Similar Series and Parodies
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The success of Spin Master LLC and Sega Toys' Bakugan Battle Brawlers franchise led to a similar series called Zoobles which is aimed to the young female demographic. Soon, numerous parodies and similar series followed which were produced by companies that are in no way related to the proprietary owners of the Bakugan franchise and/or the patent for "Morphing Marble" Toys.
Contents
Other Morphing Marble Series by Spin Master and Sega Toys
Jewelpet
Jewelpet is a Japanese anime franchise aimed towards the young female demographic. Sanrio License in cooperation with Sega Toys in Japan and the Italian toy company Giochi Presiozi for overseas releases; produced Jewelpet Jewel Charm "locket" toys that have the similar magnet-triggered mechanism as Bakugan. A total of 25 full-color variants across two waves and a "Deluxe Beads Set" had been released by both Sega Toys and Giochi Presiozi for the Jewelpet Jewel Charm line.
Parodies based on Jewelpet
Plantimon
A Chinese company called "Guu Koo" released toys for Plantimon, a Chinese 3D animated series based on an online game. Plantimon toys bear similarities with Jewelpet Jewel Charms although the mechanism is different in which the toy opens up by pressing a button in the front. A slider-based card game was developed around it. There are a total 12 collectible Plantimon toys and in addition, a prop replica of the protagonists' sword and flower wand.
Zoobles
Zoobles (ズーブルズ, Zuburuzu?) is a series of morphing marble toys produced by Spin Master LLC in North American and European Territories and by Sega Toys in Japan. They were originally started on August 2010. Zoobles feature the same morphing marble mechanism as Bakugan toys. Zoobles were primarily aimed to young girls and female collectors.
Zoobles is a portmanteau of the English words Zoo and Bobble which describes the toy's form and features. Each Zooble toy is based on a real-life animal in chibi rendition. With the toy's huge head and small body, it has a feature similar to a Bobblehead. Also, the toy's advertisements claim that when you "pet" it, the Zooble will "happily" close its eyelids, similar to a real-life pet.
Each Zoobles toy comes with a decorative base (in place of a Gate Card) called "Happitat" which activates the toy and can be used as its storage. Zoobles are usually sold as singles, duet (Twobles) or triad (Triplets) but had since spun off to more variations such as Chatteroos (Talking Zoobles), Dressobles (Dress-up Zoobles), Hairdoobles (Zoobles with stylable hair), Mama and Baby Zoobles, various playsets and other special variations.
Due to the success of the franchise, Spin Master released the toyline worldwide and has spun one Japanese-Korean animated series co-produced by MBS and a Nintendo DS game by Activision.
Similar Series to Zoobles
Monsters University
Spin Master, in conjunction with Disney and Pixar, released a series of Monsters University toys consisting of action figures, stuffed toys and Morphing Marble toys called "Roll-a-Scare." Monsters University is a prequel to the highly-successful Monsters Incorporated movie franchise.
The Roll-a-Scare Morphing Marble Product Line-Up consists of the following:
- Single Window-Boxed Roll-a-Scare each with their ID card which acts as the Activator (similar to a Gate Card).
- Roll-a-Scare Ridez which includes a monster and a car. Included in the assortment is Mike with a Bus and; Mike, Sulley, Johnny and Randall with each of their own cars.
- Toys R'Us Exclusive Frat Pack which is a window-boxed set of three consisting of Mike, Sulley and Art in jerseys and with different facial expressions.
- A Deluxe Monster Obstacle Course Playset inclusive of a "Battle Damaged" Sulley.
Parodies based on Zoobles
Happy Toon
'Happy Toon (心宝贝爆, Chinese: Kāi Xīn Bǎo Bèi?) features color-coded humanoid characters that have the same mechanism as Morphing Marbles. Each can be used to unlock a special feature in an app for iPhone 4s.
Vary Peri
A Chinese cel-shaded animated series called Vary Peri (幻变精灵之蛋糕甜心, Huàn biàn jīnglíng dàngāo tiánxīn?) bears similarities with Zoobles especially with the Japanese-Korean animated series. The toys themselves, although not in Spherical form, has the same mechanism as Morphing Marbles.
