Yu-Gi-Oh! is the newest Pokémon, but will the feature do as well in the theaters as its other anime processor. All images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. © Kazuki Takahashi.

Ask any of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s screaming preadolescent fans what the difference is between Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie and the earlier theatrical movies of Pokémon and Digimon -- also Japanese theatrical features of megapopular TV cartoon series based upon equally popular Japanese games and comic books -- and they will probably look at you blankly. Many of them may be too young to remember Pokémon and Digimon, whose popularity peaked a whole two or three years ago.

Ask the general public what the difference is, and they will be equally mystified. They are all just theatrical movies of popular TV cartoons imported from Japan, aren't they? Parents of young anime fans may be aware of other Japanese animated features of popular TV cartoons that were theatrical releases in Japan but only direct-to-video releases in America: Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Cardcaptors.

To the animation industry insider, the difference is that Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie is the first feature-length spinoff of a mega-popular children's game/TV series that was produced in Japan for an American theatrical premiere and release. Warner Bros. is releasing it domestically on Aug. 13, 2004. No theatrical release has been announced for Japan, at least through the end of October.

Practically all previous Japanese theatrical features have been made primarily for the Japanese domestic market. Any sales to America or other international markets have been a pleasant bonus. Technically Digimon: The Movie was also an American original, but it was basically three Japanese 1999 and 2000 Digimon theatrical featurettes edited together. Little or no additional original animation was required. The anime fan/video market in America has grown to the extent that it is now considered in Japan as a serious factor in planning new projects.

The best example of this is Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, which was promoted with trailers at American anime fan conventions for two years before the movie's September 2001 release. But it never achieved more than a limited art-house theatrical release in America, and did not do much better in Japan. Its major revenues, as had been expected all along, came from the home-video sales and the ancillary movie-fan merchandise such as the D: Bloodlust T-shirts, music CDs, posters and similar memorabilia.