Yugioh's Most Tragic Villain - Yubel (Character Analysis)

Thank you Kazuki Takahashi - your work has inspired countless people and creators - And made a ton of memories. Thank you
Chapters
0:00 - Thank you Kazuki Takahashi
0:44 - Intro and Spoiler Warning
1:01 - The Internet is dumb
1:48 - A Convoluted Mess - Who is Yubel?
6:10 - Yubel's Design
9:29 - Personality and Relationships
12:00 - Judai X Johan (Yes, that actually has a part in this video)
14:45 - Ending Thoughts and my Issue with Yubel's Story
24:02 - End Credits
Edited by: KaiserTriger / kaisertrigger
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#yugioh #kazukitakahashi #yugioh GX

[@Mangakamen]

To fix something I messed up Kazuki's birth year, my apologies it was 1961. Sorry about that.

[@Nazo-kage]

Wait…Rebis? That’s a slur? Until Castlevania I’ve never even heard of the word before. At least I don’t think so.

[@Mangakamen]

@@Nazo-kage That's not the word.

[@Nazo-kage]

@@Mangakamen I figured it wasn’t. But that was basically the name given to what they were trying to create in the Netflix Castlevania. They called it a Rebis, A homunculus they had both male and female parts. I figured the name wasn’t a slur. But it was an M rated series so anything goes in some reguards. Please understand that I am in NO way wanting you to tell me what the slur is. I was just remembering the series when you describe Yubell And was a little confused.

[@stardusttodorki2679]

It’s okay

[@TsubasaOfTheSword]

Nope, you totally had it right before. He published Yu-Gi-Oh when he was fifteen. 😂

[@YarnLalms711]

Judai didn't send Yubel to space, his parents did, and forced Judai into electroshock therapy to forget about Yubel, so it's even worse

[@YarnLalms711]

@@michaelcarlton1484 Ah

[@markmagician2471]

Jaden put Yubel in the capsule with his Neo Space cards

[@YarnLalms711]

@@markmagician2471 I have been informed

[@TheBlaze22b]

@@michaelcarlton1484 i remember explicity reading Jaden's parents put Yubel in capsule along with Neo-spacian

[@adrammelechthewroth6511]

OMG. That's fucked up. Poor Yubel.

[@dearickangelonej.legaspi6686]

Fun fact about their final duel in season 3: Yubel's deck was a reference to a japanese tradition on marriage, with the Flowers, Tapestry and such representing the rituals before the couple is "joined together forever" or in Yubel and Jaden's side Fusing together forever

[@christopherb501]

[s] No homo, right?? [/s]

[@Cr4z3d]

Interesting, thx for that tidbit of information. I could tell it definitely had some kind of symbolism, but didn't know exactly what it was.

[@Basically_Anybody]

@@christopherb501 pro homo, it's 2023 man

[@chilly_alchemist779]

By proxy, could Super Polymerization be considered a wedding ring or the binding of a couple to be husband and wife?

[@mesiagamer5217]

Yubel is probably one of the few Yu-Gi-Oh villains who is completely personal.

[@mrbubbles6468]

I mean, every Yu-Gi-Oh antagonist was completely personal

[@themessage4735]

Not as personal as yubel personally

[@victorleppas3067]

I love Yubel so much, her design, her mechanic (summons the evolutions, pain redirecting ...) and her backstory who explain why she become like this.

[@jacksonfougeron7438]

I always liked how they handled Yubel. She’s traumatizing a kid? Alright send this card that’s confused many teenagers in “ways” when watching both sub and dub to space.

[@wolfekupo5651]

it is pretty crazy when you think of how awful Jaden's parents are, when Yubel was reaching out to Jaden after being sent into space, they used shock therapy to 'help'

[@4wheal]

@@wolfekupo5651 it kind of even worse as this destroyed his memories of what Yubel did so Judai didn't even know why everyone hated him so he grew up with no friends and alone. This shows why he had no real socal skills and was pretty childish at the start of GX as he never had the chance to develop many people skills

[@wolfekupo5651]

@@4wheal we need more Jaden's parents hate videos

[@lpfan4491]

#Judai'sParentsSucc.

[@WeaponXSigma]

@@wolfekupo5651 It could've been worse. His mom could've been like Medusa from Soul Eater or Ragyo from Kill La Kill and his dad could've been like Shou Tucker from Full Metal Alchemist..

[@hyperdimensionbliss]

"Fellas, is it gay if you're being possessed by an alien hermaphrodite?" - Rata

[@makotoyuki345]

Your art has touched us all, and for the best R.I.P Takahashi you legend

[@kastlewind1759]

I must say I agree with a little bit of everything you say in the video, except for your last take about how you believe Yubel was made to be like a "Second Atem" and how GX became a sort of hollowed version of the original because of the direction it took. A lesson in Yu-Gi-Oh that has always been reminiscent in the series is about standing up for yourself, maturing, and growing up. When Kazuki brings up the point of cheery characters are hard to show growth in, that's only a brief quote at the end of the day. What I think he meant by the bigger picture, is that in real life, you cannot always solve your problems with a carefree attitude or feel confident enough to change the cruelest person imaginable in the world, that's just life, and sometimes you must take matters into your own hands, and conflict for the most part was the best direction to take. Why I appreciate GX so much is BECAUSE of its sudden tone shift of how it starts laid back, into something much darker. From since the beginning, Judai's character was being tested. All of his interactions, instances, and mishappens, led him to the point of maturity and changing into someone much more understanding of the world, and yet still in the end he learned to still have fun with the game of duel monsters thanks to Yugi. Think about it this way...Yubel is a lot more different from the pharaoh even if we can agree the similarities of them in their respective stories, but do you think I'd change anything for the world to have GX just be about kids in school acting all laid back without any tragedy or conflict? Absolutely not. I'm not saying it's also not possible to show growth in a cheery character, but Judai's character needed to be tested in this way and GX does it in so many unique and well-done ways. I understand, GX could have had a different identity, but I like the direction it took in the end, it felt.......Yu-Gi-Oh!

[@KellanGDM]

Plus out of all main protagonists of Yu-gi-oh (I haven't watched the most recent ones), Jaden is the one that feels the least similar to Atem or Yuugi. Sure the dynamic of having another spirit inside you or being a reincarnation of some sort is similar to the original series but it wouldn't be the last time a protag gets such a dynamic. + If we don't count season 0 Jaden was truly evil at one point as opposed to Atem. He went through a lot more as well, and seeing the happiest and most positive kid in the world descend into a terrible coldhearted person for a season and then coming back to his senses and grow up was fresh and new.

[@lpfan4491]

@@KellanGDM The aspect where Jaden and Atem as "ancient souls returning for round 2" or whatever are the most similar is how Jaden's short phase of depression towards the end of Season 3 parallels Atem's time of weakness after playing the Seal of memes in Season 4 of DM. However, that's more of a superficial similarity because the themes of guilt and underlying meaning were completely diffrent. And if we want to consider them the same thing, then GX actually succeeded at the execution of an idea where DM genuinely failed.

[@NicoTreecko]

Personally, I'm a big fan of GX Season 3 (in part due to being my first subbed anime). And I liked that it challenged it's status quo, especially giving us a wide range of emotions with our protagonists and imo was better presented than what happened in Season 2 when he lost the ability to see his cards after Aster beat him. It ended up being a huge tonal shift midway through but the emotions displayed were what I thought was appropriate. Losing a friend when you were right there and could've done something, becoming so focused on your own "justice/morality" you can't see the impact you have on others, giving into anger and frustration you have after just trying your best, and the recoil of realization to what your actions have caused. Season 3 is watching your Protagonist be challenged at their core and going through traumatic experiences (which is why the dub ending where it did is a major stressor in dub done dirty nerves). And what makes these so conveyable is the Season Antagonist Yubel, cuz despite the mystical card game elements, what Yubel displayed is one of the most human portrayals in the series. Yubel is the perfect fit for the Season and the journey of Judai/Jaden this go round. A big thing of Season 3 was hurting your friends, and it was resolved by reconciliation with the one you hurt first. The fusing them together was very "wait wut" as it seemed to come out of nowhere, but symbolically the ending felt fitting. Plus Yubel is responsible for one of the most epic duels in Yugioh GX and maybe in general. Johan/Jesse (Yubel Possessed) vs Hell Kaiser is just awesome and primo quality with a top tier final turn.

[@lpfan4491]

I honestly liked the dub ending. The season is completely about consequences and to a lesser extend growing up. Not only for Jaden, but also for other character: Zane's fate and the road Cyrus follows during the season and is referenced in dubbed 5ds to have continued following reflect this. Earlier in the season, the plot gives logical examples of how the way Jaden acts can be an active detriment and how it can also be a detriment to blindly follow him. So the endresult is Jaden concluding his characterarc, and abandoning his prior dream in favor of traveling across the dimension and doing what he has to, while everyone else is left to sort out their lives without him. It is very bittersweet compared to the other endings of the franchise, but it is not like everything is bad because it's not like Jaden is doing poorly in dubbed Bonds Beyond Time. The consequences to the events are real and painful shortterm, but everything worked out just fine longterm. Basically, the story managed to find a way to have its cake and eat it too without it feeling like a cheat.

[@Deathmare235]

@@lpfan4491 that wasn’t even a real ending it was just so unfinished like why is Jaden so happy in Bonds Beyond time now

[@lpfan4491]

@@Deathmare235 He had a good few years offscreen. I legitimately would prefer them to break norms and make a series set in this dub-only timeskip, rather than retroactively pushing the bootleg storyline of Season 4 into the dubcontinuity. It is not even like he left Season 3 with overwhelming negativity, because he regained his passion towards the game alongside the end of his seasonwide characterarc and a newfound acceptance towards his more negative sides and Yubel.

[@Deathmare235]

@@lpfan4491 good thing season 4 exists I mean who wouldn’t be fucked up after what he experienced in season 3 I mean it doesn’t make sense him just being so casual about it

[@Smol_Butt_Cheeky]

"That's not enough to beat someone like the imposing Marik" Oh yes, the villain that had to be carried by broken cards, tons of cheating and is well known to possess really shitty dueling skills. I get what they were going for, Marik is indeed very intimidating, but in a world where winning a duel determines everything, he just gets rolled by any competent character.

[@V-Jes]

Not to mention him having an evil spirit thing is completely redundant considering his already a villain before loosing his body to it, while the show already had Bakura who is already pretty much like Yugi but his spirit is eeval, what was already redundant as well in the manga when you consider that Atem was already supposed to be evil there in the early chapters...

[@HenshinFanatic]

Hell, mid-Zexal Tsukumo Yuma can rofl stomp Marik (or should I say Melvin). That's well before beating Eliphas let alone Astral.

[@1for3Gaming]

Marik was a meme even in the sub, I couldn't take him or Bakura remotely seriously my entire time watching Duel Monsters.

[@firepuppies4086]

Mai AND Joey had him dead to rights. Like... by offical rules, Marik would have to give Mai an accurate translation and Joey? Joey was tortured physically and Mentally to the point he fainted SECONDS before calling the legal attack

[@mario-oc2if]

Marik is a joke lmao He gets 2 duels without yugi and he gets outplayed in both of them If it wasn't for ancient Destiny (Mai not being able to read ra's effects) and shadow relm bs (joey passing out) he would lost twice over Marik is a joke

[@killfang9659]

Worst part about GX was it got canned before the Masked Hero Cards came out. Seeing Judai using Kamen riders would have been hilarious and badass.

[@sebastianklingstedt5200]

Then read the manga where he uses them. Also, gx didnt get canned, the story finished in the subbed version

[@aozorahaou2643]

@@sebastianklingstedt5200 Allegedly Season 4 was supposed to be longer, but KENN the voice of Judai had to choose between voice acting and his singing career he chose the latter which allegedly led to season 4 being short

[@4wheal]

@@sebastianklingstedt5200 wasn't the masked hero's a lot different in the manga and didn't have the abilities of there real world counterparts.

[@lpfan4491]

@@aozorahaou2643 There are also rumors of a potential Season 5 and I have no idea what that could have even been about.

[@aozorahaou2643]

@@lpfan4491 Personally I suspect season 5 would've been endgame closure between the Gentle Darkness and Light of Destructions final battle

[@RenjiMaili]

It's unfortunate that Yu-Gi-Oh tends to drop the ball on so much because it can be a pretty charming series in its own little way.

[@christopherb501]

Even at its best (DM, 5D's season 1, Zexal 2, Arc-V season 1, Sevens), it's astounding how much gets dropped.

[@Auron1Roxas2]

Season 3 and 4 going in a darker tone could be a reflection of these kids growing up as they graduate and head out into adulthood. I don't think Kazuki's quote is necessarily calling jaden an idiot but saying that you need more than just that happy go lucky attitude, but it's not saying it needs to go away completely. After all, season 4 ends with jaden getting that back, he duels yugi and remembers the fun of dueling. In a way it's yet another fusion jaden goes through, this new self of his that's more serious and his old self that likes to have fun and loves to duel. He's a complete person by the end of the series, and I think this reflects how we as people grow out of our childhood into adults and how going back to remembering what was so great about being a kid can help us to become more complete people as well.

[@Zetact_]

Honestly I think that ideas from GX's third season might have actually been better if they were a separate series that focused exclusively on them. A group getting isekai'd into Duel Monsters Spirit Worlds adding a huge horror element to the season is really cool as a concept, but it is a bit incongruous with GX as a whole.

[@natgamingco8292]

to be fair they tried to continue that train in 5ds except it was Luna in the duel spirit world

[@nellewoodruff6337]

Hard agree. The continuous thing about "becoming the king of the spirit world" felt so outta left field

[@blackchibisan8116]

Titan. Aster. The Shadow Riders… GX had been including horror from the start. Don’t pretend this was out of nowhere. It was the dueling spirit and supreme king that was a bit odd but matched the tone.

