There are tons of exceptional stories that are being told on television through animation, but anime series bring so much more to the table and are able to focus on certain niches that get neglected elsewhere. Yu-Gi-Oh! is a popular series that’s fluctuated in popularity over the years, but it still has a large following. Yu-Gi-Oh! tells the story of Yugi Muto as he battles powerful opponents through a special card game.
There are many different anime series that pull inspiration from card games, with Yu-Gi-Oh! at the forefront, but there are other series that capture the same energy. Yu-Gi-Oh! promises hundreds of episodes of entertainment, but there are also lots of satisfying alternatives out there.
10 WIXOSS
WIXOSS could be a crossover between Yu-Gi-Oh! and Cardcaptor Sakura. The WIXOSS series, beginning with Selector Infected WIXOSS, takes a competitive card game anime and mixes it together with many of the dominant elements from magical girl series.
Girls all engage in the popular WIXOSS trading card game (which also exists in real life), which brings to life fantastical battles with the female spirits contained to the cards. The idea that these girls play WIXOSS with the greater goal to have their wishes granted is also considerably more innocent than many of the other series looked at here.
9 Digimon Adventure
From a quick glance, it’s easy to dismiss Digimon as a series that’s derivative of other similar anime like Yu-Gi-Oh! or Pokémon, but beyond its simple premise, there’s actually a ton of depth and story present that’s somewhat rare for an anime of this nature.
Digimon has seen various series and permutations over the years, but the original Digimon Adventure perfectly captures the show’s core of ordinary kids who find themselves transported to a new world, with unusual monsters fighting by their sides. Digimon doesn’t focus on tournaments as much as Yu-Gi-Oh!, but it features greater character development.
8 Beyblade
A lot of anime series that follows in Yu-Gi-Oh!'s footsteps often fall back on a card game concept as the framework for fantastical battles. Beyblade takes the same idea, but instead, it uses a complex series of spinning tops that are pushed to battle against each other.
Beyblade skews to a young demographic that's comparable to Yu-Gi-Oh!'s audience and while the anime can be shallow at times, the battle top concept is unique and it's impressive that these toys were actually produced and became a genuine fad for a while.
7 Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Bakugan Battle Brawlers feels like an amalgamation of many of the ideas that series on this list experiment with and even though Bakugan isn't as deep as some of its competition, it still guarantees that it's fun and exciting. Strange cards rain down on the world, all of which possess mysterious monsters known as Bakugan.
As these cards are collected, competition ensues between the self-dubbed Bakugan Battle Brawlers as they enter a new world and face unprecedented challenges. The series even had a recent reboot of sorts back in 2015 with Bakugan: Battle Planet.
6 Angelic Layer
Angelic Layer is a bizarre combination of sensibilities that's kind of like if Yu-Gi-Oh! involved tiny, spunky robots instead of gigantic monsters. Angelic Layer is set in a world where people compete in a competition with the use of tiny "battle dolls."
It's a unique take on mechas that turns the heightened genre into something that's akin to kids playing around with action figures, but with explosive results. For those that are hungry for more, Angelic Layer also takes place in the same universe as Chobits, which deals with similar ideas.
5 Hikaru No Go
Yu-Gi-Oh! and many of the anime looked at here create a new game or means of dueling. Hikaru No Go is a unique exception because it retains the atmosphere of competitive young duelists who are determined to be the best, but this anime is based around the classical board game, Go, rather than a new creation.
Hikaru comes across an old Go board, which is haunted by the spirit of an ancient Go player. It’s an entertaining mix of the supernatural with slice-of-life and it’s easily the most entertaining way for how to learn the rules for Go.
4 Gundam Build Fighters
The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise has been a powerhouse for decades and it’s gained a strong following, both as an anime and a series of model-building kits. Gundam Build Fighters is a strange synthesis of these ideas, but it works.
The series is set in a version of the real world where the characters don’t pilot extravagant mech suits, but rather build their own toy models, which then fight in an alternate reality simulation. Gundam Build Fighters takes the intense action of Gundam series but translates it into a more relatable context where passionate, competitive fans are the focus.
3 Pokémon
It was definitely the advent and popularity of anime like Pokémon that initially helped make Yu-Gi-Oh! so accessible to audiences outside of Japan. Yu-Gi-Oh! features battles that take place between incredible monsters, albeit through the use of card games. Pokémon simplifies this idea and just revolves around the taming and battling of monsters.
Both series feature exciting showdowns and a cast of relatable characters who are very wide-eyed when the series begins, but get the opportunity to genuinely grow and mature over the course of the anime. Pokémon itself has even transitioned over to a card game.
2 Duel Masters
It's safe to say that if someone is a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! then they'll probably also enjoy Duel Masters. The two anime are extremely similar in both premise and tone, but Duel Masters also feels like it pulls inspiration from something like Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Monsters come to life through competitive card duels and the world is divided up into elemental sanctions. The plucky protagonist, Shobu, just wants to be the best duel master and this engaging series has been able to endure for hundreds of episodes and spawn its own actual card game, too.
1 Cardfight!! Vanguard
Cardfight!! Vanguard is an important battle anime that strives for more, even if it does initially resemble comparable shows of the genre. Part of the reason that Cardfight!! Vanguard works so well is that it’s created by some of the top talents behind Yu-Gi-Oh! R and Duel Masters, so they’re able to incorporate what they learned from those series, but improve upon it.
The anime’s card-based combat is deeply engaging and the characters are hard to not get invested in. The popularity of Cardfight!! Vanguard hasn’t just led to an actual card game, but also a live-action series.