Can we talk about the fact that the millennium scale is the origin of fusion summoning?

The closest thing I've seen to any use of the scales has been from a fanfiction where a blind girl had it, and it would let be able to see while in a duel

I would like to see how each Millennium Item chooses its owners. That would be very interesting!

Honestly, it’s BEEN a missed opportunity to not have ANY of the actual Millennium Items be actual cards in the game… They could all be Equip Spells, with the universal bonus that they also confer their effects onto any Xyz monsters they’re attached to as material (So that SOME monsters can wield all of the items together).

I could imagine how a villain could use the scales. In the manga if I remember correctly another ability of the scales was to detect lies. Sure it was used on a not great guy but one of the questions the guy was asked was about yugi and the puzzle, and the guy this was being used on was worried about what Shaadi intended to do, so he lied, which the scales still picked up, so despite the guy lying in that case to protect someone the scale still registered the lie. So why not have a villain who uses the scales for that reason? having the scales so they can detect if the person they're interrogating is lying or misdirecting them.

No, I think the manga handled it well. Shadi having two Millennium Items, both of which having instant KO abilities, makes him that much more terrifying and mysterious. The manga makes Shadi into this ever present entity that can show up at any time and do whatever he wants, which is compounded by him being both the first major antagonist of the series and the first Millennium Item owner other than Yugi. It then makes it all the more interesting when Bakura, in his duel against Marik, hints at him having killed Shadi long ago, which explains why he never showed up again after his first appearance but makes his appearance in the first place all the more mysterious.

Yah it bothered me that the milenium scales where neglected in the anime and when I found out the guy with the melenium key also had that it was a kick in the pants,I mean it could have bin 6 items the whole time and just about everything would be the same

I would've given the scale the ability to fuse and defuse spirits that could've given it a little amp for shadow games and what not

ohh a custom millenium pieces video would be cool. With art and their abilities

Hearing the correct names instead of the dub names is always refreshing

in the end, the millennium items are just used for plot building convience

Personally I always thought it was a bit weird that Shadi did so little against Bakura. Especially with the later reveal that Bakura had killed him AND the fact he also killed Pegasus. I think you could have worked a Shadi vs Bakura due in the plot somehow, and it could have also given Bakura a win. Maybe that could work with your idea for R, even if it'd also require making the plot a lot more complex. Shadi tries to go after Bakura for killing Pegasus but fails, however he manages to hide the Millenium Scales and Key somewhere in Pegasus castle while he recovers from whatever penalty Bakura gave him. In that time Yako Tenma manages to find the Scales and Key and decides to use them to try to revive Pegasus. And also maybe to finish the creation of the Wicked Gods.Perhaps making a new Wicked God Fusion with the power of the Scales. And then Shadi recovers the Scales and Key after Yako is defeated.

I forget that Shadi was never alive during the anime

This is a missed opportunity as The scale makes more sense in yugioh R as its through yakos research on it and the wicked gods he could use it to create the means to revive keith and then later use it to try and revive pegasus but it would add an interesting dynamic as now Yugi has to deal with yako armed with the wicked gods and now the millennium scale only for either him to get it at the end or shadi retrieving it and yugi questioning him of why he did it and to add an additional layer Kaiba could get access to his research in Darkside of Dimensions as a way to revive the pharoh and develop his new duel disks.

Mind you I haven’t read a lot of the manga, the scale must have been nixed (as in its would-be prominence within the story) and takahashi may have had to change re-write a lot, particularly for once duel monsters took over. Part of me likes that one of the items is more mysterious than the others, like the audience still doesn’t know everything about these items. It’s also cumbersome to hold and have around. Can’t imagine someone just carrying it around like the rod or having it around their neck. Perhaps he didn’t consider that aspect when getting to the point of writing the characters carrying them around.

I like your idea of Shadi using the Scales to set up trials for Yugi in the beginning.

