Yu-Gi-Oh! : Egyptian Gods and Legendary Dragon.... Cards?
Written: Aug 27 '02 (Updated Sep 07 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great Animation, Each Episode is Entertaining To The Very End
Cons: Most Episodes Seem To Fly By Too Fast
The Bottom Line: Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Very Enjoyable Anime Series, Much Like Pokemon Only Better
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| jeremy1456's Full Review: Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Ever since the anime series Pokemon first showed up on television in the United states it has become quite the commodity, and whenever a certain style of show becomes very popular it's almost a guarantee that similar shows will start popping up everywhere, and that's where Yu-Gi-Oh comes into place. I believe 100% that Yu-Gi-Oh was created to bank off of the success of Pokemon; I mean they are both similar in countless ways, but what Yu-Gi-Oh has managed to do in my eyes is equal, or even beat the overrated Pokemon cartoon series, even though Yu-Gi-Oh isn't nearly as popular. The two series share similar aspects; the main element the two share is that they both involve battling and collecting monsters, there are a couple more subtle aspects that these two shows have in common but this is the thing you'll notice right away. I first caught an episode of Yu-Gi-Oh while flipping through the T.V. stations at home; at first glimpse Yu-Gi-Oh appeared to be another cheap rip-off like Digimon, but upon further viewing I noticed how deep the show is, and so I made a point of watching it the next day, then the next day, and the day after until I was hooked.
The Story
The series tells the tale of a teenager named Yugi, after discovering a hot new card game called Duel Monsters he becomes infatuated with this, his friends Joey, Tristan and Téa also share this love with the game. Duel Monsters involves 2 people battling head to head using the game cards which represent ferocious beasts, it's kind of like a real life brand of cards that we all know and loathe (Pokemon). Of course Duel Monsters isn't all it may seem to be; legend has it that it's similar to a game that the Egyptian Pharaohs used to play; this ancient game had to do with holy ceremonies that were used to tell one's destiny; this game was called the Shadow Game. There is however a big difference between the Shadow Game and Duel Monsters, and this is the fact that in the Shadow Game the monsters were real. Well one thing led to another and the game had to be sealed away, so a lone Pharaoh stepped in and used 7 totems to stop this game from hurting anyone else.
Now in modern times a powerful man named Maximillion Pegasus has created the Duel Monsters card game, and this game has become a pretty hot commodity. Yugi and his friends are totally obsessed with it. Yugi's grandfather gives him an ancient Egyptian puzzle to solve, this puzzle has never been solved by anyone and so it comes as a surprise when Yugi actually solves the puzzle himself; he is then granted a more serious and experienced alter ego known as Yami Yugi. Yami Yugi is even more talented then Yugi is at Duel Monsters, and he resides inside of Yugi and can be released with the puzzle piece Yugi solved, which is now known as the Millenium Puzzle. Yugi's rival; Seto Kaiba develops a machine that brings the cards to life, and so now the battles are no longer about your imagination, but now they involve real monsters! Yugi's grandfather is then kidnapped by the evil creator of Duel Monsters Pegasus after Yugi loses against Pegasus in battle. To rescue his grandfather Yugi and his friends must now travel to a remote island to compete in a Duel Monsters tournament and ultimately defeat Pegasus at his own game to rescue his grandfather.
The Main Characters
Yugi
Yugi is the main character of the show and one of the greatest duelists of his time. Not many of the people he goes to school with know of his skill in Duel Monsters; he's kind of the quiet kid that keeps to himself. After Yugi is granted with his alter ego he becomes more serious when it comes to Duel Cards and is almost unstoppable in the game once he gets going. Yugi's grandfather grants Yugi with the ultimate card; Exodia but because of an accident near the beginning of the series Yugi loses this card and must then use only strategy. Yugi is very supportive of his friends, and he is a pretty optimistic little fellow with some of the wackiest looking hair this world has ever seen. Yugi has become well known in the world of Duel Monsters because he is the only person that has ever managed to beat Seto Kaiba. Yugi's favorite card in his deck is the Dark Magician.
Téa Gardner
Téa has known Yugi ever since they were kids, and they have been friends the whole time. Téa is the most optimistic of her friends, and she always tries to give them confidence. She's your typical "don't give up, you can do this" type of person, this makes her and Yugi similar but it also makes her unlike their two other friends; Joey and Tristan. Her friends mean the world to her, and there is no greater cause then to help them out. Her best friends are guys, and so she comes off as being a bit of a tomboy, but not too much. Téa's favorite card is the Magician of Faith, it's kind of fitting.
