Bocchi Za Rokku!" and other popular anime collaborations! and other popular anime works collaborated one after another! The 3rd "Building Divide -Bright-" ["TCG Hajimete no Lecture!

It has been almost 30 years since the world's first trading card game (TCG), "Magic: The Gathering," was introduced to the world. Many TCG titles have appeared on the market, and new titles are still being released and played all over the world, but there are probably many people who played TCGs only briefly as children or have never actually played them.

In this series of articles, we will report on the appeal of TCG games that can be enjoyed by TCG beginners even if they are just starting out, as well as the TCG industry as told by the development team and staff.

In this third installment of the series, popular anime titles produced by Aniplex are gathered. We pick up the new title "Building Divide -Bright-" released on February 24 this year.

In the first half of the session, we experienced the charm of "Bill Divide -Bright-" by actually playing with a sample deck while receiving a lecture on how to play from the development team in the same format as an actual training session.

In the second half, we asked Noboru Kasahara and Gensho Fujita of the MD Planning Department about the development of "Building Divide -Bright-," their future plans, ideas for boosting the TCG industry, and messages for those who want to start playing TCGs!

People interviewed

Ravika

A deck case fairy from the TCG world on a mission to increase the number of new TCG players. It would be a terrible thing if the number of new players did not increase, so today she is helping spread the charm of TCGs to the world.

Since she cannot play the card game in her body, she uses her live avatar's hand to play the game during the interview.

I was very excited to see the game system that highly reproduces the original work!

Mr. Kasahara from Aniplex (Mr. Kasahara ) Hello, Rabika-chan. I'm Noboru Kasahara from the MD Planning Department of Aniplex Corporation.

Aniplex Fujita-san (Fujita ) Likewise, I am Gensho Fujita of the MD Planning Department.

Noboru Kasahara (left) and Gensho Fujita, who agreed to be interviewed this time.

Kasahara Ha ha ha, thank you very much!

Fujita: The game that Ravika will be playing this time is a TCG called "Bill Divide -Bright-.

Fujita: As expected of you, Ravika, you know your stuff. Bill Divide -Bright-" is a derivative of the original TCG "Bill Divide TCG" published by Aniplex.

What is "Bill Divide -Bright-?"

This is a new TCG title from Aniplex released on February 24, 2023. Based on the fun of the original TCG "Bill Divide TCG," it features tie-ups with popular Aniplex anime and improved rules to make it easier for new users to play. Players attack with "Territory Cards," which play a leadership role, "Unit Cards," which depict various characters, and "Command Cards," which have special effects, and attack an opponent with zero cards in the life zone, or with zero cards in the opponent's deck and life zone. The game is won when the opponent draws a card. In addition to the depth of the strategy, this title also offers the fun of collection, where you can build a deck with your favorite anime characters.

Fujita: So, in the same format as the "Bill Divide -Bright-" training session, this time you will get the flow of what kind of game "Bill Divide -Bright-" is.

Kasahara Rabika, you use a different hand when you play games. ......

The one in the foreground is the hand of the raw avatar that Rabika is using for the interview!

Fujita ...... I'll continue the explanation. One of the main features of "Building Divide -Bright-" is the "Territory Cards," which are prepared separately from the deck consisting of 40 to 50 cards. It's the one you place in the upper right corner during play.

Fujita: That's right. The Territory Card becomes the key card of the deck, and when an Ace card with the same title is placed on the field, its ability is released and its true power can be demonstrated.

Fujita: There are two types of deck cards: "unit cards" and "command cards. Unit cards are the main cards in the game that attack the opposing player or unit and sometimes block attacks from the opponent, while Command cards are cards that are used up but have effects powerful enough to affect the outcome of the battle. These two types of cards can be played and used from the hand or placed in the Energy Zone as a cost to play each card.

Fujita: Some cards have icons with abilities that are triggered under certain conditions. Decoy" can be used to attack in place of a player or another unit, "Blitz" can be used to deal with damage before the opponent does, "Bright" can be used to drop a card with a specified attribute to increase its power for the turn, etc. Depending on how you use it, you can overpower the opponent. I see.

