History WesternAnimation / Kaijudo

** Episodes 1-3: even though it's seemingly minor, your kid is being hassled for his [[MixedAncestry bi-racial heritage]] by bullies who are quite willing to be physically aggressive.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Heroes and villains view the kaiju of the creature civilizations differently. [[BigBad The Choten]] [[NotSoDifferent lampshades]], where his side sees kaiju as [[HumanResources living batteries/slaves/tools]] to be controlled and used. The Duel Masters take a more naturalist approach, while following a code of conduct when using kaiju. Only Ray and his friends [[ThePowerOfFriendship think otherwise]], [[AncientConspiracy which is becoming a plot point]].

''Kaijudo: Rise of The Duel Masters'' is an InNameOnly ContinuityReboot, with nothing in common with the original Japanese franchise (let alone the anime Animé or its GagDub of the first series). Well, except for many of the creatures, some of which have a [[SameCharacterButDifferent "same creature different look"]] kinda feel. The worst part? Some creatures were borrowed from the newer Japanese cards.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: [[Radar/{{Kaijudo}} Here.]]

* SelectiveObliviousness: The Choten forces this on Saguru by picking and choosing which memories he rewards him for his successes. Before long, Saguru becomes more and more devoted to The Choten's Kaijudo WorldDomination schemes because they're {{necessary|Evil}} [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans to protect everyone]].

* FiveBadBand: Over the course of the season, The Choten's faction becomes this:
** BigBad: The Choten himself.
** TheDragon: Nigel seems to have taken up this role in season 2 as well as now being the Co-Dragon to Aqua Seneschal. Alakshmi was this until she betrayed the Choten and Saguru also was once this until his memories were restored. These two were once CoDragons to The Choten's main creature Aqua Seneschal.
** EvilGenius: The Choten plans his own schemes, so he doubles as TheEvilGenius and also a MadScientist.
** TheBrute: Heller. He's a petty thief who happened upon a Tech-Gauntlet and has a surprising knack for mana control. The Choten hired him to be extra muscle on missions, and he isn't treated with much respect otherwise. Saguru can also double as extra muscle if need be, but he's usually respected beyond just that.
** DarkChick: Fingers. At this point, he seems to be still around only because The Choten is not one of the most wasteful villain out there. [[spoiler: And not for lack of trying.]]
** SixthRanger: [[spoiler: As of the end of episode 21, "Like Father, Like Son", Carny joins The Choten's faction after learning that his father Alex is The Choten's financial benefactor and silent partner. All to impress dear old Dad...]]
* FiveManBand: The Order of the Kaijudo Duel Masters sorta fills this out:
** TheHero: Master Nigel, even though he's a rigid {{Jerkass}}, he's still the leader. [[spoiler: Not anymore given that he's sided with the Choten as of episode 25 "The Rising pt 1".]]
** TheLancer: Master Chavez, he is most opposite Nigel in his way of thinking, and is the most supportive of Ray and his friends.
** TheSmartGuy: Both Masters Nadia and Jaha fill this role; the former in historical knowledge and the like and the latter in an intelligence sense (i.e. spying).
** TheBigGuy: Master Kimora. He's second after Chavez in his support of the gang's ideals. Also TheBlacksmith Master Toji.
** TheChick: This is likely Lucy, an acolyte. She teaches Ray about nonviolent confrontation in Season 2. This role was originally filled by Joseph, a.k.a. Fingers, but he was TheMole working for [[BigBad The Choten]].
** SixthRanger: [[spoiler: Alakshmi, halfway through Season 2, joins the Duel Masters.]]

* BlackAndGreyMorality: Toned down, but this is still visible in the opposition between the two sides; the Duel Masters see the creatures as dangerous weapons and follow a code of conduct when using them. One rule, for example, forbids the duelist from touching a kaiju. Another rule prevents the duelist from befriending the kaiju. (Through their interactions with Ray, Gabe, and Allie, some of Duel Masters have a change of heart.) In any case, the Duel Masters are still better than The Choten, who just wants to control all kaiju to serve his selfish purposes.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: averted; it's clearly shown as the series goes on that none of the Civilization is either entirely good or evil, though [[BlueAndOrangeMorality they tend to have a different system of value than humans]].

