The Begin

Running from 1996 to March 8 , 2004 , the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga created by Kazuki Takahashi was one of the most popular titles featured in Shueisha 's Weekly Shonen Jump . The manga initially focuses on Yugi Mutou as he uses games designed by Pegasus, to fight various villains . Yugi also gets into misadventures with his friends Katsuya Jonouchi , Anzu Mazaki , and Hiroto Honda . The plot starts out as fairly episodic and there are only three instances of Magic and Wizards in the first seven volumes. Starting around the eighth volume, the Duelist Kingdom arc starts and the plot shifts to a Duel Monsters -centered universe.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime

Produced by Toei Animation , this 27-episode anime is based on Yu-Gi-Oh! manga volumes 1-7, which do not focus much on Magic & Wizards . It is not connected in any way to Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters , another Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series made by Nihon Ad Systems (NAS), but is often referred to as the "first series" to distinguish it from the latter (or, erroneously, as Yu-Gi-Oh! Season/Series 0 .) First aired on TV Asahi on April 4 , 1998 , the series ended its run on October 10 , 1998 .

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

Often referred to as simply "Yu-Gi-Oh! " or the "second series" of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters is the series that introduced Yu-Gi-Oh! to the Western world. Produced by NAS, it was first aired on TV Tokyo on April 18 , 2000 , and later translated into more than 20 languages and aired in more than 60 countries. Mainly based on Yu-Gi-Oh! manga volume 8 and onward, the series ended its 224-episode run in Japan on September 29 , 2004 .

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX, often known as " Yu-Gi-Oh! GX ", is an anime spin-off of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, with a new protagonist, Judai Yuki (renamed Jaden Yuki in the U.S. version), and a new plotline that is not based on the original manga, although Yugi made a brief appearance in the first episode. The " GX " in the title stands for "Generation neXt". The series mainly focuses on the life in a school known as Duel Academy. Also produced by NAS, it was first aired on TV Tokyo on October 6 , 2004 . The series ended its 180-episode run in Japan on March 26, 2008.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds is another anime spin-off of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, with a new protagonist, Yusei Fudou, and a new plotline revolving on five dragon cards. It started airing on TV Tokyo on April 2 , 2008 , and is to start airing in the United States later in the year. (from Wikipedia)