When A Filler Arc is Actually Good | Yu-Gi-Oh!

[@EnigmaAnime]

What is your favorite filler in anime?

[@imrancassim1439]

Bleach filler is the best filler lol

[@NeroPiroman]

probebly OG yugioh filler, its the only one i watched other then dbz

[@gundamguy22]

@@imrancassim1439 While I to love the Bleach filler, the biggest problem I have with most of them is the placement.

[@imrancassim1439]

@@gundamguy22 Same, imagine if bleach continued we would have so much filler until the TYBW.

[@projectmessiah]

Not much filler at all does it for me besides one off funny fillers like the car episode in Dbz. But I did enjoy the 2 training filler arcs in Katekyo Hitman Reborn both of which were penned by the author and originally planned for the manga.

[@immanuel3694]

I remember being blown away years later when I found out this arc was filler lmao

[@AbiyahBanYasharahla]

I didnt know til this video 😭 filler so good the cards got made

[@redcoffeez]

same T0T

[@intuitivelymagician2076]

saME

[@haroldnecmann7040]

I was blown away by terrible the filler is

[@cjfrm3658]

@@haroldnecmann7040 I thought Season 3 was a filler

[@lewisreeves9843]

Take a shot every time they mention the seal of oricalcos. One of my favourite aspects of this arc is how dramatic it is when some one uses it the oricalcos theme music is awesome

[@lewisreeves9843]

@Top G absolutely! One of the best duals in the franchise!

[@thatman666]

Too bad the cards oriented on The Seal of Orichalcos aren't as good compared to anime standards. Perhaps there's room for improvement when further support arrives. (and Darkness cards to an extent)

[@Goldfire345]

@Top G the issue is alot of those cards have been terribly power crept because they were nerfed for example the God cards with all of their anime abilities and protections would probably not be op at all in today's meta boss monsters that overpowered with a million abilities are pretty much the norm now The malefics would likely also be fine for another example

[@dwainsimmons3447]

The dub music in this arc is spectacular.

[@lewisreeves9843]

@@dwainsimmons3447 hell ye!

[@seematahir5970]

One thing I particularly like about this arc is how subversive it is of the regular Yu-Gi-Oh tropes. Rex and Weevil being useless, Mai getting sidelined, Egypt being the only important ancient civilization, Yugi being undefeatable, etc. ALL OF IT is gone in this arc. It was such a refreshing change of pace when I first binged the show and really shook up the status quo.

[@haroldnecmann7040]

Yugi being unbeatable is pretty much debunk when he lost to pegasus and kaiba in the first fucking season.

[@lunchbox7337ify]

@@haroldnecmann7040 yea but he lost both of those duels to BS. He was a literally a second too slow against Pegasus and Kaiba was going to kill himself. Both of those duels, and the one against Rebecca he had the winning move right in front of him. Raphael legitimately outplayed and defeated Yugi which nobody had done up until that point. Him losing there also created some tension in future duels simply because the possibility of defeat was presented to us on screen and not just a thing the villain would talk about for half the duels.

[@sorassmallunicornworld3418]

And weevil almost won against yugi if he played a little bit different

[@Ramona122003]

Atem being undefeated until his final duel is a story point because it builds into Yugi’s character development in finally surpassing Atem by being the only person to defeat him in a fair duel. That moment was robbed from Yugi in the anime all for the sake of building up a filler character. To the point the anime still tried to act like beating Atem was an act of god in the final arc when it happened effortlessly last arc.

[@tonijelecevic9238]

Kaiba not caring about anybody except mokuba(when he helped unconscious Joey after the duel against Mai)

[@DowntownTasty]

The great part about the duel with him and Raphael is that the stakes originally were extremely low. The hostage was let go. Raphael didn’t play the seal of orichalcos, and there was nothing on the line. Until the pharaoh created his own problems and then lost.

[@yanastase]

I mean yugi could totally shred the seal of orichalcos when he get it just to be sure to not use it xD

[@phantom-ri2tg]

@@yanastase Yeah but a glaring issue with that. The penalty for losing after playing it.. is the exact same as losing after your opponent played it. So if the opponent could beat him after giving it to him. then he could have just used it then beat the Pharoah.

[@Aurora-313]

Even better: All Yami had to do was concede the duel and that would've completely destroyed Raphael's argument.

[@trash44gzgigasmashkaza50]

He is a pharaoh and have his pride and fighted evrybody frome young age so its aceppteble he dont let anybody disrespect his authority

[@KurokamiNajimi]

I call it bad writing

[@VGInterviews]

The guy who narrated the Dartz section actually sounds like Dartz in Yugioh Abridged

[@ChitoMcBoom]

Barely understandable with that lisp

[@SweetCake8]

​@@ChitoMcBoomPretty much ruined the video for me. Guy has such a horrible voice to listen to

[@aidanwow1593]

One thing about Yami that you failed to mention was that during his duel with Weevil he fell back into his dark, murderous ways once Weevil tore up the card that he claimed housed Yugi's soul. Only Tea was able to stop him from basically endlessly kicking Weevil while he was down.

[@mafyboy0420]

Yami literally beat the piss out of him.

[@ArcNine9Angel]

DURAW! MONSTA CARDO!

[@MountainMemelord]

FOR THE RECORD, I DREW ANOTHER MONSTER CARD!

[@Pdubb19]

Exactly how iconic

[@Spixxxx]

Destiny draw, Monsta! (X ♾)

[@alexandrefrauches132]

Atem refusal to lose can also be result, in subconscious level, of the way he was raised in Egypt, Being pharaoh, he was probably raised to always be strong and not show weakness, which is represent in the way he duels, always showing himself confident and ready for action (unlike Yugi, who is usually more shy and has self-doubts). While "never give up" attitude is not a bad quality, it can also result in him being arrogant and obsess with victory, not considering the stakes of the situation. His arc is basically a contrast to Yugi: While one learns to be more self-confident as duelist, the other learns to be humble and accept defeat.

[@haroldnecmann7040]

He only succeeded showing how weak he was

[@Ramona122003]

Except he learned all that after the events of Duelist Kingdom and the anime reverse all his character development for drama when they could have used this filler to developed Yugi for the final arc since DM changed the Dungeon Dice Monsters arc.

[@tomato2517]

@@Ramona122003 yea, missed opportunity to use yugi in the DDM arc. Or at least in other filler like the virtual world arc Feels like the anime used Atem a lot because he’s their key marketing tool from a character’s standpoint.

[@Ramona122003]

@@tomato2517 It's pretty obvious that Atem got top billing because he's generally more popular than Yugi even going off the manga. Which got the anime in trouble in the final arc where Yugi surpasses Atem, which is why they had Yugi do the over-the-top feat of killing the gods in one turn to put him over Kaiba who really had a stronger case to be Atem's final duel since he got way more screen time and development than his manga counterpart.

[@tomato2517]

@@Ramona122003 pretty much. Its a shame Yugi’s character suffered because he wasn’t as popular because although as a kid watching the anime i thought Atem was badass af but i grew to appreciate Yugi’s character and their interactions. Its a shame the manga doesn’t even do an amazing job developing him specifically in a consistent way throughout the story. I think there was great potential to showcase his growth more because he’s a brilliant game strategist (even better than Atem) but lacks the courage. The juxtaposition between his compassion & kindness and Atem’s courage, tenacity and sense of justice is what interests me most about their characters.

