Yugioh's Art Style Has Changed

[@pk_tuneworld]

Hey all, hijacking the initially pinned comment (sorry funny Jerry Beans Man guy) to provide you all some "patch notes" on stuff written/ said in the video. Just want to make sure all of you come out of this video informed as opposed to misinformed. *[1 - Regarding Kazuki Takahashi]* A key component of this topic that could have been talked about more is Kazuki Takahashi's original intent with his artwork and Konami's shift away from him as the two became less involved with one another (and the former unfortunately passed away). There are two interviews cited in the description of the video: in both, Mr. Takahashi talks about how, though some of his works were definitely intended as simplistic designs of things he enjoyed and or thought others might enjoy, others exemplified parts of the human condition like fear or friendship (Source #7). This is apparent in older cards. Furthermore, in order to print those older cards, Konami likely traced much of Takahashi's art and added additional touch-ups to them before applying them to the final product. As Takahashi became less involved in production of the game's art, Konami likely took it in their own hands to follow more modernized trends in the industry, which led to the more normalized (anime) art styles we find frequent today. - *[2 - Regarding Yugioh's Status as a Shonen]* Yugioh was originally intended as a Shonen anime. These types of shows were typically marketed towards teenage boys (around ages 12-18). This bit of information can be used to support the point made at 6:06. - *[3 - Mislabelling of Manga Panel]* Referring to the panel of the delinquent being burned by Yugi (rip the dude) at 4:37 as "Season 0" is incorrect, primarily because "Season 0" may not be considered an official term. Thus, the scene was actually taken from Volume 1, Chapter 4 of the original 1998 Yu-gi-oh! Manga. - *[4 - Alternatives to Anime's Rise]* Though I talk about anime becoming mainstream recently, an argument can definitely be made that those 90’s anime’s are what made anime popular in the west. And, in this case, it’s better to say anime simply became more socially acceptable recently (while being popular/ “mainstream” for some time). Please note that I could not have made these additions without many of the viewers commenting below. Extra sources are listed in the video’s description if you want to study this topic further - my video only talks about the matter in a surface-level manner. If any of you catch any other errors with the video and or wish to add details to the pin, please comment below!

[@Jordan-kz8rw]

I forgive you

[@Jordan-kz8rw]

Things have been different ever since Jerry Beans Man

[@Mimiyan_or_Pikapikafan]

​@@amanewithjesusall hail Jerry Beans Man

[@PrettierNPastel]

​@amanewithjesus5244 praise Jerry Beans Man🙏

[@legalam]

The first waifu

[@JerryBeansManFan]

bless you for noticing me 🫘🫛💚

[@LilPGKing]

What does jerry beans man do?

[@FenixHalcyon]

One thing to consider is how the art was made. Many original Yugioh cards were traced directly from Kazuki Takahashi's original manga art which was originally drawn with pen and paper. They likely were then taken into a more primitive version of Photoshop and painted up while keeping the original style intact. Fast forward to today and digital art is a lot more advanced, and most of these cards feel like they mimic modern anime digital art trends in the way they are painted. Because of that, most cards level of detail feel like their art was meant to be viewed fullscreen on a monitor rather than jammed into a tiny card window. The shift in subject matter away from dragons and demons to waifus I view as having a lot to do with the game shifting away from Takahashi's hands to Konami wanting to find the most marketable themes they could.

[@3cho_dimension285]

Most plausible comment

[@therobloxmonkey6704]

True but I feel like some cards are just less inspired. I guess that's my problem with some cards

[@tot3mpted]

you should check out the art book from kazuki his art has drastically improved and just a different level from the manga

[@pk_tuneworld]

Oh, definitely will! You just reminded me about this actually - I recall wanting to check it out before but forgot. I'm a sucker for these types of works where artists explain their methodology or show their growth over time (e.g. there are some videos like this online for artists drawing gacha characters).

