Coming to you live from a six-year-old’s bedroom, we finally found an appropriate setting to talk about this children’s card game TV show. Listen in as we read messages from our listeners, discuss another duel-heavy (but blessfully Pegasus-centric) episode, and introduce our new favorite characters: Funny Bunny and Ruff Gruff McDogg! Join us on our journey into Toon World, where we discover both kinds of puns, and confront the reality that Pegasus does what he wants. Blue Eyes White Dragon’s pri...
Oct 01, 2018•56 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Join us as we embark on a Pegasus-fueled journey of friendship and magic! Listen to us spend far too much time trying to remember the word “Artificer”, constantly get Pegasus and Kaiba’s names mixed up, and marvel at precisely how on-brand Pegasus’s decor really is. Later, we talk about what the opposite of a bottomless pit is, Pegasus’s staff naming scheme, and what kind of gimmick… gimmick gimmick puppet puppet egg egg head gimmick puppet egg head gimmick puppet egg head gimmick puppet egg hea...
Sep 17, 2018•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Finally! Amidst a sea of multi-part, plot-laden episodes, our hard work and perseverance is rewarded with a duel-heavy episode in which not much happens. Listen in as Jimmy recaps our first all-female duel, Tyler forgets what jokes are, we do some live foley work, and learn the hard way that the rules of Duel Monsters really are just made up on the spot. Apologies for the delay leading up to this episode! As we talk about at the beginning, with life events happening all at once lately, it's some...
Sep 10, 2018•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In preparation for our half-way-through-the-first-season celebration, we're taking a week off to bring you this bonus episode. Join us as we go back to our Yu-Gi-Roots, reveal the secrets of Tyler's dark past as a shitty teen, and discuss how great anime music is.
Aug 27, 2018•1 hr 35 min
*slaps top of duel* This bad boy can fit so many Kuribohs in it. This week, Jimmy talks about his side-gig! Tyler talks about something boring! Then, we get into discussing the final part of the duel between Kaiba and Yugi. Things get... surprisingly metal, and emotional? We talk mammoth chest-bursters, fusing zombies to non-zombies, infinite versions of tiny creatures, and brand new strategies that we're convinced Yugi pulled out of his ass. Later, we wax poetic about Link, the Hero of Time, an...
Aug 22, 2018•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Well, they can't all be winners. Six months into making a show about a show about a card game, we discover that the worst part about the show actually is the card game. Join us as we dissect an episode so boring, even its official synopsis is only two sentences. We talk about winning at Stardew Valley, good anime, more things to do with a library card, and the extra-terrestrial origins of our card of the week. Then, much like the animators of this episode, we try desperately to stall for time. W...
Aug 13, 2018•55 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Hot on the heels of a terrible three-parter, we endeavor into the gaping maw of yet another three-parter! Sadly, this one stars neither John Travolta nor Nicholas Cage, but we'll muddle through somehow. Join us in media res as we talk about Tyler's weird mouth sounds, our favorite non-Yu-Gi-Oh pastimes, Jimmy's new podcast, and an actually decent episode. Have we uncovered further proof that Mokuba is color-blind? Has Kaiba actually just been making really big Beyblades? Can anything defeat the ...
Aug 06, 2018•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Well, we did it. We finally got through this three-parter, and by golly, we got through it together. Join us for a wine-fueled roller coaster ride through the final chapter in "Double Trouble Duel". Listen as Pepper licks everything, Jimmy takes a phone call, and Tyler questions the logic of... well, everything. Did any of the Paradox Brothers' riddles even matter? Is Kaiba the world's best cat burglar, or the world's worst cat burglar? Does anyone actually know the rules for Duel Monsters?
Jul 30, 2018•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 22
The Gate Guardian's lasers somehow pierced the dimensional barrier, messing up our schedules and preventing a full episode from being recorded this week! Never fear, Jimmy showed Tyler the first episode of the original 1998 run of Yu-Gi-Oh! and we're here to talk about it. And boy do we have feelings. Listen in as we discuss the origin of Shadow Games, Yugi's even weirder voice-acting choices, and imagine a world in which Yugi never played Duel Monsters. We'll be back next week with our regularl...
Jul 23, 2018•52 min
They prepared for trouble, and made it double! And, against all odds, they also ended it on a cliffhanger! Listen in as Jimmy and Tyler get to the brink of throwing in the towel on this monotonous slog of a three-parter. We also discuss video games, Tyler and Lauren and Pepper's Big Move, LEGO sex acts (yep, that happened), and a narrative structure that will have you reaching for "Memento" in search of something more straightforward. Did we discover the identity of Dox? Is everyone finally done...
