Ash Ketchum
As the protagonist and franchise mascot of one of the most popular anime of all time, Yugi is considered to be an iconic character in animation, often compared to characters like Ash Ketchum for serving as a figurehead in popularizing anime to a wider audience, as well as corresponding merchandise to people outside of Japan. In an "Anime! Anime!" poll, Yugi was rated as the 9th most popular character voiced by Megumi Ogata.