Wasted Potential: The Women of Beyblade
Alright lads, itβs time we address the elephant in the room: Beyblade sucks at portraying women. I know we all try our hardest to only look at the best aspects of the show and analyse every little detail as if it were intentional, but at the end of the day, this show was made to market toys to little boys. Of course we know toys shouldnβt be gendered like this, but the show came out in the early 2010s, so if it wasnβt pink and sparkly, it had to be for boys. Itβs time to face the fact that the writers arenβt perfect, and they certainly didnβt put effort into every aspect of the show- especially the female characters.
There are exactly six prominent female characters in the entire show. Thereβs the occasional scared little girl here or a very likely dead mum there, but there are only six main girls in the entire show. Thatβs opposed to an estimated 50 male characters, all appearing in more than one episode. People have tried to come up with in-universe explanations for this, the most obvious being that Beyblade, like a lot of sports, is male dominated, and woman just donβt feel welcomed in that space (Thereβs a really good fic by TooManyTerribleCartoons that focuses on this, I cried while reading it). It would be really interesting if the show actually went in that direction and dealt with that, but of course, it doesnβt. Because the real reason is that girls just arenβt as marketable to boys as boys are.
Now donβt get me wrong, I love all six of these girls with all my heart, but maybe thatβs just because there are so little of them to love. So, to figure out whether or not I actually like these characters based on their personalities or solely because theyβre the only ones I have to represent myself in this damn show, Iβm going to break them down individually.
Letβs start with our main girl, Madoka. The first thing that you may consider a problem is that the only girl thatβs consistently there throughout the show isnβt even a blader. Some would argue she still has the βbladerβs spiritβ but thatβs not what weβre here to talk about. Madoka is the healer of the group, as girls in media tend to be. And she doesnβt just heal their beys. Whenever someone is hurt, sheβs the one they show patching them up. Now, this isnβt necessarily a bad thing on its own. Female healers are just as admirable as female fighters. The problem starts with her being the only main girl in the show, and the only healer. None of the boys seem to be able to take care of themselves without her, which raises all sorts of alarms. They treat her like sheβs their mother, and I donβt care how much of an orphan you are, a fourteen-year-old girl is not your mum. Hell, she even scolds them like sheβs their mother. When you break it down, her entire character is based on being a maternal figure to all of her male friends.
What I really want to talk about with Madoka is how sheβs usedin the show. Iβm about to drop a bomb here so get ready. Hereβs the thing: Madoka isnβt a main character, sheβs a supporting character. Yep. Because, despite being the second most present character in the show, there is no storyline that focuses on her, not even an episode. She doesnβt have an arc. She doesnβt learn anything new about herself, doesnβt change at all throughout the story. Because if she changes, who will be Gingkaβs new mummy? Sure, sheβs a part of other peopleβs arcs, but sheβs only used to further their development. Sheβs a means to an end.
Take the Survival Island arc for example. This is the only time we ever see her use a bey, so it should be a big moment for her, right? Nope. Because sheβs only furthering Kyoyaβs arc. He needs to learn that Leone has limits he shouldnβt push, and she needs to teach him that. She doesnβt learn anything from it, she was just doing what she knew she had to do.
I love Madoka dearly but when it comes down to it, her character was completely wasted on mothering the boys around her.
Hikaru is the first female blader we meet. And at first, her character actually looks promising! Sheβs a feisty, no-nonsense girl who only wants to take on the best of the best. She has a pretty good backstory (by Beyblade standards) that explains her actions well, and she even grows as a person throughout the show! Can you imagine? Of course, that just didnβt last. Once everyone leaves to collect points for Battle Bladers, sheβs pushed into obscurity. When she does occasionally show up, sheβs used as a dummy to display other bladerβs power on. Everyone else during this time gets episodes dedicated to their travels- hell, even Tetsuya gets one- but sheβs conveniently left out. Just couldnβt squeeze her into the fifty episodes of the season, could ya?
And then, we get to Battle Bladers, where sheβs immediately put up against the most powerful person and gets crushed instantly. She couldnβt put up a decent fight like Tsubasa or Kyoya because her battle was tacked onto the end of another personβs episode.
From here on, Hikaru refuses to battle without absolute necessity. Another girl who just doesnβt play. Now, I donβt mind how they handled the whole PTSD thing (sus that no one else in the show has it but okay). Hikaru was only really blading to fulfill her motherβs dreams, and she decides that she shouldnβt force herself to anymore. That would all be fine and dandy if the show had focused on that. But they didnβt. The fandom came up with that explanation. The show decided to make her a secretary because they needed someone to balance out Ryo's idiocy. One might even say sheβs mothering him. Another teenage girl forced into the responsible maternal role. And thatβs how she stays.
Nowβ¦ Mei-Mei. Iβm not gonna sugar-coat this one, guys. Mei-Meiβs portrayal is blatantly sexist. She (of course) is the stupid one of her team, always mixing up her words. She blindly follows all of her male teammates with the utmost respect for all of them without getting anything in return. She never fights by herself, instead aiding someone else and taking orders. She is, once again, just a support to the real talent- the male members of the team.
