#on the topic of vrains

[sirdurbe]

yellow human haters (with irrevocable ties to humanity) who i gave they/she/it pronouns. as i was correct to do

[kakyoins-roblox-gf]

Yugioh Hair Teirlist by me and one of my friends :)

[cyberdragoninfinity]

alright dana needs to wail and bark and holler about yugioh vrains now or shes gonna explode

GOD. VRAINS, HUH. YUGIOH VRAINS. I finished it a little over a week ago and even though I've been mad busy it is eating at my brain like it's out to kill me, and I suspect it's gonna keep doing that for a While. 8) Anyway time for my post-yugioh spinoff watch tradition of typing up my thoughts in a little (big) retrospective so so LEMME GET STARTED!! I SET MY MONSTERS IN THE LINK ARROWS TO MANIFEST MY CIRCUIT!!!!! LINK IT TO THE VRAINS BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

[as always, for this anime from almost 10 (?!?!) years ago]

ok i can't talk about VRAINS without talking about the. circumstances surrounding my life while I was watching it. if i may be a bit emotional and Real Talk for a moment. tw talking about loss of a parent, but I started watching vrains in mid-October, a few weeks before my dad would pass away in early November. And then I finished watching it last Sunday, a few days before my family would scatter my dad's ashes at sea on April 24th. And let me tell you it is almost downright hysterical just how About Grief (especially Familial Grief) vrains is. I kept jokingly calling it "truly Such a yugioh to watch for someone whose dad just died"--literally why are there THREE. THREE!!!!! DEAD DAD/PARENT PLOTLINES GOING ON WITH CHARACTERS IN THIS SHOW. THREE!!!! FUCKING GOD LMAO. like it's not the first yugioh to be About grief but jesus mary and joseph the way grief, loss, the idea of preserving the memory of those we love and how they can live on in our hearts forever, the way all of that is so intrinsically baked into vrains and the way it tells its story is A) genuinely so moving and sweet and also B.) ABSOLUTELY INSANE TO EXPERIENCE GIVEN HOW THINGS HAVE BEEN GOING FOR ME THESE LAST FEW MONTHS. SLASH POS. SLASH LOTS OF LOVE

all that to say yugioh vrains is just so "i experienced this piece of media at the exact transitional period of my life where i needed it most," and that's going to be special forever for me. the effect it's already having on me is of a magnitude i can't even fathom yet. it's going to sit with me for years. IT'S GOOD. IT'S REALLY FUCKIN GOOD. This yugioh made me bawl my eyes out like three different times over the way it shares themes of how grief and trauma can puss you to extremes,and how keeping close the bonds we have with each other, even when the people we care about have to go to away, is so so crucial and helps us move forward. There is love and there is loss in every inch of this fucking yugioh and it's incredible, I see why it's such a beloved series. I KNOW NOW. I SEE THE PEAK. I FEEL IT.

I do also absolutely see why it seems like a lot of people hold this as one of if not The most "serious" yugioh. And I get it! It handles some really fuckin grim, heavy topics (most all of them really remarkably well and gracefully!) BUT ALSO. I GOTTA SAY. THIS YUGIOH IS SO FUCKING FUNNY. AND SO GOOFY. AND SO RIDICULOUS. AND THATS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE EXPERIENCE FOR ME. I watched the dub primarily as I usually do (+ all of s3 subbed and some other eps subbed) but let's be real the original is hilarious too. You get your 18 episodes of Ai being one of the most tragic, miserable saddest yugioh villains of all time but before then and even during it he is so STUPID. SLASH POS. HE'S BOUNCING AROUND BEING AN ANNOYING LITTLE FUNNYMAN LOONEY TUNE AND IT RULES. I WILL NOT STAND FOR VRAINS COMEDY ERASURE. the comedy makes the heavy shit hit even harder!!! FROG AND PIGEON ROCK YOUR WHOLE WORLD.

also, re: the dub. again i know im dubliker3000 im always hyping up the dubs but vrains miiiight be my favorite of all of them, alongside the arc-v dub. YES it didnt translate the end of yusaku and ai's duel maybe the best it could have, but being completely real it's still a perfectly serviceable ending (i actually like the very VERY end of vrains more with the dub version--yusaku reiterating that he'll do whatever it takes to find his friend is SWEET and i LIKE IT) and writing off the whole dub because of it is really silly. it is not NEARLY as bad as the way some people act 😭 there's something really particular about like...the way characters talk and word things in the vrains dub that I just really like. characters joke around a lot of course but they also talk in this very This Feels Like How People Talk IRL way to me and it's so engaging. it's very believable is a way i'd put it. idk maybe it's just that I watch a lot of live action comedy shows but some vrains dub dialogue would slot in so perfectly in one of those and i love that lol ALSO THE DUB PERFORMANCES JUST RULE. DUB WINDY YOURE EVERYTHING TO ME.

OK oh my god im rambling already lmao--let's break it down in my little subsections I like to do in these posts!!

Stuff I Didn't Like: Gotta say, there isn't a Whole lot that I just straight up don't like in vrains, but also. oh my fucking god. why does this series hate women so much DFHGSYDFGY IM SORRRYYY BUT IT'S SO ROUGH. ARC-V HAD THE BAR ON THE FLOOR RE: YUGIOH GIRLS AND SOMETIMES VRAINS JUST STARTS DIGGING.INTO THE BEDROCK. vrains only has like 5 women of note in it and all of them end up experiencing some sort of horrible fate at one time or another (except Hiyami maybe???!? shes too busy wanting to fuck akira i guess) AND IT'S JUST SO..... MAN. the world if VRAINS liked aoiskye more. she's so cool and theyre constantly putting her through the most horrifying experiences imaginable for the entire run of the series. they fucking mind control virus'd her by like episode EIGHT. THEY DID THIS SHIT TO HER

AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON POOR MIYU. FUCKING INSANE THAT THE LOST INCIDENT IMPACTED SIX KIDS BUT ONLY HALF OF THEM GOT TO LIKE. ACTUALLY BE CHARACTERS. JIN FANS NEED FINANCIAL COMPENSATION. big deranged smile...it's fine.... i'll fix it myself...gripping my Windy Kid character concept/design so tight in my fist......

IT'S LIKE. vrains has SUCH cool characters and concepts but you can really feel the pacing crunch on some of them it's a dead horse at this point but this show had 120 episodes and LIKE EIGHT OF THEM ARE RECAP EPISODES. IT'S LIKE YOU CAN FEEL THE STRUGGLE THROUGH THE SCREEN.It is a goddamn MIRACLE that this show made it to air and was cohesive At All with the all the stories of production issues I keep hearing about it.

HM. what else did i actually dislike......oh right lol it's not really a Major general dislike and more me exaggerating as a bit but it's hysterical that multiple people were like "ohhh Spectre's gonna be a Danaguy" and then the second he started dueling I couldnt stand him and wanted to beat him to death with a golf club JHDFHGYUYDF SORRY TO EVERYONE HE'S JUST SO FUNNY TO RAG ON. unfortunately the way he treats skye makes my skin crawl and not even in a cool way. MY FRIEND CALLED HIM "INDUSTRY PLANT DANABAIT" AND SHE'S RIGHT. he's like baby's first yugioh weirdguy. he's a chat-gpt generated danaguy. he's a government danaguy psyop. he's We Have Yuri Arc-V At Home.hes FINE i just like him only in the hyperspecific read i have on his dynamic with revolver. WHY IS HE THE SINGLE MOST INCONSISTENTLY DRAWN YUGIOH CHARACTER. I DONT LIKE LOOKING AT HIM. GET HIM OUT OF MY HOUSE.HORRIBLE WHITE BOY. SLASH NEG

OK. ok. ok. im calm sorry about that aside. ACTUALLY. WAIT. ONE MORE THING i wish with my whole heart that Soltis Ai still sounded like a shrill little funnyguy IT'S SO SAD THAT HE DOESNT!!! IN THE DUB ESPECIALLY!!! I LIKE HIM BUT HE SHOULD BE ON THAT DUB!MARIK SHIT. POUNDS MY FIST ON THE TABLE. ALAS. L for enjoyers of when yugioh characters sound Fucking Annoying 💔

OK IM DONE. THAT LEADS REALLY WELL INTO TALKING ABOUT VRAINS' CAST, THOUGH. SO.....

Favorite Characters: im saying this with so much genuine love in my heart: it's so funny that i had like a solid half dozen people hedging their bets on either Spectre or Ryoken being the vrains guys to Do Me In and then I watched the show and instead I got the needle blown clean off the Danaguy Meter by THESE FUCKING THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOW COME NONE OF THE DEAD DADS IN VRAINS MAD ME CRY NEARLY AS HARD AS FLAME THE LITTLE 🔥🤓☝ FUNNYGUY DID. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT. THIS GUMBY SHIT IS SERIOUS

sniffles. i love the Ignis a perfectly normal amount. im so enamored with their interpersonal complexities. All of their decks are crazy cool. I love their funky elemental noises they make in the sub when theyre moving, I LOVE THEIR DUB VOICES, SO SO MUCH. theyre just so fantastic. everything a goddamn ordeal in area family. bonzi buddy polycule born from traumatized six year olds and their brainwaves.. I love that I spent the entire series wondering what was gonna be the spark that sends Ai over the edge into becoming the s3 villain and the answer literally is "his whole family died and he's going mad with loneliness and grief" YEAH SURE I'LL BE FUCKING NORMAL ABOUT IT!!! WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK. THESE GUYS GONNA HAVE ME SLAMMING MY HEAD INTO THE WALL FOR MONTHS. WHEN I DESIGN SOLTIS FORMS FOR THE OTHER FIVE IT'S OVER FOR YOU GUYS

but of course even among the six of em i WILL play favorites. I have a feeling Flame and Lightning and Ai too maybe will have a delayed effect on me and will have me going insane over the summer but for now let the record show my absolute tippy top fav is MY STUPID FREAKLET ONE-EYED EAR OF CORN.