Jul 16, 2018•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Jimmy has a normal, human face! Tyler makes words happen! We discuss the biblical implications of Beyblades, and give you the opportunity to listen to two grown men spend some time talking about dolls. Later, we discuss a real stinker of an episode, setting the bar real low for this three-parter. In it, we're introduced to the villainous Paradox Brothers, and their nefarious riddles! Except, are they real brothers? And are the riddles really riddles? No. They're definitely not. Who's making the ...
Jul 09, 2018•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 20
We discover Pepper's true podcast calling! Join us as we look up Yu-Gi-Oh videogame speedruns, bring the conversation back to Beyblade (again, somehow), and dive back into the zombie horde. Joey finally finishes his duel against Bonz, and we're reminded that being a bad guy isn't about what you look like on the outside-- it's about whether or not your name is Bandit Keith. Meanwhile, Tristan punches a rock! Bakura is bad at dungeoneering! Yugi plays the friendship card! If you were looking for a...
Jul 02, 2018•42 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Jimmy does an offensive accent! Tyler gets excited about speedrunning, and proves that he knows nothing about video games! Later, we discuss the first of two very spoOoOoOoky parts! Join us as we get introduced to Bandit Keith, Bonz, Sid, and Zigor-- four characters that we will definitely remember the names of in the future. Who could forget our old friends Zlid, BonBon, and Ichor? Is Bonz okay? Did Bandit Keith build an unlicensed arena on Duelist Kingdom? Is Joey maybe a cat person? Seriously...
Jun 25, 2018•56 min•Season 1Ep. 18
We wish Jimmy a happy early/late birthday! Kaiba returns! Joey continues to be a disappointment. LOL SAME, amirite? Join us as we reunite best frenemies, rekindle our love for Pegasus, and introduce the world to the man, the myth, the bandana: Bandit Keith. Is Sam the current King of Games? Will Kaiba get his groove back? Was developing a new mobile holographic system that cost millions of dollars really necessary, or is that just how he winds down? When Smash Bros. Ultimate comes out will our p...
Jun 18, 2018•47 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Tyler tries changing a segment, and talks about anime other than Yu-Gi-Oh! Jimmy got lost in the woods? Tyler can't remember the word "prolific", and we talk about the conclusion to Yugi's two-part duel with the eliminator "PaniK". It's one of those where a lot of time is spent not accomplishing much, you know the drill. What is that danged fortress called? Do the same rules apply to all sky-based structures in this world? Is there anything on Pharaoh's great green earth that can bring us more j...
Jun 14, 2018•47 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Jimmy played a bootlegged Yu-Gi-Oh game! We talk about Duel Monsters appearing in other movies (and vice-versa), recursive podcasting ideas, the viability of dog-podcasts, and '90s children's board games! Join us as we discuss the introduction of PaniK, the implications of Pegasus' Eliminators, and the frightening ratio of mouth-to-pupil size in this episode. What is PaniK's hat made out of? Where did he get his jacket embroidered? Does the Reaper of Cards have a brother? Will Yugi's mouth just ...
Jun 04, 2018•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 15
This week, we spend far too long discussing art on our audio podcast! Later, we recap an incredibly dense episode filled with magic! Feelings! Big Yugis! Bad-Kuras! and increasingly complex shadow realm rules. Join us as we discuss the implications of "attacking the electric lizard", variant Yugi sizes, new Duel Monsters mythology, and Guy Fieri, Magician of Flavor. Do Blue Eyes White Dragons go to Heaven? Have we completely forgotten about Grandpa? Did Jimmy tell a joke so good that Tyler compl...
May 21, 2018•37 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In honor of Mother's Day, this week we're bringing in our first guest... a father. Friend of the show and ex-Yu-Gi-Oh!-expert Mac joins us to discuss the meta-physics of time wizards and dragons. Later on, we reminisce about the good old times (when this show was about a normal card game played by normal humans), discuss desert-island packing strategies, and imagine Joey Wheeler as a game show host. Does anyone in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh understand what food is? Did the Time Wizard simulate the ev...
May 14, 2018•48 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Tyler is starting to legitimately enjoy Duel Links! Jimmy calls the season 0 anime "Actually Good"! Later, we discuss an episode in which some choices were made, re: voice acting. Join us as we explore the psyche of the man known as the Dino Duelist, speculate about the dramatic timing of dueling arenas, and can't seem to remember that this episode is about Joey. And, look! Up in the sky! Who is that slithery beast? It's ya boi, Serpent Night Dragon. What is Tea doing here? Is Rex Raptor's voice...
