Hi there! In this series I will be exploring various mysterious/factoids/theories from each era of beyblade that have intrigued me! because I watch/rewatch this show to an almost unhealthy degr-I MEAN, because you at home probably have had these same inklings and questions that need to be answered!


Understanding Resonance
Throughout most of Cho-Z/Turbo the topic of resonance has always intrigued me. A relatively new concept added to the show after Burst God/Evolution, the idea that a beyblade/bladers bond can reach a state where it begins to have impact outside a simple spurt of power and entirely alters the beys performance (and even the bladers physical appearance & abilities)! This new metric of power was a really intriguing twist on the old idea of "BLADER TAMASHI!" as Ginga from the MF era would say, as it offered a whole new method to power scale opponents. No longer was w/l as much of a factor, or sheer physical strength/part upgrades, now the very chemistry of the blader/bey was on the table as a viable power to exploit!

However, this new strange ability (much like the Force from Star Wars) had a darker, faster route to untapt potential in the form of corrupted resonance. 


"The darkside is a gateway to many abilities some might consider unnatural - Darth Sidious"

By using the bond you share with your blade, and forcing it to respond to aggressive feelings in the blader (typically brought about by said blader feeling the damage the blade receives) the avatar of the blade begins to fade into the background and the blader assumes control over the battle entirely by merging their psyche with their blade (revealed to us in the famous "I AM ACHILIES" line from Aiger or "After all, I AM HADES!" line from Hyde). While giving an impressive power boost that utterly dominates most unsuspecting opponents, there are serious drawbacks, such as the voice of the blade being almost totally lost to the blader in question, and the blade is prone to damage by being used recklessly. This leads to almost all instances of corrupted resonance users losing their blades at some point, feeling lost and crushed. However, one blader seemingly makes a darker version of resonance work with almost no drawbacks.


Phi: the exception?

the forecast today is FAAAABULOUS!~

Enigma, secret psychopath and fashion icon, this sparkling albino fiend who looks like he came straight from a sephiroth fanclub meet & greet is one of the fiercest competitors in the series to date and seems to have mastered a twisted version of resonance that gives him unparalleled control and destructive capabilities over his blade, Revive Phoenix. Phi sports a fierce winrate against some of the series best (such as Aiger, Shu, and Free) and wins against all of them in dominating fashion, with his very few losses in the show being as a result of from underestimating his opponents ability to adapt, and his metal probing/prodding being ineffective.  


However, why is it that Phi is able to use such an intense resonance that emits an ominous dark hue to it, something that spelled danger for so many others in their path to glory? I find the answer probably lies in the relationship Phi/Phoenix which...is unconventional to say the least.



"It's not a phase Phi, ghal!" - Phoenix


You'll notice that in each battle Phoenix and Phi go into, it usually preludes a talking session Phi has with his blade (not too dissimilar to what other practitioners of resonance undergo) but it seems rather...playful, even affectionate at times. Such banter can also be seen after battles with Phi saying lines like "We want to play more" or "Phoenix's hunger isn't sated yet!". Now it's not too uncommon for blades to have a competitive or almost primal predatory natures towards each other, but Phoenix seems to crave destruction, why is that? What could posses a blade to want to destroy other blades to this degree? Well, in short....jealousy.

When Phi and Hyde met face-to-face with their blades that fateful day, something interesting happens, Phi begins to glow with power and proclaim that "that one (Hades) is mine" and after being denied Hades, senses Phoenix glowing ominously in the box their father had left them. There is a lot on could read into this scene, but the important takeaway from it is at this was the start of kind of twisted affection Phoenix developed for Phi and a jealously of his attraction to other beys (most likely leading to its destructive urges to keep Phi away from filthy blade-hussies!). Phi's own destructive nature was brought on by Hyde taking something from him, which if you look at the scene before of Hyde attempting to take the ball away from him, Phi was unshakably confident no one could rob him of anything, especially not his little brother!


Nope, this not me yanking your chain, this is actually relevant to the plot.


Yes, Phi's maniacal tendencies are infarct a deep rooted inability to accept that he has to share something with anyone. Not Hades, not the sport of blading, or even the world. Phoenix has no interest in letting Phi pine for another blade, developing a near Yandere level of affection for him. 


