New Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime Series Coming in 2017
By Dalton Cooper 19 December 2016
A brand new Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series is coming to Tokyo TV in 2017, with Yusaku Fujiki as the protagonist, and the potential for tie-in digital trading card games.
A decade ago, one would have been hardpressed to find an anime series as popular as Yu-Gi-Oh! The anime was a hit with kids all over the world, in turn making the trading card game wildly popular. Even though the trading card game is still regularly seen at tournaments and Konami is still pumping out new video games every year, Yu-Gi-Oh! seems like it was eclipsed in popularity by other franchises. Well, Yu-Gi-Oh! may just come back into the limelight next year, as it’s getting a brand new anime series.
Details on the new Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series are scarce, but a few tidbits have been revealed so far. As reported by CrunchyRoll and the franchise’s official Twitter page, the new Yu-Gi-Oh! series will be about children following their dreams, which will be a central theme for new main character Yusaku Fujiki.
Those that want to follow Fujiki’s adventures will have to tune in to Tokyo TV in Japan this spring, though a subtitled version will likely be made available on streaming services in other regions. Further details on the new Yu-Gi-Oh! series, like the show’s title, other characters besides Fujiki, new monsters, or even the plot, are unknown at this time – though we imagine it will be about Fujiki and his friends battling each other in high stakes card games.
With a new Yu-Gi-Oh! series on the way in 2017, fans can expect Konami to put out a new game based on the show. Whether or not it joins the ranks of other great anime games is more of an unknown, but if it does release, it will be releasing at an ideal time for the collectible card game genre.
From an Elder Scrolls spinoff to the persistent popularity of Blizzard’s Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, virtual trading card games are all the rage nowadays. With its added television presence, a new Yu-Gi-Oh! game could have a unique advantage over the competition, potentially stealing a decent chunk of the market in the process.
Before fans get excited about a new Yu-Gi-Oh! game, though, they may want to wait and see how successful the new TV show is. Even though Konami has consistently put out a new Yu-Gi-Oh! game basically every year since the late 1990s, there’s a couple of roadblocks that could keep a new game from hitting store shelves.
For one, the TV show could flop, which could kill interest in a new game. Secondly, Konami seems like it is moving away from game development, losing Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima and releasing pachinko machines over new AAA games. While Konami has denied this, its behavior over the last couple of years definitely seems to point to it transitioning from traditional gaming to its other, more profitable ventures.
The new Yu-Gi-Oh! TV series will premiere in spring of 2017.
