4Kids Entertainment, the company that packaged Pokemon for the U.S. market (see 'Pokemon Packager Adds Three New Anime') has licensed Yu-Gi-Oh, the anime series/collectible card game that trumped Pokemon in Japan. The story of a shy, young boy who defeats rivals through gaming, Yu-Gi-Oh is based on the manga by Kazuki Takahashi originally serialized in Shonen Jump. A 27-episode television series and an accompanying collectible card game were hugely popular in Japan in 1998. At this time little is known about 4Kids plans to exploit Yu-Gi-Oh in the U.S. Key elements include the CCG license and an agreement to broadcast the English version of the anime series on U.S. television.
Already anime fans have a petition on the web begging 4Kids to put out an uncut version of the series on video with English subtitles and the original Japanese soundtrack. Based on the fairly extensive amount of tampering that 4Kids did with the Japanese Pokemon series, it appears unlikely that the packager will heed the fans' call to keep their hands off Yu-Gi-Oh, though rise of the DVD market at least provides some hope that the original Japanese series might eventually become available in this country in its entirety.