Episode 196: Sinister Secrets, Part 1 (Duel King Final: Yugi vs Leon)
Kaiba has won his duel with Zigfried. (This shot of Leon looking sadly at the duel is cut from the very beginning of the US version.)
Rebecca, sitting on the sidelines with Leon, asks, can he believe that guy? He entered the tournament just to publicly humiliate Kaiba! Leon says he did have his reasons. But Tristan says that when Zigfried started endangering people's lives, he stepped over the line. (In the Japanese, Rebecca and Leon don't have any dialog here. Jounouchi says that he's not thrilled with Kaiba's victory, but Kaiba couldn't let Siegfried do whatever he liked. Honda says that Siegfried still seems to hate everyone. What a troublesome guy!) Yugi wonders if all that stuff Zigfried said about Kaiba stealing Zigfried's invention was true. He seemed pretty bitter. Yami says that Kaiba may be competitive, but he's not a thief. His accomplishments are a result of his drive and determination. (Japanese Yugi says that Siegfried truly is a good duelist. It's too bad he uses his skills this way. Yami thinks that in this combat, Kaiba has shown the spirit of a duelist.)
The dueling stations descend to the arena floor, and Kaiba jumps out. Yami thinks that Zigfried was blinded by jealousy. He spent his entire life trying to outdo Kaiba, but he was always one step behind. (In the Japanese, Yami doesn't say anything further. Kaiba thinks that now that the troublemakers have been taken care of, this can be a suitable duel for the title of Duel King. The shot of Kaiba looking at Yugi sitting on the sidelines is replaced in the US version by flashbacks of Zigfried arriving too late as Kaiba and Pegasus make their deal.)
Kaiba turns to walk away, and Mokuba jumps up to run after him, calling out to him to wait. Joining his brother, Mokuba tells him, awesome dueling! Kaiba says he hopes that defeating that wannabe sent a message to the rest of their competitors that Kaiba Corp is not a company to be messed with. Next time, he won't be so friendly.
Kaiba stops to tell Roland to announce the start of the championship matchup. Roland asks if he should have security remove Zigfried from the park, but Kaiba says it won't be necessary. He wants Zigfried to see what he missed out on, so he tells Roland to give him a good seat for the next duel. (Japanese Isono asks what he should do about Siegfried. Kaiba says he doesn't care, Siegfried can't do anything.) Zigfried seethes as Kaiba laughs. Then Kaiba heads off, Mokuba running after. (Cut from the US version are these still shots of Kaiba walking away, overlaid with Kaiba smiling as he says, let's show him how successful Kaiba Corporation is.)
The crowd cheers as Roland announces the final match of the Grand Championship, featuring the boy wonder, Leaping Leon Wilson! Leon looks a bit unsure, as the spectators around him cheer for him. Roland says, Leon will be facing off against the reigning international Duel Monsters champion, the King of Games, Yugi Mutou. This will be a duel to remember! (This additional long shot of the stadium is cut from the US version.)
Meanwhile, Zigfried, still in his dueling station, laughs to himself, as he holds up the card he had in his hand at the end of the duel. Roland announces that the championship bout is about to begin in Kaiba Land's Blue-Eyes Fortress, a castle near the Kaiba Dome.
Atop a high balcony overlooking the dueling stage, the gang is gathered. Téa tells Mokuba he hooked them up with the best seats in the house. Mokuba says, it was nothing. Let's just say he knows some people who know some people. Later, maybe, he'll take them backstage to meet the stars. Téa says he really is a big shot.
Rebecca says the duel is starting. She's going to cheer the loudest for her Yugi! You do that, Téa tells her.
Meanwhile, Yugi ascends a long, torch-lit stairway leading to the dueling stage. He tells the Pharaoh this is it! He has to admit that, with their title on the line, he's a little nervous. Yami tells him to stay focused, and have fun! (Japanese Yugi says their opponent is Leon. It will be an exciting game. Yami says, let's do our best and fight with no regrets.) They switch, and Yami takes over, saying it's time to duel!
Leon walks up a similar stairway, where he's accosted by Zigfried, who's waiting in the doorway at the top of the stairs. Leon asks what he's doing there, and Zigfried smiles, and holds out a card to Leon, telling him it might bring him luck. Leon hesitates at first, but then reaches out to take the card. (There's no dialog here in the Japanese.)
Crowds gather below the Fortress, and Roland, on the dueling stage, welcomes them to the final bout of the KC Grand Championship. A blimp floats overhead, filming the duel for broadcast all over the world. Other crowds gather in the streets, where the match is being shown on a large screen. (Removed from the US version are the signs on the buildings. In the Japanese, it says "Over My Heart" above the screen, and "Napasonic - Hi Vision" below it. The sign on the building to the left reads, "Pantax.")
Mai stops to watch as Yugi takes the stage. (The blimps filming the duels all say "Duel Disk" on the side in the Japanese version.)
Then Leon comes out onto the stage, a fierce expression on his face. Let's do this, he says. He fought long and hard to get here. It's always been his dream to meet Yugi, he says, and now that he has, he's got a new dream—to defeat him.
Roland announces that the duel is ready to begin. Who will be the champion? Yami and Leon shuffle each other's decks. As he returns Leon's deck, Yami wishes Leon luck, but Leon just grimaces and returns to his side of the field, saying he doesn't need luck. (Japanese Yami says, let's have a good duel. Leon says nothing as he walks away.) Wondering what that's all about, Yami also turns to take his place on his side of the field.
Roland says that to kick off the festivities, they have a special individual. Joey grins into the camera, but Mokuba pushes him away, saying that Roland is talking about his brother. He points up to the next balcony, where Kaiba is standing. Roland introduces the host of the KC Grand Championship tournament, Seto Kaiba. (In the Japanese version, the sign below Kaiba on the big screen says, "Kaiba Land Duel On Air." The sign on the building to the left reads, "...GANTRESS.")
Joey says, leave it to Kaiba to make this whole tournament about him. Duke points out that Kaiba did organize it and pay for it and build the theme park to host it, so he'd say it is all about him. Téa says that the only thing Kaiba didn't do in this tournament was duel. (Japanese Otogi says this tournament is crucial to Kaiba Corp's future. Anzu says she thinks Kaiba would rather be dueling Yugi.) Mokuba says his brother wanted to participate in this tournament more than anything, but he was too busy opening Kaiba Land and improving their company's image. Mokuba says his brother's the only one who really deserves to face Yugi. Joey says he doesn't know if he'd go that far. He coulda been a contender. Rebecca says, please, he lost his first duel! She almost beat Leon, and now he's got the title shot! But Mokuba says that if his brother had dueled in this tournament from the beginning, he'd have blown them all away. (Japanese Jounouchi says that as a duelist, he understands how Kaiba feels. He'd like to be dueling Yugi, too. Rebecca agrees, but says Leon defeated all the challengers and earned his right to duel Yugi. Anzu hopes Leon will duel with the spirit of those defeated duelists.)
Kaiba says that the KC Grand Championship tournament was designed with one thing in mind—finding the only person besides himself who deserves to be called the greatest duelist in the world! So these two competitors will face off in one final battle to determine just that. Now, start the duel!
Leon starts by summoning Forest Wolf (1800 ATK) in attack mode. Joey asks, what the heck is that? A wolf in grandma's clothing? Rebecca tells him not to be fooled—that card is bad news.
Leon ends his turn. Yami draws, then plays Polymerization, fusing Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet to form Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast (2100 ATK). He attacks Forest Wolf with Chimera and destroys it, taking Leon down to 3700 life points. The gang cheer, and Joey says, who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Leon doesn't appreciate it, asking if they think this is all a big joke. He's waited his entire life for the chance to face off against Yugi, so he's not taking this lightly. He's here to win and win big. (Japanese Jounouchi says Yugi has taken the lead. Leon says Yugi is a great duelist. He can feel Yugi's strength in this duel. He's been dreaming about dueling Yugi. Now his dream is realized.)
Leon says he's going to play his most devastating creature! He summons a cute little girl monster in a pink dress, carrying a bag of groceries (1200 DEF). Joey says he can't believe he knows this, but isn't that Little Red Riding Hood? (Japanese Anzu says it's cute, and Jounouchi says Leon has a lot of cards like this.) Téa says Leon must like fairy tales, and Rebecca says they don't know the half of it. Téa wonders, how tough can they be? Rebecca says they're not the sweet little characters they remember. Leon ends his turn, and Téa asks, what's up with Leon? Rebecca says that ever since the duel started, he's been acting like a jerk. (Japanese Anzu wonders why Leon isn't setting any cards, and Rebecca says Leon seems different than when she dueled him.)
