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| Téa Gardner |
Téa Gardner is a major supporting character in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and Manga series, where she serves as the leading female role and the best friend and eventual love interest of the main protagonist Yugi Muto. She is a beautiful young adult woman who accompanies him and their friends on a series of adventures around the world. Ironically, while her overall skills at Duel Monsters are pretty lackluster, despite this, Téa has never lost to an opponent even when her life depended on it. She is skilled in athletics and dancing, her dream is to go to a dancing college in NYC after she graduates from high school. Throughout both the anime and manga she struggles with confessing her feelings to Yugi, as her love for him grows.
Appearance[]
As noted by a number of characters throughout the series as well as most real-life fans of the series, Téa is a very attractive young woman. She is a 5'5 Caucasian 16-year-old slim girl with a weight of 47 kilograms with blue eyes (Darker under Marik's control), brown hair and light skin. Téa’s hair is shown to be very thick with it being divided into multiple layers with her large side bangs almost reaching down to her shoulders, keeping her ears largely out of sight. Her hair also possesses a difference in coloring in certain areas, with the very top being light brown while the inner parts, along with her forehead and side bangs, taking on a slightly lighter hue.
For clothing, she sometimes can be seen wearing a buttoned light-green tank top with a big yellow collar, jean-short shorts with a light-blue belt that possesses a large buckle in the center. While wearing these, she always keeps her shirt firmly tucked into her shorts. In addition, her tank top lacks any sleeves, revealing her shoulders while also exposing the area around her armpits. Extending all the way up to her thighs are elegant white cotton stockings with two blue platform shoes at the bottom, each with two sets of buckled straps that go over the tops of her feet. Finally, she wears two sets of colorful bracelets on each wrist, the first on each being light blue and the second being a very bright shade of pink. The bracelets on her right hand are shown to be solid plastic bracelets while the left hand's bracelets are flappy rubber.
She also can sometimes be seen with a beige handbag usually carried on her left side. After being kidnapped by the Rare Hunter organization, however, the bag was confiscated by the criminals following her attempt to escape alongside Mokuba. In addition, during her Duel with Adrian Randolph Crump III with the Duel Monster "Nightmare Penguin" as his Deck Master, Téa was gifted with a standard Domino City-styled Duel Disk for the first time ever. During this duel, the disk was placed on her left wrist, temporarily replacing the two pink and blue bracelets located there at the time, while her other arm maintained its respective bracelets. After she defeated Crump, the Duel Disk vanished, restoring her left arm’s wrist bracelets.
After her first encounter with the Hitotsu-Me Giants, she received a small blemish under her left cheek from the Hitotsu-Me Giant Leader, though it eventually faded away during her escape from their cave. Also, as demonstrated while she was being carried by the leader throughout the canyon; when upside down, Téa’s unique hair takes on a radically different appearance that leaves her almost unrecognizable. When upside down, all the layers of her hair combine together into a single large mass pointing directly above her head. During this time, the darker inward portions of her hair are located at the very top of where it’s falling, while the portions with a much lighter hue are located more towards the bottom and around the back of her head. In addition to her hair being styled this way, it leaves her forehead and ears exposed, which were kept hidden when it was upright.
In the Japanese version and the U.S.A. dub (particularly in the sub), Tea's breasts are sometimes separated from each other in extremely rare instances (though they are still together other times).
Virtual World[]
Téa screams in terror as she falls through the portal
As the blimp traveled to the Dual Tower, it was sucked into an underground lair, by Noah Kaiba. Téa along with Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Duke Devlin, Serenity, Mokuba and Seto Kaiba emerge from the blimp to investigate. Here they are sucked into the Virtual World. The gang encounter Noah and the Big Five, all of whom seek revenge on Seto Kaiba and require a body to return to the real world. In order to do this, they intend on defeating the protagonists in individual duels before downloading their consciousnesses into their bodies in the real world. The Big Five then separate them all, sending them to different environments in the virtual world. Some are sent in groups while others are sent individually. Téa is among those sent individually, being completely separated from all her friends.
