The Ultimate Dragon
Released in 1999, the "Ultimate Dragon" was the first Beyblade put out by toy company Takara, later named Takara Tomy. This original iteration was composed of multiple parts including a “bit chip, attack ring, weight disc, spin gear, and blade base” (2001). For Beyblade battles, one or two more Beyblades would be sent spinning into a small, usually plastic, stadium, and the last top that remains spinning or that remains in the stadium wins. Following in the lineage of other Japanese toy lines like Pokémon, Beyblade has been franchised out to other media, mainly manga and anime. The first manga titled Explosive Shoot Beyblade by Takao Aoki ran from 1999-2003 and spawned three seasons of anime.