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

GX 57 (WIP) - A Strapping Issue #69 [probably]

Getting work done on GX 57′s video fixes before getting started on the script proper, and this one came up–it seems Burstlady can’t catch a break no matter who’s using her… The animators forgot to give her her shoulder strap and her arm cuff there; in my edit for it, I referenced Burstlady’s look as Ed fuses her with Featherman in the next shot (where the strap and cuff are drawn on) for consistency. I included the dub for comparison’s sake, because they actually thought to fill out her censored look while still giving her a strap and cuff (usually they’d add a strap for the “jumpsuit” and just connect it to the main “jumpsuit” without consideration for the cuff lol)–though because they had to fill out her whole “jumpsuit,” I see they tried to recreate that light shining as she appears, lol.

For my edit, once I worked on the one frame in Photoshop and added the strap and cuff, I went into Sony Vegas and first worked backwards to move her down to cover her moving upwards, then masked just the strap and cuff out and keyframed a brightness filter from bright to normal by the end. After that, I masked in some of the beams of light over Burstlady as she moves for several frames, making the opacity 50% and fading it near the end such that as the light dies down, you don’t suddenly see spots of skin over the strap and cuff (oddly, the dub editors seemed to just apply their new light over her; they didn’t brighten her “jumpsuit” which would logically be bright there). For only having edited the one frame with the strap and cuff, I think it came out well! I remember when I’d have a shot like this and I’d ask for help to edit multiple frames, but this way the look on her stays consistent throughout.

Also, BONUS:

YOU MISSED A SPOT GUYS

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episode 56 Subbed (Finalized)

Shou VS the Bug Girl! Insect Princess (The Gang Witnesses an Evolution (ft. Misawa)

A promotion for Shou to the Yellow dorm has come up, and the condition Chronos has prepared for him is to defeat Ran Kochou, a young woman from the Blue dorm, in a duel. Shou’s frightened about it, but words from Judai and the others begin to motivate him. Shou uses his Vehicroid deck to battle, while Ran uses her Insect deck. Ran spreads ants onto Shou’s field, raising her Insect Princess’s ATK to 2900 by destroying them. Shou battles on, deliberately not using Power Bond, and combines three of his Vehicroids to summon his Jumbo Drill…

~~rip misawa~~

Here’s finalized!56, folks! Overall, one of my favorite episodes because it starts off a thread of character development for Shou that we touch back on here/there in Season 2 (when we don’t meander too far from the plot) but really comes through more in Seasons 3 and 4. I love how he takes issue with Ran’s calling him just a “flunky” and acknowledges that, yeah, he’s chased after people out of admiration, but as of now he’s choosing to walk with them instead. It’s a neat moment, and Judai watching his evolution is the cherry on top. ~~i end up having big Shou/Ryou feels by Season 4′s end~~ Also, Manjoume’s new room is finally ready after two episodes, and Asuka’s crashing at Red for now because of Chronos/Napoleon antics. So, Red’s kind of the place to be, it seems.

The only gripe I have here is that this episode starts off the season’s trend of forgetting about Misawa. Which, that it happens in-series, is probably the writers acknowledging that they’ve forgotten him, but… no wonder the dude ends up trying to join the Society of Light later.

Thankfully, there weren’t any card fixes to handle here, but I did do some quick quality-of-watching fixes, including one big one at the end that… lifted me off my seat when I saw it, haha. Also, quick translation note included. List below the cut, as usual.

Enjoy, folks! I’ll be getting started on prepping for 57 soon to make up a bit for the gap between 55 and 56, with some occasional work on 5D’s “Dub-Uncut” #28 splashed in for variety (I actually managed to whip something up for the beginning Rua/Ruka bit with Turret Warrior, lol). Once I do 57 and knock out 5D’s 28, I’m thinking I’ll try to handle 58 and 59 together; it’s the first serious duel between Judai and Ed, and it was the first series of episodes from the Japanese version that I ever saw way back when–so, needless to say, they’re some of my favorites.

