Yu☆Gi☆Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions

Obsessed with revenge against the King of Games, Seto Kaiba commences an excavation in Egypt to find the fragments of the Millennium Puzzle, which once retained the spirit of the "counterpart Yuugi." However, a cloaked man steals two pieces of the Puzzle and disappears before it could be reconstructed. Meanwhile, now in their final year of high school, Yuugi Mutou and his friends plan for their futures, unaware of the danger lurking close by.

Yu☆Gi☆Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions tells the tale of vindictive forces distorting reality in whatever way they please. Will Seto and Yuugi move past their differences and save the world, or will Seto's own greed get the better of him?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kaiba, Seto Main

Tsuda, Kenjirou Japanese

Mutou, Yuugi Main

Kazama, Shunsuke Japanese

Aigami Main

Hayashi, Kento Japanese

Yami Yuugi Supporting

Kazama, Shunsuke Japanese

Jounouchi, Katsuya Supporting

Takahashi, Hiroki Japanese

Yami Bakura Supporting

Matsumoto, Rica Japanese

Bakura, Ryou Supporting

Matsumoto, Rica Japanese

Mazaki, Anzu Supporting

Saitou, Maki Japanese

Kaiba, Mokuba Supporting

Takeuchi, Junko Japanese

Otogi, Ryuuji Supporting

Naitou, Ryou Japanese

Jitsumatsu, Teruaki Producer

Kuwabara, Satoshi Director

Matsuoka, Hiroki Sound Director

Makino, Yoshitaka Episode Director

Reviews

Nov 30, 2016

kurokonbi

Recommended

I don't see any reviews here so I'll make one. This is my first, so please excuse any mistakes. This is a long review, so please bear with me.

First of all, the animation is so outstanding. It's really high quality and during certain scenes in the movie you may think that it's real life scenery instead of 2D/CG. I couldn't believe my eyes watching it, 'cause usually Yu-Gi-Oh! didn't have that high quality animation (except for Zexal). Even Arc-V has meh animation. The animation is so constantly beautiful you can't take your eyes off the screen. This, I think, is one of the gems in ... this movie. Oh, and the characters' faces look beautiful all the time you may turn homo (jk). Kaiba looks like Light Yagami but with a gravity defying jacket.

Let's talk about sound next. There's not much to say here. The movie uses a few of the soundtracks in the original Duel Monsters series like Passionate Duelist and Wrath of God but with different arrangements of course. The nostalgia is so real when you hear them playing. Most of the soundtracks sound orchestral and it's awesome but I give an 8/10.

The original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters didn't do a good job with characters. Everyone but Yugi, Jounouchi (Joey) and Kaiba were cheerleaders. Anzu and Honda remain useless even in the movie, and Jounouchi is too. Jounouchi has no real purpose in the movie but they give him more screentime than Yugi. He and Honda only serve as comic relief characters.

The original characters aren't developed well in the movie, except for Yugi, Kaiba and Bakura. Yup, Bakura. Bakura has an importance in the movie that connects to Aigami's backstory and that is a job well done. I really like what they retconned to the story, it gives more depth to both Bakura and Aigami.

Kaiba had always been an asshole with a surprisingly good side. At first you'd think Kaiba is the protagonist for this movie, but then you'd think he's actually the villain. Kaiba's character is complex yet simple, for he only wants to defeat Atem but he'd do anything for it. I can't say much about him, but he's my second favorite character in the movie even though I hated him in the original series. His character in the movie is very well written.

Yugi is supposed to be the protagonist? I think he has less screen time than Aigami or even Jounouchi. Yugi has grown, sure. But his character is still shallow. It'd be great if the movie goes deep into his character of a loser who gained strength or focusing on his growth, but even in this movie, he doesn't feel like the protagonist to me. I still can't like his character.

The mysterious beutiful kid Aigami is the best character ever made in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise imo. His character is so well written and lovable, he should be considered as the real protagonist for this movie. His motivation and backstory is deep, not what you'd expect from a yugioh (especially the original yugioh). The depth of his character really surprised me.

As for the story, it's really unlike what you'd expect from a yugioh. 5D's had a great plot, Zexal II's and Arc-V's were good too. But the original? Not really. DM had a shallow plot. But they expanded it in the movie. The movie answers a few questions people may have for DM, regarding Shadi. Aigami has a bitter backstory, and the plot revolves pretty much around him. The plot for me, is the best thing in the movie. It really surprised me for being deep.

In terms of enjoyment, I give it 9/10. At first I was like "the hell is going on? I don't get it" and there are scenes that feel kinda out of place, but that still didn't stop me from enjoying it. It's not yugioh without children's card games, so of course there are duels in the movie. The movie is 2 hrs 10 mins long and it has a lot of story to tell but they still included a few duels in it. So the duels feel kinda rushed, and I couldn't really pay attention to them 'cause they were so fast-paced. It's not like Bonds Beyond Time where they explain every card effect and stuff or whatever move they make. In my personal opinion, they should have made only one duel towards the end of the movie so that more time can be used for the story. The movie has a few pacing issues, but that still won't kill the awesomeness.

The best anime movie I've watched thus far was Gintama but this just surpassed it. I don't judge based on bias just because yugioh is my favorite anime. Heck, Gintama is my least favorite anime but the movie was so great I rated it as the best. The Dark Side of Dimensions however, is a real masterpiece, especially for a yugioh anime. I think it's appropriate to give the movie 9/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 14, 2017

Actar

Mixed Feelings

To preface this "review" some pointers:

- There will be SPOILERS. If you haven't seen the movie yet, don't read this review if you don't want to be spoiled. Definitely do come back after to share your opinions. I would love to hear what you guys thought of the movie. Am I in the minority?
- I am perfectly fine with nostalgia bait. The problem is when producers think that a show can succeed based on nostalgia alone.
- I am aware that this is a sequel to the manga and not the anime, accounting for some of the discrepancies. Yet, some of the characters actions ... were just bizarre, in my opinion.
- Finally, please do not let my opinion of the film ruin your experience with it. This is my personal opinion and my opinion alone.

Alright... Here we go. I do apologize for the stream-of-consciousness ranting. It's like my mind is actively trying to erase the movie from my memories.

First off, it started off well enough, with the reintroduction of the characters and what they were up to after all the time. I particularly liked how they framed the story with Anzu's dream of going to New York. However, that's when things started to go South.

Essentially, to sum all of the problems up into one word, it was contrived... and rushed. Sorry, that was two words. In my opinion, everything that happened in this movie happened because they needed it to happen. They needed new monsters - insert a hundred different variations of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that had no build-up, reason for existing or proper differentiation (more on this later). They needed a new enemy that had to be related to the cast somehow to make him relevant - shoehorn in some subplot was never hinted at or talked about in the original series so it felt like it came out of nowhere. They needed Atem to appear again and appear he did EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE!

Urgh... the plot. Don't even get me started. I've already talked about the shoehorned-in villain, but boy does it get better. The plot was unnecessarily convoluted and yet still managed to be contrived and seem like it came out of nowhere. What in the world was with this collective consciousness nonsense? Why is it important and how does it relate to anything? Why was Kaiba's Duel Disk perfectly equipped to combat his powers? Seriously, it could have been anything else and have been much better explained and understandable. How could Kaiba pull out a God Card from the ground and play it with his virtual system?

Speaking of Kaiba, that subplot with his obsession was really at odds with Aigami's plot. There was hardly any correlation. Not to mention, sure he was obsessed with Yugi, but they really pushed his obsession a little too far in this one. Though, I have to admit, that would have been a compelling enough story in and of itself if they had taken their time to expand on it. At the end of the movie, people were actually LAUGHING at his hyperbolic obsession with Atem. Going back in time to duel Atem? Yeah, that's not obsessive at all. Seriously, Javert he is not. Also, Kaiba removing the Millennium Puzzle from the crypt and actually solving it with technology was kinda cool, but it completely ruined the mystique of the items. Wouldn't it have been even cooler if his high-tech machines failed to solve the puzzle?

