Line #7 Anime/CrushGearTurbo


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crush_gear_turbo_jpeg_2584.jpg]]
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3	Kouya Marino is the younger brother of the deceased Crush Gear champion, who wants to follow up to his brother's legacy. Problem is, he is just one of the few members left of a Crush Gear club whose sole claim to glory is that it was once his brother's club. However, he is helped by a few friends and some Crush Gear players who defect to Kouya's team. Fighting with his brother's keepsake on his side and facing his brother's ex-teammate-turned-rival, will Kouya ever realize his ambition to become the greatest Gear Fighter in the world?
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5	A 68-episode anime produced by Creator/{{Sunrise}}, ''Crush Gear Turbo'' seem to be a run-of-the-mill MerchandiseDriven show, involving mechanical vehicles being thrown to a ring to fight other machines called Crush Gears, which according to some detractors, looked like ''TabletopGame/{{Beyblade}}s'' on steroids. However, it boasts superb CGI fight scenes that has aged well for its genre, sheer over-the-top fight scenes that put both ''Beyblade'' and ''Manga/BakusouKyoudaiLetsAndGo'' to shame, and a soundtrack helmed by none other than Music/JAMProject. The result is a veritable mix of HotBlooded {{Shounen}} show with gorgeous visuals and excellent rewatch value. The anime series is not well known in US or UK, but is big in South East Asia, Australia and Germany where it was aired dubbed. The series also had a manga series, a PragmaticAdaptation that had a similar beginning, but has a big shift in plot focus mid-way.
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7	This series also spawned a sequel called ''Crush Gear Nitro'', but it wasn't as popular as the original. Many blame the loss of Music/JAMProject's catchy signature opening/ending songs and an inexplicable, more kiddy-friendly ArtShift.
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9	!!Tropes:
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11	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: Most of the fight scenes in the anime contain 3D effects. For a 2002 vintage, the smoothness, particle effects and sheer details were unsurpassed by any other show at the time, especially amongst {{Shonen}} shows.
12	* AncestralWeapon: Kouya uses his brother's Garuda Eagle at first, before the MidSeasonUpgrade.
13	* AnimalMotif: Quite a few, most notably eagle (and later, a phoenix) for Kouya, dragon for Takeshi, a [[RaisedByWolves tiger]] for Wang Hu, and swan for Heinrich Gang.
14	* AttackAttackAttack: Some Gear Fighters resort to this when they run out of strategy. Kyousuke, during his second fight with Ohkawa Kishin, resorted to execute Fire Spinner over and over again, which got him defeated badly for his trouble.
15	* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Both U-YA in the anime and Heinrich in the manga. Both of them are capable of mimicking other players' signature move simply by observing it. Note that while U-YA's capability to mimic Great Hurricane Crusher was used solely for Black Garuda Eagle to gain enough speed to launch its signature attack, Heinrich is capable of mimicking Manganji's move which was so game-breaking it was banned from further use just by seeing it once, while the original user had to sacrifice his [[spoiler: wrist to perfect it]].
16	* BaitAndSwitch:
17	** U-YA, who is heavily hinted to be the long-deceased Marino Yuuya that was alive all along, turns out to be [[spoiler: Carlos, someone completely different]].
18	** On a lesser note, Heinrich Gang, who is featured in the opening every single time, is hyped/thought to be the FinalBoss of the anime series. Turns out, he only appears in person for a few episodes, duels Kouya to a standstill, and then sits it out again. This is averted in the manga, where he ''is'' the FinalBoss.
19	* TheBenchwarmer: A Crush Gear team needs at least three members to enter tournaments, but most teams are shown to have at least four members. The Tobita Team in particular starts out with four members, and since tournament battles are mostly done in a 3-on-3 format, one of them has to sit on the bench. After the Asian Cup, two new members join the team, but they aren't particularly good and don't get the chance to fight in a match.
20	* BloodSport: Of sorts. Gear Fight is a perfectly normal, everyday version of playing using Gears. Gear Pankration (Pancratum in the dub) however, uses DeathTrap laden arena that very often destroys Gears in the process of normal fight. To top it all off, Pankration is a winner-takes-all high stakes game mode where the loser must destroy his/her Gear, whether or not it survives during play. This is deemed illegal by the GFA (Gear Fight Association) and any officially registered players caught being a player in Gear Pankration will be immediately disqualified from any currently registered tournament and banned from further tournaments.
