The Yu-Gi-Oh! Remake That Nobody Noticed

[@EnigmaAnime]

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

[@YuGoTheSpeedSter]

Crazy 🤪

[@Igna_mark]

I read the manga

[@Luna_is_gaming]

thankyou for the clickbait

[@michellefernandez3155]

So sad you rushed so much the final part of the video. I enjoyed the spoiler nonethelss.

[@nichlasp1]

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

[@kinnundo6434]

Zexal feels like what if Joey got the milennium puzzle instead of Yugi

[@1trevor30]

But Joey is really good at dueling. I mean he beat tournament champions by himself no yugi in his ear.

[@ska187]

@@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.

[@TiomesTheOne]

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.

[@mattwo7]

@@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).

[@music79075]

​@mattwo7 there are different timeliness though.

[@yadirect]

"You Just summon your Mom" - Yuma, English dub

[@Hynotama]

That’s one of the few jokes that actually amused me.

[@buzzkilla5640]

@@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

[@PHiLLy2c]

Savage

[@Ramsey276one]

I assume it made sense in context XD

[@Lemuel928]

He said it to Yuya.

[@luminoseflame7120]

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.

[@bigbobbybutters7562]

Also both Subaru and Yuma were finally reunited with their fathers at the end of their series.

[@cbbblue8348]

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.

[@borealfirewall5709]

​@@cbbblue8348 even worse is that we'll never get the 4th game😢

[@CrimsonMey]

Used to play that a lot on the DS. Loved Geo's character arc.

[@jaysonkang]

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

[@Trigger99X]

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

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@bigbobbybutters7562]

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.

[@Lunacorva]

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.

[@marocat4749]

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.

[@RazielTheUnborn]

​@@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.

[@bane2988]

Zexal is ridiculously underrated and I've always hated how lots of people never gave it a chance.

[@lordenma4449]

Because the most yugioh fans grew up in that time yk

[@JDReC100]

@@lordenma4449 and?

[@coolbrotherf127]

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.

[@Diamondr11Blue]

​@@lordenma4449 no? It's bc they refuse to see change. I grew up w the orignal one and still prefer zexal writing and graphics

[@Diamondr11Blue]

​@@coolbrotherf127 you dropped too soon then. WDC gameplay >>

[@ashash8026]

Yugioh Zexal ages like Wine ,the duels held up . This anime get hated so quickly and it is so sad

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@lpfan4491]

@@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.

[@varisrevolver4061]

@@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

[@ThatMecha]

Zexal is underrated asf

[@fxzzy__]

@@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

[@TurkeyFaceX]

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.

[@yoyong1995]

To summarize, the Numbers are just JoJo's Stands

[@il3fortunato664]

Yugioh is a JoJo Reference

[@TiomesTheOne]

​@il3fortunato664 ​ not far from the truth, paesano. Yami in season Zero is basically little Yugi' Star Platinum. Just a little more sadistic, eheh

[@LermaBean]

Also GX has the Arcana Force archetype, literally Tarot cards in YGO, also Sartorius is voiced by Dio's VA.

[@TiomesTheOne]

@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 🔥

[@kunik61]

​@@il3fortunato664Weird hair. Ace monsters. Weird clothes. New protagonist each part. A story is divided by parts. A main villain has an OP power.

[@otterfire4712]

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.

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@thatman666]

@@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.

[@FireFury190]

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__]

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

[@autobotstarscream765]

​@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.

[@FireFury190]

@@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.

[@fxzzy__]

Potentially though he did touch on a couple major spoilers so I'm not sure if that's true

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@thesnesgeek]

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.

[@DuskoftheTwilight]

"There are exactly 100 number cards" *glances over at Number 101: Silent Honor ARK*

[@sethdon1100]

Well Number 101-107 are quite unusual in a sense.

[@WaterKirby1994]

Did we actually see all 107 Number Cards?

