what if the resonen way yuma is not effcat by numbers is cures of utopia and not astreal resones is that in japasies utopia is called hope ligth and so on
@@1trevor30in duelist kingdom, he was getting lucky but getting better. By end of battle city, I would say he was probably the actual best duelist since he didn’t need to rely on magic to win.
And this is why I loved Zexal first part... because in Second Yuma become a god. That, and the fact the italian dub switch to the 4kids OST, which is a huge loss IMO.
@@ska187 Bruh, Pegasus said to Aster in GX that Joey was the #3 pro duelist and Atem was gone by then and also Seto Kaiba obviously doesn't use magic either because he keeps pretending he doesn't believe it exists even after his role in the story gets well past the point of that being reasonable (IIRC, I think I heard he doesn't actually have this trait in the original Japanese version of Duel Monsters but even still, he relies more on tech than anything else, be it magic, friendship or the magic of friendship. Even the manga version in DSoD used tech to block magic, seriously. Uncle Chan would be _absolutely livid_ to see that).
Zexal was a surreal experience for me because its plot has a lot of similarities to Megaman Starforce. A game where an alien teams up with a human boy who was sent there due to the actions of the human's missing father in order to prevent the activation of a doomsday weapon that would wipe out a side of the 2 warring alien factions that follows a monster of the week format where the villains have their desires and insecurities amplified by alien influence. All of which taking place in a sci-fi card based society.
Tho it also made me sad that Megaman exe and star force used to be long running animes. Exe has like whooping 200+ episodes while star force sadly has that awkward 5 minute per episode 10 minutes format.
This is not only to crazy to me as someone who made the same connections when the series came out, but also just the fact that there are others that know both slightly more obscure spin offs of well-known franchises
One thing I would like to note, cuz it’s something I bring up in a lot of conversations, Astral wasn’t the sole reason for winning their first duel, they beat Shark because Yuma’s last move was one Astral was against and later it highlights that Astral’s inability to take risks is a weakness of his even when dueling
And that same weakness is highlighted in their ceremonial duel at the end. Yuma took a risky move, only for Astral to fall for it and cost him the tempo of the duel.
Piggy-backing off of you. Something I noticed on a first binge is that despite the memes, Yuma ISN'T purely incompetent. The problem is that he frequently ignores advice and makes the wrong move simply BECAUSE Astral told him not to do it. His stupidity is the stupidity of PRIDE. It's like he heard what Atem said to Pegasus about a true duelist needing good instincts to know when to act and thought that meant that being a good duelists means your instincts are ALWAYS correct and you don't need caution.
also how they are, yuma is emotional way more and astral the cold logic at first and , thats classic for a reason, you see astral warm up a lot and, yuma getting better at dueling while not loosing his. It makes them such a fun relationship, especially as they bicker caring.
@@fxzzy__Huh, that mirrors Atem and Yugi. Atem took some risks, but they were quite controlled. Yugi took the larger risks such as being the one to propose the mind shuffle as well as banking on specific moves Atem would make during their duel to send Atem back to the afterlife.
I think the point is Yugi is good at the game and its established early when he beats Joey, his grandpa brags about how he taught him everything he knows, gives advice to Joey countless times, plays part of the game against Pegasus, and even beats Bakura right before facing the Pharaoh in the final duel of the show. He's depicted as a strong duelist, but as the underdog when compared to the Pharaoh. That's what makes the final duel exciting and believable. He's not a weakling, but he just needs to hold his head up high. He was always the Pharaoh's equal, he just needed to muster the courage to face the challenges himself and the Pharaoh taught him how. While Zexal is a great retelling of the original work, it takes on a different approach rather than being the superior show.
I gave it a chance when it first released, but something about the plot and characters didn't appeal to me very much so I dropped it after the first season.
Zexal shook up how the primary duel trio worked. Yugi is a competent duelist who actively played in games, Joey who's an up and coming rookie, and the high powered duelist Kaiba. Yuma is the up and coming duelist like Joey before, Shark is the competent duelist like Yugi, and Kite is the high powered duelist. Kite having Kaiba's dragon affinity and care for his younger brother also puts him at a disadvantage by having him be an employee to the mega company. Shark has the reincarnation lore and overall competency of Yugi. And Yuma is the rookie duelist who aspires to be a better duelist. Astral is the obvious Yami counterpart, only he now follows and helps Yuma (the Joey) grow as a duelist. Shark is the Yugi who had a fall from grace as a duelist, becoming a delinquent similar to Joey. Yuma didn't have the harsh upbringing like Joey so he didn't go down a dark path.
They took a lot of new steps with ZEXAL and it was mostly perfectly executed. I love how the trio ygo character archetypes were pretty much all subverted and made for a much more refreshing experience The ZEXAL trio is easily my favourite trio in Yu-Gi-Oh! and I think no other trio comes close in terms of its characters' complexities. Shark and Kaito, as rivals to the protagonist, also had rivals other than the protagonist (Mizael for Kaito, IV and Vector for Shark) which just added so much depth to them and is the natural result of ZEXAL taking its time to invest in the characters Literally the only critique I have of the ZEXAL trio was that we needed more Shark and Kaito interactions but other than that Yuma's dynamics with Shark and Kaito were excellent and as characters they are amazing
@@fxzzy__ Another critique I had with ZEXAL is that majority of its Duels were just summon your Ace Monster and see who's stronger. Which was why some archetypes like ButterSpy, Bounzer, and Umbral Horror were lacking. Heck, this type of duel writing would continue onwards to Yugioh succeeding ZEXAL.
Sheep mindset is a very common thing for a majority of ZEXAL haters unfortunately Guarantee you most of the haters either saw the dub, didn't finish the show, or both
@@fxzzy__ I only watched season 1 of the german dub(4K version, just...localized and dubbed into german. Which means no bad Yuma voice, so that's good) and I genuinely loved it after a while. Even the worse episodes are a lot better in retrospect than I thought when just watching it in the moment.
@@fxzzy__ I'm in neither, I watched the English dub, and liked it, it was the first series I properly watched (didn't watch DM, GX I only watched partially, 5ds I sadly missed, and Zexal I watched a lot, and I enjoyed it
@@varisrevolver4061 I said it applies to haters It's 100% possible to watch the dub and like it, it's just that I've met dozens of people who dropped it because of the dub and were urged to give the sub a chance and ended up loving it when they did I'm glad you were able to enjoy it and if you are a dub watcher I have nothing against you
I'm shocked you didn't talk about Number 96, Vector and Don Thousand given how important villains they are to Zexal. And the parallels they have with DM characters like Bakura, Marik and Zorc. Something I like that I don't think get touched upon enough is how Astral World and Barian World are basically Zexal's version of heaven and hell. Don Thousand is basically Lucifer due to his origins and when someone dies they either go to Astral World or Barian World. This technically also means that Yuma basically beat God in a duel.
@fxzzy__ Might be spoiler patrol, since appreciation videos like to encourage people to go give the "overlooked" media in question a chance and watch/read/play it for themselves.
@@fxzzy__ Makes me hope there's a 2nd video going more in detail on Zexal 2nd. But I do like that he said that The first 25 episodes of Zexal serve a purpose. Since I know people dislike that portion of the show despite it setting the ground work for everything.
Yeah same, a part 2 to this video for ZEXAL II would be amazing since there is genuinely a lot to talk about I also agree that the first arc is too over-hated. In retrospect it's genuinely not that bad. Set up a lot with the world building and characterisations which paid off in the end, the biggest pay off being Yuma and Shark's relationship since the show starts and ends with them
@@WaterKirby1994 All Numbers 0 - 107 did not appear in the show but have been released in the TCG, with plenty of print only Numbers like 26, 76, and 81
Finally someone does an analysis on Zexal, i really love this series as it was the one i started with and the really great story and characters, thank you for recommending it to everyone
The episode when Yuma summons Utopia ray the first time is excellent, not only does it show how great of speaker Yuma is, it even shows Astral to his friends, it also the episode where Astral can put his fear of Kite behind.
51:04 Kaiba Corp wasn't a game company, it was a corporation specialised in the military industrial complex. Kaiba was the one to turn it into a game company
I also love how many parallels there are in the final duel: Astral vs Yuma. *_MASSIVE CEREMONIAL DUEL SPOILERS!:_* Both Yuma and Astral's conflict is based upon past vs future. Just like Yugi and Atem's duel. Yugi and Atem's duel was a battle of whether or not the pharaoh, a dark and poweful being who has long since passed away, should still have influence over the world or if a caring future generation like Yugi should take over and lead the way towards a brighter future. Whilst originally it appears that Astral is fighting because he is still following his past commands to destroy Barian World, it is later revealed that he was trying to get Yuma to remember a promise he had made in the past: To defeat Astral whilst smiling with all his heart and to not be sorrowful at Astral's departure. Yuma's original motivation was to stop Astral from destroying Barian World with the Numeron Code in order to pave the way for a brighter future. However, after the revelation, his motivation now changes to overcoming his sadness and regain his happiness for dueling. He also wants to be able to go beyond Astral's teachings in order to carve a brighter future for himself. I love both of these series so much and despite both of them having their flaws, they still hold a grand place in my heart. They were some of the best anime I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
The "not dueling for glory, dueling for survival" is exactly what happens in the final arc of the show (Barian Emperor Onslaught Arc) This is very important to Yuma's character and his development
Maybe they wanted to go that angle in the WDC but didn't work out that way given it's a tournament that's Carnival themed, but were more easily able to pull it off in a hostile invasion.
Well I always considered Zexal to be the new Duel Monsters. ARC-V to be the new GX and Vrains to be the new 5Ds. Yugi has ghost friends and gets better over the time and both learn from eachother (Same as Yuma) Jaden just wants to have fun dueling and making friends but falls down a dark spiral and even shortly becoming the main villain (Just as Yuya) Yusei is a super smart duelist who just wants to help others with all his skills that he had to learn in a rough place without much help (Like Yusaku)
Jaiden was never the main villain because Yubel existed in that role while he was the Supreme King. "Into the Shadows" was complicated with Jaiden Yuki falling into despair after losing his friends that he became a Secondary Villain.
The difference between Yugi and Yuma that Yuma lost a lot while the difference between Tea and Tori that Tea have 100% win rate while tori have 100% lose record on duel.
Difference between Yugi and Yuma is that Yuma is actually the MC of the show LMAO We see him and Astral side by side for the majority of the whole show as they develop together, I'm sure you'll be aware as to how this is different to the Yugi/Atem dynamic
Cause it’s not a remake, rather it’s a spinoff like all 6 original series and maybe even Rush ones too. It’s involved with character creation templates that create a sense of brand familiarity. Kite to Kaiba as much as Jack or Declan would be their series Kaiba, just using different aspects. The Yugioh spinoffs feel consistently Yugioh while working their own paths. Thus it’s easier to appreciate them as both pieces of the broader series and standalone original stories with some familiarity. Yuma and Astral have personalities differing from Yugi and Atem, and after not even the true midpoint Yuma progresses into the leading role, trusting Astral whether he’s physically there to support him or not. Yugi has relied on Atem for longer, and it’s anyone’s guess which of them is the lead, even to Kaiba himself. The series deuteragonist of Zexal “Shark” is one of the most unique for blending the friend template with the rival one, giving him a strong arc alongside Yuma’s where they become friends despite surface tensions at each turn.
Shark is one of the best YGO characters because of his development and how unique he feels in the franchise A best friend who's also a friendly rival but later on is forced to became a foe of his best friend is a relationship unseen before in YGO He is the first character I'd point to for people who say ZEXAL is a DM ripoff
@@runningoncylinders3829 but zexal is the series with the MOST paralels with the original series. These paralels are also very blatant if you've seen the DM manga (or read it religously as a kid). Sure, every spin off has rivals like kaiba, they all have paralel characters, but zexal have their themes and arcs be the closest to DM along with plot points and story beats.
