Seto Kaiba - The Right Way to Make a Rival

You're A Third-Rate Duelist With a Fourth-Rate Deck!
Editing by: / @oziach Oziach
Chapters:
0:00 - GET SET TO GET DECKED
1:38 - Who is Seto Kaiba?
5:08 - Hero or Anti-Hero?
10:53 - The Foil (Is it Starlight rare?)
16:34 - Kaiba's a Boss
22:37 - Conclusion
24:03 - End Credits
Wanna contact or support me?
Patreon: / mangakamen
Twitter: / manga_kamen
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Discord: / discord
G-Mail: [e-mail]
#yugioh #Setokaiba #characteranalysis

[@Mangakamen]

Before you comment: I said that the MANGA is the canon time line to me, and is in line with DSOD. I'm getting tired of people not paying attention to what I said. If you think you're awesome, be sure to leave a like, a comment and make sure you're subbed to the channel - To the GLORY OF KAIBA!!!!

[@princetonwilliams9522]

MangaKamen, when will the zexal girls video will drop, you haven’t forgotten about that have you

[@Mangakamen]

@@princetonwilliams9522 The more you ask the less I wanna do it.

[@Coolgamer..]

For me Kaiba is my second favorite Yu-gi-oh rival after Jack Atlas.

[@Isaac-lunar09]

Falsebound kingdom music at the end was a nice touch. Did you ever play that game?

[@thewolfofroses3504]

Even though Kaiba lost many duels in the anime. Almost all of the more prominent ones have his opponents cheating, using magic, or a combination of both. And he usually has to play into a bad situation to achieve some other goal. Like his duel with Noah. Or has to basically play handicapped, like his duel with yugi vs. dartz, where yugi was unwilling to make any plays due to hostage shenanigans. Yet kaiba saw through that bs. So I think it's safe to give Kaiba's dueling record a bit of a pass. Man's still a top ranking duelist, and if he played a modern form of his archetype... oh boy.

[@zaneheaston8254]

My favorite line from Kaiba is from his tag duel with Atem Vs. Dartz Dartz: You can attack my monster, unless your afraid of ruining a person’s life Kaiba: Nah, as a CEO of a company, I have to ruin somebody’s life every day

[@archivist_13]

Dude was made to be a CEO goddamn

[@Anonymous-bi5pv]

capitalism moment

[@MordredStarfall]

Kaiba: "So you've got a dweeb army. Am I supposed to be scared to attack?" Dartz: "Well, only if destroying an innocent soul concerns you." Kaiba: "Nah. As the president of a major corporation, I have to do that every day."

[@keap4307]

Goated Response

[@panthekirb7561]

@@Anonymous-bi5pv 🤓

[@glenmoody-elias1040]

"Anyone late will be disqualified. Mokuba, make Wheeler late." I know it's a Dub-only line, but man I cannot wipe the grin off my face every time I hear it.

[@CynderSpirit]

What dies he say in the Japanese version?

[@glenmoody-elias1040]

@@CynderSpirit He doesn't mention Joey at all. He just says something about making sure everyone gets to thier matches on time.

[@dspace4514]

I love how Kaiba figured out time or dimensional travel just to duel Atem.

[@tlkfanrwbyfan8716]

He had to get that salty run back

[@skydonkey9515]

​@@tlkfanrwbyfan8716 for reals his pettiness knows no bounds 😂

[@RodimusMinor1987]

Kaiba could make even more money if he used his technology to find the cure for fatal illnesses he would make so much money

[@mojus2890]

​@@RodimusMinor1987yes but could he duel with it?

[@maximilianweber3743]

That wasn't time travel he literally went to the afterlive

[@thecursed_1lordofcats738]

Kazuki Takahashi actually confirmed that DSOD is a sequel to the manga instead of the anime. The reason Kaiba was so determined to duel the pharoh is because he wasn't present for the final ceremonial duel and thus didn't get the closure anime Kaiba did.

[@D-Havoc]

True. Kaiba's characterization in DSoD is a lot more consistent with his manga version. That Kaiba is aware of the "other Yugi" in particular.

[@granmastersword]

@@D-Havoc And wasn't strongly opposed to the idea of magic existing like in the dub, just required strong evidence for proof. And by DSoD he accepted the existence of the Egyptian supernatural, relying on it to find a way to meet and duel Atem to have his final match against his true rival and arguably his greatest friend

[@Love-Sensibility]

​@@granmasterswordThat last line hits hard man. Atem and Kaiba definitely like each other

[@iatemycat5320]

​@@Love-Sensibility Atem and Kaiba, most tragic love story ever

[@Love-Sensibility]

@@iatemycat5320 Titanic can't compare~!🤣🤣

[@dejinnthedjinn5311]

"There are no limits when you're as brilliant as Seto Kaiba!" More like no limit when you're as rich as Seto Kaiba. In all seriousness, I love Kaiba.

[@jodlaa5142]

tru dat but he do be smart tho

[@maskedgamerjoker6148]

Or something Egotistical

[@OneEyeShadow]

Screw the limits, I have money!

[@mattwo7]

Both really. Even hiring smart people can be a cr*pshoot if you're not already knowledgeable enough to know who to _not_ hire. He doesn't seem to give anyone else who works on his tech credit though, in a true corporate executive fashion. Like seriously, he has tech that can negate actual f*cking magic. Credit *_everyone_* who worked on that!

