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Title: Yu-Gi-Oh!
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And now we take a look at a parents (Latest) worst fear, the wildly populer kids franchise "Yu-Gi-Oh!" Now chances are you've at least heard of “Yu-Gi-Oh!” before, and if you haven't heard of “Yu-Gi-Oh!” by now...well then I think you just don't get out much. Right now “Yu-Gi-Oh!” is one of the most successful commercials out there. There's a TV show that is the WB's number 1 program, the card game has been the best selling RPG card game for a few years now, and the amount of toys and video games sold is unbelievable! It's one of those few marketing hits that few shows hope to dream for, and the kids are eating it up. In fact its been argued that the TV show of “Yu-Gi-Oh!” is nothing more then a 30 minute toy commercial. It's this reputation that has followed "Yu-Gi-Oh!" around for years, and it doesn't look to stop anytime soon. However if anything is to change the way people look at "Yu-Gi-Oh!" it's this comic series. What is most surprising about this comic is that it's most likely not what you'll expect it to be at all! This comic is not the syrupy card commercial the show is like, but is a dark and sometimes unsettling story about a lonely boy and an egyption gambler.
The story opens up with Yugi, a shy boy who has very few friends and spends his school breaks solving puzzles and playing board games. For the past eight years the puzzle that stole most of his attention is “The Millennium Puzzle.” Yugi is about to settle in for another long recess break of solving the puzzle when he is interrupted by Jounochi and Honda, the schools worst bullies. Jounochi thinks of Yugi as more like a wimpy girl for being so timid and shy, and try's to get him to show some spunk and "be a man," while Honda just simply just likes to bully Yugi. Anyway after playing catch with Yugi's puzzle for awhile they are interrupted by Yugi's only friend Anzu, who puts Jounochi and Honda in their places. After Jounochi and Honda leave Anzu gets curious about the Millennium Puzzle and what it does. Yugi explains that the Millennium Puzzle is an ancient Egyptian artifact that no one has been able to solve for a thousand years or so, and whoever solves it gets a single wish granted.
Yugi's wish is to have true friends that he can count on, so he's more then anxious to finish it. However more trouble arises when an even bigger bully by the name of Ushio steps into his life. Ushio has officially beaten both Jounochi and Honda to a pulp, and he tells Yugi that he will be his bodyguard from now on. Yugi is not found of the idea of Usiho beating up Jounochi and Honda to protect him, and stands up for Jounochi and Honda, saying that they were just trying to tough him up a little bit. Ushio finds it strange that Yugi is standing up for two people who do nothing buy bully him, but he agrees to stop “protecting” Yugi...at least, he'll stop "protecting" him after Yugi pays him 200,000 thousand yen for his services (About $1,600 American dollars). Well Yugi doesn't have that kind of money, so all looks hopeless...except for one thing: He's one piece closer to finishing the Millennium Puzzle! Yugi puts the piece into the puzzle...and he unlocks an evil side of him that he didn't even know existed! And thus one of the creepiest adventures begin.
Parents should be warned right off the bat that this is NOT a kids comic! Unlike the TV show which is about card battles, friends being together, and teamwork, the comic book of “Yu-Gi-Oh!” is about Egyptian gods, curses, and a dark gambler! This series is bond to make more then one person uncomfortable with what they're reading. This series is dark, and violent, and at times unsettling. What makes it so dark are the games the dark Yugi plays against his opponents, and his even darker punishments to the players that lose. Don't be fooled, the card game that Yugi plays in the TV show doesn't come into play until at least book 5...and even the card games are quite dark sometimes. However some good things about this comic can be seen even if you ARE uncomfertable with the dark material is the art! Never before have I seen a comic books art improve so fast!
The art is passable in book 1, looks much better in book 3, and by book 6 the art is perfected! The art even looks good in its early stages (If you overlook the fact that many of the characters don't have noses in the first couple of books). Another thing that is great about this series is the characters. The characters are very likable people, and you do care about their outcome early on in the series. The story takes some time to pick up, but once it does that too is very involving. But I can't ignore the fact that sooner or later the card game DOES take a very large role in the series, and at times it DOES feel kind of silly to read about these kids playing cards all the time, but if there's one think author Kazuki Takahasi made sure to avoid, it was that the card game would NEVER overcome the story or the character development! And for the most part he seceded where others fail sometimes in series like these.
In the end “Yu-Gi-Oh!” is a strange series. It takes simple games and likable characters and throws them into some of the most dark and disturbing situations and story twists ever! At some points the darkness of the series almost becomes too much for the reader to handle. However the series is still deep and captivating enough to warrant recommendation, just go into the series with the idea that this might not be what you thought it would be in mind. At the time of this writting "Yu-Gi-Oh!" was being serialized in Viz's monthy manga magazine "Shonen Jump."
- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -