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beybladefanboy · 2 months ago

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Updated MFB Characters Tier List!

Check below the cut for extended thoughts on every character. Just a fair warning it's REALLY LONG. Like 12 pages of a Google doc long.

I know this tier list doesn't have Shogun Steel like the old one (which I couldn't find this time sorry) did but honestly, it's been so long I don't have much of an opinion on Shogun Steel or its characters anymore. I'd have to rewatch it to know how I feel about them now.

Hate: Ryo

Four years and multiple rewatches later, this remains unchanged. Ryo's a bad father, a bad plot twist, the worst part of Metal Fusion and a big detriment of Metal Masters. I hate his story and how much the narrative straight up justifies child abuse and when he's not problematic, he's annoying.

Painfully Boring: Pluto, Rago

I discussed the latter two in a recent post but Pluto and Rago are the most boring villains in the series. Hardly anything stands out about them and they could've easily been consolidated into one character. I don't hate them but the characters in the dislike tier are at least memorable to me, hence why I dislike them more than the ones in that tier.

Dislike: Motti, Sora, Busujima, Chi-Yun, the Garcias

Motti makes me uncomfortable. it's not the character's fault, it's the writers' but still. I don't like watching her or her interactions with Johannes. Sora I honestly just find annoying. I like the idea behind him, of a kid for Kenta to mentor but his personality and voice are annoying to me. Busujima is just a one note douche, not interesting in any way. Chi-Yun again I just find really annoying. He's such a snide unsportsmanlike jackass to literally everyone in Masters and Fury and I don't feel like he gets any comeuppance for it. The Garcias meanwhile are just such painful missed potential. I dislike them all equally for this same reason. There was an interesting idea in Fury of them falling out and they just. Did nothing with it and made it a fakeout. They're very static in a frustrating way. But Argo's bey is kinda cool so at least there's has that.

Conflicted: Masamune, Chao Xin, Doji

All three of these can pretty much be boiled down to "I like them in one season and dislike them in another." Masamune is extremely irritating to me for most of Masters, with his development going in circles until the American arc, where I do actually find his conflict with Zeo to be engaging. And then in Fury I mostly like him. He has his annoying moments but I like his friendship with King and his arc of accepting that he's not a legendary blader. Good stuff.

Chao Xin is similar. I hated him at first but he becomes much more tolerable when they scale back his womanizer attitude and mostly have him play off of Mei Mei as sort of an exasperated older brother figure. Seriously, those moments gave me some of the biggest laughs on my recent Masters rewatch. I have way underrated that dynamic in the past but I love it now.

And then there's Doji... I think throughout all of Fusion he is a "love to hate" sort of character for me. He's a manipulative sociopath who moves the plot along and affects other characters well. And then Fury brought him back... knowing that Doji was even more recurring in the manga does make this make more sense but it it still feels pointless, though not obnoxious. It's his inclusion in Shogun Steel that I feel really diluted his character and made me sick of him.

No Feelings: Nowaguma, Anton, Jigsaw, the Kumade brothers, team Desert Blaze, team Chandora, Faust, movie villain (forgot his name), Rago's boring henchmen

This is self explanatory I think. None of these characters appear enough or are enough for me to care about them one way or another. The two teams from Masters especially feel like throwaway characters just there to fill space. Prolly could've been more but it doesn't anger me that they're not.

Kinda Like: Damian, Ziggurat, Mei-Mei, Aleksei, Dan & Reiki, Bao, Hokuto

Yeahhhh I kinda like Masters. Damian still feels like a less interesting version of Reiji to me but he's different enough that I wouldn't consider him a rip off and he's still engaging. I mean come on, he drags bladers into Hell. That's just cool. Ziggurat also kinda just feels like Doji again but again different enough and was never diluted at any point so ya know. He's a "love to hate" kind of character. Mei-Mei I mostly like for her silly dynamic with Chao Xin. Still wish she was treated better though jeez. Aleksei I honestly just remember as Madoka's silly crush but ya know. That's funny. And his story is mildly engaging. Not the most interesting part of Masters but oh well. Dan and Reiki are cool conceptually and good opponents for Kenta in that one episode but don't do much outside of that. Bao gets nothing compared to Aguma but again, still mildly engaging. And Hokuto is just funny. Not terrible interesting but funny enough for me to like.

