The most celebrated duelist in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! anime is Yugi Muto, the protagonist of the original series. His win rate is fantastic, he can duel his way out of situations involving ancient magic, and he generally gets the job done.
He isn't perfect, however. Yugi's been through quite a bit during his life. From very early on in the series he was already saving his loved one from life or death situations. Yugi really hasn't had it easy, especially when it comes to his grandpa's numerous kidnappings.
His Grandpa's Kidnappings
Maximillion Pegasus, Seto Kaiba, Vivian Wong, just about every single character on the show has kidnapped Yugi's grandpa in some fashion, and it always fell on Yugi's shoulders to save him.
Yugi always got the job done, but the Pegasus kidnapping specifically was a tough one for him. Constantly worrying about his grandpa being safe certainly had to be tough on Yugi.
His Duelist Kingdom Loss To Kaiba
During the Duelist Kingdom duel between Yugi and Kaiba, Kaiba forces Yugi's hand by emotionally manipulating him into losing a crucial battle.
While the decision makes sense because both Yugi and Kaiba were fighting to save a loved one from Pegasus, it ruined the relationship between Atem and Yugi for some time. It's great that the two were able to bounce back, but it wasn't easy.
He Almost Drowned
Another dangerous duel for Yugi was his Battle City showdown with Joey, who was being mind-controlled by Marik at the time. The entire duel was spent trying to break the control over Joey, and, by the end, Yugi had managed to get it done.
But in the process, he lost the duel, and the anchor he was attached to started dragging him to the bottom of the ocean. While Joey and Serenity worked together to save everyone involved, Yugi almost drowned in order to save Joey.
His Loss To Rafael
Yugi's loss to Rafael during the Waking the Dragons arc of the show was absolutely shocking, Yugi never loses to anyone. However, he did to Rafael after feeling like his only choice to win was to activate the Seal of Orichalcos.
This loss was unexpected, and it came with some dire consequences. As the Seal of Orichalcos was activated, the loser lost their soul. This duel was no exception.
He Lost His Soul
This loss ended up taking Yugi's soul, who volunteered in place of Atem to give him a better chance at saving the world. While the two were eventually reunited and Atem managed to overcome the evil in his heart, it was a long journey there that challenged him in every way imaginable.
At least they managed to grow even closer together from the events of the Waking the Dragon arc.
He Lost His High School Years To Evil
Yugi spent all of his high school years taking on massive evil forces that could have destroyed the world had he not intervened. This was back to back to back, constantly.
Years that should be spent having fun were instead spent saving the world. Yugi did this all with a smile on his face, of course, but he shouldn't have had all this weight on his shoulders. At the very least, all of his friends were always there to help.
Didn't Get To Finish His Duel In Dark Side Of Dimensions
In the Dark Side of Dimensions film, Yugi did very well taking on Diva in their duel, and he had the cards to beat him. In the end, however, his body gave out, and Atem came back to finish the duel for him.
This was honestly a bad move on Diva's part, pushing Yugi this far, as bringing Atem back was what he was trying to stop. Nevertheless, it would have been great if Yugi had been able to finish off the duel himself to show how far he's come since the show has concluded.
Was Never Sure If He'd Make It Out Of Tournaments Alive
While other participants in tournaments were having the time of their lives and winning prize money, Yugi was constantly trying to stop a great evil.
Whether it be Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom or Marik in Battle City, Yugi always had a larger purpose when it came to his tournament participation. He was done dirty by simply never being able to enjoy the duels he took place in. He said exactly this during the KC Grand Championship arc.
Kaiba's Dark Side Of Dimensions Actions
Everything that Kaiba did in Dark Side of Dimensions was to the detriment of Yugi. Bringing back the puzzle alone was in general a pretty terrible thing to do.
It was completely destroying Atem's afterlife, trying to bring him back. While he was eventually needed to defeat Diva, if Kaiba hadn't done what he did, he wouldn't have been needed in the first place.
Holactie The Creator Of Light Lied
In the final arc of the anime, Holactie the Creator of Light appeared to Atem and friends to let them know that there were no more evils that they would need to face, their work was done.
And then Dark Side of Dimensions happened and clearly, Yugi's peace was not as certain as it was made to seem.