Could you imagine Harry Potter without Ron and Hermione, Star Wars without Han and Lei, or The Lord of the Rings without Sam? A hero is only as good as his sidekicks, some might say. Supporting characters make up for whatever the hero lacks. They provide moral guidance when the hero is at his lowest, and they provide a way for the him to express his inner thoughts and feelings without the need for lengthy monologues.
Likewise, Yu-Gi-Oh! has a strong cast of supporting characters to guide Yugi Muto as he navigates the challenges of adolescence. They are Jonouchi — the hotheaded gangster who you can count on to always throw the first punch, especially when protecting those he cares about; Anzu — the stubborn and kind girl who always had a wise word of motivation to share; and Honda — the skeptical tough guy who can logically lead his friends to safety. These three companions accompany Yugi throughout the entire course of the series in all incarnations of the story (manga and 2 anime). Just like with any other story, there are also a selection of “part-time” companions who don’t stay for the entire run, but rather come and go as they please. Examples include Ryo Bakura — the tabletop RPG gamer who harbors an evil spirit that contrasts Yugi’s, Duke Devlin — the dice-wielding game designer who can rizz up any situation, and Shizuka (Serenity in the English version) — Jonouchi’s younger sister who acts as his moral support.
However, there is one character who was a full-time companion of Yugi’s in the very first anime adaptation. If you’re thinking of the one that begins with Yugi summoning Exodia, that’s the wrong one. Before Konami bought the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh!, a 27-episode animated series was made by Toei, the same company that brought us Dragon Ball and One Piece. This first series is referred to by fans as “Season 0.” In this version, there was a character who accompanied Yugi and his friends throughout the entire course of the series, but then she completely disappears in the second anime (the one that begins with Yugi summoning Exodia). What’s even stranger is that this character wasn’t a companion of Yugi’s in the manga at all. She only appears for 1 chapter, and then disappears (kind of like the wind). Who is this character? Well, this happens to be the chapter she appeared in! Let’s find out now.
A Gift for Miho
Chapter 7 begins with Yugi walking home from school when he is stopped by Jonouchi. Yugi is excited to see him until he realizes who he’s with: Honda. If you remember, Yugi stood up for both Jonouchi and Honda in Chapter 1, but only Jonouchi made friends with him afterwards. Honda still hates him for some reason. Yugi, in return, also does not like Honda because he makes him do things like carry his books and buy him dirty magazines.
Jonouchi has brought Honda with him to ask Yugi for a favor. Honda is skeptical that Yugi will be able to help him, but Jonouchi reassures him that he will. You see, Honda has a crush on a girl in their class named Miho Nosaka. (This is the character.) She is often referred to as “Ribbon” (or “Ribbon-chan”) because of the ribbon she always has tied in her hair. That’s why Jonouchi has come to Yugi — to ask if Yugi’s Grandpa has anything in his shop that they can give to Miho as a present. (Because that’s where people go when they want to get a romantic gift…they go to a game shop.)
Yugi brings Jonouchi and Honda to his Grandpa’s game shop and ask him what they can get for Miho. Grandpa promptly presents them with a blank jigsaw puzzle. The idea is that Honda will write down his feelings for Miho, disassemble the puzzle, and send it to her as a present. When Miho assembles the puzzle, she will be able to read the message and know Honda’s true feelings for her.
Jonouchi laughs out loud, but Honda bashfully accepts it. Honda is still not confident enough to write the message, so he makes Yugi do it for him. (News flash, Honda: If Yugi writes the message, it won’t be your feelings.)
That night, Yugi tries to write Honda’s message, but he likewise has never written one before. After all night of drafting, this is what he finally came up with:
Then, Yugi disassembles the puzzle, wraps it in a box, and seals it with a bow. Yugi, Jonouchi, and Honda meet in the classroom early the next morning to slip it into Miho’s desk.
“Everything is set!” says Jonouchi. Now all they have to do is wait for her to find it!
The Wicked Witch of Expel
Outside the classroom, a beautiful female teacher named Ms. Chono is making her way down the hall, being adored by all of the male students she passes. They gossip about her and say she’s known as “The Wicked Witch of Expel” because she expelled 15 students in the last 6 months. Another teacher approaches her and asks how her date went.
“Well, he wasn’t up to my standards,” says Ms. Chono.
She stops in the restroom and smashes a mirror out of frustration. She did not like it when that teacher reminded her about her terrible date. She reapplies her makeup and prepares to ruin someone else’s day to compensate for her bad mood. (Sounds like the average woman to me.)
She arrives at Yugi’s classroom and says, “Alright, everyone! Before we open our textbooks today, empty the contents of your desk. It’s inspection time!”
Yugi and Jonouchi start panicking. Honda has completely frozen. Miho empties her desk and is surprised to find the present inside.
Ms. Chono passes by Miho’s desk and asks, “What’s this, Miss Nosaka?”
“I don’t know…I found it in my desk,” responds Miho.
Ms. Chono opens the present and reveals the puzzle inside. She begins to assemble the puzzle and reads the message out loud, in front of the entire class.
“What a silly message,” mocks Ms. Chono, “Now who gave this to her? Underage dating is strictly prohibited!”
Miho has already begun to cry out of embarrassment. Honda realizes he has to do something before she gets hurt even further. He is about to stand up and confess when–
“I did it! I wrote the message!” says Yugi.
“No, I put it in her desk, teach!” says Jonouchi.
Honda sees the sacrifice his friends are making for him, but can’t let them suffer without him.
“Thanks guys, but that’s enough. It’s my message in that puzzle!” says Honda.
“Only one of you is guilty,” says Ms. Chono, “Of course! I just need to finish the puzzle!”
Ms. Chono begins to assemble the last four pieces of the puzzle, which will reveal the sender’s name. Realizing that his friend is about to be expelled, Yugi transforms into his alter-ego and turns the puzzle into a Shadow Game. As Ms. Chono finishes the puzzle, her makeup begins to peel off like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. After all of the pieces have fallen off, her “true face” is revealed.
Realizing that her disguise has been removed, Ms. Chono rushes out of the classroom before she can expel anyone.
After class, Honda musters up the courage to ask Miho out in person…but she “magnificently” rejects him. (I believe that wording was in the Himitsu Project translation, and I like it better.)
(Also, tough luck.)
“But something changed between us after that,” says Yugi, referring to him and Honda.
Conclusion
Well, it looks like Yugi won’t be adding Miho to his roster of side characters in the manga, but this is the chapter where Honda finally join the party.
Fun fact: We know that the characters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga all have their original Japanese names, and the English dub of the anime gives them American names. Since Miho does not appear in the second anime, you might assume she was never given an English name, but that is not entirely true. Miho appeared in a 2003 video game titled Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters for the GameBoy Advance. This game was translated into English, and in that version, she was given the name “Melody.” So, if Miho had appeared in the second anime, or if the first series had been given an English dub via 4Kids, this is likely the name she would have been given
Here’s another fun fact about this chapter.
If we look closely at this image, we can see Anzu off to the right. Although she was not featured as a main character, she technically does appear in this chapter. And if we look off to the left, in the very back of the class room, we see the silhouette of another student who bears a striking resemblance to a character who has not yet appeared in the manga, but who will appear very soon. Even though he has not appeared in the manga, fans coming from the anime might recognize this character as the one and only, Seto Kaiba. It’s not 100% confirmed, but I am fairly confident that Kazuki Takahashi is foreshadowing this character.
Yu-Gi-Oh! may still look far off from the trading card game-focused show that most people recognize today, but very soon, it will start to look more and more familiar. If you want to stay up to date on the story of how Yu-Gi-Oh! became inseparable from a trading card game, be sure to follow my blog for more anime & manga reviews!
