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Nightmare Fuel / Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series

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"Could I get a hug, binky boy?"

Yami Yugi intimidating Seto Kaiba in a Shadow Game of Season Zero Abridged

As the Trope Maker of The Abridged Series, it’s not surprising that this series is usually meant to make you laugh. But don’t be fooled, that doesn't mean it can't be scary at times.

Spoilers below!

  • There's Yugi's dream in Episode 16, the 2001 parody. The creepy music coupled with the overall Satanic look of it nearly made a few people afraid to go to sleep for fear of dreaming about it.
  • In-Universe, the Dark Zebra is this to Seto Freakin' Kaiba.
    "Seriously, what the hell is that supposed to be? Whatever it is, I'll be seeing it in my nightmares..."
    * later, when summoning Obelisk the Tormentor*
    "Go, Obelisk; kill that weird, evil unicorn zebra thing! It's really freaking me out!"
  • In the fourth "Evil Council" video, Pegasus, with a little help from the possessed teddy bear, resurrects his dead wife Cecilia the old-fashioned way. Needless to say, the appropriately edited image of Cecilia will come across as shocking to those unprepared.
  • Noah is creepy. Not that he wasn't creepy in the original, but here... Brrr, creepy. Kudos to Kirbopher.
    Noah (singing in an absolutely creepy voice): "Hush little Mokuba, don't say a word/Noah's going to keep you in the virtual world/And if your brother tries to moan/Noah's going turn his body into stone..."
    • This bit is creepy as all Hell...
      (Now possessing Mokuba, after tricking him with a fake surprise party) "Happy Birthday, Dear Mokubaaa, Happy Birthday to meee-eh heh ha ha ha! Ahahahahaha! AH-hahahahahaha!"
      • This then snaps away from the trope with Noah's next line.
        "Strange... Why do I suddenly feel like kidnapping myself?"
  • Melvin. Just... Melvin. Silliness aside, he has the highest kill count in the series, killing Hans, Gruber, his father, and Dr. Feelgood. Plus, there are his "hugs".
  • Melvin's Early-Bird Cameo from episode 17. Between the Drone of Dread and the Nightmare Face (which has yellow eyes now), it's very unsettling.
  • Season Zero Yami. He has all the characteristics of his counterpart from the main abridged series magnified by 100, turning him from just an aloof, selfish Jerkass into a crazy, murderous sadist who at times makes Melvin look normal. Even though it's all done for comedy, it's still equally terrifying to watch. And the Halloween theme being used as his Leitmotif is surprisingly effective at adding to the creepiness.
  • Seto in Season Zero. He's actually nice and friendly... while still having a Creepy Monotone, making his kindness sort of creepy. He even unnerves Yami.
    • Anytime we get a close up of his eyes. They're wide and empty and they have a sort of Brainwashed look to them.
    • His introduction is just plain unnerving. Never before has the theme song to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood been so creepy.
      "Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won't you be...(turns to face the camera) my neighbor?" (scare chord)
      • Also, his eyes when he's facing the camera look horribly Off-Model, with his right eye giving a rather intense stare while his left eye looks eerily vacant.
  • Crump and his obsession with penguins can come across as... disturbing.
    • Episode 63 straight up makes a masturbating joke with Crump. You're gonna want to ready the Brain Bleach.
  • As of episode 61, Melvin is in the middle of a Villainous Breakdown. It's played for laughs, but up until this point he's been completely in control. Seeing him break down into crazed screaming is just disturbing. The faces don't help.
  • Another Melvin example: In LK's fic "Marik and Bakura go to Censored Town", he makes two appearances and dear god! His major appearance, later on in the fic, has him gleefully torturing Bakura, taunting him about how he wants to kill him and make Marik watch in the Soul Room, as he can control what Marik remembers/feels and what he doesn't. He demonstrates this by self-harming, not responding to it at all but making it plain that Marik can still feel what he's doing! He's also disappointed that knocking out Florence doesn't make Ryou Bakura come out, because he would have had fun torturing HIM first. This isn't just the silly, over the top villain we're used to; he's cold and ruthless, and we see why he scares Bakura so much. (The only thing that stops this scene from being outright horror is the fact that Melvin's naked except for a very clingy and revealing purple thong.)
