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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist #2
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist, Vol. 2: The Puppet Master
Yugi enters the Duel Monsters, the world's most popular collectible card game, where he must face ruthless opponents like game designer Maximillion Pegasus in the hopes of discovering the origin of the game and his own powers.
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 4, 1998
41 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Kazuki Takahashi
296 books239 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 41 reviews
March 10, 2024
"Is part of Kaiba's soul in this doll?! His undying grudge...His thirst for vengeance?! Kaiba...! Will you always be my arch-rival!?"
We pick up exactly where we left off: the middle of Joey/Jonouchi's duel against Mai. It goes essentially exactly the same as in the anime with Joey/Jonouchi getting psyched out initially by Mai's little trick of spraying her cards with different perfumes so she doesn't have to look at them before she plays them, but after figuring that out things go very badly for Mai very quickly (thanks in no small part to 'Yami' Yugi's backseat dueling) and Joey/Jonouchi wins the duel--much to Mai's consternation. And thus begins the 'will they, won't they' Joey/Mai background storyline as after the duel he gives her a cheeky wink and a riddle about something more valuable than winning: 'something you can show but you can't see.'
Immediately following the end of this duel, the gang run into (and try to steal fish from) Mako/Kajiki and so commences a duel only made memorable because it's the context for the 'I'm going to attack the moon!' meme -- arguably the first duel that jumps the shark in terms of sheer out of pocket insanity. I actually liked this duel better in the manga than the anime -- something about the aesthetic of this 'duel' (can you really even call it a duel???) worked better and felt more fluid on the page than the screen. I think when it was adapted for the anime they tried to make it feel more like a duel than like a D&D mission which just highlighted how incomprehensible it was as a duel and made it boring.
Next, we get a few chapters of moving the actual plot forward. The manga does a much better job than the anime of keeping the actual plot coherent (it's still insane, but at least the insanity is built up so that all of the other main events feel like part of a bigger background narrative).
Because Yugi is the protagonist, the anime writers tried to force the plot to revolve around him while at the same time still keeping in the Kaiba Corporation takeover storyline and by halfway through, I couldn't tell you why the Duelist Kingdom tournament was happening. In the manga, however, it's really clear that Yugi is (initially) only involved in any of the action because he defeated Kaiba in an official match at the end of the Death-T arc. Duelist Kingdom is actually a game of tug-of-war over Kaiba Corporation between Kaiba and Pegasus that Yugi is stuck in the middle of.
So then having Mokuba show up feels less out of left field because he's able to give a coherent explanation for why Pegasus knew or cared about Yugi in the first place. And it also is made clear why Pegasus had him kidnapped (I’m not saying it's a good reason, but at least it's a reason).
Another thing the manga does that makes more sense (while still being crazy and weird) is the 'Yami' Yugi vs. not-Kaiba duel. Instead of the convoluted 'I'm the ghost of Kaiba -- oh wait, actually I'm the darkness that was banished from Kaiba's heart - - oh wait, I'm a clown dressed up as the ghost of Kaiba (???)'...thing, it's just a creepy ventriloquist using a puppet that looks like Kaiba. And again, because Takahashi kept it straight that at this point in the story Pegasus has much more of an established relationship with Kaiba than he does with Yugi, the point of this grotesque and bizarre interlude is not really to screw with Yugi by making him think Kaiba died (???), but to make a mockery of Kaiba in front of his brother, just to be cruel. It makes Pegasus feel more villainous, and it's also an on-brand manifestation of his particular style of 'cruelty, but make it camp.'
Anyway, so Yugi duels the Kaiba puppet which, from afar, snaps Kaiba out of his post-Death-T coma, and this causes the stolen Blue Eyes White Dragon in the puppet's deck to vanish, allowing Yugi to win the duel. This was the one thing I prefer in the anime. In the manga, I don't really understand why this happened, and it doesn't really tell us anything new about Kaiba as a character, whereas in the anime Kaiba actively causes this to happen (we also get the Kaiba mansion bunker, and we get to see him karate-chop and hurl one of Pegasus's goons) and we get to see the connection between Kaiba and the Blue Eyes White Dragon and also the first instance of Kaiba working on Yugi's side, which is a nicer bit of character growth than him just...waking up.
The rest of the volume is the build-up to and then beginning of the Joey/Jonouchi vs. Rex/Ryuzaki duel, so nothing else really happens plot-wise, and it's a bit of a strange note to end on considering the comparatively higher stakes of everything that came after Yugi defeated Mako/Kajiki.
But, the tournament must go on!
