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Even the smallest things can be the key to save the world!

"The year is 2046.
The invention of fortified cardboard material, able to withstand any shock and retain its shape, would revolutionise the shipping industry - but the humble cardboard box itself would see a new use, as an arena for the children's battling hobby robots or LBXs.
These battles would later be known as — Danball Senki!"
Opening narration

LBX: Little Battlers eXperience (Danball Senki) is a Play Station Portable RPG, developed by Level 5 and released on June 16th, 2011, being one of the three franchises that put the company on the map.

Take place in 2050, players assume the role of Ban Yamano, a young boy who is a fan of LBX, or Little Battlers eXperience, a line of toys which are equal parts model kit and fully functioning robot. They are most commonly used to battle each other in miniature diorama arenas made from a new type of ultra-resilient cardboard.

One day, he is approached out of the blue by a mysterious female scientist who hands him an attache case containing a prototype LBX called "AX-00", which the scientist claims is "the key to saving the world". Unbeknownst to Ban, however, is the fact that the model is wanted by a mysterious group, and he soon finds himself being hunted by the group's masked agents.

Fortunately, with Friendly Sniper Kazuya Aoshima and quick-footed Action Girl Ami Kawamura by his side, they might become humanity's greatest (and smallest) heroes in a secret war that could determined the fate of the world itself...

An Updated Re-release titled LBX: Little Battlers eXperience Boost was released five months after the initial game, in November 2011, followed by a further-updated Nintendo 3DS port titled LBX: Little Battlers eXperience Bakunote  Boost in 2012. This also features an Early-Bird Cameo of a new character for the next installment of the franchise.

The sequel, LBX: Little Battlers eXperience W, was released for PSP and Play Station Vita in 2012 and followed by a Nintendo 3DS Updated Re-release, titled LBX: Little Battlers eXperience W Chounote  Custom, in 2013. The third game, LBX: Little Battlers eXperience Wars, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. The three games were made into an anime adaptation that aired from 2011 to 2013.

The franchise was adapted for the West. The English version of the anime began airing in 2014, though as an abridged version that cut 44 episodes corresponding to the original game down to 26. The W-based episodes aired in 2015 as LBX's second season, cutting down its 58 episodes into 49. In the United States, the show is broadcast on Nicktoons.

A localization of Baku Boost was released on August 2015 in North America, and in Europe one month later.

Now has a new spinoff series, Soukou Musume in development for 2018.

BATTLE ON! BATTLE START!!:

