I feel like the smile was Kaiba realizing his rival wasn't gone, that Yugi was still there and he still had a goal to strive for. He didn't have to go his whole life without the chance to surpass the pharaoh, because Yugi had become the duelist that the Pharaoh allowed him to be before.
That would've been pleasant but I doubt it since the movie closes with Kaiba yeetng himself into the afterlife to finally get his rematch with the Pharoah.
@@John_1-1_in_Japanese Still symbolizes something, I don’t personally think that it was more about him being proven wrong. He viewed Yugi as pretty much just the shell for the Pharaoh to come through and bust out a can of Fanny whooping for whoever is in front of him. As it was stated in the video, this Kaiba wasn’t at the final duel and had not properly seen Yugi’s individual skill. So even though the duel was going to happen, he pretty much outright admit that he didn’t acknowledge Yugi, saying “You’re not the one I want to duel.” But Yugi busted out his own can, this time Tooshie whooping, he bought it from the Pharaoh with some Millennial plot devices and re-branded it. Kaiba got the receiving end of it, and knew he’d been proven wrong. That’s the smile, the sweat was realizing he’d underestimated little Yugi and the smile was basically a “Holy shit, the little fucker actually just clapped me, the little shit actually did it.”
Something I find neat about this duel is that little Yugi has a deck focused around Magician Girls, and DMG is seen as the apprentice and successor to Dark Magician, in much the same way that Little Yugi is the apprentice and successor to Yami Yugi.
@@ZeroYami Yugi can be seen as his apprentice as undoubtedly he his learning a lot off him in their games with others. Similar to how the silent cards show how as time goes on he can end up beating Atem in their last duel, the cross duel game DMG is described as going to succeed DM and inherit his soul, as Yugi gained a lot of the pharaoh’s positive traits by the end of their adventure
@@ZeroYami it’s still a good argument that he is, beating Atem in the end doesn’t mean he wasn’t learning in the end. Also we’ve seen more than one occasion Yugi is worried without Atem’s guidance
I wasn’t examining Kaiba’s cards closely, so I thought Kaiba might’ve had a counter for Yugi’s final attack but simply chose to not play it and let Yugi win.
It's something that I really only ever saw in 5Ds. The original DM was so whacky with its rules and GX was similar, even though it was a tad bit better.
@@blanktrigger8863 it's bcs it's not developed yet, and the anime actually has its own rule of cards since it's there to drive the plot further, it's a mechanic for the story. the DM anime was there to sold out the games, while in the manga it's actually still has the main horror/thriller vibes from the original season 0. it's getting better in GX tho, but later in season 4. I rather stick with manga for the first series since it has more charm bcs the anime is there as a tool to totally sold out the games only.
Right up there with "If at first you don't succeed, BLAST 'EM WITH YOUR BLUE-EYES AGAIN!" and "Any duelist who is late will be disqualified. Mokuba, make sure Wheeler's late." ...man, the filler had some good lines! XD
I always interpret that smile as Kaiba being happy for losing, he has a challenge at last, not needing the Pharaoh and recognizing little Yugi as a worthy duelist.
I always thought that smile meant that even though the pharaoh is gone, Kaiba realised that Yugi is still there to give him a challenge. Not just the Atem.
@@Globalnet626 ikr. people so desperate to act like the pharaoh isn't kaiba's ultimate goal. yugi is still a strong and worthy opponent but atem was, is, and always will be his true rival
Kaiba was actually about to lose. We can count out his cards exactly. We know what his facedown was. Starts the duel with 5 cards. Does no searching. 4 draws over 4 turns. That’s 9 cards total. Let’s count them out 1. Assault Wyvern 2. Blue-Eyes 3. Dragon fighting spirit 4. High speed aria (set) 5. Polymirazation (seen in hand) 6. Chaos Form 7. Another Blue-Eyes in hand 8. Chaos Max Dragon 9. Deep Eyes So Kaibas last card was a bluff Polymirazation. There’s literally no other option. And a poly is not going to stop a direct attack. Yugi won. The smile was Kaiba accepting defeat. Which is why we find out he was willing to work with Yugi later
@@yuseifudo5830 I mean if he really was a shameless fighter he could’ve threatened suicide in any of their other duels if all he want was to win. We know Kaiba has a lot of pride as a duelist so him giving up that pride and honor to save his brother just highlights him being a good brother and I don’t think it warrants him being called a shameless duelist. But that’s just my opinion lol
@@rileywagner5788 Imagine, losing hard but when you’re about to make an amazing come back, your opponent just rage quit. As for Yugi, he just happened to equip a Millennium Puzzle with a 100% luck stat boost and innate ability “Destiny Draw” plus the power of friendship. That’s 200% luck boost right there ;)
Your forgetting the time that Little Yugi Interrupts Yami from defeating B-E UD in Pegasus's Tournament. He called off the attack. Therefore he Participated.
I like to point out that in GX Kaibaman (the monster spirit and arguably the reflection of kaiba himself) dueled jaden to teach him that losing is okay. Which makes me think kaiba learned to accept defeat after that duel with yugi... well...and after breaking the laws of reality to get a rematch with a dead pharaoh... THEN he learned to accept. Thats what I like to think anyway.
He didn't break the laws of physics for a rematch with Atem. He broke the laws of physics for a rematch with Yugi. Since Yugi beating Atem was no longer a fluke in Kaiba's mind he was third best ...And he ain't having none of that.
I interpreted the smile as Kiba realising that Yugi really was the king of games, and that he was just as much of his rival as the Atem was. The reason he goes to face Atem still at the end was for his own personal goodbye, however he realised that his rival was still alive and kicking all along.
I'm just here to appreciate how the movie embraced the fact that Special Summoning changed YGO into a faster-paced game. When Battle City was live, it took 15+ turns for the board to have a face-off between Dark Magician and Blue Eyes. Now it took them only until turn 3 with quick and efficient effects.
I remember playing at middle school kinda figuring out that big lv4 beaters won me way more games than trying to be Bandit Keith running a ton of high level machine monsters.. That slot machine brick was brutal
I must admit that before watching this video, I always thought that Seto Kaiba had one trick up his sleeve that might have prevented him from losing, but I do admit that Yugi actually managing to beat Seto on his own makes sense to his own personal character arc throughout the original yugioh series. The best way to compare Yugi's dueling style with Seto's is to see how they both dueled Aigami. For Seto, he almost lost to Aigami, and with the most bullshit draw in yugioh history, Seto summoned Obelisk the tormentor to save himself from defeat, and the duel was still left unfinished. As for Yugi, Aigami underestimated him throughout the entire duel, while Yugi planned his moves, reduced the damage he received, and ultimately used a combination of cards that defeated Aigami, without using an Egyptian god card. You would think that seeing Yugi defeat an opponent he had trouble with would be enough for Seto to gain some respect for Yugi, but he was still obsessed with Atem. At the end of the day, Atem was really Seto's rival, not Yugi, but during their duel, I do think that Seto gained a lot of respect for Yugi as a duelist.
I'd say that's actually a rather accurate way of putting things - even if personally the whole Kaiba calling Obelisk scene is pretty badass. I can't say I ever thought of it that way before.
That's because "Lemon Magician Girl" negates the effects of any monster summoned by "her" effect, and I think they had that transferred to the movie too@@purpleheartneptune6267 . Hope that helps clear that one up :)
I like how confident yugi grew in his skills by that point. Truly living up to the king of games title and battle city champion. He no longer needs god cards or atem to body people
Here’s the thing that people forget. If the duel wasn’t stopped, the attack from DM would take him to 0 LP. There wasn’t a trap card like Magic Cylinder or anything Kaiba could’ve use to inflict effect damage, as he would have to activate that before Dark Magicians attack happened, not after, but he didn’t activate anything to stop the attack, clearly showing he planted a bluff.
Yes, that face-down card is most probably just the Polymerization... finally, someone else said it. Face-down cards don't always have to be trap cards or quick-spells. Kaiba smiled because he was defeated by a duelist who fought him with fruit in the duel.
That smile could be also means he accepted defeat or thinking the good times on a wild rollercoaster he went through with Yugi who knows maybe he may had on Yugi or not.
I think that it meant that he could his next turn draw a card that could possibly turn the duel around also keep in mind that before the duel was interrupted he had 100 life points left and one turn to try and turn it around
@@tebrizmammadov8525 I did not know that. And that detail is one of many reasons this should’ve been an additional season and not a movie. There were so many missing details that were not properly explained. Did the manga say anything about the eighth Millennium Item? Like why it exists and why we were never told about it before?
Kaiba accepting defeat and smiling as well when his life points only hit 100 I feel like the makers of the movie paused it there since they wanted Aigaimi to come into the scene so I think if Aigaimi didn’t come we could’ve seen the rest of Kaiba’s life points hit zero and accepting his defeat.
