YGO Anime Log

So I guess I should start this page off with something a little different. If you came here from my main site, then you're probably familiar with the fact that I tend to write out my thoughts on anime in kinda fragmented posts that just expresses my opinions on them in any particular way I feel at that given moment. This will be the same. I don't do structured reviews that grade on criteria, I don't score, and I sure don't just do major recaps of events unless it's relevant to a point I'm talking about. We are here on raw unfiltered emotion and raw unmedicated ADHD. So you just get to experience my thoughts as I see fit.

Anyways, I'll be breaking things up by series, rather than by particular episodes, arcs, or seasons. Because some parts I struggle to talk about, and others I have plenty to say. I'll also point out what language I watched in for the most part. If you see me use dub names sometimes and sub names in other places, well, yeah I'm hella inconsistent.

Also unlike my Pokemon watch, I'm not finished with my YGO watch. Oops. But I plan to watch every bit of the series I can. Movies will be included on this page, minus DSOD. That will be under the manga, even if it is animated, solely because it follows the manga and not the anime.

(There is no dub for this)

So the first times we attempted to watch this, I didn't really vibe with it for some reason. I think we actually watched like 2 times as a group or something followed by early Duelist Kingdom and it just never clicked for me. I dunno what got me to pay attention the 3rd time, but I'm glad I did.

Let me start off by saying that Yami Yugi as voiced by Ogata just hits different. Yugi voiced by Ogata in general just hits different but like Yami Yugi especially hits different. I just remember listening and being like "wait that voice sounds so familiar" and then pausing for the longest time and then being like "Grimnir..." and just kinda laughing.

Anyways, I won't lie. Season 0 is kinda fun. I like the random addition of Miho as a character. She adds so much whimsy and it's kind of fun to see her alongside Anzu. Huge fan. And then Yami Yugi being insane as hell makes everything really fun.

I can appreciate that they were just making whatever with a lot of the YGO anime even very early. Like they were really taking liberties with all of it. Despite it not spilling into the later arcs and ending right at Yami Bakura's game, it still gave a lot of character to everyone in the filler episodes, making them feel a lot less like filler and like they belonged there. Really funny that we got another series with some guy who is obsessed with dragons, to the point he has 3 of the same singular dragon, wears a stupid cape, and leads the Shitennou. He even tries to kill a guy too, wow.

Also I'll say that I appreciate this anime's attempt at adapting Death T. Did a lot better than what DM did, even if it's just as messy, but a little less so.

(There is no dub for this)

So I wanted to watch this movie to see Kaiba.

that's it. Send tweet. There's nothing all that remarkable about this movie. It was just something to watch. Kaiba is there. Uh. So is Yugi. And Red Eyes. There's some nonsensical plot about a kid being too afraid to duel or something but he works up the courage. I don't remember. It was really short, but it's kinda forgettable. I think people said this almost became lost media because it was for a film festival or something and then someone restored it and put it out for the internet and that's why we watched it.

(I've seen this both dubbed, subbed, and Little Kuriboh'd, if that counts. I've also seen some of it in Spanish.)

So I feel like this particular YGO anime needs no introduction, because it's what everyone thinks of when they think of YGO. But I will say that like, after finally watching it all dubbed & subbed, it's amazing how many plot points get changed in here. Hell I'd almost argue that some characters are just straight up different characters all together with how they're written in the dub. But the Americanification beam hit it like a sack of bricks. Either way, I feel like no matter how you pick to watch it, it's a pretty fun watch over all. There's unfortunately a lot changed between this and the manga, but it's still generally really fun. I think the only thing that drags it down is that unfortunately we get to a point where some of the filler starts coming at weird places (LOOKING AT YOU, NOAH), and really disrupts quite a bit of the flow. Also around the same time we start having duels start taking place over long chunks of episodes. Then we get two whole filler arcs before going into the final arc.

Honestly, despite all it's flaws and how it can kind of drag on, it's still a fun time. Like for some reason, that Kaiba Corp Grand Prix arc at the very end is so funny to me solely because of the fact that in the original they just start playing March of the Valkyries at some point and that's just hilarious.