    Melvin: I didn't realise you'd been counting. I've been counting too.
    Bakura: Counting the number of times I chased you away like a bad dream?
    Melvin: Counting the number of minutes you have left. The number of breaths. The number of heartbeats. And believe me, you don't want to know the results. If I told you, it would take all the fun out of it.
    • His first appearance is also chilling; Bakura has an internal monologue about Marik having a "Melvin Dream", and in a flashback, Melvin comes to Bakura's room one night, just laughing to himself. When Bakura tried speaking to him, he screamed "like a banshee" and rushed to Bakura's side with a knife, with Bakura having to try and talk him out of murdering him. The flashback ends with Marik being really upset and needing comfort, and Bakura noting that this keeps happening.
  • "Kill your family! Kill your family! Kill your family!"
  • At the end of "Marik Plays Slender", it's the first instance that this iteration of Slender Man is genuinely scary. Even though all he does is say his usual "Hey guys" line, it sounds creepy and drawn out.
  • Yugi's eyes suddenly turning red in Episode 70. It came right the hell out of nowhere and is way too reminiscent of Yami's eyes in Season 0.
  • Yami after using the Seal of Orichalcos the next episode which Yugi flat-out says is eerily similar to Season 0 Yami. It's clear from Raphael's reactions that he realized just how big of a risk he took by baiting him into using it.
    • That same episode, it's a little bone chilling to hear Raphael say "We aren't doing this your way and we never will again"
  • Luckily, in the follow-up he goes for Large Ham rather than nightmarish, but there's still something chilling about the Pharaoh's voice turning deathly serious when he believes Weevil destroyed the card holding Yugi's soul.
    Yami: "Come on Tea, it's Weevil! What's the worst he could—"
    * Weevil rips up the card*
    Yami: "Okay yeah...that's the worst he could do."
    • On the topic of that episode, "Throw Haga From the Train", LittleKuriboh managed to make Rex and Weevil sounding like their anime counterparts unnerving, if only because people got so used to hearing Beavis and Butthead.
    • And then came the Berserker Soul; Yami manages to combine the Japanese rage with his constant Duro! Monsta Cado! with the English dub's sadistic vengeance equal to that of Season Zero. Weevil really Didn't Think This Through in Bullying a Dragon against Yami.
    Yami: "But what are the odds that I'll draw a monster card?"
  • The way Yami dealt with Tea's boss in S0E3. In the manga he was at least honourable enough to warn his opponent that he'd risk setting himself on fire, and in the anime, when the man inevitably breaks the rules for his own safety, he applies a penalty on the man to make him hallucinate being ablaze. Here, he manages to top both previous versions of himself and goads the guy into his trap, which sets him on fire for real.
  • Dartz revealing to Rafael that he was the one responsible for all the events that caused him and the other henchmen to join him. The scene should be ridiculous, considering it continues the Running Gag of season 4's glaring Plot Holes, but the fact Dartz is so gleeful and amused, talking about how he started a devastating war between two countries, framed an innocent kid for a crime and caused a tidal wave that killed an entire family as if they were mere pranks, all while Rafael's listening in utter horror, just shows how little concern he has for human life. And let it be a reminder that he did this for the sole purpose of getting Rafael to fully succumb to the Orichalcos.
  • Dartz's entire Breaking Speech to Yami in Episode 81. He points out all of Yami's flaws and nearly gets him to succumb to the Orichalcos again in a way that sounds like he's telling him to off himself. The only thing scarier (and heartbreaking) is that the speech Yami has to himself as he's giving in is also a metaphor for LittleKuriboh's depression.
    • Not just that, but the fact that Dartz knows the pharaoh's name in this series is pretty chilling to think about. Even though he doesn't pronounce it exactly right, the subtitles directly say, in clear, easy-to-read letters: Atem. You'd expect a ridiculous villain like him to dance around the subject, or make up some other name entirely. But no; to prove that he was even in the same walking distance as the pharaoh, he directly calls Yami by his actual, official name with the only comedic aspect being how he pronounces it. Beware the Silly Ones, indeed...

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