On the other hand, while it is a tie-in series to the newer card game[[note]]Although, as discussed below, it's technically the other way around.[[/note]], like [[{{Anime/Pokemon}} the Pokémon Animé]] or WesternAnimation/HuntikSecretsAndSeekers this is one of those few MerchandiseDriven series that doesn't (in some people's minds) go out of its way to advertise its merchandise tie-ins. This frees up space for the show to focus more heavily on its story and characters, and it definitely shows. Kaijudo is one of the more nuanced and well-written shows to come out of WesternAnimation in quite some time and is definitely worth a look if you're a fan of {{Mon}}s or action-adventure shows in general.[[note]]And/or if you don't care that this isn't the real Duel Masters franchise that (as of this writing) is still ongoing in Japan.[[/note]]

The aforementioned tie-in TCG was released around June 2012, under the name of [[{{TabletopGame/Kaijudo}} Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters TCG]].

* XMeetsY: Kaijudo seems like Franchise/{{Digimon}} and [[WesternAnimation/HuntikSecretsAndSeekers Huntik's]] biracial lovechild.

* GhostExtras: [[spoiler: In episode 25, "The Rising, Part I," Toji and a few temple acolytes are in a group with the heroes preparing to attack The Choten's base. ] However, there are no scenes where they actually participate in the battle that ensues (they don't summon anything, they are not being attacked, they don't talk, and nobody speaks to them). However, this group of extras is seen behind the heroes when they are all cornered.

* Interspecies Romance: Gabe, a human, and Sasha, a Light Creature.

* FaeriesDontBelieveInHumansEither:The creatures didn't believe humans were real before meeting them.

Interspecies Romance: Gabe, a human, and Sasha, a Light Creature.

* ShipTease: [[MakingASplash Master Nadia]] to [[PlayingWithFire Master Chavez]] considering the frequent slips of [[FirstNameBasis calling him Hector]], using his [[LightningBruiser Gilaflame without his awareness/permission]] and being the one to call him out of his meditation in "The Siphon." The two get another moment like this later, when Master Chavez tackles Nadia down to save her from an impending attack. Later on, when Nadia needs to take [[spoiler: Allie's dad back to Earth]], Chavez calls Nadia by her first name.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Here.

When the Hub refused to pick up a third season, ''Kaijudo'' ended on a cliffhanger on August 29, 2014, the same day the TCG was discontinued, and the series' website was closed down on December 3, 2014.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Allie's comment to Steamstar Grapplog spraying her in episode 4.
--> '''Allie:''' That better have just been water…
** Episode 9 has this from the internet obsessed monster Gargle. Monster attacks are certainly dangerous, but that's not what the phrase "NSFW: NotSafeForWork!" [[TheInternetIsForPorn usually means]]...
** Sasha's interpretation of music like humans "coordinating their bodies".
* GladiatorGames: Lord Skycrusher's arena.

* ShipTease: [[MakingASplash Master Nadia]] to [[PlayingWithFire Master Chavez]] considering the frequent slips of [[FirstNameBasis calling him Hector]], using his [[LightningBruiser Gilaflame without his awareness/permission]] and being the one to call him out of his meditation in "The Siphon." The two get more moments like this later, when Master Chavez tackles Nadia down to save her from an impending attack. Later on, when Nadia needs to take [[spoiler: Allie's dad back to Earth]], Chavez calls Nadia by her first name. Also, there's Ray and Allie when they go to the school dance and summon creatures from the same civilization simultaneously and remark about it. Later on, we get the pairing of Gabe and Sasha, Channeler of Light. [[spoiler: At the end of episode 26, Master Chavez and Nadia kiss, and Ray and Allie hold hands: a tease no more. At least until the second season where Ray is {{oblivious|ToLove}} to Allie's feelings.]]

* ActionMom: Ray's mom in the last episode (episode 26) of season 1.

