Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!
They storm through this field!
Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!
ACTION DUEL! (Gif credits)
Oh hey look.
Back for more yugioh posts.
My love for ARC-V has been reigniting lately. So, forget about everything I said in the last post lol.
I mean it’s a combination of many things. Duel Links…the local TV airing A5 dub…Tumblr…rewatching some episodes and a special senpai. I just find myself appreciating my favorite yugioh series again. I realized that no matter how much criticisms and gripes I had about the show, it’s just THAT special to me and frankly, I could care less now if everyone hated it. I still love the show okay. I do wish its not overhated because its making me just stay away from the ygo fandom lol. But anyways.
With these many factors, I just find myself appreciating new things like Yuya and Jack’s teacher-student relationship, episodes 126-129, Yuya vs Yuri, episode 140, episode 147…yeah I feel that I’m gonna have a blast when I rewatch the show hopefully next year.
And them.
Fruitshipping.
When I was catching up in ARC-V like 5 years ago, I knew that the two main characters were gonna get separated before I reached the Synchro arc. Even then, when I reached episode 23, I was just like “lol yeah i ship them” and I just find myself shipping them harder ever since then. I am weak when it comes to romance and you can make me ship easily in any kind anime, so I just jumped on this ship immediately.
But as the episodes go on, they just made it to my list of “My absolute favorite OTPs” and never left since then. It’s pretty funny actually because they’re my only absolute favorite OTP that never had a love confession or kissu. But its also a problem because I do like my OTPs having direct “suki dayo” and at least a kissu or else imma lose my mind. I’m weird I know.
But it was fine because I love them.
So, why talk about fruitshipping right now? Simple. I fell in love with them once again and it’s really thanks to Duel Links bringing the cake home.
Hmmm, so what happens? Yuya arrives at the DL world, talks about making everyone smile with his dueling, notices that his dear beloved friend is not with him, who is this dear beloved friend? You’re right. Its Yuzu Hiiragi, the girl who always cheered him up when he was down. He vows to find her again, you unlock Gongenzaka in stage 6, Yuya says its not time for dueling, its time to find Yuzu, Gongenzaka says “chill Yuya and lets duel because you won’t be able to find Yuzu if you’re like that.” You reach stage 10, Yuzu appears but is down for some reason, Yuya decides to duel her. She’s back boiz. They are finally back together, but tsundere antics shenanigans happen, Gongenzaka says they’re like an “old bickering couple” and Yuzu blushes. “No, I am not marrying this guy!!” “Ouch! Stop that!” They’re back together squad. Fruitshipping is back in business.
When I saw this meme, I should’ve known it would cause me to go back to my roots lol
BUT not only did they have a moment together in Duel Links, but they also have:
- Specific lines for each other during duels
- Callback from episode 148 (at least the dubbed version, not sure about Japanese version but to be fair them getting separated right off the bat is a callback too lol)
- Duel each other
- Tag duel with each other and also have specific lines when they’re the teammates
- ACTION DUEL CHANT TOGETHER THAT YOU COULD HEAR WHEN YOU OPEN THE APP
Thank you very much Konami. I’m pretty much well-fed. Just more fruitship content in the future thanks.
Oh? You thought it was just because of duel links? Nah. The dub too!
But the thing is, the A5 dub is weird when it comes to fruitship. In episode 50, they changed Yuya’s lines about how Yuzu was there for him when people mocked him to something something generic. But on the other hand, dub Yuya told Yuzu in episode 99 okay…”I’ll never let you out of my sight…again!” So like (dub Grace voice), make up your minds please.
Okay but then again even dub Yuya can’t stop worrying (and simping) about Yuzu. Like, I was watching episode 78 dub the other day and he’s like “BUT WHAT ABOUT ZUZU?” “ZUZU NEEDS ME!” “ZUZU’S WAY MORE IMPORTANT THAN DUELING!” (gosh I hate her dub name so much). So… I’d say its a fair game either way.
Anyways…I say all of this to say that I just appreciate this otp again. I want to talk about them because there’s just so many things to say about them! Four years later! Desperately looking for fruitship essays, but none to avail. So, screw it and I’ll do one for myself.
So, let’s do this, shall we? And let me get off this ride rofl.
