In my opinion Zeal is the most underrated out of the yugioh series, I love it, I really do, but I get why people hate, but it is the darkhorse of the yugioh series and I feel that there is more pros then cons, I feel that if it hadn't of come right after 5ds I think people would of been more open minded about it. In terms of duels, no denying they were the most fun and enjoyable duels and also the side characters are what made this series, I mean you had kaito, shark, astral, anna, 4, tron, don thousand and of course the myth, the legend, the most sadistic troll in any yugioh series VECTOR. Seriously Vector is not only my favorite villain, but also one of my top ten all time favorite characters. Plus Yuma wasn't all bad, I just feel that if they dailed down his hyperactivity then I feel people would of been OK with him and I liked how he went from a novice to someone who was able to outduel a god, sure his personailty was grading at times and I feel that if they had just dield it down a bit, maybe make him a bit more inseccure about things, I think people would of been able to relate to him more.
Lasherluke people complain that Yuma is trash compared to the other main protagonists but he improves majorly in the series. Plus he’s honestly the most realistic Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonist since I can guarantee that NO ONE was a pro as soon as they started playing. And it’s nice to see a protagonist you can relate to duel skill wise since everybody had that one friend or family member that could kick your ass for a long time (Basically Bronk before Astral showed up).
Yuma vs Nasch is how a finale duel should be! I loved how blurred the line became in Zexal. The duel had it all! Stakes, emotion, the journey and development of both characters, everything plays it part; leaving you unsure who you really want to win. So good that Yuma vs Astral was pretty overshadowed by it.
When Yuma tried to save Vector from his death, and Yuma telling Vector that he will die with him just to show Vector he has a real friend. That legit made me cry a bit.
Honestly, i cant believe no one called out how Yuma was willing to die in the middle of the battle for Vector who was openly betraying him when there was still the battle against Don Thousand, Nasch, Astral and the Numeron code stuff etc. Vector had a small moment of redemption out of sheer pity how stupid Yuma was
As a person who loves ZEXAL the most I can say I like a lot of duels but my favorites are any involving Kaito, either of the Kamishiro Siblings the Arclight family or the rest of the Barian Emperors
I loved the Arclight family and Shark and Kite. Any episode they were in was 90% of the time guaranteed to be amazing. Also really loved the development that they got, heck even Yuma. Think ZeXal has some of the best developed characters, but the series gets too much hate because people think it is a Sugar Bowl. Also doesn't help that Kite, Shark, Barians, and the Arclight family are more interesting than Yuma's school friend group let's be honest.
a nice part from the yuma vs shark duel was that yuma was trying to give his usual "we can still understand each other" speech to shark so they could make up, but he calmly said to him that they had already understood one another since a long time ago, and said that even if people can understand each other, sometimes theres just no coming back. it showed the strength of their resolve, for yuma it was to go back to how things were before, and for shark it was to protect his home the barian world, as well as it really spoke volumes of how close they were and how much they knew each other, and then the ending of the duel just solidified that fact even further. i know zexal gets a bad rep for a variety of reasons but I truly do believe its one of the series with the best character relationships in the entire franchise.
I will always remember the scene in the Shark vs Vector fight when Vector regains his memories. He looks like he finally has a change of heart and tells Shark to defeat him. Then when Shark attacks, Vector’s face goes from peaceful and content to distorted and mad and pulls a complete 360, going back to his original persona and countering Shark’s attack. I genuinely believed Vector had a change of heart, just like all the other Barians who were freed from Don Thousand’s curse including Alito, Gilag and even Mizael. But then we see Vector completely trample on that and still be the insane menace he’s always been. I was shocked at such a development and will always be one of my favourite moments in any Yu-Gi-Oh duel.
I actually wasn’t shocked by that! I was like, he’s not gonna fall for this lol, however tho I will admit I fell for Ray being a good guy.... I thought it was suspicious, but being a Barian officer made sense Hahaha
What made III and V vs Mizael one of the most emotional duels for me is the fact that the duel for the Arclight brothers wasn’t about winning. It was about giving Yuma and Kaito time to get away. V knew that Mizael needed to get to the moon and duel Kaito suggesting he knew that he had to lose. Edit: Personally I preferred Tron vs Kaito to Tron vs Yuma. I mean both duel’s were incredibly epic but Tron and Kaito had so much more connecting them (Haruto, Faker, V) which made everything more impactful. And the fact nobody expected Tron to win over Kaito - seemingly not even the opening - just makes the duel even better. Maybe I’m just biased towards Kaito as he is my favourite character.
Also the moment when Tron reveals Haruto's half face SHOCKED me. As well as the fact that he pushed Kaito saying that he Needed to attack if he wanted to win, and dind't hide behind something like "if you go through, your brother will suffer too so you can't attack me". Kaito was the best main character, and Tron was the best antagonist!
This is my top ten zexal duel: 10. Fortuno vs Yuma 9. Dr.Faker vs Yuma, Kite, and Shark 8. Number 96 vs Astrel 7. Trey vs Yuma 6. Quantro vs Nash 5. Tron vs Yuma 4. Kite vs Mizael 3. Vector vs Nash 2. Vector vs Yuma 1. Nash vs Yuma ep 141-143
Fortuno/Jin was an ultra based villain. Even though he appeared for two episodes, dude was a straight up menace + introduced two very good number cards. His introduction, deck, duel and such were so good. Wish he could've been an actual servant of Kaito instead of someone who aspires to be such.
YES! My show is getting some love woohoo! The duels from the Barian Emperor Onslaught was a freaking tear jerker man. Honestly ZeXal was the new generation's (at that time) DM to me. Yeah sure people can say that the power of ZeXal was a cop out, but at the same time, ZeXal didn't get the W on Nasch and Yuma uses all the forms against Don Thousand, but he stops all the attempts. Man I can type about ZeXal all day, but it's best that I talked about it in person. Great vid man. ZeXal's duels (some of them) we're amazing! I wish I did TH-cam and reacted to these back then.
Zexal was really enjoyable man! Especially down the stretch, the last 25 episodes were practically flawless honestly. Glad you liked the vid bro!! You are close to 1k!!
the whole last season is literally killing off every significant character we have had expect for a few until it is literally down to just Yuma, Astral and Kotori (until they come back) which was amazing in itself how dark they went with that, the story and reveals with Don Thousand and the Barian Emperors (especially Shark as Nasch) was so great it left me speechless a lot, the Numbers archetype was also such fun and they are my preferred xyz summoning in real
@@jamesholden5587 Out of all the series I've seen, it is probably my least favorite. But that doesn't mean I don't like it. It was pretty good imo. I just think that gx was best, original was second best, arc v is third (I absolutely loved everything until he became ZARC), and zexal is 4th. I haven't seen 5ds or vrains so I don't have a spot for them.
After a long time....finally!!😂😂 Most of Zexal's duels is the best amongst Yu-Gi-Oh! series for me, it's interesting, heart-throbbing, high stake, and tactical!!
@@corrinthechocolatine4025 It's fine to think like that. Zexal isn't my favorite too.... overall it's ranked 4th of the 6 series for me. But in terms of duel, I give Zexal rank #1 of the 6 series
@@zabeildugilaivelgeardt Zexal is ranked #5 for me. It would have been the worst, if the story didn't improve in the second half of the series. The duels and the story in the second half made up for the first half. I liked GX a little more than Zexal, though. However, Arc-V's plot and characters are a lot more unlikeable, making it the worst Yu-Gi-Oh! series to date, imho. Duel Monsters > 5D's > Vrains > GX > Zexal > Arc-V.
@@herbcruz4697 Zexal's story is good I think, the problem for me is the childish elements, like noisiness and hyperactivity that exist in this series😑😑 Overall view for me : 5D's > Duel Monsters > Vrains(so far) > Zexal > GX > Arc-V
Yugiob Zexal is one of my favorite season of Yugioh after GX. The duel are awesome, Yuma is just a great protagonist that I respect alot, and have it my finale arc in Yugiog the Barian arc.
I am Japanese. I really like Kite vs Mizael. At that time, It impressed me that Mizael and Kite finally came to understand each other although they were enemies. In addition, Kite could get to believe someone thanks to Yuma and his friends and pin his hopes on Yuma. seeing this scene, I cried.
Kaito/Mizael final is still my favorite. “If we should meet again, won’t you tell me what happened to you.” Kaito redeems himself by connecting with Mizael; the music’s on point with the emotional tension; and, best of all, Kaito’s unexpected win.
I love this Yugioh series so much. Zexal has to be my favorite with 5D's and Vrains close behind just given the amount of great characters and duels alone.
My favorite is Quattro vs Nash. That was everything for tiny me. The back and forth was just amazing. (Honorable mention). Vector vs Dumon and Marin. That was fire asf
Some honorable mentions should be : The Duel in Saragasso that was all three protagonists vs the three main Barian Emperors we were introduced to , also Vector's reveal and trolling is still such a great moment The first team up between the three protagonists against Dr Faker at end of third season (Zexal I ) and Mizael's entrance two parter: revealing the first over hundred number 107 overwhelming Yuma and then Kaito arrives and dukes it out with him
I adore Zexal, it was the first Yugioh I bothered watching. Yuma is my favorite protagonist and Utopia is my favorite ace monster. Okay, fanboying aside, great list. I was happy to see Yuma vs Astral on the list.