''Kaijudo: Rise of The Duel Masters'' is said to be a ContinuityReboot, with nothing in common with the Japanese Animé or the original GagDub of the first series. Well, except for many of the creatures, some of which have a "same creature different look" kinda feel and some are borrowed from the newer Japanese cards. Although a tie-in series to the new card game, like [[{{Anime/Pokemon}} the Pokémon Animé]] or WesternAnimation/HuntikSecretsAndSeekers this is one of those few MerchandiseDriven series that doesn't go out of its way to advertise its merchandise tie-ins. This frees up space for the show to focus more heavily on its story and characters, and it definitely shows. Kaijudo is one of the more nuanced and well-written shows to come out of WesternAnimation in quite some time and is definitely worth a look if you're a fan of {{Mon}}s or action-adventure shows in general.

* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: Even though [[spoiler:Fingers]] failed to steal the creature tablets, the creatures he set free for the diversion that weren't re-imprisoned are just more creatures The Choten can add to his arsenal.
* HeroicBSOD: Saguru. End of Episode 24 "Betrayal" [[spoiler: after the reveal that he's Ray's dad]].
* [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend He Is Not My Boyfriend]]: Alakshmi calls Ray Allie's boyfriend. She was about to say that he's not her boyfriend, but Alakshmi doesn't seem to care as she attacks her before Allie could even finish saying this trope.

* HonorBeforeReason: The masters' "No Touching the Monsters" rule is such that [[CastingAShadow Jaha]] chastised [[PlayingWithFire Hector]] for summoning a monster to ''fly'' them to rescue the kids in the Fire Civilization as "picking up the kids' bad habits" instead of [[ViolationOfCommonSense walking through desert/lava landscape when they were on a tight schedule.]] Had Hector not done this, they wouldn't have been able to pull a BigDamnHeroes and save the kids from being killed/recaptured.

* InterspeciesRomance: Gabe, a human, and Sasha, a Light Creature.

** TheHero: Master Nigel, even though he's a rigid {{Jerkass}}, he's still the leader.
*** [[spoiler: Not anymore given that he's sided with the Choten as of episode 25 "The Rising pt 1".]]

** Er... because they're both on the coast and they have "San" in their names? San Campion doesn't look to have more than 60 or 70,000 people in it -- maybe 100-200k, tops.

** The Choten's Ship in "Siege" looks like [[Film/TheAvengers Helicarrier]].
*** Also, in "Fallout", the kids have to [[Film/TheAvengers gather together an unlikely bunch to stop an invasion, consisting of muscles, technology, a soldier, and they are all from different worlds than Earth]].

** Episodes 1-3: even though it's seemingly minor, your kid is being hassled for his [[HalfBreed bi-racial heritage]] by bullies who are quite willing to be physically aggressive.

* ActorAllusion: The end of "Heavenly Creatures" has the Oded Fehr-voiced Choten saying [[spoiler:Master Brightmore]] has [[WesternAnimation/YoungJustice "seen the light"]].

* InternationalCoproduction: Between Creator/MoiAnimation and Creator/{{Hasbro}}.

* BerserkButton: The Cyber Lords of the Council of Lagos hate being called "babies".

This in turn leads Ray to his destiny (Gabe and Allie as well, even if they don't realize it yet) and it leads ''us'' to [[{{WesternAnimation/Kaijudo}} this show]].

''Kaijudo: Rise of The Duel Masters'' is said to be a ContinuityReboot, with nothing in common with the Japanese Animé or the original GagDub of the first series. Well, except for many of the creatures, some of which have a "same creature different look" kinda feel and some are borrowed from the newer Japanese cards. Although a tie-in series to the new card game, like [[{{Anime/Pokemon}} the Pokémon Animé]] or [[WesternAnimation/HuntikSecretsAndSeekers Huntik: Secrets and Seekers]] this is one of those few MerchandiseDriven series that doesn't go out of its way to advertise its merchandise tie-ins. This frees up space for the show to focus more heavily on its story and characters, and it definitely shows. Kaijudo is one of the more nuanced and well-written shows to come out of WesternAnimation in quite some time and is definitely worth a look if you're a fan of {{Mons}} or action-adventure shows in general.

