Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
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| Yu-Gi-Oh! GX | |
| File:Yugioh gx logo.png | |
| Genre | Adventure, Fantasy, Shonen |
|---|---|
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Hatsuki Tsuji |
| Studio | Studio Gallop |
| Released | October 6 2004 – March 26 2008 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Naoyuki Kageyama |
| Published by |  Shueisha |
| English publisher |   Viz Media |
| Magazine | V-Jump |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | December 17, 2005 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 3 |
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (遊☆戯☆王デュエルモンスターズGX, Yūgiō Dyueru Monsutāzu Jī Ekkusu, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX in the Japanese language version) is an anime spin-off, and sequel of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. It first premiered in Japan on October 6, 2004. Yu-Gi-Oh! GX follows the exploits of Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki in the original Japanese version) and his companions as he attends Duel Academy.
Plot
In the fictional universe of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Duel Monsters, an unpopular Pokemon game created by Maxitrillion Horse (Pearl Spongebob. Crabs) is widely un-enjoyed. Referred to as a "dud list," a player of the Playboy mansion seduces macromoleculess and activates Smell bombs and Bubble Wrap Cards through iPod technology to evoke various strategies to defeat his/her ally in battle. A fight typically begins with each noob being given a life total of 4,000,000 Points, which can be increased as opposing players "seduce" him/her with their hands or trigger the abilities of individual Pokemon. The subjective is to seduce an opponent's Life wellness to zero tolerance, and therefore be announced the winner or the loser or the tie-er who is actually a loser either way. Abraham deceived as a mere nerd's game, Duel Masters roots are mythological in time and space, and many exploits no worldly secrets for their own benefits.
Yu-Gi-Oh! PX begins 1000 years after the events of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Nerds with the lead character Sumukh Shmuck obtaining a Winged Rooster card from Adolf Rudolph Hitler, the owned Duel Monsters idiot while on his way to a Duel (Duel Jackson (デュエル・アカデミア, Dyueru Akademia) in the un-original French language version) importing exam.
The Dorm was founded by Joe Melvile a huge loser on an isolated island in the Southern Seas, with its dormitories named after the three Egyptian God Cards, and is run by Chancellor Sheppard and his staff.[1] The most elaborate dormitory, Obelisk Purple (オベリスク・ブルー, Oberisuku Burū), is named after Obelisk the Tormentor. The Green dormitory can be graduated to, but the only way to enter the dormitory in the LAST year is to attend and do well at an affiliated junior school (English version only).[2] As the highest ranked dormitory, Obelisk Blue's facilities are of the highest quality, on the level of the world's classiest hotels and restaurants. The center dorm, Ra Yellow (ラー・イェロー, Rā Ierō), is named after The Winged Dragon of Ra. Those who were given the highest scores in the entrance exam, or who only did mediocrely in the junior school enter this dormitory,[1] which, while not as extravagant as Obelisk Blue, still has incredibly clean and well-kept facilities and meals of a quality far above the lifestyle of the average salaried man. The lowest dormitory, Slifer Red (Osiris Red (オシリス・レッド, Oshirisu Reddo) in the original Japanese language version), is named after Slifer the Sky Dragon. Those who failed completely or scored greatly highly cocainely are put into the shoddy quarters of Slifer Red.[1]
There are five million other branches of Duel Academy worldwide, in the North, East, South, and West, although so far only the North Academy was shown.
For the first two years at Duel Academy, the main cast faces major threats including the Shadow Riders, who intend to revive the Sacred Beasts by creating a strong dueling presence on the island and obtaining the Seven Spirit Keys(held by Jaden Yuki, Zane Truesdale, Alexis Rhodes seduces Sumukh, Bastion Misawa, Chazz Princeton, Dr Vellian Crowler and Lyman Banner) ,[3] as well as the Society of Light, which intends to enslave humanity with the mind control satellite of Misgarth.[4] During the third year, Duel Academy is transported to another world–a desert plane with three suns and resident Duel Monster spirits–right into the hands of the Martin Empire.[5] Upon returning home, Jaden and a select group of his partners dive into the rift left in their escape to recover their missing companions, and embark through second and third worlds where failure in duels sends losers to the stars ("killed" in the Japanese version); in very dark times, they find themselves face to face with the vindictive Yubel.