[@sethdon1100]

@@WaterKirby1994 uh no. Number 81 is one of them that did not appear in either the manga or anime.

[@captianblitz]

@@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

[@beppp01]

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

[@fxzzy__]

Analysis on ZEXAL by decently big anitubers is so rare lol So yeah I'm very grateful to Enigma

[@Diamondr11Blue]

Peak ygo

[@Khoobus]

​@@Diamondr11Bluenah bro wtf

[@Diamondr11Blue]

@@Khoobus yes. Yuma us an actual person and progresses. Yugi didnt

[@Khoobus]

@Diamondr11Blue Yuma did? Then tell me what were they?

[@beyblader1007]

yuma's father sent astral to him hoping Yuma was still bad at the game so that astral couldn't collect the number cards.

[@cinnamonboi1611]

When I first heard him say that I thought that was very funny

[@emanuelstornello8009]

That's somewhat true but also not really because yuuma's father trusts yuuma

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@AwesomeFerret25]

Big agree

[@postcaesar4564]

Average Fxzzy W

[@fxzzy__]

@@postcaesar4564 appreciated bro

[@RedTheWeeb]

Fxzzy spotted

[@ajbXYZcool]

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.

[@the13thjoker]

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.

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@beppp01]

Yeah but that Anzu's duel with Mai was filler from the anime while the Kotori one was actually canon

[@babysinclairfan]

Imagine thinking win rates have anything to do with storytelling

[@the13thjoker]

@@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 ?

[@vashythewabbit8288]

@@beppp01 Anzu beating Joey is still in the manga tho

[@guestb8389]

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.

[@NaffyFT]

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)

[@Getwellcuts]

This is actually a really cool observation. I’d love to see yusaku duel yusei. That would be an elite duel.

[@WaterKirby1994]

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.

[@ericgropuis]

Oh I didn’t notice that

[@antoniobolden8992]

Wasn't the main Village from Gx was Darkness Judai Wasn't the Main Village not even for season 3 that was Yubel.

[@NaffyFT]

@@antoniobolden8992 Season 2 was the supreme King. Which was Jaden.

[@runningoncylinders3829]

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.

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@anotherjason]

@@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.

[@Unknown-xr1iz]

​@@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

[@Diamondr11Blue]

​@@anotherjason so you say. Learn to go to the future, that's whay 5ds already is

[@xuklysc]

@@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

[@kaze8498]

"Yugi beats somebody in a video game, *then the opponent beats him up in real life."* is so funny...

[@ivanbluecool]

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.

[@Saixjacket]

Tea never lost a duel. She’s actually one of the strongest duelists.

[@sarthakarora3212]

Tea is a greta duelist even in duel links she plays ftk and counter fairy.

[@Path_To_Paradise_YT]

​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

[@AwesomeFerret25]

Did tea duel in Canon or was it all filler

[@projectmessiah]

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.

[@derickwhitaker9196]

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

[@beppp01]

0:23 There's a whole episode about the legendary monsters of the past series after Yuma get almost killed by Kaito tho

[@fxzzy__]

Yeah idk I think he forgot about the Legendary Monsters episode that heavily implies ZEXAL might be connected to DM and GX

[@Divineant21]

​@@fxzzy__ it is part of them all of them are either one time line or split timelines and dimensions.

[@BluyMolla-fj8ql]

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

[@BluyMolla-fj8ql]

I have this incredible and huge number 39 Hope deck I wanna test out, with the anime versions of the cards

[@Justadude780]

Dude, you are awesome at making videos! That felt like a ten minute video but an entire hour went by

[@EnigmaAnime]

Wow, thanks!

[@rhaeasoul8531]

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.

[@clarkside4493]

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.

[@captianblitz]

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.

[@babysinclairfan]

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.

[@torondin]

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.

[@babysinclairfan]

​@@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.

[@NitwitsWorld]

@@babysinclairfandamn! That is very interesting 😅

[@milanoq9296]

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.

[@superstitch5618]

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.

