Rafael (Yu-Gi-Oh)
Rafael (ラフェール, Rafēru) is the strongest and most enigmatic of Doma's Swordsmen, known for his stoic demeanor and unwavering maturity. Tasked with claiming the Pharaoh's soul for Dartz, he has a deep reverence for his Guardian monsters, refusing to let them fall into the Graveyard. He is one of the few Duelists to have defeated Yugi in a fair match.
| Names | Rafael (ラフェール, Rafēru) |
| Gender | Male ♂ |
| Race | Human |
| Occupation | Duelist, Doma Swordsman |
| Origin | Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Episode 145: A New Evil - Part 1 (新たなる闇の鼓動, Aratanaru Yami no Kodō. lit, The Throb of a New Darkness) February 18, 2003 |
| Alignment | Anti-Hero |
| Age | Teens |
| Created By | Studio Gallop, Nihon Ad Systems |
| Personality Type | ISFP, 9w8 (Enneagram) |
| Voice Actors |  Japanese: Yoshihisa Kawahara
|
Appearance
Rafael's signature attire includes a long, open full-body coat with padded shoulders, belted sleeves, and fingerless gloves with studded knuckles. His blonde hair is styled upward behind his head, with two distinctive locks curving forward near his ears. He wears his Orichalcos Stone around his neck and carries a Chaos Duel Disk on his left hand.
Personality
Rafael is a stoic and disciplined warrior, defined by his unwavering sense of duty and deep emotional connection to his Duel Monsters. Unlike many of Dartz’s subordinates, he does not take pleasure in cruelty or destruction. Instead, he is calm, mature, and collected, carrying himself with a quiet intensity that makes him one of the most formidable Duelists in Doma. His devotion to his Guardian monsters is unmatched, treating them as cherished companions rather than mere tools for victory. He despises seeing them in the Graveyard and views Duelists who sacrifice their monsters as heartless and unworthy.
Despite his composed exterior, Rafael harbors deep pain from his tragic past. Losing his family in the shipwreck (or believing they had abandoned him in the dub) left him emotionally scarred, making him vulnerable to Dartz’s manipulation. Though he initially believed he was fulfilling his destiny by serving Dartz, his heart remained conflicted. Unlike Alister and Valon, Rafael questioned the morality of their mission and even showed concern for his allies. His compassion was evident when he mourned Alister’s defeat and risked his own soul to save Mai after Valon’s loss.
Rafael’s greatest flaw is his tendency to suppress his emotions, burying his grief and anger beneath his disciplined demeanor. This repression ultimately allowed The Seal of Orichalcos to take hold of him during his rematch with Yami Yugi, twisting his philosophy and leading him to betray his own values by sacrificing his Guardian monsters. However, when faced with the truth about Dartz’s deception, Rafael’s inner strength resurfaced. Unlike many of Dartz’s minions, he ultimately rejected the darkness and atoned for his mistakes. His willingness to sacrifice his own Life Points to revive his monsters in his final Duel symbolized his redemption and reaffirmed his devotion to them.
In the end, Rafael is not a villain by nature but a deeply wounded man seeking purpose. His story is one of tragedy, redemption, and the enduring power of loyalty.
Biography
Rafael was born into a wealthy family and led a seemingly perfect life with his younger siblings, Sonia and Julian. On his birthday, he received Guardian Eatos as a gift, but tragedy struck when the luxury cruise they were on veered off course and was consumed by a tidal wave. He was the sole survivor, with his family presumed dead. (In the dub, the story was altered so that his family survived but forgot about him.) In the Japanese version, Rebecca Hawkins later speculated that Rafael had been the true American champion despite never appearing in public duels.
Stranded on a deserted island, Rafael survived with only his treasured Duel Monsters, including Guardian Eatos, Guardian Grarl, and Guardian Kay’est. Over the course of three years, his hair grew longer, and his clothing was reduced to a tank top and the tattered remains of his pants. At one point, his cards were swept into the ocean, but he dived in to retrieve them. It was during this period that he began to see Duel Monster spirits, though it is unclear whether they ever spoke to him.
One day, he spotted a city on the horizon and built a raft to reach it, but as he neared, it vanished, and he was pulled beneath the waves by a tidal current. There, he heard Dartz’s voice, instructing him to remember it for their eventual meeting. Rafael later regained consciousness on his raft and was rescued by a fishing boat, with his survival making the front page of a magazine.
In the original version, Rafael later visited his parents' graves, confirming their deaths. His surviving relatives took his father’s inheritance but wanted nothing to do with him, while strangers only sought to exploit his fame. As a result, he had no true friends. He made a living as a Duelist, eventually becoming the first national champion in the United States, a title mistakenly attributed to Rebecca. However, he remained elusive outside of duels, as people only sought to take advantage of him. (In the dub, his family survived but abandoned him.)
Rafael eventually traveled with Dartz to a graveyard, where he was tormented by the sight of his siblings' skeletal remains buried beneath him, confirming their deaths in the shipwreck. (In the dub, the skulls were removed.) This event shattered him, and a Dark Guardian seduced him into accepting The Seal of Orichalcos. He was given a Chaos Duel Disk and became one of Dartz’s devoted warriors, unaware that Dartz had orchestrated the shipwreck that tore his family away from him.
After joining Dartz, Rafael met Alister and Valon, both of whom also had their childhoods destroyed by Dartz. He deeply cared for them, expressing concern when Valon fell in love with Mai Valentine and risked his soul to save her. He was also visibly distressed when Alister lost his soul.
Believing he was fulfilling his destined role, Rafael captured numerous souls, with his ultimate target being the Pharaoh, whom he saw as an evil force. During their first duel, he used Exchange to give The Seal of Orichalcos to Yami Yugi, who, out of desperation, activated it and subsequently lost. Yugi Muto sacrificed himself to spare Yami Yugi, but Rafael remained unaware of this until Valon and Dartz revealed it to him.
