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Sad Duel has got to be my favourite instrumentals of Yugioh only made better by the fact that we first hear it not when the Supreme King awakens but when Johan sacrifices himself.

at least, as far as I'm aware

balimaria

No cause I noticed this on my latest rewatch and my eyebrows shot the fuck up. I was like. HM. THAT'S VERY INTERESTING. And the person who I was watching with (seeing it for the first time) (@chickinu when you were watching but also @shuchelle can see this now too and @moonlitlotvs would like this) was like “what's interesting??” oh you know haha don't worry about it <3

Johan is central to Judai's fall to darkness and the fact that THIS is where sad duel first plays feels so intentional. Johan sacrificing himself is the point that marks the beginning of Judai's end. Before we even know the dark world or Brron or super fusion exists there is Johan “fly and be their bridge!” Anderson and Judai “to save Johan I'd make any sacrifice” Yuki. Something something Johan would sacrifice himself to save everyone else and Judai would sacrifice everyone else to save Johan. It's tragic because Judai could have feasibly saved Johan without any of his friends dying and without... y'know, mass murdering thousands of people. But because of the person he is (or was, at that point), because of who Johan is, and because of their relationship, Judai becomes inexorably bound to the path season 3 has been building him up to, from the second Johan disappears. And THAT is tragic yaoi.

#yeah i do like this how'd u know

koolkat9

Sad Duel has got to be my favourite instrumentals of Yugioh only made better by the fact that we first hear it not when the Supreme King awakens but when Johan sacrifices himself.

at least, as far as I'm aware

balimaria

No cause I noticed this on my latest rewatch and my eyebrows shot the fuck up. I was like. HM. THAT'S VERY INTERESTING. And the person who I was watching with (seeing it for the first time) (@chickinu when you were watching but also @shuchelle can see this now too and @moonlitlotvs would like this) was like “what's interesting??” oh you know haha don't worry about it <3

Johan is central to Judai's fall to darkness and the fact that THIS is where sad duel first plays feels so intentional. Johan sacrificing himself is the point that marks the beginning of Judai's end. Before we even know the dark world or Brron or super fusion exists there is Johan “fly and be their bridge!” Anderson and Judai “to save Johan I'd make any sacrifice” Yuki. Something something Johan would sacrifice himself to save everyone else and Judai would sacrifice everyone else to save Johan. It's tragic because Judai could have feasibly saved Johan without any of his friends dying and without... y'know, mass murdering thousands of people. But because of the person he is (or was, at that point), because of who Johan is, and because of their relationship, Judai becomes inexorably bound to the path season 3 has been building him up to, from the second Johan disappears. And THAT is tragic yaoi.

#yeah i do like this how'd u know

balimaria

I’m sure many of us are familiar with the similarities the Yu-boys have to their adjacent protagonists, some very much so (Yugo/Yusei) and some not quite so much (Yuto/Yuma). But the Yuri Duel Links event has got me thinking… they’re really leaning into the similarities Yuri has with Judai.

He’s always had a fair amount of parallels. There’s the obvious “they both went to a duel academia,” but there’s also the fact that they’ve both had major hands in carrying out mass genocides (jeez), or that they both underwent soul fusions with other character(s), or Judai and Yuri being the only characters to use Super Poly (except that one flunky in Zexal who randomly had it in his hand for one shot…) showing how Yuri is carrying on Judai/GX’s legacy as the Fusion counterpart (and 1/4th of another Supreme King)

OR, most relevant here, their focus on having fun above all else.

Yuri’s constant insistence that he’s here to have fun (which was a part of his character in the show, but it’s focused on much more in the event) and showing no interest in any “obligations” he may have outside of having fun (like apologizing or trying to repair any of the damage he’s done. You go girl give us nothing.)

It’s all very much akin to a pre-season 3 Judai who had little to no sense of responsibility and was almost solely motivated to duel (even when he really shouldn’t have been) by his desire to have fun. And while Yuri’s idea of fun is a little more sadistic than Judai’s (a little more like Yubel, even?) the point is the same.

This line that Yuri says is what got me thinking deeper about this, because I remembered Judai says a near-identical one. (Apologies for the crusty png.)

Obviously they’re not going through the exact same development here. Judai’s arc is about being carefree to a dangerous extent, then swinging to the opposite extreme when he is suddenly saddled with very heavy burdens, and ultimately finding balance between the two: regaining his love of dueling while also bearing a sense of responsibility. Yuri’s arc (if you can call it that, it’s the beginning of one certainly) seems to be a more straightforward “discovering there are things that are fun and also do not come at the expense of other people’s lives” type deal, with a little bit of learning who the hell you’re supposed to be now that you aren’t part of a military school dictatorship or Zarc/Yuya’s soul amalgam sprinkled in. He’s discovering new toys! Everyone clap for him please.

Though it’s not just that fun things don’t have to come at the expense of others… but that it’s MORE fun when they don’t. And that’s the real step forward that Yuri makes in the event. Which honestly fits and doesn’t feel forced, which is something I was concerned about. That boy is a little cockroach! Let him crawl around and make people scream like he always does. Just… maybe some of those screams are of other people having fun too. Maybe. Someone should probably still make sure they're okay, though.

balimaria

I've been meaning to make a follow up to this ever since I noticed this fun new parallel and here I am finally doing it... There's some outfit similarities between Haou and Yuri and, being the noticer that I am, I must notice them.

They both have a red cape (Yuri's has the not-quite-sleeves on them, referencing Yuya, who himself is referencing Yami... it's references all the way down). They both have those gem-looking things holding said cape (Haou's is more on the chest but he also has them on the shoulders). Yuri's... straps? Harness? Decorative thing? Is a gold accent too. And lastly, they both have that long coat/secondary cape beneath their first cape (because you can never have too many capes). They're kind of inversions of each other, even, with Haou's being M-shaped and Yuri's more W-shaped. You can maybe even say something about them both having bladed duel disks, but that's a bit weaker.