Yu-Gi-Oh Manga-any good?

[Namelessknight]

Being interested in the uncut yugioh dvd's coming out, I've been delving deep into all things yugi and am wondering, what is the manga like? I see volume 7 comes out in November, and am wondering if I should get into the manga instead of the dvd's. So whose read it and has an opinion on it? thanks alot....

[Nate]

I have read the manga, but only the first couple of issues so bear with me.

In my opinion, the manga is VASTLY superior to the anime. In the mangas I read, there was NO mention of Duel Cards or anything of the sort. Usually, some criminal does something, and Yugi transforms into his alter-ego and plays a twisted sadistic game with them. It is in my opinion very interesting and awesome, unlike...

"Ha! I play this card! You can't defeat it!"
"Oh no! But wait! If I play this card..."
"You can't play that card because blah blah blah!" or "Ha ha ha! You can play that card but it won't do you any good!"
"Yes, but if I do this..."
"What?! Oh no! My ultimate monster!"

(Repeat for fifty more episodes)

That's just my opinion, which doesn't seem to count for much on this site.

[SManBeyond]

I have not read all of the manga, but I have read quite a few.

There's actually a BIG difference between the early manga volumes and the later ones.

Volumes 1-8 are what I'd term the "early" stage of Yu-Gi-Oh! This is indeed less focused on the card game (which is the focus of the anime). Instead, the format is as kaemmerite mentioned: some "evil" person hurts Yugi or one of his friends somehow, and the "King of Games" comes out, challenges that person to some kind of game with consequences for whoever loses, wins it, and subjects the person to some kind of "game penalty."

The end of volume 8 is when the manga begins to closely follow what happens in the anime, as that is when the Duelist Kingdom part of the arc starts up (i.e. when Pegasus contacts Yugi, duels him, and gives him an invitation to his tournament).

There are various opinions as to whether the "early" stage of Yu-Gi-Oh! was good or not. I personally did not like it very much. I found it way too dark: it was more violent, the characters were a bit more...um...perverse, and the "Pharaoh" was just plain creepy instead of noble most of the time. There ARE some important facts from those early stories that are referenced later, but they're not essential reading or anything.

That's just my opinion, though. You should probably look at an early volume and see if you like it or not. If not, rest assured that the series does a complete 180 in focus later and actually (in my opinion) becomes a lot better.

And if you like the early manga, you should keep up with it and decide if you like the format of the card game duels. The Duelist Kingdom duels don't have too much structure and sometimes the logic is a bit wacky, but the duels are fun and get more structured and logical once the Battle City arc starts up. Plus, there is plenty of character development, and the big storyline is usually very interesting.

[uc pseudonym]

Is it any good? I would answer that question based on if you liked the anime.

If you enjoyed the anime, then the manga is only different as has been stated by the previous two posters (I see no reason to repeat what they have said). However, if you didn't like the anime, there is a chance you will like the manga for some time (though only a chance... in my mind there is not too great of a difference). I'd suggest skimming of the first volumes... you'll get a pretty good impression of what it is like.

[idiotninja]

i would just like to point out that it is possible to like both. i am one of those cases although i would prefer manga if i could only pick one of the 2.

[MasterDias]

I find it a fairly decent manga but it's by no means my favorite.

I like the characters although there are parts of the manga that can get repetitive. The Death-T series of battles were interesting, as many relied on the skills of Yugi's friends and not just Yami.


If anyone's curious as to the plot structure of the manga, it goes:

The Punishment Games(volumes 1-7)
Duelist Kingdom(volumes 7-15)
Battle City(volumes 16-23)
Battle Ship - Battle City Quarter-Finals(volumes 23-27)
Alcatraz Duel Tower - Battle City Finals(volumes 27-31)
Pharoah's Memories(volumes 32-38)

[Kireihana]

Bleh. I don't really like the manga much -at all-. I think the anime is ok (I really liked the second season) but I can't say that I like the manga. I don't like the art style, and I much prefer the anime plot where it's all about the cards instead of the manga, where he's constantly playing these different games... I'm not much of a game person though (aside from video games), so maybe it's just me.

So I say go for the DVDs. That's just my opinion, which is odd for me because I almost always like the manga better. If you like the whole gaming thing you should try out the manga Hikaru no Go, it's excellent. ^_^

[Fireproof]

I'd either get the manga or the uncut dubs. The uncut bus easily beat the vomitous 4Kids dubs, but the manga actaully contains a lot of good stuff not seen in the anime.