Battle B-Daman
Battle B-Daman (
Batoru Biidaman), also spelled
Battle B'Daman, or in full in Japan
B-Densetsu! Battle B-Daman (B-伝説 バトル"ーダマン Super Battle B-Daman Battle!), is an
anime and
manga series by
Eiji Inuki that first aired in January 1997 in
Japan, replacing
Beyblade in its timeslot. It premiered in the
United States on April 2005.
In
Japan, it airs on
TV Tokyo. In the
United States it once aired on
ABC Family and
Toon Disney's
JETIX block. It now occasionally airs on
Cartoon Network at 6:00 AM. At one point, it aired on
G4 in the US, but was replaced by
G.I. Joe Sigma 6 soon after. In
Canada it airs on
YTV and
Teletoon (French service only). In the
UK it airs on
Toonami and
Nicktoons. The toys were originally made by
Takara and were released by
Hasbro in North America.
The manga is published in English by
Chuang Yi.
The show is about
Yamato Delgado, who gets the legendary Cobalt Blade. He and his friends use the sport of B-Daman to fight the Shadow Alliance. This show takes place in the B-DaWorld where it's inhabitants are humans, anthropomorphic animals, and robots. Using the legendary B-Daman, Yamato Delgado enters tournament organized by a group (the
JBA in the Japanese version and the IBA (International B-Daman Association) in English version) to become the B-Dachampion.
The original look of the B-daman character was based on
Bomberman (hence the name of the original version of the original toy: "Bomberman B-Daman"), but the belt buckle is replaced with a "
marble".
In Japan,
B-Densetsu! Battle B-Daman: Fire Spirits recently completed its broadcast, and will be replaced by
Crash B-Daman, a new series with an all new cast and story.
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B'DaMage: The series narrator an omnipotent being who with her three cats the Meowmigos serves to explain about the world that the story takes places the characters and the rules of B-Daman. She is called "B-Damajin" in the Japanese version.
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Yamato Delgado: The main character who had been raised by cats until the age of 5. He uses the B-Daman Cobalt Blade later upgraded to Cobalt Saber and after that Cobalt Saber Fire and then Cobalt Blaster. Yamato appears in season 1. He is 11 years old. In the Japanese version, his last name is "Daiwa" (which is an alternate pronunciation of Yamato).
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Gray Michael Vincent: Yamato's friend who is a tough guy. He was a member of the Shadow Alliance because he was trying to save his sister Liena from them. He uses the B-Daman Chrome Zephyr which is later upgraded to Chrome Raven then Chrome Raven Cyclone and then Chrome Harrier. Gray appears in season 1. He is 12 years old.
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Bull Borgnine: Bull has three personalities: The calm native side the confident side and the wild side that appears when he presents his B-Daman. This dark side remains until the end of a B-DaBattle and can enter a berserker state where he's practically invincible. He uses the B-Daman Helio Breaker which later gets destroyed and decides to be a B-daman mechanic. Later on he creates Helio Berserker which is either from the Delta Core or the Roller Core. Bull appears in season 1. He is 12 years old.
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Terry McScotty: Yamato's fellow pupil under Armada and friend. He uses the B-Daman Wing Ninja which was later recreated into Wing Sword. Many fans mistaken Terry as a girl. Terry appears in season 1. He is 10 years old. His name is "Tsubame Tsubakura" in the Japanese version
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Mie Delgado/Daiwa: Yamato's foster mother. She runs a restaurant called Mie's Cafe later on changed to Mie's Cat Cafe.
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Liena Grace Vincent: Gray's sister who was captured by the Shadow Alliance and made into a tough B-DaBattler and Ababa had her impersonate Sigma. She was so strong that she would have faced Yamato in the semi final match. She however stepped down and let her brother Gray have a rematch. Yamato and Gray manage to change her back into her old self and she's been travelling with them since. Her B-Daman is Garnet Wind.
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Armada: Yamato's giant cat mentor the legendary B-Daman master. He invented the Zero system the framework for which all B-Daman are based upon. After Cobalt Blade was destroyed he created the Zero2 Blaster Core system the framework for which Chrome Raven Crome Raven Cyclone Cobalt Saber Cobalt Saber Fire and Blazing Kahn were built from.
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Tommy: The black cat that follows Yamato. Marda B's good side uses him later on in the series to speak to Yamato and his friends.
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The Big Cheese: Little is known about this mouse except that he appears in segments with the B'DaMage and the Meowmigos.
