Something disturbing in Yu-Gi-Oh (please don't flame)

[Heart of Sword]

I was looking at this kid's YGO cards...I saw this card that said "Altar for Tribute" with a dead monster floating above this altar thing. It said something about exhanging the card to replace a tribute, so I looked at some other cards and noticed some weird things about tributes, soul switching, spirits of dead Egyptian gods, Egyptian gods stealing souls, and some other really disturbing things.

What on Earth is a tribute?!

(please, please don't turn this into a yu-gi-oh flaming thread. If it gets out of control, I'll contact a mod. I just need an answer to my question.)

Oh, and by the way, D. Human reminds me a LOT of Inuyasha. (Dragon fang sword? Pointed dragon ears? )

100% OFF TOPIC: This is the 1500th thread in the General forum.

[Yojimbo]

Well a tribute in that context would be like to show respect or admiration I guess.

[Heart of Sword]

The card was like a sacrificial card. It was a sacrificed monster engulfed in light floating over an altar. It didn't look like a respect thing.

[Yojimbo]

Well a tribute means showing respect, gratitude, or giving a gift of some kind. I don't know much about Yu-Gi-Oh because well I don't care about it, but it sounds to me like the sacrifice to the monster thing is a tribute. Ahh whatever I just know thats kinda messed up.

[Mr_Anderson]

yeah, tribute is used instead of sacrafice in america (for the little kids) in japan they use "sacrifice" yeah, some of its kinda disturbing...

[Heart of Sword]

I liked the "Change of Heart" card though...it was cool. But then there's the gods, which is bizarre, but Yugi getting possessed by dead pharoah spirits is...I don't know...wrong...

[termyt]

Yu-Gi-Oh (the transformed version of Yugi) is an Egyptian god of some sort. (or perhaps the Spirit of an Egyptian god or king?) The show is full of Egyptian imagery.

And a tribute is indeed a sacrifice in this case. Traditionally, when you gave a tribute to your God or your king, you were giving up something of yours. Fruits from your fields, livestock from your herd, or even your life or the lives of your children.

I don't think the makers of Yu-Gi-Oh! are being that deliberate with it, I think they just look at it as cool.

[Aka-chan]

The whole idea is that a pharaoh sealed the Shadow Games and all their dark powers away into seven Sennen (aka Millennium) Items to prevent them from being abused. Now that the Puzzle (the item with the pharaoh's spirit in it) has been put back together, things are getting out of balance with lots of people trying to get their hands on that power. (The only other item with the spirit of an ancient Egyptian is the Ring, which holds a tomb robber.) When someone is accepted by the item (in Yuugi and Bakura's cases, they are accepted because they are sort of reincarnations of the spirits in the items), they share body and soul with the spirit inside and the spirit is known as their Yami (or, literally, their "dark"). That's the deal with the posession thing. (In addition, items can also do varying things to people's souls that are usually not very pleasant.)

The gods stuff is coming from the idea that the whole game originated in ancient Egypt, so the monsters they control often have that theme: an ushabti card that offers temporary protection, cards named after the Egyptian gods (Ra and Osiris; dunno why they chose "Obelisk", which is a stone pillar), etc. The tribute idea goes with the idea of sacrifice in order to gain more power.

Sorry, I was pretty obsessed with it not too long ago, though it does have some pretty heavy pagan spiritual themes. Is that an adequate answer to the questions?

[Heart of Sword]

Yeah, thanks Aka-chan, I have no interest in it but an 8-year-old was playing with the cards and a few are kind of...I don't know...gory. But it reminds me of Magic: The Gathering somehow (I don't like that). The idea of sacrificing animals/monsters on altars to gods and stuff bothers me...I think I'll just steer clear of Yu-Gi-Oh.

[bakura_fan]

Yeah....it can get pretty dark in certain areas(such as Series one and the manga's for it). I'm not really upset or anything when someone doesn't like certain shows. I guess Yu-Gi-Oh is just something that appeals to certain people. Me, I've always loved Ancient Egypt, so since it also ties into Egypt, I like it. Don't know why...it's kinda hard to explain. I fully respect your decision. ^_^ Like I said, certain shows appeal to certain people.

Also, I would like to say that it was not a good idea for WB to bring it over here for kids. It is a show that was meant for teens and adults. When you bring down something like that and turn it into kids stuff, it's very hard not to ruin the show. It also is difficult, with older directed shows, to make them completely suitable for young kids. Oh, and I never got into Magic either. Ok....I'm done, just felt I had to get my 2 bits in. ^_^ *leaves forum*

[Azier the Swordsman]

Not to mention that Kids' WB has VERY high editing standards.

