DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

MOVIE AdventureYu☆Gi☆Oh! (Movie)
ANIME ActionYu☆Gi☆Oh!
ANIME AdventureYu☆Gi☆Oh! Duel Monsters
MANGA ActionYu☆Gi☆Oh! R
MANGA AdventureYu☆Gi☆Oh! GX
MANGA AdventureYu☆Gi☆Oh!: TRANSCEND GAME
MANGA ActionYu☆Gi☆Oh OCG Structures
NOVEL ActionYu☆Gi☆Oh!
MANGA ActionYu☆Gi☆Oh OCG STORIES: Sentouhime-hen
MANGA ActionYu☆Gi☆Oh OCG STORIES: Magistus-hen

REVIEWS

• 

  JaxyBoi

  95/100
  Yu-Gi-Oh!, a hidden masterpiece of It's era

  Welcome to my review of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga. I will make this review as spoiler free as I can, If you think this Is a good review, please leave a like.

  Yu-Gi-Oh! is in total 343 chapters and 38 volumes, however the english releases of the manga split the manga into 3 different parts. The first part being called just ''Yu-Gi-Oh!''. Many fans might recognize the adaptation of it as ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0''. The second part of the manga is called ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist''. This adaptation is the one most fans recognise as it is the first english dubbed Yu-Gi-Oh season to ever be broadcasted over TV. The third part is called ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Millenium World''. Millenium World is very different to the adaptation and I will go in to details with every part in this review, but I want to clear up that I will be going to use the three different parts because that's how most Yu-Gi-Oh fans experienced the manga. Now then, all being said, onto the review!

  Yu-Gi-Oh! is 7 volumes long containing 59 chapters. This part of Yu-Gi-Oh is in my opinion the best introduction to this series. When you think of Yu-Gi-Oh! you think of child friendly, cards and fun. However, the manga is much more dark and gory than you might have expected. The story follows our main protagonist Yugi, a tenth grader who owns a puzzle from his grandpa, who owns a game shop. Yugi has been trying to complete this triangle formed puzzle for 8 years with no success, until one day, he actually completes this. When Yugi completed the puzzle, the triangle was in shape, and in the middle was an eye. As soon as he completed the puzzle, the eye shines light into Yugi's forehead, showing a big eye glowing. Yugi had gained the soul of a great Pharoh.

  When Yu-Gi-Oh gained the soul of this Pharaoh, he instantly became a gaming master, beating any kind of game, from normal board game to russian roulette type of games. The thing is, It's the Pharoh's soul who is the gaming master, and not Yugi's original soul. Yugi's soul only switches when his dearest friends are in trouble, that's when he comes up with a game and tries to beat them in a shadow game. The games most often becomes very extreme, including electric shocks, fire and much more. Overall this part is pretty good, its a good introduction to the series and It shows Kazuki Takahashi's great art and story telling. Overall 9.5/10.

  

  Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Is the part after Yu-Gi-Oh! and is 24 volumes long, 219 chapters. This part focuses muh more on duel monsters (the card game) and has much more lore. We get to know stuff like the creation behind the card game, more about the 7 millenium items (one of them yugi owns) and a lot more. We also get to see the improvement in Kazuki Takahashi's art.

  

  We also get introduced to a lot of new characters, and we get introduced to a lot of stratagies. We also get to see Yugi finally being able to switch between the pharaoh's soul and his own.

  

  There isn't anything more to say really about this part. It has much more going on and i think it is the most ambitious part. This was also most likely the start of many peoples childhood and getting introduced to the series, 9.5/10.

  Yu-Gi-Oh! Millenium World is arguably the best part compared to the other parts. It is 7 volumes and 65 chapters and concludes the ending of the original run. This part takes place in a shadow game (for the most part) and the protagonist of this part is the Pharoh's soul. We learn much more things about the Pharoh. When Yugi first got the Pharoh's soul, he had forgotten his memories and name, in this part we slowly get to know his memories and slowly we get to know his name (which is the mission in this part). We also get to see how duel monsters was used to play. As expected the art is fabulous, even though sometimes it can be hard to understand, you have to take into concideration that this was a weekly series.

  

  (The manga is very different to the anime because the anime included Kaiba, and was directed by 4Kids, and we all know 4Kids suck)

  My final words for this review:
  Oh boy. This manga sure was a ride! It had a lot of twists, emotional scenes, scenes that made me get up from my seat, just a whole roller coaster ride. For someone to have never watched or read the series, It was fun to see what the series was about. The world building in this series was just awesome, the character development was superb.
  My most final words for this review is you should most definetally give this series a shot, It has amazing art, amazing character and amazing story telling.

