Have you ever seen the show DEATH BATTLE! before? The famous web series where two characters from pop culture are pitted together in a fight to see who would win. Well, it just so happens that they aired their final episode of the year, and it was one that, one way or another, was going to make people upset: Ash Ketchum vs Yugi Muto. The Pokémon champion vs the King of Games. I couldn’t take sides in this fight, but it reminded me of how much I love Yu-Gi-Oh! growing up. And that led me to a part of the franchise’s history that I had only heard about, but never seen until now: Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0.
When people think of Yu-Gi-Oh!, they think of either the card game or the anime that initially inspired it (or its spin-off sequels). So, it might come as a surprise to learn that the anime that became world famous in the 2000s was not the first adaptation. That distinction belongs to a little-known anime created by Toei in 1998. Dubbed Season 0 by the fans, the series largely covers the first fifty-nine chapters of the original manga, AKA the days before Duel Monsters became the franchise’s focus. And while I think that Takahashi made the right call by pivoting to the card game that he would ultimately invent, it’s fascinating to see what the early days of the franchise were like.
You know what’s even cooler, though? Atem, or as most people remember him by, Yami Yugi, and seeing him being even more of a badass than we remember.
Not Quite the Story You Know
By now, most people know the premise behind Yu-Gi-Oh!. The card game that everyone plays, Yugi and his band of supportive friends, and his supernatural roommate/brother from another mother, Yami Yugi. That remains consistent across every adaptation of the original series, and that doesn’t change here.
What does change, and what will likely surprise anyone who hasn’t read the manga or only knows the 2000s anime, is Yami Yugi. Because Season 0 might as well be known as Yami’s King Von era, as he was a menace to society. At least the worst aspects of society.
Most of the episodes in Season 0 tend to follow the same basic formula. Some wicked person decides it’s a good idea to cross Yugi or one of his friends. Yugi would inadvertently turn into Yami Yugi, who would proceed to challenge the offender to a Shadow Game that he makes up. And when he eventually wins, and they cheat, he subjects them to a penalty in the form of an ironic punishment.
Take Tea hostage and threaten to shoot her and Yugi? He’ll make them think they’re on fire.
Kidnap one of his friends for their sick fantasies? Make them think they were eaten by their virtual pet.
Fire the nurse looking after Joey’s sister for not going out with you and letting your patients die? Their zombies will get you!
You would think that after all of these examples, people would learn not to mess with Yugi or his friends. Then again, we always have Kaiba.
Kaiba Was a Menace Back in the Day
If there was a Mount Rushmore for the greatest anime rivals in history, Seto Kaiba would be up there next to Vegeta. The battles between him and Yugi are the stuff of legend, not to mention one of my favorite things from my childhood. But while his ego might be the size of a blimp, the Kaiba most people know isn’t actually a bad guy.
What if I told you that wasn’t always the case?
Much like how we see in the 2000s anime, Yugi and Kaiba clash over Grandpa Mutou’s precious White Dragon card. Whereas he got his butt whooped in the Duel Monsters anime, in the original, it was a draw. But if Season 0 was Yami’s King Von era, then the same could be said for Kaiba. Not only does he keep trying to best Yugi without regard for his safety, he even hires four mercenaries to threaten Yugi and his friends, leading us into the legendary duel that ends up starting the series. Except this one isn’t as cool.
If there is one aspect of the series where I feel like its successor does better, it has to be how it handles Duel Monsters. Granted, when Takahashi added the card game, he never intended it to become the focal point of the franchise. But it just got so popular that it…happened. And sadly, this early version of the game lacks many of the rules or cool factor that would come to define the game. Which also means that when the time comes for the duel that would spark Yugi and Kaiba’s rivalry, it’s not as epic or dramatic. It actually makes me wonder what it would have been like had someone decided to create a single, consistent series.
Don’t get me wrong: I love the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime that I grew up with, but that doesn’t mean I won’t acknowledge its flaws. The second anime actually took a lot of creative liberties with the storyline, especially when it came to Kaiba. In the manga, he actually left the story after Battle City, while he kept showing up in the anime because he’s just that good. It also means that there were a number of things about the final arc that would get changed up. But seeing Season 0 and how it turned out has gotten me thinking: what if we could do it all over again?
Restart Yu-Gi-Oh! from the Beginning?
I’m serious. What if some studio had the guts to start the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime over from the actual start? We could keep the best of both series, including the changes the anime made that were for the better, especially near the end, but do our best to keep it truer to the manga. And best of all, we could keep the darker elements thanks to 4Kids not being around with their pesky censors! It’s just something to think about.
Regardless, though, this whole thing has reminded me of why I fell in with Yu-Gi-Oh! in the first place. It’s Takahashi’s legacy of gaming, and as a fellow gamer myself, I respect that. Also, it’s got me playing Master Duel, and I’m enjoying it.
