This Yugioh Card Can't "Legally" Be Printed ?? The Many Air Neos Conspiracy Theories

[@vanguardRailgun924]

The only issue with Air Neos being to similar to another character is no one has found this supposed character.

[@ave_maria323]

I'm curious on who it is ngl

[@treize731]

Feel like Neos in general kind of looks like a version of Ultraman-but the air neos looks a lot like an ultraman. Other potential look a likes would be Guyver (Honestly Neos is Guyver...same head thing and arm swords), or in a long shot-some armored folks from Marvel.

[@ldiod4374]

The only character I could possibly think of would be Jet Link from Cyborg 009. But that would be a huge stretch.

[@Ramsey276one]

It has happened in other games Tekken: Raven, the Chico to was Wesley Snipes Blade KOF15: Khronen was originally K9999, who's basically Tetsuo from the anime movie AKIRA I'm sure there's more

[@pn2294]

Devil Jin?

[@special_summon]

no bs, there was one pack left of Strike of Neos at my locals, I figured it had been scaled already, but I still bought it and pulled an Ultimate Air Neos, I felt so fresh and so clean

[@tsvetomirsheev3882]

Chances are the pack was scaled regardless lmao Ultimates are super hard to scale on old packs

[@d4rksonic474]

That pack was definetly an Outkast.

[@noahbriske839]

Things that didn't happen for 500

[@DarkestVoid]

@@noahbriske839 except it happens. I pulled a Tour Guide from the Underworld in the last Extreme Victory pack when I was in middle school. I sold that shit immediately.

[@noahbriske839]

@@DarkestVoid Im sure that absolutely happened

[@matiaspereyra9392]

7:34 not only that, this shot was literally on the gx opening but it had air neos, so when they looked at it they had to actively chose to remove it

[@maskofthedragon]

>Looks too similar to some anime character no-one can even give an example of Let's just ignore that Neos is a parody of Ultraman to begin with

[@vanguardRailgun924]

Not to mention NOBODY can seem to pin down what character Air Neos seemingly looks like.

[@randomprofile5853]

@@vanguardRailgun924YGO Wiki states that Ground Neos is based on Shin Getter Robo's design, so it's possible that it's from that franchise.

[@mothman566]

It's likely that air Neos had to take the blow for elementary hero Neos, Neos not only looks like Ultraman but also shares the name with one, Konami can't stop printing base Neos, so they picked the second most similar, air Neos, the only one who keeps ultraman's colors white and red

[@Zetact_]

My thoughts on the theories: - Too similar looking with another character: People claim this yet can't point the finger at which character Air Neos purportedly looks too similar to. Mind you, we've found the card that MAD LOBSTER was copyright infringing on, yet nobody can find this alleged thing that Air Neos is too similar to? This one is clearly BS. - Neos Air: Doesn't really work with the lack of Air Neos' usage on promotional material. It would suggest that it's just the name that's the issue, so there's no reason why they wouldn't be able to put it on Neos support cards. But perhaps not in the level that Neos Air actually believes that there is copyright infringement, but that the name is close enough that they CAN threaten lawsuits - and, noticing this, one of the higher-ups noted that it's literally free publicity for the airline, and so long as they don't publicize such a thing then they don't look petty. And European copyright hawks can be very petty - remember that time Sky Broadcasting Network went after No Man's Sky because the game uses the word "sky" in the title? It still doesn't address why Air Neos' design wouldn't be getting used in other cards. - Dispute with an artist: Perhaps not a legal dispute, but rather a petty personal one. I would think that most or all of the Neos cards would be done by the same artist, so the dispute being specifically for Air Neos seems weird. I would think that if it were a legal issue with the artist, we'd see more of the Neos cards (or just cards from that era in general) being in a similar situation. Rather, just some bad blood between people where they chose one of the artist's high-profile cards (maybe one the person was proud of?) that also the community wouldn't really notice since it isn't ever really going to be meta relevant as one to target. This is the only one that really seems to make sense from all the angles.

[@megadong2398]

I know the character he looks like.

[@sufx0845]

What I don't understand is that if it's an Artwork problem, why can they represent the card but they hide it, because on the picture of "instant contact", the wings in the background are certainly supposed to represent Air neos, right? They are not pink but I don't see who else they could belong to.

[@RayMon504]

The similar likeness to another character makes the most sense tho.....especially since you can see air neos' wings in the background of instant contact @ 7:24. If there was some sort of artist dispute I feel like they wouldnt have referenced air neos AT ALL.

[@megadong2398]

@@RayMon504 name the character

[@Moyuukii]

@@RayMon504 Could those wings possibly be for Divine Neos instead of Air neos. Not sure just a thought 🤔

[@parlor3115]

Konami pulled the card because they THOUGHT Air Neos is a copyright infringement but never figured out what it's infringing is a the most reasonable conclusion here

[@aterriblesliceoftoast]

That’s such a Japanese Corporate move that I think it’s incredibly on point

[@Klonoahedgehog]

I can buy that theory, i guess it's because the design is generic yet cool enough that it feels like it's ripping off something else.

[@silver7554]

Nike maybe idk

[@shuboy05]

Konami also removed the Metal Gear Solid theme after similarities were noticed with a 1979 Russian work titled Pushkin's Garland by Georgy Sviridov. As far as I can tell no lawsuits were threatened but Konami decided they didn't want any legal issues so they removed the theme from Portable Ops and MGS4.