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Reia Tsumugurii: Little is also known of this character except that she holds one of the most powerful rare, beautiful blasters. Her B-Daman is Petalchaser which is later on rumored to become Samurai Blaze and further on Gran Spheroid. Her B-Daman is not yet released but rumors say that it is going to be in the mid 2007. She made her first appearance somewhere in the middle of episode 3 and 12. Her old B-Daman was Heavens Cloud which later turned into Sephiroth Dagger.
The Shadow Alliance (called simply "Shadow" in Japan) are the main bad guys of Season One with goals of B-DaWorld Domination. Some members of the Shadow Alliance have a 3rd eye which is the symbol of the Shadow Alliance and is a sign that the character is under Marda B.'s control. There are two incarnations of the group. There was the original and the Neo Shadow Alliance. The members of this group are:
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Marda B.: Marda B. is the main villian of the 2nd season who established the Shadow Aliiance and Neo Shadow Alliance. Marda B. was mysterious being who invented B-Daman and was never defeated. He was the first B-DaMaster. Thanks to his combetive spirit he was split into two halves - good and evil. It is noted that his evil half could only be defeated by his good side: B-Energy. When Yamato had defeated Ababa (thus freeing him from Marda B.'s control), he started the Neo Shadow Alliance where all of the members he sent to attack Yamato and Co. were innocent B-DaPlayers under his control (with the exception of Enjyu, Biarce, Cain and Joshua who joined on thier own free will). Marda B.'s evil form seems to be one giant flaming eye that always seemed to be floating in the sky. In the last episode of the series his full form is revealed - a seemingly huge gray cat wearing in a white top hat.
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Ababa: An evil cat who worked for Marda B. in season 1. Ababa was the leader of the Shadow Alliance which consisted of Gray, Enjyu, Wen, Li and other minor characters from season 1 . When Depowered by Marda B. he is just another purple cat with extremely long hair. He was seen again at the end of the last episode of the series.
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Enjyu: A wicked boy who killed everyone else in his village with His B-Daman Lightning Khan. Before joining the shadow alliance Enjyu use to be a talented kid who wished to improve his skills more as a B-Daman player. His father however wanted him to take a dive on each of his battles so his dad could pay for their rent. Before each battle, Enjyu's opponents would pay him to loose the match, making them look skilled and Enjyu an amateur. Fed up of his life, Enjyu joined the Junior B-Daman Tournament. There he was disqualified after unfairly being accused of cheating due to his refusal to repeat his past life. After being betrayed by his only "friend", Enjyu took out his anger on his father in a B-DaBattle. As soon as the battle commenced, Enjyu's personality and hair changed from blue to red. Why his hair changed color is uncertain. After the battle (which had no proof of a victor), Enjyu joined the Shadow Alliance where he later recieved Lightning Khan, the brother of Cobalt Blade, as his new B-Daman. Later in the series, Lightning Khan was upgraded to Blazing Khan by Marda B. in order to defeat Yamato in the finals. However, instead of defeating him, Enjyu saved Yamato's life and quicky be-friended him. He later rejoined the Neo Shadow Alliance so that he could've fought Marda B. to avenge his new "friends".
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Wen Yong Fa: The oldest of the Yong Fa brothers. He uses the B-Daman Bakuso which was later upgraded to King Bakuso. After leaving the Shadow Alliance, he continued to help Yamato and Co. When his younger brother, Li Yong Fa, joined the Neo Shadow Alliance he traveled with Yamato and his friends in order to help them defeat Marda B. and rescue his brother from Marda B.'s control.
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Li Yong Fa: The younger brother of Wen he uses seal papers as his calling card. He uses the B-Daman Rekuso which was later upgraded to King Rekuso which can be combined with Bakuso to form BakuRekuso and King BakuRekuso. He and his older brother have been helping Yamato after they left the Shadow Alliance. Later in the series, Enjyu begged Li to help him defeat Marda B. Like Enjyu, Li pretended to work for the Neo Shadow Alliance in order to find Marda B.'s weakness. But certain members did not trust Li's loyalities towards the Neo Shadow Alliance so Marda B. claimed Li's mind giving Li the third eye and erasing all his past memories. Later, Wen tried to save his brother through a B-Dabattle. Luckily, Wen won and therfore restoring Li's memory and purity.
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Battle Crow: Little is known about this character except he was the first Shadow Alliance member that Yamato faced and that he had goggles that can detect people's power levels. What happened to him after his defeat against Yamato is unknown.
