Yugi Muto

Yugi Muto is the main protagonist of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga.

He's a shy, kind-hearted, and somewhat timid high school student with a love for games, particularly card games. Physically, he's short (often the shortest in his friend group), has distinctive spiky, multi-colored hair (black base with purple and magenta highlights), large expressive eyes, and usually wears his school uniform or casual clothes.

What makes Yugi unique is his connection to the ancient spirit known as Yami Yugi (or "Dark Yugi"/"Pharaoh"), who awakens whenever Yugi solves the Millennium Puzzle and places it around his neck. In these moments, Yugi's personality dramatically shifts to a confident, strategic, and sometimes intimidating alter ego who excels at games—especially Duel Monsters—and enforces a strong sense of justice (often through "Shadow Games" in the early story).

Yugi himself is gentle, loyal, deeply values his friends, and grows significantly in confidence over the course of the series while still remaining the more soft-spoken "light" counterpart to Yami Yugi.