Shobu Kirifuda

Plot

The story centers around the card game Duel Masters, which revolves around five civilizations consisting of Light, Water, Darkness, Fire and Nature. The original storyline follows Shobu Kirifuda, a young boy who likes to play Duel Masters. He and a few duelists are known to bring the monsters on the cards to life in their duels. Shobu engages in this card game so that he can be the best duelist like his father was.

Characters

Main characters

Shobu Kirifuda (切札 勝舞, Kirifuda Shōbu)

Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi, Koki Uchiyama (adult) (Japanese); Joshua Seth (Season 1), Liam O'Brien (Season 1.5, 2) (English)

He aspires to become a great duelist like his father, Shori Kirifuda. Shobu keeps a positive attitude throughout the series, insisting on dueling for fun as opposed to simply winning. In the first season, Shobu takes on the challenge of defeating the temple champion, Hakuoh, who he feels has become corrupt with power. Throughout this portion of the series, Shobu must defeat Hakuoh's underlings while he struggles to understand the true spirit of dueling. All in all Shobu is brave, strong, and has the guts never to give up, just like his favorite creatures.

He uses a Fire Civilization deck which later becomes a Dragon Deck and even later evolves into a Dragon/Angel Command deck. After being defeated in a later season he loses most of his deck but is guided to his father's deck by the spirits of Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon and Bolbalzak "Sword Flash" Dragon. Soon after he combined elements from the 2 decks and created a Samurai Dragon/Angel Command deck (Fire, Light & Nature civilizations).

As of Duel Masters Cross his main cards are: Bolmeteus "Kensei" Dragon, Bolshack Yamato Dragon, Bolbalzak "Sword Flash" Dragon and Saint Bolshack, Spiritual Dragon. After losing Saint Bolshack, Valkiryas Musashi, Ultimate Battle Dragon and Sword Flash Galaxy, Super Champ became his trump cards as well. Later, his trump card becomes Bolshack NEX. He defeated Zakira with Bolpheaus Heaven in the manga.

Shobu also appeared in the anime movie "Rockman.EXE: Program Between Light and Darkness." In the Versus anime season, he appears as an adult.

Hakuoh (白凰, Hakuō)

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese); Joe Ochman (English)

Hakuoh is the archrival of Shobu Kirifuda. Hakuoh came from a prominent dueling family, and specialized in Light civilization from a young age. At that time, he was a reflection of Shobu, a young kid who loved the game above all else. This changed, however, when a mysterious duelist appeared and challenged Hakuoh to his first Kaijudo duel. Unaware of the dangers involved in a Kaijudo duel, Hakuoh became overconfident and was nearly killed as a result. Instead of being crushed by his opponent's attack, however, Hakuoh was pushed out of the way by his mother, who was fatally wounded. Since then, Hakuoh has become a cold-hearted villain and Shobu's main rival. Hakuoh no longer sees any fun in dueling and decides that one's value as a human being is determined by their ability to win and will rest at nothing to "be the best". As a result, Hakuoh becomes a dueling champion and the leader of the White Soldiers. Later in the series, he is challenged by Shobu Kirifuda (who Hakuoh recognizes as a reflection of his former self). As he is consumed with power, Hakuoh not only desires to defeat Shobu, but to crush him entirely and destroy his dreams of dueling. Hakuoh is finally defeated by Shobu and later he befriends him for showing him the true nature of dueling.

Kirifuda family

Shori Kirifuda (切札 勝利, Kirifuda Shōri)

Voiced by: Kenji Hamada (Japanese); Cam Clarke (Season 1), Milton Lawrence (Season 1.5) (English)

Shobu's father and a world famous duelist. Shori left home to continue his training, but he continued to miss his family every day. He reappeared in later episodes but disappeared again after the defeat of P.L.O.O.P. He makes an appearance in Duel Masters: Curse of the Death Phoenix to assist Shobu, only to disappear at its end. In Duel Masters Charge he was believed to have been killed in a duel against Zakira.

Shori is primarily seen in flashbacks, and whether he is believed to be alive or dead varies from season to season. However, he is seen to be alive at the end of the SX manga and all media following it. He plays with a deck similar to, but more advanced than Shobu's, with Bolberg Cross Dragon acting his trump card.

