What Was Yu-Gi-Oh ZEXAL?

[@thepotato513]

I finally ended up watching Zexal recently and I actually think Yuma might be my favorite protagonist from the series. He doesn't start out as some prodigy, but he is out there trying his best. There's also a really strong emphasis on how much he cares about his friends which I think is great

[@antonioscendrategattico2302]

In a better series he might've been a good protagonist. Sadly, since the challenges he faces are so vague and significant plot moments are dispersed in a sea of very mediocre filler, he comes out looking worse than he probably would be. Same way Yusei was kind of static and one-dimensionally perfect, but 5Ds is actually pretty good (at least, the first half) so he feels more interesting than he should be on his own.

[@Shugunou]

And with guidance from Astral, he becomes a duelist that is so powerful that he is able to create cards with shining draw, something even Eliphas cannot do.

[@ChickenEaterHater]

your wrong

[@Rhythm_Haruka46]

Zexal and 5Ds are the best but Zexal is my favourite because: -Kite/Kaito -Shark -Yuma and Astrals relationship -Zexal -The duels are amazing -Very little filler -Moon Duel in S3 -Don Thousand lost TO A DEAD PERSON, Which is (imo) the most ironic thing. -a lot of other stuff I like most of the decks. Zexal also has one of the most powerful death scenes (IN JAPANESE) for Kite. Heartbreaking but also a good stepping stone for Mizar. I love Zexal.

[@usernametentwo]

ZEXAL became my absolute favourite of the yugioh series very quickly, I found Yuma and Astral's relationship to be very endearing and all the heros n antagonists were so much fun to watch (barians being the peak)

[@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024]

The Barians were iconic.

[@themarshian5124]

shark is my favorite rival, I like how the series was mysterious with his backstory, and his development was phenomenal. honestly one of the most unique characters I've seen. A king losing all of his people in war, just for them to be reincarnated in hell, then realizing their the people you've been fighting the entire time, and the only reason their a threat is because they were forced into this position by the side your "friends" are on. Shark gaining all his memories and being forced into this conviction is just not compared to by most characters. Such an event is so detrimental. I believe to this day it's still a little overlooked.

[@faintduch6630]

Shark was, always has been, is, and always will be my favorite character in Yu-Gi-Oh, or at least my favorite on par with Kaiba. Probably because when I first saw zexal I was a kid and sharks were (still are) my favorite creature but as I've gotten older I can really appreciate his character more than just "God I love sharks they're so cool"

[@pashlyn]

I like Zexal and the XYZ summoning mechanic. It gave a lot of new life to older low level archetypes like my favorites the battery men and they're like the last time I paid attention to Yu-Gi-Oh

[@starlordturnbull8649]

This is my favorite yugioh series because of friends being there for them all of the time

[@panape]

Was not expecting someone to mention Dylan's (YuGiOh everything) timeline :D I hope you and anyone here keeps watching YuGiOh. In regards to female duelists, Sevens has an incredible amount of variety ranging from joke characters like Mimi to imposing girls that kick ass like Asana and Taiga to Romin, the main girl, having her own path and interests besides dueling

[@imaginemunchkin9573]

So happy to see someone else also like Zexal as much as I did, people often talk very fondly of GX when thinking back of the past yugioh series (which I like don't get me wrong) but Zexal to me is how others see and feel about GX. Not a perfect series by any means but is a very fond anime from our younger years and brings so much nostalgia 😊 great and memorable characters too

[@imyugimuto]

Ah Yugioh, my favorite series of all time!

[@Chasardous]

I always enjoyed watching Yugioh but never enough to follow it fully. Thanks for the primer!

[@guestb8389]

I know a lot of people say that Yuma is heavily underrated. That may be because all of us Yuma stans are secretly Barian Emperors in human flesh.

[@cmckevitt]

Come on, that’s supposed to be a secret!

[@Rhythm_Haruka46]

They'll go down by my galaxy eyes prime photon dragon. Easily.

[@tannermccollum7060]

Yuma the average kid with an average life, but shenanigans happen because of number cards.

[@isaacaccomando435]

Reginald Kastle, aka Shark, aka, Nasch is one of the best developed characters i have ever seen in fiction or any kind.

[@Shugunou]

I'm glad to have found another Cathy fan. She is so underrated and she deserved to win a duel.

[@TheJaredPunch]

Yugioh Zexal is an underrated Yugioh series. With some most annoying characters in the series, but with also of the best. Yuma wasn’t favorite protagonist back I was a teenager. But as I have grown older, I have come to appreciate his ability to never give up and to see the version of people. Yuma’s chemistry with Astral, Shark, Kite and EVEN Tori were one of his saving points of his character back then. Yuma was and still is a wild child that needs his friends to keep him in line if he strays off the path. But at the same time, Yuma is one who helps Shark, Kite and Astral grow into better and stronger people because of his willingness and kind nature. Astral helps Yuma grow as a duelist, while Yuma helps Astral grow as an individual. Shark is one of Yuma’s main rivals and best friends. And no matter how many times Yuma and Shark have butt heads (leading up to the final confrontation in their last duel) Yuma has always seen Shark as his friend ever since their first duel. And Shark, despite not wanting to admit flat out, Yuma has been a positive influence in his life and has always been there for him in spite of everything. Yuma and Kite aren’t so different from each other. Both of them have siblings, people that they are fighting for (Astral and Hart), and both of their monsters are light monsters embodying hope. And though, it took until the end of Zexal I for Kite to acknowledge Yuma, it’s thanks to Astral (another person Yuma developed) that he finally accepted Yuma. Yuma on his part, never once blamed Kite for his father’s actions. Even after nearly killing him and Astral, and taking Shark’s soul when he tried to protect his Key, and treating Yuma ungratefully for everying he did for him, Yuma stood strong for Kite and believed in him. Yuma’s character won out and it earned him one his most powerful and valuable allies (without him and Numeron Dragon, Yuma and Shark would have lost to Don Thousand). Yuma and Tori are always there for each other, and they are canon by the end of the anime (or at least close to it). Tori is there ground Yuma back from the moments where he would fall despair, and Yuma is always the one to be there for her and never treat as an annoyance. And another thing, the power of Zexal. I think this the main reason why we have to stop taking real life into every equation in the anime. This is an anime of the card game, above everything else. That’s what matters. More importantly, Zexal is the embodiment of Yuma’s Kattobingu. Zeal (the actual word in Japanese) is the drive to achieve your goals. It’s the perfect summary for Yuma and this power: Yuma’s Zexal ability gives him the ability to achieve victory. And because Zexal is the power born from Yuma and Astral’s hearts, each Zexal form has a new Utopia, showing that their Ace Monster is growing along with them. Zexal I: Utopia Ray Dark Zexal: Utopia Ray V Zexal 2: Utopia Ray Victory Zexal 3: Utopia Beyond Yuma created Utopia Roots with his own Shining Draw. And Utopic Future and Utopic Dragon is Yuma and Astral taking their own path. People give crap to Yuma for constantly relying on Utopia, but it just fits his character and relationship with Astral really well IMO. And finally, a detail I noticed with Yuma and his relationship with the main cast: Astral is the representative of the Astral World (obviously) Shark as Nasch is Barian Native And Kite stands for the human world. Yuma acts as the Bridge and Mediator for all three worlds. The symbolism of Zexal is incredible. So yeah, overall, Zexal had a rough start, but a great end and its ending is one of my favorite endings in any anime. Side note: it’s my birthday.

[@isaacaccomando435]

Thank you for the appreciation of the ace monster. I would think after watching the last duel against number 96 people would have understood this better. He plays Utopia not because he has to or because he doesn't know any other way. But because Utopia is the monster that's always been there for him and Astral and represents their bond.

[@habibahbegum2803]

love this review you don't get much people giving credit that zexal deserve ^^ could you do charecter reviews on zexal characters

[@DuelistKoi93]

This was great! I discovered this channel through other vids but gotta say I loved this one and would love more yugioh content in the future :)

[@spectrenestor]

I'm so glad I found your channel

[@davidenren6496]

Gets better as it go's on, but loved it all the way as a kid

[@maniacalmurderer4123]

*My favorite villains from this series were the Vetrix brothers as well as Vetrix himself.* Each brother possessed a deck akin to their interests and personality which made each memorable to me. My favorite one being Trey Trey was quiet and reserved, only piping up when history was involved. He was the good-hearted yet socially distant type of character that I could sympathize with. Also his cards were arguably one of the coolest in the series. The other brothers Quattro and Quinten also had well themed decks with Quattros sadistic and twisted nature revealed through his gimmick puppets and Quintens cold calculation shown through his Tactical satellite deck. Vertrix himself had some cool cards with the Heraldry crest, showing his legacy of hatred being passed onto his sons in the metaphorical sense. Overall characters to remember like the other villains in this show (excepting Faker)

[@aztecgb7520]

the series started out basic and boring, but man did it get better and better. By the middle of the series, the duels are already very interesting and intense and it only gets even more towards the end. Unpopular opinion of mine, i think Zexal has the best duels in the yugioh series.