Ironically he summons Gandora X some turns later. I'm sure he just hates Blue Eyes, I mean, those were the ones that almost send his grandpa to the grave xD
That smile from Kaiba, i believe to myself that it personally was one that finally acknowledged Yugi as a duelist. It was more of a test to see if Yugi was worthy of being his rival. So, i'm sure that smile was also showing a mark of respect. Yugi did earn that respect from him.
Since the movie was more about resolving characters than the duels, I prefer to interpret it as “It seems Little Yugi has outgrown the pharaoh after all.”
Yeah. The only thing that Yugi is lacking is since he is just mortal he cannot withstand shadow duels for too long like Atem does. As a duelist he is equal or even better than Atem.
More like "Can't use my face down Polymerization, just like I can't use Yugi as a material to fuse with Atem anymore..." The one card represents Kaiba's arc in the movie. Yugi is more than the sum of his part.
I love this started as a "hey let's analyze the duel to see if we can figure out the mystery card" to one of my favorite parts of this channel. I love just going through with knowledge I have now and seeing different plays.
It was so cool that they started with 8000 life points. I think Kaiba’s smile was reassurance that Yugi is really the king of games. So i agree with you in that sentiment that Kaiba had.
Over a year late, but I feel like Kaiba's smile was because he was impressed by Yugi. He surpassed his expectations and considers Yugi a true duelist and a worthy opponent, or even an equal. I'd also like to note that when it comes to Yugi's relationship with those around him, he has had a profound impact on everyone he has made a connection with, but prior to this film, he never really did have a connection with Kaiba, Atem did. But now that Kaiba sees Yugi for who he really is, he would never say or admit they're friends, but Yugi has earned his respect. This is furthered by Takahashi releasing an art piece that depicted Yugi playing the game he created with Kaiba as Kaiba Corp is helping with the development of that game, something that Kaiba wouldn't do for just anyone, regardless of if the idea was good. I think the ending of this movie, is the start of a proper dynamic between Yugi Muto and Kaiba, and while it isn't your typical friendship, it's the closest example of friendship one can get when it involves Kaiba. After all, the only other comparable relationship he really has is with Atem.
The real question is what happens in the afterlife duel We do know that Kaiba returns from the afterlife but we do not know how the duel ends. It would be interesting if the duel ended in a draw. Symbolizing Kaiba wanting to return to defeat Atem. not for vengeance but to grow as a character just as Yugi grows as a character after defeating Atem
@@kutokutosan7637 Kazuki Takahashi Kaiba and Yugi illustration (after DSOD) was basically made for that purpose and well he's motherfukin Seto Kaiba a small technicality won't stop him (if someone gets that reference :)
@@kutokutosan7637 actually it's not clear if its the Past or the Afterlife. the cubes original power is gone once Atem leaves but Kaiba used the cube to make the "Duel Dimension System" if the cube is needed is unknown as it is seen with him in the pod (but is not with him when he is with Atem). And the fact that Atem returns to help Yugi shows how little is known about the Millennium items
Kinda unrelated comment but, I like how in the beginning of the movie they show kaiba beating the “perfect” pharaoh hologram and then kaiba loses to Yugi in the actual duel. It just confirms the Yugi is really the king of games
Yugi also doesn't really play like the Pharaoh. He plays much more defensively and like to string combos to win. His strongest card is arguably gandora and that basically a field wipe so he can get a clean slate and wipe out his opponents defenses
The point of that scene was to show no hologram a.i. could satisfactorily replicate atem's play, which is why kaiba had to go to the afterlife to play the real deal himself.
@@silversauceran The point of the scene was to show that it means nothing to Kaiba if it isn’t the real thing, not once did Kaiba say the ai was flawed he literally called it perfect
The symbolism of Monster Reborn gets way more poignant when you remember the original Japanese name for it is literally "Resurrection of the Dead." Yugi gives it to Kaiba as sort of a wake-up call. He's trying to resurrect the Pharaoh, but he has to accept that the Pharaoh is gone.
To add to what you stated: That smile was Kaiba thinking that he was going to be able to let go of his quest to face the Pharaoh... because Yugi defeated him and proved it was HIM, not Atem, that was his rival. That meant Seto didn't have to risk his life going into the afterlife to face the Pharaoh. Didn't need to leave Mokuba. His rival was standing before him. He would just need to learn and get better. But then Aigaimi stole that from him... and the Pharaoh DID return. Meaning that Kaiba couldn't accept Yugi as his rival... it WAS the Pharaoh. Because Aigaimi stole Yugi's chance to cement himself as Kaiba's rival. Of course it does all end up okay for Kaiba in the end. We know that by the time of GX Seto DID return from the afterlife... which to me means he did beat Atem. And since we never really hear about him taking on Yugi again and he seems happy enough running his company and turning Domino into Neo Domino... I honestly believe that when Seto defeated Atem that was it. For him, mentally, he was the King of Games. Yugi no longer mattered.
I always thought this was the case, I also thought it taught Seto how to have faith. For example in Yu-Gi-Oh GX the Princeton brothers request that Kaiba put the fate of the school on one duel with their hand selected opponent only allowed to use monsters with 500 or fewer attack and Kaiba accepted the challenge without even asking who they would pick. I interpreted this as Kaiba believing that any of his students could’ve handled this “threat”.
@@lunavioleta001 yeh but yugi did win against Atem so by him winning against kaiba it would make kaiba see him as the strongest and when he would have become his new rivel
Kaiba corp head scientist: "Well sir now that you have a worthy rival shall we end the after life project?" Kaiba: "You idiot! this means I'm number 3, I need to beat the pharaoh and then I will be able to challenge Yugi again, invest another billion!" Head scientist: "Yes Sir!", to himself: "We could be curing cancer"
@@gundamdetractor337 Yeah, but that's just it. Yugi has never been beaten by pure and solely skill. It just goes to show that Yugi will never lose unless the circumstances are purposely stacked against him, which means there's no worry of him ever losing, which in a protagonist who's so intent on proving his morals right a lot of the time, makes it a really lame show because you know he's going to win. With the other protagonists, Jaden lost fairly in Episode 8, Yuma was always painted as a loser of a duelist starting out and while Yusei never really lost duels, he had basically everything else stacked against him at the start. He couldn't resolve his problems solely by winning duels.
Okay you've convinced me to watch the movie just for Kaiba's arc. Also i love the idea that Yugi is just playing two levels higher everyone. He's awesome.
I love this video! I never thought of keeping track of Kaiba's hand to try and know what his set card would be. But I do understand Kaiba's smile in a similar way than you do. I think it meant that Yuugi surprised him in a good way and that he acknowledges Yuugi as a strong duellist.
Ngl, kinda wish we would've gotten a Kaiba spinoff where he's the MC and he continues the legacy of dueling while Yugi does his own thing with the game he invents
That smile is definitely Kaiba showing Yugi respect, but also possibly acknowledging him as a friend and rival. And I think if not for Aigami achieving in bringing back Atem, Kaiba would have accepted that he was gone and that Yugi was indeed his rival now
What i find interesting is that Yugi would have lost every duel if they started with just four thousand lp. Its an interesting decision, to say the least.
That's actually a really good point, but this way they didn't have to pull any bs out of their magical hats in order to have Yugi be the winner, and they were able to use modern cards with their (mostly) real life effects (again, mostly with a few exceptions)
The duels are always set up to account for the starting life points. If the creators still went with 4000 LP then they would have just changed the cards or combos to make it cost less life points.
What I find interesting about Yugi's MR play is that since Kaiba didn't watch the final duel, he doesn't know that Yugi used this same strategy to defeat the Pharaoh. Makes even more sense that Kaiba would fall for it Also, MR plays a crucial role in their duel in Battle City. I think that factors into Kaiba's reaction at being given it in this duel.
As far as I'm concerned, they didn't even duel. Atem turned Kaiba away, trying to get him to let go of his petty grudge and move on. I mean, who's ego is enormous enough, and easy enough to bruise, that they would invent a way to cross over into the afterlife--the fucking AFTERLIFE--just to play a card game with a dead man? That is obsession gone berserk, and that's putting it lightly. Atem turned him down. He refused to feed Kaiba's ego any further. He turned him away, and asked his old rival to let it go, stop holding onto this obsession and move on with his life, because this rivalry simply cannot go on any more.
Another duel worth mentioning since you brought up that DSOD is based in manga canon, the Exodia duel was originally a rematch in the Death-T arc, set up by Kaiba to get revenge for their initial encounter at school, and the entire reason that hologram technology exists at all in the manga continuity is because Kaiba invented it for Death-T to replicate the horror inflicted on him by Yami's Shadow Game in their first duel.
I think he was about lose imo there is a bit more evidence to support this as said in the video the facedown card can only be polymerization also the smile can be interpreted as him acknowledged yugis skills
Yes, we saw at one point that poly was in his hand, but the anime is known to accidentally show cards that weren't there. So, it could have been poly, or it could have been an accidental fluke they missed. Or did the animators do that intentionally to throw us off guard? Hard to say.
