You’re Reading in the Wrong Direction!!

Whoops! Guess what? You’re starting at the wrong end of the comic!

…It’s true! In keeping with the original Japanese format, **Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist** is meant to be read from right to left, starting in the upper-right corner.

Unlike English, which is read from left to right, Japanese is read from right to left, meaning that action, sound effects and word-balloon order are completely reversed… Something which can make readers unfamiliar with Japanese feel pretty backwards themselves. For this reason, manga or Japanese comics published in the U.S in English have sometimes been published “Flopped”-That is, printed in exact reverse order, as though seen from the other side of a mirror. 

By flopping pages, U.S publishers can avoid confusing readers, but the compromise is not without a downside. For one thing, a character in a flopped manga series who once wore in the original Japanese version a T-shirt emblazoned with “M A Y” (as in “the merry month of”) now wears one which reads “Y A M”! Additionally, many manga creators in Japan are themselves unhappy with the process, as some feel the mirror-imaging of their art alters their original intentions.

We are proud to bring you Kazuki Takahashi’s **Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist** in the original unflopped format. For now, though, turn to the other side of the book and let the games begin…!

\-Editor