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Where I rewatch Yugioh GX, Episode 42
We see a few lights floating around the Spirit Gates, we hear indistinct voices, and...
TITLE SCREEN! THE ACADEMY FESTIVAL DUEL! BLA-MAGI GIRL CRASHES THE PARTY! so did that opening have anything to do with anything?
We see a little ball of light floating around, and wow, is this a dismal, gray, dreary day or what? Seriously, this is not the sort of day that you host a festival on, just saying. Oh, and we hear a young lady's voice talking about how something fun is about to happen. We now see that Obelisk Blue is hosting a very fancy cafe, and Junko and Momoe are enjoying the eyecandy, because it's not like they could have any other interests, amirite? Ra Yellow has lots of stands and Takoyaki, and of course Obelisk Blue girls who think the Ra Yellow boys are cute. Yep, all them girls sure are the same, amirite? And now we get to see Shou hurrying to set down some lines with that thing that they use to set the baselines at a baseball game, and he promptly crashes into some paint cans that Hayato is using. He tells Hayato that this is where he's setting up the duel stage, you should paint the sign elsewhere, Hayato apologizes, and Shou asks how the sign is coming along; the sign announces 'Red's Specialty Cosplay Duel Tournament', and the painting itself is pretty good, as Shou himself says. However, he feels that the monsters on the sign (Death Koala and Death Kangaroo), are not the best choice for the greatest popularity possible.
So of course, the little perv suggests that Black Magician Girl be in the front and center of the sign, Hayato isn't so sure about that, and Shou is shocked, shocked I tells ya! Oh, and that little ball of light floats by. I'm sure that has nothing to do with anything, so lets move on; Shou feels that since Judai and the others are still down about the whole Daitokuji situation, it is up to THEM to liven up the Academy Festival! We see Judai and the others just standing around on the second level of the Osiris Red dorm, an unfunny gag with Shou, and the little ball of light thinks that the cosplay duel sounds like fun.
Now we're with Judai, Asuka, Misawa, Ryou, and Fubuki. Judai wonders where Daitokuji could possibly be, and it never occurs to him to organize a manhunt of some sort, that would just be silly. Asuka, idiot ball firmly in hand, wonders if he might have been defeated by a Dark Duelist, because the Seven Stars have just been so subtle and quiet and discreet with their shenanigans, haven't they? Misawa needlessly reminds us that Daitokuji was responsible for sending Fubuki to the World of Darkness in the first place, but Ryou says that they shouldn't fix their minds on the enemy; I guess he really wants to tap Fubuki's ass now that he's got his memories back, saving the world be damned! Judai stupidly continues to believe in Daitokuji, and then we see Manjoume with a blade of Fox-tail grass making silly sounds. Judai and Misawa ask what he's doing, and Manjoume explains that he's trying to lure Daitokuji's cat out in order to find Daitokuji. That...is actually a decent plan, certainly better than everyone else just sitting on their asses and doing NOTHING!!!
And then Shou calls everyone down to see the new sign, which now features Black Magician and Black Magician Girl. According to Hayato, the Cosplay Duel is the Osiris Red dorm's festival tradition, which, like the inter-campus duel from earlier this season, will never be seen again in later seasons. Also, Ryou's never been to the Osiris Red part of campus for the festival, so this is the first he's heard of it too. Shou declares that the reason no one ever comes to the Osiris Red performance, is because there are no girls in Red! Misawa points out that there aren't any girls in Ra Yellow either, and before I can ask why the fuck there aren't any, Shou has already gone off into his own little world, declaring that the Osiris Red festival needs its flower, so he gets down on his hands and knees and starts begging for Asuka to be that flower! Asuka, just a bit flustered, says to quit it, and besides which she is Obelisk Blue, but Fubuki says that shouldn't be a problem at all! Hell, he'd love to see his sister do some cosplay!
Okay...
