In the "monster upgrade" juvenile comic, there will always be some miscellaneous fish villains.
They don't have much strength, but they are still doing nothing evil and flaunting their might.
And their fate is often simply defeated by the protagonist, there is no follow-up, no one cares about their origins, and no one cares why they have become like this.
These miscellaneous fish villains are just an "experience pack" on the way to the protagonist's upgrade, a tool person who reflects the growth of the protagonist, will not be remembered, and even no audience will hate them.
The character that this article is going to talk about today is originally positioned in the story.
However, in the yin and yang errors, he not only successfully turned right, but also joined the protagonist group, which was loved by countless audiences.
His characterization has become a paradigm to some extent, and in the sequels to the series, a character with a similar positioning and a sense of déjà vu can always be found.
He is the protagonist of this article, the male second in "Game King DM"——
Hippocampus Seren
01
The Road to Strength
When it comes to this character, I believe that even readers who have not seen "Game King" will have these two elements in their minds for the first time:
A large trench coat that grows to be exaggerated and comes with anti-gravity levitation, and there is a monster that looks very powerful and gorgeous, the blue-eyed white dragon.
Yes, his image, summed up in two words, is "strong" and "proud".
However, in the original setting of the Game King DM comic, he was just a miscellaneous villain.
In the early days of the manga, the authors Kazuki Takahashi did not use playing cards as a theme, but wanted to create a game king who was good at all games.
Dark Games defeats all sorts of villains in various death games, and then uses the power of the Millennium Bricks to give them a psychic shock.
Unlike the other villains, Seahorse chose the right game, choosing to challenge the dark game with the "Duel Monster".
And, in this battle, he showed off his ace card for the first time, the blue-eyed white dragon.
Perhaps because of this, after Jump asked Takahashi and Xi to paint "The King of Cards", the role of the seahorse gradually increased, until the throne of the male two was equally divided with the castle.
His blue-eyed white dragon allowed him to successfully gain a place in the subsequent plot, and he officially turned over after he put on the iconic white trench coat.
In fact, in the early plot of the anime, the seahorse that did not wear a large white trench coat was also very crumbling.
Playing cards to lose the game of suicide, using the goodness of the watch game to steal the victory that belonged to him from the game, and thus got the nickname "SeaHorse Laipi".
It wasn't until the official end of the anime Becass and the beginning of the Duel City section that Seahorse finally put on his exclusive robe.
He becomes the holder of the God Card "Obelisk's Giant God Soldier", and although he does not admit it, he is also working with the game team against Gurus's Assassins.
From the moment he put on his robes, the legend that belonged to the Hippocampus people officially began.
02
Favored people
Because the animation of "Game King DM" directly abandons all the plots that are not related to playing cards, its progress is much faster than that of the manga.
When the manga update speed cannot catch up with the animation, you can only fill in the original plot first and wait for the manga to update.
In these original plots, Shimase is a favorite of the animation production team.
His image, in these original plots, gradually grew taller.
In the Naia chapter, the seahorse's past life is completed.
He and his younger brother Guiping are actually orphans, and the brothers are dependent on each other and can only trust each other.
The former president of the Seahorse Company, Tsunzaburo Haima, adopted them, but he adopted the brothers only to take a fancy to Seto, who wanted to use them as containers for the resurrection of his biological son, Noya, who died prematurely.
The brothers saw Gunsaburo's intentions, but this was their only chance to climb up.
They and Gangsaburo used each other, and in the end, Seto succeeded in taking control of the Seahorse Company with his own wrists and unconditional trust in his brother Keihei.
As a result, The brothers took over Fromea and transformed the arms company into an entertainment technology company.
Their childhood is twisted, and they can't live without conspiring, which is also a reason for the newly distorted personality of the hippocampus.
Moreover, in the duel between Seahorse and Naia, Keihei is once again a hostage.
As strong as a seahorse, he could not cross his brother's corpse to win.
Perhaps, seeing this scene, the dark game fully understood the seahorse, and also forgave the seahorse for the trick in the Becas chapter that threatened death.
For Seahorse, in order to save his brother, he was willing to give up all his dignity and conservatism.
Therefore, Dark Game decisively succeeded Seahorse and won the duel with only 100 health left for him.
In the middle of the Duel City and Egypt chapters, there are two original articles, ore Hagan and KC.
In oriha's chapter, the only duelist who accompanies the dark game to the end is the seahorse, and even the table game personality is sealed for blocking the knife for the dark game.
In the duel between the two and Dazi, Seahorse also blocks a knife for the dark game, paving a path to victory for him with his life.
Interestingly, although there is no such plot in the manga, in the theatrical version of the anime "The Dark Side of the Dimension" that follows the manga ending, Seahorse still blocks the game.
This time the seahorse is to block the knife for the watch game, and the same two people face a powerful boss together.
Before disappearing, Seahorse finally returns the Millennium Bricks to the game, asking him to call "The Guy" back.
Because in the comic ending, Seahorse did not witness the final battle between the two games, so he has always been obsessed with dark games.
In order to duel with the dark game again, this Japanese Iron Man simply climbed the technology tree to the zenith star.
