Espa Roba, known as Esper Roba in the Japanese version, is a Duelist who claims to have ESP. In reality he is a fraud who uses his younger brothers to spy on and reply back to him the cards in his opponent's hand, thus allowing him to 'predict' the opponent's strategies almost before they perform them.
Design[]
Voice and mannerisms[]
In the Singaporean English dub of the anime, Espa Roba has a Spanish accent.
Etymology[]
Both his English and Japanese names are derived from extrasensory perception, or ESP for short.
Biography[]
Espa Roba linework.
Espa made his first appearance in a brief non speaking role in the town square, when Mai Valentine was pointing out the Battle City participants to Yugi Muto and Téa Gardner and what their deck and strategies were. She said he dueled using psychic powers.
Espa was a young Duelist who entered Battle City to uphold his reputation and protect his younger brothers. He was first shown defeating Rex Raptor and taking "Serpent Night Dragon". Rex advised Joey Wheeler not to Duel Espa on the grounds that his psychic abilities allowed him to read all the cards in his hand. With an air of self-confidence (and being skeptical of his supposed powers as he’d already experienced this with Mai Valentine), Joey accepted the Duel.
Espa pretending to have a psychic vision.
Although Espa initially gained an advantage due to the fact he knew what cards were in Joey's hand and on his field, Joey inferred what was happening and attempted to confuse his watchers from above by putting the cards "Skull Dice" and "Graceful Dice" close to each other.
Mokuba Kaiba eventually discovered the source of Espa's "psychic" abilities; his brothers spied upon Joey's hand from upon a high rise building. However, the brothers pleaded with Mokuba to let Espa continue with the Duel, stating that he was a strong Duelist despite his cheating ways.
The psychic front was to build an impression of an unbeatable Duelist and thus deflected any abuse that was usually heaped upon Espa and his brothers, they were heavily bullied due to being carnival folk in the past. To Mokuba, this situation paralleled his brotherly relationship with his older brother, Seto and he let Espa continue the Duel, only on the grounds that he stop cheating. Due to this, Espa's psychic reputation was tarnished, but he continued his Duel with Joey nevertheless.
Espa appearing to challenge Mako Tsunami to a Duel
Espa eventually Summoned "Jinzo", who severely crippled Joey's overall strategy. Finally, Joey activated "Roulette Spider" which forced "Jinzo" to attack a random card on the field, "Jinzo" attacked "Reflect Bounder", who then reflected the assault back on "Jinzo", destroying them both, causing Espa to lose the Duel.
Due to the Battle City regulations, Espa forfeited his rarest card, "Jinzo", to Joey upon his defeat and commented that he was ready to stand up for his brothers without cheating. He also promised to duel Joey again someday, but in a fair duel with no cheating.
He was later seen observing the semifinal match between Yugi and Kaiba in Domino City amongst other Duelists.
Espa made a cameo in the Japanese epilogue, appearing to challenge Mako Tsunami to a Duel.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's[]
In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, a parody of him named Esper Rouba is listed as one the Duelists defeated by Hunter Pace.[3]
Other appearances[]
Deck[]
Anime[]
Espa Roba plays a Psychic Power Deck[4], relying on Machine-Type monsters and Magic and Trap cards that allow him to manipulate enemy monsters. His key card is "Jinzo", which he strengthens with "Amplifier". Although he won “Serpent Night Dragon” off of Rex, he did not include it in his Deck[5].
Video games[]
Dark Duel Stories (Duel Monsters III: Tri-Holy God Advent)[]
- Hinotama x3
- Invigoration x3
- Machine Conversion Factory x3
- Red Medicine x3
Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelist[]
The Sacred Cards (Duel Monsters 7: The Duelcity Legend)[]
- Bat x3
- Hane-Hane x3
- Jinzo #7 x3
- Kattapillar x3
- LaLa Li-Oon x3
- Lightning Conger x3
- Magician of Faith x3
- Steel Scorpion x3
- Swordsman from a Foreign Land x3
- The Unhappy Maiden x3
- Kaminarikozou x3
- Zone Eater x3
Duel Monsters 8: Reshef of Destruction[]
World Championship 2004 Deck[]
Espa's Decks usually focus on Summoning "Jinzo".
- Fire Eye
- Flying Fish
- Happy Lover
- Kagemusha of the Blue Flame
- Kageningen
- Kumootoko
- Launcher Spider
- Lunar Queen Elzaim
- Machine Attacker
- Man Eater
- Man-Eating Plant
- Mechaleon
- Meda Bat
- Midnight Fiend
- Obese Marmot of Nefariousness
- Ocubeam
- Rainbow Marine Mermaid
- Rock Ogre Grotto #2
- Ryu-Ran
- Sleeping Lion
- Spike Seadra
- Tenderness
- The Wandering Doomed
- Yashinoki
The Dawn of Destiny[]
Nightmare Troubadour[]
Decks[]
- Amplifier x2
- Mesmeric Control x3
- Mind Control x3
- Mind Wipe x2
- Pot of Greed
- Senri Eye x2
- Altar for Tribute x2
- Mind Haxorz x2
- The Eye of Truth x3
Deck Recipe[]
Duels[]
| Opponent(s) | Episode(s) | Outcome(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Rex Raptor | 58 | Win |
| Joey Wheeler | 58-59 | Lose |
| Mako Tsunami | 224 | Not shown |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Yu-Gi-Oh! Character Guidebook: The Gospel of Truth profile; File:Gospel of Truth - Espa Roba profile.png (Japanese)
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! - Episode 058
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's episode 1: "On Your Mark, Get Set, DUEL!"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! - Episode 058
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! - Episode 058
Notes[]
- ↑ This card was played as a Normal Monster. It is an Effect Monster in the TCG/OCG.
- ↑ This card is shown in his hand in the manga duel.
- ↑ This card was played as a Trap Card. It is a Spell Card in the TCG/OCG.
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