Episode 009: A One-Hit Knockout! Flipping the Table/S1E9: Family Business
In this post, I'm going to review and compare the subbed and dubbed versions of Yugioh GX episode 9. I won’t lie, I kind of dreaded this episode because Hayato/Chumley has been by far the worst part of the dub writing-wise and…well, he doesn’t completely escape it but it’s a lot better than I feared.
Also it’s the infamous “drunk dizzy on hot sauce” episode, so there’s that to look forward to!
Episode Review
The opening scene with Hayato's dad on the boat is silent in the sub, while he gives orders and talks about bringing Chumley home in the dub.
In the next scene, Judai and Shou's exchange about how everyone knows about his "secret" spot is changed to Judai making a quip about how it's not so secret and them talking about a recent test. Shou starts out with how Hayato might be expelled (which is kind of misleading, since it’s more his dad is taking him out of the school), while Syrus says more straightforwardly that Chumley's dad wants to force him to drop out. Also Jaden makes an extra joke about his dad raiding their fridge which is like. It’s not a Chumley fat joke because it’s not about Chumley, but you are on thin ice here 4KIDS.
The dub cuts out an establishing shot of the Red dorm before the scene focuses in on the eavesdropping students. The sub only introduces Hayato’s dad and the withdrawal situation here. The dub doesn’t have to reintroduce that fact, so instead it adds...you guessed it, a real bona fide Chumley fat joke this time!
I've really exhausted my patience on these, can you tell?
Hayato's dad talks about Hayato's poor rank and performance, while Chumley's dad talks about how he's a bad duelist:
Mr. Maeda: It's sad enough that my Hayato's only in Osiris Red, but he's even been failing and repeating grades? He could hardly be more of a pathetic man. Daitokuji: Oh, my… What could I say to that? Mr. Maeda: Then, boldly washing his hands of being a duelist and joining our family in our sake brewery is also the manly thing to do! Am I wrong, Professor?
Mr. Huffington: If Chumley was any good at dueling, it'd be one thing. But clearly he's not! He's wasting his time here. It's time for him to give up dueling and come back home. Banner: I see your point. Chumley is a bit, uh…heh heh heh! Mr. Huffington: He's a bit dense! You can say it. That's why I want him to come home and join the family business - the hot sauce business. You do like hot sauce?
And of course, we have the infamous sake-to-hot-sauce censorship. I try not to speculate too much on production beyond in the abstract sense, but this is just so clearly a case of "we know, the censors made us do this" it's really impossible to discuss the episode without it (and if I tried, I'd get about a dozen people in my comments about it). 4KIDS is aware of the absurdity of replacing alcohol with hot sauce, and to their credit they lean into it. This episode spends as much time making hot sauce jokes as it does trying to pretend anyone really gets "dizzy" from hot sauce, and if anything goes all-in on Mr. Huffington's hot sauce obsession.
When confronting Hayato/Chumley in the dorm, Chumley has fewer lines compared to Hayato and Jaden talks more instead. In particular, Hayato is trying to act like everything is fine before we see he's crying while Chumley only gets "What's it look like [I'm doing]?" Additionally, Hayato is honest about his feelings and lack of dueling ambition as he cries, while Chumley denies caring. As mentioned in the episode 7 review, the dub rewrites Chumley to be much ruder and ornery compared to Hayato and that’s in full display here.
Judai: So you're really quitting school? Hayato: Yeah. Judai: You are? Hayato: It is what it is. We had a short run together, but take care. Judai: You wanna give up on your dreams as a duelist just like that? Huh, Hayato?! (He grabs Hayato's shoulder, to find he's crying) Judai: Hayato... Shou: You're crying? Hayato: Thing is...I never thought I actually wanted to be a duelist... More like, "Well, guess it'd be nice if I got to be one..." But it's all different now - I was just about to try working hard at it for the first time. And it's because I got to hear a spirit's voice...
Jaden: What are you doing, Chumley? Chumley: What's it look like? Jaden: It looks like you're giving up. Like you're taking everything you've worked for and throwing it away. Like you're abandoning all your dreams, all of your dueling goals, and you don't even care! (He grabs Hayato's shoulder, to find he's crying) Jaden: Huh. Chumley? Syrus: He does care. Chumley: No. I got something in my eye, okay? Both of them. Now, just leave me alone, would you? I mean... It's not like I'm worth wasting your time on anyhow. At least, according to my dad, I'm not. But he doesn't know. I really could be a champion duelist, 'cause I have a special power that I haven't told anybody! Sometimes duel monsters talk to me!
Hayato talks about how he was starting to try harder in dueling because he started hearing spirits' voices, while Chumley says he could be a champion because actually, spirits talk to him.
…Which he doesn't actually know, because they cut his line about this from episode 6 and changed his other line in episode 8 into a hunger hallucination joke. For some reason 4KIDS even keeps the flashback to episode 6 where Hayato first hears Winged Kuriboh…which, again, they wrote out of the dub version. Not the first time they wrote out details they'd have to pretend were still there (see also: Titan), and won't be the last.
