Yu-Gi-Oh!: Season 0, the Toei Animation anime that never saw a dub, later replaced and overshadowed by the later Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Monsters, better known simply as Yu-Gi-Oh! That early anime -- despite being ignored by dubbing studios -- is memorable in its own way, from expanded story arcs focusing on the first seven volumes of the manga to Kaiba being a more credible and overarching threat. And, you know, Kaiba having green hair. It was trippy, it was colorful, it was most definitely a product of the '90s.
And in ways, Season 0 had a lot more to offer than the later series focused solely on the card game. In it, Yugi truly was the King of Games…and a lot less of an innocent than later series portray him (let's just say Yugi isn't so oblivious to girls in this one). One expansion Season 0 included was the addition of another character to the cast, Miho Nosaka -- who subsequently vanished when it came time to focus on children's card games. And, honestly, this makes her the most fortunate character in the show.
To be fair, Miho saw her own fair share of crazy during her time in the spotlight. Originally a one-off character in the manga, getting the glow-up to main character meant she had close encounters with guys deserving of Yami Yugi's attention. Serial killers, escaped convicts, assorted lecherous fellas, watch thieves and, of course, Death-T and Monster World, where the big bads of the series tried to off Yugi and company entirely. Honestly, this girl deserved a break.
And really, she picked the best time to jump ship. Sure, Yami Yugi was fond of opening the Door to Darkness in Season 0, but in Duel Monsters apparently everyone with a shiny piece of jewelry can instigate a Shadow Game, which can result in death if you’re lucky and eternal punishment if you’re not (or rather, if you’re in the original versus the 4-Kids dub). Kaiba may be out for a crown instead of blood, but trouble still follows in his wake, since every tournament he’s ever hosted ends in trouble of the potentially-world-ending variety.
And let's not forget his stepbrother Noah, who jacked the storyline right smack in the middle of the Battle City finals just to get revenge on his limelight-stealing brother. Or the Big Five, since the thing with Noah mark the second time they tried beating the main cast with a virtual world. Honestly, you'd think they'd have learned.
Not to mention that whole mess with the Waking the Dragons arc, where Duel Monsters come to life and crazy Atlantean guys summon the Eye of Sauron to bother Yugi and company in the middle of the night. Or the late-night horseback rides and the duels on the train (card games on trains series when?) and the whole mess with getting hassled by a biker gang in the middle of a desert. And the big topper on the crazy tree: The Millennium World arc, with its Shakespearean elaboration and squirrely storylines and Zorc and his…er…unfortunate design. Real talk, Miho dealt with Zorc already during the Monster World arc, she didn't need a round two, especially with a wonkier design.
And just about every antagonist is cranked to eleven compared to Season 0 -- sure, some of those dudes were completely off-kilter, but they were usually squared away within one penalty game. They certainly weren't persistent nutjobs like Marik or Bakura or Dartz, who like to torment the protagonists and shuffle the deuteragonists off to the Shadow Realm for funzies. At least if something went foul during Season 0 it was wrapped up in an episode and life went back to normal.
So let's be honest -- Miho won the grand prize for not showing up in the Duel Monsters anime, same as another forgotten yet recurring early character, Hanasaki. Sure they missed out on some cool bits, like the Blue-Eyes White Jet (don't lie, we all want a spin in that thing), but honestly, all the crazy that happens in Duel Monsters just isn't worth it. They may show up in some of the games to help fill out the roster, but really, staying out of the limelight is one of the safest courses of action in a Yu-Gi-Oh! anime.
