#Source: Yu-Gi-Oh GX

[gamer-boy-quotes]

-Jaden is standing sadly, out in the rain-

Chazz: I can’t stand to see him like this.

-Closes blinds-

Chazz: That’s better.

[pekesbox]

COSPA x Yu-Gi-Oh! GX - The Strongest Duelists Collection Vol. 2

source source

[sweet-star-sketches]

WIP from November 22nd, 2024 forgot to upload this oopsieeee In my buddy @eleanorose123's ongoing Yu-Gi-Oh hyperfixation, both of us have repeatedly lamented the lack of a proper design for The Light of Destruction in GX outside of some weird smoke with a jack-o-lantern face on it, despite it being a significant villain in the series. That and the fact that death/darkness has a proper design (and it rips), so I decided to take a crack at a full one for The Light over a few late-night hours.

I'm not going to pretend I understand Yu-Gi-Oh's design philosophy and thus I'm not going to pretend that this would fit it either, but I had fun anyway! I wanted to capture some cosmic god vibes with it while using what little scraps of imagery/colours we do get for it in the anime. Any day I'm making glowy star stuff is a good day :] ...Should I finish this? 🤔 I'm fine with leaving it as a fun little experiment here of course, but it might be distinct enough from the source material to make a print without too much trouble. Or at the very least a nice finished illustration I can add to my collection! I need to do more of those in general. Anyway, enjoy!

[blackbeautyfanforever]

Here is the link to the video to where I got my screenshots from: Jaden Yuki's gender censored in the English dub of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. #yugioh #yugi #ytshorts - YouTube and it's under Star_Light009's comment where I got the screenshots from.

I will never forgive if 4Kids literally did say that Judai/Jaden and Johan/Jesse are brothers for the English Dub for obvious homophobic reasons. 

Though they probably only tried to state that they are “brothers” as in they are just very good friends but even if they did that I wouldn’t forgive them! 

I mean, it’s bad enough that people that made the Sailor Moon English Dub made the main canon lesiban couple (Sailor Uranus/Haruka Tenoh x Sailor Neptune/Michiru Kaioh) cousins so that they won't show them as a lesbian couple for the English Dub too!

Please, keep in mind that it was stated in the original Japanese version of Yu-Gi-Oh GX that Judai/Jaden is an only child (you can watch it with English Subtitles on Cruncyroll by the way to see that for yourself), and that Johan/Jesse is European and Judai/Jaden is obviously Japanese in the original version of the show too. So, there is no way that Judai/Jaden and Johan/Jesse are related to each other at all!

I also really appreciate that Melonteee also pointed that out in these two videos here: The Importance of Johan (Jesse) Andersen - YouTube and 4Kids Kinda Sucked - Localisation and Censorship - YouTube

I also told kingofnobody6698 exactly this under Star_Light009's comment as you can see in this screenshot here too:

So, you guys can go and my response to a like if you want. 

Just remember that my username on YouTube when I comment is called thecarttoonrewriter7064, if you guys do want to give it a like. 

I’m sorry, but I just needed to rant about this. Thank you for reading this post and I hope that you guys have a good rest of the day.

Also, Spiritshipping forever!

Also, please look at this other post mine where I keep talking about this if you haven't already: https://www.tumblr.com/blackbeautyfanforever/782815059158188032/here-is-a-follow-up-to-this-other-post-of-mine-as?source=share

[phantomstatistician]

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Character: Syrus Truesdale

Sample Size: 176 stories

Source: AO3

[doyouknowthisanime]

Do You Know This Anime?

[specs-does-stuff]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventures Fan Stands #4! - Diamonds & Pearls

Stand Name: 「 Diamonds & Pearls 」 Stand Master: Cristallo L'amore Power: A Speed: B Range: A Durability: A Precision: A Potential: D

Stand Type: Close-Range - Natural Humanoid

Namesake: ¨Diamonds & Pearls¨ Song by Prince

Meet The Stand:

A humanoid stand taking a feminine form and donning a glistening crystallized armor, Diamonds & Pearls, true to it's name, has the ability to produce a variety of exotic, rare gems and stones from it's body, being particularly proficient at creating and manipulating diamonds, not only being able to generate them from within it's body and creating massive pillars made of diamonds as an example, but also crystallizing anything it touches.

The gems produced by this stand, though beautiful, are also practically indestructible, the only things capable of even damaging it are physically powerful stands on the level of Star Platinum, and even they are only capable of partially damaging it, not enough to destroy it.

Diamonds & Pearls ability is incredibly dangerous, it's user also having almost mastered the stand and it's abilities, but they are also not immune to it's effects, anyone and anything caught within it's range is susceptible to being trapped and encased in a crystallized prison they have almost no chance of breaking free from, something it's user must always take into account whenever they activate this ability.

Meet The Stand Master:

A wealthy, eccentric Italian billionaire, Cristallo is the founder and CEO of Romanzo, one of the biggest jewelry and bijouterie brands in the whole world.

Cristallo founded his business at the young age of 20, after having mysteriously come into the possession of various precious and sought after gemstones, enough to practically turn him into a millionaire overnight, and a billionaire not too long after he opened up shop.

Cristallo lives a flamboyant, luxurious lifestyle, he only drives the fastest cars, he only eats at the fanciest restaurants, he only travels to the most exotic places... And he only dates the most beautiful women.

Ah yes, Cristallo, more so than a CEO, a billionaire and a connoisseur of rare gems, is a lover of all beautiful things, cars, nature, and on top of all others, women.

Cristallo has had many romantic flings in the past, and although they are usually one night stands - which are more often than not greatly satisfying to both parties - he has also had many full time lovers and wives in the past, having been married to models, actresses, and so on.

... Yet, these relationships never tend to last, as his partners have had a history of amicably breaking up with him on the best cases, or running away with as much of his fortune as they can on the worst cases, as said by himself across many different interviews and public appearances.

These women are often said to run off on their own to another country, far away from both Cristallo and law enforcement, where they can never be found ever again and they can use the money they stole for whatever their egotistical hearts desire...

Incidentally, Cristallo is also known, for his vast possession of statues and sculptures crafted from the gems from his own practically infinite vault, all of them resembling beautiful, slender feminine figures, Cristallo often states they are his most valued possessions and he considers this collection to be the 8th wonder of the world.

He loves these statues so much, in fact, that he often shaves little pieces of them and makes rings, chains and other pieces of jewelry for him to wear, he often stares longingly at them, if one didn't know any better, they could almost assume Cristallo is thinking of something else as he looks at them...

Faceclaims & Sources for Images Used:

Elemental Hero Shadow Mist from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Redd White from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

[linkspooky]

Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Alchemy: Rubedo

Yu-Gi-Oh GX is an anime that uses Alchemy symbolism to tell it's story. Specifically it follows the journey of Judai as an apprentice alchemist tasked with producing the Great Work in Alchemy and forginf of the philosopher's stop.

Each season is based off the four Stages of turning lead into gold and crafting the philosopher's tone. Season 1 is Nigredo or 'Blackening'. Season 2 is Albedo or 'Whitening', Season 3 is Citrinitas and Season 4 is Rubedo the final stage.

This analysis of Season 4 will explore Rubedo, symbolized by the color red, the element of Earth, and Judai growing into an full-fledged adult by incorporating Yubel, his other half / other self. The two of them together makes a whole person, and season 4 continues developing their relationship as they seek redemption for their actions in season 3 together.

The Philosopher's Stone as a Metaphor for Growth

I often talk about the Philosopher's Stone as the end goal of the alchemical process, but now that we've reached Rubedo where the Philosopher's stone is forged I'd like to discuss in depth what the Philosopher's stone actually represents.

Jung used alchemy as a metaphor for psyhcological development. He related each stage of alchemy to an aspect of psychoanalysis and the process as a whole to the proess of individuation.

Jung defined individuation as as the optimal path to personal development for an individual. Judai is one of the most flawed Yu-Gi-Oh protagonists and part of his journey is learning to recogize his flaws and grow up.

As Jung explains in Two Essays on Analytical Psychology:1

The aim of individuation is nothing less than to divest the self of the false wrappings of the persona on the one hand, and the suggestive power of the primordial images on the other.

Judai's growth requires two things recognizing two things about himself.

The social mask and false identity the ego created for itself in the course of early development, and

The unconscious influences of the archetypes.

That is combining both the outward mask which is used to socially interact with others the persona, and the shadow which is the hidden part of the personality made up of every personality trait we try to avoid showing to others.

The process of individuation is incorporating both of these into your personality so you can be a more well-rounded person. For Judai this means by the end of Season 4 he's aware of his outer persona, a fun-loving persona who enjoys duels, but also his suppressed personality flaws that are represented mirrored in Yubel. Judai's relationship with his Yubel is a metaphor for this, first rejecting everything about Yubel, and eventually fusing with Yubel and incorporating several of Yubel's traits into themself. Season 4 is an analysis of their post super polymerization relationship and also the changes in Judai after fusing with Yubel.

Jung defined each stage of alchemy as a metaphor for a different part of the personality as defined by psychoanalysis, in Rubedo one becomes their complete self.

In an archetypal schema, rubedo represents the Selfarchetype, and is the culmination of the four stages, the merging of ego and Self. It is also described as a stage that gives birth to a new personality. [Source.]

Judai and Yubel don't just forge a philosopher's stone together, by fusing and completing a chemical wedding / a union of opposites they quite literally become a philosopher's stone. As the philosopher's stone is symbolic of the end result of personal growth.

As stated in Get Your Gender On: Jaden Yuki and Yubel:

Conceptually Yubel also draws from the mythical Rebis, the idealized human that alchemists believed formed when creating a philosopher’s stone: “The alchemists, in their quest for philosophical gold, considered the world to be influenced and manipulated by a multitude of paired forces: wet and dry, cold and hot, sun and moon, male and female, proton and neutron, etc. When these opposing forces are harmonized and balanced through synthesis, creation is commenced. The Great Hermaphrodite is an amalgam of this union.” 

Now moving onto Judai's personal growth in Season 4 and his developing relationship with Yubel. (For those curious about Johan I already made a comprehensive post for him here, if I cover both Johan and Yubel in the same post this post will be way longer than it already is.)

The Red Phase

The last season incorporates a lot of symbolism for the final stage of alchemy. In particular, the color red, the element of air, and finally the completion of Judai's personal growth by the anime still holding Judai for his worst flaws, and showing that fusing with Yubel did not fix all of his problems and he still has a lot of growing to do.

To begin with Judai spends majority of the season isolated from his former friends, spending most of his time in the Osiris Red dorm. Judai's cutting out all his friends from his life is also a big no-no when it comes to Alchemy, because alchemy is also a metaphor for refining your relationships with people into better versions. Since the Persona, the part of yourself you present to other people is half of your identity, relationships with people is necessary for your psychological development.

One of the first things Judai is called out for this season is pushing away his friends, particularly by Asuka. This is after an incident where Judai mistreats an already hospitalized Fubuki. Remember in Season 3 one of Judai's biggest flaws was allowing his friends to come to harm because he was too focused on himself to see his suffering.

Asuka: You've changed. Judai: There are some things you can never change back.

