You know those two grown men that hang out with Ghost whose names I can never remember? Who are they and why are they hanging out with a 15 year old? Did they meet at Duelist Kingdom and after being betrayed by Keith they just decided to stay friends? Are those his cousins? His dads? Just some friends of his?
I'm asking you because I think you're the only one who has even the slightest idea who those guys are and why they're hanging around Ghost.
Hello! ✨ I'm glad you ask, because I love those two, and they rarely get any attention from the fandom, except for a few devoted fans. I hope you don't mind long posts TwT
I'll write everything under the cut.
My guess is that the three of them met at Duelist Kingdom when Bandit Keith brought them together. However, I like to think they could've been friends before that. After all, there's so little information about them that we practically are forced to make up headcanons.
In the manga, that's the only time they appear. They weren't with Kotsuzuka during his Duel against Yami Bakura.
I'm glad they did stay together in the anime. Unlike when they followed Bandit Keith's orders, Kotsuzuka's gang seems to have no leader. They treat one another as equals, so much so that they were okay with working together to get at least one of them to the Battle City finals. It would mean achieving what they couldn't at Duelist Kingdom because of Keith. I see them as close friends.
The red-haired one is Kiyoshi Takaido, or Sid in the dub. His full Japanese name is shown in the episode where we see their rarest cards.
Takaido seems like the kind of friend who backs you up from afar. He doesn't talk much compared to the others. However, he can have an explosive personality, and has no problem with provoking others. He can be a bit of a coward, too. We didn't get to see enough of him. I think his character holds great potential to explore in terms of trust, bonds, and self-improvement.
His rarest card being Firewing Pegasus, along with his hair being red and shaped like a flame, has led many of us to assume that he could be a Pyro/FIRE duelist.
The black-haired one is Satake, or Zygor in the dub.
The scene I mentioned earlier doesn't last long enough to show his first name. However, he may actually have one. I plan to make a post specifically about this in the future.
Satake seems to have experience fighting, so I wonder if he tends to get into fights often or what kind of past he carries. He's shown to be very supportive of Kotsuzuka. I like to see him as the protective one, and the one who keeps the group together.
Due to his rarest card being Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, and the shape of his hair, many of us assume he plays a Thunder Dragon deck, or specializes in Thunder monsters.
I doubt they have canon ages. We are lucky they even have names in the anime, since they were nameless characters in the manga. They could be 20, or they could be 17. Who knows? I guess we'll have to resort to headcanons, much to my disliking.
With Yugioh, there's no way to tell a character's age based on their appearance alone. Tell me about it. I frown every time I see someone assume Kotsuzuka is 10 or something just because he's short. Sometimes I want to yell 'Kotsuzuka is 15, people, fifteen!!!' at them. He's only 1 or 2 years younger than Yugi's group.
This is one of the reasons why I like to imagine Kotsuzuka, Takaido and Satake as childhood friends.
If that's not the case, meeting for the first time at Duelist Kingdom, getting along, and then bonding after Keith's betrayal (like you said) also works.
Thank you SO much for the ask! I love these three guys with my life, and I could talk about them for hours.
Hi! Could I hear some of your thoughts/HCs about Bonz, Sid and Zygor's personalities? I want to add them to my Sims 4 save, but I'm having trouble choosing their traits, and you seem to be the expert on these cornflakes, :]
Hi! 🌸 Sorry for the wait. It'll be my pleasure to ramble about Kotsuzuka and his friends ❤️
This will be a long post.
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Shared traits
✦ Kotsuzuka and his friends can be naive and trusting. This can sometimes cloud their judgment and common sense.
Yes, dear. Trapping someone and his friends in a cave, leaving them to die just because you lost a duel to him is indeed too much. I'm glad you figured that out 👍
✦ They have a strong sense of camaraderie, so betraying their loyalty will cause them to hold a grudge against you.
Kotsuzuka | Bonz 👻
✦ Ghost-boy is impulsive. Even though I think their gang-like friend group has no leader, I imagine Kotsuzuka's impulsiveness often drags Takaido and Satake into stuff. And they go along with it. Because it's fun.