[@ChaddyFantome]

The crazy thing is, Strike of Neos was actually the first booster set I ever opened when i was a kid. It only occured to me recently, but it is the set I was gifted by friends on my birthday at the time and why I had those Six Samurai cards I built a deck around to begin with. I pulled my first Limited Secret from that set iirc, and traded it for a bunch of cards from my friends including the Grand Mole I used to dominate the playground. To think, If I had just been a bit older, I could have gotten an Air Neos and wouldn't be lacking on it in my collection right now.

[@makotoamamiya2442]

The thing about it looking like another anime character is that it that was the case they would also stop printing air hummingbird to cause air neos is just air hummingbird with wings & air hummingbird has had many reprints

[@Zetact_]

And that literally nobody can actually point the finger at what character is allegedly too similar looking to Air Neos.

[@ChillinOutMaxin]

@@Zetact_ kuriboh lvl 9 lol

[@Andrea-rq9bl]

Idk if anyone already pointed out this but due to the Italian company Air neos name in the Italian translation of the card has been changed to “neos grandioso” (grandiose neos) and even air hummingbird is just called hummingbird without the “air” part in its nane

[@valutaatoaofunknownelement197]

I've known about this conspiracy/controversy, but I didn't expect it to be this well documented. HEAD CANNON: He wears Air Jordans for his shoes.

[@RrraverCrow]

The artist thing doesn't make much sense since they could just commission new art from a different artist. And they could change it's name like they did with Harpie Brother if the name did cause legal issues with the Neo airlines. Maybe they have a MTG-like reserved list that they just haven't put out publicly? Or maybe it's just a running gag.

[@sworddomo1951]

Kadabra in pokemon wasnt printed for the longest due to the lawsuit with uri geller. There could be a behind the scene thing with the card.

[@KaseyC.]

It's possible the artist somehow doesn't just own rights to the art, but owns rights over the whole card. It's a bit of a stretch, but still theoretically possible.

[@CanadianLannister]

I guess one of us will just have to win world's so we can get interviewed by Mchale and answer every question with, "Air Neos?"

[@AmateurHEROduelist]

I’ve won modern duels with this card. Pairs extremely well with A Hero Lives and Verte (neos fusion) you’re on 2k life and air neos is on like 8500, grab an honest neos to make it 11,000 it’s often game! Someone at locals was play testing branded fusion had his masquerades out. I calculated how many moves I had left before I burned to 0 I could’ve dropleted them but I took advantage and grabbed honest neos baited dragoon negate and in the end my air neos had 12,700 attack and swung for game over a 4K dragoon.

[@MirageUchiha]

I remember I asked my pop to cop this card back in the day when he was out of town at a random card shop. I was collecting all of the HEROES back then. Which, I managed to do - including the McDonald's cards. 😁

[@otangakudyokeman7124]

if ever you want to give them for free, remember I exist =') from a loyal hard GX fan looking for the cards =')

[@MirageUchiha]

@@otangakudyokeman7124 They're somewhere in storage. Lol I'm retired from IRL Duel Monsters. Jus Links & Master Duel now. But yeh, GX was the best! My favorite series hands down. (After the OG Yugioh ofc.)

[@otangakudyokeman7124]

@@MirageUchiha shame, I would sleep with them to make sure tgey are fine or play with them, better than being in storage x'3, but just in case u dont need them x'd Otherwise, for me, GX is my fav of all times... that series did a LOT to me, what happened to Jaden is just (no exaggeration) what happened to me, I had my worst years in life for 2/3 years im a row, it is been only few months that I am "breathing" but if you think thats why I love GX oh boi ur wrong, my love goes way back xD It is the yugioh series that made me cry for real ... S3 was of a whole different level. The stress was real om Jaden during 3 and 4 Season. The jokes and puns were perfect! And the characters were cool! (Chazz was such an undertimated person...) HEROs literally changed this game (Stratos and D-HEROs) what can Isay? My love is eternal for this show as well as my fav archetype! I Could write an essay/thesis now xD so, I better stop here haha! Anyway, you better keep them safe! Or I will hunt you èwé

[@bananajoe69420]

@@otangakudyokeman7124 u got some extra chromosomes ? wtf

[@TheBoyFromAngelsEgg]

Your dad played yugioh??? Cool, my dad mistakes yugioh for pokemon.

[@sufx0845]

This may be a red herring, but if you look at the Italian name of Air Neos, as well as that of the Hummingbird, neither of them uses a word related to "Air". The fusion is called "Neos Grandioso EROE Elementale" which by the way uses the "grandioso" of the mole (Grandiosa Talpa Neo-Spaziale). I don't know if this is relevant information on the matter, but it just surprised me.

[@999spot5]

tbh that makes a lot of sense considering it was an Italian airline

[@chrismcdonald6079]

Shadow and light imprisoning mirrors would be cool reprints from around this time that just haven’t gotten one and I think they could be useful

[@chrismiller3548]

They have both gotten reprinted a few years ago so they are really cheap now

[@tomyoung570]

I can see Air Neos finally getting a reprint as a starlight in the power of the elements tcg release as the Reprint Starlight

[@gerardomacias7370]

Still think that they should just make a new Air Neos Card and call it, Elemental Air Neos Reborn or Reincarnated. Give it a return from the graveyard ability, his original effect, and something else to make it competitive. Also redesign him so there would be no legal disputes. They already did it for Wiseman.

