Duel Masters

Duel Masters

volume 1 cover
デュエル・マスターズ
(Dyueru Masutāzu)
Genre Fantasy, Action Adventure
Manga
Written by Shigenobu Matsumoto
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Children
Magazine CoroCoro Comic
Original run May 1999 – March 2005
Volumes 17
Anime television series
Directed by Waruo Suzuki
Studio Studio Hibari
Licensed by
Hasbro Studios
Plastic Cow Productions
Network TV Tokyo
Kids Station
English network
Original run October 21, 2002 – April 4, 2003
Episodes 26
Anime television series
Duel Masters Charge
Directed by Waruo Suzuki
Studio Studio Hibari
Licensed by
Hasbro Studios
Howling Cat Productions
Network TV Tokyo
English network
Original run April 19, 2004 – March 27, 2006
Episodes 52
Anime film
Curse of the Death Phoenix
Directed by Waruo Suzuki
Written by Satoru Nishizono
Studio Studio Hibari
Released March 12, 2005
Runtime 46 minutes
Anime television series
Duel Masters Sacred Lands
Directed by Waruo Suzuki
Studio Studio Hibari
Licensed by
Hasbro Studios
Elastic Media Corporation
Network TV Tokyo
English network
Original run March 26, 2005 – June 17, 2006
Episodes 39
Manga
Duel Masters: Fighting Edge
Written by Shigenobu Matsumoto
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Children
Magazine CoroCoro Comic
Original run April 2005 – June 2008
Volumes 12
Anime television series
Shinseiki Duel Masters Flash
Studio SynergySP, G&G Entertainment
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 10, 2006 – March 23, 2007
Episodes 24
Anime television series
Zero Duel Masters
Directed by Waruo Suzuki
Studio Nihon-Animedia
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 9, 2007 – September 28, 2007
Episodes 12
Anime television series
Duel Masters Zero
Directed by Waruo Suzuki
Studio Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment
Network TV Tokyo
Original run October 6, 2007 – March 29, 2008
Episodes 25
Anime television series
Duel Masters Cross
Directed by Waruo Suzuki
Studio Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 5, 2008 – March 27, 2010
Episodes 100 + 2 Special Episodes
Manga
Duel Masters: Star Cross
Written by Shigenobu Matsumoto
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Children
Magazine CoroCoro Comic
Original run July 2008 – March 2011
Volumes 9
Anime film
Duel Masters: Lunatic God Saga
Directed by Waruo Suzuki, Keidai Hattori
Written by Shinzo Fujita, Hideyuki Nishimori, Shigenobu Matsumoto
Studio Studio Hibari
Released September 19, 2009
Runtime 71 minutes
Anime television series
Duel Masters Cross Shock
Directed by Waruo Suzuki
Studio Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 3, 2010 – April 19, 2011
Episodes 50 + 1 Special Episode
Manga
Duel Hero: Dash
Written by Shigekatsu Ihara
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Children
Magazine CoroCoro Comic
Original run June 2010 – January 2013
Volumes 2
Anime film
Duel Masters: Honō no Kizuna XX
Directed by Tomoki Fujiwara, Hattori Megumidai
Written by Katsuro Hidaka
Studio Studio Hibari
Released August 21, 2010
Manga
Duel Masters: Legend Champion VICTORY
Written by Fujisaki Machito
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Children
Magazine CoroCoro Comic
Original run October 2010 – November 2014
Volumes 3
Anime television series
Duel Masters Victory
Studio Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 2, 2011 – March 31, 2012
Episodes 52
Manga
Duel Masters Victory
Written by Shigenobu Matsumoto
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Children
Magazine CoroCoro Comic
Original run April 2011 – April 2014
Volumes 10
Anime television series
Duel Masters Victory V
Studio Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 7, 2012 – March 30, 2013
Episodes 51
Manga
Duel Masters: Revolution
Written by Shido Kanzaki
Illustrated by Shinsuke Takahashi
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Shonen
Magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday
Original run August 2012 – October 2013
Volumes 5
Anime television series
Duel Masters Victory V3
Directed by Takao Kato
Studio Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 6, 2013 – March 29, 2014
Episodes 51
Anime television series
Duel Masters Versus
Directed by Shinobu Sasaki
Studio Ascension
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 5, 2014 – March 28, 2015
Episodes 49
Anime television series
Duel Masters Versus Revolution
Directed by Shinobu Sasaki
Studio Ascension
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 5, 2015 – March 27, 2016
Episodes 51
Anime television series
Duel Masters Versus Revolution Final
Directed by Shinobu Sasaki
Studio Ascension
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 3, 2016 – present
Episodes 31

Duel Masters (デュエル・マスターズ Dyueru Masutāzu) is a franchise based on a manga, anime and a trading card game. There is also a video game.

Plot

Shobu Kirifuda is a young boy who likes to play a card game called Duel Masters. He and a few duelists are known to bring the monsters on the cards to life in their duels. Shobu engages in this card game so that he can be the best duelist like his father was.

