Reasons

It's something of a mystery that a minor character in a commercialized anime aimed at children could provoke such fascination. When I try to discover why, the results, applied to a character from a "mature" work, would would be fine. However in this case, they feel too large to fit properly. I maintain that if what provoked them matters to you, deep thoughts ought to be expressed, no matter their source. But still...

Oh, what the hell....

Before I started to like other Yuugiou characters, I often felt I liked Bakura better than the show itself. Seeing an eerie, quiet boy suddenly transformed into a vicious, snarling villain, immediately caught my attention. When Bakura was relegated to Mr. Exposition From The Sidelines, and his personality never explored, my fascination actually grew. One could even say Bakura's non-development in the dub was an opportunity for me, since I could create my own idea of the character. I did so, finding that his appeal was multi-layered and deeply personal.

Perhaps the first thing I noticed was that Bakura's situation validated a certain viewpoint of mine. I consider him basically good, not in an overwhelmingly pure way, but a nice person...who is bound to a vicious alter ego. Yami Bakura, conversely, is evil, and "rewarded" with a means of getting Millennium Items, namely the form of someone who is friends with a Millennium Item owner. This reflects my belief that the world is huge and indifferent, and absolutes of good and evil do not always receive their "just" rewards. Instead, everything's a mixture, and no one can tell what will happen.

I also see Bakura's situation as an indirect metaphor for my own. Usually, being friendly or altruistic requires a conscious effort on my part. It doesn't get any easier with time, and I often feel like I'm battling against myself. The real Bakura (I imagine) choses to be alone for others' sake. Even if this is all my imagining, Bakura would let himself be destroyed ("Trap of the Metamorph Pot! The Flame Swordsman's Crisis!") if it meant destroying Yami Bakura too, and gladly helps his friends. By contrast, Yami Bakura lives for no one but himself, and steals with no qualms. Selfish versus unselfish.

Furthermore, Bakura is often depicted alone. Why is open to interpretation, but the fact remains. He also seems rater untalkative. I am quiet, and a loner by choice. While I am comfortable with that, and Bakura may not be, the parallels are nonetheless there.

Besides the empathy, a certain charm can be derived from characters who fascinate you, but are very undeveloped. You've much more freedom to form your own image of who that character is, so s/he may "belong" to you more than others do.

I find a certain (nonsexual) aesthetic appeal in Bakura as well. I've always felt the color combination of his Duelist Kingdom outfit--ivory, sea green and light blue-- with silver hair was rather pretty.

I differ from many fans in that I prefer Ted Lewis's rendition of Bakura over anyone else's. Poor acting and incongrous English accent aside, I think Lewis's voice has a rather pleasing sound. It communicates a "lovable" character while mantaing the seriousness I consider essential to Bakura's character. To my ears, Inoue You (rest her soul)'s version goes to excess in cuteness and vulnerability, and connotes helplessnes. I consider Bakura trapped, but not totally helpless. Matsumoto Rica's voice is rather nice, though.

While Linkin Park's "Crawling" is a popular choice for Bakura's "theme" among fans, I would choose "Thief" by Our Lady Peace and/or "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down.