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episode 55 Subbed (Finalized)

Enter Tyranno Kenzan, Saurus! (The Gang Sees the Bedroom Eyes)

Tyranno Kenzan, the best of the Yellow freshman class, challenges Judai to a duel. Originally heading a group of delinquents, Kenzan hopes to defeat Judai and prove himself as an icon at the Academia. Out of a love of dinosaurs, Kenzan uses a Dinosaur deck. With his Jurassic World Field Magic, he powers up his Dinosaur-Types and Winged-Beast-Types as Trap effects bounce off of them. In addition, his Revised Ultra Evolution Pill evolves his Archaopteryx Archeonys into Dark Tyranno (ATK/ 2900), startling Judai…

Heya, took a bit longer than I was planning to once I finished 54 since some things came up, but here’s a finalized 55 for you! This was a fun one to go back to and revisit Kenzan’s backstory as a guy who didn’t know how to captivate the people he’d be a leader to; he sees Judai’s command of an audience and enthusiasm knowing he still has potential to turn things around in the bleakest times, and decides to learn from him and evolve–to Shou’s chagrin. (A bit of foreshadowing there too, as Johan in Season 3 makes a note of this trait of Judai’s during his duel with O’Brien.)

There were some card fixes I worked on and I re-translated a sign I did in 54 for consistency, but overall the workload was much lower than in 54 after working on that poster, haha. Breakdown below the cut, as usual. And since the duel’s finale showed up in 156 which I’ve already revised, it was a bit less work on the script there, too.

Enjoy, folks! With 55 done, I think I’ll be working on both getting 56 ready but also working more on my 5D’s “Dub-Uncut” take on 27, which I’ve already gotten some work done on; I’ve drafted most of the dialogue and recreated the music up to Yusei’s duel with possessed!Dick starting. The alternate “Dark Signers” track that’s played is interesting to listen to, too… Stay tuned!

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GX finalized!55 Preview - Enter Tyranno Kenzan, Saurus!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episode 54 Subbed (Finalized)

Thunder VS Mr. Elite! Mecha Ojama King Takes Off

Manjoume duels Gokaido, an elite new student who claimed the highest grades of his class at the Academia’s middle school. The new student calls Manjoume a “slacker,” noting how he once sat at the top of the middle school but has since fallen, now using Ojama Monsters in the Red dorm. Manjoume uses his XYZ combo for a cool preemptive strike, but finds himself counterattacked by his Warrior-Type deck and his Gilford the Legend. However, an unperturbed Manjoume, in a show of what he’s learned the past year, uses his Mecha Ojama King…

Two episodes into Season 2, and we have a duel with Manjoume essentially looking at his early-Season 1 self in the mirror! It’s a pretty neat episode, given that–even if there are strong ad vibes for the Warrior Structure Deck that had been about to be released back in 2006, lol. Though it was neat seeing Ben Kei and the Equip Magic combo in use with Gokaido (that scene as he brings out Gilford is a favorite since it uses “The Rival’s Onslaught” really well), as was Manjoume’s interesting Ojama combo evolution with the Mecha… mechanic, which sadly has yet to be released. Maybe Duel Links’ll throw us a Mecha Ojama King bone at some point…

So, I’d actually finished editing the script for this episode maybe two weeks ago, but part of the delay in releasing it is that I also wanted to translate the Gokaido/Manjoume poster in Chronos’s flashback–and on that note, I really can’t thank @paradoxi-kay (formerly thepalebride) enough for their time and effort over a few days in wiping the text so that I could slap my translation onto it. 🙏🏽 I’ll elaborate a bit more on that below the cut, as I go into the edits. There were also two card fixes I applied, Ben Kei related, and I also translated the “Currently Under Construction” sign Manjoume stands in front of at the end. More details below. (EDIT, 2021: One new fix applied that I missed before, listed in bold under the cut below!)

