Jack Atlas is one of the main characters from the anime series, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. He is also one of the signers, who carries the wings of the Crimson Dragon and the current wielder of one of the Signer Dragons, Red Dragon Archfiend (in the original, Red Daemons Dragon). He is the adoptive older brother of Yusei Fudo and Crow Hogan. Originally a bitter rival to his former friend, Yusei, his defeat and realization of the path he had taken, made Jack realize the error of his fame-seeking ways and resolves to be a better duelist as well as being a better friend. He now resolves to help his friends against the growing battle of enemies in the later arcs such as Yliaster.
Jack returns in Arc-V as an alternate universe version of the same character.
He is voiced by Takanori Hoshino in the Japanese version of the anime, and by Ted Lewis (who also voiced Bakura Ryou in the first Yu-Gi-Oh! series) in the English version of the anime.
Personality[]
Jack's personality is similar to Seto Kaiba's; he is somewhat cold-hearted, and often acts as an anti-hero. Jack is an arrogant man at the beginning of the story who thinks of his opponents as little more than entertainment for himself and his audience. As King, he believed in a pursuit philosophy; where that he would drive himself into his own pinches only to crush his opponents with his absolute comeback strategies. However, after losing to his former friend Yusei, Jack realizes what he's been missing as King and decides on starting his own journey to becoming a real Duelist. Upon meeting Carly Carmine, he realizes the error of his ways, and tries to repay Yusei and the others.
Unlike Seto Kaiba however, Jack is more emotional and hot-headed who later openly shows his caring for his friends as the series progresses and he matures.
Jack can be manipulative, up to the point of even using his friends to get what he wants. However, he eventually realizes the error of his ways and becomes less manipulative. During his Duels he states that he enjoys entertaining the crowd and as such is often very theatrical with his Duels. He is known as the King of Turbo Duels, but mainly goes by The King. (In the dub, he has titles, such as "Master of Faster", "King of Cards" and "King".) He talks of himself in the third person and announces to the crowd, before, during and after his Duels, "There is only one King! That is me!". (In the dub, he uses phrases, such as "Let's kick this Turbo Duel into overdrive!" at the beginning of his professional Duels. When he wins a Duel, he will often say, "Who's the Master of Faster? Who rules the Duel? That's right, it's me, Jack Atlas!").
During his Duel with Goodwin, Jack states that he gives up becoming King and is fighting for Carly and the rest of his friends. After Goodwin's defeat, he works with Yusei and Crow to help those in need rather than focusing on his own ambition, but he still maintains a grumpy attitude. He can be very much insensitive to those around him, such as his final conversation with Carly before he left the city.
Jack has few applicable or even social skills other than Dueling and has been consequently fired from several jobs in one day. He also has problems with spending money as Crow grills him for spending 3000 yen (about $30 US at the time) on a single cup of coffee and being 36000 yen (about $360 US at the time) in debt to said coffee shop. He has a great love for ramen that spans from his early days when he would eat ramen along with his friends at Martha's home.
He also believes that Dueling is a clash between souls, and that one who uses cards of darkness instead doesn't deserve to Duel. He has a strong pride as a Duelist, as seen when he got deeply upset when he found out that Rex Goodwin had made Dragan lose on purpose to Jack in the past, to the point of grabbing Lazar angrily and shouting at Leo.
In the dub, his personality is quite a bit more malicious and his redemption and change of personality is lessened considerably, compared to his original Japanese counterpart; he framed his former friend Rally with the Duel Runner chip, for example, when in the original, Rally stole it himself and Jack is completely uninvolved and oblivious. He also remains quite mean, harsh and arrogant after his meeting with Carly, versus his greatly softened original counterpart who seems much more like a man who actually makes attempts to redeem himself.
Deck[]
Jack plays a "Power" deck, which possesses both Beatdown and Burn elements. His preferred strategy is to inflict damage to his opponent as fast as possible while summoning his signature card, "Red Dragon Archfiend". Jack's deck and strategy runs parallel with Yusei's; while Yusei prefers to play a defensive and adaptable style, Jack prefers to remain on the offensive while punishing his opponent for defensive moves.
As the series progresses, Jack's deck evolves to rely less on raw power in favor of more strategic moves. He eventually begins to focus on inflicitng damage to his opponent while simultaneously swarming the field with Tuner Monsters to summon his most powerful Monster, "Red Nova Dragon".
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Jack's deck focuses power with little tactic.
- In one future Jack died in a turbo duel against Carly and became a Dark Signer bound to Earthbound Immortal Asilla Piscu with her; he ruled a dark apocolyptic world as the Dark King with her by his side.
- It may have taken a decade, but Jack did regain the prestige of a champion Turbo Duelist at the end of 5D's.
- Jack doesnt have much in the way of life skills outside dueling and maintaining his Duel Runner, with Yusei and Crow actually making money off their mechanical skills and rides respectively.
- He additionally has poor money managing skills. Jack favors a $30 cup of coffee for its quality, but loves cheap ramen; the contrast shows he can't tell what's luxury and what's necessary. And why Yusei and Crow manage their money.
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