SummaryBased on the trading card and television series phenomenon,Yu-Gi-Oh! is the story of Yugi, a boy captivated by the card game sweeping the nation: Duel Monsters! (Warner Bros.)
SummaryBased on the trading card and television series phenomenon,Yu-Gi-Oh! is the story of Yugi, a boy captivated by the card game sweeping the nation: Duel Monsters! (Warner Bros.)
Too solemnly boring to entertain parents or older siblings - but, alas, too loud for a long nap - Yu-Gi-Oh! is basically a feature-length promotion for the trading cards.
What can I say? If you are a fan, you will enjoy it. Although I would prefer a better plot-line. On the postitive side is that 4Kids used the word 'die' in this movie. I would still have prefered FUNimation dubbing the series.
No cuddly, funky "Pokemon" pocket monsters populate this pic; this game is for the big kids, rife with a ruthless tone, heightened violence and cold calculation. However, fans will put up with a dull tale to finally see their obsession on the bigscreen.
The character designs are flat and derivative, the backgrounds crude and uninviting, and the movements jerky and minimal. It's a sad excuse for a movie, but then, it isn't really meant to be one. It's a commercial with a ticket price.
I liked how all they did was bring out their strongest monsters and trash-talk each-other into battle! It doesn't stop there, the movie has merchandise! Yes, they sell cards! This means that if you enjoyed the movie like I did you can experience the magic at home with your friends, Somehow I was entertained even though I don't watch the anime.
Essentially just an extended episode of the show. Meaning that it's impenetrable for newcomers as it assumes you're watching as an already indoctrinated fan and therefore doesn't bother to explain anything. Admittedly, I've never watched the original series (I was a GX guy), but even as someone who played the card game I was lost part of the time. Largely because it seems content to bend its own rules for the sake of creating some drama whenever it sees fit. Also, I think it's hilarious this only exists because the creators came up with three monsters so powerful they had to introduce a card that's sole purpose is to make it so your opponent can't play them in an effort to restore some balance to the game.
As for how I would describe this to the uninitiated, I'd have to say it's like an edgier, darker, and more violent version of Pokémon aimed at teenagers. Protagonist Yugi Mutou's archrival Seto Kaiba, who's superiority complex puts even the likes of Vegeta and Sasuke from Naruto to shame, is manipulated by an outside force into trapping Yugi into a duel that will decide the fate of the world. The real behind-the-scenes villain is actually kind of lame. Finally revealing himself right at the end and getting dispatched pretty easily before the credits roll.
The action itself revolves primarily around watching the characters play a card game, albeit a very flashy one as every card they use comes to life. Still, despite how much I loved this as a kid, it's not the most exciting thing to sit through now that I'm older. Partly because the monsters have more personality than the actual people and also due to everyone onscreen feeling the need to say out loud everything that just happened despite the fact that we the audience saw it ourselves WITH. OUR. EYES.
Despite all of this though I still had a fun time revisiting it. It's super nostalgic and made me want to call up my old childhood friends, dust off my deck, and d-d-d-d-d-d-d-duel like we did when we were kids. Plus, Kaiba's theme song? *Chef's kiss* Pure 2000's goodness right there. There are even some solid jokes as well! If you're a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan or ever were at one point or another, it's safe to say you'll enjoy this as a reminder of what a blast this multimedia franchise could be, even if the quality does noticeably drop as you get older. If you aren't familiar with the property than this is a pretty poor starting point and quite frankly it's a little odd that you're here to begin with.
6.5/10
i honestly didn't think this movie was that bad, i mean, it wasn't perfect, but it was good for what it was. something tells me the Japanese version was better though
"Yu-Gi-Oh: The Movie" is one massively cliched 90 minute advertisement with a great buy-our-cards-to-save-the-damn-planet strategy. Unless if you're one of those small kids who are obsessed with the show and cards, I suggest not watching it.
Production Company
4 Kids Entertainment,
Kids' WB,
Konami Digital Entertainment,
Konami,
Nihon Ad Systems (NAS),
Shueisha,
Studio Gallop,
TV Tokyo,
Toho Company