My all time favorite has to be Vector vs Nash. It was absolutly unpredictable and diffrent from Yumas duel style. Both opponents hated each other and it was a duel of pure revenge. Vectors teasing and sharp tongue were super entertaining and his backstory was extremly well done and I loved how he pretended to be "good" just to lure Nash into a trap. Also, I will allways remember this duel for its awful german dub.
I think my biggest gripe with ZEXAL as a whole, the much better second season included, is how much of a stakes destroyer Shining Draw is. It not only lets Yuma draw whatever card he wants, it also lets him pull new cards out of hammer space to hard counter whatever nonsense plays his opponent might be capable of. I think part of the reason a lot of the duels in the final arc are so amazing is because basically everyone has that power and so Yuma can't use it as a crutch.
@@soulexchangemusic That's not true until the final 30-ish episodes. Yuma in ZEXAL form is the only character we ever see with the ability to perform a Shining Draw/Barian Chaos Draw until over 100 episodes in when we meet Eliphas.
Yay i was waiting for this a long time ago , and i really liked the Video and your list , And think their are alot of similarities between your list and mine .. which is 10 Kaito & Yuma vs (III) & (IV) 9 Astral vs Yuma 8 Yuma vs (III) 7 Kaito vs Yuma ( Ep 71-72 ) 6 Vector vs Shark 5 Don thousand vs Shark & Yuma 4 Vector vs Durbe & Merag 3 (IV) vs Shark 2 Yuma vs Shark 1 Kaito vs Mizael
My favourite Duels of Zexal (in no particular order): Trey and Quattro vs Kaito and Yuma (my favourite) Kaito vs Yuma (both Duels) Kaito vs Mizael (on the moon) Kaito vs Jinlon (notice a pattern here?) Yuma and Trey vs one of Heartland's goons Vector vs Yuma, where Vector trolls Yuma like a boss. Yuma vs Eliphas Yuma vs Astral
Honestly, no one talks about the moment when Trey wipes out Yuma's spirit, Astral and memories. It was just heartbreaking to see. That scene should be more popular, it's really was a done well scene. The english dub didn't really hurt it.
Yuma vs Astral is in my opinion the best duel of yu gi oh, because it shows how much yuma grow as a person and duelist through out zexal, furthermore it was pretty well written, that he has to fight against the utopias,his own ace monster and all the numbers he collected through out zexal and by beating Astral,the one who teached him the game and give him most of the time advices,he showed that he surpasses his greatess wall and became his own person,but i really like your list and agree with everything,with the exception of number one.
Alright, here we go. My top 5 Zexal duels are: (this is extremely hard btw) 5. Yuma vs. III: Yumas character development throughout this duel is absolutely insane. His relationship with Astral really hits a turning point here too. Also III’s development was great. 4. Vector vs. Nasch: Nasch’s villain/ not villain arc is always awesome and you really see his motivations in this duel. And I can’t even begin to describe how great Vector is as a villain. And of course his death scene is incredible. 3. Yuma vs. Tron: this duel is an incredible payoff finale to a great arc, Yuma gets great development and it shows how he’s grown as a duelist since the beginning of the series. 2. Yuma vs. the Astral World leader (forgot his name) : the dude Yumas facing is admittedly forgettable but the duel is insane and this is the single best Yuma development episode out of them all. And watching him Shining Draw alone is nothing short of epic. 1. Yuma vs. Vector: vector is the absolute best Yugioh villain ever in my opinion and this is the duel where him, and every other character get a chance to shine. You really see just how twisted Vector is tearing Yuma and Astral apart but then seeing them come back together and slam Vector is insanely epic and a great payoff. Best episode of Yugioh ever IMO. 👌🏻👌🏻
For me top 10 duels are 10:Yuma and Kite vs Trey and Quatro full of action and the first time seeing Neo Galaxy Photo dragon 9:Yuma vs Trey duel was a lot closer than I thought it would be 8:Vector vs Dumon and Marin The duel was full of emotion and good action and unexpected surprises 7Mizar vs Quatro and Trey Was a puzzle battle for Mizar and it was amazing to see him find a way to win that battle 6:Shark vs Quatro duel city carnival shark unlocking a chaos xzy number to win and making him the most dangerous threat to the tournament 5:Kite vs Mizar 3rd duel I think this duel could've been better but was still good 4:Nash vs Quatro back and forth duel with new monsters/cards introduced by both of them 3:Nash and Yuma vs Don Thousand seeing them work together was cool and struggling 2:Yuma vs Nash it was badass seeing all 7 chaos barian number 1:Vector vs Shark this is the most unpredictable duel in the series at the time watching it I was like there's no way you can have both of them afford to lose
Yuma vs Nasch definitely had some Civil War like vibes in the duel. Where it is a battle that even though their is a winner, ultimately nobody wins, and everyone loses something. Just like Yuma’s Captain America right to Nasch Iron Man, the two former friends having grounds for sympathy for one another during the duel, so it is more tearjerking when the battle comes to the end, as you don’t know who is going to survive at the end.
Zexal is so over hated. Yes yuma and especially Tori are incredibly annoying but the story line and development throughout the series is among the best and so under rated
You know I have your old video “ from clueless gamers “ which was back in 2016 I guess 🤣. Anyway great list as always Zexal becomes my favorite series and it has many amazing duels mine are: 1- Nash vs Yuma 2- Yuma & Nash vs Don thousand 3- Kaito vs Mizal 4- Nash vs IV 5- Vector vs Mirag and Durbe 6- Nash vs vector 7- Yuma vs Tron 8- Yuma vs Kaito in the last episode S1 9- Yuma vs III 10- Yuma vs Astral Honorable mentions III & V vs Mizal Kaito & Yuma vs III & IV Alito vs Yuma Yuma & Shark & kaito vs Faker Yuma vs Vector Yuma vs eliphias
Do you really Mina!?!?!?! HAHA that's amazing! i don't even think I have that video anymore!! That's a true relic xD xD Great list btw! A lot of similar duels! :D
Pretty good list, though I am a little disappointed you left out Yuma vs Eliphas. That duel had a lot of symbolism behind it as it was the first real time Yuma duel on his own without Astral or his friends to back him up. It really showed of his growth not only as a duelist, but as a character and his relationship with Astral. That, and the ending were Astral and Yuma held hands for the first time had me sobbing.
KITE. MY FAVOURITE DUELIST. :-) As a fan of Zexal, I really like some of the characters. The arclight brothers were great characters. They were fun characters. Kite of course Was amazing as a character. Photons are great and I love the Galaxy eyes photon dragon card. He was a treat to watch and the death scene was amazingly good. He is my fav character in Zexal. Shark and the barians were amazing. Shark was just a great Barian and my favourite. Mizar was a great Barian as well. He was a fun character and the fact that Kite and Mizar had a great rivalry was a brilliant choice. :-D
I think the reason the dub cut out Quattro and nasch’s conversation after their duel is because in the original, nasch is still uneasy about his loyalty to his barians or his former comrades whereas in the dub it is portrayed that nasch found that desicion easier and appears harsher
Here's My list #1 Quatro vs Shark #2 Vector vs Yuma #3 Yuma vs Shark #4 Don1000 vs Yuma #5 Mizael vs Kaito I used to be one of those zexal haters but having watched the whole series recently I'm really suprised with how good it is but if it only had a serious 5ds - like art style I would have enjoyed it MUCH more tho (which is why people were kinda turned off by Zexal and Arc v)
I love both zexal and arc v the artwork was pretty good so far sucks some people didn't like it cause of it but both shows were great to me and nice list. I only had 5. 1.Yuma vs Arstal final duel 2.Yuma vs Nasha 3.Yuma vs Katio season 1 finale 4.Yuma Shark Katio vs Dr Faker 5.Yuma vs Tron Loved those duels in Zexal.
I never saw much of a difference in art style between the two, only Zexal was a lot more colourful granted (Which was only due to the setting and the ability of being able to contrast during the serious moments). And i mean if they thought Zexal was a bad step, look at the new Sevens artstyle making itself Beyblade...
People have WAY too much time on their hands and are WAY too anal if they are angry at you for calling Zexal, Zexal. Best duel of Zexal IMO was the last duel between Shark and Yuma. Although I did like Astral vs Yuma too. I will say the Manga had some great duels that the anime never capitalized on, like an amazing Shark vs Kite duel.
Very good list! A few duels wouldn't have made my top 10 but I I definitely agree with Yuma VS Tron, Nasch VS Vector, Mizael VS Kaito, and Yuma VS Nasch! One duel I am shocked did not make your list is Yuma VS Vector at Sargasso. Many people saw the plot twist coming and were still shocked at Vector's reveal. How Yuma handled along with Dark Astral was amazing! But I get that some people hate Reconstruct Universe. Two more duels that might have made my personal Top 10 are early duels that might not have made other people's list. The first Yuma VS Shark duel I thought was well-scripted and just a great first real duel of a Yugioh series vibe. Also the first Yuma VS Kaito duel again felt very well-scripted in a way to accurately show how powerful Kaito is without making him feel cheap or overpowered, just skilled.
