Yu☆Gi☆Oh! 5D's

When Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX began airing, I thought that it was going to follow in the footsteps of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. That was not the case. However, I feel that Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's brings back what everyone loved about the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, and a few extra things along with it.

Story:
The story of this series is far more fast-paced and exciting that either of it's two predecessors. If even one episode is missed, it feels as though you've missed a lot. Almost every, if not, every episode ends with a cliffhanger. The plot is amazing. It still has the ... ancient-themed story, just like the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, but it intertwines with the present-day atmosphere of Neo Domino City. The story is no longer Duel Monsters-centered as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX was. The name "Duel Monsters" is barely even mentioned. The story and dealings of the characters are once again the main point of the anime. Duels are like gun combat or swordfights are in other anime series. It is merely a way of combat in the series. The story is one of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's greatest assets.

Animation:
The art in this show is amazing. Every character has their own look and style reflecting their personality. The D-Wheels (called Duel Runners in the dub) are always something to look forward to seeing. There is also a lot of CG animation, especially when it comes to Riding Duels (called Turbo Duels in the dub) and monsters, especially Stardust and Red Demon's dragons.

Sound:
The music in this series fits it so nicely. The music sets up the atmosphere for every scene so accurately. The opening and ending themes are among my favorite songs. The noises for the D-Wheels does not sound like a conventional motorbike, or a motorbike at all. All the D-Wheel sounds are completely brand new and sound nothing like real motorcycles. Even Security sirens sound nothing like their real-world counterparts.

Character:
The characters in this series are phenomenal. Yusei is completely different from both Yugi and Judai. His life is not like theirs as he grew-up in the ghetto known as Satellite in poverty along with his friends. Jack is like Seto Kaiba in terms of personality and pride. However, he is not as cold-hearted as Kaiba as he quickly has a change of heart towards Yusei and his friends. The supporting characters are not annoying at all and viewers will quickly warm-up to them. All the characters are well developed.

Enjoyment:
This show is far more enjoyable than it's two predecessors. As I said before, every episode ends on a cliffhanger. The plot is great and intriguing. There are many things to look forward to every episode.

Overall:
This is the best Yu-Gi-Oh! series yet, and one of the best television series I have ever seen. Everything about it is so great. If it wasn't evident in it's two predecessors, then it sure is in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's that the Yu-Gi-Oh! series is not meant for children like it's American dub. The plot is so much darker and the characters are rarely happy, unless they are about to cause pain to their adversaries. Mr. Takahashi makes his target audience, teens and young adults, clear in this series. It is this tone that makes this show great. I'm sure that it will only get better as the plot expands. This is definately a must-watch series.

Edited this entire review. I'm watching this subbed and I recommend you do the same. I've seen a few episodes of the dub and they've completely butchered it.

It's that time again: when one Yugioh series comes to an end and we get a fresh start with new characters. Comparing to it's past series, 5D's definitely takes on a more mature feeling. Not just because the characters are older and more serious, but not everything is a ray of sunshine for our protagonist this time around if you catch my drift. ;]

Story - Well, the story was a bit different. It is set many years ... into the future so we can't expect any recurring appearances from any GX or DM characters. So far the story has had three major arcs. The early episodes really introduce the characters and the new way of dueling which is called a "Riding Duel". However, when the second arc (the Dark Signer arc) begins, the show gets much more dark and much more exciting. The third arc is still underway so I can't comment on it thus far.

We still have this obsession with Dragons in the Yugioh franchise for some odd reason, this time being the "Crimson Dragon". You've got your general bad guy who plans on using some ancient power by using special people known as "Signers". Weird, eh? It takes a little while for the plot to begin, but we do get to see some background on our main character, Yusei, and his relationship with our so-called "Kaiba" of this Yugioh series, Jack Atlas, in the meantime. Like I said, it takes on a more mature plot, but it still is a kid's show.

Sound - The sound isn't that bad. The sound of a bike motor revving can get annoying, but I guess that's something you'll have to get used to when watching 5Ds. The OP and ED themes aren't that bad either.

Art/Animation - I'd say the art was pretty good this time. Technology is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Enjoyment - To be completely honest, I hated this show at first. My initial thoughts were somewhere along the lines of "What the hell?!" When you watched the original DM, you loved it (if you didn't, you probably wouldn't be reading this review and if you haven't watched the original series but would like to watch this one, you should check out the prequels first [you don't need to, though]). When you watched GX, you were a little taken back by the new characters, but in the end it still was decent (give or take). But this...this new concept they came up with...it's just insane (at first). DM focused on tribute summons, GX on Fusions, and this time we get Synchro monsters. Initially, it's just a no, but you get used to it and it really fleshes out as a show and the rules changes (more like additional rules) are great! They don't ride bikes for every duel I might add! The one thing that I'd have to complain about is how they always make the main character (this time around his name is Yusei) duel soooo much while other awesome characters (coughAKIcough) don't get to duel as much, and if they do they don't do as well as Yusei. But it's still very enjoyable.

Overall, 5Ds isn't that bad after adjusting to it. Just get ready for a bunch of bikes, new rules, and an interesting bunch of characters. Keep an open mind and enjoy. :P

take the scenario from Terminator + tons of mindless violence + card games on motorcycles (that are surprisingly good) + a badass protagonist: Welcome to 5ds!

5ds revitalized the game when it needed it most. Konami created new types of cards (synchros) and introduced them through an anime so good that people actually got over the fact that Konami was creating new rules again (The same tactic was repeated quite successfully with Arc V and completely failed with Zexal). The duels suddenly became A LOT faster and more enjoyable and the game that was going downhill until then suddenly stepped up.

For starters FINALLY we're through with ... "school children protagonists". Yusei was already 18 when the show started, had already trouble with cops and was basically living in a giant scrapyard/post-apocalyptic city. Literally from the first minutes of the anime all you can say is "wow, is this really yugioh?!". Obviously the super-added levels of violence meant that 4kids butchered the anime even more than usual in the dub, making it utterly unwatchable, but that's hardly the original's fault.

And staying on the "violence makes good" theme, lets talk about emotional violence as well. Aki, the show's female lead is quite clearly a girl with a LOT of problems and torn between her loyalties, from the start to the end. On the one hand she wants to go with the protagonist... Mostly because she just fancies him, on the other she wants to stay with her boss, who she also fancies (kinda, and also kinda sees him as a fatherly figure, honestly it's a pretty interesting subplot). And the main reason she can't choose is that in 5ds, there is no clearly evil character. Obviously the protagonist is good, but there is no character you can clearly call an "one-sided villain", including her boss. On one hand that makes for a much more mature plot, on other it doesn't allow for the sheer evil badassness that Vector was (read my zexal II review). In fact even the last main villain of the anime, the big bad behind it all, STILL isn't evil. Misguided maybe, yes, but he only had the best of intentions (you know, unlike the motherfu%$ing Vector and the others).