[@NeroPiroman]

he is rich because he is briliant

[@solidskullz5736]

Kaiba is confident and competent, he knows how to get shit done. He’s kind of an asshole but there is some good in him. He’s one of the best rivals I can think of and he’s a very fun character

[@joshuarobinson6011]

Even kaiba being an asshole is understandable though when you understand his childhood. Kaiba is such a good character because everything he does is clearly explained and makes sense (apart from when he threatens to kill himself so he could save mokuba, summoned obelisk from the afterlife and then literally sent himself to the fucking afterlife to duel atem

[@mikebottomlesspitdunham2954]

Kind of?

[@Honest_Mids_Masher]

​@granisaac-nd9dcAgreed the rivalry was very one sided with Yugi only seeing him as a friend. Jack, Shark, Revolver all had a much better rivalry imo.

[@Zetact_]

You know that the rival has left a strong impact when it's HIS ace monster that is the most iconic one in the entire franchise, even beating out the main character's. Even if it took a really lucky banlist that was almost tailor made for Blue-Eyes' success to get it to win World's.

[@nekoluxuria7721]

I wouldn't say lucky, it does feel like Konami went out of the way to send hitmen and gave blue eyes a format assassin so they could get the W.

[@DarkSymphony777]

@@nekoluxuria7721 and that asssassin's name was blue eyes spirit dragon

[@westonmeyer3110]

Blue Eyes has been more iconic than Dark Magician since the beginning

[@logandelaharpe6362]

Kaiba did steal blue eyes as originally it was gonna be yugis ace

[@nekoluxuria7721]

@@DarkSymphony777 you gotta admit how fucked up it was that spirit dragon was basically tailored to kill pendulums

[@jackall-trades6149]

Something worth mentioning is Subbed Kaiba vs. Amelda. Amelda accuses Kaiba of using his step-father's merchant of death money to have his good life. Mokuba tries to defend his brother, but Seto stops him and accepts it, saying he inherited those sins when he took over. Then, he calls Amelda on his hypocrisy, stating that if Merko, his brother, survived, then Amelda wouldn't care about Doma's cause. Kaiba's awesome because he owns every decision he makes.

[@ralphpal]

In fact iron man and kiaba are the only two people who stopped their companies from making more bombs and tried to make peace That is never talked about.

[@nekoluxuria7721]

it is established in his characterization which made kaiba legitimately a very compelling antagonist. kaiba is a giant asshole and while he is a sore loser he will own up to his own faults. my favorite scene (albeit poorly animated) was kaiba vs siegfried where he in a duel shows why he overcame siegfried in every field they were both in, siegfried rigs his duels and plays it safe, an example is when he used magical arms, it's a card that gives himself 1klp and both players resources by predicting how many cards they will use throught the duel and uses a card to set his own board up. humorously had siegfried not played it safe and just empty boarded he might have been able to beat kaiba by banking on topdecking a valkyrie (which could happen) by summoning brunhildr first and then summoning another valkyrie to finish him off. siegfried played it safe and paid the price for it (though this is a case of hindsight so yeah) while kaiba only had card of demise and wouldn't know if he could win with it, but he knew what he had to do to win and took the risk to achieve victory if him comparing siegfried to a mouse wasn't obvious enough as it is.

[@AtelierGod]

Kaiba is both a anti hero and a rival, just at different points in the story.

[@DoomBowser64]

He's kinda like Vegeta stealing the show from the main character

[@swatthekat8925]

Kaiba legitimately stole the show any moment he was on screen. So much so that dark dimension is basically his movie lol

[@saltyk9869]

I heard it was supposed to be purely his movie, but Takahashi realized that he needed Yugi and the others to be in it as well. In part because people would want to know what they were up to.

[@Austin-cr5zo]

@@saltyk9869they should’ve had Joey finally beat kaiba hahahah

[@scarletleaf1181]

Yeah. I have always considered TDSoD to be Kaiba's movie. Aside from that one pop-off from Yugi that literally shook me, all of the best moments from the movie are from him.

[@DarkEclipse23]

@@Austin-cr5zojoey would never beat Kaiba. Not even in his own movie. Joey’s an arrogant little shit who keeps picking fights and deserves to be put in his place. Especially because Kaiba lives rent free in the gang’s lives. Well. Atem lives rent free in his but still 😂

[@Hoffanheim]

It was Kaibas Movie. The plot only goes forward because of him.

[@SamTheGumMan117]

Kaiba a man so in love with a children's card game he was willing to jump off a castle to get that precious W plus man made Battle City happen what a legend 👏

[@biggreen1456]

He’s so in love with it that he buys the card game itself and makes his inherited company exclusively for said game

[@MasonOfLife]

He was gunna jump for his brothers soul, but basically the same thing

[@SpideyfanX]

He was so salty, he made a wholeass machine that lets a LIVING being like him to travel to the Afterlife, JUST so he can run the fade with the Pharaoh.

[@slyceth]

@@MasonOfLife that's messed up. I love my brother

[@mokona034]

He's just like me fr fr

[@arctic7465]

For the end of his character, I really like the GX version over DSOD. He has accepted that Yugi is better and has moved on. And what does the Kaiba does in his free time with his money? Starts a Duel Academy and send cards into space in the hopes of dueling aliens!

