Yûgiô: 5D's

I may be biased here, but I am a lover of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series. I loved the mechanics of duelling and the links to ancient Egypt. Yu-Gi-Oh! GX was OK, but I felt the story was a bit too light and lacklustre. After I saw the love that this series got, I felt I had to watch it.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is set in a dystopian city, with the "Satelline" (equivalent to a deprived region of a city) being the main setting for the story. The main protagonist, Jaden Yuki, is a great character and you really do get to understand his back story and motives. The other main characters in the series are equally as likable, albeit for different reasons. What I liked about this series is its dark nature and the story of someone rising from the slums through the means of duelling.

Now, on the subject of duelling...this is where I got a bit annoyed. The concept of speed duelling was introduced whereby everything the governs a normal duel was present, except duels are now conducted on super-fast motorbikes. Maybe its my age (I'm 25), but I just don't get it. Aside from the motorbikes being redundant to the concept of duelling, I felt it made duelling a restricted sport. In the era of the original series, duelling was something everyone could do. All you needed was a deck. Now, duelling is something only those with motorbikes could do. There were some standalone duels off the bikes, but it seems they were just not done anymore. I enjoyed the new format, but my rational brain just felt it unnecessary.

If you enjoyed the original series, this may be something worth watching. The characters are deep and interesting, and the story is great. Just don't be prepared for a rational explanation as to why duelling must now be performed while racing.

If I could summarize this anime down to one sentence it would be "Poverty-stricken man beats literally everyone at a children's card game"

Perfect.

Well I've watched every single Yu-Gi-Oh anime, might as well talk about my favorite one. As I get used to experiencing disappointment from this franchise, I like to think back to those dazzling memories from my childhood when I watched 5D's for the first time. It was the first rematch between Yusei Fudo and Officer Trudge and it was epic. The monsters, the speed, the motocross action, it was the perfect combination of adrenaline.

I still think Synchro Summoning is the most creative summoning method to come out of this franchise. It's like you're tuning up the monsters like race cars. And combined with great motocross action it's like a blend of Pokémon and Akira.

But what usually kills it for me is the god awful English Dub. I can usually tolerate 4Kids fine in family shows like the Kirby anime, but 5D's was clearly designed for a teen rated audience, and the over censorship really did a number on the story. Characters can't die, bad jokes ruin the tension, and an entire season is cut out. Good God, they erased another Yu-Gi-Oh finale from America.

Of course I won't reveal what happens in the end, but you'd better stick the sub version if you want your sanity to stay intact. Though I do also feel bad saying that, because I liked the voice actors they picked for this show. Everybody sounds like they're having a ball, even while holding such a cheesy script.

Gregory Abbey somehow went from playing one of the most forgettable characters in Duel Monsters to playing one of the most complex characters in 5D's. And he is just nailing Yusei Fudo's character. Always acting in a very organized yet energetic fashion. Rarely expressing joy, yet beneath the stoic exterior lies an intense passion for dueling.

It's these elements that I'd argue make Yusei Fudo, the best written Yu-Gi-Oh protagonist. And with a story that does a good job of alerting the audience he's not invincible with flashbacks and a near death experience with Kalin Kessler, it makes his journey to restore order to his unbalanced city all the more satisfying. Seeing him speed up, slow down, and then speed up again is instant adrenaline.

Like I said earlier, I have had a lot of annoying experience with the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. The anime has hundreds of annoying moments and I have yet to play a good Yu-Gi-Oh video game. I have plenty of frustration bottled up regarding Konami's shortcomings.

But when I watch the legendary dragons of red and white clash as Yusei explains his former best friend about how he inspired him to become a master duelist, while using those mastered techniques to defeat his foes, Everything just comes together like a well tailored suit. Each thread connects with another.

I cannot deny awesome writing. The rivalry between Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas might be better than Yugi and Kaiba's. And that's really saying something, because I also like those characters a lot.

Honestly most of the modern Yu-Gi-Oh anime these days seems to pander towards younger kids. Though I would love to see a return to teen rated Yu-Gi-Oh with exciting storytelling. Definitely take notes from 5D's. Aside from a few bad filler episodes and the 4kids dub, I still found this show to be really enjoyable. I would love to see a concept as creative as card games on motorcycles in future installments. With a much more professional English dub of course. Rev it up and check it out today.

The Japanese version is ultimately the best. It's dark, gritty, and has better voice actors than the English version. The story is better than the English version.

The dubbed English version is horrible. The voice actors are horrendous. They take so many things away from it, truly gives me a headache. Stick with the Japanese version because it's really good than the English version.

Yu-gi-oh 5d's is much better than the first one. Not to say the first one was all that bad,but this spin off is just more intriguing than the first one. It is easier to relate as well because it has a lot to do about making choices and the difference between good and evil. Once again not to say the first Yu-gi-oh didn't this series just deals in a stronger more direct way. This series is very strong and direct and really re-enforces positive values contradicting what some people say such as show like this just have to do with devil worship. Sure their is some mythical view points but it is just a cartoon and cartoons are for fun right? Well, this cartoon is it will keep you laughing wondering and excited all in one episode.