Lyman Banner
Lyman Banner, known as Daitokuji (大徳寺) in Japan, is a fictional character in the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX in Japan). He is a teacher, and is therefore addressed as "Daitokuji-sensei" (大徳寺先生) in the Japanese version.
Character
Lyman Banner is the seemingly kind and caring professor of the Slifer Red (Osiris Red) dormitory at Duel Academy (Duel Academia). He watches over Jaden Yuki (Judai Yuki), Syrus Truesdale (Sho Marufuji), Chumley Huffington (Hayato Maeda), as well as the rest of the students who live there, and has a pet cat named Pharaoh. He teaches the alchemy class at the school, and often exaggerates the direness of situations. In the original version of the anime, he ends the majority of his sentences with "nya," which is Japanese cat onomatopeia.
Banner eventually revealed his true identity to be Amnael (アムナエル Amunaeru), a fabled alchemist who was the seventh and final member of the Shadow Riders (Seven Stars). When his connections to Atticus Rhodes (Fubuki Tenjouin) and other Obelisk Blue students who vanished in the abandoned Obelisk Blue dorm were revealed, Banner returned to his alchemic lab, which was situated in a secret cavern inside the dorm. As Amnael, he systematically defeated Alexis Rhodes (Asuka Tenjouin) and Chazz Princeton (Jun Manjoume) singlehandly, sealing them, along with Atticus, within his Shadow Charm, the Emerald Tablet. He guided Jaden to his lair with his sigil, then challenged him to a duel.
Finding his strategies locked down by Amnael's Elemental Absorber, Jaden gradually turned the tables on his opponent. Removing his mask, Amnael shocked Jaden and his friends with a startling revelation: their loving teacher had been one of their enemies all along.
Amnael unveiled the fact that his body was actually a homunculus made in his own image. While working towards creating the Philosopher's Stone, he was stricken with a fatal illness (The dub explains that he discovered an ancient tomb, and was cursed instead). To prolong his life, Banner developed the homunculus to transfer his soul into. His new body however, began to crumble, so Amnael resolved to joining the Shadow Riders in order to attain the power of the Sacred Beasts (Three Wicked Phantoms) to fulfill his dreams of creating the Philosopher's Stone, and use it to obtain immortality. After being defeated by Jaden, he gives him his Shadow Charm, and with it, the card, Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone. With that settled, Amnael's original mummified body and homunculus vessel dissolved into dust. From then on, his soul resides within Pharaoh's body.
Banner reappears to Jaden in episode 87, leading him to the location of the Ojama brothers before once again returning to his feline shell.
Card List
Amnael's deck theme is Alchemy and its relation to the universe. His main strategy relies mostly on the removal of his own cards from the game, supported by the special summoning of Alchemy Beasts, and the use of the Alchemic Processes.
Monster Cards
- Alchemy Beast - Salamandra the Steel (Alchemic Beast Iron Salamander)
- Alchemy Beast - Leon the Lead (Alchemic Beast Lead Lion)
- Alchemy Beast - Ouroboros the Bronze (Alchemic Beast Copper Ouroboros)
- Aqua Spirit (Water Spirit Aquaria)
- Alchemy Beast - Aitos the Tin (Alchemic Beast Tin Aitos)
- Alchemy Beast - Echeneis the Mercury (Alchemic Beast Mercury Echeneis)
- Alchemy Beast - Moonface the Silver (Alchemic Beast Silver Moonface)
- The Rock Spirit (Rock Spirit Titan)
- Golden Homunculus
- Garuda the Wind Spirit (Wind Spirit Garuda)
- Spirit of Flames (Fire Spirit Ifrit)
- Helios - The Primordial Sun (Primeval Sun - Helios)
- Helios Duo Megistus
- Helios Tris Megistus
Spell Cards
- Chaos Distill (Alchemic Kettle - Chaos Distill)
- Steel Lamp
- Bronze Scale
- Lead Compass
- Black Process - Negledo (Black Process Nigredo)
- Tin Spell Circle
- Mercury Hourglass
- Silver Key
- White Process - Albedo
- Chaos Greed
- Planet Alignment
- Yellow Process - Kitolinecs
- Grand Convergence (Grand Cross)
- Red Process - Rubedo
Trap Cards
- Macro Cosmos (Macrocosmos)
- Elemental Absorber
Trivia
- In the English dub, Banner has a German accent. Germany was the site where alchemic research took place almost everyday. Many famous alchemists originate from Germany.
- A precursor to the duel with Amnael is present in episode 34. Jaden has a nightmare in which he is challenged by a cloaked figure, sporting Amnael's outfit and voice. Although Jaden pulls through with a direct attack, the figure merely continues with his turn, defeating his opponent with an attack from a dragon-like beast. This dream serves to haunt Jaden throughout the episode, reminding him of the prices paid following loss during a dark game. Other hints to a duel between Amnael and Jaden are present throughout the series, in which Banner demonstrates alchemy experiments in his classes.
- The card that is given to Jaden, Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone, takes its name from a Hermetic angel associated with Saturn and necromancy, Sabatiel.
- Homunculi are generally seen in alchemy as having no souls or spirits, only bearing the appearance of humans. In the series, however, Banner retains both components of his existence following the transfer of his soul into his new body.
- Banner's Alchemy Beasts each have the composition of a metal and an animal (With the sole exception of Moonface). The metals chosen (Copper [Bronze in the dub], Iron [Steel in the dub], Lead, Mercury, Silver, Tin) are common base metals used in alchemy. The animals are also commonly utilized in the refining of these metals into gold, with some having other specific purposes. Parts of the lion and ouroboros (snake) were incorporated into poisons, and the mane of a lion was considered instrumental to the transmutation of the metals into gold due to a belief that it could change their chemical structures. The spells that summon the Alchemy Beasts reference tools in alchemy.
- Alchemy Beast - Ouroboros the Bronze references the Oroboros.
- Banner's four elemental spirits, as well as Elemental Absorber, are references to the Seal of Solomon, which is the symbol in alchemy that houses the five driving elements of the universe (Earth, Fire, Metal, Water, Wind) and their intersection (Spirit). The Absorber itself is fashioned after a centrifuge.
- Helios - The Primordial Sun and its incarnations relate alchemy to astronomy. The first incarnation represents the past, the second, the present, and the third, the future.
- The "Megistus" portion of Helios' second and third incarnations is derived from the name of Hermes Trismegistus.
- Chaos Distill is reference to the pressure pot employed by alchemists for transmutations. Its removal from the field characterized the ultimate explosion that would result from its use.
- The process cards are references to four of the seven main stages in transmutation of metal into gold, falling under calcination, dissolution, separation, conjunction, fermentation, distillation, and coagulation.
- Macro Cosmos is reference to the macrocosm and microcosm philosophy.