I summon Western Censorship in Attack Mode! Join Ashley as we look over the times where scenes in the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise were heavily altered
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00:00 Hey guys, it's Ash here with WatchMojo, and these are the Top 20 Most Censored Yu-Gi-Oh
00:11 Moments.
00:15 For this list, we'll be looking at the darker and more scandalous scenes of the original
00:19 Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series and how the English dub watered them down.
00:37 Number 20.
00:39 Peeping Scene After Joey's victory over Rex Raptor, the
00:43 gang decides to camp out overnight and MyValentine joins them with some much-needed supplies.
00:49 Taya ends up deciding to bathe in a mobile shower, with Mai guarding over her from the
00:55 outside.
01:01 When she suddenly hears a noise outside, Taya calls Mai over, leaving the shower completely
01:06 unguarded.
01:07 In the original Japanese version, Yuki has to hold Joey and Tristan back as they attempt
01:13 to use this moment as a way for them to sneak a peek behind the curtains.
01:23 Not only was Mai warning Joey to stay away from the shower in the English dub removed,
01:29 but this entire creepy moment with Joey and Tristan as well.
01:35 Number 19.
01:36 Yugi and Taya's Date Throughout the series, it becomes very clear
01:40 that Taya kinda has a thing for the pharaoh.
01:44 This culminates in Yuki making Yami go on a date with her, with the two going through
01:48 various activities within Domino City.
01:54 For some reason, 4Kids was scared by the concept of dating and decided to change it to Yugi
02:00 wanting Taya to help Yami find out more about himself.
02:16 There are many other moments where Taya's feelings are toned down in the English dub,
02:21 such as her getting jealous whenever Rebecca shows affection to Yugi.
02:33 Number 18.
02:34 Removing the Ending In the English dub version, after saying goodbye
02:38 to Adam, Joey asks Yugi to give a wrap-up speech, to which he obliges and things suddenly
02:45 fade to black.
02:53 For those of you who thought this was incredibly abrupt, it's because 4Kids decided to cut
02:58 the full ending.
02:59 In the Japanese version, we're treated to scenes of our heroes returning from Egypt,
03:04 as well as a monstage of various characters throughout the series doing their thing.
03:16 Also completely removed was an epilogue with Yugi telling us that his own story is just
03:21 beginning.
03:35 Number 17.
03:36 Taya Climbing Scene When Tristan suspects that Pegasus cheated
03:40 in his duel against Kaiba, he decides to investigate alongside Taya and Bakura.
03:46 The trio decide to use a grappling hook and climb up the tower in order to get into Pegasus'
03:51 room.
03:52 In the original Japanese version, after being told to go first in case she falls, Taya insists
03:58 that she goes last as she doesn't want them locking up her skirt.
04:08 After a disagreement amongst the group, Tristan and Bakura remedy this problem by climbing
04:13 up the tower whilst wearing blindfolds.
04:26 While it's obvious this was removed from the dub due to the upskirt situation, climbing
04:30 up blindfolded is incredibly dangerous and they didn't want to give kids any ideas.
04:42 Number 16.
04:43 Millennium Eye After Yugi's epic duel against Pegasus,
04:47 we are told about the villain's past and how everything came to be.
04:51 One of the most important moments of this flashback is how he obtained the Millennium
04:55 Eye.
05:01 In the original Japanese version, Shari forces it right into his eye socket in an incredibly
05:06 gruesome and bloody scene.
05:12 Of course, this was way too violent for kids' television, so all instances of the blood
05:17 dripping down his face at this moment were digitally removed.
05:27 Number 15.
05:28 Solomon Moto - The Pervert The perverted older man is one of the most
05:33 overused tropes in all of anime, so it's no surprise that this also applied to Yugi's
05:38 grandfather, Solomon Moto.
05:41 During Kaiba's KC Grand Championship, Solomon develops a crush for the much younger duelist,
05:47 Vivian Wong, and expressively shows it.
05:56 The English dub would modify his horny hijinks to him being excited to witness such a duel.
06:03 Another heavily edited scene between the two is when Solomon injures his back, and all
06:12 moments of him staring lustfully towards her are removed.
06:29 Number 14.
06:30 Yugi's Mom Another long-running trope in anime is the
06:33 hero's parents being noticeably absent, sometimes even dead.
06:38 This may be surprising to some, but Yugi's mother is actually briefly shown in the series.
06:44 Her first appearance is a brief cameo in the hospital alongside Solomon at the end of "Duelist
06:50 Kingdom".
06:51 Her more notable appearance is at the beginning of Episode 50, where, after Yugi speaks to
06:57 Adam, she asks him who exactly he was talking to.
