The Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh community is taking a long, hard look at itself after a player says the event stank so hard she had to leave

Yugi holding cards while stink lines come out of him. — (Image credit: Konami)

Imagine being worried that you'd upset someone at an event so much they left, only to find out it was actually because the venue (and probably you too) stank so bad they couldn't handle it anymore. That's what happened at a recent Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh event, which has gone viral on Twitter after one player revealed she couldn't stand to be in such a pungent environment.

As reported by ComicBook, it started when one Japanese player who attended the event tweeted about his experience interacting with a woman who was also there to compete. According to a machine translation, she had revealed it was her first time there but left soon after, prompting the player to wonder if it was because she'd lost.

Turns out that, uh, wasn't quite the case. The woman in question came to Twitter to reveal that her leaving had nothing to do with losing or her interaction with the other player, but because of how bad the stench was inside the card shop. "I left halfway through because I couldn't stand the smell," she tweeted. "It's not like I lost or was sad."

Bit awkward. When someone responded to tell her how funny they thought it was, she replied saying "It smelled so bad it was no laughing matter." When another user said "No wonder the number of female duelists aren't increasing," she replied with "There are some stinky female duelists, but the men are in a class of their own."

A tweet from @Madoka_ygo translated from Japanese to English. — (Image credit: @Madoka_ygo via Twitter)

The stench-y claims made their way back to the original tweeter, who was quick to hop on the defensive. "I think I'm okay because I take a bath every day," he tweeted. "Saying that people who play Yu-Gi-Oh! stink is a prejudice […] In the past, the smell was a problem, so we took measures such as installing commercial air purifiers. I've heard that the smell has improved since then, so I think there have been some results."

He continued his rebuttal by claiming "The accounts of those who are saying it stinks also don't seem to be related to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game. I think they're just jumping on the bandwagon. I think it's fine because the smell isn't noticeable in actual card shops."

Now listen. I worked in a secondhand game and electronics store for a number of years. I've attended a good handful of gaming events, expos and tournaments in my life. I've been subjected to the dreaded Gamer Stank that will be familiar to so many and it can definitely be ripe. It can also be completely undetectable to those who are actively stewing in it, as many replies to the original tweeter's defence point out.

Is it a sweeping generalisation to say all gamers who are part of a particular TCG or videogame community stink? Absolutely. Do I sincerely believe the woman left the event because her nostrils couldn't take a battering anymore? As someone who's had to do the same in the past, totally.

While it's unfortunate for both the offending pongy players and the woman who felt it was so bad she had to leave, I can't help but have a little giggle about it all. It doesn't appear that the event was a competitive tournament, rather just a casual event, so no money or potential victories were lost. Maybe just give your armpits a quick whiff next time you walk into a shop or tournament venue.

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.