Mai Kirifuda (切札 舞, Kirifuda Mai)

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Cindy Robinson (Season 1), Wendee Lee (Season 2) (English)

Shobu's mother and Shori's wife. To help Shobu on different occasions, she has occasionally taken on the persona of a second "Dragon Mask" (the persona being first used by Knight) and challenged him.

Katta Kirifuda (切札 勝太, Kirifuda Katta)

Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi

Shobu's younger brother and the protagonist of the Versus/Victory seasons. He was in a coma as a young child during the events of Shobu's story. He initially has an aversion to Duel Masters but quickly learns to enjoy dueling against people. He has a strong obsession with curry bread.

Joe Kirifuda (切札 ジョー, Kirifuda Jō)

Shobu's friends

Rekuta Kadoko (角古れく太, Kadoko Rekuta)

Voiced by: Yuka Imai (2002-2010), Emiri Katō (2017-present) (Japanese); Debi Derryberry (Season 1), Sterling R. (Season 1.5), Brianne Siddall (Season 2) (English)

Shobu's best friend and loyal sidekick. Even though he is an expert at the rules Rekuta is a terrible duelist, often going without a single win during a tournament. He's often seen with his portable laptop to keep track of important duels. As a running joke, he is often accidentally sent flying into the air.

He has almost every card ever released (since his father Maruo (丸雄, Maruo) owns a card shop) but cannot correctly use the cards. His card knowledge often helps Shobu during duels.

Mimi Tasogare (黄昏ミミ, Tasogare Mimi)

Voiced by: Saki Nakajima (Japanese); Janice Lee (Episodes #1-26), Colleen O'Shaughnessey (Episodes #27-65) (English)

Another of Shobu's friends. Mimi first appeared to be both ditzy, but was later revealed to be the second of the Four Temple Guardians at the Junior Duelist Center and an expert player. Mimi also has super-strength and excellent martial arts abilities which enable her to bring down any walls and other obstacles. Her personality sometimes switches to a "serious mode" while dueling. Near the end of the first season, Mimi reveals that Hakuoh was not always a heartless duelist and her personal connection to Hakuoh has developed into a slight crush throughout the series. She mostly uses Nature Civilization cards, but tends to use Shield Triggers from all 5 civilizations.

George Kamamoto (ジョージ釜本, Jōji Kamamoto) / Boy George

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese); Tim Diamond (Season 1), Terrence Stone (Season 1.5), Brian Beacock (Season 2) (English)

A baby in a pink bear suit who is always seen sucking a pacifier. He rides around in a motor baby carriage and uses a Water Civilization deck, he is a skillful duelist and has even defeated Mimi (a powerful duelist in her own right) fairly easily. In Charge, he uses a Darkness/Water deck and withdraws from the tournament after losing to Yuu.

P.L.O.O.P.

Short for Powerful Loyal Order of Princes, P.L.O.O.P. is an evil organization that plot to use monsters from the Civilizations of the Creature World to take over Earth. This organization appears only in the 26 episodes which were never broadcast in Japan. Their original names are unknown.

Prince Irving the Terrible

Shobu encountered him in the Light Civilization.

Prince Melvin the Conqueror

Shobu encountered him in the Water Civilization.

Princess Pollyana of Green Gables

She is a minor P.L.O.O.P. member who Shobu encountered in the Nature Civilization and works with Prince Wilbur the Great. She first appeared in Logville Village where she dueled against Shobu and lost. Princess Pollyana helped Prince Wilbur to capture Master Pangaea. She dueled against Flora (whose father was captured by Pollyana and Wilbur) and lost to her.

Prince Wilburg the Great

Shobu encountered him in the Nature Civilization.

Prince Maurice the Merciless

Shobu encountered him in the Darkness Civilization.

Prince Herbert the Ruthless

He is a minor PLOOP member who Shobu encountered at the gates of the Fire Civilization.

Prince Eugene the Mean

Shobu encountered him in the Fire Civilization. Eugene used to be a dueling champ in the good world and that he even beat Knight in the episode "Deck Me Baby One More Time." Knight and Eugene meet and Knight explains what happened. Eugene also says "I used to duel for trophies. Now I duel for money."