The protagonist, Yusei, best of all, never jokes, almost never smiles and is in fact from start to finish dead serious about everything. The fact that he can outrun security (constantly), beat the crap out of everyone (no, I don't mean in a card game, I mean literally, beat the crap out of people), build 2 whole motorcycles from scrap and understand physics (without ever going to school mind you) makes him a total boss. After him comes Jack Atlas, the second male lead, who gets almost equal screentime, and is a fan-favourite due to his dueling style and unparalleled ego. He makes for an amazing antagonist and surprisingly well-written character (and is in fact the only character in the anime to get more chicks than Yusei). Lets be honest here, EVERYONE who has seen 5ds was hyped every time that "Red Demon's Dragon" was summoned. (Come on, you can even recite the summoning chant)

The plot starts from post-apocalyptic future, goes to "suck my Aztec d$%^" and ends up Terminator (down to the last detail). While pretty light on twists there are a few that really make for interesting story (for example who the final opponents of the second and final Arcs were). Most of the anime is delightfully dark, with purple and dark blue being the primarly used colors. (As far as I can remember you almost never see the sun in the first Arcs).

When it comes to animation and OSTes 5ds was way above the antagonism. In fact when it came out, I quite honestly thought it had the best OST in anime after Bleach (Fairy Tail hadn't come out yet). The animation has a unique dark style to it that really makes the anime enjoyable and you asking for more.

It doesn't matter if you didn't like yugioh in general, at least the first 8-9 episodes of this one are a must-watch.

5D's, my favorite show of all time. This show is a beautiful work of art, with some of the most real characters I have ever experienced. However, between Dark Signers and Pre-WRPG there is a huge shift, however I personally adore season 2 for there depiction of the main threat of the series, Yliaster.

-Art-
The art is beautiful, and the monsters are some of the most beautiful we've gotten yet. The Signer Dragon's complexity could make them hard to look at if your use to the original, but once adjusted they are some of the best designed monsters in the franchise. The Earthbound Immortals could ... be considered simple, and they are simplified black versions of the Nazca Line the represent with a different color line vairty across them, but they somehow manage to still look amazingly badass. The Machine Emperors are just sheer eye candy to anyone a fan of machines in general, and the characters still have gravity-defying hair, making certain characters(ESPICALLY APORIA) a pain to draw.

-Sound-
The Voice Acting is sheer beautiful, from the sexy voices of Yusei Fudo and Aporia to just the plain awesome voice work that is given to Lucciano. However the music is where it really shines. Almost all OSTs are amazing, including Yusei's theme, Lucciano/Skiel's theme, Light and Dark, Placido's theme and many MANY others. However the openings, endings and inserts are where they just BOMB IT. 5D's and GX are the only shows were I love every single opening and ending, and my god, do they not disappoint. Future Colors, Cross Game, Start, Last Train, Going my Way!!, Believe in Nexus, Freedom, -OZONE-, Close to You and Kizuna are the best songs in the entire franchise by far, and we have the all holy insert song sung by freaking Masaaki Endoh known as Clear Mind.

-Characters-
I will admit I have a crush on Placido to the point where it's kinda scary and sad, but the characters feel so real. Yusei and Jack are by far the best Yugi/Kaiba duo yet, and the entire major rest of the list excluding the characters from Secruity and Satellite are amazing. Rua, Ruka, and Lucciano are by far the best children characters in this franchise along with Arc-V's Sora, and damn does Z-One troll everyone. There's even a character exclusive to the spinoff Bonds Beyond Time who gets mentioned, and well, just watch the freaking show.

-Enjoyment-
I have never enjoyed a show this much. Every episode, even the filler, was good in some way. My personal favorite episodes are 105-110(the Placido VS Yusei mini-arc as I like to call it). But just, watch it.

-Overall-
This franchise is amazing, and this series is a treat from beyond heaven. If you like anime in general, WATCH YU-GI-OH! 5D'S RIGHT NOW.

When looking at a series, is it better to start strong but end weak or start weak but end strong? I believe a strong finish is better than a strong start because while it won't hook people immediately, it will allow for people to have something to look forward to while watching. The problem with 5D's is that it follows the latter, being a disappointment after the first season, which ends at the end of the dark signer arc. The unfortunate truth behind this is that the director for the fortune cup arc left to work on Symphogear, leaving behind notes for the dark signer ... arc. The new director followed these notes, but once the dark signer arc finished, he unfortunately screwed up a lot of things. If I could rate the seasons seperately, I'd give the first season a 9 and the second season a 5. So let's delve into some of the best and worst yugioh has to offer.

The story for the first season is structured pretty well. There is little to no filler and you can feel the progression. At the start, Yusei just wants to get back the card that symbolizes his bonds, Stardust Dragon, but then he gets stuck in Godwin's plan and becomes a signer. While the plot doesn't stand out, it also doesn't falter, allowing for strong character development. The second season has a convoluted plot where all the problems are solved because of Yusei suddenly becoming overpowered. It just sucks when the solution to every plot related problem winds up being Yusei. Another major issue is how there are 6 signer dragons when the original plot wanted 5. It felt like they wanted to give a character signer status just so he could stay with the main cast instead of a legitimate reason. It all just felt like so much of the original intent spiraled down into a cesspool of absurdity.

The art and sound are pretty spot on, with the soundtrack containing some of the best vocal pieces in the yugioh franchise with songs like CROSS GAME and Clear Mind. The structural and artistic design of each D-wheel definitely shows each character's personality. The duel disks are designed to look like their respective D-wheels, as the motorcycles are a hybrid of transportation and a dueling machine.

The biggest divide between the seasons is how the characters are handled. The first season had some of the best character development, delving deep into what makes each character and how they all overcome their mental and physical barriers to become stronger and better people. Overcoming the darkness in your heart is a prevalent theme within the dark signer arc, and it made the development even better. Unfortunately, the second season throws much of the development out the window and streamlines every character's personalities and emotions. There could have been so much more done with the characters introduced in the second season to make them meaningful and not just a bland sideshow.

I heavily enjoyed the first season, and it became one of my favorite parts of yugioh. It's a engrossing and fulfilling experience that you should experience. The second season, however I didn't enjoy so much. I did manage to watch through it all, and it was about the same as Zexal 1. I recommend only watching the first season while completely ignoring the second season, unless if you want to laugh at the problems it has. Remember kids, you can turn off the monitor whenever you want.

CHILDREN’S CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES!!!!

Ok, now that everyone has gotten that out of their system we can enter the world of high speed action that is Yugioh 5d’s

The third series of the Yugioh Franchise is marked by breaking away from many of the tropes that had plagued the other two, in particular the previous series Yugioh Gx. Rather than being built upon a tournament or school structure system, 5d’s manages to create its own almost post futuristic world. The setting of this world is the best developed in all of Yugioh history.

Our cast for this series is slightly different from the usual Yugioh ... cast. Yusei is not our average Yugioh protagonist. Not only is he older, but his maturity is shown to us time and time again. This is a shounen protagonist who is smart, cool and collected. He forges his own destiny, building his own motorcycle out of the scraps available to him. Jack Atlas takes the rival slot for the series. He starts off as the basic Kaiba clone for the series, arrogant and prideful. In a wise move they manage to develop him in such a way that makes him one of the more beloved characters of the series. Akiza becomes one of the most developed female characters in Yugioh history. Not only does she have a tragic past but she also is a strong duelist capable of putting Yusei and the like in their place. The uneasy bonds that these three share make up the core of Yugioh 5d’s.

The plot still follows the regular card game format. Expect a couple tournament arcs with one time characters. Expect highly situational random dues ex machina card draws at the last minute that will never see print. Expect people to not stay dead for long. This is what the Yugioh franchise is about, and for what it’s worth, 5d’s manages to pull it off for the most part. Villains have personal connections to their opponents to make them more than just fights to save the world but also character battles. The Synchro mechanic introduced in 5d’s proves to be interesting and fun (Synchro Chants are addictive) but in general the card designs in 5d’s are some of the best in all Yugioh history which make for some very entertaining duels. There is also a lot less random opponent of the week, and more plot oriented episodes. There are some really genuinely shocking moments in this series.

