Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0 is an Underrated Gem

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , ,

Have you ever seen the show DEATH BATTLE! before? The famous web series where two characters from pop culture are pitted together in a fight to see who would win. Well, it just so happens that they aired their final episode of the year, and it was one that, one way or another, was going to make people upset: Ash Ketchum vs Yugi Muto. The Pokémon champion vs the King of Games. I couldn’t take sides in this fight, but it reminded me of how much I love Yu-Gi-Oh! growing up. And that led me to a part of the franchise’s history that I had only heard about, but never seen until now: Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0.

When people think of Yu-Gi-Oh!, they think of either the card game or the anime that initially inspired it (or its spin-off sequels). So, it might come as a surprise to learn that the anime that became world famous in the 2000s was not the first adaptation. That distinction belongs to a little-known anime created by Toei in 1998. Dubbed Season 0 by the fans, the series largely covers the first fifty-nine chapters of the original manga, AKA the days before Duel Monsters became the franchise’s focus. And while I think that Takahashi made the right call by pivoting to the card game that he would ultimately invent, it’s fascinating to see what the early days of the franchise were like.

You know what’s even cooler, though? Atem, or as most people remember him by, Yami Yugi, and seeing him being even more of a badass than we remember.

Not Quite the Story You Know

By now, most people know the premise behind Yu-Gi-Oh!. The card game that everyone plays, Yugi and his band of supportive friends, and his supernatural roommate/brother from another mother, Yami Yugi. That remains consistent across every adaptation of the original series, and that doesn’t change here.

What does change, and what will likely surprise anyone who hasn’t read the manga or only knows the 2000s anime, is Yami Yugi. Because Season 0 might as well be known as Yami’s King Von era, as he was a menace to society. At least the worst aspects of society.

Most of the episodes in Season 0 tend to follow the same basic formula. Some wicked person decides it’s a good idea to cross Yugi or one of his friends. Yugi would inadvertently turn into Yami Yugi, who would proceed to challenge the offender to a Shadow Game that he makes up. And when he eventually wins, and they cheat, he subjects them to a penalty in the form of an ironic punishment.

Take Tea hostage and threaten to shoot her and Yugi? He’ll make them think they’re on fire.

Kidnap one of his friends for their sick fantasies? Make them think they were eaten by their virtual pet.

Fire the nurse looking after Joey’s sister for not going out with you and letting your patients die? Their zombies will get you!

You would think that after all of these examples, people would learn not to mess with Yugi or his friends. Then again, we always have Kaiba.

Kaiba Was a Menace Back in the Day

If there was a Mount Rushmore for the greatest anime rivals in history, Seto Kaiba would be up there next to Vegeta. The battles between him and Yugi are the stuff of legend, not to mention one of my favorite things from my childhood. But while his ego might be the size of a blimp, the Kaiba most people know isn’t actually a bad guy.

What if I told you that wasn’t always the case?

Much like how we see in the 2000s anime, Yugi and Kaiba clash over Grandpa Mutou’s precious White Dragon card. Whereas he got his butt whooped in the Duel Monsters anime, in the original, it was a draw. But if Season 0 was Yami’s King Von era, then the same could be said for Kaiba. Not only does he keep trying to best Yugi without regard for his safety, he even hires four mercenaries to threaten Yugi and his friends, leading us into the legendary duel that ends up starting the series. Except this one isn’t as cool.

If there is one aspect of the series where I feel like its successor does better, it has to be how it handles Duel Monsters. Granted, when Takahashi added the card game, he never intended it to become the focal point of the franchise. But it just got so popular that it…happened. And sadly, this early version of the game lacks many of the rules or cool factor that would come to define the game. Which also means that when the time comes for the duel that would spark Yugi and Kaiba’s rivalry, it’s not as epic or dramatic. It actually makes me wonder what it would have been like had someone decided to create a single, consistent series.

Don’t get me wrong: I love the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime that I grew up with, but that doesn’t mean I won’t acknowledge its flaws. The second anime actually took a lot of creative liberties with the storyline, especially when it came to Kaiba. In the manga, he actually left the story after Battle City, while he kept showing up in the anime because he’s just that good. It also means that there were a number of things about the final arc that would get changed up. But seeing Season 0 and how it turned out has gotten me thinking: what if we could do it all over again?

Restart Yu-Gi-Oh! from the Beginning?

I’m serious. What if some studio had the guts to start the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime over from the actual start? We could keep the best of both series, including the changes the anime made that were for the better, especially near the end, but do our best to keep it truer to the manga. And best of all, we could keep the darker elements thanks to 4Kids not being around with their pesky censors! It’s just something to think about.

Regardless, though, this whole thing has reminded me of why I fell in with Yu-Gi-Oh! in the first place. It’s Takahashi’s legacy of gaming, and as a fellow gamer myself, I respect that. Also, it’s got me playing Master Duel, and I’m enjoying it.

