Mokuba Kaiba and Fudou Yusei, Happy Birthday! (July 7th)

I couldn't do last year a profile like post on the characters birthday of Mokuba last year because is when I got the news that the creator of this character passed away, I did two more (Atem and Anzu, stopped all of a sudden...I was still feeling quite down about it...this time around I'll do it.

Mokuba is one of the few from the supporting cast that good character development and over the course of the series, he started as a ruthless brat trying to get his big brother attention and following his bad example to become a very emotionally mature character.

Mokuba is also one of my favourite characters in the series due to his wonderful character development, I like him more than Seto Kaiba...

I'll go by stages of his Character Development, from his introduction and the Highlights moments that shows his growth as character...

  

  

Mokuba's character first introduction, he had his "little gangsta kids" with stun guns and knives, you can tell Kaiba was quite the role model for him...at this time, Kaiba was a ruthless teenager, will to cheat and violence...ruthless...even being a sore loser, Dark Yugi also went quite soft on him with his penalty game because it only lasted a few hours since he was a child when you compare to other that lasted for few days or a whole night, or to their death in legitimate defense with the criminal fugitive...also Mokuba took after Seto with being a sore loser.

A little focus on Death-T...

 

Just so you don't forget, this kid was willing to commit murder with poison that kills you in 30 minutes, he created penalty game himself, not Dark Yugi, since Mokuba is kinda of cheater he probably he had an extra antidote for himself just in case, you can tell he didn't really learnt his lesson, he still doesn't understand that what he doing was quite severe.

  

In this scene of Death-T where we see the motives behind it of Mokuba's actions who is trying to prove himself to his big brother to get his brother's love and attention, his sole guardian as well and only family he has, the kid is desperate, bit by bit, you start feeling a little sympathy for Mokuba...he was following a very bad example...however on a slightly defense of Seto Kaiba, Seto did not approve of Mokuba being part of Death-T and only let it be by Mokuba's insistence, a part of Seto Kaiba at this time was concerned subsconsciously for him not wanting him involved in anything dangerous...

  

  

Seto Kaiba was quite cruel, cold and ruthless in this scene, he was willing to give the penalty game that could drive someone mad permanently by "experience Kaiba's penalty game from Dark Yugi" - "the sensation of death" on his little brother, a child, that Dark Yugi thought Seto was going way too far to do this to his own little brother, Dark Yugi went ahead to save Mokuba from this "penalty game" (it shows even character development on Dark Yugi, he learns to become more compassionate for saving a child that was going through a "penalty" based on the one he gave to Seto)...

But when you think about it, before Seto Kaiba got his "mind crush" and in come, this was the last time he saw and heard Mokuba, which explains Seto moment of trance in Duelist Kingdom against Dark Yugi when Blue-Eyes was melting and hallucination of Mokuba stuck in there and asking him to save him, Seto did and probably still does feel a lot of guilt, I think this was the main reason Seto was willing to commit suicide...probably for "atonement" for what he almost did to his little brother Mokuba.

  

In this scene we see so much character development from these two characters, you see how Dark Yugi treats Mokuba much more kindly and compassionate, his influence is Yugi's friends and Yugi into accepting him, expressing what he learnt to Mokuba, it's moving when you think about it this way...Mokuba looking at Dark Yugi as mix of gratitude with trust.

  

 

Looking at this way, we see character development on 3 characters (Mokuba, Dark Yugi and Kaiba), mainly Mokuba, Mokuba after being saved he wanted to owe to him by saving his friend Honda, it's from Dark Yugi trying to reassure him what is going on with Seto Kaiba now, it's from as he cares for his big brother that Mokuba starts to mature emotionally and fast.

Thinking back again is the same in Duelist Kingdom.

  

  

Look at how much this kid has grown 😢, I love his character development so much, in every re-read I came to like his character more and more, I like his character more than Seto Kaiba (his case was less and less, I don't dislike him though, his overtop and obsession just doesn't help), Mokuba was the one who had to call him out (Mokuba did agree with Dark Yugi), I would dare say...Mokuba is more emotionally mature than Seto, I've wrote it.

 

Mokuba has it rough for having such a reckless highly obsessive competitive big brother, that sometimes is his little brother taking care of his big brother recklessness.

For Fudo Yusei, it's also his birthday today!