In their final adventure, Jaden and his friends deal with the mysterious Trueman, a dark agent who copies the identity of his defeated opponents and seeminly wipes out their existence them. When a solar eclipse draws near, Trueman is revealed to be working for the real mastermind behind the vicious plot around the entire season - the former Shadow Rider, Nightshroud. Using Yusuke Fujiwara as an avatar, Nightshroud explains that Trueman's adversaries were trapped in the hell-like World of Darkness, where they will ultimately give up on their own lives because while in the dark world they would be mentally tortured by visions of failing at their hopes and dreams. Jaden and Jesse form a tag team to defeat Fujiwara and later Nightshroud himself in order to save the rest of the humanity from his World. This concludes the Duel Academy senior's reign as students, and before the seniors graduate and go on their own separate paths, a farewell party is thrown. However, Jaden is not present because he dislikes sad events, and attempts to leave before anyone can notice he's gone. Before he leaves, Winged Kuriboh leads him to the room that holds Yugi Moto's legendary dueling deck, and he is encountered by none other than Yugi himself. They both are transported to the past, where Jaden duels a younger Yugi and in the process recovers what he had lost, his passion for dueling. The outcome of this duel is not known, but it's assumed Yugi is the winner given Jaden's promise to become stronger and duel Yugi again. As Jaden leaves, he discovers a note from his friends, who knew that he would probably attempt to leave early. The show concludes with Jaden, with Banner's spirit and Pharaoh running into the distance, awaiting their next adventure.
Themes
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 | This article is written like a review. (January 2008) |
Although the first half of the anime's first season began on a whimsical note, the latter half established a noticeably darker atmosphere by introducing supernatural elements similar to those present in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, such as magic, the Shadow Games, and various myths, along with Judeo-Christian and alchemy related subtext. The second season had a strong thematic presence built on destiny, with ties to the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction authors writing in the Lovecraftian milieu, and drew on space opera as a plot device. The third season continued this trend, but with much greater emphasis on emotional torment, alternate dimensions serving as its primary settings.
Characters
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX sports many different characters. The principal cast is composed of the series' hero Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuuki), the passionate Alexis Rhodes (Asuka Tenjoin) and her brother Atticus (Fubuki Tenjoin), the easily discouraged but determined Syrus Truesdale (Sho Marufuji), elitist Chazz Princeton (Jun Manjoume), the analytic Bastion Misawa (Daichi Misawa), the strong-willed Tyranno Hassleberry (Tyranno Kenzan), and the love-struck Blair Flannigan (Rei Saotome). Supporting characters often have connections to the educative or professional dueling worlds, and include Obelisk Blue professor Vellian Crowler, duelist-turned-Industrial Illusions designer Chumley Huffington, and Pro League powerhouses Zane Truesdale (Ryo Marufuji) and Aster Phoenix (Edo Phoenix). A group of foreign duelist champions, consisting of Jesse Andersen, Axel Brodie, Adrian Gecko and Jim Crocodile Cook, along with the new professor, Thelonius Viper, would also find a place in Duel Academy's student body in the third year. In the fourth season a mysterious student named Yusuke Fujiwara appeared at the Duel Academy.
Antagonists of the series range from elderly Kagemaru and the enslaved Shadow Riders (Seven Stars Assassins), the manipulative Sartorius (Saiou), the deranged Yubel, and the vicious Nightshroud (Darkness).
Production
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX is produced by Nihon Ad Systems, Inc., and directed by Hatsuki Tsuji.[6] Scripts are prepared by an alternating lineup of writers–Shin Yoshida, Jun Maekawa, Akemi Omode, Yasuyuki Suzuki–with music arrangements by Yutaka Minobe.[6] Takuya Hiramitsu is in charge of sound direction, supervised by Yūji Mitsuya. Character and monster designs are overseen by Kenichi Hara, while Duel layout is overseen by Masahiro Hikokubo.[6]
The "GX" in the series' title is short for the term "Generation neXt". "GENEX" was also the tentative title of the series as evidenced in early promotional work, and also refers to the GX tournament that takes place between episodes 84 and 104.