When I get around to watching this series, I'm buying the import DVD's.

[JediSonic]

Well I decided long ago that yugi-gi-oh was a bit too messed up in this manner for my tastes.

I mean when the good guy's possesed by the spirit of some dead egyptian guy and his favorite thing is a summoning a dark magician to fight someone else's creatures for fun... well I think I'll stay away from that

[Mr_Anderson]

i never really got into the story or anything, i mostly just played the card game and usually finished it quickly. its kinda hard 2 explain y i liked it. i never really got in2 magic that gatherin. i knew aka-chan would make a big explination, she was (is?) a big egypt fan and kinda saw some of the ties.

[Golden_Griff]

Yikes. The whole sacrificial thing is what's bugging me. Definitely not kid-friendly in my opinion. Well, I learned something new about Yu-Gi-Oh today...

[Ducky]

We just got cartoon network so my seven year old brother has been into yu-gi-oh (our 6 year old cousin has a mess of cards and they liked them a lot). I watch it with him and almost all (if not all) of the pagan stuff goes right over his head, he's all about how cool yugi is and how awesome it is that yugi always wins. Mostly we laugh at Joey and stuff. I'm usually the strictest person in my house about media stuff and within the context of the show (at least the one on tv) I don't see a problem with him watching it. Basically it's just there to look cool and add difficulty level of the game.

[Heart of Sword]

Yeah, but with some kids (Jarett in particular), they don't let things go over their heads. Luckily, Jarett is smart and knows that it's all pretend, and he doesn't get scared easily at all (he loves Spirited Away and Inuyasha). I just don't think that Yu-Gi-Oh should've been made into a kid-show...

The Ancient Egypt ties are certainly original but a little too dark for me.

Sort of off-topic: is Duel Masters supposed to be a complete rip-off of Yu-Gi-Oh or something?

[Ducky]

Sort of off-topic: is Duel Masters supposed to be a complete rip-off of Yu-Gi-Oh or something?

Yup, seems that way. It was almost identical other than the characters ... On a more on topic note I can see why you would be wary of yu-gi-oh. And judging from what I have read of the manga it would have made a better show if targeted at an older audiance, but then that's the case with most kids shows these days, I'll stop before I go into a rant.

[Heart of Sword]

I saw a four-year-old (around that age) with an Inuyasha t-shirt...it's a really spooky show (especially the Soul Piper one), I wouldn't let little kids watch it. I think that Yu-Gi-Oh, unedited, should be on Adult Swim...edited, I'm not sure. There isn't nudity or anything (not that I know of). The manga is "T" though.

I don't think parents pay much attention to what their kids are watching.

[bakura_fan]

Ok....from the few Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh episodes I've seen and the Yu-gi-oh movie*which is fromt he first series* I own.....The only thing that is in Yu-gi-oh: Duel Monsters (the series that came to America) is Violence, blood, and language. Does anybody else here realize what really happened when Bakura took Pegasus' Millennium Eye...and what is different from the series concerning that episode and the Yugioh:duel monsters manga? Anyone? *I know....I just wanna know who else might*

One thing that does get me annoyed is when people talk to me and ask me why I play such a childish game and watch a kids show. I will get the Yu-Gi-Oh episodes uncut someday when I can find them. Also, c'mon...my dueling deck is based after Yami Bakura. How can that deck be called "childish"? *gives up* I like Yugioh....and that's that.

[Mr_Anderson]

weI've seen afew of the orriginal episodes, i think it was first translated in2 chinese and then 2 english, so they had stuff like "green-eyes white dragon" it was kinda of funny sometimes, but they had some language (my sis says it was usually overated.) but, you see more of the duels, i mean, they have only one add break per show! ande america... like 5!

[Heart of Sword]

There was a card with a dead, half-rotten zombie camel called "La" something...I think it was "La Lapoose" but that wasn't it...it was creepy. O_O;

[JediSonic]

Yes I dont like those cards 0_o

[Chazz]

but Yugi getting possessed by dead pharoah spirits is...I don't know...wrong...

come on people.

it's a card game.

it's not real. they're no reason to get worked up over it.

you people get antsy about everything.

*i don't play card games*

[Ashley]

Hey Chazz, haven't you ever read the passage in Corinthians (I believe its the second one) where Paul speaks of differing standards for different individuals? There's no reason to bash other's concerns or their sensitivity to something God may be laying on there heart simply because you don't think it's that important.