Like: Aguma, Tobio, Nile, Sophie, Wales, Klaus, Hyoma, Helios, Gingka, Ryuto, Demure, Toby, Lera

Going roughly in ascending order from this point on. I enjoy Lera's spunky confident attitude and wish we'd gotten more of her. Her using her special move in Fury was the coolest thing anyone on the Russian team ever did, don't @ me. Toby is... more a plot point than a character in Masters but I still like said story and his attitude, especially in Fury. Ryuto and Demure I don't have much to say about: I just think they're cool. Ryuto for more laidback scoundrel attitude and Demure being skilled for something other than brute strength, both of which are nice changes of pace.

Gingka has problems a lot of anime protagonists have but I think they let him lose just enough to keep him balanced and make the story interesting. Plus he's just such a dorky little creature I can't bring myself to dislike him pretty much at all. I also like how he starts as someone Kenta idolizes only for Kenta to later realize that Gingka is just a kid like him. That's a nice arc.

Helios is pretty much the reason I ever rewatch the MFB movie. I like fire boys and redemption arcs what can I say? Hyoma DESERVED BETTER. He's weird and funny and I like his dynamics with Gingka, Kenta, and Kyoya. Klaus is just kinda neat and I enjoy his battles. Not much to say. Sophie and Wales I wish we spent more time individually but they're still neat. They're like a perfected version of what Dan and Reiki were going for. Nile I appreciate for telling Masamune to shut the fuck up. And playing off Kyoya well. He's a more level-headed guy for him to bond with and that's fun. Tobio is really cool conceptually but gets overshadowed by other DN members for me.

And finally Aguma. I like his story more than his personality if I'm being honest. Yeah, I find the two schools plot interesting, dammit! Also Aguma plays off characters like King and Tithi and even Dynamis well and I wish we saw more of it.

Really Like: Tithi, Zeo, Madoka, Daxiang, Benkei, Dynamis, Yu

Tithi is another silly little guy that I simply enjoy, especially in his battle against Aguma. Maybe could've done with more screentime (especially for the dynamic between him and Dynamis that should have been) but what we get is still good. Zeo is reason number 1 Masamune became a good character. I love their conflict in Masters and while Zeo is way out of line and definitely in the wrong, it's easy to still feel bad for him and get where he's coming from.

Madoka is the backbone of this entire show. She's fantastic and deserves more respect. Daxiang has one of the best glow ups in the entire show. I love his arc of getting back up to lead his group and the way it ties in with Julian's arc and goddammit he's just damn cool. I did not expect him to defeat Julian when I saw that battle as a kid but I'm so glad he did. It's a great battle, and honestly underrated from what I can tell.

Benkei is a silly guy and I love him. I love his early redemption arc and his friendship with Kenta and Kyoya and yet again, his battle with Kyoya in Battle Bladers is peak and WAYYYY underrated. That said, Benkei does peak in Fusion. That's where he got all his compelling development and afterwards... he's just kinda there. Still being fun but not interesting admittedly. It disappoints but doesn't surprise me that he fell from relevance a bit.

Dynamis is... maybe a ridiculous character to put so high but I just think he's cool. His bey might be one of my favourites in the show and he's the chad that said destiny is a choice. Based as hell. And finally Yu. Yet another just silly lil guy who is also one of the biggest menaces known to the series. Like Benkei, he's at his peak in Fusion but unlike Benkei, I found Yu's involvement in Masters and Fury more substantial, even if he's in way less of Fury than Benkei. He just plays off the characters, especially Tsubasa and Tithi, so well it doesn't matter much to me. He's a fun addition to any episode he's in dangit.

Love: Julian, Tetsuya, Johannes, Yuki, Ryutaro, Hikaru, Teru, Chris, Tsubasa

Top 15 let's go! Julian is a character whose story I relate to immensely, as a former gifted kid who still struggles to cope with failure, and as previously discussed, his battle with Daxiang is peak. The only thing keeping him so low is the fact that I kinda hate what his bey did to the lore of this series. It's a neat bey with cool symbolism but dammit the left rotation makes me angry.

