

what alice's stew means to lync

a deep dive into baron's age

bakugan localization

debunking a maruren post

guessing shun's birthday based off canon

keith and mira's weird vibes (tw incest)

gus and his involvement in the brontes storyline

dan being a shitty friend to shun

the eng dub's worst blunder

why gundalian invaders is better than new vestroia

did all the bakugan move to earth in ms2?

which person is richer: marucho or klaus?

dan, shun and the game rules

my ideas for a s2 rewrite

gundalians and the concept of trust

a rewrite of runo's trial

ms1 and the danger of idolizing your heroes (marucho edition)

[farasen]

what Shows and movies do you think the bunch would be into?

I don't watch too much movies and shows tbh, not the ones I think dwk kids would like at least

Well, Raban seems to love cowboys and robots judging by his room, so I could assume he'd like "Toy Story" lol. I actually think he's a sucker for westerns and space movies, so I think he'd like "Star Wars" and "Transformers". Likes Bakugan and even collected the toys.

Markus appears to me as a film guy. Post-apocalyptic and apocalyptic films specifically. So something like "World War Z" or "A quiet place" would go.

Jojo is secretly a brony idk. I think that he's in general easily falls for cartoons with animals/anthros in it. I get a feeling that he'd watch indie projects simply because he's pure of heart.

Vanessa would watch shows that aren't meant for her age, like "South Park" or "Rick and Morty". Partly because she wants to seem "cool", but she genuinely enjoys them. I also like to think that she likes magical girls shows like "W.I.T.C.H."

All the same for Leon, but he'd also like Superheroes and Ninja Turtles.

Deniz is definitely a mecha boy, so "Transformers" and all that jazz for him. Probably watched some popular anime of the 2000s such as Naruto and Pokemon, later on got invested in Evangelion and Code Geass. Used to like Superheroes too.

Marlon also seems like a live-action series lover to me, but he'd go for either something with adventures or something that dives deep into character analysis. He likes animation too, though. I bet "Treasure Island" changed his brain chemistry.

[whiplashisthinkingaboutbakugan]

I watched Gen 2 Bakugan’s anime because when it was announced I had just reignited my Bakugan hyperfixation.

I had watched the original show when I was soooo tiny, it changed my life forever. When I realized how much it affected me as a person years later, I felt the need to revisit it.

Then I heard they were doing a reboot. I was so curious as to what they’d do. The original show was so pivotal to my development, I wanted to see if that could happen others and if this had the merit the other show did.

I’d say it does. I find Gen 2 lacking in some ways but it’s not like Gen 1 wasn’t. Gen 1 isn’t some untouchable master piece.

I enjoy Gen 1 more because I think it wasn’t afraid to be creative and have an overarching plot. Gen 2 is like it’s more normal younger brother.

I think Magnus and Haavik are great characters that’d fit right in with Gen 1. S1 and Armored Alliance are the best parts of Gen 2 they’re a lot of fun.

I watched Gen 2 as it aired. It’s special to me in a different way than Gen 1 is. This is my way of saying I ate two cakes when offered.

Ehh I'm just not in a place in my life to welcome whatever Gen 3 is. Simply because they changed out my Drago. I'm an old dog you can't teach me new tricks. Don't make my Bakugan beyblades, don't change my Drago.

When it comes to reboots comparison is inevitable but not required. For some people Gen 2 or maybe even Gen 3 is their first Bakugan. It's crazy to think but it's true. Comparison can be an interesting avenue for analysis. But we also gotta respect that these are two different versions of a boys toys concept. It's odd to disavow or hate one for it's differences in content and style because they're essentially new media. I don't think I'll like Gen 3 but that doesn't make it bad I'm just not it's audience. Though make no mistake, this isn't me saying you shouldn't be critical of them. Critiquing media is important, fun, and in some cases educational. Anywho Bakugamers let's be civil about reboots because at this point we have three cakes and while it doesn't matter which ones you eat everyone's eating one of them so be kind to your neighbor.

My Bakugan hyperfixation may ebb and flow but I'm here to stay.

[alizardjae]

Mmmmm brief analysis of battle styles in a show I last watched like 3+ years ago and am not active in the fandom for time!

The first arc of Bakugan Battle Brawlers is the best of the lot not for story or character reasons, but because it's the only season where the attributes are distinct in how they play and not just how they look, giving characters recognizable strategies based on their preferred attribute. And the game has actual rules.

So without further ado, here's my quick notes on the attributes and their season 1 playstyles (in no particular order), from the perspective of someone who has never actually played the game and only half-remembers the show.

