#zexal analysis

[evilbalwan]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think I might finally understand how Kazuma Tsukumo is working in Zexal world!

I believe all of us can agree that Yuma's dad is quite a convenient deus ex machima; in our world, he's just a tool to make the plot easier for screenwriters sometimes, BUT

THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH FOR ME

So I started thinking and thinking and came to the realization; Kazuma seems ominous. What other being in Zexal seems ominous too?

... DOOR OF DESTINY

Who is the first person to get Emperor's Key to then give it to Yuma???

KAZUMA

Let's dig deeper. Humans, as their nature dictates, perceive time in a linear way - from the past, through the present, to the future. We don't know the future, but we know it holds multiple possibilities. It doesn't seem to be a case in Zexal, despite what Yuma says about choosing fate, Door of Destiny and Kazuma seem always to be aware of what or when will happen. "Cause precedes effect. Effect leads to cause. The future is fixed exactly the same way as the past", Door of Destiny only needed to take necessary steps. It needed a tool. A partner, maybe. A slave.

That tool is Kazuma; either through being exposed to the Astral world or some other way, he too started thinking in such a way. He could take necessary steps, visiting Barians ruins, leaving coins there, he no longer understands the world through the human way, but rather, Door of Destiny's way.

Yuma destroying Door of Destiny during his last duel with Astral was an act of kindness, in a way. Only through that Yuma could save himself from predetermination.

My fanfic about that if you want =D

If you interested in more:

This could explain Don Thousand's nihilism: for most of the Zexal, he's stuck in Chaos form (the one that interacts with Vector the most), thus he doesn't have the full knowledge. But, once he becomes Zexal again (I'm conviced Don is original Zexal, I mean his duel vs Mizael here), he remembers Door of Destiny and that he is destined to fail.

Kazuma, especially outside of flashbacks, seems pretty indifferent when it comes to his own family, if he knows everything about their lives, how their existence will look like, does he really have to 'care'?

Mirai is stuck in a pretty much horror scenario, her husband is no longer who he was, he looks at her and sees her birth - yet, she stays.

[scattered-irises]

V Days of V: Day V!

I present to you a video essay on the intricacies of editing behind V and Kaito's duels. This was an optional final project for an editing class. I hope you enjoy!

Happy V/V!

[universestreasures]

Haruto and Kaito's relationship, similar to Seto and Mokuba's, is very much that of a 'father and son' in practical terms (and I very much think Kaito took on the role of Haruto's father after disowning Dr. Faker). However, unlike Seto, his actions are much more obviously parental, and the pressure of taking care of Haruto weighs on him very intensely, and we see that weight of having to take care of him clearly in canon, something even Haruto notices and feels guilty about despite his current condition.

In notes of being more parental, he does a lot of the typical bedside manor stuff. He makes Haruto his fav food. He holds his hand. He hugs him close. He checks on him constantly. He reassures him and talks to him gently. All behaviors that scream are obviously parental. And while they are ones I can see Seto do (or have done in some circumstances), Kaito does them constantly. He is always like this with his brother, while Seto usually isn't with Mokuba, but that is probably due to the unique circumstances of Haruto's condition (and if Mokuba was like him, I can see Seto doing the same in his desperation).

Haruto, unlike Mokuba, is not only terminally ill and lost his sense of self (the manga describes it as his soul is lost in Astral World) but literally the only person who he can rely on is his brother (until meeting Yuma and his friends, of course). Sure, there is Heartland's staff and Dr. Faker (who does care about his son, that's how the whole plot got started, after all), but obviously are more looking to 'use' him than anything else. Now, this is too like Mokuba in that there are Kaiba Corp's staff (and the many villains who have tried to kidnap him), but there are people obviously in Kaiba Corp who care about him (Isono for example) and respect him. No one in Heartland really truly (cause, again, Dr. Faker cares, but it's clearly been twisted) cares about Haruto's well-being other than Kaito, and he has to handle that.

Not only that, Katio has to bear the emotional pain of Haruto's current state constantly and for years. It pains him to have to see his brother like this, frail, with his smile erased, memories gone, and enjoying screams of agony over smiles. That is a terrible thing for anyone to experience, and then you add on top of that that his own Father is using him for his own gains despite Haruto being sick? And that situation forces Kaito to ruthlessly hunt Numbers and steal people's souls? I can't imagine how much pressure he is under, and it makes my heart ache for both of them.

Like imagine if Mokuba was like Haruto with Seto, like if Atem Mind-Crushed Mokuba in the manga verse/or his Gozaboru trauma was too much and he just didn't seem to recover. Would he not be soul crushed? (Okay that sounds like a tragic AU idea I might write down for later... LOL)

And in spite of this, Kaito goes out of his way for his brother all the time, even leaving his duel with Yuma early to check on him. He is the very definition of a selfless person when it comes to Haruto and in general, something that Seto is when it comes to Mokuba, but in general, is very selfish in many ways and has done things to hurt his brother, intentionally or not. Kaito has never hurt his brother and always treats him with care, unlike what Seto has done (intentional or not) in some instances in the past (Death-T in the manga for example).

In short, Kaito and Haruto have a 'father-son' akin to Seto and Mokuba, but it's intensity and tragedy level is turned up to 11 because in a way, it feels like it's a 'worst case scenario' the Kaiba Brothers could have fallen into if Gozaboru was still alive. Both Kaito and Haruto are being manipulated by selfish adults (mainly their own father), both are forced to be tools for the sake of their ends (relating to war), have a bond that is strained and one of them has lost a part of themselves from their childhood, and both pushing themselves to the brink for someone else's goals and for the chance of saving the other. I don't doubt something like this would have happened if Gozaboru stayed alive, and I honestly could see this being a sort of inspiration for the Tenjo Bros to begin with (Since Zexal has some DM Parallels / Inspiration in it's makeup).

