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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.