[@meganbarhorst5272]

I think even Mai was downplaying the influence of Marik torturing her, too. None of the wins in other tournaments made her feel strong enough to protect herself in the future, but the Orichalcos gave her a chance to wield her own magic against somebody like Marik.

[@pendafen7405]

Yes say this!!! It's about overcoming trauma. Though it must be said as a disclaimer that exposure therapy isn't always safe and effective, Mai was fortunate it worked out.

[@XXMatt0040XX]

Little Yugi's soul literally got erased while he was feeling it. Joey was seared by the *god of the sun* and survived for a few seconds. After being tortured by Marik. Odion got struck by lightning. Mai... went to the beach. Sure she's still running out of air... But Joey wasn't breathing at all and again, Yugi's literally being erased. It only makes sense if we go by manga cannon, because Mai's penalty game was absolutely horrific.

[@meganbarhorst5272]

@XXMatt0040XX I thought the beach thing was just a short-term hallucination while she was stuck in an hourglass with sand falling on her? It's still less horrific than the manga, where it was flesh-eating bugs falling on her, but gradually being buried alive while knowing you're losing your memories of everyone you've ever loved still sounds pretty nightmarish.

[@PathBeyondTheDark]

If you have experienced trauma, you would recognize it here. In Mai's case, her inability to win was what made her vulnerable enough to be put through her trauma. In her mind, winning means never being vulnerable and never having to experience said trauma again. But that's all that winning provides her. There is no genuine interest in it, it is but a coping mechanism. So she is stuck in a space where she NEEDS to win to feel safe, to feel strong enough. But she is not seeking the thrill of victory, just a means of ending her fear of losing and becoming vulnerable. It is also likely that to her, as is quite frequently suggested, relying on others is a form of weakness. Feeling weak brings the trauma back, and down she spirals. So this is why she rejects what she otherwise would welcome.

[@PathBeyondTheDark]

@@XXMatt0040XX Trauma can happen due to any kind of negative experience. You cannot measure experiences by "better" or "worse" because perception is all that matters. The same event can leave one person just fine and the other in need of help.

[@Salman.khan786]

Fun Fact: I just learned this recently, but the "Shadow Realm" is actually a censorship for death. I had no idea. And for some reason it works better. Gives it a more magic and supernatural vibe.

[@LordMoldyButt18]

Eternal soul torture > Death

[@elperrodelautumo7511]

One thing the dub did over the original. Eternal suffering realm. Aka the shadow realm

[@blub1220]

Do you mean the purple realm?

[@kaitlyn__L]

It also conveniently served to turn permanent hallucinations into a more real yet non-physical experience. They merged that type of fate with real death (eg Mai's Battle City near-death experience). Which, I don't know, I think being trapped in another realm where my soul is _actually_ eaten would be worse than being given a permanent psychosis about being eaten by monsters. At least we have meds for the latter. But I guess it's definitely less fantastical and feels kind of darker in that it's a little more plausible? While "whisked off to another dimension" is a safer kind of creepy for kids, because it's obviously fantastical.

[@deviousj5868]

It was soo iconic it became canon.

[@1346528000]

There IS a reason why Yami/Nameless pharaoh is so sociopathic in season 0/manga, it's because he was trapped alone for 3000 years, in perpetual darkness, with no memories, while fully conscious and awake this whole time. Just a few days in this kind of environment can drive a person completely and permanently insane. It's a miracle that the pharaoh was still functional, and not completely deranged.

[@armaanallidina7916]

Honestly the dub makes it worse for him, 3000 years of isolation was bad enough but 5000, damn

[@WyrdFayth]

I wouldn't say he was ever "sociopathic." Unhinged, absolutely, but sociopathy (or more properly Anti-Social Personality Disorder) is a specific thing that doesn't mean just 'crazy and not caring for others' well-being'. (Valon, on the other hand, in his brief bit of screen time very strongly displays ASPD symptoms imo. This is also not an insult; he's one of my favorite characters ever. But yeah, I digress.)

[@aozorahaou2643]

More like its a miracle he had Yugi to influence him thanks to him being the one to complete the puzzle if it had been anyone else like say Kaiba, Marik, or season 1 Pegasus who solved the puzzle instead then oh my God....

[@lunar_proxy]

i mean, imagine being sealed away for 3000 years and the first thing you experience when waking back up is danger (with ushio threatening yugi and allat, and yami not seeing a difference between himself and yugi atp). i'd be a little aggressive too

[@knellchthyomi2884]

I love the fact they used Pegasus history exploring antiquity to make not only this filler arc but also as the reason he was familiar with the Light of Destruction in GX.

[@kidkatanatv]

This. I like how Dark Magician Girl from GX was the same spirit from this Season too.

[@pendafen7405]

Pegasus is really such a rich and interesting side character. There's so many ways he can be brought in to deepen and further any arc. One of my favourite YGO characters.

[@weberman173]

@@pendafen7405 one of the few times an anime deciding to not kill a character that dies in the source was actually used to enrich the plot of the show later on

[@Matanumi]

@@weberman173 probably the most famous and only known time

[@JunkoEnoshima.]

This arc was one of my favorites because of how incredibly high the stakes were. It constantly had me on the edge. Like I rarely could take Pegasus seriously because even without his voice he was basically CHEATING to win. And Bakura was not even winning any duel. Marik on the other hand was awesome and raised the stakes but the Orichalcos arc was a whole another level. EVERY duel was a life and death not only for the heroes but even for the villains. It was not safe just because the heroes win so the duels were always high and the fact that both parties were in danger of losing their souls made the seal a lot more intimidating, not to mention its awesome theme. And Dartz taking on Yugi and Kaiba at the same time is still the biggest feat we saw in DM. No other villain could do the same

[@obelisk1043]

You have to admit that Zorc was a good villain as well, but I feel like they rushed that arc. And I have to admit, he would've looked better if he didn't have a dragon head on his stomach.

[@JunkoEnoshima.]

@@obelisk1043 Zorc was intimidating. ''Yami Bakura'' was not. At least as a dueling opponent.

[@obelisk1043]

@@JunkoEnoshima. I'll admit that at least

[@obelisk1043]

@@JunkoEnoshima. But now I'm in the loop thinking, "What kind of deck would Zorc himself would use if he decided to go to a human form?" I'm always thinking that.

[@1845net]

Eh, Marik was kind of a bitch too. He basically lost every duel he fought and only narrowly scraped by due to *_"Ra's 200th special ability that I neglected to mention until now, when it is most convenient"_* . He straight up lost to Joey and only continued on in the tournament because Kaiba hated Joey and wanted Marik's Egyptian God card. He should have lost to Mai when she stole his god card but he said *"nuh uh, you can't read Egyptian!"* which Kaiba's Duel Disk System should have no way of recognizing anyway. Also, he lost to Yugi *twice* . Marik is not threatening and is way overhyped.

[@ryon5126]

Joey's duels were great because it was him at his best too. Wish we got to see more from Joey's deck in the last season

[@aaronyaegar1557]

Joey’s power ranger suit duel with Valon was top tier

[@Barkit]

Joey is the Ryuji to Yugi’s Joker. He definitely deserved better throughout the show, especially after he started making meaningful accomplishments on his own.

[@WestSideBarson]

Yeah joey most definitely was at his best then. Prime form. Then they didn't let him duel in duel dimension after joey saying he restructured his deck to be red eyes centered and it was the soul of his deck. Joey with a legit dragon deck as he hinted at would've been dope.

