Yu-Jyo A Yu-Gi-Oh!Episode Guide

Focusing on the differences between the American and Japanese episodes

Episode 23: Face Off - Part II (The Strongest! The Magnificent! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon)

The duel between Yugi and Kaiba continues. On the sidelines, Tristan says this is way too intense, and Bakura reminds him that Yugi beat Kaiba once before. Joey says he'd like to beat Kaiba, and Téa wonders what's with Kaiba. He says he's changed, but he's acting like the same old creep. (Japanese Honda asks what happened, and Bakura says Yugi fell into Kaiba's trap. Jounouchi says Kaiba's good, while Anzu says the duel has just begun. To herself, she urges the other Yugi to do his best.) Meanwhile, Bandit Keith watches from a nearby tower window, saying that he has the best seat in the house for scoping out the competition. (Japanese Bandit Keith says that the first round was just for the duelists to test each other. The real duel is about to begin.)

Yugi has Dark Magician on the field, while Kaiba is protected by the Ancient Lamp. (Yugi's other cards are Horn of the Unicorn, Multiply, Swords of Revealing Light, and Eye of Truth. Kaiba's are Battle Ox, Ancient Lamp, Saggi the Dark Clown, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon.) Yugi thinks that Kaiba's trying to finish him off as quickly as possible, which isn't like Kaiba, who enjoys toying with his opponents. Last time they dueled, Kaiba spent half the match messing with him, but this time, Kaiba's all business. (Japanese Yugi says it's time to decide the winner, and thinks to himself that he must win.)

Kaiba taunts Yugi, telling him he looks a bit worried, and asks if Yugi's realized he doesn't stand a chance without his precious Exodia cards. Yugi says he won't need Exodia to beat Kaiba. (Japanese Kaiba thinks that once he fuses his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, he'll win.)

Kaiba reels in his Duel Disk and draws De-Spell. He uses La Jinn to activate it, destroying Yugi's Swords of Revealing Light. (The real De-Spell is a magic card that can destroy one magic card on the field. It doesn't need to be activated through a monster.) Kaiba says Swords of Revealing Light could have paralyzed his monsters for three turns, but now Yugi will lose three turns sooner. Yugi tells Kaiba not to count on it.

Bakura says that that genie is big trouble, but as long as La Jinn has the lamp to hide in, Yugi can't touch him. Téa asks if there's any way Yugi can destroy the Ancient Lamp. (Japanese Anzu says it will be all right. Yugi will find a way.)

Yugi draws Mystic Box, and thinks this may do the trick. But first, he says, he'll call upon the Dark Magician. Kaiba is surprised Yugi would put his magician at risk, but Yugi says that before he attacks, he'll see what Kaiba's planning to do. He activates his magic card, the Eye of Truth, which forces Kaiba to reveal the cards in his hand. (He calls it a magic card, but it has the red background of a trap card, which is what the real card is. The Japanese card is a magic card. Its colors were changed for the US.)

Kaiba's cards flip around to reveal De-Spell, Ancient Lamp, Saggi the Dark Clown, and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Yugi is astonished that Kaiba has a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in his hand but hasn't played it. Joey says you can always count on Kaiba to have a Blue-Eyes or three up his sleeve, and Tristan says Kaiba sure loves his Blue-Eyes. (Japanese Honda asks, what if Kaiba draws the other two?) Bakura says that three Blue-Eyes must be nearly impossible for Yugi to beat, but Téa says Yugi's done it before, and he'll do it again.

Yugi wonders what Kaiba's up to, but Kaiba thinks Yugi can't guess what he means to do, because it's never been done before. He's going to take all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons and fuse them together into one creature of unsurpassed power—the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! (Japanese Kaiba thinks to Yugi, "I need you to leave this island with shame." Yugi thinks that if he were Kaiba, he'd try to fuse the three Blue-Eyes. But he has nothing in his hand that can destroy the Blue-Eyes, so he'll have to break Kaiba's combo.)

Kaiba says that Yugi may have gotten a sneak peak at Kaiba's hand, but it won't do him any good. Dark Magician still can't do anything against La Jinn while he has his Lamp to protect him.

So Yugi plays Mystic Box, sealing up the Dark Magician in one of the boxes. The box is skewered with numerous swords, but when the box opens, it's Kaiba's Ancient Lamp inside. The Dark Magician emerges from the other box unharmed, shaking his finger at a frustrated Kaiba. Now La Jinn is unprotected, and Yugi can destroy it with the Dark Magician, bringing Kaiba's life points down to 800. Kaiba glowers as Yugi tells him that once the Ancient Lamp was destroyed, La Jinn was no match for the Dark Magician. (Japanese Yugi tells Kaiba he won't allow him to fuse the three Blue-Eyes. He'll zero Kaiba's life points before that happens.)

