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

chromsai:

hoooo boy ho boyyyyy this is the hardest thing i’ve ever had to do i think ugh like i love this entire show? so how do i choose just five???? uggggghhhh but here goes

note: so this list turned out to be top Yuya moments in his duels. I wouldn’t say his Top Duels. That would be some other list. also I wanted this list to be about true Yuya, not him being in berserk mode or possessed, so I avoided that. These are some of my faves, but not all. But even if I ever make another list or modify this one, I know for certain #1 stays #1 so…

5. ep 61 - His duel against Enjoy Chojiro. I feel like this is a moment that gets forgotten for some reason but it’s the exact kind of thing that Yuya lives for? His stubborn attitude and faith in himself and in his Entertainment dueling actually put a smile back on Chojiro’s face and basically ended up giving the guy his life back. Like. c’mon. It may not have been a significant duel but it’s a perfect display of what he’s capable as an Entertainment duelist.

4. ep 122 -  Oh shit. A controversial choice for this list maybe? Since apparently not a lot of people liked the BB arc (tho I actually enjoyed it wow). But anyway, I like this one because basically, despite all the messed up shit BB put them through, Yuya actually finds a way to relate to his enemy and in doing so finds a way to communicate his intentions to him in a way that his enemy can understand. The fact that he’s able to pull off such a nice Entame in such a bleak looking duel too… I really love that. It’s a light of hope in an atmosphere that has lost all of it. *cries* I really loved it.

3. ep 79 - His duel vs Shinji. I mean.

He’s not exactly trying to entertain anyone in this one but that doesn’t stop him from a) surprising the crowd and his opponent and b) teaching everyone a lesson in having a little more faith even in dire situations. Plus I just love that he made Shinji and everyone who called Tuning Magician “useless” eat their own words. Also, Enlightenment Paladin is really fucking rad. And it’s hist first Synchro Summon and he does it pretty much all on his own aaaaa.

Oh right. He also made Jack Atlas smile for the first time. So there’s that too.

2. eps 50/51 - Okay there are so many reasons why I love this moment. First off, the duel was fucking amazing. Like… the duel itself had a plot twist at the end, even after all those close calls Reiji seemed to have had and all those seemingly perfect moves Yuya was pulling. Secondly, the fruitshipping evidence in this is unreal. But lastly, why I’m placing it on this list as one of my favorite moments for Yuya… is because of his conviction.

Not to mention… the foreshadowing.

Just… throughout the show, it seems like he was getting none of this done. He didn’t get Yuzu back or keep his promise to Yuto to make everyone smile until the very end. And the desperation in his eyes and in his voice to not want to lose and to win on top of the irony that he doesn’t want to win to please anyone through violence… it’s just… sadly magnificent knowing what happens later on in the story and who he truly is (Zarc).

Reiji pushes him to the opposite of his entertainment persona, which later on we see develop in a much grander light, but this is basically the point we see clearly how flawed Yuya is and the fact that his character goes through a deconstruction throughout the entire story is honestly so good in a VERY refreshing way. Any other show would usually have the protagonist fulfilling his convictions at a much earlier point with lighter consequences in order to validate his feelings here but I’m glad they didn’t do that with Yuya.

I know my explanation for why I love this moment of his might seem odd but like… he’s far from a perfect protagonist and I absolutely love that so much about him.

1. My absolute favorite moment of his is episodes 31/32 aka his duel vs Shingo during MCS.

This is, of course, the very definition of what an Entertainment Duel is. Everything about it is true entertainment. But there’s a big difference in this duel than all other Entertainment duels Yuya participated in, I think. And that’s

… his own. True. Genuine. Smile.

Born out of his own excitement for the duel. For himself. Not for the crowd. Not for any of his friends.

For himself.

I know very well that it’s not true that to make others smile, you have to smile yourself first… but honestly, happiness translates so much better when you yourself truly are happy. It’s just so much easier to make others happy that way.

For that reason I LOVE this moment to death. This is why, imo, this was the best Entertainment duel he pulled off in the show. He wasn’t dueling to win or to win over the crowd (explicitly, at least). He was mainly dueling to push himself and to have fun with it, and the crowd’s excitement later arising from seeing him like that is incredibly realistic.

I can say so because… well, I was basically a part of that cheering crowd.

I loved all his duels up to this point but damn this one in particular… I was like… Entertainment Dueling. Is. Real.

Yeah believe it or not, I was still not convinced until this duel. My gods. What a life changer.

I love Yuya Sakaki.