Characters

Main characters

Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese); Joshua Seth (Season 1), Liam O'Brien (Season 2-3) (English)
The show's protagonist and Knight's apprentice. He aspires to become a great duelist like his father, Shori Kirifuda. Shobu keeps a positive attitude throughout the series, insisting on dueling for fun as opposed to simply winning. In the first season, Shobu takes on the challenge of defeating the temple champion, Hakuoh, who he feels has become corrupt with power. Throughout this portion of the series, Shobu must defeat Hakuoh's underlings while he struggles to understand the true spirit of dueling. In his duel with Hakuoh, as Shobu faces off against the strongest of all Angel Commands, he is forced to make a crucial decision. He must either accept the help of his friends and "wind up like Ko" (Kokujo having been injured in a Kaihudo duel) or give up on his friends and "end up like Hakuoh", who had become cold and heartless. All in all Shobu is brave, strong, and has the guts never to give up, just like his favorite creatures. He uses a Fire Civilization deck which later becomes a Dragon Deck and even later evolves into a Dragon/Angel Command deck. After being defeated in a later season he loses most of his deck but is guided to his father's deck by the spirits of Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon and Bolbalzak "Sword Flash" Dragon. This new deck is a Dragon and Samurai deck. Soon after he combined elements from the 2 decks and created a Samurai Dragon/Angel Command deck (Fire, Light & Nature civilizations). As of Duel Masters Cross his main cards are: Bolmeteus "Kensei" Dragon, Bolshack Yamato Dragon, Bolbalzak "Sword Flash" Dragon and Saint Bolshack, Spiritual Dragon. After losing Saint Bolshack, Valkiryas Musashi, Ultimate Battle Dragon and Sword Flash Galaxy, Super Champ became his trump cards as well. Later, his trump card becomes Bolshack NEX. He defeated Zakira with Bolpheaus Heaven in the manga. Shobu also appeared in the anime movie "Rockman.EXE: Program Between Light and Darkness."
Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese); Joshua Seth (Season 1), Doug Erholtz (Season 3) (English)
Hakuoh is the arch rival of Shobu Kirifuda. Hakuoh came from a prominent dueling family, and specialized in Light civilization from a young age. At that time, he was a reflection of Shobu, a young kid who loved the game above all else. This changed, however, when a mysterious duelist appeared and challenged Hakuoh to his first Kaijudo duel. Unaware of the dangers involved in a Kaijudo duel, Hakuoh became overconfident and was nearly killed as a result. Instead of being crushed by his opponent's attack however, Hakuoh was pushed out of the way by his mother who was fatally wounded. Since then, Hakuoh has become a cold-hearted villain and Shobu's main rival. Hakuoh no longer sees any fun in dueling and decides that one's value as a human being is determined by their ability to win and will rest at nothing to "be the best". As a result, Hakuoh becomes a dueling champion and the leader of the White Soldiers. To protect his title, Hakuoh is protected by four Temple Guardians. Later in the series, he is challenged by Shobu Kirifuda (who Hakuoh recognizes as a reflection of his former self). As he is consumed with power, Hakuoh not only desires to defeat Shobu, but to crush him entirely and destroy his dreams of dueling. "For when I defeat you, you shall never duel again!". He proclaims himself as "a shadowy reflection" of Shobu. As the dueling intensifies, Shobu realizes the danger in abandoning his friends, as he may wind up like the heartless Hakuoh. Hakuoh is finally defeated by Shobu and later he befriends him for showing him the true nature of dueling. In Duel Masters Charge, Hakuoh allies himself with Zakira (the series' main villain) after being brainwashed into becoming his pawn, "White". In Duel Masters Zero, he becomes similar to his old self and appears to be working with Professor Machi (a mad scientist who lures duelists to a deserted island). In Duel Masters Cross, he tries to stop Zakira by challenging him to a kaijudo duel, but was defeated. Afterwards, his "White" personality overtook him once again. However, after beating Mimi in a duel, he was able to return to his old self after seeing the damage he had caused. Hakuoh uses a Light Civilization deck. In Season one, it is a mono-civilization deck focusing on a combination of Urth, Purifying Elemental, Szubs Kin Twighlight Guardian, and Dia Nork, Moonlight Guardian, with his intent on evolving Urth into Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits. This first deck relies heavily on blockers, which leaves him vulnerable to Shobu's "Scralet Skyterror." Later, in Duel Masters Cross, he is given a Light/Darkness Knight deck by Zakira. His main cards are Urth Purifying Elemental, Hanusa Radiance Elemental, Alcadies Lord of Spirits, Alphadios Lord of Spirits, King Alcadeias, Holy Gaia; Perfect Galaxy, Spirit of Immortality; and most recently, Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor.
Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio (Japanese); Micha Liberman (Season 1), Terrence Stone (Season 2), Steve Blum (Season 3) (English)
A self-proclaimed "evil genius" and another of Shobu's main rivals throughout the series. Other characters make fun of his outlandishly styled long hair and all-black leather outfit. He uses a Darkness Civilization Deck, but later on in the subsequent series, it becomes a Darkness/Water deck. He has earned the nickname "Black Death", because of his relentless tactics and masterful use of Darkness civilization. Kokujo claims to have become evil because others said he could not become a kaijudo master. In Season 2 he helps Shobu to defeat P.L.O.O.P. (once again using a mono-Darkness deck). In Season 3, he defeated Mimi but lost to Yumama in the semifinals (due to her using supernatural powers in the end to knock him unconscious). In Duel Masters Charge he helps Shobu in their quest, but still works individually. His ultimate cards are Dorballom, Lord of Demons, Ballom, Master of Death, Ballom Emperor, Lord of Demons, Ballom Monarch, the Dark Reaper King, XENOM, the Reaper King, Dark Strike, Reaper Beast, Bell Hell De Gaul, Footprint of the Reaper and most recently added, Black Ganveet, Legion of Darkness.