Tristan Taylor
Tristan has known Yugi for about as long as he has known his best friend Joey. Tristan always comes to Joey's rescue, and despite their arguing and constant fighting it's obvious that they are very close friends. Tristan doesn't like expressing his emotions, and may come off as being a little cold sometimes, but he has only pure intentions. One thing is true about Tristan; he is a very good friend that will do anything he can to aid his friends when they need him. Tristan's favorite card is the Cyber Commander.
Joey Wheeler
Joey lived on the streets when he was a kid, so he is the most street smart of the group. Like Yugi, Joey isn't just fighting for himself, but for the welfare of his little sister. Even though Joey isn't a very good Duel Monsters player he has a heart of gold and fully intends on winning he money that he desperately needs to help his sister with. Joey and Tristan are best friends, and even though they bicker throughout most of the journey it's obvious that they would do anything to help each other out in their time of need. Joey comes off as being a little cocky sometimes, and he likes to do things on his own; with Yugi's help he became the first duelist to defeat the talented Mai Valentine. His favorite card is the Flame Swordsman.
Seto Kaiba
Before being beaten by Yugi, Seto Kaiba was the ultimate duelist. Seto Kaiba is the head of the huge company known as KaibaCorp, but he enjoys dueling much more then the company. Seto Kaiba was relieved of his evil side in his fate-changing duel against Yugi, and he has since started gaining respect for Yugi, even though the 2 are definitely rivals. Seto Kaiba's younger brother Mokuba has immense respect for his older brother, and even though he knows deep down that Seto Kaiba is evil he trusts me with all his heart. Seto Kaiba's favorite card is the White Blue Eyed Dragon.
Let's Du-Du-Du-Duel!
The card game inside Yu-Gi-Oh is very complicated, and you probably won't fully understand it until repeated viewing of the series. It's a little hard to describe but I'll try my best; the card game plays out very much like a turn based RPG. This means that each duelist has a certain number of life points (Life points begin at 2000 for each person) and as their monsters are defeated they lose the life points until they are totally depleted in which case the person with no life points remaining has loses the duel. Another thing that I haven't mentioned in this show is that not all cards are monster cards; some of them enhance the duelist's monsters power or set traps for the enemies.
One thing that I find kind of funny about the battles in this show is the fact that they are usually so close. Every single episode of this series that I've seen so far has a duel in it, and these are usually cut close for whichever of the good guys are fighting, this makes it a little predictable, but at the same time a loss is very unexpected and so when someone does lose it catches you off guard.
One annoying thing about this anime series is that commercials happen at very inopportune times, and it also seems like there are more commercial breaks then in any other show on the WB station. Sure, this does leave you sitting on the edge of your seat sometimes, but most of these occurrences are really quite annoying.
To make dueling interesting in this cartoon anybody competing in the Duel Monsters tournament must wager star chips on every duel that they participate in. Star chips are required to stay on the island where the Duel Monsters tournament is being held, but when someone runs out of star chips they are immediately shipped home, and are disqualified from the tournament. To enter Pegasus' headquarters duelists are required to have in their possession 10 star chips, and then they are eventually able to challenge Pegasus to a battle. If a duelist manages to defeat Pegasus in Duel Monsters then Pegasus will grant them anything they want. Yeah I know this sounds an awful lot like a video game, but that's one of this show's many charms.
Animation Quality
Now I'm not a big fan of anime, well actually I'm more indifferent to it then anything. Some people consider anime to be a whole other genre of movies/shows, but it's all the same to me. Personally I like the way that Yu-Gi-Oh! looks; it's got a mix of nice colors and high quality animation that doesn't hurt to look at, unlike Dragonball Z. Really, if I could I would congratulate the people behind the animation of this show.
Airing Times
Yu-Gi-Oh is featured on the WB station; on weekends it comes on at 8and 11 am, while it comes on at 4:30 pm on the weekdays, and each episode is 30 minutes long.
Other Stuff
2 games I know of based on the Yu-Gi-Oh license have been released; Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark duel Stories for the gameboy color, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories for the Playstation one. While I haven't gotten the chance to play these two games you should look out for them if you are a fan of the series. Also, a card game (much like pokemon cards) has been released based on Duel Monsters from Yu-Gi-Oh, I haven't ever seen these cards but I'm guessing they are as much as a rip-off as Pokemon cards.
Related Review(s):
Yu-Gi-Oh Nightmare Troubadour Review
The Best Anime Movies of All Time List
Recommended:
Yes
Type of Program: Cartoon or Animated
Program Quality: Good for a few laughs
Best Suited For: 9 Years or Older
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