Yu-Gi-Oh!: DEVOLUTION

***Yu-Gi-Oh!: DEVOLUTION***, also known as ***Yu-Gi-Oh!: L.A.*** (***Live Action***), is a YouTube web series by StylePoint based on the *Yu-Gi-Oh!* Trading Card Game, uploaded from 2011-2014. It is comprised of two seasons, each one containing three episodes. The series borrows animations from the original *Yu-Gi-Oh!* anime and playing styles from the game's early years, or what is typically called "Goat Format", presented with a dark and gritty atmosphere. These factors have earned it lots of praise among the *Yu-Gi-Oh!* community.

## Plot

In the near future, mankind's hate and violence plunges the world into darkness, manifesting itself as the Shadow Realm. Dark magic renders technology ineffective, and all conflicts are settled with Duels.

In an effort to free the world from shadows, The Wanderer leaves his wife and home in search of The Darkness. He Duels Reverse in a thick forest and subsequently gets summoned to The Darkness, to whom he loses. As punishment, The Darkness calls upon MADMAN to take The Wanderer's wife away.

The Wanderer travels the Shadow Realm and Duels The Hood, an envoy of MADMAN. After The Hood is defeated, The Wanderer finds a white-robed woman called The Dueless lying down in a field. She touches his lips and demands him to Duel, revealing her fingertips to be poisoned, and will only give the antidote if he wins. Once the Duel begins, The Dueless partially unmasks herself as The Wanderer's wife. She was tortured by MADMAN and lost her vision, forcefully fighting on his behalf. When The Wanderer wins the Duel, he sees his wife in spirit, who bids him farewell before dying in his arms. The Wanderer eventually clashes with MADMAN, and with The Dueless's spirit by his side, MADMAN loses the Duel and faces banishment. Later on, The Wanderer is challenged by The Black and White Jackal Brothers. They too are banished, as The Wanderer finally learns to fight without holding rage in his heart.

Later on, The Wanderer finds a masked women crawling through the woods, but as he offers water, she stabs him in the torso. The woman, who is actually The Dueless resurrected, is under the control of Necromancer's séance magic. As Necromancer is on the verge of losing his Duel with The Wanderer, The Dueless momentarily breaks free of her curse, allowing The Wanderer to win the Duel and banish Necromancer. Unfortunately, The Wanderer succumbs to his wounds and bleeds to death, but is thankful to see his wife one last time. The series ends with The Dueless, having inherited The Wanderer's attire and Deck, challenging who appears to be MADMAN reborn, proclaiming his god would fall before her own.

## Interview

On October 28, 2020, a YouTube channel called Rivals Unmatched uploaded a video compiling all six episodes of *Yu-Gi-Oh!: DEVOLUTION*. In the video's description, Rivals Unmatched provided a transcript of an interview they held with director Alexis Peralta.

***Rivals Unmatched:** My first question is, what inspired you to make this series?*
***Alexis:** I was messing around with Photoshop one day and just overlayed video together, and saw it was possible to create the image of a Duel Monster over live action. I figured it had not been done before, so why not try it and see how it comes out? Since I love the animation.*
***Rivals Unmatched:** I see. I don't think a lot of people know about that technique. My second question is that, there was a cliffhanger at the end of the series. A lot of people thought the Duel was going to be a bonus episode. When we found out it wasn't, a lot of people were disappointed. In the back of your mind who won that Duel?*
***Alexis:** The Widow.*
***Rivals Unmatched:** If that is the case, do you plan on making a cartoon version of that Duel someday, or did you want to leave it as a cliffhanger?*
***Alexis:** Episode 6 is the finale. However, I'm still working on some projects that involve Yu-Gi-Oh!.*
***Rivals Unmatched:** Okay. My final question is, do you have any closing words to say to your fans?*
***Alexis:** Keep enjoying the game and have fun with it. Fair Play. Fair Duel.*
***Rivals Unmatched:** Thanks for doing the interview see you around!*
***Alexis:** No problem.*