10 Best Yu-Gi-Oh Episodes

Out of every facet of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, the one that people are bound to be the most familiar with is the anime. The original anime is often seen as one of the biggest contributors to anime taking off in the West, and while its sequels haven’t had the same level of success, it’s still been a mainstay in anime for well over two decades.

Yu-Gi-Oh!’s anime adaptations spans eight different shows across over 20 years, and sure enough, there are plenty of standout episodes. While each series may differ in story and tone, it doesn’t change how the best episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! are always the ones with incredible story beats and equally impressive direction to match, a standard that should be seen as universal for the entire franchise.

With over 1,000 episodes in the franchise, there are plenty of episodes to highlight, but a few episodes, in particular, easily stand out as being the best.

10

Yuma Finally Defeats Tron As Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Season 1 Enters Its Climax

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal episode 67; released on August 13, 2012

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal episode #67, “Believe in Victory! Final Shining Draw!”, brought Yuma and Tron’s duel to a dramatic finish, with Yuma bringing out his best cards to defeat Tron and win the World Duel Carnival. Yuma had no time to celebrate, however, as Dr. Faker’s Sphere Field absorbed both of their Numbers and threatened to destroy both of them, forcing Tron, who now understood how far he had fallen, to sacrifice himself to save Yuma and give him a chance against Dr. Faker.

The conclusion to Yuma and Tron’s duel is easily the biggest highlight of the World Duel Carnival. Not only did it feature some of the best of the anime’s over-the-top action up to that point, but Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal episode #67’s conclusion to Tron’s arc made for a wonderfully bittersweet moment for the series that also perfectly paved the way for season 1’s climax. Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal may be one of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s more divisive entries, but episodes like episode #67 show why it’s plenty worth watching.

9

Yami Yugi Shows Yami Marik Just How Strong His Bond With Kaiba Has Become

Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 139; released on January 7, 2003

Yu-Gi-Oh! episode #139, “Fiend’s Sanctuary Activates!” continued Yami Yugi and Yami Marik’s duel, and Yami Marik quickly entered a position where he could win with a single attack from The Winged Dragon of Ra. Yami Yugi saved himself with Fiend’s Sanctuary, the card Kaiba declared the key to defeating Yami Marik, and that manifested in allowing Yami Yugi a means of summoning Obelisk the Tormentor and attacking him directly.

Yu-Gi-Oh! episode #139 does an incredible job of building on the hype of Battle City’s final duel. Yami Yugi’s absolute faith in Kaiba to the point of not even needing to confirm that he drew Fiend’s Sanctuary perfectly encapsulates the genuine friendship they’ve finally developed, and it all culminates in Obelisk attacking Yami Marik in one of the best-animated sequences in all of Yu-Gi-Oh. It’s an episode that’s nothing but cathartic in every regard, and 20 years later, it’s still one of the franchise’s best.

8

Yami Yugi Has One Of His Best Comebacks Of All Time Against Noah

Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 118; Released on August 18, 2002

In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode #118, “LP 10,000 vs. 100!!”, Yami Yugi’s duel with Noah took a turn for the worse with him having only 100 life points with no cards in his hand or field, while Noah had 10000 points and a powerful monster to defend himself. As Yami Yugi began to lose hope, however, Yugi reminded him of how he and all of his friends still believed in him, and Yami Yugi gained the resolve to draw into an incredible comeback to defeat Noah once and for all.

Yami Yugi is famous for how often he draws exactly what he needs, no matter how unlikely it may be, and his duel with Noah has the best execution of that. After how invincible of a villain Noah had been, it was nothing but cathartic for Yami Yugi to completely demolish Noah when it should have been impossible, and the fact that Yami Yugi defeated Noah with Kaiba’s Blue-Eyes White Dragons added even more to that. It’s one of the best comebacks in all of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and it’s undoubtedly the best moment of the infamous Virtual World filler arc.

7

Yuya’s Rage Created One Of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V’s Darkest Moments

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V episode 125; Released on October 2, 2016

In Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V episode #125, “The Raging Dragon”, as Yuya is on the verge of losing to the brainwashed Ruri and Serena, the Doktor, the man behind their brainwashing, decides to rub salt in the wound by taunting Yuya about Yuzu already being under his control. Learning about that, and especially seeing the Doktor touching Yuya, sent Yuya into a rage that made the darkness of Zarc’s soul come out, and he then proceeded to obliterate Ruri and Serena with his new Xyz monster, Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon.

Every Yu-Gi-Oh! series has moments where the protagonist overkills their opponent, but none are done in the same way as Yuya’s from episode #125. Between the rage in Yuya’s voice, the haunting score that appears when Yuya’s darkness comes out, and the fact that he was dueling his friends, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V did a perfect job of capturing how terrifying Yuya was meant to be, with him almost coming off as villainous, even. Add in the amazing animation used for Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon, and it’s easily one of the best episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.

6

Yusei Earns An Incredible Victory Against Team Ragnarok In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s episode 129; Released on September 29, 2010

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s episode #129, “Gjallarhorn! Countdown to the End”, saw Yusei’s duel with Harald of Team Ragnarok become even more intense when Harald’s trap card, Gjallarhorn, gave Yusei only three turns before he would lose. Nevertheless, Yusei didn’t give up, and with a combination of Shooting Star Dragon and his masterful planning, Yusei managed to eke out a win and get Team 5D’s into the final round of the WRGP against Team New World.