WINDY HAD ME BY THE THROAT FROM HIS DEBUT EPISODE. HE'S PLAYING DANA BINGO TO FUCKING WIN. what do you mean he talks with the insane winding cadence of a donald trump speech at 1.75x speed in the dub and nobody has noticed this before. what do you mean he got his original personality mangled and reprogrammed into a violent dangerous little freak. what do you MEAN he almost DIES and loses an eye from a computer virus. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE COMMITTED A VEHICULAR MURDER. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE COMES BACK AS A HORRIFYING GOO MONSTER JUST TO TRY AND KILL SOMEONE ONLY TO DIE HORRIBLY ONCE AND FOR ALL AND ALL OF THAT WAS LIKE THREE MINUTES IN THE MIDDLE OF AN UNRELATED EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM IS INSANE. AND FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEE I LOVE YOU WINDYYYY 🌽🌽🌽🌽🌪️🌪️🌪️🌪️

ANYWAY. ANYWAY. ASIDE FROM THE MICROSOFT CLIPPY GANG vrains cast is so fuckin solid, man, it's hard for me to pick top favs from the non-goober cast. It's mega basic but I love Soulburner, I'm a sucker for fire-motif characters, he's just a sweet kid and his dynamic with Flame makes me cry my eyes out. AND I LOVE YUSAKU TOO one of my biggest fears going into vrains was that i wasnt gonna click with him as a yutag, since he isn't as Big Personalityed as guys like Jaden or Yuya, and I also was on the fence about him based on his dinks lines, but actually seeing him in show? god hes so fucking COOL. HE WAS SO BRAVE AND SO LOYAL AND SO AUTISTIC AND SO WONDERFULLY WRITTEN. you couldnt ask for a better protag with this show!!!! Or a better rival, ryokenvarisrevolverGUN does kick ass on like every level.

I also love the amount of VRAINS characters who are either A.) Just Some Guy, B.) Some Grownass Adult With a Job, or C.) Both. it's fucking awesome. Kolter and Akira and Emma are some of the realest ones alive. Shiima is so FUNNYYYYYY. and well nobody else likes him but I think Blood Shepherd is fucking hysterical and his aura is off the charts. Grownass 30something cowboy AND he's got crazy sibling drama. Don't worry Kenneth I'LL like you (also that's my dad's name, another little insane thing in the 'vrains came to me when i needed it most' jar)

ough im not even gonna bother ranking my top 5 characters in this show yet. i need to mull on it more. I WILL say special shout out to Bohman and Harlin/Hal because theyre going to make me fucking insane if I think about them anymore. AND THEY WERE EVEN YUGIOH SIBLINGS. GOOD GOD.

Favorite Season/Arc:.MOOOOMMMMMMM IT HAPPENED AGAIN.

like. it's so funny to me that the shit that happened with 5ds when i watched it (enjoyed the first season, but the second half/season made me absolutely frothing rabid dog crazy) happened AGAIN with vrains. I DONT KNOW WHY. I CANT EVEN FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS THAT MADE SEASON 1 NOT CLICK AS MUCH FOR ME!!! i liked it a lot, it's absolutely some of the best yugioh, it has one of my all time fav duels in it!!! but then. well. season 2 rolls up and just starts kicking my ass right out the gate. AND THEN SEASON 3 ALSO STARTS KICKING MY ASS. AND THEN IM DEAD ON THE FLOOR.

seriously props to this beleaguered production team, they really make those last 17 episodes BITE. .the grief IS endless and you WILL feel it. I wish the season could have been longer to really explore some of the intricacies floating around in there more, maybe do some more stuff with the other higherups at Soltec/those fucking shareholders, but man they really make the most of the hand theyve been dealt.

but yeah Season 2 is my favorite im so fucking sorry i promise im not setting out to latch onto the least enjoyed parts of a yugioh every time they just keep cramming all the danabait back here. every introduced character this season I'm hooting and hollering over. Theyre getting thick in the weeds of what it means to be alive and it rules. Windy blast. Lightning is building Jesus Christ in Garry's Mod and well I simply can't be normal about it. That stretch from ep 68 to ep 80 or so is like the most insaneo dana psyche blast in a yugioh since the Ark Cradle. The Yellow Dog Run. They Killed Earth and Crafted His Corpse Onto Gore's Brain. OH WELL OK!!!! Also the season finale made me cry so goddamn hard. bobcat (grief themes) got you.

Favorite Duel: This is actually a hard question; I always like thinking about my favorite dues in a ygo beyond just my first favorite, but with VRAINS' it starts to get tough to single out individual duels I like beyond. Two In Particular.

First up, i fucking LOVE the Playmaker vs. Akira duel in season 1. This is, gun to my head, absolutely my favorite vrains duel. The setting's cool, the monsters are cool (Tindangles one of the sickest archetypes I've ever SEEN), you get clobbered by the Lost Incident lore and Yusaku gets MAD mad and it goes hard as hell. AND THAT SHIT YUSAKU DOES. WHERE HE SPECIFICALLY LETS THE DUEL PLAY OUT LONGER THAN HE NEEDED TO JUST TO KEEP THE MONSTERS REPRESENTATIVE OF AKIRA AND SKYE'S BOND OUT OF THE GY. MAKES ME CRAZYYYYYYY thats one of the most moving things ive ever seen in a yugioh duel!!!! i dont ever wanna hear people say yusaku doesnt care about people EVER AGAIN!!!

And secondly, to absolutely nobody's surprise, the Revolver vs. Windy duel makes me start spinning around and barking and doing flips and shit. It's got EVERYTHING. Windy being a little freaklet, his crazy ass airships, Revolver rolling up in his kickass s2 fit and busting out a GODDAMN SYNCHRO SUMMON!!!! WINDY ALMOST DYING IN ONE OF THE MOST HORRIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES IVE SEEN IN A YUGIOH. WINDY AND LIGHTNING'S WEIRD GAY THING THATS MAYBE BURNING A HOLE IN MY BRAIN A LITTLE. THEY MADE THIS ONE IN A LAB TO BLOW UP MY BRAIN. it's also just a really fun duel, I love that they keep passing Magic Cylinder back and forth like a blunt. Borreload Savage Dragon also shreds harder than hell we all know but I'll say it again.

Beyond those, it's like... I genuinely really enjoy most All of the other duels in the show (except like. some of the filler duels and the times poor Skye loses -___- MOST OF THE TIME FOR NO GODDAMN REASON. her duel with bohman can stay because it does crack my skull in a little but it's on THIN FUCKING ICE!!!!) They're just really fun to watch, stuff like the Speed Duels adds an engaging new dimension to how duels unfold and tons of decks in VRAINS are just Fuckin' Cool. Runner-up duels I would maybe slot into my favorites tier include the absolutely agonizing (/pos) Kolter vs Playmaker duel, Revolver vs. Soulburner (DUEL THAT MADE ME CRY BIG AND A LOT) and uhhhh Soulburner vs Bohman........ . .. .... it's not a Good duel like. like At All. but Random Windy Event in the middle of it was so catastrophic to my ecosystem it earns my favor ❤

Other Miscellaneous VRAINS Gushing and Howling: UGH. GOD. IT'S JUST REALLY GOOD. IT'S REALLY GOOD AND IT MADE ME CRY SO MUCH MORE THAN I EVER EXPECTED IT TO. I'd always been a bit wary that VRAINS wasnt gonna do much for me in the grand scheme of yugiohs--i cant even say why??!? maybe just me being stubborn??!??! EITHER WAY. ANYWAY. it took a minute for it to really catch me in its claws but it GRABBED ME. AND DID NOT LET GO. after arc-v it is fucking crazy to see a yugioh that actually Delivers and Earns its themes and messages. EVERY TIME THE YUGIOH IS ABOUT THE BONDS WE HAVE WITH EACH OTHER I FEEL IT IN MY CHEST. BUT THIS TIME ESPECIALLY. TRULY ALL WE HAVE IS OUR LOVED ONES. EVEN WHEN THEYRE GONE, THEYRE NEVER GONE FOREVER

^i liked both the dub and sub of the last episode in equal measure but i WILL say the sub one made me cry more. the montage of all the families and friendships in this damn show got me good

I definitely think I watched the last season of VRAINS a Particularly insane way (dub first, then immediately followed by 1.8x-2x speed sub version) but honestly it was the perfect way for me to experience it and i'm not kidding--VRAINS' dub AND sub compliment each other, both bring their own little details to the table that for s3 just help paint this even more nuanced, complex picture of the Absolutely Endless Abyss of Grief and Sadness Happening in There. Should you watch yugioh this way? PROBABLY NOT. BUT ALSO IF YOU CRAZY LIKE ME GO FOR IT IT MAY DO SOMETHING TO YOU !

ouughgh also ALSO!!!! i LOVE just how true it is that duel links VRAINS world really does pick up where the show leaves off, and i cant WAIT to go back and reread vrains world events now that I know the characters and the story better. IT'S SO CRAZY COOL THAT DUEL LINKS INHERENTLY CARRIES THE TORCH OF VRAINS THEMES OF MEMORIES, HOW THEY LITERALLY CAN MAKE THE DEAD LIVE AGAIN. GUGHGH IT MAKES MY DUEL LINKS LORE SCHOLAR ASS GO BANANASSSSS

also when they put windy and lightning in dinks im gonna be SO annoying thats a threat and a promise<33

just. AUGH. MAN. VRAINS!!!! im so so glad i watched this when i did, maybe i'm booboo the fool finding genuine comfort and solace in the funny card game children's cartoon but between this and the yuri duel links event yugioh has really been helping hold my psyche together in the wake of losing my dad. vrains is POTENT and I fucking love it. Those showrunners were apparently going through all the levels of Dante's hell trying to bring this show to life and for all their struggles the end result pops off pretty fuckin hard. I'm so excited for it to sink further into my bloodstream in the coming months. The grief may be endless but so is the love. I cannot fucking believe they had to put the Funny Roomba Robot down like a sick dog and well we just all have to be cool with it. sniff. it's fine.