And given the depths of my despair over the parade of fat jokes in last episode's writeup, please allow me this one mean joke: are you enjoying that gunshot wound to the foot, 4KIDS?
When Judai/Jaden suggests talking to his dad, Hayato says his father is too scary whereas Chumley says his father only thinks about hot sauce. This is…an interesting change that I think is repeated a second time later on, in that Mr. Maeda’s imagery has the overtones of a violent and overbearing drunk which the dub tries to rewrite into ruthless businessman (and hot sauce fanatic). This might be to avoid getting into the topic of abusive parents, successful or not.
Weirdly enough, Jaden uses the fact that Chumley suddenly sees spirits to argue to Mr. Huffington and the principal that Chumley shouldn't drop out because "he's got a gift." Which of course leads into a "gift for eating grilled cheese" joke where Mr. Maeda just asks "who the hell are you, kid" and you know what, thank god the dub switches to purely hot sauce jokes from here. Aside from the matter of Chumley's gift, most of the principal's office scene is the same. At the end Samejima says a duel is a fitting solution for DA, while Shepard questions Chumley's future.
Afterward, Daitokuji references the specific dueling style Mr. Maeda uses and calls him a worldwide legendary duelist. In the dub, Mr. Huffington is a three-year state dueling champ which is a bit less prestigious but still conveys he's going to be a tougher opponent than anticipated. The dub moves some shots around here: where Daitokuji talks about Mr. Maeda’s dueling style, Banner talks about how Chumley's dad wanted his son to be like him and then about Mr. Maeda’s style. Of course, it reflects the kick of his hot sauce. Don’t mind the sword imagery onscreen it’s fine.
Daitokuji: Hayato's father is a master of the Satsuma Embodiment Style and a legendary duelist whose name is well-known worldwide as a result. The Satsuma Embodiment Style focuses on striking with a one-hit kill sword. His one-hit-knockout dueling applies its secrets with such dexterity that he instantly decimates his opponents. ...Or so the rumors say, meow!
Banner: Actually, he's been state duel champion three years in a row. Why do you think he was so insistent Chumley go to dueling school? He wanted his son to be like him. Oh, and wait'll you see his deck! As you all know, he earns a living off his special hot sauce. Well, his deck reflects the kick of this sauce. It can take you out in one turn, like a buffalo wing takes you out in one bite. And, oh, the morning after!
When the match starts, the dub cuts a line about Daitokuji playing witness (leaving it implicit that he's officiating) and adds a joke about hot sauce and chapped lips. Hayato claims he Does Not Care about the stakes, while Chumley says more plainly that he's ready.
After Hayato/Chumley first plays Death Koala/Des Koala, Judai explains to Shou that Hayato misplayed, and his father follows up by explaining the details. The dub condenses this by cutting all of Judai and Shou's shots and a little bit of his dad's, depriving dub watchers of this beautiful face:
When Mr. Maeda explains out the misplay, Hayato admits he's right but Chumley first tries to save face before admitting he didn't know. In both cases, the father points this out as a sign he isn’t taking his studies seriously.
Upon Drunken/Dizzy Tiger's summon, Shou asks if that's really the dad's signature strategy while Syrus and Jaden talk about how it's dizzy from hot sauce - classic S&P brand! Both end in Judai/Jaden suggesting it's still a threat. After Dizzy Tiger's attack, Shou and Judai remark on some wordplay around the term "cat punch." The dub goes for a similar joke by leading a line about the stink of sake donut jelly hot sauce into how the guy’s dueling doesn’t stink. Mr. Maeda ends his turn, and Mr. Huffington instead talks about how he and Chumley are going to have hot sauce for dinner.
Do you think he has anything with the hot sauce, or does he just put it in a bowl and go at it like Pharaoh?
After taking damage from the attack Hayato is determined, while Chumley is defiant. Judai cheers for Hayato, but Jaden tells him to cool down instead. Shou say his dad can't be that great and the dad glares him off, while Syrus gets scared off when he says it's good Chumley is standing up for himself which...uh, has bad implications about the dad despite the dub writing out Chumley calling his dad scary.
Judai cheers on the match with Hayato’s own catchphrase ("kibare," or "hang tough") while Judai just calls for him to fight back. The more generic line isn’t necessarily bad, because trying to shoehorn in "licious" or "duh" would have killed the moment. Chumley is again ruder ("I know!") compared to Hayato ("Right! Draw!") in response to that support.
In a weird change of line beats, when Hayato plays March of the Koalas Shou questions Death Koala's position, Judai points out it works with the spell card effect, and Daitokuji explains the actual effect. In the dub Syrus comments on the move, Jaden expresses doubt about Chumley's skills, and then Banner corrects him and explains. This isn't super significant, but I found it curious.
When his father summons Drunken Angel Hayato hears the angel say a few lines in plain Japanese, while Chumley hears light "woooo" noises from Dizzy Angel. This is a very weird choice to me because it feels no different from normal "generic monster vocalization" sounds in any other duel. If I’d been watching the dub without prior knowledge, I wouldn’t be able to tell Chumley was hearing anything significant. Even just one line from Dizzy Angel would have clarified this, so I wonder why they didn’t?
Not that surprisingly, the symbolism behind Flipping the Table is explained differently between versions. In the sub, it characterizes Mr. Maeda as an overbearing patriarch; in the dub, it characterizes Mr. Huffington as a ruthless businessman.
Hayato: You always get like that when things go bad on you, Dad! Mr. Maeda: Hahaha! There's nothing that won't let the head of the house get his way!
Chumley: That's just like you. You don't like something, so you trash it! Mr. Huffington: Hahaha! I didn't get to be a hot sauce tycoon by being nice, son!
After Drunken/Dizzy Angel's direct attack, Hayato says he's still in this and his father is slightly impressed by his determination, while Chumley says he just can't win and Mr. Huffington says it'll be over soon.
After drawing Shou's kangaroo card, Hayato think to himself that he doesn't want to leave the school. Chumley instead just says it's as good a time to use it as any, downplaying the emotional impact. A few lines later Hayato says again that he doesn't want to leave the dorm (again highlighting the emotional angle, bonds with his friends). Chumley's line is closer this time - "They won't kick me out without a fight" - but I think it again downplays the sentimental part of his lines.
When Hayato brings out "Master of Oz" his dad just recognizes the card from the previous night, while Mr. Huffington says "Like I didn't see that coming" - like he's viewing that conversation as intel more than a reminder of Chumley/Hayato's friendships as in the sub. Judai's explanation to Hayato about giving him Master of Oz is slightly different between versions:
Judai: I want you to win, y'know. See, we just became friends. We'd miss you if you ended up back home.
Jaden: Yeah, of course I would! We're buddies! And that's what buddies do for each other. Besides, you belong here with us!
These feel very slightly different to me - Judai thinks more about himself, Jaden talks more in ideals - and I am considering if there’s a pattern here, but there’s plenty of time to see if the pattern holds. More concretely, the dub completely cuts the finale to Hayato’s determination monologue and just has him attack with Master of Oz without the emotional climax the sub provides:
I don't usually comment on attack names but I think the fact that changing "Ayers Rocky" to "Outback Attack" does lose something in retrospect, knowing that the end of the season will show how meaningful Ayers Rock (Uluru) is to Hayato. Outback Attack just doesn’t have the same poignancy to it.
The Flipping the Table callout moment has a line from Hayato like "I am your son after all, I know about its weakness" that the dub omits (in favor of him just knowing the weakness). The duel finishes about the same.
When it's time to leave Judai offering to accompany Hayato to the bridge is replaced with a conversation about how Chumley will do great bottling hot sauce (still sentimental, just with an added joke). When explaining his father already left, Banner has another hot sauce joke on top of that.
On the island cliff Hayato promises to get stronger and eventually beat his father, while Chumley says he'll make everyone proud. Credit to the dub here, I think it works better towards the actual ending of his arc; we’ll be back in 41 episodes.
As we fade to the episode’s end, the dub adds lines from Chumley's dad for more hot sauce jokes, ending with levity instead of sentiment.
Mr. Huffington: Come on, put your back into it! There's a case of hot sauce in it for you if we get back before dawn!
And that’s game! Gotcha!
Spoiler Zone
Empty again!
Final Thoughts + The Character Assassination of Chumley Huffington
These sections combined since Hayato/Chumley is the focus character this episode.
As funny as the hot sauce censorship is, I don't think it's that significant to the overall narrative except for the attempts to write around the implications about Mr. Maeda/Huffington's parenting (and I'll let dub watchers speak to whether that worked) and the fact that apparently hot sauce jokes served as a lightning rod so the dub writers only had to make two whole Chumley fat jokes this episode. I think he also gets off relatively light on that front at least in part because him being the focus character means the script writers have to actually put effort into translating his character arc (i.e., the episode plot) rather than rewriting his lines with stock jokes - we'll see this in a couple episodes for Bastion, too.
Aside from that, the most significant differences this episode are probably the dub's attempt to pretend it didn't write out Chumley's ability to hear spirits in favor of fat jokes (sigh) and - more bizarrely - cutting out Hayato's monologue about how he doesn't want to leave the school because he wants to stay with his friends.
And while it doesn't ruin the episode or anything, that last part just baffles me so much. Why would you undercut the emotional weight of Hayato's friends helping him like that? The dub even still acknowledges the fact that Chumley's father allowed him to stay because he recognized the strength of his son's friendships, so why on earth would you cut the lines where he talks about how strongly he feels about his friendships???
The best I can try to figure out an explanation is that they've already written Chumley from a soft-spoken but aimless student to a surly fat joke and having him monologue about friendship didn't fit their image (similar to the Shou redemption moment in episode 3), but I'm not convinced of that either because then why cut that and still make the ending about friendship? And Chumley actually does have a little friendship moment in the next episode, too! I just don't get it.
I dunno. The dub is mostly decent to Chumley for once this episode (accepting that he's basically completely different from Hayato Maeda), and leaning into the hot sauce jokes is what really gives this episode its cayenne kick. But IMO cutting Hayato's big friendship moment just feels like watering down your Carolina Reaper concoction with a big cup of sour cream.
