Zane Truesdale

Zane Truesdale, known in Japan as Ryo Marufuji (丸藤 亮 Marufuji Ryō), is a fictional character in the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (known in Japan as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX).

Character

17-year old Zane Truesdale is Syrus Truesdale (Sho Marufuji)'s stronger older brother who stays in the Obelisk Blue dormitory at Duel Academy (Duel Academia) along with Alexis Rhodes (Asuka Tenjouin) and Chazz Princeton (Jun Manjoume). Nicknamed Kaiser (カイザー Kaizā), Zane is highly respected, and a duel with him is reserved only for the elite.

When Syrus was younger, he almost used the card Power Bond without thinking during a duel. He was stopped by Zane who revealed that if he used it, he would have lost the duel at the end of his turn because of the card's drawback. Paying off Syrus' opponent to end the duel, Zane sealed the card, stating that his brother could only use it when he was truly ready. Syrus, believing himself to be a disgrace to his older brother, did not unseal the card until much later after his friend Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki) faced off against Zane.

Zane was selected by Camula, the second member of the Shadow Riders (Seven Stars), as a victim of her shadow duel. Though he easily overpowered her, the vampire forced him into an intentional loss by offering his brother's soul as payment for her Illusion Gate card. As a result, he was turned into a doll for a short period of time, before Jaden managed to defeat Camula.

Zane is famous for being one of three people to have ever defeated Jaden in a duel thus far, the others being Kaibaman and Aster Phoenix (Ed Phoenix). He later faces Jaden in a rematch, choosing him as his opponent for his ceremonial graduation duel. The duel ends in a tie after Zane and Jaden use a variety of cards to raise their monsters' attack strengths to astronomic levels, but ended up taking damage equal to both monsters' attack points. Zane goes on to compete in Duel Pro League after his graduation.

A fan favorite in the Pro League, Zane suffers his first true loss at the hands of Aster Phoenix, who continuously tells him that his defeat is predetermined by destiny. The duel that the two engage in marks the first time Zane takes damage from Power Bond. Following his defeat, Zane finds himself trapped perpetually in a losing streak. He is approached by a Monkey Saruyama, a promoter who offers him the chance to redeem himself, and although reluctant at first, Zane ultimately accepts.

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Zane as Hell Kaiser

Zane is soon pitted against Mad Dog Inukai in the "Underground Duel," a competition wherein both contestants are sealed inside a cage and forced to wear electrodes in front of a shady audience. Zane again finds himself on the losing end, but realizes that his former philosophy of respecting the opponent is flawed. In frustration, he resorts to cruelty and summons Chimeratech Over Dragon, which practically destroys the dueling ring. As the smoke clears, the Saruyama expresses his amazement, calling Zane an animal. The next time Zane is seen, he proves his strength to the dueling world once more. He has donned a dark outfit, and is referred to by the public as Hell Kaiser (ヘル・カイザー Heru Kaizā) in the Japanese version.

In episode 83, Zane travels into the mountains after casting off his promoter to confront Sheppard (Samejima) in the dojo where he was brought up dueling, hoping to acquire the forbidden Cyber-Style Reverse-Side Deck (サイバー流裏デッキ Saibā Ryū Ura Deki) that existed opposite of his own Cyber Dragon deck. Though Sheppard manages to keep Zane at bay with his Cyber Ogre and various methods of manipulating his opponent's monsters, he is defeated by his own Cyber Ogre 2 when Zane betrays his respect for Cyber End Dragon. Zane takes his prize, but Sheppard believes that he will regain the respect he once held for others during the Genex tournament, and thus gives him a medal that will allow him to participate.

Many fans consider Zane a Seto Kaiba parallel of the GX series; he suffers the same personality shattering breakdown following his loss to Aster Phoenix as Kaiba suffered after losing to Yugi; his favorite monster is Cyber End Dragon, a three-dragon fusion monster which is basically a machine version of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon; both Zane and Kaiba start out as insufferable, haughty, quiet loners who care dearly for their little brothers. Interestingly enough, this also extends to differences between versions - both Kaiba and Zane are less egotistical in the original, albeit still seemingly cold characters, while their US incarnations have clear superiority complexes. However, Zane has been shown to be somewhat harder on his brother and nicer to others than Seto would be.

Card List

Zane originally ran a deck based on Cyber Dragon and its incarnates. After becoming Hell Kaiser and visiting Sheppard in the mountains, he took the Ura deck that was sealed away in his former teacher's dojo. He combined cards from both decks into a single deck, but continued to disrespect his Cyber Dragons, throwing away all related cards into his graveyard to strengthen his new servants.

Monster Cards

• Cyber Dragon
• Cyber Twin Dragon
• Cyber End Dragon
• Cyber Laser Dragon
• Cyber Barrier Dragon
• Metallizing Parasite - Lunatite
• Cyber Kirin (Cyber Giraffe)
• Cyber Phoenix
• Cyber Soldier of DarkWorld (Machine Soldier of Demon World)
• Proto Cyber Dragon
• Heavy Mech Support Platform (Strong Supporter - Mecha Heavy Weapon)
• Kaiser Glider
• Chimeratech Over Dragon
• Cyber Dark Horn
• Cyber Dark Edge
• Cyber Dark Keel
• Armored Dark Dragon - Cyber Dark Dragon

Spell Cards

• Polymerization (Fusion)
• De-Fusion (Fusion Release)
• Power Bond
• Photon Generator Unit
• Different Dimension Capsule (Time Capsule)
• Pot of Greed
• Monster Reborn (Revive Dead)
• Mystical Space Typhoon (Cyclone)
• Card from a Different Dimension (Treasure from Another Dimension)
• Future Fusion
• Machine Duplication (Machine Duplication Technique)
• Time Fusion
• Cybernetic Fusion Support
• Limiter Removal
• Battle Fusion
• Trap Booster
• Overload Fusion
• Creature Swap (Forced Transfer)
• Ruthless Extermination
• Megamorph (Giant Growth)

Trap Cards

• Attack Reflector Unit
• Call of the Haunted (Call of the Living Dead)
• Return Soul
• Damage Polarizer
• Rare Metalmorph (Rare Metal Conversion - Magic Reflect Armor)
• Final Fusion
• Trap Jammer
• Lost Pride
• Power Wall

Trivia

• Cyber Kirin is based on the Qilin. Its original name, Cyber Giraffe, serves as a pun, noting the interpretation of the mythical beast being stylized after a giraffe.

• Cyber Phoenix is based on the phoenix. Due to the similarities between Zane's monsters and the creatures of Chinese mythology, it is more closely related to the Fenghuang, rather than the phoenix as depicted in the western world.