** And last but not least "Betrayal": Janet Pierce-Okamoto [[spoiler: is forced to watch the building where she and Ray lived burn down while Ray and his same-aged friends are inside.]] Then, Saguru [[spoiler: finds out that he's really Ken Okamoto, Ray's father...which means he had just used and betrayed his own son as well as putting him in physical danger. To make it even worse, he wasn't immediately able to do anything about it since The Choten imprisoned him.]]
** From a mentor's perspective, Master Chavez must have been devastated by how much damage could have been done to his students, because he [[spoiler: trusted Masters Brightmore and Jaha who have now [[FaceHeelTurn betrayed the council and sided with the Choten.]] Subverted with Jaha though.]]

* AncientConspiracy: [[WhamEpisode "The Siphon"]] reveals [[spoiler: The 5 Beast Kings WILLINGLY gave their power to the original masters to power the veil for the sake of BOTH worlds, but for yet-to-be-revealed reasons, the masters backstabbed them, buried them alive, and created a myth of them awakening as Eldritch Abominations that exists to present day.]]

* CombatPragmatist: Trickery and deceit are the ways of darkness and those who are aligned with that realm tend to use such tactics. [[spoiler: Whether it's Allie disguising herself as Alakshmi to fool The Choten Choten, Razorkinder Puppet attacking his duelist Alakshmi when her back is turned, Megaria taking on the form of Allie's and Alakshmi's mothers to screw with their heads, or Jaha faking a betrayal just to defeat traitor Master Nigel when his back is turned]].

* CripplingOverspecialization: Ray's actually called out on this by Brightmore for wanting to summon [[TheBigGuy Tatsurion/Bob]] for the specifically ''stealthy capture of a flying monster,'' Ray gets flustered and does it anyway, [[LaserGuidedKarma goes temporarily blind for it along with Bob,]] but [[TheAce of course, gets better and more varied in his approach so the lesson sticks.]]

* DisappearedDad: Ray's dad.[[spoiler: Who was revealed to be Saguru in "Betrayal"]]
* DistressedDamsel: Allie ends up playing this in episode 6 when a summoned creature that was defeated grabs her with its tongue as it is transported back to the Fire Civilization. It isn't long before she's sold to Lord Skycrusher as his dinner.
** Something similar happens to Artie, Allie's Dad, in episode 18 "Duel Hard".

* EvilOldFolks: [[spoiler: In episode 25, the two oldest masters are the ones who side with the power hungry Choten. Allie even remarks about this.]] [[spoiler: Subverted with Jaha who was [[FakeDefector faking]].]]

* FakeDefector: [[spoiler: Jaha. She pretends to join the Choten and even attacks Master Chavez and Gabe, then later helps them by knocking Master Brightmore, who had fully thought she had actually joined the Choten]].

** [[spoiler:Masters Nigel and Jaha]] are this as well as of episode 25 "The Rising, Part 1". [[spoiler: Ultimately only Nigel was the fallen hero at the end of "The Rising, Part 2"]].

** TheBigBad: The Choten himself.

** TheEvilGenius: The Choten plans his own schemes, so he doubles as TheEvilGenius and also a MadScientist.

** TheDarkChick: Fingers. At this point, he seems to be still around only because The Choten is not one of the most wasteful villain out there. [[spoiler: And not for lack of trying.]]
** SixthRanger: [[spoiler: As of the end of episode 21, "Like Father, Like Son", Carny joins The Choten's faction after learning that his father Alex is The Choten's financial benefactor and silent partner. All to impress dear old Dad…]]

** Episode 9 has this from the internet obsessed monster Gargle. Monster attacks are certainly dangerous, but that's not what the phrase "NSFW: NotSafeForWork!" [[TheInternetIsForPorn usually means…]]

* GhostExtras: [[spoiler: In episode 25, "The Rising, Part I," Toji and a few temple acolytes are in a group with the heroes preparing to attack The Choten's base. ]] However, there are no scenes where they actually participate in the battle that ensues (they don't summon anything, they are not being attacked, they don't talk, and nobody speaks to them). However, this group of extras is seen behind the heroes when they are all cornered.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Saguru in "Betrayal" [[spoiler: where it is revealed through a memory swarm that he is Ray's father. This came right after he A) lured Ray and his friends into an area that weakens creatures under the guise of helping them escape a fire, B) stole the Heart of Light from Sasha, rendering her unresponsive, C) broke Ray's ability to trust in him (though he may not be aware of that) and D) left the kids tied up in the creature realm.]] Needless to say, after Saguru learned who he really was, he was very...[[BerserkButton displeased]].

