I used to love watching the original Beyblade as a kid, but never got round to watching the metal series. I had heard bad things about it...it's non-canon, has annoying characters, silly stories etc. It didn't make me want to actively watch it when it was on TV so I never did. However, I am going through a few cartoon series as a university student (mainly to wind down after a long day of revision) and thought it would be a good idea to include this.
This review encapsulates all 3 metal seasons (fusion, masters, fury). As soon as I started watching this, I quickly learned that this series is indeed non-canon. There is no reference to the original show and it seemed to want to completely reinvent the concept of Beyblade. This annoyed me from the start because it would have been quite simple to make this series be set in the future and make occasional nods to the original Bladebreakers. However, despite being a 'reinvention' the main characters of the series echo each of the main characters of the original show. Gingka reminded me of Tyson, Kyoya was like Kai etc.
Aside from Gingka's extremely annoyingly high-pitched voice, I liked the new characters. They each brought their unique personalities and back-stories to the table. However, I found Benkei incredibly annoying because of his idolisation of Kyoya. As controversial as it might sound, I also found Kenta somewhat grating because of his persistent clinginess. The final character worth mentioning for its ability to anger me was the crab-king himself (if you get round to watching this, you will know who I am referring to). All I can say is that the word "crabby" will make you angry for the rest of your life.
The story for the first 2 series were quite similar and plausible in the world of Beyblade. The revolved around various championship battles and someone trying to take over the world. They reminded me of the original series, with the addition of Ryuga, who is a enemy turned frenemy and I thought he was great. The latter series was a bit 'out there'. I find it odd when they refer to the ancient origins of Beyblades. Bladers trying to stop other Bladers from taking over the world with their bitbeasts. It just seems so odd, as if Beyblades are the most powerful weapon in the world. I mean, even the security guards have Beyblades for weapons! It was certainly the weakest of the 3 series but it was still enjoyable to watch (maybe because it was also shorter).
The final thing I want to touch on is the Beyblades themselves. They are completely different from the originals, with new parts, looks and even bitbeasts. I do like them but for very different reasons from the old ones. The original Beyblades were cool because of how varied they could look and how fierce they could be. These new ones looked quite sleek and modern. What I didn't like was they tried to make the bitbeasts look cooler by giving them an almost graffiti-like artwork. I also thought most of the Beyblades looked the same and there was little in the way of variety.
All in all, this series is OK. If you have seen the original series and want something else to watch this is something you could turn to. I think the creators missed on a few tricks that could have made this series better, but they tried to hard to be cool. It was still enjoyable to watch as an adult, just not as fun.