Another thing that's kind of funny as hell, especially after reading the manga and going back to watch the 1st episode, is how they try to summarize the entirety of Kaiba's Mindcrush and how we got to that point. They really pulled the speedrun any% card for "introducing Seto Kaiba," and that's hilarious. Show how he wants the card. Have him duel Grandpa and show him horrors beyond human comprehension. Exodia Mindcrush time! With no explanation of penalty games, why it happens, or even telling that he went into a coma after that. Mokuba just kinda shows up and goes "Big bro!" and that's it as well and it's just so funny.

Actually I wont lie, whoever was directing this anime really decided they liked Kaiba a lot and put him in so many places he just doesn't belong and that's probably why I enjoyed it so much.

Anyways this anime is a mess, but in a fun way. Bakura's a menace. Marik's a menace. Atem has so many asspulls during games it's funny. There's an episode where they named it "Jounouchi Dies" in Japanese after the preview was like "Hang in there Jounouchi!" and then they're like "Next episode, Jounouchi Dies!" We get fillers with Mai and she doesn't just disappear into the void. A dog pees on Rex & Weevil. Yugi's height fluctuates at random depending on the scene. THERE'S AN ENTIRE ARC WHERE THEY'RE LIKE "SO WE'RE HEADING TO DEATH VALLEY TO DUEL" AND AS WE WERE WATCHING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME I WAS LIKE "WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY GOING THEY'RE DRIVING OUT TO THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE ARE THEY HEADED TO DEATH VALLEY" AND THEN THEY JUST SAY THAT N I LOST MY MIND. Duke is also there at random. Hell, the fact that his dub name is "Duke Devlin" is kinda funny. And he just has a car. In California. For no reason. There's also this random scene with Kaiba on a motorcycle where I think he uses it to jump over a gap on a bridge in the most dramatic way. Hell 90% of what he says in the dub is so funny. The dub in general is just so funny. Also the fact that they just let Pegasus live and he goes on to do whatever is also super funny.

Just watch it. Watch all 224 episodes. Have a good time.

(Only watched it dubbed)

I can't believe Kaiba interrupted Pegasus's Wine Spritzer Time to beg for a card only for Anubis to pick him up by the head and throw him. How big is Anubis anyways? Kaiba is like 6'1". How do you pick a 17 yr old boy up by the head who is 6'1"?

I honestly don't have a lot to say about this because we watched it during the first day of Early Access in Dawntrail. Due to that, both of them are a blur...

(Started with dub, finished with subbed.)

So, don't get me wrong, I actually really liked this anime. I thought the first few seasons were pretty great, but it starts losing me once we get to the Yubel stuff. That isn't to say that I necessarily hate Yubel (though I won't lie, I think that if I watched that part subbed, I might have enjoyed it more because the dub absolutely made me tired of Yubel to some degree. It's not a hate, it's just an exhaustion.) I just kinda wasn't the most keen on that arc.

Kinda sucks because I actually liked the previous arcs. Like yes there was a lot of stuff that had a sudden drastic tone shift to something slightly more serious, but it still had that general silly tone to it all that was incredibly enjoyable. I loved seeing everyone just do whatever at school. It was fun. It actually made me wonder why people said they hated this series in particular.

Sometimes I see a lot of hate directed at the final season in particular as well, but I can't bring myself to hate it either. Jaden's reaction to everything is so very human and just how most people would respond. Like after everything that happened, I kinda can't blame him for feeling that way. Sometimes you go through things and the last thing you want to do is just go back to your old activities and act like everything's normal. It's completely understandable.

But I can't believe he walks off into a desert like please don't be going to Death Valley. Enough has happened in Death Valley.

Also I want to be completely honest Chazz is such a fucking little creature in this. I'm a huge fan of him in particular. I love him and his Ahh Real Monsters deck.

(Subbed only this time.)

The first time I watched this, I only saw season 1, if even that? I don't remember because it was a while ago. I'm rewatching it currently, so it'll be a while before I get around to putting my thoughts here. Just know that seeing some clips of the dub & watching BBT was enough to hear Jack with a Cockney accent and for me to go "Yeah um, we're not watching this dubbed." There's just something about that accent with him that shook me to my core. I took immense psychic damage from that. I woke up in Black Mesa a week later.

(Watched it dubbed)

I honestly don't understand most of what happened in this movie to be quite honest, other than time travel shenanigans between all 3 of the protagonists in the original timeline.