I love your Yugioh VRAINS..... I love Yusaku and Kolter's friendship, I love the goofy dub sandwich vs. taco hotdog running gag, it feels just SO 'stupid unfunny bit two friends would take to the grave' and it's perfect. I love Ryoken's absolutely hilarious character trait that he keeps running fucking boomer traps that havent been relevant since 2006. I love his deck full of the fucking ugliest dragons I've ever seen in my life. slash POS. I love the Gore, everything about him, what if the Rock played a fuckign trading card game--it's fucked up what happened to him in s2 but i DO admit 'they stitched a dead Ignis into his brain chip' Makes Me a Little Sick in the Head, SO. YOU WIN THIS ROUND YUGIOH. I LOVE GOUKIS. I LOVE DINOWRESTLERS. I LOVE STORMRIDERS. I love love LOVE how absolutely raw as hell extra deck summons go in this series, ESPECIALLY the legacy mechanics--Synchro and Xyz summons in this hype me the FUCK up!!! I love how ridiculously cartoonishly evil Soltec is, I wish we got to see them more as an antagonistic force. At least got Queen tho. RIP Magnum Cuntquake i wont forget you.

I love Ai and Yusaku's dynamic, I love that Ai just Says Shit and yusaku doesnt say a goddamn thing. Ai might be my favorite 'yutag duel partner' character, thinking about it.... what can i say i love a character who's nonstop annoying AND sad :,) I love all the different flavors of Yugioh Siblings we get in this one, with halfsiblings and stepsiblings and 'regular' siblings and more--I like them all!!! I love that technically like half the action in this show takes place inside a hot dog food truck. I love the data storms, fuck it, ride the cyberspace tornado and pull a duel monster out of it NOW!!!! I love Ryoken's stupid yacht that becomes a key location in season 2. I love the Harlin vs Blue Maiden duel episode for just completely smashing my kneecaps in with this fucked up and miserable AI 'family.' I love Flame's insistence on sharing the meaning of his name literally every possible opportunity he can get. I love all the different ways characters announce that they're creating their circuit when link summoning. I love the back half of the Yusaku vs. Bohman duel, when Flame tells Ai the Ignis will live on in his heart and Darkfluid gets summoned and me well I'm just a puddle of tears on the floor.

ok I'm officially outta steam I can barely read my screen <-- *doesnt have her contacts in* thank you for everything VRAINS you are in fact peak. ask your parent's permission before going online and meeting a little elemental booger made from your trauma. peace on earth my final message GOODBYE.

I LOVE YUGIOH!!!!!!!!!!!

[linkspooky]

Hello! I wanted to ask for your take on Ryoken in YGO Vrains. I haven't been able to find any detailed reviews on him overall (mostly scattered meta focusing on specific moments/seasons). Even the few "Revolver is the worst chara ever" criticism posts I spotted were too generic/vague or straight up deleted, so I haven't been able to figure out what actual issues people have with him beyond "tried to kill people" - which is something that, like, every YGO antag (& sometimes the protag) has done. I really liked your Vrains posts & your posts about hero & victim arcs & was curious about your thoughts on Ryoken's characterization/narrative purpose, if that's okay. Personally I like Ryoken, but I don't really understand his character & I've been trying to make sense of it (with difficulties as the meta about him is either disconnected or too polarizing what with "he's a technophobic terrorist!!!" or "he's the best cuz gun dragons"). (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡

A comprehensive character analysis of revolver, not just an analysis of any one specific duel - sure anon let's do it! Vrains is probably my second favorite Yu-Gi-Oh to analyze because it takes it doubles as a piece of cyberpunk fiction, which is a key element a lot of people miss when discussing Ryoken's character.

In my opinion, one of the major reasons people don't give Ryoken a fair shake, or are harsher on him than the other Kaiba-alikes is that he doesn't change his opinion once he's defeated in a duel. Daring to disagree with the main character is a cardinal sin for a lot of fans, because most series have protagonist centered morality.

However, the fact Revolver never quite joins the heroes side and sticks to his guns (pun intended) is what makes him so unique a character. More underneath the cut.

Vrains averts this the simplified black and white protagonist centered morality, because once again it's Cyberpunk which makes it speculative fiction. The point of speculative fiction is to speculate (obviously), which is why good speculative fiction has a tendency to represent multiple viewpoints as to avoid directly telling the reader what to think. Ryoken represents the viewpoint that AI technology's rapid development is too risky, because eventually they may get smarter and decide they don't need their human creators. Yusaku represents the view that it's possible for AI and humans to cohabitate, and it's also unethical to wipe out the six AI who are living sentient beings to avert a future that MIGHT happen. Through their opposing opinions a dialogue is created, which allows VRAINS to have a more in-depth discussion on the topic of Artificial Intelligence.

If Revolver easily changed his viewpoint to allign with Yusaku's, then Vrains would just be telling us what to think instead of presenting different viewpoints and allowing us to come to our own conclusions. Revolver's entire character also revolves around the concept of his unbending principles, which is key to understanding him.

HERO OF ANOTHER STORY

Ryoken more than any other Kaiba-alike embodies the trope of an antagonist with heroic qualities. The closest is probably to Ryoken is Reiji, but he's an ally to the protagonist, albeit one of scrupulous means. Characters like shark, Kaito and Kaiba have the goal of trying to save their loved ones, but unlike Ryoken they don't really care about the bigger picture or how their actions impact all of society.

In fact Ryoken and Yusaku flip the traditional protag and antag relationship on its head in the first season, because it's Yusaku who is laser focused on revenge while saving people is a secondary concern at best. The fact that the Knights of Hanoi are a threat to the link Vrains is completely incidental to his revenge quest.

While it's Ryoken who is thinking about the bigger picture and making his decisions based on what he feels will save the most people possible in the long term. Yusaku's goals are selfish wanting revenge for his personal satisfaction as a coping mechanism for his trauma, while Ryoken's are selfless in the sense that he is forcing himself to bloody his hands and do something unsavory and against his personal morals because he believes sacrificing people in the short term will save people in the long term.

Yusaku: Those horrible memories were burned into my eyes, feasting in my heart. It became my flesh and blood that I couldn't dig out. When I realized that, I decided to face my own destiny. If you think revenge is worthless that's fine, but there are things I am destined to do to move forward.

It makes sense Yusaku can't think of others besides himself, starving people only think of filling their own stomaches, people in pain can't afford to think of others. Yusaku doesn't react to trauma like a perfect victim years of processed grief can't be resolved by therapy or friendship, he's possessed by the need to do something because he doesn't feel in control of his own life. Another thing which connects him to, ding ding ding you guessed it - Ryoken.

The best way to understand Ryoken's character is to understand his relationship with his major character foils, Yusaku and Takeru. All three of them are shaped by the lost incident, though Ryoken is influenced in much subtler ways because the way Ryoken himself frames the incident he's not a victim but a perpetrator.

The entirety of season one builds up the voice that rescued Yusaku, someone Yusaku never learned the identity of but believes that they might be another child who was kidnapped during the lost incident.

Yusaku: Whoever kept encouraging me wasn't among the rescuees. If he's still captured I have to rescue him.

Only for the truth to turn out to be more complicated. Revolver is revealed to be simultaneously the child who helped kidnap Yusaku in the first place, and his rescuer, as well as the son of the man responsible for the entire incident.

Revolver: I was eight years old. I couldn't fully comprehend what was happening. I thought something scary might be going on. But I couldn't ask my father. I wanted to believe that my father was doing valuable research. But the children's screams tore at my chest. Crushed by feelings of guilt I reported the incident. Yusaku: An anonymous report uncovered the lost incident. So that was you, revolver? Ai: So he saved you? Revolver: I quickly regretted saving you. You were saved, but... when SOL technologies covered up the incident my father was imprisoned. I was alone for three years, waiting for my father to come home.

Revolver was not being simultaneously starved and electrocuted while being forced to duel over and over again for six months straight, but his life was also destroyed by the incident. Being subjected to the screams of other children, the realization that your father is the one tormenting them, then being orphaned all at eight years old is a different flavor of trauma but it's still you know... traumatic.

Revolver was also forced to face a complicated reality at eight years old, good actions sometimes lead to bad results. Reporting the lost incident was the right thing to do, but Revolver's father was made comatose and he personally suffered - he was punished for doing the right thing.

Revolver is a case of simultaneously taking too much responsibility for things that are not his fault, and too little. He holds himself responsible for both his father's actions and complicit in helping kidnap people, while also believing he needs to inherit his father's cause of fighting the Ignis to eliminate the potential threat to humanity. Ryoken has an incredibly negative self-image for most of the series, and cannot accept that he was a victim of the lost incident too likely because he wasn't being shocked and starved.

Yusaku: I kept wanting to save you. That the knights of Hanoi still had you. These thoughts still clung to my soul. When I battled you, your words encouraged me. Ryoken: How ironic. Ryoken: I'm your enemy but I gave you strength. Yusaku: Stop the tower of Hanoi, Revolver! Ryoken: You have the wrong idea about me. I'm not a good person!

Revolver has internalized he is at fault for the lost incident and complicit in his father's actions, therefore he is not a good person and unworthy of salvation. This also becomes his excuse for harming people en masse, to achieve his greater goal of saving humanity from the threat of the Ignis. He takes too much responsibility for what happened to him as a child, but takes too little responsibility in the innocent bystanders he is hurting now in his crusade against the Ignis, excusing himself by saying it's serving a greater good.

