Battle B-Daman/Analysis

The Merchandise-Driven Battle B-Daman anime did not meet as much success as was expected. This may be due to the fact that the toys were of poor quality, sometimes arriving broken straight out of the package. The game called for the toys to launch marbles at each other or at targets. Since every piece of armor on a B-daman enhanced its abilities (for example, a longer barrel for increased accuracy), a broken piece made the toy useless. Since each figure was quite expensive, they weren't easy to replace. The fragility of the B-Daman was attributed to their brittle plastic. Instructions encourage children to customize their B-Daman. However, Parts could break when being removed or inserted. However the concept and game itself was well received. The problem was entirely a matter of execution.

The toys were also marketed at the wrong time. "Collectible toy games" like Beyblade were no longer in style. The release of Bakugan years later would bring them back into style.

The show's failure can be attributed to it not being featured on any major cartoon channels until after the toyline was cancelled. That said the show was celebrated for being funny, yet action packed. The story was very gripping, which made any loose ends that resulted from the show's abrupt ending very noticeable. The only major criticism was that the writers would often destroy popular B-Daman blasters in order to promote new toys.

The show had two spinoff Gameboy Advance titles, which sold poorly because they were released after the Nintendo DS made the Gameboy obsolete.


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