Shobu's family

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese); Cam Clarke (Season 1), Brahan Lee (Season 2) (English)
Shobu's father and a world famous duelist. Shori left home to continue his training, but he continued to miss his family every day. He reappeared in Season 2 but disappeared again after the defeat of P.L.O.O.P. He makes an appearance in "Duel Masters the Movie" to assist Shobu, only to disappear at its end. In Duel Masters Charge he was believed to have been dead in a Kaijudo duel protecting the "Duel Master's Proof" from Zakira. However, as revealed in Duel Masters Cross Shock, he entrusted Extreme Bucket Man with a deck case to be given to Shobu. It wasn't until later that he was discovered to be alive (only previously 'deleted') and free from exile where he reunites with his son. He plays with a deck similar to, but more advanced than Shobu's, with Bolberg Cross Dragon acting his trump card.
Voiced by: Saki Nakajima (Japanese); Cindy Robinson (Season 1), Wendee Lee (Season 3) (English)
Shobu's mother and Shori's wife. To help Shobu on different occasions, she has occasionally taken on the persona of a second "Dragon Mask" (the persona being first used by Knight) and challenged him.

Shobu's friends

Voiced by: Yuka Imai (Japanese); Alex Gold (Season 1) Sterling R. (Season 2), Brianne Siddall (Season 3) (English)
Shobu's best friend and loyal sidekick. Even though he is an expert at the rules Rekuta is a terrible duelist, often going without a single win during a tournament. He's often seen with his portable laptop to keep track of important duels. As a running joke, he is often accidentally sent flying into the air. In one instance which only occurred in the English version, he was sent flying into space (against a live-action backdrop) and crashed into a space station. He has almost every card ever released (since his father Maruo (丸雄 Maruo) owns a card shop) but cannot correctly use the cards. In the manga, his "otakudom" in card collecting often helps Shobu, or at least give him a clue or a hint towards winning a duel.
Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (Japanese); Dee Dee Green (Season 1), Peggy O'Neal (Season 2-3) (English)
Appearing only in the anime, Sayuki Manaka is another one of Shobu's close friends, who is also in his class at school. A kind girl with a sweet and usually soft-spoken disposition, she cares deeply for Shobu and is always ready to help him and comfort him when he's down. In addition, she is always present to see Shobu's matches and constantly cheers him on. Sayuki is shown to participate in duels on occasion, but is mainly there for Shobu throughout the series. In the English version, Sayuki has an attitude despite being soft-spoken, and is very critical.
Voiced by: Saki Nakajima (Japanese); Janice Kawaye (Season 1), Colleen O'Shaughnessey (Season 2-3) (English)
Another member of Shobu's posse. Mimi first appeared to be both ditzy and inept at dueling, but was later revealed to be the second of the Four Temple Guardians at the Junior Duelist Center and an expert player. Mimi also has an undisclosed amount of super-strength which enables her to bring down any walls and other obstacles as well as having good martial arts abilities. As the first season closes with the duel between Shobu and Hakuoh, Mimi reveals that Hakuoh was not always a heartless duelist and her personal connection to Hakuoh has developed into a slight crush throughout the series. She mostly uses Nature Civilization cards, but tends to use Shield Triggers from all 5 civilizations.
He is only shown in the limited edition manga as Mimi's boyfriend. He is also a ninja arts specialist.
Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese); Tim Diamond (Season 1), Joey Lotsko (Season 2), Brian Beacock (Season 3) (English)
A midget in a bear suit and is always seen sucking a pacifier and an 8-year-old boy. He rides around in a motor baby carriage and uses a Water Civilization deck, he is a skillful duelist and has even defeated Mimi (a powerful duelist in her own right) fairly easily. In Season 3, he uses a Darkness/Water deck, he also withdraws from the tournament after losing to Yumama.
Voiced by: Kan Tanaka (Japanese); Derek Stephen Prince (Season 2-3) (English)
Dr. Root is a mad scientist who is Boy George's boss and an expert duelist. Outside of that, he also a human-resembling robot named Mr. Perfect and a pilotable giant robot. His eccentric methods always have some hidden lesson to help Shobu and his friends. Dr. Root's real name is Leroy. In Duel Masters Zero, he takes charge of training Shobu and his friends. He has a deck of Survivors in season 1 and in charge he has a Darkness/Water deck similar to Boy George's deck.
NAC is a manga only character. This character is loosely based on Satoshi Nakamura (中村聡 Nakamura Satoshi), a Japanese card game player who became one of the top Magic: The Gathering players in Asia. He was involved in the making of "Duel Masters", assisting Dai Matsumoto (the manga author's nickname) as a technical advisor (the manga's plot is based around Magic: The Gathering). He has appeared in the manga both as NAC and as a more realistic cameo of himself known as "Nakamura-san". According to one of Dai Matsumoto's omake sections in the manga, NAC was also involved in the development of the Duel Masters card game.
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese); Ross Lawrence (Season 1-2), Kirk Thornton (Season 3) (English)
Knight is Shobu's mysterious and soft-spoken mentor. In the English "dub", his inner monologue is a source of much of the show's mature and subtle humor. Despite being Shobu's mentor, he is usually unable to assist his student in times of need due to either Shobu's stubborn attitude or Knight being unable to show up at the scene (such is the case in Shobu's duel with Hakuoh, when Knight reveals he never taught Shobu about dueling against the Light Civilization). Knight does not appear in the manga, although the manga character NAC is similar to him. On one occasion, Dr. Root had Knight take on a "Dragon Mask" persona to duel Shobu in order for him to reclaim his tournament pass. Knight's character is loosely based on the manga only character NAC.
Voiced by: Akiko Suzuki (Japanese); Steve Blum (English)
A short duelist who wears a bucket on his head. No one knows if Bucketman is male or female. Rekuta believes that Extreme Bucketman is annoying. Bucketman defeated Kokujo before their official match. He lost to Yumama by surrendering, and later, under Zakira's mind control, duels against Shobu. His Deck is Fire and Nature, mostly involving Earth Dragons and Firebirds. His trump card is Soul Phoenix, Avatar of Unity. In the final duel against Yumama, he gives the card to Shobu. In Duel Masters Cross, he plays a Snow Faerie and Initiate deck.