Up in his balcony, Kaiba says that, for once, he agrees with the dorks. He's been watching the competitors closely since the tournament began, and something definitely seems different about that kid. To himself, he thinks that he doesn't trust him. (Japanese Kaiba wonders if it's because Leon is dueling seriously now.)
Yugi appears in spirit form to ask Yami if he's thinking what Yugi's thinking. Leon's not acting like himself out there. Yami agrees that Leon does seem a bit angry. What could have happened? Yugi wonders if the pressure is getting to him. Yami doesn't know, but the duel must go on.
Meanwhile, back at the Kaiba Dome, one of Kaiba's suits screams in anguish as he studies computer readouts on Leon. (Leon's name is removed from the upper left of the screen in the US version.)
How could he have missed it? Mr. Kaiba is going to go ballistic! He runs frantically from the control room. (Cut from the US version is this sequence, showing an image of Leon on the computer screen with the name "Leonhard von Schraider," then Siegfried walking down a corridor toward the dueling stage.)
Yami summons Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400 ATK) and attacks Little Red Riding Hood, destroying it. (This close-up of Little Red Riding Hood shrieking in terror is cut from the US version.)
Tristan tells him, nice one! He never liked that story, anyway. Joey says these fairy tale freaks are nothing compared to Yugi's monsters. But Rebecca's not so sure. Every one of Leon's monsters comes with an annoying little twist.
Leon says that Little Red Riding Hood's twist is that once it's destroyed, he's allowed to transfer any Level 4 warrior monster from his deck to the field, so he summons Forest Hunter (1200 ATK) in attack mode. Forest Hunter's effect allows him to remove one Beast or Beast-Warrior monster from the game, so Yugi's Chimera is taken out of play. (This shot of Forest Hunter's arrow hitting Chimera in the nose is cut from the US version.)
Rebecca says Leon pulled all these tricks when he dueled her, too. But he seemed to be having more fun than he is now. Téa asks what changed, and Joey says he's dueling for the championship title now. Rebecca says being nervous about a big duel is one thing, but acting like a total creep is another. Leon's been waiting to duel Yugi for years, so you'd think he'd at least crack a smile. (Japanese Rebecca says that when Leon dueled her, he seemed happy. But now that he's dueling his idol, he's not smiling.)
Yami ends his turn. Leon tells him that ever since he saw Yugi duel, he's been a role model to him. He dreamed about one day facing Yugi. But now that it's happening, he can't enjoy himself, because he has a job to do. Yugi wonders what Leon's talking about.
Then the Suit runs onto the balcony, papers in hand, telling Kaiba he has to take a look at this. Kaiba takes the papers as the Suit explains that he ran another background check on Leon Wilson. Kaiba hopes this is some kind of a joke—but Zigfried, who's standing behind the balcony doorway, laughs and says it's true. Kaiba asks if this was part of his twisted plan, and Zigfried says yes, but it took Kaiba long enough to figure it out. Kaiba asks Zigfried if throwing away his own life wasn't good enough—he had to drag his own brother down with him? Everyone gasps in shock, as Zigfried steps out onto the balcony to say it's all true. Leon Wilson is in reality Leonhard von Schroeder!
Zigfried tells Leon it's time to reveal the real reason he entered this tournament. Leon says, whatever Zigfried says. (Japanese Siegfried tells Leon to show his true power. Leon says, "Hai, Nii-san"—"Yes, big brother.") Yugi says, this is insane! Zigfried says that all he had to do was make them think that he was the real threat to the tournament. While Kaiba was intent on stopping him, Leon was quietly climbing the ranks of the competition, virtually unopposed! And now, a von Schroeder is about to win it all! Kaiba's biggest rival is about to reign victorious in Kaiba's own tournament, just as Schroeder Corp is about to release their new gaming system. Just imagine the publicity his new game will get when his brother defeats the King of Games himself! Kaiba asks if Zigfried sabotaged his tournament just to sell a few lousy games. Zigfried says, if anyone knows about lousy games, it's Kaiba. Kaiba's had his moment at the top, so now it's time for him to step aside. As soon as Zigfried's brother is crowned world champion, the new age of Schroeder Corp will begin!
Joey says this duel isn't over yet, and Rebecca insists that Yugi won't lose! Roland asks if he should stop the duel, but Zigfried points out that if Kaiba disqualifies Leon now, he'll be breaking the rules of his own competition—duels in progress can't be stopped. Plus, if he pulls the plug before a new champion is named, then the entire tournament was nothing more than a giant waste of time. But, that's only one man's opinion. He tells Kaiba to do what he thinks is right.
Kaiba laughs, and tells Zigfried there's a little problem with his plan. There's only one duelist in the world who's talented enough to beat Yugi, and that's himself. Zigfried's plan only works if Yugi loses. Kaiba thinks Leon has as much chance of winning as Zigfried's company has of succeeding.
Roland says the duel will continue as scheduled, and may the best duelist win. Kaiba watches, smiling, thinking that he never expected anyone to defeat Yugi. That honor will belong to him. Yami smiles back, and Zigfried tells Leon to prove his worth as a von Schroeder and crush Yugi Motou, just as they rehearsed it. Leon says he won't let Zigfried down.
Yugi can't believe it. That means that everything Leon told them about his dreams of becoming a champion duelist was a big lie! Yami says he'll get to the bottom of this. He asks Leon if he's really there to destroy Kaiba Corp, or is he letting his brother control who he is? The truth will set him free.
Zigfried tells Leon not to let these do-gooders turn him against him. They'll never know what their family has been through. He tells Leon to crush Yugi and obtain the championship title he deserves. It's his duty as a Schroeder. Leon agrees, and won't listen to what Yami is about to say. He says he knows Yugi would say that dueling for revenge is wrong, but his brother never asked for his help before, and now, for the first time ever, Zigfried needs him. Leon says he's sorry, but he can't let his brother down.
The Schroeder castle appears in flashback, as Leon says that ever since he can remember, Zigfried has been the most important member of their family. Young Zigfried walks past the foot of a huge stairway, carrying a stack of books, as young Leon runs down the stairs with his new fairy tale book. But their mother tells Leon not to bother his brother—it's time for his lessons. She leads Zigfried into the other room, telling him he must study hard. His father can't run Schroeder Corp forever. One day the family business will be in his hands. She tells Leon not to distract his brother with his noise, and slams the doors shut. Little Leon promises not to make a peep.
Present-day Leon says that with everyone's attention focused on Zigfried, he was pretty much forgotten about, so he learned to entertain himself. He spent most of his time reading fairy tales. It was fun, but part of him still wished there was something he could do to help his family, just like Zigfried. Then he discovered the game of Duel Monsters, and his life was never the same. (Cut from the US version is this flashback sequence showing young Leon watching Yugi in various competitions on TV.)
Flashbacks show Leon dueling in a large stadium, playing a monster card with little goats all over it (Seven Kids), that destroys his opponent's gorilla monster. The announcer declares the winner to be Leon Wilson, and Leon explains that he changed his name so his family wouldn't find out. But as young Leon leaves the tournament, Zigfried is waiting in the corridor. Leon asks if Zigfried is mad, but Zigfried says, of course not. He came to congratulate Leon on his latest victory. Look at Leon, hacking into tournament computer systems and creating phony identities, like a little secret agent. Leon begs Zigfried not to tell their mom and dad. They wouldn't understand, but he loves dueling more than anything, so he did whatever it took. Zigfried says there's no need to explain, he's just glad he's getting the chance to bond with his little brother—his talented little brother, who should be using his abilities to help his big brother run the family business.
Leon asks Zigfried to just tell him what to do—he'll do anything to be part of their family. Leon throws himself onto Zigfried, crying, and Zigfried promises he'll never be alone again.
Back in the present, Leon tells Yami he's not just fighting for himself, he's fighting for his whole family. (Japanese Leon says that even though Yugi is his opponent, for his family, he must defeat him.) Yugi tells Yami that Leon was brainwashed into dueling. He should play for his love of the game, not for his family's vengeance. Yami says he believes that deep down, Leon knows that, too. (Japanese Yugi says Leon has gone astray, and asks if they have to fight him. Yami says that Leon is serious.)
Leon continues the duel, summoning Iron Hans (1200 ATK). Once this monster is on the field, Leon can automatically summon his Iron Knight as well. Leon tells Yugi to get ready to step down, because there's a new champion in town—Leon von Schroeder. He summons Iron Knight (700 ATK), as Zigfried laughs, saying he knew Leon wouldn't let him down.
To everyone's astonishment, Leon says he wins! Yugi only has one monster while he has three. Before this turn is done, his title will belong to Schroeder Corp!
To Be Continued