The collector�fs uncut editions restore many features of the original Japanese versions, changed due to the necessities of American broadcast standards. Also restored is footage cut in order to meet on-air time requirements for commercials. The releases will also feature newly recorded English language tracks with the entire original cast, as well as the original Japanese tracks and English subtitles.

YU-GI-OH! Volume 3: Stolen: Blue-Eyes White Dragon Episode 7 The Sea-God Leviathon Episode 8 Theft of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Episode 9 Back From the Dead: The Magical Silk Hat RUNNING TIME: Approximately 90 minutes RATING: TV PG SRP: $19.98 PRE-BOOK: 12/18/05 STREET DATE: 2/22/05

SHAMAN KING Volume 3: Pai-Long Attacks! Episode 7 Pai-Long Attacks! Episode 8 Shaman Live Episode 9 The Boy From the North RUNNING TIME: Approximately 90 minutes RATING: TV PG SRP: $19.98 PRE-BOOK: 12/18/05 STREET DATE: 2/22/05

Based on a popular Japanese comic series, YU-GI-OH! follows the tales of a boy infused with incredible mystical powers, who, along with his three best friends, sets out on the adventure of lifetime, filled with wild, magical duels.

Dragon Ball Z is the most frequently requested TCG. The return of the DBZ TCG will feature original characters who combat in hard-hitting physical and energy attacks. Some original Dragon Ball Z cards will be compatible in the premier edition of the enhanced Dragon Ball Z.

In order to provide the proper focus for a release this big, Score Entertainment also announced plans to cease operations on the DBGT TCG line, including the Anthologies Saga. Fans and players will have the opportunity to participate in side events for Dragon Ball GT Expanded held at conventions throughout the 2005 season. �gAs we continue to develop the game, we are looking for ways to include popular cards from previous releases,�h said Lead Designer and former Dragon Ball Z World Champion, Aik Tongtharodol. �gWe are working to make Dragon Ball Z a game that exceeds fan�fs expectations of the original game.�h

A prime example of this trend is the ongoing popularity of the Power Rangers franchise, the colorful taskforce of teen do-gooders that is now entering its 13th year in the United States. However, the Power Rangers brand has been a top toy and entertainment property in Japan and overseas for more than 25 years. In 1975, "Himitsu Sentai Goranger!" first premiered on Japanese television and started the Power Rangers craze. Eighteen years later, Haim Saban imported the show for American audiences, replacing the scenes of Japanese actors with a cast as ethnically diverse as the colors of their uniforms. Today, the Power Rangers toyline consistently tops the sales charts, with enough action figures for two out of three U.S. households to own the popular toys.

Bandai America Incorporated, which not only produces toys for Power Rangers, but also the popular Teen Titans, Gundam, Tamagotchi and Strawberry Shortcake properties in the United States, is more than happy to quench American audiences' thirst for this recent cultural explosion. "Power Rangers is a proven phenomenon in this country because the toys and the TV show work together to translate the brand's theme of teamwork and good versus evil," said Bill Beebe, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Bandai America Inc.

"We introduced the Gundam action figure model kits in the United States six years ago, and together with the animated TV series on Cartoon Network, Gundam consistently finds new die hard fans in this country who carefully follow the brand's intricate and dramatic storyline each season," said Sandra Leo of Bandai America Inc.

Additionally, Warner Bros. recent animated hit, Teen Titans(TM), perfectly illustrates the creative influence Japan is having on American pop culture. With a writing and design staff that grew up watching anime and reading "manga" (the Japanese term for comic books), the show takes a group of distinctly American superheroes and gives them a new twist. Now characters such as Robin and Beast Boy go into "super-deformed" mode when excited, and the action is frenetic and stylized. Even the theme song is performed by the Japanese pop duo Puffy Ami Yumi, who have also been given their own animated series here in the U.S.

"Nowhere in American culture is the Japanese influence more apparent than in the toy aisles," said Zach Oat, editor of ToyFare magazine, a popular toy journal with collectors and industry professionals. "The animated properties that get toy lines are often Japanese, and many of the American properties are strongly influenced by anime -- 'Teen Titans' is a good example. Even the way figures are made is influenced by Japan."

For years, the supernatural forces of the shape-shifting Aragami have feasted on a steady diet of human sacrifices, allowing them to live peacefully among mankind�cuntil now. Evil is brewing inside them, and they are craving their next victim. Accidentally impregnated with an Aragmi child, known as the �eblue seed,�f teenager Momiji Fujimiya is destined to fall prey to that which lives inside her, unless she can find refuge in Kusanagi, a man who once was a servant of the evil she is running from.

Blue Seed ($59.98 SRP) is a DVD-only release containing the entire twenty-six episode series on four discs presented in English 2.0, Spanish 2.0 and Japanese 2.0 with English subtitles. Collection includes the entire series in a brand new Thinpak Box Set. Extras include: character bios, original series trailers, clean credit animation, Omake Theater, and ADV previews.

In celebration of the series�f success, beginning on January 31, 2005, TOKYOPOP will launch an on-line "enter to win" contest entitled �gSeek the Stones.�h The?first 10 consumers to answer the weekly Rave Master trivia questions correctly on www.seekthestones.com will win special Rave Master prizes. This campaign will be promoted on-line, through TOKYOPOP product and on various Rave Master licensed merchandise.

TOKYOPOP has lined up an A-list of Rave Master merchandise partners, including Hasbro (master toy license), Konami (video games), Avalanche (interactive wall calendars), Dark Horse (squishy toys), Jay Franco and Sons (bedding & home d?cor), Mad Engine (apparel), Antioch Publishing (bookmarks) and Toy Quest (motion-activated games). TOKYOPOP already publishes the Rave Master manga series, a frequent member of Nielsen BookScan�fs weekly graphic novel best-seller lists.

In October TOKYOPOP debuted the first Rave Master Cine-Manga??a unique action-filled book that blends the show�fs full-color images with text balloons taken from the TV show�fs script. Capturing Rave Master�fs on-screen adventure in a lively and innovative layout, the Rave Master Cine-Manga, along with the Rave Master DVD, also available in stores, make it exciting and enjoyable for kids to not only watch, but also read their favorite TV show over and over again.