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Yu-Gi-Oh! (second series anime)
Encyclopedia
Yu-Gi-Oh!, known in Japan
and the rest of East Asia
as is an anime
based on the Yu-Gi-Oh!
manga
. It is produced by Studio Gallop and Nihon Ad Systems
, and the English-language adaptation was distributed by 4Kids Entertainment
until March 29, 2011 when TV Tokyo and Nihon Ad Systems sued 4Kids Entertainment, alleging that the company entered into illegal agreements with other companies, including Funimation Entertainment and Majesco Entertainment as part of the suit, the companies terminated the Yu-Gi-Oh! license from 4Kids.
Duel Monsters is not to be confused with the earlier series of the same name.
The success of Duel Monsters was one of the main factors in creating a real-world version of the game that served as the focal point of the series, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
.
The series began its 224-episode run in Japan
on April 18, 2000 and ended on September 29, 2004. In the United States
, it began airing on September 29, 2001 and ended on June 10, 2006. In Japan, the series aired on TV Tokyo
. The English version is broadcast on many channels. In the United States
it was originally broadcast on Kids' WB
, and reruns were previously seen on 4Kids TV
and Cartoon Network
, and can still be viewed online at www.4KidsTV.com. In Canada
, Yu-Gi-Oh! is broadcast on YTV. In Latin America
and Australia
, it is broadcast on Nickelodeon
, and formerly on Network Ten
in Australia. In the United Kingdom
it is broadcast on Nickelodeon
and Sky One
. In Hong Kong
, it is broadcast on ATV
from July 13, 2002. In March 2009, 4kids started releasing both dub episodes and raw Japanese episodes (without subtitles) on their Youtube
channel, and is currently available to view everywhere except Asia. These episodes have since all been removed by November 2010, the reason is unknown. The series currently airs on The CW's Saturday morning cartoon block, Toonzai.
) enters the tournament in order to pay for his sister's eye surgery, and Pegasus and several top executives at KaibaCorp plot to remove Seto Kaiba
from the head of his company.
was loosely based on this storyline. After the Legendary Heroes storyline is over, the show goes directly into the Dungeon Dice Monsters plot. When a new game shop opens to compete with Solomon's game shop, Yugi is challenged by its owner Duke Devlin (Ryuji Otogi in the Japanese version) in a game of his creation, with the title of "King of Games" on the line. The Legendary Heroes story only appears in the anime and the Dungeon Dice Monsters' has several differences from the manga version, one of them being that Ryuji is actually trying to gain vengeance for the defeat his father took from Yugi's grandfather, rather than challenging Yugi to regain Pegasus' honor as seen in the anime.
10,000 years ago. To stop them, Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba join forces with the three legendary dragons, Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos, and take on Doma's members: the three duelists Rafael, Valon and Alister, and their leader Dartz. Also, at certain points Mai, Rex, and Weevil were also a part of Doma, but Yami Yugi beat Weevil, Joey beat Rex, and during her duel with Joey Mai realized that she was doing wrong.
, is redone, and Miho Nosaka, a supporting character in the manga and the earlier series, does not appear in Duel Monsters. Whereas the earlier series introduces the characters (by virtue of being adapted from earlier volumes of the manga), Duel Monsters assumes that the viewers are familiar with the characters from the onset, and scenes referring to chronologically earlier events are redone.
Because of the relative speed between the manga and anime releases, three extra story arcs
that are not found in later volumes have been added for Duel Monsters: Virtual World, Waking the Dragons, and Grand Championship.
One of the other most notable changes is that, unlike the manga, the Duel Monsters anime, as the title suggest focuses on the Duel Monsters card-game more than the manga, and adds many Duel scenes that were not in the original manga itself, often changing parts of the plot to fit around addition of the duels.
adaptation by 4Kids Entertainment
aired in the U.S., Canada
, United Kingdom
, Australia
, South Africa
and New Zealand
, and a Southeast Asia
version by A.S.N. for Singapore
and the Philippines
. Both versions have edits, most of which are content edits.
The pilot airdate for Yu-Gi-Oh! was originally 9/15/01 but was switched to 9/29/01 because of the September 11 attacks.
In the 4Kids Entertainment
adaption, names such as Hiroto Honda, Katsuya Jonouchi
, and Anzu Mazaki
were Americanized into Tristan Taylor, Joey Wheeler, and Téa Gardner respectively. Though originally taking place in Japan
, the setting was changed to take place in the United States
. All the characters that are originally Japanese in the original, have their nationalities and ethnic origins changed to American. The Japanese sound effects, background music, and opening and closing sequences were also changed. The sound effects being replaced with familiar American and newly created effects and background music to melodramatic synth music compared to the slightly more upbeat Japanese soundtrack. The opening and ending themes were changed from J-Rock and J-Pop
songs from various artists to an instrumental song done with a synthesizer.
Most of the dialogue and several elements of the plot were changed for offensive content, time constraints, and marketing reasons, and visual edits contain removal of blood and reduction of violence in some scenes, change of some monster designs due to occult or sexual themes, and rearranging scenes to make previous content edits make more sense. Several continuity errors occur in the English version due to edits such as these. Due to U.S. TV regulations, the appearance of the cards has been changed from those resembling the real life product, to a new design only featuring the card art, attribute, level, and stats (ATK/DEF). In an interview with Anime News Network, Senior Vice President of Digital Media for 4Kids Entertainment, Mark Kirk, claimed that the reason for editing the appearance of the cards was because U.S. TV broadcast laws dictated that the cards were not allowed to look exactly like the real cards that are sold. This is because if the cards in the anime looked exactly like the real cards on retail, then the show would legally be considered a commercial rather than a cartoon, and the cost for airing commercials is exponentially higher than the cost for airing a cartoon. Because this law does not apply to motion pictures, however, in the Pyramid of Light movie, all cards played in duel scenes look identical to the cards of the real-world trading card game.