@@StainlessGhs The only manga part of DSOD was a prequel manga that had Sera dueling against Kaiba, said duel having a representation in Duel Link’s first DSOD event. That manga simply set up the story for the movie to follow
It's been determined that Kaiba lost because the only card he had left on the field faced down was polymerization as he had it in his hand earlier, but was gone later not by any card effects. Also, I know YGO media differs, but officially, you can only activate cards before or after a damage step. As for Kaiba's smile, in my opinion, it was a smile reassuring himself that Yugi is a great duelist without the pharaoh and is worthy of respect. Edit: oops I commented before watching.
@@rob19ny I mean, the rule I pointed out is prevalent in the manga and tv shows as well. Nobody has ever played a set card or activated a monsters effect during a damage step, only before or after, in the tv shows or manga. That one rule I pointed out. Think on it. Lol Edit: And real life card game bias? So you mean this whole time, I’ve been allowed to normal summon a BEWD without tributes in a real life game against a friend or at tournaments because what I thought is official from the YGO rule book isn’t actually official and it’s just my bias of how I want to play? I'm gonna pull out Seal of Orichalcos an expect people to lose their souls. Lol
@@rob19ny Actually, never mind. I've seen your other comments downplaying Yugi and saying how it's *_confirmed_* in a *_possible_* future story that's *_not definitive_* that he is in fact not the King of Games and how you wrote out a fanfic about Kaiba's setting down a fusion card counter, though not actually possible in the situation of the movie because the fusion card is Polymerization. You talk about my real life card game rules bias, but this tells me everything I need to know about your Kaiba bias and why you downplay Yugi to make Kaiba look good by having Kaiba not respect Yugi, because in your eyes, how dare Yugi be worthy of Kaiba's respect!?!?!?!?: "because Kaz thought fans wouldn't like a Kaiba only movie *_(he was wrong)_* "
The set card was Poly. He probably smiled because he finally acknowledged Yugi as a rival. Even if he defeated Atem after the events of the movie, he'd still be driven to overcome Yugi next.
I hope you look at your comments. I honestly never got to witness many of these duels. Yugi Vs Atem, Yugi Vs Kaiba, I haven't gotten to Arc V or Vrains yet... And I appreciate these videos because then, in some way, I get to see those duels transpire, and get to see a competitive player's analysis on how they played their matches.
The dynamic between Yugi and Atem always seemed interesting to me, at least in the Anime's English Dub. While we usually saw Atem dueling, whenever it revealed his thoughts, it was always in Yugi's voice, as far as I can remember. Couple that with Yugi being a difficult opponent in some of the games I played, regardless of what form he's in, and it came across to me that Yugi was always a talented duelist.
When you look at the simulation duel in DSOD where Kaiba duels virtual Pharaoh, it ends by Kaiba saying "I knew you'd set me up." meaning he was prepared for his trap card. He didn't know that little Yugi would set him up, and yet he lost. Maybe he realized that a piece of Atem is still in Yugi, but in a different way. Yugi reminded him of Atem by winning a duel with a set trap.
one thing about kaiba's smile, 1.he doesn't want to duel yugi but he wants to duel atem/the pharaoh 2.the god cards didn't appear before duel ends 3.related to the god cards atem seems to always finds a way to summon slifer and not yugi (check out yugi vs jaden, in there atem makes appearance only to summon slifer) which is appear to be atem's boss card 4.speaking of boss monster yugi boss monster is gandora and he summons him, but what about kaiba is deep eyes a boss monster or chaos max or obelisk? i'll say obelisk but many people will say it was chaos max or even deep eyes 5. the fact that gandora is yugi's boss monster but was destroyed and kaiba can still bring back deep eyes, so yugi has to use his ace dark magician (one thing i learn from watching yugioh is that ace is good for clutch, but not boss monster, boss monster is a yugioh anime way of flexing mucles, and if that's gone you can only use your ace to bring out shenanigans) so i'll say that even though kaiba was defeated by yugi, kaiba smiles indicates that he doesn't feel the same way he duel atem with yugi, because if you watch the anime atem tends to flex much more than yugi, yugi already acknowledge kaiba, but only atem could push kaiba to up his game, so what i think kaiba smile means he's happy about yugi becoming stronger but also sad that yugi can't bring out the duel the same way as atem
Yugi is basically the pharaoh's successor, and that duel was just for kaiba to test yugi to see if he was a both a worthy successor and rival. The smile was kaiba realizing yugi was indeed worthy of both. This is my personal take but i think when kaiba went back to the past for his final duel with Atem he actually won that duel. Obviously they are not going to kill off kaiba, so he manages to return to the present to try and now beat his successor. There is still alot of story to be told here because technically speaking darkside of Dimensions is the beginning of Kaiba's rivalry with YUGI. Yugi's playstyle and card choices are also different from the pharaoh. all of his pasts duels and beef has been with the pharaoh, who he has now possibly beat when he went back to the past.
The way they played out the scene was so precise and well managed because kaiba is such a strong character so if his lp would want to hit zero it’s such a big deal and they actually made it so it doesn’t by having the evil diva intrude because there was no face down card for kaiba to protect himself from little yugis counterattack so it’s like kind of kaiba lost but at the same time didn’t because of that intrusion and the way they crafted that scene was awesome
Really great video, and good analysis! I never noticed the Monster Reborn layer to this. Brilliantly written and good on you for pointing it out. Little Yugi grew into his own.
I love the fact that coming back to this, it just dawned on me that yugis deck is made to counter monster reborn. Once with gold sarcophagus, now with final Gias
Atem: now i can rest in peace Kaiba: There you are Yugi i traveled to the after life a live to face you in a children's card game. Atem: How is this even possible ?? Kaiba : Screw the rules i have money
I think there is another bit of a hidden meaning regarding Yugi not using "Monster Reborn" against both Kaiba and Atem in those 2 duels, and why Yugi was so willing to give it away to his opponent (Kaiba in this case) - outside of knowing what his opponent would do with said spell card, and it was something that I once had explained to me by a long time Yugioh fan like myself that had seen the movie, yet was something I don't think anybody would think of. The theory I was told why Yugi simply never used "Monster Reborn", gave it to Kaiba in the movie, and perhaps never had any intention of using "Monster Reborn" in his duel against Kaiba (and maybe Atem, but this is open to interpretation, along with the theory in general) was thus: If you look back through the cards Yugi had throughout Yugioh - be it anime, manga and movies - he already had probably more than enough cards to bring back monsters, and that's not even taking the many TCG cards that would work with Yugi's deck(s) as well, and whilst he would probably still keep "Monster Reborn" in the deck as an emotional and sentimental symbol, he probably would never have any intention of using it unless he really had no other choice, or in case he needed to use it as a cost or to do what he did to Kaiba and Atem, and the main reason he would probably never activate the spell itself was because of what the spell literally represented, and yet was the one thing he could not do with the one person that had been a big part of his life for many years: revival and rebirth, which is something Yugi couldn't do with Atem. Admittedly, I thought it was a little silly at first when I first heard this, but when I thought about it...it does kind of make some sense in hindsight. For all we know, the 6th card in Yugi's hand from Turn 1 could have possibly been "Monster Reborn", and played the waiting game (again, just my take on it). It sounds very far-fetched, I know, but it's also possible if you think on it and think about it outside the context of the duel. If you disagree, that's perfectly fine because it is a theory alone, just thought I would throw it out there.
for some hilarious reason yugi loves to put a lot of symbolism in his duels so this is the likely scenario, however I do like the interpretation that yugi had monster reborn and never used it because he is never going to revive atem. his play with final geas is likely yugi showing him his downfall as dark magician is the monster that highly represents atem. so in a way the duel between yugi and kaiba is closer to kaiba vs atem with yugi taking atem's place, however by withholding monster reborn and giving the option to kaiba, he is ultimately punished by his obsession with the ghosts of the past while yugi comes out victorious by giving up his (potentially) only chance to revive an old friend. it is also funny that had kaiba not used monster reborn he could have won the duel. or in other words, had he let go of his obsession with the past and moved on, he would have come victorious in this battle of pride.
Maybe aigami stopped the duel himself so that he could duel both of them... in that form he was pretty powerful and he should have been able to *screw da rules*.
I've thought about this since watching the movie and after watching this, everything you said makes sense and the fact of Kaiba smiling to acknowledge Yugi is the better duelist makes this duel even better
I know this is a very niche pick for a future Yugioh Trivia, but could you do the Darkness archetype from GX? Specifically, the cards that Nightshroud/Darkness used in season 4 of the anime, the one that was never dubbed into English.
Whether it was a smile of acknowledgment Yugi's Individual skills or satisfaction of knowing that even though the pharaoh is gone he still has a good rival, the fact is kaiba smiled and it wasn't out of arrogance.
I believe that choosing not to use "Monster Reborn" since the last season symbolizes that he never intends to use it ever again. He however has it in his deck as a reminder of Atem.
