''Beyblade'' is a Japanese media franchise that consists of

toys A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and ...

, manga, anime television series and films, centered around the

Beyblade Beyblade (Japanese: ベイブレード ''Beiburēdo'') is a battling spinning top toyline and multimedia franchise developed by Takara Tomy. Beyblades were inspired by the old "beigoma" spinning tops in olden Asia. The first modern Beyblade was ...

toyline of battling spinning tops. Originally developed by

Takara was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy, Tomy Company, Ltd. to form Tomy, Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was("playing is culture"). The company focused on traditional toys and board games. They cr ...

, it was first released in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in July 1999 along with a related

manga series are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics an ...

. Following Takara's merger with

Tomy (trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...

in 2006, Beyblades are now developed by Takara Tomy. Beyblade has undergone four separate iterations, each with their own media continuity. The first series, known simply as

, ran from 1999 to 2004. The accompanying manga series was adapted into an

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series produced by Madhouse, which ran for three seasons. A film, Beyblade: Fierce Battle, was released in 2002. The second series, Beyblade: Metal Fusion (known as ''Metal Fight Beyblade'' in Japan), was introduced in 2008. Unlike the mostly plastic Beyblades in the original iteration, Beyblades released under the ''Metal Fusion'' series features components made of metal. Like before, an accompanying manga series was adapted into an anime, produced by

Tatsunoko Production and often shortened to , is a Japanese animation company. The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is a nickname for Tatsuo) and " sea dragon", the inspiration for its seahorse logo. Tatsunoko Production was e ...

and

SynergySP is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 24, 1998, as ''Synergy Japan'' which originally split off from Studio Junio (which itself was founded by Toei Animation staff). In 2005, the company became associated with Shogakukan-Shueish ...

. Retroactively named ''Beyblade: 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 of ''Beyblade'',

Beyblade Burst is a Japanese manga and toyline created by Hiro Morita, based on Takara Tomy's ''Beyblade'' franchise. The third series of the franchise, the ''Beyblade Burst'' toyline launched on July 15, 2015, while the original manga was se ...

, ran from 2015 to 2021. The fourth and current iteration,

Beyblade X ''Beyblade X'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga, anime and toyline based on Takara Tomy and Hasbro's ''Beyblade'' franchise. The fourth generation of the franchise, the ''Beyblade X'' toyline was launched on July 15, 2023, whi ...

, began in 2023. A spinoff,

BeyWheelz ''BeyWheelz'' is an anime series, a spin-off of the series ''Beyblade''. While produced in Japan, the series has yet to be aired in Japanese. Originally commissioned by Nelvana to make up for '' Beyblade: Metal Fury's'' sh ...

, was released in 2012.

Media

Toys

Beyblade is a line of spinning-top toys originally developed by

, first released in

in July 1999, along with a related

. Following Takara's merger with

in 2006, Beyblades are now developed by

Takara Tomy (trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...

. Various toy companies around the world have licensed Beyblade toys for their own regions, such as

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

in most Western countries,

Sonokong Sonokong Co, Ltd. () is a South Korea, Korean toy/game entertainment company. It was established in 1974. The corporate headquarters are located in Sugung-dong Guro-gu Seoul, Korea. The technical license of the company is owned by Takara and Hasb ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, and Takara Tomy for most Eastern countries. Both the toys and their names were inspired by the ''

Beigoma The ''beigoma'' (Japanese language, Japanese: ベーゴマ) is a traditional Japanese culture, Japanese Spinning top, top that is approximately 3 cm in diameter and often decorated with kanji. When spun correctly, the ''beigoma'' makes a hu ...

'', a traditional Japanese spinning top. The concept is similar to

Battling Tops ''Battling Tops'' is a children's game invented by Eddy Goldfarb and first manufactured by Ideal in 1968. In the game, players launch spinning tops into an arena with the aim to have the final standing spinning top. The game has similarities to ...

, another spinning top game developed in 1968. In 2002, Hasbro sold Beyblade toys internationally (under

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

from Takara). On July 12, 2008, Takara Tomy released '' Metal Fight: Beyblade'', the second iteration of the toy. The third iteration, titled ''

'', was released by Takara Tomy on July 18, 2015. The fourth iteration of the toy line, ''

'', was released on July 15, 2023.

Manga

'' Explosive Shoot Beyblade'' is the first manga of Beyblade franchise. It ran from September 1999 to July 2004. ''

Metal Fight Beyblade ''Beyblade: Metal Fusion'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga created by Takafumi Adachi, serialized in Shogakukan's monthly magazine ''CoroCoro Comic'' between September 2008 and February 2012. The manga inspired an anime produc ...

'' is the second manga of Beyblade franchise. It ran from September 13, 2008 to February 15, 2012. ''

Metal Fight Beyblade Zero-G ''Beyblade: Shogun Steel'', also known as , is a Japanese manga by Takafumi Adachi that was based on Hasbro and Takara Tomy's ''Beyblade'' franchise. It was published between April 2012 and December 2012 in CoroCoro Comic, and serves as the ...

'' is the third manga of Beyblade franchise. It ran from April 2012 to December 2012. ''

'' is the fourth manga of Beyblade franchise. It ran from August 2015 to December 15, 2021. ''

'' is the fifth manga of Beyblade franchise. It is running since May 15, 2023.

Anime

Television series and ONAs

Three anime seasons based on the first manga, three anime seasons based on the second manga, one anime season based on the third manga, six anime seasons based on the fourth manga and one anime season based on the fifth manga has been aired since 2001. *Series overview

Films

Two anime films '' Beyblade: Fierce Battle'' and '' Metal Fight Beyblade vs the Sun: Sol Blaze, the Scorching Hot Invader'' have been aired.

References

{{reflist Beyblade Anime