A separate "uncut" DVD
release was commissioned between 4Kids Entertainment
and FUNimation, with a new adaptation that is more consistent with the original, using the original music and sound effects, no edits, and a script following closer to the original. Each uncut DVD contained 3 episodes available both in an uncut English dub and the original Japanese format English subbed, and a total of 3 DVDs were made for a total of 9 episodes. A fourth DVD containing episodes 10-12 was made (and finished), and ready to be released, but after a series of constant delays the DVD was listed as unavailable by sites and that it was not known if or when it would be available again. 4Kids later said in an interview that the uncut DVDs were 'competing' with the edited ones and they wanted to take out the competition, so they decided to 'indefinitely delay' the uncut DVDs. But to this day even after all the edited DVDs were released they still have yet to re-start the project or even release the last DVD done, and the current status of the uncut project is unknown. Lance Heiskell, a FUNimation representative, has noted legal rights as the reason for cancellation.
The 4Kids dub has been marketed across lots of English speaking countries, and the movie and special Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters
have been made for the American market.
In March 2009, 4Kids started adding episodes to its official YouTube channel. The company was both showing the US episodes, as well as the original Japanese episodes with English subtitles. Viewing was initially restricted to the United States, but in April it became viewable everywhere except Asia
. Subtitled episodes became available in April 2009, although some titles were mislabeled and everyone is still referred to by Americanized names for legal reasons.
In July 2009, 4Kids had stated that they would be uploading the entire first season subtitled, and added that they planned to release the entire series subtitled on their YouTube channel in the near future, but an announcement in August 2009 stated that all the Japanese episodes were to be removed due to legal issues with ADK (one of the primary producers of the anime) and Shunsuke Kazama
, the original Japanese voice of Yugi. However, the English dub is still available, and 4Kids still plans to release subtitled versions of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, along with their English counterparts. However, due to the legal issues with Kazama, 4Kids has stated that they may have to drop all of the audio for Yugi's lines.
. The original background music, opening music and ending music are kept intact as well. There is also mild profanity
, unlike the 4Kids version.
.
The real-world rules essentially correspond to the "new rules for experts" set out by Kaiba at the start of the Battle City story arc. Prior to this, a simplified version of the rules, reflecting that of the manga, is utilized, with several differences including the summoning of monsters without the use of tributes, the inability to attack a player's life points directly, the restriction that only one monster could attack per turn, and certain types of monsters being stronger or weaker against other monsters of a logical type (similar to the often compared Pokémon
).
These earlier rules take considerable artistic liberty in their depiction - for example, allowing monsters to be "partially destroyed", or to be played as magic cards. At times, some duels feature particularly unusual events which only "work" because the field and monsters are represented by holograms, allowing for exciting or dynamic visuals that accompany events which could never be realistically employed in the real-life card game. A prime example of this is Yugi's two-part duel against Panik, in which, among other things, the light from the manifestation of the Swords of Revealing Light dispels the darkness obscuring Panik's monsters, and the Castle of Dark Illusions has its flotation ring destroyed, causing it to fall on and destroy those monsters.
Some differences, however, are not just limited to the Duelist Kingdom arc. Throughout the series, some cards are in different classifications in Duel Monsters as compared to the real-world game - for example, Flame Swordsman is a normal monster in the series, but is a fusion monster in the real-world game. Spellbinding Circle was notably entirely redone as a "trap with spell card properties", complete with a different function. Also, duelists are shown normal summoning their monster cards in face-up defense position, while this is only possible in the real-world card game when permitted by the effects of certain spell or trap cards. Additionally, duelists constantly place their cards face down in their graveyard, as opposed to face up. In the Battle City story arc, the "advanced rules" also prevent Fusion monsters from immediately attacking, where there is no such provision in the real game. To avoid this rule in the anime, the spell card Quick-Attack was created. From the Doma story arc onwards, no such provision exists. By that point, the only difference is the starting amount of life points, which is reduced for purposes of brevity. These rules are carried forward into the follow-up series, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
.
Several cards were created exclusively for the anime, including unique cards that are tied to story elements, such as the Legendary Dragons in the Doma arc. A few other anime-exclusive cards were created, but typically, these are seen only for one duel. Also, certain cards like "Dark Magician" and "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" are not nearly as rare as they are in the anime.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the rest of East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
as is an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
based on the Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yu-Gi-Oh!
is a Japanese manga created by Kazuki Takahashi. It has produced a franchise that includes multiple anime shows, a trading card game and numerous video games...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
. It is produced by Studio Gallop and Nihon Ad Systems
Nihon Ad Systems
, NAS for short, is a Japanese anime production and character merchandising company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the advertising agency Asatsu-DK. The "Ad" in its title is an abbreviation for "Animation Development". Along with animation studios Sunrise, Toei Animation and TMS Entertainment, it is...
, and the English-language adaptation was distributed by 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
until March 29, 2011 when TV Tokyo and Nihon Ad Systems sued 4Kids Entertainment, alleging that the company entered into illegal agreements with other companies, including Funimation Entertainment and Majesco Entertainment as part of the suit, the companies terminated the Yu-Gi-Oh! license from 4Kids.
Duel Monsters is not to be confused with the earlier series of the same name.
The success of Duel Monsters was one of the main factors in creating a real-world version of the game that served as the focal point of the series, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
The is a Japanese collectible card game developed and published by Konami. It is based on the fictional game of Duel Monsters created by manga artist Kazuki Takahashi, which is the main plot device during the majority of his popular manga franchise, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and its various anime adaptations...
.
The series began its 224-episode run in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on April 18, 2000 and ended on September 29, 2004. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it began airing on September 29, 2001 and ended on June 10, 2006. In Japan, the series aired on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
. The English version is broadcast on many channels. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
it was originally broadcast on Kids' WB
Kids' WB
Kids' WB! was Warner Bros. American childrens programing division brand for The WB Television Network. In September 2006, the block moved to The CW Television Network. The CW is the result of The WB's merger with UPN in 2006...
