We all know that one anime where it takes a game too seriously, but we can’t help but love it. Yu-Gi-Oh! is a nostalgic and cool anime that has an interesting history. It appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump, where a lot of anime we are familiar with are also in like Naruto and Dragon Ball Z. Due to its huge popularity, Yu-Gi-Oh! wou🀅ld later get spin-offs, and are still going strong to this day.
It might seem like a simple children’s card game played by older teenagers and adults, but this franchise can get really, really strange. Surprisingly, that makes the series more intense than it should be. If you grew up watching the 4Kids dub of Duel Monsters and so on, yꦐou might notice at an older age that there are some plot lines that seem to be watered down. Watching the Japanese version tells a similar story for each series, but they go all out to make each show more strange a꧑nd intense. It is not a bad thing, but just imagine what would have happened if the shows were unedited and were made for kids.
However, it is always fun to see another adaptation of an anime we enjoy, even if we do not like some of the changes made here in the west. There are even some behind the scene controversies that managed to become news for the big fan community. Here are some dark facts that you probably did not know from the Yu-Gi-Oh! main series and spin-offs!
20 Managed To Reverse Time ෴
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time is the movie that brought three of the protagonists from each series so far and paired them together to have an epic duel with th🧔e antagonist of the film, Paradox. The movie starts off with Yusei and his friends riding around town, only to encounter the villain. He then stole Yusei’s Staꦕrdust Dragon, and due to this, the Crimson Dragon helped Yusei go back in time to where Jaden was fending off the monsters Paradox stole. Then the two would later join Yugi and made it in time to where everyone except Yugi didn’t make it when Paradox came to his timeline and attacked.
With that said, Paradox was responsible for taking so many lives from Yusei, Jaden, and Yugi’s timelines. Unfortunately, we do not know that much about Paradox’s backstory, so his reason for wanting to create an apocalypse while going back in time was not explored. Still, the lengths he went🌸 to eliminate the past and the people that were in the moment was rather spooky. Who didn’t get a bit sentimental when Yugi was looking for his grandfather? At least that 🦋the trio were able to defeat Paradox and restore time before he could go further back.
19 ꦓ If It Weren't For Those Cards...𓆉
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s is one of the most intriguing and well-written spin-offs the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise has made, at least around the Dark Signers arc. Season two introduced us to a new character named Crow, who grew up alongside Yusei and Jack in the Satellite. He is the type of person who would be there when you need him. He is somewhat similar to Yusei, but he can be hotheaded and💛 impulsive, which can get the better ༒of him. So, when the end of the second season was nearing, something would have happened if the writers have not rewritten the .
Crow was originally going to be the last Dark Signer that Yusei, Jack, and Akiza would face.
Since Crow never became one, what happened that made the story change? It was the Blackwing cards. Due to his popularity and his deck, Crow was spared in becoming the final villain in the Dark Signers arc and he would later obtain a Signer mark on his right arm while facing Rex Goodwin alongside Yusei and Jack. This would have changed everything in 5D’s and even help🍒 Akiza get more great character development. Would you have preferred if Crow was the final boss, or are you happy that he is still hanging around with his friends?
18 The Dueღl That Never Haܫppened?
Before Bonds Beyond Time was created, we were ecstatic to know that Jaden eventually got to meet Yugi, albeit older since time did pass by in the first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX from Duel Monsters. The last episode was truly something special, as it went back to square one with Jaden seeing Yugi again and dueling him to close off the second spin-off. Even though we do not know who won, that type of fanservice was a nice send off as we wait for the next Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-off. It is pretty odd though
It is possible that the duel never actually happened, but rather in Jaden’s dreams.
The last episode of GX never aired in the west, so there were some clues that can back up the fact that the duel between Yugi and Jaden was a dream. There were a lot of events that did not make sense, such as Jaden being able to go back in time with his Winged Kuriboh card. For more information, look up the video titled, “Yu-Gi-Oh Theory: Yugi VS Judai NEVER HAPPENED” and watch the last episode of GX again to fulfill your own conclus🦂ions. Whether the theory is confirmed or not, speculating of how the duel came to be is very intriguing.
17 A Certain Company Tried To Dub It 💝 ꦏ
Localization is always somewhat of a controversy, especially if there are some major changes that would tick off the fanbase that watched the original Japanese dub of a show. Since 4Kids bought the rights to dub it in English, there were some fans that were so not happy. However, there was another dubbing company that eventually got around to localizing Yu-Gi-Oh! to its original source material. It is important to note that years ago, but due to legal reasons, they could not continue dubb♔ing it. Not to mention,🅷 4Kids was not going to let the show go.
This was not the only time a dubbing company tried to dub a season of Yu-Gi-Oh!.
There is a video that actually shows of the third spin-off Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, recorded at Bang Zoom Studios. You might hear some familiar voices like Johnny Yong Bosch and Vic Mignogna. It would be a saving grace to have a Yu-Gi-Oh! anime that has not been butchered by 4Kids, but knowing that 4Kids has been bankrupted due to a lawsuit, 4K Media is now responsible for localizing the ongoing Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-off VRAINS. Perhaps in another world, we would have gotten this new dub of Zexal instead.
16 🔯 An Alternate Universe? ꧟
Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V had its moments compared to the main series and the spin-offs, but what is the most memorable part is the number of cameos from the spin-offs except for Duel Monsters. In fact, they are important characters in the show and are not there just for fanservice. Names like Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan are from 5D’s and though they are not the main characters, they do have important roles in the story of Arc-V. Yet, they have differences from their main counterp📖arts so that they are no🌜t just exact copies. Other characters like Alexis Rhodes and Aster Phoenix from GX also make an appearance in Arc-V.