Pyrus: Simplest style, mostly based on self-buffing and brute force in one-on-one confrontations

Darkus: Based heavily on ranged or powerful attacks with a cost, such as removing an ally from play to ensure taking down a foe on a different card than the user

Subterra: Based around debuffing or removing the existing buffs of foes, often by destroying or otherwise nullifying gate and ability cards

Aquos: Based on changing the circumstances of the player by changing type, moving their bakugan at play to different cards, or trapping foes on a card the player prefers

Haos: Based on buffing and summoning allies, with some foe-debuffing mixed in

Ventus: Based on moving foe bakugan to different cards in order to force a disadvantageous fight, whether that be due to a more powerful ally existing on the card or the card itself being better for the player than the foe

And that's what I remember, feel free to argue in the tags, comments, or replies, it's more than likely I'm forgetting or misrepresenting something or other, but I wanted to get this off my mind

[shurisu]

Tags

Memes

Gifs

Edits

Mylene&Keith

Baku-Zodiac

Mylene : An Analysis

Bakugan Text Posts

[aether-the-bakugannie]

Introduction Post!

Hi! due to the thievery I committed while choosing my username, I'm Aether.

I'm a Bakugannie with way too many thoughts and theories about this series to the point where I overthink about Bakugan and come up with the most ridiculous analyses.

HOWEVER, no matter how ridiculous they are I will be sharing them because I am a raging fire of ideas that need to be put into comprehendible language so everyone can understand that I do have logic and my theories are not all incoherent 2 am thoughts.

I've watched all seasons of the Bakugan Battle Planet reboot and all there is of Bakugan 2023 so far and I only regret watching Geogan Rising because it SUCKED.

I have quite a few headcanons and ships for the characters in this series which shouldn't come into my theories too much but if they do then you can't say I didn't warn you.

I also talk about the side characters a lot.

If you're a dickhead/creep then get off my fucking blog rn, loser.

If you're a cool person then welcome to hell! I hope you enjoy your stay because there is no escape, you're here and you're stuck here, deal with it bitches, bros and non-binary hoes.

Finally there's a Bakugan fandom discord!! Feel free to message me for an invite if you wanna join, it's called BakuChaos, everyone is super chill and funny there!

That's it from me, see you in a theory/analysis post!

[dranger78official]

my analysis on the beyblade x halloween special

so, beyblade x is gonna end and i predict next week's episode is bird VS ciel. and episode 51? it's a halloween special... i think.

i predict the plot will be more similar to that of the haunted heist and the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon. it's like the bad guys: haunted heist meets the priory of the orange tree with a (little) drizzle of junji ito (i think that would be more likely to be rejected by the beyblade community). i watched the haunted heist trailer and it was amazing, but the bad guys is not my fandom. it inspired me.

so, the plot goes when it's october 30 at x city and team persona are in the halloween shop shopping for costumes. meanwhile, team zooganic are carving pumpkins and setting an event in the lion's jungle, consisting apple bobbing and other halloween activities. then, ichigo announces that there will be a scary story coming at the x tower and both team persona and team zooganic come to the x tower.

then, ichigo tells about the story of a ghost of a gyaru that once owned a mansion with her family. she never won a halloween costume contest a single time (like bird's loss streak). she died on a halloween costume contest and wanted revenge. everyone then screamed, and then, ichigo then explains that they will be having a beybattle\kimodameshi in this house.

as the bladers go into the mansion, they experienced paranormal activity, similar to the ones the bad guys experienced in haunted heist. then, the ghost gyaru in the family photo is GONE, and bird had a nightmare. the dream involved bird being stuck in this mansion and haunted by a shadow version of him. then, bird woke up and it is october 31, still picturing the haunting music in his head.

when halloween night comes, team persona and team zooganic are trick or treating. then, they came to the SAME house as before! then, they meet the ghost gyaru like before. then, multi finds out that burn, zonamos, yuni and the others were ghosts as well. then, team persona and team zooganic tried to fight the ghost gyaru off, but one by one, they become ghosts themselves.

then, there was only bird alone, and he was scared that everyone became ghosts. then, bird tries to attack the ghost bladers and then, ghost toguro said in the voice of sir pentious from hazbin hotel "WHAT is he DOING!?". then, the ghost gyaru merges ALL the ghost bladers and became onryo slash gyaru slash dragon! the ghost gyaru swirled her long body like a chinese dragon rising from the bottom of the ground. then, the gyaru went to attack the city, breathing blue fire like a dragon! then, x city was filled with blue fire and chrome, shiguru and ciel were seen fleeing. then, bird turns around to see that all his friends were actually ALIVE, and they came to fight the ghost attacking the city. ekusu got a rabbit's foot, king carried salt and meiko had ghost repellent. together, they defeated the ghost, which was actually a CGI hologram.

gone wrong.

but then, the gyaru ghost came out from the broken hologram projector, powerless and she said in the voice of nillious from bakugan gen 3 if he was one of the girls from any precure anime "if i can't take you all down, i will take you guys down one by one, STARTING WITH YOU, BIR-AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

then, she got captured by cho.

the bladers perform a ritual to get rid of the ghost gyaru once and for all. then, when the ghost is gone, cho said that was a prank gone wrong. and everyone said "happy halloween!".

the opening song would be something by creepy nuts and the ending song would be "awesome happy halloween night" by syudou. the problem is that there is an F word (hopefully censored). the song would not be vocaloid but selfcover and the f word would be removed.