@@anotherjasonyou also have to remember zexal was the show they released after their 10 year anniversary of YGO. If you compare it to sevens which was the 20th anniversary it's significantly better. Having similar plots and characters isn't a bad thing. It goes to show that they remembered their roots
@@anotherjason After rewatching bonds across time I though about this with yuma, yuya and yusaku and honestly... there are some really good paralels between DM and Zexal, GX and ArcV and 5D's and Vrains and I have to think those are intentional. Liek there are two seasons were dueling in a vehicle has importance andthose are the 3rd and the 6th who also have the 2 most serious protagonists
13:13 I think it's a little unfair to Yuma to say he went against his principles - Shark literally demanded him to use the number card because a big part of Shark's early arc is defeating the number cards without having one himself and having to find a way around their battle protection against non-number cards
33:12 This video is so great and about my favorite series in Yugioh, the technical part of me wants to make a small correction here. The way the Number protection works is that every Number in the anime shares this exact effect "Cannot be destroyed by battle except by a Number monster." That effect works regardless of if the Number has Xyz Material or not, with the sole exception of Number 30, where that effect is disabled when it runs out. Galaxy-Eyes gets around this by using its effect to banish the Number temporarily, then gaining ATK for each Xyz Material that Number lost due to leaving the field. Then, since Galaxy-Eyes is now MASSIVE, Kite can easily attack over the Number (as the protection does not prevent its owner from taking damage) to finish the duel. Additionally, as the protection is an effect of the card, it can be disabled with effect negation, such as with Shark's Black Ray Lancer.
Great video! small correction at 33:06 The anime effect of Number monsters "Only a Number can destroy a Number in battle" has nothing to do with the number of Overlay Units (Xyz Materials) the monster has underneath. Simply if the Number monster's effects are negated or not. If a Number Xyz monster's effects on the field are negated, a non-Number CAN destroy a Number. This is how Black Ray Lancer was able to destroy Utopia in EP10. Shark used Black Ray Lancer's effect to negate Utopia's effects thus letting Black Ray Lancer destroy Utopia in battle even though Black Ray Lancer is a non-Number.
That's what I liked about Zexal. It was just similar enough to the original series while still being its own thing. It also helped that I liked Xyz monsters way more than Synchro monsters.
The thing about Kaiba not being much of a rival is that their rivalry was always one sided. Yugi never wanted to fight with him and was even willing to extend his forgiveness for stealing the blue eyes white dragon. Kaiba becomes obsessed with Yugi/Atem, after losing for the first time in his life and then his obsession is further solidified after Atem break’s his mind. Even in the past, Atem and Priest Seto were cousins and good friends. It was Seto’s father who attempted to pit them against each other due to his jealousy of his brother and Atem. To the very end Atem and Seto loved and trusted each other to the point that it was Seto who was became the next pharaoh and carried out the erasure of Atem’s name to seal away Zorc. Yugi/Atem may be Kaiba’s rival in his mind but they never saw him that way
Let's add some fuel to the fire: Yugioh Zexal began life as a non-Yugioh related story that Kazuki Takahashi wrote and drew art for, but sadly never lived to finish. The project was meant to be the grand introduction of "Studio Dice" to the manga/anime world. Ultimately, one thing led to another and Kaz wound up adapting the story into the fourth Yugioh series. The story is enough to warrant a whole other video, but the point is that this was Kazuki Takahashi's grand return to Yugioh as something other than a figurehead. The idea was for Kaz to guide Shin Yoshida through Zexal, then passing the torch to him moving forward, which is more or less what happened. This is why Yuma, Kite, and Shark feel like a redux of Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey, because that's exactly what they are. Zexal is the real second generation of Yugioh. There were also plans for the series to run for twice as long, with "around 300" episodes planned. This didn't happen, although it's anyone's guess why. Zexal was also supposed to bring back the tradition of yugioh being a serialized manga followed by an anime adaptation. This fizzled out right after the first kite duel, where the stories diverged. Ultimately, the manga didn't wrap up until the anime was long since finished and it actually managed to use some ideas from the unreleased anime episodes. Last factoid: Kaz's concept srt for Zexal shows a very different vision for the series. Only one chapter of this original version was released. It appears in the first manga volume as a "special chapter", but it pretty clearly has no way of fitting into the main continuity.
Tbh, if I had to guess why it never lasted around 300 episodes, could be due to Konami deciding to bring back Synchro monsters when they released Judgement of the Light. Never heard that Zexal began as something non-Yugioh... I would very much be interesting in hearing more about this.
@@torondinFunny that you should mention synchros! I always got the feeling that they existed offscreen since they appear in some spell artworks. Iron chain dragon was also in episode 1 but it was removed at the last minute. Someone actually asked the show runners if synchros would come to Zexal on twitter.They said that synchros would not only return, but that it would be a big plot point. Was it a scrapped idea or a bold-faced lie? I'm not sure but the tweet is still up there as far as I know.
Zexal is honestly how things should have gone with Yu-Gi-Oh. Tea isn't a good duelist so kotori is how she would end up with actually duelists. Joey the bully. Kaiba being great at dueling on top of Yugi doing most of the work.
I like to think that Tea in the final arc of the series is actually a pretty competent duelist she just has no time to duel because Yugi Joey and Kaiba do most of the heavy lifting I would put Tea above duelists like Rex and Wheevil as bold as that may sound@@sarthakarora3212
Tea is a decent duelist and never lost even if she never dueled that much, Joey staying as a bully just isn't Joey so if you don't like Joey then idk what to say. While I do agree that Kaiba deserved to have some legit wins a few times, Yugi isn't an underdog protagonist like Yuma is so I don't think such a dominating rival like Kite would fit.
Another thing about the number cards is that they’re innitially nothing being formed from the person who first finds and uses it so there’s a psychological element to those cards. As you mentioned with Cameron he was a failed photographer so it became a camera monster that gave him the power to make the future.
I think it’d be more accurate to call Zexal a reimagining of the first series rather than a remake. Yes, Zexal fills in these proverbial roles that DM left behind (Yuma to yugi, bakura to vector, shark to Joey and so on). But the execution could take form as whatever takahashi wanted it to be at the time. For example, a lesser known parallel between the two series is Solomon muto and Master Roku. Both are elder mentors to the protagonist, and they are each wronged by someone young and reckless seeking power and ends up destroying something the elder held dear to them (in Solomon’s case it was his blue eyes, and in Rokus case it was his stone statue). Then the protag in each series steps up to defend what their elder stood for which was to value their cards. See, both are functionally the same story but there’s this rare chance as an author to be like “well, what if I told it differently?” And it has this freedom to Zexal’s writing that made alluring to me
Damn yugioh Zexal? Alright imma said it Zexal got special place in my heart than other yugioh series, also Kozuki Anna (Anna Kaboom) is fkng based. Other girls yugioh deck be like cutie girl ish etc, while her just train/railgun absolute gigachad.
@@thatman666 Who knows? Considering that she was never charged for her blasting, I guess it’s considered legal in Heartland City. It definitely adds to the absolutely wild nature of Anna and I love it.
Just finished watching and this was certainly an amazing video. More positive ZEXAL representation on TH-cam is always appreciated considering how most yugitubers shit on it with next to no justification While I think the term "remake" is too strong of a word for it to apply with ZEXAL and DM, they definitely share some similarities and as you've said, ZEXAL does multiple things much better than DM Thanks for the great video
Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal was my childhood. Amazing duels, some of the craziest beefs ever, straight up pettiness, some of the best rivalries ever like Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal had it all. It literally felt like an East Coast vs West Coast gang war and some characters had some beefs in their own damn gang. I know it's a kids show but it felt like a reality TV show/sporting event that you are always on the edge of your seat literally every episode on any moment because you never knew what anything might happened next. I think why Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal is so underrated and people never gave it a chance it's because in other Yu-Gi-Oh series, the main character is just gotaed and powerful from the jump while Yuma was a complete noob at dueling but with the help of Astral and his friends, Yuma was able to become a better duelist season after season, episode after episode as the series went on. Speaking on Astral, this was the biggest change in my opinion for Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal. Astral was like this spiritual ghost that only Yuma can see and Astral was like a teacher to Yuma by teaching Yuma what to do and what not to do in a duel and help him become a stronger and better duelist. Astral was willing to help Yuma learn to become a better duelist and Yuma became a great duelist without Astral can't control of his body and duel for him unlike Yugi in the original Yu-Gi-Oh series where Pharaoh would always step in for Yugi all the damn time and yet somehow in the final duel of the original Yu-Gi-Oh series, Yugi somehow beats Pharaoh and wins like I understand the significance about it but at the same time, that was like Yugi only duel win without Pharaoh taking control of him. Another thing I loved about Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal is that Yuma would do anything he could to help rival and any villain to change into a better person
I always believed that it's because they never seen a main character who started from the bottom. What other yugioh series has a character who wasn't goated off rip? Even yusei was good with slum cards but yuma reminds me of joey and he gets better. It's pretty much a "What if" the watcher was a main character playing yugioh for the first time
[47:22] THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE. You kinda skimmed over this part, but the idea of "not dueling for glory, but to survive" becomes a MAJOR theme at the end of this series. Even if that theme isn't exactly present during the World Duel Carnival arc, perhaps this particular quote of his you're discussing was put in as _foreshadowing_ for what would happen to him later. Over the course of the anime, Yuma's attitude towards dueling gradually changes due to his circumstances and his experiences. As he begins battling people for progressively higher and higher stakes, he genuinely starts to loathe all the pain and suffering he and his friends are going through in regards to the conflict between Astral World and Barian World. It eventually reaches a point where every single duel is feels like it's for the fate of the multiverse. Many poorly-written anime protagonists would be totally able to handle such a situation without breaking a sweat, but not Yuma. You can notice him getting progressively more and more stressed as the series goes on, which helps him feel more realistic and human as a protagonist. By the end of the series, in one of the final episodes (at least in the English dub), Yuma outright says that he doesn't WANT to duel ever again if he doesn't HAVE to. I'm a bit surprised (and slightly disappointed?) that you didn't cover the final duel of this series, as it would have made an excellent addition to the main theme of this video. However, I suspect that you avoided discussing the finale to avoid spoilers... so I won't go into detail about the circumstances of the ending. I will say, however, that a MAJOR theme of the final duel - arguably the most important theme of all - is Yuma learning to have FUN again; to feel that extreme adrenaline rush, and to reignite his dream from the start of the series. This is something I really like about Zexal: _tonal consistency._ As Yuma comes to understand the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, it takes a noticeable toll on his mental health.
"it takes a noticable toll on his mental health." which is really similar to gx s3. also both gx and zexal had a late season fire archetype user. (austin o'brien/alito) both shows protagonist even use a light warrior as their ace. although the gx protagonist only started using neos by the 2nd arc of the show.
'Fxzzy when ever someone talks about zexal' But in all seriousness, zexal is truly the gen 5 of yugioh isn't it? It's the one hated at the tike and looked back fondly now.
