Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Duel Monsters

This was my favorite anime as a teenager, but now it isn't. The aspect of Yugioh that I loved were the characters like Seto Kaiba,Yami Marik,Spirit of the Ring/Thief King. The problem with this anime is that(other than Tea in season 1) they play and talk during a card game and but the story of basically every season is good. You could just skip to episode 199(The Egyptian Season) its the best arc of the series

I think I'm on the right season, but apologies if not. Another mini review by Waldy565 :D - just two more shows to review now, Pani Poni Dash and Gurren Lagann.
So, I went into this anime with expectations set low, after all, I'd grown up in a generation where you were a Pokemon fan, a Yu-Gi-Oh fan or a Digimon fan, and me and my friends were massive Pokemon fans. (And still are). I did have a friend however who was in to Yu-Gi-Oh, so I had dabbled in the game, but all the stats flew by me when I was a kid, I ... enjoyed the simplicity of Pokemon much more, and it took over, but I gave the anime the benefit of the doubt, and decided to take a look...Ugh...
The voice acting is what first hit me. It's not terrible... Well, OK, what I mean is it possibly tries to be cheesy, but in a funny way, and falls flat on it's face. They're all lines like: "Hang in there!", "You can do it!" etc. I mean, that dialogue isn't too bad, and the script wouldn't be half as bad if it was done decentley, I mean, you have a gritty antagonist, a "almost about to die" grandfather, a girl who says things like "You should be ashamed of yourself"... but I digress...
The animation is also what caught me. It's also not the worst I've seen, but it's been done a lot better. To be generous, there's no clipping or any mistake like that that would completely jar the experience, but what did jar it for me was the lip synchronization. It was terrible! Long words were spoke, and the characters mouth would just move into an "o" shape and back, without rhyme or rhythm. Sure, this happens on stuff like Pokemon as well, but Pokemon's still going strong and attracting fans almost every day, and everyone knows Pikachu over Blue Eyes White Dragon (but DAYUM does that card bring back nostalgia memories haha!)
Overall, Yu-Gi-Oh is OK for what it is, an anime based off the card game. Generic characters that you can't really get attached too? Hell yes. A story that jumps all over the damn place? You got it. But it does a good job at promoting the series, and some of the card battles are awesome. To give it a JeremyJahms (search him up on Youtube) review, this is a good time... with alcohol ;)

Yu-gi-oh: Duel Monsters was one of the very first anime titles I got hooked on in high school and the trading card game that it promoted was also something that I was a casual player of during my time in college. Focused on teenager Yugi Moto possessing an Egyptian artifact called the Millennium Puzzle that lets an ancient spirit possess him to take on enemy threats in Duel Monsters games, I mainly was hooked on the series since it offered a more darker alternative to the more popular and light-hearted Pokemon franchise. Looking back on it now though, I have come to realize that Yu-gi-oh ... has many issues that plague it throughout its 224-episode run.

The most obvious issue that comes with the series is that it mostly exists as a promotion for said mentioned trading card game. Before I go into more depth with this issue, I should provide some quick history. Before the card game took off, the Yu-gi-oh manga source material created by Kazuki Takahashi was more focused on the ancient spirit of the Millennium Puzzle punishing evil characters encountered by Yugi and his friends with Penalty Games that inflicted ironic and often lethal punishments on the mentioned evil-doers. There is even a late-1990s anime adaptation of said series that Toei created covering these early parts of the manga. The card game end of the series came about in some episode arcs where Yugi and his friends got into the card game craze and crossed paths with diehard collector and game champion Seto Kaiba. This part of the series grew so popular that Konami started up their own version of the trading card game that continues to be popular to this day and said popularity led Konami to persuade Kazuki Takahashi to change up his title's story direction to focus more on the trading card game.

The influence of Duel Monsters' product promotional influence is rather obvious with the good majority of its title focus. In the same vain as Dragon Ball Z does for shounen battle anime, many of Yu-gi-oh's trademark card game duels often drag out for several episodes at a time and characters often get in the annoying habit of shouting out their moves, what the effects of their cards are, bragging that their strategies are flawless, and our heroic characters lucksacking (for non-card game players, lucksacking means luckily drawing the right card needed by chance) far too often when it appears they are down for the count. The mentioned lucksacking often involves the enemy duelist having some overpowered card or strategy that makes whatever our heroic characters are doing having them struggle to stay in the game until the hero conveniently draws just the card(s) they need to turn the tide of the duel.