The Temple

Voiced by: Hidetoshi Nakamura
Very little is known about the leader of the "Temple" (an organization within the Junior Duelist's Center). Throughout the first season he appears in a long black, hooded robe with his face half concealed by his long blond hair. "The Master" appears as Hakuoh's teacher and dueling coach. Knight suggests that the Master has only taken an interest in Hakuoh because he plans to use the young duelist in obtaining his "revenge" against the creature world who defeated him in a duel causing him to never duel again. "Master" seems to be responsible for Hakuoh's brainwashing and even pushes Hakuoh to attack Shobu with Alcadeias after his defeat. Master disappears after Hakuoh's defeat in Season 1 and hasn't reappear since.
Voiced by: Tomohisa Asō (Japanese); Richard Steven Horvitz (English)
Fritz is a goblin who works at the Junior Duelist's Center. He is often mistakenly called a squirrel. Anyone who wants to enroll in the Junior Duelist's Center has to answer his riddles.
Voiced by: Chiyako Shibahara (Japanese); Jay Lerner (Season 1), R. Martin Klein (Season 3) (English)
A midget who is the former gatekeeper of the Junior Duelist Center and part of an organization known as the White Soldiers (白い騎士団 Shiroi Kishidan, lit. "White Knights"). He was discharged by Hakuoh after losing to Shobu (who he had quickly befriended). Nobody knows how old he is and he often carries around a man-purse and an abacus. Kintaro returned in Season Three, having regained Hakuoh's friendship. He lost to Extreme Bucketman in the finals.

Temple Guardians

The Temple Guardians are the elite members of the White Soldiers that work under Hakuoh.

Voiced by: Koichi Sakaguchi (Japanese); Udel R. Deet (Season 1), Paul St. Peter (Season 3) (English)
The first of the Four Temple Guardians (四天衆 Shi Tenshū). He uses a Fire deck, and during his duel with Shobu he purposely mimicked everything he did in order to throw him off. Mikuni managed to defeat Shobu, but Mimi managed to convince the Master to invite Shobu to try again in a duel against Mikuni. He is defeated by Shobu the second time around and thus he quickly befriends him. Due to his defeat at the hands of Shobu, Hakuoh ends up discharging Mikuni. He resurfaces in Season Three having regained Hakouh's friendship. He lost to Robby Rotten, where his name mysteriously changed to Johnny Coolburns. It was later "explained" that this and other plot holes in the show were due to Season Three happening in an alternate dimension.
See Mimi Tasogare
Voiced by: Katsuya Shiga (Japanese); Kerrigan Mahan (Season 1), Michael Sorich (Season 3) (English)
The third of the Four Temple Guardians. In the English dub, Benny is Mimi's "twin brother" where he had different plastic surgeries to look older where he claims that he is one minute older than Mimi. Benny is often seen piloting a robot suit and first appears where he destroys Mimi's access card upon her defeat and wrecks her deck. He often cheats and relies on deceit in his duels. His constant defeat at the hands of the series' heroes has led him to hate both Shobu and Hakuoh. Benny returns in Season Three claiming to have turned over a new leaf, but this is quickly revealed to be an act. Benny forces Hakuoh into dueling before their match in a self-made Duel Masters Battle Arena by taking Aizen and Johnny Coolburns as hostage. As each of Hakuoh's shields are broken, Benny shocks his prisoners with a hidden trap, as a part of his plan to torture Hakuoh by harming his friends. As a result, Hakuoh vows to defeat Benny without losing any more shields, and agrees to forfeit if another one of his shields is broken in order to spare his friends. Hakuoh manages to complete the "perfect duel" and defeat Benny despite his many attempts to cheat. Afterward, Benny detonates a bomb beneath the stadium and seriously injures Hakuoh so that he is unable to duel him the next morning. With Hakuoh eliminated, he ends up dueling Shobu again and loses. It is revealed that he is also working with Yumama. After he lost to Shobu, Benny was banished by Yumama and trapped in a room with Boy George which they both escaped in the same episode. He uses a Water Civilization Deck and later a Wave Striker Deck during his tournament match with Shobu.
Voiced by: Yoshinori Fujita (Japanese); Brian Beacock (Season 3) (English)
The fourth of the Four Temple Guardians who also worked as the Temple's janitor. He was defeated by Kyoshiro Kokujo before he could fight Shobu. He also lost to Hakuoh in Duel Masters Battle Arena Tournament. In the later season, he is shown to be using a Fire/Light Civilization deck. His trump card appears to be Warlord Aizonius.

