Tristan Taylor
Tristan Taylor, known as Hiroto Honda (本田ヒロト, Honda Hiroto) in the Japanese version, is a student in class 1-B at Domino High School. He is a close friend of Yugi Muto, Joey Wheeler, Téa Gardner, and Bakura Ryou.
| Names | Tristan Taylor, Hiroto Honda (本田ヒロト, Honda Hiroto) |
| Gender | Male ♂ |
| Race | Human |
| Occupation | Student |
| Origin | Yu-Gi-Oh! Chapter 1: "The Puzzle of the Gods" のパズル Kami no Pazuru, September 14, 1996 (Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1992 #46) |
| Alignment | Heroic |
| Age | 16 (physically), 18 (DSOD) |
| Height | 180 cm (5ft 11in) |
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lbs) (10.23 st) |
| Created By | Kazuo Takahashi (Japanese: 高橋 一雅) |
| Personality Type | ISTP, 9w8 (Enneagram) |
| Voice Actors |  Japanese: Ryotaro Okiayu (1st series), Takayuki Kondo (2nd series, episodes 1-51), Hidehiro Kikuchi (2nd series, episodes 53-224)
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Appearance
Tristan’s character design was supervised by Kazuki Takahashi. In the second series anime, he wears a long brown coat with a raised collar, a white button-up shirt, and black jeans. His brown hair is styled with a large portion spiking forward.
Personality
In the Japanese version, Honda, like his friend Jonouchi, does not use honorifics when addressing others. He is generally supportive of his friends, often standing by them even when he does not actively participate in Duel Monsters. While he occasionally plays some of Yugi’s games, he is not deeply involved in the card game.
Tristan and Joey formed a strong bond in middle school, which has continued through high school. In the manga, Tristan is a skilled sharpshooter, claiming that as a child, he could hit a 100-yen coin with a BB gun from 50 feet away.
Biography
School Arc
Honda and Jonouchi used to bully Yugi at school, often teasing him and even stealing his unsolved Millennium Puzzle. However, Anzu Mazaki intervened, scolding them and forcing them to back off. While discussing the incident in the hallway, they were overheard by the hall monitor, Ushio, who took their mention of bullying seriously. When Jonouchi tried to dismiss Ushio’s involvement, Honda, knowing Ushio’s influence, restrained Jonouchi and avoided saying anything incriminating.
The next day, Ushio brutally beat up both Jonouchi and Honda, accusing them of bullying Yugi. When Yugi found out, he tried to defend them, only to be beaten up himself. Despite the ordeal, Jonouchi befriended Yugi afterward. Honda, however, continued to take advantage of Yugi, forcing him to carry supplies and buy pornographic magazines.
During the school festival, Honda lent his air rifle to the class for use in their Carnival Games booth.
Honda developed a crush on Miho Nosaka (manga). Overwhelmed by his feelings, he confided in Jonouchi, who, against Honda’s wishes, told Yugi and asked for his help. Yugi suggested looking for a gift at his grandfather’s shop, where Sugoroku Mutou recommended a love letter jigsaw puzzle. The idea was that Honda could write a love letter on the puzzle, which Miho would have to assemble to read. Jonouchi found the idea hilarious, but Honda thought it was perfect and bought it. Having never written a love letter before, he got Yugi to write it for him, threatening him if Miho didn’t like it.
The next day, their teacher, Ms. Chono, found the puzzle on Miho’s desk and confiscated it. Discovering it was a love letter, she read it aloud and threatened expulsion unless the sender confessed—though even admitting it would still result in expulsion. To protect Honda, Yugi claimed to have written it, and Jonouchi claimed to have sent it. However, Honda also stepped forward and admitted it was his. Chono continued assembling the puzzle to uncover the truth and planned to punish all three of them for lying. At that moment, Yami Yugi emerged and transformed the puzzle into a Shadow Game, Dark Puzzle. As Chono completed the puzzle, she experienced the pain she had inflicted on others. Her heavy makeup peeled away, revealing her true, aged appearance. Horrified, she fled the classroom, sparing the boys from punishment.
Afterward, Honda finally mustered the courage to ask Miho out directly, but she rejected him. To cheer him up, Jonouchi treated him to a hamburger, and from that point on, Honda became close friends with Yugi.
Honda later accompanied Jonouchi to buy a pair of high-end shoes at the Junky Scorpion store. Not understanding Jonouchi’s excitement over footwear, Honda tried to dissuade him from taking the store owner’s challenge—putting his foot into a shoe rumored to contain a scorpion. After leaving the store, Honda, Jonouchi, and Yugi were ambushed by a gang who stole Jonouchi’s new shoes. They tracked down the gang, and after Jonouchi and Honda beat them up, they learned the gang had been hired by the store owner. Dark Yugi then played Coin in Sneaker with the store owner, ultimately retrieving the stolen shoes. When Yugi returned with them, he had no recollection of how he got them back.
