History Anime / BakutenShootBeyblade

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: For completeness's sake, non-anime colors are included in italics.
** Blue: Tyson, Hitoshi, Kai, Suzuka, Mariam, Bat, Kane, Ming-Ming, ''Shōgo'', ''Ayaka''
** Off-red: Mao, Michael (S1), Mathilda, Chiru-Chiru, ''Kurumi'', ''Emily (Bakuten Shoot Beyblade GBC 2001)''
** Purple: Rei (manga) Paula, Ralf, Volkov, Ivan, Boris (S1), Gideon, Daryl, ''Seichi'', ''Haruka'', ''Mutsuki''
** Green: Kiki, Steve, Gye, Olivier, Yusuf, Zeo, Claude, Izam, Ming-Ming's bassist, ''Kaoru'', ''Makoto'', ''Mutsuki''

* TheChick: Hiromi is the only female on the main team. She is more of a manager and does't actually blade herself. Prior to her, the dub had Dizzi, who isn't even human.

* FingerlessGloves: A recurring fashion choice among bladers and some people associated with beyblade, like Blader DJ. Some wear them all the time, others, like Max and Kyōju, wear them when blading. Sometimes, the gloves aren't fingerless (or partially fingerless: Max's gloves in season 2-3 still cover his ring and pinky fingers) or HandwrapsOfAwesome is in effect. The look is more prominent in the last two seasons than in the first one. In fact, in season 2 and 3 a lot of character put gloves on only when blading, as if they were required gear.

** ''V-Force'' is the very definition of this trope. It takes a fairly short part of the manga involving the Saint Seals, Team Psykick, and Zeo Zagāto and adds characterization, two trial teams, several bit-beasts, and a minor subplot for Kai. Meanwhile, where the manga features Volkov as Zagāto's subordinate, the anime utilizes new characters Gideon, Doctor B, Doctor K, and Dan. The latter two would go on to temporarily manage a new team, the Parts Hunters, when they go rogue.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Team Psykick starts out real-evil in the manga instead of becoming possessed-evil as it does in the anime.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: There's a big one that we'll call the Volkov-Zagāto tree. In the manga, Borg is a small army of bladers headed by Volkov. Borg is defeated by the combined might of the BBA, the Bái Hǔ Zú, and the All Starz. Its members go in hiding, except the four elite bladers, who break with Borg and become Neoborg. Volkov returns to the true mastermind behind Borg: Doctor Zagāto, head of the Zagāto Ichimi, whose true goal is to acquire the most powerful bit-beasts in existence. To this end, he hired the Saint Seals, aware they meant to betray him, but would be useful regardless. Knowing that the Saint Seals work for Zagāto, Yuriy confronts them, but is defeated by Ozuma. Meanwhile, Zagāto brings together a new elite quartet: Team Cyber. Both the Saint Seals and Team Cyber were defeated, after which Zagāto and Volkov invest their final resources in ZO. When ZO is also defeated, Zagāto turns a new leaf and Volkov is just never heard from again. In the first season of the anime, Borg is an organization that aims to take over the world by means of stealing bitbeasts. Borg is headed by Volkov, who takes orders from and whose organization is financed by Sōichirō Hiwatari (who in the manga wants nothing to do with beyblading). Borg is defeated during the Russian Tournament, its elite bladers break with Borg and become Neoborg, while the other bladers are implied to walk out too. Neither Volkov's nor Hiwatari's fates are given. Then comes the Zagāto arc in the second season and it has no ties whatsoever with Borg. Rather, Volkov's main henchman is Gideon, who, until his death, oversees Psykick, more or less the anime name for the Zagāto Ichimi. Rather than evil, the elite team of Psykick are mind-controlled into their roles. The Saint Seals never work for any branch of Zagāto's organization. Zagāto's goal remains to acquire the most powerful bit-beasts in existence and he eventually bets on Zeo to get them. When Zeo is defeated, Zagāto turns a new leaf. Then in the third season, Volkov returns by himself and, after his henchman Barthez fails with the Barthez Soldat, sets up BEGA to gain control of beyblading. His elite team are the Justice 5, whom are confronted by Yuriy, Boris, and Sergei, but the three are readily beaten. When the Justice 5 learn what Volkov is truly like, they cut ties with BEGA. Volkov is left with nothing as BEGA ceases to exist.

* CanonForeigner: In terms of beyblade teams, the anime adds Team Who, the Team Psykick mooks, the Parts Hunters, the Children of the Four Holy Beasts of Darkness, and the Justice 5. Then there's various individuals, whether good or bad, like Akira, Hiromi, Alan, Gideon, and Doctor K. The dub jumps even further and adds three more characters in the form of TheVoice. Primarily Dizzi, Kyōju's talking bit-beast that resides inside his computer. The two bey-battle commentators Brad Best and AJ Topper are also exclusive to the dub.

** A confusing part of the Japanese version of the anime is that a bit-beast and a bey may or may not have the same name. Most are referred to by the same name, but there are bladers who address their bit-beasts differently, namely by their "species" name. These include the BBA's bit-beasts (Seiryū, Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu, Kōryū), Giancarlo's bit-beast (Amphisbaena), the Team Psykick's test bit-beasts (Digital Dragon, Digital Bird), and at least two of the Team Zagāto's bit-beasts (Spider, Kamaitachi). On top of that, a bit-beast with a separate name can be addressed by the bey's name, but the reverse is not possible. The anime technically inherited this from the manga, but it was less in-your-face there because there were less bit-beasts. The dub team apparently had issues with it too and renamed the affected bit-beasts to have the same name as the bey.

* AdultsAreUseless: Combines with InvisibleParents and ThereAreNoAdults on a case by case basis. There are only some 20-30 adults in the entire franchise, of which a significant portion true villains (as opposed to all the DefeatMeansFriendship child villains). The rest are family, who are generally useless, or people involved with beyblade, who are generally useful. Of the main cast, Rei never gets so much as a mention he even has parents, and the rest have parents that don't actually seem to be too concerned about them. A notable instance is [=S2E11=], which sees the BBBA Team saved from an island fully controlled by Team Psykick. The only "parent" to pick them up? Takao's grandfather.

