The Source of Yuugi’s strength
Where does his inner strength come from? And what happens if he is all by himself?
There was always something striking about his character. Yuugi Mutou is anything else but the typical shonen hero. He is small, fragile, shy and he has so many complexes about himself that he starts questioning himself and his decisions more than once. His development isn't a consistent line but a curve with many ups and downs. He is not as loud and strong as most shonen heros – NO – he is the opposite. Sometimes he is too scared to say something. He is too scared to say what's on his mind and he is afraid to say something stupid.
He has a soft and caring heart and the will to fight for the people he loves. Moreover, he shows his weak sides. He doesn't even try to hide his tears because he is an emotional person. Yuugi's personality and his character development is one of the most beautiful things about the whole YGO manga – because he had to fight himself for this! He had to fight his own anxieties. Yuugi's biggest enemy was himself. He had to learn to accept and love himself – something many young people trouble to do.
I'd like to point out the narrative of the YGO manga. Doesn't it feel like as if Yuugi wasn't a part of this world? He introduced minor characters like Sozoji, Hanasaki and even other characters in a way that makes me think that he knows a lot about them. He knows their names. He states general information about them. Yuugi took an awful long time to observe his other classmates and even knows their names, but never really took the time to speak to them. He is around but he is not a part of their class society.
Yuugi wished for friends that would never betray him. He had no friends. In the beginning he was all by himself. He was anxious about how other people might think about him. The manga was about a young boy who not became a stereotypical hero who would use himself as a shield to fight the evildoers and fight the injustice, but a person who is able to look forward and enjoy what he has gained in his life. He needs no super powers. He appreciates his life and his friends. But deep within he still has issues and fears.
Yes, he has become stronger. I do not doubt Yuugi's strength. He is one of the strongest characters in the whole show, because he always stayed true to himself. He didn't magically become a new person, but it's shown to us why he changes and how other characters affect him in a positive way. Yuugi's strength however is not his own strength. His strength comes from his friends. He is strong because he has people around him who care about him and want to see him successful in his life. All of Yuugi's friends support and love him the way he is and this is what makes him strong. He still has a loving, caring heart and a rather soft nature. He is still emotional, but he knows he has less to fear because he is not alone anymore.
But what happens if Yuugi is all by himself for a longer period of time without a purpose? Anzu leaving Japan and studying abroad. Jounouchi focusing on his career as a pro-duelist. Honda working in his family company. Ryou studying and Otogi trying to get Dungeon Dice and Dragons a hit again, working his ass off in order to open a new shop. Their school time is over. Their true lives start now. Not the adult problems approach and you can't just go and play games with your friends because they might not have time.
Yuugi having to face many failures. Having people around him who tell him that his ideas are stupid? Maybe his mother and father asking him to learn a real job? What if people don't like his game Spherium? What will people criticize and how does this critique affect Yuugi? What if people make fun of him and none of his friends are around? He used to have Atem around to ask him for help, but now he is all by himself and needs to cope with this without anyone's help. Sure, he can phone his friends and they will see each other now and then, but Yuugi will have more time to talk himself down.
As mentioned before, Yuugi's development is not a line but a curve which makes his personality so believable and make him more realistic than most anime heroes. Life is a never-ending progress of change and with every experience we gain we develop into better people. The people we meet affect us. Especially bad experiences can awaken our long forgotten fears. I'd like to think that Yuugi's life starts now that he has finally finished high school.
If Yuugi is all by himself it is likely for him to doubt himself. He might start questioning himself. He is emotional and starts overthinking. It's a part of his personality. He is still a person who has many issues that he needs to overcome. All the hindrances in his life became less threatening due to all the friends he has made and the people standing behind him. He used to be scared of other people and social interaction, but with his friends by his side, he has become a person who is able to look forward.
I think that Yuugi easily could lose his balance. We see Yuugi showing signs of complexes and even self-loathing when he fails during the manga. He often speaks himself down and considers himself worthless, which becomes clear when taking a closer look to the words he chooses and how he talks about himself. He is scared of loosing his friends. He is scared of them thinking that he might be weird which shows that Yuugi has a hard time to accept himself. He blames himself.
Even the last volume shows that after Atem left he is nowhere near a person who accepts himself.
He is still troubled with himself and doubts his own strength, becoming even all the more clear in DSOD where Jounouchi tells Yuugi that “<i>there's no need to force yourself into erasing your memories of him</i>” which is a direct hint at Yuugi's fear of loosing people. I wonder how many people understood how beautiful and deep this scene was and why it was so nice for Jounouchi to even point that out. Even after winning against Atem, Yuugi explains why he is not as strong as Atem, so his fears of not being good enough are still somewhere in his mind.
There are many moments in the manga where Yuugi's anxiety becomes clear, usually only small panels, words he uses that have more meaning when taking a closer look and the way he behaves around others. He also states himself that people don't pay attention to him. Yuugi is invisible in his class and this alone explains so many of his issues.
