The Hidden Mascot of Yu-Gi-Oh!

[@amateraceon5202]

I’m being 100% serious when I say this: It’s the brown portal design on the back of the cards.

[@suddenbiscuit3585]

Nah it’s the Konami symbol on the bottom right

[@dinolover]

This, when ppl think of yugioh they instantly think of the back card art of the swirling black and brown

[@Tsubazzo]

I agree, Yugioh symbol are the cards, the card game, that's what comes to mind.

[@GodoMatrix]

i though the same thing,

[@1slayer959]

I'd say the millennium eye rivals that there. It's a symbol ever millennium item shares and is on every card. Down in the corner lol

[@Fattoxthegreat]

It's absolutely Yami Yugi / Atem. More specifically, just his hair. When I hear "Yu-gi-oh" I think of that crazy hair immediately.

[@darkgn0ll587]

Exactly my thoughts. The colours in the wild hair!

[@TEG13]

Or to say it with Kaiba's words, "That perfectly coiffed hair."

[@ShayTheValiant]

I think the mascot is Blue Eyes. Whenever I see a show or video game do a parody of Yugioh, it's usually through something similar to Blue Eyes.

[@diegobrando2086]

Before I knew YuGiOh I assumed Yugi used Blue Eyes because of how iconic it was

[@namo2403]

i think its either blue eyes or exodia for the most notable characters outside of yugioh players

[@phorchybug3286]

He's too boring in my opinion. He's supposed to be a Lv.8 with 3000 ATK but looks more like a Lv.4 with 1500 ATK. he looks extremely half.

[@jbearclowater]

@@phorchybug3286 I get what you're saying, but you're approaching it as someone who obviously knows the brand pretty well. To an outsider, I think Blue Eyes is probably one of the most recognizable monsters from the brand, where people would see it and be able to recognize it as a Yu-Gi-Oh related thing. For what it's worth, Pikachu is unquestionably the mascot of Pokemon,and it's not exactly a powerhouse in the TCG or games.

[@Goblin_Hands]

​@@phorchybug3286Too boring? Maybe, but Blue-Eyes is a pretty unique dragon, whereas there are a lot of black dragons (sorry Red-Eyes, you are a more generic looking Dragon), but as far as white dragons (or even bluish white), it's probably the most unique and iconic one out there. It also looks kinda like a Xenomorph/Great White hybrid if it was a dragon. Plus, what other dragon fires a Kamehameha with lightning? Also, there's not that many 2 or 3 headed dragons, a few, but none that resemble Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon that even gets tattooes on it's head (it's heads also become more ridged, like the Xenomorph queen), another iconic monster probably even more iconic than Exodia and one of, if not the most iconic multi-headed Dragon aside from King Ghidorah. I guess Blue-Eyes White Dragon is boring compared to all of the other Blue-Eyes White Dragon monsters or maybe if you compare it with other strategies, it's just a monster with high ATK that battles. Let's not forget though: monster effects were kinda rare until Season 2. There was only cards like Man-Eater Bug and Relinquished that weren't designed for battle. Dark Magician is ok as a mascot, it has a cool attack in the show (seemingly shattering dimensions), plus the use of trick cards like Mystic Box and Magical Hats gives it more interest. Summoned Skull is cool too, but like Yugi's other cards definitely not popular/seen enough. Exodia's summoning condition of 5 cards is almost iconic enough to make it the mascot, but it is only episode 1 basically, so no chance, whereas Blue-Eyes shows up every other episode. In Season 1, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards were basically the God Cards before the God Cards, and Kaiba didn't even enter the tournament until the end, yet nearly half of the tournament resolved around him, his company, and his dragons, and excluding the God cards, continued in following seasons, ultimately having Blue-Eyes be the one to go head to head against the final villain until the God cards had to be fused. At the very least, it's the most iconic monster from the original show, but it keeps appearing in all of the movies and the other shows like GX and Zexal, so it's basically everywhere. I think only the God Cards might be more iconic, if it weren't for Season 1 and all of Blue-Eyes appearances, but that's kinda cheating because it's 3 different monsters.

[@proxyx3557]

I would say it's Dark magician girl. Even if we exclude the waifu element, she is the one that gets cosplayed by the majority of women. In the anime in both cannon and filler, she was often the one to have extra screen time and even dialogue. For example she was the one that was the "leader" of the monsters in the awakening of the dragons ark and the one that "held" the life of Atem against Dartz. She was also the one to assist Tea against the penguin guy. 2nd option for mascot would be Kuriboh for the reasons you mentioned, plus his winged version was definitely the mascot for GX specifically, as it often appeared as a spirit around Jaden.

[@ave4622]

The mascot of Master Duel is Maxx C.

[@ltmad1284]

The mascot of Master Duel is depression

[@Carlos.Rivera]

Ash Blossom

[@thomas2082]

I thought it was tiger axe

[@GanonAutumn777]

Ash blossom cuz its fucking everywhere it may as well be the mascot

[@r3zaful]

Ash blossom is ten times more hated than Maxx c

[@Menion98]

One thing I think was overlooked was Pot of Greed. Recognizable outside of just fans and meets the same check boxes as the other cards/symbols.

[@toxicity791]

What does it do though?

[@SuperLucky7]

I'd also argue that the Eye of Anubis as a symbol works pretty well considering how prevalent it is throughout the series.

