Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions

It's strange that I went to go see this flick at all. I was never into Yu-Gi-Oh!

But the Dark Side of Dimensions made card game playing look awesome. those card battles look great when the characters from the cards just popped out and came to life and did their attack moves. it was pretty fun to watch. Thank god the movie was English dubbed as it would kill me to have to read all the characters yelling out the explanations to how the card works.

The character design was really cool and Yu-Gi-Oh! had some cool characters in it. Not a bad experience, almost made me wish I saw the beginning before I saw the end.

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Yeah, don't read too much into the story. At least they tried to somewhat tie into the original series which makes it a lot more bearable than for example Pyramid of Light. They bothered to get all the original voice actors (I watched the Japanese Version with English subtitles) and pretty much nailed the atmosphere of the show (ignoring the new art style). It's also very friendly towards people that didn't bother with the spin-offs, leaving out any gimmicks that came out after 2004 (Synchro, XYZ and so on). And of course the plot rides a lot on nostalgia and fan service, bringing back most of the original cast and connecting directly to some side characters of the original show, which is, in my opinion, not a bad thing.

But honestly, they tried to let the plot sound way more complicated than it actually is. It's not deep, there are plot holes, characters know things they shouldn't, I felt no connection to the newly introduced characters and once you understand what drives the main villain, you get annoyed how complicated he explains his reasons. The movie drags a bit in parts of the first to second act, but the rest is really dynamic and never once I felt bored.

The animations are on point, duels never felt so fluent and honestly were one of the biggest plus points of the movie. But even those are sometimes overshadowed by a new kind of duel that has a gimmick that literally had no impact at all.

All in all I subjectively had a very fun time in an objectively mediocre movie, but for fans of the original show I can definitly recommend it!

As a long time fan of the franchise, I can say with certainty that the movie is good. Not spectacular, but good. By far, this movie has some of the smoothest and most beautifully executed animation of the entire franchise. Those who know this series know that the animation isn't always up to snuff, but this movie clearly got a much bigger budget and it was well served to seeing some very beautiful if even a little over-saturated animation. It's also wonderful that all the original voice actors of the characters represented in the movie made their return. It's a particularly wonderful thing of note considering that many of those voice actors are either retired or have switched focus to other areas and are no longer regularly voice acting on a consistent basis. I also like that 4Kmedia did not edit the movie to the point of being unrecognizable like they did with the original series. It was a very well executed English translation from the original Japanese property. However, if I have any point to criticize, it's that the story was a bit of a jumbled mess. It often felt like it was just jumping around from one thing to another without proper transition. It's likely due to the limited run time of the movie itself, but it often felt as if you looked away for only a few seconds or stepped out of the room for a few minutes that you missed major plot points and would easily get lost. I stayed in place for the length of the movie without leaving the room once, and I still felt like I missed something. That is a big issue for me. If I had been a casual viewer and not a fan of the franchise, I would have been so completely lost. That said, I still felt lost at times, and that's most definitely an issue of pacing. Whatever the case, it's a very good movie that any fan of the franchise will enjoy and those looking to get into the franchise should hold off on watching until they get to know more about the franchise itself. Above all, the ending was very satisfying. The action was lacking and rushed, but it reached an ending worthy of the era of the franchise.

I'll be honest, I watched solely for Kaiba's nonsense.. and he didn't disappoint!!

A man so rich and powerful, he basically controls the world from the shadows. With technological prowess beyond anyone's comprehension, backed by his infinite wealth, he has access to every possible bit of information and his genius can do anything he desires.. yet he care's about nothing than to be reunited with the one man he considers his equal. Sounds like a romantic plot? Well, Kaiba would even travel across "dimensions" just to play against him again.. not being able to let go of the Pharaoh that is no more.

The premise itself is befitting his character and immensively enjoyable!! But the backdrop and context for this event is simply complete nonsense! Even if it thinks it actually offers any substance.

In it's 2-hour runtime, it barely develops the scarcely-explained unnecessary plot it introduces.. leaving the viewer with more questions than answers, and gasping at the idiocy of it all. With people beings living connected to others via the collective consciousness and reality being nothing but their own perception. But Kaiba's ego and Yugi's friendship can best it all!! And as expected, the game's actual rules don't matter again. It's all noise.. but the story at least understands what matters is Yugi/Yami VS Kaiba!

Yet, the animations and visual effects are worth watching, and the voice acting even better. Sadly, the English dub does a disservice to this production, as the there's no one as talented in his delivery as Kenjiro Tsuda-san doing Kaiba! Watch it in Japanese, because anything else is subpar.. even insulting. Would not recommend only to those that enjoy how far-gone this franchise is, and want a character arc worth of Kaiba's character.

This movie is meh. It introduces some new characters but it was kind of boring. I was a fan of the series and the first movie was really great. This one had me falling asleep all the time. It is not what I expected at all. I would never rewatch it (like I did with the first movie) but it is not terrible. It is ok I guess..