Espa Roba, known as Esper Roba in the Japanese version, is a Duelist who claims to have ESP. In reality he is a fraud who uses his younger brothers to spy on and reply back to him the cards in his opponent's hand, thus allowing him to 'predict' the opponent's strategies almost before they perform them.
Design
Voice/Mannerisms
In the Singaporean English dub of the anime, Espa Roba has a Spanish or Hispanic accent.
Etymology
Both his English and Japanese names are derived from extrasensory perception, or ESP for short.
Biography
Espa made his first appearance in a cameo in Battle City and has made several ever since.
Espa was a young Duelist who entered Battle City to uphold his reputation and protect his younger brothers. He was first shown defeating Rex Raptor and taking "Serpent Night Dragon". Rex advised Joey Wheeler not to Duel Espa on the grounds that his psychic abilities allowed him to read all the cards in his hand. With an air of self-confidence, Joey accepted the Duel.
Although Espa initially gained an advantage due to the fact he knew what cards were in Joey's hand and on his field, Joey inferred what was happening and attempted to confuse his watchers from above by putting the cards "Skull Dice" and "Graceful Dice" close to each other.
Mokuba Kaiba eventually discovered the source of Espa's "psychic" abilities; his brothers spied upon Joey's hand from upon a high rise building. However, the brothers pleaded with Mokuba to let Espa continue with the Duel, stating that he was a strong Duelist despite his cheating ways.
The psychic front was to build an impression of an unbeatable Duelist and thus deflected any abuse that was usually heaped upon Espa and his brothers, they were heavily bullied due to being carnival folk before. To Mokuba, this situation paralleled his brotherly relationship with his older brother, Seto and he let Espa continue the Duel. Due to this, Espa's psychic reputation was tarnished, but he continued his Duel with Joey nevertheless.
Espa eventually Summoned "Jinzo", who severely crippled Joey's overall strategy. Finally, Joey activated "Roulette Spider" which forced "Jinzo" to attack a random card on the field, "Jinzo" attacked "Reflect Bounder", who then reflected the assault back on "Jinzo", destroying them both, causing Espa to lose the Duel.
Due to the Battle City regulations, Espa forfeited his rarest card, "Jinzo", to Joey upon his defeat and commented that he was ready to stand up for his brothers without cheating.
He was later seen observing the semifinal match between Yugi and Kaiba in Domino City amongst other Duelists.
Espa made a cameo in the Japanese epilogue, appearing to challenge Mako Tsunami to a Duel.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, a parody of him named Esper Rouba is listed as one the Duelists defeated by Hunter Pace.[1]
Other appearances
Deck
Anime
Espa Roba plays a Psycho Deck, relying on Machine-Type monsters and Magic and Trap cards that allow him to manipulate enemy monsters. His key card is "Jinzo", which he strengthens with "Amplifier".
Video games
Dark Duel Stories (Duel Monsters III: Tri-Holy God Advent)
- Hinotama x3
- Invigoration x3
- Machine Conversion Factory x3
- Red Medicine x3
Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelist
The Sacred Cards (Duel Monsters 7: The Duelcity Legend)
- Bat x3
- Hane-Hane x3
- Jinzo #7 x3
- Kattapillar x3
- LaLa Li-Oon x3
- Lightning Conger x3
- Magician of Faith x3
- Steel Scorpion x3
- Swordsman from a Foreign Land x3
- The Unhappy Maiden x3
- Kaminarikozou x3
- Zone Eater x3
Duel Monsters 8: Reshef of Destruction
World Championship 2004 Deck
Espa's Decks usually focus on Summoning "Jinzo".
- Fire Eye
- Flying Fish
- Happy Lover
- Kagemusha of the Blue Flame
- Kageningen
- Kumootoko
- Launcher Spider
- Lunar Queen Elzaim
- Machine Attacker
- Man Eater
- Man-Eating Plant
- Mechaleon
- Meda Bat
- Midnight Fiend
- Obese Marmot of Nefariousness
- Ocubeam
- Rainbow Marine Mermaid
- Rock Ogre Grotto #2
- Ryu-Ran
- Sleeping Lion
- Spike Seadra
- Tenderness
- The Wandering Doomed
- Yashinoki
The Dawn of Destiny
Nightmare Troubadour
Decks
- Amplifier x2
- Mesmeric Control x3
- Mind Control x3
- Mind Wipe x2
- Pot of Greed
- Senri Eye x2
- Altar for Tribute x2
- Mind Haxorz x2
- The Eye of Truth x3
Deck Recipe
Duels
Opponent(s) | Episode(s) | Outcome(s) |
---|---|---|
Rex Raptor | 58 | Win |
Joey Wheeler | 58-59 | Lose |
Mako Tsunami | 224 | Not shown |
References
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's episode 1: "On Your Mark, Get Set, DUEL!"
Notes
- ↑ This card was played as a Normal Monster. It is an Effect Monster in the TCG/OCG.
- ↑ This card was played as a Trap Card. It is a Spell Card in the TCG/OCG.
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