Everyone's getting excited about the cosplay, Hayato wonders about the Black Magician Girl issue, and Shou leaps to conclusions, declaring that Fubuki has given his blessing, so chop chop on the fanservice! And while Asuka says it can't be helped, it turns out it can be, if only a little; for while we do get cosplay of Black Magician Girl, it is not Asuka. It is Ms. Tome. Shou is in shock, tears streaming down his eyes as he demands to know why Ms. Tome is the one who's dressed as the Black Magician Girl, and Hayato says that he forget to mention that Ms. Tome is the one to dress as Black Magician Girl every year. And since Shou's pain amuses me, I laugh. Well done show, well done. Shou is in a state of denial, and Ms. Tome is offended by this display of outrage...until a tear appears in the costume right under her arm. All the dudes get a stone photoshop filter applied to them, but Asuka seems to be handling it all pretty well. Good for her. Ms. Tome says the costume fit perfectly last year and wonders if maybe it shrank. The boys all shake their heads, and I lightly slap them all in the face for it. So as Shou cries out for his beloved Black Magician Girl, we can see the vague outline of the actual Black Magician on top of the Osiris Red roof, before she disappears.
So Shou sits and mopes as Manjoume continues his search for Daitokuji's cat, which means they both get to miss out on seeing Asuka cosplay as Harpie Lady, complete with pointy nipples! Okay, I can't blame GX for that, that was all Kazuki Takahashi. Asuka thinks it's a bit flashier than she'd hoped, but apparently it was all that was left for the women. Oh come on, there are more female monsters then that! What about Holy Elf/Mystical Elf? I think Asuka would make a great Holy Elf! Hayato says the costume looks great on her, Judai says his Japanese was a bit weird but it doesn't seem to mean anything, and Asuka says that Junko and Momoe had called her up, saying that they were planning to do the Harpie Lady Sisters. But they flaked out. Typical. Asuka asks what costume Judai was planning to go with, and he goes for an unholy mishmash of various costumes. Asuka says you can't really call that cosplay, but Shou and Hayato say its just a festival. Sure, defend Judai, why not?
Now we hear the sounds of something big walking their way, and it is Manjoume, dressed up like the XYZ Dragon Canon. More annoying hijinks from the Ojama Trio, and everyone's come down to the lower level, since it's obvious that there's no way that Manjoume's getting up the stairs in that costume. Also, the costume designer should have really thought about changing the position of Y-Dragon Head. Just saying. Asuka says the costume looks good on him, and Manjoume blushes, cursing himself for not bringing a camera. Oh, and now the clouds have cleared up, apparently. Shou asks what Manjoume is thinking about to make his face all red, and Manjoume tells him to shut up and hurry up on setting up the Cosplay Duel. Manjoume turns to everyone and asks which monster dares to go against Judai (He really should have gone with Asuka, even if she is in Obelisk Blue), and Judai stupidly thinks that he's going to duel Manjoume, until Manjoume points out just bulky the XYZ Dragon Canon costume is (very and that he should think for a fucking change. Judai asks Hayato, Hayato will be working behind the scenes today. He asks Shou, Shou completely forgot his own cosplay, he'll be handling the broadcast.
Suddenly, a flash from a camera just off screen. It is Fubuki, who is very proud that his little sister has become such a beautiful woman while he wasn't looking, Asuka demands to know what he's going to do with the pictures he just took, and he says he's going to send them over to the Asuka fanclub! Fubuki, as you can see, is not your typical overprotective big brother. So Asuka attempts to claw his face off, Fubuki runs, and Asuka gives chase. Shou and Judai realize what sort of person Fubuki was all along, and Manjoume really respects Fubuki for getting those pictures of Asuka! Manjoume, you better hope that Asuka never gets the ability to read thoughts, or else your life shall become very uncomfortable, and very short.
Judai is still wondering who his opponent will be, and we hear a young lady offering to be his opponent. It is Black Magician Girl, and she is now surrounded by shoujo bubbles. Shou is ecstatic that it isn't Ms. Tome, and everyone says she looks just like the real thing! Oh, the writers are so clever! No, wait, what's the other word? Right, stupid. Jun Manjoume approves of her dueling Judai in his official capacity as head of the Cosplay Duel Action Committee, which is the first that Judai's heard of this, not that that's any sort of surprise. Another thing that's not a surprise? That everyone is dicking around instead of looking for Daitokuji. Shou wonders who on earth Black Magician Girl really is, since there are no girls in Osiris Red, and Black Magician Girl asks that they not be too hard on her. Because Mana was a total valley girl, amirite
"Who's Mana?" asks the writers, and I just shake my head at the writers for their pathetic ignorance.
