Beyblade and Counterfeits

A guide to spotting counterfeits in Beyblade

Counterfeits have flooded the Beyblade market for years. From toxic to extremely fragile, fakes are cheap but also very poor in quality, and sometimes even dangerous. Imports from Japan can come with very high customs fees, which is why authentic Takara Tomy models can be relatively expensive in Europe.

Counterfeits spread across this market by offering products that look identical to Takara Tomy models at a much lower price.

Unfortunately, counterfeits are made of very low-quality materials that can break on the very first launch, ruining the experience of this exciting game that is Beyblade.

A warning for your safety and the safety of others

Picking the cheapest item is tempting, but it will break so quickly that it isn't worth it. The plastic parts, as well as the metal ones, of a counterfeit can break very quickly. It can happen suddenly: they can crack and shatter as soon as they land in the stadium, sending pieces of plastic and metal flying in every direction. This isn't just a disappointing purchase, it carries a real degree of danger.

What's more, the plastic and metal parts of a fake Beyblade can contain high levels of toxic substances, from antimony to lead and many others. For your safety and that of those close to you, avoid counterfeits.

In this article, we will give you some practical tips for avoiding counterfeit Beyblades when you are looking for a model, and we will also show you how to make sure the product you received is a genuine Takara Tomy Beyblade.

How to avoid counterfeits

This guide applies to both Beyblade Burst and Beyblade X

1) Check the Beyblade's brand, and look for the Takara Tomy (or Hasbro) brand

The only official Beyblade brands are Takara Tomy and Hasbro, so first of all, whichever shop you are browsing, you need to look for and check the brand shown on the product page. It may sound silly, but you can find photos of authentic tops alongside brands such as: Beyblade Burst, Burst Gyro, StormGyro, Eito, Mlywd, etc.

The brand shown should never be anything other than Takara Tomy or Hasbro. Even "Beyblade Burst" or "Beyblade X" isn't enough; on the contrary, it is often a sign of a counterfeit. Beyblade Burst and Beyblade X, for example, are names of Beyblade generations, not brands.

2) Look at the packaging

Next, if possible, you can check the Beyblade's packaging for the following things:

1. The Takara Tomy brand

2. The original Beyblade logo (usually replaced by a stylized "Gyro-something")

3. The serial number, though it may be covered by a label/barcode.

Takara Tomy serial numbers

Takara Tomy serial numbers should look like this: E1621. This number tells you the production date of the Beyblade. The letter corresponds to the month of production: A for January, B for February, and so on. The first two-digit number corresponds to the day of production, and the second and last two-digit number corresponds to the year of production.

Going back to our example, with the serial number E1621, you can read it like this: E/16/21
E = May / 16 = the 16th / 21 = 2021. The production date of this Beyblade is therefore May 16, 2021.

Don't be afraid of the green elephant, it's not a sign of a counterfeit

You may own or be looking at a Beyblade package that has everything it should (brand, logo, serial number), but something bothers you: there is a green elephant logo right next to the Takara Tomy one. Everything is fine; it simply means this is an authentic Takara Tomy top produced for the South Korean market.

The green elephant is the logo of the company Young Toys, the official Beyblade distributor in South Korea. Everything written on the packaging and in the instructions is in Korean instead of Japanese, and that is the only difference from the Japanese models. That said, some packs or recolored parts are sometimes distributed exclusively in South Korea.

How can you make sure a Beyblade is authentic?

Usually, with the Beyblade Burst generations as well as Beyblade X, if the packaging is authentic, the top is too. Unfortunately, longtime players know about what are called "mid-fakes", which were relatively common during the Metal generation: the packaging looks authentic, but the model inside is a counterfeit. If you are in doubt and want to make sure your Beyblade is authentic, you can follow these steps:

1) Look at the screws

Only Tri-Wing or Headless (no head) screws are used on authentic Takara Tomy Beyblades. The presence of any other type of screw indicates a counterfeit. Flip the layer of a Beyblade over to see which type of screw is used.

In the photo above, you can see an Infinite Achilles layer on the left, with headless screws. On the right is the Revive Phoenix layer, with tri-wing screws. Only tri-wing and headless screws are authentic.

Now let's look at a comparison between an authentic one and a counterfeit:

If you look at the photo above, it shows an authentic Revive Phoenix layer on the left, which you can spot right away thanks to its tri-wing screws. On the right, the screws used are neither tri-wing nor headless, so it is a fake Revive Phoenix.

2) Check the Performance Tip

There is always copyright information and a "Made in Vietnam" inscription on the top of an authentic driver. If you look at the tip, you will see two flat-head screws (one on each side of the tip). Takara Tomy only uses flat-head screws on Performance Tips; the presence of any other type of screw indicates a counterfeit.

Again, let's compare an authentic driver with a fake:

3) Can you rely on the weight of the components to spot a counterfeit?

No, don't judge the authenticity of your Beyblade based on its weight or that of its components. If the model you have has components that are slightly heavier or slightly lighter than the weight listed on our Wiki pages, that is normally nothing to worry about.

While Takara Tomy Beyblades are the best in terms of build quality and playability, the quality of individual parts can vary. Some components can have molding defects, free-spinning parts can spin faster or slower, and parts like Forge Discs can have different weights.

Take the "Giga" disc, for example: on the corresponding Wiki page we will publish the average weight of all the Giga discs we have, which is 32.6 grams. Your first Giga might weigh 31 grams, but the next one you get might weigh 33 grams, for instance. In Beyblade, a 2-gram difference starts to be significant, which is why competitive players buy the same model many times over: they are simply trying to optimize their combos by picking the heaviest component available to them each time.

So don't worry too much about the weight of components; just remember that as a general rule, the heavier a part is, the better it is in terms of raw performance.

Let it rip!

And that's about it. You now know the essentials for making an informed purchase and making sure that the models you own, and the ones you pick up in the future, are genuine Takara Tomy. Now you can play Beyblade with peace of mind, and have fun!