Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist, Volume 19

March 15, 2007
The Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise includes manga, anime, and various forms of gaminga merchandising juggernaut similar to Pokmon but aimed at teens rather than young children. As a result, the stories are more mature, dealing with serious themes of responsibility and friendship, and the game battles are far more life-threatening at times. In Volumes 18 and 19, part of season two of the television show, a tournament is in progress, supposedly "just" a master-level card game. In fact, some of the players have higher stakes in mindthe winning of special artifacts that have real-world power. One of these players raises the stakes to put lives at risk for his twisted enjoyment. Some readers will dislike the highly stylized artwork made famous by the TV show, but for most, it works very well. Characters are readily identifiable, and readers who also play the card game will appreciate the bonus feature at the end of each volume that allows them to compare cards in the manga to ones available in the game. Highly recommended for teen collections.Nick Smith, Pasadena P.L., CA

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.