"Any card—so long as it exists—has a power that is needed."

xamaxenta:

I could go on about the meaning of powerbond forever for the Marufujis but in this essay i will talk about the use of Judai’s theme for Shou’s comeback vs the psycho style master

I just watched that episode but I’m stupid so i forgot half of it in my excitement but when dragonroid is pulled Shou says the deck finally came through for him and activates a few magic cards in a row each building a foundation for a combo Ryou never even knew existed as a possibility for the cyber dark deck

Shou says Judai told him to ask what the deck wanted and that this is how he will fight to surpass Ryou

Ryou hearing this looks to Judai like what and Judai has never looked prouder. This is the Shou Judai was always encouraging to succeed and shine through the gaps of potential, its always been so amazing that they showed Judai previously telling Shou to move up into Ra Yellow and move forward because he knows he can and to not worry about him staying in Osiris

This is the Shou that Judai saw that Shou himself couldnt see when he still struggled with the meaning of powerbond and its responsibility - the power that Ryou taught him to handle with care and its interesting that the cyberdark deck has such a strong presence that it can even send shockwaves through the user because this is the deck that powerbond was foreshadowing for shou

So when Shou uses kiteroid and dragonroid which are still nods to his vehicroid deck you can tell this is a deck that he thought about because he asked the deck what it wanted and it wasnt just battles it was evolution

And thats when Judai’s theme kicks in for Shou as he summons all three cyberdarks from his graveyard

Because this is Shou’s evolution this is his comeback this is his self assurance and determination spilling out from every pore on his body this is his legacy and Judai’s theme has always been about defeating impossible odds or coming about a miracle

The impossible odds here is Shou overcoming himself and thats why he can use powerbond and he uses it well

The Marufujis are fantastic cast members and their relationship with each other is complex and driving and its awesome to see it come full circle because their arc wasnt just a season thing only it spans more or less the entire ass show and thats what they deserve because theyre the best