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.
