Thread: Timeline of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Series

Originally Posted by Arynis

Not precisely. It's stated he's 17 years old when Cyndia dies. So it goes like this (if DM's date is 1996):

1989 (7 years prior present day)
October (Pegasus turns 17, Cyndia dies) -> November -> December

1990
January -> February -> etc.
(Pegasus creates Duel Monsters around this period)

He is not yet 18 at the time.

Exact. Cyndia and Pegasus had the same age. Sorry for the mistake.

1996 make sense also for the starts of the serie with the History of the DVD. In volume 7, Jono-Uchi uses Yugi's video tape recorder. The first DVD's reader is realeased in Japan at the end of year 1996. First DVD's readers was very expensive. DVD starts to be use by "normal" people toward 1999.

Originally Posted by Allana

Exact. Cyndia and Pegasus had the same age. Sorry for the mistake.

1996 make sense also for the starts of the serie with the History of the DVD. In volume 7, Jono-Uchi uses Yugi's video tape recorder. The first DVD's reader is realeased in Japan at the end of year 1996. First DVD's readers was very expensive. DVD starts to be use by "normal" people toward 1999.

No worries. ^^ (Although I think she might be a little older than him, since she was already 17 when Pegasus had just turned 17. But it's meaningless as far as the timeline is concerned.)

You're right, the VHS is another technology featured in the manga! Good eye, Allana!

Thanks a lot Arynis ! Yes, it change nothing in the timeline.

I will see in first volumes, between 1 and 8 If I see other thing concerning the technology. I will see If I find something in volumes after them but I think not find a lot of things: after, Yugi isn't seen use a lot technology of all days. He is seen use only the duel disk.

Wow Allana, another important detail spotted. :-D

Spoiler: Funny fact about VHS in the manga

Talking about the VHS, in chapter 281 (the third of the Millenium World Arc) Jounouchi wants back from Yugi that infamous videotape because, he says, his video player has been repaired.

1st panel
Jounouchi:"Yugi, could you give me back my video soon?" "My VHS player has finally been repaired..."
Yugi: "Video?"

2nd panel
Jounouchi: "Hard-on's..."
Yugi:"Oh, that!" "Well, Grandpa..."

Edit:

Spoiler: Another detail much likely off topic, but since I've nothing better to do I'll post it

Talking about Raphael biography, in episode 220 there's a scene, just before Yugi begins his trip on the Nile, where many characters from other points of the anime look at the sky, in places that are much likely their places of origin. Here's the shot of Raphael:

Originally Posted by remaner

Wow Allana, another important detail spotted. :-D

Spoiler: Funny fact about VHS in the manga

Talking about the VHS, in chapter 281 (the third of the Millenium World Arc) Jounouchi wants back from Yugi that infamous videotape because, he says, his video player has been repaired.

Thanks remaner !

I didn't know the Volume 32 mentions the VHS: I don't own it.

EDIT:

In volume 7, when Yugi duels Pegasus accross the television. The television is on a furniture.

The television itself is a television of ancient model according the form, it isn't flat. (?)On it, there a videotape integrate.

Under the television, there two VHS.

The VHS send by Pegasus is a VHS MP 120 by Sony. It will try the date of the realease.

Before the final between Insector Haga and Ryusaki, there a picture where Anzu, Jono-Uchi, Yugi and his grandfather are eating. On the floor, there a console. The joystick is put on the console.

It's a PlayStation without doubt possible: on the bottom on the left side, there two circles, exactly like the real PlayStation's console and the joystick put on the console is exactly identical at the real joystick of the PlayStation. The console is realeased in 1994 in Japan.

EDIT 2: In volume 17, the computer of the Rare Hunter who give the Duel Disk at Yugi. His computer is a Sony (called Somy). Sony starts to sell computers in 1980. In the manga, It's a computer like this picture: there not a central unity.

Attachment 4608

I will try to find If the computers before are similar or not.

Other thing, in Volume 25, when Rishido is in hospital. It's the first page of Battle 218: the medical computer. It is similar at the picture above.

Talking about all those little things you notice only when you're actually paying attention, in an omake of the Himitsu project translation of the manga they mention the date of 1996 as the date of the finding of an Egyptian Tomb by professor Yoshimori, an old friend of Yugi's grandpa, a thing that (in the manga and the Toei version) causes Shadi to travel to Japan to judge Kanekura (the man that sponsorised the excavations hoping to earn money selling the artifacts illegally) and the professor.
Always in their translation, the given date on the newspaper that tells this is dated Day X, Month X, Year 1996 (and 8th year of the Heisei era, that's the 8th year of reign of the Emperor Akihito, that began in 1989, though he was officially enthroned in 1990). In the original version (big picture) the dates '1996' and '8' are partially hidden by the giant sound effect, but still recognisable.

Originally Posted by remaner

Talking about all those little things you notice only when you're actually paying attention, in an omake of the Himitsu project translation of the manga they mention the date of 1996 as the date of the finding of an Egyptian Tomb by professor Yoshimori, an old friend of Yugi's grandpa, a thing that (in the manga and the Toei version) causes Shadi to travel to Japan to judge Kanekura (the man that sponsorised the excavations hoping to earn money selling the artifacts illegally) and the professor.
Always in their translation, the given date on the newspaper that tells this is dated Day X, Month X, Year 1996 (and 8th year of the Heisei era, that's the 8th year of reign of the Emperor Akihito, that began in 1989, though he was officially enthroned in 1990). In the original version (big picture) the dates '1996' and '8' are partially hidden by the giant sound effect, but still recognisable.

Excellent remaner !

So the year of the first volume is 1996. Because Jono-Uchi get 16 years old, others games, Duelist Kingdom...'s date is 1997.

