It’s hard to believeYu-Gi-Oh!is now 25 years old. What began as a niche manga about games has become one of the most recognizable franchises in anime, with generations of fans growing up alongside the series. Fromthe original Duel Monstersto the wild energy ofGo Rush!!, each entry has introduced new ideas while retaining the show’s signature heart.
But how did a show about a card game become a worldwide hit? According to one man who’s been there since the beginning, the answer lies in the battles themselves, and the drama hidden within every draw.
From Manga to Global Phenomenon
Building Duels from the Ground Up
Yu-Gi-Oh!first appeared inShōnen Jumpin 1996, the creation ofmanga artist Kazuki Takahashi. The early chapters featured a variety of games, but it was Duel Monsters that struck a chord. Konami launched a real-world trading card game based on it, and in 2000 the anime adaptationYu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monstershit Japanese airwaves.
The English dub arrived in 2001 via 4Kids Entertainment and soon became a staple of Saturday morning TV.TheYu-Gi-Oh!card game exploded in popularity, with tournaments held worldwideand the anime helping cement the franchise as a multi-generational juggernaut.
Masahiro Hikokubo has been scripting duels since 1999, and he never expected it would turn into a lifelong job. After being spotted playing cards at work, he was recruited to help bring Takahashi’s manga to life using real card game rules. Twenty-five years later,he’s written over 500 duels and helped develop some of theYu-Gi-Oh!most iconic mechanics. “I never imagined it would last this long,”he says in a new interviewpublished earlier this year.
“Even now, I’m still excited to figure out what kind of story a duel can tell. That’s what keeps the fans coming back.”
- Masahiro Hikokubo
When Masahiro Hikokubo joined theYu-Gi-Oh!team in late 1999, the assignment was simple: translate the manga’s duel sequences into something that worked with the real-life card game. But it wasn’t just about rules. “At first, I read through the original manga and used the cards that had been released to build out the duels,” he recalls.
The job involved merging narrative flair with gameplay logic, a balancing act that became the basis for every series that followed. Even early on, Hikokubo understood that a good duel had to reveal character, not just strategy.
From Duel Monsters to GX and Beyond
Speed, Dimensions, and Digital Evolution
AsDuel Monstersended,Yu-Gi-Oh! GXbegan with an entirely original story. Set at Duel Academy, every episode featured a match between students, and Hikokubo had to map out each character’s deck. “The deck reflects a duelist’s identity,” he explains. “So should we build the character first, or the deck? Or maybe start with the duel itself?”
Collaborating closely with the anime’s director and writers, he even helped introduce fusion summoning. It was a creative breakthrough, and the show’s mix of light-hearted energy and emotional growth made it a fan favorite.
As theYu-Gi-Oh!series evolved, each new show added unique systems.5D’sintroduced Riding Duels using D-Wheels, andVRAINStook place in a VR space with speed duels. “For5D’s, Kazuki Takahashi said, ‘Speed itself is magic,’ so we minimized the use of spell cards,” Hikokubo says.
ARC-Vupped the stakes by combining multiple dimensions, each with its own summoning method. Hikokubo had to juggle pendulum values, stats, and legacy monsters across timelines. “There was a huge amount of information to manage,” he says, but the thrill of building new mechanics kept things fresh.
Crafting Kid-Friendly Chaos
A Towering Duel That Still Resonates
WithSEVENS, the series changed gears again. The story followed elementary schoolers and introduced Rush Duels, a simplified, fast-paced format. “You draw until you have five cards, so it’s best to use everything you’ve got,” Hikokubo explains. The show encouraged bold plays and quick thinking, emphasizing fun over complexity.
Then cameGo Rush!!, which took the duels into space. “The protagonist didn’t understand the rules at first, so we made the early duels super simple. But we kept stacking more ideas as the episodes went on,” Hikokubo says with a laugh.
Looking back, one duel stands out the most. “It’s thematch between Kaiba and Yugi at the Duel Tower,” Hikokubo says. He worked closely with writer Shin Yoshida to expand the original manga storyline and build out the emotional impact.
“That one had real weight to it,” he reflects. “It gave me a sense of fulfillment and motivation to keep going.” While many duels added original twists or characters, this one solidified the formula: duels as character drama, where the stakes are emotional as much as tactical.
Finding New Fans in Unexpected Places
Celebrate the Duel That Never Ends
Acrosseight series and over 1200 episodes,Hikokubo estimates he’s scripted around 500Yu-Gi-Oh!duels. Each new iteration of the series reflects changing values, technologies, and storytelling styles.
Whether on bikes, in virtual reality, or across dimensions, the heart ofYu-Gi-Oh!remains unchanged: duels that reveal who the characters truly are. “Even if you’ve been away for years,” he says, “there’s always something new to discover. And sometimes, even adults get drawn back in.”
Masahiro Hikokubo has helped defineYu-Gi-Oh!for a quarter of a century, and his duels have shaped the way generations see strategy, drama, and character. His creative fingerprints are on every phase of the franchise: from fusion monsters to Rush Duel chaos.
AsYu-Gi-Oh!continues into its next era, Hikokubo’s story reminds us thatbehind every card is a story, and behind every story is a person making the pieces fit. So, whether you’re a new fan or returning after years, now’s the time to celebrate 25 years of summoning, strategizing, and shouting, “It’s time to duel!”
