My Little Over-Analysis of 'Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters' Part 4: Episode 3 "Journey to the Duelist Kingdom"

After the pleasant but slow set up of the first two episodes, one would have expected this one to take off exactly where the second one left off and jump straight into the Duelist Kingdom Tournament. Therefore, the decision to give us yet another set-up episode—this time without a single card game and with the notable absence of the show's poster boy Atem—might seem a bit odd.

However, it's largely in this episode, where the show's creators establish a crucial point going forward: the priority here is not the card game (well, not just anyway) but the characters. So, much like Joey into the stormy sea to save Yugi's Exodia cards, let's dive right into it and start another little over-analysis of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.

A Calm Before the Storm

The tone of the episode is set pretty much right away, as we open with Yugi looking at the distance and reflecting on the challenge he's about to face. In fact, the entire episode has this wonderful calm before the storm feel to it, as the opening scene is followed by Joey finding out about his sister Serenity's need for an expensive eye treatment, the reveal that the Duelist Kingdom Tournament offers a rather decent monetary prize, and then a truly great scene of Yugi and Joey sitting on a rooftop and reflecting on their friendship (and it's shaky beginnings). And, well, let's stop on that latter scene a bit.

You see, when I started rewatching the show a few years back, I wasn't really sure whether I wanted to sit through this 224-episode trading card commercial just to get my nostalgia fix. However, it was this scene that did the trick for me, as I realized just how much I care about these characters after all these years.

Anyways, it's definitely one of the best examples the old adage of storytelling that once you get the core character dynamics right, the rest tends to follow naturally. It's also complemented by an equally great best friends moment, as Yugi sacrifices one of his star chips to enable Joey to get on board of the ship to Duelist Kingdom. So, let's do the same and see what this boat ride has in store.

Not Quite the Emotional Impact of 'Titanic' But...

First off, coming back to this calm before the storm vibe, the boat ride simply works as a nice way to show us the general buzzing before the tournament, as everyone on the ship is preparing for it, trading cards with each other, etc. In fact, that actually leads us to another truly great scene, as Joey—who has just done some trading of his own—also receives his iconic Time Wizard card from Yugi as a gift. A simple act that does gain a little more symbolic undertone when one considers the "heads or tails" nature of this card's effect.

You see, for Yugi—now determined to put all his training into use and save his Grandpa—there can be no chance involved in achieving it. For Joey however—still practically a beginner—this entire tournament is basically one big case of winging it. So, a little gamble here and there doesn't really hurt.

Speaking of gambling, we're also treated to a fun little scene of Rex Raptor getting duped out his cabin by a certain Mai Valentine. Now, while she initially comes across as your average hot chick stereotype, she does reveal her cunning nature pretty quickly and it's also worth pointing out that she ends up being one of the show's more interesting characters in the long run (as well as one of the more tragic ones in many ways).

However, as there are more reasons to talk about her in future episodes, let's just leave it at that for now and proceed to one of the most iconic moments in the show's history. I am of course referring to the scene, where the "not at all obviously evil Weevil" asks Yugi to show him his all-powerful Exodia cars and—surprise, surprise—throws them overboard into the sea.

That, in turn, leads us to yet another "Yugi and Joey are best friends" moment, as Joey immediately jumps in after them to which Yugi responds by also jumping in to save Joey from drowning. So, does this mean that too much of the power of friendship can end up getting you killed? Well, perhaps, but luckily it's also the power of friendship that gets them out of this mess (accompanied by a little help from a rope-ladder), as the two are saved by a couple of stowaways in form of Tea and Tristan.

So, the gang is reunited, Joey reveals his motivation of winning the prize money to save his sister's eyesight and we end this seemingly unnecessary but actually crucial episode with the gang looking on to the approaching Duelist Kingdom island, as the sun rises. The calm before the storm is almost over and it's now time to duel.

Today's Card Trivia

As there were no actual duels this time around, let's just focus on three iconic monsters that made their debut in this episode.

