Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions

English name	Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions
Japanese name	遊 (ゆう) ☆戯 (ぎ) ☆王 (おう) ＴＨＥＤＡＲＫＳＩＤＥＯＦＤＩＭＥＮＳＩＯＮＳ (ザ・ダークサイド・オブ・ディメンションズ)
Rōmaji name	Yū☆Gi☆Ō Za Dākusaido Obu Dimenshonzu
Genre	Adventure, Gaming
Release dates	April 23, 2016^[1] International Late 2016^[2]
Story by	Kazuki Takahashi^[3]^[4]
Director	Satoshi Kuwabara^[5]^[6]
Character design	Kazuki Takahashi^[3]^[4]
Animation	Studio Gallop
Production	Nihon Ad Systems
Producers	Nihon Ad Systems TV Tokyo 4K Media 4kids

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions is an upcoming 2016 film, slated for release in Japan on April 23, 2016^[1] and at unspecified later dates that year worldwide.^[2] The film is an original story and features Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba as its main characters.^[7] The film's story is set after the events of the original manga.^[2]

In celebration of the film and franchise in general, TV Tokyo began airing a remastered digital edition of the 2000–2004 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime in Japan. In addition, two special manga chapters authored by Kazuki Takahashi are set to release in April 11 and April 18 in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine, which serve as a link between the end of the manga series and the film.

Summary

One whole year^[8] after the Pharaoh departed for the spirit world, Yugi Muto, Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, Duke Devlin, Ryo Bakura, and Téa Gardner have all been living their everyday lives.^{[citation needed]} However, Aigami, a mysterious new student and fellow classmate,^{[citation needed]} seems to take a special interest in Yugi. Elsewhere, in Egypt, the ruins of the shrine of the Millennium Stone are excavated, revealing the fragments of the mystical Millennium Puzzle beneath them.

Back at Domino City,^{[citation needed]} Seto Kaiba has created newly enhanced, modified duel disks; capable of producing solid holograms of the monsters its user thinks of. Yugi will face off against Kaiba for the very first time^{[citation needed]} since his separation from his "other self."

Plot

Yugioh.com article on San Diego Comic-Con

"During the panel Mr. Takahashi revealed more about the film’s story. The film takes place a year after the conclusion to Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. In addition to Yugi and Kaiba you will be seeing a lot of familiar faces on screen – characters previewed included Joey, Tristan, Tea, and even Bakura, all with updated designs."^[9]

Trivia

Yugi is still referred to as "the vessel of the Pharaoh," despite having separated from him long before.

Cast

English character name	Japanese character name	Japanese voice actor
Yugi Muto	Yugi Mutou	Shunsuke Kazama^[10]
Seto Kaiba	Seto Kaiba	Kenjiro Tsuda^[10]
Joey Wheeler	Katsuya Jonouchi	Hiroki Takahashi^[5]
Tristan Taylor	Hiroto Honda	Hidehiro Kikuchi^[5]^[6]
Téa Gardner	Anzu Mazaki	Maki Saito^[5]^[6]
Ryo Bakura	Ryo Bakura	Rica Matsumoto^[5]^[6]
Mokuba Kaiba	Mokuba Kaiba	Junko Takeuchi^[5]^[6]
Duke Devlin	Ryuji Otogi^[11]
Aigami	Aigami	Kento Hayashi^[12]
Sera	Sera	Kana Hanazawa^[13]
Mani	Mani	Satoshi Hino^[13]
	Kudaragi	Kendo Kobayashi

Design

A number of the characters and elements are given redesigns by Kazuki Takahashi, as well as new ones being introduced.

Main characters

Yugi Muto: He was drawn to look more mature and to show he inherited Dark Yugi's strength.^[14] In both the manga (which this movie is based on) and the anime, Yugi (from the top of his shown forehead, not his tall hair) is as tall as Téa's breasts, but in the second trailer, showing the two walking together in their school clothes, he has grown taller to only a few inches shorter than her throughout the time.
Seto Kaiba: His expressions are closer to the more sinister look that he had when he was first introduced.^[15]
Joey Wheeler: Joey's expression reflects the maturity he gained from his battles in the original story. As a favorite of Takahashi, he paid particular attention to giving him a nice face.^[11]
Tristan Taylor: Tristan has a much calmer expression.^[11]
Téa Gardner: Téa continued her career as a dancer after the original story. Takahashi considered this to be Téa at her cutest.^[11]
Ryo Bakura: Takahashi considered Bakura to be the most mysterious and consequently the least changed out of the major characters.^[16] He, however, now has a smoother haircut and a long shirt underneath.
Aigami: A student at Domino High School. He appears friendly with Yugi, but is actually the main antagonist.
Sera: A young girl who appears before Yugi, telling him that he is the only one who can rescue the world from an impending evil. She is later revealed to be one of the loyal minions of Aigami.
Mani: A young man of African ancestry who is also a servant of Aigami.

Cards

"Dark Magician". "Dark Magician" looks similar to it did in Duel Art. Originally, "Dark Magician" was more blue and purple than black. This was because in manga, a completely black character weighs the page down and can be difficult to deal with, but this is not a concern in movies.^[17]
New "Blue-Eyes": When designing monsters, Takahashi felt adding a lot of lines can make them look cool at the cost of quality, and that simple designs are most beautiful. However, as he was dealing with animation, lighting and other effects would bring out the differences, so he designed this "Blue-Eyes" with a style not used before.^[18]

Items

Duel Disk: The new-and-improved Duel Disk, developed by Kaiba Corporation, creates Solid Vision holograms from images in the user's brain.^[15]

Production

The film was announced in the West before it was in Japan. 4K Media revealed the film's existence on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! website. They teased that the movie was already in development in Japan and that they were shopping for a distributor in all non-Asian territories.^[19]^[7]

In Japan, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper's MAiDiGiTV streamed a video teasing the film, alongside a recap of the history of the near-twenty year franchise. Here, it was revealed that the film would feature Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba as its main protagonists.^[7]

Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump also unveiled a synopsis of the movie: "In the past, Dark Yugi and Kaiba have clashed many times! Dark Yugi, who resides in Yugi Muto's body, and Kaiba will have a Duel that bets their prides and accepts each other's mutual experience."^[7]

The forty-seventh issue of Weekly Shonen Jump unveiled two new monsters that will be played by Yugi, "Lemon Magician Girl" and "Apple Magician Girl", and specified that "Dark Magician Girl" will also be appearing. In addition, a new "Kuriboh"-like monster was shown that resembles a matryoshka.^[5]^[20]

Trailers and teasers

July 2015

劇場版『遊☆戯☆王_THE_DARK_SIDE_OF_DIMENSIONS』超特報 — 劇場版『遊☆戯☆王 THE DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS』超特報

Japanese trailer

The film's teaser trailer was first shown in a panel featuring Kazuki Takahashi at San Diego Comic-Con 2015.^[2] It was later uploaded to the official yugioh.com YouTube channel.^[4]

The trailer credits Kazuki Takahashi for the story, script, character design and as executive producer.

It features the following scenes:

A close up of the Millennium Puzzle being worn by someone
Aigami standing before a stone pillar
Tristan, Joey, Bakura and Téa standing among a crowd of people looking up anxiously
Yugi and Kaiba beginning a Duel, while wearing new Duel Disk equipment
Doors opening to a room, where Seto Kaiba stands
Yugi walking forward, with the sound of his footsteps echoing (Only his feet are shown.)
The scene changes to show Yugi, or Dark Yugi due to his apparel, from a higher level still walking forward; he is wearing his Domino High School coat as a cape and has one of the pharaoh's gold armbands on each respective upper arm.

Yu-Gi-Oh!_The_Dark_Side_of_Dimensions_Official_Teaser_Trailer_(2016_Movie)_HD — Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions Official Teaser Trailer (2016 Movie) HD

English trailer

The following text appears on-screen throughout the trailer:

Japanese

"It's been 20 years since the series began"
"After episode"
"A completely new work with an original story"
"is finally beginning."
"2016 Golden Week. A new legend starts here."

English

"The End of the Story..."
"Was Only the Beginning"
"It's Time to Duel!"
"The Legend Continues"
"2016"

The "Yu-Gi-Oh! Theme" is played at the end of the English trailer.

December 2015

Dark Side of Dimensions food vendor scene — Scene from the trailer, featuring Téa, Duke, Tristan, Yugi and Bakura

The trailer features the following scenes:

Archival footage from the anime, showing Atem passing through the door to the afterlife, while his friends watch.
Yugi and Téa walking past a flight of stairs
Joey holding Tristan in a headlock, while Tristan chokes on a sub sandwich
Bakura greeting someone while surrounded by female classmates, one of whom is offering him a gift
Téa, Duke, Tristan, Yugi and Bakura, in civilian clothing, at a table by a food vendor, gazing uncertainly at something that is happening off-screen. This is the first disclosure of Téa's ponytail haircut
Aigami wearing a Domino High School uniform while sitting by a window and then later standing, while gazing at something off-screen
A Stonehenge-like structure on a plateau above the clouds, with a pyramid structure in the background
A crowd of children with glowing yellow eyes
Aigami holding out his hand, while a levitating, rotating cube materializes above it
Someone taking a lone piece of the Millennium Puzzle from a box
Yugi wearing the headpiece of the new Duel Disk technology
Kaiba looking at the Millennium Puzzle
Scene of Kaiba's face while staring at the Puzzle as the camera pans in
Aigami's forehead beginning to glow as the camera pans in
Yugi and Kaiba are in a stadium for a Duel. Kaiba activates the head piece of his Duel Disk and Summons his "Blue-Eyes" card. A "DLS-Dimension Gauge" shows stats ATK: 2500, Spirit: 100, Duelist: Seto Kaiba. Yugi draws a card and Summons "Dark Magician".