4:46 -There is one reason I peroanally would not want this recommendation. When Shadi first meets Yugi in the Manga, he is crying before a mummy. The mummy is from an era near but after that of the nameless Pharoah and is a tall, lengthy mummy. Shadi then tells Yugi that the tears she sheds are not his own but tears for the Pharoah who can no longer shed them but is bound to earth, unable to move on. This is clearly not Atem but fits for Seto. Whether this was the intention at the time, I feel this was our first peek as Priest/Pharoah Seto. Shadi SHOULD know who Seto is and even if the mummy encounter is not him, it does highlight a truth that still exists. Shadi is dedicated to the Pharoahs. He is most focused on helping Atem since that was the pact he made with Atem's father but failed to uphold. However, we get plenty of charatceration that proves he respects the wishes of the Pharoah and will not just interfere with them. If he knows Seto is the reincarnation of Priest Seto then he ABSOLUTLY would know Priest Seto becomes Pharoah Seto after Atem's Death and would NOT mess with him. It would essentially be a horrific sin for him to do so since he recognizes Pharoahs are just incarnate God's, even if Seto's chose to remain earthbound out of grief for Kissara. Further, we see the Priest seto aspect of his soul already resides in the afterlife as a servent of Atem at the end of the anime. What remains is the Pharoanic part that is still linked to his beef with Atem because it is part of how he became Pharoah and why he chose not to pass on to his own rightful place jn the afterlife. The darkness in Kaiba's heart is also not linked to Zorc of his past self in any way but is the result of his current life trauma. I do not feel Shadi would interfere like that but allow Atem to deal with it. In fact, at this point it's still highly infered that Atem is the one influenced by the darkness of X orc after spending so much time in close proximity inside the Pendent. That's why he does some pretty messed up stuff at first and WHT Shadi doesn't recognize him as the young Pharoah he was supposed to protect. Shadi is also earthbound by his failure to have done so and desperately wants to help Atem get their safely so he can also move on. I seriously doubt he would have dared test Yami had he had any inkling it was actually Atem and not an aspect of the sworn enemy of his Pharoah. Zorc had a bit of a habit of breaking his soul to influence mortals to do his bidding. It's part of how the events were able to even take place as the soul fragment in the ring caused both to free up a bit when they came near to each other physically thanks to Bakura. Despite a few examples due to misunderstandings, I don't see Shadi as one to purposely affect any Pharoah's soulhouse, including Seto.

Though all millennium items had powers, only a few had ginmicks suited for cheating within the game. The eye to see into the mind of others, the necklace to see the future, and the puzzle that actually affects probability. Perhaps the scale could have had the ability to negate any sort of enhancement or external influences in a duel. Imagine in the duel against the scale Yugi/Atem learns that his puzzle does infact help him win and he questions his actual duelling prowess. The wielder of the scale can also use the ability to detect lies as a way to help in duels.... like they ask, 'did you play a trap?' If the opponent lies you would know, if they remain silent, the scale judges them harshly draining away lifepoints in a shadow duel. The scale definitely had a lot of potential and, in my humble opinion, should have been the strongest item or equivalent to the puzzle.... the puzzle only seemed powerful because it held the soul of Atem, who has powers of his own.... outside that I find the scale should have been the strongest... especially as it is 7 items, an odd number. The scale should have been the outlier, if not the strongest, the oddest of the items, the great balancer to the other six.

For my Reduel series i have each Millenium item have a spirit. Atem, Yami Bakura, Yami Marik, Naomi (Yami Ishizu), Sol Tenma (Yami Pegasus), Niji (yami Seto with millenium key) and Shadi as the scale (he is the spirit, we have not introduced his human form). Currently for Shadi i gave him the Triamids

Apparently the Shadi arc in the manga wasn't very popular with readers and the series was facing threats of cancelation. I wonder if we would have gotten more of him and his Millennium Items in the manga had that arc been more popular

Since you mentioned fusion, the scale could have been an early form of super polymerization with a deck built around generic fusions.

Just imagine you're chosen as a Millennium Item Wielder and t's the Scale... I'd be starting penalty games on masses if that was me, can't handle that level of disrespect.

