TOMY has been making toys in Japan since the 1920s. The company is now betting that a four-day pop-culture convention in Los Angeles can do what decades of retail distribution could not: make its full brand lineup a household name in the United States. Anime Expo 2026, running July 2 through July 5, will be the stage.
TOMY plans to bring BEYBLADE X, Licca-chan, and Gacha to the show floor. The company calls this push an effort to share its “Asobi” — the Japanese word for the spirit of play — with American fans.
This is not a small booth rental. It is a strategic bet on a specific audience. Anime Expo draws tens of thousands of attendees who already consume Japanese media.
They watch anime. They read manga.
They buy merchandise. TOMY is not trying to sell these people on Japanese pop culture. That battle is won.
The company is trying to sell them on TOMY as the source of it. BEYBLADE X is the obvious draw. The spinning-top battle franchise has been a global phenomenon for two decades.
Kids know it. Parents remember it.
Licca-chan, a fashion doll line that launched in 1967, is less known in the U.S. but is a staple in Japan. Gacha, the capsule-toy vending machine brand, turns a quarter-buy into a blind-box gamble. All three brands have strong followings in Japan.
The question is whether that popularity transfers. TOMY has a century of experience making toys.
It has distribution deals. It has licensing agreements. What it has lacked in the U.S. is direct fan engagement.
Anime Expo changes that. A fan can walk up to a TOMY booth, spin a BEYBLADE X top, see a Licca-chan display, or buy a Gacha capsule. That physical encounter matters.
It builds brand loyalty in a way a store shelf cannot. The timing is deliberate.
Anime Expo 2026 is set for early July. That is summer blockbuster season. It is also the lead-in to the holiday shopping cycle.
TOMY can use the expo to generate buzz, then capitalize on it with retail partners later in the year. The company is not just attending a convention.
It is launching a sustained campaign to capture a share of the North American toy market that has long been dominated by Hasbro, Mattel, and Bandai Namco. Licca-chan is a particularly interesting case. The doll has competed with Barbie in Japan for decades.
In the U.S., Barbie is a juggernaut. Licca-chan is a challenger. TOMY is betting that the anime-adjacent aesthetic of Licca-chan — smaller, cuter, more stylized — will appeal to the same fans who collect anime figurines.
It is a narrow lane, but a loyal one. Gacha is another angle.
The capsule-toy model has exploded in the U.S. in recent years. Blind boxes, mystery bags, surprise toys — the mechanics are everywhere. TOMY owns the original format.
Anime Expo gives the company a chance to show American consumers the authentic version, not a licensed knockoff. The company’s press materials emphasize “Asobi” as a core philosophy.
It is not just a marketing slogan. TOMY has used the concept to define its product design for generations. Bringing that to the U.S. means more than translating packaging.
It means recreating the experience of play that Japanese kids have grown up with. Anime Expo 2026 will be the test. If TOMY can convert a fraction of the convention audience into repeat buyers, the regional expansion plan works.
If not, the company will have to rethink its approach. For now, the bet is on the fans.
They showed up for Pokémon. They showed up for Gundam. TOMY is betting they will show up for BEYBLADE X, Licca-chan, and Gacha too.
