Sartorius

Sartorius

[[File:|0px|Sartorius (Takuma Saiou)]] Sartorius (Takuma Saiou)
Age	17 (Approximate)
Height	"Unknown" is not a number.Unknown
Weight	"Unknown" is not a number.Unknown
Blood type	Unknown
Favorite food	Unknown
Least favorite food	Unknown
Sartorius

Sartorius, known in Japan as Takuma Saiou (斎王琢磨 Saiō Takuma?), is a fictional character in the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX in Japan). His name is meant to be a pun in English, as "satori" denotes a "spiritual awakening". In the English version, Sartorius is voiced by Maddie Blaustein, while Takehito Koyasu (older) and Mayumi Yusa (younger) take the role in the Japanese version.

A fortune-teller with dual personalities under the influence of an alien force, Sartorius serves as the main antagonist of the series' second season, poised to remake the world in the image most befitting the extraterrestrial radiance within him.

Character design

Sartorius' design incorporates multiple layers of clothing and a wide range of expressions. Depicted here is the fortune-teller from front, side, and rear alongside views of his head from different angles.

Sartorius' character design was overseen by Kenichi Hara. His usual outfit consists of the standard Obelisk Blue uniform with a raised and buckled collar and matching cut-offs for his arms and legs. A deck box is strapped to his right leg, presumably to house his regular tarot deck. His blue hair is sectioned in two layers, the layer closest to his face a lighter shade of blue than the one behind it, which generally flows as a single unit. Directly above his nose is another section of hair, colored grayish white, and he also wears earrings and a pair of ornaments on either side of his forehead. He carries an Academy-issued Duel Disk on his left hand despite his initial preference of dueling on a table.

His natural complexion is flesh-tone; however, with his evil personality in dominance, his skin takes on a more pallid quality. Furthermore, his eyes are more sinister and glazed over by light. When completely corrupted by the Light of Destruction, his hair becomes wild, his face inhumanely twisted, and his teeth elongated.

Character biography

Sartorius is a mysterious figure introduced in the second year who is Aster Phoenix's (Ed Phoenix) manager, and the leader of the Society of Light. On the surface, the aim of Sartorius and his organization appears to be world domination starting with Duel Academy (Duel Academia) via expansion of their syndicate, but the man's gravest concerns lie in putting his stalled Wheel of Fate (a metaphor for his fate) back into motion through the powers of Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki) and his childhood friend, Aster, as means of escaping the destructive future that destiny had set for him. Although this goal was always on his mind, he was pushed towards an ultimate motive of eradicating the "age of darkness" that had befallen the planet. It was his task to blanket the globe in light, destroy it, and kill all its inhabitants to restore balance to its imperfect state and create the world (or on a greater scale, the universe) anew. As children, Sartorius and his sister Sarina (Mizuchi Saiou) were shunned and humiliated by others out of fear of their abilities to tell the future, and driven to run away from home. The siblings shared a close relationship which extended into adolescence, and Sartorius searched for hope of escaping his ruinous destiny in a young Aster. Fearing the corrupt "Ultimate Destiny Card," the to-be-Pro League king The D (DD) sought the kind and caring Sartorius for guidance, but accidentally imbued him with the will of a dangerous alien energy known as the Dark Light / Light of Destruction (光の波動 / 破滅の光 Hikari no Hadō / Hametsu no Hikari) known by the latter name Surge of Light or Light of Ruin’’’ (破滅の光 Hametsu no Hikari) in the Japanese version, which had taken up residence in the card. Like it had in The D, it provoked an onset of dissociative identity disorder, forcing Sartorius to contend with a dominant evil persona. The card would disappear from his possession shortly thereafter.

