Alexis Rhodes, also known as Asuka Tenjoin in the Japanese version, resides as the only female character present in the main cast for all four seasons of GX. Unlike Téa Gardner (Anzu Mazaki), the only female central character of the previous Yu-Gi-Oh anime, Alexis considers herself a duelist and plays Duel Monsters throughout the show.
GX introduces Alexis as a representative of Obelisk Blue, Duel Academy’s highest ranked class, specifically the “pride of the Blue girls.” She has composure and refinement in common with the other elite girls, but her skills as a duelist set her apart. Although all female students of Duel Academy enroll in Obelisk by default, their high rank does not necessarily reflect dueling prowess. Indeed, Blair’s profile in the video game Tag Force 2 states that “all female students, regardless of their academic achievements, live there.”
Mindy and Jasmine, the only other recurring girls from Obelisk, never have a full length duel on-screen. Rather than discuss Duel Monsters with their classmates, they talk about boys they find attractive. Their Japanese names Momoe Hamaguchi and Junko Makurada reference famous retired idols Momoe Yamaguchi and Junko Sakurada, who debuted in the 1970s and rose to prominence in Hana no Chu 3 Trio (“The Trio of Third-Year Junior High School Students”) along with Masako Mori. Yamaguchi and Sakurada retired from show business to become homemakers and mothers at ages 21 and 34 respectively, coinciding with their marriages, suggesting Mindy and Jasmine will eventually also prioritize marriage and motherhood over dueling. (After GX aired, Junko Sakurada made a career comeback in 2013.)
In the Japanese version of episode 90, a male professional duelist named Sommelier Parker (Maitre D) insults Momoe (Mindy) and Junko (Jasmine) with “duels, to you, are like making tea and arranging flowers. Just one more skill you learn to land a husband.” Japan has a history of women training in ikebana (flower arranging) or tea ceremony for “cultural enrichment.” This similarity to our real world suggests that rich families enroll their daughters in Duel Academy to make them more coveted for heteronormative marriage. In the world of Yu-Gi-Oh that economically, socially, and culturally revolves around a card game; girls can attend schools for dueling to acquire a status symbol rather than to go pro.
Alexis takes Mindy and Jasmine’s place in the duel against Maitre D to prove the worth of Obelisk girls, but GX never goes further to show her classmates as just as capable as her. By not including them in duels, the writers of GX failed to characterize Mindy and Jasmine as duelists. The only other girl from Obelisk with a full on-screen duel appears only once and loses, in episode 56 when Syrus Truesdale defeats Missy for the right to be promoted from Ra. By keeping girls in Obelisk regardless of skill or performance (with the exception of Blair), the writers of GX leave no room for them to grow as duelists by rising through the dorms like Syrus. Their inert place in Obelisk also leaves them without motivation for their stay, whereas Jaden Yuki chooses to remain in Slifer because of his disengagement from hierarchy and Bastion Misawa doesn’t ascend to Obelisk out of respect for Jaden.
Alexis emerges as the only exceptional duelist among the Obelisk girls due to her gender variance: her interest in a field associated with men. She blends masculinity and femininity by participating in the patriarchal world of dueling, while exclusively using female monsters that reflect her gender. The body types of her “Cyber Girl” cards range from the lithe “Cyber Tutu” to the brawny “Cyber Gymnast,” showing women come in different shapes and sizes. The writers of GX portray her paradoxically as epitomizing the girls of Duel Academy, while distinguishing her from the rest of the girls by excelling in a male-dominated field. Unlike her dorm mates, Alexis has a passion for Duel Monsters that makes her an exceptional player fully devoted to the game.
In fact, she describes herself as “in love with dueling” in episode 47. Much later, episode 137 reveals through a nightmare created by Darkness that she plans to become a Duel Academy professor. In episode 161, Junko (Jasmine) and Momoe (Mindy) discuss their plans to become lecturers at a Duel Kids School. Their choice in career compared to Syrus and Chazz Princeton heading into professional dueling paints competitive Duel Monsters as a space only for men, while women take on nurturing roles, but Alexis nonetheless devotes her future to the game. In the present, multiple of her focal episodes involve male characters professing their love for her and dueling for her hand, only to be defeated so she remains single. Jaden epitomizes dueling for fun and doesn’t enforce gender roles on girls, which endears Alexis to him in a way no other male character ever could. By the end of the series, she shows possible romantic interest in him, who by that time has fused with Yubel and transcended binary gender.
Boys and girls alike notice Alexis’s physical features–her double eyelids, long straight hair, large chest, etc.–and assume she has stereotypically feminine tastes and heteronormative interests to “match” according to gender norms. For example, multiple characters mistake her and Zane for a couple when they actually have a platonic bond. In actuality, Alexis disrupts the heterosexual matrix by rejecting boys that attempt to court her. Other characters encourage if not fantasize about her in dresses and makeup, which results in a sort of “having their cake and eating it too” fanservice. It would be out of character for Alexis to swoon, flirt, or wear dresses; but GX nonetheless depicts her that way for the audience’s “viewing pleasure” through the loophole of other characters’ imaginations (particularly through Chazz).
In actuality, the few times Alexis appears out of uniform she wears shorts and avoids more overtly feminine clothing. In episode 64, her sleepwear includes shorts. In episode 161, she fondly looks at a photo of herself at the beach in swim trunks and a hoodie. In episode 42, she only dresses up as a revealing Harpie Lady at the request of Syrus and doesn’t want her photo taken in it. In a scene cut from the English version, Sho (Syrus) gets on his hands and knees to ask, showing how much she would prefer not to. In episode 56 after Alexis complains about Crowler forcing her to wear a dress, Syrus seemingly takes that to heart and imagines her in a suit instead in his nightmare scenario of his friends leaving him behind. When Fubuki (Atticus) asks if she dislikes the low-cut cocktail dress he’s prepared for her showbiz debut in episode 60, she says that’s part of the reason she doesn’t want to be an idol in the Japanese version. She also objects to being called feminine stage names like “Sissy” or “Asurin” by her brother, preferring her gender neutral full name in both languages.
Alexis may wear a miniskirt for 99% of her screen time, but her clothing doesn’t differ from the other female students. While characters like Hassleberry or Blair express their personalities through modified uniforms, Alexis wears the standard. Her clothing instead embodies her permanent presence in Obelisk, the same as Jaden for Slifer or Bastion for Ra, in contrast with Chazz who oscillates between dorms and changes his look accordingly. Compared to how Missy bares her midriff and wears dress shoes to enhance her femininity, Alexis’s attire actually speaks to an indifference. If GX had shown her more out of uniform, perhaps we would know more about Alexis’s personal gender expression.
Instead, we know more about how others want her to look. Alexis continually rejects the femininity and heteronormativity forced on her by classmates, friends, and family. The characters do not act this way with Blair, another girl duelist, because she neatly fits into the heterosexual matrix. With Alexis, they enforce gender roles as if she “wastes” her beauty by focusing on a trading card game rather than traditionally feminine pursuits like dating or singing. Although not particularly masculine, other characters discourage her gender variance the way society discourages tomboyism in real life.
In season 2, Crowler and Atticus insist on her becoming an idol, a type of youthful musical performer in Japan “meant to inspire those who see them to follow the path and the message they spread through their image, lifestyles and their aspirations.” As with many real world idols, Crowler and Atticus craft a feminine image for her. Alexis has no desire to be an idol or wife, instead wielding dancing-themed monsters and wedding-themed spell cards to symbolize Duel Monsters as her stage and the love of her life.
Next time, we’ll look at how Alexis responds to Atticus forcing gender norms onto her.
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