, and reruns were previously seen on 4Kids TV
4Kids TV
4Kids TV was a Saturday morning television programming block on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The block was part of the Fox Network schedule...
and Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, and can still be viewed online at www.4KidsTV.com. In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Yu-Gi-Oh! is broadcast on YTV. In Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, it is broadcast on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, and formerly on Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
in Australia. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
it is broadcast on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
and Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
. In Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, it is broadcast on ATV
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
from July 13, 2002. In March 2009, 4kids started releasing both dub episodes and raw Japanese episodes (without subtitles) on their Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel, and is currently available to view everywhere except Asia. These episodes have since all been removed by November 2010, the reason is unknown. The series currently airs on The CW's Saturday morning cartoon block, Toonzai.
Plot
Like the earlier series, Duel Monsters is mainly about the various battles of a high school freshman named Yugi Muto through a card game known as Duel Monsters (Magic and Wizards in the original, although Duel Monsters is also used). However, Duel Monsters has a completely different plot. The plot of Duel Monsters is split up into several different storylines, or arcs.Duelist Kingdom
Duelist Kingdom is the first arc in the Duel Monsters anime. Maximillion Pegasus (Pegasus J. Crawford in the Japanese version), using the power of the Millennium Eye, manages to seal away the soul of Yugi's grandfather Solomon Muto (Sugoroku Mutou in the Japanese version), and Yugi must save him by entering a Duel Monsters tournament on Pegasus' private island. Meanwhile, Joey Wheeler (Katsuya JonouchiKatsuya Jonouchi
is a fictional character and the deuteragonist in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! He is known as Joseph "Joey" Wheeler in the English-language anime and video games....
) enters the tournament in order to pay for his sister's eye surgery, and Pegasus and several top executives at KaibaCorp plot to remove Seto Kaiba
Seto Kaiba
is a fictional character and the anti-heroic tritagonist in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!. As the majority shareholder and CEO of his own multi-national company, KaibaCorp, Kaiba aims to become the world's greatest player of the Duel Monsters card game...
from the head of his company.
Legendary Heroes/Dungeon Dice Monsters
In a continued attempt to remove Seto Kaiba from his position as head of KaibaCorp, KaibaCorp's former executives trap Kaiba in a virtual reality game based on Duel Monsters. Yugi and his friends enter the game to save him. The video game Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound KingdomYu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom, known in Japan as Yu-Gi-Oh! Falsebound Kingdom , is the only Nintendo GameCube game in the Yu-Gi-Oh! series....
was loosely based on this storyline. After the Legendary Heroes storyline is over, the show goes directly into the Dungeon Dice Monsters plot. When a new game shop opens to compete with Solomon's game shop, Yugi is challenged by its owner Duke Devlin (Ryuji Otogi in the Japanese version) in a game of his creation, with the title of "King of Games" on the line. The Legendary Heroes story only appears in the anime and the Dungeon Dice Monsters' has several differences from the manga version, one of them being that Ryuji is actually trying to gain vengeance for the defeat his father took from Yugi's grandfather, rather than challenging Yugi to regain Pegasus' honor as seen in the anime.
Battle City
When Kaiba hears of the three legendary God Cards, Kaiba believes that with the three cards in his deck, he will be able to defeat Yugi. In order to obtain the God Cards, Kaiba hosts a tournament to take place in the streets of Domino, with the rule that each person that enters the tournament must ante up their rarest card for the winners of the duels to keep. Meanwhile, Yugi hears of the three God Cards and how they are tied to an ancient Egyptian legend - one that involves the nameless Pharaoh. At the same time, Marik Ishtar, guardian of the Pharaoh's Tomb, wants the Pharaoh's power for himself, and seeks to defeat Yugi. In the Japanese version, he actually wishes to torture and kill Yugi for revenge and to free his family from serving the Nameless Pharaoh.Battle Ship
The Battle City finals are held on Kaiba's dirigible, with the finalists being Yugi, Kaiba, Joey, Mai, Bakura, Namu, Marik, and Ishizu. However, things are not as they seem, as Bakura is possessed by his evil alter-ego, and Marik is actually Odion Ishtar, with Namu being, in fact, the real Marik. Furthermore, Odion's defeat causes Marik to be taken over by an even more evil alter-ego, who is intent on Yugi's total destruction.Noah's Virtual World
This is an anime-exclusive story arc. As Yugi, Kaiba, Joey, and Marik are travelling to the destination of the Battle City finals, the airship they are riding in suddenly takes an unexpected turn. The main characters find themselves trapped in a virtual reality simulation, in which the former executives of KaibaCorp plan to take their revenge against Yugi and Kaiba.Duel Tower (Alcatraz)
After the conclusion of the Noah story arc, the Battle City finals are resumed, starting with a battle royale to decide who will fight whom in the finals. The first duel, Joey vs. Marik, is never actually resolved. Joey's mind goes into shock because of the sheer pressure of the Shadow Duel that Marik has set up, and he faints before the duel finishes. Marik is declared the winner, even though Joey only had to call out his attack to win. The second duel, Yugi vs. Kaiba, ends with a win for Yugi. Yugi takes possession of Kaiba's God Card, Obelisk, and Kaiba is thrown out of his own tournament. This leaves only Yugi and Marik in the Battle City competition. Marik sets up a cruel Shadow Duel, and the real Marik's spirit is almost destroyed. Yugi manages to free the real Marik from his dark self, destroy the dark Marik, win the Battle City finals, and gain possession of the final God Card. All of Marik's victims are revived. Now that he has all three God Cards, the Pharaoh is told to present them to the ancient stone tablet that he encountered earlier. Kaiba reveals his plan to blow up the Duel Tower, and the group barely makes it off of the island on time. Season three concludes with a series of flashbacks of the entire Battle City experience, including Noah's virtual world.Waking the Dragons (Doma Orichalcos)
This is an anime-exclusive story arc. An ancient organization known as Doma (not named in the English anime, although the name Paradius was used in both versions as a front for their operations) steals the God cards and begins to steal the souls of people and duel monsters in an effort to revive a monster thought to have led to the destruction of AtlantisAtlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
10,000 years ago. To stop them, Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba join forces with the three legendary dragons, Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos, and take on Doma's members: the three duelists Rafael, Valon and Alister, and their leader Dartz. Also, at certain points Mai, Rex, and Weevil were also a part of Doma, but Yami Yugi beat Weevil, Joey beat Rex, and during her duel with Joey Mai realized that she was doing wrong.
