History Manga / YuGiOh

** In the earlier volumes, we see Dark Yugi is a scary force to be reckoned with who challenges people to Shadow Games, which were regular games turned into high-stakes duels with otherworldly consequences. When adapted into the first anime, some of the most terrifying outcomes of those games are toned down or cut out completely because of how scary they can be.

** In the signature anime, when Duel Monsters took over the story as the game of choice, Yami Yugi's most disturbing actions don't occur at all- he comes off more like a WellIntentionedExtremist who punishes bad people by cleansing their minds of darkness, and the series begins at the point where Seto Kaiba has already developed a dark rivalry toward Yuugi. Then, in Duelist Kingdom, Yugi eventually objects to Yami Yugi's unfettered behavior as his alter ego when it threatens the life of Seto Kaiba, who is tempting Yuugi to throw a game of Duel Monsters by Kaiba risking his own life and the darker tendencies of Yami Yugi lessen as he learns to be more understanding of Yugi's compassionate heart.

** Another pre-Duel Monsters element. In them, we see Yami Yugi is a scary force to be reckoned with who challenges people to Penalty Games ("[[{{Bowdlerization}} Shadow Games]]"), which were regular games turned into high-stakes duels with otherworldly consequences. When adapted into the first anime, some of the most terrifying outcomes of those games are toned down or cut out completely because of how scary they can be.

** The much more dark and unusual pre-Duel Monsters stories and the prototype "[[FanNickname Season 0]]" anime, with the most recognizable difference is that Kaiba has green hair.

* AssholeVictim: Every bully who Dark Yugi fights is this. Special points go to Prisoner 777, whom Dark Yugi sets on fire.
** Bandit Keith gets his hand turned into a gun by Pegasus and is forced to shoot himself.
** [[spoiler:Marik's father was skinned alive.]]

* AxeCrazy: The Chopper Man during the Death-T saga.

* BadassNormal: Yugi, [[spoiler:manages to take out all three God Cards in one turn against Atem]].
** Jonouchi as well who's the most normal of the main duelists.

* CastFromHitPoints: During the Monster World RPG, WhiteMage Bakura converted his hit points to magic points in order to cast a barrier spell to protect his friends from Zorc's attack.

* ChastityCouple: Mai and Jounouchi. Also Yugi and Anzu, though the former does have a crush on the latter, and the latter has a crush on the former's SuperPoweredEvilSide.

* CherryTapping: In Jonouchi's duel with Esper Roba, Jonouchi wins by having ''Baby Dragon'' attack Roba directly. It's not the weakest monster by a longshot, but it's still pretty embarrassing.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Averted in the Zombire story.

* CoolBigSis: Mai Kujaku.

* DeathByChildbirth: Mokuba explains that his mother died shortly after his birth. Whether this was by childbirth or not is not specified, but [[PromotionToParent the result stays the same.]]
** Same thing with Marik's mother.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Mokuba Kaiba, though it takes two defeats before he warms up to the heroes.

* DefrostingIceQueen: Mai Kujaku during the Duelist Kingdom saga.

* DysfunctionJunction: Almost every ,ajor character experienced a tragic and/or depressing event early in their life, especially the villains.

* {{Homage}}: The Duel Monsters card game was originally intended as a homage to ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', of which Takahashi is a fan.

** HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Dark Bakura to Yugi. It's never genuine and is all part of his plans. Yugi becomes weary after the Marik incident, but has no choice but to except the Millennium Items offered to him.
*** On the other hand, it seemed like Yugi really did try to have faith that Dark Bakura is able to have a change of heart and genuinely wanted to help his other self regain his memories. When Dark Bakura reveals who is ([[spoiler: A part of Zorc, not ''just'' the spirit of the Thief King]]) and why he helped Yugi gather the Millennium Items in the first place, Yugi visibly feels betrayed, "I trusted you!".

* IdiotBall: Despite all the weirdness Yugi & Co. have experienced (magic multiple personalities, shadow games, Kaiba Land, etc.) when Bakura tells them everyone who plays "Monster World" with him goes into a coma, they presume it's a coincidence and insist he play anyway. Even after the mean gym teacher suddenly goes into one!

* KillerYoYo: Hirutani's gang

* ShoutOut: In the very first chapter, Yugi makes a reference to ''Manga/DragonBall'' when he talks about the Millennium Puzzle granting one wish.