[@christopherb501]

Still bewildered at how THIS is the most we've gotten of the isekai genre in Yugioh. Be it someone from the real world getting sucked into a Yugi-verse (take me with you!!!), or someone getting sucked into a reality where the card games are always for real (for the entire show's run), that it hasn't happened yet is strange.

[@natgamingco8292]

@@christopherb501 that’d make a great premise

[@andrewgerasimidis9123]

Rest in peace kazuki Takahashi.

[@PickyPaige]

The reason why Judai is so infatuated with Johan is very tragic on it's own too! He is the first friend he made, that doesn't rely on him to save the day or pressure him in any way, in fact he goes out of his way to protect Judai several times! When with Johan, he doesn't need to be anything but himself!

[@kazekamiha]

What I loved about Jaden/Judai was he *wasn't* Yugi, he did his own thing. GX should have stayed more lighthearted, IMO.

[@christopherb501]

Wonder what you'd think of Sevens.

[@legendarycryptid2629]

17:03 I feel that same sentiment is what gets everyone looking down their nose at Sevens (and possibly Go Rush, but I haven't gotten to that yet). Is it a soft reboot by a new studio that's not Gallop? Yes. Is it lighter and softer? Yes. Is it short, not reaching over 100 episodes? Yes. Is it bad because of these? Hell no. After Vrains, I felt like I could relax with Sevens.

[@Zetact_]

Yeah, it is trying to be more of a fun, character-driven show and it absolutely managed that in spades. Heck, Sevens arguably has the best handled cast of any Yugioh series since it didn't fall into the pitfalls that GX and 5D's had where they had amazing casts but ultimately a lot of them ended up running out of steam and being made irrelevant - in Sevens, all the cast feels like they got a good deal and didn't get thrown aside. Also Sevens is a series about running a startup, which ironically could be said to be more of a mature plot than some of the prior series. Possibly. From a certain point of view. I think that Go Rush might be trying to build to a more serious plot, the main plot thus far is building towards aliens using Solid Vision as weapons. But it also has even more goofy stuff than Sevens going on in the setting and they are being VERY methodical in trying to use the duels as a means of teaching gameplay concepts for beginners.

[@brunosanto3488]

If we take the matter with tweezers, the first soft-reboot of Yu-Gi-Oh was Zexal (it was even confirmed that they took several elements of DM and modernized them for Zexal) Zexal felt like a turning point for Yu-Gi-Oh and it wasn't because another studio took over. It was Studio Gallop himself who decided to change the art style, change the demographics and make his characters younger.

[@brunosanto3488]

@@Zetact_ Perhaps the most curious and fun thing about the SEVENS and GO RUSH duels in their beginnings is the contrast there is. For SEVENS, you had Rush Duels as the novelty in dueling, but human duelists adapted to Rush Duels almost instantly. In their first few Episodes, you could see various SEVENS characters already using things like Effect Monsters, Traps Cards, and Spell Cards right out of the box without explaining anything. For GO RUSH, Rush Duels are already something known to human duelists, but unknown to many Aliens. This can be seen as Aliens duelists often use little Rush Duel resources or overdo it quite a bit during the duel: Yudias knows nothing about dueling and still relies on his Normal Monster strategy to win. Another Alien decides to entrust everything to just Boss Monster to win. Another Alien relies on his Trap Cards to win and another decides to go for a GY strategy to win duels. Therefore, in SEVENS and GO RUSH, the human duelists are the only ones who know the concepts of Rush Duels well. The Aliens in GO RUSH, on the other hand, often make mistakes in their duels or misplay their cards.

[@lpfan4491]

I feel as though a contributing factor for why people don't feel like giving Sevens a shot is that besides most conflicts early on being meaningless in the end because both outcomes have the same result, they also seem to have forced a 10 episode-arc system on every and any storyline they could come up with. That is just not how pacing works and if one has to use the cheat of heavily scripting the flow of things from the start, then I feel like the actual issue was not addressed. How can we avoid running out of steam? Simple, we never built up steam to begin with.

[@christopherb501]

If what you're concerned about is "darkness"...well...I would be very curious to know what you think of episodes 10 and 12-13, if nothing else...

[@derekmaldonado4672]

I wish Yubel would’ve been more involved in Jaden’s life by learning how to love dueling, but for the right reasons. Learn about how to be a good friend, maybe develop healthy relationships. Have Jaden grow Yubel’s wings, use her monsters and Neos wiseman in conjunction with some of the evil heroes. She sort of just disappeared after her merge with him, only showing his odd eyes.

[@christopherb501]

[s]Thanks for that one, Yoshida![/s]

[@lpfan4491]

They are one being completely. I would honestly pull a "thanks for that, Yoshida" for Yubel actually somehow being their own contiousness again at the end of the Season and by extention BBT. It makes no sense.

[@shayliara8620]

Love your Yu-Gi-Oh vids my guy. Always tune in for them. RIP Kazuki 💙

[@Aros-pr2xr]

Kazuki will be missed… he was my childhood and at 25 I look back on the entire first 2-3 series with great fondness

[@pickyphysicsstudent201]

I actually do enjoy the darker turn GX took. I can appreciate that cheery optimistic characters can defeat evil by being positive but I find that notion kind of iffy, to say the least. It's a shame that darker is treated as a joke because of Shadow the hEDGEhog. A lot of stories use darkness quite well and it certainly adds some spice to the proceedings.

[@brunosanto3488]

Well, you don't need a dark filter or dark actions (like kills or deaths) to make your story dark or good (that's something many don't know: darker turn =/= good story) The Shadow the Hedgehog thing is pretty funny. Although Sega has now made the character edgy, unsympathetic or always aggressive (without smiling), the original Shadow (from SA2) was a tragic character, not at all edgy or unsympathetic. Shadow was a character who could smile, care about others, help others, and realize his own mistakes (originally, Shadow was supposed to die in SA2 as a hero)

[@Gensolink]

you can have a character be cheerful but still take things seriously when it comes down to it. Being positive, always seeking an option and never giving up is pretty cool. I agree that just "I love dueling" sounds pretty shallow tho. You just need good antagonists to oppose the mc ideals and execute it well.

[@mussemannen98]

I've never really had any problems with Season 3, but in hindsight it really is a sharp turn in terms of theming. Heck, when I've explained Season 3 and what Jaden did as the Supreme King to people that only ever watched Season 1-2, they always go "Wait, what? Wow, that escalated quickly". But your explination about how S3 basically forced Jaden to be more serious, makes me like the final duel between Jaden and Yugi even more. The entire point of that duel was to give Jaden back his joy for dueling. That not every duel is a life-or-death situation. So by the end of GX's dark turn, Jaden retuns to a more mature version of his Season 1 Mentality.

[@Sin606]

Thank you for talking about Yubel, I honestly didn't care too much for GX before her, and in a weird way Yubel did get everything they wanted and didn't really suffer for it. I especially enjoyed the reversal of Light and Darkness with Evil and Good.