If this was all there was to 5d’s (up to episode 64) I probably would be able to give it an 8/10. A good reinvention of the Yugioh franchise. Unfortunately Yugioh 5d’s continued past the first season for almost 100 episodes. They start the second season with near 20 episodes of filler. Once they start engaging the actual plot of the second season, you realize that maybe the filler was the more humanitarian option. Character assassination doesn’t begin to describe what occurs in Season 2 of Yugioh 5d’s. The number of editorial changes and plot holes quickly begins to pile up, leaving no doubt that the writers are making this up as they go along. Towards the end of Season 2 they manage to recover a bit with some rather epic duels, but the damage has already been done.

The animation is what you would expect of an ongoing series with more than 150 episodes under its belt. There are some episodes that kick it out of the park with stellar animation. There are some few rather rare moments where the animation completely backfires and a dramatic moment is defused. It should be noted that I am not a fan of the 3D animation used in anime, especially inserted in regular animation. It interrupts the flow of the series at best. At worst it looks totally silly. Luckily 5d’s manages to keep the 3D animation to a minimum, not over using it. It is easy to overlook these few random moments.

The soundtrack of the series is one of the most enjoyable elements of Yugioh 5d’s. A lot of the character theme’s are so intense and gripping that they can make even the most simple of duels seem like the world cup. Every moment is dripping with drama because of the awesome soundtrack. This is one part of the series that never takes a dip. Later in the series they add insert songs by Masaaki Endoh who also does a couple of opening themes, all of which are filled with so much energy and charge.

In total, Yugioh 5d’s can be inconsistent. It started off strong, and when it wants to be good the series can been very enjoyable, but when it is weak it can be disastrous and the last half of the series is filled with weak plot elements. If you are a Yugioh fan than this is something you must watch, but for everyone else there is better series to watch.

Riding Duel Acceleration!!!

Well, now is time for another exciting sequel to the ever popular Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise.

Story:
I immediately connected to the plot, a whole new twist on the card game: D-Wheelers. I have to say, they did a better job with 5D's then GX (GX felt like Emo school drama :P).

Art:
The designs are top-notch, IMO. Especially the fact that it's being aired in HD. Aki's appearance reminds me of another character i love, but other than that, i give the Art a 9/10.

Sound:
The OP/ED themes really give 5D's its edge. It's not too annoying, not to bland, just perfect. The dueling music has also improved from ... it's predecessor. Even more darker scenes have better background music.

Character:
The characters are excellent. You have the quiet, hardy type (Yusei), the "i'm better than you" with a (Slight) good side (Jack), the comic-relief characters (Yanagi, Akutsu) and the loyal servants (MIkage, Tetsu) and the mysterious bad guy (Godwin).

Enjoyment/Overall:
5D's is probably one of the few anime's i watch nowadays, not alot of shows interest me (believe me i'm really picky :P) but 5D's is just a wonderful show. Even if you didn't watch the previous Yu-Gi-Oh shows, you'll feel right at home.

Well, what is there to say about an Anime about trading cards....hmmmm. Nothing, that's really it. It's a bunch of prepubescent kids, battling out with cards. We all know that this series is a sequel to the Original Series, we've seen some different reviews of people who hated it or those who simply love it. It's now my turn to throw down....a face down.

The story of the series is supposed to take place in a distant future of Yugi's home town, Domino City. There have been some freaky things going on that made Domino split into two parts; an Island called Satellite, and the main ... land Neo Domino City. Those who live on Satellite are dirt poor and mostly criminals and ex cons live there. This makes them processable to Neo Domino City. In summary there is Rich land and there is Poor land, a YuGiOh spin off of Robin Hood. Our cast of heroes come from different parts of Satellite and Neo Domino City, but though they have different aspirations they're destiny is fated to ban together and fight an evil force that has been hidden for a millennium that desires to concur the world....Well this sounds a lot like X 1999, and how I hated that movies so much.

Story wise, it was made for kids. What do you really expect? Though watching the Japanese version is always better then the 4Kids TV version, I wasn't expecting anything exciting besides a few cliff hangers (with an obvious result). The characters in the series (Yusei, Jack, Aki, Rua, and Ruka) don't have many desirable development. They have the same tracked mind and always fight till the very end *Yawn*. Also the story is very screwy too; dueling on Motorcycles. Some one at Konami was really desperate to think of a new marketing idea. Riding 40-50 mph on a motorcycle down a stretch of high way while dueling is not my idea of super thrilling action; just plain stupid. Though this is such an idiotic course of action, they had to find one way to make the series keep existing. Another thing I'd like to point is they the changed the theme from Egyptian Mythology, to Aztec and Inca Mythology. Wasn't YuGiOh supposed to be about Egypt? I guess Kazuki Takahashi was impressed when he went on a trip to Peru or Mexico so he had to make a story based on that.

In the end I've watched a total of 50 episodes of this series, that a lot compared to the people who've given up on the series but watch it time to time. Probably reached the quarter make of it (my guess 160 episodes). At first I hated it but I had to give the series a chance since I like the Original YuGiOh series to begin with (Not the Duel Monsters one). The theme songs are pretty catchy and you find yourself looking for them online to put into your MP3. If you're a big player of YuGiOh TCG like I am, you might want to watch an episode or two but not dedicate to it. For those who like the series, you're probably a Narutard or some hopeless DBZ fan dope who can't differentiate between good Anime or something you saw in your monthly Newtype or Shonen Jump magazine. In the end of this I don't hate the series, but it's not a good series. You're probably better just playing the game and pretend this series doesn't exists.

Yours truly
Otakufreak

PS. I activate a Trap Card, take evasive action!!

CaRd GaMeS oN mOtOrCyClEs! While this idea sounded like an awful addition to the series back in 2008, the show has proven itself worthy throughout its 3-year run. It definitely is my favorite Yugioh spin and one of my top3 shows of all time.

Here's a spoiler-free review!

**Story - 10/10

Okay, our main character is some guy called Yusei Fudo. Cool guy. The story takes place in a harsh world, where there are two cities called Satellite and Neo Domino. Satellite is the aftermath of a big explosion where the peasants and workers live, while Neo Domino is a place of luxury where rich people thrive. ... Worst part is, there is no connection between two cities by land. No one gets out of Satellite. Also, people in Satellite can't duel nor possess motor cycles for dueling that we call "D-Wheels".

Yusei lives in Satellite, and makes his own D-Wheel with the help of his friends. His goal is to make it to Neo Domino City to take revenge from his former friend Jack Atlas, who's known as the "King" of duels and receives a crap ton of praise. Yusei just wants his stolen precious monster card back.

Also there are Syncho Monsters now! You use a tuner monster and a regular monster, put them together, and voila! You have a synchro monster. BTW, the card Yusei's after is also a synchro monster.

The writers take on from there, and make one good helluva show!

There are two main arcs, and while I don't wanna spoil anything, everyone loves and respects the first one. There is literally nothing- NOTHING bad about it; people loved how dark and interesting it was (so here's the point where I'm supposed to tell you not to watch the english dubs). It's packed with a lot of action, emotions, as well as plot twists!

