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A well-spun mythology
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Beyblades open the floodgates of a reservoir of magic and enchantment, writes Kala KRISHNAN RAMESH
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MAGIC REALISM A beyblade is quite a unique toy for the way it taps both a child's technical skill and creativity PHOTO: K. GAJENDRAN
"They can win you friends, but they also make enemies. You have to be really careful," says 12-year old Rohan Ashok astutely. His friends Akhil Jain, Rahul Sharma and Sathyavak Ramesh nod vigorously. Akhil adds: "If someone is good, we play with them. It doesn't matter which class they're in, like Sathya is in fourth and we are in sixth."
If you don't have a clue, it's beyblade mania we are talking of. And being a good beyblader is every boy's dream. Why wouldn't it be? It makes him a hero, wins him friends, allows him to engineer and create, separates the boys from the bullies and it frees a dammed-up reservoir of magic and enchantment.
Not just another top
But just how does this "stupid version of the tops we had", as one exasperated mother put it, make such magic?
"We are more enthusiastic with beyblade," explains Rohan, "because it's much more participative. In Pokemon, we only traded. Here we can create our own blades and battle with them."
The beyblade's combination of manual or technical skill and magic is something that few other toys have: boys can take apart, reassemble and customise their beyblades to an endless variety. The blade's magical Bit Beast, which gives it life and power, also evokes the myth-making urge natural to children.
The actual blade is the top-like part, with either a ripcord or launcher to spin it. The blade separates right down to the circular bit piece at the core, around which there are an attack ring, weight disk, spin gear and blade base. The bit chip in which the Bit Beast lives gives the blade its name, though parts from any blade can be used in any other. Thus a blade with a Dragoon Bit Beast (Dragon Spirit) is a Dragoon Beyblade and so also Draciel (Turtle Spirit) Dranzer (Phoenix Spirit) Driger (White Tiger Spirit) etc.
Refined customisation of blades is a daily ritual, with trading of parts. Exchanges are made regularly, as Rohan and Sathyavak often do, fitting the part in their own blades to battle-try it a few times. There are also trial exchanges and the provision of a trade-back time ensures a fair deal; if you are not happy with the trial part, it can be returned within a specified trade-back time. "You can even take extensions, but you have to say," points out Akhil. "Only bullies keep others' parts even if they are not happy and want a trade back."
Boys search for the perfect parts to add to their beyblade, and so, like the Samurai's sword, the blade has the nature of the blader and each boy is seeking to be worthy of the Bit Beast that lives in his blade. Much of the enchantment lies there, as Rahul explains: "Each boy's blade is his own creation." Everybody knows the blades of the good bladers.
Like Excalibur? But do they feel like super heroes?
"Yes, because everybody knows how good we are," says Rahul.
It's not only battling ability that beybladers are celebrated for. Sathyavak, for instance, is "a doctor of beyblades. I can tell you exactly how to fix a sick Blade."
All that these four enterprising beybladers said about the game made it seem like everyman's dream of a better order: terms of trade just, combat based on fair play, living connection between the material and the magical. What could be better?
But there's the other side — the pesky side that drives both parents and teachers to exasperation over continued lingering over beyblading activities. What of that? Can something be made of this game that has so caught the fancy of children? Can its energies be reined into schoolwork, its codes inducted into character building? But that's a debate for another time.
Perhaps we could take a lesson from another teacher, who said: "Become as little children are."
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STORY BEHIND BEYBLADE
Beyblade originated from a spinning top called "beigomas" and existed around the 17th Century in Japan. The first oldfashioned beigomas were spiral seashells filled with sand and were apparently popular the world over till World War II, after which interest waned out.
Some believe that the beigoma became "extinct" when newer toys came during the 1900s. Only one factory today in Japan manufactures these original Japanese Beigoma spinning tops. The beyblade in its modern avatar is a spinning-top toy produced by Takara starting in 1999, which became popular after 2002, when Hasbro started making it based on the TV series.
It is believed that the beyblade in the modern form was created for several reasons: the ripcord replaced the simple cotton or wool string that young children found hard to wind. Moreover, children like to create their own stuff. Takara made beyblades customised.
Today beyblades are a huge hit in Japan, U.K., U.S.A, India and all over the world.
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POST POKEMON
It seems like Pokemon's shelf life has run out. There was only so much that trading cards could be marketed. Beyblades, the next big thing on the market, however, provides seemingly endless possibilities. In the U.S., for instance, Beyblade: Super Tournament Battle, made specially for GameCube, is out in stores, not to mention related games for Sony Playstation and Gameboy Advance. What's more, official BBA Blader Jam Championships are being conducted in both Anaheim and New York City.
In India, beyblades priced between Rs. 199 and Rs. 299 reportedly sold 100,000 units countrywide within the first month of their launch. The product is also witnessing a 20 per cent increase in sales each month. In 2005, the beyblades reportedly accounted for 50 per cent of sales for Funskool. And if industry experts are to be believed, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
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