Yuugi is a young student. He is 15-16 and he mentions himself that he is invisible. He believes that he is not interesting enough for people to look at him. This is sad. And he just casually says this as if it is nothing which makes me think that Yuugi accepted at this point that people don't care for him. Those thoughts that he is not interesting have already affected his being. It's not like that he feels like that at certain times, but he drops this quote like it's nothing worth mentioning.
So, I think that Yuugi never brought friends home. I see people who claim that Anzu and Yuugi used to be close friends all the time, but I think it’s kind of overseen that Yuugi seems surprised that Anzu would visit him. She didn’t even know about Yuugi’s family situation and assumed Sugoroku was dead. Later on she even mentions it herself that “it has been a long time” since she last came over. But...how long exactly?
Several years considering that Sugoroku even points out her chest size. The last time she was around both were kids. So, I really don’t like how people say that they always had that close bond to each other, when it is obviously stated that they haven’t had much contact for a very long time. When does the chest of a girl start to grow? Once she hits puberty, say with 11-13 years. So, we’re talking about several years here where she wasn’t around. She probably was abroad in America due to her father’s job, it also explains why she wants to study in America and not in her homeland.Yuugi had enough time to talk himself down and feel lonely. His wish for friends who would never betray him might originate from here. (I already covered this in my Anzu musing over a year ago.)
When reading the manga and paying close attention to what Sugoroku says, we can assume that Yuugi had this problem even in his early childhood – which is why he never had any friends and is so desperately searching for true friends who would not betray him. He is not used having other friends around. His shyness holds him back. There is one certain scene in the manga, when their class discusses a school festival. Anzu asks Yuugi to suggest something and we can see that Yuugi has been holding back. He had an idea and he is super enthusiastic about it. But he didn't want to say anything and choose to hold back. Why would he be afraid to contribute something? The reason is clear and has been shown to us only moments ago.
Hanasaki makes a suggestion and the other kids in their class don't agree and find his idea stupid. We see their expressions. We don't have to question what they feel because it's written all over their faces. We see how uncomfortable Hanasaki is. He is ashamed for having said something. Yuugi – just like Hanasaki – has experienced a similar treating in his class which explained in the manga so nicely and never even addressed in the anime. Yuugi even mentioned it himself already: they're both invisible in their class.
When one of his classmates asks him whether he wants to play Basketball with them, he states that his team would lose anyway. During PE you usually have the coolest and most sportiest people choose their teams. Yuugi probably was one of those people who would be chosen last and his team would blame him for not being motivated enough. So, Yuugi saying that his team would lose, could be interpreted in a way that Yuugi has made experiences where his team lost. He knows that nobody wants him in his team, because he knows that he is not the strongest person. I'm sure that he often had to deal with people who would make fun of him which is why he was a loner in his class. It must have been hard for him.
German version states: “Ach nöö... mein Team verliert doch eh immer”, (“No, my team always loses”); he is using the word “immer” which stresses out a state that something happens all the time. Something that is unavoidable. In other words he blames himself that his team loses.
(I trust the German translators more than I trust VIZ media. I compared both versions and some translations in the English version not only sound strange but also extremely out of character. They even write their names wrong, like Anzu Gardner or Honda addresses Jounouchi with his first name and calls him “Katsuya” which he would never do considering that boys usually don’t address each other with their first name. There are many things that make me think that the English official translation is not trustworthy. It feels like they tried really hard to adapt the manga to the 4Kids anime. I rather have several sources to compare and came to the conclusion that it’s better to stick with fan translations and the official German version.)
I also think that Yuugi's father might also be at fault. Yuugi is in an important time in his life where he needs a father to back him up and help him find courage. Instead, his father is always at work. They probably don't see each other often. Yuugi's father is a stranger and not even important enough to have an official name or be even mentioned during the manga/anime. Even Takahashi mentioned him only once on a side note. This is how much of an important role he plays in Yuugi's life. He is not a part of Yuugi's life and this must have hurt and affected Yuugi a lot.
>Why doesn't he care? It's my birthday and he only sends a birthday card? Is his work more important than me? I can't tell him that the other boys in my class bully me. I have to work this out on my own.<
Yuugi has shown so much interest in games in order to distract himself from all those negative thoughts. Games are his passion and they help him to feel better and forget the painful world around him. During a game it's not important where you come from or how you look like. It's just about your skills and the joy you feel when having another player play with you.
Yuugi has made many bad experiences in his life and I think that he is easily affected by them. His father never being at home might also be a reason why he is afraid of losses.
So, even after he starts applying for a job or working with the Kaiba Corporation, Yuugi will question himself and will need the support of his friends. He is not over his complexes, he has learned to accept and work around them with the help of others. Introverts like Yuugi need extroverts to get over their problems. Jounouchi, Honda and Anzu are extroverts. Says a lot. :D
His strength comes from the people around him.
Yuugi becoming as strong and cool as Atem is something I absolutely don't see happen. ƪ(‾_‾)ʃ
