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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist #1

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, Vol. 1: Duelist Kingdom

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Maintenant, Yugi doit affronter un redoutable adversaire à Magic & Wizard. Ce n'est autre que le créateur du jeu lui-même ! Et il semble prévoir tous les coups de notre héros !

Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

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962 people want to read

About the author

Kazuki Takahashi

293 books240 followers
Takahashi (高橋和希) started as a mangaka in 1982. His first work was Tokiō no Tsuma (闘輝王の鷹), published in 1990. One of his earliest works was Tennenshokudanji Buray (天然色男児BURAY), which lasted for two volumes and was published from 1991 to 1992. Takahashi did not find success until 1996 when he created Yu-Gi-Oh!

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5 stars
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291 (17%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
Profile Image for Seamaiden.
553 reviews24 followers
September 19, 2016
Yes, back to the anime's story. It is fine how Joey and the others are all about how sexy Mai is and Tea wants to rip her apart. I believe one of the reasons why is because she feels Mai is a threat since Tea wants Yugi and Mai seems to be interested in Yugi, even though it is only as a duelist.
I don't remember the anime saying that the duels would last for only 48 hours but It's been years since I have watched the first episodes.
Go, Yugi! Go, Joey ! :P
Profile Image for Bianca.
21 reviews1 follower
December 27, 2010
I did read the Yu-Gi-Oh! series in entirety, but I lack the patience to add them all. I did like the anime as a child, so when I first started reading it I was surprised to see how violent and gruesome a lot of it was in Japanese, and hilarious how much they censored it in America. I love the range in character types, and thought the ending was perfect.
Profile Image for Andrew Basurto.
7 reviews
March 18, 2019
Grandpa is taken differently than from the show. He is forced into the tape compared to being forced into a card.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Athul Domichen.
150 reviews2 followers
May 3, 2023
The island saga begins. How many books does it take to get through it?
Profile Image for Julia.
388 reviews8 followers
April 6, 2021
Every time I want to criticize the Yu-Gi-Oh! series for its nonsensical stakes and magic system (not allllllways crazy in a fun way), strange shoehorned-in use of background characters, and formulaic "winning at the last second when all hope seems lost" battles, all of that fades away, because at all times, constantly, I am filled with warmth at how much I completely adore these characters.

I'm obsessed with Yu-Gi-Oh! not just for the neato monster designs and cards but for the characters and their connections with each other. As an aspiring author myself, few series have taught me about using distinct dialogue and character voice, character arc, and pacing more than Yu-Gi-Oh! has. This series has timeless messages about friendship, about forgiveness, about taking the time to realize you were wrong and changing your behavior accordingly. Characters are given the space to step back and realize they need to change, and then they DO; the character arcs and growth are so BELIEVABLE. You cheer for the triumph of a character that not only literally overcomes the bad guy but also overcomes their own insecurities and shortcomings. And pretty much ALL of the characters get this space to grow like this. Fantastic.

I literally, at all times, carry my love for these characters and their journeys in my heart. Yu-Gi-Oh! has inspired creativity in me through skits and costumes and fanfictions, and, indeed, in my own original works. I will always cherish it.
Profile Image for Cassiopeia's Moon.
166 reviews15 followers
March 3, 2014
Now I'm reading the story the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series was built on. Wow. It is so much fun to see what they have changed and what they kept. WARNING! This review will compare the manga with the anime a lot.

The gang travels to Duelist Kingdom and it's much easier for Jounouchi to enter the tournament (and the ship that takes them to DK island) than it is in the anime. It kind of makes more sense in the anime but I wouldn't have given it a thought when reading if I hadn't seen the anime. The arenas also have a different style but are still working with holograms. Otherwise there aren't any huge differences (what I can remember).

Yuugi will play his first duel, against the champion of Japan, Insector Haga/Weevil Underwood, and has to learn the new set of rules as the game goes on. Almost the whole volume surrounds this duel.
In the last chapter Jounouchi starts his first duel, against Mai Kujaku/Mai Valentine (shipping going on!).

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Profile Image for ☽✧Rowan✧☾.
84 reviews1 follower
June 12, 2023
Absolute banger of a book. Every man in this is a loser. That’s the content I love to see.
Profile Image for Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library).
4,899 reviews89 followers
July 14, 2015
A Quickie Review

Maybe I'm just a sucker for entertainment, but, I always found the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime thrilling and fun. I was a bit late to the party, though, so this early part of the story arc is a bit new to me; still, I'm familiar enough with the franchise to understand it. If you know nothing of Yugi Moto and "the heart of the cards," this isn't for you; still, for fans like me, it's great stuff.

Content Concerns:
Sex: Stray comments about women's appearances; a woman telling a guy that she'll do what he wants "all night long", though she ends up not doing so. 4/5
Nudity: A rather buxom character wears a low-cut outfit; a teenage girl is seen in a top that bares her midriff. 4/5
Language: None. 5/5
Violence: The entire volume is full of fantastical battles between monsters, though no blood or gore is seen. 3/5
Drugs: None. 5/5
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Some rather hideous monsters. 3/5
Other: Some people may be bothered by having monsters battle each other, or find some of the themes too occult-esque. 3/5

Score: 5/5
Profile Image for Persy.
1,078 reviews26 followers
May 7, 2021
Written like a soap opera in that there is always an AH-HA! to counter an opponent's moves until the final AH-HA! moment. Cute, but it makes a better anime, in my opinion. The different duel monsters are the selling point for this story, so seeing them in action kind of makes the experience worth it. However, the story itself isn't anything special.
Profile Image for Ren.
301 reviews1 follower
January 10, 2024
3.5 rounded up to 4
"A Castle for a kingdom...It's like the Middle Ages. How Bourgeois!"

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, Volume 1: where the anime meets the manga (not counting the 'Season 0' anime adaptation).

So many iconic moments for someone who grew up on the 4Kids dub: we meet Pegasus and have the VHS Shadow Game duel, we get the ship and Weevil Underwood throwing Exodia overboard, we kick off Duelist Kingdom, Yugi defeats Weevil...you know. All that, but...a little different.

Some of the differences between the manga and anime are a bit baffling. And not in the direction you think. For all that the pilot of the Season 1 anime is a mess, they definitely do some cleanup on aisle 7 when it comes to beginning the Duelist Kingdom arc.

First of all, in the manga, Pegasus sends a tape of himself through which he's able to duel Yugi in a Shadow Game. This surprises the hell out of 'Yami' Yugi who has at this point been Shadow Game-d by Shadi and 'Yami' Bakura. That's fine; it may not be his first rodeo, but no one expects the Spanish Inquisition a Shadow Game to come bursting out of their T.V.

However, for reasons known only to him that are certainly in-character but knock the sails out of this otherwise tense moment, Pegasus doesn't actually use his Millennium Eye at first to predict Yugi's moves, instead he uses subliminal messaging (?) just to screw with him for...reasons (???) before revealing the Millennium Eye. But it's like, my guy, you're talking to this lad through a TV in a pre-Skype, pre-Zoom world, so like, I think he knows there's some magical tomfoolery.

And speaking of magical tomfoolery, instead of sealing Grandpa's soul away in a card or in his castle or wherever he trapped Grandpa's soul in the anime, he literally traps it on the tape...that Yugi still has. So after making a big point of how Yugi can only rescue his grandfather's soul if he participates in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, Yugi just... pops the VHS tape into a portable player and talks to his Grandpa on that. So like... ok. So then what's the real urgency to go to Duelist Kingdom?

But oh well, whatever. So off we go.

They get to Duelist Kingdom, and in the manga, we don't get duel arenas, we get the duel boxes from the Death-T arc. Honestly, I think it was smart visually to go with the arenas for the anime, since the boxes would have felt clunky in a film medium, but they actually kind of work in the manga and keep everything a bit more contained and feel like a more logical stepping stone towards the Duel Disks.

And speaking of Duel Disks and such, we get kind of a cute Kaiba shout out in this volume when Yugi initially tells his friends he wouldn't want to compete in a tournament unless Kaiba was participating. We also learn that Yugi's visited him in the hospital at least once since he’s still in a coma post-Mind Crush. This is very in-character for Yugi, and a connection between them we don't get in the anime. Obviously, both manga and anime Kaiba would hate that Yugi did this (but also probably secretly kind of like it), but it adds an interesting layer to their relationship that gets lost when, in the anime, the next time they see each other is for like 2 seconds of exposition and the premier of the Duel Disk prototypes where he's mostly talking to Joey/Jonouchi, not Yugi. Anyway, I think that's a cute detail and helps differentiate Yugi from 'Yami' Yugi.

