Zane Truesdale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zane Truesdale (Ryo Marufuji)
Appears in	Yu-Gi-Oh! (Duel Monsters) GX
Debut	Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Episode 1
Birthday	Unknown
Deck	Cyber Dragon (first year), Underworld / Ura (second year)
Sign	Unknown
Age	17 at debut; currently 19
Height	Unknown
Weight	Unknown
Blood type	Unknown
Favorite food	Unknown
Least favorite food	Unknown
Status at debut	Obelisk Blue duelist
Relations	Younger brother: Syrus Truesdale (Sho Marufuji)
Seiyū	Tsuyoshi Maeda
Voice actor(s)	Scottie Ray

Zane Truesdale, known in Japan as Ryo Marufuji (丸藤亮, Marufuji Ryō^?), is a fictional character in the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX in Japan) and the manga series of the same name. In the English version, Zane is voiced by Scottie Ray, while Tsuyoshi Maeda takes the role in the Japanese version.

The top duelist of Duel Academy in protagonist Jaden's first year, Zane serves as one of Jaden's rivals during the series' first season, though he takes a more brutal approach to dueling after experiencing a transformation of mind in the second.

[edit] Character design

Zane's design incorporates multiple layers of clothing and a wide range of expressions. Depicted here is the duelist in the outfit he wears beginning partway through the second season from the front alongside views of his head from different angles.

Zane's character design was overseen by Kenichi Hara.^[1] His first season outfit consists of the standard Obelisk Blue uniform with a more pronounced collar, tighter-bound sleeves, and pointed rims coming out the costume's lower back. His blue hair is sectioned in three layers, his blue eyes positioned directly beneath the bangs of the layer closest to his face. He carries an Academy-issued Duel Disk on his left hand.

Zane's second outfit is similar to the one worn by Seto Kaiba during the Battle City story arc. It consists of a black overcoat with red trimmings and sharp edges. The letter "R" is centered on his belt buckle, drawn from the first letter of his name in the Japanese version. (This feature has been occasionally removed from the English version.) Zane's facial expressions also elicit more angered and/or sadistic nuances than those of his previous design.

[edit] Fictional character biography

Zane Truesdale is the stronger older brother of Syrus Truesdale (Sho Marufuji) who lives in the Obelisk Blue dormitory at Duel Academy (Duel Academia) along with Alexis Rhodes (Asuka Tenjouin) and initially Chazz Princeton (Jun Manjoume). Zane is highly respected, and a Duel with him is reserved only for the elite. For the early part of the first season, he aids his close friend Alexis in searching for her lost brother and former rival Atticus Rhodes (Fubuki Tenjouin). In the original version of the series, he is nicknamed "Kaiser Ryo" (カイザー亮, Kaizā Ryō^?).

Personality-wise, Zane is calm and collected, with a deep respect for his opponents and his own cards. He feels that the connection between a duelist and his opponent, as well as the duelist himself and his deck, make victory meaningful, though he is somewhat more harsh in the English version than his Japanese counterpart.

When Syrus was younger, he almost used the card Power Bond without thinking during a Duel. He was stopped by Zane who revealed that if he used it, he would have lost the Duel at the end of his turn because of the card's drawback. Paying off Syrus' opponent to end the Duel, Zane sealed the card away, stating that his brother could only use it when he was truly ready.^[2] Syrus, believing himself to be a disgrace to his older brother, did not unseal the card until much later after his friend Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki) faced off against Zane.

Zane was selected by Camula, the second member of the Shadow Riders (Seven Stars), as a victim of her Shadow Duel. Though he easily overpowered her, the vampire forced him into an intentional loss by offering his brother's soul as payment for her Illusion Gate card. As a result, he was turned into a doll for a short period of time, before Jaden managed to defeat Camula. He later faced Jaden in a rematch, choosing him as his opponent for his ceremonial graduation Duel. Zane went on to compete in Duel Pro League after his graduation.

