The colorful world of Japanese trading cards
Collectible card series spun off from popular media franchises have the largest draw in Japan, with the market sharing a symbiotic relationship with the anime and manga industries. Apart from being collectors items that can also be tied to digital card games, trading cards are a medium for engaging with the respective media franchises. World-building and integrating featured characters into a narrative is a prevalent driver for engagement as well as the strategic game design.Long-running, traditional series include the "Pokémon Trading Card Game", the best-selling trading card game in Japan, and "Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG", whereas "Magic: The Gathering" is a successful foreign entrant. Modern series like "Cardfight!! Vanguard" and "Weiß Schwarz", published by Bushiroad’s TCG business unit, and "Dragon Ball Super Card Game", have their origin in the 2010s, whereas many more were discontinued after failing to gain a following in a highly competitive market.