Jaden Yuki

Jaden Yuki, known as Judai Yuki in the Japanese version, is the main protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, as well as the reincarnation of the Supreme King. At the end of the third season, he fused his soul with Yubel, his childhood ace card, with "Super Polymerization" to become a Duel Monster-Human hybrid. He is headstrong, optimistic, fun loving, and a talented Duelist who loves Dueling as much as he cares for his friends.

Design[]

Appearance[]

Jaden's usual outfit consists of the standard Slifer Red uniform, unbuttoned, and a black shirt underneath. A Deck box is strapped above his waistline, largely hidden beneath the lower rim of his jacket. In the first episode he is seen wearing a high school uniform similar to the one worn by Yugi Muto, though colored black instead of blue. He also wore a KaibaCorp Duel Disk on his left arm for his entrance exam Duel. His brown eyes are positioned directly beneath the bangs of the layer closest to his face. After joining Duel Academy, he carries an Academy-issued Duel Disk on his left arm.

In the fourth season, Jaden is seen with his new look, but he is still easy to identify from the past seasons. He comes back a bit taller, with longer hair, a longer, darker Slifer Red jacket, darker jeans and, since he fused his soul with Yubel in the third season, occasionally manifesting its power to protect himself in the form of his eyes glowing the same bichromatic scheme Yubel's did. His eyes have also been redesigned. His Duel Disk is now fully customized with red outlines on it representing his dorm, though otherwise it looks the same (although the difference is very noticeable).

In most crossover appearances, Jaden's wardrobe appears to be a mixture of fashionable and punk clothes, fitting for a top resident who isn't afraid to get dirty. His alternate outfit consists of a V-neck black shirt, red leather jacket and boots, brown choker and belt, black fingerless gloves, dark gray leather jeans and red earrings (under his hair). LunaCookie stated Jaden to be a bishounen (handsome boy).

Voice and mannerisms[]

In the Japanese version, Jaden rarely uses honorifics, and his speech pattern could be considered rude as a result, similar to Joey Wheeler's.

In the dub, Jaden has several catchphrases associated with him. He begins almost every Duel with the phrase "Get your game on!" and ends almost every Duel he wins by saying "That's game!" He also often says some variation of "I'll throw down a face-down" when Setting cards. He also occasionally uses the phrase "Here goes something" when drawing in a desperate situation. Jaden tends to speak in stereotypical '90s slang, calling people "bro" and advising opponents to "chill". He is also noted for saying "A Duel's not over 'till the last card is played!" which is likely Jaden's way of expressing his belief in the Heart of the Cards. In the Japanese version, Judai sometimes says "Is that so?" when he is about to turn the tables and win the Duel.

In both the English and Japanese versions, Jaden winks and points two fingers at a defeated opponent. In the dub, whenever Jaden wins a Duel, he says "That's game"; in the Japanese version Judai says "Gotcha! Tanoshii dyueru dattaze" ("Gotcha! That was a fun Duel"), or simply "Gotcha!".

Personality[]

Jaden is friendly, optimistic, laid-back, enthusiastic, kind, confident, funny, and very passionate about Dueling. Jaden loves Dueling and believes that all problems can ultimately be solved through it. He keeps going no matter how hard things get or how hopeless it seems, with a few exceptions (though it doesn't take much encouragement for him to start fighting again), although he does sometimes doubt himself. He always shows respect towards his opponents, with a few exceptions, even complimenting them during a Duel.

Jaden shows little interest in areas outside of Dueling, which extends to his classes. When he chooses to attend them, he generally falls asleep. Despite his low grades, he is still regarded as one of Duel Academy's best Duelists. However, this attitude eventually shows itself as one of his greatest flaws, and causes him to be targeted by Mr. Stein. He shows a lack of knowledge in areas outside of Dueling, even showing in one instance that he is unaware of what the term "fiancee" means, and forgetting that the holographic water will not drown him in another.

Jaden also seems ignorant of the dislike that other individuals have for him, as despite the obvious tension between the two, he considers himself to be good friends with Chazz Princeton. His carefree attitude and lack of thought get him into trouble occasionally, such as when he handed the Satellite Keys to Sartorius and still expected the latter to Duel him before using them. He occasionally shows signs of intellect, such as determining that Titan's Shadow Game was a fake, and figuring out that both Brier and Beauregard were the Duel Giant on another occasion.

One of Jaden's common traits is that he tends to make jokes or puns, even in some situations where it is not appropriate. Most of the jokes he makes are Duel-related but on a few occasions he does make jokes at someone's expense. For example, he called Crowler "Cyclops" when the latter got struck in the eye with a tennis ball. Another example is when Jaden Duels The Society of Light controlled Alexis and she tells him to "Throw in the game", to which the former replies, "The only thing I throw in is the towel on laundry day."