  • 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: The LBX battles in the anime are rendered with 3D models, while the characters are in 2D.
  • Ace Custom:
    • The norm for good players. Also LBX producers hire test players, for whom special models are produced such as Justin, who was hired specifically by Cyber Lance to test what would be his new LBX, Zenon/Xenon, and future LBX models.
    • Kirito is a test player for Omega Dain, the International LBX Federation until the events of the Paradise arc leads Tyler to inviting him to be a test player at Tiny Orbit.
  • Action Girl: Ami and Mika whenever she’s involved with the plot. To everyone’s surprise except her husband’s, Saki/Sadie turns out to be a strong LBX player able to give Ban some trouble. In the ranking battles, other female supporting characters get to show their capabilities including Ban’s mother.
  • Adaptational Badass: In the anime, the regular Hissatsu Functions/Special Attack Routines are just as effective as the Super ones.
    • Mika is a much stronger battler compared to the games, though we hardly see it.
  • All There in the Manual: The toyline and add-on sets actually, for nearly every Named Weapon.
  • Ambiguously Brown: Ryu/Gabe is dark skinned in Japan..
  • Anime Hair: In fine Level-5 tradition, there are a large number of characters with oddly shaped hair, most notably Jin..
  • Anime of the Game: The games are the "core" continuity. That said, because it's one of the works Level-5 intended as a multimedia franchise from the get-go, both of the anime series aired slightly before their respective game's release. It's been similar for Inazuma Eleven, where only the first game came out before its anime.
  • Arc Words: "Sekai o sukuu no kagi"/"The key to saving the world."
  • Artifact Title: The Japanese title literally means "cardboard war machines" (with "Danball" as a stylized romanization of danbooru and "Senki" as a coined kanji compound rather than the word it usually means), but the titular fortified cardboard only plays a minor role in the plot for the first game and completely vanishes from the setting afterwards as D-Eggs and the Second World house LBX battles instead. The fact that the title tends to confuse people into thinking the robots are made of cardboard instead of the dioramas is likely why the localized title takes from the robots instead.
  • Awesomeness by Analysis: An important quality of good LBX players. Ami, Ban, and Jin are prominent examples.
  • Bait-and-Switch Credits: The game's opening movie shows what seems to be a relatively light-hearted, standard Real Robot anime... until the very end, where you see that the robots that you've assumed are several feet tall are actually around six inches tall.
    • All those people in the shadows seen in the first opening of W? They never appear!
  • Barely-Changed Dub Name: The English dub changes the characters' names from Ban Yamano to Van Yamano, Ami Kawamura to Amy Cohen, Kazu Aoshima to Kaz Walker, and Jin Kaidou to Justin Kaidou.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: The defending champion of Akihabara Kingdom. He's five, and already The Chessmaster.
    • Kojou Asuka in WShe on the other hand is less annoying but like Maa, she has the skills to back it up.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Many of the names of the hissatsu functions are called out by both the players and the remote controls. The dub for the localization of the anime removes it, so only the characters say the name of the hissatsu function.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: In the last episode of the first season, we see flashbacks of Lex as a child with his younger sister. Let's just say she becomes very important in W.
    • W has Kojou Asuka mention that her LBX Vampire Cat was built by her brother Takeru, who only appears onscreen in Wars.
  • Chekhov's Skill: Ban can do kung fu kicks with the AX-00 frame if disarmed. Kaz also trained Hunter to do this as well. This is precisely how Ban and Kazu get through the first round at Artemis.
  • Cleavage Window: Shouko/Mano/Eeny, The female member of the Terrible Trio. And invoked later on with a Ridiculously Human Robot... which cracks open to store the Metanus GX CPU.
  • Coat, Hat, Mask: The agents under Eiji Yagami, known as the Three Moes..
  • Combining Mecha: Otacross' ZX LBXs unite to form the Perfect ZX3.
    • In LBX: Little Battlers eXperience W, after the first fight with Dr. Mummy's gigantic (compared to an LBX) anti-LBX "Killerdroid" called Wyvern, Prof. Yamano modifies Perseus, Elysion and Minerva, enabling them to combine into the anti-Killerdroid "Super LBX" Sigma Orbis.
  • Convection, Schmonvection: Averted. In the game, standing in lava will make your LBX take 50 damage every few seconds. In the final Artemis battle between Van and Justin, the anime implied falling in the lava would severely damage the LBX.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: How Ban gains some of his most powerful allies, most noticeably Kaidou Jin.