These two boys deserve love and happiness I swear and are the very definition of 'doomed siblings' ;;;;;

[nettleshuttle]

why is masterpiece (first zexal op) the best out of all zexal openings? — asked, probably, no one ever, but it’s a very fine time to start brainrotting over it again.

but seriously, the lyrics are so good and i’m so mad i can’t understand the original, but the translations are also so good. i love how it’s generally focused on yuma and astral’s relationship, all these “to be honest, i was lonely before i met you” and “you were the only one to understand me”. obviously, it’s from yuma’s perspective and the whole opening, music and such, really fits his chaotic-good vibe. astral is described through “the kindness you gave me was strict, when we clashed i learned irritation”, which is honestly the best one-line summary of their relation i’ve seen so far. the fact that they’re so different, in almost every possible aspect, is underlined multiple times, as the main message is how these differences allow them to form something truly meaningful together (literally, “no one is exactly the same, because that's the reason for living” or “it can't be seen unless they're different, the landscape and the scenario”).

overall, the progress of their cooperation and mutual understanding is portrayed so prettily here: “it starts with recognizing our differences and dancing freely, the creation of heaven and earth”, is, well, just what the entire first arc is about. an alternate translation goes “we’re different, yet this is the wonder heavens have created” — i like to stick to something in between, i.e. yuma and astral’s union is what heaven and earth create; logically, astral stands for heaven because he’s from the astral world and yuma for earth. the thing created may either be zexal (as in zexal morph, you know the thing), or utopia, which is an even prettier metaphor. on the first duel they play together, utopia just sort of appears in yuma’s extra deck and while they create cards on the go multiple times afterwards, this is the first, original one that becomes the basis for everything else (besides: utopia is a philosophical concept of a perfect place where everyone can live happily without any disturbances and while the idea is realistically unattainable, it seems fitting for it to be “the creation of heaven and earth”. utopia itself (the monster) — aspiring emperor, hope — has some very-in-line connotations, if you ask me). either way, the title plainly suggests that whatever it is that they make together, it’s certainly a masterpiece (the lyrics back it up even more straightforwardly: “let's join together, piece by piece, it shines into a masterpiece”). i don’t think it needs much explaining, but a masterpiece is a) a work of outstanding skill (thanks, google) b) “a piece of work by a craftsman accepted as qualification for membership of a guild as an acknowledged master”. the latter is quite interesting in the utopia (monster) context, as it implies that the masterpiece they created marks the point of them switching to some advanced mode of work (more advanced dueling, for both of them) and gradually becoming more acknowledged in a way they can’t have achieved separately.

also the closing lines (when we disregard the chorus) — “when we reach the edge of the world, the view we see will be the truth”. once again, this imagery is just so damn pretty. i don’t know how much of it is made up in translation, but the first conditional/present tense contrast here looks so meaningful — they’re certain they will see a view at the edge of the world (whatever that one might symbolize, i’m not certain), but the view will be the truth (not e.g. the view we see is the truth, or the view we will see is the truth), like the truth part was a prediction — or it would be there only once they finished their journey and now they can only speculate (i’m digressing so much i hope it’s still understandable). the alternate translation here i really dislike (“towards the truth in the blue sky we glide, at this final moment we'll be right at each other's side”), as it loses all of what i’ve just mentioned. the second part is nice (i saw a “we’ll be together forever” version somewhere?), but now that i’ve finished the whole anime it just makes me angry because it turns out to be very much not true.

[l-egionaire]

To the Yu-Gi-Oh Fandom, something I've been thinking about in regards to ZEXAL.

Isn't Astral telling Yuma what moves to make. ...kind of cheating?

I mean, he IS basically being told what moves to make during duels by someone else instead of making those moves himself. How is Astral helping Yuma any different than, say, him having a microphone in his ear and having someone else tell him what moves to make?

I don't know, that just occurred to me and I wanted others opinion on that.

[linkspooky]

Just got done with reading your "How To Do a Dark Deconstruction of your Shonen Hero" post, first off amazing work as always! As much as it pains me to hear (good faith, non-reactionary and well thought-out) criticism due to having gotten into MHA in middle school when I was impressionable and attached onto works quicker than I do, it was satisfying to hear someone as well-worded as yourself put into words a thought that I had. For a while I could only summarize it by thinking "Man MHA sure does feel toothless and inconsistent about what it delivers on, and what ideas or themes or messages or what have you are left in the fridge and forgotten about."

It was also fun to hear about Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, growing up YGO was only ever a game some of my friends played or "HEART OF THE CARDS" and Kaiba memes, so hearing that there was a lot more to the series was a welcome surprise, even if quite anecdotal on my part.

As for the question part of this ask, near the middle of it you brought up how despite being quite captivated with the idea and the final result, you weren't as impressed with how YGO got there, and vice versa with MHA in how it was paced better but so far(let me have a little bit of hope lol) ultimately hasn't made good on it's "storytelling promise" if you will.

With the preface that no story is "perfect" along with the fact that everyone has their own interests, biases, icks, etc., I wanted to ask if there was a story which in your opinion, that blends proper pacing and build-up, with proper follow-up and payoff? I had the idea of deconstructing the perfect shonen protag or similar character in mind, but I'm also curious to hear about other ideas as well if you have them.

PS Thanks again for writing and posting these. They're often the highlight of my day when I remember to get around to reading them. And apologies for this long-ass ask hehe.

If you want a shonen series with similiar themes of "saving the villains" as MHA and Season 3 of Yu-Gi-Oh GX! but better pacing, buildup, payoff and overall story structure then both manga then I strongly reccomend another Yu-Gi-Oh series, Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal.

To begin with as a disclaimer I think Yu-Gi-Oh, but especially the spinoffs post 5DS get a bad reputation. For several reasons, the dub, but also the Duel Monsters anime adaptation is kind of bad. A lot of people forget that Yu-Gi-Oh! started out as a very dark urban fantasy, or just the fact that it runs in the same magazine as MHA and JJK. Once you get over the fact that it revolves around card games, Yu-Gi-Oh is as much of a battle shonen as MHA or JJK.

If you give Zexal a chance, it has everything MHA promised us. A conflict where there's really no heroes and villains, a story about what it means to save people, and a protagonist who wants to save everyone.

Yu-Gi-Oh no Cristo!

If you want to take my word for it that Zexal is good, and avoid spoilers then don't read any further. However, I thought I'd demonstrate HOW Zexal tackles the same themes that My Hero Academia tried to tackle.

I'm going to limit this analysis to Zexal I, because while Zexal II is superior in every way I don't want to spoil the whole darn show. Zexal deconstructs the idea of what it means to save others, by having the central conflict in its first season focus on several different factions where no side is the clear good guy. it also tackles the theme of "revenge", and how no character's revenge is justified no matter how wounded they are.

Zexal has three main characters, Yuma, Kaito, and Shark. The latter two are deuteragonist, and tritagonist respectively, and vacillate between being rivals and outright antagonists. If you wanted a story where Shigaraki post My Villain Academy was basically given deuteragonist status alongside Deku then this is the story for you. From her on out I'm going to focus on the cycle of revenge and also the intertwining arcs of Yuma, Shark and Kite and how these characters develop the themes.

Before I get to the World Duel Carnival, I would be amiss to mention that Zexal has a faster start then any Yu-Gi-Oh anime barring 5DS. The introductory arc is episodic in nature, but it does two things really well, first establishing Yuma as a character and second laying the groundwork for both Shark and Kaito showing they are human beings with their own motivations even when they act as antagonists to Yuma. World Duel Carnival starts at 27, but in my opinion the real conflict starts in episode 33 with the introduction of the Tron Family.

In comparison My Hero finishes the Stain arc around episode 33, so I'd say they equally have as strong a start, and both works have introduced their main trio in that time.

