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Yu-Gi-Oh! #3
Yu-Gi-Oh! (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 3
Tenth-grader Yugi always had his head in some game--until he solved the Millennium Puzzle, an Egyptian artifact containing the spirit of a master gambler from the age of the pharoahs! Possessed by the puzzle, Yugi becomes Yu-Gi-Oh, the King of Games, and challenges evildoers to the Shadow Games...weird games with high stakes and high risks!
Game master Ryo Bakura wants to use the power of his Millennium Ring to put the souls of Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu and Honda inside his “Monster World” miniatures forever. Now, with 10-sided dice in hand, Yugi and Dark Yugi must hack and slash their way their Bakura’s adventure and defeat the Dark Master Zorc…or die trying! Then, on the island called Duelist Kingdom, a battle royale is taking place to determine the greatest “Duel Monsters” player in the world! A fight with fisherman Ryota Kajiki is just a warmup for Yugi, the only person who’s beaten Kaiba, the former world champion. But although Kaiba may be in a coma, his deck still lives…in the hands of an evil ventriloquist, who has stolen not only Kaiba’s deck but his very soul!
Game master Ryo Bakura wants to use the power of his Millennium Ring to put the souls of Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu and Honda inside his “Monster World” miniatures forever. Now, with 10-sided dice in hand, Yugi and Dark Yugi must hack and slash their way their Bakura’s adventure and defeat the Dark Master Zorc…or die trying! Then, on the island called Duelist Kingdom, a battle royale is taking place to determine the greatest “Duel Monsters” player in the world! A fight with fisherman Ryota Kajiki is just a warmup for Yugi, the only person who’s beaten Kaiba, the former world champion. But although Kaiba may be in a coma, his deck still lives…in the hands of an evil ventriloquist, who has stolen not only Kaiba’s deck but his very soul!
592 pages, Paperback
First published August 4, 2015
10 people are currently reading
122 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 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 11, 2020
Another good volume. Not much else to say. I do think the duel boxes are a little more interesting than how duels take place in the anime, but I’m not sure I understand why they were changed in the first place lol
July 8, 2024
This omnibus collects the end of Monster World and the start of Duelist Kingdom.
Monster World is a good arc overall, and notably significant because the last "big" arc in the manga will be another Dark Bakura RPG. I think this is something that doesn't get a lot of credit, because I think a lot of fans of the (4kids English dub of the) anime might have dropped the show when we got away from the card game. At least, I did. Kind of. The truth was more like YGO! aired late-ish on Kids' WB and my parents were awake and ready to go shopping and shit, so my brother and I got screwed out of a lot of shows as a result. Maybe we fought more to stay home for the Battle City Arc? Anyway, the thing about Monster World is it sets up these rules based on standard tabletop adventure, but then Yugi and the gang end up challenging Zorc at Level 1. Bakura allowed for possible level-grinding in the game, but it doesn't happen. And it's not needed because The Power of Friendship trumps all. There's a clash between Dark Bakura's odd sense of fairness as the Dark Master versus cheating and counter-cheating between himself and Dark Yugi. Bakura does this thing where he's rolling double zeroes all the time, which is bullshit, but... he just lets Yugi cheat as well. Then they agree to just dropping the dice to prevent tricks, but it turns out Bakura has possessed some dice with the souls of his victims, meanwhile Yugi is able to imbue his dice with the strength of his friends' wills. So... either way, it's nonsense. And this is how Duelist Kingdom will work. But it's also fun as hell, so whatever. I just wish we got to see more of the "adventure."
