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 DranSword (Takara Tomy)/Sword Dran (Hasbro) 3-60F, the first Beyblade released as part of the current iteration of the toyline, "Beyblade X". | |
| Type | Spinning top |
|---|---|
| Company | Takara Tomy,Hasbro,Sonokong,Youngtoys,NewBoy, andToyPro |
| Country | Japan |
| Availability | 1999–present |
| Official website | |
Beyblade (Japanese: ベイブレードBeiburēdo) is a battlingspinning top toyline andmultimedia franchise developed by the Japanese toy companyTakara. Inspired by the olderbeigoma, the first modern Beyblade was released in July, 1999 in Japan, along with a relatedmanga series. It was called "Spin Dragoon" and also "Ultimate Dragoon." Following Takara's merger withTomy in 2006, Beyblades are now developed by Takara Tomy. Various toy companies around the world have licensed Beyblade toys for their own regions, such asHasbro in most Western countries andSonokong in South Korea.
InBeyblade, participants compete in battles between two or more spinning tops called "Beyblades", orBeys.[1] A Beyblade typically consists of multiple parts, and players can combine parts to create their own combination.[2][3][4] Battles typically take place in a bowl-like stadium (called aBeystadium), into which players release Beyblades using a handheld launcher. A player wins if their Beyblade spins for a longer period of time or if the opponent's Beyblade exits the stadium. InBeyblade Burst andBeyblade X, players may also win if their opponent's Beyblade splits apart, known as "bursting".
Beyblade has undergone four separate iterations, each with their own media continuity. The parts from each iteration ofBeyblade are incompatible with other iterations. The first series, known simply asBeyblade, ran from 1999 to 2004. The accompanying manga series was adapted into ananime series produced by Madhouse and Nippon Animedia (a partnership between Takara andNippon Animation), which ran for three seasons. A film,Beyblade: Fierce Battle, was released in 2002. The second series,Beyblade: Metal Fusion (known asMetal Fight Beyblade in Japan), was introduced in 2008. Unlike the mostly plastic Beyblades in the original iteration, Beyblades released under theMetal Fusion series features components made of metal. Like before, an accompanying manga series was adapted into an anime, produced byTatsunoko Production andSynergySP. Retroactively namedBeyblade: Metal Saga, the anime comprises four seasons. An action-adventure film,Metal Fight Beyblade vs the Sun: Sol Blaze, the Scorching Hot Invader, premiered in 2010. The third iteration ofBeyblade,Beyblade Burst, introduced the "burst" mechanic and ran from 2015 to 2021. The fourth iteration,Beyblade X, began in 2023. A spinoff,BeyWheelz, was released in 2012.
Both the toys and their names were inspired by theBeigoma, a traditional Japanese spinning top.[5] The concept is similar toBattling Tops, a spinning top game developed in 1968, and to the traditional spinning top games of topac,[6]gasing pangkah, andpambaram and the previous Japanese toy line ofSpin Fighters (1993–1997).
The toy line was introduced with an accompanyingmanga series of the same name in 1999. The manga ran from 1999 to 2004, while the anime only ran in 2001 with 51 total episodes. In 2002, Hasbro sold Beyblade toys internationally (underlicense from Takara) along with a coordinated country-by-country release of localized versions of thetelevision show. On July 12, 2008, Takara Tomy releasedMetal Fight: Beyblade, the second generation of the toy. The third generation, titledBeyblade Burst, was released by Takara Tomy on July 18, 2015. The fourth generation of the toy line,Beyblade X, was released on June 2023.
Aside from informal play, the game has a set of published rules. In the official competition, at least two players engage in the game.[7][8] Each participant is permitted a maximum of three Beyblades, and swapping out Beyblade parts is strictly prohibited once a match commences. Players can select any of their three available Beyblades for each battle within a game.[9]
InMetal Fight Beyblade, a points system was introduced. In theBeyblade Burst line of toys, Hasbro releases its own rule set for its toy line. In general, the first player to 3 points for older generations or 4 points for Beyblade X will win a match.[10]
In the event of adraw (which results if both Beyblades either exit the ring simultaneously, stop spinning simultaneously, or burst at the same time), no points are awarded to either player. The stadium's pockets and entrance are sometimes referred to as an "extended play area" as opposed to a "primary play area" since if a Beyblade gets into one of the pockets but is able to escape (known as rebounding), it will not count as a knockout. For the stadium's entrance, if a Beyblade flies there, gets caught there and goes around the stadium but doesn't fall out of the stadium, it will also not be counted as a knockout.
There are four main types of Beyblades: the Attack, Defense, Stamina, and Balance types. The first three of those types haveintransitive effectiveness, with Defense generally intended to be effective against Attack, Attack against Stamina, and Stamina against Defense. However, due to the high variability of custom configurations, and individual skill of the players, this is not a hard rule.[11][12]
An arena called a Beystadium is sold by both Takara Tomy and Hasbro. It is shaped like an overturnedspherical dome but may have other features dependent on the purpose of the particular stadium, like the Xtreme Rail found in Beyblade X stadiums.[13] Different stadiums were released in different markets. Takara Tomy and Sonokong produce Beystadiums similar to those featured in themanga and anime adaptations, with open sections in the walls and openings on the sides to launch into. Hasbro produces stadiums with walls that are about 3.7 in (94 mm) tall and pockets that count as a ring-out instead.
Common features of a Beystadium include a circular shallow impression, which allows Attack Beyblades to move around quickly without accidentally knocking themselves out. Other features may be specific to the series that the Beystadium is released in, like the rails from the Beyblade Burst cho - Z toy system and the taller Speedstorm toy system.
The metal series stadiums have a "secondary slope", which is a flat area about two centimeters wide that causes Attack Beyblades to perform a looping pattern that goes through the center of the stadium and knock Beyblades that tend to stay in the middle. Due to its resemblance to a flower, the looping movement pattern is called the "flower pattern".
A Bey Launcher is used to rapidly spin the Beyblade and eject it into the stadium. Select launchers have different levels of power depending on the gears inside of them paired with the user's own launch strength. For example, the Proto launcher (Beyblade X) only delivers a small amount of power, which is why people do not use them much. Launchers differ in size and shape, with some of them using Ripcords (long sticks of plastic with grips on the end and teeth on the sides to strike the gears of the launcher when pulled) and others using Strings (long strings with grips on the end that are connected to a gear that has a retracting mechanism to strike the gears of the launcher with slightly more power).[14]
Launching is often accompanied by a catchphrase. In the Takara Tomy version, this would be"3, 2, 1, Go Shoot!" (3、2、1、ゴーシュート!). In the Hasbro version, it was"3, 2, 1, Let it Rip!"[10]
These toys are designed so that the top may separate if it has sustained enough hits, which creates a "burst" due to an unlocking mechanism and a spring in the performance tip. The Burst System consists of 3 parts, the "Energy Layer", the "Forge Disc" that contains most of the weight, and the "Driver", which is the equivalent of the metal series "Performance Tip", that controls the behavior of the Beyblade.
Toys "R" Us started distributing this system inCanada in September 2016[15] andHasbro started distributing the toys in theUnited States in January 2017.
As the longest-runningBeyblade series,Burst has had considerably more subsystems than its predecessors. These are:
Beyblades were the "most sought-after toy for Christmas 2003" in theUK,[16] and won theBritish Association of Toy Retailers award for "Toy of the year" in 2002.[17] They were the top-selling battling toys in the US in 2011.[18] By 2003, more than 5 million Beyblade tops were sold in the United States.[19]
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