Honda was first introduced to Duel Monsters when he watched Yugi and Jonouchi play it at school.
Honda grew concerned when Jonouchi unexpectedly missed a day of school, as he couldn’t recall Jonouchi ever skipping before. Suspecting something was wrong, he joined Yugi and Anzu in investigating by visiting Jonouchi's apartment. However, when Jonouchi’s father mistook them for his son and angrily chased them away, they fled. Determined to find Jonouchi, they continued searching and eventually discovered him with Hirutani’s gang, who were attacking someone outside the American Club.
Afterward, Honda revealed to Yugi and Anzu Jonouchi’s past involvement with Hirutani’s gang, and they all agreed that Jonouchi wouldn’t have willingly rejoined. Determined to uncover the truth, Honda interrogated one of the gang members and learned that Jonouchi had been blackmailed—Hirutani had threatened to attack Jonouchi’s classmates if he refused. Honda then went to J'z in search of the gang, only to find the place in disarray, with one of Hirutani’s men unconscious. Unable to wake him, Honda, Yugi, and Anzu grew more concerned and split up to locate Jonouchi. Honda later found Yugi tending to Jonouchi, who had collapsed after Dark Yugi unknowingly saved him by defeating the gang in Landmine Search Network.
Yugi later invited Honda, Jonouchi, and Anzu to The Art of Egypt exhibition at the Domino City Museum. Thanks to Sugoroku Mutou’s friendship with Professor Yoshimori, they were able to enter free of charge. Before the visit, Honda jokingly frightened Jonouchi by mentioning a mummy would be on display. At the museum, he met Professor Yoshimori and Curator Kanekura, receiving a tour from Yoshimori.
Death-T
As a favor to his sister, Honda took his nephew Johji to Kaiba Land, where he met up with Yugi and Jonouchi and assisted them in Death-T.
At the start of Death-T 1, they reunited with Anzu, who had been hired at Kaiba Land. Honda convinced her to watch over Johji while he participated in Stardust Shootout, the first challenge. Using his sharpshooting skills, Honda took the lead, but Kaiba had rigged the game by ensuring Yugi and his friends' laser guns were useless. Fortunately, the staff was unaware of Anzu’s connection to them, so she was given a functional gun. With Johji secured on his back, Honda used Anzu’s weapon to eliminate the remaining opponents. In exchange for Johji’s cooperation, Honda had promised him a bath with Anzu—an offer she outright refused.
During Death-T 3, Honda became trapped when his coat got caught under a falling block. Later, after Yami Yugi saved Mokuba Kaiba from Seto Kaiba’s artificial Penalty Game, Mokuba repaid the favor by rescuing Honda.
As Yami Yugi's duel with Seto Kaiba neared its conclusion, Jonouchi planned how to protect Anzu while they were held at gunpoint. Before he could act, Honda ambushed the guards from behind, and Jonouchi quickly assisted in taking them down. Honda then explained how Mokuba had saved him. After Dark Yugi's victory, Honda and his friends listened as Mokuba revealed his and Seto’s backstory.
Outside, Honda, still carrying Johji, learned from Jonouchi that Hanasaki had informed him Yugi’s grandfather was in good health. Together, the group headed toward the hospital to see him.
Monster World
Honda accompanied Yugi, Anzu, and Jonouchi to visit Ryo Bakura, where they played Monster World. However, Bakura became possessed by Yami Bakura, who transformed the game into a Shadow Game.
Honda was trapped inside his game piece, a magic gunman, while his friends were similarly sealed within their respective pieces. Yami Yugi took on the role of the player, leading them in battle. During their first encounter with Dark Master Zorc, Honda successfully shot off one of Zorc’s arms. Later, after Zorc had been weakened by the White Wizard Bakura, Honda launched another attack, pushing the villain into his final form.
Once the game ended, Honda and his friends were freed and returned to normal.
Duelist Kingdom
Tristan and Téa sneak onto the boat to Duelist Kingdom, determined to support Yugi and Joey. When Weevil Underwood throws Yugi’s Exodia cards overboard, Joey jumps into the water to retrieve them. Tristan and Téa save him and Yugi by throwing them a rope ladder.
Throughout the preliminaries, Tristan stands on the sidelines, cheering for Yugi and Joey in their duels.
Tristan later confronts Kemo after witnessing him manhandle a young boy. Kemo dodges Tristan’s attack and explains that the boy is being evicted for losing his Star Chips.
