Beyblade X Executive Producer Reveals Favorite Character

Beyblade X’s Executive Producer, Katsuhito Akiyama, recently revealed his favorite character from the Beyblade franchise. Fans adore Akiyama for directing widely released animated TV shows, including Thundercats and all seven seasons of Beyblade Burst. His latest project, Beyblade X, launched on Disney XD in July 2024 and streams on Netflix and Hulu.

The fourth-generation Beyblade anime significantly changes presentation and game mechanics. For instance, Beyblade X’s main characters are older than their counterparts in Beyblade Burst and compete professionally in the pro league. The new anime also abandons Beyblade Burst’s colorful fantasy world for an on-trend aesthetic mirroring modern mangas like Dandadan and Jujutsu Kaisen, which dress their casts in Japanese streetwear. Regarding blade mechanics, X swaps out the complex Burst system for a new iteration emphasizing efficiency and higher speeds.

Katsuhito Akiyama Loves This Beyblade Character

In an interview published by ADK Emotions NY on Anime News Network, Akiyama states, “It’s really hard to pick a favorite character, but I especially love Multi Nana-iro and I think BEYBLADE fans will too!” The EP cites his reasons for loving Beyblade X’s new character, including his admiration for her adaptability and tenacity. He also hints at prominent developments for Multi in Beyblade X’s future, encouraging fans to continue watching.

Multi Nana-iro, Beyblade X’s tritagonist, greatly reflects the new series’s artistic direction. The influencer with over 10 million followers is a Beyblade pro who quickly changes into various outfits depending on the Beyblade she uses. These outfits include a Japanese idol costume (featuring a corset, bow, and ruffled skirt) and a magician’s outfit (top hat, cape, and all). Multi certainly leans into Akiyama’s vision of a fashion-forward TikTok-inspired Beyblade.

What is Beyblade X About?

The Beyblade series follows various bladers who battle with spinning tops called “Beys.” Beys come in multiple types and boast unique skills. For instance, the blue dragon Bey, called “Dran Sword,” has stellar attack abilities. In Beyblade X, a blader wins when their Bey knocks the opponent’s Bey out of the ring.

Beyblade X focuses on Team Persona, a ragtag group of ambitious bladers fighting to go pro. Robin Kazami, an amateur blader who traveled to Xenon City to compete in the pro league, gets abandoned by his teammates after a crushing defeat. Fortunately, he gets recruited to Team Persona by Blader X (a pro blader named Jaxon Cross in disguise). The duo encounters Multi Nana-iro, who impresses Jaxon during a pro selection match, leading to her addition, thus completing the Team Persona’s trio.

Multi Nana-iro’s Inclusion Embraces Female Fans

Still, reducing Multi Nana-iro to a Gen-Z sales gimmick is inaccurate. Many lifelong Beyblade fans are embracing Multi’s inclusion in the franchise. Beyblade devotees note that past iterations have placed male protagonists on a pedestal while relegating female bladers to minor roles. However, Multi is a blader who holds her own (if not outperforms) her male peers. Akiyama’s statement suggests he shares the enthusiasm held by a neglected community of Beyblade fans who finally feel welcome in the community.

So, why does Akiyama encourage fans to “stay tuned”? One Redditor theory offers an exciting possibility for Multi Nana-iro’s future in the series. Akiyama refers to Multi as the “Rainbow Blader,” and ‘nanairo’ translates to ‘seven-colored.’ This theory suggests that Multi will eventually wield seven Beys, one for each color of the rainbow (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet).

Source: Anime News Network, Reddit

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Beyblade X

Release Date

October 6, 2023

Directors

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Katsuhito Akiyama, Moto Terada

Writers

Kazuho Hyodo

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