Was Ishizu About To Defeat Kaiba? [A Duel With Destiny]

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[@TGSAnime]

Soul Exchange In The Anime Doesn’t Prevent You From Attacking.

[@johnnysizemore5797]

True, but by that point in the Duel, I don't really think it mattered to Kaiba. He just wanted to "Out" the Lady Ishtar's strategy and was desperate to try anything...

[@johnnysizemore5797]

@@Lanphin88 that's the really weird bit of this whole affair, imho. You'd think Marik(as the "Male Heir of the Family" according to ancient Egyptian Law at least) would have issues with how Seto acts regularly to his "Family"(re: Poor Mokuba), but nooo, he's all "Hi Future Brother-in-law!"....

[@knellchthyomi2884]

​@@Lanphin88 They get married?!

[@JoSan3]

You forgot Anime Soul Exchange effect man. It's a literal exchange. You get to tribute your opponent's monster AND your opponent tribute yours. Hence why Kaiba used the controller card during his duel against Yugi, to regain control of his X Head Cannon

[@chendror872]

​@@Lanphin88 wait they did??

[@Janny890]

It’s hilarious that a character that can see in the future could not predict Kaiba playing a blue eyes.

[@theonec0rrupt]

Kaiba's dueling ability transcends time 😭

[@michaeluwuowo]

That's the thing. Her future power couldn't work. He broke it

[@Mimiyan_or_Pikapikafan]

I wonder if Ishizu has seen card games being played on motorcycles

[@jourdanfarquharson4697]

It's cause the future changed after her prediction

[@DemBigOlEyes]

A main character, known to ONLY play Blue Eyes deck, somehow was not foreseen to use Blue Eyes, by a character who can see the future... yeah, even Tristan could see it coming.

[@Sansmemelordover]

I still think that “THATS RIGHT! ILL SACRIFICE *GOD!* “is still one of the best lines in this show.

[@TheDarkMewtwo996]

Correct; The madman just sacrificed god! And Obelisk as well, crazy.

[@roninwarriorsfan]

"I have transcended common sense" is a good line too

[@Monty2289]

Kaiba: One More God Rejected

[@ZyrenV]

kaiba sacrificing obelix to summon blue eyes has gotta be one of the coolest moments in the series

[@idosarts_and_krafts]

Also one of its biggest memes

[@osaka_phong]

In the sub Kaiba dramatically says "Yes, I sacrifice god!". It is so kaiba of him.

[@idosarts_and_krafts]

@@osaka_phong that's why it's a meme

[@aaroncallahan119]

I would to if I were him. Blue-Eyes is a better card than the Egyptian God Cards. 😅😂😅

[@Renshid]

pokemon and yugioh fan hmmm

[@teacupkoala175]

Ishizu's exchange of the spirit play is one of the strongest outplays in the entire franchise. One card instantly reversed the tide of the duel and undid Kaiba's whole strategy

[@donaldlivingston75]

Agreed. It's probably THE only time in the entire series except vs Yugi where Kaiba is truly surprised.

[@tweso1499]

@@donaldlivingston75 so… are we going to pretend that Kaiba wasn’t surprised during his duel against Pegasus…?

[@MountainMemelord]

@@tweso1499 Or when Joey stole his Blue-Eyes?

[@nekoluxuria7721]

@@MountainMemelord I think his rage overpowered his surprise in that moment.

[@xxac3zn8zxx87]

@@tweso1499 I mean that was more his eye than Pegasus himself lol

[@brandoncastellano1858]

I loved this duel. This entire duel was great. Seeing her trounce Kaiba was incredible. And of course “I sacrifice God!”

[@TheJaredPunch]

All for the sake of my dragon waifu

[@SomeGuyXYZ1]

The Japanese dub made that scene more epic than the Eng dub 🔥

[@vgmaster02]

When you choose between your locals tournament or going to church on Sunday XD "That's right! I'll sacrifice God!" XD

[@RodimusMinor1987]

It was great, Ishizu Kaiba you fell into my Trap, Kaiba But your Cards are all gone, Ishizu I still have my trap Cards go Exchange of the Spirits, by paying 1000 LP we swap our decks and Graveyards Kaiba But that will leave me with a deck of just 6 cards, Ishizu Exactly I allowed you to destroy my deck so that I could do this. Kaiba I draw Ishizu Activate Muko Kaiba No my card goes straight to the Graveyard Joey I love seeing Kaiba Squirm

[@GoldenNada]

@@TheJaredPunch that his Blue Eyes Waifu, and dont ever forget.

[@gldni17]

The reason Ishizu cannot defy fate is that she believes it is inevitable. Kaiba absolutely does not, which ends up opening his mind to the potential to change fate. But to defy the Necklace, something that should be 100% possible, Ishizu would be acting entirely against every fiber of her being. She certainly has wishes and desires, as she wants to save her brother from the influence of his darker self, and she believes it is necessary and good to restore Atem's memories, but she has been raised to follow the destiny laid out before her by the fact of being born into the Gravekeepers' order. On the other side of things, Kaiba is an orphan who grew up long enough in the care of the system to believe he couldn't rely on others, and that he shouldn't just accept what he's given. His love for his brother is a key factor in his own strength of will, and while he sometimes isn't the most overtly affectionate to Mokuba, their bond is powerful enough that Kaiba can rely on it as the one truly sure thing in his world. His victory and success, however, came from hard work, determination, and the ability to be ruthless when it counted towards the right people. He overcame the greatest seemingly inescapable force in the modern world: rigid class heirarchy. What strength does fate have on a person who actually won at the game of Capitalism on Hardcore difficulty?

[@ryhi5]

"Win the game of capitalism on hardcore difficulty!" I can't breathe! That's so funny because it's true!

[@tedestrada57]

Cool view, I agree with most of it. About "beating class hierarchy", however, didn't Seto just get lucky that he was adopted by Gozaburo who eventually died because of his own shenanigans? The hard work, we can't deny, but the resources have been overflowing for Mr. Blue Eyes.

[@gldni17]

@@tedestrada57 Fair point.

[@fenixchief7]

​@@tedestrada57 did he get lucky or did he impress Gozaburo so much with his massive set of nuts that he had to adopt him on the spot? Why else even agree to play the game? Just to be a prick and crush some orphans hopes? He was taking those kids anyway.