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Monkey Don: Little is known about this character except he was the crooked owner of a B-Daman parts shop. He was defeated by Yamato.
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Goldo: Little is known about this character except that he serves as a B-DaBattle trainer in the Shadow Alliance HQ.
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Shadow Alliance Foot Soldiers: Robotic servants of Marda B. that accompany any member of the Shadow Alliance and the Neo Shadow Alliance.
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Biarce: Little is known about this Neo Shadow Alliance member except that he was created by Marda B. and his B-Daman is Mega Diabros. He is later combined with Marta B to B-Dabattle Yamato as Marta Biarce. Yamato defeats him in the last episode using the B-Energy.
Neo Shadow Alliance Victims
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Castillo: After losing to Yamato in qualifying round of B-Daman tournament he returned to rule Pedro kingdom unmasked under the name of Ike. His B-Daman is Iron Eater.
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The Longhorn Brothers: The Longhorn Brothers are Noose and Salz. They have been hired by Marda B. to join the Shadow Alliance after Ababa's depowerment.
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Manurl: A teacher from the B-Daman academy capable of copying opponent's moves.
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Unnamed Pig, Monkey, and Water Sprite: Servents of Pandoro and victims of Marda B. whom fought Wen and Li for the fate of Pandoro. They were defeated and returned to normal. These 3 characters are modelled from the disciples in
Journey to the West.
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Ben Jr: Son of Captain Finn and victim of Marda B. and the Neo Shadow Alliance. He led the Shadow Alliance Foot Soldiers to rob ships. He was defeated by Gray and returned to normal.
Shigan. Victim of Marda B. and the Neo Shadow Alliance. He was sent by Marda B. to capture Liena but was defeated by Sly Wen and Li and returned to normal. He was also a friend of Sly.
This is the group from Neon City. They are:
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Cain McDonnell: He is the leader of the Super Five. At first he pretended to be a good guy but it was later learned that this was a trick in order to destroy Cobalt Blade. Cain later joined the Neo Shadow Alliance with Joshua. In the final battle against the Neo Shadow Alliance Cain was defeated by Gray. His B-Daman is Knight Cavalry later modified to Black Knight then to Lord Cavalry.
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Marilyn: She is the field judge of the Super 5 tournament.
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Asado: Assado is the one with the lion-headed cape and member of the Super Five Field Guardians. He was the 1st opponent Yamato faced. His B-Daman is Accel Leon. He appeared later on and Apologized for helping Cain in his evil plan. He also joined forces with Yamato to defeat the Neo Shadow Alliance controlled Robot B-DaPlayer Manuel who had taken over the school where Assado studied.
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Joe Tetsunosuke: Joe is another member of the Super Five Field Guardians and the 2nd opponent whom Bull faced. Joe is a friend to Terry. His B-Daman is Samurai Phoenix.
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Sly: Sly is the member of the Super Five Field Guardians and 3rd opponent whom Terry had to face. His B-Daman is Shield Giga.
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Joshua: Joshua is the member of the Super Five Field Guardians and 4th opponent whom Bull had to face. Joshua later joined the Neo Shadow Alliance with Cain. It was later revealed that Joshua is Cain's butler instead of just a friend. When Cain was defeated Joshua carried the unconscoius Cain out of the NSA base to an unknown location. His B-Daman is Dragogale.
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Sigma: Little is known about this character except that the imposter Sigma was a controlled Lienna in disguised. Sigma later returned to challenge Lienna who impursonated him after he was psychicly knocked out by Ababa when the Super Five Field Guardians visited Yamato. However Sigma left after Cain offered him a Knight Calvary. He also helped against the Longhorn Brothers and the Neo Shadow Alliance. His B-Daman is Scope General.
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Berkhart: Berkhart is a boy with 5 younger brothers who befriends Yamato. Yamato and Berkhart's brothers got him a B-Daman and in his first B-DaBattle Berkhart lost to Enjyu. He later helped out against the Neo Shadow Alliance.
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Hoxs: A sign painter who only works at night.
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Crust: Ms. Karat's butler.
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Mr. Watts: Mayor of Neon City and father of Ms. Karat.
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Leap Frog Man: A frog like contestant of the winners tournament.
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Wildman Zordo: A contestant of winners tournament, facing Wen in the quarter-final.
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Alex Ruth: Cain's father.
