Plot: As everyone arrives to start their terms at Duel Academia, Judai and Shou learn about the various aspects of the school including meeting their new roommate, Hayato. However, Judai quickly gets challenged to a late-night duel with Jun Manjoume with their best cards on the line. Will Judai come out a hero or will he be dragged to duel hell?
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Originally we hear the narrator telling us that Duel Academia is located in the Pacific ocean and students start their semesters in the fall. In the dub, the pilot of the helicopter is telling the new students about how nice the island is.
Daichi’s not such a jerk about answering Judai about the dorm placement in the original. He just says politely that the color of your uniform indicates what dorm you’re placed in. In the dub, he’s all indignant and responds to them questioning if he’s in Slifer Red with “Hmm, yellow sleeves, yellow buttons. I don’t think so.”
Daichi wonders why Judai’s in Slifer/Osiris Red anyway since he beat Chronos, but maybe his tactical exam scores didn’t outweigh his bad written exam scores. Judai also wonders about that same thing with a scowl and Daichi wishes him luck. Judai wishes the same. In the dub, Bastion’s dialogue about the uniform colors is “Don’t tell me you’re just now figuring that out.” Jaden then scowls and rebuts asking if he thinks he’s colorblind. Bastion goes back with the colorblind thing and Jaden laughs it off, which is odd. Why get mad with one insult but laugh at another?
Jaden: “This’ll make a sweet pad for out first week here!” GNARLY and GROOVY and dated slang joke!
Shou calls the ancient Seto a priest as he actually is. In the dub, he calls him a guardian.
Shou asks Judai if he can call him ‘Pharaoh’ but Judai says that seems odd. Then Shou asks if he can call him ‘aniki’/’big bro’ instead. Judai also doesn’t want to agree to that since he doesn’t believe in social standing among duelists, just rivals. (Shou does end up calling him that anyway) In the dub, Jaden tells Syrus that his theory about them being the reincarnations of the Pharaoh and Seto is lame, and Syrus sulks.
Originally, there was a picture of a koala bear imposed over Chumley’s/Hayato’s face when he’s first introduced. Judai and Shou freak out and call him a ‘death koala’ to which Hayato responds by yelling not to call him a koala and gives his actual name. In the dub, the picture of the koala bear is gone, and Jaden and Syrus merely yell at the sight of him instead of calling him a koala. Chumley doesn’t introduce himself until later.
Does 4Kids think kids don’t know what a koala is? Do they think it’s a Japan thing? This is perfectly translatable, I just don’t get it. But that’s nothing new.
Name Change: Hayato Maeda is changed to Chumley Huffington.
While the explanation of the color schemes at the school is kept mostly the same, there are some differences between the two versions. Hayato initially calls Osiris Red “The Red Zone” basically to state that anyone in Red is at the highest risk of failing in the school. This isn’t brought up in the dub in lieu of a pointless joke about Parents Day. Hayato doesn’t insinuate that some students in Obelisk Blue got in through connections like Chumley states. Hayato also doesn’t call the Osiris Red students “The Red Wonders” to make a joke about how it’s a ‘wonder’ they ever got in to begin with. Also, I really don’t think it’d fly with Kaiba if some kids were getting into Obelisk Blue based on connections alone.
I’m a little confused here. Those who start in Obelisk Blue are stated as being fresh out of middle school in the middle school exams with the highest grades. Those starting in Ra Yellow are the ones out of high school with the highest grades (Which I guess explains why Daichi’s in Yellow instead of Blue at the start if he’s so good.)
The positioning is a little weird, but I guess they’re saying it’s more impressive if younger students get higher grades than it is for older students? I suppose Osiris Red are those from either high school or middle school who got really low grades. But it seems unfair for high schoolers who get really high grades to be shafted to Ra Yellow. It’s really confusing.
Originally, Shou says he needs to quit being depressed and fight on to succeed in school. In the dub, Syrus lists off a bunch of hot things, because Jaden said red is awesome because it’s red hot, and ends by saying he’s a big bottle of salsa dip. As he sees Jaden running off he says “Oh wait, I’m not a dip!”
As Judai says he can smell a duel in the air, Shou wonders what he’s talking about. In the dub, Syrus says maybe he could smell the duel too if there weren’t so much pollen in the air.
…Wait…severe self-confidence issues, glasses, blue hair, complaining about health issues, overachieving big brother….Oh God, Syrus is Joe from Digimon!