[@DarkSymphony777]

because DSOD follows the manga rather than the anime. in the manga kaiba never saw yugi and yami duel, so he didn't get closure

[@maninhu9837]

The elon musk of cards

[@RodimusMinor1987]

He has yet to show Joey some respect

[@mirachan9217]

​@Rodimus Minor he kind of does in the Japanese sub when Joey duels and loses against marik Seto says Joey has finally shown he's worth it as a duelist by dying lol I can't remember if he says that in the manga but I assume so

[@mirachan9217]

In the manga seto was all about people dying for duels

[@Sleepy0173]

Another thing to note about Kaiba is that his connection with Atem goes beyond just trying to beat the best to become the best. Yugi beat Atem at the ceremonial duel and beat Kaiba in Dark Side of Dimensions, yet Kaiba's fire was never lit towards Yugi, and his goal remained fixed on Atem. The fact he leaves Yugi alone means being at the top is not really his priority anymore, and I doubt he's even really realized it.

[@granmastersword]

yeah, by that point he more or less made amends with the fact that he won't be at the top, and he was content being proven that Yugi was genuinely strong enough to defeat Atem in the ceremonial duel. All he cared was to meet Atem one last time so that he could have the rematch of the ages with the person he had come to regard as his greatest rival and arguably his best friend

[@Love-Sensibility]

Good point. I guess he just doesn't care with Yugi. Atem was the one he had "The Rivalry" with. HE was the one that Kaiba always duels and always chase. Atem understands him more than anyone and Kaiba knows that. He's just really happy to see his friend again

[@FusterIsBased]

DSOD was confirmed to be a sequel to the Manga instead of the anime, and Kaiba wasn't there for the ceremonial battle in the Manga. Kaiba wants to rematch Atem simply because he didn't see Atem lose.

[@Sleepy0173]

@@FusterIsBased Hmm actually, I had forgotten he wasn't present like he was in the anime. That's a very good point. I think I should re-read Millenium World, haven't revisited that bit of the manga in a while =0

[@maidenofiron]

Kaiba has always been my favorite YGO character even after all these years, dub or sub.

[@axineight2608]

"I HAVE TRANCEDED COMMON SENSE" one of my favorite sub lines

[@masterND96]

Kaiba has always been a strong inspiration for writing rivals, you’re absolutely correct about him being a gold standard. And I also understand how you feel when it comes to wanting Kaiba to get a win. As a fun fact, Kaiba actually should have won his duel with Yugi in the Pyramid of Light movie-Paladin of White Dragon is a dragon monster, which means it should have boosted Blue Eyes Shining Dragon’s attack. After attacking Sorcerer of Dark Magic, Yugi was left with only 200 LP. If the movie had counted Paladin being in the graveyard, he should have taken 300 more damage there.

[@VexenDmitri]

To add to Kaiba's badassery, in the last season of GX, he was the last person in Domino City who survive Darkness' invasion, meaning he repelled all of the army of Truemans that came for him alone.

[@pendafen7405]

...how?

[@MrZahsome]

​@@pendafen7405He's Seto freaking Kaiba that's why.

[@MordredStarfall]

I have clicked at the speed of Kaiba's ego

[@leociresi4292]

Epilogue, Seto Kaiba:”Blue eyes ultimate Dragon! Take out those singing toilets! White Neutron Bladt!”😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ajanis95]

Let's also not forget that Kaiba's wish to duel Atem one last time isn't JUST to get his win back but because the Pharaoh was the only person Kaiba really ever saw as an equal and perhaps a friend and he never got t osay good-bye. DSOD is canon to the manga timeline which means that Kaiba wasn't at the ceremonial duel, He never got closure. It's immensly compelling and somewhat tragic, that thisloner who built up walls around himself because of an abusive upbringing finally finds someone he's willing to perhas call a freind only to lose him without ever saying goodbye. That drive to want to have that closure is amazing. Additionally, one of my favorite bits of DSOD is how it shows that Kaiba has come to see Yugi, ACTUAL yugi not Atem, as himself a worthy duelist and true King of Games by the end of it. Yugi won their duel fair and square and Kaiba outright smiles as the finishing blow comes at him (even if it's cut off and we don';t get to see the conclusion but as many other videos pointed out, Kaiaba absolutely lost). And after Diva is beaten, Kaiba speaks to Yugi as an equal and even as close to as friendly as we've seen from him (hell, a lot of his interactions with Yugi outside the duel come across far more polite than in the anime). It shows a gewnuine growth and that Kaiba slowly has been iopening up even further than perhaps even he believes.

[@BabyGirlTiny]

Nah, it just shows that Kaiba’s real rival and connection was with Atem

[@darthjoe91]

I only want to add one point. Yugi didn't just beat Kaiba fairly in DSOD. He beat him symbolically by using a card that brings the dead back to life and showing Kaiba that Atem is gone for good.

[@UncleJrueForTue]

"Mokuba, my only regrets are that I didn't diss that 3rd rate duelist more, and couldn't recreate the pharaoh's perfectly coifed hair." - Seto Kaiba, definitely when on his deathbed

[@NidotheKing]

"Anyone who shows up late to my funeral is disqualified. Mokuba, make sure Wheeler is late."

[@leociresi4292]

Mokuba:”Uhh, okay.”