Oh, and now we get Ryou, Chronos, and Misawa showing up to watch, and Misawa is dressed like Amazoness Pet Tiger. Misawa, do we have to hold another intervention for you? Misawa wonders if he was too late because of spending too much time on his costume, and Chronos acts really inappropriate when he sees Black Magician Girl, who as far as he knows is one of his students. Shou is crying tears of joy that Black Magician Girl is on the stage that he worked so hard to set up, and he's even wearing a big dorky bow tie. Manjoume yells at him through the microphone to join him at the commentator's booth, which jolts Shou out of his reverie. Again, Shou's pain makes me smile. So Shou gets himself over there and announces the start of the Cosplay Duel. He goes on to talk about how XYZ Dragon Canon (Manjoume) will be providing commentary, he will take care of the broadcast, and the audience tells him to get on with it already. Judai is introduced as the Mysterious Duel Monster, but between the difficulty of getting his Duel Disc on and everyone calling him stupid, Judai is all 'nuts to this' and takes it all off, thus completely fucking up the entire point of the Cosplay Duel.
Seriously, why didn't Judai just dress up like Sparkman or Featherman or something like that?
Shou moves from this idiocy by turning to the blue corner where the Idol known only as Black Magician Girl makes her debut! Dark Magician Girl is surrounded by hearts as she asks everyone to cheer her on, and I have to say that it must have been one big truck of money that the writers bribed Mana with to get her to act like this. Everyone cheers her on, including Shou, more pointless banter between Shou and Manjoume, Judai says he doesn't know who she is but he'll give it his all, Black Magician Girl wishes him the best of luck, and the duel begins with Shou declaring that he gets to decide who gets to go first, so Black Magician Girl gets the first turn. Black Magician Girl draws...Black Magician Girl, and she sets a monster, doing this weird pacing thing that I'm pretty sure is supposed to come off as all cute and Moe. By the way, fuck the Moe fad. The audience cheers, oh Black Magician Girl is so cute, she doesn't threaten our masculinity at all, Judai gets a cheap anime sweatdrop, and Black Magician Girl says her turn is over.
So Shou announces Judai's turn, he summons Bubbleman, draws two cards with its bullshit effect, pointless commentary from Shou and Manjoume, and Judai plays Fusion, combining Bubbleman and Burst Lady to get Elemental Hero Steam Healer. This, by the way, is the only episode in which Judai summons this monster. Freaking Mudballman gets more play, and that one doesn't even have an effect! So Judai attacks with Steam Healer, revealing that Black Magician Girl's monster was Fire Sorcerer, with 1500 defense points, not enough against Steam Healer's 1800 attack points. However, now Black Magician Girl can activate Fire Sorcerer's flip effect, randomly removing two cards in her hand from play(Dark Magician Girl and Magician's Valkyria) to deal 800 points of damage to her opponent. Everyone cheers and calls upon her to make her move cutely, and...
EYECATCH!
So yeah, Judai gets a fireball to the face for 800 points of damage, but now Steam Healer gets to activate its effect, restoring Judai's life points by an amount equal to the attack value of the monster it destroyed by battle. So Judai gets back 1000 life points, and then everyone yells at him for all the wrong reasons, telling him to take it easy on Black Magician Girl. Fuckers, the lot of them. Black Magician Girl takes her turn, she can't breathe without the audience cheering her on, and she summons Magician's Valkyria, which in addition to having 1600 attack points, makes it so that Judai can't attack any other spellcaster monsters on the field. And while she's alone for now, Dark Magician Girl fixes that with Dimension Fusion, paying 2000 life points to let each player special summon all their removed from play monsters to the field. So Judai doesn't get to do anything, while Dark Magician Girl gets Magician's Valkyria...and another Dark Magician Girl appears.
Writers, make up your mind; does the Duel Monster summon itself, or does it summon a copy? The inconsistency is giving me a headache!
Misawa says that only Yuugi Mutou's deck is supposed to have Black Magician Girl, and as I roll my eyes at the writers once more, and Shou continues to lead everyone in cheering on Black Magician Girl, who attacks with all her monsters, leaving Judai with just 800 life points. Judai regards this as ridiculously intense, making me wonder what would happen if he saw a butterfly passing by. He takes his turn, plays Fusion Recovery to get back Fusion and Burst Lady, and plays Fusion to bring out Flame Wingman, and everyone yells at Judai to take it easy on Black Magician Girl, because they are all chauvinistic pricks. And Manjoume calling Judai revolting for all the wrong reasons is itself revolting. However, Ryou and Misawa finally points out that since each Magician's Valkyria makes itself the only spellcaster that Judai can attack, both of them being on the field means Judai can't attack any of Black Magician Girl's monsters, so he's stuck. He sets two cards, and ends his turn.