  • Disappeared Dad: Ban's father supposedly died in an airplane crash, but he is actually alive and being forced to work for the Innovators (not those ones), the group that wants Ban's AX-00.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: The first time they use Odin involves having to send it well outside the handphone controllers' range, but Tiny Orbit has created the Sparkbload, a powerful system that can control an LBX miles away. It basically resembles a cockpit simulator. They even launch Odin on a runway!
    • In LBX: Little Battlers eXperience W, our heroes head to "A Country" (not that one), which is totally not Eagleland. And the city they land in is called N City, and not like that other city starting with an N at all. Well, they do head off to China and Egypt later, but they touch down in Shang Pao and Cairu. Nothing to do with Shanghai and Cairo at ALL.
    • In LBX: Little Battlers eXperience Wars, LBX training academies send the kids on training missions also known as "War Time", with fictional nations named Jennock and Rossius. It's like they're not even trying by now.
  • Dub Name Change: A number of characters get this treatment in the English version of the game. In most cases it's their last name that gets changed (for example, Kawamura Ami becomes Amy Cohen), though Yamano has his first name changed instead (from Yamano Ban to Van Yamano).
    • In the games, the list of changed names include: Yamano Ban to Van Yamano, Kawamura Ami to Amy Cohen, Aoshima Kazuya to Kaz Walker, Kitajima Kojirou to Ken Navarro, Kitajima Saki to Sadie Navarro, Daikouji Ryuu to Gabe Lewis, Mikage Mika to Mika Morris, Kameyama Tetsuo to Tank Middleton, Shikano Ginji to Benji Darby, Yazawa Riko to Rika Yazawa, Gouda Hanzou to Hanz Gordon, Uzaki Takuya to Tyler Osgood, Hiyama Ren to Len Hiyama, and Kaidou Jin to Justin Kaido, among others. The LBX themselves aren't exempt, either; the games change Egypt to Pharaoh, Hakai-O/Hakaioh to Destroyer, Queen to Ruby Queen, Nazuu to Gillman, and Mad Dog to Chameleon, among others.
  • Enemy Mine: During the final of Artemis, Jin asked for Ban's help to save Haibara Yuuya.
    • In the anime of W, Kirito sort of helps Jin and Ban stop robbers on a train heading back to Tokio City, but ends up fighting everyone.
    • In Wars, Rossius takes a big enough hit that its soldiers are reduced to political refugees, forcing Houjou Muraku's squad to join Jenock.
  • Evil Knockoff: Jin's LBX The Emperor to Ban's LBX Achilles.
  • Expressive Mask: The Terrible Trio seem to have them.
  • Expy: Don't let anyone tell you that Ban doesn't remind them of Endou.
  • Eye Catch: Somewhat inconsistent as they switch from a closeup of Achilles in the dark to a shot of Ban and Odin together, in a well-lit backdrop instead. In the anime, the Achilles close up is first, and changes to [[spoiler:
  • Fake Crossover: Ban teams up with Endou to promote both their shows.
  • Family-Friendly Firearms: Most of the weapons in the anime, mainly firearms, are changed in the English dub of the anime to emit a lightening glow and act as lasers. The localized 3DS game surprisingly averts this.
  • Fighting Your Friend: In the first anime and game during the Akibahara Kingdom, Ban, Sendou Daiki and Hanzo Gouda are pitted against Kazu, Ami, and Jin making up their number due to Otacross assigning them on different teams. Although Daiki doesn't consider thems friends.
    • Ban's (him, Jin, and Jessica) and Hiro's (him, Ran, and Yuuya) teams are in the Block E of Artemis preliminary group in W.
  • Finishing Move: All LBXs have at least one, called an Attack Function, though the characters themselves call them "Hissatsu Functions." The localization and dubs refer to them as Special Attack Routines.
  • First-Name Basis: Many of the kids and even some of the adults prefer to be called by their first name without any of the honorifics.
  • Flight, Strength, Heart: The Akiba Sentai Ota Rangers boast that they have the powers of love, courage, and... curry.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • In episode 5, the school group tries to help Kazu buy an LBX. While scorning at the other options, Ami eventually suggests a Wild Frame LBX, which is the only one he doesn't object to. Coincidentally, all of his new LBX in the first game and anime are Wild Frame.
    • The Ridiculously Human Robot shown off at the Artemis tournament foreshadows the use of the same type of robot to replace Kaido.
  • Fragile Speedster: Many Strider-framed LBX excel in high speed, agility, and in the game's case, the ability to perform several dashes and tight maneuverability the other frames can't begin to top. However, their light weight is susceptible to be dealt with more damage, the custom sets usually suffer from not having strong weapons/attacks, and has low health points.