Kazuki Takahasi, Creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dead at Age 60

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Filler Posts, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , ,

A Fan Remembering the Man Behind Yu-Gi-Oh!

Officially, my first anime was the original Pokémon. That introduced me to the franchise and the idea of anime. However, it would be another anime that affirmed my lifelong passion for the medium. That anime was Yu-Gi-Oh!

I was obsessed with Yu-Gi-Oh! as a kid. I dressed up like Yami Yugi for Halloween. I watched almost every episode, played the games, and spent my allowance money on card packs. It felt like the coolest thing I’d ever seen up to that point in my life. And while I would move on to other works, Yu-Gi-Oh! has always held a special place in my heart.

Which only made it harder when I woke up on a Thursday morning and learned that Kazuki Takahashi, the mangaka who created Yu-Gi-Oh!, had passed away. He was 60 years old.

Like many fans, I mourned his passing. This man gave me a big part of my childhood and created one of the most popular franchises in the world. More than that, though, he was a man who loved games and how they brought people together.

Beginnings

Born on October 4th, 1961, in Tokyo, Japan as Kazuo, Takahashi had two great interests growing up: manga and games. Takahashi loved games because he considered them a chance for the players to become the hero. For a little kid who can’t do much regarding the world around them, that’s extremely appealing.

When Kazuki left high school, he knew he wanted to become a mangaka. However, there was a problem with that in the 1980s. The Shonen demographic was bursting with fighting manga, leaving little to help him stand out. As a result, success eluded him for over a decade until he got his big break with Yu-Gi-Oh!

It’s Time to Duel!

Debuting in Shonen Jump in 1996, Yu-Gi-Oh! was an example of “writing what you know” done right. Working on his love of games, Kazuki gave us Yugi, a weak and friendly boy who gained the ability to create “Shadow Games” where the winner could punish the loser. Initially, the manga would feature different games with each new arc. All of that would change, though, when Kazuki introduced a card game called Magic and Wizards. Western audiences would know it as Duel Monsters.

Takahashi meant for the card game to appear in only two chapters. However, Shueisha got so many fan letters about it that Takahashi chose to make it the main focus of the series. From that moment on, Yu-Gi-Oh!’s popularity would explode. Within two years, Toei picked it up for its anime series

Yes, there’s a Yu-Gi-Oh! made by Toei in the 90s. Unlike its successor, though, this focused on the pre-Duel Monster days and never got exported out of Japan. However, the following year, Konami agreed to make Duel Monsters into an actual card game. Thus, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game was born.

International Phenomenon

The following year, the second anime adaptation came out. This time, it exclusively focused on Duel Monsters. Once it became licensed overseas, nothing would stop Takahashi’s creation. It became an international phenomenon on par with that of Pokemon.

By the time the manga ended in 2004, Takahashi had gone from a struggling mangaka to the creator of a franchise beloved the world over. Movies, video games, and a successful card game he helped to create. Whether fans knew his name or not, many knew the name of Yu-Gi-Oh!

After Yu-Gi-Oh! came to an end, Takahashi continued to help oversee his creation as the anime and manga continued with the ongoing sequel series. In between then, Takahashi worked on a few one-shot and limited series manga. One included a two-chapter manga written as part of this collaboration between Shonen Jump and Marvel in 2019. All of that came to an end, though, with Takahashi’s passing.

Takahashi Found Dead

On July 6th, Kazuki Takahashi was reported by a passing boat to be floating a thousand feet off the coast of Okinawa. The Japanese Coast Guard found him not long afterward. He’d been dead for several days.

At the time of this posting, there’s an ongoing investigation into Takahashi’s death. He was found wearing snorkeling gear, and it was confirmed he arrived several days earlier on his own. As the authorities continue investigating, though, the world mourns Takahashi’s passing. Fans young and old, and those who worked on Yu-Gi-Oh!, have taken to social media to mourn his passing, myself included.

Thank You, King of Games

While Takahashi’s passing deeply saddens me, his legacy will last for decades. Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the most successful franchises and will likely continue for many more years. Of all his contributions to the world, though, Takahashi’s greatest is the trading card game his manga created. Played by millions worldwide and constantly added to, the game’s become a staple of pop culture. In 2009, Guinness named it the top-selling card game in the world, and Konami shows no signs of stopping it.

I never could get rid of my old Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards, even though I’ve long since moved on from the franchise. I’m glad I didn’t. Yu-Gi-Oh! was my childhood. Takahashi created Yugi, and his alter ego because he wanted them to embody the idea that when you play a game, you can be the hero you aren’t in real life. That’s a powerful concept, and it’s made the world a much better place for it. Takahashi may be gone, but fans will forever remember him as the King of Games.

Shout-outs to Roderick J “Jay” Friz for this awesome article about Kazuki Takahashi. His work has touched the lives of millions of childhoods all over (including ours). May he Rest In Peace.