Duel Masters (デュエル・マスターズ, Dyueru Masutāzu) is a media franchise consisting of a manga, several anime series, a trading card game and several video games. It was originally associated with Magic: The Gathering, in which its cards are utilized within the manga. The original manga, accompanied with its sequels, sold 4.5 million copies in Japan.[20]
Duel Masters | |
デュエル・マスターズ (Dyueru Masutāzu) | |
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Genre | Fantasy[1] |
Manga | |
Written by | Shigenobu Matsumoto |
Published by | Shogakukan |
Magazine | CoroCoro Comic |
Demographic | Children |
Original run | May 1999 – present |
Volumes | 81 |
Series titles | |
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Anime television series | |
Directed by | Waruo Suzuki |
Written by | Satoru Nishizono |
Music by | Jun'ichi Igarashi |
Studio |
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Licensed by | |
Original network | TV Tokyo, Kids Station |
English network | |
Original run | October 21, 2002 – March 27, 2006 |
Episodes | 78 |
Seasons
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Anime film | |
Curse of the Death Phoenix | |
Directed by | Waruo Suzuki |
Written by | Satoru Nishizono |
Music by | Jun'ichi Igarashi |
Studio | Studio Hibari |
Released | March 12, 2005 |
Runtime | 50 minutes |
Anime television series | |
Duel Masters: Sacred Lands (American exclusive season) | |
Directed by | Mickey Corcoran |
Produced by |
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Written by | Eugene Son |
Music by |
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Studio |
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Licensed by |
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English network |
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Original run | March 26, 2005 – June 17, 2006 |
Episodes | 39 |
Anime television series | |
Shinseiki: Duel Masters Flash | |
Directed by | Waruo Suzuki |
Written by | Koji Ueda |
Music by | Yasuharu Takanashi |
Studio | |
Original network | TV Tokyo |
Original run | April 10, 2006 – March 23, 2007 |
Episodes | 24 |
Anime television series | |
Zero/Cross series | |
Directed by |
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Written by |
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Music by | Jun'ichi Igarashi |
Studio |
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Original network | TV Tokyo, Kids Station |
Original run | April 9, 2007 – March 26, 2011 |
Episodes | 187 |
Seasons
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Anime film | |
Lunatic God Saga | |
Directed by | Keidai Hattori |
Written by | Hideyuki Nishimori |
Music by | Jun'ichi Igarashi |
Studio | Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment |
Released | September 19, 2009 |
Runtime | 75 minutes |
Manga | |
Duel Hero: Dash | |
Written by | Shigekatsu Ihara |
Published by | Shogakukan |
Magazine | CoroCoro Comic |
Demographic | Children |
Original run | June 2010 – January 2013 |
Volumes | 2 |
Anime film | |
Blazing Bonds XX | |
Directed by | Keida Hattori |
Written by | Katsuro Hidaka |
Music by | Jun'ichi Igarashi |
Released | August 21, 2010 |
Runtime | 75 minutes |
Manga | |
Duel Masters: Legendary Champion | |
Written by | Fujisaki Machito |
Published by | Shogakukan |
Magazine | CoroCoro Comic |
Demographic | Children |
Original run | October 2010 – November 2014 |
Volumes | 3 |
Anime television series | |
Victory/Versus series | |
Directed by |
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Written by |
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Music by | Jun'ichi Igarashi |
Studio |
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Original network | TV Tokyo |
Original run | April 2, 2011 – March 26, 2017 |
Episodes | 305 |
Seasons
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Manga | |
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Anime film | |
Hamukatsu to Dogiragon no Curry-pan Dai-bōken | |
Studio | Ascension |
Released | March 19, 2016 |
Runtime | 10 minutes |
Anime television series | |
King series | |
Directed by | Shinobu Sasaki |
Written by | Yoichi Kato |
Music by | Jun'ichi Igarashi |
Studio |
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Original network | TV Tokyo |
Original run | April 2, 2017 – August 28, 2022 |
Episodes | 259 |
Seasons
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Anime television series | |
Win series | |
Studio | Brain's Base |
Original network | TV Tokyo |
Original run | September 4, 2022 – March 31, 2024 |
Episodes | 78 |
Seasons
| |
Manga | |
Duel Masters Lost: Tsuioku no Suishō | |
Written by | Shigenobu Matsumoto |
Illustrated by | Yō Kanebayashi |
Published by | Shogakukan |
Magazine | Weekly CoroCoro Comic |
Demographic | Children |
Original run | February 1, 2024 – present |
Original net animation | |
Duel Masters Lost: Tsuioku no Suishō | |
Studio | J.C.Staff |
Released | Q4 2024 – scheduled |
The story centers around the card game Duel Masters, which revolves around five civilizations consisting of Fire, Water, Light, Darkness 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.