Also the mere fact that Kaiba teams up with Yugi willingly in the next battle proves his character development and respect for Yugi. Although even then I don’t think Kaiba would willing team up with just anybody.
the english dub is garbage that changed most of the script for no reason other than to put as many retarded jokes in as humanly possible without rhyme or reason behind it. at best its a half assed attempt to turn a decent movie into a trashy abridged version.
@@Poppipower I think he got better at it. His voice used to break a lot when he would yell in his hig range voice but now it sounds way more clear and controlled like his low voice. Both had grit but it was a steady grit and not a cracking one
@@beach2550 I’ve just looked at Xenoblade Chronicles definitive edition and Shulk and Melia’s voices in Future connected noticeably changed in the 10 years since the first game
I honestly think Kaiba’s smirk was a nod to “hmm I guess I was wrong all along about Yugi”. That was the moment Yugi earned Kaiba’s respect as a duelist.
I think the only reason the pharaoh actually needed to come help is because yugi was still not physically strong enough so they pharaoh had to save him just like the shadow game against pegasus
I think it was to fulfill the prophecy that ends the plana. Yugi had already defeated Aigami on his own. But the shadow magic returning meant the seal was broken. So Atem came to reseal it. Saving Yugi was just part of the package since he was the vessel that allowed Atem to return in the first place. The puzzle goes with him afterward ensure the shadow magic stays sealed.
Watching the movie, I thought Kaiba still had a play left and the smirk was him thinking he was right - that Yugi wasn't the KoGs. However, after watching this and you keeping track of the cards convinced me otherwise, that the smirk was the acknowledgement that Yugi was the real KoGs.
I recently watched a RUclipsrs video on why they really like Seto and in it he mentioned that Seto technically should have won the duel against yugi in the pyramid of light movie. But the writers forgot about a card and didn't add the right attack points to Setos monster which caused him to lose. If someone knows of a video further explaining this or if you could make one, i think a lot of people would enjoy it.
I can explain this, actually. The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon gains 300 attack points for each Dragon in Seto's Graveyard; we see the Blue-Eyes Ultimate, the three Blue-Eyes, and Rare Metal Dragon contribute an additional 1500 attack points to the Shining. However, Paladin of White Dragon- which is also in the Graveyard- doesn't contribute to the attack point total, despite being a Dragon. This would have raised Shining's attack to 4800, which I believe would have overcome Atem's life points.
![Was Aigami About To Defeat Yugi/Kaiba? [Dark Side Of Dimensions]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IL__RFEw9CU/mqdefault.jpg)
![Was Aigami About To Defeat Yugi/Kaiba? [Dark Side Of Dimensions]](/img/tr.png)
![Was Atem About To Defeat Yugi? [Yugioh Duel Monsters Finale]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lGNREWf_Wdk/mqdefault.jpg)
![Was Joey About To Defeat Marik? [The Darkness Returns]](/img/1.gif)
I feel like the smile was Kaiba realizing his rival wasn't gone, that Yugi was still there and he still had a goal to strive for. He didn't have to go his whole life without the chance to surpass the pharaoh, because Yugi had become the duelist that the Pharaoh allowed him to be before.
That would've been pleasant but I doubt it since the movie closes with Kaiba yeetng himself into the afterlife to finally get his rematch with the Pharoah.
@@John_1-1_in_Japanese Still symbolizes something, I don’t personally think that it was more about him being proven wrong. He viewed Yugi as pretty much just the shell for the Pharaoh to come through and bust out a can of Fanny whooping for whoever is in front of him. As it was stated in the video, this Kaiba wasn’t at the final duel and had not properly seen Yugi’s individual skill. So even though the duel was going to happen, he pretty much outright admit that he didn’t acknowledge Yugi, saying “You’re not the one I want to duel.” But Yugi busted out his own can, this time Tooshie whooping, he bought it from the Pharaoh with some Millennial plot devices and re-branded it. Kaiba got the receiving end of it, and knew he’d been proven wrong. That’s the smile, the sweat was realizing he’d underestimated little Yugi and the smile was basically a “Holy shit, the little fucker actually just clapped me, the little shit actually did it.”
@@John_1-1_in_Japanese That's arguably fair, but I view that Kaiba did that so he could finally say goodbye to Atem in the most Kaiba way possible.
@@John_1-1_in_Japanese Kaiba knows Yugi surpassed him and Atem, but he still intends to see who is the real second place now, lol.
@@WafleEnterprises He went to the past (NOT afterlife) to duel Pharaoh as his way to say goodbye.
Something I find neat about this duel is that little Yugi has a deck focused around Magician Girls, and DMG is seen as the apprentice and successor to Dark Magician, in much the same way that Little Yugi is the apprentice and successor to Yami Yugi.
Yugi is the reincarnation of Atem. If you watched Yugioh gx when Jaden runs into yugi he's grown up
Yugi isn't Atem's apprentice. They've always been equals. In the end, Yugi defeats Atem.
@@ZeroYami Yugi can be seen as his apprentice as undoubtedly he his learning a lot off him in their games with others. Similar to how the silent cards show how as time goes on he can end up beating Atem in their last duel, the cross duel game DMG is described as going to succeed DM and inherit his soul, as Yugi gained a lot of the pharaoh’s positive traits by the end of their adventure
@@Trigger99X That doesn't mean Yugi is Atem's apprentice.
@@ZeroYami it’s still a good argument that he is, beating Atem in the end doesn’t mean he wasn’t learning in the end. Also we’ve seen more than one occasion Yugi is worried without Atem’s guidance
I personally think that Kiaba’s smiling because he finally considered Yugi a worthy rival.
Indeed
Same
aigami close the lights that why lp stop
People have lost before with face down cards
I wasn’t examining Kaiba’s cards closely, so I thought Kaiba might’ve had a counter for Yugi’s final attack but simply chose to not play it and let Yugi win.
It’s actually really cool how well thought out this duel is. The fact that you can look at it and see a real strategy from both players is top notch.
That's what happens when the studio properly adapts Takahashi's duel scripts instead of meddling with them like they did when the anime was made.
It's something that I really only ever saw in 5Ds. The original DM was so whacky with its rules and GX was similar, even though it was a tad bit better.
@@blanktrigger8863 it's bcs it's not developed yet, and the anime actually has its own rule of cards since it's there to drive the plot further, it's a mechanic for the story. the DM anime was there to sold out the games, while in the manga it's actually still has the main horror/thriller vibes from the original season 0.
it's getting better in GX tho, but later in season 4. I rather stick with manga for the first series since it has more charm bcs the anime is there as a tool to totally sold out the games only.
@@spacey9707 (i wasn't referring to card rules btw)
@@blanktrigger8863 duels like Paradox brothers are pretty sick imo. Reminds me of tabletop RPGs. Memory world was also a giant tabletop RPG
"You fight me with fruit?! Dont mock me!!!" Best Kaiba line ever in this movie in my opinion
When you're faced against a Naturia/Sylvan player
@@iainmanapat6643 you have a very good point there
"Also fire whoever designed that bottle. Kaibacorp products shouldn't break that easily"
@@stever1705 I agree that was another great line
Right up there with "If at first you don't succeed, BLAST 'EM WITH YOUR BLUE-EYES AGAIN!" and "Any duelist who is late will be disqualified. Mokuba, make sure Wheeler's late."
...man, the filler had some good lines! XD
If only Kaiba had Pot of Greed. It's mysterious power may have allowed him to win the duel, so long as he managed to learn its effect.
But wait, what does Pot of Greed do anyways?
@@CptCoolBreeze09 It's honestly a mystery. We'll never know.
A card with effects more mysterious than The Winged Dragon of Ra.
What does pot of greed do?? I need to study the yugioh lore again...
@@CptCoolBreeze09 perhaps the archives were incomplete
I always interpret that smile as Kaiba being happy for losing, he has a challenge at last, not needing the Pharaoh and recognizing little Yugi as a worthy duelist.
If he doesn't need the Pharoah, then why did he go see him at the end?
@@MrMechudo94 Since this is a continuation of the manga, he still wants closure, and now probably thinks he can at least beat him.
@@briansilva3765 THEN he'll go back and beat Yugi!
Wrong. Or he wouldn’t go see pharoah.
He still wants to beat the Pharaoh though.. He'll just go get his win back like he did against Pegasus (don't know if that's canon)
"You fight me with fruit?! Don't mock me."
"Lemme see if I got this right: you played a cream puff and an elf."
my thoughts were somewhat similar when I duelled my girlfriend whom uses the fruit magicians... needless to say I lost... badly
"I had mushroom man... who uses mushroom man?"
"You really hate dragons, don't you?"
It's technically brick vs fruit. As everyone knows blue eyes is a brick eyes white dragon 😂
I always thought that smile meant that even though the pharaoh is gone, Kaiba realised that Yugi is still there to give him a challenge. Not just the Atem.
this would make sense if he didnt yeet himself to the afterlife to duel the pharaoah
@@Globalnet626 ikr. people so desperate to act like the pharaoh isn't kaiba's ultimate goal. yugi is still a strong and worthy opponent but atem was, is, and always will be his true rival
@@Globalnet626 In fairness, he already went as far as he did. To just scrap that and give up is just not his style
@@firepuppies4086 yeah and kaiba would propably feel stupid to waste all money for nothing lol
Kaiba was actually about to lose. We can count out his cards exactly. We know what his facedown was.
