Bakugan Battle Brawlers started as a Japanese animated television series. In February 2008 Cartoon Network started airing the series in the United States, and a game based on the series was also released in conjunction with this.

The Japanese word “baku” means “to explode” and “gan” means “sphere”. Bakugan are small spheres from a far-off universe that morph into powerful warriors and Dan and his friends are charged with using their Battle Brawling skills to save all of mankind.

The story in the cartoon centers around the lives of the Battle Brawlers, a gang of kids, and the creatures they possess called Bakugans. Dan Kuso and five of his friends play the game Bakugan. When played well, Bakugan creatures are released, and the Battle Brawler must battle Bakugan monsters in order to save the parallel universe of Vestroia and ultimately Earth.

The Bakugan Battle Brawlers

Dan is the leader of the Battle Brawlers. He is a street smart 12 year old, and he gets frustrated very easily. Dan's ambition is to be the number one Battle Brawler in in the world, and he has a rivalry going with Shun, with whom he has competed for top spot in Bakugan ratings. Dan is a Pyrus Brawler, and his guardian Bakugan is Dragonoid (nicknamed Drago).

Marucho is a wealthy and generous boy. He is 10 years old, and he is considered to be the brain of the group. He used to be very obedient to his parents, but that changed when he met the Brawlers. His guardian Bakugan is Preyas.

Runo is a tomboy. She is 12 years old, and she often gets in the way of the other Bakugan players. She has a secret crush on Dan, although she would never admit it,  and she always argues him. Her guardian Bakugan is Tigrerra.

Shun and Dan have been best friends since childhood, and together they invented the game of Bakugan. Shun is 13 years old. He is an aspiring ninja who gets his training from his grandfather. He is a loner, yet he will help his friends at all cost. His guardian Bakugan is Skyress.

Julie can be described as a scatterbrained cutie. She is 12 years old and she adores Dan. Even if she can seem a bit vacant in conversations, she can compete with the best of them at Bakugan. Her guardian Bakugan is Gorem.

Alice is seen as the most mature in the group. She is 13 years old, and her closest friend is Runo. Alice was born and raised in Moscow, and she used to live alone until her grandfather, Michael Gehabich, came for her. Alice has always been a bit reluctant to play Bakugan, and instead she gives advice and strategy to the other members of the group. Sometimes she plays because she has the evil darkus in her control, and she knows almost everything about it.

Other important characters are:

• Masquerade is a mysterious character who conceals his true identity by wearing a mask. He has one goal, and that is to send all Bakugan to the Doom Dimension. He is Dan's main rival, and he has made friends with Hal-G to ensure that the dark side wins.
  Masquerade's guardian Bakugan is Hydranoid.

• Michael is a Alice's grandfather. He discovered a portal between our world and the alternate universe, Vestroia. There he was transformed and came back as a more negative, evil form, which is Hal-G, determined to destroy any Bakugan that gets in his way.

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