I forgot that the start of Duelist Kingdom (that is, the start of the arc itself; this point is introduced before the event begins) actually introduces the four-part rock-paper-scissors magic cycle seen in the earliest Gameboy games (and carried into The Sacred Cards). Black magic beats white magic beats demons beats illusionists beats black magic. On the Duelist Kingdom island itself, we learn of Field Power Sources that boost the abilities of Monsters falling under five elements: Wood, Earth, Thunder, Fire, and Water - perhaps roughly inspired by the five Mana colors of Magic: The Gathering? (Or just classical Asian elements in general tbh) The geography of the elements does differ from Magic, at least. Warriors and shit are associated with Fire and a Plains setting. Dragons are in Mountains, but they're considered Thunder. Zombies are given Wastelands, which are similar to Swamps I guess, in a way, and Earth is the Black color on physical YGO cards, but zombies share the field with dinosaurs, which iirc are usually Green in MtG. Oh, and I guess Forest being Wood may not match strictly with Magic's Green since insects and stuff are weaker monsters that swarm the field, which is closer to basic White tactics in MtG. Water isn't much different from what you'd expect, though.
The expansion of Duel Monsters rules allows for more... frankly, more nonsense. There's a tabletop role-playing element to "justify" some of the stranger happenings. Otherwise, the influence of Magic: The Gathering excuses some things - Curse of Dragon can attack Great Moth, but Gaia and Beaver Warrior cannot, as if abilities like "Flying" and possibly "Reach" might have been planned for the real-life version of this game. But the RPG stuff is the biggest thing here. Field Power Sources granting an awkward 30% bonus to Attack and Defense. Curse of Dragon depicted burning the Forest with Burning Land, as if Burning Land needs a Monster to channel its power (in fairness, it's probably "better" than having Curse of Dragon attack the field directly...). The wackiest thing in the Haga duel is Magic Mist; its effect reads "Water vapor surrounds all monsters on the field." What the actual fuck? What does this even do? I guess it was turned into a real card that works with Summoned Skull to destroy monsters with lower DEF than his ATK, but... that's not even what happens here. But that's the charm of the Duelist Kingdom Arc! It's like Pegasus and his company made a bunch of cards and the point of the game is to out-BS each other in duels. It's just... nothing something that can work in the real game, ever.
I don't really... "get" Mai's strategy. Maybe I'm misremembering the anime version being more complex, but... she's just psyching Jonouchi out by guessing the cards she lays facedown. There's no other real strategy. It's hardly different from holding the cards in her hand the normal way. It's not like Pegasus who was countering Yugi on a pre-recorded videotape. Anyway, kinda wack that her only monster has like 1300 ATK, but it's cool that she can boost it so much with Field Power Source and Equip Spells. It's just... Yugi has two Aces with 2500 ATK and another with 2300, and Jonouchi gets out the 2400 ATK Thousand Dragon before he'll gain his true Ace Red-Eyes later in the arc. 1300 for an Ace, though... Is this the highest for a Winged Beast, like how Blue-Eyes and Dark Magician are respectively the strongest Dragon and Spellcaster?
Kajiki has a better strategy, expanding on Haga's. The Umi Field Power Source allows oceanic monsters to hide in the depths of the sea before attacking, which... isn't really something that makes sense in real-life, though I guess could feasibly see an evergreen keyword ability for an MtG analogue (I don't know enough about MtG expansions to know if there ever was a deep-sea one with such a gimmick).
A big surprise in the manga for anime-onlies is that Duelist Kingdom uses the Battle Boxes we've seen in Death-T, rather than those larger fields with the blue and red... towers? Whatever you want to call them. The things the duelists stand on in the anime. Point is, the manga keeps the duelists at tables, stressing the "tabletop" aspect.
Volume 7: This is the last 80% of the Monster World Arc.
Volume 8: Haga versus Ryuzaki in the tournament. Yugi versus Pegasus via videotape. Yugi versus Haga. The start of Jonouchi versus Mai.
Volume 9: The resolution of the Mai duel. Yugi versus Kajiki. The return of Mokuba. Yugi versus the Ventriloquist of the Dead. The start of Jonouchi versus Ryuzaki.
****
The introduction of Mai, the hottest character until Dark Magician Girl joins Yugi's deck...!
"Now get off the island, insect! Or I'll pull off your legs one by one!"
Harpie Lady thighs...! Boobs, too, I guess, but I feel Kaz put more effort in the thighs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Harpie Lady #3(?). The one with the long fringe. That's my favorite.
