Yu - Gi - Oh ! - Duel 042 " Get the Million ! ! " , known as " Get the Million Yen ! ! " in the Japanese version , is the forty - second chapter of the " Yu - Gi - Oh ! " manga . This chapter was originally printed in the " Weekly Shōnen Jump " magazine in Japanese . Its first English release was in the " Shonen Jump " magazine . It has been reprinted in volume 5 of the " tankōbon " and volume 4 of the " bunkoban " . Summary . At school , Katsuya Jonouchi tells Anzu Mazaki , Hiroto Honda and Yugi Mutou that he is going to be on TV , on a show called " The Get the Million Game " . If a player wins all the challenges , the grand prize is ¥1 , 000 , 000 ( about $ 10 , 000 US at the time ) . Once he wins that Jonouchi says that he will not have to work himself to death with part time jobs . Honda points out that he has not won the money yet . Jonouchi tries to ignore him , assuring himself that he is got to win . He thinks to himself that if he wins , he can pay off his father ' s gambling debts and liquor store tab . Then he will not have to run from the collection agencies anymore and will start a new life ; his days of struggling are over . Anzu mentions how Jonouchi has been doing a lot of work to put himself through school and Honda reminds them of how he did that paper route in middle school and all the other kids called him the " lone paperboy " . He put all his hopes in the postcard he sent out the TV people , Jonouchi thinks , and the guy who picked it must be a god . Yugi suggests that they be in the studio audience so that they can cheer Jonouchi on . At a ZTV programming department , the producer asks what sucker is going to be on the " Get the Million Game " today . A man hands him information on Jonouchi , saying that they picked him out from the entries . He had his postcard decorated with rainbow colors to make it stand out . They have done a thorough background check on him and found that his father is an unemployed alcoholic with a gambling addiction and Jonouchi works part time to pay off his father ' s debts . He is is 100 % poor , the man says . The producer says that he is perfect ; Dead end job people will do anything to get a million yen . They go money crazy and the public love it . The producer smirks and adds that no matter how hard Jonouchi tries he will not win and starts laughing . In the studio , The Get the Million Game is starting . The host introduces today ' s contestant as " This strapping young man . 16 year old Jonouchi from Domino City . " Jonouchi starts waving at his friends in the audience , saying he is on TV . Anzu , Yugi and Honda cheer him on . In a control room , the producer ha a technician zoom in on Jonouchi and add the caption " Needs to win the grand prize to repay his father ' s debts . . . Can he make it ? ! " The producer smiles ; The audience now know pathetic the kid is . There is nothing like a good sob story to boost your ratings . The first game on the show begins , " Darts of Fortune " . If Jonouchi wins , he gets ¥100 , 000 and can go on to the next stage . A blonde and a black - haired bunny stand at a wheel , which is divided into one large and one small sector . The large sector has " ¥100 , 000 " printed on it and the small one has " lose " printed on it . The host explains the rules ; They will spin the wheel and Jonouchi is to try and throw the dart into the " ¥100 , 000 " section . Jonouchi throws the dart and it lands just outside the " lose " section . The host announces that Jonouchi wins . Jonouchi sweats a little , seeing how close he was to losing . Jonouchi is awarded a medal with " 10 " ( 100 in the English version ) on it . They proceed to the second game , where the prize is now ¥500 , 000 and the risks have also increased . The game is " The Electric Helmet " . This is a variant of the " do not touch the wire " game . Jonouchi must wear a helmet with a bar on top while he runs through a course between two overhead high voltage wires within the time limit and without letting the bar on the helmet touch the wires . If the bar makes the slightest tap to the wires , Jonouchi will receive a devastating electric shock . The game starts and Jonouchi walks through the course with his heart pounding and thinks of the prize money . As time starts to run out , he races to the end of the course and clears it . The black - haired bunny awards him a " 50 " ( 500 in the English version ) medal . Anzu compliments Jonouchi and Honda says that he is one step away from getting the whole million . The host announces that they will take a