#also i really want to see yusaku vs kaito

[headcannonballs]

The thing about Yusaku and Toichi being friends and rivals (and Toichi once mentoring Yukiko) is that it strikes me as extremely strange that Toichi's 'accident' should be left uninvestigated for so long.

Which leads me to my headcannon:

The Kudous and Kurobas are family friends due to Toichi and Yukiko's mentor-student relationship. They are close enough for their toddler sons to play together, but not so close as to know everything about each other.

When Toichi's accident first occurred, Chikage's first instinct was to leave Kaito with the Kudous while she investigated what happened. But when she got hold of Jii who told her what had happened, Chikage reconsidered her position.

Toichi was a phantom thief, as was Chikage herself. Although this is history now (Toichi being dead and Chikage having retired), it would still reflect badly on the family and may even affect Kaito's future. So she definitely did not want police involvement in the investigation.

Yusaku, however, is not actually law enforcement himself. If he could be persuaded to help... But no, the Kudous had a young son too. Chikage has no idea how dangerous Snake might be, and she doesn't think it would be right to involve them in such danger.

Chikage was determined to revenge Toichi's murder, but it needed to be done without involving the Kudous. And the only way to do so without the nosy Yusaku (and even curious Shinichi) budging in would be to leave. So that is what she did.

Chikage took Kaito and left without notifying the Kudous. Being a former phantom thief, she did have some way of hiding her traces. And Yusaku, faced with a friend's sudden death and their family disappearing naturally tried to investigate. However as Toichi's death officially was regarded as an accident, the crime scene was not protected and any evidence quickly became contaminated.

Chikage's disappearance was also regarded as taking a break to mourn her husband's death, and by the time neighbours discovered otherwise the trail had gone cold. Combined with the fact that he had his family and his editors waiting on him, Yusaku had no choice but to let go.

A couple of years passed. By themselves, Chikage and Jii had not made much headway into tracking Snake. Finally, Jii suggests himself dressing up as Kaitou Kid to draw Snake out. At first, Chikage is reluctant, but the news that the Kudous are moving to America seems to be a sign. At the very least, it means there is no one else who could recognize the original Kaitou Kid, and Yusaku would not be alerted to their presence. Unlike Toichi, who was always very confident in his skills, Jii was way more careful, and each heist was meticulously planned before execution. Thus there were long intervals between heists to ensure all safety precautions have been taken, and the search for Snake remained slow and arduous. But Chikage didn’t give up.

Unlike his parents, Shinichi remained in Japan. As Shinichi grew up, he can vaguely remember an uncle Toichi, auntie Chi-chan and a childhood friend Kai-chan. But he never connects it to the world famous magician Kuroba Toichi because they had always felt more like family friends who came over occasionally to play with him. He had assumed they moved away (as some family friends do) and he never connected it with the magician’s accident (which felt like some important thing which affected lots of people and couldn’t possibly have anything to do with funny uncle Toichi who always tickled him too much).

However, the clock tower heist drew his attention to the mystery of Kaitou Kid. A little research had revealed his father had been investigating Kaitou Kid’s thefts and was even responsible for naming the thief. As such, Shinichi became even more determined to catch the phantom thief, but without telling his father about it, so that he can at last prove himself better.

As for Kaito, he does remember the Kudous somewhat fondly as an interesting family (what a pretty old lady!), but is aware that Chikage is keeping away from them. Although curious, he doesn’t pry out of respect for his mother. It is only after his discovery of Kaitou Kid’s lair that he connects the dots. Thus he actually actively tries to keep away from Beika and Shinichi Kudou, to prevent his identity from being found out. It was not until the clock tower heist that Shinichi accidentally happens upon the thief. And Shinichi’s sudden disappearance, although intriguing Kaito, was actually a relief as well.

That is, until he meets Conan. In the queerest case of deja vu, he has the feeling of meeting Shinichi all over again, not only because they knew each other from before, but because seeing Conan is like seeing Shinichi back at the age when they knew each other as childhood friends. In fact seeing Shinichi as a 17 year old would have taken Kaito longer (by a few seconds) to recognize him then seeing Shinichi as Conan did. But of course, Conan does not recognize him in return.

