Yu☆Gi☆Oh!

Bullies often target someone frail and weak—someone exactly like Yuugi Mutou. His beautiful childhood friend, Anzu Mazaki, is always there to stand up for him, but he can't depend on her forever. Katsuya Jonouchi, who is almost always accompanied by his verbal sparring partner Hiroto Honda, doesn't seem like a bad person either, despite always bringing Yuugi trouble. But most of all, Yuugi wishes for a true friend who understands him and would never betray him.

Yuugi treasures his Millennium Puzzle, an ancient Egyptian artifact that was brought into his grandfather's game shop. Believing that solving the puzzle will grant him his wish, he completes the puzzle, unleashing a new personality within him—the soul of the "King of Games."

Dark, twisted, strong, and reliable, the new personality named Yami Yuugi is the exact opposite of Yuugi. Upon any injustice toward him, Yami Yuugi takes over Yuugi's body and forces the opponent into a "Shadow Game." The stakes are high as whoever loses shall have a taste of the darkness that resides within their own heart.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yami Yuugi Main

Ogata, Megumi Japanese

Kaiba, Seto Main

Midorikawa, Hikaru Japanese

Jounouchi, Katsuya Main

Morikawa, Toshiyuki Japanese

Mutou, Yuugi Main

Ogata, Megumi Japanese

Mazaki, Anzu Main

Kakazu, Yumi Japanese

Honda, Hiroto Main

Okiayu, Ryoutarou Japanese

Nosaka, Miho Main

Yukana Japanese

Yami Bakura Supporting

Kashiwakura, Tsutomu Japanese

Bakura, Ryou Supporting

Kashiwakura, Tsutomu Japanese

Kaiba, Mokuba Supporting

Miwa, Katsue Japanese

Kaji, Atsushi Producer

Kakudou, Hiroyuki Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Sugishima, Kunihisa Director

Ikeda, Youko Episode Director, Storyboard, Assistant Director

Reviews

Jun 9, 2008

wowa

Recommended

First of all, this series is a LOT different from "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters". While the card game was certainly present in this series, it wasn't nearly as important.

There are a lot of changes from this to Duel Monsters. Mokuba's character is 100% different, Kaiba is somehow more of a jerk, Yugi is tinier and he gets beat up one per episode. And Yami challenges people to shadow games, which end in insanity or death.

The episodes are really predictable, for the most part. One of the main characters is picked on, Yami challenges them to a shadow game and wins, the episode ends. Even so, ... it's fun to watch, because the bad guys always get what they deserve. And you get to see some real action as opposed to half an hour of children's card games. Also Joey crossdresses.

I would recommend this show to both fans and haters of Duel Monsters. If you liked the other series, you'll really like this one because it fills in a lot of missing information. If you hate the other series, then you'll probably like this because of the action and actual plot.

The art is okay and the sound track is nothing special (except for the song that plays when Yami is being awesome). I gave it a ten for enjoyment because...I LOVED this show. I'm such a geek, I know, but really, I had a lot of fun watching this. Hopefully you will too.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Oct 20, 2015

lawlmartz

Mixed Feelings

Children's Card Games Saga Part I: A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Away, Where Everyone Has Crazy Hair

Well, it's been a long time since I did a nostalgia review, and it took me so long to finish this series due to being unable to find synced audio and video versions of the show, I feel like I can be nostalgic about this show now. (Seriously, I had to quit watching this show for 6 months)

Anyway- so back in 1998, Yugioh was born. Not the 4Kids Yugioh I grew up watching in the early 2000s, but the version that nobody in the US ever ... saw- what we know as Season 0. Though it sports the Yugioh name, this show and Yugioh Duel Monsters are almost nothing alike- though you can see where many of the ideas for Duel Monsters came from in this- an homage of sorts for the Japanese audience who did see this. This one, though, is not really a kid's show.


Artwork and Animation: 4

The art is very 90s, and fairly low budget at that. Honestly, it's kind of ugly to watch, but I mean, what has Toei ever made that was very visually appealing in the first place? They're not exactly the paragon of animation quality. The quality drops noticeably in the last 3 episodes- even with the chibi stuff they were using to mask how rough it looked.

Never fear- Yugi's physics breaking hairstyle/head parasite is always in great form, as is Jounouchi/Joey's... hair... thing.

Basically, this show looks like a Phillips CD-I game.


Sound and Voice Acting: 4

No complaints about the voice acting, other than Yukana, the voice of Miho, is annoying as heck. Sorry C2- but you sound like a live hamster being put through a meat grinder combined with screeching children.

Now, what IS odious about the sound is the uber-recycled generic porno style hip hop muzak that plays in the background of scene setting and as insert music. You hear that, this 80s dance synth cut, and these two "spooky" sounding clips that loop every 3 seconds approximately 46 times each per episode. I think including the OP and ED, there were a total of maybe 6 pieces of music used in the show. Re-re-re-re repetitive.

It's just a shame that Dan Green never got to dub this Yugi.


Characters: 7

The same kids we know and love, but with the addition of Miho, and a few changes in personality:

Yugi gets beat up like once every other episode, and close to the end of the series actually gets his azz beat in an arcade by a guy that knows Hokuto Shin Ken! ATATATATA and everything! He's pretty much a pathetic woobie, but he makes up for it by being caring and determined to help people, I guess? *mumbles something about Heart of the Cards*

Yami Yugi on the other hand, either drives someone insane by breaking their mind with magic, sends them to the hospital due to the dangerous game they play (and lose), or just straight up kills them! He takes absolutely no crap in this series, and is keeping the mental health facilities and hospitals full of patients.

Jounouchi/Joey and Honda/Tristan are basically the same in this series- ruffian goons who torture Yugi in the beginning, befriend him, and then never leave his side except to be screwups for the sake of comedy. Jounouchi does beat the snot out of quite a few people in the show though. Honda's sole character trait is that he's absolutely infatuated with the airheaded dimwit Miho, who pays him absolutely no attention.

The biggest difference in character from Yugioh '98 to Duel Monsters is Anzu/Tea though. In DM, she's just a useless side character who takes the role of cheerleader and annoyance, but in '98, she's a legitimately likable and useful leading lady. She has a lot more self assertiveness and confidence in this series, and makes herself useful throughout. There's also a romance subplot, that, while it doesn't go much of anywhere, it still adds another facet to a character I think everyone at the least didn't care about, and at most outright hated in Duel Monsters.

Lastly, there's Miho- the blue haired, flirtatious, greedy, and vapid ditz who exists solely to balance out the Dude:Chick ratio in the series and be incredibly irritating. (I'm told she appears in literally one chapter in the manga, so her inclusion in the show is a mystery to everyone, including the writers.)


Story: 6

Where the Duel Monsters show was created basically as a gigantic advertisement for Children's Card Games™, Yugioh 1998 follows the mid-90s manga of the same name, with most of the same characters we came to know in Duel Monsters.

The main difference in the show is that Yami Yugi- the ancient king of games whose soul resides in the Millennium Puzzle pendant that Yugi wears- is not only proficient at Children's Card Games™ (AKA Duel Monsters), but essentially any and all games of chance. The show is almost entirely episodic, with two arcs coming at the very end, but in each episode, Yugi manages to find himself in trouble with someone or another, and then talks them into playing a game of chance- whether it's playing cards, riddles and word games, or more often, games involving life and death. The show has quite a bit of violence, including Yami Yugi driving people insane/sending them to the hospital, and includes actual weapon wielding baddies, including guns.

The second to last arc of the show even has Yugi and friends playing a game called "Death T", which is just a ripoff of "The Running Man" game show (from the 1987 Arnie classic!) put on by Kaiba! He has them placed in a giant arena and forced to fight through different stages, including Lazer Tag with actual electricity, a riddle game where the gang nearly gets crushed by a spiked steamroller, another where blocks fall from the ceiling tetris style, and games against the Kaiba Brothers.

There are a lot of setpieces and ideas used again later in Duel Monsters viewers will recognize like Kaibaland/ battle city duels and Capsule Monsters (Dungeon Dice Monsters). Many of the monsters from the other, non Duel Monsters games played in the show also make appearances later as Yugioh cards.
Yami Bakura and Yami Yugi play a Dungeons and Dragons game where the gang's bodies transform into their game figures (in Duel Monsters, their favorite cards) and they have to play to keep their souls.
There's also a virtual reality duel, and a mirror of Yugi and Kaiba's duel from the beginning of DM. Oh, and soul stealing. A lot of soul stealing.


Enjoyment and Overall: 8, 6

I enjoyed a lot of the dated references in Yugioh- (Tamagotchis FTW!) and general 90s-ness of the show. It was also cool to see Yami Yugi in a totally different form- making people go crazy/sending them to hell/etc and the inclusion of guns, violence, and the threat of violence, like with the bomber in the theme park who actually followed through and blew up both a building and two parts of a ride!

I enjoyed watching this little departure from the Yugioh I loved as a kid. It's definitely a fun little extra for someone who doesn't want to slog through 200 something episodes of Duel Monsters, but still feel like they're going on another adventure with the gang. (GX/5Ds/Zexal don't exist. That's schlock for another day.)

