The anime "Beyblade: Metal Fusion" first aired in the U.S. on Cartoon Network in 2010 and in Japan in 2009. It is the fourth "Beyblade" anime series and it is the first series to reboot the continuity completely. In Japan the series is called "Metal Fight Beyblade." "Beyblade: Metal Fusion" is the first series in the "Metal Saga," which consists of three seasons: "Beyblade: Metal Fusion," "Beyblade: Metal Masters" and "Beyblade: Metal Fury."
The protagonist of "Beyblade: Metal Fusion" (and all the "Beyblade" shows in the "Metal Saga") is Gingka Hagane, whose Japanese name is Ginga Hagane. The outgoing redhead gathers a team of kid bladers, including his main partner Masamune Kadoya, taciturn but strong Tsubasa Otori, childlike and bubbly Yu Tendo and motherly and tech-smart Madoka Amano. In later series in the "Metal Saga" Ginkga leads these bladers as Team GanGan Galaxy to represent Japan in the Big Bang Bladers tournament.
Over the course of the "Metal Saga," Gingka eventually competes in universal beyblade tournaments, but the first series of the saga, "Beyblade: Metal Fusion," is largely devoted to introducing characters and letting Gingka's skills develop. The main antagonist of the series is the Dark Nebula, a nefarious organization that may have killed Gingka's genius blader father. Ginka also often comes up against Kyoya Tategami, who considers Gingka his rival in beyblade skill. However, Kyoya also wants to see Dark Nebula fall.
The first three seasons of the "Beyblade" anime, "Beyblade," "Beyblade: V-Force" and "Beyblade: G-Revolution," featured a young man named Tyson Granger (Takao Kinomiya in Japan) as the star. Tyson started at age 13 and aged a year with each season; by the last season he was 15. The creators of the series started anew with "Beyblade: Metal Fusion," launching the series with a new 12-year-old protagonist and a new setting and goal. This decision enabled them to avoid aging Tyson into adulthood on the kids' show. You'll also notice that starting with "Beyblade: Metal Fusion," the English dub of the series retains Japanese names or names close to the originals, rather than more Western equivalents.