#episode 002

Episode Review

The opening helicopter ride has a narrator provide a couple details about the school setting and school year in the sub, while the dub has the helicopter pilot doing standard intercom announcements. The sub has a few details the dub doesn't - the island's location "on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean" and the fact that its school year starts in fall (October, to match the IRL debut of GX in October 2004) - but the dub also actually names the island. Just "Academy Island," but it’s more than the sub gives here.

The dub has Shepard talk more over the panning shots of DA in his opening speech to the students, hinting at the dorm rank system in advance, but there aren't any really significant changes here.

When the students start talking about dorms, Bastion telling Jaden/Syrus he's in Yellow is more sarcastic in the dub compared to the sub:

Misawa: Nope - I can tell by my uniform that I'm in Ra Yellow.

Bastion: Well now, let's see here, yellow sleeves, yellow buttons, I don't think so.

The rest of the conversation also progresses differently: Misawa is surprised that Judai was assigned to Red, while Bastion asks if Jaden only just now noticed the color difference. The dub does have a fun moment of "Well, are you color blind?" "Haha, no, but I could've been!" but the sub has Misawa bidding farewell to Judai and calling him Ichiban-kun. The difference isn't huge, but Bastion is a little more insulting of Jaden than Misawa, who clearly respects Judai.

Once at the Red dorm, Shou asking to call Judai "aniki" and Judai saying they're rivals without a hierarchy is skipped over in the dub. This isn't at all surprising given that the nuances of Shou's use of "aniki" is difficult to translate straight - by my understanding it's a term for an older brother, but also indicates respect or reverence and is also used in the yakuza the way a flunky calls someone "Boss." Later on, the Ojamas will refer to Manjoume using this same word with different connotations. (If you want to point out some nuances I missed, please refer to the pinned post - I'm not an expert here, and anyone who is should feel free to comment on this post!)

The dub tries to use other ways to reflect Syrus's reverence of Jaden, including the joke on Atem/Set just before this. Jaden is more willing to help with Syrus's confidence issues than Judai, who sidesteps the issue when it comes up. 

For Hayato/Chumley's intro, they cut out Hayato's koala overlay so Syrus and Jaden just get jumpscared by a guy in the bunk. Which still works, but it's worth noting for the unaware that in the sub Hayato is directly compared to a koala from the start (which is why his hair is in puffs - they're koala ears!) for his continuous Australian theme while the dub skips over this and makes Chumley (sigh) a fat kid joke. Yes, I'm going to rag on the dub for this like I did the Crowler misgendering jokes. I like Hayato and hey, maybe it's the educator in me but I think the dub did him dirty by taking a kid struggling within an elitist and high-pressure school environment and reducing him to "hey don't you want to laugh at the fat kid?" We'll get to that more in episodes 4 and 5.

That said, the rest of Hayato's intro is pretty much the same up to the dorm explanation, where Blue is explained slightly differently between both versions. (A line or two about further Hayato pessimism was cut for an extra joke, but I don't think that's a huge difference.)

Hayato: Obelisk Blue has everyone who had the best grades in our middle school wing. And any freshmen who took the high school's exam to get in and scored the highest on it get assigned to Ra Yellow first. Shou: Then, what's Osiris Red? Hayato: Just a spot for all the no-good, bad-grade dropouts to lay low. Get it? Anyone who got put here didn't have a future to begin with.

Chumley: We got three different kinds of student here. Obelisk Blue students, Ra Yellow students, and Slifer Red students. Now the Blues are the highest-ranked students. Some kids are Blue 'cause of grades, others through connections. The Yellows are second-highest, mostly younger students with lots of potential. Then, there are us. The Red wonders. Syrus: The wonders. That's a cool name! Chumley: As in, I wonder how flunkies like us ever got this far, maybe! Yeah, sorry! We're bottom of the barrel here. Dueling duds. Oh, I'm Chumley by the way.