The Temple Guardians are the elite members of the White Soldiers that work under Hakuoh. Among the members of the Temple Guardians are:
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 is seen only in the "second season" that was created for America. Among the known members are:
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 when Yumama came into view. Besides its various unnamed members, among its known members are:
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 for the U.S., there was a North American-created comic book by Dreamwave Productions.[citation needed]
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 (12 volumes), and Duel Masters Star Cross from 2008 to 2011 (9 volumes). Duel Masters Victory was published from 2011 to 2014 (10 volumes) and features an alternate storyline from the anime of the same name. There is also spinoff manga unrelated to the main series such as Duel Hero:Dash (2 volumes), Duel Masters: Legend Champion VICTORY (3 volumes) and Duel Masters: Revolution (5 volumes).
No. | Release date | ISBN |
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1 | November 27, 1999 | 978-4091425843 |
2 | May 27, 2000 | 978-4091425850 |
3 | October 28, 2000 | 978-4091425867 |
4 | April 26, 2001 | 978-4091425874 |
5 | October 27, 2001 | 978-4091425881 |
6 | March 28, 2002 | 978-4091425898 |
7 | June 28, 2002 | 978-4091425904 |
8 | September 28, 2002 | 978-4091426086 |
9 | December 25, 2002 | 978-4091426093 |
10 | April 28, 2003 | 978-4091426109 |
11 | July 28, 2003 | 978-4091431110 |
12 | October 28, 2003 | 978-4091431127 |
13 | February 28, 2004 | 978-4091431134 |
14 | May 28, 2004 | 978-4091431141 |
15 | August 27, 2004 | 978-4091431158 |
16 | November 26, 2004 | 978-4091431165 |
17 | May 28, 2005 | 978-4091431172 |
The card game first originated in Japan in May 2002 and was marketed by Takara Tomy. 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 Duel2. 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.[23] 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, with the previous Duel Master cards being rendered incompatible.[citation needed] Wizards of the Coast discontinued Kaijudo in 2014.[citation needed]
The first television series originally premiered in Japan on October 21, 2002, and ran until December 22, 2003. To date, the series has been followed by 13 sequel seasons. 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, which the first part recounts the events of the first season and the second part is a direct sequel to Zero; and Duel Masters Cross Shock. From Duel Masters Zero until Duel Masters Victory V3, the series was broadcast in a 12-minute format instead of 24-minute format.
Duel Masters Victory premiered on April 2, 2011, and introduced a new protagonist named Katta Kirifuda, the younger brother of Shobu, and centers around his journey to become a champion. Its storyline follows from the events of the Duel Masters: Star Cross manga series. Victory was followed by Duel Masters Victory V, Duel Masters Victory V3, Duel Masters Versus, Duel Masters Versus Revolution, and Duel Masters Versus Revolution Final.[24] The 2017 Duel Masters anime and its sequels, Duel Masters! and Duel Masters!!, introduced Joe Kirifuda and focused on his adventures in the Creature World.[25] In April 2020, Duel Masters King was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] The anime returned on May 31, 2020.[27]
A new series titled Duel Masters Win premiered on September 4, 2022.[28] The series is followed by Duel Masters Win Duel Wars.[29]
An adaptation of the Duel Masters Lost: Tsuioku no Suishō manga series is set to premiere in Q4 2024.[30]
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.
