When I was a kid, me and my friends would always be hyped up about the latest toys and games at my school. There were three that stood out in particular; Pokémon, Beyblade and YuGiOh. Wherever you went, at least one guy or girl had a deck of YuGiOh cards. We spent most of our break time playing the game, excited about all the monsters, traps and spells at our disposal. It wasn’t just the card game though, as many kids were equally excited about the anime. Seeing Yugi transform into his dark side and wipe the floor with everyone was an awesome sight to behold. Next to Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon, YuGiOh was one of my favourite anime. However, as I began to enter my teens, neither the card game nor the anime held my interest anymore. As I became more engrossed with anime as a whole , thanks to shows like Naruto and Bleach, I decided to stop caring about YuGiOh. At the time, I tried to convince myself that outgrew it and that I needed to find something more “mature” and that I needed to “act my age”, so I put YuGiOh in the past and have never looked at it since

.…..until I read the manga. When I found out that YuGiOh was originally a manga, I was pretty confused. I didn’t really know what to think but I decided to check out after curiosity got the better of me. Not only did it reignite my love for YuGiOh, but it’s actually become one of my favourite manga of all time, next to Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, My Hero Academia and Black Clover. See how it all began with YuGiOh Volume 1: The Millennium Puzzle!

Background

YuGiOh was created by writer/artist Kazuki Takahashi and was published in Weekly Shonen Jump on 3oth September 1996. During development, Takahashi was struggling to create something that could stand out among the other Shonen series, as many of them were focused on fighting. After deciding to base the theme around games, YuGiOh began to take shape.

Plot

Yugi Mutou is a student at Domino City High School. Timid in nature and with an interest in games, he becomes an easy target for the classroom bullies Jonouchi Katsuya and Hiroto Honda. It’s only until the timely intervention of his best friend, Anzu Mazaki, that he’s saved. Despite this trouble, Yugi is still determined to finish his greatest game; a mysterious puzzle from his grandfather’s game shop. However, upon completing it, his life is changed forever! Now possessed by an ancient spirit, Yugi punishes evil by challenging them to the Shadow Games!

This volume acts as an origin story for the series; detailing how Yugi met his friends, the Millennium Puzzle, the birth of Dark Yugi and the start of the Shadow Games. Chapters are presented in an episodic format with the same basic formula; a “villain of the week” causes havoc for Yugi and his friends, forcing his dark side to emerge and engage them in Shadow Games to test their true nature. Losing would ultimately result in a Penalty Game, a horrific punishment that mirrors the loser’s nature. Unlike the anime, Duel Monsters isn’t the primary focus here. In fact, it wasn’t conceived until volume 2, and even then it wasn’t significant. Duel Monsters wouldn’t gain traction until YuGiOh: Duelist, but that’s another story for another day.

Characters

Yugi Mutou is the main protagonist of the series. Good-natured and timid, he’s often shy around other people. His true talent, however, lies in gaming. Whether it’s puzzles, dice or even hockey, he’s always up for the challenge! I find Yugi to be a pretty likeable character. He cares very deeply for his friends and loved ones and would do anything to help them, even under the most dangerous circumstances. I have a soft for the underdogs and while he may be wimpy, when push comes to shove, his inner courage will shine through. This also leads him to transform into his alter-ego, and to say that he’s scary would be an understatement.

Dark Yugi is Yugi’s “other self”, manifesting when the spirit from the Millennium Puzzle possesses him. He is Yugi’s polar opposite; confident, brave and badass! Unlike Yugi, however, Dark Yugi has no sense of compassion. Anyone who dares to defy him will not go unpunished, often in a pretty sadistic manner. I’ll be honest, I’m pretty conflicted about his character. While the punishments might be excessive, I can’t help but feel that they’re justified.

Anzu Mazaki is Yugi’s best friend (and crush). She’s very kind but also has a tough streak, as she’s easily able to scare away Jonouchi and Hiroto as they bullied Yugi. She has big dreams of becoming a dancer, going so far as to break the school’s policy on part time jobs to save up some money. I found Anzu to be an enjoyable character and I found quite sweet how much she really cares about Yugi. She also gets her own moment of glory, such as being the class representative and organising the school festival. It’s small but it adds to her character, showing that she can take charge.

Jonouchi is Yugi’s other best friend. Originally, he and Hiroto used to bully Yugi mercilessly, though he has since changed after seeing him stand up to another bully, Tetsu Ushio. While I wouldn’t go far as to say he’s the “comic relief”, he does often find himself in hilarious situations, such as when he got his foot stuck in a barrel in one of the festival games. Even though he still maintains some of his rough attitude, Jonouchi has proven himself to be a loyal and trusting friend.

Hiroto Honda is another one of Yugi’s friends. Unlike Anzu and Jonouchi, he doesn’t really have a huge part to play, only really interacting with Yugi properly in chapter 7 when he reluctantly goes to him for help. He doesn’t really stand out as a character and officially joins group at the end of the volume.

Sugoroku Mutou is Yugi’s grandfather and the owner of Kame Games, a small but famous game shop. His character can be best described as the “wise old man”, seemingly knowing more about the Millennium Puzzle’s true power than he’s letting on. While he also doesn’t impact the plot as much the other characters, he is a big supporter of Yugi and is always there for guidance. My favourite aspect about him, though, are his horror stories. Man, put this guy near a campfire and you’ll be in for one hell of a ride!

Artwork

Takahashi’s artwork is very nice! All of his characters, even minor ones, have their own stylish flair. Yugi definitely stands out the most, given his unusual hairstyle. One of my favourite parts about YuGiOh were the flowing jackets everyone wore and they look just as great here as they do in the anime, maybe even more so.

Where Takahashi really excels, though, is during the Shadow Games. Originally, he wanted to draw horror manga, and some of that is reflected here. Take a look at this scene of Dark Yugi;

Damn that’s creepy! Especially those eyes! They’re just staring into your soul! And it’s not just Dark Yugi, many of the early villains feature very distorted features that can put any reader on edge.

Verdict

YuGiOh Volume 1 is a pretty good read. It tells a dark yet surprisingly heart-warming story about a young boy wanting to make friends and the struggles he faces when a new identity and responsibility is thrust upon him, without him even knowing it. Fans of the anime and the card game really should check this out. It gives some much needed backstory about these characters and shows a more mature side about a group of kids playing games. I was really shocked about how much I enjoyed this and I hope you guys do too.

Total score: 9/10