Moreover, he also absolutely believes in the dark game, believing that he will find the only hope in this desperate situation.
The last original chapter of TV animation, KC, is the home of Haima, where former business rivals kick the museum and want to completely destroy the entertainment technology empire created by Haima through computer viruses.
In this chapter, Haima has defeated this old enemy who came to provoke trouble, and in this chapter, President Haima shows what is strong and what is "crushing jade and crushing big applause".
Even in the Egyptian section, which is available in both anime and manga, the animation production team forcibly added drama to president Haima.
In the comics, after the duel city chapter, Seahorse goes to the United States, and the subsequent Egyptian chapter has nothing to do with him.
Although the setting of the seahorse's previous life, the Seth priest, was shaken out, but the seahorse itself did not participate in the Egyptian story.
The seahorse in the animation, who does not believe in strange powers and chaos, dismisses the statement of the dark game, but is actually curious, and dreams back to ancient Egypt with the dark game.
He had a relationship with Kisara, the embodiment of the blue-eyed white dragon, and although it was only a short glance, it was like a thousand years.
In the final armageddon, he also ran out to steal the scene.
When the pharaoh can't get up again, and the group of friends led by the watch game has not yet arrived, carry the girder.
His blue-eyed Ultimate Dragon was like a strong light, tearing a crack in the absolute darkness of the Great Evil God.
Hippocampus is really the chosen man of the animation production team, and almost all the original chapters are about his patches or his highlight moments.
Even in the original chapter of the manga, there are his additional scenes, and in the theatrical version of the anime that continues the manga, he also has to make up for his regret that he did not block the game in the manga worldline.
It can be said that the Seamaster Seto, who is loved by many "Game King" fans and is talked about by many ACGN audiences, is almost entirely shaped by animation.
03
Obligations of old enemies
Why did The Hippocampus Seto get so much favor from the animation production team? He was constantly playing and patching, and turning him from a passer-by villain buff to a male number two.
In fact, the intention of the animation production team is obvious, they want to create a nemesis for the protagonist dark game, and it is also an old enemy who is also a friend and foe.
Chapter bosses like Malik and Daz cannot become nemesis, they can only be defeated in the chapters that belong to them.
It is impossible for the city to be this nemesis, although he has always been with the dark game, and he has always wanted to challenge the dark game.
But his position is that of a loyal dog friend and a mortal through and through, although he almost shot down the gods with a mortal body.
Looking around, the production team locked in the manga and the first game of the game of The Seahorse set out.
Moreover, they chose the seahorse, which I guess is also related to the blue-eyed white dragon.
How could such a handsome monster be controlled by a passerby!
Under the combined action of various factors, the seahorse was pushed into the position of this old enemy.
The dark game is the nameless pharaoh, and the seahorse must have a past life Seth priest, so that the battle between them involves the past life and the present life.
The dark game is a well-deserved dueling (divine draw) king, and although the seahorse loses a hand by playing cards, it must be won with money.
The dark game can insert a knife for the two ribs of the friend, the seahorse must also have a brother who must be guarded, the dark game breaks the darkness in his heart, and he also has to block the knife for the dark game.
Even the ace monster of the two shows a subtle sense of symmetry.
The Dark Magician of the Dark Attribute, and the Blue-Eyed White Dragon of the Light Attribute.
The two present a subtle sense of symmetry in every aspect, as if they exist to fight each other.
It can be said that the Hippocampus Se is a textbook nemesis.
Grow up with the protagonist all the way, face the enemy together, and long to compete with the protagonist in your heart.
He is also on an equal footing with the protagonists in terms of forced grid, one is the nameless pharaoh and the dueling king, and the other is the reincarnation of the priest and the president of a large company.
And the reason why he can get so many "Game King" audiences, and even "Game King" has not seen the ACGN fans, is not only related to his successful nemesis image.
I think the bigger reason should be the gorgeousness of his image itself.
His image, like his ace monster, the Blue-Eyed White Dragon, has the highest level of attack and defense, but it has no messy effect.
He is powerful, and he disdains to be roundabout and deceitful, crushing his enemies head-on with absolute force.
At the same time, Kenjiro Tsuda's tense voice also adds a lot to the animated version of TheoShima, and like the DIO of the David Society, the seahorse is also a man whose soul is given by the voice actor.
In the final scene of the 20th anniversary theatrical version of "The Dark Side of the Dimension", Seahorse finally got his wish and went to the underworld in the flesh to challenge the dark game.
Takahashi and Xi also said in the interview that whether the seahorse will return from the underworld in the end is left to everyone to imagine.
The story of The Hippocampus, and the Dark Game, begins with such a duel with unknown outcomes, and ends.
Just as the subsequent protagonists of the "Game King" series are all "wandering characters", in the follow-up works, there will always be a character with the shadow of a seahorse.
Caesar Liang in GX, Jack in 5DS. Atlas...... They took the baton of strength and pride from the seahorse, put on a long trench coat, and drove the monsters that prided themselves on their attack power.
This is also a proof that the role of Hippocampus Seto has penetrated deeply into the hearts of the audience.