[@christopherb501]

Part of why I liked the Kamigawa Cycle in MtG so much.

[@kee1288]

Out of all the antagonists in Yugioh Yubel is a interesting case. And no I’m not just talking about the hole male, female, demon thing. But because of there use and impact in the series, and especially how it concluded. I usually like to call them every Yandere’s seam come true. Because they essentially come in, turn the object of there obsession’s life completely upside down, hurt or kill everyone close to there obsession, causing long lasting psychological scars. And at the end of it all get exactly what they want by literally being inseparable from them. That’s the makings of a unhealthy and toxic relationship if I ever saw one. And they never express and remorse or regret for everything they did. No matter how many lives they scarred, ruined, or ended. Yes Yubel did have plenty of trauma themselves. What with being left alone for years in the isolation of space, and being infected by the light of destruction. But let’s not pretend that all the people Yubel injured or put into a coma just for getting close to Jaden never happened or was alright. I will admit the hole “Past lives as a reincarnated king,” did feel kinda hoagie. Though I may give it some slack as it gave us the Supreme King. Though I can’t pretend pulling from the original wasn’t something they haven’t done since GX. Just look at Zexal. One boy having two souls in one body, while another is a reincarnation of a ancient king. A little too close to be a coincidence. Still despite my reservations about how it ended I am glad Yubel was included because they did bring a lot to the story.

[@christopherb501]

*whole

[@Keiji555]

My only beef with Yubel was that she never dealt with the consequences of her actions. In fact, she violated Jesse in the same way Zorc violated Bakura. It was a twisted form of... Dare I say it... Rape. She messed with Jaden so much that after he kinda did toss away his friends for Jesse.. (The entire "New toy" thing) taking them for granted. I still think that there is something irredeemable in Yubel, and that she needs to atone. She never truly apologized, never truly tried to mend the rift she left between Jaden and his friends, never truly tried to make amends with them herself, never tried to help Jaden enjoy dueling again, Never tried to get him to calm down when he'd make mistakes, or scold him when he made mistakes... Never tried to apologize to Jesse Anderson for her violation of him. Even when "redeemed", it's all about her. She doesn't truly care about Jaden. If she did, she'd consider what's best for him. Personally, I think his parents did the right thing, because Yubel was torturing their son, who was still in elementary school. All they knew was that an evil spirit was haunting Jaden, and isolating him from everyone, after putting a number of kids in comas.(AKA sending them to the Shadow Realm) Yubel got off with a slap on the wrist.

[@butlerstudio7857]

You think kaiba is just wasting money. He holds multiple card games tournaments, the space station in his logo and sending a cards into space to teach aliens card game

[@shadowsstep6188]

My opinions are similar to yours in the sense that I liked yubel as a whole and that the whole chosen one bullshit just felt incredibly stupid. Hell, I remember laughing into tears at the whole ancient royalty chosen one stuff. But I do feel that Yubel fusing with Judai is the best possible outcome in terms to the series as a whole. Since fusing is one of the themes of the series and this is what makes yubel the happiest in a sense. Since they were absolutely in love with Judai. I thought that before the whole ancient chosen stuff, that Yubel was simply a ancient fiend type duel spirit that was facinated and in love with judai ever since his dad gave him the card. My logic came from the fact that they had the traits of a yandere type character with the whole overly protective and willing to do anything on anything for Judai type of thing. This also worked well with his childhood and you could have the same story overal with very maybe a few changes. But it is what it is, so the only things we can do is have fanmade versions (like funny comics or fan fic) of this season or (what I did) we can just enjoy it without thinking about it. But that's just how I see it.

[@christopherb501]

Also: the previous ~20 episodes had Fusion be utiilized as a tool of oppression and war. This one, with the WMD that anime-Super Fusion is, turned it into a tool of love.

[@dalek8404]

I will say though my favorite villian of Yugioh Period. Is Ai from Vrains. Seeing the overwhelming guilt crushing them and then going through thousands of lifetimes to find the answer that makes everyone happy. To only come to the conclusion that their death is the only way to save their partner and the world they fought for is crushing. And it's even better as their deck is a tribute to their fallen Brothers and sisters.

[@christopherb501]

Day 1031 of waiting to find out what the ***k happened to Ai in the last shot.

[@hurlock24]

I'm going to be dead honest, I always thought the people that made the Yugioh animes were lowkey pissed when they found out it was about a card game, like they thought they were getting a massive fantasy universe like wow, but instead they got Heartstone, cause even though I know the in universe explanation, *I still don't know how any of this relates to a frigin card game*

[@brunosanto3488]

I want, that concept of fantasy was present during the first 3 series of Yu-Gi-Oh. However, I feel that only GX brought out that concept more (DM was for sure since it was based on a Manga and 5Ds discarded that concept after the Dark Signers arc)

[@daviddudycz5351]

I think gx doesn't get the praise it deserves. It wasn't as good as its successor 5D's but it's not that bad. The darker story in the final 2 seasons definitely make the story better and more engaging.

[@christopherb501]

If only the creators behind Arc-V(a) hadn't walked away with *completely* the wrong message from that.

[@titanenwurz-uwutopia]

I personally prefer Ai over Yubel in the way their tragic story was written, but I can also see Yubel's charm and I find Yubel to be incredibly unique for one reason or another.

[@animeegotists7527]

Yeah the darker tone and story Yubel brought was never a hit for me; GX was goofy and I loved that about it. That and them and Yubel coming together felt a bit too fast for me. Love your videos man!

[@brunosanto3488]

I think Yubel would have worked better in DM or 5Ds in the early days. The concept behind Yubel is too fanciful and complicated for GX. If they wanted to use Yubel, they could have simply said that he/she was a renegade Duel Spirit who was against lesser beings (humans), but has a new light on living the life of humans (possessing them) and meeting Jaden, who It would make him/her change his/her opinion about humans and start supporting him.

[@animeegotists7527]

@@brunosanto3488 especially since GX kind of made fun of certain aspects of the original series..and then copied parts of it that it made fun of.

[@sonicplays8740]

@@animeegotists7527 Although that is an important part of it, because Jaden had to take in some darkness to make things right. Which is technically a part of making the characters grow up, compared to the way they started.

[@stevenceja4706]

My main issue with season 3 was that it took you to so many different places and had so many different twists and turns that it was hard to pinpoint who the real "bad guy" was so in the end when it went back to Yubel I felt like she was just kind of splashed in. Plus Jaden turning evil and becoming the Supreme King felt too forced because he's such a light-hearted and funny character as a whole. Although I've only watched the dubbed version so maybe the Japanese version was different.

[@Tibainium]

GX lacked very much with its villains but Yubel was the one that stood out above the rest. I also like the more light-heartiness of the first half of the first season above the rest of the show which made it stood out more from the other shows. GX didn't need to be that serious as we already have DM and later 5D's who fill that role.

