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Everyone’s favorite handtraps: the Yugioh Ghost Girls! These cute and deadly little girls haunt every duelist with their nasty effects and deceivingly harmless cuteness. While these cards could be considered an archetype, they do not actually play as an archetype, but are rather a set of cards with a shared theme and similar effects. Let’s take a look at these spooky, scary, ghostly girls!
Yo-kai
The Ghost Girls in Yugioh!, sometimes called the Yo-kai Girls, are exactly that: spirits or “ghosts.” In Japanese folklore, the Yo-kai are supernatural beings, spirits, monsters, demons, or paranormal entities like Kappa, Tengu, or Kitsune. They can range from malicious demons to playful tricksters. The six Ghost Girls of Yugioh! are based on Yo-kai, and each of them possess a name with a double meaning. This play on words in their names is more obvious (and arguably more creative) in the original Japanese than in the English translation.
In Japanese, each of the Yo-kai Girls have names that are a play on words, so to speak. Their names follow what is called ateji, a writing convention that often involves humorous wordplay. In the case of the Yo-kai Girls, this is used in the form of double meanings. Each girl has a name that is spelled one way, but is pronounced in a different way. For example, Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit‘s Japanese name is pronounced yukiusagi, which means “mountain hare” or literally, “snow rabbit.” But, the root for “snow”, is spelled using characters that represent “ghost” or “ogre.” This wordplay blurs the line between the two meanings. In the English translation, these cards are simply named “X & X” using both of their meanings.
The Cards
The cards themselves are all Level 3 Tuner Monsters with 0 ATK and 1800 DEF with different Attributes from each other. With the exception of Ghost Ogre, which is a Psychic, all of them are Zombie-type. Each of these cards are handtraps that discard themselves as cost, and each one deals with different locations or conditions. Check them out below!
- Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit
- Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring
- Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion
- Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill
- Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood
- Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries
The most enduring and popular of the Ghost Girls are Ash Blossom, Ghost Belle, and Ghost Ogre. These three have seen the most amount of competitive play, and often played in almost all Main Decks, or at least in the Side Deck, regardless of the deck played. And with so many different cards and effects that allow players to add cards from their Deck or GY to their Hands, Ash Blossom and Ghost Belle especially see tons of play!
So watch out for these spooky sisters, and approach these ghostly girlies with caution!