One difference that only makes sense because of the timeline weirdness caused by cutting everything that happened in 'Season 0' is not having Ryou Bakura be part of Yugi's friend group until partway through Duelist Kingdom. As Little Kuriboh loves pointing out in YGOTAS, Bakura (both Ryou and Yami) get done the dirtiest in the anime in terms of omitted plotlines and character development.

Justice! For! Bakura!

Other than that, everything else is pretty much the same, although for some strange reason, instead of putting up his rarest card against Weevil's second starchip as in the anime, manga 'Yami' Yugi blurts out that he'll bet his life (???) and Weevil's just like: "Well! Now that's a new twist!"
A little bit of a rocky start, but now we're off and running. I wonder if Joey/Jonouchi will be able to defeat Mai in Volume 2...
21 reviews
September 6, 2017
This book is about a kid named Yugi who plays the card game Duel Monsters. One day he receives a tape that traps his grandpa in a camera and tells him that he must play Duel Monsters in the Duelist Kingdom to get his grandpa back. So he and his friend Jonouchi get on the cruise ship to go duel in the duelist kingdom. They learn that there are new rules to the kingdom, and they meet someone who proves a challenge to Yugi and Jonouchi at the Duelist Kingdom. Yugi´s main goal is to duel Maximilian Pegasus and get his grandpa back.

The main character is Yugi. Yugi is a young kid who loves playing the game, Duel Monsters. He has some close friends, Jonouchi, Mazaki, and Honda. Yugi starts as kind of shy and calm kid. As the story progresses however, he becomes more outgoing and confident. He gets stronger and smarter as he completes duels in the ¨Kingdom¨.

I really liked this story for a few reasons. First off, the author is very good at developing characters personalities and building characters that feel more alive. Second, the author did a good job of making duels suspenseful and interesting. The strategy within the game was fun for the characters to incorporate. Lastly, the
Profile Image for Moriah Venable.
1,372 reviews33 followers
February 13, 2023
I still think the way that Viz Media divided the series is stupid. Volumes 1-7 is considered Yu-Gi-Oh, Volume 8-31 is yu-gi-Oh Duelists while volumes 32-40 is Yu-Gi-Oh Millennium. From the previous volumes, you know why Kaiba is not available to attend Duel Kingdom.

So this volume is the start of the anime. Yugi and the group watch the Tournament in which the winner gets their prize given to them my Maximillian Pegasus who the the created of the Duel Monsters game.

A package is delivered to Yugi and when he opens it, it is a video by the creator. He challenges him to a duel in which Yugi changes to the other him. If he loses the game, he must attend the tournament being held on the island. He goes to save someone.

While in route, he meets the one that won. He acts a certain way in order to see Yugi's most powerful card which he throws in the water, giving him more a chance to beat him (which is a horrible thing to do. He knew that he couldn't beat Yugi so he tried to sabotage him so that he could win).

The volume ends with Jounouchi accepting Duel from Mai Kujaku/Mai Valentine. I do remember this from the anime because I remembered Joey wanting to save his sister and have the money for the operation that she would need.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Warda |  وردة.
82 reviews1 follower
January 6, 2025
Not sure if I'm too attached to the first volumes or if the newer volumes are just not as good.

The characters' personalities feel a bit, how do you say it, the-anime-protagonist's-friends type of personality. Jonouchi is starting to feel like just a stupid, loud, and bland (also blonde) character with that little story about his sister to make him not too uninteresting. Anzu's personality feels like she's just the female friend. And i won't even mention Honda because, to be honest, he never had a personality to begin with lol or maybe i never understood him.
Mai and Pegasus are great characters, tho. Even Haga reminds me of the comically evil villains in the first volumes.
It's not bad, not at all. It's actually a fun volume, and I will defend this series forever, but i just wish it remained as perfect as it first was.