The second arc isn't necessarily bad, but some people seem to have not liked it as much. This is mostly because the writers took a more sci-fi approach, which is out of the norm when you put OG Yugioh into account. I loved it regardless. There was a Gurren Lagann vibe, because the villains weren't very happy about how fast mankind was evolving with the Synchro monsters, and wanted to do something about it. I also think this one has one of the most relatable Yugioh main villains of all time, they just wanna do the right thing and aren't driven by evil spirits and whatnot.

There's also a Crashtown mini arc which stars at episode 86 and is just brilliant. Card games on motorcycles, but now in the wild west! I think it deserves a lot of praise, and that's why I had to mention it. It has a great story and you definitely should give it a go.

**Art - 7/10

Art style is very similar to what you see in other Yugioh animes; there are several "rape faces" and weird shots, that's just typical Yugioh for you. Needless to say, the looks and designs of characters and monsters are just eyecandy. The duels have become more packed with action (all thanks to motorcycles!), so there are plenty of monsters that have great looks and attack animations.

The only think bad about the art I can think of, are the transitions. The anime uses both 3D and 2D animation, and the transition can be reaaaaaaally awkward. Not bad, but awkward.

**Sound - 10/10

The show has great music. They make me cry like a baby, or scream "SYNCHRO SHOOKAN" in my mom's basement at 3am. It just evokes a lot of emotions, you know? They are of very high quality as well, don't even get me started with it because I could write a 5000 word essay on it. Just check Youtube for 5D's soundtrack, and you won't be disappointed. You know what? Dont, the videos might give you spoilers, just take my word for it? x)

My personal favorites are "You Say", "Freedom", "Yakusoku no Melody" and "Clear Mind", if anyone cares!

One more thing I love is that the producers often cut the hyping music in some moments, so we know for sure that Yusei won't be getting powerups over and over like your regular shonen MC, and the antagonists actually have a solid chance of winning.


**Character - 7/10

Character development is great in episodes 1-65. You can see that a lot within Jack Atlas, Akiza Izinski and the villains. We also see that our optimistic, friendly Yusei Fudo has a dark side that he hides and we barely know about. The characters feel very real.

So why'd I give it a 7/10? Here's why.

Episodes after 65 revolve around Yusei. After this point, no character has free will and they all rely on Yusei to do something. This ESPECIALLY applies for Akiza who had loads of potential as a strong, independent female sidekick, and Jack Atlas who (in my opinion) became a softie after everything that has happened. Unfortunately, we barely see any proper developments here until the last two episodes. Although, I gotta say, the villains of this arc have GREAT character development, as well as the guy who became a part of Yusei's friend circle.

**Final thoughts

So yeah. 5D's was very revolutionary for Yugioh, as it increased the pace of duels and allowed for today's dueling mechanics. This show was a very unique experience to me, as it felt "relatable" all the way and wasn't only about friendship nonsense that Yugioh franchise likes to follow. Whenever I think of the ending, I still cry like a baby! Not because our ship didn't become a reality or something, but because Yusei's last words really stuck with me and it's kinda sad. It was also very hurtful to say goodbye to such a great show. Aw man, I think I'm gonna cry again!

All in all, that's a solid 10/10 from me. I strongly recommend you watch it WITH SUBS AND NOT DUBS. I REPEAT, DUBS, SUCK, BALLS.

This anime is seriously one of the best I've ever watched. I love it to pieces. And by this, I am referring to the Japanese version, because the dub is just plain terrible. -_- It's a lot more mature than it's predecessors, DM and DMGX, so it's characters are older. The main character, Yusei Fudo, is an 18-year-old who lives in the slums of the Satellite, a poor city which only exists to serve the rich, upperclass residents of Neo Domino City. Much darker, no? I love this anime because the story, the art, the characters-they're all outstanding. Wow, that doesn't really say anything. ... Here's what I mean:

Story (10): The story for 5D's is simple, but complicated at the same time. In the beginning, it's pretty simple: the MC is going after his old friend who betrayed him and wants revenge. Though the story turns much more tangled and sophisticated. There is the dueling aspect of it too, where if you didn't see either of the first two series, you'd be totally confused. So if you haven't, it'd be a good idea to watch a few episodes or to look up the rules.

Art (9): The art in this anime is, for the most part, amazing. Why do I say for the most part? For some odd reason, some of the art in some episodes are top-notch, and some of the episode's art are terrible. For example, episode 40 had pretty terrible graphics, but 41's art was astounding. Don't let that drive you away though-the art changes get better as the series goes on.

Sound (10): The musical score is just amazing. The perfect music for the perfect times. The sound effects are great. The openings and ending songs are really cool too.

Character (10): The characters are all very likeable and admirable. They have backstories you can really empathize with. You even end up loving the villains, too!

Enjoyment (10): I enjoyed 5D's very much. It has a lot of twists and turns. The only reason I don't recommend this to everyone is just because of the dueling aspect, and how odd it might be for people to just play card games randomly. If you do get over this fact, though, you can really lose yourself to 5D's.

Overall (10): I think this was the best series in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. Everything about 5D's is astounding. A must-watch for all Yu-Gi-Oh! DM and DMGX lovers-and everyone else!

The first time I heard about the issuance of a new series of Yu-Gi-Oh! i was Happy even though I did not like Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and I did not watch it
but I was happy because I generally like the series Yu-Gi-Oh!

And when I saw the Yu-Gi-Oh!5D' I found it very interesting
maybe one of the reasons is that I love the series Yu-Gi-Oh!
but the idea here is new and there are different way duels, on the motorcycle or without it.


Story
...
Very wonderful and mysterious in the beginning, I liked the distinction that made between Satellite and the city's people and how Yusei managed to emerge from the Satellite's group and took the title of the king.

I liked also The idea of selectors and the Scarlet Dragon.

As usual there are Attention in friendship and confidence with playing cards and their impact on the duels.


Character

Yusei is very cool, Quiet, strong and gentle with everyone
Of coures he always think about his friends.

But he is different from the rest of the series characters of Yu-Gi-Oh in the age and his look.


Art

Development from the past, but there is still some negative aspects
Such as the high intensity in the formulation of hair and clothing
I do not like it in some of the characters.
[the clothes dosen't move at all ^^" ]


In general I advise Anime lovers, especially lovers of the series Yu-Gi-Oh to watch it, they will find it very cool and will enjoy it ^_^.

I'd like to start off by saying that I've been a huge fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! since I was a grade schooler. However, I'm not talking about all the terrible 4Kids dubs. The Japanese versions have such great writing and storytelling, you'd be doing yourself a huge disservice by watching this in the censored and butchered English dub. 4Kids decided not to even dub and air the last 10 episodes.

I will be reviewing this series as a whole and not each individual arc. Now with that out of the way, here are my thoughts on what I believe to be the best Yu-Gi-Oh! has to offer: ... Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's


Story: 10
What I hear a lot from people in both the avid and non-avid community is that the whole idea of card games on motorcycles sound incredibly silly. At first, I felt the same way. But hear me out, it's really badass.

The act of dueling on motorcycles known as D-Wheels (or Duel Runners in the dub) is called Riding Duels (or Turbo Duels in the dub). Think of this as this world's equivalent of circuit racing and illegal street racing. Of course, when there's illegal street racing, there will be police chases. The Public Security Maintenance Bureau (or Sector Security in the dub) is the authority that forces illegal D-Wheelers into a duel, in which the loser's bike shuts down.

