s2 e27 "Friends til the End, pt 2"

Shorter episode this week as we only cover a single episode of the show, but there were just too many Feelings for us not to slow down a little. Listen in as we discuss whether this is a Shadow Game or not, inheriting your boyfriend's boyfriend, and All Of Our Feelings. Plus some recommendations for addicting card games & sapphic tv shows, and our new contender for "best thing written on a sign in the background of an episode"

SHOW NOTES:

- Screenshot of Marik posing like the dramatic gay that he is

s2 e25-26 "The Rescue" / "Friends til the End, pt 1"

How can the power of friendship prevail, if Yugi is forced to fight his best friend?? Before we can approach the emotional devastation that will be the answer to that question, we first have to get through a brief clip show recap episode with an even weirder framing device.

Listen in as we delve into podcast-typical overanalysis of Kaiba's psyche, whether or not 4kids can say the word "drown", our favorite recap episodes in other tv shows (is it possible to do them well?), an open request to give Jenny infectious diseases, and more.

s2e09-10 "Espa Roba: The ESP Duelist"

After a streak of great episodes we're delivered the crushing reminder that this show is, after all, sometimes only about playing card games. Oh well. Listen in to hear us talk about Yami saying "hmm" on a roof, Honda being incredibly frustrating, and why we hate Jinzo. Plus, media recs including highly relevant card game content, and a round of the ship guessing game.

SHOW NOTES:
- I don't know why we keep saying this series is set in 2004, when it actually aired in 2001 and is presumably set in 1997 (according to the manga). just don't correct us, ok

s2e07-08 "Yugi vs. the Rare Hunter"

Yugi faces off with a wielder of Exodia in the first actual proper official duel, for real, of Battle City. Listen in as we discuss Exodia strategies, discover a rare 4Kids Improvement, and are completely baffled by KaibaCorp's hiring practices. Plus an anecdote about when it's appropriate to whip out your Blue-Eyes in real life (not a euphemism)

SHOW NOTES:

- A really good tweet about the card Bubonic Vermin

s2e06 "Stalked by the Rare Hunters"

The streak of episodes we've loved in the leadup to Battle City hasn't stopped yet, as this week Jonouchi has a run-in with the Rare Hunters that brings some fascinating family drama. Listen to hear us deep dive on Yami's awkward yearbook photos, a scene 4kids really didn't have to cut, and what's going on in Jonouchi's mom's head. Plus, a shipping tangent (what else is new) and some mutually endorsed media recommendations.

s2e05 "Obelisk the Tormentor"

Yami discovers a secret of his past. Kaiba announces the Battle City tournament. We loved this episode and had so much to say. Listen in for some dissection of Kaiba's outfit, more complaining about how Yami's name isn't Yami, and a True ROFLcopter Moment™. Plus some analysis of Kaiba's feelings about ancient Egyptian "hocus pocus" magic and a tale of how Viz's manga betrayed me.

SHOW NOTES:

- The method we use to get audio clips from the dub was having issues on this episode, so there is a moment in here where you'll hear Jenny request an clip and it's not provided. Sorry, use your imagination I guess

s2e04 "Steppin' Out"

Yugi invents a brand new social situation, and Anzu helps Yami process his identity crisis through the power of Dance Dance Revolution. We are a little bit obsessed (and can't stop talking about everyone's outfits, either). Listen in to hear about a normal name for an arcade, an oddly specific childhood memory, and why Jenny is secretly a fake gamer.

s2e03 "The Past is Present"

Oh boy there's so much going on in this episode... the introduction of our new favorite girlboss, an emotional scene which convinced many a fan that Puzzleshipping Is Real, and Kaiba getting his mind freaked by ancient rock carvings. Plus we debate Reincarnation Lore, and an anecdote about an interesting concert experience.

s2e02 "The Mystery Duelist (part 2)"

Season 2 continues its strong start with the resolution of the possessed Bandit Keith duel. Tune in for a very powerful entrance from Bakura, yet another debate about what various Millennium Items can actually do, and the return of Fire Peril. Plus, we talked about all the fun stuff we got to do while spending time together In Person (!).

SHOW NOTES:

- For visual aid, here is a photograph of the very strange shirt I found at Goodwill

- The artist whose work we went to a museum exhibition of is Piotr Szyhalski, and you can see his website here to look at some of the posters we saw.

s2e01 "The Mystery Duelist (Part 1)"

A milestone episode, this one: the Battle City Broads finally reach Battle City, and your hosts are even in the same place for the first time! Listen in as we discuss the setup for our new mind-controlling villain, a foolproof plan to confuse teenagers with arrow signs, and all of our excitement for the new season. Plus a round of the ship guessing game and possibly too much Pegasus talk considering he is no longer in the show.

Season One Wrapup

In our overview of the Duelist Kingdom season, we give a very loosely organized ranking of best & worst episodes, answer some discussion questions about lore & our favorite characters, and spin off into plenty of other talk about this show as a whole. Stick around to the end to learn our podcast's secret other names and the true meaning of Joey's Brooklyn accent. We'll see you in Battle City!

Unadapted Manga Chapters: Dungeon Dice Monsters

(Content warning: abusive parent character)

If the anime version of DDM didn't impress you, you might like to know the original manga was a very different affair. Recapping this whole volume has us debating what's up with Yami Bakura again, whether clown dad stole a baby, and how much Joey knows about Greek mythology; then once again conclude that what this series needs is more Grandpa Backstory Lore. Plus some life updates on recent adventures and Renaissance Faires, and a little manga trivia.

SHOW NOTES:

- The chapters we covered in this episode are 134-145 in the original, or Yugioh Duelist chapters 75-86 in the version where "Duelist" is a separate thing.

s2 e23-24 "Double Duel"

Yami & Kaiba conclude their tag team duel against Marik's masked duo. Tune in for one of our more tangent-filled episodes to hear us discuss how a portal can fly, Anzu's secret weakness, and Kaiba's secret official theme song. Plus some brief IRL anecdotes about fixing things around our houses (one of these things will surprise you)

Content warning: uhhh we made a few jokes about 9/11, that might be in poor taste

s1e48-49 Dungeon Dice Monsters, parts 3-4

In the not-so-thrilling conclusion to the Dungeon Dice Monsters mini-arc, we discuss how men love a big TV, the Ninja & Dark Magician buddy comedy spinoff we deserved, and... well, a long dissection of why Duke frustrates us so much. Sorry to his many fans. Plus, check-in recs on some current series we've just started on, and a particularly successful round of the ship guessing game.

SHOW NOTES:

- Can you believe we are DONE with season 1??? Please send us questions and comments (either by email or to our twitter) for our first season wrapup episode before we start Battle City!

- The manga chapters we will cover in next week's bonus episode are chapters 134-145 if you have the 3-in-1 volumes (or are looking at the original Japanese, I suppose); or Yugioh Duelist chapters 75-86 if you're on the Shonen Jump app with the renumbering.

s1e46-47 Dungeon Dice Monsters, parts 1-2

A mysterious transfer student arrives with a mysterious new game! Tune in for our potentially controversial opinions on Duke Devlin, dog costumes, and dice monsters. Plus chatting about our life updates and another anime convention visit report.

SHOW NOTES:

- You can check out the Ace Attorney fan musical adaptation on Youtube!

- Shout out to @zombiebasss the artist that Ellie bought some very cool Yugioh stuff from at a convention!

- Can you believe we are DONE with season 1??? Please send us questions and comments for our first season wrapup episode before we start Battle City!

s1e45 "Legendary Heroes (part 3)"

Can the Dark Magician fly? Can Kuriboh get a hug? Can Kaiba bring himself to say the words "thank you"? And can Yugi do taxes? All these questions and more we (& special guest Eli) will ask, if not necessarily answer, as we finish the Legendary Heroes mini-arc. Plus a wide smattering of media recommendations and a lot of shipping talk sparked by our guessing game.

SHOW NOTES:

- Our guest was @adrawer4ever!

- !!Spoiler Warning!!: Near the very end of this ep, from around 1:03:40 - 1:05:00, we talked about some stuff that happens in the upcoming season in a way that is probably too spoilery if you haven't seen it. If you don't know what Marik's general deal is and don't want to know, skip that bit.

- Want to hear Ellie talk about Sailor Moon on a different podcast? Check out the July 26th episode of Gays Gaze!

- It was a bit hard to hear so I'll reiterate that the name of the BL anime Eli recommended is Sasaki & Miyano.

s1e43-44 "Legendary Heroes"

Kaiba's been sucked into a virtual world and Yugi is the only one who can rescue him! A new special guest, listener Eli, joins us to talk about Kaiba's increasingly fragile psyche, duel monsters that ride on your head, and dizzyingly fast pacing. Plus, how Yugioh is Satanic and can lead you away from the church, and a diversion about ancient aliens.

SHOW NOTES:

- Our guest was @adrawer4ever!

- Read more about the yokai Niwatori no so (chicken monks) here!

- The chalk drawing from England that I forgot the name of is called the Cerne Abbas Giant

s1e41-42 "The Wrath of Rebecca / Ties of Friendship"

It's a game of two halves on this episode as we covered two major things: the final moments of Duelist Kingdom (along with comparisons to the manga version) and the subsequent duel introducing a new filler character. Tune in for discussion of iconic GIFs of Yami Bakura, two Bandit Keith related revelations, the correct level of annoying for a girl to be, and gay old men doing bad archaeology.

No show notes!

s1e39-40 "Match of the Millennium / Aftermath"

The duel with Pegasus finally comes to a conclusion, but even then there's much more left to deal with before the gang can finally depart from Duelist Kingdom. We talk through a new fact about Pegasus's origins that unlocks everything about him for us, what dank memes lurk inside Yugi's soul(s), and the return of Our Best Friend Shadi. Also, some fun facts about Pegasus's voice actors.

Before all of this however, we did open on a sad note discussing the recent passing of the creator of Yugioh, Kazuki Takahashi. He will be dearly missed, but we'll always be celebrating his work and how much it brought us in our lives. <3

SHOW NOTES:

- I wasn't entirely accurate in my brief summary of it but you can & should read more about the guy who basically invented Tarot card readings on wikipedia.

- This is the silly Shadi AMV we mentioned that made the same joke as us.

s1e37-38 "Match of the Millennium (3-4)"

The final duel against Pegasus continues and it's a Shadow Game now! We discuss all the high stakes duel maneuvers and dark magic shenanigans in these episodes we quite enjoyed; plus some media recommendations and accidentally inventing at least one new AU idea.

SHOW NOTES:

- This episode was recorded before we heard about Kazuki Takahashi's passing on July 6th. :( In our next episode we do address this sad news.

- The fanmade Yugioh tarot deck we mentioned near the very end of this episode is Black Luster Tarot. The preorder closes on July 20th so you have a little while to check it out if you're hearing this on release!

s1e35-36 "Yugi vs Pegasus: Match of the Millennium"

The final duel of Duelist Kingdom arrives. How will Yugi face off against the power of Pegasus's mind reading, and what shenanigans will other characters be getting up in the meantime? We bring our Sleepover Energy™ to talk about dragon egg anatomy, brand-new powers of the Millennium Ring, Pegasus having Goop Vibes, and more.

Yugioh Go Rush (episode 1)

We may be about Duel Monsters over here, but for this bonus we sampled the most recent Yugioh spinoff series and boy... it went some places. Listen in to hear us (attempt to) explain the alien vs girlboss conflict, how to get an 8.8 million catboy cheer squad, what Rush Dueling is, and why this is all secretly Kaiba's fault. Plus we trip down a wikia hole and learn some strange facts about Yugioh Sevens as well.

SHOW NOTES:

- Since we record these way in advance we said that the dub of Sevens is "about to start", but as of this podcast's release date, Sevens has started airing and you can stream the first half of the season on Hulu.

s1e33-34 "Best of Friends, Best of Duelists"

The emotional stakes are high (at least for the characters -- maybe not for us viewers) when Yugi must duel Jonouchi for the championship of Duelist Kingdom. We talk about a show making an AMV of itself, discover the alternate universe where Pegasus is from France, and complain about pacing a bit. Plus some media recommendations for various tastes.

SHOW NOTES:

- Watch a clip of the "No Matter What" scene from the dub!

- We repeatedly say that the character who's known as Cecelia in the dub is called "Cynthia" in Japanese, but it's actually "Cyndia", sorry, I misspoke

s2 e21-22 "Double Duel"

Two weird Rare Hunter guys get Yami & Kaiba into a tag duel that tests the power of their teamwork. Can they work together well, or will Kaiba be so annoying about it that it even annoys the massive Kaiba fans on this podcast? There's also another really terrible 4kids censoring, futher intricacies of the Yami Bakura & Marik situation, and a manga/anime difference which conclusively proves once and for all that dueling is just gay sex (as we've always said)

s1e31-32 "Keith's Machinations"

Two rude boys face off when Jonouchi must duel Bandit Keith in the tournament semifinals! Listen in as we talk machine monster rules, the inherent coolness of a dragon made out of guns, and a shocking surprise ending. Plus fun facts about Jonouchi's voice actor.

s1e29-30 "Duel Identity"

The first match of the Duelist Kingdom finals is here as Yugi faces off with Mai. We discuss a rather surprising 4kids dub change, winning with the power of heteronormativity (happy Pride month y'all?), and some all-around good character development. Plus our biweekly recommendations including a story of gamer problems.

s1e28 "The Night Before"

This episode sort of half-tries to be a Halloween episode and generally fails to impress us but there is some wackiness along the way. Along with special guest Erin we'll talk finding an eye in your soup, predictions for Pegasus's secret powers, and how much of this was just all a dream. Plus anti-recommendations for things you shouldn't read, and a long digression into Twilight crossovers.

SHOW NOTES:

- Our guest was @ErinWormMoon who you can also hear on the @GaysGaze podcast!

- Here's a link to Dracula Daily and one to where you can read the graphic novel Dragon.

- the "King's Hand" tweet

- Manga panel of Yugi saying he has no plan to counteract Pegasus

s1e26-27 "Champion vs Creator"

Kaiba challenges Pegasus for the sake of his brother and we witness the true power of cartoons. Returning special guest Erin gives us a first-time watcher's perspective on Pegasus's deck, learning gamer slang, and the world's biggest elevator. Plus we decide Yugioh is just like RuPaul's Drag Race and finish with another round of our shipping game.

SHOW NOTES:

- Our guest was @ErinWormMoon who you can also hear on the @GaysGaze podcast!!

- Manga panel of Pegasus not knowing how to throw a duel disk

s1e25 "Shining Friendship"

Can you believe that women be dueling in this one... Anzu may not be a regular duelist but she goes up against Mai in order to help Yugi. We analyze what's going on in Yugi's head, what makes a Friendship Speech (tm) work or not, and one of the most basic aspects of how this card game works. Plus some recent life updates, and fun facts about Anzu/Tea's voice actors.

s1e23-24 "Face Off"

The duel with Kaiba continues with a dramatic twist that forces Yugi to the point of conflict with his other self. Another one of those episodes where we (along with our guest Taylor) spent a lot of it going hey... this show can sure be good, huh?? Plus media recommendations (including some Batman chat) and the shipping game returns to vex Jenny more than it ever has before

s01e22-23 "Face Off"

Finally we tackle the Kaiba vs. Yami Yugi rematch duel, with the help of a new guest Taylor, who is a fellow longtime Yugioh fan. We'll talk over a very strange flashback scheme, exactly what the purpose of Duel Disks is, and Kaiba's internal mental image of himself. Also a tangent about birthdays and the true Yugioh sequel.

Yugioh Video Games

What's up fellow Gamerz?? Today we're taking a side trip into the world of Yugioh video games, and considering the series is about gaming no one will be surprised that there are a lot of them. We went over our own personal history with video games in general, then our experiences with what Yugioh games we have played (and several we haven't but find intriguing), and also pitch what we'd want to see in our ideal Yugioh video game.

s1e19-21 "Double Trouble Duel"

It's the show's first tag duel as Yugi & Joey face off against two villains we don't enjoy. Lots of yelling about Kaiba brothers, pondering the secret lives of duel monsters, and we discover forbidden knowledge about Pegasus' henchmen. I should probably have written this description in rhyme, that would have been a good bit, but I am just too tired sorry

SHOW NOTES:

- Please bear with the talking over each other on this one episode; part of the audio we recorded was lost due to a technical error so we could only use a backup that had us both on one file. I think it's a fun episode despite the issues.