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• 

  mynameisdoofy

  90/100
  A carefully crafted battle shonen that is widely misunderstood.

  __This review is spoiler free.__

  Yu-Gi-Oh! is a franchise that, despite its overwhelming popularity, is often subject to unfair criticisms. In general, there is an unwillingness to take the series seriously because “it’s just for kids,” and thus, for many, any positive sentiment about the series is reduced entirely to nostalgia. While there is some truth to these claims, they do not justify writing off the series as a whole and undermining the feats it does accomplish. After all, a series can be an object of nostalgia while simultaneously achieving a certain level of quality (think no further than Cowboy Bebop or Princess Mononoke); likewise, one could argue that the whole shonen demographic is “just for kids,” yet this ‘criticism’ fails to come up amid discussions of One Piece or Hunter x Hunter – two other manga that ran alongside Yu-Gi-Oh! in Weekly Shonen Jump. I suspect that this (mis)conception is rooted in a common experience with the franchise: most people have only been exposed to the 4Kids’ dub of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, a highly censored version of an already questionable adaptation. What’s more, most people have only experienced the series as a child, a time in which one’s interpretive faculties are the least developed. It is only natural, then, that for those whose only experience with the franchise is of a censored dub of a questionable adaptation at a time when their interpretive faculties are the least developed that they struggle to entertain the idea that Yu-Gi-Oh! could actually be a well written battle shonen – but that is precisely what it is.

  The original manga, written and illustrated by the late great Kazuki Takahashi, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from September 14, 1996 to March 8, 2004. It ran for a total of 343 chapters, which were later compiled into 38 volumes. The English print, published by Viz Media, divides the manga into three sub-series. The first, promptly titled Yu-Gi-Oh!, includes volumes 1 to 7 and chapters 1 to 59. This material covers what most fans would recognize as “season zero:” a series of largely stand-alone stories that focus on various games outside of just duel monsters. The second sub-series, titled Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, includes volumes 8 to 31 and chapters 60 to 278. This, for many, is Yu-Gi-Oh! proper, where the focus is almost entirely on duel monsters. Here, we find such iconic arcs as Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. The third and final sub-series, Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World, includes volumes 32 to 38 and chapters 279 to 343. While the anime bases its final saga, Dawn of the Duel, on these chapters, it takes significant creative liberties in how it adapts this material, rendering the two arcs almost completely separate. With this breakdown in mind, I – following Viz’s division of the manga – will speak to the strengths/weakness of each sub-series before rendering a final judgment as regards the overall quality of the series.

  ___(1) Yu-Gi-Oh!___

  The first seven volumes take on a largely episodic structure: each week, a new villain appears doing something villainous, Yugi challenges them to some sort of game, beats them, then saves the day. Generally, this sort of formula grows tired rather quickly, but that is not the case here. Takahashi's original intention was to write a manga about "a week and childish boy who becomes a hero when he plays games" (Time for Kids, 2002). In this way, the manga was Takahashi's means of exploring his love for games, using them as a vehicle through which an average Japanese schoolboy could mature and establish their own identity. To what extent he accomplishes this in the first part is questionable, but what is clear is how this love for games translates into each chapter, keeping readers engaged during the entirety of the first part. Each week, Takahashi creates a unique game for Yugi and co. to participate in. The episodic structure works because each game is given an appropriate amount of screen time: no one game overstays its welcome, and if one game does not interest you, it will be gone in the following week. What's more is many of these early games have surprisingly high stakes. In chapter four, for example, an escaped prisoner holds Anzu at gun point. Yugi challenges said prisoner to a game, wherein each participant may only move one finger – a seemingly simple and benign 'game' (if you can call it that). The prisoner chooses his index finger, so that he may pull the trigger on his gun, while Yugi chooses his thumb. The reason for this is not clear until the next page: the prisoner has an unlit cigarette in his mouth. Yugi offers to light it for him, and as he reaches over the table, he places the lighter on the other hand of the prisoner, which is pouring a glass of alcohol. The situation is thus: the prisoner cannot fire the gun, as the recoil would knock the lighter into the alcohol, setting him aflame. This creates an opportunity for Yugi to escape with Anzu, leaving the prisoner to eventually drop the lighter, burning him to death.

