About

Yu-Gi-Oh! (Japanese: 遊戯王, Yūgiō) is a manga series created by Kazuki Takahashi. The manga's plot follows Yugi Mutou, who finds an artifact called the Millennium Puzzle, which holds the spirit of the Pharaoh who has lost his memories. Throughout the series, Yugi and his friends attempt to help the Pharaoh regain his memories, while partaking in games of "Duel Monsters", which is a card game revolving around summoning and battling monsters, casting spells and setting traps. There are many series based off the manga, including a trading card game, five TV shows, and video games.

History

The first issue of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga was released in September 30th, 1996. Originally, Kazuki Takahashi planned to make the manga a horror series, making "Duel Monsters" be played only twice in the story. However, the card game was met with positive reception and from chapter 60 onward, Duel Monsters became one of the key elements of the story. When the Studio Gallop's Anime series based off of Yu-Gi-Oh! was released in April 18th, 2000, Duel Monsters became the main premise of the story and was played more frequently than in the manga. Studio Gallop's version of Yu-Gi-Oh! also introduced holographic duels and Duel Disks, an invention by the series' antagonist Seto Kaiba, both features allowing Duel Monsters to be played anywhere, as opposed to the manga in which the games are played on table-like structures called Duel Boxes. These new features were positively received by viewers and were used in all future anime series based off of the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe.

Fandom

Yu-Gi-Oh! is very popular online, with over 150,000 entries on DeviantArt, 60,000 fan fictions on Fanfiction.net, and a subreddit with over 24,000 subscribers. There are also many single topic blogs on Tumblr dedicated to the franchise. A common thing the fandom does is make custom cards using the site Yugioh Card Maker. Another popular website is Pojo. Pojo's site hosts card tips, anime information and strategies for playing the TCG. They review decks and talk about the best ways to win duels in the card game. Other websites like YugiohCardGuide and YugiohPrices help fans of the game find, trade and buy rare cards.

Fan Art

Cosplay

Related Memes

Abridged Series

Abridged Series is a subgenre of video parodies that involve narrating the condensed version of popular media that often poke fun at faulty or unconventional premise and plotlines found in the said media.The Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged Series was the first of its kind, spawning multiple other series, such as Dragon Ball Z Abridged or "Attack On Titan" Abridged, and memes such as "Screw the Rules, I have Money!". The original Abridged Series was made by LittleKuriboh or Martin Billany, becoming an instant hit and gaining millions of views.

You Just Activated My Trap Card!

You Just Activated My Trap Card is a catchphrase derived from the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. In the game itself, it is a warning to the opponent that their actions are about to be countered by the activation of a Trap Card, a card type that is unique in that it must be set down first and can be activated during the opponent's turn in response to an action, thus functioning as a "trap" (hence the name). As a catchphrase outside of the card game, it is usually used to warn people on the Internet in debates that they're about to proven wrong.

Enemy Controller

Enemy Controller is a series of MAD videos on Nico Nico Douga and YouTube, centered around a scene from the 3rd season of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime where Seto Kaiba uses the card to control one of Yugi’s monsters.

The King of GETs

The King of GETs is a variation of the GET meme, specific to 4chan’s /a/ board, although it has since spread to other boards, like /v/, /jp/, /b/, and /vp/.

It's Raining Kaiba

It's Raining Kaiba is a series of edited images of Yu-Gi-Oh! character Seto Kaiba looking through the window as it's raining, from an episode of the anime series, which eventually became a joke within the fandom on Tumblr, before spreading to other sites.

Joey Wheeler's Creepy Chin

Joey Wheeler's Creepy Chin is a series of edited images of character Joey Wheeler with a facial expression with a creepy smile and pointy chin. Most edits of the image involve pasting his chin and mouth over other characters.

It's Time to D-D-D-Duel!

"It's Time to D-d-d-duel!" is a memorable quote from the main character of the series, Yugi Muto, said prior to a Shadow Game duel. The catchphrase is often mocked in parody videos or image macros.

Card Memes

On December 30th, 2016, stevefromwork^[5] posted a thread to /r/MemeEconomy asking "Is there a market for Yu-Gi-Oh memes in 2017?", along with a picture of a Yu-Gi-Oh themed You vs. The Guy She Told You Not to Worry About image (shown below). The post gained 450 upvotes.

Card memes began growing popular on /r/MemeEconomy /r/me_irl in late January 2017. In particular, jokes centered around the Exodia the Forbidden One set of cards and a card called "Little D." In the jokes, the cards are arranged in various ways or replaced with other memes to create a humorous effect.

Kaiba's Defeat

Kaiba's defeat refers to a four-panel exploitable template of a duel between Seto Kaiba and Yugi Moto began spreading on Reddit. In the template, Kaiba confidently presents a card with text on it. Yugi counters with a card which contradicts Kaiba's text, causing Kaiba to look shocked. The screens come from the first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh in which Yugi duels Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon with his Exodia.

The comic began seeing renewed popularity in late March of 2018. On March 27th, 2018, a popular example was posted to /r/MemeEconomy,^[23] gaining over 8,000 upvotes (shown below).

The meme also spread on /r/dankmemes that day. Some popular examples include a Ur Mom Gay joke which gained over 830 upvotes (shown below, left). Another post referencing the No U meme gained over 50 upvotes (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References