[@Barkit]

@@WestSideBarson Wait, seriously?! They made a whole movie and didn’t let him show off his new deck?

[@WestSideBarson]

@@Barkit Seriously. Yugioh dark side of dimensions. Joey mentioned having a dragon constructed deck with it being centered around red eyes but he didn't have a duel in the movie. Yugioh and kaiba did of course lol. Joey always the odd man out and he's my favorite character. 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@smileandnodd]

The fact that the shadow realm wasn't canon but became so Iconic that it became associated with Yu Gi Oh is living proof that you don't have to always follow the manga.

[@tiktokexposed898]

i mean the shadow realm was also in the japanese version too but it was just called hell. 4kids changed hell to the shadow realm

[@Cetra29]

It is not non canonical. People need to get the idea that the source material is the only continuity out of their heads. The anime is its own canon. Nobody would say the Harry Potter movies are non canonical even though they are adaptions that diverge from the source material. They are their own thing. Anime are not the manga. GX to whatever is also not non canonical just because Takahashi-san did not make them.

[@dancorneanu9144]

@@Cetra29 Right. If we go by anime, 5Ds is completely different from the manga. It's like different canons for marvel.

[@spikemasterb2521]

the shadow realm is from the dub though, not the original japanese anime@@Cetra29

[@helljackalll]

one of the few things 4kids actually did right

[@thaddeussmithiii8065]

I remember rewatching yu gi oh as an adult and this arc was easily one of my favorites. I really had no idea that this was filler even with knowing what filler is. They killed it with this

[@marcellusjohnson9439]

They really did. The plot, the suspense, the high stakes, and character development was all well orchestrated

[@home9dog2blue199]

nobody EVER CARED about what "canon" or "noncanon/filler" was as kids. We just watched what we gravitated toward and (for the most part) Whatever was on tv, we just WATCHED (until it got to the season actually explaining Atem's past. Ngl i grew SO BORED of those episodes 😂) but because if we didn't have cable or internet, 👆👆👆THIS and whatever else was on Kids WB was ALL we had to watch frfr.

[@robertborukhov4328]

The problem with Odion using Winged Dragon was that he was using a fake copy not that he wasn’t associated with a Millennium item

[@sovest555]

Meanwhile, the only reason Joey 'lost' to Marik was because he was not Yugi.

[@batayou6819]

@@sovest555 Joey wasn’t strong enough simple as that

[@BlueSparxLPs]

@@batayou6819 I'd argue he very much was. He won the duel for all intents and purposes, but only "lost" because Marik cheated by physically harming him so his body would give out. Had he not been practically and literally burned to death the turn before, he would have declared his attack on a wide open opponent and won.

[@batayou6819]

@@BlueSparxLPs it’s not cheating in ygo isn’t just a mental game it’s an endurance game as well (hence the reason Kaiba even did the semis in such high altitude). Marik was never trying to win the card game but to break Joey and he succeeded in that objective. Hell even tho Marik wasn’t trying to the duel he was still dominating for most of the duel up until gilford lol

[@cameraredeye3115]

@@batayou6819 And yet Marik shat his pants when he realized he was about to lose to the same Joey he tried to break. Never have I seen a "victorious" villain sweat buckets over nearly losing to his own schemes...

[@gew393]

You missed something when discussing what happened in season 0 Yami doesn’t leave his opponents with scars as a result of the loss he does it as a karmic retribution because they all tried to cheat in some way or another

[@sakuraryuji01]

With the exception of that one serial killer in the dinner. To be fair he killed a few guards to escape and held Anzu (Teà) hostage at her new job as well as several other hostages. He won by burning them using a vodka drink and a lighter. Both in which the serial killer had on hand and requested before the finger game started. In the toei anime , they just burned only the hands and were turned in by authorities. There was also a crazed bomber too.

[@gew393]

@@sakuraryuji01 that’s true!

[@stillcold]

Yeah like that chick with red hair didn’t have anything happen to her bc she accepted defeat and gave up on the popularity contest. She didn’t cheat against him so nothing happened

[@chaosenforcerdhm969]

@@sakuraryuji01he cheated you where only suppose to use one finger

[@sakuraryuji01]

@@chaosenforcerdhm969 but it was only one finger. When have you seen someone use a lighter with more than one finger to light it ? Other than that the rest of the fingers are stationary. His opponent , the shooter was gonna use his to shoot a bullet from a gun so it was a fair game there.

[@itsTrickyAF]

Man, the narrator shift was such a drastic change lol

[@anthonylopez1765]

For that very reason is why I didn’t finish the video, no offense

[@Copernicus91]

took me out😂

[@Rokiriko]

For the worse.

[@thirion1850]

I absolutely adore this arc's atmosphere, especially during the Joey vs Valon portion. The dark, midnight cast city with wandering monsters, awash in street and high rise window lights, the random ass motorcycle chase, all leading to a back alley-- literal *fist fight brawl* of a duel. I don't care how cheesy it is, the aesthetics of it is just chefs kiss.

[@michaelfields3951]

One thing I love about this arc in the simultaneous Duels between Joey and Rex and Yugi and Weevil. Its an interesting twist on their personality. Yugi who is usually levelheaded and calm is frustrated and angry and on the backfoot. The usually Hot Headed Joey however in his duel with Rex is calm, not losing his cool and doing great In his duel

[@MiriNameThief]

Pointing out the dark brutality of Yami's char, I'd also like to note how it's shown again during the iconic "MONSTA CARDO" overkill (even though, that was mostly rage than simply being dark). On another note, Crash Town arc from 5ds is also a short great filler arc which literally acts as a love letter to someone who gets redemption

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

Crash town arc of 5Ds was peak filler of anime. It gave us so much in a few short episodes.

[@Tfbrave]

Thing is none of the "filler" arcs from GX onwards can't really be counted as such since from GX onwards the manga and anime only shared characters and settings (for the most part) otherwise the stories were completely different

[@cyberdarkturtle6971]

@@TheGreatSalsaMan 5ds sucked

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

@@cyberdarkturtle6971 lol that one (wrong) opinion 😂

[@cyberdarkturtle6971]

@@TheGreatSalsaMan yusei had zero development or growth. Yuya is best boy

[@halfbloodrascal6712]

I rewatched the entire duel monsters season and really liked this arc. Dartz was actually amazing. He had an amazing back story too.

[@haroldnecmann7040]

Amazing, he's absolutely mediocre lol

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

@@haroldnecmann7040 Opinions, it's almost like they're different for different people.

[@FloundFahrdienst]

Dartz? An amazing backstory? King of Atlantis, then his wife turned into a Monster because she was "apparently" evil and he had to kill her, then touched some stones that told him humanity baaaad, lets go free the Leviathan that will destroy the entire planet! Yeah nice backstory xD

[@kwylde1978]

Agreed, also Valon's Rafael's and Alister's backstory were so good and dark as well. Plus it was the season with perhaps the highest levels of agony and tension than every other season making it the most unpredictable in the series in my opinion

[@animanga9597]

@@haroldnecmann7040 Everyone has their own opinion man, just accept It. I think Dartz was an Incredible villain and by far the best villain duelist.

[@EvilLordCanas]

Dartz felt like the actual final boss to the original series, everything that came afterwards could not live up to the standards he set. Bakura didn't even rely on the cardgame anymore, it was just silly egyptian magic.

