Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

5D's, my favorite show of all time. This show is a beautiful work of art, with some of the most real characters I have ever experienced. However, between Dark Signers and Pre-WRPG there is a huge shift, however I personally adore season 2 for there depiction of the main threat of the series, Yliaster. -Art- The art is beautiful, and the monsters are some of the most beautiful we've gotten yet. The Signer Dragon's complexity could make them hard to look at if your use to the original, but once adjusted they are some of the best designed monsters in the franchise. The Earthbound Immortals couldbe considered simple, and they are simplified black versions of the Nazca Line the represent with a different color line vairty across them, but they somehow manage to still look amazingly badass. The Machine Emperors are just sheer eye candy to anyone a fan of machines in general, and the characters still have gravity-defying hair, making certain characters(ESPICALLY APORIA) a pain to draw. -Sound- The Voice Acting is sheer beautiful, from the sexy voices of Yusei Fudo and Aporia to just the plain awesome voice work that is given to Lucciano. However the music is where it really shines. Almost all OSTs are amazing, including Yusei's theme, Lucciano/Skiel's theme, Light and Dark, Placido's theme and many MANY others. However the openings, endings and inserts are where they just BOMB IT. 5D's and GX are the only shows were I love every single opening and ending, and my god, do they not disappoint. Future Colors, Cross Game, Start, Last Train, Going my Way!!, Believe in Nexus, Freedom, -OZONE-, Close to You and Kizuna are the best songs in the entire franchise by far, and we have the all holy insert song sung by freaking Masaaki Endoh known as Clear Mind. -Characters- I will admit I have a crush on Placido to the point where it's kinda scary and sad, but the characters feel so real. Yusei and Jack are by far the best Yugi/Kaiba duo yet, and the entire major rest of the list excluding the characters from Secruity and Satellite are amazing. Rua, Ruka, and Lucciano are by far the best children characters in this franchise along with Arc-V's Sora, and damn does Z-One troll everyone. There's even a character exclusive to the spinoff Bonds Beyond Time who gets mentioned, and well, just watch the freaking show. -Enjoyment- I have never enjoyed a show this much. Every episode, even the filler, was good in some way. My personal favorite episodes are 105-110(the Placido VS Yusei mini-arc as I like to call it). But just, watch it. -Overall- This franchise is amazing, and this series is a treat from beyond heaven. If you like anime in general, WATCH YU-GI-OH! 5D'S RIGHT NOW.

When looking at a series, is it better to start strong but end weak or start weak but end strong? I believe a strong finish is better than a strong start because while it won't hook people immediately, it will allow for people to have something to look forward to while watching. The problem with 5D's is that it follows the latter, being a disappointment after the first season, which ends at the end of the dark signer arc. The unfortunate truth behind this is that the director for the fortune cup arc left to work on Symphogear, leaving behind notes for the dark signerarc. The new director followed these notes, but once the dark signer arc finished, he unfortunately screwed up a lot of things. If I could rate the seasons seperately, I'd give the first season a 9 and the second season a 5. So let's delve into some of the best and worst yugioh has to offer. The story for the first season is structured pretty well. There is little to no filler and you can feel the progression. At the start, Yusei just wants to get back the card that symbolizes his bonds, Stardust Dragon, but then he gets stuck in Godwin's plan and becomes a signer. While the plot doesn't stand out, it also doesn't falter, allowing for strong character development. The second season has a convoluted plot where all the problems are solved because of Yusei suddenly becoming overpowered. It just sucks when the solution to every plot related problem winds up being Yusei. Another major issue is how there are 6 signer dragons when the original plot wanted 5. It felt like they wanted to give a character signer status just so he could stay with the main cast instead of a legitimate reason. It all just felt like so much of the original intent spiraled down into a cesspool of absurdity. The art and sound are pretty spot on, with the soundtrack containing some of the best vocal pieces in the yugioh franchise with songs like CROSS GAME and Clear Mind. The structural and artistic design of each D-wheel definitely shows each character's personality. The duel disks are designed to look like their respective D-wheels, as the motorcycles are a hybrid of transportation and a dueling machine. The biggest divide between the seasons is how the characters are handled. The first season had some of the best character development, delving deep into what makes each character and how they all overcome their mental and physical barriers to become stronger and better people. Overcoming the darkness in your heart is a prevalent theme within the dark signer arc, and it made the development even better. Unfortunately, the second season throws much of the development out the window and streamlines every character's personalities and emotions. There could have been so much more done with the characters introduced in the second season to make them meaningful and not just a bland sideshow. I heavily enjoyed the first season, and it became one of my favorite parts of yugioh. It's a engrossing and fulfilling experience that you should experience. The second season, however I didn't enjoy so much. I did manage to watch through it all, and it was about the same as Zexal 1. I recommend only watching the first season while completely ignoring the second season, unless if you want to laugh at the problems it has. Remember kids, you can turn off the monitor whenever you want.