Judai not handling his trauma from Season 4 is understandable after all, also his decision to distance himself from his friends after all he literally did watch them die. However, Judai never attempts to communicate this to his friends, instead choosing to withdraw from them completely without even an explanation.

In doing this he repeats a lot of his flaws from Season 3. After all, one of Manjoume biggest callouts from Season 3 is that Judai is the only person in his own kingdom (meaning he never tries to understand other people's points of view). So, making decisions for other people and assuming he knows best is repeating this flaw.

This is something highlighted in his decision to attempt to leave the island when he senses the oncoming threat of darkness trying to handle it on his own, which Saiou points out: 1) Won't solve the problem, and 2) he's not the only one involved because his friends are in danger too. Once again Judai only thinks of himself ad doesn't even consider his friends might be in potential danger as well, or might want to help him.

Saiou: Judai the chairman and I are vaguely aware what happened to you. Saiou: I know how you feel, but this is a new mission that only you are capable of. Saiou: You cannot abandon it, and cannot desert your friends and leave this island.

In the same episode Judai has his first duel with Trueman / Darkness in a lava field. Not only is this a reference to Season 1 his first major duel with Fubuki, but also the Nigredo stage, the first stage of alchemy, which is symbolized by the element of fire.

Why reference Nigredo in season 4 which is all about alchemy. Season 4 references Nigredo to represent Judai's risk of backsliding on his worst flaws and therefore failing his personal growth, represented by the process of reverse alchemy. This is also represented by the constant references to darkness and fire, Judai duels on a lava field, Judai duels Fubuki / Darkness again which both reference events in Season 1 the Nigredo season.

Austi who uses a fire attribute deck also has a long sequence where Trueman transforms into Austi (therefore as a metaphor for his shadow self, an "I am You" sort of thing, and then reveals Austin hidden trauma with a car accident that nearly got his mother killed and because of that he developed his indecisiveness and dependence on taking orders from other people which caused a lot of his flawed decisions in season 3) and by revealing these flaws Trueman literally causes Austi to dissolve and experience an ego death.

You chose me - the with the skills that you needed to survive. All so you would survive. That holds true now. [...] But you couldn't forgive yourself. For making a choice you couldn't possibly make. YOu should have cried. You should have chosen to die with your father and mother. You should have been true to your emotions.

This reflects a deeply repressed insecurity of Austin's (to begin with he barely remembers the car accident and needs to be reminded of it) that he's a selfish coward who makes choices for his own benefit for survival. One of Austi's flaws is cowardice but he also is someone who confronts his cowardice and shows great bravery at times.

Which is another reason why the shadow must be integrated, just like you can't exhibit bravery without first battling cowardice, you can't improve your flaws if you don't know what they are ad confront them. Austinis also a clear foil for Judai, in Season 3 Austin and Judai both get worse before they can get better. Austin is on the side of Cobra and then commits a major act of cowardice by leaving his friend Jim behind (once again acting in self preservation which he feels guilty about by doing with his mother) and he's also the one to fight and kill the supreme king who is the embodiment of Judai's worst self.

Austin's mini-arc in Domino City is also reflective of another flaw of Judai's. After being told several times this season that abandoning his friends to try to accomplish everything on his own will only make things worse this season, Judai abandons his friends to try to save Austin's when he's in trouble.

The people in Domino might be gone, for whatever frightful reason, but it’s O’Brien’s name that Judai obsessively calls out through the deserted streets. And there’s a very good reason for this. Judai is massively indebted to O’Brien for the latter’s actions in saving him fro himself in Season 3. So indebted that he likely doesn’t even know how to deal with the debt — especially not when O’Brien is being extremely helpful and useful to him, regardless of everything that happened before. So in Judai’s mind, there’s nothing but a very clear purpose, to the utter exclusion of all else, because of course he’ll rescue his own savior, the consequences be damned.

Recognize this attitude? You should — it’s the exact same that motivated him to run after his friend Johan Andersen to the other dimensions. With entirely disastrous results. Even with all that death and destruction on his conscience, our hero makes the exact same mistake and walks straight into the villain’s trap, who had known all too well that O’Brien would be the most tempting local bait for Yuki Judai.  [...] Yes, you read that right. Our hero almost handed complete victory to the villain by repeating the mistakes that put him on the road to damnation. And it is a goddamn brilliant bit of character writing, because core character flaws don’t just go away. They stay with us to the end of our days and all we can do is be conscious of their presence, their potential impact and mitigate them, to a degree [Source]

Something which has disastrous consequences, 1) nearly getting him killed in a trap with a warehouse rigged to explode, 2) he doesn't eve successfully save Austin and 3) While he's gone the darkness consumes the whole of duel academy island and Judai didn't even leave his friends with a warning that they might be in danger.

Judai is only saved from this situation because of his relationships, the same ones he's been neglecting for awhile because Johan shows up to snap Judai out of it when he's under darkness's thrall - (There's something meaningful about how Judai hallucinates Johan of all people as an enemy like, it's reflective of the unhealthy way he sees his friends). It's only at the point of Johan's appearance (alchemy requires the dissolution and reforming of bonds) that Judai begins accepting help. Johan is also the only person besides Yubel that Judai will accept help from.

Darkness as a whole is basically a metaphor for reverse alchemy, hence why there are a lot of associations with Nigredo, dueling in fire locations, parallels to season 1, all because Darkness represents the threat that Judai might reverse his character development and fall back on old habits rather than growing up and graduating.