No. | Title | Run | Episodes | Protagonist | |
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1 | Duel Masters | October 21, 2002 – December 22, 2003 | 26 | Shobu Kirifuda | |
2 | Duel Masters Charge | April 19, 2004 – March 27, 2006 | 52 | ||
1.5 | Duel Masters: Sacred Lands (American exclusive season) |
March 26, 2005 – June 17, 2006 | 39 | ||
SP | Shinseiki: Duel Masters Flash (Spin-off series) |
April 10, 2006 – March 23, 2007 | 24 | Teru Yumemi | |
3 | Zero Duel Masters | April 9, 2007 – September 28, 2007 | 12 | Shobu Kirifuda | |
4 | Duel Masters Zero | October 6, 2007 – March 29, 2008 | 25 | ||
5 | Duel Masters Cross | April 5, 2008 – March 27, 2010 | 100 | ||
6 | Duel Masters Cross Shock | April 3, 2010 – March 26, 2011 | 50 | ||
7 | Duel Masters Victory | April 2, 2011 – March 31, 2012 | 52 | Katta Kirifuda | |
8 | Duel Masters Victory V | April 7, 2012 – March 30, 2013 | 51 | ||
9 | Duel Masters Victory V3 | April 6, 2013 – March 29, 2014 | 51 | ||
10 | Duel Masters Versus | April 5, 2014 – March 28, 2015 | 49 | ||
11 | Duel Masters Versus Revolution | April 5, 2015 – March 27, 2016 | 51 | ||
12 | Duel Masters Versus Revolution Final | April 3, 2016 – March 26, 2017 | 51 | ||
13 | Duel Masters (2017) | April 2, 2017 – March 25, 2018 | 51 | Joe Kirifuda | |
14 | Duel Masters! | April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2019 | 51 | ||
15 | Duel Masters!! | April 7, 2019 – March 29, 2020 | 51 | ||
16 | Duel Masters King | April 5, 2020 – March 28, 2021 | 47 | ||
17 | Duel Masters King! | April 4, 2021 – March 27, 2022 | 43 | ||
18 | Duel Masters King MAX | April 3, 2022 – August 28, 2022 | 17 | ||
19 | Duel Masters Win | September 4, 2022 – March 26, 2023 | 29 | Win Kirifuda | |
20 | Duel Masters Win Duel Wars | April 2, 2023 – present | |||
Total | October 21, 2002 – present | 922 | - |
# | Title | Original airdate (Japan)[31][32] | Original airdate (US) |
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1 | "This is a duel!" ("Playing with a Full Deck") Transliteration: "Kore ga Dyueru da!" (Japanese: これがデュエルだ!) | October 21, 2002 | March 13, 2004 |
2 | "A Stealthy Shadow" ("It's Not Easy Being Green") Transliteration: "Shinobi Yoru Kage" (Japanese: 忍びよる影) | October 28, 2002 | March 20, 2004 |
3 | "The Dark Challenger" ("Toru, Toru, Toru, Part 1") Transliteration: "Ankoku no Chōsen-sha" (Japanese: 暗黒の挑戦者) | November 4, 2002 | March 27, 2004 |
4 | "Aim for Victory!" ("Toru, Toru, Toru, Part 2") Transliteration: "Shōri wo Mezase!" (Japanese: 勝利を目指せ!) | November 11, 2002 | April 3, 2004 |
5 | "At the Battle Arena" ("I'll Be a Monkey's Brother") Transliteration: "Batoru Arīna e" (Japanese: バトルアリーナへ) | November 18, 2002 | April 10, 2004 |
6 | "Hakuoh, Miracle Duel" ("Wok on the Wildside") Transliteration: "Hakuō, Kiseki no Deyueru" (Japanese: 白凰、奇跡のデュエル) | November 25, 2002 | April 17, 2004 |
7 | "The Beautiful Snake's Trap" ("White Boys Can't Charm") Transliteration: "Hebi Bira no Wana" (Japanese: 蛇美羅の罠) | December 2, 2002 | April 24, 2004 |
8 | "Fierce Battle! Evolution Creature" ("Duels of the Futures Past") Transliteration: "Gekitō! Shinka Kurīchā" (Japanese: 激闘!進化クリーチャー) | December 9, 2002 | May 1, 2004 |
9 | "At the Temple" ("A Goblin Shall Lead Them") Transliteration: "Shinden e" (Japanese: 神殿へ) | December 16, 2002 | May 8, 2004 |
10 | "A New Trump Card" ("Shobu Gets Decked") Transliteration: "Arata Naru Kirifuda" (Japanese: 新たなる切り札) | December 23, 2002 | May 15, 2004 |
11 | "Mana the Man Manipulator" ("Ballad of Kintaro, Part One") Transliteration: "Mana wo Ayatsuru Otoko" (Japanese: マナをあやつる男) | January 6, 2002 | May 22, 2004 |
12 | "They're Name is The Imperial Four!" ("Ballad of Kintaro, Part Two") Transliteration: "Sono Na wa Shitenshū!" (Japanese: その名は四天衆!) | January 13, 2003 | May 29, 2004 |