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 13, 2009

Umandsf

Not Recommended

Now this is an interesting little endeavor I set upon. I originally began to watch Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters because a friend of mine directed me to a site which had download links to subbed episodes (of course, he’s not here at the moment and can’t find it again). Being the strange and organized completist I am, I noticed that the original series created by Toei Animation was only 27 episodes, so I decided to watch that first. Exactly two months to the day later, I finished it…and was left…well, just read on. Just note: I have not read the original manga that the show is ... based on, and I have limited information about it, so forgive me if I make a mistake on something.

Story [4.0]
Although the idea is an interesting one, I think it was poorly executed. It reminds me of a little-know Nickelodeon show called Chalk Zone. I thought it was a neat idea, but the way it was put together was just…odd. However, that is something for another day. The first few episodes I thought were neat, because the game that Yugi’s alter-ego set up for the antagonist of the particular episode were actually rather clever. However, it quickly goes downhill from there. Most of the time, the characters are involved with typical and sometimes odd situations in school that eventually lead to the game at the end. However, the game become so quick, it’s rather hard to enjoy it. Around the middle of the series, Yugi’s friend Anzu discovers Yugi’s secret in an episode that presents a clear danger, a clever game, and more time dedicated to it. That way, it was much better to get into. Some of the challenges in between are also a bit interesting, but there are too many flat, quick ones, and others just leave your head scratching as to how the challenge could have been accomplished. Things pick up at the end, where the final battles against Kaiba and Bakura each span a number of episodes, so it does have a bit of suspense to it, even though it’s entirely predictable. In fact, the final battle against Kaiba will look very familiar if you’ve watched the newer series. Almost to the point where you’ll be utterly bored. The Bakura battle also has similarities to its counterpart, where the main characters are put into the role of combatants with both spirits battling against each other and Bakura’s pure heart being the deciding factor. So, in conclusion. Interesting idea but inconsistent with its highs and lows throughout the series.

Art [4.0]
Well, this is an old show, so you can’t really expect much in the art department. Nothing too dazzling, nothing too spectacular. Just your basic animation. They try to make it dark at times, but nothing ominous comes out of it. Crazy hair is included, of course.

Sound [3.0]
Well…the music just doesn’t work for me. Nothing catchy, nothing stand out. It’s very repetitive. The OP and ED are underwhelming. All synthesized, as far as I can tell.

Character [4.0]
Not much to say about characters, either, except the following points. The decision to make Miho a main character was a bad idea. Far too ditzy and with that whiny/cute image that I find more annoying than cute. Yet, of course, she manages to be quite useful and extremely lucky near the end. Kaiba is a good villain, but it seems like he is just too power-hungry and willing to prove his own greatness. His younger brother Mokuba probably could have had more screen, but he spends pretty much all his time gloating about how he’s going to defeat Yugi that his worries about how his brother had become ruthless in his endeavors seems so…awkward. The Egyptian guy at the very beginning (didn’t care enough to know his name) should have been used more instead of having Kaiba every three or four episodes. And Bakura appears a bit too late. It’s more like he arrives, disappears, and reappears at the very end of the series to confront the protagonists. However, I did enjoy how we got to know more about the character and how he turned from the innocent person into the possessed monster. Something that I haven’t seen in the other series. Then again, that starts pretty much after this one…ish.

Oh, yeah. More Miho rant. Maybe it’s just me, but how do you fall in love with a guy after only seeing him for one freakin’ second and completely changing plans because of that. I’m willing to bet that girls really aren’t that way.

Enjoyment [3.0]
If you watch the Duel Monsters part of this series, this one is going to be very much less enjoyable. For those who are new, you can probably only watch the first few and last six episodes and get pretty much the backstory that you need to take into Duel Monsters. There are few interesting moments, and those usually come at either end, with a few exceptions in the middle. Most of the time, I began to zone out, as the story was not deep enough to get me interested. No touching, emotional movements, either. Also, you may have heard people spoofing Yu-Gi-Oh!’s use of friendship as a major factor in plot advancement. While the end is interesting, the use of this friendship gets used to such a cheesy level, you may begin to appreciate those efforts from Duel Monsters. Oh, and mentioning things that happen after the next episode…not a good idea, especially if mentioned more than once on the way there.

Overall
If you’ve begun to watch ahead of this series, don’t look back at this. You will not need it to understand everything. If you must watch it, you’re in for a long and droning saga, even though it’s only 27 episodes. In short, pass if you can and/or don’t care.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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