Yuya and Yuzu’s relationship is very very very special to me for so many reasons.
At first, they started off as this typical MC/Heroine duo where the heroine likes the protagonist because this is yugioh and yugioh does it a lot. Dense protag, heroine likes him, protag saves her a lot of times, heroine is tsundere when it comes to him. Yada yada yada. All those stuff I usually see in other anime shows rofl.
However, the way their relationship developed throughout the show became a game changer for me.
After all, Yuzu gets inspired by Yuya (and Sora and Yuto because I don’t wanna leave them out lol) to become stronger by trying to learn Fusion summon. Yuya saw what lies beyond Pendulum summon because he used Yuzu’s polymerization and created both Beast-Eyes and Rune-Eyes! When these moments happened, I got more invested in their relationship because I absolutely love it when my ship inspires each other to become stronger.
On top of them inspiring each other, they also really cheer up each other. Yuya cheered up Yuzu when she lost against Masumi. Yuzu cheered up Yuya when he was down after berserking against Kachidoki. They just…really bring in the best out of each other and showed that during the first season.
And then they got separated.
For half of the show’s run.
This is where they became even more special to me. Why? I mean they’re not interacting right? Heck, they were just reunited for four separate occasions. The fourth time barely counts as well because Leo Akaba shenanigans and the whole Zarc and Ray plot and everyone is dying including my girls.
I also wonder that too I mean I prefer my ships to be together all the time I mean its should be all about building up to that love confession…*coughs*
But honestly though, its really because of how they became each other’s motivation later on. Especially on Yuya’s part but imma explain that more later.
When they got separated, they really started to yearn for each other because no one wanted this to happen. I mean, Yuya had to deal with all of the carding stuff, Sora and Reiji casually saying “yeah this battle royale is for making u all Lancers” and Yuzu had to deal with all of another girl who looks like her, another boy who looks like Yuya who wants to kidnap her for some reason and another boy who looks like Yuya who mistook her for another girl who looks like her and teleported with him. Okay, I made this complicated but ANYWAYS clearly the last thing they wanna deal with is being far away from each other.
So, when it happened, it made both of them realize how truly important they are to each other. Value each other more. Worry more about each other. Support each other even harder. Like, Yuzu vs Chojiro and Yuya’s letter to Yuzu just really show that this separation isn’t just about making them not physically interact, but making their relationship develop further. Seriously, I never experienced this with my other ships, only them lol.
And just…honestly even though they were separated for half of the show’s run, I just can’t seem to stop falling in love with them because they were endlessly searching for each other. That’s the true angst for me and I love angst, so maybe that’s why I loved them more lol. But anyways, even thinking about them four years later still makes me smile, cry, suffer, and angst a lot because they are that special to me okay. I even finally bought their merch together lately and gosh why they aren’t arriving yet!!! Hello!!!
But anyways…
Whenever I think about fruitship, I always think about it on Yuya’s side.
But before that, of course, I wanna talk about Yuzu’s side because thinking about it, her feelings for Yuya are as strong and worth mentioning. Even though the show made her like Yuya because this is yugioh and every heroine likes the protag (except Aoi and Romin), there are actually reasons why she likes him you know. They grew up together, so they’re friends from the very beginning. And of course, Yuya loves egao and is a nice guy in general (also handsome). Of couuurse Yuzu would appreciate all of that good qualities even though he annoys her a lot too. Come on, the first thing Yuya does when Yuzu lost against Masumi is run to her and comfort her. I understand Yuzu. I understand.
And then she had the dilemma when Yuto appeared. She started to doubt everything about herself and I would suspect that she started to doubt whether her feelings for Yuya are real or illusion as well. Good thing she was able to overcome this, but another problem arose when she got teleported away to the Synchro dimension.
When she said, “Yuya is not here!” in episode 54…now that I think about it too…it just reinforces her feelings for him so much because she just overcame that dilemma that Yuya is there with her, but he has someone who looks like him. Now, she really has to deal with the fact that he’s not with her anymore AND she’s stuck with another one who looks like him. She never verbally said that she loves him throughout the entire show (in the dub though she said it in episode 129) and I wish she actually did. But even then, I just never doubted that she loves Yuya because she just showed it all the time. Cheering him up during her duels. Putting himself first before her (and vice versa too). Risking her own safety because she feels and knows that he’s in danger. ENCOURAGING him to stop the fight the way he knows how. Assuring him that she’ll be okay. Assuring him that he isn’t the demon. Always ALWAYS believing in him. I just…feel it through my veins. And writing this makes me love her character more okay there’s a reason why Yuzu Hiiragi is my favorite A5 character hah.
