Love your big post about 2002, Psykick B. It is just a really, really weird and bad series. And we're talking "weird and bad" in the context of an anime that is always weird and often bad; the weirdness and badness of 2002 is surely the zenith of those qualities in the franchise.
You can even tell how terrible it's going to be from the opening sequence (Off the Chain), which is completely lifeless and dull, and focuses solely on the Bit Chips. There's even a shot of that stupid Bit Analyzer thing or whatever. It seems like part of Takara's strategy with 2002 was to make the Bit Beasts themselves into marketable characters, but considering how swiftly they seemed to abandon that strategy, my guess is that it didn't work out.
I watched the first episode of the original series subbed the other night (it's criminal that this is the only subbed episode), and I ... like it? A lot?
What I really like about that episode is that it's humble and somewhat relatable. Yeah, sure, there's probably no evil kid in a bandana stealing Beyblades in your hometown, but the thought of traveling to a neighbouring town for a BeyBattle with a friend, or defending your friends' honour by developing a new technique and overwhelming your opponent ... I feel like that's something that kids can relate to, or at least aspire to.
These are the parts of the original Beyblade anime that resonate with me most. The other one is when they go to Max's place and he has a huge Beyblade-dedicated basement. That's awesome! That was living the dream. When I saw that scene for the first time, it made me feel an instant yearning for something similar.
Summoning giant dragons and birds and blowing arenas up? Not so much.
The grandiosity works for the franchise, of course — its utter insanity is one of its key features — but I've always been puzzled at how quickly they want to leap into that grandiosity. By episode 2 (!) Takao gets his Bit Beast and also shoots his Beyblade through two concrete walls. Why? We could've gotten at least a few more episodes of schoolyard Beyblade politics and I would've loved it.
I do wish, however, that the way Takao wins his battle against Hiruta (Carlos) had been better written. Making the Winder longer makes sense (and is also illegal, but I guess it's an in-universe explanation for the Dragon Winder), and his running technique looks kind of cool but makes absolutely no sense.
Why not have him swap out his Weight Disk for a wider one, sacrificing his defensive ability for the pure speed he needs to win? (I know that Grip Attacker comes with Wide, but bear with me. It doesn't have to in the show. It gets destroyed in the next episode anyway.) This would've been a great opportunity to teach kids about customizing and bring some of the real-world strategy of Beyblade into the TV show, something it almost never does (to, IMO, its detriment).
One final thought on that: the music in the original series is just ridiculously, mind-blowingly beautiful. What did Beyblade do to deserve such a transcendent soundtrack? It's like you're watching the most beautiful mecha series from the 80's or something. When Kai shows up at the end of the episode and Takao challenges him, the music makes it feel like such a legitimately dramatic moment.
Finally, I actually think the weird, kinda-ugly style that the original series has works to its favour; it looks a lot more interesting than the later seasons, if not necessarily better.
LOVE IT 10/10
You can even tell how terrible it's going to be from the opening sequence (Off the Chain), which is completely lifeless and dull, and focuses solely on the Bit Chips. There's even a shot of that stupid Bit Analyzer thing or whatever. It seems like part of Takara's strategy with 2002 was to make the Bit Beasts themselves into marketable characters, but considering how swiftly they seemed to abandon that strategy, my guess is that it didn't work out.
I watched the first episode of the original series subbed the other night (it's criminal that this is the only subbed episode), and I ... like it? A lot?
What I really like about that episode is that it's humble and somewhat relatable. Yeah, sure, there's probably no evil kid in a bandana stealing Beyblades in your hometown, but the thought of traveling to a neighbouring town for a BeyBattle with a friend, or defending your friends' honour by developing a new technique and overwhelming your opponent ... I feel like that's something that kids can relate to, or at least aspire to.
These are the parts of the original Beyblade anime that resonate with me most. The other one is when they go to Max's place and he has a huge Beyblade-dedicated basement. That's awesome! That was living the dream. When I saw that scene for the first time, it made me feel an instant yearning for something similar.
Summoning giant dragons and birds and blowing arenas up? Not so much.
The grandiosity works for the franchise, of course — its utter insanity is one of its key features — but I've always been puzzled at how quickly they want to leap into that grandiosity. By episode 2 (!) Takao gets his Bit Beast and also shoots his Beyblade through two concrete walls. Why? We could've gotten at least a few more episodes of schoolyard Beyblade politics and I would've loved it.
I do wish, however, that the way Takao wins his battle against Hiruta (Carlos) had been better written. Making the Winder longer makes sense (and is also illegal, but I guess it's an in-universe explanation for the Dragon Winder), and his running technique looks kind of cool but makes absolutely no sense.
Why not have him swap out his Weight Disk for a wider one, sacrificing his defensive ability for the pure speed he needs to win? (I know that Grip Attacker comes with Wide, but bear with me. It doesn't have to in the show. It gets destroyed in the next episode anyway.) This would've been a great opportunity to teach kids about customizing and bring some of the real-world strategy of Beyblade into the TV show, something it almost never does (to, IMO, its detriment).
One final thought on that: the music in the original series is just ridiculously, mind-blowingly beautiful. What did Beyblade do to deserve such a transcendent soundtrack? It's like you're watching the most beautiful mecha series from the 80's or something. When Kai shows up at the end of the episode and Takao challenges him, the music makes it feel like such a legitimately dramatic moment.
Finally, I actually think the weird, kinda-ugly style that the original series has works to its favour; it looks a lot more interesting than the later seasons, if not necessarily better.
LOVE IT 10/10
![[Image: 2hdvatw.png]](https://i64.tinypic.com/2hdvatw.png)