Lmao, I'm a passionate defender sorry 😭 And yeah while it is looked back more fondly now, I feel that a lot of misinformation and hatred is still present around ZEXAL
It is the case for every serie. 5Ds was stupidely hated for more stupid reasons. The only series who will have probably always bad reputation are Arc V and go rush
24:07 this is a really late tip but, the reason Dr. Faker and Tron know about the numbers is because they’re the minions of the Barians (specifically Vector) who tell them about the numbers and to start collecting them at the time the Astral arrives as they sensed the energy change (or something the Dub is unclear and I can’t watch the sub anywhere). Tron returned to Earth around this time and Haruto fell ill at the same time. It’s the main reason Tron knows about Haruto’s afflictions because they both got turned into weapons at the same time. Haruto got turned into a cannon and Vetrix got the crests.
fun side note @ 14:39 so maybe this is later addressed one of the more renown animators working on Yugioh Zexal-Arc V Noh Gilbo did art a few art pieces for then Twitter each sketch showed the gen's MC Kaiba and Joey for some reason Kaito was featured in the Joey section and Ryouga was in the Kaiba section probably as Ryouga became Yuumas bitter enemy, from rival at the end though I'm unsure
11:16 and or watch season 0! I watched season 0! I love the intro! Also this makes me wanna make a series where yugioh has different arc revolving around different games, not just duel monsters. Like a variant or Durak that has cool art or maybe an escape room arc/mystery game arc or even an ARG! Yeah YU IG OH ARG! Maybe an arc revolving around parkour? Maybe an arc revolving around Minecraft? Maybe an arc revolving around speed running or maybe an arc involving a fighting game or capture the flag? Maybe a laser tag arc where Yugi goes full commando? Maybe an a intense assassin creed referencing game of tag where you have to mark your opponent’s back with a paint filled balloon or something & Yugi jumps from up high & tags someone from above? Idk man that would be so cool if the different games the pilot anime had would have been around for a small arc & then left much like duel monsters, then other yugioh games could be sold, like yugioh tag, yugioh mystery, yugioh swordplay, yugioh laser tag, yugioh puddle hopping (a game where you scatter stones in a big rain puddle & try to get across without stepping in the water I fucking loved that game as a kid!), the only thing that can’t happen maybe is yugioh Minecraft lmao. Unless we’re talking about fan made mods…
@fxzzy__ I agree that yugioh has always been voice acted really well, I just think that the dm dub was done the best, then again, that could just be the nostalgia talking.
@fxzzy__ it's all good man, I think most yugioh series has an aspect they do better than the others, for example, I think 5d has the best story, dm has the best dub, gx was the most fun to watch, etc.
I've never watched Zexal so I had no idea it was so similar to DM, only knew it as "the one that introduced XYZ monsters" and "the one where the character design started to get ridiculous"
but then again, Kazuki Takahashi himself designed Astral and Utopia specifically. Astral even becomes a poster design of Kazuki Takahashi's modern art style that he took upon starting 2009, and is prevalent in his art books.
Don't you think it's cool that Vector had a similar relationship with Don Thousand as Yuma did with Astral?? Kinda like Bakura with Yami Bakura and Marik with Yami Marik? Though Yugi was conscious of Atem, both Bakura and Marik weren't that conscious of their darker halves, although their darker halves were conscious of the bodies they were inhabiting, rather interesting.
i only watched up to the spoiler warning but this video made me sit down and watch all through season 1 of zexal and i just wanted to come back to say thank you for encouraging me to watch this great season. Even for the things like one or two characters feeling like jokes, every character felt well thought of or cared for that their deck also really worked with them. Even in a very "oh every character has some kind of gimmicky deck" but it's no different than previous series. Yuma losing duels when he's more inexperienced or nearly losing because he misplays is so real and i'm so glad they're making sure to showcase that. I really want Yuma and Judai to meet too, they'd get along so well.
i think the big problem with zexal is that: yuma in the begining was very arrogant and selfish, what makes him difficult to like him. and let´s not forget the fact the side cast didn´t help in the beggining, except for shark and kaito. tetsuo was a terrible best friend. always humiliating yuma, and kotori was just there. Ands it´s not because he didn´t dule, but she never felt like she was a part of the main cast. but thank good that the series god better and yuma grow up not just as a duelist and a person.
A lot of people (including adults) have some pride that hinders them from actually taking on advice as it's the same as admitting "you know better than me, I'm wrong". This was especially the case with Yuma as he had little, if any, genuine friends near the beginning of the show, thus he was desperate to prove his own worth I agree with Tetsuo/Bronk being mostly a bitch though Kotori is not a duelist so you can't fault her for not dueling. Her role was being supportive of Yuma and she did that well. Several times she helps Yuma get back up; she is ALWAYS by his side. There's even that time in Sargasso when the show would have ended if it weren't for Kotori. She's not an amazing character but definitely underrated
@@fxzzy__ my problem was not her being a duelist, but the problem was: she never felt that she was a part of the main cast. She´s most of the important scene, and nobody notice´s her there, and she´s supposed to be the female lead.
@@mystery8820 It was Yuma's insecurity of wanting to prove himself to his friends because of how in the past he'd constantly get laughed at that caused him to break his promise and summon Utopia. So his goals of winning and wanting to help Shark sort of clashed. I believe this moment is supposed to mirror the final turn of Yuma vs Nasch. His goal here is to also save Shark; right before Yuma deals (what he thinks) will be the killing blow (with the goal if victory in mind) he rejects the power of ZEXAL and negates his own attack. Yuma says that with 50 LP left, he will take on all of Shark's attacks and find a way to save both of them that doesn't involve defeating Shark, no matter how long it takes. This moment is what makes Yuma's character development so beautiful, and his flaws worthwhile. Before, he prioritised winning over saving his friend. Now he solely chooses to save Shark and not defeat him, not give in to the hatred and revenge that has caused all this loss. This takes immense resolve considering he'll be on the losing side, with 50 LP, and the entire fate of the universe on his shoulders. It really shows his strength of character and gaining of independence
I feel like calling Zexal a remake of DM is like calling Pokémon BW a remake of Red/Blue. Both were marketed as a new addition to the series and give a fresh start by providing very similar elements to the originals. However that doesn’t change the fact that they are still just the next installment of the IP and are viewed that way overall. I think a true DM remake could’ve been done in place of Sevens, but still use Rush duels since the format addresses the issues old school players have of the current TCG being “too difficult” to understand now. It would be crazy to see a yugi/Kaiba duel in rush duel format.
So at around 10 mins, you said that they never explain how joey and yugi become friends in the anime. Well, they actually have a flashback of the exact manga panels you showed, so they did explain how they became friends, puzzle piece and all.
Zexal is and always will be my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh series. It's such a fun show to watch and great dramatic moments. Even better was the introduction of Xyz cards which are my favorite card type. Plus Utopia is just badass.
something that i like about the next series is that Yuto is another remaining of Atem and Yugi, he starts off as a good player who just enjoys having fun and ends up like Atem mid way through his arc, (in the anime it would be in the second filler arc with the dragons) when we first see him, he's highly serious doesn't mind hurting people with his own verson of shadow duels but is still a guy just dueling to survive
Zexal took me a bit to get into. I hated it at first. But after characters like kite and Quattro got introduced, and shark got past being just the bully, Zexal came into its own. I think overall it’s the best out of the first 5 series. It’s a shame no synchros were shown though. That was so weird.
zexal wanted to bury 5ds bad. also the 10 year celebration of the franchise was close at hand, they reprinted the beginner's edition packs in ocg (japan) zexal was meant to be the gateway series to attract new players. they wanted to be like "you don't need to watch the show prior shows to understand the game" to new viewers so it didn't feature synchros or tuners. now akari being a reporter might have been a minor reference to carly's profession in 5ds but that was it.
I had several friends who declared themselves number hunters and nothing would excite them more than Konami announcing a random number promo out of no where
I didn’t know people didn’t like Zexal. I grew up on watching Zexal and XYz summoning and this show is the reason I got into Yu-Gi-Oh in the first place
I recently got into reading the original manga, and I had watched season 0 for at least the first arc (somehow I forgot about the RPG and Death - T arcs, so that was an experience) and how much more sense it makes is great and it's own experience. There's some advantages to the anime, and going back and reading after seeing the Duel Monsters anime gives some better visualizations of what's going on at times, and on occasion, handles some things better, but the story flows so much smoother (along with a flashback being a page vs a few minutes) and the character interactions are much more rewarding in the mid term where I'm at so far and has me excited to keep digging into it. It is kind of funny seeing how they try to either add new events to make up for season 0 going "oohhhh that's why they knew they had to shove Bakura and Shadi, etc in like that" I was also expecting it to be a lot different at points because (Episode 2 DM spoilers) Grandpa Mutou is trapped in the tape and can be talked to, instead of trapped in a card and relegated to flashbacks. Turns out, not much different and kind of prefer the anime's take. That said, this has definitely inspired me even more to check out Zexal, dropped out (ha) towards the end of GX and a little exposure to 5Ds and ever since they've seemed really interesting.
There's a fine line between a remake and a reboot. Zexal was a reboot. It had a completely different art style, it was aimed at a slightly younger audience (especially after 5D's was put in the same timeslot in spite of being aimed at young adults rather than adolescents, which hurt ratings more than it should've), it lacked any distinct continuity outside of the Duel Lodge lightly hinting but not outright confirming (similar to the Goha museum having Duel Runners but when an active Duel Runner was introduced, it was used for a regular Rush Duel (in spite of Yuga jerry rigging Kaizo into a makeshift Duel Runner) suggesting that Speed World may have not even existed in the Sevens timeline) and Kazuki Takahashi had left the production after 5D's.
I’m glad you really played out that parallel between Shark and Joey. Even though Shark took on a more rival turned tragic antagonist. I’ve always thought of Shark as of a Joey with more solo development while retaining some of his season 0 edge. Like imagine instead of Marik controlling Joey, Joey actually defeated Marik in the semi finals only to be possessed by Marik’s evil side.
I began watching zexal back when the barian arc started airing but i never finished it. Last november, i took it to myself that i should finish it and boy, was it good. I genuinelly believe zexal is, BY FAR, the best written yugioh anime to this day, the characters are actually deep, the duels are quite fun and if you watch it as a separated work from the card game it markets, it really has depth both in plot and themes. There were times i genuinely cried and some duels, like Tron VS Yuma, actually got me at the edge of the seat. Sure, its just an yugioh anime but it can be watched without context from the card game and that says a lot about how good it is as a show
I still remember when I watched this series. I thought it would be bad, then my brother and I watched that first episode where Yuma gave that speech about wo he is and why he keeps trying. It was inspiring to say the least. My brother and I watched and bonded over the series. Very quickly it became my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh series. My favorite episode being 19, which is funny since it has no duel. Just an episode about him, Astral, his friends, his family, and memories of his dad. Everything just came together so perfectly. While the first 64 episodes of 5D's are my favorite run of any series, ZeXal wins as best because there was never a low point for me. Even minor filler episodes felt fun. Things just kept building, and the characters were great. Sadly, I never finished it. My brother and I had a falling out, and I just didn't feel right finishing it without him. I heard the ending was really good, and Yu-Gi-Oh is generally pretty good with endings, so I can believe it. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to do so. Even without it though I can say I enjoyed every second I watched. The thing that mast gets me is how true this feels to Yu-Gi-Oh. It feels like a greater theme of ZeXal is fantasy and wishes, what we feel and the different perspectives people have. So many different characters of different ages and background all brought together, expressing themselves through the card game. To me, ZeXal is what Yu-Gi-Oh is, and I love it so much more for that. Too many other great points mentioned in this video. I feel like this hit so many aspects, from being a spiritual remake, to the aspects of collecting cards, just solid all around.
ZeXal is without a doubt my favoirite Yu-Gi-Oh! show. It even surpasses the OG in some respects (especially the final arc), even though I still hold that in very high regard. ZeXal has a strong and intriguing story fraught with mystery, and its use of duels to augment said story and establish character dynamics is top notch. The duels are fun to watch, with a good amount of back and forth. Plus, the show makes full use of characters, both main and side. Honestly, we'll never get another Yu-Gi-Oh! show like this, and the sad part is the fandom shunned it hard back when it aired. Glad more people are acknowledging the anime now. Definitely deserves the recognition after all the slop we've been getting since Arc-V. Also, all the theme songs are bangers.