07:06 This scene was bizarrely removed entirely from the English dub for no reason whatsoever.
07:12 Maybe 4Kids thought this brief appearance would have confused kids, but we think they
07:16 were just going over the top here.
07:22 Number 13.
07:23 Bandit Keeps Downfall Earlier in the series, we are shown that
07:27 the Pegasus had humiliated Bandit Keith by getting a child to defeat him in a duel at
07:32 the Intercontinental Championships.
07:35 Episode 32 showed us the results of this embarrassment, as Bandit Keith's life had taken a turn for
07:40 the worst.
07:45 Everyone's favourite American duelist is shown to have fallen prey to substance abuse.
07:55 He is even shown to gamble money over duel monsters.
07:59 Of course, there was no way this was going to be broadcast on children's television
08:03 and was thus removed.
08:10 Number 12.
08:11 Rare Hunter Beatdown 4Kids were never ones to shy away from censoring
08:16 violence, and this scene is a prime example of it.
08:19 In Episode 70, during the Battle City, Maric sets up an encounter with the Rare Hunters
08:25 for him and Joey.
08:33 The two proceed to get beaten down in gruesome fashion, leading Joey to become unconscious.
08:44 Surprising to no one, most of this scene is cut out by 4Kids.
08:49 Another notable violent moment later on in the series that was removed is when Joey strikes
08:54 Yami Yugi right in the face, hoping to make him come to his senses.
09:01 Number 11.
09:03 Dark Magician Girl
09:04 Alongside Dark Magician and the Blue Eyes White Dragon, Dark Magician Girl is one of
09:10 the most iconic monsters in the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise.
09:21 She's also notorious for being one of the most censored parts of the show.
09:25 Not only is her chest size drastically reduced or digitally drawn out, but it's often covered
09:31 up.
09:37 Alongside the removal of the pentagram on her outfit, there are also times where her
09:42 outfit is lengthened.
09:43 And in her debut episode, they even briefly added in a skit to hide her thighs.
09:49 Though this censor would not be used again later down the line.
09:54 Number 10.
09:57 The Dark Energy Discs
09:59 Yugi's duel with the twisted Arcana truly was an epic showdown of Dark Magician vs.
10:06 Dark Magician with incredibly high stakes.
10:09 However, the final fate of the loser differs between both dubs.
10:14 In the original Japanese dub, whoever loses the duel would get their legs violently chopped
10:19 off by a buzzsaw that slowly approaches each time they lose life points.
10:35 In the American dub, however, the saws were given a blue glow and named Dark Energy Discs
10:42 that send anyone they touch to the Shadow Realm.
10:56 Obviously, the idea of a duelist's legs getting amputated is pretty graphic for kids'
11:02 television, so it was necessary to change by four kids.
11:06 Even if both duelists were able to make it out of the duel intact.
11:18 Number 9.
11:19 What Really Happened to Maric's Father?
11:22 Both versions painted a very different picture of Maric Ishtar.
11:26 The American dub shows him as a power-hungry ex-tomb keeper wanting to steal Yami's power,
11:33 while the original has Maric only wanting payback for all the pain his heritage caused
11:38 him, especially thanks to his own father.
11:46 In the original, Maric puts an end to his dad in the most permanent and faithful way.
11:58 To counter this, the English dub has Maric simply banish his father to the Shadow Realm,
12:03 with no trace of the original grisly deed to be found.
12:15 Number 8.
12:16 Mai's Harpy Ladies
12:18 We all know Mai Valentine's true ace in the hole is her harpy ladies.
12:22 Ferocious, beautiful and slightly scandalous.
12:26 In the original Japanese dub, as well as the actual card game, the harpy's attires tend
12:32 to be very revealing.
12:34 They also occasionally don armour with questionable attributes.
12:46 To keep things kid-friendly, the US dub and international card prints have these vicious
12:52 beauties, covered up in body suits and armour, that are way less suggestive.
13:06 We may not enjoy it, but it's still marketed as a children's anime and card game, and
13:11 not all countries are very lenient on risqué material, even if there's no real harm.
13:18 Even the iconic dark magician girl had to have her more mature assets reduced to avoid
13:24 getting into trouble.
13:29 Number 7.
13:30 Mai's Punishment
13:31 Sometimes a little censoring is understandable in case things get too intense, such is the
13:38 case for Mai's duel against Yami Maric.
13:41 Throughout the whole battle, Mai was forced to endure all kinds of torture, most of which
13:47 had to be edited out in the American dub, as she slowly loses her memories of her friends
13:53 and loved ones.