Even with the card game promotion it does, the Yu-gi-oh anime also obviously does not properly follow the rules of the game that you would follow in real life. I will avoid getting into a long-winded rant about what rules are bent by the anime since it is not relevant for the sake of this review. But obviously, the anime will bend things with the rules of the actual game for the sake of plot convenience and advancement. A number of the overpowered cards from the anime when released in a physical format often have their effects altered or nerfed for the sake of gameplay balance in the real-life trading card game. Also, the rules used for playing the game in the anime are often quite different from the actual game and makes the following the anime not the most reliable means of learning to play the card game, especially with the rampant lucksacking and many of the character decks not being tournament caliber. Western players of the card game will obviously notice this with the Duelist Kingdom arc with gimmicks like land stat boosts and no tributes needed to summon higher-level monsters, while anything from Battle City arc and later is played more closely to the current card game rules albeit with lesser Life Points and some additional rules not found in the real-life game. However for those unaware, Duelist Kingdom arc follows an older version of the card game in Japan that is based on gimmicks following similar rules that the arc plays by.

Now let us move on to plot and characters. The gist of the plot involves the adventures of Yugi and his friends as they learn more of the origins of the seven Millennium Items, powerful Egyptian artifacts that possess various magical effects, and the ancient spirit that possesses Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. While the anime offers exploration of these story elements at points throughout the series, they are mostly overshadowed at points by the show's large focus on the card game duels and mostly feels like a backdrop to have a reason for the card games to exist at all. The characters do not get much fleshing out either as they mostly follow standard anime archetypes and exist either as cheerleaders supporting Yugi or other characters during their duels or as opponents built up to be threats until they are inevitably defeated by any major character in the series. Pretty much, plot and characters in this series are nothing but a hollow shell for this series to have its trading card game matches.

Many Western audiences will also be familiar with the infamous heavy editing done to the series by 4Kids. Obviously, many of the changes done to the series were done to make Yu-gi-oh appropriate and accessible to younger American audiences with character name changes, objectionable content such as violence and nudity being edited or removed, additional spoken lines of dialogue added that are not found in the original Japanese version, and removing any trace of Japanese dialogue found onscreen. Yet at the same time, these changes can make the series even more of a chore to watch through as they can be insulting to the intelligence of viewers. Mentions of the Shadow Realm are, in many instances, used for the series to get around cases where characters are in life-threatening situations or just got killed. Removing all traces of Japanese onscreen dialogue makes things ridiculous during the card game duels since the original version of the series had all the card text for the cards on them, while the 4Kids version only has the card graphics, stats, and level of each card played thus leaving some to wonder how characters could even know the effects of their own cards. But perhaps the most annoying addition to the series was its incessant habit of talking about friendship constantly throughout the series (the Japanese version also did this to a degree, but not as rampant) and made the character of Yugi's gal pal, Anzu (or Tea for viewers of the 4Kids version), a very hated character among many of the show's fanbase since she was the biggest offender of being so needlessly preachy with discussing friendship.

Overall, Yu-gi-oh: Duel Monsters pretty much has all the typical flaws you can find with an anime title being a source of product placement with its plot and characters being thinly veiled excuses to promote the trading card game that is a regular sight throughout the series. Unless you are a younger fan who also enjoys the trading card game, I wouldn't even recommend watching through the 224 episodes of this series as there is little memorable to get out of it beyond the game duels.

Well, this will be my first ever review so here it goes.

Yu-gi-oh! Duel Monsters is a commonly known anime from many, mostly for its dubbed works and its airing on Saturday.
So I have decided to give both the subtitles/Japanese and dub a try.
Overall the story is alright, you have the main Yugi and his "other self" with his friends playing the card game duel monsters while going on adventures.
Each season has a different villain and plot towards it, so reason why I gave it a 6 is because its constant changes.
Never really attached me towards the story because it feels like it was dragged then ... rushed towards the finish.
The art, a solid 6 because for me it's not the best styles out there up for grabs but flexible.
The sound in the English dub version is flat along with it not fitting many situations as to comparing the Japanese version.
The characters don't really improve towards the series, the only major character changing is Yami, Yugi, and Joey/Jonouchi. Most of the other characters usually then don't do much to help out the series, or make an appearance then leave for many episodes later to finally come back.
Most of the characters are just side-line 'cheerleaders' or minor plot fillings for an episode.
The enjoyment is a 6 because, there was way beyond level of fillers in this series. I would have given the enjoyment an 8 if it wasn't for all the drawn out duels/talking and plot filling.
Overall the series is a 7 because of the story, enjoyment and sound, also in reminder its an anime directed more towards a younger viewer.

Typically, I tend to dislike animes that end in the way YuGiOh ended, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything was very well put together and thought out - the plot, the characters, the art, and the dubs was actually remotely decent. I have never thought of calling an anime flawless before, but YuGiOh might be the first show I label as such. It really was that damn good. For a card game with rules that were all thought of on the fly by the author, it all seems very well thought out and equally well executed. Kazuki really outdid himself with this one. 10/10

First all of i want to discuss about some complaints i read about this anime.

1) It got a darker tone than pokemon/digimon, counter-animes of the same time

Well, not all animes needs to be cheesy and kid-friendly, ALSO ... Do i have to remind that Pokemon touched sensible topics such as SLAVERY of animals? That's not dark to you?