The setting takes place some time waaay after the events of Duel Monsters and GX in Neo Domino City. A highly maintained and advanced city that feels so much more alive than just a city that glorifies a card game. Away from the main city is a slum area known as the Satellite. This place is basically the ghetto. This is also where laborers are forced to separate trash and recyclables. Security keeps heavy watch over Satellite, arresting anyone they possibly can. People living in the city treats people from the Satellite with heavy discrimination. A theme of this show is overcoming that discrimination and unifying those in the city and those in the Satellite.

The show also tackle themes of regarding revenge, death, and mass genocide. Just wanted to put that out there.


Characters: 9
5D's has my favorite protagonist in all of the Yu-Gi-Oh! series. Yusei Fudo. An 18 year-old duelist and mechanic living in the Satellite slums. He has a more mature and collected personality than the previous protagonists, adding to that, he's an incredibly good duelist. Rather than defeating his opponents with powerful cards, he uses a collection of what is thought to be weak and useless cards to achieve massive victories. He represents the weak but many lives of those living in the Satellite.

As for the rest of the cast, I would rather not spoil it, but I will say that they are the most developed and complex characters in Yu-Gi-Oh!

I do, however, want to mention Aki Izayoi. She is the female protagonist of 5D's and is only one in all the Yu-Gi-Oh! series that was not tossed aside as a cheerleader or damsel in distress for the main character. She received one hell of her own story arc and was written to be one of the best duelists and characters in the show.


Art: 7
It's pretty decent. Definitely a huge step up from Duel Monsters and GX. I'm very fond of the CG used in the show, as it makes for VERY eye-catching summon animations.


Sound: 10
My god, am I in love with the OST for this series. Yutaka Minobe did a fantastic job for 5D's. The OSTs from Duel Monsters and GX were only okay, but this one was just soooo good. It was such a shame that not even this was left in the English dub, 4Kids replaced it with their own crappy music.

An insert song was written by Masaaki Endoh called "Clear Mind." And let me just say that the scene where it played was hype as f**k.

As for sound effects, also great. A huge step up from the previous series.


Enjoyment: 10
There is a huge bias here, as I am still a very active Yu-Gi-Oh! player in college. There was no barrier of entry here, as I already play the game myself at a competitive level. So I was able to enjoy the story to its fullest extent.


Overall: 10
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's has a special place in my heart and I cannot fairly rank it on my favorites list. Yusei is my favorite character in any form of fiction of all times. He's such a heroic and righteous figure. There really were times where the show brought tears to my eyes. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's wasn't meant to be the children's show/advertising campaign that 4Kids made it out to be. It has a deep and compelling story and a large cast of lovable characters that I can never forget.

It's my first review 55+ It's a bit strange and not good english but I'll try the best.(I repair my score because It's awesome enough for 10 now ^_^)

Story
It's the best point of this show.You didn't hear wrong. It's true.
Within 20 episodes I think the plot is awesome. Many secret of dragon marker and signer concern with the past and development of main character.
That's enough for me. But This show make me surpised !
It's built many great event include with plot-driving every episode. Most of event I didn't expect. It's make this show exiciting more and more!

Art
the Animation is okay for me.But I think ... Animators can make better animation quality for this show...Some of episode if it's have better animation It's more enjoyable.But Sometimes I think to riding duel....It's make animator working hard.It want high quality animation(and i LIKE it)...since I have think to this. I understand everything...And says so..so..try the best animator-san!
and CG WOW! it's so coooool.

Sound
they fit with this show.OP/ED is great. OST of this show is make me concern. It's pop-rocks tecno like theme of this show.

Characters
The Characters in this show, I like The most is Yusei.He is smart,cool and smexy!(haha) but Aki, Ruka, Rua and Jack make me enjoyable too.Everyone have the past, character developmentand and nice habit.It's interesting and likable to watch. and..
Support character is useful!(Make me suprised again.) they have some development to driving a plot.and they have the past too(Wow...)

Enjoyment
Sure! It's very enjoyment for me! both of them(Duel and plot) are awesome.The main(Yusei) encounter with many trouble.It's exciting to see him find a way to against those trouble. and Hey! villians are work very well for me.they look smart.Oh Don't forget riding duel. It's entertaining for me than normal duel soooo much.

Overall
It's not like another series of Yu-gi-oh not like suck GX and original Yu-gi-oh. It HAVE plot and excitng story.Sometimes they have talk but hey! That talk for plot(Ep 14) It's new and follow me to watch this series to end.
I didn't want to see this make filler more and more like GX(I give up at five episodes) I wish director of this series don't betray me.

You should try this series at least five episodes!(Like I do with GX) but in times you won't find suck series ! You will find awesome series! Yu-gi-oh 5D's!

This is my personal favorite entry into the yugioh franchise of the 3 that I have watched (Duel Monsters, GX, and 5Ds). This brings us a fairly different take on some duels in the form of riding duels while still keeping the heart of the yugioh franchise alive.

Story (8/10):
As with any yugioh series, the story follows a series of adventures our heroes must take on against antagonists to save the world. How do they do it? In a series of card games, of course. However, I feel like the in-depth plot development of these arcs were very well-done. The audience was given a chance to ... understand the viewpoints of both the antagonists and our protagonists. The overall theme of the show is something along the lines of 'the importance of bonds between friends'. The show demonstrated this theme several times through the character's actions as well as through monologues and speeches made.

This show introduces the concept of dueling while riding a D Wheeler, basically a motorcycle. At first this idea seems silly, but the atmosphere of riding duels was very exciting. The characters and monsters were constantly in motion so there was a lot more going on than just finger pointing and monsters just chilling in front of our duelists.

We are also introduced to a new summoning technique, synchro summoning, to bring out new synchro monsters. This is what is used to bring out most of the new powerful monster, but it did not feel overpowered and was not the absolute single summoning technique in the show either. It brought a new update to the game that only served to make the duels more interesting to watch.

Art (7/10):
The character designs were on-point with yugioh's crazy hairstyles while managing to keep the overall deign of characters balanced. The background design of the different settings were distinct and unique. My main issue is that the quality of animation was somewhat inconsistent. Some episodes, we had breathtaking animation with fluid motion with excellent layout designs. Other episodes, the characters would look out of proportion even during closeups. The 3D models used worked very well for the most part even though it was fairly obvious that the characters/monsters were not drawn. There were a few times where the 3D just didn't work very well.

Sound (10/10):
5Ds knew exactly where it was going with its sound. The openings were all fantastic in terms of both music and animation while keeping with the overall theme of 'bonds'. The battle music helped several duels go from exciting to on-the-edge-of-my-seat exciting.

Characters (8/10):
Yusei is our first and only yugioh protagonist to start out at the age of 18. Not only that, he has had to deal with issues such as poverty and being an orphan as a child which made him grow up to be a strong adult. The rest of the cast each get the spotlight for their character development when necessary and are fleshed out very well. There were a few characters who had a lot of potential for better development and a larger role in the story that were slowly left out of the plot.

Enjoyment (10/10):
I laughed, I cried, and there were whole scenes that I re-watched at least 5 times because of how amazing they were. It was great seeing an older cast and the slight darker tomes the show had.

I would recommend this to anyone trying to get into the yugioh franchise and even if they weren't. You do not need to have watched any of the other yugioh shows to jump into this one, but be warned that the show does not hand-hold the audience through the rules of duel monsters that other yugioh shows might do.