CHILDREN’S CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES!!!! Ok, now that everyone has gotten that out of their system we can enter the world of high speed action that is Yugioh 5d’s The third series of the Yugioh Franchise is marked by breaking away from many of the tropes that had plagued the other two, in particular the previous series Yugioh Gx. Rather than being built upon a tournament or school structure system, 5d’s manages to create its own almost post futuristic world. The setting of this world is the best developed in all of Yugioh history. Our cast for this series is slightly different from the usual Yugiohcast. Yusei is not our average Yugioh protagonist. Not only is he older, but his maturity is shown to us time and time again. This is a shounen protagonist who is smart, cool and collected. He forges his own destiny, building his own motorcycle out of the scraps available to him. Jack Atlas takes the rival slot for the series. He starts off as the basic Kaiba clone for the series, arrogant and prideful. In a wise move they manage to develop him in such a way that makes him one of the more beloved characters of the series. Akiza becomes one of the most developed female characters in Yugioh history. Not only does she have a tragic past but she also is a strong duelist capable of putting Yusei and the like in their place. The uneasy bonds that these three share make up the core of Yugioh 5d’s. The plot still follows the regular card game format. Expect a couple tournament arcs with one time characters. Expect highly situational random dues ex machina card draws at the last minute that will never see print. Expect people to not stay dead for long. This is what the Yugioh franchise is about, and for what it’s worth, 5d’s manages to pull it off for the most part. Villains have personal connections to their opponents to make them more than just fights to save the world but also character battles. The Synchro mechanic introduced in 5d’s proves to be interesting and fun (Synchro Chants are addictive) but in general the card designs in 5d’s are some of the best in all Yugioh history which make for some very entertaining duels. There is also a lot less random opponent of the week, and more plot oriented episodes. There are some really genuinely shocking moments in this series. If this was all there was to 5d’s (up to episode 64) I probably would be able to give it an 8/10. A good reinvention of the Yugioh franchise. Unfortunately Yugioh 5d’s continued past the first season for almost 100 episodes. They start the second season with near 20 episodes of filler. Once they start engaging the actual plot of the second season, you realize that maybe the filler was the more humanitarian option. Character assassination doesn’t begin to describe what occurs in Season 2 of Yugioh 5d’s. The number of editorial changes and plot holes quickly begins to pile up, leaving no doubt that the writers are making this up as they go along. Towards the end of Season 2 they manage to recover a bit with some rather epic duels, but the damage has already been done. The animation is what you would expect of an ongoing series with more than 150 episodes under its belt. There are some episodes that kick it out of the park with stellar animation. There are some few rather rare moments where the animation completely backfires and a dramatic moment is defused. It should be noted that I am not a fan of the 3D animation used in anime, especially inserted in regular animation. It interrupts the flow of the series at best. At worst it looks totally silly. Luckily 5d’s manages to keep the 3D animation to a minimum, not over using it. It is easy to overlook these few random moments. The soundtrack of the series is one of the most enjoyable elements of Yugioh 5d’s. A lot of the character theme’s are so intense and gripping that they can make even the most simple of duels seem like the world cup. Every moment is dripping with drama because of the awesome soundtrack. This is one part of the series that never takes a dip. Later in the series they add insert songs by Masaaki Endoh who also does a couple of opening themes, all of which are filled with so much energy and charge. In total, Yugioh 5d’s can be inconsistent. It started off strong, and when it wants to be good the series can been very enjoyable, but when it is weak it can be disastrous and the last half of the series is filled with weak plot elements. If you are a Yugioh fan than this is something you must watch, but for everyone else there is better series to watch. Riding Duel Acceleration!!!

