Yu-Gi-Oh Topic: The Other Yugi Mutou Identity
So in this discussion, I'll be talking about Yugi, or rather the/other/ Yugi, also known as Atem and how for quite awhile he believes himself to also be Yugi Mutou and how he's not actually /completely/ wrong.

You can consider this a "Part 2" to my first thread. https://twitter.com/PhilVzQ/status/1322816134110916609?s=19

When we first meet Yugi, he's a shy kid who just wants friends who like him for him and vice versa. He solves the Millennium Puzzle after trying to solve it for 8 years and all of a sudden he has an alter ego. Another self. And for awhile he's unaware of it til he meets Shadi.

Up until this point and further the Other Yugi, or Atem, is confirmed to be a separate soul. However he seems to have Yugi's memories and refer to people in a familiar sense as if he is the original Yugi He even knows what certain modern day things are inherently.

Side note, something the anime also leaves out (Other than the fact they're the same height) is that Yugi doesn't have to be wearing the Puzzle for Atem to be out. Yugi simply needs to touch it at the time of the change.

Before the original Yugi is aware, the other Yugi is fully aware that he has another soul and that he only comes out when needed initially. As time goes on though the two of course get to know each other and they call each other 'Other Me' & Atem eventually calls Yugi, 'Parnter'

It's not until Pegasus' defeat that the question even arises, "Who is the Other Yugi?"

Then we find out that Atem is a Pharaoh and then that whole, "he's a split personality" thing goes out the window. Or does it? Maybe the two are the same person despite this.

So obviously Yugi HAD to be Atem's vessel... No one had the same hair as him other than Suguroku. But other than that there's a theory that can maybe also explain my point...

Yugi is the modern reincarnation of the Pharaoh's soul akin to how Kaiba is the reincarnation of his ancestor, Seto. The only difference being that Seto does not have the influence of his past self and his memories only come to light thanks to the Millennium Rod.

In Ancient Egypt, they believed people to have two souls. The Ba and the Ka, the Ba basically being your personality and who you are now, and the Ka being the soul that goes on after you have died and is reborn. THERE IS A LOT MORE TO THIS SO IM SIMPLIFYING IT DOWN IMMENSELY

And despite the last arc of Yu-Gi-Oh using this as it's basis for how they duel, I believe Takahashi might've had this concept in mind when writing Atem initially. Atem could have been the Ba soul from 3,000 years ago whose Ka was reborn eventually as Yugi.

It wouldn't surprise me either as Takahashi traveled to Egypt a few times in order to write Yu-Gi-Oh.

Atem having Yugi's memories however is probably just a side effect of the Puzzle being completed and bonding to him.

It could also very well just be a bloodline. Or possibly both. There's no real way to prove this theory except by asking Takahashi himself.

Either way, it should be noted that while I'm arguing that they technically could still be the same person, just two very different versions, the opposite is still very much true. They are their own person and the journey they take helps them realize this in full.

Also a special Happy Birthday shout-out to @Killafoe1 !
Enjoy my head-canon BS.