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Episode
GuideEpisode 152: My Freaky Valentine, Part 1 (Mai Fallen into Darkness)
Joey and Mai face each other within the Seal of Orichalcos. Mai asks Joey what he's waiting for, and he says he's waiting for her to come to her senses! Tristan can't believe it—how could Mai side with the enemy? Téa says it's all because of that Orichalcos thing. Yami adds that now one of them will lose their soul. Téa calls out to Mai that she can't do this. She's putting her own life in danger. Spirit Yugi tells Yami they've got to do something! But Yami says the Puzzle is powerless against the Seal.
Valon leans down from the balcony and tells the Pharaoh to quit mumbling to himself down there. Nothing can break the Seal of Orichalcos. Once it appears, it doesn't disappear until a soul's been captured. (Japanese Valon reminds Yami that he can't destroy the Seal of Oreikalkos with the power of a Millennium Item.) Rafael adds that as soon as Mai takes Joey's soul, he's taking the Pharaoh's. Mai tells Rafael to get back in his cage—once she's through with Wheeler, Yugi belongs to her.
Rafael tells Valon he never liked Mai. Any more lip from Mai and she's next. But Valon says to give her a break—she's still new at this. And besides, she's kind of cute when she gets mad. (Japanese Rafael tells Mai she's too willful. Did she forget Master Dartz's order? Valon tells Rafael it's all right, let Mai do it. Dartz won't care as long as they get their souls. Cut from the US version is this bit where Valon wonders what kind of duel Mai and Yugi would have, and suggests they just watch a while. They can always pick up after her if she loses.)
Mai asks Joey when he's going to make his move. Joey insists he's not going to duel against Mai, and she asks if he's afraid he's going to lose, like he did in Battle City. He says he's afraid he's going to win—if he does, she'll lose her soul!
Mai says she has no soul. (Japanese Mai says, so what?)
The Mai Joey knew is gone, she says. She traded in her soul for power. The old Mai was too lonely and pathetic. Now her weak side is gone for good. Joey says he liked the old Mai, and he's going to get her back. (Japanese Mai says duels are always serious. A duelist has to bet on his own future. This isn't some fun game. If he wants to run away, she's stupid to value him. Joey asks if there's nothing he can do but fight, and she asks him how many times she has to tell him.) He activates his Duel Disk. Téa calls out to him to be careful (Japanese Anzu tells him to stop), and the duel begins.
Joey draws and summons Alligator Sword in defense (1200 DEF), thinking he needs to figure out a strategy. Mai tells him it's a pretty lame move, and summons another Harpie Lady, which is also raised to 1800 attack points by the Seal of Orichalcos. Her Harpie Lady attacks and destroys Alligator Sword, then her second Harpie Lady attacks Joey directly, reducing his life points to 2200.
Tristan can't watch—not if Joey's going to lose the duel on purpose so he can save Mai! (Japanese Honda asks how can Jounouchi duel for their souls?) Spirit Yugi asks Yami if Joey would really throw the duel. If he does, he'll lose his own soul. Yami doesn't know. But this wouldn't be the first time Joey risked his life to save Mai. He remembers Joey standing in front of Mai to protect her from Ra's attack during her duel with Marik. Yugi had to jump in front of the attack to save them both. (Japanese Yugi asks why Mai would have this duel. Has she really become a friend to Doma? Yami doesn't know. They don't know what happened to her after Battle City. The flashback is different in the Japanese, showing Mai saying goodbye to Yugi on the pier after Battle City, telling him that next time they meet, she'll beat him, then driving away in her convertible.)
But this time, the force they're up against is too strong, Yugi says. They can't stop it. (Japanese Yami says that now she seriously wants to beat Jounouchi. Yugi says how can it be? He calls out to Jounouchi.) Yami tells Yugi not to give up yet. They may have something that's capable of defeating this evil power—the Eye of Timaeus. He's just not sure how to use it to save Joey. (Japanese Yami thinks that besides the enemy being Mai, the situations' bad for Jounouchi because the Seal of Oreikalkos gives her monsters an extra 500 attack points. Then he looks at the Eye of Timaeus card, wondering if he can use the power of this card.)
Rafael thinks if the Pharaoh thinks he can use his new dragon to get his friend out of this, he'd better think again.
Mai tells Joey she knew he'd be easy to beat, but she didn't think it would be this easy. She sets a card face down.
Duke, with Rex and Weevil, have reached the remains of the burned-out gas station. Duke says this doesn't look good. Then he notices a Duel Monsters card lying amidst the wreckage. (The card has been added to the US version.)
Yugi! he exclaims, and jams on the accelerator. (Japanese Otogi doesn't say anything.) Weevil wants to know what's going on, but Duke just says he has a hunch, and tells Weevil and Rex to hold on. The car speeds down the road.
Meanwhile, aboard the Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet, Mokuba tells Kaiba that he's trying to contact Pegasus, but there's no signal from Industrial Illusions at all. (Cut from the US version is this shot of Mokuba's laptop keyboard, which says:
"Forbidden
You don't have permission to access / on this server.Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an Error Document to handle the request.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apache/1.3.27 Server at www.Industrial.Illusion.com Port 80")
Kaiba says he had a feeling that would happen. Whoever Alister's working for has already gotten his hands on Pegasus, and they'll be expecting Kaiba next. Mokuba asks if that means they're flying right into a trap, and Kaiba says that's what he wants them to think. (Japanese Kaiba says he's not afraid of danger.) But, he says, holding up the Fang of Critius card, he's always one step ahead. He remembers playing the card in his duel against Alister. (The end of the flashback has been changed in the US version to show the Doom Virus Dragon attacking. In the Japanese, it shows Kaiba fusing Timaeus with his Crush card to form the Death Virus Dragon.) This dragon seems to be just as powerful as the Egyptian God cards. But why has he never even heard of it before? Kaiba Corp's database contains every card ever made—except this one. (Japanese Kaiba wonders how he could know the effect of this unknown card. He doesn't believe in the supernatural, but the power of this card is very real. He tells Mokuba they have to hurry.)
Mai says her Harpies are waiting, and tells Joey to go. He doesn't know what to do—if he wins, he'll lose Mai forever. But if he lets her win, he'll lose himself. (Japanese Mai doesn't speak. Jounouchi wonders what has happened to Mai. This Mai isn't traveling the road to becoming a True Duelist with them. There must be a reason.) Valon laughs from the balcony, and Joey fumes. He can't believe Mai chose those clowns over him and the others. Whatever those guys did, he's going to undo it. (Japanese Jounouchi thinks Valon and the others must have lied to her. It's impossible that she would join them. How can he get her back?)
Joey draws Scapegoat, then summons Rocket Warrior in defense (1300 DEF). He sets a card face down and ends his turn. Valon calls out to Mai that it looks like her boyfriend's afraid to attack her. It's time to finish him off. Mai tells him not to be a backseat duelist. She turns back to Joey and tells him it's time to win. Joey says he'll find a way to save them both.
Mai draws, then attacks Rocket Warrior with one of the Harpie Ladies. Then she attacks Joey's life points directly with the other Harpie Lady. Joey activates his face-down card, Scapegoat, to protect his life points. But Mai activates her own trap card, Nightmare Tri-Mirror, which transforms the reflection of all of Joey's monsters into more Harpie Ladies for her. Since Joey has four Scapegoats, she gets four more Harpies. Tristan protests that Mai can't have six monsters in play, but Yami reminds him that the Seal of Orichalcos allows her to have up to ten monsters.
The Harpie Lady's attack destroys one of the four Scapegoats. Mai sets a card face down and ends her turn. (Japanese Mai explains that the copied Harpie Ladies can't attack in the turn they're summoned.) Tristan says there's nothing Joey can do—Mai backed him into a corner and now he's stuck there. (Japanese Honda wonders what Jounouchi can do.) Spirit Yugi says Tristan has a point. If Joey doesn't do something soon, Mai will win the duel. Yami agrees. As long as the Seal of Orichalcos is on the field, Mai has the advantage. (Japanese Yugi says they've never seen Nightmare Tri-Mirror before. Yami thinks it's a special card that can only be used inside the Seal of Oreikalkos.)
Joey draws and summons Panther Warrior in attack mode (2000 ATK). Then he sacrifices one of his Scapegoats so Panther Warrior can attack one of the Harpie Ladies. Mai activates her face-down magic card, Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation. Her Harpies join forces to repel Joey's attack. Tristan says Mai didn't have that card back in Battle City, and Yami agrees that Mai has a stronger deck than the last time they saw her.
Joey says he doesn't know what kind of spell those guys put on her, but she has to wake up, or they'll both be in trouble. She says there's no spell. No one's controlling her—she was sick of her life, so she chose to change it.
The gang wouldn't understand, she says. They've never been an outsider like her, all alone. (Japanese Mai says all they know is going forward.) Duel Monsters is all she had, and after Battle City, she set out to be the best. She dueled against chump after chump to improve her dueling skills, needing to make a name for herself. Flashbacks show her winning a duel against one of these opponents. But even though she won match after match, she didn't feel any stronger as a duelist. She felt worse, and she wasn't making a name for herself. (Japanese Mai says she tried to chase after them after Battle City, so she kept entering tournament after tournament, and she won all the time. But even though she won, she felt no relief.)
Back in the flashback, Mai walks down the hallway with her trophy, and overhears the man she just beat being congratulated by his friends on a good duel. Who did he play again? Someone... Valentine? Her opponent says she came in something like eighth place at Duelist Kingdom—he almost beat her, too. But his friend says she's not one of the famous ones, like Kaiba or that Yugi kid. The woman says Joey Wheeler's always been her favorite—he's so cute! Those duelists could duel circles around him, but this Valentine girl's not in their league. Mai's opponent says they're right—now he feels kind of lame for losing to her. (The Japanese opponent says she was in the top eight in Battle City. His friend says she's that strong! Then how strong is the champion, Mutou Yugi? The woman adds that Jounouchi got into the top four without any God cards—he's great, too. The opponent says he'd like to duel them, but he couldn't beat them.)
Angrily, Mai throws her trophy to the ground, shattering it. Her opponent and his friends look down the hallway, startled. Oops!
Mai says that not long after that, the nightmares started. She dreams of Marik banishing her into the Shadow Realm, trapping her in the hourglass that fills with sand, suffocating her, as she calls for help from her friends that never comes. Every night it was the same dream. She was weak, and no one was there to help her. She was at the end of her rope. (Japanese Mai says that fear of failure dominates her heart, and desire for victory. Cut from the US version is this scene of Mai dueling a guy who looks like a Mexican wrestler inside an electrified cage. She beats him, too, but thinks, "No...")
In flashback, Mai walks down an alley in the rain. (Mai's low-cut top is changed in the US version to cover more skin.)
She was scared and lonely, she says, and her so-called friends were nowhere to be found. Flashback Mai says she quits. She's never going to get what she deserves anyway. (There's no voice-over in the Japanese. Flashback Mai says, no, the duel she wants is more....)
A motorcycle drives up and stops by her. Valon says he knows her—she's Mai Valentine. (Japanese Valon says she won the duel—how can she look so unhappy?) He challenges her to a duel, and beats her. Then he walks over to her, as she kneels in the rain, telling her that she feels weak and thinks she doesn't belong. (Japanese Valon tells her she's afraid of failure. She tells him to shut up, then asks for help. Cut from the US version is another flashback of Malik trapping her in the hourglass. But it's the same flashback as before, so I'm not going to cap it.)
She weeps, saying she just wants to be the best. What she wants, he tells her, is true power. And he knows how she can get it. But the first thing she has to do is stop expecting her friends to rescue her. All they do is disappoint her, but he has the answer to all her problems. All she has to do is take his hand, and she'll be the most powerful duelist on earth.... (Japanese Mai says she doesn't want to lose, and says, "Help me, Jounouchi." Valon tells her Jounouchi can't help her. As long as she's weak, waiting for someone to rescue her, she can't win. But he knows she's really a strong woman. She says she doesn't want to lose any more, and he holds out his hand to her, saying then she should come with him. He'll give her what she really wants.)
Present-day Mai says that was the smartest decision of her life. Now nothing can stop her. Joey asks why she never told them she was so unhappy. They could have helped her! She tells him to save it—she doesn't need his help. All she needs now is power.(Japanese Mai says she wants what they got in Battle City—the power to never lose a duel. Jounouchi says he didn't know she was in so much pain. She says tried to catch up with them. She wants to beat him any way she has to, and this is the only way.)
Mai plays Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation. Since she has six Harpie Ladies on the field, she can destroy up to six of Joey's monsters. But he has only three monsters on the field—Mai can destroy them all. That's not all, Yami adds. The sum of the destroyed monsters' attack points will be subtracted from Joey's life points. Joey's Panther Warrior and two Scapegoats are destroyed, and Joey's down to 200 life points.
Joey's one attack away from losing his life points, and his soul. Mai asks him if he has any last requests. Tristan says Mai's still got 4000 life points! She hasn't lost even one, and Joey's down to 200. Not to mention that he hasn't got any monsters. If he doesn't think of something right now, Téa says, he'll lose the duel. She asks Yami if there's anything Joey can do, and Yami says he must find a way to break the Seal of Orichalcos. Unless Joey stops it, the Seal will consume him. Téa says, but then Mai will lose her soul! Yami thinks there must be a way for Joey to win the duel, and save Mai. (Japanese Yami says that Mai has bet everything she has on this duel. Her determination has already surpassed Jounouchi's. Anzu says how can that be! It's wrong, because they're friends. Yami thinks Jounouchi must hang on.)
Rafael says that kid stinks. Valon agrees—he didn't even put up a fight. Rafael says it's a waste. Master Dartz wants the souls of strong duelists.
Joey's officially out of ideas. Mai's his friend, and he's not going to risk losing her again. With only 200 life points, there's no way he can win. Maybe if he gives up his soul to save her, she'll see the light. He announces that he quits, and starts to lay his hand over his deck. Yami tells him no—forfeiting is not the answer. If he gives up on the duel, he gives up on himself, and his friends. If he wants to save Mai, he must keep fighting. Right now, Mai is driven by anger, jealousy, and hatred. Joey must remind her what dueling is truly about—trust, conviction, and heart.
Joey realizes that Yami's right. He forgot about the Heart of the Cards. He tells Mai the duel's still on, and from now on, he's giving it everything he's got.
Joey draws, telling Mai it's time to show her what true dueling is all about.
To Be Continued