To summarize: the dub says Obelisk requires grades OR connections, while the sub says that Obelisk requires grades AND connections (i.e., attendance at the middle school). This is a small difference, but it does imply that Obelisk students can buy their way into the dorm without skills which isn't necessarily true in the sub just by these lines alone. Given we don't have hard details on demographics, though, I don't want to go further into this divide.

The explanation of Ra students is also different, with the sub noting that they're limited by not having attended the middle school while the dub characterizes them as generally younger.

Judai and Shou's conversation about the color red and the future is about the same - one of Shou's lines about "I shouldn't have been upset this early" is replaced by a tangent joke about getting fired up, but that's not all that important (the point was already made). Shou going "WTF do you mean you smell duels" is replaced by a joke about the pollen count, implying Syrus has allergies. This is not important except for Dub Lore.

The arena scene up to Manjoume's entry is about the same. "Middle school" is changed to "prep school" but that's just consistency with previous changes. Judai's boasting is changed slightly - instead of saying he's (currently) #1 at the academy and that's why Manjoume can't be, Jaden says he's the future king of games (and that's why Chazz can't be). The blue-haired lackey's insult is slightly different: he talks about how Reds don't know their place in the sub, while in the dub he just goes "a Slifer slacker, king of games?"

Manjoume/Chazz's interjection after this conveys different things about him: Manjoume says “Be quiet!” in English, commanding more presence, while Chazz instead tells them to “Can it!” His dialogue after is also very slightly different (Manjoume going a bit further in implying Judai is more skilled than his lackeys, while Chazz just says he might be pretty good) but I think his trash talk when Asuka arrives has more of a characterization difference:

Manjoume: Tenjoin-kun! You see, these newcomers don't know much about how the world works…I figured I'd give them a quick lesson on how intense the academy can be.

Chazz: Hey, Alexis. Have you come to watch me mop the floor with my new little friend Jaden here? It'll be a short duel, but an entertaining one for sure.

Manjoume frames himself as serious and experienced, while Chazz presents himself as (by my read) more of a generic tough guy. This is a theme that will continue throughout my review of this episode.

When Asuka enters, the dialogue up until Manjoume leaves is about the same in either version. When she talks to Judai and Shou, Alexis specifically calls out Chazz as bad Obelisk rep while Asuka says nothing on the topic and just insults Manjoume.

Asuka: Don't let Manjoume-kun and his group get to you, you two. After all, they're a lousy bunch.

Alexis: Sorry if Chazz rubbed you the wrong way. All of us Obelisks aren't like that. He's just a jerk, especially with Slifers.

Given that Obelisk elitism is a theme in future episodes I'd call Alexis wrong on that front, which is funny (unfortunate) if not a really significant change.

Judai joking to Asuka "Did you fall in love with me at first sight?" is changed for Jaden claiming he'd have beaten Chazz in one turn which is also kind of funny given IIRC 4KIDS like pushing the Jaden/Alexis agenda more than the sub. Syrus's response to Jaden follows on up an earlier line back in Red: "Sy, we're gonna have to work on that confidence." -> "We're gonna have to work on that overconfidence." Nice job with that one, 4KIDS, I genuinely thought that was funny.

Banner's intro in the dub omits the fact that he teaches alchemy, instead opting for an icebreaker activity. This is a bit of a weird choice but isn't a huge loss since this fact is introduced in the next episode anyway. After dinner, Jaden and Syrus talk about Banner instead of discussing the meal like Judai and Shou.

Chumley turning down the tea is more forceful/rude than in the sub, where Hayato is simply dismissive ("Did I say I was thirsty?" vs. "I don't want any"). Hayato explaining he doesn't want tea due to anxiety-related stomach issues is changed in the dub to…a bedwetting joke, which slapped me right in the face when watching because I was prepared for fat jokes but I was not prepared for that.

Hayato: He's not bad at [making tea] or anything. I've just been so upset about our mess here that I haven't been able to eat any food.