Judai doesn’t mess up Jun’s name in the original, he just asks who he is. In the dub, Jaden calls Chazz ‘Chuzz.’
Jun’s friends mention that Jun’s a first year like them, but he got such high grades on the middle school exam that he got into Obelisk Blue.
In the flashback, they edit out Jaden talking to Crowler.
Judai tells Asuka, since she took the time to warn him about Jun and sent them away, that she must’ve fallen in love with him at first sight. In the dub, he gloats that he would’ve beaten Chazz in one turn. One turn, Jaden? Both versions are pretty egotistical, though the original’s just kinda lovable stupidity, but one turn? Come on.
Though they may be drinking from wine glasses, the drinks are supposedly juice in both versions since they’re all kids.
I do have to say, that school is insanely unfair. Yeah, they get bad grades, but compare Blue’s welcome dinner party to Red’s. I’d say they must’ve spent thousands of dollars on Blue’s dinner whereas Red gets bowls of rice and a few fish. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this kind of thing. Baka no Test has the exact same setup with a different advancement system. Are the crappy abodes supposed to encourage the kids to get into better dorms, or is it meant to break their spirits so they drop out? If it’s the latter, then why even allow them in anyway? At least YGOGX kinda has an excuse with Kaiba the elitist being the owner and everything…
In the original, the kids in Red believe their dorm master’s a cat. In the dub, they mistakenly say “headmaster.” Headmaster is the leader of the entire school. Dorm master is just the leader of a dorm.
Name Change: Daitokuji is changed to Lyman Banner or Professor Banner.
In his first appearance, Daitokuji adds ‘nya’ to the end of his sentences I guess because the students mistook him for a cat. This is omitted in the dub. He also mentions that he’s in charge of alchemy for the school (Wait what? Why would they need a class on alchemy in a Duel Academy? Is it like fusion or something? If so, why not just say fusion?) but this is replaced by asking the students something that gets interrupted by Jaden’s obnoxious eating sounds.
Shou calls Judai out for being rude with his loud eating while Daitokuji’s trying to speak. He says it’s “tasteless” to which Judai replies that it (the food) tastes pretty good to him. In the dub, Syrus says the Professor’s trying to ask them to say something about themselves to which Jaden replies “How about this? I’m starving!”…..I really have to ask why people think obnoxious main characters are charming. I mean, Judai’s not that bad, though he has his moments, but Jaden’s downright annoying almost all the time. Having the most annoying character in the group being the main character is incredibly common and I just wonder why.
As expected the instant I saw the teacup, the character on the teacup is painted away.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
Jaden: “Wow I’m stuffed. Professor Banner sure can cook!” I seriously doubt your dorm master cooked the food for everyone. Slifer Red may bite, but I’m sure they still have meals provided for them.
In the original, Judai and Shou talk about how much food Judai ate. In the dub, they talk about how nice Banner is.
Well this is a gross and mean change. In the original, Hayato tells Shou he doesn’t want any tea, which is perceived as rude. Hayato backtracks and says it’s not because Shou’s a bad cook or anything, he’s just been so upset about their situation in Red that he hasn’t even been able to eat. In the dub, Chumley harshly snaps at Syrus and gives the excuse of him not wanting tea as “tea makes you wet the bed.”…..Ewwww. Pointless changes are bad enough, why change it to something gross?
Judai says this duel will let him see if the dueling elites of Duel Academia are really as good as they say. Jaden says this duel will decide which of them will be the next King of Games.
As the first turn of the duel ends, Jun thinks to himself that duels will always contain an element of luck as long as drawing cards is involved, but in the end it’s all about strategy. He then declares that their difference in school rank reflects a difference in intelligence which has already decided the duel. All of this is edited out.
The shot that they jump to after that scene has Judai responding that duels aren’t won by being stuck in your head and that his blazing heart will win the duel. In the dub, Jaden just acts like Chazz’s first move is somewhat lame and his move will be bigger.
4Kids adds a splitscreen of Chazz surprised at Jaden’s move when he uses Polymerization. You can tell it’s added in because instead of a clean split – the two screens are scrunched up. Jun does act with surprise at Judai’s move, but the scene is separate.
Subbed: 
Dubbed: 
To add more to the brains vs. heart thing, (more Kaiba flashbacks) Jun says he knew he would summon the Flame Wingman from thoroughly analyzing his duel with Chronos. In the dub, he doesn’t mention this and just goes on with his move.
