Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (the 2nd series)

Yu-Gi-Oh!, known in Japan and the rest of Asia as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 遊☆戯☆王デュエル モンスターズ Yūgiō Dyueru Monsutāzu is an anime based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga. It is produced by Studio Gallop and Nihon Ad Systems, and the English adaptation is distributed by 4Kids Entertainment.

Duel Monsters is not to be confused with the earlier series of the same name. As the series is the second to be based on the manga, it is often referred to by fans as the "second series". Some sources state erroneously that the first series produced by Toei is a "lost first season", although the two series are unrelated aside from plot continuity.

The success of Duel Monsters was one of the main factors in creating a real-world version of the game that served as the focal point of the series, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game.

The series began its 224-episode run in Japan on April 18, 2000 and U.S. on September 29, 2001. The series ended its run on September 29, 2004 in Japan and on[June 10, 2006 in America. In Japan, the series aired on TV Tokyo. The English version is broadcasted on many channels. In the United States it is broadcast on Kids WB and on Cartoon Network(debuting on 4Kids TV in September 2006). In Canada, Yu-Gi-Oh! is broadcast on YTV. In the United Kingdom, Mexico and Australia, it is broadcast on Nickelodeon. In Hong Kong, it is broadcast on ATV from July 13, 2002

About the Seasons:

Like the earlier series, Duel Monsters is mainly about the various battles of a high school freshman named Yugi Mutou through a card game known as Duel Monsters (Magic and Wizards in the original, although Duel Monsters is also used). However, Duel Monsters picks up its focus from where the earlier series leaves off, roughly corresponding to the eighth volume of the manga series.

The plot of the series is divided into several story arcs:

• Duelist Kingdom: Duelist Kingdom is the second story arc in the manga and the first in Duel Monsters, and involves a tournament hosted by the game's creator, Maximillion Pegasus (Pegasus J. Crawford in the original version) , on his own personal island. Pegasus, using the power of the Millennium Eye, manages to seal the soul of Solomon Muto (Sugoroku Mutou in the English-language manga and the Japanese versions) away, and it is up to Yugi to save him. Meanwhile, Joey Wheeler (Katsuya Jonouchi) enters the tournament in order to pay for his sister's surgery, and Pegasus and several top executives at KaibaCorp plot to remove Seto Kaiba from the head of his company.
• Legendary Heroes: In a continued attempt to remove Seto Kaiba from his position as head of KaibaCorp, KaibaCorp's former executives trap Kaiba in a virtual reality game based on Duel Monsters. Yugi and his friends enter the game to save him. The video game Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom was loosely based on this storyline.
• Dungeon Dice Monsters: When a new game shop opens to compete with Sugoroku's game shop, Yugi is challenged by its owner, Duke Devlin (Ryuji Otogi) in a game of his creation, with the title of "King of Games" on the line.
• Battle City (Season Two): When Kaiba hears of the three legendary God Cards, Kaiba believes that with the three cards in his deck, he will be able to defeat Yugi. In order to obtain the God Cards, Kaiba hosts a tournament to take place in the streets of Domino, with the rule that each person that enters the tournament must ante up a card for the winners of the duels to keep. Meanwhile, Yugi hears of the three God Cards and how they are tied to an ancient Egyptian legend - one that involves the nameless Pharaoh. At the same time, Marik Ishtar, guardian of the Pharaoh's Tomb, wants the Pharaoh's power for himself, and seeks to defeat Yugi. In the Japanese version, he actually wishes to torture and kill Yugi for revenge and to free his family from serving the Nameless Pharaoh.
• Virtual World: As Yugi, Kaiba, Joey, and Marik are travelling to the destination of the Battle City Finals, the airship they are riding in suddenly takes an unexpected turn. The main characters find themselves trapped in a virtual reality simulation, in which the former executives of KaibaCorp plan to take their revenge against Yugi and Kaiba.
• Waking the Dragons: When an ancient organization known as Doma (not named in the English anime, although the name Paradius was used in both versions as a front for their operations) steals the God cards and begins to seal the souls of people and duel monsters in an effort to revive a monster thought to have lead to the destruction of Atlantis 10,000 years ago, it is up to Yugi and friends to stop them. To do so, Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba join forces with the three legendary dragons, Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos, and take on Doma's leader, Dartz and Doma's three swordsmen: Rafael, Valon and Alister
• Grand Championship: With Dartz's group defeated and no money to return home to Domino, Yugi and company enter a tournament hosted by Kaiba, in his new amusement park, in return for a ride home. With Kaiba Corporation crippled because of Doma's activities, one tournament entrant seeks to finish the job and take down KaibaCorp for good.
• Dawn of the Duel (Millennium World): With all three God Cards in his possession, Yami Yugi (Dark Yugi in the English Manga and Japanese anime) is ready to find all his lost memories. However, he's in for more than he bargains for when he is thrust into the World of Memory, an alternate reality inside the Millennium Puzzle based on the events that occurred in Egypt 5,000 (3,000 in the Japanese anime) years ago. There, the Pharaoh must relive the last days of his previous life, fighting his old enemies and reuniting with his old friends. But his new friends have not forgotten about him, and Yugi and his friends travel inside the Millennium Puzzle to find the World of Memory and help the Pharaoh recover all his memories. However, Yami Bakura (Dark Bakura in the English Manga and Japanese anime) won't let the Pharaoh gain all his memories just yet, as he plans on using the information gained in the World of Memory to gain the powers of the Millennium Items and reawaken an ancient evil that has remained dormant for the past 5,000 years...
• The Ceremonial Battle: Most of the quest is complete. Pharaoh Atem has obtained all seven millennium items, acquired all three Egyptian God Cards, defeated Zorc Necrophades in the Memory World, and has found out all about his past, including his name. Now, the pharaoh can quietly leave the mortal world, and join his faithful priests in the afterlife. However, the doorway to the afterlife can only be opened if the pharaoh is defeated in a duel. Yugi takes on the challenge, dueling Atem to let Atem go. Even though Atem would very much want to go to the afterlife, he has a good pride in his skills, and will never let anybody beat him easily.

遊☆戯☆王デュエル モンスターズ (SHUFFLE)