Yu-Gi-Oh! captures youths' fancy

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer

With a simple flick of his wrist, his opponent was dead. Ross Yonamine leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Wanna play again?" he asked, his braces showing.

Yugi is a boy who acquired mystical powers when he solved an ancient Egyptian puzzle. The game has its roots in a comic book that spawned a popular television cartoon.

"He's too good," said the 23-year-old, shuffling his deck of cards and shaking his head. "I can't win."

Ross has won three of the past six Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments held at Double Dragon II, a card and toy store in Mililani Town Center. His game is quick and decisive, using the right cards for the right battles. The sixth-grader at Mililani Middle School has beaten practically everyone in Central O'ahu, where the popularity of the game — the latest Japanese import — has soared in recent months.

"It's crazy," said Wayne Ichimura, owner of the store, which has seen sales for the cards triple since last spring. "We have kids come here from Hawai'i Kai, Palolo, Manoa. I don't know how they hear about us, but they're coming."

Hundreds of collectors, from age 7 to 47, head to Mililani Town Center on the last Saturday of every month to compete in the monthly tournaments sponsored by the store. Competition lasts all day. The winner walks away with packs of cards.

Today's competition is expected to lure more than 100 competitors and even more spectators, who flock to watch the epic duels between monsters and magic in a game that operates like "War."

"Some play for keeps, some play for fun, some, I don't know what they're doing," Ichimura said. "The cards hold value, so it keeps their interest. The game must be good. I watch them play, but I don't know what they're doing."

'King of Games'

Yu-Gi-Oh!, roughly translated as "King of Games," surged in popularity in March when the English version of the game cards was released. That month the TV show, which airs on Kids' WB six days a week, became the top-rated children's network program in the United States for boys ages 7 to 17. And to punctuate its popularity, Yu-Gi-Oh! will be featured on the cover of TV Guide that will hit newsstands on Monday.

Ross Yonamine, center left, 10, of Mililani, demonstrates his skill at "Yu-Gi-Oh!," a Japanese card game, in competition with friends. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The game is simple: Kill your opponent. Each player starts with 800 life points, which are taken away for every "hit." Each card has a different value and function; some strike for a certain amount of life points, others can bring back "dead" cards. Players select any 40 cards, with some restrictions, to play against their opponent. Players with the strongest, most powerful cards have an edge.

The strategy involved in a game based on such simple concepts is one of the reasons for its popularity, especially among younger kids.

"You gotta think, and there's a lot of strategy," said Ross, who has been playing Yu-Gi-Oh! for almost a year. "But I'm good because I have good cards."

Ross has about 2,000 cards, though he only uses about 50 to compete. His 40-card deck is worth about $275.

And that's typical.

Collectors often buy boxes of cards. Packs cost anywhere from $2.50 to $5. Some Japanese-version packs go for $150 each — and people buy them. Double Dragon II sold all 20 of its high-priced packs.

"If the English cards came out earlier, Yu-Gi-Oh! would be as big or even bigger than Pokemon," Ichimura said.

Upper Deck, which released the four types of English-version cards, has been a bestseller at Double Dragon II for nearly a year. The store sells about 40 boxes, or 1,200 packs, a week.

The English-version cards are more popular in Central O'ahu than the Japanese-version cards, which reign in town. Double Dragon II is the only store that sponsors tournaments with the English-version cards, and the only retailer that is sanctioned by Upper Deck for national league play. (National tournaments have only been around for three months.)

Individual cards can be worth as much as $50 when traded or resold. Like baseball cards, rarer Yu-Gi-Oh! cards are worth more than commons. And usually the rarer the card, the more powerful it is in competition.

Banned in Thai schools

Yu-Gi-Oh! collectors hang out at the Mililani store, playing the game and trading cards for better ones every day, from opening to closing. Dozens of them linger outside the store, sitting around the table Ichimura provides for them. On Fridays many of them stay after the store has closed at 8 p.m., playing, trading, talking.

Just like baseball cards, a Yu-Gi-Oh! card, like the one above, can be worth as much as $50 when traded or resold. Advertiser library photo

The high value of the cards has caused some problems.

Yu-Gi-Oh! has caused a riot at a Tokyo games convention and has been banned from schools in Bangkok, Thailand.

Even in Hawai'i many schools, such as Mililani Mauka Elementary School and August Ahrens School, have outlawed the cards. Still others, such as 'Aiea Elementary School, are discussing whether to ban the cards, which have been a classroom distraction and cause of disputes among students.

Ross Yonamine may be one of the best Yu-Gi-Oh! players with the best, most expensive cards, but he keeps it all in perspective.

He spends about $20 a week on cards, using the money he makes on selling cards to pay for more packs. He balances his social life with playing basketball and competing in yo-yo events. (He was named junior national champion in his age division last October.) He's even a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament judge.

"It may be popular for a while, but it won't last forever," Ross said. "The TV brought people in at first, but after a while that gets boring. People won't like it, and they'll stop collecting the cards."