• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

  (Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)

  Not age appropriate for kids under 6, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8.

• Is it any good?

  2.0

• Common Sense says

  So-so anime series has heavy marketing tie-in.

Why We Rated This for Ages 8 and Up

The good stuff

• Messages:

  Dan, the main character, is obsessed with becoming the top-ranked Bakugan player and often ignores his parents and teachers in favor of playing. Female characters tend to have minor roles and seem to be there mainly to support Dan. Some of the main Bakugan creatures are actually from another dimension and are engaged in an epic battle between good and evil.

What to watch out for

• Violence & scariness:

  A significant portion of each episode centers on "battles" based on a complicated game using cards and small balls that transform into fearsome creatures that attack each other. These beasts look dangerous, but there's little actual physical contact or violence in the fights.
• Sexy stuff:

  No sex or nudity. But, as in many other anime shows, some of the female characters wear clothes that simultaneously emphasize their childishness and show more skin than seems age-appropriate.
• Language:

  "Butt," "crud," "dorkus," and other mild name-calling is about as bad as it gets.
• Consumerism:

  The show often seems like a massive marketing campaign for Bakugan toys. Characters are frequently shown playing the central, complicated card/ball game, and, when they aren't playing, they discuss their strategies and rankings or arrange matches. The cards and balls are also available for sale in the real world, and -- perhaps not coincidentally -- both the cartoon and the merchandise were developed by Sega Toys.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Not an issue.

What Parents Need to Know

About Bakugan Battle Brawlers

Families Can Talk About