Yu☆Gi☆Oh! GX
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

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Yu-Gi-Oh! GX is a manga generally like the anime. However, the main characters in the manga use a different deck (and IMO, a better deck) in the manga than their decks in the anime

Story - The story is pretty different from what you would expect. The manga generally focuses on the character's ability to see duel monster spirits, as well as having various duels in many different situations. Most of the cards are manga-exclusive and pretty cool. :P

Art - The art isn't bad at all. The way the monsters are drawn are pretty good.

Character - We get some decent background on a few of ... the characters. I think it could have been more detailed, but it isn't that type of manga. All in all, not bad.

Enjoyment - Well, I like it. I think the reason I like it is because I like the cards they use in the manga than the anime. Judai uses his Nature E-Heros, Asuka uses Ice-type cards, Manjyome uses Dragons, Misawa with Fiend (aka apparitions in the manga), and Sho uses other types of Roid monsters not seen in the anime.

Overall, if you're a fan of the GX characters and dueling, you'll most likely enjoy this manga.

After reading the manga for the third time, I've decided to write a review on it.

Plot and story:
The Yu-Gi-Oh GX manga has one long story, unlike the anime where there's a new 'story' for each season.
The story follows Jaden on his journey to become like his idols - Yugi and Koyo.
The antagonist is the father of one of the characters and is being possessed by the shadows. He uses the power of the shadows to take control of strong duelists and use them as puppets for his plan of gaining ultimate power.
One minor problem the story has is that they don't show when Jaden starts ... at the academy and meets the other characters.
I mean, I know how Jaden met them since I've watched the anime. But what about the people who haven't watched it?
However, they made a good choice in introducing the characters as the story progresses rather than introducing everyone at once.

Characters:
In the anime, Jaden is somewhat of an OP character who almost never loses and we don't get to see much of his past. Here, they show more about Jaden's past. Like where he got the Elemental Heroes from and why dueling is so important to him. Jaden also (Spoiler), with one of them being a (Spoiler). This story made it much easier to relate to him.
The manga version of Chazz, Jaden's rival, is much better than his character in the anime. He's not a lovestruck goof, he's actually more powerful than Jaden and he has a good development. He also has a better reason of wanting to become a pro duelist than in the anime.
Even Syrus has a better character in the manga. Unlike in the anime where Syrus constantly is in need of help and doubts himself, Syrus has a strong will to surpass his older brother and is confident.
Alexis is not a damsel in distress anymore. She can take care of herself just fine. However, they didn't show anything of Alexis' past, what her goal is or her bond with Atticus.
Bastion is more powerful than in the anime and they make a better job with showing Bastion's analyzing skills.
Jesse was kind of disappointing, which bothers me since he's my favorite character in Yu-Gi-Oh GX. We don't get to see anything of his past, we have no idea what his goal is, he doesn't have the Crystal Beasts anymore and he doesn't have a strong bond with Jaden. But he remains as his adorkable self.
Adrian is a sweetheart compared to how he is in the anime. In this story, Adrian's goal is to become a pro duelist like Aster so he can get money for his little brother's surgery. Isn't that better than sacrificing someone for power?
As for the new characters; Koyo, Midori, Mac and David - The only person who wasn't really developed was David. The others were developed and relevant to the story.
But why wasn't Hassleberry there? And why did Zane duel only once?

Design and art:
Most of them look the same as in the anime. One of the exceptions is Alexis, who looks...meh.
Other than that, they did a good job with drawing the monster cards. Both the cards who appeared in the anime as well as the new cards from the manga.

Ending:
I love how Jaden isn't the only hero in this story.
In the anime, it's only Jaden who saves the day with an exception being when he became the Supreme King in season 3 and Zane had to take him down. Even then, it was Jaden who had to duel against the antagonist.
While in this manga, Jaden takes on the antagonist together with Chazz.
Although I would've prefered it being Jaden and Jesse dueling against the enemy like they did in season 4, it was still good. Great teamwork between Jaden and Chazz.

Overall:
The main characters are much better here than they are in the anime. More relatable, better development, stronger and more interesting in general.
They did a great job with using some elements from the anime (Such as the Shadow Games, as well as the abandoned dorm) and writing it in their own way.
And the best part is; There is no Yubel.
To be honest, I would rather have this manga as the canon story rather than the anime.

