Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the longest shonen series in the anime and manga industry, and has seen many variations ever since its debut in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1996.
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But now is the perfect time to go back and experience the story from the very beginning as the digital versions of the manga are now cheaper than ever.
VIZ Media, who licenses the series for an English release in the West, has a sale running on 21 volumes of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series. The series have been slashed by two dollars and now run for $4.99 USD each rather than $6.99 like before.
The 21 volumes cover most of the original version of Yu-Gi-Oh!. Spanning from the seven volumes before the Duel Monsters card game was introduced (often known as “Season 0” by anime fans in the West), the eight volumes covering the Duelist Kingdom arc, and the seven volumes covering the Millenium World which goes back in time to ancient Egypt.
Fans who have missed out or are missing the series now have the perfect way to come back in as the manga versions of the stories often cut out the filler which often holds the series back as well as explore darker themes than fans may be aware of.
For those unfamiliar with Yu-Gi-Oh!, the series was originally created by Kazuki Takahashi. It ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from September 1996 to March 2004. The series follows Yugi Mutou, a young boy who solves an ancient puzzle and is possessed by the spirit of the Egyptian pharoah. Being skilled at deadly games, the Pharoah goes on to create and solve problems for Yugi based on deadly games of chance.
Two anime series were created for the series, but the one most fans will recognize is Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters was the first arc in the story to focus on the “Duel Monsters” card game and was the first season licensed for an English language release by 4Kids Entertainment. The first season of the series, which fans often dub as “Season 0,” was more focuses on deadly games of chance with horrible consequences. It’s a darker season of the series featuring many changes from the series’ identity later on.
The currently running series, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, is the fifth version of the series following Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V and started airing in 2017. It takes place ten years into the future, where Duel Monsters is played through virtual reality tech as a young boy named Yusaku who is dueling to defeat a mysterious hacker group.