He blatantly ignores Playmaker's pleas to just stop, because he can't stop himself. Episode 44 is called Prisoner of Destiny, referring to Ryoken himself because Ryoken willingly chooses to cage himself. Not because he's selfish or cruel, but because of his overwhelming sense of responsibility that forces him to take on his father's burdens when really he owes the man nothing. If Revolver were on the heroes side, his willingness to shoulder the burden of other people would be a heroic quality on par with playmaker's, but as an antagonist it's his fatal flaw.

Which is what makes him the mirror to Playmaker, both trapped in the past unable to move on from the incident but Playmaker doesn't realize how much holding onto the past is hurting him until he meets Ryoken and empathizes with him as another child who's life was destroyed. Ryoken, similiar to Playmaker, doesn't realize how much he's suffering too because of those same unprocessed feeling in the past though for Ryoken he sets them all aside because he's too busy being crushed under the weight of his father's sins that he feels peronsally responsible for.

Responsibility, responsibility, responsibility, it's his best and worst quality. If he were the protagonist, once again his unbending nature would be a heroic quality but instead it's what damns him and it's something Ryoken has to unlearn over the course of the narrative. The fact that he does slowly unlearn it and change his opinion is what makes Ryoken different from Bohman and Ai, both of which can't accept the fact that they might be mistaken.

Unlike Ai, Revolver accepts Yusaku's pleas to save him.

Yusaku: You live in the same world as me! Back then, you said... You couldn't just stand by so you crossed the abyss. You're able to save me. And I'm able to save you!

Revolver laughs at this and insists that they'll never be friends, but his actions accepting his loss at the end of the duel and abandoning the tower of Hanoi plan contradict his words.

Which brings me to another reason Revolver is often misinterpreted, his tendency to play the villain means his words often contradict his actions.

One of Revolver's defining characteristics is how his bombastic personality in the VRAINS as revolver is the exact opposite of his more brooding and quiet personality in the real world. Revolver's two avatars also signify the discordance between his online and real world personality. His first avatar he wears a full mask, and his second a visor.

The first avatar he is wearing a mask, a symbol that he's putting on a persona, his face is fully obscured and both the people around him and we the audience aren't privvy to his real self. Even in the second season when Revolver changes his avatar and he's more of an ally with his own agenda than a direct antagonist his face is still partially obscured by his visor. The persona he adopts as a shield is to play the villain, I am a bad person Revolver says and even in the second season when he is helping others he clings to his villain facade until very nearly the end.

His avatar perfectly encapsulates his complicated nature, a villain with heroic traits, a villain who in a different narrative could have been the hero fighting to save the world from the threat of the ignis.

Revolver's deck also symbolizes these qualities of his, the overpowering willpower, and determination that could in another story make him a hero. I'm going to quote @talaofthevalley here because they already covered this subject wonderfully.

That Rokkets destroys themselves is relevant as well. Revolver is perfectly fine making himself the target of people's ire and hatred, even if it's not warranted or justified. He was willing to die for his mission in the S1 finale. And ofc famously no one hates Kogami Ryoken as much as Kogami Ryoken. But it's a self-destruction for the sake of something, not just self-destruction fueled by self-hatred. It fits with Revolver's knight theming, to fight and act for something greater than oneself. Which is also what the Rokket monsters do; they destroy themselves when targeted in order to fulfill a objective. Then we come around to Rokkets other noteworthy effect; at the end of your turn, they can special summon other Rokkets from the deck if they are in the graveyard because their beforementioned effect was activated. Revolver is as tenacious as they come, and equally resourceful. Even after losing to Playmaker, what he's hung up on is not that he was defeated, but Playmaker's identity. He swears he will win next time, and that's that.

Revolver like his favorite monsters destroys himself in pursuit of his goals, and also is a character with the determination to get back up no matter how many times he loses or the knights of Hanoi are destroyed, he just recreates himself, re-gathers his allies and tries again. His sense of responsibility being what both damns him and redeems him, because, I repeat for emphasis, Revolver self-destructs.

He takes on too much responsibility and always views himself as the bad guy, which is why his relationship with Takeru and his final duel with him is so crucial for the final step in his development. In season 2 Ryoken abandons his plans of destroying the Link Vrains, but still acts like an untrustworthy ally with his own agenda. In spite of his act, there are moments in season 2 where he is framed just like any other hero.

It's Revolver who shows up like a prince to rescue Yusaku when he's trapped by Windy and Lightning and does a superhero landing, only to immediately iterate that he's not on their side only following his father's will. It's Revolver who doesn't win the duel against Lightning when he has the chance, because Lightning takes an innocent person as a hostage.

Revolver: I must finish the work he left undone. Lightning: But we're the ones following Dr. Kogami's will as humanity's successor. Revolver: Silence! I'll crush those arrogant thoughts. I'll annihilate you! Get ready! Windy: Annihilate? How extreme. Yusaku: If you fight them there's no turning back now. Revolver: I never planned on turning back.

Season one revolver likely would have sacrificed an innocent to win a duel, and yet he still insists that he hasn't changed. Understanding Revolver requires reading beyond the surface, because characters are liars sometimes.

This is why Takeru is important, because like Revolver Takeru sees the world in terms of heroes and villains. While Yusaku pleads with Revolver to reconsider his way of thinking and is accepting of Revolver's cooperation, Takeru only meets him with derision and suspicion happy to lump him in with the rest of Hanoi.

This isn't just because of the kidnapping, but his unresolved feelings over his dead parents. The guilt he carries for never being able to make up with his parents over the last fight they had, because he was kidnapped for six months and his parents died in an accident during that time. Revolver and Takeru are both characters controlled by unresolved feelings of grief over their dead parents, and a misplaced feeling of survivor's guilt, a guilt that they somehow had a role in thier parent's demise.

Revolver on his end is all too willing to accept Takeru's scapegoating of him, he doesn't feel the need to explain himself or even reveal the fact that he was the one who called the police during the lost incident because in his eyes that would be avoiding responsibility in a way.

It's not until his final duel with Takeru where Revolver eases up on himself, by helping Takeru process his own feelings of grief over his parents. The same way that Yusaku once dueled not to stop a villain, but to save a friend from being trapped in the past.

Revolver: Your soul is still trapped here. And you don't know how to find the path to escape. You won't find the path. Soulburner: Then tell me. You know that when I went missing during the lost incident, my parents searched for me. The morning I went missing I had a fight with my parents. I said something horrible. Revolver: What did you say? Soulburner: I don't remember. Probably about not wanting to eat what's on my plate, or stop telling me to study. But pathetically, I was caught in fear so I don't remember. No matter how many times, I can't remember. I said something horrible to my dead parents. I've been living with that fact. Tell me what did I say? How am I supposed to apologize to those who are gone, who I'll never see again? Revolver: It's not pathetic. And there's no need to apologize. Those who are gone haven't completely vanished from your life. They just went ahead earlier. That's what I believe.

Revolver didn't have to bear the brunt of Soulburner's feelings, or let him beat him up in a duel, but that's what Yusaku did for him so you know pay it forward. Revolver's kind of harsh about it, because he can't entirely let go of the facade in the midst of this duel but he's still speaking from the heart and relating to him.

Revolver: But I live my life in a way that won't shame them when I see them again. Soulburner: You're saying I'm living a shameful life. Revolver: Currently, you are. Soulburner: What? Revolver: If you have time to complain, then defeat me. With your duel where you burn your soul! To overcome the hardships in your heart you have to become stronger. Yusaku: Revolver, are you trying to become soulburner's greatest test?

This right here, this is a protagonist speech. Revolver has more in common with Soulburner than shared survivor's guilts, they are both more subdued and quiet in the real world, while having overly bombastic online personas. Revolver is defined by his overwhelming sense of responsibility, Takeru got involved in the main plot because he felt like he was wasting his life away while people like Playmaker were dueling to save the entirety of the link vrains. Even their decks mirror one another, Revolver's dragons destroy themselves and constantly come back, and the entire central mechanic of Salamagreats is that they go to the graveyard then cycle back onto the field in stronger and stronger links.

Takeru is so important to Revolver's character that the mask he's been hiding behind the entire series doesn't shatter until his final loss to Soulburner. It's only through the conclusion of the duel with his second character foil that Takeru and Revolver are able to find a bit of liberation from each other. Revolver can abandon the villain persona and leave on a journey of atonement, and Soulburner can abandon his hero persona and return to his normal life and eventually forget and move on from the incident.

[talaofthevalley]

I've once saw a post saying "bringing back Black Haired Ryoken " I think ... Was it somewhere in canon that I missed or ?

Lmaoooo, okay so, that is a very fun piece of Vrains fandom history.

Way back before we knew what Revolver looked like in real life, speculating what his design would look like was a hot topic. Building for this, as soon as in episode 3 we got a backshot and distant silhouette of Ryoken.

You can see they've blacked out his head to hide his hair colour, one of the main aspects of not only Yugioh character design but anime design as a whole. This paired with a long distance shot of Ryoken in daylight led a lot of people to believe he had black hair. It became the most popular pick for fans. If you dig deep enough you can still find fanart of Ryoken with black/dark hair.

This was debunked in episode 30, where while we didn't get a full face reveal, showed that he had white hair. Quite a big difference.

What I find very fun about this piece meal reveal of his design is that you can tell around what timeframe fanart of Ryoken was drawn if you look at his hair. Of course there is the dark instead of the white, but specifically how his side bangs are drawn show if the art was drawn in the time between his hair colour reveal and his full face reveal in episode 43 (or the preview from the episode before that). The side bangs, or axolotl fins as I lovingly call them, are drawn pointing up much higher than they ended up looking, which makes sense if you look at the angle of the shot above. I've most often seen this with overseas artists.

It's a fun piece of fandom lore that I look back on very fondly.

[pico-farad]

I've been watching Vrains for the first time, and I finished season 1

some thoughts below (a lot. a lot of thoughts below)

Setting & Setup

The setting is a very smart choice, and the highlight of Vrains in my opinion.