Black Soldiers

The Black Soldiers are a group of duelists that are the opposite form of Hakuoh's White Soldiers. Most of the Black Soldiers consists of duelists that were unable to defeat Hakuoh when wanting to become a member of the White Soldiers. They entered the Battle Arena Tournament to beat all of its players. After the defeat of most of the Black Soldier, most of the unnamed members left the group.

Kuroyanagi (黒柳) / Robby Rotten

Leader of the Black Soldiers. He wanted to be a member of Hakouh's White Soldiers, but was denied membership even when he had defeated Mikuni. He formed the Black Soldiers so that he can duel Hakuoh. Unfortunately for him, he was defeated by Shobu and was last seen being interrogated by Yuu about Shobu.

Akayanagi (赤柳) / Akakan

Member of the Black Soldiers and Robby Rotten's right-hand man. He is the strongest of the Black Soldiers. He was defeated by George.

Aoyanagi (青柳) / Multi-Card Monty

Member of the Black Soldiers. He likes to tell long stories and confuse his opponent before the duel while shuffling his deck. He was defeated by Mimi.

Ishiguro (石黒)

Member of the Black Soldiers. Ishiguro had previously wanted to meet Hakuoh when he was a student of the Temple. He defeated most of the Temple's students in a duel, but lost to Mikuni. He joined up with the Black Soldiers in order to duel Hakuoh and took part in the Battle Arena Tournament. Ishiguro was defeated in a duel by Hakuoh who acknowledges Ishiguro as a strong duelist.

Other antagonists

Yuu Fua (不亞 幽, Fua Yū) / Yumama

Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura

A mysterious girl often seen with her nose in a book or standing on the ceiling. She defeated George, Yuki and Kokujo right before they were supposed to duel, making her win by default. She was a childhood friend of Great Bucketsman. While she appears to be the cause of all the disruption in the tournament, she is really a pawn of her malicious older brother, Zakira. After she is released, she becomes an ally of Shobu, along with Bucketman. While brainwashed, her trump cards are Cruel Naga, Avatar of Fate and Super Necrodragon Abzo Dolba. In Duel Masters Cross her deck contains all 5 civilizations and is focused on creatures who have the following effect: "If this card is discarded during your opponent's turn, you may put this card into the Battle Zone instead of the Graveyard". Afterwards, she changes her deck into a Light, Water and Darkness civilization deck based on the Knight race using Brunhilde, Ghost Knight and Nero Gryphis, Mystic Light Emperor as her trump cards.

Zakira Fua (不亞 ザキラ, Fua Zakira)

Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto, Atsuko Tanaka (younger)

The main antagonist of the Duel Masters Charge and the Duel Master Cross series. An evil duelist, the nemesis of Shobu's father, and the one controlling Yuu, who is his younger sister, from the start. His goal is to obtain the "Duel Master's Proof" and use it for his evil means. He has multiple agents working under him, and operates from a large castle. His agents are ranked in terms of increasing power from A-Z (Z being himself). He uses a combination of Water, Darkness and Fire cards (most of his creatures are Zombie Dragons) with his deck being focused on sending cards to the graveyard (his and his opponent's), sometimes outright destroying them, and benefiting from it. Later in the series he changes his deck to a Light and Darkness Knight deck, his main trump cards being Romanov the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, Death Romanov the 5th, General of the Demonic Eye, King Balcry, Demonic Eye Lord and Supernova Death Dragerion.

Professor March (プロフェッサー・マーチ, Purofessā Māchi)

A character introduced in Duel Masters Zero who is the most recent antagonist. He invited Shobu and his friends to a tournament on an uncharted island, but it was really a trap. After kidnapping Dr. Root, he forces Shobu, Mimi, and George to duel his associates.

Media

Trading card game

The card game first originated in Japan in May 2002 and was marketed by Takara (later Takara Tomy following the merger). It was produced in English by Wizards of the Coast, who purchased the rights to the name Duel Masters from Reality Simulations, Inc., which ran a play-by-mail gladiator game called Duelmasters, now known as Duel II. The English-language printing of the TCG ran from DM-01 Base Set (May 5, 2004) until DM-12 Thrash of the Hybrid Megacreatures (November 2006). It was the twelfth and final expansion released by Wizards of the Coast for the English-language game before it was discontinued in 2006.

