Mai Kujaku (manga)

Mai Kujaku is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga. This is the original depiction of Mai Kujaku, known as Mai Valentine in most English media, as created by Kazuki Takahashi.

Spending most of her life alone, Mai became an independent Duelist and was naturally distrusting to others. She showed no shame in manipulating men, who displayed foolish infatuation towards her and previously used her "Aroma Tactics" to easily beat them in card games. She Duels for pride and monetary gain, but also entered the Duelist Kingdom tournament to find the things she used to cherish. After meeting Katsuya Jonouchi and Yugi Mutou, she started to open up and become friendly towards other people.

Mai participated in the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City tournaments, making it to the semi and quarter finals respectively. She used a "Harpy Lady" Deck at first and added "Amazoness" cards for Battle City.

Casino dealer
Mai spent most of her life alone. She once worked as a casino dealer on a cruise ship, on which she traveled around the world playing card games with rich people every day. She met a lot of men, whom she described as boring, who would flash their money to get with her. Mai got them to put down a lot of their money and then easily beat them in cards using her Aroma Tactics; a strategy in which she would scent her cards with different perfume allowing her to know what they are without looking. Although she made a lot of money doing this, it caused her to hate people more until she got sick of her job and quit.

Duelist Kingdom
Mai was invited to the Duelist Kingdom tournament. She entered hoping to win the prize money, which she considered using to travel the world or live in Paris and buy all the cosmetics that she wanted, but also entered in the hope of finding the things that she once cherished.

The boat to the Duelist Kingdom island left from Domino Pier. Seeing the other competitors there, Mai laughed that it was like a pep rally for kids and she had not seen any real competition yet. However she soon spotted Yugi Mutou, whom she knew had defeated Seto Kaiba. She was surprised that someone like Yugi could beat Kaiba and teased him for being a little kid, which infuriated Anzu Mazaki. She showed no interest in Katsuya Jonouchi and Hiroto Honda, who sought her attention, telling her that they were friends of Yugi. She warned the boys that it did not matter in a Duel if her opponent was a little kid as any man who stepped in her way would get crushed.

On the boat, Mai complained to an official about having to sleep on the common room floor with the other contestants. She was interrupted by Dinosaur Ryuzaki, the runner-up of the Japanese nationals who had been given his own room. Ryuzaki offered to share his room with her and Mai saw an opportunity. She acted all giddy and pretended to be fond of Ryuzaki. Inside his room, she said that she liked strong men, as long as they were stronger than her and challenged him to a game of Duel Monsters. If he won, she said that she would do whatever he wanted all night long, while if she won she would get the room to herself. She threw off his concentration using her Aroma Tactics and easily won, after which she kicked him out of the room.

Mai watched Dark Yugi Dueling Insector Haga, hoping to learn some of Dark Yugi's strategies. She complimented one of his comebacks, but said he had only taken a small lead and annoyed Anzu by calling him "Yugi-chan". Mai explained that Haga was the Japanese champion and a master planner, so the real Duel was only just beginning. To Anzu's further annoyance, Jonouchi and Honda agreed with Mai. She also mocked Anzu, Jonouchi, Honda and Bakura's cheering, saying it was of no help to Dark Yugi.

Wagering her two Star Chips in her first Duel, Mai easily beat her opponent using her Aroma Tactics. He claimed to have went easy on her because she was a girl and that he could not pay attention because of how she was reading her face-down cards without looking.

Mai went over to Dark Yugi and his friends. Much to their surprise, she challenged Jonouchi to a Duel. She explained that Dueling Dark Yugi this soon would be a bad strategy, so she needs to take out the weaker Duelists first. Anzu, Honda and Bakura tried to talk Jonouchi out of accepting, thinking Mai was out of his league. However Jonouchi did not want to be a coward and Dark Yugi agreed. Before the Duel, each player bet one Star Chip and Jonouchi asked Mai why she entered the tournament. She replied by saying how she wanted the prize money to live in luxury and got furious when Jonouchi said it was a weak reason. She asked why he entered, to which he replied he was there to save a life.