[@randomprotag9329]

they could just errata and give new art for the clastic crowd which would want something closer to the origional

[@ScionStorm1]

They haven't made a NEXSpacian replacement for Air Hummingbird along with a NEXNeos fusion for it yet...

[@TrueCyprien]

​@@ScionStorm1 They haven't made a NEX version for 4 out of the 6 Neo-Spacians and of the 2 that exist, only Marine Dolphin got a fusion. They pretty much immediately gave up on the concept, which is not surprising considering how absolutely terrible NEX is...

[@UnlikeMike0]

The name could easily replace the name Air with Aero, Wind, Sora, ect. Sooo many replacements for that word if that's the issue.

[@mr.ed.8533]

call it Aero Neos

[@zhine354]

Think about it. Somebody goes to a big tournament/event and manages to top/get first place with an Air Neos in their extra deck just to mess up with Konami. I wonder what would happen or if the person in question would get in trouble or not.

[@firestylefireballjutsu2792]

I hope this isn't just konami creating artificial scarcity and nothing more

[@servbot128]

Well Konami wouldn’t even benefit from it, the card is crazy expensive but it’s from third party sellers so they aren’t seeing that money also air neos is actually pretty bad so even if it was reoriented regularly I doubt it’d actually see play outside of gimmick otk decks

[@lokephoenix1039]

Nah, Konami don’t benefit from the secondary market and even if they did, the reason the sometimes immediately reprint obscure af cards is because they’ve somewhat become recently viable (a la Kwagar Hercules). Air Neos has never been viable so what’s the point? I’m more inclined to believe there’s some reason they’re not allowed to

[@lokephoenix1039]

@@servbot128 I commented before reading your comment haha! I’m very sorry for saying EXACTLY what you said 😂😂

[@randomprotag9329]

that seems unlikely since konami will use anime as a selling point and with out reprinting it their is no selling point.

[@IIIZetsubouZeroIII]

Also, on the card Instant Contact you can see Air Neos' wings in the background. It looks like Neos is blocking him from view.

[@joshuaguste6883]

My take on the conspiracy/controversy is something happened between artist and the company that caused a schism between the two. All was neither forgiven or forgotten and the company moved on from the artist. The only three people who know the truth are the artist, the creator and God.

[@brandol75]

and Chuck Norris. 😆

[@joshuaguste6883]

@@brandol75 you are right we can’t forget about Chuck Norris!!

[@dimensionduelist4149]

If the card looks similar to something else why didn't they change the artwork also Air neos wings can be seen with the other neos

[@MirageUchiha]

Yeh, that's interesting. 🤔 You _can_ see, (what looks like) Air Neos' wings in the bg of the Instant Contact artwork.

[@vanguardRailgun924]

@@MirageUchiha He’s still obscured from view in the card. They are actively trying to avoid it.

[@MirageUchiha]

@@vanguardRailgun924 Umm... I was jus agreeing wit OP that you can see the Wings only in the car art.

[@RayMon504]

The fact that you can see the wings only makes me believe that the card itself does indeed look like some other character

[@dimensionduelist4149]

@@RayMon504 One problem if it was copyrighted at the time it would have had an alternate art like mad lobster something I found out about because Dylan from yugioh everything mentioned the red art of Mad lobster was copyrighted and they had to redo the card design and the guy who made the 1st art of mad was fired for playgerizing. And if it was later on in legacy wouldn't had included

[@Goldhawk7]

(JOKE NOT FACT) Artist for Air Neos brokered a deal to get paid 25 cents for every Air Neos card produced, $300,000 dollars later, Konami voted to bury Air Neos.

[@Stardust_262]

If Air Neos’ art was a rip off of some other popular character, surely we’d know who that character is at this point right?

[@KingofAnime7]

very interesting theory & learned something new. I really didn't know that Air Neos had an interesting backstory. Honestly Konami could have changed the design & the name. for example, Elemental Hero Zephyr Neos or perhaps Elemental Hero Gale Neos. Then again, I find it odd that Neo-Spacian air Hummingbird is fine in terms of design & has no legal restrictions in comparison to its upgraded counterpart.

[@gohan1094]

I'm so pissed off about this!!! Air Neos is actually my favorite of the Neos fusions and I pulled from a random pack back in 09 but I hesitantly sold it for $20 in 2011. It wasn't until I started collecting them again in 2020 that I realized the price tag for one copy. Wish I would've held onto mine

[@TheBosc]

If it had anything to do with the artwork then why is Dimension Explosion in MD? It has Air Neos on the card art.

[@IIIZetsubouZeroIII]

I had to look up the card on Neuron and you're absolutely right. It's right next to Ojama King in the artwork.

[@CryogenicGamer]

I had 1 person said that air neos looked too similar to a Japanese pop star. Plausible? yes. Weird? Also yes.

[@cranberrysauce61]

if you take into consideration of what happened with pokemon and kadabra, where a magician sued and won for the use of his 'likeness' and his famed spoon bending, it prevented the company from printing any kadabra cards for about 20 years in which the magician then decided to recend their lockout of the pokemon giving permission to print kadabra again... if pkmn decides to do so. so it is very plausible and konami is being cautious and is trying to not open themselves to a potential lawsuit from a popular public figure.