[Aka-chan]

Ok....from the few Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh episodes I've seen and the Yu-gi-oh movie*which is fromt he first series* I own.....The only thing that is in Yu-gi-oh: Duel Monsters (the series that came to America) is Violence, blood, and language. Does anybody else here realize what really happened when Bakura took Pegasus' Millennium Eye...and what is different from the series concerning that episode and the Yugioh:duel monsters manga? Anyone? *I know....I just wanna know who else might*

One thing that does get me annoyed is when people talk to me and ask me why I play such a childish game and watch a kids show. I will get the Yu-Gi-Oh episodes uncut someday when I can find them. Also, c'mon...my dueling deck is based after Yami Bakura. How can that deck be called "childish"? *gives up* I like Yugioh....and that's that.

I've gone through several of the volumes in Japanese, so I think I generally know what you're talking about withthe Sennen Eye thing and all, but I'm not entirely sure exactly what you're specifically referring to.

Oooh, yeah, it annoys me how the cut versions get written up as childish. 4Kids picks the worst shows to market to kids. Shaman King is so not for kids, especially since they won't know that the occult stuff is bad out side of a fantasy-like anime, but yet it's on FoxBox. *gripes*

[Heart of Sword]

come on people.

it's a card game.

it's not real. they're no reason to get worked up over it.

you people get antsy about everything.

*i don't play card games*

This was more of a discussion about Yu-Gi-Oh being filled with paganist themes while it was being marketed to kids. (Personally YGO wouldn't be a problem for me, but we're really talking about how 4Kids turned something really disturbing into a kiddie show.)

[Jasdero]

I haven't really watched this show, or played the card games. My brother is a huge fan, though.... has these huge boxes filled with Yu-Gi-Oh cards. I dunno, some of the cards are kind of creepy looking, but there are just as many pretty ones. : ) The times that I have seen the show haven't disturbed me in any way, so, I don't have anything negative to say about it.

[skynes]

YuGiOh isn't a problem to me sprititually, I'm aware of it's contents and they don't tempt me in any way.


The thing I don't like about it is the use of elements of REAL magic like the Ritual Magic cards and the Destiny Board which is actually a ouija board.

As a story and a cartoon I prefer it to duel Masters which I think is a bit shallow.
As a card game it's a simplified Magic:The Gathering with more occult references

[VELyuki_26]

I do not want to turn anyone off or anything, but in my opinion Yu-Gi-Oh! is unappropriate for anyone. The true underlying theme is Egptian polytheism(the belief in many Gods). As artists, this requires the makers to do some "research" one way or another. The Egyptian practice of magic is REAL. Remember when Moses went against Paharaoh? The magicians used magic. REAL MAGIC. However, Giod's power proved more than a match for them because the source of their power was demons and Satan . Please don't kill me for posting this.

This is no game. Witches continue to practice in our country. The Bible says that God does not agree with or condone any kind of magic user. Thay call upon a power that is not His. It is actually lesser than His. I hate to break it to you, but this does not go over children's heads. I know from experience. I used to love magic. It was sooooo cool . But I was raised in a Christian home, THANK GOD! It is one of the most enticing things to get into. I was kept hovering on the brink, afraid of the consequences. I found my answers later on. When witches perform their sacrifices, they use blood . I hope this semi-answers your sacrifice question. God said that life is in the blood. Ths makes it wrong. You are stealing the esssence of His creation to call upon those who have rejected Him. Demons. As a child grows older, they make the connection. "But there was nothing wrong with it'" would be the thought. Innocence is lost too easily. This is not a flame. This is my heart's cry to you. I have been so many different places and come close to the spirit realm soo many times. It is not for humans to mess with. The affects if it are beyond our time. Demons live on. We don't. Be wary of it. You may be fighting there sooner than you think. Let it be for the right side. Read UC's "The Fall." You may understand a bit more about true power when you're done. Please be encouraged though. I do not own you or you're opinions. I am only a mesenger.
On a side note: It comes from a different culture. We dub and change the series so the true meaning is obscured. Be warned though. Art is as powerful as words. "A picture is worth a thousand words," is as true as God is real. PLEASE be careful. *disappears into thin air*

[Mithrandir]

While the logic took a bit of a side step there, you certainly showed your meaning without badgering others, or flaming them. While I don't agree with eveything you posted I must admire your ability to put that to words kindly. Thanks for being authentic without being abrasive!