Love this video. I miss documentary videos like this, so finding your channel is a blessing! I want to contribute something I am curious on. On the original Yami in the old manga, I thought he wasn’t really a bad guy as in a villain, but a trickster who punished criminals for the harmful deeds done by them. I suppose his demeanor can come off as villain, but I think it was intended as his character is designed to instill fear towards those who harm others. Anyone correct me if I misinterpreted anything of course. 😊
I've been saying this for years and everyone even the zexal lovers deny it. It's so strange elitist and later fans have the same opinion on this. I mean arc v and vrains are less interesting versions of gx and 5ds as well so it wasn't hard to point out
could you imagine a plot swap between the two? how silly would it be for yugi's grampa to be sent to a parallel world, find out the pharaoh there wants to cull out all imperfections, including the neighboring parallel world, led by zorc. then find's the pharaoh's son locked in a puzzle, and sends him to yugi, etc.etc.
I don't think you know what remake means. Having similarities doesn't make Zexal a remake it just makes it similar. At best you can call it inspired but even that's a stretch. Most importantly the story and themes are nothing alike, Duel Monsters was about Yugi and Atem discovering who they are as people and learning from each other. Zexal has a bit of that but becomes a sci-fi epic, far from the fantasy adventure Duel Monsters was. Zexal is similar to Duel Monsters in the same way that Dragon Ball Z is similar to Naruto, and no one would claim that Naruto is a remake of Dragon Ball Z.
Seriously don't get people who call ZEXAL a remake of DM They share surface level similarities at best, like callbacks to the original. It's nowhere near a remake
People like to throw around the "this is just the same, it is pointless!" around way too much. They would completely crumble if they read comic books because recycling and reinterpretation over there is much more common than it is with Yu-gi-oh. Zexal draws inspiration from DM, ArcV from GX and Vrains from 5DS, but they are very clearly their own things with their own positives and negatives.
He did call it a reimagining several times, so I feel like he knows and he was just slapping remake into the title because love it or hate it, it is better for the algorithm to do things like that. More people will click for a title saying remake/reboot instead of reimagining. More people will also comment on that fact which boosts engagement which the algorithm likes.
It actually goes over what happened in the anime. Soneone tossed the puzzle piece into the water, Joey dived in after it, Yugi followed suit, joey started driwning, after managing to grab the piece, Yugi saves Joey, they become friends, as well as becoming friends with Tristan, who in assuming was gonna rush off to find help if the situation got any more dire, or was directed to.
I stopped watching/following yugioh after 5ds. Just wasn’t feeling the vibes, but you’ve honestly changed my mind! Imma tune in and give it a chance, hopefully the other seasons are equally good
Ehhh i still prefer Duel Monsters since the game in Zexal becomes incredibly overpowered Where as DM we got to witness Yugioh best dueling tournament Battle City throughout 2 seasons and you got to see a full matches played out where it wouldnt be confusing to the watcher/reader
@@scottsummers616 wym as well? Yuma and Astral are a team and the side characters matter. DM never does that in the slightest. GX and vrains have some problems here and there but thry are far more flushed out than yugi and atem ever were, design wise and deck too. Arc v is very creative and 5ds is interesting. Stop living in the past and move on
I grew up with the original series and prefer Zexal a lot more because of how relatable of a character Yuma is. He gets unfair hate but people have to understand is that he's a child and the first to be quirky and it what makes him an interesting character. We get a lot more screen time of his rivals and that's a huge bonus for me when relate to the plot so much, especially Shark who I thought he'll be just a "bully nobody" characters when he's been a key point of the show for both seasons. It's has and alwsy will be my favorite season, and I am glad mote people have grown to like the show more after the amount if hate ot had gotten.
There has never been a Yu-Gi-Oh rivalry as emotionally resonating as Yuma and Shark's rivalry The story started and ended with these two and they went through so much together
Yugioh DM has always been my favorite of the Yugioh series but I've always been a little embarrassed to say Zexal comes in a close Second. But this video reminded me that it's because Zexal is the closest of the spin offs to recapture the magic of Duel Monsters. Sure GX still had the strong friendship vibes and 5D's brought back those darker tones. Not saying that neither of those didn't have any of the other. It's just that Zexal reached that perfect blend DM had. DM is a story about a kid unleashing an eldritch horror and out of all the things he could wish for he just wanted friends. The 4kids version is so fun to watch because no matter how hard they try they still can't fully remove the horror aspects of the original manga. Zexal is a story about a kid unleashing an Alien horror and also just wanting a friend. Zexal II is what fully mixes in the horror bits but yeah Yuma and Astral's bond is equal to Yugi and Atem's in strength and I will die on that hill. Yuma does what we all wish Yugi did and breaks into the afterlife to punch Anubis in the face and bring Atem back to be with his friends. Also Kazuki Takahashi was hospitalized during the creation of the final manga arc. Konami was already developing GX to launch alongside the next wave of cards. Meaning the deadline wasn't extended and a lot was cut from the manga at the last minute to finish it in time. Season 5 was given half the budget of even season 4 and well we know how season 5's animation looks so you can guess how that crunch went. DsoD is a continuation of the manga because Takahashi was never able to finish Kaiba's arc in the manga. We get the Kisara BEWD backstory without Kaiba even being there man. He just did not have time to include Kaiba and wrap up the second longest character arc beside Atem's in the few pages he could have given it. In that way Zexal is definitely better. The ending was able to be planned out fully and the animation budget wasn't cut for the final episodes. We don't have to wait 20 years for Zexal's DsoD to finally get the wrapping up of Shark's arc because it's wrapped up in the Anime. Zexal was the first online fandom i joined back in the day. So thanks for the walk down memory lane? Makes me really want to rewatch subbed Zexal again.
Yugioh Zexal is easily in my top 3 of yugioh series and it’s so underrated. The number monsters are awesome, shark is one of the best rivals in the series history, music is banger, what’s not to love?!
I've been away from YGO since 5Ds but this video actually ignited that passion when I used to look forward to episodes as a kid. It's time I finally watch this and it's you I need to thank for this motivation.
bro rly just said there is no reason to go back to watch the objectively superior version of HxH. Not even one minute in and you got negative credibility.
really want a new Yugioh Reboot with all 4 special cards (ritual is the 4), without link (gets its own universe/continuation), and if you want to pendel (fans should cjoose if they want to) with a new main character starting from scrath and going to top with diffrent series as continuation first as school student (kid), then changing/going to the Duel Academy (teen, house ray yellow for an interessting change), and in the end playing in the profi league (21 or a biter older/younger)
YGO Zexal is my absolute favourite series after Duel Monsters. To take the original story nd spice it up even more with futuristic technology and the idea of Astral being an alien counterpart to Atem is just amazing... I love this Alien prince alot and Yuma is a mix between Yugi and Jono... And also Ash Ketchum. Also when looking into Yuma's eyes I can see that he might be Yugi's grandson or great grandson. Also a Mokuba like character with psychic alien powers are soooo coool!!
![The Complete Story of Destiny! From origins to Shadowkeep [Timeline and Lore explained]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9mbDXvDNqTU/mqdefault.jpg)
I hope you guys enjoyed the video! The next one won't take as long to make!
Get up to 35% off your Displates here: www.displate.com/whoisenigma
Crazy 🤪
I read the manga
thankyou for the clickbait
So sad you rushed so much the final part of the video. I enjoyed the spoiler nonethelss.
what if the resonen way yuma is not effcat by numbers is cures of utopia and not astreal resones is that in japasies utopia is called hope ligth and so on
Zexal feels like what if Joey got the milennium puzzle instead of Yugi
But Joey is really good at dueling. I mean he beat tournament champions by himself no yugi in his ear.
@@1trevor30in duelist kingdom, he was getting lucky but getting better. By end of battle city, I would say he was probably the actual best duelist since he didn’t need to rely on magic to win.
And this is why I loved Zexal first part...
because in Second Yuma become a god.
That, and the fact the italian dub switch to the 4kids OST, which is a huge loss IMO.
@@ska187 Bruh, Pegasus said to Aster in GX that Joey was the #3 pro duelist and Atem was gone by then and also Seto Kaiba obviously doesn't use magic either because he keeps pretending he doesn't believe it exists even after his role in the story gets well past the point of that being reasonable (IIRC, I think I heard he doesn't actually have this trait in the original Japanese version of Duel Monsters but even still, he relies more on tech than anything else, be it magic, friendship or the magic of friendship. Even the manga version in DSoD used tech to block magic, seriously. Uncle Chan would be _absolutely livid_ to see that).
@mattwo7 there are different timeliness though.
Zexal was a surreal experience for me because its plot has a lot of similarities to Megaman Starforce. A game where an alien teams up with a human boy who was sent there due to the actions of the human's missing father in order to prevent the activation of a doomsday weapon that would wipe out a side of the 2 warring alien factions that follows a monster of the week format where the villains have their desires and insecurities amplified by alien influence. All of which taking place in a sci-fi card based society.
Also both Subaru and Yuma were finally reunited with their fathers at the end of their series.
Tho it also made me sad that Megaman exe and star force used to be long running animes. Exe has like whooping 200+ episodes while star force sadly has that awkward 5 minute per episode 10 minutes format.
@@cbbblue8348 even worse is that we'll never get the 4th game😢
Used to play that a lot on the DS. Loved Geo's character arc.
This is not only to crazy to me as someone who made the same connections when the series came out, but also just the fact that there are others that know both slightly more obscure spin offs of well-known franchises
"You Just summon your Mom"
- Yuma, English dub
That’s one of the few jokes that actually amused me.
@@Hynotamathe only line I liked from dub, and then I went back to sub because some scenes didn’t make the cut from the dub
Savage
I assume it made sense in context
XD
He said it to Yuya.
One thing I would like to note, cuz it’s something I bring up in a lot of conversations, Astral wasn’t the sole reason for winning their first duel, they beat Shark because Yuma’s last move was one Astral was against and later it highlights that Astral’s inability to take risks is a weakness of his even when dueling
Yeah it would've been nice if he touched upon how Yuma and Astral's dueling styles compliment each other as they make up for each others' weaknesses
And that same weakness is highlighted in their ceremonial duel at the end.
Yuma took a risky move, only for Astral to fall for it and cost him the tempo of the duel.
Piggy-backing off of you. Something I noticed on a first binge is that despite the memes, Yuma ISN'T purely incompetent. The problem is that he frequently ignores advice and makes the wrong move simply BECAUSE Astral told him not to do it. His stupidity is the stupidity of PRIDE. It's like he heard what Atem said to Pegasus about a true duelist needing good instincts to know when to act and thought that meant that being a good duelists means your instincts are ALWAYS correct and you don't need caution.
also how they are, yuma is emotional way more and astral the cold logic at first and , thats classic for a reason, you see astral warm up a lot and, yuma getting better at dueling while not loosing his. It makes them such a fun relationship, especially as they bicker caring.
@@fxzzy__Huh, that mirrors Atem and Yugi. Atem took some risks, but they were quite controlled. Yugi took the larger risks such as being the one to propose the mind shuffle as well as banking on specific moves Atem would make during their duel to send Atem back to the afterlife.
I think the point is Yugi is good at the game and its established early when he beats Joey, his grandpa brags about how he taught him everything he knows, gives advice to Joey countless times, plays part of the game against Pegasus, and even beats Bakura right before facing the Pharaoh in the final duel of the show. He's depicted as a strong duelist, but as the underdog when compared to the Pharaoh. That's what makes the final duel exciting and believable. He's not a weakling, but he just needs to hold his head up high. He was always the Pharaoh's equal, he just needed to muster the courage to face the challenges himself and the Pharaoh taught him how. While Zexal is a great retelling of the original work, it takes on a different approach rather than being the superior show.
Zexal is ridiculously underrated and I've always hated how lots of people never gave it a chance.
Because the most yugioh fans grew up in that time yk
@@lordenma4449 and?
I gave it a chance when it first released, but something about the plot and characters didn't appeal to me very much so I dropped it after the first season.