Téa awakens to find herself alone in the canyon of a desert landscape.
When she awakens, she finds herself in a rocky canyon, in some sort of desert, surrounded by huge rock formations. Examining the location, Téa begins to walk deeper into the barren valley hoping that she can find someone, particularly her friends. She spends several minutes walking down the gorge’s path, the hot sun pounding down on her. Tea's journey through the Virtual World has begun.
Téa walking in the canyon, hoping to find her friends.
After some time, she call’s out “Hello, anyone out there”. The only reply she receives however, is the echo of her voice along with slightly blowing wind and the sound of her bottom-platform sandals trudging on the rocky ground. “Where am I?” she questions out loud. After walking for a few more seconds, examining the canyon around her as she does, Téa takes a minute to stop.
Téa being stalked by the Hitotsu-Me Giant hunters.
After a minute she begins walking again but out loudly notes how her eerie surroundings are creeping her out before questioning where everyone else is. Right after she starts moving again, a strange humanoid creature silently watches her from behind a nearby rock formation. In its hand is a large stone axe.
No longer hiding, Hitotsu-Me Giants corner Téa in the canyon.
Unaware of this creature’s presence, Téa continues walking while complaining about how hot it is in the gorge. As she walks Téa looks down to the ground, deep in thought about where her friends are and how to get out of the canyon. Her thinking is soon interrupted, when she hears the sounds of rocks falling off one of canyon’s cliffs to her right. Téa looks up to see the beast that has been watching her but is unable to get a good look at it from its distance. Realizing Téa has seen it, the creature quickly retreats behind one of the rock formations.
Téa spots the Hitotsu-Me Giant leader stalking her from the cliff.
Téa is clearly startled by the unknown creature, openly questioning what it was she just saw. To her horror, the creature shows up again along with 3 others just like it. They are revealed to be 4 Hitotsu-Me Giants, wearing cavemen like wraps and tunics made from animal skins. The one Téa first saw, the leader of the others, watches her from the right-side cliff, wielding a large stone axe. Téa is cornered by the beasts, but yet they still do not make their move against their prey. They instead anxiously watch her from a distance, waiting to make their move.
Téa trying to stay calm as she backs away slowly from the Hitotsu-Me Giants.
Though she is scared, Téa attempts to stay calm and find a way to make it out safely...alive. She nervously thinks to herself “Just stay calm and back up slowly”. She slowly takes a step back hoping not to anger the beasts into attacking her. Her plan immediately ends in disaster, however, as with her first step back, the back tip of her right sandal steps and flings a large pebble off the ground. The noise provokes the giants’ leader, causing him to roar in fury, signaling his pack to attack.
The giants' leader jumping to attack Téa after she accidentally provokes them with her attempted escape.
He begins by jumping off the cliff and hurling his axe in the air, sending it spinning seemingly towards Téa. In truth, however, the leader is merely distracting Téa while his second-in-command sneaks off to the rock formations to Téa’s left. Once the leader and the other two giants go after Téa, they will drive her towards the rock formations where the second-in-command will be hiding, waiting for Téa to come his way so he can ambush her.
Téa's face being cut by the rocks thrown from the leader's attack.
In the meantime, the Leader’s attack seems to have failed as his axe lands a few feet behind Téa. She does not escape unscathed, however. The axe strikes the ground with such fury and force that it unleashes a storm of pebble-sized but pointy rocks into the air. One is sent towards Téa’s direction and strikes her face. It leaves her with a small gash under her left eye. As the leader lands several feet behind her, Téa reels from the pain of her cut, moaning in pain as she puts her hand on her left cheek to cover the small gash (In the U.S.A. dub, Tea's cut was censored due to brutal violence). This only lasts a second however, as one of the other giants takes a step further towards her.
Despite the pain of her cut, Téa makes a desperate attempt to flee from the giants.