That climax... Oh God. Remember how I was talking about them introducing new monsters for the sake of it? Well, screw duel tactics and anything of the sort, the ending was just a monster spam that got boring after the 100th "HERE'S A MORE POWERFUL MONSTER THAN YOURS". Seriously, if I have to sit though another Cubic monster and Blue-Eyes iteration that has zero differentiation from one another... This was obviously because they were rushed for time. They had a quota of monsters to push and there was no way they could dedicate 30 minutes to build up a single monster.

Also, the GOD DAMN CG. Why are some monsters like the Black Magician and the Black Magician Girl in normal 2D, simulated-cel animation while many of the other monsters were rendered in 3DCG? Seriously, STICK TO ONE. It's horrendous enough that they used CG, but if they had made ALL the monsters CG, there would have been at least a point! You know, creating a disconnect between the real and the virtual? But no, we can't have our Black Magician Girl be polygons, can we?

This is a perfect example of an unnecessary sequel that was made for the sake of being made. Regardless of what the creator said, I felt zero passion from this project and everything was paint-by-numbers and forced. For a fan, I really don't think I would have missed out if I hadn't seen it. Personally speaking, the ONLY good thing that came out of this was seeing Anzu actually fulfilling her dream. Anzu is adorable. Oh, and the bonus card and goodybag as well. That was pretty good.

Maybe I'm exaggerating. Maybe I just need to calm down and watch it again. And watch it again I will, because as a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, I'm willing to give it another chance. But at this moment, while I'm a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, I am not a fan of this movie.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 1, 2018

paulojr_mam

Not Recommended

Before starting this review, I must first say I'm not being able to judge this movie properly. But I don't think it can be judged as any other movie, because it's, just like Digimon Tri, a movie about nostalgia, unable to be understood by people who didn't watch the original TV series. That is why it's impossible not to compare it with the Duel Monsters TV show. Yes, this might have more to do with the manga than the TV show, but still as an animation it has obvious ties to the old series, also, obviously, an animation.

With that out of the way, I must ... say I was disappointed with this movie. But I'll start with the good. The characters and their interactions are spot-on, they are the same characters we know from before, and act accordingly. Though they are a little older now and, with the many advancements in storytelling that anime has suffered from then to now, this is definitely better written than the original show. It feels more mature whilst maintaining the original's edginess, necessary silliness and dark undertones. Another nice thing is the pace of the duels, they are fast and furious, but there's where we find the first mistake. It's too fast so they can't explain exactly what's happening and the duels use slightly different rules than before. Yes, it's a movie, so it can't waste time, but still it is a mistake.

Okay, now that I have nothing good more to say, to the bad we go. The visuals, although definitely boasting bigger budget than the TV shows, are uglier! They use a lot of extremely ugly and excessive 3D animation for the monsters, and a excessive color filters that leave everything lifeless. I don't know how could they fail so big. Another misdeed is the story, which, although touching on interesting subject matters, still fails to make sense and is devoid of explanations in all of the key moments. It's like it wasn't even meant to make sense, to begin with! Last but not least, Yami Yugi, the main character of the show and the manga, appears only at the last moments of the movie and, after all the hype for his appearance throughout the whole 2-hour duration of the film, he doesn't even have dialogue! It's super underwhelming and disappointing.

For all of this I'd say this movie was a waste of time and is totally unnecessary.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Yu☆Gi☆Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Ana - Apr 25, 2016	94 replies	by Biisoo »» Oct 5, 10:44 AM
	I blame this stupid film for the CGI crap i watched 2 hours Phasar2022 - Aug 2, 2021	8 replies	by HikarieChan »» Apr 17, 2023 12:24 PM
	i really enjoyed it as a fan of yugioh audac1ous - Feb 6, 2017	1 replies	by HikarieChan »» Apr 17, 2023 12:22 PM
	I really want a sequel series of the Classic yu-gi-oh Pac99 - Feb 4, 2022	8 replies	by HikarieChan »» Apr 16, 2023 7:17 PM
	How do you feel about Atem's well-defined biceps and Kaiba's new rippling abs? Dull_Lull - Feb 13, 2020	8 replies	by Early_Morning »» Feb 6, 2022 12:49 PM