This series is a reboot of Beyblade. Again. This is the fourth "saga" of the franchise. It changes the format to a point based system for battles and now bursting your opponent is a win condition. The plot is also less "save the world/stop evil organization" and more "kid enters tournament. Tries to win"
Characters: some characters are unbeatable while others are great. The protagonist Valt isn't very enjoyable and can be irritating at times. Wakiya and Lui are constantly unbearable. Daigo's characterization is inconsistent. But Shu is very well-written. Zac and Xander always make an episode better. And Rantaro aka Honcho hasn't some very memorable moments ("Man cannot survive in green onion alone") Characters like Ben and Quon can feel underutilized at times but when we do see them they're great. Orochi is by far the most underused character this season despite also having the best voice acting on the show as well as a very interesting ability to hear burst finishes.
Plot: Valt enters the district tournament. There he battled bladers like Honcho, Ken, and Daigo. The winner gets to compete at the nationals. He also starts a Beyblade club at his school, which aforementioned opponents join. After Valt loses to Shu in the finals, he gets an invitation to the regional tournament. Winners of each block at the regionals get to go to the nationals as well. Every member of the beyclub gets an invitation, plus Orochi, Wakiya, Hoji, Yugo, and Ukyo. The latter two are part of Sword Flames. Valt and Wakiya win their blocks and get a spot at the nationals. Each competitor at the nationals can become a team captain for a team tournament being held before the individual matches. Valt forms a team with Honcho, Daigo, Shu, and Wakiya. Other teams include the Superstars, which include Zac and Orochi, Sword Flames, with Xander, Yugo, and Ukyo, Ice Blaze, captained by Quon, Beasts, with Ben and Ken, and Rideout, which include Gabe and Lui. We are also introduced to the supreme four. They are the top 4 ranked bladers in Japan, being Lui, Shu, Zac, and Xander. Valt's team comes in second place to Rideout, and Valt promises to beat Lui in the individual matches. We are introduced to more characters in the individual matches, like Naoki and Jin, but they are mostly irrelevant. Valt beats Xander and Zac if the supreme four on his way to the finals, while Lui beats Shu. Lui takes the win and his 5th consecutive title after what he himself describes as a "freak accident." Valt accepts the loss, and claims that he will beat Lui someday. The plot is alright. However, the final battle was terrible. It was intense and I was invested in it, but then Valt lost to his bey tripping on a crack in the stadium. Valt was going to win, but the stadium damage beat him. Not Lui. Even Lui demands a rematch, but for some reason Valt denies it. Not only is this completely out of character for Valt, it disposes of huge potential for Lui's development.
Action: The CG looks better than it ever has and stands out without feeling out of place. The point system also prevent battles from being too long, a problem previous series had. However, there isn't much variety. Most defense and stamina bladers sill simply take the center and wait. Previous series gave each character a unique style when battling, but in burst Honcho, Ken, Zac, Yugo, and Ukyo all use the exact same strategy, just to name a few. This lack of variety takes away from the action, as attacks like Quake Launch become forgettable because everyone else has something similar.
Music: not the best this franchise has seen, but still very enjoyable. The background music from battles is very intense. But there weren't any particularly memorable moments for music. There was no equivalent of Jack's or Damian's theme from the meta series. Or the battle music from the original. It was good, but not great.
Overall: enjoyable, but with some flaws. If you can look past Valt, this series should be enjoyable
Characters: some characters are unbeatable while others are great. The protagonist Valt isn't very enjoyable and can be irritating at times. Wakiya and Lui are constantly unbearable. Daigo's characterization is inconsistent. But Shu is very well-written. Zac and Xander always make an episode better. And Rantaro aka Honcho hasn't some very memorable moments ("Man cannot survive in green onion alone") Characters like Ben and Quon can feel underutilized at times but when we do see them they're great. Orochi is by far the most underused character this season despite also having the best voice acting on the show as well as a very interesting ability to hear burst finishes.
Plot: Valt enters the district tournament. There he battled bladers like Honcho, Ken, and Daigo. The winner gets to compete at the nationals. He also starts a Beyblade club at his school, which aforementioned opponents join. After Valt loses to Shu in the finals, he gets an invitation to the regional tournament. Winners of each block at the regionals get to go to the nationals as well. Every member of the beyclub gets an invitation, plus Orochi, Wakiya, Hoji, Yugo, and Ukyo. The latter two are part of Sword Flames. Valt and Wakiya win their blocks and get a spot at the nationals. Each competitor at the nationals can become a team captain for a team tournament being held before the individual matches. Valt forms a team with Honcho, Daigo, Shu, and Wakiya. Other teams include the Superstars, which include Zac and Orochi, Sword Flames, with Xander, Yugo, and Ukyo, Ice Blaze, captained by Quon, Beasts, with Ben and Ken, and Rideout, which include Gabe and Lui. We are also introduced to the supreme four. They are the top 4 ranked bladers in Japan, being Lui, Shu, Zac, and Xander. Valt's team comes in second place to Rideout, and Valt promises to beat Lui in the individual matches. We are introduced to more characters in the individual matches, like Naoki and Jin, but they are mostly irrelevant. Valt beats Xander and Zac if the supreme four on his way to the finals, while Lui beats Shu. Lui takes the win and his 5th consecutive title after what he himself describes as a "freak accident." Valt accepts the loss, and claims that he will beat Lui someday. The plot is alright. However, the final battle was terrible. It was intense and I was invested in it, but then Valt lost to his bey tripping on a crack in the stadium. Valt was going to win, but the stadium damage beat him. Not Lui. Even Lui demands a rematch, but for some reason Valt denies it. Not only is this completely out of character for Valt, it disposes of huge potential for Lui's development.
Action: The CG looks better than it ever has and stands out without feeling out of place. The point system also prevent battles from being too long, a problem previous series had. However, there isn't much variety. Most defense and stamina bladers sill simply take the center and wait. Previous series gave each character a unique style when battling, but in burst Honcho, Ken, Zac, Yugo, and Ukyo all use the exact same strategy, just to name a few. This lack of variety takes away from the action, as attacks like Quake Launch become forgettable because everyone else has something similar.
Music: not the best this franchise has seen, but still very enjoyable. The background music from battles is very intense. But there weren't any particularly memorable moments for music. There was no equivalent of Jack's or Damian's theme from the meta series. Or the battle music from the original. It was good, but not great.
Overall: enjoyable, but with some flaws. If you can look past Valt, this series should be enjoyable