Tetsuya and Johannes are both just hilarious to me, no notes. Johannes being surprisingly competent as a henchman (carrying way too much Fury's villainous edge on his back) and being associated with cats is the only thing boosting him up a little higher.

Yuki is relatable to me as someone with anxiety issues. It's mostly just shown in one episode but it's one great episode. I also love how, similar to Demure, Yuki is strong, a legendary blader in fact, but not for brute strength. It's his precision and strategy and ability to bring people together that gives him strength and dangit I just love that and can't stand when people call him the weakest legendary blader just because he doesn't have as much physical strength. That's not the only thing that matters in a bey battle or otherwise, dangit.

Ryutaro I'll admit I mostly love because of The Deck is Stacked, aka: the most underrated episode in the entire series. His story, of having no hope but having to fight anyways to live just a little longer, is primarily just in this one episode but it's damn engaging. Also his whole fortunetelling gimmick and causing illusions in battle by manipulating the air flow and density is damn cool.

Hikaru I'll admit is tricky. In a bubble, I like her arc a ton. I like how throughout Fusion, she was only beyblading for her dead mother's dream and struggled to really have fun with it when she wasn't winning. I like how after Battle Bladers, she decided to take a step away from beyblade for the sake of her mental health. That's really mature and different for a story like this and should be encouraged more in just. General society. And her reaction to the trauma Ryuga inflicted on her is so painfully realistic it gets to me every time. I will concede though that this arc, while really good, being given to the only female blader who battled in Fusion is... not great. On its own though, I still like Hikaru's story and character. She serves as a reminder to myself that sometimes, perseverance isn't the only option and it's okay to step away from something that's hurting me if I need to. Yeah... we're getting to the point where I might start to sound cheesy or preachy because a lot of these characters mean a lot to me personally. In fact, I think I just talked myself into ranking Hikaru higher. In the middle of writing this. DAMMIT.

Teru is definitely the character with the least screentime that I put this high, having only one episode where he has a major battle as opposed to Ryutaro's two (three if you count Ryuga). However, that episode is undeniably one of my favourites in the entire series. Like Hikaru, Teru's story is one that is so powerful and stuck out to me so much throughout my life that it serves as a reminder to myself: that even if I fail or am unable to continue something I love, I can get back up and even when I least expect it, find that spark again. It's cheesy but genuinely inspiring to me. Not to mention him being a male ballerina. Absolutely fabulous and yet another reminder to myself as a trans man that I don't have to fit into society's boxes of what defines a man to still be a man. Absolutely incredible character.

I think it’s safe to say that I am quite possibly the biggest fan of Chris on this Earth. I just don't see anyone else talk about this guy or again, how relatable his story is. Or at least, when I watch Fury, I see myself in Chris. I see this guy burnt out by his obligations that he struggles to have fun with anything or make connections. This guy that puts on a mask of "completely fine with doing anything asked of him" for the people around him and just wants to get by, passionless, direction-less, unwilling to let himself feel truly passionate lest he be let down again. It's an arc that I didn't get until I got older and now that I do, it hits me hard and I think they devote just enough time to it. I do wish we'd seen more of him after his battle with Gingka because his simultaneously snarky and socially awkward personality is one I honestly find really appealing and had a blast writing back in the day. That's really my only complaint with Chris: I wish we got more of him, which isn't really a bad thing.

And finally Tsubasa. I've ranked him higher in the past and while I do still love him, he absolutely peaks in one particular season and while still engaging in the other two, is a tad vanilla. The mystery of his allegiances in Fusion is a fun one and I love his battle with Ryuga (and what it sets up) and while he's far less prominent or deep in Fury, his unique cool-headed personality is still intact and engaging. Buuuuut yeah. It's Masters where Tsubasa really shines. The Dark Tsubasa arc is the best take on this sort of “dark possession” story I've ever seen and one of the greatest character arcs in the entire series, if not the best. It's tense, it's interesting, it tugs at all my emotions in just the right way and it is resolved perfectly. The darkness remains a part of Tsubasa, because everyone has darkness in them but everyone has light as well and I just find that to be way more thematically rich and engaging than him simply driving the dark self out of himself like say Marik in Yugioh Duel Monsters did. Tsubasa’s arc is the most engaging part of Masters and a story and character that stick with me for all the right reasons.

