The American trading card game called Duel Monsters has really taken off at Yugi's school, and a lot of his classmates are passionate about it - even to the point of stealing cards from others. That's what happened to Yugi when he let classmate Kaiba see his grandfather's prized card, a card that Kaiba has been after for quite some time. In order to get it back, Yugi will have to win a card game against his new rival. That's not the only challenge that Yugi will need to face - his new friend Jonouchi has been hanging out with some guys from another school and won't talk to him anymore. What could have happened?
This second volume introduces Yugi and his friends (and the reader) to several plot points, including the game of Duel Monsters, Yugi's rival throughout the series - child millionaire Seto Kaiba, and the Millennium items. There is only one "duel" using cards in this volume, the rest is similar to the episodic games in volume one. Watching two high-school students playing a card game may not sound particularly thrilling, but this manga somehow manages to pull it off. Because the cards represent fantasy creatures, we are often treated to pictures of dragons and other beasts doing battle, which can add tension and make the reader forget that it's only a card game. Once again, the careful balance between the clichés and the exciting battles, which tend to be easier to follow than some other action manga, make this a series worth looking at.
(This review is based on the French translation of the manga, however the English version is the same save for the language). ( )