Kaito assumes that the age shrinking has something to do with magic (maybe Shinichi attracted the unwanted attentions of another witch like Akako) and thus just treats Conan like a long-lost friend and rival. He doesn’t ever really endanger Conan during heists (hell the tazer felt reasonable as he knew Shinichi was really 17 and didn’t think that size mattered), and helps Conan out of tight situations. Even more so than with his Kaitou Kid taskforce, Kaito treats the matching of wits with Conan like a game, precisely because he knows who Conan actually is. Just like the way they played together when young.

It is just as well that Chikage has never met Conan and doesn’t know who he actually is, or else I bet she’ll be furious that after all that hiding and moving away, dear little Shin-chan still got involved in the Kaitou Kid mess.

[seqka711]

Each Yu-Gi-Oh Rivalry's Dynamic (DM-Vrains)

So I've been seeing arguments about who is who's rival all throughout my time in this fandom. The usual stuff like "Ryou or Manjoume?" "Shark or Kaito?" I'm pretty used to by now. But I saw someone say that Go is Playmaker's rival in Vrains and my brain died. So I'm writing this.

Every show has a different main character to rival dynamic. The number of duels has nothing to do with it. Who wins and who loses has nothing to do with it. What matters is that there's some sort of dichotomy between the protagonist and rival.

Atem and Kaiba's rivalry is actually really interesting because they both see it differently. For Kaiba, this is a competitive rivalry. He sees Atem as the best opponent, and in Battle City, while he does want the God Cards most, he really wants to have an epic, show-stopping duel with him. Which makes sense, since their other duels had sort of weird conclusions. So a definitive duel with no potential suicide, no exodia, no BS is what he wants most. Even after Atem dies, it's still what he wants most, and he has no problem dragging Atem from the grave in order to do it. Meanwhile, Atem sees this as an ideological rivalry. He wants Kaiba to become a better person through dueling. He spared his life after the Exodia duel because Mokuba told him about how Kaiba used to be a really nice person before Gozaburo screwed him up, and he even uses the Mind Crush shadow game as a way to help him instead of just get revenge, a first for Atem. Part of why Atem and Kaiba can never see eye to eye is because they both think the other views their rivalry the same way they do. Over the course of the GX Majoume and Judai's journeys mirror each other. Manjoume lets go, and becomes more and more relaxed, and enjoying duels more. Judai meanwhile, is put under more and more pressure. That mirroring is what cements them as rivals. When it comes to actual dueling, both Judai and Manjoume didn't really see each other as an end goal. They both had other things to deal with, especially by S3 and S4. For Judai, acknowledging Manjoume as a rival would mean acknowledging Duel Monsters as a competition, something Judai never does. For Manjoume, acknowledging Judai as a rival would hurt his pride. So he calls him a slacker and an annoyance and even a friend, but never a rival.