OH BOY FINALLY ARRIVED ! ! This is my top 10: 10 - Mizael vs V x III, I feel the same. It's rare to see brothers almost won and Mizael lost his dragon but ONE card can change everything. No really I though Mizael lost when I discover the serie. 9 - Yuma vs Tron, it's a nice duel when they summon Numbers, it's not much cruel like with Noah for me but still fun to watch. 8 - Alito vs Yuma ep 103 - 104, this is the BIG change personnality for Alito, it's completly different their last fight in ep 85 - 86 with friendship. Now it's like a real duel like sudden death. And when Alito has memories I feel bad for him. But still unforgettable to see Droite does her best for Gauche. The only. 7 - Vector vs Durbe x Merag, the most cruel duel I saw: Vector attacks only Merag first, use Shark energy to receive life points and the saddest part is Durbe and Merag died.... Horrible. 6 - Yuma x Shark x Kaito vs Dr Faker, one of the best 3 vs 1, we have Shark with bleeding, Kaito used the limit of photon... All of them do their best and together they combine their cards to win. 5 - Yuma vs Shark ep 141 - 143 Their last exchange is great, see the last time all Barians spirits together, all 100 Numbers in the same duel and the End is so magical. And also this place is so beautiful. I can't judge backgrounds all the time. 4 - Shark vs Kaito, the only one. Choose your side ! It's rare (no much words sorry) to see Shark ready to sacrifice for Yuma even I hate the last. I don't know why that a little similar with Silver and Shadow in Sonic 06. The best is Kaito use Fusion summon and see Shark has a big mistake. 3 - Shark vs IV ep 124 - 126, that's how Shark totally changed because of "Destiny". I'm not IV's fan but I feel bad for him to saw others loose and can't bring Shark like before. Sometimes you can't change. 2 - Yuma vs Alito ep 129 - 130 unpopular opinion it's the most intense duel I saw when Alito use One Turn Kill. And the music.... DAMMIT it's awesome to listen and see the duel in harmony. The best part still Alito discover his real memories ! 1 - Kaito vs Mizael ep 134 - 135, so rare to see a winner died, who is the Dragon Master is really interessing and Mizael received his memories, I like how it's hard to believe after so years of lies. And the Death Mizael cried... Honorables mentions for Alito vs Girag sacrifice to save his friend (im crying again) and Yuma x Shark vs Scorch x Chills ep 11 - 12 their first Tag-Team duel together and Shark become a friend. And also Yuma protects Shark because he cheated in past. I hope you understand this freaking page.
Great list Dylan! The only duel that I would have in the list that wasn’t there would be Yuma and Kaito vs 3 and 4. It’s also unique win the fact that we usually don’t see the protagonist being the partner that enables the other duelist to deliver the winning attack. I suppose this would be the #10 slot for me.
As much hate as Zexal receives, it has one of the best visual presentation in all of YGO. I was one of the "this ain't no 5D's" people when it initially started, but my mind was changed as soon as episode 2 just by its visual alone. And now it sits at my #2 favorite YGO.
Zexal got right what Arc-V didnt: multi-faction conflict. Yuma goes up against groups from Astral World, 2 different Barrian Groups, Tron's group, etc. Plus those groups face each other throughout the series. Arc-V had basically Academia vs. Lancers (with some minor changes during the synchro arc). On top of it Academia's motivations were... confusing at best. What I like about Vrains so far is that it's a bit of a return to this formula, different groups/people with different goals in conflict with one another.
I loved all duels with Kaito, IV and Vector, I just love Kaitos duel and hunting style and slightly hate what Arc-V did to this great duelist, IV and Vector are just self-explained: Both are trolls and love to destroy all hope their opponents have. Also loved that Vector just never was serious in any duel and just had the best catchphrases.
Zexal has defently some verry well great duels, either the gives you chills, suprises, emotions,impactfull & etc moments in the duels. the story was great, the card design & the effects of then where some insane at the verry least you list was realy great & nice choices too. top 5 duels from Zexal #5-Astral vs Yuma #4-Shark/Nasch vs Quatro #3-Yuma & Kaito & Shark/Nasch vs Don Thousand #2-Vetor vs Nasch #1-Yuma vs Nasch
Something i love about Yuma vs Astral (its my #1 honestly), is that you can feel the people making it loved Zexal. From the themes, to the music, the action. While the duel could be considered short, i think it was great as it was and it gave a great finale, almost on par with Yugi vs Atem. Thats why Zexal is my favorite series.
Yuma and Kaito vs III and IV man I remember when Kaito first summoned Neo Galaxy Eyes Phonton Dragon that was so badass. But I figured the barian duels were the best since zexal had a fantastic finish.
I consider the start of the Barian Onslaught Arc to be the Yuma/Kite vs Mizeal. It is the first time we see a real actual threat with a person getting knocked out and the introduction of a new mechanic, over-hundred numbers. While not the most flashiest duel it really did help set the scene for many future duels and rivalries. "Don thousand if batshit crazy" I don't think this is true, Eliphas was his Astral counterpart he only wanted to have complete chaos over everything, Eliphas wanted to rid all chaos. I feel like the Eliphas duel should have been on this list such a crazy ending to a duel that was very hard to top with the ending mechanic only introduced once again. But yeah Don Thousand's duel definitely deserves a high ranking so many crazy things goes on during that duel even when we do get a small glimpse of his true power vs Mizeal beforehand. 96 was the true crazy villain in the series, he wanted to rid absolutely everything including all three home-worlds which neither rulers wanted. But their duels just didn't really introduce anything new and felt very filler material to me. One thing I really loved about the Vector vs Nasch duel is how a double ending is presented which we see all the time. But what makes this duel's double ending so special is how Nasch was the victor in both endings. Usually the person has to pull out another trick card or something but in Nasch's case he didn't even need to do that if he chose the other ending. One very notable duel missing is Yuma vs Vector it is such a shame how the one main protag twist duel was not good. Just turn evil for one turn that requires you to turn back before losing no biggie. And then just oh just rewrite a card and call it a game I don't think is a good way of ending what I consider to be a mediocre duel up to that point. It really felt like more could have been done but then again they were juggling it between two other duels going on at the same time.
I think the best duel in Zexal was Yuma vs Elephis. Although I knew Yuma would win they still made me wonder how would Yuma win especially when Elephis kept on taking his monsters and turn them into overlay units
I really liked this duel too because if I recall correctly, this is the only duel (other than when Yuma duels Astral) where Yuma beat anybody of importance without the help/guidance of Astral or anyone else at all. He had that duel against Erazer in which Astral wasn't there, but Yuma did have the help of Tre. That duel against Elephis to me was the first time you can really see how far Yuma had come and that he really became a skilled duelist.
You talking about episode 112? When the Arclight family returns after like 30-40ish episodes of absence? How III literally came rushing in by throwing a firckn sword! That entrance was so over the top and heartwarming. I loved it.
Idk what spin-off is my fav but Yuma is definitely my fav main protagonist since his amazing duel against Eliphas and that cheating of "Shining Draw", where Astral wasn't with him. The last duel between Yuya and Shark was amazing, shame on me maybe but I wanted Yuya to attack *Kappa*
Woah... Guess me and you had the same number one lol. It really is that great of a duel. By far one of the most human antagonists in Yu-Gi-Oh imo. (Trying to be vague for spoilers)
I still think the first fight with Vector where he reveals he was lying to Yuma the whole time about being "Shingetsu" might be my favorite duel. I know it was super predictable that Shingetsu was the bad guy but that whole duel and the aftermath felt so terrifyingly dark to me especially the part when Astral briefly becomes evil. Also Vector is definitely the best villain ever in yugioh imo, like holy cow his voice actor is amazing and he's also such a well written character.
I love this series. Personally my favorite duel is the second duel between Alito and Yuma. It was an adrenaline rush the whole way. It reminded me of the duel between Joey Wheeler and Valon from the Waking the Dragons arc
Look, I did a whole film review on Zexal, and I stated my favourite duels on there - Kite vs Jinlong and Kite vs Mizar (Specifically the one they actually got to finish, the one on the moon) But my favorites in order: 10: Yuma vs Vector 9: Yuma and Trey vs whatever that fly barian was named 8: Yuma vs Shark Rematch 1 7: Kite vs Yuma 6: Dr. Faker vs Yuma, Shark and Kite 5: Shark vs Rio 4: Vetrix vs Kite 3: Yuma vs Astral 2: Kite vs Jinlong 1: Kite vs Mizar final rematch on the moon
Honestly Zexal is the best of them all. Not by a long shot but people hate on Yuma too much and say he is the weakest protaganist. His character arc is the biggest among all of the protags, and unlike every other protag who is a dueling prodigy, Yuma starts out as someone who is really average at dueling. This is also why i like Yuya too since he isn't a great one either in the start. Yuma is basicly a kid who just wants to have fun with his friends, yet almost every single duel he has something is at stake. Whether it be Astral's life and his own or a friends life. At the end he duels his litteral soul (Yuma is basicly half of astral reborn) to save a world who was his enemy up till that point. Zexal also had great villains with Kaito and Shark starting of as villains (shark later again) The arclight family was a sad story of them being torn apart, and then the barians and don thousand. I think Vector is prolly my favorite villain and also had a good twist being Ray/ Shingetsu. All in all Zexal doesn't deserve its hate
A duel that I would for sure add to the list is the one between Yuma and Kaito, which happens after the tournament. I remember that Kaito is not motivated and does not feel any reason to keep dueling, but that duel, in his own words, "wakes the sleepy lion" he was. Also both players having the same (understandable) card at the end was an amazing turning point!
