Throughout its more than 25 years, theYu-Gi-Oh!franchise has introduced a plethora of beloved characters. From the titular hero of theDuel Monstersera to the egocentric but iconic Seto Kaiba, the series has no shortage of amazing cast members for fans to adore. However, few are as universally loved as Joey Wheeler.
Yugi’s best friend is by far one of thebest and most talented duelistsin the series, capable of giving the protagonist a true challenge any time they play. However, his character development was quite disappointing in the original anime. What most fans do not know is that the show purposefully disregarded the manga’s portrayal of Joey’s growth.
Joey Is Much More Capable in the Manga
He Was a True Prodigy During Duelist Kingdom
The first season of theYu-Gi-Oh!anime, Duelist Kingdom, is often regarded asone of the best in theDuel Monsters series. It served as the perfect introduction to the characters and world of this beloved story. Still, many fans over the years have complained about the portrayal of Joey during this initial entry.
The series wanted Wheeler to look like a prodigy, a novice who was able to win against the best duelists in Japan despite his lack of experience. Lamentably, this idea was never successfully transmitted, as the anime would often make Joey’s accomplishments less impressive. During most of his duels, the hero was directly helped by his friends.
This caused Joey to look like aninexperienced and clumsy duelist who could only win thanks to the advice of his friends. In comparison, the manga version of the character is a true prodigy, winning most of his games without relying on his friends’ wisdom. The anime sadly erased or altered most of the scenes that proved his growth.
Joey Won Against Top Duelists Alone
One of the biggest changes made to the story ofYu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monstersoccurred during Joey’s initial duels in the Duelist Kingdom tournament. For example, his legendary battle against Rex Raptor was altered heavily to give Yugi more protagonism. In the manga, Joey asks his friends to let him duel alone, wanting to prove himself as a worthy player.
Joey managed to win without hidden abilities and with no advice from his friends. Receiving the Red-Eyes Black Dragon,one of the game’s most iconic cards, was a sign of his growth as a player. In the anime, Yugi and his friends constantly told Joey what to do, as if they did not trust his capabilities as a duelist.
Something similar occurred during the duel against Bonz,one ofYu-Gi-Oh!’s most forgotten characters. While in both versions Joey won,the manga allowed him to duel on his own, without any of his friends present at the time. The anime once again forced Yugi to be there, to guide Wheeler to victory.
Joey’s Growth Was Completely Removed From the Finals
Wheeler Acted Like an Inexperienced and Brash Child
Although there is no denying that thechanges betweenYu-Gi-Oh!’s manga and animegreatly hurt Joey early on, these alterations pale in comparison to the final moments of the tournament. In both the anime and manga, one of Joey’s final challenges as a novice duelist is defeating Bandit Keith, the former U.S.A. champion.
The manga used this battle to show that Joey had become a more serious and collected duelist, avoiding unnecessary violence and ignoring Keith’s insults. The anime completely disregarded this growth, instead making Joey attack his opponent without thinking about the consequences and losing immediately.
Nevertheless, the biggest example of howJoey was done dirtyduring this arc was the final duel between Yugi and himself, which does not exist in the manga.The original Joey knew that fighting his friend would only help Pegasus learn their strategies. Anime Joey opted to challenge Yugi to prove he had become better.
Joey’s Story Did Not Get Better
The Anime Constantly Took Away His Growth
Even thoughYu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters’ first arc made several unnecessary changes to make Joey look less capable as a duelist; these were not the only instances of this phenomenon. Many times during the show, Wheeler was forced to partake in some of the franchise’s most unfair duels to make Yugi and Kaiba look better.
Yu-Gi-Oh!‘sanime has made it hard for many fans to see Joey as a truly capable duelist, despite canonically having the skills to become the next King of Games.
This trend continued until the final moments of the anime, by making Joey revert into an amateur duelist during his final duel ever in the franchise. Instead of using his head while fighting Zigfried, Wheeler used the same luck-based strategies he had long abandoned. Worst of all, this was an anime-exclusive duel, meaning the show could have changed this decision.
Woefully, the changes made to theYu-Gi-Oh!anime has made it hard for many fans to see Joey as a truly capable duelist, despite canonically having the skills to becomethe next King of Games. Wheeler might not be as popular as Kaiba and Yugi, but he is one of the best and most talented players in the entire franchise.