[@tedestrada57]

@@fenixchief7I'm not discrediting Seto's gigabrain play of making a chess gambit and plan to get him and Mokuba adopted, the point is "is it not luck enough that out of all the options that Gozaburo could have chosen to have an heir, or orphanages he could have visited in their country, he went with where Seto was?"

[@axelushiromiya]

It's funny that not only kaiba get god card tunnel vision, ishizu got future tunnel vision as well

[@billykepner4938]

Hmm did Ishizu create the future vision field spell?? 🧐

[@patrickzalatoris3206]

Pretty funny how kaiba got out of it in the end, but ishizu just kept going through the sequence of events as she thought were true to follow, that was her downfall

[@AlexTheOilersFan]

Kaiba: I WILL NOT ALLOW MY FUTURE TO BE CONTROLLED! Also Kaiba: allows his future to be controlled by listening to the Millenium Rod

[@syarifzaki1878]

Using fire against fire, using millennium items against millennium items

[@gamerookie09]

It’s more like Kaiba’s connection to the Millennium Rod allowed him to control his own future.

[@LordTyph]

considering his past incarnation originally OWNED the Millenium Rod, it's more like his old item acted as a go between between him and his waifu.

[@cholodelrosari0543]

His past incarnation Priest Seto, owns the millenium rod. It would be better if Yami Bakura took the rod, instead of the eye, and gave it to Kaiba during the memory arc so that he can connect about his past self and his dragon waifu Kisara as his past memories are sealed within the millenium rod

[@johndutra8302]

I love how this is a duel between two obsessed characters. Kaiba is obsessed with his plans for "perfect" victories, while Ishizu is obsessed with her idea of the future being unchangeable. Even the misplays kinda contribute to them as characters, both being so close minded that they cannot see alternative ways for certain situations. Kaiba won because he was able to overcome his obsession, even if just for a second (and only with the help of a magical rod, but whatever..)

[@StareachValcin]

Interestingly enough, Ishizu is one of the few duelists to make Seto Kaiba lose confidence, even though he did managed to win. The look on Seto's face when he realized his deck was reduced to 6 cards showcases just how close Ishizu was to utterly humiliating him by defeating him in the quarter finals of Battle City and winning back Obelisk the tormentor.

[@limonbattery]

This duel has a surprising amount of nuance to it tbh. The obvious thing is Ishizu being foil to Kaiba in many ways. But having his deck nuked calls back to Duelist Kingdom where Kaiba did in fact lose that way. It probably was what made him go all in on trying to use that strategy in this duel as he never uses Virus Cannon anywhere else.

[@GeteMachine]

Ishizu is the only character that legit trapped him without a shadow game hax.

[@th0r0shvener52]

@@GeteMachine Pegasus didn't use shadow game against Kaiba.

[@roncerjani9063]

​@@GeteMachineNobody used shadow games against Kaiba, except for Yami.

[@madsgrams2069]

Pegasus just wiped the floor with him...

[@finaldarkfire]

5:00 This interpretation of the Millennium Necklace also lines up with what we see of Ishizu's character, namely her piety and absolute faith in 'Destiny'. Ishizu believes that 'Destiny' is set in stone and cannot be changed, so it really doesn't make sense that she would use the Necklace to try and 'influence' destiny. Rather, she seems the type to give herself completely to the whims of what she believes is 'destined' to occur. In this case, following the directives of the Millennium Necklace.

[@mikecabral2420]

I was thinking the same thing. Even her surprise of Blue Eyes being summoned could be further evidence of this. If she was actively manipulating fate than his blue eyes wouldn't have surprised her because she essentially changes fate constantly but if she is just blindly following the Millennium Necklace than she would be shocked that someone could defy fate. It also adds a layer of poetic irony to the whole thing because her millennium item is what allows fate to change because Kaiba only decides Blue Eyes will give him the win because the Millennium Rod gave him a vision because he was in such distress; The reason he was in distress was because of the Millennium Necklace forcing him into a losing position.

[@TheSimmus]

"Ishizu does as the necklace guides"

[@ryhi5]

I’ve always thought of it this way. A prophecy is like a Map. It shows you a path, but it doesn’t tell you how to follow that path. The necklace shows the most likely possible outcome based on all possible variables. However, Ishizu misinterprets how the necklace works. She doesn’t view the vision as a possible outcome. She thinks it’s the ONLY outcome and therefore she doesn’t consider if walking down a different path might actually lead to the same destination Hence why she ignores all opportunities to win the duel earlier

[@theglitch5386]

@@ryhi5 In addition, this interpretation lines up with how the necklace works. A millennium item can change the future, and since the necklace is a millennium item, a person can theoretically use the visions it shows to change their predestined path. She just had so much faith that her path was the right one that it never occurred to her to use it in that way.

[@saitouhajime3]

​@@theglitch5386 Well, the Necklace doesn't have the power to change destiny. It shows you a path- the one with the most likely outcome. Perhaps even the most glorious one. What would be more glorious than destroying Seto with the Deity card she lent him before the tournament, thus further showing his arrogance?

[@nightrocker1343]

Kaiba not believing in magic while magical shenanigans keep blatantly happening around him is my favorite thing about him.

[@torazely]

Yugi, Bakurua, Ishizu, Marik, and so many others: *doing magical stuff* Kaiba: I pretend I do not see it.

[@nightrocker1343]

@torazely Nah more like "Fuck you that's not real and you're all idiots for believing it!"

[@CountDVB]

I think he’s more in denial due to the PTSD and helplessness from what happened with Pegasus

[@torazely]

@@CountDVB Kaiba: magic isn't real, it can't hurt me Magic: is real Kaibas: *screams in Blue Eyes*

[@THIZzSCO415]

My favorite is when there’s a beam of bright light appearing everyone covers there eyes as a normal person would but Kaiba just stares right at it 🤣

[@ryhi5]

I always loved this duel. It shows Ishizu is addicted to relying on her necklace for guidance instead of making her own choices and that comes back to bite her!

[@kingaxolotl4085]

We’ll said

[@recaru0331]

Yeah, it makes more sense that Ishizu is strict in following the future shown to her by the necklace, while her brother does evwrything to create his own desired future using the rod. Both are working on the extreme ends of the spectrum, both not using the maximum potential of their millenium items.