With the Tron Family the secondary antagonists of the season we're finally introduced to the season's main confict of revenge. There are four factions and I'm going to take the time to explain each one's motivation before digging in deeper.

The conflict starts with the parents of the three main characters, Lord Byron Arclight (who will later return as Tron), Dr. Faker, and Kazuma Tsukumo. The three of them were studying alternate dimmensions together when Dr. Faker betrayed his two close friends. Kazuma and Lord Byron were dropped into an alternate dimmension as sacrifices to open the door between dimmensions. Kazumi did his best to try to save himself and Lord Byron, but he was unsuccesful and they both dropped out of the world.

Arclight wandered around between dimmensions, until he was eventually saved by the Barian world, a world of pure chaos kind of like the flipside of our world. However, his salvation came with a cost he was reverted from an adult man to a ten year old's body, and he also lost half of his face which is now a black hole (it's weird I'm not sure how that happened). The only thing that sustained Tron was the idea of getting revenge against Dr. Faker and now that he's returned he's determined to have it.

Tron had three sons, Michael, Thomas and Christopher. Which he renames III, IV, and V because he can't be bothered to remember their names I guess. Tron was once a very loving father and left his children behind on what was supposed to be a temporary research trip. However, their father apparently died, and Christopher the oldest was not old enough to take custody so III and IV were sent to different orphanages. At the same time Christopher was broken-hearted to learn that the man who killed his father, was the father of his student and close friend Kaito Tenjo, and ended that relationship for those reasons.

With the return of Tron the family was allowed to be back together with a now older Christopher taking custody of his brothers and now parenting his ten year old father (which is hilarious by the way). However, Tron distorted by the Barian world and his desire for revenge now uses his sons as tools in his revenge scheme against Dr. Faker. All three sons comply on the thin hope that if they complete their father's revenge, he will go back to being loving Byron Arclight. The Tron Family is a family united by revenge, but also defined by an intense family loyalty to each other, both as siblings, and to their father. While their father may not deserve it, all three sons love him deeply and would do anything to try to save him.

IV: You can't trust me that much. Just because I can't become an obedient servant to you like III and V. IV: But even so...I still also...for your sake. IV: Dad, you always smiled gently in the past. IV: But... after you returned from the parallel world it's like you had an entirely different personality. IV: Despite that we were still willing to follow you, Tron. Shark: Stop pretending to be a victim. Shark: Even if you were being used, I won't forgive you for what you did.

Which dovetails nicely into the conflict between Shark and IV. IV, obeying his father's orders challenged Shark's sister to a duel in a building that later blew up. He knew about the first part, but not the second, but still is somewhat responsible despite his ignorance. He did his best to save Shark's sister from the flames getting scarred in the process, but she was left comatose.

Soon after, IV engineered Shark's disgrace as a duelist, by purposefully letting his cards fall on the ground so Shark could see them during a tournament so he'd be disqualified for taking a peek.

All of these under his father's orders to turn Shark into yet another tool of revenge against Dr. Faker, as a wildcard to be pointed in Faker's direction. IV further antagonizes him by giving him a Numbers Card knowing that the darkness of the Numbers card will soon possess him in order to further his father's scheme. He also just wants to flat out defeat Shark so he can prove to his father he's more useful.

Shark looks like the clear victim in this situation, but his complete lack of sympathy for IV is total hypocrisy. Because, Shark is also only after revenge for what was done to him and his sister. Shark was hurt by IV's revenge, but Shark will also attack completely innocent people, including Yuma, just to get his revenge against IV. Shark is the aggrieved victim, but he fights only for revenge not to save someone and he just does not care for anyone other than his sister, himself and Yuma to an extent. Unlike IV, who has the added motivation of saving someone, and also is self-aware that he did something wrong that he can't take back.

Shark is very much a case of "well, my revenge is different from your revenge" somehow, and it makes him look like a hypocrite. Which is why Shark wavers between being an anti-hero and an anti-villain, because in spite of his mroe heroic qualities and his friendship with Yuma he pretty consistently is only motivated to duel for revenge and not for saving others like Yuma is and the show is clear on it's themes of "there is no such thing as a justified revenge."

Shark does not get his revenge, in fact the same way IV is manipulated to pointing his anger at Shark, Shark gets manipulated by Tron to pointing all of his anger at Yuma. Yuma basically has to act as the punching bag, in order to try to calm Shark down again and in Shark's own words even if you were being used, I won't forgive you for what you did.

Shark won't forgive IV, but he ends up committing the exact same unforgivable acts, and by his own logic manipulation is not an excuse.

Now that we've introduced Shark as the wildcard, the last faction is Dr. Faker's. Kaito and Dr. Faker both are fighting to save Haruto, Faker's second son and Kaito's little brother. Here is the twist with Dr. Faker's betrayal he's presented as a "I did everything for power" type of villain, but he's actually doing everything to save his son from dying and is willing to backstab his closest friends to do so, and turn his son Kaito into a pawn. There's an added layer of complication where Dr. Faker is legitimately using his son as a pawn, but much like the Tron Siblings, Kaito is also willing to comply because saving Haruto is just as important to him.

Kaito is a numbers hunter who rips out the souls of people in order to reclaim numbers cards from them, something which ages them and leaves them completely comatose. Kaito also blatantly says on several occasions, he doesn't care how many people he has to hurt to save his brother. So Kaito's motivations aren't revenge like Tron's, but he's also just as willing to get innocent people involved. He even attacks Shark once who didn't even have a number card, simply for GETTING IN THE WAY when he was trying to steal Yuma's key.

Kaito's not just an "I'll do anything to save my brother" type of character, he actively does not care about how many victims he creates along the way.

KAITO: You're wrong. Just one person matters to me. I only care about Hart.

And he sure does mean that. His own allies? Don't matter. His former friend Christopher? Doesn't care. Yuma who actively wants to save Hart too? Get out of the way bucko.

YUMA: Kaito, Droite fought desperately against Tron for your sake. YUMA: Droite liked y- KAITO: That's none of your concern.

Kite's obsession with saving his brother is all-consuming, and even ignores that Haruto does not want Kaito hurting himself for his sake, because it is just as much about Kaito as it is about Haruto.

Kaito also clashes with V from the Tron Family, and is deeply hurt by the fact that V will make punching bags out of both Kite and Haruto in order to get revenge against their father.

However, Kaito who has at this point put several people in comas in order to save his brother (the exact same motivation V has for his father and two younger brothers) is a complete hypocrite in this regard.

V: Friend you say? V: But that ideal was completely wrecked by Dr. Faker. V: Could you forgive that person's son? V: When I realized the truth, I... KAITO: Enough of this nonsense.

I'm sure none of the people Kaito put in comas had brothers, and they all kicked puppies when no one was looking. Even after Kaito realizes that Christopher was only trying to save his family the same way that he was, and promises to inherit his feelings, he forgets all about that when dueling Tron.