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Team Psykick. The two test bladers for the digital bit-beasts are hinted to be permanently damaged from their influence, while the elite team survives only by luck.

** From episode 9 to 11 of ''V-Force'', the BBA is abducted by Psykick and held captive on an island under their control. They are forced to keep moving due to the threat of the bombs attached to their arms being set off, which is how Psykick forces the bladers to each do battle against a Psykick blader. However, the BBA defeats them all, forcing the agents present to flee the island and allowing Daitenji to rescue them.

* LensmanArmsRace: Due to the MerchandiseDriven nature of ''Beyblade'', every once in a while the geniuses of the story come up with the new evolution in beyblading. The systems of the first generation are the Spin Gear System (4-Layer & 5-Layer), the Magnacore System, the Engine Gear System, and the Hard Metal System. The Spin Gear System was present from the start and got its importance sidelined in favor of bit-beasts. The Magnacore System was introduced in ''V-Force''. In [=S2E6=], Doctor B develops the Magtram to give Team Psykick an edge. They hadn't counted on Kyōju recording Snakey's battle against Takao and analyzing the tech used by the former. Kyōju then joined forces with Judy and the PPB for the development of the Magnacore. The Engine Gear System and the Hard Metal System were introduced in ''G-Revolution''.

* LimitedWardrobe: The cast generally sticks with one outfit per season, which you can consider either played straight or averted. Alternative outfits do incidentally show up for specific occasions, like nightwear, training outfits, and in the case of Team Psykick uniforms vs casual clothes. Ming-Ming, Hiromi, and Hitoshi stand out for wearing a few different outfits throughout ''G-Revolution''.

** In Aoki's notes, Team Psykick's members are said to have been scouted from all over the world. Kane is Japanese-Australian and Gōki is full Japanese. Salima and Jim were not designed with a particular background in mind, though Salima's name was taken from an African travel guide while her nationality in the anime is Canadian, and Jim's name suggests him to be either American or European.

* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight: Right after the question how bit-beasts are supposed to be acceptable by the official rules of beyblade comes the question how automated launchers are when the game outcome depends so badly on a good launch. Customized launchers that give an advantage but still depend on the skill and strength of the user, like Paula's fishing rod launcher or Emily's tennis launcher, could still be part of a fair match, but guns like Borg or Psykick use? Not so much, and just like with bit-beast ownership, the fiction works to avoid the subject. In fairness, the aforementioned teams are depicted as evil, but the launchers themselves are legal and they keep them even after their HeelFaceTurn.

** In [=S2E18=], Kyōju, Hiromi, Rei, and Takao infiltrate Psykick's training center. While looking around in an empty lab, an employee approaches and going HiddenInPlainSight seems the kids' best chance. They grab two labcoats, Hiromi gets on Takao's shoulders and Kyōju's on Rei's, and then they never turn around when the employee addresses them so he can't see their suspiciously youthful faces. By all means, it shouldn't have worked, but it did.

* RollercoasterMine: There's one on the Psykick Island in [=S2E9=]. It's not that over the top, but the ground isn't even and prevents a smooth ride. Other hazards, like rubble covering the tracks and rusty breaks, are due to age. On the other hand, it's a mystery what it was used for, since its shown ends are beneath a fortified building and another is cut short at a clearing. There's a bridge in the next episode that has tracks built in, so that's probably another part of the mystery rollercoaster mine.

* SempaiKohai: Poor Yūya tries to be Kai's kōhai, but to Kai he is an unwelcome responsibility. So, Yūya tries to force Kai to notice him by joining Team Psykick. But Psykick only sees a test subject in him and during his first battle wielding Digital Bird he gets badly injured. Kai regrets giving Yūya the cold shoulder and does the next best thing to being a proper sempai: Take revenge.

* ShorterMeansSmarter: In effect for Kyōju of the BBA (at least prior to Daichi joining), Emily of the PPB All Starz, both of whom are TheShortGuyWithGlasses, Jim of Team Psykick, and counting TheSneakyGuy, Kiki of the Bái Hǔ Zú and Yusuf of the Saint Seals.

** In [=S3E41=], there's a shot of a BEGA tournament board to decide who'll join the ranks of BEGA's top bladers. Aside from actual characters, included are various (and sometimes misspelled) references. Blader #39 is listed as Aoki. Blader #99 is Synergy, an animation studio that assisted Nihon Animedia in the creation of ''V-Force'' and ''G-Revolution''. Bad (#22), Gally (#07), Foxy (#??), Fiegel (#69), Jack (#25), Denis (#92), Denny (#44), and Net (#81) are names that belong to trial members of Team Psykick and Team Zagāto. Akira (#??) and Hiruta (#77) are names that belong to two characters from the early episodes of Season 1. Mamoru (#??) and Hikaru (#88) are two characters from Daichi's portion of the manga that weren't included in the anime.

* SurvivorGuilt: Kai blames himself for Yūya's fate after using Digital Bird, because if he had given the boy the attention he craved from his idol, he'd never joined Team Psykick. It isn't until he gets to battle a mind-controlled Gōki, who handles the completed Cyber Dranzer and mercilessly taunts Kai over Yūya's suffering, that Kai can escape his guilt cage and avenge Yūya.

* ThoseWereOnlyTheirScouts: Pulled a lot. A-LOT! In Season 1, there's Bruce for the Bái Hǔ Zú, Andy & Tony for the PPB All Starz, and Alexander for Borg. In summary, almost every core team has a scout in the first season. In Season 2, half the bladers the BBA Team has to fight are scouts. That is to say, there's twelve scouts, split in two groups that precede Team Psykick and Team Zagāto, while the amount of non-scouts in Season 2 is fourteen. The third season has the Ming-Ming Band and the BEGA Training Squad for the Justice 5. The Barthez Soldat have this function in relation to the Justice 5 too, but only because they themselves chose not to be the true danger.