[@kindlingking]

Random guy that comes out of nowhere, sit at the background doing nothing until the very end, because apparently everything has already been done off screen and he actually always had complete control even over KC, because god forbid villain actually has to put effort to archive their goals, is what you consider the big bad the series has led up to? Ok.

[@haroldnecmann7040]

@@kindlingking final boss my ass, pegasus j crowford is still unique as final boss compared to darts who just poor man's marik and his bootleg dark organisation ghoul 2.0

[@piens51]

I agree. Bakura newer was anything in my eyes he was just a loser evil wanabe that had no hype to me. While Dartz was out of nowhere he atlest cought way more intrest from me.

[@Ramona122003]

It was a Dark RPG and Yugioh was more than a card game in the manga.

[@hanoi6598]

Yeah i see what you mean with Bakura not even using the card game anymore (even though there were a few duels in the arc), but you have to remember that Bakura was introduced in the original story before the duelist kingdom arc (which is when the card game became the main focus). And Bakura's main gimmick when he was introduced was that he was crazy into games like RPGs and D&D. The final arc was mainly just a callback to their original D&D game with higher stakes involved. I guess the anime wanted the final arc to be faithful to the manga but it kinda does lose its impact and seems silly when the entire show up to that point was about duel monsters.

[@Chronoflation]

I always liked this arc. Atem losing himself and having to come to terms with the good and bad in his heart sets up his role in the final arc well. I didn't even know this was filler until years after I watched it. I think it did Mai justice and helped round out Joey's arc as well. I think it also helps that the anime respected the filler going forward, at least in terms of character writing. It would be nice if more anime could treat their filler like this

[@TurtleInTheSky]

The disgusted look of Yami's monsters at him before going to the sword of Eatos is quite satisfying. I really love Raphael's deck and they need to be brought back to the modern meta and give them new supports

[@randomedgygamer2191]

Finally someone who doesnt crap on this season, it was so much hype back then much more than some other arcs

[@Lightdasher360]

Right? I felt like it was getting a lot of undeserved backlash while watching this season's arc in YGOTAS. Sure, it's got some blunders, but I really don't see it being any worse than canon arcs of Duel Monsters.

[@GamingTopTen]

@@Lightdasher360 I really didn't see anyone hating Season 4 until little Kuriboh got to it.

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

It had a lot of plot holes but it was enjoyable for the most part.

[@WyrdFayth]

It was LITTERED with plot holes, so much of what was going on in the present day plot was painfully contrived/convenient, and I am fairly certain not one person working on it had ever seen a map of the US given how quickly characters bounce from coast to coast. The animation quality was also all over the place, which wouldn't be too bad on its own, but still adds to the list. AND YET- **It is my FAVORITE arc of anything ever.** Because even with all those glaring flaws, the "bad" parts are hilarious to me and the GOOD parts-- the characters and their arcs, the beautiful foiling between the new antagonists and the heroes, the patterns set up, some of the attention to detail at times in the animation, etc-- are AMAZING. It has been over 15 years and I am still so deeply attached. I love every character SO much. ;-; And it's always SO wonderful to see people praise this.

[@animanga9597]

WIll never forget back in 2004 seeing the pharaoh actually......lose.....for the true first time. The greatest twist of all time. Although In hindsight now I should've seen It coming with how well they built Rafael with his guardians and main character like backstory.

[@Divine_Serpent_Geh]

The Orichalcos Arc is the best one, honestly. It’s easily the darkest and most emotional arc of them all, for EVERYONE involved. The pharaoh is pushed beyond his limits in a way no one ever managed to do before or since. Dartz is a nigh-omnipotent villain that controls a power that puts the Millennium Items to shame, leading a three-man team of VERY powerful duelists that are going around literally taking people’s lives. Why? To feed an Evil God that will annihilate everything when it awakens. Honestly, no other villain comes close in terms of actual damage done. Dartz had actually been DOING it for 10,000 years, not just talking about it. Let’s not even get into dueling strength/deck... Dartz laughs at Bakura and Marik. He was the TRUE big bad of DM, as filler as he was.

[@ginogatash4030]

I guess that's also part of the double edge sword qualities of filler, it can be a boring waste of time if you play it safe but it can also be so well made and fun that it overshadows the actual main plot it's supposed to buy time for, leading to the Canon stuff feeling less impressive.

[@jetguy128]

yeah this arc was so dark and serious that next arc Grand Championship was just meant for fun to have a break from all those intense moments

[@requiem6465]

Virtual World arc was also pretty good since in the anime it actually gets referenced since his whole trauma from being groomed by Gozaburo into the buisnessman he is- IS one of the key reasons why he denounces magic, the heart of the cards and Yami/Atem's claim of being pharoah. He desperately wants to leave the past in the past, and focus (almost to a manic degree) on the future. Honestly the whole Virtual World arc *elevates* Kaiba's character so much I like to consider it canon.

[@Sigismund697]

Well it's simply taking what the original manga had already stablished and recanonized it since in the original Gozaburo kills himself after Seto takes over the company leading to both Seto and Mokuba turning into absolute monsters that go around torturing and killing people

[@dwainsimmons3447]

In the dub,Noah wasn’t dead

[@codster9]

Virtual World and Waking The Dragons were two of my favorite arcs. My only minor gripe with Virtual World is that it should have taken place AFTER Battle City was over.

[@requiem6465]

​@@codster9yeah thats the one strike against it I agree wholeheartedly with.

[@Salman.khan786]

So who else didn't know this was filler arc until over a decade after the show ended. I was honestly shook no lie. Especially because it was such a good arc and it fit perfectly into the over all story and show.

[@iatemycat5320]

Me who found the manga to specifically read THIS arc is absolutely heart broken

[@lrblueslowbro5302]

Pls never let the guy in 29:00 talk I had to end the video

[@noraneko4848]

Fr dude that dude is ass 😭😭

[@maxiuxoxo]

Same. Reading the manga I was disappointed it wasn’t there

[@Cindy67917]

I actually liked this arc because it shows how much I've grown to love Yami Yugi even more, although him playing the Seal of Orichalcos against Yugi's objections while dueling against Rafael still shook me to my very core to this day.

[@MegaCapitalG]

EXCELLENT VIDEO MAN !! Waking the Dragons is my favorite arc every bit as good as cannon to me. It’s super memorable and has excellent character development. My favorite part of the arc was Mai, it leaves her in a much better spot as a character.

[@EnigmaAnime]

Thanks!

[@Shalakor]

@bruhmanofyear2 Yeah, the entire anime franchise is built on the back of Pegasus still being alive with him and Kaiba having a monopoly on the advancement of the whole of humanity and its reliance on a children's card game for every aspect of life. Kinda bonkers. But it works somehow.

[@thatman666]

@bruhmanofyear2 5D's manga kinda established Yugioh seasons can have 2 canon, yet parallel timelines. (anime and manga)

[@Ramona122003]

How? The arc leaves Mai as a broken mess who feels guilty for betraying the world and her friends for power, and she never reconciles with Joey. She’s reduced to nothing but cameos in Season 5.