Favourites: Jack, King, Reiji, Kyoya, Kenta, Ryuga

Top six time woohoo! I didn't intend this, but the top three are in every season and the three below that are mostly prominent in one of each season, starting with the Masters one: Jack. Silly artsy peacock boy really should not be this high but goddammit he's so entertaining. His bey is beautiful, his battling style is unhinged in the most memorable, hilarious way possible, the fact that like Teru, he's another male character with “feminine” traits that I, a trans man, can find comfort in. He's just so funny and fabulous and also kind of pathetic and I am obsessed with that. Also I appreciate the small but meaningful return he has in Fury where he finally got off the drugs- I mean, stop taking arrangements. Great character.

And the best character exclusive to my favourite season Fury is none other than KING. Yeah, that's not a shock if you know me. I wouldn't ship Ryuga with just anyone but even prior to that, I've just always loved King's positive attitude. He's very confident in himself but shows his opponents as much respect as they give him and is just so happy and grateful to be battling and that ties in so well with his little backstory. King is, personality-wise, what I want to be. Confident in myself, grateful for what I have, easily able to make friends… And also on my most recent viewing I realised it is incredibly easy to read him as trans masc coded and that's fun. 10/10. Love a guy with blue hair and pronouns.

And finally the best character who only appeared in Fusion: Reiji Mizuchi. My opinions have… shifted on him over the years to say the least. Now that I’m over all the past grief I have with this character, goddamn do I fully appreciate how hard they went on this antagonist. He is, I guess, a one note psycho but it’s the extent of his sadism that makes him so memorable and intimidating. It’s something no other character in the show does as effectively as him in my opinion. Characters like Tetsuya, Selen, or Johannes who don’t play fair, more so use trickery to distract their opponent or trick them into battle conditions that put them at a disadvantage. Reiji though is a whole other beast. He’s flat out torturing his opponents, forcing them to watch helplessly as he cuts their beys to pieces, because he knows no one outside the battle can stop him. He’s scarily perceptive of Kenta in particular, being able to use the kid’s insecurities against him to torment him and get the upper hand in battle. Reiji is a character who is meant to be hated and it’s that hatred of his actions that makes his battles so engaging to watch. He’s someone whose actions are so horrible it makes you hate the Dark Nebula and want to see them defeated even more. I cannot imagine Battle Bladers without Reiji. And this isn’t even getting into how fascinating it is for me to analyse the deeper implications with his character: the fact that Reiji seems to believe that his viewpoint of “beyblade is for destruction” extends to himself as well. He never once states himself as an exception. So if his opponent isn’t the one being destroyed, he is, an implication that I feel is made very clear by his breakdowns when Kenta and later Gingka gain the upper hand on him. Reij is a brainwashed pawn of the Dark Nebula, it’s something that’s backed up well enough for me to consider it true in universe and not just a headcanon. And what Reiji’s presence as this brainwashed pawn who behaves as a destructive one-note sadist (in his mind to protect himself from being destroyed) says about the Dark Nebula and Doji give this show an extra layer of darkness and intrigue that I wish they’d gone even further with but what we get is fascinatingly twisted. Reiji will now always be a tragic character to me. And one I’m probably more invested in than the writers of the show. The only thing keeping Reiji out of the top three is a lack of screentime, which is more of a missed opportunity than a detriment but still a disappointment to me personally.