Enjoy, folks! To make up for a little lost time, I think I’ll actually jump onto 55 next and get that out of the way before I go handle 5D’s Dub-Uncut #27 a little more (I’m also trying to see what can be done on that front with the two unreleased OST pieces that I’d like to keep, but we’ll see); keep an eye out~

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GX 54 (WIP): Reaching for the Star

So, it’s been a bit since the last time I posted about this poster, but we’re making some great headway here! First off, I’d like to give @paradoxi-kay a huge shout-out and round of applause for their time and effort in blanking the original poster’s “Star Duel” text and recreating the background so that I could go ahead and add in my translation (I blanked the name bubbles beforehand, and repainted things to Gokaido’s left and Manjoume’s right to “unblur” those parts–more on this in a bit). It’s been a bit, but always a pleasure, Kay! 🙏🏽🔥🙏🏽

So, I used TrebuchetMS for the names’ font, and since the “Star Duel” text there originally seems like the font they use for the episode title cards, I applied the font I use for the translated ones, tweaked to match the look here more. I’m actually really digging how it came out! I was torn between “A Star-Finding Duel” and “A Star-Finder Duel,” but ultimately settled on the former since I’d already called it that in 53′s preview for 54.

Now, comes the fun part–and the reason why I wanted to “unblur” the name bubbles and the sides of the poster (Kay also “unblurred” the star): recreating the panning shot. See, in Chronos’s flashback where this shows up, not only is it a shot panning from the bottom to the top of the poster, but there’s also that huge Gaussian Blur (or is it radial, hmm) surrounding the frame. The pan itself shouldn’t be hard, but I’m hoping it won’t be too hard to redo the frame blur in Vegas, while also kind of reducing the blur as Gokaido and Manjoume come into view, since they’re already blurred and I don’t want to make them even more blurred, lol. Fingers crossed!

Of course, after that, I have more fun lined up: this poster shows up three other times in Chronos’s flashback from different angles: two while it’s lying on his desk, and a third as he’s holding it and pulling it into the frame as he gestures in front of it. I’m thinking for the first two, I can just lie this down and redo the frame blur on top of it, while for this third angle, I think I’ll have to make use of the Corner Pin in After Effects (actually, I’ll probably need the Corner Pin for the first two, too), and then recreate the frame blur… [sorry, thinking out loud lol]

But the good news is that while I gave Kay time to edit the poster, I finished finalizing the subs for 54 proper! (I also worked on 2-3 card fixes before that involving Gokaido’s Ben Kei.) So, plan is once I get these edits done, I’ll put everything together and quality-check the whole thing. Meanwhile, I’ll put out a few photosets here/there to start teasing the final product, so stay tuned~

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episode 53 Subbed (Finalized)

The Gang Freaks Out Over a Cell Phone

Judai and the others are now in their second year when a quiet freshman comes to duel Judai. While the freshman’s deck wasn’t all too powerful, it was also an improvised 40-card deck hastily made beforehand out of eight packs in the store. But even then, Archangel Zerato gets Judai’s LP down to 1200. Mid-duel, he speaks with a mysterious man on his cell phone, feeling a lack of interest in this duel due to his prediction. Shou and the others realize this is the well-known Star Duelist Ed Phoenix…

And after a bit too long, here’s finalized!53! It’s fun to finally be getting back into Season 2, since, later plot pacing issues and… questionable moments aside, there’s quite a bit to like about it. One such thing being the dynamic between Ed and Saiou that we’re introduced to here (one of my favorites), as the concept of fate/destiny starts to become an ever-present theme. Also, hearing Takehito Koyasu again for a while will be great now that I’ve actually seen JJBA and heard him as DIO. 😂 The animation/artstyle in this episode is also a nice touch-up from what we’ve been used to, and there were some great shots of Judai and Ed there.

