It throws away the po-faced melodrama of the original and hands you a bunch of kids running a vlog channel, and somehow that's the right call. Dan Kouzo and the Awesome Ones want clout first and heroism second, which is why Wynton mugging for the camera with Trox lands harder than any speech about destiny. The battles keep the ritual intact, Baku-Cores hitting the ground, the ball popping open, Drago standing there like the argument is already settled. Then AAAnimus and Magnus Black show up and the goofy suburban energy has to grow teeth, and the show actually lets that hurt a little. Lia and Pegatrix, Shun and Hydorous, everybody gets a partner who feels like a personality instead of a stat block. It's brighter, dumber and funnier than the 2007 run, and if you grew up flicking those spheres across a card, it still gets you in the exact same spot.

Bakugan, a mysterious race of alien creatures, begin surfacing from the Earth's crust in a worldwide awakening, and Dan and his friends end up at the center of the new era. Pre-teens Dan Kouzo, Shun Kazami, Wynton Styles and Lia Venegas, along with their dog Lightning, post videos online as the Awesome Ones. They befriend the Bakugan and battle one another with them. They also defend their neighborhood from thugs who misuse the creatures. Beyond fame, the kids must learn to fight alongside their Bakugan and protect them from forces that want to control, enslave or destroy them. A bigger secret lies under their feet: Earth has merged with Vestroia, another planet that is itself alive. The mix of action, comedy and fantasy suits a monster-battle adventure.