Yu-Gi-Oh and Its Amazing Symbolism
By Alex
This is the first of my two guest column editorials on CuriousLittleBird's site. :-D
Yu-Gi-Oh has been a popular anime for the last four years. With its amazing plot and intense duels, it has kept viewers on the edge of their seats. But do you know that the show expresses more than just duel monsters and magical items? What if I told you about the deeper meaning of Yu-Gi-Oh and how it gives solutions for many problems today? By analyzing the show, I found that it has four major themes: the importance of friendship, confidence, honor (and respect), and of not giving up in the fight against depression.
In the world we live in today, friendship is needed more than ever. Even if you don't watch the news, you'll hear about many terrible disasters happening all across the world including violent chaos in Iraq and the Asian tsunami. Such tragedies hit people hard, bringing pain and heartbreak. I know that some people in America may not be concerned about what's happening outside the country, but wake up and smell the coffee, there are problems facing teenagers as well. From massive amounts of work from school, to continuous pressure from parents teens in the U.S. (as well as others) are going through much stress and sadness as well. So how does Yu-Gi-Oh fit into this huge mess? It gives people hope and shows how friendship does get people through even the toughest of problems. For example, in episode 39, Yami Yugi was dueling Pegasus in the shadow realm and the situation was getting quite grim. With Pegasus able to read Yami's mind and predict every move he makes, it seemed quite impossible for the latter to win (and if he lost his soul would be trapped in the shadow realm). However, Yugi's friends didn't give up on him. Though they couldn't go into the shadow realm, they used their friendship to break through, blocking Pegasus' mind reading abilities. Eventually, Yami won the match with the help of his friends. As one can see here, the power of friendship will get you through any situation anytime. All you need is friends who care for you and who will help you when you're down.
Along with friendship, confidence is another thing that is lacking. How many times have you heard someone you know say, "I can't do it, I can't do it" ? For many teenagers, confidence is something that is virtually non-existant. I myself have seen many of my friends who keep think that their situations are impossible, that they won't change for the better. At the college level, if this lack continues, it becomes deadly. Take for instance several students at the University of California Berkeley. After working so hard to enter into a program. Thinking it was all over, they jumped out of a building, committing suicide. Yes, not everyone commits suicide as a result of lost confidence, but think about how it can affect a person later in life. Without it how are you going to find the job you've always wanted or even a decent job in that matter? We all need confidence and faith in order to do what we wanna do. Yu-Gi-Oh can definitely help in this situation. Throughout many of it's episodes, the show's protagonists had to face tough opponents. In the majority of those duels, our heroes seemed like they were going to lose them. But they never gave up. In episode 102, when Tea dueled one of the Big 5 opponents, things were looking worse than ever. Ice was covering about 80% of her body and she was freezing. To make matters worse, her opponent was one attack away from winning. Nevertheless, this great girl didn't give up and drew the right card, winning the duel.
However, winning doesn't always come along with honor [respect], a quality truly lacking in this world today and in the past. Through countless events in history, the disappearance of it has ripped apart humans and killed them as well. Adolf Hitler was an important epitome of this. Spreading a campaign of terror and destruction, Hitler and his Nazi government slaughtered more than six million Jews and millions of other people including gypsies, Catholics and Africans. One might argue that what happened during his regime is a thing of the past, but lack of respect surges through society again and again. How about the people Pol Pot murdered in Cambodia? Did he have any respect for all of those persons who did nothing against him? And for those of you who still think that these historical examples don't prove anything, think about what happened in Columbine High School. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, two kids who were bullied just because of their nonconformity, shot and killed 15 of their fellow schoolmates and, a few hours later, killed themselves. Why did they do this? Because students in the school did not show them respect and treated them poorly. Now is the time to have more respect. Yu-Gi-Oh can teach us all to do this. Throughout many episodes, Yami has emphasized the "Heart of the cards"- a concept that teaches us to believe in ourselves and to respect those we duel against. The importance of this was shown when Yami played against Duke in Dungeon Dice Monsters. Duke had no respect at all for Yami, playing with anger and rage. Yami, on the other hand, was playing with honor and respect and won the match. His adversary later became his friend.
Lastly, and most importantly, depression is a problem that, out of all the ones I mentioned, seems to be the most prevalent among people, especially teenagers. Going through the same fight myself, I know how tough it is. Many of the people I know are battling it, going through much heartbreak along the way. Sadly, a large number of teens today decide not to fight on but to, rather, kill themselves. The suicide rate today is disturbingly high, causing pain and hurt to loved ones. Even if one decides to not kill him/herself, the sadness can become unbearable, driving people to their limits and causing breakdowns. Worst of all, some depressed persons lose hope, give up, and continue to go through a massive cycle of sadness. All is not lost though, for Yu-Gi-Oh can help one out, even through the toughest of gloom. As mentioned earlier, it emphasizes the importance of friendship, which can help any depressed person. This is true because if one does not a friend to be there for him/her, to listen to his/her problems, and to give him/her comfort who else can he/she turn to? All the pain will just pile up more than ever if there's no one to talk to. Nonetheless, there is another important aspect of the show that will help anyone fight depression. It encourages people to fight their problems face on and not be afraid. For instance, Yami Yugi had to duel against Panik, who used dark shadows to hide his monster, making his opponent unsure of what he played. Yami wasn't scared and faced Panik head on crushing him. Same goes for Tea, who, as said earlier, dueled, fought her fears, and won. As one can see, this brilliant anime can give a person confidence to fight their depression head on; if Tea and Yami could defeat such difficult opponents, doesn't that show you can beat your depression if you face it head on with confidence?
Yu-Gi-Oh not only entertains viewers, it gives them tools to deal with life. With so many problems today, the anime gives us hope and confidence. By watching this show, one can truly appreciate their friends, feel confident, be respectful towards others, and fight their depression head on. Hopefully, this show will touch others the same way and reduce the problems in this world. "Once a person conjours up the confidence not to be fearful of the unknown, they disarm the only weapon the dark has."
Thank you very much and good luck to you my friend.
Alex is a faithful Transcendence visitor and college student.
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