Reshiram & Zekrom; Yu-Gi-Oh cards??

[Stratago]

Reshiram: A blue-eyed White Dragon who has power over fire.
Zekrom: A Red-eyed Black Dragon who has power over lightning.
Yu-Gi-Oh: Both of these beasties are notable cards, though their respective elements are switched.
In Pokemon and in Yu-Gi-Oh, the two end up fighting a lot.
Is this a cultural thing in Japan? Or a story of some kind?

(On a side note, Kyurem has yellow eyes, rounding out that red/blue/yellow thing again...)

 

[Kyo~]

The colors just look that good

 

[Kaustic]

Contrasting colors are indeed fashionable.

Black and white (as colors) are also parallels in many cultures; as are red and blue. It's logical that they'd be paired up opposite each other often.

 

[winstein]

I never got the impression that Red Eyes Black Dragon was a notable monster (the two notable monsters are actually Dark Magician and Blue Eyes White Dragon), considering how the Egyptian arc doesn't present Red-Eyes as a prominent monster, while the other two monsters got their own focus. As such, I don't really consider the analogy you mentioned as appropriate. I also don't exactly see the two monsters fighting a lot, so I probably didn't see what you see.

@Stratago, If both monsters fought a lot, can you list down at least three examples?

Anyway, the Light vs Darkness thing is a rather common way to portray contrasts between two opposing forces, but Reshiram and Zekrom only look like light and darkness on the outside. I personally find their focus on Fire and Electric a breath of fresh air, and not actual light and darkness.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Enzap]

Red-Eyes Black Dragon was the signature monster of the main protagonist's best friend. I'd say it was a fairly prominent monster.

 

[Ghetsis-Dennis]

I have not noticed the similarities between those dragons, so what makes Kyurem then?

Red-Eyes Black Dragon was the signature monster of the main protagonist's best friend. I'd say it was a fairly prominent monster.

Up until Joey lost it to a Rare Hunter and now belongs in Yugi's deck after defeating the same Rare Hunter.

 

[winstein]

Red-Eyes Black Dragon was the signature monster of the main protagonist's best friend. I'd say it was a fairly prominent monster.

In that sense, it is famous, yes. However, it's not as notable compared to Blue-eyes and Dark Magician (both the forces of Light and Dark as well) in the original series. Perhaps in the TCG it could be true, but not in the main story. That's the reason I don't think the analogy is appropriate, considering how there isn't actually a real battle between Red-eyes and Blue-eyes (unless you count that movie based on the Bandai Yugioh), unlike Reshiram and Zekrom, whom we actually see duke it out in the games and the movie.

Up until Joey lost it to a Rare Hunter and now belongs in Yugi's deck after defeating the same Rare Hunter.

In the Orichalcos saga in the anime, it is implied that Joey got it back from his duel with Yugi at the end of the Battle City arc.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Enzap]

Even though I can see the similarities between Reshiram/Zekrom and Blue Eyes/Red Eyes, I don't think they are related. Both pairs of dragons were designed with the intent of making them contrasting polar opposites. The natural outcome is a white dragon and a black dragon. The blue eyes on Reshiram are there to mirror Zekrom's blue lightning, and Zekrom's red eyes are there to mirror Reshiram's red eyes, to show they are related but opposites.

 

[Stratago]

Wow, I was just musing that there might be a connection... I don't really follow Yu Gi Oh, so I didn't even know there was so much to it. I mean, there's like 5 different versions of the story, aren't there? And only the first one is actually about Yugi, right?
Wait, nevermind, this is a Pokemon forum, not Yu Gi Oh.
Anyway, I was more curious about whether or not there was more to the whole blue/white red/black thing in japanese culture (since most legendaries are based on actual myths & whatnot). (And before anyone points it out, yes I know the mythology behind the Tao Trio.)
@ Ghetsis-Dennis: Is there a monster in Yu-Gi-Oh that's like Kyurem? That would be interesting...

 

[Enzap]

Wow, I was just musing that there might be a connection... I don't really follow Yu Gi Oh, so I didn't even know there was so much to it. I mean, there's like 5 different versions of the story, aren't there? And only the first one is actually about Yugi, right?
Wait, nevermind, this is a Pokemon forum, not Yu Gi Oh.
Anyway, I was more curious about whether or not there was more to the whole blue/white red/black thing in japanese culture (since most legendaries are based on actual myths & whatnot). (And before anyone points it out, yes I know the mythology behind the Tao Trio.)
@ Ghetsis-Dennis: Is there a monster in Yu-Gi-Oh that's like Kyurem? That would be interesting...

Spoiler

I know this originates in China, but it's a widely recognized symbol that is basically represented by Zekrom and Reshiram. Yin and Yang was brought up a lot when they were first revealed during speculation. Does that help any?

 

[Kaustic]

I have not noticed the similarities between those dragons, so what makes Kyurem then?

Thousand Dragon? XD

 

[Garren]

In the Orichalcos saga in the anime, it is implied that Joey got it back from his duel with Yugi at the end of the Battle City arc.

Thanks for reading.

That was in the original manga as well, and in fact was Joey's main goal in Battle City, but I don't think they ever said whether or not he got it back. However, pretty sure it's implied that he won in both canons.

