Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains anime goes down under

MIPTV: Australian free-to-air  (FTA) digital multichannel service 9Go! has acquired season one of Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains, the latest iteration of the Japanese anime franchise.

The Nine Network service, which launched the series at the weekend, targets 16- to 39-year-olds and kids with a mix of comedy, reality, movies, animation and drama.

Discovery Networks Europe’s FTA kids’ channel K2 became the first broadcaster to air Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains last June, followed by Corus Entertainment network Teletoons in Canada in September. A second season is about to go into production.

Kristen Gray, general manager and senior VP of multiplatform brand management at production agency Konami Cross Media, which representsYu-Gi-Oh! outside of Asia, said the latest acquisition had come at a time of global demand for the brand, with the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links mobile game having exceeded 90 million downloads worldwide.

The latest series merges virtual reality and artificial intelligence with cutting-edge connectivity to create a duelling experience for gamers worldwide to compete via a feature called Link Vrains.