Directed by Satoshi Kuwabara Music by Yoshihiro Ike | Written by Kazuki Takahashi | |
Produced by Kazuki Takahashi (Executive Producer) Based on Yu-Gi-Oh!
by Kazuki Takahashi and Konami Starring Shunsuke Kazama
Kenjiro Tsuda
Hiroki Takahashi
Maki Saitō
Hidehiro Kikuchi
Rica Matsumoto
Kento Hayashi | ||
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions is a 2016 Japanese animated film, part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. The film is an original story and features Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba as its main characters. The film's story is set six months after the events of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga in Japan. In English speaking countries, the film's story is set one year after the events of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. In celebration of the film and twenty years of the franchise in general, TV Tokyo began airing a remastered digital edition of the 2000–2004 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime in Japan. The film was released in Japan on April 23, 2016 and was released on January 27, 2017 in the United States and Canada and will be released on February 2, 2017 in Australia. This will be the fourth theatrical release of a Yu-Gi-Oh! film after Yu-Gi-Oh! (1999), Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, and Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time.
Contents
Creator Kazuki Takahashi published a new one-shot manga called TRANSCEND GAME in Weekly Shōnen Jump. The two-part prologue story is set between the end of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and the beginning of The Dark Side of Dimensions. Part 1 released in the 19th issue on April 11, 2016 and Part 2 released in the 20th issue on April 18, 2016. VIZ Media's digital Weekly Shōnen Jump announced that it will publish Yu-Gi-Oh!: Transcend Game. Part 1 released in the December 19, 2016 issue. Part 2 released in the January 2, 2017 issue.
Plot
In the opening, KaibaCorp is doing research on the Millennium Puzzle. Suddenly, a mysterious cloaked man is at the underground as one of Kaiba's bodyguards Roland tells him that he is behind schedule and to start digging. A few years after the departure of the Pharaoh, Yugi Muto and his closest friends are in their final year of High School and are talking about what they will do in the future. Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba has commissioned an excavation to retrieve the disassembled Millennium Puzzle from the ruins of the Millennium chamber. The item had previously housed the soul of his rival, Atem, whom he hopes to revive in order to settle their score. The excavation is interrupted by Diva, who faces Kaiba in a game of Duel Monsters and steals two pieces of the recovered Puzzle. He keeps one fragment and gives the other to his sister Sera who passes it on to Yugi Muto, aware that he was the host of the Pharaoh.
Diva, under the alias "Aigami," forges a "friendship" with Yugi. He takes interest in Yugi's friend Ryo Bakura, whom he believes is responsible for the death of his father-like mentor, Shadi. Using his Quantum Cube, he transports Bakura to another dimension. Bakura apologizes and explains that the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring had been responsible. The two are interrupted by Mani, who has become warped by the evil energies of the Millennium Ring.
Kaiba has a computer rebuild the Millennium Puzzle and discovers the last two pieces are missing. He abducts Aigami and approaches Yugi, so he can have the two take part in the showcasing of his updated Duel Disk virtual reality technology. He intends to duel both Aigami and Yugi, while gambling their pieces of the puzzle. However, Yugi is furious with Aigami over what he did to Bakura and insists he duel him instead, which Kaiba agrees to.
Yugi defeats Aigami, resulting in Bakura's return to reality, and while dueling Kaiba, Yugi re-completes the Millennium Puzzle to demonstrate that the spirit of Atem is no longer inside it. Aigami becomes corrupted by the incredible evil powers of the Millennium Ring and duels both Yugi and Kaiba. Kaiba sacrifices himself during the Duel and makes a final plea for Yugi to call forth Atem. Yugi succeeds in doing so, and he and Atem defeat Aigami with ease. Atem and the Millennium Puzzle then fade away, and Kaiba and Bakura return to reality.
The film concludes with Yugi and his best friends seeing Anzu off at the airport as she goes off to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer in New York City while Kaiba uses his technology in conjunction with the Quantum Cube to transport his consciousness to the Netherworld, where he approaches Pharaoh Atem, sitting on his throne, who responds with a confident smile.
Production
The film was announced in the West prior to its announcement in Japan. 4K Media Inc. revealed the film's existence on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! website, teasing that the movie was already in development in Japan and that they were shopping for a distributor in all non-Asian territories. The film's teaser trailer was first shown in a panel featuring Kazuki Takahashi at San Diego Comic-Con 2015. It was later uploaded to the official yugioh.com YouTube channel. Original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga creator Kazuki Takahashi personally drew the keyframes for one of the film's sequences.
The film was released in theaters in Japan on April 23, 2016, later receiving 4DX and MX4D screenings on September 24, 2016. The film raised more than 1billion yen (approx. $1.2million USD) in the Japanese box office. The film will release on DVD and Blu-ray on March 8, 2017 in Japan. The Yu-Gi-Oh! Transcend Game manga will be bundled with the release.
4K Media held a contest in August 2016 offering fans the chance to provide voices for the English-language release of the film. The film received limited screenings in North America from January 27, 2017 to February 9, 2017, offering limited edition trading cards for attendees, while Manga Entertainment screened the film in the United Kingdom in February 2017. Manga Entertainment will release the film on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on May 29, 2017.
Reception
The Dark Side of Dimensions opened on 137 theaters and debuted at #6 in the Japanese box office charts, earning 133,010,600 yen(about $1,200,000) in its first weekend. The film earned over 800,000,000 yen(about $7,500,000) after its screenings ended. During its 4DX and MX4D screenings, the film has earned 1,000,000,000 yen(about US $9,000,000). In the United Kingdom the film grossed about $141,065 on the 3 February 2017, Australia earned about $119,247 on the 6 February 2017 and New Zealand earned $16,680 on Opening Weekend in total its $507,568.