Ginga Hagane appears in Beyblade Shogun Steel as a former champion and legendary figure within the blading world. He originally hails from Koma Village in Japan, where he was raised by his father, Ryo Hagane. A traumatic event from his childhood, witnessing his father seemingly perish in a battle against the dark blader Ryuga, set him on a path to become a powerful blader himself. Over the course of his life, he rose to become the number one blader in the world and is renowned as a legendary blader, one of the Bladers of the Four Seasons representing autumn. By the time of Shogun Steel, he has already saved the world on multiple occasions from great threats, including the dark power of the L-Drago, the Spiral Core, and the god of destruction, Nemesis.

In his youth, Gingka was known to be a laid-back and easygoing person, often sleeping in unusual places, but with a deeply passionate and hot-blooded nature when it came to beyblading. He firmly believed that battles were meant to be fun and that a blader's spirit is the most important factor in a fight, even more so than attack, defense, or stamina. He was fiercely protective of his friends and his beyblade, Pegasus, and would do anything to defend them. While generally optimistic and cheerful, he could become intensely serious and even consumed by a desire for revenge when facing those who threatened his loved ones or used beyblades for evil purposes. In Shogun Steel, Gingka has matured into a mentor figure. He retains his core belief in the spirit of blading but now channels his experience into guiding the next generation.

A significant part of Gingka's motivation in Shogun Steel is to pass on his knowledge and inspire a new blader, Zyro Kurogane. Having been a wandering hero for much of his life, he now takes on the role of a mentor, helping Zyro to unlock his own blader's spirit. He also remains dedicated to protecting the world, as he is later kidnapped by the organization DNA (Dark Nebula Again) because they need his power to synchrome their beyblade with his own. His key relationships include his rivalry-turned-friendship with the wind-controlling blader Kyoya Tategami, and his bond with his childhood friend Hyoma. His father, Ryo, remains a powerful influence on him, shaping both his appearance and his ideals. In Shogun Steel, his most important relationship is with the protagonist Zyro, whom he battles and trains, acting as the idol and goal for the young blader to aspire to.

Over the course of his journey, Gingka has undergone significant development. He started as a gifted but revenge-driven boy who hated Ryuga for what he did to his father. Through his battles and friendships, he learned to forgive Ryuga upon realizing that the dark power of the L-Drago had possessed him. He evolved from a lone wanderer into a leader of the world champion team, Gan Gan Galaxy, and finally into a legendary hero who saved the world. In Shogun Steel, this development culminates in him becoming the wise and powerful predecessor, a role that shows how he has grown from a student of his father into a master for a new protagonist. He also stopped wearing the band-aid on his face by this time, a small but symbolic change from his younger days.

In terms of abilities, Gingka is an exceptionally powerful blader whose strength is considered the best in the world. He specializes in attack-type beyblading, and his signature move involves his beyblade, Pegasus, ascending into the sky and performing a devastating dive-bomb attack from above. Throughout his career, he has wielded several Pegasus beyblades, including Storm Pegasus and Galaxy Pegasus. In Shogun Steel, he uses Samurai Pegasus W105R²F, which is an evolution of his previous beyblade, Cosmic Pegasus. His notable special moves have included the Starblast Attack, Tornado Wing, and Storm Bringer. He is also known for his incredible endurance and an unwavering fighting spirit that allows him to overcome overwhelming odds, such as battling one hundred bladers at once.