* UncattyResemblance:
** Everyone's, but especially Yugi's, virtual pet in the manga, as well as their Monster World figurines.

* DysfunctionJunction: Several characters experienced a tragic and/or depressing event in their life, [[spoiler:especially the villains]].
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Kaiba originally had no special bond with the Blue Eyes White Dragon. In his first appearance, the card refused to obey him because he stole it; in the second, he acquired his three copies through extortion and destroys the fourth. Not exactly the sort of behavior conducive to a ReincarnationRomance.
** Dark Yugi mentions different levels of Shadow Games in one chapter. This is never mentioned again, but Dark Bakura and Dark Marik probably use high-level ones.
** The Dragon Cards are dangerous artifacts that grant the wielder the same abilities as the Millennium Items, despite being completely unrelated to them. (Note that the later anime series, which also do this, are ''not'' canon to the manga.)
*** Oddly enough, The Devil's Board Game in the Dungeon Dice arc (which takes place later in the manga) shares this exact same characteristic. Sugoroku Mutou, who was not a Millennium Item wielder, was able to play a Shadow Game and give Otogi's father a Penalty Game by playing the Devil's Board Game. Unlike the Dragon Cards though, this game was said to have come from Egypt (which is where most of the "Shadow Game"-magic in this series originates from), as opposed to... ''China''.
** Until the cards and ''Duel Monsters'' anime were introduced, the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' world doesn't entirely revolve around the [[SeriousBusiness children's card game]], it's initally about friendship and gaming in general, as seen in this manga - seen as an entirely different world altogether. The rest of the franchise still stresses friendship to a relative degree, but the general gaming part? Not so much.
** Early arcs used completely different rules for playing Duel Monsters (if there even were any, with the series often functioning with NewRulesAsThePlotDemands) than Battle City, playing more like an RPG than a trading card game. There are too many to list, but examples include Yugi being able to "beach" Ryota Kajiki's sea creatures, being able to target separate parts of monsters, attacks being able to "miss," etc.
* EasilyForgiven: Subverted with Jonouchi towards Kaiba and Shadi. He always brings up Death-T in regards to Kaiba and brings up Shadi's Trial of the Mind when Bobasa, supposedly Shadi's underling, shows up. It's understandable since he's almost killed in both.

* PowerOfFriendship: A common {{Aesop}} of the series.
* PowerTrio:
** BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: Shizuka, Anzu and Mai.
** BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Mai, Anzu and Shizuka.
* {{Pride}}: Dark Yugi, to a fault. Starting off as a fearless gamer that everyone should supposedly look up to, his pride starts to become crippling during the Duelist Kingdom arc, where his refusal to play defensively caused his grandfather be the subject of his Penalty Game by Pegasus, repeatedly gambles his life on his own accord during the tournament, and his refusal to lose almost kills Seto Kaiba until his other self stopped him. When the normal Yugi almost refuses to take Mai's star chips because it's not "what his other self would want", Jonouchi calls Dark Yugi out on this, which leads to his character development, where he's still confident and a tad cocky, but loses his "lose or die" attitude.
* PsychoticSmirk: Kazuki Takahashi is pretty good at drawing these. Dark Yugi has it perfected, ''and he isn't even a villain''.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Kaiba, to anyone unfortunate enough to lose to him. Jonouchi was a victim to this at one point.
** Anzu, of all people, turns out to be surprisingly good at these, although she doesn't give them often. She gives one to Kaiba at Duelist Kingdom, although it's more of a "the reason Yugi is better than you" speech.
* RebelRelaxation: Rather comically, mild-mannered {{nice guy}} Ryou is seen [[http://i.imgur.com/N1iirbf.png leaning insouciantly against a tree]] while everyone else watches Mokuba having a tantrum.
* {{Reincarnation}}: Some characters introduced during the course of the series are reincarnations of the ancient Egyptian characters introduced in the Millennium World arc. [[spoiler:Seto (with Set) and Ishizu (with Isis).]]
* ReincarnationRomance: [[spoiler:Seto and Kisara, depending on your view.]]
* {{Retcon}}: Shadi mentions "bringing the Millennium Puzzle home to his family" once during his first appearance. It is never brought up again. Might be [[spoiler:his ghost]] retroactively referring to the kids he adopted in ''Dark Side of Dimensions'', though.
** In the first chapter, Sugoroku Mutou tells Yugi and Anzu that the Millennium Puzzle was found by a team of British archaeologists who died after uncovering the puzzle, with their last words being "The Shadow Games." In the first chapter of the Millennium World saga, it is revealed that this British team of archaeologists died WHILE trying to get the Millennium Puzzle (their last words still being "The Shadow Games") and Sugoroku was the one that ended up finding the Puzzle after conquering the tomb's Shadow Games. It's possible that grandpa was purposefully recalling the story in a way that omitted his role in the Puzzle's discovery, however.
** The first chapter of Millennium World has Yugi trying to hide the fact that "another him" exists from his grandpa even though Sugoroku was already well-aware of the other Yugi's existence during his stint as a video tape in Duelist Kingdom and during Dungeon Dice Monsters. Possibly Takahashi being forgetful of a minor plot detail due to his illness.

