One of the most beloved characters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime is Seto Kaiba. He’s a confident millionaire who doesn’t care about what anyone thinks of him, except for his brother Mokuba. However, is he really that bad of a guy, or is he actually more of a hero than a villain?
Despite his rough exterior, he’s actually more of a hero in the show than a villain. While not everything that Kaiba did was perfect throughout the series, he did more than his fair share of good. This goes extra for anything involving Mokuba, the only character he truly loves.
Isn’t A Villain: He Loves Mokuba
Kaiba is pretty tough toward every single character he meets. That goes for everyone except one person, Mokuba, his younger brother. The two had been orphans their whole lives, and, when they were little, Kaiba always watched out for Mokuba.
When Kaiba was to be adopted by Gozaburo, he made sure that Mokuba came with him. He would never fully betray his brother, through thick or thin.
Acted Like A Hero: Every Time Mokuba Was Kidnapped
Mokuba was captured throughout the series constantly for absolutely no reason. If someone wasn’t watching him for literally five seconds, he was gone. Nevertheless, Kaiba always made sure to save Mokuba.
Every kidnapping, Kaiba was there to save Mokuba. While he failed during the Duelist Kingdom arc (he was going against the Millennium Eye), he managed to save his brother every other time.
Isn’t A Villain: Changed KaibaCorp For The Better
When Kaiba inherited KaibaCorp from Gozaburo, it was a weapons manufacturing company, and he changed this for the better. Kaiba changed it to a gaming company, specifically one that works with the Duel Monsters brand.
This, of course, is great. He took a major company out of the weapons business, making the world a better place. Without this change, much more destruction would have occurred throughout the world.
Acted Like A Hero: Destroyed Zigfried
Kaiba’s duel with Zigfried is one of the best in the series, and watching Kaiba destroy his rival is a ton of fun. Zigfried entered the tournament specifically to take down Kaiba’s company and bolster his own, which is a pretty terrible thing to do.
Kaiba refused to stand for this, however, and took on Zigfried in a duel in order to decide if he had to stay or go. Of course, Kaiba dealt Zigfried a massive blow and defeated him.
Isn’t A Villain: Isn’t All That Mean To The Gang
While Kaiba and Joey go after each other constantly, Kaiba really isn’t all that bad to the group. He provides them transport pretty consistently, such as on Duelist Kingdom and several times throughout the Waking the Dragons arc of the show.
While he might trash talk them here and there for comedic effect, he’s generally pretty there for them when they need it, which is a great quality of Kaiba’s.
Acted Like A Hero: Dueled Against Noah
Despite the fact that Yugi had to take over this duel because anime plot, Kaiba was the one who was going to take on Noah in order to save everyone in the Virtual World.
As mentioned, Yugi was the one who took over the duel after Kaiba was turned to stone, but Kaiba was the one who was ready to risk it all, which says something about his character.
Isn’t A Villain: His Duelist Kingdom Arc
Kaiba goes through a lot in Duelist Kingdom. He’s almost killed here and there, he helps Yugi defeat his evil side by hacking into Pegasus’s dueling system, and he threatens suicide in the middle of a duel in order to make sure that he’s able to save his brother who, surprise, was captured.
All of this he did with good intentions. He was trying to save his brother and take down Pegasus through all of it. That’s certainly a noble cause.
Acted Like A Hero: Battling Dartz
Kaiba wasn’t prepared to make Yugi face Dartz alone, he wanted to help, and dueled alongside him. Had Kaiba not been a part of this duel, it is very likely that Yugi wouldn’t have won.
Only by working together were the two able to defeat such a great evil. Kaiba didn’t have to risk his life for this duel, but he did so very willingly.
Isn’t A Villain: Took Down Battle City Cheaters
Sure, he might have only done this in order to try out Obelisk the Tormentor, but Kaiba sent a cheater in Battle City right out of the tournament.
When he was caught trying to take more than one rare card from his opponent, he was stopped by Mokuba, who was then backed up by Kaiba, who dueled the cheater. Using Obelisk was a bit overkill, sure, but it got the job done.
Acted Like A Hero: Offered To Duel Yugi In The End
The Ceremonial duel at the end of the series was always destined to be between Yugi and Atem, but while the two were trying to figure out who would be up against Yugi, Kaiba willingly volunteered.
This is a sign of his growth throughout the series, as he would have never offered this in earlier seasons. While the duel didn’t end up being against Kaiba, it was great of him to offer himself up.
