History YMMV / YuGiOhGx

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Yubel and Darkness.
** The Underground is less supernatural, but still incredibly disturbing.

** Brron. Who is . . . some kind of semi-human-only-not-really skeleton . . . thing. The absolute definition of "nightmare fuel."

* SuperlativeDub: Episode 18 and 19 with Dimitri, the copycat duelist, deserve special note. In the original Dimitri was just Dimitri and only decided he ''was'' Yugi towards the end of the duel, but in the dub Dimitri acts like he's Yugi all along. What ''really'' sells the episode though is the absolutely [[NarmCharm Narmtastic]] impersonation of Dan Green's Yami Yugi that Marc Thompson delivers, taking Green's LargeHam, cranking it up, and giving a few lighthearted jabs at his mannerisms and catchphrases.

* UnfortunateImplications: Misawa's night with Taniya is widely interpreted as RapeIsLove.

** [[FaceHeelTurn Hell]] [[EvilCostumeSwitch Kaiser]] in Season 2. Despite the show's attempts to say otherwise, it becomes clear that, in his current mindset, Hell Kaiser spares no one. He is cold, ruthless, and sadistic - regardless of who his opponents are - and enjoys seeing others suffer, even if it is his brother he is torturing. [[YourMileageMayVary Sadly]], in season 3, the writers completely forgot how vile he had become, and tried to show him as a sympathetic SpiritedCompetitor, ignoring that he had already crossed the Moral Event Horizon in the eyes of many.
*** GX [[DeconstructorFleet rarely keeps a trope straight]]. It's not exactly unbelievable that a 19-year-old who has just found out that he is ''dying'' would start to look at his life differently and not want to be remembered as the CompleteMonster of season 2.

* BaseBreaker: Yubel is either what ruined ''GX'' or the catalyst for what are its best episodes, depending on who you ask.

* {{Woolseyism}}:
** Yes, the dub did manage one. The "Bio Bands" and "Survival Duels" in the dub were known as ''"Death Belts"'' and ''"Disclosure (seems benign, until you realize it's a pun on the Japanese pronunciation of death) Duels''". (called Dis-Duels in ''Tag Force 2'') God knows why the Faculty weren't tipped off to the true nature of Cobra's actions when he pitched the idea in that version.
** That's easy. Because the Disclosure Duels had already been held in West School where Cobra worked before and nothing had went wrong there. O'Brien even mentions that the effects are different.
** Banner's German accent in the dub.
** While the symbolism of the name is lost, it could be argued Nightshroud is a more impressive name for a villain than simply "Darkness".

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Remember the fun Juudai and the gang had about Sho's card crush against [[DarkMagicalGirl Dark Magician Girl]]? Flip it around, add in StalkerWithACrush tendencies, and throw in a pinch of NightmareFuel, and you have the premise for Season 3.

* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Judai.

** [[FaceHeelTurn Hell]] [[EvilCostumeSwitch Kaiser]] in Season 2. Despite the show's attempts to say otherwise, it becomes clear that, in his current mindset, Hell Kaiser spares no one. He is cold, ruthless, and sadistic - regardless of who his opponents are - and enjoys seeing others suffer, even if it is his brother he is torturing. Sadly, in season 3, the writers completely forgot how vile he had become, and tried to show him as a sympathetic SpiritedCompetitor, ignoring that he had already crossed the Moral Event Horizon in the eyes of many.

** [[FaceHeelTurn Hell]] [[EvilCostumeSwitch Kaiser]] in Season 2. Despite the show's attempts to say otherwise, it becomes clear that, in his current mindset, Hell Kaiser spares no one. He is cold, ruthless, and sadistic - regardless of who his opponents are - and enjoys seeing others suffer, even if it is his brother he is torturing. He does get better in Season 3, becoming more of a SpiritedCompetitor and helping out the more unambiguously heroic characters (including Sho) from behind the scenes.

