'Yu-Gi-Oh!' Reveals New Merchandising Plans
Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the most popular anime, manga, and game franchises in Japan and the world at [...]
Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the most popular anime, manga, and game franchises in Japan and the world at large, and it's about to spread its reach even farther as the series announce brand new advertising and merchandising deals bringing the series to even more territories.
4K Media Inc, a subsidiary of Konami Digital Entertainment announced new deals for merchandise in the United States, Italy, France, and even more countries.
According to a new report from Anime News Network, available in Italy, Vatican State, Republic of San Marino and Canton Ticino, is Mondadori's Italian language version of the "Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Handbook." The electronics company caseable is producing a series of covers and cases based on the series for release in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.
In France, merchandiser Cotton Division is working on "Yu-Gi-Oh!-branded apparel, sleepwear, bags and phone covers, available fall 2018 in France, French DOM-TOM, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy and Portugal."
As the series celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year it's more popular than ever. For 4K Media to see the popularity and provide brand new goods for fans is both a good business decision, and a fun one for collectors. Some collectors have made the merchandise even more valuable than ever, with some of the rarest cars in the trading card game selling for ridiculous amounts.
For those unfamiliar with Yu-Gi-Oh!, the series was originally created by Kazuki Takahashi. It ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump from September 1996 to March 2004. The series follows Yugi Mutou, a young boy who solves an ancient puzzle and is possessed by the spirit of the Egyptian pharoah. Being skilled at deadly games, the Pharoah goes on to create and solve problems for Yugi based on deadly games of chance.
Two anime series were created for the series, but the one most fans will recognize is Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters was the first arc in the story to focus on the "Duel Monsters" card game and was the first season licensed for an English language release by 4Kids Entertainment. The first season of the series, which fans often dub as "Season 0," was more focuses on deadly games of chance with horrible consequences. It's a darker season of the series featuring many changes from the series' identity later on.