Fujita: In the upper left corner is the Life Zone. This is where 10 cards from the deck are placed as Life before the game starts. These life cards are sent to the drop zone one by one each time a player takes damage.

Fujita: Yes, but it is not all bad. If the Trigger icon on a Life Card that is turned over after taking damage is a "shot" with a star symbol, you can activate the ability on that card at no cost.

Fujita That is a trigger called "Buster", and if a Buster appears, you have to turn over another life card.

Fujita: In the worst case scenario, you might end up with a large amount of damage, but since the Buster card has a requirement of 12 cards in the deck, the game is not decided all at once unless you are very unlucky.

Fujita: Lastly, let's take a look at the turn flow: Stand Phase, in which you turn a rested (landscape) card to Stand (portrait), Draw Phase, in which you draw a card from the deck, Main Phase, in which you set Energy from your hand or pay Energy to play a Unit Card or Command Card, and the Opponent Phase, in which you attack a player or an opponent's rested unit. The flow is repeated in the Attack Phase, during which you can attack a player or an opponent's Rest Unit, and the End Phase, during which you make the final disposition of the game. You lose if you are attacked while the cards in your life zone are 0, or if you are forced to draw cards while you have no cards in your deck and life zone.

Fujita: Let's continue playing as we go. Rabika is ahead of me.

Fujita When attacking a player, you can inflict damage for the number of "hits" listed next to the unit card's power. Ravika-chan's attacked unit card has a hit of 1, so I turn over a life card for 1 damage. The card I flipped ...... had a buster icon on it, so I flip another life card for an additional 1 damage.

Fujita: Well, it is still early in the game. You can proceed with the game more strategically if you are aware not only of busters, but also of when to release territory cards and when not to attack with units that have appeared in the game and save them.

～After ~20 minutes, Rabika turn~!

Fujita: And since I don't have any units with decoys, I take damage. I lose. ......

Kasahara Mr. Fujita, please have them take a picture to prove that you lost. LOL!

For detailed rule explanations and deck introductions, check out the official website!

Fujita: That's fine!　The sample deck for the workshop is one that has a small number of cards and is easy to play with, so please try playing with some of the other decks we have prepared here.

Fujita It's fun to play as the world of a work, isn't it? Well then, I'll be using the deck from "Bocchi Za Rokku! deck.

～After ~20 minutes, it's Fujita's turn!

Fujita: Yes, then it's my turn. I attack a player with other units while putting a unit card on the field for insurance.

Fujita: Thank goodness, I didn't lose two games in a row!

Fujita: Unlike the original "Bill Divide TCG," there are no cards in "Bill Divide -Bright-" that interrupt your opponent's turn to take effect, so the rules themselves are simple, but the game is designed to be played while thinking carefully.

Kasahara That kind of collectibility is one of the charms of "Building Divide -Bright-," so I hope you will put your love of the work into selecting cards when building your deck.

Noboru Kasahara and Gensho Fujita from Aniplex on product development and future plans

Kasahara First of all, let me talk about the launch of "Building Divide -Bright-". As Aniplex, which has various animation works, was thinking about its product plan, we decided to use the existing TCG category that we originally had, the "Bill Divide TCG. However, the development speed of the existing "Building Divide TCG" was a bit heavy, so we decided to develop a new "Building Divide - Bright", which includes the word "light", which means "light" in the word "bright", which means "shining". As Aniplex, we aimed to create a TCG that is properly oriented toward the anime and that fans of the anime can easily pick up and play well.

The first product, "Licorice Recoil," received a considerable response, and we also received positive feedback from customers who had never played the "Building Divide TCG" and, by extension, TCGs before, about the campaign to distribute starting decks and other advance measures. In that sense, I think we have made a good first step.