21	* ButNotTooForeign: Played with, while Marume Claude most definitely has French blood and nary a Japanese one, it is not elaborated whether he got his Japanese family name from her mother's marriage, or that he really is half-Japanese. Meanwhile, her mother, Marume Yekatrina, has a ''Russian'' first name.
22	* CastFromHitPoints: Apparently, some Gears' super move, such as Dino Spartan's (Kyousuke's Gear) Fire Spinner, damages the Gear itself while the move is in effect.
23	* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: In-universe version: after Kouya discovers the Shining Sword Breaker, he keeps using it like no tomorrow. This puts a lot of strain on Garuda Eagle's aging, custom made frame and internals so much so that, after using it one too many, [[spoiler: Garuda Eagle shatters into tiny little pieces from overuse]].
24	* CurbStompBattle: Many.
25	** Faced by the might of Gaiki's multi-billion Yen VT design or Garuda Phoenix/Black Garuda Eagle's Shining Sword Breaker, you need to be a serious badass to withstand not being defeated within 10 seconds, or worse, having your Gear shattered.
26	** In the manga, Kouya fights against virtual version of Heinrich with Manganji's simulator. Heinrich defeated Kouya within 3 seconds flat, even when Kouya used his own DangerousForbiddenTechnique.
27	* DangerousForbiddenTechnique:
28	** Kouya uses one too many times and [[spoiler: shatters the Garuda Eagle as a result]]. Strangely, this seems to have no effect on [[spoiler: Black Garuda Eagle, nor Garuda Phoenix, Eagle's successor]]. Perhaps it really was due to bad maintenance.
29	** The manga has this with Manganji's technique. A throw that makes Gaiki spins so fast it floats in midair and creates a whirlwind so strong it defeats Gears by throwing them out of the Arena entirely. This however, cost Manganji his [[spoiler: wrist]], and this, along with Kouya's disappearing Gear technique was banned due to its detrimental injury-inducing properties.
30	* DefeatMeansFriendship: Each of the initial team has their own reasons to shun Gear Fighting, and they're recruited throughout the first few episodes by resolving their baggage through a Gear Fight match.
31	* DeathByOriginStory: Marino Yuuya, Kouya's brother. His death has caused, amongst others, the original Tobita Club members dispersing, a former World Champion turning into a recluse, and an innocent boy from South America turning into a bloodthirsty Gear Fighter due to self-loathing. Of course, this also spurs Kouya into action, 4 years after Yuuya's passing, setting the events of the story into motion.
32	* DoppelgangerAttack:
33	** Many gears move so fast they look like they copied themselves before hitting their poor opponent into submission.
34	** Hilariously subverted by the Takoyama Brothers (who were identical quadruplets) during their 2 on 2 battle against Kouya and Kyousuke. Their signature attack, which looked like them invoking this trope, actually involves them surreptitiously sending in their other brothers' Gears into the Arena so they can fight 4-to-2. They got busted that same episode, and much righteous ass-kicking ensued when the rest of the Tobita Club joined in the fray to even things out.
35	* DubNameChange: Heinrich Gang's name is changed to Harry Gamble in the dub version.
36	* DudeLooksLikeALady:
37	** Kuroudo warns Kyousuke, when he got enamored with Ran Fan, that [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_opera based on the clothes]], Ran Fan is most likely a man. Kyousuke himself, despite this, [[SweetOnPollyOliver still finds himself enamored with Ran Fan.]] Of course, he finds out [[spoiler: her gender... in the worst possible way. Ran Fan is not amused, neither is Kyousuke.]] After all has been said and done, Lilica amusingly points out to a dumbfounded Claude that nowadays, [[spoiler: women can play in Chinese Opera]].
38	** On a straighter use, both Claude and Heinrich does look rather feminine, especially in the opening.
39	* DynamicEntry: The main method of deployment of the Gears in both the manga and the anime, which could be rather problematic when people start thinking that this is the correct way to use the tie-in toys.
40	* EliteTweak: Applicable in-universe, with the toyline, and in the videogame tie-in: customizing your Garuda Eagle with a VT Chassis and spin wheels is a perfectly valid combination, while affixing Gaiki's weapons to Shooting Mirage's frame is also doable. In fact, before Shining Sword Breaker overshadows everything else, Gears in the anime are often customized between matches.
41	* EvilKnockoff: U-YA's Gear, Black Garuda Eagle, is an aptly named evil counterpart to Garuda Eagle. Not only that, while Garuda Eagle summons a golden bird during its DangerousForbiddenTechnique, Black Garuda Eagle summons a ''silver'' variant.
