The Yu-Gi-Oh franchise is well known for the large number of changes that have been made
to it outside of Japan. And in most cases, when changes are made to the card artwork,
the same edits will be kept for all other Yu-Gi-Oh media—including the games and anime.
With the franchise's over twenty-year history and it still going very strong today,
there have been many hundreds of cards affected by artwork changes—and there
have also been many more changes than that if looking at alterations outside of the artwork.
But there have actually been a few cards that, for some reason, were originally released uncensored
and then only got changed for later reprints. There are only a small number of cases of this,
and perhaps these are examples of things being somehow missed originally or are to do with the
content restrictions developing over time. And so, today we'll be taking a look at 10
examples of where this has happened. And first up is—Number 1. Contract
with Exodia, which was released in 2003. A big source of changes to the overseas
versions of Yu-Gi-Oh is the removal of religious references. This is likely due to a perceived
increase of religious sensibilities in certain western regions—and this is something that there
has been a lot of examples of in all kinds of other Japanese media when brought to the west.
When Contract With Exodia was originally released, it featured ankh symbols on its artwork.
The ankh is an Ancient Egyptian religious symbol, and owing to this, later reprints of
the card remove the symbols outside of Japan without anything being substituted for them.
However, when the card was originally released, the removal of ankhs in card
artwork had already been established in the international version of the franchise.
Even Exodia Necross, which the Contract With Exodia card summons,
has its ankh modified outside of Japan. Furthermore, there had already been the
change made to the iconic Moster Reborn card, which was released in the game's very
first card pack and is changed from an ankh to something completely different outside of Japan.
Number 2. Book Of Life, Book Of Moon, and Book Of Taiyou, which were released in 2004 and 5.
Comparable to Contract With Exodia, the three Book cards were originally released in the overseas
version with ankhs depicted in their artwork, as is the case in Japan. However, in later reprints,
the ankhs are removed for non-Japanese versions. Number 3. Petit Angel, which was released in 2002.
And for the last religious-related change we have Petit Angel.
Despite the religious Angel part of its name, that isn't what got changed for
later international versions. Instead, in later reprints, the halo above its head is removed
outside of Japan—with the removal of halos being something that can also be found in numerous other
Yu-Gi-OH cards released outside of Japan. However, Petit Angel was first released
in the very first card pack, which is likely at least part of the reason it
would then be later modified. Number 4. Constellar Meteor,
which was released in 2013. Next, we will be focusing on some
cards altered due to violence-related reasons. The first of these being Constellar Meteor,
which depicts a fiery battle in its artwork and was originally released as a Duel Terminal card.
Now, concern over violence-related content has existed ever since the franchise's
beginning—and this can even include concern over some things that are very mild in nature.
However, for some reason, despite violence already being a big concern, Constellar Meteor's artwork
is revised for later non-Japanese versions to reduce the amount of fire in the artwork—with
this meaning you can now see the lower half of the character through the flames.
Number 5. Cyber Saurus, which was released in 2002.
Cyber Saurus was originally released the same as in Japan,
and it had a more realistic-looking weapon attached to one of its arms.
However, in later non-Japanese versions, the gun is recolored green and red,
which gives it a much more cartoony appearance. Number 6. Misairuzame, which was released in 2002.
This is another one of the early cards released in the franchise, and it saw
similar changes later on as Cyber Saurus. In later non-Japanese versions, the missile
underneath it is recolored making it look less realistic and more cartoony in nature.
Number 7. Blast Juggler, which was released in 2002.
Blast Juggler is yet another one of the early cards in the franchise, and while in English
the card is called Blast Juggler, in the Japanese version it is called Mr. Bomber.
The English name may actually give you a hint about how the card would be
redesigned for later non-Japanese reprints. While originally the artwork depicted the
monster holding two bombs, the bombs are changed so that they resemble juggling balls. Furthermore,
the fuse on the monster's head is also removed. Number 8. Cold Enchanter,
which was released in 2008. Moving away from violence-related changes,
next is changes to suggestive designs. Suggestive designs being altered outside
of Japan has, like violence-related changes, happened ever since the
franchise's beginning—and this includes changes to some things that are very mild in nature.
However, despite Cold Enchanter releasing in 2008—meaning the franchise had existed for many
years by this point—it would, for some reason, be changed for later reprints outside of Japan.
In the later versions, the lower half of her outfit was
lengthened so that any skin is no longer visible. Number 9. Harpie Girl, which was released in 2004.
Many of the Harpie cards have been censored outside of Japan, in not just the card game,
but also other Yu-Gi-Oh media. However, Harpie Girl is a card from 2004,
which was a few years after the Harpy cards were first introduced outside of Japan.
And, while the card was originally released with the same artwork as Japan,
later reprints for the international versions have all of her skin covered with clothing.
But keeping with that notion is Number 10. Harpie Lady, which was released in 2002.
The iconic Harpie Lady card was released outside of Japan in June 2002.
Meanwhile, the card first appeared in the English version of the anime the previous
year in October 2001. The card would be depicted fairly frequently in the anime following that,
and it and the other Harpy cards would always be changed for the English version—with one of
the alterations being that their outfits are made less revealing.
However, despite the anime already making these changes the previous year,
the Harpie Lady card would originally be released exactly the same as in Japan.
And the card's first release was also a few months after cards started to get released outside of
Japan, and so it wasn't a launch card. But for later international releases,
Harpie Lady has her outfit changed in a manner similar to her anime appearance.
What are your thoughts on these cards originally being released the same as Japan? And what do
you think about the changes that were made? As always, let us know your thoughts in the
comments below, and until next time, thank you for watching.