#episode 003

Episode Review

We open in class, with Asuka explaining game mechanics in class. In both versions Chronos/Crowler praises Asuka/Alexis and references her Blue status. Asuka says she just recited the basics, while Alexis just says "Yes, Dr. Crowler" - a bit more passive, but overall not a huge difference.

When Shou/Syrus flubs his cold call question about field spells Shou mentions he knew the answer, while Syrus says he blew it and made Slifers look bad. Judai jumps in to say smarts and battle are different things; Jaden says Crowler shouldn't make fun of Slifers. Both end in "after all, I beat you!" (Jaden also adds an additional line: "So, when you make fun of us, you're really making fun of yourself!")

Chronos is mostly just generally mad at the response, while Asuka watches on in amusement. The dub cuts the Asuka shot and instead focuses on Crowler to give him a "That's it, I'm getting rid of him" moment that leads into the episode plot. I think this works pretty well, honestly.

Banner's class speech is a bit different, talking less about alchemy as his class topic and framing it more as general mysticism including "duel alchemy."

Daitokuji: Well, alchemy involves the use of non-metals to essentially create metals - especially gold - but in a broader sense it's an art in which one tries to transform and reshape average substances into perfect substances [meow]. Originating in ancient Egypt and passed through Arabia, it was soon known to all of Europe…

Banner: So, as some of you students know, my name is Professor Lyman Banner. I specialize in some of the lesser known tactics and strategies in the world of Duel Monsters, some that a few might even consider to be unnatural - duel alchemy, for example.

I'm kind of like...hm, about this. On a surface level, alchemy is pretty relevant to the first season what with Amnael and the Philosopher's Stone; on a metaphorical level, alchemy is relevant to ALL of GX (links include spoilers for all seasons). And I do mean alchemy in the classical sense and not just duel alchemy (though of course we will get to duels-as-alchemy later on). I think framing Banner as a Mysticism teacher rather than alchemy specifically buries the lede a little bit, especially since they skipped over the line about transforming average into perfect - setting up the Amnael duel towards the end of the season, where it's an explicit point that Fusion Is Alchemy.

Anyway when Pharaoh shows up the dub adds a joke about Syrus minoring as a scratchpost, furthering the dub's approach to treating DA like college (as with Crowler's reference to community college in episode 1). I can see where 4KIDS figured a boarding high school specializing in vocational card game sports works for college metaphors, but it certainly is a choice given the "chilling out in the schoolyard" vibe they're going for.

Also they added canned laughter after the scratchpost joke, just to make sure you know it's funny. [Brook Onepiece voice] SCHOOL JOKE!

Heading into the next class, they skipped Chronos talking to himself as he applied lipstick for the fake love letter - not a huge change, but it's there. Ayukawa just introduces herself as the PE teacher while Fontaine says she'll be the gym instructor "for this semester," so one more for the "dub DA as college" pile.

When Shou/Syrus comes in, him talking about being late is changed to a joke about misreading signs and going to the girls' gym by accident. Judai getting the wrong locker and leaving his stuff in Shou's is changed to "borrowing" Syrus's locker, which I think very slightly changes the implications (attributing the shoe mistake to unintentional carelessness or intentional misappropriation) but isn't a huge difference long-term.

Somewhat more of a difference is a joke the dub adds in comparing the fake love letter to what Syrus's mom writes him. The dub really wants to portray Syrus as pathetic, and they're going to do plenty of that this episode.

It continues a little bit in the next scene, when Judai finds Shou isn't in the dorms. In the sub Hayato asks roughly "you guys weren't together?" and Judai wonders where he is, while Chumley says he left in a good mood to set up Jaden's line: "Good mood? That really doesn't sound like Syrus."

Ouch.

Not surprisingly, the dub changes the Obelisk girls' dorm communal bath into a wading pool...which Asuka and crew proceed to sit up to their necks in.

The breast size conversation is changed to talking about how the guys play tackle Marco Polo in the pool and uh. Hello? Have we never gotten fanart of Chazz playing tackle Marco Polo??? (I say, as someone who can only draw stick figures.)

The girls' trash talk about Judai/Jaden is about the same in sub and dub, but Asuka/Alexis's response is different. Asuka just doesn't care about him, but Alexis thinks he was cool. For some reason Momoe calling Misawa dreamy is changed to continued dunking on Jaden. RIP Bastion.

Outside the baths/pool Chronos's continued plan monologue while Shou runs through the unlocked gate is cut, so Syrus just runs through panting. Chronos murmuring to himself is changed to Asuka's continued thoughts about wanting to duel Jaden.