Kaito's one and only loss in the whole series comes from when he loses himself to revenge against Tron after he provoked him one too many times by tormenting Haruto. Once again, no matter what the reason revenge is never justified in Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal!

Tron: You're right I have no emotions. Droite and Shark... I was willing to even use my sons in order to create rage. Kaito: Say what? Tron: You did pretty well, too! You get angrier and angrier when it comes to Haruto. It's all thanks to you, have a look.

As much as Kaito would like to make a martyr of himself, he is just like the Tron siblings, just like Shark, an angry little kid lashing out against innocent people for the pain both him and his brother has suffered. Even kaito who has the most explicit desire to save someone, succumbs to revenge in the end when he's pushed.

The tragedy of season 1 is that basically every faction involved has a case of "my revenge is more important than your revenge, and my loved ones are more important than your loved ones". Even though both the Tron Family, and Kaito are fighting to save their families, neither of them ever backs down or considers the other side's motivations because THEIR PAIN is more important.

The last faction of the story is Yuma's, and as stated above Yuma is the only one who attempts to see his opponent's side. Yuma's central motto is "if we've dueled each other, then we're already friends." He also believes that duels should never be used as tools for hurting each other, something Shark, Kaito and the Tron Family all gleefully do in their conflict against one another.

Yuma is a deconstructoin of the "save everyone" because while he is involved in the conflict too because he lost his father to Dr. Faker, unlike the other three factions he has a support system. He still has his grandmother and sister, childhood friends, friends at school and Astral.

This fact is explicitly called out in his duel against III who by that point Yuma considers a friend. III spends a day with Yuma, bonding with him over their shared love of archaelogy, seeing his family and home life, only to turn against him.

Yuma tries to reach out to III the entire time through the duel and talk him down, and it doesn't work because Yuma with his support system, cannot truly understand where III is coming from and the desperation that drives him. Yuma's not caught in the same rock and hard place that III is, and all the sympathy and good intentions in the world cannot overcome the difference between that.

Yuma also in spite of his desire to solve things peacefully is basically forced to still fight, because if he loses a duel his close personal friend Astral will die, so it's actively a challenge for him to seek the third way to settle things without contributing to the cycle of revenge.

So Yuma represents the correct path, forgiveness and understanding the other's point of view, but it also shows that Yuma is able to do that because unlike everyone else he has a support system. Yuma is not internally more good than Shark, Kite, or the rest. He's just in a place where he can afford to look at the other people's perspectives because he's not desperately fighting for survival.

It's also a challenge for him to do so, because Yuma is someone very immature. As I said with III he does not understand the depths of what they are feeling even if he wants to make the pain go away. He tries to offer his unwavering support to people, but he fails just as often as he succeeds due to his immaturity.

In Yuma's case it's less being a perfect hero, but rather making an unrelenting effort to help others and offer a hand that matters. Yuma's character development in season 1 for me crystallizes in his final redemption of Tron, the character besides Faker who makes him the most angry because of his gleeful abuse of his sons for the sake of revenge. Not only does Yuma start to get through to Tron at points in the duel, because he tries so hard to make Tron understand how much he's hurt his sons, but at the end of the duel he mirrors his father's own action of trying to save both himself and Byron Arclight I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

Yuma: I won't give up! Tron: But why? Why are you trying to save me? Yuma: It's obvious, isn't I? Everyone I duel are my friends. Yuma: I don't understand all that complicated stuff, but we create bonds through dueling. And since you dueled me you are my friend. Tron: I finally understand. Your dueling goes beyond my desire for revenge. Yuma I can't live the same way as you and Kazuma, but I can't let Dr. Faker go either. I'll release all the souls I captured.

Yuma does represent the themes of love, and understanding being the only way to heal revenge (because more revenge does not fix anything) but he's not just propped up as a saint by the narrative. He's a character who has to go through serious character development before he's finally able to back up his good intentions with actual concrete action.

Yuma isn't just good internally, but rather his constant efforts to find the third path, and befriend other people is what makes him the hero of the story. Yuma is Deku done right and I will stand by this.

I hope I've been able to demonstrate the themes of Zexal, and I would be amiss to mention this is just Zexal I. Zexal II the second season does all of this even better. The Barians are an even better version of the League of Villains because despite starting a war with the main characters, they are all sympathetic and their point of view is just as valid as Astral and Yuma's. I don't want to spoil Zexal II though, so if anything about Zexal I caught your eye I reccomend watching both series.

[marblesmind]

YuGiOh hair analysis per series

Dm: very shape-y idk how else to describe it. It’s all weird shapes but they all mostly look sturdy and like they just have a lot of volume

Gx: actually pretty normal just spikey (if you ignore Syrus)

5Ds: a bit more obviously gravity defying than Gx but I feel hits a midpoint between Gx and DM in overall hair craziness

Zexal: thin, gravity defying shapes with a lot of different colors but none of them are crazy saturated

Arc V: complete opposite to Zexal. Nothing too crazy on the shapes but by god are these kids hair neon

Vrains: the most extreme mix of Zexal and Arc V. Hyper gravity defying hair and hyper colorful. Also I feel like I could grab the pink and lighter blue parts of Yusaku’s hair and break them off like condensed sugar on a cotton candy machine

Sevens: it can be anything from colorful to gravity defying and the only one that doesn’t make me feel like if I touch the hair it’ll stab me

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Ok so if Vector is supposed to represent Beelzebub, then what are the other demons that you associate the Barian Emperors with?

ALRIGHT HERE'S WHERE THINGS GET TRICKY since with the other Emperors it's not nearly as clear what Prince of Hell theyre meant to represent as it is with Vector "Alien Beelzebub" Vector Zexal is. And it doesn't help that there isn't even a concrete list of the Seven Princes of Hell either, multiple authors have assembles their own version of the seven over the centuries! So we got a lot of different demons potentially on the field, and a little bit of It Could Be That Deep analysis has gotta be at the ready when considering the rest of Don Thousand's Finest. It's honestly a bit easier to try and maybe equate the remaining Emperors to one of the Seven Deadly Sins and try to work backwards to figure out their hypothetical demonology match from there (since I do very much think it's pretty clear the Barians are meant to parallel the sins on some level too because the Bible simply does not stop with Yugioh Zexal.)

The only other Emperor I feel fairly confident with is Nasch being tied to Leviathan, a pretty consistent member of the demonology 'royal' hierarchy and also, yknow, a fuckin water-associated sea monster! (and the first number we even see in the show is Shark's Leviathan Dragon, after all.) Leviathan's dead sin is Envy, which is maybe not the Most Shark-like, but still interesting to think about with him.

So that's Beelzebub for Vector and Leviathan for Shark. As for the others, I will posit some guesses:

Mizar: Most likely Lucifer for him... between his almost angelic type looks + having an association with dragons (as does Lucifer in the Bible) + Lucifer being the demon typically associated with pride it seems like it parallels him the best.