We pick up exactly where we left off: the middle of Joey/Jonouchi's duel against Mai. It goes essentially exactly the same as in the anime with Joey/Jonouchi getting psyched out initially by Mai's little trick of spraying her cards with different perfumes so she doesn't have to look at them before she plays them, but after figuring that out things go very badly for Mai very quickly (thanks in no small part to 'Yami' Yugi's backseat dueling) and Joey/Jonouchi wins the duel--much to Mai's consternation. And thus begins the 'will they, won't they' Joey/Mai background storyline as after the duel he gives her a cheeky wink and a riddle about something more valuable than winning: 'something you can show but you can't see.'
Immediately following the end of this duel, the gang run into (and try to steal fish from) Mako/Kajiki and so commences a duel only made memorable because it's the context for the 'I'm going to attack the moon!' meme -- arguably the first duel that jumps the shark in terms of sheer out of pocket insanity. I actually liked this duel better in the manga than the anime -- something about the aesthetic of this 'duel' (can you really even call it a duel???) worked better and felt more fluid on the page than the screen. I think when it was adapted for the anime they tried to make it feel more like a duel than like a D&D mission which just highlighted how incomprehensible it was as a duel and made it boring.
Next, we get a few chapters of moving the actual plot forward. The manga does a much better job than the anime of keeping the actual plot coherent (it's still insane, but at least the insanity is built up so that all of the other main events feel like part of a bigger background narrative).
Because Yugi is the protagonist, the anime writers tried to force the plot to revolve around him while at the same time still keeping in the Kaiba Corporation takeover storyline and by halfway through, I couldn't tell you why the Duelist Kingdom tournament was happening. In the manga, however, it's really clear that Yugi is (initially) only involved in any of the action because he defeated Kaiba in an official match at the end of the Death-T arc. Duelist Kingdom is actually a game of tug-of-war over Kaiba Corporation between Kaiba and Pegasus that Yugi is stuck in the middle of.
So then having Mokuba show up feels less out of left field because he's able to give a coherent explanation for why Pegasus knew or cared about Yugi in the first place. And it also is made clear why Pegasus had him kidnapped (I’m not saying it's a good reason, but at least it's a reason).
Another thing the manga does that makes more sense (while still being crazy and weird) is the 'Yami' Yugi vs. not-Kaiba duel. Instead of the convoluted 'I'm the ghost of Kaiba -- oh wait, actually I'm the darkness that was banished from Kaiba's heart - - oh wait, I'm a clown dressed up as the ghost of Kaiba (???)'...thing, it's just a creepy ventriloquist using a puppet that looks like Kaiba. And again, because Takahashi kept it straight that at this point in the story Pegasus has much more of an established relationship with Kaiba than he does with Yugi, the point of this grotesque and bizarre interlude is not really to screw with Yugi by making him think Kaiba died (???), but to make a mockery of Kaiba in front of his brother, just to be cruel. It makes Pegasus feel more villainous, and it's also an on-brand manifestation of his particular style of 'cruelty, but make it camp.'
Anyway, so Yugi duels the Kaiba puppet which, from afar, snaps Kaiba out of his post-Death-T coma, and this causes the stolen Blue Eyes White Dragon in the puppet's deck to vanish, allowing Yugi to win the duel. This was the one thing I prefer in the anime. In the manga, I don't really understand why this happened, and it doesn't really tell us anything new about Kaiba as a character, whereas in the anime Kaiba actively causes this to happen (we also get the Kaiba mansion bunker, and we get to see him karate-chop and hurl one of Pegasus's goons) and we get to see the connection between Kaiba and the Blue Eyes White Dragon and also the first instance of Kaiba working on Yugi's side, which is a nicer bit of character growth than him just...waking up.
The rest of the volume is the build-up to and then beginning of the Joey/Jonouchi vs. Rex/Ryuzaki duel, so nothing else really happens plot-wise, and it's a bit of a strange note to end on considering the comparatively higher stakes of everything that came after Yugi defeated Mako/Kajiki.
But, the tournament must go on!
March 19, 2019
Battle Royal Island
July 17, 2015
A Quickie Review
There's not much to say about this second of many volumes except this: Those who have enjoyed the previous books will like this...but those who didn't probably won't. Also, don't expect to understand this series if you're unfamiliar with the card game or the anime.
