I am going to be frank with you guys, I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around this match. I guess you could say it took me on a roller-coaster of emotions because initially, the first half (episode 12) left me so disappointed. It was quite disheartening to be see Roa’s cowardly ways of trying to make Yuga lose by default due to the possession of Sevens Road Magician, that was claimed to have been an illegal card. It really left a bad taste in my mouth. Then in episode 13, the second half of the duel reveals this whole drama in the first half was part of the grand scheme of lure out the man behind the relic: Otis.
First off, to clear up any confusion, let’s address the misinformation that Roa and his goons were attempting to spread in the first half: Ote was disqualified from the tournament because he was a Goha employee who worked in the Development Department. The tournament rules stated Goha employees were not permitted to participate. that was the piece of information Roa had omitted. Therefore Sevens Road Magician was never an illegal card to begin with.
We later learn because Otis laments the duels of this era, he created Sevens Road Magician, entrusted it into Yuga with the hopes he would be able to bring joy back to the children. However that caused Roa, who was also present to become upset because he wasn’t chosen. So he sought his own path of attempting to break down the rigidity of the world, and become the legendary Duel King.
Personally I think it was a shame and a real waste to even have that cowardly drama in the first place. It also didn’t help how they kept on shoving these jokes in our faces to the point it felt so forced, it made me sick of them. This show shines when the jokes are done in moderation. If they do it every two seconds, it becomes super annoying and serves as a huge distraction from the main event. Episode 12 has some important reveals, and yet because of the chaotic atmosphere I had a hard time processing it. Fortunately in episode 13, they finally dialed back on the jokes and actually put the plot in the spotlight and cleared the air by laying everything out on the table, but I still think they could have gone about it in a better way.
I think the most disappointing part about this duel was the execution of Roa’s character. They made me loath him so much in episode 12, that I just couldn’t bring myself to care about him even when everything came to light. At least their duel in the second half was a lot more fun to watch and I enjoyed seeing Roa actually play seriously— which I will say again, they SHOULD HAVE DONE FROM THE START. SERIOUSLY, ugh. At least he wasn’t a sore loser, so I’m grateful for that at least.
As for Yuga, I am so glad we finally had gotten to learn more about the origins of his obsession with “creating new roads”. When he was younger, he struggled with duels because he felt constrained by the duel rules that only adults enjoyed, and was at loss of what to do. So when Ote showed up and pulled that crazy stunt, when he received Sevens Road Magician, it inspired him. And now that Yuga has evolved into a true duelist, he now possesses the ability to attract new cards, which basically means Yuga is responsible for expanding the Sevens Road’s archetypes. We got to see that today when we learned , and the debut of Sevens Road Mage (which was insanely adorable! I laughed when he dropped Roa in the pit)! Ote had also claimed the one who possesses Seven Road’s archetype will be shown the path to the King’s Throne.
After all said and done, Yuga is now interested in becoming the Legendary Duel King. I expected this to happen sooner or later, but while I will certainly miss Yuga not caring about it (it was a refreshing change of pace), I am looking forward to seeing how his character will grow as he aims to become the King of Duels. Tough luck for Rook, who thought that title was handed over to him for free, hahaha. Gotta work for it man!
Needless to say, I didn’t really expect the Relic Arc to be resolved this way, but I am glad it is done and over-with. However it is a bit of a pity that we didn’t actually get to see the brunt of the investigation. It ended up being a trail of crumbs and short pointers of the process made in the background, but that’s just how it was meant to be played out. Actually speaking of which, I am still laughing over how those emblems in the ground were just a bunch of patterns concealing the hidden code pointing to Dark Hall 7 building. And here I thought they actually meant something more significant. They sure duped me alright!
And although Ote and his relic were surrounded by Goha Corp’s agents, he was able to escape without a hitch. Before he left he told Yuga of his next mission: Find the Key that opens the door to a new world. It makes me curious of what’s in store for the next arc., but it’s hard to take it seriously even when they cut to that ominous A.I.’s red light. Upon closer inspection, it appears there is someone sitting behind the screen/monitoring everyone. I mean, most of us already knew that thing was super sketchy from the start, but we will have to wait and see whether it will lead to anything more serious down the line.
Overall, this arc wasn’t bad. While it wasn’t exactly plot-heavy, it was still fun to watch, but it’s an understatement to say this new direction of Yu-Gi-Oh! isn’t for everyone. For those of us who have been watching the Yu-Gi-Oh! series for over a decade, it is still something we are all trying to get used to. Needless to say, despite its differences, this show still managed to have a positive start. Sure, I am not wholly satisfied with the way this arc ended, but at least they have created a set of protagonists who I have come to love and adore very much. And so as long as they appeal to me, it doesn’t matter how silly the story is because they are the reason why I am enjoying it so much in the first place.
However blogging it is an entirely separate matter. If it gets too silly, at that point it would probably be difficult for me to cover. (Heck, I don’t even know how many episodes this series is even going to have! If they plan to make it pure comedy, then I have a very hard time imagining this show will have more than a hundred episodes. Maybe 50 at best.) So it will be interesting to see how the new arc will play out.
Until then, see you next week!
PS: It was hysterical how Yuga already knew Romin’s secret: That she is in fact tone-death, poor girl, that’s rough!
I can’t say I’m beginning to like Roa, I still need to see his progress in later episodes. Yuga’s development here is truly what shines! It makes me loving him more. And seeing him and Roa younger truly made me smile. They’re so CUTE! XD
And I also like the ending song of episode 13. Roa might be not likeable, but he sure knows how to charm people with his voice and singing. Roa’s VA nailed it there.
Yeah. I figured that Romin’s secret is not that of a big deal. In fact, it’s a secret that pretty much obviously already given away in episode 4. I can understand if Rook is angry at Romin for spying on them over a secret like that. The writers and animators did well making the scene when Roa pushed Romin so menacing that it looked like Romin has a big secret. Although, I already expected this comical twist, and I won’t stop expecting more of comical twists in the future episodes until proven wrong.
It’s too bad about Roa’s character, he could’ve been really cool but more importantly: THEY ARE SO SMOL AND PRECIOUSSSSS!!!
Hopefully, they can develop Roa’s character in future episodes to be more likeable. I have plenty of characters that I used to loathe very much but as story progress I came to love them.
I’d like to point out some poetic justice with this duel. In the previous episode, Roa was using a mill strategy to get Yuga to draw Sevens’ Road as quickly as possible. Here, Yuga was only able to counterattck and win with Sevens’ Road Mage because of all those spellcasters in his graveyard.
Roa was the designer of his own defeat.
Notice: Ep 14 & 15 will be released as double-post next week