During an argument with Joey, Tristan accidentally reveals that he has been trying to build his own deck, with Lava Battleguard as one of his cards. In the dub, Joey notes that Tristan’s monster could be connected to his own Swamp Battleguard. Tristan lends him the card, which later proves crucial in Joey’s duel against Rex Raptor. Joey even compares the teamwork of the Battleguard monsters to his friendship with Tristan.
After the group reunites with Bakura, Yami Bakura traps the souls of Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Joey, and Bakura inside Duel Monster cards and challenges Yami Yugi to a duel. Tristan is summoned when Yami Yugi plays Cyber Commander, but he is quickly destroyed by Bakura's White Magical Hat and sent to the Graveyard. Later, Yami Yugi plays Monster Reborn, bringing Tristan back into play. When Yugi is summoned as Dark Magician, Tristan realizes that there are two Yugis. After Yami Yugi wins the Shadow Game, everyone except Yugi and Bakura believes the experience was just a dream.
As Yugi and Joey prepare to enter the Duelist Kingdom finals, Kemo denies entry to Tristan, Téa, and Bakura since they are not finalists. Mai Valentine distracts Kemo by flirting with him, allowing the group to slip inside.
Tristan suspects Pegasus of cheating against Kaiba. The night before the finals, he, Téa, and Bakura investigate the site of Kaiba’s duel with Pegasus. They notice a beam of light entering the room through a hole in the wall and discover a tower that could have been used to spy on Kaiba’s cards with a telescope. Sneaking into the tower, they find a portrait of Cecelia Pegasus. However, Pegasus confronts them and uses his Millennium Eye to transport them to another chamber where an occult ritual is taking place. Just as Pegasus attempts to use his Millennium Eye on them, Yami Bakura counters with the Millennium Ring and sends Tristan, Téa, and Bakura back to their rooms, erasing their memories of the encounter.
During the final rounds, Tristan supports Yugi and Joey from the sidelines.
When Yugi duels Pegasus, Tristan searches Pegasus’ castle for Mokuba. Disguising himself in a suit of armor, he sneaks through the dungeons and accidentally discovers a secret passageway after tripping and grabbing a gargoyle. Tristan overpowers the guard at Mokuba’s cell by shoving a helmet onto his head, then steals the guard’s key and frees Mokuba, triggering a security alarm. He removes the armor and carries Mokuba on his back as he attempts to escape.
On his way out, Tristan is confronted by two of Pegasus’ guards. Yami Bakura appears and uses Chain Energy to create real chains that restrain the guards. Tristan and Bakura flee before the chains vanish. Unaware of Yami Bakura’s true identity, Tristan assumes this is the normal Bakura and questions how he summoned the chains, but Bakura urges him to focus on escaping. As they are cornered by more guards, Bakura fends them off by summoning Duel Monsters from his cards. Tristan finally realizes this isn’t the same Bakura he knows—it is the evil spirit that once trapped them in a Shadow Game.
Yami Bakura reveals that he is searching for a new host, as the regular Bakura has betrayed him before. He demands that Tristan hand over Mokuba’s soulless body, warning that he will summon more monsters if Tristan refuses. Yami Bakura insists that Tristan has no choice in the matter. However, Tristan pretends to comply before throwing Mokuba’s body at Bakura to catch him off guard. Seizing the moment, Tristan knocks him out, retrieves Mokuba, and notices the Millennium Ring. Realizing it is the source of Bakura’s dark persona, Tristan picks it up and hurls it out of the castle, sending it deep into the forest below.
Tristan returns to Yugi and Pegasus’ duel, carrying both Mokuba and Bakura’s bodies. He arrives just as Yugi and Pegasus begin a Shadow Game and explains the events involving Yami Bakura to Joey and Téa.
Joey, Téa, and Tristan are unable to see Yugi's duel, as it is surrounded by a strange dark aura. However, they sense that something terrible has happened to him. Tristan attempts to run into the darkness but is immediately expelled from the other side.
When Bakura regains consciousness, Tristan explains that the Millennium Ring was making him act strangely, so he threw it away.
After the tournament, Tristan and his friends are stranded since all the boats have already departed. Seto Kaiba offers them a ride home.
Legendary Heroes
Tristan and his friends agree to help Mokuba rescue Kaiba, who has been trapped in a virtual world by the Big Five. There are only three remaining pods for entering the simulation. Mokuba and Yugi take two of them, while Joey and Tristan argue over the last one. In the end, Tristan stays behind with Téa to operate the controls.
To pass the time, Tristan talks about his first crush and shares his dream of becoming a pilot. In the dub, he instead tries to impress Téa by showing off his facial hair, but she remains uninterested. Their conversation is interrupted when they hear people outside, forcing them to barricade the door.
Tristan and Téa manage to hold off the guards until Mokuba, Yugi, and Joey return with Kaiba.
Battle City
After Yugi's duel with Bandit Keith—who was possessed by Marik Ishtar—Joey and Tristan break down the door of the burning building to save Yugi. As they enter, Keith rushes past them in his escape. Inside, Yugi refuses to leave without his Millennium Puzzle, which is pinned to the wall by a needle-like beam jammed into its chain. Tristan quickly grabs Yugi's deck from the duel arena before returning to help Joey free the Puzzle. Together, they push a pipe through the hole in the beam and use it as a lever to pry it loose.
Shortly before Serenity Wheeler’s eye operation, Joey goes missing. Tristan searches the streets on his motorbike, trying to find him. In the original version, Tristan locates Joey at the beach, where he is dejected over losing his Red-Eyes Black Dragon card to a Rare Hunter and feels unworthy to face his sister. Tristan punches Joey, reminding him that Serenity needs him. After knocking some sense into him, Tristan takes Joey to the hospital to see her.
Tristan developed a crush on Serenity and tried to impress her when he visited her in the hospital before the Battle City tournament. Wanting to seem important, he falsely claimed that he had taught Joey everything he knew about dueling. When Joey called the hospital and heard about Tristan’s lies, he was furious.
After the tournament began, Tristan visited Serenity again, bringing a laptop to keep her updated on Joey’s progress. However, he struggled to turn it on and had to ask a nurse for help. When he saw that Joey was losing, Tristan couldn’t bring himself to tell Serenity the truth and instead reassured her with a false account of Joey’s performance.
When the nurse returned to check Serenity’s temperature, Tristan stepped out to call Téa. He asked her to pass a message to Joey, letting him know that Serenity believed in him and that he shouldn't give up.
Upon returning to Serenity’s room, he was caught in his lie when the nurse told her that Joey was actually losing. Serenity made Tristan promise to keep her truthfully informed about Joey’s duels so she could support her brother when needed. When Joey secured a victory, she and Tristan celebrated together. Before Tristan left, Serenity asked him to take her to the tournament on the day her bandages would be removed so that the first thing she saw would be her brother dueling. Tristan happily agreed.
Later, Tristan met up with Téa, Grandpa, and Mokuba, who explained that Yugi had gone missing but that they had tracked his location. They arrived just in time to see Yugi defeat Arkana.
The next day, Tristan and Téa planned to meet Yugi, but Tristan got distracted flirting with Serenity over the phone. As a result, they were late and missed their chance. Grandpa then offered to help them find Yugi.
While searching, they saw Joey chasing a kid who had stolen his Duel Disk. Tristan jumped in front of the boy and caught him, ensuring that Joey got the Duel Disk back. The boy claimed he had stolen it because Weevil Underwood had taken his own deck. However, in reality, he had snuck Parasite Paracide into Joey’s deck.
The boy led them to the spot where he had last seen Weevil. When Weevil appeared, Tristan was ready to fight him for taking the boy’s cards, but Joey insisted on settling things with a duel instead. Tristan cautioned Joey to be careful and cheered him on from the sidelines.
Eager to see Joey qualify for the finals, Tristan urged him to duel an opponent he could easily defeat. However, Joey refused, unwilling to take an easy path to victory due to his pride.
Tristan, Téa, and Grandpa accompanied Joey to the aquarium, where Joey faced Mako Tsunami.
After Joey's victory secured his place in the finals, he needed someone to pick up Serenity. Tristan eagerly volunteered and ran off before Joey could even finish his sentence.
Tristan took Serenity to the tournament by train. Along the way, they talked about Joey, and Tristan explained some of the rules of Duel Monsters. At the same time, he tried to flirt with her. However, when Serenity called him an "awesome friend," he grew frustrated, wishing she thought of him in a more romantic way. He bought her lunch during the trip. After they arrived in Domino City, Tristan attempted to call Téa to find out Joey's location, but she didn’t answer, as she had been captured by the Rare Hunters.
As they walked through the streets, a group of Rare Hunters surrounded them. Tristan told Serenity to climb onto his back, and they made a run for it. However, the Rare Hunters caught up and surrounded them again. Tristan set Serenity down and fought off two of the hunters, but the third grabbed her. As Tristan moved to rescue her, one of the defeated hunters struck him down.
Before the situation could get worse, Duke Devlin arrived and fired dice at the Rare Hunters, forcing them to retreat. After reaching safety, Tristan explained the situation to Duke and introduced him to Serenity. He also made Duke promise not to mention Joey’s humiliating moments, as Serenity looked up to her brother.
The three of them continued searching for Joey, believing he might already be at the finals. They tried asking duelists who might know the location, but their efforts were unsuccessful. When Tristan returned to Duke and Serenity, he was annoyed to find Duke using the opportunity to flirt with Serenity.