And now for the top three. Kyoya is a tricky one for me. I really REALLY love him in Fusion and Masters. I think screentime-wise, he did peak in Fusion but Masters still continues his character development really well. You can see how he's matured from the events of Fusion but still retains that core “Kyoya”-ness I love so much. He’s still incredibly arrogant and willing to do batshit insane things in the name of defeating Gingka but he’s much more gracious in accepting loss and has become a better leader for his new team, Team Wild Fang, which all play off him in fun ways. Kyoya is less funny in Masters, sure, which I think does make me prefer him in Fusion by a slight margin but he’s still great in Masters, keeping his core personality while still balancing that with subtle but engaging character development. And then Fury happened… listen, I'm not gonna go into this here since I have so many times in the past and since he's in my top three and Fury is my favorite season, it's obviously not a deal breaker for me but Kyoya feels so off for a little but still just enough of his screentime in Fury to bother me. Still, the moments where he is still a really good character in Fury are there. His overinflated ego during his battle with Ryuga on the volcano feels like a mistake Kyoya would make and seeing him grow from it in the following episodes was a nice character arc. I also still enjoy the other major battles he got, most notably Johannes, Aguma, and Dynamis, Kyoya’s battles are something that are consistently kept fun and more insane across all three seasons which I love (except the Tithi battle). And finally, Kyoya's speech to Gingka during the final battle is genuinely touching and a nice way to wrap up his character for the season. The speech for me does ultimately forgive his selfish actions earlier in the season and so, while I have my problems with Kyoya in Fury and he still doesn't feel entirely congruent with how he was written in Fusion and Masters, I would still consider Kyoya in Fury a good character for the most part. So while he's clearly at his weakest in Fury, I still love Kyoya overall and within Fusion and Masters, he has some of my favourite episodes across all three seasons. He's a great character. His arrogance is often funny as hell, his character arc over the course of the series is engaging, I love how he never gives up no matter how impossible the odds, I love that he can be easily read as trans masc, he's just wonderful.

Second place! Kenta! Yeah, probably not all that surprising that I still love my Beyblade son. He’s just such a consistent source of positivity in the show. He’s the first character we meet, he has the cutest friendships with just everyone he meets. Ryuga instantly comes to mind as someone who’s made a better person just thanks to Kenta’s presence in his life but there’s also Gingka, Benkei, and Yu, whose character arcs all involved Kenta in some way. Not to mention that Kenta is debatably the character that grows the most as a blader throughout the series. He starts off as a novice but by the end, being respected by the strongest blader of all time, Ryuga and evolving into a Legendary Blader and one of the heroes that saved the world. It’s just satisfying to see that journey, even if Masters hardly contributed to said journey at all. Still, he’s a great character, and the odds are against him more than just about anyone, which for me, just makes him more engaging to watch.

Do I even need to explain my number 1 pick? Not only has Ryuga been my favourite character for four years straight now but he’s nearly everyone’s favourite character. Everyone agrees that he’s a total badass, the best villain in the show, hilariously over the top in Fusion, still amazing as an anti-hero in Masters and… actually I’ve seen some mixed thoughts on his character in Fury but unlike Kyoya, I actually think Ryuga still felt consistent in Fury. Yeah, I think Ryuga was being a hypocrite in Masters. A fascinating badass hilarious hypocrite but still a hypocrite who was still just as susceptible to being blinded by a thirst for power as Team Starbreaker, who he hated so much in Masters predominantly due to the association with Doji. To be honest, I think Ryuga peaks in Fury. Unlike some other characters who peak in one season or have one season where they get less screen time or feel off somehow, Ryuga starts off amazing in Fusion and only gets better throughout every season. His speech about how he overcame the dark power in Masters, how he concluded that because it was a problem created by humans it could be overcome by a human, was the moment where it really clicked for me that Ryuga is something special. He’s not just physically strong: he has the “never give up” mindset that many of these bladers have cranked up to 11, as well as the ability to admit to his mistakes and work to overcome them. And that’s genuinely admirable, the most admirable to me out of all the characters in this show. I wish I had even a bit of Ryuga's confidence. And I think the fact that Fury shows he’s not infallible and is capable of making similar mistakes is a good way of showing that progress is not linear and gives him more depth. And. God. Everything with him and Kenta still gives me the feels. The way their friendship develops is subtle but it's honestly sweet and the payoff is legendary. I CANNOT get through those episodes of Ryuga dying then giving the last of his power to Kenta without crying my eyes out. I wasn't exaggerating about my most recent viewing of those episodes making me cry so hard I got dehydrated. If that ain't the mark of an amazing character I don't know what is. Ryuga's still alive in my heart, dammit. And also the fanfic series I wrote a few years ago now. Those aren't factored into this ranking obviously, I just bring them up to make a point of how much I love Ryuga.

#beyblade #beyblade metal fight #beyblade metal saga #ryuga #ryuga beyblade #kenta yumiya #kyoya tategami #reiji mizuchi #king beyblade #jack beyblade #just the top six thanks #there are so many characters on here omg #beyblade metal fusion #beyblade metal masters #beyblade metal fury #metal fusion #metal masters #metal fury

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