Cat/Joey

Cronos doesn't actually specialize in dueling, he specializes in foreign language

The catalyst from the theory comes from how uncertain he sounds when first introducing himself. The “uhhh……shrek” definitely sounds like something he kinda came up with on the spot. It’s even supported when he first introduces himself to Fiona, saying it in almost the same way.

But it’s a theory that seems to make sense. None of the signs or decorations in his swamp are marked with his name (unless you count the title card in the mud, but that’s probably not diagetic). There’s no record of his existence outside of simply “ogre”. And that’s all he’d ever really been to the world. The theme of him being seen as a monster is obviously seen throughout the movie quite a bit, but that can also be seen with how he’s addressed throughout the movie.

I took a look over the transcript for the point. Up until halfway through the movie, there are only two characters who say Shrek’s name. Shrek himself, once when introducing himself, and Donkey. The first time anyone else says his name is when he first saves Fiona and asks his name, still believing him to be Prince Charming. Of course, after finding how unorthodox he is and then learning he’s an ogre, she doesn’t refer to him by name at all until the next day after the Robin Hood encounter. At no point in the movie does anyone else say the word “Shrek”. Not even Lord Farquaad. Farquaad always refers to him as “the beast” or “this thing” or “the ogre”. And that’s part of the theme of how he is seen by the rest of the world. As far as he knows, he doesn’t have a name. He’s just…an ogre.

okay so we all agree that futurama is an isekai but what about an overly long and dumb title?

(clean version under the cut)

Over the course of the show, all he cares about is that he loves dueling. He's happy, chipper, and stays upbeat even when Real Shit is at stake. He was abandoned by all his friends and family when he was young because his imaginary friend (who he was tortured into forgetting) kept putting people in comas, and so when he finally got to duel academy, you can see him just be overcome with zeal at finally getting to duel like he loves to. He saves the world several times, but it's clear that he doesn't feel like it's his responsibility or duty.

And in season 3 it feels like we get a whole new cast who would be right at home as the main characters in a more conventional yugioh story, and are everything Judai and his friend group are not. An actual rich kid with an over-the-top tragic backstory, as opposed to the very human and grounded Chazz/manjoume, dealing with the more relatable problem of not wanting to live in your family's shadow. A boy who can talk to spirits like Judai, but also possesses an ancient and magical deck, and the blessing of Maximilian Pegasus. A guy with a fucking ancient artifact in his eye. A serious and hyper-competent action hero. Compared to the crew who chills out in the schoolyard, these guys seem like capital P Protagonists.

And everything starts collapsing on him all at once. He saves the academy, like, 3 times in a single season, and people started looking to him exclusively to pull them out of problem after problem. Even the english dub acknowledged this, albeit with a joke. His friends, new and old, and even his teachers, were putting all the responsibility he never asked for or wanted on his shoulders, and kept looking to him to fix things. It gives off a vibe of like, he's just a kid in completely over his head, and the universe was just forcing all this on him, and ultimately, it just broke him.

The pressure of, well, being a yugioh protagonist was too much for this kid and his school friends, and it breaks my heart every time I think about it.