Ryu Granger (character, Original)

Ryu Granger — Ryunosuke Kinomiya, and Grandpa to everyone — runs the kendo dojo where the Grangers live and is the closest thing Tyson has to a resident parent, having raised him there after his mother died and with his father away on digs. He is a swordsman first and a Beyblade fan second, chasing his grandson round the yard with a bamboo shinai and insisting on training before breakfast, and the dub gives him a hip-slang voice that became one of the series' running jokes. Underneath the comedy he is steady and generous: the dojo becomes the whole team's training base, he is at ringside every season, and he nudges Tyson towards the insights that win matches without ever quite meaning to. In G-Revolution he briefly fills the fifth roster slot himself, disguised as the mysterious Mr X, until Kai comes back.

Appearance

What They Look Like

An elderly man of average build with long white hair tied back and a handlebar moustache, usually in kendo training dress or a loud shirt with shorts or tracksuit bottoms. V-Force and G-Revolution grey the hair down from white.

On file

The record

Nationality: Japanese
Voice (English): George Buza
Japanese name: 木ノ宮龍之介
Romaji: Kinomiya Ryūnosuke
Gender: Male
First anime appearance: The Blade Raider
First manga appearance: Go Shoot! Battle Start!!
Voice (Japanese): Chikao Ohtsuka

Story by season

Where the seasons take them

Beyblade (2001)

Long before Tyson chases a bit-beast into a stadium, his grandfather has him up before sunrise, bamboo shinai in hand, working through kendo forms in the dojo yard. The old swordsman treats blading as a distraction from real discipline, yet keeps the family sword that happens to hold Dragoon sealed inside it, never guessing what he's protecting. His hip-slang chatter and mock-gruff scolding cover for how much he's actually shaping his grandson: every early lesson in footwork and patience becomes something Tyson leans on once the Bladebreakers start travelling. He never sets foot in a tournament this season, but the dojo is where Tyson's instincts are built.

Beyblade V-Force (2002)

With the Bladebreakers scattered and then pulled back together against the Saint Shields and Team Psykick, the dojo becomes their fallback address again, Grandpa keeping the mats swept and the kettle on for whoever turns up. He folds Hilary into the household without much ceremony, letting her badger Tyson into training instead of running from it, and turns a backyard barbecue into something close to a team reunion. He stays mostly off-camera this season, ringside in spirit more than in person, but the routine he keeps — early drills, full meals, no excuses — is what steadies Tyson between one crisis and the next.

Beyblade G-Revolution (2003)

When Kai's seat on the new roster sits empty against a hard tournament deadline, Grandpa steps into the gap himself, hiding behind a mask and the alias Mr. X so the team can file its five names in time. He keeps the disguise going only until Kai reappears, then drops back into his familiar role: putting Daichi up at the dojo, feeding him, and needling him the same way he's always needled Tyson. Through the title defence he's the one voice reminding Tyson that winning isn't the same as staying grounded, and once Boris's BEGA takeover turns the tournament into a fight for the sport itself, he's solidly behind the bladers who refuse to accept it.

Briefing

What to know

Tyson's paternal grandfather; raised him at the family dojo after his mother Yoshie's death.
Practices traditional kendo swordsmanship and tries, mostly without success, to teach Tyson sword tricks.
Played more boisterous ('cool-yo') in the English dub than the more traditional Japanese original.
His dojo secretly housed the sword-shaped stone that sealed Dragoon.
Temporarily competes as the disguised 'Mr. X' to complete Tyson's five-player G-Revolution roster.
Mostly comic relief, but occasionally gives Tyson accidental, genuinely useful Beyblading advice.
His English voice actor was the dub's most veteran cast member by far.

Key episodes

Watch these first

S1E01 The Blade Raider Beyblade (2001) · Japanese Regional Tournament · Jan 8, 2001
S1E07 Thirteen Candles Beyblade (2001) · Japanese Regional Tournament · Feb 19, 2001
S2E17 Hilary's Bey-B-Que Beyblade V-Force (2002) · Cyber Bit-Beasts · Apr 29, 2002
S3E01 New Kid in Town Beyblade G-Revolution (2003) · The Bladebreakers Split · Jan 6, 2003
S3E21 Under Pressure Beyblade G-Revolution (2003) · Tag Team World Championship · May 26, 2003

Also on record

Where they first appear

Resolved against our own episode records, so the pointer the entry carries as text is a link you can follow.

Beyblade (2001) episode 1: The Blade Raider First anime appearance · 2001-01-08

Sightings

Episodes they appear in

Taken from the episode records rather than this entry’s own. A blader who appears once can have a full episode list here while their own entry runs to three lines.

Rivals & bonds

Known associates

Tyson Granger grandson
Hiro Granger grandson
Bruce Granger son
Daichi Sumeragi house guest

Attributed, not verified by us

Claims We Could Not Check

English voice actor George Buza was the most experienced member of the first season's dub cast, most of whom were far less seasoned teenagers.
The 'Ryu' kanji in his Japanese name means 'dragon,' tying him thematically to the dragon-shaped stone hidden in his dojo.

In the card games