#Judin liveblogs

[burnsopale]

I've gone through the rabbit hole on your beyblade liveblog posts, it was worth it! Sorry for the spam

No problem! It was fun to follow your progress. Hope you enjoyed yourself. Sorry it's unfinished. :P

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Judin answers

[burnsopale]

I feel like I’ve been able to put a more precise finger on why this scene feels so significant to me.

It’s a pretty classic set-up for pre-battle anticipation:

A protagonist and antagonist face each other with the mutual understanding that they will probably soon join in battle. They have battled before, the antagonist won last time, and the protagonist is very low because of it. He needs a victory badly to restore his confidence, but can he get it with so little time to prepare?

The tension is on how the protag can win when he was defeated so soundly last time, and though the audience knows deep down that he will win because that’s how stories work, it’s the writers’ job to keep the tension up to the last.

Except in this scene, the writers and animators chose to make our sympathy and concern lie with the fate of the antagonist.

Because the protagonist looks determined and hungry for revenge, while the antagonist was drawn with a sweat-drop of distress on his face, just to make sure that we know he is worried.

It’s the wrong dynamic! We’re supposed to be looking at a Kai shaken by self-doubt, while his opponent swaggers and grins with bloodthirst, to make sure Kai’s eventual victory is all the sweeter.

So what the fuck is this?

This scene doesn’t treat Johnny as an antagonist to Kai, but as a co-protagonist with his own arc.

Actually, it reminds me of this:

Emily observing Takao, Max and Grandpa, and looking away as if she’s dealing with some private pain.

#Judin liveblogs #Is she done talking about Johnny yet? #No #No she's not #I don't count followers btw so don't worry if you want to unfollow my annoying ass

[burnsopale]

Two things, first of all, Kai is still using Takao’s last name, which is a thing to note for fanfiction purposes. I think he’s been consistent, but I’m not sure. Secondly, he’s helping his boy out and I love that so much! The Team Parent is very strong in this episode, but of course you gotta have a high so that the fall will be all the more dramatic, neh?

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Kai #Takao #Aye aye Captain Kai #KaiTakao

[burnsopale]

Now, most children learn from their parents that when strange men offer to give you things if you go with them, you say no and run in the other direction.

I WANT TO TALK TO ALL OF YOUR PARENTS.

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Volkov #Takao #Kyouju #Max #Rei #Who let them travel alone? #Daitenji!

[burnsopale]

“Volkov monastery.”

I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to take this as Kai reading the sign, so ... is he not surprised by his own ability to read the Russian alphabet?

I know the western fandom collectively decided back in the day that Kai is half Russian, but there is zero basis for that in the anime, or in the manga (?), so there’s no reason why he should know the language.

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Kai #His history with the abbey is a little janky

[burnsopale]

HOLY SHIT, the jerk and the shrinking pupils fear-reaction at hearing Volkov’s voice!

AND THEN KAI GETS ONE TOO, JEEZUZ. I LIVE FOR THIS ANGST!

YOU GUYS REMEMBER THIS?

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Borg #Volkov #Kai #Beyblade is not playing around anymore you guys

[burnsopale]

omg Max that’s bullying

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Takao #Kai #Max #I mean yeah they pick on Takao but the friendly atmosphere at the start of this episode is so cozy

[burnsopale]

The boys are getting themselves lost, so Kai takes the lead. It’s a very nice Team Parent moment from him, which I love, but it might also be meant as a “Kai can read Russian” and/or “Kai is familiar with Moscow” message.

If this is supposed to tell us that Kai can read Russian, they really should have put some text on that map, but I mention the possibility anyway since he reads the name of the abbey later even though the sign is in the Russian alphabet.

I don’t know why I’ve had this idea that the kids can’t leave the abbey, but we’re about to run into several kids out and about, so of course they do, and I suppose baby Kai would have done the same back in the day.

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Kai #Borg #We'll do a more in depth discussion of Kai in the abbey when we get to the flashback I think

[burnsopale]

...

I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL!

ALL I WANTED WAS TO BREAK YOUR WALLS BLADE

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #THIS IS MY MASTERPIECE #My 1400 liveblog posts have all lead to this moment #Watch as tumblr flags it #Ralf

[burnsopale]

A couple of my liveblog posts have been making the rounds, and it made me realise there are beyfans who’ve come to the tumblr fandom in the last year, and might not know the posts are from a liveblog. So here’s my shameless plug!