[@thatman666]

So she is licensed to wield a cannon?

[@superstitch5618]

@@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.

[@brave1_007]

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.

[@jmz2144]

What's the anime at 1:10?

[@Kings0424]

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

[@postcaesar4564]

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

[@anotherjason]

'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.

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@cosmefulanito5052]

It's even a soft remake of the first gen

[@ConstantinDOSSOU-vy1zo]

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

[@projectmessiah]

Nah not really, I see GX as the gen v with how much shit it used too get compared too now

[@anotherjason]

@@ConstantinDOSSOU-vy1zo fair point (no comment on go rush)

[@obtuse186]

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

[@Barakon]

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__]

Just finished watching and this was certainly an amazing video. More positive ZEXAL representation on KZbin 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

[@metis7534]

Yuma is so well written it’s sad people overlook Zexal

[@fxzzy__]

They're missing out on peak Yu-Gi-Oh! :(

[@thatman666]

And that's why ZEXAL should be regarded as underrated season.

[@Diamondr11Blue]

Blame the yugiboomerd

[@PrinceBeckett]

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

[@elliotmortimer8316]

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.

[@Luneroz]

You’re like the first KZbinr I’ve seen who’s actually paid attention to both the Yugioh DM and Yugioh Zexal carefully.

[@kassygo1375]

You gotta make a video on jsut the Barian Onslaught arc! One of the top yugioh arcs

[@Postsager]

I grew up with Zexal, it was by far my favourite and xyz summoning is my favourite summon method

[@Omegadeemen]

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

[@Andre62-dv2te]

The people misinterpreted Kaito's role in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL. Kaito is not Yuma's rival just because he dresses in a long coat like Kaiba and has a dragon eyes with 3000 attack. Kaito never saw Yuma as his rival, his real rival was Astral, then he began to feel respect towards Yuma as a duelist during the last episodes of the third season but he never had that desire to beat him and later his rival became Mizael, so he never had a real rivalry with Yuma unlike Shark who, despite also having a rivalry with IV (Quattro) in the two seasons of the World Duel Carnival, he always saw Yuma as his rival in all seasons and he respected him as a duelist saying that he wanted to face him at the finals of the Duel Carnival in the second season and even when Tetsuo (Bronk) asked him to duel in an episode of ZEXAL II Shark replied that he couldn't because Tetsuo is not on Yuma's level. Furthermore Shark had differences in ideologies with Yuma as he dueled to take revenge first against IV and Tron then against the Barian Emperors going against the Yuma's ideals who wanted to duel to create bonds with his opponents. Also when Shark discovers that he is Nash and he and Yuma become the protectors of the respective two worlds (Barian and Astral World) he thinks that the only solution is to destroy the Astral World while Yuma thinks that there is another solution for the two worlds to coexist (they were the antithesis of each other), a bit like what happened between Yusaku and Revolver where Revolver, remaining trapped in the past, thought the only solution was to kill the Ignis while Yusaku, looking at the future, like Yuma thought there was a solution where humans and the Ignis could coexist. Plus Shark was the duelist with whom Yuma dueled several times during the series (six times) while with Kaito twice (because the duel on the Emperor's Key was more a personal duel between Astral and Kaito where Yuma only intervened at the end), from a certain point of view Alito was more of a rival to Yuma than Kaito was given that their rivalry was mutual and not one-sided and they dueled four times despite he having only appeared in Zexal II. While Kaito in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL had the role that Jonouchi (Joey) had in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters that is the Main Ally/Sidekick of the protagonist and the nice thing about Kaito is that, unlike other allies characters such as Johan (Jesse) or Crow, who as soon as they are introduced to us immediately become the main allies of the protagonist, Kaito instead he is presented to us in the opposite way, initially he is the most dangerous character that Yuma and Astral have to face where their first meeting is a duel that if they lose Kaito will take Yuma's soul and his number cards and Astral will disappear. Only later Kaito will open up to Yuma by accepting his ideals regarding duels which are a means to have fun and bond with others and will become his main ally in the fight against the Barians, fighting not only for his brother but also to try to redeem himself from his past as numbers hunter fighting for all those people whose soul he took away and until the end he remains at Yuma's side helping him more than anyone else, even sacrificing his own life to beat Mizael (Mizar) and give Yuma the card Numeron Dragon who will be indispensable in the fight against Don Thousand. In fact his duel against Mizael on the moon can be a parallel to that of Jonouchi (Joey) against Yami Malick where they both dueled to help the protagonist at the cost of sacrificing their own lives and subsequently appeared as "spirits" to suggest to the protagonist to use the card they had given him. Additionally, the main trio of each Yu-Gi-Oh! series is made up of the Protagonist, the Main Rival and the Main Ally/Sidekick (not "the Best Friend" as many people think) and with Kaito they made an intelligent and completely different choice compared to the previous allies by showing us not the classic character who immediately becomes the protagonist's main ally but who gradually becomes one with the development of his character over the course of the series. Then, if we think about it, many could say that also Shark helped Yuma during the series but it is also true that they never formed a real permanent alliance. In fact, the two of them throughout the ZEXAL series, despite having helped each other several times and being friends, always tended to return as adversaries again due to their differences in ideologies, in fact as I already said the rivalry between Yuma and Shark is not only on a competitive level but also ideological. Kaito, after ZEXAL I, has fully accepted Yuma's ideologies and will use what Yuma taught him to help Mizael, just as Yuma himself will try to help the other Barian Emperors as well. And it's not that Kaito is Yuma's rival just because he never managed to beat him, also because that was in the first three seasons, if we count the duels of the last season of Zexal II (like Nash vs Vector, Yuma vs Nash and Yuma vs Astral) Yuma and Shark had probably become much stronger than Kaito so much so that Shark was about to beat Yuma with the ZEXAL Power if it weren't for the circumstances in which Yuma had to stop Utopia's attack, and that was the same power that Kaito failed to defeat since he drew without being able to win the duel. Moreover, Shark has always pushed Yuma to overcome his limits as in their second duel where Yuma lost for the first time by playing a number card, making him understand that he cannot win only by using powerful cards and reminding him that his spell cards sometimes have influence even on the opponent's cards or in their fifth duel on the roof of the hospital under the rain where Shark managed to make Yuma find the strength to face the Barians and the sad fate of destiny will have it that he is the predestined enemy that Yuma will have to defeat. Also if we look at official Konami events, such as the Duel Opera, an event where the Japanese voice actors of the protagonists and rivals of 5D's, ZEXAL and VRAINS participated, as a rival of ZEXAL there was the voice actor of Shark, not Kaito.

[@TheCurator517]

I loved zexal, but I don't think it's voice acting will ever beat the og kaiba, nothing will.

[@fxzzy__]

Each Yu-Gi-Oh! has an amazingly voiced cast Watch something other than DM dub and you would know

[@TheCurator517]

@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__]

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

[@CatastrophyyCal]

dub vector

[@TheCurator517]

@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.

[@robertcarsten4050]

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

[@Flygoniaks]

[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.

[@chouyuugoureplays3546]

"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.

[@MYZS]

Hi yeah, all the yugiohs follow a similar formula, I figured this out when I first watched zexal and the OG The main character Optional spirit guy The silly best friend The girl with strange romantic tension The extra friend The rich rival The other richer rival who is more important The special card set that beats everything for some reason. Zexal is the lion king to Ygo's Hamlet. They're both different and very similar lol

[@duduvec5971]

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.

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@gulusgammamon]

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.

[@Im_a_weirdo258]

Clicked because Yami looked ABSOLUTELY MAJESTIC-

[@GoatMcGoatShoes]

I didnt even realize this video was an hour long because I was consistently interested in what was being said lol. Awesome video.

[@isaagamerplays]

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.