P.L.O.O.P.

Short for Powerful Loyal Order of Princes, P.L.O.O.P. is an evil organization that plot to use monsters from the Civilizations of the Creature World to take over Earth. This organization is seen only in the "second season" that was created for America. Among the known members are:

Voiced by: Jamieson Price
Shobu encountered him in the Light Civilization.
Shobu encountered him in the Water Civilization.
She is a minor P.L.O.O.P. member who Shobu encountered in the Nature Civilization and works with Prince Wilbur the Great. She first appeared in Logville Village where she dueled against Shobu and lost. Princess Pollyana helped Prince Wilbur to capture Master Pangaea. She dueled against Flora (whose father was captured by Pollyana and Wilbur) and lost to her.
Shobu encountered him in the Nature Civilization.
Voiced by: Roger Craig Smith
Shobu encountered him in the Darkness Civilization.
Voiced by: Bob Papenbrook
He is a minor PLOOP member who Shobu encountered at the gates of the Fire Civilization.
Voiced by: Bob Papenbrook
Shobu encountered him in the Fire Civilization. Eugene used to be a dueling champ in the good world and that he even beat Knight in the Season Two episode "Deck Me Baby One More Time." Knight and Eugene meet and Knight explains what happened. Eugene also says "I used to duel for trophies. Now I duel for money."

Black Soldiers

The Black Soldiers are a group of duelists that are the opposite form of Hakuoh's White Soldiers. Most of the Black Soldiers consists of duelists that were unable to defeat Hakuoh when wanting to become a member of the White Soldiers. They entered the Battle Arena Tournament to beat all of its players. After the defeat of most of the Black Soldier, most of the unnamed members left the group when Yumama came into view. Besides its various unnamed members, among its known members are:

Voiced by: Yuri Lowenthal
Leader of the Black Soldiers. He wanted to be a member of Hakouh's White Soldiers, but was denied membership even when he had defeated Mikuni. He formed the Black Soldiers so that he can duel Hakuoh. Unfortunately for him, he was defeated by Shobu and was last seen being interrogated by Yumama about Shobu.
Voiced by: Derek Stephen Prince
Member of the Black Soldiers and Robby Rotten's right-hand man. He is the strongest of the Black Soldiers. Akakan was defeated by Boy George.
Voiced by: Derek Stephen Prince
Member of the Black Soldiers. He likes to tell long stories and confuse his opponent before the duel while shuffling his deck. Akakan was defeated by Mimi.
Member of the Black Soldiers. Ishiguro had previously wanted to meet Hakuoh when he was a student of the Temple. He defeated most of the Temple's students in a duel, but lost to Mikuni (who admitted that his duel against Ishiguro was tough). He joined up with the Black Soldiers in order to duel Hakuoh and took part in the Battle Arena Tournament. Ishiguro was defeated in a duel by Hakuoh who acknowledges Ishiguro as a strong duelist.