I’ve liveblogged s1 up to episode 39. It’s a ridiculously in-depth look at our favourite glorified toy-commercial, with meta-discussions, shipping and my legendary jokes.

You can read it from the beginning here.

There’s also plenty of great comments from the community, so check those out, and feel free to add your own!

I chose the Japanese version, and kept a running list of all the things cut from the English dub. You can see just those posts here. Though the list is incomplete from America onwards.

#Beyblade #Bakuten Shoot Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Will I ever finish it? #God knows I want to but it's not terribly likely #The Judin liveblogs tag has some 1400 posts btw #I'm proud

[burnsopale]

How can a single line of dialogue cause me so much pain?

The A-block tournament included Asia and North and South America, and it’s confusing enough on its own; Asia sends a single representative team after having its own internal finals, but South America sends a whole bunch of teams (Brazil, Galapagos Islands etc)? That’s ... not fair. Is South America only a loose coalition of countries or something?

It only now occurs to me that Europe was probably not part of A-block, since there was no mention of them being absent from the American tournament, where they would otherwise have shown up to fight for a place in the finals. Rather, they were supposed to go to B-block after their own finals, except ... you know.

But Russia is counted either as a European or Asian country depending on which part you’re talking about and who you’re talking to so ... how ... how are they in this tournament at all? ... I don’t ... understand.

Especially since the European tournament had a single victor from each country rather than a team from each like the Asian and American tournaments did, so Russia can’t compete for Europe with four players ... I have a headache.

B-block potentially included Africa, Europe and Oceania (although there was an Australian-looking boy in the American tournament). But then Europe didn’t show, unless Volkov managed to sign on his team as a replacement for the Majestics and hey, if that’s the case Ralf I have a paddle with your name on it because unlike with Team Who I DO blame you for letting this happen, BUT ... the Russian boys cannot have been part of the European tournament because we would have heard of them and also they (or rather Yuriy, the only one who could have entered) wouldn’t have lost even to my favourite characters, so were they really entered at the last minute without even having competed in the first place? Wouldn’t the EBA rather have sent the four runners up to the finals? (Why didn’t they do that anyway? How much do you wanna bet our four favourite rich bitches stopped that from happening because pride?)

So basically B-block makes NO sense and also Volkov probably had to suck like two hundred dicks to get the boys into the tournament.

If anybody has anything to add to this unholy mess I would be grateful.

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Beyblade's tournament structure #is the real villain of this show #wtf beyblade #how do you function? #Borg #Soooo many dicks #The writers kinda shot themselves in the foot when they made the European tournament one-player-per-country #although it did lead to my favourite muppets

[burnsopale]

And we end the episode on this not at all ominous as fuck image, and Volkov laughing like the wonderfully trustworthy, kind and responsible adult he is.

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Borg #Volkov #the adults of beyblade everybody

[burnsopale]

Hi! In episode 43 of season 1 original beyblade why are the All starz unpopular in Russia?

I had to take a little look-see, cause it's been so long. The situation, just to recap, is that when the American team enter the stadium, the audience is completely silent, not even politely clapping, while when the Russian team enters, the audience goes wild, and it's obvious that the whole introduction has been coreographed to favour the Russian team. The BBA even comment on the unfairness.

The tournament in Russia is constantly shown to be ridiculously unfair, and biased towards the home team to the point of actual cheating. In reality, this would never have been allowed to continue. For instance, once Boris had injured Rei once, the battle would have been stopped. But this a children's cartoon, and the villains need to be properly evil, and they have to be defeated by the kids, not by adult interference.

As for why the audience specifically doesn't cheer for the American team, in universe it's because they love the home team, and hate the opposition. It's an unhealthy way to view sports, but that's the point; they need to learn to cheer for everyone, the same way the audience watching Rei and Mao back in China began to cheer for both of them.

From the writers' perspective, making the audience be so extreme in their reaction reinforces how extreme the Russian team is. They are cold, highly trained, and completely loyal, and the audience is portrayed the same way. It's also a bit of a Russian stereotype, but Beyblade is full of those, so it's business as usual.