Grand Championship (KC Grand Prix)
This is an anime-exclusive story arc. With Dartz's group defeated and no money to return home to Domino, Yugi and company enter a tournament hosted by Kaiba, in his new amusement park, in return for a ride home. With Kaiba Corporation crippled because of Doma's activities, one tournament entrant seeks to finish the job and take down KaibaCorp for good.Dawn of the Duel (Millennium World)
With three God Cards in his possession, Yami Yugi (Dark Yugi in the original Japanese, "yami" being the Japanese word for "darkness") is ready to find all his lost memories. However, he's in for more than he bargains for when he is thrust into the World of Memory, an alternate reality inside the Millennium Puzzle based on the events that occurred in Egypt 5,000 years ago (3,000 years ago in the Japanese anime). There, the Pharaoh must relive the last days of his previous life, fighting his old enemies and reuniting with his old friends. But his new friends have not forgotten about him, and Yugi and his friends travel inside the Millennium Puzzle to find the World of Memory and help the Pharaoh recover all his memories. However, Yami Bakura (Dark Bakura in the Japanese anime) plans on using the information gained in the World of Memory to gain the powers of the Millennium Items and reawaken an ancient evil that has remained dormant for the past 5,000 years.Ceremonial Battle
Pharaoh Atem has obtained all seven millennium items, acquired all three Egyptian God Cards, defeated Zorc Necrophades in the Memory World, and has found out all about his past, including his name. Now, the pharaoh can quietly leave the mortal world, and join his faithful priests in the afterlife. However, the doorway to the afterlife can only be opened if the pharaoh is defeated in a duel. Yugi takes on the challenge, dueling Atem to let him go. Even though Atem would very much want to go to the afterlife, he has a good pride in his skills, and will never let anybody beat him easily. Another reason is that Atem wants to see if Yugi is independent and can win a duel without his help. However, Atem is defeated by Yugi and proceeds to enter the afterlife, much to his new friends' dismay.Differences between the versions
Duel Monsters serves as a continuation of the earlier series in terms of the story, yet there are differences in the two series where they overlap. In particular, the Death-T fight which is held by Yugi and rival Seto KaibaSeto Kaiba
is a fictional character and the anti-heroic tritagonist in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!. As the majority shareholder and CEO of his own multi-national company, KaibaCorp, Kaiba aims to become the world's greatest player of the Duel Monsters card game...
, is redone, and Miho Nosaka, a supporting character in the manga and the earlier series, does not appear in Duel Monsters. Whereas the earlier series introduces the characters (by virtue of being adapted from earlier volumes of the manga), Duel Monsters assumes that the viewers are familiar with the characters from the onset, and scenes referring to chronologically earlier events are redone.
Because of the relative speed between the manga and anime releases, three extra story arcs
Filler (media)
In media, filler is material that is combined with material of greater relevance or quality to "fill out" a certain volume.-Early television:...
that are not found in later volumes have been added for Duel Monsters: Virtual World, Waking the Dragons, and Grand Championship.
One of the other most notable changes is that, unlike the manga, the Duel Monsters anime, as the title suggest focuses on the Duel Monsters card-game more than the manga, and adds many Duel scenes that were not in the original manga itself, often changing parts of the plot to fit around addition of the duels.
Adaptations
There are two adaptations of the second series in English; a United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
adaptation by 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
aired in the U.S., Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and a Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
version by A.S.N. for Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Both versions have edits, most of which are content edits.
4Kids version
In the 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
adaption, names such as Hiroto Honda, Katsuya Jonouchi
Katsuya Jonouchi
is a fictional character and the deuteragonist in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! He is known as Joseph "Joey" Wheeler in the English-language anime and video games....
, and Anzu Mazaki
Anzu Mazaki
, known in the English anime and English video games as Téa Gardner, is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!.Anzu's given name is sometimes written in hiragana next to the kanji in order to emphasize the fact that her name is read as "Anzu" instead of "Kyoko."-Character...
were Americanized into Tristan Taylor, Joey Wheeler, and Téa Gardner respectively. Though originally taking place in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the setting was changed to take place in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. All the characters that are originally Japanese in the original, have their nationalities and ethnic origins changed to American. The Japanese sound effects, background music, and opening and closing sequences were also changed. The sound effects being replaced with familiar American and newly created effects and background music to melodramatic synth music compared to the slightly more upbeat Japanese soundtrack. The opening and ending themes were changed from J-Rock and J-Pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
songs from various artists to an instrumental song done with a synthesizer.
Most of the dialogue and several elements of the plot were changed for offensive content, time constraints, and marketing reasons, and visual edits contain removal of blood and reduction of violence in some scenes, change of some monster designs due to occult or sexual themes, and rearranging scenes to make previous content edits make more sense. Several continuity errors occur in the English version due to edits such as these. Due to U.S. TV regulations, the appearance of the cards has been changed from those resembling the real life product, to a new design only featuring the card art, attribute, level, and stats (ATK/DEF). In an interview with Anime News Network, Senior Vice President of Digital Media for 4Kids Entertainment, Mark Kirk, claimed that the reason for editing the appearance of the cards was because U.S. TV broadcast laws dictated that the cards were not allowed to look exactly like the real cards that are sold. This is because if the cards in the anime looked exactly like the real cards on retail, then the show would legally be considered a commercial rather than a cartoon, and the cost for airing commercials is exponentially higher than the cost for airing a cartoon. Because this law does not apply to motion pictures, however, in the Pyramid of Light movie, all cards played in duel scenes look identical to the cards of the real-world trading card game.
