Beyblade, known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by to promote sales of spinning tops called "Beyblades" developed by Takara Tomy. The series focuses on a group of kids who form teams, which battle one another using Beyblades. Originally serialized in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic from September 1999 to July 2004, the individual chapters were collected and published in 14 tankōbon volumes and was licensed for English-language release in North America by Viz Media. An anime adaptation aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from January to December 2001 and was followed by two sequel series, Beyblade V-Force and Beyblade G-Revolution, and the 2002 film Beyblade: Fierce Battle. Nelvana licensed and produced English-language adaptations of the anime series and the film. Plot and characters Beyblade Tyson Granger is an enthusiastic young man who loves Beyblade. He begins his journey after befriending fellow Beyblade enthusiast, Kenny, and drawing the attention of Kai Hiwatari, a formidable Blader, after defeating Carlos, the leader of his neighborhood's Beyblade gang, the Blade Sharks. Tyson and Kai develop a rivalry that leads to him discovering that his Beyblade contains a Bit-Beast named Dragoon. Seeking to challenge Kai again, Tyson competes in the Japanese Regional Beyblade Qualifying Tournament and befriends fellow competitors, Ray Kon and Max Tate, both of whom possess their own Bit-Beast. After winning the tournament, Tyson goes on to form a team with Kai, Ray and Max named the Bladebreakers. Kenny tags along as their manager. The Bladebreakers tour China to register for the championships and confront the White Tigers, Ray's former team, who hold a grudge against Ray for leaving them. Toward the end of the Chinese tournament, Ray and his ex-teammates make amends, and the Bladebreakers win the tournament. After this, Tyson and his friends arrive in the United States to fight the All Starz, who are coached by Max's mother. After winning the American League, the team finds itself stranded in Europe. They tour Europe and meet Oliver, Enrique, Johnny and Robert, who go by the name Majestics. The Bladebreakers battle the Majestics and the Bladebreakers win the battle. They then go to Russia for the final tournament. In Russia, they meet Boris's team, the Demolition Boys, of which Kai was also a member of in the past. Kai had forgotten about Boris and the training grounds where he had learned almost everything he knew about Beyblading.