* AmericansHateTingle: Yubel gets shunted off to the side a lot in the English-speaking fandom, but she (and her relationship with Juudai) appear fairly popular in Japanese fanart.

* CompleteMonster: DD. He breaks into Edo's house, murders his father, steals a powerful card, and then adopts Edo to cover his tracks, while becoming Duel King for ''ten years''. Then he sets a stadium on fire while dueling, killing his opponent.

** Let's not forget [[LightIsNotGood the Light of Destruction]], a sadistic, [[TheCorrupter corrupting]] OmnicidalManiac. Who tries to justify things by saying HumansAreBastards.

* FridgeBrilliance: Most of Aster/Edo's Destiny Heroes have names that start with D. Most of the cards' names were changed for the dub; Diehard Guy was renamed [[TenaciousD "Captain Tenacious."]]
** As noted under PunnyName, Yubel's name may trace back to several forms: "juwel" (you-vel), meaning jewel in German; "jubel" (you-bell), meaning happy or joyful in the Scandinavian languages; or "übel", meaning evil. Yubel discovers [[spoiler: that there is no happiness for her in being evil, and that her true destiny is to help Jyuudai to defeat the Light of Destruction, not to take him away from his new Scandinavian (or possibly German--the spelling inconsistencies make either a possibility) friend with a jewel-based deck]].
** Daitokuji may be foreshadowing/making references to the Society of Light arc (somewhat) and especially the Darkness arc. His line, "Everything in this world is born through one substance, which changes variably, creating the sky and earth." is what [[spoiler:Darkness' "The world was born from a single card..."]] speech is based on. And his card, ''The Philosopher's Stone - [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Sabathiel]]'' foreshadows the final opponent of the last arc, [[spoiler:Darkness]], who is the representation of humanity's despair. The hermetic angel Sabathiel is the Angel of Saturn, a planet which symbolizes Nigredo. The Nigredo phase has been interpreted by Carl Gustav Jung as the period of despair.

* GeniusBonus: For those attentive enough, the series is full of references to alchemy and tarot, including a {{Foreshadowing}} to the antagonist of the final season.
** The duel in Episodes 153-155 appears to have been structured to mirror or strongly resemble a Jewish wedding, beginning with Magic Chronicle as Yubel's dowry and the ketubah (Jewish wedding contract) and ending with a "cracked glass" when Juudai manages to take back Super Fusion and [[spoiler: join his soul to Yubel's]], something he reveals only after the worlds start shaking apart and the window in Samejima's office cracks and shatters. With the exception of a couple of Juudai's more convoluted turns, it's actually possible to trace every single turn back to the ceremony, in perfect sequence. The resemblance even continues after the duel--in a Jewish ceremony, the ceremony is complete when the bride and groom retire together, away from the guests (represented in this case by Sho and Ojama Yellow).
*** The German dub even adds a touch of its own, with Syrus commenting that "[Jaden] and Yubel are united among the stars".

* HoYay: A moderately-sized plot point for the third season is that Yubel (who is a hermaphrodite using male pronouns for "her"self; it should be noted that Juudai also refers to her as "he") believes that Juudai (who is male) loves/is infatuated with/spends too much time with Johan (also male). It's unclear if this is lampshading, or just YGO being YGO.
** A special mention has to go to a piece of HoYay so blatant it borders on hilarious: while Yubel is utilizing Johan's body, she calls Juudai her beloved, tells him she will "show [him] the truth of [her] undying love," and even tells him "aishiteru, boku no Juudai" ("I love you, my Juudai"). Seeing screencaps with subtitles taken out of context may be enough to drive some Juudai/Johan fangirls straight into hysterics.
*** Episode 147 features "Johan" calling Juudai "my beloved" (or, depending on your subs, "in just a moment I'll show you the truth of my love"). While everyone around them gasps, Juudai just kind of stands there with no reaction whatsoever. One Japanese-to-Spanish fansubber takes the nuance even further: because of the different words for "love" in Spanish, the line translates from Japanese to Spanish to English as "In a few seconds I'll show you the truth of my desire, Juudai, my love." Given the context, there really is only one way to interpret that.
* IncestSubtext: Not ''technically'' canon, but Fubuki does enjoy trying to force his sister into the most revealing clothes he can find. A LOT. And [[spoiler: she's also his date to the graduation banquet in 179, complete with matching costumes--even though it's well-established he's [[TheCasanova popular enough with the ladies to have asked just about anyone in the school]]]].