So, part of the delay in getting this going since finishing 52 was getting my usual bells and whistles worked on for the translated hardsub; you’ll notice that the OP is fully translated, and not just with the credits–I wanted to do a thing I originally wanted to do way back when my first go-around but lacked the skills for and translate the character names that slide in! If you check out my “subbing-rambling” tag, you can see some of the work-in-progress posts I made showing it off as I worked on it. As part of this, I also prepared textless versions of the OP’s V2 shots of Chronos and Ed, as well as made Shou in his Red jacket textless for use here; I’ll be sharing these new textless openings as I go through the season over on NAC. (It’s really a shame that we never got those versions officially released…) The ED credits were pretty much copy/paste from Season 1, with a change in karaoke coloring, since thankfully that stays the same, and I’ll also be translating the “Best Card” shots at the end of each episode (which for some reason I noticed Crunchyroll doesn’t include, despite them being on the DVDs?), though on a static screen with the card spinning into view since that moving background’s hard to get blank, lol.

But once those were all done, there were some 53-specific edits and fixes to work on! For the hardsub, I translated the article we see about Ed so that we can read what was visible in Japanese (ie, Ed making waves in August just before Season 2 at an event Kaiba Corp. sponsored!), while I also made a few card fixes. Breakdown below the cut, as usual.

(UPDATE [7/9/20]: I reuploaded the episode because I realized I didn’t account for the different cards Shou has in his deck shot in the Opening in 53-56 vs 57-104; Gyroid, Cyclone, and Trap Hole in the former become Submarineroid, Vehicroid Connection Zone, and No Entry in the latter (all used in 56), which is what was used in the textless video I was working with while working on translating his name there. That’s been corrected, and will be accounted for as I share the textless OPs on NAC. I’m nothing if not consistency-minded. 💁🏽‍♂️)

Enjoy, folks! With 53 finalized, I’ll be giving my 5D’s Dub-Uncut Ep. 26 a quick lookover to see if I have to tweak anything before I work on making the Dark Signer arc episodes’ dubs more bearable, and then I’ll start working on 54. It’s been a bit since Manjoume last dueled, and him dueling his mini-me in Gokaido should be fun, haha.

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GX finalized!53 (WIP) - The Beginning of Unmei

A quick little preview of the final episode, inspired by @theabcsofjustice‘s post using the dub dialogue in this scene.

GX 53: The More You Know (about cards) [WIP]

Here’s something else I’m working on as I get ready to finalize Season 2!

I’ve always thought I might take a crack at translating these in the future, and now that I have some knowhow about editing, I thought I’d give it a shot. The caveat, though, is that it was looking impossible to get this sequence of cards flipping in the background totally textless; I was trying to overlay each of these clips between Seasons 2 and 4 in Sony Vegas and masking out as much blank space as possible, but doing that after getting maybe 20 of them in was a huge drain on CPU resources lol ~~(what do you mean 360 frames x 30+ video tracks might do that)~~. Also kinda complicated by the fact that some of the cards change some episodes into Season 2, or between Seasons. So, instead, I opted for just using a still shot and just masking in the Card of the Day as it flips into view; here’s a gif of how that looks:

The still I used was the first frame of the sequence; I think I might try to mask in some of the other cards or card backs so they’re not just stuck mid-flip, and maybe move the COTD so it’s flipping from that one card back just under it instead of in-between two, but I wanted to show this off and see what folks thought! Idea being this’ll be in the hardsubs, of course. I get it won’t have the same look as having the cards flipping, but I thought it might be cool to do. Does the English font (two from the Stone Serif group) look like a good replacement, too? I also spaced the text a bit closer together to make room for the subs at the bottom as Judai/whoever narrates (and thought this’d be good since sometimes not everything on the screen is explained).

99% - GX Season 2 Opening (Names Translated/Textless)

mfw i finally finished editing this thing

(Note: video is like this because I originally planned to just show off the name shots, but YT and copyright i swear to– I even had to mirror some of the shots to try and skirt that lol, so I switched which side gets flipped and mainly only on the recap shots)

So, as I mentioned in these two posts, I’ve been at work the past 3-5 weeks revisiting 99%’s Season 2 opening video to finalize my Season 2 subs, and editing it such that not only could I fully translate the character names, but I could make a textless version of the different variations we never officially got textless versions of.