"The electricity actually feeds the Jellyfish!"
"Wah ha ha ha! That's the Wrath of Leviathan! With just that one attack, the field has become 95% sea!"
"I get it! Next turn, you're gonna move the Soldier into the water and use it as an island! Good idea!" You fucking what?!
"I'm going to attack... THE MOON!!" Ayyy, he did the thing!
Totally forgot Pegasus's plan was to defeat Yugi as a show for the Big Five to save face and complete the sale of Kaiba Corp to Industrial Illusions. Thinking back, I can't imagine what I assumed his plan was. I guess something about the Millennium Puzzle? There was something about his wife, also.
The "twist" of the Pegasus goon being Mokuba's bodyguard with a new haircut.
The Ventriloquist of the Dead duel is almost complete nonsense. The second BEWD self-destructing because Kaiba recovers is just ridiculous, though kind of HYPE in its own way. But then it turns out Mystical Elf can power up allies by lending her ATK? Eh... Actually, that's not bad, really; I'm just too used to the real card not having that power. Anyway, we get Yugi's first Penalty Game in ages!
Monster World is a good arc overall, and notably significant because the last "big" arc in the manga will be another Dark Bakura RPG. I think this is something that doesn't get a lot of credit, because I think a lot of fans of the (4kids English dub of the) anime might have dropped the show when we got away from the card game. At least, I did. Kind of. The truth was more like YGO! aired late-ish on Kids' WB and my parents were awake and ready to go shopping and shit, so my brother and I got screwed out of a lot of shows as a result. Maybe we fought more to stay home for the Battle City Arc? Anyway, the thing about Monster World is it sets up these rules based on standard tabletop adventure, but then Yugi and the gang end up challenging Zorc at Level 1. Bakura allowed for possible level-grinding in the game, but it doesn't happen. And it's not needed because The Power of Friendship trumps all. There's a clash between Dark Bakura's odd sense of fairness as the Dark Master versus cheating and counter-cheating between himself and Dark Yugi. Bakura does this thing where he's rolling double zeroes all the time, which is bullshit, but... he just lets Yugi cheat as well. Then they agree to just dropping the dice to prevent tricks, but it turns out Bakura has possessed some dice with the souls of his victims, meanwhile Yugi is able to imbue his dice with the strength of his friends' wills. So... either way, it's nonsense. And this is how Duelist Kingdom will work. But it's also fun as hell, so whatever. I just wish we got to see more of the "adventure."
I forgot that the start of Duelist Kingdom (that is, the start of the arc itself; this point is introduced before the event begins) actually introduces the four-part rock-paper-scissors magic cycle seen in the earliest Gameboy games (and carried into The Sacred Cards). Black magic beats white magic beats demons beats illusionists beats black magic. On the Duelist Kingdom island itself, we learn of Field Power Sources that boost the abilities of Monsters falling under five elements: Wood, Earth, Thunder, Fire, and Water - perhaps roughly inspired by the five Mana colors of Magic: The Gathering? (Or just classical Asian elements in general tbh) The geography of the elements does differ from Magic, at least. Warriors and shit are associated with Fire and a Plains setting. Dragons are in Mountains, but they're considered Thunder. Zombies are given Wastelands, which are similar to Swamps I guess, in a way, and Earth is the Black color on physical YGO cards, but zombies share the field with dinosaurs, which iirc are usually Green in MtG. Oh, and I guess Forest being Wood may not match strictly with Magic's Green since insects and stuff are weaker monsters that swarm the field, which is closer to basic White tactics in MtG. Water isn't much different from what you'd expect, though.
