Difference between revisions of "Gozaburo Kaiba"

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[[File:G.Kaiba.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Gozaburo]]
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{{Infobox character
[[Gozaburo Kaiba]] (海馬 剛三郎 Kaiba Gōzaburō) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Yu-Gi-Oh!.
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| image                  = gozaburo11.png
Gozaburo is a rich, powerful business man who is the stepfather of [[Mokuba Kaiba]] and [[Seto Kaiba]]. In the second series anime he is also the biological father of [[Noah Kaiba]].
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| en_name                = Gozaburo Kaiba
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| ja_name                = {{Ruby|海馬|かいば}}{{Ruby|剛三郎|ごうざぶろう}}
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| romaji_name            = Kaiba Gōzaburō
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| gender                  = Male
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| relatives              =
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* [[Noah Kaiba]] (son; deceased; ''anime only'')
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* [[Mokuba Kaiba]] (adopted son)
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* [[Seto Kaiba]] (adopted son)
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| previous_occupation    = CEO of KaibaCorp
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| previous_organization  = [[KaibaCorp]]
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| anime_deck              = [[Exodia Necross]]
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| ntr_deck                = Forbidden Pact
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| anime_debut            =
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* {{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|097|ref}}
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| video_game_debut        = ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour]]''
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| hide_appearances        = true
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| appears_in_anime        =
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* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh!]]''
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| appears_in_nds          = ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour]]''
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| ja_voice                = {{voice actors|ja|Unsho Ishizuka|Tetsuo Komura}}
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| en_voice                = {{voice actors|en|David Wills|Ted Lewis}} (season 5)
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| de_voice                = {{voice actors|de|Engelbert von Nordhausen}}
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|es_voice = Victor Valverde}}
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 +
'''Gozaburo Kaiba''' is a character in the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' anime and the final antagonist of the [[Virtual World (arc)|Virtual World]] arc, after his biological son, [[Noah Kaiba]] failed and was defeated by [[Yami Yugi]]. He was [[Seto Kaiba|Seto]] and [[Mokuba Kaiba]]'s adoptive father and the former CEO of [[KaibaCorp]].
 +
 
 +
==Design==
 +
===Appearance===
 +
[[File:Gozaburo Kaiba lineart.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Gozaburo Kaiba lineart]]
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Gozaburo's appearance was that of a tall man, with gray hair and a mustache. In the manga, his facial expressions showed evil and madness when he committed suicide, while in the anime, he seemed like a calm and deceitful man. He usually wore a red business suit, a black tie, and a white inner long-sleeved dress shirt. Gozaburo had brown eyes and was fair skinned.
 +
 
 +
===Personality===
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Gozaburo was a strict and persistent man. He was considered evil by many because he constantly manipulated people, including his own son, to achieve his goals. At first, Gozaburo appeared to be a caring father, training his son to succeed him as CEO of KaibaCorp. He never really cared for Noah, and rather just saw him as a tool for KaibaCorp to take over the world with. His plan was to make Noah's mindset identical to his to accomplish his goal. After Noah's accident, he only wanted to save him at any cost, but by doing so, he discovered a plan to destroy the real world and rule the virtual world instead. However, Gozaburo saw Noah's death as having a wrench thrown into his plans and did not really care about him. Originally, Gozaburo planned to have Seto become a host to replace Noah's dead body because of the limitations of the virtual world. In the English dub, Seto proved himself more capable than Noah, so he ultimately scrapped the plan. In the original, that never occurred because Noah's lack of interactions with real people inhibited his maturity. Upon hearing that, Yami Yugi, despite his difference with Seto, understood why he hated Gozaburo so much. He usually didn't recognize the hard work of the Big Five. He was very strict with Seto, though he was nicer to Mokuba. Meanwhile, Gozaburo used Noah to set his ambition into motion.<ref name="ep 119">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|119|ref}}</ref>
  
 
==Biography==
 
==Biography==
Gozaburo was the original founder and CEO of [[Kaiba Corporation]], which at that time was a successful arms manufacturer. Gozaburo was also a world famous chess champion, which is how Seto and Mokuba heard of him at their orphanage. When Gozaburo visited, Seto challenged him to a game of chess, telling Gozaburo that if he refused, he would tell the press he was scared of a little kid. Gozaburo, confident he would not be beaten by a child, agreed to a single game, with Seto stating the stipulation that if he wins, Gozaburo will agree to adopt him and his brother. In the manga, Seto cheated. In the anime, Seto had spent time studying Gozaburo's strategies and how to overcome them, and thus defeated him. Gozaburo had to keep his end of the bargain.
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===History===
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[[File:DMx110 Younger Gozaburo.png|thumb|A photograph of Gozaburo and Noah.]]
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[[File:DMx100 Gozaburo in TV.png|thumb|left|Gozaburo winning the World Chess Championship.]]
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Gozaburo was the original founder and CEO of KaibaCorp, which, at that time, was a successful arms manufacturer. Because of the nature of his business, Gozaburo became involved in a war where he financed tanks and weapons to one faction, who easily overcame their enemies.<ref name="ep 150">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|150|ref}}</ref> [[Dartz]], disguised as Gozaburo, lent weapons from KaibaCorp to the opposing faction as well, and made many people believe that he was only interested in making money through war.<ref name="ep 179">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|179|ref}}</ref>
  
