Shu Kurenai

"I'm counting on battling you in the finals, so get it together!"

is the deuteragonist of the anime and manga series, Beyblade Burst. He currently battles with his Beyblade, Cho-Z Spriggan 0Wall Zeta'. In addition, Shu is one of the Supreme Four.

In Beyblade Burst Evolution, he joined the American team, the Raging Bulls, to battle in the World Championships, later secretly becoming Red Eye, a major antagonist. For a while, he became possessed by his Bey, but was eventually saved by his best friend, Valt Aoi. He is the runner-up of the International Blader's Cup.

In Beyblade Burst Turbo, he is now the current owner of the Raging Bulls.

Appearance
Shu is quite tall for his age, with shaggy white hair and bright crimson eyes. His attire includes a pink dress shirt with a black and red striped tie, a black high-collared vest with a white interior, long black pants, and shining black shoes. His vest bears a red Beyblade symbol on the left side. His right hand sports a red fingerless glove with yellow accents and a square cuff. He has a scar over his right eye, inflicted by Lui Shirosagi in a previous battle, but it is usually covered by his hair, and therefore unseen until he lifts his hair when he wins a battle.

When he was younger, he wore a white collar shirt under a red vest; he also wore black shorts and brown strap shoes. While training, he sometimes wears a light gray shirt with a red/gray hoodie with black accents; he also wears black shorts & white shoes.

In Evolution, as Red Eye, he wore a dark grey-and-red streaked mask that only showed his eyes and mouth. He wore a long white sleeveless tailcoat with a high collar and red accents, a black and red bodysuit underneath, and a matching gauntlet on his left arm. Upon donning the mask, his voice became noticeably deeper than before, implying that his mask had a voice-altering feature.

In episode 36, his mask broke during a battle with Lui, revealing his identity to everyone. Shu's hair was also noticeably longer, especially when he was Red Eye, suggesting that it grew longer during his time in the Snake Pit. He later has it cut back to its original length in the season finale.

In Turbo, Shu wears a long-sleeve pink dress shirt, a closed white vest with yellow borders, a black trench coat with crimson borders, navy pants, and pink boots with red lines. He also sports his signature red glove. His hair has grown long again as well.

Personality
Described as a genius blader, Shu is a favorite in his hometown. However, he does not rely on talent alone and is very hardworking when it comes to Beyblade. He is one of the best bladers to ever play the sport, managing to surpass Valt Aoi and win his first WBBA tournament in less than a year. Shu is calm and patient, and prefers to be alone most of the time. He maintains a cool exterior in front of others, however underneath this lies a burning hot fighting spirit. He is quite standoffish towards people he doesn't know well, with Valt and Xander Shakadera being exceptions. Because of this, he is sometimes seen as aloof and even as a 'spoiled brat', as described by Rantaro Kiyama in the first episode of the anime.

However, despite his usual stoic demeanor, Shu cares deeply for his friends, especially Valt; and will always help them out or give advice to them when they need it.

In the anime, Shu is shown to be a good cook: this is because his parents are often busy and away from home, so he has to take care of himself.

Shu has also demonstrated keen observation skills, such as when he noticed Daigo's guilt in cheating against Yugo, visualizing his opponent's Beys in the stadium while training, and seeing Rantaro finish first when he saw the others racing each other.

Shu had a bit of a stubborn streak when dealing with his shoulder injury. Despite strict orders from the doctor to give his body some time to rest and recover, he still insisted on practicing for his upcoming matches and often denied being in pain. This caused some friction between him and Valt, who out of concern for his friend, suggested that he forfeit their battle.

Shu has shown several instances of ambidexterity, such as when he switches between launching with his left and right hands or when cooking with both hands at the same time.

As Red Eye
Shu's personality takes a much darker turn in Beyblade Burst Evolution upon becoming Red Eye. He changes into a quiet yet powerful and ruthless blader who is willing to destroy others' beys to win. This drastic personality change is due to Lui Shirosagi breaking his Storm Spryzen in Beyblade Burst, and then later losing to Free De La Hoya, the strongest blader in the world, after he joined the Raging Bulls, a legendary American team.

This hints that Shu may have perfectionist habits, as he seemingly punishes himself for losing. His transformation is completed when he joins the Snake Pit Organization, led by the mysterious Ashtem, and he cuts himself off from his friends. As his alter-ego, Shu seeks out those who pose a challenge to defeat, scouting the globe for particularly strong bladers. This is an effort to improve his own skills to order defeat Free and Lui one day. However, this leads Shu to push away his friends, most notably Valt, evidenced by him roughly shoving him aside and demanding him to leave after his identity is revealed. This also leads him to believe that strength is more important than anything else, which is the advice he gives Boa Alcazaba, a rookie member of the Snake Pit.

