Yu-Gi-Oh!

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.

As many other Yugioh fans around the world, I was shocked to hear the news of Kazuki Takahashi's passing.

Like many other fans, I was originally introduced to this series via the 4Kids dub, which despite its heavy censorship was still fun to watch and had some nice voice acting. (And also, an awesome opening)

But yeah, I agree with those reviewers who say the original version is better. A lot of the goofiest parts of the dub make way more sense here, and also the soundtrack is more emotional.

That being said, I think both versions, the japanese and the dub are good and fun to watch, because Kazuki Takahashi made a highly entertaining story and an awesome card game which inspired me a lot during my childhood and teen years.

Thank you for everything, Mr. Takahashi. Hope you rest in peace. And thank you for all the joy you brought to this world making Yugioh (Both the series and the card game)

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 agree that the manga is better, but the manga is *always* better. Once a show comes here to America the dubbers screw it up. One way or another. Cuz they direct it at little kids and it's not a show for little kids. The duels annoy me a bit too. I like how they develop the characters and the intricate plots, i don't like watching them throw one duel monster card down after another. The friendship thing is okie, except when we get to Anzu(Tea). She exaggerates the whole friendship thing to the point where i wanna gag. I liked Serenity in the beginning too, but she's turning out to be more like Anzu and that part in the battle city finals where she wanted to take care of Mai...*gag* All in all i like it's a great show if you'll just ignore some parts of it(like Anzu...gosh i hate her) I love Ryou Bakura...*huggles plushie*