The Yi-Go-Oh! cards are shuffling their way to the Web3 streaming service Rewarded.TV, according to Deadline. Five seasons of Konami’s show will be available for free on the platform, alongside other titles such as Dragnet, Drink Champs and Luther. Rewarded.TV made the deal with Konami Cross Media NY., which produces the series and sells it in the U.S.
Viewers will be able to earn rewards, badges and digital collectibles by watching and sharing episodes. Rewarded.tv is available on smart TV devices such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku and on cell phones and the web.
“We are pleased to have Yu-Gi-Oh!, the king of games, available on the gamified Rewarded.tv experience,” added Mark Kirk, Senior Vice President, Distribution, Konami Cross Media NY, Inc. told Deadline. “We could not be more excited to be bringing Yu-Gi-Oh! to the Rewarded.tv audience,” said Krish Arvapally, CEO of the platform’s owner Replay. “Replay is all about gamifying the streaming experience, to make watching movies and shows more fun and more rewarding. Yu-Gi-Oh! is the perfect fit.”
Yu-Gi-Oh! (Game King) was created by Kazuki Takahashi in 1996 as a Japanese manga series, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. The plot follows the story of a boy named Yugi Mutou, who solves the ancient Millennium Puzzle and awakens a gambling spirit that solves his conflicts by using various games. Last July Takahashi was founded dead at age 60 after he drowned snorkeling in Japan. Later in 2022, it was discovered that he had died after attempting to assist with the rescue of three others caught in a rip tide.
The manga inspired two different anime series. The first was produced by Toei Animation, and aired on TV Asahi from April to October 1998, while the second, produced by NAS and Studio Gallop aired between April 2000 and September 2004. In addition, four animated Yu-Go-Oh! features were released in 1998, 2004, 2010 and 2016.
Watch the classic first episode opener below:
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