In a controversial move, just minutes after midnight of July 1st, Rainbow Kuriboh quietly changed all of its social media banners back to the regular Clear Kuriboh. For the entirety of June, Kuriboh was one of the few handtraps still in clear support of Pride Month, however, LGBTQIA+ people have pointed out the hypocrisy of supporting them for only while it is marketable and quickly turning back.
“The environment for the queer community has been increasingly more dangerous and hostile, to the point where many handtraps that formerly supported us during June have since stopped,” said Ashton Maytime, a prominent non-binary player. “While most years it wouldn’t be too important, this time I was glad that Kuriboh still dressed up as Rainbow Kuriboh at the start of Pride Month. I had just hoped it would last longer than the bare minimum. Now it feels like Kuriboh waited for queer people to add it to their decks and immediately showed its true colors when it was no longer profitable.”
Kuriboh’s blatant withdrawal of support was criticized even among fellow handtraps, especially ones that are openly LGBTQIA+. “Despite what some Yugitubers say, CLEAR isn’t all colors, it’s obviously the absence of color. I’m disappointed in someone I thought was my friend and an ally,” tweeted Lock Bird, one half of a prominent openly gay handtrap couple.
Some are speculating this move by Kuriboh to be in preparation for a shift to a darker, less politically correct form of the classic handtrap, whose friendly shape and attitude used to be beloved by many. Rumors of Kuriboh secretly spending time with fiend type and fusion monsters overseas have been spreading around on the internet, with some claiming Kuriboh itself will become more edgy and dark. A Darkuriboh, if you will.