  • Friendly Sniper: A few of the main characters in each series uses sniper and rifle focused LBX, mostly prominently Ban's best friend and partner, Kazu, who uses those specific LBX(s) Hunter, Fenrir, and Achilles Deed.
    • And of course, if you decide to give anyone else on your team's LBX a sniper rifle in the game.
  • Full-Name Basis: Opponents like to call each other with full names.
  • Glass Cannon: The Wild-frame LBX are anthropomorphic, very lightweight and can not tank as much damage similar to Strider frames. However, they have strong offensive power and can increase their close and long range abilities depending on their custom. Wild-frames also have great agility due to their animal traits with unique functions from the other frames.
    • Shou Kanzaki and his LBX Gladiator have a powerful and fast offensive battling style (his self proclaimed Signature Move is appropriately named Super Mach Attack that can overwhelm the opponent in a few attacks. However, his movements are extremely predictable, and he doesn't train his defense well. Masked J defeats him in just five moves and advises him to fix this strategy in the future.
  • Gondor Calls for Aid: The Akihabara Hacker Corps, Yagami and his subordinates, and later Jin showed up to help with the siege at Tiny Orbit.
    • In W we get two seasons' worth of characters returning for the final battle.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Most opponents become allies later. Jin and Yagami are the most prominent ones since they originally work for the Innovators.
  • Hollywood Hacking: From trains, to high tech bases, LBX can hack almost anything.
  • Hover Mecha: LBX Queen, belonging to Riko, the token chick of Hanzou's posse.
  • Improbable Aiming Skills: An LBX, which is essentially a six inch tall toy robot, can be tuned to perform an assassination when the target is several blocks away through a glass building.
  • Kill Sat: Misere plans to use this to annihilate Earth.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Ban, Jin, and Lex use this type of LBX. Especially when they get Odin and Zenon.
    • W adds the Perseus, Kirito’s Custom LBX, the improbable Vampire Cat and several others.
  • Limited Wardrobe: A character wears the same outfit throughout the series. Though many of the characters get redesigns in #W.
  • Load-Bearing Boss: The defeat of Mizel Olegion in W causes the warheads in his flying fortress to start counting down.
    • Invoked in Wars when the damage to the Second World structure that sends Seredy Kreisler into the drink also causes Second World to crumble.
  • MacGuffin: Ban's AX-00. Its core skeleton contains a mysterious item called the "Platinum Capsule", inside which is contained data on how to create a device called the "Eternal Cycler (the Infinity Engine localized)" that could theoretically produce infinite energy. Naturally, the Innovators getting their hands on it would be a very bad thing.
    • Wars has the Parasite Keys, a secret code in three parts to enter what could be considered the administration level of Second World.
  • The Man Behind the Man: Lex assassinates Kaidou Yoshimitsu and replaces him with an android.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: All main characters get one, or two in Kazu's case.
    • Ban technically gets two as well, if you count AX-00. And in the game's re-release, Boost, he also gets Epsilon.
    • Wars expands on this by passing the older Ace Customs to other squad captains, eventually upgrading the whole platoon.
  • Million Mook March: Actually just 25,000 LBXs, in the siege of Tiny Orbit.
    • W repeats this feat in the siege of our heroes' home base alleged to be Detector's base by the government, and masterminded by Omega Dyne.
  • Mood Whiplash: Two instances: after Ban's victory in the Artemis final, and after the successful defense against the siege of Tiny Orbit which resulted in the saddest death in the franchise.
  • My Little Panzer: LBX definitely won't be approved as children's toys in the real world (not with live ammo, anywaynote ). Lampshaded in the series when it's stated that LBX toys have been banned for sale in the past until the creation of fortified cardboard due to injuries and other accidents.
  • Ninja Maid: The theme of the LBX used by Akihabara's Hacker Corps.
  • Otaku: Ban and co. first encounter one of them in Artemis named Yuijin a.k.a. Ota(ku) Ranger Red Ribbon. Then they meet the entire Akiba Sentai Otaku Rangers in Akihabara Tournament.
  • The Power of Friendship: Just like its sister counterpart, friendship ends up being an important plot point for future events.
  • Rapid-Fire Typing: On both computer keyboards and the cellphone-like remote controls. Jin uses his CCM so fast that at one point he overloaded its systems, causing Emperor to lose in its first fight with Achilles. Otacross uses it later to break into the Janus Gate.