Jack thought he was better than everyone, and Yusei proved that wrong. Unlike Kaiba or Majoume, who would never admit to being faily defeated, Jack is the one to point out to everyone else that he lost. He even refuses to be called the King because of it. Yusei is a goal for Jack to reach, and that's what their rivalry is based on. Yusei and Jack are friends (more like family, really) first and rivals second. They're comradery is part of their rivalry. Even during their final duel, sure they both want to win, but more than that, they want to encourage the members of 5Ds to choose their paths. So their rivalry is in service to their friendship. Shark is Yuma's rival, and Kaito is Astral's rival. Throughout all of season 1, Astral acknowledges Kaito as the only duelist he's met who surpasses him. In the WDC, when Yuma confronts Kaito, Kaito makes it clear that he's looking for a rematch with Astral, not Yuma. And Shark is Yuma's rival. During most of his duels with Shark, Yuma tells Astral to back off. It's Yuma who trusts Shark in the final duel against him. There's two rivals in Zexal because there are also two main characters. If you need to, you could call Shark the "main" rival, since Yuma is more of a "main character" than Astral, but the idea is still there. It's Astral vs Kaito, Yuma vs Shark. Reiji respects Yuya because he was able to create Pendulum summoning, and it was important for him to get Yuya on his side for the war against Academia. He also looks up to Yuya's father. Reiji is very practical and super intelligent. Meanwhile, Yuya understands people and is emotionally intelligent. The outcome of the duel is predicated on what's most needed at the time. During their second duel, Yuya needs to calm down and the lancers need to act logically with the information they have, rather than storming off to save Yuzu. But at the end of the series, what people (and especially Reira/Zarc) need is levity, so Yuya wins. It's an ideological rivalry, where whoever's right, wins. And lastly, Yusaku and Ryoken are rivals because they're both ruled by the same past incident. Every action Playmaker and Revolver take are informed by the Lost Incident. They didn't stop dueling each other in S2 because either of them changed fundamentally. They just never come into conflict again. Neither of them duel for pleasure, they both duel to achieve their goals. In this case, it's actually their similarities that make them rivals, rather than their differences. They're both looking to bury the incident, but for Yusaku that means getting vengeance and for Ryoken that means burying the Ignis. They're both unmoving in that goal, so it's sort of like Unstoppable Force vs Unmoveable Object. Which sort of explains why half of their duels ended in ties. What makes a Yu-Gi-Oh rivalry isn't the number of duels someone has, or else Yusei's rival would be Ushio! And it isn't how much fun or how excited someone gets, or Judai's rival would be Johan or Ryou. What's important is the dichotomy between the two duelists. The rivalry needs some sort of chemistry outside the duels to be a real rivalry.

As for Sevens, I'm really far behind, I'm only on episode like, 14? So I need to catch up first before I can comment on it.

[shidoukanae]

YGO! Questionnaire

Tagged by @cipher-wise​

Favorite series:

My favorite series based on what I watched and enjoyed would have to be Arc-V!!! It's honestly the series that got me to adore YGO when previously I'd seen YGO as, and I chilidishly quote, "uncool". Everything about Arc-V is pretty much wonderful: Yuya's presence as a "everyone MUST be happy" kind of character in a plot that discusses themes of war, revenge, and despair is absolutely refreshing (especially when Yuya's ideals of happiness are stripped from him and made a mockery of by, *coughs* one of my favorite characters in the franchise *coughs*). 

I love how the four Yuu boys are a wonderful combination of "protagonists" (/anatagonists) and how they each play off of each other's weaknesses and strengths, often acting as mirrors to each other in their individual dimensions while having amazing interactions (Yugo and Yuri, anyone? Yuri and Yuya?).

I admire how the endgame plot is a perversion of Yuya's ideals: he gets what he wants, showering happiness upon all, but that "happiness" is corrupted into the notion of entertainment. While Yuya seeks to provide people with smiles and laughter, to give them hope to work together through tough times and to stay strong in the face of adversity, his "counterparts" in the endgame are really good at acting as Yuya's mirror: showing that his style of performing can also be used to appease the bloodthirst of one's own self and that happiness can be corrupted into self-deserving power.

...Hard to put that into exact words without spoiling a lot of things but, gosh, let's just say that Yuri and ____ are the perfect mirrors to Yuya in terms of what his entertainment dueling style is meant to be.

The plot over all is pretty good! I won't lie and say it stands strong all the way throughout the story but the first half is amazing and there are some pretty strong episodes in the second half (Yugo and Rin, the parasite episodes in general, Yuri Yuri YURI). I can definitely say that the humor is there, the characters are amazing (if nothing else, watch for the Yuu Boys, the Bracelet Gals, and Shun versus Sora!!) and having come into the show around episode 104, I was pleasantly surprised by the trip Arc-V brought me and how it played with its protagonist, giving him hope, kicking him down, and toying with his mind - just like the way a warzone might to any idealistic individual.

In terms of other series, I like VRAINS but only up to like episode 19 (or the end of the Data Bank arc). It had potential and I kept hoping it would get better but the plot was constantly floundering, there are plot holes abundant (sewer monsters, ugh), character development is inconsistent not to mention very shallow, VRAINS has some of the best side characters but they're kicked to the curb by a bland protagonist and a villain that could've been so much cooler but they made him a sympathetic mess.