  _Yu-Gi-Oh!, Chapter 4_

  The beauty of this scene is twofold. For one, Takahashi has proven that every move in the manga is calculated. Earlier scenes of the prisoner drinking and smoking were not only to establish certain character traits, but calculated steps that would later be integrated into the game / conclusion of the story. This sort of situational awareness is one of Takahashi's greatest virtues, as it allows him to unify various, seemingly arbitrary elements of a chapter into a cohesive ending. For another, this also demonstrates that Yu-Gi-Oh! is not merely some manga about a children's card game with no stakes: many of these games end in the death / near death of a character, which Takahashi is not afraid to depict (unlike the anime counterpart).

  Despite my seemingly endless sea of praises for the first part of the manga, there are a couple of issues I would like to highlight, above all being the character writing. While some earlier dynamics are done with a great level of care (for example, Honda's transition from Yugi's bully to his friend, and his hesitancy to fully commit to the friend group because of his fear that Yugi holds a grudge against him), much of the characters are fairly stock. I am willing to forgive this, as Takahashi himself intended on creating a "normal Japanese schoolboy," which we will see developed in subsequent parts, but as they exist in isolation in part one, apart from the rest of the story, they can come off as generic, especially to a more modern reader who has been overexposed to many of these archetypes. The other major issue (and one that will plague the series as a whole) is that Yugi constantly feels undefeatable. Again, this is not a problem in-and-of-itself; rather, it is only when these victories do not feel justified, and at least in part one, Takahashi takes great care to come up with unique solutions to the games he creates, giving the reader the impression that Yugi genuinely had to think his way out of the game, and hence, that the victory is deserved. This is not always the case, but I would like to think that in part one, it is not as big of an issue as it will become.

  Overall, I give part one an 8/10. It features lots of great writing, is full of passion, and was a joy to read.

  ___(2) Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist___

  Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist takes up the majority of the series, constituting almost two thirds of the manga. It should come as no surprise, then, that it contains both the highest highs and lowest lows of the series. This section begins with the famous Duelist Kingdom, spanning chapters 60 to 133. This is, for all intents and purposes, the pinnacle of Yu-Gi-Oh! as a battle shonen. To understand why, a brief summary is in order. Duel monsters (the game) starts as a collaboration between Industrial Illusions (an American company headed by Pegasus) and Kaiba Corporation (a Japanese tech company headed by Kaiba). When Kaiba enters into a coma (in part one), Pegasus plots to take over the company by going to the five biggest share holders and convincing them to let him assume the role of CEO. The issue, however, is that the value of the company is contingent on Kaiba being the king of games, but since his defeat to Yugi (also in part one), their value has plummeted. As such, Pegasus suggests holding a tournament with the intentions of defeating Yugi, making him (Pegasus) the new king of games. These "big five" would then accept him as their CEO, as it would allow them to restore their value as a company. While this context is laid out in the anime, the manga emphasizes it in a way that better structures the arc, giving all the actions within it more purpose. By contrast, the anime can often come across as a mere series of duels with individual characters having their own motives but no significant overarching meaning.

  _Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, Chapter 15_

  The real virtue of Duelist Kingdom, however, is its approach to duel monsters. The game officially debuted in chapter 9 of part one, where it took on a fairly privative form: using a variety of monster and spell cards, reduce your opponents life points to zero. When the game returns in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, it is largely under this same privative guise, but now with even more cards and longer duels. What makes Duelist Kingdom great, however, is that unlike the real life card game, with its standardized rules, the manga featured a much more flexible ruleset. The advantage of this is that Takahashi could focus on creating more unique card interactions that make duels both interesting and unpredictable. For instance, in Yugi's duel against Ryota Kajiki, the ocean field spell gave Ryota's water-based monsters a huge advantage; however, Yugi – in a move that can only be described as pure genius – decides to attack not any one of Ryota's monsters but the moon. As a result, the tide of the ocean drops, revealing and weakening Ryota's monsters, allowing Yugi to win. It's this kind of situational awareness that Takahashi excels at: taking otherwise mundane details from a chapter, like the location of a duel or the time of day it occurs, and incorporating that into a strategy for the duelists to use. These unique card interactions introduce more nuance into the battles; unlike the actual card game, where the outcome of a battle is determined by the monster with the higher attack, the manga utilizes these unique interactions, which introduce the possibility of a weaker monster winning – with a bit of strategy. While such examples might seem like an 'ass pull' from the perspective of a modern reader whose familiarity is limited to the real life card game, this flexibility is precisely what makes the earlier duels much more exciting.

