Yugi Mutou

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Yugi Mutou in Vol. 2 of the manga
Appears in	manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! (Original manga) Yu-Gi-Oh! R anime: Yu-Gi-Oh! (1st series anime) Yu-Gi-Oh! (Duel Monsters) (2nd series anime) Yu-Gi-Oh! (Duel Monsters) GX (the top of his face is not seen) movie: Yu-Gi-Oh! (1st movie) Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light
Debut	Yu-Gi-Oh! (original and English manga) Volume 1, Duel 1
Birthday	June 4
Deck	Strategy
Sign	Gemini
Age	15 at debut; 17 at series' end
Height	153 cm (about 5 feet)
Weight	42 kg (93 pounds)
Blood type	AB
Favorite food	Hamburger
Least favorite food	Shallot
Status at debut	1st year at Domino High School
Relations	Grandfather: Sugoroku Mutou (Solomon Muto in the English anime) Mother (Appears twice in the anime and once in the manga)
Seiyū	1st series: Megumi Ogata 2nd series: Shunsuke Kazama
Voice actor(s)	Dan Green (US) Chuck Powers (Singapore)

Yugi Mutou (武藤遊戯, Mutō Yūgi^?, erroneously pronounced "Moto" in the English dubbed anime) is the protagonist of the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Yugi is featured at least partially in every volume of the manga, and every episode of both the first anime series made by Toei Animation and the Duel Monsters anime series.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Yugi Mutou, a freshman (1st-year) at Domino Junior/Senior High School, was given the Millennium Puzzle in pieces by his grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou (Solomon Muto). When he assembles it towards the beginning of the anime and manga, his spirit is split and one half of his soul is that of a 3,000-year-old (in the English anime, 5,000-year-old) Egyptian Pharaoh. The pharaoh sacrificed his life and sealed his soul into the Millennium Puzzle to stop the Dark God, Zorc Necrophades, from destroying the world. (In the English anime, the pharaoh was sealed into the puzzle to lock in the shadow game's magic, to prevent the destruction of the world.) The name Atem, though used for a fictional pharaoh, is actually a variant of the name of the Sun god Atum.

There are two "chambers" in Yugi's mind. One belongs to the child, and the other to the older Dark Yugi (Yami no Yūgi, 闇の遊戯), or Yami Yugi in the English anime, from the Millennium Puzzle. When Yugi is under stress or playing a game, his other self, the nameless Pharaoh (namonaki pharaoh) takes control, even though mostly, the little Yugi does all the thinking. The character is often referred to as Yu-Gi-Oh (遊戯王 Yūgiō), the king of games. In the English anime, Yami Yugi is sometimes referred to as Pharaoh Yami. He is sometimes called Yami by fans.

Because there is frequent interaction between the two selves, the name Yugi refers to both the school student and the ancient pharaoh. Between themselves, Yugi refers to the Pharaoh as "the other me" or "my other self" (mou hitori no boku, もう一人のぼく) or, in the English anime, "Yami". Dark Yugi refers to his younger counterpart as aibō ("partner"), the other me (mou hitori no ore, もう一人のおれ), or by his name. Others call Dark Yugi "the other Yugi" (mou hitori no Yūgi, もう一人の遊戯). After Yugi and his friends learn that Dark Yugi is the spirit of the Pharaoh, they begin referring to him as 'Pharaoh' in the English versions, likely as both an honorific and acknowledgment of his identity. His dramatic changes in personality are very similar to Dissociative identity disorder. It is said that if one Yugi dies, the other Yugi will die with him. In the original Japanese versions of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yugi applies honorifics to almost everyone, while Dark Yugi doesn't make as much of an effort. Dark Yugi uses ore instead of boku when speaking of himself; ore is a boastful way of saying "I" in Japanese. Dark Yugi, in general, uses rougher, looser speech than the regular Yugi. (See Wikibooks:Japanese:Pronouns)

A not-so-average kid, Yugi is pure-hearted and child-like. He lives with his grandfather and mother while his father is away on business. Yugi is good at games and puzzles (yūgi meaning "game" in Japanese), especially Magic and Wizards, a.k.a. Duel Monsters. Yugi's favorite monster in the game is the Dark Magician (Black Magician in the Japanese versions), but he thinks that he is most like Maha Vailo. In the English-language anime, he lives with his grandfather and nothing is said of his parents; scenes showing his mother were removed from the English-language anime.

In class 1-B at Domino School, Yugi is part of a close-knit group of friends: Katsuya Jonouchi (Joey Wheeler in the English anime), Hiroto Honda (Tristan Taylor), and Anzu Mazaki (Téa Gardner). Miho Nosaka is one of Yugi's friends in the first anime series, appears but once in the manga, and does not appear in the Duel Monsters anime. Yugi's friends often cheer him on from the sidelines, and Jonouchi has dueled at his side in the manga and Duel Monsters anime. Yugi has been friends with Anzu since childhood, and some say he is in love with her. Anzu is in love with both Dark Yugi (Yami Yugi) and regular Yugi, to different degrees; though Dark Yugi never showed signs of love to her but mere friendship, since his main concern is to protect Yugi. In Japanese, the first characters of "Yūgi" and "Jōnouchi" combine to form "Yūjō" (友情), which means "friendship". The "Yu-Jo Friendship" card (the Yu-Jyo (友情 Yūjō) card in the Japanese version) is named after the word and the fellowship between the characters.

[edit] Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Yugi in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX), Yugi appears in the first episode, with only half of his face shown. He and Seto Kaiba are 'legendary duelists'. Yugi is older, taller, and has a lower voice in both the Japanese and English versions (in the latter, he has Yami Yugi's voice). The main character of Yu-Gi-Oh GX, Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki in the Japanese version), bumps into him on the way to the Duel Academy. Yugi gives Jaden the Winged Kuriboh (Hane Kuribo) card, saying that it is lucky and that it seems to want to be with Jaden. Throughout the episodes, the students at the Duel Academy find out about Yugi and Kaiba, and the audience sees drawings of them.

In episodes 18 and 19 of the series, Yugi's deck (sans the God Cards) goes on tour at the Academy. During a field trip to Domino, Jaden and others actually visit the Turtle (Kame) Game Shop and meet Solomon Muto (Sugoroku Mutou in the English-language manga and Japanese versions), Yugi's grandfather. Solomon tells the students that Yugi "went out for olives" three years ago, and is probably off on another adventure.

[edit] Notable Dueling Cards

Dark Yugi in Vol. 1 of the manga

Dark Yugi from the 1st series anime

Dark Yugi in a promotional image for the 2nd series anime

Yugi's deck is well-known for the Dark Magician (Black Magician in the original Japanese versions). At first it is composed of low-level Earth and Dark monsters with Spell and Trap cards to enhance them. Later, during Battle City, Yugi acquires Dark Magician Girl, as well as his Magnet Warriors and Royal Knights, all of which become some of his most commonly-played cards. Following Battle City, his deck slowly begins to focus more and more on the Dark Magician while maintaining a strategy to disrupt and disable his opponent's cards.

During the Ceremonial Battle, Yugi and Atem utilize decks that embody their own characters. Yugi's deck relies on the Magnet Warriors, Gadgets, and Level monsters, all of which combine powers and grow over time. Atem's deck relies on summoning the Egyptian God Cards, as well as the Dark Magician. In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yugi's deck goes on tour at the academy, and is stolen by a copycat duelist. This deck also focuses on the Dark Magician, but also has several Chaos monsters.