Fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime might be surprised to learn that the manga features different characters and completely different fates for the main cast. Matters are further complicated by the fact that the earlier chapters were adapted into a separate Toei anime, with other adaptations starting off later in the manga.
Just like Dragon Ball Z or even One Piece, the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime has a life of its own and outdoes the manga in terms of popularity – that doesn't mean it's a faithful adaptation, though, or that the manga isn't worth reading. The Yu-Gi-Oh! manga offers insight into the franchise that anime fans simply don't have access to.
10 Yugi Had A Friend Named Tomoya
Yugi had another friend who slowly disappeared from the series: Tomoya Hanasaki. He's obsessed with American comic books and superheroes, particularly a series called Zombire, a fascination started when his father gave him a Zombire toy while he was in the hospital.
It gets to the point where he eventually dresses like the character in public. Eventually, Tomoya was given less of a role as cards became a main focus of the story. He has appeared in some video games, however. Interestingly, a character based on his mother actually appeared in the Toei anime.
9 Yugi Isn't A Good Student
Outside of the Toei anime, it's a rare occurrence to see the characters in school. Shy, meek, and socially awkward Yugi seems like he would be the stereotypical academic, especially with his love of puzzles – but it turns out he puts a little too much of his mental prowess in puzzles, as one manga chapter revealed he only ranks #372 in his school, only slightly better than Joey and Tristan.
At the time, he was only concerned about making a bingo game out of test scores. His mother can often be seen scolding him about his homework. The anime adaptation seems to paint Yugi as a good student, since he was even valedictorian in one of the movies.
8 Yami Yugi Was Kind Of Short
Dark Yugi, also known as Yami Yugi, appears to function as Yugi's older alter-ego in the anime, with him growing a bit taller when he takes over Yugi's body, as well as gaining a deeper voice – presumably reflecting what the Pharaoh was like in his former life. There's some irony to this, as the Pharaoh was actually younger than Yugi when he died.
This was less the case in the manga, with Dark Yugi more or less remaining the same height as Yugi. While he does get taller eventually, it's because Yugi did himself. The idea of Yugi "transforming" into his alter-ego seems to be an anime invention.
7 Miho Was An Even Smaller Character
Fans familiar with the Toei anime might be vaguely familiar with Miho, a prominent female character in the main gang. Somewhat more feminine than Tea, Miho is cheerful, naive, and has a crush on Bakura, with Tristan having an unrequited crush on her. She was quietly dropped with the second anime series.
It might surprise fans familiar with this version of Miho to learn that she was a very minor character in the manga, only appearing in one chapter. Another difference is that she appears to have pink hair in colorized versions of the manga, but has purple hair in the Toei anime.
6 Tristan Had A Nephew
One character from the manga who didn't make it into the anime is Johji, Tristan's baby nephew who he often has to babysit. Unfortunately, he seemed to dislike Tristan and his friends, instead taking a liking to Kaiba. Despite being a baby, he also seemed to be a bit of a pervert, taking an interest in Tea and various adult women.
Interestingly, Johji's own mother is given less of a role, not even making an appearance or having a name despite presumably being Tristan's sister. The only other mention of Tristan even having a sister is when he borrows some of her clothes for Serenity.
5 Joey Once Burned A Serial Killer To Death
The series makes surprising references to Western media, like Joey wanting tickets to the Beauty and the Beast musical in the Toei anime so he can scalp them. One example in the manga is Chopman, a villain who looks straight out of Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
In his backstory, he murdered ten boys camping near Domino Lake. Never having been caught, he was hired by Kaiba for his theme park, Still obsessed with killing people, Chopman was eventually destroyed by Joey, who burnt him to death.
4 Kaiba's Adoptive Father Was Dead All Along
Gozaburo Kaiba's exact cause of death seems to have changed between the manga and the anime. In the anime adaptations, he either takes his life or dies of a heart attack after losing control of his company, with the English dub changing this to him going into hiding (although it is eventually revealed either way that he uploaded his consciousness into a computer). The twist about him technically being alive in the virtual world was added to the anime. In the original manga, he clearly kills himself by jumping out of a window, claiming he wanted to show Kaiba the fate of a loser.
3 Tristan Wasn't In Love With Serenity
In the anime adaptation, Tristan has a crush on Joey's sister. For her part, Serenity mostly views Tristan as a friend. In the manga, Tristan commented that he thought she was cute, but this was the extent of his feelings. Tristan's crush on Serenity was more or less created for the anime adaptation. The second anime seems to portray Serenity and Tristan as being much closer in age than the original manga, as well.
2 Mai Really Wasn't In Joey's Dream
Similar to Tristan and Serenity, Mai and Joey's relationship was played up in the anime. When Joey has a dream where he encounters all of his friends at school, Mai is curious to know if she was in there. In the anime, it seems Mai was in Joey's dream, but he initially denies it out of embarrassment. Joey eventually confesses the truth to motivate Mai during her duel with Marik Ishtar.
While this story appears in the manga, things are a little more cynical: Mai really wasn't in his dream. Ultimately, Joey explains that the dream took place in his school classroom, which logically wouldn't include Mai, since she's too old. He jokingly suggested she could appear as a teacher the next time he has such a dream.
1 Bandit Keith Was Killed
In the manga, Keith is subjected to a Penalty Game by Pegasus, having his hand turned into a gun and ultimately forced to take his own life. A spin-off manga would later see Keith revived by Yako Tenma in order to get information, but its canon status is debated. The anime decided to be kinder to Keith: he simply falls through a trap door and lands in the ocean, eventually being caught by Marik. The video games also seem to base his fate on the anime version.
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