14:05 Her ultimate outcome, when she loses, is depressing either way.
14:09 In the English dub, she is trapped in isolation in the Shadow Realm, while her memories slowly
14:15 fade away, while in the original, she's trapped inside her mind, losing her memories
14:21 until she eventually perishes.
14:37 Number 6.
14:38 The Fate of Alistair's Brother
14:40 All of Dance's minions have their own respective tragic backstories in the Waking the Dragons
14:47 arc, each of which was censored one way or another.
14:51 The one that really catches our attention is Alistair, and how he and his little brother
14:56 Mikey ended up caught in the middle of a war in their country.
15:01 In the original, Mikey ended up in the crossfire of an exploding tank and perished almost instantly.
15:09 Whereas, in the American version, the flashback is heavily edited and claims that Mikey was
15:18 captured instead.
15:25 An understandable change, since child fatality is a big no-no for most audiences, and it's
15:31 at least nice for them to try something besides using the Shadow Realm as a scapegoat for
15:36 tragic events.
15:48 Number 5.
15:49 Loomis and Umbra's Trap
15:51 Some of you may have figured out by now, but in the original, there was no Shadow Realm.
15:57 It was actually designed for the American dub by 4Kids as a way of toning down the darker
16:03 elements of the Japanese dub, especially for the more fatal aspects.
16:08 For example, Yugi and Kaiba's double duel with Loomis and Umbra on the Skyscraper.
16:15 In the English dub, whoever loses all their life points first would plunge into the Shadow
16:20 Realm through the glass.
16:36 In the original, the outcome is a lot more straightforward.
16:40 The losers plummet through the floor and fall straight to their demise.
16:45 Honestly, we're still not sure if there's a difference.
16:57 Number 4.
16:58 Taya vs. the Mugga/Predator
17:01 Taya and Yugi have been best friends ever since he saved her life, though the set-up
17:07 for the rescue can be told in one of two ways.
17:11 In the original, Taya was blackmailed by a creepy man with a video camera, the guy
17:17 obviously having some perverse intentions.
17:27 In the American adaptation, the camera is edited out, and the creep is a Mugga who tricked
17:35 Taya so he could rob her.
17:42 The reason for this change was obvious, and much needed, as the situation could have ended
17:48 up way worse.
17:50 Either way, it leads to a happy ending where Yugi comes in to take out the trash.
18:00 Number 3.
18:01 Final or Death
18:03 You never want to mess with Ouija boards, especially one in the hands of Yami Bakura.
18:09 In his duel with Yugi, he plays the Destiny Board trap card that could guarantee him victory
18:16 once he plays all four Spirit Message cards over time.
18:20 In the Japanese version, when all five cards are in play, they spell out the word "Death",
18:26 a fitting message considering Bakura's ghoulish strategy.
18:33 However, the guys at 4Kids thought "Death" was a bit too extreme for their dub, so they
18:49 had it changed to "Final" instead.
18:56 While "Final" doesn't quite have the same edge, it still would have meant kittens
19:01 for the King of Games had it not been for Slyther the Sky Dragon winning him the duel.
19:15 Number 2.
19:16 The Millennium Rod's hidden surprise
19:18 In addition to its terrifying mind-control powers, it turns out that Maric's Millennium
19:23 Rod had a hidden blade in the staff's shaft.
19:33 You'd only know that if you watched the original dub, since all known traces of the
19:38 blade were removed/edited out from the English dub.
19:43 More than once in the Japanese dub, Yami Maric has snuck into the unconscious Odeon's room
19:49 and draws the knife, ready to slay his other half's loyal servant for good.
19:58 Of course, in the American dub, the blade is edited out, and instead Yami Maric just
20:03 plans to send Odeon to the Shadow Realm as usual.
20:07 Though the edit is more than a little obvious.
20:33 Number 1.
20:34 The Finger Guns
20:35 We all knew this one was coming.
20:37 It's too hokey to not mention even once.
20:40 The original Japanese dub wasn't afraid to have the bad guys pull guns on other characters,
20:46 but 4Kids recognised how the use of real firearms is taboo for children's programming.
20:52 Their ultimate solution?
20:54 Edit the firearms and any instances of them shooting at anyone out of the episodes.
21:04 Unfortunately, this runs the risk of making the edited scene look silly, with the bad
21:12 guys pointing their fingers at someone, trying - and failing - to be intimidating.
21:27 This infamously goofy edit really waters down the intensity the original anime had to offer.
21:33 But it definitely makes the English dub memorable, one way or another.
21:52 Thanks for watching.
21:59 (upbeat music)
22:01 (upbeat music)