The Battle City arc is one of my favorite arcs of Yu-Gi-Oh, and this is not only my favorite duel of Battle City but one of my favorites of the entire series.
What makes the Battle City arc so interesting is that it follows the monomyth: the Pharoah is searching for the Ultimate Boon (his memory), duelists duel their way along a Road of Trials, there is a clear Departure and Call, Threshold crossing, and Return.
Just look at the shipping that floods forums for any show, movie, or book, and you can tell that some of the favorite parts of the monomyth are the Encounter with the Goddess and the Temptress. Kaiba encounters both in Kisara and Ishizu in this duel.
Ishizu represents the Temptress. No, she doesn't try to seduce him, but she does bait him into a trap, string him along the path he thinks leads to his goal but she knows leads only to her own, and gives him a gift he (Obelisk) he believes to be the greatest treasure ever but is really no more than a trap she plans to use against him. By being his opponent in the finals, she is determined to keep him from reaching his goal, but he believes at the same time she has helped him reach it by giving him Obelisk. Kaiba believes for most of the duel that he is in complete control, but Ishizu, wityh complete confidence in her fortune-telling abilities, is really in control and using him.
Ishizu doesn't tempt Kaiba with lust but with Obelisk, the card he is determined to use to win this important duel. When he is on the brink of digging his own grave, he is finally saved by Kisara, the Goddess, a.k.a the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, his guardian angel, the card he *can* really trust. His connection to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is his past life's love for Kisara.
There's a tense moment of indecision after his vision: choose the powerful, surely unbeatable, impressive Obelisk or his reliable Dragon? Kaiba chooses to let his Dragon (who viewers of Dawn of the Duel know represents Kisara, the Goddess) save him. His connection with the Goddess, all the more in sync with the monomyth because he is completely oblivious, enables him to resist the Temptress.
There's a reason all heroes more or less travel the journey and meet the characters of the monomyth story: it's a good story. Intended or not, this duel, Parts 1 and 2, are a prime example of a hero in the face of the Goddess and the Temptress.moreless
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Episode Summary
Ishizu is standing by her prediction that Kaiba will fall at the hand of his own Egyptian God card. Yugi wonders if Ishizu loses, will the Evil within Marik grow stronger. As the duel goes on, Kaiba has fallen into Ishizu's trap, with the bomb ticking inside of Obelisk. However, will Marik's Millennium Rod turn out to be a deciding factor in the outcome of the duel?moreless
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Lisa Ortiz
Serenity Wheeler
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Wayne Grayson
Joey Wheeler
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Marc Thompson
Duke Devlin
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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Trivia
ADD TRIVIA- The Millennium Necklace predicted the wrong future because, as is explained in the manga, it cannot properly see the future of other Millennium Item holders, and Kaiba's past life was the owner of the Millennium Rod. Edit
- Kaiba has his first vision of Seto and Kisara. Edit
- **** Millennium Necklace predicted the wrong future because, as is explained in the manga, it cannot properly see the future of other Millennium Item holders, and Kaiba's past life was the owner of the Millennium Rod. Edit
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Notes
ADD NOTES- Kids' WB! used the promo title "The Guardian" for this episode. Edit
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Quotes
ADD QUOTES- Ishizu: Zorga! Attack his Dark gremlin with Cape of Destruction! (her monster destroys Kaiba's) Now, Kelbeck, attack his Life Points directly! (her second monster attacks) Kaiba: Are you done? Ishizu: No, Kaiba. Next, I will place this card face down, and, now, I am done! Edit
- Marik: Somehow, Kaiba must have tapped into the power of my Millennium Rod! What did he see? Edit
- Ishizu: You will draw Virus Cannon. (pause after Kaiba draws) You have chosen Virus Cannon, correct? I will take your silence as a yes. Edit
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