Thread: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal

This week's episode was pretty intense. We had Yuma and Kaito saying their goodbyes to their family, some action, and Rei's death. The scene where Vector stomped his foot on Rei's head really made me want to make Vector get beaten. It really helped in making him out as being a twisted being. I wouldn't be surprised if he told Yuma that Rei was dead just so he could make him angry enough to go full force to help making Astral become evil. The Numbers Club coming in out of nowhere was completely random, but if they're going to stay in the ship and help take care of it, then it gives them some purpose. I have to give Bronk credit for actually going outside the ship and help fight the monsters. Durbe dueling for the first time should be interesting. I wonder how long this arc will even be.

I thought that this episode was pretty decent setup, but I was so disappointed that the Numbers Club members came along. I was going to give the writers major credit for finally realizing that these are useless characters and leaving them behind while only including important characters. At most, I could understand taking along Kotori and Testsuo since unlike the rest of the Numbers Club, they aren't completely unnecessary characters to the whole series, but since their roles could have been fulfilled by characters who also would have an impact on the storyline, even they aren't necessary to tag along. The class rep kid, Tokunosuke and Cathy are completely dead weight. I doubt that they'll be able to take care of the ship since I doubt that they're smart enough to know how to work it and they clearly weren't needed for that when they were going to be left behind.

I think that one reason they went along was because of wanting to help find Rei and if that's true, then that doesn't really make much sense. Rei just hang around them because of Yuma. He didn't have a lot of interactions with anyone who wasn't Yuma and he didn't seem particularly close to any of Yuma's friends, or even Yuma for that matter in my opinion. If they were close to Rei, they would still be unnecessary, but at least tagging along would have more meaning than just wanting to cheer for Yuma, which is pretty much all they're going to do. At least when Judai's friends tagged along with him to the Dark World arc to save Johan, they could affect the plot beyond cheering for Judai, despite how he still did most of the work and how most of his friends kind of "died" to affect Judai, but that's still more than what Yuma's friends can do. I don't even really feel a close friendship among Yuma and his circle of friends. They say that they are, but he rarely interacts with anyone besides Kotori, Tetsuo and I guess now Rei. Acting like they're all so close just feels forced to me.

Tetsuo helping out with finding the random bunch of monsters was kind of nice, even though I think it was just because of his crush on Rio. That doesn't change how including the Numbers Club members are completely unnecessary to include on this mission, but it was nice.

I could easily see Vector just saying that Rei is dead to mess with Yuma. It would fit with his character and I seriously doubt that Rei is really dead anyway, especially with my theory about his connection to Vector. It says a lot when Yuma's happy memories of Rei are when he was obviously faking being happy-go-lucky. It could connect to how that Dark Zexal comes into play as well. I can tell that they were going for a dramatic moment and they wanted the audience to care, but I think that the writers are trying way too hard to make the audience care without doing much with either Rei or his relationship with Yuma to make me care. Rei was either faking his happy-go-lucky personality or being an obvious villain and as I mentioned before, there's really nothing about his relationship with Yuma that makes it stand out compared to the relationships with his other friends, aside from advancing the plot, or make it look like they have a genuine connection with interesting interactions. So, I can't really feel invested in the situation when I don't care about the characters and all of the dramatic/emotional moments feel forced. I'll admit that Yuma's voice actor has been doing a decent job with these dramatic moments, but that doesn't make me more invested in the situation.

Vector stepping on Rei's head in the preview actually had the opposite effect on me. It made me want to see him mess with Yuma even more since he's easily more entertaining than the vast majority of the main casts and he would continue to be a huge troll. He is twisted, but I don't care to see Vector defeated for good anytime soon. It probably helps that aside from Shark and Rio, I either don't care about or just plain dislike the rest of the cast. I am quite eager to see how he reveals the truth to Yuma in the next episode. It should be really fun just to hear his voice and laughter as he watches Yuma suffer with whatever information he'll reveal.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

I doubt that they'll be able to take care of the ship since I doubt that they're smart enough to know how to work it and they clearly weren't needed for that when they were going to be left behind.

