#gx rival

[yugioh-polls-because-yes]

next up...

a preliminary for the YGO Rivals poll (1)

[eleanorose123]

"Man, it's a good thing Manjoume is unconscious right now- he would hate this!"

(someone had to carry him out of the water in ep 112)

[fanfic-lover-girl]

The True Yugioh Rivals

I wanted to do a follow up to this post:

In particular, I want to focus on GX and Zexal. Now, Jaden/Judai has 3 rivals that people usually agree on: Manjoume/Chazz, Ryo/Zane and Edo/Aster. For Zexal, Yuma has Shark and Kaito/Kite.

I have seen people argue that Ryo and Kaito are the main rivals, but I disagree. For me, the true rivals in these 2 shows are Manjoume and Shark.

It's been years since I have watched Yugioh so let me try to explain:

Rivalries between peers vs seniors

Shark and Manjoume are Yuma and Judai's peers so the relationship feels more equal. There is more give and take with their rivalries. Sure, Manjoume never beat Judai...but if I recall correctly there were at least two times Majoume could have won but he lost for a reason that grew his character. I am 99% sure Manjoume could have beat Judai as Ojamanjoume but he threw the match as part of his goof act. Judai was super disappointed in him.

Compare this to Kaito and Ryo who are older, more mature duelists. Judai and Ryo tie at the end of season 1 but Judai never beats him (not that I recall). Yuma never beats Kaito on screen. It's a different flavour of rivalry. Kaito and Ryo are better described as measuring sticks to show how far the protag has come or how much further they need to go. Like stepping stones or a pinnacle to aspire to for the protag than a rival.

Time spent with the protagonist

Shark and Manjoume are there from beginning to end. They were the ones who had the first set of duels with the protag (Shark is Yuma's first antagonist similar to how Kaiba was for Yugi/Atem - even the possession theme is the same!). And they had the last set of duels with the protag as well. Shark is Yuma's final boss and the Manjoume and Judai duel had major impact on the tail-end of Manjoume's character arc.

Ryo and Kaito don't interact as much with the protag and their friend group and their stories are not as interwoven with the protag as the other two. Ryo and Kaito are introduced later in the protag's story, usually around the time when the hero is beginning to become overconfident. Also, the rivalry stops mattering much after the season they are introduced and they serve their role of knocking the protag down a peg.

The secondary rivals have more meaningful rivalries with other characters

This applies especially to Kaito. Honestly, Kaito has a more impactful rivalry with Chris (V) and Mizael. Honestly, I wish I had more Chris and Kaito scenes! I loved their backstory. Plus the energy of the Mizael and Kaito rivalry was off the charts! Zane has a more interesting storyline like Edo and his brother Sho. I wish there was some more substance in the Fubuki/Atticus and Yusuke friendship. Missed potential there.

Shark has a great story with Thomas/IV and I love their dynamic. But ultimately, his relationship with Yuma is still better. I love IV but he's more Shark's antagonist than rival.

Parallels and foils

What made Atem and Kaiba's rivalry so powerful, especially in the Battle City arc, was how they foiled each other. Atem wants to remember his past, and Kaiba wants to bury his. Atem depends on his friends, and Kaiba pushes people away including his beloved brother. How in season 1 both Kaiba and Yami were willing to do whatever it took to win. Kaiba was willing to commit suicide and Yami cared more about victory than Kaiba's life.

In my opinion, Manjoume and Shark better parallel/foil their protagonists then Kaito and Ryo.

For example, in Manjoume's arc he becomes more carefree and learns to be unashamedly himself as Monajoume Thunder. He stops caring what his brothers think and becomes more sure of himself. He learns the value of relationships and increases his social circle. On the other hand, Judai starts off as child-like and sociable and becomes more burdened after each season. To the point where he is borderline depressed in season 4 and isolates himself from his friends. He begins to feel lost and duelling stops being fun.

