Yu - Gi - Oh ! ( anime ) 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 Animation 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 broadcast on many channels . In the United States it is broadcast on Kids WB , Nicktoons , 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 . It is broadcast on Cartoon Network Korea though it was edited like 4Kids TV . It is also on Netflix . Plot . Like the earlier series , " Duel Monsters " is mainly about the various battles of a high school freshman named Yugi Muto 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 : Differences between the versions . " Duel Monsters " serves as a continuation of the earlier series in terms of the story , yet there are differences in the two series where they overlap . In particular , the Death - T fight which is held by Yugi and rival Seto Kaiba , is redone , and Miho Nosaka , a main character and good friend of Yugi Muto , Joey Wheeler , Tristan Taylor , Tea Gardner , and Ryou Bakura in the earlier series , does not appear in " Duel Monsters " . Whereas the earlier series introduces the characters ( by virtue of being adapted from earlier volumes of the manga ) , " Duel Monsters " assumes that the viewers are familiar with the characters from the onset , and scenes referring to chronologically earlier events are redone . Because of the relative speed between the manga and anime releases , three extra ( non - canon or filler ) story arcs that are not found in later volumes have been added for " Duel Monsters " : Virtual World , Waking the Dragons , and Grand Championship . One of the other most notable changes is that , unlike the manga , the " Duel Monsters " anime , as the title suggests , focuses on the " Duel Monsters " card - game more than the manga , and adds many Duel scenes that were not in the original manga itself , often changing parts of the plot to fit around addition of the duels . Adaptation . As the two series are based on the same manga ( albeit different parts therein ) , and the fact that only " Duel Monsters " was adapted into English , there has been some controversy regarding " Yu - Gi - Oh ! " as a whole . Some have regarded that the fact that the earlier series was not adapted into English creates a large plothole in " Duel Monsters " , as they believe that the earlier series provides the necessary support and development of the series ' main characters . Those opposing this view note the various clear differences between the plot and artwork style would also confuse viewers . The English adaptation is also widely criticized for the way it is adapted . The changes that were made were frequently done to make the series more understandable and to remove material which may be considered inappropriate or too mature for its English - language demographic , considered to be younger than its original . In addition more of the background is explained in the English version than in the Japanese version ; the Japanese version assumes that the viewer has read the manga series . The changes made in the English - language versions of the second - series anime include : There are two adaptations of the second series in English : a United States adaptation by 4Kids Entertainment aired in the U . S . , Canada , Europe , Australia , and New Zealand , and a Southeast Asia version by A . S . N . for Singapore and the Philippines . 4Kids version . As a response to these critics , a separate " uncut " DVD release was commissioned between 4Kids Entertainment and FUNimation , with a new adaptation that is more consistent with the original . The uncut DVDs were pulled from solicitation after Volume 3 " Stolen - Blue - Eyes White Dragon " for no apparent reason , with a variety of explanations coming from , upon cross - examination , invalid sources with little elaboration . Lance Heiskell , a FUNimation representative , has noted legal rights as the reason for cancellation , although he was unable to expand on it . This appears to be the most likely possibility , given the DVDs ' reportedly successful run . Kids ' WB ! also edited episodes 4 and 5 , and later episodes 14 and 15 , fusing these episodes that were originally two - part episodes into half - hour episodes . 4Kids did dub them separately , but they were only seen in other countries and on DVDs . Later , when 4KidsTV rebroadcast the series , they eventually aired episodes 4 and 5 separately . It is unknown whether or not they will air episodes 14 and 15 separately . As of recent , 4Kids had been uploading the original Japanese episodes , albeit unsubbed , to their YouTube channel , alongside the first Japanese opening and closing . The first 37 episodes had been uploaded ; the first three have been subbed . If 4Kids will continue uploading the original episodes or if they have any plans to subtitle them is unknown . Whilst the episodes are encoded to the US region , Youtubers outside the US could view them if they set their region to ' Worldwide ' . With a legal issue brought about by failing to renew Shunsuke Kazama ' s ( Yugi ' s Japanese voice ) contract for rights to his work , 4Kids has removed its Japanese episodes from YouTube , at least until a resolution is made with Mr . Kazama . 4KidsTV ' s Japanese Episode lineup 4KidsTV ' s Subbed Japanese Episode lineup 4Kids / Funimation uncut DVDs . A series of uncut DVDs were made by 4kids Entertainment and FUNimation . This adaption stuck closer to the original Japanese in dialogue and events . Text is not removed , and as such Japanese cards from the original version are used . Some original names such as Sugoroku Mutou are kept . Some characters names are a mixture of their original and English anime names , such as Joey Katsuya and Téa Mazaki . Also , some characters have different voice actors or actresses ( e . g . Mai is voiced by Kathleen Delaney rather than Megan Hollingshead or Bella Hudson . Arabic Dub < nowiki > < / nowiki > Renamed to يوڠي ( Yugi ) The Arabic dub uses the 4Kids version ( including the edited footage , openings / endings and ost - even keeping the English line " it ' s time to d - d - d - d - d - d - d - d - duel " line in earlier versions of the opening before translating it to Arabic later on but , then forgetting about it again later again ) and sometimes they did literal translations . While they kept the English 4Kids dub names such as Joey Wheeler and Tea Gardner . they changed some of the names of the monsters that have translatable names in Arabic . specially the ones that dealt with magic ( as magic is considered a taboo ) such as the Dark Magician being renamed to فارس الظلام ( Farisu Azhalam ) which translates as Knight of Darkness . Dark Magician Girl is called فتاة الظلام العجيبة ( Fatatu Azhalam Al - ' Ajeeba ) which translates as The Bizzare Girl of Darkness . While keeping the names of other monsters such as Blue - Eyes White Dragon ( التنين الأبيض أزرق العينين / Attinneen Al - Abyadh Azrag Al - Aynayn ) the same but , translated . Game mechanics . " Duel Monsters " is heavily centered around the card game , with plot details frequently added between game turns . However , there are several main differences between the rules found therein and the rules of the real - world card game : Reruns . As of Saturday , September 4 , 2010 , the original Yu - Gi - Oh ! has been airing reruns of the Battle City arc . This time however , this part of the series has been repackaged as " Yu - Gi - Oh ! Rulers of the Duel . " 20th Remaster . 20th Remaster ( ２０ｔｈ " 20th － Rimasutā － " ) is a remastered re - broadcast of the " Duelist Kingdom " arc . On June 17 , 2014 , 4K Media announces a new " Yu - Gi - Oh ! " Movie currently in development in Japan . Year later , a film teaser for the movie announces that " Yu - Gi - Oh ! Duel Monsters " will be remastered and shown on TV Tokyo , starting on February 7 , 2015 at 7 : 30 a . m . . Battle City Edition . Battle City Edition ( バトル ・ シティ編 " Batoru Shiti - hen " ) is a remastered re - broadcast of the " Battle City " arc . In the April issue of Shueisha ' s " V Jump " magazine announced TV Tokyo will begin airing remastered episodes of the " Battle City " arc in April , alongside the remaster episodes of the " Duelist Kingdom " arc . It first appeared on premiere April 7 , 2015 with the first episode being " Special Edition Road to Battle City " instead of episode 50 " The Mystery Duelist , Part 1 " . This special contains a recap of the " Duelist Kingdom " and the events leading up to " Battle City " narrated by Seto Kaiba . The next episode is episode 2 " The Past is Present " .