But Kaiba reminds Yugi that he's got a Blue-Eyes waiting in the wings, and Yugi has nothing that can stand against it. (Japanese Kaiba says that Yugi knows him well, but he shouldn't underestimate him. His winning formula is perfect.) Yugi says Kaiba doesn't know anything—he's seen Kaiba's hand, but Kaiba hasn't seen his. Kaiba says he doesn't need to see Yugi's hand. He's drawn the Crush Card (Deck Destruction Virus of Death) and plans to combine it with Saggi the Dark Clown to infect Yugi's life points. (For some strange reason, the Crush Card has been given the green background of a magic card in the US version, although the real card is a trap card, and the Japanese card is also a trap card.)

Kaiba plays Saggi the Dark Clown in defense, a weak monster with an attack of only 600 points and defense of 1500. Yugi again wonders what Kaiba's planning. He was expecting Kaiba to play his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, knowing that Saggi is no match for the Dark Magician. He knows Kaiba didn't have any trap cards in his hand when Yugi got a look at it before, but Kaiba might have drawn one since then. The only way to know for sure is to attack, but he doesn't dare risk his Dark Magician.

Yugi draws Gaia the Fierce Knight, and remembers that Gaia destroyed Saggi in Yugi's previous duel with Kaiba. He summons Gaia the Fierce Knight (2300 ATK) and attacks, destroying Saggi—or so he thinks. Actually, Kaiba's sacrificed Saggi the Dark Clown to activate his Crush Card, a deadly virus that destroys every monster in Yugi's deck with an attack strength greater than 1500. Gaia the Fierce Knight and the Dark Magician are both destroyed, along with all of Yugi's other powerful monsters. Yugi stares at his Duel Disk in horror as the virus does its work. Kaiba laughs, saying he's broken the heart of Yugi's cards.

Yugi says it will take more than a virus to win this duel. Kaiba agrees that it will, but he's looking forward to subjecting Yugi to a wide array of debilitating cards. Joey reminds Kaiba that Yugi beat him last time, and Tristan adds that Yugi's now an even better duelist. (Japanese Jounouchi curses Kaiba, saying, how can Kaiba use such a terrible card? Honda wonders what will happen to Yugi.) But Bakura points out that last time, Yugi didn't face the Crush Card, which only allows him to play magic cards and weak monsters. Téa insists Yugi will still win.

From his tower window, Bandit Keith thinks this is quite a show—all he needs is a hot dog and a bag of popcorn. But, from the looks of things, this duel isn't going to last much longer. (Japanese Bandit Keith says that Kaiba is doing pretty well. Yugi, without his powerful monsters, is just like a hen with no wings.)

Yugi says the body of his deck may have been weakened, but the heart of the cards will still see him through. He draws Summoned Skull, but he can't use it because of the virus. Kaiba reminds him that he'll have to serve up his weakest monsters, and Yugi knows that, for now, that's all he can do. He plays Silver Fang (800 DEF) in defense. Its attack is 1200, so it's immune to the Crush Card's virus.

Kaiba draws his second Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Just one more, and nothing will keep him from victory. With one earth-shattering blast, he'll defeat Yugi for the last time, and then he'll go after Pegasus and rescue his brother. Meanwhile, he plays Battle Ox (1700 ATK) and destroys Silver Fang.

Tristan tells Yugi it's just a minor setback, and Téa thinks, she knows Yugi can win. No one's ever beaten him in a duel, and no one ever will. Kaiba laughs, asking Yugi how he expects to protect his life points when his defenses are demolished and he has nothing left to shield him from Kaiba's even more powerful monsters. He guesses they'll find out soon enough. (Kaiba's hand card on the left is changed in the US version from the monster Mystical Elf to the trap card Gift of the Mystical Elf. This seems to be a continuity error in the Japanese version, since Kaiba will later play Gift of the Mystical Elf.)

Desperately, Yugi thinks that Kaiba's right. But how can he defeat any monster when Kaiba's Crush Card forces him to play only his weakest creatures? Kaiba tells him he should accept his fate. He'll have the rest of his life to brood over his defeat.

Thinking that he can't give in to Kaiba's taunting, Yugi draws and summons Griffore (1200 ATK). Kaiba says Griffore's defenses are no match for his Battle Ox, but Yugi asks what makes Kaiba think he's playing it in defense? He's attacking with Griffore, with the help of the Horn of the Unicorn, which powers up Griffore by 700 points. Battle Ox is destroyed, and Kaiba loses another 200 life points, taking him down to 600. Yugi's friends cheer him on, and Kaiba congratulates Yugi on using a combo attack to combat the perils of his virus. But Kaiba says there are some hazards in his deck that are inevitable.