[@SakuraAvalon]

It would be a bit weird to make the mascot(something to promote the card game) be something you're not allowed to use. And has been out of print for decades.

[@P3TER_Official23]

​@@toxicity791 It allows me to Draw 2 new cards from my Deck

[@LucianDevine]

@@P3TER_Official23 Does it allow me to draw 2 cards from your deck as well?

[@TheEphemeralEternity]

Weird to say, but the mascot belongs to the og rival character, Seto Kaiba. Blue eyes, is ridiculously recognizable (even more so than dark magician).

[@FranciscoRamirez-nb4uu]

I read that apparently in the past Yugi's voiceactor in Japan was in bad terms with Konami or Shueshia for using his voice for an add or game they didn't pay him for. So for many years Konami had a better relationship with Kaiba's VA, which is why they promete Kaiba and Blue Eyes a lot and that sometimes people from the Yugioh staff cosplay as Kaiba Corp employes

[@ked49]

@@FranciscoRamirez-nb4uuthat and in lore he is the only name in children’s card games.

[@SakuraAvalon]

Eh, disagree. Blue-Eyes? Yes. Kaiba? No. The Pharaoh/Yami Yugi is more recognizable. Especially to outsiders. Most outsiders will recognize Blue-Eyes, but not Kaiba.

[@TheEphemeralEternity]

@SakuraAvalon I didn't say Kaiba was more recognizable. I said the mascot belongs to the rival, which is weird.

[@mikaelamonsterland]

​@@FranciscoRamirez-nb4uuthat sounds exactly like something Konami would do, that's so awful lol. reminds me of some of the stuff with metal gear solid

[@SrTNick1]

"You activated my trap card" beats everything in terms of recognizability in general pop culture.

[@P3TER_Official23]

You activated my Trap Card! The Continous Trap, You Are Correct

[@TheDark4light]

Oh of Course! It's Pot of Greed. If only anyone knew what it actually did.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

"Gotta catch em all!" is Pokemon's catchphrase I think if YuGiOh had a catchphrase, it would DEFINITELY be either this or just when Yugi summons Atem to kick ass. "Yugiohhhhhhhhhh!" is too iconic to not include.

[@michaellacena]

Of course It's Dark Magician ..no question for all this

[@michaellacena]

And Best Phrase for YU GI OH Franchise "It's time to duel "

[@jcplays5831]

I do think the mascot of Yugioh is the back of the Yugioh cards. That swirl. It’s the portal that brings us these fantastical creatures and story and it’s on every card.

[@endr1c490]

my thoughts exactly

[@jbearclowater]

I agree it's probably the most iconic thing about Yu-Gi-Oh, but I would call that more of an icon or logo than I would a mascot. For example, the castle has always been (or been part of) Disney's logo and iconography, but Mickey Mouse is the mascot.

[@keshang_laow8325]

Tour guide from the underworld is actually a really good idea. They already kinda do the same thing in duel links with her. If they made kuriboh a permanent passenger on the train she's shown standing by, then you could have your cake and eat it too. She would be the voice, and kuriboh would be the cute one. They could animate short video's giving updates to rules or ban lists or just announcements for the anime or just new cards coming out. It is literally perfect

[@Mrryn]

iirc There is/was a Yugioh offshoot manga that is actually based on the real life card game with characters actually playing meta but with the classic Yugioh manga style. And the girl running the card shop/tourneys is basically just Tour Guide.

[@firewolf950tfwgaming7]

That would be the Yugioh OCG structures manga.

[@fnfgammer2014]

​@@Mrryn OCG Structures has meta decks of the time its chapter was published like Thunder Dragon, Virtual World, Eldlich stun, Spright, and even Fire King, sure. However, a lot of times decks play very differently compared to how people play them IRL competitively. Take Infernoble Knight vs Rescue Ace for example. In the manga, guess the turn 1 board? It's 1x Link 1 Emperor Charles, no Gearfried. To put this into perspective, Infernoble Knight IRL made FTK board. The author write that board to achieve 2 things: ①: R-Ace actually had a chance to showcase the set 4 from deck. ②: Infernoble played through 4 interruptions. It's misleading to say the manga is about meta. The characters play recent decks and very rarely play meta.

[@leomonlover]

Symbol: the puzzle Cute mascot:kuriboh Cool mascot:dark magician Character masoc:yugi

[@misterOrca4]

So what would that make Dsrk Magician Girl? 😂😅

[@reggielacey2235]

Also the eye

[@SoapyFae]

​@@misterOrca4the waifu mascot.

[@rikosakurauchi7161]

Waifu mascot dark magician girl and tours guide.

[@mobious01]

@@misterOrca4the waifu just like how every series of anime has one

[@deltoralk]

Because of memes, Pot of Greed is a strong candidate. Memes, overflow the internet and when people make jokes, it's normally thrown at Pot of Greed

[@ASavageEye]

Pot could absolutely be our Meme mascot.

[@jayjaytaylor1963]

What does it do again?

[@ASavageEye]

@@jayjaytaylor1963 I think that is the one that OTK's the opponent but I could be mistaken

[@Toads23]

I SUMMON POT OF GREED WHICH ALLOWS ME TO DRAW 3 ADDITIONAL CARDS FROM MY DECK

[@Jp63a]

I think the pot of greed effect is so complicated it's funny

[@dspace4514]

Waifu: Dark Magician Girl Mascot: Kuriboh. Human Mascot: Yugi. Symbol: The puzzle or just the eye part.