[@ryhi5]

@@recaru0331 and yet ironically, the two siblings are quite similar in their methods of getting what they want. While Ishizu isn't as openly malicious as her brother, she is not above manipulating others to do her dirty work and clean up her own mess, and she's not above using underhanded tactics in duels. Since she was bribing Kaiba with Obelisk to lure Marik to Domino City and using him and Yugi to take out Marik for her.

[@michaelshahoe]

it would be interesting if young Ishizu tried to change her destiny multiple times with the necklace but failed and as a result she accepted the future of whatever the necklace shows to her after multiple failed attempts to safe her brother for example.

[@emmarosie7176]

Not really, because ishizu stated that it was wrong to use the millennium to see the future to benefit her through the duel but that she had to do it to save the world from her brother , so she isn’t always relent on it throughout duels.

[@bingbong5076]

So this is the point where Kaiba's obsession with Blue-eyes skyrocketed to an impossible level

[@noahzhellos8344]

Literally Kaiba's next duel. At least in the dub. Obelisk and Slifer stalemate. Kaiba draws Blue-Eyes. "I don't need an Egyptian God to defeat Yugi. I have a far more reliable monster in my hand."

[@Dabuddah]

Another way to look at it is because she wanted to defeat Kaiba through Obelisk. Sure she could have defeated him with his blue-eyes but she wanted her obelisk back in the most poetic way and she had her plan she wanted to follow

[@caiusdrakegaming8087]

More she already knew this path lead to victory, so why stray from what was seeming to be assured? Yeah she could have won Turn 4 with the strat Sam detailed, but what she was following also would have won her the duel too. Not a misplay if what you're already going to do will also lead to victory as well.

[@rafaelcastor2089]

Which funny enough is exactly the kind of thing that bit Kaiba in the ass during the Pyramid of Light filler movie

[@AzureRoxe]

It's the best "screw you Kaiba" way of winning.

[@andrew2477]

@@rafaelcastor2089 Pyramid*

[@Dabuddah]

@@caiusdrakegaming8087 I kind of see it as she wanted to defeat Kaiba using Obelisk and she saw that was the path she would have had to take to get to that goal.

[@CommanderActaeon]

My thoughts on Ishizu's misplay and the predestined path thing: I think of it more like "this is the defeat Kaiba NEEDS to experience." It's not about defeating him for the sake of it. If the Egyptian God card essentially betrays him and leads to his defeat, then that could have a drastic affect on him as a person, being betrayed by the power he seeks to control. Ishizu wasn't dueling for the sake of victory, but for a specific cause.

[@PizzaMineKing]

I think the millenium necklace works as self fulfilling prophecy: it shows the future you'll get if you follow what the necklace shows unless another millenium item / unknown variable, as in this case blue eyes soul, intervenes. Basically it shows you what the future will be if you do everything as you've seen. And why would you change it?

[@PizzaMineKing]

To add: I think why millenium items and blue eyes can change the necklace is: they are too powerful for the necklace to compute, so it ignores everything it does not compute in its calculation of the future.

[@PizzaMineKing]

To be more clear: it shows you the future you'll get if you have seen the future it shows. That wouldn't necessarrily be the future if you hadn't seen it.

[@richardheizler8273]

Makes sense as Shada couldn't even look at the blue-eyes in the memory world becouse it was too powerful (shiny) I like the theory that the blue-eyes is just straight up completely separate from all the rest of the monster spirits and is unaffected by the millenium items. And also Kaiba's ancestor was the wielder of the millenium rod so it's also nice he got a kick in the right direction from beyond the grave.

[@petersimpson4648]

Powerful enough souls, like Kisara (Blue-Eyes) and Mahad (Dark Magician), who are connected to the Millennium Items, can likely circumvent the Necklace by asserting their will through the Items they're connected to.

[@Mrryn]

Yeah that's my thought. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a matter of Ishizu just looking at one iteration of the duel, seeing how it plays out (exactly how Ishizu sees the duel go, ending with the Tribute Blast blowing up Obelisk), and then just being assured in victory and never bothering to consider another iteration. Like you said, why bother looking into a choice like Sam mentions here (reviving Blue Eyes with Monster Reborn and crippling Kaiba's game completely) when the one you've seen ends in victory and the destiny you see is infallible? What's the point when a win's a win and the one you see also just happens to absolutely clown on an egotistical dingus like Kaiba in the process?

[@gptstudios21]

I can’t believe you didn’t talk about Seto’s best line ever “I sacrifice God!”

[@danfelder8062]

*Romans have entered the chat*

[@matthewpopow6647]

Ishizu: (summons monsters without looking) Mai: YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL! I CAN DO THAT TOO!

[@TGSAnime]

It’s funny you say that, in the original they reference Mai. They wonder if Ishizu is using the same Aroma Strategy, but yugi says it’s way too windy

[@solomonscourt8118]

​@@TGSAnime You can't attack on the turn you play Soul Exchange.

[@sethmiles9436]

​@solomonscourt8118 the anime card is different then the real life card.

[@GordonNight1]

@@solomonscourt8118 AS PRESIDENT OF KAIBA CORP I DECLARE THIS VALID!

[@rafaelcastor2089]

​@@TGSAnime So you're saying... IT FUCKEN WIMDY

[@miss_xandra_mars]

"I am the one who decides my fate" - Seto Kaiba. I was actually wondering if you would cover this duel as Ishizu knew the play-by-play thanks to her necklace and Kaiba defied fate, since it seemed fairly straightforward from both sides. I am pleasantly surprised, as this is one of my favorite of Kaiba's duels. As for the magic moment with the millennium rod, I always saw it as Blue Eyes and the rod working together. As Kisara was the Blue Eyes spirit, she was tied to the rod in a way. So together, it was enough to show him the vision as Kisara vowed to always be there and protect him. As if together, they knew he was in danger (of losing). Also, kinda funny you posted this today as I just got a Blue Eyes White Dragon pin in the mail.

[@TheReignofHorror]

Now you just need to do Joey vs Odion, Mai vs Marik and Yugi vs Marik (also possibly the 4 way duel) and you have covered the entire battle city final.