I think the reason why is that it went to a more back to basic style start for the first season compared to 5ds, I mean, coming off of 5ds was probably what turn people away from zexal, but I agree it's a vastly underrated series, the power rangers wildforce and digimon frontier of yugioh. Sure it does do some things that are annoying but what it does right it does really really right, the duels, the side characters and the villains.
Honestly, the duels in ZEXAL were Vicious. Highly Underrated! Here's my top 5: 1. NASH vs ZEXAL (Easily the Best Duel in Yu-Gi-Oh) 2. Everything Kite & Mizar 3. Nash v Quattro 4. Nash v Vector 5. Vector v Yuma Nash, Kite, and Vector were by Far the Best Frienemies anyone could ask for. Extremely well written and balanced in all of their duels. With the Duels above, I had no idea who was actually going to win. It seems obvious off-rip but when Vector poisoned the Zexal Morph and almost caused them to Suicide, the show reached Legendary Status.
1.kaito vs mizael 2.shark vs quatro 3.yuma vs shark possesd 4.nasch vs yuma 5.shark vs, yuma 1st duel 6.yuma vs astral 7.yuma and kite vs four and trey 8.vetrix vs yuma 9.shark vs vector 10.alito vs girag
That Nasch vs Yuma duel had me thinking of a possible prediction for Vrains. Seeing how Barian king of dreams can use the effects of all over hundred numbers, I wonder if a future Vrains duel will have a similar idea of combined effects with the Ignis? A duel with all 6 Ignis skills are incorporated in 1 duel together. Think about it. We have windy's storm access that works when his LP are below 1000. Flame's Burning draw drops the player's LP to 100 but allows them to draw a card for every 1000 LP dropped. But with this Ai's Neo Storm access works when LP is at 100 or lower. Earth's skill can be incorporated somewhere in a duel too and we've yet to see Aqua and Lightning's skills.
The Sargasso Battlefield duel is by far my favorite in the series. Followed by the first duel between Astral and Number 96. The Barian Onslaught arc has too much crying and overdramatized death scenes.
Tbh one of my favorites is Bronk vs Rio (I watch the dub I'm sorry) I thought it was really sad how much he didn't want to Bronk went against the girl he loved to help his friends and Rio crying after she wins and kills Bronk just gets me everytime.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cry for 7 hours. No, but seriously, Zexal always manages to bring tears to my eyes, and my chest just twists with so many emotions. Vector, one of the biggest villains in the show, who back-stabs and double-crosses literally everyone, lets go of Yuma's hand and allows himself to die alone, because of the kindness that only Yuma freaking Tsukumo could bring. And his backstory gets me every single freaking time. Like seriously, just imagine how his life would be without Don Thousand's interference. And he was so kind and just, and then own father attempting to kill him because of that same kindness, and then seeing his mother die, oh my god. And then the scene where Shark tells Yuma that they can't be friends anymore, and that he's Nasch, I just can't handle this show, it likes to kill me with all these things.
I'll disagree though about Darkness from GX. He was built up through Nightshroud and the whole abandoned dorm. I liked Darkness as a final boss. He was interesting, he wasn't out to destroy anything, he thought he was just going a long with the will of the universe. I loved how you saw characters in GX give up on their dreams, like they weren't good enough. It is such a real feeling to leave school on a high, only to face the real world and fail miserably. That is why that fight is so great. Like the dueling action is crazy with the 5 face downs, and every move could be Jaden's last, but the dialogue between them is even better! Whenever I'm down in life, I go back to Jaden's Speech towards the end where he calls out to everyone. I know I'm WAY off topic but you should give that duel a second look. Its funny I read somewhere that they shortened duels to 2 episodes a piece in GX bc Duel Monsters was so over bloated with their 6 episode duels, and yet I wish some of them would've went on longer, like that one.
I'm so mixed on Zexal. I found the first half awful. A few good duels here and there like the one with the trains, but nothing outstanding. The second half though is my second favorite Yu-gi-oh arc (first one being signer arc).
Zexal final duel is a good final duel, but I personally prefer the manga one. It's just so satisfying to see Astral summoning classic number monsters from the anime and manga over and over again while Yuma only having 39 to fight back. One thing the anime has over the manga is Yuma using his own power to win, leading to the creation of F0. Nevertheless both of those final duels are great in different ways and I'm hoping Vrains will have a strong final duel too.
Not gonna lie I enjoyed most of the duels in Zexal but my favorite are 1) Nasch V 4 2)Yuma V Nasch 3) Kite V Mizael (Moon) 4) Yuma & Nash V Don 1000 5) Nasch V Vector 6) Merag & Durbe V Vector 7) Alito V Yuma (Final) 8) Kite & Yuma V 3 & 4 9) Kite V Tron 10) Yuma V Tron
My personal favorites: 1. Yuma vs Shark (Round 6) 2. Kaito vs Mizael 3. Yuma vs Kaito (Round 3) 4. Shark vs Vector 5. Vector vs Mirag and Durbe 6. Yuma vs Tron 7. Shark vs IV (Round 2) 8. Yuma vs III 9. Kaito vs Tron 10. Kaito vs Jinlong (Honorable mentions go to Yuma vs Tron, Yuma and Kaito vs III and IV, Mizael vs III and V, Yuma vs Shark (Round 4), Shark vs IV (Round 1), Shark vs Kaito, and Kaito vs V)
IV vs Nasch I believe is #1 so intense and heartfelt with the main character not being apart of it especially IV a human going toe to toe with the the head barian emperor
In general, I loved Zexal, the characters, the duels... I hope Vrains and the possible next series make me feel that way again, eager to watch every duel regardless of who wins because I know it will be a good one ^^ (there is a reason it's my fave next to DM/GX, followed by 5DS and lastly Arc V, from fave to least fave. Vrains is still uncertain until it finishes, I hope it has a strong ending unlike Arc V :/)
In my opinion Zeal is the most underrated out of the yugioh series, I love it, I really do, but I get why people hate, but it is the darkhorse of the yugioh series and I feel that there is more pros then cons, I feel that if it hadn't of come right after 5ds I think people would of been more open minded about it. In terms of duels, no denying they were the most fun and enjoyable duels and also the side characters are what made this series, I mean you had kaito, shark, astral, anna, 4, tron, don thousand and of course the myth, the legend, the most sadistic troll in any yugioh series VECTOR. Seriously Vector is not only my favorite villain, but also one of my top ten all time favorite characters. Plus Yuma wasn't all bad, I just feel that if they dailed down his hyperactivity then I feel people would of been OK with him and I liked how he went from a novice to someone who was able to outduel a god, sure his personailty was grading at times and I feel that if they had just dield it down a bit, maybe make him a bit more inseccure about things, I think people would of been able to relate to him more.
Lasherluke people complain that Yuma is trash compared to the other main protagonists but he improves majorly in the series. Plus he’s honestly the most realistic Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonist since I can guarantee that NO ONE was a pro as soon as they started playing. And it’s nice to see a protagonist you can relate to duel skill wise since everybody had that one friend or family member that could kick your ass for a long time (Basically Bronk before Astral showed up).
i had to rewatch in sub to enjoy it but after that i stop actively hating yuma
I love Zexal I use to always joke about it being bad but then I finally watched it and it became my favourite of all the series.
Same here
I thought arc v was the dark horse
Yuma vs Nasch is how a finale duel should be! I loved how blurred the line became in Zexal. The duel had it all! Stakes, emotion, the journey and development of both characters, everything plays it part; leaving you unsure who you really want to win.
So good that Yuma vs Astral was pretty overshadowed by it.
YamiJK true true
When Yuma tried to save Vector from his death, and Yuma telling Vector that he will die with him just to show Vector he has a real friend.
That legit made me cry a bit.
Especially since Vector/Ray betrayed him constantly and nearly killed them both
Honestly, i cant believe no one called out how Yuma was willing to die in the middle of the battle for Vector who was openly betraying him when there was still the battle against Don Thousand, Nasch, Astral and the Numeron code stuff etc. Vector had a small moment of redemption out of sheer pity how stupid Yuma was
Props to the part where vector was like being a nice guy and then trolled the f out of them.in my opinion his best moment ever.
@@fudouakio4759 yeah eyebrows are more thing keeping a promise
Vector never had anyone symbolizing he grew to become his own worst enemy. Without trust and love. You just become hateful.
As a person who loves ZEXAL the most I can say I like a lot of duels but my favorites are any involving Kaito, either of the Kamishiro Siblings the Arclight family or the rest of the Barian Emperors
I have a good amount of those duels on this list! Actually I think EVERY duel on this list fits that criteria! xD
yay I know which is why I liked this list
May favorite duel from zexal is the first battle with kite and Yuma when they first meet
I loved the Arclight family and Shark and Kite. Any episode they were in was 90% of the time guaranteed to be amazing. Also really loved the development that they got, heck even Yuma. Think ZeXal has some of the best developed characters, but the series gets too much hate because people think it is a Sugar Bowl.