A major theme for Season 4 too is graduation anxieties, it's something explored in Hell Kaiser Ryo's character who actually did regress because he couldn't cope with the pressures of adulthood and the fact that just because you're succesful in school doesn't translate to success in the real world. Judai is a character who's the most resistant to growing hence why one of the main themes of the whole series is Judai's journey to becoming an adult.

Judai's positive moments of development are associated with air, the elemental symbol of Rubedo. One of the biggest is his assistance of Honest, who he quite literally incorporates into his soul for awhile along Yubel, but is also the first duel spirit Judai is show helping onscreen. In Season 4 Judai is given a lot of new powers from Yubel, but Judai is not yet aware of what he can use these new powers for, and how to atone for his mass slaughter of duel spirits. He eventually ends up trying to take on Johan's dream for himself by choosing to become a mediator between Duel Spirits and people and helping Honest, and also helping Honest and Fujiwara reconcile is the first step towards that.

Judai: You're starting to break up, Mr. Darkness. The shadow that Fujiwara was caught in. It's starting to mark the end of the eclipse. You wat to come back. Fujiwara: So, you...You really didn't forget me? PLease... don't ever forget me. Honest: Of course.

Fujiwara is also a character like trueman who represents the danger of reverse alchemy. My friend @hamliet equates reverse alchemy to resisting grief and death in this post.

"Salem’s stuck in the second stage of grief (anger, denial was trying to get Oz back). Only by accepting Oz is gone and letting her tears dissolve her rage will she be refined. 

After Salem learns to grieve, I would assume she’d die and mayhaps join Oz in the afterlife while her body turns to dust (that last part is just me liking the poetry). Death is not a punishment in RWBY after all. 

Her name means “peace,” and I don’t doubt that that is exactly what her endgame will be: finding peace. I’ll leave you with a quote from Lyndy Abraham on the symbolism of peace in alchemy"

During the early, primitive stage of the opus, sulphur and mercury, body and spirit, are often referred to as the quarreling couple… the reconciliation of the couple is also known as the conversion of the four elements (see opus circulatorium). The elements with their opposing qualities are said to be warring, conflicting foes until reconciled and united in peace. 

To equate this to Yu-Gi-Oh GX (Salem is a character in RWBY another work inspired by Alchemy btw if you're curious), Fujiwara's entire motivation is that he's afraid that just like he began to forget his parents that one day he will die and be forgotten therefore it's not worth attempting to connect with friends.

This isn't true as he's shown twice, through the bond with Fubuki who still tries to save him years after Fujiwara went missing and who's greatest regret is his inability to help Fujiwara to the point where he plans to end the duel in a draw so he can disappear together with Fujiwara this time and also his bond with Honest who impersonates him and investigates where he went literally years after the fact and after Fujiwara deliberately abandoned him.

Fujiwara rejects both death and grief, his inability to properly mourn his parents makes him incredibly insecure about his relationships. By rejecting grief he also rejects the value of relationships in the first place in favor of a nihilism to comfort himself, if all relationships have to end because life is by it's nature ephemeral then relationships have no meaning in the first place.

Fujiwara's broken relationship with Honest is also a parallel to Judai's relationship with Yubel in Season 3. They both abandon their spirit partner "for their own sake", Honest because Fujiwara did not want him hurt by the darkness, and Judai because he thought space might correct Yubel's dysfunction. The partner is deeply hurt, and one person in the partnership is deeply afraid of being forgotten (Fujiwara assumes all of his friends will forget him one day, and Yubel is actually forgotten by Judai which is part of their motivation for villainry). Judai begins his character development at the end of season 3 by reconciling with his spirit partner, and Judai is able to defeat Fujiwara by summoning Honest, and shakes him loose from Darkness's control by reminding him of his relationship with Honest.

It's likely no coincidence that Yubel finally shows up to duel alongside Judai immediately after Judai has helped a spirit reconcile with their partner.

As a brief aside I do think it is a writing flaw Yubel's only at the end of Season 4. I'm not sure why the writers made this choice, but if I were to come up with an in-story explanation it would be that a big part of the mystery of season 4 is whether or not Yubel is still there, and also Judai navigating what his new identity exactly means so maybe Yubel doesn't come out as an advisor until Judai was physically ready to accept their help (after accepting Johan's as well).

Yubel's introduction also references the fact that Judai forgot they were there again, the same way that Fujiwara forgot how much Honest cared for him.

Judai: So what, even if I'm all alone. Until the very end. Yubel: Come now, I wouldn't say that you're alone. Judai you may be a meat-headed scatter brain, but it's too soon for you to die. Judai: You've still got an attitude, huh? Yubel: Only because you forgot about me. You are not alone. I am with you. Judai: That's right. Inside me is another soul who believes in me.

Once again every moment of Judai's character growth and advancement to the Rubedo phase is when he acknowledges his friends, and it's really kickstarted at the end when Johan shows up to bail Judai out, showing him physically how much he still needs his friends because everytime he attempts to do everything on his own he biffs it.

At the end of the first mini-arc too, Judai duels the five-headed dragon (five heads symbolic of the five stages of alchemy, there are four to five stages depending on whether or not you count the rainbow / peacock feather stage) and afterwards is the moment wher Judai's relationship with his friends begins to improve and he spends the next arc trying to help them from the shadows after ignoring them early season.

Judai's moments of character growth come from when he opens himself up to the people around him instead of closing himself off. The climax of this being his final chemical wedding with Yubel where he forges the philosopher's stone by literally fusing Yubel with Neos his signature monster (the same way he at the end of season 3 symbolically fused Neos and Yubel's 3rd stage on the field together with super poly in order to fuse his and Yubel's soul).

This comes after Yubel is taken away from Judai (confronted with their worst fear again separation / abandonment) but this time Judai immediately tries to get them back and Yubel believes in him.

