Yu-Gi-Oh Cosplay Readies Mai Valentine to Duel

Yu-Gi-Oh is one of the biggest action manga and anime franchises of all time, and now one awesome cosplay is getting ready to take on all opponents with Mai Valentine! Kazuki Takahashi’s original manga series recently celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the franchise’s original release with Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and although the original creator isn’t with us any more, the franchise is likely only going to get bigger over the course of its next 25 years. Much of the popularity is due to all of the unique duelists introduced over the years, and some faces have managed to stick around for quite some time. 

Many of these memorable faces were introduced to the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise in its earliest stages as well as Yugi Mutou and his friends dove further into the world of their card games and found many others who were taking things in a much different direction. This included Mai, who was first introduced as a major foe to the others before becoming one of Yugi and Joey’s biggest allies later. Now artist @missay_lizzay has brought Mai Valentine to life with cosplay of the duelist’s Battle City look on Instagram! Check it out below: 

Unfortunately, Kazuki Takahashi did pass away recently at the age of 60. Viz Media (the English publisher behind Shonen Jump) had the following to say about the creator’s passing, “It has been our privilege to be Kazuki Takahashi Sensei’s publisher for 20 years. We and his many fans are deeply saddened by the news and will miss his indomitable spirit, energy, and commitment to storytelling. His Yu-Gi-Oh! legacy and impact will forever endure.” But as their statement teases, the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise will be continuing to prosper through the years. 

Takahashi’s original work inspired an entire franchise of spin-offs, sequels, and anime, video game, and even a real life trading card game adaptation in the years since its first publishing. It’s become a much larger beast compared to how it was during its initial, more humble debut, and it’s likely only going to continue to grow as the years continue and more series, characters, and cards are introduced. 

How do you feel about Yu-Gi-Oh’s run so far? What would you like to see from the franchise in the future? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!