When Shu is put through The Requiem Project, one of the tasks he has to accomplish to receive his new Beyblade, Spryzen Requiem S3, is to eliminate Valt from his imagination and break their friendship. This shows that Shu still cares about others, but he is being pushed into abandoning the things that made him happy in his old life.

When Shu picked up Spryzen Requiem S3 for the first time, he became overwhelmed by the immense power it contained and ended up being taken over by Spryzen's spirit, to the point where he even stated to be Spryzen on several occasions. While under the effects of Spryzen's power, Shu acts more power-hungry, aggressive, and overall more hostile and ill-tempered; a stark contrast to his usual calm and gentle personality.

It is interesting to note that Shu's personality as Red Eye is eerily similar to that of Lui, with his new desire to seek out opponents he views as worthy to face, and how he is set on defeating all who stand in his way. He also starts to destroy other people's beys, such as when he destroys Ghasem's Maximus Garuda, Norman's Twin Noctemis, the Reboot tip on Valt's Genesis Valtryek, and Lui's Nightmare Luinor. He also tears one of Ken Midori's hand Puppets, Besu.

However, during his final match with Valt in the International Blader's Cup, Shu was freed from Spryzen's mind control after Valt defeated him, and thus he became his old friendly self once again and reconciled with Valt and the rest of his friends.

Beyblade Burst (anime)
Shu was introduced in Lets Go! Valtryek!, where he is first seen on a TV broadcast on Beyblade. He is introduced as one of the strongest Bladers around, and easily defeats his opponent with a single hit. During his journey home, he sees Valt training and questions what he is doing, to which he smiles and encourages him to continue. During Valt's first round match in the local tournament, he is shocked when Valt performs a Rush Launch.

In Episode 2, he is later seen in the terrace of his school practicing; his practice is interrupted by Rantaro and Valt's argument.

In episode 10, he is seen practicing when Nika and Toko notices him. When they were running towards him, Nika trips over him and, due to trying to dodge that, he injures his shoulder. He later visits the doctor's office where he is told to stop beyblading to recover. The next day, Shu is seen at school having a battle with Valt where he wins the battle by using Counter Break.

In episode 11, Shu is at the clinic and his injury is getting even worse due to the battle he had yesterday. Nika calls out for Shu to which he doesn't reply. Nika then tells Valt everything what happened at the park and he rushes in search for Shu.

In episode 49, he loses to Lui Shirosagi in the semifinals of the National Tournament, breaking his pact to Valt Aoi made in Episode 1.

Beyblade Burst Evolution (anime)
Shu is scouted by and joins the Raging Bulls, which allows him to become much stronger than he already is. However, he later lost the No. 1 Blader in the world, Free De La Hoya. This, coupled with his lingering bitterness over his loss to Lui and shame over breaking his promise to Valt, led to him being coaxed by Ashtem into joining the Snake Pit, where power soon corrupted him, turning him into Red Eye, a ruthless Beyblader with a lust for victory and no sense of honor.

After losing to Lui once again, Shu abandons his Evolution Beyblade in favor of creating a new one. He ends up getting possessed by his new Beyblade. By the International Blader's Cup, Shu makes it to the finals with Valt, giving him a chance to rectify his broken promise from the previous season. In the end, Valt ends up victorious and Shu is saved from his Beyblade's control on him.

Beyblade Burst Turbo
Shu made a few appearances in flashbacks throughout the early episodes of the season. He was revealed to have become a mentor to Fubuki Sumiye, evidenced by the latter taking after his launching stance and strong desire for practice and hard work. It was also revealed that at some point during the two-year timeskip, he had gone back to America and became the new owner of the Raging Bulls, succeeding Theodore Glass.

He officially appeared in episode 12, having a conversation with Fubuki via cellphone. After Fubuki confided in him about his loss in the Luinor Cup, Shu simply advised him to not give up and convinced him to leave Japan for America. There, he aided in Fubuki's training by giving him some helpful pointers on launching, while also showing him that Beyblade should be fun and not just about practice and hard work. It was also mentioned that he explained to Fubuki about Bey resonance.