[@christopherb501]

Say what you will about GX antagonists...at least they aren't Arc-V(a) protagonists...

[@sentinelroyalguard5239]

I will die on the "Yubel is a hermaphrodite woman" hill, but with that being said, you handled her very well.

[@ceecee6521]

So handled her better than 4kids?

[@WeaponXSigma]

I used to inadvertently cause huge arguments in Duel Links by bringing it up to change the subject when the topic gets ridiculously political.

[@namedasurname3968]

@@WeaponXSigma Defining what a woman is, won't never be political, just reality, that you all want to distort.

[@christopherb501]

So...you go with "female gender, intersex" then.

[@christopherb501]

@@namedasurname3968 Yeah, _sure_ person, sure. Here's hoping you take the same tack with contending with oligarchy and climate, then; "just reality" and all that.

[@CB7368]

RIP Kazuki Takahashi the true king of games

[@danielramsey6141]

Interesting, I never knew this! But after seeing the “Rebis” in Castlevania season 4 on Netflix, I can now see why YUBEL’s concept and design makes sense!

[@icypika]

Beautiful analysis as always Mangakamen. Keep up the amazing work!

[@Mangakamen]

Thank you very much

[@icypika]

Of course man keep at it. Always looking forward to see what you come up with next 😌

[@topcat59]

Yubel is free from their loveless jail and is back to seek love filled revenge on Jaden for being a stupid poopoo head for thinking that being isolated in space would fix them but no that just makes them more evil and kind into BDSM. So get ready dealers for Yubel is here to get their game on.😺

[@pikagammerpluspizza7478]

I wonder if he's seen Ai's villain arc, sure the season it was in is the literal definition of rushed, but god that final duel was SO GOOD! At least in sub, dub got royally duel disked on that end.

[@christopherb501]

Vrains's ending and main character conclusions had NO BUSINESS being as good as they were. TOTALLY undeserved for such a mess of a series.

[@ChaddyFantome]

The last bit at the end of the video with the shift in the show and the reason is one that i've felt for a while now and its nice to know I'm not alone here. I don't hate any of the concepts, but the sudden shift and underlying reasons for em, and how blatant it is does leave a mixed and even sour taste in my mouth. I'm just glad the way GX ultimately ends is by Jaden essentially becoming himself again. That made it feel much better and even somewhat worth it to me.

[@shy5327]

Thanks for the video

[@FengTheSlayer]

Personally from how I see it, the idea of season 3 of GX is about the adolescence of growing up and maturing, which is shown by seeing the main character Jaden going though hardship of seeing his friends nearly killed due to his desires in finding Yohan while not thinking about his other friends. If anything it’s far from being just another poor attempt of being Yami Yugi as Jaden had to go through hardship and confronting those fears and doubts in growing up as especially when Jaden and Yubel fusing together in the end of season 3 (being more so symbolic). Of course it is no doubt rushed as especially with season 4, but no doubt that it does well enough to getting the message across

[@misterjkplays3920]

In all fairness Judai was a kid and kids don't think to do the logical thing most of the time.

[@christopherb501]

Look at the world we're stuck in. Since when do *adults* of ANY age do the logical thing with regularity?

[@lainhikaru5657]

​@@christopherb501logic can only fully exist in a world where there is no more religion and superstition, but because people are to much afraid of the unknown we'll never get rid of those things.

[@e-heromanny4348]

I definitely saw the parallels to Atem with Jaden in season 4 but I did like how everyone around him was calling him out for how serious he was behaving and that it took dueling Yugi and eventually Atem himself in order to have fun again. By the end of the series and in the Bonds Beyond Time movie you can see Jaden’s character is less about being serious and more about being proactive than he previously was (a good chunk of season 4 is him laying in bed waiting for the plot to catch him) but still having his fun loving nature that’s come to define him

[@nicolascares477]

Not a big fan of the ancient king crap, but i watched GX seasons 1-3 while in high school, and season 4 the next year. It felt to me at the time that was a good analogy to life and outside elements pushing responsabilities towards us, when we were just kids moments ago. For me thats why Season 4 hits harder, on Judai relearning that despite all problems, he is able to enjoy duels. Our inner kids never trully go away.

[@danknhshinki73]

Being shot into space is not great for someone's mental health.

[@nobalkain624]

I was a Dub only for all of Yugioh. Season 3 of GX was so confusing and different that I was just left perplexed back in the day as to what the hell happened. When I found out there was a 4th Season that we never got it finally made sense as to why this felt so off. When I even later found out we also got screwed out of another Season of 5Ds I was pissed. I have issues reading Subs due to an Eye issue and while most Anime I can deal with it, I find I have such a hard time with Card Game Anime that I just cant due it. I think its due to the massive amount of info you need to read from Cards plus the Action that just makes it to hard to follow for me. Basically want to say thanks for filling me in on what I missed out on Kamen. Yubel was always a mystery to me and this helped. Keep up the great work.

[@johanstenfelt1206]

Hm, interesting, good, fair and valid points and opinions, i will look forward to your next video.

[@anthonythomas305]

RIP Takahashi Thank you for your hard work on making this amazing game for us

[@marioamador1600]

Ever thought of doing one of these on the Season 0 girls and the differences of the girls like Anzu/Tea from Season 0 versus Dual Monsters version?

[@noob_jr_2sjrkc]

My issue with "seriousness" in season 3 was that I never bought into it, the whole "other world" thing felt fake somehow. When Judai's friends died, all while brainwashed into criticizing him, I didn't buy it. For most of the arc I was expecting the whole thing to turn into a dream or virtual world or something because that's how it came off. It was like they wanted to do a serious plot but pre-censored it for 4Kids through weird presentation and dialogue.

[@lpfan4491]

The symbols only amplified the preexisting thoughts and emotions, it didn't push them to do things they otherwise wouldn't have wanted to do. Which is sorta why Season 4 is the thing that feels fake and stupid to me. Manjoume for example went off on Judai and the follow up on that is...exactly nothing. They literally pretend like S3 never happened, unless it is an important reference for the plot.

[@nellewoodruff6337]

@@lpfan4491 Everyone in season 4: man, judai's changed... Me: YOU ALL KNOW FULL WELL WHY, YOU WERE THERE!

[@WarmLillie]

Not all villain are full of pure or hate, but sorrow and love. 💜

[@kanekikingstorm2113]

I hope we get one on Z-ARC, cause his story was interesting. Especially since I just finished ARC-V

[@Dragonblade722]

Yubel is my favorite yigioh villain because they changed how I viewed the concept of dueling spirits in the show. Before Yubel, I never really payed much mind to the concept of dueling spirits. They were just kinda there. The closest thing we got to a spirit interacting with the human realm beyond being a background spectator was Dark Magician Girl during spirit day. Yubel was different. Not only did they have an original personality, but their personality changed as a result of trama. That is a level of character development and sentience never seen before in a spirit. Not only that, but they were powerful enough to enact their plans directly in the moral world. I also rather liked Judai's shift in personality. It makes sense as he's been through some heavy things. I think it's less that he's "taking dueling seriously" and more that he's lost his enjoyment in dueling. He's viewing it as a job or a responsibility he's obligated to do. This comes up several times, specifically during his tag duel with Alexi. This makes the final duel so much better as it seems that he is reminded of the joy dueling can bring him.