  _Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, Chapter 13_

  On the whole, I have very little to complain about with regards to Duelist Kingdom. Here, we start to see some of the characters breakaway from the shackles of their earlier, generic selves, and we are given a whole host of interesting duels, all packaged within this corporate political drama. It begins to foreshadow a lot of future developments, especially with respect to the ancient lore behind the game and how Yami Yugi is connected to it all, and overall, it is a pleasure to read. However, it is not perfect. As previously mentioned, Yugi still feels unbeatable. While there are many instances in which his victories are well earned, here we start to see Takahashi employ the 'power of friendship' troupe at a much higher frequency than before. While this is not inherently bad, it becomes quite repetitive and can leave readers with a bad taste in their mouth (especially seeing Jonouchi win his millionth duel through the power of friendship).

  Duelist Kingdom is then followed by a brief (albeit fun) arc, Dungeon Dice Monsters, which covers chapters 134 to 145. While this arc has no real significance outside of introducing a new member of the cast, Ryuji Otogi, it is a nice detour for both Takahashi – who likely desired a break from drawing just duel monsters and wanted to further explore his passion for all-things-games – and the reader – who, likewise, could use a palate cleanser from all the card games.

  The second major saga in Duelist is Battle City, which covers chapters 146 to 201 (or 278 if you include the Tournament Finals). For many, this arc is paradigmatic of what Yu-Gi-Oh! is all about, and understandably so: it maintains a healthy balance of all the dueling fun from Duelist Kingdom, with the stakes of part one, and the Egyptian lore of Millennium World. Here, we also start to see some major developments in the rules of the card game: monsters over four stars require tributes, fusion monsters cannot attack on the turn they were summoned, and so on. This brings the manga's card game more in line with the real life card game (admittedly, not by much). More importantly, however, it also helps mitigate a pressing issue for all battle shonen, namely, power creep. In Duelist Kingdom, players could summon their most powerful monsters for free: Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon, despite their enormous strength, required zero sacrifice. This was not a huge issue then, as the difference between the weakest and strongest monsters was not so great, and further, because of Takahashi's approach to the game, there was always the opportunity for a weaker monster to defeat a stronger one through some clever strategy. However, this is not the case in Battle City, where the difference between a God card and even the previous strongest monsters is monumental. Hence, tribute summoning presents such monsters with a much needed check.

  _Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, Chapter 89_

  On the topic of duels in Battle City, something else must be said: unlike Duelist Kingdom, where duels were largely settled by unique card interactions, Battle City attempts to situate most of its duels within the bounds of the established ruleset. As a result, there is much more spell and trap card play than in Duelist Kingdom, but much less outside strategy. The difference between the two is perhaps best explained through a hypothetical example: in Duelist Kingdom, Yugi attacked the literal moon, but in Battle City, he would have activated a spell card that destroys the moon card. While the outcome is similar, the Duelist Kingdom style presents itself as a sort of outside-the-box / on-the-fly thinking: Yugi had to figure out that the moon was affecting the tide, giving Ryota an advantage, and that destroying the moon would reverse this effect, allowing him to win; conversely, the Battle City style already tells Yugi that the moon is giving Ryota an advantage, and he has to hope that he can draw a card capable of destroying it. While he still has to come up with the idea himself, it often feels like he is simply lucky enough to draw the exact card(s) necessary to complete the combo. The reason I mention this difference in style is because of how it amplifies a previously established problem: Yugi's undefeatable-ness. Although Yugi is not literally undefeated, he has this presence of "I am the protagonist, so I will ultimately win at the end of the day." As previously mentioned, it is not inherently problematic if it feels like he earns the win, which in Duelist Kingdom, he often did through his on-the-fly thinking, but now in Battle City, where luck plays a much larger role, some of his wins can feel less justified.

  While the quality of dueling starts to tapper in Battle City, a greater emphasis is placed on developing individual characters to new heights. Of particular significance is the dynamic between Yugi and Yami Yugi. While the two have co-existed in unity over the course of the story, Yami Yugi is slowly confronted with the reality of his past life, forcing Yugi to wrestle with the reality of his distinction / difference from Yami. Here we find the seeds of Takahashi's original intention start to blossom: Yugi, as an average Japanese schoolboy, begins to wrestle with his identity as distinct from Yami's for the first time in a serious way. We will not see the resolution of this internal tension until the end of the series, but it is clear that the longer Yu-Gi-Oh! goes on, the more of a character-based drama it becomes.

  _Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, Chapter 90_

  There is much more one could say about Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, but to keep this review brief, the above should suffice. Overall, I give it a 9/10.