  • Ridiculously Human Robot: Not an LBX, but a model intended to show off the Metanus GX CPU, with enough power to decrypt the Platinum Capsule. Counts as Foreshadowing, as a different one replaces Kaidou Yoshimitsu later.
  • Rule of Three: All over the place. LBX players tend to wind up in 3-man teams, with Ban, Ami and Kazu the most prominent one. LBX: Little Battlers eXperience Wars has LBX academies which require 3 tournament victories to qualify for enrollment.
  • Say My Name: Players call their LBX's names when deploying them.
  • Serial Escalation: What the LBX can do just gets crazier as the series progresses, repeatedly breaking in-series technological limits.
  • Serious Business: The LBX toys, apparently. The business is SO serious that at one point Ban and his friends are asked by the brother of the CEO of a major LBX manufacturer to help him stop an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister of Japan, which is ALSO being carried out by an LBX. It only gets crazier in season 2 as they have to stop global terrorism and at one spot save the president from the same LBX assassination and prevent her and a governmental organization from using a Kill Sat.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Single-Stroke Battle: After warming up on taking out the first Terrible Trio Deqoo, Ban does this to the remaining two. This happens a few more times throughout the series particularly with Hissatsu Functions.
  • Spiritual Successor: To Medabots. Or Angelic Layer
  • Stalker with a Crush: Mika is often seen following Gouda and/or taking pictures of him.
  • Super Mode: Done via Palette Swap into chromed or clear colors for the most part.
    • V-mode for Achilles, Extreme Mode for Odin, and Alternative Mode for Zenon. Also, there's Psycho Scanning Mode for Judge, Seraphic Mode for Lucifer and Inferno Mode for Ifreet.
    • In W, we have Knight Mode for Elysion, Burning Mode for Minerva, and Strike Mode for Perseus. Additionally, we have Demonic Mode for Achilles Deed and Giga Voltaic Mode for Zeus. And the O-Legion has his choice of several existing ones.
    • Wars has a more straightforward one with the Dot Blastriser, which actually unfolds and sprouts blades.
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
    • The premise involves the invention of the fortified cardboard, making your run-of-the-mill Mons battle possible by preventing real injury to children. Without said fortified cardboard, the furniture in Ban’s living room mostly ends up destroyed.
    • Episode 5: Ban, Ami, and Kazu point out the absurdity of them having to fight a secret war, and that the Innovators’ plans and existence wouldn’t be able to happen unless they had members of the police or high ranking government members, which Len and Takuya later confirm.
    • Episode 10: Ban learns the hard way just because you have a Finishing Move, doesn’t mean the battle is decided, especially if you’re fighting a higher skilled opponent with the speed.
    • Episode 13: Achilles’ borrowed Hakai-O arms slows it down to Daiki’s amusement, but also give strengthen’s Achilles’s arm stats, granting it stronger attacks and a stronger red Lightning Lance. And while Daiki’s able to control 3 LBX at once, giving them the same pattern of attack leads all three Jokers to be defeated at once when they aren’t able to dodge an enchanted Lightning Lance from Achilles while in midair.
    • Episode 14: The CMM, while a strong piece of technology has its limits, when Jin’s high speed movements eventually overload the systems from a prolonged battle with an near equally skilled opponent, Emperor is naturally unable to continue the match against Ban.
    • Episode 17: Yoshimitsu calls out Len and Takuya for foolishly believing they could’ve rescued Professor Yamano with little difficulty or aware they had a trap, knowing full well they would come after Jin gave the heroes the coordinates when all of the main Seekers are captured.
    • Episode 21: Ami and Kazu may have improved their skills, but Hunter and Kunoichi are still a Glass Cannon and Fragile Speedster with no shields compared to Achilles’ Lightning Bruiser and Achilles Shield custom, hence why Keita’s Warrior able to KO all their LBX sans Ban with Trident.
    • Episode 23: Sacrifcing your teammates for a quick win will be pointless and alienate yourself from your teammates if the opponent is able to survive. And Super-Speed won’t be able to save you from an attack that covers an entire radius of consecutive gun fire
    • Episode 24: Can’t win an important plot coupon in an important LBX battle? Easy, just have human foot soldiers attack and steal it for you.
      • Hissatsu functions have a strict movement for them to activate before it can attack the opponent. Ban’s Chou Plasma Burst requiring it to jump easily avoids Impact Kaiser’s lava burst and is able to harshly wound them.
    • Episode 27: Sadamatsu’s blind hatred of Yagami and Robo Kaidou’s decision to send all the Innovators after Yagami leads to a one target manhunt, leaving other potential traitors out to explore, keep their cover, or leave their leader open to attack.
    • Episode 29: It doesn’t matter how fast you are, if your opponent can stop you from moving, pin you down, and has a non weapon Finishing Move that’s a One-Hit KO at close range, a Fragile Speedster user like Daiki should never underestimate a Mighty Glacier player like Hanzou.
    • Episode 33: Haz’s Hakai-OZ may be an improvement, but fighting two faster opponents with powerful weapons and better team synergy will throw that advantage out of the window.
    • Episode 35: Apollo Kaiser’s powerful Hissatsu Function: Shinshouken has unlimited amounts of usage without having to raise the tension gauge, but is naturally vulnerable after using it, leaving it a Glass Cannon if its opponent can get close.
    • Episode 37: A high stakes war between 6 inch robots to protect can mean nothing if the Maguffin can be stolen by a former employee with clearance and security access.
    • Episode 43: Programming one machine to completely counter another machine through calculation becomes extremely useless if said machine develops new counter strategies, has changes that make it more difficult to fight, or has a Super Mode that’s too fast for the machine to follow.
    • Episode 44: Ifrit’s Inferno Mode going haywire may represent Len’s hatred against the world and those like Yoshimitsu, but that does not mean that an out of control rampaging machine won’t attack its user.