[@WyrdFayth]

@@Ramona122003 TL;DR - She's dropped entirely from the manga after Battle City, so almost anything is a nicer sendoff by comparison, but s4 gave her more time to cope with and get closure after her nightmare coma in Battle City, so it was nice. --- Long Version --- By manga canon, she woke up after a near death experience and cracked a joke in very poor taste about it, and then when they got back to the mainland, she smiled sadly and seemed like she wanted to say more but didn't, then left, never to be seen again. That isn't exactly better than not reconciling; she just falls off the map with no closure at all. In the anime, on the other hand? At the end of Battle City, Mai left not because of what this video claimed about thinking Joey going off on his own made him stronger, but because, in Mai's words, "Your friendship is too bright for me." Mai has been isolated her entire life, and is significantly older than the main characters to boot. She knows where Joey lives, at least the city, and he's going to school, so he's not exactly moving around. She had every ability to reach out at any point for help coping with the PTSD nightmares and panic attacks and feelings of emptiness that came from her trauma at Yami Marik's hands. She never did. She told her first friends ever that they were "too bright" and then isolated herself on purpose, and her joking about it immediately after waking up from her coma only to fall into despair later is recontextualized as a result. She didn't want them to see her like that. She didn't want to be a burden to them. And honestly? As a woman in her mid-20's who has always been entirely self-sufficient before? It would be weirder for her NOT to be spooked by something so terrifying happening so soon after she let herself show vulnerability for the first time ever, or for her not to be hesitant to rely on literal high schoolers to protect her and help her with her baggage. Mai gained more than power through her time at Doma, though. This video almost completely ignored him, but Valon was deeply important to her healing-- at least in the sub; the dub changed his characterization completely and cut out a lot of really important shit to boot, but I digress. Valon was someone who deeply understood and related to her, _especially_ her darker side and her struggles, as opposed to how she'd been afraid for Joey and the others to see what a mess she was. Between them, Joey saw the good in her and how she had the potential to improve, while Valon saw mainly the worst of her and not only accepted but adored her, not even "despite" her flaws but because of them. BOTH of them were vital to helping Mai find peace. When the Pharaoh called out in the end for everyone to think of the people who were important to them, who had faced struggles alongside them and formed their vessels of memories, Mai was the first person whose memories we saw, with her thinking of Valon, then Joey. Then when she did leave? She did not explain shit, and I'm not over that to be honest, but even if it was left unclear to Valon whether her Cyber Harpie meant "I'll be back" or "thanks and farewell" or whatever else, we the audience got to see her thoughts on it. "I'll become a duelist worthy of the both of you. Then I'll be back." Mai STILL was not ready to immediately rely on other people and keep them close, but her PRIORITIES changed. I deeply wish she HAD come back (and also would have loved to see more of the Doma trio tbh), but even without that, her goal was no longer "Be the strongest I can be and always win." It was "Get myself sorted out enough to feel like I deserve to be around the people who I now acknowledge are important to me, because even though I'm not ready to keep them as an active part of my life right this moment, I know I want them to be in the long run." 🥺 As for feeling guilty for nearly ending the world...... eh? It's definitely a reasonable assumption she has some of that, I agree, but we don't really see it in the end. And Yu-Gi-Oh! as a series is one that just kind of... never actually gives villains true redemption arcs. About the only character who was initially a violent villain and then became friends with the main characters through a genuine effort to become a nicer person and make up for his actions was Mokuba, and that didn't even make it to the anime lmao. Everyone else just kind of stops threatening the world and Yugi and co decide they're now friend material and move on (Pegasus, Kaiba, Marik, etc), so given the metric, Mai just kind of going "Well, that happened but all's well that ends well?" would also track well enough, eheh. She definitely did feel bad for betraying her friends, but again, she'd decided in the end to work toward feeling "worthy" of reaching back out to them, so that's still something. And then, while she only gets two more non-speaking cameos, and is never shown reconciling with Joey or anyone else we'd seen her meet before, in the credits cameo, we do see her dueling tag-team with Vivienne, a character she hadn't met prior but certainly has a lot in common with. She looked like she was having fun. We get that little taste, that hint that she IS healing and learning to make more friends, and that leaves it on a hopeful note. How would that NOT be better than just leaving the series forever without ever addressing how traumatizing her nightmare coma was?

[@freezasama5802]

Gotta say even though it's filler the amount of development and difficulties Yugi and his friends face in this arc is the darkest I've seen. Yami losing Yugi due to his arrogance and unwillingness to lose, Kaiba losing his company for the first time and left without anything, Joey losing his connection with Mai and being enstranged and treated as an enemy even though Joey sacraficed soo much for Mai in the previous arc which is very painful to see, Mai trying to fight her inner demons and being belittled and ambandoned by her friends, Yugi losing the egyptian gods making each duel dangerous and hard to win, Each duel having the soul at stake which makes each duel terrifying as whoever loses will suffer, Finally each character coming to know who they are as individuals and sacraficing their souls for their loved ones Kaiba, Joey and Atem and eventually defeating Dartz as a team with each redeeming himself it's an amazing arc and when I first watched it and saw Atem lose my spine shook and I trembled also I wept since Yugi was taken which is something I never expected best filler arc in the whole of Yugi-oh and I wish there were more like it

[@Divine_Serpent_Geh]

Yup. Everything you said 👍

[@deanfraiser]

I stopped watching when the other guy came in.. bad microphone, bad sound, sorry but I lost interest in the story because of him 😭

[@ChocoMePengu]

Same unfortunate too was a good video

[@potterinhe11]

I was so surprised by this, too. I almost clicked off the video. I mean, if you need a break, take a break and delay the video so you can finish recording the voiceover. Don't make your editor finish it.

[@Time2GetGood]

Holy shit right dude. I can’t understand anything.

[@Silver_Fac3]

Okay glad to know I wasn’t the only one who thought this. What a strange decision

[@soulevans7588]

Same. Ruined the flow, not to mention that I can’t understand anything because of the mic quality and accent.

[@jokerpilled2535]

I couldn’t understand a word the guy towards the end said.

[@Yugigreg]

I’m rewatching the Orichalcos arc right now just because of how good it was. It truly had good storytelling. Battle City was good - but only til really the end in the finals.

[@MichaelSD91]

This was an interesting arc. Joey and Seto have so much character growth in this arc. Seto vs Ameda and Joey vs Mai are some of the best duels in the series. Joey is a true duelist in this arc. One thing I didn't like about this arc was how Dartz pulled the strings on the 3 Musketeers of Doma. Gosoboro was an evil man and I think some of the virtual world arc like the sins of the father should have been explored in greater detail. I find it hilarious that Rex and Weevil were not mentioned in this video. What happens to Joey in the KC Grand Prix was bad for his character. For me this arc gets a 7/10.

[@sakuraryuji01]

Even as filler it was still done incredible set up for Yugi and Seto. I assumed that part about Seto getting the blame for Gonzuburo was a interesting plot feature. I assume Darts was maybe a past associate and just let the cards fall where they would lie. He continued to profit off the chaos and the souls that were maybe reaped in that conflict in the flashback of him in disguise was fed to his beast. Up until this point he just let the cards fall where they would lie as his risk and skill assessment of them. Like how much ancient Egyptian info did he know about. Cut to the part that Dartz was there when Zorc appeared in ancient Egypt. I think the fact we got Yami Bakura lying low during this arc to come up with a new plan and Pegasus change of heart presented opportunities to take out all his opposition all at once.

[@haroldnecmann7040]

Character growth? As much as I enjoy joey punching bakugan mc I don't feel that any character that you've mention ever endowed with any of character progression whatsoever.

