In July 2022, it was reported that the Japanese Manga artist, Kazuki Takahashi sadly passed away at the age of 60. Takahashi will forever go down in history as the creator of the Manga series Yu-Gi-Oh!, the Manga that spawned one of the most popular trading card games of all time. In honor of Takahashi, we look at the history of his creation and the most successful trading card game in the world.
The Manga
Yu-Gi-Oh! made its first appearance in 1996, serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine, until its final edition in 2004. It tells the story of a young boy named Yugi Mutou, who solves an ancient Millennium Puzzle, awakening a mysterious spirit that lives within his body that solves problems using different games. Yugi and his friends learn that the spirit is that of an Ancient Pharaoh from Egypt who has lost his memories of his past. Yugi and his friends decide to help the Pharaoh regain his memories, facing many different challenges and dangerous enemies in the process.
As the story of Yugi began to evolve, Takahashi developed the story around a trading card game named Duel Monsters. Yugi and the spirit of the Pharaoh would face rivals including Seto Kaiba, Marik Ishtar and Ryo Bakura on their journey to uncover the secrets of the Pharaoh’s past. The story of Yugi is so popular, that at the time of writing this, the Manga has sold over 40 million copies all across the world.
The Anime
The original Yu-Gi-Oh! saw not one but two anime adaptations. The first was developed by Toei Animation and released in 1998. It covered the events of the first seven chapters of the Manga, looking at the beginning of Yugi’s story and Pharaoh’s Yami-no-Games. This anime was never dubbed into English, but proved popular with fans of the Manga for keeping faithful to the original story. It is affectionately known by fans as Season Zero.
In 2000, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters made its debut in Japan with Studio Gallop before being dubbed into English by 4Kids. The animated series became a worldwide hit and introduced new storylines that were not featured in the original Manga. Who wasn’t a fan of the Waking the Dragons saga or the Grand Championship?
The English dubbed version has been the subject of heavy censorship. In comparison to the original Japanese version, 4Kids toned down on the violence of the story. Anything related to violence or death was changed to the threat of being sent to the Shadow Realm. Takahashi once joked that the original story is quite violent.The series aired its final episode in 2004.
The Spin-Offs
Although the original series had concluded, it was not the end of the franchise. Since 2004, Yu-Gi-Oh! has released seven different spin-off series, each one evolving around a different character and the card game Duel Monsters. Spin-offs such as Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and 5D’s have also proven to be popular with fans of the series. In 2021, a new anime spin-off Go Rush!! was announced and premiered in Japan in 2022.
Between 2004 and 2016, the series has also seen three movies released, that continue with Yugi’s story. The most recent release, The Dark Side of Dimensions commemorated the 20th anniversary of Yu-Gi-Oh! and offered itself as an epilogue to the original Manga.
There’s also been a spin-off Manga released called Yu-Gi-Oh! R, which was serialized in Shueisha’s V Jump magazine between 2004 and 2007.
The Game
The most popular aspect of Yu-Gi-Oh! is no doubt, the trading card game, Duel Monsters. Amazingly, the game was originally supposed to only appear twice in the Manga, but Takahashi eventually developed the story around the trading card game. He said that he evolved the game as it proved to be the most popular with readers.
Konami developed and produced Duel Monsters based the Manga. As the series has evolved, more cards have been released based on the anime adaptations and spin-offs. As of 2021, over 35 billion cards have been sold worldwide, and has been named by the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular trading card game in the world. With the release of online games such as Cross Duel and Duel Links, fans are able to have even more, playing Duel Monsters.
The Legacy
Since its first appearance in 1996, Yu-Gi-Oh! has proven to be one of the most successful Manga series of all time. With the inclusion of Duel Monsters and the anime adaptations, it’s clear that the legacy of Kazuki Takahashi will live on.