“Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” is a manga series with card battles that young fans and even older fans will enjoy! The second volume features the beginning of the D1 Grand Prix tournament in which Yusei Fudo takes on the best Turbo Duelists, but will he be ready to take on these top competitors? Find out in volume 2 of “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s”.  Recommended!
Image courtesy of © 2009 by Masahiro Hikokubo, Masashi Sato. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Vol. 2
STORY AND ART BY: Masahiro Hikokubo and Masashi Sato
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: SHUEISHA, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC/Shonen Jump Manga
RATED: T for Teen
RELEASE DATE: February 7, 2012
Yusei enters the D1 Grand Prix, hoping for a chance to duel Jack Atlas. There are new rivals and new duels to fight and the competition will be fierce. Can Yusei battle his way to the top, or is he destined to crash and burn?
After being humiliated by the top Turbo Duelist Jack Atlas, Yusei Fudo has made it his goal to defeat “The King” (who remains undefeated) by taking part in the D1 Grand Prix tournament where the best Turbo Duelists will compete in New Domino City for the right to challenge Atlas.
Will Yusei have what it takes to advance in the beginning rounds? Also, Rex Goodwin, host of the tournament and the Director of New Domino City Sector Security are trying to find out if Yusei Fudo is in possession of the “Shadow” card.
Find out what happens in volume 2 of “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s”!
What is “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s”?
In 1996, Kazuki Takahashi would create a manga series about card games known as “Yu-Gi-Oh!”. Wanting to create a battle manga that was unique and not about fighting and a fan of tabletop role-playing games, Takahashi did not imagine how popular the series would be among fans worldwide.
With the original manga serialized in Sept. 1996 through 2004, the games have been popular among anime, manga and of course, the card gaming fans in America and also around the world. The series would spawn off various series (featuring manga adaptations by other artists/writers) such as “Yu-Gi-Oh! GX” (2005-2011), “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” (2008-2011) and most recently with “Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal” (2011-2012).
In America, both “Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal”and “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” are being released concurrently on manga. It’s important to note that the storyline of the manga version of “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” is different from the anime series. The primary characters of Yusei Fudo, Jack Atlas and Akiza Izinski from the anime series are in the manga but the circumstances are much different, especially how the manga series includes the character, Sect.
After “Yu-Gi-Oh! GX” was shown as an anime series in Japan, “Yu-gi-Oh! 5D’s” was released.
Like previous series which featured characters playing a game of “Duel Monsters”, the series takes place in New Domino City in the year 20xx. Turbo Duels are fought from the seats of Motorcycle-shaped duel disks called “Duel Runners” and is the hottest game in the city. While the upper class population lives in New Domino City, the lower class live in a remote island where Domino’s sewage is transported, called Satellite.
We are introduced to the main protagonist, Yusei Fudo, who lives in Satellite and the 18-year-old is considered the toughest duelist in the Satellite District. His younger friend Sect is like a brother to him but he knows that Sect’s goal is to one day beat him in a Turbo Duel.
In volume 1 of “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s”, Yusei got caught up in matches with Jack “The King” Atlas and was defeated easily. He then took on top ranked Akiza Izinski, a Turbo Duelist who holds the title “Queen of Queens” and has only lost once and that is to Jack Atlas. And the result ended with Yusei losing again!
But this time, Akiza gave him advice that he relies too much on speed and that there are other strategies important for him to work on if he is to face Jack Atlas ever again.
Despite his embarrassment and loss of pride for losing against Jack Atlas, Yusei is determined in beating the champion.
Which leads us to volume 2 of “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s”, which begins the D1 Grand Prix, a battle between the top Turbo Duelists and performing in front of over a 100,000 audience.
And the first competition is between Yusei who will take on Greiger, a tough duelist who also is focused on getting his pride back by wanting to defeat Jack Atlas.
The second competition features Akiza “Queen of Queens” Izinski of Queen’s Duel Academy and Sherry Leblanc of Reigning Empress of Duel Academy Sanctuary, two female competitors who were once best friends at the same academy that were to join the elite, until Akiza left the school. So, Sherry has a grudge towards her former friend for leaving the school.
The third competition features a new guy that Yusei has met, Crow Hogan (who uses super-fast synchro) who takes on Bolt Tanner.
Find out who wins these competitions in the first round of the D1 Grand Prix in “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” vol. 2!
The characters of “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” are:
- Yusei Fudo – The main protagonist and an older teen who lives in the poor area of Satellite. Considered the toughest Turbo Duelist of the area, he hopes to have a one-on-one battle with Jack Atlas again. He is a guy who values his friend and his Duel Runner.
- Jack Atlas – The “King of Riding Duels” that is arrogant and feared by other duelists.
- Akiza Izinski – The “Queen of Queens” and an excellent Turbo Duelist who has lost only once and that is to Jack Atlas.
- Sect Ijuin – Sect is a young Turbo Duelist who looks up to Yusei like an older brother but also a rival.
- Crow Hogan – A skilled duelist who uses super quick synchro who is amazed by Yusei’s Dueling skills.
“Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” drops right into the action as Yusei immediately takes on his first competitor in the D1 Grand Prix.
In some ways, this latest volume of “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” reminds me of how a volume focuses on one-on-one battles in series such as “Dragon Ball Z”, “Slam Dunk or even “Beyblade” with the storyline tend to focus a lot on the actual competition. But manages to feature a storyline that is intriguing, especially now that so many characters are being introduced in the competition.
For those not familiar with “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s”, the concept still focuses on card battles and top competitors going against each other. But in the case of 5D’s, they compete in card battles while racing in Duel Runner vehicles at the same time. So, the three ways of winning a matchup in the D1 Grand Prix are not done by tournament brackets, opponents are announced before each duel. Victories are when opponent’s lifepoints are zero, one beats the other opponent in the designated race or if one renders the opponent’s Duel Runner immobile.
So, the sport is Turbo Dueling which brings out large audiences watching in a stadium as the Turbo Duelist race while they are competing in a card match, so not only does one have to keep their eyes on the race, they also must plan their strategies effectively during their card battle.
The second volume focuses on Yusei’s competition, but also Akiza Izinski and Crow Hogan’s matchups as well. You get two Yusei competitions and also a side storyline in which the event host has his people searching for the person who may hold the “Shadow” card for some unknown reason.
For fans of “Yu-Gi-Oh!”, the card battles featured in volume 2 is exciting but also pretty creative when it comes to strategies of how one is able to beat their competition.
Also, another fun aspect of the manga series is seeing both writer Masahiro Hikokubo and artist Masashi Sato sharing their experiences as newbies in the industry through a single-page manga panel. Definitely fun to see and read!
It’s important to note that with each volume purchased of “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” an exclusive card is featured. In this case, an ultra rare Catapult Warrior card is included with volume 2.
Overall, “Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s” is shaping up to be an exciting and action-packed manga series that card game fans can definitely appreciate!
Recommended!