Original Concept by Kazuki Takahashi
Story and Art by Akira Ito
VIZ, 216 pp.
Rating: Teen (13+)

Many of us are familiar with the Yu-Gi-Oh! series. Emerging in America in 2002, with Shonen Jump’s premiere issue (dated January 2003), the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga quickly caught on with adolescents and sparked a national phenomenon with card games and countless spin-offs that even rivaled Pokémon! Though the original series ended its Shonen Jump run in 2007, kids are still enamored with the tale of a spunky card shuffler and his descendants as they use wit and creativity to get them out of any jam. The most recent outgrowth of the Yu-Gi-Oh! series is Yu-Gi-Oh! R, a series that takes place right after Yugi defeats Marik Ishtar, presumably between the Battle City and Egypt arcs.

In this incarnation, Yugi is again met with a foe, Yako Tenma, the protégé and adopted son of his former nemesis and creator of duel monsters, Maximillion Pegasus. Yako was very intent on help Pegasus achieve his goal (resurrecting his wife, which any manga reader knows never works out) and after finding Pegasus dead after Yugi’s battle, he vows revenge on our pointy-haired protagonist. He challenges Yugi to a duel, as everyone does, but achieves the unachievable by beating Yugi (with his own god card), capturing Anzu and prompting Yugi, as well as his faithful friend Jonoyuchi, to come challenge him and his “card professors” at Kaibacorp.

The first volume sets up the situation well enough and is packed, almost squished, with six interesting but predictable battles. Yu-Gi-Oh! R has, however, kept its creative card play at a high. Each of the “card professors” has their own themed deck and personality to match, with their abilities really bringing out the best in them. For instance, the Gothic Lolita duelist, Tilla Mook, summons a vampire, only to have it suck her blood to gain life force. Not only do the professors add a diverse side to the story, their names throw a curious element into the mix. Each character’s name is essentially a codename that was used for a computer part. For example, Tilla Mook, the vampire user, is also a pre-release codename for the Embedded 266 MHz Intel Pentium MMX chip. Though it isn’t essential to the story in any way, it is a great way to differentiate the R series from Yu-Gi-Oh! as a whole, making it a possible selling point.

That may be the only thing that makes this spin-off distinctive enough to stand on its own, though. The author and artist, Akira Ito, is introduced to us at the beginning of the book as Kazuki Takahashi’s former assistant and it is noticeable in his artwork. While some of the characters designs are a bit more mature than Takahashi’s original art, the series still emanates that general goofiness of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!. Admittedly the cover tricked me; I was under the impression that this may be a darker, more intense Yu-Gi-Oh!, but sadly I was mistaken.

Effectively, Yu-Gi-Oh! R is just another piece of the puzzle, created to keep the brand alive and kicking, not to be washed away with the series of yesteryear. As I’ve said before in reviews for similar books, it is really a collector’s book: it’s for someone who wants to get the whole story or at the very least, someone else’s introduction into the Yu-Gi-Oh! world. Otherwise, this book can be considered a light, easy read but nothing to shell out your scarce dollars for.

Volume one of Yu-Gi-Oh! R is available now.

Review copy provided by the publisher.