@@lordenma4449 no? It's bc they refuse to see change. I grew up w the orignal one and still prefer zexal writing and graphics
@@coolbrotherf127 you dropped too soon then. WDC gameplay >>
Zexal shook up how the primary duel trio worked. Yugi is a competent duelist who actively played in games, Joey who's an up and coming rookie, and the high powered duelist Kaiba.
Yuma is the up and coming duelist like Joey before, Shark is the competent duelist like Yugi, and Kite is the high powered duelist. Kite having Kaiba's dragon affinity and care for his younger brother also puts him at a disadvantage by having him be an employee to the mega company. Shark has the reincarnation lore and overall competency of Yugi. And Yuma is the rookie duelist who aspires to be a better duelist. Astral is the obvious Yami counterpart, only he now follows and helps Yuma (the Joey) grow as a duelist. Shark is the Yugi who had a fall from grace as a duelist, becoming a delinquent similar to Joey. Yuma didn't have the harsh upbringing like Joey so he didn't go down a dark path.
They took a lot of new steps with ZEXAL and it was mostly perfectly executed. I love how the trio ygo character archetypes were pretty much all subverted and made for a much more refreshing experience
The ZEXAL trio is easily my favourite trio in Yu-Gi-Oh! and I think no other trio comes close in terms of its characters' complexities. Shark and Kaito, as rivals to the protagonist, also had rivals other than the protagonist (Mizael for Kaito, IV and Vector for Shark) which just added so much depth to them and is the natural result of ZEXAL taking its time to invest in the characters
Literally the only critique I have of the ZEXAL trio was that we needed more Shark and Kaito interactions but other than that Yuma's dynamics with Shark and Kaito were excellent and as characters they are amazing
@@fxzzy__ Another critique I had with ZEXAL is that majority of its Duels were just summon your Ace Monster and see who's stronger. Which was why some archetypes like ButterSpy, Bounzer, and Umbral Horror were lacking. Heck, this type of duel writing would continue onwards to Yugioh succeeding ZEXAL.
Yugioh Zexal ages like Wine ,the duels held up . This anime get hated so quickly and it is so sad
Sheep mindset is a very common thing for a majority of ZEXAL haters unfortunately
Guarantee you most of the haters either saw the dub, didn't finish the show, or both
@@fxzzy__ I only watched season 1 of the german dub(4K version, just...localized and dubbed into german. Which means no bad Yuma voice, so that's good) and I genuinely loved it after a while. Even the worse episodes are a lot better in retrospect than I thought when just watching it in the moment.
@@fxzzy__ I'm in neither, I watched the English dub, and liked it, it was the first series I properly watched (didn't watch DM, GX I only watched partially, 5ds I sadly missed, and Zexal I watched a lot, and I enjoyed it
Zexal is underrated asf
@@varisrevolver4061 I said it applies to haters
It's 100% possible to watch the dub and like it, it's just that I've met dozens of people who dropped it because of the dub and were urged to give the sub a chance and ended up loving it when they did
I'm glad you were able to enjoy it and if you are a dub watcher I have nothing against you
To summarize, the Numbers are just JoJo's Stands
Yugioh is a JoJo Reference
@il3fortunato664 not far from the truth, paesano.
Yami in season Zero is basically little Yugi' Star Platinum.
Just a little more sadistic, eheh
Also GX has the Arcana Force archetype, literally Tarot cards in YGO, also Sartorius is voiced by Dio's VA.
@LermaBean that's true.
And it's fire the fact that they couldn't help but create a card literally called "ZA WARUDO" for Sartorius 🔥
@@il3fortunato664Weird hair.
Ace monsters.
Weird clothes.
New protagonist each part.
A story is divided by parts.
A main villain has an OP power.
I'm shocked you didn't talk about Number 96, Vector and Don Thousand given how important villains they are to Zexal. And the parallels they have with DM characters like Bakura, Marik and Zorc. Something I like that I don't think get touched upon enough is how Astral World and Barian World are basically Zexal's version of heaven and hell. Don Thousand is basically Lucifer due to his origins and when someone dies they either go to Astral World or Barian World. This technically also means that Yuma basically beat God in a duel.
Yeah for some reason he kinda skimmed through the 2nd half of the show, which is odd since it's much better than the 1st half imo
@fxzzy__ Might be spoiler patrol, since appreciation videos like to encourage people to go give the "overlooked" media in question a chance and watch/read/play it for themselves.
@@fxzzy__ Makes me hope there's a 2nd video going more in detail on Zexal 2nd. But I do like that he said that The first 25 episodes of Zexal serve a purpose. Since I know people dislike that portion of the show despite it setting the ground work for everything.
Potentially though he did touch on a couple major spoilers so I'm not sure if that's true
Yeah same, a part 2 to this video for ZEXAL II would be amazing since there is genuinely a lot to talk about
I also agree that the first arc is too over-hated. In retrospect it's genuinely not that bad. Set up a lot with the world building and characterisations which paid off in the end, the biggest pay off being Yuma and Shark's relationship since the show starts and ends with them
"There are exactly 100 number cards"
*glances over at Number 101: Silent Honor ARK*
Well Number 101-107 are quite unusual in a sense.
Did we actually see all 107 Number Cards?
@@WaterKirby1994 uh no. Number 81 is one of them that did not appear in either the manga or anime.
@@WaterKirby1994 All Numbers 0 - 107 did not appear in the show but have been released in the TCG, with plenty of print only Numbers like 26, 76, and 81
Finally someone does an analysis on Zexal, i really love this series as it was the one i started with and the really great story and characters, thank you for recommending it to everyone
Analysis on ZEXAL by decently big anitubers is so rare lol
So yeah I'm very grateful to Enigma
Peak ygo
@@Diamondr11Bluenah bro wtf
@@Khoobus yes. Yuma us an actual person and progresses. Yugi didnt
@Diamondr11Blue Yuma did? Then tell me what were they?
The episode when Yuma summons Utopia ray the first time is excellent, not only does it show how great of speaker Yuma is, it even shows Astral to his friends, it also the episode where Astral can put his fear of Kite behind.
yuma's father sent astral to him hoping Yuma was still bad at the game so that astral couldn't collect the number cards.
When I first heard him say that I thought that was very funny
That's somewhat true but also not really because yuuma's father trusts yuuma
?
51:04 Kaiba Corp wasn't a game company, it was a corporation specialised in the military industrial complex. Kaiba was the one to turn it into a game company
I also love how many parallels there are in the final duel: Astral vs Yuma.
*_MASSIVE CEREMONIAL DUEL SPOILERS!:_*
Both Yuma and Astral's conflict is based upon past vs future. Just like Yugi and Atem's duel.
Yugi and Atem's duel was a battle of whether or not the pharaoh, a dark and poweful being who has long since passed away, should still have influence over the world or if a caring future generation like Yugi should take over and lead the way towards a brighter future.
Whilst originally it appears that Astral is fighting because he is still following his past commands to destroy Barian World, it is later revealed that he was trying to get Yuma to remember a promise he had made in the past: To defeat Astral whilst smiling with all his heart and to not be sorrowful at Astral's departure.
Yuma's original motivation was to stop Astral from destroying Barian World with the Numeron Code in order to pave the way for a brighter future. However, after the revelation, his motivation now changes to overcoming his sadness and regain his happiness for dueling. He also wants to be able to go beyond Astral's teachings in order to carve a brighter future for himself.
I love both of these series so much and despite both of them having their flaws, they still hold a grand place in my heart. They were some of the best anime I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
The "not dueling for glory, dueling for survival" is exactly what happens in the final arc of the show (Barian Emperor Onslaught Arc)
This is very important to Yuma's character and his development
Big agree
Average Fxzzy W
@@postcaesar4564 appreciated bro
Fxzzy spotted
Maybe they wanted to go that angle in the WDC but didn't work out that way given it's a tournament that's Carnival themed, but were more easily able to pull it off in a hostile invasion.
Well I always considered Zexal to be the new Duel Monsters.
ARC-V to be the new GX and Vrains to be the new 5Ds.
Yugi has ghost friends and gets better over the time and both learn from eachother (Same as Yuma)
Jaden just wants to have fun dueling and making friends but falls down a dark spiral and even shortly becoming the main villain (Just as Yuya)
Yusei is a super smart duelist who just wants to help others with all his skills that he had to learn in a rough place without much help (Like Yusaku)
This is actually a really cool observation. I’d love to see yusaku duel yusei. That would be an elite duel.
Jaiden was never the main villain because Yubel existed in that role while he was the Supreme King. "Into the Shadows" was complicated with Jaiden Yuki falling into despair after losing his friends that he became a Secondary Villain.
Oh I didn’t notice that
Wasn't the main Village from Gx was Darkness Judai Wasn't the Main Village not even for season 3 that was Yubel.
@@antoniobolden8992 Season 2 was the supreme King. Which was Jaden.
The difference between Yugi and Yuma that Yuma lost a lot while the difference between Tea and Tori that Tea have 100% win rate while tori have 100% lose record on duel.
Difference between Yugi and Yuma is that Yuma is actually the MC of the show LMAO
We see him and Astral side by side for the majority of the whole show as they develop together, I'm sure you'll be aware as to how this is different to the Yugi/Atem dynamic
Yeah but that Anzu's duel with Mai was filler from the anime while the Kotori one was actually canon
Imagine thinking win rates have anything to do with storytelling
@@babysinclairfan yes win rate has anything to do with storytelling. Do you think Yugi will be crowned as king of duelist if he lose 90% of his duel ?
@@beppp01 Anzu beating Joey is still in the manga tho
Cause it’s not a remake, rather it’s a spinoff like all 6 original series and maybe even Rush ones too. It’s involved with character creation templates that create a sense of brand familiarity. Kite to Kaiba as much as Jack or Declan would be their series Kaiba, just using different aspects. The Yugioh spinoffs feel consistently Yugioh while working their own paths. Thus it’s easier to appreciate them as both pieces of the broader series and standalone original stories with some familiarity. Yuma and Astral have personalities differing from Yugi and Atem, and after not even the true midpoint Yuma progresses into the leading role, trusting Astral whether he’s physically there to support him or not. Yugi has relied on Atem for longer, and it’s anyone’s guess which of them is the lead, even to Kaiba himself. The series deuteragonist of Zexal “Shark” is one of the most unique for blending the friend template with the rival one, giving him a strong arc alongside Yuma’s where they become friends despite surface tensions at each turn.
Shark is one of the best YGO characters because of his development and how unique he feels in the franchise
A best friend who's also a friendly rival but later on is forced to became a foe of his best friend is a relationship unseen before in YGO
He is the first character I'd point to for people who say ZEXAL is a DM ripoff
@@runningoncylinders3829 but zexal is the series with the MOST paralels with the original series. These paralels are also very blatant if you've seen the DM manga (or read it religously as a kid). Sure, every spin off has rivals like kaiba, they all have paralel characters, but zexal have their themes and arcs be the closest to DM along with plot points and story beats.
@@anotherjasonyou also have to remember zexal was the show they released after their 10 year anniversary of YGO. If you compare it to sevens which was the 20th anniversary it's significantly better.
Having similar plots and characters isn't a bad thing. It goes to show that they remembered their roots
@@anotherjason so you say. Learn to go to the future, that's whay 5ds already is
@@anotherjason After rewatching bonds across time I though about this with yuma, yuya and yusaku and honestly... there are some really good paralels between DM and Zexal, GX and ArcV and 5D's and Vrains and I have to think those are intentional. Liek there are two seasons were dueling in a vehicle has importance andthose are the 3rd and the 6th who also have the 2 most serious protagonists
13:13 I think it's a little unfair to Yuma to say he went against his principles - Shark literally demanded him to use the number card because a big part of Shark's early arc is defeating the number cards without having one himself and having to find a way around their battle protection against non-number cards
"Yugi beats somebody in a video game, *then the opponent beats him up in real life."* is so funny...