  • Talk to the Fist: How Jin wins some of his battles in Akihabara Kingdom. Hilarity Ensues a lot.
  • Theme Naming: Most of the prominent LBXs are named after figures in mythology, mostly Greek.
  • The Team: Two examples.
    • Pre Artemis, Van was The Hero and The Leader of the group, with the others backing up his adventures and helping him find his dad. Kazu is The Lancer, Van’s best friend and loyal Number Two of the group, being The Cynic, worrisome, and cautious to Van’s idealism while also contrasting in their battle styles. Amy is the main female of the Power Trio, being The Smart Girl. While none of the members are stupid, Amy is the smartest, wise, mature and does the most of making strategies. Ryuu/Gabe is The Big Guy of the group, knowledgeable with machinery and uses the Tank Frame LBX but acts as a subversion due to his inability to win most of his battles. Mika is The Heart, being the only other girl than Amy, but is supportive of the group minus Ryuu and occasionally trains with them. Gouda/Hanzou joins Team Van as the Sixth Ranger since the Devas act as support with the Seekers.
    • Configuration 2: Van remains The Leader and The Hero to the point where he’s leads his friends against the Innovators and acts as leaders in both tournaments. Kazu remains as The Lancer. Amy still has shades of The Smart Girl, but is the sole female now. Her knowledge coming in second to Jin. When he performs a Heel–Face Turn, his intelligence combined with his experience with the Innovators becomes invaluable to the Seekers and Ban’s team. Gouda moves up as The Big Guy due to being the strongest in fighting and most physically aggressive in his LBX battles. Dak is the Sixth Ranger, joining Van’s team 5/8ths into the original series after being defeated by Gouda and decides to join up full time to stop the Innovators, for his own amusement.
  • Tournament Arc: Three of them in the first season. Ban has to win them to access various information and plot coupons.
    • The Angra Visdas (means Underground Tournament, localized as the Catacombs Contest) is the first one, where Ban needs to win to find out who’s The Mole for the Innovators and get a pass to Artemis.
    • Artemis 2050 is the biggest of the three where people from all around the globe arrive to battle for the grand prize, the Metanoia GX. The Metanoia GX also has the encryption code for the Platinum Code, making it Not Just a Tournament. Ban teams up with his friends while his rivals Lex, friendly rivals, and a few Wild Cards in the mix. Its set up in Blocks A to E, and the winners of each block fight it out in a all out brawl. Naturally, things don’t go well.
    • The third is the Akihabara Kingdom tournament, where Ban, Daiki, Hanzou, Amy, Kazu, and Jin split into two groups to win because they need the Hacker Corps help to get the code for the Infinity Engine but they have the tournament since the Corps only follow the winner/King. The dub skipped over this tournament and just had Otacross call the Hacker Corps for backup.
  • Toyless Toyline Character: Not all the LBXs make it into the model kit line, but they lampshade it by having some familiar looking weapons (Gekkoumaru's sword and Perfect ZX-3's combo weapon) in weapon add-on sets. Yagami Eiji's LBX General gets delayed to being released with the W toyline despite getting a couple of scenes in season 1.
  • Wake-Up Call Boss: For the first game, Sendou; as if it weren't difficult enough already to deal with a 3-on-1 battle, if you've only been relying on your default armor and equipment up until then, you're in for a rude awakening.
    • Hades in the Ranking Battles. Its much stronger and faster, and its 5th Dimension/Dimension Sigma energy balls will decimate your team unless you have the proper equipment.
  • Wave-Motion Gun: Often functions as Finishing Move. Hakaioh even has one built into its chest and Hakaioh Zettou has two.
  • Wham Episode:
    • #5: Kaidou and the Innovators plan to assassinate the prime minister and hire an Assassin to do it.
    • #6: The Power Trio barely stop the assassination attempt, only to find out as to why Takuya and Lex picked them...Professor Yamano and Ban’s dad is alive and has been this whole time.
    • #17: Everyone is captured, Rina is revealed to betray to Innovators because Kaidou is essentially holding her sister hostage with a medical procedure that Kaidou is using the government to blockade. Professor Yamano reveals that he hid the encryption code for the Platinum Capsule in the prize for Artemis and when Kaidou plans to have them all killed, the professor sets off up hidden explosives in the mansion allowing everyone to flee, and Jin learns about the secrets as well. Also, Ban’s mother knew her husband was alive this whole time. And the Innovators are working on a new plan, a special LBX program being installed into a young man around Kin’s age. Wow.
    • #24 and #25: Ban wins Artemis by defeating Jin in the closest match to date. However, the Innovators planted a self destruct switch in Emperor M2 as a failsafe being Jin’s back and uses it to destroy Achilles and take the Platinum Capsule with Deqoos, has the Red Brigade killing off several guards to take the Metanoia GX, cuts off all power to the tournament area, then Yagami finds out about the later and after being fired, Kaidou is shot by a mysterious assailant. Jin is revealed to be one of the two survivors of the Tokio Bridge collapse many years ago alongside Yuya, Kaidou caused the bridge collapse and him being adapted by Yoshimitsu as a result, Ban meets up with Lex to find out Lex switched the Capsule with a fake and hands him the real one. The group sets out to Tiny Orbit to find the Innovators using trucks to shield them while an army of cars surround Takuya’s cars as the end episodes. Damn.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years: The majority of main characters are teenagers, and yet many of them are way smarter and mature for their age.
  • Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: Riko and Hanzou.
  • Younger Than They Look: Gouda and Sendou are jr. high schoolers. They’re in their final years, but still.
  • Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: When Ban together with Ami and Kazu first tries to rescue Professor Yamano, the bad guys simply move the target to a new location.