Before Tristan could intervene, the Rare Hunters returned. The group split up, with Duke taking Serenity to safety while Tristan stayed behind to fight. He took down three of the Rare Hunters and forced them to reveal the location of his friends—Domino Pier.
Just then, Mai pulled up in her car with Duke and Serenity inside. Tristan got in, and Mai drove them to the pier.
Upon arrival, they discovered that Joey—now possessed by Marik—was dueling Yugi. After the duel, Tristan pulled Yugi out of the water.
As Joey wallowed in shame over being used by Marik, Tristan reminded him how hard he had fought for Serenity.
Mai then drove the group to the finals' location. Initially, Tristan and the other non-finalists were refused entry onto the blimp where the quarter-finals would take place, but Mokuba allowed them aboard.
Much to Joey’s frustration, Tristan, Téa, and Duke crashed in his room on the blimp. Tristan planned to impress Serenity with the romantic view outside the window, but Duke beat him to it. Apologizing to Joey for ruining his private time with his sister, Tristan defended his choice of room, explaining that he didn’t want to disturb Yugi while he prepared for the finals. Joey reminded Tristan that he was also a finalist and then thanked him for bringing Serenity to the tournament.
Tristan watched Yugi’s duel with Yami Bakura and was shocked to see that Bakura had somehow recovered the Millennium Ring, despite Tristan having thrown it away during Duelist Kingdom.
Tristan scolds Duke for doubting Yugi during the duel. When Yugi is forced into a difficult choice—attack Bakura Ryou in his weakened state or face disqualification—Tristan and Joey attempt to rush onto the field to help. However, when Joey is threatened with disqualification, Tristan and Duke restrain him to prevent him from interfering.
Yami Bakura takes control of Bakura again and allows Yugi to attack him. Despite this, Bakura still sustains injuries, so Tristan carries him back to his room and tries to convince Kaiba to delay landing the blimp. Later, he notices that Bakura’s Millennium Ring has disappeared once again.
Tristan is disgusted when Duke flatters Serenity for her heartfelt speech to Kaiba, convincing him to make an emergency stop for Bakura. Annoyed, Tristan drags Duke away under the pretense of searching for the Millennium Ring. They check the top of the blimp where the duel took place, but their search quickly turns into an argument over Serenity. In the heat of the moment, they end up dangling over the edge of the blimp. Tristan grips the blimp with one hand while holding onto Duke with the other, calling for help. Shadi suddenly appears and rescues them both. As Tristan catches his breath and looks up to thank their savior, he realizes that Shadi has already vanished.
Tristan cheers Joey on during his duel against Odion Ishtar, whom they initially believe to be Marik. When both duelists are struck by lightning and rendered unconscious, Tristan attempts to run to Joey’s aid, but Roland prevents him. Once Joey is declared the winner for standing up first, Tristan rushes over to congratulate him. Later, Joey tells Tristan and their friends about a dream he had involving them, which gave him the strength to stand up during the duel.
Tristan also cheers for Mai during her duel with Marik and watches in horror as she loses and suffers a Penalty Game.
Virtual World Arc
The Battle City blimp is suddenly redirected into a massive mechanical fortress in the ocean by Noah Kaiba. When Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Téa, Serenity, Duke, Kaiba, Mokuba, and two of Kaiba’s guards step out, Noah instructs them to move forward but orders the guards to stay back, as they are not duelists. Duke points out that Tristan doesn’t duel either, but Tristan quickly silences him. When Joey urges Serenity to turn back for her safety, Tristan sides with Serenity, reminding Joey that Marik is still on the blimp.
The group is then confronted by a projection of the Big Five, who reveal that they were trapped in cyberspace after their failed attempt to imprison Kaiba during the Legendary Heroes game. Seeking revenge, they allied with Noah, who uploaded their minds into his computer system. The Big Five challenge the group to duels using an altered version of Duel Monsters, intending to claim their bodies and escape into the real world.
The group is transported into a virtual jungle, where they are introduced to the Deck Master rules. Suddenly, the Big Five create large holes beneath them to separate them. When Serenity falls, Duke and Tristan rush to save her but end up falling into a hole together.
Duke and Tristan find themselves in a long hallway and spend some time running through it, searching for Serenity. With no visible exit, Tristan grabs an axe from a suit of armor and swings at the wall, hoping to break through. Duke picks up another axe and joins in. Together, they hack their way through, only to emerge onto a high balcony overlooking the ground below.
Hearing Serenity scream, Tristan immediately leaps off the balcony, tackling the Mad Sword Beast that is chasing her. He grabs onto the dinosaur's eyes, causing it to panic and charge into a nearby lake.