Starts the duel with 5 cards. Does no searching. 4 draws over 4 turns. That’s 9 cards total. Let’s count them out
1. Assault Wyvern
2. Blue-Eyes
3. Dragon fighting spirit
4. High speed aria (set)
5. Polymirazation (seen in hand)
6. Chaos Form
7. Another Blue-Eyes in hand
8. Chaos Max Dragon
9. Deep Eyes
So Kaibas last card was a bluff Polymirazation. There’s literally no other option. And a poly is not going to stop a direct attack.
Yugi won. The smile was Kaiba accepting defeat. Which is why we find out he was willing to work with Yugi later
Nice! Was waiting for someone to check the cards in which he played out. And your right he was gonna lose regardless.
That is what he says in video
I commonly use bluff cards so I could expect Kaiba to do the same
@@xtrlsidma yeah exactly
Kaiba doesn’t bluff
A lot of people shit on Kaiba for threatening to jump off the castle, but they always forget that he was willing to go all the way to save his brother
Those are 2 separated points of view: he’s a great brother, but also a shameless fighter pulling that move
@@yuseifudo5830 I mean if he really was a shameless fighter he could’ve threatened suicide in any of their other duels if all he want was to win. We know Kaiba has a lot of pride as a duelist so him giving up that pride and honor to save his brother just highlights him being a good brother and I don’t think it warrants him being called a shameless duelist. But that’s just my opinion lol
@@madham4198 I love Kaiba but I will always consider that suicide threat as a bitch move. He’s an egotistical maniac and there’s no need to deny that.
@@N13J but he also didn't do that anywhere else in his duels. Hell, he "cheated" less timed then Yugi did so I meeeaaannn...
@@rileywagner5788 Imagine, losing hard but when you’re about to make an amazing come back, your opponent just rage quit.
As for Yugi, he just happened to equip a Millennium Puzzle with a 100% luck stat boost and innate ability “Destiny Draw” plus the power of friendship. That’s 200% luck boost right there ;)
Fun fact this is the only time Yugi and Kaiba duel.
Your forgetting the time that Little Yugi Interrupts Yami from defeating B-E UD in Pegasus's Tournament. He called off the attack. Therefore he Participated.
@@thesimsfan12 He intervened to stop the duel that doesn't count.
Not really yugi always strategized with stem (cheaters!)
@@fridaynightnicktoons6885 Stem, lol
OMFG 🤯
I like to point out that in GX Kaibaman (the monster spirit and arguably the reflection of kaiba himself) dueled jaden to teach him that losing is okay.
Which makes me think kaiba learned to accept defeat after that duel with yugi...
well...and after breaking the laws of reality to get a rematch with a dead pharaoh... THEN he learned to accept. Thats what I like to think anyway.
The salty runback is real...
He didn't break the laws of physics for a rematch with Atem. He broke the laws of physics for a rematch with Yugi. Since Yugi beating Atem was no longer a fluke in Kaiba's mind he was third best ...And he ain't having none of that.
@@AnthonyP118 Kaiba became the third rate duelist with a fourth rate deck
He probably lost to Atem had ancient therapy to help him take that L and then move on
But GX is animecontinuity and this movie is Mangacontinuity.
I interpreted the smile as Kiba realising that Yugi really was the king of games, and that he was just as much of his rival as the Atem was. The reason he goes to face Atem still at the end was for his own personal goodbye, however he realised that his rival was still alive and kicking all along.
I'm just here to appreciate how the movie embraced the fact that Special Summoning changed YGO into a faster-paced game. When Battle City was live, it took 15+ turns for the board to have a face-off between Dark Magician and Blue Eyes. Now it took them only until turn 3 with quick and efficient effects.
Not even Kaiba can scape the blue eyes white brick 😢
I've been using a Blue-Eyes deck since I was 10 I don't really have that problem now but yea it hurts 😂😂
Yes the infamous blue eyes white brick
I remember playing at middle school kinda figuring out that big lv4 beaters won me way more games than trying to be Bandit Keith running a ton of high level machine monsters.. That slot machine brick was brutal
I can't remember how many times I have faced the blue eyes brick in Duel Links
No one can. 😂😂
I must admit that before watching this video, I always thought that Seto Kaiba had one trick up his sleeve that might have prevented him from losing, but I do admit that Yugi actually managing to beat Seto on his own makes sense to his own personal character arc throughout the original yugioh series. The best way to compare Yugi's dueling style with Seto's is to see how they both dueled Aigami. For Seto, he almost lost to Aigami, and with the most bullshit draw in yugioh history, Seto summoned Obelisk the tormentor to save himself from defeat, and the duel was still left unfinished. As for Yugi, Aigami underestimated him throughout the entire duel, while Yugi planned his moves, reduced the damage he received, and ultimately used a combination of cards that defeated Aigami, without using an Egyptian god card. You would think that seeing Yugi defeat an opponent he had trouble with would be enough for Seto to gain some respect for Yugi, but he was still obsessed with Atem. At the end of the day, Atem was really Seto's rival, not Yugi, but during their duel, I do think that Seto gained a lot of respect for Yugi as a duelist.
Damn. I never thought about that
I'd say that's actually a rather accurate way of putting things - even if personally the whole Kaiba calling Obelisk scene is pretty badass. I can't say I ever thought of it that way before.
I mean if you watch it again you will realize that dark magician girl effect wasn’t active
That's because "Lemon Magician Girl" negates the effects of any monster summoned by "her" effect, and I think they had that transferred to the movie too@@purpleheartneptune6267 . Hope that helps clear that one up :)
@@jackryan8736 couldn’t even tell because they don’t explain shit once the effect is activated
I like how confident yugi grew in his skills by that point. Truly living up to the king of games title and battle city champion. He no longer needs god cards or atem to body people
Here’s the thing that people forget.
If the duel wasn’t stopped, the attack from DM would take him to 0 LP. There wasn’t a trap card like Magic Cylinder or anything Kaiba could’ve use to inflict effect damage, as he would have to activate that before Dark Magicians attack happened, not after, but he didn’t activate anything to stop the attack, clearly showing he planted a bluff.
Yes, that face-down card is most probably just the Polymerization... finally, someone else said it. Face-down cards don't always have to be trap cards or quick-spells.
Kaiba smiled because he was defeated by a duelist who fought him with fruit in the duel.
Kaiba smiled because with no other monster on the field, Dark Magician can attack directly.
That smile could be also means he accepted defeat or thinking the good times on a wild rollercoaster he went through with Yugi who knows maybe he may had on Yugi or not.
I think that it meant that he could his next turn draw a card that could possibly turn the duel around also keep in mind that before the duel was interrupted he had 100 life points left and one turn to try and turn it around
@@guardianvalor962 it was successful but the plot demanded that kaiba's life points drop to 100
@@griffingower1883 kaiba had 2500 lp
@@griffingower1883 The 100 was when the power cut out, it was going to zero.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Kaiba, thinking about good times, accepting defeat, ha funny
His smile really ment "this is ok. I'm gonna invent the shit outta time travel." Jk lol
LOL
Because he figures, if there are people in the past, he should teach them to duel.
@@hephsforge9236 PFFFFT-
It was not time travel in manga it was stated that kaiba can open gates to afterlife and there fight atem
@@tebrizmammadov8525 I did not know that. And that detail is one of many reasons this should’ve been an additional season and not a movie. There were so many missing details that were not properly explained. Did the manga say anything about the eighth Millennium Item? Like why it exists and why we were never told about it before?
Kaiba accepting defeat and smiling as well when his life points only hit 100 I feel like the makers of the movie paused it there since they wanted Aigaimi to come into the scene so I think if Aigaimi didn’t come we could’ve seen the rest of Kaiba’s life points hit zero and accepting his defeat.
Nah bro, Kaiba had his facedown.
@@bleachboy18 Cant activate that during Damage Calc.Yugi won no cap.
@@bleachboy18 He couldn’t activate it
@@bleachboy18 it was polymerization...
@@dee12401 Polymerization is a quick play that fuses from the grave ;)...have you even played Duel Monsters!?!
Well, what did we learn today?
*YUGI REALLY HATES DRAGONS.*
Fruit is important, eat healthy kids!
Yugi has a fetish for magician girls.
@@anonymouspokemon4623 at this point who doesn't?
Ironically he summons Gandora X some turns later. I'm sure he just hates Blue Eyes, I mean, those were the ones that almost send his grandpa to the grave xD
@@danielnu389 lol thats so true
That smile from Kaiba, i believe to myself that it personally was one that finally acknowledged Yugi as a duelist. It was more of a test to see if Yugi was worthy of being his rival. So, i'm sure that smile was also showing a mark of respect. Yugi did earn that respect from him.