Later on, Shu is made aware of Aiger Akabane's possessed behavior and growing obsession with power and, along with Fubuki, sets off to confront him at the mysterious castle known as Dead Gran. Once there, he challenged Aiger to a battle with his new Cho-Z Spriggan, which he won with ease. He explained to Aiger that he was corrupting Achilles, and that his resonance with Achilles is that of a demon that ignores the bond with his bey. Unfortunately, this fell on deaf ears, as Aiger refused to believe this. Aiger is later purged of his dark power during a battle with Phi, but at the cost of his Z Achilles being destroyed. Taking pity on Aiger, Shu accompanies him to Japan, where he helps him rebuild his Bey, as well as teaching him how to properly resonate with his new Cho-Z Achilles.

Beyblades

 * Spryzen Spread Fusion: Shu's primary Beyblade in the Beyblade Burst manga.
 * Spryzen S2 Knuckle Unite: Shu's primary Beyblade in the Beyblade Burst anime.
 * Legend Spryzen S3 7 Merge: Shu's primary Beyblade in the Beyblade Burst Evolution anime as Red Eye.
 * Spryzen Requiem S3 0 Zeta: Shu's final form of his Beyblade and former host in the Beyblade Burst Evolution anime.
 * Cho-Z Spriggan 0Wall Zeta': Shu's new Beyblade in the Beyblade Burst Turbo anime.

Special Moves

 * Counter Break: Spryzen utilizes its Unite or Merge Performance Tip to quickly change its trajectory and slam into the opponent at high speeds. This is Shu's most commonly used technique in the series.
 * Upper Launch: Shu launches Spryzen at a steep angle, allowing it to attack the opponent from below, or Spryzen uses the stadium's slope to send the opposing bey flying.
 * Ultra Counter Break: A stronger version of the Counter Break in which Spryzen rides along the stadium's groove to pick up speed and deal heavy damage, similar to Valt's Ultra Flash Launch.
 * Ultra Upper Launch: Shu launches Spryzen at an even steeper angle allowing it to gain even more speed and power.
 * Crux Boost: Shu holds his launcher vertically with his right hand, and when he is about to launch he rapidly switches to a horizontal launch. When launched, Spryzen moves around at a very high speed and with great stability.
 * Axe Launch: Legend Spryzen grinds on the stadium floor gaining speed and power, then changes its trajectory to attack the opponent.
 * Requiem Whip: When Spryzen is in Counterclockwise Attack Mode, it uses its metal axe to hit the opponent with a strong attack.
 * Requiem Spin: In Counterclockwise Stamina Mode, Spryzen absorbs the opponent's strength and turns it into its own power thanks to the rubber on its Energy Layer. It can also be utilized in Clockwise Stamina Mode against left-spin opponents This move is similar to Free's Drain Spin.
 * Super Counter Break: Using the flat edge of the Zeta' tip’s Stamina setting, Cho-Z Spriggan changes its trajectory and gains speed for a powerful counterattack.
 * Super Upper Shoot: In Counterclockwise mode, Cho-Z Spriggan uses the Zeta' Performance Tip to change its spin direction temporarily while gaining speed and power to hit the opponent with a massive attack.
 * Super Spriggan Slash: Cho-Z Spriggan channels its energy into the burst stopper blades to slash the opponent with a sharp edge for massive attack damage.

Valt Aoi
Valt is Shu's best friend, whom the former idolizes, and the two have known each other since kindergarten. Valt is continually inspired by the hard-work and focus Shu puts into blading, and continually seeks advice from him. Shu tends to drop his cold front in front of Valt and smiles more easily around him. He's also very protective of Valt and constantly looks looks out for him, with Valt doing the same when necessary, much like when everyone discovered Naoki sabotaged Shu's match in the Individual Tournament. Shu's faith in Valt is unshakable, and while others may become exasperated with Valt's empty-headed antics, Shu never stops believing in him. He views Valt as a worthy opponent and rival.

In Burst Evolution, Shu continues to believe Valt will be a better Blader and still thinks about battling him again someday. However, when he became Red Eye, Shu seemingly abandoned their friendship to create Spryzen Requiem S3. He later lost to Valt in Evolution during the events of Episode 51. Fortunately, Shu returned to his old self afterwards, allowing him and Valt to mend their broken friendship.

Two years later in Burst Turbo, Valt and Shu's friendship is still strong, though the two have gone their separate ways (Valt traveling the world to defend his World Champion title, and Shu returning to America and becoming the Raging Bulls' new owner). They were eventually reunited when they met up at the castle called Dead Gran.

Toko Aoi and Nika Aoi
Because they are Valt's younger siblings, Shu also cares about them. In the Japanese version, both siblings refer to Shu as "Shu-kun" despite being younger than him, indicating that they're quite comfortable with each other.

Daigo Kurogami
Shu and Daigo originally only spoke in passing. Shu was the only one to notice that Daigo cheated during his match with Yugo, and saw how the guilt affected him. He approached Daigo privately and offered some words of comfort, even going out of his way to lie to Daigo's little brother, Ryota, so that the latter wouldn't see his brother in a bad light. This spurred a budding friendship between the two.

In later episodes, Daigo is seen returning the favor by looking out for Shu and worrying about his shoulder injury acting up again.

Xander Shakadera
Like Valt, Shu and Xander are great friends and have been since kindergarten. The two of them have a deep mutual respect for one another and always look out for each other. Shu sees Xander as a trustful friend and worthy rival in terms of Beyblade, given that both are members of the Supreme Four.

Wakiya Murasaki
Shu respects Wakiya as an equal member of the team, and is willing to accept the other Blader's challenges and intense will to surpass him. Shu can also see past Wakiya's blustering and overly-confident exterior to see that he has insecurities about losing as well, which is why he reminds him that losing a battle isn't the end of the world, and teaches him that it is best to be resilient and persistent.

Lui Shirosagi
Shu and Lui have a shared hatred for one another: While Shu feels the need to avenge his loss at Lui's hand at the last tournament, Lui wishes to crush Shu's dreams and break his spirit. This causes them to fight their hardest against each other. After his previous loss, which left Shu very shaken, he pushes himself to the limit, ignoring Lui's poisonous taunts to beat him in battle.

Even when Shu loses against Lui for the second time and Spryzen is destroyed, he still has the burning desire to win, and promises to never stop trying. This motivation is what cause Shu to become Red Eye in order to defeat Lui and eventually succeeded in defeating him during the Semi-Finals of the International Blader's Cup, as well as destroying Luinor.

Free De La Hoya
Losing against Free after he joined the Raging Bulls made Shu vulnerable to Ashtem's manipulation, allowing Ashtem to turn him into Red Eye. Beforehand, Shu also called out Free for abandoning his previous team, BC Sol.

Boa Alcazaba
Shu (as Red Eye) met Boa and encouraged him to not give up in his Bey training. He told him that to get stronger he would have to ditch that mindset; that he would never get as good as Red Eye, and try harder. This led to Boa idolizing Red Eye and following him around as he trains to grow stronger than him. A good example is when Shu loses to Lui, Boa was disappointed that someone as strong as him lose and mentions how much he idolizes him.

Shu seems supportive of Boa's training efforts, but can be distant and harsh sometimes.

Theodore Glass
Theodore saw potential in Shu and scouted him to be part of the Raging Bulls. When Shu was depressed after losing to Free De La Hoya, Theodore convinced him to join the Snake Pit to help increase his strength, even creating the ultimate Bey, Spryzen Requiem S3 0 Zeta, for him. This led to Shu becoming Red Eye, at the cost of losing all his morals. At the end of the season, however, after being brought back to his senses by Valt, Shu later cut all ties with the Snake Pit. In Turbo, Shu later succeeds Theodore as the new owner of the Raging Bulls.

Norman Tarver
Shu didn't have much of a relationship with Norman, and was unaware of the latter's one-sided rivalry with him. However, Spryzen Requiem S3 destroyed Noctemis N3, which hints that Shu might have seen him as a powerful Blader.

Fubuki Sumiye
Shu met a young Fubuki some time after the International Blader's Cup. Impressed by Shu's skills, Fubuki asked to train with him so he could become a Blader like him one day, to which Shu agreed.