On the other hand, we have Yuya and boy he did not get labeled “the straightest ygo protag” for no reason.
Just…look at this special fruitship masterpost from Yuya’s perspective and judge for yourself.
But the thing…he also never verbally said that he loves Yuzu or the likes. You could always look at their relationship and his feelings for her as platonic or romantic and it’s fine. I just always looked at them and be like “GET MARRIED ALREADY!!!!” so yeah.
But ANYWAYS. The reason why this tomato boy made me love fruitship so much is the fact that she became one of his main motivations to carry on in the latter seasons. Normally, shounen protagonists’ motivation always revolved around “being strong”, “defeating the evil”, “for my family and friends”. Of course, Yuya embodies these tropes, but him having that motivation of “saving and bringing back the heroine home” is something I never see in my anime shows.
And what I find interesting as well is that they could’ve not separated the two and Yuya would still hop dimensions because he IS the protagonist. However, characters like Shun, Yuto, Yugo, and Reiji had a PERSONAL goal in this interdimensional war. Yuya didn’t because in the first season, he just wanted to see what’s beyond pendulum summon and grow as an entertainer duelist, right? Remember, he refused to join the Lancers…not until Reiji said being one could lead him to save Yuzu.
And this is why I think now that it’s pretty interesting that the writers separated Yuya and Yuzu for them to have a personal reason to get dangled into this mess of interdimensional war. Again, none of them really wanted to be in this mess. I didn’t want them to be separated THAT long too come on…
I just…love that Yuzu became Yuya’s motivation later on because oh man he was in for a ride of his life. Sure, I find it really amusing that he would do anything else but duel when her safety mattered, but it just worked so well in his character. For me, I cannot talk about Yuya’s character without mentioning Yuzu because her impact is just so strong AND always worth talking about. The person who was always with him was suddenly gone and all the rational thinking was gone because you just wanted to go ahead and save that person.
Even though Yuya never acknowledged or yeah, verbally said that he sees Yuzu more than a friend, it’s obvious that he does. You mean to tell me that him discarding Smile World, the card and philosophy that he treasured a lot, to get Yuzu out of the field spell doesn’t show that she’s more than just a friend??? That’s like…wow that scene always impresses me and makes me appreciate how strong and deep my otp is.
There’s also the episode 99 reunion scene (the best fruitship moment I’m telling you). Episode 125 where he just lost it because parasites shenanigans and the Doctor making that mistake of touching Yuya’s waifu. Episode 129 where Yuzu almost got Yuya calm down but Leo said “NOPE ITS TIME TO REVIVE MY DAUGHTERU.” Episode 134 where he remembered her the longest…………my heart. Episode 142 where remembering Yuzu just gave him THE pain and suffering. I’m honestly convinced at this point that Yuya will compare any girls that he will meet to Yuzu and be like “yeah so anyways i wonder how will i annoy her today so she’ll use THE fan on me?”
ITS JUST…I know fruitship is pretty complicated on Yuya’s side and everyone could argue “its not mutual if the other side doesn’t directly acknowledge it” but let me just lay out this section from yugipedia ladies and gents
I think I don’t need to explain any further why fruitship is pretty much mutual and worth getting invested in even though the pain is always there lol.
And the last part of that section? I want to talk about it because I recently rewatched episode 140.
I love that episode so much okay? I think that it was a great way to conclude the Fusion arc and all of Zarc’s madness. Everyone thinks otherwise, but it’s fine.
And gosh. The fruitshipping moment in that episode…
“This bond culminated in Yuzu’s speech to Z-ARC that she believed that Yuya was not a demon despite being the reincarnation of the destroyer of the Original Dimension, allowing for Yuya to break free of Z-ARC’s control and allow Ray/Reira to defeat him.”