6:35 -Again..I would not recommend this as Shadi desperately wants to get Atem to the afterlife. He is not trying to judge the Pharoahs soul like you seem to think..that was just because he knew the dark spirit in Yugi was involved in his buisness but did not realize who it was due to that darkness. The obvious reasoning is that he had the stink of Zorc on him after spending so long in the pendent together and was acting more evil as a result. Shadi would not just pop up and test the Pharoah once he knew ir was in fact the Pharaoh. He was to guide Atem to finding his rightful place in the afterlife but in a gentle and as indirect a way as possible. That's why he takes alternate forms like Babosa to fill specific limited roles in the journey. Waking the dragons was a clumsy arc that contradicted the lore in the origional series so it would be best to keep Shadi out of it. They tried to ram the concept into the existing plot but it makes NO sence for Dartz to have met Pharoah Atem. Trying to add more of the existing lore into this Arc would not only be contradictory to what Shadi is there for but further highlight how it doesn't fit. The alternate dimention of duel monsters is a direct contradiction to the millenium world (dawn of thw duel) explaination on what the monsters even are. Because it was more usable in future stories, this would be adapted on into the future manga and anime series, but it's a mess fmin the early Yugi since it was written hastily for filler and did not fit the ancient Egyptian lore established in that one

I thought they were reaching for a 7th item since that's a power number and they just couldn't think of a place for it.

What about in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga, where "Weighing of the Heart" was used on Tragoedia?

I'd definitely be interested in a video on how the millennium items picked their users. Also one on a Millennium Item archetype.

Yugi not mind crushing more opponents throughout the show was a missed opportunity.

I always felt it was a bit of an odd choice to give one character two items right from the get-go. In essence that really meant there were only six items because the key and the scale never acted independently from one another. Could have been fun to give the Scales to Odion instead so he and his two siblings form a bit of a triad. Ishizu on the side of good, Marik on the side of evil and Odion in-between keeping things in balance

The scales could have bin used by a new character in the waking the dragon series trying to help the Pharoah

Shadi needed a successor

I personally think the items go back to previous owners since it waa shown that the pharaoh resemble yugi, yami bakura , seto kiaba held the M. Rod

Always thought it was kind of lame how the Items are a major plot device in this series yet the Scales are never used. PLenty of opportunities, perhaps giving the Scales to one of Yugi's friends so they have more of a role to play perhaps, maybe to Tea or Tristian so they are able to do things outside of mostly cheerleading.

I wish we would have seen some sort of assimilation of all the items after discovering the Quantum Cube. Or a purification of the items before Atem could pass on.

Great video topic!

What if Yami Marik never existed and it was simply Marik as the Antagonist of the Battle City finals arc as the anime intro teased?

There’s no justification for introducing two millennium items that are both held by the same person and are never used my anyone else until like the final fifteen episodes

Your point about an evil person using a justife item is definitely not a stretch. If you think of Death Note, we have two sides facing each other with both claiming to represent Justice. And they both do to one degree or another.

Everytime I listen to apple bottom jeans I thing of Shadi dancing

Another very good video with a question that few people ask, very good. Day 923 waiting for NOT BROKEN support for Venom.

We don’t know the scale’s modern power.