42	* EvilMentor: Ming Wu, the manager for Team Four Stars, a Chinese Opera-slash-Gear Fighter team. He has an agenda to change Gear Fights to become closer to Gear Pankration. In the manga, he's convicted of outside match gambling and controlling Wang Hu's SuperpoweredEvilSide by letting Wang Hu smell blood.
43	* GadgeteerGenius: Gear Masters like Kyousuke are Crush Gear technical experts and can double as a MrFixit in a professional team. There are limits to his abilities, as he could not repair Garuda Eagle after it was [[spoiler: shattered into tiny little pieces]]... but later on he manages to create an enhanced version of Garuda Eagle in the nick of time, using experimental technology nonetheless.
44	* GameBreakingInjury: Jirou suffers a torn shoulder muscle early on, and had to have a surgery, taking him out of the action for quite some time. In the manga, both Kouya and Manganji suffer rather serious wounds after their match. Despite being declared the winner, Manganji was so injured that [[spoiler: had to have his hand bolted together]], a possibly career-ending handicap.
45	* GratuitousFrench: During his match against Ma Liang, Claude utters a French phrase before executing his one-time only finishing move. Interestingly, this French phrase is actually a translation of a ''Latin'' phrase (specifically, Diogenes' "stand out of my light" to Alexander.)
46	* ItsAllMyFault: [[spoiler: Carlos]] was hit especially hard by Yuuya's death since he believed he was responsible for it. Alex Borg, ex-Gear Master of Tobita Club, made [[spoiler: Carlos]] a copy of Garuda Eagle and taught him Shining Sword Breaker. It won't be years afterward that he rose to the spotlight from Gear Pankration arenas, taking the name U-YA, and wielding the now-black Garuda Eagle.
47	* {{Jerkass}}: Manganji seemed to like going out of his way to be mean to people. Of course, then we learn in the penultimate episode that he has a FreudianExcuse this is just a front to cope with Yuuya's passing, since Manganji was Yuuya's teammate.
48	* MerchandiseDriven: Played straight. The merchandise is, as of TheNewTens, almost as hard to find as the TV show, though.
49	* MidSeasonUpgrade: Kouya switches to the Garuda Phoenix to match Manganji's Gaiki. The rest of Tobita Club follows suit not long thereafter.
50	* OldMaster: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in a non-living sense with Garuda Eagle. Although finely-crafted, finely-tuned and recognized by Gear Master and expert mechanic Kyousuke to be among the finest Gears ever made, Garuda Eagle is approaching half a decade old by the events of the series. Despite this, Garuda Eagle manages to briefly keep up with the speed, power and agility with the newly-revealed [[SuperPrototype Gaiki]]. Eventually, the ageing Gear is defeated by Gaiki's upgraded and revolutionary technology, the likes of which have never been seen on a Gear before. Even so, later on it takes multiple uses of the highly-strenuous [[SignatureMove Shining Sword Breaker]], coupled with neglected maintenance, to finally put Garuda Eagle out of action.
51	* PrecociousCrush:
52	** Kyousuke to Lan Fang. Even his team can see it and Jirou volunteers to fight Lan Fang instead of Kyousuke until Kyousuke can keep his emotions in check.
53	** Jirou is shown to have feelings for Lilika, falling for her at first sight and immediately agreeing to join the Tobita Club because of her.
54	* ThePhoenix: Not so surprisingly, Garuda Phoenix, symbolizing rebirth after Eagle's "death".
55	* TheRival - Manganji Takeshi to Marino Kouya. Similarly, Heinrich Gang to Marino Yuuya. In fact, all members of Tobita Club, past and present, had rivals. Jirou's rival is his former Baseball Junior League teammate Taki Hiroomi, while both Kyousuke and Claude somehow keeps going at each other's throats.
56	* RaisedByWolves: Wang Hu was raised by a white tiger .
57	* RuleOfCool: Plastic toy cars with weapons outside the ring, spark-trailing metal weaponized cars of destruction inside the ring. A correct throw can decide a fight, and the strongest finishing moves can completely destroy an opponent's Gear into tiny little pieces. Toy cars or miniature Destruction Derby on steroids? You be the judge!
58	* SecondPrize: In the manga, Kouya technically lost to Manganji during Asia Cup finals. However, Manganji was too injured to continue, and so Kouya was selected to enter the World Cup instead.
59	* SeriousBusiness: So serious that it cost ''80 billion yen'' to develop Gaiki.
60	%%* ShorterMeansSmarter: Kyousuke Jin.
61	* ShipTease: A bit between Kouya and Kaoru due to them being [[ChildhoodFriends longstanding companions]].