• Time Wizard: The actual effect of this card is, of course, a simple coin toss. Call it right, and it destroys all the monsters your opponent controls. Call it wrong, and it destroys as many monsters you control while also giving you damage equal to half of the total ATK those destroyed monsters had. The anime version, of course, takes a more fantasy inspired approach, as it features a time roulette instead of a coin toss, while also giving us some rather imaginative outcomes to this monster's time-themed effect.
• Harpie Lady: In Greek and Roman mythology, harpies are a female monster in the form of a bird with a human face. They steal food from their victims while they are eating and carry and torture evildoers. In the latter form, they were also the agents of punishment for Zeus.
• Baby Dragon: This monster appears in the artworks of "Soul Absorption" and "Aqua Gate" and has a "Red-Eyes" counterpart in "Red-Eyes Baby Dragon". The "untapped potential" in the card's lore is a reference to "Thousand Dragon", and possibly "Alligator's Sword Dragon". It's also very symbolic of the underdog nature of Joey's character.

Lore Trivia of the Day: The Duelist Kingdom Island

As this episode is all about getting to that place, let's explore Pegasus' private island a bit closer. A remote island in the Pacific approximately five km wide, it was occupied by the U.S. military during the Pacific War. On a more darker note, the troops that died there were buried in the caves under the island. Pegasus later pulled a Johnny Depp by buying the island and using it as his own private residence. Also, when he wasn't busy having a quality time with a glass of red wine and a good book, he sometimes invited both potential and active business partners over to discuss deals.

For the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, Pegasus had various Dueling Arenas set up across the island's varying locations, which we'll get to explore more in the future episodes.

Changes in the Dub

• The opening shot: In the dub, when Yugi is on the Domino High School roof, he wonders why Pegasus stole his Grandpa's soul and what Pegasus wants with him, as he vows to get Grandpa back. In the Japanese version, Yugi thinks Pegasus has the power to see into others' hearts. He wonders how he can beat this guy. But he has to do it, as Pegasus has taken his Grandpa. Also in the dub, Pegasus' and Grandpa's faces were symbolically floating in the sky, while in the Japanese version, it was just Pegasus.

• The sunrise saga: In the dub, when Téa was on the ship, she was cold and Tristan says to her that the sun will come up in a few hours. In the Japanese version, as Anzu (Téa) needed to go to the bathroom so badly because there were no bathrooms on the ship, Honda (Tristan) told her to pee over the side to which Anzu replied "I'm not a boy!" Anyways, this dub change created one of the show's most brilliantly silliest lines, so can't complain.

• "Mai's too much for 4Kids to handle" changes: When Mai is sitting behind the table, a zoom in of her skirt is replaced in the dub with a shot of her cards. A similar change also occurs before she meets Joey and Yugi. In the dub, Mai will kiss Rex if he wins their duel in his private room aboard the ferry. In the Japanese version, Mai states "I'd do anything you'd want if you won," with a much stronger implication of sex if he is victorious. Furthermore, while cutting the deck, Rex also thinks in the Japanese version "This is the best night of my life" compared to "This will be a snap" in the dub. Dub also gave Mai a great line of calling Joey "fashion challenged".
• Yugi's and Joey's bullying saga: In the dub Joey tries to ease his past guilt by saying that him and Tristan used to bully Yugi to "toughen him up" for the "real bullies". In the Japanese version, he simply used to get mad watching Yugi solve the Millenium Puzzle, which resulted in him throwing away a piece of it and later retrieving it (the latter act also occurred in the dub of course).
• Also in the Japanese version, Joey gives an awesome little speech in regards to the contents of the Millenium Puzzle being something you can see but can't see (after Yugi tried to protect him and Tristan from the so-called real bully). He tells Yugi that he also has a treasure, which you can see but can't see. He then goes on to expand that its friendship (they can see each other but not the friendship). More on that note, the word for "friendship" is pronounced "yuujou", which is a combination of Yugi's and Jounouchi's (Joey's) first name. Classy touch.

'Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series' Quote of the Day

Joey [as he jumps into the stormy sea to save Yugi's Exodia cards all the while 'Titanic's' theme plays on the background]: Must risk life for cards!

Never has there been a truer word spoken on the mentality of most of the characters in this show.

Keeping the Score

As there weren't any actual duels (May outsmarting Rex in a card guessing game doesn't really count), there isn't much to keep score on this time around. Well, apart from a few little recurring tropes:

• Number of major friendship speeches: 1 (show's overall count: 3)
• Monologues on the heart of the cards: 0 (show's overall count: 2)
• A character risking his or her life for trading cards: 1 (show's overall count: 1)

Sources: Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia, Every 4Kids Change to Yu-Gi-Oh: Episode 3 by Gamechamp3000, Wikipedia

Also read: My Little Over-Analysis of 'Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters' Part 3: Episode 2 'The Gauntlet Is Thrown'