2) Yu-Gi-Oh is sponsoring too much the card game and the anime is ridicolous for that, it is just a marketing thing

Many animes sponsors their products (Card games, toys, plushies, etc.) ... but we need to review the anime! Not the fact of marketing and commercialization of products ... connected to a series, or else also Pokemon would be shitty for all the products connected on it.

3) The plot is stupid and doesn't make sense, you place a card and you get an hologram out of it? Wtf?

Same goes with pokemon! You throw a ball and a yellow rat that shoots thunderbolts appears? Dude, animes are not reality, they need to have that touch of no-sense, expecially if they are meant for kids/teenies! Don't bullshit a show for the randomness or the fantasy used on it, because that's also a part that makes a great anime a masterpiece!

4) "Its not the same as Digimon or Pokemon. With those you get the feeling of the trainers training their creatures and befriending them. Yu-Gi-Oh! doesn't have that appeal to it"

I disagree strongly. One name, Arkana! In that episode we got to see the real meaning of befriend and trust ... and well, also in many other episodes.


Other than that, like the counterparts in the same time (Digimon, Meintantei Conan, Pokemon, Beyblade, etc.), i see the anime as a masterpiece, in every aspect of it! Very fun and enjoyable, music is pretty great, character developement is deep for main characters, not much for secondary ones, but it's fine for me. Plot is interesting, and all this variety of characters makes you never feel bored!

I finish saying this. Remember that this is a kid's targeted show, it needs magic, a bit of no-sense, kids needs to see the MC always winning, loving him for that, etc. It's not a serious anime like Kimi No Nawa (Very Deep and psychological), or like Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, where not always everything goes as expected, and is not like other animes where also the evil forces wins sometimes, it must be a type of anime like "THE HERO ALWAYS WINS" ... so yeah, think very hardly when reviewing an anime, people that gives this global masterpiece a rating of 2/10 just because of "Monsters coming out of cards" ...

This is my first review for an anime on this site, so bear with me. I won't break down the anime categorically like many other reviewers have already. This is just my honest review and assessment.

A year ago, I watched this entire anime dubbed in 2 weeks. I loved it that much. I watched some episodes when I was a kid, so watching this as an adult I got that nostalgic feeling that many other people have.

The pros of this anime are that the characters are all likeable for the fact that they are all competing for someone or something, the duels are interesting ... in that it shows what the duelists are thinking while each match plays out, and lastly for the message that it tries to convey throughout all the episodes: the importance of friendship.

The only cons that I can think of are it is at times repetitive, the villains are a little lackluster and almost every duel has a predictable outcome (except for that twist in season 4).

Overall, I give this anime a 10/10 for personal enjoyment and the fact it became popular here in the United States. I still know people who play the card game religiously. I am not one of them, although I wish I was. Anyways there is nothing more for me to say, I hope my review was enough for you to give this anime a chance.

Since I remember watching this show on 4Kids TV every morning as a child, this anime really is close to my heart. However, since this anime is so nostalgic for me I may be a little bit biased in my review. Now, this anime is by no means perfect, but it is pretty enjoyable. One of the biggest gripes I have with this anime is the big difference between the cards in the anime and how they actually work. Most times, the cards in the series have completely different abilities than they do in the actual card game. Furthermore, this series has a tone of ... ass pulls that leave the watcher utterly confused. Another problem I had with this anime was the whole "friendship conquers all" theme. In my opinion, I found it really cheesy. Despite some issues, I did find this anime enjoyable. Overall, I would give this anime a 7 out of 10.

Well here is a flashback to my childhood. When I was younger, I had the cards, played the card game, and tried to watch the show rather religiously. Now as I have gotten older, the first series to me is the best out of them all. It was simple during that time, no pendulum summons, no ‘playing on motorcycles’ and so on. I will try hard not to spoil anything but it is really hard not to when the whole show is based Tournament style.

To talk about the story, one must first remember I watch English dubs, so this will all be based on the ... English dub that I know has been changed around because of 4Kids… which means I am also looking at the second anime. Yes, there were two Anime (this surprised me as well when I was looking it up) There is an anime that was before the one we all know and love. The second thing to remember is that in the world this show is based off of, Dual Monsters is based off of an Egyptian game played thousands of years ago. A lot of which means HUGE SPOILERS that will make the story have no sense until those spoilers are brought up within the show. Basic just of the show is Yugi is (I think) a middle school boy who one day gets a strange puzzle from his Grandfather to put together. He actually does figure it out and is made the host of a mysterious spirit from Egyptian times who was within the puzzle. From there, every time him and his friends are in trouble, this spirit comes out and duals the person bothering them. That’s basic just of this series as there are a bunch of ‘arcs’ in it.