[@RenaldyCalixte]

How would Sam cover the 4 way duel? He's never done that type of duel before.

[@TheReignofHorror]

@@RenaldyCalixte Which is is why I said possibly, because I am not sure myself.

[@pug8714]

​@@RenaldyCalixte I think he did a 1v3 tho, so not out of possibility

[@AngelKnightZeo713]

I don't see why Sam would need to cover Joey vs Odion since that duel was an open 'n shut case in all 3 versions (manga, both sub + dub versions of the anime). It's pretty obvious that Odion could've won 5 times over before Joey summoned Jinzo.

[@torazely]

Look at that. Nice predictions there. Apollo gifted you well

[@neilyoungboy]

Kisara was probably ticked beyond belief that Kaiba put her to the side for Obelisk. When he was ready to attack ishizu she must have been like. "Thats it, I'm taking back my man!". Her direct attack on Ishizu can be translated to " And don't you ever try to bribe my Seto with rare cards again!"

[@trisertricordoh2127]

Which is funny, as Kaiba reacts badly whenever someone besides Atem/Yugi uses Blue-eyes he gets angry.

[@haloslayer255]

Just imagine when he summons Blue Eyes (Kisara) it protects him when first summoned. Like a cat protecting someone or something it loves.

[@torazely]

"you stay away from my man you homewrecker!!!"

[@29jemo]

I believe that the millennium necklace does permit to change the future. Ishizu simply misunderstood the power of her millennium item. It showed her a future she desired defeating Kaiba, getting the Obelisk back, and eventually facing Marik to stop him. She gets tunnel vision and follows the path strictly which of course just makes the future she saw become reality little by little, making Ishizu follow it even harder.

[@HollywoodLego]

If you think about it, this duel showed the parallel similarities of Kaiba and Ishizu. They both had plan that they believed was set in motion. Ishizu foresaw that she would defeat Kaiba, and Kaiba planned to win the duel with Obilisk. It's like Kaiba said, using blue eyes was not part of his plan, but his connection to the millennium rod and his dragons spirit called out to him, and he changed his destiny. Even though Ishizu was defeated, it did give her hope, hope that her brother might actually be saved. Of course the real tragedy on Kaibas side, is that his arrogance and stubborness were still present, believing that it's what strengthens him, that he can control his own destiny and win the tournament. But Yugi proved him otherwise, by figuring out Kaibas strategy in their duel. Kaibas biggest flaw is that he refuses to admit his own weaknesses, even though there are opportunities for him to do so, like with what happened with his duel with Ishizu.

[@TheRedMage01]

This duel gave me one of my favourite Kaiba lines "THAT'S RIGHT I'll SACRIFICE GOD!"

[@idosarts_and_krafts]

"SCREW THE RULES I HAVE A DRAGON GIRLFRIEND!!"

[@ColeMeCrazy]

"IT LOOKS LIKE THE RULES... (puts on sunglasses) JUST GOT SCREWED."

[@idosarts_and_krafts]

@@ColeMeCrazy *YAAAAAAA!!!*

[@snowboundwhale6860]

I like how both duellists here had the ability to win in their first couple turns, but neither goes for those plays because they're both too caught up in their premeditated game plan. It's remarkably true to the real life game for players to get sometimes caught up on one line that seems like "the best thing I can do here" only to miss something more/ equally effective. I know I've missed lethal or even outright thrown duels from exactly that type of mistake where you only notice you had another line after it's too late. Ishizu's working off the neckless, and whether that shows an immutable future or just one possible future is it's own debate, but either way, Ishizu believes that what it shows IS an immutable vision of The Future, so she plays into it thinking she couldn't play any other way; The foreknowledge it gives could've allowed for anearlier win, but she doesn't go for it because she thinks the future she knows cannot be strayed from, and in those visions she wins in the end anyway. Kaiba on the other hand is too busy thinking about how humiliating a loss it'll be for Ishizu when he destroys her deck and leaves her with nothing using his Virus cards before finally beating her with the God Card she gave to him and so confidently said he'd give back. As a result he overlooks a very clear line for aggressively dealing massive damage because it doesn't coincide with the line he's got stuck in his head. It also lines up with Kaiba's "bad habit" in BC of getting too focused on the God Cards and repeatedly overlooking his own Blue-Eyes, which he gets over with the end of this duel; The Battle City arc even starts off with Kaiba putting Blue-Eyes into the Duel Bot's deck to duel against it and using Obelisk to beat them. It's only after this in his Duel against Yugi where he's viewing Blue-Eyes as a proper ace again, with Obelisk being the plan A for either a quick win or the God V God matchup.

[@MatijaReby]

The thing with fate is, if Ishizu saw Kaiba play differently her future self would have played to accommodate that and therefore she would play differently in the present so Kaiba's "misplays" are already accounted for pretty much. Her misplays are not accounted for, but she kinda wants to go for the same ironic outcome just like Kaiba so maybe the necklace chooses that fate cause it stays the most true to everyone's character essentially? Anyway, really iconic duel right there.

[@JzanderN]

Interesting that Kaiba was destined to lose this duel due to forgetting about his waifu in place of the new big bad boy in town and it's remembering his true love that ends up allowing him to win.

[@Hoothootmithut]

The necklace having limited control over the future would make some sense as well and explain a lot of the questionable plays. I think Ishizu wants to engineer a situation where Kaibas pride and arrogance are his downfall. Obelisk exploding would be the most poetic defeat and teach Kaiba a lesson. She steers the duel this way believing it is a win anyway while being blind to the downside of the her plays. I also appriciate that they engineered a situation where playing a card out of mostly sentimental reasons was the right play. At least i have definitely been there and done that.

[@jamieholmes4751]

I just loved the absolute shock/fear on Kaiba’s face when Ishizu activated Exchange Of The Spirit (“That leaves me with a deck of only 6 cards”😱😱😱) Ishizu wouldn’t have won , because this is Kaiba . Mr Screw The Rules I Have Money Mr Screw The Future I Have Money (sacrificing Obelisk to screw with Ishizu’s prediction) Mr Screw Death I Have Money (he had no soul when he activated that card to help Yugi against Dartz) In all seriousness though , had Kaiba not sacrificed Obelisk , he’d have lost 😃😃😃

[@AzureRoxe]

Fast forward to the movies and the dude legit INVENTS TIME TRAVEL just to go back to ancient Egypt to duel Atem. Screw time, i have money.