** ''V-Force'' is the very definition of this trope. It takes a fairly short part of the manga involving the Saint Seals, Team Psychic, and Zeo Zagāto and adds characterization, two trial teams, several bit-beasts, and a minor subplot for Kai. Meanwhile, where the manga features Volkov as Zagāto's subordinate, the anime utilizes new characters Gideon, Doctor B, Doctor K, and Dan. The latter two would go on to temporarily manage a new team, the Parts Hunters, when they go rogue.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Team Psychic starts out real-evil in the manga instead of becoming possessed-evil as it does in the anime.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: There's a big one that we'll call the Volkov-Zagāto tree. In the manga, Borg is a small army of bladers headed by Volkov. Borg is defeated by the combined might of the BBA, the Bái Hǔ Zú, and the All Starz. Its members go in hiding, except the four elite bladers, who break with Borg and become Neoborg. Volkov returns to the true mastermind behind Borg: Doctor Zagāto, head of the Zagāto Ichimi, whose true goal is to acquire the most powerful bit-beasts in existence. To this end, he hired the Saint Seals, aware they meant to betray him, but would be useful regardless. Knowing that the Saint Seals work for Zagāto, Yuriy confronts them, but is defeated by Ozuma. Meanwhile, Zagāto brings together a new elite quartet: Team Cyber. Both the Saint Seals and Team Cyber were defeated, after which Zagāto and Volkov invest their final resources in ZO. When ZO is also defeated, Zagāto turns a new leaf and Volkov is just never heard from again. In the first season of the anime, Borg is an organization that aims to take over the world by means of stealing bitbeasts. Borg is headed by Volkov, who takes orders from and whose organization is financed by Sōichirō Hiwatari (who in the manga wants nothing to do with beyblading). Borg is defeated during the Russian Tournament, its elite bladers break with Borg and become Neoborg, while the other bladers are implied to walk out too. Neither Volkov's nor Hiwatari's fates are given. Then comes the Zagāto arc in the second season and it has no ties whatsoever with Borg. Rather, Volkov's main henchman is Gideon, who, until his death, oversees Psychic, more or less the anime name for the Zagāto Ichimi. Rather than evil, the elite team of Psychic are mind-controlled into their roles. The Saint Seals never work for any branch of Zagāto's organization. Zagāto's goal remains to acquire the most powerful bit-beasts in existence and he eventually bets on Zeo to get them. When Zeo is defeated, Zagāto turns a new leaf. Then in the third season, Volkov returns by himself and, after his henchman Barthez fails with the Barthez Soldat, sets up BEGA to gain control of beyblading. His elite team are the Justice 5, whom are confronted by Yuriy, Boris, and Sergei, but the three are readily beaten. When the Justice 5 learn what Volkov is truly like, they cut ties with BEGA. Volkov is left with nothing as BEGA ceases to exist.

* CanonForeigner: In terms of beyblade teams, the anime adds Team Who, the Team Psychic mooks, the Parts Hunters, the Children of the Four Holy Beasts of Darkness, and the Justice 5. Then there's various individuals, whether good or bad, like Akira, Hiromi, Alan, Gideon, and Doctor K. The dub jumps even further and adds three more characters in the form of TheVoice. Primarily Dizzi, Kyōju's talking bit-beast that resides inside his computer. The two bey-battle commentators Brad Best and AJ Topper are also exclusive to the dub.

** A confusing part of the Japanese version of the anime is that a bit-beast and a bey may or may not have the same name. Most are referred to by the same name, but there are bladers who address their bit-beasts differently, namely by their "species" name. These include the BBA's bit-beasts (Seiryū, Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu, Kōryū), Giancarlo's bit-beast (Amphisbaena), the Team Psychic's test bit-beasts (Digital Dragon, Digital Bird), and at least two of the Team Zagāto's bit-beasts (Spider, Kamaitachi). On top of that, a bit-beast with a separate name can be addressed by the bey's name, but the reverse is not possible. The anime technically inherited this from the manga, but it was less in-your-face there because there were less bit-beasts. The dub team apparently had issues with it too and renamed the affected bit-beasts to have the same name as the bey.

* AdultsAreUseless: Combines with InvisibleParents and ThereAreNoAdults on a case by case basis. There are only some 20-30 adults in the entire franchise, of which a significant portion true villains (as opposed to all the DefeatMeansFriendship child villains). The rest are family, who are generally useless, or people involved with beyblade, who are generally useful. Of the main cast, Rei never gets so much as a mention he even has parents, and the rest have parents that don't actually seem to be too concerned about them. A notable instance is [=S2E11=], which sees the BBBA Team saved from an island fully controlled by Team Psychic. The only "parent" to pick them up? Takao's grandfather.

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Team Psychic. The two test bladers for the digital bit-beasts are hinted to be permanently damaged from their influence, while the elite team survives only by luck.

** From episode 9 to 11 of ''V-Force'', the BBA is abducted by Psychic and held captive on an island under their control. They are forced to keep moving due to the threat of the bombs attached to their arms being set off, which is how Psychic forces the bladers to each do battle against a Psychic blader. However, the BBA defeats them all, forcing the agents present to flee the island and allowing Daitenji to rescue them.

* LimitedWardrobe: The cast generally sticks with one outfit per season, which you can consider either played straight or averted. Alternative outfits do incidentally show up for specific occasions, like nightwear, training outfits, and in the case of Team Psychic uniforms vs casual clothes. Ming-Ming, Hiromi, and Hitoshi stand out for wearing a few different outfits throughout ''G-Revolution''.

** In Aoki's notes, Team Psychic's members are said to have been scouted from all over the world. Kane is Japanese-Australian and Gōki is full Japanese. Salima and Jim were not designed with a particular background in mind, though Salima's name was taken from an African travel guide while her nationality in the anime is Canadian, and Jim's name suggests him to be either American or European.

* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight: Right after the question how bit-beasts are supposed to be acceptable by the official rules of beyblade comes the question how automated launchers are when the game outcome depends so badly on a good launch. Customized launchers that give an advantage but still depend on the skill and strength of the user, like Paula's fishing rod launcher or Emily's tennis launcher, could still be part of a fair match, but guns like Borg or Psychic use? Not so much, and just like with bit-beast ownership, the fiction works to avoid the subject. In fairness, the aforementioned teams are depicted as evil, but the launchers themselves are legal and they keep them even after their HeelFaceTurn.

** In [=S2E18=], Kyōju, Hiromi, Rei, and Takao infiltrate Psychic's training center. While looking around in an empty lab, an employee approaches and going HiddenInPlainSight seems the kids' best chance. They grab two labcoats, Hiromi gets on Takao's shoulders and Kyōju's on Rei's, and then they never turn around when the employee addresses them so he can't see their suspiciously youthful faces. By all means, it shouldn't have worked, but it did.

* RollercoasterMine: There's one on the Psychic Island in [=S2E9=]. It's not that over the top, but the ground isn't even and prevents a smooth ride. Other hazards, like rubble covering the tracks and rusty breaks, are due to age. On the other hand, it's a mystery what it was used for, since its shown ends are beneath a fortified building and another is cut short at a clearing. There's a bridge in the next episode that has tracks built in, so that's probably another part of the mystery rollercoaster mine.

* SempaiKohai: Poor Yūya tries to be Kai's kōhai, but to Kai he is an unwelcome responsibility. So, Yūya tries to force Kai to notice him by joining Team Psychic. But Psychic only sees a test subject in him and during his first battle wielding Digital Bird he gets badly injured. Kai regrets giving Yūya the cold shoulder and does the next best thing to being a proper sempai: Take revenge.

* ShorterMeansSmarter: In effect for Kyōju of the BBA (at least prior to Daichi joining), Emily of the PPB All Starz, both of whom are TheShortGuyWithGlasses, Jim of Team Psychic, and counting TheSneakyGuy, Kiki of the Bái Hǔ Zú and Yusuf of the Saint Seals.

** In [=S3E41=], there's a shot of a BEGA tournament board to decide who'll join the ranks of BEGA's top bladers. Aside from actual characters, included are various (and sometimes misspelled) references. Blader #39 is listed as Aoki. Blader #99 is Synergy, an animation studio that assisted Nihon Animedia in the creation of ''V-Force'' and ''G-Revolution''. Bad (#22), Gally (#07), Foxy (#??), Fiegel (#69), Jack (#25), Denis (#92), Denny (#44), and Net (#81) are names that belong to trial members of Team Psychic and Team Zagāto. Akira (#??) and Hiruta (#77) are names that belong to two characters from the early episodes of Season 1. Mamoru (#??) and Hikaru (#88) are two characters from Daichi's portion of the manga that weren't included in the anime.

* SurvivorGuilt: Kai blames himself for Yūya's fate after using Digital Bird, because if he had given the boy the attention he craved from his idol, he'd never joined Team Psychic. It isn't until he gets to battle a mind-controlled Gōki, who handles the completed Cyber Dranzer and mercilessly taunts Kai over Yūya's suffering, that Kai can escape his guilt cage and avenge Yūya.

* ThoseWereOnlyTheirScouts: Pulled a lot. A-LOT! In Season 1, there's Bruce for the Bái Hǔ Zú, Andy & Tony for the PPB All Starz, and Alexander for Borg. In summary, almost every core team has a scout in the first season. In Season 2, half the bladers the BBA Team has to fight are scouts. That is to say, there's twelve scouts, split in two groups that precede Team Psychic and Team Zagāto, while the amount of non-scouts in Season 2 is fourteen. The third season has the Ming-Ming Band and the BEGA Training Squad for the Justice 5. The Barthez Soldat have this function in relation to the Justice 5 too, but only because they themselves chose not to be the true danger.

** StockShoutOut: In original Japanese version of [=S3E21=], Daichi loses a boxing match against a kangaroo, leading to a PastelChalkedFreezeFrame of him [[Manga/AshitaNoJoe slumped over on a stool with a smile]]. To complete the homage, even the credits begin to play, leading to Kyōju and Hiromi to [[BreakingTheFourthWall interrupt them because it's too early.]]

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: One episode of the first season got named "Last Tangle In Paris" in the dub. Not a kid-friendly reference.

-> '''''3... 2... 1... GO SHOOT!!'''''

-> '''''3...2...1...LET IT RIP!'''''

** The big one is Hiromi's inability to see bit-beasts at the start of the second season. In the Japanese canon, the ability to see bit-beasts is rare. In the dub, at least during the first season, everyone can see them. Then in comes Hiromi with a few episodes worth of "I want to see bit-beasts too!". The dub went with it, opting to forgo addressing the established dub canon. Which caused ''another'' problem in regards to the dub-exclusive Dizzi. She's a bit-beast, yet during all Hiromi's asking Dizzi's identity is somehow ignored. This is exceptionally blatant in [=S2E11=] when Hiromi asks Dizzi if she could tell her what a bit-beast is (and is ignored because there are more pressing matters at hand).

* ExcitedTitleTwoPartEpisode: Along with ExcitedShowTitle. That is, the two part type title was used a lot during the first season. The second season dropped it, lacking a notable structure in its titles. Then the third season returned the exclamation marks with the latter type of title.

* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Of any given team that has a female member, she's near-guaranteed to be the most innocent of the team. Emily is the only one of hers who didn't bully Max about Judy and who tried to get Judy to admit to some love for her son. Mariam was the first of hers who objected to bit-beasts being hurt and who opened up to the BBA. Salima was the only one able to resist the cyber bit-beasts and refused to abandon her team even if they might hurt her in their state. Similarly, Mathilda was pivotal in getting her team out of Barthez's influence. The only archetype that forms any competition to TheSmurfette is the GentleGiant, which Mao and Gaoh showcase. They're equal in their kindness to outsiders, but Mao gets so much more focus that it's easy to forget Gaoh even exists.