Using her Aroma Tactics, Mai put Jonouchi off guard and took an early lead. After Jonouchi closed his eyes, he smelled her perfumes and figured out the Aroma Tactics. Even with that knowledge, Mai said that Jonouchi could not beat her in a hundred years. With a mental reminder from Dark Yugi, Jonouchi used "Time Wizard" to age "Baby Dragon" into "Thousand Dragon" and weaken Mai's "Harpy Lady Sisters". Mai lost the Duel as "Thousand Dragon" destroyed the "Harpy" cards. Before leaving Jonouchi told Mai that there is one thing that does not change in a hundred years and it is "something you can show, but can't see".

Mai went on to win more Duels, bringing her up to eight Star Chips. She found her last few opponents boring and was still bothered by Jonouchi's riddle which she could not figure out. While she sat around trying to figure it out, she was challenged to a rematch by Ryuzaki. However Mai had no interest in facing someone she had already beaten and told him to go away. Ryuzaki tried to boast about having five Star Chips, but Mai showed him her eight and said she only needed two more to get to Pegasus Castle for the finals and had already decided the person she was going to win them from. However before doing that, she still wanted to take out Jonouchi. She then agreed to Duel Ryuzaki under the condition that he defeated Jonouchi first. She thought it would be immature to challenge Jonouchi again, but if she beat Ryuzaki after he beat Jonouchi, it would be like beating both of them. Ryuzaki was unhappy with taking Mai's orders, but agreed to do it. Mai then added the condition that Ryuzaki was her slave until he defeated Jonouchi. She also asked him the riddle, but regretted it after he suggested it was the octopus in a piece of takoyaki.

Mai located Jonouchi again and ridiculed him and his friends for always being together, comparing them to ducklings. She asked Dark Yugi to admit that it was a nuisance having them follow him and said that he would probably be in the castle already if he was alone. She laid off after realizing she was making him mad, as she was not ready to Duel him yet. She then introduced Ryuzaki as her slave, saying Jonouchi had to Duel him. Jonouchi accepted and was determined to prove her "duckling" comment wrong, while Anzu got mad over Mai repeatedly targeting Jonouchi.

Mai mocked Jonouchi's failed attempt to age "Baby Dragon" and later warned Ryuzaki when Jonouchi set "Time Wizard", although he had already figured it out. She was surprised when Jonouchi made a comeback, but credited it to beginner's luck and said there was no way Jonouchi could beat Ryuzaki. Anzu reminded her that Jonouchi had beaten her, but Mai said that he cheated, as anyone could win if Yugi helped them. The two girls then exchanged intense glares. Mai got mad at Ryuzaki as he let Jonouchi take more of a lead and again when he added the ante where the winner would take both "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" and "Time Wizard", as she worried about Dueling Ryuzaki with "Time Wizard" in his Deck. However Jonouchi won and Mai accidentally cheered for him.

During the night, Mai spotted Yugi, Honda and Bakura trying to stop Jonouchi form eating a wild mushroom. She teased them by eating a walnut chocolate bar and jokingly offered to trade Jonouchi a bite for a Star Chip, before proposing a ceasefire for the night. Yugi was happy to accept, but Jonouchi suspected she was up to something. Mai emptied her provisions out of her bag and offered to share. Having brought the food herself, she ordered to boys to do the cooking. Bakura was happy to cook and Yugi gathered firewood. Jonouchi did not like taking Mai's orders, but Honda advised him to suck it up, so they could eat. While the boys prepared the food, Mai noticed how different Yugi was acting, since Dark Yugi was not in control. She mentioned this to Anzu, who pointed out that Mai was similar and asked why she was being nice all of a sudden. Mai lied that it was because she was a woman, whose Duelist makeup did not last 24 hours. In reality, she did not understand why she was being nice to them either. Mai then allowed Anzu use her portable shower, while she stood guard. During their meal, Mai mentioned that although they were friends for the night, they would be enemies again tomorrow.