[@lyncario5515]

When it comes to rivals, Yu-Gi-Oh never missed. Kaiba is amazing, but so are Chazz, Zane, Aster, Jack, Shark, Kaito, Reiji, and Revolver. And while I haven't watched Rush and Go Rush, I've heard great thing about their rivals too.

[@frosticle6409]

Which one do you think would win? I think Revolver beats Reiji just because of the master rule revisions. But Reiji could probably find a way around. This is assuming both get a perfect hand. I honestly think Chazz is outclassed, Galaxy Eyes is sort of shut down without Xyz in the anime, Cyber Dragon is meh with Zane’s card choices, Shark at the end of Zexal might stand a chance with how the Barian emperors were designed, Kaiba has no shot, his deck is too slow for modern play. He wouldn’t be able to summon Obelisk. He’d just be negated. Jack too, his synchro deck just isn’t strong enough. Not to mention all of them wondering what the hell each other’s summoning mechanics are the older the rival.

[@RodimusMinor1987]

The only problem with Chazz was his sudden voice change from cool slick rich boy to heavy smoker batman wannabe

[@doublesalopetoimcre]

@@frosticle6409 who's the master of faster? who rules the duel? THATS RIGHT IT'S ME JACK ATLAS! with the power deck.

[@Citizen_Nappa23]

Seto Kiaba will always be top dog when it comes to Rivals.

[@dely9999]

Do you realize that all of them except aster are just Different Versions of Kaiba: Chazz: The Goofy Kaiba Zane: THE EDGELORD KAIBA his nickname is literally HELLKAISER Jack: The Blonde and POOR Kaiba Kaito: The EMO KAIBA Reiji: The HIPSTER Kaiba Revolver: The HACKERMAN Kaiba

[@sweetsea3607]

I think what also makes him so interesting is when it comes to arguing against Yugi and his friends he makes a lot of good points and sometimes he's actually right. Having such a complex dynamic with the others makes him feel more real. Also it's shown that Kaiba has PTSD when it comes to losing especially in the manga. This really shows how much his stepfather's death and the Pharoh's punishment have affected his mentality. An interesting contrast for a character who puts on such a strong front.

[@BabyGirlTiny]

That’s not his stepfather Lmfao. That’s his father. In order for that to be his stepfather he would have to have married Kaiba mother or father. But we know they’re dead

[@pendafen7405]

Yes, exactly! Seto's business-like facade is very deadpan and collected, but underneath he's highly-strung and a ticking time-bomb of frustration and fear. He's got a lot going on, emotionally--a scared, stressed kid trying to survive in a man's world, plus battling PTSD *and* ancient Gods he doesn't even believe in. He's 18 and an orphan, as well as (ymmv) possibly autistic, but his intelligence, accomplishments and lifestyle makes it too easy to forget that. Imo that's why Pegasus always teases him and tries to get him to enjoy life and 'play', because he perceives that Seto never actually got to be a securely-attached normal kid and relax.

[@33pandagamer]

So in the mobile game Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links, Kaiba created a virtual reality realm system thing that transcends time and space. He literally created technology that allows people from any time and dimension, including times and places that existed before he made it, to access it and duel anyone else from any time or dimension. He built all this, just so he could duel Yami Yugi whenever he wanted to. Kaiba is a mad lad, and I'm here for it.

[@porobotboyxxx]

When Kaiba goes hard he goes hard, it was thanks to Seto Kaiba why the Blue Eyes White Dragon is one of my favorite monster cards. Tied in first place with the Red Eyes Black Dragon.

[@westonmeyer3110]

Red Eyes is way cooler

[@videogamerzero1schannel]

While I may prefer Jack Atlus as my favorite rival in the series, Kaiba definitely earned his iconic status for good reasons and what you described him in the manga version of Yugioh really makes me want to read all the manga versions of the series, right after I finish watching Vrains

[@dragonkingdrax7467]

All of the yugioh mangas are good. Mind, I read all the way up to Arc-V and stop there cause I like to binge read. A thing to keep in mind thou, only the original manga has a "higher" canonical status to its anime counterpart, and Darkside of Dimension was intended to be a sequel to the original manga. The other manga, GX and on-ward, are completely different stories from their anime counterparts and are not considered "higher" or "equal" canonically. I think still think they're worth the read, though. Especially if you like the series as a whole.

[@videogamerzero1schannel]

@@dragonkingdrax7467 will do, I'll keep that in mind

[@Lucario1121]

I wouldn't be surpirse if 4Kidz told Ted Lewis when voicing Jack to "Just do that Eric did for Kaiba"

[@saltyk9869]

I feel like Jack is Kaiba 2.0.

[@dragonkingdrax7467]

@Saltyk I'll say he definitely started out that way in ep1, but he evolved (character-wise) in a completely different way.

[@dalampslayer]

A man not only powered by anime, money, and influence. Also powered by his love of Blue Eyed dragons and women, a true man of culture!