Or how Shark starts the story as a disgraced duelist who is at rock bottom. Versus Yuma who starts as a joke duelist and becomes a complete one-man army at the end. How Shark and Yuma are forced to fight on opposing sides in the Barian war due to their obligations to their loved ones. How Shark hides away his emotions to be the leader his Barian emperors need vs Yuma who shines brighter than ever, even willing to die alongside Vector, the same psycho who manipulated him and nearly destroyed his bond with Astral. All with a smile on his face (Yuma is a king, Yuma haters are not welcomed on my blog). How can anyone hate sub Yuma??? Yuma is the embodiment of sunshine!

Emotional moments

In my opinion, there are so many more emotional beats and duels with Manjoume and Shark. Judai and Manjoume joke around with each other, Judai supports Manjoume in several instances for example when it comes to his brothers. And my heart melts when I think about Yuma and Shark. They encourage each other at their lowest moments. Shark has sacrificed himself for Yuma on several occasions. Yuma is always chasing after Shark when Shark is going down a bad path. These two are soulmates, ok? I love their friendship!

Yuma cares more about Shark than Kaito. Judai cares more about Manjoume than Ryo. And vice versa.

Just compare the duels between Yuma/Kaito and Judai/Ryo vs Yuma/Shark and Judai/Manjoume. You know what I mean. Judai and Ryo hardly even interact after season 1!

Personal preference

I am not a huge fan of rivalries where the rival dominates the protag. I prefer more balanced relationships like Yuma/Shark and Yusei/Jack. I also like rivalries like Yami/Kaiba where the protag is slightly better than the rival but the rival keeps him on his toes, pushing him to be better. Where the protag can't treat the rival like a joke. I will admit that the GX rivalry between Manjoume and Judai is a bit disappointing but I am still satisfied overall with Manjoume's journey. Just wished he was treated better as a rival character, someone who could propel Judai's story more. But GX treated all the rival characters like garbage in some fashion.

[aberooski]

they really should've let misawa be in a tag team duel with judai against mizuchi's henchmen

Honestly they should've let them team up at any point in general, I think they would've made a really cool tag team I would've loved to have seen what they could've come up with for that match up.

GX just needed more tag matches in general, those are always so fun and engaging to watch and a lot of my favorites duels in general are tag matches so I would never complain about there being any more of them lolol

[starlightshadowsworld]

Yugioh rivals are either someone you've known for years, have a strong bond with and despite everything you'd trust them with your life.

Or someone you met 5 minutes ago, kicked their ass and they stormed off yelling fuck you.

Orr your the second that ecolves into the first.

[riddlerlesbian]

also say what you want about kaiba but he had the most drastic impact on men's fashion since the invention of the suit

like he changed the whole silhouette people go for with their coats for an entire generation after him, with the tight form fitting torso and the absurdly flared waist, plus the shoulder pads and the high collars for everyone

even pro duelists with less dramatic styles like ed still favor lighter colors and you can't tell me that's not because kaiba wears a white statement piece everywhere

[jounouchi-katsuya]

i love you oja manjoume

[number-1-kuaidul-fanboy]

Me when I first watched this (almost two years ago now, holy crap): Well that’s pretentious.

Me watching it now: MOOD. I wouldn’t let anyone touch my most precious card either!

[howaboutalittlehelpneos]

Reasons why I believe Chazz is a “Yells ‘I won’t hesitate bitch’ before shooting someone” type of guy

He really said “I hope you can swim bitch!”

Also props to the helicopter dudes who are totally okay with being paid to carry these two teenagers over the ocean so they can have a dramatic duel to decide which rich bitch is better

[kaiowut99]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episodes 102-104 Subbed (Finalized)

(Previously: Episodes 99-101 Subbed [Finalized])

(Check out my Subbed!GX Stream Masterpost!)

TURN-102: The Pulse of Light VS the Neo-Spacians

Ed was defeated in his battle against Saiou, who was taken by the Pulse of Light. Saiou asks Judai for his key to the laser satellite in exchange for Ed, pushing him into a corner. Right then, Neos appears and prevents the key from getting to Saiou--causing a furious Saiou to duel with Judai and settle this. As with his bout with Ed, he predicts the future, leading the duel to play out in his favor. For his part, Judai uses his Fusion specialty to summon Monsters, but...

TURN-103: Judai in a Pinch! The Light Barrier Field Magic

Saiou, taken by the Pulse of Light, activates his Light Barrier Field Magic. This barrier has an effect that even weakens the power of Card Spirits, driving Judai's Monsters into a corner. Saiou also summons his "The World" Arcana Force and pounces on Judai. Elsewhere, with both laser satellite keys in hand, Prince Ojin--being controlled by the evil Saiou--activates the satellite. Kenzan tries to stop him, but he's already too late as the laser satellite fires its beam right at the Earth. Will it be possible to...

TURN-104: Whither Victory?! Judai VS Saiou

Judai summons his Glow Neos and destroys Light Barrier, waging a direct attack against the evil Saiou upon turning the tables. Driven into a dilemma, the evil Saiou tributes The Material Road, The Spiritual Road, and The Heavens Road to summon his ultimate card, Arcana Force Extra - The Light Ruler, using it to deal him an intense blow. For his part, Judai also has Gran Mole and Neos do a Contact Fusion and summons Gran Neos as he shifts into a counterattack, but...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A bit delayed due to some life stuff going on (like moving!), episodes 102-104 are now up and finalized as we make our way into the Season 2 finale!

that Saiou eyecatch is haunting my nightmares all over again

As this three-parter gets underway, we have the aftermath of Ed losing to Saiou as the Light within him decides to use him as leverage to get the second SOLA key from Judai; once he does and tries to get them for himself, Neos shows up to stop that, forcing him to duel Judai for them (I do like how, when Judai tells the Light he'll give up on his plans if Judai wins after he's given up his key, Saiou correctly notes, "The keys are already with me and you expect me to agree to your terms?" lol). This is one of my favorite duels because of how much it emphasizes Judai's attitude of "the future's not set, we change our fates with each card we draw!" that he first told Ed about in episode 53, along with the foreshadowing we get to the events of Season 3--and the huge literal shadow it puts into play. At the same time, we have GeneX finishing up as Rei makes her surprise comeback and duels Manjoume for the championship, and I like that it serves as good cutaway material from the Judai/Saiou duel, though I do wish we got to see more of Rei's deck (especially since, 17 years later, her Mystic cards have still not been printed). Ojama Yellow also gets to make the finishing blow, to the onlookers' chagrin, which is fun, and Saiou and Mizuchi get to satisfyingly reunite in the end which is cute.

Also, Kenzan's dino DNA helps him turn into a Space Saurus to help bust up SOLA--A+ content.

(Quick Translation Note: As Manjoume and his group approach the remaining Society of Light members, he's holding a Gunbai baton (the Gunbai being "a type of signal baton and Japanese war fan," per Wikipedia) with the Japanese text 一意専心 on it, translating to "with heart and soul." I translated it for the hardsub, as covered here, in the two scenes it appears in by applying the English text over the Japanese text in Photoshop--similar to the edit worked on by Kay for episode 9's "Fighting Spirit" banner. I was also inspired with "Whither Victory" for 104's title translation after looking at a Dragon Ball Kai title used for the dub that more concisely conveyed the "where is victory" idea in the JP title here.)