...I have a lot of gripes with VRAINS but, if it were to ever be rewritten with clear goalposts and plot twists in mind (not to mention development on ideas like Charisma Duelists because at the end of the show I still have not a fucking clue what a Charisma Duelists is or was) I would say it has potential to become my favorite series but Arc-V clearly beats it for me in every category lmao.

Zexal’s also really good too!!! I don’t get all the hate behind it because it’s actually really interesting and engaging (also IV’s definition of fanservice is literally the only type of fanservice I will ever accept) and I think I’ve even cried a couple of times during the course of the plot which is like,,, shocking considering it’s not a show I thought I’d cry over (I cried in Arc-V too but goddamn does tiny Yuya just want to make you tear up lmao). This show is really good emotionally and it’s literally so stupid how Kaito carries a lot of the early and middle game of the show yet most of the meat of the plot doesn’t begin to unravel until the second season.

Also, if you ever want to watch a show of 100+ episodes that is so masterfully written that there is foreshadowing for stuff in like episode 130+ on EPISODE ONE, please watch this. Literally there are so many hints of what is going to happen in the future in the early episodes and you won’t really be able to tell what those hints are until you’ve finished the show but goddamn when you go back and rewatch things it does indeed feel amazing how much foreshadowing they threaded into the show without you ever knowing...(please don’t search for spoilers if you intend to watch this. I went into the show knowing some spoilers tho not all and, while I was still pleased by what I watched, I honestly can agree the show is A Lot Better without knowing ANYTHING)

Favorite Protagonist: Yuya. For sure, out of all the series, Yuya. 

He’s a refreshing protagonist, especially considering he shines in a world of war and despair. He’s also someone who you empathize with right at the start and want to hope in, especially since he is the “happiness” in a word of “madness” and “sorrow”. He’s not someone out to save the world (not really, anyways), but his actions touch on the lives of others anyways, giving people in a hope in a world that is otherwise cruel and heartless. Also, it really helps that he’s able to pull you into his world of “egaos”, making you believe in him and root for him despite how cheesy his ideals may or may not sound.

Also love how, despite being the centerpiece of “happiness”, Yuya isn’t allowed to always be happy :> Not spoiling plot related things but if you like protagonists going off the rails insane at times, Yuya’s definitely a fun protagonist for that!!!

Favorite Rival:

Kaito Tenjou!!! Literally the best rival in the series that I’ve seen. Everything about him is literally perfect ngl. From the way he’s chillingly introduced, with the spine-tingling whistles and cruel, almost merciless nature, to the way he slowly becomes sympathetic while also remaining a terrifying presence whenever he appears...I love him????

Favorite BFF:

Does Shoichi count? Because like...he’s Yusaku’s closest friend and ally in the series and I generally don’t pay attention to the other BFF’s in the other series (or at least, the ones I can recall bc I know in Zexal that Yuma has a whole group of friends lmao).

But I like Shoichi!! He cares about Yusaku a lot, is pretty damn cool as a sidekick hacker, his sideplot with his brother was actually honestly endearing and I loved the mystery about him. His early-game jokes w/ Ai to tease Yusaku were also a good laugh.

Favorite GFF: 

Not a girl friend forever for the main protagonist (although she like...lowkey confessed to him...though that plot really never went anywhere so I still don’t know what the fuck THAT was about) but,,, Ema Bessho,,

If y’all knew me back in my peak YGO days when VRAINS was airing,,, this gal was and STILL is my favorite girl of the YGO series. Even though she was pretty much done dirty imo I still love her (even despite considering she’s been made a damsel-in-distress at least three times, she’s only ever won one duel on-screen despite being supposedly good at dueling, ngl they could’ve done so much more with her but tbh she’s mostly just an asset to solve problems at whim and barely gets character development/does nothing but watch and spectate stuff late-game).

Even though she’s like...the unfortunate side character who’s probably meant to be more fanservice than interesting, in the first 19 episodes (and even the Revolver vs. her fight as well as the one time she meets Aoi IRL early-game) made her out to be a lot cooler and complex than she ended up being. I mean,,, a hacker gal who’s self-serving, cynical, and cold-hearted taking on the tasks of her (potentially ex) boyfriend while being really nice to his sister to the point she baffles even herself,,, we could’ve had a really unique and cool character to play around with here but instead we got...cool-ass character with potential to be something more reduced to a spectator with nothing better to do than idolize the main protagonist and have a plot with her brother that honestly detracted from her character more than it added to it imo.

