Animenation is reporting (via the Japanese site Anime! Anime!) that a second 26-episode Bakugan anime series will air in the U.S. and Canada next spring.  Produced by TMS Entertainment (D. Grayman, Sonic), the new Bakugan Battle Brawlers: New Vestoria series is the sequel to the original 52-episode Bakugan anime that debuted in Japan in April of 2007 and on the Cartoon Network in February of 2008.

The Bakugan anime, which is produced in conjunction with Spin Master Toys and Nelvana, ties in with the Bakugan game, which combines elements of collectible card games and traditional games like marbles (see “Bakugan, An International Multi-Media Property”).  Spin Master’s Bakugan toys have become one of the hot items for the current holiday season (see “Bakugan Makes Hot Toys List”). 

Though it was just launched here in February, the Bakugan property has already spun off an extensive range of merchandise (see “Cartoon Network Gets Bakugan Merchandise Rights”), including several series of books.  The fumetti-like Bakugan volumes using art from the anime series that are published by Del Rey appear to be the most popular.  Retailers have reported to ICv2 that the first Del Rey Bakugan volume has sold very well, especially in the bookstore market.

In yet another demonstration of the growing popularity of the Bakugan property, Universal has acquired the right to create a feature film based on Bakugan (see “Bakugan Movie Deal Signed”).