Content Concerns:
• Sex: None. 5/5
• Nudity: A buxom woman displays quite a bit of cleavage at times. 3/5
• Language: Name-calling. 4/5
• Violence: Monster duels throughout, though not bloody or graphic. 3/5
• Drugs: None. 5/5
• Frightening/Intense Scenes: Some rather hideous monsters; a freaky villain. 3/5
Score: 4/5
There's not much to say about this second of many volumes except this: Those who have enjoyed the previous books will like this...but those who didn't probably won't. Also, don't expect to understand this series if you're unfamiliar with the card game or the anime.
Content Concerns:
• Sex: None. 5/5
• Nudity: A buxom woman displays quite a bit of cleavage at times. 3/5
• Language: Name-calling. 4/5
• Violence: Monster duels throughout, though not bloody or graphic. 3/5
• Drugs: None. 5/5
• Frightening/Intense Scenes: Some rather hideous monsters; a freaky villain. 3/5
Score: 4/5
November 26, 2024
This is finally getting good
March 29, 2020
An otherwise all right book being bugged down by the series dumbest plot point so far and morally incompetent characters.
Before going into the bad, I want to share what I enjoy about this book. First, all the new characters are fun and their designs. They are all very distinct with clear personalities; it is quite wonderful.
The card battles are also a little better, and with the allusions to the fact that the cards might be magic, it makes all the things that otherwise made no sense, quite all right.
What is keeping this book down, it the two chapters in the middle that re-introduced Mokuba. He explains why the tournament is here in the first place, and I have never heard a plan so beyond reality. If the series had been more camp, they could have sold these ideas, but it takes itself a little too serious for it to be palpable.
The main characters also cheat in the first chapter, which is at odds with their characterization so far and it is something the book does not acknowledge and only calls it outside help. The priorities of the characters are also in questions, as Joe's worries about his sisters future health issues are set aside because of his honor.
My problem with the book is when it tries to aim high; it quite never reaches the goal.
Before going into the bad, I want to share what I enjoy about this book. First, all the new characters are fun and their designs. They are all very distinct with clear personalities; it is quite wonderful.
The card battles are also a little better, and with the allusions to the fact that the cards might be magic, it makes all the things that otherwise made no sense, quite all right.
What is keeping this book down, it the two chapters in the middle that re-introduced Mokuba. He explains why the tournament is here in the first place, and I have never heard a plan so beyond reality. If the series had been more camp, they could have sold these ideas, but it takes itself a little too serious for it to be palpable.
The main characters also cheat in the first chapter, which is at odds with their characterization so far and it is something the book does not acknowledge and only calls it outside help. The priorities of the characters are also in questions, as Joe's worries about his sisters future health issues are set aside because of his honor.
My problem with the book is when it tries to aim high; it quite never reaches the goal.
January 9, 2025
Lobotomized Kaiba saving the day with his soul.. heart.. or friendship with uh his deck?? It doesn't matter because he stopped the evil guys from beating Yugi with the blue eyes white dragon!! Isn't that sweet.
Also, we're back at mind crushing, and i couldn't be more joyous and jolly 🙏🏻
What bugs me is the rivalry between Anzu and Mai. Divas shouldn't be against each other in any situation.
But seriously, i love this volume. We got to see the reason Pegasus invited (forced) Yugi into coming to the championship and see more of Mai. Any volume with Mai in it is a good one. And again, reading the manga made much more sense than the anime adaptation.
Almost forgot to mention that this volume contains the most epic battle move in history, which is, of course, attacking the moon card to destroy the sea. An iconic, classic, unstoppable, totally logical, and super-special-awesome move fr
Also, we're back at mind crushing, and i couldn't be more joyous and jolly 🙏🏻
What bugs me is the rivalry between Anzu and Mai. Divas shouldn't be against each other in any situation.
But seriously, i love this volume. We got to see the reason Pegasus invited (forced) Yugi into coming to the championship and see more of Mai. Any volume with Mai in it is a good one. And again, reading the manga made much more sense than the anime adaptation.
Almost forgot to mention that this volume contains the most epic battle move in history, which is, of course, attacking the moon card to destroy the sea. An iconic, classic, unstoppable, totally logical, and super-special-awesome move fr
May 7, 2023
The second volume of Yu-Gi-Oh Duelist re-introduces Mokuba amidst a series of duels against other tournament attendees. We see Joey finish his duel with Mai, Yugi takes on a fisherman duelist, a mysterious challenger, and later goon of Pegasus', and finally Joey takes on a Rex Raptor who is the Japan championship runner-up. Overall the duels themselves are enjoyable but the series takes its time to get the main plot moving. Takahashi hasn't found that sweet spot between dueling and story progression just yet (but he will, trust me). However despite its shortcomings this second volume in Duelist is well worth the time of YGO fans.
