"That's just it Joey, you are a Bitch" a discussion of Character Relations

[ChouToshio]

This is one fan’s insights on the inter workings of character dynamics in YGOTAS.

In YGOTAS, my favorite jokes tend to be the ones that revolve around dialogue. Sure all the internet plugs and background music is funny, but what really makes it great are LK’s scripts.

One thing I notice are that most of the characters don’t spend all their time shutting people down or being shut down. They are shut down by some characters and shut down others in turn. I like to think of this in terms of “Boke” and “Tsukkomi”, Japanese terminology from manzai:

(definitions from Wikipedia)

Boke “Get’s Owned / Get’s Shut Down”

(boke [boh-keh or boh-kay]). From the verb bokeru, which carries the meaning of "senility" or "air headed-ness," and is reflected in this performer's tendency for misinterpretation and forgetfulness. The boke is the member of an owarai kombi ("tsukkomi and boke", or vice versa) that receives most of the verbal and physical abuse from the tsukkomi because of the boke's misunderstandings and slip-ups. The tsukkomi () refers to the role the second comedian plays in "butting in" and correcting the boke's errors. It is common for tsukkomi to berate boke and hit them on the head with a swift smack.

Tsukkomi “Owns / Shuts Other Character Down”

(tsukkomi). From the verb tsukkomu, meaning something like "butt in", this is often the role of the partner to the boke in an comedy act. The tsukkomi is generally the smarter and more reasonable of the unit, and will criticize, verbally and physically abuse, and generally rail at the boke for their mistakes and exaggerations.

Example 1:

Boke: I remember the first time I met the Ocean-- it was love at first sight! My father and I were on a fishing expedition a huge tidal wave came and nearly destroyed our boat. It took my father, and I never saw him again. That is why I have devoted my life to loving the sea, and all of its inhabitants.

Tsukkomi: So lemme get this straight-- the ocean killed yo' Dad, and then you married it.

Example 2:

Boke: I have installed security cameras all over Japan, because when you’re rich you can never be too paranoid.

Tsukkomi: Yes mister Kaiba, but do we really have to watch him taking a shower everyday? It seems a little unnecessary.

Example 3:

Boke: But Yug'! Yo' gonna make my character look like a total bitch if you do this for me!

Tsukkomi: That's just it Joey, you are a total bitch.


So now that we have a sense for what Boke and Tsukkomi are, let’s take a look at how these functions work in YGOTAS. Interestingly, I think you’ll find that some characters play Boke or Tsukkomi more than others, and this also depends on what characters they are interacting with. First, I’ll point out some pair examples:

Kaiba (Boke) & Either Yugi (Tsukkomi)

Kaiba: Yugi, this time I have the upper hand. I’ve placed my faith in the heart of the cards, and without Exodia you have no way to stop my unstoppable Blue Eyes White Dragons.

Yami Yugi: Yeah, well at least I’m not adopted.


Kaiba: Due to the circumstances, our last duel was not conclusive. Perhaps next time we shall find out which of us is truly superior.

Yugi: Unless you haven’t noticed, I’m the King of Card Games, besides I already beat you in the first episode.

Kaiba will get in a hit from time to time, but generally speaking he’s Yami Yugi’s bitch. Not surprising since he can never beat Yugi. Yami Yugi is an almost universal Tsukkomi character though, as he tsukkomi’s pretty much every other character. Except regular Yugi, who is also generally a Tsukkomi (Yugi’s voice is too bland to be much a Boke character).


Joey (Boke) & Either Yugi (Tsukkomi)

Joey: Be careful Yug’, this guy wasn’t even remotely intimidated by my Brooklyn Rage!

Yami Yugi: Joey, stop trying to turn Brooklyn Rage into a catch phrase—it’s never going to work.

Joey: This is it Yug’, and even though you’re my best friend—I’m not going to hold back. What’s more, I’m going to beat you.

Yami Yugi: Like hell . . . The only reason you’ve gotten this far is because I’ve been telling you how to win all the time.