Dude, you are awesome at making videos! That felt like a ten minute video but an entire hour went by
Wow, thanks!
33:12 This video is so great and about my favorite series in Yugioh, the technical part of me wants to make a small correction here.
The way the Number protection works is that every Number in the anime shares this exact effect
"Cannot be destroyed by battle except by a Number monster."
That effect works regardless of if the Number has Xyz Material or not, with the sole exception of Number 30, where that effect is disabled when it runs out.
Galaxy-Eyes gets around this by using its effect to banish the Number temporarily, then gaining ATK for each Xyz Material that Number lost due to leaving the field. Then, since Galaxy-Eyes is now MASSIVE, Kite can easily attack over the Number (as the protection does not prevent its owner from taking damage) to finish the duel.
Additionally, as the protection is an effect of the card, it can be disabled with effect negation, such as with Shark's Black Ray Lancer.
Great video!
small correction at 33:06
The anime effect of Number monsters "Only a Number can destroy a Number in battle" has nothing to do with the number of Overlay Units (Xyz Materials) the monster has underneath. Simply if the Number monster's effects are negated or not. If a Number Xyz monster's effects on the field are negated, a non-Number CAN destroy a Number. This is how Black Ray Lancer was able to destroy Utopia in EP10. Shark used Black Ray Lancer's effect to negate Utopia's effects thus letting Black Ray Lancer destroy Utopia in battle even though Black Ray Lancer is a non-Number.
What's the anime at 1:10?
I love how the rivals in this show actually beat the main character - it makes them feel like actual rivals.
You’re like the first TH-camr I’ve seen who’s actually paid attention to both the Yugioh DM and Yugioh Zexal carefully.
That's what I liked about Zexal. It was just similar enough to the original series while still being its own thing. It also helped that I liked Xyz monsters way more than Synchro monsters.
The thing about Kaiba not being much of a rival is that their rivalry was always one sided. Yugi never wanted to fight with him and was even willing to extend his forgiveness for stealing the blue eyes white dragon. Kaiba becomes obsessed with Yugi/Atem, after losing for the first time in his life and then his obsession is further solidified after Atem break’s his mind.
Even in the past, Atem and Priest Seto were cousins and good friends. It was Seto’s father who attempted to pit them against each other due to his jealousy of his brother and Atem. To the very end Atem and Seto loved and trusted each other to the point that it was Seto who was became the next pharaoh and carried out the erasure of Atem’s name to seal away Zorc.
Yugi/Atem may be Kaiba’s rival in his mind but they never saw him that way
Let's add some fuel to the fire:
Yugioh Zexal began life as a non-Yugioh related story that Kazuki Takahashi wrote and drew art for, but sadly never lived to finish. The project was meant to be the grand introduction of "Studio Dice" to the manga/anime world.
Ultimately, one thing led to another and Kaz wound up adapting the story into the fourth Yugioh series. The story is enough to warrant a whole other video, but the point is that this was Kazuki Takahashi's grand return to Yugioh as something other than a figurehead.
The idea was for Kaz to guide Shin Yoshida through Zexal, then passing the torch to him moving forward, which is more or less what happened. This is why Yuma, Kite, and Shark feel like a redux of Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey, because that's exactly what they are. Zexal is the real second generation of Yugioh.
There were also plans for the series to run for twice as long, with "around 300" episodes planned. This didn't happen, although it's anyone's guess why.
Zexal was also supposed to bring back the tradition of yugioh being a serialized manga followed by an anime adaptation. This fizzled out right after the first kite duel, where the stories diverged. Ultimately, the manga didn't wrap up until the anime was long since finished and it actually managed to use some ideas from the unreleased anime episodes.
Last factoid: Kaz's concept srt for Zexal shows a very different vision for the series. Only one chapter of this original version was released. It appears in the first manga volume as a "special chapter", but it pretty clearly has no way of fitting into the main continuity.
Tbh, if I had to guess why it never lasted around 300 episodes, could be due to Konami deciding to bring back Synchro monsters when they released Judgement of the Light.
Never heard that Zexal began as something non-Yugioh... I would very much be interesting in hearing more about this.
@@torondinFunny that you should mention synchros! I always got the feeling that they existed offscreen since they appear in some spell artworks. Iron chain dragon was also in episode 1 but it was removed at the last minute.
Someone actually asked the show runners if synchros would come to Zexal on twitter.They said that synchros would not only return, but that it would be a big plot point. Was it a scrapped idea or a bold-faced lie? I'm not sure but the tweet is still up there as far as I know.
@@babysinclairfandamn! That is very interesting 😅
Zexal is honestly how things should have gone with Yu-Gi-Oh. Tea isn't a good duelist so kotori is how she would end up with actually duelists. Joey the bully. Kaiba being great at dueling on top of Yugi doing most of the work.
Tea never lost a duel. She’s actually one of the strongest duelists.
Tea is a greta duelist even in duel links she plays ftk and counter fairy.
I like to think that Tea in the final arc of the series is actually a pretty competent duelist she just has no time to duel because Yugi Joey and Kaiba do most of the heavy lifting
I would put Tea above duelists like Rex and Wheevil as bold as that may sound@@sarthakarora3212
Did tea duel in Canon or was it all filler
Tea is a decent duelist and never lost even if she never dueled that much, Joey staying as a bully just isn't Joey so if you don't like Joey then idk what to say. While I do agree that Kaiba deserved to have some legit wins a few times, Yugi isn't an underdog protagonist like Yuma is so I don't think such a dominating rival like Kite would fit.
Another thing about the number cards is that they’re innitially nothing being formed from the person who first finds and uses it so there’s a psychological element to those cards.
As you mentioned with Cameron he was a failed photographer so it became a camera monster that gave him the power to make the future.
0:23 There's a whole episode about the legendary monsters of the past series after Yuma get almost killed by Kaito tho
Yeah idk I think he forgot about the Legendary Monsters episode that heavily implies ZEXAL might be connected to DM and GX
@@fxzzy__ it is part of them all of them are either one time line or split timelines and dimensions.
Hey, ima assume you've seen the whole series in sub, but not read the Manga
I want to have a duel in edopro if anyone here is up for it
I have this incredible and huge number 39 Hope deck I wanna test out, with the anime versions of the cards
I think it’d be more accurate to call Zexal a reimagining of the first series rather than a remake.
Yes, Zexal fills in these proverbial roles that DM left behind (Yuma to yugi, bakura to vector, shark to Joey and so on). But the execution could take form as whatever takahashi wanted it to be at the time.
For example, a lesser known parallel between the two series is Solomon muto and Master Roku. Both are elder mentors to the protagonist, and they are each wronged by someone young and reckless seeking power and ends up destroying something the elder held dear to them (in Solomon’s case it was his blue eyes, and in Rokus case it was his stone statue). Then the protag in each series steps up to defend what their elder stood for which was to value their cards.
See, both are functionally the same story but there’s this rare chance as an author to be like “well, what if I told it differently?” And it has this freedom to Zexal’s writing that made alluring to me
Damn yugioh Zexal? Alright imma said it Zexal got special place in my heart than other yugioh series, also Kozuki Anna (Anna Kaboom) is fkng based. Other girls yugioh deck be like cutie girl ish etc, while her just train/railgun absolute gigachad.
She’s my favourite ZEXAL character, such a shame that Anna was very underused, it would’ve been cooler if we saw more of her.
So she is licensed to wield a cannon?
@@thatman666 Who knows? Considering that she was never charged for her blasting, I guess it’s considered legal in Heartland City. It definitely adds to the absolutely wild nature of Anna and I love it.
Just finished watching and this was certainly an amazing video. More positive ZEXAL representation on TH-cam is always appreciated considering how most yugitubers shit on it with next to no justification
While I think the term "remake" is too strong of a word for it to apply with ZEXAL and DM, they definitely share some similarities and as you've said, ZEXAL does multiple things much better than DM
Thanks for the great video
Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal was my childhood. Amazing duels, some of the craziest beefs ever, straight up pettiness, some of the best rivalries ever like Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal had it all. It literally felt like an East Coast vs West Coast gang war and some characters had some beefs in their own damn gang. I know it's a kids show but it felt like a reality TV show/sporting event that you are always on the edge of your seat literally every episode on any moment because you never knew what anything might happened next. I think why Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal is so underrated and people never gave it a chance it's because in other Yu-Gi-Oh series, the main character is just gotaed and powerful from the jump while Yuma was a complete noob at dueling but with the help of Astral and his friends, Yuma was able to become a better duelist season after season, episode after episode as the series went on. Speaking on Astral, this was the biggest change in my opinion for Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal. Astral was like this spiritual ghost that only Yuma can see and Astral was like a teacher to Yuma by teaching Yuma what to do and what not to do in a duel and help him become a stronger and better duelist. Astral was willing to help Yuma learn to become a better duelist and Yuma became a great duelist without Astral can't control of his body and duel for him unlike Yugi in the original Yu-Gi-Oh series where Pharaoh would always step in for Yugi all the damn time and yet somehow in the final duel of the original Yu-Gi-Oh series, Yugi somehow beats Pharaoh and wins like I understand the significance about it but at the same time, that was like Yugi only duel win without Pharaoh taking control of him. Another thing I loved about Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal is that Yuma would do anything he could to help rival and any villain to change into a better person
Yuma is so well written it’s sad people overlook Zexal
They're missing out on peak Yu-Gi-Oh! :(
And that's why ZEXAL should be regarded as underrated season.
Blame the yugiboomerd
I always believed that it's because they never seen a main character who started from the bottom. What other yugioh series has a character who wasn't goated off rip? Even yusei was good with slum cards but yuma reminds me of joey and he gets better. It's pretty much a "What if" the watcher was a main character playing yugioh for the first time
I didnt even realize this video was an hour long because I was consistently interested in what was being said lol. Awesome video.
[47:22] THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE. You kinda skimmed over this part, but the idea of "not dueling for glory, but to survive" becomes a MAJOR theme at the end of this series. Even if that theme isn't exactly present during the World Duel Carnival arc, perhaps this particular quote of his you're discussing was put in as _foreshadowing_ for what would happen to him later.
Over the course of the anime, Yuma's attitude towards dueling gradually changes due to his circumstances and his experiences. As he begins battling people for progressively higher and higher stakes, he genuinely starts to loathe all the pain and suffering he and his friends are going through in regards to the conflict between Astral World and Barian World.
It eventually reaches a point where every single duel is feels like it's for the fate of the multiverse. Many poorly-written anime protagonists would be totally able to handle such a situation without breaking a sweat, but not Yuma. You can notice him getting progressively more and more stressed as the series goes on, which helps him feel more realistic and human as a protagonist. By the end of the series, in one of the final episodes (at least in the English dub), Yuma outright says that he doesn't WANT to duel ever again if he doesn't HAVE to.
I'm a bit surprised (and slightly disappointed?) that you didn't cover the final duel of this series, as it would have made an excellent addition to the main theme of this video. However, I suspect that you avoided discussing the finale to avoid spoilers... so I won't go into detail about the circumstances of the ending. I will say, however, that a MAJOR theme of the final duel - arguably the most important theme of all - is Yuma learning to have FUN again; to feel that extreme adrenaline rush, and to reignite his dream from the start of the series.
This is something I really like about Zexal: _tonal consistency._ As Yuma comes to understand the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, it takes a noticeable toll on his mental health.
"it takes a noticable toll on his mental health." which is really similar to gx s3. also both gx and zexal had a late season fire archetype user. (austin o'brien/alito) both shows protagonist even use a light warrior as their ace. although the gx protagonist only started using neos by the 2nd arc of the show.
'Fxzzy when ever someone talks about zexal'
But in all seriousness, zexal is truly the gen 5 of yugioh isn't it? It's the one hated at the tike and looked back fondly now.