The following dialogue is spoken:

YUGI: "After that battle, we set off to walk through our own worlds."
NARRATOR: "Settled back into their lives, a mysterious boy appears before Yugi and the others... and history will now be written anew."
YUGI: "We are guided again by the Millennium Puzzle."
KAIBA: "It has been a while. I've grown tired of waiting for this day!"
YUGI: "Here I go Kaiba! It is my turn!"
NARRATOR: "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions! In theaters April 23, 2016."

March 2016 (Japanese)

Millennium Shrine excavation — The shrine of the Millennium Stone being excavated

The trailer features some scenes from the previous trailers and some new footage. New footage is in bold.

Archaeologists excavating the Shrine of the Millennium Stone, after its collapse, following the Ceremonial Battle
A few scattered pieces of the Millennium Puzzle found among the ruin
Aigami, standing before a pillar
Kaiba, staring at the Millennium Puzzle
Yugi, looking down at the Deck of cards in his hand and then holding the Deck against his chest
Téa, Duke, Tristan, Yugi and Bakura, at a table by a food vendor, gazing at something
Aigami, sitting by a window, while wearing a Domino High School uniform
Yugi telling someone Aigami's name, after being asked
Aigami standing on a roof, looking over a city, while it rains
A crowd of children with glowing yellow eyes.
Joey, standing in a street, worriedly exclaiming "This place is..."
Yugi, Joey and Téa meeting Aigami under a bridge and Aigami informing them that "all of them have gone missing"
Mani, with a hood partially covering his face
Sera, stating that Yugi is the only person in the world chosen as "the vessel for the Pharaoh's spirit."
Yugi, setting the Millennium Puzzle on the ground, while standing opposite Aigami in a KaibaCorp arena, while Kaiba watches them. Sera's dialogue continues to play into this scene.
Kaiba, with his Duel Disk readied, saying that he is giving back the Puzzle
Someone taking a lone piece of the Millennium Puzzle from a box
Aigami holding out his hand, while a levitating, rotating box materializes above it. While doing so, he says "Allow me to show you into our realm for a Duel across the dimensions." The box finishes materializing as he speaks..
A tower with hieroglyphs being erected
Aigami holding the card, "Houkai Spawn Vijam", while declaring that he is about to send "the Pharaoh's vessel, Yugi Muto", across the dimensions
Yugi drawing a card from his Duel Disk and vowing to get back his friends.
Yugi Summoning "Dark Magician"
Kaiba asking someone if they expected such power to work against him. A virtual "Blue-Eyes" card then forms in his hand. He Summons three "Blue-Eyes" cards, asserting that he shall make his opponent regret challenging him, and then fuses the three dragons.
Kaiba reading the eyepiece for his Duel Disk, in preparation of a Duel with Yugi
Yugi, also wearing the eyepiece of a Duel Disk

March 2016 (English)

Yu-Gi-Oh!_The_Dark_Side_of_Dimensions_Official_US_Trailer_1_(2016_Movie)_HD — Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions Official US Trailer 1 (2016 Movie) HD

US Trailer 1

The trailer mainly features scenes from the previous trailers, with some new footage (which is mainly the text on-screen). New footage of actual scenes is in bold.

Yugi walking forward, with the sound of his footsteps echoing. (Only his feet are shown.)
From a higher level, Dark Yugi still walking forward until he stops, wearing his Domino High School coat as a cape and a gold armband on each upper arm. (He is proven to be Dark Yugi because when he stops, one of his blond locks is seen standing straight up.)
Yugi and Téa walking past a flight of stairs
Joey holding Tristan in a headlock, while Tristan chokes on a sub sandwich
Bakura greeting someone while surrounded by female classmates, one of whom is offering him a gift
Téa, Duke, Tristan, Yugi, and Bakura at a table by a food vendor, gazing uncertainly at something
Aigami wearing a Domino High School uniform while sitting by a window
Scene goes into Aigami's eye when standing in his school uniform as the camera pans in
A Stonehenge-like structure on a plateau above the clouds, with a pyramid in the background
A crowd of children with glowing yellow eyes
Aigami holding out his hand, while a levitating, rotating box materializes above it
Aigami's forehead beginning to glow
Aigami standing on a roof, looking over a city while it rains
Someone taking a lone piece of the Millennium Puzzle from a box
Yugi wearing the headpiece of the new Duel Disk technology
Kaiba looking at the Millennium Puzzle
Scene of Kaiba's face while staring at the Puzzle as the camera pans in
Yugi and Kaiba are in a stadium for a Duel. Kaiba's activates the head piece of his Duel Disk and Summons his "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card. A "DLS-Dimension Gauge" shows stats ATK: 2500, Spirit: 100, Duelist: Seto Kaiba. Yugi draws a card and Summons "Dark Magician".

The following text appears on-screen throughout the trailer:

Old Friends
New Threats
Forever Rivals

Featured cards

Yugi Muto

Monsters

Normal Monsters

Dark Magician^[21]

Effect Monsters

Apple Magician Girl^[20]
Berry Magician Girl^[22]
Choco Magician Girl^[22]
Dark Magician Girl^[21]
Kiwi Magician Girl^[22]
Lemon Magician Girl^[20]

Aigami