Other antagonists

Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura (Japanese); Michelle Ruff (English)
A mysterious girl who can duel and read a book at the same time. She has the ability to stand on the ceiling and is commonly seen reading her teen heart throb book, filled with 400 pages of pictures of cute boys, although towards the end of the third season, she discovers that the pages are really blank. She defeated Boy George, Yuki and Kokujo right before they were supposed to duel making her win instantly. She was a childhood friend of Extreme Bucketman. While she appears to be the cause of all the disruption in the tournament, she is really a pawn of her malicious older brother, Zakira. After she is released, she becomes an ally of Shobu, along with Bucketman. While brainwashed, her trump cards are Cruel Naga, Avatar of Fate and Super Necrodragon Abzo Dolba. In Duel Masters Cross her deck contains all 5 civilizations and is focused on creatures who have the following effect: "If this card is discarded during your opponent's turn, you may put this card into the Battle Zone instead of the Graveyard". Afterwards, she changes her deck into a Light, Water and Darkness civilization deck based on the Knight race using Brunhilde, Ghost Knight and Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor as her trump cards.
Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto
The main antagonist of both the third season, Duel Masters Charge and the Duel Master Cross series. An evil duelist, the nemesis of Shobu's father, and the one controlling Yumama, who is his younger sister, from the start. His goal is to obtain the "Duel Master's Proof" and use it for his evil means. He has multiple agents working under him, and operates from a large castle. His agents are ranked in terms of increasing power from A-Z (Z being himself). He uses a combination of Fire, Darkness and Water cards (most of his creatures are Zombie Dragons) with his deck being focused on sending cards to the graveyard (his and his opponent's), sometimes outright destroying them, and benefiting from it. Later in the series he changes his deck to a Darkness/Light Knight deck, his main trump cards being Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, Death Romanoff the 5th, General of the Demonic Eye, King Balcry, Demonic Eye Lord and Supernova Death Dragerion.
Voiced by: Chihiro Suzuki
A character introduced in Duel Masters Zero who is the most recent antagonist. He invited Shobu and his friends to a tournament on an uncharted island, but it was really a trap. After kidnapping Dr. Root, he forces Shobu, Mimi, and George to duel his associates.
A character introduced in Duel Masters Zero who is the current Duel Master Champion of the world. Darcy was once an apprentice to Professor March. Zakira is challenged by Darcy in one of the final episodes.
Voiced by: Chihiro Suzuki
Originally appears in Zero Duel Masters as Shobu's newest rival. He starts out as a subordinate of Professir March but in Duel Masters Cross, he joins Shobu and the others in their struggle against Zakira.

Minor characters

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese); Cam Clarke (English)
A 17-year-old guy who dueled Shobu in Episode 8. He was a student at the Junior Duelist's Center. He lost and they became friends. He uses a Water and Nature Civilization Deck.
Voiced by: Yoshinori Fujita (Japanese); David Jeremiah (Season 1), Charlie Cooke (Season 2) (English)
A red-haired boy who enjoys cheating in his duels. He was a student at the Junior Duelist's Center. He lost every time when he dueled Shobu. He told Shobu lots of interesting stories and he danced the Viper's Dance. He never hesitates to cheat yet he keeps on losing to Shobu.
A squirrel-faced short boy on stilts and older brother of Takeshi Saroyama.
Tsuyoshi's tall and muscular "little brother."
The leader of an afro-themed dojo. In the episode "Frotime," Mimi had to duel him in order to reclaim her tournament pass which was given to him by Dr. Root.
Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama
The leader of a dojo for baby duelists. In the episode "Frotime," Boy George had to duel him to reclaim his tournament pass which was given to him by Dr. Root. Master Yuki defeated him, but lost in a rematch. He later appeared in the finals of the tournament where he lost to Yumama.

Media

Manga

The Duel Masters manga are written by Shigenobu Matsumoto, and published by Shogakukan in the CoroCoro Comic magazine. The manga series has not been licensed for the U.S., although there has been a North American created comic book by Dreamwave Productions. There are no plans for the Japanese manga to be acquired by any U.S. publishing company.

The first manga series of Duel Masters ran from 1999 to 2005 (17 volumes), followed by Duel Masters: Fighting Edge from 2005 to 2008 (12 volumes), Duel Masters Star Cross from 2008 to 2011 (9 volumes) and Duel Masters Victory from 2011 to 2014 (10 volumes).

There is also spinoff manga unrelated to the main series such as Duel Hero:Dash (2 volumes), Duel Masters: Legend Champion VICTORY (3 volumes), The Story of Duel Masters (2 volumes), and Duel Masters: Revolution (5 volumes).

Volumes

No.Release date ISBN
1 November 27, 1999ISBN 978-4091425843
2 May 27, 2000ISBN 978-4091425850
3 October 28, 2000ISBN 978-4091425867
4 April 26, 2001ISBN 978-4091425874
5 October 27, 2001ISBN 978-4091425881
6 March 28, 2002ISBN 978-4091425898
7 June 28, 2002ISBN 978-4091425904
8 September 28, 2002ISBN 978-4091426086
9 December 25, 2002ISBN 978-4091426093
10 April 28, 2003ISBN 978-4091426109
11 July 28, 2003ISBN 978-4091431110
12 October 28, 2003ISBN 978-4091431127
13 February 28, 2004ISBN 978-4091431134
14 May 28, 2004ISBN 978-4091431141
15 August 27, 2004ISBN 978-4091431158
16 November 26, 2004ISBN 978-4091431165
17 May 28, 2005ISBN 978-4091431172

Anime

The first TV series originally premiered in Japan on October 21, 2002 and ran until April 4, 2003. The story centers around the card game Duel Masters, which revolves around five civilizations consisting of Fire, Water, Light, Darkness and Nature.

The English-language version of the series was produced by Hasbro Studios and Plastic Cow Productions and made a truncated three-episode preview premiere on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on February 27, 2004. The episodes then made their "official" premiere on April 13, 2004, on CN's Toonami spinoff block, the Saturday Video Entertainment System (SVES) with fewer edits as well as episodes 4 and 5. Toonami then moved to Saturdays and premiered the rest of the series.