However, he was a cruel father to Seto, forcing him to spend all his time studying and forgoing any of the joy or fun usually associated with childhood. At this point his biological son Noah died as well. With his intended Kaiba Corp heir digitized, Gozaburo decided to breed Seto as his heir, pushing him even further. His fatal mistake was when he gave Seto 2% of Kaiba Corp shares as part of a mission to earn 100 times the amount within a year- something Seto does easily. Later, Seto, along with the board of directors, aka, [[The Big Five]], buys 49% of the company. Gozaburo, also with 49%, is ousted from power by Seto's 51%. He is reported to have committed suicide by jumping from the top floor of the Kaiba Corporation building (in the English anime, he ran away and disappeared).
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At one point in his life, Gozaburo had a son, Noah, of whom he intended to raise as the KaibaCorp heir. Gozaburo looked for the best teachers and education for his son. Gozaburo also spent time with Noah,<ref name="ep 114">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|114|ref}}</ref> and took him out to the sea at one point.<ref name="ep 112">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|112|ref}}</ref>
  
It is revealed that Gozaburo instead digitized his mind like he did his son's, and hid inside the Kaiba Corp computer banks. When Noah lures Seto and others, including Yugi Muto, into the [[Virtual World]], Gozaburo has Noah and the Big Five try and defeat Seto and company. When they fail one by one, Gozaburo reveals himself as the mastermind of the capture, and unveils his plan to digitize mankind, and regin as the king of the Virtual World (this is in the English anime: the Japanese Gozaburo plans to use missiles to destroy the world). Noah pretends to lead the group to an exit to escape, but instead splits them up, leaving most of them wandering a Virtual Domino City while Noah, realizing his father was only using him, uses Mokuba's body to escape, and initiates the fortress' self-destruct sequence, intending to destroy everyone inside while he escapes.
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Gozaburo became a famous chess champion, who won the World Championship and donated the prize of $100,000 to the orphanage where Seto and Mokuba lived. The brothers heard of him on TV, so Seto developed a plan to be adopted, studied everything that he could about chess and Gozaburo, and learned his way of thinking and strategies.<ref name="ep 100">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|100|ref}}</ref>
  
While Yugi and others try to escape, Seto and Gozaburo fight a duel, with Gozaburo intending to use Seto's body to escape to the real world. Gozaburo, still bitter over his loss to Seto in chess years ago, challenges him to a duel to give Seto the same type defeat he delivered Gozaburo. As a further insult, Gozaburo uses the monster [[Exodia Necross]] (a ghostly dark version of [[Exodia the Forbidden One]], the monster who handed Seto his first defeat in Duel Monsters). [[Exodia Necross]] gains 1000 attack points every time it attacks, and cannot be destroyed in any way. However, its special abilities depend on having all 5 Exodia parts in the Graveyard. Seto uses [[Soul Demolition]] to remove the parts from play, neutralizing Exodia Necross. Now stripped of its powers, Exodia Necross is destroyed by Seto's trademark [[Blue-Eyes White Dragon]]. Gozaburo loses the duel, and his chance to escape the Virtual World.
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When Gozaburo visited the orphanage, he gave toys to the kids, and on his way out, Seto challenged him to a game of chess, and told Gozaburo that if he refused, he would tell the press that he was scared of a little kid. Confident that he would not be beaten by a child, Gozaburo agreed to a single game with Seto, and stated the stipulation that if he won, Gozaburo would agree to adopt him along with his brother.<ref name="ep 100"/> Seto had spent time studying Gozaburo's strategies and how to overcome them, and thus defeated him. Gozaburo had to keep his end of the bargain.<ref name="ep 100"/>
  
With the fortress about to be destroyed, Gozaburo attempts to take Kaiba's body by force. Yugi enters and helps Kaiba escape to the roof. Noah, having had a change of heart, appears on Gozaburo's back, immobilizing him and opening an exit to the real world. As Seto and Yugi emerge on the airship and escape, the fortress explodes, deleting Noah. Gozaburo lives for a few moments, somehow becoming 'real' as a beast of flame, erupting from the ruins of the fortress. As he attempts to destroy the airship, Seto activates the airship's thrusters, jetting out of Gozaburo's grasp for good and leaving him to sink into the waves.
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After he was defeated by Seto, Gozaburo met with Noah. He showed his son a picture of Seto, told him he would be his adoptive brother, that both would compete to inherit KaibaCorp and would become rivals.<ref name="ep 110">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|110|ref}}</ref> After that talk, Noah was crushed by a car. Noah was transported to the Kaiba Hospital, but the doctors couldn't do anything to save him.<ref name="ep 114"/> Gozaburo wanted to save his son at any cost.<ref name="ep 119"/> After he found a way to do it through technology, Gozaburo digitized Noah's mind and transferred it into a KaibaCorp computer.<ref name="ep 114"/> Noah was then given a funeral. A woman, possibly Gozaburo's wife, wondered how could the events have happened. Gozaburo told her not to worry since there was nothing that he could not do.<ref name="ep 112"/>
  
