Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal II

So now you're lean, what's next? You need to make sure you're refueling your muscles and supporting your body by consuming carbs and protean. You start the feel the bulk, those rock solid abs and delicious muscles. Guys and gals both look good with muscles, except when they start to look like they're Graveler, then it's just disgusting. But the good muscle look is what we're going after here, the wonder of Zexal 2. I can't stress enough how good this is, as it's easily one of the best parts of Yugioh. We shall begin the road of the opposite of Zexal 1, the cesspoolof disappointment. Even though the story's objective is still the same, the presentation is significantly better. We get to see the objective and troubles of both the Astral world and the Barian world. While both worlds want to kill the other one, it becomes surprisingly complex with different groups with different affinities have their own objectives and methods. There are a few plot twists, but they honestly make sense. The events that conspire throughout the characters' journey only makes the emotional attachment to them that much stronger. The one issue I have is the numeron code and its existence. To continue any more would spoil some key moments. The art and sound are pretty much the same as Zexal 1. A new thing though is the design of the Astral and Barian worlds as well as their denizens, and I must say, they did a fine job in their designs. The characters are significantly better in Zexal 2. Out of Yuma's crew Yuma, Astral, and Shark all get a lot better with Shark being the biggest improvement. Shark's sister Rio also becomes part of the group and is more fleshed out than the other girls in the group. The Barians are all unique and great characters, and in all honesty are the best characters in Zexal 2. Unfortunately they are all surrounded in spoilers, but just trust my word. Kaito is still a great character while Haruto becomes more open and Orbital 7 remains just as witty as ever. To really know how these characters are, watch it. There's only so much one man can say before spoiling everything. Zexal 2 was a much more enjoyable experience than Zexal 1 due to its improved plot handling and characters. Zexal 2 is one of the most memorable parts of Yugioh that will leave you at your seat getting exciting, feeling the character's emotions, and wanting more. At the end of the journey through a disgusting swamp is a hidden village of wonder and excitement known as Zexal 2, so what are you waiting for?

i loved this yugioh spin-off so much to the point where i decided to rewatch it in the same month, i already loved 5d's (the more well-praised spin-off) so so so much so this is saying a lot. i genuinely did not think i'd enjoy zexal this much but the story is (mostly) very well thought out and every action each character took made sense and they fit like a glove. at first, i didnt like how they reused duel monster's concept, with astral being a dueling spirit and all, but slowly progressing, zexal actually became 10x better than the og duel monsters. the constantly recurringtheme of losing what's most important to you made my skin crawl, and yuma slowly maturing but continuing to stay optimistic is something that i love so much. the first few episodes (regarding zexal i) had me cringing at some parts, but it stayed interesting and i refused to take a break before seeing the next. the appearance of kaito made things extremely exciting, episode 13 (yuma vs. kaito) had one of my favorite duels in the series ever because of how every part was executed. the barians in zexal ii did not feel out of the blue and were a very pleasant surprise. honestly i might rewatch zexal a second time just to notice even MORE things i didnt notice before. i LOVED the characters. during my rewatch ive been nicer to kotori although it fills me with rage seeing her treated so badly, being in the background as some cheerleader that gets taken hostage all the time (including yuma's other useless friends), also that one shower scene (she is literally 13 years old). shark has easily become one of my favorite characters of all time, he appeared as some hilarious edgy punk that i laughed at everytime he appeared, but the further you get into the series, the more you understand his actions and start to empathize with him. i loved the arclights. kaito is the best yugioh rival ever. the barians were all great, alito being my favorite, but they definitely deserved more screentime because i personally didnt care to remember them that much, and rio shouldnt have to be placed in danger all the time for the sake of sharks development. yuma is a great main character, the bonds that he's made with astral and shark turned my eyes into raisins. astral being the most important thing to yuma because he was often made fun of by others and that his dad was gone makes me so insanely sad. i did not like don thousand that much (nor did i find his duel against yuma interesting, he was a basic power-hungry villain) and vector was only tolerable because he was a freaky sadist, and those guys are always fun to watch in yugioh. the soundtrack and sound effects are absolutely amazing, scenes never felt awkward or out of place, and the openings/endings were also amazing. i never skipped the openings unless i was dying to know what happened next, 'unbreakable heart' is my favorite opening with 'go way go way' being my favorite ending. the art is just stunning, as expected, and zexal actually has the best art and style in all of yugioh in my opinion. the extra gradient added adds so much flavor. at certain episodes (generally the less exciting ones) the art plummets a bit due to lesser animators handling the keyframes, but its not too bad or anything important. the designs are absolutely amazing and i would not even dare call them "bad" because a /drawn cartoon/ should use all they have to their advantage to make everything look captivating and eye-catching. at certain times i just want to chew on yumas and sharks hair. if you've skipped zexal, you are missing out on the best goddamn yugioh spin-off out there. rewatch it even if already have seen it. pay close attention to everything every character says. PLEASE!