* NightmareFuel: Yubel, period. Even creepier when the dub gave it the voice of a spoiled 5-year-old girl.

* SoWhatDoWeDoNow: Judai was probably wondering this a lot in Season 4 before Trueman showed up.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: The foreign champions.

* TheMasochismTango: Episodes 153-155. And I quote: "Now we'll be wrapped in the same pain . . . and love . . . "
** And even before that, Yubel-possessed Johan vs Juudai: "Come, my beloved Juudai, let us hurt one another!"
* TearJerker: Season 3, more so as it continues. Ryo's death may be the top.

* {{Woolseyism}}: Yes, the dub did manage one. The "Bio Bands" and "Survival Duels" in the dub were known as ''"Death Belts"'' and ''"Disclosure (seems benign, until you realize it's a pun on the Japanese pronunciation of death) Duels''". (called Dis-Duels in ''Tag Force 2'') God knows why the Faculty weren't tipped off to the true nature of Cobra's actions when he pitched the idea in that version.

* VoodooShark: His cards explode upon impact because they are Fire-attribute. Sure, why not?

** [[FaceHeelTurn Hell]] [[EvilCostumeSwitch Kaiser]], despite the fact that the show tries to say otherwise, It becomes clear that, in his current mindset, Hell Kaiser spares no one; he is cold, ruthless, and sadistic, regardless of whom his opponents are and enjoys seeing others suffer, even if it is his brother he is torturing.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Asuka's speech to Duel Academia in 179. Overlaps with TearJerker, especially for her brother. The end of Judai vs. Yubel, for some.

* TearJerker: Season 3, more so as it continues. Ryo's death may be the top.
** From Season 4, Episode 178: Yubel being forced [[spoiler: to attack Juudai head-on by Darkness]]. The look on her face as she's forcibly dragged across the arena an inch at a time is absolutely heartbreaking. Followed by a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming when Juudai [[spoiler: takes her hand and vows "I'll get you back, no matter what!"]]
** Fubuki [[spoiler: screaming for Asuka after she's lost to Darkness]].

*** It's implied that they were going to [[spoiler:go and kick the Light of Destruction's ectomplasmic patuckus]], making this closer to MissedMomentOfAwesome given that it wasn't actually shown (probably because it didn't involve card games).

* CharacterDerailment: Ryo in Season 2 -- CombatSadomasochist, KickTheDog, ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil. Season in Season 3 -- TheAtoner, DeathSeeker looking for a DyingMomentOfAwesome, EvilIsNotAToy. What happened between seasons, exactly?

* AmericansHateTingle: Yubel gets shunted off to the side a lot in the English-speaking fandom, but she (and her relationship with Juudai) appear fairly popular in Japanese fanart.

* AntiClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:Despite having a very powerful deck, Darkness has a rather poor showing against Judai in his final duel with him.]]
* AssPull: It's amazing what you can do when the main character's deck is based entirely around fusion. Not to mention all the E-Hero support cards that are just completely useless in real life due to how specific they are. Ryo's initial Deck focused on a single monster and its Fusions, and getting the same results in a real-life Deck would take incredible luck.
* BadassDecay: Manjoume in Season 3.
* BaseBreaker: Yubel is either what ruined ''GX'' or the catalyst for what are its best episodes, depending on who you ask.
* CanonSue: Judai, Edo and Johan. Most likely intentional.
* CompleteMonster: DD. He breaks into Edo's house, murders his father, steals a powerful card, and then adopts Edo to cover his tracks, while becoming Duel King for ''ten years''. Then he sets a stadium on fire while dueling, killing his opponent.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Asuka's speech to Duel Academia in 179. Overlaps with TearJerker, especially for her brother. The end of Judai vs. Yubel, for some.
* DracoInLeatherPants: Hell Kaiser, and to an extent, Edo Phoenix.
* EvilIsSexy: Hell Kaiser Ryo, Possessed Johan, Darkness Fubuki. YMMV on The Supreme King.
* EpilepticTrees: Since quite a lot of things were hinted at but never filled in, this should come as no surprise.
* FridgeBrilliance: Most of Aster/Edo's Destiny Heroes have names that start with D. Most of the cards' names were changed for the dub; Diehard Guy was renamed [[TenaciousD "Captain Tenacious."]]

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Remember the fun Juudai and the gang had about Sho's card crush against [[DarkMagicalGirl Dark Magician Girl]]? Flip it around, add in StalkerWithACrush tendencies, and throw in a pinch of NightmareFuel, and you have the premise for Season 3.
* GeniusBonus: For those attentive enough, the series is full of references to alchemy and tarot, including a {{Foreshadowing}} to the antagonist of the final season.
** The duel in Episodes 153-155 appears to have been structured to mirror or strongly resemble a Jewish wedding, beginning with Magic Chronicle as Yubel's dowry and the ketubah (Jewish wedding contract) and ending with a "cracked glass" when Juudai manages to take back Super Fusion and [[spoiler: join his soul to Yubel's]], something he reveals only after the worlds start shaking apart and the window in Samejima's office cracks and shatters. With the exception of a couple of Juudai's more convoluted turns, it's actually possible to trace every single turn back to the ceremony, in perfect sequence. The resemblance even continues after the duel--in a Jewish ceremony, the ceremony is complete when the bride and groom retire together, away from the guests (represented in this case by Sho and Ojama Yellow).
*** The German dub even adds a touch of its own, with Syrus commenting that "[Jaden] and Yubel are united among the stars".

** A special mention has to go to a piece of HoYay so blatant it borders on hilarious: while Yubel is utilizing Johan's body, she calls Juudai her beloved, tells him she will "show [him] the truth of [her] undying love," and even tells him "aishiteru, boku no Juudai" ("I love you, my Juudai"). Seeing screencaps with subtitles taken out of context may be enough to drive some Juudai/Johan fangirls straight into hysterics.

* IncestSubtext: Not ''technically'' canon, but Fubuki does enjoy trying to force his sister into the most revealing clothes he can find. A LOT. And [[spoiler: she's also his date to the graduation banquet in 179, complete with matching costumes--even though it's well-established he's [[TheCasanova popular enough with the ladies to have asked just about anyone in the school]]]].

* NightmareFuel: Yubel, period. Even creepier when the dub gave it the voice of a spoiled 5-year-old girl.

* TheScrappy: Though YMMV, Judai himself, being a ReplacementScrappy for Yugi/Yami Yugi from the original series. While Yami Yugi was a dark and mysterious AntiHero, Judai is a bumbling and goofy IdiotHero. He was also devoid of major character development until the third season and tended to be featured more prominently than the other characters compared to Yami Yugi and the original cast. When it came to dueling, both had the authors slipping them lucky draws, but Yami Yugi really was a great duelist who would find the flaw in the opponent's strategy and exploit it through a variety of control cards, while Judai relied on combos of cards that usually began with a lucky draw, which combined with him being established as on the slow and dim side made his skill less convincing.

* TheWesley: Johan.

* MoeMoe: Rei, and her Maiden in Love monster from her first appearance.

* {{Woolseyism}}: Banner's German accent in the dub.