Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Protagonists being invincible is nothing new.

Yusaku just kind of stands out since he wins all of his important duels, which there are a lot

Which protagonist lost the most?

I think Yuma... He's one of the few with legitimate losses.

Yeah, both Yuma and Yuya were good about losing occasionally. While Yuya's character took a nosedive as the series went on (and as many things in it did) I did appreciate how he was allowed to be vulnerable and lose on occasion, particularly when he failed against Reiji twice (even if the first time was a no result). It gave his character motivation to improve and overcome his own failings, which on a surface level is much more compelling than some of the other protagonists we got.

It's also what makes Yuma's second duel against Shark so good, because it's not only his first (full, on-screen) loss (thus justifying why people think he's a bad duelist), but also kickstarts both his development and his relationship with Shark.

Judai didn't lose too often, but I feel like when he did, it was also handled pretty well.

Edited by Nickpws on Sep 27th 2019 at 7:08:44 AM

They kinda ran into a wall given how things could end if Yusaku lost, and since he didn't enjoy dueling, he couldn't have an unimportant duel he could lose.

Jaden only lost to Zane and Edo iirc.

And... Kaibaman.

I think Yuma is pretty underrated tbh, mostly because he's the least "perfect" of the protagonists.

But that just makes it much more meaningful when he improves over the series.

I didn't mind Atem's winning streak, because I liked how it reinforced the challenge Yugi was tackling and trying to surpass in the Ceremonial Duel. So while I get the criticism, I can appreciate contested elements when they have a point I end up enjoying overall.

Yusei's problem was that he won when a loss wouldn't have hurt him at all. The first duel against Ghost and Sherry would have been great places for him to lose, because then he'd have more to gain as a character later on. The entire set-up of the World Racing Grand Prix tournament would have allowed him to take several losses without Team 5D's losing the tournament. What a waste of a set-up.

Never watched Vrains, but it sounds like Yusaku had the same issue.

Not quite. Yusaku's duels are generally too important so he can't lose, since the enemy would be able to steal Ai otherwise.

Vrains has considerably less filler, so there aren't many moments where he could lose and have it not affect much.

There's also the fact that Yusaku only uses duels as a means to an end and doesn't really love the game like most protagonists.

To illustrate my point; the last four episodes is the first and only full duel Yusaku has in all of Season 3, and it's against the final boss.

Season 2, four of his duels were against the season's big bad, with two of them being draws.

I don't think Yusaku's situation is interesting enough to justify being undefeated, but those are stand-out details I'll admit.

Edited by VeryMelon on Oct 7th 2019 at 5:10:36 AM

VRAINS also has like, three filler episodes at the most not counting recaps and while it didn't matter as much during the most of season one Yusaku losing his duels means the literal end of the world from the Tower of Hanoi arc onwards.

Which is why I said the writers wrote themselves into a corner. Vrains' stakes are much too high all the time. Yusaku could've benefitted from a loss, especially a more high-stake one even, if only to flesh out his character better.

I mean considering the breakdown he had when he kinda killed Kusanagi.....

Vrains had no real downtime for its cast; it's just one event after another with no break.

I'd say that's what ultimately hurts the cast more, some of them didn't really developed in a significant way because of that.

I kinda disagree in some areas. Its not a lack of development cuz even VRAINS supporting cast do get development, the main issues are:

• lack of character interactions with certain characters
• Development vs dueling.

Not really. None of the characters really actually develop. The show will make you think they're developing, but upon closer analysis, you'll notice that not many characters develop. The only ones who develop in any meaningful capacity are Yusaku, Ryoken, Takeru, and Ai.

• Aoi has numerous moments set up for development, but they never really get to go anywhere since she keeps getting killed off before it can go anywhere.
• Go actually suffered Character Derailment in Season 2, and his only appearances in Season 3 were Character Rerailment. You also can't say his regret for what his Season 2 version did is development either, since its a case of Show, Don't Tell.
• Kusanagi is largely the same from start to finish, being the Cool Big Bro to Yusaku and later Takeru while being motivated to save Jin.
• Akira is still the Reasonable Authority Figure who'd prefer to shoulder the burden himself.
• The most Emma has in the way of development is her becoming a Cool Big Sis to Aoi.
• The generals of the Knights of Hanoi are They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character.
• Naoki's sole development is being brave enough to go into Link VRAINS.
• Flame is mainly tied to Takeru's development, but he's more used to develop Takeru, rather than develop himself.
• Kengo going from the cold sociopathic bounty hunter to the Char Clone Big Brother mentor is extremely abrupt and doesn't get that explored thanks to him dying after losing to Lightning.
• The only of the remaining four Ignis to actually develop is Earth, and his development is rather minemal. He goes from being indecisive on whether to side with Lightning or with Humans until he learns Lightning imprisons Aqua and that SOL is still hunting them. So he decides "Fuck humanity, fuck Lightning, I'm just gonna protect Aqua from them all" only to then die after losing to Go.

If you were to take every character in VRAINS and compared their debut selves to their finale selves, you'll find the only ones with any actual change is our main trio and Ai, and that everyone else is either a minor change at best, or no change at all.

Edited by RebelFalcon on Sep 27th 2019 at 6:32:16 AM

The most baffling thing about Aoi is that the one time she doesn't die after losing a major duel; you'd think they'd use that for a point of development but...nope, she literally sits out the entire fucking rest of the season while the boys handle business.

What was the point of not killing her off if she wasn't going to do anything...

My guess is they had plans to use her but then the series was cut short.

I'm not alone in this thought process, but I was under the impression that had the series been 140 episodes long, Aoi being left around would be because of her rejoining the others for a second round against Ai and any new forces he made like a new generation of Ignis, and that to counter it the protagonists would have been joined by Jin and Miyu. Miyu joining to help Aoi and Jin finding out through Kusanagi. Hell, a lot thought Windy's origin may get involved and reveal he survived Fake!Windy's attempt to kill him.

Cause really, as it is, Jin and Miyu are barely characters, but rather just a pair of Living Macguffin Plot Device. You'd think they'd have some relevance since they were also Lost Victims and that they made a point to say the two were recovering.

Edited by RebelFalcon on Sep 27th 2019 at 11:08:57 AM