How Yu-Gi-Oh Tricked Millions Into Thinking Yugi Was an Orphan
One of the oddest elements of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!has always been how Yugi’s parents are never seen or mentioned throughout the story. While parents don’t usually play big parts in shonen anime, Yugi’s parents being treated as complete non-entities is odd, even by the standards of the demographic, and many people have assumed he’s an orphan raised by his grandfather because of it.
While it’s easy enough to assume that Yugi’s only family is his grandfather, that couldn’t be further from the truth, and it’s all because of the English dub. 4Kids Entertainment was infamous for how often they would cut material out of their anime to either save time or make things more appropriate for children, and sure enough, the idea of Yugi being an orphan only comes from how 4Kids Entertainment edited the anime’s English dub. It ultimately doesn’t change the story, of course, but regardless, it’s another clear example of 4Kids Entertainment radically changing Yu-Gi-Oh!’s story.
Yugi’s Mom Was Always A Minor Character In Yu-Gi-Oh!, Just Not In The English Dub
Every Appearance Of Yugi's Mom Explained
While even the original Japanese dub of Yu-Gi-Oh! never showed or mentioned Yugi’s father, Yugi’s mother does make a few brief appearances. At the end of Duelist Kingdom, Yugi’s mother is seen in Solomon Muto’s hospital room as he regains his soul, but even in the original Japanese, she only appeared for a second. Much more egregious, however, was how Yu-Gi-Oh! episode #50 had multiple scenes of Yugi’s mother conversing with Yugi and Solomon, but they were all cut out of the English dub as it moved straight into the plot with Marik.
Why Yu-Gi-Oh!’s English Dub Might Have Cut Out Yugi’s Mom
As odd as it was for Yu-Gi-Oh!’s English dub to cut out Yugi’s mom, it’s at least understandable why 4Kids Entertainment would have done that. In both the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, Yugi’s mother is never important and doesn’t appear again after episode #50 and the equivalent manga chapter, so 4Kids Entertainment might have cut out Yugi’s mom because they felt she was unimportant enough that it didn’t matter if she stayed. Anime dubs of the 90s and 2000s often re-edited their shows in that manner, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Yu-Gi-Oh! was the same.
Another point is how Yu-Gi-Oh! was marketed in the West. Like with many anime of its era, Yu-Gi-Oh!’s English dub reworked the original script to prioritize action and comedy, and while Yugi’s mom isn’t involved with that, the absence of Yugi’s mom in Yu-Gi-Oh!’s English dub could be seen as a consequence of how 4Kids Entertainment prioritized certain parts of the story over others. Nowadays, it’s almost unheard of for anime to do that, so hopefully, there won’t be any other examples of a dub giving someone a radically false idea about the anime the way Yu-Gi-Oh! did.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
- Release Date
- 2000 - 2004-00-00
- Network
- TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TVh, TSC
- Directors
- Masahiko Watanabe, Naoki Hishikawa, Kimiharu Muto, Yasuhiro Minami, Kenichi Kasai, Hiroaki Shimura
- Writers
- Shin Yoshida, Atsushi Maekawa, Akemi Omode, Junki Takegami, Yasuyuki Suzuki, Masashi Sogo, Tadashi Hayakawa, Akihiko Inari
Cast
Hiroki TakahashiKatsuya Jonouchi (voice)- Maki SaitoMazaki Anzu
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters follows Yûgi Muto, a frail youth targeted by bullies, who discovers his alter ego, Yami Yûgi, after completing the ancient Millennium Puzzle. This new persona, embodying the "King of Games," emerges to challenge opponents through mystical "Shadow Games," when Yûgi faces injustice.
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