Judai: I'll get you back. Yubel: Of course you will.

This moment combined with Johan's sacrifice in the duel against Fujiwara shows that Judai can handle a separation from Yubel / Johan without completely spiraling (Yubel can also have faith that Judai will get them back too). The other significant moment to show the progress in Judai and Yubel's relationship from season 3 is Yubel suggesting the final play of the duel, which is removing their card from play in order to summon back Neos.

It's character development for both of them, one Yubel hated when Judai used any of their other monsters and insisted that Judai did not need friends besides them, but now they're the one to suggest Judai using Neos. Number two, Judai once again accepts Yubel's sacrifice and doesn't spiral when they're left alone.

Acceptance of death is required for a rebirth in alchemy and the central tenant of dissolve et coagula. Judai has to let go of Yubel and also trust that they'll come back afterwards.

To quote Hamliet again:

So the main tenet of alchemy is solve et coagula: dissolve, and coagulate. Putrefy, and come together. Die, and be reborn. Each time the process happens the subject (in literature, the characters) become more and more refined.  Thus? Death is an integral part of alchemy, just as integral as life. The phoenix, which immolates and rises from its ashes, is a symbol of the completion of the work.

Judai's friends also putrefy and come back stronger, after dissolving into darkess quite literally, and being confronted with their worst fears, Judai's speech about all the mistakes he's made on their journey help them overcome it and return to Judai's side to watch the final move of the duel.

Nightshroud: Thou dost wield strength to fight on, but that is something that others lack. Judai: No.. you're the one who doesn't get it. I'm not strog at all. A while back my heart drowned in darkness. And I put my friends through some rough times. From that, I figured a few things out, and all I do is believe in them. As long as we believe in our cards we're not alone. The friends I've fought. The friends who've cheered me on. We're all linked by bonds that will never break.

In the GX manga it's stated the deck is a duelist's soul (the trading cards are magic and their power comes from literal sentient spirits so this connection with their cards is thematically important to the lore of the show, it's kind of like how in Pokemon you're not supposed to abuse your pokemon or only value them for their strength). Nightshroud arose from the continued abuse duelists committed of their cards in seasons 1, 2, and 3 for personal gain. Kagerou abusing cards to gain eternal life, Saiou using his duels to brainwash people, and Judai in season 3 committing a mass slaughter of card spirits.

However, Judai is able to defeat Nightshroud by accepting he's treated his friends poorly in the past, but even so that bond hasn't broken because bonds are what support people at their lowest point.

Since alchemy = bonds with people then it's Judai finally acknowledging these bonds after spending a whole season running away from people again that Judai is finally able to forge gold (after the final chemical wedding with Yubel too, allowing Yubel to go through a symbolic death dissolving so they can coagulate again after the duel is over). He forges gold by forging god Neos, who is quite literally covered in gold armor.

The forging of the philosopher's stone is also meant to radiate out to the whole world and effect the world as a whole. This is because of the concept of as above, so below, or the Microcosmos of the world of humans effecting the Macrocosmos of the world of the heavens.

This is an incredibly common theme in all four seasons of GX, Judai stopping Kagerou from using the three mythic beasts saves the card spirits who were being drained in season 1, in season 2 Judai quite literally saves the macrocosmos / the heavens / space from the light of destruction by winning a duel against Saiou, in season 3 fusing with Yubel prevents the destruction of the 12 dimmesions, and finally in season 4 Judai's win against Nightshroud not only breaks his control with his friends but also convinces card spirits around the world to give duelists a second chance and banishes away the darkness that was created by the continued abuse.

The final stage of Judai's development is also to travel out into the world to help the relationships between humans ad spirits, after finding balance between himself and Yubel.He also is planning on using his abilities as a human / fusion spirit in order to do this. In essence after Judai became the philosopher stone he's now using the power of the philosopher stone to make changes to the macrocosmos.

Judai: And there might be people in the world who'll need our help. We're going on a journey to find them.

This is also a atonement for Judai's mass slaughter of duel spirits in season 3 and Yubel being the cause of that ad nearly harming the 12 dimmensions in their desire to reunite with Judai (both of these actions caused by a combination of extreme selfishess ad extreme grief). Judai can't do anything to undo the damage he's done but he can still help people and make a positive differece i the world.

At the end of the series Judai is fully individuated, not only is he able to reclaim his enjoyment of duels but the members he sets out on the journey with are representative of each stage of individuation. Yubel pulls double duty as the Shadow in Nigredo, and also the Anima / Animus in Albedo because Yubel is very gender and represents both the feminine ad masuline. Daitokuji comes along for the journey because as Judai's mentor in alchemy he represents the integration of Sophia / Wisdom in Citrinatis. Whereas finally Judai himself, dressed in his Osiris Red, represents the completed individuated self in Rubedo.

Finally Season 4 represents the final four splendor solis plates.

Plate 19 - The Dark Sun is referenced quite literally by darkness's take over of the world. Neo Domino city turn into a dark place, Darkness not only physically blocking out the sun, but Judai referring to Darkness's control over Fujiwara as an eclipse, Darkness's causing almost the entire cast to dissolve and be transported to a dimmension where they experience their worst fears on repeat.

According to Mythcraft plate 19 reprsents:

In plate nineteen, we see a picture of a sun with a human face, but instead of shining brightly in the sky, the sun is rendered transparent within the earth, its face dejected. While its golden rays peek above the horizon, the sun itself is blackened. The sun seems sunken into the earth, the rivers and soil running through it. In the foreground we can see dead trees, their outer layers blackened and decayed. The text accompanying this chapter tells us that: “This Dissolution is nothing but a killing of the moist with the dry, in fact a PUTREFACTION, and consequently turns the MATTER black”. We can see the mixing of the dry and the moist in the plate when the rivers overlay the transparent sun. The sun is black, the blackening the first of the colored stages, the nigredo, that we see in alchemy. In spiritual alchemy, it is the self-realization, and breaking down of our own personal structures so we can rebuild ourselves again. Sometimes this includes a journey to the underworld, a sinking down into the darkness and the earth, as the sun is doing.

