This video exceeded my expectations. The Yu-Gi-Oh -story I never knew I wanted. Makes Mai's character more fresh and developed but also resurrects season 4 for me. Nice work man!
@@MultiversalStudiosone question how do you explaine you need to have egipan roots to use the puzzle only reason Yugi was able to use it its bc he was desendent of atems
Her entire story of going from vain and self absorbed to havign a kind side and everything, i feel could literall be whole manga series on it's own. She has such a great growth in the series.
@@tensai_kodai agreed. I didn't like the way they did her character. And I ESPECIALLY didn't like what they did with her in the last season. In my opinion, it would've been a lot better if they had her actually apologize to Joey, Yugi, and the rest of their friends and have her become their friend again rather than just having her being alone and out of the picture. She also SHOULD'VE been with them in the final duel between Yugi and Atem not just because so she could see how strong Yugi has become, but also because so she could have some closure from her experience with Marik, since she would see him and he would probably apologize to her for the pain and trauma that his Yami self put her through. Ultimately, she deserved SO much better.
@@RinTheRebel I mean, what if they're fully aware of that but made the comment anyway because it's funny? _To each their own brand of humor, of course, but yeah, had to say it_
@@MultiversalStudios I always understood it that Dark Magician Girl was always meant to be boosted with additional cards, like her true potential was more than just raw strength. Which would be a good analogy of Téa's skills, more than what you first see.
This would have been the real deal! Mai is one of my most favourite characters and I am so saddened and frustrated that the creators just left her after the “Orichalcos arc”Merci beaucoup for making this awesome video! 💖
Thank you!!! And I know right!!! I really thought they did a great job with her character development in orichalcos arc, if they continued with it, it would have been awesome! 100% agree 💯
My what if theory about Mai was that she was Atem's older sister in her past life and was reborn in Yugi's timeline to assist the Pharaoh in saving Ancient Egypt, but her memories got locked away. She unlocks them bit by bit. First at dueling kingdom she feels some connection to Yugi, but can't explain it. After losing her battle with Marik, she is locked in her mind palace that is like a labyrinth(like Atem's millennium puzzle). Yami Yugi/Atem saves her from there, but while there she starts recalling some memories of their Father. She just doesn't know who he is yet. (Also, Yami Yugi doesn't remember anything about his past, so he doesn't know she is his sister.) During the Orichalcos arc, Dartz tells her that she was an Egyptian princess and that her throne was stolen from her by the spirit in Yugi's puzzle, who destroyed her home in the past and that together they should stop him by locking away his soul. (He projects the images from the past in a way that she believes it) She remembers that she was sent to this timeline to save her home, so she agrees to help Dartz. After Yami Yugi defeats Dartz, Mai realizes that she was wrong and starts questioning all the memories she started to remember and distances herself from everyone. Only when Yami Yugi is taken back to the past does she fully recall who she was and is taken back in time. This is where she helps her brother Atem fight Bakura. After Atem saves everyone, he goes back to Yugi's timeline for the final duel and Mai is there watching. Atem's spirit goes to sleep, but Mai stays, because she like Kaiba is the reincarnated version of Atem's sister.
There seems to be a love chemistry connection between Mai & Joey. Additionally, Joey's sister Serenity do idolizes Mai. Besides in the duel of Serenity vs. the Big 5: Nezbit, we saw Serenity's card selection does have a lot of potential with that Female Warrior & Fairy Deck (where Serenity's Warrior cards are inspired by Joey's Warrior cards). Would have been great if Serenity dueled more. It was also rumored that Mai would become a mentor to Joey's sister: Serenity Wheeler. In fact, friends of mine did created stories of our own about Serenity & Mai, where Mai would train & mentor Serenity to boost Serenity's Female Warrior & Fairy Deck.
I love this so much this is much better than what we got in the actual series. Mai is my favorite character in the series and it's such a shame the creators gave no crap about her character.
you worked so hard and crafted a great "what if" that hits the right beats while being a unique tale. Yet~ i still picture it with LittleKuriboh's voice acting and humor. That abridged series is just so burned into my brain.
I know it's been almost two years so I don't know if you still check the comments on older videos, but I always enjoy seeing Mai get more love! I know it gets said in basically every other conversation about her across the internet, it sometimes feels like, but she really did not get the screen time she deserved. 😔 Despite the limited screentime, she is literally one of my favorite characters of all time, and I maaaayyyy be sort of... working on developing my own story idea that is basically "what if Mai was the main protagonist" but more just taking base personalities, motivations, dynamics, etc and reimagining them into a new original setting, ahaha,,, (Though in my concept, my Mai-inspired character does still join the evil cult, and it's a story about villain protagonists, so a very different spin lol.) As far as thoughts on yours- (This is gonna get into analyzing the original too and I'm so sorry for the length, I just love excuses to talk about season 4 ajiwjgiawjg.) I particularly enjoyed the level of attention you put into callbacks to earlier parts of the series! I feel like you might have relied a bit heavily on it (though again I know this video is pretty old now), but it still showed a lot of dedication to researching the source, and the fact that many things didn't work the same way they did the first time was very good. I do have trouble seeing the initial setup, because... I'm not certain from this if you've seen the season subbed or not, but a lot of it was extremely different than the dub. But basing my impressions on both, Mai isolated herself from Joey and the others _on purpose_ after Battle City. "Your friendship is too bright for me," she told him, and proceeded to never once reach out no matter how hard she was struggling. I feel like if Joey found her when she was at her lowest point, he wouldn't be able to "save her", partly because Mai would do everything in her power to avoid letting him see her "weakness" and partly because Mai was struggling with feelings of not being Strong Enough to _protect herself_ long before Valon found her. To me, it feels like Mai, as a grown woman in her mid 20s, both felt guilty about "burdening" these happy high schoolers with bright futures with her problems, and started getting scared after a lifetime of being self-sufficient and then nearly dying shortly after starting to rely on anyone else for anything. People talk about her "resetting" character development a lot, but I thought that was a perfectly valid reaction. It isn't physically possible to _always_ be there for someone else, and if Mai had always been okay when she was looking out for only herself, and then suddenly couldn't protect herself and had to have her friends save her the first time she ever had friends to do so? I'd get scared too. What would happen the first time she ran into weird magic like that and no one was there to help, if she wasn't strong enough to do it herself? She was having PTSD nightmares, and whole panic attacks when she lost, terrified ANY loss would lead to reliving her trauma with Yami Marik. (Seen most when she lost to Valon and when she started losing her head and physically shaking when things looked rough the first time against Joey.) There's also a whole thing in the sub that the dub removed entirely about how it wasn't even JUST a fear of loss and loneliness Mai was struggling with, but a desire to feel Good Enough that she didn't know how to actually satisfy. She had _always_ been willing to do a lot to win, and yeah that's part of why people say "reset", but it's... more than just basic competitiveness or desire for rewards, and that's like 80% of her dynamic with Valon in the sub. During that scene in the desert before dueling Duke and Rebecca, where the dub just has Valon being pushy about "come on please date me" and outright guilt tripping her about "saving" her, in the SUB, it's... a very poignant speech just calmly stating observation about how Mai hungers for victory like a vampire hungers for blood. She does everything she can to win, but is never satisfied, always too preoccupied with where to get the next hit, because every victory is _hollow_ when she has nothing to win _for._ Mai denies it, but we see a flashback that doesn't match her words, showing he's absolutely right. Valon says he can tell because unlike their teammates or the protagonists, she doesn't have a cause. He recognizes it in her because he was exactly the same way, feeling like he had to keep winning to have a reason to live, until finding purpose _in her._ The full extent of him expressing a desire to date her in the entire subbed season is "Mai. Be mine" in the middle of this. He goes on to say he wants to fight for her from then on, and would even take on Dartz himself if she asked him to. (Unlike in the dub, where Mai tells him to take a hint and rejects him, she is quieter, never rejects him, and then asks if he could defeat _her,_ giving him pause. Then she watches him duel and looks scared at the end and runs away _from that too_ before they can actually have their duel lol. But yeah.) But so all that is like.... Mai's ultimate "redemption" in the canon version was twofold. One part was from feeling deeply understood by Valon, even if he ultimately always put himself first, like refusing to let her take over the duel vs Joey because (unlike the dub where it was played as a ship war thing and him being possessive of her) _he was having too much fun_ and refused to give that up _even for Mai._ (Though I do wonder if that wasn't an active benefit to someone like Mai, who used strangers but always tried to avoid burdening others once she was fond of them, knowing that one of the people she'd grown close to absolutely _wouldn't_ bend over backwards for her sake unless it was what he also wanted.) The other part was from Joey getting through to her just how much their friendship meant to him and the lengths he'd really go to in order to mak her see that, but even that was only doable through dueling and seeing that he was willing to push himself through physical pain. And even after all that, she... _still_ ran away in the end, AGAIN, STILL set in the idea that she needed to "become worthy" of being close to other people... but... at least now having a goal of coming back someday, instead of just wanting to stay on her own... :( So given all of that, I'm not..... really sold on the idea that Joey just finding her when she's upset and saying "hey come hang out with us again" would have done anything but make her insist everything was fine, make up an excuse as to why she "looked" upset, and run away as soon as she could. [sobs...] **All that said though...** If I overlook the "how she got here again" part, I do absolutely LOVE everything about the idea of Mai eventually coming into her own strength and starting healing more by seeing through experience that fighting to protect her friends was infinitely more fulfilling than any other battles she'd won, and by realizing that protecting each other is a two-way street, so she shouldn't feel guilty accepting help. I was a little skeptic that it felt like the video wasn't quite pulling through with the idea of Mai being "the" protag _instead of_ Yugi as opposed to being a co-protag alongside Yugi, but you got there in the end, and it was a very nice touch to have Joey and Mai replace the Kaiba and Atem battle after Kaiba attempted to go solo and fell. I'm also not sure if it was your intention, but the fact that Kaiba in canon tried to fight Dartz solo and Atem had to be like "no we'll do it together" makes me imagine Mai not just accepting Kaiba calling her inferior like "well I guess there's no changing his mind" but more as a bitter "okay then, if that's how you're gonna be, let's SEE you back up that big talk, tough guy." Just spitefully standing back and watching him fail and then succeeding herself after would be SO FUNNY to me and I would love to imagine her afterward teasing him about it occasionally for _years_ lmao. All in all, a very enjoyable video that was clearly made with a lot of love.
Hi! I just want to say I read all of this comment and it was a beautiful one! I really feel like u truly understand mai as a character and I learnt so much from this comment 😍 Thank you for ur kind words about my video and more importantly the honest criticism regarding the weak points in the video, to answer ur question I did base this on the Dub version on the anime, however I recently have watched the subbed and I understand how different it is! I really like ur perspective on things, so if you do ever want to work on a project together I would love to have ur refreshing take on things 😊
@@MultiversalStudios I'M SOBBING??? Of course I HOPED you'd see it and take it well, but I'm usually a "hope for the best / expect the worst" type of person, so I sort of assumed you just wouldn't see or might take the critique as too negative even with my efforts to begin and end with positives. I didn't at all expect such a positive reaction so quickly! Character and plot analysis is an overwhelming passion of mine, as is writing in general (even if I do that less because Effort lol), and I'd always be delighted to talk more about any fandoms we share if you want! (I should look at more of your videos, too.) Would you like... 🤔 idk... an email or my Discord or...? A preferred social media maybe?