[@mavisb.vermilion5881]

It was bound to change eventually, we are not living in the 90s anymore. We get better tools, better devices that help us to get better arts. The shift didn't only happen to Yugioh, it happened to all other media as well. But I agree that we have a lot more variety of cards now because Konami is just doing business, everyone can get their share of favorite type of monster.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Completely valid point, and one I definitely could’ve brought up in the video! I didn’t realize it, but you are right; sure, there is a shift in culture, but a shift in technology is also promoting this change. The better tools we have enable all of these more detailed artworks. It’s possible we might expect Yugioh’s archetypes to lean more into this type of stuff or whatever the next popular art style is.

[@sardinee4564]

Well look at something like magic the gathering, its gone on for a lot longer than yugioh and has managed to keep a consistent aesthetic even though the tech has "improved". Just because the equipment changes doesn't mean the style has to as well, yugioh already had a large following early on, changing the style for the sake of increasing broad appeal is just a sign of greed and lack of respect for the original vision. If people want "anime style" cards there are dozens of various tcgs for them to play so konami should have just let yugioh stay as real yugioh because the art didn't get better, it changed and for the worse.

[@mavisb.vermilion5881]

@@sardinee4564 Fair point that the style cound be kept unchanged intentionally, but it will not always work. Asking for Yugioh to keep its 90s style is like asking for the nowsaday anime to be the same as the earlier days, or the gaming industry keep using outdated graphics. In my honest opinion people just feel nostalgia on the old cards that they can't accept the change. Some may see successful with the retro style, but they have to make up for it with something else. There's always risk involved if you are going down that way.

[@DG_Raizen]

​@@mavisb.vermilion5881Yep. Plus you have to adjust for the various tastes of your target audience. Regardless of how much older us card game types are getting, Yu-Gi-Oh is ultimately a product designed for children to young teenagers. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Konami is more than happy to take our money, but from a longevity standpoint, you want to get your product in the minds of future customers early so you can earn their money for decades to come. To do that, you have to evolve with the times, regardless of whether or not us longer-term customers want or enjoy.

[@index3876]

Frankly, you don't understand the first thing about art if you think better technology necessarily equals better art. Very often better tech means worse art because it becomes mass-produced and appeals only to the most generic, most "streamlined" style possible.

[@mairain6443]

Kanan the swordmistress, thunder nyan nyan, Gemini elf, Fairy Injection Lily, Dark Magician Girl, Harpies and Charmers. All examples of early cards which are "wifey" or "anime". the only difference now is the card is "cleaner" and i prefer the change.

[@塔羅星]

This. Specifically when wokes keeping stuff ugly female in every IP, yugioh still willing be desirable more and more. We shall need support an IP make decide like that.

[@pk_tuneworld]

You're absolutely right! Though it's definitely true we have more of these "wifey" and "anime" archetypes, to say they didn't exist prior is certainly outright false. "Cleaner" is a great way to describe it - you can see this in some of the reprints of older cards (e.g. DMG has seen some alt arts in previous years, and you can tell how different things are now than from 2000).

[@themoonlitduelist7395]

*waifu

[@vonakakkola]

you know the irony about charmers? is that old monsters of this archetype are cute anime girl but newest monsters are actually monsters (the familiars like "jigabyte" or "Nefarious Archfiend Eater of Nefariousness")

[@mairain6443]

@@vonakakkola Oh for sure They also have the links which are back to anime girls. the Cataclysmic forms which got their own monsters/Deities. And the level 5 Channeler versions of the Girls, the only one missing is Eria. I honestly think Charmers have the most interesting lore of which we know nothing about. I wouldn't be surprised if they make a manga based on them one day, like they did for sky striker and are about to do for the spell caster city archtype

[@majidoujaa5592]

we are talking as if we didn't have dark magician girl and harpie lady in the original. modern yugioh has grotesque monsters like Alba Zoa or Dis Pater

[@Lucario1121]

Funny enough both from the Albaz lore, I think people see Abaz and Ecceslia and go "This is getting too anime" and not bother to see the grotesque aftermath that happens to the Dogmatika in that series.

[@pk_tuneworld]

I do bring this up in the video! In the second chapter, “Was Yugioh Always Like This”, I mention how cards like the ones you mentioned indeed existed for quite a while. Though the title may be a bit clickbait, overall I try to talk about how we’ve shifted to much more clean (and maybe generic) artworks compared to those older icons. Though if I missed anything else, please let me know! I appreciate the feedback, and these videos are meant to promote discussion.