The entire season is a callback to the nigredo phase of alchemy, and to complete the final step on their journey the characters have to literally dissolve and putrefy, confronting their worst anxieties and fears of the future in order to overcome them and reform again.

According to mythcrafts the last four stages of the Solis Plates are a recap of the four stages of alchemy as a whole, the same way that the last season does a comprehensive recap of the four stages in order to finally move Judai onto Rubedo.

Now Solomon Trismosin gives us four stages, starting with dissolution. The goal is the same, but as we will see in the other plates of this series, we are looking through the lens of the human condition and spiritual alchemy rather than the chemical alchemy occurring in the alembic flask.

All of the characters take journeys to the underworld by being subjected to their own personal hells (in a very hell-like dimmension) only to reform themselves out of sheer will and come back on the other side stronger. I'm not sure how literally a reference for a solis plate called Black Sun by having a character called Darkness who literally blots out the sun.

Splendor Solis #20 - Children at Play

The frame of this plate is again swarming with animals of transformation. Butterflies, birds, and insects dance around the edges. We also see various earlier forms, caterpillars and larvae, and blossoms that will eventually turn into fruit.  Within the frame we see this echoed; a plate devoted to first stage of the human lifecycle, the juvenile child, who has form, yet has not yet learned wisdom and developed spiritually. In the previous plate, we saw the first operation of this four-stage series, dissolution. This plate represents coagulation, or the reforming of the solid matter. These children represent the forming of the body, before the spirit and soul are fully recognized and assimilated. Both the adults, the mother and the servant girl are clothed in ornate red gowns, the color suggesting that they have reached the final stage of their journey, the Rubido.

This one is pretty straightforward to as in the final battle all the main characters Sho, Asuka, Manjoume, Fubuki, and Fujiwara all dissolve in order to come back as stronger versions of themselves. Signalling both Dissolve et Coagula, and also the end of childhood and the end of their journey from children into adults.

The bleaching and whitening of the linen also symbolizes the movement from the black nigredo stage into the white albedo stage. In the lower right-hand corner of the plate, resting on a washing tub is a black cloth, suggesting that it too will become white after washing. The text aligns the process of sublimation to this plate, the process of distillation. Note the heavy clouds that sit above the women washing; these too are part of the process. The women boil, wash and rinse the material, and then dry them in the sun, the water is sent back into the clouds, and comes back down again to create the rivers with which the linen is washed.

Splendor Solis: Plate 21 - Women Washing Clothes

From Mythcrafts.

This being the proper philosophical sublimation, by means of which the perfect method is carried out. And this is why this Art is compared to Woman’s Work, which consists in cooking and roasting until it is done. – Solomon Trismosin Albedo, while meaning white, also literally means ablution, which means washing away impurities. Ritual cleansing is used in many religious rites to purify the body. This part of the alchemical process is the longest: the constant washing and repetition, though it is also called the lesser work. This process is readying the material (or body) to regain its purity and receptivity for the soul.

While this one is not refereced visually by the first two it still connects thematically to both the final battle and the resolution of the work, after all women's work is a metaphor for the hard work of purifying after facing your worst traits in nigredo and the final battle and graduation ends with the main characters finding the resolution to continue the struggle to become adults in the real world now that they've left childhood and the nest that was Duel Academy.

Also there is a mini-arc for Manjoume where he actually has to do women's work of being an overworked intern for Edo only to realize that Edo is also someone who overworks himself for his fans and the orphans he's supporting financially which inspires Manjoume to actually take his dream of becoming a pro duelist seriously.

Now to cap this post off. The final splendor solis which matches the final shot of the anime perfectly.

(He even has a napsack.)

Just like Judai's journey has come to an end so now must we conclude our analysis of the four stages of alchemy in the four seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh Gx! I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I've enjoyed writing these long, long posts.

However, just like all endings are new beginnings this isn't the last Yu Gi Oh meta post I'm planning to make so please look forward to that.

[gamer-boy-quotes]

Tyranno: So, what are you gonna do?

Syrus: First, I’m going to cry.

Syrus: …I hope something good will come out of that.

[mbg159]

What Your Favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds Girl Says About You

[Main Girls Only][DM][GX]

Aki Izayoi/Akiza Izinski (likes the second half of the series): You are pretty chill, and almost definitely a Faithshipper. You’re very fond of doing all kinds of scenarios of their first meeting. You write at least one thing per day appreciating her development. You really, really like the rollerskates episode. Even if it could have been better, you still love Yusei giving her Stardust. You get really sad during the ending, but you know in your heart of hearts that they definitely kissed offscreen.

Aki Izayoi/Akiza Izinski (dislikes the second half of the series): You got the taste of a girl who was straight-up unhinged, and you've been chasing that high ever since. You find bondage jokes incredibly funny. You have at least one very strong opinion about Crow. Despite your feelings on the second half (most of which can be described as "seething"), you have a soft spot for Sherry. To this day, her battle theme still generates a Pavlovian response of swooning tears in you.

Ruka/Luna: Your soul aches every day for her wasted potential. You started reading the manga the moment you saw scans of how it did her. You were very surprised when Ancient Fairy Dragon got banned. You have edited characters to be wearing flower crowns at least once. You’re still not quite sure what to think about her brother, but you definitely wish Life Stream had showed up earlier. You spent eighty episodes waiting for a followup for the end of Ep. 67, and are still waiting.

