Yu-Gi-Oh!
(Japanese for "King of Games") is a
popular Japanese anime and manga franchise from
Kazuki Takahashi that mainly involves characters
who play a card game called Duel Monsters (originally
called "Magic and Wizards" (M&W)
in both the English and Japanese versions of the
manga) wherein each player purchases and assembles
a deck of Monster, Magic and Trap Cards in order
to defeat one another. Duel Monsters is believed
to be a spinoff of the popular American trading
card game Magic: The Gathering.
Begun as a manga in Japan in
1996, the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise has since grown
to an immensely successful global brand, spawning
various manga and anime series, a real-life version
of the card game featured in the story, video
games, toys, and many other products.
Composition
Japanese Manga
Yu-Gi-Oh! (Original Manga)
Run from 1996 to March 8, 2004,
the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga was one of the most popular
titles featured in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump.
The manga originally focused on Yugi Mutou (Yugi
Moto in the English anime) as he uses games designed
by himself to fight various villains, and goes
into several misadventures with his friends Katsuya
Jonouchi (Joey Wheeler in the English anime),
Anzu Mazaki (Téa Gardner), and Hiroto Honda
(Tristan Taylor). The plots start out as fairly
episodic and there are only three instances of
the card game Magic and Wizards (later renamed
Duel Monsters in the English version of the manga)
in the first seven volumes. Starting around the
eighth volume, the Duelist Kingdom arc starts
and the plot shifts to a Duel Monsters-centered
universe.
Yu-Gi-Oh! R
Drawn by Akira Itou and supervised by Kazuki Takahashi, Yu-Gi-Oh! R (?????R) is a spinoff of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, with most of the same characters in a new plotline. It was first published in Shueisha's V-Jump on April 21, 2004.
Japanese Anime
Yu-Gi-Oh! (First Series Anime)
Produced by Toei Animation, this
27-episode anime is based on Yu-Gi-Oh! manga volumes
1-7, which do not focus much on Duel Monsters
(known as Magic & Wizards in the original
manga). It is not connected in any way to the
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters series, another Yu-Gi-Oh!
anime made by Nihon Ad Systems (NAS), but is often
referred to as the "first series" to
distinguish it from the latter. It was first aired
on TV Asahi on April 4, 1998 and it ended its
run on October 10, 1998.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Second Series Anime (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters)
Titled Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
(?????????????) in Asia and Yu-Gi-Oh! elsewhere,
this so-called "second series" of the
Yu-Gi-Oh! anime is the series that introduced
Yu-Gi-Oh! to the Western world. Produced by NAS,
it was first aired on TV Tokyo on April 18, 2000
in Japan, and later became popular in Japan and
other places around the world. The series ended
its 224-episode run on September 29, 2004.
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, known in Japan
as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX (?????????????GX),
is an anime spinoff of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!
franchise, with newly-designed characters in a
new plotline, focusing on the life in a duelist
academy. Also produced by NAS, the series was
first aired on TV Tokyo on October 6, 2004.
English Adaptations
English Anime
The English Yu-Gi-Oh! LogoSee: Yu-Gi-Oh! (Second Series Anime)
Produced by 4Kids Entertainment,
the English version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! second series
anime is broadcast on many channels. In the United
States it is broadcast on Kids WB and on Cartoon
Network. In Canada, Yu-Gi-Oh! is broadcast on
YTV. In the United Kingdom and Australia, it is
broadcast on Nickelodeon. Like many anime shows
originally created for the Japanese market, a
number of changes were made when the Yu-Gi-Oh!
television show was released in the United States.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX has
been licensed by 4Kids and is set to air in 2005
in North America.
4Kids has not translated the 27 episodes produced by Toei that make up the first series Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. The English version only consists of the second series made by NAS. Some people mistake Toei's series for a lost first season of the TV show.
English Manga
The English version of the Yu-Gi-Oh!
manga is released by Viz Communications in both
the Shonen Jump magazine and in individual graphic
novels. The original Japanese character names
are kept for most of the characters (Yugi, Jonouchi,
Anzu, and Honda, for instance), while the English
names are used for a few characters (e.g. Maximillion
Pegasus) and the Duel Monsters cards. Published
in its original right-to-left format, the manga
is largely unedited, especially compared to the
English anime.
Viz released volumes 1 through 7 under the original manga name Yu-Gi-Oh!. The Duelist Kingdom and Battle City arcs is released as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, while the Egypt arc is released as Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World. Currently, April 2005, the Egyptian arc can be found in Shonen Jump magazine.
The translator of the English manga is Anita Sengupta.
Movies
First Yu-Gi-Oh! Movie
Produced by Toei Animation, the
first movie of Yu-Gi-Oh! is a 30-minute movie
released only in Japan. It was first released
on March 6, 1999. The characters here are from
the 1st series Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. Toei once had
a site at but it is no longer there and web.archive.org
did not archive it.
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid Of Light
The second movie, referred to as simply "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie" in North America and known in Japan as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters: Pyramid of Light, was first released in North America on August 13, 2004. The characters here are from the 2nd series Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. The unedited Japanese remade version of the movie premiered in special screenings in Tokyo on November 3, 2004 and normal theaters on Christmas Eve, 2004. The movie was aired on TV Tokyo on January 2, 2005. In the movie, Yami Yugi faces Anubis, his arch-rival from his time. People who attended the movie during its U.S. premiere got free Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.
Characters
The main characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga series are Yugi Mutou (Yugi Moto in the English anime), a shy, pure-hearted high school student and gaming expert who possesses the mystic Millennium Puzzle; and the nameless Pharaoh, otherwise known as Dark Yugi, or Yu-Gi-Oh (Yami Yugi), a darker personality hold in the Puzzle. Yugi's best friends Katsuya Jonouchi (Joey Wheeler), Anzu Mazaki (Téa Gardner), and Hiroto Honda (Tristan Taylor) are also primary characters, as well as Dark Yugi's main rival, Seto Kaiba.