[rainbowgod666]

This. This is a point that should be brought up as much as possible

Look, i get it. I was born in

F i v e

and my autism meant that i saw the world differenti as a kid. A girl wanted to play soccer? She looks kinda bulky. Lets put her in either defense or as a goalkeeper! Gay people? I mean its weird. But they're not harming anybody so whats the deal if theyre different?

And then i grew up

And my best life years were sweeped by COVID-19

I saw family memebers die or get ill, but mostly nothing bad happened

We all have our internalized trauma, im lucky 95% of it is just me looking at them and going "yeah i need to go to the psychiatrist" and the reaction is always "dude how much anxiety is there (points at me) and why?", its really healthy i swear

Started doing analysis on "adults" and the result was always the same

Constantly screaming regardless of mood. They look at your/others toys and go "so much money spent...". You try doing anything on the PC/Phone? Its harmful! But alas, they never explain why. And even when they do, they dont seem to "make a point", so to speak. You never know for WHAT theyre gonna get angry, but after all this time the protocol is the same: Assume they will get mad. They never do when they should anyway

Adults are almost "backwards" in a way. Maybe its my personal experiences but i LITERALLY almost cannot imagine for the life of me two adults talking WITHOUT screaming at eachother like dogs.

Its TIRING. Ok? Like yeah I gotta do homework and all that but after im done WHAT, exactly, should i do? Like i can do some errands to "get my ass up from that chair" (which kinda makes sense, luckily for them) but after that? "Draw a little bit" yeah sure, but heres the thing. ALL THE THINGS I WANNA DRAW ARE SET AS "WORK", im not "playing" anymore, no its classified as "work" so you finally

Shut Up.

This is why "the current generation" listens to you in any way. Because we all collectively want the adults to Shut Up And Sit Near Us While Were Playing. This isnt limited to families! Look at america in LITERALLY ANY WAY, even just- taking a fucking compass and figuring out Where Is America According To Where I Am, and what do you see?

Violence, and all scholars here at tumblr can attest to the "Violence for Violence is the Rule Of Beasts". We are DESPERATE.

The common Man is ANXIOUS when it shouldnt. Look at all those posts that say "we may be lazy pieces of shit, but to our ancestors we are all the highest of kings" and think to yourself: How, and i can't stress this enough, The Fuck did we end up like this? You may reference the "mouse utopia" experiment but other than that the material is pretty fucking sparse

We all have had those times at school with yugioh/bakugan/beyblade

Where are they now.

Huh?

...

E x a c t l y .

Not to reference H:TP, but we're sick and in pain. We literally cant do this anymore. Growing up was supposed to be either cool or Just A Thing That Happens. But now?

Its that one scene in rick and morty where theyre having a massive breakdown, and that scene describes how puberty has been going for what im guessing is Anybody Young Enough to Be Almost Out Of It. Its already annoying that youre more hormones than human at that point, but nowdays? The world is an endless tornado of crack crap and malfunctioning "head honchos" that might as well have no heads at all! Its the downward spiral that EmpLemon talks about (its kind of his thing anyway like mine is being an all-encompassing stain on all fandoms that i know of) and yet, AND YET-!

Nobody is doing ANYTHING ever. We have problems like inequality global warming and all that, and the supposed "best state" is contorting itself into the reason there is a Separation Of Church And State section in the "how to make a country" rulebook because they think that "undesirables" (either LGBTQ people or addicts that genuinely want some help) want to turn their children into undesirables

Ironic. The "think of the children" motto is exactly the one thing we shouldnt have done to those poor kids.

They will live sheltered, unhealthy lives where their every whim is fulfilled regardless of what it IS. And once they go out in the real world they will think the others are the weird ones just because they dont bow to them. Even more ironic is this entire thing boils over into the concept of the Karen. A hateful being that is entitled to everything, but alas she is just what happens when a spoiled child isnt "fixed"

Do we... deserve this?

Is humanity just THAT fucked up, or we still have a chance... no because- i have looked at america for a long time. The so called "patriots" are some of the foulest people imaginable, and yet the "debauched godless deviants" are just guys that are Plainer Than White Bread but oh they have a rainbow pin so theyre gonna go to megalovania super hyperspace radioactive hell or something

The chain is gradual and month-based

For adults is perfect child - whining teen - useless adult

"My childhood was so awesome. Kids today don't even know!"