The first arc is Yugi’s Grandfather being kidnapped by Pegasus… excuse me, just Yugi’s Grandfather’s soul if you want to get technical. This means Yugi and his friends end up going to Pegasus’ Island to Battle in the Duelist Kingdom. The second arc is the Battle City Arc where Kaiba learns of three powerful god cards and wants to take them for himself so Yugi and the gang end up dueling in that. The Third Arc was basically Dual Monsters with Dice which didn’t last too long, followed by Legendary Heroes which was an arc that took place within a virtual game. That Is all the arcs I remember at least and who stood out.

So that’s the arcs, what about the characters? Let’s start out with our main character, Yugi. Yugi Muto is a very young looking, kind hearted child who loves games and puzzles. It’s a little hard to talk about him as there are pretty much two sides to him, the normal young and sweet boy and the spirit that lives within the millennium Puzzle. The two blend so well at times that I do consider them one and the same at least till later on in the series. The sad part is that there isn’t much else I could talk about for Yugi. He doesn’t stand out when you look at the fact he is the main character and the one the show is named after. His father is not really talked about really, he lives with his Grandfather managing the family game store, but other then that there isn’t much else.

His friends are a bit more interesting in personality like Joey. Joey Wheeler is one of Yugi’s best friends, but even the show didn’t start out that way really. It started out with Joey and Tristan bullying Yugi which ended up with Joey somehow. Throughout the whole series, Joey grows from a smart ass troublemaker type kid to a more responsible and loyal friend. Yugi pretty much stays the same but this growth is what really makes Joey stand out over Yugi.

Next is Tea. Tea feels much like a token female in the group. She is cheerful, down to earth, and acts like a mother figure when the group needs a shoulder to lean on. Unfortunately, they also made her a stereotype of a girl in at least the 4kids aspect, becoming jealous of other women and in how she talks sometimes. I’m not sure if she is like that in the Japanese version, but there was always something off about her and the way she was betrayed as the weakest of the group.

Tristan sadly feels like the oddball out. I don’t think I remember any time that they centered on him or gave him a chance to stand out. If they did, he really didn’t catch my attention at all during then. Where Tea is the weakest in terms of strength while dueling, Tristan is weakest in terms of just overall personality.

The artwork of this show is really spiky. This is one of those very interesting shows with the overly unrealistic hair style. I do not know how much gel each of those characters use, but I do vote that Yugi uses more then anyone. The show started out rather natural with school boy and girl outfits and normal looking clothing, but as the show goes on it gets more and more punk rocker style. They add chains after chains on them, the belts get a bit thicker, and even Tea started to show off her midrift. The bodies of the characters are normally all very skinny with pretty long legs and arms although its not as crazy as shows like xxxHolic. The lip sink starts out not that good and then gets better with time but considering it was 4Kids who dubbed the show, I chalk it up to them.

So, onto the English voices… This was done by 4kids so how was it? Actually, I don’t think they did half bad. It didn’t make me bleed out my ears, the voices at least sounded reasonable for the people who were talking and even the accents of some of the side characters didn’t bug me. I think the most that bothered me was the script and how dumbed down they had made it. It is really clear how they tried to make the show more American then Japanese and sometimes their ‘teen lingo’ seemed dated. Otherwise, its actually one of the very few that they didn’t butcher.

So what exactly could I say about this? Well, its nostalgia plan and simple. It’s a children’s show and it will always be a children’s show show unless they come out with a new dub for it without cuts. Don’t let the fact that 4Kids had a hand in the show turn you away from at least trying the show.

First long anime I've watched completely so far, and that's my reason for writing this review. Warning that it might potentially contain *spoilers* so be careful, I'm not going to hold back.
As an anime, you could say there are better than this, well of course, thing is, if you've played YuGiOh in some way for a long time, playing against many decks, you eventually get into the playstyle a lot, and I mean a hell lot into it. This will perform a good effect while watching the anime so you start making up some lore of the cards that are written in their effects, other ... cards, etc. This specially happens during the final 20 episodes or so. Plotwise it has few unnecessary arcs but before the last main arc you are going to get the worst thing ever made in YuGiOh, with a bad animation, plot and basically everything, even though the previous arc to this is also another fill, but unlike last mentioned, this one had marvelous music and great animation at peak points, which made the arc more than bearable (talking about doma/atlantis/dartz arc).
Now, about the characters, I really couldn't imagine myself liking Jonouchi, he seemed like a dumb duelist headed to failing always, BUT, he has a great development, such a great development that he's my second choice for best character in the anime. First place? MOTHER FUCKING KAIBA SETO, simply perfect, looked like a Vegetta character, but he's flawless, you always to see him struggling over his defeats, himself and the world, even if I thought he couldn't be improved, as the episodes went on, he kept improving, GOD, how much more perfect can he get?!
My favorite villain ought to be Bakura, even though Marik seemed lame, he improved decently and became a nice villain, but Bakura is another level, he's the best kind of villain you could ask for this show, he's very well defined even through his deck's strategies and theme. That's another thing amazing about this anime, every character is reflected in their own deck, doesn't matter if it's someone only focused on brute power, dark low tricks, constrictive strategy or whatsoever, no one has two exact decks.
About music, GOD DANG IT IT'S AMAZING, throughout the anime you get to listen to some "key songs" that may or not repeat depending on the episodes, but the thing is that the song that inspired a frightful feeling 3 episodes ago, now it's EPIC and it doesn't feel wrong at all because they know how to use and the exact frame when to use it. 10/10 simply.

Now, suming up, this anime has some unnecessary arcs that may be dull sometimes, but everything (or almost imo) is made up for something in particular, so, I would strongly recommend this anime if it's for someone who's a true and veteran duelist, not for any regular anime watcher, being able to play the cards, know their mechanics, effects, and mostly important, to let yourself be carried by the story, it's a magnificent choice.

P.D: NEVER go for the dub, it's incomplete and it censors many things, so it's more a children friendly anime when it's not AT ALL.

This review contains general spoilers.
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Yu-Gi-Oh! is your classic 00's anime: good story, characters with spiky hair, cool music and overextended episodes with annoying filler.

STORY and ENJOYMENT: 7/10
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It's the first time I've watched a story about Egyptian mithology mixed with trading card games, and even though it has some big errors (such as almost no character respecting Duel Monsters's rules), I've enjoyed it to the fullest. Well, except for the filler arcs, which are all boring and provide nothing interesting to the series. Also why are so many flashbacks bro, you have to see almost 2 per chapter...

ART: 6/10
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While the art is usually good, there are some chapters in which the characters look poorly drawn or even deformed.

SOUND: 8/10
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The OST is fascinating. But it can't be called a masterpiece, because most of the "epic orchestrated songs" that play when something crazy is about to happen last for 45 seconds and then loop, which makes these songs very repetitive.

CHARACTER: 2/10
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I hate every single one of them except Kaiba. Yugi is a horrible person that calls his best friend, Katsuya, by his surname, something that doesn't do with the rest of his other friends who, by the way, don't contribute almost in any way to the plot. Katsuya is an obsessed gambler addict that needs more medical attention than his sister. Pegasus's (the first villain) way of speaking gets me on my nerves...

And then we have Seto Kaiba. The Bruce Wayne of anime. He is the best character because, unlike the rest of them, he doesn't want his Duels with other people to be constantly interrupted by characters explaining their 2-episode flashback backstories.

OVERALL: 7/10
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This anime is good, but you should definitely avoid filler arcs. It also will make you want to play the real card game, which I personally recommend to all of you to play it. I give this anime 2 Blue-Eyes White Dragon out of 3.

I'm writing this review because I just finished rewatching this anime series (the first time I watch it, the english subtitles were god awful, and so I have to make do with my own interpretations back then).

This was a good enjoyment overall, with the impressive duels here and there coupled with outstanding OSTs. Art and animation was also good, especially within the first few episodes, some of the major duels/battles throughout the series, and the last few episodes in every story arc, but for the rest of the episodes the art and animation had a noticable degrade. For the story, the connection between the past ... elements and the present world were truly interesting. Lastly for the characters, it was nice to see that Yami Yugi can lose in a duel, which shows that he isn't a gary stu. For the most interesting character/s, I guess I would hand it over to Yami Bakura and Pegasus; Pegasus because of his 'engrish' and Yami Bakura because of being a recurring villain coupled with his overly-confident and narcissistic attitude.

If you're wanting to watch some good old shounen anime, then this anime would be a nice pick.

The key takeaway about this series is that is essentially a very traditional heroic epic in which the battles are fought not with sword or lance, but through trading cards. This caveat is enough to ensure that some people will never give this series a chance, but for those who can, they will find a quintessential shonen series that succeeds at its mission of telling the hero's journey in a unique way.

Yugi is the hero of the story, and he is blessed by the gods (or destiny, fate, the universe, the heart of the cards, whatever term you prefer) for exhibiting the virtues of friendship, ... trust, loyalty, etc. Hence, the gods grant him providence by giving him the cards he needs to defeat his enemies and achieve his goal - helping the soul of the ancient Egyptian spirit in his Millennium Puzzle find his true identity, and eventually rest in the afterlife. Yugi and the Pharaoh both represent traditional heroic archetypes. Yugi represents the boy who grows into a man as he journey progresses, becoming braver and more assertive until at the journey's end he is finally ready to stand on his own as an adult. The Pharaoh on the other hand is more in the style of an ancient hero like Aeneas or Perseus - he is a master of war who exemplifies the virtues that Yugi is striving for. The Pharaoh is sort of a father or older brother figure who Yugi must surpass by the story's end despite the love they have for each other.

The other two main characters are Seto Kaiba and Katsuya Jonouchi/Joey Wheeler in the dub. Kaiba is the archetypal shonen rival, and besides Vegeta may be one of the defining ones in the genre. Although Kaiba has numerous connections to the gods/magic/Ancient Egypt due to his lineage, he consciously rejects them in favor of technology and futurism. He presents a compelling foil to Yugi, who is seeking truth from understanding the past. In contrast, Kaiba wants to destroy his own past and leave a lasting legacy for many reasons. Of course, he is extremely arrogant and wants to leave his mark on the world, but simultaneously Kaiba is also philanthropic and generous to children, wanting them to grow up in a better world. It is worth noting that Kaiba is the one who develops most of the dueling technology in the series. He also goes on to create Duel Academy, paving the way for the sequel series Yugioh GX, which I already wrote a review on. Essentially, while Yugi acts in accordance with the will of the gods and is rewarded as a result, Kaiba represents the absolute upper limits of the power that can be achieved through earthly means (money, status, power). He's a dope character and the anime staff was wise to give him greater focus in the anime compared to the manga.

Joey, on the other hand, essentially represents the abstraction of Fortune, and is a wild card of sorts. A blue-collar duelist, he truly lacks any magical lineage or favor with the gods, and yet he journeys from a novice to a truly powerful fighter through luck, grit, and the Victorian English quality of pluck. Interestingly, Joey accumulates powerful cards from the rivals he defeats over the course of the story - not because he steals them, but because his opponents have to give them up due to the tournament's ante rules. Gaining cards like Graverobber, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Jinzo, and so on, Joey's growing experience is directly shown by his ever-increasing arsenal.

The villains in the series are your usual anime villains - sad backstories that have led to a tragic, warped worldview. Charisma and arrogance. Cool Dark Superpowers. I would not say the villains are the best part of the series at all, but they serve their key roles well enough and are more memorable than many anime villains. Yami Marik was probably my favorite since the animators broke out some freaky animation and made him as over-the-top nightmarish evil as possible. Episode 140 is wild lol.

The battles in the series are very melodramatic, over-the-top, and replete with rather obvious themes. It's the nerd's counterpoint to the WWE, and if you happen to enjoy pro wrestling, you'll probably enjoy this series and most shonen anime in general actually. Viewers who enjoy the card game and the strategy behind it will definitely get more out of the dueling scenes, although it's worth noting that many people have watched and enjoyed the show without touching the card game. Me personally I played the card game before watching the show, and I enjoy the game more than the show.

One thing to consider is the wildly long episode count. About a third of the series is filler, probably closer to 40%. Regardless, the series is very slow-paced and there a few duels that last five, six episodes. You'll know in the first few episodes if this works for you. Also, I would say that the Orichalcos filler arc, which lasts from like episode 145 to 180 is one of the better filler arcs I've seen in anime. It's quite good compared to how horrible some of the Naruto or One Piece fillers can be at times. If you watch one filler arc, that's the one to see.

Overall, this show is dogged unfairly for two reasons - the core concept of battling with cards (because battling with ki blasts or elemental powers is for serious adults and battling with cards is way different, apparently), and the kiddy dub done by 4Kids. This series is definitely better in Japanese, but if they ever did an uncut english re-dub that would be dope. If you look at the meat of the story, it's a well-done traditional hero's epic. Yugioh GX on the other hand is a deconstructionist narrative, so the two shows are quite different and pair well. I will say that this is a pretty weak 8, bordering on a strong 7. But believe it or not, this show is pretty good and I would recommend it.

Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the big three in the marketing of anime for american children. You got Pokemon and Digimon in the early 90's and then Yu-Gi-Oh! in the late 90's. Just like Pokemon and Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh! has its own card game, toys etc. But in terms of enjoyment level Yu-Gi-Oh! is by far the worst of the three. Probably because the concept of the show is so unbelievably stupid.

The story is of a boy named Yugi. He and his friends play a card game called Duel monsters, one day Yugi's grandpa is kidnapped by the ruler of duel monster island, Pegasus. How can ... Yugi save him? with a power full puzzle piece that turns him into a a more mature version of himself called Pharaoh. Now with that power and the power of friendship provided by his friends and the mysterious Keiba (who is no friend of Yugi's.) Yugi and friends sets out to duel monster island to defeat anyone who stands in their way in order to save his grandpa.

The story of Yu-Gi-Oh! is a lot different then other kids anime. Its got a darker tone to it and the charters are drawn to look more mature then the other shows. But just the idea of it, once they start dueling is when it gets ridiculous. Monsters coming out of cards when activated on a board. Its not the same as Digimon or Pokemon. With those you get the feeling of the trainers training their creatures and befriending them. Yu-Gi-Oh! doesn't have that appeal to it. Don't get me wrong I watched it as a kid. I had to, all my friends were and I needed something to talk to them about! I guess that just goes to show you that Yu-Gi-Oh! is not a serious, well made anime series. But just a franchise to follow then like a piece of chewed gum, throw it out after its lost its taste.