** And even worse is [=S2E35=], in which the opponent has a [[{{Youkai}} kamaitachi]]-type bit-beast. None of the BBA Team can figure out how the beyblade and/or bit-beast can attack without hitting Kai's beyblade at first, and it's Rei of all people who utters the line that it can't be the wind doing the damage. Yes, that Rei, the one who nearly got murdered in [=S1E49=] by Boris's Falborg's knife-like wind-based attacks.

** Tyson is the BBA Team's captain in the original version, as he was it that won the Japanese Tournament. In the dub, Kai is the team captain.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: There's a big one that we'll call the Volkov-Zagāto tree. In the manga, Borg is a small army of bladers headed by Volkov. Borg is defeated by the combined might of the BBA, the Bái Hǔ Zú, and the All Starz. Its members go in hiding, except the four elite bladers, who break with Borg and become Neoborg. Volkov returns to the true mastermind behind Borg: Doctor Zagāto, head of the Zagāto Ichimi, whose true goal is to acquire the most powerful bit-beasts in existence. To this end, he hired the Saint Seals, aware they meant to betray him, but would be useful regardless. Knowing that the Saint Seals work for Zagāto, Yuriy confronts them, but is defeated by Ozuma. Meanwhile, Zagāto brings together a new elite quartet: Team Cyber. Both the Saint Seals and Team Cyber were defeated, after which Zagāto and Volkov invest their final resources in ZO. When ZO is also defeated, Zagāto turns a new leaf and Volkov just is never heard from again. In the first season of the anime, Borg is an organization that aims to take over the world by means of beyblade. Borg is headed by Volkov, who takes orders from and whose organization is financed by Sōichirō Hiwatari (who in the manga wants nothing to do with beyblading). Borg is defeated during the Russian Tournament, its elite bladers break with Borg and become Neoborg, while the other bladers are implied to walk out too. Neither Volkov's nor Hiwatari's fates are given. Then comes the Zagāto arc in the second season and it has no ties whatsoever with Borg. Rather, Volkov's main henchman is Gideon, who, until his death, oversees Psychic, more or less the anime name for the Zagāto Ichimi. Rather than evil, the elite team of Psychic are mind-controlled into their roles. The Saint Seals never work for any branch of Zagāto's organization. Zagāto's goal remains to acquire the most powerful bit-beasts in existence and he eventually bets on Zeo to get them. When Zeo is defeated, Zagāto turns a new leaf. Then in the third season, Volkov returns by himself and, after his henchman Barthez fails with the Barthez Soldat, sets up BEGA to gain control of beyblading. His elite team are the Justice 5, whom are confronted by Yuriy, Boris, and Sergei, but the three are readily beaten. When the Justice 5 learn what Volkov is truly like, they cut ties with BEGA. Volkov is left with nothing as BEGA ceases to exist.

** Any character that is introduced in the side section, that is to say, Daichi's storyline, is not included in the anime. Daichi himself is the obvious exception. His father's heroic death scene was part of the movie, but he's not sp much as mentioned in the third season. Hikaru, Kennosuke, and Tenmaru get a slide in the Japan-exclusive ending of ''G-Revolution''. The fake Daichi has a counterpart in J. That's about it.

** Zigzagged with Kai's parents. With Sōichirō's AdaptationalVillainy upgrade for the first season, it seems Kai's parents aren't alive anymore. They'd hopefully have objected to Kai being raised as a weapon for his grandfather's plans of world domination if they were still breathing. But there is a line in the Japanese version of [=S2E5=] where his father is mentioned as still being in Kai's life, just that their relationship is horribly strained. In the manga, Kai's mother barely qualifies as a character, but she takes care of him, while Kai's father more or less walked out on them for the sake of beyblade.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: There's a big one that we'll call the Volkov-Zagāto tree. In the manga, Borg is a small army of bladers headed by Volkov. Borg is defeated by the combined might of the BBA, the Bái Hǔ Zú, and the All Starz. Its members go in hiding, except the four elite bladers, who break with Borg and become Neoborg. Volkov returns to the true mastermind behind Borg: Doctor Zagāto, head of the Zagāto Ichimi, whose true goal is to acquire the most powerful bit-beasts in existence. To this end, he hired the Saint Seals, aware they meant to betray him, but would be useful regardless. Knowing that the Saint Seals work for Zagāto, Yuriy confronts them, but is defeated by Ozuma. Meanwhile, Zagāto brings together a new elite quartet: Team Cyber. Both the Saint Seals and Team Cyber were defeated, after which Zagāto and Volkov invest their final resources in ZO. When ZO is also defeated, Zagāto turns a new leaf and Volkov just is never heard from again. In the first season of the anime, Borg is an organization that aims to take over the world by means of beyblade. Borg is headed by Volkov, who takes orders from and whose organization is financed by Sōichirō Hiwatari (who in the manga wants nothing to do with beyblading). Borg is defeated during the Russian Tournament, its elite bladers break with Borg and become Neoborg, while the other bladers are implied to walk out too. Neither Volkov's nor Hiwatari's fates are given. Then comes the Zagāto arc in the second season and it has no ties whatsoever with Borg. Rather, Volkov's main henchman is Gideon, who, until his death, oversees Psychic, more or less the anime name for the Zagāto Ichimi. Rather than evil, the elite team of Psychic are mind-controlled into their roles. And the Saint Seals never work for any branch of Zagāto's organization. Zagāto's goal remains to acquire the most powerful bit-beasts in existence and he eventually bets on Zeo to get them. When Zeo is defeated, Zagāto turns a new leaf. Then in the third season, Volkov returns by himself and, after his henchman Barthez fails with the Barthez Soldat, sets up BEGA to gain control of beyblading. His elite team are the Justice 5, whom are confronted by Yuriy, Boris, and Sergei, but the three are readily beaten. When the Justice 5 learn what Volkov is truly like, they cut ties with BEGA. Volkov is left with nothing as BEGA ceases to exist.