⭐Thank you and Rest in Peace, Kazuki Takahashi!⭐

One Year After Since Kazuki Takahashi Passed Away

 Even though most of us got most news of death on the next day, July 7th but it was technically July 6th 2022, 3 months later we got to know the cause of his death being from a riptide because he helped in rescuing three people...

https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2022-10-11/okinawa-riptide-rescue-yu-gi-oh-7646714.html

I have been re-reading the manga slowly, I'm still not finished because I took a break of 3 months (personal problems going on), I am now at Memory World Arc, my favourite arc of the series, I love the premise, the art, I was and still am always impressed of how he kept the details of the outfits, specifically Pharaoh Atem in his royal outfit because is very beautifully detailed and was consistent about it too, which is quite hard for any artist, I am at volume 33 (Volume 2 of Millennium World), I came to notice, the art in his panels in this arc contains a lot warmth, specially when came to Pharaoh Atem/Dark Yugi and the main cast, you can feel the love and care he had for his characters soon to say goodbye...as if preparing for a soft landing and safely.

It still feels unreal sometimes that he really passed away, with my collection of the manga and movie YGO:Dark Side of Dimensions, you feel what he left behind...

You can always go see his instagram where he posted his art...

Kazuki Takahashi's instagram - Studio Dice

A curious fact about Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Side of Dimensions, he wrote and storyboard director of the movie and he animated one scene only, this one scene:

⭐Thank You and Rest in Peace, Kazuki Takahashi⭐

Happy Belated Birthday, Yugi Mutou (4th June)

 To be one day late...which usually I'm not, I do still feel down about Takahashi-sensei loss more than I thought...

I have already an analysis of Yugi's character, I would like to mention of an interview with Takahashi-sensei about his interpretation of Yugi's strength in Yu-Gi-Oh! Gospel of Truth, translated part 3 by shinroko:

https://shinhoroko.livejournal.com/11454.html

I will share some of the wallpapers that I have made and posted on my theotaku.com account (it's pretty old too) 

Thoughts and Observations Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga and Dark Side of Dimensions Movie Page Repost

 Since the page still doesn't appear, the one that gives links to my analysis posts of the manga and movie. 

Here is the link:

Thoughts and Observations of Yu-Gi-Oh! **(Mangá, Transcend One Shot and Dark Side of Dimensions Movie)**

So that more people can read it with more easy access my own observations and thoughts about the manga series.

You may have noticed, I have been on "pause" for a long time, I will come back eventually, I don't know when.

Recent News About Kazuki Takahashi cause of death - Rest In Peace Kazuki Takahashi.

 For these last few months, we weren't sure about the cause of death of Kazuki Takahashi, bite of shark, or attacked by some ocean creature or something, recently it was found in this article from US military journal here:

source: https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2022-10-11/okinawa-riptide-rescue-yu-gi-oh-7646714.html

If click the picture, it does give you the article, I'm still processing, but this news that he died drowning from trying to rescue people from a riptide, it makes his death hits even harder, specially when you look at his work, specifically Yu-Gi-Oh!, the messages he wanted to express, it was always noticeable that he was sincere in his work and messages, interviews, he died a hero.

He wasn'r afraid to lose his life if meant saving someone else or attempting, which always reminds like how Yugi and Jounouchi were willing to give up their lives to save each other, like Pharaoh Atem who put his whole existence in the line to save his own country as it's ruler, lost his memories and forgot his own name, or when Yugi wasn't afraid to lose against Kaiba or kept trying to fight Pegasus with Dark Yugi until he lost consciousness, I could go on and on, Kazuki Takahashi standing for what he preached, convictions, his messages in his work, yet...is so heartbreaking for such a loss, selfless and kind.

In his memory...I will select panels that potrays these messages...

 

 

 

 

 

Kazuki Takahashi was always my favourite storyteller of all time, this story he shared with us, Yu-Gi-Oh! is also my favourite story of all time, his messages in his work given me advice when I needed the most, you can say he "gave up" his life to save someone else...the right way of putting is that he "was not afraid to lose" his life whether it would happen or not happen, even though is heartbreaking yet heroic, he did it for he stood for, he knew the risks, he is also very courageous, it's interesting that he kind of embodied Yugi and Atem in someway, the kindness, the courage, capable to do selfless acts to save and protect someone...the sense of justice as well...

Rest In Peace Kazuki Takahashi and Condolences to his family...

and Thank You So Much for the Stories you shared with us and the legacy you left...

Happy Birthday, Anzu Mazaki! (18th August)

 It has been awhile, I came to realization that I passed by Mokuba, but his birthday is in 7th July, on this day we received the news about author Takahashi-Sensei passed away...so I will do Mokuba Kaiba together with Seto Kaiba whose birthday is in November...

Now is Anzu's turn, when the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime dub reached my country, I wasn't fond of her character, she sounded a little too corny for my taste, as the anime dub progressed, I liked her less and less, when I read the first 7 volumes, made it even worse, before I had the whole mangá, specially certain chapters like the amusement park (chapter 45) and the love tester one (chapter 41), those are her worst chapters, she was a b!tch to Yugi, once I got the rest of the mangá, it's when I started to like her character bit by bit, took years and years to come to really like her character, she grows on you as you re-read the mangá (it took 10 years xD, she isn't easy to like at all).

