Mr. Clown

Mr. Clown is vindictive, manipulative and obsessed with settling an old grievance. He carries his resentment for years and is willing to involve his own son in a conflict that began before Ryuji was born.

He is also an experienced game enthusiast. His relationship with Sugoroku originally begins through their shared interest in games, but his competitiveness turns destructive when the Millennium Puzzle becomes the prize of their confrontation.

Mr. Clown's treatment of Ryuji demonstrates the depth of his fixation. He encourages his son's talent while simultaneously directing that talent toward revenge, leaving Ryuji with a distorted understanding of Yugi before the two young men ever properly know one another.

Mr. Clown has considerable knowledge of games and was once Sugoroku's pupil. His most important confrontation involves the Devil's Board Game, a dangerous contest played against his former mentor for possession of the Millennium Puzzle.

He does not possess established supernatural powers of his own. Instead, his experience with Shadow Games leaves him with direct knowledge of their consequences.

Mr. Clown also runs Black Clown, a large game store established opposite the Mutou family's Kame Game shop. Through the shop and Ryuji's work, he remains deeply involved in gaming culture.

Mr. Clown's conflict begins years before Yugi meets Ryuji. He asks Sugoroku to teach him about games, but their relationship eventually culminates in a Devil's Board Game with the Millennium Puzzle at stake.

Mr. Clown loses. The resulting Penalty Game causes him to age fifty years in a single night and leaves his face horribly disfigured, creating the obsession with revenge that dominates the rest of his life.

He later uses Ryuji as the instrument of that revenge and targets Yugi Mutou. After Yugi defeats Ryuji at Dungeon Dice Monsters, Mr. Clown attempts to destroy the Millennium Puzzle, but the confrontation ends with Black Clown burning down. He later appears in The Dark Side of Dimensions continuity operating a café with his son.

Ryuji Otogi is Mr. Clown's son and the person he raises to carry out his revenge. Mr. Clown deliberately encourages Ryuji Otogi's hostility toward the Mutou family.

Sugoroku Mutou is Mr. Clown's former mentor and eventual enemy. [After losing the Devil's Board Game to Sugoroku Mutou, Mr. Clown spends years seeking revenge for the Penalty Game inflicted upon him.](#spoiler)

Yugi Mutou becomes the target of that inherited feud because he is Sugoroku Mutou's grandson. Mr. Clown expects Ryuji Otogi to defeat him and thereby disgrace the family.