@@WyrdFayth I actually read all my comments for real! And plus I think when people comment you can always tell the intention of the person regardless if its negative or not 😊 and I can tell ur really passionate!! Well I do have a discord server, I would love for u to join as I am always looking for anime fans (especially yugioh) its on my about page, but you can also have my private discord, whatever works for you haha
If they were to make another one of the "older" style games, where there's BS rules thrown in to better mimic the anime, I would love for more AU style stuff like this.
This one was definitely intriguing! I didn't give Mai much credit when I used to watch YugiOh. She always seemed a bit self absorbed. Probably need to watch it again!
I am so hooked on your videos. Awesome work, man! Keep up the fantastic work! Edit: I forgot to add this part the moment when I posted the comment 😂 So, I basically forgot to add: What If Tea was the protagonist. I think it might make for an interesting theory :)
@@MultiversalStudios I was sooooo sad during that collab dude I didn’t get anything other than Mai and Tea, feels bad. Forgot to say great video! The new story you came up with fits well with the overall theme of DM and sound plausible enough to be true in an alternate universe
Depends, Bakura's arc would be rather different. Bakura joins Duelist Kingdom due to Yami Bakura wanting to get Yugi and Pegasus' Millenium Items. Yami Bakura tries to have Yugi and his friends killed/sent to the Shadow Realm (lol) and is defeated. Bakura is temporarily free of the Ring's spirit and replaces Bandit Keith in the semi-finals. Loses to Joey and watches the finals. The Ring returns and forces Bakura to kill Pegasus.
Mai honestly how interesting I don't think I would have expected it to go this way... Hmm that puts a smile on my face that Tea... ... I can't tell if that's from the little one or from the dub it's... Ey YO! The HARPY! ... What an end.
I've wondered what original Yugioh would be like if remade with the newer cards they have today. There's plenty of Blue/Red Eyes, Black Luster, Magnet Warriors, etc. There are so many upgraded versions too of Gaia the Fierce Knight, Summoned Skull, Insect Queen, Legendary Fisherman, the list goes on!
I listen to a story about myself into when you put her near darts darts in the show was after the farewell so I think he did something wrong here he was he would challenge me to do right away with all his pals and share the pharaoh could remind her about his friendship but I think it that’s not a brown putting her near darts actually but I’m not sure what will happen actually you should I say what will happen if Joey real or was there instead of mine but this is weird but I do love it how you explain why what happened happy birthday without the mailing a puzzle
I am not sure if you take suggestions when it comes to these what if yugioh videos you do but if you do, I was wondering could you do a what if of the other yugioh series with some of the other characters from those series being made the main character
@@MultiversalStudios ok that's to good to hear because I do have a recommendation on another yugioh series that you can do a what if video's about the yugioh series I was thinking you could do a what if on yugioh 5ds and maybe the characters you could do the what if they were main characters video about is Leo, Luna or Akiza
maybe it has to do with evil being a part of life that can't be removed that easily, for example, you can't have light without shadow, you can't have yin without yang. I think evil can't be removed Since good can't exist without evil, one can't exist without the other. ( this sounds pretty cheesy lmao )
Better yet what is bakura was the protagonist and the pharaoh atem was really the villian who lied about everything . Let’s not forget the kul elna massacre. Even dartz alluded how evil the pharaoh really was
she should have taken joey's dragon after their battle and been the third one to duel with seto and yami yugi but nooooo the writers had to do her dirty again and then forget about her character like your version of the story a lot only part is seto thinking her an inferior duelist because he gave her an invitation to duelist kingdom and she was on the list for the kc grand prix hosted by kaiba corp I think kaiba respected her a little at least
@@DaLadyKaiba not exactly, Yami brought justice to the people who hurt his friends in season 0, but he did it by creating deadly punishment games, however not all punishment games cause death (e.g Kaibas Punishment game when he stole the blue eyes). So Yami is not exactly evil but in my opinion he is giving justice in an unnecessary and brutal way.
Oh PS I forgot if Joey Wheeler if it’s in the alternate universe category am I was in find a date with a farewell date for the chalice my Valentines to the door wide awake alternate universe category the state am I like the only real errs that’s funny now will not be dumb enough to get this your workout goes by I have no clue how powerful is darts and if they will be the same storyline like a really join instead like you know but then again jelly regular he’s not an idiot he’s the type of person that would challenge somebody into a door For kids had its case for two people punching each other if you saw the armor battle with those two characters putting armor on his head like excuse for girls to punch etc.
Ok either use the American 4kids entertainment dub or the Japanese version because the the American dub always censored a lot of things and always mistranslation the dialogue Some dialogue didn’t sync to what character said while other dialogue did In order to understand Mai we did to know all of her backstory *even the ones they censored*
I've wondered what original Yugioh would be like if remade with the newer cards they have today. There's plenty of Blue/Red Eyes, Black Luster, Magnet Warriors, etc. There are so many upgraded versions too of Gaia the Fierce Knight, Summoned Skull, Insect Queen, Legendary Fisherman, the list goes on!
Thats so true! I feel like maybe it wont be as entertaining because the new cards have longer effects and it probably wont be as fun to watch! But i would love to see the new support involved in Yugioh anime! We kinda saw some in the new yugioh movie! and that was pretty cool!
@@MultiversalStudios They would have to be used in moderation at the start, and new cards slowly introduced. Maybe the card spirits would gain power from their duelists, giving a bit more credibility to the Heart of the Cards. Though, some decks may best be avoided. Mai Valentine's newer Harpies would take up most of the duel and be hard to deal with. She might have to use Amazoness instead.
@@commonviewer2488 yeah exactly! And on the other hand I feel like some cards like the new legendary fisherman cards for Mako would be be super cool to see! And would make sense with his story 👌 so yeah it's a really good point!
This video exceeded my expectations. The Yu-Gi-Oh -story I never knew I wanted. Makes Mai's character more fresh and developed but also resurrects season 4 for me. Nice work man!
Thank you soo much! Its comments like this that really motivates me to make more videos 🙏 I really appreciate it 😁
@@MultiversalStudiosone question how do you explaine you need to have egipan roots to use the puzzle only reason Yugi was able to use it its bc he was desendent of atems
Mai Valentine was my favorite character. A spin-off about her would be interesting.
She's a really cool character! I felt like she deserved more in the anime
@@MultiversalStudios Yeah! In the anime, looks like the author find a way for to erae her from the series.
Yeah I think after orichalcos right? She wasnt seen again
@@MultiversalStudios She had just two small silent cameos (and one of them only in the japanese version) .
Ithink the same thing.
she’s so badass. Most of the duels she lost was because of plot armor
Her entire story of going from vain and self absorbed to havign a kind side and everything, i feel could literall be whole manga series on it's own. She has such a great growth in the series.
This is straight Fact! couldn't have said it better myself 👌
She was done so dirty in the Orichalcos arc.
@@tensai_kodai agreed. I didn't like the way they did her character. And I ESPECIALLY didn't like what they did with her in the last season. In my opinion, it would've been a lot better if they had her actually apologize to Joey, Yugi, and the rest of their friends and have her become their friend again rather than just having her being alone and out of the picture. She also SHOULD'VE been with them in the final duel between Yugi and Atem not just because so she could see how strong Yugi has become, but also because so she could have some closure from her experience with Marik, since she would see him and he would probably apologize to her for the pain and trauma that his Yami self put her through. Ultimately, she deserved SO much better.
Tea is actually the Queen of Games, she's never lost a duel lol
I know right! I think we've seen her duel 3 times in the anime, undefeated 😂
sorry to ruin the mood but its filler
@@RinTheRebel I mean, what if they're fully aware of that but made the comment anyway because it's funny? _To each their own brand of humor, of course, but yeah, had to say it_
Tea forced Mai to surrender. Tea was that good.
@@twaggytheatricks4960 I know, my comment was a joke, it's my bad for making it not look obvious that it was one, sorry if it was interpreted wrong
I’ve always wanted a AU where Téa is the protagonist and Mai is her rival.
haha that would be pretty cool! I wonder what kind of deck, Tea would end up using if she became a professional duellist!
@@MultiversalStudios I'd like to think her Ace monster would be Guardian Angel Joann.
Originally I was thinking dark magicion girl, but it's not powerful enough to be her boss monster!
@@MultiversalStudios i do like the magical girl theme for her too though!
@@MultiversalStudios I always understood it that Dark Magician Girl was always meant to be boosted with additional cards, like her true potential was more than just raw strength. Which would be a good analogy of Téa's skills, more than what you first see.
My favourite character. I have all of her signature cards in duel links, and when the new harpie cards came out, i went king--- Queen of Games.
Her new harpie cards actually make her deck pretty strong!!!
@@MultiversalStudios Just wait until Lightning Chidori arrives! BEWD users be like NERRRRFFFF IIIT
This would have been the real deal! Mai is one of my most favourite characters and I am so saddened and frustrated that the creators just left her after the “Orichalcos arc”Merci beaucoup for making this awesome video! 💖
Thank you!!! And I know right!!! I really thought they did a great job with her character development in orichalcos arc, if they continued with it, it would have been awesome! 100% agree 💯
My what if theory about Mai was that she was Atem's older sister in her past life and was reborn in Yugi's timeline to assist the Pharaoh in saving Ancient Egypt, but her memories got locked away. She unlocks them bit by bit. First at dueling kingdom she feels some connection to Yugi, but can't explain it. After losing her battle with Marik, she is locked in her mind palace that is like a labyrinth(like Atem's millennium puzzle). Yami Yugi/Atem saves her from there, but while there she starts recalling some memories of their Father. She just doesn't know who he is yet. (Also, Yami Yugi doesn't remember anything about his past, so he doesn't know she is his sister.) During the Orichalcos arc, Dartz tells her that she was an Egyptian princess and that her throne was stolen from her by the spirit in Yugi's puzzle, who destroyed her home in the past and that together they should stop him by locking away his soul. (He projects the images from the past in a way that she believes it) She remembers that she was sent to this timeline to save her home, so she agrees to help Dartz. After Yami Yugi defeats Dartz, Mai realizes that she was wrong and starts questioning all the memories she started to remember and distances herself from everyone. Only when Yami Yugi is taken back to the past does she fully recall who she was and is taken back in time. This is where she helps her brother Atem fight Bakura. After Atem saves everyone, he goes back to Yugi's timeline for the final duel and Mai is there watching. Atem's spirit goes to sleep, but Mai stays, because she like Kaiba is the reincarnated version of Atem's sister.
This is super unique 👌I love the idea of Atem having a sibling which is reincarnated to help him face his destiny!
Valon: *Ask Rafael to spare Mai cause he likes her*
Mai: *Steals Valon’s bike*
Me: 👁️👄👁️
Valon is a simp haha
Even more than Chazz?
There seems to be a love chemistry connection between Mai & Joey. Additionally, Joey's sister Serenity do idolizes Mai. Besides in the duel of Serenity vs. the Big 5: Nezbit, we saw Serenity's card selection does have a lot of potential with that Female Warrior & Fairy Deck (where Serenity's Warrior cards are inspired by Joey's Warrior cards). Would have been great if Serenity dueled more.