[@andleepfarooqui7874]

yooooo I also watched 5Ds in high school and loved ZEXAL.

[@Chriso22]

Zexal was one of the first yugioh series i started with along with gx i don't think i even knew they where the same franchise as a kid but yeah alot of nostalgia i have with them

[@isaacaccomando435]

Shark now, Shark forever.

[@genyakozlov1316]

Really glad to see people recommend Zexal, or Yu-Gi-Oh in general as people often forget it was a shounen manga first and a card game second, writing the whole series off as advertisement. Zexal especially gets unfairly thrown under the bus despite everything you mentioned here. I don't agree with some opinions expressed here however, like tournaments in the original series being good, as Duellist Kingdom is battle royal for most of it and only briefly a classical tournament, with the duels against actual competitors like Weevil or Mako being the worst parts, and Battle City being really good when Joey duels but being completely irredeemable garbage when he doesn't, with Yugi vs Kaiba round 4 being the low point of the whole franchise, while Atlantis arc features an actually interesting group of antagonists minus Dartz and some character development for the main character which Battle City forgot to include as Yami uncovering his memories is not character development unlike two Yugis having a fallout over the revelation Yami was secretly murdering people the whole time in Duellist Kingdom. The only good tournament in the franchise for me is the WGP from 5Ds, the rest are too repetitive. The animation was also the best in the original, with you only needing to rewatch episode 115 with Kaiba vs Noah to see it is so. That entire episode is a masterpiece of animation and writing, part of the reason the Virtual World filler is my favourite arc. Lighter colour pallet being better is subjective, as I prefer darker tones. It's fine here, but Arc-V doesn't know when to mute the colour pallet so our characters being locked in prison is as bright as them being at home, which damages the atmosphere. This all being said, I checked out your channel and resided to subscribe as the things you discuss outside of Yu-Gi-Oh are also very important to me.

[@CH4R10T_TV]

Yeah this was really just me describing what watching the series was like and how it made me feel as a fan of the older shows. Happy to hear people's opinions about it, I remember it being divisive but I think there are people who really liked it.

[@ChikaiAmor]

I immediately like and subscribe the moment you said Shark is best boy. GOOD TASTE! He's my best boy too. I love him so so much. Love his personality ,his story, his character development, EVERYTHING. Hands down the best rival. But I agree that at first, I don't even want to watch Zexal from all its rumors that its bad but now Zexal is my fav series. I now hate when people trash talk about Zexal when they haven't even watched it! or haven't reach the 2nd season yet but that's where all the best moments are!

[@stardustsynchro6102]

The only people who hated 5D's was the westurn fandom because I never saw any of them say about 5D's, I was still in middle school when 5D's was in its peak.

[@transformersfan500okane3]

My most favourite of ZEXAL, is that Marin, She was well, Beautiful

[@7thHourFilms]

Question: What was Yu-Gi-Oh ZEXAL? Answer: Peak

[@reddawn1873]

I really really Want a blue eyes dragon maid deck But currently I don't have money

[@halqthedarktemplar]

Kite actually fusion summons against shark, summoning twin photon lizard

[@Sophievee123]

Mtg player, but as a green main I felt the plant player statement lol

[@transformersfan500okane3]

15:55 I made Up this AU, Where after being sent to Barian World, Yuma's friends were reincarnated as Decepticon Barians by Megatron who alters their Memories with his own new Over Hundred Numbers 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117 and 118, with Number 108: Nemsis Megatronus being his own

[@g.n.a4871]

Ok now make the remaining 881 because they need to exist if number 1000 exists

[@spacekid9680]

What was this show? The answer: my childhood.

[@jameshollister8294]

Haven't watched zexal but 5ds and arch v was great

[@pickyphysicsstudent201]

I think the show would have a better reception if it wasn't so rough at the beginning. Alot of the early duels are very samey and they don't affect the larger plot much. It gets very repetative to watch Yuma set Gogogo Golem, opponent brings out their Xyz (usually a Number) and makes a big splash, then Yuma makes Utopia or Utopia Ray and wins with that & a plot device card, we'll never see again. It gets really boring & predictable really fast. It just drags down the first quarter of the series.

