In reality, we all know what are the strongest MFBs in the world. Ryuga’s Beyblades often do not make it to the top lists. But in the anime, Ryuga is clearly one of the strongest Beybladers in the world—and quite possibly the universe.
So, anime lore-wise, what are the strongest Beys ever owned by Ryuga? We’ll also take a look at what keeps these Beys from realising their potential in the area (in real-life competitive situations).
What Beys Does Ryuga Own?
Throughout the entire Metal Saga anime, Ryuga has owned three Beyblades. All of his Beyblades are left-spinning. He has owned or used a few more in the manga.
Fun fact: the “Dragon” themed Beyblades are always left-spinning. For example, remember Tyson’s Dragoon in Plastic Gen, Lui’s Longinus in Burst, and Khrome’s Cobalt Dragoon in Beyblade X. Here’s the lore behind why Takara Tomy does that.
Okay, so Ryuga’s three Beyblades. These are:
- Lightning L-Drago (100HF)
- Meteo L-Drago (LW105LF)
- L-Drago Destructor (F:S)
The Power of Left Spin & Smash Attack
The central idea of a left-spinning Beyblade has always been spin equalisation, which is also called spin stealing. A left-spinning Beyblade steals spin from a right-spinning one. But it has to be made in a way that the right-spinning Beyblade does not steal the left’s spin.
The second key quality of Ryuga’s L-Dragos is the smash attack. Low height, triple blade, down-to-up slanting prongs, and an erratic tip. The usual formula for making a smash attack combo.
And with the Lightning L-Drago, things were pretty great, to be frank.
It could deliver smash attacks and could also spin steal.
Then came along Meteo. Meteo was even better. It could also do smash attacks and could spin steal even better, thanks to its rubber parts. Ryuga once hand-spun his Meteo in the anime to destroy a bunch of opponents. Meteo can do that in real life, too (sometimes), which is insane.
But other Beys had their own advantages, such as weight, height, and their own versions of smash attack. The L-Dragos have always been outclassed competitively. In fact, out of all the MFBs, the L-Dragos are one of the most heavily outclassed.
That being said, they were still unique, interesting, and powerful enough.
Destructor Destroys L-Drago’s Legacy
Then came along Destructor.
With Destructor, Takara had the genius idea of merging the qualities of both previous L-Dragos to make the ultimate spin-stealing, smash-attacking, left-spinning Beyblade. It was (and still is) the perfect evolution … on paper.
In reality, however, it is the weakest L-Drago. In its class of 4D Beys, it is simply underwhelming, and none of its parts have much competitive use.
What went wrong? Well, as it turns out, we know exactly what went wrong (in real life, at least):
- The rubber Takara chose was harder. Instead of improving rubber’s intrinsic quality of spin stealing, it made it worse.
- The upper part was made plastic and the lower part metal. Looks good on paper, but in real-life performance, the matchup becomes as such: Destructor’s plastic scraping off against the opposing Bey’s metal fusion wheel. This is just terrible.
- The Final Survive Drive simply does not deliver on its promise. Again, it’s another quality that should make L-Drago superior on paper, but it does not translate to reality.
Combine all that and you have a Beyblade that’s underwhelming.
What to Do?
Nothing! L-Drago was poised for great things. In anime, Ryuga’s Beys always accomplish greatness. But in real life, they just don’t translate into the same effect. Sure, there are ways to make them better.
For example, you can mod select L-Drago parts to make stronger customisations. You can make a Lightning L-Drago 100HF in full metal to make its smash attacks much more terrifying. But beyond that, L-Dragos can’t compete really well in any format.
Even in limited format, Lightning L-Drago is outclassed by other attack types.
“There is only one reverse rotating bey that may exist in this world. Only one!” – Ryuga, the Dragon Emperor.