The expansion of Duel Monsters rules allows for more... frankly, more nonsense. There's a tabletop role-playing element to "justify" some of the stranger happenings. Otherwise, the influence of Magic: The Gathering excuses some things - Curse of Dragon can attack Great Moth, but Gaia and Beaver Warrior cannot, as if abilities like "Flying" and possibly "Reach" might have been planned for the real-life version of this game. But the RPG stuff is the biggest thing here. Field Power Sources granting an awkward 30% bonus to Attack and Defense. Curse of Dragon depicted burning the Forest with Burning Land, as if Burning Land needs a Monster to channel its power (in fairness, it's probably "better" than having Curse of Dragon attack the field directly...). The wackiest thing in the Haga duel is Magic Mist; its effect reads "Water vapor surrounds all monsters on the field." What the actual fuck? What does this even do? I guess it was turned into a real card that works with Summoned Skull to destroy monsters with lower DEF than his ATK, but... that's not even what happens here. But that's the charm of the Duelist Kingdom Arc! It's like Pegasus and his company made a bunch of cards and the point of the game is to out-BS each other in duels. It's just... nothing something that can work in the real game, ever.
I don't really... "get" Mai's strategy. Maybe I'm misremembering the anime version being more complex, but... she's just psyching Jonouchi out by guessing the cards she lays facedown. There's no other real strategy. It's hardly different from holding the cards in her hand the normal way. It's not like Pegasus who was countering Yugi on a pre-recorded videotape. Anyway, kinda wack that her only monster has like 1300 ATK, but it's cool that she can boost it so much with Field Power Source and Equip Spells. It's just... Yugi has two Aces with 2500 ATK and another with 2300, and Jonouchi gets out the 2400 ATK Thousand Dragon before he'll gain his true Ace Red-Eyes later in the arc. 1300 for an Ace, though... Is this the highest for a Winged Beast, like how Blue-Eyes and Dark Magician are respectively the strongest Dragon and Spellcaster?
Kajiki has a better strategy, expanding on Haga's. The Umi Field Power Source allows oceanic monsters to hide in the depths of the sea before attacking, which... isn't really something that makes sense in real-life, though I guess could feasibly see an evergreen keyword ability for an MtG analogue (I don't know enough about MtG expansions to know if there ever was a deep-sea one with such a gimmick).
A big surprise in the manga for anime-onlies is that Duelist Kingdom uses the Battle Boxes we've seen in Death-T, rather than those larger fields with the blue and red... towers? Whatever you want to call them. The things the duelists stand on in the anime. Point is, the manga keeps the duelists at tables, stressing the "tabletop" aspect.
Volume 7: This is the last 80% of the Monster World Arc.
Volume 8: Haga versus Ryuzaki in the tournament. Yugi versus Pegasus via videotape. Yugi versus Haga. The start of Jonouchi versus Mai.
Volume 9: The resolution of the Mai duel. Yugi versus Kajiki. The return of Mokuba. Yugi versus the Ventriloquist of the Dead. The start of Jonouchi versus Ryuzaki.
****
The introduction of Mai, the hottest character until Dark Magician Girl joins Yugi's deck...!
"Now get off the island, insect! Or I'll pull off your legs one by one!"
Harpie Lady thighs...! Boobs, too, I guess, but I feel Kaz put more effort in the thighs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Harpie Lady #3(?). The one with the long fringe. That's my favorite.
"The electricity actually feeds the Jellyfish!"
"Wah ha ha ha! That's the Wrath of Leviathan! With just that one attack, the field has become 95% sea!"
"I get it! Next turn, you're gonna move the Soldier into the water and use it as an island! Good idea!" You fucking what?!
"I'm going to attack... THE MOON!!" Ayyy, he did the thing!
Totally forgot Pegasus's plan was to defeat Yugi as a show for the Big Five to save face and complete the sale of Kaiba Corp to Industrial Illusions. Thinking back, I can't imagine what I assumed his plan was. I guess something about the Millennium Puzzle? There was something about his wife, also.
The "twist" of the Pegasus goon being Mokuba's bodyguard with a new haircut.
The Ventriloquist of the Dead duel is almost complete nonsense. The second BEWD self-destructing because Kaiba recovers is just ridiculous, though kind of HYPE in its own way. But then it turns out Mystical Elf can power up allies by lending her ATK? Eh... Actually, that's not bad, really; I'm just too used to the real card not having that power. Anyway, we get Yugi's first Penalty Game in ages!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2024
Yu-Gi-Oh! may not be great. In fact, it’s mediocre. Still, I can’t help loving its…moral. Just look at what the author has to say.