Seeking redemption, Rafael pursued Yami Yugi and Téa Gardner after they fell into the Stone Wastelands. Following Dartz’s instructions, he threw his Orichalcos necklace into the battlefield where Yami Yugi had lost, summoning an Orichalcos Soldier. However, Yami Yugi managed to win with The Eye of Timaeus, surprising Rafael, as Timaeus had abandoned Yami in their previous duel for using The Seal of Orichalcos.
Later, in Florida, Rafael confronted Mai after she was freed from the Orichalcos’ influence and attempted to defeat Dartz to rescue Joey’s soul. Despite her determination, he defeated her and captured her soul to protect Dartz.
Rafael then dueled Yami Yugi once more, this time using The Seal of Orichalcos himself. When Yami destroyed Guardian Eatos, Rafael summoned Guardian Dreadscythe, mimicking Yami’s past actions by sacrificing his own monsters. However, Yami activated Underworld Circle, triggering a vision of Rafael’s past that awakened him from the Orichalcos’ corruption. Realizing his mistakes, Rafael used Soul Charge to revive all his fallen monsters and reduce his own Life Points to zero, symbolically apologizing to them and conceding the duel.
After his defeat, The Seal of Orichalcos attempted to claim Rafael’s soul, but his Orichalcos Stone shattered, freeing him. It was revealed that because he harbored no negative emotions at the time of his loss, the Seal was unable to take his soul. As the building collapsed around them, Rafael clung to the edge and handed Yami Yugi a computer chip containing a map to Dartz’s lair before seemingly falling to his demise.
However, Rafael survived and later rescued the soulless bodies of Mai Valentine and Valon from the wreckage. He placed them in safety at a beach house before confronting Dartz. During their encounter, Dartz confessed to orchestrating the sinking of the luxury cruise that separated Rafael from his family, as well as being responsible for the suffering he and his friends endured. The revelation left Rafael in shock, grief, and fury—emotions that allowed The Seal of Orichalcos to rematerialize around him. Summoning his last strength, he called forth Guardian Eatos to strike Dartz, but before it could attack, the Seal claimed Rafael’s soul.
At the conclusion of the arc, Rafael was freed along with all of Dartz’s victims. He was last seen standing before the Arc de Triomphe, seemingly searching for his remaining relatives.
Powers and Statistics
Tier: 9-B physically. 2-C via The Seal of Orichalcos
Powers and Abilities: Peak Human Strength and Durability, Soul Manipulation, Sealing (The Seal of Orichalcos steals souls), Magic, Summoning, (The monsters summoned through the seal are real), Empathic Manipulation (Shadow Games reveal a person's true nature), Darkness Manipulation (the Seal amplifies the Darkness is ones heart) Extrasensory Perception (Can see Duel Monster Spirits) Vehicular Mastery
Attack Potency: Street level physically. Low Multiverse level via powers (Can summon monsters with various degrees of power and amplify their power with his spirit energy up to the strongest monster he has in his deck)
Speed: Street level
Lifting Strength: Street level
Striking Strength: Street level (By himself), Low Multiverse level with summons
Durability: Street level
Stamina: Superhuman
Range: Standard Melee Range physically; Tens of Kilometers with several monsters, spells, and traps; Planetary with the Seal of Orichalcos
Intelligence: At least Gifted. A tactical fighter and leader.
Weaknesses: Is vulnerable to the power of the light of the souls
Standard Equipment: Duel Monsters cards, Duel Disk.
Rafael plays a Guardian Deck, composed of ancient and worn cards, their tattered edges and faded colors symbolizing his deep devotion to them. Strangely, despite their worn fronts, the backs of the cards remain undamaged. Unlike other Duelists who adapt their decks or replace old cards, Rafael refuses to part with his original deck or allow his monsters to be sent to the Graveyard. He looks down on Duelists who sacrifice their monsters for strategic advantages, prioritizing their protection above all else. His deck includes support cards like Rescuer from the Grave and Self Tribute, as well as Aid to the Doomed and My Body as a Shield. If his monsters do fall, he relies on Monster Reborn and Soul Charge to bring them back.
One of Rafael’s core strategies is using Guardian Treasure to accelerate his draws. His Guardian monsters require the appropriate Equip Spell to be present on the field before they can be summoned, and he often equips them to Backup Gardna first, then transfers the Equip Spell to its corresponding Guardian. His unwavering attachment to his monsters defines his dueling style, leading him to use numerous Spell and Trap Cards to shield them from harm.
Rafael’s strongest card is Guardian Eatos, which he can Special Summon if he has no monsters in his Graveyard. However, when Eatos was destroyed in his rematch against Yami Yugi, Rafael summoned Guardian Dreadscythe—a dark, corrupted version of Eatos that symbolized the darkness in his heart. Under the influence of The Seal of Orichalcos, Rafael sacrificed his other Guardians to strengthen Dreadscythe, betraying his usual philosophy as his obsession with defeating Yami Yugi overrode his bond with his monsters. Unlike his usual willingness to sacrifice himself to protect his Guardians, Dreadscythe forced him to discard a card to prevent its own destruction, enslaving him to its power.
Once Dreadscythe was destroyed and the darkness within him was purged, Rafael returned to his original beliefs. In his final act, he used Soul Charge to resurrect his fallen Guardians at the cost of his own remaining Life Points, symbolizing his remorse.
Unlike his fellow Doma Duelists, Rafael was hesitant to use The Seal of Orichalcos. In his first match against Yami Yugi, rather than playing it himself, he tricked Yami into activating it using Exchange. This suggests he may have feared its corrupting influence, knowing firsthand how drastically it could alter a person’s nature.
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