*Gannos -
Makiko Ohmoto*Akyuras -
Soichiro Hoshi*Shin -
Hozumi Goda*
Six wall: Score points by knocking out numbered boxes. In the show, knocking out a wall tile causes a matching item to be dropped into a giant hot bowl. In the show, it is guarded by Pandoro.
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Trap shooting: Shoot down target while running an obstacle course containing lakes, walls, poles. In the desert area, targets periodically disappear. In the show, it is guarded by Shigan.
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Lion stage: A L-shaped stage. Player scores by firing B-DaBalls to the goal zone blocked by 2 spinning fences. This stage emphasizes rapid fire. In the show, it is guarded by Asado.
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Phoenix stage: A T-shaped stage. Player scores 20 points by knocking down targets behind 2 spinning fences. This stage emphasizes rapid power. In the show, it is guarded by Joe.
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Shield stage: A square stage separted by a fence, with right half separated by a spinning fence. Each half contains 3 targets. This stage emphasizes control. In the show, it is guarded by Sly.
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Dragon stage: A zigzag stage, played in direct hit battle rules. This stage emphasizes rapid balance. In the show, it is guarded by Joshua.
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Sword stage: A rectangle stage, played in direct hit battle rules. In the show, it is guarded by Cain.
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Head to head ultimate strike: Each player fires at a rectangular formation of 5x10 pins, located at player's right end at opposite field. Winner is determined by how many pins left standing at the end of match, or who knocks out all pins in opponent's field first. In Yamato vs. Gray match, each player fires at a stage with backward moving track, with spikes at the end of each track. In Terry vs Liena match, player stands on moving wooden posts on a pool filled with marine creatures.
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Super ultimate strike: A game table invented by Armada involving scoring points by shooting at the moving targets at the end of the table. Between 2 ends of the table lies one of 3 obstacles that challenges different skills. Target barricades emphasize on accuracy, gate emphasize on power, and spinner emphasize on rapid fire.
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Power alley: Score points by shooting at the target at the opposite end of the table. The amount of score depends on the shot's strength. In B-Daman tournament, player competes in climbing a 100-storey tower by shooting at the target, with the rate of elevation based on the score. However, a miss shot causes played to descend from tower.
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DHB:Direct Hit Battle,whoever hits the opponments b'daman wins
Japanese version
*Yamato Daiwa:
Reiko Takagi*Gray Michael Vincent:
Yuki Tai*Tsubame Tsubakura:
Tomoko Kaneda*Bull Borgnine:
Kurumi Mamiya*Mie Daiwa:
Naoko Takano*Enjyu:
Daisuke Kishio*Liena Vincent -
Takako UemuraAmerican Version
* Yamato Delgado, Joshua:
Brian Beacock* Gray Michael Vincent:
Dave Wittenberg* Terry McScotty (Episodes 1-6), Additional Voices:
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn* Terry McScotty (Episodes 7-):
Barbara Goodson* Bull Borgnine:
Mona Marshall* Enjyu:
Steve Staley* Wen Yong-Fa:
Brad MacDonald* Li Yong-Fa, Monkey Don:
Derek Stephen Prince* Liena Vincent:
Peggy O'Neal* Armada, Marda B:
Paul St. Peter* Mie Delgado, Ms. Karat:
Philece Sampler* Vinnie V.:
Michael Sorich* Berkhart, Sigma:
Yuri Lowenthal* Berkhart's Brothers:
Brianne Siddall* Ababa, Cain McDonnell, Meowmigos:
Steven Blum* Joe, Biarce:
Doug Erholtz* Sly:
Jamieson Price* Asado:
Colleen O'Shaughnessey* Marilyn:
Michelle Ruff* B-DaMage:
Mari Devon* The Big Cheese:
R. Martin Klein* Battle Crow:
Steve KramerFrench Version
*Yamato Delgado:
Yoann Sover*Ababa, Armada, Marda B, Wen Yong-Fa:
Antoine Nouel*Terry McScotty, Bull Borgnine, Li Yong-Fa:
Olivier Podesta*Gray Michael Vincent, Enjyu, Vinnie B:
Franck Torjman*B-Damage, Marylin:
Sylvie Ferrari*Mie Delgado, Ms Karat, Rienna Vincent:
Naïke Fauveau*
D Rights B-Daman website*
TV Tokyo B-Daman website*
TV Tokyo B-Daman 2 website*
YTV Battle B'Daman website*
Hasbro B-Daman website*
TV Tome B-Daman website*
aon.pos.to B-Daman Blog*
Battle B-Daman Dreams