[@pendafen7405]

He certainly is all about his business and reputation, plus dragons. That said: the only woman he's ever showed any type of interest in, Kisara, was essentially a Force Ghost compiled from memories/holograms of a past life he doesn't remember or even believe in. Kisara scared and upset him as much as intrigued him, and honestly Seto, unlike his past-life counterpart Set, never expresses love or desire for Kisara onscreen or on-page. As for anyone else, Seto doesn't even notice or acknowledge, let alone look twice, at real-life attractive single female human peers around him in his same timeline, such as Mai, Tea, Ishizu & Vivian (contrast his apathy with the way other young male YGO characters like Joey, Tristan, Duke, Rex & Weevil pant after such women). And Seto is never shown or said to take any interest in such women in his industry or on his staff either. His heterosexual activity and interest level is lower than both Yugi & Pegasus', if you think about it--we see Yugi is demonstrably interested in dating Tea by putting time and effort and thought into her as much as his puzzle/quest/other friends, and Pegasus for all his...flamboyance is still openly devastated by the loss of his beautiful wife & muse. So, from what we learn about Seto, there's a stronger case to call him asexual/aromantic, or perhaps not interested in women at all.

[@alexkogan9755]

Kaiba is one of the coolest and most memeable characters to date. I get a kick out of him even when he lets his shell break to freak out over something, like how he did on Waking the Dragons, you know the scene I’m talking about. “OH KNOW! IT IS THEM!”

[@pendafen7405]

That's what's fantastic about Seto. His reputation and business-like facade is very deadpan and collected, but underneath he's highly-strung and a ticking time-bomb of frustration and fear. He's actually got a lot going on all at once, emotionally--a scared and stressed kid trying to survive in a man's world, at the same time as trying to battle PTSD from past trauma *and* ancient Gods he doesn't even believe in. He's only 18 and an orphan, as well as (and ymmv) possible autistic, but his intelligence, accomplishments and lifestyle makes it too easy to forget that.

[@saklee1777]

You mean the part where kaiba freaks out when he finds out yugi lost a card game? Lol. I remember that

[@alexkogan9755]

@@saklee1777 Close but no. It’s after that when he figures out Dartz and the Paradias corporation was who bought out Kaiba Corp and Yami Yugi is with him.

[@rafaelbrites3607]

and tha´s why kaiba is my favorite caracther in all the franchise. I still want that konami released a strutcture deck from him in master duel.

[@dudeguy8686]

I'm sure they will eventually. The free 2 OG are a decent start that Dark Magician didn't have that whole first year, at least. But it's an expensive deck, and nearly eveything it works with is expensive too

[@smashmaster521]

@@dudeguy8686 Expensive deck, you say? SCREW THE RULES, I HAVE MONEY!

[@RodimusMinor1987]

you misspelled Character

[@lamcb.9476]

I remember being so confused when watching the Japanese dub to find that Kaiba was so calm and almost polite. He was still snarky and haughty but not as snarky as in the English dub. Truly a day and night example

[@The_GhostWind]

20 years ago when the DM Anime was airing in 4Kids, Seto was to me one of my favorite rivals of all times do to how he was the perfect foil to yugi, how over the top he was and how he has a bit of humanity in him (granted just like you said Kamen, that developed was mostly in the manga while in the anime he has what he was given to him) and now 20 years later he’s still one of my favorite rivals in fiction. GLORY TO SETO KAIBA!

[@TheDataByteChannel]

I seriously am in love with these Characters done Right or Wrong videos. These are just so entertaining and a lot a fun to see well-constructed breakdowns of these characters.👍

[@irnasyach]

'FIRE WHOEVER DESIGNED THAT BOTTLE. A KAIBA CORP PRODUCT SHOULDN'T BEND THAT EASILY' hands down my fav line from Kaiba

[@belmontzar]

I do want to point out one other thing about how awesome Kiaba is, and how much he grew as a person. The man created Dual Academy. The setting of Yugioh GX? Kaiba built it, and its curriculum ENCOURAGES duelists to make friends and follow the heart of the cards. Dude put so much love into that island, that it connected to the other realm and Duel Spirits gained phisical[ish] form.

[@JustSomeUmbreonfromJohto]

Seto Kaiba is one of the best characters of all time from my childhood and even now. I've come to appreciate him even more as an adult. I like his determination on never giving up, never settling for second best, and his drive to want to better himself. I think he's really inspiring in that manner. I personally like all versions of Kaiba (subbed, dubbed, and manga versions) as each version has something to offer for his character. Seto Kaiba is just freaking awesome...he's the Gary Oak of Yu-Gi-Oh.

[@misterjersey5460]

Say it with me, "SCREW THE RULES, I HAVE MONEY"

[@jerbear8884]

A detail about Kaiba that i feel mostly gets overlooked is that Duelist Kingdom duel with Yugi on top of the castle. Yeah he was gonna kill himself for losing a duel and used his life as a means to get Yugi to throw, but there was always another angle to it. Yugi (or in this case Atem) was fully going to go through and win the duel regardless of the circumstances and Kaiba in his own way knows this. He has a vision of Mokuba dying and his younger self scolding him for failing. Not only was it a bargaining tactic, but a means of accepting his defeat. To lose is to die, and life without the one person in his life he unconditionally cares about at this point he probably felt he was better off dying with that duel. Even Tea/Anzu calls him out for it- not just cuz it was a cheap tactic for Kaiba to try but also Tea/Anzu recognized Kaiba was prepared for it. Its just a detail about his early characterization I felt gets overlooked when talking about that duel

[@mariotrujillo1673]

Something else to point out is in Duelist Kingdom he is basically a reality check. He's the former unquestioned world champion, has known about Pegasus's power for years and is fully aware of the lengths pro Duelist are willing to go.