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99% - GX Season 2 Opening: “Ambitions->Dashed Hopes” ft. Earlier Napoleon (WIP)

~~poor chronos~~

Alright, finally finished this scene up! After *checks notes* nearly three weeks of editing, lol. So, following up on the first WIP with Pharaoh crawling onto Chronos’s desk, here’s the next scene I’ve managed to get textless and then translated–and it was a doozy.

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99% - GX Season 2 Opening: “I Fits I Sits” (WIP)

~~this scene is still adorable ngl~~

So, I’ve been at work the past three weeks since finishing my 5D’s Dub-Uncut Ep. 24 getting ready to finalize my Season 2 subs, which means it’s time to revisit 99%’s Season 2 opening video for translating! In my first go-around, while I did use the textless video to fully translate the credits and lyrics, I opted to use subtitles on Chronos’s placard here and the names that pop up for each character since I wasn’t all that versed in Photoshop and was limited with Sony Vegas. Now, about (…however long ago I first subbed episode 53 ~~how has it been that long~~) and quite a few animation fixes later, I thought my particular set of skills has expanded quite a bit–enough so to try and realize what I’d wanted to do back then but couldn’t by fully translating the OP, names included!

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episode 51 (and 52) Subbed (Finalized)

The One With the PERFECTion (Part 1) ~~wait i see no cell here~~

Kaiser Ryou, best at the academy, nominates Judai as his opponent for his Role-Model Duel to be held in honor of his graduation. Judai and Kaiser Ryou duel, and a worked-up Judai becomes unusually meticulous as he tries to fend off his Cyber End Dragon/Power Bond combo. But the Kaiser Fusion-Summons Cyber End Dragon on his very first turn, and while he avoids fatal damage, due to the Kaiser’s skillful fusion and de-fusion, Judai loses his edge before he finally summons a Power-Bond-enhanced Cyber End Dragon (ATK/ 8000).

Episode 52: VS The Kaiser (Part 2) - Final Fusion

The One With the PERFECTion (Part 2) ~~i don’t even see vegeta c’mon~~

Judai’s duel with Kaiser Ryou continues, as Judai holds back a fierce attack from an enhanced Cyber End Dragon with his LP down to 100. Hungry, he eats some riceballs and regains his true sense of self. And then, he assembles four Elemental Heroes with different Attributes–Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind–using his Trap Card to hit the Kaiser’s field with a clean sweep. But the Kaiser once again summons an enhanced Cyber End, and raises its ATK to 16,000 with Limiter Removal. With fusion their strong suits, the scale of their battle hits its limits…

See ya, Season 1~

Not too long after I finalized episode 50, here’s a double-header for you as Judai and Ryou have a rematch to close the season out! This one’s pretty enjoyable, especially once Judai gets back into things; Ryou picks Judai as his last Academia opponent knowing he’d give him a good fight, but you can sense his disappointment as Judai duels without the trait he was looking forward to over the course of 51. And then between the Elemental Burst combo and the over-the-top-ATK battle to finish things off, it’s a fun watch that sends Ryou off.

Correction-wise, 51 had a few card fixes as well as a QOL footage fix, while there was one card fix in 52; notes below the cut, as usual. (EDIT, 2021 and 2022: Applied two fixes in 51 (in 2021) and one in 52 (2022) that I missed before, listed in bold under the cut!)

