Manga versus Anime

The anime is based off a manga series by Kazuki Takahashi. There are two anime series. The first one is titled "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and is based off the first 7 volumes of the manga. It tells the story of how Yugi gained his puzzle and how he gained the friendships that he has. It also deals with his first encounters with his dark half and the powers of the Millennium Items. This series was not too popular in Japan and thus was never brought to North America (with good reason too? the first series characters looked rather scary and ugly and psychotic).

The second series is called "Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters". This series, is what we get to see in North America, it is mostly based on book 8 and up of the manga series. Not only are there way more new characters, it's animated digitally and the art is ten times better than the first series.

Some thinks that the first series is "darker", but that is debatable. For example: You don't see people getting they legs cut off for loosing a duel in a non-violent show do you? In the direction Yu-gi-oh is going, we are likely to see some deaths too in the future.

Yu-Gi-Oh is so popular that both the manga and anime. Personally, though, I like the manga series much better. The art is pretty much the same, I mean they can't go that far away from original art in a Shounen series like Yu-Gi-Oh. The main story line, is also pretty much the same, however, there are no stupid fillers arc in the manga like in the anime. Arcs like the Noa arc and the Doom arc do have some good points (the fact we get to See younger Seto in Noa arc is kind of cool, and the fact we see Mai turning evil in the Doom arc is also kind of cool, so is the fact we get to see Seto in a white suit the way I often imagine him) but their main story line don't make much sense. Gozaburo preserved his son's brain?! Give me a break! That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! And then there is the Doom arc - evil people using other people to fight to reawaken some ancient powers - how lame can you actually get?! And the newest arc yet - another virtue reality arc - people being trap in another virtual reality, this time made by Seto, scary woman throwing roses all over the place (is it just me or does this sound like someone from Sailor Moon)?

In the manga, we get to see a much more concise plot. We don't get filler duels. There are also great scenes in the manga that were never shown in the anime - Seto falling into a coma after his duel with Yugi. Yes - it's a bit insane, but that part showed so much great character developement! I loved it!

There is one good thing about the anime fillers... If you are looking for romances between Mai and Joey, however, you should look more into the anime. I think they up-play the romantic comedy in the anime a lot more than the manga. In the manga we never get to see Mai glomping Joey, yet in the anime - we get to see that.

So... yeah - if you really really want romance then watch more of the anime... the manga has more character development but in terms of romances - there's almost none - except for a little bit between Yugi/Tea in the beginning.

"Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters" is still running in Japan, and currently it has around 200 episodes. The manga series has about 36 books, however, from what I can tell, the story is still far from over.