[@joaopedro-ob9bt]

still better than yugi who "screw the rules i am the protagonist" and proced to make a bunch o bullshit moves like fusion a monster and a spell to send a arrow to ultimate dragon and make him start to rot or attacking the moon that he himself used (he... atacked... a spell)

[@musha45]

​@@AzureRoxe even better, he broke into the afterlife to challenge him

[@darksideofevil13]

A taste of his own medicine from the bullshit go to combo of his.

[@TheFatalcrest]

@@joaopedro-ob9bt XD Tbf....that was during Duelist Kingdom and that Tournament has different rules.

[@jaygarcia6094]

This duel is so underrated and personally one of my favorites. Especially because of the millennium rod reaching out to Seto and reminding him of the loyalty of the The Blue Eyes White Dragon.

[@johnnysizemore5797]

19:59--I'm of the opinion that the Necklace work's but showing you a POSSIBLE future where the events play out. All you gotta do is engineer it to follow that path. Seto wasn't proving or disproving Ishizu's faith, just taking the less likely option for himself. If she had not egged him on the way she did through the entirety of the Duel, she would've won the way she pictured....

[@dancostello4872]

You're almost certainly correct, given that in Zexal, Number 25: Force Focus produced photos which seemingly predicted the future with complete accuracy, in the same manner as the Millennium Necklace. Yuma & Astral realise that each photo only shows 1 _possible_ future which would either be met or avoided depending on their actions; Cameron, the user, was able to convince everyone they were _the_ future, so all his previous opponents had played into it because they thought they had no choice. As a result, the whole thing just ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, which Yuma broke by making different moves to the photos & winning the duel.

[@rafaelcastor2089]

The Necklace of Gaslighting

[@johnnysizemore5797]

@@rafaelcastor2089 close to it, honestly. Ishizu was very good at profiling her opponents (it was why Marik let her live instead of killing her after he evicerated their Dad), so if you combine that talent with an item that can see possible future events you can effectively convince almost anyone your dueling into following those exact events. Her only mistake when dueling Kaiba was really forgetting that he'd had a Mental breakdown and was certainly a Sociopath at this point in his life (why do you think he became so fixated on Blue-Eyes White Dragon only AFTER he dueled Yugi?)....

[@rafaelcastor2089]

@@johnnysizemore5797 Didn't the guy heard about a rare card while at school, immediately thought it might be a Blue Eyes, then kidnapped an old dude and "dueled" him for the last remaining Blue Eyes in the World just to tear the card up in front of them? I'd say the guy was already obsessed

[@johnnysizemore5797]

@@rafaelcastor2089 not necessarily at that point. To Kaiba's way of thinking(at least at the time), it was just good business and strategy. He'd already be classified as mildly Sociopathic(but still treatable) at that point in time. He was volunteering as a Business and Economics Tutor at the School if you'll remember. He didn't go full bore Sociopath untill AFTER the Yugi Duel. Seto's actions to Grandpa Muto was how he was raised to handle "Tough Sells" by his absolute Tool of an Adopted Father(who originally just wanted to use his body as a vessel for his Comatose Biological Son)...

[@connornewman5561]

Could u imagine kiaba being knocked out his own tournament so quickly.... all I can think is him blowing up the blimp and flying off laughing in the blue eye jet

[@crispy_synchron]

Dude these duel analysis are so cool. The anime makes the card game so dramatic and fun. I love playing the game and pretending to be the characters. It actually inspired me to make some videos where I made my own episodes of the anime!

[@kingcrowbro2486]

My opinion has always been that Ishizu never gets a say in what kind of future she sees or how it plays out, and my main evidence for that is just how she talks and acts. Someone who could freely change fate to whatever they wanted, wouldn't feel as depressed and powerless against it as Ishizu does. She speaks with certainty on the future, but not in a self-assured or arrogant manner. She's almost apologetic to Kaiba throughout this duel. Futhermore, her not being able to change what the future is also adds weight to her absolute mind melt later in the duel when Kaiba does exactly that. She's not shocked because Kaiba changed "her" prediction, she's shocked because *fate isn't supposed to budge for ANYONE.*

[@johnnysizemore5797]

Honest opinion, I think Seto became Certifiably insane after his first loss to Yugi. It's the only explanation I can figure for why he does what he does later....

[@jsanto210]

I mean he displayed a lot of troubling behavior before that, I genuinely think the loss greatly exacerbated that

[@razielzakary4989]

Care to elaborate for those who haven't seen DM in soooooo long ... Namely me😅

[@johnnysizemore5797]

@@razielzakary4989 why certainly! When the Pharaoh (still in his angry Season Zero phase) mentally destroyed Seto, it released all of the Negative aspects of his personality(Mokuba even commented that Seto wasn't the same person after he fought Yugi) which drove him insane. Now keep in mind that this is the Animated version of Kaiba NOT the Manga version (who had the exact opposite thing happen to him instead)....

[@wanderlustwarrior]

I mean, he did get his mind crushed...

[@johnnysizemore5797]

@@wanderlustwarrior too true....

[@eddiestilll]

oh man i think this is easily 1 of my fave duels in all of YGO. not just cus of how crazy the pace of the duel was but how badass both kaiba and ishizu are, with that epic ending with the blue eyes vision from the millenium rod

[@VanLe-gk3ie]

One of the best duels of Battle City. Kaiba’s past to his Blue-Eyes help change his fate of losing to Ishizu.

[@Shantae1188]

9:37 This is where Part 2 of the duel would continue. It is still hilarious to me that from the moment Obelisk gets on the field, we’re basically on the last turn of the duel. This is probably one of my favorite duels.

[@YarnLalms711]

I think the reason Kaiba didn't Silent Doom and Soul Exchange on his turn to summon Obelisk, it's probably because of nerves after Exchange of the Spirit completely screwing up potential back up plans in his strategy. It's also possible that if Ishizu went off the beaten path for the predestined future, the Millennium items may be a little mean about that and there could've been a change as to what Kaiba drew and how he played.

[@harrisonhurst6480]

The necklace cannot effect the cards of the Duel, its not what it does.

