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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

Yu-Gi-Oh!, known in Japan as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (遊☆戯☆王デュエルモンスターズ) and alternatively subtitled Rulers of the Duel in the United States and Canada, is a Japanese anime series animated by Studio Gallop based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga series written by Kazuki Takahashi. It is the second anime adaptation of the manga following the 1998 anime television series produced by Toei Animation. The series revolves around a young high school boy named Yugi Muto who battles opponents in the Duel Monsters card game. The series begins from chapter 60 in volume 7 before loosely adapting the remaining chapters of the original manga by making story changes that conflict with the events of the manga canon.

''Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters'' originally aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 2000 to September 2004, running for 224 episodes. A remastered version, highlighting certain duels, began airing in Japan in February 2015.[4] An English-language localization of the anime series was produced by 4Kids Entertainment, and aired in the United States from September 29, 2001, to June 10, 2006, on Kids' WB. Twelve extra episodes, which are American-produced, aired exclusively for the Western audience in mid-late 2006 shortly after the conclusion of the main series.

The series has since spawned its own metaseries. Duel Monsters would be succeeded by Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Go Rush!!. Three films based on this anime series have also been produced: Pyramid of Light (2004), Bonds Beyond Time (2010) and The Dark Side of Dimensions (2016).[5]

Plot overview

Season 1

The story follows Yugi Muto, a boy who completed an ancient Egyptian artifact known as the Millennium Puzzle, which led to him to inherit an alter-ego spirit. After defeating his rival, Seto Kaiba, in a game of Duel Monsters, Yugi is approached by Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters, who uses the power of another Millennium Item, the Millennium Eye, to kidnap the soul of Yugi's grandfather. Joined by his friends Joey Wheeler (Katsuya Jonouchi in the English manga and in Japanese versions), Tristan Taylor (Hiroto Honda), and Taya Gardner (Anzu Mazaki), Yugi enters Pegasus' Duelist Kingdom tournament in order to defeat Pegasus and free his grandfather's soul.

Season 2

Yugi learns that the spirit dwelling within him is a nameless Pharaoh from ancient Egyptian times, who does not remember anything of his past. Yugi enters Kaiba's Battle City tournament in order to obtain the three Egyptian God cards needed to unveil the Pharaoh's past. Along the way, Yugi encounters more Millennium Item wielders, including Marik Ishtar, the wielder of the Millennium Rod, and his elder sister Izhizu Ishtar who possesses the prophesying Millennium Necklace.

Season 3

The first twenty-four episodes of the season form an original story arc that sees Yugi and his friends get sucked into a virtual world run by Noah, the son of Seto and Mokuba's adoptive father, Gozaburo. After returning to the real world, the finals of the Battle City tournament commence.

Season 4

Produced during the time Millennium World was being written, in a new, original story arc, the Orichalcos drains the power from the Egyptian God cards and begins gathering souls in order to revive the ancient dragon monster serpent, Leviathan. Yugi, Joey and Kaiba are each given a legendary dragon card to fight the Orichalcos, its leader, Dartz, and his henchmen.

Season 5

The final season is equivalent to Millennium World in the manga. However, the first half focuses on anime-original story arcs released during the time the final chapters of the manga were being written.

After the Orichalcos has been eliminated, in another original story arc, Yugi and his friends battle in the KaibaCorp Grand Championship to face off another of Kaiba's rivals, Zigfried. Then, Yugi, his friends, and Solomon travel to India only to be taken to the world of Capsule Monsters.

The latter half of the season sees Ryo Bakura, the owner of the Millennium Ring, overcome by the dark spirit within the Ring. When Yugi and his friends go to Egypt, they find themselves sucked 5,000 years into the past, where the Pharaoh must battle Bakura and his evil essence, Zorc the Dark One. After returning to the present day, Yugi and the Pharaoh duel each other in the ultimate test.

Localization

In April 2001, 4Kids Entertainment obtained the merchandising and television rights to the series from Nihon Ad Systems.[6] In its adaptation, character names, settings, and other aspects were changed. The show's visuals and sound effects were replaced, and a new music score was used. In addition to explaining these changes, 4Kids' senior vice president of digital media, Mark Kirk, also explained during an interview with Anime News Network that U.S. television broadcast laws under the FCC dictated that the "Duel Monster" cards in the anime were not allowed to look exactly like the real cards that are sold; otherwise, the show would legally be considered an infomercial rather than an animated television series, and thus the cost to air it during daytime hours would become exponentially higher.[7]

An album containing some tracks from the English dub music entitled ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Music to Duel By'' was released on October 29, 2002, on DreamWorks Records on Audio CD and Compact Cassette.[8]