Isn't a flex.

It's a lament.

More people should understand that.

[senotsuri]

Dan could literally pick up and throw Masq if he was using Marucho’s body. But if he was Shun, he could karate chop Dan 😐

That ask was long enough that it was in my drafts for awhile. In one of the earlier wordings, Marucho was noted to be too short to be intimidating, like Masquerade would prefer to be, so yeah.

Puntable.

[shunsellon]

i’m curious to see your analysis how spectra and gus are mira and ace foils

spectra and mira both start out as leaders in their respective organizations, while gus and ace are the first people they bring to their cause respectively. i made this gifset showing how ace and gus have similar scenes where they think of mira and spectra when they're in defeat.

ace and gus also join mira and spectra's causes after they're beaten by them, and are fully on board with their causes not because of the defeat but because of what mira and spectra show them after the battle. mira shows ace a talking bakugan and spectra shares with gus his vision for the world, and ultimately that's what wins them over. ace is also obviously very protective of, concerned for, and in love with mira similar to how gus is with spectra, albeit a bit less in the intensity and with a more critical point of view.

that's also where they diverge and make fantastic narrative foils - ultimately ace is much more critical of mira and more invested in the cause than gus is with spectra. this also probably because spectra's cause is so focused on him rather on other people. while both causes seek to change society, spectra's is much more egocentric and so gus goes where he goes. ace has more leeway and say on the cause because even though mira is the leader, it isn't wholly tied to her.

[marukrawler]

10 ridiculous post about bakugan what you have ever seen?

in no particular order

this reddit post asking about opinions on fabia where i had to read with my own two eyes that fabia was a racist towards the gundalians and mira was a much better character who faced more hardships compared to fabia. 💀💀💀

i've previously talked about this maruren post and how it mentions that marucho (and by extension dan and shun) were total idiots for not realizing that ren was an imposter, as well as stating that maruren had "less meat to it" compared to specgus and shundan. i've already debunked 99% of what's written on it so i don't have anything else to add.

this one which is an "analysis" of alice's character (and i use the term loosely.) we all have our own interpretations when it comes to masquerade's existence and what he represents in relation to alice's identity as a person and a battler but yikes, how do you miss the point of alice's character arc that badly?? i think op should take her own advice and start viewing the characters as they appear in canon.

this post about shun and hydron parallels is just straight up reaching lol (the part im referring to is under the read more.)

this one which just seems to woobify hydron and lync to an absurd degree and make them seem more bby than what was actually portrayed in canon. hydron bursting into tears over the bakugan statues that he ordered to be collected for him, that he called his pride and joy? lync being terrified of organic bakugan when he used two in the first episode of the second season? i know these are hcs but they're based on incorrect information so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ like holy shit do you ever read a post and go 🗿🗿🗿 #notmyhydron

oh yeah and that one post where op unironically blamed ace for the death of volt's entire family. i can't make this shit up.

[marukrawler]

Just wanted to address some of your points and add clarifications wherever I can, as well as some of my thoughts.

Issue #1) Dan calls out for Masquerade instead of Alice.

This is actually something that can be blamed on the English dub. In the Japanese dub of episode 43, Dan says,

「…こんな時あいつが…いて…くれたら…」 (Kon'na toki aitsu ga ite kuretara)

or "at a time like this, I wish that person was here" with あいつ (aitsu) being the third person personal pronoun. Aitsu can mean he/she/they or just “that person” and is used with people not directly involved in the conversation. Therefore, the person who Dan was referring to is not explicitly clear in the dialogue and must be inferred through context.

That context is the scene that comes directly after. Alice, who is close friends with Dan, senses that he is danger (something that other people in the show have experienced in similar instances) and urges Masquerade to help her save Dan. This dialogue is changed in the English dub, from Alice asking Masquerade for his help to Masquerade helping Dan of his own volition.

There is also a deeper meaning surrounding Alice’s choice to save Dan that can be derived from the German poem that Klaus reads, one that @shunsellon explains in his analysis of the poem and adds an important layer of subtext to Alice's decision to leave for Vestroia following her battle with Klaus. Alice's desire to help her friends is what allows her to stop running away, and her decisiveness is what ultimately saves Dan and Drago.

(And since YuGiOh was mentioned, it should also be noted that after her battle with Klaus, Alice begins to refer to Masquerade as “mou hitori no watashi” or “other me” as Yugi tends to call Yami, which further proves how Alice’s view on Masquerade changed after she accepted him and the ‘darkness’ he represents.)

Which—another important thing to note—is what Klaus pointed out in his battle with her. Nothing is redundant, even if it’s darkness. The completion of the Battle Brawlers as a group, and especially the completion of Alice’s character arc, hinges on accepting darkness to create balance and become whole.

Issue #2) The near entirety of Masquerade's character in this episode. He is back to being a plot device.

