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The Best Episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

Every episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters!

Best episode
S1E26 Champion vs. Creator (1)
8.892 votes
Worst episode
S1E25 Shining Friendship
6.689 votes
Top season
Season 1
8.3avg
Binge time
3d 15h
224 episodes
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons1

All1

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 26 - Champion vs. Creator (1)
    8.8/10(92 votes)

    S1:E26

    Yugi and friends enter the castle to discover Kaiba ready to duel Pegasus with Mokuba’s soul hanging in the balance! The power of the Millennium Eye gives Pegasus the ability to read other people’s minds. Can Kaiba defeat an opponent who knows his moves even before he does?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  2. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 13 - Evil Spirit of the Ring
    8.7/10(109 votes)

    S1:E13

    Yugi's classmate Bakura, possessed by his Millennium Ring's dark powers, traps Yugi and his friends in a Shadow Game where they become the cards themselves!

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Junki Takegami

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  3. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 37 - Yugi vs. Pegasus: Match of the Millennium (3)
    8.7/10(86 votes)

    S1:E37

    Yugi has found a counter to Pegasus’s mind-reading ability: Yugi switches back and forth between his two souls! Yugi is able to destroy Pegasus’s Toon World, but the duel has just only begun. The next level of the deadly Shadow Game is about to start!

    Director:Kenichi Kasai
    Writer:Junki Takegami

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  4. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 38 - Yugi vs. Pegasus: Match of the Millennium (4)
    8.7/10(82 votes)

    S1:E38

    Yugi crumples in exhaustion under the crippling power of the Shadow Game. His friends yell desperate encouragement, but their voices cannot penetrate the sphere of darkness. Yugi’s chance at victory is slipping away, as is his life!

    Director:Hiromichi Matano
    Writer:Junki Takegami

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  5. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 23 - Face Off (2)
    8.6/10(92 votes)

    S1:E23

    Kaiba summons Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, the strongest monster in the game fused from three Blue-Eyes White Dragons! Yugi has lost all his powerful Duel Monsters, but a true duelist never gives up!

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 35 - Yugi vs. Pegasus: Match of the Millennium (1)
    8.6/10(91 votes)

    S1:E35

    Yugi prepares for the ultimate battle against Pegasus with the souls of Grandpa, Kaiba and Mokuba on the line. Meanwhile, Honda and Bakura infiltrate the castle to find the Kaiba brothers, but at this crucial moment, is Bakura turning back into his evil self again?

    Director:Masaki Kitamura
    Writer:Junki Takegami

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

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  7. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 39 - Yugi vs. Pegasus: Match of the Millennium (5)
    8.6/10(86 votes)

    S1:E39

    Pegasus summons Relinquished, a fearsome monster that can consume Yugi’s Duel Monsters! Yugi counters with… Kuriboh? The smallest, weakest creature in the game? Has Yugi given up, or does he have one last strategy to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? The Shadow Game comes to a close!

    Director:Naoki Hishikawa
    Writer:Junki Takegami

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  8. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 27 - Champion vs. Creator (2)
    8.6/10(83 votes)

    S1:E27

    Kaiba is helpless against Pegasus’s Toon World deck and mind-reading abilities. As the duel ends, Pegasus imprisons Kaiba’s soul into a card, just like Grandpa and Mokuba! Yugi has had enough!

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  9. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 22 - Face Off (1)
    8.5/10(92 votes)

    S1:E22

    Using the magic of the Millennium Eye, Pegasus traps Mokuba’s soul inside a card right before Kaiba’s eyes! In order to earn the right to challenge Pegasus, Kaiba must first beat Yugi and take his Star Chips. The rematch between Yugi and Kaiba is about to begin!

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 24 - Face Off (3)
    8.5/10(90 votes)

    S1:E24

    Yugi begins spinning a strategy to put Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to rest, but he must decide whether to claim victory or spare Kaiba his life. Yugi’s heart is split in two!

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 36 - Yugi vs. Pegasus: Match of the Millennium (2)
    8.5/10(87 votes)

    S1:E36

    Pegasus punishes Yugi using the same Toon Deck and mind-reading abilities he used on Kaiba. As Pegasus turns Yugi’s monsters against him, Yugi loses the will to battle. Will Pegasus capture Yugi’s soul into a card, just like Kaiba?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Junki Takegami

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  12. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 34 - Best of Friends, Best of Duelists (2)
    8.4/10(85 votes)

    S1:E34

    Yugi is shocked as Jonouchi uses the Time Wizard card on him, the very card he gave Jonouchi as a sign of friendship! However, as the two battle each other valiantly and one comes out the victor, they find confirmation of the strength of their friendship that surpasses any duel.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Masashi Sogo

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  13. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 219 - In the Name of the Pharaoh
    9.5/10(2 votes)

    S1:E219

    The Pharaoh and Kaiba’s combined strength couldn’t defeat Zorc! All our powerful heroes have fallen... except Yugi! Yugi must give the Pharaoh his name, but Yugi doesn’t know how to read ancient Egyptian text! All bets are off in the final clash where Yugi has to protect the past to save the future!

