Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden

Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden (JP:ボンバーマンビーダマン爆外伝, Bonbāmanbīdamanbakugaiden, lit. "Bomberman B-Daman Explosive Side Story") is the second iteration of the B-Daman franchise following the Super Bomberman generation. First introduced in August 1995, the merchandise line-up lasted to 1999 spanning 5 different toy series and their associated media.
==Toy Line Overview==
The Bakugaiden toy line lasted for five series, beginning with Bomberman figures of a similar type to the earlier Super Bomberman generation but with more elaborate armor and accessories. The line would quickly expand into toys with an entirely new body format and scale, introducing the model-kit-like structure that would become the standard in future B-Daman generations. Key innovations in the generation included transformation and combination gimmicks as well as toys that could shoot in more varied and complex ways, all of which would become staples of B-Daman toys moving forward.
==Media Overview==
Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden media emphasizes the B-Daman toys as anthropomorphic characters and armor mecha which the B-Daman characters pilot. Departing from the Bomberman setting, the series is focused on a fantasy setting with a mecha theme, with the protagonists piloting large robots to save the world from an evil force. Several generations of Bakugaiden setting and narrative were created with somewhat loose continuity among them. Much of the story was initially detailed in the text and illustrations on the packaging and manuals of toy products, with the franchise later graduating to a transmedia model featuring storytelling in multiple formats including manga, anime, video games, and audio dramas.
==Setting season summary==
===B-Daman Bomberman Bakugaiden (ビーダマンボンバーマン爆外伝)===
First released in August 1995, the series is presented through merchandise packaging and manuals. This series retained its links to the Bomberman videogames, but with an added focus on armor which can transform and combine. This series also introduced a collection of trading cards depicting both the toys and also fiction-only characters who had not yet received physical toy representations.
===Bomberman Bakugaiden II (ボンバーマン爆外伝II)===
Introduced in 1996 following the first season and following the release of the "Super Bomberman 4" SNES game. Each B-Daman character is affiliated with a B-Da that matches the color of an element. The story is presented in a manga titled .
===Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden III (ボンバーマンビーダマン爆外伝III)===
Released in 1997 following the second season, this is the first season focused on its own storyline without a direct link to any of the Bomberman games. The story is a space-opera-style war story, in which the B-Daman characters ride armored humanoid mecha called "Bomber Fighters" with interchangeable equipment parts. This narrative appears in the first 2 episodes of the Bakugaiden anime as the "Legend arc" or "Planet Emblem arc".
===BB-Daman Bakugaiden IV (Bビーダマン爆外伝 IV)===
Introduced in 1998 and taking place a millennium after Bakugaiden III. This series features mecha with a wider variety of shapes and sizes called "B-Da Armors", built around a separable cockpit sphere called a "B-Da Capsule". Additionally, many Armors can shift between a "Ride Mode" for mobility and an "Armor Mode" for combat. This series also introduced new shooting features such as multiple barrels, alternate ammunition sizes, and multi-shot bursts, as well as alternate ammunition such as the "Metal B-Da". This story is told through the rest of the Bakugaiden anime after the first 2 episodes as the "B-Da City arc", with the "Planet Emblem arc" as its background ancient history.
===BB-Daman Bakugaiden V (Bビーダマン爆外伝V)===
The final season of the Bakugaiden franchise released in 1999. This season introduced a new design in which the B-Daman control their Armor mecha by transforming into the mecha's head and merging with them instead of piloting the Armor from a cockpit. The toyline introduced a systematized body design for Armors, composed of 4 interchangeable units: The core, lower body, upper body, and head. B-Da Armors in this season also continue to feature the Ride Mode and Armor Mode transformation from the previous season, with B-Daman pilots riding their Armor like a vehicle in Ride Mode and transforming into the humanoid robot's head for Armor Mode.
Category:Generations
Category:Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden