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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist #9
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist, Vol. 9: Dungeon Dice Monsters
There's a new game shop in town, peddling a hot new game, and things look bad for Grandpa Mutou's family business But the Black Crown game store is more than a business competitor...its owners want to put Yugi and his grandfather out the picture forever. First a sinister clown-masked figure steals Yugi's Millennium Puzzle Then Ryuji Otogi, the teenager heir to the store, challenges Yugi to a collectible dice game of dragons and monsters. But without the Millennium Puzzle, Yugi can't call Yu-Gi-Oh. Can he win without his "other self" to help him out?
208 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 1999
22 people are currently reading
278 people want to read
About the author
Kazuki Takahashi
293 books240 followersTakahashi (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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 8, 2016
I really like the duelist sequel much better than the prequel but this specific story with the DDD is just ...too much. I was just bored. Even with the anime I was bored at this point, but the manga version is even worse and makes no sense.
September 15, 2015
A Quickie Review
This volume introduces the game of Dungeon Dice Monsters, as well as the character of Duke Devlin/Ryuji Otogi. After all the intense card duels, it's nice to have something a little different. Though I saw this part of the anime, I still wish this installment hadn't ended on a cliffhanger.
Score: 4/5
This volume introduces the game of Dungeon Dice Monsters, as well as the character of Duke Devlin/Ryuji Otogi. After all the intense card duels, it's nice to have something a little different. Though I saw this part of the anime, I still wish this installment hadn't ended on a cliffhanger.
Score: 4/5
June 5, 2025
"When your master speaks, I expect you to bark!"
Oh, right. The Dungeon Dice Monsters interlude. Alright, let's do this.
Of all of the filler arcs, this is by far my personal least favourite, and probably Little Kuriboh's too since in Yu-Gi-Oh! abridged, the big joke is that Dungeon Dice Monsters (DDM) as a game is just Duel Monsters with dice.
I actually don't think that's the case, because in the manga at least, DDM establishes the rules and gameplay well enough to cement it as a different type of game that relies on different enough mechanics from Duel Monsters to have a distinct identity. What it is, however, is a pretty shameless reboot of Capsule Monsters (that's right: nothing gets past me!), but more easily translatable to real world gameplay.
Just like Capsule Monsters, DDM probably wouldn't work as an IRL tabletop game because, tragically, we haven't yet had a Seto Kaiba to invent Solid Vision, but it does/would work as a video game in a way that Duel Monsters doesn't really lend itself to -- for whatever that's worth.
Whatever, none of this really matters because even Takahashi seemed to view this episode as pointless since everything about it draws on more interesting storylines we've already had. Joey/Jonouchi loses a game to someone obviously savvier than he is in an embarrassing way and gets called a dog by someone cooler and hotter than he is who is a teenage game developer that runs his father's business... hmmm
(Side note: just to address the elephant in the room, if we had a quarter for every game developer and business owner in Domino that has had a quasi puppy-play relationship with Joey/Jonouchi we'd have 2 quarters. Which isn't a lot, but it is weird that it happened twice).
Then, Yugi steps in and is all 'don't talk to my friend like that!' and our absolutely not derivative and very distinct and three-dimensional villain of the week, Duke/Otogi slowly reveals that he was actually after Yugi all along.
In another 'sins of the father' twist, it turns out that Duke/Otogi's father was a mentee of Yugi's grandfather in the past, lost to him in a Shadow game, and was horribly disfigured as a result. Ever since, he's had it out for Yugi's grandfather, and passed that grudge along to his son, who now resents Yugi by association.
A few things happen in between, but the key point is that Duke/Otogi lures Yugi away from his friends, takes the Millennium Puzzle off of him, and forces him to play DDM to get it back.
In this version of events, Duke/Otogi's plotline is crossed with the Millennium items, and he believes if he can defeat Yugi at DDM, the power of the Millennium puzzle will transfer to him.
On the one hand, this is kind of interesting, and even Yami Bakura is given something to do because he shows up as Yugi's cheerleader (???) and proclaims that only Yugi can wield the Millennium Puzzle; anyone else who tries will pay a heavy price. Except maybe Kaiba in Darkside of Dimensions for some reason. Whatever. Don't worry about it.
Personally, I prefer the anime version of this plot because, frankly, the set up in the manga doesn't really add to either the lore or the worldbuilding. At least in the anime, Duke/Otogi's motivation is more integrated into the overarching narrative, and is grounded in already established events. In the anime, his issue with Yugi is that prior to the Duelist Kingdom tournament, Duke/Otogi had been promised by Pegasus that after the tournament was over, they could discuss Industrial Illusions backing the development of DDM because (Pegasus assumed) after Duelist Kingdom, Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corporation were set to merge, which would give Pegasus access to the Solid Vision technology necessary to make DDM market viable.
But, of course, that doesn't happen because by the time Duelist Kingdom is over... Pegasus is dead. Or missing. Or otherwise out of commission. Little sketchy on the details.
And Duke/Otogi blames Yugi for this, which is why he wants to in some manner or other make Yugi pay.
Doesn't that sound a little better? A little more complex? Still a bit dumb, but at least less...contrived?
The only good thing to come out of all of this in the manga is that Yugi gets a little bit of character development, since he has to defeat Duke/Otogi on his own. And we start to get a better sense of Yugi as a personality distinct from Yami Yugi, and we also get more evidence to suggest that even without the help of ancient Egyptian magic, Yugi is a savvy gamer in his own right.
But, surely, we could have gotten this development in a more satisfying way.
Oh! And we learn/are reminded that in the manga-verse Yugi actually lives with his mom, and she has like, two lines of dialogue. So, that's nice.
Ah, well, at least it only takes a volume and a half to get us through this on the way to the start of Battle City!
Random piece of lore: we learn on page 11 that while his soul was floating around (???) Yugi’s grandpa meets up with his grandmother (‘s soul???) before retuning to his body in Domino (???)
Oh, right. The Dungeon Dice Monsters interlude. Alright, let's do this.
Of all of the filler arcs, this is by far my personal least favourite, and probably Little Kuriboh's too since in Yu-Gi-Oh! abridged, the big joke is that Dungeon Dice Monsters (DDM) as a game is just Duel Monsters with dice.
I actually don't think that's the case, because in the manga at least, DDM establishes the rules and gameplay well enough to cement it as a different type of game that relies on different enough mechanics from Duel Monsters to have a distinct identity. What it is, however, is a pretty shameless reboot of Capsule Monsters (that's right: nothing gets past me!), but more easily translatable to real world gameplay.
Just like Capsule Monsters, DDM probably wouldn't work as an IRL tabletop game because, tragically, we haven't yet had a Seto Kaiba to invent Solid Vision, but it does/would work as a video game in a way that Duel Monsters doesn't really lend itself to -- for whatever that's worth.
Whatever, none of this really matters because even Takahashi seemed to view this episode as pointless since everything about it draws on more interesting storylines we've already had. Joey/Jonouchi loses a game to someone obviously savvier than he is in an embarrassing way and gets called a dog by someone cooler and hotter than he is who is a teenage game developer that runs his father's business... hmmm
(Side note: just to address the elephant in the room, if we had a quarter for every game developer and business owner in Domino that has had a quasi puppy-play relationship with Joey/Jonouchi we'd have 2 quarters. Which isn't a lot, but it is weird that it happened twice).
Then, Yugi steps in and is all 'don't talk to my friend like that!' and our absolutely not derivative and very distinct and three-dimensional villain of the week, Duke/Otogi slowly reveals that he was actually after Yugi all along.
In another 'sins of the father' twist, it turns out that Duke/Otogi's father was a mentee of Yugi's grandfather in the past, lost to him in a Shadow game, and was horribly disfigured as a result. Ever since, he's had it out for Yugi's grandfather, and passed that grudge along to his son, who now resents Yugi by association.
A few things happen in between, but the key point is that Duke/Otogi lures Yugi away from his friends, takes the Millennium Puzzle off of him, and forces him to play DDM to get it back.
