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I don't think it's ever suggested that it's not a real thing.
The '''Shadow Realm''' is alleged to be a place of suffering where people could be sent to, explicitly designed by [[4Kids Entertainment]] for the dubbed version of the [[Yu-Gi-Oh! (anime)|''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' second series anime]]. When a death would occur in the Japanese version, it would usually be censored in the dub, sending the victim to the Shadow Realm instead. The concept is also mentioned in the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'' anime. Hence, the Shadow Realm is regarded as a euphemism for death and other disastrous events used for the dub.
[[Shadow Game]]s were depicted as occurring in another dimension which is also called the Shadow Realm. It was this dark dimension (so named by [[Maximillion Pegasus]]) that formed the basis for the Shadow Realm in the English version.
In the final manga arc, it is also mentioned by [[Akhenaden (manga)|the High Priest of Darkness]] that the loser of the Ultimate Shadow Game would not be sent to the afterlife when they die but to "a void of eternal darkness", reminiscent of descriptions of the Shadow Realm.
In the Japanese version of ''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'', [[Titan]] mentions that he was taken to the World of Darkness after losing to [[Jaden Yuki|Jaden]].<ref name="gx6">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! GX|6|ref}}</ref> Here, he met [[Kagemaru]], who gave him his [[Shadow Charm]] mask, letting him return to Earth as one of the [[Shadow Riders]]. He Dueled [[Alexis Rhodes]], one of the holders of the [[Spirit Key]]s, intending to defeat her and drag her to the World of Darkness, just as [[Atticus Rhodes|her brother]] previously had been. However, he lost to her and was dragged back there himself.<ref name="gx41">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! GX|41|ref}}</ref>For some reason the Crunchyroll subtitles call the World of Darkness in the GX and Duel Monsters subs as the Shadow Realm.
==Purpose==
The Shadow Realm does not exist in Japanese media, and it is always used euphemistically. The Shadow Realm was created to serve as a substitute for a character dying. Losing a [[Shadow Game]], a fatal wound inflicted by a Duel Monster, the power of a [[Millennium Items|Millennium Item]], or any other mystical means would condemn their soul to the Shadow Realm. This was less permanent than explicitly stating that the character was killed, as it was established that it is possible to retrieve a soul from the Shadow Realm.
{{Yu-Gi-Oh! locations}}
{{Yu-Gi-Oh! GX locations}}
[[Category:Worlds]]
[[Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! (anime) locations]]
[[Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! GX locations]]
