xamaxenta:

have i talked about Ryou and why he’s such a great cast member if not the best cast member

No? Ok

He starts off at the top of Duel Academia and feels like his potential has no where to go that this is all he has until he duels Judai who he instantly sees has infinite potential in

Empowered by Judai’s natural charm and dueling prowess Ryou looks to better himself to live up to his title as the Hell Kaiser which is a sick fuckin name btw this type of name normally wouldn’t work because of how edgy and try hard in the cool dept BUT because of how Ryou is introduced built up and set on this pedestal you instantly respect that title and it doesnt hurt that he has the cyber dragon archetype which regardless of how you feel aesthetically works wonders for his image and the whole respect duel spiel

his title of kaiser is effective, but its not when he’s wearing white and blue its when the black clothes come in and he starts the underground duels to claw his way to the top after his defeat versus Edo

Its a shame we dont get to see more of his struggles but when he comes back during the Genex tournament and Fubuki duels him we see through Fubukis perspective how Ryou has changed and its not that hes lost his respect for duels its the transformation of his potential and how high can he go if Edo was the ceiling on his sky - fubuki instantly understands Ryou does not need saving because this is his conscious choice - Shou versus Ryou in Genex is also a great duel and the struggle of power bond and what it means to them both, and Shou struggling with if or not he is worthy of using power bond

Ryou in the dark world shows us a maturer side of him, we’re used to the sharpness of his design by now and its a huge relief to see him showing up with Edo (somehow they became buddies and that is wholesome thanks) to try and assist Judai after his reign as the supreme king

Its fun to aliken Ryou and Edo to loveable antiheroes in a pro wrestler setting because thats exactly what they are at this point

ANYWAY i digress the main part i want to yell about is Ryou versus Yubel Johan

Ryou starts off all about respecting and having respectful duels when he realises the respect thing isnt all there is if he performs this way it caps his abilities and he will never shine like hes supposed to then he loses himself and his way before finding his path again after his loss in the pro league

At first when Ryou challenges yubel johan everyones thinking hes looking to die because by now theyve set up his heart failure problems and his weakened body but Ryou reveals his plan at the last moment intending to take Yubel down with him so Johan - Johan their initial goal in the first place , the very reason they came back to the dark world could be safe and they could rescue him, completing their mission at the cost of his life

Ryou didnt have to do this, Edo explicitly says he’s indebted to Judai for saving Saiou his friend so he will fight for Judai but Ryou never explains his motive ever until he intends to take Yubel out and maybe that was a split second decision for him and he never planned it but why bother at all of he just wanted to fight an ultimate duelist as his last battle ?

This is because Kaiser Ryou reached his full potential in that moment, the fact hes using the cybers in that duel and not the cyber dark deck enhances this

Versus Yubel Johan Kaiser Ryou shines brightly and has the most respectful duel in all of his duels showcased in GX up until then. Its heroic and self sacrificial even if it didnt work and it’s because he believes full heartedly that Judai is a miracle duelist a one in a million and he is for their generation

Judai was an inspiration to him and his heroism rubbed off on him, yeah he didn’t win but he did it for Judai so he wouldn’t have to lose Johan a second time

Kaiser Ryou is a fuckin beast and i didnt expect him to climb up my list of favourites so quickly hes just good