Censored Yu-Gi-Oh Scene Sparks Strange Debate with Fans

Kazuki Takahashi's Yu-Gi-Oh has always been in the center of conversation for one reason or another. Not only has this manga sparked several different spin-offs and iterations (with the seventh version of the series now currently airing in Japan), but it began life as a dramatically different series than we eventually got. Takahashi originally imagined the series as a much darker affair where characters were brutally murdered or maimed in a series of life or death contests sparked by the evil spirit within the Millennium Puzzle, and while the series eventually focused more on children's card games those darker aspects never completely went away.

This lead to some strange balances with the anime adaptation of the series. Due to the nature of the shadow games even in the Duel Monsters focused phases of the original anime series, some changes were made to Takahashi's work for one reason or another. While the most public ones have been how the 4Kids English language release censored events, the original broadcast also made some unusual changes.

As pointed out by FanFinn on Reddit, one scene during the Battle City arc of the series had Mai Valentine lose her soul against Marik Ishtar. In the anime's version of the event, her soul was trapped in a pyramid continuously filled with sand. But in the manga, there were insects instead. So fans have been wondering, what's actually the worst version?

A weird looking type of beetles vs sand from r/yugioh

Some fans have wondered if sand were the better option simply because there's a strict time limit, and the insects might harm you well before you're actual death is supposed to take place. Either way, she's trapped within her own mind and thus these tortures are pretty wild. Sand also makes more sense in terms of Mai being trapped in an hourglass, but the insects also make Marik's torture of her all the more icky.

Regardless of which side of the debate you fall on, it's pretty unusual in terms of what to debate in this actual series. It goes to show just how many small changes have been made between the manga and eventual anime broadcast, and fans are still breaking them down years later! Where do you side with this debate? Is Mai's pyramid worse in the manga or anime? Which shadow game punishment was the harshest in Yu-Gi-Oh overall? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!