Like many things out there such as Pokemon and Dungeons and Dragons, I'm sure Bakugan is taking some heat from some religious nutcase somewhere out there. I came to this realization when some parent I was having a baku-discussion with asked “Is it like Pokemon? I'd heard Pokemon had lots of witchcraft.”I was utterly baffled. Still, I showed her Nemus (An angel) and that calmed her down. Still, it made me wonder where it came from. After thinking about it for a while, I had the realization that the Bakugan series 1 TV show is actually a huge biblical allegory!...I hope I didn't just ruin Bakugan for anyone...Anyway, I wrote a quick article about it that I need to post somewhere else:Bakugan: Good For Our Children?There have been many fads like this, ones such as Pokemon or Yugioh or Dungeons and Dragons which have fallen into the realm of speculation concerning things such as witchcraft. The most recent imported phenomenon is called Bakugan, based around a game involving marbles that transform into creatures that play a game of strategy. Now, there may be some who are concerned that the franchise might be similar to Yugioh or Dungeons and Dragons when it comes to subjects such as witchcraft. First of all, let me assure you that it is quite the opposite. In fact, Bakugan takes far greater biblical inspiration than many shows and teaches some moral lessons that good christian children need to understand.The story starts in the realm of the Bakugan, who are many fantastic creatures that live in a place called Vestroia, a realm of six planets each with their own element. What sends the events of the original series of Bakugan into motion is that a greedy Bakugan called "Naga" (Appropriately named after the serpent) goes to the center of Vestroia in an attempt to steal the immense, god-like powers of the "Infinity Core" and "Silent Core", Vestroia's own separation of Light and Darkness. While Naga succeeds in stealing the Silent Core, the powers of the core consume him, drive him insane, and hurl him to a place called the "Doom Dimension". For a quick recap, Naga tries to steal what are basically the powers of God and gets punished for it. Sound familiar? The only other being who has a similar story is Satan, making Naga an allegorical Satan. Now, Naga is shown as Bad/mean/nasty/evil/someone you don't want to associate with, but also very powerful and VERY dangerous in the context of the show. As for the game itself, the process of Vestroia's celestial powers literally being ripped in half causes a rift in reality which causes the Bakugan, the now trapped in marble form, to spill over onto the Earth. The people of earth find them and create a game using them. So to clarify, the game itself is NOT created by witchcraft, but by a cataclysmic celestial event.Now I'm sure the biggest and most simple question about the game of Bakugan is: "Is it good or evil?" I can tell you with confidence that it is NEITHER. How can I say this with such confidence? Because the show addresses this matter directly. Enter Masquerade, an agent of our allegorical Satan. Masquerade basically fills the role of Mephistopheles, approaching innocent people who play the game to try to tempt them into using the game for evil purposes. He might tempt them by offering them a powerful bakugan or an excuse to goof off from something important and once he influences an innocent person, it is very hard to break them free of it. They do his bidding by using the "Doom Card", a card that can send defeated bakugan to the "Doom Dimension", which is basically Hell, and increase Naga's Powers, LITERALLY showing that by doing evil, they are increasing his powers.Enter Dan Kuso and the Battle Brawlers, the show's heroes, a group of kids who fight against Masquerade to save Vestroia. Along with their bakugan, they must confront the people who have been tempted by Masquerade and free them from his influence by playing a game of Bakugan against them, risking their own bakugan against the effects of the Doom Card. During the battle, they make their opponents see that what they've done is wrong and then have them repent and renounce Masquerade. However, the brawlers must be careful because Masquerade is more than willing to do his own dirty work. The brawlers later have to stop a power-hungry Naga from getting the Infinity Core, the other half of the god-like power, which is contained inside the body of Wavern, Naga's own sister who recieved the Infinity Core in order to keep it away from him.So the game itself is neither good nor evil like many things in this world, it's just a simple game of strategy like chess. Depending on who uses it, however, it can change: Evil uses the game as a tool for damnation, but Good uses the same game as a tool for salvation. Many of the lessons in the show involve resisting temptation, having faith in each other, and being willing to set aside differences for the common good. Many of the people that they helped escape the clutches of Naga later return to help them in their struggle. Even Masquerade himself eventually sees the light and joins the forces of good in the end. It also emphasizes that resisting the urge to do wrong and not cheating is proper sportsmanship and the way one should act when playing any game. As a whole, the show can easily be interpreted as an allegorical account of a bunch of kids fighting against the Devil and his minions. It teaches many good values and emphasizes how doing evil is bad and helping people escape temptation is good. It's a little Old Testament with some violence involved, but the lessons are still clear. Those who would denounce the show are merely ignorant of its intent and cannot see that the lords teachings are ingrained deep within it. What I ask of you is that if you find your child watching the show, don't turn off the TV. Instead, try to watch it with them and help them understand the lessons that the show is trying to teach. Use it as a tool for Good.So? Whatcha think?
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