Also doesn't help that Kite, Shark, Barians, and the Arclight family are more interesting than Yuma's school friend group let's be honest.
a nice part from the yuma vs shark duel was that yuma was trying to give his usual "we can still understand each other" speech to shark so they could make up, but he calmly said to him that they had already understood one another since a long time ago, and said that even if people can understand each other, sometimes theres just no coming back. it showed the strength of their resolve, for yuma it was to go back to how things were before, and for shark it was to protect his home the barian world, as well as it really spoke volumes of how close they were and how much they knew each other, and then the ending of the duel just solidified that fact even further. i know zexal gets a bad rep for a variety of reasons but I truly do believe its one of the series with the best character relationships in the entire franchise.
I will always remember the scene in the Shark vs Vector fight when Vector regains his memories. He looks like he finally has a change of heart and tells Shark to defeat him. Then when Shark attacks, Vector’s face goes from peaceful and content to distorted and mad and pulls a complete 360, going back to his original persona and countering Shark’s attack. I genuinely believed Vector had a change of heart, just like all the other Barians who were freed from Don Thousand’s curse including Alito, Gilag and even Mizael. But then we see Vector completely trample on that and still be the insane menace he’s always been. I was shocked at such a development and will always be one of my favourite moments in any Yu-Gi-Oh duel.
mega sean YEEEEEAAAA!!!! My best duel ever goes to that exact duel!!! 🎉
I actually wasn’t shocked by that! I was like, he’s not gonna fall for this lol, however tho I will admit I fell for Ray being a good guy.... I thought it was suspicious, but being a Barian officer made sense Hahaha
My headcanon was always that he was so good and changed so young that there was no turning ack for him
What made III and V vs Mizael one of the most emotional duels for me is the fact that the duel for the Arclight brothers wasn’t about winning. It was about giving Yuma and Kaito time to get away. V knew that Mizael needed to get to the moon and duel Kaito suggesting he knew that he had to lose.
Edit: Personally I preferred Tron vs Kaito to Tron vs Yuma. I mean both duel’s were incredibly epic but Tron and Kaito had so much more connecting them (Haruto, Faker, V) which made everything more impactful. And the fact nobody expected Tron to win over Kaito - seemingly not even the opening - just makes the duel even better. Maybe I’m just biased towards Kaito as he is my favourite character.
Also the moment when Tron reveals Haruto's half face SHOCKED me. As well as the fact that he pushed Kaito saying that he Needed to attack if he wanted to win, and dind't hide behind something like "if you go through, your brother will suffer too so you can't attack me".
Kaito was the best main character, and Tron was the best antagonist!
I think the tomato guy was the best duel fite me
LOL I'm glad someone mentioned that, twas a classic xD
Twas funny tho and tbh I wouldn't eat the veggies either
This is my top ten zexal duel:
10. Fortuno vs Yuma
9. Dr.Faker vs Yuma, Kite, and Shark
8. Number 96 vs Astrel
7. Trey vs Yuma
6. Quantro vs Nash
5. Tron vs Yuma
4. Kite vs Mizael
3. Vector vs Nash
2. Vector vs Yuma
1. Nash vs Yuma ep 141-143
Quatro vs nash kept me on my toes
Fortuno/Jin was an ultra based villain. Even though he appeared for two episodes, dude was a straight up menace + introduced two very good number cards.
His introduction, deck, duel and such were so good. Wish he could've been an actual servant of Kaito instead of someone who aspires to be such.
YES! My show is getting some love woohoo! The duels from the Barian Emperor Onslaught was a freaking tear jerker man. Honestly ZeXal was the new generation's (at that time) DM to me. Yeah sure people can say that the power of ZeXal was a cop out, but at the same time, ZeXal didn't get the W on Nasch and Yuma uses all the forms against Don Thousand, but he stops all the attempts. Man I can type about ZeXal all day, but it's best that I talked about it in person. Great vid man. ZeXal's duels (some of them) we're amazing! I wish I did TH-cam and reacted to these back then.
Zexal was really enjoyable man! Especially down the stretch, the last 25 episodes were practically flawless honestly. Glad you liked the vid bro!! You are close to 1k!!
the whole last season is literally killing off every significant character we have had expect for a few until it is literally down to just Yuma, Astral and Kotori (until they come back) which was amazing in itself how dark they went with that, the story and reveals with Don Thousand and the Barian Emperors (especially Shark as Nasch) was so great it left me speechless a lot, the Numbers archetype was also such fun and they are my preferred xyz summoning in real
Already said this on twitter, but I think Zexal had some of the best and hypest duels
Yeah I totally agree Os!
It's actually my second favourite Yu-Gi-Oh series
@@jamesholden5587 Out of all the series I've seen, it is probably my least favorite. But that doesn't mean I don't like it. It was pretty good imo. I just think that gx was best, original was second best, arc v is third (I absolutely loved everything until he became ZARC), and zexal is 4th. I haven't seen 5ds or vrains so I don't have a spot for them.
After a long time....finally!!😂😂
Most of Zexal's duels is the best amongst Yu-Gi-Oh! series for me, it's interesting, heart-throbbing, high stake, and tactical!!
Yeah I agree Stella!! I'm a sucker for high stakes xD
Tactical... Summoning one XYZ monster and buff him until he beat the other one... It's the main reason for why zexal is bad for me.
@@corrinthechocolatine4025 It's fine to think like that. Zexal isn't my favorite too.... overall it's ranked 4th of the 6 series for me. But in terms of duel, I give Zexal rank #1 of the 6 series
@@zabeildugilaivelgeardt Zexal is ranked #5 for me. It would have been the worst, if the story didn't improve in the second half of the series. The duels and the story in the second half made up for the first half. I liked GX a little more than Zexal, though. However, Arc-V's plot and characters are a lot more unlikeable, making it the worst Yu-Gi-Oh! series to date, imho.
Duel Monsters > 5D's > Vrains > GX > Zexal > Arc-V.
@@herbcruz4697 Zexal's story is good I think, the problem for me is the childish elements, like noisiness and hyperactivity that exist in this series😑😑 Overall view for me : 5D's > Duel Monsters > Vrains(so far) > Zexal > GX > Arc-V
I loveddd zexal esp barian onslaught arc
Yes! Such a good freaking arc!
Yugiob Zexal is one of my favorite season of Yugioh after GX. The duel are awesome, Yuma is just a great protagonist that I respect alot, and have it my finale arc in Yugiog the Barian arc.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal was at its strongest in the last arc.
100%! That last arc was a ride
That utopia ray victory numeron force play was epic, though. Gotta admit that!
TheJaredPunch the beginning was good to
The last arc save zexal
I am Japanese.
I really like Kite vs Mizael.
At that time, It impressed me that Mizael and Kite finally came to understand each other although they were enemies.
In addition, Kite could get to believe someone thanks to Yuma and his friends and pin his hopes on Yuma.
seeing this scene, I cried.
Kaito/Mizael final is still my favorite. “If we should meet again, won’t you tell me what happened to you.” Kaito redeems himself by connecting with Mizael; the music’s on point with the emotional tension; and, best of all, Kaito’s unexpected win.
Zexal is my number one favorite
That's awesome! It's pretty high on my list as well!
And for the last one of the dual in your list I agree. I consider Yuma and sharks to be true rivals
Same!
Same
#1 fave YGO for me, too.
I love this Yugioh series so much. Zexal has to be my favorite with 5D's and Vrains close behind just given the amount of great characters and duels alone.
My favorite is Quattro vs Nash. That was everything for tiny me. The back and forth was just amazing. (Honorable mention). Vector vs Dumon and Marin. That was fire asf
Some honorable mentions should be : The Duel in Saragasso that was all three protagonists vs the three main Barian Emperors we were introduced to , also Vector's reveal and trolling is still such a great moment
The first team up between the three protagonists against Dr Faker at end of third season (Zexal I )
and Mizael's entrance two parter: revealing the first over hundred number 107 overwhelming Yuma and then Kaito arrives and dukes it out with him
I love this list but I would have given Yuma VS Elephas a spot or a mention as I think it was a turning point for Yuma
That''s fair! That was a really big, and as you said important duel!
I adore Zexal, it was the first Yugioh I bothered watching. Yuma is my favorite protagonist and Utopia is my favorite ace monster.
Okay, fanboying aside, great list. I was happy to see Yuma vs Astral on the list.
Me too
Me 2
My all time favorite has to be Vector vs Nash. It was absolutly unpredictable and diffrent from Yumas duel style. Both opponents hated each other and it was a duel of pure revenge. Vectors teasing and sharp tongue were super entertaining and his backstory was extremly well done and I loved how he pretended to be "good" just to lure Nash into a trap.
Also, I will allways remember this duel for its awful german dub.
I think my biggest gripe with ZEXAL as a whole, the much better second season included, is how much of a stakes destroyer Shining Draw is. It not only lets Yuma draw whatever card he wants, it also lets him pull new cards out of hammer space to hard counter whatever nonsense plays his opponent might be capable of. I think part of the reason a lot of the duels in the final arc are so amazing is because basically everyone has that power and so Yuma can't use it as a crutch.
Hunter Stiles and that’s how you use a plot device
@@TheJoethud22 a bad plot device.
every MC in zexal can do it so its not just yuma
@@soulexchangemusic false. Only Yuma can transform a **cking card into another one because he want to do (and because he is the protag but shhhht)
@@soulexchangemusic That's not true until the final 30-ish episodes. Yuma in ZEXAL form is the only character we ever see with the ability to perform a Shining Draw/Barian Chaos Draw until over 100 episodes in when we meet Eliphas.
Yay i was waiting for this a long time ago , and i really liked the Video and your list , And think their are alot of similarities between your list and mine .. which is
10 Kaito & Yuma vs (III) & (IV)
9 Astral vs Yuma
8 Yuma vs (III)
7 Kaito vs Yuma ( Ep 71-72 )
6 Vector vs Shark
5 Don thousand vs Shark & Yuma
4 Vector vs Durbe & Merag
3 (IV) vs Shark
2 Yuma vs Shark
1 Kaito vs Mizael
My favourite Duels of Zexal (in no particular order):
Trey and Quattro vs Kaito and Yuma (my favourite)
Kaito vs Yuma (both Duels)
Kaito vs Mizael (on the moon)
Kaito vs Jinlon (notice a pattern here?)
Yuma and Trey vs one of Heartland's goons
Vector vs Yuma, where Vector trolls Yuma like a boss.
Yuma vs Eliphas
Yuma vs Astral
Nice list AJ! Thanks for sharing, a lot of love for Kaito, rightfully so ! xD
@@YugiohEverything
Kaito is the most badass character in Zexal by a landslide.
Honestly, no one talks about the moment when Trey wipes out Yuma's spirit, Astral and memories. It was just heartbreaking to see. That scene should be more popular, it's really was a done well scene. The english dub didn't really hurt it.
Would’ve been better if we had the lost dub
Astral's final scream before he is sealed away in the sub is still trapped in my head ever since 2015
Yuma vs Astral is in my opinion the best duel of yu gi oh, because it shows how much yuma grow as a person and duelist through out zexal, furthermore it was pretty well written, that he has to fight against the utopias,his own ace monster and all the numbers he collected through out zexal and by beating Astral,the one who teached him the game and give him most of the time advices,he showed that he surpasses his greatess wall and became his own person,but i really like your list and agree with everything,with the exception of number one.
Alright, here we go. My top 5 Zexal duels are: (this is extremely hard btw)
5. Yuma vs. III: Yumas character development throughout this duel is absolutely insane. His relationship with Astral really hits a turning point here too. Also III’s development was great.
4. Vector vs. Nasch: Nasch’s villain/ not villain arc is always awesome and you really see his motivations in this duel. And I can’t even begin to describe how great Vector is as a villain. And of course his death scene is incredible.
3. Yuma vs. Tron: this duel is an incredible payoff finale to a great arc, Yuma gets great development and it shows how he’s grown as a duelist since the beginning of the series.
2. Yuma vs. the Astral World leader (forgot his name) : the dude Yumas facing is admittedly forgettable but the duel is insane and this is the single best Yuma development episode out of them all. And watching him Shining Draw alone is nothing short of epic.
1. Yuma vs. Vector: vector is the absolute best Yugioh villain ever in my opinion and this is the duel where him, and every other character get a chance to shine. You really see just how twisted Vector is tearing Yuma and Astral apart but then seeing them come back together and slam Vector is insanely epic and a great payoff. Best episode of Yugioh ever IMO. 👌🏻👌🏻
For me top 10 duels are
10:Yuma and Kite vs Trey and Quatro full of action and the first time seeing Neo Galaxy Photo dragon
9:Yuma vs Trey duel was a lot closer than I thought it would be
8:Vector vs Dumon and Marin The duel was full of emotion and good action and unexpected surprises
7Mizar vs Quatro and Trey Was a puzzle battle for Mizar and it was amazing to see him find a way to win that battle
6:Shark vs Quatro duel city carnival shark unlocking a chaos xzy number to win and making him the most dangerous threat to the tournament
5:Kite vs Mizar 3rd duel I think this duel could've been better but was still good
4:Nash vs Quatro back and forth duel with new monsters/cards introduced by both of them
3:Nash and Yuma vs Don Thousand seeing them work together was cool and struggling
2:Yuma vs Nash it was badass seeing all 7 chaos barian number
1:Vector vs Shark this is the most unpredictable duel in the series at the time watching it I was like there's no way you can have both of them afford to lose
dang the barian onslaught arc was a amazing final story arc, which is how a final arc is supposed to be. I am looking at you arc v >.>
Yuma vs Nasch definitely had some Civil War like vibes in the duel. Where it is a battle that even though their is a winner, ultimately nobody wins, and everyone loses something. Just like Yuma’s Captain America right to Nasch Iron Man, the two former friends having grounds for sympathy for one another during the duel, so it is more tearjerking when the battle comes to the end, as you don’t know who is going to survive at the end.
Thing is there are real stakes and they’re is a winner this is just a step
@@Deathmare235 yeah. I did felt it was a missed opportunity to see Nash use Shark Drake and Abyss Splash
Zexal is so over hated. Yes yuma and especially Tori are incredibly annoying but the story line and development throughout the series is among the best and so under rated
Everytime a company goes all new, the community has to go bash
You know I have your old video “ from clueless gamers “ which was back in 2016 I guess 🤣. Anyway great list as always Zexal becomes my favorite series and it has many amazing duels mine are:
1- Nash vs Yuma
2- Yuma & Nash vs Don thousand
3- Kaito vs Mizal
4- Nash vs IV
5- Vector vs Mirag and Durbe
6- Nash vs vector
7- Yuma vs Tron
8- Yuma vs Kaito in the last episode S1
9- Yuma vs III
10- Yuma vs Astral
Honorable mentions
III & V vs Mizal
Kaito & Yuma vs III & IV
Alito vs Yuma
Yuma & Shark & kaito vs Faker
Yuma vs Vector
Yuma vs eliphias
Do you really Mina!?!?!?! HAHA that's amazing! i don't even think I have that video anymore!! That's a true relic xD xD Great list btw! A lot of similar duels! :D
Pretty good list, though I am a little disappointed you left out Yuma vs Eliphas. That duel had a lot of symbolism behind it as it was the first real time Yuma duel on his own without Astral or his friends to back him up. It really showed of his growth not only as a duelist, but as a character and his relationship with Astral. That, and the ending were Astral and Yuma held hands for the first time had me sobbing.
KITE. MY FAVOURITE DUELIST. :-)
As a fan of Zexal, I really like some of the characters. The arclight brothers were great characters. They were fun characters. Kite of course Was amazing as a character. Photons are great and I love the Galaxy eyes photon dragon card. He was a treat to watch and the death scene was amazingly good. He is my fav character in Zexal. Shark and the barians were amazing. Shark was just a great Barian and my favourite. Mizar was a great Barian as well. He was a fun character and the fact that Kite and Mizar had a great rivalry was a brilliant choice. :-D
I think the reason the dub cut out Quattro and nasch’s conversation after their duel is because in the original, nasch is still uneasy about his loyalty to his barians or his former comrades whereas in the dub it is portrayed that nasch found that desicion easier and appears harsher
Finally my favorite yugioh Yuma forever
Hope you enjoy!!
0:04 Now thats a smile you can always trust
HAHAH I'll take it as a compliment, thank you Sly xD
@@YugiohEverything your welcome >D, honestly it was funny but you really do have a very welcoming smile
Here's My list
#1 Quatro vs Shark
#2 Vector vs Yuma
#3 Yuma vs Shark
#4 Don1000 vs Yuma
#5 Mizael vs Kaito
I used to be one of those zexal haters but having watched the whole series recently I'm really suprised with how good it is but if it only had a serious 5ds - like art style I would have enjoyed it MUCH more tho (which is why people were kinda turned off by Zexal and Arc v)
I love both zexal and arc v the artwork was pretty good so far sucks some people didn't like it cause of it but both shows were great to me and nice list. I only had 5.
1.Yuma vs Arstal final duel
2.Yuma vs Nasha
3.Yuma vs Katio season 1 finale
4.Yuma Shark Katio vs Dr Faker
5.Yuma vs Tron
Loved those duels in Zexal.
I never saw much of a difference in art style between the two, only Zexal was a lot more colourful granted (Which was only due to the setting and the ability of being able to contrast during the serious moments).
And i mean if they thought Zexal was a bad step, look at the new Sevens artstyle making itself Beyblade...
People have WAY too much time on their hands and are WAY too anal if they are angry at you for calling Zexal, Zexal. Best duel of Zexal IMO was the last duel between Shark and Yuma. Although I did like Astral vs Yuma too. I will say the Manga had some great duels that the anime never capitalized on, like an amazing Shark vs Kite duel.
Very good list! A few duels wouldn't have made my top 10 but I I definitely agree with Yuma VS Tron, Nasch VS Vector, Mizael VS Kaito, and Yuma VS Nasch!
One duel I am shocked did not make your list is Yuma VS Vector at Sargasso. Many people saw the plot twist coming and were still shocked at Vector's reveal. How Yuma handled along with Dark Astral was amazing! But I get that some people hate Reconstruct Universe.