Originally Posted by remaner

Here's the original panel. Seto is saying in the first panel "Idiotic! Idiotic! Idiotic!! That's antiscientific!", and, in the second "Would you make me believe that Monsters and Wizards' original form can be traced back to 3,000 years ago?" (my translation, the syntaxis is surely wrong). There is no mention of the fact that it was created in a certain period.

Whoa... so the manga really does refer to the card game as M&W. I had never actually see it before. And like so many things in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic & Wizards is literally the English words in katakana. Rather than like "Mahou to Majutsushi" or something. Interesting...

Originally Posted by russ869

Whoa... so the manga really does refer to the card game as M&W. I had never actually see it before. And like so many things in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic & Wizards is literally the English words in katakana. Rather than like "Mahou to Majutsushi" or something. Interesting...

Yes, actually they call it "Magic and Wizards" (and not Monsters, my bad, I totally misread the small furigana). In the manga Sugoroku says* it's a game that comes from the US (like 'Magic') and so I guess they just kept the name in English and wrote it with katakana (always like 'Magic').
Probably in the manga they could keep that name because it was clear it was an hommage like in many other cases with other games, but in the anime they had to change it to avoid legal issues.

*"Kore ga Amerika de sugoi geemu ni natta kaado geemu..." = "This game is a great card game that comes from the US"
"Magikku & Uizaado jya!" = "It's Magic and Wizards"

Originally Posted by Allana

Excellent remaner !

So the year of the first volume is 1996. Because Jono-Uchi get 16 years old, others games, Duelist Kingdom...'s date is 1997.

Thank you ^^

Anyway, talking about technology used in the manga, here's a shot of Yugi's TV. On a related note, does anyone know when was this small camcorder put in commerce?

Originally Posted by remaner

Thank you ^^

Anyway, talking about technology used in the manga, here's a shot of Yugi's TV. On a related note, does anyone know when was this small videocamera put in commerce?

I don't know, I don't find what is this camera. I don't sucess to find what is Mai's car also.

I'm sorry, I didn't notice some of your recent replies. Great job with the references, Remaner and Allana! We could make a section on the timeline page devoted to the series' technology (or a different page altogether). As for the newspaper, I looked at it several times, but I never noticed the date.

So, we know the series begins in 1996 autumn. It's 1997 starting from the chapter with Jonouchi in that TV show, right? Now we'd only have to pin down the remaining parts of the series.

That would make DM's period 1996-1997 or 1996-1997-1998.

No problem Arynis

For the chronology, I think 1996-1997 is sure.1998 is also possible because D.D.R. Another technologic clue of 1998 will be necessary to state it but I don't know If It's possible. I will search but I don't know If I will sucess to find other thing.

Another couple of random details:

In chapter 48 Jounouchi shows his friends his brand new yo-yo, "made in USA in 1997".

In chapter 60 the tape Yugi receives is an 8 mm video. In this case the thing is not very useful, since it was introduced on Japanese market in the 80's and, apparently, it's still used nowadays.

Originally Posted by remaner

Another couple of random details:

In chapter 48 Jounouchi shows his friends his brand new yo-yo, "made in USA in 1997".

In chapter 60 the tape Yugi receives is an 8 mm video. In this case the thing is not very useful, since it was introduced on Japanese marked in the 80's and, apparently, it's still used nowadays.

Thanks a lot remaner !

1997 is sure now ! Jono-Uchi has 16 years old in 1997 !

Originally Posted by remaner

Another couple of random details:

In chapter 48 Jounouchi shows his friends his brand new yo-yo, "made in USA in 1997".

Incredible find! Although Takahashi likely based the drawing off some actual yoyo he had that was made in 1997, that's still pretty much the only date written in the manga.

In volume 17, when Yugi read the newspaper, abobe Isis's picture, there a bit of an article. It mentions someone named Inoki who had a problem with the arbitrator during a national tournament (in Japan). I read on Internet a catcher bear this name. I don't sucess to find If this incident is really happened.

Another catcher named Ricky is mentionned. I will try to search tomorrow If find other thing.

1997 is to far ahead since you are forgetting GX is 10 years into the future making the year they start school in 2004 so the events of the orginal had to end in '94. Still the timeline is pretty vage still.

Originally Posted by Rikku-chan

1997 is to far ahead since you are forgetting GX is 10 years into the future making the year they start school in 2004 so the events of the orginal had to end in '94. Still the timeline is pretty vage still.

I don't believe GX being ten years in the future has ever actually been confirmed, has it? Besides, 1997 is for the manga timeline, not the anime.

Originally Posted by Ryusaki

I don't believe GX being ten years in the future has ever actually been confirmed, has it? Besides, 1997 is for the manga timeline, not the anime.

Well true but we still do have the GX and 5D's manga that do take place in the same verse as the orginal manga as the anime so there is still a deffent timeline should be established.

Originally Posted by Rikku-chan

1997 is to far ahead since you are forgetting GX is 10 years into the future making the year they start school in 2004 so the events of the orginal had to end in '94. Still the timeline is pretty vage still.

1996 like startng date is coherent, there no problem with GX: anime has only mentionned that Professor D. is the first of the Professional League since 10 years. This not meanning GX take place 10 after DM.

Magic and Wizard was created in 1990. Duelist Kingdom take place in 1997. In the manga it is mentionned there tournaments and there professionals hunters primes before the Duelist Kingdom. Theses tournament was probably a professional leagues because they reunites together professionals. In GX, it is explains the D is first of the Professional League since 10 years old. GX tournament arrives in 2006 very probably. So Doctor D. is become the first in 1996. Maybe it is possible It's him who had succeded at Bandit Kierce: the manga mentionned before to loose his title and his place against Pegasus, Bandit Kierce was the best profesional hunter prime. Others nationalities was very probably represented during theses tournaments where the goal is win money with his deck.

I can barely understand what you write Allana.

Nice ppl if you keep this up we will be able to write a book about the YGO! time lines XD.

I read again the Volume 16 and I think the timeline is definitively 1996-1997: In volume 8, Shizuka say in video: "I would have want to see you before the end". The last words shows that Shizuka will become blind in little time If his eyes aren't saved, It's an emergency. After Jono-Uchi states clearly his sister will become blind in little time with the sentence (I don't know how English version translates it): "The doctor said one day she will lost the use of his eyes. Before the end... It's certainly the doctor said her". It is absolutly certain Shizula will lost his eyes in little time with theses sentences: It's the end for her, she will lost his eyes in little time. Maybe she can see during some months maximum but not more.

After, in Volume 16, just after they annonced they are in second year, Jono-Uchi say (I'm not sure of my translation) "the prime was totally spent in the operation for my sister !" So, Ryuji's first apparence and Battle City are little time after Duelist Kingdom: Shizuka's operation was an emergency, wait was impossible.

According theses sentences said by Jono-Uchi and his sister, Shizuka's eyes must be saved in little time so the timeline is necesarily 1996-1997. Because Shizuka's health must be saved quickly, the time to have money, go to hospital and do the operation must be short.

I don't forget Ryuji's shop. If it was a building who had been build completly, there would have a mention in manga, particularly because the shop at coming is a shop of games. It isn't the case here so I suppose Ryugi's shop was a building already built. Maybe Ryuji's father has just bought the building to install his shop inside him.

Yes, Shizuka's operation was due to be made quickly (even though it's better to remind that the scene where she doesn't want to be operated unless her brother shows up to give her courage is only in the anime). And there's also to consider Yugi's injuries during the fire at Otogi's shop/during the duel with Ghoul-Bandit Keith, according to the version you prefer. He wasn't seriously injured, so how long would have taken to recover from them? A month, some weeks (surely a bit less than Shizuka, the aftermath of an eye surgery can take from some days up to months).

Originally Posted by Allana

1996 like startng date is coherent, there no problem with GX: anime has only mentionned that Professor D. is the first of the Professional League since 10 years. This not meanning GX take place 10 after DM.

Magic and Wizard was created in 1990. Duelist Kingdom take place in 1997. In the manga it is mentionned there tournaments and there professionals hunters primes before the Duelist Kingdom. Theses tournament was probably a professional leagues because they reunites together professionals. In GX, it is explains the D is first of the Professional League since 10 years old. GX tournament arrives in 2006 very probably. So Doctor D. is become the first in 1996. Maybe it is possible It's him who had succeded at Bandit Kierce: the manga mentionned before to loose his title and his place against Pegasus, Bandit Kierce was the best profesional hunter prime. Others nationalities was very probably represented during theses tournaments where the goal is win money with his deck.

Yeah, I believe the ten year thing was pretty much a rumor, I can't find any proof for it.

Hmm, DD succeeding Keith? Regarding the pro leagues and the 10 year thing, I've got this information (courtesy of a friend of mine):

There's a mention in season 2 that DD has been the top of the Pro Leagues for about ten years or so. There's also the fact that when Juudai was about...oh, he looks ot be about seven or eight, I think, but Kaiba and Mokuba haven't aged at all at that point.

[So that's the only mention?]

Only one that comes to mind offhand. There's nothing that flat out says 10 years precisely, but there ARE dates shown in GX that place it in the 2004-2006 year range. Juudai as a child while Kaiba & Mokuba were at the age they were shown to be in Battle City, the mentions of certain years (season 2 has 2005 being shown as the year), and the fact the Pros have been around for several years and had not been established at the time of YGO DM.

There's a flashback where you see child!Juudai watching an announcement on TV that Kaiba makes. Kaiba and Mokuba are both shown and they look exactly as they did in Battle City.

Originally Posted by Allana

I read again the Volume 16 and I think the timeline is definitively 1996-1997: In volume 8, Shizuka say in video: "I would have want to see you before the end". The last words shows that Shizuka will become blind in little time If his eyes aren't saved, It's an emergency. [snip]

So not much time must have passed because Shizuka's operation had to be done urgently? Good observation, Allana! :]

So we have managed to establish the following points:

• DM's date is 1996-1997
• Sugoroku goes to Egypt at the age of 40 in 1965 (in the sixties)
• The series starts in 1996 autumn, but the majority of DM takes place in 1997
• Most of the (real life) technology matches up with the dates except DDR (which was released in 1998)
• Duel Monsters was created by Pegasus in early 1990 (matching up with Pegasus' comment in 1997 regarding getting the idea for the game seven years ago)
• We know not much time must have passed between Duelist Kingdom and Battle City because Shizuka's operation had to be done as soon as possible.
• There is one month between Memory World and the Ceremonial Battle.

Now we only need to decide on the current rules for the timeline:

Dates stated in the series itself or by outside sources are used.
Events whose dates are approximate are written in italics.
In several cases, the order of events cannot be determined because it is impossible to begin with, such as events which occurred before the beginning of the story.
For the sake of simplicity, the manga and the anime timelines for the first series are considered as one. However, the manga's dates take priority over the dates shown in the anime. If dates contradict in both mediums, the manga again takes priority. Filler arcs, such as Doma and KC Grand Prix are omitted due to the plotholes and writing errors they contain regarding the series' overall timeline.
Explanations for some of the dates are listed in the References section.

Add/modify/remove?

Also, which timelines should we take into account?

DM: Manga has more dates than the anime. Does the anime have any dates other than the "In the sixties" one?
GX: The anime has way more dates. The manga is a separate story.
5D's: The manga is the only source for a lone date (20XX) right now.

If we can decide on these, I believe we can finally begin constructing the timeline on the Wiki page! \o/

Just a quick precisation about some differences between manga and anime about Shizuka surgery and Katsuya behaviour.

Spoiler: Long wall of text is long. Also, spoilers.

In the anime she doesn't want to have the operation until she sees her brother again, to find the courage to have the surgery and to see him a last time in case it wasn't successful. Jounouchi decides to join Battle City and that very same night he's assaulted by the Ghouls that beat him with the fake Exodia deck and take his Red Eyes. Jounouchi goes all mopey about it because he's afraid he's not as strong as he thought. He disappears, and Shizuka refuses to have the operation, so her mother calls Yugi and his friends (by the way, how did she know whom to call, since they had never met and hadn't seen her son in years?) to find him quickly, because the surgeon will have to leave in a couple of days for another operation in another country.
Then we have the infamously cut scene where Honda finds Jounouchi, punches him back to reason asking if losing a duel is more important than his own sister, and takes him to the hospital (moral of the 4Kids cut: never put in doubt that cards aren't serious business). Jounouchi and Shizuka talk, she finds the courage and undergoes the operation.
Then we skip to the duel between Jounouchi brainwashed by Malik and Yugi. Honda takes Shizuka to Domino, they're assaulted by Ghouls, Otogi arrives to the rescue and takes care of her while Honda goes Bruce Lee on the Ghouls' asses, Mai founds then and takes them to the place where Yugi and Katsuya are dueling. Shizuka arrives while Jounouchi is drowning, takes her bandages off, grabs the key, plunges into the sea and saves him.

In the manga things between them go differently. First of all, there isn't hesitation on her part about the operation: Jounouchi has the money and she undergoes the operation, and doesn't show up 'in person' until Honda and Otogi go to take her from the hospital during Battle City. There they discover that she's afraid to take the bandages off and find out she's still blind, so she wants to have her brother next to her to find the courage to take them off. They take her to Domino, find Mai while she's dueling with some random kids, she asks who the girl is, listens to their story and takes them to the pier where the duel between Yugi and Jounouchi is taking place with her car. But when they arrive Jounouchi has already been saved (by Kaiba, that throws him the key to free himself, but only when he's sure Katsuya is at his limit).

You are also forgeting that at the begining of the series Yugi and the others were 15-16 and at the end 17-18 so 1996 to 1997 is still out. They were first year high schoolers at the begining and in their senior year at the end. The manga seems to can't pick a timeline so i'm going with the 1992 - 1994 time period for both manga and anime since both spin-offs are in a sense canon.

Originally Posted by Arynis

Yeah, I believe the ten year thing was pretty much a rumor, I can't find any proof for it.

Hmm, DD succeeding Keith? Regarding the pro leagues and the 10 year thing, I've got this information (courtesy of a friend of mine):






So not much time must have passed because Shizuka's operation had to be done urgently? Good observation, Allana! :]

So we have managed to establish the following points:

• DM's date is 1996-1997
• Sugoroku goes to Egypt at the age of 40 in 1965 (in the sixties)
• The series starts in 1996 autumn, but the majority of DM takes place in 1997
• Most of the (real life) technology matches up with the dates except DDR (which was released in 1998)
• Duel Monsters was created by Pegasus in early 1990 (matching up with Pegasus' comment in 1997 regarding getting the idea for the game seven years ago)
• We know not much time must have passed between Duelist Kingdom and Battle City because Shizuka's operation had to be done as soon as possible.
• There is one month between Memory World and the Ceremonial Battle.

Now we only need to decide on the current rules for the timeline:



Add/modify/remove?

Also, which timelines should we take into account?

DM: Manga has more dates than the anime. Does the anime have any dates other than the "In the sixties" one?
GX: The anime has way more dates. The manga is a separate story.
5D's: The manga is the only source for a lone date (20XX) right now.

If we can decide on these, I believe we can finally begin constructing the timeline on the Wiki page! \o/

For the timeline, DM manga take priority: It show several dates. It's 1996-1997. For GX anime take priority: it show precise date in Episode 156 and I never seen a date in GX manga and It's a story completly different. For 5d's we can mention 20XX but we can't say we know a precise date. Until a date is shown in anime, manga take priority.

Originally Posted by Rikku-chan

You are also forgeting that at the begining of the series Yugi and the others were 15-16 and at the end 17-18 so 1996 to 1997 is still out. They were first year high schoolers at the begining and in their senior year at the end. The manga seems to can't pick a timeline so i'm going with the 1992 - 1994 time period for both manga and anime since both spin-offs are in a sense canon.

No, It' isn't a mistake: The manga show clearly the story starts in autonm 1996 so at the end of the year. This date is confirmed on the newspaper. (Volume 1 and 2) After, the manga show Jono-Uchi has 16 years old (in Volume 5) in 1997 (Volume 6, date show on the yoyo). Jono-Uchi is born the January, 25 so It's 1996-1997.

Originally Posted by remaner

Just a quick precisation about some differences between manga and anime about Shizuka surgery and Katsuya behaviour.

Spoiler: Long wall of text is long. Also, spoilers.