[@kidkatanatv]

@@haroldnecmann7040 I always thought Valon looked like Dan Kuso too lol

[@M3rtyville]

Grand Prix was mainly good for Kaiba again and also for Rebecca. Joey didn't get the best treatement and even Rex and Weevil were treated like fodder.

[@Tuathadestrider]

@@haroldnecmann7040 Joey's character arc in this season was going from telling Mai what she should be thinking/doing to asking her to explain and genuinely trying to listen. Go back and watch the following duels, in this order: Joey's first duel with Mai in this season, Joey's duel with Rex, and Joey's second duel with Mai. Use the Japanese version (I love the English dub but it didn't quite capture this subplot). The character arc will come across clearly.

[@Vifoxxy]

Duro monsta cardo really wasn't mentioned in this video. Unforgivable

[@KaloKross]

anyways heres someone with a dollar store mic to mumble out the rest of the video, thanks for watching

[@ashleightompkins3200]

I didn't know this was filler until years after I'd watched it and it still scares the crap out of me because the stakes felt so real. The characters were in real, palpable danger because they were dealing with an almost entirely foreign element with the Orichalcos and, more importantly, Yami LOST. Not just a duel but almost everything!

[@stompingrabbit]

This has always been my favourite Yu-Gi-Oh! arc even if it's a filler and oh boy was it a treat watching this - also these video essays in longer format are amazingly written and really well portrayed, I highly encourage you to keep making these - awesome work dude!

[@EnigmaAnime]

Wow, thanks!

[@BlueSparxLPs]

Agreed both on the arc and the videos. I love long video essays and would greatly enjoy more videos in this format.

[@IceshadeComets]

You know out of each show, you tend to think that filler is bad, but when it is genuinely memorable and entertaining that's how you know it's good. Some other good filler arcs are the G8 Arc from One Piece and Crash Town from 5ds, both of these take place in the middle transition from arcs and both are upstanding, especially crash town as it gives us this western aesthetic for a yugioh show. For DM except for I guess virtual world because that was timed horribly, I think the anime did a great job as each arc was memorable.

[@alexandertsamourlidis646]

@bruhmanofyear2 meh the Aporia/Z-one arc was meh. Compared to the first 2 arcs it wasn't as great

[@cubah1]

This arc seemed like it has the best voice acting performance from everyone. It felt like real stakes

[@dwainsimmons3447]

In both sub and dub

[@ChocoMePengu]

The video ends at 29:10 I don’t mean to be rude but I genuinely couldn’t understand a word he said

[@spliffsforbreakfast]

No disrespect.. but I can barely understand a single word that Miruya is saying. Like BARELY. Subtitles really saved the day

[@leakypeach6250]

This arc is a weird one for me. On one hand, I remember it very fondly for giving the side characters and minor antagonists time to shine. It also houses some of the most iconic duels and capitalizes on Season 0's seemingly abandoned set-up for Atem. On the other hand, it takes characters whose worst qualities were cheating (i.e. Weevil and Rex) and had them join a death cult hell-bent on bringing the apocalypse. Even Mai, who was had a fair amount of growth throughout Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, is suddenly so driven to be the best duelist that she'd join a death cult and try and kill Joey. Also, this arc has one of my least favorite tropes where it was revealed that Dartz was responsible for all of the horrible things that motivated his lackeys. Overall, the best filler in Duel Monsters. But I'd hazard to say that it's in contention for "best filler arc" considering how it butchers some characters prior growth by the implications of joining a death cult.

[@cheyguy1211]

If it helps, you could argue Rex, Weevil, and Mai didn't know EXACTLY what they were joining. They might've just seen a group of powerful duelists and wanted to join them (or in Mai's case, Valon sought her out), and anything soul-stealing related could've come from the Seal's influence. Sounds like a cop out, but the Seal was strong enough to make even Yami play it. I don't think it'd have a hard time corrupting those three either. My main complaint is Mai breaking free from the Seal, just to lose offscreen at the start of the very next episode. The fact that she practically disappears after that makes it a harder pill to swallow.

[@leakypeach6250]

@@cheyguy1211 Eh. In Atem's case, it feels more like it was his own ego provoked by his opponent that caused him to succumb to desperation. Sure, there's a temptation aspect as seen with Dartz. But to say that they are blameless victims of either ignorance or magical temptations robs them of their agency and flattens out their characters, regardless (not that Rex or Weevil had much character beyond being obnoxious roadblocks for Yugi and Joey). It's a lose-lose situation in that case.

[@Sigismund697]

Both main fillers seemed to be attempts at bridging the original manga and Duelist by touching on Atem's original characterization and Kaiba's backstory

[@pendafen7405]

Tbf though, that is exactly, realistically and frighteningly how c ults grab and trap people into being acolytes. All it takes to recruit someone is preying on a small but persistent secret shame or insecurity, and these characters have no shortage of those.

[@brucelston]

The point is this arc gave those side minor characters refresh life to the story that would otherwise be ignored without the filler

[@comicsans3537]

Thank you! I know it wasn't needed, but god do I love this season. It's arguably one of my favorites because it's so over-the-top and shows a relapse in one of Yami's biggest character flaws, as well as his continual work on it. It addresses one of Yugi's biggest original fears with trusting Yami and it strengthens their bond as a result. It's done beautifully

[@jayd.doubledubs]

This was the first season of Yugioh I ever completed. Don't ask me why or how I decided to start with season 4; I just did. And I had a jolly old time. Seto summoning Doom Virus Dragon, Yami actually losing a duel, and Seto and Yugi activating their Duel Disks in sync were some of the coolest moments in the series. And yeah, the whole filler arc doesn't always look great, but when it looks good, oh boy does it look good Edit: DISTANT CODER LIKES THIS ARC TOO, LET'S GOOO!

[@svetlinnikolov8710]

This arc also did some character development for Weevel and Rex and showed what they were going through. The biggest character development missed in this video is that of Atem himself. After loosing Yugi his horizon is widen dramatically because he's present not only in duels but in the real life and he is there without Yugi to help him. The guilt he experiences after loosing Yugi changes him for good and at the end he manages to defeat his darkness (and that's why the orichalcos fails to get his soul). Mai was so angry at Joey because he refused to connect with her(he did like her and that scared him). What she was missing was human connection(we can see that from the nightmare she experiences in hell when Marik sends her there)so she was looking for power to replace it. Then Valon came and offered her power but also something she didn't have until then friendship. That's why she was feeling better but she was still angry with Joey because she had feelings for him.

[@AlexanderRubio-j4m]

Surprisingly, this arc was actually my favorite arc despite being filler

[@KingSpectre844]

7:04 correction. Odion was punished because he was using a fake Ra card, not because he's not a Millennium item user. I'm not sure where you're getting the notion that the gods can only be used by those carrying millennium items.

[@kidkatanatv]

He still wouldn't be able to use the real Ra though. But yeah only those powerful enough and have Egptian History can use them. MAYBE he could use them but I don't think so...

[@Keisezrgs]

Furthermore Mai could summon Ra as well, but can't read the text, therefore making Ra stay in it's Sphere Form and is basically useless.

[@WilliamTice]

Also Seto doesn’t have a Millennium Item

[@Keisezrgs]

@@WilliamTice Present Seto? Or Priest Seto? Bc he had the Millennium Rod

[@WilliamTice]

@@Keisezrgs Present Seto doesn't have a Millennium item. Priest Seto doesn't use an Egyptian God in the series as far as I remember.

