There's No Age Limit to Asobi - An Interview with TAKARATOMY CEO & President Akio Tomiyama

Over the past three years, the BEYBLADE X toy brand and an accompanying sea of packed beystadiums have become an Anime Expo weekend staple. But this year, the storied Japanese toy company behind the beys, TAKARATOMY, three-upped itself with a huge exhibition featuring not only BEYBLADE X, but their Licca-chan and Gacha brands. Through this, congoers had the opportunity to play with these toys for themselves rather than just look at product samples stored in a glass case. According to TAKARATOMY CEO and President Akio Tomiyama, that's exactly what he intended to do—tapping into a Japanese concept known as “Asobi” or “the spirit of play.”

Asobi serves as the company's guiding light across everything they produce—from products aimed squarely at children to their high-end, adult-collector-focused efforts. As someone who has received so much joy from TAKARATOMY's toys since childhood—be it the TRANSFORMERS or a BEYBLADE—I found myself champing at the bit when given the chance to speak with Tomiyama-san just after Anime Expo wrapped. Over the course of our chat, we talked about TAKARATOMY's presence at the show, the legacies of their most popular brands, and how the company has adapted to deal with many global trends and uncertainties. However, no matter what we spoke of, it always came back to that keyword: Asobi.

Disclaimer: This interview has been edited for clarity.

Congratulations on another successful exhibition at Anime Expo, Tomiyama-san. This year featured Licca-chan's first appearance at the show, and I was curious about how TAKARATOMY is positioning the brand for success in North America's very competitive doll market. Does part of this strategy involve partnerships with other brands like the Hatsune Miku x Licca-chan collaboration or a focus on products that appeal to older doll enthusiasts?

Akio Tomiyama: Amid growing global interest in Japanese culture, we aim to bring Japanese “kawaii” culture to North American audiences through Licca-chan. As a doll that embodies Japanese “kawaii” culture, we will continue to develop collaborations with IPs like Hatsune Miku and offer dolls with designs that appeal to adults as well.

Touching on the Gacha brand, what has it been like for TAKARATOMY to bring the very specific joy of capsule toys to new consumers around the world? As a fan of capsule toys myself, there's nothing quite like throwing a little change into the machine, twisting the handle, and discovering the toy that's popped out.

Tomiyama: Gacha is a cultural phenomenon that originally came to Japan from the United States and has evolved in a uniquely Japanese way. In addition to the excitement of not knowing what will come out, I believe the experience of inserting a coin and turning the handle is part of its appeal. We aim to deliver gacha to the world not merely as machines, but as “experiential content.”

You've spoken previously about how Asobi sits at the center of TAKARATOMY's mission, and I can't think of a brand that exemplifies that ethos better than BEYBLADE X. The brand's core play pattern is welcoming and exciting to audiences of all ages, even if they're not familiar with the anime series. With all that said, how has TAKARATOMY bolstered the brand's strength as it's evolved over the past 25 years?

Tomiyama: “BEYBLADE” battling tops are a modernized version of the traditional Japanese spinning top “beigoma.” Easy to pick up and play—simply set the top in a launcher and launch it—while offering deep customization options, BEYBLADE has been embraced by fans around the world regardless of age, gender, or language. In BEYBLADE X, the introduction of the X Dash [Xtreme Dash in North America] system takes the experience to a new level, delivering faster, more dynamic, and more exhilarating battles.

Similarly, how has TAKARATOMY leveraged BEYBLADE's multigenerational appeal in the brand's current era? For example, I grew up with the original Bakuten!! Shoot [The original BEYBLADE series] toys and anime, so that nostalgia played a huge role in fostering my current love of BEYBLADE X.

Tomiyama: Since its debut in 1999, BEYBLADE has been loved by many fans for over 27 years. Today, we're seeing more cases where fans who played with the toys as children are now adults reconnecting with the brand, as well as cases where two generations—parents and children—enjoy it together. I believe this expansion of a cross-generational community is one of BEYBLADE's greatest strengths.

With BEYBLADE X's growing official presence at Anime Expo and bladers casually competing at conventions across the country, have there been any discussions between TAKARATOMY and your partners at Hasbro regarding further official events in North America? Perhaps more World Championship stops or a G1-style tournament?

Tomiyama: Expanding opportunities for Bladers around the world to participate in official tournaments is one of the key initiatives for BEYBLADE X. In 2026, we are holding regional qualifiers across North America, and the winning Bladers will compete in the BEYBLADE X GP FINAL 2026 to be held in Bangkok in December. Through these efforts, we aim to connect Bladers worldwide and further energize the global community.

Looking at recent global business challenges, how has TAKARATOMY dealt with the increasing price of doing business between recent events in the Middle East and the weakening of the Yen?

Tomiyama: We are continuously monitoring the situation in the Middle East and exchange rate fluctuations. At this time, the entire supply chain is functioning normally, and we are proceeding with price adjustments, optimization of production systems, and diversification of the supply chain as necessary.

With more and more people choosing to wait on starting a family in Japan and around the globe, how has TAKARATOMY been pivoting to meet this shifting market?

Tomiyama: We feel that the value of “Asobi” is becoming increasingly important across a wide range of generations, regardless of when people start families but also as family structures and lifestyles continue to diversify.