[@stardustsynchro6102]

From what i heard Zexal had a more mix reception than GX when it came to writing.

[@Shugunou]

There are split timelines but a thing people overlook when trying to form a Yu-Gi-Oh timeline is parallel universes. My theory is that GX isn't the future of the original Duel Monsters anime but rather the future of a parallel universe with a similar plotline. Some differences from the original anime include different card effects, different decks, and a second Battle City. Also, in that universe, Yugi maintains some of the power of the millennium items which is how he is able to take Jaden back in time. The evidence we have of this is Yugi's deck when used by Dimitri. It contains Black Luster Soldier - Envoy Of The Beginning which he didn't have in the original anime. It could be argued that he got it after the events of the anime but Dimitri says the deck always contained it meaning he probably had it during Duelist Kingdom, possibly instead of the regular Black Luster Soldier. He also has Winged Kuriboh which he didn't in the original anime. There are also many cards that have completely different effects. Call Of The Haunted for instance has its real life effect and Doppleganger/Mimicat has a different effect. You could argue Pegasus errata'd it but if he did, he would likely just add the cost of banishing 5 cards onto the original effect instead of changing it. Ra also had different effects but it could be that Pegasus misremembered Ra's effects when he made the copy. The explanation for most of the different effects is that the writers wanted them to better reflect the real game but the in-lore explanation is different. This would also play into the theory that Roku is Yugi but older. It would explain how he was able to bring the statues to life and why all his cards are Yugi's (apart from Arcana Knight Joker which is a fusion of 3 of Yugi's cards). Something the video about Roku being Yugi forgot to mention is that Yugi's grandpa's name in the Japanese version is Sugoroku. If you take the last two syllables (or characters if you do the Japanese version), you get Roku. Roku is also Japanese for 6 which is how many items Yugi had to collect (since he already had his puzzle). His Japanese name is Rokujuro Misawa. Misawa is the last name of Bastion Misawa which means he is either related to Bastion or he got his name from Bastion. Rokuju means 60 in Japanese. Not sure if there is any significance to that other than the maximum number of cards allowed in your deck but I thought I should note that. Edit: There is some evidence that he is related to Bastion other than his last name. Juro means Tenth Son which could indicate that he is either the tenth son of Bastion or is the tenth generation after. Of course, if we are to take his entire name of Rokujuro, it would mean he is the 60th son of Bastion or was born 60 generations after Bastion which would place Zexal ridiculously far into the future. Edit 2: You might think that if Envoy Of The Beginning replaces the original BLS in this timeline, that Roku couldn't be Yugi but if you look at the actual artwork and anime appearances of it, it looks the same as the original and Yugipedia even mentions they aren't sure whether it was the original or not and just put the original for the sake of simplicity.

[@michaelaburns734]

Zexal is okay. It just was a slow boil in Part 1, Part 2 was when the fire raged hotter when it rages.

[@khalidpatterson1422]

did you watch the sub or dub versions for these ? just curious im not tryna be that guy lol

[@CH4R10T_TV]

I tried both but I usually end up watching dubs because I'm invested in the performances of voice actors in/from my country

[@dreamerchrysalis]

I don't really like Yu-Gi-Oh either as a series or a game (I think the card design is hilariously bad though I think that's because it wasn't originally made to support European languages). However I enjoyed this video and will maybe make another attempt at watching these shows !

[@filarmenfnaf2587]

in yu-gi-oh ZEXAL my favourite character is Quattro he's the best

[@alldayanime8174]

Am your 400 liked

[@Tinkhec_best_maid]

Your a Rikka player?

[@emanuelstornello8009]

My biggest suggestion is to watch the japanese dub OR if you speak it, the italian dub

[@buster3041]

How is dextra trans?

[@xSkysilver]

Yuma is my second best, after Yusei

[@nightsoul395]

If you need help with future yu-gi-oh video, I'll be happy to help. I seen all expect yu-gi-oh seven

[@reddawn1873]

chaz totally not gay

[@antonioscendrategattico2302]

Judai was totally the gayest protag though.

[@shadowmist4318]

When I got back into Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXaL was was so bad. I had to take 2 breaks from the anime and I mostly forced my self to watch it(Because I wanted to watch/read every single Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime/manga). I have watched/read almost all of Yu-Gi-Oh! except mangas witch haven't been fully translated. I must say the duels are boring Yuma summons Hope! and powers him up. I like VRAINS and 5Ds because they synchro/link climb. I feel like every manga is better then the anime except for ZeXaL. So I will give it that at the very least.

