Mar 30, 2011
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 Yugioh
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cast. 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!!!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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