Carly Nagisa/Carly Carmine: You are a Scoopshipper, with no questions asked. You were utterly horrified when you found out about the cult thing (even if your source may have been somewhat inaccurate). You refuse to rewatch the second half of the series, and have devoted lengthy fanfics to what really happened afterward. You aren’t sure if you like nerds or goths, and you’re glad you don’t have to choose. You have tried to do Fortune Fairy-based readings in real life.

Misty Lola/Misty Tredwell: You may be into Isolationshipping or you may be into Omenshipping, but regardless of where you fall, you are certain she loves women. You saw that bit where she cradles Carly’s face and went “god, that girl is lucky.” Your favorite part of the whole DS arc was when she has Ccaryhua swallow Divine whole. You are very, very angry she’s not in Duel Links yet. (Like, I wrote this in 2021 originally, and she's still not in it? What?)

Sherry LeBlanc: You actually don’t hate the second half, but it’s largely due to her. You have either watched Revolutionary Girl Utena, or have been told several times that you should watch it. You may not be a Roseknightshipper, but you definitely have an LGBT headcanon. You have mixed feelings about how her arc ended, and would have preferred if the entire season was just her running around kicking stuff.

Martha: You hate every single other parent in every other series because you have seen her episodes and beheld a standard none have yet lived up to. She takes no shit, she's a rain of sunlight in a land of misery, she sacrifices herself tragically. Why the fuck did she barely appear after Dark Signers? You just want to talk to the person who made that decision, you say while loading a shotgun.

Mikage Sagiri/Mina Simington: You may be a Careshipper whose favorite arc is Fortune Cup, or an Ushio/Mikage shipper whose favorite arc is Dark Signers. Either way, you just really, really like office ladies, okay? You either think she's cute, relate to her beleaguered nature, or both. Also, did you know there's no ship name for Ushio/Mikage? I didn't until recently, but you definitely do.

Stephanie: Man, you picked the biggest third wheel in the entire franchise and a woman who only appears in the second half to be your fave, huh? That takes a lot of guts. And to my immense surprise, despite her entire existence being "waitress" and "one-note obsession with Jack Atlas", you have decided your OTP with her is Carly. Rock on, Stephanie fans, you make the world brighter.

Misaki: You decided to go dumpster-diving in the video games and found a gem. You understand that the only thing that could have made Bruno's arc better is if he was also Rei Ayanami. The bit at the end where she finally smiles melted your heart like butter in the sunrise. You insist Watts are underrated. You sadly know deep down that there's a reason the only female Yliaster member is non-canon.

[pekesbox]

COSPA x Yu-Gi-Oh! GX - Fighting Spirit for Duel Vol. 2

source source

[hellohimawarihana]

Yu-Gi-Oh Protagonist Transformations, ranked by me

I did say in this post that Yu-Gi-Oh is no stranger to transformation sequence, but the more you look at it, it's like that all series had this in some degree, so I decided to rank them from least appealing to the most mind-blowing. It was inspired to this post, by the way. Unlike the protagonists ending post before, I'll include Go Rush!! as well, but I'll only include those from the protagonists and their main anime, so no Capsule Monsters or special episodes like Bonds Beyond Time, or supporting characters in that matter.

We'll start with the series that stood out the least, which is...

8. ARC-V

Yes, it’s pretty unappealing even for me. The Awakened version (left) are just him surrounded with aura and his mutated Z-ARC (right) is… not on my book.

7. Original / Duel Monsters

I ranked DM version a bit higher than ARC-V for this list. Yes, it’s the first and longest Yu-Gi-Oh series and therefore it’s iconic but Yami Yugi a.k.a. Atem didn’t really change clothes outside of making a cape jacket from his host. It’s still good that he manages to split into two selves for his partner later in the story.

6. Duel Monsters GX

It’s like Yami Yugi and Awakened Yuya because he spent some time being possessed by Haou / Supreme King (right), but Judai does had a control of his powers after gaining that and Yubel’s (left) powers and abilities, after that he doesn’t actually transforms outside the eye changes so I can’t rank him higher.

5. SEVENS

From demonic look to Sentai hero... Though unlike other series (except number 4 that will be explained later) these came off as one-off forms as he only wears the costumes in one duel with the process akin to early Metal Heroes series. But his roll call of The Yugaman (right) is cool, by the way.

4. 5DS

While the usual preparation before Riding Duel is pretty cool, this part stands out among my brother's favorite Yu-Gi-Oh series. Yusei just turns gold for his ultimate Synchro Summon technique, but it’s still cool. There’s even non-Riding Duel version on his Duel Links portrait too.

3. Go Rush!!

This recently airing series has the protagonist surrounded by blue (sometimes green) aura to turn back into his real, alien form. But it’s just “casual *flash* battle form” so I can’t rank him too high. But I like how he keeps doing this before his own duel, even when he doesn’t use this stock footage anymore starting in Season 2. And he’s unique among the protagonists as he’s one of the two capable of transforming on his own without outside source.

2. ZEXAL

The concept is similar to DM and GX, only this time Yuma merges with Astral and can de-fuse anytime unlike the latter series. Dark ZEXAL (top right) isn’t in my book and just a palette swap between the first ZEXAL form (top left), which is my favorite. But the other ZEXAL forms (bottom) are awesome too, evolving through Yuma and Astral’s bond. I just wish that the other forms appeared in Duel Links as a skill and not just his first form. Normally, this will be all-time favorite for transformation fans for Yu-Gi-Oh, but he’s ranked here because...