Tropes in LBX: Little Battlers eXperience W:

  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The Adam and Eve AIs in W. After the real bad guys go down, they realize they're next and seize control of the Kill Sat. Even worse, after they're taken down they leave a 'child' behind, Mizel.
  • All Your Powers Combined: The LBX Olegion in W has Achilles, Odin, Hakai-Oh and Hunter's finishing moves. Mizel Olegion can go into the same super modes that Elysion, Perseus and Minerva have.
  • Anime Accent Absence: Foreigners speak perfect Japanese in W just as they did in the original series.
  • Bait-and-Switch: W #36. You fully expect the Elysion and Perseus to go down with the Suicide Bomber LBXs, especially with the debut of Ban and Hiro's new mechs around the corner. Instead, Kaidou Jin and Haibara Yuuya sweep in for the save.
  • Break Out the Museum Piece: Inverted in W. The Odin is taken over by Mizel, forcing our heroes to fight it. Played straight when Amy uses the Pandora model Yuusuke had after her Pandora was destroyed in the beginning of #W.
  • Breather Episode: In between the Killer Droid and Australia arcs, the anime adapted the BC Extras Tournament. While its a Yuuya focused episode about his doubts, its a lot more fun and relaxed than the previous and future arcs.
  • The Bus Came Back: A lot of old friends show up later up in the series most notably to prepare for the final battle.
  • Crazy-Prepared: The assassination plot in W. After the main signal router LBX is destroyed by Ban and Hiro, it turns out there is yet another back up one. Also the assassin avoids being found by putting dummy signal transmitters all over the stadium where he's working.
  • Darker and Edgier: Somehow managed to top the original series in this regard.
  • Disney Death: Seems to be headed this way with Lex and Dr. Mummy, but is ultimately subverted when it is revealed that Dr. Mummy's true identity was his sister Hiyama Mami all along.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: The Icarus Zero and Icarus Force appear in teasers for the Crossover movie with Inazuma Eleven, well before their in-show debut. Once the movie starts screening, new teasers with Odin MK2 and Achilles D9 come out.
  • Equippable Ally: LBX Icarus Zero and Icarus Force. Though its usually for the Double Hissatsu Functions, the anime actually has Hiro and Ban use them consistently to defeat Zeus’s Super Mode.
  • Evolving Credits: Done with the third OP of W to add Heel–Face Turn Kirito, Mizel and his Humongous Mecha.
  • Grand Theft Prototype: The primary plot device for W. Achilles Deed and the O-Legion in particular.
  • Hover Board: Riding Saucers, which don't resemble saucers.
  • Keystone Army: Taking down Mizel also downs the Vectors.
  • Nerf: In LBX: Little Battlers eXperience W, the Super Modes that you can give your LBXes in the form of Mode Chips are greatly nerfed from the first game; each super mode only gives one stat buff or special ability while it's active.
  • No Social Skills: W has one-shot character Gojou, who has to input his words into his LBX to make it Siri his speech for him. Turns out later on he's a baritone.
  • Old Hero, New Pals: Advertised as thus from the first episode onward, with Hiro and Ran in the OP and everything, and apparently enforced with Kazu and Ami Put on a Bus, then finally subverted as The Bus Came Back with everyone.
  • Ripped from the Headlines: The Man Behind the Man Alferd Gardyne's Start of Darkness was when his father, a top politician, protested the manipulation of the country's wealth by a mere handful of its population... were they by any chance the 1%?
  • Sequel Goes Foreign: LBX: Little Battlers eXperience W sends Ban and our new heroes Hiro and Ran overseas, starting with... "A Country."
  • Training from Hell: Invoked in W for Ban, Hiro and Ran, who would've breezed right through it... except they have to do it together, or redo from the top.
    • Ban, Yuya, and Jin have Hiro, Ran, and Jessica go through this to prepare them for Angra Texas and Artemis 2051.
  • Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe: The action tends to return to our heroes' home town despite going global in W. And it's renamed Tokio City here, which makes more sense when W leads up to a Tokyo Fireball.
  • Train Job: W episode 12 has a maglev train heisted by a gang with custom Hakai-Oh LBXs.
  • The Unmasqued World: The threat escalates to a level that Nothing Is the Same Anymore, laying the groundwork for the following season.
  • Weaponised Exhaust: W #37. More of an ambushified exhaust, as Minerva Kai lures enemy LBXs around the back of the Duck Shuttle, where they are promptly fried.
  • Wham Episode:
    • #7 ‘’W’’: Good news, our heroes find Ami! Bad news, Ami is being Slave Player for Detector, and she doesn’t know where Kazu is.
    • Starting from #31 of W, we learn that Detector was really Yamano Junichiro in a massive Creator Backlash, Hiro's Missing Mom is found, our heroes THINK Dr. Mummy is really Lex Back from the Dead, and worst of all, The Man Behind the Man makes his move, killing the supposed Big Bad, the head of Omega Dyne, and is revealed to be The Starscream to the American president, using the name of Detector for a False Flag Operation!
    • W #37. Dr Mummy was NOT Lex, but his sister Hiyama Mami the whole time.
  • Whole Costume Reference: Save for the hair, doesn't Cobra remind you of Spike Spiegel?