January 11, 2021
Interesting to compare / contrast to the Anime
I'm biased because I love Mai and like Rex Raptor (whose name is different in the Japanese version), which are both featured here. I also liked the ventriloquist duelist as opposed to his anime counterpart. I wish they would have included him in the show instead because I never liked the episodes where Yugi fought Kaiba's anthropomorphized dark side, but the ventriloquist would have been more interesting in my opinion. I don't know why they decided to change this character so much.
I'm biased because I love Mai and like Rex Raptor (whose name is different in the Japanese version), which are both featured here. I also liked the ventriloquist duelist as opposed to his anime counterpart. I wish they would have included him in the show instead because I never liked the episodes where Yugi fought Kaiba's anthropomorphized dark side, but the ventriloquist would have been more interesting in my opinion. I don't know why they decided to change this character so much.
September 1, 2022
So a lot happened in this volume. Yugi beat the assassin puppet dude who stole Kaiba's deck; which is definitely not cool. Kaiba also woke up from his coma and is on his way to the duelist kingdom island which is crazy. Yugi also had a duel with a very fishy person, all of these duels are so close between Yugi and his opponents and yet he always wins which is awesome, sometimes I am hesitant but it's cool. Joey is also currently in a duel and I will learn the outcome in the next volume, talk soon, bye.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2025
Para ser un manga sí que hay mucha "acción" o duelos en un solo volúmen y esas propias batallas llevan un ritmo bastante dinámico. Está genial, lo único "malo" es ya conocer las historias desde y por el anime, y que diría que sé cuáles serán mis capítulos o batallas favoritas.
Pero fuera de éso, la historia es buena (menos lo de salvar al mundo con un duelo, la compañía que quiere que el psico locochón derrote a un morro para que se quede la compañía y todo éso).
Pero fuera de éso, la historia es buena (menos lo de salvar al mundo con un duelo, la compañía que quiere que el psico locochón derrote a un morro para que se quede la compañía y todo éso).
February 15, 2026
Yu-Gi-Oh: Duelist, Volume 2: The Puppet Master by Kazuki Takahashi:
Enjoyable. This brought back more memories from my childhood. Basically, it’s Yugi and Joey vs. various duelists on the Duelist Kingdom. Many of which are notable and have pretty cool decks. I don’t remember the scene with Kaiba’s brother from the show, but that’s in here as well. I’m looking forward to the zombie deck and toon world deck in later volumes.
Enjoyable. This brought back more memories from my childhood. Basically, it’s Yugi and Joey vs. various duelists on the Duelist Kingdom. Many of which are notable and have pretty cool decks. I don’t remember the scene with Kaiba’s brother from the show, but that’s in here as well. I’m looking forward to the zombie deck and toon world deck in later volumes.
March 14, 2022
In this volume the gang faces The Puppet Master (who was super creepy), Joey faces Rex Raptor(and Mai), While Yugi faces Mako Tsunami.. This volume drags sooo much...only thing that i loved was that reintroduces the greatest character ever created in any show, manga etc.
Seto Kaiba.. What a glorious, egotistical, crazy, over the top unit of a man.
Seto Kaiba.. What a glorious, egotistical, crazy, over the top unit of a man.
August 17, 2022
What the fucking hell shit was Japan thinking? You can't dance your asshole out of this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dammit, Kazuki!!!!!!!!!!!!! You need to make less sucky manga issues on paper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2023
Jonouchi continues the duel with Mai Kujaku.
Later a thief is stealing stars from other duelists. I kinda remembered who the thief was. Yugi duels someone and close to the end of the manga, there is another surprise due. Yugi also discovers why Pegasus set up this tournament.
Later a thief is stealing stars from other duelists. I kinda remembered who the thief was. Yugi duels someone and close to the end of the manga, there is another surprise due. Yugi also discovers why Pegasus set up this tournament.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2024
De lleno dentro de la saga del 'Reino de los duelos'. Conocemos más sobre Pegasus J. Crawford y las negras intenciones de los 'Cinco Grandes'. Uno se va acostumbrando a las 'cajas de duelos' en lugar de las 'arenas de duelos'.
January 25, 2018
This book reveals another addition to the greatness of mangas. Yu-Gi’s next challenge awaits as he battles with the least amount of environmental advantage. Will Yu-Gi prevail?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2018
Good
I like these books this one was a good one I'm definitely going to read this book again you should get it
I like these books this one was a good one I'm definitely going to read this book again you should get it
March 2, 2020
The battles are a bit more fast paced in this volume which I appreciated, as it gives the reader more opportunity to see the different cards and combinations. COME BACK KAIBA!