After the meal, Mai offered to share her tent with Anzu. When Jonouchi, Honda and Bakura had fallen asleep, she told Yugi that Anzu wanted to talk to him by the cliff and then back to her tent. Inside she told Anzu about when she worked as a casino dealer and pointed out that Anzu had a crush on Yugi. Anzu blushed and tried to deny it, but Mai was unconvinced. She then told Anzu that she had arranged for Yugi to meet her and sent her to the cliff.

While Mai was alone in her tent, the Player Killer of Darkness intruded and forced her into a Duel. By hiding his monsters in darkness, the Player Killer easily won the Duel and took Mai's eight Star Chips. Anzu and Yugi then arrived at the scene of the Duel, having heard Mai scream. Yugi then switched to Dark Yugi and Dueled the Player Killer, winning back her Star Chips.

When Dark Yugi tried to return the Star Chips to Mai, she said that she could not take them. She accepted that she had been eliminated and said goodbye. However Jonouchi, Honda and Bakura appeared and called her back. Honda reminded Mai that she had said they would be enemies tomorrow, meaning until midnight, she was their friend. Dark Yugi said that he, she and Jonouchi had come to the island to fight fair and square, while the Player Killers fought for the sake of destruction. As he did not want them disgracing the honor of their battles, he told her to take back the Star Chips. Mai was still reluctant, so Jonouchi grabbed the Star Chips and said that if she did not want them, he would take them and celebrated that he would be the first to Pegasus Castle. Without thinking, she angrily demanded that he give them back to her. He complied and said that if her pride would not let her take the Star Chips, she should throw them in the ocean, but he would not do that himself as her dreams were attached to the Star Chips. Mai conceded that she would borrow the Star Chips, but considered herself to be unworthy of Dueling Dark Yugi until she repaid her debt.

Later that night, Mai, Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda and Bakura were woken by the sound of Kaiba landing nearby in his helicopter. She watched Jonouchi pick a fight with Kaiba, which resulted in the two of them Dueling with Kaiba's Duel Disk prototypes. As Jonouchi put up a poor fight, without thinking Mai ordered him to stand up and fight as she did not want to see him like that. After the Duel, she overhead that Jonouchi was fighting for something to do with his sister's eyes. Some time later, Anzu explained how Jonouchi was participating for the prize money for an operation to save her eyesight.

The next morning Mai woke up before the others and left without saying anything. She left them some supplies and a note saying that she owed Yugi eight Star Chips.

Mai won another eight Star Chips from other participants, bringing her total up to sixteen, six more than was required to enter the finals. When she arrived at the Castle, she informed Saruwatari that she was leaving to collect another finalist. However, when she found Yugi, he only had five Star Chips. To pay him back, she gave him her access six Star Chips, saying that in return he must Duel her in the castle. However Yugi was unwilling to accept them, as it was not the type of thing Dark Yugi would do. Jonouchi and Mai tried to convince him that what he was fighting for was more important than his Duelist pride and he should not feel inferior to Dark Yugi. Mai admitted that she had collected the extra Star Chips not only to restore her pride, but also to see Yugi and his friends again. She had been happy after they called her their friend after all the mean things she had said to them and told them that that was the first time anybody said something like that to her. Yugi then accepted the Star Chips as a token of her appreciation.

Mai, Yugi and Jonouchi entered the castle as the last three finalists after Bandit Keith. Inside they witnessed the Duel between Kaiba and Pegasus. Here she first heard of Pegasus' mind reading powers, but did not believe they were real. She also learned that Pegasus had created the powerful card, "Toon World", for himself.

With the finals the next day, Mai told Dark Yugi and Jonouchi that they were back to being enemies for the tournament, but wished the two of them luck. The finalists and their friends were then invited to a dinner party. However the meal only consisted of soup, in which the finalists were horrified to find Millennium Eye replicas. Mai even accidentally put her replica in her mouth. Pegasus then appeared on a screen and explained that there were letters inside the eyes used to determine the pairings for semi finals; Mai was to face Yugi, while Jonouchi was to face Keith.

