YF --> ANIME --> Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, meaning Generation Next, is a spinoff of Yu-Gi-Oh!, created to continue the franchise. When first it aired in Japan, it continued immeditately on from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, to the point the first episode being advertised following the final episode of Duel Monsters.

The series is set approximately 10 years in the future, meaning that Yugi and the gang are now in their mid-twenties, and Kaiba is a few years short of 30. It is notable, in fact that Yugi, having aged, now bears a closer resemblence in appearance and voice to Yami Yugi. The original cast are seldom-seen in GX, although some make cameo appearances every now and again. Yugi appears in the first episode with most of his face offscreen. Kaiba appears hidden by shadows in season 1 and does not appear in full until season 2, in a flashback. The third and final member of the original cast to appear in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX is Grandpa Muto, during a visit that Jaden and his class pay to the Game Shop. Yugi is not home at the time.

Duel Academy was created by Seto Kaiba (who is 28 at the time of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, 18 at the time of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters), who signed the deal some time after the events of Duel Monsters. The students are devided into 3 dormitories, Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue, Slifer Red being the lowest, Obelisk Blue being the highest. Jaden Yuki, due to the low score he got on his written exam, was dumped into Slifer Red, along with his friends, Syrus Truesdale, and Chumley Huffington.

In Japan, Jaden (or Judai as he is called there) is currently half way through his fourth and final year of Duel Academy, preparing for his graduation duel. In the American dubbed version, he is at the same stage in his third year.

The shift from the original series to GX is accompanied by the notion of modernization. Dueling technology has evolved, and cybernetics surface as a prevalent theme among monsters, either in totality (Cyber Dragons/Vehicroids), or enhancement through the addition of machinery (Cyber Girls/Dinosaurs/Tarot) to emphasize the replacement of the ancient with the futuristic. Furthermore, the displays that show monster stats and Life Points totals change from blue and gold print to digital readouts with color-coded energy bars for Life Points.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX began airing in Japan on October 6th 2004, only to begin in America just over a year later, on October 10th 2005. Therefore, generally, wherever the Japanese series is, the Dubbed series is approximately a year behind.

WELCOME TO DUEL ACADEMY

Season 1 introduces the new protagonists of the Yu-Gi-Oh! series: Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Alexis and others, as well as the new Kaiba-like antagonist, Chazz Princeton. The season also introduces the concept of the abandoned dorm, where several students (including Alexis' brother) went missing a while ago. This dorm would not only prove vital to the backstory of the Shadow Riders, but will also be important in later seasons. In addition, the Slifer Dorm headmaster, Professor Banner, is introduced with his cat, Pharaoh, who will continue to support and encourage Jaden throughout his life at the academy, no matter what happens to him.

RISE OF THE SACRED BEASTS

After spending almost half the season showing the students adjusting to life in the academy, the plot thickens with the arrival of seven "Shadow Riders", seven powerful duelists with the collective goal to obtain seven spirit keys to unlock the tomb of the "Sacred Beasts", three divine God-like cards of unknown origin that are stored underneath Duel Academy.

THE SOCIETY OF LIGHT

In season 2, Duel Academy sees new arrivals in the form of first years, including Tyranno Hassleberry and Aster Phoenix. The latter causes much puzzlement across the academy, due to his pro-dueling backstory. Nevertheless, the teachers (including Professor Crowler) is quick to publicise this arrival, but they may be getting into more than they know, as the arrival of new antagonist Sartorius, leader of the Society of Light, causes tension across the school as students become brainwashed by the light, and Jaden finds it difficult to cope with the competition from Aster, beginning to doubt himself as a duelist. Can he come out of it to stop the society from taking over the school?

QUEST FOR THE RAINBOW DRAGON

In Jaden and the gang's first year, a bunch of exchange students from other Duel Academy branches around the world arrive at the academy. IN addition, a new professor, Thelonius Viper, arrives and quickly takes over, beginning his own tournament without discouragement from the current staff. However, with strange new rules for duels, the gang grow suspicious of his activities, as his motives for this may not be entirely educational. Clues for this include a recurring nightmare that Jaden has been having about someone from his past whom he can't quite remember, and when the entire academy is transferred to another dimension, exchange student Jesse works together with Jaden to stop the evil behind it, but to do that they require Jesse's trump card - the Rainbow Dragon. And in a whirlwind of cameos, this new season becomes one of the most bizarre and exciting yet.

INTO THE SHADOWS

After Jaden and the others return from the other dimension, it is not long before they discover that with Jesse missing, the evil is not yet vanquished. The gang return through various different dimensions in search of Jesse and the true culprit behind the events, though none would have expected the truth. Character development quickens this season, as, since the students are nearing the end of their Duel Academy experience, they all, especially Jaden, begin to grown up, and Jaden is plagued doubts about himself, blaming himself for everything, and beginning to fall into the darkness himself...

GRADUATION

In Season 4, the end of the Duel Academy experience is nearing, and the gang prepare to leave the school. But nothing is not quite right, and a new antagonist, Trueman appears from nowhere to complete his goal of making others fall to darkness. Nightshroud, the shadow rider from Season 1, also makes an unwelcome and someone confusing return, prompting trouble for not just Duel Academy, but Domino City as well. On top of all this, the events of Season 3 have prompted Jaden to take a good look at himself and, in an attempt to fulfill the promise he made to grow up and become a responsible adult, returns to Duel Academy with a new look and a new attitude.