Black Magician Girl continues to be out of character for the sake of lonely fanboys who would fall apart if forced to interact with a real woman, and she takes her turn, drawing Tome of Black Magic, which will raise Black Magician Girl's attack power by 700 points. Oh, and Asuka's just gotten back from mauling her older brother. Black Magician Girl attacks with...Black Magician Girl, but Judai activates his trap card, Standing Before a Formidable Enemy, AKA Stuanch Defender; Judai picks a monster that he controls, and all of his opponent's monsters must attack it. Black Magician Girl points out that Judai still has a face-down card, and it is Hero Barrier, which negates Black Magician Girl's attack. However, thanks to Staunch Defender the Magician's Valkyrias are forced to battle, and thanks to Flame Wingman's effect, Black Magician Girl will be taking 4200 points of damage.
Wait, that was an actual strategy; who the fuck was feeding Judai instructions on that one?
Anyway, everyone gets all mopey, Black Magician Girl tells them all to cheer up, and Shou begins to wonder if she really is Black Magician Girl (Out of Character, but yes, it is her), and Judai wins a pointless duel. Still, Black Magician Girl says she had fun, so I guess we're supposed to agree with her. Judai didn't much care for being the bad guy, Asuka reassures him it was fun to watch, and Judai agrees. Everyone, Idiot Ball in hand, think that there's some mystery to the Black Magician Girl's identity, and rather then do the sensible thing like ask, they instead do nothing. Which is what they were all doing at the start of the episode, so there you go.
So that night Shou is looking for Black Magician Girl, and hey, Junko and Momoe got their act together and now we get the Haprie Lady Sisters. Well, that was fun, now we get Shou thinking about Black Magician Girl and how he's sure she came to help everyone have fun, because that's worth casually breaking metephysics over, right? He thanks Black Magician Girl, and then she appears right next to Shou, all transparent and shit, to say thanks for the great time, and then gives him a kiss on the cheek for no fucking reason at all. Isn't that fucking terrifying? By the way, Mahaad? Atem? Hello? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Of course Shou doesn't see this, but he does feel it, and thinks that it was just a daydream. And Judai, who could actually see the whole thing, walks up and acts all smug, saying 'what couldn't have happened?' and Shou says his whole world became rose colored for a moment. Judai says it looked like Black Magican Girl just kissed him on the cheek, blah blah blah, I don't give a shit, end of episode.
NEXT TIME! So some professional gambler shows up, and Asuka does not like him. Apparently they know each other. EPISODE TITLE, A SECOND LOVE CHANCE FOR ASUKA!? Well, isn't that special?
So...I guess that scene at the very beginning with the Spirit Gates was supposed to be how Black Magician Girl got there in the first place, but fuck it, these writers have shown such disregard for canon and continuity, just making up their own bullshit about alternate worlds and such, that I don't care. And yes, the tepid fanservice was tedious, though it was nice when they mocked it. Oh well, waste of time episode was a waste of time.
TITLE SCREEN! THE ACADEMY FESTIVAL DUEL! BLA-MAGI GIRL CRASHES THE PARTY! so did that opening have anything to do with anything?
We see a little ball of light floating around, and wow, is this a dismal, gray, dreary day or what? Seriously, this is not the sort of day that you host a festival on, just saying. Oh, and we hear a young lady's voice talking about how something fun is about to happen. We now see that Obelisk Blue is hosting a very fancy cafe, and Junko and Momoe are enjoying the eyecandy, because it's not like they could have any other interests, amirite? Ra Yellow has lots of stands and Takoyaki, and of course Obelisk Blue girls who think the Ra Yellow boys are cute. Yep, all them girls sure are the same, amirite? And now we get to see Shou hurrying to set down some lines with that thing that they use to set the baselines at a baseball game, and he promptly crashes into some paint cans that Hayato is using. He tells Hayato that this is where he's setting up the duel stage, you should paint the sign elsewhere, Hayato apologizes, and Shou asks how the sign is coming along; the sign announces 'Red's Specialty Cosplay Duel Tournament', and the painting itself is pretty good, as Shou himself says. However, he feels that the monsters on the sign (Death Koala and Death Kangaroo), are not the best choice for the greatest popularity possible.