Dark Yugi and Mai's Duel was the first of the two semi finals. Initially Dark Yugi showed little interest, as he was confident he would win and was only focused on facing Pegasus. His lack of concentration allowed Mai to easily take an early lead. He twice fell for her "Mirror Wall", she lowered his Life Points to 1350, easily disposed of his Trap Card with "Harpy's Feather Duster", brought her "Harpy Lady" up to 2100 ATK and Summoned "Harpies' Pet Dragon".

She asked Dark Yugi the "something you can show, but can't see" riddle and said he could not win unless he figured it out. Jonouchi said that he asked Mai that before and asked if she even knew the answer. Mai replied that she came up with her own answer. Jonouchi claimed that the answer was friendship. Mai said he was incorrect and her answer was not such a cliché, but thought that Jonouchi should know, since he taught her. Mai used "Shadow of Eyes" to force Dark Yugi's monsters into attacking her "Mirror Wall" and her second "Harpy's Feather Duster" to stop his counterattacks, bringing his Life Points down to 300. Jonouchi began to think that he was lucky to have beaten Mai before, but Mai stated that luck had nothing to do with it. She had fought her hardest against Jonouchi and was devastated when she lost, she explained and said that she had went into denial, but on facing her true self, she understood the meaning of the riddle. She asked Jonouchi if he knew how he had gotten so far in the tournament. Jonouchi regarded himself as a bad player and credited his success to his friends' support. Mai replied that he was correct; he understood his weakness, accepted it and became stronger to overcome it. She understood this to be the courage of a true Duelist and that such courage is tested when the Duelist loses, rather than when they win. She exclaimed that a strong heart is born when one is ready to lose and asked if Dark Yugi had that courage. Dark Yugi reflected on his recent Duel with Kaiba, in which he had been afraid to lose, while Yugi was not. Yugi's strength had made up for his weakness and that was what he could show but could not see. Dark Yugi said that he was proud to have fought Mai and that the real Duel began at that point.

Using "Brain Control" and "Catapult Turtle", Dark Yugi destroyed "Mirror Wall" using the dragon as a missile. He retreated "Catapult Turtle" from Mai's "Harpy Lady Sisters" with "Monster Recovery", replacing it with "Mystical Elf", who was unaffected by the pheromones from "Shadow of Eyes". Mai revived "Harpies' Pet Dragon" with "Monster Reborn", but Dark Yugi held off her attacks with "Swords of Revealing Light", while he gathered the components to Summon "Black Luster Soldier". Initially unaware what he was doing, Mai laughed at his use of the weak card "Kuriboh". Dark Yugi got "Black Luster Soldier" to attack and destroy the dragon, after which Mai surrendered, not wanting her harpies to be harmed. As she parted, Mai promised to get stronger from her defeat. Dark Yugi thanked Mai, as that Duel had taught him something he was on the verge of losing.

Mai found Jonouchi weeping in a corridor before he was due to Duel Keith. He was on the brink of being disqualified as he had lost his "The Honor of the King's Right" card. Mai ordered him to save his tears for if he lost and gave him the handkerchief she had been crying in. Wrapped inside was her "The Honor of the King's Right", which she no longer needed. Before he had time to thank her, she reminded him that he was running out of time. As Jonouchi ran back to the arena he wondered why Mai was doing this for him. Mai called him an idiot, as she thought to herself that she did it because they were friends.

Mai went outside afterwards and found that all the boats were gone, leaving her stranded. As she threw rocks into the sea out of frustration, she heard Kaiba's helicopter leaving the island after the tournament had ended. Kaiba, Mokuba, Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda and Bakura were all inside. She ran after them and had the ladder thrown down for her to climb on.