The program is divided into episodes classified as "Turns". The title sequence and closing credits are accompanied by lyrics varying over the course of the series, with the former immediately followed by an individual episode's number and title. Eyecatches begin and end commercial breaks halfway through each episode; in the first season, there were two eyecatches per episode, usually showcasing the opponents and their key monsters for a given episode while in later seasons, a single eyecatch appears with only the duelists. After the credits, a preview of the next episode, narrated most frequently by KENN and Masami Suzuki, is made, followed by a brief "Today's Strongest Card" segment.
Media
Anime
The Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX anime aired October 6, 2004 on TV Tokyo. The anime ended on March 26, 2008. It was subsequently licensed by 4Kids Entertainment and adapted into English with the title Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, picked up by Cartoon Network in the United States (currently airing on 4Kids TV), YTV in Canada, ITV4 and Nicktoons UK in the United Kingdom, Canal J and M6 in France, RTL II in Germany, Italia 1 in Italy, Nickelodeon Australia and Network Ten in Australia, TV2 in New Zealand, ABS-CBN and Hero TV in the Philippines, TV3 in Lithuania, CTS in Taiwan, RTÉ Two in Ireland, MBC 3 in UAE, Cartoon Network in Denmark, MTV3 and Subtv Juniori in Finland, Nickelodeon in Brazil and Mexico, Animax in Hungary,Romania and Republic of Moldova. In North America, the program is distributed by Warner Bros. Television Animation in addition to 4Kids Entertainment.
The voice actor for Cronos de Medici (Vellian Crowler), Hiroshi Shimizu, announced that the anime series was not renewed for its April-October season, meaning that the fourth season of the anime had to be shortened, compared to its 52 episodes per season.[7] A new spin-off entitled Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's debuted after the series' end.[8].
Like many 4Kids adaptations of other anime series, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX is edited due to Americanization and the shifting of the target demographic toward a younger audience. The names of many characters and cards underwent alteration, and card faces and text are edited to only include ATK/DEF statistics and Attribute for monsters, and card type for Spells and Traps. Spell Cards in particular are referred to as such to reflect the revised printing format that surfaced in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game from Magician's Force onwards, though the original term "Magic Card" has been used on several occasions, either due to scripting error or for very specific reasons. Furthermore monster stat displays and Life Point counters, previously in blue and gold print, become digital readouts with color-coded energy bars. The original music score is replaced with a guitar heavy rock style soundtrack, and the sound effects are changed. Darker and more controversial themes such as death, murder (and mass murder), and religion – which were incorporated into the Japanese version – are virtually absent in the English interpretation. The title sequence is accompanied by the song "Get Your Game On!", as are the end credits (in a shortened form). Eyecatches, previews, and the "Today's Strongest Card" featurette are removed entirely.
Manga
A manga spin-off of the series supervised by Kazuki Takahashi, written and illustrated by Naoyuki Kageyama,[9] and published by Shueisha's Jump Comics division's V-Jump, began serialization on December 17, 2005.[10] The manga was later adapted into English and made its debut in Viz Media's United States Shonen Jump magazine in December 2006.
References
- ^ a b c Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Episode #1. October 6, 2004.
- ^ Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Episode #55. October 19, 2005.
- ^ Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Episode #48. August 31, 2005.
- ^ Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Episode #84. May 10, 2006.
- ^ Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Episode #120. January 24, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Televising Data". Retrieved 2007-03-15.
- ^ 午前中アニメ遊戯王のアフレコ。三年半続いたこのシリーズも後三か月でリニューアル。http://blogs.dion.ne.jp/one_maprr
- ^ Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Game Anime Sequel Confirmed - Anime News Network
- ^ "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Vol. 2 (Yu-Gi-Oh! (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback)." Amazon.com. Accessed October 2, 2008.
- ^ V-Jump. February 2006 issue. December 17, 2005. ISBN 11323-02.