We have adopted the concept of “expanding the age range,” but this does not mean shifting our focus from children to adults. We aim to provide play experiences for people of all generations. Regardless of age or life stage, we want to offer play that connects people and enriches their daily lives.

In my own experiences with TAKARATOMY's T-SPARK brands like DIACLONE and TOYRISE, I've felt a bit of a pivot in action already. Specifically, these offerings are high-end collectibles for older audiences, but they haven't sacrificed the clicky, solid, tactile joy of playing with a toy. Perhaps you don't have to be as ginger in handling TOYRISE King Exkaiser as a similarly priced product from a competitor. How would you relate the T-SPARK brands to Asobi? I personally feel as if they're saying, “There's no age limit on having fun with a big clicky toy.”

Tomiyama: T-SPARK is the unified hobby brand leveraging TAKARATOMY's expertise in “transformation,” “combination,” and “articulation,” cultivated over many years of toy development. We believe there is a special kind of enjoyment that comes from physically engaging with a product—holding it in your hands, moving it, and experiencing firsthand the creativity and engineering behind its design.

Among the lineup, TOYRISE is more than just a series built around new gimmicks; it is a series created to spark imagination through the active play experiences that stimulate users' imagination. By pursuing the unique appeal of toys—such as transformation, combination, and articulation—and realizing dynamic action and diverse play value, it maximizes the joy of hands-on play.

As you've experienced, we believe that the appeal of T-SPARK products is best conveyed when people physically interact with them. That's why we place great importance on providing opportunities for as many fans as possible to see, touch, and experience our products through the events.

While we're talking about big clicky toys, let's talk a little TRANSFORMERS. TAKARATOMY'S Japanese-market TRANSFORMERS lines like WILD KING W and OVERGEAR are going in noticeably different directions compared to mainline offerings and what your partners at Hasbro are doing elsewhere. Were there trends or other elements in the market that influenced the direction of WILD KING, OVERGEAR, and similar lines like SYNERGENEX?

Tomiyama: As part of TAKARATOMY's original initiatives, we launched several new series last year. WILD KING is a series for kids that ties in with an animated show on our YouTube channel, and the products are designed to let kids enjoy activities like transforming and combining them.

OVERGEAR is a new series based on a “real-mecha” concept aimed at a new generation. It features realistic settings and designs that contrast with heroic designs, offering a concept never before seen in the TRANSFORMERS series.

Finally, SYNERGENEX is a new series we launched after T-SPARK was established, following numerous requests for collaborations with various brands and characters.

Among these, products like SHIELD-D-PRIME—which feature collaborations with our own IPs, such as ZOIDS and DIACLONE—have already been released.

For a time, TAKARATOMY was known for releasing versions of North American TRANSFORMERS figures with additional paint and details for the Japanese market. In recent years, TAKARATOMY has pivoted to releasing the unchanged North American figures for the Japanese market. What were the factors that led to this decision, and are there new factors that have now led to TAKARATOMY once again pursuing more premium releases like NEW LEGENDS, MISSING LINK, and OVERGEAR?

Tomiyama: NEW LEGENDS is a new series designed primarily to delight fans of the Beast Wars generation, reimagining characters from the past using modern technology and interpretations. While the lineup consists mainly of recolored and redecoed products, it also includes items made with new molds, such as Galvatron, and TAKARATOMY's website features a companion comic series.

MISSING LINK originated as a project to commemorate the 40th anniversary of TRANSFORMERS, featuring the first generation [G1] Convoy [Optimus Prime] in a fully posable design. It was so well-received that it was turned into a series. In addition to full articulation, the figures feature highly satisfying details—such as areas that were originally covered with stickers now being reproduced with molded parts and paint—and have been very well-received not only by fans of the original generation, but also by a new generation of fans, leading to an expanding lineup.

As mentioned earlier, OVERGEAR is a new series based on a “real-mecha” concept aimed at a new generation. In fact, we had originally been planning to launch a new series featuring collaborations with real-world vehicles for the first time in more than a decade. When the team began exploring alternative concepts, our young designer shared his strong interest in military aircraft and customized vehicles, along with an extensive collection of reference materials on the subject. That became the starting point for the project, and the team gradually expanded the idea into what eventually became OVERGEAR. The product will be released in Japan in October. In addition to the instruction manual, the set includes a booklet modeled after a classified document, making this a series with a level of ingenuity never seen before.

Looking into the future, Tomiyama-san, what are TAKARATOMY'S ambitions for Asobi around the world? Be it taking Licca-chan to a tea party, hitting up a Gacha machine, turning Optimus Prime into a cool truck, or simply letting it rip?

Tomiyama: To us, “Asobi” is not only about creating great products. It is also about creating opportunities for people to share experiences and build connections. Whether it is appreciating the “kawaii” world of Licca-chan, enjoying Gacha, transforming a TRANSFORMERS robot, or connecting with others through a BEYBLADE battle, what matters is the joy, curiosity, and sense of connection those experiences create.

As the ways people spend their time continue to diversify worldwide, we feel that “Asobi” plays an increasingly meaningful role in people's lives across generations. We hope to continue expanding the possibilities of “Asobi” through our products and sharing its essence with people around the world.