[@YumiYuna.]

Basically😅

[@TheRibottoStudios]

it's nice to see someone say Yugi vs Atem for a human mascot.

[@Aerorian]

Waifu: Blue Eyes White Dragon

[@TeddySlump]

The mascot is probably the back of the cards themselves. The brown card with the black hole

[@andrewfrancis3683]

The Pharaoh Atem

[@Toasted-u7c]

No koriboh

[@Name_InProgress]

Honestly , I agree , I think of Yami Yugi when i think of Yugioh

[@FLARE371]

Yes

[@FLARE371]

@@Toasted-u7c I think both are

[@GyroCannon]

I'm not kidding when I say that the most recognizable thing is probably the duel disk, as impractical and not used as it is in real life Seriously, if you see "thing that person puts around their forearm with 5 spots to put cards and a place to put a thick stack of cards", you immediately go "Oh shit, that's YuGiOh"

[@ked49]

Nostalgia(aka franchise) Visual - back of cards Monster - dark magician Character - Yami Yugi Symbol- the puzzle Mascot - adorable fluff ball But most recognisable/influential(aka the game) Visual - back of card/pot of greed Monster - blue eyes Character- Seto Symbol- the puzzle Mascot - our adorable fluff ball

[@ASavageEye]

No way in the world is Seto more recognisable than Yugi. I know people who have never played the game or watched the show but still recognise who Yugi is and what he is from. They wouldnt have a clue who Seto is and if you are creating something for a brand it is all about recognition.

[@ked49]

@@ASavageEyefor the game? as was what I said. Yeah, he is. He got his own card(kiaba man), he is the main character of one of the games(duel links), in universe he makes the card game(post maxi death), and he has so many decks. They know yugi from the franchise, but in regards to the game itself seto.

[@ASavageEye]

@ked49 no, sorry but even just within the game itself Yugi is still far more popular and recognised

[@WilliamReginaldLucas]

Kuriboh feels like the Pikachu of Yu-Gi-Oh! But for me the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Yu-Gi-Oh! is just Yugi’s hair 😂

[@ASavageEye]

yeah even just that outline is unmistakable.

[@WilliamReginaldLucas]

Atem’s silhouette for the anime and the swirl on the back of the cards for the TCG

[@DNeonLamp]

Yup, the mascot of Yu-Gi-Oh is the hair, no doubt about it. There's iconic mosters, there's things more consistent throughout the series and game, but when you think "Yu-Gi-Oh" you think of the red black and yellow spikes.

[@WilliamReginaldLucas]

@@DNeonLamp It was the first thing that came to my mind lol I thought it was pretty random too, in terms of monsters I actually asked my Mum what she would say (because it’s interesting to get the opinion from someone who doesn’t know the game) She said Blue Eyes White Dragon

[@jdogx211]

There are so many iconic monsters, i think its more about the latest season, the main character's or the newest trends.

[@kingusernamelxixthemagnificent]

Tbh, it's Yugi's hair. Make it a silhouette and, BOOM, you already know what it represents.

[@SpecsTube]

Very interesting topic. Before I even clicked on the video, my first thought was Dark Magician Girl. If it had to be a monster, I would say Blue Eyes White Dragon. Even though Dark Magician was Atem’s ace, more people, especially non-Yugioh fans, all immediately recognise Blue Eyes over Dark Magician.

[@4564568b]

It has to be blue eyes white dragon. Like it or not, it's really iconic. I'm pretty sure most people who has touch the internet know about it in someway.

[@StoicForce]

*Mascot monster:* Blue-Eyes White Dragon I see the Dark Magician as an extension or a partner of Atem, not the most recognisable monster from the original series. And people love dragons. *Mascot character:* Atem Everyone knows Kaiba, but as you said, Atem's look is so unique; there's no mistaking him for anyone else. *Mascot symbol:* The Eye of Wdjat (not necessarily the Puzzle)

[@luigifan001]

Dark Magician Girl all three categories. She is in every animated or new game/tech and the most merch. She also has several appearances as herself in the most different series/continuities/games, etc. when Kuriboh only has like "equivalents/variants". Otherwise, it might just be Atem FOR THE ANIME rather than the franchise as he is paired up with the newest MC for the "anime" games.

[@daraghokane4236]

She wasn't in the show for the fist season. Blue eyes is more iconic, Blue eyes vs dark Magician is the iconic battle in universe. Dark Magicaian girl isn't even Atems most iconic card, The God cards Kuribo and the Dark Magician and exedia are more iconic, Also Her first apperance was agianst a random Rare hunter the other cards are more inconic moments

[@luigifan001]

@@daraghokane4236 First season? Come on dude. that doesnt matter.

[@daraghokane4236]

@@luigifan001 That does as that is the good season that people member, I do think the first episode had the iconic movements exodia was iconic, so was blue eyes

[@luigifan001]

@@daraghokane4236 Do you think that DUELIST KINGDOM is more popular than BATTLE CITY? You're delusional.

[@itzYonko]

​@@luigifan001You're doing backflips on it right now.

[@doctorwhat5719]

I back Exodia. It was involved in one of the most famous moments in the story and became a meme. It also looks like a powerful Egyptian monster.