Jaden has a close bond with his cards, to the point where he has no problem with an opponent insulting him, but is angered when they insult his cards. An example of this is when Crowler calls his "Winged Kuriboh" lame and Jaden immediately gets angry; this happens also when Gravekeeper's Chief repeatedly refers to Winged Kuriboh as a "rodent". Jaden is also fiercely loyal to his friends, which often results in his risking his life to save them. This is ultimately exploited by Yubel and Brron, who drive him to the brink of despair via the elimination of his loved ones, which weakens him enough to be possessed by the spirit of his ancestor. After being freed from the influence of The Supreme King, Jaden shows many signs of depression, and constantly asks himself where he went wrong, and is horrified by what he's done while ruling the alternate dimension. Even after the sacrifice of Aster Phoenix, Jaden is still unable to regain his resolve. When confronted by Guardian Baou, Jaden even resigns himself to be killed at the same spot his friends were sacrificed. His resolve is stirred by the arrival of Bastion Misawa, who reveals that Yubel is responsible for everything that's transpired and want Jaden to become the next Supreme King. Wanting revenge, Jaden defeats Baou and moves on, witnessing what he believed to be the death of Zane Truesdale, which stirs him to continue.

After his ordeal in season three, Jaden develops a much more cynical outlook on life and is far more brooding and serious. He finds himself unable to enjoy Dueling and attempts to end his Duels as quickly as possible. He even ceases to use his catchphrases. Despite still caring deeply for his friends, he is much more distant towards them, not wanting them to be hurt by the danger his presence tends to attract. He begins to recover his love of Dueling during the Pair Duel tournament and fully recovers it during his Duel against Yugi. This is proven in Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time. Even when Jaden was still fused with Yubel and the Supreme King, he showed the same personality as the one he had in the first three seasons, showing that he in fact loves having a good time and Dueling again.

Abilities[]

Jaden has an incredible luck of the draw, as demonstrated when he went on a 10-day streak of drawing the Golden Eggwich correctly. He has also demonstrated this when he correctly picked a Joker from a pair of playing cards and picked a salmon-flavored sushi from among apricot, dried-fish, and salmon-flavored sushi (which were virtually indistinguishable from an outside perspective). When Dueling Jaden often draws the exact card he needs to win through sheer luck rather than supernatural powers.

Jaden demonstrated incredible athletic abilities, seen when he jumped into the air at a great height to hit a tennis ball served by Mindy. After he fused Yubel's soul with his own, his athletic ability has shown to have increased. He was seen jumping on platforms while trying to escape from an exploding KaibaCorp building, as well as jumping from building to building when he was attacked by Paradox.

Jaden has had an ability called the The Gentle Darkness inside his soul, which gives him the power to see and hear Duel Monster spirits and control them. This is the main power that is used by the Supreme King that Jaden inherited from his past life. While under the Supreme Kings persona, Jaden quickly established his own monarch of Duel Monster Spirits. Supposedly, this power also created the "Dark Fusion" Spell and the Evil Hero counterparts of his Elemental Heroes. In the fourth season, Jaden can use it to materialize Duel Monsters and their powers. After the events in the Dimension World arc, Jaden now has the power of Yubel and the Supreme King inside him. When he materializes his Duel Monsters, he can make them even stronger. Yubel's power allows him to sense people's thoughts and emotions, see visions of the future, and protects him from other supernatural powers, like hypnosis and Nightshroud's influence. Yubel's powers also let him quickly figure out that Honest was masquerading as Fujiwara. Jaden's eyes take the same color as Yubel's or the Supreme King when manifesting either of their abilities. He is also able to project his voice out for people in yonder reach to hear, as shown in the final Duel with Nightshroud.

Due to being fused with Yubel, Nightshroud described Jaden as an inhuman being, which is a strange blend between a human and a Duel Monster spirit and refered to him as a "foreign object".

Name interpretation[]

The word "Judai" means "teenager". "Yuki", if not following the kanji, has multiple meanings, the most common being "courage"; thus it can be inferred into the phrase "courageous teenager". It should also be noted that the kanji for "Yuki" is the combination of Yugi and Joey's Japanese given names. His English given name means "gift from God". Jaden is the only protagonist to have his first name changed in the West. He is also the only protagonist whose given name does not contain "Yu"; instead, his surname contains it.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Appearances[]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelverse[]

Jaden is one of the playable characters in the GX selection.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Rise of the Demon King[]

Jaden is the main protagonist of the story, who dreams to be a superhero and a taste for vigilante justice. Living in the less-than-stellar part of Domino City, he knows his way around the streets and has gotten a reputation as a street brawler. When not fighting for what’s right, he can be seen in the local comic store reading the latest “Elemental Heroes” comics.

Jaden wins his way into Domino Academy by making a ridiculous bet with Dr. Crowler and winning out of sheer luck, giving him free tuition for his entire school career.

His class is the fist fighter, as his gloves and knuckles are his equipment.

Project SEKAI x Yu-Gi-Oh![]

Jaden is a famous Slifer Red duelist at Duel Academy, as well as one of the duel kings. Like Yugi, he assists all units. Otherwise, he's bilingual, singing both in Japanese and English.