Card Artworks:Dark Magician Girl

"Dark Magician Girl":

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"Dark Magician Girl" has six main artwork variations used on cards. Almost all of them have been subject to edits or cross-medium differences, making it the card with the largest number of overall artworks, after the generic "Token" card.

Manga artwork

This image was first used as the manga artwork. It debuted in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 164 (Duelist Duel 105): "The Magicians' Souls" on February 28, 2000. It was first printed in the OCG as the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters III: Tri-Holy God Advent Official Tournament Street Duel Legend of Power prize card, released August 27, 2000.

In this artwork, the monster's choker and waist loop are yellow (the latter of which is only visible in fully body extensions of this artwork, such as video game monster projections and merchandise). Despite this being the original version of her outfit, "Dark Magician Girl" appears wearing it only in the artwork of the Rush Duel card "Dark Resonance Burst".

• This artwork was initially unedited in the English manga, but later printings replaced the hexagram symbol on the jewel with a triangle.
  • Later printings of the Japanese manga replaced the hexagram with a pentagram. In the color version, it is painted pink rather than yellow.
• The first Japanese OCG artwork was based on this illustration. The monster was slightly rotated counter-clockwise and hearts were added to the background.
  • In the international version, the outline of her bust is erased, the hexagram-emblazoned blue jewel is replaced with a plain red one, and her right sleeve is moved up along her arm. These edits were repeated in the international versions of all other artworks.
  • With the release of Structure Deck: Yugi Muto on June 18, 2016, the Japanese version was edited to replace the hexagram with a pentagram.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelist, released December 7, 2000, uses a zoomed-in version of the initial OCG artwork, with the background changed to plain green. Her eyes are blue instead of green.
• This artwork was redone for the card's Rush Duel version (first released as one of the Yu-Gi-Oh! RUSH DUEL: Saikyo Battle Royale!! promotional cards on August 12, 2021), using a lower zoom so that more of her body can be seen compared to the original. The tabs on her vambraces are colored blue, instead of pink like on full versions of the OCG artwork. Its international version was edited in the same way as the OCG/TCG counterpart.

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  Original manga

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  English manga, edited

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  Japanese manga, edited and colorized

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  Japanese anime / 1st Japanese

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  International anime / 1st international

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  1st Japanese, edited

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  Japanese full view

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  DM4

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  1st Japanese Rush Duel

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  1st international Rush Duel

Duel 164 pose

This artwork is based on the pose "Dark Magician Girl" was drawn in when Summoned in her aforementioned debut chapter. It was not featured in the OCG until History Archive Collection, released February 19, 2022.

• A zoomed-in version is used in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters III: Tri-Holy God Advent, released July 13, 2000. Here, the monster's outfit has a completely different color scheme than her other appearances: her tunic, hat, and vambraces are red-violet with a cyan trim and choker and dark blue cape.
  • The international localized version of the game, Yu-G-Oh! Dark Duel Stories (released March 19, 2002), uses an edited version of this artwork, erasing the cleavage.
• Announcements for the Street Duel Legend of Power prize card used this artwork, depite the actual print using the manga one. This illustration used the same color scheme as the DM3/DDS artwork, although the trim and choker are changed to pale blue and the cape to purple. Also visible are her waist loop, which is pale blue as well, and her rod, which is dark blue with a pale blue trims.
  • One of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters video game promotional cards, released March 21, 2001, was printed with this artwork, edited to use the standard scheme, although her cheek stickers remain purple rather than pink. Additionally, the "Dark Magical Circle" in the background is shrunk so that it fits within the now-rectangular framing.
    • The official Yu-Gi-Oh! English anime website, yugioh.com, displays an edited version of this artwork that replaces the hexagram-emblazoned blue jewel with a plain red jewel, erases the outline of her bust, extends her sleeves to cover more of her chest, and moves the strand of hair hanging over her right shoulder behind her arm. It is framed almost the same way as the Street Duel Legend of Power announcement artwork, including the "Dark Magical Circle" being re-enlargened to the same size. Despite yugioh.com usually displaying artworks used in the international dub of the anime, this artwork has never appeared in it, or anywhere else.
• The Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters tabletop game uses a picture of the game's "Dark Magician Girl" figure overlaid on a background of a green flat grid. This artwork is also used in the Dungeon Dice Monsters video game itself.
  • The English version uses a zoomed out variation to show the entire body of "Dark Magician Girl", in contrast to the Japanese artwork which is framed above her legs, and the background replaced with a pair of blue angled grids.
• The version that was ultimately released in History Archive Collection was redrawn to be of visual quality consistent with contemporary cards, following the manga's lines more closely and with the zoom adjusted to include the entire body of "Dark Magician Girl". While the artwork still features "Dark Magical Circle" behind her, the background was changed from a green wall of hearts to a gradient of yellow-to-pink-to-purple decorated with stars or sparkles. This specific variant of the artwork is the first to depict jewels on the monster's dress as a mix of red and yellow ones, consistent with how they have been colored on all TCG/OCG cards featuring "Dark Magician Girl" that have been released since 2019 ("Bond Between Teacher and Student", "Dark Magic Twin Burst", "Magicians' Combination", and "Magician's Salvation").

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  Manga scene

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  Manga scene, edited and colorized

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  DM3

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  DDS

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  Legend of Power announcement

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  DDM green promotional card

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  yugioh.com

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  Japanese DDM

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  English DDM

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  6th Japanese

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  6th international

DDM-original artwork

This was first used in media relating to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters video game (released March 21, 2001), such as the box, manual, and another of the promotional cards. However, the "Dark Magician Girl" figure itself uses the previous artwork (as shown above).