* AscendedExtra: Seto Kaiba was originally supposed to be a one-off villain, but got promoted to main antagonist of his own arc when Kazuki Takahashi decided to have Duel Monsters make a reappearance. This role was ultimately what made him become the manga's EnsembleDarkhorse, and ultimately what makes him get another promotion as a main character during the Duel Monsters arcs. The anime adaptations extends his role even further, making him even more popular by extending his significance in filler arcs and rewriting a chunk of the last arc to include him.

* ShrugOfGod: When asked once in an interview whether Yugi and Anzu will get together post-series, Takahashi has said they might get married when Anzu returns from America.

** Dark Yugi mentions different levels of Shadow Games in one chapter. This is never mentioned again, but [[FridgeBrilliance Dark Bakura and Dark Marik probably use high-level ones.]]

* InSeriesNickname: The "spirits" all have different nicknames of referring to their "hosts". Dark Bakura uses ''yadonushi'' (meaning "landlord") while Dark Marik uses ''shujinkaku-sama'' (literally meaning "Master Main Personality") and both cases indicate a sarcastic attitude. This makes Yami's ''aibou'' ("partner") nickname stands out, because he is the only one whose relationship with the host is genuine friendship with mutual respect. Interestingly, despite requiring a different kanji writing, ''aibou'' can also mean "loved one", fitting for all their HoYay moments.
* JapanesePronouns:
** This trope is an important part in emphasizing the differences between the "hosts" and the "spirits". The "hosts" (Yugi, Bakura, Marik) all use ''boku'', even in the case of Marik who was an arrogant villain for the first part of Battle City. The "spirits" (Yami, Dark Bakura, Dark Marik) on the other hand are all ''ore'' users, and Dark Bakura exaggerates this by using even ''ore-sama'' later on.
** Mosts male characters use ''ore'' except for the "hosts" as listed above. Otogi is an unusual case as he is a ''boku'' user in the [[Anime/YuGiOh anime]] instead, signifying the AdaptationPersonalityChange from a serious, stoical guy in the manga to a polite womanizer in the anime.
** The female characters also use different pronouns due to their different personalities. Anzu and Mai use ''atashi'' being MsFanservice and confidently feminine girls, Shizuka uses ''watashi'' being a quiet and shy girl, Ishizu uses ''watakushi'', signifying her maturity and humble attitude.

* LighterAndSofter: The manga has a not-undeserved reputation for being DarkerAndEdgier than the anime, but there are a few instances where Takahashi went for something more low-key while the anime ramped things up for RuleOfDrama's sake:

* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: Towards the end of the Shadow RPG, High Priest of Darkness Akhenaden reveals to Priest Seto that he was his father all along and tries to make Priest Seto join him and become the King of Darkness]].
* MakeupIsEvil: Seen with Ms. Chono, who uses it so much it's like a mask.

** The fate of Seto Kaiba. In ''GX'', he is still the president of Kaiba Corp. In ''Darkside of Dimensions'' [[spoiler: he goes into the afterlife to have TheLastDance with Atem and Mokuba becomes the new president of the company]].

The manga was the basis for the [[Anime/YuGiOhFirstAnimeSeries Toei anime]] and NAS [[Anime/YuGiOh Duel Monsters anime]]. ''Anime/YuGiOhTheDarkSideOfDimensions'' takes place six months after the manga (or a year after the anime in the West, and is the first ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' anime adaptation with direct involvement from Kazuki Takahashi. There's also a two-part continuation of the manga called ''TRANSCEND GAME'' written by Takahashi, which serves as a prequel to the movie.