[@Lucario1121]

@@pk_tuneworldI think its kinda rude to call the artstyle "generic" like, each series has its own different ways of drawing anime girls for example. Pretty sure you can't put say a Genshin Impact character on a card and not have people notice

[@pk_tuneworld]

@@Lucario1121 Fair point. I didn't mean that as an insult - was moreso just trying to point out how some series do end up looking the same (the Isekai genre bar a few is a decent example). Though I'll be more mindful of things.

[@vonBoogaloo]

Honestly the early 5Ds disproportional and oddly grotesque designs (things like Montage Dragon and Nitro Warrior) will always represent my favorite era of Yugioh art style wise

[@NekrozValkyrus]

Trap Eater is my fav 5Ds style artwork

[@frankaxe6700]

Hey some of my favorite monsters

[@pk_tuneworld]

5DS was banger - not only was the art really sick, but the story felt miles ahead of some of the newer shows (Zexal was w/e, Arc V was good at first but then ended up being too rushed, and Vrains was neat but had a lot of filler in the earlier seasons).

[@darkjoey3767]

Caius, dark end dragon, colossal fighter! All great designs from that era! I guess it's why I keep playing edison format more then current

[@RTU130]

Hmmm

[@spyro2002]

Yeah I definitely agree that there needs to be a good balance. To me what make yugioh so unique as a game is that the theming can be anything no matter how serious or silly. The big I. imposing dragons and mighty warriors of combat are just as important as the sentient fire hydrant and the rpg penguin party. Also I love them seer variety of sources yugioh pulls from. The divine comedy, Star wars x Woz, not to mention the deep religious concepts albaz and visas take after, a lot of this stuff is super cool and I frequently only learned about something because it was the inspiration for a yugioh card. Heck they don't even reserve this treatment for big archetypes, even a random pack filler card like "the cuckoo commanded to crook" references a Japanese poem about 3 famous generals (look it up if haven't btw it's a pretty interesting story). For me this showcase of culture is a huge aspect that has kept my love for the game over the years.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Yeah, as much as some people might hate on Yugioh for how oppressive certain formats can be, the game truly is one like nothing else. All cards in all zones on the field can be a resource (unlike mana-based card games), your deck can be anything from a lovecraftian horror to a bunch of sushi (or both), and you can play literally any card (that isn't banned) printed since the game's conception. Some archetypes like you mention are so rich in their particular theme that they draw you in (e.g., DDD drawing on various historical figures really sold me on the deck). Some commentators have pointed out that I might've exaggerated how much anime-esque archetypes are present nowadays - this is potentially true. Though, I hope Konami continues to maintain balance. Thanks, by the way, for watching and offering your take!

[@AzNZinc]

They printed Mementos pretty recently! New archetype centered around obscure monsters. Although I can't really consider Dark Blade obscure, a lot of obscure monsters got retrains.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Yeah, they are sick! . "Memento" is describes objects used to remember things from the past, and that's exactly what the archetype achieves. There's also supposedly some cultural significance behind the individual names of each Memento monster. But, since I don't know what that is, I'll refrain from making assumptions :P Thank you, by the way, for watching!

[@sardinee4564]

Konami makes retrains of old cards all the time (one recently is that of mikazukinoyaiba), alot of the old obscure monsters however are extremely ugly, when people say they like "old yugioh style" they mean like blue-eyes and battle ox not something hideous like goblin calligrapher lol.

[@VakovoSheggorri]

​@@sardinee4564i look at traptrix and think....it should have been him...

[@Observe-h1t]

Dark Blade while not equally obscure as other was still one of unplayable card back even in his era, even Key Mace who see play in meme deck Zushin back at 5ds era still included.

[@Dr.Frogerston]

Honestly, a lot of the newer cards just feel too "perfect"

[@x-mighty7602]

I wish we went back to the time when most monsters were actual monsters. I love those surrealistic designs of old archetypes like the Ojamas or the Photons monsters.

[@Acidonia150reborn]

Yeah I hate it when you see a game with Monster in its name about monster Collecting yet they just show off boring human looking ones like Digimon where all strongest ones are just Humanoid Knights.

