Anime

Yu-Gi-Oh! (遊☆戯☆王 Yūgiō, 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 & Wizards in the manga. See the section "Card game" below for different names of the game) wherein each player purchases and assembles a deck of Monster, Magic, and Trap Cards in order to defeat one another.

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
The Yu-Gi-Oh! universe consists of two manga series (the original series is split into three parts in the English translations), three anime series, and two movies.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (original manga)
Running from 1996 to March 8, 2004, the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga created by Kazuki Takahashi was one of the most popular titles featured in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump. The manga originally focused on Yugi Mutou as he uses games designed by himself to fight various villains, and gets into misadventures with his friends Katsuya Jonouchi, Anzu Mazaki, and Hiroto Honda. The plot starts out as fairly episodic and there are only three instances of Magic and Wizards 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
Main article: Yu-Gi-Oh! R

Illustrated by Akira Itou, one of the artists who illustrated the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, and supervised by Takahashi, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! R (遊☆戯☆王R) is a spin-off of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!'' franchise, with most of the same characters in a new plotline, which takes place between the Battle City arc and the Egypt arc. The manga was first published in Shueisha's monthly magazine V-Jump on April 21, 2004.

Although there is no explicit explanation on the meaning of "R" in the title, the letter probably stands for "Reverse", "Revolution", "Rebirth", or 'Retold.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX
Main article: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX The ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX manga series is actually a manga adaptation of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX (titled Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'' in English speaking countries) television series. The comic is illustrated by Naoyuki Kageyama.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (first series anime)
Main article: 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 Magic & Wizards. It is not connected in any way to ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, another Yu-Gi-Oh!'' anime series made by Nihon Ad Systems (NAS), but is often referred to as the "first series" to distinguish it from the latter. First aired on TV Asahi on April 4, 1998, the series ended its run on October 10, 1998.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (second series anime)
Main article: Yu-Gi-Oh!'' (second series anime) Often referred to as simply "Yu-Gi-Oh!" or the "second series" of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, the series, titled ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (遊戯王デュエルモンスターズ) in Asia and Yu-Gi-Oh! elsewhere, 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, and later translated into more than 20 languages and airs in more than 60 countries. Mainly based on Yu-Gi-Oh! manga volume 8 and onward, the series ended its 224-episode run in Japan on September 29, 2004.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX
Main article: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX (遊戯王デュエルモンスターズGX), often known as "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX", is an anime spin-off of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, with a new protagonist, Judai Yuki (renamed Jaden Yuki in the U.S. version), and a new plotline that is not based on the original manga (the "GX''" in the title stands for "Generation neXt"). The series mainly focuses on the life in a duelist academy known as Duel Academia. Also produced by NAS, it was first aired on TV Tokyo on October 6, 2004. It currently airs in the US on Cartoon Network as part of its Miguzi program block at 5:00 pm Monday-Friday.

English second series anime
See also: Yu-Gi-Oh! (second series anime)

On May 8, 2001, 4Kids Entertainment obtained the U.S. merchandising and television rights to ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters'' from Konami. They partnered up with Warner Bros. and released their dubbed version of the anime on Kids' WB! on September 29, 2001, under the title Yu-Gi-Oh!.

The English Yu-Gi-Oh! anime is divided into a number of seasons. So far, four seasons have been released: (NOTE: the second opening started on January 11, 2003) Starting from Season 3, a subtitle was added to the series title. So Season 3 is known as ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Enter the Shadow Realm, Season 4 is known as Yu-Gi-Oh! Waking the Dragons, the first part of Season 5 is known as Yu-Gi-Oh! Grand Championship, and the second part of Season 5 is known as Yu-Gi-Oh! Dawn of the Duel''.
 * Season 1 (episode 1-49), aired from September 29, 2001 to November 9, 2002.
 * Season 2 (episode 50-97), aired from November 16, 2002 to November 1, 2003.
 * Season 3 (episode 98-144), aired from November 1, 2003 to September 4, 2004.
 * Season 4 (episode 145-184), aired from September 11, 2004 to May 28, 2005.
 * Season 5 (episode 185-224), aired from August 27, 2005 to present.