The second season was produced by Hasbro Studios and Elastic Media Corporation and premiered on March 26, 2005. The "Sacred Lands" or "P.L.O.O.P." storyline is not based on the manga and was created specifically for the American market. The third season, with a tournament storyline, began production in September 2005 and was produced by Howling Cat Productions. In the UK, Duel Masters aired on Toonami.

The Japanese version has a separate second series entitled Duel Masters Charge, which mostly based on the manga. Duel Masters Charge was eventually produced for the American market as "Duel Masters 2.0", although only the 1st half was aired. Eventually, a Japanese third season premiered in Japan entitled "Shinseiki Duel Masters Flash", followed by "Zero Duel Masters", "Duel Masters Zero", "Duel Masters Cross", "Duel Masters Cross Shock" "Duel Masters Victory",[1] "Duel Masters Victory V", "Duel Masters Victory V3", "Duel Masters Versus", and "Duel Masters Versus Revolution". However, the American version has ended, and thus these seasons will not be produced for the American market. Although the series did not air again in Hub Network to avoid confusion between the show and its American-produced series Kaijudo, Hasbro has placed several clips of the series on their YouTube channel and it is available on Tubi TV.

Episode list

# Title Original airdate (Japan) Original airdate (US)
1 "This is a duel!" ("Playing with a Full Deck")
"Kore ga Dyueru da!" (これがデュエルだ!) 		October 21, 2002 (2002-10-21)March 13, 2004
2 "A Stealthy Shadow" ("It's Not Easy Being Green")
"Shinobi Yoru Kage" (忍びよる影) 		October 28, 2002 (2002-10-28)March 20, 2004
3 "The Dark Challenger" ("Toru, Toru, Toru, Part 1")
"Ankoku no Chōsen-sha" (暗黒の挑戦者) 		November 4, 2002 (2002-11-04)March 27, 2004
4 "Aim for Victory!" ("Toru, Toru, Toru, Part 2")
"Shōri wo Mezase!" (勝利を目指せ!) 		November 11, 2002 (2002-11-11)April 3, 2004
5 "At the Battle Arena" ("I'll Be a Monkey's Brother")
"Batoru Arīna e" (バトルアリーナへ) 		November 18, 2002 (2002-11-18)April 10, 2004
6 "Hakuoh, Miracle Duel" ("Wok on the Wildside")
"Hakuō, Kiseki no Deyueru" (白凰、奇跡のデュエル) 		November 25, 2002 (2002-11-25)April 17, 2004
7 "The Beautiful Snake's Trap" ("White Boys Can't Charm")
"Hebi Bira no Wana" (蛇美羅の罠) 		December 2, 2002 (2002-12-02)April 24, 2004
8 "Fierce Battle! Evolution Creature" ("Duels of the Futures Past")
"Gekitō! Shinka Kurīchā" (激闘!進化クリーチャー) 		December 9, 2002 (2002-12-09)May 1, 2004
9 "At the Temple" ("A Goblin Shall Lead Them")
"Shinden e" (神殿へ) 		December 16, 2002 (2002-12-16)May 8, 2004
10 "A New Trump Card" ("Shobu Gets Decked")
"Arata Naru Kirifuda" (新たなる切り札) 		December 23, 2002 (2002-12-23)May 15, 2004
11 "Mana the Man Manipulator" ("Ballad of Kintaro, Part One")
"Mana wo Ayatsuru Otoko" (マナをあやつる男) 		December 30, 2002 (2002-12-30)May 22, 2004
12 "They're Name is The Imperial Four!" ("Ballad of Kintaro, Part Two")
"Sono Na wa Shitenshū!" (その名は四天衆!) 		January 6, 2003 (2003-01-06)May 29, 2004
13 "Speed VS Speed" ("Looney Mikuni, Part One")
"Sokkō Tai Sokkō" (速攻VS速攻) 		January 13, 2003 (2003-01-13)June 5, 2004
14 "A Blazing Turnaround" ("Looney Mikuni, Part Two")
"Honō no Dai Gyakuten" (炎の大逆転) 		January 20, 2003 (2003-01-20)June 12, 2004
15 "Tasogare of the Imperial Four" ("A Strange Twist of Fate")
"Tasogare no Shitenshū" (黄昏の四天衆) 		January 27, 2003 (2003-01-27)June 19, 2004
16 "Mimi's Decision" ("Yes, Master")
"Mimi no Ketsui" (ミミの決意) 		February 3, 2003 (2003-02-03)June 26, 2004
17 "The Worst Duelist Ever" ("Oh Brother, Where Art Thou")
"Saitei no Deyuerisuto" (最低のデュエリスト) 		February 10, 2003 (2003-02-10)July 3, 2004
18 "An Approaching Shadow" ("Cable Guy")
"Semari Kuru Kage" (迫り来る影) 		February 17, 2003 (2003-02-17)July 10, 2004
19 "Laughing Death" ("Once More With Feeling")
"Warau Shinigami" (笑う死神) 		February 24, 2003 (2003-02-24)July 17, 2004
20 "Activate! Duel of Truth" ("Kokujo Fights Back")
"Hatsudō! Shin no Deyueru" (発動!真のデュエル) 		March 3, 2003 (2003-03-03)July 24, 2004
21 "Showdown!" ("The One Where Shobu Duels Hakuoh")
"Kessen!" (決戦!) 		March 10, 2003 (2003-03-10)July 31, 2004
22 "Final Trump Card" ("Just Duel It")
"Saigo no Kirifuda" (最後の切り札) 		March 17, 2003 (2003-03-17)August 7, 2004
23 "A New Challenger" ("The Crying Game")
"Arata Naru Chōsen-sha" (新たなる挑戦者) 		March 24, 2003 (2003-03-24)August 14, 2004
24 "Duelist Killer" ("Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?")
"Deyuerisuto Kirā" (デュエリストキラー) 		March 31, 2003 (2003-03-31)August 21, 2004
25 "Shobu, Falls into the Sunset" ("Something Wacky This Way Comes")
"Shōbu, Yūhi ni Chiru" (勝舞、夕日に散る) 		April 4, 2003 (2003-04-04)August 28, 2004
26 "Revive, Shobu!" ("What's A Mana with You?")
"Yomigaere, Shōbu!" (よみがえれ、勝舞!) 		April 4, 2003 (2003-04-04)September 4, 2004

