Sometimes, fan theories can arise from strange or unexpected places. And one of the most unusual Yu-Gi-Oh! theories came from a very odd place, and it is at the center of a fascinating mystery that still causes internet comment wars today. However, the theory also feels like a massive missed opportunity for the franchise.
Arena #2 is the 34th chapter of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and it can be found in the 5th collected volume. The chapter sees Yugi and his friends continue to fight their way through Death-T, Seto Kaiba's deadly theme park. However, while they struggle through giant Tetris, various duel monster games, and even fight knock-off slasher movie characters, Yugi is debating his situation. At this point, Yugi is wondering if he should let his friends know about the second Yugi that lives inside him, the one that comes out when he's playing games.
After Mokuba arrives to challenge Yugi to a game, Yugi drops to his knees, overcome with confusion and doubt. Yugi's friends comfort him, trying to work out what is bothering their friend. However, the original English version of the manga released by Viz media has a rather strange dialogue bubble. As, when Jonounchi attempts to comfort Yugi, he asks: "Are you okay Yugi? Do you need your insulin or something?" This seems to imply that Yugi is a diabetic and that his sudden strange behavior is caused by a spike in his blood sugar levels.
This panel has caused a lot of debate amongst fans. Many are unsure about what to make of the dialogue box because it feels too specific to not be intentional. This caused some fans to dig up the original Japanese version of the manga. Only to learn that in the Japanese version, Jonounchi simply asks if Yugi is okay. At some unknown point in time, a rumor started to spread. This rumor said that Yu-Gi-Oh creator Kazuki Takahashi had confirmed that Yugi was a diabetic. According to the legend, at an American convention panel, Kazuki said that Yugi's short height is due to diabetes stunting his growth when he was a child. However, no one is sure where this rumor started as Takahashi didn't visit American conventions during the manga's original release window. No one has even been able to find evidence of him ever talking about diabetes, inside or outside the context of Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yugi's diabetes seems to be nothing more than a strange typo introduced by Viz media, but the idea of a diabetic hero is an interesting one. Chronic illness sufferers have little to no representation in media, especially in manga and anime. When they are represented, it is usually via an unimportant side character or, even worse, by a one-off joke character who only exists to be laughed at. Having a heroic character who also suffered from a chronic illness would be fantastic. This representation would allow chronic illness sufferers to see themselves represented on the screen or in the pages of their favorite manga.
The debate over Yugi's diabetes is a fascinating bit of manga history. It calls back to an earlier time of imported manga where translations were much less consistent. This caused odd, unusual, or just plain wrong translations to slip through the editing process, confusing the readers who read these volumes. Hopefully, in the future, we'll see a diabetic hero so people with diabetes can see themselves represented in media. Because, at the end of the day, more representation is always a good thing.