So of course, the little perv suggests that Black Magician Girl be in the front and center of the sign, Hayato isn't so sure about that, and Shou is shocked, shocked I tells ya! Oh, and that little ball of light floats by. I'm sure that has nothing to do with anything, so lets move on; Shou feels that since Judai and the others are still down about the whole Daitokuji situation, it is up to THEM to liven up the Academy Festival! We see Judai and the others just standing around on the second level of the Osiris Red dorm, an unfunny gag with Shou, and the little ball of light thinks that the cosplay duel sounds like fun.
Now we're with Judai, Asuka, Misawa, Ryou, and Fubuki. Judai wonders where Daitokuji could possibly be, and it never occurs to him to organize a manhunt of some sort, that would just be silly. Asuka, idiot ball firmly in hand, wonders if he might have been defeated by a Dark Duelist, because the Seven Stars have just been so subtle and quiet and discreet with their shenanigans, haven't they? Misawa needlessly reminds us that Daitokuji was responsible for sending Fubuki to the World of Darkness in the first place, but Ryou says that they shouldn't fix their minds on the enemy; I guess he really wants to tap Fubuki's ass now that he's got his memories back, saving the world be damned! Judai stupidly continues to believe in Daitokuji, and then we see Manjoume with a blade of Fox-tail grass making silly sounds. Judai and Misawa ask what he's doing, and Manjoume explains that he's trying to lure Daitokuji's cat out in order to find Daitokuji. That...is actually a decent plan, certainly better than everyone else just sitting on their asses and doing NOTHING!!!
And then Shou calls everyone down to see the new sign, which now features Black Magician and Black Magician Girl. According to Hayato, the Cosplay Duel is the Osiris Red dorm's festival tradition, which, like the inter-campus duel from earlier this season, will never be seen again in later seasons. Also, Ryou's never been to the Osiris Red part of campus for the festival, so this is the first he's heard of it too. Shou declares that the reason no one ever comes to the Osiris Red performance, is because there are no girls in Red! Misawa points out that there aren't any girls in Ra Yellow either, and before I can ask why the fuck there aren't any, Shou has already gone off into his own little world, declaring that the Osiris Red festival needs its flower, so he gets down on his hands and knees and starts begging for Asuka to be that flower! Asuka, just a bit flustered, says to quit it, and besides which she is Obelisk Blue, but Fubuki says that shouldn't be a problem at all! Hell, he'd love to see his sister do some cosplay!
Okay...
Everyone's getting excited about the cosplay, Hayato wonders about the Black Magician Girl issue, and Shou leaps to conclusions, declaring that Fubuki has given his blessing, so chop chop on the fanservice! And while Asuka says it can't be helped, it turns out it can be, if only a little; for while we do get cosplay of Black Magician Girl, it is not Asuka. It is Ms. Tome. Shou is in shock, tears streaming down his eyes as he demands to know why Ms. Tome is the one who's dressed as the Black Magician Girl, and Hayato says that he forget to mention that Ms. Tome is the one to dress as Black Magician Girl every year. And since Shou's pain amuses me, I laugh. Well done show, well done. Shou is in a state of denial, and Ms. Tome is offended by this display of outrage...until a tear appears in the costume right under her arm. All the dudes get a stone photoshop filter applied to them, but Asuka seems to be handling it all pretty well. Good for her. Ms. Tome says the costume fit perfectly last year and wonders if maybe it shrank. The boys all shake their heads, and I lightly slap them all in the face for it. So as Shou cries out for his beloved Black Magician Girl, we can see the vague outline of the actual Black Magician on top of the Osiris Red roof, before she disappears.
So Shou sits and mopes as Manjoume continues his search for Daitokuji's cat, which means they both get to miss out on seeing Asuka cosplay as Harpie Lady, complete with pointy nipples! Okay, I can't blame GX for that, that was all Kazuki Takahashi. Asuka thinks it's a bit flashier than she'd hoped, but apparently it was all that was left for the women. Oh come on, there are more female monsters then that! What about Holy Elf/Mystical Elf? I think Asuka would make a great Holy Elf! Hayato says the costume looks great on her, Judai says his Japanese was a bit weird but it doesn't seem to mean anything, and Asuka says that Junko and Momoe had called her up, saying that they were planning to do the Harpie Lady Sisters. But they flaked out. Typical. Asuka asks what costume Judai was planning to go with, and he goes for an unholy mishmash of various costumes. Asuka says you can't really call that cosplay, but Shou and Hayato say its just a festival. Sure, defend Judai, why not?