Two more duels that might have made my personal Top 10 are early duels that might not have made other people's list. The first Yuma VS Shark duel I thought was well-scripted and just a great first real duel of a Yugioh series vibe. Also the first Yuma VS Kaito duel again felt very well-scripted in a way to accurately show how powerful Kaito is without making him feel cheap or overpowered, just skilled.
OH BOY FINALLY ARRIVED ! ! This is my top 10:
10 - Mizael vs V x III, I feel the same. It's rare to see brothers almost won and Mizael lost his dragon but ONE card can change everything. No really I though Mizael lost when I discover the serie.
9 - Yuma vs Tron, it's a nice duel when they summon Numbers, it's not much cruel like with Noah for me but still fun to watch.
8 - Alito vs Yuma ep 103 - 104, this is the BIG change personnality for Alito, it's completly different their last fight in ep 85 - 86 with friendship. Now it's like a real duel like sudden death. And when Alito has memories I feel bad for him. But still unforgettable to see Droite does her best for Gauche. The only.
7 - Vector vs Durbe x Merag, the most cruel duel I saw: Vector attacks only Merag first, use Shark energy to receive life points and the saddest part is Durbe and Merag died.... Horrible.
6 - Yuma x Shark x Kaito vs Dr Faker, one of the best 3 vs 1, we have Shark with bleeding, Kaito used the limit of photon... All of them do their best and together they combine their cards to win.
5 - Yuma vs Shark ep 141 - 143 Their last exchange is great, see the last time all Barians spirits together, all 100 Numbers in the same duel and the End is so magical. And also this place is so beautiful. I can't judge backgrounds all the time.
4 - Shark vs Kaito, the only one. Choose your side ! It's rare (no much words sorry) to see Shark ready to sacrifice for Yuma even I hate the last. I don't know why that a little similar with Silver and Shadow in Sonic 06. The best is Kaito use Fusion summon and see Shark has a big mistake.
3 - Shark vs IV ep 124 - 126, that's how Shark totally changed because of "Destiny". I'm not IV's fan but I feel bad for him to saw others loose and can't bring Shark like before. Sometimes you can't change.
2 - Yuma vs Alito ep 129 - 130 unpopular opinion it's the most intense duel I saw when Alito use One Turn Kill. And the music.... DAMMIT it's awesome to listen and see the duel in harmony. The best part still Alito discover his real memories !
1 - Kaito vs Mizael ep 134 - 135, so rare to see a winner died, who is the Dragon Master is really interessing and Mizael received his memories, I like how it's hard to believe after so years of lies. And the Death Mizael cried...
Honorables mentions for Alito vs Girag sacrifice to save his friend (im crying again) and Yuma x Shark vs Scorch x Chills ep 11 - 12 their first Tag-Team duel together and Shark become a friend. And also Yuma protects Shark because he cheated in past. I hope you understand this freaking page.
Great list Dylan!
The only duel that I would have in the list that wasn’t there would be Yuma and Kaito vs 3 and 4. It’s also unique win the fact that we usually don’t see the protagonist being the partner that enables the other duelist to deliver the winning attack. I suppose this would be the #10 slot for me.
As much hate as Zexal receives, it has one of the best visual presentation in all of YGO. I was one of the "this ain't no 5D's" people when it initially started, but my mind was changed as soon as episode 2 just by its visual alone. And now it sits at my #2 favorite YGO.
Zexal got right what Arc-V didnt: multi-faction conflict. Yuma goes up against groups from Astral World, 2 different Barrian Groups, Tron's group, etc. Plus those groups face each other throughout the series. Arc-V had basically Academia vs. Lancers (with some minor changes during the synchro arc). On top of it Academia's motivations were... confusing at best.
What I like about Vrains so far is that it's a bit of a return to this formula, different groups/people with different goals in conflict with one another.
I loved all duels with Kaito, IV and Vector, I just love Kaitos duel and hunting style and slightly hate what Arc-V did to this great duelist, IV and Vector are just self-explained: Both are trolls and love to destroy all hope their opponents have. Also loved that Vector just never was serious in any duel and just had the best catchphrases.
Zexal has defently some verry well great duels, either the gives you chills, suprises, emotions,impactfull & etc moments in the duels. the story was great, the card design & the effects of then where some insane at the verry least
you list was realy great & nice choices too.
top 5 duels from Zexal
#5-Astral vs Yuma
#4-Shark/Nasch vs Quatro
#3-Yuma & Kaito & Shark/Nasch vs Don Thousand
#2-Vetor vs Nasch
#1-Yuma vs Nasch
Something i love about Yuma vs Astral (its my #1 honestly), is that you can feel the people making it loved Zexal. From the themes, to the music, the action. While the duel could be considered short, i think it was great as it was and it gave a great finale, almost on par with Yugi vs Atem.
Thats why Zexal is my favorite series.
this is the first time i hear enyone say zeal
Yuma and Kaito vs III and IV man I remember when Kaito first summoned Neo Galaxy Eyes Phonton Dragon that was so badass. But I figured the barian duels were the best since zexal had a fantastic finish.
Eh, I would have put Yuma vs Vector in Sargasso (oh yeah, you know the one)
I consider the start of the Barian Onslaught Arc to be the Yuma/Kite vs Mizeal. It is the first time we see a real actual threat with a person getting knocked out and the introduction of a new mechanic, over-hundred numbers. While not the most flashiest duel it really did help set the scene for many future duels and rivalries.
"Don thousand if batshit crazy" I don't think this is true, Eliphas was his Astral counterpart he only wanted to have complete chaos over everything, Eliphas wanted to rid all chaos. I feel like the Eliphas duel should have been on this list such a crazy ending to a duel that was very hard to top with the ending mechanic only introduced once again. But yeah Don Thousand's duel definitely deserves a high ranking so many crazy things goes on during that duel even when we do get a small glimpse of his true power vs Mizeal beforehand.
96 was the true crazy villain in the series, he wanted to rid absolutely everything including all three home-worlds which neither rulers wanted. But their duels just didn't really introduce anything new and felt very filler material to me.
One thing I really loved about the Vector vs Nasch duel is how a double ending is presented which we see all the time. But what makes this duel's double ending so special is how Nasch was the victor in both endings. Usually the person has to pull out another trick card or something but in Nasch's case he didn't even need to do that if he chose the other ending.
One very notable duel missing is Yuma vs Vector it is such a shame how the one main protag twist duel was not good. Just turn evil for one turn that requires you to turn back before losing no biggie. And then just oh just rewrite a card and call it a game I don't think is a good way of ending what I consider to be a mediocre duel up to that point. It really felt like more could have been done but then again they were juggling it between two other duels going on at the same time.
I think the best duel in Zexal was Yuma vs Elephis. Although I knew Yuma would win they still made me wonder how would Yuma win especially when Elephis kept on taking his monsters and turn them into overlay units
I really liked this duel too because if I recall correctly, this is the only duel (other than when Yuma duels Astral) where Yuma beat anybody of importance without the help/guidance of Astral or anyone else at all. He had that duel against Erazer in which Astral wasn't there, but Yuma did have the help of Tre. That duel against Elephis to me was the first time you can really see how far Yuma had come and that he really became a skilled duelist.
yeah no idea how that duel didn't make this list, the AWESOME ending to this duel was sick, and there was lots of symbolism in this duel too
1 of my favorite duels in Zexal was Yuma & III/Trey VS Semimaru, it was nice to see them team up.
You talking about episode 112? When the Arclight family returns after like 30-40ish episodes of absence? How III literally came rushing in by throwing a firckn sword! That entrance was so over the top and heartwarming. I loved it.
Idk what spin-off is my fav but Yuma is definitely my fav main protagonist since his amazing duel against Eliphas and that cheating of "Shining Draw", where Astral wasn't with him. The last duel between Yuya and Shark was amazing, shame on me maybe but I wanted Yuya to attack *Kappa*
So many final season duels and for good reason. Zexal II went absolutely nuclear at the end of it.
Woah... Guess me and you had the same number one lol. It really is that great of a duel. By far one of the most human antagonists in Yu-Gi-Oh imo. (Trying to be vague for spoilers)
That's awesome! Yeah that duel was top notch!
I still think the first fight with Vector where he reveals he was lying to Yuma the whole time about being "Shingetsu" might be my favorite duel. I know it was super predictable that Shingetsu was the bad guy but that whole duel and the aftermath felt so terrifyingly dark to me especially the part when Astral briefly becomes evil. Also Vector is definitely the best villain ever in yugioh imo, like holy cow his voice actor is amazing and he's also such a well written character.
Yeah. Zexal had awesome duels. Also awesome character development. :) Great list! Love Zexal!
I love this series. Personally my favorite duel is the second duel between Alito and Yuma. It was an adrenaline rush the whole way. It reminded me of the duel between Joey Wheeler and Valon from the Waking the Dragons arc
Look, I did a whole film review on Zexal, and I stated my favourite duels on there - Kite vs Jinlong and Kite vs Mizar (Specifically the one they actually got to finish, the one on the moon)
But my favorites in order:
10: Yuma vs Vector
9: Yuma and Trey vs whatever that fly barian was named
8: Yuma vs Shark Rematch 1
7: Kite vs Yuma
6: Dr. Faker vs Yuma, Shark and Kite
5: Shark vs Rio
4: Vetrix vs Kite
3: Yuma vs Astral
2: Kite vs Jinlong
1: Kite vs Mizar final rematch on the moon
Zexal had a lot of great duels and holds some of my favorite from the series
Yeah I definitely agree with that!
1. Yuma & Shark vs Don Thousand
2. Yuma vs Astral
3. Yuma vs Shark
Honestly Zexal is the best of them all. Not by a long shot but people hate on Yuma too much and say he is the weakest protaganist. His character arc is the biggest among all of the protags, and unlike every other protag who is a dueling prodigy, Yuma starts out as someone who is really average at dueling. This is also why i like Yuya too since he isn't a great one either in the start.
Yuma is basicly a kid who just wants to have fun with his friends, yet almost every single duel he has something is at stake. Whether it be Astral's life and his own or a friends life.
At the end he duels his litteral soul (Yuma is basicly half of astral reborn) to save a world who was his enemy up till that point. Zexal also had great villains with Kaito and Shark starting of as villains (shark later again) The arclight family was a sad story of them being torn apart, and then the barians and don thousand. I think Vector is prolly my favorite villain and also had a good twist being Ray/ Shingetsu. All in all Zexal doesn't deserve its hate
Ye lol,
Zexal is my favourite ygo series.
Yuma vs Alit was pretty hype too
Zexal was my favourite series and I’m an avid yugioh watcher ive seen all series hundreds of times
My personal favorite duel is when kite and yuma teamed up to save kite's brother when kite summons neo galaxy eyes for the first time
Tbh zexal was my favorite, my fav card is the Galaxy eyes archetype
Once vrains season 2 ends make a top 10 duels so far
Lightning vs spectre is best vrains duel so far
my favorite zexal duel is the final duel between yuma and shark.
Ahh, great minds think a like :D
A duel that I would for sure add to the list is the one between Yuma and Kaito, which happens after the tournament. I remember that Kaito is not motivated and does not feel any reason to keep dueling, but that duel, in his own words, "wakes the sleepy lion" he was.
Also both players having the same (understandable) card at the end was an amazing turning point!
Zexal is underated but it is hard to get into the first couple of seasons due to the different tone it had.
I think it is underrated
@@teddybear979 I completely said the wrong thing. I agree with you
I think the reason why is that it went to a more back to basic style start for the first season compared to 5ds, I mean, coming off of 5ds was probably what turn people away from zexal, but I agree it's a vastly underrated series, the power rangers wildforce and digimon frontier of yugioh. Sure it does do some things that are annoying but what it does right it does really really right, the duels, the side characters and the villains.
Honestly, the duels in ZEXAL were Vicious. Highly Underrated!
Here's my top 5:
1. NASH vs ZEXAL (Easily the Best Duel in Yu-Gi-Oh)
2. Everything Kite & Mizar
3. Nash v Quattro
4. Nash v Vector
5. Vector v Yuma
Nash, Kite, and Vector were by Far the Best Frienemies anyone could ask for. Extremely well written and balanced in all of their duels. With the Duels above, I had no idea who was actually going to win. It seems obvious off-rip but when Vector poisoned the Zexal Morph and almost caused them to Suicide, the show reached Legendary Status.
1.kaito vs mizael
2.shark vs quatro
3.yuma vs shark possesd
4.nasch vs yuma
5.shark vs, yuma 1st duel
6.yuma vs astral
7.yuma and kite vs four and trey
8.vetrix vs yuma
9.shark vs vector
10.alito vs girag
That Nasch vs Yuma duel had me thinking of a possible prediction for Vrains. Seeing how Barian king of dreams can use the effects of all over hundred numbers, I wonder if a future Vrains duel will have a similar idea of combined effects with the Ignis?
A duel with all 6 Ignis skills are incorporated in 1 duel together. Think about it. We have windy's storm access that works when his LP are below 1000. Flame's Burning draw drops the player's LP to 100 but allows them to draw a card for every 1000 LP dropped. But with this Ai's Neo Storm access works when LP is at 100 or lower. Earth's skill can be incorporated somewhere in a duel too and we've yet to see Aqua and Lightning's skills.
The Sargasso Battlefield duel is by far my favorite in the series. Followed by the first duel between Astral and Number 96. The Barian Onslaught arc has too much crying and overdramatized death scenes.
Tbh one of my favorites is Bronk vs Rio (I watch the dub I'm sorry) I thought it was really sad how much he didn't want to Bronk went against the girl he loved to help his friends and Rio crying after she wins and kills Bronk just gets me everytime.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cry for 7 hours.
No, but seriously, Zexal always manages to bring tears to my eyes, and my chest just twists with so many emotions. Vector, one of the biggest villains in the show, who back-stabs and double-crosses literally everyone, lets go of Yuma's hand and allows himself to die alone, because of the kindness that only Yuma freaking Tsukumo could bring. And his backstory gets me every single freaking time. Like seriously, just imagine how his life would be without Don Thousand's interference. And he was so kind and just, and then own father attempting to kill him because of that same kindness, and then seeing his mother die, oh my god.
And then the scene where Shark tells Yuma that they can't be friends anymore, and that he's Nasch, I just can't handle this show, it likes to kill me with all these things.
“🎵You don’t survive, but I do!!!🎵”
It’s bye-bye time, kiddies
I like the duel of Yuma Shark and Kaito vs Dr. Faker.
I wasn't crazy about the dubbing but this series did have some really neat characters and some of the most epic duels in my opinion.
I fcking love zexal followed by 5ds.. no sure why a lot of ppl hate zexal
So a lot of the best duels take place in the second half of the series... in that case I've got to finish the other half of this show. Great list.
These duels were so good, but imo Nash vs Vector is the best one, maybe non for the duel but for his meaning. I love that duel so much ❤
I love Zexal! It's my favorite YuGiOh serie
it is hard to find a bad duel in yugioh zexal 2 I mean all main protagonist and antagonist had such amazing duels
i must say i like that #1 shark vs yuma duel that was one my favorite duels
Yes!! Such a great duel!
@@YugiohEverything and i have to admit that other duel was good to that was the yuma vs elipas
The theme song is best moment for me, one of my best childhood moments
7:13 The dub changing Tron’s name to Vetrix? That was probably because Disney owned that name
I hope Zexal XYZed expectations
Lol
My favorite ones will always be the ones with IV. He was such an entertaining character to watch !
I'll disagree though about Darkness from GX. He was built up through Nightshroud and the whole abandoned dorm. I liked Darkness as a final boss. He was interesting, he wasn't out to destroy anything, he thought he was just going a long with the will of the universe. I loved how you saw characters in GX give up on their dreams, like they weren't good enough. It is such a real feeling to leave school on a high, only to face the real world and fail miserably. That is why that fight is so great. Like the dueling action is crazy with the 5 face downs, and every move could be Jaden's last, but the dialogue between them is even better! Whenever I'm down in life, I go back to Jaden's Speech towards the end where he calls out to everyone. I know I'm WAY off topic but you should give that duel a second look. Its funny I read somewhere that they shortened duels to 2 episodes a piece in GX bc Duel Monsters was so over bloated with their 6 episode duels, and yet I wish some of them would've went on longer, like that one.
I'm so mixed on Zexal. I found the first half awful. A few good duels here and there like the one with the trains, but nothing outstanding. The second half though is my second favorite Yu-gi-oh arc (first one being signer arc).
Zexal final duel is a good final duel, but I personally prefer the manga one. It's just so satisfying to see Astral summoning classic number monsters from the anime and manga over and over again while Yuma only having 39 to fight back. One thing the anime has over the manga is Yuma using his own power to win, leading to the creation of F0. Nevertheless both of those final duels are great in different ways and I'm hoping Vrains will have a strong final duel too.
Yeah the manga ending duel was fantastic, hoping the VR final duel is at that quality as well!
Not gonna lie I enjoyed most of the duels in Zexal but my favorite are
1) Nasch V 4
2)Yuma V Nasch
3) Kite V Mizael (Moon)
4) Yuma & Nash V Don 1000
5) Nasch V Vector
6) Merag & Durbe V Vector
7) Alito V Yuma (Final)
8) Kite & Yuma V 3 & 4
9) Kite V Tron
10) Yuma V Tron
My personal favorites:
1. Yuma vs Shark (Round 6)
2. Kaito vs Mizael
3. Yuma vs Kaito (Round 3)
4. Shark vs Vector
5. Vector vs Mirag and Durbe
6. Yuma vs Tron
7. Shark vs IV (Round 2)
8. Yuma vs III
9. Kaito vs Tron
10. Kaito vs Jinlong
(Honorable mentions go to Yuma vs Tron, Yuma and Kaito vs III and IV, Mizael vs III and V, Yuma vs Shark (Round 4), Shark vs IV (Round 1), Shark vs Kaito, and Kaito vs V)
IV vs Nasch I believe is #1 so intense and heartfelt with the main character not being apart of it especially IV a human going toe to toe with the the head barian emperor
In general, I loved Zexal, the characters, the duels... I hope Vrains and the possible next series make me feel that way again, eager to watch every duel regardless of who wins because I know it will be a good one ^^ (there is a reason it's my fave next to DM/GX, followed by 5DS and lastly Arc V, from fave to least fave. Vrains is still uncertain until it finishes, I hope it has a strong ending unlike Arc V :/)