13 | "Speed VS Speed" ("Looney Mikuni, Part One") Transliteration: "Sokkō Tai Sokkō" (Japanese: 速攻VS速攻) | January 20, 2003 | June 5, 2004 |
14 | "A Blazing Turnaround" ("Looney Mikuni, Part Two") Transliteration: "Honō no Dai Gyakuten" (Japanese: 炎の大逆転) | January 27, 2003 | June 12, 2004 |
15 | "Tasogare of the Imperial Four" ("A Strange Twist of Fate") Transliteration: "Tasogare no Shitenshū" (Japanese: 黄昏の四天衆) | February 3, 2003 | June 19, 2004 |
16 | "Mimi's Decision" ("Yes, Master") Transliteration: "Mimi no Ketsui" (Japanese: ミミの決意) | February 10, 2003 | June 26, 2004 |
17 | "The Worst Duelist Ever" ("Oh Brother, Where Art Thou") Transliteration: "Saitei no Deyuerisuto" (Japanese: 最低のデュエリスト) | March 10, 2003 | July 3, 2004 |
18 | "An Approaching Shadow" ("Cable Guy") Transliteration: "Semari Kuru Kage" (Japanese: 迫り来る影) | March 17, 2003 | July 10, 2004 |
19 | "Laughing Death" ("Once More With Feeling") Transliteration: "Warau Shinigami" (Japanese: 笑う死神) | December 11, 2003 | July 17, 2004 |
20 | "Activate! Duel of Truth" ("Kokujo Fights Back") Transliteration: "Hatsudō! Shin no Deyueru" (Japanese: 発動!真のデュエル) | December 12, 2003 | July 24, 2004 |
21 | "Showdown!" ("The One Where Shobu Duels Hakuoh") Transliteration: "Kessen!" (Japanese: 決戦!) | December 15, 2003 | July 31, 2004 |
22 | "Final Trump Card" ("Just Duel It") Transliteration: "Saigo no Kirifuda" (Japanese: 最後の切り札) | December 16, 2003 | August 7, 2004 |
23 | "A New Challenger" ("The Crying Game") Transliteration: "Arata Naru Chōsen-sha" (Japanese: 新たなる挑戦者) | December 17, 2003 | August 14, 2004 |
24 | "Duelist Killer" ("Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?") Transliteration: "Deyuerisuto Kirā" (Japanese: デュエリストキラー) | December 18, 2003 | August 21, 2004 |
25 | "Shobu, Falls into the Sunset" ("Something Wacky This Way Comes") Transliteration: "Shōbu, Yūhi ni Chiru" (Japanese: 勝舞、夕日に散る) | December 19, 2003 | August 28, 2004 |
26 | "Revive, Shobu!" ("What's A Mana with You?") Transliteration: "Yomigaere, Shōbu!" (Japanese: よみがえれ、勝舞!) | December 22, 2003 | September 4, 2004 |
The English-language version of the series was produced by Hasbro Entertainment and Plastic Cow Productions. It made a truncated four-episode preview premiere on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on February 27, 2004. The series then made its official premiere on March 13, 2004, as part of the Saturday Video Entertainment System block, with fewer edits.[citation needed] When Toonami was moved to Saturdays, the block premiered the rest of the series. It was also aired in a 6:00 AM timeslot on early Weekday mornings, as part of Cartoon Network's Early Prime block, which was aimed at kids who were getting ready to go to school during this time.[citation needed]
Only the first Japanese season was localized for the North American market. Duel Masters Sacred Lands was created specifically for American broadcast and is not based on any storyline from the manga series. The series was produced by Hasbro Studios and Elastic Media Corporation and premiered on Cartoon Network on March 26, 2005.[citation needed] Episodes of the English version are currently available for streaming on Tubi TV.[33]
Duel Masters Charge was eventually produced for the American market as "Duel Masters 2.0", although only the 1st half was aired.[citation needed]
# | Title | Original airdate (US) |
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1 | "Atta Boy, George" | March 26, 2005 |
2 | "Break On Through to the Other Side" | April 2, 2005 |
3 | "The Duel Goes Ever, Ever On" | April 9, 2005 |
4 | "Enemy, Mine" | April 16, 2005 |
5 | "Win, Lose, or Draw" | April 23, 2005 |
6 | "Go Towards the Light" | April 30, 2005 |
7 | "The Lights Are on But Nobody's Home" | May 7, 2005 |