The aesthetic is relevant, it integrates well with Konami marketing its mobile games, and it neatly deals with the problem every Yugioh series has to address of how to make consequences for duels that can be safely broadcast on children's television (aka the shadow realm / sent to the stars problem)

The virtual world opens up so much possibility in how to present things. 

In the character and setting designs, obviously, but also, the duels have their own visual identity. They don't need to play cards on a duel disk or hold cards in their hand, cards will just appear and disappear in pixels (it also probably saves on their animation budget). The duel grid and other visualizations can show up as they're relevant. And seeing the character take gashes to their avatars is dramatic while still being kid-friendly.

Every Yugioh needs its peanut gallery to react to the duel and be explained to, and Vrains incorporates them the most easily of any series, since they don't need to be physically present.

Kill the frog and the pigeon though.

On the topic of duels, I like both link summoning and speed duels.

I like the spacial/positioning element of link summoning, it puts an additional layer on top of "little monsters make big monster."

And speed duels have all the advantages of turbo duels, allowing for dynamic action, visual metaphor for the tide of the duel, and the ability to change locations without sacrificing pacing, all while requiring less suspension of disbelief than card games on motorcycles. It's easy to take for granted, but the heist sequences wouldn't work at all if they had to be standing duels. 

I also liked this about season 1 of 5Ds, where there's two modes of dueling (turbo duels and ground duels). The contrast between speed duels and master duels is fun.

Skills are cool too, though I feel like they could have designed better ones. Seeing Yusaku drop below 1000 got kind of predictable.

And finally, there is rich thematic potential in this kind of virtual setting. Themes about our relationship with social media, video games, artificial intelligence, and tech corporations are very relevant and have depth. I don't have the highest of hopes for Yugioh tackling them, based on how this first season has gone, but I'll withhold judgment on this until I'm finished.

Yusaku

I like Yusaku. He's blunt, but he's not edgy like I thought he would be. He's actually kind of nice toward Naoki when they meet. The three things tic is charming. I like his hacker deck, it's probably my favorite protagonist deck theme after Elemental Heroes.

Yusaku's problem is not that he's boring per se, but he isn't really put in any interesting situations in S1. 

A lot of his duels are just him being challenged to a duel he has no interest in (Go, Blue Angel, Ghost Girl), he beats them, and they don't actually end up forming a relationship or establishing a dynamic. Because their characters don't have anything to do with each-other except mutually not wanting the bad guys to do bad things.

Yusaku gains allies, but he doesn't make friends. He starts off with his only real relationship being Kusanagi, and that doesn't really change by the end of the season (and his relationship with Kusanagi is not very developed either).

Now, there is a reason for this, which is I think the core of Yusaku's character in S1. It's that due to the traumatic event of his childhood, time has stopped for him. This is very real for victims of traumatic events, being unable to move forward in their lives, develop relationships or think about the future, because their minds are still stuck in the past. This is why Yusaku seeks his revenge. It's not revenge he's seeking, it's closure.

This is a theme that's worth exploring. The problem is that I don't really think they explore it, not sufficiently enough for me to give them credit. If they were exploring it, they could have shown Yusaku reckoning with the divide between him and others in a number of ways. 

Most chiefly, by forcing him to make friends anyway. This is Yugioh goddamnit. The opportunity was right there with Naoki, but it's just played as a joke. Instead, most of this theme is squeezed in at the end of the final duel vs. Revolver, and without the proper build-up, the moment of Yusaku renouncing his revenge and reaching out to be friends with Revolver doesn't land nearly as strong as it could have.

If there is one relationship that Yusaku maybe develops though, it's...

Ai

The relationship between Yusaku and Ai should be what the show hinges on, based on the premise, Ai's status as the "partner," and glimpses I've seen of them through fandom.

Ai is the inciting incident of the story, his existence drives the plot forward, because Hanoi wants him, but Yusaku has him, and Ai doesn't want anything to do with either of them. This premise is gold. It's rife with dramatic potential. Ai is forced to work together with his captor. Yusaku is forced to work together with this goddamn annoying AI. They are both just trying to use the other, but end up developing a bond.

Or at least... that's what I think should have happened...

Very little happens between them in season 1, and it either goes nowhere, or comes out of nowhere. Ai tries to escape, but that thread is just dropped and forgotten. Various Hanoi guys hint that the Ignis can't be trusted, but it doesn't really faze Yusaku because he already doesn't trust Ai. The same thing happens when Revolver reveals that Ai is his counterpart from the Lost Incident and has known it this whole time.

There's only one turning point in their dynamic, which is in the second to last duel vs. Revolver, where Ai uses his body as a shield so that Yusaku can use Storm Access. And even then, Ai says it's because if Yusaku loses, Revolver will kill him. But that's been their entire dynamic for the season anyway? Why is this positioned as the emotional moment where they become partners?

By the end of season 1, they're... allies. The same as the rest of the characters on Yusaku's side. But if there was one character Yusaku should have made friends with, it's Ai. Especially if they are positioning for a humans vs. AI conflict.

His design is cute though.

Go

Go's problem is that he needs to be integrated into the story and cast. Aoi at least has a relationship with her brother and Ghost Girl. Go is connected to... some nameless orphan children, a nameless manager, and a childhood orphan friend who shows up for 5 seconds, is put into a coma in order for Go to have a motivation to duel Genome, and never appears again.

Go isn't a best friend character, and he's not a rival either. He's not even a friend character, period. He really just seems there to be a third duelist.

Does he even know about the Lost Incident, or why Playmaker is even fighting Hanoi? Go has no clue what the plot even is, how can he be involved in it? My guy is living in a different story.

It's a shame, because Go does have some interesting bits to his character. Being a charisma duelist is central to his character (unlike Aoi, whose relationship to charisma dueling seems to end at being a cute idol girl), which could have been used to explore the culture of Link Vrains and the performativity of online spaces.

This is tied to some kind of theme he has going on of dueling for others vs. dueling for yourself. It's brought up in contrast to Yusaku, and why he initially dislikes Playmaker. All of that could have been interesting, but it doesn't really get a full treatment.

Revolver

Revolver is fine as a season 1 antagonist. He's not really a character yet, but I'm interested in where they take him from here. His backstory is sympathetic honestly. It's a pretty familiar and tragic situation, where a child narcs on their parent, who isn't even a good parent, but then comes to regret it.

I also think Revolver is sympathetic because I would nuke the internet in a heartbeat.

His Link Vrains design is cool. Mirror Force is funny, so are the gun dragons. The final duel vs. Yusaku was sick honestly, I loved the extra extra link.

Anyway, I still enjoyed season 1 and think there's room to take a turn for the better. In my experience, there's two kinds of yugiohs, the ones that start off strong, and the ones that end strong. My suspicion is that Vrains is the latter.

On to season 2! Time to meet everyone's favorite Salad king :^)

Hm? Was there someone I missed?

ha ha...... you get your own post, Aoi.

[areeis]

Concession [Spoilers]

Some notes below [DD1/DA/DD2 spoilers]

DD1 really goes into detail with pawns in the Everfall and how they suffer without their Arisen, DA also does so with abandoned pawns on BBI. Seeing them in the depths of grief and depression and how they turn to hatred is making me think that there's probably no worse fate for pawns than losing their Arisen without being given proper leave or a goodbye at least. At least the ones who got it seem to be faring a little better, like Barnaby. DD2 doesn't go into further detail when it comes to your pawn and what they must've felt during your time apart. They're pretty much only glad to be reunited and that's it. At least they knew their Arisen wasn't dead, so that must've at least been somewhat of a relief. I would like to ask a pawn's opinion on whether a Godsway or losing their Arisen hurts more. I would also like to ask them about their opinions on their Arisen going against the cycle in both games, if they choose to do so. Sure their Arisen's wish is final and all, but they were only brought into existence to help their Arisen. Not all Arisen will succeed and that's a whole other interesting topic, but what would a pawn make of an Arisen who actively wants to escape it? I need something like an 'Interview with Pawns' for this one, I think. Spectre has been pretty optimistic throughout all my comics, so this would also be the only time he wouldn't have been. He may have an analytic mindset, but once he's come to a conclusion he won't easily change his mind about it. As such the conclusion he reached was correct to him, until proven wrong. In Vrains it could've saved him to be a little less arrogant about his conclusions, it would've saved him from a lot of anguish here, too. The words to Ryoken are from this comic. He would've also experienced more negative self-centred thoughts for the first time, since losing his Arisen would've meant he would've been cast out from the rift. There would've truly been no place for him in this world any more. At the same time thoughts like this just show how far he's come as a person. Otherwise he would've stoically held out for his Arisen to return, ever hopeful and optimistic. As Ryoken puts it, it's just such an understandably human situation Spectre ended up in, and this is something to be ultimately glad for, even though it came with a lot of pain. This takes place right after the world has turned and Ryoken got Spectre back from Phaesus. In unmoored a lot of areas no longer have flowing water, but fountains in Vernworth and the little stream near the dye stores in Bakbattahl are different. It might not be the cleanest, in unmoored even less so, but that's what they're using to wash off a month of gunk here.

[shitpostingkats]

Hi yes I need you to know that your analysis on Jaden and Yusei (June 16, 2022, idk if you’ve done multiple on them but that’s the one I’m talking about) is the realest thing I have EVER read and you’re so right and you should say it MUCH louder that is the greatest take op it’s amazing and I’m screaming /pos

Jaden is my favorite character like,,,, ever, and you have nailed him I’m going bonkers

Another thing, I love your Groupchat AU but you have made me become aware that there is???? Another???? YGO show????? I was like who on God’s Green Earth is Yudias and then Google attacked me with information. I still remember. When Vrains was new. To me Vrains is still new. It came out 6 years ago. I feel old. I am not okay. I have yet to acknowledge the existence of Sevens and will continue to do so with Go Rush. Oh I got off-topic, whoops-

Anyways, love your Groupchat AU but I saw the one part with the Eldritch language that Jaden and Yuya are both fluent in and I humbly request more of their dynamic???