It was also rumored that Mai would become a mentor to Joey's sister: Serenity Wheeler. In fact, friends of mine did created stories of our own about Serenity & Mai, where Mai would train & mentor Serenity to boost Serenity's Female Warrior & Fairy Deck.
Yo, I died when you inserted a clip from the abridged series XD
haha i couldn't help it :D
So in this world Mai became the queen of games after this episode. Cool🤩
Mai wielding all 3 of the legendary dragons, now that is a dope concept. I look forward to checking out your other what ifs videos
Thank you! I'll try and make more in the future 🙏
I love this so much
this is much better than what we got in the actual series. Mai is my favorite character in the series and it's such a shame the creators gave no crap about her character.
you worked so hard and crafted a great "what if" that hits the right beats while being a unique tale. Yet~ i still picture it with LittleKuriboh's voice acting and humor. That abridged series is just so burned into my brain.
YOOOOOO, that's almost better than the original anime, keep up the good work 👍👍👍
Woow thank you soo much 🙏
Takahashi has to hire this guy someday
Can you make the love story of Mai and Joey plz, I have always dreamed for their love!! ♥️😿 BTW You are amazing💯
Aww thank you so much 😁 I deffo agree I wish Mai and Joey got together in the anime!!!
I know it's been almost two years so I don't know if you still check the comments on older videos, but I always enjoy seeing Mai get more love! I know it gets said in basically every other conversation about her across the internet, it sometimes feels like, but she really did not get the screen time she deserved. 😔
Despite the limited screentime, she is literally one of my favorite characters of all time, and I maaaayyyy be sort of... working on developing my own story idea that is basically "what if Mai was the main protagonist" but more just taking base personalities, motivations, dynamics, etc and reimagining them into a new original setting, ahaha,,, (Though in my concept, my Mai-inspired character does still join the evil cult, and it's a story about villain protagonists, so a very different spin lol.)
As far as thoughts on yours- (This is gonna get into analyzing the original too and I'm so sorry for the length, I just love excuses to talk about season 4 ajiwjgiawjg.)
I particularly enjoyed the level of attention you put into callbacks to earlier parts of the series! I feel like you might have relied a bit heavily on it (though again I know this video is pretty old now), but it still showed a lot of dedication to researching the source, and the fact that many things didn't work the same way they did the first time was very good.
I do have trouble seeing the initial setup, because... I'm not certain from this if you've seen the season subbed or not, but a lot of it was extremely different than the dub. But basing my impressions on both, Mai isolated herself from Joey and the others _on purpose_ after Battle City. "Your friendship is too bright for me," she told him, and proceeded to never once reach out no matter how hard she was struggling. I feel like if Joey found her when she was at her lowest point, he wouldn't be able to "save her", partly because Mai would do everything in her power to avoid letting him see her "weakness" and partly because Mai was struggling with feelings of not being Strong Enough to _protect herself_ long before Valon found her.
To me, it feels like Mai, as a grown woman in her mid 20s, both felt guilty about "burdening" these happy high schoolers with bright futures with her problems, and started getting scared after a lifetime of being self-sufficient and then nearly dying shortly after starting to rely on anyone else for anything. People talk about her "resetting" character development a lot, but I thought that was a perfectly valid reaction. It isn't physically possible to _always_ be there for someone else, and if Mai had always been okay when she was looking out for only herself, and then suddenly couldn't protect herself and had to have her friends save her the first time she ever had friends to do so? I'd get scared too. What would happen the first time she ran into weird magic like that and no one was there to help, if she wasn't strong enough to do it herself? She was having PTSD nightmares, and whole panic attacks when she lost, terrified ANY loss would lead to reliving her trauma with Yami Marik. (Seen most when she lost to Valon and when she started losing her head and physically shaking when things looked rough the first time against Joey.)
There's also a whole thing in the sub that the dub removed entirely about how it wasn't even JUST a fear of loss and loneliness Mai was struggling with, but a desire to feel Good Enough that she didn't know how to actually satisfy. She had _always_ been willing to do a lot to win, and yeah that's part of why people say "reset", but it's... more than just basic competitiveness or desire for rewards, and that's like 80% of her dynamic with Valon in the sub.
During that scene in the desert before dueling Duke and Rebecca, where the dub just has Valon being pushy about "come on please date me" and outright guilt tripping her about "saving" her, in the SUB, it's... a very poignant speech just calmly stating observation about how Mai hungers for victory like a vampire hungers for blood. She does everything she can to win, but is never satisfied, always too preoccupied with where to get the next hit, because every victory is _hollow_ when she has nothing to win _for._ Mai denies it, but we see a flashback that doesn't match her words, showing he's absolutely right. Valon says he can tell because unlike their teammates or the protagonists, she doesn't have a cause. He recognizes it in her because he was exactly the same way, feeling like he had to keep winning to have a reason to live, until finding purpose _in her._ The full extent of him expressing a desire to date her in the entire subbed season is "Mai. Be mine" in the middle of this. He goes on to say he wants to fight for her from then on, and would even take on Dartz himself if she asked him to. (Unlike in the dub, where Mai tells him to take a hint and rejects him, she is quieter, never rejects him, and then asks if he could defeat _her,_ giving him pause. Then she watches him duel and looks scared at the end and runs away _from that too_ before they can actually have their duel lol. But yeah.)
But so all that is like.... Mai's ultimate "redemption" in the canon version was twofold. One part was from feeling deeply understood by Valon, even if he ultimately always put himself first, like refusing to let her take over the duel vs Joey because (unlike the dub where it was played as a ship war thing and him being possessive of her) _he was having too much fun_ and refused to give that up _even for Mai._ (Though I do wonder if that wasn't an active benefit to someone like Mai, who used strangers but always tried to avoid burdening others once she was fond of them, knowing that one of the people she'd grown close to absolutely _wouldn't_ bend over backwards for her sake unless it was what he also wanted.) The other part was from Joey getting through to her just how much their friendship meant to him and the lengths he'd really go to in order to mak her see that, but even that was only doable through dueling and seeing that he was willing to push himself through physical pain. And even after all that, she... _still_ ran away in the end, AGAIN, STILL set in the idea that she needed to "become worthy" of being close to other people... but... at least now having a goal of coming back someday, instead of just wanting to stay on her own... :(
So given all of that, I'm not..... really sold on the idea that Joey just finding her when she's upset and saying "hey come hang out with us again" would have done anything but make her insist everything was fine, make up an excuse as to why she "looked" upset, and run away as soon as she could. [sobs...]
**All that said though...**
If I overlook the "how she got here again" part, I do absolutely LOVE everything about the idea of Mai eventually coming into her own strength and starting healing more by seeing through experience that fighting to protect her friends was infinitely more fulfilling than any other battles she'd won, and by realizing that protecting each other is a two-way street, so she shouldn't feel guilty accepting help. I was a little skeptic that it felt like the video wasn't quite pulling through with the idea of Mai being "the" protag _instead of_ Yugi as opposed to being a co-protag alongside Yugi, but you got there in the end, and it was a very nice touch to have Joey and Mai replace the Kaiba and Atem battle after Kaiba attempted to go solo and fell.
I'm also not sure if it was your intention, but the fact that Kaiba in canon tried to fight Dartz solo and Atem had to be like "no we'll do it together" makes me imagine Mai not just accepting Kaiba calling her inferior like "well I guess there's no changing his mind" but more as a bitter "okay then, if that's how you're gonna be, let's SEE you back up that big talk, tough guy." Just spitefully standing back and watching him fail and then succeeding herself after would be SO FUNNY to me and I would love to imagine her afterward teasing him about it occasionally for _years_ lmao.
All in all, a very enjoyable video that was clearly made with a lot of love.
Hi!
I just want to say I read all of this comment and it was a beautiful one!
I really feel like u truly understand mai as a character and I learnt so much from this comment 😍
Thank you for ur kind words about my video and more importantly the honest criticism regarding the weak points in the video, to answer ur question I did base this on the Dub version on the anime, however I recently have watched the subbed and I understand how different it is!
I really like ur perspective on things, so if you do ever want to work on a project together I would love to have ur refreshing take on things 😊
@@MultiversalStudios I'M SOBBING???
Of course I HOPED you'd see it and take it well, but I'm usually a "hope for the best / expect the worst" type of person, so I sort of assumed you just wouldn't see or might take the critique as too negative even with my efforts to begin and end with positives. I didn't at all expect such a positive reaction so quickly!
Character and plot analysis is an overwhelming passion of mine, as is writing in general (even if I do that less because Effort lol), and I'd always be delighted to talk more about any fandoms we share if you want! (I should look at more of your videos, too.)
Would you like... 🤔 idk... an email or my Discord or...? A preferred social media maybe?
@@WyrdFayth I actually read all my comments for real! And plus I think when people comment you can always tell the intention of the person regardless if its negative or not 😊 and I can tell ur really passionate!!
Well I do have a discord server, I would love for u to join as I am always looking for anime fans (especially yugioh) its on my about page, but you can also have my private discord, whatever works for you haha
Seeing people love her makes me so happy 🥰🥰🥰 saw hate on her in another video but I’m glad you people have taste ❤️
❤️❤️❤️
If they were to make another one of the "older" style games, where there's BS rules thrown in to better mimic the anime, I would love for more AU style stuff like this.
Actually same, I love the choas of the BS rules 👌
This one was definitely intriguing! I didn't give Mai much credit when I used to watch YugiOh. She always seemed a bit self absorbed. Probably need to watch it again!
Would love to see an AU mini-series of this.
I am so hooked on your videos. Awesome work, man! Keep up the fantastic work!
Edit: I forgot to add this part the moment when I posted the comment 😂 So, I basically forgot to add: What If Tea was the protagonist. I think it might make for an interesting theory :)
Thank you soo much, I'll definitely try and keep it up 😁 and Tea being the protagonist sounds like a great idea!!!
@@MultiversalStudios You're very welcome! Just saying the facts! 😁
Still waiting for "What if Jack Atlas didn't abandon his at statilite".
It’d be cool to see a Mai spin-off, kinda like what Dragon Ball got with the Yamcha isekai story
WOOD UH BIN SO COOL‼️‼️
Man that monster strike sprite looks so good, the Harpie Lady Sisters one looks even better
Ohhhhhhhhhh you noticed that!!! A little Easter Egg 😂 I didn't think many people had played the game!
@@MultiversalStudios I was sooooo sad during that collab dude I didn’t get anything other than Mai and Tea, feels bad.
Forgot to say great video! The new story you came up with fits well with the overall theme of DM and sound plausible enough to be true in an alternate universe
@@riodaweirdo3062 thank you soo much! I really appreciate that 🙏
to be honest she's a female yugi
Because of her hair
Can you imagine if the Pharaoh/Atem was in Mai's body? And Mai had Atem's power?
What if bakura was the protagonist? Well you know... He also has a yami in the millenium ring.
That's true! I think bakura would make a great protagonist as he's always trying to fight his evil side :)
Bakura (not Yami Bakura) will finally not be a forgetful character imo
Bakura neededmore character developpement for real.
Depends, Bakura's arc would be rather different. Bakura joins Duelist Kingdom due to Yami Bakura wanting to get Yugi and Pegasus' Millenium Items. Yami Bakura tries to have Yugi and his friends killed/sent to the Shadow Realm (lol) and is defeated. Bakura is temporarily free of the Ring's spirit and replaces Bandit Keith in the semi-finals. Loses to Joey and watches the finals. The Ring returns and forces Bakura to kill Pegasus.
Mai honestly how interesting I don't think I would have expected it to go this way...
Hmm that puts a smile on my face that Tea...
...
I can't tell if that's from the little one or from the dub it's...
Ey YO! The HARPY!
...
What an end.
GG, you almost made me believe Mai is the protagonist!!
By the way Mai is ready for turbo duels.
I always wonder why Mai and Yugi (Atem) looks the same. Same eyes and and hair shape. As a kid I just believed they were secret siblings or something
I've wondered what original Yugioh would be like if remade with the newer cards they have today. There's plenty of Blue/Red Eyes, Black Luster, Magnet Warriors, etc. There are so many upgraded versions too of Gaia the Fierce Knight, Summoned Skull, Insect Queen, Legendary Fisherman, the list goes on!
And maybe they will have 8000 life points
I agree I think Tea is the dual world queen because she has never lost before in the anime
Hundred percent my friend 💯
If we’re up to me they should have made Mai the same age as Joey.
whats the age difference?
@@MultiversalStudios Mai is 24 and Joey is 16.
@@MultiversalStudios Say @MultiversalStudios have you ever watched mobile g fighter gundam?
I would love to see What if Tea Gardner is a protagonist. I will also love to see If Duke Devlin is a protagonist.
Duke Devlin hahaha he would probably challenge everyone to a Dungeon Dice monsters game! XD Also thanks for the sub my friend!
Now this is cool. You earned a sub!
Do what if Pegasus was the yugioh protagonist? What if bakura was the protagonist?
I loved this video. Id love to see if carly carmine was the main protagonist of 5ds.
That's sounds pretty fun! 👌 I'll see what I can do!
Not bad.
Tea, Mai, Serenity, Alexis, Blair, Camula , Tonya, Akiza, Luna, Carly, Misty, Tori, Kat, Hanna, Zuzu, Romin.
They should all be main protagonists
Honestly Camula would be an interesting protagonist.
What if téa gardner was the Protagonist
I love this story! Great job!
Aww thank you my friend!
@@MultiversalStudios Your welcome. You should do more What If stories. Maybe some for Pokemon. Like, What If the YuGiOh characters have Pokemon.
Are you a big fan of pokemon aswell as yugioh?
@@MultiversalStudios Definitely! Although, I only love the original YuGiOh. I like a little bit of GX, but I didn't see the others.
@@14mespider9 OK well ill deffo try and make some what if videos around pokemon or original yugioh 😊
I listen to a story about myself into when you put her near darts darts in the show was after the farewell so I think he did something wrong here he was he would challenge me to do right away with all his pals and share the pharaoh could remind her about his friendship but I think it that’s not a brown putting her near darts actually but I’m not sure what will happen actually you should I say what will happen if Joey real or was there instead of mine but this is weird but I do love it how you explain why what happened happy birthday without the mailing a puzzle
I am not sure if you take suggestions when it comes to these what if yugioh videos you do but if you do, I was wondering could you do a what if of the other yugioh series with some of the other characters from those series being made the main character
Hey thanks for the comment! I absolutely do take suggestions and I think that's a great idea :) do u have any reccomendations on which yugioh series?
@@MultiversalStudios ok that's to good to hear because I do have a recommendation on another yugioh series that you can do a what if video's about the yugioh series I was thinking you could do a what if on yugioh 5ds and maybe the characters you could do the what if they were main characters video about is Leo, Luna or Akiza
@@doctormayuri2582 awesome ill get working on something very soon!! Feel free to leave any more suggestions for the future 😁
WHAT IF......Yugi is in GX series with Jaden in Duel Academy
He does make an appearance on the first video.
I wanna see the next one y’all decide 😮
Ohh thank you for the kind words! I'll be doing a Community post tomorrow, on which Protagonist Video should be Next
I got idea what will happen if mocha by sells the millennium puzzle
Is mokuba sells the millennium puzzle?
This needs more views, 4.2k is a crime
Thank you so much 🙏 really appreciate that!
I want to live in this alternate reality.
Nice thumbnail
What if Pot of greed was the Protagonist?
Pot of Greed!! But what does that card do!? haha
@@MultiversalStudios but really what does it do
@@MultiversalStudios It allows you to summon your entire extra deck
@@obinoscopekenobi9450 and that's why the card is banned lol
Make if yugioh gx had Facebook part 3
OK sure 👌😎
What if Mokuba, Seto, and yugi’s Grandpa ended up being in the wrong bodies after Pegasus returned their souls?
One of the most badass ygo characters, yet he first three times we see her duel she loses.
I know right! 😭 It's not fair
@@MultiversalStudios no I was more so quoting you and saying that the line doesn’t make sense when you’re talking about Mai Valentine after all.
@@supremevidspro5427 Ohhhhh right, well my counter to that would be, you dont have to win all your duels to be a badass! haha
Yes please !!!
Nice one!
We all needed the gay awakening growing up. Thank you Ms. Valentine for showing us the way 🖤✨
I guess tea just didnt do it for you 😭
What if Marik had the puzzle and was the protagonist of Yuigoh instead of yugi
Video idea: how the evil within the ring came back in dsod although the end of season 5 removed it from the ring
ohhhhh very interesting haha I like it
maybe it has to do with evil being a part of life that can't be removed that easily, for example, you can't have light without shadow, you can't have yin without yang. I think evil can't be removed Since good can't exist without evil, one can't exist without the other. ( this sounds pretty cheesy lmao )
I already seen rule 34 artists rn if she was the protagonist
Lool so true, but I think that'll be the case regardless
@@MultiversalStudios yeah lol
What if Mako Tsunami was the protagonist? That's a video right there!
haha he's already the protagonist!!!