Crowler's reaction when Syrus appears is more insulting than in the sub - "Why is it Signor Marufuji?!" versus "It's that stammering field spell nitwit!" His panic about being spotted also differs slightly between the two versions. In the sub he says he'll be the one expelled, while in the dub he takes offense to being called a boy and not a man.

For this whole uproar and the rest of the episode, there's generally less talk of peeping toms and perverts in the dub and more focus is put on the general crime of trespassing in the girls' dorm. There's a whole debate about censorship that can be had here but I don't really care to get into it in this particular instance because it doesn't affect themes or characterization.

When Shou/Syrus gets caught and dragged into the girls' dorm for interrogation, Junko/Jasmine is...huh.

Junko: Why would Asuka-san, the Queen of Obelisk Blue, write some love letter to an Osiris Red like you?

Jasmine: Um, hello! Like Alexis is really tall, and you're really short. She's really good at dueling, and you're really not. She's really hot, and--

4KIDS really said they were going to tease Jaden/Alexis for the straights this episode, even titling the episode for it, and then gave us lesbian Jasmine huh.

Anyway after that Asuka remarks that the fake love letter is too awfully written for her to have done it, while Alexis says her name isn't even spelled right. Momoe makes fun of Shou for being a dumb Red, while Mindy is a bit more sympathetic about someone "yanking [his] chain." Again, they play up the patheticness of Syrus getting a fake love letter for someone else here:

Syrus: So I can't even get a fake love letter. Mindy: I'm sorry, Syrus. Syrus: Me too.

The original dialogue isn't related, but here it is for comparison:

Momoe: I can't believe you were lured by some fake love letter and came here without any concern. And to top it off, it was all a mistake. Shou: This is depressing... Momoe: You reap what you sow.

When Ayukawa/Fontaine enters, Fontaine is ruder about the commotion - Ayukawa just tells everyone to go back to bed, while Fontaine complains about having pilates in the morning--

…wait, with WHO? She's the PE teacher. Is she leading pilates, or is there a secret other teacher providing pilates sessions for her?

Anyway afterward, Asuka mentions "I knew I'd have to battle him sooner or later" while Alexis more explicitly/actively plots to bring Jaden to them. The ransom note PDA message is about the same in both versions.

In the prelude to the duel, Chronos generally grumbling about his situation is changed to a joke: "You try to expel one kid, and the entire world turns against you!" When he spots Judai in the second rowboat Chronos just goes "oh, there's the dropout boy" while Crowler comments "You're a little late."

Syrus is more insulting of himself when they meet up again - "I can make it a long story, or a not-so-long one" to "To make a long story short, I'm basically a big loser." Again this plays up Syrus as a pathetic character.

Syrus's crime is described as "trespassing into the girls' campus" in the dub rather than peeping in the girls' bathhouse, and - wait, why campus and not dorm? I legit looked up the definition of the word, and while I guess campus is technically not incorrect, it's still a weird word choice:

My best guess is that they wanted to build on the DA-as-college theme, but..."dorm" would have done that well enough, so I don't know what that's about. Not important in the long run, just a weird choice.

This exchange between Asuka/Alexis and Judai/Jaden mostly comes out to the same thing but honestly I like how the sub highlights that this entire charade was unnecessary and Asuka did not have to hold Shou hostage for Judai to accept a duel:

Asuka: Hey, there. Care to duel me? If you defeat me, I'll let the whole "bathhouse-peeping" thing slide. Shou: I'm telling you, I wasn't peeping! Judai: I'm not really gettin' this, but whatever! I'll take you up on that duel!

Alexis: That's right, so if you don't want us to turn you in, you're gonna have to win your freedom by beating me in a duel right now! Syrus: But if you turn us in, we'll be expelled! Jaden: Don't worry, Sy, I won't let that happen! Now, let's duel, Alexis!

Asuka's unnecessarily elaborate and absolutely illicit setup to "Judai I want to duel" is my single favorite thing about the episode so I'm quite biased about the superiority of the sub lines in this case. 

While observing the start of the duel, Chronos says it's an interesting turn of events while Chronos remarks on the Blue vs Red duel and tells Alexis to put Jaden in his place.

During the duel, 4KIDS lives up to their new episode title by adding a bit of flirting after the Doble Passe play:

Asuka: What's wrong? Are you all done? Judai: Yeah… My turn's done. Asuka: Then, I won't have to hold myself back…it's my turn. Draw!

Alexis: So, you impressed? Jaden: Hmph! Impressed? I think I'm in love. Alexis: You're sweet. Too bad I have to crush you.