“I believe that everyone has an ‘other self’ inside them. It may be your ideal self, someone who it’s your goal to become. But when you’re pressured to be a certain way by the expectations of your parents or the world, the burden may be too much to bear, and you may lose sight of yourself. In other words, your ‘other self’ is something you yourself have to create, not that other people can force upon you. I think it’s best to take it easy, keep an eye on your ‘other self,’ and aim for that goal…but don’t stress about reaching it right away.” ~ Kazuki Takahashi
The manga is still different from the anime. Duelist Kingdom is about the closest we’ve come to the parallel between the two. It’s cute and funny to see the characters run towards the VR boxes as opposed to the huge arenas I remember being in the anime. The roleplaying game in the beginning was fun. Criticals EVERYWHERE.
“I believe that everyone has an ‘other self’ inside them. It may be your ideal self, someone who it’s your goal to become. But when you’re pressured to be a certain way by the expectations of your parents or the world, the burden may be too much to bear, and you may lose sight of yourself. In other words, your ‘other self’ is something you yourself have to create, not that other people can force upon you. I think it’s best to take it easy, keep an eye on your ‘other self,’ and aim for that goal…but don’t stress about reaching it right away.” ~ Kazuki Takahashi
The manga is still different from the anime. Duelist Kingdom is about the closest we’ve come to the parallel between the two. It’s cute and funny to see the characters run towards the VR boxes as opposed to the huge arenas I remember being in the anime. The roleplaying game in the beginning was fun. Criticals EVERYWHERE.
May 31, 2018
Finally, the plot gets interesting. That Bakuga story was not bad, I really enjoyed it. It was probably the best of the made up games. The duelist arc already proves more interesting that anything I have read so far. It can be a little jarring how random the cards are and some of the reasoning behind the game rules. I guess it is the early stages of the game and the writer is still figuring things out. I am starring to enjoy the series more, but I do wish and know there can be more. Lastly, I love Mai, what a great addition to the cast, I relate to her.
December 9, 2022
Devo ancora scrivere la recensione al secondo volume (disonore su di me e sulla mia mucca) e poi arriverò anche qui. Nel mentre dico solo che i capitoli dedicati a Yami che si indigna e incazza come una furia per l'orgoglio ferito di Seto è quanto di più bello e canon possa esserci sulla faccia della Terra, addio ~
July 9, 2020
4.5 Stars*
3rd time's a charm! Finally, I arrived at the Duelist Kingdom arc and loving it. This is basically where the anime of Yu-Gi-Oh really starts. Of course, the rules of the game are still different in the anime in comparison to the actual card game, this is because the manga came first and the rules within the manga honestly just wouldn't work in real life.
The battles themselves are really fun to read through and they're quite exciting to boot. The manga is still a bit more adult than the anime in the sense that, for example, characters swear at times. This is censored with symbols, though. Not that swearing or anything adult really matters to me whatsoever considering I love manga like the first 'Blade of the Immortal' omnibus, but I like to point it out.
All in all, the best one I've read so far and I really want to read the next one, even more so considering this ends on a cliffhanger.
3rd time's a charm! Finally, I arrived at the Duelist Kingdom arc and loving it. This is basically where the anime of Yu-Gi-Oh really starts. Of course, the rules of the game are still different in the anime in comparison to the actual card game, this is because the manga came first and the rules within the manga honestly just wouldn't work in real life.
The battles themselves are really fun to read through and they're quite exciting to boot. The manga is still a bit more adult than the anime in the sense that, for example, characters swear at times. This is censored with symbols, though. Not that swearing or anything adult really matters to me whatsoever considering I love manga like the first 'Blade of the Immortal' omnibus, but I like to point it out.
All in all, the best one I've read so far and I really want to read the next one, even more so considering this ends on a cliffhanger.
