Name: Marucho (Marukura Choji)
Age: 11+
Gender: Male
Attribute: Aquos
Guardian Bakugan(s): Preyas, Angelo/Diablo Preyas, Elfin, Akwimos

Marucho is the youngest member of the Battle Brawlers, and one of the youngest known Bakugan  players. He is quite rich, generous, and the smartest member of the group. As an only child, though, he can be a bit spoiled at times. His nickname is a combination of the first syllables of his first and last name (Marukura Choji).

As the brains of the operation, he spends time creating new strategies. Having a lot of money allows him to experiment with different technologies and techniques. He also has a a butler named Kato who frequently helps him out. Being Dan’s sidekick, he works out which Bakugan would be best to pit against another opponent.

Marucho also co-created the Bakugan Interspace, which is a place where kids can play Bakugan for free. Although he no longer lives solely to make his parents happy and proud of him, he still wants people around him to be happy.

He watches cooking shows with his Bakugan, Preyas, and finds him quite funny even if no one else around him does.

Name: Daniel “Dan” Kuso
Age: 16+
Gender: Male
Attribute: Pyrus
Guardian Bakugan(s): Drago, Apollonir, Hawktor

Personality:
Dan is an impulsive, easily frustrated teenage boy. He really loves Bakugan and aspires to become the best battle brawler ever. His personality is constantly getting him into trouble. He tends to bite off more than he can chew a lot of times as well, thinking he can take on and battle anyone at any time, only to find that he cannot.

In later seasons he does change his tactics, which started out as nothing more than blasting his opponents with raw power, no strategy at all. Now he tends to think his battles through a little more, with emphasis on the overall outcome rather than just winning.

Dan has even had conflicts with his Guardian Bakugan, Drago, the Pyrus Dragonoid. Once a fight between them ended with Dan throwing Drago into a river. They were reunited, and Dan learned a valuable lesson, but only time will tell whether his old traits will come back to haunt him in a future season.

Bakugan, or Bakugan Battle Brawlers, is a Japanese anime television series which first aired in 2007. The whole story is based upon the adventures of creatures called Bakugan, and the brawlers who possess them. It has become quite popular in North America and a large portion of Europe.

The premise is that in an alternate but parallel world named Vestroia, an evil and powerful Bakugan named Naga tries to absorb all of the energy from the balanced cores of power which maintain peace and harmony on Vestroia. He absorbs too much power from the negative energy core called the Silent Core, which of course only furthers his evil intentions. This also forces Wavern, a good Bakugan, to absorb the positive energy from the remaining core called The Infinity Core.

The first season starts off with six friends who find strange metallic cards that have fallen to earth all the way from Vestroia itself. They decide to name themselves the Bakugan Battle Brawlers. Subsequent shows and seasons explore the interactions of the battle brawlers Dan, Shun, Runo, Marucho, Julie, Alice. More characters and battle brawlers join the main characters throughout the different seasons, helping them learn more about the origin of the Bakugan, Vestroia, and the continuing struggle against Naga and his minions.

There is a lot of Bakugan merchandise, anywhere from alarm clocks to watches, and everything in between. A wide range of games for various game consoles have also been released. Of course there is also the strategy game called Bakugan, developed by Sega Toys. The game can become quite involved with many variations on play, cards and players. There are also several styles of play, from regular to Big Game style play, which essentially doubles the card counts players use, and the number of Gate cards a player must capture in order to win is also doubled.

One of the most popular games based on the Bakugan series is still the Nintendo DS called Bakugan Battle Brawlers. Bakugan also won the 2009 Property of the Year award from the Toy Industry Association. Along with the many console games, there is also Bakugan Dimensions, an online version of the Bakugan strategy game, which went into beta testing in June of 2010. In September of 2010, Nelvana Entertainment announced a fourth series of Bakugan Battle Brawlers titled “Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge”, ending the speculation that the series was finished.

So if you just like the show, the online game, or prefer to battle it out with your friends with your very own battle brawlers on your basement floor, Bakugan has you covered, and continues to provide great adventures and fun year after year.

Bakugan is a strategy game in the same vein as the Pokémon trading card game.  The defining characteristic that separates Bakugan toys from the host of other Japanese-inspired card games is the trademark Bakugan themselves – tiny spheres that pop open into mechanical fighters when activated – which add a physical element to the contest.