In the anime she doesn't want to have the operation until she sees her brother again, to find the courage to have the surgery and to see him a last time in case it wasn't successful. Jounouchi decides to join Battle City and that very same night he's assaulted by the Ghouls that beat him with the fake Exodia deck and take his Red Eyes. Jounouchi goes all mopey about it because he's afraid he's not as strong as he thought. He disappears, and Shizuka refuses to have the operation, so her mother calls Yugi and his friends (by the way, how did she know whom to call, since they had never met and hadn't seen her son in years?) to find him quickly, because the surgeon will have to leave in a couple of days for another operation in another country.
Then we have the infamously cut scene where Honda finds Jounouchi, punches him back to reason asking if losing a duel is more important than his own sister, and takes him to the hospital (moral of the 4Kids cut: never put in doubt that cards aren't serious business). Jounouchi and Shizuka talk, she finds the courage and undergoes the operation.
Then we skip to the duel between Jounouchi brainwashed by Malik and Yugi. Honda takes Shizuka to Domino, they're assaulted by Ghouls, Otogi arrives to the rescue and takes care of her while Honda goes Bruce Lee on the Ghouls' asses, Mai founds then and takes them to the place where Yugi and Katsuya are dueling. Shizuka arrives while Jounouchi is drowning, takes her bandages off, grabs the key, plunges into the sea and saves him.

In the manga things between them go differently. First of all, there isn't hesitation on her part about the operation: Jounouchi has the money and she undergoes the operation, and doesn't show up 'in person' until Honda and Otogi go to take her from the hospital during Battle City. There they discover that she's afraid to take the bandages off and find out she's still blind, so she wants to have her brother next to her to find the courage to take them off. They take her to Domino, find Mai while she's dueling with some random kids, she asks who the girl is, listens to their story and takes them to the pier where the duel between Yugi and Jounouchi is taking place with her car. But when they arrive Jounouchi has already been saved (by Kaiba, that throws him the key to free himself, but only when he's sure Katsuya is at his limit).

Thanks, Rem. I take it we cannot use the operation as a pointer, then.

Originally Posted by Rikku-chan

You are also forgeting that at the begining of the series Yugi and the others were 15-16 and at the end 17-18 so 1996 to 1997 is still out. They were first year high schoolers at the begining and in their senior year at the end. The manga seems to can't pick a timeline so i'm going with the 1992 - 1994 time period for both manga and anime since both spin-offs are in a sense canon.

Weren't they in their second year only? The only time their school grade was brought up was after Duelist Kingdom (They advanced a year: Year 1 -> Year 2) I believe.

Originally Posted by Arynis

Weren't they in their second year only? The only time their school grade was brought up was after Duelist Kingdom (They advanced a year: Year 1 -> Year 2) I believe.

From what I remember they were second year students from somewhere before the BC tourny.

Arynis, I think it's safe to put up on the Wiki what we have at the moment, in the light of the reasonable evidence backing it up (which seems to be frequently emerging from off-hand lines in the manga lately). All we need to do is stick up some paragraphs explaining discrepancies like DDR. If you want me to write any of it up, just say.

Originally Posted by Ryusaki

Arynis, I think it's safe to put up on the Wiki what we have at the moment, in the light of the reasonable evidence backing it up (which seems to be frequently emerging from off-hand lines in the manga lately). All we need to do is stick up some paragraphs explaining discrepancies like DDR. If you want me to write any of it up, just say.

Good stuff! And I see you added some information already.

You can write up pretty much anything you wish! I'm not good with any arc outside Duelist Kingdom, among other things. ^_^;

Here are also the dates and events I pulled from the Wiki (even though you could look up the page history):

Spoiler: Saving space

==Timeline==
===3000 BC===
*The earliest form of games originate from this period.
===1000 BC===
*The Egyptian kingdom is being attacked by invaders.
*[[Aknadin]] deciphers parts of the [[Ancient Book of Millennium Magic]] and prepares the ritual for creating the [[Millennium Items]].
*Aknadin departs to [[Kul Elna]] with an army to slaughter 99 people for the ritual.
*The Millennium Items are created from the villagers' boiled bodies.
*Aknadin returns to the palace with the creations and gives each Item to their designated holder.
*With the help of the Millennium Items, the invaders are repelled and defeated.
*Egyptian magicians seal monsters in stone tablets and summon them to fight battles in the Pharaoh's court. Their legend is later recorded in the Book of Thoth.
*The [[Dark Yugi|Pharaoh]] seals himself into the [[Millennium Items#Millennium Puzzle|Millennium Puzzle]] along with the [[Dark Priest]] (who manages to seal part of himself into the [[Millennium Ring]]) and erases his own memories.
===1920===
*October 4 - [[Sugoroku Muto]] is born.
===1960===
*Sugoroku visits the Valley of the Kings in order to play the "ultimate game". He obtains the Millennium Puzzle in the Pharaoh's Tomb.
===1966===
*August 12 - [[Bandit Keith]] is born.
===1968===
*''[[Cyndia]] is born.''
*October 8 - [[Pegasus J. Crawford]] is born.
*November 20 - [[Mai Kujaku]] is born.
===1972===
*April 5 - [[Ishizu Ishtar]] is born.
===1973===
*March 1 - [[Ryota Kajiki]] is born.
===1975===
*April 1 - [[Esper Roba]] is born.
===1976===
*''January 25 - [[Jonouchi Katsuya]] is born.''
*''February 28 - [[Ryuji Otogi]] is born.''
*''April 19 - [[Honda Hiroto]] is born.''
*''June 4 - [[Yugi Moto]] is born.''
*''August 18 - [[Anzu Mazaki]] is born.''
*''September 2 - [[Ryo Bakura]] is born.''
*''October 25 - [[Seto Kaiba]] is born.''
*December 23 - [[Marik Ishtar]] is born.
===1977===
*December 29 - [[Dinosaur Ryuzaki]] is born.
===1978===
*Pegasus and Cyndia meet at a social function.
*July 21 - [[Insector Haga]] is born.
===1981===
*July 7 - [[Mokuba Kaiba]] is born and his and Seto's mother dies shortly after.
===1984===
*Seto's and Mokuba's father dies in an accident.
*Yugi receives the Millennium Puzzle from Sugoroku as a memento.
===1985===
*Cyndia dies of an unknown illness. Pegasus is devastated.
===1986===
*Seto and Mokuba are put into an orphanage when their relatives ate up their inheritance.
*[[Kaiba Gozaburo]] adopts the brothers after Seto wins the set-up chess game.
*''Pegasus goes to Egypt after getting interested in the concepts of the Egyptian afterlife. He encounters [[Shadi]] in Kul Elna and gains the [[Millennium Items#Millennium Eye|Millennium Eye]].''
*''Pegasus gets brainwashed by the Eye, discovers the tablets with the monsters housed in them and creates [[Duel Monsters]].''
*''Pegasus founds [[Industrial Illusions]]''.
===1987===
*Fueled by his rage against the ancient traditions of the tombkeepers and the hardships they forced him and his family to endure, Marik's rage personifies into a second, darker personality for the first time and slays his own father.
*Marik obtains the [[Millennium Items#Millenium Rod|Millennium Rod]] and Ishizu obtains the [[Millennium Items#Millennium Necklace|Millennium Necklace]].
*''Pegasus departs to Egypt again in order to look for the tablet with the Egyptian Gods. He finds it with Shadi's guide.''
*''Pegasus returns to the USA to create the [[Egyptian God Cards]]. He considers their creation his biggest mistake and returns to Egypt once again to seal them away.''
*''Pegasus meets Ishizu in Egypt who then takes the God Cards from him.''
===1992===
*Seto takes over [[Kaiba Corporation]] and Gozaburo commits suicide.
*Yugi solves the Millennium Puzzle and unseals [[Dark Yugi]] at the same time.
===2004===
===2005===
===2006===
===2007===
===20XX===
*Paradox encounters Yusei and takes his Stardust Dragon.
*Yusei goes through a time slip.
===????===
*[[Paradox]] departs from his time into the past.