CaRd GaMeS oN mOtOrCyClEs! While this idea sounded like an awful addition to the series back in 2008, the show has proven itself worthy throughout its 3-year run. It definitely is my favorite Yugioh spin and one of my top3 shows of all time. Here's a spoiler-free review! **Story - 10/10 Okay, our main character is some guy called Yusei Fudo. Cool guy. The story takes place in a harsh world, where there are two cities called Satellite and Neo Domino. Satellite is the aftermath of a big explosion where the peasants and workers live, while Neo Domino is a place of luxury where rich people thrive.Worst part is, there is no connection between two cities by land. No one gets out of Satellite. Also, people in Satellite can't duel nor possess motor cycles for dueling that we call "D-Wheels". Yusei lives in Satellite, and makes his own D-Wheel with the help of his friends. His goal is to make it to Neo Domino City to take revenge from his former friend Jack Atlas, who's known as the "King" of duels and receives a crap ton of praise. Yusei just wants his stolen precious monster card back. Also there are Syncho Monsters now! You use a tuner monster and a regular monster, put them together, and voila! You have a synchro monster. BTW, the card Yusei's after is also a synchro monster. The writers take on from there, and make one good helluva show! There are two main arcs, and while I don't wanna spoil anything, everyone loves and respects the first one. There is literally nothing- NOTHING bad about it; people loved how dark and interesting it was (so here's the point where I'm supposed to tell you not to watch the english dubs). It's packed with a lot of action, emotions, as well as plot twists! The second arc isn't necessarily bad, but some people seem to have not liked it as much. This is mostly because the writers took a more sci-fi approach, which is out of the norm when you put OG Yugioh into account. I loved it regardless. There was a Gurren Lagann vibe, because the villains weren't very happy about how fast mankind was evolving with the Synchro monsters, and wanted to do something about it. I also think this one has one of the most relatable Yugioh main villains of all time, they just wanna do the right thing and aren't driven by evil spirits and whatnot. There's also a Crashtown mini arc which stars at episode 86 and is just brilliant. Card games on motorcycles, but now in the wild west! I think it deserves a lot of praise, and that's why I had to mention it. It has a great story and you definitely should give it a go. **Art - 7/10 Art style is very similar to what you see in other Yugioh animes; there are several "rape faces" and weird shots, that's just typical Yugioh for you. Needless to say, the looks and designs of characters and monsters are just eyecandy. The duels have become more packed with action (all thanks to motorcycles!), so there are plenty of monsters that have great looks and attack animations. The only think bad about the art I can think of, are the transitions. The anime uses both 3D and 2D animation, and the transition can be reaaaaaaally awkward. Not bad, but awkward. **Sound - 10/10 The show has great music. They make me cry like a baby, or scream "SYNCHRO SHOOKAN" in my mom's basement at 3am. It just evokes a lot of emotions, you know? They are of very high quality as well, don't even get me started with it because I could write a 5000 word essay on it. Just check Youtube for 5D's soundtrack, and you won't be disappointed. You know what? Dont, the videos might give you spoilers, just take my word for it? x) My personal favorites are "You Say", "Freedom", "Yakusoku no Melody" and "Clear Mind", if anyone cares! One more thing I love is that the producers often cut the hyping music in some moments, so we know for sure that Yusei won't be getting powerups over and over like your regular shonen MC, and the antagonists actually have a solid chance of winning. **Character - 7/10 Character development is great in episodes 1-65. You can see that a lot within Jack Atlas, Akiza Izinski and the villains. We also see that our optimistic, friendly Yusei Fudo has a dark side that he hides and we barely know about. The characters feel very real. So why'd I give it a 7/10? Here's why. Episodes after 65 revolve around Yusei. After this point, no character has free will and they all rely on Yusei to do something. This ESPECIALLY applies for Akiza who had loads of potential as a strong, independent female sidekick, and Jack Atlas who (in my opinion) became a softie after everything that has happened. Unfortunately, we barely see any proper developments here until the last two episodes. Although, I gotta say, the villains of this arc have GREAT character development, as well as the guy who became a part of Yusei's friend circle. **Final thoughts So yeah. 5D's was very revolutionary for Yugioh, as it increased the pace of duels and allowed for today's dueling mechanics. This show was a very unique experience to me, as it felt "relatable" all the way and wasn't only about friendship nonsense that Yugioh franchise likes to follow. Whenever I think of the ending, I still cry like a baby! Not because our ship didn't become a reality or something, but because Yusei's last words really stuck with me and it's kinda sad. It was also very hurtful to say goodbye to such a great show. Aw man, I think I'm gonna cry again! All in all, that's a solid 10/10 from me. I strongly recommend you watch it WITH SUBS AND NOT DUBS. I REPEAT, DUBS, SUCK, BALLS.