I had an epiphany last night, they’re so similar I’m actually losing my mind. All I can think about is that one audio of Batman and that girl on the swings and it’s like “They got their weapon, I got cheated out of my childhood” “I know what that’s like.” “You do don’t you?” Tell me that’s not them I am dying /pos

Much love <3

Oh my gosh, thank you! <3

Jaden and Yusei, my beloved blorbit. The painfully monstrous and the painfully human. The narrative foils of all time. Jaden Yuki, the creatchur autism boi of all time. <3 I need to write about them more.

I know what you mean about the new shows. I'm still a ways off from watching them, but I still want to remember they exist but keep forgetting. What do you means vrains is six years old??? (<- was not even a yugioh fan when vrains was airing) You're telling me there's probably going to be new one after that??? That the days start coming and they don't stop coming?????

Shoutouts to the sevens and go rush fans. They are the mightiest of soldiers. I know nothing about their shows but I'm hesitantly penciling them into the groupchat au anyways because I have seen maybe three clips but I know this funny little alien guy is near and dear to my heart.

Obviously there's a bit of a shift between Vrains and the Sevens era, being made for new audiences, a little tone shifting (which we LOVE, because any franchise that stays the same forever is no bueno.) and that makes it easy to group the first six shows into one group. But I also think there's a fascinating dialogue between shows 1-3 and shows 4-6. I didn't realize it until I was a good way into Arc-V, but each of the second trilogy protagonists sorta reflects the first three.

With Yuma and Yugi, it's very purposeful, a stated "return to form" with the chipper kid and his ghost companion who lives in his special necklace. And when I was gushing over Yusei in 5Ds, I got a lot of people saying "Man, you're going to love Yusaku." They're both the rbf hacker protags who fight the government. Lots to love.

But Jaden and Yuya????? Did not imagine I would come out of Arc-V going "omg they're foils. They're the same story through a different lens. They need to TALK to eachother and bond over their shared experiences."

Even leaving out my pet theory of "Zarc Was An Incarnation Of Jaden In The Original Timeline", they're just so. *clenches fist* The childhood trauma of being a weird kids and masking with an overly bubbly personality only to learn the great anger they've been trying to hide is powerful enough to rip apart reality and they're secretly harbingers of destruction.

By the end of GX, I think Jaden has wonderfully come to term with that. By the end of Arc-V, I think Yuya hasn't.

Their dynamic in the gc AU is very much to me Yuya is still struggling with Z-arc stuff, but not saying anything about it because that'd be weird, so he just kinda frets about it until he hits a breaking point and Jaden gets to offer his advice on dealing with all this.

I am so interested in exploring this that it actually got me started writing fic again,,, which I haven't done in like a year, so wish me luck. I'll keep y'all updated :)

Angst aside, they're also just. One braincell between them. Theatre kid and guy who has never once acted natural in his entire life. Kid making a scene at a Waffle House while his friend slowly eats the entire menu and offers suggestions. Jaden is a pokemon fan and Yuya is a kingdom hearts girlie, I've decided this, and they takes turns infodumping to each other. Jaden summons duel spirits so Yuya can ride around on Hiphippo even when he's not dueling. They trade funny things they've heard their dragons say. They're eldritch and inhuman and best friends, your honor.

[merryfortune]

Why can't I see, All the colors, That you see?

Written for the Ladies Bingo on Dreamwidth

Prompt: Electromagnetic Waves

Title: Why can't I see, All the colors, That you see?

Ship: Rainwatershipping | Aqua/Aoi/Miyu

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,944

Warnings: Major Character Death

Tags: Pre-Polyamory, Angst, Reunions, Getting To Know Each Other, Artistic Licence - Biology, Artistic Licence - Computer Science, Hopeful Ending

   All Aoi could hear was the thrum of the air conditioning and she tapped her foot to the rhythm of it. She held herself tight and regretful, biting her tongue and furrowing her brow as she hid in Ema’s guest room with Aqua.

   There was so much to say but… where to start?

   Would it be rude if she pried too much into Aqua’s affairs but she was her lifeline to her childhood friend and into the mysterious event known as the Lost Incident, there was so much to ask, to know. 

   “Do you see in colour, Aoi?” Aqua asked.

   Aoi blinked.

   She was more thankful than she ought to be that Aqua had broken the ice first. Beyond the small talk of, “Wow, nice room we have here,” and other such awkwardness but that wasn’t exactly the question that Aoi thought they would start with. She wasn’t even sure what to make of it.

   “Uh… yes?” Aoi replied.

   “I see. I’m glad.” Aqua said. “Colour is such a wonderful thing after all.”

   “It is.” Aoi agreed quietly, nodding her head.

   She glanced at Aqua and started to wonder: what could a computer see? How did she interpret the electromagnetic waves that made up the prismatic spectrum known as colour? Aqua had such big eyes of pink, they glittered and glowed. 

   “Us Ignis…” Aqua’s voice trailed off as she thought of her companions, how they hurt each other and befriended each other. “We don’t see in colour. Well, we do but not in the way that I believe humans do. We read everything as its hexadecimal code rather than the colour itself. For example, I look at you and can deduce you have brown hair based on the fact my eyes tag you with the code #8F6843 makes up the bulk of your hair colour.”

   “Oh, that’s interesting.” Aoi hummed.

   She tried to imagine it. A world of black and white and yet, anything she looked at, she would know the precise colour of it as a string of seemingly random numbers and letters. It seemed tiresome, somehow, and inefficient yet kind of perfect for the little alien artificial intelligence in front of her who seemed quite content to keep speaking at large on this topic. Aqua continued.

   “It is. It gets more interesting, too, I promise. I don’t mean to bore you with this idle curiosity of mine but, you see, and I’m not sure why myself and stranger still…” Aqua rambled as she turned her head to face Aoi and her expression was reminiscent of a dead fish, quite frankly. She tilted her head and seemed precisely analytical. “I can now see in colour now.”

   “What do you mean?” Aoi replied.

   “I can see in colour like a human can now,” Aqua said and she laughed a jaded laugh, “there’s one colour that I can’t see. Do you want to guess what colour that is?”

   “Uhh, sure.” Aoi replied and she shrugged. Probably not brown if Aqua was going to use her hair colour as an example so she picked at random, something not obvious, maybe, hence why Aqua wanted to play with her via a guessing game. “Green?”

   “No, blue.” Aqua said. She admired her hands with a sorry expression causing her eyes to crease. “I know, based on the tagging system, I am blue yet blue is the only colour I can’t see like a human can.”

   “How ironic.” Aoi commented.

   “It is, isn’t it?” Aqua murmured. “I wonder if it’s the same for them… Ai, Flame… Possibly, even Lightning and Windy. We’ll never know with Earth, however, because the impetus for this change, for myself anyway, was… Meeting Miyu.”

   “Oh.” Aoi gulped.

   “Oh, indeed.” Aqua agreed. “She wasn’t even conscious, and it was for a precious few minutes as I tried to awaken her with my own power of healing yet she changed me. Again. When she duelled, she changed me over and over again so I could be my best self who best embodied the values of truth and justice that she yearned for as an imprisoned child. How peculiar.”

   Aqua looked up at Aoi again, fully straight and scried her. Aoi’s mouth dried. She could feel all her soul bare to Aqua and there was nothing she could do to stop it. It was invasive and personal. A good trust exercise, clearly, as Aqua’s expression changed. Lightened. She squinted in a way that seemed to Aoi like a smile so clearly, she liked what she found - but whatever it was, Aoi had no idea. 

   “Thank you for having me, Aoi. I appreciate it.” Aqua said after she digested the conclusions that she had scried from Aoi’s face.

   Aoi smiled a small smile, happy to see that the ice had broken, “I should be the one thanking you.” Aoi sheepishly replied.

   But neither had any idea as to what would happen in the near future.

   Those thanks they wanted to give, that gratitude they wanted to receive, the reunion they both wanted so badly would not culminate in the form that they wanted. The ice had broken but the ceiling had not. Bohman was an all powerful threat who eliminated his foes with a serene efficiency.

    Blue Maiden had fought on her own two feet. Her wings had spread once more and she took flight against insurmountable odds and could be proud of how she had defended humanity on her own terms and caused a tidal wave to rise. Unfortunately the tide of victory was not on her side. Her greatest efforts were not enough in front of Bohman’s stern face and style of duel.

   Yet afterwards…

   There was still a second chance and Aoi grasped onto it with both hands. Her heart swelled within her chest as she arrived at the cleanly little hospital room with pastel blue sheets on the bed and Miyu underneath them. Her face was elated, ecstatic even as she recognised Aoi ten years later.

  “Oh, Aoi, thank goodness you're here.” Miyu said breathlessly into the crook of her neck and shoulders.

   “It’s so good to see you.” Aoi replied, her voice cracking.

   There were tears in the corners of her eyes. It didn’t feel real but it was. The sunshine on her back, the softness of the doona underneath her as they shared the bed as much as they shared this embrace. Miyu was warm and she smelt like oceanic laundry soap. She hugged Aoi around her upper body, hands locked at the nape of Aoi’s neck, they were chest to chest and entwined terribly close. Miyu practically trembled.

   With Miyu, there was no ice to break. Instead, it was a floodgate and the levee had broken as soon as they had made eye contact.

   Miyu hugged Aoi tighter, “There’s so much I need to tell you.” Miyu said, her voice dropped an octave. She was scared. In turn, Aoi became scared. Miyu clung onto her desperately. “I think I can only tell you.”

   “Wh-What’s happening?” Aoi reared back - or tried to.

   Miyu wasn’t letting go. Her grip was only getting harder on Aoi.

   “I can’t tell the doctors this, and I sure as hell can’t tell my Mother this either,” Miyu confessed, “but I can’t see in colour anymore.”

   “Huh?” Aoi stiffened.

   Her ears pricked in disbelief and yet in her heart, she had already drawn the connection.

