Ranked #1663

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

When I was ten years old, my favorite show was Shinzo (AKA "Mushrambo"). I would rush home from school every day to watch it. One day, TV2 announced the premiere of a new show in the timeslot after Shinzo, which was apparently a big hit in the US. This show was "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters", or simply "Yu-Gi-Oh!" as it is known in most countries. I wasn't particularly interested at the time, but, having nothing better to do, I stuck around to watch this new show anyway.

And that's the story of how I first came into contact with the 4Kids dub of Yu-Gi-Oh. Of course, eventually I realized there was a much better version out there, the original Japanese one. My review is based on the Japanese version, because, lets face it, as much as I love YGO in any form, the 4Kids version is really just a load of watered down crap.

But anyway.

Story
Although most people simply dismiss it as a show about "children's card games", Yu-Gi-Oh definitely has a plot, and a damn good one at that. Basically, a boy named Yugi Mutou finds an old Egyptian artifact, the Millennium Puzzle, in the back of his grandpa's game shop. After piecing the puzzle together, Yugi is possessed by the spirit of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, who is known as "Yu-Gi-Oh", or the King of Games. The Pharaoh is a master gamer, but remembers nothing about his past or who he really is. Yugi and his friends set out to unlock the secrets of the Pharaoh's memories by collecting the seven Millenium Items and the Egyptian God cards.

Yu-Gi-Oh has a strong focus on friendship - sticking together no matter what, trusting in both yourself and your friends, and working together. Yugi and the Nameless Pharaoh will learn much from each other over the course of their journey, and maybe they will be able to teach their friends (and even enemies) something too. It may sound cheesy, but YGO pulls it off very well.

Art
I've always been a fan of YGO's art. Some people think the character designs are pretty over-the-top, and I don't blame them, but Yugi just wouldn't be the same without his stupid starfish hair, would he? Some of the monster designs are kinda ugly, but there are also some that are absolutely brilliant (Silent Swordsman, anyone?), especially later in the series. Overall, it kinda balances out.

Sound
I lovelovelovelovelove YGO's music. The background music really enhances the emotion of the scene, like good BGM should. The OP/ED themes too are memorable and fitting to the series, the endings in particular. (Most of all, I love the fifth opening and the third ending.) And gosh, the voice actors have some real talent. The acting is all done perfectly, Seto and Yugi's especially. (The Japanese ones, I mean. The dub voice acting is 99% horrible - the only good points are Sieg's smexy German accent, and, of course, Eric Stuart. Even if he sounds way too husky as Seto, I still love him. <3)

Character
YGO!DM's real strong point is characterization. The "main group" of characters is composed of Yugi Mutou, the Nameless Pharaoh, Anzu Mazaki, Katsuya Jonouchi and Hiroto Honda - five friends, brought together by a wish Yugi made on his Millennium Puzzle. These are the kind of characters you just can't help but love. They are all given plenty of time to develop over the course of the series, and by the end of the last episode I'd gotten to know and love these guys so much, I was really sad to see them go.

But of course, there's the antagonists too. Yugi's main rival is Seto Kaiba, my personal favorite character. He's a stubborn, lonely guy, and he can be selfish at times, but although he won't admit it, he's actually Yugi's friend. He helps the gang out at times, but usually claims afterwards that he owed them or just happened to have the same enemy they did. Yeah, he's never gonna admit it, but he's a nice guy. xD

Over the course of the show, there are several "main" villains, ranging from the creator of the Duel Monsters game, Pegasus J Crawford, to Ryou Bakura, Yugi's friend possessed by another ancient Egyptian spirit. YGO, in my opinion, has some of the greatest villains from any anime ever. They're psychotic, cunning, ruthless, and ultra smexy (Seto <3), just like good villains (xD) should be. ^_^

You can also tell a lot about characters from their decks. Anzu's monsters are cute like her, but still pack a real punch. Jonouchi uses cards given to him by other duelists, taking what he has learned from all his battles to help him rise to the top. Yugi's cards start out small and cute, but grow or fuse to become much more powerful, just like he develops over the course of the show. The Pharaoh has monsters that fought alongside him and his priests during his past life, such as the Black Magician, Mystical Elf, Kuriboh and Curse of Dragon. Seto's dragons are just as ferocious as him, and he has a very special attachment to one of them in particular, which you find out more about later on. Marik has a torture deck for slowly and painfully crushing his opponents, which suits him perfectly. And Bakura plays an occult deck, dark and mysterious, just like him. Cards aren't just for dueling, you know. They reflect the duelist's personality, desires and emotions.

Enjoyment
YGO!DM is one of those shows that is so good, you never want it to end. I enjoyed watching it so much, when it was finally over, I cried and wished that it could just go on forever (then came YGO!GX, but that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish). For the past five years of my life, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters has inspired me, made me laugh, and made me break down in tears too. Everyone makes fun of me because I love it so much, but it's a truly amazing series. Yeah, basically, I love this show to bits.

Overall
If you've only seen the 4Kids version, you've never seen the real Yu-Gi-Oh, and I encourage you to give the Japanese version a try (though there is a noticeable lack of good fansubs). Just watch it, m'kay? <3 read more

Not another card driven game! That is what I thought going into this. I had just gotten over my Pokemon and Digimon phase. So upon seeing this I quirked an eyebrow. However I gave it a whirl and watched it, and by god I actually enjoyed it. The characters are so much more dynamic than most of these genre of shows. There is a plot behind all the games (read the manga for more). The most interesting twist to me was the Egyptian background. That intrigued me to no end to see how exactly that would play out. Surprisingly to me it played out nicely, tying the characters together from their pasts to the here and now.

There are a few arcs that also stand out above the rest. The first being the Battle City arc, where we first meet Malik Ishtar who is a young Egpytian boy. The Doma (Doom in the dub) arc that present to us Dartz, the King of Atlantis and his ragtag henchmen. The last arc, that deals with the origins of Yami Yuugi is also the best, and the one I am most fond of.


Art and animation quality actually go up as the series goes on. The beginning characters didn't always look their best, but as it progressed the characters started to look good as well. So if you are trying to get someone into a card game based show, dip their feet into anime show them this. However, if you want the more serious and true nature of the show watch it subbed. read more