Although this is Gozaburo's first and final appearance in person, he appears in flashbacks before and after the [[Virtual World]]. Kaiba's goal to defeat Yugi at Alcatraz ([[Battle City]]) is not only a mission to defeat Yugi, but to overcome Gozaburo's legacy and put it behind him. Kaiba feels that only when he is crowned Duel King atop the Duel Tower, amidst the rubble of the military factories Gozaburo had built there, that only then can he forget his past and step out of Gozaburo's shadow. [[Alister]] (Amelda in the Japanese version) of [[Dartz]]' group (Doma in the Japanese version) also harbors a grudge towards Kaiba, believing that Gozaburo funded a military attack on his town (he later realizes that the attack was instead ordered by Dartz, disguised as Gozaburo.) Finally, in the [[Grand Championship]], Gozaburo Kaiba makes a brief appearance in two flashbacks concerning a party where he and Mr. Schroeder discuss acompanied by [[Seto Kaiba]] and [[Zigfried von Schroeder]]. Mr. Schroeder tells him about a deal he is about to make, a deal which was unfortunately made by Gozaburo first.
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Noah awoke in the [[Noah's Virtual World|Virtual World]] and saw Gozaburo on a screen, where he explained what happened. Gozaburo slowly expanded the Virtual World, and even programmed a space trip for his son.<ref name="ep 115">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|115|ref}}</ref> At first, Noah thought that Gozaburo would bring Seto to compete against him, which meant that if Noah won, the Virtual World would overcome reality and he could rule KaibaCorp.<ref name="ep 119"/> Gozaburo's true intentions were actually to use Seto's body as Noah's recipient, while making his adopted son think that he was being bred as his heir.<ref name="ep 119"/> However, Gozaburo soon understood that Noah could not inherit KaibaCorp because of his lack of contact with society,<ref name="ep 115"/> and because the virtual could not rule humans.<ref name="ep 119"/> Because of that, Gozaburo's visits to Noah became less frequent and he wasn't amused by his deeds.<ref name="ep 115"/>
  
