Yu-Gi-Oh! (manga)/Recap/Original/Duel 1 The Puzzle of the Gods

""There is a history of games. Game history is interwoven with human history, starting in the Egyptian empire five thousand years ago. Ancient games foretold the future for citizens and kings. As games were played, fate was decided in magical ceremonies. These were called "the Shadow Games"."

After this Opening Narration, shown over a nice Egyptian style image of Anubis challenging someone to a game involving a knife, along with a certain golden pyramid-shaped thing with an eye on it, we cut to a modern Japanese high school, where the class is going to go play basketball- except for our hero, Yugi Mutou, who isn't feeling very athletic and decides to stay inside playing Pop-up Pirate with himself- he doesn't have anyone else to play with. He then decides he'll finish that today, and brings out a small box with hieroglyphs on it. He tells the readers a riddle: the treasure inside the box is "something that you see, but have never seen before". Before he can open the box, however, it's snapped up by one of Yugi's classmates, Hiroto Honda, who's arrived along with Katsuya Jonouchi. They have no idea what Yugi's talking about, and throw the box back and forth to each other (while not saying ""We're tormenting yoooou!"... though they're clearly thinking it.) Jonouchi, wanting to teach Yugi to be a man, dares Yugi to fight him for the box, but Yugi adamantly refuses, yelling that he hates fighting. Jonouchi decides to look in the box, but thinks the contents are "dumb" and tosses it to Honda- but it's intercepted by a girl, Anzu Mazaki, a childhood friend of Yugi's, who chases Jonouchi and Honda off and returns the box to Yugi.

The two talk for a bit. Anzu mentions that she left the basketball court because all the boys were looking up the girls' skirts while they were making shots, leading to a brief fantasy by Yugi. Then, Yugi shows Anzu the contents of the box- a golden puzzle, in pieces. He doesn't know what it looks like finished, only in pieces, which makes it "something you see, but have never seen before". He explains that he found it in the back of a shelf in his family's game shop, and calls it a "memento of his grandfather"; Anzu is shocked, and thinks that Yugi's grandfather being dead makes the puzzle special indeed. Yugi further explains that the puzzle was found in an Egyptian ruin, and thinks that the hieroglyphs on it say something about granting a wish to the one who solves it (specifically referencing Dragonball). But, Yugi's been working on the puzzle for eight years and hasn't yet solved it. Anzu gives Yugi some encouraging words, then asks him what his wish is- Yugi replies that it's a secret.

We then rejoin Jonouchi and Honda, complaining about Anzu's treatment and how she referred to them as bullies (though Honda seems to accept the label). They soon run into a hall monitor, Ushio- Jonouchi seems to want to stand up to him but Honda quickly covers his mouth and warns him of how dangerous he is. After this, Honda complains about how life is dull, but Jonouchi reveals that he has something interesting- a piece of Yugi's puzzle, which he promptly throws out the window into a nearby swimming pool. The puzzle piece sinks to the bottom as the two leave.

After school Yugi is heading home, looking forward to finishing the puzzle, when he's stopped by Ushio, who inquires about the bullying incident, and says he's going to be Yugi's bodyguard. Yugi insists that nothing's going on and leaves.

At the family game shop, Yugi is met by Anzu, as well as his grandfather Sugoroku- seeing him alive and well freaks Anzu out- Yugi explains that when he said the puzzle was a memento, he meant it was going to be a memento. Sugoroku starts inspecting Anzu and her breasts, while Yugi heads up to his room to work on the puzzle. Sugoroku tells him that the puzzle is "beyond human understanding" and that it was found at the beginning of the century by a team of British archaeologists, and that those who found it later died mysterious deaths, and the last words of the last member were "the Shadow Games". Anzu is scared but Yugi is even more excited by the idea of "Shadow Games". Sugoroku then says that the hieroglyphs on the box say that the solver will gain "the powers and knowledge of darkness". Yugi and Sugoroku fight over the puzzle for a bit before Yugi takes it to his room and works on it- he gets stuck, then falls asleep.

The next day, Yugi is again alone in the classroom when Ushio comes in and brings Yugi outside, where he is distraught to find that Ushio has beaten up Jonouchi and Honda. Ushio claims to have taught the bullies a lesson they won't forget, but Yugi protests. Ushio continues to kick them around until Yugi defends them, even as Ushio gives him the chance to attack them himself. Yugi says he can't do that to his friends, and that they were teaching him to be a man, not picking on him. Ushio says Yugi still has to pay 200,000 yen for bodyguard charges. Yugi continues standing up for the others and says Ushio should hurt him instead, which he does. Jonouchi wonders why Yugi is going so far to protect them rather than staying quiet; Yugi thinks that he wished on the puzzle for friends who could count on him. At the end of the beating Ushio says he should bring the 200,000 yen or else he'll be given more pain- Ushio produces a knife to back up his threat. Yugi wonders what to do against such a strong opponent.

That night at home Yugi counts his money- 1,656 yen. While worrying, he starts idly working on the puzzle, finding that it helps him feel better. He soon finds that it's much easier than it has been before, until finally, he only has one piece left. Of course, the piece isn't in the box. He searches his whole room but can't find it, and cries out that he'll never get his wish... until Sugoroku enters, marveling that Yugi solved the puzzle. Yugi says that he couldn't finish it, but Sugoroku says he should have more faith, and presents... the missing piece. He says that "a friend" (Jonouchi, though he doesn't say it) came by and asked him to give the piece to Yugi- he was soaking wet. Sugoroku then gives Yugi enough money to pay Ushio, and leaves Yugi to put in the last piece. Sugoroku says that the one who solves the Millennium Puzzle will inherit the Shadow Games and gain the power to pass judgment on evil. As the last piece clicks into place, the eye on the front flashes and the power enters into Yugi...

At midnight, Ushio goes to the school to meet with Yugi, who called him out. The Yugi he meets with is much different...a Dark, or "Yami" Yugi. Ushio orders Yugi to hand over the money, and Yugi replies that he has twice as much as Ushio asked. But, he says, they're going to have to play a game for it- a Shadow Game. The only things needed for the game are Ushio's knife and the money- the players take turns placing the money on their hands and stabbing it with the knife- the players keep whichever bills they stab. Yugi further declares that a penalty game awaits rule-breakers. After several rounds, Ushio feels confident, but then finds that he can't control his arm- in the Shadow Game, Yugi explains, a person's true nature is revealed, and Ushio's arm is now controlled by his greed. Ushio decides the only way to get out of the predicament is to attack Yugi with the knife, but he jumps out of the way. The eye symbol appears on Yugi's forehead as he declares that Ushio has "trespassed in his soul", and sets a Penalty Game on him- "Greed: The Illusion of Avarice", in which Ushio sees money falling from the sky, where nothing is there. Yugi leaves, smirking at Ushio's fate.

The next morning, Yugi is back to his normal self, and yawning as the rest of the class marvels at Ushio, who is buried in a pile of leaves that he thinks is money. He can't remember anything that happened since he solved the puzzle, but he's glad that he solved it nonetheless. He then meets Jonouchi, who says he's fine, and that he now has his own treasure- "something you can show, but can't see". The answer to that riddle is friendship, which is invisible but Yugi showed clearly. Jonouchi dashes off, ashamed of his corny line, but leaves his shoe behind as Yugi chases after him.