   She thought she would be the one with so much to say. So many life changing things to say and yet here she was. One-upping Aoi before she even got a chance to reveal and explain all these little mysteries that had Miyu had unknowingly been in the centre of as a victim of the Lost Incident.

   “I can… I can only see the colour blue. Everything else is black and white, or maybe grey.” Miyu said.

   “Oh.” Aoi swallowed, afraid.

   Miyu began to let go. Not entirely but it appeared to occur to her that her intensity was maybe a little bit too much. She didn’t want to fully let go but instead of strangling Aoi with this hug, she settled on holding hands. Their hands just fit together somehow.

   “How can this be?” Miyu asked. “What does it mean? Why are you here… how did you know I would be?” Her gaze turned distant with confusion.

   Aoi licked her lips. “Aqua.”

   “Aqua?” Miyu echoed.

   “Aqua could see in colours but not blue.” Aoi said. “Ugh, sorry, context. Duh, context would be helpful. Aqua is… She’s your-”

   “Guardian angel?” Miyu finished her sentence for her.

   Aoi laughed awkwardly, “Kind of?”

   “The angel who visited me. I felt it. In my coma, a presence. I didn’t feel the doctors or my family or my friends but I felt this… this otherworldly presence and she tried to heal me.” Miyu explained.

   “Yes, that was Aqua but Aqua is… very much of this world. M-Made by human hands… Miyu, have you ever wondered? Why you were kidnapped?”

   Miyu reacted as though she were slapped. Her eyes widened. Her face turned white as a ghost.

   “Aoi.” Miyu said. Very seriously. “How in the world do you know all this?” Her brows furrowed.

   “I-It’s a long story but, um, I know other victims of that Incident.” Aoi said. She explained slowly. Softly. “I’ve even met some of the doctors who had kidnapped you. A-And my brother… I’m sorry but he’s now president of the company who financed this affair.”

   Miyu listened. Her expression was blank. Absorbing it all in as Aoi used only her kindest, most understanding tones as Miyu was told more than she had ever been told by the police. By therapists and doctors. It was unbelievable but she did believe. 

   “Your duelling was what taught artificial intelligence free will, to come to life, develop their own personalities and values. Your Ignis, the Water Ignis, was given the name Aqua but… She’s no longer with us. There was a massive duel, did you hear about it? On the news? About the Neuron Network affecting the Link VRAINS?”

   “So it’s all connected. The Lost Incident. The Tower of Hanoi. And now this.” Miyu said. “Th-That’s crazy. Wow.”

   “I imagine it's a lot to take in. I’m so sorry if that was too much.” Aoi replied.

   “It’s fine, I’m a big girl, I’m handling it.” Miyu assured her then she took a breath. Determination gleamed in the steely blue of her eyes as she put on a brave face. “And since it's all connected. The answer’s obvious. We need to bring Aqua back. I want to - no, I need to meet her.”

   Aoi was taken aback by the strength of Miyu’s conviction.

   It seemed that some things didn't change. Once Miyu decided something, it may as well be set in stone regardless of risk or if she had truly thought it through.

   Still, Aoi had seen it happen: the Ignis coming back. Ai had done it twice, after all. Surely all hope wasn’t lost. Even if it felt like it was, the atmosphere after that final duel seemed different but that difference was inarticulable to relay to someone who wasn’t there.

   Even so… Aoi went along with it. Something else that didn’t change, quite clearly.

   She nodded her head and replied, “Let’s try.”

   Aqua would want to be fought for, Aoi was sure. It simply had to happen: the meeting between Aqua and Miyu. They were two halves of the same heart and soul. Why else would it be the colour blue which either eluded them or was all they could see?

   And why else would she, Aoi, an emissary clad in blue, by the connective thread?

[kamenstrikerace]

Vrains was known as the most damaged Yu-Gi-Oh of production problems in the late 2010s because of two factors: One being its choice of writers and the other being ARC-V budget being forced out of it to even having little support from its creator or Konami giving a damn, however, the problem was more like the later since the writers whom all I know are terrible even when fans of that community defend them.

From what I heard that killed Vrains in generals was actually:

The story is heavily plot-focused a lot. One of my problems is that it feels like the plot advances too much. There are almost no breather episodes or even one bad filler episode to balance it out.

The budget was below average every week, it didn't get better or try to subvert the problems ARC-V had during the last arc.

4 of the writers were known despite Yoshida being aboard the writing staff, but that is lost in translation since the Ygo community blames him instead of them. However, Vrains In my depth was kinda boring, mediocre, and wasted by sheer noted incompetence to the end.

If you have anything thoughts on why Vrains or its writers failed the series let me know?

ALSO DON'T ASK ME ABOUT MY TOPICS SLIT OR TELL ME I AM GOING OFF-TOPIC BECAUSE THERE IS A BLOCK BUTTON WHEN YOU ENTER MY CHAT CLOWN.

[kcuf-ad]

Bring The Heat, Soulburner! Chapter 16 Preview

“I am not sure if it was harmless.” said Seigen. 

“It could mean something bad.” said Kiku as Theodore nodded with his girlfriend. 

“Really, really bad,” he said. 

“Whatever the case, it was a memorable event for Link VRAINS.” said the reporter as she then took a different piece of paper, “Now onto a different topic: The new Top 5 Memes of the Week.” 

[blackdigitalrose]

Fri - Healin' Good Pretty Cure- EP 26 - 28

Shh, we can pretend that it is.

EP 26

And suddenly I have Vrains fears... considering the time it came out, it is probable but please, not again -.-'' there is genuinely nothing to talk about, this is an actual, recap episode. (Although a surprise, didn't know Precure did those but I guess the circumstances were very different when this season was airing).

Perhaps I'm being overly cynical but my only question is, how did they pay for all that? They said it was custom made, there's no way that was all done for free? Being a friend of your grandson seems a bit of a stretch.

Good gravy does Hinata look different with her hair styled like that, nor am I sure how they managed to pull that off with Nodoka considering how short her hair is ??? They do all look really nice though.

And no actual Precure in this ep, no baddies, no Byogens, nothing! That is an actual first.

EP 27

Ha, I get that reference, that's a creatively clever throw back.

o.O Hold up, what is that implying?

Don't lie now, that's not a good lesson to be teaching. Although, the current trend of eps seems to be explaining various emotions to Asumi? Is that really something that needs eps spent on it?

That was a cool looking trick if nothing else and that is Teal again, (seriously the Precure franchise has an allergy or phobia to the colour green, at least it is closer than a purple, wind element using Cure Earth.)

A few more? Is that a translation error, there is clearly only space for one more. Although nothing springs to mind as to what it could be that hasn't already been covered?

That sounds dodgy >.< but crumbs that is one tense conclusion for an episode. Imagine how hard it must have been to wait for the following ep a whole week later. That whole sequence of events was rather dark, it is quite a surprise. Bonus points for the preview for the next ep not really ruining it either!

Ep 28

An extra bonus point for not shying away from the topic/matter at hand, along with an extra helping of salt in the wound (that is some serious, kicking them when their down, that you don't see in many Precure villains.)

Oh! (;° ロ°) The implications! And crumbs can you feel the tension and worry through the screen. The Doctors scene was rough.

Yeah but what do those last two have to with Teatetine? (Didn't even realise the birdie got a name) but they were recent additions, heck Daruizen created one and Batetemoda was a sort of convenient accident creation and how did Nyatoran know Nebus? Didn't Earth solo that or Earth and Grace? But the fact King Byogen only exists because Teateine failed to heal it soon enough and it simply kept evolving is an unexpected twist.

This ep has certainly given Rabirin some redemption points but that is flat our potential horror material there.

From the preview, I just thought they gave him a new attire but nope, entirely new, lil bro looking thing, who aparently has no skeleton what so ever with moves like that o.O and just like that, he's gone as fast as he appeared. (disappointing, could have been a curious angle between the pair going on)

However, low blow after low blow with this guy and the implication very much come to light.

It was one thing after another here, this would have been a good mid peak or is it them just upping the ante because we're in the second half? Even loads of lore dump scattered across theses three eps.

The world building and connecting lines of everything thus far is definitely strongest in this series.

(Also...wind powered Precure using wind element bottle... why? Considering her feats already it does seem a bit daft.)

[magpiejay1234]

Continuing from the previous MacGuffin post, here's some ideas how to expand on the MacGuffins:

*****

With Duel Monsters, we can't really expand on the core storyline, but minor filler arcs can use the idea from KC Grand Prix, and feature old experimental one-off cards Pegasus used for testing.

All other fill-in storylines, Doma, Reshef of Destruction, and YGO-R, either feature three new God-like monsters, a monster that needs the God cards to power itself, or both.

Within the canon manga storyline, there is the underexplored fact that Ghouls were a bigger operation than what we saw in the manga, so the fallout of Malik helping Yugi would be an interesting underexplored storyline.

*****

GX has other MacGuffins the show didn't use, like 7 mysteries of the North Academy, so one can sufficiently expand on the existing ideas.

Also, being the Fusion focused show, you can also come up with a new combination of two characters, or their themes.

*****

5D's by its own nature either requires new Signers, new Signer Dragon variations, or new Dark Signers/Iliaster members. 5D's characters are strong enough to not require plot-specific arcs for character development, and thus develop the world, but the core plotline requires the clash of the protagonist team against the antagonist team, KH3 style.

For minor MacGuffins, there is the issue of dark cards, which would be an interesting topic to discuss for side stories, but again, these do not involve the main plot.

*****

ZEXAL can easily create a three-to-four-year long sequel series just by the variations of the existing Numbers alone, but expanding on other underutilised elements would likely needed to avoid becoming stale.

*****

ARC-V would require either a season long Xyz arc, and/or a season long Fusion arc before Z-ARC.