As a result, Tristan catches a cold and later gets into an argument with Duke, who accuses him of spreading germs.
The trio pauses to assess their situation. Serenity reassures them that she isn’t scared, believing that Tristan—whom she thinks taught Joey everything about Duel Monsters—will protect them. Tristan quickly covers Duke’s mouth to prevent him from revealing the truth.
The group comes across a mysterious door standing alone in a meadow. When they open it, they find themselves inside a hangar resembling the one where the blimp had landed. There, they encounter Nezbitt, now in the form of Robotic Knight, who challenges them to a duel. He initially wants to duel them one by one, starting with Serenity, but after some debate, he agrees to face all three at once.
Each of them builds a Deck and selects a Deck Master. Tristan chooses Super Roboyarou.
During the duel, Duke and Tristan spend the first few turns helping Serenity correct her mistakes. Tristan summons weak monsters in Attack Mode to draw Nezbitt’s attacks toward himself rather than Serenity. When Nezbitt powers up his Machine King to a high ATK, he targets one of Serenity’s monsters, but Tristan sacrifices Super Roboyarou to absorb the attack, preventing her defeat. He also activates its Deck Master effect to Set a card, boosting its ATK to 2200. However, Machine King ultimately destroys Super Roboyarou, eliminating Tristan from the duel.
Before being dropped through a trapdoor, Tristan confesses to Serenity that he lied about teaching Joey Duel Monsters and that he isn’t a skilled duelist. His consciousness is then digitized, and his physical body is placed in storage.
Duke convinces Serenity to continue the duel, and she successfully summons St. Joan, which is powered up by Tristan’s remaining monster, Command Angel. Duke then uses his Strike Ninja’s Deck Master effect to activate Tristan’s face-down card, Rare Metal Soul, further boosting St. Joan’s ATK enough to defeat Nezbitt’s Deck Master, securing their victory.
Despite losing, Nezbitt still claims Tristan’s body. Meanwhile, Tristan regains consciousness inside a warehouse—only to discover he has been placed in the robotic body of a monkey, resembling Acrobat Monkey.
Horrified by his new form, Tristan sees his reflection in a mirror before leaving the warehouse. Outside, he spots Nezbitt—now inhabiting Tristan’s real body—attacking Kaiba with a shinai. Without hesitation, Tristan leaps onto Nezbitt’s face, saving Kaiba. However, Nezbitt quickly retaliates by kidnapping Mokuba and escaping on a motorbike, with Kaiba in pursuit.
Tristan, unable to speak in his new form, is unable to tell his friends who he really is. However, Serenity insists that the robotic monkey can be trusted, as it had just saved Kaiba.
To his delight, Tristan spends most of his time being carried around by Serenity. While speaking fondly of her, he accidentally hits a switch on his body, allowing him to speak normally. This stuns the group, but despite his familiar behavior, they remain suspicious, wondering if he was actually sent by Noah.
Tristan, Joey, Serenity, and Duke are confronted by the four remaining members of the Big Five, who attempt to steal more bodies. The gang tries to escape in a truck with Joey at the wheel, but the vehicle overturns, leaving them vulnerable as the Big Five close in. As they argue over who gets which body, Noah arrives and reprimands them for acting dishonorably behind his back.
Since Nezbitt didn’t rightfully win Tristan’s body, Noah orders the Big Five to share it and gives them an ultimatum: if they defeat Yugi in a duel, they will be allowed to escape into the real world.
Tristan watches as Yugi and Joey team up to duel the Big Five in an effort to reclaim his body. During the match, Téa notices that Tristan has started acting more like a monkey, leading him to fear that he’s losing his mind. Although Yugi and Joey emerge victorious, the Big Five make one last attempt to steal the gang’s bodies. However, Noah intervenes again, banishing them—along with Tristan’s stolen body. Devastated, Tristan begins to lose hope of ever returning to normal.
Duke suggests searching Tristan’s robotic body for clues, given that Noah designed it. After pressing various buttons and accidentally triggering unwanted functions, they activate a virtual door leading to KaibaLand. As the group enters the park, Tristan suddenly turns against them, his robotic arms sprouting weapons. Warning them not to proceed, he struggles to regain control, but Yugi and Joey manage to knock him aside, restoring him to normal.
The group finds themselves in a subway and discovers a handcar on the tracks. They ride it, but after spinning out of control, they crash into a lava arena where Kaiba is dueling Noah.
Noah ultimately defeats Kaiba by manipulating Mokuba against him. Yugi steps in to continue the duel, but Noah introduces a cruel new rule—each turn, he turns one of Yugi’s friends into a statue. Eventually, Tristan falls victim to this fate. Once all his friends are petrified, Yugi imagines their spirits standing beside him, each offering him a card drawn from Card of Sanctity's effect. Drawing strength from them, Yugi wins the duel, and the group is restored to normal.