(I really like seeing her hair tied like that in the movie, very good)

The introduction of Anzu Masaki, it's a good one, it would give a good impression, but it's made quite obvious she is quite gutsy, confident, pushy and sharp, she won't stay quiet about any pervy business either 👍! She is Yugi's childhood friend and his crush, Yugi opens up to her about his millennium puzzle, in fact she is the one whom Yugi tells the story of how he found the puzzle...

   

She had good introduction, her character development was fine in the beginning, we got to know her ambitions and dreams which is to study abroad in New York to become a professional dancer...

  

The Panels Ensemble on the Right, I think this scene was one of her most brave moments, she was in a very terrifying situation, she was very scared too, but the moment the criminal said "wussy little one", there were children there, but knew was Yugi right away the criminal was calling, even though Yugi is very short and looks like a child but his hair alone makes him stand out , Yugi stood out to the criminal, but Anzu, with no hesitation told Yugi not to come because it was too dangerous and stood up despite knowing it would endanger her own life, it shows Anzu can be quite protective of Yugi, she stood up to him when Honda and Jounouchi bullied Yugi...

 

This is when it starts...the awkward bumps in her character development, it relates to her "idealization of Yugi" in Dark Yugi mixed with being attracted to this "confident voice" as well his looks once she gets  to know "the owner of the mysterious confident voice" in Death-T, it shows her more "negative traits", when she is very pushy to the point of acting like a b!tch, that she can be manipulative, however in her defense, she certainly learned her lesson in the amusement park in chapter 45, because after that chapter, she stopped being "pushy", she understood that "Dark Yugi" won't come out when she wants to and also she was being quite inconsiderate to Yugi as well, he only acts as a guardian, even after this "Dark Yugi" started being distant and awkward with her when they were alone (yeah, he sees her more as a friend while being aware that she had a crush on him), Yugi as well came to realize Anzu had a crush on "the other yugi", this might what have started Yugi inferiority complex with "Dark Yugi", or one of the reasons, but not the main one.

The Monster World arc is where it sets the gap for Anzu, the clear distinction between Yugi and Dark Yugi as much as her idealization as well.

Before getting to her character arc, I want to point out some "trivia" scenes that many may have overlooked...regarding Yugi.

 

On the Left, when looking at Yugi's digital pet, Anzu says "EEE! It's so cute! So, pets do look like their owners!", we can quickly assume, Anzu thinks Yugi is very cute (who wouldn't?), this is before Death-T, by the way.

On the Right, in Duelist Kingdom, Jounouchi vs Ryozaki, in order for Dark Yugi and Yugi help Jounouchi not to be too reliant on Yugi's advice and Dark Yugi, Dark Yugi steps away to the puzzle, Anzu gets surprised and blushes a little seeing Yugi, to see it better, click here , after such a long time spending time with Dark Yugi with the gang, it's when Dark Yugi started to feel more as a friend than as crush to Anzu, the distinction becoming clearer while avoiding it, the reason became less of "idealization of yugi" disappearing, but meant admitting losing a friend that will never come back once goes to afterlife...

Anzu's character arc is very very awkward, specially in the beginning, but as the story progresses, it starts getting smoother and gets better, for those reasons I find her character development and arc as very interesting in the manga, the anime doesn't do justice...her main character arc is this...:

  

 

It has been implied that her biggest fear in going to study abroad to become a dancer, it's friends going their separate ways never seen them again, going on their own lives and their friendship disappear, afraid it won't be the same anymore, here with Atem it's like voicing her own fears and facing them, just her calling Atem by Atem says a lot that shows she sees separately and seeing her friend go to a separate place that won't allow him to never come back...it's also grief, this isn't a normal goodbye after all...make an effort to learn to accept that he has to go to afterlife...

  

The other elements of her character arc other than learn to say different kinds of goodbyes instead of avoiding them, it was her know the differences between "idealization" and the "real" Yugi as well Atem regarding her own romantic feelings, there was indications of this progression, how she always ended up prioritizing in the end was Yugi...like Duelist Kingdom how she agree Yugi straight away with Yugi in his duel with Kaiba in surrendering (stopping Kaiba from doing something stupid, in Kaiba's case, it's very stupid and irresponsible), the same with Yugi&Dark Yugi VS Pegasus, VS Dark Marik, bases on this simple feeling..."her Yugi" is the "real Yugi" she known since childhood...Yugi Mutou.

I will end this post with my favourite moment of Anzu Mazaki (it was this moment that I saw her in a better light and started to like her bit by bit, I think currently she is one of my favorite characters):

  

Happy Birthday, Anzu Mazaki!!

Thank You and Rest in Peace Kazuki Takahashi...