Now we hear the sounds of something big walking their way, and it is Manjoume, dressed up like the XYZ Dragon Canon. More annoying hijinks from the Ojama Trio, and everyone's come down to the lower level, since it's obvious that there's no way that Manjoume's getting up the stairs in that costume. Also, the costume designer should have really thought about changing the position of Y-Dragon Head. Just saying. Asuka says the costume looks good on him, and Manjoume blushes, cursing himself for not bringing a camera. Oh, and now the clouds have cleared up, apparently. Shou asks what Manjoume is thinking about to make his face all red, and Manjoume tells him to shut up and hurry up on setting up the Cosplay Duel. Manjoume turns to everyone and asks which monster dares to go against Judai (He really should have gone with Asuka, even if she is in Obelisk Blue), and Judai stupidly thinks that he's going to duel Manjoume, until Manjoume points out just bulky the XYZ Dragon Canon costume is (very and that he should think for a fucking change. Judai asks Hayato, Hayato will be working behind the scenes today. He asks Shou, Shou completely forgot his own cosplay, he'll be handling the broadcast.
Suddenly, a flash from a camera just off screen. It is Fubuki, who is very proud that his little sister has become such a beautiful woman while he wasn't looking, Asuka demands to know what he's going to do with the pictures he just took, and he says he's going to send them over to the Asuka fanclub! Fubuki, as you can see, is not your typical overprotective big brother. So Asuka attempts to claw his face off, Fubuki runs, and Asuka gives chase. Shou and Judai realize what sort of person Fubuki was all along, and Manjoume really respects Fubuki for getting those pictures of Asuka! Manjoume, you better hope that Asuka never gets the ability to read thoughts, or else your life shall become very uncomfortable, and very short.
Judai is still wondering who his opponent will be, and we hear a young lady offering to be his opponent. It is Black Magician Girl, and she is now surrounded by shoujo bubbles. Shou is ecstatic that it isn't Ms. Tome, and everyone says she looks just like the real thing! Oh, the writers are so clever! No, wait, what's the other word? Right, stupid. Jun Manjoume approves of her dueling Judai in his official capacity as head of the Cosplay Duel Action Committee, which is the first that Judai's heard of this, not that that's any sort of surprise. Another thing that's not a surprise? That everyone is dicking around instead of looking for Daitokuji. Shou wonders who on earth Black Magician Girl really is, since there are no girls in Osiris Red, and Black Magician Girl asks that they not be too hard on her. Because Mana was a total valley girl, amirite
"Who's Mana?" asks the writers, and I just shake my head at the writers for their pathetic ignorance.
Oh, and now we get Ryou, Chronos, and Misawa showing up to watch, and Misawa is dressed like Amazoness Pet Tiger. Misawa, do we have to hold another intervention for you? Misawa wonders if he was too late because of spending too much time on his costume, and Chronos acts really inappropriate when he sees Black Magician Girl, who as far as he knows is one of his students. Shou is crying tears of joy that Black Magician Girl is on the stage that he worked so hard to set up, and he's even wearing a big dorky bow tie. Manjoume yells at him through the microphone to join him at the commentator's booth, which jolts Shou out of his reverie. Again, Shou's pain makes me smile. So Shou gets himself over there and announces the start of the Cosplay Duel. He goes on to talk about how XYZ Dragon Canon (Manjoume) will be providing commentary, he will take care of the broadcast, and the audience tells him to get on with it already. Judai is introduced as the Mysterious Duel Monster, but between the difficulty of getting his Duel Disc on and everyone calling him stupid, Judai is all 'nuts to this' and takes it all off, thus completely fucking up the entire point of the Cosplay Duel.
Seriously, why didn't Judai just dress up like Sparkman or Featherman or something like that?
Shou moves from this idiocy by turning to the blue corner where the Idol known only as Black Magician Girl makes her debut! Dark Magician Girl is surrounded by hearts as she asks everyone to cheer her on, and I have to say that it must have been one big truck of money that the writers bribed Mana with to get her to act like this. Everyone cheers her on, including Shou, more pointless banter between Shou and Manjoume, Judai says he doesn't know who she is but he'll give it his all, Black Magician Girl wishes him the best of luck, and the duel begins with Shou declaring that he gets to decide who gets to go first, so Black Magician Girl gets the first turn. Black Magician Girl draws...Black Magician Girl, and she sets a monster, doing this weird pacing thing that I'm pretty sure is supposed to come off as all cute and Moe. By the way, fuck the Moe fad. The audience cheers, oh Black Magician Girl is so cute, she doesn't threaten our masculinity at all, Judai gets a cheap anime sweatdrop, and Black Magician Girl says her turn is over.
