| Season Number: | 1 |
| Bgcolour: |
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| Image Upright: | 0.9 |
| Num Episodes: | 49 |
| Network: | TV Tokyo |
| Episode List: | List of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters episodes |
The first season of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, based on the manga by Kazuki Takahashi, premiered in Japan on April 18, 2000, and concluded on April 3, 2001, on TV Tokyo. The season was directed by Kunihisa Sugishima, and written by Junki Takegami, Masashi Sogo, and Shin Yoshida. The English version of this season premiered in the United States on September 29, 2001 on Kids' WB, and concluded on November 9, 2002.
The season follows Yugi Mutou and his friends - Katsuya Jonouchi, Hiroto Honda, and Anzu Mazaki (renamed to Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor and Téa Gardener in the English adaptation) - to Duelist Kingdom, a tournament on the island of the same name, to free the soul of his grandfather, Sugoroku (renamed Solomon Moto in the English adaptation) from imprisonment by Pegasus J. Crawford (renamed Maximillion Pegasus in the English adaptation). The last ten episodes deal with the aftermath of Yugi's duel with Pegasus, including several filler episodes featuring original storylines not seen in the manga.
Between September 24, 2002 and February 22, 2005, Funimation released twenty DVD sets for the season: twelve sets containing three episodes, three containing four episodes, one with two episodes, one containing all forty-nine episodes and the last three containing uncut versions of the first nine episodes. All DVDs were encoded in Region 1. The first season of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters was formerly licensed by 4Kids Entertainment in North America, and other English-speaking territories and countries, and was formerly distributed by FUNimation Entertainment, LTD. on Region 1 home video and formerly distributed by Warner Bros. Television Animation through North American TV rights, when it aired on Kids’ WB! and Cartoon Network. It is now licensed and distributed by 4K Media.
The first ten DVD volumes, as well as volumes 12 and 13, contain 3 episodes each. Volumes 11, 15, and 16 contain four episodes each and the fourteenth volume contains two episodes. The first volume was released on September 24, 2002. The complete first season set was released on August 10, 2004.
| Volume | Discs | Episodes | Region 1 release | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1: The Heart of the Cards | 1 | 3 | September 24, 2002[1] [2] | |
| 2: Into the Hornet's Nest | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3: Attack from the Deep | 1 | 3 | November 5, 2002[3] [4] | |
| 4: Give Up the Ghost | 1 | 3 | ||
| 5: Evil Spirit of the Ring | 1 | 3 | January 14, 2003[5] [6] | |
| 6: The Scars of Defeat | 1 | 3 | ||
| 7: Double Trouble Duel | 1 | 3 | March 18, 2003[7] [8] | |
| 8: Face Off | 1 | 3 | ||
| 9: Champion vs. Creator | 1 | 3 | May 6, 2003[9] [10] | |
| 10: Duel Identity | 1 | 3 | ||
| 11: Best of Friends, Best of Duelists | 1 | 4 | July 22, 2003[11] | |
| 12: Match of the Millennium, Part 1 | 1 | 3 | August 19, 2003[12] | |
| 13: Match of the Millennium, Part 2 | 1 | 3 | September 16, 2003[13] | |
| 14: Legendary Heroes | 1 | 2 | October 14, 2003[14] [15] | |
| 15: Ties of Friendship | 1 | 4 | ||
| 16: Dungeon Dice Monsters | 1 | 4 | November 18, 2003[16] | |
| Complete First Season | 6 | 49 | August 10, 2004[17] [18] | |
| 1: The Shadow Games (Uncut) | 1 | 3 | October 19, 2004[19] [20] | |
| 2: The Insector Combo (Uncut) | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3: Stolen: Blue-Eyes White Dragon (Uncut) | 1 | 3 | February 22, 2005[21] |