The English Yu-Gi-Oh! anime is broadcast on many channels. In the United States it is broadcast on Kids' WB! and on Cartoon Network; in Canada, it is broadcast on YTV; while in the United Kingdom and Australia, it is broadcast on Nickelodeon. Like many anime originally created for the Japanese market, a number of changes (including the names of most of the characters) were made when the English Yu-Gi-Oh! anime was released.

On October 19, 2004, 4Kids, in association with FUNimation, released uncut Yu-Gi-Oh! DVDs after years of petitions from Yu-Gi-Oh! fans. These DVDs include the original, unedited Japanese animations and Japanese dialogue tracks with English subtitles, as well as all-new English dubs with translations closer to the original dialogues. Both language tracks use the original Japanese music. Each DVD contains three episodes.

4Kids has not translated the 27 episodes produced by Toei that make up the first series Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. Some people mistake Toei's series for a lost first season of the TV show, and refer to it as "Season (or Series) 0".

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Anime (English)
Main article: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX has an English version, titled Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'' in North America.

Like the second series, it is licensed by 4Kids and has many of the same edits and names changes.

''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'' premiered on Cartoon Network in October 2005.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters Anime (English)


''Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters is a twelve-episode mini-series commissioned, produced, and edited by 4Kids (much like Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie - Pyramid of Light''). Set before the end of the second Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series (Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Monsters) - apparently somewhere in season 5 - Capsule Monsters involves Yugi, Joey (Jonouchi), Téa (Anzu), Tristan (Honda), and Yugi's grandfather (Sugoroku) being pulled into a world where Duel Monsters are real. They find monster capsules that they can use to summon monsters. It is similar to the Virtual RPG arc in many respects, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the early Capsule Monster Chess game featured in early volumes of the original manga.

The first mention of Capsule Monsters came on the retailer website, Talkin' Sports in December 2005, but this information was not widespread, and the existence of the project remained unknown to almost the entire fanbase until February 2006, when the Irish television network RTE 2 began to air the episodes. Historically, it was not unusual for RTE to premiere episodes of the Yu-Gi-Oh! dub some time ahead of other markets, but their lack of any kind of promotion or fanfare in doing so meant that Capsule Monsters was unknown right up until (what is believed to be) the third episode was accidentally stumbled across by Livejournal user Angryhamster, who posted the news and screencaps to a Livejournal community, Play the Damn Card. After initial confusion amongst fans - particularly over the discovery of the series in such an unlikely place - information was gathered from 4Kids that clarified the nature of the show.

Not much else is known about Capsule Monsters so far - it has not yet premiered in the United States or Japan and there is no information on it on the 4Kids website as of February 5th, 2006. According to a 4kids representive, however, the first DVD volume of the series will be released in the US in Spring/Summer 2006, with a TV broadcast in the Fall. The Japanese version might premier in Japan first before the US release.

It has not aired on Ireland TV since only showing epsodes 1-4, where only 3-4 where seen and made note off.

English manga


The English version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga is released by VIZ Media 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 of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga under its original title. 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'. As of June 2005, the Egypt arc can be found in Shonen Jump.

The translator of the English manga is Anita Sengupta.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (first Yu-Gi-Oh! movie)
Known as simply "Yu-Gi-Oh!", this first movie of Yu-Gi-Oh! has been released only in Japan. A 30-minute movie produced by Toei Animation, it was first shown in theaters on March 6, 1999. Its characters are from the first series Yu-Gi-Oh! anime.

The movie is about a boy named Shougo Aoyama who is too timid to duel even after he got a powerful rare card, the legendary Red-Eyes Black Dragon, in his Deck. Yugi tries to bring Shougo's courage out in a duel with Seto Kaiba, who has his eyes on Shougo's rare card.

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light
Main article: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light

The second movie, often referred to as simply "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie", was first released in North America on August 13, 2004. The movie was developed specifically for Western audiences based on the overwhelming success of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise in the U.S. Its characters are from the second series Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. In the movie, Yugi faces Anubis, his arch-rival from his time.

