by Many of the most iconic cards in Yugioh! – Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Summoned Skull, Buster Blader – originated in in the begging of the game in the manga and anime. This is also true for Jinzo, the bid, bad, mean, green, machine himself! This iconic, classic boss monster was released in 2000 (OCG), and since then, it has been used in many different decks for its powerful Trap negation effect. But, who is Jinzo? What is Jinzo? What is his story? Let’s delve into the past of this cybertronic nightmare!
The Card
First, let’s look at the card itself. Jinzo is a Level 6 DARK Machine monster with 2400 ATK and 1500 DEF. It’s effect is simple, yet deadly: “Trap Cards, and their effects on the field, cannot be activated. Negate all Trap effects on the field.” This one-line effect is a total floodgate for traps – both yours and your opponent’s. This effect can totally shut down entire strategies, and prevents your opponent from activating any Traps and Trap Effects. In the early days of Yugioh!, this was a very powerful effect, as Traps played a big part of the game.
The Archetype
Over time, Jinzo was given additional support in the form of its own archetype. This archetype includes Jinzo – Returner, Jinzo – Lord, Jinzo – Jector, Jinzo the Machine Menace, Jinzo – Layered, Psychic Megacyber, Psychic Bounder, Psychic Wave, Law of the Cosmos, Everlasting Alloy, Cyber Energy Shock, Amplifier and technically Jinzo #7. These cards all center around Jinzo himself, Trap negation, and even stealing your opponent’s monsters. These cards all blend machines and psychic energies into one theme.
The Legend
What is Jinzo, and who is he? Jinzo is a cybernetic being, part human, part machine who possesses great psychic powers. It is unclear whether Jinzo was created by an outside force, or if he was once a human who altered his own form by outfitting himself with cybernetic implants. Some argue that Jinzo was part of a larger project, one part of a line of machines. They site Jinzo # 7 as a prototype version of Jinzo. However, I would argue that these two cards are not actually related. You see, Jinzo’s name in Japanese is Jinzōningen – Saiko Shokkā, or Android – Psycho Shocker. The name Jinzo is derived from that name. Jinzo # 7, which was actually released before Jinzo, seems more like a “generic” android, whereas Jinzo himself seems to be a unique entity.
Appearances
Jinzo was used by Espa Roba in the Battle City arch, it being his ace monster. Espa was a self-proclaimed psychic, using machine monsters in his deck and mind controlling effects. He used Jinzo in a duel against Joey Wheeler. Roba claimed he could read Joey’s mind and see his cards, but he was actually using a radio to communicate with his brothers who were watching the duel with binoculars. Espa lost that duel.
While Jinzo appeared as a threatening card in Battle City, he appeared in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX as a very real threat! In GX, we are introduced to Card Spirits, like Yubel, Winged Kuriboh, and the Ojama. Jinzo, too is a Card Spirit, but a malevolent one. His goal was to become fully part of the material world by stealing the souls of humans. Torrey, Isaka, and Mukouda wanted to summon the Spirit of Jinzo, and they did this with a Ouija Board. Jinzo demanded three sacrifices to be called. The students assumed he meant cards as sacrifices, but he was actually have their souls. Torrey finally realized this and ran to the Slifer Red dorm, running into Jaden Yuki and Professor Lyman Banner. They hear Torrey’s story and help. After a massive power outage, they locate the partially materialized Jinzo. Jaden challenges the machine menace to a duel, and after a long and arduous battle, Jaden came out on top and Jinzo was defeated.
Classic Yugioh! monsters tend to gain new waves of support from time, so it is possible that we have not seen the last of this cyber psychic…