Kasahara To begin with, the "Bill Divide" project started as a combination of an anime and a TCG. In the course of operating the "Building Divide TCG," there were calls to actively collaborate with Aniplex's anime that have battle elements, and we have collaborated with works such as "Demon Slayer," "Sword Art Online," and "Puella Magi Madoka Magica. On the other hand, the game does not have battle elements.

On the other hand, we wanted to create a TCG for anime without battle elements, but the worldview of the "Building Divide TCG" did not fit within its framework, so we decided to create a completely different framework. In this case, we decided to create a completely different framework, so that users who were interested in "Bill Divide -Bright-" because of the Aniplex anime could move on to "Bill Divide TCG" if they wanted a more in-depth experience, and conversely, users who were already playing "Bill Divide TCG" could take a break from playing "Bill Divide -Bright-" and play "Bill Divide -Bright-". We planned "Bill Divide -Bright-" with a mechanism in mind so that users of "Bill Divide -Bright-" can enjoy "Bill Divide -Bright-" as well as "Bill Divide -Bright-", and can move back and forth between the two.

The lineup of collaborative works has been announced at a very high pace, even taking into account the fact that this is the start-up period, but it is also meant to show the seriousness of Aniplex's commitment to retailers and users.

Kasahara I'm sorry to get into a comparative discussion again, but we have made it clear that we will not increase the number of tie-ups for the original "Building Divide TCG" too much. The reason for this is that we are moving to firmly strengthen the product lineup by releasing multiple products for each title.

Fujita: In contrast, as you can see from the schedule from announcement to release of "Building divide - Bright-," we are developing "Building divide - Bright" in a relatively short span of time. Therefore, it is easy to move the product to a TCG in conjunction with the next season's anime project, and we would like to work together with Aniplex when a new anime project is planned.

Kasahara I think this is one of the strengths of our in-house production, and we are able to proceed in consultation with the animation production team. Currently announced projects include "NieR: Automata Ver1.1a", the "Seishun Butajaro" series, and "Liza's Atelier: Queen of Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout". While the schedule after that is already set to a certain extent, we are also taking a very flexible approach to new titles when the timing is right, so it is possible that a title may not be decided until the very last minute.

Kasahara We do take the surveys themselves, but we believe that they are biased because there will be a split between users who write in and those who don't. That's why we don't have a survey at the TCG shop. For this reason, we try to confirm the actual level of enthusiasm by listening to the voices of users who visit TCG stores and through social networking sites.

Kasahara To begin with, we tried not to make "Bill Divide -Bright-" something that users playing the "Bill Divide TCG" have to "buy". In order to avoid increasing the burden as the number of products simply increases, we have adjusted the items so that they have affinity with each other but are not absolutely necessary to have. However, we also wanted to satisfy the needs of users who want to mix and match their favorite works, which is why we made it possible to mix and match.

Fujita: We did not want to create cards with abilities so strong that they would affect the current environment, but rather to provide enough space for users to include their favorite characters from their favorite works.

Kasahara However, I think we need to communicate more that the developers are making adjustments to "Bill Divide - Bright" with such intentions. Since both TCGs wear the "Bill Divide" crown, I am concerned that those who are not familiar with them may have the impression that they are both "Bill Divide TCGs". This is partly due to a lack of publicity on our part.

However, at last month's area tournament for the "Building Divide TCG," a player using a deck containing cards from "Building Divide - Bright" made it to the finals, so we would like to encourage players to show their love of the game by doing their best. However, this is not an essential element of Bright, and we do not create a "TCG that pursues strong cards".

Fujita: In "Building Divide - Bright," for example, "Licorice Recoil" and "Gurren Lagann" contain cards with similar effects, and there are also so-called "vanilla" cards that have no effect, so we are trying to make adjustments so that the abilities of all tie-in boosters are aligned without inflation. Therefore, we will make adjustments so that the decks of all tie-up boosters will be evenly matched without any inflation of abilities, so we hope that all decks will be able to compete equally.