8:23 -This would never happen considering who made the items and their purpose. We did see some minor use of rhe scales in the millenium world (dawn of the duel) arc with an example of the full process the priests used the items for. I could be wrong but I think you are confusing the powers the items have. As far as I remember, the eye is able to see the manifested soul of a perosn and thus know their specific good or evil traits as a result. The scales don't do this but merely can identify the weight of the evil influence to determine how unforgivable their past crimes are and how irredeemable they are going foreward. If they were determined too guilty, then judgment would be passed with the rest of the items. Some held powers that could make others seem mostly redundant but each played a step in the process of reformation in the kingdom through judiciary processes. It's also important to keep in mind that the items are all tools of Zorc. They were created through his own powers part of the contract to release him. They all have a dark influence of varying levels and are a bit of a genie wish situation with how they can be properly used. The ONLY reason the pendent was able to stop Zorc is because he had no understanding of selflessness and thus could not foresee it used agaisnt him in the way it was. It was a supposedly eternal self sacrifice Atem was making to imprison them both and Zorc as a selfish demon of darkness, would never consider the idea of dying for the greater good of others. He kept the items purposefully limited (some more than others) with thsoe having "good" purposes being the weakest. Being what they are, Zorc would give the scales some of the least power of them all. We see the real scales of Ma'at used agaisnt Tragoedea. He was the orgional owner of the ring before Mahado, first banished into Zorc's dark dimention (shadow realm) and a being thus fully corrupted by Zorc's power. He is essentially Zorc Jr. By the GX manga. Considering the scales are rhe greatest weopon agaisnt everything Zorc is, the version he would gift to the priests would be much depowered to a mere trinket. Again, he never intended these to be able to be used against him. The most powerful items were ones used for darkness (his home field) or with powers he felt were no threat. Even exodia was his own servent initially and thus too weak to defeat him. The scales held the most potential agaisnt him so he ensured they were a shell of what they could have been. Seeing Zorcs true nature means nothing in stopping him. Tearing his Ka form from his host would only free him from said host as an independent entity. Ka can only be sealed into a tablet if those sealing the Ka themselves equal or exceed that Ka's own power. Being more powerful than even Exodia, zorc never had to fear this. Seeing the future meant nothing as it simply revealed the inevitable outside of the influence of the items or the source of their power..which was Zorc. The ring could lead someone to spirit energy but that would mean little if they could not defeat what it lead them too. If the scales could headed and trigger a seperate divine punishment like those of Ma'at, then they would be a gebuine threat..but the ones Zorc designed only could only do the judge part and the punishment was to be carried by other items ineffective agaisnt the demon. 9:41 -as I mentioned abouve, the were all items made by Zorc and thus inheritantly endowed with some level of his dark power. They were all used for the process of justice but some held more of his dark influence that aligned with potential for more malicious use. Those that would be less aligned were not as powerful anyway as he would not want them used agaisnt him AND his own power creating them is evil. Evil can create tools of good but its more accidental and through the ingenuity of use by the user as with the pendent and Atem. The scales COULD be used by a villain, but they would give them little help. These would be those most useful against Evil if done right and thus are the some of the inherant LEAST powerful of the items. It's similar with the Necklace. You can see the future but you can't change it AND the future you see CAN be altered by the influence of other items or Zorc's power. You can weigh the evil within a person but do really nothing further with that using the scales.

8:02 -He WAS. He was using the power of the Wicked gods along with the technology. This was actually the plan Pegasus had to revive his wife except using the items. That's why he tried to take over Kaiba Corp., he wanted rhe solid imagry machinery. The wicked gods did try to entice Pegaus since they could grant him immediate power but he recognized thier corruption amd inherent danger worse than that even of the Egyptian gods themsleves. He refused them and would not even make card counterparts as a reult. Yako being ignorant to what happened or any of this aspect of Pegasus life fell for their lure immmediatly. Kieth was revived but under their dark influence. Joey ultimaly broke it in defeating them and Yami defeating the God's themsleves ensured their hold was removes. It was mostly thier magic that did this however. The reason the needed Kabias technology however is because thier was no body. Yako did not know where Pegasus body was taken or even what happened to him. They were able to recover Kieth's body but he had no idea Pegasus was rhw cause of Kieths demise and Kieth fed him a BS story so he could get revenge on Joey. Cecila had been dead long enough that she needed a new body and Pegasus' location was kept secret from Yakko so they needed to reincarnate them in a new body using the gods power and Kaibas solid imagry technology to make that new body appear as their old selves.

I think the reason the Millenium Scale never got any relevance was the fact that it's a replica of Anubis's own Judgement Scales.

0:41 Shadi like a melody in my head 🎵

Scale was not used so much because it is overpowered, image just walking around and use scales on people then get rid of all bad people like jeff bezos or people who poison your food