Today’s eyecatches are Judai and Jun.
Again, nitpicky, but Judai yells out “Flame Wingman!” as he gets taken. In the dub, Jaden just says “Ugh, my monster!” The former sounds like he’s somewhat losing a friend. The latter sounds like he spilled his drink.
A closeup of Jun talking was edited out. Basically, he says that Judai’s a typical Osiris Red for walking right into a trap. I do have to say…this is the exact same problem I had with Pegasus. Yes, you can predict someone’s moves all you want, but you can’t guarantee that you’ll get the cards that you need on the right turns…
Chazz: *in thought* “Go on Jaden. Play another monster. I haven’t forgotten about Flame Wingman’s super power.” SPECIAL ABILITY…or effect. Just because it’s a ‘hero’ card doesn’t mean you need to call their abilities ‘super powers’.
Hell Soldier’s Hell Attack is changed to something I can’t hear because of bad sound mixing….Wind Scorp Slash?
Judai and Jaden both say roughly the same thing about loving the fun of dueling, but Jaden acts like the best part of dueling is trash talking and action.
A shot of Shou and Asuka watching Judai draw is edited out.
Sparkman’s Spark Flash is changed to Static Shock Wave.
Asuka says that Shou’s ‘big brother’ has a lot of heart, but he’s very reckless to just ignore a monster’s effect like that. Shou then says he’s not his real brother, but somewhat of a spiritual brother….Shou, you’re a sweetie, but you’ve known Judai all of a day. I don’t get how you can be so attached to him already.
I guess they edited this out because Syrus doesn’t call Jaden “big bro” though, in all honesty, he could. “Bro” is a common slang phrase in English too, though in this instance it’s more of a Japanese respect thing instead of just a slang-ish nickname. I guess they didn’t want to be bothered by actually making some dialogue there, so they cut it out instead.
They add a shot of Chazz talking before Jaden makes his move.
You know what I said before about the dub being in love with the “scene shoving” transition? Well, they’re fans of a lot of transitions it seems. Transitions aren’t needed for changes between shots in the same scene…They’re meant to transition between scenes and, even then, they’re not really necessary.
Another scene with Shou and Asuka is edited out. Shou says as Judai turns the duel around “That’s my big bro for ya!” and Asuka says to herself that he’s really good.
Chythonian Soldier is mistakenly called “Infernal Warrior.” Maybe this was a name 4Kids was thinking up before they realized the card had an actual name and they forgot to change it.
Jun’s basically saying his win’s in the bag and he’ll get Judai’s best card thanks to the Ante Rule. The Ante Rule, by the way, is never named in the dub. They just agree to give each other their best cards upon their win.
Another brains and luck mention removed. Jun says duels are 99% intelligence 1% luck…..100% reason to remember the name!…Sorry. And Judai says he’ll be relying on that 1% for his next draw. Chazz gloats, and Jaden says a bunch of disjointed dialogue about having a bond with his monsters.
Asuka says the Ante Rule and using the duel arena this late at night are forbidden. Judai asks if there are really school regulations like that, and Asuka scolds him for not reading his school PDA for the rules and regulations. Jun then blushes and thinks in surprise that Asuka’s been watching him that whole time. Did you seriously not see her? It’s not like she was hiding, she was in plain view the whole time.
Alexis says roughly the same thing, but she doesn’t mention the Ante Rule being against school policy, and she blames Chazz for not telling Jaden about the after-hours rule, which makes him blush. Why does he have a responsibility to tell Jaden the rules of the school? I’m not defending Chazz or anything, but Jaden could’ve read the rules like a responsible student.
Judai refuses to leave where he’s standing out of stubbornness for wanting the duel to resume. Jaden just says that his duel being interrupted stinks.
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Barring the explanations of some school stuff, this episode was fairly blah. Also, apparently duels don’t last nearly as long as they did in the original series, at least at this point, and there are many ‘random’ episodes. Those who got angry at the original series for being too involved in plot and having duels that ran too long may like this, but we’ll see how I fare in the future. I think I remember liking this format better. No duels thusfar have lasted more than half an episode. Both the duel with Chronos and Jun started halfway into the episode.
That will most certainly change, but hopefully it won’t be too dragged out.
Next up is our first duel with Asuka where Shou gets a ‘love letter’ from Asuka and goes off in the middle of the night to the Obelisk Blue Girl’s Dorm to meet her. Judai ends up dueling Asuka to save him from punishment.
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