When the ship started I'm pretty sure I saw them using the equipment.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

I think that one reason they went along was because of wanting to help find Rei and if that's true, then that doesn't really make much sense. Rei just hang around them because of Yuma. He didn't have a lot of interactions with anyone who wasn't Yuma and he didn't seem particularly close to any of Yuma's friends, or even Yuma for that matter in my opinion. If they were close to Rei, they would still be unnecessary, but at least tagging along would have more meaning than just wanting to cheer for Yuma, which is pretty much all they're going to do.

They didn't need to have a close friendship with him for them to go with him. They would have went if it was someone that Yuma just cared for. He could have dueled off screen against them too.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

I could easily see Vector just saying that Rei is dead to mess with Yuma. It would fit with his character and I seriously doubt that Rei is really dead anyway, especially with my theory about his connection to Vector.

Yeah, I could see him faking it too and it being all an act to completely ruin Yuma.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

It says a lot when Yuma's happy memories of Rei are when he was obviously faking being happy-go-lucky.

While it was fake, Yuma still enjoyed them. Even when Rei revealed himself to be a Barian Guardian Yuma looked like he had fun being his "subordinate". I don't see the problem with Rei calling Yuma that, especially as Yuma wasn't an official Barian Guardian, but more of a help. I wouldn't think that I was being treated unfairly by being called a subordinate on something I'm not even officially a part of. It doesn't make me think that I'm not equal to those who officially are part of the job.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

I can tell that they were going for a dramatic moment and they wanted the audience to care, but I think that the writers are trying way too hard to make the audience care without doing much with either Rei or his relationship with Yuma to make me care.

I don't think they tried too hard.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

there's really nothing about his relationship with Yuma that makes it stand out compared to the relationships with his other friends, aside from advancing the plot, or make it look like they have a genuine connection with interesting interactions.

Rei was closer to Yuma in the sense they had more in common than his other friends and seemed to interact more.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

Vector stepping on Rei's head in the preview actually had the opposite effect on me. It made me want to see him mess with Yuma even more since he's easily more entertaining than the vast majority of the main casts and he would continue to be a huge troll. He is twisted, but I don't care to see Vector defeated for good anytime soon. It probably helps that aside from Shark and Rio, I either don't care about or just plain dislike the rest of the cast. I am quite eager to see how he reveals the truth to Yuma in the next episode. It should be really fun just to hear his voice and laughter as he watches Yuma suffer with whatever information he'll reveal.

I couldn't even bear to stand looking at the scene with how twisted Vector was treating Yuma, and if it really turned out to be all just an act... that would just be the icing on the cake.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

When the ship started I'm pretty sure I saw them using the equipment.

They were just standing around the equipment. I don't think that they did anything but look at it. I think that the only ones actually using it are Orbital and Yuma, even though the wheel might just be for decoration. Shark and Kaito might be using it too, but I'm not sure that any of them would be able to know how to work this ship anyway.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

They didn't need to have a close friendship with him for them to go with him. They would have went if it was someone that Yuma just cared for. He could have dueled off screen against them too.

Considering that they're going off to a different world, facing unknown danger and leaving their families for who knows how long, it would be better if they weren't going along because Rei is someone Yuma cares about. That just feels like an even weaker reason to tag along than just being Yuma's cheerleaders. There's no indication that Rei dueled any of them off-screen and I don't think that would have made them look like good friends when something would need to happen on-screen to convey their relationship. Besides that, it wouldn't make sense for Rei to duel them when he's clearly wanting to be closer to Yuma. He's only around the other characters because they're almost always with Yuma and their whole world revolves around him.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

Yeah, I could see him faking it too and it being all an act to completely ruin Yuma.

And making the truth about Rei, regardless of what his connection to Vector is, all the more painful for Yuma.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

While it was fake, Yuma still enjoyed them. Even when Rei revealed himself to be a Barian Guardian Yuma looked like he had fun being his "subordinate". I don't see the problem with Rei calling Yuma that, especially as Yuma wasn't an official Barian Guardian, but more of a help. I wouldn't think that I was being treated unfairly by being called a subordinate on something I'm not even officially a part of. It doesn't make me think that I'm not equal to those who officially are part of the job.

It's true that Yuma still enjoyed those moments, but it doesn't change that what really makes him happy about Rei is completely fake. That just makes the friendship feel even more artificial when Yuma is primarily attached to what was clearly an act to get close to him. Yuma looked like he was having fun, but I still got the impression that Rei was talking down to him. Yuma didn't because he was having fun and he obviously isn't the smartest kid around, but it didn't make their relationship look any better to me after Rei called himself a Barian Guardian.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

I don't think they tried too hard.