November 21, 2020
God this sucks, I love it
February 27, 2021
Es un buen manga.
August 28, 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 29, 2021
good book
April 8, 2022
Yugi dueled the fishing guy and Jonochi started dueling Dinosaur Ryuzaki.
Read
October 11, 2022good and it connected the main story very while
June 2, 2023
Great book! Great for nostalgia!
December 24, 2023
These volumes continue to be dumb, nonsensical fun. There are some real ass-pulls in this volume in particular, but the nostalgia’s definitely helping me through those.
May 25, 2025
Entering familiar territory but glad to see there is some disparity between the anime and manga.
For whatever reason, at least in this manga, there is a charm in expecting the expected.
For whatever reason, at least in this manga, there is a charm in expecting the expected.
December 27, 2025
It is pretty enjoyable watching people stake their lives on a children's card game. I bet my LIFE on this duel! Losing this game is like losing my LIFE! Dun dun dunnnnnn
November 26, 2016
This volume covers the end of Joey’s duel with Mai, Yugi’s duels with Kajiki and the ventriloquist and the start of Joey’s duel with Ryuzaki. It was while looking at the introduction to the characters and the story so far that I realised that I am now nearer in age to Pegasus than any of the main characters. This is a bit strange, especially as I would have been a similar age to, if not younger than, Yugi and his friends when I first watched Yu-Gi-Oh. However it is also a little pleasing as Pegasus is still one of my favourite characters in the series.
I love the fact that the back of the book says “including scenes too startling for TV!” This made me want to go back and re-read it to determine which scenes it refers to. There is some swearing in this volume although the majority of it is blanked out with symbols. There is also a sexism joke about the fact that Anzu should have provided the food. I already knew that the points on Harpy Lady’s breast plates had been removed in the American dub. There is also the mentioning of the fact that Mokuba swallowed a key to a safe containing documents required for Pegasus to take over Kaiba Corp, which is why he was kidnapped – to wait for the key to come out. Mai is very dressed very revealingly throughout the book and makes a few comments that could be construed as raunchy. The ventriloquist is really creepy. But over all there is nothing that jumped out at me as being overly startling.
There are less fantasy elements in the manga, with many of the seemingly magical effects being realistically explained away. And yet in the duel between Yugi and the Ventriloquist (not the evil part of Kaiba’s soul that Yugi banished as in the anime) Kaiba’s soul destroys the Blue Eyes White Dragon in the manga rather than Kaiba hacking Pegasus’ system as in the anime.
Once again I was more impressed by the anime than the original manga version of this story therefore it gets three stars.
I love the fact that the back of the book says “including scenes too startling for TV!” This made me want to go back and re-read it to determine which scenes it refers to. There is some swearing in this volume although the majority of it is blanked out with symbols. There is also a sexism joke about the fact that Anzu should have provided the food. I already knew that the points on Harpy Lady’s breast plates had been removed in the American dub. There is also the mentioning of the fact that Mokuba swallowed a key to a safe containing documents required for Pegasus to take over Kaiba Corp, which is why he was kidnapped – to wait for the key to come out. Mai is very dressed very revealingly throughout the book and makes a few comments that could be construed as raunchy. The ventriloquist is really creepy. But over all there is nothing that jumped out at me as being overly startling.
There are less fantasy elements in the manga, with many of the seemingly magical effects being realistically explained away. And yet in the duel between Yugi and the Ventriloquist (not the evil part of Kaiba’s soul that Yugi banished as in the anime) Kaiba’s soul destroys the Blue Eyes White Dragon in the manga rather than Kaiba hacking Pegasus’ system as in the anime.
Once again I was more impressed by the anime than the original manga version of this story therefore it gets three stars.
November 19, 2016
This series continues to be fun and engaging! <3 volume 2 continues the Duelist Tournament with Mai vs. Jonuchi. Actually, I feel like this volume focused a lot on Jonnuchi's character and having him grow as a duelist. By the end of the story he vowed to win the next duel without Yugi's coaching. There was also the return of Mokuba who is really only used as a device to share exposition. Basically, it's revealed Pegasus is only hosting the tournament to beat Yugi. If he beats Yugi in a duel than the Shareholders of I2 will sign off the release of the company to him. With Kaiba in a coma, there's no one to stop him. No one but Yugi. There is a freaky duel with a Duelist Assassin who tries to use a puppet to imitate Kaiba's soul. Stops in the middle of Jonnuchi's battle with the Dino-King.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews