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Episode
GuideEpisode 3: Journey to the Duelist Kingdom (The Lost Exodia)
Yugi stands on the roof of Domino High, looking out over the city in the late afternoon sun, wondering how he got into this mess. He can't believe that Grandpa is really gone. (In the US version, we see Grandpa's face superimposed on the sky as Yugi's contemplating the situation. In the Japanese version, it's Pegasus floating in the sky.)
Why did Pegasus steal his Grandpa's soul away? What does Pegasus want with Yugi? Could it have something to do with his Millennium Puzzle? He vows to get his Grandpa back. (Japanese Yugi thinks, Pegasus has the power to see into others' hearts. How can he beat this guy? But he has to do it. Pegasus has taken his Grandpa, and he must get back what is important.)
Joey's at home, about to play a videotape he received in the mail. It's from his little sister, Serenity (Shizuka, which means "calm, peaceful" in Japanese). (Okay, here is my biggest beef with FUNimation's subtitles of the Japanese episodes. The subtitle, as Shizuka greets her brother, reads: "Hey, big brother Jonouchi." What she actually says is, "Katsuya-Onii-chan," which means, "Katsuya Big Brother." Jounouchi's given name is Katsuya, not Jounouchi. Jounouchi is their family name.) She tells him she misses him, and can't believe it's been six years since they've seen each other, when their mother took Serenity to live with her. A brief flashback to six years ago shows them being separated, little Joey running after the car, calling his sister's name, while she sits in the car with her face pressed against the window, crying. She's running out of time, she says, and was hoping to see him one more time, "before... you know." Joey's very upset.
Meanwhile, Yugi finds an envelope tucked into the door of the game shop when he goes home. It's from Pegasus, and it contains five special Duel Monsters cards. The next day at school, Yugi shows the cards to his friends and explains that it's an invitation to a special tournament at Pegasus' island, Duelist Kingdom. Joey wonders if that's where Pegasus is keeping Yugi's Grandpa. Yugi doesn't know, but the only way to know for sure is to become a contestant. The boat will be leaving in two days. Téa warns him that it could be dangerous, but Yugi says he has to go. It's the only clue he has for rescuing his Grandpa. Tristan still can't believe Pegasus used some weird magic to steal Yugi's Grandpa's soul, and Joey is upset that he and the others can't go with Yugi. He wishes they could help.
Tristan notices that one of the cards states that there's a prize of three million dollars for the tournament winner. (The Japanese card doesn't specify an amount. It reads, "Bakudai naru shoukin," which means, "Vast prize." The scene is cut slightly in the US version, showing only the picture on the card.)
Yugi's not interested in the money, but Joey sure is!
Later, Yugi finds Joey sitting on the roof, watching the sunset, and asks him what's with him. Joey insists that one way or another, he'll help Yugi beat Pegasus and rescue his Grandpa. (Japanese Jounouchi says he's grateful to Yugi's Grandpa for teaching him the heart of the cards, and tells Yugi to go and get his Grandpa back.) Yugi says he's glad they're friends, and Joey asks if he remembers when they met. (Japanese Jounouchi asks Yugi what's gotten into him.) Yugi says he'll never forget it—it was all because of the Millennium Puzzle. While flashbacks show him working on putting the Puzzle together, Yugi says that Grandpa told him that the Puzzle was found in some Egyptian ruins. Grandpa gave it to him and dared him to solve it. As soon as he touched it, he knew it was special. (In the Japanese flashback, Yugi tells Anzu that the Puzzle is his treasure. He doesn't know what it looks like, because he hasn't put it together yet. It's something that's seen, but not seen. The "something you can see, but you can't see" riddle pops up repeatedly in the Japanese version of the show.) Yugi made a wish on the Puzzle—he asked it to give him a real friend. And he thinks the Puzzle came through for him—that's when he met up with Joey and Tristan, although they didn't act like his friends at first.
Joey asks if Yugi means when he and Tristan were playing keep-away with the Millennium Puzzle, and says they were just trying to toughen Yugi up so he could stand up to the real bullies. But Yugi reminds Joey that he took a piece of the Millennium Puzzle and threw it out the window. (Japanese Jounouchi laughs and says it must have been the worst encounter! He was irritated by seeing Yugi being so introverted.) But then Yugi found Joey and Tristan getting beat up by a huge bully, and jumped in to try to defend them, telling the bully that these guys were his friends. (The Japanese bully, Ushio, was trying to get money from Yugi, claiming that he was protecting Yugi by beating up Jounouchi and Honda, the boys who'd picked on him. Ushio tells Yugi that his bodyguard fee is 200,000 yen. The writing on Ushio's armband has been removed in the US version.)
Joey remembers that Yugi stood up for him against the bully, and says he'll never forget that. He and Tristan learned what it was like to have a true friend. Then he retrieved the puzzle piece for Yugi and apologized to him, saying that he underestimated Yugi, and maybe they should hang out more often. (In the Japanese version, Yugi says that at that time, he really wanted a real best friend, not just wishing to the Puzzle. That was when Jounouchi went to find the Puzzle piece he'd thrown away. In the flashback, Jounouchi tells Yugi that he's decided he should have a treasure, too. Yugi asks to see it, but Jounouchi says he can't. His treasure is also something that can be seen, yet not seen. It's their friendship. They can see each other, but they can't see their friendship.)
Present-day Joey tells Yugi he's the best friend he ever had (Japanese Jounouchi asks if he really said something as corny as that), and Yugi wishes Joey could come with him to Duelist Kingdom. Joey repeats his promise that somehow they'll do it together. But how will Joey get to the tournament without an invitation? (Japanese Jounouchi tells Yugi not to worry, their hearts will always be with Yugi, and Yugi agrees that he'll do his best.)
At Domino Pier, the duelists have gathered to board the ship for Duelist Kingdom. Kemo (Saruwatari), he of the Pointy Hair (even pointier than Tristan's!) welcomes them, and tells them their Star Chips will grant them entry to the tournament. They're all elite duelists, who've been invited because of their performance in past Duel Monsters contests. They all have a fair and equal chance to win. So board the ship and proceed to Duelist Kingdom!
The duelists are told to present their Star Chips as they board the vessel.
But there's a commotion—Joey's been caught trying to sneak aboard.
Yugi runs to ask him what he's doing, and Joey says there's no way he'd
let Yugi do this on his own. (Japanese Jounouchi says he was worried about
Yugi going alone.)
Meanwhile, Tristan and Téa are waiting for a chance to sneak past the cargo handlers.
Yugi tells the men holding Joey that Joey's with him, but they say only people with a Star Chip are allowed on board. Yugi says Joey has a Star Chip, and gives him one of his. One of the men warns Yugi that he'll be at a disadvantage if he gives up one of his Star Chips, but Yugi says he'd rather take that risk than be without his friend. The man calls Pegasus on his cell phone to ask what to do.
Tristan and Téa have stow away in the cargo hold.
Yugi and Joey stand at the railing on the outer deck of the ship as it disembarks. Yugi says he's glad they let Joey on board, and Joey says it's only because Yugi sacrificed one of his Star Chips for him. If any of the other players find out they only have one Star Chip each, he says, they could try to take advantage of them. So Yugi tells Joey to be quiet about it. (Japanese Jounouchi says it seems that Pegasus can do a nice thing every once in a while. Then he tells Yugi that he'll owe him for the rest of his life for this. Yugi says it's okay.)
They're joined by a blonde in a miniskirt, who's curious to meet the little squirt that beat Kaiba. (Japanese Mai calls Yugi "O-chibi-chan," which is an overly familiar and rude way of calling him a little guy.) Yugi and Joey both go all goggle-eyed over the glamorous Mai, and Joey tries to attract her interest by telling her he's a good friend of the Master Duelist, Yugi, but she says you're either a champ or a chump, and tells Yugi to cut this guy loose—he deserves to be crushed. As she saunters away, Joey asks her to please crush him! She says she'll crush them both, and tells them her name is Mai Valentine (Kujaku Mai; kujaku means "peahen"). Téa overhears and is quite indignant over Mai's arrogance, saying nobody's better at Duel Monsters than Yugi, but Tristan's just as doofy over Mai as the other boys, and warns her to be quiet or they'll hear her. (Japanese Anzu's more indignant over Yugi and Joey's drooling, saying she snuck on to help Yugi, and he gets all flustered by that....)
Meanwhile, Joey's complaining about the dorm room accommodations being provided for the unranked duelists. Surely a luxury cruiser has better rooms somewhere! Pegasus' suits are threatening to throw Joey out, when Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood show up, saying that the private rooms are reserved for finalists in previous championships, like them. Yugi congratulates Weevil for winning the Regionals, while Joey brags that he and Yugi will win this tournament. Weevil says he won't really consider himself a champion until he defeats the duelist who beat Kaiba, but he's sure he'll end up dueling Yugi in this tournament. Yugi cheerfully says he's looking forward to it. Weevil tells Yugi he'll let him in on a little secret—there are new rules on the island that will require more strategy. But Rex says rules are for wimps—in dueling, you either smash your opponent or get smashed. Joey offers his recently-learned wisdom that strength is good, but you also need to combine it with other types of cards. Rex tells him to stay out of it, and walks away, saying he'll stomp Joey like everybody else. (Japanese Jounouchi says Rex seems like a tough guy, and he likes him. Rex says he's going back to his private room to relax, and jealous Jounouchi decides he doesn't like him after all.)
