This weekend, young people aged 14— 18 are invited to join us at Youth Night, Saturday, 6 May 2023, 5 – 8pm at Johnsonville Library! This month’s optional activity is all about Yu-Gi-Oh! Speed Duel.

Seeing as I saw the Yu-Gi-Oh movie three times in theatres in 2004, I feel I’m the best bet for introducing you to the Yu-Gi-Oh universe!

25 Years ago, Japanese manga artist Kazuki Takahashi created Yu-Gi-Oh! the story of a boy who solves an ancient Egyptian puzzle and awakens the spirit of the King of Games! Yu-Gi-Oh quickly turned into a trading card game sensation globally, with 12,500 unique cards being created!

Dueling decks contain cards divided into three types: spells, traps, and monster cards. Originally, spell cards were called ‘magic cards’… but Magic the Gathering didn’t like that too much. Amongst those thousands of cards, I am pleased to say there are at least a couple of librarian monster cards.

In 2023, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Yu-Gi-Oh! and commemorating the work of Kazuki Takahashi, who sadly passed away last year, while saving three people from a rip at sea. We’ve added a selection of the original manga to our collection on Libby. Check em out!

Yu-Gi-Oh!, Volume 1 / Takahashi, Kazuki                          Sitting by himself in the back of the class, 10th-grader Yugi always had his head in some game—until he solved the Millennium Puzzle, an Egyptian artifact containing a powerful spirit from the age of the pharoahs… the King of Games possesses Yugi, recklessly challenging bullies and evildoers to the Shadow Games, where the stakes are high… (abridged from catalogue).

Yu-Gi-Oh!, Volume 2 / Takahashi, Kazuki                            Meet Seto Kaiba, master of the world’s most dangerous collectible card game. When Kaiba discovers that Yugi’s grandfather owns the incredibly rare “Blue-Eyes White Dragon” card, he will stop at nothing to get it…even if he has to duel with Yugi’s dark alter-ego… (abridged from catalogue).

Along with the seven volumes of the original manga, we also have the first five volumes of the follow-up Yu-Gi-OH! Duelist which focuses on the card game sensation and became the basis for the original season of the international anime!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist, Volume 1 / Takahashi, Kazuki                    A mysterious videotape sends Yugi and his friends to Duelist Kingdom, the island home of super-rich American game designer Maximillion Pegasus. There, Yugi must compete with the world’s greatest Duel Monsters players for the honor of fighting the man who made the game! (abridged from catalogue).

Among the physical stacks, we have a few Yu-Gi-Oh novellas aimed at a younger readers, from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX era, where teens attended a duel monsters academy. We also have a couple of volumes of the Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal manga.

Game on / West, Tracey
“Jaden is determined to be the King of Games in spite of facing two powerful rivals.” (Catalogue)

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Volume 1, The name’s Yuma / Yoshida, Shin
“In a futuristic city, augmented reality Duels are all the rage… With more awesome monsters and unbelievable cards, the future of Yu-Gi-Oh! starts right here! No one loves Dueling more than Yuma Tsukumo, but unfortunately for him, no one is worse at it! ” (abrudged from catalogue)

It’s time to duel!