Sartorius wields supernatural powers, including the ability to insinuate his spiritual energy into inanimate objects (as he did with Aster's deck), as well as other people. He can also temporarily render others motionless either from a distance or with a single touch. His primary power, however, is seeing into the future with the aid of his tarot deck, a divination technique he shares with his sister, Sarina, though she instead uses mirrors to channel her powers. He is also a master manipulator, able to say exactly what is needed to be said to get anyone he or his associates in the Society comes into contact with to do his bidding. In addition to these skills, Sartorius' "other self" displays a form of light-based telekinesis.

In the English version, Sartorius' voice is reminiscent of a young Hannibal Lecter, while his original series counterpart occasionally replaces certain Japanese words with anglicisms, the most common being his substitution of the words "shōkan" (召喚) and "hatsudō" (発動) with "play," an English equivalent to both "summon" and "activate," respectively. In his debut duel, Sartorius set his sights on Chazz Princeton (Jun Manjoume), frightening his opponent by displaying his ability to see straight through his own cards, and claiming that he already knew the outcome of their battle from the start. Chazz did not falter, gaining the advantage with his Armed Dragon monsters and delivering a fatal blow to Sartorius. With a startling move, however, Sartorius summoned Arcana Force XII - The Hangman, a card most dreaded by Chazz for it represented himself, without so much as a flick of his wrist. Chazz's stagnant fate was brought to a close when he concluded that he still wanted to defeat Jaden, thereby admitting him to the Society of Light.

Subsequently, Sartorius learned that Tyranno Hassleberry (Tyranno Kenzan) shared a connection with Jaden and Aster in terms of their power to influence his fate. He challenged Tyranno to a duel that he assured would not force him to become one of his Society's members. Although Hassleberry was overwhelmed by Arcana Force VIII - The Strength, which turned his own power against him, Sartorius was unable to make him join the Society as secretly intended.

At the end of episode 73, it was announced that Sartorius would be placed in Obelisk Blue as a first-year (third-year in the Japanese version) transfer student, making him one step closer to taking over Duel Academy. By episode 79, Sarina reveals the troubled past that she and her brother share. When the two were younger, they were shunned and humiliated by others (even driven to run away from home) out of fear of their abilities to tell the future, but this fact only strengthened their bond. Sarina emphasized that her brother had once been a kind and caring person, and that it was because of a Hero card shown to him by a guest duelist that he began acting with evil intentions. Aster believes that it was most likely the Destiny Hero stolen at the time of his father's kidnapping (murder in the Japanese version), and his suspicions are later confirmed, as the "Ultimate D-Card" surfaces as a carrier of the energy that infected both Sartorius and Pro League king, The D. Sarina continues, stating that the card is no longer in her brother's possession, as it disappeared shortly thereafter. Upon hearing of his sister's failure to deal with Jaden and Aster, Sartorius displays the first signs of dissociative identity disorder; within him, the true Sartorius contends with the dominant evil personal brought on by the will of the Light of Destruction. Sartorius selects Prince Ojin as his first opponent in the Genex tournament, wishing to obtain the destructive satellite technology of the prince's country. He predicted that the duel would end before his first turn came, while his opponent believed that he would be the one to claim victory in one turn. Playing only three cards during his opponent's first turn, Sartorius zeroed Ojin's Life Points. He thus earned the title of the first duelist in the history of the anime to have ever performed, as Bastion (Daichi Misawa) calls it, a "Zero Turn Kill." With Ojin's defeat, the wealthy duelist obediently relinquishes the briefcase containing the control switch for his laser satellite, Sora, and the two keys for its activation. In the English version, he planned to control the minds of the Earth's inhabitants, making them forget about things like corruption, greed and violence, while in the Japanese version he planned to destroy the Earth instead, killing all its inhabitants to restore balance to its imperfect state.

