Yu-Gi-Oh! is based off of a manga series created by Kazuki Takahashi. Most of the incarnations of Yu-Gi-Oh! involve a card game called Duel Monsters (although in the Japanese version it was known as Magic & Wizards).

The main character of Yu-Gi-Oh! is a shy, pure-hearted high school student named Yugi Moto (Yugi Mutou in Japan). He's a gaming expert that owns an ancient Egyptian relic called the Millennium Puzzle. There is a darker personality held within the puzzle, which has been referred to as the Nameless Pharaoh, Dark Yugi, Yami Yugi, "the other Yugi," and Atem (which is the pharaoh's real name). The puzzle was given to Yugi by his grandfather, who owns a game shop. As the story progresses, Yugi, the pharaoh, and Yugi's friends try to discover the secret of the pharaoh's lost memories, as well as the pharaoh's real name, by playing Duel Monsters.

Yugi's friends are Joey Wheeler (Katsuya Jounouchi in Japan), Tea Gardner (Anzu Mazaki in Japan), and Tristan Taylor (Hiroto Honda in Japan). For adversaries, Yugi has Seito Kaiba and Pegasus. The Duel Monsters themselves sometimes come into play as characters, especially Kuriboh, Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Jinzo, and the Ojama Trio. However, the Egyptian God Cards, the Legendary Dragons, and the Sacred Beast Cards have a greater importance to the overall storyline.

There are several story arcs in Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, Enter the Shadow Realm (which is known in Japan as Virtual World), Duel Tower (which is the second half of Battle City), Waking the Dragons (known in Japan as Doma Orichalcos), Grand Championship (known in Japan as KC Grand Prix), Dawn of the Duel (known as either Millennium World or Pharaoh Memory Series in Japan), and The Ceremonial Battle.

There have also been three Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-off series produced in Japan: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal.

Title	Episodes	Release Year(s)	Director	Studio	N.A. Licensor
Yu-Gi-Oh!	27	1998	Hiroyuki Kakudou	Toei Animation	N/A
Yu-Gi-Oh!	N/A	1999	Junji Shimizu	Toei Animation	N/A
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters	224	2000-2004	Kunihisa Sugishima	Studio Gallop/Nihon Ad Systems	Konami
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light	N/A	2004	Hatsuki Tsuji	Studip Gallop	4Kids Entertainment/Warner Bros. Pictures
Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters	12	2006	?	Studio Gallop/Nihon Ad Systems	4Kids Entertainment
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time	N/A	2010	Kenichi Takeshita	Studio Gallop	4Kids Entertainment