I think that they are since they're really trying to make the audience care about this relationship and the idea of Rei being dead when they didn't do much with either one in my opinion.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

Rei was closer to Yuma in the sense they had more in common than his other friends and seemed to interact more.

That was all an act though and everything they had in common was just stuff like being hyper active and clumsy. That isn't really enough to make me think that they were closer to each other, especially when they really didn't have a lot of interactions to flesh out their relationship.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

I couldn't even bear to stand looking at the scene with how twisted Vector was treating Yuma, and if it really turned out to be all just an act... that would just be the icing on the cake.

Vector is easily the best part of this season for me so far, so I'm fine with him treating Yuma like this. I know that he'll be defeated at some point, but in the mean time, I can take some pleasure out of how much of a twisted villain he is for manipulating Yuma's mind and feelings.

Aren't we suppose to get a new opening ?
After all , The school Ark is over and now its adventure to Barrian world time !
Anyway , I'm still wondering the same question.
Who's the real antagonist in Zexal ?
Because , I saw Street floating in the Air in Barrian world.
I don't suppose Barrian World was always like that .
So My theory is that , Barrian World was a world similar to human world until somehow that world got devastated .
And Barrian blame Astral world for this and they seeking revenge !
I mean , look at Vector .
Mainly people who're blinded by revenge become as twisted as Vector!
So , I think Vector is actually a victim who lose every single sense of sanity on him after a tragic event .

If you've read summaries at least through episode 99, please read!!!!

I NEED your opinion on Nasch's identity!!!! I'm begging you to share your speculations ;_; !!!! Do you believe he's Rei, Durbe, or a new character?!? I've just been driving myself insane over this, as you can probably tell :p .

Originally Posted by Hurricane Kishore

Aren't we suppose to get a new opening ?

I'm sure we will soon enough- like early hundreds. I'm excited to hear the new opening and ending, as well as watch the footage with them ^-^ ! The opening and ending will be called

Kagami no Dualism" (Dualism of Mirrors) and "Go Way Go Way."

Originally Posted by Hurricane Kishore

Who's the real antagonist in Zexal ?

There isn't really a "real antagonist" in it, I don't think. Like in life there often isn't a crystal clear good v. evil scenario, since no ones completely good or evil. If it was, I'd say good could overwhelm evil more easily than if both had justified causes and support from people who see their sides.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

I couldn't even bear to stand looking at the scene with how twisted Vector was treating Yuma, and if it really turned out to be all just an act... that would just be the icing on the cake.

Vector is easily the best part of this season for me so far, so I'm fine with him treating Yuma like this. I know that he'll be defeated at some point, but in the mean time, I can take some pleasure out of how much of a twisted villain he is for manipulating Yuma's mind and feelings.

I'll admit that my feelings about Vector are like a combination of these XD . Part of me is horrified by it, while part of me enjoys the wickedness :b .

Originally Posted by Hurricane Kishore

Aren't we suppose to get a new opening ?
After all , The school Ark is over and now its adventure to Barrian world time !

They've put up a new opening and ending theme every twenty-five episodes or so. With that in mind, we should be getting them around episode episode 100 or 101.

Originally Posted by Hurricane Kishore

Anyway , I'm still wondering the same question.
Who's the real antagonist in Zexal ?
Because , I saw Street floating in the Air in Barrian world.
I don't suppose Barrian World was always like that .
So My theory is that , Barrian World was a world similar to human world until somehow that world got devastated .
And Barrian blame Astral world for this and they seeking revenge !
I mean , look at Vector .
Mainly people who're blinded by revenge become as twisted as Vector!
So , I think Vector is actually a victim who lose every single sense of sanity on him after a tragic event .

It is possible that the Astral World is where the true villain is. They've certainly thrown in foreshadowing that Astral has a dark side and that he'll become evil. Plus, most of the Barians don't really act that evil, aside from Vector. The streets are the only similarity to the human world that we've seen so far in the Barian dimension, so I'm not sure if that's enough to say it used to be a world similar to the human one just yet.

Originally Posted by Nasch

If you've read summaries at least through episode 99, please read!!!!