In the Japanese versions, Gozaburo is voiced by Unsho Ishizuka in the first series and by Tetsuo Komura in the second series. In the English dub of the second series, he is voiced by [[wikipedia:David Willis|David Willis]].
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On Noah's birthday, Gozaburo was told by his son that with KaibaCorp's military weapons, 97% of the human population could be destroyed in 30 days.<ref name="ep 115"/> After he heard that, Gozaburo started to develop a plan to leave only the Virtual World, so he began the construction of a missile satellite to destroy the major cities across the world.<ref name="ep 119"/> That day, Seto and Mokuba arrived at the Kaiba Mansion.<ref name="ep 115"/>
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Gozaburo was a cruel father to Seto, who forced him to spend all his time studying and forgoing any of the joy or fun that was usually associated with childhood. He put the condition that if Seto didn't study as intended, he would be returned to the orphanage,<ref name="ep 103">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|103|ref}}</ref> and drove his adopted son to strict educational regiment for the gifted. One day, Gozaburo asked Seto what would he do if he inherited the company, and was disappointed when Seto answered that he would create [[Kaiba Land]]. Gozaburo confiscated all the games that Seto owned because of that,<ref name="ep 103"/> and made every day like constant torture. But Gozaburo didn't realize that he was turning his successor into his greatest enemy.
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 +
[[File:DMx190 Young Seto and Zigfried meet.jpg|thumb|Gozaburo, Seto, Mokuba, and Zigfried at the party.]]
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Gozaburo threw a party in which he invited Mr. Schroeder to discuss a deal. They were accompanied by Seto, Mokuba, and [[Zigfried von Schroeder]]. Mr. Schroeder first praised Gozaburo because of his fine successor and added that his son was also a genius. The lights from the party started to flicker on and off, and [[Kemo]] informed Gozaburo about a computer virus. Gozaburo was astonished as their computers were well protected and he couldn't imagine who could have done that.<ref name="ep 190">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|190|ref}}</ref>
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Four years later, Seto developed a virtual simulation system that was to be used in games, but Gozaburo planned to use it for warfare. One day, Seto insisted to Gozaburo that it had to be used in games, and made him angry. He told his adopted son that the objective of the Kaiba Family was the world domination with military weapons, and Kemo and other guard took Seto out of the office. After that, Seto stopped calling Gozaburo "father".<ref name="ep 104">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|104|ref}}</ref>
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 +
One year later, Seto concluded his studies. Gozaburo made the fatal mistake when he gave Seto 2% of KaibaCorp shares as his birthday present. He put Seto on a mission to earn 100 times (10 times in the English Version) that amount through investments within a year in order to test if he was capable of inheriting KaibaCorp, or else he would return to the orphanage. Seto overcame the expectations of Gozaburo by easily accomplishing his mission. However, Seto set in motion his own plan, he, along with the [[The Big Five|KaibaCorp Board of Directors]] (later known as The Big Five), started buying shares of KaibaCorp until they reached 49% of the company. Gozaburo, also with 49%, realized Seto's plan. Because of that, Seto hurt Mokuba to force him to spend more time with Gozaburo than with him. This was actually a ruse to deceive Gozaburo into thinking that Mokuba would support him instead of his brother. He was proven wrong when Mokuba, remaining loyal to his brother, transferred his 2% of the company to Seto.<ref name="ep 108">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|108|ref}}</ref>
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===Death===
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Gozaburo, Seto, the Big Five, and other high ranking employees attended a meeting. There, Gozaburo, confident that he owned 51% of the company, revealed his plan to defeat Seto which consisted in transferring his shares to a subsidiary, but was ousted from power when Mokuba decided to betray him and give his 2% of the company to his brother. That weakened Gozaburo's mind and lead to him committing suicide (in the dub, he ran away and disappeared forever).<ref name="ep 108"/>
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 +
===Virtual World===
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[[File:DMx119 Gozaburo digitalizing.png|thumb|Gozaburo digitizing himself.]]
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[[File:DMx119 Gozaburo revealing his plans.jpg|thumb|Gozaburo unveiling his plans.]]
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It was revealed that, while Gozaburo's body died, he had previously digitized his mind like he did Noah's, and hid inside the KaibaCorp computer banks. Because of Seto's treachery, his plans were shattered, so he changed them. Instead of using Seto's body as the recipient of Noah, it would become the recipient of KaibaCorp. Although Seto would rule it for a time, Gozaburo had planned on taking his body later on.<ref name="ep 119"/>
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 +
When Noah lured Seto and others, including [[Yugi Muto]], into the Virtual World, Noah had the Big Five try and defeat Yugi, Seto, and company. When they failed one by one, Gozaburo revealed himself as the mastermind of the capture to everyone and Noah. He was disappointed by Noah's defeat as he could not take Seto's body, but had managed to hack into KaibaCorp's network. Through it, he accessed his secret missile satellite. No longer needing Seto's body, he unveiled the final stage of his plan: Launching missiles against the human leaders, hack into every computer system in the world, and rule humanity through the Virtual World (in the English version, he wanted to digitize the entire world and reign as King of the Virtual World).<ref name="ep 119"/>
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 +
Gozaburo then closed all the exits that he knew of the Virtual World. Noah then pretended to lead the group to a secret exit, but instead split them up, and left most of them wandering a Virtual [[Domino City]] while Noah, after he realized that his father was only using him, used Mokuba's body to escape, changed the trajectory of the missiles to the fortress, and intended to destroy everyone inside while he escaped.<ref name="ep 119"/>
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[[File:DMx121 Monster Gozaburo vs Seto.jpg|thumb|left|Gozaburo's monster form.]]
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While Yugi and the others tried to escape, Seto went to confront his adoptive father. Gozaburo, who was still bitter over his loss to Seto in chess years ago and because Seto ''stole'' KaibaCorp, challenged him to a duel to give him the same type defeat that he delivered to him. As a further insult, Gozaburo used the monster "[[Exodia Necross (anime)|Exodia Necross]]" (a ghostly dark version of "[[Exodia the Forbidden One (anime)|Exodia the Forbidden One]]", the monster who handed Seto his first Duel Monsters defeat). Exodia Necross gained 1000 [[ATK]] during every one of his [[Standby Phases]], could not be destroyed by Spells, Traps, and Monster Effects, and could be destroyed in battle. However, its special abilities depended on having all 5 Exodia parts in the [[Graveyard]].<ref name="ep 120">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|120|ref}}</ref>
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During the Duel, Gozaburo and Seto were informed that the fortress would be hit by a missile and the Virtual World would be destroyed. Gozaburo was astonished because of the betrayal of his own son and for his plans getting ruined again. After he knew that he would die, Gozaburo tried to take Seto's body, but Seto stopped him by offering that the winner of the duel would escape to the real world. Seto used "[[Soul Demolition (anime)|Soul Demolition]]" to [[Banish|Remove]] the Exodia parts from play, and neutralized "Exodia Necross". Now stripped of its powers, "Exodia Necross" was destroyed by Seto's "[[Blue-Eyes White Dragon]]". Gozaburo lost the Duel and his chance to escape the Virtual World.<ref name="ep 120" />
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 +
[[File:flamekaiba.png|thumb|180px|Gozaburo in his "Flame" form, during the Virtual World Story Arc.]]
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With the fortress about to be destroyed, Gozaburo attempted to take Kaiba's body by force by transforming into a red creature. Yugi entered and helped Kaiba escape to the real world. Noah, having had a change of heart, appeared on Gozaburo's back, immobilized him as well as prevented him from downloading himself to another network. As Seto and Yugi emerged on the airship and escaped, the fortress exploded, and deleted Noah. Gozaburo lived for a few moments, somehow became 'real' as a beast of flame, and erupted from the ruins of the fortress. As Gozaburo attempted to destroy the airship, Seto activated the airship's thrusters, jetted out of his grasp for good, and left him to sink into the waves.<ref name="ep 120" />
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 +
===Legacy===
 +
[[File:gozaburowd.png|thumb|left|Gozaburo in [[Waking the Dragons]].]]
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 +
Although that was Gozaburo's first and final appearance in person, he appeared in flashbacks before and after the Virtual World. Kaiba's goal to defeat Yugi Muto at Alcatraz ([[Battle City]]) was not only a mission to defeat Yugi, but to overcome Gozaburo's legacy and put it behind him. Kaiba felt that only when he was crowned Duel King atop the Duel Tower, amidst the rubble of the military factories that Gozaburo had built there, that only then could he forget his past and step out of Gozaburo's shadow.<ref name="ep 137">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh!|137|ref}}</ref> [[Alister]] of [[Dartz]]'s group, [[Doma]], also harbored a grudge toward Seto, and believed that Gozaburo had funded a military attack on his town, although he later realized that the attack was instead ordered by Dartz who was disguised as Gozaburo, and thus ended his rage against Seto.<ref name="ep 179" />
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 +
{{clear}}
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 +
{{-}}
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==Other versions==
 +
<gallery>
 +
Gozaburo manga portal.jpg              | [[Gozaburo Kaiba (manga)]]
 +
Gozaburo-Kaiba-Nightmare-Troubadour.png | [[Gozaburo Kaiba (Nightmare Troubadour)]]
 +
</gallery>
  