Some back-and-forth between Momoe/Junko and Shou calling him a peeping tom again is cut, skipping to a line about Jaden beating Crowler as a fluke - probably to lead into a shot of Crowler in the lake, which IS kept.

Asuka calls Judai naive when Flame Wingman attacks Cyber Blader, while Alexis says Jaden didn't do his homework. SCHOOL JOKE!

Alexis's explanation of Cyber Blader's effect lacks the Pas de Deux name, which I count as a minor loss mainly because it's Ballet Theming. After Judai's turn ends Asuka is disappointed while Alexis is more aggressive, though in either case she's in an aggressive mood when her turn comes around. The dub makes the dialogue here a bit more banter-y, adding this where Asuka simply expresses disappointment that Judai's dueling is fizzling out:

Jaden: Well, I guess you got me. [implicit turn end] Alexis: Oh, when I get you, Jaden, believe me, you'll know it.

When Asuka uses the equip magic Judai expresses admiration for her skills, while Jaden tells Syrus to brace himself. Momoe and Junko's elitist comments about how a Red student believing they could beat a Blue is "smug" are replaced by Alexis taunting Jaden, although both end in Momoe/Junko going "nyeh heh you're gonna get expelled!"

Next is one of the more significant changes in this episode. In the sub Shou defends Judai's honor and heatedly tells him not to lose, while Syrus panics over expulsion and Jaden has to reassure him.

Junko: Hate to break it to you, but you're as good as expelled! Shou: I don't care what you do to me, especially since I haven't done anything wrong. But you won't get away with mocking my big bro when he came to help me! Don't lose, big bro. Judai: Yeah, of course. Don't sweat it, Shou.

Jasmine: Yeah, because if you lose, you're both getting expelled. Syrus: We are?! Judai: That's not going to happen, Sy. Promise.

Jaden is the hero. Syrus is the pathetic sidekick to save. 4KIDS keeps reinforcing that narrative this episode.

After that bit, Asuka and Judai's internal monologues summarize his situation in the duel. The dub changes this to a gag which I genuinely thought was funny:

Alexis (thinking): You shouldn't make promises you can't deliver. Jaden (thinking): I hope I'm not making a promise I can't deliver.

...And then we're back to Syrus slander. See, the beginning of the episode where Shou/Syrus flubbed his explanation of field spells due to nerves was supposed to be a setup for when he successfully explains it during the duel, proving that he did indeed know his material and just needed the confidence to speak up. This is Shou's Redemption Moment. 

And Syrus? ...Well, he gets nothing. The dub took his big moment and cut it entirely so Syrus doesn't even speak during Thunder Giant's summoning. He gets negative moments.

Did the person/people in charge of localizing this episode not recognize the significance of this moment? Were they just that set on making Syrus the pathetic sidekick that they knew but decided it better fit their narrative to cut the line anyway? I don't know but I think Syrus is easily the biggest change in this episode.

After the duel Junko insults Judai's ego again, while Jasmine suggests turning both boys in anyway. Asuka telling her off is about the same in either version. Asuka thinks to herself that Judai is even more interesting than she thought, while Alexis says she would never have turned the Red boys in because they make the school more interesting. And then from her friends...

Junko: Asuka-san hasn't been herself much today. Don't tell me…

Jasmine: I've never seen Alexis act this way before. I wonder - is she actually falling for that Slifer?

Insert dramatic music sting. 

And that's game! Gotcha!

Spoiler Zone

No seriously, I want fanart of Chazz and Syrus playing tackle Marco Polo. I know Syrus is in Blue for all of two episodes because S4 never got dubbed but COME ON.

Final Thoughts

Much like I went into episode 2 prepared for grilled cheese jokes and got hit with bedwetting, I went into episode 3 prepared for Jaden/Alexis tease and instead ran into The Slander of Syrus Truesdale.

Like yeah, Shou does start as a sidekick. He lacks confidence and has comic relief moments in both seasons 1-2. But in the sub at least, he is a developed character with his own arc over four seasons. In some ways, he's the show's poster child for how the dorm rank system works in ideal. In this episode, at least, the dub skips the development and focuses purely on comedy relief. We'll see how his arc plays out between versions in the episodes to come.

By comparison, despite the episode title the Jaden/Alexis tease was pretty light as far as I could tell. If they'd titled this episode something like "Trespassing Troubles" instead of "A Duel in Love" I wouldn't have thought twice about it. I'm not going to debate the merits of the Judai/Asuka slash Jaden/Alexis ship (dear god do I have no interest in debating the merits of ships) but it will be a 4KIDS trend to tease it, so I'll make observations accordingly.