[@amethonys2798]

I also feel like Exodia is referenced more in other communities. It isn't that unrealistic for someone playing a completely different game yet if they have practically 0 chance to lose to say "I have Exodia". No one unironically references BEWD or whatever since at the end of the day he's a generic dragon without much going for him even in franchise like the anime (supposedly strongest monster ever yet Kaiba only ever really farmed Ls with him).

[@molhemalaa1252]

Yeah, when he mentioned monsters and didn't mention Exodia or Obelisk, I was like 😮 I would say Slifer and Kuripoh but those are more dominant in GX

[@supersaiyandrgnslayr]

Exodia is for sure the dark horse mascot, the first episode impression was STRONG. Exodia obliterate was a real big iconic moment in anime and even non-Yugioh fans recognize it

[@KingofBeasts444]

The most recognizable monster in the franchise is the Blue Eyes White Dragon. That's the one the casuals or the normies recognized first. It is the first monster that most people think of when it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh. I've even seen most people assume that Blue-Eyes White Dragon is Yugi Muto's Ace monster. Like most non-fans don't even know the Dark Magician or even Kaiba.

[@seblewongeltima3101]

definitely Blue eyes, it's even the MD wallpaper and game icon.

[@GodSlayerMael]

That’s just for now it changes with the updates to the game

[@reggielacey2235]

You can change it

[@jorg3023]

Also the DM was at some point and the Egyptian Gods as well

[@GSSAGE7]

It's the MD icon because they released a blue eyes bundle for the 2nd anniversary. Before that, it was Slifer. Before THAT, it was the Dark Magician.

[@joseruizdiaz9622]

The most iconic, and recognizable thing of yugioh is that swirly drawing at the back of the cards. It makes you imagine what's on the other side, and that's where the usual blue-eyes, dark magician, ash, tour guide, and everything else appears.

[@Destructor13HS]

Waifu : Dark Magician Girl Mascot : Kuriboh Human Mascot : Atem Symbol : Duel Disc

[@Toxik431]

Honestly my main two options are Kuriboh since as you mentioned every main protagonist has had some version of it in their deck, or the back of the card since when you see that it’s like a “ oh that’s one of those YuGiOh cards “ thing

[@KaoruMzk]

It's Blue-Eyes. That's Yugioh's "Pikachu".

[@EckerKyle]

Blue Eyes is the Charizard, Dark Magician is the Pikachu.

[@KaoruMzk]

​​​​​@@EckerKyle No, Blue-Eyes is more recognized by the general public than Dark Magician. Our "Charizard" equivalent (as in, the expensive card that casual fans chase after) would be Dark Magician Girl. Dark Magician is the Clefairy of the series.

[@Leon-b5g3j]

Nah Charizard would be Exodia. Everyone and their mother knows about him lol​@KaoruMzk

[@igorlopes8463]

Seto: You may be the most recognizable character, but my Blue Eyes is the best monster, Yugi Yugi: yeah, yeah

[@jobejacobs62]

No

[@INKY_627]

That portal swirl, The Millennium Puzzle, Kuriboh

[@TheRibottoStudios]

I think there's even an argument for the Shadow Realm to be mascot worthy in a sense. Even outside of Yu-Gi-Oh specifically, and outside of anime generally, people do know about it. Mostly because of the Jimmy Neutron meme. But if you were to mention "I'm sending you to the Shadow Realm!" or "they got Shadow Realmed!", people would have a general idea of what that means and associate it with Yu-Gi-Oh.

[@ASavageEye]

This is definitely thinking outside the box and I like it. However the Shadow Realm would be had to realise as a visual mascot. As an official 'catchphrase' however it could work.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

​@ASavageEye oh yeah along with "it's time to duel!"/"your move!" And "yugiohhh!" It's up there for yugioh catchphrases.

[@ghoulchan7525]

i sometimes i have to tell people that saying sending someone to the shadow realm is a way of saying Send you To Hell, just so they use it more correctly.

[@multivewer]

I'd have to say it's Karibo; there's a variant of it in every era and type, it's on a lot of the merchandise and some versions of it has appeared in every iteration of the anime.

[@SirAsdf]

I saw Yugi used counter Hello Kitty on a McDonald's Happy Meal promotion in Denmark just a few days ago. Also, given how many cards Konami releases on a yearly basis that are either retrains of cards Yugi used, whole new archetypes based on cards he used, or are just recreations of iconic moments from the original Yugioh anime. So it kinda has to be Yugi.

[@firo5100]

Funny, the mascot at my local card shop is Archfiend Soldier 😂

[@jorgecarrillo1044]

The late Takahashi had stated before that the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was the first monster he ever designed for the Duel Monster game in the manga, long before he ever thought about making an actual card game. He even had an idea of Yugi having it as his ace before he changed it. There was a lot more emphasis on the Dragon in the manga as well. Be it how rare it was or how interconnected it became with Kaiba and the story as a whole. And really, outside of the Millennium Puzzle, the Eye of Horus, Ancient Egypt, Yugi/Yami, Seto Kaiba, Dark Magician and so on. You would most likely think of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon before the all others when you think of Yugioh.

[@Tonyselbow]

Why did he change yugi’s ace to dark magician

[@sofarsogood8680]

​@@Tonyselbowi guess , because of Yami's origin from pharaoh time where black/dark magic roaming ,hence the name black magician (in JP) with spellcaster type.

[@jorgecarrillo1044]

@@Tonyselbow Based on Takahashi words, it was because it didn’t fit Yugi’s character. Back then, Takahashi would design monster that would be fitting to the characters personality. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon was vicious and powerful, so it would be a better fit for an antagonist. Which is where Kaiba obsession with power would come in. For another example, the Dark Magician uses tricks and misdirection like a regular magician to make up for its lack of inherent power. Something that Yugi himself can relate. You can also look into Bakura occult style deck, Marik torture deck, or even Joey’s gamble deck as an example of making decks that fits the character.

[@KathyXie]

@@sofarsogood8680 Yugi first ace monster was Summoned Skull not Dark Magician

[@halicritters9478]

As a Magic player, reaching out to fellow TCG players, the iconic mascot that comes to mind when someone thinks of our card games is the cards. If I think of Magic branding, I think of the spelltome back of a Magic card with the five color pentagram. If I think of Yugioh, I think of the black portal thing on the back of your cards. The card is the mascot.

[@alphamarigi]

I wanna say Atem or Kuriboh. But my mom mentions Blue-Eyes every single time Yu-Gi-Oh is brought up

[@Ctrybpkm]

Tour guide definitely could be used in that kinda role you said, especially when you consider that Tour Guide is already something like that in Duel Links, with her hosting events and acting as an actual character in the game

[@dragonmaster613]

Symbolically, the Dark Magic Circle has appeared more than the Millennium Puzzle.

[@ASavageEye]

I think when most people say the Millennium Puzzle they are really just thinking about the Eye of Horus, which definitely appears far more often than the Dark Magic Circle although as as symbol I do like the Circle more

[@dragonmaster613]

@@ASavageEye that's not of Horus.

[@kidkatanatv]

​@@dragonmaster613Eye of Wjat right?

[@dragonmaster613]

@@kidkatanatv yes, although I have seen sources claiming it was the Eye of Anubis... I couldn't corroborate them.

[@aceabe5491]

I'd argue it's between kuribo and blue eyes, because kuribo appears alot in duel links, like it's used to show if you got a good pack, but I feel for master duel it feels more like blue eyes, like a big backer for the game

[@yatado9665]

The symbol can only be one thing: THE DUAL DISK

[@BlackEEL1]

Magikuriboh, it’s cute and it’s dressed like the iconic Dark Magician.

[@NG-yy8pw]

I wanna say we all believe it's the Pharaoh Atem. His era of living inspried the game to be created and I beleive one of the most recognized anime characters of all time.

[@ISAAC607]

Atem doesnt represent all of yugioh.

[@ked49]

If you want the most influential in universe. That is seto. He is why the game continued past the dm era(aka after the eye removal situation)

[@ASavageEye]

@@ked49 'In universe' that would most certainly be true but the conversation is about a real world mascot and Kaiba is just NOT recognisable by non players/viewers whereas Yugi is known even by people who have no actual interest.

[@13KuriMaster]

To answer the Kuriboh issue..... Yusei did have Junk Kuriboh... in the manga. In the anime, the only Kuriboh to appear was Luna's Kuribon For Zexal.... Yuma has TWO Kuribohs... Kurivolt and Rainbow Kuriboh... also Kite had a Kuriphoton. Making there be 3 Kuribohs in total in Zexal. And for Arc-V, we see no Kuribohs in the anime, but in the Manga, Yuya had 3 different Preformapal Kuribohs. THEN, in the rush anime, Yuga had been shown with 3 copies of Kuribot, and a support card or two for them as well.... So the Kuribohs transcend into the Rush anime. Though we have not seen any in Go Rush as of yet.... that could change in the future.

[@pikagammerpluspizza7478]

The back of the Yu-gi-oh Card is what I usually think of.

[@Leosch633]

I think they want to build up sky striker ace raye as sort of a modern Mascot/ Spokesperson. They have already made an Manga about it and I also think the new animation studio will probably release a new anime about it first. Also she is a fan favourite.

[@scottbecker4367]

Either her or Albaz at this point.

[@adamantium4999]

“For him. The Pharaoh…” - Kaiba

[@sonicfan20]

For character: Yami Yugi For monster: Blue Eyes White Dragon. First pack was named after it, and it was the main monster of the very first duel in the manga. For symbol: The eye of anubis that's on all the millenium items

[@ASavageEye]

I dont mean to be "that guy" but it is called the Eye of Horus or Eye of Wdjat but never the Eye of Anubis. You could even get away with calling it the Millennium Eye.

[@sonicfan20]

@@ASavageEye The Eye of Anubis, as I understand, is the name for the stylized version of the eye that differs from the design of the wdjat, which appears as the millennium item symbol and is what's used as a security foil hologram on the lower right of cards.

[@Roboshi2007]

Kuriboh was focused on in the early days really because everyone wanted that pokemon money.

[@numbnutt9170]

Either Blue Eyes or Dark Magician Girl. They definitely are the most iconic merch wise

[@Illumisepoolist]

The Millenium Puzzle is more of a pokeball for the series.

[@bigbobby724]

I'd say Koriboh, there being tons of remixes shows this. Kinda like the "Pikaclones" of pokémon. Koriboh has multiple versions, and Koriboh is also the main duel spirit for Duel Monsters and GX. Which I think are the fan favorite series. Maybe I'm wrong, but it feels right to me.

[@ibilesfighter3.16]

Blue-eyes

[@RobinSwede]

Symbol: I SUMMON POT OF GREED TO DRAW THREE ADDITIONAL CARDS FROM MY DECK!