I NEED your opinion on Nasch's identity!!!! I'm begging you to share your speculations ;_; !!!! Do you believe he's Rei, Durbe, or a new character?!? I've just been driving myself insane over this, as you can probably tell :p .

I doubt that it's Rei. I'm still leading towards the theory that he is Vector and Vector is overpowered enough to where he could separate himself from his human disguise. Even if he isn't, he's clearly a villain, so I doubt that he'll help Yuma out, especially that soon after the duel with Vector. Durbe is more of a possibility since they've already revealed his human form in a magazine ad and they usually do that not too long before they appear in the anime. I remember that they showed Dr. Faker's ridiculous Barian form shortly before his duel and then Vector's Barian form just a few weeks before he appeared. It could be a new character too, but at this point, I'm leading a bit towards Durbe.

Originally Posted by Nasch

If you've read summaries at least through episode 99, please read!!!!

I NEED your opinion on Nasch's identity!!!! I'm begging you to share your speculations ;_; !!!! Do you believe he's Rei, Durbe, or a new character?!? I've just been driving myself insane over this, as you can probably tell :p .

If Nasch wasn't confirm to be a male then I would have guess that Nasch is actually Yuma's mother .
I mean , We don't know anything about Yuma mother's whereabouts .
She isn't confirm to be dead so there is a chance that she must be doing something for the future .

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

They were just standing around the equipment. I don't think that they did anything but look at it. I think that the only ones actually using it are Orbital and Yuma, even though the wheel might just be for decoration. Shark and Kaito might be using it too, but I'm not sure that any of them would be able to know how to work this ship anyway.

I'm pretty sure I saw Kotori's hands on some buttons. I'll have to rewatch the episode again when subtitles come out.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

Considering that they're going off to a different world, facing unknown danger and leaving their families for who knows how long, it would be better if they weren't going along because Rei is someone Yuma cares about. That just feels like an even weaker reason to tag along than just being Yuma's cheerleaders. There's no indication that Rei dueled any of them off-screen and I don't think that would have made them look like good friends when something would need to happen on-screen to convey their relationship. Besides that, it wouldn't make sense for Rei to duel them when he's clearly wanting to be closer to Yuma. He's only around the other characters because they're almost always with Yuma and their whole world revolves around him.

It would be a fun and exciting activity for them. I'm sure I'd have loved to check the Barian Wolrd out with Yuma, and with him, Shark, and Kaito, I'd have nothing to really worry about. The Ending showed them with some cards, so it could have been a regular activity they have, though what happens in the Endings isn't even canon. While not actually an indication of them ever dueling, them saying they cared for him still means something. He was even in the Numbers Club with them. They don't have to be good, close friends with him.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

It's true that Yuma still enjoyed those moments, but it doesn't change that what really makes him happy about Rei is completely fake. That just makes the friendship feel even more artificial when Yuma is primarily attached to what was clearly an act to get close to him. Yuma looked like he was having fun, but I still got the impression that Rei was talking down to him. Yuma didn't because he was having fun and he obviously isn't the smartest kid around, but it didn't make their relationship look any better to me after Rei called himself a Barian Guardian.

Primarily. When Rei revealed his intentions Yuma came closer to him, thinking him of being a good ally, they got closer. So close Yuma began ignoring Astral. People talking down to Yuma isn't exactly anything new. Every antagonist has done it, and even his family and friends have. I don't recall Rei ever doing that, and even if he did, I'd be happy he did because at least his friendship with Yuma wouldn't be as perfect as Bruno with Yusei and Judai with Johan where they never disagreed on something or were bothered with what somebody did.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

I think that they are since they're really trying to make the audience care about this relationship and the idea of Rei being dead when they didn't do much with either one in my opinion.

Honestly, I'm having a hard time imagining Yuma not crying over Rei dying. It was natural for him to do, and if the audience could relate to the event, they'd have more to care about.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

That was all an act though and everything they had in common was just stuff like being hyper active and clumsy. That isn't really enough to make me think that they were closer to each other, especially when they really didn't have a lot of interactions to flesh out their relationship.

I personally think they had enough. Their goal to defeat the Barians did make them closer, and have a "comrade" type of relationship. They were like soldiers in my eyes. If your ally in war dies, you cry for him. That just makes them even closer. I bet if Yuma died, and Rei really is innocent all along, he'd have cried for him.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

I'm pretty sure I saw Kotori's hands on some buttons. I'll have to rewatch the episode again when subtitles come out.

I don't quite remember that either, but I don't think that it gives them purpose when they could have clearly managed to move the ship without them as they were planning on doing that from the start.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

It would be a fun and exciting activity for them. I'm sure I'd have loved to check the Barian Wolrd out with Yuma, and with him, Shark, and Kaito, I'd have nothing to really worry about.

I'm pretty sure that they all know that they're going on a dangerous mission and that they aren't going for a fun ride. Yuma, Shark and Kaito would be basically their shields, but that just puts more of a burden on them, especially when Yuma's friends aren't going to be doing anything really useful in return. Their roles of being the supporting cheerleaders could be taken up by other characters who are also actually useful to the plot. I don't think that I'd be that happy to checking out another universe with those three, mainly because I only can tolerate one of them, but they're just going there to be Yuma's cheerleaders and nothing more.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

The Ending showed them with some cards, so it could have been a regular activity they have, though what happens in the Endings isn't even canon. While not actually an indication of them ever dueling, them saying they cared for him still means something. He was even in the Numbers Club with them. They don't have to be good, close friends with him.

The ending theme also showed them running around in chibi form and Astral disappearing in order to show a bit more of the next episode, so I don't think using something shown in the ending theme is the best example to go with, especially when you said that it isn't canon. I don't think that saying that they cared for him means much, at least to me, without any meaningful interactions to back it up. Don't just have them say that they care about him. Actually show it prior to Rei being "kidnapped" instead. Being in the Numbers Club with them is meaningless to me when the club itself is virtually pointless and it's just a group name for Yuma's cheerleaders. They don't really do anything else, so there's no point in calling themselves the Numbers Club and in turn, I see no point in Rei being in it, especially when they lack any good interactions to showcase that they were good friends. They don't necessarily need to be close friends in order for them to tag along, but having more interactions to show that they were friends, instead of acquaintances at best, then it would be more believable that they would go that far to help Rei out.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

Primarily. When Rei revealed his intentions Yuma came closer to him, thinking him of being a good ally, they got closer. So close Yuma began ignoring Astral. People talking down to Yuma isn't exactly anything new. Every antagonist has done it, and even his family and friends have. I don't recall Rei ever doing that, and even if he did, I'd be happy he did because at least his friendship with Yuma wouldn't be as perfect as Bruno with Yusei and Judai with Johan where they never disagreed on something or were bothered with what somebody did.

I didn't really get the impression that they were closer. Yuma just followed along with it because he blindly believes in his friends and isn't smart enough to question the obvious suspicious nature in Rei's behavior. They certainly weren't close enough to make Yuma choosing to keep Astral in the dark in favor of keeping Rei's secret believable. I can understand why he chose to do that, but there isn't anything in their relationship to make me think that they were close to the point where he'd feel conflicted over keeping his secret from Astral when it directly affects him and he has no idea how keeping Barian cards could affect him.

What I meant by talking down to Yuma is that he didn't want him to speak so friendly with him since he kept reminding Yuma a couple of times that he was his superior, or something like that. Everyone talks down to Yuma because he is an idiot and the show loves going out of its way to point out that fact. While Yusei and Bruno and Judai and Johan didn't really argue, their friendships were actually fleshed out fairly decently at least, had interactions to showcase a genuine connection and as a result, I could feel bad over what happened to them over the course of their respective series. With Rei and Yuma, their relationship is based with nothing but obvious lies and there aren't any good interactions between them to make me think that they are as close as the writers try to convince the audience. To be fair though, I think that's mainly because of how they've put more time and effort into throwing in hints that Rei is a villain than making him an interesting character or doing anything with his relationship with Yuma to make it feel like there is a genuine connection going on.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

Honestly, I'm having a hard time imagining Yuma not crying over Rei dying. It was natural for him to do, and if the audience could relate to the event, they'd have more to care about.

It's not so much that I can't believe that Yuma would cry over Rei. It's just that I have nothing to feel sad over this situation along with him compared to Judai being depressed over Johan being stuck in another dimension or Yusei after Bruno died. Again, that's probably because I don't care about Yuma at all, I see nothing of value in their relationship to be emotionally invested with, Rei isn't dead and I can see the obvious twists coming a mile away thanks to all of the hints they've thrown along the way. The twist about Bruno in the Ark Cradle arc worked because in part due to how they didn't make it so obvious. If I could actually like Yuma and Rei and there was some genuine connection between him and Rei, instead of obvious acts, then I probably would feel a bit more sad over their situation.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

I personally think they had enough. Their goal to defeat the Barians did make them closer, and have a "comrade" type of relationship. They were like soldiers in my eyes. If your ally in war dies, you cry for him. That just makes them even closer. I bet if Yuma died, and Rei really is innocent all along, he'd have cried for him.

I couldn't really get the impression that they were closer. Yuma thought that they were, but Rei wasn't that close and I didn't quite believe it because it was so painfully obvious that Rei was lying this whole time. I can't really get invested into a friendship if one side is clearly lying to the other. I sincerely doubt that Rei would have cried for him, but that's due a combination of my theory on his connection to the Barians, how he doesn't seem as emotional as Yuma and how everything he's said and done to Yuma has been clearly an act.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

I don't quite remember that either, but I don't think that it gives them purpose when they could have clearly managed to move the ship without them as they were planning on doing that from the start.

It's not just that, but they could also stay in the ship and protect it from the inside. It's possible that the ship could be invaded from the inside. I doubt they'll do anything that is really meaningful and important in the long run, but it's possible that it could involve the ship.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

I'm pretty sure that they all know that they're going on a dangerous mission and that they aren't going for a fun ride.

It's a dangerous mission, true, but I'd have still went on for how fun it sounds.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

Yuma, Shark and Kaito would be basically their shields, but that just puts more of a burden on them, especially when Yuma's friends aren't going to be doing anything really useful in return. Their roles of being the supporting cheerleaders could be taken up by other characters who are also actually useful to the plot. I don't think that I'd be that happy to checking out another universe with those three, mainly because I only can tolerate one of them, but they're just going there to be Yuma's cheerleaders and nothing more.

Even if they would be their shields, they could still manage protecting themselves. Even if they were the most obnoxious bunch ever I would never say no to going on a ride on another dimension.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

I don't think that saying that they cared for him means much, at least to me, without any meaningful interactions to back it up. Don't just have them say that they care about him. Actually show it prior to Rei being "kidnapped" instead. Being in the Numbers Club with them is meaningless to me when the club itself is virtually pointless and it's just a group name for Yuma's cheerleaders. They don't really do anything else, so there's no point in calling themselves the Numbers Club and in turn, I see no point in Rei being in it, especially when they lack any good interactions to showcase that they were good friends. They don't necessarily need to be close friends in order for them to tag along, but having more interactions to show that they were friends, instead of acquaintances at best, then it would be more believable that they would go that far to help Rei out.

The focus on their friendship with him wasn't really important, and for me, them interacting with him isn't really a necessity. They aren't a necessity themselves, at least yet unless they actually do something important, which I doubt they'll do this arc. At least a month has passed already, which means that they've probably talked enough times. There were also activities he took part with them too. I'm not really emotionally invested in their friendship with Rei because it isn't important, so I wouldn't like if they had many unnecessary interactions as that would take time that could be used with Yuma.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

I didn't really get the impression that they were closer. Yuma just followed along with it because he blindly believes in his friends and isn't smart enough to question the obvious suspicious nature in Rei's behavior. They certainly weren't close enough to make Yuma choosing to keep Astral in the dark in favor of keeping Rei's secret believable. I can understand why he chose to do that, but there isn't anything in their relationship to make me think that they were close to the point where he'd feel conflicted over keeping his secret from Astral when it directly affects him and he has no idea how keeping Barian cards could affect him.

Valid point. Yuma didn't let Astral on it, so I don't get what you mean. After what happened in the Gilag duel, I thought that made them close enough.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

What I meant by talking down to Yuma is that he didn't want him to speak so friendly with him since he kept reminding Yuma a couple of times that he was his superior, or something like that.

I don't recall that happening, and I don't see what the deal is. Rei said he was from the Barian World, of course he'd know more stuff and be his superior.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

While Yusei and Bruno and Judai and Johan didn't really argue, their friendships were actually fleshed out fairly decently at least, had interactions to showcase a genuine connection and as a result, I could feel bad over what happened to them over the course of their respective series.