Lmao, I'm a passionate defender sorry 😭
And yeah while it is looked back more fondly now, I feel that a lot of misinformation and hatred is still present around ZEXAL
It's even a soft remake of the first gen
It is the case for every serie. 5Ds was stupidely hated for more stupid reasons. The only series who will have probably always bad reputation are Arc V and go rush
Nah not really, I see GX as the gen v with how much shit it used too get compared too now
@@ConstantinDOSSOU-vy1zo fair point (no comment on go rush)
24:07 this is a really late tip but, the reason Dr. Faker and Tron know about the numbers is because they’re the minions of the Barians (specifically Vector) who tell them about the numbers and to start collecting them at the time the Astral arrives as they sensed the energy change (or something the Dub is unclear and I can’t watch the sub anywhere). Tron returned to Earth around this time and Haruto fell ill at the same time. It’s the main reason Tron knows about Haruto’s afflictions because they both got turned into weapons at the same time. Haruto got turned into a cannon and Vetrix got the crests.
You gotta make a video on jsut the Barian Onslaught arc! One of the top yugioh arcs
fun side note
@ 14:39 so maybe this is later addressed
one of the more renown animators working on Yugioh Zexal-Arc V Noh Gilbo did art a few art pieces for then Twitter
each sketch showed the gen's MC Kaiba and Joey
for some reason Kaito was featured in the Joey section
and Ryouga was in the Kaiba section
probably as Ryouga became Yuumas bitter enemy, from rival at the end
though I'm unsure
11:16 and or watch season 0!
I watched season 0! I love the intro!
Also this makes me wanna make a series where yugioh has different arc revolving around different games, not just duel monsters.
Like a variant or Durak that has cool art or maybe an escape room arc/mystery game arc or even an ARG!
Yeah YU IG OH ARG!
Maybe an arc revolving around parkour? Maybe an arc revolving around Minecraft? Maybe an arc revolving around speed running or maybe an arc involving a fighting game or capture the flag? Maybe a laser tag arc where Yugi goes full commando? Maybe an a intense assassin creed referencing game of tag where you have to mark your opponent’s back with a paint filled balloon or something & Yugi jumps from up high & tags someone from above?
Idk man that would be so cool if the different games the pilot anime had would have been around for a small arc & then left much like duel monsters, then other yugioh games could be sold, like yugioh tag, yugioh mystery, yugioh swordplay, yugioh laser tag, yugioh puddle hopping (a game where you scatter stones in a big rain puddle & try to get across without stepping in the water I fucking loved that game as a kid!), the only thing that can’t happen maybe is yugioh Minecraft lmao.
Unless we’re talking about fan made mods…
I loved zexal, but I don't think it's voice acting will ever beat the og kaiba, nothing will.
Each Yu-Gi-Oh! has an amazingly voiced cast
Watch something other than DM dub and you would know
@fxzzy__ I agree that yugioh has always been voice acted really well, I just think that the dm dub was done the best, then again, that could just be the nostalgia talking.
Alright, I also apologise if I came off as rude
DM supremacists kinda annoy me because of my experiences with how stubborn they can be so forgive me
dub vector
@fxzzy__ it's all good man, I think most yugioh series has an aspect they do better than the others, for example, I think 5d has the best story, dm has the best dub, gx was the most fun to watch, etc.
I grew up with Zexal, it was by far my favourite and xyz summoning is my favourite summon method
Great vid. Loved that someone pointed out the importance of Zexal I.
ZEXAL I is very underrated
I've never watched Zexal so I had no idea it was so similar to DM, only knew it as "the one that introduced XYZ monsters" and "the one where the character design started to get ridiculous"
Character designs may be ridiculous but are still peak
but then again, Kazuki Takahashi himself designed Astral and Utopia specifically. Astral even becomes a poster design of Kazuki Takahashi's modern art style that he took upon starting 2009, and is prevalent in his art books.
@@bigbobbybutters7562 Yeah Astral was the first character Takahashi designed for ZEXAL
@@bigbobbybutters7562 idc how ridiculous they look. Anything beats the vanilla looks of the older gens
@@Diamondr11Blue cringe
Don't you think it's cool that Vector had a similar relationship with Don Thousand as Yuma did with Astral??
Kinda like Bakura with Yami Bakura and Marik with Yami Marik? Though Yugi was conscious of Atem, both Bakura and Marik weren't that conscious of their darker halves, although their darker halves were conscious of the bodies they were inhabiting, rather interesting.
i only watched up to the spoiler warning but this video made me sit down and watch all through season 1 of zexal and i just wanted to come back to say thank you for encouraging me to watch this great season. Even for the things like one or two characters feeling like jokes, every character felt well thought of or cared for that their deck also really worked with them. Even in a very "oh every character has some kind of gimmicky deck" but it's no different than previous series.
Yuma losing duels when he's more inexperienced or nearly losing because he misplays is so real and i'm so glad they're making sure to showcase that.
I really want Yuma and Judai to meet too, they'd get along so well.
Clicked because Yami looked ABSOLUTELY MAJESTIC-
HOLY hit this editing! Great quality!! Also love the runtime 😍
Thanks!
i think the big problem with zexal is that: yuma in the begining was very arrogant and selfish, what makes him difficult to like him. and let´s not forget the fact the side cast didn´t help in the beggining, except for shark and kaito. tetsuo was a terrible best friend. always humiliating yuma, and kotori was just there. Ands it´s not because he didn´t dule, but she never felt like she was a part of the main cast. but thank good that the series god better and yuma grow up not just as a duelist and a person.
A lot of people (including adults) have some pride that hinders them from actually taking on advice as it's the same as admitting "you know better than me, I'm wrong".
This was especially the case with Yuma as he had little, if any, genuine friends near the beginning of the show, thus he was desperate to prove his own worth
I agree with Tetsuo/Bronk being mostly a bitch though
Kotori is not a duelist so you can't fault her for not dueling. Her role was being supportive of Yuma and she did that well. Several times she helps Yuma get back up; she is ALWAYS by his side. There's even that time in Sargasso when the show would have ended if it weren't for Kotori. She's not an amazing character but definitely underrated
@@fxzzy__ my problem was not her being a duelist, but the problem was: she never felt that she was a part of the main cast. She´s most of the important scene, and nobody notice´s her there, and she´s supposed to be the female lead.
@@fxzzy__
Yuma was scared and that is why he summoned his Number on his 2nd match with Shark. Bronk didn't need to be a total bitch.
@@mystery8820 It was Yuma's insecurity of wanting to prove himself to his friends because of how in the past he'd constantly get laughed at that caused him to break his promise and summon Utopia. So his goals of winning and wanting to help Shark sort of clashed.
I believe this moment is supposed to mirror the final turn of Yuma vs Nasch. His goal here is to also save Shark; right before Yuma deals (what he thinks) will be the killing blow (with the goal if victory in mind) he rejects the power of ZEXAL and negates his own attack. Yuma says that with 50 LP left, he will take on all of Shark's attacks and find a way to save both of them that doesn't involve defeating Shark, no matter how long it takes.
This moment is what makes Yuma's character development so beautiful, and his flaws worthwhile.
Before, he prioritised winning over saving his friend. Now he solely chooses to save Shark and not defeat him, not give in to the hatred and revenge that has caused all this loss. This takes immense resolve considering he'll be on the losing side, with 50 LP, and the entire fate of the universe on his shoulders. It really shows his strength of character and gaining of independence
Holy shit you REALLY need to get some english lessons or at LEAST get autocorrect because there are a TON of typos.
I almost couldn't read that.
I feel like calling Zexal a remake of DM is like calling Pokémon BW a remake of Red/Blue.
Both were marketed as a new addition to the series and give a fresh start by providing very similar elements to the originals. However that doesn’t change the fact that they are still just the next installment of the IP and are viewed that way overall.
I think a true DM remake could’ve been done in place of Sevens, but still use Rush duels since the format addresses the issues old school players have of the current TCG being “too difficult” to understand now. It would be crazy to see a yugi/Kaiba duel in rush duel format.
So at around 10 mins, you said that they never explain how joey and yugi become friends in the anime. Well, they actually have a flashback of the exact manga panels you showed, so they did explain how they became friends, puzzle piece and all.
i also recall toeis version also had said story which is something i really liked
Zexal is and always will be my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh series. It's such a fun show to watch and great dramatic moments. Even better was the introduction of Xyz cards which are my favorite card type. Plus Utopia is just badass.
I'm here just because i love hatanaka tasuku's voice as yuma. bro made me watch one entire season of zexal even though i don't watch a lot of anime.
Hatanaka Tasuku is goated. I loved his voice of Yuma so much that I watched other media solely because he voiced a character in it
I swear, the summon animations and how the xyz monsters are introduced are some of the coolest throughout the series. Just look at neo galaxy-eyes.
kinda hard to forget hearing "Gogogo Golem"
something that i like about the next series is that Yuto is another remaining of Atem and Yugi, he starts off as a good player who just enjoys having fun and ends up like Atem mid way through his arc, (in the anime it would be in the second filler arc with the dragons) when we first see him, he's highly serious doesn't mind hurting people with his own verson of shadow duels but is still a guy just dueling to survive
Dude your long form videos are the best
Thanks!
@@EnigmaAnime keep up the great work
@@EnigmaAnimealso you should read the different manga. Every serie after the original has a manga who is totally different of the original.
@@EnigmaAnimewhat is the anime at 1:10?
Will always stay my favorite ygo anime. The sub is phenomenal.
Zexal took me a bit to get into. I hated it at first. But after characters like kite and Quattro got introduced, and shark got past being just the bully, Zexal came into its own. I think overall it’s the best out of the first 5 series.
It’s a shame no synchros were shown though. That was so weird.
zexal wanted to bury 5ds bad. also the 10 year celebration of the franchise was close at hand, they reprinted the beginner's edition packs in ocg (japan) zexal was meant to be the gateway series to attract new players. they wanted to be like "you don't need to watch the show prior shows to understand the game" to new viewers so it didn't feature synchros or tuners. now akari being a reporter might have been a minor reference to carly's profession in 5ds but that was it.
I had several friends who declared themselves number hunters and nothing would excite them more than Konami announcing a random number promo out of no where
It's basically like what Gen 5 was in regards to Gen 1 of Pokemon, even Game Freak themselves stated that they made it as a way to mirror Gen 1.
They also came out around the same time.
I’ve really enjoyed this video. I’m only 30 minutes in but, I wanted to say I really appreciate the work you put in to making this.
Thanks, I put a lot of time into it!
I didn’t know people didn’t like Zexal. I grew up on watching Zexal and XYz summoning and this show is the reason I got into Yu-Gi-Oh in the first place
Now you know
I recently got into reading the original manga, and I had watched season 0 for at least the first arc (somehow I forgot about the RPG and Death - T arcs, so that was an experience) and how much more sense it makes is great and it's own experience. There's some advantages to the anime, and going back and reading after seeing the Duel Monsters anime gives some better visualizations of what's going on at times, and on occasion, handles some things better, but the story flows so much smoother (along with a flashback being a page vs a few minutes) and the character interactions are much more rewarding in the mid term where I'm at so far and has me excited to keep digging into it. It is kind of funny seeing how they try to either add new events to make up for season 0 going "oohhhh that's why they knew they had to shove Bakura and Shadi, etc in like that" I was also expecting it to be a lot different at points because (Episode 2 DM spoilers) Grandpa Mutou is trapped in the tape and can be talked to, instead of trapped in a card and relegated to flashbacks. Turns out, not much different and kind of prefer the anime's take. That said, this has definitely inspired me even more to check out Zexal, dropped out (ha) towards the end of GX and a little exposure to 5Ds and ever since they've seemed really interesting.
Not everyone is a manga nerd, some folks only grew up with the tv series
Huh ?