Team 5D’s’ match against Team Ragnarok was one of the best matches in the entire WRGP, and the final portion of Yusei and Harald’s duel was an especially great highlight. Not only did Yusei manage to repeatedly outplay Harald with incredible strategy and quick thinking, but the animation of Shooting Star Dragon destroying the Aesir was one of the best sequences in all of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, especially for how cathartic it was to see them all be taken down. Overall, it was a great conclusion to the match and an appropriately big lead-in into the climax of the arc.

5

Jaden’s Villain Arc In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Starts On A Dark Note

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX episode 136; released on May 16, 2007

In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX episode #136, “Wicked Canon Is Activated! Reign, Devil of Dark World”, Jaden was forced to watch his friends die one by one thanks to the machinations of Brron, with everyone using their last moments to curse Jaden for his selfishness. A dark force takes over Jaden as he brutally takes down Brron, and with his few remaining friends wanting nothing more to do with him, Jaden succumbs to his darkness and decides to take over the spirit world as the Supreme King.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX season 3 was one of the darker stories in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, and that truly started to show itself with episode #136. Having all of Jaden’s friends die hating him solidified Yu-Gi-Oh GX’s deconstructive take on his character, and following it up with Jaden being so furious that he just wanted to keep beating on Brron, regardless of whether or not it’d win him the duel, did a great job of capturing the change in tone. It was a perfect prelude to Jaden’s arc as the Supreme King, and it’s easily one of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX’s best episodes.

4

Yami Yugi’s Darkest Moment Is Still One Of His Best

Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 162; released on July 1, 2003

In Yu-Gi-Oh! episode #162, “Timaeus Doesn’t Activate”, Yami Yugi lost his best chance of defeating Weevil when Timaeus refused to work with him due to his previous use of The Seal of Orichalcos. Weevil, assured of his victory, taunted Yami Yugi by pretending to rip up the card housing Yugi’s soul, but that made Yami Yugi fly into such a rage that when he finally defeated Weevil, he was willing to keep beating on his lifeless body until Tea stopped him.

Yami Yugi using Berserker Soul is one of the most iconic scenes in all of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and for good reason. In both English and Japanese, Yami Yugi’s voice actor did an incredible job of conveying the absolute fury he was meant to be feeling as he assaulted Weevil, and the score and overall direction accompanying it helped to sell the intensity of it even further. As controversial as Yu-Gi-Oh! season 4 may be, it’s hard to see episode #162 as anything but a highlight of the entire franchise.

3

Yusei Finally Defeats Z-One In The Greatest Way Possible

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s episode 151; released on March 9, 2011

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s episode #151, “Converging Wishes”, saw Yusei harness the power of Limit Over Accel Synchro to summon his ultimate monster, Shooting Quasar Dragon, and finally begin to turn the tide against Z-one. Z-one had one final trick up his sleeve, of course, but with the power of his friends and everyone in New Domino City supporting him, Yusei finally managed to defeat Z-one and put everyone on the path to a brighter future.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s episode #151 closed out the overarching story of the series, and it was an appropriately big episode. Yusei’s display of the power of friendship perfectly encapsulated the themes of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s and Yu-Gi-Oh!, in general, and doing it on such a massive scale made for an incredible spectacle from start to finish. All of that was coupled with incredible animation and overall direction, especially during Yusei’s final play against Z-one, and it all makes for a tremendous cap-off to Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s story.

2

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Ends Its Story On Nothing But A High Note

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s episode 154; released on March 30, 2011

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s episode #154, “Shining Forth to the Future”, was the grand finale to Yusei and Jack’s final duel and the series, as a whole. As Yusei and Jack dueled, Yusei was finally able to convince his friends to move forward with their lives, no matter how nervous they might be about it. Everyone goes their separate ways with the promise of meeting again someday, and the series ends with Yusei taking one last ride on his Duel Runner into the rising sun.

Few Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, and anime, in general, have had finales as great as Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s. Not only was Yusei and Jack’s duel great to watch and filled with callbacks, but Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s finale did an excellent job of closing out everyone’s character arcs and giving them new adventures to tackle, even taking the time to somewhat resolve Yusei and Aki’s relationship. It ended Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s on as high of a note as it could muster, and it helped maintain its legacy as one of the best installments of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise.

1

Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Original Finale Is Still An Emotional Triumph

Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 224; released on September 29, 2004

Yu-Gi-Oh! episode #224, “The Story That Ends in Light”, was the grand finale of the original anime. Yugi and Atem had both been pushed to their limits in the Ceremonial Duel, but as much as it pained him, Yugi finally won and Atem could pass on to the afterlife. Atem was able to leave as everyone assured him that they would always be friends, and Yugi, a much stronger person from the time they spent together, declared that his story was just beginning.

20 years later, the finale to the original Yu-Gi-Oh! is still an incredible sendoff to the series. The duel between Yugi and Atem closed out on a high note, but more than that, Yu-Gi-Oh!’s finale closed out the story on a wonderfully bittersweet note that perfectly closed out Yugi and Atem’s arcs, doing so with an effectiveness that no other Yu-Gi-Oh! series has managed to convey. It’s an amazing conclusion to a phenomenal series, and it’s easily the best Yu-Gi-Oh! episode to date.

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