After Rex leaves, Weevil points out the advantage to rooming with everyone else—the opportunity to get to know their opponents, who are making last-minute trades to improve their decks. Yugi thinks Weevi's pretty smart, and Joey immediately runs off to trade cards. But Weevil says if you've come all this way and are still trying to improve your deck, you've got to be pretty desperate. Then he leaves, too.
Mai, who's furious about the communal living arrangements, is demanding one of the suits get his superiors on the phone, when Rex shows up, telling her he's a champion with a luxury room. Mai goes all coy and wangles an invitation to visit his room. (Japanese Rex invites Mai to his room without any encouragement.)
Meanwhile, Téa's looking very uncomfortable. She says she's freezing and can't sit still. Tristan tells her the sun will come up in a few hours, and she's not amused. (Japanese Anzu has to go to the bathroom, so Honda tells her to pee over the side. She huffily says she can't do that, she's not a boy! American cartoon kids apparently never have to pee. However, Japanese kids continue to have normal bodily functions.) Then she spots their classmate, Bakura, by the railing. But what's he doing here? Tristan thinks she's seeing things. (Cut from the US version are a few more shots of Anzu suffering.)
Back in Rex Raptor's room, Mai flatters Rex for a bit, then challenges him to a duel, with a kiss for the prize if he wins. (Japanese Mai says she'll do anything he wants if he wins.)
Joey shows Yugi the cards he traded for: Salamandra, Kunai with Chain (Boomerang with Chain), Baby Dragon, Shield and Sword (Shield in the Right Hand, Sword in the Left Hand). Yugi says that with these new magic cards, Joey will have a real strong deck. Joey thinks he's ready to win every duel he plays, but Yugi says it might be a bit harder than that. He gives Joey his Time Wizard card to add to his deck, saying it can be helpful in a tight spot. Joey can't believe how Yugi's always helping him out. Just then, Weevil shows up, smiling slyly.
Mai puts her deck on the table and tells Rex to cut the cards. If she wins, she says, he'll agree to clear out of the room for the rest of the trip. Mai says that the first card in her deck is Shadow of Eyes, and Rex turns it up, astonished to see that she's right. (Randomly, Shadow of Eyes gets a facelift for the US. The real card is somewhere between these two, and it's a Trap Card rather than a Magic Card.)
The second card is Harpie Lady, then Elegant Egotist and Cyber Shield (Cyber Bondage). (This shot of Mai sitting behind the table is cut from the Japanese version, and replaced with another close-up of Mai's cards.)
She always knows the cards in her deck, she says, and can pick what she wants at any time. Rex begins to get a clue that dueling Mai might not be as easy as he thought.
Out on the deck, Weevil asks Yugi if he traded for any good cards, but Yugi says he's going to stick with the cards he brought. Weevil says he figured as much, and asks Yugi about his Exodia cards, asking if he could possibly see them? Yugi hands Weevil the cards, telling him to be careful with them. (Japanese Yugi says he might as well show Haga the cards, since he already knows about them.) Weevil says that for a long time, he's been trying to think of a strategy to defeat Exodia, but he couldn't come up with anything—until now. He throws the cards overboard, and walks away laughing, saying that now there's no one who can challenge him.
Yugi is distraught, exlaiming that those were the Exodia cards his Grandpa gave him! Joey jumps into the ocean to try to retrieve them. Yugi shouts at Joey that the cards aren't worth drowning over, but Joey tells him not to worry. He finds one of the cards, but Yugi calls out to him to swim back to the ship. Joey refuses, saying that this time, there's something he can do to help someone he cares about. If he punks out now, who's going to help his sister, Serenity? (Japanese Jounouchi says there are some things that must be protected at any cost.) Joey finds one more of the cards before the current overcomes him. Then Yugi jumps in after him. Joey begins to sink into the sea, and Yugi swims down and pulls him back to the surface.
Téa and Tristan throw a rope ladder down to them, and they're saved.
Mai tosses a humiliated Rex Raptor out of his room. No more Ms Nice Guy!
Back aboard the ship, Yugi thanks Téa and Tristan for their help. They say they're a team, and they all stick together. Joey apologizes for not being able to find all the cards. Yugi tells him it's okay, but Joey's upset that he couldn't help. He can't help anybody, he says, and tells them about his sister, Serenity—she's losing her eyesight, and without an expensive operation, she'll soon go permanently blind. He's hoping to win the prize money to pay for her eye operation.
The four friends stand in the bow of the ship together, as it approaches Duelist Kingdom. They'll both do their best, Yugi says. Joey for his sister, and Yugi for his Grandpa.
(Cut from the US version is a bit at the end where Yami appears in the sky, telling Insector Haga that he's going down first!)