Girag: MAAAYBE MAMMON?? Demon who is kind of Just Some Guy but also associated with greed...since in his past life we know Girag would share the spoils of his conquests with the poor there could be some sort of wealth implied connection in there. Hmm...

Alito: Thinking maybe Satan [Prince of Wrath] for him.... his Barian form is even classic devil red which feels like a pretty deliberate choice.

Dumon and Marin/Merag: ok these two I have no real idea on. Marin could maybe be tied to Belphegor, who is sometimes described as taking on the appearance of a young woman??!? But idk. Dumon honestly almost has more in common with Furcas from the Lesser Key of Solomon than some of the more prominent demons. Hmm...

[borreloadsavagedragon]

8 and 12 for the ask meme 👀

oh my god I reblogged that ask game knowing I am not a mean person AT ALL, so this is gonna push me to my LIMITS

(if you stand by anything in here, you’re cool as hell and I'm glad you interact with media, I am simply over sharing about fictional card game nerds like always!!!)

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I had to sit and stare at this one forever to come up with one because I am just so in my own little corner that I never really notice other people's interpretations of characters, like I have my bachelors and ph.d. in the ones that matter and I write my silly little fanfics using my deranged thinking, that's it, roll credits

BUT there is one thing I've seen a few times now across a couple of months in random liveblogs or opinion pieces that I kind of wanna touch on it

And that's that Kaito wasn't held accountable in Zexal.

I think a topic like accountability and atonement in fiction is going to differ very strongly between person to person and what they feel is the proper amount of justice to someone given their crimes, I understand that, but I just want to throw my own hat in the ring for why I disagree respectfully but wholeheartedly

Here's where I write about it in my analysis(WHICH IS 8K+ RN AND STILL GOING, GOD HELP ME)

"This is one I’ve seen a few times and I wanted to make an entire separate point for it because I do think it's a very interesting conversation to have in regards to the moral playground that a lot of the YuGiOh rivals in general have(with Ryoken Kogami from YuGiOh Vrains sitting as the reigning king in the topic of questionable ethics by some fans, but he’s another character study for another day), but the focus isn’t where I think it should be. I think it’s more fascinating that Kaito’s the character I see called out the most for his work as a Number Hunter compared to other fan favorites in the cast, especially when all we saw from Kaito since his actions in "The Seized Emperor's Key! Showdown, Kaito vs Shark" was his own form of accountability. We’ve known since the very scene following his introduction as the primary antagonist for the first half of Zexal I, Kaito despises the job and his employers based on how he can’t even look Mr. Heartland in the eye when he reports his progress and how his eyes drop to the floor when the premise of taking souls is brought up. He has a special distaste for those with Numbers because of what he was led to believe since we also learn later on he’s been fed almost nothing but lies about the Numbers so the times Kaito might have become far more conflicted with his circumstances sooner were always ripped away from him. In his mind, he's trapped and following orders is his best option right now, but if it means the only thing that matters most to him, his little brother, is ok, then he'll be the worst person in the world. And that's just the explanation for why he did it all. Because even with the truth, he doesn't excuse it.

Following Zexal I, Kaito continues to involve himself with the struggle against the Barians, and while most of it is with the understanding he's avenging the damage done to his family, it’s also in part avenging the damage he did to Yuma, Ryouga, and the many other people he’s laid a hand on. The idea that a character or a person needs to wear their guilt and redemption on their sleeve at every second is unreasonable. I also think it’s important to recognize that atonement isn’t just justice or forgiveness; Kaito, for example, never once asks for forgiveness, nor apologizes verbally. Instead, he shows up. He's there when he has to be and does exactly what he needs to do, because his actions are going to be worth more than his words are going to be. Kaito has always been and is always going to be someone who is going to act, not speak. Zexal I Kaito isn’t showing up to help handle the gang in the first few episodes of Zexal II. Zexal I Kaito isn’t taking Yuma’s place against Mizael in the duel in the sphere field. While Kaito continues to have alternate and additional motivation for his own newfound focus, he does not do these things for his ambition’s sake only.  Anytime accountability and Kaito’s treatment of his allies is brought up, I think it’s also very telling when some things are excluded, like how he pivots the entire project with Chris in the Arctic into getting Yuma sent to Astral World instead of them in order to reunite with Astral is largely overlooked. Another example is his complete turnaround behavior towards Gauche and Droite both in Spartan City, going as far to recognize how strong of a duelist and person Droite is when Gauche is possessed by Alito and that Droite is the only person suited for that duel despite him being seemingly such an asshole towards her in Zexal I. Hell, Kaito’s treatment of Ryouga is far different in one half to another, he goes from reducing Ryouga down to a waste of his time and just another punk who wants a piece of him to respecting him in his own weird little way where he has to pick a fight with him. We've all seen Zexal I, we've seen how Kaito truly treats people he doesn't like. --- I like to look at Kaito through the lens of rejection because loneliness is such a key portion of his character. I feel like focusing on those wrongs doubles down on the theme that’s in place. Kaito has hurt people. But he recognizes that, verbalizes it when he calls himself hell bound even, so he will continue to do better by those people."

THIS IS WHY IM HIS BIGGEST APOLOGIST

I just think he's so interesting, I wanna talk about him being a piece of shit because he IS, how mean he was to Yuma in I says a lot, but he's not THAT much of a piece of shit by the end, his development isn't overwhelmingly apparent, much like most rivals in the franchise, but it's VERY there

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

SPECTRE!!!!! I LITERALLY HAVE PIECES FOR HIS WIG AND HAVE HAD THEM FOR A YEAR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

I was AMAZED once to find out that people didn’t like Spectre because Spectre is so standout and fascinating. I HATE how he's boiled down to being creepy or "what happened to Aoi in their duel"-

Before it plummeted to hell, I got a tweet on my Twitter fyp from an rp acct that was like “like this if you hate spectre” and it had ~35 likes so I had to be cheeky and tweeted "what's it like to have bad taste" gjdsakldgskajg My one time with a mean streak..........

Genuinely though, what’s it like to not have taste, he's a freak, it's on purpose, I'd die for Spec

[moonlit-orchid]

Zexal month day 3- The High Priestess Upright

@zexalmonth

As today's is music themed, I decided to do something based on something that has geniunely bothered me in Zexal:

Astral doesn't have an exclusive opening or ending

If no one had one I wouldn't have minded but Tori? I'm not hating on her, I'm just saying that how is Tori more important than Astral? Like the entire plot revolves around him!

So I decided to draw a couple of fake screenshots of a existent Astral-centric opening

The lyrics for this are taken from Braving, which I think suit Astral the best (Yes this line had to be google translated but it made enough sense for me to use it). He at the start geniunely doesn't know what his hopes and dreams are for one. I want to do a full analysis but it's late and I'm sleepy.

