I have to admit it I did like pokemon: the games, the anime, the card game and dare I say it the breakfast cereal (OK I only had one bowl). The same applies to Yu-Gi-Oh, I still (Dec 2004) play the card game and I enjoyed the anime (I would have enjoyed it more unedited but it is not as badly edited as Dragonball.). So when I saw the manga I snapped it up.

Yugi Muto is a hobbit sized high school student who spends most of his dinner times playing strange games by himself. Unsurprisingly due to his hobbit like looks and his loner personality Yugi is prone to getting picked on by bullies. While Yugi is working on his prized possession an ancient puzzle from Egypt made from various pieces which Yugi has been trying to solve for the last eight years. Two of Yugi's classmates, Jonouchi (Joey) and Honda (Trystin) tease Yugi over his puzzle only to be stopped by Anzu (Tèa). Jonouchi and Honda are then soon beaten up by a bigger bully, who demands money of Yugi for his services; Yugi not only refuses to give the money but tries to protect Jonouchi and Honda. Yugi is then beaten up and told to pay up the next day or suffer a worse beating. Bruised Yugi returns home, and begins to work on his puzzle (known as the millennium puzzle), getting past the bit where he keeps getting stuck, and soon completes it. Yugi is then possessed, he summons the bully to the school at night and challenges him to a dangerous 'shadow game'� where the loser must carry out a deadly penalty. Yugi wakes the next day with no memory of the events, but when he or his friends are betrayed or in danger Yugi once again possessed challenging his enemies to one of these deadly shadow games.

If you have a problem with the (sometimes complex) card game then there is no need to worry as this volume has no hint of it. All of the 'games'� are different. The manga story and artwork are a lot darker compared to that of the anime, the themes and humour is also more mature (well if you consider Yugi and Jonouchi talking about porn movies mature). Yugi is not only threatened with the possibility of his or friends death but also the maddening penalties from losing a shadow game.

Fans of the TV series or card game may be disappointed at the lack of its appearance in this volume, or the fact that character names are the Japanese ones and not those appearing in the English TV series. This though is the largest point for those who aren't too keen on the card game or localization of the TV series. The card game does appear in volumes two and five (out of the first six I have) but doesn't really take up that much room of the volumes, even though five's section is bigger.

Yu-Gi-Oh is a dark compelling manga and will suit both fans of the TV series and those who aren't.