Duel Masters Sacred Lands

# Title Original airdate (US)
1"Atta Boy, George"March 26, 2005 (2005-03-26)
2"Break On Through to the Other Side"April 2, 2005 (2005-04-02)
3"The Duel Goes Ever, Ever On"April 9, 2005 (2005-04-09)
4"Enemy, Mine"April 16, 2005 (2005-04-16)
5"Win, Lose, or Draw"April 23, 2005 (2005-04-23)
6"Go Towards the Light"April 30, 2005 (2005-04-30)
7"The Lights Are on But Nobody's Home"May 7, 2005 (2005-05-07)
8"If Ever A Quiz There Was"May 21, 2005 (2005-05-21)
9"Duel or Alive"May 28, 2005 (2005-05-28)
10"Water You Waiting For?"June 4, 2005 (2005-06-04)
11"Nature Calls, Part 1"June 11, 2005 (2005-06-11)
12"Nature Calls, Part 2"June 18, 2005 (2005-06-18)
13"All Natural"August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12)
14"Tournament Is Fair Play"September 24, 2005 (2005-09-24)
15"In Deep Duel Duel"October 8, 2005 (2005-10-08)
16"The Overlook Hotel"October 10, 2005 (2005-10-10)
17"Desert Storm"October 15, 2005 (2005-10-15)
18"Wonderfalls"October 29, 2005 (2005-10-29)
19"Creatures Of The Night"November 5, 2005 (2005-11-05)
20"Quest for Fire"December 3, 2005 (2005-12-03)
21"Deck Me Baby, One More Time"December 10, 2005 (2005-12-10)
22"One For The Mana, Duel For The Show"December 17, 2005 (2005-12-17)
23"Do That Duel You Duel So Well"January 7, 2006 (2006-01-07)
24"Boy Meets Duel"January 14, 2006 (2006-01-14)
25"Man In The Mirror"January 21, 2006 (2006-01-21)
26"Who Turned Out All The Lights"January 28, 2006 (2006-01-28)
27"Showdown!"February 4, 2006 (2006-02-04)
28"Babytalk"February 11, 2006 (2006-02-11)
29"Fourscore"February 18, 2006 (2006-02-18)
30"Frotime"February 25, 2006 (2006-02-25)
31"Duelusional"March 4, 2006 (2006-03-04)
32"Duel-ercise"March 11, 2006 (2006-03-11)
33"Triple-Threat"April 29, 2006 (2006-04-29)
34"Surprise!"May 6, 2006 (2006-05-06)
35"Cheatery"May 13, 2006 (2006-05-13)
36"Makeover"May 20, 2006 (2006-05-20)
37"Switcharoo"May 27, 2006 (2006-05-27)
38"Creeptastic"June 10, 2006 (2006-06-10)
39"Finalitousness"June 17, 2006 (2006-06-17)

Trading card game

The card game first originated in Japan and was marketed by Takara Tomy. It was produced in English by Wizards of the Coast, who purchased the rights to the name Duel Masters from Reality Simulations, Inc., which ran a play-by-mail gladiator game called Duelmasters, now known as Duel2. The English-language printing of the TCG ran from DM-01 Base Set (May 5, 2004) until DM-12 Thrash of the Hybrid Megacreatures (November 2006). It was the twelfth and final expansion released by Wizards of the Coast for the English-language game before it was discontinued in 2006.

The spin-off product Kaijudo (as well as the animated series Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters, which premiered in June 2012 on The Hub in the United States) was announced by Wizards of the Coast on February 2012. A relaunch of the TCG product line with Wizards of the Coast working along with its parent company Hasbro. It was released on June 26, 2012, with the previous Duel Master cards being rendered incompatible. Wizards of the Coast discontinued Kaijudo in 2014 without citing any specific reasons.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Duel Masters Victory Video Anime Launches". Anime News Network. April 1, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
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