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Episode
GuideEpisode 80: Lights, Camera, Duel (Meet Ninja Master Magnum)
The gang pull up in Mai's car and park a few blocks from Kaiba Corp Stadium. Joey wants to know why they're parking so far away, and she says it's so they won't get stuck in traffic after the tournament. Heh. (In the Japanese, they can't drive any further.)
Joey says it looks like Mai's got another crack at a championship, and she agrees that she's going to crush him and Yugi this time. (In the Japanese, they talk about the stadium being at the center of an entertainment city Kaiba Corp is building here. Kaiba always does things in a big way, Honda says. A shot of the gang walking down the street is cut from the US version.
(But Jounouchi notices that none of the buildings are finished. He says it's like walking in a ghost town, and it makes him uneasy. Mai says that's a cowardly thing to say, and she can't believe he got in to the finals. He says he's sorry.)
Joey remembers Mai saving his butt at Duelist Kingdom by giving him her entry card, and asks why she did it. She says it was because he looked totally pathetic. Then she pauses, and, finally being serious, starts to explain that she was touched by his story and wanted to help (in the Japanese, she says it's because they're friends)—but he's distracted by a huge movie poster on the side of a building and hasn't heard a word she's said.
She yells at Joey to pay attention, but he's engrossed in the poster advertising Jean-Claude Magnum's latest ninja movie. He thinks Magnum totally rocks, and has to see this new movie. (The subtitles call him Jean-Claude McCloud, but it's actually Magnum in the Japanese as well.)
Suddenly, a stretch limo crashes through the poster and stops in the street. Joey, angry at nearly being run over, starts to yell at the guys in the limo, when out steps Jean-Claude Magnum himself, dressed in a shiny white tux and dark glasses. Joey is completely starstruck, and offers his hand to shake—after wiping it on his jeans—telling Magnum that he's a bit of a celebrity himself—second place at Duelist Kingdom! (Japanese Jounouchi babbles like an idiot, trying to talk to Magnum in English, saying "Hello... How do you do" and telling him he's his "very very fan.")
But Magnum walks right past Joey to greet Mai, presenting him her with a bouquet of roses, telling her that he's come back for her, just like she told him to.
Joey runs over to Mai, excited that she knows the famous Jean-Claude Magnum. She says she doesn't know him, but Magnum reminds her of the offer of love she made him one year ago....
They met playing Duel Monsters on a cruise ship. Mai won their duel, to Magnum's shock—he never lost a duel! "You've got spunk," he told her, and asked her to marry him on the spot. She walked away in disgust, telling him to ask her again when he could beat her in Duel Monsters.
Presenting her with a huge diamond, he says he's come back to make good on his promise. She says she's not interested, to Joey's dismay. He urges her to marry Magnum, saying that he's a movie star, and she's always craving attention. Besides, if she marries Magnum, Joey will be able to visit her Beverly Hills mansion! (Japanese Jounouchi says it would be great if his friend is married to a Hollywood star.)
Magnum reminds her that she said she'd marry him if he could beat her at Duel Monsters, so they decide to settle it with a duel. If he wins, she'll go back to Hollywood with him and marry him.
Yugi and Tristan both urge her not to do it—she's already in the finals. Why should she duel this guy? Duke quietly reminds them that Magnum is a kung fu expert—it wouldn't do to make him mad. But Téa thinks Mai can beat Magnum and still get to the finals in plenty of time, and even Joey thinks she should duel him—but not to win. Fine, says Mai, and asks Joey to lend Magnum his Duel Disk. Joey's horrified, but Magnum says it's not necessary—he has his own Duel Disk. And he has five locator cards. If he wins, he'll go to the finals instead of Mai.
Yugi and Joey now urge Mai not to risk her place in the finals by dueling this guy, but she's determined. Suddenly, the street is lit up by klieg lights, and with a flourish, Magnum tells Mai to prepare to lose the duel and gain a husband!
Magnum draws first, and summons Ninja Commander Ikusa, with an attack of 700 points. Ninja Commander Ikusa's special ability allows him to also summon Ninja Soldier Katana to the field.
But Mai says Magnum's monsters are like his movies—second-rate and not around for very long. She summons Amazon Swordswoman (Japanese name Amazoness Swordswoman, which is also the name of the English card), whose attack is 1500, and destroys the Ninja Soldier for a whopping hit of 1100 life points. Disappointed Joey says that Jean-Claude duels like an amateur, and not only that, he's much shorter than he looks on screen!
Magnum summons another Ninja Commander, and uses its special ability to summon another Ninja Soldier. Mai says his dueling is just one bad sequel after another. Serenity tells Joey she thinks Mai's really cool, and she'd like to be like her. Joey agrees that Mai's cool—if you think it's cool to have a loud mouth (look who's talking), a mean disposition, and to walk around like you're the greatest thing since cheese fries! (Japanese Shizuka says that Mai's beautiful, and Jounouchi says hm, he hadn't noticed before. Shizuka asks if Mai has a boyfriend, and Jounouchi says, no way! She's only interested in dueling. Besides, it wouldn't be easy to be her boyfriend!) Mai's pretty burned, but gets back to the duel, and attacks Ninja Commander Ikusa with her Amazon Swordswoman, reducing Magnum's life points to 2100.