==References==
*The first series' period can be determined from Kazuki Takahashi mentioning in [http://shinhoroko.livejournal.com/5218.html The Super Long Interview With Kazuki Takahashi-sensei] that [[Sugoroku Muto]] was forty years old when he went to Egypt to take part in the "ultimate game" and obtain the Millennium Puzzle. According to Battle 279 of the manga, this occurred in 1960. In the Gospel of Truth, Sugoroku is listed as 72 years old in the present day, therefore the series is set in 1992. After [[Duelist Kingdom]], Yugi states that they have advanced a grade in school. With this information in mind, it could be said that the events of the series happened in about a year and a half.
*For GX, dates were occasionally shown in the anime, such as [[Marufuji Ryo]] graduating from the [[Duel Academia]] in 2004 and [[Judai Yuki]] starting his studies in 2004 (Episode 156).
*For 5D's, the date is explicitly shown in Ride 01 of the [[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (manga)|5D's manga]].
*The characters' birthdays are listed in the [[Gospel of Truth]].
*Yugi, Anzu, Honda, Jonouchi, Kaiba, Ryo, Ryuji are listed as "second year in high school" in the Gospel of Truth. This would make all of them about 16 years old.
*In Vol. 5, Duel 40 of the manga, Mokuba mentions "When Seto-sama was ten and I was five...", making the age difference five years between them. Thus, Mokuba was born in 1981.
*Cyndia's day of birth was never stated, but it is known she died at the age of 17, shortly after Pegasus' 17th birthday. This would make her slightly older than him.
*Cyndia's death happened shortly after Pegasus' birthday. Pegasus stated that "for months he stared at the white canvas of his heart". Again, his birthday is in October, so after a few months of grieving a new year has surely begun.
*Ishizu said that the tragedy of the Ishtars occurred five years before Battle City. If we go by the anime, Pegasus met Ishizu when he intended to seal the God cards in Egypt, at which time she already had the Necklace. Before the tragedy the Necklace was kept in the temple along with the Rod. Therefore Pegasus could've created the God cards five years ago. When he found the Gods' tablet, he also claimed his game would be finally complete. Thus creating and finishing the card game in a span of two years would make sense.

The chronological placement of the events is wrong of course, but they should be still sorted according to the newly established timeline.

Good new ! Nice picture on Wiki page !

Originally Posted by Arynis

Here are also the dates and events I pulled from the Wiki (even though you could look up the page history):

Adjusted for the new timeline, I think those dates would be fine. However, I think it's very important that we make clear which dates are confirmed canon and which dates are fan educated guesswork.

Originally Posted by Allana

Good new ! Nice picture on Wiki page !

Heh, thanks. I figured if any character represents a solid Yu-Gi-Oh! timeline, it's the one time an entire chapter/episode was dedicated to a plot many decades before the action of the series.

Originally Posted by Ryusaki

Adjusted for the new timeline, I think those dates would be fine. However, I think it's very important that we make clear which dates are confirmed canon and which dates are fan educated guesswork.

The birthdays are canon, the years of birth are more or less guesswork. (I went with assuming everyone is 15 at the beginning of the series.) Pretty much anything in two single quote marks are guesswork (since they are supposed to appear in italics indicating either the date itself is not confirmed by canon, or the order isn't).

Hi everyone. I know I'm jumping into this discussion a bit late, but I actually joined just to read it. This whole "when did yugioh actually take place" thing has bother me for a while. I agree that the 96-98 timeline seems to be the best so far.

A note on the Japanese school system. I'm not sure if it's been discussed, but Japanese high schools only have three years total. So a "first year high school student" in Japan would be equivalent to a sophomore in America, 15-16 years old. This would make sense if (although I've only read a bad scanlations of the last few chapters so I may be wrong about this) Yugi & Co. were 18 when they finished the Ceremonial Battle. They would have been finishing up their last year of high school.