 
==Deck==
 
==Deck==
Gozaburo plays an '''Exodia Necross Deck'''. His strategy revolved around [[summon]]ing "[[Exodia Necross]]", by quickly sending the pieces of "[[Exodia]]" to the [[Graveyard]] through "[[Painful Choice]]". He then relied entirely on Necross' immunity and [[ATK|attack]] raising abilities, which provided decent offense and defense, but whose weaknesses proved to be his undoing.
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Gozaburo played an '''Exodia Necross Deck'''. His strategy revolved around [[Summon]]ing "Exodia Necross" by quickly sending the pieces of "Exodia" to the [[Graveyard]] through "[[Painful Choice (anime)|Painful Choice]]". He then relied entirely on the immunity and [[ATK]] raising abilities of "Exodia Necross", which provided decent offense and defense, but whose weaknesses proved to be his undoing.
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 +
Before his Duel with Seto, Gozaburo [[Summon]]ed a number of monsters with a chess theme against Yugi and company, using their respective chess pieces - "[[Cosmo Queen (anime)|Cosmo Queen]]" (Queen), "[[Skull Knight (anime)|Skull Knight]]" (Bishop), "[[Command Knight (anime)|Command Knight]]" (Knight), "[[Rock Ogre Grotto 1 (anime)|Rock Ogre Grotto 1]]" (Rook), and "[[Lizard Soldier (anime)|Lizard Soldier]]" (Pawn).
 +
 
 +
{{Decklist|
 +
|normal monsters =
 +
* [[Left Arm of the Forbidden One (anime)|Left Arm of the Forbidden One]]
 +
* [[Left Leg of the Forbidden One (anime)|Left Leg of the Forbidden One]]
 +
* [[Right Arm of the Forbidden One (anime)|Right Arm of the Forbidden One]]
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* [[Right Leg of the Forbidden One (anime)|Right Leg of the Forbidden One]]
 +
|effect monsters =
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* [[Exodia the Forbidden One (anime)|Exodia the Forbidden One]]
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|ritual monsters =
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* [[Exodia Necross (anime)|Exodia Necross]]
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|spells =
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* [[Contract with Exodia (anime)|Contract with Exodia]]
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* [[Painful Choice (anime)|Painful Choice]]
 +
}}
  
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" width="100%"
+
==Duels==
 +
{| class="wikitable card-list"
 
|-
 
|-
! valign="top" style="background:#800000; color:#FFFF00" colspan="6" |<big>Deck</big>
+
! Opponent(s) || Episode(s) || Outcome(s)
 
|-
 
|-
| valign="top" style="border-top:none;" |
+
| [[Seto Kaiba]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! - Episode 120|120]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! - Episode 121|121]] || Lose
{{DynamicNavigationBoxL
 
|TITLE= '''''<center>[[Monster Cards|Monsters]]</center>'''''
 
|CONTENT=
 
* [[Exodia Necross]]
 
* [[Exodia the Forbidden One]]
 
* [[Left Arm of the Forbidden One]]
 
* [[Left Leg of the Forbidden One]]
 
* [[Right Arm of the Forbidden One]]
 
* [[Right Leg of the Forbidden One]]
 
}}
 
| valign="top" style="border-top:none;" |
 
{{DynamicNavigationBoxL
 
|TITLE= '''''<center>[[Spell Cards|Spells]]</center>'''''
 
|CONTENT=
 
* [[Painful Choice]]
 
