Viz Media has announced that it has designated Konami Digital Entertainment as the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of the Blue Dragon Trading Card Game in North America.  The Blue Dragon anime, which began running on Saturday mornings on the Cartoon Network in April, is based on the X-Box 360 game developed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy, and features character designs by Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball.  The Blue Dragon TCG is also based on the X-Box 360 videogame.

Like the videogame it is based on, the Blue Dragon anime is a classic shonen fantasy adventure filled with cool visual elements including flying air fortresses and built around a heroic mission as the Seven Soldiers of Light learn to use their Shadow powers and work together to overcome a despotic power and bring peace to their land.  In addition to its strong visual elements, the Blue Dragon TCG reportedly features “a unique dynamically advancing game mechanic.”  Any and all notes of distinction will be helpful in the highly competitive North American market for trading card games.

In addition to its many well known electronic games such as Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Dance, Dance Revolution and Castlevania, Konami has also created a number of trading card games including Yu-Gi-Oh!, which Upper Deck distributes in North America, as well as TCGs based on D. Gray-Man, MfR, Eyeshield 21, and The Prince of Tennis, which are only available in Japan.