In this version of events, Duke/Otogi's plotline is crossed with the Millennium items, and he believes if he can defeat Yugi at DDM, the power of the Millennium puzzle will transfer to him.
On the one hand, this is kind of interesting, and even Yami Bakura is given something to do because he shows up as Yugi's cheerleader (???) and proclaims that only Yugi can wield the Millennium Puzzle; anyone else who tries will pay a heavy price. Except maybe Kaiba in Darkside of Dimensions for some reason. Whatever. Don't worry about it.
Personally, I prefer the anime version of this plot because, frankly, the set up in the manga doesn't really add to either the lore or the worldbuilding. At least in the anime, Duke/Otogi's motivation is more integrated into the overarching narrative, and is grounded in already established events. In the anime, his issue with Yugi is that prior to the Duelist Kingdom tournament, Duke/Otogi had been promised by Pegasus that after the tournament was over, they could discuss Industrial Illusions backing the development of DDM because (Pegasus assumed) after Duelist Kingdom, Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corporation were set to merge, which would give Pegasus access to the Solid Vision technology necessary to make DDM market viable.
But, of course, that doesn't happen because by the time Duelist Kingdom is over... Pegasus is dead. Or missing. Or otherwise out of commission. Little sketchy on the details.
And Duke/Otogi blames Yugi for this, which is why he wants to in some manner or other make Yugi pay.
Doesn't that sound a little better? A little more complex? Still a bit dumb, but at least less...contrived?
The only good thing to come out of all of this in the manga is that Yugi gets a little bit of character development, since he has to defeat Duke/Otogi on his own. And we start to get a better sense of Yugi as a personality distinct from Yami Yugi, and we also get more evidence to suggest that even without the help of ancient Egyptian magic, Yugi is a savvy gamer in his own right.
But, surely, we could have gotten this development in a more satisfying way.
Oh! And we learn/are reminded that in the manga-verse Yugi actually lives with his mom, and she has like, two lines of dialogue. So, that's nice.
Ah, well, at least it only takes a volume and a half to get us through this on the way to the start of Battle City!
Random piece of lore: we learn on page 11 that while his soul was floating around (???) Yugi’s grandpa meets up with his grandmother (‘s soul???) before retuning to his body in Domino (???)
May 20, 2023
Yu-Gi-Oh Vol 9 serves as an interlude of sorts before the next big arc, Battle City. It introduces Ryugi (anime fans will know him as "Duke") and his father, who are seeking vengeance on Yugi for the actions of his grandfather. We see Yugi play games other than Duel Monsters which is a fun throwback to the original series. However the primary focus of this volume is Yugi getting his puzzle stolen and having to battle Ryugi in a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters for it. This is a great dynamic because Yugi doesn't have his other self to rely on; and we see him struggle with that and persevere proving himself as a worthy vessel for the Pharaoh. He doesn't have his friends either, escept Yami Bakura if you can count him...
Dungeon Dice Monsters itself is a fun enough game and refreshing to see after so much Duel Monsters. While a bit slow to start, Vol 9 proves itself an enjoyable continuation following the Duelist Kingdom arc.
Dungeon Dice Monsters itself is a fun enough game and refreshing to see after so much Duel Monsters. While a bit slow to start, Vol 9 proves itself an enjoyable continuation following the Duelist Kingdom arc.
April 5, 2020
Trying different games is a nice throwback to the early books, and it helps that the game is clever.
The Devlins are weak villains, and this book really does not use a lot of its downtime well. This would be a perfect time to give non-card playing characters some focus. Nevertheless, Honda almost has his day in the light, Yugi is without Yami and Bakura steps up his antagonist game, becoming a friend and a foe at the same time. Yu-Gi-Oh has an extended list of villains, but it finally got one that was complex. And I most say, the game is well explained and seems to be a lot fun. It is too bad that the table top version of this game never took off.
The Devlins are weak villains, and this book really does not use a lot of its downtime well. This would be a perfect time to give non-card playing characters some focus. Nevertheless, Honda almost has his day in the light, Yugi is without Yami and Bakura steps up his antagonist game, becoming a friend and a foe at the same time. Yu-Gi-Oh has an extended list of villains, but it finally got one that was complex. And I most say, the game is well explained and seems to be a lot fun. It is too bad that the table top version of this game never took off.