✦ Kotsuzuka is a playful little guy. He loves scaring people, but only when it's intentional. Scaring someone by accident might make him feel bad, like that time in Duel Links when a girl mistook him for a ghost and ran away when he tried to duel her, and he was later accused of stealing her card. Poor little thing T_T
✦ He's self-conscious about his appearance, even if he tries to play it off. Mean comments can offend him 😞
✦ He's very expressive and has no problem showing his emotions. OR, has trouble hiding them.
✦ The way he questioned Keith's instructions during his duel against Jonouchi | Joey tells me he's true to himself and usually doesn't keep quiet when something doesn't feel right.
✦ He can be dependent, especially on someone he looks up to.
✦ There's a major difference between manga and anime (Battle City arc), which translates into Kotsuzuka having opposite changes in his character development:
In the anime, he and his friends want to prove they can go to the tournament's finals by themselves (partially out of spite), even if that means resorting to dirty tricks and stealing other duelists' Puzzle | Locator Cards.
In the manga, Kotsuzuka is alone and seems to be dueling fairly. This, combined with what we know from Duel Links (which is based on the manga) and other games, we can tell he's not a bad guy. He no longer needs to follow Keith's orders or resort to cheating. He wants to prove he can be a good duelist without Keith's help. Of course, this doesn't stop him from mainly taking on opponents he deems weak.
✦ Other random headcanons I made up:
. Kotsuzuka is a goth and no one will convince me otherwise.
. He specifically styles his hair like that to look scarier.
. He doesn't have eyebrows. However, that doesn't stop me from giving him eyebrows when I draw him. He paints them with makeup. That's why I color them black.
Takaido | Sid 🔥
✦ Matching his apparent fire theme, Takaido seems to have an explosive personality. I don't know if this translates into him possibly having a short temper, but, having a serious argument with him, or making him really upset doesn't sound like it'd go well. He's prone to snap and yell.
✦ Remember when he stopped Honda | Tristan by throwing a bead at him, in the dark? He has good eyesight/aim, so watch out if he throws things at you.
✦ Takaido isn't the type to get into a group fight directly. He's more likely to back his friends up from afar if he can. He also doesn't have a problem with provoking others… as long as whoever he's provoking doesn't pose a threat.
✦ I've noticed he talks less than his friends. However, when he does, he makes it count. He knows what to say.
✦ Takaido can be a bit of a coward. The way he abandoned his friends when Kotsuzuka's duel with Yami Bakura was nearing its end, or the way he stood frozen in fear (in the manga) as Keith punished Kotsuzuka FOR FOLLOWING HIS INSTRUCTIONS could mean he doesn't handle fear/panic well.
✦ The way he dresses makes me think he cares about his appearance and spends some time choosing an outfit that makes him look good.
*fangirls_screaming.mp3*
✦ Other random headcanons I made up:
. Takaido likes spicy food and warm weather.
. He hates cold.
Satake | Zygor ⚡
✦ Satake is a tough guy. Not only physically but emotionally as well. Out of the three of them, Satake is the only one who's never cried during the time they've been on screen, not even at the end of the duel against Yami Bakura. Perhaps life has taught him to toughen up, and he either doesn't cry anymore, or it would take A LOT to make him cry.
✦ In the manga, when Keith lost it and punished Kotsuzuka FOR DOING EXACTLY AS HE SAID (yes, I'm still mad), Satake looked at them in horror as if he was about to say "Oi, Aniki, that's enough!" but couldn't react out of shock. This is why he strikes me as a protective friend.
✦ He's very supportive. You can count on him to cheer for you, comfort, reassure you, or keep you sane. Or to beat someone up for you.
✦ He's good with heavy work and often relies on physical strength. It's like his first instinct is to fight or attack things, probably to look intimidating. However, I haven't seen him raise a hand against any of his friends even once. This aggressive behavior must be aimed at strangers and enemies.
✦ Other random headcanons I made up:
. I don't know why but I think he would be good at babysitting kids. That doesn't mean he would be a good influence, though.
. Contrary to his intimidating appearance and attitude, he's fond of little animals. They evoke that protective nature that's characteristic of him.
. He likes storms. He thinks tornadoes are cool (not up close, of course).
Thank you for the ask! I hope any of this helps. If anyone else would like to add their thoughts/headcanons, feel free to do so ♥
Do Satake and Takaido have a favorite food, or do I need to make one up?
Will have to make one up. I don't think they have a favorite food in canon (not even in the anime) :c
I wish I could suggest ideas, but I have no knowledge about food xD