break and be right back after a word from their sponsors . Jonouchi thinks to himself ; If he wins the million , he and his father will be able to put the past behind them and become a real family again . Yugi leaves his seat to go to the bathroom . As he searches the hallway , he realizes that he is in a TV studio and wonders if he will meet a star . He passes the producer and a technician . The producer asks how the rating are and the technician replies that they are good . The producer then asks if the wheel in the next round is rigged to lose . The technician says that is ; everything is ready . Yugi overhears this . He watches the two of them leaving . The producer laughs that the one thing better than seeing a poor person struggling for money is seeing them fail at the last minute ; Suffering is always a profit . He calls the idea of giving a poor person money a joke and does not care as long as he gets paid . Yugi gets mad over the producer taking advantage of Jonouchi ' s desperate hopes and vows to never forgive him . The show continues and the host says that it is now time for the final round ; If Jonouchi clears this he will win the million yen . The final stage is The Wheel of Fate . The two bunnies stand next to a wheel , which is to be spun . If the wheel stops on the " ¥1 , 000 , 000 " section , he will win . If he fails , he will lose all the money he has won so far . The wheel is divided into eight sections . How they are labeled is different in the Japanese and English versions . Starting at the top and going clockwise they are : In the Japanese version : " ¥1 , 000 , 000 " , " Scar " , " Thrash " , " Loser " , " Scar " , " Tissue " , " Trash " and " Scar " . In the English version : " ¥1 , 000 , 000 " , " Lose " , " Makeover " , " Hand Soap " , " Box of Tissues " , " Lotion " and " Lose " . Jonouchi goes for it and the wheel starts . It would not stop until he says " stop " . Back stage , the producer and the technician watch . The technician is given orders to push a button when Jonouchi says stop . There are fourteen buttons , but the technician has painted the one he needs to push red , so he will not make a mistake . When he pushes the button , it will be impossible for the button to land on the " ¥1 , 000 , 000 " section . Dark Yugi appears behind the two of them , holding two ropes . The producer tries to shoo him away , but Dark Yugi ignores him and asks if they are feeling lucky . He shows them that there is a can of paint on top of the scaffolding next to them . Out of the two ropes , he is holding , one is tied to its handle . He wants himself and one of them to tie their arm to a rope and on the signal , each of them are to pull their rope , giving them a 50 - 50 chance of getting the bucket . The producer tries to shoo him again , but Dark Yugi insists that they play if the producer does not want anybody to know about him rigging the wheel . The producer orders the technician to take a rope . He picks the one of the right and Dark Yugi takes the one on the left . They each tie it to their arms . After they are both ready , Dark Yugi says when to pull . The bucket of paint comes down on top of the technician ' s head . With him out of action , the producer goes to push the button himself , but finds the switchboard is now covered in red paint , so he cannot tell which one to push . If the wheel stops on the winning space , he says that " that shiftless bum " will get a million yen . Dark Yugi points out that the producer is now showing his true colors and inflicts the Penalty Game " Mind on Air " , making yen symbols appear in the producer ' s eyes . On the stage , Jonouchi is asked to tell the wheel when to stop . The wheel stops on " ¥1 , 000 , 000 " . The blonde bunny starts clapping . The host stutters and shouts out that Jonouchi wins the million yen , but thinks to himself that this never happens . He hands Jonouchi the check for ¥1 , 000 , 000 . Everyone ' s attention is diverted as the yen - eyed producer is now over at the camera laughing and yelling at the audience to stop watching TV for long enough to send him their money . The cameraman sighs and someone else tries pulling the producer away . The hosts sighs that they are done for . Dark Yugi walks away , saying that apparently true poverty lives in the soul . Several days later , Anzu , Yugi and Honda see Jonouchi crying . Honda asks what is wrong and is told that the TV production company went bankrupt and Jonouchi ' s check is now just a worthless piece of paper . Appearances . Debuts are in bold .