Yu-Gi-Oh! Releases Its New Anime With More on the Way

Konami has unleashed the first episode of its Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game The Chronicles web series on YouTube. The Chronicles was first announced in December 2024 and will focus on the characters from the cards rather than the duelists who play the cards. The web series continues the 25th Anniversary Video Konami released earlier in 2024, giving viewers brief spotlights on various cards in animation. The first episode of the official Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game The Chronicles anime clocks in at only 4 minutes, focusing on Sky Striker Ace, a card archetype players can use in their decks. The archetype centers around Raye, a female soldier and monster card in the main game.

A new episode of the series will be released monthly on YouTube. Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game The Chronicles is one of the first major projects produced by the recently minted Konami Animation Studio. Traditionally, the Yu-Gi-Oh anime was produced by Gallop Studio, while Konami was primarily in charge of the card game’s production and distribution. Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains was the last anime Gallop worked on; the two follow-ups, Sevens and Go Rush, were produced by Bridge. With the construction of Konami Animation, it’s theorized that the company wants to streamline the anime’s production and have all parts of the brand built under the same roof. It would be easier for the company if it didn’t need to rely so heavily on other corporations to produce animation for their Yu-Gi-Oh brand.

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What Is Sky Striker Ace in Yu-Gi-Oh?

The Chronicles episode begins in media res, with Raye flying a plane towards a mysterious armored machine in the middle of nowhere. Raye and the other Sky Striker cards can transform into different forms, as highlighted in the first Chronicles episode. Players can switch out cards to give her new abilities and build a deck around her. Raye’s lore is that she can summon and control large weapons at will, and she lives in a world inhabited by machines. In the first episode of the Chronicles anime, Raye transforms into Sky Striker Ace – Kagari, a separate type of monster in the card game. Raye, as Kagari, dives into the machine with visions of another girl named Roz appearing in her mind. Roz is another Sky Striker Ace card, and previous animations featured Raye and Roz fighting.

Raye summons a giant blade to clash with the machine’s sword. She pushes through and slices the opponent in half. Later, she returns to the rubble to find an injured Roz among the destruction. The short doesn’t give any insight or context to the situation, thrusting viewers into the middle of the conflict with little understanding about the lead characters or settings. It’s unknown if the next Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game The Chronicles episode will continue the Sky Striker story or switch to the next set of cards. Konami has already announced that the Fallen of Albaz archetype will receive focus in this season of Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game The Chronicles. Fallen of Albaz is another archetype that takes place in a different setting and lore. The archetype takes place in a fantastical world where a warrior named Ecclesia meets a humanoid dragon who becomes known as the titular Fallen of Albaz.