Man the DSOD continuity just made me more thirsty for good old DM content. I miss Takashi's influence in Yu-Gi-Oh!
Takashi's influence stopped once Arc-V was started.
Yea Im trying to give Sevens a chance but just cant seem to get into it like the other series. It just doesnt feel the same.
He's probably smiling because he's actually having fun
Nah he probably realizes he have to play for that number two spot
exactly! i get Jiren vibes from dragonball super. he finally can put is greed for power and acknowledge the skill of others.
It’s like the opposite of his first duel where he was screaming but in his last one he didn’t do anything
Since the movie was more about resolving characters than the duels, I prefer to interpret it as “It seems Little Yugi has outgrown the pharaoh after all.”
Yeah. The only thing that Yugi is lacking is since he is just mortal he cannot withstand shadow duels for too long like Atem does. As a duelist he is equal or even better than Atem.
More like "Can't use my face down Polymerization, just like I can't use Yugi as a material to fuse with Atem anymore..."
The one card represents Kaiba's arc in the movie. Yugi is more than the sum of his part.
I love this started as a "hey let's analyze the duel to see if we can figure out the mystery card" to one of my favorite parts of this channel. I love just going through with knowledge I have now and seeing different plays.
It was so cool that they started with 8000 life points. I think Kaiba’s smile was reassurance that Yugi is really the king of games. So i agree with you in that sentiment that Kaiba had.
And even with normal life points this duel doesn’t last that long since both of them are having some ridiculously high damage decks.🤣
I actually use the bluff trick multiple times, and worked.
🤣🤣🤣
Bluffing saved me a couple of times in Duel Links
@@anthonyt4154 yes
Same, but when your opponent is a sibling you know they won’t fall for a 10th time right?
@Warm Lillie I see you’re back to actually being Lillie.
Just something to consider , Yugi was already a kind of strategist before antems influence just less confident..
That's it! So many people downplay Yugi's mind and strategy. All because they are more familiar and like Atem's charisma.
Correct, Yugi and Atem were both strategists.
Difference being Yugi was timid and compassionate, while Atem was confident and merciless.
@@willfanofmanyii3751 his merciless shown when he dueled Weevil, and assumed Yugi's soul was gone forever.
Over a year late, but I feel like Kaiba's smile was because he was impressed by Yugi. He surpassed his expectations and considers Yugi a true duelist and a worthy opponent, or even an equal. I'd also like to note that when it comes to Yugi's relationship with those around him, he has had a profound impact on everyone he has made a connection with, but prior to this film, he never really did have a connection with Kaiba, Atem did. But now that Kaiba sees Yugi for who he really is, he would never say or admit they're friends, but Yugi has earned his respect. This is furthered by Takahashi releasing an art piece that depicted Yugi playing the game he created with Kaiba as Kaiba Corp is helping with the development of that game, something that Kaiba wouldn't do for just anyone, regardless of if the idea was good. I think the ending of this movie, is the start of a proper dynamic between Yugi Muto and Kaiba, and while it isn't your typical friendship, it's the closest example of friendship one can get when it involves Kaiba. After all, the only other comparable relationship he really has is with Atem.
"You fight me with fruit? Don't mock me!" Haha I always loved that line
Eric Stewart just going absolutely Ham is always a good time
The real question is what happens in the afterlife duel
We do know that Kaiba returns from the afterlife but we do not know how the duel ends.
It would be interesting if the duel ended in a draw. Symbolizing Kaiba wanting to return to defeat Atem. not for vengeance but to grow as a character just as Yugi grows as a character after defeating Atem
Honestly, I think it doesn't really matter. Kaiba could win, lose, or draw; either way, he finally got the closure he wanted and can move on.
How do we know that kaiba returns from the afterlife duel?
@@kutokutosan7637 Kazuki Takahashi Kaiba and Yugi illustration (after DSOD) was basically made for that purpose
and well he's motherfukin Seto Kaiba a small technicality won't stop him (if someone gets that reference :)
@@yu-gh-oi4677 dude, he travelled to the ''past''... i dont think that ''purple magic'' is something seto kaiba's technology could avoid
@@kutokutosan7637 actually it's not clear if its the Past or the Afterlife.
the cubes original power is gone once Atem leaves but Kaiba used the cube to make the "Duel Dimension System" if the cube is needed is unknown as it is seen with him in the pod (but is not with him when he is with Atem).
And the fact that Atem returns to help Yugi shows how little is known about the Millennium items
7:57 You fight me with fruit?! Don't mock me.
Kaiba my man is the real reason why I love yu-gi-oh so much
Absolutely, he's the REAL Protagonist of the series.
@@thecasualduelist Kaiba is an anti-hero.
He's the Bruce Wayne of anime
Kinda unrelated comment but, I like how in the beginning of the movie they show kaiba beating the “perfect” pharaoh hologram and then kaiba loses to Yugi in the actual duel. It just confirms the Yugi is really the king of games
Yugi also doesn't really play like the Pharaoh. He plays much more defensively and like to string combos to win. His strongest card is arguably gandora and that basically a field wipe so he can get a clean slate and wipe out his opponents defenses
The point of that scene was to show no hologram a.i. could satisfactorily replicate atem's play, which is why kaiba had to go to the afterlife to play the real deal himself.
@@silversauceran The point of the scene was to show that it means nothing to Kaiba if it isn’t the real thing, not once did Kaiba say the ai was flawed he literally called it perfect
@@madatcolorless7050 i think the true reason for the Hologram was so show Kaiba had the money to replicate his perfectly quafed hair
I mean tbf in this scenario kaiba bricked a bit tbh. it's a blue eyes deck after all. play enough turns and you will brick that deck.
The symbolism of Monster Reborn gets way more poignant when you remember the original Japanese name for it is literally "Resurrection of the Dead." Yugi gives it to Kaiba as sort of a wake-up call. He's trying to resurrect the Pharaoh, but he has to accept that the Pharaoh is gone.
hell, since this is using manga canon more than anime canon, this is Yugi's way to say 'Hes gone. He is not coming back. I cant bring him back'
To add to what you stated: That smile was Kaiba thinking that he was going to be able to let go of his quest to face the Pharaoh... because Yugi defeated him and proved it was HIM, not Atem, that was his rival. That meant Seto didn't have to risk his life going into the afterlife to face the Pharaoh. Didn't need to leave Mokuba. His rival was standing before him. He would just need to learn and get better.
But then Aigaimi stole that from him... and the Pharaoh DID return. Meaning that Kaiba couldn't accept Yugi as his rival... it WAS the Pharaoh. Because Aigaimi stole Yugi's chance to cement himself as Kaiba's rival.
Of course it does all end up okay for Kaiba in the end. We know that by the time of GX Seto DID return from the afterlife... which to me means he did beat Atem. And since we never really hear about him taking on Yugi again and he seems happy enough running his company and turning Domino into Neo Domino... I honestly believe that when Seto defeated Atem that was it. For him, mentally, he was the King of Games. Yugi no longer mattered.
So stupid. You obviously either didnt watch anime, didnt read manga or didnt understand the characters relationships.
I always thought this was the case, I also thought it taught Seto how to have faith.
For example in Yu-Gi-Oh GX the Princeton brothers request that Kaiba put the fate of the school on one duel with their hand selected opponent only allowed to use monsters with 500 or fewer attack and Kaiba accepted the challenge without even asking who they would pick. I interpreted this as Kaiba believing that any of his students could’ve handled this “threat”.
@@sirboi6708 who left this sassy child here?
That doesn't make sense. Yugi was never Kaiba's rival. Yugi never fought against Kaiba. Kaiba has only fought Atem. Atem was alway his real rival.
@@lunavioleta001 yeh but yugi did win against Atem so by him winning against kaiba it would make kaiba see him as the strongest and when he would have become his new rivel
Kaiba corp head scientist: "Well sir now that you have a worthy rival shall we end the after life project?"
Kaiba: "You idiot! this means I'm number 3, I need to beat the pharaoh and then I will be able to challenge Yugi again, invest another billion!"
Head scientist: "Yes Sir!", to himself: "We could be curing cancer"
facts about Yugi: "Yugi can't be defeated. Even when he's defeated, the truth is he won, and everything will be explained in the next episode."
Honestly, I hate that about Yugi. He never completely lost fair and square. He never had someone completely defeat him in non-rigged circumstances.
@@amberknight7301 yea, but this is a cruel world, if you always expect your opponent to play fair and square you usually gonna end defeated.
Yugi once lost fairly against....oh. Yeah, I can see what you guys mean xD
@@gundamdetractor337 Yeah, but that's just it. Yugi has never been beaten by pure and solely skill. It just goes to show that Yugi will never lose unless the circumstances are purposely stacked against him, which means there's no worry of him ever losing, which in a protagonist who's so intent on proving his morals right a lot of the time, makes it a really lame show because you know he's going to win. With the other protagonists, Jaden lost fairly in Episode 8, Yuma was always painted as a loser of a duelist starting out and while Yusei never really lost duels, he had basically everything else stacked against him at the start. He couldn't resolve his problems solely by winning duels.
