There's a lot that can be said about Yu-Gi-Oh. Mostly in that it's about solving end of the world scenarios through the power of card games. Now, as a real person experiencing this narrative, one might come to the conclusion that this is ridiculous. And you'd be right. However, part of the appeal of the Yu-Gi-Oh anime franchise is how they take this premise and run a marathon with it. In universe, Duel Monsters is extremely serious business, and the game is treated with the gravitas necessary due to their world being run by the game. And due to the Duel Monsters game being as relevant to the universe as politics, it is no surprise that they would have a school dedicated to learning the intricacies of the game. GX starts with the protagonist, Judai Yuki, taking the exam required to gain entrance into a prestigious school where this is their very focus, and examines the different events that transpire through his matriculation.
This is an absurd premise.
But GX revels in the absurdity. They are taught theories of dueling, the nature of each type of card and how they interact with each other to the point that people are writing formulas about how to duel and receive PhD's in dueling. It's wonderfully ridiculous and knows this for a fact. The first arc of the show, one can tell the writers and actors had fun with it, even in the dub, despite it being done by 4Kids. Definitely worth a watch, even though it kind of loses itself halfway through. But regardless, very enjoyable.