[@pk_tuneworld]

We still get some archetypes in that vein of "surrealistic design". Individual cards like Dispater, Ty-Phon, and Tokusano Shinkyojin are really unique. We also have some really weird archetypes like Suship and Tistina which are completely different than what we've had in the past. Though I can understand if these examples still feel different from the older stuff. Older art styles just hit different sometimes, as ppl similarly say when comparing 90s animes to modern day stuff.

[@bernardthequagsire2373]

My only problem with the modern art style is that the cards just look too messy to me. At some point I just pretty much stopped looking what is going on in the cards and most of them are just a blur to me these days. To put it simply, some of the art is just too complex, too much going on for a small image.

[@otterfire4712]

I disagree. Most monster art centers on the monster itself with a bit of an extra aesthetic added in to help clue in where it belongs in archetypes. Fire Kings and Rescue ACE are surrounded by fire, but FK have a wider variety of flame colors and are more simple in shades while R-ACE is more at the heart of a wild fire. The only times art becomes clustered is in lore cards spells and traps where there are several characters involved in a situation that the effect of the spell/trap tries to represent. F.A. does a pretty good job with both parts of this, monsters are in their special courses, the field spells segments of different styles of race tracks (off road, city, stadium), and the quick spells are different scenarios that the F.A. monsters might be in (high acceleration, maintenance, pit stops, testing the vehicle). Spright Smashers is a clustered card where its initially hard to make out what is happening but that's due to several conflicting archetypes appearing on the card, as represented by the card's effect. You have Therion, Spright, and Springan all clashing on the card and they each have a unique effect to use on Smashers.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Very interesting take on the matter! I can see your point that some cards nowadays are extremely noisy in terms of what's going on. There's a lot of colors or characters or actions going on in one image. Though I kind of appreciate this in terms of lore-building. I gave the Visas lore shit in this video, but I like how all the cards, regardless of how cluttered they can be, tell a comprehensive story you can follow and possibly come to admire. Just my take on it though, your opinion is still valid! Thank you, by the way, for choosing to watch this video!

[@allovertheworld5048]

I would say that it is the pose or the angle of the art of the cards that make them look worse than they should. For example, compare the art of the new skull guardian which looks average and the reference art which looks badass.

[@Triler500]

I think one of the reasons was due to the fact theres no new anime to base cards on, the lore of the game only relies on the cards now, and for that it needs recognizable characters. World legacy, branded, visas lore are full of these because its character conflicts that make most of the lore. Duel terminal had its fair share of those like the ice barriers and nekroz, altho overall its cast was more diverse. World legacy and branded gave us much better lore and stories than duel terminal ever could very probably the shift has a part in it.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Ngl, I really like this theory. I mean, there can still be an argument to be made that the more anime-like cards started being produced prior to the main game getting more shows. But I do like how you brought in how some of the newest archetypes a part of the more long-term lore stuff might serve as an alternative to a new series.

[@Suristheskeptic]

Isn't Yu-Gi-Oh go rush a thing though?

[@Triler500]

@@Suristheskeptic ygo rush cards are completely different fron the tcg

[@pk_tuneworld]

@@Suristheskeptic Go Rush is a thing, but the game is its own format. Aka, Rush Duels aren't the same as main game duels. We don't even have Rush Duels here in America (yet?). Furthermore, there was a really good comment that pointed out that, though Yugioh is primarily a Shonen (marketed towards teenage boys), Go Rush is clearly marketed towards kids.

[@Suristheskeptic]

@@pk_tuneworld ah fair Yeah if we compare it to 5ds and og Yu-Gi-Oh there's definitely a different target demographic

[@Chaosic]

I like both the old and new artwork of yugioh cards. The original Yugioh manga and anime will always be my favorite. Great video dude.

[@PhilFromSchool]

i think it's largely to do with archetypes too bro In the old days cards could just be any random crap like island turtle or slot machine, nowadays they're characters that belong to an archetype. so if an archetype is human-based, all of its human members would increase the amount of humans in yugioh. and the default art style for humans is anime even the oldest archetypes like amazoness and gravekeeper had more of an anime spin, rather than a western/realism spin

[@SylvesterAshcroft88]

There are a few outliers like Berfomet the Mythical King of Phantom Beasts, who looks a lot more like a magic character, and has a much more artistic style, but it seems like a lot of mainstream monsters that appear in the anime, outside of Dragon archtypes, are becoming more homogenised.