Similar Series and Parodies to Bakugan
Series Similar to Bakugan
These series are similar in look and function as Bakugan although some of them are not necessarily triggered by Magnets.
Ballistiks
Mattel created a Toy line called Hotwheels Ballistiks which features Race Cars that can be folded into a Spherical Shape just like Bakugan. However, unlike Bakugan, the mechanism of the Ballistiks cars are triggered by impact rather than by magnets.
Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru
In the mid-90s, Takara made three different foldable egg-like figures for an anime series called Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru.
Ryuuseirobo
Takara developed three different molds for the Ryuuseirobo line: two small foldable robots for the Beast Wars franchise called Egg Bots and later on, a foldable police robot released under the product name of Minibot.
Transformers Bot Shots
In 2012, Hasbro created a toyline featuring super-deformed characters from Transformers called "Bot Shots" from the portmanteau of Robot and Shots.
These Bot Shots transform from vehicle to robot form in the moment of impact. A simple tabletop game game and an online game called "Bot Shots Battle Game!" accompanies this toyline. The tabletop game centers around the reels within each Bot Shots and is played like a rock, paper and scissors game.
In Japan, this toyline is released as BeCool (ビクール, Bikūru?) which is a double pun of the word Vehicle (ビークル, Bīkuru?) and the Japanese word for Surprise (ビックリ, Bikkuri?). BeCool was not directly marketed as Transformers toys and had first made an appearance in Japanese toy markets as early as September 2012. The BeCool release lack the game aspect of Bot Shots and the symbols in the reels are replaced by pictures.
Chinese Bakugan Parodies
These series are made by Chinese Toy companies with the same mechanism as Bakugan toys.
'Dragon Warrier
Dragon Warrier (变形龙蛋系列, Chinese: Biànxíng Lóng Dàn Xìliè?) is a 2D Chinese animated series that features Dinosaurs and Dragons in Morphing Marble form. Its official merchandise are manufactured by Ling Dong.
According to its official website, the story is set in the mysterious world of Kentrurosaurus. The protagonists are named Anda, Tin Lok, Mern, Lyn, Ziyuan and KUN. The dinosaurs evolve from Baby forms to Dragon Warriors and Dragon Kings. There are six protagonist Dinosaurs and additionally twelve Zodiac-based ones.
A sequel entitled Dragon Warrior 2 (斗龙爆丸, Chinese: Dǒu Lóng Bào Wán ?) was also released.
GALAXIA
GALAXIA (宇宙星神, Chinese: Yu Zhou Xing Shen?) is a 52-episode 3D-animated series that aired in China. It is a series in the science-fiction genre that focuses on "Morphing Marble" Robots. The protagonists robots have the planets in the Solar System and the gods of Greek Mythology as their namesakes; the human protagonists are named Tillo, Yoyo, Ann and Lily; and the villain robots are named Sa Long Carus, Arrest, Panla and Evil Moon.
The official toys and merchandise for GALAXIA are produced by Ling Dong, a toy company in China. Official merchandise include 12 varieties of Morphing Marble Robots in B2-size and Deka Size. They also have Robots that resemble BakuMorphs.
Spin Boom Series
Two Spin Boom series has been released; the first being Seer Spin Boom (赛尔号精灵爆旋, Chinese: Sài ěr Háo Jīng Líng Bào Xuán?) in which monster figures pop out of Capsules which turn into vehicles. The second series feature Military Warships, hence the title Warship Spin Boom (爆旋舰队, Chinese: Bào Xuán Jiàn Duì?).
Parodies in existing Television Series
MAD
In the Cartoon Network shorts called MAD, a group of children were playing Go Fish, but one of them suddenly pulled out a Bakugan Card and shortly afterwards, a Dragonoid came crashing in from the roof. The Dragonoid trampled the guy who summoned him and declared an attack but soon realized that he is in the wrong show.
The Simpsons
The long-running comedic cartoon show The Simpsons parodied Bakugan in their episode called "Chief of Hearts." In Chief of Hearts, Bakugan was called "Battle Ball" and was portrayed as a Japanese toy franchise in which Bart Simpson and his classmates got engrossed in.