Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, known in Japan as 'Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX (遊☆戯☆王デュエル モンスターズGX Yūgiō Dyueru Monsutāzu GX) is an anime spinoff of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!''' franchise.

Produced by Nihon Ad Systems Inc., or NAS for short, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX started airing on TV Tokyo in Japan on October 6, 2004. The anime is licensed by 4Kids Entertainment.

The TV show airs on Cartoon Network in the United States (Saturdays at 7:30pm), in Australia on Network Ten (weekdays at 7:30am), in Canada on YTV (Saturdays at 12:00pm), in Ireland on RTE 2 (weekdays at 3:35pm), and in the UK on ITV2 (weekdays at 8:25am) and Nicktoons UK (every day at 4:30pm). According to the Capsule Monsters DVD, GX will come to DVD in the United States summer 2006. In North America, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX is distributed by Warner Bros. Television Animation and 4Kids Entertainment.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, a manga spinoff of the series written by Kazuki Takahashi and illustrated by Naoyuki Kageyama, is published in Shueisha's V-Jump magazine in Japan. The manga appears in the United States Shonen Jump magazine.

Production
''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'' is produced by Nihon Ad Systems, Inc., and directed by Hatsuki Tsuji. Scripts are prepared by an alternating lineup of writers–Shin Yoshida, Jun Maekawa, Akemi Omode, Yasuyuki Suzuki–with music arrangements by Yutaka Minobe. Takuya Hiramitsu is in charge of sound direction, supervised by Yūji Mitsuya. Character and monster designs are overseen by Kenichi Hara, while Duel layout is overseen by Masahiro Hikokubo.

The "GX" in the series' title is short for the term "Generation neXt". "GENEX" was also the tentative title of the series as evidenced in early promotional work, and also refers to the GX tournament that takes place between episodes 84 and 104.

Like many English adaptations of other anime series, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'' is edited due to Americanization and the shifting of the target demographic toward a younger audience. The names of many characters and cards underwent alteration, and card faces and text are edited to only include ATK/DEF statistics and Attribute for monsters, and card type for Spells and Traps. Spell Cards in particular are referred to as such to reflect the revised printing format that surfaced in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game from Magician's Force onwards, though the original term "Magic Card" has been used on several occasions, either due to scripting error or for very specific reasons. Furthermore monster stat displays and Life Point counters, previously in blue and gold print, become digital readouts with color-coded energy bars. The original music score is replaced with a techno-style soundtrack. Darker and more controversial themes such as death, murder (and mass murder), and religion–which were incorporated into the Japanese version–are virtually absent in the English interpretation.

Themes and structure
Although the first half of the anime's first season began on a whimsical note, the latter half established a noticeably darker atmosphere by introducing supernatural elements similar to those present in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, such as magic, the Shadow Games, and various myths, along with Judeo-Christian subtext. The second season had a strong thematic presence built on destiny, with ties to the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction authors writing in the Lovecraftian horror, and drew on space opera as a plot device. The third season continued this trend, but with much greater emphasis on emotional torment, alternate dimension's serving as its primary settings.

The program is divided into episodes classified as "Turns". The title sequence and closing credits are accompanied by lyrics varying over the course of the series, with the former immediately followed by an individual episode's number and title. Eyecatches begin and end commercial breaks halfway through each episode; in the first season, there were two eyecatches per episode, usually showcasing the opponents and their key monsters for a given episode while in later seasons, a single eyecatch appears with only the duelists. After the credits, a preview of the next episode, narrated most frequently by KENN and Masami Suzuki, is made, followed by a brief "Today's Strongest Card" segment.

In the English version, the title sequence is accompanied by the song "Get Your Game On!", as are the end credits (in a shortened form). Eyecatches, previews, and the "Today's Strongest Card" featurette are removed entirely.

Story
''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'' begins with the lead character, Jaden Yuki obtaining a card, Winged Kuriboh, from Yugi Mutou, the renowned Duel Monsters champion. Yu-Gi-Oh! GX follows the exploits of Jaden and his companions as he attends Duel Academy (Duel Academia).

The Academy was created by Seto Kaiba on a remote island in the Southern Seas, with its dormitories named after the three Egyptian God Cards, and is run by Chancellor Sheppard (Samejima) and his staff. The most elaborate dormitory, Obelisk Blue (オベリスク・ブルー Oberisuku Burū), is named after Obelisk the Tormentor. The Obelisk Blue dormitory can be graduated to, but the only way to enter the dorm in the first year is to attend and do well at an affiliated junior school (English version only). As the highest ranked dormitory, Obelisk Blue's facilities are of the highest quality, on the level of the world's classiest hotels and restaurants. The center dorm, Ra Yellow (ラー・イェロー Rā Ierō), is named after The Winged Dragon of Ra. Those who were given the highest scores in the entrance exam, or who only did mediocrely in the junior school enter this dormitory, which, while not as extravagant as Obelisk Blue, still has incredibly clean and well-kept facilities and meals of a quality far above the lifestyle of the average salaryman. The lowest dorm, Slifer Red (Osiris Red; オシリス・レッド Oshirisu Reddo), is named after Slifer the Sky Dragon. Those who failed completely or scored poorly are put into the shoddy dorms of Slifer Red. The naming choices reflect Kaiba's bias over the God Cards in relation to his rivalry with Yugi (Obelisk was Kaiba's own personal card in Battle City, while Slifer was Yugi's, with Ra smack in the middle as the most desirable card out of the three until Yugi received it at the end of the story arc).

For the first two years at Duel Academy, the main cast faces major threats including the Shadow Riders (Seven Stars), who intend to revive the Sacred Beasts by creating a strong dueling presence on the island, as well as the Society of Light, which intends to enslave humanity with the mind control satellite of Misgarth. As a result of Professor Viper's interference, Duel Academy is transported to another world, a desert plane with three suns and resident Duel Monster spirits during the third year.

Cast
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX sports many personalities. The principal cast is composed of series hero Jaden Yuki, the passionate Alexis Rhodes and her dimwitted brother Atticus, the easily discouraged but determined Syrus Truesdale, elitist Chazz Princeton, the analytic Bastion Misawa, the strong-willed Tyranno Hassleberry, and the love-struck Blair Finnagan. Supporting characters often have connections to the educative or professional dueling worlds, and include Obelisk Blue professor Vellian Crowler, duelist-turned-Industrial Illusions designer Chumley Huffington, and Pro League powerhouses Zane Truesdale and Aster Phoenix. The Overseas Champions, a group of foreign duelists introduced in the third year, would also find a place in Duel Academy's student body.

Villains of the series range from elderly Kagemaru, to the manipulative Sartorius and venomous Professor Viper.

Trivia

 * "GX" is short for the term "Generation neXt," alluding to the "next generation" of Duel Monsters. "GENEX" was also the tentative title of the series as evidenced in early promotional work, and also refers to the GX (Genex) tournament beginning episode 84, which is in actuality a fabrication of Sheppard and Pegasus meant to lure out the person possessing the "Ultimate D-Card". The medal used during the tournament sports the "GX" logo in the title art.
 * Chaos Emperor Dragon, similar to its counterpart in the actual card game, is banned in sanctioned tournaments in the anime.
 * In the English version, Magic Cards are referred to as "Spell Cards," although the term "Magic card" has been used on several occasions. This was done to reflect the revised printing format that surfaced Magician's Force onwards in the TCG.