Take care everyone.

Lol, the only reason i gave it a ten all the way through is because thats the way i remember enjoying it when i was young!
i loved it. I mean, it made me cry, laugh and got me obsessed. I mean...
I remember feeling for the characters and loving the big eyes (wasnt aware of anime) and just drooling at the story and it was all amazing for me.
I dont want to rewatch it now because maybe I have outgrown loving it so much. But, i would reccomend this to the young boys and girls below 13.
Its just perfect.

I have always loved yu-gi-oh since I saw it in 2001. Despite all of the things said the 4kids version isn't half bad. But I have quickly learned that they cut and alter a lot of things, but I think that Japanese version is way better. I totally dig the story I think it is something you can totally get into. So weather you like watching it in English or you like the nitty grittiness of the original version you shouldn't knock it till you see it.

Yugioh! has always held an interesting place amongst my childhood anime. It wasn't one of the ones that stuck fast once I found it, but it wasn't that I was disinterested or that it completely passed me by either. Yugioh! was one of those shows that I came back to periodically throughout my younger years and which I loved each time. After rewatching it now, I was surprised at just how much of it was familiar; I must have seen nearly all of it in bits and pieces throughout my childhood. I liked how high the stakes were. I prefer that in kids shows-- the ... heroes having to save the world from some great threat or something equally dramatic. It makes it feel like the writers are taking their audience seriously, which earns it a lot of points with me. There's nothing I hate more than seeing a work of fiction underestimate a young audience.

In that sense, I feel like Yugioh! was balanced very nicely. The stakes were high enough to keep its audience engaged, but it was still extremely heavy handed with the power of friendship and that aspect of the story. (In fact, it was only that side of the story that kept me from being totally convinced that Yugioh! wasn't supposed to be a kids show at all. That and the very marketable card game it was centered around.)

Yugioh! feels like a show that had a lot of really good ideas... that just weren't executed very well most of the time. Ancient Egyptian spirits occupying the bodies and minds of modern day teenagers? Great. The card game could have been interesting. And personally, I've always liked stories about prophecies and destiny and the power of friendship, cheesy as they can be. Unfortunately, as I've seen pointed out plenty of times before, the card game isn't handled all that well. Forget just strictly following the rules-- which I suspect they don't do, but which I never really paid close attention to anyway. The strategy involved just never felt all that impressive. I got the definite impression they were inventing cards as they went along-- not to mention all the special effects that always did exactly whatever the heroes needed to escape teh sticky situation at hand. It was just a little too deus ex machina-y. (And this is coming from someone who was willing to accept that the bond of their friendship could overcome just about anything, dark magic included.) Maybe these moments were especially a slap in the face because when they did rely on actual strategy, it was usually executed pretty well.

At the end of it all, I think my favorite duel is still Yugi vs. Pegasus. They couldn't rely on some all-powerful or perfectly-timed card to get around Pegasus's mind-reading. Yugi and Atem had to instead finally use their connection and continuously switch out who was in control without sharing their individual strategies-- Pegasus's abilities were of no use to him if the mind in control didn't know what card the other had just played. Not to mention, this was also the culmination of Yugi's personal struggles this season-- finally realizing there was another spirit inside of him and learning to trust it. In fact, season one was a really good introduction in general, considering the entire show would come to be about uncovering the pharaoh's lost memories.

So sometimes this show was really on point. Unfortunately, it derailed into filler a little too often for my liking. About once a season or so, Yugioh! would decide it didn't want to be about a card game after all, and the characters would get sucked into an alternate (or virtual) universe that usually held no bearing on the actual story. I actually liked the little arc about Noa and Gozaburo. I think that one was really important to understanding Kaiba's character and why he's so desperate to maintain his power and control. (Of course, I would have liked it a lot more if it hadn't interrupted that season's tournament right before the final duel, but I did say there were problems with the story's execution.)

Long story short, Yugioh! was one of the better shows from my childhood. (I've just realized that I've given it the same score I gave the original seasons of Pokemon, which doesn't feel quite right... I suppose it goes back to Yugioh! often feeling like it wasn't exactly a kids show. I try to judge shows based at least a little on their intentions. Yugioh! felt like it was trying to be something more... it just didn't always succeed.) Yeah, the dub could get a little ridiculous sometimes. It's often remembered as one of those shows that got the worst of the localization/absolutely-no-violence-allowed treatment from 4Kids. But it had one of the better, more complex stories out there. Unless you're a neurotic completionist like me, you really only need to see (most of) seasons 1-3 and the last 1/3 of season five. But it is worth seeing if you missed it during your own childhood.

