#ginga character analysis

[sky-of-dusk]

Something shocked me during episode 134, when Ginga talks to Chris.

So, here an excerpt of the discussion:

Chris: Stop it! Just pretty words! You could never understand what I feel.

Ginga: Yes. You're right. I can't fully understand how someone who was abandonned by his friends and forced to fight all alone feels like in day in and day out moments. (...) But I do understand one thing. Chris! Even after that you still did not give up beyblade, did you? (...) Even while facing such hard times you did not give up beyblade. You continued to battle. The truth is did you love beyblade.

Do you notice?

Chris goes all taking about his past and Ginga is just "Poor of you... I can't even imagine how you cope with all of this". I mean... I see the beginning of the serie.

"I can't fully understand how someone (...) forced to fight all alone feels like in day in and day out moments."

This is basically Ginga's situation before and during the first episodes of Beyblade Metal Fusion. He spent months alone, traveling to fight and avenge his father's death. He knows exactly how it feels.

There are three possible explanations:

1. The gang needed Chris' help as fast as possible, and venturing onto this ground would have taken a lot of time.

2. Ginga didn't want Chris to feel bad for making the wrong choice. Everyone on the planet heard about Ginga Hagane and his feats. If he had said he had lived the same thing, then Chris wouldn't have any excuses for working for Nemesis.

3. The most disturbing. Ginga didn't think he could compare his situation to Chris' and believed Chris went through much more than him.

With the way Ginga is used to hide his negative emotions, I feel life the third theorie is the most fitting (somewhat intertwined with the second one).

Ginga put the others' feelings (in particular their pain and sadness) above his own, as if what he went through is nothing but what they live is everything that matters, as if his actions and his personal experience have no merit while they deserve every words of compassion and of congratulation.

Ginga does it again in Shogun Steel, when he witnesses Zyro's and his friends' attack of the Dark Nebula Castle. He's impressed by their will and their efforts, while he did the same (and so much more) when he had their age.

[boyvidae]

Kagetora ---> Kai brothers

Ken ---> Ben

these ones are pretty obvious so they’re together. plus i never want to separate kage and ken.

the kai bros become condensed into one feisty little turd in Kage. he is the epitome of kai dogs, loyal to a fault and willing to sacrifice himself for small victories, which he proudly brags about.

even tho we covered ben previously, ken is pretty obviously ben’s stand in, being his son and looking identical to him (wont get into that). he tends to have a shorter temper than ben and doesn’t play the fatherly role to the protagonist. but i could see ben being similar when he was younger. ken also is usually trying to live up to ben’s legacy/the pressure of being his only kid actually around since george disappeared, so i could see why he’d be a little more hot-tempered then his dad.

in this way, they actually swap a bit of their father’s personalities. Kage is very friendly to the protagonist when they first meet, whereas ken attacks him. this is contrary to their fathers, where ben was friendly whereas the kai brothers attacked ben and his group on sight.

[sky-of-dusk]

Episode 72: Fun vs responsabilities

Ginga and Kyouya don't tackle their battle the same way.

At the beginning of episode 72, Ginga acts withdrawn. He's uneasy, lost in his thoughts. His team, especially Masamune, burden him with the victory. He isn't allowed to focus on his duel, but has to think about his team above all.

The Wild Fang are true to themselves : Benkei is eagerly happy, Nile is between annoyance and boredom, while Damure don't know what to do of himself. Kyouya is calm, thoughtful. He's already turned toward his future duel against Ginga. Benkei wants to talk to him about Galaxy Pegasus but Kyouya stops him harshly. He wants to discover Ginga's and Pegasus's power by himself. It's his moment, he will not let anyone take the control of it.

Then, he smiles:

"I finally get to fight Ginga's Galaxy Pegasus at long last. It's going to be a blast. Let's go."

Right from these moments, the spectator knows the rivals aren't fighting for the same reasons. Kyouya is here to have fun beybattling Ginga, while Ginga had to win for his teammates.

Ginga walks toward the stadium, displaying a serious look (almost somber), while Kyouya smiles, amused even before the duel starts.

Ginga: The time has come at last Kyouya. I hope you're ready. Kyouya: You can talk all you want, pal. All I've got to say to you is that I'm gonna win this thing for sure. Ginga: I don't think so! You'll be walking out the loser!

After they exchange some words, Ginga isn't only withdrawn anymore: he's angry. His position is aggressive, furious, while Kyouya is relaxed (like 80% of the time).

They both invoke their bey-spirit before the duel starts, showing how serious their battle will be.

Ginga Let's rock it! Kyouya: Bring it back, Ginga.