So Shou announces Judai's turn, he summons Bubbleman, draws two cards with its bullshit effect, pointless commentary from Shou and Manjoume, and Judai plays Fusion, combining Bubbleman and Burst Lady to get Elemental Hero Steam Healer. This, by the way, is the only episode in which Judai summons this monster. Freaking Mudballman gets more play, and that one doesn't even have an effect! So Judai attacks with Steam Healer, revealing that Black Magician Girl's monster was Fire Sorcerer, with 1500 defense points, not enough against Steam Healer's 1800 attack points. However, now Black Magician Girl can activate Fire Sorcerer's flip effect, randomly removing two cards in her hand from play(Dark Magician Girl and Magician's Valkyria) to deal 800 points of damage to her opponent. Everyone cheers and calls upon her to make her move cutely, and...
EYECATCH!
So yeah, Judai gets a fireball to the face for 800 points of damage, but now Steam Healer gets to activate its effect, restoring Judai's life points by an amount equal to the attack value of the monster it destroyed by battle. So Judai gets back 1000 life points, and then everyone yells at him for all the wrong reasons, telling him to take it easy on Black Magician Girl. Fuckers, the lot of them. Black Magician Girl takes her turn, she can't breathe without the audience cheering her on, and she summons Magician's Valkyria, which in addition to having 1600 attack points, makes it so that Judai can't attack any other spellcaster monsters on the field. And while she's alone for now, Dark Magician Girl fixes that with Dimension Fusion, paying 2000 life points to let each player special summon all their removed from play monsters to the field. So Judai doesn't get to do anything, while Dark Magician Girl gets Magician's Valkyria...and another Dark Magician Girl appears.
Writers, make up your mind; does the Duel Monster summon itself, or does it summon a copy? The inconsistency is giving me a headache!
Misawa says that only Yuugi Mutou's deck is supposed to have Black Magician Girl, and as I roll my eyes at the writers once more, and Shou continues to lead everyone in cheering on Black Magician Girl, who attacks with all her monsters, leaving Judai with just 800 life points. Judai regards this as ridiculously intense, making me wonder what would happen if he saw a butterfly passing by. He takes his turn, plays Fusion Recovery to get back Fusion and Burst Lady, and plays Fusion to bring out Flame Wingman, and everyone yells at Judai to take it easy on Black Magician Girl, because they are all chauvinistic pricks. And Manjoume calling Judai revolting for all the wrong reasons is itself revolting. However, Ryou and Misawa finally points out that since each Magician's Valkyria makes itself the only spellcaster that Judai can attack, both of them being on the field means Judai can't attack any of Black Magician Girl's monsters, so he's stuck. He sets two cards, and ends his turn.
Black Magician Girl continues to be out of character for the sake of lonely fanboys who would fall apart if forced to interact with a real woman, and she takes her turn, drawing Tome of Black Magic, which will raise Black Magician Girl's attack power by 700 points. Oh, and Asuka's just gotten back from mauling her older brother. Black Magician Girl attacks with...Black Magician Girl, but Judai activates his trap card, Standing Before a Formidable Enemy, AKA Stuanch Defender; Judai picks a monster that he controls, and all of his opponent's monsters must attack it. Black Magician Girl points out that Judai still has a face-down card, and it is Hero Barrier, which negates Black Magician Girl's attack. However, thanks to Staunch Defender the Magician's Valkyrias are forced to battle, and thanks to Flame Wingman's effect, Black Magician Girl will be taking 4200 points of damage.
Wait, that was an actual strategy; who the fuck was feeding Judai instructions on that one?
Anyway, everyone gets all mopey, Black Magician Girl tells them all to cheer up, and Shou begins to wonder if she really is Black Magician Girl (Out of Character, but yes, it is her), and Judai wins a pointless duel. Still, Black Magician Girl says she had fun, so I guess we're supposed to agree with her. Judai didn't much care for being the bad guy, Asuka reassures him it was fun to watch, and Judai agrees. Everyone, Idiot Ball in hand, think that there's some mystery to the Black Magician Girl's identity, and rather then do the sensible thing like ask, they instead do nothing. Which is what they were all doing at the start of the episode, so there you go.