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Atsushi Maekawa

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  14. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 54 - Obelisk the Tormentor
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E54

    To face the future, Yugi must first look into the past! Yugi learns that he was a powerful Pharaoh who saved the world five thousand years ago, and he must now save the world again! Meanwhile, Kaiba tests the hidden powers of his Egyptian God Card Obelisk the Tormentor against the fury of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  15. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 56 - Yugi vs. the Rare Hunter (1)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E56

    It’s time to master new rules and monsters; let the Battle City Tournament commence! In the first duel of the tournament, Yugi challenges the Rare Hunter to win back Jonouchi’s Red-Eyes B. Dragon. However, Yugi’s falling into the same trap that led to Jonouchi’s demise!

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  16. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 82 - The Dark Spirit Revealed (1)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E82

    It’s the first duel of the Battle City Finals as Yugi squares off against the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring that's possessing Bakura! Yugi quickly dispatches Bakura’s grotesque ghouls, but Bakura has a sinister strategy straight from the graveyard…

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Atsushi Maekawa

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  17. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 84 - The Dark Spirit Revealed (3)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E84

    Yugi’s Slifer the Sky Dragon is about to unleash the final blow to win the duel, but Bakura may not survive the blast from the almighty Egyptian God Monster! Will Yugi attack and advance in the finals, or will he surrender to save Bakura’s life but lose the only chance to protect the world from Marik’s evil?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Atsushi Maekawa

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  18. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 85 - Rage of the Egyptian Gods
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E85

    The origin of the Egyptian God Cards is finally revealed! The mysterious Shadi takes Yugi on a journey back in time to the creation of Duel Monsters… and the dangerous powers it released.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Junki Takegami

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  19. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 86 - Awakening of Evil (1)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E86

    In the second duel of the Battle City Finals, Rishido, disguised as Marik, befuddles Jonouchi with numerous traps to bring the duel to a stalemate. However, Jonouchi has Giant Trunade, the perfect counter to Rishido’s strategy that guarantees Jonouchi victory… or is Jonouchi falling into another trap?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  20. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 88 - Awakening of Evil (3)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E88

    It’s a feeding frenzy as Rishido’s Serket devours Jonouchi’s monsters to morph into greater and powerful stages of evolution! How can Jonouchi defeat Serket when it ingests Jonouchi’s monsters whenever they’re summoned on to the field?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  21. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 90 - Mind Game: Mai vs. Marik (1)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E90

    The third duel of the Battle City Finals between Mai and Marik is no ordinary duel; it’s a battle in the dreaded Shadow Realm where losing life points equals losing your memories! As Marik’s true sinister self comes to the surface, does Mai stand a chance against this malevolent evil?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  22. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 91 - Mind Game: Mai vs. Marik (2)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E91

    As Mai loses more and more of her memories under Marik’s relentless assault, she loses confidence in her dueling abilities. Will Yugi and friends’ neverending support bring her back to victory, or will her shattered mind be trapped in the Shadow Realm for eternity?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  23. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 113 - Merger of the Big Five (3)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E113

    The Big Five summon an almighty dragon that previously defeated Jonouchi, Mai, and Mokuba in an alternate virtual world! Facing their ultimate challenge, Jonouchi and Yugi pull out all the stops, but is that enough to avoid their minds being scattered over virtual reality?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Atsushi Maekawa

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  24. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 116 - Brothers in Arms (3)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E116

    Kaiba’s about to finish off Noa, but Mokuba protects Noa from his final blow! Will Kaiba not forgive this treachery and sacrifice his beloved brother in exchange for freedom from Noa’s cyber prison, or will the brotherly bond remain unbreakable under rocky circumstances?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  25. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Season 1 Episode 117 - Noah's Final Threat (1)
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    S1:E117

    Yugi, fed up with Noa’s treachery, takes Kaiba’s place in the duel. However, for every turn that passes, one of Yugi’s friends is transformed into stone! As more and more of his friends harden into solid rock, can Yugi defeat Noa before he runs out of turns and transforms into stone himself?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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Best Episodes Summary

"Champion vs. Creator (1)" is the best rated episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. It scored 8.8/10 from 92 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Shin Yoshida, it aired on October 17, 2000. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Evil Spirit of the Ring".

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