The few options I can see are:

**Having Rin be a fully realised character in the show proper, and have her be kidnapped during the latter half of the Synchro arc. This would mean Yugo wouldn't be involved in S1, so no Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon either, but that can be done by Sora causing Yuto to lose instead.

**Having Serena not be kidnapped in Synchro, which would tie in with the above. Going by MangaKamen's idea, having Serena (or Yuzu) be in the Xyz arc would also give Leo more of incentive to defeat the Lancers contingent there.

**Have the Fusion arc be more focused on the City, or having Yuzu be kidnapped after they reach the island would also be an option. The former could take place while Yuya is still in Xyz, while the latter would require a different means of Sora rejoining the group.

The second one would be easiest option, though there would still need to be something more to introduce Link Summoning. This wouldn't happen the original run of the show, since focusing on Xyz after ZEXAL being the immediate previous series would be somewhat wasteful, but this obviously works in a future reboot.

Since Ruri being kidnapped is the main motivation for Shun & Yuto, we can't expand on her character in the show proper. Having her escape Academia only to be kidnapped and/or brainwashed again would be excessive.

*****

VRAINS has a lot of dropped plotlines, but the core Ignis storyline can only be expanded on by focusing on the brief period before Soulburner reached Den City. Most of the other dropped plotlines do not involve Ignis directly.

[helixtheman]

My Take On The Ego

You know, the more I think about it, the more I’m starting to see the problem here. People hate egos because they think egos ruin culture 😂😂😂. But having an ego sometimes makes you realize how much you hate life, and you end up expressing that anger through toxic masculinity—or the opposite extreme.

Honestly, why not just admit that people with egos can sometimes hurt more than being humbled? Like, I get it—most Americans are messed up in the head with this whole woke agenda, but I’m starting to see why this happens. Egos, whether good or bad, aren’t necessarily a weakness. They can make you strong—well, most of the time (insert Star Wars: Acolyte reference).

Having a corrupted ego makes you strong and more macho, but people can’t stand it because it sometimes ruins credibility. While egos have their ups and downs, the real issue is the deeper problem and rot at its core. So, let’s dive into this topic—since this is a Yu-Gi-Oh! tag, let’s address the problem of ego control in Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Each Yu-Gi-Oh! anime has been a victim of egos and their consequences. But for my taste, the ones that suffered the most are:

GX: It leaned way too heavily on Judai, with the writers lacking the guts to be unbiased and give someone else the spotlight. Instead, we wasted time with endless, mindless filler.

Zexal: It had one of the most poorly managed staffs working on a show that does nothing to make you want to rewatch it or feel happy.

Arc-V: Its writer was undeniably lazy, and it showed.

VRAINS and the rest? They’re like the sludge clogging a rusty pipe—messy, unpleasant, and not worth digging through.

While I do have my issues with DM and 5D’s, I’m biased toward them, so bringing that up might rustle your jimmies, Weenie Hut Jr. style.

I don’t agree with the Yu-Gi-Oh! community when it comes to their so-called "unbiased" discussions. Most of the fandom disagrees with my idea that having one Yu-Gi-Oh! series stand out as better than the rest is fine, yet they think being jerks without providing proper context for their opinions is okay? That’s just hypocritical and agenda-driven. This is the same problem Tokusatsu fans have with Super Sentai and Kamen Rider.

Let’s be real—no one is going to want to watch silly Tokusatsu shows in the coming years when Yu-Gi-Oh! has always been the mainstream pick for everyone. I mean, have you looked at the Tokusatsu community? They’ve spent years watching superheroes in capes fight generic monsters and calling it “peak fiction.” It’s as weak as the 2020s covered in a sludge bomb.

Anyway, let me sum it up: why do egos ruin most products? Simple—because egos are egos. GET OVER IT.

Happy New Year, you FILTHY ANIMALS! Enjoy 2025, which is just 2014 but 11 years behind the times.

[newspropaganda]

Despite not being that much into ygo anymore, I was shown your posts and damn, what is wrong with you? Haven't seen a "ygo fan" being that much of a jerk towards other fans in a long time. If you don't even like most ygo anime then why do you still feel the need to talk about them in a negative way and spamming the tags with non-related topics? And stop shittalking Kazuki Takahashi. You don't have to worship him or be his fan but this man is dead because he tried to help people who were in danger. Have some respect towards him at least.

I was going to rant at you at first, but I took the time to read your message properly. I noticed your Pokémon avatar and what you said about not being involved in the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom as much anymore. I didn’t really understand at first, since Tumblr’s ask and share systems have never worked well for me. I’m more of a Facebook guy than a Tumblr or Twitter user. Tumblr is just the place where I vent my anger about Yu-Gi-Oh! since Dark Side of Dimensions (DSOD) came out. That movie ruined me even more when I was already poor and sad.

I know it’s cliché, but I’m more open to talking negatively about Takahashi—not because he means anything to me, but because I hated how his fans disrespected 5D's and didn’t care about the personal crises I was going through. I may disappear someday and never return—I promise you that, friend. I feel like I’m never coming back because I’m still in shock and need time to heal. I haven’t had the chance to relax because I’ve been broke. I don’t see this “off-topic” issue as a problem. My only purpose is to not be on the good side of things.

For me, the whole topic or off-topic discussions in the Yu-Gi-Oh! community are irrelevant. I just spam posts to get attention because I don’t find anything interesting on Tumblr, and I don’t use it much or care about it.

The reason I don’t see most of the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom being nice to me is because life became so hard. I used to think it would be all rainbows and sunshine, but when I entered high school, everything changed. That was just a year after 5D’s ended.

When I heard the Yu-Gi-Oh! community was going insane during Zexal’s run (2011-2014), I wanted to see for myself, but the following year, I was completely turned off. I still can’t understand why people became so toxic in 2015 or why they refuse to read properly. My whole purpose now is to criticize the fandom because they only focus on relevant topics, and I can’t relate since I don’t have a fandom or followers. I don’t understand why, even today, people won’t call out the nonsense in the anime community because they’re too sensitive.

I’m struggling in real life and trying to fix my online presence, but being unemployed since December 2022 has made me hate the fandom even more. A lot of what they say isn’t even true about Yu-Gi-Oh!.

I have several reasons to believe the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom is lying about Zexal’s reception in Japan, Konami going bankrupt because of false rumors, and Takahashi being responsible for why ARC-V failed in its original broadcast version. 4Kids gets blamed too much for adapting the show for American audiences, but they didn’t ruin the original Japanese version like people claim. I don’t believe GX was the peak of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. It was made by people who weren’t 100% good—Junki Tategami was one of them, and he was responsible for a lot of its problems. I also don’t think 5D’s had production issues in Season 3. When Tomoika left during that season, the production issues started. The fandom sugarcoats Zexal over its ratings and animation, but they forget that Yu-Gi-Oh! was about exposing errors in writing—something GX and 5D’s did better. I have massive hate toward Kamishiro Tsunomi, who ruined ARC-V, and I hate people who refuse to admit that VRAINS’ biggest issue was its writing, not its production quality. I also loathe Dark Side of Dimensions because it focused on nonsense that didn’t give Yu-Gi-Oh! the impact it deserved. It spammed multiverse theories just for clout. I can’t agree with most fans that Battle City was the best arc—it was poorly adapted. 5D’s only had one bad arc: the Fortune Cup. Zexal II was just “meh” because it changed tones. GX Season 3 and 4 weren’t its peak; they were just poorly written arcs. I can’t stand Sevens or Go Rush either. The list is why I am having a hard time finding good people to chat with.

I hate most of the fandom for showing me just how pathetic it really is. I tried to stay calm but I guess i can't even respect that. The fact I haven't joy in my life for once is why I can't respect even myself let alone others.

The biggest complaint I have with the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom on Twitter and Tumblr is how they accuse me of going off-topic just because I can't handle criticism—when in reality, everyone is doing cringe reviews just to push nonsense. I wasn't going to go down this path, but after losing my job and dignity, my patience finally ran out. I can't even respect anyone in real life anymore.

I wasn't born rich and can’t afford to buy tons of Yu-Gi-Oh! card boxes, yet I have to listen to Pokémon fans who spend all their time watching furry content instead of appreciating a real, macho card game anime like Yu-Gi-Oh!.

[hellohimawarihana]

About the future of My Gaming Diary tags...

Let's get into the series franchise I want to discuss. First, Crestoria shuts down one day after DeliPa starts airing, then Luminaria few months later (the announcement even coincides with 5th anniversary of Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS too!), then almost one year later the PNG-heavy Asteria follows suit as well.

And today, unfortunately, Tales of the Rays fell victim of being defunct by July 23, 2024. Similar to Yuki Yuna wa Yuusha de aru Hanayui no Kirameki, this was announced just two months after its final anniversary (in Rays' case, 7th). Is this saddens you? Yes. Am I shocked? A bit, because I had a bad feeling when I heard ABSOLUTELY NO NEWS about the new content that was supposedly released few days earlier, just like Symphogear XDU did. But after I heard about the news that offline version was in production, I'm a bit relieved, so there's still a chance to revisit your old memories even when the online one shuts down. Now Crestoria casts will be incomplete forever just like they did with Asteria, and Luminaria casts will never get a chance to shine in The Rays...

(Keep in mind that this is from JP Rays, as EN Rays is already gone far before it)

Moving back to the topic, about 'My Gaming Diary' tag, it would seem that it's far most unlikely to be updated because my main focus is on my gaming experience. With Idol Land PriPara focusing too much on Coord reruns with very little new Coords added, I doubt that I can continue for too long if this keeps up. Therefore, since many of my mobile game shuts down like Pretty Cure Tsunagaru Puzzlun and Tales of Link (another Tales Of mobile game), I highly doubt I will continue on this tag anymore if PriPara shuts down too. So I would thank everyone in advance for those who follow my gameplay experience, and it was fun when it lasted. But I won't stop using my Tumblr though, I will keep posting for more of new content that I'm interested in, so you don't need to worry about that.

Thanks for understanding.