[@vollied4865]

The stranger thing is in that new fusion spell air neos's wings are still there just air neos himself is missing. There's another theory since this happened in cardfight vanguard and wasn't solved til just a couple weeks ago, the card Demon king marquis Amon was never given a retrained counterpart for years even though we went through not 1 but 2 reboots, just to find out the artist died and japan has certain bylaws to respect people's work after death meaning they couldn't use Amon til recently.

[@dianauwu1312]

That would make soooo much sense.

[@s.plissken_91]

Air Neos is not crappy. It's a solid otk option for Neos hero builds.

[@kaan9338]

@Richard Wallace it used to be an otk deck way back but its been wayyy powercrept

[@SoulConvoy]

Air Neo's design is ripped off from digimons Gallantmon Crimson mode. so bandai said "you cant use this or we will sue you"

[@jaysanti1718]

oh shit, someone did it. I actually checked for release/appearance date and it predates Air Neos.

[@SoulConvoy]

@@jaysanti1718 yeah i figured out the mystery. it was me

[@SoulConvoy]

please spread the word

[@GaussianEntity]

Bandai totally would lol. At first I was like no way, Gallantmon looks much more armor like or whatever, totally forgetting the red machine thing it combines with lol. Good job on the find.

[@grayorganization]

Love the older era content man. Been watching your videos for what feels like 10+ years. Videos like these, let me still feel like a ygo fan.

[@trstmeimadctr]

The airline one is definitely incorrect. That is the jurisdiction of trademark, which only protects your mark within its designated industry. You do not get unlimited control of it within perpetuity. TV Tokyo also wouldn't own the rights to anything. If for no other reason than because they are only one of the many broadcasters. Anime is made completely without the involvement of broadcasters in Japan.

[@CiCiCrown9886]

Link Evo was developed by Other Ocean, the same company who has done many titles such as Decade Duels, Base Legacy, etc. It's most likely that they didn't get the memo about Air Neos. Whatever that memo may be. That would be the only reason I could think of that would allow Air Neos to even be in that game.

[@Matthew.20777]

The thing is that, if the Air Neos situation is really serious, wouldn't they patch the game and remove Air Neos then? The card was also in the Tag Force games before Link Evolution.

[@MrJoeyWheeler]

@@Matthew.20777 Yeah - and also, if it were some big legal problem, why would the card and its art be on the official card database on Konami's yugioh website?

[@Matthew.20777]

@@MrJoeyWheeler Kind of wonder if Konami will eventually reprint Air Neos but with censored art and replace the artwork on Card DB. Not to mention he's still uncensored in Master Duel in the artwork of Dimension Explosion.

[@garrettsmith4034]

Dying to own just one Air Neos. The life gain effect in a nurse burn deck always sounded fun to me. I really hope they put secret rare air Neos in a speed duels season 2 box.

[@sethkrueger9294]

Still can't believe that my only copy of Air Neos came from a Walmart Cube in 2016. Not only that, but it was one of the cards that had been set facing the outside. I bought that cube specifically because I saw Air Neos, never moved to checkout so fast in my life!

[@sugarsmile7852]

It's not master duel but why did it appear in the other yugioh games

[@lordofthered1257]

The reason is because Konami is getting revenge for Rank Ten Yugioh getting OTKd by air neos.

[@derrosenkavalier8890]

I've been putting together a Harpie / Air Neos decklist with the latest Winged-Beast support from BROL and upcoming Neos support from POTE. I remember the STON sneak peek as a 9 y/o and the set as a whole very fondly. Also wish I had at least bought up a playset of Ultras when they were like $15 a pop back around 2015.

[@redwardranger7034]

The Air Neos controversy always reminds me of Season 4 of GX (and final arc or 5Ds) not getting a dub. Shame because Air Neos is my favorite of all the Neos Fusions, mainly because it's red. Also, if they really don't want to reprint Air Neos, fine. I do hope that I see the day where the missing NEXT Neo-Spacians and their Fusion upgrades are released. Are they unnecessary? Most likely. I'd still wanna see them.

[@nellewoodruff6337]

Same. I personally wanna see more og hero fusions like Burstinatrix/Sparkman or Bubbleman/Necroshade

[@redwardranger7034]

@@nellewoodruff6337 Oh, yeah that's right. There are many Anime Elemental Heroes that still hasn't Fusion, like Avian and Clayman. I don't really count Grandmerg because I feel like he could have had something more to make it the ultimate amalgamation

[@nellewoodruff6337]

@@redwardranger7034 Definitely

[@Signerdragon123]

@@redwardranger7034 Heck, I would still like to see alternate classic E-HERO fusions in the style of Aster's Enforcers.

[@redwardranger7034]

@@Signerdragon123 Same. I need that Clay Guardian and a Fusion version of Neo Bubbleman.

[@kidnavajo]

What if they’re secretly reprinting for themselves, knowing the incredible market value, to be sold under the disguise of private sellers to make wicked dough.👀

[@Golden-Monarch-One]

Maybe Air Neos is simply “invisible” in artworks being a master of wind and visibility.

