Yu-Gi-Oh! originally aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 2000 to September 2004, running for 224 episodes. A remastered version, highlighting certain duels, began airing in Japan in February 2015. An English-language adaptation of the series by 4Kids Entertainment aired in the United States from September 29, 2001 to June 10, 2006 on Kids' WB.
The series has since spawned its own metaseries. Duel Monsters would be succeded by Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS. Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters, an American-produced miniseries set during the fifth season (Inbetween the Grand Championship and Dawn of the Duel arcs), aired exclusively in the United States in 2006. Three animated films based on the series have also been produced: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time and Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions.
Main article: List of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters episodes (season 1) The story follows Yugi Muto, a boy who completed an ancient Egyptian artifact known as the Millennium Puzzle, which led to him to inherit a spirit known only as Pharaoh. After defeating his rival, Seto Kaiba, in a game of Duel Monsters, Yugi is approached by Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters, who uses the power of another Millennium Item, the Millennium Eye, to kidnap the soul of Yugi's grandfather. Joined by his friends Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, and Téa Gardner, Yugi enters Pegasus' Duelist Kingdom tournament, battling against many opponents in order to defeat Pegasus and free his grandfather's soul. After the tournament, Yugi battles Duke Devlin in Duke's new game, Dungeon Dice Monsters.
Main article: List of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters episodes (season 2) Yugi learns that the spirit dwelling within him is a nameless Pharaoh from Egyptian times, who doesn't remember his past. Yugi enters Kaiba's Battle City tournament in order to obtain the three Egyptian God cards needed to unveil the Pharaoh's past. Along the way, Yugi encounters even stronger opponents and more Millennium Items, including Marik Ishtar, the wielder of the Millennium Rod.
Main article: List of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters episodes (season 3) Yugi and his friends get sucked into a virtual world run by Noah, the legitimate son of Kaiba's adoptive father, Gozaburo. After defeating Noah and the corrupt former KaibaCorp executives known as the Big Five, their minds are returned to the real world, and the finals of the Battle City tournament commence. Yugi defeats Kaiba and Marik to gain all three Egyptian God cards.
Main article: List of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters episodes (season 4) The order of Orichalcos drains the power from the Egyptian God cards and begins gathering souls in order to revive the ancient dragon, Leviathan. Yugi, Joey and Kaiba are each given a legendary dragon card to fight the Orichalcos. Pharaoh faces Dartz, the leader of the order of Orichalcos, to release all of the stolen souls, including those of Yugi, Joey, Kaiba and Pegasus.
Main article: List of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters episodes (season 5) Yugi and his friends battle in the KaibaCorp Grand Championship. Yugi wins the championship, and they all finally return home. Meanwhile, Ryo Bakura, the owner of the Millennium Ring, is overcome by the dark spirit within the Ring, which possesses his body and begins collecting the Millennium Items. Yugi and his friends go to Egypt, where Yugi presents the Egyptian God cards in front of a stone tablet related to the Millennium Items and finds himself sucked 5,000 years into the past, to the time when the Pharaoh lived. Pharaoh and the dark spirit of Bakura battle and the Pharaoh discovers more about his life in Egypt. Finally, Yugi and Pharaoh together discover the Pharaoh's true name, Atem, and summon the three Egyptian Gods to defeat Bakura's evil, returning them to the present day. With all the Millennium Items gathered, Yugi and Atem duel. Yugi defeats the spirit so that Atem can return to the afterlife.
Differences from manga and Toei anime series Starting from the point in the manga where the Toei series left off, Duel Monsters at first appears to serve as a continuation of the earlier series, but there are differences between the two adaptations that cause them to overlap. In particular, the Death-T tournament between Yugi and Seto Kaiba and the entire Monster World RPG arc from the original series are both redone as single games of Duel Monsters. Miho Nosaka, a one-shot character from the manga who became a main character in the Toei series does not appear in Duel Monsters, while Ryo Bakura, who is part of the main cast in the manga and often accompanied Yugi and his friends on their adventures, has a recurring role in this series, and is formally introduced in the middle of the Duelist Kingdom saga, despite joining the group an arc prior in the manga and at the end of the Toei series. While the Toei series introduces the characters individually (including how they met) and shows Yugi obtaining and solving the Millennium Puzzle, Duel Monsters begins with the characters already together. It skips the first fifty-nine chapters (seven volumes) of the manga, although several scenes and plot points from chronologically earlier events in the manga are reworked.
Another notable change is that unlike the manga, the Duel Monsters anime, as the title suggests, focuses almost exclusively on the Duel Monsters card game. Many Duel Monsters scenes that were not in the original manga itself are added, often changing parts of the plot to fit around added duels. The Duelist Kingdom, Dungeon Dice Monsters, and the Millennium World arcs of the anime feature heavy differences from their manga counterparts, often to the point where the plots are completely distinct between the two mediums. Certain aspects of the plot that were considered disturbing in the manga were also toned down for television.
Because of the difference in speed between the manga and anime releases, three filler story arcs that are not found in later volumes were added to Duel Monsters: [top]