[@sosaxphoenix]

I really like how you sourced every clip you used and even referenced the music too.

[@pk_tuneworld]

As someone who's primary occupation is in science, I find it so important to include stuff like that. Also, so many videos online just don't add that information and it's so annoying to have to have to dig around for a really dope song. Thanks for watching :D

[@nathankeel6667]

Wail the "waifu/husbond" ification of cards has increased I dont think it has come to the cost of the former form of card design if anything the "animification" has only increased the different types of card design were we can have things like bystials, rescue ace, and tearlement all exist and not any of them feel out of place so it feels like yugiohs art sytle has had things added to it more then changed but great video either way.

[@amanewithjesus]

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

[@avazimbokaluky1335]

Absolutly correct, while we have new "anime style" cards lile tearlaments and labirynth we still have the bystials, ishizu, unchaind dogs, volcanic...

[@pk_tuneworld]

Oh, definitely agree! Like it's not necessarily a bad thing that we're getting these more anime-esque archetypes (unless you're in the minority that don't like them). As you say, they've paved the way for some really unique decks. My channel's primary archetype, PUNK, for example, falls into this realm of anime art, and yet I'd argue it's one of the most unique decks I've ever played. So long as Konami doesn't go too ham on one type of art style versus the other, this game will remain incredibly diverse and fun.

[@sardinee4564]

I feel it did come at the cost of the integrity of the game's aesthetic, Yugioh already had a lot of visual diversity throughout even the manga but all the monsters still looked like they belonged in the same world, however as the history of the game progresses the cards have so much deviated from the original style that they are now almost unrecognisable as being the same game. Not only has the game got far too much variety in it''s card design so that it is now basically the "everything" game, it's also lost a lot of what made the old cards so cool, like the simpler designs, creepier monsters and rougher art. People may be under the illusion that the soul of the old game still exists, because of cards like that are "like old cards" but whilst an old monster like helpoemer was cool and creepy and clear in what it was whilst a monster like dis pater is just a grotesque clusterfuck and not at all like an cool old card in it's actual design, they just never print cards like helpoemer anymore and that really sucks.

[@avazimbokaluky1335]

@@sardinee4564 yugioh "lost its art style" as soon as the lost millenium with winged kuribo, its really not a new thing. Also they do print cards like helpomer,dis pater has a very similar style just with modern tech enabled improvements(like clearer colors with better contrast and more details)

[@jmalyousef5240]

It also has a lot to do with the cards as a medium. In the early days, most of the monsters just needed to look cool/cute, the story was being told through the anime. However, as time goes on we get less generic creatures and more interconnected stories. Duel terminal and world legacy lore is vast and complex, and sky strikers even have their own manga. We even have old generic monsters get lore, like skull servant. The focus nowadays is more on telling a story through the cards, so the cards have become characters, many being anime style humanoids, instead of just some creature to fill out Yugi’s deck.

[@ThunderWolfSUSYIMPOSTER]

*Outer entety Azathot enters the chat*

[@korutodark7855]

That card really gives MTG vibes tbh.xD

[@pk_tuneworld]

True! Great example of a card (and archetype for that matter) that really pushed the boundaries of what Yugioh could achieve. I wish Konami had made more Lovecraftian cards, but maybe they'll do so in the future!

[@luis1237]

2:46 in the 2003 TMNT Intro Raph did that same scene from Akira

[@EmmanuelMarin07]

There's even an archetype that's basically vtubers. Crazy

[@RiriTheGreat]

The old school Yugioh art was basically MTG but made in japan, now is like they're trying to compete with Vanguard and Duel Master in terms of art style. Nothing against it, in fact I love this art direction.