An uncut version, featuring an all-new English dub track and the original Japanese audio, began release in October 2004, in association with Funimation Entertainment. Only three volumes, comprising the first nine episodes, were ever released. 4Kids would later release the uncut Japanese episodes on YouTube in March 2009,[9] but were forced to stop due in August of that same year, due to rights issues.[10]

On March 24, 2011, TV Tokyo and Nihon Ad Systems, owner of the anime series, filed a joint lawsuit against 4Kids, accusing the company of underpayments concerning the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchises and allegedly conspiring with Funimation, and have allegedly terminated their licensing deal with them.[11] This led to 4Kids filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code.[12][13] Although 4Kids had managed to settle the case in March 2012,[14] they ended up selling their rights to the franchise, among other assets, to Konami. Konami currently distributes the series and its spin-offs, in addition to producing English dubs through its renamed subsidiary, 4K Media Inc.[15][16][17]

Streaming

In July 2009, 4Kids announced plans to release the original, Japanese version of the anime series with subtitles on their YouTube channel. However, In August 2009, these episodes were removed due to legal issues with ADK (NAS' parent company and owner of the anime) and Shunsuke Kazama, the Japanese voice of Yugi.[18][19] On July 11, 2015, the Japanese version of the series began streaming on Crunchyroll.[20][21] The news came over a week after an earlier announcement that streaming of subtitled episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX would begin on August 1, 2015.[22]

Cast

External links

References

  1. Ian Wolf. Yu-Gi-Oh! Volume 1 Anime UK News, November 17, 2014, retrieved February 2, 2019^
  2. Stefan Ulstein. Yu-Gi-Oh! Christianity Today, August 13, 2004, retrieved February 2, 2019^
  3. Saturday / 05 November 2005 Kids Central, retrieved 2025-11-09^
  4. Rafael Antonio Pineda. 2016 Yu-Gi-Oh! Film Teaser Recaps 20 Years of Manga, Anime Anime News Network, December 22, 2014, retrieved January 19, 2015^
  5. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie Pyramid of Light YuGiOh! World, October 13, 2015, retrieved December 16, 2018^
  6. 4KIDS ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO YU-GI-OH! 4Kids Entertainment, April 19, 2001, retrieved September 14, 2022^
  7. Zac Bertschy. Kirk Up Your Ears Anime News Network, retrieved September 27, 2010^
  8. 4Kids Entertainment and DreamWorks Records Sign Yu-Gi-Oh! Record Deal Yu-Gi-Oh!: Music To Duel By Album to Hit Stores October 29, 2002 4kidsentertainment.com, October 3, 2002, retrieved August 22, 2016^
  9. Egan Loo. 4Kids Posts 2 Yu-Gi-Oh! Episodes in Raw Japanese Anime News Network, March 18, 2009, retrieved December 14, 2023^
  10. Egan Loo. 4Kids Stops Streaming Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Anime News Network, August 22, 2009, retrieved December 14, 2023^
  11. TV Tokyo, Nihon Ad Terminate Yu-Gi-Oh! Deal, Sue 4Kids Anime News Network, March 29, 2011, retrieved May 23, 2011^
  12. 4Kids Files Shareholders' Report on Yu-Gi-Oh! Lawsuit Anime News Network, March 31, 2011, retrieved May 23, 2011^
  13. 4Kids Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Anime News Network, April 6, 2011, retrieved May 23, 2011^
  14. Yu-Gi-Oh! Lawsuit Settled Between 4Kids, ADK, TV Tokyo Anime News Network, retrieved October 20, 2014^
  15. Egan Loo. Konami to Get 4Kids' Yu-Gi-Oh! Assets Under Proposed Deal Anime News Network, June 16, 2012, retrieved November 1, 2023^
  16. 4Kids Sells Yu-Gi-Oh!, CW Network-Related Assets Jointly to Konami, Kidsco^
  17. Konami Explains Transition of 4Kids' Yu-Gi-Oh Assets Anime News Network, retrieved October 20, 2014^
  18. Removal of Yu-Gi-Oh! Episodes was due to Nonrenewal of Japanese Voice Actor's Contract by ADK Word Press, August 24, 2009, retrieved September 29, 2010^
  19. Official Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! Episodes Removed from YouTube, Never to Return Again Word Press, August 21, 2009, retrieved September 29, 2010^
  20. Joseph Luster. Crunchyroll Adds "Yu-Gi-Oh!" Season 1 with English Subtitles Crunchyroll News, retrieved August 19, 2015^
  21. Crunchyroll Adds English-Subtitled Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Anime Anime News Network, retrieved September 14, 2015^
  22. Crunchyroll To Stream English Subtitled "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX" Crunchyroll News, retrieved August 19, 2015^
  23. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Behind The Voice Actors, retrieved 2021-08-23^