Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yes, this series is ludicrous from an adult perspective. The dialogue is bombastic, the plot has more holes than a colander and the card game is ridiculous. It was really engaging to me as a child though. I was always interested in how things would turn out and all the mysteries.

First thing's first.

This show was loved by pretty much every preteen kid in the early 2000s (including myself). Having said that, looking back, the English dub of the show is a bit too pandering and repetitive (and when I say 'a bit', I mean 'excessively') The changes 4Kids Entertainment made to the English dub of Yugioh, at times, are just too silly that they have eventually become memes. No death, no guns, but let's leave in the part about people losing their souls, that's A-OK! At this stage of my life, Yugioh is kind of a guilty pleasure, just because of how over the top it can get. There's a guy on YouTube called LittleKuriboh who makes a living from taking the mick out of the show, for God's sake! When it boils down to it, most of the hinging story threads are really silly. "Let's play a children's card game in order to decide the fate of the world!" "The heart of the cards will guide me!" "The power of friendship will never leave us." And speaking of the last part, talk about emphasizing the friendzone to the nth degree! Tea, the token female of the group harps on about this constantly, but you just know that Yugi harbours feelings for her regardless.

Another point that takes away from the show is the relentless padding and repetition. Card games or "duels" against adversaries are stretched out to 3-4 episodes because flashbacks and inner monologues are shoehorned into the episodes constantly. There are times where I genuinely feel like going "GET ON WITH IT!!" I guess that's just an anime cliché though.

Overall, the premise of Yugioh is ridiculously silly but it still holds a special place in my heart (as cheesy as that sounds). LittleKuriboh's Abridged Series has been a bonus to come out of the show's creation.

I have been watching Yu-Gi-Oh for years and the manga is slightly better but the series is definitely something to watch.

While I was growing up watching some episodes of an anime show called Pokemon, which I personally liked as a child, I stumbled upon this on Cartoon Network and to my surprise, and I know all of you are going to hate me for this, but... I really like this show. I personally do. Don't get me wrong. I understand that lots of you hated this for it's English dub, but I think this deserves a lot more recognition for younger kids.

Sure, the voice work is pretty bland and the dialog does get repetitive in each episode, but those flaws are perfectly outmatched by it's epic adventure storyline throughout the show and it has heart to it as well. Even the history of the Egyptian culture is shown perfectly here. The characters are OK, but I think that my favorite characters who came close to steal the show is Yami Yugi, Pegasus, and Bakura. What stands out the most is the nice music and it's lush animation. I also liked the monsters as they looked real just like it's textures. Even the Egyptian textures of the monsters like Dark Magician, Blue Eyes White Dragon, and Exodia, The Forbidden One are perfectly detailed.

Overall, Yugioh isn't a masterpiece of television and anime, but for kids, they have no choice but to enjoy this for all eternity while the movie adaptation, although not nearly as good as this show, was at least watchable.

Yu-Gi-Oh, though directed to Primary level kids, was originally, as stated, directed to a much older crowd. That doesn't mean it isn't a good show. On the contrary, between the duels is a thick storyline that can get a bit complicated if you don't periodically watch the show. Like was mentioned, American dubbers do tend to block out words and actions unsuitable for G and PG viewers...and also, the friendship speeches and theme does tend to get a bit annoying. The characters also change from the manga. Such, as Anzu, or Tea in the American anime, loses her personality, which I thought was very awesome. Overall, I say that you should at least try the anime. Turn on WB on Saturdays and just take a glance. If not, read the mangas, but this is the TV review not the manga review.