[@Fubga]

Wow, there was a lot more meaning in this series than I took at face value. Thanks for the analysis!

[@EnigmaAnime]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MiruyaYT]

Thank you for letting me hop on this video! Glad I got to talk about one of my favorite characters haha And of course a nice video overall. The Waking the Dragons Arc deserves more recognition and appreciation!

[@Ironlord5]

The best part about all of this was when Dartz revealed that Egyptian powers have no affect on him or the leviathan God, since their mythology existed way earlier than the Egyptian

[@animal245533]

I found the second guy hard to understand. It was kinda of abrupt to change voice for the climax of the video.

[@ryanalan14]

I loved this arc! Mai wasn’t a sidelined character. She had grit & strength this arc as she was overcoming her trauma.

[@slospop1125]

I think this is a very underrated arc, I loved everything about this arc and the extra depth it gave characters. And I loved the motivation of the bikers and learning their stories. The pharoh's Dark side and dealing with the consequences of his actions Joey not wanting to find a way to end his duels in a draw to save Rex & Mai Kaiba having a sort of softer side Pegasus getting a chance to help the heroes, showing he's a good guy now

[@Grimfang999]

Thank you for doing this, and even with all you mentioned there is still so much more to discuss. Each member of Doma representing a mirror of each main character, the extremely well done management of Mais severe trauma from Marik causing her to push away anyone trying to form any emotional bonds, and thus dependancies, on her, the fact that this arc elaborates on what the Duel Monster World is and its nature as eternally bound to the human world, as well as even some of its origins, all of which would follow into future yugioh animes as canon, it really was fantastic. Not to mention the setpieces and duels being some of the best in the entire franchise, it is an excellent arc and doesnt even deserve to be called filler given its influence on the original series and all series since. Honestly, it is why it made me incredibly sad when LittleKurbiboh descrived this season as "the one nobody liked", when it was one of the most well-written and complex arcs of the show. Sure, there are conviniences, but I mean... this is yugioh, a show about a childrens card game, and both Duelist Kingdom and Battle City were FULL of conviniences. I love YGOTAS, but it genuinely did make me sad when he said that.

The Pharaoh gets more character development in this arc than in all arcs combined! Kudos to the writers of this filler arc, they managed to make is as iconic as the rest of the anime!

[@TrippleBPlays]

I always liked this arc for the most part. I really enjoyed seeing how much Joey grew as a duelist. It makes me sad as an adult realizing that Alister's brother is actually dead. Similar to Mako Tsunami's father being dead even with the dub insisting Mako is looking for him.

[@williamzeo2493]

I learned later on internet that this arc was a filer, it's so well done that honestly it didn't mattered and it have one of the top 10 best beatings of anime story: DURAOH, MONSTAR CARDO!

[@vanesslifeygo]

I once had a dream where Marik came back for the Orichalcos arc. It was a-m-a-z-i-n-g, but was just a dream TV show that will never be a reality.

[@Killer_Kotomibro]

The imagery of this arc was inspiring to me as a 14 year old nerd and I still doodle the Seal of Orichalchos, or as I would later come to learn the Unicursal Hexagram. An interesting metatextual note: the 4kids dub localized Amelda's name as Alister, referencing Alister Crowley, who used the Unicursal Hexagram in his occult texts and his founding of the Golden Dawn. The fact that none of the censors at 4kids noticed this is hilarious to this day.

[@deana6072]

That season was FILLER?! They did a damn good job that was my favorite season and I even have the dragons and all the other cards from it 0:53

[@TheMarston5000]

Leviathan vs the Egyptian Gods always gives me goosebumps.

[@themiddleman3060]

I'd wager the cards for this season are the number one quality about it. The orichalcos could basically start a shadow game. We get valon clad in his machine armor cards vs joey clad in his little trap card armor and subsequent red-eyes dragon card armor. We get raphaels gaurdian cards and their signiature equip spells vs yugis all new kuriboh relatives. Atop a flying plane, kaiba and his fang of critias vs allister and his flying fortress zigguratt card. And all of dartz's cards were greek cryptid/lovecraftian/golem/things. Allister and valons cards still havent been printed, making it all the more an underrated arc.

[@woof64]

this arc was always my favorite yu-gi-oh season by Far. it's the most memorable (to me) even years after watching it. i remember the duel where atem loses and the whole "hike up a mountain only for atem to duel yugi" thing so fondly. it was such an insane change of pace and veered the story in a completely different direction. i remember genuinely being on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen next. there were so many possibilities. all the new characters were great and hilarious too - this season had a goofiness to it i can't really describe, but it was So funny to watch the first time around. especially atem's DORO MONSTA CARDO overkill thing. good times.

[@snin3202]

*Let me be honest.* The concept of fusion with trap or fusion to make an equip by using Timaeus/critias/ hermos was fun and true to yugioh concept. Easily >>>>>>>> than synchro, xyz, pendulum and link combined.

[@GeekandGlory]

Also a fun fact, the Pyrimid of Light movie actually drops hints about this season, like having Mai watching the duel in a cafe while in her Doma outfit and looking bitter

[@sleazymeezy]

Joey! If you lose the duel you lose your soul! Yea, I got it Tristan.

[@FrostFinal]

If you lose the duel you lose your soul!

[@peytonashby6789]

My favorite filler to date is still the Virtual World. You get to see Serenity duel for the first and only time, and the Noah Kaiba story is actually quite good. Plus, it was the only time Spirit monsters showed up in the anime and they are still my favorite cards.

[@Lucario1121]

Side note I didn't knew that guy that use Yugi 's Obislek had a name, I don't think they ever even give him a name. He felt so unnecessary that Little Kuriboh joked in his abridged episode of that episode saying how he's just there to move the plot

[@hexamael9458]

He's literally named Gurimo, they just never say it in the Dub for some reason.

[@michaelfellner9822]

thank you for this amazing video. really liked the explanations and it once again proofed to myself that not skipping fillers in any anime ive ever watched was always the right idea :D

[@Stasy809]

Joey put up record numbers in this arc he beat Valon first try smoked Rex by flexing with gearfreed and then saved May. Atem lost his duel to Raphael and Kaiba beat his opponent after a draw. These 2 are basically the LeBron and Jordan of Yu-Gi-Oh and they are being carried by JOEY

[@dapa091]

While this was a rather long video everything was comprehensively and extensively explained thus making this a total treat to watch. Add to the fact that I am one of many fans who loved this arc. This video essay perfectly details why I enjoyed watching this arc.

[@EnigmaAnime]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@stripesmaccoonis9395]

I've always been torn with this arc. I won't deny that, on paper, it has a LOT of good stuff about it. The characters and their backstories/involvement. The overall plot and how it ties into the show's world building and challenge's Atem's ideals. The villains being mirrors of the characters they face, the stakes that are higher than ever, its all pretty solid. Where I feel it falters is in execution. A LOT of people don't know about Season 0, so needing that as a semi-backdrop going into Waking the Dragons is already a shot in the foot. From there a lot of elements don't make sense: The biker gang and possessed rats, they never mean anything and serve to confuse Doma's motives. Dartz being under the Oricalcos' influence the entire time so he can be left off the moral hook for his actions was a weak ending to his character. Dartz's family laying around to be killed in the episode they're introduced and have next to no baring on the plot was also odd. The other idea is the Duel Monsters Spirit World. Its mentioned in future shows, but in this one its literally only in Waking the Dragons. Nobody questions it, its just blindly accepted and never revisited. The Oricalcos as well is incredibly overpowered in everything it can do, and while its relevant to give your bad guys an edge to make them formidable, I feel the writers went overboard with the sheer amount of nonsense this card was capable of. Having said that, as stated the real shining point here was the characters and how they were presented. The writing for the bulk of the cast was strong and I wish the rest of the show had some of what this arc brought to the table. It may be filler and have its flaws, but people remember this arc a lot more than a handful of the others for a reason.