I didn't really feel that bad for both of them to be honest, or really care about it, but that's because perfect friendships with no arguing once about anything bore me.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

With Rei and Yuma, their relationship is based with nothing but obvious lies and there aren't any good interactions between them to make me think that they are as close as the writers try to convince the audience.

We don't know for sure that Rei is fake, although the possibility hampers it. Unlike with Johan and Bruno, they could be really trying to make it different with Rei actually being evil and having no real connection with Yuma.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

It's not just that, but they could also stay in the ship and protect it from the inside. It's possible that the ship could be invaded from the inside. I doubt they'll do anything that is really meaningful and important in the long run, but it's possible that it could involve the ship.

That doesn't make sense to me. Why would the Barian villains want to take over the ship? Vector literally handed the key to the ship over to Astral after he was defeated, so it's not likely that he would want the ship himself. Besides that, how could they protect it even if they were under attack. They don't have any powerful monsters and all they're doing now is fulling up empty space. They aren't going to do anything significant that doesn't involve cheerleading.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

It's a dangerous mission, true, but I'd have still went on for how fun it sounds.

I don't quite see the fun in going on a dangerous life threatening rescue mission, but whatever.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

Even if they would be their shields, they could still manage protecting themselves. Even if they were the most obnoxious bunch ever I would never say no to going on a ride on another dimension.

Except they haven't really showed that they could protect themselves since that would require being more active beyond their cheerleading roles and that isn't going to happen. Personally, I don't think that riding to another dimension would be worthwhile if it was too dangerous for people who have no strength of their own to protect themselves with, but I also couldn't care less if the Numbers Club characters actually did die either, so there's that.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

The focus on their friendship with him wasn't really important, and for me, them interacting with him isn't really a necessity. They aren't a necessity themselves, at least yet unless they actually do something important, which I doubt they'll do this arc. At least a month has passed already, which means that they've probably talked enough times. There were also activities he took part with them too. I'm not really emotionally invested in their friendship with Rei because it isn't important, so I wouldn't like if they had many unnecessary interactions as that would take time that could be used with Yuma.

I don't see any other way of conveying that they are friends without having interactions on-screen, at least another way that's actually believable. I can't really just write off that they must have talked during all this time off-screen to become better friends. That's just a weak way of excusing weak writing in my opinion. Sure, Rei took part in activities with the rest of them, but he was primarily interacting with Yuma and his behavior was just an act anyway. Rei's friendship with the others isn't important compared to his relationship with Yuma, but they could have done both. They did that pretty well with Bruno in 5D's where there was a believable friendship between him and Yusei, as well as being friends with the rest of the cast. There's no reason that they couldn't have done that here as well, but I think that Zexal seriously lacks in group dynamics and characterizations compared to the other three series anyway.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

Valid point. Yuma didn't let Astral on it, so I don't get what you mean. After what happened in the Gilag duel, I thought that made them close enough.

I was talking about how Yuma and Rei didn't look close enough to me to make Yuma not letting Astral on the secret look believable. Yuma thought that they were close, but Rei was still manipulating him, so I couldn't really say that they were truly close.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

I don't recall that happening, and I don't see what the deal is. Rei said he was from the Barian World, of course he'd know more stuff and be his superior.

The big deal is that I can't really believe that they're close or feel for Yuma in this situation with Rei didn't really see each other as equals and had to remind Yuma to refer to him as his superior. It makes sense in the way that you mentioned it, but in regards to their friendship, it just makes it look one-side, artificial and nothing worth putting my emotional investment into.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

I didn't really feel that bad for both of them to be honest, or really care about it, but that's because perfect friendships with no arguing once about anything bore me.

On the other side of the coin, I don't see anything interesting in most of Yuma's friendships which do involve arguing or throwing insults around, as his friends have called him an idiot before. It isn't the arguments that make friendships interesting, but the characters themselves and their interactions with each other in my opinion. I'll take genuine signs of friendship, even without any arguing, over the artificial friendships I see in Zexal any day.

Originally Posted by HumanDawn

We don't know for sure that Rei is fake, although the possibility hampers it. Unlike with Johan and Bruno, they could be really trying to make it different with Rei actually being evil and having no real connection with Yuma.