The spin-off product, Kaijudo, was announced by Wizards of the Coast in February 2012. A relaunch of the TCG product line with Wizards of the Coast working along with its parent company Hasbro. It was released on June 26, 2012, and was incompatible with previous Duel Masters cards. Wizards of the Coast discontinued Kaijudo in 2014.

In Japan, the card game is an ongoing commercial success. As of 2024, there are over 90 mainline sets, with new booster sets, starter decks, promotional cards, and more released alongside them. Notable innovations include Cross Gear and Orega Aura equip cards; the Hyperspatial Zone and Gacharange side decks; Castle and Field continuous effects; Forbidden and Zero unlockable cards; and other varieties of double-sided and unfoldable cards.

Manga

The Duel Masters manga series is written by Shigenobu Matsumoto, and published by Shogakukan in the CoroCoro Comic magazine. While none of manga series have been licensed in English, there was a North American-created comic book by Dreamwave Productions.

The original manga series ran from 1999 to 2005 and was compiled into 17 tankōbon volumes. It was followed by Duel Masters: Fighting Edge from 2005 to 2008 and Duel Masters Star Cross from 2008 to 2011, along with several side story tankōbon.

There have been numerous spinoff manga by different authors. These include gag manga, background lore stories, and card playing guides.

Anime

The first television series originally premiered in Japan on October 21, 2002, and ran until December 22, 2003. There are a total of six seasons with Shobu Kirifuda as the protagonist. Duel Masters was followed by Duel Masters Charge, which is mostly based on the manga; Zero Duel Masters and its sequel Duel Masters Zero, which are an alternate sequel to the first season and ignores the events of Charge; Duel Masters Cross and Duel Masters Cross Shock. From Duel Masters Zero until Duel Masters Victory V, the series was CGI-animated and broadcast in a 12-minute format instead of 24-minute format.

A spin-off series, Shinseiki: Duel Masters Flash aired from April 10, 2006, to March 23, 2007. The series follows Teru Yumemi, who must protect the ARC pendant from the antagonistic Nest organization.

Duel Masters Victory premiered on April 2, 2011, and introduced a new protagonist named Katta Kirifuda, the younger brother of Shobu. Victory was followed by Duel Masters Victory V, and Duel Masters Victory V3. The later series Duel Masters Versus, Duel Masters Versus Revolution, and Duel Masters Versus Revolution Final returned to 2D animation and featured Katta as a middle schooler.

The 2017 Duel Masters anime introduced Joe Kirifuda, the son of Katta, and focused on his adventures in the Creature World. It was followed by Duel Masters!, Duel Masters!!, Duel Masters King, Duel Masters King!, and Duel Masters King MAX. In April 2020, Duel Masters King was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The anime returned on May 31, 2020.

A new anime titled Duel Masters Win premiered on September 4, 2022 and introduced the protagonist Win Kirifuda. Unlike the previous Kirifuda protagonists who use the 切札 kanji, his name uses the 斬札 kanji, and therefore he isn't related to them. Within Win's world, the events of all previous Duel Masters series are fictional. The series is followed by Duel Masters Win: Duel Wars.

An original net animation titled Duel Masters Lost premiered on YouTube approximately six months after the conclusion of Duel Wars. The series, focusing on an amnesiac, high-school-age Win Kirifuda, is split into multiple short seasons subtitled Crystal of Remembrance (Tsuioku no Suishou), Reaper of the Moonlight (Gekka no Shinigami), Sun of Oblivion (Boukyaku no Taiyou), and Boy of Judgment (Danzai no Shounen).

Video games

Takara, Atari, and Kids Station each produced their own Duel Masters video games. The games by Takara and Kids Station were only released in Japan while Atari's were only released in North America and Europe. Some of Takara's games were published by Atlus.

Reception

As of 2014, the main manga series had sold approximately 4.5 million copies in Japan.

Along with The Magic of Chocolate, Duel Masters won the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award for Best Children's Manga in 2021.