Yu-Gi-Oh!'s best filler arc, Waking the Dragons, actually had a major impact on its main character, the Pharaoh. This character growth makes this filler arc one of the best storylines of the show. While many of the other arcs in Yu-Gi-Oh! feature epic duels, few actually delve into who the Pharaoh is without his vessel Yugi.

The protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! is ostensibly Yugi, but whenever the young boy gets into a serious situation, his alter ego of the Pharaoh is released from the mystical Millennium Puzzle he wears around his neck. This can make it a bit hard to distinguish where Yugi's character ends and the Pharaoh begins. Part of this is clearly intentional, as the Pharaoh and Yugi greatly influence each other over the course of the series. But this can also make it difficult for the show to give the Pharaoh or Yugi much specific character development that they don't go through together. Waking the Dragons solved that problem in a brilliant way.

Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Waking the Dragons Filler Arc Actually Impacted the Pharaoh

Waking the Dragons is the 4th season of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, taking place after Yugi and his friends defeat Marik and reclaim the Egyptian God Cards. In it, an ancient cult rises up and begins stealing people's souls with a powerful card known as the Seal of Orichalcos. Yugi and the Pharaoh suffer one of their few losses in the series against the cult member Rafael, causing Yugi's soul to become trapped. This forces the Pharaoh to take down the cult without Yugi by his side, while also working through his guilt over causing Yugi's soul to be trapped. This season showed the series' most stoic character at his most vulnerable, which is what makes his development here so compelling.

Yu-Gi-Oh! would go on to further develop the Pharaoh's character in the coming arcs like The Dawn of the Duel, which featured the characters traveling back to the past when he ruled Egypt. This character development would then ultimately have a cathartic payoff in Yugi and the Pharaoh's final duel at the end of the series. But those arcs were actually in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga while Waking the Dragons was not, making it an anime-exclusive "filler". In addition, Waking the Dragons has arguably a larger impact on the Pharaoh's character than those other arcs, with stunning moments like the Pharaoh wishing he had taken Yugi's place or delivering an unhinged, grief-fueled beat down on Weevil hearkening back to the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga's original monstrous depiction of him.

Waking the Dragons Is A Hidden Yu-Gi-Oh! Gem

While it may not be ed as fondly as other arcs like Duelist Kingdom or Battle City, Waking the Dragons rightfully deserves to be considered one of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s best arcs for how it explores the Pharaoh's character. Outside the Pharaoh, it also features other great subplots such as Kaiba having to reckon with his company's legacy of arms dealing and Mai dealing with the trauma caused by her loss against Marik. Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Waking the Dragons arc is proof that filler arcs can have interesting and impactful plots and character development.