There's a fine line between a remake and a reboot. Zexal was a reboot. It had a completely different art style, it was aimed at a slightly younger audience (especially after 5D's was put in the same timeslot in spite of being aimed at young adults rather than adolescents, which hurt ratings more than it should've), it lacked any distinct continuity outside of the Duel Lodge lightly hinting but not outright confirming (similar to the Goha museum having Duel Runners but when an active Duel Runner was introduced, it was used for a regular Rush Duel (in spite of Yuga jerry rigging Kaizo into a makeshift Duel Runner) suggesting that Speed World may have not even existed in the Sevens timeline) and Kazuki Takahashi had left the production after 5D's.
I’m glad you really played out that parallel between Shark and Joey. Even though Shark took on a more rival turned tragic antagonist. I’ve always thought of Shark as of a Joey with more solo development while retaining some of his season 0 edge. Like imagine instead of Marik controlling Joey, Joey actually defeated Marik in the semi finals only to be possessed by Marik’s evil side.
I began watching zexal back when the barian arc started airing but i never finished it. Last november, i took it to myself that i should finish it and boy, was it good. I genuinelly believe zexal is, BY FAR, the best written yugioh anime to this day, the characters are actually deep, the duels are quite fun and if you watch it as a separated work from the card game it markets, it really has depth both in plot and themes. There were times i genuinely cried and some duels, like Tron VS Yuma, actually got me at the edge of the seat. Sure, its just an yugioh anime but it can be watched without context from the card game and that says a lot about how good it is as a show
I still remember when I watched this series. I thought it would be bad, then my brother and I watched that first episode where Yuma gave that speech about wo he is and why he keeps trying. It was inspiring to say the least. My brother and I watched and bonded over the series. Very quickly it became my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh series. My favorite episode being 19, which is funny since it has no duel. Just an episode about him, Astral, his friends, his family, and memories of his dad. Everything just came together so perfectly.
While the first 64 episodes of 5D's are my favorite run of any series, ZeXal wins as best because there was never a low point for me. Even minor filler episodes felt fun. Things just kept building, and the characters were great. Sadly, I never finished it. My brother and I had a falling out, and I just didn't feel right finishing it without him. I heard the ending was really good, and Yu-Gi-Oh is generally pretty good with endings, so I can believe it. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to do so. Even without it though I can say I enjoyed every second I watched.
The thing that mast gets me is how true this feels to Yu-Gi-Oh. It feels like a greater theme of ZeXal is fantasy and wishes, what we feel and the different perspectives people have. So many different characters of different ages and background all brought together, expressing themselves through the card game. To me, ZeXal is what Yu-Gi-Oh is, and I love it so much more for that.
Too many other great points mentioned in this video. I feel like this hit so many aspects, from being a spiritual remake, to the aspects of collecting cards, just solid all around.
ZeXal is without a doubt my favoirite Yu-Gi-Oh! show. It even surpasses the OG in some respects (especially the final arc), even though I still hold that in very high regard. ZeXal has a strong and intriguing story fraught with mystery, and its use of duels to augment said story and establish character dynamics is top notch. The duels are fun to watch, with a good amount of back and forth. Plus, the show makes full use of characters, both main and side. Honestly, we'll never get another Yu-Gi-Oh! show like this, and the sad part is the fandom shunned it hard back when it aired. Glad more people are acknowledging the anime now. Definitely deserves the recognition after all the slop we've been getting since Arc-V.
Also, all the theme songs are bangers.
Easily one of the best Yu-Gi-Oh! Spin-Offs if not the best
ZEXAL is peak after all
@@fxzzy__ fr!! It's insane how underated it is!! ZeXaL deserved so much better! One of my all time favorite media ever!
Love this video. I miss documentary videos like this, so finding your channel is a blessing!
I want to contribute something I am curious on. On the original Yami in the old manga, I thought he wasn’t really a bad guy as in a villain, but a trickster who punished criminals for the harmful deeds done by them. I suppose his demeanor can come off as villain, but I think it was intended as his character is designed to instill fear towards those who harm others. Anyone correct me if I misinterpreted anything of course. 😊
I've been saying this for years and everyone even the zexal lovers deny it. It's so strange elitist and later fans have the same opinion on this.
I mean arc v and vrains are less interesting versions of gx and 5ds as well so it wasn't hard to point out
could you imagine a plot swap between the two? how silly would it be for yugi's grampa to be sent to a parallel world, find out the pharaoh there wants to cull out all imperfections, including the neighboring parallel world, led by zorc. then find's the pharaoh's son locked in a puzzle, and sends him to yugi, etc.etc.
I don't think you know what remake means. Having similarities doesn't make Zexal a remake it just makes it similar. At best you can call it inspired but even that's a stretch.
Most importantly the story and themes are nothing alike, Duel Monsters was about Yugi and Atem discovering who they are as people and learning from each other. Zexal has a bit of that but becomes a sci-fi epic, far from the fantasy adventure Duel Monsters was.
Zexal is similar to Duel Monsters in the same way that Dragon Ball Z is similar to Naruto, and no one would claim that Naruto is a remake of Dragon Ball Z.
Seriously don't get people who call ZEXAL a remake of DM
They share surface level similarities at best, like callbacks to the original. It's nowhere near a remake
People like to throw around the "this is just the same, it is pointless!" around way too much. They would completely crumble if they read comic books because recycling and reinterpretation over there is much more common than it is with Yu-gi-oh. Zexal draws inspiration from DM, ArcV from GX and Vrains from 5DS, but they are very clearly their own things with their own positives and negatives.
He did call it a reimagining several times, so I feel like he knows and he was just slapping remake into the title because love it or hate it, it is better for the algorithm to do things like that. More people will click for a title saying remake/reboot instead of reimagining. More people will also comment on that fact which boosts engagement which the algorithm likes.
@@anthonynguyen1289 fair
The reason Yugi could beat Atem was because they know each other more than anybody else like how yugi knew that Atem would pick monster reborn
It actually goes over what happened in the anime. Soneone tossed the puzzle piece into the water, Joey dived in after it, Yugi followed suit, joey started driwning, after managing to grab the piece, Yugi saves Joey, they become friends, as well as becoming friends with Tristan, who in assuming was gonna rush off to find help if the situation got any more dire, or was directed to.
Hell yeah never clicked so fast, as when i saw this Pop Up amazing
I stopped watching/following yugioh after 5ds. Just wasn’t feeling the vibes, but you’ve honestly changed my mind! Imma tune in and give it a chance, hopefully the other seasons are equally good
Ehhh i still prefer Duel Monsters since the game in Zexal becomes incredibly overpowered
Where as DM we got to witness Yugioh best dueling tournament Battle City throughout 2 seasons and you got to see a full matches played out where it wouldnt be confusing to the watcher/reader
But yugi isn't even a character. It's boring seeing only one person have the spotlight
@@Diamondr11Blue how so the other yu gi oh series do that as well?
@@scottsummers616 wym as well? Yuma and Astral are a team and the side characters matter. DM never does that in the slightest. GX and vrains have some problems here and there but thry are far more flushed out than yugi and atem ever were, design wise and deck too. Arc v is very creative and 5ds is interesting. Stop living in the past and move on
Just discovered your channel and loving the content! Glad to see some retrospectives on the show. Subbed!
Awesome, thank you!
zexal is fucking PEAK
As someone who loves Zexal i disagree i think 5ds was peak yugioh
@tomw3886 I yet to watch 5d but I already know I'm biased towards zexal as a number hunter
@@commissar_dk420 well get on it
I mean when Yuma had the "key" I noticed that it was exactly like the Millenium puzzle
I grew up with the original series and prefer Zexal a lot more because of how relatable of a character Yuma is. He gets unfair hate but people have to understand is that he's a child and the first to be quirky and it what makes him an interesting character. We get a lot more screen time of his rivals and that's a huge bonus for me when relate to the plot so much, especially Shark who I thought he'll be just a "bully nobody" characters when he's been a key point of the show for both seasons.
It's has and alwsy will be my favorite season, and I am glad mote people have grown to like the show more after the amount if hate ot had gotten.
There has never been a Yu-Gi-Oh rivalry as emotionally resonating as Yuma and Shark's rivalry
The story started and ended with these two and they went through so much together
Yugioh DM has always been my favorite of the Yugioh series but I've always been a little embarrassed to say Zexal comes in a close Second. But this video reminded me that it's because Zexal is the closest of the spin offs to recapture the magic of Duel Monsters. Sure GX still had the strong friendship vibes and 5D's brought back those darker tones. Not saying that neither of those didn't have any of the other. It's just that Zexal reached that perfect blend DM had.
DM is a story about a kid unleashing an eldritch horror and out of all the things he could wish for he just wanted friends. The 4kids version is so fun to watch because no matter how hard they try they still can't fully remove the horror aspects of the original manga.
Zexal is a story about a kid unleashing an Alien horror and also just wanting a friend. Zexal II is what fully mixes in the horror bits but yeah Yuma and Astral's bond is equal to Yugi and Atem's in strength and I will die on that hill. Yuma does what we all wish Yugi did and breaks into the afterlife to punch Anubis in the face and bring Atem back to be with his friends.
Also Kazuki Takahashi was hospitalized during the creation of the final manga arc. Konami was already developing GX to launch alongside the next wave of cards. Meaning the deadline wasn't extended and a lot was cut from the manga at the last minute to finish it in time. Season 5 was given half the budget of even season 4 and well we know how season 5's animation looks so you can guess how that crunch went. DsoD is a continuation of the manga because Takahashi was never able to finish Kaiba's arc in the manga. We get the Kisara BEWD backstory without Kaiba even being there man. He just did not have time to include Kaiba and wrap up the second longest character arc beside Atem's in the few pages he could have given it.
In that way Zexal is definitely better. The ending was able to be planned out fully and the animation budget wasn't cut for the final episodes. We don't have to wait 20 years for Zexal's DsoD to finally get the wrapping up of Shark's arc because it's wrapped up in the Anime.
Zexal was the first online fandom i joined back in the day. So thanks for the walk down memory lane? Makes me really want to rewatch subbed Zexal again.
Yugioh Zexal is easily in my top 3 of yugioh series and it’s so underrated. The number monsters are awesome, shark is one of the best rivals in the series history, music is banger, what’s not to love?!
I've been away from YGO since 5Ds but this video actually ignited that passion when I used to look forward to episodes as a kid. It's time I finally watch this and it's you I need to thank for this motivation.
What’s the movie at 1:11?
Idk but I wanna know too
Bump, dude should've put it on the screen
It's Devilman Crybaby. This is my first time being the guy that knows and tells someone!
ill always give zexal props for having episodes without any duels in them - just character growth
bro rly just said there is no reason to go back to watch the objectively superior version of HxH. Not even one minute in and you got negative credibility.
Always loved Zexal. I'm glad to see people appreciating it.
Yugioh Zexal is the best hands down looking back at it makes me happy people realize this now 😊
Definitely my favourite
thats fair its probably my second favorite (GX is peak)
really want a new Yugioh Reboot
with all 4 special cards (ritual is the 4), without link (gets its own universe/continuation), and if you want to pendel (fans should cjoose if they want to)
with a new main character starting from scrath and going to top with diffrent series as continuation
first as school student (kid), then changing/going to the Duel Academy (teen, house ray yellow for an interessting change), and in the end playing in the profi league (21 or a biter older/younger)
YGO Zexal is my absolute favourite series after Duel Monsters. To take the original story nd spice it up even more with futuristic technology and the idea of Astral being an alien counterpart to Atem is just amazing... I love this Alien prince alot and Yuma is a mix between Yugi and Jono... And also Ash Ketchum. Also when looking into Yuma's eyes I can see that he might be Yugi's grandson or great grandson.
Also a Mokuba like character with psychic alien powers are soooo coool!!