Upon noticing this, Téa makes a run for it, running to her left where she believes there is a gap for her to escape. Seeing that she is running towards the formations where, to Téa’s ignorance, lies his second-in-command, the leader retrieves his axe and orders his pack to give chase; his plan working perfectly. As she runs from her cyclops pursuers, Téa yells with all her voice “help me, someone!”. Only herself and the giants hear her frantic plea; no one will rescue her from the monsters. Though they give chase, Téa manages to stay well ahead of the three Hitotsu-Me Giants pursuing her.
Téa fleeing from the Hitotsu-Me Giants, unaware that she falling into their trap.
However, the final phase of the Leader’s plan comes to fruition as Téa has finally been driven towards the rocks where his second in command is hiding. With her arrival, the second-in-command emerges from behind the rocks, right in front of Téa. In surprise at the beast’s sudden appearance, Téa stops dead in her tracks before looking up at the second-in-command as he towers several feet above her.
Téa cornered by the hidden Hitotsu-Me Giant, in her final moments before being knocked unconscious.
With the cyclops mere inches from touching her, the others arriving from behind, Téa is left helpless, her body petrified with fear, and can only look up at the second-in-command murderously staring down at her. Mere seconds after surprising her, the second-in-command raises his right arm high into the air before bringing it down on the horrified Téa. With this single blow, Téa is brought to the ground, her unconscious body falling before the second-in-command’s feet (This scene was censored in all countries around the world due to its graphic content).
Téa, with her beautiful hair hanging upside down, being carried off by Hitotsu-Me Giant leader as he leads the pack through the canyon
With his plan successful and their hunt complete, the Leader arrives and grabs Téa off the rocky ground. With the others watching closely, the leader throws the unconscious girl atop his right shoulder, with his right arm locked across her white socking-covered legs as he continued to hold his axe in the other. The Leader then orders his comrades to follow him, as he leads them down the gorge’s path in the direction Téa was originally walking. For over an hour the giants march through the gorge, with the leader in front, with the second-in-command to his right, while the other two follow closely behind them. Téa remains out-cold for the entire journey, her dense-brown hair falling completely upside down as her upper body hangs down the Leader’s back.
The leader throwing his lovely captive onto her "bed".
Eventually, the giants arrive at their home, a large cave inside of a tall hill. Only two ways in or out, a large hole in the ceiling that leads to the top of the hill and an entrance at the base of the hill. The Giants walk through the base entrance, passing by the skeletal remains of the animals they previously hunted and eaten. Once inside, the giants put their weapons away, but before they get situated, they tend to their motionless prey. After putting his axe down, the leader and two others climbs the stall stone pillar at the center of the cave overlooking the den. Once atop, he throws the beautiful and young teenaged woman off his shoulder down onto its flat surface.
Téa moaning and squirming in agony after the leader throws her onto her "bed".
Immediately upon landing on the solid rock “bed” the giants have given her to sleep on, Téa unleashes a loud and painful groan. Reeling from the pain of her hard landing and quite uncomfortable on the rocky bed, the sleeping Téa moans and squirms in agony, her fists tightening, her legs brought up to her waist, and her face clearly showing her discomfort. The giants, however, are amused by their captive’s struggling, gleefully watching as they loom above her, their single red eyes glowing. Soon after, they climb down the structure leaving Téa asleep on top while they mingle down in their den below.
Téa trapped atop the stone shelf.
Hours pass and Téa continues to lie down on the stone surface of the shelf. Eventually a drop of water drips down from a stalactite and lands on Téa’s face, right where the cut is. The sting causes her to mumble before slowly opening her eyes. Upon awakening, Téa slowly realizes her surroundings, having forgotten how she came to the cave. Speaking out loud, she questions on how she will be able to get out.
Téa awakening after the drops of water hit her scar.
As she speaks, the sound of a growl can be heard echoing throughout the cave. Still unable to remember, Téa questions what the sound was. Down below her, the giants are lurking, with the leader being the first to notice that Téa has awakened. Seeing her with her eyes open, the beast gives her a menacing stare and growl, shocking her into remembering how she was attacked by the Hitotsu-Me Giants in the gorge and how the leader carried her to the cave.
