Yu-Gi-Oh!, known in Japan as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (遊☆戯☆王デュエルモンスターズ Yūgiō Dyueru Monsutāzu?), is a Japanese anime series animated by Studio Gallop, based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga series written by Kazuki Takahashi. It is the second anime adaptation of the manga following the 1998 TV anime series produced by Toei Animation, and begins from the Duelist Kingdom arc. Like the manga and the first anime series, this series revolves around a boy named Yugi Mutou who battles opponents in various games; in this version, the main game played is the Duel Monsters card game. The series 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 North America from September 29, 2001 to June 10, 2006 on Kids WB, and was also released in other countries. The English version of the series was retitled Yu-Gi-Oh! Rulers of the Duel for the second season, Yu-Gi-Oh! Noah's Arc for the first 24 episodes of the third, Yu-Gi-Oh! Enter the Shadow Realm for the remainder of the third, Yu-Gi-Oh! Waking the Dragons for the fourth, Yu-Gi-Oh! Grand Championship for the first 14 episodes of the fifth, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Dawn of the Duel for the remainder of the fifth. The series spawned a spinoff miniseries entitled Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters, set between Grand Championship and Dawn of the Duel and only released in the English version, as well as four other spinoff series: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. Based on the success of the series, 4Kids also commissioned three animated films: Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time, and Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions.
The manga series has spawned a franchise that includes multiple spin-off manga and anime series, a trading card game, and numerous video games. Most of the incarnations of the franchise involve the fictional trading card game known as Duel Monsters, where each player uses cards to "duel" each other in a mock battle of fantasy "monsters". This forms the basis for the real life Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game.
Yu-Gi-Oh! tells the tale of Yugi Mutou, a timid young boy who loves all sorts of games, but is often bullied around. One day, he solves an ancient puzzle known as the Millennium Puzzle (千年パズル Sennen Pazuru?), causing his body to play host to a mysterious spirit with the personality of a gambler. From that moment onwards, whenever Yugi or one of his friends is threatened by those with darkness in their hearts, this other Yugi shows himself and challenges them to dangerous Shadow Games (闇のゲーム Yami no Gēmu?, lit. "Games of Darkness") which reveal the true nature of someone's heart, the losers of these contests often being subjected to a dark punishment called a Penalty Game (罰ゲーム Batsu Gēmu?). Whether it be cards, dice or role-playing board games, he will take on challenges from anyone, anywhere. As the series progresses, Yugi and his friends learn that this person inside of his puzzle is actually the spirit of a nameless Pharaoh from Egyptian times who had lost his memories. As Yugi and his companions attempt to help the Pharaoh regain his memories, they find themselves going through many trials as they wager their lives facing off against gamers that wield the mysterious Millennium Items (千年アイテム Sennen Aitemu?) and the dark power of the Shadow Games.