Ok, first of all, I'm just going to say it, when Yugioh 5D's first came out I had zero interest in it. I'm not to sure why either. Probably because when I first watched it, it was like the 20th episode or something and that's probably why I couldn't get into it. So, after I applied to Hulu and decided to watch it I really kicked myself in the foot, because I can't believe that I missed such a great anime because I think Yugioh 5D's is not only the best in the series thus far, I think it's one of the best anime's ever ... established. It had an unique story line that really kept viewers engaged with its well developed plot lines for both seasons, the first one especially. Plus, this was the first time that we actually had a story that actually centered around not just one character but five. Yeah, Yugi and Jaden had friends that backed them up and everything but they pretty much did all the dueling and saving. In this one, it's five characters who are both dueling and saving the world.

The anime was top notch in this series, in certain situations or the summoning's of certain monsters like the Earthbound Immortals, the Majestic Dragons, Shooting Stardust Dragon, it almost felt like that they were actually there in actual life. It was outstanding.

Yugioh once again brought us some great themes to the show and a great theme song. Hyperdrive is the best theme of the show thus far and believe it or not, I actually never get bored of it whenever I hear it. The other two were ok for a while but then sadly loss their touch. I think the reason why this one works well is because it's a slow rock theme instead of a super hipped rock theme like the other two were. Nevertheless; it's a great theme.

The characters, while admitidly a couple of them are a little boring or so are very well done in this one and I think that, that is this series strongest point, the characters. Yusei is pretty much the same as Yugi and Jaden, but the difference is, is that he does more actually. While the other two pretty much only did was duel and save the world, Yusei was also a mechanic along with Crow and Jack, and if fit well for him and his friends because they were turbo duelists, so it only made sense that they would have to have mechanic skills so they could work on their duel runners.

Jack was a great character also though I'll admit I thought at first that he was gonna fall into the same rut as Kaiba. Being power hungry, wanting to prove that he's the best and do whatever it took to defeat his rival, but here not only does Jack not fall into that rut, but the rivalry here really, really works. It's my version of a rivalry done right. Cause unlike Yugi and Kaiba, as well as Jaden and Chaz who weren't friends and started out as rivals by being defeated by the hero. Yusei and Jack were actually friends to begin with, growing up in the Satilight, being part of a team known as the Inforcers, and what I really loved was that whenever Yusei loss to Jack due to some flashbacks that we got was that Jack would give Yusei some guidence by telling him that he has to trust in every card in his deck. Plus, unlike Kaiba and Chaz who would only work up a plan to try and defeat Yugi or Jaden to win back their honor, Jack would actually spend his time either drinking coffee, helping out with his friends on improving their duel runners, or would be out helping others. Like in one episode, he challenges a crime boss and demands that if he wins, they have to hand over every contract that they have. He of course does win, not using his deck of course but one of the victims decks which is a huge plus and rips up every contract that they have, freeing every victim from whatever contract they had. Jack was definetly a strong character and a huge step-up for your everyday rival. I would talk about every character but then this review would be too long. Maybe I'll update it one day and talk about the other characters, one of which that I would really love to talk about.

I really did enjoy this series and will probably watch it again, if you haven't seen this series yet and you're a die hard Yugioh fan like myself, I strongly reccomened that you see it, you will not be dissapointed unlike some certain peace of crap that came after this.

Yugioh 5'ds has to be one the greatest anime series I have ever seen. It wasn't afraid to go after dark themes such as death and beytral ( to name a few). It wasn't as overly done as yugioh! or yugioh GX imo.

Story 1010/10

The stroy was amazing in the fact each character actually had a role to play in it. I also liked the idea of riding duels ( even if i didn't think it was that good at first) because it was differnt from the other series. I also play the actual card game and I have to say I loved the introduction of ... sycnhro monsters in the series. Why? Because this time around they themselves ( more spefically the dragon synchros used by the main characters) had a role to play in the story and weren't just used because they were used 1000x by the main characters (ie. neos and dark magicain). The only complain i have is after the dark signer arc you really don't get to see that many female duelists duel when compared to males. ( Hell I think Ruka only got to duel twice the whole seris were as Rua got more than that)

Animation 10/10

The animation was all around pretty good probally cause it was recently made.

Sound. 10/10

I loved the sound. Each ost actually tied into what was going on in the episode. For example the first time I head " Legend of the People of the Stars " was planning when yuesi duels jack early in the begining of the series sent a shiver down my spine.

Characters 10/10

Definatly the main thing that made this anime stand out. You have a head strong protag who isn't a childish good-to-shoes that actually treasures freindship, an egostic rival who's actually managed to beat the protag more than a couple times and really grow as person and as well as girl who you see gets treated as a "psychopathec" monster by other people ( this to name a few). Character devolpment is really shown throughout the series espcially with someone like Rua who goes from a brat who acts tough to a man who has the balls to protect his sister. Everyone plays a vital role somehow or another. For example carly in particular I thought she was gonna be another joke character until after her encounter with divine. You also learn about everyones pasts and you can actually understand why the hell certain characters end up the way they are. Like I said before though I wish after the dark signer arc there could have been more emphaize on characters like Carly or Misty ( who pratically disapeers after the dark signer arc). But well imo its no big deal.

Overall: 10/10

Yugioh 5'ds is an anime that anyone should watch espcially if your a shouen genere type of person. Sure its not another one of those series where people just restort to voilence for everything, but either way the story characters and everything else will probally be some of the best youll ever see in the yugioh universe. LET'S REV IT UP!!!!!
Ah, 5Ds, how silly but awesome your concept was. I'll be honest, the first time I heard about it, I thought it was totally awesome. I mean, it's Card Games on Motorcycles, and I was in 5th grade. I loved Yu-Gi-Oh, and I loved motorcycles. And OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!, it delivered. The concept works, and was greatly entertaining. The characters were interesting, and much more mature in tone, which is both interesting for a series involving saving the world with a trading card game. The whole crew is awesome, and much like the entire series, so strongly written. Honestly, I just say you just watch it, stop reading my review and go and watch it for yourself. The music is good stuff, the characters are nice, the story is good, the duels are thought out well, and the writing is the best in the series compared to the last 2 series. Go, OFF WITH YOU, go give it a watch.

When people bring up Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, what first comes to mind for many is "CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES!" While it is true that this show does use motorcycles (called D-Wheels in the Anime) for duels, it does so in a believable manner. Coupled with enjoyable characters, an interesting story, and the best music of all the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, this could easily be the best anime adaptation for the beloved card game.

Story:
I'll try not to spoil any of the plot.

Prologue: About 17 year before the beginning of 5D's, a huge disaster occured that destroyed half of Neo Domino City, the setting of the show. The cataclysmic ... event left the city in ruins and tore off a huge chunk of land. After the city was repaired and everything returned to normal, that little island became to be known as Satellite, and that is where all the poor people are quarantined, along with convicts and other people that are not considered upper class. Satellite is where Yusei and his friends lived and grew up.

The first arc of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is the Dark Signers Arc. It focuses on the Signers vs Dark Signers war. The Dark Signers are trying to revive ancient deities to conquer the world. The Signers are people who have the mark of the Crimson Dragon, an ancient deity, and must stop the Dark Signers. The Signers comprise of the main protagonist group of the series; Yusei Fudo, Jack Atlas, Aki Izayoi, Crow Hogan, and Leo and Luna.

