Jaden Yuki

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Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki)
Appears in	Yu-Gi-Oh! (Duel Monsters) GX
Debut	Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Episode 1
Birthday	Unknown
Deck	Hero (first year), Neos (second year)
Sign	Unknown
Age	15 at debut; currently 17
Height	Unknown
Weight	Unknown
Blood type	Unknown
Favorite food	Fried prawn, mochi, tamagopan (egg-bread)
Least favorite food	None in particular
Status at debut	Student taking Duel Academy entrance exam
Relations	Unknown
Seiyū	KENN
Voice actor(s)	Matthew Charles

Jaden Yuki, known in Japan as Judai Yuki (遊城十代, Yūki Jūdai^?), is a fictional character in the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX in Japan) and the manga series of the same name. His name is meant to be a pun in Japanese, as "jūdai" is the word for "teenager". In the English version, Jaden is voiced by Matthew Charles, while KENN takes the role in the Japanese version.

The series' main protagonist, Jaden is a carefree and talented fun-loving duelist with good insticts.

[edit] Character design

Jaden's design incorporates multiple layers of clothing and a wide range of expressions. Depicted here is the duelist in full Slifer Red regalia from front, side, and rear alongside views of his head from different angles.

Jaden's character design was overseen by Kenichi Hara.^[1] His usual outfit consists of the standard Slifer Red uniform, unbuttoned. A deck box is strapped above his waistline, largely hidden beneath the lower rim of his jacket. His brown hair is sectioned in two layers, the layer closest to his face a darker shade of brown than the one behind it. His brown eyes are positioned directly beneath the bangs of the layer closest to his face. He carries an Academy-issued Duel Disk on his left hand.

[edit] Fictional character biography

Intending to attend Duel Academy (Duel Academia), Jaden bumps into Yugi Mutou on his way to the school's entrance examinations at the beginning of the series. He is given a Winged Kuriboh card by the legendary duelist, but receives a low score on the exam's written component, and is therefore placed in Slifer Red (Osiris Red), the lowest-ranked dormitory, alongside Syrus Truesdale (Sho Marufuji) and Chumley Huffington (Hayato Maeda), who become his new friends. He was once granted entrance into Ra Yellow, but declined the offer as he preferred the "burning fiery spirit and hot passion of red."

Jaden has made several enemies at his school, including Vellian Crowler (Cronos de Medici), whom Jaden defeated in his examination duel. Out of spite, Crowler tried to kick Jaden out of school on many different occasions before finally beginning to respect him. Jaden is an accomplished duelist, having defeated the aforementioned Crowler during his examination duel, Chazz Princeton (Jun Manjoume) in a school-wide duel, and Bastion Misawa (Daichi Misawa) for the representative position. He is also responsible for the defeat of most of the Shadow Riders (Seven Stars), and goes on to pummel a slew of other opponents.

During the second year, Jaden ventured into Neo Space after being defeated in his second duel with Aster Phoenix (Ed Phoenix). There, he learned of the ongoing battle between the forces of darkness and light. With the help of the Neo-Spacians (ネオ・スペーシアン, Neo Supēshan^?), Jaden adopted the role of the universe's defender wielding the "darkness of justice" against Sartorius (Takuma Saiou) and the Society of Light.^[2] The task of rescuing most of his converted friends from the organization's clutches also fell on him.

To prevent his evil side from activating the mind control satellite of Misgarth, Sartorius entrusted Jaden with one of the keys to its control switch. The diviner's evil personality sended numerous duelists after the boy to win it back, but to no avail. He ultimately confronted Jaden himself, demanding the key in exchange for Aster, from whom he had already regained the other key in battle.^[3] Jaden agreed, and although Aster was rescued shortly thereafter, both keys were put into the possession of Prince Ojin, who went on to fire the satellite. It was, however, destroyed during the course of their Duel. Sartorius was then defeated, the Light of Destruction purged from his body.^[4]

As most of his leisure time is consumed by dueling, Jaden neither thinks much about nor has a great deal of time for a love life. He has not displayed obvious romantic affection for any character in the series. However, Blair Flannigan (Rei Saotome), who disguised herself as a boy to get closer to Zane Truesdale (Ryo Marufuji), developed a crush on the young duelist.^[5]

[edit] Deck

A Japanese advertisement for the series' manga that prominently features its hero.

During the first year, Jaden plays a Hero deck composed almost entirely of Elemental Heroes (abbreviated as "E・Hero" in the Japanese version), Spell and Trap Cards that support them, as well as his "partner" Winged Kuriboh. Jaden is often referred to as "the duelist who can create miracles" because of his ability to make incredible turnabouts. The design of cards in the Elemental Hero series is of American comic book origin, while the design of cards in the Neo-Spacian series is of Japanese origin.

Jaden's strategy is based on the various Fusions that are created through combinations of the Elemental Hero cards. As the series progress, it is revealed that every Elemental Hero has a Fusion of some sort with another, giving the card Polymerization premier importance in Jaden's deck. The majority of his other cards supplement his Elemental Hero monsters, such as the Field Spell, Skyscraper, and these cards have allowed Jaden to emerge victorious even in dire situations.

After his second duel with Aster, Jaden's entire deck is left blank to his eyes due to Sartorius' powers. With the inability to use his old Hero deck, Jaden received a new one that included some cards he created as a child for a KaibaCorp contest. Once his ability to see his older cards returned, he combined elements from both decks into a single deck, his Neos deck. In Guyver-inspired fashion, Elemental Hero Neos can Contact Fuse with Neo-Spacians to unlock hidden powers. One of the cards in this variation of his deck, Rallis the Star Bird, is based on an illustration by Kaori Kimura (木村香央里, Kimura Kaori^?) submitted for a card illustration contest held earlier during the series.

In the manga, Jaden played a deck similar to that of his anime counterpart as a child. While in the hospital for breaking one of his bones playing baseball, fellow patient Koyo Hibiki gave the boy his own nature-themed Elemental Hero deck (including Winged Kuriboh), and as a result of the meeting with Koyo and his sister, Midori, Jaden was inspired to become a duelist. From the outset of the manga storyline, he is already a student of Duel Academy, with Koyo's heroes standing by his side.

[edit] References