A separate "uncut" DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release was commissioned between 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
and FUNimation, with a new adaptation that is more consistent with the original, using the original music and sound effects, no edits, and a script following closer to the original. Each uncut DVD contained 3 episodes available both in an uncut English dub and the original Japanese format English subbed, and a total of 3 DVDs were made for a total of 9 episodes. A fourth DVD containing episodes 10-12 was made (and finished), and ready to be released, but after a series of constant delays the DVD was listed as unavailable by sites and that it was not known if or when it would be available again. 4Kids later said in an interview that the uncut DVDs were 'competing' with the edited ones and they wanted to take out the competition, so they decided to 'indefinitely delay' the uncut DVDs. But to this day even after all the edited DVDs were released they still have yet to re-start the project or even release the last DVD done, and the current status of the uncut project is unknown. Lance Heiskell, a FUNimation representative, has noted legal rights as the reason for cancellation.
The 4Kids dub has been marketed across lots of English speaking countries, and the movie and special Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters
Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters
Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters is a twelve-episode mini-series commissioned, produced, and edited by 4Kids Entertainment and is part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise....
have been made for the American market.
In March 2009, 4Kids started adding episodes to its official YouTube channel. The company was both showing the US episodes, as well as the original Japanese episodes with English subtitles. Viewing was initially restricted to the United States, but in April it became viewable everywhere except Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Subtitled episodes became available in April 2009, although some titles were mislabeled and everyone is still referred to by Americanized names for legal reasons.
In July 2009, 4Kids had stated that they would be uploading the entire first season subtitled, and added that they planned to release the entire series subtitled on their YouTube channel in the near future, but an announcement in August 2009 stated that all the Japanese episodes were to be removed due to legal issues with ADK (one of the primary producers of the anime) and Shunsuke Kazama
Shunsuke Kazama
is a Japanese actor and singer affiliated with Johnny's Entertainment.-History:As a Johnny's Junior he was member of .He is also a member of TU→YU along with V6's Hiroshi Nagano, NEWS's Takahisa Masuda, Hey! Say! JUMP's Hikaru Yaotome and actor Tatsuya Takeda...
, the original Japanese voice of Yugi. However, the English dub is still available, and 4Kids still plans to release subtitled versions of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, along with their English counterparts. However, due to the legal issues with Kazama, 4Kids has stated that they may have to drop all of the audio for Yugi's lines.
Southeast Asia version
As with the 4Kids adaption, names of characters were Americanized. However, like the Japanese version, the setting takes place in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The original background music, opening music and ending music are kept intact as well. There is also mild profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
, unlike the 4Kids version.
Card game mechanics
Duel Monsters is heavily centered around the card game, with plot details frequently added between game turns. However, there are several main differences between the rules found therein and the rules of the real-world card gameYu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
The is a Japanese collectible card game developed and published by Konami. It is based on the fictional game of Duel Monsters created by manga artist Kazuki Takahashi, which is the main plot device during the majority of his popular manga franchise, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and its various anime adaptations...
.
The real-world rules essentially correspond to the "new rules for experts" set out by Kaiba at the start of the Battle City story arc. Prior to this, a simplified version of the rules, reflecting that of the manga, is utilized, with several differences including the summoning of monsters without the use of tributes, the inability to attack a player's life points directly, the restriction that only one monster could attack per turn, and certain types of monsters being stronger or weaker against other monsters of a logical type (similar to the often compared Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
).
These earlier rules take considerable artistic liberty in their depiction - for example, allowing monsters to be "partially destroyed", or to be played as magic cards. At times, some duels feature particularly unusual events which only "work" because the field and monsters are represented by holograms, allowing for exciting or dynamic visuals that accompany events which could never be realistically employed in the real-life card game. A prime example of this is Yugi's two-part duel against Panik, in which, among other things, the light from the manifestation of the Swords of Revealing Light dispels the darkness obscuring Panik's monsters, and the Castle of Dark Illusions has its flotation ring destroyed, causing it to fall on and destroy those monsters.
Some differences, however, are not just limited to the Duelist Kingdom arc. Throughout the series, some cards are in different classifications in Duel Monsters as compared to the real-world game - for example, Flame Swordsman is a normal monster in the series, but is a fusion monster in the real-world game. Spellbinding Circle was notably entirely redone as a "trap with spell card properties", complete with a different function. Also, duelists are shown normal summoning their monster cards in face-up defense position, while this is only possible in the real-world card game when permitted by the effects of certain spell or trap cards. Additionally, duelists constantly place their cards face down in their graveyard, as opposed to face up. In the Battle City story arc, the "advanced rules" also prevent Fusion monsters from immediately attacking, where there is no such provision in the real game. To avoid this rule in the anime, the spell card Quick-Attack was created. From the Doma story arc onwards, no such provision exists. By that point, the only difference is the starting amount of life points, which is reduced for purposes of brevity. These rules are carried forward into the follow-up series, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, known in Japan as , is an anime spin-off and sequel of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime. It aired in Japan on TV Tokyo between October 6, 2004 and March 26, 2008, and was succeeded by Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's...
and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
is a Yu-Gi-Oh! series which aired in Japan between April 2, 2008 and March 30, 2011, following the previous series, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and was succeeded by Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, on April 11, 2011...
.
Several cards were created exclusively for the anime, including unique cards that are tied to story elements, such as the Legendary Dragons in the Doma arc. A few other anime-exclusive cards were created, but typically, these are seen only for one duel. Also, certain cards like "Dark Magician" and "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" are not nearly as rare as they are in the anime.