Fujita: One major measure that I think is most typical of Aniplex is that we have previously distributed decks and held workshops within the "Licorice Recoil" event. Since many people who are not normally interested in TCGs are present at anime events, we were able to attract a lot of interest.

Kasahara I think that Aniplex is unique in its ability to promote its products closely, so we consider this to be one of our main pillars. In addition to that, we have also held a side event that runs parallel to the "Building Divide TCG" tournament, where people can participate in a match without reservations. You can also bring your friends if you are at the tournament, so we want to make sure to take advantage of such opportunities.

However, it is quite difficult to approach people who have never played TCGs before, so one way is to have them buy them as collectible trading cards. To this end, we will continue to expand distribution by introducing the cards not only to card game stores but also to merchandise stores, but I think the key is how much we can spread "Building Divide -Bright-" among the circle of users who frequent card game stores. I think the key is how much we can penetrate the circle of users who frequent the card game shops.

Fujita: Right now, we are planning a tournament for groups of three players. Each player can participate with a deck of a different work, so I hope we can invite anime-loving friends to form a team.

Kasahara Currently, there are no starter decks. At the current pace of development, it would be difficult to develop a starter deck for every round due to our resources, but we are considering developing one, so we are currently in the planning stages.

Fujita: Instead, we are releasing deck recipes on the official website. For "GURREN LAGANN," there are beginner decks that can be built in about one box, so we hope that players will use those as a reference. I would like to see how to distribute the cost and how many aces to put in,

I hope that you will experiment with the sample decks.

Kasahara I think that the TCG industry is crowded with both competitive and collectible users, and I believe that it is the collector segment that is exploding in the market. However, I am not sure if this is equal to the expansion of new players. I believe that TCGs are essentially a game that needs people to play and communities to be formed. I think it is easier to maintain the motivation of existing players than to expand the number of new players.

In my opinion, one way to do this would be to have a card event at a comic market or a figure event, where all the companies are represented. There would be a place where people could go to play with and purchase cards and meet other players. I think it would be good to have such a movement.

Fujita: In the case of "Building Divide -Bright-," there are fans of each work, so to make it easier for them to play, we have adjusted the inclusion rate so that the game itself can be played by buying one box of cards. However, it is quite difficult to find a way to lower the threshold to that point. The deck distribution event was certainly catchy, but it is hard to see how many people are actually playing the game. We are trying to make "Building Divide -Bright-" more collectible and less prone to ability inflation, but that tends to immediately lower the attendance rate at tournaments, making it more difficult to see what is going on with users.

Kasahara: It is quite difficult to define what constitutes a "new player", and I think the degree of difficulty is quite high if we ask whether someone who has never touched a TCG at all would buy one. Therefore, we have no choice but to start by trying to increase the number of new players of "Building Divide -Bright-" among those who have been playing TCGs on a regular basis.

Fujita: We created this product with the idea of making it easy for people to start playing after their favorite works have been released, so if there is a work they like or are interested in, we hope they will pick it up. We have also prepared various illustrations, such as making it easier to tell the difference between regular cards and parallel cards, and also by processing signatures, so I think the product is very enjoyable as a collection element.

Kasahara Thanks to your support, three months have passed, and Aniplex would like to continue to expand the game by taking advantage of our strength as an animation company. In the process, we would like to expand the points of contact with users as much as possible, and we hope that this will be the first TCG that people who were not interested in before will touch.

(Reporting and writing by Umi Yoshida; Photography by Shohei Kanazawa; Illustrations by Ayu Airai)

Product Information

Building Divide - Bright - booster pack "Bocchi Za Rokku!

On sale now!

Suggested Retail Price: 330 yen per pack (including tax) / 5,280 yen per box (including tax)

Manufacturer: Aniplex

Outline of Present Campaign

<Prize

■TCG "Building divide - Bright -" "Bocchi za roku! One box will be given away by drawing!

• <Entry requirements
• Entry period: June 12, 2023 (Monday) - June 19, 2023 (Monday) 23:59
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