[@chaosknight626]

I believe the reason Kaiba doesn't summon Obelisk free of Ishizu's meddling as per the confusion around the 14 minute mark is due to the two traits Kaiba is most known for: Pride and Ego. He doesn't just want to beat Ishizu, he doesn't want to just get Obelisk out, he wants to destroy her, to strip her field of all defenders without sacrificing his to bring out her destruction. It's only after Blue Eyes gives him the wakeup call he reigns himself in when facing Yugi, not wanting to have a potential repeat scenario (Likely due to some form of off screen analysis of the duel). This is actually a really interesting one due to the tunnel vision perfectionism of Kaiba and the predetermined unalterable stick to the script of Ishizu, both headstrong duelists locked into a singular path, with Kaiba ultimately breaking free

[@foggedftw2]

Randomly got into rewatching the original Yu-gi-Oh series, just recently watched this episode I love these reviews!

[@oliviermartineau7046]

Didnt expect fogged to be here.

[@tristansylvester1079]

I like the idea that ishizu was so tunnel visioned on the fate she saw that she never even considered other plays, and that her necklace doesn't show a guaranteed future but instead only shows her one set possibility.

[@iananderson4754]

yeah why try to make a shortcut to a victory when you have a map that guarantees you getting there.

[@filipvadas7602]

Ishizu missing out on so many opportunities to win because she was *determined* to follow the outcome her Millenium Item showed her is just poetic As for how Kaiba could change "fate" I'd like to think it has a lot to do with Kaiba's willpower and his connection to Blue-Eyes. We've seen that the power of the Millenium Items *can* be resisted or worked around, although its pretty rare. So its possible that simply having *the will* to not be ruled by destiny was enough for Kaiba to shift the outcome *just enough.*

[@animefan77]

3:22- This highlights her flaws. She's a slave to destiny- rather than use her knowledge of destiny to avert it, she uses it to play exactly as predicted without a backup plan in case it falls and she's forced to lose- which is exactly what happens.

[@rainbowdragon168]

Kaiba was like: “Screw Obelisk! I have a Blue Eyes!” 😂

[@danieltodorov7753]

Always thought the necklace only showed the very near future, like a day at most. Which is why Ishizu didn't see that Yugi would beat Marik from the start and just chill at her museum.

[@anthonythomas305]

Kaiba changes his destiny thanks to the power of his strongest servant: Blue-Eyes White Dragon That was a great duel

[@idosarts_and_krafts]

*Looks at kisara* I feel like there's a very obvious joke to make here, but i will not bother

[@robrick9361]

So Kaiba overcame a woman by listening to his rod.

[@pagananarchist4723]

🤣🤣🤣

[@babyninja1800]

Shut up and take my like

[@clarkkent8286]

Sir, behave yourself 😂😂😂

[@Darkdragon0175]

That’s genius 😂

[@Toms_Mobius_Files_Official]

Man if you don't get yo-

[@thatoneguynobodylikes8553]

I honestly think it's really fascinating that the internet kind of paints seto kaiba as a "spike" character, when honestly he is SO much more a Johnny and Timmy. His entire ruling strategy is based around getting big and exciting monsters into play utilizing fascinating combos. He doesn't just try to beat his opponent he wants to win perfectly every time. He also plays the game very romantically, as in romantic chess, in that he doesn't go for the best play in every situation and instead always the most exciting and flashy play. He doesn't win duels, he beats duelists. And this literally cost him the majority of duels that we see him in. In fact one of the only tools were he actually goes for a more Spike play line is when he's beating up Joey.

[@OTheDetective]

Who is spike is this from a movie or book

[@JzanderN]

I don't know what a "spike" character is, nor a Johnny or a Timmy. Can you explain what they are, please?

[@thatoneguynobodylikes8553]

@@JzanderN Spike, Johnny, and Timmy are terms used in the card gaming community to refer to different types of players based on their play style. Spike's are hardcore gamers that want nothing more than to win. Johnny's like to win big and when excitingly usually with ridiculous combos and overpowered creatures. Timmy really likes big stompy monsters and it doesn't care much else about the game, he wants to put giant things down and attack for life points directly.

[@JzanderN]

@@thatoneguynobodylikes8553 Thank you!

[@Machina_EX_Machina]

This series slaps! I love rewatching and picking up new details each time. Keep up the great work my man!

[@therandomgamerplays6220]

The millennium necklace in my opinion works as a mix of options A and B, she can alter the future she sees just without knowing it because any alterations she makes are predicted by her meaning that her vision accounts for her having seen the vision with it only being altered after that point if another millennium item gets involved because it can only account for her own knowledge of the future and the reactions of those who are not under the effects of millennium items having knowledge of the future, key example being her warning kaiba but that warning not altering the future until another millennium item allows him to heed the warning and push his will above that of fate, something which was not predicted because it cannot account for other items interfering

[@roninwarriorsfan]

If only Ishizu had the modern version of her deck

[@cinomaticsith]

Or a Gravekeeper's deck

[@ES-dp6tw]

Honestly the most hilarious thing about the summation is that the Millenium Necklace is terrible at making good plays, or at least had a sense of god card tunnel vision itself. If it had showed Ishizu the second-fourth turn victory play, she’d have it in the bag, and probably battering Kaiba that quickly would be just as fitting as tripping him on his own Obelisk. Yugioh really is a charming series. Only a Pity Ishizu didn’t have more duels.

[@Sta_cotto]

My personal "big misplay" moment for Ishizu was wasting her second Muko on Crush Card Virus; if Vorse Raider was that deep in Kaiba's deck then he wouldn't have been able to do his combo again, and she could've saved Muko to negate Soul Exchange. Metaphorically Obelisk would've still been Kaiba's doom from your aforementioned "God Card tunnel vision".

[@TheKabuto90]

Which would be great and all but at that point she was just flexing to prove a point. She also WANTED him to summon Obelisk so she could defeat him with the very card that she gave him, perhaps knocking his ego down a few notches in the process.