The Japanese version of the movie premiered in special screenings in Japan on November 3, 2004 and normal theaters on Christmas Eve, 2004, under the title ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters: Pyramid of Light'' (遊戯王デュエルモンスターズ　光のピラミッド). The movie was then aired on TV Tokyo on January 2, 2005.

People who attended the movie during its premiere (U.S. or Japan) got 1 of 4 free Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.

Characters
''Main articles:
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! main characters
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga characters
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, manga or movie only characters

''See also:
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! R (for characters in Yu-Gi-Oh! R)
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (for characters in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX)

The main characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! (all anime, manga and movies except Yu-Gi-Oh! GX) are Yugi Mutou (Yugi Muto in the English anime), a shy, pure-hearted high school student and gaming expert who possesses an ancient Egyptian relic called the Millennium Puzzle; and the Nameless Pharaoh, otherwise known as Dark Yugi (Yami Yugi) (Dark Yugi is also known as "the other Yugi" and the "Nameless Pharaoh" (Namonaki Pharaoh in Japanese). His true name is revealed to be "Atem"), a darker personality held 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! GX is Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki in the Japanese version), an energetic boy who possesses great talents in Duel Monsters''.

The Duel Monsters themselves, as the primary battle agents in the series' card duels, can also be considered major characters, especially the three God Cards: Obelisk the Tormentor or The God of the Obelisk ("Giant Soldier - God of Obelisk" in the Japanese version), The Winged Dragon of Ra or The Sun Dragon Ra ("Winged Dragon - God of Ra"), and Slifer the Sky Dragon ("Saint Dragon - God of Osiris").

Central plots
Yu-Gi-Oh! (all anime, manga and movies except Yu-Gi-Oh! GX) tells the tale of Yugi Mutou, a shorter-than-normal high school student who was given an ancient Egyptian artifact known as the Millennium Puzzle in pieces by his grandfather. Upon completing the Puzzle, he is possessed by another personality which is later discovered to be the spirit of a 3000-year-old (or, in the English anime, 5000-year-old) Pharaoh, who forgot everything from his time. As the story goes on, the two of them, together with Yugi's friends, Anzu Mazaki, Katsuya Jonouchi, Hiroto Honda, etc., try to find the secret of the Pharaoh's lost memories and his name, - by the card game Duel Monsters (Magic & Wizards in the original Japanese manga and Yu-Gi-Oh! R) which is mirrored in the shadow games (Yami no Game in Japanese).

''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'' follows the story of Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki in the Japanese version), a young talented duelist who is given the card "Winged Kuriboh" by Yugi before Jaden's admission to Duel Academy (Duel Academia in the Japanese version), an elitist boarding school established by Seto Kaiba. Jaden, receiving low marks in his admission tests, is placed in the Slifer Red dormitory (Osiris Red) reserved for students with the lowest grades. The story goes on as Jaden faces challenges from different students in Duel Academy, and later finds himself entangled in a conflict related to the hidden secrets of the academy.

Terminology

 * God Cards
 * Sacred Beast Cards
 * Millennium Items
 * Orichalcos
 * Shadow Game
 * Shadow Realm
 * Duelist Kingdom
 * Battle City
 * Virtual World
 * Waking the Dragons
 * Grand Championship
 * Millennium World (also known as "Dawn of the Duel")
 * The Ceremonial Battle

Media and release information

 * Yu-Gi-Oh! media and release information

Original games
There are several games in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga that were originally created as fictitious games for the series and was later turned into real games or video games.

Card game
The Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga series introduces an original card game created by Takahashi. Different names can be used to refer to the game depending on where it appears:
 * Magic & Wizards (M&W) — the original name of the card game, used in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! (Japanese and English versions) manga, and Yu-Gi-Oh! R. In the case of the English manga, the game is renamed Duel Monsters in later-released chapters.
 * Duel Monsters — used in Toei Animation's Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, the second series Yu-Gi-Oh! anime (Japanese and English versions), manga (English version only), and movies. The name is introduced to replace Magic & Wizards, probably due to its similarity to Magic: The Gathering.
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game: Duel Monsters (Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG) — the original name of the real Yu-Gi-Oh! card game released by Konami, used mostly in Asia.
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game (Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG) — used in places where Upper Deck Entertainment distributes Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG.