  ___(3) Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World___

  Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World is the part for which I have the least to say. As I have mentioned, the trajectory of the manga, especially post-Duelist Kingdom, is to focus less on the duels and more on developing individual characters, and in particular, Yugi and his relationship to Yami. That is not to say that the duels are somehow less important in Millennium World – after all, the arc is perhaps best understood as a 'history of duel monsters' – but rather, it is clear that Takahashi's emphasis is now on finishing the character arc he started all the way back in part one. Millennium World picks up with Yugi's identity crisis in Battle City, and amplifies it tenfold by literally splitting Yugi and Yami apart, forcing the two to grapple with who they are as an individual. Their journey to uncover the truth of Yami's past and where that journey takes them is handled with the same level of sophistication one would expect from Takahashi at this point. However, because this is the climax of the series, and a climax which differs in meaningful ways from the anime adaptation, I have opted to keep my remarks here practically non-existent; instead, I hope that what I have said up until this point has convinced you to read the series, so that once you get here, you, too, will be able to understand what makes Yu-Gi-Oh! special. Overall, I give Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World a 9/10.

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• 

  sarutak

  88/100
  This manga isn’t perfect by any means but it has a tonne of heart and soul and deserves to be recognised for it.

  I have tried to keep this review mostly spoiler free. I do however talk about certain character's backstories and specifically mention a few non plot critical moments. I have kept things as vague as possible but fair warning as everyone has different ideas of what they consider to be spoilers.

  When I went into this manga I was expecting a pretty simple story with the tropes I came to expect from the anime adaptation, with the power of friendship solving a lot of problems. Now this is not to say there isn’t a lot of that but it’s only a surface level view of what it has to offer. The more you read the more you notice deeper themes and ideas, and before long I couldn’t stop reading.

  The English release of Yu-Gi-Oh is split into three parts, each starting at volume one, this is fitting because all three parts are quite a departure from each other despite being a continuous story.
  Part one titled just: “Yu-Gi-Oh” Starts off with an episodic villain of the week format which was a good way to show off the main character’s alter ego. There is definitely a vibe of everything being not quite finalised yet, a bit of testing the waters of publication maybe. Character designs change a bit later and the personality of the alter ego changes quite significantly. It all has a bit of an experimental feel but I still enjoyed the early chapters. Before that structure outstays its welcome it becomes a more traditional story structure with longer arcs and recurring characters, especially when the card game becomes a major focus.
  The way everything is settled with different games makes this part so unique. It’s astounding the huge variety of games Takahashi came up with for each new story and it really made each new chapter a joy anticipating what game or gamble would be next. The final arc of part one and the final game is a real unexpected treat and caps off the pre card game era perfectly.

  Part two titled: “Yu-Gi-Oh Duelist” is by far the longest being almost four times as long as part one or three. For the most part it’s entirely focused on the card game, however from time to time there are still other games introduced and they were usually a great diversion.
  This is also where the manga fully embraces an overarching plot and starts using characters to express themes and for this reason I found this part to be the strongest. I really enjoyed Kaiba’s backstory being a condemnation of the military industrial complex and war in general. I also loved the debate of being trapped by the past or facing the future and arguments over who is doing which being central to the Yugi and Kaiba rivalry. I thought These concepts were expressed thoughtfully and interestingly throughout the rest of the book.
  The mystery of Yugi’s alter ego and the connection to ancient Egypt also becomes a big focus here and while it takes a long time to get answers, I think it’s a good premise that is worth the wait.

  Part three titled: “Yu-Gi-Oh Millennium World” wraps up the original mystery set out at the start of the story. It’s done well enough and has an absolutely amazing call back to the end of part one that I really loved. It’s not the strongest part but the new location and characters as well as the promise of answers made it a quick and intriguing read.
  The card game takes a backseat here in favour of full monster battles which I enjoyed the least out of all the ways this manga does battles. It trades strategy for pure action and I just don’t think it played to Takahashi’s strengths. I appreciate the fact he switched up from the card game in the middle of it overtaking the world in real life, that takes a lot of creative integrity, but I wish he had showcased his knowledge of games and brain for thinking up games here instead. All this is not to say Millennium World is bad, the conclusion of the story is still very satisfying and if you read this far into the manga you will probably be desperate to see the new setting.

  Takahashi’s art really evolved throughout the manga. It’s a bit rough in part one but it doesn’t stand in the way of anything or detract from the story and has a lot of charm. By part two he really found his form, a lot of the monster designs are great particularly ones with ancient Egyptian themes and motifs, and characters are drawn more consistently. There’s a reason a lot of the original run of Yu-Gi-Oh cards have such iconic art and that’s because he was good at drawing interesting and memorable creatures.

  The art is not as detailed as something you would find from the absolute top manga artists and on occasion the panelling is a bit scuffed. My main criticism for the art is that sometimes, particularly in the Millennium World saga, fights would be a bit too hectic and had too many monsters on the page at once resulting in the occasional mess of a page. Despite the few problems Takahashi’s art is full of character and passion, especially for games and creatures.

  

  Before I move onto my favourite aspect of this manga I have to mention that the English translation from VIZ does have a few problems. It’s not enough to ruin things especially for normal people, but I have to say it did get annoying at times. It’s mostly minor things but there were a few instances where they mislabelled a character, for example: referring to Yugi as Jonouchi, as well as spelling mistakes that just should not have got through to print. Something that did really annoy me was Kaiba’s brother Mokuba almost always refers to him as “Kaiba” but due to being brothers he should be the only character calling him “Seto”. I think what makes it worse is he does sometimes say “Seto” so someone there knew. It’s totally bearable and I would still advise reading the official translation I just wish it was perfect.

  

  I really like most of the extended cast of characters but it should be noted that the main three Yugi, Kaiba and Jonouchi get almost all of the focus and development. The issue is that some of the other characters feel like cheerleaders at times and could have had a more impactful role. A character that deserves a quick mention is Bakura. He is vastly more important to the plot in the manga and it does wonders for his character, it was an unexpected difference but one I found immensely more satisfying.

  Despite the missed potential I still like them enough, the manga just really shines with its main characters. Jonouchi in particular goes through tremendous amounts of growth over the course of the entire manga and is a fan favourite for a reason. He is an underdog with the spirit of a champion and seeing his skills grow and gaining reluctant respect from even his harshest critics was the best. What’s great is how much his slow growth in skill and knowledge impacts the pacing and helps to keep long stretches of battles fresh and interesting, even lesser battles that could be seen as filler. In a later arc there is a duel between him and a character returning from the previous arc that I didn’t really care about. By this point Jonouchi for the most part, knows what he’s doing. The strategies he thinks of and the story told there elevate that duel to my top five in the manga when it could have just been a forgettable, throwaway duel.

  Seto Kaiba was also a surprise. Having gone in already liking him from the anime I learned that he is a way deeper character here; his backstory and way of thinking is just expressed much more cohesively. His rivalry with Yugi is also more impactful and meaningful with both characters philosophies conflicting with each other’s but not entirely. Kaiba’s obsession with the future due to his trauma causes him to see Yugi as a relic of the past, a past he continuously affirms he never wants to think about. The way Kaiba sees Yugi results in an unrelenting need to beat him to prove perhaps to himself most of all that the past is meaningless. It’s a really cool way to express Kaiba’s trauma and made me really invested in the biggest rivalry of the manga.

  Kaiba does go through a good amount of growth yet still retains his huge jerk personality, but I find him a loveable jerk for sure. He’s also just really cool and entertaining, where else am I going to find a character that uses a playing card to block the hammer of a pistol and then proceeds to tell his own pilot to throw himself into the sea or he will splatter his brains over the flight controls? It’s just something you can only get with Kaiba and there’s a tonne of moments like this.

  

  Yugi and his alter ego are mostly good but with caveats. They do have a great relationship with each other and I appreciate their friendship in their unusual circumstances. Yugi is quite a naive lad and takes a long time to get character growth but he does eventually and I would say it is good enough. His big problem is he shares his time with the alter ego and he gets way, way less focus than him, although his lack of screen time does fit the idea that he needs to find his own voice and identity.

  The alter ego is the more interesting of the two of them. He has the mystery of who he is going for him so I was always happy to find out more or see him interact with new people. I can’t complain too much he is a solid protagonist and has a good presence in battle. For the most part the ways he wins duels or games is written well and you can appreciate the intelligence behind his victories. He does start to feel invincible later on though and gets a fair few deus ex machina wins. I think this is another reason why Jonouchi becomes such a great character to watch. Even if he also gets a lot of luck at times, he still feels like he really has to desperately claw for every win he gets. I wanted to root for this nobody, this rube fighting for his friends against the power of ancient gods with nothing but dice and a dream.

  This manga isn’t perfect by any means but it has a tonne of heart and soul and deserves to be recognised for it. I love the card game and am glad I finally read this manga as it has been a blast start to finish!

  
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