While some may consider Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie - Pyramid of Light (2004) to be the very first film of the anime. Technically there was one before it, however there's a reason some may not consider it. That's because it was only watched in Japan with no North American release. It's unfortunate when this happens because there then becomes a rift between fans of the franchise based on geography. Maybe not a large one but it's always disappointing when a certain region receives something and the other doesn't get anything. It's basically like being left out of a party and only finding out much later about it. There's also the other side of the coin, where maybe it was okay to be missed. For this particular case, it seems that it hits middle of the road here.
The story to this thirty-minute feature follows the same familiar characters fans know from the manga and after season zero. Seto Kaiba (Hikaru Midorikawa) is at it again, looking to obtain every single rare and most powerful card known in the game. Among Yugi Moto (Megumi Ogata), Joey Wheeler (Toshiyuki Morikawa), Tea Gardner (Yumi Kakazu) and Tristan Taylor (Ryôtarô Okiayu), another character takes the spotlight. Shogo (Eiko Yamada) is a shy boy looking to get in on the game too, when he happens to buy small card pack and it turns out being the Red Eyes Black Dragon. Unfortunately, Shogo is too timid and just holds onto the card. It is up to Yugi and his millennium puzzle to help him get past this. The script was written by Yasuko Kobayashi who also help pen for season zero.
Directing was Junji Shimizu who a year later would direct One Piece: The Movie (2000). For what is on screen, it serves sort of like a lost episode that belongs in its own timeline. For one, Miho Nosaka, the extra character that appears in season zero with Yugi and friends is featured but also is not included in the later seasons. In another way, this feature is very similar as to how season one begins where Shogo is Yugi and obtains a special rare card that Kaiba wants. Shogo as the character needing moral support is irrelevant too as he too doesn't appear in season zero or the later ones. If anything, the movie qualifies more as a long nostalgic spectacle advertising for the now popular game. And there's nothing wrong with that because of its short run time.
The story itself is very short and not that in depth. This movie may also turn off English viewers as they may not want to watch subtitles and listen to the Japanese dub. Although, the likelihood of that is low as most who enjoy anime, enjoy various dubs. The Japanese voice actors do a fine job though as expected since this is the origin of the anime, manga, game and all around concept. All voice actors partaking in this project were all a part of the original season zero so there's no questioning their capabilities there either. Not to mention all of them have taken on hundreds of other roles in popular animes people are fans of. It would be cool if there was a redub of this in English but that wouldn't happen.
The other aspect this feature has in its favor is the charm of its animation. The look of anime during the 1990s was all its own. Seeing the iconic monster cards and hologram counterparts in a form other than what people remember from the North American release is refreshing. That also includes the main characters as well. Hiroya Iijima as the assistant animation director did a nice job giving it that look. There was apparently cinematography as well from Jun'ichi Takeda but the reason for it is unclear. Lastly the film score was composed by an artist who goes by B.m.F. For whatever reason, there was no release of the music nor can it be found anywhere online. The music itself seems fine, but again nothing can be heard isolated from the film itself.
Music and animation are its best parts. The same could be said for the Japanese cast if one can get past that part. As for story, it is very quick and similar to how season one begins. Also the character of focus never existed before or after this so it's a bit weird the story would focus on them.
