Figured I’d also do a list like this for Zexal since I recently finished this show. I’ll do one for the original show someday. Maybe. But for now, it’s Zexal time.
…yeah this is a weird pick. Honestly, for most of the show, I did not give a rat’s ass about Cathy and honestly found it annoying how her only character trait was simping for Yuma. She’s honestly just at the number ten spot because I’m not very attached to anyone who didn’t make this list while Cathy, I actually am attached to. I think her friendship (that’s what it canonically is) with Kotori and the way she silently started to tolerate and eventually care for her and respect her relationship with Yuma was cute and honestly she’s just kind of funny.
The Arclights are good. The only reason Five isn’t on this list with his brothers is because I feel he’s a bit bland compared to them and never latched onto them. Four though? Four isn’t bland. As a villain, he was the most sadistic of the three and hides that behind a flamboyant showman personality which was really entertaining. I also like his interactions with Shark.
Yuma got way better as the show went on, not just as a duelist but as a character. He was really irritating and stupid at first, always acting first thinking later and being annoyingly proud, stubborn, and selfish when it came to the lives of his friends. So seeing him mature into a more caring and humble person was really nice. And his main flaw as the series went on was less so stupidity and more so naivety and blind devotion to others which is a lot more palatable and fleshed out. He’s not my favourite protagonist but I recognize that he’s well done and even appreciate his strengths at times.
No, I don’t like him falling in love with Kotori in less than ten seconds. It’s not funny, it’s just stupid. Honestly, his introduction episode set me up to hate him. But overtime I started to find him more amusing. And then we learn his backstory. First learning that he was executed for a crime he didn’t commit with no one he cared for believing him was brutal. Then learning that that memory driving him to evil wasn’t even real, that he was being controlled by false memories really sealed the deal. I love stuff like that. I know that happened with all the Barians but Alito was the first one they talked about this with and it was the one explored in the most depth (besides Vector). Anyways, Alito is fun.
I do like Kaito but the weird thing is I feel like I should like him more than I do. Like, he’s the gruff loner rival character with a soft spot for his little brother, the combination practically screams “favourite character” for me. He even reminds me a bit of Ryuga. Yet for some reason, I was never super into Kaito. I was starting to get to that point in season one as I enjoyed him being protective of his brother and his plight in the final two episodes is really nice but he wasn’t in season two enough? I suppose? He was just kinda there occasionally. In season one he was great. In season two he was just good. I still really like him overall but he’s kind of a missed potential in my book.
This is my son. Three is wholesome. He is a good pure cinnamon roll that just wanted his family to be happy. The way his redemption starts is that he snuck into Yuma’s house and when they found him, he proceeded to go on a nerd ramble about Duel Monsters and his favourite card. He. Is. Sweet.
Hehe. Rio is cool. *gets shot*
Okay but seriously, that is the best word to describe her. She’s sassy and not afraid to speak her mind and that leads to a lot of really funny lines from her. She also kicks ass and the backstory with her and Shark was really cool. Also, it’s just nice having a female character in one of these shows that can kick ass in a duel. Please have more of those in the coming shows.
For a best friend character, Shark has a lot of conflict with Yuma. There’s the obvious season two where they’re literally on opposite sides of a galactic war but even before that, they were enemies at the very beginning of the show and fought a lot between those two points. That’s a really interesting dynamic for a best friend character and again, I like the gruff loner characters with a secret soft side. I like Shark more than Kaito however as Shark stays relevant for the whole show and ends up with more character development. I also like his relationships with Yuma, Rio, Four, and the Barians.
Had you asked me even as little as a few days ago who my favourite Zexal character was, I would’ve said “Astral” with no hesitation. While I still really love him, there is one character I like more now and his characterization in the final duel did bother me a little. Aside from that though, Astral was the most enjoyable part of this show during season one. His sassiness was entertaining and I loved seeing the way his relationship with Yuma evolved, going through highs and lows and slowly changing both of them for the better overtime. I also liked his early naivety and curiosity towards life on earth. I don’t know why, I just find stuff like that charming.
Vector is actual garbage. He’s horrible. He is constantly manipulating Yuma and laughing in his face every time he fools him and doing other downright horrific things all while smiling and laughing with glee. And that is fucking hilarious. The guy who plays him in the Japanese sub sounds like he’s having the time of his life every single time he talks and it makes his already silly dialogue even more hilarious to me. And the way he’s animated adds to this as well. His expressions are so over the top and it matches the voice perfectly. I have… mixed thoughts on him being… “redeemed.” I think the story they tell with Don Thousand needing to twist Vector’s memories and personality even more intensely than the others because he was an intensely good person makes logical sense. However, him instantly repenting? Yes he turned out to be tricking them, well, seemingly. Honestly, it’s impossible to tell what the hell was going on in Vector’s mind during this scene. He claims he knew Don Thousand messed with his memories, which honestly sounds like a load of horseshit to me but those initial memories that made Vector sympathetic are real. That is what really happened to him and we know that some level of remorse he showed was real as he does genuinely sacrifice himself for Yuma later on and again. That human personality Vector had all that time ago isn’t completely gone. It’s possible that his reaction to Don Thousand twisting his memories was legitimate and he just used that trick to try and cover it up, to cling to his sadistic personality because it’s all he knows. Because that’s easier than being vulnerable and/or feeling that much pain. I don’t know, it’s all speculation but it’s fun to think about. I wish the show had actually addressed this topic and yeah, Vector does get off the hook too easily at the end. However, I like that in the little bit we see of him at the end, that he retains some of his mischief. Vector wouldn’t be Vector without his goblin tendencies.