I have not noticed the similarities between those dragons, so what makes Kyurem then?

Elemental Hero NEOS?

 

[Stratago]

Wow, I was just musing that there might be a connection... I don't really follow Yu Gi Oh, so I didn't even know there was so much to it. I mean, there's like 5 different versions of the story, aren't there? And only the first one is actually about Yugi, right?
Wait, nevermind, this is a Pokemon forum, not Yu Gi Oh.
Anyway, I was more curious about whether or not there was more to the whole blue/white red/black thing in japanese culture (since most legendaries are based on actual myths & whatnot). (And before anyone points it out, yes I know the mythology behind the Tao Trio.)
@ Ghetsis-Dennis: Is there a monster in Yu-Gi-Oh that's like Kyurem? That would be interesting...

Spoiler

I know this originates in China, but it's a widely recognized symbol that is basically represented by Zekrom and Reshiram. Yin and Yang was brought up a lot when they were first revealed during speculation. Does that help any?

...Yes, I know about the Tao Trio, like I said. I'm a buddhist. And the symbol's called the Taijitu.
Zekrom's classification is Deep Black Pokemon. It represents yang, and negative engergy.
Reshiram's classification is Vast White pokemon. It represents yin, and positive energy.
Kyurem's classification is the Boundry Pokemon. It represents the sinuous line between the two halves as well as the circle which encompasses both. Kyurem represents neutral energy.

 

[Xenidal]

there isn't actually a real battle between Red-eyes and Blue-eyes (unless you count that movie based on the Bandai Yugioh), unlike Reshiram and Zekrom, whom we actually see duke it out in the games and the movie.

If I'm remembering correctly, Joey dueled Kaiba at Duelist Kingdom and he used his Red Eyes against a Blue Eyes. However, that was back when Joey wasn't even a match for Kaiba, so the comparison of them being "equal and opposite rival dragons" doesn't really apply in that instance.

I mean, there's like 5 different versions of the story, aren't there? And only the first one is actually about Yugi, right?

Two of them are about Yugi, but one (known by some non-Japanese fans as "season zero" or "the first series") was made by an entirely different company and never dubbed or released outside of Japan in anime form.

Is there a monster in Yu-Gi-Oh that's like Kyurem? That would be interesting...

No prominent monsters, but there is the White Night Dragon (ice element... looks a lot like Red Eyes except icy looking and has stats to rival Blue Eyes)

To comment on the original post, I don't know if it's "cultural", but I do see dragons in general showing up a lot in anime (more so than in American cartoons). As far as white with blue eyes vs. black with red eyes... probably just coincidence, since, as others have said, black represents darkness and white represents light, and light vs. darkness is a very common theme in just about everything. The comparison to Yu-Gi-Oh! might be accurate, but Red Eyes truly wasn't that prominent (and Kaiba never even viewed Joey as an equal or a rival or anything), not to mention its stats are way lower.

 

[Stratago]

The comparison to Yu-Gi-Oh! might be accurate, but Red Eyes truly wasn't that prominent (and Kaiba never even viewed Joey as an equal or a rival or anything), not to mention its stats are way lower.

Ah. I didn't know that. I figured, since their names were so similar, that they were counterparts or something.

 

[Princess of Lumas]

Lest you forget, Red eyes was Jounochi's prized card and was the subject of several story arcs

 

[Xenidal]

The comparison to Yu-Gi-Oh! might be accurate, but Red Eyes truly wasn't that prominent (and Kaiba never even viewed Joey as an equal or a rival or anything), not to mention its stats are way lower.

Ah. I didn't know that. I figured, since their names were so similar, that they were counterparts or something.

They pretty much were counterparts... I don't know why they made Red Eyes's stats so much lower. Story-wise, Blue Eyes was overpowered so only 4 were ever printed (although that changes later, as several monsters have over 3000 ATK), whereas Red Eyes was a regular card so maybe that's got something to do with it.
The only thing is that Red Eyes wasn't as prominent because it was Joey's card, and Joey wasn't as important to the story as Kaiba was (Joey didn't even have that Egyptian background).
I think that they could have pulled it off (if Yugi's signature card was Red Eyes rather than the Dark Magician), but the way that the story actually went the two monsters were never "equal / opposite" like Reshiram and Zekrom were.

 

[winstein]

The comparison to Yu-Gi-Oh! might be accurate, but Red Eyes truly wasn't that prominent (and Kaiba never even viewed Joey as an equal or a rival or anything), not to mention its stats are way lower.

Ah. I didn't know that. I figured, since their names were so similar, that they were counterparts or something.

To be fair, the only real battle between those two monsters are from that 1999 Yugioh movie in the other anime series (as in, the one which isn't based on Konami). This is the only instance in which both have a serious battle. I know it's rare to hear this, since it's not the Yugioh we are familiar with.

That's it for now.

 

[Garren]

True, the only timed they battled (and this might be limited to the anime?) was in the Duelist Kingdom Arc, where Joey battled Kaiba for...some reason I forget. Kaiba schooled him. :/

Both cards suck in the real game, especially now, but Red Eyes had more useful support cards. Plus, is cooler.

 

[Stratago]

Well, from your assorted responses, I've decided that there is no such Japanese cultural synonym between the two sets of Dragons. Thanks for your opinions, everyone.