[@cpMetis]

Blue Eyes White Dragon. ABSOLUTELY over Dark Magician at least. It has a billion variants that aren't just recolours, it gets constant supports, it has cute/simple versions (toon and just other cartoons, like the Duel Links maintenance and support notice designs with a hard hat), it's used constantly, it's pretty identifiable (but it's simple! So is Kirby. You don't fail to recognize it's Kirby.), and it's relevant far beyond the original series it comes from, and it has a deeply personal story behind BOTH it and its user (unlike Exodia which only has one of those), and it's not just a person (which are always weaker mascots). Pretty much none of that applies to Dark Magician. And you know what are the only two monsters that most non-fans recognize in any way? Blue Eyes and Exodia. It's not a Pikachu, but it's absolutely the Augumon. Also: the Millennium Puzzle is the symbol, like the Pokeball. Kuriboh is the Eevee.

[@ASavageEye]

I found it strange that you singled out Dark Magician as having none of the history like Kaiba and Blue-Eyes, especially seen as Dark Magician IS Kaiba. Dark Magician, as a card, is essentially the spirit of the ancient High Priest Seto, hanging around to continue his job as protector of Atem. This monster has FAR more history than you seem to realise. I do agree however, Blue-Eyes is still the better pick for a mascot.

[@Wheler]

Blue Eyes even fan art shows it in three ways battles with pikachu and agumon, and Kaiba because he has money

[@relaetsecyr]

Raye Skystriker

[@ASavageEye]

A man of taste right here.

[@tobiasdarkrai1134]

It definitely has to be Kuriboh. While the stuff from the OG series is iconic, Kuriboh is the only one to have a lasting presence in newer iterations. It's like how each new generation of Pokémon has a pika-clone.

[@milyarodavidbmf]

Kuriboh❤

[@kroffen7]

The Tour Guide being the spokesperson for Yugioh is so smart. Heroes of the Storm had this one guy doing the voice for all the announcements and character guides. One day he was let go and there was an uproar as everybody was attached to the guy, eventually being brought back before HotS was shelved. Now imagine if they also had an iconic face to go with his voice.

[@madnessarcade7447]

I mean blue eyes is so iconic even pokemon made a design based on it

[@ASavageEye]

I am not overly knowledgeable on Pokemon so I have to ask...what monster is based on Blue-Eyes? I know a LOT of Yugioh monsters which are based on Pokemon but I have never heard of it the other way around.

[@madnessarcade7447]

@@ASavageEyethe legendary Pokemon reshiram Its counterpart zekrom is based on red eyes black dragon Also there are yughio monsters based on Pokemon? Pokémon has good lore u should definitely learn more

[@wesleybeauchamp2235]

That explains why I have always liked zekrom and disliked Rusaram

[@madnessarcade7447]

@@wesleybeauchamp2235lol harsh

[@Kingofredeyes]

So while he is not the mascot when I hear Yu-Gi-Oh! I immediately think of Red Eyes Black Dragon. Mostly because when I turned the channel to it for the very first time the first thing I saw was the Red Eyes Black Dragon being summoned in his duel vs Joey. That weekend I saw that exact card on the store shelf as part of the Joey starter deck and well yeah that was how I got into the series as a whole. If I had to pick a mascot for Yu-Gi-Oh! I would honestly probably go with Dark Magician Girl. With how she was positioned in Yugi's deck and the type of appeal she has had she hits me far more of a Pikachu type character, IE cute adorable icon from the series, that Blue Eyes/Dark Magician/etc just doesn't do. Only other comparable one I think you could say would be Kuriboh for the same reasons.

[@maniacalmurderer4123]

When I was a kid, I knew absolutely nothing about Yugioh. yet even with zero knowledge of the game or anime, i knew from other kids it was known for the phrase “I summon Blue-eyes white dragon!”

[@P3TER_Official23]

EXODIA, OBLITERATE!

[@poducha]

It's got to be the Blue Eye White Dragon or Yugi's hair. Or "CARDGAMES ON MOTORCYCLES"

[@dragonmaster613]

Kuriboh has the marketability of Pikachu and the number of retrains of Charizard.

[@georgeharvey4226]

I think Yu-Gi-Oh is like the PlayStation console: it doesn't really have a specific character as its mascot.

[@cpMetis]

Perfect way to think of it. Xbox had Chief. Nintendo had Mario with support from Link and Samus. Sega had Sonic. Playstation had Crash, or Spyro, or Kratos, or............or Sly Cooper, or- I think that's the stopping point. They're more repped by their wide and varied ensemble.

[@bibigamer502]

@@cpMetisspeaking of Sly Cooper I wish PlayStation and a different company would do a rerelease collection of the og Sly games (like what happened with the og Star Wars Battlefront games but maybe somewhat better)

[@CSSFruity]

Tbf this feels right to me: Face and CEO: Kaiba Mascot Monster: Blue-Eyes Symbol: KC logo Spokesperson, Vtuber type mascot: Tour guide

[@CSSFruity]

With the whole duel links scheme, Kaiba makes the game now, and runs everything directly. His ace is his favourite and ends up being his choice mascot. His logo is everywhere over the game and Tour guide is his digital aid

[@CSSFruity]

With the whole duel links scheme, Kaiba makes the game now, and runs everything directly. His ace is his favourite and ends up being his choice mascot. His logo is everywhere over the game and Tour guide is his digital aid

[@SaiyanWarriorofEquestria-qu4rt]

I always thought the mascot of Yu-Gi-Oh was Yugi's hair do. Literally the most memorable and iconic element of the entire series.