* [[Contract with Exodia]]
 
}}
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
{{Characters/ssa}}
+
==References==
[[Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! characters|Kaiba, Gozaburo]]
+
<references />
[[Category:Characters]]
+
 
 +
{{Gozaburo Kaiba pages}}
 +
{{Characters|fsa, ssa}}
 +
 
 +
[[Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! characters]]
 +
[[Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! (Toei anime) characters]]

Latest revision as of 08:15, 21 September 2023

Gozaburo Kaiba
Gozaburo Kaiba
English name
  • Gozaburo Kaiba
Japanese name
Japanese海馬かいば剛三郎ごうざぶろう
Base海馬剛三郎
Furiganaかいばごうざぶろう
RōmajiKaiba Gōzaburō
Gender
  • Male
Relatives
Previous occupationCEO of KaibaCorp
Previous organizationKaibaCorp
Anime DeckExodia Necross
Other Decks
Nightmare
Troubadour
  • Forbidden Pact
Anime debut
Video game debutYu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour
English voice
Japanese voice
  • Unsho Ishizuka
  • Tetsuo Komura
Other language voices
German
  • Engelbert von Nordhausen
SpanishVictor Valverde
Kaiba, Gozaburo

Gozaburo Kaiba is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and the final antagonist of the Virtual World arc, after his biological son, Noah Kaiba failed and was defeated by Yami Yugi. He was Seto and Mokuba Kaiba's adoptive father and the former CEO of KaibaCorp.

Design[edit]

Appearance[edit]

Gozaburo Kaiba lineart

Gozaburo's appearance was that of a tall man, with gray hair and a mustache. In the manga, his facial expressions showed evil and madness when he committed suicide, while in the anime, he seemed like a calm and deceitful man. He usually wore a red business suit, a black tie, and a white inner long-sleeved dress shirt. Gozaburo had brown eyes and was fair skinned.

Personality[edit]

Gozaburo was a strict and persistent man. He was considered evil by many because he constantly manipulated people, including his own son, to achieve his goals. At first, Gozaburo appeared to be a caring father, training his son to succeed him as CEO of KaibaCorp. He never really cared for Noah, and rather just saw him as a tool for KaibaCorp to take over the world with. His plan was to make Noah's mindset identical to his to accomplish his goal. After Noah's accident, he only wanted to save him at any cost, but by doing so, he discovered a plan to destroy the real world and rule the virtual world instead. However, Gozaburo saw Noah's death as having a wrench thrown into his plans and did not really care about him. Originally, Gozaburo planned to have Seto become a host to replace Noah's dead body because of the limitations of the virtual world. In the English dub, Seto proved himself more capable than Noah, so he ultimately scrapped the plan. In the original, that never occurred because Noah's lack of interactions with real people inhibited his maturity. Upon hearing that, Yami Yugi, despite his difference with Seto, understood why he hated Gozaburo so much. He usually didn't recognize the hard work of the Big Five. He was very strict with Seto, though he was nicer to Mokuba. Meanwhile, Gozaburo used Noah to set his ambition into motion.[1]

Biography[edit]

History[edit]

A photograph of Gozaburo and Noah.
Gozaburo winning the World Chess Championship.

Gozaburo was the original founder and CEO of KaibaCorp, which, at that time, was a successful arms manufacturer. Because of the nature of his business, Gozaburo became involved in a war where he financed tanks and weapons to one faction, who easily overcame their enemies.[2] Dartz, disguised as Gozaburo, lent weapons from KaibaCorp to the opposing faction as well, and made many people believe that he was only interested in making money through war.[3]

At one point in his life, Gozaburo had a son, Noah, of whom he intended to raise as the KaibaCorp heir. Gozaburo looked for the best teachers and education for his son. Gozaburo also spent time with Noah,[4] and took him out to the sea at one point.[5]

Gozaburo became a famous chess champion, who won the World Championship and donated the prize of $100,000 to the orphanage where Seto and Mokuba lived. The brothers heard of him on TV, so Seto developed a plan to be adopted, studied everything that he could about chess and Gozaburo, and learned his way of thinking and strategies.[6]

When Gozaburo visited the orphanage, he gave toys to the kids, and on his way out, Seto challenged him to a game of chess, and told Gozaburo that if he refused, he would tell the press that he was scared of a little kid. Confident that he would not be beaten by a child, Gozaburo agreed to a single game with Seto, and stated the stipulation that if he won, Gozaburo would agree to adopt him along with his brother.[6] Seto had spent time studying Gozaburo's strategies and how to overcome them, and thus defeated him. Gozaburo had to keep his end of the bargain.[6]

After he was defeated by Seto, Gozaburo met with Noah. He showed his son a picture of Seto, told him he would be his adoptive brother, that both would compete to inherit KaibaCorp and would become rivals.[7] After that talk, Noah was crushed by a car. Noah was transported to the Kaiba Hospital, but the doctors couldn't do anything to save him.[4] Gozaburo wanted to save his son at any cost.[1] After he found a way to do it through technology, Gozaburo digitized Noah's mind and transferred it into a KaibaCorp computer.[4] Noah was then given a funeral. A woman, possibly Gozaburo's wife, wondered how could the events have happened. Gozaburo told her not to worry since there was nothing that he could not do.[5]