[@yep_itsmeagain]

Honestly I always felt like the Neos Airline company threatening a lawsuit theory was a stretch. The company would hold copyright over the "Neos(Airline)" brand, not the reverse naming of it. They legally on paper go by Neos. Also Konami would have trademarked the entire name of the card "Elemental Hero Air Neos" and "Air Neos". I don't think the plane company would go to battle over a card name that isn't similar and when they typically go by "Neos Airline" or just "Neos" for all that they would just go after the original Elemental Hero Neos card and that would cause the entire Neos fusion/card line to be under fire. I don't think this theory really holds water legally. I also don't think Konami just forgot about it. We're talking about one of the most popular card archtypes in the card game. No way Air Neos would be the only card forgotten about. I think it's a licensing issue with a TV company. You can still very clearly still Air Neos wings in the background of instant contact. It's like it's body was just air bushed out. This leads me to believe it's either a licensing issue or a artist dispute.

[@nisinator2]

It could be true. On the show Dragons Den, the investors wouldn't invest in a product called iGlove simply because Apple have been trading using the name of i for 20 years at that point. Even though "I" isn't trademarked they still feared a lawsuit against them (one invested but then he pulled out once the cameras were off). Bearing that in mind, Konami treat Yugioh like they're scared of any kind of controversy against it like the way they censor every dumb minor thing, avoid cash prizes and get the artists to sign their artwork over to avoid future headaches so it really wouldn't surprise me if they just pussied out of having to deal with the airline company.

[@yep_itsmeagain]

@@nisinator2 Thats a different situation. iGlove could be mistaken as a Apple product. If that product is bad it has potential to damage the Apple brand and be confused as an apple product. Something else I need to add is Air Neos and the the Airline Neos are also in two different industries where nobody would confuse Konami's card game vs a European airline. If they both were in the transportation industry I could see it. Vs the iGlove example which is another piece of technology. Copyrights is a very broad broad concept. Neos Airline wouldn't just go after Air Neos if that's the case because like I pointed out they mostly go by "Neos". They barely ever use the name "Neos Air" anywhere. They typically go by "Neos" or "Neos Airline". That's why I don't think it's because of the airline. Like I also pointed out European countries are extremely petty when it comes to copyright. They're not going after just one card. They would go after the entire Neos archtype. Another thing, they wouldn't be going out the way to remove Air Neos from history. They could have just changed its name. They've done this before with other cards. Instead, Konami has gone out there way to make sure Air Neos doesn't even exist. They air brushed that him out of an card that you can still very clearly see it's body parts in the card. This doesn't seem like a name dispute, but an artwork dispute.

[@miltosthegreat6894]

Fun fact:In the psp game yugioh gx tag force 3(which came out at 2008)elemental hero Air news and neos specian hummingbird are the only neos spacian/hero monsters that are missing from all jaden yuki's decks.Seriously go look this up.The cards do exist in the game but jaden doesn't use them.They are the only ones that he doesn't use

[@yubelious5584]

They aren't in the base game. So you can't rent them or get them from the shop. You can obtain the card, technically. But not conventionally speaking.

[@BlandTaco]

If it was simply for the artwork you’d think they would’ve done an alternate art by now that looks nothing like the original. Also wouldn’t he have been edited out of the anime all together if his appearance would get them in trouble? Truly a mystery

[@KaoruMzk]

If the art or the artist is the problem, they could just get a new artist to redraw it. They did it with Mad Lobster. I honestly don’t know what’s going on with Air Neos, my best guess is that some higher up at Konami hates the card (probably because he got OTK’d by it several times) and wants to erase it.

[@ullebrammerloo74]

Yet can’t do it for magi magi xyz

[@KaoruMzk]

@@ullebrammerloo74 because that's a Kazuki Takahashi card. He owns the Yugioh IP.

[@tylermeeksmith4176]

The wings in instant contact are air neos. Honestly even if they could reprint air neos. You couldn't put air neos in the art due to how cramp the art is already.

[@Funlu]

Opening strike of neos is just pain I remember when it came out

[@erimercado7700]

lmfao i had no clue about this, checked my GX binder, have 3 ... ive collected anime character theme decks since 2005, glad i never sold or had anyone ask about them

[@MajorTeag]

Yeah, me either. Back in the day, I was trying to collect all the Ultimate Rare versions of the cover cards. I got all of them except Cyber End Dragon and Air Neos. Now I know why I could never find it. I basically gave up on it once I saw that Cyber End was impossibly high and then decided on the Ghost Rares for every booster pack. That collection is complete. None from the newer sets that have them, but I consider them special packs myself.

[@erimercado7700]

@@MajorTeag thats really awesome man!

[@saucedopro]

Honestly the air line situation is more likely. If it did look like a manga or anime character then someone would have spotted the look a like by now. Meanwhile the airline one would be likely as a similar situation in comics happened with Image comics not being able to copyright miracle man because a company named miracle suits said it infringed on their copy rights. Miracle Suits was definitely a reach but they still won the law suit and I don’t imagine Konami wouldn’t get away with air neos since the name is even more similar and the bird references. The other company would not have to own the copyright to air neos as long as a judge ruled that it’s too similar than Konami would probably lose a lawsuit, so I assume they just wouldn’t want to risk it.

[@aballofgrime7273]

The bigger mystery is why they just don't create a new card to replace it as the neos humming bird fusion and errata storm neos for it.

[@doubl2480]

This reminds me of the Kadabra controversy involving Uri Geller for Pokemon cards. That Pokemon wasn't reprinted as a card during almost 20 years. It was finally solved, though, with the medium changing his mind. But at least in this case we kind of knew what was going on? For Air Neos it's a complete mystery. I hope one day this card gets freed from whetever copyright maze it's trapped in.

[@YarnLalms711]

Of the Contact Fusions, this was the best of the Neos Contacts, moreso because of it's OTK potential rather than anything else

[@tevintom251]

It’s crazy. You can see Air Neos’ wings in the card art for instant contact lol.

[@Moyuukii]

I didn't really notice the wings in the background of the card until I started reading the comments of people mentioning it and the more closely I look at the background the more I convince myself it could be Air Neos but at the same time could it not possibly be Divine Neos since you can kinda see a gold shoulder plate slightly sticking out behind neos 🤔

[@dustinvance243]

It's definitely air neos. The artwork of this card is lifted straight from one of the anime openings in GX the reason that spot at the top looks empty is because that's where air neos was in the shot.

[@seanakima50515e]

Keep your copies boys this card might never be reprinted

[@albertomadrigal4143]

I think this is similar to the sonic RPG games. But to put it short. After emission and first printing there could have been a legal trouble. Maybe a lawsuit, a warning, a cease and desist or something from that effect towards Konami. My guest will be that this was done on Japan. So its more obscure that way. And it's why Konami stoped reprinting the card. Anyhow, that wasn't definitive. Thats why the card was on legacy of the duelist. But this probably revive the fight for the rights of the card. So either due to another dispute or preventively Konami stop with all the releases if the art. Either for the card itself and with the support. The thing here is. That the reason we haven't found the "original" is because there is not one. I mean not technically. I could detail this better but this is getting to large for a comment. What do you think?

[@connorbiddle4703]

Bought an ultra air neos for 20 bucks about 8 years ago. Felt the need to complete a childhood dream of collecting all the neos fusions. Air Neos was always my favorite. Insane to see how the price has climbed. I never expected this card to have this kind of iceberg

[@richardm5664]

Air Neos kinda reminds me of the Asian Championship alt arts for Red Eyes/Blue Eyes Ultimate/Summoned Skull/Gemini Elf/Kuriboh - never printed again yet their appearance in Legacy of the Duelist would contradict licensing issues with the original artist(s)...

[@Namingway248]

you acknowledge yourself its appearance in legacy of the duelist and link evolution. if it was really an external problem like the artist or airline theres no reason the problem shouldn't have extended to that game, especially considering it could've easily been removed from jaden's deck and nothing of value would be lost. Also, because the duel links starting LP is 4000 its entirely possible konami believed the effect of air neos may be abuse-able and not worth making changes to (as they have needed to do with other cards which wouldn't fit the format properly). I won't pretend it doesn't seem like something more could be going on (especially considering its an anime card) but I do truly think its ability to appear in the aforementioned game limits the actual reasonable explanations.

[@gadget2327]

It's not in Master Duel either and that's real confusing

[@vanguardRailgun924]

And it’s Hidden on purpose in Instant Contact.

[@darkmyro]

I'm not sure I believe it's to similar to another anime or manga character. Mainly cause I haven't seen anyone point to a character that looks like air neos. I mean the plane theory sounds more logical imho, but I don't think there would be any confusion over an airplane and a playing card. I only say that cause if Japanese copyright is similar to American copyright Then as long as there can be no confusion over the two items they both can exist legally speaking. I think a more likely theory is simply out of all of maidens monsters, air neos is just not popular and the reason they took air neos off the other card is space issues on the art. Like from the outside it looks like they're picking on air neos, but that wasn't the actual intent. Though that's my tinfoil hat theory.

[@MarcoAppleMania]

I buy it yesterday Unlimited, in Italy it’s call “Neos Grandioso” or “Great Neos” probably for the airline name situation

[@kish45]

Wonder why Konami didn’t reprint Forbidden droplets in the 2021 mega tin and reprinted it as a short printed secret rare in Brothers of legend.

[@vanguardRailgun924]

Because Konami be like that.

[@engiopdf8745]

They don't make money off not reprinting the card at all though. Also in Master Duel the card is missing entirely despite the fact it also has banned cards which are unplayable without cheating right now. The only other notable cards like that (before a fixed chronological point, since the card list is still behind the TCG) I can recall are Pole Position and Victory Dragon since they have issues resolving. Heck even Self-Destruct Button and Last Turn appear in the game as forbidden cards despite all the issues those two cause. Meanwhile Air NEOs is just unpersoned.

[@kish45]

@@engiopdf8745 Still though it doesn’t make sense why Konami can’t just make a Duel Devastator 2 and include cards like Psyframe gamma, psyframe driver, Lightning Storm, alternate arts of the ghost girls again this time including Mourner, Evenly match, and Forbidden Droplets. That way Konami would make money and players would a some good cards for they’re decks including Droplets everyones happy.

[@engiopdf8745]

@@kish45 Komoney knows if they spread out good cards across multiple packs they make more cash that way. It's why in Master Duel so many staple cards don't appear in any secret packs. Diluting the pool and lowering the chance to get useful cards drives up revenue since it forces people to buy more packs for only a few cards. They don't care about the average player spending. Most revenue comes from whales and they know that.

[@kish45]

@@engiopdf8745 Ok if they don’t care about average players including the players of the age they’re product is labeled for then I guess they won’t mind if average players start buying very good forgeries of good staple cards like Droplets for 10 bucks and use those and lieing that they real.