He tells her she's walked right into his trap! With Ninja Commander and Ninja Soldier both in the graveyard, he only has to sacrifice one more Ninja and she'll be in real trouble! He sacrifices his other Ninja Soldier to summon Ninja Master Shogun, whose attack is 1600. With Ninja Master Shogun on the field in attack mode, he can summon two more Ninjas, so he summons Ninja Commando Kabuki (700 ATK) and another Ninja Soldier (400 ATK). Ninja Commando Kabuki allows him to summon yet another monster, Kunoichi Ayame the Ninja Girl (300 ATK). Serenity wonders if Mai's in trouble, but Joey tells her not to worry—he knows first-hand how good a duelest Mai is. This pleases Mai a little more than Joey's last crack.
Magnum attacks and destroys Mai's Amazon Swordswoman with Ninja Master Shogun. Now Mai's wide open for direct attack from all the other Ninjas, and they take Mai down to 1800 life points. Magnum tells her not to worry—at least she'll have a husband who's a Battle City finalist! (Japanese Magnum says he doesn't want to hurt her, but love is a battle.) Téa says if this keeps up, Mai will have to marry this guy, and lose her place in the Battle City finals! Magnum plays a card face-down, saying that sometimes you have to destroy the ones you love.
It's Mai's turn, and she plays Cyber Harpie (1800 ATK) and attacks Ninja Master Shogun. (Cyber Harpie's spikes are removed from the US version.)
But Magnum activates his trap card, Ninja Smoke Ball, which blocks Cyber Harpie's attack. Mai plays a card face down and ends her turn.
Magnum plays a magic card, Great Kite of NInja, which allows his Ninja Master Shogun to hover over the playing field, out of reach of any of Mai's monsters or magic cards. In addition, he can sacrifice one of his monsters to allow the Ninja Master to attack Mai's life points directly. He thinks he's got this duel in the bag. He sacrifices Ninja Soldier and direct attacks with Ninja Master, reducing Mai to 200 life points.
Joey asks Yugi if Mai can turn the duel around, and Yugi says that if she plays Harpie's Feather Duster, she can destroy Magnum's magic card. Joey calls out to Mai, asking her if she's got a Harpie's Feather Duster in her hand. If she did, she says, she'd have used it! So Joey asks her what he should wear to her Hollywood wedding.
But Mai's not ready to give up yet. She draws Elegant Egotist, thinking that this could be handy. Yugi tells Joey that Mai should concentrate on wiping out the Ninjas on the ground, since Magnum needs them to sacrifice in order to attack with the Ninja Master. Joey starts to relay this advice to Mai, but she tells him to can it, saying she can win this duel on her own. (Japanese Mai reminds him that this is an official duel, and it's against the rules to give her advice.) So Joey settles for cheering her on, telling her to duel like the Mai he knows. (There's another little bit cut from the US version here, where Jounouchi tells Mai to stop wasting time, and to think about the final. She says she knows! Then he tells her to keep fighting with their support.)
She resolves to do just that, and plays Elegant Egotist, multiplying her Cyber Harpie by three, and attacking Magnum's three NInjas. She gives Joey a thumbs up, to his surprise.
Magnum says Joey's starting to bug him, and tells him to leave the duel to the grownups. Joey says he'll show Magnum a few ninja moves of his own! (Japanese Magnum calls Jounouchi a "goddamn boy" in English and tells him he doesn't deserve a mature woman like Mai. Jounouchi insists that he deserves Mai, too! When everyone stares at him, he laughs that it's just hypothetical. Magnum says he's a big Hollywood star, while Jounouchi's just a high school student—it's easy to see who's qualified. Jounouchi says, "Hollywood this, Hollywood that"—Magnum's just a B-movie actor. There's a bit cut from the US version where Shizuka reminds her brother that he just said he was a big fan of Magnum's, and he says that was five minutes ago.)
Mai plays a card face down and ends her turn.
Magnum plays another Ninja Girl, planning to sacrifice her to activate his Ninja Master's attack. But Mai counters with her Grave Arm magic card, destroying the Ninja Girl, so he can't attack. Now it's Mai's turn, and she reminds Magnum that with his Ninja Master Shogun up in the sky, it can't protect him from direct attack, and attacks him with all three Cyber Harpies, wiping out his life points.
Magnum falls to his knees in disappointment, but then he stands up, laughing. The gang notices that the Ninja Master is still floating in the air on his kite—it's not a hologram, but a real ninja! The Ninja Master throws a net over Mai and scoops her up, while Magnum starts to make his getaway. Joey runs after them. In the next street over, Magnum parks his limo and waits for the Ninja Master to deliver Mai, who's struggling in Ninja Master's grasp. Joey comes running to the rescue, just as Mai breaks free and falls, catching herself on a pole extending from the side of a building.
Magnum stands with his hands on his head, wondering what to do! (Japanese Magnum calls for his stand-in!) Joey runs to stand below Mai and tells her to let go, promising to catch her. So she falls on top of him, smashing him flat on his back and making his eyes into little whirly circles. Magnum comes to offer her a hand up, but she slaps his hand away, calling him a cheap Hollywood phony. Joey is the real action hero!
As the gang runs up, Mai helps Joey to his feet. He protests that she could have married a movie star, and she says if she did that, she wouldn't be able to kick his butt in the Battle City finals. He says if she did get married, she'd drive her husband crazy, and she drops him back to the ground.
They all head off for the finals.