Chumley: Tea makes you wet the bed. Not that I do… Or ever did-- I mean, whatever. I'm trying to sleep.

And before anyone tries to go "well, actually" about the word "mess": I cross-referenced this line against the Crunchyroll translation to confirm it's "mess" in the sense of a bad situation, not "mess" as in "mess hall."

Hayato (Crunchyroll): It isn't that the food wasn't good. They were all so depressed about their circumstances, they couldn't stomach it.

This version of the line actually emphasizes that Hayato is meant to represent the larger population of the Red dorm beyond our plucky red-loving protagonist: he's dejected and depressed about being a structurally enforced reject, the lowest social caste at the school with little hope of advancement. This is a major part of Hayato's character and overcoming this depression to finding his own path is his major development over the season! And the dub ignores all that just to go "haha Chumley wets the bed."

If you're going "Hayato/Chumley isn't even an important character, this doesn't matter" please consider that my primary concerns in these reviews are characterization and plot/lore differences. I'd say this counts, because just from this half-an-episode already the sub and dub portrayals of Hayato and Chumley are already significantly different. Also I joked about it in the episode 1 review but I really do work with education IRL, so this does matter to me personally!

Moving on. Manjoume's dialogue for his challenge is once again a bit tougher-sounding in the dub:

Manjoume: Hey, Dropout Boy, I'll be on the Duel Field at midnight. We'll duel with the ante rule and put our best cards at stake. If you've got the guts, come join me…

Chazz: Hey, Slifer slacker, don't think you're off the hook. Tonight at midnight, it's on. Oh, and why don't we make it interesting? Whoever wins gets the other guy's best card.

When they meet up for the challenge Judai says he wants to test DA's elite, while Jaden says he and Chazz will see who the next King of Games will be - setting up more of a rivalry between them. I'd like this change, honestly…if they didn't undercut the rivalry setup by taking out the meat of WHY they make good rivals. At the beginning of the duel, Manjoume starts with a monologue about how his position in Obelisk reflects his superior strategizing, while Judai retorts that duels should be more passionate than that.

Manjoume: I place one card face-down and end my turn! Manjoume, thinking: With drawing involved, luck does factor into a duel. Even then, what does decide a match is a strategy based on careful calculations. Manjoume, out loud: Obelisk Blue and Osiris Red…this difference in our wits has already decided our outcome! Judai: You can't play a duel in your head! It takes a battle of fiery hearts!

This exchange is cut to practically nothing in the dub:

Chazz: And I'll also place one card face down. Jaden: I guess that's one way to start a duel, but I'm gonna go a little bigger!

This is a WILD change to me, because this is a duel for introducing our first rival, the arrogant Obelisk elite. You WANT him to monologue about his view of the world, therefore telling the audience about the kind of guy he is and why he works well as a rival to the protagonist. I guess if the dub already decided on hotshot rival Chazz those lines don't work for how they want to present him anyway, but then they could easily be replaced by different lines that further his characterization as a hotshot. We had time for a Chumley bedwetting joke but not THIS?

After this the duel continues, we once again lose Flame Wingman being Judai's Favorite. Compared to Shou, Syrus is a bit quicker on the draw to understand Chazz's strategy when Alexis explains his trap card. Manjoume again credits his plan to steal Flame Wingman to Intelligent Strategy while Chazz has more generic lines:

Manjoume: I've caught you already. I've already given that entry exam duel of yours an in-depth analysis. It takes wit to duel!

Chazz: I was hoping you would. Because that card I just played face down was a trap, slacker, that you've set off.

Manjoume: I knew that a Fusion monster finished Instructor Chronos in your battle with him, and that's why I laid that trap. And you just walked right into my trap without even knowing that! Leave it to an Osiris Red…

Chazz: You're so predictable, Jaden. You wouldn't stop talking about that Wingman at the exam, so I'd knew you'd use him soon.

Later on, Manjoume's line about duel calculations is again replaced with general trash talk:

Manjoume: What? A duel's outcome is settled with 99% intelligence, luck playing its role for no more than a mere 1%.