[@Deadhead-kq4hr]

Have this very card most of pulled it back when strike of neos released and didn't think much of it still have the card in practically perfect condition

[@shikabaneconga]

kinda fucked up how konami wont credit artists or let them display or sell prints but wizards of the coast for magic the gathering goes as far as to have artist credits in every single card printed since the start and even releases sets and bundles centered around some of their best artists..like cmon man

[@eloanpedraza4603]

I will be happy to comeback to this video when Air neos get reprinted this year or maybe next one, but i'm sure that it will be reprinted soon

[@RMGK79]

I’m glad I became a collector and have this entire set in first edition, including all the Ultimate Rares. I always thought there would be some hidden gems throughout the years, and I’m glad to have collected sets and sealed tins. I’ll hang on to them until I retire. Thanks for this video! People laughed when I told them I was collecting these sets in first edition. I don’t think they’re laughing anymore.

[@michaelmorales1602]

That was me with Tactical Evolution I was collecting the entire set and some of my friends would just throw me random commons or rares from that set just bc they knew I collected them. Fast-forward to the beginning of Pendulums and the rise of Qliphorts: Summoner's Art (a rare that was only ever printed in TAEV) is suddenly a $12 card and I had loads of them xD

[@sebay4654]

If there was a contract dispute it could be that all the other ones that had debuted in the anime before was before some contract renewal and In that they changed the terms to keep rights over future designs but then in the next renewal it was changed back

[@achilles8283]

I was browsing tcgplayer for a copy when the buyouts happened and prices skyrocketed. My heart sank thinking I'd have to shell out $100+ for a copy. I managed to get a beautiful HP copy for $80. Wild times man

[@TheItalianoAssassino]

Fuck Bitcoin, Air Neos is now the highest revenue asset class 😎

[@titanlegends5646]

So you have to also considered that link evolution wasn't made by Konami, just Greenlighted by it, so Air Neos being in that game could just the company usingit without knowing Konami's situation.

[@vincentsissom4180]

The problem with that is that if someone from Konami involved with the Air Neos situation saw that the card was in the game, they have it removed post haste to avoid the situation.

[@TheSliferSlacker]

Air Neos IS on Instant Contact. A lot of people don't seem to realize this, but you can see his wings and small parts of his body in the background. However, he's heavily obscured seemingly on purpose regardless.

[@CasualYugiStuff]

Ey! Thanks for the feature bro! Such a mysterious card indeed…! Will it ever be reprinted!?🌝

[@FlamingOverlord]

Id like to hear a video about Magi Magi Magician Girl and why she hasn't been printed in TCG. Saw some rumours claiming it's because Kazuki Takahashi won't allow it to be censored but couldn't see anything backing this up.

[@barryjennings9375]

I think it could be a combination of some of the things listed here. But each of these conspiracies has a simple solution that Konami has done to other cards. Airline name fued? Change the name like they did kinetic warrior Disgraced artist? Change the artwork and give it an alternate design. Looks similar to another anime character? So do dozens of other cards that get reprinted. TV Tokyo owns the rights? By that logic it should apply to the other news cards too.plys you can retrain the card under a different name and artwork with similar or better effects like the bunch of pot of greed retrains.

[@NorieHolloway223]

True

[@7gdnz]

Air neos has to be some legal dispute or copyright holder not wanting it distributed anymore, not outright copying a person or existing character. There’s another card that hasn’t been printed for tcg, magi magi ⭐️magician. The creator of the manga designed the card, meant for it to be another redesign of dark magician girl, but liked how it looked with the xyz card frame. Konami can’t remove the ankh and pentacle without his consent, and it’s a rumor he doesn’t want the art censored, there’s no official statement from him saying this.

[@GaussianEntity]

Wait, if this is the reason that card hasn't been printed, isn't that a moot point now that we havecthe original artworks for DMG, Exodia, and Monster Reborn in the TCG??? Couldn't they print this now?

[@digitalduken9973]

From what I understand here it's not the name that is the problem it's the artwork, and specifically the body not the wings. The fact that only the body is not shown on instant contact, but the wings are shows that the body is the issue somehow. The one issue here is that we have no idea why the body itself can't be used. I've seen a couple people bring up the Mad Lobster argument and because of that card then someone should be able to find out what the body of Air Neos looks like, but it may be that the body is just randomly copyrighted and it hasn't been used in media before. Issue with this is there would be some record of the design somewhere and no one can find it. I guess it's possible (and I mean this is a very big longshot/if) that they didn't actually copyright the design of Air Neos as quickly as the other Neos fusions and someone else got the rights to it before they were able to process the copyright for it somehow. Again this is a very big if and I highly doubt that is what happened but theories are theories and that's just something that popped into my head randomly. The actual problem itself though seems to be the body and not the wings which is the takeaway here.

[@desshinta9428]

Honestly, if the problem is the art, draw new art for it--it wouldn't be the first time. If the problem is the name, they've changed names before. If the issue is the character's design, give it a revamp or variant appearance as some other monsters have gotten. The appearance of the blue-eyes white dragon and Dark magician have varied from their base original designs with time. And this is said by someone who actually owns Air Neos who would love to see it enter play again. Hell, if Konami wanted to give it back to us, and there's some legal issue? Just make it the first of the OG 6 Neos monsters to get a retrained version of itself. I personally think the issue may be they just forgot or realized the card didn't have a place in things and abandoned it. It would not be the first time.

[@timbitz079]

I wonder what happens if Air Neos gets a feature match and a top at a recent event?