The second arc is the Ark Cradle. In the far future, humanity has been all but destroyed, by the very things they love most, Synchro Monsters. To prevent this future, a group of people travel back in time to erase what they believe to be the source of all the destruction of the future, Neo Domino City, which happens to be Yusei's home.

The first arc is slightly better than the second arc of the series. It had more plot twists and was much more darker in terms of themes and actions. That is not to say that the second arc is bad. Both arcs provide very entertaining duels, good character development, and other memorable moments. The actual story that each arc provides is easy to understand but is still geared more towards an older audience. The only fault is that the second arc has one or two little plot holes that can go easily unnoticed, and quite a few episodes of filler.

Art:
Visually this is just like any other Yu-Gi-Oh!. Cool monsters, sparkly card effects, and outrageous hairstyles. But it should be noted that this is first Yu-Gi-Oh! series to use quite a bit of CGI. The CGI is mostly used for the Synchro Monsters, most notably the protagonists cards. The art style changes from drawings to CGI frequently, and it sometimes makes the mosnters look a bit wierd.

Sound:
Easily the best out of all the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchises. The instrumental pieces used throughout the series do their job very well. Some themes are very recognizable that when it starts playing, you know what's going to happen next. But what really stands out are the vocal tracks that are played during the show. Even after the introduction of Zexal, 5D's is the only Yu-Gi-Oh! series to insert vocal music during the show. The most notable song would be "Clear Mind' by Masaaki Endoh. It is a Japanese rock song that first plays when Yusei first summons "Shooting Star Dragon". With the fast paced action of dueling on D-Wheels, this song playing in the back ground, while Yusei renounces the needed summoning chant, adds up to the most epic summon I've seen in Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Character:
I will only be covering the six main protaganists.(Minor spoilers)

Yusei Fudo is the true main protagonist of the series. Yusei is a calm and collected individual who rarely raises his voice when not needed. He is very loyal to all his friends, even one's who have back stabbed him in the past. Growing up poorer than dirt, he's learned that nothing is worthless and that all people should be allowed to have what they need, especially friends. Even though he may pass off as stoic and headstrong, beneath this facade is a man who is deeply depressed about the disaster that happened in the past. His personality changes greatly during the first arc, becoming much happier, and the second arc really shows how he's grown since the beginning. His skills not only lie in dueling, for he has also learned many other useful skills. He can fix anything with an engine, and has vast knowledge on Momentum, the power source of the city.
His duels are mostly on his bike, but many duels have his two feet firmly on the ground. Either he way, he uses superior tactics and strategy to defeat all opponents who look down on him.

Jack Atlas, a childhood friend of Yusei, he too grew up in the poor district of Satellite. As he got older, he got sick of the poor man's life and wanted to be among the riches. A mysterious person offered him a life such as that, but the catch would be abandoning his friends. He then became a master duelist known as the King, and his history from Satellite all but forgotten. Jack comes off as arrogant, obnoxious and really over-confident. He always proclaims that no one can defeat him in a duel. But as the series goes on, he comes to regret betraying his friends and then does his best to keep the friends he has. His duels are just as entertaining as Yusei's and his number of duels in the show are second only to Yusei.

Crow Hogan, he does not make an appearance until halfway through the first arc. But his personality is nearly the same as Yusei. Kind, caring, and good at heart. But when compared to Yusei and Jack, Crow is easily the most childish of them. He can come off as an immature prankster, but he only wants all friends to be happy. Unlike Yusei and Jack, Crow chose to stay behind in Satellite.

Aki Izayoi, is one of the more interesting characters of the show. She is known as a psychic duelist, people who can make duel monsters come to life, not just holograms. In addition, whoever duels her receives physical damage equal to their lifepoint damage. Her past is the darkest of all the protagonists, and it really adds to her character development, for she debuted in the series as a cruel and heartless person, uncaring for other people. But in reality, she's just a poor girl who needs a little love, and who else but Yusei comes to the rescue. Her duels are definitely interesting since people actually get injured during her duels, some even to the point of unconsciousness.

Leo and Luna are twins, with Leo a boy, and Luna a girl. These twins are completely unlike the protagonists, because they're young, rich, and inexperienced. But they still try to find the good side to anything and always try to be their happiest. Luna has the power to talk to duel spirits, much like Jaden from GX. Leo has no special powers. After an encounter with Yusei, they begin to experience things that help them grow into better duelists and better people.

Enjoyment:
Like all Yu-Gi-Oh! animes, the true treasure in this show is the duels. There are mainly two kinds of duels, either on a D-Wheel or on your feet. Either way, the duels in this show are the most like duels in real life. There aren't any game breaking cards that let a player win instantly. The duels take time and each player sets up their victory many turns ahead of time. Most of the time, the protagonist cards are weaker than their opponents, and they must adjust their tactics and strategy to beat them. With duels that force each character to change their playstyle for a while, no duel is uninteresting.

Overall:
The anime is great. While humor and seriousness are not even, it makes the show more enjoyable. For an estimation, the show is about 70% serious and 30% humor, with most of the humor coming from filler episodes. If you are a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! or just fast paced strategy games, then don't ignore this anime.

I wouldn't recommend this to any people that aren't familiar with Yu Gi Oh because they would struggle to follow the duels that make up far more than who wins. Lots of character development is tied into the dueling and play styles reflect characters.

For people that can follow the dueling, the start of all these Yu Gi Oh animies tend to start slowly with bad duels but they duels themselves get much better later in.

The character development is superb and arcs well throughout.

My main complaint would be the dubbing US company cut out around 20 episodes at the end and literally changed the ending. The ... dubbed ending is basically just bad and cuts out crucial development and story features, so even if you prefer watching dubs, switch over to subs over Season 4 because the dub cuts out there.

Let's talk about Yugioh 5d's.
If you've ever heard about the monstrous discrepancy between the Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh anime and the smoothed anime by 4kids (talking about Dual Monsters), well, it's even worse. 5d's is the moment when a real director tried to make something out of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise by putting it in a futuristic dystopian context.

Far away from the age of the Heart of the Cards, the fancy millennium items and championships for titles, the card game in 5D's has become the social norm for settling anything and everything. It's become a kind of ultra-popular, over-mediated sport. The rich own the rare cards and ... use them to crush the working class, it's almost Marxist on the edges. Fudo Yusei is one of those oppressed but who manages to get out of his unhappy fate by the sheer force of his talent. We are not talking about just knowing how to play a few cards well and having a lucky draw, this is the first time that we see players actually playing their own deck well rather than each time getting cards out of the script.

In short, Yu-Gi-Oh 5d's is not only Yu-Gi-Oh on motorcycles, it's probably the only one in the franchise to have tried to have a deep message, a sustained rhythm, complex characters, symbolic violence that really comes to life (it's about class struggle, sect, suicide, prison, discrimination) and that dares to put a main character already mature but not without evolution. Just making a good anime simply and not just a tool to sell boosters. So there are some flaws that remain eh, there is still magic and destiny lying around. But I sincerely think that given what the anime has to offer, it's worth seeing even for a non fan of the original series and even more so for those who had left it far away thinking that it must have been something close to stupid.

8/10 Story (Deep & intelligent but have some boring or predictable parts)
6/10 Art (Kinda old now)
10/10 Sound (Amazing OST!)
8/10 Character (Some are really great, notably Aki)
9/10 Enjoyment (Well directed)
8/10 Overall (Very Solid)

Watch Yu-Gi-Oh 5d's, and in subbed for pity's sake.