ZeXal has really blown me away, it took everything I love about the original DM and made it better. (The reason I love ZeXal so much is probably because I love DM so much) also SPOILERS AHEAD: The rogue gallery (Barians, Arclights, Dr Faker) were a lot more rounded and interesting than villains that came before. Like Vector for example, compared to Bakura who is pretty black and white in the fact that he's a good guy being possessed by an irredeemable bad guy, Vector had a lot more understandable backstory (even though there were parts that were cheesy and rushed), it felt like they sincerelytried to create villains who were much more morally grey (which is kinda the whole theme of ZeXal, with Yuma and Astral contrasting personalities but being able to fuse and become one). If Kaito is Kaiba, then Ryoga/Shark takes the role of Joey/Jonouchi, and his sister, Serenity/Shizuka is Rio. Ryoga and Rio are the much better bully-that-turns-into-friend-with-an-ill-sister. For the first time in yugioh history, they actually gave us a based as fuck female character and friend. Both have a very moving and tragic past with the rest of the Barians, especially in the final arc. Yuma being able to talk to and banter with Astral are some of the most endearing moments of the show, seeing them interact, Astral teach Yuma how to duel, to watch Yuma's dueling skills and friendship with Astral grow and was something sorely missed from DM, as Atem possessed Yugi and won every battle, while Yugi had almost no development (I still love DM don't get me wrong!) ZeXal made me care about almost every character on screen, it's fun charming and is worth watching until the end. The good: +Astral/Yuma interactions +Protagonist that doesn't always win +Best rivals Kaito/Shark +Great villains Arclight/Dr Faker/ENTIRETY OF THE BARIANS The bad: -Some of the filler episodes are boring/unnecessary -Can't say I care much for the rest of Yuma's peanut gallery -Kotori

(SPOILER-FREE; sub version of anime) I would divide the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom into two groups, based on their answer to one simple question: “What do you think about Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL?” The first group will tell you how ZEXAL is the worst series of them all, with stupid characters, stupid plot lines and terrible hair. How there are dueling tomato farmers and dueling dogs and dueling aliens and that it doesn’t make any sense. And the other, a bit smaller group… will just start crying. If it wasn’t apparent given the score ZEXAL got from me… I belong to that second group. I literally needed some time to calm down before sittingdown to write this review, because it’s been more than 25 days since I finished watching ZEXAL Second and I’m still not over it. But let’s start from the beginning. Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL is children card game anime about children playing card game, which is not called Yu-Gi-Oh but still Duel Monsters. It’s got cheerful art full of pretty colors that will melt your heart and make you feel at ease, while allowing you to just switch of your brain and enjoy watching little anime kids fighting for friendship… until shit goes down and the feels come. MAL divides ZEXAL as two seasons - ZEXAL and ZEXAL Second. The first season was most of the time pretty mediocre, with awesome finale and pretty awful conclusion (don’t wanna give any spoilers here, right?). It the first season there are your dueling tomato farmers and dueling dogs and meh card designs. I myself wasn’t most of the time sure what exactly am I watching and I remember getting all triggered over construction machine cards and tomato cards and such. And then with the start of the second season came realization, that the first season made me quite attached to most of the main cast. And let me tell you - the second season was an emotional roller coaster almost for its entire duration. I laughed, I (mostly) cried, I wanted to just go watch something else - but I couldn’t. Because those characters, those characters that you just grew to love while watching the first season, they got into so much shit and drama that you just can’t stop watching, even though they (altogether with you) suffer so, so much. Story - 10/10 The story of the second season actually makes sense. It’s nerve wracking, action packed and sometimes mind blowing. And the point, when the gears just come together and you finally see the whole big picture, is so, so good… There was only one point when the story made me really angry… but afterwards it just made sense, so no hard feelings. The story of the second season revolve around aliens. Yeah, dueling aliens, I know… but seriously, it. makes. sense. It takes time until the point in the plot, but it really makes sense. And it’s amazing. Characters - 8/10 All of the important characters have believable personalities, good and bad traits, own goals and such a good, good, character development. There are no only good and only bad characters in the important part of the cast. Furthemore, ZEXAL’s got one of the best villain characters I’ve seen in anything up to date. And I hated the guts of that guy. Other characters…. are lacking. Kotori is your typical not-dueling protagonist’s cheerleader (seriously, she duels only in zexal-related video games) and the rest of Yuuma’s classmate group is… kinda stupid tbh? But nobody cares about them so… Some of the characters resemble our old Duel Monsters pals, but hey, every Yu-Gi-Oh needs its own Kaiba with long-ass coat and dragon deck, right? Soundtrack – 10/10 I’m not a music expert, but damn, it was so. good. Art – 9/10 Okay, okay, fine. Yuuma’s hair ARE terrible. But it’s Yu-Gi-Oh, what did you expect? And as I said, ZEXAL is pretty and colorful. So yeah, even the drama and feels are pretty and colorful. What’s better than a colorful despair, right? (I’m not crying)