In order to prevent his evil side from instigating world destruction, Sartorius approaches Jaden and Aster, giving them the keys. He uses his Mind Controlling powers on Jaden to make sure that he never returns the key. Shortly after this the evil Sartorious uses his mind control abilities on Alexis Rhodes (Asuka Tenjouin) and brainwashes her turning her cold and heartless. Sartorious orders her to duel Jaden and defeat him afterwards she is to return the key to Sartorious. She is defeated an episode later and saved from eternal mind control. Furious over the fact that his plans have been delayed, his evil personality sends duelist after duelist to contend with Jaden, but is unable to recover his key. He is eventually sought by Aster in episode 100, who breaks into Obelisk Blue to find him in the Society of Light's private duel field. It is revealed that Aster made a promise to his friend when they were young to save him from his destiny of becoming a destroyer, and that The D was indeed the visitor that imbued him with the Light of Destruction, but merely by accident, as he came before the fortune teller due to his fear of the corrupt Ultimate D-Card. As Aster is about to give Sartorius his key to the satellite (known in Japan as S.O.R.A.), Jaden intervenes and tells him its true purpose, prompting the boy to wager it in a duel instead. Recognizing the present Sartorius as an impostor posing as his lost companion, he struggles against the Arcana Force monsters, who deny him control over his fate by stopping their own rotations in their master's favor. Although Aster makes a comeback with timely help from Sartorius' good-hearted alter ego, the Light of Destruction unleashes Arcana Force EX - The Light Ruler to end the duel.

Beginning in episode 102, Sartorius and Jaden face one another to determine the fate of the world. Similar to the preceding match with Aster, the diviner's cards continue to stop their own rotations. Having obtained both keys to the satellite due to a blunder on Jaden's part, Sartorius sends Ojin to arm the laser satellite while he keeps the boy distracted. With the combined efforts of Elemental Hero Neos, Tyranno, and the returning Sarina, the weapon is dispatched, and Jaden defeats Sartorius, sealing away the Light of Ruin. Finally free from his fate of ruin and the burden of seeing into the future, Sartorius thanks both Jaden and Aster for their kindness, and is reunited with his sister. The two are then transported to KaibaCorp hospital to recuperate.

Card List

Sartorius plays a Tarot deck, composed largely of Arcana Force monsters based off the Major Arcana, with Spells and Traps based off the Minor Arcana. His cards have the unique ability to appear in either upright (normal) or reversed (upside-down) positions, which dictates their effects. When activated, Sartorius' cards rotate, and it is up to the opponent to decide when to end the rotation, in turn deciding his/her own fate. The design of cards in the Arcana Force series has links to the Cthulhu Mythos. (Note: In the Japanese version, the names of the Arcana Force monsters are separated by underscores instead of hyphens).

Monster Cards

• Knight of Pentacles
• Arcana Force I - The Magician
• Arcana Force III - The Empress
• Arcana Force IV - The Emperor
• Arcana Force VI - The Lovers
• Arcana Force VII - The Chariot
• Arcana Force VIII - The Strength (Strength)
• Arcana Force XII - The Hangman (The Hanged Man)
• Arcana Force XIV - Temperance
• Arcana Force XV - The Fiend
• Arcana Force XVIII - The Moon
• Arcana Force XXI - The World
• Arcana Force EX - The Light Ruler

Spell Cards

• Vision
• Monster Reincarnation (Reincarnation of the Dead)
• Monster Reborn (Raise Dead)
• Suit of Sword X
• Selection of Fate
• Future Vision (Vision of a Future World)
• Pentacle of Ace
• Necro Sacrifice
• Intervention of Fate (An Intervention of Destiny)
• Ace of Sword
• Reverse Reborn
• The Sky Lord (The Heaven's Road)
• Divination of Fate (Foresight of Fate)
• The Light Barrier (The Bounds of Light)
• Cup of Ace
• Arcanatic Doomscythe (Arcanatic Deathscythe)
• Magician's Scales

(Note: Monster Reborn is seen the 2nd time Chazz shuffles Sartorious' deck in Episode 61.)

Trap Cards

• Ace of Wand
• Reversal of Fate (Reversing Fate)
• The Material Lord (The Material Road)
• The Spiritual Lord (The Spiritual Road)
• Emperor's Staff (Hierophant's Wand)

Tarot Cards

The tarot cards consist of 78 cards that are split into two main sections called the Major Arcana (containing 22 cards) and the Minor Arcana (containing four suits, namely: The Suit of Wands, The Suit of Cups, The Suit of Swords and The Suit of Pentacles. Each suit in turn consists of 14 cards each).

The Major Arcana usually defines the main factors in reading, so it is applied to the concept of his main monsters. These cards symbolize very powerful archetypes of spiritual states, people, virtues and circumstances.

On the contrary, Minor Arcana defines supporting details that aren't apparent, so it is applied to the concept of trap and spell cards.

  0. The Fool
  1. The Magician
  2. The High Priestess
  3. The Empress
  4. The Emperor
  5. The Hierophant
  6. The Lovers
  7. The Chariot
  8. Strength 
  9. The Hermit
 10. Wheel of Fortune
 11. Justice
 12. The Hanged Man
 13. Death
 14. Temperance
 15. The Devil
 16. The Tower
 17. The Star
 18. The Moon
 19. The Sun
 20. Judgment
 21. The World

The card number starts from 0 to 22. Thus, there are only number 0-21 but 22 cards.

Tarot Readings

The Fool

• Episode 61 (Upright): Jaden will begin a new journey (his journey to discover Neo Space).
• Episode 71 (Upright): Jaden will play an important role in Sartorius' plans, but whether he will stand at his side or stand in his way remains to be seen.
• Episode 73 (Upright): Represents Jaden, the first person who has the ability to affect Sartorius' fate.

The Fool / The Emperor

• Episode 99 (Upright): Represents the duel between Jaden (The Fool) and Ojin (The Emperor). Whereas Ojin was previously opposed to the notion of world destruction, he is now Sartorius' loyal servant, and must crush Jaden to retrieve his key to Sora.

The Emperor

• Episode 96 (Upright): Sartorius sees that Jaden's duel with Zweinstein has stirred his power to put his Wheel of Fate into motion, and that Ojin is suited to be Jaden's next opponent.

The Prince (The Hierophant)

• Episode 70 (Upright): The person that Sartorius needs to further his plans is not Aster, but Jaden.
• Episode 73 (Upright): Represents Aster, the second person who has the ability to affect Sartorius' fate.
• Episode 100 (Upright): Seen in flashback. Aster is destined to save Sartorius from his fate.

The Chariot

• Episode 53 (Reversed): Aster will lose the duel against Jaden.
• Episode 57 (Upright): Aster will claim victory in the duel with Zane (Ryo Marufuji).

The Strength (Strength)

• Episode 73 (Upright): Represents Tyranno, the third person who has the ability to affect Sartorius' fate, of whom Sartorius must discover.

The Hermit

• Episode 96 (Upright): Represents Dr. Eisenstein (Albert Zweinstein), the person Sartorius believes will be able to overcome Jaden's "miracle draw." The card's plummet to the floor at the end of the episode signifies Eisenstein's failure.

The Wheel of Fate (Wheel of Fortune)

• Episode 61 (Upright): Although Jaden was defeated and his deck left blank in the duel against Aster, Sartorius has not been able to take full control of the situation for benefit.
• Episode 61 (Reversed): A turn of events unexpected by Sartorius will occur in the future.
• Episode 68 (Reversed): An unexpected turn of events (Aster is defeated by Jaden).
• Episode 73 (Upright): Represents Sartorius himself, and his fate.
• Episode 74 (Upright): The duel between Jaden and Princess Rose will demonstrate to Sartorius the great power of those who can see Duel Monster spirits.
• Episode 75 (Upright): To escape the stagnation of their respective fates, Sartorius and Aster find themselves at Duel Academy. Aster should be silent, and await the guidance of destiny.

The Hangman (The Hanged Man)

• Episode 61 (Upright): Represents Chazz, the other sacrifice that should be taken, who possesses the same power to see Duel Monster spirits as Jaden.