Animation error-wise, interesting mix here. I worked on about 30 of them altogether (a bit fewer than in 99-101), not counting the additional hardsub-only edits I made to translate the "With Heart and Soul" staff Manjoume carries for two clips in 102 or fix re-applications during the recaps; part of the delay with this was my moving and adjusting accordingly, as it took a few days before I could work on these fixes. About half of these were little quality-of-watching fixes, mostly split-screens but including fixing a stat-counter SFX error in 102, while the rest were mixes of incomplete-drawing errors, card errors, and card-related consistency errors--with a little "missing Burstlady shoulder strap" for good crowd-favorite measure. More in my separate post here with my usual fix/edit breakdown for the interested, due to Tumblr’s dumb link limit in posts yeeting them out of the tags used and limiting their reach, to give you a more visual element to it! (And had to split it in two again due to that) have I mentioned my love for this show is like an Ojama

Quick housekeeping: made a slight revision to 101 to update Saiou's line as he summons Light Ruler vs Ed for consistency with the tweak I made in 102. The 101 link in 99-101's release post now links to the re-uploaded version; I've updated its link in the Masterpost and will be posting the re-finalized hardsub/script/MKV on NAC soon as I post these.

Anywho, enjoy! Feels really good to get Season 2 taken care of, as that makes 104 episodes I've finalized my translations for; while I did like most of my last-go-around work on 102-104, it was good to make some updates to match my current style. With that, of course, comes a brief little Season-ending lull period; I'll be doing a little housekeeping to correct a few ending-credit typos in episodes 83 and 89, and a minor sub-styling correction in episode 81, which I'll post on NAC once done. After that, I'll putting in a little more work on a special project in progress that I'll hopefully post about soon over the next few weeks, along with work to prep for finalizing Season 3, including touching up my last textless edit for Teardrop V1 (which wasn't released officially textless and has Judai all sad with Johan, used from 105-112) and some work on some other side projects. All told, thinking I'll start small with work on 105 starting later this month, since a clip-show episode works well to come back with and all, lol; stay tuned!

[fierykitten2]

Why I believe F-Zero is more valuable than Mario Kart: the characters in Mario Kart already have their own series. The characters in F-Zero are original to F-Zero. Also F-Zero is objectively cooler

[of-nyon]

Hello I get like . . . one good tagger in a YEAR but your tags on my GX posts genuinely made my day you are genuinely the Only One who gets it

-@judai-judaii

thank you! i will die on the hill that Manjoume is Peak Yugioh.

[puzzlevision]

4 u jazz!!! ≧∇≦

[jose92gt]

Nuevo Merchandising de Yu-Gi-Oh DM y GX contando con nuevas artes, ahora se les agrega un personaje mas el año pasado mayormente era rival y protagonista a excepción de Go Rush solo estuvo Yudias

Las demas series pronto recibirán su nuevo producto

[pcturtl]

For people who did not watch Yugioh GX, all of the following happened, except for one.

[retributory]

gx is so crazy how do you explain to someone with a surface-level understanding of what yugioh is that the series after dm features a hermaphroditic dragon-demon card spirit fusing their soul with the main character, who also has apparently been continually reincarnating for 100s of years with the card spirit's primary goal being to protect him, and when they embrace to fuse he says they shall never part again because they will forever and always from that point on be one jointed soul and body, and also he commits a borderline genocide against the card spirit race (???) and straight up kills some of his friends (they get better), and also there's a character who got his leg broken during an archeological dig and they replaced the broken bone with a dinosaur bone (???) and now he's like part dino and has fucking dino dna (?????????) and they send him to space as his dinosona to destroy a satellite that is about to destroy the earth (????????????), and also one of the teachers in the school (seto kaiba's duel school for dueling) is a homunculus and when he dies his soul (???) gets eaten by his cat and for the rest of the series he is living (?) inside of the cat's body, and also on top of all that theres a cool rival character as expected of a show targeted towards young boys who looks cool but in actuality he's lame as hell like he canonically stinks like shit cause he doesn't wash his clothes and he joins a cult and they get him out of the cult by reminding him that his real personality is being a rancid little stinky smelly bastard loser and no one likes him and he spends the entire series getting completely dunked on and also his main archetype is these things:

and then you have to concede that at the end of the day it is still an anime for a children's card game designed to sell the cards so if you ever try to explain the impact this had on your developing mind at 7 years old you'll sound sick