Tropes in LBX: Little Battlers eXperience Wars:

  • Action Prologue
  • Appropriated Appelation: Bandit is the rather appropriate name given to the unaligned platoon seemingly out to bring down all other platoons. Their real name? Ezeldarm.
  • Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Jenock Platoon Squad 4 has this covered.
  • Breather Episode: #24. After busting out two new mechs and the threat of Bandit escalating, we get an episode about a Designated Girl Fight.
  • The Butler Did It:Literally! Gendo's butler Ayabe was a mole for the bad guys the whole time!
  • Call-Back: All over the place, from the mention of Artemis, Sendou Daiki's sister and a book left behind by Yamano Junichiro to Kaidou Jin appearing in person.
  • Child Soldiers: The children are being trained to battle in a simulation of the real world, complete with each country's resources reflected in each army's backing. The Reveal just formalises this.
  • Darker and Edgier: In principle, if not appearance.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: The title can translate as "Cardboard War Machines Wars." Let that sink in for a moment.
  • Does Not Know His Own Strength: Sena Arata's first use of the Dot Blastriser G Ext Finishing Move can sink the ship they were meant to be boarding. Like, WHOA.
  • Elaborate Underground Base: Kamui Daimon's underground training facility. Like Real Life military ones, each can be up to 10km wide.
  • Let Me Get This Straight...: #9 does this to clear up a Mistaken for Spies moment.
  • Mecha Expansion Pack: The Dot Phoenix addon for Dot Blastriser.
  • Meta Mecha: The Riding Armor add-on for LBXs.
  • Military School: Prep school-looking establishments now train aspiring LBX players for full-blown combat.
  • New Transfer Student: Arata and Hikaru from the beginning.
  • 90% of Your Brain: Brought up as a plot point. The so-called Overload removes the ninety percent barrier and has the potential to cause brain damage with overuse.
  • Powered by a Forsaken Child: The true nature of Second World. It has to be plugged into the brain of its own creator, Professor Mito.
  • Reassigned to Antarctica: An almost literal version in #14 when Houjou Muraku and his squad are reassigned to a frozen wasteland after a bad mission. Then subverted as he gets Kicked Upstairs.
  • Refuge in Audacity: Bandit, outed as the Ezeldarm platoon, which cannot be disbanded as Seredy Kreisler justifies their existence as an equivalent to subversive terrorist cells in the real world. Also he'd blow the secret of Second World worldwide if they did anything to him.
  • Remember the New Guy?: Thanks to a mandatory media blackout, nobody even brings up the massive World Savers terrorist group until #30.
  • Retraux: The entire island housing Kamui Daimon Academy has been built in the style of '60s Japan, supposedly influenced by the period of national growth and development. Even the TVs are black and white, by god.
  • Running Gag: Instructor Saruta walking into Jenock mission control whenever he wants, despite having no affiliation to any platoon.
  • The Squad: Jenock Platoon consists of several 4-man teams.
  • Theme Naming: Jenock Platoon Squad 2 has two guys named for Byakko (Taiga and Rinko), one guy named Seiryu and their leader, Gendo (for Genbu).
  • Timed Mission: The entire premise of War Time, with the subversion that all units are merely frozen on time-out and Un-Paused the next day. Even with War Time extended to 2 hours, this can still happen.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: Two members of Jenock Squad 3 are still in the OP after being dropped from the team and replaced, TWICE.
  • Wham Episode:
    • #17-18. All those training missions are NOT preparing our heroes to protect the world, but actual Combat by Champion battles deciding real world politics. And Kaidou Jin is revealed to be fielding a platoon of his own, explaining the connection needed to get Kojou Asuka's brother involved.
    • #30. Seredy Kreisler is not only really 90 years old, but he AND Gendo's butler Ayabe are with the World Savers terrorist group, aiming to crack open Second World and take the secrets to real world politics for themselves, all under the guise of freeing the Kamui Daimon students from the real world conspiracy.
    • #33. Seredy Kreisler, seemingly defeated when they sink his flying fortress in Second World, mobilises troops in the real world to occupy the whole island.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After uniting the MacGuffin, Seredy Kreisler takes the LBX Phantom and destroys the Guruzeon.
  • Zerg Rush: Used as an actual tactic in #25.

Alternative Title(s): Danball Senki

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