Style is as necessary as substance.
GX Duel Memorial Album #05
Turn 37
I suddenly came up with the idea of finishing off the wild Tania with “Wildheart”, and I decided to combine it with the charming and lovely “Amazoness Swords Woman’… I recall it taking a lot of trial-and-error to make the necessary adjustments (ahaha)
However, this kind of development where 100 points is the difference between victory and defeat is exciting even in real Duels, and it’s fascinating to make these scenarios.
Turn 38
This was the debut of “Neo Bubbleman”. I remember Takahashi Kazuki-sensei designing a version of “Bubbleman” that he himself rejected, but he suggested “Why don’t you use that for this ‘Neo Bubbleman’?”.
I was thinking about how to expand ways to develop the “Elemental HERO” theme in the future, and “Metamorphosis” was an option.
Turn 39
This is the first time “Ojama King” appeared in the anime, and at first we envisioned the Duel would resolve by deviating from a normal means of winning with sacrifices being made. But ultimately the scenario and the Duel felt like a bit too much like horseplay (ahaha)… I forget if I was asked to do it or not, but in the final draft, I changed it so the Duel resolved in a fairly simple manner with “Ojama King” being powered up by “Ojamuscle”.
… At least that was the intent, but since it was an “Ojama”, it still looks like it was off the beaten path. “Ojama” are interesting (ahaha).
Turn 40
“The First Sarcophagus”, “The Second Sarcophagus” and “The Third Sarcophagus” are assembled and ultimately “Spirit of the Pharaoh” appears. Since an ancient pharaoh was set up as one of the Seven Stars, that strategy was planned from the beginning.
So, “how can we counter that expected flow in a way that will make the Duel exciting for the Pharaoh himself (and of course the audience)?” This Duel was created with the intention of answering that question.
I always wanted to do a card like “Hero Flash!!”, and the timing turned out to be perfect. I also wanted to make sure the individual cards could be useful later on, but I also wanted to avoid the feeling that the cards were conveniently arranged, so I included a slight sense of misdirection, such as “A Spell Card like this would generally be useful for “Elemental HERO” Decks”.
However, the ending of the story was completely revealed in the title of the episode… (Strained bitter laugh)
Let’s Ask Hikokubo-san!
Q. I admire the cool and dramatic Duels of the anime. Could you give me some advice for tips and methodology for creating interesting Duels?
A. First off, start with the most essential part of the Duel. This could be a using or pulling off a favorite card, a highly practical combo, or an overall strategy or tactics… Think about centering the Duel around that. It’s fine as long as you like Dueling. And I think you should be self indulgent.
Next, think about what is so great about that card, combo or strategy? What is it you want to show? How can you convey that? Dig into that and interrogate it. What’s more important here than the content of the Duel is making sure the characters are telling a story.
It’s a gag if a protagonist insists “This card is great!”, however if a Pro Duelist simply says “This card is good”, the audience will believe it is a great card. In order for this to happen, however, the viewer needs to believe that that character is a Duelist who can be described as “skilled”. You can sell this during the Duel, but you should establish things about the character before the Duel starts, so the viewer can concentrate on the Duel. Even more important is the presence of novice Duelists. It is extremely important for there to be a character who is interested in the Duel but has no knowledge or meaningful experience. By having them question things and then giving an explanation, you can sell the Pro character.
Also since anime and manga are entertainment first and foremost, so should make sure things are exciting, so make use of all the characters in the story, including the opponents, in order to create an exciting atmosphere.
So, in the end, rather than making sure the Duel is cool, I think it’s more important to have characters who make the Duel look cool. So as someone who thought about Duels in the anime, it was always about making sure it was a Duel with the best characters, so perhaps it was inevitable those Duels were cool. Sorry for not giving any actual advice. (Ahaha)
Q. Could you explain how it was decided that “Winged Kuriboh” was Judai’s partner?
A. I think it was Takahashi Kazuki-sensei’s idea that Yugi should give Judai a card. Perhaps it was a result of the anime side’s request for a connection between “Duel Monsters” and “GX” along with Sensei’s thoughtful considerations.
I forget how that became “Winged Kuriboh”… But I think because we decided on “Winged Kuriboh” pretty easily, it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. (Ahaha).
Source: V Jump