Season One
- Volume 1: The Heart of the Cards (Episodes 1-3)
- Volume 2: Into the Hornet's Nest (Episodes 4-6)
- Volume 3: Attack From the Deep (Episodes 7-9)
- Volume 4: Give Up the Ghost (Episodes 10-12)
- Volume 5: Evil Spirit of the Ring (Episodes 13-15)
- Volume 6: The Scars of Defeat (Episodes 16-18)
- Volume 7: Double Trouble Duel (Episodes 19-21)
- Volume 8: Face Off (Episodes 22-24)
- Volume 9: Champion Vs. Creator (Episodes 25-27)
- Volume 10: Duel Identity (Episodes 28-30)
- Volume 11: Best of Friends, Best of Duelists (Episodes 31-34)
- Volume 12: Match of the Millennium Part One (Episodes 35-37)
- Volume 13: Match of the Millennium Part Two (Episodes 38-40)
- Volume 14: Ties of Friendship (Episodes 41-42)
- Volume 15: Legendary Heroes (Episodes 43-46)
- Volume 16: Dungeon Dice Monsters (Episodes 46-49)
- Uncut Volume 1: The Shadow Games (Episodes 1-3)
- Uncut Volume 2: The Insector Combo (Episodes 4-6)
- Uncut Volume 3: Stolen: Blue Eyes White Dragon (Episodes 7-9)
- Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Complete First Season (Tin Set) (Episodes 1-49)
- Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Complete First Season (Wallet Set) (Episodes 1-49)
Season Two
Each volume in this series has the subtitle "Battle City Duels."- Volume 1: The Mystery Duelist (Episodes 50-53)
- Volume 2: Obelisk the Tormentor (Episodes 54-56)
- Volume 3: The ESP Duelist (Episodes 57-59)
- Volume 4: The Master of Magicians (Episodes 60-64)
- Volume 5: Mime Control (Episodes 65-69)
- Volume 6: Double Duel (Episodes 70-74)
- Volume 7: Friends Til' the End (Episodes 75-79)
- Volume 8: The Dark Spirit Revealed (Episodes 80-84)
- Volume 9: Awakening of Evil (Episodes 85-89)
- Volume 10: Mind Game (Episodes 90-93)
- Volume 11: Showdown in the Shadows (Episodes 94-97)
- Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Complete Second Season (Episodes 50-97)
Season Three
Each volume in this series has the subtitle "Enter the Shadow Realm."- Volume 1: Back to Battle City (Episodes 122-125)
- Volume 2: Darkness Returns (Episodes 126-130)
- Volume 3: Clash in the Coliseum (Episodes 131-134)
- Volume 4: Battle for the Bronze (Episodes 135-139)
- Volume 5: The Final Face-Off (Episodes 140-144)
- Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Complete Third Season (Episodes 98-144)
Season Four
Each volume in this series has the subtitle "Waking the Dragons."- Volume 1: A New Evil (Episodes 145-151)
- Volume 2: My Freaky Valentine (Episodes 152-159)
- Volume 3: Flight of Fear (Episodes 160-168)
- A 4Kids Representative said that the Funimation Entertainment is no longer distributing the series, until 4Kids could find a distributor, it's unknown if 4Kids will Release Yu-Gi-Oh The Complete 4th Season in some time.
Season Five
- Volume 1: Grand Championship (Episodes 185-198)
- Volume 2: Dawn of the Duel, Part One (Episodes 199-212)
- Volume 3: Dawn of the Duel, Part Two (Episodes 213-224)
Other releases
- Yu-Gi-Oh!: Capsule Monsters Part One
- Yu-Gi-Oh!: Capsule Monsters Part Two
- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of LightYu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of LightYu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, known in Japan as is a 2004 anime film produced by Nihon Ad Systems based on the second anime series of Yu-Gi-Oh!....
- Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D: Bonds Beyond Time
Japanese Cast
- Shunsuke KazamaShunsuke Kazamais a Japanese actor and singer affiliated with Johnny's Entertainment.-History:As a Johnny's Junior he was member of .He is also a member of TU→YU along with V6's Hiroshi Nagano, NEWS's Takahisa Masuda, Hey! Say! JUMP's Hikaru Yaotome and actor Tatsuya Takeda...
- Yugi Mutou/The PharaohYugi Mutouis the protagonist of the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!. He is a young boy whose body becomes inhabited by the spirit of an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh named when he completes the Millennium Puzzle.-Character design:... - Hiroki TakahashiHiroki Takahashiis a Japanese voice actor best known for the role of Eiji Kikumaru in The Prince of Tennis, Kenji Harima in School Rumble and Katsuya Jonouchi in Yu-Gi-Oh. He works at Big Shot/Interchannel. He also has voice acted in some yaoi Drama CD's such as Love Neco, and Koi cha no Osahou...
- Katsuya JonouchiKatsuya Jonouchiis a fictional character and the deuteragonist in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! He is known as Joseph "Joey" Wheeler in the English-language anime and video games.... - Kenjirō TsudaKenjiro Tsudais a Japanese voice actor and actor from Osaka Prefecture. He works at Stardust Promotion as an actor and Mediarte Entertainment Works as a seiyu.-Anime:*Air *Air Gear *Ashita no Nadja...
- Seto KaibaSeto Kaibais a fictional character and the anti-heroic tritagonist in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!. As the majority shareholder and CEO of his own multi-national company, KaibaCorp, Kaiba aims to become the world's greatest player of the Duel Monsters card game... - Maki SaitoMaki Saitois a Japanese female seiyuu.-Voice roles:*Aishiteruze Baby *Good Morning Call *Meine Liebe...
- Anzu MazakiAnzu Mazaki, known in the English anime and English video games as Téa Gardner, is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!.Anzu's given name is sometimes written in hiragana next to the kanji in order to emphasize the fact that her name is read as "Anzu" instead of "Kyoko."-Character... - Takayuki KondoTakayuki Kondois a Japanese voice actor from Tottori Prefecture, Japan. He is affiliated with Air Agency.-Anime:*Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai as Tetsudo Hisakawa*Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland as Tantoris...
- Hiroto Honda (Episodes 1-51) - Hidehiro Kikuchi - Hiroto Honda (Episodes 53-224)
- You InoueYou Inoue, also known by her stage name , was a Japanese voice actress. Inoue was diagnosed with lung cancer in late 2001, underwent treatments during 2002, and her condition deteriorated rapidly in the last month of her life....
- Ryou Bakura (Episodes 12-41) - Rica MatsumotoRica Matsumotois a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rika Matsumoto. She was one of the original members of the popular vocal group JAM Project. After the way of the stage, she embarked on voice acting and a singing career...
- Ryou Bakura (Episodes 50-224) - Tetsuya IwanagaTetsuya Iwanagais a Japanese voice actor. As of April 1, 2009, he is affiliated with maxmix.-Notable voice roles:*Kensuke Aida in Neon Genesis Evangelion*Makoto Mizuhara in El-Hazard*Imaichi in Fancy Lala*Tomite in Fushigi Yūgi...