Well, you know who will be my top pick:

1. VRAINS

While I grew up with DM series, my interest took at peak after seeing Yusaku’s transformation sequence when he logs into LINK VRAINS or any cyberworld. It’s cool and flashy, and I like the blue background, even though his Playmaker form has barely any blue on it. The pocket dimension where Yusaku transforms fits its technology theme too. I especially like the hair part, just look of his cool face! And he can transform by himself, just like Go Rush!! series!

The only downside is like Go Rush!!, he doesn’t do this stock footage anymore after Season 1 Episode 30, any login after that is just offscreen or the intro survives but he’s just do the login in blue flash of light, which is disappointing, he even lack the double henshin with Takeru! (his adventuring partner who has the same animation when he individually transforms) But I do like the fact that the world unlock scene in Duel Links has this transformation sequence, which is a nice callback for the first episode where Playmaker’s transformation was shown for the first time, especially for the players who had finished the anime since spoiler alert: Duel Links’s VRAINS World takes place after the end of the series.

See more of VRAINS' henshin here.

[blackbeautyfanforever]

Here is a follow-up to this other post of mine as you can see here: https://www.tumblr.com/blackbeautyfanforever/782643120080896001/i-will-never-forgive-if-4kids-literally-did-say?source=share

Because I just made a new reply under Star_Light009 because I am really glad that big Yu-Gi-Oh YuoTubers like MelonTeee, Scummer and even Little Kuriboh himself never thought that Judai/Jaden and Johan/Jesse are like brothers at all and they know that they are not related to each other at all too.

Matter of fact, those YouTubers I mentioned in this post even ship Judai/Jaden and Johan/Jesse romantically together themselves too as you can see in these videos here:

The Importance of Johan (Jesse) Andersen - YouTube

Is Jaden Yuki Gay? - YouTube

LittleKuriboh Watches YGO GX - Episode 20 - YouTube

Again, if you want to like my replies (if you have a YouTube account) under Star_Light009's comment in the comment section of this video here: Jaden Yuki's gender censored in the English dub of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. #yugioh #yugi #ytshorts - YouTube

Just remember that my username on YouTube when I comment is called thecarttoonrewriter7064, if you guys do want to give it a like.

[vividstardustrevolution]

Dear Yu-Gi-Oh fans who have watched Zexal and Arc V,

I'm currently just watching GX and Vrains, and I am well aware that Judai and Yusaku have issues, but I have seen memes and out of context screenshots involving Yuma and Yuya that have me simultaneously laughing my ass off, confused, and concerned. Like these ones, for example:

And the images from this post:

And these posts too:

https://www.tumblr.com/yugiohdilf/702248584212529152?source=share&ref=_tumblr (<- The source of these images is this blog.)

...I'm just concerned about them, especially considering Vrains and the spoilers I've gotten about GX. These two seem like the types of guys who would happily drag me into a very silly adventure, and I need some explanations as to what the hell is going on with them. Are they okay? Give me the silliest and most concerning explanations you can to explain Yuma and Yuya to me, someone who has not watched Zexal or Arc V.

Please, and thank you.

(This is not a joke. Please, I need silly or concerning explanations about these two.)

[wrongydkjquotes]

“Ugh, I'm going to pretend this never happened, alongside most of Yu Gi Oh GX, some of 5D's and ALL of ZEXAL.”

- buzz lippman

(Source: Kaiba, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series)

[specs-does-stuff]

I made a couple of Stand eyecatches for funsies a while back and I figured I should share some of them here because Jojo Stands are awesome and I love seeing what people do with the concept.

Stand Name: 「 Electric Friends 」 Stand Master: Trenton T. Bolt Power: A Speed: A Range: C Durability: D Precision: B Potential: A Stand Type: Close-Range - Artificial Humanoid

Namesake: Are 'Friends' Electric? by Tubeway Army/Gary Numan Meet The Stand:

A stand powered by 100,000 volts of electricity, Electric Friends has the ability to shoot powerful lightning bolts from both of it's hands, with Trenton also being capable of adjusting the voltage to make the bolts more powerful or less so, at full power, however, the stand is highly lethal and lightning fast to boot!

Water, however, is the stand's greatest enemy, even a drop of water has the potential to make the stand short circuit and have Trenton lose control of his ability, in a best case scenario it will simply fire lightning bolts blindly without a clear target, and at worst it has the potential to overcharge and explode, killing Trenton and anyone nearby in the process. Meet The Stand Master:

A hot-blooded american college student, Trenton has always been an extroverted, hyperactive, bothering on undiagnosed ADHD, type since he was 5, so when he started seeing what he believed to be an imaginary friend who looked like a superhero that could shoot lightning from his fingertips? He assumed he just had a very active imagination, and his imagination was awesome! ... That stopped being the case when he almost electrocuted himself to death in his bathtub whilst playing with his imaginary friend, and he realized this imaginary friend was not-so-imaginary after all.

This didn't deter him from calling upon this mysterious guardian angel, however, instead, he'd often his ability on day-to-day life whenever it was convenient to him, be it charging up his phone, computer, car or just giving himself that little jolt of electricity to keep himself awake whenever he pulled an all night for a test.

Trenton has just about never used or felt the need to call his own stand to battle, in fact he'd probably be scared shitless if that ever happened to him, if only he knew just how powerful his ability was...

Faceclaims & Sources for Images Used:

Stand: Elemental Hero Sparkman from Yu-Gi-Oh GX!

Trenton T. Bolt: Denki Kaminari from My Hero Academia

I'm probably gonna post more of these in the next couple of days, so be sure to tune into that if you're interested!