The Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series has a number off different seasons that take place across different settings and portray variations of the duelling card game. If you’re looking to jump into the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and watch the show in chronological order, look no further. Here’s how to watch the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime in order.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime Series Watch Order
If you’re looking to watch all of the content within the Yu-Gi-Oh! series in chronological order, then this is the watch order that you’ll want to follow:
- Yu-Gi-Oh!
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters
- Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
- Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V
- Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens
What is the difference between each Yu-Gi-Oh! Series?
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Most people who grew up with the Yu-Gi-Oh! series probably won’t be familiar with the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, often referred to by fans as Yu-Gi-Oh! Season Zero. Unlike the 4kids licensed show that follows the card game, Yu-Gi-Oh! Season Zero takes place right after Yugi discovers and puts together the Millenium Puzzle.
Most of the show takes place during Yugi’s school hours, where he alternates between his usual self and Yami, with nobody knowing they are the same person. Honestly, Season Zero isn’t really a requirement to watch before heading onto the Duel Monsters series, so you can feel free to skip it. However, it does give some really interesting background info on Yami and the Millenium Puzzle that isn’t mentioned in the Duel Masters show, so for that reason it still earns a rightful place on this list.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, which is officially licensed under just the title ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!‘ follows the Duel Monsters card game. In this series of the show, you’ll be reintroduced to Yugi Moto and his friends Tea, Joey, and Tristan as they participate in the world of Duel Monsters, going head to head against other duelists.
A rival known as Maximillion Pegasus manages to use his Millenium Eye to seal away the soul of Yugi’s grandfather. It’s up to Yugi and friends to try and win it back by participating in a tournament held by Pegasus himself, but they’ll have to overcome plenty of other rivals and obstacles along the way.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters
Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters takes place between the Grand Champsionship and Dawn of the Duel arcs in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. In this season, Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan and Yugi’s grandfather are pulled into an alternate dimension where monsters of the Capsule Monsters board game are very real.
With dangerous threats and beings taking over this unfamiliar location, Yugi will have to rely on the Phaorah to keep him safe, and the team will have to work together to help navigate the strange situation that they have found themselves in. Though the format is a little different to the Duel Masters everyone is used to, Capsule Monsters features an entertaining change for its one season run. Instead of 1v1 duels, you’ll see more of Yugi and friends teaming up and coordinating strategies to take down their opponents.
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX introduces a brand new protagonist and setting while returning to the familiar Duel Masters format, with some updates to how the game is played. GX follows Jaden Yuki, a student at Duel Academy, a place where inspired duelists register as students and come to learn about the game, growing stronger and progressing through the ranks of the dorms.
In GX, the characters are seen playing the card game with use of a portable field, attached to their arms. These devices are able to hold a player’s deck, shuffle cards, track life points, and hold a pop-out field area for cards in play to sit. You’ll be watching Jaden make friends and enemies along the way, such as loveable Syrus, the helpful Alexis, and the notorious Chazz.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s really kicks things off with a significant change of pace. Now that you’ve gotten used to the clashes between students of Duel Academy, it’s time to take things to the streets. Yup, that’s right…duels take place on motorcycles now.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s features a brand new form of duelling, called Turbo Duels. These duels take place on special motorcycles named Duel Runners, and while regular dueling is still a thing in 5Ds, Turbo Duels is the latest craze. 5D’s follows protagonist Yusei Fudo, who has his first Duel Runner, and prized Stardust Dragon card stolen by series antagonist, Jack Atlas. Yusei then embarks on a journey to Domino City, where he seeks out Jack and challenges him to a duel, with a strong rivalry boiling between the two.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal takes place in a futuristic town named Heartland City, and follows a new protagonist in the form of Yuma Tsukumo. Yuma is a young amateur duelist with high aspirations to become the next Duel Masters champion. One day, Yuma is engaged in a duel with a rival duelist named Shark, when a mysterious spirit being named Astral manifests before him, helping him win the match.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal also features a new, unique format of dueling known as Augmented Reality Duels. These Duels use new special equipment known as D-Pads and Duel Gazers, which cause monsters to emerge from buildings and fight one another. Will Yuma make his way to the top, and help solve the story of the mysterious Astral while he’s at it? You’ll have to watch and find out for yourself.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V
Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V follows an interesting duelist by the name of Yuya Sakaki, a fourteen year-old boy who tries to smile his way through all of the harshness and cruelty the world throws at him. One duel in particular leads Yuya to take a step forward and confront these difficulties, following the show’s overall theme of ‘taking a step forward with courage.’
Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V takes place in a brand new location, Paradise City, where Yuya discovers the phenomenon of Pendulum Summoning. In order to become a pro and follow in his father’s footsteps as he dreams to do, Yuya must grow as a duelist and earn his way into Arc League Championship, but plenty of foes and mysterious organizations stand in his way.
Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS stars hacker protagonist Yusaku Fujaki, and follows his day-to-day life in a high school setting. While Yusaku mostly keeps to himself and avoids others, he gets a chance to try out Duel Monsters for the first time. Using LINK VRAINS, Yusaku is able to participate in virtual reality duels within a cyberspace.
Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS also introduces and focuses on the new game mechanic of Link Summoning. Yusaku must master Link Summoning and the way of the duelist to help take down the looming threats of the Knights of Hanoi, and the mysterious duelist known as Playmaker.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens
Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens is the first anime season in the series that has been produced by a studio other than Toei or Gallop, with Studio Bridge taking the lead for this specific story, bringing a stylistic change and brand new characters for all to enjoy.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens features the journey of Yuga Ogado, a fifth grade student at Goha 7th Elementary. Yuga is growing up in a city ruled by the Goha Corp, who dictate everything from dueling rules to owning the schools. Yuga is fed up with the boring dueling rules, and wants to create new rules for duelists, allowing them to go all-out from the very beginning of a match. There’s just one problem… doing so would earn him a penalty strike. Getting six penalties results in a permanent block of the duelist’s account; and Yuga has already obtained five.
That’s all you need to know about how to watch the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime in chronological order. For more helpful gameplay guides, lists, news and more, feel free to check out the rest of our content. We have plenty more related Yu-Gi-Oh! topics below that you can scroll down to see for yourself, or perhaps you’d even like to find out which character you’re most like with our Yu-Gi-Oh personality quiz.
