Welcome to the Anime Walk of Fame, a series of retrospectives on the many characters of the anime world. You'll see all your favorites along with a few that deserve more than their reputations give.

So sit back relax and enjoy the show.

Does Max Serve Any Purpose?

The downside of being surrounded by infinitely better rivals.

Max is the token nice guy of the Bladebreakers, a little too nice, I've always struggled to see Max as anything more than just making up numbers, Kuwabara of Yu Yu Hakusho comes to mind as a comparison.
I would say he brings knowledge with his Mom being a BBA researcher and his Dad being a hobby store owner but Kenny fills in for a lot of the technicals, so yeah Max isn't left with much.
Tyson has plot armour.
Kai has rival armour.
Ray has heritage armour.
Kenny has exposition armour.
Even Daichi has Scrappy-Doo armour.
Max at best is the heart of the team, at worst he's the best friend character with above average skills, even paired with Rick in G Revolution, he was so out of place next to someone who is twice his size that you forget that he's a main character.

Ming-Ming is a Weird Choice for Beyblade

Some characters are hard to explain.

Ming-Ming is introduced as a young idol with a bit of an ego, she's so confident in her abilities, she claims to hold back against opponents especially boys which actually works, but her true self is the pre teen tough girl Ming-Ming which shows her true self dropping the sweet act and acting like an actual beyblader.
As to why I say she's a strange choice for Beyblade is that she brings idol culture into a toy anime along with idol anime tropes right down to her changing her age Sailor Moon style for battle.
Not a bad character per say, she was actually one of only two winners in the BEGA team against the Bladebreakers, this actually makes her the best female blader of the original franchise, mind you the competition isn't exactly big for that crown.

Tala is a Force of Nature

A lesson in how to make a proper final boss in a toy anime and still make a good support.

Tala is the leader of the Demolition Boys and later Kai's partner in the Blitzkrieg Boys, he served as Tyson's final opponent in the finals in one of the biggest battles of the series and even when he returns in G Revolution, he's lost nothing in edge and intimidation.
His personality wasn't up to much to begin with but was more rounded in G Revolution, he suits the role of Kai's closest friend better than Kai's own Bladebreaker teammates, if not for BEGA, I'd be happy to see him and Kai be the final boss in G Revolution, saying that we wouldn't have had the intense battle between Kai and Brooklyn if not for BEGA injuring Tala.

Gojo's Creation Came From a Real Cosplay Story

A wholesome story for Christmas.

My Dress-Up Darling is the wholesome anime from early 2022 about Gojo, who enjoys making Hina Dolls but keeps it secret due to bullying in the past, after meeting Marin who loves cosplaying, she convinces him to create cosplay for her which allows him to pursue his passion without being judged as Marin supports him throughout.
Mangaka Shinichi Fukuda came up with the premise for My Dress-Up Darling when he met an upset cosplayer who was going through some trouble with their partner being forced to choose between cosplaying and their relationship.
So he created a romance series where the relationship is formed through cosplay, so making Gojo a tailor and Marin the model was the perfect recipe for a wholesome series and I hope the cosplayer found a partner who supports their passion.
The anime was already wholesome so this just makes it all the more sweeter.

Deku Feels More Real

I'm sure this anime will give me more to talk about in the future but for now, let's discuss Deku.

Deku amongst his peers, stands out like a sore thumb, while he's definitely heroic, he cries frequently, he felt out of his depth especially early on, he's constantly injuring himself just even trying to use his quirk and finally, he can't really get serious.
Goku has his Super Saiyan look, Luffy has Haki, Naruto has Kurama, even Gon has that stupid muscular form with mile long hair, Deku can get serious but always looks like he's forcing it, it never seems natural.
But that's not necessarily a bad thing, Deku feels more real as a character as a result and really, this is probably how a child would learn about controlling their own super powers, Deku's inherited quirk is stupidly overpowered so having him learn quite a hard way of mastering it was the best way and suits his less masculine persona.
Yeah Deku is the least masculine of all the shonen protagonists, even more so than Ash Ketchum which is quite an achievement.
Any wonder that many fans suspect that Deku was meant to be a female character.