So that night Shou is looking for Black Magician Girl, and hey, Junko and Momoe got their act together and now we get the Haprie Lady Sisters. Well, that was fun, now we get Shou thinking about Black Magician Girl and how he's sure she came to help everyone have fun, because that's worth casually breaking metephysics over, right? He thanks Black Magician Girl, and then she appears right next to Shou, all transparent and shit, to say thanks for the great time, and then gives him a kiss on the cheek for no fucking reason at all. Isn't that fucking terrifying? By the way, Mahaad? Atem? Hello? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Of course Shou doesn't see this, but he does feel it, and thinks that it was just a daydream. And Judai, who could actually see the whole thing, walks up and acts all smug, saying 'what couldn't have happened?' and Shou says his whole world became rose colored for a moment. Judai says it looked like Black Magican Girl just kissed him on the cheek, blah blah blah, I don't give a shit, end of episode.
NEXT TIME! So some professional gambler shows up, and Asuka does not like him. Apparently they know each other. EPISODE TITLE, A SECOND LOVE CHANCE FOR ASUKA!? Well, isn't that special?
So...I guess that scene at the very beginning with the Spirit Gates was supposed to be how Black Magician Girl got there in the first place, but fuck it, these writers have shown such disregard for canon and continuity, just making up their own bullshit about alternate worlds and such, that I don't care. And yes, the tepid fanservice was tedious, though it was nice when they mocked it. Oh well, waste of time episode was a waste of time.
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Misawa needlessly reminds us that Daitokuji was responsible for sending Fubuki to the World of Darkness in the first place, but Ryou says that they shouldn't fix their minds on the enemy; I guess he really wants to tap Fubuki's ass now that he's got his memories back, saving the world be damned!
Hee!
Fubuki pretty much makes up the only worthwhile part of this episode.
I think this 'Black Magician Girl' is what we call a pod person. After all Mana's best friends with a Pharaoh, she has no need for bribe money.
I can't help but think that the real Mana would be incredibly uncomfortable in front of that crowd. And annoyed.
Chronos's behavior is especially disturbing. As far as he knows she's a student, and even knowing that she's not...Mana was what, 13/14 back in AE?
Shou is still annoying me, and I'm especially annoyed by the knowledge that Shou/BMG stuff exists out there.
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Fubuki is definitely very different from the usual big brother you get in anime; I mean, he really wants his sister to get a boyfriend!
You know, now I'm remembering something; the DOMA arc also had Black Magician Girl as a character, well before we meet Mana. This is probably supposed to be that Black Magician Girl. Not that that makes it any better, at all.
Really, that crowd was so skeevy and nasty. I just...uggh.
And seriously, with all the shit that Chronos has pulled, how does he still have a job. Okay, he fought the vampire, so we'll just not arrest him and have him thrown away for life.
And by the way, notice how Judai realizes that the Black Magician Girl he dueled was the "real" one, yet he never bothers to try and ask her anything? Like how she was able to be seen by everyone? Or if she could help them find Daitokuji? What. A. Moron.
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Fubuki's actually kind of adorable. Definitely a big change from the usual big brother type, and as I think you said way back when we only knew he signed his name as '10Join', he has lots more character than most of this lot.
It doesn't make it better. At all.
Very creepy, yes.
I'm waving a flag for your fic's Chronos, just so you know ;)
It's a good thing I write based off the manga, or all those scenes where Juudai is actually curious about things would be massively OOC, is all I can say. Somehow the anime writers decided Juudai should be super-enthusiastic, just not...ever interested in finding out anything new.
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I just...I just can't imagine how it is possible for Judai to run into so many bizarre things...and have no interest beyond, 'wow, that's fun!', which is the same response he'd give to seeing a plastic bag drifting in the wind.
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XD A very fitting description. There's something unnatural about Juudai's excitement, I swear.
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It's like what Dan Green said to the voice directors at 4Kids; when everything's at 10, nothing stands out. Judai needs to know when to react one way, and when to react another. You know, like a human.
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Dan Green said that? He's right, and it's a good criticism of how 4Kids handles voice acting, but...I never much got the impression from his performance as Yuugi and Atemu that he had much of a sense from that, admittedly.
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Well, everytime he tried to do the more subdued performance, the voice directors would scrap it and make him do it over again until it came out the way they wanted it to. The quality of voice directors has a lot to do with the quality of the performance of the voice actors.