Noah awoke in the Virtual World and saw Gozaburo on a screen, where he explained what happened. Gozaburo slowly expanded the Virtual World, and even programmed a space trip for his son.[8] At first, Noah thought that Gozaburo would bring Seto to compete against him, which meant that if Noah won, the Virtual World would overcome reality and he could rule KaibaCorp.[1] Gozaburo's true intentions were actually to use Seto's body as Noah's recipient, while making his adopted son think that he was being bred as his heir.[1] However, Gozaburo soon understood that Noah could not inherit KaibaCorp because of his lack of contact with society,[8] and because the virtual could not rule humans.[1] Because of that, Gozaburo's visits to Noah became less frequent and he wasn't amused by his deeds.[8]

On Noah's birthday, Gozaburo was told by his son that with KaibaCorp's military weapons, 97% of the human population could be destroyed in 30 days.[8] After he heard that, Gozaburo started to develop a plan to leave only the Virtual World, so he began the construction of a missile satellite to destroy the major cities across the world.[1] That day, Seto and Mokuba arrived at the Kaiba Mansion.[8]

Gozaburo was a cruel father to Seto, who forced him to spend all his time studying and forgoing any of the joy or fun that was usually associated with childhood. He put the condition that if Seto didn't study as intended, he would be returned to the orphanage,[9] and drove his adopted son to strict educational regiment for the gifted. One day, Gozaburo asked Seto what would he do if he inherited the company, and was disappointed when Seto answered that he would create Kaiba Land. Gozaburo confiscated all the games that Seto owned because of that,[9] and made every day like constant torture. But Gozaburo didn't realize that he was turning his successor into his greatest enemy.

Gozaburo, Seto, Mokuba, and Zigfried at the party.

Gozaburo threw a party in which he invited Mr. Schroeder to discuss a deal. They were accompanied by Seto, Mokuba, and Zigfried von Schroeder. Mr. Schroeder first praised Gozaburo because of his fine successor and added that his son was also a genius. The lights from the party started to flicker on and off, and Kemo informed Gozaburo about a computer virus. Gozaburo was astonished as their computers were well protected and he couldn't imagine who could have done that.[10]

Four years later, Seto developed a virtual simulation system that was to be used in games, but Gozaburo planned to use it for warfare. One day, Seto insisted to Gozaburo that it had to be used in games, and made him angry. He told his adopted son that the objective of the Kaiba Family was the world domination with military weapons, and Kemo and other guard took Seto out of the office. After that, Seto stopped calling Gozaburo "father".[11]

One year later, Seto concluded his studies. Gozaburo made the fatal mistake when he gave Seto 2% of KaibaCorp shares as his birthday present. He put Seto on a mission to earn 100 times (10 times in the English Version) that amount through investments within a year in order to test if he was capable of inheriting KaibaCorp, or else he would return to the orphanage. Seto overcame the expectations of Gozaburo by easily accomplishing his mission. However, Seto set in motion his own plan, he, along with the KaibaCorp Board of Directors (later known as The Big Five), started buying shares of KaibaCorp until they reached 49% of the company. Gozaburo, also with 49%, realized Seto's plan. Because of that, Seto hurt Mokuba to force him to spend more time with Gozaburo than with him. This was actually a ruse to deceive Gozaburo into thinking that Mokuba would support him instead of his brother. He was proven wrong when Mokuba, remaining loyal to his brother, transferred his 2% of the company to Seto.[12]

Death[edit]

Gozaburo, Seto, the Big Five, and other high ranking employees attended a meeting. There, Gozaburo, confident that he owned 51% of the company, revealed his plan to defeat Seto which consisted in transferring his shares to a subsidiary, but was ousted from power when Mokuba decided to betray him and give his 2% of the company to his brother. That weakened Gozaburo's mind and lead to him committing suicide (in the dub, he ran away and disappeared forever).[12]

Virtual World[edit]

Gozaburo digitizing himself.
Gozaburo unveiling his plans.

It was revealed that, while Gozaburo's body died, he had previously digitized his mind like he did Noah's, and hid inside the KaibaCorp computer banks. Because of Seto's treachery, his plans were shattered, so he changed them. Instead of using Seto's body as the recipient of Noah, it would become the recipient of KaibaCorp. Although Seto would rule it for a time, Gozaburo had planned on taking his body later on.[1]

When Noah lured Seto and others, including Yugi Muto, into the Virtual World, Noah had the Big Five try and defeat Yugi, Seto, and company. When they failed one by one, Gozaburo revealed himself as the mastermind of the capture to everyone and Noah. He was disappointed by Noah's defeat as he could not take Seto's body, but had managed to hack into KaibaCorp's network. Through it, he accessed his secret missile satellite. No longer needing Seto's body, he unveiled the final stage of his plan: Launching missiles against the human leaders, hack into every computer system in the world, and rule humanity through the Virtual World (in the English version, he wanted to digitize the entire world and reign as King of the Virtual World).[1]

Gozaburo then closed all the exits that he knew of the Virtual World. Noah then pretended to lead the group to a secret exit, but instead split them up, and left most of them wandering a Virtual Domino City while Noah, after he realized that his father was only using him, used Mokuba's body to escape, changed the trajectory of the missiles to the fortress, and intended to destroy everyone inside while he escaped.[1]

Gozaburo's monster form.