He might probably share some tips on how to cook fish, or we can learn about how he is buff
Love this!!!
thank you my friend! :D
Should've been called Protagonist of season 4
Great work however this is more like what if Yu-Gi-Oh vwas told from mais perspective Mai was
WTF I LOVED THIS
Thank you soo much!!! XD
Mais the best character.
Did Joey ever get together with Mai?
In the anime, no they didn't 😭
She probably would of had abetter character development than joey
Better yet what is bakura was the protagonist and the pharaoh atem was really the villian who lied about everything . Let’s not forget the kul elna massacre. Even dartz alluded how evil the pharaoh really was
agreed with this
Yami Bakura or Yami Marik next.
she should have taken joey's dragon after their battle and been the third one to duel with seto and yami yugi but nooooo the writers had to do her dirty again and then forget about her character like your version of the story a lot only part is seto thinking her an inferior duelist because he gave her an invitation to duelist kingdom and she was on the list for the kc grand prix hosted by kaiba corp I think kaiba respected her a little at least
I have a question I was reading something that said she had a son johnny wheeler is that true?
Haha I don't think that's true 🤔😂 where did u read that?
@@MultiversalStudios ya its not true. It was fan made. Its call yugioh X.
@@lrpt9658 Johnny Wheeler haha I don't know why I find that so funny!
What if Banner was the Protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh GX?
Harpie Lady the Dragonite
Can you do tea next?
I'm working on one at the moment 😊 but I'll see if I can do tea after that!
Ok thank you
18k from kaiba 1.4k from joey now let's see how much mai will get
Yay yugioh abridged
Haha yeah I wonder if Mai is a popular character
What if joey was the main protagonists
I've already made that video :) haha great minds think alike
What if item is in other yoongi never lost to Yugi Moto
What if Tea was the protagonist
Can you do tea next
Tea is a popular choice 👌 I'll see what I can do!
What if the Pharaoh was evil
I like it!
then he would probably believe in the heart of evil
I want to see this one!
But... Isn't he evil in season zero xD???
@@DaLadyKaiba not exactly, Yami brought justice to the people who hurt his friends in season 0, but he did it by creating deadly punishment games, however not all punishment games cause death (e.g Kaibas Punishment game when he stole the blue eyes). So Yami is not exactly evil but in my opinion he is giving justice in an unnecessary and brutal way.
Oh PS I forgot if Joey Wheeler if it’s in the alternate universe category am I was in find a date with a farewell date for the chalice my Valentines to the door wide awake alternate universe category the state am I like the only real errs that’s funny now will not be dumb enough to get this your workout goes by I have no clue how powerful is darts and if they will be the same storyline like a really join instead like you know but then again jelly regular he’s not an idiot he’s the type of person that would challenge somebody into a door
For kids had its case for two people punching each other if you saw the armor battle with those two characters putting armor on his head like excuse for girls to punch etc.
Ok either use the American 4kids entertainment dub or the Japanese version because the the American dub always censored a lot of things and always mistranslation the dialogue
Some dialogue didn’t sync to what character said while other dialogue did
In order to understand Mai we did to know all of her backstory *even the ones they censored*
The Best Waifu of DM! ❤
Wait a 24 year old main protagonists that’s too old lol
😂😂😂
Yugi dont be a kuriboh bettter line then dub gotta admit
What if mokuba was the main character
That could be very interesting!!
@@MultiversalStudios no he'd always be getting kidnapped
I have to say that Mokuba might be a better and independent character who doesn't just exist for Seto when it comes to Plot etc
What if Téa was the protagonist
Thank you! I'll deffo bare that in mind 😁
What if Tristan Taylor was the protagonist.
I'd love to see that, just for chaos that Tristan would cause 😂
Like breaking necks with his mind.
@@DarkHope-lx2uy hahaha yeah and I think if he ever loses a duel, he'd probably just beat them up in real life 😂
He's became the protag just for the food
(only people who watched YGOTAS knows this joke)
I love her 😍 😍😍
Make more kaiba what if you will get more views
Haha thanks! Ill try my best :)
Boo-Bie-Oh! 🍈🍈
This wont happen
What do u think would happen? 😊
Definitely not makin a female an main character... Who she think is she, Wonder Woman?
thank you for giving Serenity something to do ☺🥲
Lmao!
I've wondered what original Yugioh would be like if remade with the newer cards they have today. There's plenty of Blue/Red Eyes, Black Luster, Magnet Warriors, etc. There are so many upgraded versions too of Gaia the Fierce Knight, Summoned Skull, Insect Queen, Legendary Fisherman, the list goes on!
Thats so true! I feel like maybe it wont be as entertaining because the new cards have longer effects and it probably wont be as fun to watch!
But i would love to see the new support involved in Yugioh anime! We kinda saw some in the new yugioh movie! and that was pretty cool!
@@MultiversalStudios They would have to be used in moderation at the start, and new cards slowly introduced. Maybe the card spirits would gain power from their duelists, giving a bit more credibility to the Heart of the Cards. Though, some decks may best be avoided. Mai Valentine's newer Harpies would take up most of the duel and be hard to deal with. She might have to use Amazoness instead.
@@commonviewer2488 yeah exactly! And on the other hand I feel like some cards like the new legendary fisherman cards for Mako would be be super cool to see! And would make sense with his story 👌 so yeah it's a really good point!