The Yu-Gi-Oh! anime is known for quite a few things, but one of the worst aspects of the show is the constant filler arcs. These plot interruptions happen far too often, and the second they conclude, they have no bearing on the plot ever again. Two of these arcs, Waking the Dragons and the KC Grand Championship, happen one after another.
These arcs aren’t necessarily bad by any means, they certainly face the protagonists with some very interesting duels. These include Joey’s duels. The Brooklyn Rager has six duels throughout the two arcs. While they’re all quite interesting, some of them are better than others by leagues.
Mai V. Joey Round 2
Mai V. Joey round two can barely even be considered a duel, happening right after Valon and Joey face off. While Joey does win that duel, he’s exhausted and is barely able to stand while he takes on Mai. This causes him to collapse quickly, losing the duel and allowing The Seal of Orichalcos to take his soul. While this duel is short, it accomplishes one huge thing, it frees Mai from control of the seal, and after she realizes what she’s done, she immediately sets off to right her wrongs. This duel is a major moment for her arc this season, even if the action itself isn’t all that great.
Rex Raptor V Joey
As Weevil and Yami Yugi are facing off during Waking the Dragons, Joey and Rex are doing the same. Rex is under control of The Seal of Orichalcos, powering up his monsters to a pretty hefty degree. This duel is notable because it marks the first time Joey’s Gearfried is stripped of his armor, unveiling Gearfried the Swordmaster.
Joey summons the monster and sacrifices his Red-Eyes Black Dragon with The Claw of Hermos to bring forth Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword. He equips this to his monster, which allows Gearfried the Swordmaster to destroy Rex’s last monster and attack directly with over 4000 attack points, finishing off this rivalry once and for all.
Valon V. Joey
So, this duel. It’s completely wild and doesn’t make any sense. To break things down, Valon uses “armor cards,” which attach to his body and allow him to physically beat his opponents into submission. Yeah, sure, that tracks. Those are holograms for sure. Little do viewers know, Joey also has armor cards that allow him to do the same thing that we’ve mysteriously never seen before. Things quickly devolve into a punching each other over and over fight until Joey eventually comes out on top and takes the win. This duel is so, so dumb because no real card game rules are used, but it is nevertheless a ton of fun to watch go down.
Grandpa V. Joey
The first Grand Championship round sees Joey facing off with his Duel Monsters teacher, Solomon Muto, Yugi’s grandpa. However, Solomon is wearing a disguise, and no one in the gang can recognize him except Yugi. This is quite an interesting duel, as Solomon uses an anime archetype that sort of acts as a puzzle.
In order to win, Joey is forced to solve the puzzle of how the Ancient Dragon monster is able to continuously revive, and take out the combo. He barely manages to do so and clinches the win over grandpa. This is a fun duel to watch even if there aren’t all that many stakes for either duelist, save for their spot in the tournament.
Mai V. Joey Round 1
Mai and Joey’s first duel is a lot more interesting than their second as it is (almost) a full duel. The two face off and trade blow after blow, with Mai multiplying her Harpies and gaining a huge advantage, continually destroying Joey’s defenses. The only way that Joey is able to take back the lead is with the help of his Claw of Hermos card, which was inserted into his deck following the Dark Magician Girl having him release the dragon from its icy prison. The duel is very even at that point, and Valon uses his fragment of the Orichalcos to end the duel. It’s unknown who would have won the duel in the end, as both duelists were on the verge of losing.
Zigfried V. Joey
Zigfried and Joey’s duel is a great one, going on for quite a few turns. Zigfried originally underestimates Joey before realizing that he’s got to play smart if he wants to win. Zigfried constantly has Joey on the verge of a loss, but Joey continually battles back and makes some incredible comebacks. In the end, it comes down to a game of chance. Joey has to pick between three cards, and if he guesses right, Zigfried must end his battle phase. In the end, he picks incorrectly and Zigfried is able to follow through with his attack and win the duel.
This duel really keeps the energy up the entire time, viewers are never able to be sure who will claim the win. It’s a close one that is full of action, which is why it takes the top spot on this list.