Fakeshot two:

Kite is Astral's rival. Cross Duel basically confirmed it. Why did we not get any opening with just the two of them squaring off? Also I feel like their rivalry should have extended a bit but let's not go down that mind rabbit hole X3 Anyway i did a little rivalry fake screencap too.

Also I'm gonna say that Halfway to Forever HURTS ME because the lyrics "the bonds of our souls can't be replaced" and then what happens to them. If you know you KNOW. Take a chance on the other hand? A VIBE.

I am also gonna add here that if you google Astral's theme, the part of the ost that's titled Astral's theme is very curious sounding XD and a little innocent, but also just a bit funny. It's like, not ethereal or anything at all, unlike the dub's theme (which is literally heavenly)

And no one remind me of the goodbye track from the japanese ost. I will CRY.

[paperandhis-paper]

Arc-V Month Day 11: Legacy for the Future

(Is that a motherfucking Jojo reference?)

Ok, so, I've spent most days of @arcvmonth so far gushing about the show, so warning: negativity ahead.

I'm overall mixed on the Legacy characters. I don't think they ruin the show as some people claim, but I happen to have problems with... all of them? There are also positives, ofc, so ANALYSIS TIME!

Crow: he's... fine. His screentime is fine. His role in the plot is fine. Everything about him is just fine. My only real complaint is that I wished Shun had won and gotten another duel with Yuya, but it's whatever. He's really only part of the Lancers because he's a legacy character, as I don't think he's the most interesting Synchro character.

Jack: by far the best Legacy character, Jack somewhat takes the role of rival from Reiji, down to having 3 duels with the protagonist and a 3000 ATK ace. Giving him the role of a mentor is an interesting take on the character, although it was weird going back to 5D's I don't know how people feel about him beating Sergey (I know some people hated that when the episode was first announced), but somehow it works fine? It's an interesting subversion, because you'd think Yuya would be the one to do so, but instead Yuya's role is to be the one to unite the people together. My only problem is that it's... kinda weird that Jack just lets the City remain a shithole. Like, do something my man! I also wonder if Yusei wouldn't have been more fitting for his role, but I understand they didn't want to have the protagonists so Yuya wouldn't be overshadowed.

Kaito: I never cared for Kaito in Zexal (granted, it's been a long while since I've seen it), and Arc-V Kaito has similar issues. Namely, being a bit too powerful. He never has a solo loss, and here's where being a legacy character begins to hurt. He had a reputation for being unbeatable (Tron cheating aside), so the writers know they can't have him lose easily. He even almost beats Yuya! The best thing about him is that he provides a mirror for Shun; he's basically edgy-bird Shun from the beginning, but in some ways worse. He steals spotlight a fair bit, but his most egregious case of this is to another Legacy Character, so whatever.

Speaking of...

Asuka: done dirty, and so unnecessarily. Seriously, let her duel Dennis! Him vs Kaito isn't a TERRIBLE set-up, but she needed a big win so her presence doesn't just feel like fanservice. Her getting carded also sucks, but I get the writers kinda had to (can't have a Ritual duelist face Zarc, after all), plus it gave Yuri some much-needed depth.

But at least she got a win, even if it was against mooks. Unlike...

Edo: oh boy. See, I don't actually have much issues with his arc. It works, so long as you ignore that it has basically nothing to do with Edo's character in GX. No, what I wanna talk about this is his duel with Yuya.

I'm gonna be blunt: he should've won that duel. For one, he didn't get a single win in the series (tbf, his opponents were strong, but still), but most importantly, earlier on we saw with Kaito vs Shun that even if you lose you can still reach your opponent. And Edo got development himself by accepting Entertainment Dueling and grabbing an Action Card. The fact that Yuya wins by grabbing an Action Card of his own just rubs salt on the wound. Plus, I just like the idea of Yuya never beating an arc villain (other than Zarc, sorta), his role instead being another (then again, I guess then people would use that to claim Yuya is a weak protagonist and whatnot, so maybe it was for the best).

Also, both him and Kaito interrupting Yugo and Yuri's duel is dumb. Saving that rant for later.

So yeah. Legacy Characters were a mixed bag. I think the writers struggled with giving them the prominence they deserved without outshining Arc-V's massive cast. That's a very fine line. But hey— we got Legacy Support! That's always a good thing, right?

[aliothbuzzsawshark]

Zexal Month Day 1 - Introductions

@zexalmonth

Hello, I’m Alioth (not real name) and I’m a huge fan of Zexal! I do art, analysis’, and sometimes memes. I also just finished Zexal yesterday (and I am still recovering) and I think it’s my favorite Yugioh! Fun fact: I actually got into Zexal because of Vector. (I feel like that says a lot, lol) I’m not going to be participating everyday, but I will when I can!

I don’t really know what else to put here, so goodbye! Have a good day!

[scattered-irises]

In the Shadow of the Sun

I said I'd write an heir and spare analysis essay on Thomas and Christopher someday. Here it is, preceding a ficlet I'm gonna upload soon.

“The heir is born to a life laid out neatly and rigidly. The spare gets precisely the opposite: an uncertain place, unspecified duties, unreliable income and the unappealing promise of dissipating influence as the next heir and spare come along to bump you aside.” —David Von Drehle

Two brothers. One to rule and one to follow. One guaranteed a life in the sun, one a life in the shadow of his resplendent brother. A tale as old as time. 

We see it throughout the Bourbon Dynasty, with the struggles of Monsieur to define himself in the shadow of his brother Louis. We see it today with the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge. This trope has been replicated in media as well, from Succession to the Phantomhive brothers in Kuroshitsuji. Although not particularly highlighted in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal anime, the sparse interactions between the oldest and middle brother of the Arclight family hints at the tensions between the heir and the spare. 

The tension is demonstrated throughout the first season, where Christopher commands while Thomas grudgingly follows. Whenever Thomas attempts to rebel, he is silenced. He has been taught his place a long time ago, raised in the shadow of his brother.

Meanwhile, Christopher has been raised with an air of superiority. He wields his power without qualms, seceding his power only to his father. Christopher insults Thomas without hesitating, calling him “distasteful” in episode 33. When Thomas guardedly retorts, Christopher escalates the situation until Michael intervenes. 

Christopher casually insults and lords over Thomas, signifying that this has been happening for a long time now. In episode 41, it is even implied that Christopher trusts Michael over Thomas.

The rift between Christopher and Thomas was definitely exacerbated after Christopher sent him and Michael to the orphanage, but I would suggest that these tensions have existed since the very beginning. 