Still remain unconvinced of this truest of true loves? Well, take a look at these scenes here:

We better keep this PG Phoenix, our time-slot won't allow for a mature rating if we keep this going. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Notice the affectionate way they both long for eachother, Phi caressing Phoenix, and Phoenix in turn smothering Phi. It's symbolic of their relationship. The two complete eachother in a twisted sense, and this affection manifests in an absurdly strong resonance that doesn't require either party to cancel the other out. It's a fully symbiotic relationship that covets the others affection and urges to the point that they fully resonate with no hitches! (albeit, in an extremely deranged way)


Lovers Quarrel

Now you might be wondering at this point why everyone doesn't just start swiping right on their beyblade tinder app and develop such a clearly insane bond between their bey, right? Well, there's a distinct flaw in this approach that Aiger was able to exploit in the battle between the power couple, and that's fault admission. When Aiger lost achilies, it was a wakeup call that his approach was wrong, and that he hadn't been heeding his friends advice or achilies warnings. He learned how to share his passion, pain, and enjoyment of blading, to stop and appreciate everything in he had so he could move forward. However, when Phi lost to Aiger with Dread Phoenix, what happened?


Spousal abuse is never ok!

Closing Statements
This was a fun little project I wanted to explore about the plot of burst. Feel a lot of the greater intricacies and homages the writers add to the show get overlooked and I'd like to start addressing them in thread posts like these. I would have spent more time on it, but unfortunately I got a little fatigued while trying to finish it and wanted to get it out here to get some discussion going on it (I'll be editing, adding to it in the coming days).  Let me know your thoughts below, comments on the guide, and things you'd like to see next!

I admire you doing this. I agree with you wrote here, btw I would love to see Phi and Hyde back again.

thanks man, I really admire your work. I fully understand everything you wrote here, btw I would love to see Phi and Hyde back again. peace.

Glad you liked it, I enjoyed writing it.

This a great explanation of resonance, also Phi's dark power looks like something straight out of Tokyo Ghoul

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PFP: Baby picture of me and one of my irl friends / ANY PRONOUNS

This a great explanation of resonance, also Phi's dark power looks like something straight out of Tokyo Ghoul

Most of my parallels are to Star Wars, as Aiger follows Anikens path fairly closely and Resonance is kind of like The Force, but I can see where you're coming from! Glad you enjoyed it.

This just blew my mind. I would love to see more analyses like this. Maybe I could help?

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Brave Valkyrie is my favorite bey, and Valt is my favorite character even if he's a bit overrated.

This just blew my mind. I would love to see more analyses like this. Maybe I could help?

Hey thanks! Yea, feel free to DM me anything you find interesting, or if you happen to me in the Hoshi-no-Yume FS disc, we have a lot of discussions there about such things, feel free to stop by!

Though thinking about it, you're free to just post them here too I suppose ;P

Very nicely written but how would you explain Delta then? He contradicts a lot of points here.

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Very nicely written but how would you explain Delta then? He contradicts a lot of points here.

I've actually been saving most of the finer point of GT when the English dub comes around, but the anime itself I feel addresses this in a really humorous way:






Basically, Delta isn't using resonance in a corrupted fashion. His goals and intensity are simply for the sake of Diavolos and becoming the top blader, and not in any sort of violent or malicious manner. Diavolos himself constantly references stealing the opponents light and being the brightest shining star (he just does takes it too the extreme and starts to get irritated with Dante, who he can't seem to shake off and leave behind).  

This is similar in nature to a blader like Lui, who throughout the series (even as early as OG Burst) shows signs of resonating with Luinor (one key example is when Luinor is giving off that faint glow after Lui is beaten by Red Eye, or how Lui's hair is always giving off that aura-like flame when he's getting more and more intense) and yet his resonance isn't corrupted. There's clearly a difference from intensity and abusing your bey. He certainly appears like he's going down that path, but Dante's relentless and almost oblivious nature towards their friendship, along with Arthur giving him the ultimate reality check strayed him off that path.