[@SenseiRaisen]

The Symbol i think is the eye. If you think, the eye from the Millenium items are more recognisable like eye of hours or ra is for Egyptians ... even more when you associate it with the mythos. Even it like bleeds into other medias, game and RL, as you see the eye and instantly associate it with Yugioh one way or another. For example, 2 egyptian themed character appear in Genshin Impact and one bears a similar eye symbol. The people automatically start to associate them with Yugioh and make fanarts of them in Keisuke's style or having a duel disk.

[@mcdaviddeservesbetter8]

1. Yami Yugi 2. Exodia 3. Blue Eyes 4. Millennium Puzzle 5. Dark Magician 6. Kuriboh

[@danielhogue4143]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the duel disk as a potential symbol mascot. Every series has a variation of the duel disk, and it was a famous Yu-Gi-Oh toy back in the day!

[@timzyt63]

Whenever i hear "What's the first thing to come to mind when you hear Yugioh ?" I'm just imagining Dotodoya slowly and dramatically raising... NEO-SPACIAN AQUA DOLPHIN

[@lordofninjas1]

I'm pretty much in agreement with everything in the video. It's an interesting thing to think of. If it's a character for the mascot then it's definitely either Yami Yugi/Atem or Kaiba, I'd go more for Yugi in that case mainly just because the spiky-haired character who is also oftentimes the protagonist in a lot of Anime and Manga tends to be the face of the franchise, and in some cases the character mascots name is either the name of the franchise or at least part of the franchise name. If we're going for a Monster mascot, Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes work for that as well, though generally in Anime and Manga (as well as in design in general) in franchises with a focus on non-human characters (Pokemon, Digimon, Monster Rancher, Yugioh, etc.) they tend to use a more "simplistic", for lack of a better term, character as their mascot mainly because it's much more easily replicated, not only to make it easier on themselves when making merchandise and for branding and marketing, but also because they know that kids are going to want to draw the character and are going to be seeing it all over the place and such and don't want kids thinking it's something for older kids or don't want them to be scared or anything, like if you see a Pikachu on a store window without any other Pokemon branding you'd instantly know that that store probably sells Pokemon stuff. All this to say, I think Kuriboh would probably work best as a Monster mascot for the franchise, Kuriboh is a simple design, gender neutral (whereas Dragons tend to be seen more as male-focused, and Dark Magician is instantly recognizable as a human male), cutesy but not too "girly", persistent throughout the franchise, etc. I also agree that they should do more with the Yugioh franchise, and having a character like Tour Guide be a sort of voice for the franchise is an excellent idea (perhaps even give her like a Kuriboh partner that floats around and as like a keychain and on her phone case and such to keep Kuriboh as the mascot should they go that direction), and lean more in that direction, like using Monsters more in their marketing like your Tour Guide idea or maybe actually doing something with that Yugioh Chronicles thing they put out. I also agree that the card swirl and the Puzzle would be good symbol mascots for the franchise, though I'd lean into it even more and say the eye pattern that is on the Millennium items would be a good symbol, they already use it on that little counterfeit prevention sticker thing they put on cards and it has been used in marketing like on card packs and commercials and stuff like that. That said, I also agree that symbols often don't make good mascots. To sum it up, I'd say if they wanted to use a character for their mascot it would probably be Yugi, but if they wanted to use a monster for their mascot it would probably be Kuriboh. I would say Kuriboh would probably be the best choice just because it is more representative of the entire franchise, whereas Yugi is only one part and would cause problems with those who are more familiar with the later protags like Jaden or Yusei but not as familar with Yugi.

[@vulcinabox2304]

I would say for the OG and gx eras the mascot was Kuriboh as it was the essential mascot card for the first two protagonists. Then it sort became each generations ace monster for a time e.g. stardust, utopia, odd-eyes pendulum dragon ect. Until DSOD when the classic got a massive refresh in people and konamis minds which is led to this resurgence of blue-eyes (which I think currently holds it) dark magician (my boy) and the others

[@skyenathanson9637]

Tour guide also was a spokesperson for upcoming sets! In the Yu-Gi-Oh structures manga, which followed the progression of the competitive OCG as new cards came out!

[@zachi2fox246]

I would agree with kuribo simply due to it being a safe and simple design and like you said, it's been in every series, atleast printed wise. I do also like the tour guide/paimon thought too

[@IamDoomCrow]

Pot of Greed is the mascot, I'm surprised on one thought or said that. I mean if you don't know what Pot of Greed is, it allows it's owner to draw two cards! ... But seriously Blue Eyes White Dragon, and the reason is because Pikachu is Pikachu in 'almost' every country, Blue Eyes White Dragon is BEWD in 'almost' every country (if you translate like the german BEWD, it'll be BEWD) . But Dark Magician is not, as he's Black Magician in Japan, and different name(s) elsewhere. And if you want a 'cute' design for Blue Eyes... Uhhh... Blue Eyes Toon Dragon exists

[@firerhino8592]

In Yugioh OCG Structures Manga. Tour Guide of the underworld is a main character and a shop employee in the story.