It's pretty obvious that Rei is evil. They've done nothing with him but throw hint after hint that he was a villain. Even saying that he was a Barian Guardian was suspicious when he didn't want Astral to know about him. Rei is most likely actually is evil, although depending on what his connection to the Barians actually turns out to be, they could have him redeem himself later on because of the magic of friendship, but I'd prefer it if he actually was evil. It could be potentially more interesting to have him remain evil and possibly explain why they did so little with both Rei as a character and his relationship with Yuma.

Originally Posted by Hidden Mew

It's pretty obvious that Rei is evil. They've done nothing with him but throw hint after hint that he was a villain. Even saying that he was a Barian Guardian was suspicious when he didn't want Astral to know about him. Rei is most likely actually is evil, although depending on what his connection to the Barians actually turns out to be, they could have him redeem himself later on because of the magic of friendship, but I'd prefer it if he actually was evil. It could be potentially more interesting to have him remain evil and possibly explain why they did so little with both Rei as a character and his relationship with Yuma.

Because of all the hints thrown out, I'm actually leaning toward Rei not being evil. It could be an attempt to lure the viewer into thinking that he'll turn on Yuma, when he might really be legitimately good but with some questionable moments, such as his actions toward Gilag and Alit. Rei might truly think that the Barians such as Alit and Gilag (and Misael, Durbe, etc.) are in need of being policed and stopped, but be misguided somehow in how he came to that decision.

Either way - evil or not - I found his and Yuma's relationship to be nice, and they did seem to have a sense of camaraderie as time went on. At least, enough so that Rei's apparent death warranted Yuma's sadness, and some emotion from me personally. I do think 5D's handled showing a progression of the friendship between Yusei and Bruno better in that it was given (or at least it felt like it was given) more time to develop, whereas Rei and Yuma may have been a bit quick, but their friendship was interesting for me and I thought their personalities meshed well together.

Originally Posted by FinalArcadia

Because of all the hints thrown out, I'm actually leaning toward Rei not being evil. It could be an attempt to lure the viewer into thinking that he'll turn on Yuma, when he might really be legitimately good but with some questionable moments, such as his actions toward Gilag and Alit. Rei might truly think that the Barians such as Alit and Gilag (and Misael, Durbe, etc.) are in need of being policed and stopped, but be misguided somehow in how he came to that decision.

I'm not so sure about that. It's not just all of the hints like the shots of Rei watching some of Yuma's duels in the background with a serious look on his face. It's his entire behavior after describing himself as a Barian Guardian that really adds into Rei being a villain theory. He wants Yuma to keep it a secret from Astral, claiming that it would put Astral in danger, but that doesn't make sense. How would that knowledge put Astral in any more danger than he already is whenever someone plays an Chaos Xyz monster or an over one hundred Number? Because Yuma automatically trusts his friends, for better or for worse, and he isn't smart enough to notice Rei's suspicious nature, he just goes along with it. Not only that, but he gave Yuma the Hope Ray V support cards right before he needed them. That's way too convenient. I don't see any reason to take what Rei said about being a Barian Guardian as the truth, especially when his suspicious behavior has increased, rather than decreased, after that reveal and it could easily be some plot to break Yuma and his relationship with Astral so that Vector has no one else in his way from finding the Numeron Code.

Originally Posted by FinalArcadia

Either way - evil or not - I found his and Yuma's relationship to be nice, and they did seem to have a sense of camaraderie as time went on. At least, enough so that Rei's apparent death warranted Yuma's sadness, and some emotion from me personally. I do think 5D's handled showing a progression of the friendship between Yusei and Bruno better in that it was given (or at least it felt like it was given) more time to develop, whereas Rei and Yuma may have been a bit quick, but their friendship was interesting for me and I thought their personalities meshed well together.

I can understand Yuma's sadness over Rei's supposed death, but it still doesn't really change how their relationship didn't really feel genuine or like they did have a deep connection and that there wasn't anything in their relationship to feel more invested in for me. Though, one side being more like a villain putting on an act rather than being a friend to me probably affects how I view their relationship. I don't think that it was an issue with time since they did have a good chuck of this arc to flesh it out, but I just don't think it did. Rei's personality that meshed with Yuma's was clearly fake and his more serious demeanor after claiming that he's a Barian Guardian didn't make their relationship more interesting or genuine. It just make the twist of Rei being a villain more obvious.

Been a long time since I posted here.

Well, can't really say anything about the lates episode because... I haven't seen it yet...

*Goes to watch it