Enjoy, folks! And I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy (and home if able) given the circumstances; hopefully these get to lighten things up for you a little. With this season now finalized, I’ll take a GX break to go work on revising my 5D’s Dub-Uncut #24 so it’s up to snuff with the newer ones I did as I start working on stuff for GX Season 2; now that I’m more well-versed in editing with Photoshop/etc, I’m looking forward to more fully translating that OP, lol. ~~who’s ready for 52 more episodes of 99%~~

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episode 50 Subbed (Finalized)

The One Where Hayato Makes Us Proud

Hayato wins a card-designing contest sponsored by Industrial Illusions, Inc., with a great piece of artwork. But unless he wins against Professor Chronos in their exam duel, he won’t get to be the card designer he hopes to be. As Hayato and Chronos duel, Hayato doesn’t misplay and takes on Chronos’s Antique Gear cards on even footing, but gradually his Antique Gear Golem overwhelms and nearly crushes him. Remembering his resolve from his trip to Australia a year ago, he attempts a comeback with his “Ayers Rock Sunrise” Spell…

Got ourselves a finalized episode 50! This one’s a favorite because Hayato shows us that Judai and the others have rubbed off on him–he’s gone from someone who was held back and was near giving up to being more confident and hopeful, and you do like to see it. As you do Chronos actually caring. (Also that Kaisei instrumental during the ending why weren’t you released 😭)

Unfortunately, it’s not as powerful in the dub because they tossed out any subtle character moments Hayato had through the season showing us that he’s learning from the group (a moment in episode 5 that I mentioned a while back being replaced with talk of grilled cheese, for one).

Surprisingly, no card edits or anything needed to be done here, so this was easy to churn out; may have a few for 51 though, so we’ll see how that goes as I work on it and 52 to finish up Season 1 as Judai and Ryou have themselves a rematch.

Enjoy, folks!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episode 48 (and 49) Subbed (Finalized)

The One With the Perfect Hair Forever - Part 1

Aged Chairman Kagemaru steals the keys to the seven Spirit Gates, acquiring the three Phantasm cards. Judai and Kagemaru duel, and Kagemaru summons the first Phantasm, “Uria, Lord of Divine Flames.” Its ATK is multiplied by 1000 for each Trap Card in his Cemetery, and it can take out opposing Traps. Judai takes down Uria, but it revives with each attempt. Additionally, the second Phantasm, “Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder” (ATK/ 4000), is summoned, and Judai faces a tough predicament against both Phantasms. Through the Phantasms, Kagemaru gains the life energies of the Duel Monsters, which…

Episode 49: VS Kagemaru (Part 2) - The Three Phantasms Awaken
(The One With the Perfect Hair Forever - Part 2)

“Raviel, Lord of Phantasms” (ATK/ 4000), is summoned, as well. Kagemaru’s goal is to absorb even Judai and gain eternal life from the Duel Monsters. Judai’s down to 600LP, but he rides his wishes on the mysterious card left behind by Daitokuji, and aims for a turnaround…

Bit of a delay aside (as I mentioned here), episodes 48 and 49 are finally finalized! Here, we reach the climax of our villain plot this Season, as Judai takes on Old Man Kagemaru and the three Phantasms we’ve been building up to seeing. It’s a good two-parter that does a good job of showing how menacing they can be (though maybe Part 2 does a better job due to the better art quality), and they’re not bad as the yang to the Mythic/Egyptian Gods’ yin (though I believe that role’s better played by the Wicked cards in YGO R? Been a while…). Judai appealing to Kagemaru’s humanity (around eliminating the Duel Monsters leading to his loneliness) is a nice touch, too, and I’m glad that the dub kep–just kidding, the dub completely cut that part out

As I mentioned in my initial linked post, part of the delay in getting these done was finishing the animation/card fixes with a slightly hectic irl schedule; 48 had less of them, but 49 had a couple that were… fun to work with. List below the cut, as usual~

Enjoy, folks! I’ll be taking a little break to work some more on those 5D’s Dub-Uncuts (revising my first attempt at episode 23, which should sound neat with Duel Links lines) before prepping to knock out the final three episodes and get Season 1 in the finalized books. Looking forward to Hayato VS Chronos and the Graduation Duel finale; Judai VS Ryou II is one of my favorites. :)

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