[@sayrux8897]

kuriboh in anime/manga DM : Yugi - kuriboh, kuribrothers GX : Judai - winged kuriboh 5DS : Ruka - kuribon Yusei (manga) - junkuriboh zexal : Yuma - kurivolt, rainbow kuriboh Kaito - kuriphoton ArcV : yuya (manga) - kuriborder, barokuriboh, classikuriboh Vrains : Playmaker - linkuriboh A.I. - linguriboh

[@snts_ale]

Cbaravter - Yami Yugi Monster - Dark Magician / Blue Eyes Symbol - Back of the cards / Millenium Puzzle (or just the eye in all the Millenium Items and that opens the anime episode 1) / DM duel disk

[@sultanahmed-vj1mj]

Think you could argue 4 different things for ygo 1 the puzzle 2 pot of greed (mainly for the actual card game) 3 kuribo 4 the design on the back of the cards

[@DatAsuna]

It's funny that he mentions Genshin, when they introduced a characater called Candace for their desert region who also used an eye of horus looking design, the immediate reaction from a lot of fans was memes and fanart of her in the yugioh style.

[@Xray19]

9:02 Even then yusie didn’t have junk kuriboh through out the 5d’s anime

[@dinomon9812]

Bringing up that Digimon movie made me so nostalgic.

[@edgares7]

I'd say the mascot would be blue eyes. Before I really got into yugioh, I couldn't tell you a single monster (even dark magician). But you show me blue eyes, I know that's blue eyes.

[@seankelly6620]

One of the things you see a lot of the OCG livestreams is that Tour Guide and DMG Cosplayers on the panels

[@TPG25153]

Blue Eyes White Dragon is The Most Iconic Card in The Game just above DM

[@potentianox1573]

For me, I'd go with Character: Yusei / Seto Kaiba Monster: Blue eyes white dragon / Dark magician girl Icon/Symbol: Millenium icon ( the eye specifically) or the cards background (brown spiral) Shoutout for the Shadow realm as an honorable mention, most people seem to at least recognize the term as being from Yugioh.

[@ethanshowers6089]

Absolutely love your series, man. suggestion, you should do a Yugi versus Leon duel breakdown continue doing the great work.

[@MaskedPerfomer]

Considering everything I’ve seen of Yu-Gi-OH over the past almost 10 years now I’m going to put my list for what I think the mascots are 1. The swirling symbol. This thing is iconic. It’s been put on everything. The problem comes in which symbol because from what I see there are three. There is the actual card game, which has a lot of detail. There is the first three anime’s card which is brown with just a circle, and then there is zexal to vrains which is like a mishmash between both of them. 2. We’re picking a symbol from the show I have to go with the millennium. This thing has been relevant for forever was relevant in the original series and it was relevant in gx even bigger return with the illusion archetype 3. For an actual monster, you have to go to blue eyes white dragon. I know dark magician is popular and some people may think of it but even people who are not into Yu-Gi-Oh will probably know what blue eyes white dragon is. It has been its mascot since it’s release with even the first booster box that we got here America showing blue eyes and since it is basically been its mascot rival magician if I had to pick which one it would be blue eyes 4. Ok this is pretty obvious the person who represent Yu-Gi-Oh is obviously Yuma. Jokes aside it would be Yugi whether it be yami Yugi and or Yugi Muto, they have been the face of the brand for forever and no one else can really compete. Every other main character just is not as popular as much as I love the other main characters for their own reasons. The obvious winner is Yugi. Oh and before anyone comes after me for making the Yuma joke I grew up on zexal air holds a special place in my heart

[@Hack_Man_VII]

The Millennium Eye BEWD DM / DMG

[@HopUpOutDaBed]

Blue eyes is the creature mascot, Yugi is the character mascot. Those are the two that your average person thinks of when they think yugioh

[@EJmoray]

Yugi, though the first monster that comes to mind is old Blue-Eyes for me.

[@Zetact_]

I think in public consciousness it really has to be Blue-Eyes. You ask a random person on the street to name a Yu-Gi-Oh card and they'll probably name Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It drives the plot of the very first episode of the anime, it's the namesake of the first [English] set, and it has an extremely iconic and memorable name as well as design. While there are cards that within the franchise, even within the anime community, that are arguably more fitting than Blue-Eyes, a mascot will generally have the ability to break out of just the community. It's also why [x]-Eyes [y] Dragon is so common across the franchise, it's a naming convention that just screams "Yu-Gi-Oh." Junkuriboh was a manga-exclusive so it's of less prominent, the Kuriboh most would associate with 5D's would be Kuribon. Though if you count the manga so far it seems like Yuudias isn't going to have a Kuriboh in his deck. That said, Kuriboh certainly fits with the overarching ideas of the franchise more than other cards, but among a general audience it probably wouldn't be one of the first cards that comes to mind. I think that while it isn't a monster that Pot of Greed could also be a viable option. It's the card that EVERYONE is familiar with, and it's even become subject for memes.

[@ShiniHLaser]

An odd alternative for symbol mascot? The Duel Disk, especially the OG models (like the Battle City ones). Like it is so unique to YGO that even without any other indicators, seeing something of that nature will immediately focus the user's mind to the series.

[@kristopherpink6119]

1:05 I cannot get over the fact that "it was a Pikachu" is timed with the beat drop

[@zeferinorojas5994]

Symbol/meme : monster reborn or pot of greed Character: kaiba Monster: kuirboh Spokesperson: tour guide from the underworld