[@ElfireII]

The idea of ishizu having the chance of defeating Kaiba with his own blue eyes. Yet chosing not to take the path because she was scared of the unknown future and following her "pre destined path" is a pretty interesting character flaw if it was intentional. It also would have snapped Kaiba out of his "god card tunnel vision" showing him, through a loss, that he should have awknoledged his Blue Eyes. Also losing the god card because he was so focused on it. But in the end, she was able to get confirmation that fate wouldnt be set in stone thanks to Kaiba winning in the end.

[@bladersmosh]

Regardless of all the shenanigans and anime plot armour, Kaiba changing the future is without question one of the most iconic moments of the series as a whole. I guarantee that if Sam ever made a top 50 Yugioh moments or at least one for Duel Monsters first, that moment would likely be in the top 10 or 5.

[@RenaldyCalixte]

Sam should make that list.

[@epictoe7179]

To quote another Yugioh video, “When you sacrifice god to summon your waifu”

[@jamesturner6979]

Have been re-watching GX and I would totally recommend "Jaden vs Alice" as a Halloween video. A very underrated duel that aside from being a good match, sees Jaden play very intelligently and not bust out a new hyper-specific Fusion Hero to save the day.

[@arbetor12]

God I love that one. Maybe because it Cassandra Lee Morris's VA debut

[@vgmaster02]

@@arbetor12 uh.....I call bs on that. There is NO WAY that Alice was her FIRST EVER dub VA role. With how big a name she is, she's had to have had way more roles prior to that.

[@erenkruger5760]

@@vgmaster02 Nah its true Cassandra Lee Morris first role is from a 4kids dub 😂

[@NeptunII]

fun fact: there were exactly 48 locator cards distributed, so for Ishizu to join the finale she must have defeated Jean Claude Magnum at the last second and taken his 5 locator cards, because all other finalists were already confirmed to have a full set each by that point. Now that's a what-if-duel to imagine!

[@Ovasiig]

“It’s a set path that can’t change unless a millennium item interferes” so what I’m hearing is kaiba gave ishizu the millennium hands

[@markcoroneos7811]

I love "i sacrifice god!" As much as the next guy but we all missing the gem at 8:50 😂

[@MechaTamago]

I think the Ishizu re-trains really fit her game plan in this duel. Well done Konami!

[@finalbossbowser]

I would argue the Millennium Necklace shows instead a very likely vision of the future that can be changed by only one variable: seeing it or making known the vision. Simply saying you have seen the future can be enough, but Ishizu goes further by vaguely voicing predictions that come true. The binds of fate are people's own insecurities, subconscious or conscious. Kaiba's reliance and desire for the God Cards is an insecurity, one that the Millennium Necklace predicted. Ishizu's insecurity was making choices of her own, to an extent, as she chose to try and save her brother. But she didn't make the superior play because she was too afraid to go against fate. She overthought by underthinking ironically enough.

[@lars_wolf9124]

Honestly my favorite part is the fact that the millennium rod doesn't do anything more than remind Kaiba that he has blue eyes, Kaiba entirely decided on his own that he should win with his waifu of a dragon

[@MattAero]

This duel was pretty hilarious because of Kaibas reaction to Ishizu absolutely wrecking him

[@SpecsTube]

I’d like to see a duel analysis for the other Battle City Quarter Finals (Yami Marik vs Mai and Odion vs Joey) and then the Battle City Final (Yami Yugi vs Yami Marik).

[@jaykoblue172]

Interestingly, we would actually learn about the scene Kaiba saw when he was about to attack in the final season. The girl in Seto’s arm was Kisara, a girl who was important to Seto and Blue-Eyes White Dragon was her spirit Monster.

[@TrueBladeSoul]

I wonder if she was the one who activated the millennium rod using her status as a spirit connected to Seto to do so

[@jaykoblue172]

@@TrueBladeSoul Most likely.

[@SanguineQuest]

Considering Ishizu's comment that "even the greatest duelist fall before the Millennium Necklace" and the conversation about using the garbage trucks to protect her Egyptian artifacts at the museum, I think there's some implication that she knows she could manipulate the future with the knowledge it gives her. However, she's a woman of tremendous faith in the religious sense. The Necklace is showing her the future she wants to see: Kaiba defeated, Obelisk back in her hands, the Pharaoh triumphant. Why would she do anything different than what it shows her? She trusts Destiny to have her back.

[@hadrianhexe9603]

And i also think it's an issue of, her willingness to poke and prode at him. Like don't get me wrong, I LOVED every second of her messing with this man, but her doing that probably prompted Kaiba to say 'fuck it, i'll do something she could have NEVER guessed. I'll sacrice GOD!!'

[@briggsgametime]

I just thought of something. Blast Held by a Tribute… wouldn’t that still be active WITHIN Blue Eyes? Since Obelisk was one of two tributes for Blue Eyes.

[@Zodiacagegaming]

My opinion on the duel is that ishizu never planned on winning even with the pre determined path giving her the win but wanted to test Kaiba to see if he could break away froma pre-destined path placed on him. By telling Kaiba the outcome it forced a do or die scenario where Kaiba would have to go outside his normal comfort zone in a way. Honestly clever move

[@zodiakgames]

She cant stray from the path because she does not believe she can That has nothing to do with limitations set by the necklace

[@HexManiac-nf1yg]

I still can't get over how cool the scene of him SACRIFICING A GOD for blue eyes and said god, who keep in mind punished the person who made their cards and people who summon them wrong, didn't smite him

[@RedDragonForce2]

I actually go over this concept of conflicting future visions in my fanfic “Memories of a Best Friend” where I have a reincarnated OC of Mana from the past bring up the contradictions of the Millennium Necklace. Before Battle City, Ishizu invites Kaiba to give him Obelisk. During this conversation, she directly states that Kaiba will duel the Pharaoh in said tournament. However, this contradicts her own victory over Kaiba. So what’s the deal? Well, my explanation in the fic was that Ishizu fell to hubris, believing her item was infallible outside of another Millenium Item’s intervention. She acknowledged that she could have won in many different ways, much like your analyzing, but failed to think for herself and followed what was shown to her by her necklace. The Necklace saw two futures, but never understood it as two contradicting futures in that moment, despite that being the truth. Destiny is not the same as Fate, and Fate can change Destiny to suit its needs. It was Destiny that Ishizu defeats Kaiba, but Fate that Kaiba and Yami duel again, thus Fate having to change Destiny so Fate could play out. Thoughts? Also, feel free to read my fanfic on Fanfiction dot net. I’m RedDragonForce 1 on there.

