#ygo musing

I have been part of this fandom for 16 years now and Yuugi Mutou has always been one of my favorite characters of this manga and the anime. Always. There wasn't a single time where I thought that he was boring, weak or uninteresting. I remember vividly how a German fan made fun of me when I told her that Yuugi was a cool character with amazing development. She said that Yuugi was so unimportant for the plot and that the anime would be so much better without him, because he was a weakling who never did anything.

Partly, I do understand her point. Once a duel is about to start it's Atem who simply takes over and snaps Yuugi's chances away to prove himself and show that he is more than just decoration. But on the on the other hand I absolutely believe that the ignorance of the manga – where Yuugi actually has his moments where he shows his strengths – is a problem. YGO is only about the franchise. About the cards. Who cares about the characters? People only see the Yuugi who hides behind Atem. Little, cute Yuugi with the big round eyes who can't do shit without his better half.

The man on this screenshot is obviously not Yuugi Mutou.

I always believed that only Western fans wouldn't be able to tell Atem and Yuugi apart – mostly due to the wrong translations they got – but now Shonen Jump, too, shows that nobody cares for the actual Yuugi and that they make no differences between these characters anymore. Of course. Simply shit on the manga. Shit on the meaning of YGO! and make money out of it. Milk YGO until there is nothing left. Shit on the main protagonist and act like he never existed. There is this one particular scene in the manga which makes s obvious that they are not the same person.

Yuugi Mutou and Atem are separate persons. It's sad that those people who actually care for Yuugi – the smaller Yuugi who used to be the protagonist until it was decided that the Other Yuugi was more interesting – will never get their merchandise and see their favorite character on screen.

Every time I look up for merchandise for the little Yuugi I always get tons of stuff for Atem labeled as “Yugi Muto” and it makes me sick. I just can't stand how Atem is the official face of YuGiOh! and no one seems to care for the actual main character who had the biggest growth in personality and development in the whole series. Yuugi is so underrated that most people don't even know that Yuugi and Atem are actually two separate persons.I wouldn’t mind it so much if they would finally stop mixing them up. Just call him Atem or the Other Yuugi, but stop putting these characters together!

Honestly, I'm sick of seeing the tags for “Yuugi Mutou”, “Yugi Mutou” or “Yugi Muto” –  I stay with the original Japanese writing – spammed with pictures for Atem or the Other Yuugi. I don't effing care for the Other Yuugi. Just give me finally my Yuugi merchandise. Just make it happen already!

DSOD was the perfect opportunity to show how strong and independent Yuugi has become without Atem, instead we get to see – once again – Atem save the world and take over once the battle becomes fierce. Yuugi is capable of much more than people would think and he deserves better. He deserves to be in the spotlight. He deserves to get his own starter deck, his own main monster (not just a copy of Atem’s Magicians), his own strategies and his own life where people stop down talking him and say shit like Yuugi could never be as cool or strong as Atem. I'm sick of Atem fans who can't accept Yuugi as Kaiba's new rival. Stop making Yuugi a loser. Yuugi and Atem are both skilled and it was Yuugi who defeated the Sangenshin. Atem accepted Yuugi as his equal – so why can't the fandom, too? Why are so many people obsessed with the idea that Yuugi is not worthy being Kaiba’s rival?

I don't know much about Jump Force per se, but I honestly don't even want to throw my money away for it. It's just not fair how Yuugi is treated like Atem's shadow. It makes me sick how Shonen Jump ignores the existence of the small Yuugi and simply mixes these characters up and give them the same name. For me, there is only one Yuugi Mutou.

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.

I think that Ryou's and Anzu's relationship should have been more explored and that there is more to them than we as readers know. I find it cute that Ryou was so energetic when Anzu's plane left in DSOD. He is waving after her and he really seems to care a lot about her. (Honda, too. But he’s emotional in general, though he wouldn’t admit it.) I think it's something that is only written between the lines but never had the chance to be more explained in the manga since there are just too many characters to do them justice. I’d love to see more interaction between Ryou and Anzu.

Ryou has been manipulated and used by the ring spirit and I'm sure he is hating himself for what he did. He knows that this is not his fault. He knows that there was no way for him to stop Bakura but he still searches for answers and blames himself. Ryou talks less about his feelings and fears to lose his friends, thus he tries to be even more supportive and avoids talking about himself. Ryou was the one only who didn't say anything about his future dreams when they are on the school roof. Why is that? Is he reluctant to say what his future plans are – which one the one hand makes me worry about his mental health but on the other makes me think that he is choosing to suppress his feelings fearing that he might actually lose his friends if he says something stupid – or has he not decided yet? He has been going through so much and it's obvious that Ryou is suffering.

When Diva tells him the truth about his father, he bursts out into tears which makes me think that he is an emotional person. He tries to hide his feelings and not think about it, but he’s hurt inside. He is in a state where he can't deal his own problems, facing other people's problems and their miseries make him even more unstable. He has so much love within him, for others but maybe not for himself. Since he seems to hold back. He doesn't like having all those girls following him because he knows that they're only interested in his appearance and don't fucking know him. All of these girls are superficial, but probably none of them could deal his true personality and all the complexes and worries he usually suppresses. He does not look happy to have all those annoying and obnoxious fangirls always following him.

Even in the manga and the illustrations, Ryou is bothered by them. He can’t go anywhere without this crowd of girls following him, so he surely is extremely cautious towards girls because he never knows whether they like him as a person or only feel interested in his look. He knows that Anzu (and Shizuka, too) don’t care for his appearance, so he trusts her and feels more drawn to her than to any other girl.

I just wish that Anzu was the one who sees how he truly feels and sends him messages via phone. So they talk a lot about everything that happened. They talk about the sennen items and once Ryou starts blaming himself, Anzu stops him and makes sure to make him realize that his way of thinking is destructive. Anzu still is mourning about Atem and she does not want to talk about this with Yuugi, so Ryou quietly listens to her and they both can comfort and cheer each other up. Over time Ryou falls for her and shows more interest in her and her hobbies. He always seemed like a guy who was loved by others but never could handle their emotions.

He seems to have no problem understanding Anzu and the anime even makes sure that Ryou sees her as a woman and not as a pal like Yuugi, Jounouchi and Honda do.

He takes consideration for her when they want to climb up the tower in Pegasus' castle. Honda is absolutely clueless why Anzu would feel uncomfortable having two boys following her when she's wearing a skirt while Ryou noticed immediately why she wouldn't like that. He even needed to point it out to Honda. This is how much Anzu is accepted as one of the dudes, as a good friend. None of them see her womanly side and consider her a normal pal. Those little scenes and Ryou noticing those small things made me really like their relationship because there is so much potential and it could become so much more over time. It's fun to explore this ship and built around them, finding a way and reasons to make them interact outside canon.

Ryou loves games, but he's not as crazy about them like Yuugi or Jounouchi. He cares for them, but he also has other interests. Like crafting and art. I find it easy to imagine him and Anzu finding common interests and going out to dates, watching movies (girly movies where both of them start to cry once something sad happens, since both are emotional when it comes to touchy stories xD) and Anzu is glad to have a guy by her side who also has interest in her and sees her as a woman and not just as a pal.

So they would go on dates and just talk and laugh a lot. She’d tell him what is going on in her in life while he listens and gives her advices. They would listen to music together and find many outside activities that both feel interested in. It would be a healthy relationship and Hostshipping somehow managed to become one of my favorite ship with Anzu. The more I think about them and what needs to happen for them to fall, the more I feel interested. I’m sure that Ryou would feel much better with her at her side and that he would be able to let the past rest and focus on the future.