- Marik Ishtar - Chisa YokoyamaChisa Yokoyamais a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo. She is founder and head of her own voice company called Banbina after leaving Arts Vision. When she was a high school student, she was an assistant of Jump Broadcasting Station of Weekly Shōnen Jump...
- Noah Kaiba - Tetsuo Komura - Gozaburo Kaiba
- Yuu Emaou - Dartz
- Yukinara Iemura - Amelda
- Yoshihisa Kawahara - Raphael
- Takeshi MaedaTakeshi Maeda (actor)Takeshi Maeda is a Japanese actor and seiyū born on January 10, 1975 in Tokyo. He is sometimes miscredited as Tsuyoshi Maeda.-Anime:* Shozo Togano, Unsui Kongo in * Lanchia * Elrock...
- Valon - Hitoshi Bifu - Akhenaden
- Yoshitaka Kaidu - Zorc Necrophades
- Junko TakeuchiJunko Takeuchiis a Japanese voice actress employed by Love Live.Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters with generally very quirky and goofy personalities...
- Mokuba Kaiba - Tadashi MiyazawaTadashi Miyazawais a male Japanese voice actor. He is from Nagano, Japan. He is part of the talent agency KeKKe.-Anime:*Bakkyuu HIT! Crash Bedaman *Beast Wars II: Chō Seimeitai Transformers *Eyeshield 21...
- Sugoroku Mutou - Sumi ShimamotoSumi Shimamoto, real name , is a veteran Japanese voice actress born on December 8, 1954, in Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from the Toho Gakuen School of Music, she joined Gekidan Seinenza, a theatrical acting troupe...
- Ishizu Ishtar - Konta - Rishid Ishtar
- Jiro Takasugi - Pegasus J. Crawford
- Haruhi TeradaHaruhi Teradais a Japanese voice actress who was born in Tokyo. She is employed by 81 Produce.-Prominent roles:* Ruri Sarasa- Tokyo Underground* Mai Kujaku - Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters* Ranamon - Digimon Frontier* Pumpmon - Digimon Adventure...
- Mai Kujaku - Kaori Takagami - Rebecca Hopkins
- Mika Sakenobe - Shizuka Kawai
- Ryou Naito - Ryuji Otogi
- Kazunari KojimaKazunari Kojimais a Japanese seiyu born in Tokyo, Japan, on December 12, 1977.-Anime:*Nilgis in AM Driver*Bianco in Ashita no Nadja*Kuruman in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo*Wada in Capeta*Phantomon; Sorcerymon in Digimon Frontier...
- Mahado - Rie NakagawaRie Nakagawais a Japanese actress and voice actress.-TV Anime:*Ballad of a Shinigami *Bleach *Full Moon o Sagashite *Ginga Densetsu Weed *Gunslinger Girl *Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari...
- Kisara - Daisuke NamikawaDaisuke Namikawais a Japanese voice actor who is affiliated with Across Entertainment.He started acting in 1984. He is sometimes mistaken for fellow voice actor Daisuke Hirakawa, as their names only differ by one character when written in kanji. Despite his wide range of voice casting, he is usually cast as young,...
- Ryota Kajiki - Hajime Komada - Keith Howard
- Kin Fujii - "Dinosaur" Ryuzaki (Episodes 2-59)
- Yūichi Nakamura - "Dinosaur" Ryuzaki (Episodes 131-224)
- Urara TakanoUrara Takanois a Japanese voice actress from Togane, Chiba. Takano runs the talent agency Remax, although she was originally affiliated with Ken Production. She is the mother of actress Anna Kirie. Her real name, as well as her former stage name, is , in addition, she and Jennifer Tilly both does Celia...
- "Insector" Haga - Seiko Noguchi - Leonheart von Schroider
- Eisuke Tsuda - Siegfried von Schroider
English Cast
- Dan GreenDan Green (voice actor)Daniel Alexander Green , is an American voice actor, voice director and script adapter who has worked for 4Kids Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, NYAV Post and Central Park Media...
- Yugi Muto/Yami YugiYugi Mutouis the protagonist of the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!. He is a young boy whose body becomes inhabited by the spirit of an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh named when he completes the Millennium Puzzle.-Character design:... - Wayne GraysonWayne GraysonVinnie Penna is an American actor and voice actor who is mostly known for voice over under the name Wayne Grayson and has worked with 4Kids Entertainment, NYAV Post and DuArt Film and Video....
- Joey WheelerKatsuya Jonouchiis a fictional character and the deuteragonist in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! He is known as Joseph "Joey" Wheeler in the English-language anime and video games....
, Dartz - Eric StuartEric StuartEric Stuart is a voice actor, voice director, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. As the lead singer of his own band, the Eric Stuart Band , he is an award-winning independent artist with a growing US and international fan base.Stuart gained acclaim as a voice actor not only because of his...
- Seto KaibaSeto Kaibais a fictional character and the anti-heroic tritagonist in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!. As the majority shareholder and CEO of his own multi-national company, KaibaCorp, Kaiba aims to become the world's greatest player of the Duel Monsters card game... - Amy BirnbaumAmy BirnbaumAmy Birnbaum is an American voice actress, who works on the properties of 4Kids Entertainment.She has done many voiceovers for cartoons, mainly dubbing for English versions of anime. Her works can be found in anime dubs such as Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Sonic X , Magical...
- Téa GardnerAnzu Mazaki, known in the English anime and English video games as Téa Gardner, is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!.Anzu's given name is sometimes written in hiragana next to the kanji in order to emphasize the fact that her name is read as "Anzu" instead of "Kyoko."-Character... - Sam RiegelSam RiegelSamuel Brent Oscar "Sam" Riegel is a voice actor, writer and director who appears in many television cartoons, anime, and video games. He began as a child actor in theater in Virginia, and moved to New York City to perform in Broadway and off-Broadway shows...