[@caellanmurphy4751]

i also recall toeis version also had said story which is something i really liked

[@kinasakuraba]

10 minutes in: oh awesome maybe I should go watch this 30 minutes in: okay I should definitely go watch this 50 minutes in: it suddenly occurs to me I'm watching all these spoilers for a show I want to watch, but now I'm invested in finishing this video 😂

[@Dlihclive]

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"

[@fxzzy__]

Character designs may be ridiculous but are still peak

[@bigbobbybutters7562]

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.

[@fxzzy__]

@@bigbobbybutters7562 Yeah Astral was the first character Takahashi designed for ZEXAL

[@Diamondr11Blue]

​@@bigbobbybutters7562 idc how ridiculous they look. Anything beats the vanilla looks of the older gens

[@Sha_Bingus]

@@Diamondr11Blue cringe

[@Raykkie]

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

[@volpe2077]

HOLY hit this editing! Great quality!! Also love the runtime 😍

[@EnigmaAnime]

Thanks!

[@Richioh]

“This duel ends with Number 69.”

[@rafaelbrites3607]

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.

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@rafaelbrites3607]

@@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]

@@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.

[@fxzzy__]

@@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

[@easiestcc6451]

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.

[@mrchair2633]

bro im so happy zexal is being talked about, prob my 2-3 favourite yugioh series

[@blastchaos4286]

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.

[@CaptainMarvel4Ever]

They also came out around the same time.

[@Arkx919]

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.

[@OmenofWorlds]

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.

[@MVXXll]

Always loved Zexal. I'm glad to see people appreciating it.

[@joshualee4720]

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.

[@ehzekit4556]

zexal is an easy top 3 yugioh series, people just don't realise it because no one gives it a chance

[@ivanbluecool]

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

[@dlchaosangel1045]

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.

[@Galavantworks]

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.

[@justabearbrowsingyoutube4968]

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. 😊

[@SpartanTrigger]

Dude your long form videos are the best

[@EnigmaAnime]

Thanks!

[@SpartanTrigger]

@@EnigmaAnime keep up the great work

[@ConstantinDOSSOU-vy1zo]

​@@EnigmaAnimealso you should read the different manga. Every serie after the original has a manga who is totally different of the original.

[@jmz2144]

​@@EnigmaAnimewhat is the anime at 1:10?

[@lifedeather]

Zexal is probably my favorite series, it’s really underrated so it’s sad to see it get a lot of hate from people online

[@tartaros2984]

Hell yeah never clicked so fast, as when i saw this Pop Up amazing

[@Door3234]

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

[@CaptainMarvel4Ever]

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.

[@animeloverhaven]

I grew up with og Yugioh and Zexal and I’ve always loved both

[@diogenesenuts]

What’s the movie at 1:11?

[@dingleberryharry3063]

Idk but I wanna know too

[@jmz2144]

Bump, dude should've put it on the screen

[@craigyeah1052]

It's Devilman Crybaby. This is my first time being the guy that knows and tells someone!

[@BoomyShakes]

Zexal is so damn good. One of my favorite series as a kid and now still top ten behind Sevens. I love Yuma, and Astral

[@Aerosmith1999-j6h]

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.

[@Path_To_Paradise_YT]

Easily one of the best Yu-Gi-Oh! Spin-Offs if not the best

[@fxzzy__]

ZEXAL is peak after all

[@Path_To_Paradise_YT]

@@fxzzy__ fr!! It's insane how underated it is!! ZeXaL deserved so much better! One of my all time favorite media ever!

[@bigbobbybutters7562]

Great vid. Loved that someone pointed out the importance of Zexal I.

[@fxzzy__]

ZEXAL I is very underrated

[@MrEffectfilms]

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.

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@lpfan4491]

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.

[@anthonynguyen1289]

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.

[@fxzzy__]

@@anthonynguyen1289 fair

[@ThatFloofyGoat]

whaddya mean, nobody noticed? It was on 4Kids! TV back when I was a kid. Hell, I remember being SUPER excited getting a foil card of Gagaga Magician. Not to mention, they had *arguably* the coolest compact duel disks in any series. (personal opinion) and I *still* want one in my early 20s.

[@scottsummers616]

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

[@Diamondr11Blue]

But yugi isn't even a character. It's boring seeing only one person have the spotlight

[@scottsummers616]

@@Diamondr11Blue how so the other yu gi oh series do that as well?

[@Diamondr11Blue]

@@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

[@TrTai]

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.

[@commissar_dk420]

zexal is fucking PEAK

[@tomw3886]

As someone who loves Zexal i disagree i think 5ds was peak yugioh

[@commissar_dk420]

@tomw3886 I yet to watch 5d but I already know I'm biased towards zexal as a number hunter

[@tomw3886]

@@commissar_dk420 well get on it

[@kolonarulez5222]

Yugi: "Who are you?" Yami Yugi: "You, but better."

[@battleonfan1]

Yeah I'm not watching an hour long video essay based on clickbait. I will not even hear you out. This is the cancer of KZbin

[@Diamondr11Blue]

Real

[@Miracle7Seven]

As a kid I loved Yu-Gi-Oh ZEXAL! It was really cool ngl

[@luxerhusku2609]

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.

[@fxzzy__]

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

[@Sonadourge]

I also like how when fighting one of the final bosses, the 2 friends get to duel against each other on screen. Though the context is different of course, we at least get to see Yuma vs Shark as an endgame fight when we didn't get to see Yugi vs Joey

[@Yaboi-h]

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.

[@Kitpcs]

Zexal was amazing Yuma always made something work on the spot

[@magicalnewsmaneditsbumpers4374]

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?!

[@starry_artist1139]

I don't think I seen anyone hype up zexal like you did, this really does service to this show and how many things zexal has to offer. This was my first yugioh I've seen when I was little and it's what pulled me in to the world that is the game and mainly the animes. I really love zexal and I really hope more people give it a chance, instead of dismissing it completely or using it as an excuse to say why their show is superior to it. Thanks a lot, I really enjoyed it!

[@henryJBonaparte]

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!!

[@Ragequit47]

I like xzy, actual cards and anime. He is not just immideatly good at the game. Yuma's deck also filled with wordplay jokes. Achachaacha, kagetokage, i like them reminds me of frog cards.

[@BeatEngine-qr7if]

It’s not a remake. It is a spin off. Saying Zexal is a remake of YGO - which Duel Monsters TCG aside, is STILL an amazing manga - is like saying Gundam X is a remake of ZZ Gundam just because some aspects of the story beats are intentionally similar. Yugioh was an entire tale that spanned playing killer griddle games against high school bullies to TRPGs against evil Egyptian spirits that possess and hurt your friends. There was so much more than Duel Monsters, whereas ZEXAL focuses entirely on Duel Monsters and they are even critical to the movement of the actual plot. Characters and story are put 2nd to the game. Yugioh was NOT like that. They need to remake the original Yugioh manga just to remind these people lol

[@yuseifudo6075]

Brother did not watch the video 💀

[@Diamondr11Blue]

​@@yuseifudo6075 so maybe retitled the video ??

[@Sha_Bingus]

@@yuseifudo6075 Brother you did not make any counter points 💀

[@CrysisFear]

1:07 you cant honestly tell me that the remakes are superior than the originals. When Japan was booming in the 80s early 90s and was able to put x3 times the budget while anime studios today are struggling and heavily cutting corners.

[@Ph0t0n5laz04]

Yugioh Zexal is the best hands down looking back at it makes me happy people realize this now 😊

[@fxzzy__]

Definitely my favourite

[@dukdukgeese5229]

thats fair its probably my second favorite (GX is peak)

[@Brunnhylde]

I definitely feel that Yuma, Yuya, and Yusaku are parallels to Yugi, Jaden, and Yusei