Ngl i was hoping Yuugi would cheat one way or another during his battle with Haga, but i guess he's a changed man now lol
Or maybe the heart of cards and power of friendship are the biggest cheat after all.
Profile Image for Joseph B.
418 reviews4 followers
May 7, 2023
Yu-Gi-Oh Duelist, as it was released for its English translation, kicks off with this volume cementing the Duel Monsters card game as integral part of the franchise's storytelling from here on out. It opens with Yugi dueling Pegasus, the creator of DM, and having his grandpa's soul stolen. From there; Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu, and Honda depart for for the Duelist Kingdom to compete in a tournament. We see Yugi have his first duel and Joey begins his first as well, with it ending on a cliffhanger for him.

Yu-Gi-Oh really begins to come into its own with this arc. Friendship shines through, the stakes are raised, and we meet a new cast of characters. The art is good and the more serialized format works well. The winning at the last few moments shtick continues here (a trope that will become all too common for the franchise as a whole) and if you have accepted it by now it will not bother you much. Duelist Vol 1 delivers a fun story that YGO fans will surely enjoy.
Profile Image for Kelli.
2,157 reviews25 followers
June 9, 2023
Yugi is not your typical gaming enthusiast. Rather, the spirit of the greatest game master ever possesses him!

So, suffice to say, Yugi is quite invested in the current most popular game Duel Monsters.

This card game has captivated players around the world!

When a wealthy game developer sponsors a tournament for the best players, Yugi and friends are, of course, among those invited. Before Yugi can consider whether or not to participate though, Yugi’s grandfather is captured as collateral. If Yugi wants his grandpa back, he’s going to have to play!

Will Yugi’s skills be enough to take him to victory? Or, will he find himself up against a foe he just can’t beat?

So, this story essentially picks up where the last series left off but with a stronger focus on a singular game. We’ve got all of the same characters and truly the same format for the plot.

If you enjoy the standard shonen story, I’m sure you will appreciate this classic~
26 reviews1 follower
June 22, 2025
Duelist Kingdom Arc - Chapters 1-74

This arcs makes the adjustment to focusing on Duel Monsters rather well. We lose the variety of games from before but Duel Monsters is such a rich game with infinite potential for cards that there still is plenty of variety between duels and the strategies used; especially here where the rules are still kinda flimsy and Duel Monsters ends up feeling like a combination of Dungeons and Dragons with the actual Yu-Gi-Oh card game. The art and panelling are just as good as ever. There’s not much for theming here, there’s only some light theming on grief and criticising the rich. The art really carries this though. I love the characters as well and despite how long this arc is I breezed through it quickly

7/10
Profile Image for Leandro Escobar-herrera.
66 reviews1 follower
March 26, 2020
A deep fall in quality

The series takes a sharp dive in quality, as it changes premise and genre. There is a lot of good in the book, the art is still amazing and greatly displayed with all the monsters. The book even has more focus now, the problem is just the game focuses on. Nobody seems to be good players, rather like small children, they seem to be rules as they go. This is not helped by all the Deux Ex MAchina going on.

The game so to poorly defined to be the focus without loosing overall quality, along with the characters being rather bland compared to their former iterations.
I hope that as the volumes goes along, the book finds its footing.
Profile Image for Donkey Hote.
72 reviews1 follower
July 29, 2024
“It's time to duel!”

“As long as you're not alone... you are always strong!”

Το πρώτο μέρος της ιστορίας, προτού καθοριστούν οι κανόνες, είναι κάπως περίπλοκο, αλλά σε αντίθεση με την anime προσαρμογή, βγάζει κάποιο νόημα.

Πάντως (στο σύνολο αυτών των τόμων) προτιμώ προσωπικά την manga εκδοχή από άποψη αφήγησης, διότι ο Τζόι έχει απίτευτη ανάπτυξη ως χαρακτήρας, ο Κάιμπα είναι πολύ πιο ευαίσθητος, και ο (μεγάλος) Γιούγκι πολύ πιο μελαγχολικός.

Η προσαρμογή είναι σίγουρα πιο εντυπωσιακή, αλλά το πρωτότυπο με συγκίνησε απρόσμενα πολύ, ειδικά στους τόμους του 2ου μέρους.
Profile Image for Ana.
199 reviews16 followers
May 7, 2018
I'll be honest I never cared for the anime before and the only reason I'm reading this is because I decided to see how it goes after 'season 0' (though I already know how it pretty much goes...). It's pretty shounen except you know, instead of fighting hand to hand it's decided by a children's card game....

There's nothing quite like reading a card game to realise you have no idea how to even play and wondering about your life choices.

This said, there was kidnapping and magic in the volume so not just cards.

Conclusion: Neutral, 2,5 stars.
Profile Image for Jane Blake.
Author 9 books10 followers
August 6, 2019
Desde aquí es donde comienza a adaptarse el anime y vemos por primera vez al personaje femenino empoderado de esta serie... si puede que sea superficial pero es imposible odiarla xD

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Aunque hay algo que he notado y que me esta ocasionando cierta curiosidad...
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Profile Image for Optimus.
165 reviews3 followers
March 14, 2022
This is the (second) introduction of the card game.. First one being in a random chapter of the first manga..

This is my first ever manga! Never read it before.. It took a long while to figure out how to read it. When i did it was smooth.

As an introduction to a brand new card game it did its job fine. We get a sample of the duels to come and a taste of this arcs villain Pegasus. All in all it was fine.
Profile Image for Kassy.
183 reviews4 followers
September 1, 2022
I really liked this book cause it really focused on the Yu-Gi-Oh card game which I am more used too than the manga. The island that the characters are dueling on seems very cool, and I feel so sad for Yugi's grandpa and Jonouchi's sister.

I am definitely hoping Yugi wins cause he is my favorite character and he would get his grandpa back and help Jonouchi with his sister's surgery.

I am still loving Dark Yugi and this story keeps getting better and better, till next time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Brandon.
2,840 reviews39 followers
December 27, 2025
I like the monster designs, and the incredibly weird combat mechanics. It's like every turn they invent a new 'card game' mechanic to have one player at a disadvantage. Why yes my moth just happens to poison everyone around him. My flying creature is immune to your melee creatures. Your monster is technically dark magic so my light magic counters it. Why not. It's all JRPG mechanics, put they're on cards this time, and we won't explain how it works it's all based on vibes.
Profile Image for Alicia.
8,534 reviews150 followers
May 20, 2020
I am surprised at how much I loved it and followed it without knowing much about the background of Yu Gi Oh in general (manga or anime) but it's a thrilling throw-down battling wits in the game as a group, including Yugi make it to an island with the billionaire financier who wants to win at all costs.

I'm here for the series because it's entertainment and cerebral but just a little fun too.
Profile Image for Harrison Delahunty.
569 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2023
I have a ton of nostalgia for these stories, but rereading them as an adult makes it clear how little consistency or internal logic they run on. It can be genuinely hard to follow the majority of the event sequences in this volume.

Regardless, it’s a lot of fun and it’s laying the groundwork for what the franchise would become.
Profile Image for Adrian Santiago.
1,180 reviews21 followers
September 5, 2025
Está genial, solo se siente un poquito acelerado y cortado, en comparación al anime.

Pero nada mal, lo que más se reconoce es el gran trabajo de diseño y arte en las cartas y monstruos. Y que el autor sí creó el juego de cartas, con las estrategias y reglas. Cómo no amar la historia original, y tantos recuerdos de cuando empezó Yugi, la moda y las cartas. Fue genial.
Profile Image for Finn.
1 review
December 30, 2019
I think it was good and funny at some points. I rated it a 3 because in duelist kingdom, Yu-Gi-Oh was just a broken exploitable mess of a game with absolutely no rules whatsoever. The plot was somewhere between gripping and utter bullcrap, but I did like it, as I am a big Yu-Gi-Oh fan.
Profile Image for Niklas.
19 reviews3 followers
January 15, 2021
FULL SERIES REVIEW/RATING
Leaving my rating true to my kid-self.
back when i as a kid collected the volumes whenever they came out in stores, i was obssessed with this series and the trading cards.
If i had to rate it in current time, then i would probably give it a 3-4 star overall, but i feel like that wouldn't be fair - Theres a lot of stuff i don't fully remember from the series, but i do remember how much i loved it back then, especially with the introduction of Marik Ishtar & Bakura, King of Thieves!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews

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