Yu-Gi-Oh! (second series anime)

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Yu-Gi-Oh!

The logo used in Western releases of Duel Monsters, known simply as Yu-Gi-Oh!
遊☆戯☆王デュエル モンスターズ
(Yū☆gi☆ō Dyueru Monsutāzu)
Genre Adventure, Fantasy
TV anime
Director Various
Studio Studio Gallop, Nihon Ad Systems
Licensor Japan Pony Canyon
USA Funimation Entertainment
Network JapanTV Tokyo
USA Kids WB
Malaysia NTV7
Canada YTV
LithuaniaTV3
Germany RTL II, Tele 5
Italy Italia 1
The Netherlands First Yorkiddin/Toonami later Jetix
Flag of the Philippines ABS-CBN, Studio 23, Hero TV
Brazil Globo, Nick
United Kingdom Flag of Mexico Nickelodeon, Sky One
Australia Nickelodeon Australia, Network Ten
Israel Aruts HaYeladim
Hong Kong ATV
United Arab EmiratesMBC3
Flag of Spain Antena 3
Original run April 18, 2000 (Japan)[1]
September 29, 2001 (U.S.)
September 29, 2004 (Japan)
June 10, 2006(U.S.)
Episodes 224

Yu-Gi-Oh!, known in Japan and the rest of East Asia as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (遊☆戯☆王デュエル モンスターズ Yū☆gi☆ō Dyueru Monsutāzu?) 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 is distributed by 4Kids Entertainment.

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.4Kids.TV. 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

Contents

[edit] Plot

Like the earlier series, Duel Monsters is mainly about the various battles of a high school freshman named Yugi Muto (romanized as Yugi Mutou in the English-language manga) 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.

The logo for Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Japanese version)
The logo for Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Japanese version)

[edit] Duelist Kingdom

Duelist Kingdom is the first arc in the Duel Monsters anime.Maximillion Pegasus (Pegasus J. Crawford in the original version) , on his own personal island. Pegasus, using the power of the Millennium Eye, manages to seal the soul of Solomon Muto (Sugoroku Mutou in the English-language manga and the Japanese versions) away, and it is up to Yugi to save him. Meanwhile, Joey Wheeler (Katsuya Jonouchi) enters the tournament in order to pay for his sister's surgery, and Pegasus and several top executives at KaibaCorp plot to remove Seto Kaiba from the head of his company.

[edit] 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 Kingdom 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 Sugoroku's game shop, Yugi is challenged by its owner, Ryuji Otogi in a game of his creation, with the title of "King of Games" on the line.

[edit] 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 a 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.

[edit] Noah's Virtual World

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. This arc also continues through to the finals of the Battle City Tournament.

[edit] Duel Tower (Alcatraz)

After the conclusion of the Noah arc, the Battle City finals are resumed. The arc starts out with a battle royale to decide who will fight who in the finals. The first duel, Joey/Jounochi v Marik, is never actually resolved. Joey/Jounochi's mind is 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. The second duel, Yugi v 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, including an evil spirit-free Bakura. 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/Alcatraz, and the group barely makes it off of the island on time. Season three is finally concluded with a series of flashbacks of the entire Battle City experience, including Noah's virtual world.

[edit] Waking the Dragons (Doma Orikalkos)

When 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 seal the souls of people and duel monsters in an effort to revive a monster thought to have led to the destruction of Atlantis 10,000 years ago, it is up to Yugi and friends to stop them. To do so, Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba join forces with the three legendary dragons, Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos, and take on Doma's leader, Dartz and Doma's three swordsmen: Rafael, Valon and Alister

[edit] Grand Championship (KC Grand Prix)

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. "Grand Prix" in French means "Big Prize."

[edit] Dawn of the Duel (Millennium World)

With all three God Cards in his possession, Yami Yugi (Dark Yugi in the English Manga and Japanese anime) 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 English manga and Japanese anime) won't let the Pharaoh gain all his memories just yet, as he 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.

[edit] Ceremonial Battle

Most of the quest is complete. 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 Atem 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. However, Atem is defeated by Yugi and proceeds to enter the afterlife, much to his new friends' dismay.

[edit] 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 Kaiba, 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.

[edit] Adaptations and editing

There are two adaptations of the second series in English: a United States adaptation by 4Kids Entertainment aired in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, 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.

