This week Dragonball returns to the top slot on the Lycos 50, but it is another Japanese cartoon that makes the most impressive move. Yu-Gi-Oh! has arrived in the top ten at #9, and Yu-Gi-Oh! merchandise looks to be the hot Christmas gift of 2002.

When we first wrote about Yu-Gi-Oh! in April, we asked if this Japanese cartoon would flame out like other Japanese anime (Outlaw Star, for example) or become the next Dragonball. It looks more like the next Pokemon, however. Yu-Gi-Oh! has a younger audience than Dragonball, and like Pokemon the searches revolve more around the card game than around the television show.

That makes sense since, as we pointed out back then, Yu-Gi-Oh! is the first "meta-anime." It is the logical conclusion of the collectible card game phenomenon, because the show is actually about the card game instead of the card game being about the show.

With Pokemon, kids played a card game so they could identify with kids who fought monsters. Now, kids play a card game so they can identify with kids playing a card game that simulates fighting monsters. There is a deconstructionist postgraduate thesis hidden in here somewhere.

The new season of Yu-Gi-Oh! on the WB network started September 14, and the show is now on seven days a week. The first Yu-Gi-Oh! video and DVD hits stores today. New booster card packs were released this month. There is even a CD coming out in October called Music to Duel By¸ featuring such song titles as "One Card Short." This is sure to drive carpooling soccer moms completely insane within weeks.

ELITE: This week we celebrate the entrance of Anna Kournikova into the Lycos 50 Elite, which requires a stay of 50 straight weeks on the Lycos 50. While many think of Kournikova as the Lycos 50 mascot thanks to her promotional relationship with the company, this is the first time she's spent 50 straight weeks on the list. She's still the most-searched athlete in the world, by far.

FIVE ALIVE: Survivor interest dipped after September 11 but the show seems to be back near the level of interest it had in its first two incarnations. While Survivor Africa debuted at #46 and Survivor Marquesas debuted at #24, Survivor Thailand begins at #10. That's Survivor's second-highest ranking in the last 17 months.

LOTTERY: Powerball (#14) interest was high early in the week because of a $100 million jackpot on Saturday, September 14. Winning tickets were sold in Indiana and Pennsylvania.

MYSTERY TERMS: What's going on with The Bible? This week it reaches its highest ranking ever, #11. Does anyone know a reason why religion is so hot right now?

Even stranger is the rise for Apollo 11 searches. They were #63 last week and they move up to #30 this week. We thought it was because of Buzz Aldrin's public confrontation with conspiracy theorist Bart Sibrel, but that was more than a week ago, and the searches keep moving up. You might think it is related to the IMAX re-release of the film Apollo 13, but the searches for Apollo 11 have moved much higher.

If you know the secrets behind these mysteries, drop us an email.

SHORT SUBJECTS: HBO's The Sopranos just misses the Lycos 50 at #52... Yom Kippur (#49) is the third Jewish holiday to ever make our list, after Hannukah and Passover... An unexpected romance hasn't really done anything to raise Lycos searches for either Jennifer Lopez (#37) or Ben Affleck... Halloween is already #3, and costumes #6.

NEW THIS WEEK: Survivor, Apollo 11, skateboarding, The Sims, Napster, Yom Kippur, Martha Stewart.

DROPOUTS: American Idol (after eight weeks), popular cartoon Gundam, September 11 queries American Flag and Osama bin Laden, Serena Williams, Cliffs Notes, and erstwhile Miss North Carolina Rebekah Revels.