Trapped on the shelf, Téa can do nothing but watch her cyclops captors in their den.
Gasping at the sight of the Hitotsu-Me Giant that gave her the cut, Téa soon winces in pain as the cut continues to slightly bleed (In the U.S.A. dub, Tea's wound simply starts stinging her). With seemingly no way out of the cave, Téa is forced to lie on the shelf as the giants continue to lurk down below. Believing she cannot escape, the leader orders the pack to leave her be for the time being and go about their business.
Téa climbing out of the cave on a loose vine.
An hour passes as Téa can still do nothing but watch her Cyclops kidnappers down below. Eventually, they bring out a huge cauldron filled with water, that start to boil over a fireplace. Téa then realizes why the beasts had knocked her out and brought her to their lair: to turn her into a meal for them to eat. Now desperate, Téa searches for a way to escape, and discovers that the only way for her to get out, is through a large hole through the cave’s roof. She finds a loose vine and then begins climbing out of the giants’ pit.
The Hitotsu-Me Giants screech in anger upon realizing Téa is escaping.
About halfway out however, her platform shoes kick down some rocks from the cave walls. The sound alerts the giants to her attempts to flee, causing them to swing their clubs and axes in fury at her. Téa begins to hurry upon realizing they are aware of her attempt to flee. She makes it to the top, just about out of breath.
Téa climbing out of the entrance to the Hitotsu-Me Giants' cave.
Upon reaching the top Téa takes a second of relief and near exhaustion, lying down on the ground taking huge breaths. Her break is over however, when she sees that the cyclopes are halfway out of the cave. She then makes a run for her life, gaining much headway before the giants are able to reach the top. Among the first of the beasts to reach the top, is the leader’s second-in-command, the very giant that knocked Téa unconscious during their first encounter.
Téa’s second close-call with the axe of a Hitotsu-Me Giant
Now armed with an axe, he throws it at Téa in order to prevent her from escaping. Like before, the axe barely misses her, instead landing mere inches before her feet. Having just barely been missed by the weapon, Téa ushers a loud “whoa” as it makes contact.
Once again fleeing from the Hitotsu-Me Giants.
Left shocked for a second, she then continues running in fright as the giants chase after her. The frightened girl shouts at the cyclopes to leave her alone as they continue to chase her. Thankfully, she manages to outrun them and almost completely loses them.
Téa trapped at a dead end.
But then she comes to a full stop when encounters a dead end in the form of a large ravine with a raging river down below. Cornered, Téa frantically looks for a way to escape as the giants close in on her position. Some ways away is a rickety old rope-bridge for her to cross. She runs to it but does not cross due to her fear of heights. Unwilling to cross at first and the giants halfway to her, Téa for a moment gives into despair and gives up hope.
Téa crossing the bridge as the Hitotsu-Me Giants follow closely behind.
Through the memory of her friends however, Téa regains her composure and begins to cross the bridge. Still possessing a fear of heights, she is unable to steadily cross it, attempting not to look down, but eventually does so. What’s worse, she is not even halfway across when the Hitotsu-Me Giants finally arrive at the bridge and begin crossing after her, with the second-in-command leading the way. Téa once again orders them to stay away and leave her alone, with no success.
While her cyclops captors fall to their deaths, Téa manages to hold onto the surging portion of the bridge.
The bridge then begins to give out under weight as the giants are mere feet away from getting her again. With the situation getting worse, Téa screams out with all her might for someone to help her as she slowly attempts to get across the bridge once again. Soon after, the combined weight of the girl and the giants causes the bridge to give out and break in half. Téa screams as she begins to fall but manages to hang onto a surviving half of the bridge that hangs from the cliff. Her cyclops kidnappers are not so lucky, as they fall into the river below and drown.
Téa climbing up the remainder of the bridge to safety.
With the monsters dead, Téa begins climbing to safety, and eventually makes it to the top and but almost immediately passes out from exhaustion.