A fan favorite in the Pro League, Zane suffers his first true loss at the hands of Aster Phoenix (Ed Phoenix), who continuously tells him that his defeat is "predetermined by destiny."^[3] The Duel that the two engage in marks the first time Zane takes damage from Power Bond. The battle takes its toll; from then on, Zane finds himself trapped perpetually in a losing streak. He is approached by Mr. Shroud (Monkey Saruyama), a promoter who offers him the chance to redeem himself, and although reluctant at first, Zane ultimately accepts.^[4]

Zane is soon pitted against Mad Dog (Inukai) in the "Underground Duel," a competition in front of a shady audience wherein both contestants are sealed inside a cage and forced to wear electrodes ("Shock-Amplifying Devices") that shock them each time Life Points are depleted. Zane again finds himself on the losing end, but realizes that his former philosophy of respecting the opponent above the desire to win is flawed. Frustrated and desperate, he resorts to cruelty and aggression and summons Chimeratech Overdragon, which practically destroys the dueling ring. The next time Zane is seen, he has donned a dark outfit, and is referred to by the public as "Hell Kaiser Ryo" (ヘルカイザー亮, Heru Kaizā Ryō^?) in the Japanese version.

Zane would then travel into the mountains after casting off his promoter to confront Sheppard (Samejima) in the dojo where he was brought up dueling, hoping to acquire the forbidden Underworld (サイバー流裏, Saibā Ryū Ura^?, Cyber-Style Tails in the Japanese version) deck that existed opposite of his own Cyber Dragon deck, a goal he accomplishes in betraying Cyber End Dragon. Believing that he will regain the respect he once held for others during the GX tournament, Sheppard gives him a medal that will allow him to participate.

Shortly thereafter, Atticus Rhodes duels Zane under the impression that his friend has fallen to the dark side, much like himself when he was taken in by the Shadow Riders, using the deck of Nightshroud (Darkness) to symbolize his belief that, just as he was able to break free from the darkness that had corrupted him, so too could Zane. Using his new deck, Zane easily dispatches his opponent, causing the dark power of Nightshroud to once again envelop Atticus as he loses faith in his friend's salvation. Zane, however, tells him upon his defeat that there is no darkness in his heart, and that his only wish is to achieve victory through unrelenting force and the accumulation of power.^[5] In turn, the monster that others perceive him to have become has merely been born of his inability to cope with failure.

Zane approaches Aster for a second Duel, but Syrus intervenes and demands to be his opponent instead. Similar to his previous Duel with Mad Dog, both players wear electrodes, subject to intense physical punishment. It becomes clear that, in his current mindset, Zane spares no one; he is cold, ruthless, and abusive, regardless of who his opponents are, and enjoys seeing others suffer. Despite Syrus' efforts to defeat his brother, Zane trounces him. While making his exit, he states that if there is anything he respects at all anymore, it is only victory itself. He appears again following a brief run-in with the disguised Blair Flannigan (Rei Saotome), giving her his tournament medal as he is no longer interested in participating, and leaves Duel Academy island.^[6]

During the third year, Zane is enlisted by Dr. Eisenstein (Dr. Albert Zweinstein) to battle Johan Andersen in order to collect enough Duel Energy to open a wormhole through which the Rainbow Dragon card can be sent to the alternate dimension where Duel Academy was transported.^[7]

[edit] Deck

During the first year, Zane plays a Cyber Dragon deck, representing yang, the active and bright force in the universe. Zane was an expert at combining his three Cyber Dragons into their two Fusion forms, with Cyber End Dragon being his strongest card, and could consistently strengthen them to very high levels with his signature Spell, Power Bond. After visiting Sheppard in the mountains during the second year, he took the Underworld deck, representing the dark and passive yin, that was sealed away in his former teacher's dojo. He combined cards from both decks into a single deck, but continued to disrespect his Cyber Dragons, throwing away all related cards into his Graveyard to strengthen his new servants, living mechanisms of torture known as the Cyberdarks (サイバー・ダーク, Saibā Dāku^?, Cyber Darks in the Japanese version). The design of cards in the Cyber Dragon and Cyberdark series has links to Chinese mythology, with such references present throughout his deck, including mentions of the Chinese dragon, Qilin, and Fenghuang.

[edit] References