[@degarpaykararyan3140]

Great I enjoyed watching the video

[@Mangakamen]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@colt1903]

I'll always be amazed by the feeling I get whenever I learn about the death of someone that while I may not have actually known or cared for them the way I do friends or family, I still recognize them or their creations as a big part of my childhood. People like Kazuki here for Yu-Gi-Oh, or someone like Robin Williams for the borderline unhealthy amount of laughter I got from him voicing the Genie in Aladdin growing up. It's not a stab to the heart like with loved ones, but it's a very strong punch to the gut. It helps me keep some hope for the human race, that it's possible for me and others to feel grief over the death of someone we've never physically met or interacted with.

[@artistanthony1007]

Yubel's Androgynous Demonic voice is the best, I mean they're a demon and have feminine & masculine traits so the voice should represent that, that and I love filtered voices for dark entities with a passion.

[@tlkfanrwbyfan8716]

I turned away to look at something, heard in a deep, masculine voice “Yuki Judai” and had to do a double take because it caught me by surprise.

[@baldemarMartinez123]

Jaden and Jessi .... Rainbow Neos.... Super muscle. And season 4 Jessi rescue Jaden to the extreme... Yeah they were gay for one another!

[@filipvadas7602]

To be fair, Yubel effectively getting what they wanted made sense in the context of the story as Judai literally had NO OTHER way to "win" And at least with this outcome Yubel became a pseudo-protagonist As for the tone shift, while didn't mind it personally I do agree that leaning into the troupe the show made fun of 2 seasons earlier really left a bad taste in my mouth

[@christopherb501]

For the record, yes, Yubel was the first non-protag to have a "Yu" name, and no, their name isn't spelled correctly. But even the latter can be wonky, since in Arc-V, Yusho (Yuya's dad) had his name spelled correctly despite Yuya's counterparts (and the former deuteragonist T_T) didn't, and Yudias is the most central character in Go Rush, but HIS name isn't spelled correctly while his terrestrial friends' names are.

[@Blizz3112]

Yubel's duels were so incredibly distinct from any other antagonist in the series (and outcomes), which I really like...

[@constantinwilliams9388]

I think an interesting video topic would be to compare the relationship similarities and differences between Yugi Muto and Yami Yugi with Yuma and Astral.

[@TheReviewellectable]

after hearing your ending thoughts, I do want to know if you have ever done a video on Yuma from Yugioh Zexal, as I'm interested in what you think about him and the show in general, as he feels like a Jaden-Like character that also goes into a similar journey to Jaden in Zexal II. Also want to know what you think about Zexal as a whole, as it's my personal favorite Yugioh season even with its flaws.

[@christopherb501]

Considering Zexal is next on the "Problem with Yugioh Girls" tour...I'm _guessing_ you'll be hearing quite a bit. ...especially given at least three of them have little momentum beyond being fixated on Yuma ([s]thanks Yoshida![/s])...

[@natgamingco8292]

Yubel was the only great villain in the gx series. Yubel's whole being is a big symbol of how choices you make in life can come back to haunt you. Tho i will say Jaden had a hand in how the series played out as well. he became too reckless, he wasnt thinking of anybody except trying to save Johan and that ended up causing the whole group to be in hot water and broken apart with Zane Aster Syrus and Dr Crowler having to come together in the aftermath of Jaden returning to normal after Jim and Axel sacrificed themselves to set him free from his own darkness and doubts. Tho my problem with that is the fact they did that intentionally to get rid of the rest of the transfers even tho im sure Zane could've won against Supreme King considering its just an altered deck to what Jaden normally used. i mean the guy is one of 2 people to actually win against Jaden and they don't use either Aster or Zane to save him. sure it gave good character points to Jim and Axel and it explained what Jim's eye actually did but you could've still sacrified Jim but allowed one of Jaden's rivals to be the savior and take the fall.

[@playerback7722]

Agreed

[@oxcare5]

To Judai's defense regarding not trying to protect the others, before they went in, he did say that he wanted to go in alone.

[@natgamingco8292]

@@oxcare5 exactly so them blaming him is very much their own fault for not being able to protect and look out for themselves. It’s nobody’s fault but their own for being terrible duelist

[@randomduelist5]

Will Gotcha!! Also do? To be honest I never made that link between flame wingman and yubel and considering that flame wingman is his favorite hero that,s so subtle but awesome

[@amaya8550]

Get your game on! Love your videos, as always keep up the great work Also from someone who's been getting into the world of warhammer 40k, Yubel has some serious Slannesh vibes.

[@Mangakamen]

Cool, thanks

[@4wheal]

Not 2 sure about that physically sure Yubel looks like a Slannesh demon but Yubel love for Judai is while twisted is pretty innocent and they weren't much lust involved

[@Cr4z3d]

Never expected Kamen to make a video on Yubel...good essay.

[@Mangakamen]

I mean, I promised I would

[@Cr4z3d]

@@Mangakamen I must've missed that, a good video nonetheless.

[@Mangakamen]

Now if youtube would share this video lol

[@kev95]

Another intresting video.

[@Mangakamen]

Glad you think so

[@dubiousbrick4483]

Loved GX, it came out during a time where more of my friends played and i actively played YuGiOh with them at the lunch table at school and would play it at each others houses after school. My Brother and i loved the concept of a duel academy, it wasn't the original series, but it did stand out as its own thing and i loved that. It may have tried to copy the previous show in the end by adopting a lot of themes, but i don't think it went overboard. Youbel was a favorite character and card, i had actually went to a phantom darkness pre-release event (the set that Yubel and their forms came out in) I pulled Yubels first form from one of the 5 packs you'd get from entering the event. I played with Volcanics at the time so i never got to use Yubel but remained one of my fav cards. The symbology shown in the show with fusion along with the emphasis on relationships was something i was fond of as i was secretly a huge fan of the Judai & Johan ship. I had hit that age of growing feelings for others on a deeper level and had crushes on guys and girls so i had a bias towards that ship and themes that leaned heavily into a value on the bonds between others xP

[@firepuppies4086]

Asuka and Rei being rivals for his affection. A possible male partner who basically comes into his life and changes it, and beings that are named after biblical angels being put down being a serious plot point. Am I describing Evangelion or GX?

[@4wheal]

Lol there are some definitely some Kaworu vibes with Johan and they definitely get very close quickly

[@lpfan4491]

Johan is an angeru!