** Any character that is introduced in the side section, that is to say, Daichi's storyline, is not included in the anime. Daichi himself is the obvious exception. His father's heroic death scene was part of the movie, but he's not sp much as mentioned in the third season. Hikaru, Kennosuke, and Tenmaru get a slide in the Japan-exclusive ending of ''G-Revolution''. And the fake Daichi has a counterpart in J. That's about it.

** In the original version, the Majestic 4 do not have a name. They're simply the Euro Team. The dub gave them the name Majestics. However, the story as it is has the members form a team for the first time, which specifically occurs in [=S1E38=]. A.J. Topper and Brad Best introduce them as the Majestics, which Ralf is surprised by and Johnny indifferent to, while Olivier and Giancarlo talk about how beyblade is not a team sport. Which leaves the question just who came up with "Majestics"? There's some implication Johnny created the name, but that would be at odds with him being the one insistently opposed to what's going on in the first place.

** And, of course, the second season. It received the additional title "2002" in Japan because it aired in 2002. But it didn't air in 2002 elsewhere. The English dub changed "2002" to "V-Force" and most translations followed suit. For the third season, Japan got the hint and gave it the more versatile addition title "G-Revolution".

** UnrelatedInTheAdaptation: Genta and Ganta are no longer specified as being brothers in the dub. And just as with the manga, Takao and Daichi aren't cousins anymore (and by extension Yoshie and Rinko aren't sisters).

* BigEater: Takao, Daichi, Gaoh, and Romero stand out in particular. And of course, they're drawn with a BalloonBelly when they're full.

** There's three in the first season. [=S1E18=] has the BBA Team return to their homes after winning the Chinese Tournament and before heading out to the American one. [=S1E21=] sees the BBA Team train in the wilderness with a beginning blader, Antonio, to get over the intimidation pulled on them by the All Starz. And [=S1E29=] is a RecapEpisode narrated by Kyōju following the BBA's victory during the American Tournament. It ends with the team boarding the ship for Russia.

* FlatCharacter: With as many characters as the franchise holds, of course one falls through depth-wise here and there. But the second season, movie included, in particular has a problem not investing in its cast. It brings back Daitenji and Judy, but makes them doormats compared to their Season 1 selves. It fills up the episode count with several one-shot evil bladers with near no defining traits and certainly no audience investment. Despite that Gordo holds the position of a character that should have a story, he's really only there so Zeo has the partner required for a tag team tournament. And then there's the children that get possessed by the Four Holy Beasts of Darkness... at the end of the movie there's more to say about their caretaker than about them and the bit-beasts combined!

* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight: Kai on Lake Baikal. And Zeo vs. Takao, Salima vs Rei.

** As much as nothing is said about it, no way that there weren't ''many'' deaths at the hands of the Shadow Bladers in the movie. For instance, one scene has a postively packed mass of civilians marching through the main street to evacuate when they are hit in full by a tsunami. And another scene has the entire city on fire.

* LightGirlDarkBoy: With the sole exception of Ming-Ming, every girl in the anime is either light-skinned, [[RaceLift becomes light-skinned]], or has a lighter skin tone than a related male character. Mao started off with the same skin tone as her teammates, but became paler than them, including her brother, in ''G-Revolution''. Paula is the only member of Spintensity noted to have native ties, yet she's also the only one with light skin. This stands out even more when one considers her unnamed manga counterpart has the same dark skin as her teammates. The difference between Mariam's and Yusuf's skintones is small, but still lighter on Mariam's side. Between King and Queen, Queen is the one with light skin while King has dark skin. And Moses's younger sister is nowhere near his level of melanin.

* ParentalAbandonment: When it comes to the main characters, Tyson's mother is dead, and his father is away most of the time because of his job. Kai is in a similar situation, but has it worse than Tyson. Max's parents are separated most of the time and he has to choose with whom he lives. And in Daichi's case, his father is dead, but he does have the fortune of still having his mother. Rei's parents never appear and are never mentioned, so his case is left unknown. Kyōju and Hiromi have regular home-lifes.

* ShouldntWeBeInSchoolRightNow: Some 90% of the cast are teens and preteens, yet there are only two times, three if we stretch it, their current education is addressed. After not going to school for the whole of Season 1, Season 2 starts with Tyson and Kyōju in school, and Hiromi is introduced to the main cast on account of being their classmate. Kai is later revealed to be off to BoardingSchool, which introduces his classmate Yūya for a plotline later on. It all lasts for 12 episodes, and then no one goes to school anymore. Another mention occurs in the first season regarding Giancarlo, who is introduced while sneaking away from his private lessons about to start. Similarly, Zeo in the second season is shown to get violin lessons from his valet, which opens the possibility he gets private lessons in other subjects too. Then there are various characters for whom it's not hard to theorize how their education works, but that's only theorizing and still leaves plenty of character that just... don't seem to get an education at all. Since then, ''[[Manga/BakutenShootBeyblade Rising]]'' has addressed these issues too, but just as ambiguously. In the fifth chapter, Daichi has been made to study harder by his mother because his grades have been slipping. Needless to say, he's never been shown to go to school before, but here he gets a private tutor in the form of Hitoshi. And Kyōju speaks of preparing for his high school entrance exams in the second special chapter, which is a new kind of concern of his.

** In [=S3E41=], there's a shot of a BEGA tournament board to decide who'll join the ranks of BEGA's top bladers. Aside from actual characters, included are various (and sometimes misspelled) references. Blader #39 is listed as Aoki. Blader #99 is Synergy, an animation studio that assisted Nihon Animedia in the creation of ''V-Force'' and ''G-Revolution''. Bad (#22), Gally (#07), Foxy (#??), Fiegel (#69), Jack (#25), Denis (#92), Denny (#44), and Net (#81) are names that belong to trial members of Team Psychic and Team Zagāto. Akira (#??) and Hiruta (#77) are names that belong to two characters from the early episodes of Season 1. And Mamoru (#??) and Hikaru (#88) are two characters from Daichi's portion of the manga that weren't included in the anime.