* SelectiveObliviousness: The Choten forces this on Saguru by picking and choosing which memories he rewards him for his successes. Before long, Saguru becomes more and more devoted to The Choten's Kaijudo WorldDomination schemes because they're [[NecessaryEvil necessary]] [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans to protect everyone]].
* ShipTease: [[MakingASplash Master Nadia]] to [[PlayingWithFire Master Chavez]] considering the frequent slips of [[FirstNameBasis calling him Hector,]] using his [[LightningBruiser Gilaflame without his awareness/permission]] and being the one to call him out of his meditation in "The Siphon." The two get more moments like this later, when Master Chavez tackles Nadia down to save her from an impending attack. Later on, when Nadia needs to take [[spoiler: Allie's dad back to Earth]], Chavez calls Nadia by her first name. Also, there's Ray and Allie when they go to the school dance and summon creatures from the same civilization simultaneously and remark about it. Later on, we get the pairing of Gabe and Sasha, Channeler of Light. [[spoiler: At the end of episode 26, Master Chavez and Nadia kiss, and Ray and Allie hold hands: a tease no more. At least until the second season where Ray is [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]] to Allie's feelings.]]
* ShoutOut: Several of the course of the series (Allie's "Get away from her, you ''witch!''", for example). The school dance in "The Unbearable Being of Lightness" is a massive homage to {{Carrie}}. Put together a couple of lines between Allie and Gabe in "Extracurricular Activities" for a shout out to [[{{Literature/HisDarkMaterials}} The Subtle Knife]]

** A kid named [[WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}} Kevin uses power to get revenge on those who did him wrong.]]
** Nigel looks a lot like an [[Film/HarryPotter Anti-Snape.]]
** Grey Delisle voices a [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender sadistic, fire-themed girl.]]
** The Choten's Ship in "Siege" looks like [[Film/TheAvengers Helicarrier.]]
*** Also, in "Fallout", the kids have to [[Film/TheAvengers gather together an unlikely bunch to stop an invasion, consisting of muscles, technology, a soldier, and they are all from different worlds than Earth.]]
** Some of the main bullies consist of [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers a fat guy and a skinny one.]]
** The Choten's invasion with his Evolved Creature Army to Earth looks very similar to when [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon a large ship invaded the city]] [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Optimus envisioned the worst-case scenario if Megatron had an Undead Army to take over Earth.]]

** Quickly followed by episode 25 "The Rising pt 1" where [[spoiler: the Choten deprives ALL of the heroes of their signature creatures, Tatsurion is mutated by the Choten and Masters Brightmore and Jaha [[FaceHeelTurn defect to the Choten]]. In episode 26, Jaha had faked her defection.]]

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Heroes and villains view the kaiju of the creature civilizations differently. [[BigBad The Choten]] [[NotSoDifferent lampshades]], where his side sees kaiju as [[HumanResources living batteries/slaves/tools]] to be controlled and used. The Duel Masters take a more naturalist approach, while following a code of conduct when using kaiju. Only Ray and his friends [[ThePowerOfFriendship think otherwise]], [[AncientConspiracy which is becoming a plot point.]]

* XMeetsY: [[{{WesternAnimation/Kaijudo}} Kaijudo]] seems like Franchise/{{Digimon}} and [[WesternAnimation/HuntikSecretsAndSeekers Huntik's]] biracial lovechild.

* ButtMonkey: Early on, due to her using creatures of types she wasn't experienced with, Allie never seemed to be able to keep a creature summoned for long before it was defeated. This lessens after she partners with Squeaky, but she still does loose him rather quickly at times.

Seeing the inevitability of the wars tearing the world apart, five shaman warriors joined together. Each representing one of the five Civilizations, they preformed what is called ''Kaijudo'', which means "Way of the Creature". They proceeded to strip the power from the five Creature Rulers and used it to create a parallel dimension know as the ''Kaiju Realm'' that is protected from earth by a barrier called the ''Veil'', where creatures reside in to this day.