Kaiba Corporation

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Kaiba Corporation (海馬コーポレイション Kaiba Kōporeishon?) is a fictional corporate entity from the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise specializing in the entertainment and gaming industry, more specifically creating technologies centered around the Duel Monsters game. As the premiere company for the manufacture of holographic systems for the game, as well as being owned and run by a main character, Kaiba Corporation features heavily in the series, and several antagonists have been driven to revenge for being ruined by the company.

Contents

[edit] In the series

Seto Kaiba is the major stockholder of Kaiba Corp. The corporate headquarters is located in Domino City, where Kaiba hosts "Battle City", a company sponsored tournament. The origin of this name is unknown, however some believe Kaiba's father yelled it on his deathbed. It features the company's product, the Duel Disk, a dueling system which gives the card based Duel Monster game a holographic interface. Kaiba Corp. expanded into other areas of the gaming and entertainment industries with the creation of Kaibaland, an amusement park, built in Domino City. Kaiba Corp. was originally a military arms dealer owned by Gozaburo Kaiba, until it was drastically changed by Seto after his hostile takeover.

In the second anime series, another theme park opened in California (in the American version of this series, the story is set in the United States as opposed to Japan) and was the culmination of the Kaiba brothers' dream to create a park for orphaned and/or underprivileged children.. Seto's rise to power involved direct manipulation of the Big Five and Gozaburo; Mokuba was also manipulated in the second anime series.

In the second anime series, due to this, as well as Kaiba Corp's past as a weapons company, Seto is often brought to blows with those who have a vendetta against him and the company. These include the Big Five themselves, Gozaburo, and his son Noah Kaiba. Alister (Amelda) of the Doma Arc also seeks revenge for his little brother, whom he believed was killed in a military attack by Kaiba funded artillery. These clashes have often been the foundation of several story arcs in the series including Legendary Heroes and Virtual World.

[edit] Relationships

A notable fictional company in the Yu-Gi-Oh! series is Industrial Allusions, headed by Maximillion Pegasus. Kaiba Corp. technology, especially the Duel Disk, run seamlessly with the Dual Monsters game, created by Pegasus and both companies have worked closely in conjunction. In the manga, during a tournament match between Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, the Virtual Duel Box was developed by both Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corporation.

Anti-Kaiba Corp, headed by Zigfried von Schroeder (Siegfried von Schroider), is a rival to Kaiba Corporation in the second anime series only. The Schroeder family had been rivals of the Kaibas even before Seto's takeover. They were also once a military dealer like Kaiba Corp. But when the past CEO went mad, Zigfried took power and changed the company to a games maker: as it would happen, this runs concurrently with Kaiba's rise to power, and the reformatting of his company to the gaming industry. Schroeder and Kaiba Corp both researched and developed holographic projection systems for Duel Monsters, but Seto's was patented and marketed first.

[edit] Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

In episode 1 of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Kaiba Corp. is seen briefly while Jaden is trying not to be late to his Duel Academy entrance exam.

In episode 97, Kaiba Dome was the site of the World title match during the Pro League. It caught on fire at some point during the duel due to the destructive power of Bloo-D, and the resulting blaze was cited to be the cause of Dr. Collector's (a duelist participating in the World title match) death. Whether anyone else was harmed is unknown.

[edit] Staff

  • Seto Kaiba is the CEO and majority shareholder of the company.
  • Mokuba Kaiba is Seto's younger brother and regularly acts as a referee and enforcer for rules in the tournaments held by the company.
  • Gozaburo Kaiba is the stepfather of Seto and Mokuba and was the former CEO and owner.
  • Roland is Seto's assistant acts as an announcer and host for the tournaments the company holds.

[edit] Big Five

The Big Five are the Board of Directors for Kaiba Corporation. They originally worked for Gozaburo Kaiba, producing weapons of mass destruction. When Seto wants to own the company, he tells the Big Five that he will restore them to their former power and says that Gozaburo does not give them the respect or power they deserve. The Big Five agree, and buy 49% of Kaiba Corporation. Combined with 2% that Gozaburo had previously given to Seto for a test to prove his business skill, the Big Five vote out Gozaburo and vote in Seto as the president of the company.

However, Seto backs out on their deal, strips them of their power, and leaves them little more than figureheads and consultants. Furious over their betrayal, the Big Five strike a deal with Maximillion Pegasus. If Pegasus defeats Seto and Yugi Mutou in duels, then they will use their 49% to vote Pegasus into power of the company by kidnapping Mokuba Kaiba, who has been entrusted with the security codes to the other 2% that Seto owns. The plan fails, as Yugi defeats Pegasus. When Seto learns of their betrayal, in the manga, he fires them. In the anime, Seto only threatens to fire them and the Big Five offer Seto his complete Virtual Reality game as a peace offering, sparking the Legendary Heroes arc. After being rescued, what Seto did to the Big Five is not known. Presumably their minds were trapped in the Virtual World as they had intended to do to Seto, as this sets the stage for their next appearance.

The Big Five wander Kaiba Corporation's computer banks for some time until they are found by Gozaburo's biological son Noah. Noah also desires to take control of Kaiba Corporation from Seto, and the two strike a deal. Noah lures Seto, Yugi and his friends to an underwater military base, and there forces them to enter his version of the Virtual World. The Big Five greet them and reveal the deal they have made with Noah: after being trapped in the Virtual World, they have lost their connection to their bodies and thus need new ones. In exchange for being allowed access to the bodies of Seto, Yugi and his friends, the Big Five will defeat each of them in a duel to prove Noah and his employees are better than Kaiba and his friends.

One by one the Big Five fail to defeat their chosen opponents, and Noah is furious. As a last ditch effort, the Big Five use the body of Tristan Taylor to unite into one and duel Yugi and Joey Wheeler in a two-on-one match. They once again fail to defeat them, and are summoned back to Noah's headquarters. Noah refuses to give them a third chance, and as punishment seals each of the Big Five in an isolated portion of the Virtual World. Following this they are never seen again and are presumably deleted when the fortress that the Virtual World's software is stationed in explodes.

The Big Five are not named in the manga, but in the anime their names and backstories are given as follows.

  • Konosuke Oshita (大下 幸之助 Ōshita Kōnosuke?) / Gansley - Gansley is the former KaibaCorp vice president of business strategies, and leader/founder of the Big Five. He is a master businessman, and in the English anime claims to have nurtured a humble lemonade stand into a national supplier of frozen drinks. In the Japanese anime, Oshita is well versed in history and uses quotes from warlords and philosophers on how to duel and how to run a business. When Gansley appears in the Virtual World, he takes the form of Deep Sea Warrior. Voiced by (Japanese) : Noboyuki Saitou in the Virtural Realm Arc and Shintaro Sonoda in the Noah Arc.
  • Shuzo Otaki (大滝 修三 Ōtaki Shūzō?) / Adrian Rudolph Crump III - Crump used to be KaibaCorp's accountant and oversaw the company's finances before he was fired. Crump was neglected as a child and found a love for penguins when he read about how they cared for their young. His dream was to build a penguin theme park, but Seto Kaiba refused to finance the project. When Crump appears in the Virtual World, he takes the form of Nightmare Penguin. Voiced by (Japanese) Satoshi Tsuruoka in the Virtural Realm Arc

and Ryousuke Ootani in the Noah arc

  • Chikuzen Oka (大岡 筑前 Ōka Chikuzen?) / Johnson - Johnson was the chief legal advisor for KaibaCorp and the expert lawyer for the Big Five. Johnson admits to being corrupt and manipulating the facts to bring in a favorable verdict for KaibaCorp, claiming that the "truth" is whatever his arguments say it is. Johnson claims to have once convinced a jury that a man who was afraid of water stole a boat. To this end, Johnson cheats when he duels Joey Wheeler, rigging his dice rolls and coin flips in his favor, until Noah stops him. When Johnson appears in the Virtual World, he takes the form of Judge Man. Voiced by (Japanese) Shin'ichi Yashiro.


  • Soichiro Ota (大田 総一郎 Ōta Sōichirō?) / Nesbitt - Nesbitt is the technical expert of the Big Five and former vice president of new technology, and before Seto took power he oversaw the military factories on Kaiba Corp Island. Seto ordered Nesbitt to destroy his lab after coming to power and had him build the Duel Tower in its place. Nesbitt is furious over his technological genius being used for games, and has vowed revenge. When Nesbitt appears in the Virtual World, he takes the form of Robotic Knight, and later Perfect Machine King. He was the only one who claimed a body (although with underhanded tactics), but later lost it when he had to share it with the other members of the big five and subsequently losing the final duel. Voiced by (Japanese) Hiromi Sugino.


  • Kogoro Daimon (大門 小五郎 Daimon Kogorō?) / Leichter - Leichter is the former assistant to Gozaburo himself (and later Seto). Leichter is the best duelist of the Big Five and challenges Seto as his opponent, intending to settle a personal grudge. Leichter claims that he did all the hard work to make Seto look good for Gozaburo while all Seto did was give him orders. Leichter also reveals Seto's manipulation of Mokuba to oust Gozaburo from power, which Seto denies. When Leichter appears in the Virtual World, he takes the form of Jinzo. Voiced by (Japanese): Eiji Takemoto.