Ginga's words don't suit his tone and his expression. Kyouya seems somewhat crazy, but it's his usual expression when he's about to have fun (a little return to the past, with little and very shining eyes xD)

(I like the harmony between Ginga's and Kyouya's shot)

Kyouya lets Pegasus attack Leone. He lets. He doesn't suffer them.

Kyouya: Ha ha ha! I'm enjoying this ! I'm enjoying it a lot Ginga. This is what a battle should be. Ginga: Kyouya?

Kyouya: Ginga, battling with you is the only reason I came all the way here. So come on. Let's see some more of your attack power. Ginga: Okay! You've got it.

The battle seems to start anew. They exchange blows and Ginga decides to use his special move.

When Ginga launches his special move the first time, he's borderline looking how he was during his first duel against Ryuuga. You know, when he thought he was facing his father's murderer.

But Kyouya counters it easily and Ginga gets destabilized. Kyouya brags some, but then he gets annoyed.

"What's wrong here Ginga?! Is that all you've got?"

Kyouya shows there he doesn't care about victory. He wants to fight Ginga, his rival. He wants to see all Ginga and Pegasus are able of. Everything he had say since the beginning of the episode is heartfelt. It wasn't his usual dramatisation to seem cool.

Ginga: Kyouya, you can try but I won't be so easy to take down. Kyouya: This is it Ginga. Let's settle things.

And AT LAST! the changement Kyouya was hoping for happens:

Ginga: No problem! Let's see what you've got Kyouya!

Except Nile, no one understands this interaction. The Gan Gan Galaxy, the Wild Fang, Hikaru and Ryuusei are all shown surprised, somewhat destabilized.

Then Ginga and Kyouya have their beybattle. They fight, use their special moves, taunt the other one, shrug off their bragging (offending them by doing so). They fight fiercely, as they aren't able to with other bladers. So fiercely, with such refusal to lose, their battle ends the only way it could :

with a spectacular drawn.

Conclusion

If Kyouya's goal had been victory (only victory) and not having fun battling Ginga, he could have won. But he attacks and provokes Ginga until his rival comes back to his senses and truly battles him.

Kyouya has such a supportive role. (He can't help it.)

[sky-of-dusk]

I don’t think Kyouya’s character was created to be cool, dark and class. That’s just how people decided to see him because he’s the rival. This is just an unfounded a priori: the hero is necessarily a happy-go-lucky character, with an easy past and everything one needs to be happy, while the rival is necessarily dark and taciturn, with a tragic backstory.

In MFB, one doesn’t have to look attentively to see this isn’t true for Kyouya and Ginga.

Let’s do some character comparison (and put links to previous posts because I’m too lazy to develop each point again xD)

Ginga Hagane

The whole 1st season is Ginga wanting to get his revenge because Ryuuga and Daidouji “killed” his father, so the easy past...

Besides, in the beginning of this season, he has trust issues, difficulties to share his emotions, and is shown unable to count on his new friends. This issue comes back then and again, but less and less often, and less intently.

Even the “lighter” parts of the season, when he’s acting “childlishly” are darker when you take the time to think about it, like his mood swings and his reaction when Pegasus is fixed.

Every time there is a problem provoked by beys, Ginga goes willingly on the first line to fight. His friends want to accompany him but he doesn’t ask them to (in Shogun Steel, in fact, he’s travelling alone... except in the manga!), he doesn’t make anyone feel guilty about what they should or not do. He’s a very accepting character, never trying to change the others judging them about good/evil. As long as one has the blader’s spirit and doesn’t hurt his friends, Ginga doesn’t mind what they think or do. He doesn’t bear grudge against Kyouya and Benkei for the Face Hunters!

Also, if he was just a happy-go-lucky character, he wouldn’t be able to judge the other characters so rightly. He guesses all he needs to know about them almost in one glance.

Ginga wouldn’t have, either, so biting words when he fights (in particular against Kyouya).

Kyouya Tategami

First of all, Kyouya isn’t class all the time. There are many scenes in the show his behavior is ridiculed. Besides which, he’s acting dramatically most of time (especially when he’s about to fight/challenge Ginga). It doesn’t prevent him to be smart, or the other characters to look up at him, but still.

And he poses! All the time (I’d like very much if someone can give me the link of the post showing he’s contantly posing). And he’s slightly(?) affected.

For Kyouya, despite what the gang witness, Beyblade is a game. It’s his passion and it makes him really enthusiastic. He tackles most Beybattles with the same kind of energy, even against Ryuuga, when everyone was fearing the Dragon Emperor because he was about to destroy the world with L-Drago.