June 6, 2020
This series is such a ridiculous mess but oh my do I love it. This bind-up has a few of my favorite moments in the entire series, which is why I can't help but rate it 5 stars. Objectively thinking this is nowhere near perfect but my heart isn't very good at being objective sooo.. I just love these dumb (sometimes possessed) kids and their tendency to take games way too seriously. I'd list my favorite moments but my copy of this is currently drying, as I had to re-glue the cover on after it started to tear off lol
March 20, 2023
They finally got to the card game as the main point of the story, and it’s all I could hope for and more. I have no knowledge of the card game so for all I know Takahashi was making the rules up as he went along. It’s fun, there’s a real Calvinball spirit to the proceedings. The monsters are still neat looking as well. Fun times!
January 17, 2018
The manga is beginning to enter into the anime territory, but it's still different enough and much better-written. The "script" is far more engaging and interesting than what you might remember, and I recommend the series to any long-lost childhood fan.
May 27, 2021
Molto avvincente. La parte iniziale D&D un po’ alti e bassi, ma la parte duel monsters molto bella. Peccato per alcuni typo nei life points che rovinavano la logica nella lettura… a volte punti persi in difesa, o somme che non tornavano da una pagina all’altra. Buuu Viz.
October 29, 2023
We get two exciting things in this volume: The defeat of Yami Bakura (for now) and the Duelist kingdom arc, or at least first half of it. I enjoyed that very much and I loved the way battles work in the manga, they feel so much better than they do in anime and I love the idea of dueling boxes.
April 13, 2024
Quite literally, one of my absolute favorite mangas/animes in the entire world. And getting to actually read/learn more about Seto's backgrounds is a big plus in my book.
If you love the original anime, go read the mangas, too. It's so much better and fantastic. :)
If you love the original anime, go read the mangas, too. It's so much better and fantastic. :)
May 9, 2025
Finally shifting to proper duel monsters, well kind of. Turns are still shaky and things like tribute summons aren’t a thing yet, but it is very much recognizable as the card game so many of us love. Can’t wait to start the next chapter!
Read
December 19, 2019Definitely not as good as the first 3 volumes, but still lives up to the series hype.
October 22, 2020
Duelist Kingdom was where the anime start and seeing it in manga form is really cool.
July 24, 2023
Now this is podracing!!! Finally getting into the actual dueling.... or what the anime calls dueling.
September 7, 2023
We're finally at Pegasus' island!
June 19, 2024
Where my Harpie's Pet Dragon at?
September 19, 2024
na kraju nisam mogla da dam manje od 5 zvezdica, ipak je u ovom delu "i'm going to attack the moon" scena
October 3, 2025
Attention Duelists! My hair welcomes you to Duelist Kingdom!
January 19, 2024
In questo terzo volume della Complete Edition (volumi 7-9) vediamo la fine della battaglia con lo spirito dell’Anello Millennario e la trama orizzontale fa un balzo in avanti, riportando l’attenzione sul gioco di Magic & Wizards iniziando la saga dell’isola dei duellanti e quindi introducendo il personaggio enigmatico di Pegasus J. Crawford, inventore del gioco di carte Magic & Wizards, nonchè anche lui padrone di un altro oggetto Millenario: l’Occhio Millenario.
L’azione è serrata e non ci sono momenti morti, anche perché nella saga fanno il loro ritorno i fratelli Kaiba, tutto il plot principale sembra girare attorno alla figura di Yugi e al fatto che riesca o meno a sconfiggere Pegasus, ma prima bisogna raggiungerlo al suo castello, sconfiggendone gli avversari che ne popolano l’isola.
L’azione è serrata e non ci sono momenti morti, anche perché nella saga fanno il loro ritorno i fratelli Kaiba, tutto il plot principale sembra girare attorno alla figura di Yugi e al fatto che riesca o meno a sconfiggere Pegasus, ma prima bisogna raggiungerlo al suo castello, sconfiggendone gli avversari che ne popolano l’isola.
September 11, 2022
Mit Band kommt man zum Start des Anime, alles nur ausführlicher, detaillierter und als riesiger yugioh fan sowieso ein muss ❤️
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews