Teacher: "You've got a good point, Hoshino. As you often see in kung fu movies, tonfas are essentially striking weapons, not slashing weapons like beam sabers. Since the Banshee's weapon uses beams for slashing, it's fair to call it a beam saber. Actually, I'm wondering why it's called a tonfa."
Hoshino: "By the way, why is this Banshee white?"
Teacher: "It's white because it just emerged from the ground and has just hatched."
(A cicada?)

Sensei, is a beam tonfa a beam saber? | noblin's Gunpla works