Beyblade is back.
A new 51-episdoe series titled Beyblade: Metal Fusion is due to begin airing on Canada’s YTV starting with a four-episode block May 15 at noon, courtesy of Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana and Japan’s d-rights.
The series also is set to air in the United States on Cartoon Network.
The new series will air weekly and comes on the heels of a new line of toys. Beyblade originated as a manga series before spinning off into three series of popular anime that ran from 2001-2003.
‘When the Beyblade series and spinning tops were first launched in 2002, it quickly became an extraordinary phenomenon, galvanizing and thrilling kids in more than 100 countries around the world,’ said Jocelyn Hamilton, VP of programming and production for Corus Kids. ‘No one could have predicted that Beyblade would ignite the imaginations of kids in the way that it did. ‘Beyblading’ became a figure of speech among kids and pop-up tournaments generated excitement everywhere. And now, with a new series in place, Beyblade is back for a whole new generation of kids.’
The new series follows Gingka and his loyal super bladers as they battle the group known as The Dark Nebula.
Master toy partner Hasbro and Nelvana Enterprises will launch the Beyblade: Metal Fusion toy line in Canada this spring. Since the toys’ re-launch in Japan in 2008 by Tomy, more than 17 million tops and accessories have been sold, accelerated by the start of the broadcast of the new series in April 2009.