(Fair warning, though, the first episode is bad. Llike, really bad. Everywhere I looked, it said that watching season zero-- the original Yugioh!-- was unnecessary because the stories weren't connected, but I got the definite impression that you were expected to be familiar with the characters and game already. So much of the rest of this show is dependent on Yugi defeating Kaiba in episode one. But someone watching Yugioh! for the first time with no prior knowledge of the story and characters probably wouldn't understand why this was such a big deal. Also, the pacing is just really bad.)

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters is one of the best anime ive seen. Its called "Childish". This is a anime that is NOT childish. Sure the 4kids dub is,since 4kids always changes things from the original Japanese version. This Japanese version with subtitles its different from the 4kids dub. It has stronger words like bastard,damn,and dumb ass. Its much more dark then the 4kids dub. But the overall series is amazing.

Storyline9/10-NO SPOILERS. Yugi Moto is a 10th grade student. He comes across a puzzle,puts it together,and finds out that a 3,000 year old spirt is in it.(5,000 in the dub). Yugi and his friends Anzu(Tea in ... the dub) ,Honda(Tristian in the dub),and Jonouchi(Joey in the dub) work together to find the turth be hide the spirt,since he lost his memory. They go around dueling everyone,with the poplaur game,Duel Monsters. They learn the spirts name is Yami,and he is supose to save the world.(Most of the arcs involved Yami,Yugi,and friends trying to stop evil villains,saving souls,etc). While most of it is great and VERY enjoyable to watch,it has flaws. Like there is a long filler arc(well,it seems like a filler). About Kaiba's stepbrother,and how he wants to rule Kaiba corp. Its awful boring and really has nothing to do with the storyline. The storyline itself isnt like a masterpiece or anything,but it's still really good to watch. It is great,but not anything amazing.

Characters10/10-The characters in this anime are amazing. They are all very enjoyable, and very good character devlopment. There is a large amount of characters,and they all have deep feelings. Some like Kaiba,just seem like bastards,and are just plain nasty. This isnt true,because Kaiba matures a lot,and learns to like Yugi and his friends. They are all wonderful and non of them are boring.

Soundtrack8/10-Well,the soundtrack is good,its not perfect. While the opening theme songs are great,and are very good to listen too,it isnt perfect. The soundtrack itself isnt bad. Its good. But its nothing wonderful. The english dub opening theme song is great. But the Japanese one arent bad. So,there good,but again,not a masterpiece or anything.

Art5/10-I didnt like the art. It is pretty much decent. Yugi's hair is so wierd looking. The way the art looks isnt anything great. It isnt that good. Its not that the art is bad because its old,I just dont like the way it looks.

Enjoyment10/10-I really liked this anime. Its one of the most enjoyable anime ive ever watched. There has never been a anime like this one. Its so different,so thats one of the main reasons why i enjoyed it so much. The characters are also a main reason why I enjoyed it so much. The storyline, of course,is very enjoyable. There arent many anime that ive watched that is enjoyable as this.

Overall10/10-While it has flaws,it is still amazing. I really liked this anime. I recommend this anime to anyone. For anyone who likes card games,watch it. But watch the Japanese version with english subtitles. Its much better than the 4kids dub. The dub version isnt that terrible,it still isnt as good as the original version.

Oh boy; here we go, Yugioh! I will not deny it, I'm not only a huge fan of this franchise, but I'm a big time card player that this show is based off of. Well, not a real big time player since there isn't any card shops around my area that hosts tournaments and stuff, but I love playing the game, hence why I'm almost online all the time playing it.

The first season of Yugioh was not only great, but will probably always be the best, with its great characters, uniquely well written story, some of the best music that I've ever listened to, ... some of the best art work ever, and just that fun to enjoy. I also really enjoyed the comedy in this show, there were a lot of good jokes, and some of the characters who acted comedic were very funny. One of them being Joey Wheeler, who is by far; my most favorite character in all of Yugioh and always will be. The villians were great too, except for a couple, Marik being my most favorite of them all.

What really made me love this show was not just the characters, and etc., etc., but was also the monsters that they dueled with. The one that really pulled me into both; the anime and the game was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, which to this day is still my most favorite card, especially; for this season.

Well else can I say? I still love this show, I still love playing the game, and will continue to do so. As Yugi boy would say, "It's time to duel!"

I don't know where to start describing. Yu-Gi-Oh is perhaps the reason for some Turkish youth like me to go back to anime eras or watching anime. We used to be locked on the screen, we used to buy cheap cards from the grocery store, so-called gifts. Some of those cards still exist. Anyway, without further ado, let's get to the anime. The rating I give to the anime is purely for its value in my eyes. Too many errors and absurdities, as well as inconsistencies. This score will stay the same for me even if I sit here and eat for rows. I will ... never get tired of searching the net for yugioh card sleeve every time I watch it. This anime will remain on the throne in our hearts as one of the animes that everyone knows and loves, along with "Pokemon, Captain Tsubasa, Bakugan, Beyblade", which I call the "Big 5" for Turkish anime watchers.