Battle City
Mai heard rumors of a massive Duel Monsters tournament online and in magazines, accompanied by a clue which led her and Duelists from across Japan to Domino City at a specified time and date. Here she met Dark Yugi and Anzu and teased them about being on a date. She was surprised that Dark Yugi had not heard about the tournament about to be announced and told him what she knew about it. Seto Kaiba then arrived and explained that the Battle City tournament was to take place there in two days time.

Mai won six Puzzle Cards in the preliminaries, qualifying her for the final rounds. She met Honda after winning her last preliminary Duel and asked him how Jonouchi was doing. Honda explained that he was taking a girl to see Jonouchi. She was initially taken aback to hear that there was another girl looking for Jonouchi, but then realized that it was his sister, Shizuka, judging by her similar hair. Mai had heard that Shizuka's eye operation was a success, but noticed that she was still wearing eye bandages. She told Shizuka that her brother was a great guy and was probably thinking of her while fighting an awesome battle. She then invited Honda, Shizuka and their friend Ryuji Otogi into her car to find Jonouchi. Mai drove somewhat recklessly, causing Honda and Ryuji to fall around in the backseat.

Mai eventually found Jonouchi at Domino Pier, where he had just Dueled Yugi while brainwashed by Marik Ishtar. Mai got annoyed by Jonouchi's self-deprecating. She apologized to Shizuka in advance before slapping Jonouchi, telling him not to act like a baby. She told him off for throwing away his pride as a Duelist and everything he had fought for over something because of something he could not control. After she and the others talked sense into Jonouchi, Shizuka removed the bandages from her eyes to see him.

As Mai and her friends prepared to go the finals, Mai interrupted Jonouchi telling Shizuka that he was aiming for gold. She teasingly said that reality can be cruel and Shizuka was not to look the other way should Jonouchi lose to her in the finals. She also warned Yugi not to underestimate her, as she was not the same as before. To Mai's annoyance, Shizuka, Honda, Jonouchi, Anzu, Yugi and Ryuji all squeezed into her car to get the finals. She warned them that they would have to pay if she received a ticket.

The group arrived at Domino Stadium for the finals. The finalists were Mai, Yugi, Jonouchi, Kaiba, Dark Bakura Marik, Rishid and Ishizu Ishtar. They and their companions boarded the blimp, the Battle Ship, for the finals. Dark Bakura pretended Ryo Bakura was actually in control, Marik used the alias "Namu", Rishid pretended to be Marik and Ishizu arrived late and boarded the blimp last, with her identity originally unknown to the other finalists.

On the top of the blimp, Mai watched the first of the quarter finals between Dark Bakura and Dark Yugi.

She also watched the second between Jonouchi and Rishid, posing as Marik. She deduced from Rishid's presence that he was a powerful Duelist and hoped Jonouchi would be careful. She was embarrassed by Jonouchi's declaration that he would win in exactly eleven turns and yelled at him to pay attention when his cards nearly blew overboard. As the Duel entered its climax, Mai was ready to accept that Jonouchi was unable to win this Duel. It seemed to her that the Duel was over when Jonouchi passed a turn, leaving no way of blocking Rishid's next attack. However Jonouchi's accusations that Rishid was not Marik, caused Rishid to change his strategy and attempt to Summon "The Sun Dragon Ra". Due to the card being a counterfeit, both players were struck down in Ra's anger. As the only player able to stand up, Jonouchi was declared the winner.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
At Duel Academy, Mai was considered to be a legendary Duelist. Jaden Yuki thought of her, Dark Yugi, Kaiba and Jonouchi when he said that he wasn't gong to back down in his Duel against Ryuga, like how the legendary duelists never gave up.

Deck
During the Duelist Kingdom tournament, Mai used a "Harpy Lady" Deck. It mainly focused on Summoning her "Harpy Lady", accessorizing it with various Spell Cards to make it more beautiful and powerful, and multiplying it with "Kaleidoscope".

During Battle City, she used an "Amazoness" Deck, but still included some of her "Harpy Lady" cards.