September 10, 2022
The Yu-Gi-Oh manga is definitely a great series and I love reading it, I like comparing it to what I know about playing the Yu-Gi-Oh card game and playing the mobile Yu-Gi-Oh game Duel Links on my phone.
This volume was pretty cool it introduced a new game into the series call Dungeon Dice Monsters that I like. The dice monsters remind me of duel monster holagrams which makes sense since it's the same book series lol.
I am liking the characters a great deal, but the guy who wants revenge on Yugi's grandpa is crazy.
This volume was pretty cool it introduced a new game into the series call Dungeon Dice Monsters that I like. The dice monsters remind me of duel monster holagrams which makes sense since it's the same book series lol.
I am liking the characters a great deal, but the guy who wants revenge on Yugi's grandpa is crazy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 5, 2022
I always skip the episodes in the anime that line up with this volume, but the differences in the manga are quite significant. Otogi isn’t just an arrogant show off, and instead of Yami playing DDM, it’s Yugi all on his own, without even his friends. I loved the character development that Yugi goes through in this volume—he really shines as the protagonist for once. Otogi’s kindness at the end… 🥲 Overall I loved that this felt a lot less like filler and more like an actual piece to the larger story. I can’t wait to finish the arc in the next volume.
June 1, 2025
This felt like filler when watching the anime, and continues to feel like filler all these years later in the manga. I like to believe that Takahashi was exploring other games to give Duel Monsters a break and see if something else could spawn, but I imagine the reception was not what publishers were expecting. I know the arc pivots back to Duel Monsters and Battle City shortly. Still, nice to see villains that have been around for many volumes continue their character growth and not be so one dimensional.
September 30, 2022
I think the Dungeon Dice Monsters game comes across a bit better in the anime than it does here in this manga - here it just feels like another side game, but the anime version made me want to play that game for real, so badly. Thank god for the GBA game they made out of it, I played the shit outta that.
June 15, 2025
This volume introduces Ryuji Otogi (Duke Devlin) In comparison to the anime version of DDM. I love the manga version a lot more. The manga version has a stronger back story, is more dark and twisted and Yugi is the one playing this game. Even Yami Bakura has involvement in this arc. As cool as it is to see Yami Yugi playing the game in the anime version I still much prefer this version.
September 11, 2025
Nunca me gustó el Duck, ni se me hace muy interesante, pero en el manga está mejor con la historia del payaso. Aunque sean pequeños cambios.
Lo de dungeon dice ojalá hubiera tenido éxito el juego, pero igual se quedó corto. Aunque la historia corre bien, y ya hay menciones a lo que serían los dioses y los artículos del milenio.
Lo de dungeon dice ojalá hubiera tenido éxito el juego, pero igual se quedó corto. Aunque la historia corre bien, y ya hay menciones a lo que serían los dioses y los artículos del milenio.
September 20, 2021
Not the greatest fan of this arc as Duke is not my favorite character granted he does become a little more interesting in this volume because of the whole thing with his father and their relationship but still not the biggest fan of him or this story.
November 29, 2021
I loved it but I didn't like the game explained I'm not into luck games. He didn't get a fair shot at all.
It is better to already assemble something on beforehand because you know what the possibilities are.
It is better to already assemble something on beforehand because you know what the possibilities are.
December 2, 2022
I never really liked DDD. It was a bit better in the manga. I loved that yami bakura came back! Hes one of those characters I just love to hate. He threw in some interest and got me fired up when he started spouting all that friendship trash.
August 31, 2018
We are finally seeing a little more about Yugi’s grandpa when he was young!
April 18, 2020
Weak volume...
June 30, 2021
Es un manga decente.
November 2, 2021
Always loved yugioh, it was my favorite show as a kid and my first manga! Love all the great characters and the Egypt story line it has😻👌😁❤️
December 28, 2021
it is good
December 6, 2022
I like this fight better than the one in the anime. Seeing Yugi fight on his own is nice (don't get me wrong I still love the Pharoah)
October 14, 2023
Everything up to the dice game was boring.. Seeing our real life games in yugioh world is weird.
