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Bandai Hyper Dragon

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The Hyper Dragon (Japanese: ハイパードラゴン) is a yo-yo produced in collaboration with Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic) and released in Japan by Bandai in December 1998 for its Hyper Yo-Yo line as a tie-in with the manga/anime, Chousoku Spinner (Japanese: 超速スピナー, a.k.a. Super Yo-Yo).


General Overview[]

The Hyper Dragon is a modular yo-yo that can be customized by the user for different styles of play, with a variety of components to choose from. When one customizes his Hyper Dragon yo-yo to the desired settings, he/she can lock the components in place with the Dragon Tool, which can also be used to take apart the yo-yo. Each Hyper Dragon yo-yo generally consists of these parts;

  • Body: The body halves of the yo-yo, containing the starburst response system, as well as the areas where the Frame Caps can be attached. They are usually sold separately as standalone components (see Accessories in the Product Listings below). The shape determines the yo-yo's playing style, ranging from looping, string play, and even offstring play. There is also a body that turns the Hyper Dragon into a metal yo-yo similar to the Tom Kuhn Silver Bullet 2 and the ProYo Cold Fusion. It also has pegs to where the Weights could be attached.
  • Weights: These rim weights attach to the pegs on the body halves and add to the weight of the yo-yo. They are sold separately as standalone components and are optional, but are vital for customizations nonetheless. They are made of plastic or plastic with metal rims. These parts can also be used in the later Hyper Dragoon Pro.
  • Metal Axle: The shaft in the center of the yo-yo, to which the Body halves, Bearing, and Frame Caps (see below) are attached. Has an oblong-shaped cross-section to prevent attached parts from turning around the axle. Only one variation of the Metal Axle exists, which means the gap width of the yo-yo could not be customized. It is also sold separately as a standalone component.
  • Bearing: The unit which allows the yo-yo to spin when thrown down. Most complete Hyper Dragon yo-yos come with a Nylon Bearing out of the box. The Nylon Bearing also comes with a metal Prop Ring, which attaches to the Metal Axle, therefore allowing the Nylon Bearing to spin freely around the Prop Ring. The Nylon Bearing was also available for purchase as a standalone component, as well as the Metal Bearing, which is a precision ball bearing. The Metal Bearing can also be used in the Hyper Dragoon series. Also sold was the Non-Slip Bearing, which makes the yo-yo act like a fixed-axle model.
  • Frame Caps: These side caps attach to the sides of the Body halves, and the most important component; it has the mechanism that can be used to lock the components of the yo-yo in place with the Dragon Tool. Consists of an aluminum frame with a clear plastic lens, along with nylon Z-locking mechanism. Frame caps are not sold separately as standalone components, and can only be bought in complete yo-yo sets.

The basic form of the Hyper Dragon out of the box features the Normal Body (in blue), Metal Axle, Frame Caps, and Nylon Bearing with Prop Ring. In this configuration, it performs like a lightweight Yomega Fireball.

Criticism[]

While the idea of a customizable yo-yo was amazing for its time, some people had viewed the customization aspect of the Hyper Dragon as something of a novelty. The Z-locking mechanism serves more of an aesthetic purpose to make it look more mechanical and sophisticated, rather than being actually practical, as evidenced by the more intuitive design of the Hyper Dragoon Pro, which simply used two screws to hold the body and caps in place. The holes in the body halves where the metal axle is attached have a little play, which affects performance a little bit.

Along with that, the yo-yo had longevity issues, especially where the clear plastic lens of the aluminum Frame Caps tended to get cracked. Future models of the Hyper Dragon such as the Hyper Dragon Fire and Hyper Dragon Aqua addressed this issue by changing the material of the covering to opaque plastic, making them more durable to a certain extent. However, the opaque plastic hides the Z-locking mechanism, making it less visually interesting.

Also, since the yo-yo wasn't designed to be twisted apart, there is also the possibility of damaging the oblong holes of the plastic body parts by someone unaware of how the locking mechanism works.

Special Variants[]

There exists a basic Hyper Dragon set with clear red Normal Body parts and translucent black Frame Caps.

Parts Details[]

Body[]

  • Normal Body Set - The default body of the Hyper Dragon, which has a modified shape. Weighs 26 grams (13g x 2 halves). Comes in various clear colors; The ones that are sold separately come in clear colorless, clear yellow, and clear red.
  • String Play Type Body Set - Has a butterfly V-shaped gap similar to the Yomega "Stealth/Saber Wing" series. Weighs 22 grams (11g x 2 halves). Clear green color.
  • Control Loop Body Set - Has a modified shape but with sharper edges on the gap to make controlling loops easier. Weighs 28 grams (14g x 2 halves). Clear black color.
  • Soft Ring Body Set - Same shape as the Normal Body but with rubber rings attached to the outer circumference of the yo-yo halves. It causes less pain when catching, but has the downside of potentially slowing down the yo-yo much faster or snagging when the string rubs against the rubber rings. Weighs 30 grams (15g x 2 halves). Clear blue color with yellow rubber rings.
  • Heavy Metal Body Set - Made of die-cast aluminum, it has a rounded shape with a thin V-shaped gap. Its heavy weight makes longer sleep times possible. Weighs 48 grams (24g x 2 halves). Unpainted.
  • String Play Type Body Set 2 - Has a shallower V-shaped gap than the previous String Play Type Body. The weight around the circumference is increased, resulting in more stable sleep. Weighs 34 grams (17g x 2 halves). Clear purple color.
  • Offstring Play Type Body Set - Has a butterfly shape and rubber shells intended to protect the yo-yo from fall damage, which makes it suitable for offstring play. However, since the Hyper Dragon itself had longevity issues, it was not a popular choice for offstring play. Weighs 36 grams (18g x 2 halves). Opaque yellow color with gray rubber shells.

Weights[]

  • Rearrange Weight Set 5g - Yellow plastic rings. Weighs 2.5g x 2 pieces.
  • Rearrange Weight Set 7g - Thicker green plastic rings. Weighs 3.5g x 2 pieces.
  • Heavy Weight Set 10g - Blue plastic with aluminum rings. Weighs 5g x 2 pieces.
  • Heavy Weight Set 15g - Blue plastic with steel rings. Weighs 7.5g x 2 pieces.

Bearing[]

  • Nylon Bearing Set - The default bearing of the Hyper Dragon, it includes a metal Prop Ring, which attaches to the Metal Axle, therefore allowing the Nylon Bearing to spin freely around the Prop Ring.
  • Non-slip Bearing Set - A nylon bearing with an oblong-shaped hole which attaches to the Metal Axle. Used for fixed-axle play.
  • Metal Bearing Set - Small metal ball bearing with brass spacers designed specifically for the Hyper Dragon.

Product listings[]

Complete Yo-yos[]

Accessories[]

Official Description[]

Hyper Dragon (1998)[]

Type ꚙ - Infinite Type. Diameter about 59mm. Weight about 48 grams.

Hyper Dragon is a Hyper Yo-Yo born from Matsushita Electric Group's material processing technology, sophisticated design technology, and shaping technology. With modification parts, you can freely tune up to the setting for all kinds of tricks.

Gallery[]

TV ad[]

【CM】ハイパーヨーヨー_ハイパードラゴンシリーズ【1999年】

【CM】ハイパーヨーヨー ハイパードラゴンシリーズ【1999年】

TV commercial for the Hyper Dragon series from January 1999. Video by studless

Trivia[]

  • The Hyper Dragon retailed for 2200 yen, which is the same price as a Hyper Brain. However, because of their collectability due to their appearance in the anime, as well as their fragility when used, complete sets in mint condition go for over 10000 yen in the second-hand market.
  • The Hyper Dragon was prominently featured in the anime and manga series, Chousoku Spinner, where Shunichi Domoto used it to compete in the Japan Yo-Yo Championship.
  • The concept of a customizable yo-yo by Bandai returns in 2011's HyperCluster series. Similarly, Yomega, whose products were also distributed in Japan as part of the Hyper Yo-Yo range, released their own modular yo-yo line in 2012, dubbed Yo-Mods.


External Link(s)[]

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