[@yoitsgunattack]

I believe Yubel is clearly meant to be female for 4, reasons being, the design the card names, the way she addresses herself and her whole theme. Firstly with the design she is fused with dragon elements. Notice how as she goes more dragon through each stage she loses human aspects. What are the human aspects she loses? The female ones. Also look at her face in the default form that was unchanged and it matches the female skin but not the dragon skin that was added. The is also the face shape yugioh rarely gives women sharp cheekbones and even with the demonic smile scene they make sure to round the cheekbones. In the sub what is the thing the king says to Yubel? "You must have a body as hard as scales so that no one can hurt you, you will never see your young beautiful body again. You will take on the form of a hideous dragon" (episode 155 13:10 if you wanna check) bit weird no? The beauty being the thing she sacrifices so she be alone which is why the whole theme of love despite the form is important to her. What do the cards say about yubel? Well Yubel Terror incarnate and Yubel the ultimate nightmare are not their original names. The original japanese names actually consist of German words. ユベル－Ｄａｓ　Ａｂｓｃｈｅｕｌｉｃｈ　Ｒｉｔｔｅｒ what does translate to? Terror? Dragon? Darkness? Nope. The Abominable Knight. However, it seems there might be a slight typo it was meant to be Das Abscheuliche Ritter which means "The Abhorrent Knight" or "The Abominable Knight." The word "abscheulich" in German means something that is abhorrent, abominable, or detestable, often used to describe something that is morally repugnant or exceedingly ugly. Bit weird this theme of beauty is coming back into frame no? Lets look at the other one ユベル－Ｄａｓ　Ｅｘｔｒｅｍｅｒ　Ｔｒａｕｒｉｇ　Ｄｒａｃｈｅｎ which means "The Extremely Sad Dragon." Hold on this is her most powerful form why is she sad? Because it is the form with the most dragon and the least her so she is at her true ugliest. It is also true she uses both female and male pronouns most notable referring to herself as "boku" but in what context is this? It is not a random swap between but the male one is only against people she does not like. She never uses Boku with Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki in the Japanese version) or the king. Also strange no? I believe that is storytelling she wants to be portrayed as strong against the people that make Judai her love interest upset so uses male pronouns but when she speaks with her love interest she only uses female ones. And if the is anyone you drop the disguise with it would be your sworn lover. And finally what is Yubel overall theme? Theme of Love Despite Form: The emphasis on Yubel's love for Jaden, despite her monstrous transformation, centralizes the theme of unconditional love and acceptance, further highlighted by her sacrifices and the series' narrative arc. Which is why it is commonly express through the toxic traits of hurting others around her love interest.

[@isauldron4337]

Apparently the design sheets suggests yubel was a guy before transforming

[@Ramsey276one]

6:30 Alchemy?? YUBEL??? Glad I got the notification!

[@someguycalledgoober155]

Hey now, you're a rock star *GET YOUR GAME ON* go play. As an outsider looking in, Yubel sounds... _Interesting._ Like, sounds awesome in theory but I fear it'd be a mess in practice. Then again you seem to like them, and you tend to have a better eye of judgement than I do so.

[@ChaosWindScar99]

I actually always liked how Jaden fused with Yubel at the end of season 3, although I didn't notice the Atem vibes until you mentioned them in this video. Either way Get your Game on!

[@nanachilover7289]

Your videos always bring a smile to my face whenever i watch them,curious question um what is the ending song you use cause i really wanna find it and listen to the full thing on repeat now lol

[@ultima1033]

Well Kamen, glad to see you like to GET YOUR GAME ON with the English dub theme song too. 🤘🤘

[@maytalacedo1284]

may you rest in peace takahashi you changed all of our lives.

[@Malgus87]

It's about time babe

[@neonnwave1]

I think what would have worked better is if they cut out Judai being a reincarnation but keep the bit about him getting the Yubel card from his dad. Have Kid Judai talking to Yubel, since it's established he has the ability to see spirits, and Yubel explains they were discarded often because people saw them as a bad card but Judai says he loves is regardless because it was a gift. This would cause Yubel's love to form and become somewhat over protective. After that, the rest is history. Same story, just minus the reincarnation of the Supreme King stuff.

[@thatman666]

Tragoedia would still be my favorite GX villain.

[@OG-512]

GX was my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh show man. So many memories..

[@SirSqueakStir]

The creator of Yu-Gi-Oh will be miss dearly. I also wanted to do this joke bit about the character of the video. I see a slaanesh demon. Closer to a keeper of secrets demon..... My inquisitor side say " burn it". yet i will listen and then purge and burn it for heresy in the name of the god emperor. If anyone gets offended the last bit you don't get 40K jokes especially those by inquisitors.

[@RPTownsend]

7:23 To those who are wondering, the term he’s referring to is ‘hermaphrodite’. The word itself is basically a marriage between the names Aphrodite (obviously) and Hermes.

[@fangspecter2232]

so he was worried about looking like a pervert? i think he was thinking of "Futanari" when he was talking about it being a slang term, though futanari is more an NSFW tag then a slang term

[@RPTownsend]

@@fangspecter2232 and is the Japanese term.

[@AlecEburhard]

@@fangspecter2232 apparently the term “hermaphrodite” isn’t considered politically correct any more, but idk why 🤷‍♂️.

[@fangspecter2232]

@@AlecEburhard thats just dumb, its a technical term, why outright write it off as offensive when it wasn't to begin with? people really are too easily offended

[@christopherb501]

@@AlecEburhard I'm cis, not an expert; I couldn't say with certainty. All I know is, if intersex people, a queer group that gets oppressed literally from birth, find it uncomfortable to go with, I'm avoiding it.

[@zulaikaali4101]

Amazing

[@bloodysimile4893]

MangaKamen: Yubel is the most tragic villian Emperor Aprioa: I'm a joke to you? Not saying she not an interesting villian, she just not memorable as other villian. Aprioa experience the end of the world with his divide personality respersent the greatest in his life. Lester the child: the lost of his family. Promio the adult: the lost of his lover. Jocab the elder: in the bathing sunlight over a graveyard world, the last human alive, accepted his doom fate. Soon discovered by Z-one and other to work out to save the world involving destorying thousands of lives to save the world. Realize he method was wrong to Confront Z-one who has given him the chance, to win 1 out 27 to draw the right card.

[@Mangakamen]

And? Memorability is subjective. Besides, there's a much more personal connection to Yubel's story to Judai than Aporia to Yusei.

[@bloodysimile4893]

@@Mangakamen it personally taste. I enjoy emperors interactions over Yubel twist idea of love. Good video anyway.

[@Diamondr11Blue]

Aporia is better

[@attroenergizer8115]

yo nice video what is the song at 0:44

[@sonic23233]

Advance Crystal Beasts are being printed now

[@legofan4409]

I think GX is one of the best parts, it does a good job of showing how bad things can change you to the point that you lose the love you had for something that was very dear to you, but also reminds you that while bad things can and will happen it's important to keep going and try to find happiness and enjoyment in life.

[@bunnychu15]

I always felt bad for Yubel. Despite all the bad things they did, they were understandable and Yubel didn't deserve that treatment. Thanks for making this video. I'm looking forward to you continuing this series. Get your game on! LOL

[@shemage5932]

Nice video. What do you plan on doing next in regards to Yugioh content? A dedicated 5d's video? Perhaps a dive into Zexal?