Masquerade’s final appearance in episode 44 served the purpose of showing Dan and Masquerade fighting on the same side when previously, the two of them were enemies. Masquerade has always been little more than a plot device; he was the best Bakugan Battler on Earth and set the goal for Dan, the underdog, to spend most of the season growing not only strong enough to reach but also surpass. He placed obstacles in the way of the Brawlers as they tried to locate the Infinity core, made them almost turn on each other as they tried to identify who his "spy" was and then later revealed Alice to be that very spy.

Masquerade served his purpose as the force that kept the plot moving forward until it was time for Naga to become the final boss, and he was doing a good job. Plot devices aren’t inherently bad, it all lies in the execution and Masquerade’s role as Dan’s major obstacle, a key antagonist, and the human embodiment of Alice’s darkness was executed quite well, in my opinion. Was there room for improvement? Of course. But for what the show was trying to do and the themes and lessons it was trying to impart to its audience, it was done well.

I also don’t mind how Masquerade’s aggressive nature lessened after his loss to Dan. All the top ranked Brawlers were able to rid themselves of the negative energy that was making them act out, usually when there was an important lesson or realization to be had, and Masquerade’s lesson was that Bakugan battles could be fun, even if he didn’t win. He still acts very much in character, sporting the same arrogance and superiority in battle but is able to cooperate with Dan because of their mutual respect. If Masquerade’s behavior in episode 44 is perceived as bizarre, then his behavior after his loss to Dan in episode 38 should be equally odd.

I can see why one might think Masquerade’s plan was contrived but personally, I see it as Masquerade having another ace up his sleeve in the event that his first plan didn't work. Alice is known for her foresight and ability to anticipate the strategies of others. She gifted her friends various battle simulations when she met them in person and is constantly shown guiding her friends in battle. Masquerade knows all of Alice’s tactics and strategies and has always been one step ahead of his opponents when it comes to Bakugan gameplay, so it's well within reason for him to be able to formulate a solid plan after his initial encounter with Centorrior and Druman.

Issue 4) How they handled Alice, and in conjunction, Masquerade's 'end'.

Masquerade disappeared from Alice so she could stand on her on two feet as a Brawler. If he stayed, even in possible spirit form to guide her, Alice would keep relying on him, as she did in episode 43 and tried to in episode 44.

I’ve previously spoken about Masquerade’s reappearance in season 2 and how it did Alice a disservice because it proves to the audience that she needs him to be a strong Battler. When Alice was teaching Christopher to be confident and believe in himself and his Bakugan, it was pivotal for Alice to be excluded from that battle so that Christopher could win without her guiding him every step of the way.

This is the exact same scenario. Alice cannot grow as a Battler if she’s using Masquerade as a crutch. Masquerade knows this and keeps reiterating that Alice is the missing piece that the Brawlers need, not him. That it’s ultimately pointless for him to lend her his strength when that strength comes from her. It’s not an excuse to get rid of Masquerade because the groundwork for this conclusion to make sense has been laid ever since Ryo was introduced in episode 4.

What I find interesting about the scene where Masquerade tempts Ryo into joining his cause is the mask imagery and bright purple light, which are things that have never been emphasized with any other person who has worked for Masquerade before or after this episode.

But I digress!

(I find it rather strange to see Alice being blamed for Wavern’s death, as if the many Battlers who were supposed to protect Wavern weren’t lured away and Shun, the only person who caught on to this, decided not to tell the others he was with that it was likely a trap.)

Masquerade represents Alice’s desire to battle, and it only makes sense that he would disappear once she accepts this desire and her role as a Brawler, because she is also accepting him. There’s another fitting analogy to this storyline found in Mob Psycho 100, with the main character repressing his psychic powers and denying this part of his identity until it grows to a point where it possesses him in an effort to be known.

This storyline is very similar to Alice’s and the conclusion is very much the same: by accepting the side of him that he thought he didn’t need, Mob is able to reconcile the parts of his identity that he tried to keep separate and becomes a happier and more well-adjusted person. The “evil” side of him that just wanted to be acknowledged and accepted disappears but is still a part of Mob. That is the exact same conclusion to Alice’s storyline, though, of course, executed differently.

I also disagree with the outcome of Alice’s character arc; she very clearly becomes confident in herself and states that she wants to fight as part of the Brawlers, even before Masquerade disappears for good. This is not just evident in her battle with Rabeeder, but also in season 2 even when she wasn’t fighting. Her character arc has clearly changed her from the timid and insecure person she was at the start of the show to the self-assured person she is by the end of season 1.

Lastly, I think a good chunk of your criticism can be explained by the English dub's deviation from the original Japanese script, which is unfortunate because there is currently no way to watch a solid sub of season 1 at the moment.

A criticism of episode 44

Well, I guess I walked right into this one, so now I have to address what I really think of this episode and the episodes surrounding it.

Just off the bat though, I want to like this episode, because I am biased and greatly enjoy both redemption arcs and heroes teaming up with their former rival-antagonists. However, this episode does it rather poorly, and is a symptom of greater issues with the overall writing quality of the show. I want to like it just for being Masquerade's last grand appearance too, but it falls entirely flat in that regard as well. So..

Issue #1, the entire setup for this to even happen. You are going to tell me, that as Dan is laying there, about to be killed, the person he is asking for is Masquerade? Not his other friends who could maybe have caught up by now (and they do by the end of this episode), and not Alice herself? No, Masquerade, someone who turned down his offer to work together, and may not even exist anymore as far as he knew at that point. He was never 'with you' to begin with. Dan talks about him like they were a friend who died. Him holding out hope for Alice herself to come back to them would have been at least a bit more reasonable, even. I'm going to chose to ignore the danger sense/ESP aspect here entirely as well, because.. eh (I will however take minute to ask why Klaus is even needed here? Just use the DT. Just do it.) Setup and Dan's logic aside, I'll move on to the next point..

Issue #2, the near entirety of Masquerade's character in this episode. He is back to being a plot device. Yes. I know some people don't understand why I believe this, but I'm going try my best to explain it. Masquerade being in this episode is 100% a case of 'that sounds cool, let's do it,' from the writers. And sometimes, that sort of indulgence is okay. Masquerade to Bakugan for me is very much like Jack Spicer is to Xiaolin Showdown- the actual best part of the show. However, when you strip away most of what makes the character the character, and parade around their husk, it loses its impact. Masquerade is at his best when being the arrogant, confident, and charismatic though morally bankrupt antagonist that he was. This personality is slowly supplanted by his internal struggle that he goes through between episodes 34-38, fraying his perfection at the edges and revealing a more volatile depth below. However, the Masquerade we get here, in this episode, is neither of those. He suddenly lacks nearly every single defining trait that made him 'him', and could have been replaced by any single one of Dan's generically 'good' friends. Yes, Masquerade no longer wants to be evil anymore, but he's an entirely different character here. I will admit, that his introduction in the episode is somewhat on point, but after that? For one, he's entirely too.. I don't want to say 'cooperative' with Dan, but, friendly? I would expect with everything between them, and the differences in the kinds of people they are, that they would clash more. Them working together should have actually been a struggle, not some manufactured plot contrivance. Masquerade's ability and strategy are made out to be inhumanely perfect here, and it's such a sudden backtrack for his character development from being exposed as the flawed person that he was in episode 38. It's not a good look for Dan either, to be relying so heavily on the person he was just proven to be an equal to in that same episode- to have the rival he just bested being characterized as being 'so much better' than him again. At the very least, I didn't expect Dan to roll over and let Masquerade make up the entire battle plan. I guess what I'm saying is, they lobotomized Masquerade and replaced him with a Gary Stu for the episode- a 'get out of jail free' plot husk for Dan to benefit from, while also making Dan look incapable. Issue #2.5 is tied into the last point, but more specific- I absolutely loathe episodes that are set up this way. The entire episode is a plot contrivance. Every time it looks like our heroes are actually struggling, or that something compelling is actually happening- lol no here's a flashback, we planned this. Suspend your disbelief, we totally saw 45 moves ahead of our opponents, what do you mean it's not believable? It absolutely sucks to watch. One well-timed reverse Uno, or 'we had a contingency plan' is okay, but when it's every single little thing? And again, you're telling me this guy lost to Dan? When he has the foresight of a chess grandmaster? They pull this out of nowhere. Which ironically makes this episode even more stupid when you learn later that these bad guys supposedly 'lost on purpose'. That's also really dumb, but we're not talking about that right now (the entirely of the rest of this season is bad imo, but.. another day, another day.) Long and short, even with the other flaws already detailed above, if the episode would have at least been enjoyable to watch, I could have looked past most of it. But no. They wanted to write something 'cool', but it's like they didn't have a clue how to do it. They put so little effort into the actual writing of this episode, and detracts from the 'cool' massively. But, we still have one more thing to talk about.

Issue #3, how they handled Alice, and in conjunction, Masquerade's 'end'. I, to this day, do not understand why Masquerade would just disappear before things with Naga were actually dealt with. If he wanted Alice to do things herself, if this wasn't his 'battle' anymore, why did he even help here at all? Alice is right- she doesn't have the experience. She needs the help. (Granted, the real reason Alice will go on to be a liability isn't exactly her battling ability, but she still ends up being the one to get Wavern killed, so there's that). Now for the thing that in isolation is the very best part of this whole mess of an episode, but when looked at as part of a bigger picture, starts to fall apart. 'I know you can do it' 'Don't you know? It's because I am, you, Alice.' This line. This is a nice sentiment. This is the only shred of character he shows at all in this episode. But it's an excuse. It's an excuse by the writers to get rid of Masquerade, and try to give Alice some screen time (too little, too late). It's also a lie. Accepting yourself does not mean that piece of you just goes away. I've made the comparison to Yugioh GX before, but I'm also a big Persona fan, and that series embodies the message of accepting your true self, and all the parts that make that up. You can't change them, but you can learn to work with them, take them into yourself and acknowledge yourself. If this show was written going forward with an actual understanding of what they just tried to do here, then this would have been fine. But that's not what they did. Masquerade does not truly become a part of Alice. Very little if anything changes about her character. She doesn't have some self-realization, she doesn't change the way she looks at or approaches things. In fact, Alice seems to come out of the other side of the entire experience that is this show relatively unaffected by everything she's been through. She 'runs away' for 5 episodes before this, but there's no lingering change in her beyond this. This is where I implore people to compare to Jaden/Judai from Yugioh GX. Jaden starts and ends the show as an entirely different character, shaped by his experiences. He has a very similar plot where he has to reconcile himself and his actions as another version of himself, the Supreme King, and it actually changes him. Even just mentioning Yubel again, if they in any way implied that Masquerade was still a presence within Alice, guiding her when needed, that would have been better than what they ended up doing. Because as it stands, all they did was erase Masquerade, and fail to develop Alice in a meaningful way after this episode concludes.

That was long, but hopefully I articulated my issues well enough. Bakugan was always a show where the concept sold the shoddy writing, but I feel it really comes apart from episode 39 and beyond. The grand finale falls flat on its face when they take the only semblance of structure the show had away, and the writers had already lacked the skill to make such a bold departure from the status quo. Edit: One last thing I forgot in terms of Dan, but can we talk about how messed up it is that Dan is asking for Masquerade, and happy to see Masquerade while knowing he must be controlling Alice to be there? It's like Dan doesn't actually care about Alice at all (though considering how many times she goes missing that they never notice, maybe that's not a stretch?)

[gouthepro]

Hello um just gonna say having recently rewatched both episode 11 of Armored Alliance and episode 47 of Armored Alliance, the way Magnus and Ajit's relationship to eachother changes interestingly.

In episode 11 they both are impressed by eachother's strengh and are determined to defeat eachother and prove they're equally as good. At the end of the episode their battle ends before it finishes due to the arrival of the AAAnimus security force, Magnus calls back his Bakugan and let's Ajit go so they can finish off their battle another time and Ajit gives him the light bulb he'd been trying to steal.

So there was really no true winner of this fight, and it's honestly difficult to predict how the battle would've gone had it have continued, as when Magnus looked down at the second bakugear core he commented how "they're both equally damaged, but I have to.." and he didn't seem like he wanted to take it, possibly because he was enjoying the battle and didn't want it to end.

(In case you hadn't realised, the reason there was no true winner is because Magnus stopped the battle, the thing he wanted, and Ajit gave Magnus the light bulb which is what he'd wanted.)

After that the two interact a little in episode 30 when Magnus turns up with Dan on the boat. Magnus and Ajit both recognise eachother and acknowledge that, there's a flashback to the scene when they first met in episode 11 and the lines

Magnus: No need for introductions, we already know eachother.

Ajit: Oh yeah! I know him!

(Note that Ajit has been known to forget who some people are, or at least forget their names, take Riot for an example)

Ajit seems to find Magnus's comments funny in this episode, such as when he tells Dan that they're not friends and when he accuses Dan of understimating him.

At the end of this interaction Ajt leaves after calling back his Bakugan, calling out "This one's all your's Magnus!" Showing that he trusts Magnus (or Magnus's strengh in battle) enough to rely on him to defeat someone he knows is strong.

The two don't interact again until episode 47, although they do see eachother in episode 39 when Magnus saves Dan from Haavik's control.

So episode 47.

At the beginning of the episode Ajit runs into Magnus in the mall and discovers he's following Haavik. Ajit decides to help but Magnus tells him to stay out of it. Which at first Ajit seems to but really, he doesn't and before we know it he's at Magnus's side wondering "Who swims in a fountain!?"

At this moment Magnus seems slightly annoyed that Ajit is there trying to help, but he seems to accept it quickly enough when Ajit shows he's determined to help. The pair are seen in different locations around Los Volmos watching Haavik do a bunch of random things, then while he's taking a nap the two have a conversation, Magnus saying how what they're doing now reminds him of when he first met Ajit, he even admits that it took him a lot of hard work to figure out what Ajit's real goal was, Ajit then replies that he was suprised that he figured it out at all.

Now this is when I think their relationship changed, as after Magnus admits that it was difficult for him to figure out Ajit's real goal, Ajit smiles and then admits that he was suprised that Magnus figured it out which causes Magnus to smile.

Honestly I think that was them admitting to eachother that they were impressed by eachother's abilities and them both realising that they both thought about eachother the same way in that regard.

This is further shown a second after when Ajit says "We never did finish that battle from that night a long time ago." and Magnus tells him "I'm happy to face you anytime. But this stuff with Haavik comes first."

This shows that they both enjoyed their battle and would definitely be willing to battle again. It also shows they both have respect and admiration for eachother's battle skills and not just their intellectual skills.

Both of these are proved again later during the battle with Haavik. When they realise Haavik had seen them, both seem suprised but neither seem too worried about the battle beginning. For a while the duo are almost winning and prove their strength in battle and their intellegence by knowing what eachother meant without words and by nearly defeating AN ALIEN CLOWN WITH A 5 FACTION FUSION BAKUGAN! This time the pair of Magnus and Ajit are on a team and are at equal strength.

(Note that in the scenes that show the rest of the AO in this episode, we see them all worried about Haavik and then there's just Ajit and Magnus battling him and nearly winning.)

Things only really change when after both Ajit and Magnus use their Bakugear together, Haavik attempts to attack Nillious with his Bakugan but Ajit's Bakugan push Nillious out of the way to defend him. It's only after Ajit's Bakugan are down and Haavik decides to give the pair a death threat that Magnus and Ajit show fear.

Now honestly I think if anyone was given a death threat they'd be scared, however they willingly battled Haavik without any fear up until then so I feel that maybe some of that fear on Magnus's side was because he knew they'd lost exactly half of their side's strength and probably didn't have much chance of winning anymore.

(It's extremely rare for Magnus to show fear or worry in front of people by the way, see episode 46 where Magnus tries to pretend he doesn't need help even though he couldn't see anything at all. and honestly being made completely blind out of nowhere could be just as scary as a death threat.)

So basically I think the way Magnus and Ajit's relationship changed was due to them both realising that the respect they feel for the other is mutual. I also think Magnus and Ajit are at exactly equal strength.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

End of analysis.

[queen-of-spoilers-zvonchy]

Complex female characters I love-not so deep post from me

Homura Akemi

One of the first female anime characters with depression. She is selfish,wanting Madoka for herself,but at the same time selfless,wanting to save the world. She is strong,but we saw how she started out weak. She appears reserved,aloof and cold but at the same time she is gentle and emotional. She was shy and scared of everything,then she became confident and badass.She relives Madoka's death countless times while trying to save her,which makes her live in a state of constant sadness and numbness. She doesn't give up,but she sees how futile her attempts are. When Madoka finally survives,she leaves her,and thus the greatest tragedy of them all is that in the world in which everyone is happy without magical girls,Homura is desparate.Her worst fear,life without Madoka,is fullfilled.

Runo Misaki

Runo is fascinating.Her powers are on par with main protagonist,she has great personality and her arcs are complex. She is headstrong, proud and eager to go her own way,but also caring,kind and cute.She always tries her best and her and Tigrerra's bond is unbrekable.

Asuna Yuuki

Before she was halfly ruined by Alfheim arc this girl was one of the leaders of the strongest guild in SAO,her skills were all maxed to almost 100, and she was on par,if not better than Kirito.With decent fight scenes and screen time and mature personality,the future looked bright for Asuna,but alas,Alfheim. Season 2 tried damage control,but we all had Alfheim in our minds.But S2 Asuna is badass,better than Kirito in new game,because he couldn't defeat Yuuki,emotional,caring,independent and strong.Ordinal scale Asuna,love her. S3 first part,she didn't have much screen time,but S3 second half,I stan. Our girl is showing those ppl who the main girl is and always was.

Nana

This girl here is something else. Believing in her own skills,showing that she can do well on her own,at the same time a bit self-doubting,insecure about future, independent,emotional,human,she still remains as one of the best written females up to date.

Utena

Others can dream to do this much for gender equality,gender roles and lgbtq+ community as she did.And she appeared in 90s. Fighting with her sword,wearing uniform,being unapologetically herself. I mean,goals.She was a breakthrough.

Temari No Sabaku/Nara

Why Temari? She cares for her family,shows her emotions,constantly improves,is smart and analytical,great in politics and had a high functions in post-war period,great mother,didn't give up on being kunoichi after marriage,able to show empaty,arogant and sassy in times,but she has a damn reason to be.Best wind user in the world.All of her words are backed up with actions and she is great at fighting. Temari loves to read,can cook, fight and works hard. She crossed a long path from antihero to hero in original Naruto,she was ambassador of Suna,Chunnin exams protector and Kazekage's bodyguard. Databook 3 ranks her as 13th most popular character and Poll #7 puts her on 18th place.