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overobsessedfanboy23 · 4 months

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I did a tier list of all the final and penultimate duels in Yugioh

Because uh... I felt like it.

As for what qualified and what didn't, whatever I could find a picture for and qualified as either a "final boss" duel or a "ceremonial" duel and was within the last at least 10 episodes of its respective series. Yes, I am aware I put three duels for Zexal and that's because all three of those duels felt final in some way. Further explanations below:

'SHADOW REALM' Tier: The final Zarc duel.

It has some cool moments, particularly from Shay/Shun and Declan/Reiji, but it goes on for way too long, threw Riley's character completely down the drain for no good reason, and Zarc's character in this duel is so boring compared to what we got in his backstory.

'Why Did You Do... That?' Tier: Yuma vs Astral & Yusei vs Z-One

Both of these duels are interesting and fun if you're just looking at the cards that are being played. The character content though? Astral's final appearance in the show is him acting out of character and lying to Yuma to "help him have fun with duelling again." It always felt like a watered down copy of Yugi vs Atem and Judai vs Yugi to me.

Yusei vs Z-One is a little better for me since the Z-One twist is just disappointing rather than frustrating (at least for me) but both of these duels feel off because of one character decision so it felt right to put them in the same tier.

Serviceable: The Final Luke vs Yuga & Yuya vs Declan/Reiji

I don't have any huge issues with either of these duels. I'm obviously biased towards any Declan duel and while I wouldn't seek out this one in particular, it's still a fun one and an... okay choice to be the final duel of Arc V. Also, Yuya understanding Zarc is a great moment. I like that.

The final Luke vs Yuga duel (AKA: the table top duel where Yuga finally wins) was an interesting idea that's done fairly well. It's not the most standout thing on its own, it's more so the reason they're duelling and the fact that Yuga finally got to defeat Luke that I remember it.

Good: Yusei vs Jack (Round 3? I think?), Yugi Muto vs Bakura, Yuma vs Nasch

All good duels. They're not among my favourites but they hold my attention. DM's lawless overly long duels aren't my thing but Yugi vs Bakura was a great idea and short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Yusei vs Jack is... well, apart from the reason they're duelling (which is really emotionally resonant don't get me wrong) it's kind of just another Yusei vs Jack duel to me and... well, it was never dubbed and I admittedly find myself bored by Yusei and Jack's personalities in the original version. Still, the emotions behind it do hit hard and I do still like these characters so it's good overall.

It might be controversial of me to put Yuma vs Nasch as low as I did? I don't know, I always found it just... a little too long and Nasch throwing the duel to be a little weird? Still, it's a really fun duel and the emotions behind it do hit hard. This sounds weird but I feel like maybe I'd like it more if it were the final duel rather than the penultimate duel? Like, if it were the final note the series ended on it would hit a little harder?

Great: Yugi vs Atem, Yuga (and crew) vs Otes, Yuma & Nasch vs Don Thousand, Judai vs Darkness

Yugi vs Atem is my favourite DM duel, basic opinion I'm sure but the emotions hit me hard to this day and Yugi facing off against the partner and cards that helped him his entire journey was the perfect note to end DM on.

I did not give Sevens' final duel enough credit when I first saw it, this duel went hard. I love the way they involve Yuga's friends, I love the fact that it's SEVEN friends duelling the final villain, I love the silly absurdity of duelling in spaceships. The final arc had its problems with pacing but this duel still slapped.

And Zexal's final boss duel is also genius. The three main factions (Astralworld, Barianworld, humanity) who were fighting each other the entire second half of Zexal teaming up to defeat a god was just... the perfect way to do a final boss. Also, the Numeron Code and the way they beat it is some bullshit but it's the kind of silly bullshit I enjoy from Yugioh.

Not gonna lie, I was tempted to put Judai vs Darkness in top tier but if I'm being completely honest, Darkness is a boring villain without much buildup. He was built up through other characters but not on his own if that makes sense? But uh... fuck if I care, he may be cardboard for Judai to beat up but he's cardboard that lead to Judai using Super Polymerization to fuse Yubel and Neos. And also, the power of that scene where everyone is freed from the darkness forgives all perceived problems with this duel for me because of just how much that scene continues to mean to me. That part is top tier.

Peak: Soulburner vs Revolver, Ai vs Playmaker, Judai vs Yugi

I love how varied and interesting Revolver's duels are so it's no surprise I love his final duel as much as I do. It's also such good closure for Soulburner, the only character who was allowed to get proper closure in VRAINS if I'm being honest. This duel is both epic and emotional, propping it this high.

Ai vs Playmaker and Judai vs Yugi I've discussed extensively in other places (ie: my 'Favourite Duels of Each Series' post) so I'll keep this brief: Ai vs Playmaker is tragic in all the right ways, slowly unraveling and revealing Ai's motivations amazingly well before hitting us with that tragic as all hell final note. It's fantastic, and probably the 'best' final duel and one of the best duels in the franchise.

But Judai vs Yugi is my favourite because it's the most fun. It's swift, it's simple, it's fun, it's unique, it's two pros equally trading blows in ways that are easy to follow, in a good way. It's probably the duel I rewatch the most (outside of maybe Judai vs Yubel). The whack logic of the duel taking place at all aside, this was such an uplifting perfect feel-good note to end GX on and such a wonderful way to complete Judai's character arc with. I love that he hit rock bottom in season 3 but was able to crawl back up in season 4, maturing but learning not to abandon his inner child, his love of duelling, and what better way to do that than have him duel a duelling legend? He earned it.

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