[@Mangakamen]

Not sure yet - Maybe talking about Crashtown?

[@shemage5932]

@@Mangakamen ngl I forgot that crashtown existed

[@Nazo-kage]

1:33 I KNOW RIGHT!? For a while I watched a Yu-Gi-Oh constantly, and when I found out that GX could be found entirely on KZbin I binge watched it, and while unfortunately it started going down the standard bullshit Deus ex (pull a card out of your ass) Machina. I still enjoyed it. (my favorite scene is actually when Gold and Silva ACT like it’s going to be the stereotypical ‘we are going to duel you so we can capture you.’ And then they just straight up knock everybody out while they are getting their decks ready.) The whole fact that it apparently ended with the implication that most of the characters including Jaden were dead. Felt like such a kick in the teeth, and I could tell it was most likely because 4kids didn’t want to even try to over censor The rest of the show.

[@christopherb501]

Could be worse. Could be generating your OWN cards out of nothing, or the procedurally generated cards around the field are _always_ the exact ones you want.

[@Nazo-kage]

@@christopherb501 true but, if The show creators wanted to the whole being stuck in the duel monster spirit world could’ve been its own series, including a darker take on it all. Like here’s the scenario: A new batch of students, all already given their colored jackets. Are on the boat to dual Academy. When one of the students is messing around with some gift a archaeologist family member gives him. Suddenly the object starts glowing and the entire boat disappears, transporting everybody on the boat to the duel monster world. Now you have a whole brand new cast stuck in the strange world trying to find a way home. All the while having to deal with real life monsters based off of their favorite cards, with the added benefit of if they defeat them in a door they become a card. Thereby giving the cast the incentive to do these creatures if for no other reason than the means to strengthen their decks. But at the same time if they lose they (supposedly) cease to exist. Right there you you have an interesting story that could last for a decent while, you’ve got a dark scenario we’re almost anybody could cease to exist at the drop of a hat. Well desperately trying to survive this hostile scenario. And throw in the fact that the means in which they got there is unknown to all but one of them. Plenty of steaks, plenty of drama, plenty of intrigue. And you don’t need to rely on the original cast. They could’ve even still done the whole supreme king arc but have nothing to do with Jaden who The writing had to put through the ringer just to justify his “turn to the dark side”

[@christopherb501]

@@Nazo-kage Now we have aliens with varying agendas and monsters coming to life being framed as horrific.

[@someguy8779]

“And this is a good segway to” Right after that I get an ad

[@pastorcodymitchell1456]

Loved the satao cameo

[@MaxwellAlvarado]

I feel season 3 was a over reach to try to make jaden into someone as cool as Yugi, instead of him simply being a young pure hearted kid whose pure heart allowed him to interact with the duel spirit world. The writers didnt' want him to simply be a normal kid, and i feel this force really did hurt the message jaden was suppose to represent which was. "anybody can be great, just have a pure and kind heart". Simmiliar to the naruto series

[@TheSupaman98]

Kazuki Takahashi was born in 1961, not 1981.

[@nellewoodruff6337]

I personally felt that GX trying to copy DM started all the way back at the tail end of season 1. From wacky daily hijinks, personal stakes, and slice of life to an absolute u-turn with Kagemaru and the shadow riders trying to end the world. It was both jarring and ironic considering Yugi's first few main arc villains weren't world-enders and those didn't come till later. I guess GX just really wanted to be battle city specifically

[@RPGNoZero]

Ironically none of the DM Manga villains were world-enders aside from Zorc, who only came at the very end anyway. Most of the conflicts were about personal selfishness and revenge, which eventually taught Atem about kindness. It's usually the anime and the dub that expand character motivations into world-ending threat or filler arcs where the villains want to rule/destroy the world whatsover.

[@jaernihiltheus7817]

*slight correction Kazuki was involved until end of zexal, though less so with each series. A good chunk of both 5ds and zexal's character designs were done by kazuki himself (yes, including yuma). It's also pretty much the only reason why zexal still has egyptian based elements (such as the whole chaos thing, reincarnations, and eliphas's whole deck being egyptian gods). It wasn't until arc v where he left completely and the artists had to essentially copy his style. Which is also why any lose connections to egyptian mysticism and myth were lost altogether for both arc v and vrains.

[@lpfan4491]

It still sucks that we barely got concepts connected or otherwise related to divinity and/or the occult again after Zexal. Even in the parts where the mystisism was at its all-time low, that was what connected the first four shows.

[@jaernihiltheus7817]

@@lpfan4491 Yeah, Arc V at least treats the rest of the shows as canon. Vrains not only doesn't consider anything else (except MAYBE 5Ds), but it's also totally disconnected to everything the series was founded on outside of the power of friendship. They don't even have magic involved in Vrains (Ignis don't count as it's not treated as magic in the show). Not even a smidge.

[@lpfan4491]

@@jaernihiltheus7817 ArcV is also the closest to still meeting the old quota due to Zarc(Even tho he is lame) and the dimension-dragons.

[@Intialdragonr]

@MangaKamen I see you are a nugget nation fan :)

[@Canibar13]

Great video Kamen. I liked hearing your thoughts on this character, and showing your thoughts on both Yubel's strengths as a character, as well as talking about some flaws with the show. Seeing this analysis reminded me of Zexal and how some people were dismissive of it's main character, as well as it's light hearted tone (similar to GX). Also, how do you think that Zexal handled its story tones in both light and dark? Was the transition between these tones better, the same, or even worse then GX? As for more videos on GX, and other Yu-Gi-Oh series, my simple answer is: "Get Your game on". :)

[@brunosanto3488]

In my opinion, the transition between Zexal I and Zexal II was not as abrupt as GX since, from Zexal I, you already had some clues that there is something strange in all this: Astral, the Number cards, those villains who controlled other people to do the dirty work and many mysterious items from Yuma. However, if Zexal II did one thing wrong, it was to throw away everything Zexal I was building: the Numbers card hunt (it doesn't matter as much anymore), the cast of characters they introduced (there's a reason why when you talk about Zexal only Yuma, Astral, Shark, Kaito, the Barians and occasionally Anna are mentioned) and the message that Zexal I wanted to convey. Another detail that doesn't convince me at all is that some of Yuma's friends were Barians all this time. I can believe you with Shark and Rio, but Ray (Vector) is hard for me to believe since there were times in the series that Vector's companions tried to kill him or use him as bait for Yuma (in fact, as Vector, a Barian, it can be one possessed by a Barian Emblem?)

[@Canibar13]

@@brunosanto3488 I couldn't agree with you more on the build up (especially at the finale of the first arc, where Vector made his first appearance and possessed Faker). As for Ray/Vector: either the writers pulled that twist out of nowhere. Or, the other Barians didn't know about his ruse, and he was a very convincing actor.

[@lpfan4491]

Zexal 1 is way overhated compared to what it actually is.