In the flashbacks at the Arclight mansion, we see that Thomas and Christopher are already established as opposites. Thomas is spirited and lively. Christopher is sedate, either overlooking his brothers at his father’s side or quietly asserting his power over them. “Be good boys and I will teach you how to duel next time” (Episode 46). This promise of good behavior is preceded by Christopher’s warning that the two would be scolded if they continued to fight. In typical tweenage behavior, Thomas irritatedly replies “Tch! I know,” which implies that this has happened before. Causing fights has always been Thomas’ forte, it seems. 

Historically, an heir and a spare would have been raised as equals (in theory). Due to high child mortality rates, a spare would ensure that the family name would continue if the heir were to pass away due to disease or accident. Despite that, only one would inherit the family estate. If fortunate enough, the spare would inherit a piece of property from their mother’s side of the family (Spangler). Growing up, many spares would attempt to find other ways to distinguish themselves from their powerful sibling. In the Bourbons’ case, Monsieur, the title granted to the king's brother, would patronize the arts or distinguish himself in wars (Spangler).

Louis XIV and Philippe (the future Monsieur) as children:

Thomas’ efforts to distinguish himself from Christopher can be seen in his worldwide success as Duel Champion IV. Note that he signs with his stage name, the Arclight surname nowhere to be seen.

He is a new man, reborn in this modern world of duel monsters and spectacle. Despite his immense success, Christopher’s provocations continue to anger him. 

The sibling rivalry between these two is inflamed by the tensions involved with raising a spare and an heir. Thomas owes his foundations in dueling to Christopher, who had taught him. No matter how successful Thomas is, he knows that a part of his older brother will always be with him. Therefore, he can never truly escape his brother’s shadow. 

Thomas’ dual personality—one of cultivated manners versus one bristling with anger—represents the dutiful spare and the resentful spare cast into the shadows. The dutiful spare has been raised as his older brother’s equal, yet acknowledges that his place is not to rule but to follow. He is an appendage to his older brother, serving him in lands beyond the estate. He is affable, yet able to deflect attention onto his brother if needed. Thomas’ outward personality is gentlemanly, charismatic, and cheerful, lightening his brother’s severe nature.  

His true personality is a product of constant sibling rivalry and family derision. Like any other child, he was scolded for causing fights, yet, growing up in the shadow of the composed Christopher must have brought up constant comparisons. Why couldn’t he be calmer? Why couldn’t he control himself like his brother did? Thomas desires attention because he is a spare cast into the shadows. Despite abandoning him and Michael, Christopher continues to be lauded as the rational, responsible, and most trusted brother. Seeing his brother favored over him even after his terrible actions further exacerbated Thomas’ behavior. 

The desire to impress his father signifies that Thomas wishes to be trusted like his brother. Although heirs and spares are theoretically raised as equals, the sibling hierarchy remains. Thomas knows he can’t become Christopher but tries on his own terms regardless. He was not raised with a sense of superiority like Christopher. He compensates for his insecurities by lashing out and attempting to fight the system that he was born into without knowing exactly how to dismantle it. The system of the spare and heir must be combated with wiles and subtlety, neither of which Thomas is particularly talented in. I must slightly digress and note that Michael possesses these qualities in greater abundance than Thomas.

Given a few years, Michael can choose between usurping the family title or creating his own legacy. I'm saying the latter.

In Zexal II, the only significant interaction between Christopher and Thomas is their farewell before his duel against Nasch. Instead of insulting Thomas, Christopher attempts to assert his power by preventing Thomas from dueling his “only friend.” He questions if Thomas can duel Nasch not because he wishes to demean his brother but out of concern for his emotions. This marked change in behavior is never explicitly explained. Perhaps at the end of the WDC duels, as the brothers faced death, they realized what was truly important. More reasonably, the period they spent missing from Zexal II was one of reconciliation. 

Christopher’s behavior in episode 124 signifies that he no longer views Thomas as a threat to his role but instead as a collaborator. This contrasts the archetype of the jealous heir. In 1569, King Charles IX rushed to join the siege of Saint-Jean-d’Angély due to the amount of praise his brother Henri was receiving on the battlefield. Instead of stealing Thomas’ glory for himself, Christopher allows Thomas to fight, granting him a card upon departure. Perhaps in his own way, Christopher was fighting alongside his brother during the duel. Thomas reciprocates his brother’s behavior and affectionately calls him “aniki,” affirming their brotherly relationship. Instead of admonishing him for the casual title (equivalent to ‘bro’ in English), Christopher accepts it with his characteristic quietness. 

Their improved relationship likely continues after Zexal. However, in Duel Links, it should be noted that Thomas has no unique lines when dueling against Christopher. Although Zexal’s duel links timeline is set in between Zexal I and II, the brotherly interactions around Christopher’s arrival still contain a fraction of the tension seen in Zexal I. While sibling rivalry is commonplace, I believe Thomas and Christopher’s rivalry is one heavily informed by the politics behind the spare and the heir. The “dissipating influence” continuously hangs over Thomas and he constantly finds himself at odds with his brother. Thus, he strives to create a life of his own outside of the family, traveling the world and creating a name for himself. 

Thomas is not an overly covetous spare seen in the likes of Claudius or Richard III. However, Zexal alludes to his envy of Christopher’s position. He wishes to be trusted and seen by his father instead of pushed aside. If he had been raised as his brother’s equal, why was he not deserving of the same trust? His fiery personality is built upon a foundation of resentment that festers in his heart. He attempts to fill this hole in with unchecked sadism and cruelty. At the end of Zexal, he is seen continuing his career as a Duel Champion, still attempting to create an independent identity from his brother’s. 

Cited Sources because why not

Spangler, Jonathan. Monsieur. Second Sons in the Monarchy of France: 1550-1800. Routledge, 2021, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003165897.

Von Drehle, David. “Harry and Meghan Are Product of ‘an Heir and a Spare.’” Indianapolis Business Journal, vol. 40, no. 48, 2020, pp. 14-15B.

[moldy-mold]

commentary on zexal atm now that we’re on ep 60 of S2 [contains immediate spoilers]

first off, gettin real tired of my girl rio dying. she did go down like a boss but come on T_T. i think she got incapacitated or died like 5 times now. poor ryoga!

my friend luc made a really excellent analysis of rio today. she started off so amazing, we all had super high standards for whoever is ryoga’s sister. and she is amazing! except that being Ryoga’s Sister™ is all she ever was. her single moment of growth came from the realization that she was the spark of all this madness. yes, it was misguided since it wasn’t actually her fault, but to have that kind of insight in the first place is incredibly interesting and there could have been a lot going for her after that. the worst part was that she died before she knew the truth and unfortunately, i don’t think we’re gonna have time to focus on her anymore, seeing as the show is ending soon.

but yeah you can tell it’s getting real because SO MANY CHARACTERS ARE DYING OMG. i think the best sacrifices are the arclight bros. *weeps* they really grew on me by the end. i was into those duels emotionally so i didn’t mind that but now that the emperors are also going down so fast that it feels kinda cheap? esp durbe’s sacrifice - which ended up being a total waste :’(.

i go into duel wednesdays expecting someone to die now. i’m pleading with zexal not to kill kaito...  please, not him........ i don’t think i can take it LOL. even worse, watching my boy lose. *wipes tear with an embroidered handkerchief*

anyway we’re all feeling a little more miserable with each week and we love it

oh and the Vector Show was amazing. sure, i’m saying “gross” or “ugh” like every 5 minutes but he’s a good character. absolutely cuckoo bananas.