While Yugi and the others tried to escape, Seto went to confront his adoptive father. Gozaburo, who was still bitter over his loss to Seto in chess years ago and because Seto stole KaibaCorp, challenged him to a duel to give him the same type defeat that he delivered to him. As a further insult, Gozaburo used the monster "Exodia Necross" (a ghostly dark version of "Exodia the Forbidden One", the monster who handed Seto his first Duel Monsters defeat). Exodia Necross gained 1000 ATK during every one of his Standby Phases, could not be destroyed by Spells, Traps, and Monster Effects, and could be destroyed in battle. However, its special abilities depended on having all 5 Exodia parts in the Graveyard.[13]

During the Duel, Gozaburo and Seto were informed that the fortress would be hit by a missile and the Virtual World would be destroyed. Gozaburo was astonished because of the betrayal of his own son and for his plans getting ruined again. After he knew that he would die, Gozaburo tried to take Seto's body, but Seto stopped him by offering that the winner of the duel would escape to the real world. Seto used "Soul Demolition" to Remove the Exodia parts from play, and neutralized "Exodia Necross". Now stripped of its powers, "Exodia Necross" was destroyed by Seto's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". Gozaburo lost the Duel and his chance to escape the Virtual World.[13]

Gozaburo in his "Flame" form, during the Virtual World Story Arc.

With the fortress about to be destroyed, Gozaburo attempted to take Kaiba's body by force by transforming into a red creature. Yugi entered and helped Kaiba escape to the real world. Noah, having had a change of heart, appeared on Gozaburo's back, immobilized him as well as prevented him from downloading himself to another network. As Seto and Yugi emerged on the airship and escaped, the fortress exploded, and deleted Noah. Gozaburo lived for a few moments, somehow became 'real' as a beast of flame, and erupted from the ruins of the fortress. As Gozaburo attempted to destroy the airship, Seto activated the airship's thrusters, jetted out of his grasp for good, and left him to sink into the waves.[13]

Legacy[edit]

Gozaburo in Waking the Dragons.

Although that was Gozaburo's first and final appearance in person, he appeared in flashbacks before and after the Virtual World. Kaiba's goal to defeat Yugi Muto at Alcatraz (Battle City) was not only a mission to defeat Yugi, but to overcome Gozaburo's legacy and put it behind him. Kaiba felt that only when he was crowned Duel King atop the Duel Tower, amidst the rubble of the military factories that Gozaburo had built there, that only then could he forget his past and step out of Gozaburo's shadow.[14] Alister of Dartz's group, Doma, also harbored a grudge toward Seto, and believed that Gozaburo had funded a military attack on his town, although he later realized that the attack was instead ordered by Dartz who was disguised as Gozaburo, and thus ended his rage against Seto.[3]

Other versions[edit]

Deck[edit]

Gozaburo played an Exodia Necross Deck. His strategy revolved around Summoning "Exodia Necross" by quickly sending the pieces of "Exodia" to the Graveyard through "Painful Choice". He then relied entirely on the immunity and ATK raising abilities of "Exodia Necross", which provided decent offense and defense, but whose weaknesses proved to be his undoing.

Before his Duel with Seto, Gozaburo Summoned a number of monsters with a chess theme against Yugi and company, using their respective chess pieces - "Cosmo Queen" (Queen), "Skull Knight" (Bishop), "Command Knight" (Knight), "Rock Ogre Grotto 1" (Rook), and "Lizard Soldier" (Pawn).

Duels[edit]

Opponent(s) Episode(s) Outcome(s)
Seto Kaiba 120-121 Lose

References[edit]

  1. a b c d e f g h i Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 119119: "So Close Yet So Far"
  2. Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 150150: "Deja Duel! - Part 2"
  3. a b Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 179179: "A Duel with Dartz - Part 3"
  4. a b c Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 114114: "Brothers in Arms, Part 1"
  5. a b Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 112112: "Merger of the Big Five, Part 2"
  6. a b c Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 100100: "Isolated in Cyber Space, Part 2"
  7. Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 110110: "Noah's Secret"
  8. a b c d e Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 115115: "Brothers in Arms, Part 2"
  9. a b Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 103103: "Freeze Play, Part 2"
  10. Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 190190: "Down in Flames - Part 1"
  11. Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 104104: "Courtroom Chaos, Part 1"
  12. a b Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 108108: "Settling the Score, Part 1"
  13. a b c Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 120120: "Burying The Past - Part 1"
  14. Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 137137: "Battle for the Bronze - Part 3"