- Manga panel of Kaiba holding Croquet hostage that is referred to during the manga section

s1e17-18 "Arena of Lost Souls"

Bandit Keith engineers a spooky underground duel between Jonouchi and a fake goth boy. We have flashbacks to the early days of Yugioh Duel Links, are puzzled by Pegasus' sense of humor, and learn about zombies. Plus some digressions into other favorite media and a manga backtrack where we discover your hot new fanfic OC.

s2 e19-20 "Legendary Fisherman"

Our favorite freaky fish guy returns to challenge Joey to an aquarium duel! In this aquatic episode we discuss a peek into the life of an average Domino City working mom, asking a man to give you his [Millennium] rod, and new levels of Kaiba pettiness. Also, somehow not the first reference to a weird plot point from Ultimate Fantastic Four that Ellie has made on this podcast.

Content warning: very brief discussion of animal abuse (because 4kids just kept making SeaWorld references)

s1e16 "The Scars of Defeat"

Kaiba returns on a path to revenge with a new duel disk system. Boy I hope this doesn't awaken anything in Jonouchi. Anyways we also spent a bunch of this episode talking about smells and our controversial shipping opinions

s1e14-15 "The Light at the End of the Tunnel"

It's all about staying calm under pressure this week when Yugi must confront a threatening Player Killer... or "PaniK" if you're 4kids and legally cannot say the word "kill". The threat of burning alive, a delightful musical interlude, and some of the most ridiculous card strategy really helped this one shine for us. Plus some mundane life updates and a return to the Crunchyroll comments sections.

SHOW NOTES:

- If you want to see the two-in-one cut of the PaniK episodes, the version of the show on Yugioh.com has it as episode 14, and then their episode 15 is... the uncut episode 15. Someone did not bother to check this. If you want the complete first episode it's on Netflix and probably the various other streaming services that have Yugioh

s1e12-13 "Evil Spirit of the Ring"

It's the first Bakura centered episode of Duel Monsters and oh boy, the Lore is going to drive us off the deep end in this one. We also discover some surprising dub/sub differences and really wish we were camping in the woods. Plus, chat about other manga that you might enjoy.

s1e11-12 "The Dueling Monkey" / "Trial By Red Eyes"

Joey proves himself in a match against dino duelist Rex Raptor and debuts one of his iconic cards. We talk about whether the friendship message in this episode worked, possibly too much cardgame rule minutia, and which Yugioh character is the most like Shadow the Hedgehog. Plus Jenny's life updates and pro medical advice.

SHOW NOTES:

- There were some technical difficulties while recording this ep so if there are parts around the middle where the audio seems to cut out or we talk over each other, bear with us (I think it flows OK now but trust me I had to go to great lengths to get it there)

- yeah we recorded this in early January so we talk about ~the holidays~ a bit even though it's releasing in late February, whatever y'all

s1e09 & 10 "Duel with a Ghoul" / "Give Up the Ghost"

A whole lot going on in this one. Good thing we have our guest Kry back to help us walk through extremely realistic #Hacking, musical interludes, and the bizarre lore implications of this duel's opponent (both sub & dub versions). Plus some media recommendations and talk about how our tastes in characters have changed since our childhood YGO nostalgia.

SHOW NOTES:

- Our guest was @Krypkaktus!

- (because of recording difficulties, there's some minor echo-y sounds in this episode; sorry about that but I don't think it's too bad)

- Sadly, "Music to Duel By" is not available on Spotify

Our twitter is @battlecitybroad.

s1e08 "Everything's Relative"

Who could this mysterious child stealing people's star chips possibly be?? The Kaiba brothers return and we also brought back one of our past guests, Kry, to help us dissect the internal workings of KaibaCorp stock, critique Pegasus' snack choices, and chat a bit about other anime.

SHOW NOTES:

- Our guest was @krypkaktus!

- The other series we talked about Kaiba's VA starring in is Acca-13.

Our twitter is @battlecitybroad!

s1e07 "Attack from the Deep"

This week we DIVE on in to a very nonsensical duel against the top ocean duelist, Mako Tsunami. There's a lot of unpacking of when & why this season's inconsistent dueling rules do or don't work for us. Also we discover three equally acceptable backstories for one character, and play another round of our ship guessing game.

SHOW NOTES:

- Jonouchi does the "creepy chin face" in this episode

s1e06 "First Duel"

It's Joey's first tournament match, against Mai Valentine, which gives us the opportunity to discuss whether Joey knows any math, if women be sniffing, and even more Naruto references than we normally make (which is a lot). Also some Jojo's Bizarre Adventure thoughts and fun facts about Mai's voice actors.

s1e04 & 5 "Into the Hornet's Nest" / "Ultimate Great Moth"

It's bug time! The first duel of the tournament, Yugi vs Weevil Underwood, taught us plenty of new things about bizarre rules, how to duel with honor, and exactly what noise a moth makes.

No show notes! 🐛🐛

s1e03 "Journey to Duelist Kingdom"

This week we say hello to some new rival characters and GOODBYE TO EXODIA as Yugi &co make their journey to the Duelist Kingdom tournament. No one is surprised that this show is at its best when there is no actual dueling in the episode.

SHOW NOTES:

- As promised, you can find links to the uncut dub of the first few episodes here.

- The referenced panel of Yami being sad on the school roof

Our twitter is @battlecitybroad.

s2 e17-18 "Mime Control"

How is it possible to defeat a God Card with seemingly infinite power? Listen in as we discuss Yami's answer to that question, featuring unironically excellent card game moments, and (surprise surprise) Prideshipping being very real. Plus, some real-life updates, why Jenny is secretly under an Amish luck blessing, and another round of our ship guessing game.

s1e02 "The Gauntlet is Thrown"

Enter Maximilian Pegasus via VHS tape, to kick off the main plot of this season. We, along with our guest Lydia, are all very happy to see him! Also featuring lore clarifications, our favorite guessing game, and Jenny forgetting that heterosexuality exists

SHOW NOTES:

- Our guest was @cactusboyband!

- It was too hard to cut around it without missing some very funny conversation, so I'll warn you that though we usually try to stay relatively spoiler-free on this show, we talked about a few things that happen later in this season near the end of our episode. If you are a Yugioh newbie and wish to avoid being spoiled about Pegasus' backstory, skip the first "ship guess" (55:00-1:00:30 is the approximate timestamp)

- Here's a picture of the virtual dueling box from the manga.

Our twitter is @battlecitybroad.

S1e01 "Heart of the Cards"

Having finished the Toei anime, we start our journey to Duelist Kingdom! Today we're joined by special guest Lydia, who knows nothing about Yugioh, to give a fresh perspective on how well this pilot episode works as an introduction, despite the adaptation decision to skip 7 manga volumes (spoilers: not very well!). Along the way we manage to also discuss the X-Men, German philosophers, and why Grandpa should be the protagonist of the show.

SHOW NOTES:

- Our guest was @cactusboyband!

- You can watch the show in English on Yugioh.com or various streaming services, and in Japanese on Crunchyroll.

Our twitter is @battlecitybroad.

Season Zero Wrapup

We've made it to the end of the Toei anime season! In this retrospective episode we talk about our feelings on the season as a whole as well as giving some rankings of our favorite & least favorite episodes, games, and other moments. Plus one last round of voice actor fun facts, and we pull out our script doctor hats and discuss how we would fix this series to be better (you're welcome).

[Quick note: Audio quality is a little scratchy for Ellie during this episode due to a microphone mistake, you know how it is, will be fixed next time]

Yu-Gi-Oh (Movie 1999)

The anime may be done but before we can close the book on Toei's Yugioh we need to also watch this short movie with great animation. It's pretty hard to work this into any sort of canon timeline, but that won't stop us from trying! We also give our regular recommendations and discover a new favorite film reviewer.

No show notes! Next episode: A wrapup discussion of the whole Toei anime!

Our twitter is @battlecitybroad.