[moophinz]

I've been talking way too much these past few days, but I wanted to apologize for those who followed me for YGO stuff which I haven't posted in ages.

Other than the things I want to say on my analysis blog, ive been having some issues coming up with smaller posts and memes here for it. Admittedly, I often feel a little alienated from a few of the fandoms for it due to noticing what gets popular, bringing in the most attention not really being my cup of tea. Although, I don't have that same issue with Zexal. It mostly happens with DM.

[hellohimawarihana]

My Review of Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS Henshin

Hello and welcome into another transformation analysis! This time I’ll be talking about one of Yu-Gi-Oh series that involves transformation.

If you’re not familiar with Yu-Gi-Oh then I’m gonna explain it to you. Basically it was the series who popularize the trading card game today and it always involves duel between one another by summoning creatures like dragons and fairies combined with fusion and various effects that will decide the outcome of the battle.

Now I’m not a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh myself but I do had a few interactions between the series. I was born in late 90s so I grew up with the original series and I do hear the first opening and ending songs and they felt good. Then I do watch my brother’s gameplay about some GX games (maybe?) on PS2 and one episode in 5DS (maybe in Season 2? 'cause I remember the duel back then was in chibi). ZEXAL’s first opening song was true to its name, a masterpiece to me. The rest of them like ARC-V, SEVENS and currently airing Go Rush!! isn’t my cup of tea, but the thing that does made me interested recently is the 6th anime series, VRAINS.

This series has recently got its 5th anniversary and with VRAINS World in Duel Links, few events, and goods ongoing, so I think it won’t be bad to review this third series with transformation. Well, Yu-Gi-Oh is no stranger to transformation sequence as OG and ZEXAL had done this before, but VRAINS is the first where the protagonist doesn’t need their respective partner to transform into their alter ego, whether it be possessed or by fusion.

Before that though, no transformation where the log in / sign in happened with blue flash of light as it was instantaneous / offscreen and no character without complete appearance change too, although there's one exception that will be shown later.

With no further ado, let’s dive into character sections, put the decks into Duel Disks, and “Into the VRAINS!!”

Playmaker / Soulburner

We’ll start with the protagonist and his eventual partner in Season 2 when they sign into LINK VRAINS. And their animations are... pretty much similar, so I’m dumping both here in one session.

Let’s talk about Yusaku a.k.a. Playmaker first. First off, I like the visuals when he transforms, it’s the thing that made me impressed the first time I watched it and get hooked by the series. The blue in the background matches his personality really well too. I especially like the gold glow on his bodysuit and how he let his hair down (actually it’s his front bangs) before changing it into Playmaker, ah good stuff indeed.

As for Takeru alias Soulburner... eh, fine? Nothing much to say about this one but I do like the scarf that moves when he lowers his head and how his glasses was removed the same time as his transforming hair. It’s pretty unique, since we rarely see glasses got removed onscreen during transformation (think Barnaby in Tiger & Bunny 2 and Mew Lettuce in Tokyo Mew Mew New). And the background really represents his hot-blooded personality too.

Speaking of the visual, it’s one of the successful among anime media. Usually the pseudo-space background has to represent the individual’s strengths / elements or the series theme as a whole. VRAINS is well known by its aesthetic, and oh boy it’s really shown here. Surrounding them is the screens that represent charts and the platform where they're standing are based of hardware components with the electric fan in the center, not to mention the pillars spinning around too. What differs them is the theme color. As I stated before, Playmaker uses blue though it’s more towards Yusaku than his online alias (unless you count the glows during his Ritual and Xyz Summoning) and there's emerald green as secondary color which is the closest towards his green bodysuit and his Synchro Summoning glow. Meanwhile, Soulburner uses red and orange, which is the common element of fire that was part of his deck.

And considering the fact that this series involves virtual world, Yusaku and Takeru has to sign in by surrounding themselves with the sphere in their respective color (Yusaku’s light blue and Takeru’s red) with various screens before going into transforming part. However, considering that Yusaku’s transformation was shown few times in Season 1 as opposed to Takeru’s once in Season 2, there is some twist in sign-in variations to keep it interesting. As shown in stock footage-heavy Pretty Cure series, it could be tiring if it was shown once per episode, especially DeliPa where they often transform in group and each does two lines at once (usual naming and anything gourmet-related) during their roll call. However, Yusaku was smart, and with various sign-in sequence and other alterations enough to make his transformation felt same yet less repetitive (and honestly I’m glad it happened in order to make this GIF).

The process, however, is pretty short, as the beginning took 15 seconds uncut but the actual transforming part is 6-7 seconds long. Probably because they took the usual anime transformations with 30 seconds duration, and it’s probably why the scene focuses on leg when forming the bodysuit with the belt coming second before their hair. (I had Corrector Yui vibes from there...) But I like how they break the transformation space into a new background and change the lighting in the process, talk about powerful duelist. And I’m not keen to fanservice like in Binan Koukou and Fairy Ranmaru and instead keeping their clothes before being replaced by their suit through electricity glaze is a very good idea. (I don’t think the staff would implement fanservice in kid’s show...)

Here’s the link if you want to watch and compare both.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, there’s no combo transformation sequence for these two. After the usual set-in sequence, there’s eye sequence and then a flash of blue light on them... done. A bit shame, actually. (the same happened for Yusaku in work outfit too...)

Blue Maiden

In case of Yusaku-Takeru’s offscreen transformation, there’s one episode where it occurs the same time as when Blue Girl transforms into Blue Maiden in front of the two and Ema/Ghost Girl. She glows light blue and has some magical girl transformation vibes on it, with some twist. The ‘ping’ occurs with pink heart and concentrating on the transforming part one by one before scanning the glow out upon completion, which I think it’s pretty good for her.

Speaking of magical girl transformation, Playmaker and Soulburner has these vibes in their sequence too. And I like how their hair color traded with each other between their civilian and avatar form.

Though Blue Angel is more magical girl than any of Aoi’s avatars, at least she had transformation in one of her forms so it’s alright. Soulburner would definitely proud of this.

There’s also some transformations that’s too brief for me to review but I’m gonna show them anyway.

Ghost Girl

Blue Girl

Knights of Hanoi

And there's the acrylic board version for Revolver and Playmaker too.

(the render version in the link)

And that covers up my henshin review of Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS. See you in my next post!