In this artwork, the monster's choker and waist loop are changed to pink. No other card depicts "Dark Magician Girl" in this version of her outfit.

• The DDM promotional card in question again features the "Dark Magical Circle" against a wall of hearts as background, this time blue.
• In the TCG/OCG version of this artwork, released in Structure Deck: Yugi on June 28, 2001, the background was changed to a pink swirl with two concentric rings of hearts.
  • With its release as one of the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2023 attendance cards on August 6, 2023, the Japanese version was edited to replace the hexagram with a pentagram.

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  DDM blue promotional card

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  2nd Japanese

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  2nd international

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  2nd Japanese, edited

Duel 174 pose

This artwork is based on the pose "Dark Magician Girl" was drawn in when Summoned in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 174 (Duelist Duel 115): "The Combo of God!!", released May 22, 2000. It was first printed in the OCG in Limited Edition 5, released April 8, 2003. This pose may have been inspired by the first OCG artwork of "Dark Magician", which uses a similar one. Both artworks depict the magicians floating in front of a "Dark Magical Circle" while holding their hat with their left hand and wand with their right hand, their legs bent with their knees forward.

In this artwork, the monster's choker is pink, the waist loop is yellow, and she appears to wear a blue fingerless glove on her left hand. In addition, her eyes are blue instead of green, and the jewels are yellow rather than red. This version of the outfit of "Dark Magician Girl" is reflected by all TCG/OCG cards released until 2016 with the exception of "Magicians' Defense" (in "Dark Burning Attack" and "Dark Burning Magic" the single glove is removed; in "Dark Magic Expanded", "Dark Magic Inheritance", and "Magician Navigation" the glove is replaced with flaps on both hands, and the latter also changes back the eye color back to green.)

• This illustration was used as the third artwork in both the TCG and OCG.
  • With the release of Duelist Pack: Legend Duelist 6 on November 9, 2019, the Japanese version was edited to replace the hexagram with a pentagram.
• This artwork was redone for the card's Rush Duel version as well (released as one of the card bundled with the Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel Duel Disk Yudias Version on December 17, 2022), with the fingerless glove replaced with the usual vambrace's flap and the color scheme changed to match that of the original artwork.

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  Manga scene

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  Manga scene, edited and colorized

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  3rd Japanese

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  3rd international

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  3rd Japanese, edited

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  2nd Japanese Rush Duel

10th anniversary artwork

This is the fourth Japanese OCG artwork. It was released in Anniversary Pack on December 20, 2008, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game. It is the only artwork to have not been edited internationally; in the TCG, it has only been released as part of The Lost Art Promotion 2020, which features cards with their original Japanese artworks.

In this artwork, the monster's costume's trim, cape, skirt, choker, and waist loop are all changed to lavender, her eyes are blue, the jewels are red, and the vambraces are changed to fingerless gloves. Additionally, the spiral on her hat is on the right side instead of the left side. Notably, this was the first artwork to natively feature the pentagram, rather than having it replace the hexagram.

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  4th Japanese / 5th international

Duel Art artwork

A more "life-like" illustration of "Dark Magician Girl" was included in Duel Art, released on December 16, 2011. It has not been used on any "Dark Magician Girl" cards, but a modified version of it was used for "Magi Magi ☆ Magician Gal", which was released as the Weekly Shōnen Jump 2012, Issue 2 promotional card on December 12, 2011. On "Magi Magi ☆ Magician Gal", the runes in the magic circle are replaced with Cyrillic characters.

In this artwork, the monster has a black-and-silver version of her usually blue-and-pink outfit, as well as her eye color being changed to purple. In addition, she wears full gloves instead of vambraces, and sports purple eyeshadow and an ankh tattoo on her chest. No other card depicts "Dark Magician Girl" in this version of her outfit.

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  Duel Art

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  "Magi Magi ☆ Magician Gal"

Dark Side of Dimensions artwork

This is the fifth Japanese OCG artwork, designed for the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions, released April 23, 2016. It was first printed in the OCG in the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions Duel Set two days before the movie's premiere.

In this artwork, the monster's choker and waist loop are purple, but the color schere otherwise matches the original one. "Dark Magician Girl" appears this version of her outfit only in the artwork of "Magicians' Defense" (a card also made for The Dark Side of Dimensions).

• In addition of the usual changes made to "Dark Magician Girl" outside Japan, the North American version of this artwork also edited the "Dark Magical Circle" in the background to be much fainter.
• A manga-style, black-and-white version of the international-sans-North America artwork was released as a Case Topper card with Duel Overload.

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  Japanese DSOD / 5th Japanese

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  International DSOD / 4th international

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  North American English

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  DUOV Case Topper

25th anniversary artworks

These are the seventh and eight Japanese artworks. They were were released in Quarter Century Chronicle side:Unity on February 23, 2024 and Quarter Century Chronicle side:Pride on March 23 respectively, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game.

They share the same illustration of "Dark Magician Girl" herself (with the same color scheme as the 6th artwork), but with different backgrounds. In particular, the 8th features a partial "Dark Magical Circle", and lines up with a "Dark Magician" artwork released in the same set.

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  7th Japanese

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  8th Japanese

Over Rush Pack artwork

This is the third Rush Duel artwork, and the first to debut in it. It was released as an Over Rush Rare in Over Rush Pack 2 on April 6, 2024 (serving as the set's cover card, where more of the peripheric detail can be seen). It uses the original color scheme like the other Rush Duel artworks.

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  3rd Rush Duel

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  full view