Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions (遊☆戯☆王 THE DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS) is a 2016 Japanese animated supernatural science fiction drama 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 is set 6 months after the events of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! storyline; specifically, it follows on from the original manga version of the story, meaning that it features significant contradictions to the continuity of the anime. 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 was released on February 2, 2017 in Australia. This was 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.

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 was released in the 19th issue on April 11, 2016 and Part 2 was 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 was released in the December 19, 2016 issue. Part 2 was 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 seen at the underground shrine as one of Kaiba's bodyguards tells him that he is behind schedule and to speed up his progress, and that they will find someone who could if he cannot. A year after the departure of the Pharaoh, Yugi Muto and his closest friends are in their fourth and final year of Domino 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 spirit of his longtime rival, Pharaoh Atem, whom he hopes to "return to life" in order to settle their ancient 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 younger sister Sera, who passes it on to Yugi Muto, as he is the only one who can reassemble the Puzzle, being host of the Nameless Pharaoh.

Diva, under the alias "Aigami," forges a "friendship" with Yugi and the rest of his best friends. 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 and Joey 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. When Yugi, Tea, and Tristan find "Aigami", Aigami reveals himself to be Diva, and his plan to eliminate Bakura as well as Yugi. As Diva almost disintegrates the three of them into another dimension, Joey unknowingly returns to the real world, with help of Atem's spirit.

Kaiba has a computer that rebuilds the Millennium Puzzle and discovers the last two pieces are missing. He abducts Diva 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 Diva and Yugi, while gambling their pieces of the puzzle. However, Yugi is furious with Diva over what he did to Bakura and insists he duel him instead, which Kaiba agrees to.

Yugi defeats Diva, 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. Diva 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 Diva with ease. Atem and the Millennium Puzzle then fade away, and Kaiba and everyone else return to reality.

The film concludes with Yugi and his best friends, seeing Tea off at the airport as she goes off to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer in New York City. Meanwhile Kaiba uses his technology in conjunction with the Quantum Cube to transport his own consciousness to the Afterlife. 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. announced the film on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! website, that the movie was 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. 4K Media held a contest in August 2016 offering fans the chance to provide voices for the English-language release of the film.

Release
The film was released in theaters in Japan on April 23, 2016, later receiving 4DX and MX4D screenings on September 24, 2016. 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 for a limited time in the United Kingdom in February 2017.

In Denmark, the movie got a single theatrical screening on May 30, 2017, and as such was the first movie in the franchise to ever been shown on the big screen in the country.

Reception
The Dark Side of Dimensions opened on 137 theaters and debuted at number 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 a total of $141,065 and in Australia $157,175. In New Zealand, the film earned $16,680 on its opening weekend. In the United States, the film earned a total of $1,015,339.

Critical response
The Dark Side of Dimensions received a mixed critical reception. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 40%, with an average rating of 5.1/10 from five critic reviews. Richard Eisenbeis from Kotaku reviewed the movie favorably, praising the character conflict and narrative. However, S. Jhoanna Robledo from Common Sense Media notes that the complicated storyline is best appreciated by fans of the show.

Home media
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 8, 2017 in Japan. The ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Transcend Game'' manga was bundled with the release. Manga Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on May 29, 2017 in the United Kingdom. Lionsgate released the film on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and Digital HD on June 27, 2017 in the United States and Canada.