[@phantomslay5612]

I love how out of every Yu Gi Oh rival Seto’s the only one who never really befriends the main protagonist in the end.

[@amirgarcia547]

Honestly I think what makes Kaiba compelling is that he takes the line from the Pokémon theme song “I wanna be the very best like no one ever was” *entirely* to heart. To him, winning and being on the top is everything, and so unlike Yugi, he doesn’t see duel monsters as just a game, but basically his entire purpose in life. It’s why his first ever loss at Yugi’s hand shakes him to his core, since it serves as a big wake up call where he realizes that winning isn’t the only thing to give him purpose in life. It’s also why he looks down on Joey due to seeing him as just a loudmouthed rookie who couldn’t duel his way out of a paper bag. But come Battle City, where he manages to become a finalist and even give Kaiba a run for his money in their duel despite losing in the end, and you can tell Kaiba gains a newfound respect for Joey despite clearly still not considering him on the same level. Kaiba isn’t also as one-note as certain other recent anime rivals like Bakugo from MHA or Yuno from Black Cover, as he’s more complex and has clear layers to him. Since despite acting like a pompous prick, he does truly care for others and will put aside their differences to aid them, which’s why one of my favorite duels in Battle City is him and Yugi’s tag-team duel. And despite not being as developed in the anime, as you said, his English VA gives him so much character that he’s just a delight to watch every time he’s on screen. So overall, Kaiba is definitely a top tier anime rival that very few have come close to. In fact, I’d consider him my third favorite of all time, only behind Vegeta from DBZ and L from Death Note.

[@joshuarobinson6011]

Kaibas whole attitude is because he was raised to be that way, the way he slowly changes throughout is him though. He was raised to always be the best and kaiba does want that but he also wants to do it legitimately whereas gosuburo would've made him cheat and take shortcuts. Kaibas evolution is him also rebelling against his step father

[@adriannaranjo4397]

Dude broke into the afterlife just to fight his rival in a children's card game

[@digitalwarrior5862]

i agree with you Kamen. Kaiba is one of the most well developed and designed rivals ever made. he is what all current and future rivals in video games and anime should aspire to

[@supremeking1730]

Kaiba and Jack are my two favorite rivals in the series. They're really enjoyable to watch and I always love their character growth in their respective series. I personally think Jack is the best rival in Yugioh after Kaiba. Jack was originally Yusei's friend, but he betrayed him because he thought that his friendships were holding him back, and he became a champion duelist in the city, and when Yusei comes after him to reclaim Stardust, Jack even returns Stardust, albeit because he said he no longer needed it, and then when he discovers that Yusei would've beaten him in their duel if it hadn't been cut short, he wants a rematch instead of just covering it up and pretending it didn't happen. Like Jack himself said, he couldn't let Yusei beat him because Yusei didn't throw anything away like he did when he left the Satellite, because that would mean his sacrifices were pointless, and when Yusei defeats him in the Fortune Cup, he reflects on his past actions and even mends his friendship with Yusei and Crow.

[@lunerblade13]

6:47 also let it be said that this is what gozaburo taught Kaiba right before he jumped out of the Kaiba corp window, the consequences of loss.

[@JorgeLuiz487]

Kaiba is definitely one of the most influential rivals in pop culture and his character and how it counterparts yugi's character should be always saw as a lesson on how to write a good anime rival

[@luigiboi4244]

I haven't watched the OG Yu-Gi-Oh! series, but I absolutely love hearing how unhinged Seto Kaiba is from other people. It sounds so hysterical listening to other people talk about how crazy Kaiba and his tactics and actions are.

[@pendafen7405]

That's the beauty of Seto--in a world of ancient gods, ghosts, monsters & maniacs, *he's* the person all the other characters in the same world say is crazy.

[@patrickdees5256]

Another great way of looking at the Kaiba Joey Rivalry: their ace monsters Blue Eyes White Dragon, and Red Eyes Black Dragon respectively. Aside from the opposing colors, i found that both represent both characters perfectly. Blue Eyes, in my opinion is the embodiment of absolute power. While Red Eyes is the the embodiment of limitless potential. Because throughout the story we see how both characters play. Seto kaiba was alread a prodigy, and always played to beat his opponent with overwhelming might; even blue eyes had very little changes or variants in the anime. While Joey on the other hand, started off as a thug archetype, then a lucky gambler, and finally a experienced was. And Red eyes throughout the anime had multiple variations, and forms. Even in the fight with kaiba and joey to see who'd take third place, joey stated he'll "keep coming back to face Kaiba, everytime he knocks him down." Which is also a sign of a good rival.

[@granmastersword]

Not to mention that Kaiba, especially in the original dub and manga, had come to develop respect towards Joey after witnessing his strong determination and wits against Marik despite all odds. To the point that in DSoD, he considered Joey as the third greatest duelist he ever knew

[@Xolcm]

The final round of Kaiba vs Ziegfrieg is just pure awesomeness.