After Noah discovers that Gozaburo Kaiba had been using him all along and now intends to digitize the entire world, he deceives the gang into believing they’ve found an exit back to reality. Instead, he traps them within their own memories. Duke, Serenity, and Tristan relive the moment when they were being chased by the Rare Hunters. However, a sudden flash returns them to the present, and they realize they were tricked.
Tristan insists that they never should have trusted Noah. As the gang tries to devise a plan, Gozaburo unleashes monsters to attack them.
Noah, desperate to stop his father, steals Mokuba’s body and escapes to the real world. Once there, he initiates a missile attack to destroy the fortress—along with the virtual world’s servers—to prevent Gozaburo’s plan from succeeding. However, having a change of heart, he contacts the gang and warns them to escape quickly before the virtual world collapses.
Following Noah’s instructions, Téa, Serenity, and Tristan reach the arcade first while Yugi, Duke, and Joey fend off Gozaburo’s monsters. Noah directs them to a stage, which transfers their consciousnesses back to their real bodies. Upon awakening in their pods, Tristan is relieved to finally be back in his own body. Shortly after, Joey and Duke follow.
Reunited, the five of them find Noah, who is still in Mokuba’s body, working to help Yugi, Kaiba, and Mokuba escape. Trusting him to handle the situation, they return to the Battle City blimp.
As Yugi, Kaiba, and Mokuba arrive, Duke, Joey, and Tristan help them board the departing blimp just before Noah’s fortress is destroyed.
Battle City Finals
The Battle City blimp lands on Alcatraz Island, where Tristan, Téa, and Duke watch the battle royale to determine the matchups for the finals. They cheer on Yugi and Joey as the duels are decided.
Once it’s revealed that Joey will face Marik next, Tristan quickly volunteers to inform Serenity, but Mokuba calls the blimp instead. Tristan then joins Yugi, Téa, and Duke in supporting Joey during his duel.
When Joey is rendered unconscious from the blast of The Winged Dragon of Ra, he is declared the loser. The group rushes to his side, with Tristan grabbing Joey by the shoulders and shaking him, ordering him to wake up. As KaibaCorp's doctors take Joey away, Tristan desperately begs them to save his friend. When one of the doctors says there’s nothing he can do, Tristan panics, grabbing him by the shirt before finally calming down, believing that Joey will fight to regain consciousness.
Tristan stays on the blimp with Joey while Yugi duels Kaiba in the semifinals. He assists Mokuba in arranging an emergency helicopter for Joey, then returns to Joey’s bedside to inform Téa, Serenity, and Duke about the plan. The group watches Yugi and Kaiba’s duel through the blimp’s window. Tristan lifts Joey up and urges him to wake up, telling him that Yugi needs his help. Joey finally regains consciousness, prompting Tristan to break into tears and scold him for making everyone worry.
Tristan and the others head up the tower to watch the rest of Yugi and Kaiba’s duel. Afterward, he continues to support Joey in his third-place match against Kaiba. Following Joey’s loss, they stay to watch Yugi’s final duel against Marik.
After Yugi’s victory, Kaiba announces that he will destroy the tower in an hour. Tristan accuses him of being a sore loser for "trashing the place" after his defeat. The group heads to the blimp to leave the island and finds that Mai and Bakura have regained consciousness. Realizing the Kaiba brothers are missing, Tristan joins the search party.
When they fail to locate Kaiba and Mokuba, they return to the blimp, only to discover its engines are failing. Instead, they board the emergency helicopter meant for Joey and escape the island just as it explodes, spotting the Kaibas escaping in their Blue-Eyes jet.
Back in Domino City, Tristan, Joey, Yugi, Téa, Serenity, and Bakura say their goodbyes to the Ishtars, Mai, and Duke. Tristan gets irritated when Duke gives Serenity his phone number—only to secretly slip her his own as well.
Waking the Dragons Arc
Yugi, Téa, Joey, and Tristan visit the museum to help Yami Yugi recover his lost memories. As Yugi holds the Egyptian God Cards, something prevents him from moving forward. Suddenly, they hear a scream and rush outside, only to find Duel Monsters appearing in the city.
Before they can react, Dartz’s henchmen steal Yugi’s God Cards. Tristan watches as Yugi duels and defeats Gurimo, who wields The Seal of Orichalcos.
Later, the group meets Rebecca Hawkins, who takes them to her grandfather, Arthur Hawkins. Tristan jokingly calls Arthur a "nutty professor," earning him a swift kick to the shins from Rebecca.