** The Bái Hǔ Zú and Borg from Season 1 to Season 3. Oh, and the Majestic 4. And Kai between ''V-Force'' and ''G-Revolution'', to the point where it's insanely hard to rationalise. And Rei; goes from usually awesome, polite, pretty sane really, to muscle-bound meanie obsessed with winning.

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: This from Kai's second battle against Brooklyn in the dub:
--> [[MyNameIsInigoMontoya Kai. That's my name.]] And I'm a Beyblader. And you might think you are but you're not. You learned from the best but you forgot a very important lesson. Beyblading isn't just about overpowering your opponent with fancy moves. That's only part of the game. There's more to it than that. Much more. That's why I have something you don't.I have learned from every battle I fought. Every friend, enemy and spectator always had something to offer me. And I'm a student to this game. And I always will be. With the hardships of training, competitions, the wins and the losses, they all taught me something. And I've taken that knowledge and used it to my advantage. That's why I can say, that I'm a true beyblader. That's what keeps me going. And that's my strength. I don't think you ever will(understand). Because you're not a true beyblader. You have the power and the skill but something is missing from inside you. You don't have the beyblading spirit! That's why I have to win this battle! Because beyblading means more to me than you could ever understand! IT'S NOT JUST A GAME TO ME! NOW FINISH HIM OFF, DRANZER!"

The first season narrates how the protagonists, the BBA Team, rise to the top. It starts out on neighborhood level, with a local gang of beyblading bullies terrorizing Akebono, moves to the Japanese Tournament where the protagonists become a team, then enters a series of tournaments, and finishes with the BBA being the world's last chance against a hostile takeover by Borg and Hiwatari Enterprises. Along the way, each member of the team faced a personal demon and grew both as a person and as a teammate.

Season 2 (''2002'' in Japan, ''V-Force'' elsewhere) shifts gears, moving largely away from the tournament narrative to provide a story of the BBA Team having to defend their four sacred bit-beasts -- Dragoon, Draciel, Dranzer, and Driger -- from two organizations trying to steal them: the Saint Seals and Zagāto Industries, which were at odds with each other too. The BBA Team's numbers increase with the addition of Hiromi, who provides support to the team alongside Kyōju.

''Beyblade: The Movie - Fierce Battle'' follows on Season 2, but cannot lead into Season 3 on account that Daichi has his introduction in both of them. The movie sees the BBA Team travel to Kyushu for a tournament and to spend a few days of vacation. However, on a nearby island a group of four children accidentally set the Four Holy Beasts of Darkness free and it's up to the BBA to save the world from the creatures' wrath.

Season 3 (''G-Revolution'') returns to the tournament-heavy format, if with one major twist: the BBA Team is no longer together. Max, Rei, and Kai all went to their alternative teams for their own shot at becoming the world champion. This leaves Takao to join forces with season-newcomer Daichi and his bit-beast Gaia Dragoon. The former teammates face off against each other in various rounds, but ultimately become allies again for another effort to stop the world from being taken over.

The differences between the anime and the manga are significant and plentiful. Firstly, the flow of time is different. Where in the manga everything happens within one year, each season of the anime represents a year, making for three years total. To this end, the length and amount of battles got vastly upped: the manga featured a one-battle-only mode while the anime used a best-out-of-three setup. Furthermore, in the manga, many of the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters team-type bladers]] were [[FlatCharacter bodies at best]] whereas the anime fleshed out as many characters as it could. One important thing to note is that the manga and anime were in part produced concurrently and Aoki did do work for the anime too. This means that on occasion it's the manga which is the adaptation rather than the other way around.

Much like other localized kid-oriented anime of the time, the English version of ''Beyblade'' was given a number of changes including Western names for characters, Dizzi's very existence, music adjustments, and removal of certain parts of the show that wouldn't fly on U.S. TV. The anime was licensed by {{Creator/Nelvana}}.

* FlatCharacter: With as many characters as the franchise holds, of course one falls through depth-wise here and there. But the second season, movie included, in particular has a problem not investing in its cast. It brings back Daitenji and Judy, but makes them doormats compared to their Season 1 selves. It fills up the episode count with several one-shot evil bladers with no near no defining traits and certainly no audience investment. Despite that Gordo holds the position of a character that should have a story, he's really only there so Zeo has the partner required for a tag team tournament. And then there's the children that get possessed by the Four Holy Beasts of Darkness... at the end of the movie there's more to say about their caretaker than them about them and the bit-beasts combined!

* HaHaHaNo: In [=S2E32=], Zeo drags Takao to the Aoki River and only there tells him because he needs him for a beybattle. Takao laughs, then abruptly tells him no and leaves.
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Brooklyn, the final [[EldritchAbomination boss]] of Season 3, never practices because he has an abnormal level of natural talent. This is presented as a [[DysfunctionJunction Bad Thing]] ... except you rarely see anyone else practising either. Most of the time, when someone needs to get stronger, they either get new equipment or a [[DeusExMachina convenient bit-beast upgrade]]. But whenever they do get new equipment, they have to train. That was how Hiromi ended up joining the team!

* HeelFaceTurn: Just about every blader that the BBA Team fought ended up this way.

** There was only so much the dub could remove from Giancarlo's interaction with Bianca and Rosetta to try and make it look platonic, and ultimately it threw in the towel and went with romantic. Next episode though, the dub has the gal to let Olivier refer to the girls as Giancarlo's "friends".

* AlphabeticalThemeNaming: A major name system in Season 1, but absent in Seasona 2 and 3.

* GoingBackToTheBasics: The heroes have to learn a new technique for the beyblades but can't seem to get the hang of it. Their friend, Hillary, comes up with a practice technique that requires them to start from the basics of their Beyblade skill and slowly incorporate the technique into it. Tyson initially rejects it at first, but Ray gives it a shot the following morning which indeed allows him to wield the technique better. Tyson begrudgingly concedes and the rest of the heroes follow suit.