The dice game part was fine, elevated by the presence of Bakura.
The dice game part was fine, elevated by the presence of Bakura.
June 26, 2024
Actually kind of crazy how different it was from the anime but I completely understand why they had to change it 😂
December 2, 2024
Poor Yugi just wanted to see the pharaoh one last time..
October 30, 2025
Dungeon dice monsters!!!!! Get it yugi!!!!!!!
November 27, 2016
Ryuji Otogi is known as Duke Devlin in the American Anime. But no matter his name I still think he is cool.
So far the manga have been very similar to the anime that I am used to. However, this volume took a bit of a different turn, although it is possible to spot the similarities, where the original things from the manga have been twisted and incorporated into the story for the anime. Jonouchi plays Ryuji at some small dice and card games, not duel monsters and he never has to wear a dog costume when he loses.
For the first time ever you get to see Yugi’s mother, in only two panels but she’s there! She seems to be worrying about Yugi as he keeps talking to himself, haha!
Ryuji’s father had lost to Yugi’s grandpa in a forbidden Devil’s Board Game, causing him to age 50 years in one night. He vows revenge and trains Ryuji in games from a young age so that he can defeat Yugi. As Ryuji’s father steals the Millennium Puzzle Yugi cannot get help from Yami to play DDM, when Yugi begins to get the upper hand anyway he smashes the puzzle. Interestingly Yami Bakura finds his way into the store and finds Yugi, encouraging him on to winning.
The differences between the anime and this volume were very interesting and I am intrigued to see how they following volumes turn out.
So far the manga have been very similar to the anime that I am used to. However, this volume took a bit of a different turn, although it is possible to spot the similarities, where the original things from the manga have been twisted and incorporated into the story for the anime. Jonouchi plays Ryuji at some small dice and card games, not duel monsters and he never has to wear a dog costume when he loses.
For the first time ever you get to see Yugi’s mother, in only two panels but she’s there! She seems to be worrying about Yugi as he keeps talking to himself, haha!
Ryuji’s father had lost to Yugi’s grandpa in a forbidden Devil’s Board Game, causing him to age 50 years in one night. He vows revenge and trains Ryuji in games from a young age so that he can defeat Yugi. As Ryuji’s father steals the Millennium Puzzle Yugi cannot get help from Yami to play DDM, when Yugi begins to get the upper hand anyway he smashes the puzzle. Interestingly Yami Bakura finds his way into the store and finds Yugi, encouraging him on to winning.
The differences between the anime and this volume were very interesting and I am intrigued to see how they following volumes turn out.
December 12, 2016
Ughhhhhh. I was fairly indifferent to this arc in the anime but it's not any better in the manga. Ryuji is the newest student in Yugi's class and he also has an affinity for games. Ryuji's father opened a game shop, Black Crown games, right across the street from Yugi's family's shop. The whole purpose was for Ryuji to beat Yugi at DDM (Dungeon Dice Monsters) and win Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. And, the only reason he's even doing this, is that Yugi's grandfather had beat Ryuji's father and "humiliated" him so many years ago. DDM is a mess of ever-changing rules and although Ryuji looks intimidating is actually kind of a push-over. It's a poor successor to Duelist Kingdom.
September 22, 2021
No hay nada que disfrute más que los duelos de Yugi siendo él mismo. Si bien me sentí mal por Yami y lo que pasó con el rompecabezas del milenio, creo que ya hacía falta conocer un poco más de las habilidades y dudas de la versión inocente de nuestro protagonista.
January 9, 2012
Reviewed on previous volumes Yu-Gi-Oh! Volumes 1-4 and Duelist Volumes 1-5 as well as the final volume
June 27, 2018
Book #27 of the 2018 Reading Challenge
May 20, 2015
Тъмници, зарове и дракони. Това е достатъчно да опише тома. А, и някакъв вманиачен дядка, който кара иначе готиния си син да върши глупости.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews