In this episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS, they delivered us some more of the light-hearted comedy! I definitely don’t mind this approach given that the humour is well put together and the characters are able to continuously shine in their own way.
Today Rook was the one to take the spotlight, and he did not disappoint. He is an absolute goofball who appears to be the only one (at this time) who seems to even know about legend of the King of Duels (said to dictate the rules of the game and share them all around the world). So when Yuga offered to entrust him the opportunity to become the next Duel King in his steed, Rook readily took up the opportunity– quite litterally, as he walked towards the path only walk straight into a wall because it was a hologram. (Well to be fair, I too was duped into thinking it was going to lead them somewhere, haha!) The road to the title as the King of Duels is one they must discover on their own.
Rook also shared some backstory on how his powers of breaking machines came to be a year ago, but the lot were quick to brush it off by likening his abilities to the Pauli Effect. At this time, I don’t think they actually believe he is possessed by a demon, but as for me, I say it’s too soon to call. While we have been given visual hints that he really might have a demon within him, we still don’t really know if it’s the truth. One form of consistency we are seeing is that Rook can at least choose when he wants to use his power, and he is also very aware of his limitations of only being able to use it two times a day. It should also be noted this would be the second time we see him use his power without actually touching the devices. So it highly probable that he does in-fact some kind of power, regardless if he is possessed by a demon or not. By the look of things, it is related to the watch, which we saw him take off and put in his pocket before they duelled. Nevertheless, whichever way they choose to go, the fact that nobody is taking it seriously will surely bring us loads of fun in the future.
Oh and the fact he used his power to get into places where he could duel adults and claimed he never lost (quite the contrary) is absolutely hysterical. But hey, I guess it paid off since it helped him since he had the chance to go against more experienced opponents, haha! What a passionate kid.
And I am loving this dynamic between Rook and Yuga. Rook has this idea in his head that by taking up the quest in his steed, Yuga serves more as his most trusted advisor. For most part, they have been more or less on the same page. The only thing they were at odds about (without causing a fuss) was whether to share or keep Rush Duels a secret. I can why Rook was imploring Yuga to keep Rush Duels a secret, even just for a little while. He is afraid of Goha Corp banning their accounts and removing what they just had implemented. However Yuga isn’t particularly concerned about the consequences. He would rather publicize it so that as many people as possible can enjoy the game, and if it were to get removed, he insists he will find ways to reinstall it over and over again. It just goes to show where his heart is. (It was so cute to see him hijack the drone and tinker it to his likings haha! Yusei and Yuusaku would be proud.)
And that is a big reason why I have fallen in love with Yuga’s character so quickly. As much as I love the mysterious and angsty leads like Yusei and Yuusaku, I am a big fan of cinnamon rolls like Yuuya and Yuga too.
The duel between Yuga and Rook was also fun to watch, and it was nice to see Yuga lose because draw was not in his favour. A more realistic touch to the game since luck does play a role from the start, and today we saw that he didn’t exactly start with the hand he was hoping for. It was funny how Rook thought he has lost on purpose though, especially since we all know that wasn’t the case.
Gakuto and Romin took a backseat this episode, but I was glad to see that they didn’t overplay Gakuto’s dramatic reactions as they had last week. It is really important for them to do it in moderation, otherwise we will get sick and tired of him and that would suck. So this was a good sign! As for Romin, she didn’t do anything particularly suspicious today, but rather she like the other two continued to interact with Yuga. She seems to have a lot fun with them, so I am looking forward to finding out more about her character. Luckily it looks like we will be learning at least one of her secrets next week, and it looks like we will get to see her duel too! I am looking forward to seeing how she rolls with it!
So far, Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS is off to a solid start, and I am excited to see what else it has in store for us!
PS: I absolutely love the OP Song. It’s so cute and so much fun to listen to!
If Rook is the rival character for Yuga, he’s the first one to have such cheery personality and not all so smart in YGO history. He’s truly entertaining and I can see bits of Flame in him, though Flame is more mature. But it’s also possible that the rival is the boy who appeared in the OP looking out the window (because I also realized that most rivals are usually shown while sight-seeing from the window) (^w^)
Yuya would also certainly be proud of Yuga for sharing Rush Duel so that people can have fun with it for their Duels, the same way Yuya wishes for everyone smiling while dueling. And he’s not so stupid like Yuma for most part, so I think Yuga will get along well with Yuya more than with Yuma.
Finally, Romin will duel in the next episode. I wonder what secret that will be reveales about her. Looking forward to it!
Am I the only one who thinks that out of all the main cast, Yuga is the only one who looks exactly as an elementary schooler? Rook, Gakuto, and Romin are more like first year middle schoolers than elementary schoolers with their height and their outfit.
I was thinking the exact same thing. If Rook is to be his rival, a friendly one that isn’t a total dick (from the get-go) would be quite refreshing, especially since he’s an endearing goofball! The boy in the OP is probably going to be that rival with the uh… stiffer attitude.
Yeah Yuga and Yuuya would be great friends! They share the same values! XD
I agree, Yuga is the only one who really looks like an elementary student, but that’s because he has a baby face compared to the other two LOL. Funny enough Rook and Romin have similar taste in fashion LOL!
Personally, I don’t buy for a second that Rook is the intended rival. It’s more likely to be that one kid in the OP whose face we didn’t see (the one looking out the window with his back to the camera). Rook to me comes off as the Shark to Yuga’s Yuma. Someone for Yuga to occasionally clash with when the actual rival isn’t around.
But wasn’t Jack and Yusei also quite similar with how Shark and Yuma are? And Jack is the rival character in 5Ds. This is why I’m not entirely sure that Rook is not Yuga’s rival.
Is it just me, or was the animation even better in this episode than it was in the previous one? I thought the CGI animation for Rush Dragon Dragears was particularly well done, but that could just be because I’m a sucker for Dragon-Type monsters in Yu-Gi-Oh.
The premiere episode was good, but this was this episode of Sevens that has really hooked me because everything about it was near perfect; the animation, the character interactions, the duel, even the music, especially when Yuga said that Rook should take up the path of becoming the King of Duels. It made sense for Rook to win here since he is the self-proclaimed “Number One Duellist of Goha 7th Elementary”, because even if Yuga is the pioneer of Rush Duels, it stands to reason that Rook would be a more skilled duellist than him. I particularly loved how savvy Yuga was by having the Goha Corp drone he modified livestream the duel so that it didn’t matter what the outcome of it was and as many people as possible could enjoy Rush Duels, Yusei and Yuya would certainly approve. This may have been unintentional on Yuga’s part, but the more Rush Duels grow in popularity, the harder it will be for the Goha Corp to ban/delete them without hurting their reputation with their consumer base.
What I liked about Gakuto’s character is that he is not some stuffy Rules Lawyer like I initially expected him to be, but instead he is genuinely concerned about students who might incur the wrath of Goha Corp by breaking the rules because he doesn’t want to see them get in trouble, like a good Student Council President is supposed to be. Romin also remained as mysterious as ever and I look forward to learning more about her character next week. Until then I look forward to seeing you all next week.
It’s nice to read one of these reviews live again for the first time in three years. I’m personally most entertained by Goha having a rotary phone of all things in his office.
As someone who does play the game, Rush Duels are rather interesting. It’s akin to playing with the cardpool of older series, but with the speed of today’s series.
I’m quite fond of the characters, but I really don’t like Yuga’s initial group of friends since their forgettable designs and the fact that I don’t know which is which means that they’re not characters I should become invested in at all. But the core cast are a bundle of laughs so far. Gakuto’s my favourite so far, he’s like Sawatari in a way if that makes sense. Not that their characters are at all similar, but they both have that kind of upper-class haughtiness and ham to them.
I’m also hoping that Yuga gets another ace monster, since Sevens Road is…I mean, the effect’s fine and all, but the design is still really weird (just as long as neither gets neglected like Firewall Dragon and honestly Decode Talker did).
Agree, Seven Roads is…… probably the least impressive ace design I’ve seen to date.