Kaijudo: Clash of the Duel Masters (Season 2) Preview

Kaijudo is back for an earthshaking new season.

In the first episode of the season, Ray and his friends find themselves battling the beginnings of a massive war. Entitled “The Butterfly Effect”, this episode explores the reality that actions in one realm have consequences in the other. A mysterious mist of steam across the city foretells a conflict between fire and water, and the young friends set off with the Duel Masters to investigate.

For those unfamiliar with Kaijudo, let me give a quick run through of the concept for you. Now in its second season, Kaijudo was launched last summer as an inclusive universe, including a trading card game, the television series, and an online component. The story line follows the adventures of a feisty young boy named Ray. When Ray realizes he has the ability to become friends with monsters from a parallel dimension – and fight alongside them – he joins the secretive Duel Masters to fight against their nemesis, The Choten.

Featuring a variety of fantastical creatures, each with their own special abilities and talents, Kaijudo resembles a cross between Pokemon and Dungeons & Dragons – a winning combination in my book. The trading card game and television series serve well to complement each other, bringing the idea of the monsters on the cards to vivid life. The second series starts off in the same tone as the first, with Ray acting like a typical fun loving kid who just happens to have some very special abilities. His interactions with his two best friends – who also summon monsters and fight alongside the Duel Masters – are typical snarky kid stuff, that your school age kids will love.

For those new to the Kaijudo world, the second season starts off with a recap of the events of the previous season, which brings viewers up to speed pretty nicely. There may be a bit of confusion as to who everyone is, but even first time viewers should have no trouble following along. While the show itself is pretty standard kids’ adventure cartoon stuff, the real highlight of the series is the many different creatures featured on every episode. As viewers learn of the burgeoning war between the fire and water civilizations, a myriad of creatures from each civilization show their combat skills in explosive battles that were a big hit with the under ten set in my household.

Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters is an action packed children’s show that offers a world of fantastical creatures – and all the exciting battles that go along with them. The group of three friends who star in the series offers something that kids can relate to, while the imaginative parallel world will set their imaginations alight. Season 2 premieres tonight at 6:30 ET on HUB Network.