[@samurexatlas7373]

I love the meme where Ishizu was expecting the modern versions instead of the classic versions. That said, she did have a LOT of monsters with 1500+ ATK in her deck. Wonder what they might've done.

[@TheSimmus]

It's so sad we never saw her boss monster, even Bakura and Odion had some, despite their unorthox strategies

[@kennethM]

so this is a duel between 2 people who are stubborn and stick to their one predetermined path to victory whether better opportunities are presented or not.

[@efrainlagunas]

Huh, you made me realize another layer of this duel. Both Ishizu and Kaiba are very locked onto their plan and stubborn to a fault in not swaying from that plan. Both had a clear path to victory, but it wasn't what they planned, so neither did it. Until Kaiba finally decides to adjust his plan, does he win. While Ishizu is stupefied, she lost.

[@digidark2556]

I know another duel that will be perfect for this! Kurosaki vs the LDS trio!

[@adamantium4999]

Kaiba shitting a brick with that “Exchange of the Spirit” was great lol Almost eliminated in the quarter finals in his own tournament 🏟️

[@tim-tam-tomrick2973]

I mean, without fuckin all-out idiotic play from Ishizu, he loses. There was ONE chance he had and it was Ishizu summoning a third monster when she literally had no need to do so. He only avoided being eliminated by plot.

[@hadrianhexe9603]

@@tim-tam-tomrick2973 Truly

[@tim-tam-tomrick2973]

@jacerivera7907 Yes. Because her plan was always Spirit Exchange. There was no play until her chicanery with the blast held by a tribute that would have played differently. Because Keldo in defense is a safe play against Vorse Raider and a facedown. Mudora killing Vorse Raider was planned by Kaiba. Virus Cannon is played by Kaiba. Ishizu's gameplan is to mill her own deck (or get her deck milled) and Exchange of Spirit. Ishizu lost because of plot.

[@Mernom]

Anime bomb held by a tribute is gotta be one of the strongest cards in the game, since it can have an effect without ever actually activating.

[@NrgBuster]

Once you broke it down, this seemingly clever duel was really just Ishizu selling the whole store and Kaiba rocking insane amounts of plot armor

[@marsella527]

There's one thing Ishizu didn't account for.... the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future

[@edg810]

18:53 Only reason Kaiba ever even loses any duels in the first place is because of "hocus pocus" tricks! Only fair he gets one of these moments in his favor 😂 Great video.

[@Wwillow1992]

At this point if I see anything about the top 3. My auto thought is “yes. Plot armor. Artoria level plot armor”

[@Domesthenes]

My understanding is that Ishizu COULD manipulate fate, but would choose not to because as far as she knew she already won with the path she was on. So why deviate?

[@beastirick]

Exactly. In many series where people have ways to see future (and manipulate it) those people usually go through different futures and stop once they find outcome that suits them. So in this case if your objective was to win then you keep looking until you find one where you win. Once you do, no point to keep looking alternatives.

[@clarkkent8286]

The problem with Kaiba is power lust. Soon as he got Obelisk, he spammed it like crazy and forgot everything else. You never want to over rely on one thing for victory

[@aeroevans9987]

My favourite part of the duel was when Ishizu milled 5 over and over into about 60 Tearlaments in Kaiba's turn.

[@patdav56]

"That's right, i Sacrifice GOD!!!" is the best line i swear XD

[@emred4653]

her knowing the future which also means she knows his hand yet still losing was pure plot armor

[@ahmedrizk279]

All I'm gonna say is that the soundtrack of Kaiba's vision of the past (God's Anger) is one of the most thrilling and epic soundtracks I have ever heard in an anime. Literal Goosebumps

[@ZenoDLC]

I think the reason Kaiba didn't go for game with Blue-Eyes when he initially could is that he's currently obsessed with Obelisk

[@invu4834]

We haven't seen any other tag duels other than yugi and kaiba. I was thinking "Was Trey And Quatro About To Defeat Yuma And Kite?"

[@gonzalez8juan]

i dont think its the millenium rod that saved kaiba but rather the blue eyes white dragon it self

[@TheMasterVictory]

i see it as the work of both

[@ManuelRiccobono]

For what I always assumed, the millennium necklace shows you the future you get if you follow the exact steps shown in the vision. The only people able to change that future are the ones that posses a millennium item, which in this case Is Ishizu. Some of the other wilders could intervene and make kaiba change its moves and thus changing the outcome, but I don’t think kaiba would listen to anybody except himself. This way, the necklace could be used to be sure to follow the correct path to the desired destiny or could give the user the possibility to do something else to avoid that future. In this duel kaiba was able to change the outcome, thanks to the vision he received. If he did not had it, everything would have gone like Ishizu saw.

[@AhmedMohamed-qm4wd]

If the pyramid of light movie shown us anything, Kaiba would prefer to win-in-style more than anything else, so I hold the theory that Kaiba wanted to flex on Ishizu and beat her with the same Egyptian God card that she gave him, rather then just defeating her through other means.

[@ManaLeak13]

I believe Soul Exchange's effect was "Tribute your opponents monsters instead of your own". Not "Tribute mosters as you wish"

[@fruit3193]

The way I see it, the Necklace gives Ishizu the power to change the future, but then she risks not knowing what’s next. As such, she decided to fulfill her prediction and avoid straying from it just in case.

[@novacorponline]

Its actually rather interesting that she could have won so early in the duel. It shows that she actually isn't a good duelist at all, but merely follows a set of instructions given to her by her powers. She could not see that she had access to an easier and faster win than the one she was shown, because she doesn't understand the game as well as a more experienced duelist would have.

[@xxx_jim_the_reaper_xxx]

Ishizu isn't trying to win. She's just following precognition until Kaiba summons the god card and tests his dueling abilities based on his decisions. He loses if he relies on the god card solely, that is the point of the duel. If you needed god cards to win duels, you don't deserve the god cards.

[@JzanderN]

I think Yusei vs. Sherry LeBlanc would be an interesting one to look over, though hard to decide because it was intentionally left vague what the next deciding card would be. Some good old fashioned "were they actually about to win?" analysis. But maybe it could have been won earlier by one of them?