[@LordEyepatch]

Can’t wait for ghosts of past 2, ordered a case-10 boxes.

[@omarkhan5223]

The closest images I found of similar characters is "Pyrus Falconeer" from Bakugan and "Velgemon" from Digimon. I don't think they look THAT close but i'll let you all decide.

[@IIIZetsubouZeroIII]

2 years ago I was lucky enough to pick up an unlimited ultimate rare Air Neos for $100 even. Now 2 years later it's tripled in price!!

[@NahuelGres]

There's a new card on rush duel called Elemental Hero Sky neos. E-hero neos+air hummingbird

[@My1xT]

regarding the airline that would not be a copyright but rather trademark issue and trademarks arent universal but apply to categories of goods, so I see that as unlikely

[@mushra156]

i remember air neos was the only hero missing in my jaden anime theme deck because of the price, and i keep saying he will get reprint, but i give up, one day i find it for $24 and buy it lol the guy who sell me the card back then tell me ''you will never find it cheaper'' and... then the price rise up lol this was like 5 or 6 years ago

[@jadedheartsz]

Even more crazy then this is Shuttleroid, a Roid card that's only ever printed once in the OCG and never came out in the TCG at all, and this one only appeared in the Manga.

[@KaseyC.]

What's to stop them from redesigning the card though? Like, make it still very similar, just change his head shape or something. I'd use DSOD Blue Eyes/Dark Magician as an example, but they only had color scheme changes, rather than redesigns. If the issue is the name, why not just change the name? As far as I'm aware, they've only done that for Archetype type issues, but they're still willing to do it.

[@Fabboi_unl]

From the possible reasons you have listed, I think the Neos-Air (Airline) one is the most plausible. But if that is actually the case, I don't understand why they don't just rename him to 'Wind-Neos' or 'Humming Neos' or something like that. Of course, renaming stuff always sucks a bit, but it sucks a lot more to have one actually pretty cool and nostalgic card be unobtainable for so long (unless you're willing to pay hefty prices on Cardmarket or something). And the fact that they are now actively trying to erase him from the player base's memory by excluding him from literally everything-from video games to card artworks to accessories-is just salt in the wound

[@ScootaGray]

So this is a fact. Pokemon had legal troubles with the Pokemon Kadabra?(Abra evolution) where basically there was a RL magician that sued the Pokemon company and for like 15 years Kadabra image wasn't able to legally be used by them. This case only just recently like a year ago got solved and they are able to use his image now. So a legal issue with air neos image could 100% be a thing and they wouldn't be able to talk about it if the case has been on going over these 12 years.

[@Benny-tb3ci]

You completely forgot to place the Instant Contact artwork side by side with the frame from the GX opening. It's exactly the same thing and the opening theme had Air Neos in the back too.

[@blueerogames]

I think it might have something to do with Upper Deck or whoever did the TCG at the time of Wrath of Neos owning the copyright to the design, although I don't know if that would have been acquired when Konami got the rights to the TCG again. That might also be why Blue-Eyes has changed so drastically in design since LOB, but that's just the theory I've been thinking on for a while

[@janglesthearsonist5265]

Damn, I had two of these bad boys back in the day for my casual Neos deck but when I stopped playing I sold my whole collection for a cheap to an old friend for some money to take back to college. One was ultra and one was ultimate rare so I missed out. He even got a 1st edition Chaos Emperor Dragon from the original run of IOC that was at least in good condition if not near mint. I wish I had I known what these old cards would be worth one day!

[@Hdinoify]

The ironic thing about Air Neos looking like another copyrighted character is that, like mentioned a few times, no one had found the offended character while Neos' design is based heavily on Guyver

[@derekfreiley7980]

Would love to see a similar video for Blood Mefist

[@kingfatih]

Same

[@randomprofile5853]

That's probably because he's a prize card.

[@derekfreiley7980]

@@randomprofile5853 so is Giant Hand, Diabolsis and Minerva but i still have copies of them….

[@abzhz101handle9]

Uh... Air Neos is visible in Instant Contact. Granted, he's all the way in the back and all you can see are the edges of his wings... But dude's there. Like if people said he's being obscured in the artwork, I'd agree... But you can clearly see at least parts of him in that artwork, so saying he's *not* there is a bit disengenuous.

[@JadenFox9]

it really sounds like a combination of Legal Issues that Konami likely finds it easier to dismiss it's existence at some point than fight them all

[@frearcher8246]

The card is not completely dropped. It's featured in games without gacha elements and its design is on the card Dimension Explosion which is present in both Duel Links and Master Duel. Also it was referenced in a competitive event with its full name. It seems that the card is barred from being used to generate profits, not from being acknowledged. The problem with Air Neos seems to be the combination of name and design, not one of the two things. While people might find the idea of an airline threatening to sue Konami ridiculous, keep in mind AN was a chase card of an entire set. Also that set was distributed in the TCG by Upper Deck, not Konami, which probably makes things even more complicated. Dimension Explosion, the last card to feature Air Neos' design, was first printed in 2008, the same year the legal battle took place.

[@yubelious5584]

While probably not a contributing factor, Air Neos also didn't appear in the first 3 Tag Force games. While technically possible to obtain in the third one, Judai doesn't use the card, and it isn't in the base game at all.

[@Begeru]

Reminds me of Pokémon not printing Kadabra for decades because of supposed copyright.