[@Lucario1121]

Bit of a fun fact, but we were suppose to get the Yu-Gi-Oh! R story from the manga in the anime, but apparently Takahashi was too sick to get it done, so I guess someone from the higher ups when with this season instead. I love all the points you bring up though, it's interesting since not a lot of people are fond with this season from what I seen online.

[@lpfan4491]

Well, er...obviously. If it was in the manga's original run, then it obviously would have been adapted instead...somehow(We definitly got the better version of events, because R does not work in a continuity where Pegasus survives).

[@Lucario1121]

@@lpfan4491 yeah considering the whole plot of D revolves around Pegasus dying. Idk they could done something like have the kid set out to get revenge on Yugi for cheating against Pegasus, like how they adapted Duke Devln between manga and anime.

[@kuroshinko427]

Waking the Dragons arc is so good that the Orichalcos archetype became an actual thing in the IRL card game and the Seal of Orichalcos card became bling card in many a player's binder.

[@maley2552]

My favorite moments are Joey's duels, I love when Joey is serious like he was going into his duel with Yami Marik.

[@AmericanGangstar2550]

Adding my 2 cents into Season 4 this filler arc was very heavily influenced by mythology. The story of Atlantis The Great Leviathan inspired by The Real Leviathan Timaeus Critias and Hermos as well were inspired by mythology. The Seal Of Orichalcos was inspired by The Orichalcum which turned out to be another form of value in Atlantis like Bronze Gold and Silver. I could go on forever

[@steveng.83]

So cute to see that in this stage of Yu-Gi-Oh there was still time to speak to each other and send a message in the way you dueled. I don’t see myself convincing Mai or Yami about the error in their ways while I’m performing an massive otk on their asses.

[@CoggedCG]

The fact that a filler arc went this hard is wild😂🎉 As a kid, I didn’t realize it a was even filler.

[@skeetskeet7041]

As someone now running a Fang of Critias build in my Labrynth control, gotta say this was one banger arc.

[@ThePrincessCH]

I kind of wish they explored Yami's separation from Yugi a bit more. Their relationship was my favorite part of the original Japanese series; Yami acts like the confident older brother that people tend to listen to because he comes off as more confident and experienced, while Yugi is the younger sibling that people don't take as seriously because he's cute. Yugi's soul has been at risk before but this was the only duel where that actually succeeds in capturing it. It would have been interesting to see them explore Yami's separation anxiety a bit more, and maybe have Dartz try to exploit Yugi's relationship with the Pharaoh outside of placing his soul in a Monster card.

[@XArctracerX]

I actually love this arc, and the orichalcos cards I wish we could see more of them in the actual card game, of course not to the same power level but it would be great to see

[@eveningswan4491]

Honestly I agree with little kuriboh when he joked around saying the plot got dumber every time someone said seal of oracalcos

[@sonic23233]

This arc brought a bunch of amazing cards

[@strongsuccessfulweeb1400]

The scheeal of Orchichalchamalos

[@Kryptictony]

This was the arc that got me into yugioh when I was younger

[@Chaosic]

Good video I like parts of Waking the Dragons,I like they made Joey Badass,Atem evil then became good again,excellent ost for both English and Japanese,Raphel,Valon.

[@Weasel_Face333]

FINALLY. People are FINALLY seeing how amazing the Orichalcos arc is. I'm so glad. Though I will say, you basically HAVE to watch the japanese version of this season, the changes 4kids made are just too distracting to even tolerate.

[@justafan5179]

100% agree on this being an epic arc, possibly the best of the series, but I'm not really sure what you mean... I've watched the entire 4Kids dub, and I honestly don't see any issues with it. They toned it down from pg-13 to pg rating, but I'm not sure how that makes it bad. It's very well written.

[@thecabbageman1]

@@justafan5179 Bruh they literally cut out the entirety of Valon's backstory, and severely trimmed both Rafael's and Amelda's. I didn't even know that Rafael's family died until this video. Nor do I still know anything about Valon. Not to mention that the dub also cuts Mai's backstory which serves as important context for her loneliness in her arc. Finally, without the full uncensored context of what happened in Atlantis and the violence that motivates the three musketers of Doma, it comes off as all of them being idiots brainwashed by an evil rock. Even the whole debate between Rafael and the Pharaoh, is framed very differently in the dub. There, it's not about his choice to put victory above all else, Rafael says that what makes him bad, is sacrificed his monsters to win after using the seal, which Rafael claims has the power to show people's true colors. But then, the dub frames the seal as brainwashing people, so Rafael comes off as a tool and a hypocrite, and the Pharaoh's arc feels pointless.

[@coyoted9251]

This was probably my favorite arc, and it was FILLER??? Crazy. I always loved Yugi getting a dragon, and Joey getting a dragon on par with Kaibas. Claw of Hermos for the win baby

[@RomnysGonzalez]

This is without a doubt in my mind. My favorite arc of all YuGiOh. I remember when i was reading the manga and i didn't found this arc on it and a friend told me "Ah nah. That was a filler". I was shock. I couldn't believe it. I just went insane thinking "How can this one be the filler went is so much better than pretty much almost all other arcs that are cannon"

[@Wuunderboy]

They say this filler arc isn't exactly canon.. But it honestly is the only filler arc that helps to truly explain EVERYTHING about Yu-Gi-oh. The real history of the monsters themselves and how they are connected to people's souls etc. And how the monsters were scattered around the earth before Egypt was one of the few civilizations to harness the magic capable of bringing these monsters back whether through the earth itself they were trapped in from after the Atlantis story Or through peoples souls. Dartz and Atlantis story explains everything! Which is why I think honestly Yu-Gi-oh has a future where we can explore other civilizations after Egypt having their own encounters with these locked away monsters after the Atlantis arc such as stories in ancient China, ancient Maya or Toltecs, or Greece with Red Eyes and Harpies/Amazons(hence Joey and Mais connection) where kisara could very much be a slave from Greece and Blue eyes could be connected to Greek gods hence why it was on par with Zorcs power for awhile, etc.

[@ez1953]

Konami: Yeah let’s skip the first few arcs for our new YGO series because people have already seen them Toei: Guys what if we made the entire first season of our new Dragonball series a shot for shot, lower budget recreation of the movies we just released

[@antepa112]

I always enjoyed the Big Five arc. I thought that Yugi and Joey vs all of them at the same time with 5 headed dragon and Kaiba/Yugi vs Noah were so epic and cool

[@sunflow57]

This arc had the most suspense without a doubt.

[@JakinsStudio]

29:11 longer videos cuz i can listen to em while I work!

[@Ghostwatson2929]

Man, This arc hit mee so hard... Die hard Yu-Gi-Oh fan.. mostly duel monsters.. Atem, Joey.. but, this Arc got me.. it went through a little of everything.. made me cry, laugh,.. and hype cold chill moments.. this Arc was amazing.. I love It shows how they all continue to grow also as people not just duelists.. love it. 💪💪