It is, in fact, true that these characters are from a different universe from the shows they debuted in. The ones we are familiar with come from depending on the type of Extra Deck Special Summons procedures. The characters that appeared in GX came from the Fusion Dimension, the 5D’s characters are from the Synchro Dimension, and so forth. Arc-V has a lot of world building and it makes it one of the most compelling spin-offs to date for the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. It is a shame that no characters from Duel Monsters appeared.
15 🦂 Be Careful What You Get Into⛦
It was rather unfortunate that, even though 5D’s is an amazing spin-off, there were so many rewrites that it affected the storylines and characters. Carly was an interesting side character who helped Jack develop from a selfish man to a caring one. Their relationship was one of the best we have seen from Yu-Gi-Oh! and it was disappointing to see Carly’s character get shafted after the Dark Signers arc ended. The reason for this is incredibly disturbing, and it doesn’t have to do with Carly’s character, but her first seiyuu Li-Mei Chiang.
That resulted in her being fired and replaced by another voice actress, but it also completely removed any traces of the Arcadia Movement, which was known to be a cult in the show. Iliaster was also one but were changed to time travelers to avoid 5D’s being associated with any cult. In the end, Carly’s first seiyuu ended up being a victim along with other members who joined the cult🐭, but it is mind-blowing how one voice actress can end up affecting the show’s writing and pacing. It was unfortunate, but at least there was no harm done for both her and the show.
14 How To Mak꧒e A Duel Interesting
If you compare the original version of Duel Monsters and the 4Kids dub, it is like comparing apples and oranges. The story is the same, albeit, done differently, but the circumstances in some duels were heavily changed in the English dub. Take for instance Yami’s duel with Arkana (side note: this is where you see Dark Magician Girl for the first time). It was a very memorable duel, but for more reasons than you would expect. This episode is unforgettable due to how insane Arkana is, and he also has a Dark Magician deck, a very iconic archetype in the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game.
Remember that the duelists’ legs were chained to the floor? The circumstances for whoever loses would actually end up not walking, to put it very mildly. The 4Kids dub claimed that the loser of the duel would go to the Shadow Realm from a Dark Energy Disc. The ori🍸ginal is just . As Yami and Arkana lose life points, the buzzsaws would get closer until it h❀its zero. How Yami was able to remain calm and try to get both of their legs intact is something we will never know. The duel was very intense to get through and we were relieved that none of them got to go through something so bad.
13 🐼 Such A Creep 🐲
Yu-Gi-Oh! might be known for its duels and characters, but there are some situations that were cut off from the English localization. Some are annoying to go through, but then there are moments that would be too creepy to keep in. This occurs in Duel Monsters with one of the main characters Tea Gardner. In the episode “Face Off, Part 1,” Tea hopes to earn enough money to go to🦩 New York to become a dancer. To save up money, she works at Burgerpalooza despite a part-time job being against school rules. She then receives a note in her locker stating that her secret of working will be revealed if she didn’t go to the school’s gymnasium.
Out of nowhere, a mugger appears and had the nerve to videotape Tea, and when she gets attacked by him, leaving her unconscious, he films her. What could have happened is spooky, but thankfully Yami Yugi saves the day before the mugger could even try to do something worse to her. It is oneไ of those changes that 4Kids drastically changed and thankfully not show any of the animation involving the creep video taking her. We can thank Yami’s mind crush ability to stop the mugger for good.
12 🌺 When ꩲSomething Goes Really Far
Unfortunately, unless you were lucky to watch all of the episodes of GX, we never get to see one of the craziest moments in Yu-Gi-Oh!. There was an interesting relationship that we got to see but never see its closure. Whose relationship? It is no other than Jaden and . Jaden had her card in his possession, and due to that, she has grown to like him to the point where she would hurt an💧yone that threatens him. That sounds kind of crazy, right?
If you watched Bonds Beyond Time, you might be confused as to why Yubel resides in Jaden. Season four was never dub꧟bed, therefore, we did not get to see Yubel change ever since she fused her spirit with Jaden’s. Think of it as being parallel to Yami residing inside Yugi, since those two have the same partnership as Jaden and Yubel. Initially, Yubel was manipulative, but she later turned into a calm and more mature partner for Jaden. Despite the uneasy feeling of a having another spirit inside him, Jaden also can use Yubel’s abilities, such as enhanced strength. Whenever he does this, you would see his eyes turn from brown to heterochromia consisting of Yubel’s eye colors.
11 ♏ Someone♌'s Greedy
It is crazy how even a voice actor from Japan can get annoyed with how a dubbing company like 4Kids can intervene with treating Yu-Gi-Oh!. That might not sound unusual, but here is some interesting behind the scene coverage. The original voice actor for Yugi and Yami Yugi, Shunsuke Kazama, and ADK got involved with on 4Kids’ YouTube account. While 4Kids do have the right to upload the uncut episodes since they do own the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh!, we also see why Yugi’s seiyuu and the parent company of NAS would not approve of this. The rea🌄son behind this is that Shunsuke felt he was not getting paid for his performances in the anime whenever a video of it is online.
The videos were removed ever since then, but sites like Crunchyroll can stream the original Japanese version legally and profitably, which are still up today. It is not just Duel Monsters, but GX, 5D’s, and the o🌳thers are also available for streaming. It is all a mess, but thanks to streaming services today, voice actors from Japan will be able to benefit from them. Be sure to watch any anime legally!