Tristan (Boke) & Joey (Tsukkomi):

Tristan: Joey Wheeler you selfish bastard!

Joey: Shut up Tristan, you just want to get into Serenity’s pants!


Tristan: No I don’t, I want to have sex with her—oh, that’s what you meant . . .

(Actually, Tristan is an almost universal Boke, everyone Tsukkomi’s him . . . except for Bakura . . .)


Marik (Boke) & Yami Bakura (Tsukkomi):

Marik: This will be no ordinary card game—it will take place, on a boat!

Bakura: A boat . . .

Marik: Yes, ingenious isn’t it . . .

Babura: Why a boat?

Marik: Because, when he loses the card game, we’ll . . . push him over the edge of the boat! . . . into the sea!

Bakura: Why do we even need to play a card game—why can’t we just push him off the boat?


Bakura: Marik, I believe it’s time you came out of the closet.

Marik: Oh what, just because a guy likes to dress effeminately, and hang out with another extremely attractive man, and read yaoi, and stroke a phallic symbol suggestively in every other scene that automatically makes him gay!?

Bakura: . . . kinda


Other examples include:

Any Minor Character, especially from Season 1 (Boke) & Joey (Tsukkomi)
Joey (Boke) @ Kaiba (Tsukkomi)
Pegasus (Boke) & Kaiba (Tsukkomi)
Pointy Hair Guy (Boke) & Kaiba (Tsukkomi)
Weevil Underwood (Boke) & Rex Raptor (Tsukkomi)
Yami Yugi (Boke) & Yugi (Tsukkomi)
Zork (Boke) & Yami Bakura (Tsukkomi)
Tristan (Boke) & Tea (Tsukkomi)
Tristan (Boke) & Either Yugi (Tsukkomi)
Bakura (Boke) & Tristan (Tsukkomi)

Generally speaking, you can put them in a ranking based on how often they Boke/Tsukkomi, with the ranking showing who would be the boke/tsukkomi in a given match, who “gets owned” in a given match.
(Rough figures)

Yugi: 80% Tsukkomi 20% Boke
Yami Yugi: 70% Tsukkomi 30% Boke
Kaiba: 60% Tsukkomi 40% Boke
Joey: 50% Tsukkomi 50% Boke
Yami Bakura: 50% Tsukkomi 50% Boke
Tea: 40% Tsukkomi 60% Boke
Duke Devlin: 30% Tsukkomi 70% Boke
“Steves”: 30% Tsukkomi 70% Boke
Mai Valentine: 20% Tsukkomi 80% Boke
Malik Ishtar: 10% Tsukkomi 90% Boke
Triston Taylor: 2% Tsukkomi 98% Boke
Bakura: 1% Tsukkomi (tries but fails) 99% Boke

On an interesting note, Mokuba doesn’t really get to boke that well, but is still owned by everyone (minus Bakura). He is often a tool to present real world facts that are so stupid they deserve to be tsukkomi’d (ie. Yu-Gi-Oh 2nd movie).

Though these rankings are not necessarily absolute. And there are triangles too. For example:

Ishizu Ishtar (Boke) & Seto Kaiba (Tsukkomi)
Yami Yugi (Boke) & Ishizu Ishtar (Tsukkomi)
Seto Kaiba (Boke) & Yami Yugi (Tsukkomi)

These triangles are a bit rare though. Also for comic purposes, the one there are role reverses too where the character usually the boke instead owns the tsukkomi:

Kaiba: I have all the coolest gadgets, I have all the most powerful monsters. No one would be watching this show if it weren’t for me! So just this once, I deserve to win. Oh, and I may be adopted, but at least I don’t live with my grandpa!

I also notice that whether a character's personality is "tsukkomi-ish" or not, the greater his tendency to go on rants, the more he ends up being the boke (lol Kaiba).



So, there are my insights. I hope you got a laugh out of it, and got some insights about which character is which other character’s bitch. Maybe you’ve noticed some other great boke-tsukkomi pairs. :)