[@jameshollister8294]

Arc v the best one .

[@Lambda_Ovine]

really? you can watch if for free in the official website? how about that...

[@MatthewRatburg]

Caswell is annoying to

[@slashb7836]

Spoilers here I've watched most of Yugioh. I have seen a season or so of 5Ds but I could never push myself further. Even nowadays. It's just not that engaging. I also haven't watches Sevens at all. Everything else I've watched over multiple times. ZeXal is dumb and gay (complimentary). It starts slow, and for half the series, Yuma sucks hard at card games. It bucks some trends. In previous series, the core friend group is really important. In ZeXal, less so, mostly. There was that sideplot that basically did nothing for the story but a lot for the characters with their investigation club into Number monsters, we got Flip's bit where he was redeemed and became a member of the friend group, but didn't reform, still being a shifty little fuck, but on the protagonistoc side. Cathy is a treat, and Anna, despite sparse appearances, always makes her prescence known when she's there. But the later bonds are the ones that really strike a chord. Yugioh has and always will heavily rely on their villains and rivals, I would say moreso than the average shounen. We've had strong bonds happen in such relationships before, Yugi and Kaiba doing their thing, Jack and Yusei, etc. But ZeXal takes it to a whole new level. Defeat doesn't equal friendship here. Yuma seems to think it does sometimes, but it doesn't take. It's Yuma's annoyingly caring, optimistic, and trusting nature that wins them over slowly and in spite of themselves. Shark, Vector, even Astral, all fit that mould. He's just too stupid and sincere to stay upset at, like the goblin that adopts itself into your D&D party. Those are the friendships that make the difference in the end, and also cause him so much pain it temporarily breaks him out of the very mindset that made it all happen. And it's so uncharacteristic of him that the audience (if invested at all) feels his pain too. In the final duel, the game that he loved, that brought all these people into his life and heart, is also responsible for taking them away, and he now has to fight the friend whose appearance started it all, the fate of worlds, and more importantly, their friendship, in the balance. And at first, Yuma isn't feeling it. Late in the show, having to rediscover the love of dueling for dueling's sake, not just the stakes, is a trope Yugioh eventually started doing. A lot of the (undubbed) fourth season of GX has Judai struggling with that. Later, Arc-V has it. VRAINS is a bit weird there, Yusaku wasn't playing for love of the game in the first place, but I believe (though it's been awhile so I may be misremembering) part of the final duel was about how he needed to start enjoying the game

[@slashb7836]

ZeXal is just really effective, I think, and it gets darker than one would think given how it begins. Although that is the rule of Yugioh, ain't it? If it starts lighthearted, it'll get really damn dark eventually

[@genyakozlov1316]

@@slashb7836 It gets dark as soon as Kite is introduced, barely ten episodes in. I don't get why everyone thinks it starts light-hearted when it quickly becomes darker than the first seasons of DM or GX allowed themselves to be. When you read the original manga it really does feel strange how light-hearted most of Duellist Kingdom is compared to what came before. GX is even less dark, with only last stretches of seasons 1 and 2 being that dark, until in season 3 it goes bonkers. How is Zexal different? People talk like it started off like Sevens, but then actually give Sevens a free pass on being light-hearted while GX and Zexal are somehow bad for it? I don't get the community.

[@madeinmeme9688]

What was Zexal? Well... it was three things: - A DM PLAGIARISM - A BAIT FOR LOLICONS - A MISTAKE

[@MrFireboyFTW]

Lolicons? Where? Zexal had a cute story nothing like that

[@madeinmeme9688]

@@MrFireboyFTW did you forget the enourmus amount of fan service in that show? Did you forget every single ass shot of Tori, catie and Ryo? DID YOU FORGET THE TORI' S SHOWER SCENE? Zexal sexualize underage girls every 5 minutes and it's disgusting!

[@thenameismary4874]

Honestly anything new after it was just unnecessary

[@SoulariceJackson]

a mistake. thats what it was.

[@themarshian5124]

when something is created from midtake it often becomes something phenomenal, thank you.

[@usernametentwo]

nah, maybe thats you bro 💀

[@Clyde975]

Stopped after episode 1 i see

[@fxzzy__]

missed out on peak

[@madeinmeme9688]

I love you for this statement!

[@AB-J]

Why do you think Dextra is transgender? It’s a kids show