The basic setup of this two player game is quite simple. Each player gets three of the aforementioned Bakugan, three Gate cards, and three Ability cards.  Each of the players places one of his Gate cards face down on the playing surface.  As with most games geared for this age group, the younger player always goes first. On his turn, the first player rolls his Bakugan toward the Gate cards in the center of the playing area.

The spherical Bakugan contain a small magnet. The Gate cards contain a thin strip of metal, which will ‘activate’ the Bakugan.  If the Bakugan is rolled so that the magnet touches the metallic card, the creature will stop on the spot and spring open to reveal the character within. If the magnet misses the card and the creature does not open, that player’s turn is over. The goal of the game is to be the first to collect three Gate cards. Gate cards can be won in one of two ways: with or without a battle. If a player manages to get two of his Bakugan on one Gate card AND at least one on the other Gate card, he wins the Gate card outright. He moves the Gate card and his Bakugan to the used pile. The Gate card will remain there until the end of the game. The Bakugan can be reused once all the other characters have been deployed.

The other way to win a Gate card is to battle against your opponent. If each player has one Bakugan on the same gate card, they will square off for the right to claim the card. The players flip over the Gate card and follow the instructions on the card.  The inherent strength of each Bakugan is adjusted according to the specific Gate card. Further adjustments may be made if either or both players choose to play Ability cards from their hands. The player whose Bakugan has the highest adjusted power level wins the battle and the Gate card.

The Bakugan Battle Brawlers video game was released on October 20, 2009 for several platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS. It was based on the original series as you can see from the opening video above: the tutorial fight has the opponent from the very first episode.

In the game, you start as a brand-new Bakugan brawler who works their way to the top of the Ultimate Battle Tournament by defeating various opponents and their creatures. It’s played in a similar manner to the real-life game, where you throw your cards onto the battlefield and then shoot them onto cards until two monsters are on the same card. Once that happens they fight to the death!

There are two kinds of matches: one-off battles at a park, and actual tournaments. Between these matches, you can upgrade your existing Bakugan, buy new ones, manage your deck, and purchase G-Power cards for the next fight.

Of course, what would a game like this without friends to play against? All the platforms (including the DS) offer multiplayer options. Review for the game are fairly average. If you enjoy the TV series the game (on all the platforms) is sure to please, but there are some liberties taken to make gameplay smoother, and more advanced players may be able to finish the challenges quite quickly.

Game Stats

• Over 200 player cards including 12 never-before-seen ones
• 16 different characters
• 40 different Bakugans
• 24 different levels

The opening theme song for episodes 1-30, Number One Battle Brawlers (ナンバーワン・バトルブローラーズ Nanbā Wan Batoru Burōrāzu) by Psychic Lover.

In October of 2010 the Bakugan Dragonoid Colossus was introduced. This Bakugan consists of  a Colossus Dragonoid transformation hub, four battle gear and the Battalix Dragonoid Bakugan. Which is dropped in the middle of the hub after all of the gears are placed on the hub. When the Bakugan is dropped in the hub it opens up and forms the Dragonoid Colossus.

The gears consist of  Blasteroid which is the tail piece, it swipes as enemies. Nukix which has wings and increases the ability to fly. Beamblitzer is part of the Bakugan weaponry and it can accurately beam blasts of energy at a target. Mounted on the front of Dragonoid Colossus is the Axator Gear which is a launcher. It looks like a pair of swords and can only be mounted after the Colossus is open.

For more information on the Colossus Dragonoid watch season 3 episodes 15 and 25. The first season of Bakugan aired in 2007 and it starts when strange Bakugan balls start reigning from the sky and a boy named Dan and his friends begin brawling with the Bakugan balls. The next season begins with the world of New Vestroia. In season 3 the Gundalian Invaders introduce the Bakugan Dragonoid colossus. This is the current season of the Bakugan series.

Next year season 4 will begin with the Mechtanium Surge. Bakugan is a anime cartoon and a game. The battle brawlers are also collectible. There is now a video game that simulates the Bakugan game and there are many other collectible Bakugan items available. Besides the Bakugan anime series you can find many home made movies about the Bakugan characters and game. Here is a really nice video of Bakugan Dragonoid Colossus.