The manga was the basis for the [[Anime/YuGiOhFirstAnimeSeries Toei anime]] and NAS [[Anime/YuGiOh Duel Monsters anime]]. ''Anime/YuGiOhTheDarkSideOfDimensions'' takes place six months after the manga (or a year after the anime in the West[[note]]i.e., by [[Creator/FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids Entertainment's]] [[{{Macekre}} "definition"]].[[/note]]) and is the first ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' anime adaptation with direct involvement from Kazuki Takahashi. There's also a two-part continuation of the manga called ''TRANSCEND GAME'' written by Takahashi, which serves as a prequel to the movie.

* BlindIdiotTranslation: The Viz translation of the manga is very inconsistent with naming. A notable example are the times where they make Mokuba call his big brother "Kaiba" when he called him "nii-sama" in the original version. They also refer to Mai Kujaku as Mai Shiranui a few times, and a mistranslation involving Dark Marik made it seem like he was around for a thousand years.

The ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' manga by Kazuki Takahashi tells the story of Yugi Mutou, who is pulled into the world of high-stakes gaming after completing the Millennium Puzzle and awakening the Pharaoh within, gaining a darker personality known as Dark Yugi. The title of this manga means "Game King" in Japanese and thus it contains a number of games, all of which happen to have at least one thing that's being [[WagerSlave wagered]]. These games are usually played as Shadow Games, games in which the loser receives a dark punishment called a Penalty Game, which may or may not result in death. There is also a strong theme of friendship and unity between the main character and his circle of friends, and also the meeting of hearts through the medium of games.

** Dark Bakura's avatar in the Monster World RPG is Dark Master Zorc. [[spoiler: The main antagonist of the final arc turns out to be an ancient demon that Dark Bakura is trying to revive, also named Zorc]].

* TheChessmaster: Kaiba in the Death-T arc. He even has the chessboard.

* RevisitingTheRoots: After nothing but Duel Monsters post-Dungeon Dice Monsters, the manga switches games during the Millennium World arc, showcasing an elaborate tabletop RPG.

* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied that Shadi has been dead long before the start of the first chapter. Eventually confirmed in the ''[[Anime/YuGiOhTheDarkSideOfDimensions sequel]]''.]]

* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied that Shadi has been dead long before the start of the first chapter. Eventually confirmed in the sequel ''[[Anime/YuGiOhTheDarkSideOfDimensions]]''.]]

* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied that Shadi has been dead long before the start of the first chapter. Eventually confirmed in the sequel ''[[Anime/YuGiOhTheDarkSideOfDimensions]]]''.]

* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied that Shadi has been dead long before the start of the first chapter.]]

** The English manga uses the anime names for the Duel Monsters and Dungeon Dice Monsters games. In the Japanese manga, they were always referred to as "Magic & Wizards" (or M&W) and "Dragons, Dice & Dungeons" (or DDD).

** The Viz translation had it that Yami Marik was around for 1,000 years, while in the original he was around for "a long time." This led to speculation as to whether Yami Marik was an Item-connected spirit or not.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Dragon Card is never brought up after its sole appearance, and Yami Yugi can only hope no one else finds it and unseals the dragons.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Yami Bakura has white hair and is a wicked villain. Marik and his SplitPersonality have platinum-blond hair but it's close enough to white to count.

** As early as the Monster World arc, Dark Bakura had alluded to himself as a thief, and Dark Yugi a King. [[spoiler: Flash forward to the final arc, with Thief King Bakura and Pharaoh Atem. His avatar's role in the RPG also foreshadowed his role throughout the entire manga, a BitchInSheepsClothing revealed to be a part of Zorc, with a good soul, White Mage Bakura or Ryo Bakura, trapped deeped inside of him and pulled back to the surface with the help of his friends]].

** As early as the Monster World arc, Dark Bakura had alluded to himself as a thief, and Dark Yugi a King. [[spoiler: Flash forward to the final arc, with Thief King Bakura and Pharaoh Atem. His avatar's role in the RPG also foreshadowed his role throughout the entire manga, ABitchInSheepsClothing revealed to be a part of Zorc, with a valuable friend, White Mage Bakura or Ryo Bakura, trapped deeped inside of him and pulled to the surface with the help of his friends]].