I'm giving this manga an 8. Although it's better than the anime in several different ways (in my opinion), there are some cons that lowers the score to 8.
I recommend this manga to people who are fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh series or people who simply are curious about Yu-Gi-Oh.
Plus, the manga is only 64 chapters (9 volumes), so it doesn't take that long to finish it.

The Yu-Gi-Oh GX manga is quite a departure from the anime; while the same characters (minus the villains) are in the story, most of them are quite a contrast from their animated counterpart and their screen time varies as well. It's only nine volumes, which provides a short read to enjoy.

Plot
GX's manga focuses more on the original Yu-Gi-Oh series; the main antagonist is derived from Ancient Egypt and constantly possess people a kin to how Yami Bakura would possess Ryou throughout his plans. The manga only covers one story lines, providing two tournaments and then it ends once the villain is slain. The main ... bad guy also will pick who to possess at random to give the characters an excuse to duel each other. It is rather disappointing as this manga has a lot of potential to cover their three years at Duel Academy.

Characters
Stated earlier, characters are similar but also a bit different in comparison to the anime. The biggest difference is Manjoume. In the anime, he was the comic relief that had several unique decks and only won for character development (though to be fair, that's every character outside of Judai; season 3 is just Judai in every duel.) Here, he is much more confident and serious, using only one deck - a dragon deck focusing on Light and Darkness Dragon- and actually winning. This last part was the biggest shock to me, as he is able to have a good win to lose ratio and possess a challenge for Judai where he may not win. Judai stays mostly the same, but his "get your game on" attitude is a bit toned down and he acts more serious. His deck still focuses on E-HEROs, but they are new one created just for the manga. My complaint with his deck is that he uses them because of his admiration for his hero. It gives Judai to look more like a copycat that doesn't really walk out of his shadow. The others (Sho, Asuka, and Misawa) are the same mostly, but Misawa crushing on Asuka while Manjoume doesn't seem to care about her. Unfortunately, Asuka never gets to shine enough and takes the most defeats. Other differences for some characters are what decks they use. Overall, the differences are great and provide something new to enjoy if you're a fan of the anime

Art/Duels
The art is rather good; some of the manga original characters do look quite differently due to the art style. One of the characters has weirdly drawn boobs that are tight on her coat, which makes them look bizarre. The duels themselves are interesting and mostly unpredictable. Judai loses a few duels which makes it more enjoyable then him winning every duel each time.

Conclusion
The GX manga is a great read; it is way shorter than the anime and only focuses on one villain, but still provides a quick, fun ride. If you were tired of Judai dueling every episode, rejoice as everyone gets their time to shine with multiple duels. RIP no Ojama Bros.

It's alright.

I have a bit of mixed feelings on the first Yu-Gi-Oh (Real mixed feelings not recommendations. I like the original series, the Duelist Kingdom City is a little rougher, and the final story was good. But I always felt like the original series was the strongest.

I wanted to see what happened next so I tried GX. What's interesting is GX is in the universe of the GX anime, but telling a different story. It appears everything in this manga is unique to the manga, and it's done well. The characters don't have enough development, as the manga ... assumes readers will probably have seen the anime before, and while I know some of the story I've never watched the anime.

That being said, you still read these mangas for the big battles and the shocking twists, and in this GX has the same problem that the original Yu-Gi-Oh has, since a majority of the manga is about cards that had not been released yet (According to the card lists in the manga), I'm not sure how much development was done on making the cards work into a real meta. The fact is there's the usual "asspulls" where Jaden has a developed deck, that he keeps being able to pull almost any card from usually something new and still winning.

That being said, it's still a more mature version of the franchise compared to the childish presentation of the anime, it's not as dark as the original series but still a good story, and while I feel the end feels a bit rushed, and the big villain feels under developed other than being the bad guy, I enjoyed it overall, and it gave me a feeling that I wanted to play more Yu-Gi-Oh which ultimately is why I like to read this franchise. Check it out if you liked the original, but this more a pleasure read, given a score of 8 in the assumption you want something light and happy, I wouldn't put this in top tier categories, but for fans of Yu-Gi-Oh you'll be well served here.