[@squeethemog213]

I had no idea about the movie or how kaiba violated the laws of death to duel the pharoh again 😂 What an absolute lad

[@iamlordapollo]

*realizes kaiba is adopted* "Hey seto, what's your maiden name?" Lmaoo

[@Pumble27]

I always was a Kaiba fan. I think that even in the anime, Kaiba has a good development, specially in the DSOD, because now he is a little bit crazy. Is fine according to the character to me, and Kaiba doing things with style reminds me to Jotaro or Dio. Great video

[@forgettableotaku]

i really like YuGiOh! for the rivals because every main character (excluding the non-duelists- like Anzu and Honda) all work as rivals with each other. It creates a nice dynamic web for the characters to all be explored. I haven't seen this approach taken by any other manga or anime I've seen- or at least none come to mind. It allows for a deeper exploration of each character than just having one rival. There's only so many ways one character can test and expand another, but by having Kaiba be a rival to 3 other characters, and each of those characters somewhat serving as rivals to each other as well, allows for exploration other stories don't get. Of course YuGiOh! is in a good position to have many rivalries compared to other stories as you aren't physically fighting and even friends compete against each other.

[@13AndreFalcao666]

I actually like how Kaiba came to respect yugi's legacy so much as to train the next generation of duelists to protect the world in Duel Academy in YGO-GX. He has absolutely zero reservation about the quality of the students his program trains and I wish we could see more of that.

[@BloodyEclipse756]

Kaiba is the gold standard of a rival. I like the contrast of him and Joey. Where Kaiba has Blue Eyes White Dragon one if the most powerful cards in the game and likes winning a lot in a children card game. Joey almost act as the opposite with his Red Eyes Black Dragon and doesn't mind losing (except if it's for his friends or his sister then that's probably a different story). They both have something going for each other. While Kaiba's main rival is Atem and Yugi being second. Joey will be his thrid rival in terms of skill and their differences. And now a joke about Joey being a third rate rival from the dub version of Kaiba has arrived.

[@christianthrasher8677]

The song you're not me fits kaiba character so well

[@lodaceva1741]

22:50 I appreciate the use of Falsebound Kingdom music here. Really underrated game, wish there were more like it and I'd love to hear your take on it!

[@SuperGoker64]

Agreed. Especially since even in that game, Kaiba has some amazing lines.

[@nazeersadek6705]

One of my favorite characters of all times and you did him justice with this video

[@Mangakamen]

thank you very much.

[@mattwo7]

17:38 Not just any card, the card whose name means *_Turnabout_* Goddess (the name is basically the same in Japanese). He somehow managed to _specifically choose_ that card whose name matched the situation _while the trigger was being pulled._ Because you can't tell me that it's coincidence. Especially because it's Seto Kaiba, he _hates_ the idea of his own fate being set in stone, which is apparently a thing in the Japanese dub too judging by the subtitles in his duel against Ishizu (probably can't put her Japanese name without getting my comment auto-deleted) shown earlier in the video.

[@MelonTartVA]

I had such a crush on Kaiba when I was younger. God, I was stupid. Can't wait for that Girls of ZeXaL video

[@bristephens555]

I love Kaiba so much! Thank you for this video, it was really great looking back through all the iterations of Kaiba and makes me want to read the manga!

[@thesye1014]

Love your content!

[@electrobob992]

His rivalry was so strong he decided to use his company to build a time machine to challenge the guy who he really wanted to beat. The Pharoh. Though I had this idea he went back TOO far and ended up being his OWN ancestor, i.e the priest. xD

[@lisboah]

Was I the only one whose favorite character from the original Yu-Gi-Oh was Seto Kaiba?

[@projectmessiah]

Is this like reply bait or something cause Kaibas like the 2nd most popular character from Yugioh

[@lisboah]

@@projectmessiah There's no bait, just asking.

[@MrSophire]

I admit the only reason I watched the show was for Kaiba. He was a fun and entertaining character to watch.

[@saltyk9869]

Reminder that when backed into a corner in DSD, Kaiba literally summoned a God that he didn't have in his deck and didn't exist. Just pulled it out of the ground. That's the absurdity of Seto Kaiba. And we love him for it!

[@randallellison6421]

Thanks man for playing that clip at the beginning of the 43 car qualifying at Talladega in 2003! That was the highlight of that whole session was listening to Mike Joy, Larry MacReynolds, and Darrell Waltrip just try to pronounce the shows name, let alone the characters' names, lol! Kaiba is definitely an awesome character!

[@saklee1777]

I absolutely love how well yami and kaiba work together and how they duel together in a tag team against the rare hunters. They know each other inside and out perfectly.

[@magicshruums1014]

I’m genuinely happy Kaiba got a video. I can go into detail for hours how intricate and detailed his mind is. He’s an amazing character I genuinely don’t think anyone can outdo unless they try incredibly hard. He’s so.. extra and it’s beautiful

[@coreybookman5823]

I love how the kaiba after the mindcrush rescues his brother so many times it could be hobby but in the manga before the mindcrush he was all like “well mokuba you lost to yugi so your gonna get Wrecked in this penalty game I made”!

[@HalfTangible]

14:53 And threaten to decapitate people by shutting the briefcase over their neck. (That is a thing that happens in the manga, he threatens to decapitate a guy)

[@SebaCeiMusic]

Thanks for sharing my cover of "You're not me" ❤️❤️

[@samuwaizu5298]

Your Yugioh videos are some of my favorites and this has to be the best! Kaiba truly is an iconic character and I like how you highlighted the different versions of him from the manga and each anime version. Personally I wish more about his past as Priest Seto had been written/animated. Kazuki had intentions to expand more for Priest Seto before his health took a turn, but a lot of MW Seto transcends in modern Seto: his drive to be up top, yet someone who is human and cares. Even if he doesn’t fully recall or denies having ties, it still affects his drive to keep going forward instead of being held back.