A few notes I have on timing though, mostly opinions, but they fit in my mind:

1. They were in their first year when they started, and this tracks with volumes 5-6. When DK started, I always thought it took place over the week or two break students get in March before they start the new school year on April 1st. This made sense to me as Otogi showed up for the new school year shortly there after.
2. I remember in a DM episode that Anzu was looking out over the rain and the "2-B" classroom sign was shown. Rainy season in Japan is late May/early June though mid-July, and since this was before Battle City, it thought that competition might have taken place during summer vacation. It also made sense because nobody was in school uniforms and in Japan, students tend to be in their uniforms all the time--this isn't just an anime stereotype.
3. In a contradiction to #2 though, which was the anime, in the manga Yugi & Co. are back and forth between school and the hospital before Anzu and Yugi go on their DDR date. In the manga, I believe, after Kaiba and Ishizu meet, he announces that "in a while"--or something to that effect--there will be a competition in Domino. In the anime, doesn't Yugi stumble upon a bunch of duelists and realize it's about to start? In the manga then, Battle City may have taken place over Golden Week.
4. I also believe that the manga states that they go to Egypt over summer vacation, but whether that's during their second or third year of high school, I'm not sure. Although I would think third.

Either way, I hope we figure all this out. I'll start pouring over my Japanese tankouban and see what I can dig up. Also, I think the story might not be quite as linear as we're attempting to make it out to be. In a way, I think the filler arcs in the anime can be explained as time that passed but wasn't covered in the manga. I also tended to think that the manga started at the beginning, or at least during the second term, of their first year--hence why Yugi had no friends.

Welcome, Sekhmet, and thanks for your contribution.

The discrepancies between manga and anime are huge sometimes (I posted a wall of text some posts ago about the differences between Jounouchi and Shikuza's relation between the two versions). Also, with the beginning of the Duelist Kingdom arc the explicit time references (dates on newspapers and similar) in the manga seem to end.

About the anime reference to the fact they're in their second year before the beginning of Battle City, when Honda and Jounouchi are cleaning the corridor of the school the buckets they're using have written on the same thing (2-B).

Spoiler: Screenshot

Would have anyone thougt that writing down the timeline for YGO would have been that difficult?

No one's ever late to this discussion! Welcome to the forums. :] It's always good to see more people contribute to the project, too.

You have made very interesting points. I like your idea for the fillers as well. However, I don't think the cast would be in their third year, because the Gospel of Truth says they are all in their second year, and the book was released sometime during Battle City. I still think the DDR issue may have been a slip up, because I doubt that much time has passed after Duelist Kingdom has ended. Every other technology seems to correlate, though.

Originally Posted by Sekhmet

Rainy season in Japan is late May/early June though mid-July, and since this was before Battle City [...]

I recall Rem pointing it out that it was raining in the beginning of the manga. Would that mean that the first year has just begun for Yugi and co? It would match up with the whole "going to the theme park with Anzu" thing (during the summer vacation), too.

And if Takahashi stated that Sugoroku went to Egypt in the 1960s when he was 40 years old, would that mean he went there in 1965, right? (Calculating with 1997 here.)

Welcome to the forums Sekhmet ! Thanks for your contribution !

Good observation in anime even it contradicts the manga. The manga stated characters are in first then in second year school. But the third year had never been mentionned so the first and second year are keep for the chronology.

About Egypt, I don't know, I don't own the last Arc in manga. It something interesting at verify.

Arynis, you're right, It's in 1965.

I actually own the Gospel of Truth, it's just not in my apartment at the mo'. I couldn't remember if it said they were second or first years, but at least we definitely know they started high school, THEN went to Duelist Kingdom, THEN were second years in Battle City. While it's rough at best, at least an outline is there.

And if DDR is our only discrepancy, who's to say it wasn't a prototype? Something that was put up as a trial in that specific arcade before it was release across the country. I actually pulled out that volume, 17, and noticed something else. When Yugi is in the hospital and the old man hands him the paper, there's an ad for FMW (Japan's WWF, in a way) and it says 8.23 & 8.25, obviously dates. So we can assume that this and by proxy, since it's not much later, Battle City take place BEFORE late August.

And school is definitely going on while Yugi is in the hospital, when he's on the roof and talking to himself he says:

Yugi: Kyou no gosenchuu niwa taiin dekiru yo! Dakara gakkou ni chotto kaodashite, gogo niwa Jounouchi-kun-tachi to asobi ni iku yaksokushiteru nda!

(This morning I'll be discharged from the hospital. So I need to show up to at school, and this afternoon everyone promised we'd get to play/get together/have fun.)

Anzu and Yugi's date is also on a Sunday, and he asked her out on a Friday at school. While they're out, Kaiba announces that on Tuesday Domino will become Battle City. But Yugi & Co. are in school that Monday.... so, yah, I don't know. Maybe they just skip school on Tuesday? I don't have volume 18, so I can't say. But my guess would be Golden Week started or another holiday.

Also, I've just thought of something. I haven't read it, but Yu-Gi-Oh R.... it's more-or-less cannon, right? Considering it's supervised by Takahashi. Doesn't it take place after Battle City, but before Egypt? Any timeline references in there?

Originally Posted by Sekhmet

Also, I've just thought of something. I haven't read it, but Yu-Gi-Oh R.... it's more-or-less cannon, right? Considering it's supervised by Takahashi. Doesn't it take place after Battle City, but before Egypt? Any timeline references in there?