Also Ema could’ve been a female Yuri but,,, nope,,, they decided she was better as a background piece instead TwT

Favorite Villain: Yuri.

Literally Yuri.

I could choose the leather jacket w/ fluff boi in a certain series because hot damn was that guy convincing AF that he wasn’t an evil psychopath (and even while knowing that he was, I still got fooled into thinking he was a good guy somehow omg) however,,, I’ve always held a love for Yuri and the way he’s been portrayed.

Despite ALWAYS being the bad guy, the show has always made this purple fucker into the most entertaining character on-screen. He even beats Yuya sometimes in terms of how entertaining he is - that’s literally how good he is,,

Also his facial expressions are amazing, he’s a VERY VALID threat to the main cast (and his creeper levels are not only off the charts but literally called out by the main female protagonist herself lmao), and he acts as the perfect foil to Yuya, battling not to entertain others but to entertain himself.

Also, he likes killing people.

No this is not a joke.

He literally likes killing people. And is pretty sadistic about it, too.

(^^^^ for those who don’t get the joke, “Fusion” is pronounced “Yuugo” which sounds similar to “Yugo” which is what,,, Yuri is making fun of,,, more context is needed of course but this is a Great Running Gag)

Favorite card:

I don’t know if it actually exists as an actual card but...that crystal dragon from the YGO movie with the glass pyramid. Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon...it’s really pretty...I love it...

Favorite Episode:

I’m...too lazy to search for names of these episodes but I can give brief summaries of them,,, because I can’t choose,,,

Arc-V: Shun vs. Sora (ALL episodes). Hot damn if you have never watched YGO but want to try and see for yourself why people like it: WATCH THESE EPISODES. I can’t explain how amazing these episodes are and, while I admit jumping straight into them might have you missing out on some important context (such as who Shun is or why Sora’s battle tactics lead to revelation) it’s honestly an amazing fight regardless. The battle starts off plain enough - there’s obvious tension, it seems like a typical fight of a battle royale, etc. - my god does the battle ramp up in emotional tension and promptly kick you in the gut with not only how blindsided you’ve been, but it also showcases just how cruel these “entertainment duels” can really get.

Any episode with Yuri. Literally any episode he’s in. 

I think this is like...episode 8 of VRAINS...but whenever it is that Akira hires Ema to find the reason why Aoi just...straight up got knocked into a coma. Literally this is my favorite episode when it comes to Ema. The way she makes fun of Akira even while aware of his situation,,, her cruel selfishness and desire for money bubbling to the surface, the way she confesses how she can’t be trusted willingly and still asks Akira why he’s hiring her,,, god I love this episode in terms of what Ema could’ve always been.

Episode 13 (/14?) of Zexal!!! This is the episode Kaito appears and when the show REALLY picks up. Kaito is a fun bastard of a rival and tbh I don’t think I’ll ever stop getting chills of him walking in, debris frozen in time all around him, as he approaches his victim, whistling an eerie children’s tune as he gets ready to close in for the kill,,,,

Favorite Deck to Use:

I don’t...really play the game itself but...I have used a couple of decks and I guess you can say I really love Raid Raptors??? First of all, those warbirds make really fun sounds I love ‘em in the anime but they’re also just fun to use in general (even tho I used a,,, very basic deck for them,,, I love them still).

Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, XYZ, Pendulum or Link:

XYZ bc it’s really the only summoning method I’m used to lol :P. Also XYZ loyalist I guess???? 

Years in fandom: roughly five to six years iirc? I mean, I was a fan of the early day YGO and watched it as a kid but not active enough to be in the fandom for it lmao. Also not in the fandom atm because Sevens lost my attention (it’s a good show!!! I’m just unfortunately more a fan of things with serious plots and darker themes and it’s hard for me to stomach slice-of-life shows that don’t focus on a mature and engaging plot). However, Arc-V and Zexal holds a special place in my heart (as does VRAINS, begrudgingly) and so I occasionally find myself wandering back to these shows like right now,,,