[edit] 4Kids version

Edited version of the second Yu-Gi-Oh! series (left) and the unedited version of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters containing a hexagram (used in occultism; right).
Edited version of the second Yu-Gi-Oh! series (left) and the unedited version of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters containing a hexagram (used in occultism; right).
  • Americanization of character names (e.g. Katsuya Jonouchi, Hiroto Honda, and Anzu Mazaki became Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, and Téa Gardner, respectively)
  • Replacing the background music to suit a younger demographic (e.g.: upbeat, pop and generic tracks in sharp contrast to the darker, orchestral and melodramatic score of the original Japanese soundtrack)
  • Replacing the Japanese sound effects with familiar American sound effects, and newly designed American sound effects, some which sound like the original Japanese sound effects that they replaced. None of the original Japanese sound effects are used.
  • Replacing each of the Japanese opening themes (Rock/Pop songs by various groups) with a single (occasionally altered) instrumental song done on a synthesizer. The Japanese ending themes are also replaced with a similar version of the US Opening.
  • Reworking the plot in certain parts of numerous episodes and story arcs, mostly for censorship reasons, but also for unknown reasons.
  • Removing all instances of weapons (like pistols and knives, which are often prevalent).
  • Removing scenes where two or more characters are fighting.
  • Removing or obfuscating many references to religion, such as the pentagram or hexagram. The Seal of Orichalcos, a fantastic version of an actual occult symbol, the unicursal hexagram (popularized by Aleister Crowley), continues to play a central role in many episodes. Other occult references have remained.
  • Removing or rewriting scenes where characters die or are in real danger of death (In the English anime, characters are instead threatened with the possibility of going to the Shadow Realm, or in some cases they are "captured").
  • Removing or editing scenes where monsters undergo some form of violent death (such as being eaten or being stabbed)
  • Removing scenes where characters make obscene gestures
  • Editing scenes where a female (or male) character or Duel Monster appears to be nude or might be wearing something too revealing.
  • Changing the setting of the country from Japan to the United States.
  • Removing assorted sexual innuendo
  • Removing much writing in Japanese and English (this resulted in the unusual design of the Duel Monsters cards in the English version of the series).
  • Removing any kind of references that could be accused of causing children to develop juvenile habits (truancy for example).
  • To get around FCC rules concerning advertising in shows, as well as to make the show more marketable in non-English countries, all the cards in the show have been painted over to feature only the card illustration, card element and the attack/defense of the card if it is a monster card.

A separate "uncut" DVD release was commissioned between 4Kids Entertainment and FUNimation, with a new adaptation that is more consistent with the original. The uncut DVDs were pulled from solicitation after Volume 3 "Stolen - Blue-Eyes White Dragon" for no apparent reason, with a variety of explanations including legal issues and poor sales, with limited elaboration. Lance Heiskell, a FUNimation representative, has noted legal rights as the reason for cancellation, although he was unable to expand on it.

Kids' WB! also edited episodes 4 and 5, and later episodes 14 and 15, fusing these episodes that were originally two-part episodes into half-hour episodes. 4Kids dubbed the episodes separately; the separate episodes appeared in other countries and on DVDs. During the rebroadcast of the series on 4Kids TV, the episodes were shown in their full form.

[edit] Southeast Asia version

[edit] 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 game.

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 were utilized, which featured 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 (quite similar to the often compared Pokémon).

These earlier rules take considerable artistic liberty in their depiction - for example, allowing monsters to be "partially destroyed", monsters to be played as magic cards, and traps and magic cards to be disabled as a result of monster effects. 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 actually 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 cloud surrounding the field obscuring Panik's monsters, and the Castle of Dark Illusion has its floatation 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 magic-card properties", complete with a different function. Also, duelists are shown normal summoning their "monsters" in face up defense position, while this is only possible in the real card game when permitted by the effects of certain magic 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 prevented 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 was reduced for brevity purposes.

Several cards were created exclusively for the anime, including cards that are tied to unique story elements, such as the Legendary Dragons, but also a few cards like Defense Paralysis, which would prevent the opponent from playing monsters in Defense Mode, and is basically a trap-card version of Stop Defense. However, such cards are usually seen only for one duel.

[edit] Episode list

[edit] DVD list

[edit] 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 41-43)
  • Volume 15: Legendary Heroes (Episodes 44-46)
  • Volume 16: Dungeon Dice Monsters (Episodes 47-49)
  • 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)

[edit] 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 57-60)
  • Volume 4: The Master of Magicians (Episodes 61-64)
  • 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 the 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] Season Four

Both volumes in this series have 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 160-169)

[edit] 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)

[edit] Capsule Monsters / movies

  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Capsule Monsters Part One
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Capsule Monsters Part Two
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie

[edit] Voice actors

Japanese Character Name Seiyū English Character Name English Voice Actor
Yugi Mutou / Dark Yugi (Pharaoh Atem) Shunsuke Kazama Yugi Muto / Yami Yugi (Pharaoh Atem) Dan Green (US)
Chuck Powers (Singapore)
Anzu Mazaki Maki Saito Téa Gardner Amy Birnbaum (US)
Alison Lester (Singapore)
Katsuya Jounouchi Hiroki Takahashi Joey Wheeler Wayne Grayson (US)
Dwayne Tan (Singapore)
Hiroto Honda Takayuki Kondo
Hidehiro Kikuchi
Tristan Taylor Sam Regal
Frank Frankson (US)
Brian Zimmerman (Singapore)
Seto Kaiba Kenjiro Tsuda Seto Kaiba Eric Stuart (US)
Christian J. Lee (Singapore)
Mokuba Kaiba Junko Takeuchi Mokuba Kaiba Tara Sands
Caroline Lawson (US)
Dwayne Tan (Singapore)
Ryo Bakura / Dark Bakura You Inoue
Rika Matsumoto
Bakura / Yami Bakura Ted Lewis (US)
Chuck Powers (Singapore)
Sugoroku Mutou Tadashi Miyazawa Solomon Muto (Called Sugoroku Muto in the uncut DVDs) Maddie Blaustein (US)
Chuck Powers (Singapore)
Pegasus J. Crawford Jiro J. Takasugi Maximillion Pegasus Darren Dunstan (US)
Brian Zimmerman (Singapore)
Shadi Nozomu Sasaki Shadi Wayne Grayson (US)
Chuck Powers (Singapore)
Marik Ishtar / Dark Marik Tetsuya Iwanaga Marik Ishtar / Yami Marik Jonathan Todd Ross (US)
Chuck Powers (Singapore)
Ishizu Ishtar Sumi Shimamoto Ishizu Ishtar Kayzie Rogers (US)
Alison Lester (Singapore)
Rishid Ishtar Konta Odion Ishtar Michael Alston Baley (US)
Brian Zimmerman (Singapore)
Ryuji Otogi Ryo Naito Duke Devlin Marc Thompson (US)
Patrick Fernando (Singapore)
Mai Kujaku Haruhi Terada Mai Valentine Megan Hollingshead
Bella Hudson
Alyson Johnson (US)
Alison Lester (Singapore)
Shizuka Kawai Mika Sakenobe Serenity Wheeler Lisa Ortiz (US)
Alison Lester (Singapore)
"Insector" Haga Urara Takano Weevil Underwood Jimmy Zoppi (US)
Brian Zimmerman (Singapore)
"Dinosaur" Ryuzaki Kin Fujii
Yuichi Nakamura
Rex Raptor Sam Regal
Sebastian Arcelus
Anthony Salerno (US)
Brian Zimmerman (Singapore)
Ryota Kajiki Daisuke Namikawa Mako Tsunami Andrew Rannells (US)
Dwayne Tan (Singapore)
Bandit Keith Howard Hajime Komada Bandit Keith Ted Lewis (US)
Brian Zimmerman (Singapore)
Rebecca Hopkins Kaori Tagami Rebecca Hawkins Kerry Williams (US)
Alison Lester (Singapore)
Arthur Hopkins Saburo Kodaka Arthur Hawkins Mike Pollock (US)
Chuck Powers (Singapore)
Isono Masami Iwasaki Roland Wayne Grayson (US)
Chuck Powers (Singapore)
Noa Kaiba Chisa Yokoyama Noah Kaiba Andrew Rannells (US)
Taaz Gill (Singapore)
Gozaburo Kaiba Tetsuo Komura Gozaburo Kaiba David Wills
Ted Lewis (US)
Dartz Yuu Emaou Dartz Wayne Grayson (US)
Rafael Yoshihisa Kawahara Rafael Marc Thompson (US)
Valon Tsuyoshi Maeda Valon Marc Thompson (US)
Amelda Yukinara Iemura Alister Ted Lewis (US)
Siegfried von Schroider Eisuke Tsuda Zigfried von Schroeder Pete Zarustica (US)
Leonhart von Schroider Seiko Noguchi Leon von Schroeder Andrew Rannells (US)
Vivian Wong Rie Tanaka Vivian Wong Alyson Johnson (US)
Priest Seto Kenjiro Tsuda Guardian Seto Eric Stuart (US)
Priest Akhenaden Hitoshi Bifu Guardian Aknadin Pete Zarustica (US)
Priest Mahado Kazunari Kojima Guardian Mahad Michael Sinterniklaas (US)
Priestess Isis Sumi Shimamoto Guardian Isis Kayzie Rogers (US)
Priest Shada Nozomu Sasaki Guardian Shada Michael Alston Baley (US)
Priest Kalim Masahito Kawanago Guardian Karim Marc Diraison (US)
Thief King Bakura Rika Matsumoto Bandit Bakura Ted Lewis (US)
Siamun Muran Tadashi Miyazawa Shimon Muran Maddie Blaustein (US)
Mana Yuki Nakao Mana Bella Hudson (US)
Bobasa Yuu Mizushima Bobasa Sean Schemmel (US)
Kisara Rie Nakagawa Kisara Veronica Taylor (US)
Zorc Necrophades Yoshitaka Kaidu Zorc the Dark One Mike Pollock (US)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] English

[edit] Japanese