R is sort of between canon and non-canon. It's approved by Takahashi and fits canon entirely, but it was described as an alternate scenario of sorts. Besides, it all takes place in a night and seems to follow very soon after Yugi defeats Marik, as it shows the final move of that duel.

Originally Posted by Sekhmet

I actually own the Gospel of Truth, it's just not in my apartment at the mo'. I couldn't remember if it said they were second or first years, but at least we definitely know they started high school, THEN went to Duelist Kingdom, THEN were second years in Battle City. While it's rough at best, at least an outline is there.

And if DDR is our only discrepancy, who's to say it wasn't a prototype? Something that was put up as a trial in that specific arcade before it was release across the country. I actually pulled out that volume, 17, and noticed something else. When Yugi is in the hospital and the old man hands him the paper, there's an ad for FMW (Japan's WWF, in a way) and it says 8.23 & 8.25, obviously dates. So we can assume that this and by proxy, since it's not much later, Battle City take place BEFORE late August.

And school is definitely going on while Yugi is in the hospital, when he's on the roof and talking to himself he says:


Anzu and Yugi's date is also on a Sunday, and he asked her out on a Friday at school. While they're out, Kaiba announces that on Tuesday Domino will become Battle City. But Yugi & Co. are in school that Monday.... so, yah, I don't know. Maybe they just skip school on Tuesday? I don't have volume 18, so I can't say. But my guess would be Golden Week started or another holiday.

Date in on newspaper in volume 17 don't appear in my version. Excellent discover ! Congratulations !

I didn't noticed days for Battle City and your right ! In volume 17, when Kaiba announces Battle City, he say it will start in two days. He announces it the Sunday when Yugi and Anzu are together. So Battle City is a Tuesday and they don't go to school: Battle City starts the morning at 9. 00 am.

Originally Posted by Sekhmet

I actually own the Gospel of Truth, it's just not in my apartment at the mo'. I couldn't remember if it said they were second or first years, but at least we definitely know they started high school, THEN went to Duelist Kingdom, THEN were second years in Battle City. While it's rough at best, at least an outline is there.

And if DDR is our only discrepancy, who's to say it wasn't a prototype? Something that was put up as a trial in that specific arcade before it was release across the country. I actually pulled out that volume, 17, and noticed something else. When Yugi is in the hospital and the old man hands him the paper, there's an ad for FMW (Japan's WWF, in a way) and it says 8.23 & 8.25, obviously dates. So we can assume that this and by proxy, since it's not much later, Battle City take place BEFORE late August.

And school is definitely going on while Yugi is in the hospital, when he's on the roof and talking to himself he says:


Anzu and Yugi's date is also on a Sunday, and he asked her out on a Friday at school. While they're out, Kaiba announces that on Tuesday Domino will become Battle City. But Yugi & Co. are in school that Monday.... so, yah, I don't know. Maybe they just skip school on Tuesday? I don't have volume 18, so I can't say. But my guess would be Golden Week started or another holiday.

Originally Posted by Allana

Date in on newspaper in volume 17 don't appear in my version. Excellent discover ! Congratulations !

I didn't noticed days for Battle City and your right ! In volume 17, when Kaiba announces Battle City, he say it will start in two days. He announces it the Sunday when Yugi and Anzu are together. So Battle City is a Tuesday and they don't go to school: Battle City starts the morning at 9. 00 am.

Whoa, you managed to pinpoint down the DDM Arc's date and how and when Battle City started, on a day level? Awesome work there! And once again, good point about the DDR! I didn't think of that.

Originally Posted by Sekhmet

When Yugi is in the hospital and the old man hands him the paper, there's an ad for FMW (Japan's WWF, in a way) and it says 8.23 & 8.25, obviously dates. So we can assume that this and by proxy, since it's not much later, Battle City take place BEFORE late August.
[...]
Anzu and Yugi's date is also on a Sunday, and he asked her out on a Friday at school. While they're out, Kaiba announces that on Tuesday Domino will become Battle City. But Yugi & Co. are in school that Monday.... so, yah, I don't know. Maybe they just skip school on Tuesday? I don't have volume 18, so I can't say. But my guess would be Golden Week started or another holiday.

The Golden Week usually takes place between the 29th of April and the 5th of May, so if we August as good it's more likely to be during the Summer Holidays.
Also, about the date on the newspaper, here there are the three pages of Yugi with the newspaper (one, two, three, click on them to increase the size). I see no dates, could you point out where you saw them?

Originally Posted by remaner

The Golden Week usually takes place between the 29th of April and the 5th of May, so if we August as good it's more likely to be during the Summer Holidays.
Also, about the date on the newspaper, here there are the three pages of Yugi with the newspaper (one, two, three, click on them to increase the size). I see no dates, could you point out where you saw them?

On the picture two, I see 823. It's on the down on the page, on left of the right side. The 823 is near the balloon in down of the page. I don't see 825.

Originally Posted by Allana

On the picture two, I see 823. It's on the down on the page, on left of the right side. The 823 is near the balloon in down of the page. I don't see 825.

Seen it now. It's very small. Good job finding it Sekhmet.

Originally Posted by remaner

The Golden Week usually takes place between the 29th of April and the 5th of May, so if we August as good it's more likely to be during the Summer Holidays.

I was thinking Golden Week given the other time references, ie. DDM and Otogi happening just around when school started in April, but then again, that's my own personal thoughts. For me this just means Battle City happened BEFORE August, so you could be right. Yugi-tachi may have been in school for a while before he got up the never to ask Anzu out. And maybe summer vacation started on a Tuesday?

And really, these dates were much easier to see in real life. On the computer the text gets blurred even though these are hi-def scans. The "8.23 & 8.25" are right below the bubble, the the 8.25 seems to be covered a bit by the special effects.