Chazz: Not bad? You're something else, slacker, you know that? Acting all confident. But your lousy monsters won't get you out of this jam.

In contrast, Jaden's dialogue is also different but it helps characterize him more. Judai's mid-duel is gushing more about the challenges:

Judai: The Duel Academia seems like fun! Guys like you are everywhere here, huh? This'll be great!

Whereas Jaden is more into the atmosphere:

Jaden: Just what I came for. Man, I mean, the trash talking, the action, it's all so great.

His lines in response to the 99%/lousy monsters line are also different, by necessity since the lines they're playing off of are also different:

Judai: I'll ride it all on that 1%!

Jaden: Because Chazz doesn't know that my monsters and I, we have…a bond!

These both still say something about Judai/Jaden's characters, so I think they both work.

Shou and Asuka's conversation about "Judai isn't my real big bro, but he's my aniki in spirit" is also completely cut in the dub. They would have had to change the lines even if the conversation was kept, so I see why they'd cut it given time constraints. (Dub episode runtime is typically a few minutes shorter than in the sub even accounting for the shorter opening theme, so just about every episode will have minor cuts for that reason alone.)

When the security guards approach, Asuka mentions they could get expelled for all the violations (and calls the ante rule out as forbidden), while Alexis just says they'll be "seriously busted" (less detail). In addition, when Asuka pulls out the rules Manjoume blushes and wonders if she was watching (a sign of his crush). In the dub Manjoume says nothing and blushes while Alexis says he should know better but didn't tell Judai/Shou, which makes it look like he's embarrassed for being called out (rather than crushing on Asuka). Not that important in isolation, but the crush will become plot-relevant later so that's a tiny bit of consistency lost.

Manjoume and Judai's dialogue after this is about the same, but Judai's little tantrum after Manjoume leaves is slightly different: Judai says he's staying put out of pure stubbornness. Jaden instead complains about how he was about to win.

After they get out Asuka asks how Judai's first taste of Obelisk was and assumes Judai would have lost, while Alexis says she's sorry Jaden didn't get to finish the match and says it could have gone either way. The rest of the episode is about the same between both versions.

And that's game! Gotcha!

Spoiler Zone

Jaden is a bit more accepting of Syrus' dependence on him, which will be turned into character narrative in the next episode. In the future, we'll see that Judai isn't really all that happy being someone Shou looks upward to. I'm interested in seeing how this is or isn't reflected with Jaden and Syrus.

Final Thoughts

This episode is primarily about Obelisk and its elitism, represented foremost by Manjoume/Chazz. I think the dub implying Obelisk is a mix of genuinely smart kids and kids coasting purely on money can bring up the question: which is Chazz? The sub says Obelisks need both, and focuses on Manjoume as an intellectual elite (with more focus on his money coming later). But the dub leaves it more ambiguous, and...also doesn't really land either way as far as this episode goes.

Pretty consistently, Manjoume is characterized as more analytical than Chazz is. This isn't a characterization that really sticks for Manjoume so I'm not as concerned about it as I could be, but this is an episode meant to introduce us to Manjoume/Chazz as a future rival. I do wonder about the effective difference in how the character is perceived. Manjoume asserts superiority via rank and intelligence, while Chazz asserts superiority via rank and a lot of slick putdowns. You can tell someone writing the dub dialogue had a lot of fun alliterating. Slifer slacker. Slifer slime. Slifer school scum. As far as I understand from my more dub-familiar friends, this is a key part of Chazz's character and charm.

In a way, the focus on rank is more consistent with the character as he's presented later. But in taking out the focus on elite status in favor of Slifer slights, is the dub's presentation of Chazz as strong? I legitimately have trouble judging this myself, because I feel like I get less out of funny trash talk than the average viewer. (I mean, does that really sound odd for someone doing line-by-line comparisons to analyze lore/characterization? Throw me a bone here.)