One of the first experiences I had at Anime Expo was the opportunity to check out the Beyblade X (stylized as BEYBLADE X) booth and get an incredible jolt of nostalgia. I spent a huge portion of my childhood interacting with Beyblade products, everything from Beys themselves (complete with plastic stadiums and plenty of parts to customize things) to video games to the Beyblade anime. The energy of the booth brought me right back to those moments and really hammered in how wide and extensive the fandom gets.
The highlight of the booth was the Beyblade XR stadium, which had previously only been available in Japan. On top of that, we had the opportunity to check out some influencers play a few matches as well as some master bladers show off their skills and technique.
The XR Stadium
The XR stadium was fantastic and made using Beys in real life feel like something straight out of the anime. The floor of the stadium makes use of tracking to trace lights along the path of Beys as they move around. Additionally with this tracking, any clashes or impacts between multiple Beys and visualized right on the stadium itself, essentially creating a special effects show for normal play. Finally, there is a meter which visualizes speed in real time of the current Beys in the stadium and tracks when one stops spinning or gets knocked out of the stadium.
Admittedly, I initially didn’t think this stadium would be as cool as it was. But, after using it for a while myself, I really started understanding the appeal. When you play any sort of game that also has an anime, there can be a sort of an emotional fall when the real-life experience doesn’t come close to living up to the experience characters in anime like Beyblade have, boosted with incredible special effects and art. This stadium equalizes that a little bit and makes the real life experience ever so closer to the anime one, which was super cool to be a part of.
Appearances from Master Bladers
The booth also featured an appearance from Blader Ken, a master blader from Japan, who was an absolute treat to watch in action. I am by no means an expert (or even a novice, really) when it comes to the rules, final mechanics, or proper technique within Beyblade. Growing up, I just tried to pull the ripcords as hard as possible and build the coolest things I could with the materials I had available to me. Watching master bladers made it clear that there is some real finesse and technique; the more experienced players had everything from their stance to their angles down to a science, and watching it was quite fun.
If you’re interested in the anime, Beyblade X is set to have its U.S. broadcast premiere on Disney XD on July 13th, 2024. The show will also premiere in Canada on Cartoon Network Canada, Disney XD Canada, and Teletoon; in Australia on 9Go this July, and in New Zealand on TVNZ starting June 29, 2024. Additionally, BEYBLADE X will be streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally, with multi-language episodes set to release later this year. The series originally began airing in Japan in October of 2023.
ADK Emotions NY and T-Licensing describe the plot:
Amateur Blader Robin Kazami finds himself out of a team when he is ditched by his friends after a crushing defeat. Lucky for him, a chance encounter with former champ Jaxon Cross leads these two unlikely teammates to join forces. Jaxon intends to climb back to the top of The X under the alias “Blader X” and challenge his old teammate and current champ, Khrome Ryugu. When they find a third team member in mega-popular influencer Multi Nana-iro, the newly-formed Team Persona set their sights on going pro and claiming their spot at the top
© TOMY Company, Ltd. / Beyblade X
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