Quotes

 * "I'm not talking about who got into it first...See you in the finals, then?" -to Valt in the first episode of the series
 * "Brain freeze. It's a thing." - to Valt.
 * "I'm not really a 'club joining' kind of guy."
 * "I think that launch failed because my hand was moving. One more time! I need the practice!" - in a flashback, during his first Beybattle with Valt shortly after getting Storm Spryzen
 * "You know he can't hear you, right? This is how Valt is; he loses his cool."
 * "You're not doing yourself any favors underestimating Valt."
 * "Not cool to smack-talk your own teammates."
 * "Hey! We won as a team!"
 * "We're all bladers here. There's only one way to settle this: with our beys!"
 * "I think I know my own limits, okay? Don't jump to conclusions!"
 * "I am not a fortune teller.” -as Red Eye after being asked if Valt and the others stood a chance at getting to battle him.
 * "Didn't see that coming. Valt, I think you went after the wrong guy." -Shu after Valt knocked him over when they were little in a flashback.
 * "Spryzen...Aw man, I just pushed you way too far...I'm sorry. I let you down..." -holding back tears after Spryzen broke
 * "I'm sorry. I know I broke our pact. Some day, I'll make it up to you..." - apologizing to Valt for breaking his promise.
 * "When I win, I realize how much Beyblade has changed my life for the better."
 * (when the others want Shu to tell them who won the race) "(sighs) It was Rantaro."
 * "I will become a Blader worthy of this Spryzen." - as Red Eye
 * "I failed to take Lui down. Because of that, I couldn't keep my promise to you." - explaining to Valt why he was leaving for America.
 * "You had Valt Aoi on your squad, right? Why would you just abandon them like that?" - Shu asking Free why he left BC Sol.
 * "Don't make me regret letting you in."
 * "Spryzen, Upper Launch!"
 * "Valt, you can beat him."
 * "Shu as you know him is gone!" - talking to Valt as Red Eye.
 * "No Bey can defeat me, I'll crush all of them." - as Red Eye.
 * "You, get out of my way!" - to Valt after his identity is revealed.
 * "Like I already told you, Shu Kurenai is long gone."
 * "Fear me. I will end you."
 * "I'll never forget what you did to me, Lui. You'll regret it soon. First, I'm gonna destroy Nightmare Luinor! Then, I'm gonna annihilate each and every Bey that dares to get in my way!"
 * "Red Eye is no longer here. I'm Spryzen." - to Theodore
 * "I'm done with you. Get out of my way, Valt!"
 * "You're wrong! I'm Spryzen! Meet your fate!" - talking to Valt while possessed by Spryzen.
 * "(screams) Listen, Valt! I admit it, you're my best friend! It's true! That's why I can't fail! I would never be able to forgive myself if I lost this battle! I won't ever let you defeat me, Valt!"
 * "Hey, listen. I'm proud of you. That was fun." - after being brought back to his senses.
 * "Hey guys, I'm sorry..." - apologizing to everyone for what he did as Red Eye and when possessed by Spryzen.
 * "I keep expecting to see you." -thinking about his friends
 * "Fubuki, do you love blading with all your heart?" -To Fubuki Sumiye when he asked if he could ever become great at Beyblading

Gallery
For a full gallery of images of Shu, see Shu Kurenai/Gallery.

Trivia

 * His first name "Shu" means "top class" in Japanese. This may refer to his expert Beyblading skills.
 * His name, Shu, and his bey, Spryzen share the same initials, hinting at the letter S in the centre of his bey.
 * Like other characters in the Burst cast, Shu's family name contains a color. "Kurenai" means "crimson".
 * He is similar to Toby, in the sense that both are best friends of the protagonists and have been brainwashed into becoming their respective evil alter-egos.
 * Shu's personality shift as Red Eye is similar to Brooklyn's dark side taking him over in the Original series, as well as Ryuga and Tsubasa being taken over by the dark power in the Metal Saga, and Daigo briefly being consumed by evil thoughts in the first season of Beyblade Burst.
 * Shu became possessed by his bey Spryzen, much like how Ryuga was possessed by L-Drago in the beginning of the Metal Saga series.
 * Whenever Shu wins a battle, he is known to push his hair back with his hand to reveal his scar. As episode 14 of Burst shows, he did this even before he had it. And while he stopped doing this during his time as Red Eye, he started doing it again, as seen in his battle with Aiger in episode 35 of Turbo.
 * Shu's scar glows bright red when he experiences intense emotions such as anger, usually when face-to-face with Lui or when he was under Spryzen Requiem's mind control.
 * Shu is similar to Hiro Granger and Ryo Hagane from the previous series. All have masked alter-egos that are involved with Beyblade; in addition to having a relationship with the protagonists.
 * He was the first Blader of the series that was able to defeat Lui in the manga.
 * In Episode 49 of Beyblade Burst Evolution, Shu destroys Lui's Nightmare Luinor, similar to how Lui broke Storm Spryzen in Episode 49 of Beyblade Burst.
 * His birthday is on September 23.
 * In a character popularity poll held in Japan, Shu won 1st place as the most popular Burst character.
 * Shu is currently the only Burst character to use a dual-rotation Beyblade, And the first blader in the Burst Series to own a dual-roation launcher.