8 | "If Ever A Quiz There Was" | May 21, 2005 |
9 | "Duel or Alive" | May 28, 2005 |
10 | "Water You Waiting For?" | June 4, 2005 |
11 | "Nature Calls, Part 1" | June 11, 2005 |
12 | "Nature Calls, Part 2" | June 18, 2005 |
13 | "All Natural" | August 12, 2005 |
14 | "Tournament Is Fair Play" | September 24, 2005 |
15 | "In Deep Duel Duel" | October 8, 2005 |
16 | "The Overlook Hotel" | October 10, 2005 |
17 | "Desert Storm" | October 15, 2005 |
18 | "Wonderfalls" | October 29, 2005 |
19 | "Creatures Of The Night" | November 5, 2005 |
20 | "Quest for Fire" | December 3, 2005 |
21 | "Deck Me Baby, One More Time" | December 10, 2005 |
22 | "One For The Mana, Duel For The Show" | December 17, 2005 |
23 | "Do That Duel You Duel So Well" | January 7, 2006 |
24 | "Boy Meets Duel" | January 14, 2006 |
25 | "Man In The Mirror" | January 21, 2006 |
26 | "Who Turned Out All The Lights" | January 28, 2006 |
27 | "Showdown!" | February 4, 2006 |
28 | "Babytalk" | February 11, 2006 |
29 | "Fourscore" | February 18, 2006 |
30 | "Frotime" | February 25, 2006 |
31 | "Duelusional" | March 4, 2006 |
32 | "Duel-ercise" | March 11, 2006 |
33 | "Triple-Threat" | April 29, 2006 |
34 | "Surprise!" | May 6, 2006 |
35 | "Cheatery" | May 13, 2006 |
36 | "Makeover" | May 20, 2006 |
37 | "Switcharoo" | May 27, 2006 |
38 | "Creeptastic" | June 10, 2006 |
39 | "Finalitousness" | June 17, 2006 |
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.
Title | Details |
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Duel Masters Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2003—Game Boy Advance |
Notes:
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Duel Masters: Nettō! Battle Arena Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2003—GameCube |
Notes: | |
Duel Masters 2: Invincible Advance Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2004—Game Boy Advance |
Notes:
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Original release date(s): |
Release years by system: 2004—Game Boy Advance |
Notes:
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Duel Masters 2: Kirifuda Shōbu Ver. Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2004—Game Boy Advance |
Notes:
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Original release date(s): |
Release years by system: 2004—PlayStation 2 |
Notes:
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Duel Masters: Kaijudo Showdown Original release date(s): |
Release years by system: 2004—Game Boy Advance |
Notes:
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Duel Masters 3 Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2004—Game Boy Advance |
Notes:
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Duel Masters: Birth of Super Dragon Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2005—PlayStation 2 |
Notes:
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Duel Masters: Shadow of the Code Original release date(s): |
Release years by system: 2005—Game Boy Advance |
Notes:
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Duel Masters Play's Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2019—iOS, Android |
Notes:
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Duel Masters de Asobo Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2021—Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android |
Notes:
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Duel Masters de Asobo 2022 Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2022—Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android |
Notes:
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Along with The Magic of Chocolate, Duel Masters won the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award for Best Children's Manga in 2021.[35][36][37]