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Judin answers #PPB #Borg #Essay time! #Thanks for the ask anon!

[burnsopale]

I actually squealed. I’m such a pathetic slut for Kai in distress it’s not even ... I just like seeing strong, confident characters breaking, okay?

It is a testament to the power of this arc though. Kai has been unflappable until now, predicting every twist of the plot for so long, that seeing him actually frightened hits really hard. It started with his loss against Johnny, of course, but then he was up against peers; having it be an adult who is freaking him out just hits differently.

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Kai #nomnomnom #Whump

[burnsopale]

It’s interesting to me that Zangief is given a choice. Obviously, considering that he is a brainwashed child in the grip of a powerful organisation, how much of an actual choice there is is debateable, but you get the sense that he could say no (and clearly wants to), since Volkov has to offer him a reward to persuade him. There might be consequences should he refuse, a fall from favour perhaps, but nothing as dire as if he should say yes and then lose, so the offer of being moved to the “next level” must be a pretty good deal. What about moving up in the ranks entices him? Is it because he genuinely wants to become a more powerful blader, or are there other perks, like better food, better lodgings, power over the other boys, such things?

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #Borg #Volkov #Zangief

[burnsopale]

Pictured: three tired boys breaking into pieces.

I was gonna wait until we actually reached lake Baikal, but I’m impatient, so let’s start the final part of my little series about these three disasters.

In the last post I talked about how Kai, Rai and Johnny are similar. Now I want to talk about how their similar fates will mean something different for each of them.

To recap, all three boys are highly sensitive and emotional, but too proud to dare be vulnerable, and so they hide behind more aggressive behaviour; Kai is antisocial, Johnny is sarcastic and cruel, and Rai is ANGRY. All three spend canon dealing with a big change in their lives (his name is Takao), but they are locked in their self-denial, so they resist the change furiously until they exhaust themselves and reach a crisis point where their armour is shattered and they stand revealed as who they truly are.

Or at least, Rai and Kai get that, Johnny almost gets there, but the arc ends before he can really reach it. He would have, though. Remember, Ralf, arguably the main antagonist of the arc, accepts the existence of the power of friendship before he even steps up to battle Takao. Johnny on the other hand never says out loud that he’s on board with the new regime. So for the images above, I could have chosen Johnny’s flinch after Ralf lost, where he’s got the same pinched expression and bared teeth as the other two, but in his case, it’s his moment of quiet distress in the garden that gives us the clearest glimpse behind the armour.

So they are similar, but the beauty of Bakuten Shoot Beyblade is the level of detail these characters get at their best. All three boys are facing an authority that demand they submit, but giving in will mean something different for each boy.

(Oh no, Judin’s getting horny again.)

(She’s not sorry, though.)

Rai’s case is fascinating because he is an alpha who, more than the other two, is forced to submit. He resists until he breaks, and then Rei overwhelms him with massive power. It’s a benevolent destruction, meant to tear down Rai’s walls and show him a better path, but it’s also a horrible humiliation. Don’t forget that Rai has to deliberately control his temper before he can congratulate Rei.

Remember also that it was Rai’s ambition to be chief, and for a little while that was his future, and now, while he will not have to live with being an imposter chief, the chief who was not chosen, he will have to live with having been the Almost Usurper. Rei and Rai will both be “the redeemed boy” of the tribe, except Rei is pure and blameless, while Rai is blackened and tainted by what he did.

Yes, this is all terribly dramatic, but that’s kinda the point; Rai is dramatic. Rai, Johnny and Kai are so proud that every little embarrassment is excruciating, and this embarrassment was not little.

So it is my belief that for Rai, submission to Rei will never be easy. First of all because his submission was forced; he is part of the clan, Rei is Byakko’s chosen chief of the clan, Rai has no choice but to submit; he tried to resist once and Rei showed him his place. Secondly, Rai is himself an alpha, used to being the dominating personality in all his relationships except with Rei.