Kaiba draws. At last, he has his third Blue-Eyes! Now he only needs the Polymerization card to merge them.

But first, Kaiba plays the Mystical Elf. (Actually, he's playing Gift of the Mystical Elf [Japanese name: Holy Elf's Blessing], a trap card that raises the player's life points by 300 for each monster on the field. The Elf gets a slight change of facial expression for the US—she's shown with her eyes open and smiling, while the Japanese card shows a solemn, closed-eyed Elf. The Japanese card has the green background of a magic card, while in the US it's redrawn as a trap card, which is what the real card is.)

Kaiba says he's learned that Yugi has an uncanny ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, so he's summoned the Mystical Elf to reinforce his life points by 300, raising him back up to 900. (Japanese Kaiba thanks Yugi for destroying his Minotaurus, so that he can play this card.)

Yugi again reflects on how methodically Kaiba's dueling—as if this were a battle of life and death! (Japanese Yugi realizes that Kaiba used Minotaurus as bait so that Yugi would summon a monster in attack position, easy prey for the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.) Kaiba tells himself that soon he'll have completed Pegasus' twisted little task, and then nothing will stop him from rescuing his little brother. (Japanese Kaiba thinks that he'll use one of the Blue-Eyes now, and fuse the three Blue-Eyes next turn. Yugi will lose very soon.)

Now, finally, Kaiba summons one of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons (3000 ATK). Everyone gasps in awe as the mighty dragon rises over the field! (Yugi now has Multiply and Mammoth Graveyard in his hand. I don't know when he drew Mammoth Graveyard—both characters seem to be having cards just show up in their hands that they haven't drawn.)

Kaiba sends the Blue-Eyes into the sky to attack Yugi's Griffore with its White Lightning attack. Griffore is destroyed, taking Yugi down to 400 life points.

Kaiba says his Blue-Eyes has Yugi cowering—and this is only the beginning. Yugi says he's not afraid of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes, and plays Giant Soldier of Stone (2000 DEF) in defense.

Now, Kaiba draws the Polymerization card he needs. He says that when Yugi faced Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragons before, they were three separate dragons, but now Kaiba has found a way to combine them to create a monster with power beyond imagining! (Japanese Kaiba says that after his last duel with Yugi, he hasn't won again. Now, he'll no longer have that feeling, and Yugi will finally know what it feels like.) He plays Polymerization to fuse the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons into the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, with an attack of 4500 points.

Yugi realizes that this is why Kaiba didn't play his Blue-Eyes at first. He was waiting to merge them all together. Kaiba laughs triumphantly, telling Yugi that nothing can save him now.

Téa exclaims that that creature's attack points are off the charts! and Joey wonders how any creature in Yugi's deck could beat it. Tristan says Kaiba's been setting Yugi up for that beast the entire time. And Bandit Keith says Yugi's done for. But Téa thinks that this can't be the end. Yugi will find a way to come back. (Japanese Anzu prays to the Goddess of Victory to help Yugi.) Yugi thinks Kaiba's played a brilliant strategy, setting him up with the Crush Card, holding out for all three Blue-Eyes, and whittling his life points down to 400. Now Kaiba's got Yugi cornered and staring down the toughest monster he's ever faced. (And now, Yugi has a Polymerization card in his hand that seems to have appeared out of nowhere.)

Kaiba says this is the moment he's been waiting for, ever since Yugi handed him his first and only Duel Monsters defeat. He tells Yugi to prepare himself for the power of his creature! The Blue Eyes-Ultimate Dragon attacks, destroying Yugi's Giant Soldier of Stone. Yugi thinks that the Giant Soldier was the last of his defenses, and Kaiba says Yugi must know he has nothing that can stand against Kaiba's dragon. He tells Yugi he should concede.

Yugi's hand trembles as he reaches for his deck. But Bakura tells him he can win. Téa says they all believe in him, and Joey urges him to remember what he's fighting for. Joey knows Yugi's not going to let his Grandpa down now.

Yugi remembers Pegasus stealing his Grandpa's soul, and vows to keep fighting. He tells Kaiba he'll never surrender to the likes of him. Kaiba's glad to see it—he wants to take Yugi down fighting.

Everything is riding on Yugi's next card. As hopeless as it seems, he still has to believe. With his friends urging him on, and the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon looming over him, Yugi closes his eyes and asks the Heart of the Cards to guide him.

Yugi draws, and says, "Let's finish this, Kaiba!"

To Be Continued

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