Azure Moonlight

It’s the ultimate dream of all Yu-Gi-Oh fans around the world to play the card game like in the anime. The players standing up, facing each other on opposite sides of the field, duel disks strapped to their arms, passionately declaring their moves, holographic monsters appearing at their owner’s side and responding to their command. Unfortunately for us in the real world, we can only play sitting down on a table or on a console. We had to resign ourselves that dueling like our favorite characters was an unattainable dream as technology was not advanced enough to make it possible…..until recently.

In February 2024, KONAMI held an event in Tokyo to celebrate the card game’s 25th anniversary. Out of all the announcements that were made during that event, the most memorable one was the presentation of their project “YU-GI-OH Duel Links: Solid Vision Experiment”, an immersive new experience to combine the YU-GI-OH Duel Links video game and VR technology. It started with a short video showing the producer Akitsu Terashima thanking the fans for their support and introducing the concept of the “Solid Vision Experiment”, followed by a demonstration on stage. Both were later posted on the official Yu-Gi-Oh Youtube channel.

It was simply incredible! With the use of a VR set, the player finds themselves standing on a duel field and have a taste of battle between the Blue Eyes White Dragon and the Dark Magician. Just like the anime! The concept of dueling using VR (virtual reality) or AR (augmented reality) has always been present in the anime since the beginning of the franchise and now, what we thought would never happen suddenly became a possibility.

4. Jack Atlas vs Crow Hogan (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds)

Yusei’s best friends since childhood. Because of their strong personalities, they banter and argue often which could have led to a duel at some point but unfortunately, it never came to be. Having known each other for as long as they have, it could have already happened but it was never shown nor mentioned.

3. Declan Akaba vs Shay Obsidian (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V)

It almost happened. Shay goes to meet Declan with the intention of dueling him, but Declan talks him out of it, instead offering him an alliance to fight their common foe. For the rest of the show, they had only minimal interactions, acting independently most of the time so the opportunity never presented itself again. A duel between the two of them could have easily become an iconic moment in the series.

2. Varis vs Ai (Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains)

From the start of the show, Varis’s goal was to eliminate the ignis, and with Ai becoming the main antagonist in season 3, his resolve was strengthened and he vowed to destroy him without hesitation. A confrontation between the two seemed inevitable at that point but unfortunately it never came to be, Playmaker being the one who defeated Ai.

1. Zane Truesdale vs Supreme King Jaden (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX)