Why You Should Maybe Watch Yugioh Zexal (Review)

[@KaliceBrunel]

A couple of people have pointed out that Utopia CAN negate its own attack. Not entirely sure why/how I got thinking that it couldn't, my bad on that.

[@Heroduothecomedian]

I think when master rule 3 came out I think number 39 couldn't but the rules changed it near the end because of the manga verison of zexal brought out a s39 called Utopia double that could only come out if you nagated normal 39's attack and they brought it to the real card game so they fixed that ruling or at least that is what I heard Edit: who your favorite female character? Most my friends liked catty but I liked Anna. I love red heads and I'm a train fan boy and wanted a train deck in Yu-Gi-Oh ever since I watched the first Yu-Gi-Oh series lol

[@exceed6838]

Utopia negated its attack in the second episode. Is that what you were referring to? Because Utopia doesn’t negate effects.

[@Matthew-bm7xh]

@@Heroduothecomedian okay for starters master rule 2 introduced xyz And utopia could negate it's own attack from the very beginning of it's release I really don't know how you'd think otherwise

[@Heroduothecomedian]

@@Matthew-bm7xh ok so I got the master rules mixed up but I remember for about half way threw zexal saga of cards everyone would tell me I couldn't use it even judges at my shop but once 39 double came out they said it changed

[@Matthew-bm7xh]

@@Heroduothecomedian those judges where wrong Utopia could always negate it's own attack

[@JadedFrFr]

Correction: Utopia CAN negate it's own attack in the actual game.

[@KaliceBrunel]

Looked it up you're right, misconception on my part. Thinking about it now, I was thinking of how you can't use its effects to cancel something like your opponent's mirror force. iirc, yuma uses the effect to achieve things that you can't in the actual game. but tbh I'm far from an expert.

[@Lucario1121]

He literarly did that in epsiode 2 so he can use Double or Nothing's effect.

[@scottvgamer1163]

Mecha Dragon101 he also used in the first duel against Nistro and Dextra.

[@elijahtrujillo932]

Utopia Double is a cool OTK Play

[@Liliana_the_ghost_cat]

Funny enough you can't do this in duel links for some reason

[@vanessalee1901]

Okay, in Yuma's defence, he's literally a beginner at the start of the series. His older sister spent most of his early life actively preventing him from learning how to play duel monsters properly which is why he doesn't understand some of the most basics of dueling. I personally really loved the fact that he was a bad dueler at first who slowly improved over time, for me at least, he was incredibly relatable. Another benefit is that the rivals are extremely competent duelists that Yuma actually benefits from dueling because they actually help him improve.

[@jeevanjetty889]

Actually facts tho

[@megaguy-pp9kc]

Yeah, it's actually the reason that ZEXAL is the best series for newcomers to the game to watch first.

[@中华民国万岁-c4g]

@Jamal Robertson That's because he's a 13-year-old child, not a 30-year-old.

[@Z.ynapse]

@Jamal Robertson He *was* bad. He's the best duelist in the entire show by the end of it. After his *extremely* close duel with Kaito, he doesn't lose a single one afterwards. Actually, he doesn't lose at all during the Duel Carnival Arc except to Kaito.

[@aozorahaou2643]

ZeXaL is basically Naruto with card games what more could you want if you're a fan of Naruto.

[@mitchmml]

Astral every episode: imma die if Yuma doesn’t win this children’s trading card game

[@lynxaway]

And that’s why I love it

[@mitchmml]

lynx me too

[@scottvgamer1163]

Reminds me of where he dueled Shark and tried to let him win, and that whole time, he forgot all about that until Astral reminded him after the duel.

[@allthelanguages7945]

We need an abridged zexal show here on YT

[@youtubecoppa3406]

Oh no what if Yuma used a banned when it midnight

[@linkfan6555]

People seem to think that Yuma was the first time a protagonist cheated lol. The pharaoh manipulates destiny to get perfect draws everytime, Jaden creates cards mid-duel just like Yuma though it’s not as in your face and so did Yusei.

[@questrequested9171]

indeed they did, Yuya (arc V) did it even in the very first episode lol

[@animephase9165]

Bruh, when did Yusei ever cheat?

[@questrequested9171]

@@animephase9165 accel synchro was basically him making up cards and because he said they exist, they indeed existed

[@animephase9165]

@@questrequested9171 Huh? Wait, so name a synchro summoned card that didn't exist you say. Lol, get it? you say? Yusei? sorry

[@questrequested9171]

@@animephase9165 well in context of the story... shooting quazar dragon, shooting star dragon

[@elin111]

The biggest reason Zexal was so divisive was because of the sudden and VERY drastic change in tone from 5D's, going form a grim story about humanity's self destructive nature and the idea of undoing past mistakes... to a childish collectathon for a wannabe Atem? The first few episodes certainly did not help that notion either. Granted Zexal did become more serious in the later half, but the damage from that initial reaction was done. Yuma's constant asspull cheating got old quick too. I agree fully that the best thing Zexal did was blurring the line between good and evil. It's a good plot twist that the Astral World is actually the ones causing all the conflict out of arrogance while the Barians are acting in self defense.

[@slevinchannel7589]

I could Rant about Zexal for Hours, but just a quick Question: Are these Kids Alright?? I mean, seriously, are they braindamaged or what? One goes over the Street without looking, one Sleeps in a Tree, one goes over a building site, merrily ignoring all Warning Signs... WTF?! Shark (good character in Season 1) got a Bunch of completly Nonsensical Decisions and Reasons for being the Bad Guy and just fighting his Friends Bugged the Heck out of me, I've never seen a valid reason for his actions and that fucked me up so hard until the very End. This Character alone deserves hours of Rant. And of course, the Main Character: Raised by his dump Parents to be a Loser. Just that. He would have been the last Loser in Life, School and Card Game, too lazy to even Read his own cards (Canon Fact by the way) forever, if not for Zexal. His Parents simply failed. People overlook this because they are emotionally manipulated.

[@jaykettavong4109]

I didn't like the handling the baton the tone change from 5ds emotion end to zexal kiddy beginning

[@elin111]

Yuma is the protagonist that cheated the most, ZEXAL was straight up asspulling whatever card he needs out of nowhere whenever he wants to without needing to have it in his deck, there was even one time where he literally takes a card already in his hand and rewrites it into a different card. Judai was the only protagonist that did not cheat one single time, he had overly specific cards but he NEVER obtained them mid duel, the Neo Spacians and Neos Fusions were always obtained before the duel so he never broke the rules to obtain cards he shouldn't have and use them to win unlike Yuma who did that all the time. Yusaku came very close to also not cheating because while Storm Access was just as much of an asspull as ZEXAL, it was an actual game mechanic that he had to build his decka around so it wasn't technically cheating. However there was the one single time where he did illegimately obtain a Link Monster without Storm Access so that was indeed cheating.

[@Lucario1121]

Oh boy, I'm sure that won't happen again when transiting from Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS to Yu-Gi-Oh SEVENS

[@aozorahaou2643]

I'd argue the dub didn't do it any favors either

[@mikeykitty1235]

In the english dub, it was still pronounced as "Zexal" even though it was pronounced differently in japanese.

[@shahbwaj7528]

Mikeykitty123 it's always pronounced "Zexal" though

[@neondisguise1587]

@@shahbwaj7528 not in Japan. The actual name of the anime is "Zeal" or however you pronounce it

[@sandman7170]

Probably because the "X" sound doesn't exist in Japanese language.

[@midshipman8654]

sandman7170 eh, but it’s in the name. So it was intentional. I don’t think it’s a linguistics mix up. The L/R distinction doesn’t exist in Japanese either. And I know kingdom hearts characters have the x sound in their name.

[@vedza12]

@@sandman7170 nah in first opening of zexal they write zeal leater by leater

[@michaelglynn7010]

I liked the fact that he wasn’t the best at first, because by god this whole “We beat the best duelist in the world in episode 1!” Was to me getting fairly overdone. I’m glad he learnt and became better over time. Also the fact that he had competent rivals in Shark and Kite was great. Honestly an underrated YuGiOh show in my opinion.

[@zad_rasera]

And that one time when Astral "died" and he had to beat the most powerful being in the Astral World all by himself. That solidified my love for the show. From that point until the last episode, the anime was an endless hype train. I feel bad for people missing it out.

[@中华民国万岁-c4g]

@@zad_rasera I loved Zexal from start to finish even the first part. Unlike other anime and Yugioh series, I didn't even mind the filler episodes because we actually see Yuma grow throughout those episodes.

[@MrMarinus18]

I really, really love the Archlight family. All of them are just so different yet such strong characters. From the morally upstanding but determined and sometimes ruthless III, to the emotional, jovial and sometimes insane IV and the calculating, mature and occasionally coldhearted V. I just love how much they love their family and how hard they all work for each other. While they may not always agree with each other the bond between them is undeniable and their loyalty is unshakable. I really have a strong love for very loyal characters and they absolutely were that. For me the Archlight family made the duel carnival arc. I adore that tag duel against III and iV. Or the individual duels of III against Yuma, IV against Shark and V against Kaido.

[@rigrace]

The intros are amazing. In Japanese and English. And Astral is savage. Best character by far

[@gabrielevitariello425]

@name change They are both great characters. My favorite ones are Vector and Nash/Shark

[@chadthegoat9673]

@@gabrielevitariello425 does are cool too minr are kite and astral

[@gabrielevitariello425]

@@chadthegoat9673 they are also awesome

[@ellius4294]

So besides from ep 14 and 25 where can i start the show to get track of the main plot and skip most of the bullshit b/c if there is no way to watch it like that imma skip through it and just watch the kite/quatro arcs and thank you

[@MrMarinus18]

9:40 I actually love that kind of structure the most. When it feels like every episodes is plot relevant it makes the characters and world feel like just elements rather than actually real. Doing it like this allows the situations to exist on their own and be more believable. It's why I still really love Zexal. Because it build things up in a natural way so when the major plots start to happen and things are being threatened there really is a sense of stakes. You really feel the need to protect the world because it has so much in it. It also gives more weight because it means that if they say they have been working hard on something it's true and you have seen it.

[@swordkingx4874]

Too be fair. Yuma needed to use Hope to beat other number monsters, as in the anime only a Numbers can beat another Numbers. And there were duels which Yuma didn't use a numbers monster.

[@t0pdoc]

In a nutshell: Everything is absolutely gorgeoys and amazing about the show and Yuma's VA and energy are absolutely invigorating along with the rest of the cast although they outshine Yuma for various reasons

[@knightghaleon]

And the Barian arc was the right level of dark it needed to have a good conclusion.

[@ellius4294]

So besides from ep 14 and 25 where can i start the show to get track of the main plot and skip most of the bullshit b/c if there is no way to watch it like that imma skip through it and just watch the kite/quatro arcs and thank you

[@katzuma7641]

I wish people would stop calling it a “children’s card game” I mean in the context of the anime the monsters could actually injure people and some people straight up die. I think the game goes far beyond just a “children’s card game”

[@Zarugoza5969]

But Yugioh is just a children's card game (that I will never understand)

[@katzuma7641]

Jewelpet Fanatic Aru I mean, competitive yugioh is not for kids

[@Zarugoza5969]

@@katzuma7641 True but that goes for competitive anything

[@elin111]

The vast majority of Yugioh players, competitive or not, are above 20 or even 30 years, main reason being that Yugioh is an expensive hobby so the people who can play it reliably are the ones with jobs who can afford to spend the money. Kids with mommy's allowance might get a pack or two but they are unlikely to stick with it for long.

[@katzuma7641]

Ekkk I totally agree on that

[@nerdkingalpha4958]

yuma's hair can block a sword

[@shxjvya1578]

The reason I like zexal more is because it's more relatable than the other series because you don't start off as a great duelist irl so I like how yuma improves as the series goes on.

[@mezasepkmn]

Dark Magician : 37 ( 41, including GX & Movies ) Elemental Hero Neos : 40 ( 41, including BBT) Elemental Hero Flame Wingman : 36 Stardust Dragon : 30 (Including YGO 5Ds Special and BBT) Junk Warrior : 20 Number 39 : Utopia : 44 Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon : 41 Firewall Dragon : 6 Decode Talker : 11 Yuto : Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon (6) Yuya : Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon : 18 Dark Magician Girl : 19 (Including Movies and GX ) ( NOT COUNTING REVIVALS )

[@MegaMachiOnline]

What about Dark Magician Girl & Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon

[@mezasepkmn]

Machiyuu-gaming I’ll add those two I guess, but I always considered Dark Rebellion Yuto’s Ace, so I could never consider it being Yuya’s secondary Ace.

[@neondisguise1587]

@@mezasepkmn what was all that for? Was it all the times those monsters were summoned?

[@mezasepkmn]

Neon Disguise yessir.

[@chadthegoat9673]

GALAXY EYE VOLTRON DRAGON

[@megasean3000]

The Barian arc is one of the best Yu-Gi-Oh arcs in the entire series. The villains are tragic and understandable. The heartbreaking scenes of everyone dying is incredibly sad. And Vector is one of the most rounded villains in Yu-Gi-Oh history.

[@stonefree7973]

I see you everywhere 😀✌🏾

[@stonefree7973]

Glad you appreciate Zexal. A lot of fans seem to shit on it because of the tonal shift from 5Ds.

[@livinlikeallan]

Yugioh was missing a villain like Vector for a long time since Marik in my opinion.

[@elin111]

Marik sucked as a villain, he rarely did anything really threatening and constantly had to rely on cheating and would've gotten his ass handed to him multiple times had he not blatantly cheated and physically handicapped his opponents.

[@trueblue6201]

@@elin111 Agreed Marik is a very overrated antagonist from the first series. He was interesting until his duels when you realize that but for unfair circumstances he would have lost every one of those duels.

[@bradorthebeasthideassassin9388]

holy shit the MC in Zexal sounds 1000% better in SUB not bullshittingat all. I seriously couldn't watch this show cause of his DUB voice.

[@c3eo125]

Yuma: sounds like a kid people: Okay! Yuma: *Is not in elementary school* People: Oh

[@miladyragnarok8371]

Prepubescent child

[@linkfan6555]

I think that’s a big reason why so many people stopped here, I ended up switching when I heard his sub voice and I usually watch all my anime dubbed when I can but yugioh Subbed is just cool. Zexal is my favorite and the final arc is so cool

[@c3eo125]

@@linkfan6555 Yuma's voice was kinda annoying in the first few episodes but then it really grows on you I guess

[@critically587]

The sub is great

[@70Lu07]

one of my favorite villains come from this series, Tron is such a good villain, he has backstory, motives, resolve and intelligence to be a good villain, manipulating everyone around him, and now some spoilers even his own sons, he used everyone just so he could get revenge for what faker did to him, and that's fucking awesome, he wants nothing but faker's death, and thank to this Yuma needs to stop him so no one dies, and even after that he goes against faker to stop him from destroying the astral world, Kaito finally rebels against his father to save his brother, haruto, from becoming a battery to a mega weapon, and Shark is there just to support his friend that saved him from the darkness twice, Tron wanted to kill other bad guy but killing is bad so this makes him the bad guy too so yuma has to kick two butts at the same time

[@shawnjavery]

Yuma's dad was also sacrificed, so he has a personal stake in it and still chooses to take the high road.

[@Colby_-ih2yd]

One of my favorite sayings is, "It's not how you start the race that matters. It's how you finish," and boy did Zexal finish strong. I was pleasantly surprised by the contrast in quality from the start of the show to the end of it. Definitely the most underrated Yugioh series.

[@smudged4090]

@Santiago Scarpino Yep! In my personal opinion, I'd rather watch a bad start with an awesome ending than a great start and a bad ending. Probably explains why I prefer Zexal over Arc-V

[@theflashgordon193]

idk season 1 & 2 was a torture to get through for me. the last arc seams better and epic but i just loose interest in the show.

[@red2432]

Boy did it become dog shit toward the end, it shows what's wrong with yugioh and why it's garbage now.

[@cherrycreamsoda4253]

Zeal is the Japanese version. ZeXaL is the dub version

[@amrovine4029]

Kaito is my favourite character in All of Yugioh too Amazing background story Badass Has so much character development Smart , Caring , Conflicted , 3 Dimensional .. He is just a perfect character followed by Judai in 2nd and Yusei in 3rd

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

Galaxy eyes dragon is like half pendulum dragon but cooler

[@thejunksynchronhero]

As someone who’s watched every series, and loved them (except GX), I felt that Yuma not knowing how to duel; like at all, was refreshing. It wasn’t jarring, it was great, it reminded me what it was like for me to learn.

[@TheUltimateCancerCell]

Yes I agree with you, and also didn't really liked GX either. The first season was cool and all but the after that, things just got weird and complicated.

[@Rei-O-Rei]

Not loving GX is a crime, after all, how are you gonna chill out with the crew at the schoolyard otherwise?

[@dipper-the-one4050]

@@Rei-O-Rei yeah I agree hating GX is a crime GX is one of the best or even the best series these people clearly haven’t watched the other seasons

[@blackbun130]

GX was simply the best for me because the first two mediocre seasons were so mastermindedly set up to lower all your defences before season 3 kicked you in the gut with depression. No other Yugioh show had surprised me as much as the tone shift of GX and honestly, Jaden definitely had the best, most tragic character development.

[@MrMarinus18]

For how poor of a duelist he's supposed to be Yuma actually only really loses 2 duels that were fully shown. Against Shark and against Kaito. Which is not unusual for Yu-Gi-Oh protagonists. In fact Jaden lost 3 duels and had 2 draws.

[@trueblue6201]

And in not fully shown duels he lost to Bronk, Lilybot, and Caswell.

[@chadthegoat9673]

@@trueblue6201 yuma lost like 64 or something in the beginning of the anime but they werent shown

[@trueblue6201]

@@chadthegoat9673 I think his total losses were closer to 33 with most of them being off screen duels with Bronk. Though his loss to Kite at the end of the Zexal 1 was his last loss in the series and the rest of his duels he either won or had no result (like the duel against Mizar where after he was hurt Kite took over).

[@chadthegoat9673]

@@trueblue6201 true and all of those 33~ losses were before he was actually a good duelist.I am 100% sure that Jaden and Yusei have definetly lost battles before,but that was before Stardust dragon or before Kurby.Same goes tu Yuma breing Utopia

[@trueblue6201]

@@chadthegoat9673 Jaden had about 5 defeats in the series. He had 3 on screen full duel defeats to Zane, Kaibaman, and Aster. We see him lose a duel in his childhood when he tries to summon Yubel. He also lost to Syrus in a training episode before exams (we only see the last turn and no duel disks were used). The only protagonists to not lost on screen are Yusei and Yusaku. Yusei should have 2 official losses. He lost to Jack in a flashback and he should have lost his duel against Kalin though his bike broke before Kalin's attack could connect. He also probably should have lost against Team Unicorn but Jean was goaded into attacking him instead of ending his turn as originally planned which would have won the duel for Team Unicorn. Yusaku on the other hand is only shown losing as a child as part of the Hanoi Project. Most of the speed duels he would have lost but for his skill (like his last duel against Gore where after Gore negated his skill suddenly Yusaku can use his skill again).

[@smallzkewl]

I remember watching this on nicktoons and falling in love with it this show is the reason I got into yugioh and loved watching this every single day

[@PlanetZoidstar]

Kotori/Tori gets way too much screentime for someone who never does anything important.

[@megasean3000]

Greatsaiyakirby Except yell Yuma’s name a lot of the time. Cathy was a way more useful and likeable female protagonist.

[@miladyragnarok8371]

PREACH

[@nebulastar2371]

Personally I would have preferred it if Too was the main female lead. She's the most interesting and most plot relevant female character in the show while Kotori was honestly really annoying and it always bothered me that the writers put her in situations where most of the time she had no reason to be in

[@matts5164]

It's probably a contract thing. The voice actress need a line every episode, which force the writers to give her unnecessary screen time.

[@PlanetZoidstar]

@@matts5164 Makes me wonder if in that case she was deliberately given a useless role out of spite for her contract giving her a line EVERY episode?

[@danross2144]

My top 4 favourite characters are... 1. Shark 2. Rio 3. Vector 4. Kaito

[@smaugtheunstoppable1973]

As I see we have the same mindset

[@michaelmichael3903]

I'm ok ok no 1.kite 2shark 3. Anna kaboom 4.flip

[@1stktte128]

1. Astral 2. Ray 3. Yuma 4. Kite

[@amrovine4029]

1 Kaito 2 Vector 3 Shark 4 Quattro 5 Mizael

[@naomisisk4663]

Shark Kite Quattro Rio

[@13EqualsB]

I want to note that you actually can negate Utopia's effect with his own attack.

[@KaliceBrunel]

yeah someone else said so a while ago and you're both right. I think I was thinking of how it can't negate already affected effects, but tbh I can't remember the specifics of it at this point.

[@MrMarinus18]

15:40 One thing I did feel was that the atmosphere of the duels was not as diverse as in 5ds. It's what makes the Dark Signers arc so great for me. Leo/Luna is like a fairytale good vs evil, Akiza is very tragic and melancholic, Jusei vs Kalin is very chaotic and crazy, Crow vs Grigar is sad and masculine, Jack's is mysterious and puzzling, Yusei vs Roland is very heavy on dramatic meaning. Every duel feels so different from the other while the Barians didn't feel so varied despite arguably having more varied personalities. I do like the duel against Don Thousands simply because of how over-the-top it is. It's taking every ridicules thing about usual Yu-Gi-Oh final boss duels and multiplying it tenfold. It's just so much dumb fun without really many heavy emotions or plot elements getting in the way. I did like that Yuma and Astral had so many more moments together. I did feel like that could have benefited the original quite a bit. It was usually just Atem at the forefront with Yugi taking a back seat.

[@swagguy7515]

Yugi’s victory over Yami in the finale does not feel earned to be me. I still think its the perfect sendoff to the orginal series and that all but like Yugi as a duelist hasn’t been set up at all over the course of the story. We as the audience think Yugi has big deck energy not because we’ve seen Yugi be a dueling chad, but because we see Yami be the dueling chad - and because they inhabit the same body and practically look exactly alike aside from height we correlate Atem’s skill with Yugi’s. I’m totally nitpicking here but I do think this softens the blow of Yugi vs Yami. Man, I think I just want more little Yugi duels with his cute little deck. They needed more screentime to establish Yugi not as Yami’s think buddy during duels but a competent duel in his own right. Commeting 2 years later….what am I doing…

[@cartruckslap]

I personally think Zexal is the best yugioh shows it has the best story, characters and has really good themes of family, fear, hope and revenge along with this it has very good villains and good duelling action, also all the filler isn’t bad. Every other show in yugioh suffers from a problem zexal does right

[@TheJoethud22]

Zexal is the best Fight me Also with the Yuma opening hand in his first duel he could have beat shark with just two cards Ganbara knight and set bye bye damage. Shark had his monster equipped which boosted it to 2200. By attacking into ganbara knight he would set off bye bye damage And take 4400 back and ending the duel

[@naomisisk4663]

I think that was the point. Showing just how bad Yuma is. Also I will fight you on that, let's take our opinions outside

[@smudged4090]

Aah the likes on this comment are 39 I want to like it but I can't! Somebody do it for me! Or not?

[@neondisguise1587]

Zexal is the best in your opinion. To me, I really liked Arc V, then 5Ds, and then Zexal

[@totallynotzokix11_mc21]

Let's see if you can convince me to watch Sevens in a two to three years when it ends.

[@ODDITYDESIGNS]

so basically Yugioh Zexal is Cardcaptor Sakura ???

[@driftingswordsmanzer]

Dam Don lol that’s so true. 😂

[@mrana4186]

Now that you mencion it...yeah

[@okami_kamkam]

This is my childhood, more than Pokémon. I am so glad someone else enjoyed my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh show the same as me.

[@pokemaniako21]

I felt personally ofended that yuma only used baby tragon like only 2 times. Also, unpopular opinion Gagaga girl > Dark magician girl

[@kermitwithamustache3885]

Cause she goth?

[@likepolice5769]

Fegeldolf Shitler some people are freaky like that doe

[@kaitohiroyuki122]

You are entitled to your wrong opinion.

[@linkfan6555]

Imagine if Yuma used a rank up card on baby Tiragon

[@Lucario1121]

My friend will agree with you lol

[@crystalfox2276]

One thing i recommend to new viewers is to google zexal episode guide (it's on Adreus's tumblr blog) and just watch the episodes in those orders and, like the blog says, DON'T GIVE UP UNTIL YOU MEET KAITO IN EPISODE 13 I'm currently on my first watchthrough of Zexal atm and, while I admit the guide could be tweaked a little more (some character development episodes for Yuma are not included a la 15 and 16 and the guide assumes you understand who Yuma's friends are as people who've had Numbers collected from them) and while episodes 1-12 were okay (I skipped around though as per the guide's suggestion) the episodes REALLY pick up when Kaito appears. From there the plot gets more exciting and, considering the guide skips you through what I guess most people consider the boring shit, you're more actively engaged in the story and don't really feel Yuma's incompetence as much as you feel his growth and feel the tension in the plot grow. For all the problems mentioned here, I felt none of the problems with the so-called sluggish pacing (aside from the first 12 episodes, of course) and Yuma's dueling never became repetitive to me (though I do notice Hope is called out a lot). Also, I'm only on episode 50 (the party episode where Tron is a creepy kid who honestly gives me shudders because his VA is THAT GOOD at terrifying me) but everything so far of the non-filler episodes has felt like a plot that's been well-polished, which leaves me craving more, and if it weren't for college work i'd be binging this shit (which says A LOT because I NEVER binge shows). And I know the show's supposed to pick up in Zexal II but for me it's actually picked up since the Kaito episodes (Actually EVERY Kaito episode is a good episode, even the one where he saves a plane from crashing to the ground lbr) and I'm living for every moment of the show - especially the good duels with the one with Kaito & Yuma vs. Those Two, any Kaito duel, any episode with the Arclights honestly (also IV's fanservice is The Best Kind of Fanservice Because It's Not That Kind Of Fanservice). So, yeah, I highly suggest that guide for newcomers coming into the show (and don't be like me and spoil some of the important plot beforehand such as Rei (y'all know what I'm talking about), Yuma's past, etc. because, trust me, some of the surprises that even I myself can see coming will knock those who know nothing about them WAAAAAAY out of the ballpark :D)

[@cyberinzektor2183]

10:50 Fun fact: you can use utopia's effect to negate his own attack. There isn't any restriction saying other wise

[@Zoomerremover]

Little correction- actually you can negate Hope’s attack with its own effect. The video game judges always check for that effect when you attack.

[@livinlikeallan]

The ending of zexal was probably the best out of the first 4 tbh but yeah the beginning was the worst of the 4 lmao

[@theflashgordon193]

why that ? it's the same ending than in the first serie

[@sadchad348]

Gx was stinky dogshit for all of season 1 and so was the original. I thought they were good too when I was young, but try watching them now your older, it's an atrocity.

[@angusbeefyeung]

@@theflashgordon193 its similar but not exact same. Their reason to duel each other was different.

[@KasaiWolf07]

Tbh I honestly loved what they did with Shark. He could have been another Cyrus or Crow but he got something much better.

[@Sovl]

EVERY SINGLE YUGIOH PROTAGONIST HAS CHEATED and somehow Yuma is the only one who gets shit for it

[@othmanechekhmane4451]

How did yusaku cheats if you don't mind me asking

[@Sovl]

@@othmanechekhmane4451 adding cards to his extra deck using storm access during duels

[@Sovl]

@@othmanechekhmane4451 adding cards to his extra deck using stоrm access during dueIs

[@Sovl]

​@@othmanechekhmane4451 аdding cаrds tо his ехtrа dеck using stоrm аccеss during duеIs

[@Sovl]

​@@othmanechekhmane4451 .

[@bobjankins5456]

If you thought Zexal was a little too light-hearted and childish, you’re in for something else with Yugioh Sevens

[@elin111]

Knee jerk freak out reactions.

[@Yo-er6no]

ygo seven is heresy, for me it doesn't exist

[@naomisisk4663]

Don't remind us

[@toocoldtobother7271]

I skipped it entirely

[@spiritwildfiregaming1975]

At least they're finally changing the look of the cards. I swear these things feel like mini-books with a picture on them. Even Magic The Gathering doesn't have it that bad.

[@MABfan11]

it's such a recurring thing with the people that have watched Zexal, the first half was pretty bad, the second half is amazing

[@TheUltimateCancerCell]

How was the first half bad?

[@MABfan11]

@@TheUltimateCancerCell a bit too lighthearted and childish for those that were expecting it to be as serious as 5Ds before it

[@TheUltimateCancerCell]

@@MABfan11 Well I wasn't expecting it to be as serious as 5Ds (I never actually liked 5Ds that much)

[@christopherb501]

@@MABfan11 Abolish your expectations with narrative, people; it'll do wonders for your enjoyment.

[@themarshian5124]

The first half wasn’t light hearted, even before the barians arc the dispute between Tron and Faker made even involved in a tuff situation, especially Kite and The Tron family

[@CommanderSteelTrap]

Zexal is the best Yu-Gi-Oh series, in my opinion.

[@reidwebb4621]

This will always be my favourite series. Probably because this show was what actually got me into Yu-Gi-Oh in the first place, but also because I just love all the characters and wacky story beats. Also, the dub theme song (Take a Chance) is incredible.

[@trueblue6201]

Agreed. This is the show that got me back into Yugioh after I stumbled upon the episode where Yuma faces off with Anna Kaboom and her train deck. Such a fun show.

[@negaman8479]

Yup,the best thing this yugioh series brought to us are the villians,not only are they powerful,they got a whole back story to every single one of them

[@Lasherluke]

Vector is the best yugioh villain ever

[@hewwartt]

Agreed. He was my comedy relief. 😅😂

[@naomisisk4663]

AI

[@IrregularHunterDash]

Vector made the third part of Zexal more enjoyable tbh. Was sad when he died.

[@mrwildzilla7069]

He even trolled me and made me go in tears.

[@kamelali9739]

Don thousand vu:

[@profula]

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL! Is really underrated. It's my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh personally :)

[@OutwardLyric]

I've always wondered why I loved this show so much. I literally just found out that Yusuke Urameshi's Japanese voice actor also voices Yuma, my favorite yugioh protagonist. FUCK YEAH!!!!!

[@raulrojas9253]

Surprisingly enough, Zexal starts meh and goes better, dark, edgy and funny and also epic, i can argue is probably the best Yugioh series so far and we are going into the 6th one.

[@forbidsin2919]

nooo fucking way your serious. the big three (5ds, duel monsters and gx) are definetely the best. since the rest are trash the least trash out of all of them is zexal

[@matts5164]

5ds and Dm I can understand why people called them the best but freaking GX? What's so great about a show that has no direction for its plot and how it abandoned most of its side cast writing for the main character. If GX is aired today people would call Gx trash imao. Though I will admit at least its more fun to watch than Arc-V's second half

[@keyonj8815]

That's cool, my favorite is 5ds, but I respect your opinion, I also like Zexal to

[@kylebarany]

@@keyonj8815 hey dude should i watch 5ds? i think synchros are neat and the main character seems cool but maybe ill watch zexal

[@keyonj8815]

@@kylebarany you should ifs really good

[@keyonj8815]

Thanks for this bro, I really needed this

[@PaperReaper]

Vector is just the best thing that happened to the franchise tbh. That guy had no filter XD

[@maytalacedo20]

Shark was an interesting character to watch at the beginning to the barians arc where the plot twist with shark got me invested which was way later in the show but that was impressive.

[@mariaevens8969]

tbh, Zexal was my first yugioh series i've watched and still remember watching. (the first yugioh i only remember the Opening Monster on the screen and me wondering why i never got any nightmares out of them but, instand from the Teletabies °

[@okarathesaiyanemperor3582]

The whole part of yumas character in zexal is that he starts from the bottom all the way to the top whilst losing that of which he holds dear Which Yuma finally understood what that is All wrapped up

[@kathrynvincent1563]

The amount of crushes I had on a majority of the characters was... a lot (Luckily I was their age at the time)

[@regiman222]

3:09 The 1st antagonist usually is: Kaiba, Chazz, Jack, now Shark. All are assholes at this point in their story.

[@CommanderSteelTrap]

Zexal is in my opinion the best of the yugioh’s

[@lbesavant]

ZEXAL can incorporate filler quite well

[@AntinomyTG]

Commander SteelTrap same this is the only yugioh series I like

[@thunderthunderstorms8828]

You forgot about how the hair serves as a weapon as mentioned by mall cop Watch out for the hair!

[@mar-tgaming2948]

I first got into Yugioh by watching Yugioh Zexal, so I have always had a soft spot for Xyz Monsters and this anime even if it tends to be rated kind of low for Yugioh anime

[@ratchetandclankfan2]

i think its worth a watch just to see the monster with 100,000 attack points and get to see someone with more then 100,000 life points

[@evanveizer3831]

Even though this is an old video, I’m pretty sure in duel links you can use Utopia’s effect to stop your own attack but you need to change you’re ability activation options to toggle. Don’t know about the regular card game since I don’t play it but I do play duel links.

[@Osindileyo]

The rulings in duel links are the OCG rulings. They share a few differences to the TCG though.

[@applecheeks21]

This was the shit that got me back into ygo after 5Ds made me drop it right after the Crashtown arc. Yuma became one of the most relatable protagonists in ygo as a whole. The character designs were very good and the voice cast was pretty high up there. There were a few issues, but other than that it’s a pretty overlooked show with an pretty open ending. I think that was neat.

[@marikasamogin]

I've never been a big fan of Yu gi oh, I only saw the first series as a child, then I saw this one on TV and overall I liked it. I think the strong point of this series (which is why I followed it) is the relationship between Yuma and Astral

[@TheBleachj16]

Like or not, Zexal is still by far the best animated Yugioh show.

[@wingzero-0014]

Zexal is a good show but not the best Yu-Gi-Oh series

[@TheBleachj16]

@@wingzero-0014 I never said "best show" I said best animated. Which it is, the show is gorgeous.

[@ButtTrauma]

If only they would do away with the 3d models for monsters. They look so much better the older way.

[@neutralino1905]

I can't rank the 6 Yugiohs in order of how much I like them, but Zexal is definitely near the top.

[@Matthew_Murray]

I’m so far enjoying Zexal, I’m still very early in and it took me a good five episodes before I began to not completely despise Yuma. He is still annoying but not bang head on desk annoying. He is at his best when he and Astral work together as a pair. Otherwise, my only problem with the show is that I can only find it dubbed and I’m afraid I’m missing a lot of important context. Overall I like it above all GX and Arc-V but below DM and 5Ds

[@DrMDHyde]

Aspiring Emperor Hope? I can’t say which I like more, this, or Utopia.

[@jessicamarshall1975]

I liked Yuma but the focus on Yuma’s school friends in the series really annoys me. With the exception of Shark and Rio (not sure if they are exactly friends but they do go to Yuma’s school) they do almost nothing for the plot and you could probably rewrite it so the series still makes sense without them. I loved Shark, Rio, Kaito and the Arclights though. It kinda feels like the plot (other than collecting Numbers only really begins when Kaito arrives and even then it doesn’t really get going until the Haruto arc. I probably also would’ve changed the order of duels in the semifinals (Tron vs Droite is fine first then either V vs Kaito or Shark vs IV (The first is more important to the lore and plot overall but the second is more emotional) then Yuma’s duel then the other duel not already shown. I got a little ranty. I like Zexal, it just sometimes super frustrates me.

[@regiman222]

8:21 Gotta love the generic 'any monster of the correct level' XYZ's makes understanding how to play a lot easier, then you get to more specific ones, which are usually arctype specific so it's not too difficult an upgrade

[@christopherb501]

"archetype"

[@electrickeeper6462]

I feel like zexal was made for people just feeling down so you come to this kid whose just never giving up and just gives you a good laugh

[@4nrew]

Like Yuma's dueling; Zexal started off pretty slippery, but ended in a complete different league.

[@that_guy55]

WHAT IT'S PRENOUNCED (ZE UL) Ive been calling it zexal and I'm gonna carry on to call it zexal till the day I die

[@poldipstickman6790]

Imagine one of the mc summon their ace monster like utopia or galaxy dragon and the enemy just said i open my trap bottomless traphole and banish your monster and also i open my credit card and pay 99999999999$ to summon five pieces of exodia 😂

[@shinigamikiragami6886]

Utopia can negate it's own attacks because utopia doesn't specifically say it only negates monster effects, utopia double is a card literally printed for the self attack negate double or nothing play Yuma uses alot throughout the series, recap wasn't my fav but its alot better than most with alot of character development to yuma from zero to hero, in fact zexal reminds me alot of all the other series, yuma having a pendant like yugi that has some otherworldly person guiding his plays that is usually more technical than the protag, starting from a guy who played for fun like Jaden only to become someone who duels to win because losing meant the end, and the comparison to 5ds is that the main plot begins because of thier dads, yuseis dad caused zero reverse awakening the earthbounds leading to a future where everything was destroyed by synchros, where Yuma dad found a portal to astral world where he recieved the pendant that will lead yuma to fight the barians to destroy thier world. Also fun fact, the ending episode enemy could of been the fusion duelists from arc v or even zark rewriting the yugioh universe LOL XD

[@Nikpredmi]

Just started the show and can say after first 3 episodes I love it, it gives me GX vibes

[@hockeycrafter6086]

11:00 you absolutely can negate your own attack in the actual card game. They even printed utopia double or specifically to do that later

[@thatguyintherain3168]

I love the original of course but Zexal had a special charm, fun duels, fun characters (kite especially!) and it was just in generally fun to watch

[@silvertongue.242_99]

I definitely enjoyed that Yuma didn't know how to play that bad it was a first and I thought it was unique. I kinda of use to relerning shit in card game animes tbh

[@christopherb501]

"relearning"

[@ShadowRealmZ373]

Zexal is the best series don't @ me

[@themarshian5124]

Agreed

[@Juth2003]

i will stand and die on the hill that zexal is the single GREATEST generation of yugioh to be made.

[@starlordturnbull8649]

it is my faviote season of yu go oh of all time because yuma starts off as a not good dueling charter then as series go on he was beating everyone

[@ryanwakebradtelle8682]

So exceed summoning is like Synchro summoning except without tuner monsters, and the same way every other type of summoning works individual cards can have specific requirements. There that wasn't so complicated

[@christopherb501]

Certainly beats Pendulums.

[@heatsflamesman5353]

The number xyz monsters are my favorite part of Zexal

[@floricel_112]

Because it has Kaito in it and Kaito is the second best rival in the series hands down, who carries the show throughout season 1 (especially the 2nd half) and the story is really amazing in season 2

[@cdg.1]

Japanese : Hope, hope slash blade English: Utopia, rising sun slash

[@Linkhood]

Astral is Yuma's stand

[@holdenk380]

you actually CAN negate your own attacks in the real game, and there is a utopia card MEANT for it. utopia double, which searches double or nothing. if your attack is negated you can attack again and the attack is doubled, meant specifically for utopia negating your own attacks

[@fukkendermohammed]

That saber Astolfo avatar is good civilisation. Got him with 30 quartz

[@mrwildzilla7069]

The best thing is the story always making me want to know what is gonna happen next.kyte,shark and astral are sick but his other friends are annoying.

[@dylexnesdoth6623]

I got 138 number cards in irl. I heard there was a 139th number card revealed by konami. Number F0: Utopic Future Dragon

[@VixYW]

Number F0? F0? Is this a jab at Nintendo or something, Konami? lmao

[@dylexnesdoth6623]

@@VixYW F means Future 😂

[@luckyassassin1238]

10:56 u can tho. it text says 'when any players monster declares an attack'

[@danielthemaniel8601]

Yuma himself has even used this effect on a number of occasions

[@chrisbailet8940]

Kaito's our boi. He got done raw on all sides. Do Arc-V next!!!!

[@originalusername7415]

Yugioh zexal is the most realistic version of yugioh as we’re pretty close on augmented reality and with the kaibacorp channel attempting to create a version of yugioh to work with the windows augmented reality glasses

[@blackfrost_fan]

My favorite yugioh anime

[@calebchometa1382]

You know, regardless of what you think about it's quality-- it had some fire duels. Any time shark was dueling you knew it was gonna be dope.

[@calebchometa1382]

@ULGROTHA you got me, be proud of yourself dude

[@Titanxzero1]

I actually like the Rollercoaster Duels, but that's just me.

[@promisnwekenta9703]

How? The amount of rule breaking, casualness.... ruined it completely. Hated it a lot. Almost on the same level as kotori and KOTORI IS ONE OF THE MOST HATED THINGS IN MY LIFE

[@Titanxzero1]

@@promisnwekenta9703 Dude chill out. It's my opinion, I just liked it, deal with it. Jeez...

[@promisnwekenta9703]

@@Titanxzero1 what chill out? Also i dont care if its your opinion. It doesnt make it immune to criticism. Deal with it.

[@Titanxzero1]

@@promisnwekenta9703 Dude I'm telling you to chill out, cuz you were freaking out over my. I don't care if you disliked it. And I don't care if you criticize my opinion over a fucking anime. For one my opinion in particular isn't that big of a deal, it's a fucking card game anime for one. And I'm aware it has flaws, but they don't bother me enough to hate it. Also I don't have to deal with anything because you decided to bitch at me over this. Seriously, people like you getting pissy cuz people like what you don't like. Yeah, I'm going to say chill out, it's not a big deal. What you say does not change my opinion at all. So again, deal with it.

[@Titanxzero1]

@@promisnwekenta9703 Also your not even giving me any constructive criticism, your just whining that I liked something that you don't like a child.

[@acethethirdking]

Can't wait to see a review of Arc-V!

[@jeevanjetty889]

Unlike most people, yu gi oh zexal is my second favourite series (first is DM) and I really liked it.