And yeah okay we’re getting dangerously close to AlphaOmega fanfic territory here, but they’re friggin cat-people, so the terminology works, and anyway, not every character in this story is dominant or submissive. Max, for instance, can be either or neither. I’ve used him before as the example of a boy who accepts himself completely, emotions, weaknesses and all, and that makes him strong and adaptable, able to withstand for instance the realisation that his mom is a terrible mother. He can blend in with any group of people and do just fine; after all, his element is water.

I obviously have no idea how Rai deals with Rei returning in G-Rev, but looking strictly at season 1, I see a Rai who will always struggle to take orders from Rei, though he will do it for the sake of duty, and because he knows his reluctance comes from his own pride and shame, not from any fault of Rei’s, and really that just adds to his pain. Even leading the Chinese blading team is something Rai will know he is only doing until Rei decides to join them. Then he will have to step down.

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO, ANYBODY ELSE FEELING A CREEPING DREAD? *sweats* Well buckle up cause it’s about to get hornier.

Next is Johnny. The funny thing is that where Rai is an alpha forced to submit, Johnny only thinks he’s an alpha, and submission actually comes very natural to him. Once he met Ralf anyway. AND YES I SHIP THEM PUT DOWN THE PITCHFORKS. I like to think I ship them because they have this dynamic, and not that I give them this dynamic because I ship them.

Part of Johnny’s problem is that he’s a soft boy who thinks he needs to be a swaggering macho male. He keeps tripping himself up because his natural instinct is to curl up in the safety of Ralf’s authority, which means he’s always doing what Ralf tells him to in the hope that senpai will notice him and give him the affirmation he needs. Remember my argument that Johnny bases his self-worth on his wealth, status and blading skills, all of which Takao is teaching him means nothing, leaving him with precious little; he is in desperate need of someone to tell him he is good enough even without these things. His loud complaining is both a front he puts up, his armour, and the way he expresses his fear of where this train is hurtling. Highly sensitive people are not good at accepting change, and Takao introduces change about as gently as a hurricane.

Unfortunately, the one who Johnny is looking to for affirmation is a guy who has no interpersonal skills whatsoever, and Johnny can’t really look elsewhere because of a little thing that Saint-Exupéry talks about in The Little Prince, when the Prince meets a fox who asks the boy to tame him:

“"I am looking for friends. What does that mean--'tame'?"

"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."

"'To establish ties'?"

"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."

...

But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow.”

By giving Johnny his first major defeat, Ralf has tamed him, and, as Saint-Exupery goes on to say: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

Unfortunately, as before mentioned, Ralf is UTTERLY OBLIVIOUS to this thing having happened. He’s a stork what can I say. At best he has an instinctual sense of Johnny, Giancarlo and Olivier being “his people” now, which for instance allows him to casually dismiss Johnny’s very reasonable request TO BE ALLOWED TO GO HOME.

Ralf is the type who rules with complete authority. He’s a stone wall as far as negotiations go. Not that he can’t change his mind or see the sense in an argument (Again, he accepts the power of friendship when he sees it in action), but only if he is Wrong. This is like the one thing that keeps him from being a straight up villain. In all other ways he is unbendable, which also leaves Johnny’s attempts at asserting dominance hilariously ineffective.

For Johnny, his final submission to Ralf would mean he had reached self-acceptance, and it would give him safety and comfort, and I think Ralf, once he learns how to act like a human being, will grow into his role as Johnny’s Captain.

Though I admit that this, more than with Kai and Rai, is my own interpretation of Johnny’s character, since we don’t get his full arc. And he is not like this at all in the manga, but that’s a separate canon.

Again, if you think this is all very ... well, horny of me, I’m not saying all relationship work this way. Again, Kai defeating Max in battle did not mean Max is now tamed, because Max does not work that way. If he ever allows himself to be tamed, it will be his choice.

Takao, and shounen anime protagonists in general, tend to tame everyone they meet, and some people take it in stride, while others become their devoted followers or obsessed rivals.

Kai was very much tamed by Takao, but since he doesn’t respect Takao or think much of his abilities as a blader, Kai is able to shrug their bond off at first.

At first.

But I’ll come back to Kai if we ever get through episode 45.

#Beyblade #Judin liveblogs #My favourite Beyblade moments #Kai #Rai #Johnny #This is 1500 words long I'm at once proud and mortified #Beyblade meta #Max #(he gets enough development here that I figured I'd add the tag)