The Reaper of Souls (Death)

• Episode 53 (Reversed): Aster should let his victory falter.
• Episode 62 (Upright): Despite obstacles to be overcome, Sartorius retains greater control over the situation.
• Episode 72 (Upright): At the beginning of the episode, Sartorius wonders whether or not Jaden can truly tip the balance of his fate. He adds The Reaper of Souls card to the spread, representative of the fate set out before Jaden his duel with Howard X Miller (X), and by overcoming that fate, he will prove to Sartorius that he does possess such power. By the end of the episode, Sartorius realizes that Jaden does indeed have the ability to interfere with his fate, but is also seemingly unconcerned, intrigued by the prospect.

The Devil (The Fiend)

• Episode 100 (Upright): Seen in flashback. Sartorius is destined to fall to wickedness, dishonesty, temptation, and confinement, and bring ruin in the future.

The Tower

• Episode 74 (Upright): Catastrophe waits in Domino City.

The Sun

• Episode 93 (Upright): Represents Alexis, who is figuratively a midnight sun, the brightest source of light in the darkest abyss. She therefore has the strength to overtake darkness and its wielder, Jaden. Sartorius thus envisions light's triumph over darkness.

Duel Card Interpretation

The cards that Sartorius plays during each of his duels reflect his opponent's character and/or his decided path over the course of the series. In episodes 100 and 101, they instead present the reality that he himself has seen "everything destiny has to offer."

Versus Chazz

• Vision: Gave Chazz the opportunity to see his present incarnation clearly.
• Knight of Pentacles: Stubborn, pessimistic, obsessive.
• Suit of Sword X: Chazz gave up trying to defeat Jaden.
• Selection of Fate: Allowed Chazz to change his destiny by joining the Society of Light to defeat Jaden.
• Arcana Force XII - The Hangman: Stagnation. Victory from surrender. Chazz admits that he still wants to defeat Jaden, and by joining the Society of Light, he has the chance to do so. Sacrifice for others.

Versus Tyranno

• Arcana Force I - The Magician: Skilled, able to make things happen.
• Future Vision: Sartorius saw that Tyranno's fate was intertwined closely with his affinity for his dinosaurs.
• Pentacle of Ace: Tyranno's trust in his companions.
• Arcana Force VII - The Chariot: Conviction, patience, hard work. Powerful forces of the interior AKA Tyranno's dinosaur DNA and exterior such as Tyranno's friendships.
• Suit of Sword X: Reference to episode 64, dueling against Syrus (Sho Marufuji), Tyranno allowed himself to be defeated after he witnessed Syrus' devotion to Jaden.
• Ace of Wand: Courage, personal power.
• Necro Sacrifice: Granted Tyranno a monster. A reflection of the friendship he developed with Jaden.
• Arcana Force VIII - The Strength: Determination, discipline, control defined by the card's ability to control monsters. Weakness defined by the card's ability to leave its controller with nothing while reversed.
• Reversal of Fate: Represents Sartorius' willpower and influence which could tip the balance of the fates of others.

Versus Ojin

• Arcana Force XIV - Temperance: Moderation represented by the card's ability to moderate attacks. The extreme lengths to which Ojin goes in order to defeat Sartorius in one turn.
• An Intervention of Destiny: Ojin's impulsiveness leading him to his downfall.
• Ace of Sword: Misuse of intellect against others, bad ideas.

Versus Aster

• Arcana Force XV - The Fiend Represents the Light of Destruction's grasp over Sartorius' fate. Hopelessness defined by the prejudice and fear associated with Sartorius' childhood. Facing the light of truth.

Versus Jaden

• The Bounds of Light: The end of the Fool's journey, congregating at the World's completeness. The essential human need for destruction is made clear, and the cycle of destruction (the universe is born, destroyed, born again, destroyed...) comes full circle. A perfect universe can only be forged if the presently imperfect universe is filled with light, and the world returned to its white state at origin.