Yu-Gi-Oh!: 10 Best Battles In The Anime Series, Ranked

The series Yu-Gi-Oh! is beloved in the anime community and beyond with millions of fans around the world. Many people grew up watching Yugi Moto and his friends Joey, Tea and Tristan battle it out in “Duel Monsters” against his rival Seto Kaiba and other powerful duelists as the anime series went on.

The show has an incredible cast of different characters who each have their themed deck of cards, which normally says something about their personality, and made each duel enthralling or left the viewer wanting. There were many duels in Yu-Gi-Oh! and some were simply just better than others.

10 Yugi Vs. Kaiba

This was the first duel you witness on the show and it’s the first of many duels between Yugi and Kaiba. In the battle, viewers experience the duel monsters come to life as a hologram in an enthralling battle, which was exciting in itself but besides that revelation, viewers also see what would become fan favorites in “Blue-Eyes White Dragon” and “Dark Magician.” The battle is ended with Yugi drawing “Exodia the Forbidden One” and having the rest of the pieces in his hand to automatically win the game and obliterate Seto Kaiba.

9 Yugi Vs. Pegasus

Yugi faces Pegasus in the final duel of the ”Duelist Kingdom” and has a lot to do to win this battle. Pegasus can use his Millennium Eye and read Yugi’s thoughts while they are battling which makes things incredibly hard for Yugi to come up with a strategy to win this duel. Yugi and Yami Yugi eventually devise a plan to defeat Pegasus and leave him unable to read Yugi’s thoughts which they take full advantage of before Pegasus sends their battle to the Shadow Realm.

8 Joey Vs. Marik

Joey and Marik face each other in the Battle City arc, and it was one to behold. Joey who was always seen as a lesser duelist in the show ups his play in this struggle and fans got to see just how good Joey really was at dueling. This battle was a shadow game and the loser had their mind sent to the Shadow Realm. At the close of this hard-fought match, it seemed that Joey was going to win but unfortunately could not declare an attack due to the damage he had taken and lost by default.

7 Joey Vs. Mai Valentine

In this duel, viewers see Joey and Mai Valentine. Mai sees Joey as a weak duelist and decides to challenge him thinking it will be an easy win, just to make sure she also has her cards scented with perfume so she can tell which card is which without looking at them and tells Joey and his friends that it’s her sixth sense.

Although Mai viewed herself as the stronger duelist and resorted to cheap tricks to win she was unable to and Joey walked away with the win thanks to his “Time Wizard” card and “Baby Dragon” turning into “Thousand Dragon.”

6 Yugi Vs. Marik

This was the final duel of the Battle City arc with high stakes between Yugi and Marik and is a Shadow Game meaning that whoever loses will be sent to the Shadow Realm. A battle of Egyptian Gods that put their lives on the line, this was an exciting contest. The two duelists incorporated great strategy and kept the match intriguing with each twist and turn as it wore on. This was a fight that had every fan on the edge of their seat.

5 Yugi Vs. Bakura

This duel between Yugi and Yami Bakura was the quarterfinal leading to Yugi against Marik. Yugi was one turn away from losing this battle to Yami Bakura but managed to avoid defeat by summoning “Slifer the Sky Dragon” god card for the first time. Yami Bakura tried to escape defeat by letting the real Bakura take over his body, forcing Yugi to surrender since he did not want to hurt the real Bakura. Yami Bakura eventually decided against it as he could not risk Bakura, his host, dying and surrendered to Yugi.

4 Joey Vs. Yugi

Joey and Yugi face each other in the finals of Duelist Kingdom, both fighting for different reasons. Joey was fighting so that he could win the prize money to pay for an operation that his sister Serenity needed while Yugi wanted to win so that he could face Pegasus and free the souls of his grandfather and the Kaiba brothers. A duel between best friends both wanting to win, it was a duel that was always going to excite the fans.

3 Joey Vs. Weevil

Joey hoping to get another win under his belt in the Battle City tournament decides to challenge Weevil after a kid claims that Weevil stole his deck, unbeknownst to Joey however the kid is working with Weevil.

Weevil wants to raise the stakes after Joey challenges him to a duel, so he states that they will duel for their rarest card and two locator cards. Thanks to Weevil’s wager, Joey not only walks away with his “Insect Queen,” but also with both locator cards knocking Weevil out of the tournament.

2 Yugi Vs. Kaiba

This duel was a rematch that everyone was waiting for which took place during the Battle City arc and was the semi-final. Each duelist had an Egyptian god card that they were not only using but wagering too. An exciting battle between two rivals, this was a duel that every fan had their eyes glued on with some rooting for Seto Kaiba and others for Yugi Moto.

1 Yugi Vs. Atem

A battle that by the end had everyone watching in tears, this was the final duel. This match takes place between Yugi Moto and Pharaoh Atem to determine the fate of the Pharaoh. A duel where Yugi managed to defeat all three God cards and cement himself as the “King of Games,” is also one where Yugi had to put his feelings aside and defeat Atem in order to set the Pharaoh free and in doing so say goodbye to a friend.

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