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, while certainly not without its flaws, is the third addition to the Yu-Gi-Oh anime franchise (not counting the one by Toei) and is quite possibly the most intriguing of the bunch. As you should know by now, in this series the card games are played on motorcycles, or "D-Wheels" (Duel Runners if you're watching the dub, but really, the dub is so bad it's laughable, so the Japanese version is recommended in this case). I'm sure everyone had the initial "Card Games on Motorcycles?!?!" reaction upon coming across this show, myself included. But really once you think about it, GX ... had an school that teaches kids how to play card games for a living, so motorcycles can't be that much more ridiculous.

Story (7/10): The story is more outlandish and interesting than its predecessors, being set in the future (though exactly how much in the future compared to GX and DM is never said), and it is also a bit darker since it's set in a dystopian society. Synchro monsters are heavily used by characters here much like how fusions were used a lot in GX. The "Card Games on Motorcycles" concept is executed quite well; it has its own system of dueling with "Speed World", and regular ground duels still occur often. On the other hand, it is a bit annoying that an explanation is never given for how card games on motorcycles originated or why the characters even bother with the trouble.
The overarching plot is based in Incan culture which was nice, but there's not really anything that's particularly deep or though-provoking in the plot, and card games and friendship (KIZUNA!!!!) are still used to save the world, though more believably than the other two series. The main characters are the Signers who are chosen by the Crimson Dragon, a Yu-Gi-Oh god, to save the world from the Dark Signers. There are a fair share of twists and turns and a good amount of foreshadowing (though sometimes it's not that subtle), but there are also a few deus ex machinas, so be warned. There are a few places where the story slows down a bit for duels, but overall the plot moves along quite nicely. The first arc was probably the most consistently good, but the second arc really made you like the characters despite some speed bumps near the end.

Art (7/10): The art is quite a mish mash, ranging from really good (though still not with a lot of moving) to mediocre, and it's obvious that the animation team changes with each episode. The CGI for certain monsters can be really bad as well, but it thankfully doesn't use it that often. Overall, the art is okay and usually doesn't detract from the viewing experience.

Sound (8/10): This series is known among fans for having a great soundtrack that really helps support the mood of the scene. It probably won't make anyone's Top Anime Soundtracks of All Time, but the music is still consistently good.

Characters (8/10): This show is better at not making the focus on only one character and having them duel all the time than the previous two (I'm looking at you, GX). It also has some of the best character development the franchise has to offer. Since there aren't too many main characters, I'll just go through them one by one.

Yusei Fudo- Yusei, the main character, is a serious and cool Signer instead of a standard shonen idiot hero. He is also unfairly looked down upon by society due to his background. Both of these things are a fresh breath of air from Judai from GX, and it was really cool to seem him win duels in clever ways and make people change the way they view him. He's a static character, but he also is quite round in his personality; though initially he's just a kind stoic who really cares about his friends but otherwise doesn't let much bother him, later he's shown to have insecurities and is quite distraught whenever someone he cares dies. But like I said previously, he's a static character so he doesn't go through much character development at all (this is not necessarily a bad thing). Overall, he's probably one of the most likable characters in the series, and I'm glad they didn't decide to make him invincible, win every duel through cards that he never had before and will never use again, and steal all the screen time. *coughs*

Jack Atlus: Jack is the rival of this series, coming from the same background as Yusei, and is the main antagonist of the first arc despite also being a Signer. I know that a lot of people think he's a cheap rip-off of Kaiba, and he really seems like that at first, being a jerk who betrayed his friends so that he could become the King of Riding Duels. Later, however, I think Jack's really more like Silver from the Pokemon games, and by that, I mean WAY BETTER THAN KAIBA. Jack is a dynamic round character so he goes through a lot a character development (probably the best next to Ushio's, who isn't really a main character and thus I won't spend much time talking about him) and later you find out that he's really not as much of a jerk as Kaiba (and is over 9000 times better than said CEO), and is also insecure and most of all HUMAN. I could gush on and on about how awesome it was to see Jack change from a knock-off of Kaiba (who is just a plain jerk whose only redeeming factor is his relationship with Mokuba) to a man who is trying to improve himself. He also has ATLAS PUNCH which is just plain awesome. Definitely my personal favorite character, and he's pretty well-received by others as well. It's just a good thing that they didn't make him a total noob at card games later and be mostly for comic relief than an actual rival.
*coughs loudly*

Aki Izayoi- Aki is a Signer who happens to have psychic powers that make any card she plays come to life. Although this may seem cool at first, this also means that any damage she inflicts is actually painful and destructive, which leads her to be prejudiced against by society. Aki is probably best described as misunderstood. She is initially a violent, destructive, but skilled duelist who everyone hates (I think this is the Aki that most people like), but it is later revealed that the unstableness of her personality stems mostly from her parents. While the way this is presented mostly makes Aki come off as a brat who takes things too seriously, it also shows that she is not genuinely a bad person, but just has somewhat understandable issues. I think Aki's character development from a violent witch to a stable, well-meaning individual made people think her character got derailed, but I don't think that "violent witch" was really part of her personality in the first place; it was just a mask. But no matter how you look at it, Aki was a good character with a design that many men I know are happy with. I'm just glad they didn't make her a bench warmer whose is totally dependent on Yusei for everything.
*nearly chokes on the mucus in her throat*

Ruka and Rua- Ruka and Rua are "identical" twins, so they look alike despite the fact that one of them is a girl and the other is a boy. They are younger than the rest of the cast, being around 11 while everyone else is in their late teens. Ruka is the younger yet more mature Signer twin, and is also a dueling prodigy who can talk to duel spirits like Judai and Manjoume from GX. Rua is the immature older twin who is not a Signer and probably fits the idiot hero bill better than anyone else. He's reckless, and he cries if he loses a duel. But he truly cares about his sister and wants to protect her, and his character is developed quite a bit. Ruka, while nice and insightful, is a bit of a disappointment. She actually gets to duel less than Rua despite the fact that she's a Signer and Rua's not. She's not weak in a dueling sense, but she gets to duel so rarely that it's hard to tell that she's really a prodigy.

Crow Hogan- Crow is a guy who comes from the same background as Yusei and Jack and yet is introduced 30 whole episodes after they were introduced. He's probably the worst character of the main cast because of this. While his personality of being essentially a loud-mouthed Robin Hood figure for children is okay (though still not very interesting), him suddenly getting introduced in the second arc and being old buddies with Jack and Yusei, despite never being mentioned or even foreshadowed makes him creep into Gary Stu territory. He also has a deck that is very good in real life and thus, Crow almost never loses a duel. I personally don't hate Crow as much as many others do, but it's impossible to deny that he stole screen time from more interesting characters who were established before him solely to promote his deck. That, and his D-Wheel can fly.

Enjoyment (9/10): In my opinion, this is the most enjoyable Yu-Gi-Oh series to date, with interesting characters who all actually do stuff and a plot that actually goes somewhere. Seeing Yusei be prejudiced against by society yet still kick butt was awesome, as well.

Overall (8/10): Being 64 episodes long and with virtually no filler, Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's is a must-see for any Yu-Gi-Oh fan even with its ridiculous concept. I'm just glad they didn't make the series 90 episodes of crud longer and totally derail virtually every character's personality. *falls out of her chair in a coughing fit* Wow, I think I might be coming down with something.