Millennium Puzzle (Toei)

The Millennium Puzzle

The Millennium Puzzle is an item in the Toei Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. This is the series' incarnation of the Millennium Puzzle from the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga.

History

It is written in the Book of the Dead that in ancient Egypt the Millennium Puzzle was used by a Pharaoh to reveal and judge criminals. Since then it was disassembled and spent 3000 years in the Pharaoh's tomb.

An archaeological team team found the disassembled Millennium Puzzle in its box in an Egyptian tomb that plunderers had not raided. A member of the team, known to the others as "professor" went to pick up the box and wondered if it was the Shadow Games. He then collapsed and called it the Puzzle of Darkness as he hit the ground.

The Millennium Puzzle was exhumed, but everyone in the archaeological team suffered mysterious deaths with the last one uttering "the Shadow Games" in their dying breath.

At some point, the Millennium Puzzle was left in Yugi Mutou's family's game shop. Yugi found the Puzzle there and spent eight years trying to solve it. Yugi believed that the hieroglyphics on the box said "whoever solves the puzzle will have their wish granted" and made a wish for friends. His grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou, instead believed the hieroglyphics said "whoever solves me will receive my dark power and knowledge". Sugoroku also believed the Puzzle to be beyond human comprehension and that Yugi could not solve it. Since it was said that whoever solves the Puzzle gains the power of Shadow Games, he considered it would probably for the best if Yugi did not solve it.

One day while Yugi was sitting alone at school with the Millennium Puzzle, Katsuya Jonouchi snatched it from him and taunted him. While Yugi was distracted, he swiped the center piece from the box, just before Anzu Mazaki arrived and took the box from him, returning it to Yugi. Jonouchi left the room afterwards and threw the piece into a canal, annoyed.

Against Yugi's wishes, Ushio beat up Jonouchi and Hiroto Honda and imposed a bodyguard fees of ￥200,000. Seeing Yugi defend him from Ushio, prompted Jonouchi to retrieve the piece of the Millennium Puzzle he had thrown into the canal. While Yugi thought about what to do, he was drawn to working on the Millennium Puzzle and found it much easier to assemble than previous attempts. He got to the point where the only piece left was the one Jonouchi who had taken and on realizing it was missing, dashed back to school to look for it. At school he encountered Ushio, who beat him up for not being able to pay. Jonouchi and Honda saw what was happening and confronted Ushio. Jonouchi handed Yugi the piece before he and Honda received a second beating. As Ushio walked away, Yugi inserted the last piece into the Millennium Puzzle.

On Yugi's completion of the Millennium Puzzle, Dark Yugi became able to take over his body. Dark Yugi went after Ushio and faced him in a Shadow Game. For Ushio's attempt to cheat, Dark Yugi subjected him to a Penalty Game where he believed he was eaten alive by monsters.