May 07, 2018•52 min•Season 1Ep. 12
We get some real-life news and corrections: is Elon Musk building his own Blue Eyes White Jet? How much time did the 4Kids spend painting guns out of this season? Later on, we discuss the true nature of "ghost" Kaiba, the inexplicable layout of Kaiba's hackerspace, and an incredible dense episode full of nonsense. Can we make any sense of this duel? Is the only way to defeat Blue Eyes White Dragon a combination of hacking and/or magic? Has Kaiba finally learned the way of the Heart of the Cards?...
Apr 30, 2018•43 min•Season 1Ep. 11
We've survived 9 episodes and a movie, and we're here to celebrate! We wish a happy belated birthday to everyone's favorite dueling dunce Tristan Taylor, check out merch from the official Yu-Gi-Oh! store, and look at the careers of voice actors on various versions of the show. Later on, we discuss the true nature of Duelist Kingdom's virtual reality network, Kemo's ghoul puns, and the validity of a plan that includes crashing a satellite into a major metropolitan area. As the saying goes: when i...
Apr 23, 2018•38 min•Season 1Ep. 10
It's a late episode this week! Apologies for the delay, but we're back and better than ever. This week, Jimmy discusses the final arc of the manga's "Season 0", we discuss classic two-soul gambits, how Good-Kura got his groove back, and get into a plot-heavy/duel-light episode. Has Kaiba lost it? Can Yugi see other people's flashbacks? Who are Pegasus' other prisoners? Where do these comic artists get their hilarious ideas? Plus, a new segment appears!
Apr 18, 2018•59 min•Season 1Ep. 9
We meet new friend and ocean duelist Mako Tsunami! Jimmy recaps where he's at in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, and Tyler speculates Mako's potential Christhood, despite a blatant lack of nipples. Join us as we discuss Yo-Yos versus Pharaoh-Yos, classic 90's gang fights, and the logistics of stabbing the moon with a sword.
Apr 09, 2018•47 min•Season 1Ep. 8
It's just weird smells and twenty-five ravenous dragons all the way down.
Apr 02, 2018•29 min•Season 1Ep. 7
We buy some digital cards, and introduce a new segment aptly titled "Kaiba Bullshit"! Later, we witness the thrilling conclusion to Yugi's first official duel in the Duelist Kingdom, and learn the values of Honor, Friendship, and Planning Ahead. Come along as we relive the back-and-forth of Weevil and Yugi's field-bonus-based duel, unexpectedly relate to Mai Valentine, and ask this timeless question: How many Summoned Skulls would Summoned Skull summon if Summon Skull could summon Summoned Skull...
Mar 26, 2018•42 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Jimmy dives deep into the source material, and reads the incredibly violent, original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga! Read along here: https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/yu-gi-oh Later, we discuss the first of two parts in Yugi's first duel against fan favorite Weevil Underwood, the mysterious and unknown rules at Duelist Kingdom, and how cocoons make slurping sounds sometimes apparently. We're sorry about that last one....
Mar 18, 2018•32 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Jimmy and Tyler braved the crowd of all nine people at the movie theater go to see the special edition remaster of Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie: Pyramid of Light ! So don't say we never did anything for you. Join us as we discuss Kaiba's sexual preferences (are they called "scalies" if they're dragons?), the importance of friendship, Chateau Pegasus, and the hit new series rocking the intrawebs: Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS .
Mar 13, 2018•29 min•Season 1Ep. 4
The journey begins (continues?)! Yugi and friends board the boat to Duelist Kingdom, an island where presumably some dueling will happen. Listen in as we become re-acquainted with old friend Weevil Underwood, and skeeved out by new friend Mai Valentine. Does Yugi blink? Will Rex Raptor ever find love? How tall is anyone anyway? All this and more on this week's episode of You Activated My Podcast!
Mar 04, 2018•41 min•Season 1Ep. 3
We try a new, shorter format! Listen as we discuss the shocking revelations that magic is real, Pegasus is the actual hero, and that the true secret to being a great duelist is downright cheating .
Feb 25, 2018•37 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Tyler introduces Jimmy to the wonderful world of Yu-Gi-Oh! Together, we familiarize ourselves with the world of Duel Monsters, figure out what the hell "The Heart of the Cards" means, and dig deep into this shitty anime.
Feb 18, 2018•1 hr 49 min•Season 1Ep. 1
