Beyblade craze grips Hong Kong as fans battle it out in malls, expos and on the streets
More than 25 years after they were first created, Beyblades are back and better than ever. And this time it’s not just the kids – adults are playing, too
It is 1pm on a sweltering Saturday inside a packed event space on the ground floor of Dragon Centre in Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po neighbourhood, but nobody is here for the mid-year sales.
Instead, dozens of children, teenagers and a surprising number of adults are pressed shoulder to shoulder around clusters of small plastic stadiums, watching pairs of clashing Beyblades, the high-performance spinning tops popularised by the eponymous anime in the early 2000s.
Across Hong Kong, Beyblades are spinning back into the mainstream with a force that has caught even seasoned toy retailers by surprise.
The competitive structure has been supercharged by official support from Takara Tomy, the Japanese manufacturer and creator of the Beyblade franchise. The brand regularly hosts official Beyblade X events and tournaments across Hong Kong, and competitors can battle in domestic qualifiers for the chance to enter the international Beyblade X Asia Championship and the World Championship.