Kai’s character arc in Beyblade S1: some thoughts
Kai’s story in the Russian arc of Bakuten Shoot Beyblade is pretty awesome. It’s dark, dramatic, and emotionally satisfying. We get to see the usually stoic Kai rise to his greatest heights and fall to his farthest low, we see him break, revealing his gentler self, and we see him be put back together again by his friends.
But the whole thing … comes a bit out of nowhere, right?
I think we’re missing two things; some set-up, and some call-backs. First of all, Kai’s grandfather orders Kai to report back to him if he discovers more sacred beasts, and when they meet again in Russia, he says he hasn’t seen Kai since the American finals, but we never saw him there, nor have we had any indication that Kai has contacted him at any point. There should have been a scene or two dedicated to reminding us of Kai’s ongoing mission, especially if they could be used to give us some more insight into Kai’s character progression. Without the voice-overs of the dub, the Japanese anime leaves a lot of interpretation up to the viewer, and we could have used some help.
Secondly, we could have done with some flashbacks to earlier episodes as Kai was rediscovering his past, so that we could more easily follow his inner struggle and see how he ended up in this situation.
Here is what I would have liked to see. In one of the episodes leading up to the finale in China, after the BBA have seen Galman and Galux in action, we have a short scene of Kai making a phone call from their home base.
He’s in the middle of the thing as we join him, standing at the desk, posture straight but head bowed a little. “Yes,” he says, voice low. “And there’s probably more of them in that place.”
He listens to a reply from the other end. His mouth twists; he isn’t entirely pleased by the situation.
There’s a click. Kai replaces the receiver. Then Max’s head appears in the doorway behind him.
“Hi, Kai, are you phoning home?”
A quickly stifled jerk tells us that Kai was definitely up to something bad, but when he walks out, past Max and into the sunshine, his expression gives nothing away. “Yes,” he says.
“I wanna do that too! I have so much to tell Dad!” Max gushes.
The next scene like this would come in episode 29, as a stinger towards the end. Instead of cutting straight from the bar to the boat, we cut to Kai, on his own again with another phone. He’s sitting down this time, bent over. We don’t see his eyes.
“Sir,” he says simply. Listens for a moment. “Their security was too tight. I didn’t get a second-” He gets cut off.
Listens again. “Yes, Sir.” A tightening around the mouth tells us he’s upset. “I’ll do better.”
Then we cut to the outside of the boat, with the rest of the BBA standing on the dock. Kai appears at the railing and barks an order for them to get onboard. Takao notes that Kai is extra grumpy today.
The final scene of this nature takes place in Italy, after Takao’s second battle against Giancarlo. Since the last phone call, Kai has seen seven new sacred beasts, four monstrous and strange, the other three bigger than anything he’s seen before, wielded by their bladers with absolute control. It’s definitely something his grandfather will want to hear about.
On the other hand, since the last phone call, Kai has saved his friends from monsters. He has travelled through Europe with them, and felt how, in the absence of adults, he and Rei became the team’s support and protection. He has watched Takao grow as a blader and as a person, pursuing strength with wisdom and determination. Kai has helped him achieve victory against Olivier and Giancarlo. He knows that he is betraying the BBA, even if his grandfather’s plans will never affect them directly.
He picks up the phone. Begins to dial. Then he stops, fingers hovering over the buttons. After a moment, he puts the receiver back down.
“Kai?” Takao is calling from outside. “Come on, Kai, the blimp is waiting!” He sounds excited.
Kai looks at the door with confusion. “Blimp?” Curious, he shoulders his bag and goes to join his friends.
The first scene reminds us that in the middle of everything else going on, Kai has his own agenda, and it spells trouble for the BBA down the line.
The second scene serves both as a reminder of the overarching plot, and as a measurement for how far we’ve come. Kai has had time to warm up to his team; by revealing the secrets of the PPB to his grandfather, he is not only betraying Max, who he has a real soft spot for, but also Emily, who he can’t help but grudgingly like, and he’s beginning to struggle with guilt. The final spoken line implies that Hiwatari senior is not satisfied with Kai’s performance, and luckily for us, his criticism will help to push Kai away from him. Kai is still being a good soldier, but more and more, he’s discovering he doesn’t want to be.
The final scene is the payoff. Kai is bonding with his team, the time away from his grandfather’s domineering presence has allowed him to think for himself, and if his grandfather’s plans come through, it’ll mean all his new friends, infuriating brats though these most recent acquaintances may be, will lose their sacred beasts … Kai doesn’t want to be a part of that anymore.
For a little while, though he’s still grumpy and antisocial and dismissive of his team, Kai is firmly on the right track, and a proper member of the BBA.
Then it all goes to hell.
For the first time in his life, Kai is defeated. Not like his unlucky loss against Takao, no; this time he’s curb-stomped, Suzaku burned away like she was nothing. Like Kai was nothing. Once again, Kai can think of only one thing; power. But he’s not quite broken yet; he gets a second chance, and steps up with confidence and bitter determination. He’s going to show this loud-mouthed Scottish brat who is the better blader, once and for all.
And this is where I believe the foundation for Kai’s betrayal in Russia is laid. Because he doesn’t win. He doesn’t beat Johnny the way he needs to. If it wasn’t for Takao’s advice, Kai could have lost, probably would have lost. Kai forgets that Takao has earned his respect, forgets fondness and friendship; he grabs Takao by the front of his shirt and promises he will pay for what he has done.
It isn’t all undone over night of course; he is still pretty friendly as they enter Russia, taking the lead when the ducklings don’t know where to go, but once he has Black Dranzer there in front of him, promising an end to weakness, an end to the nagging hollowness inside that he thinks can be satisfied if only he achieves perfection, then his loss to Johnny comes back to him, and the memory of his failure pushes him into the darkness where the black phoenix waits.
Ideally, as Kai runs through the abbey rambling to himself about perfection and weakness, he should have had flashbacks to his two battles with Johnny, and even more importantly, once he reveals himself in the tournament and has taken down the PPB and the Byakko clan, drunk on power, he should have turned and pointed into the stands, shouting,
“MCGREGOR! COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME!”
And the ensuing battle would probably not play out like in my fanfiction-addled mind, so I’ll just stop here, but flipping hell I want that third battle between them so bad I don’t know what to do with myself.