I read that and I was like “gosh its true episode 140 is the culmination of the fruitship journey.” It amazes me that Yuzu is really the one who gave Yuya the strength to gain control back from Zarc (alongside Yusho’s famous quote about courage. I love that quote btw). It’s always been her. ITS ALWAYS BEEN THEM!!!
(I wish the other Lancers realized this and said YUZU to Zarc because it would’ve made the job easier lol).
And honestly, really what I noticed from rewatching that episode is that everyone kept on saying to Yuya that he’s not the demon, he always brings smiles to everyone, he is Yuya Sakaki. Even Yuzu said this. But what she said next really struck me:
“You’ve left your home to save me! No matter how many times I got separated from you, you kept chasing after me! I was able to smile! Respond to them, Yuya! Respond to your friends’ feelings! And then, we’ll go back home together!“
Like…she basically acknowledged his efforts to save her. And to me, that’s like us getting reminded why Yuya leaped dimensions in the first place! Gosh, its so hard to convey how I really feel, but I just love the fact that what Yuya REALLY ultimately needed was a reminder that he was looking for Yuzu ever since episode 50. It’s true that he’s not a demon, but just like Yuto, Shun, and Yugo, he wanted to find the person that he’s searching for all this time.
And it just made me love Yuzu even more because she just shows once again how much she understands Yuya and basically they have the same desire throughout the entire series: find each other and go home together. That’s why they have that shot in ending 6 where they’re facing Maiami City.
Honestly, I can’t. I’m pretty sure Yuya got touched when Yuzu said those words to him. And I’m like “FINALLY! Someone appreciates Yuya’s efforts and it’s Yuzu herself.” I didn’t know I could love this ship EVEN MORE than 4 years ago.
Anyways. Talking about them four years later brings so much nostalgia to me because hey I moved on from yugioh ever since 2017. I just didn’t expect that seeing ARC-V in duel links would bring me back again. But you know what? It’s fine because I’m really enjoying it so far. Even though I learned how to spend money on it, rip.
And moving on from yugioh means moving on from the memes. So, when I saw the new A5 memes…I was like “…why?” Yeah, the manga memes gave me new pain.
I don’t want to talk a lot about whatever happened in the manga, but gosh I hate that the manga tarnished fruitship’s reputation amongst the yugioh fandom. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH why 😩😩😩 Good thing the A5 manga is on its own, so I’m just gonna move on and pretend that I didn’t read it nor buy the first volume lol.
But I just wanted to get that off my chest because yeah.
But honestly, I’m not surprised at myself that I still love fruitship four years later. Obviously, four years later, I’m still salty about 3 things when it comes to fruitship: 1) They didn’t do tag duel together 2) They’re not the Ceremonial Duel 3) They didn’t get another hug in the finale. Thankfully, duel links finally gave me the closure that I needed because I made them duel each other and do tag duel with each other! HAH! Their decks work well together and I love it.
Since I love angst, I really wanted to see Yuya vs brainwashed Yuzu when the parasite shenanigans happened. You know how emotional it would be seeing Yuzu being cold to Yuya and Yuya pleading to her? Please. I live for those kinds of angst. We might probably see some kind of love confession too.
But yeah, I just really wanted to talk about them and I’m surprised I didn’t write a long twitter thread about them after A5 lol. I rewatch their reunion scene, I scream again. I rewatch their scene in 140, I scream again. I hear their action duel chant in duel links, I scream again. I miss them a lot frankly. I would totally pay to see new fruitship merch and I’m really hoping that duel links give me more new fruitship content in the future.
This ship really means a lot to me because they were able to show that shipping two characters doesn’t only mean seeing them interact more and build to that awaited love confession. They showed that building a strong relationship means having that understanding, inspiration, love, and support for each other even though they are separated. Yuya and Yuzu never stopped believing in each other throughout the entire series and that resulted in them developing a stronger bond and resolution to find each other. I think that the way ARC-V developed their relationship is very unique and different from others, and I fell in love with them in the process.
I’ll probably make another post about them in the future lol. Favorite fruitship moments for sure!
But yeah.
Four years ago, I got introduced to this yugioh ship and the writers just can’t stop separating them. But I loved them regardless.
Four years later? I still love them.
Four years later? I still love fruitshipping.
I still love Yuya and Yuzu’s relationship.
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