History
Designed by Kazuki Takahashi, Magic & Wizards (M&W), is a popular card game worldwide. Compared with its predecessor, M&W was very simple when it was first introduced in the manga: there were only two types of cards (Monster & Magic Cards); the result of a monster battle only relied on the Attack and Defense Points of the monsters and the effects of Magic Cards (which only appeared occasionally). According to the author, the game was designed as such because he felt that the rules of Magic were too complicated, and he wanted to create something similar but simpler.

The original plan of Takahashi was to phase out M&W, which took him only one night to design, in just two episodes. After the first appearance of the game in the manga (in Volume 2, Duel 9), the reader response on it was enormous, and Shonen Jump started getting calls from readers who wanted to know more about the game. Takahashi realized that he had hit on something, so he modified the storyline to feature more of the card game. With the advance of the manga, the game continued to evolve, becoming more complicated.

The similarities between the games, of note card design (brown with an oval on back), effects and terminology (discarding, graveyard, sacrifice), usage, and pictures (including occult or religious based icons, alluding to the early days of Magic: The Gathering) are all there. The name of Magic's creator is mirrored through the creator of Duel Monsters, Pegasus J. Crawford (Maximillion Pegasus in the English versions), whom both share the same number of letters.

The real game
Magic & Wizards has been brought to life in three versions, by two different companies. The first version, known as the Carddas version, was first released by Bandai in September 1998. Only three boosters had been released for this version before the license of the card game was sold to Konami later. The game was popular, although it used a simplified and modified version of the gaming rule used in the manga, and is less faithful to the manga compared with Konami's versions of the game.

The second version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! cards was released by Konami on December 16, 1998, included as special pack-in cards in the first Yu-Gi-Oh! video game, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters''. These cards are not to be mixed up with those of ''Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG'' released later by the same company. The two versions are different in terms of design, with the looks of the former closer to those in the manga, to an extent that their effect texts are all directly quoted from the manga. Only 10 cards were released for this version, and Konami didn't have any gaming rules for these cards, as they were intended for collection purpose only. They cannot be used in the later-released ''Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG''.

The third version, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG'', was first released on February 4, 1999, by Konami. The gaming rule of this version is much more sophisticated and mature compared with the Carddas version, while at the same time does a much better job in preserving the style and feeling of M&W. Succeeding the popular Carddas version, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG'' was an instant hit. And on March 1, 2002, the English version of the game was brought to the U.S. by Upper Deck Entertainment under the new name, Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, with the release of its first set, Legend of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Later on in the same year (March 19), Konami released its first Yu-Gi-Oh! videogame in the U.S. for Gameboy Color, known as ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories''.

Currently, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG/TCG'' have been released in more than 40 countries.

Other games
Apart from Magic & Wizards, there are also other games that were originally created as fictitious games for Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and was later turned into video games, the most famous ones being: Among the three, only Dungeon Dice Monsters has been released as a real collectible game, but the game wasn't popular, and currently no more new figures are released. On March 29, 2003, Mattel released the English version of the first booster of Dungeon Dice Monsters in America, under the title DragonFlame. But so far, only three of the seven boosters in Japanese version have been released, with the last one released in June 2003.
 * Capsule Monster Chess (Capmon) — a sort of pre-Mage Knight collectible miniatures game. Video game: Capsule Monster Coliseum
 * Monster World — a role-playing chess game. Video game: Monster Capsule GB (available in Japanese only)
 * Dungeon Dice Monsters (DDM), known in the Japanese manga as Dragons Dice & Dungeons (DDD) — a dungeon crawl boardgame where the tiles are created by unfolding the faces of 6-sided dice. Video game: Dungeon Dice Monsters.