This is all ignoring the most obvious βtraitβ she hasβ¦ yeah, the tits. Mei-Mei has big olβ tiddies. Now Iβm not here to body shame, I know that everyone grows and develops differently. But come on. Sheβs a child. And of course, sheβs super skinny in every other aspect, itβs just her tits that have to be massive. Whoever designed her made a choice, and a bad one at that.
Mei-Mei is a dunce with big boobs thatβs only there to be stared at and laughed at. She doesnβt get a story of her own like the others do, only there to fill in the fourth spot in Wang Hu Zhong. Sure, she can mean more than that to us, but thatβs all she was intended to be.
Lera is anβ¦ interesting case. She has the same aspiration as the rest of her team: to go to space. Thatβsβ¦ almost like having your own goals, right? When sheβs introduced, sheβs stubborn, mouthy, and loud. Wow, thatβs a lot like Masamune! Sheβll make a great adversary for him- ah shit, heβs gone and gotten himself lost. Guess she wonβt be fighting at all in the championships. What a waste.
Oh, but there she is again! Appearing in the Destroyer Dome tournament with her team, Iβll bet she has a lot to offer this time! And she kind of does, being the one who was able to counter one of Jigsawβs special moves. This was most likely to make up for the fact that she didnβt do anything in the world championships, but hey, at least itβs something! Letβs hope she keeps this up and- ah. She got fire blasted with the rest of her team. Pity.
For my own metal health, Iβm choosing to ignore the boob window on her fucking space suit. Iβm not touching that one.
Sophie, my beloved. Her portrayal might be the one Iβd say is the least sexist, but thatβs by a very thin margin. When sheβs introduced, she gives a massive display of power and even shares her dream of being an archaeologist. A woman with her own personal goals? What a world! Of course, we never hear about this ever again, despite there being plenty of opportunities where the gang could use an archaeologist *cough cough the entirety of Metal Fury cough*.
Sophie is very mature, being older than most of the cast. Everyone on team Excalibur is, but Sophie seems a lot more polite compared to her stubborn and rude counterpart, Wales. She has to be, as the refined lady of the group. Sheβs graceful and glamorous, as a woman of high class should be *eyeroll*. Thereβs also her complete and utter devotion to Julian and only being known as one of his βTwin Jewels,β which is justβ¦ so great.
The only thing that puts Sophie above the rest in terms of representation is her power. Coming in relatively late in Masters meant that she had to be a far more powerful opponent. Granted, most of the time sheβs fighting in a duo, but sheβs still a threat on her own. And thatβs proven when *gasp* she defeats one of the main characters? On her own?! When Gan Gan Galaxy interrupts the Festival of Warriors, and Yu tries to use his special move to destroy the stadium, sheβs the one to stop him. It couldβve been Wales or Julian, but they decided Sophie should do it. And I think that works well with her character, since she seems to care the most about the cultural and historical aspect of everything. Sheβs the one who explains the importance of the festival to our main characters, sheβs the one who knows the legend of Variares in Fury, so she would be the one who wants to prevent the stadium from falling apart. Iβm glad they at least incorporated her desire to be an archaeologist into her character, though that could also just be a coincidence. Or her wanting to be tidier because sheβs a woman. But Iβm gonna pretend thatβs not it, because Iβd like to be happy for once.
Selen is the only βvillainβ of all the girls. I say βvillainβ because not wanting to starve to death definitely isnβt evil. Anyway, Selen seems to be yet another sex symbol in this childrenβs show. Despite living in poverty, she still finds time to dress in a cute crop top, tiny skirt, and skimpy leggings. Iβm all for hot girls doing hot girl shit, but again, sheβs supposed to be poor. And a fucking child.
Her battle style, much like her clothing, is very showy. Sheβs the weakest of her family (youβd think it would be the youngest, but no, itβs the girl) so she makes up for it in stamina. In other words, she distracts her opponents. The gorgeous woman distracts people in order to win. Huh. It isnβt even subtle in the show. During her world championships battle, she plays the crowd and they cheer and whistle at her. They claim to love her, even! But how can her country love her while also letting her and her family starve? Why, they love her for her body, of course! They love the performance, but her as a person? Whether or not she even lives through the night? They couldnβt care less.
Even when she returns in the Destroyer Dome, she says sheβs fine with sacrificing herself for her brothers. She uses her incredible stamina to be useful to her brothers, to wear out their opponents. The devotion is the same with all of the siblings, but none of her brothers ever sacrifice anything for the family. Itβs only the girl. The expendable one.
So thatβs all the individual girls, spread as thin as they can go. All of this is to say that all of these girls have incredible potential but are shoved off to the side for the sake of their male teammates. They couldβve had great storylines themselves. I mean, each season of this show is around fifty episodes. Youβre telling me you canβt give at least a few of them to the girls?
Iβm not surprised by any of these revelations, because honestly, Beyblade isnβt objectively a great show. Itβs a marketing scheme. I just wish at least one of the girls got the attention and detail to their character that they deserve. So many characters, even side characters like Da Xian and Zeo, have great development in their few episodes. Why couldnβt any of the girls get the same treatment?
All in all, this just makes me sad. At least I know that there are so many great content creators in this fandom who can give these girls the justice they deserve.
stormborns
areudirty
izzy806
