BEYBLADE X Team on the X Dash and Surpassing Burst
The interview lays out the design logic behind the X Dash and the team's aim to turn BEYBLADE into a competitive sport, backed by first-year domestic sales that tripled the prior generation.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
At Anime Expo, the BEYBLADE X team discussed the design of the X Dash mechanic, which accelerates a top when a gear on its tip engages with rails inside the stadium. Marketing and Product Group General Manager Hisato Takaoka said the goal was to surpass the Burst mechanic of the prior generation and push BEYBLADE toward a competitive, sports-like experience. First-year domestic sales in Japan were three times those of Burst.
BEYBLADE X has been a regular at Anime Expo since its 2023 debut, and this year the booth brought movement-tracking XR Stadium battles alongside TAKARATOMY's Licca-chan and Gacha lines. The interview with Division Head Masahiko Yamazaki, Marketing and Product Group General Manager Hisato Takaoka, and Design Team Assistant Manager Hiroki Kusayama covered the brand's development and its multigenerational pull. Takaoka described the pressure to follow Burst, the third generation whose signature mechanic let players break apart opponents' tops, and the trial and error behind the X Dash, which accelerates a top when a gear on its tip catches the stadium's rails. The team wanted BEYBLADE to read as a competitive sport rather than a toy line.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network The Power of Spin - An Interview with the BEYBLADE X Team