62	* SignatureMove: Almost every single Gear and Gear Fighter introduced has one, with many of them doubling as [[FinishingMove finishing moves]] too. These moves are powerful enough to not only defy the laws of physics but also generate phenomena that no toy ever could, including tornadoes, lighting bolts and brilliant bursts of light. Examples include Kouya and Garuda Eagle's [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Shining Sword Breaker]], Jirou and Raging Bull's [[TornadoMove Hurricane Crusher]], Kyousuke and Dino Spartan's [[SpinAttack Fire Spinner]] and Claude's [[ThisIsADrill Spinning Tornado]], among many others.
63	* SweetPollyOliver: In the manga, Kaoru had to crossdress as Kouya to disguise the fact that Kouya was AWOL for their Asia Cup matches. Although she clearly didn't like it, it worked. That being said, she isn't a Gear Fighter, so to prevent her needing to fight at all, both Claude and Jirou have to win two matches in a row all the way to the finals since Kyousuke was ''also'' AWOL.
64	* SpannerInTheWorks: Although never outright stated, Manganji plans to recoup for the 80 billion yen cost of developing Gaiki by making the VT technology proprietary, and selling the schematics at a high price to those that can afford it. Come several episodes later, the whole schematics was leaked to the internet, helpfully with the message "Royalty Free!" included with radical simplifications. Manganji was not amused.
65	* SpectacularSpinning[=/=]SpinToDeflectStuff - Gears can spin for a more defensive approach. Garuda Eagle/Phoenix however, uses spinning to launch itself into the air, and many other Gears use spins to power up their super move.
66	* SpoiledBrat: Manganji. Subverted in the last episode as it is then revealed that he became like that to cope with Yuya's death.
67	* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Kouya, in one of his qualifying matches to fight [[spoiler: Carlos, aka U-YA]], was so consumed by hatred of [[spoiler: Carlos]] whom he thought was responsible for his brother's death, that his Garuda Phoenix turned temporarily black and completely destroys his opponent's Gear, something he had never done before.
68	* SuperHearing: Claude has a very keen sense of hearing that lets him distinguish Gear modifications based on the sound of their motors. He first demonstrates it by noticing a crack in one of Garuda Eagle's gears.
69	* SuperPrototype: Overlaps with AceCustom, when Manganji's ultra-expensive Gaiki rolled out, it used a then-revolutionary mechanism called VT ([[GratuitousEnglish Variable Transmuting]]) Chassis. Due to its difficulty to replicate, it seems that only Gaiki, Manganji's team members, and later, Garuda Phoenix, are the only ones equipped with it in the world. Come several episodes later, the schematics to build a VT chassis, with appropriate lower cost parts were leaked to the internet, and thus, ''everyone'' starts using VT Chassis for their Gears. Being the original however, few came close to Gaiki's GameBreaking performance.
70	* TenMinuteRetirement: [[spoiler: Kouya]], when told about the recklessness of his actions, quits the World Championship tournament. This abrupt change in dynamics actually led to him participating in Gear Pankration complete with a pseudonym and a new Gear for some time before returning.
71	* TrademarkFavoriteFood:
72	** Jiro and his thing for red bean buns.
73	** Kouya and any kind of food with crabs in it: boiled crabs, crabsticks, etc.
74	** Kyousuke prefers tomato juice. This, and his sensitivity to sunlight led to many a vampire joke on his expense.
75	* TrainingFromHell:
76	** Quite a few phalanges were broken in the process of [[SeriousBusiness trying to find the right way to throw the Gears into the arena]].
77	** In the manga, up to this point, Gear Fights were rather mundane in comparison to the anime. Manganji trains throwing his Gaiki to perform his signature move by [[spoiler: throwing a 2 kg Gear in such a way that it can stop a swinging steel ball]]. This repeated exercise takes such a toll that when he finally uses it, [[spoiler: he breaks his wrist]] such that Manganji may never play again from his injuries. Due to its game breaking performance and the massive injury it may cause to the player attempting it, it was later banned from use in any official tournament.
78	* [[WouldNotHitAGirl Would Not Play Against A Girl]]: Kouya flat-out refused to fight the all-female Pink Lips team, because he thinks losing to them would be extra humiliating. Claude however, has no such compunctions.
79	* YoungerThanTheyLook: Many characters look like this. Lilika in particular, who could pass as a young adult, is 15. Additionally, Jirou is a mere year older than the other Tobita Club Gear Fighters yet towers over them, approaching nearly twice the height in Kyousuke's case.

Context Anime / CrushGearTurbo