- Tristan Taylor (Episodes 1-10), Rex Raptor (Episodes 2-144), Arkana - Greg Abbey - Tristan Taylor (Episodes 11-224)
- Ted LewisTed Lewis (voice actor)Ted Lewis is an American voice actor who does work for 4kids Entertainment, Central Park Media, DuArt Film and Video, NYAV Post. Primarily, he is involved with anime dub voice work...
- Ryou Bakura/Yami Bakura/Thief Bakura, Alister, Bandit Keith - Jonathan Todd RossJonathan Todd RossJonathan Todd "J.T." Ross is an anime voice actor who works primarily on properties of 4Kids Entertainment.-Anime roles:* Winx Club as Additional voices*One Piece as Koza*Sonic X as Dark Oak, Red Pine...
- Marik Ishtar/Yami Marik - Andy RannellsAndrew RannellsAndrew Scott Rannells is an American actor and singer. He performs the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon.-Career:...
- Noah Kaiba, Mako Tsunami, Leon von Schroeder - David WillsDavid Wills (voice actor)David Wills is an American voice actor, who works with 4Kids Entertainment and NYAV Post. He was formerly a disc jockey under the name Ghosty for Sirius Satellite Radio and was the host of channel 118: Radio Classics under the name Dave Wills...
- Gozaburo Kaiba, Rare Hunter - Marc Thompson - Rafael, Valon, Duke Devlin
- Pete Zarustica - Akhenaden, Zigfried von Schroeder
- Mike PollockMike PollockMichael B. "Mike" Pollock , sometimes credited as Herb Lawrence, is an American voice actor, famous for playing characters in anime dubs by 4Kids Entertainment. He has appeared as the narrator for 4Kids shows like Pokémon and some promos on the original Fox Box and 4Kids TV. He is also well-known...
- Zorc the Dark One - Tara JayneTara SandsTara Sands is an American voice actor, television host and actress. Well known as the voice of Anna Kyoyama in Shaman King, Mokuba Kaiba in the English adaptation of the second series Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, as well as Chase on Fighting Foodons and Filia Ul Copt in Slayers.Born in Hartford, Connecticut,...
- Mokuba Kaiba (Episodes 1-183) - Caroline LawsonCarrie KeranenCarrie Keranen is an American actress, voice actress, production manager and voice director known for her work with 4Kids Entertainment, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video and NYAV Post...
- Mokuba Kaiba (Episodes 184-224), Kisara - Maddie BlausteinMaddie BlausteinMadeleine Joan Blaustein was an American voice actress...
- Solomon Muto - Karen Neil - Ishizu Ishtar
- David BrimmerDavid BrimmerDavid Brimmer is an American voice actor and fight choreographer. He also goes by the names Michael Alston Bailey, Michael Alston Baley, David J. Brimmer, and J...
- Odion Ishtar - Darren DunstanDarren DunstanDarren Dunstan is a Canadian born voice actor and an occasional stage actor currently based in New York City. He has provided voice-over and voice direction on several properties of 4Kids Entertainment....
- Maximillion Pegasus - Megan HollingsheadMegan HollingsheadMegan T.D. Hollingshead is an American theatre and voice actress. She also sometimes goes by the name of Karen Thompson...
- Mai Valentine (Episodes 1-144) - Bella Hudson - Mai Valentine (Episodes 145-224)
- Kerry WilliamsKerry WilliamsKerry Williams is a voice actress who works on the properties of 4Kids Entertainment.Kerry Williams grew up in the Tidewater area of Virginia and has worked in Florida, Japan and California as a dancer prior to pursuing a Seiyū career in New York City.She is most famous for voicing Nami in One...
- Rebecca Hawkins - Lisa OrtizLisa OrtizLisa Ortiz is an American theatre and voice actress, best known for her roles in English anime adaptations. She is perhaps best known for the roles of the high-elf Deedlit in Record of Lodoss War, Lina Inverse in Slayers, and Tony Tony Chopper in One Piece...
- Serenity Wheeler - Mike SinterniklaasMichael SinterniklaasMichael Tremain Sinterniklaas is a Dutch American actor, voice actor, ADR Director and script writer who has worked for Viz Media, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, 4Kids Entertainment, and Tripwire Productions...
- Mahad - Sebastian ArcelusSebastian ArcelusSebastian Arcelus is an American actor. He has made a career in theatre on Broadway, regionally, and internationally. He made his Broadway debut in Rent, first as a swing, covering the male ensemble roles as well as Mark and Roger, and then as Roger...
- Rex Raptor (Episodes 145-187), Espa Roba - Anthony SalernoTony SalernoTony Salerno is an American voice actor, ADR director and scriptwriter who has worked with 4Kids Entertainment, Central Park Media and TAJ Productions. He often works as actor or staff crew on anime dubs. He is also credited as Agent Zero, Anthony Salerno and Anthony Haden Salerno...
- Rex Raptor (Episodes 188-224), Umbra - Jimmy ZoppiJimmy ZoppiJimmy Zoppi , sometimes credited as Billy Beach and James Carter Cathcart, is an American bassist, vocalist, and voice-over artist. He has been playing with bands since high school and has been a bassist and vocalist of the Carter Cathcart Band since 1981. Zoppi's first voiceover part was O.G...
- Weevil Underwood, Lumis
See also
- Yu-Gi-Oh! main charactersYu-Gi-Oh! main charactersThis is a listing of major characters from the manga Yu-Gi-Oh! and the first series Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime series....
- List of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga characters
- Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, manga or movie only characters
English
- Official website of English Yu-Gi-Oh!
- Yu-Gi-Oh! on YTV
- Nickelodeon UK Yu-Gi-Oh! webpage
- Nickelodeon Australia Yu-Gi-Oh! webpage
- Yu-Gi-Oh! card - The official site of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card GameYu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card GameThe is a Japanese collectible card game developed and published by Konami. It is based on the fictional game of Duel Monsters created by manga artist Kazuki Takahashi, which is the main plot device during the majority of his popular manga franchise, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and its various anime adaptations...
Japanese
- TV Tokyo Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters site (in Japanese)
- NASinc. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters site (in Japanese)