Beyblade
 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, and ToyPro |
| Country | Japan |
| Availability | 1999–present |
| Official website | |
Beyblade (Japanese: ベイブレード, Hepburn: Beiburēdo) is a battling spinning top toyline and multimedia franchise developed by the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. Inspired by the older Beigoma, the first Beyblades were released in 1999 in Japan, along with a related manga series. Beyblades were developed by Takara until it merged with Tomy in 2006. Various toy companies around the world have licensed Beyblade toys for their own regions, such as Hasbro in most Western countries (such as the United States) and Sonokong in South Korea.
In Beyblade, participants compete in battles between two or more spinning tops called "Beyblades", or Beys. A Beyblade typically consists of multiple parts, and players can combine parts to create their own combination. Battles typically take place in a bowl-like stadium (called a Beystadium), 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. In Beyblade Burst and Beyblade X, players may also win if their opponent's Beyblade splits apart, known as "bursting".
There are four successive series of Beyblade tops, each designed with its own component parts that are not compatible with tops of other series. Tops are designed for play only with tops of the same series, and each series has a separate media continuity. The first iteration is Bakuten Shoot Beyblade (also known simply as Beyblade in the Western releases) and made mostly out of plastic, ran from 1999 to 2004. Beyblade: Metal Fusion (also known as Metal Fight Beyblade in Japan) is the second iteration which featured metal components and introduced the points system and ran from 2008 to 2010. Beyblade Burst is the third iteration which introduced the "burst" mechanic and ran from 2015 to 2021. Beyblade X, the current and fourth iteration, began in 2023.
Every series of Beyblade has manga and anime series tie-ins. The original manga series was adapted into an anime series produced by Madhouse and Nippon Animedia (a partnership between Takara and Nippon Animation), and the related 2002 film Beyblade: Fierce Battle. The Beyblade: Metal Fusion anime adaptation, retroactively named Beyblade: Metal Saga, was produced by Tatsunoko Production and SynergySP for four seasons and accompanied by the 2010 action-adventure film, Metal Fight Beyblade vs the Sun: Sol Blaze, the Scorching Hot Invader. The spinoff anime BeyWheelz was released in 2012.