Is Beyblade actually a sport? I wrote a 100 page article to answer this question. Get early access now.

20+ years experience. Across 4 generations of Beyblade.

1100+ tournament match wins. 400+ losses.

100+ events organized.

26 tournaments in 2023. 1 year in Japan.

I’ve experienced it all to be able to answer this age-old question: “Is Beyblade actually a sport?”.

At 35,000 words this article is the longest, most comprehensive piece ever written for BeyBase. Find out what it’s about, how to get early access, and what you’ll learn below. I am so excited to share it with you.

Perception of Beyblade as a “sport” or as a “toy” has been inconsistent worldwide, throughout history.

But this question is of particular significance with the recent launch of Beyblade X.

Takara Tomy has demonstrated a focus towards building Beyblade as a sport. Whereas Hasbro’s direction seems somewhat unclear.

To help offer my own answer, I reflect on:

1. Beyblade’s history and brand messaging
2. My two decades of experience as a competitive Beyblade player. Including the entirety of 2023, which I spent living and competing in Japan.

What you’ll learn

Read the excerpts from the article below for a taste of what you can expect to learn:

Article Excerpts

How Beyblade is perceived

When considering the history of Beyblade and the greater context of all spinning top games, the answer to this question remains unclear. It has straddled the line between being viewed merely as a toy, game of chance, and a competitive game over and over again. It seems it depends on who you ask.

Blader Kei

The history of competitive Beyblade

It seems that for both Takara-Tomy and Hasbro as far as the “toy” versus “competitive game” status of the brand, they are never committed to one or the other.

They use the “toy” angle and “competitive” angle as they see fit at any given moment”.

For what it’s worth, I believe both angles are required for the brand to survive.

Blader Kei

My history with Beyblade as a competitive player

A system which encourages perfection is not compatible with Beyblade.

Beyblade requires a combination of preparation, knowledge, skill, and luck. The luck element means that there are times when you will lose even when you’ve done the three other things as well as you possibly could to reduce the luck element.

To punish players based on individual match losses seemed wrong to me. Psychologically, a ranking system that gates growth behind decline is tough to grapple with as you climb the ladder.

There are positives to negative reinforcement in this way as it forces you to become better. But once you reach the top of a system like this which is never-ending, there’s nowhere to go.

Blader Kei, reflecting on his feelings about ranking systems which encourage perfection

How I define success

Now, I don’t aim to shoot the Beyblade into the stadium to try and win. I don’t aim to “hit the target”, so to speak.

Doing so amplifies the possibility of making mistakes. And mental anguish. Because you are focusing on the external result: the battle.

The battle is dependent on complex movements of a top that are out of your direct control.

The actions of your opponent are also out of your control.

I aim to shoot the Beyblade beautifully.

Blader Kei, reflecting on drawing a connection between Beyblade and kyudo

A detailed breakdown of my experience in 26 tournaments throughout 2023

I started to question why I was putting myself through such harsh competitive conditions.

But that’s really the point of it all ultimately.

I felt this loss more deeply than some of the biggest losses I’ve experienced over the past 20 years I’ve participated in Beyblade tournaments.

It’s only through experience that we can grow. And it is through enduring harsh conditions that our experience can be heightened. We feel the weight of every decision and every outcome so much more acutely.

What I needed was not just love for the game or a desire to win, but the will to persevere.

Blader Kei, reflecting on his loss at the Beyblade X-Treme Cup G2 Fukuoka tournament

A mental framework which frames how I think about the game as a player

This is all to say that not only is setting a goal important, but evaluating the purpose and meaning behind that goal is too.

There are some things you can only feel or understand once you have achieved them yourself. 

And it is at moments of achievement that it becomes critical for us to celebrate and then re-evaluate what we are doing and where our journey should take us next.

My take on whether Beyblade is actually a sport

Yet, even I have struggled at times in the past, asking myself “Is it okay to take this seriously?”.

To most people around me, Beyblade was just a “toy”.

I saw things like eSports on the rise or even the existence of legitimate worldwide competitive play for card games like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic: The Gathering. It made me wonder “Does Beyblade not deserve to be there too?”.

The answer until now has been a “No”, at least on a worldwide scale.

Blader Kei

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Your support means everything.

This article represents a big part of my life and experience as a Beyblade player. The investment required to produce it was immense. It’s 35,000 words. Or 100 pages long.

So, I’d like to use this opportunity to humbly ask for your support in return before sharing it with everyone.

You support will enable me to fund improvements to BeyBase.com. This includes things like:

1. Improving technical performance to create a better reading experience for readers like you.
2. Commissioning a photographer when necessary for articles.
3. Commissioning a writer, editor, or article builder to help maintain or increase our production rate.

This in turn brings BeyBase closer to achieving its ultimate goal: helping people to “become a better Blader”.

This article is of great significance to me personally and I am so excited to share it with all of you.

Competitive players. Casual players. Non-players. No matter how you engage–or even if you don’t–with Beyblade, my hope is that this article can inspire you to appreciate it on a deeper level moving forward.

Thank you for your support!

– Blader Kei