* ConspicuousCGI: Starting with the second season, the beyblades were animated in CGI, while the rest of the show remained drawn.

* FingerlessGloves: A recurring fashion choice among bladers and some people associated with beyblade, like Blader DJ. Some wear them all the time, others, like Max and Kyōju, wear them when blading. Sometimes, the gloves aren't fingerless (or partially fingerless: Max's gloves in season 2-3 still cover his ring and pinky fingers or HandwrapsOfAwesome is in effect. The look is more prominent in the last two seasons than in the first one. In fact, in season 2 and 3 a lot of character put gloves on only when blading, as if they were required gear.

* FingerlessGloves: A recurring fashion choice among bladers and some people associated with beyblade, like Blader DJ. Some wear them all the time, others, like Max and Kyōju, wear them when blading. Sometimes, the gloves aren't fingerless or HandwrapsOfAwesome is in effect. The look is more prominent in the last two seasons than in the first one.

* LyingOnAHillside: It's a recurring event in ''Anime/BakutenShootBeyblade'' for the protagonists to head to the Aoki riverside whenever they are in Akebono and need a moment of peace.

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: The whole damn premise.

** Inverted. Daichi's long-running arc before meeting Takao is not included in the anime. As a result, he comes across as a pesky ball of arrogance rather than someone who worked hard to achieve what he did.

** Takao is the BBA Team's captain in the original version, as he was it that won the Japanese Tournament. In the dub, Kai is the team captain.

* BackForTheFinale: Done at the end of the first season, when literally every blader Takao and the BBA ever met cheers Takao on during his match against Yuriy. Done again at the end of the Japanese version of ''G-Revolution'' in the form of a WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue. It consists of a slideshow what everyone is up to these days.

* MaleGaze: There is none in the first season, but it creeps in in the second season and gets quite bad in the third season. The worst of the second season is the GirlinessUpgrade of Judy and the {{Stripperiffic}} second outfit of Doctor K, but at least these are still adult women. In the third season, even the ten-something year olds aren't safe. Among others, Mathilda and Ming-Ming have a squeeze-boobs-up-between-arms part in their more elaborate attack sequences, there's the "Egyptian" dresses Hiromi and Julia wear for a single shot in [=S3E18=], and odd bits here and there like a focus shot of Hiromi's torso while she's running in [=S3E51=]. Needless to say, where they could the dub team removed these parts. Also of note is Tao, who in the manga is platonically eccentric, but is turned into a DirtyOldMan in the anime.

** There's Makoto (Hiruta), the Blade Shark, Makoto (Amō), Kaoru's sister, and Makoto (Kinomiya), Takao's son.

** There's Hitoshi (Kinomiya), Takao's brother, and Hiroshi, the Shadow Blader.

* ShouldntWeBeInSchoolRightNow: Some 90% of the cast are teens and preteens, yet there are only two times, three if we stretch it, their current education is addressed. After not going to school for the whole of Season 1, Season 2 starts with Takao and Kyōju in school, and Hiromi is introduced to the main cast on account of being their classmate. Kai is later revealed to be off to BoardingSchool, which introduces his classmate Yūya for a plotline later on. It all lasts for 12 episodes, and then no one goes to school anymore. Another mention occurs in the first season regarding Giancarlo, who is introduced while sneaking away from his private lessons about to start. Similarly, Zeo in the second season is shown to get violin lessons from his valet, which opens the possibility he gets private lessons in other subjects too. Then there are various characters for whom it's not hard to theorize how their education works, but that's only theorizing and still leaves plenty of character that just... don't seem to get an education at all. Since then, ''[[Manga/BakutenShootBeyblade Rising]]'' has addressed these issues too, but just as ambiguously. In the fifth chapter, Daichi has been made to study harder by his mother because his grades have been slipping. Needless to say, he's never been shown to go to school before, but here he gets a private tutor in the form of Hitoshi. And Kyōju speaks of preparing for his high school entrance exams in the second special chapter, which is a new kind of concern of his.

** {{Tuckerization}}: In the original version of [=S1E1=], Hiruta tells Takao and the others to meet him at the Aoki River, a reference to the mangaka Takao Aoki.

** Any and all CharacterDevelopment Takao went through in the 1st season was completely disregarded in seasons 2 and 3, which had him acting like even more of a hot-blooded brat than when Season 1 started, and even ''back then'' he was much more mature.

* TheTalk: Occurs in the dub of [=S1E1=] when Takao hopes his grandfather is not going to give him the 'birds and bees' speech, to which Ryūnosuke replies that's scheduled for next week.

-->'''Takao (dub):''' He set his goals a little too high, but when he realized he could never [[spoiler: BecomeARealBoy,]] he found out that, that wasn't the most important thing in life. You see if you're not happy with who you are, being something else won't make a difference.

** In [=S2E20=], Takao gets this from Hiromi for yelling at Kyōju all because he was trying to help and he gets this from Max too after he yelled at Hiromi. He also gets this from Rei and Kai to an extent, when they accuse Takao of cheating.
** In [=S3E13=], Takao gets this from Hiromi, Kyōju, and his own brother Hitoshi when he blames his loss on Daichi.

* WithOurSwordsScene: Takao gets to be the wielder at the end of Season 3.

* YearsTooEarly: In the original version of [=S3E5=], Takao tells Kyōju he's a 100 years to early to be his rival, which Kyōju agrees with even though Takao's words hurt him. When at the end of the A-Block Kyōju helped Takao win against a tricky adversary that deceived them both, Kyōju shyly asks if the 100 years have shortened to 50. Takao apologizes for what he said and declares Kyōju his rival, no ifs or buts.

** Blue: Takao, Hitoshi, Kai, Suzuka, Mariam, Bat, Kane, Ming-Ming, ''Shōgo'', ''Ayaka''