@@amberknight7301 well, anyway it doesn' matter. what really matter is, Yugi never lost, regardless of what he did. theres no rules in war.
Okay you've convinced me to watch the movie just for Kaiba's arc. Also i love the idea that Yugi is just playing two levels higher everyone. He's awesome.
Yugi giving Kaiba his Monster Reborn was such a huge flex. AND I LOVE IT.
He was gonna say screw the rules so he never lost
I love this video! I never thought of keeping track of Kaiba's hand to try and know what his set card would be. But I do understand Kaiba's smile in a similar way than you do. I think it meant that Yuugi surprised him in a good way and that he acknowledges Yuugi as a strong duellist.
Ngl, kinda wish we would've gotten a Kaiba spinoff where he's the MC and he continues the legacy of dueling while Yugi does his own thing with the game he invents
Kaiba's smile was because he finally saw Yugi as a worthy opponent.
That smile is definitely Kaiba showing Yugi respect, but also possibly acknowledging him as a friend and rival. And I think if not for Aigami achieving in bringing back Atem, Kaiba would have accepted that he was gone and that Yugi was indeed his rival now
What i find interesting is that Yugi would have lost every duel if they started with just four thousand lp. Its an interesting decision, to say the least.
That's actually a really good point, but this way they didn't have to pull any bs out of their magical hats in order to have Yugi be the winner, and they were able to use modern cards with their (mostly) real life effects (again, mostly with a few exceptions)
The duels are always set up to account for the starting life points. If the creators still went with 4000 LP then they would have just changed the cards or combos to make it cost less life points.
What I find interesting about Yugi's MR play is that since Kaiba didn't watch the final duel, he doesn't know that Yugi used this same strategy to defeat the Pharaoh. Makes even more sense that Kaiba would fall for it
Also, MR plays a crucial role in their duel in Battle City. I think that factors into Kaiba's reaction at being given it in this duel.
Next episode: Did kaiba win against yugi on afterlife?
Depends if they play duel monsters or the weird shadow games.
As far as I'm concerned, they didn't even duel. Atem turned Kaiba away, trying to get him to let go of his petty grudge and move on. I mean, who's ego is enormous enough, and easy enough to bruise, that they would invent a way to cross over into the afterlife--the fucking AFTERLIFE--just to play a card game with a dead man? That is obsession gone berserk, and that's putting it lightly.
Atem turned him down. He refused to feed Kaiba's ego any further. He turned him away, and asked his old rival to let it go, stop holding onto this obsession and move on with his life, because this rivalry simply cannot go on any more.
Honestly I kinda want Kaiba to beat Atem just to rub it in his face and to end his rivalry.
Another duel worth mentioning since you brought up that DSOD is based in manga canon, the Exodia duel was originally a rematch in the Death-T arc, set up by Kaiba to get revenge for their initial encounter at school, and the entire reason that hologram technology exists at all in the manga continuity is because Kaiba invented it for Death-T to replicate the horror inflicted on him by Yami's Shadow Game in their first duel.
It was then manga Kaiba knew...Yugi was more than just a vessel.
I think he was about lose imo there is a bit more evidence to support this as said in the video the facedown card can only be polymerization also the smile can be interpreted as him acknowledged yugis skills
In the anime we saw poly, what about the manga?
@@StainlessGhs The movie was anime-only.
Yes, we saw at one point that poly was in his hand, but the anime is known to accidentally show cards that weren't there. So, it could have been poly, or it could have been an accidental fluke they missed. Or did the animators do that intentionally to throw us off guard? Hard to say.
@@StainlessGhs The only manga part of DSOD was a prequel manga that had Sera dueling against Kaiba, said duel having a representation in Duel Link’s first DSOD event. That manga simply set up the story for the movie to follow
@@willfanofmanyii3751 wasn't dsod connected to the manga aswell because kaiba wasn't at the ceremonial battle in the manga version
Now this, this is the type of content I love, great video as always.
A spell does your job better
@@sparko3178 True, but you can't get to the spell without me, now can you.
@@Letso-S-Relaeng I wont waste a normal summon on something like that
Kaiba was probably afraid he would miss timing on the Aria cuz he didnt know what Yugi's face down was.
It happens to all of us :D
I was thinking Yugi giving Kaiba monster reborn was just his way of saying: "get a life Kaiba"
It's been determined that Kaiba lost because the only card he had left on the field faced down was polymerization as he had it in his hand earlier, but was gone later not by any card effects. Also, I know YGO media differs, but officially, you can only activate cards before or after a damage step. As for Kaiba's smile, in my opinion, it was a smile reassuring himself that Yugi is a great duelist without the pharaoh and is worthy of respect.
Edit: oops I commented before watching.
@@rob19ny I mean, the rule I pointed out is prevalent in the manga and tv shows as well. Nobody has ever played a set card or activated a monsters effect during a damage step, only before or after, in the tv shows or manga. That one rule I pointed out. Think on it. Lol
Edit: And real life card game bias? So you mean this whole time, I’ve been allowed to normal summon a BEWD without tributes in a real life game against a friend or at tournaments because what I thought is official from the YGO rule book isn’t actually official and it’s just my bias of how I want to play? I'm gonna pull out Seal of Orichalcos an expect people to lose their souls. Lol
@@rob19ny Actually, never mind. I've seen your other comments downplaying Yugi and saying how it's *_confirmed_* in a *_possible_* future story that's *_not definitive_* that he is in fact not the King of Games and how you wrote out a fanfic about Kaiba's setting down a fusion card counter, though not actually possible in the situation of the movie because the fusion card is Polymerization. You talk about my real life card game rules bias, but this tells me everything I need to know about your Kaiba bias and why you downplay Yugi to make Kaiba look good by having Kaiba not respect Yugi, because in your eyes, how dare Yugi be worthy of Kaiba's respect!?!?!?!?: "because Kaz thought fans wouldn't like a Kaiba only movie *_(he was wrong)_* "
@@RhapsodosWarband I'm late but damn you destroyed him, nice one hahaha
No duelist smiles like that unless they have a duel shattering comeback imo
The set card was Poly. He probably smiled because he finally acknowledged Yugi as a rival. Even if he defeated Atem after the events of the movie, he'd still be driven to overcome Yugi next.
He set poly? WHO WOULD DO THAT
@@variouspeople6196 As a bluff, maybe?
@@Shay96 he don't play the game he don't understand what a bluff is
Atem smiled.
I hope you look at your comments. I honestly never got to witness many of these duels. Yugi Vs Atem, Yugi Vs Kaiba, I haven't gotten to Arc V or Vrains yet... And I appreciate these videos because then, in some way, I get to see those duels transpire, and get to see a competitive player's analysis on how they played their matches.
Glad you like them 😁 hopefully a lot more to come!
Dang Yugi out there just baiting people with Monster Reborn
The dynamic between Yugi and Atem always seemed interesting to me, at least in the Anime's English Dub. While we usually saw Atem dueling, whenever it revealed his thoughts, it was always in Yugi's voice, as far as I can remember. Couple that with Yugi being a difficult opponent in some of the games I played, regardless of what form he's in, and it came across to me that Yugi was always a talented duelist.
When you look at the simulation duel in DSOD where Kaiba duels virtual Pharaoh, it ends by Kaiba saying "I knew you'd set me up." meaning he was prepared for his trap card. He didn't know that little Yugi would set him up, and yet he lost. Maybe he realized that a piece of Atem is still in Yugi, but in a different way. Yugi reminded him of Atem by winning a duel with a set trap.
This is the most unique look on Kaiba's smile I've seen yet. I like it.
@@weridplusho Thank you :))
one thing about kaiba's smile,
1.he doesn't want to duel yugi but he wants to duel atem/the pharaoh
2.the god cards didn't appear before duel ends
3.related to the god cards atem seems to always finds a way to summon slifer and not yugi (check out yugi vs jaden, in there atem makes appearance only to summon slifer) which is appear to be atem's boss card
4.speaking of boss monster yugi boss monster is gandora and he summons him, but what about kaiba is deep eyes a boss monster or chaos max or obelisk? i'll say obelisk but many people will say it was chaos max or even deep eyes
5. the fact that gandora is yugi's boss monster but was destroyed and kaiba can still bring back deep eyes, so yugi has to use his ace dark magician (one thing i learn from watching yugioh is that ace is good for clutch, but not boss monster, boss monster is a yugioh anime way of flexing mucles, and if that's gone you can only use your ace to bring out shenanigans)
so i'll say that even though kaiba was defeated by yugi, kaiba smiles indicates that he doesn't feel the same way he duel atem with yugi, because if you watch the anime atem tends to flex much more than yugi, yugi already acknowledge kaiba, but only atem could push kaiba to up his game, so what i think kaiba smile means he's happy about yugi becoming stronger but also sad that yugi can't bring out the duel the same way as atem
Yugi is basically the pharaoh's successor, and that duel was just for kaiba to test yugi to see if he was a both a worthy successor and rival. The smile was kaiba realizing yugi was indeed worthy of both. This is my personal take but i think when kaiba went back to the past for his final duel with Atem he actually won that duel. Obviously they are not going to kill off kaiba, so he manages to return to the present to try and now beat his successor. There is still alot of story to be told here because technically speaking darkside of Dimensions is the beginning of Kaiba's rivalry with YUGI. Yugi's playstyle and card choices are also different from the pharaoh. all of his pasts duels and beef has been with the pharaoh, who he has now possibly beat when he went back to the past.
