#(yugioh fandom wiki i'm looking at you)

[seventhdoctor]

Hey, I’m making more of my GX rewatch the larger Internet’s problem. Maybe. I don’t know how many people are gonna see these posts.

I know this flashback in episode 137 was supposed to be in direct support of Shou’s development, but it struck me that Judai’s attitude towards Yubel up until the final memory in 155 is decidedly different than what he talks about in theory. And yeah, at the time he was mostly talking with Shou and Hell Kaiser in mind whereas he and Yubel have a very different kind of relationship, but it was still interesting to think about.

For Judai, Yubel is a monster of his own creation. A problem for him to solve as atonement, because he takes their crimes as his responsibility. Yes, they were friends once, but that relationship wasn’t strong enough for him to forgive the murder, possession, various torments, tons of collateral damage, etc. Which, y’know, fair!

Remembering the full context of their past and their relationship to each other  changes nothing about their actions, only their relationship and intentions. But that’s enough to change his attitude, probably because now Yubel is someone he considers dear enough to stay close to despite everything. This leads directly into his decision to choose Super Fusion for Yubel to use - something they explicitly call a metaphor for accepting their love in 153. And he turns that into both a way to ensure he’s with them to the end as well as proof that he cares for Yubel in whatever way you want to interpret it as. (I’m a hardcore shipper here, but other readings work too LOL.)

So I think his response to Shou’s hypothetical was consistent with his actual actions in the end, if a bit more active than implied.