Kyouya’s familial background and his backstory are so lightweight the Dark Power has no effect on him.

Also, when I look the translation for “taciturne” (I’m still French x) ), the dictionnary also gives me “man of few words”. Isn’t that exactly Kyouya’s opposite? XD He spends much time talking, so this word doesn’t suit him. At all.

Conclusion

Ginga and Kyouya are the exact contrary they are supposed to be if we only care about their label (as the “hero” and as the “rival”) and not about their actions and words during the show.

[sky-of-dusk]

Beyblade’s training

I already talk to you about prejudices about Ginga’s and Kyouya’s characterization, because the first one is the protagonist and the other is his rival, but there is one I have left aside:

how some people are undermining Ginga's Beyblade skills.

On the board: “The three most important points to become a good blader : 1. Strenght 2. Skill 3. The Blader’s spirit (the most important)

Beyblade Metal Fusion (both anime and manga) shows clearly Ginga used to train everyday since... forever, in fact. Besides, in the manga, the author even clarified that Ginga's bey before Pegasus was just a training bey, heavier and less balanced than true beys. He trained non-stop for years. It’s equivalent to high leveled sportsman. He worked hard to get his skills. It didn’t fall out of the sky.

And, to be sure the spectators understand it, Kyouya tell it clearly in episode 18:

“So you’ve been training like this since you were in diapers. Hmmm. No wonder you’ve become strong.”

- english dub

“This way you’ve been training naturally since you were a kid. Of course you’d be strong.”

- japanese dub

It’s an explanation. Kyouya tells why Ginga is so strong. There is no judgment in his words. There are nothing else than a statement.

Ginga gets his skills not because he’s the protagonist, but because he trained his whole life to be a good blader.

On the other side, we have Kyouya Tategami, who doesn’t take Beyblade seriously until he meets Ginga (and loses to him). Despite this, he’s one of the stronger blader Ginga had met during his travels :

Ginga, thinking: Beating Kyouya isn't exactly an easy thing to do. It took everything I had.

- episode 8

Ginga trained for years, but he admits he had hardly won against Kyouya, that he needed all his strenght and skills to beat him... but Kyouya hadn’t made any efforts. He’s just gifted. But no one blames him for this because he’s the rival, and not the protagonist.

After their first duel, Kyouya starts taking Beyblade seriously. He trains a couple of months with the Dark Nebula and finds two new special moves, while bladers have to train hard to only find one (like we saw with Kenta). He loses again against Ginga... but only because Leone is on Ginga’s side. Otherwise, he would have won.

Then, Kyouya trains again for the World Championships and he succeeds to be level with Ginga ! Since he’s the rival, it’s regarded as normal (and even deserved) that Kyouya reaches in months the level of beybladers who trained seriously since their early childhood (like Ginga, of course, but also Hikaru and Tsubasa).

In fact, we have many childhood flashbacks (about Ginga and Hyouma, Hikaru, Tsubasa, Dashan and Chi-Yun, Masamune and Zeo and Toby...) and Kyouya is the only one who isn’t beyblading during his flashback. 

[sky-of-dusk]

Most people, seeing this scene: So childish behavior... 🙄

What you learn by REwatching the anime: In fact, Pegasus was Ginga’s only friends for months and it’s the only thing he had to remember his father, who died before his eyes 😭😭😭

[sky-of-dusk]

[sky-of-dusk]

In fact, there are time indications in Beyblade Metal Fusion. There are, of course, the timing of the Battle Bladers (the qualifications last three months and the tournament less than a week), but there is another indication :

the night sky.

Episode 14

When Ginga tells his past to Kenta, he reckons his last night at Koma. Then, the Pegasus constellation was shining in the night sky.

It’s not because Ryo used Pegasus. I checked it. When the constellation appears because Ginga calls Pegasus’ powers, it looks like this :

A kind of drawing. A sharp outline of the constellation’s beast with bright lines connecting the stars. When the constellations are actually seen by the characters, and not a manifestation of their power, they had this white shape, and the lines that connect the stars are very thin.

The Pegasus constellation is best spotted during the nights between late September and early October.

Episode 18

When the gang goes to Koma, to get Ginga back, they look at the sky and see the Sagittarius constellation. It is best seen in July and August (though it can be spotted in early September).

It means MFB anime (at least, in Metal Fusion) respects the manga timeline. In the manga, it is stated that Ginga’s father “dies” six months before he met Kenta. In the anime, between Ginga’s flashback and the moment he’s reunited with his friends in Koma, at least ten months had gone by. We can guess that Kyouya spent some months with the Dark Nebula because Doji’s minions said he was several days ahead of the schedule.