He didn't time travel, he broke into the afterlife.
Kaiba didnt die though, he used the dimension cube to ENTER the after life.
The way they played out the scene was so precise and well managed because kaiba is such a strong character so if his lp would want to hit zero it’s such a big deal and they actually made it so it doesn’t by having the evil diva intrude because there was no face down card for kaiba to protect himself from little yugis counterattack so it’s like kind of kaiba lost but at the same time didn’t because of that intrusion and the way they crafted that scene was awesome
Really great video, and good analysis!
I never noticed the Monster Reborn layer to this. Brilliantly written and good on you for pointing it out.
Little Yugi grew into his own.
I love the fact that coming back to this, it just dawned on me that yugis deck is made to counter monster reborn. Once with gold sarcophagus, now with final Gias
"you fight me with fruit? Don't mocl me!" is one of my favourite kaiba lines.
I have 2. “You really hate dragons don’t u” and” it’s not a monster, it’s a god”
@@BraveLionheart the dragons one was great too 😂
@@heyimdzrk1515 yeah
I don't know if this is me being too sensitive, but this movie made me cry. I just love the evolution of little Yugi and Kaiba...
Atem: now i can rest in peace
Kaiba: There you are Yugi i traveled to the after life a live to face you in a children's card game.
Atem: How is this even possible ??
Kaiba : Screw the rules i have money
I think there is another bit of a hidden meaning regarding Yugi not using "Monster Reborn" against both Kaiba and Atem in those 2 duels, and why Yugi was so willing to give it away to his opponent (Kaiba in this case) - outside of knowing what his opponent would do with said spell card, and it was something that I once had explained to me by a long time Yugioh fan like myself that had seen the movie, yet was something I don't think anybody would think of.
The theory I was told why Yugi simply never used "Monster Reborn", gave it to Kaiba in the movie, and perhaps never had any intention of using "Monster Reborn" in his duel against Kaiba (and maybe Atem, but this is open to interpretation, along with the theory in general) was thus:
If you look back through the cards Yugi had throughout Yugioh - be it anime, manga and movies - he already had probably more than enough cards to bring back monsters, and that's not even taking the many TCG cards that would work with Yugi's deck(s) as well, and whilst he would probably still keep "Monster Reborn" in the deck as an emotional and sentimental symbol, he probably would never have any intention of using it unless he really had no other choice, or in case he needed to use it as a cost or to do what he did to Kaiba and Atem, and the main reason he would probably never activate the spell itself was because of what the spell literally represented, and yet was the one thing he could not do with the one person that had been a big part of his life for many years: revival and rebirth, which is something Yugi couldn't do with Atem.
Admittedly, I thought it was a little silly at first when I first heard this, but when I thought about it...it does kind of make some sense in hindsight. For all we know, the 6th card in Yugi's hand from Turn 1 could have possibly been "Monster Reborn", and played the waiting game (again, just my take on it). It sounds very far-fetched, I know, but it's also possible if you think on it and think about it outside the context of the duel. If you disagree, that's perfectly fine because it is a theory alone, just thought I would throw it out there.
for some hilarious reason yugi loves to put a lot of symbolism in his duels so this is the likely scenario, however I do like the interpretation that yugi had monster reborn and never used it because he is never going to revive atem. his play with final geas is likely yugi showing him his downfall as dark magician is the monster that highly represents atem.
so in a way the duel between yugi and kaiba is closer to kaiba vs atem with yugi taking atem's place, however by withholding monster reborn and giving the option to kaiba, he is ultimately punished by his obsession with the ghosts of the past while yugi comes out victorious by giving up his (potentially) only chance to revive an old friend.
it is also funny that had kaiba not used monster reborn he could have won the duel.
or in other words, had he let go of his obsession with the past and moved on, he would have come victorious in this battle of pride.
@@nekoluxuria7721 couldn't agree more to be honest 🙂
yugi out here giving out monster reborns to everyone buy jaden only got a kuriboh from him
Maybe aigami stopped the duel himself so that he could duel both of them... in that form he was pretty powerful and he should have been able to *screw da rules*.
I always interpreted the smile as a pharaoh-less Yugi finally earning Kaiba's respect.
I've thought about this since watching the movie and after watching this, everything you said makes sense and the fact of Kaiba smiling to acknowledge Yugi is the better duelist makes this duel even better
I love that Kaiba tried the classic bluff of face down polymerization
TGS GOAT idk if you realize but these videos are a staple in the yugioh community culture thank you for makin em
The smile was Kaiba giving yugi respect
He smiles because little yugi can push him to use his ultimate card for yami, win or lose doesn't matter anymore
I know this is a very niche pick for a future Yugioh Trivia, but could you do the Darkness archetype from GX? Specifically, the cards that Nightshroud/Darkness used in season 4 of the anime, the one that was never dubbed into English.
That Ghandorah became super popular at the end of that show. That card is definitely clutch!
0:12 was expecting the D-Generation-X song. I.. don’t know why
Whether it was a smile of acknowledgment Yugi's Individual skills or satisfaction of knowing that even though the pharaoh is gone he still has a good rival, the fact is kaiba smiled and it wasn't out of arrogance.
I believe that choosing not to use "Monster Reborn" since the last season symbolizes that he never intends to use it ever again. He however has it in his deck as a reminder of Atem.
Ive already claimed my early gang ticket no need to worry
TGS Anime: Why does Kaiba smile?
Me: Because he knows he can just say *Screw the rules, I have money!* and win
Also the mere fact that Kaiba teams up with Yugi willingly in the next battle proves his character development and respect for Yugi. Although even then I don’t think Kaiba would willing team up with just anybody.
The dub is so good, you can here the change in yugi’s voice from the end of DM to now.
True
Although, how much of that is Yugi growing, and how much of that is Dan Green losing the ability to do that voice
the english dub is garbage that changed most of the script for no reason other than to put as many retarded jokes in as humanly possible without rhyme or reason behind it.
at best its a half assed attempt to turn a decent movie into a trashy abridged version.
@@Poppipower I think he got better at it. His voice used to break a lot when he would yell in his hig range voice but now it sounds way more clear and controlled like his low voice. Both had grit but it was a steady grit and not a cracking one
@@beach2550 I’ve just looked at Xenoblade Chronicles definitive edition and Shulk and Melia’s voices in Future connected noticeably changed in the 10 years since the first game
I honestly think Kaiba’s smirk was a nod to “hmm I guess I was wrong all along about Yugi”. That was the moment Yugi earned Kaiba’s respect as a duelist.
I think the only reason the pharaoh actually needed to come help is because yugi was still not physically strong enough so they pharaoh had to save him just like the shadow game against pegasus
I think it was to fulfill the prophecy that ends the plana. Yugi had already defeated Aigami on his own. But the shadow magic returning meant the seal was broken. So Atem came to reseal it. Saving Yugi was just part of the package since he was the vessel that allowed Atem to return in the first place. The puzzle goes with him afterward ensure the shadow magic stays sealed.
Yugi beat Atem and Kaiba.
Kaiba: I'm off to see who gets second place!
Just wanted to say I love your videos! Your takes on this amazing game are awesome!
Watching the movie, I thought Kaiba still had a play left and the smirk was him thinking he was right - that Yugi wasn't the KoGs. However, after watching this and you keeping track of the cards convinced me otherwise, that the smirk was the acknowledgement that Yugi was the real KoGs.
yeah exactly my thoughts, Its all about the smile. I see it as Kaiba accepting Yugi finally like at the end of the anime.
I recently watched a RUclipsrs video on why they really like Seto and in it he mentioned that Seto technically should have won the duel against yugi in the pyramid of light movie. But the writers forgot about a card and didn't add the right attack points to Setos monster which caused him to lose. If someone knows of a video further explaining this or if you could make one, i think a lot of people would enjoy it.
I can explain this, actually. The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon gains 300 attack points for each Dragon in Seto's Graveyard; we see the Blue-Eyes Ultimate, the three Blue-Eyes, and Rare Metal Dragon contribute an additional 1500 attack points to the Shining. However, Paladin of White Dragon- which is also in the Graveyard- doesn't contribute to the attack point total, despite being a Dragon. This would have raised Shining's attack to 4800, which I believe would have overcome Atem's life points.
That was some deep analysis. Good job pickin up on the hidden gems wifin that duel.