While at Yugi’s house with Téa and Joey, Yugi receives a mysterious tape from Industrial Illusions. Tristan suggests throwing it away, recalling how Pegasus once stole Yugi’s grandfather’s soul using a similar method. However, since Pegasus no longer has the Millennium Eye, they decide to watch it. In the tape, Pegasus invites Yugi to California to discuss the Duel Monsters phenomenon. Téa, Tristan, and Joey insist on coming along, and the next morning, they board a private plane sent by Pegasus.
After arriving in America, they travel through the city in Pegasus’ limousine. The ride takes an unexpected turn when the driver abandons them at an old gas station. A gang of bikers soon approaches, and although Tristan warns them not to start trouble, they refuse to back down. Before a fight breaks out, Mai Valentine arrives on her motorcycle and takes out the bikers before speeding off. With the driver gone, Tristan takes the wheel and drives them away just as the gas station explodes.
The limo eventually overheats, stranding them in the desert. Forced to hitchhike, they catch a ride in the back of a truck and finally reach Industrial Illusions—only to find that Pegasus has already been defeated by Mai and Dartz’s henchmen, who have taken over the building. The group gets trapped inside while Joey is forced into a duel against Mai, who is using The Seal of Orichalcos.
After the duel is cut short, they reunite with Kaiba and Duke. Dartz’s henchmen leave, and the group moves upstairs, where a hologram of Pegasus appears to explain Dartz’s motives. Duke then offers them a ride to Arthur Hawkins’ house.
Later that night, Yugi leaves on his own. Realizing this, Tristan, Joey, and Duke set out to find him. They arrive just in time to witness his duel against Rafael. To their horror, Yugi loses, and they initially believe his soul has been taken—only to discover that Yami Yugi remains while Yugi himself has vanished.
With Kaiba refusing to give them a lift, Yami, Joey, Tristan, and Téa take a train to Florida to confront Dartz’s forces. As the journey progresses, Tristan notices that all the other passengers have mysteriously disappeared. While investigating, the train suddenly splits in two, separating him and Joey from Yami and Téa.
After Tristan and Joey’s section of the train slows to a stop, they disembark and come across Rex Raptor. Tristan watches as Joey duels and defeats Rex, who is using The Seal of Orichalcos.
Carrying Rex’s unconscious body through the desert, they witness Kaiba’s plane crash-land with the help of the Legendary Dragons. They soon reunite with their friends at the crash site.
Kaiba offers everyone a lift to Florida, where the group splits up. Tristan and Téa go to alert the police, only to discover that the officers are possessed by the Orichalcos. The possessed officers summon an Orichalcos Soldier to attack them. While fleeing, they spot Joey running past. Tristan urges Téa to warn the others while he stops Joey from running into danger.
Ignoring Tristan’s warning, Joey takes off on a motorbike to chase Valon, separating them. Shortly after, Tristan is confronted by Mai, who demands to know where Joey went. He tells her that Joey went after Valon and blames her for everything. With Mai now also hunting Joey, Tristan admits defeat—only to be attacked by an Orichalcos Soldier. He prepares to fight back but is saved at the last second by Yami Yugi.
Meanwhile, Rebecca hacks into KaibaCorp’s satellite, tracking Joey’s location through his Duel Disk signal. Tristan, Téa, and Yami Yugi follow the signal, but by the time they arrive, Joey has already lost to Mai. They find his unconscious body alongside Valon’s.
Carrying Joey, Tristan and Téa struggle to keep up with Yami Yugi as he rushes to Paradius’ headquarters. Along the way, they encounter Kaiba and Mokuba. Once inside, they find that Mai has been defeated, her soul claimed by The Seal of Orichalcos, while Yami has already begun a duel with Rafael.
Dawn of the Duel
Tristan joins his friends in traveling to the World of Memories. During their battle with Thief King Bakura, his mind is taken over by Yami Bakura but is restored after Yugi defeats him. He later watches Yugi and Atem’s duel, cheering both on alongside his friends. As the duel concludes, Tristan expresses sadness that Atem, who changed all of their lives, is now leaving.
Trivia
- Tristan briefly appears in GX when Jaden Yuki is sent to the past to duel a younger Yugi. He is seen picking up a flyer featuring Yugi, Téa, Joey, himself, and Kaiba.
- Tristan is known as Hiroto Honda in all Japanese versions of the series, as well as in various translated versions of the manga, including Spanish, Indonesian, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian. However, in the English adaptations of the second series anime, video games, and Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, he is named Tristan Taylor. The Brazilian Portuguese manga also uses Tristan Taylor, while the Spanish-dubbed anime calls him Tristán Taylor. In Arabic and Greek dubs, his name is also rendered as Tristan Taylor (تريستن تَيلر in Arabic and Τρίσταν Τέιλορ in Greek).