[@colt1903]

"Mokuba, make sure Wheelers late." *WHEEEEZE* ... Oh my god😂 I forgot that line existed😂😂😂

[@MohammedAlHarthyTheLegend]

I mean the man let the entire series have two separate time lines One following his story in the anime to the entire anime series The second is after the dark dimension movie to the entire manga series So yeah he is a great rival

[@dimensionduelist4149]

14:54 And in Yu-Gi-Oh R when Seto met Yako who hacked his company he smacked him in the head with the breafcase.

[@danielferrieri7434]

Blue Eyes White Dragon. All You Need to Know

[@leociresi4292]

Kaiba was Blue eyes White Dragon in another life

[@anomalyinc3239]

Seto Kaiba is my spirit animal "Even his perfectly quaffed hair.... in fact that is the part that took the longest" Absolute gold

[@leociresi4292]

Seto Kaiba is the epitome of my intrusive thoughts!

[@Smolnerd]

Even if you don’t consider it canon. Kaiba sacrificing himself for Yugi always touched something in me. Also Kaiba’s confidence in the Dartz duel and any duel he is apart of is amazing

[@MrKingdmx1]

subscribed that intro alone won me over 👏👏👏💯

[@brandongalvan6603]

How can anyone not appreciate the sheer perfection of Kaiba? The dude that a literal version of himself as a trading card. And a Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet, which also got turned into a card.

[@midniteguardian9803]

Kaiba and Vegeta are two of the best anime rivals hands down

[@albam992]

Also I totally agree with you that Seto should have scored one or two victories against Atem at least, I feel like that would have really reinforced the message of the show that losing isn’t everything to make the protagonist lose to someone that was not Rafael in the DOMA arc for the plot, or Yugi in the Cerimonial Duel! ^^

[@sandyjourneys]

Kaiba just went through character development he was a villain(during the first episode of the anime) at first then he became an antihero due to doing the wrong things for the right reason(during the fight against atem in duelist kingdom) and then he became a rival(for the rest of the series), I really do love kaiba’s development as a kid the development taught me that villains are also capable of good.

[@Hammybread]

I almost spat my drink out when in Gx Kaiba said "if there's intelligent life in the universe, lets teach them how to duel"

[@darkmage9252]

Good choice in music selection for the beginning Edit: music choice was solid throughout vid

[@ROMANTIKILLER2]

Great foil for the other protagonists, good character development throughout the story, more layers to his personality, best visual look in the series and he steals every scene he is in with epic one-liners. So yes, definitvely a top-tier rival character.

[@Ometecuhtli13thGate]

Joey's dad was a gambler, drunk with lots of debt. I find Joey's deck to be kind of ironic.

[@projectmessiah]

Kaiba is the only true giga chad in this world

[@xVMouseVx]

everything kaiba does boils down to wanting to play a card game with his "best friend" but things keep getting in the way of that if you think about it that way it is really wholesome but also kind of sad

[@sushipbestdeck8995]

I remember thinking when I was younger that kaiba definitely should have won some games and yugi should have lost some, not just from a real perspective(like sometimes you brick)but also from a plot perspective it would have been nice to see them beating each other and having to try to get better at the game and have a whole comeback arc(but that probably wouldn't have worked for how kazuki takahashi intended for the story to work, considering the whole idea of having fun and making friends was the main idea of the story and yugi in general, and not competitive and having a emotionally distant mentality)

[@aajackson35]

Well thought out of. Looking forward on your analysis on third supporting character such as Jonouchi/Joey

[@amaya8550]

I remember watching yu gi oh and thinking kaiba was awesome. I wasn't a huge fan of the main cast but kaiba was fantastic. And I loved how he cared for his little brother, I'm a sucker for big brother characters. Also yugioh abridged made me love him even more!

[@zulaikaali4101]

Amazing

[@Oziach]

Okay but when are you dueling against my 4th rate deck?

[@huffypuffy2761]

"Come back when you have 10,000 cards" And the game proceeds to get more than that

[@grandcaptainspeedydash]

Honestly one of my favorite lines of Seto Kaiba comes from the dark side of dimensions movie. After crushing a bottle while talking, he then fires someone because the bottle bent too easily. "Fire whoever designed that bottle, Kaiba Corp's products shouldn't bend that easily."

[@yonesmohamed3261]

did not know naiba was this deep, respect man I am going to check out the Yugio-oh manga and that special so very compelling to me, thanks internet cool guy have fun trying to direct that line heh heh hehe heh

[@Westile]

You did a pretty good Kaiba voice there.

[@VGamingJunkie]

Kaiba's like Vegeta, when you think about it. He starts out as purely villain, but perhaps aided by being liked by fans, they end up having a common enemy in Pegasus/Frieza, he slowly became someone better, even helping out here and there, but still a bitter rival always in the main character's shadow and constantly desperate to prove himself. To my knowledge, though, Kaiba never completely got over it like Vegeta did. Darkside of Dimensions even kinda reminds me of Vegeta at the start of the Buu Saga, minus the slaughtering of a chunk of people, just so desperate to get his rival back to the world of the living so he can defeat him.

[@Jedisage909]

I love the duelist of the roses music you used

[@edwardrobinson5470]

Amazing video. I agree.