Yugi Mutou (武藤 遊戯 Mutō Yūgi), or Yugi Moto in the English anime, is the protagonist of the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Yugi is featured at least partially in every volume of the manga and episode of both the first anime series made by Toei Animation and the Duel Monsters anime series. Yugi's family name in the English manga is sometimes romanized as Mutoh, but is almost always Mutou, and his family name is romanized as Mutou in the uncut anime DVDs. His name is romanized as Yuhgi Mutoh in the original Japanese version of the Duel Monsters anime. It is believed that the Moto family name is used in the English language anime due to early Japanese episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! having mispronounced Mutou as such. In the English video games, Yugi's surname is either rendered as Muto, or his surname is that of the English anime, Moto.

Yugi Mutou, a freshman (1st year, or the 10th grade) at Domino High School, was given the Millennium Puzzle in pieces by his grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou (Solomon Moto). When he assembles it in the first episodes of the anime and manga, he is infused with the spirit of a 3,000-year-old Egyptian Pharaoh (In the English anime, the pharaoh is 5,000 years old). The pharaoh, who later discovers his name to be Atem/Atemu, was sealed in the puzzle to lock in the magic of the shadow game to prevent the destruction of the world. Atem, though the name is used for a fictional pharaoh, is actually a variant of the name of the Sun god Aton and a component only used by the 'heretic pharaoh' Amenhotep IV.

There are two chambers in Yugi's mind. One belongs to the innocent kid, and the other to a darker, older presence, Dark Yugi (Yami no Yūgi, 闇遊戯) or Yami Yugi in the English anime, from the Millennium Puzzle. When under stress or when playing a game, the spirit inside the Millennium Puzzle takes over and is either partially or completely possessed by the 3,000 year old nameless pharaoh (namonaki pharaoh). The character is often referred to as Yu-Gi-Oh (遊戯王 Yūgiō), the king of games. In the English anime, Yami Yugi is sometimes referred to as Pharaoh Yami.

Because there is often frequent interaction between the two parts, Yugi actually refers to both the school kid and the ancient Pharaoh. However, between themselves, Yugi refers to the Pharaoh as "the other me" or "my other self" (mou hitori no boku, もう一人のぼく) or in the English anime, "Yami", and Dark Yugi refers to his younger counterpart as simply aibō ("partner"), the other me (mou hitori no ore, もう一人のおれ), or by his name. Other people call Dark Yugi "the other Yugi" (mou hitori no Yūgi, もう一人の遊戯). If one Yugi dies, the other Yugi dies with him. In the original Japanese versions of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yugi applies honorifics to almost everyone he meets, while Dark Yugi doesn't make as much of an effort. Dark Yugi uses ore instead of boku to mean "I"; ore is a boastful way of saying "I" in Japanese. Dark Yugi in general has a rougher, looser speech pattern than Regular Yugi does. (See Wikibooks:Japanese:Pronouns)

A not-so-average school kid, Yugi is pure-hearted and kind. He lives with his mother while his father is away on business. Yugi is good at games and puzzles (yūgi meaning "game" in Japanese), and especially Magic and Wizards, a.k.a. Duel Monsters. His favourite monster in the game is the Dark Magician (Black Magician in the Japanese versions), but he thinks that he is most like Maha Vailo.

Yugi, who at Domino is in class 1-B, is part of a group of very good friends, who are Katsuya Jonouchi (Joey Wheeler in the English anime), Hiroto Honda (Tristan Taylor), and Anzu Mazaki (Téa Gardner). In the first series anime, Miho Nosaka is also one of Yugi's friends. Yugi's friends often cheer Yugi from the sidelines, and Jonouchi has dueled with Yugi as part of a tag team in the manga and Duel Monsters anime. Anzu is in love with Dark Yugi, but not the regular Yugi. The first characters from "Yūgi" and "Jōnouchi" form the word "Yūjō" (友情), which means "friend" or "fellowship". In the original Japanese, the "Yu-Jyo" (友情) card (The "Friendship" card in English) is named after the word and the relationship between the characters. Yugi is interested in women, particularly Anzu. Yugi and Jonouchi even tried to exchange a dirty video in the first volume of the manga.

Profile

Notable Dueling Cards

Although Yugi's deck is mainly characterised by his Dark Magician (known as Black Magician in Japan), included in the Yugi Starter Deck (SDY) in North America), his deck has also prominently included the following Duel Monster cards:

• Baphomet (バフォメット Bafometto) / Beformet
• Big Shield Gardna (ビッグ・シールド・ガードナー Biggu Shīrudo Gādonā)
• Black Magician Girl (ブラック・マジシャン・ガール) / Dark Magician Girl
• Genjū'ō Gazelle (幻獣王ガゼル) / Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts
• Jishaku no Senshi α (磁石の戦士α) / Alpha the Magnet Warrior
• Jishaku no Senshi β (磁石の戦士β) / Beta the Magnet Warrior
• Jishaku no Senshi γ (磁石の戦士γ) / Gamma the Magnet Warrior
• Jishaku no Senshi Magnet Valkyrion (磁石の戦士マグネット・バルキリオン) / Valkyrion the Magna Warrior
• Kuribō (クリボー) / Kuriboh
• Osiris no Tenkūryū (オシリスの天空竜) / Slifer the Sky Dragon
• Yūyoku Genjū Chimaera (有翼幻獣キマイラ) / Chimaera the Flying Mythical Beast
• Black Magician/ Dark Magician
• The Eye of Timaeus / One of three Legendary Dragons (from the fifth season - "Waking the Dragons")