The main character of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX is Judai Yuki, an energetic boy who possesses great talents in Duel Monsters, but stays in the worst dormitory of duelist academy, Slifer Red (Osiris Red in Japan).
The Duel Monsters themselves, as the primary battle agents in the series' card duels, can also be considered major characters, especially the three Egyptian God Cards: Obelisk the Tormentor a.k.a. The God of the Obelisk ("God of Obelisk" in the Japanese version), the Winged Dragon of Ra a.k.a. Sun Dragon Ra, and Slifer the Sky Dragon ("Osiris" in the Japanese version).
Terminology
- Millennium Items
- Duelist Kingdom
- Battle City
Merchandise
Yugi's three best friends are in this picture. From left to right: Anzu Mazaki (Téa Gardner), Hiroto Honda (Tristan Taylor), Katsuya Jonouchi (Joey Wheeler)The real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is based on the fictional Duel Monsters game played by the primary characters. Unlike other television shows, books, games and films which have spawned card games (such as those for Pokémon, The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and Star Wars), the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters TV show features the game, and viewers of the show learn how to play the game along with the characters. The behavior of some cards in the real-life game are not the same as the behavior of the card in the TV show. After the Duelist Kingdom season of the Duel Monsters anime, the card game became real, and the characters started to play the game by the rules outlined in the real card game. Related starter decks released in North America include Yugi Starter Deck, Kaiba Starter Deck, Pegasus Starter Deck, and Joey Starter Deck.
Other collectible games that were originally created as fictitious games for the series but were later turned into real games include Capsule Monster Chess, a sort of pre-Mage Knight collectible miniatures game, and Dungeon Dice Monsters, a dungeon crawl boardgame where the tiles are created by unfolding the faces of 6-sided dice, and which is a variant on an earlier, non-collectible Japanese game called simply Dungeon Dice. Also, the Duel Disc featured in the later anime has been made available.
The merchandising of Yu-Gi-Oh! products and games has drawn criticism from adults and anime fans, and the series is widely described as toyetic. The original manga did not include Duel Monsters as a regular plot vehicle for the first seven volumes. In those seven volumes, which were released in the American Shonen Jump, there are only three instances of the game Magic and Wizards, which was changed to Duel Monsters in the English version of the manga as the plot went on. After Yu-Gi-Oh! become popular, Kazuki Takahashi was asked to modify the storyline to feature more of the card game.
Yu-Gi-Oh!-Related Books (Not Including Manga)
Several books based on the manga and anime have been released in Japan and outside of Japan.
Released In English
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Monster Duel Official Handbook by Michael Anthony Steele - ISBN 0439651018 - Published by Scholastic Press - A guide book to Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and characters
Yu-Gi-Oh! Enter the Shadow Realm: Mighty Champions by Jeff O'Hare - ISBN 0439671914 - Published by Scholastic Press - A book with puzzles and games related to Yu-Gi-Oh!
Not Released In English
All books are published by Shueisha and credit Kazuki Takahashi as the author.
- Yu-Gi-Oh! (novel) - ISBN 4-08-703086-5 - This is a novelization of the first two story arcs of the manga.
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game Duel Monsters Official Rule Guide -- The Thousand Rule Bible - ISBN 4-08-782134-X - This is a rule book and strategy guide for the Junior and Shin Expert rules. This also has a Q & A related to certain cards, and the book comes with the "multiply" card.
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game Duel Monsters Official Card Catalog The Variable Book - This is a collection of card catalogues.
- Volume 1 ISBN 4-08-782764-X
- Volume 2 ISBN 4-08-782041-6
- Volume 3 ISBN 4-08-782135-8
- Volume 4 ISBN 4-08-782047-5
- Volume 5 ISBN 4-08-782053-X
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Character Guide Book - The Gospel of Truth (Yugio Kyarakutazu Gaido Bukku Shinri no Fukuin) - ISBN 4-08-873363-0 - This book is a character guide related to the manga.
Yu-Gi-Oh!-Related Video Games
Konami produces all Yu-Gi-Oh!-related video games. The English version video games generally use the 4Kids English anime names, as opposed to the Viz English manga names.
Released In English
Nintendo DS
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour
Game Boy Advance
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Board Traveler (Yu-Gi-Oh! Sugoroku no Sugoroku in Japan)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal Duelist's Soul (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 5 Expert 1 in Japan)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 8: Reshef of Destruction in Japan)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 6 Expert 2 in Japan)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 7: The Duelcity Legend in Japan)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2004 (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 9: Expert 3 in Japan)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! 7 Trials to Glory: World Championship Tournament 2005 (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters International 2 in Japan)
Game Boy Color
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters III: Dark Duel Stories)
GameCube
- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom (Yu-Gi-Oh! Falsebound Kingdom in Japan)
PC
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos: Joey the Passion (North America and Europe only)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos: Kaiba the Revenge (North America and Europe only)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos: Yugi the Destiny (North America and Europe only)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Online
PlayStation
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories (Yu-Gi-Oh! Shin Duel Monsters in Japan)
PlayStation2
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum
- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses (Yu-Gi-Oh! Shin Duel Monsters 2 in Japan)
Xbox
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Dawn of Destiny
Not released In English
Game Boy
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Beginners Pack
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters I
Game Boy Color
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle Record of the Strongest Duelists
- Jonouchi Deck
- Kaiba Deck
- Yugi Deck
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Monster Capsule GB