[@Yomi2012]

I wish the modern yugioh cards where more creepy looking. Bring back decaying corpses, horrifying demonic creatures, bloody heads, haunted killer dolls, savage looking beast,

[@akmalfakhruddin7285]

Bystial Dis Pater, Zombie felgrand,

[@herlastborn]

Memento are weird, Bytstials are cool, Ghoti is kinda cosmic horror. You don't see any "decaying corpses" unless it's a zombie type and most demons or beasts are usually reserved as abominations that the heroes of the lore have to face, like in the Albaz story line.

[@ezmel5766]

Here we go it's that time of the year again where people start the debates and discussion on how yu-gi-oh "lost its way" and how Konami keeps pandering to the waifu bait crowd, as if these kinds of cards rarely existed prior. Everyone always brings up the old "remember when yugioh was had "actual monsters" but seem always seem to ignore that we had cartoon versions or regular monsters, a magical gir, and bird women in bdsm gear. like we can cherry pick a bunch of random examples of all these waifu bait cards/decks like "sky striker" "exocister" and what not, while also ignoring all of the other Ten thousand cards and archetypes, like "snake-eyes" ,"Horus" "Bystial", "Volcanics" "Illusionist" "Dark World" and many many more. And on the topic of the whole "animfication" thing exactly what is that even supposed to mean. like you used Infernoble knight as an example of this but the entire archtype is based off of the paladins of Charlemagne, a group of European knights, or are we counting Noble Knights as anime as well despite being based on Arthurian mythos. how do we even measure how "anime" a card is. are talking about your typical seasonal anime look? if we got a new archetype based off of something like Devilman would that be considered too anime as well.

[@fawfulmark2]

Still pretty tame compared to Duel Masters: OG Darkness Civilization card art were flayed, haunting abominations who wore skull-shaped masks over their faces just to endure the poisonous lands they lived in. Modern Darkness Civ card art tend to either be ones built around a cocky King of Fiends who fights with an army of reanimated silverware or ones tied to a Marionette Girl and her chaotic hijinks.

[@pk_tuneworld]

For a second, I thought you meant Duel Monsters and was trying to figure out how I glossed over a part of Yugioh history. Yeah, you're right - comparing that game to some of Yugioh's cards (mostly the more recent stuff) is like night and day. I wonder if Duel Masters had maybe targeted a different demographic versus Yugioh (Yugioh, being a Shonen, was meant for teenage boys) or if Duel Masters just so happened to double down on the dark stuff versus Yugioh.

[@Zeronigel332]

I’m so happy so one is actually doing a video on this as I find the element of art of yugioh to be so interesting yet untalked about

[@pk_tuneworld]

Hey, glad you chose to watch the video! As some of the comments point out, I could have definitely dived deeper into the subject matter (done more research, pulled out more examples to compare past v. present). Though, I'm glad I was potentially able to shine light on the matter and hope someone else (if not me in the future) can explore the topic even more than I did.

[@DigiTism]

Anime was definitely becoming/was more mainstream before social media became a “thing.” Toonami and Adult Swim had a hand in that. As well as, more anime being localized in general.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Valid point. Though I make it sound like anime only became more mainstream recently (irrespective of whether this is caused by social media or not), you could make a strong argument anime actually became popular as early as those 90's shows I reference. It might not have become super socially acceptable until the later 2000's though. It's a topic I want to do more research on as it's clear this video only tackles a very surface-level commentary on it.

[@obiwon1237]

The oldschool art is the most iconic though

[@thedigitaldummy3098]

I just don’t get the complaints about it. Anytime I hear discussion of yugioh becoming more anime (it hasn’t but regardless), it just boils down to people complaining that the Japanese card game has Japanese artwork on the cards plus a few complaints about “modern anime” whatever that’s supposed to be. These people wish everything got the 4Kids treatment with how western-centric they view the world.

[@akiradkcn]

Most of these people just look at ygo without understanding that it is and always was, a JAPANESE product. So they will appeal first and foremost, the japanese customers

[@Dedesormeaux]

Since the manga fan service, anime tropes have been woven into the series. Tea in the manga and Mai had moments pretty frequently, and a lot of sexual themes did get censored in the States. You see it in a lot of the OCG art vs the TCG. Waifus have always existed, but now they are just being pumped out, hoping for another Dark Magician Girl level of the iconic card to come out and turn into other merchandise. I think we will see it more has the OCG builds more on the lore part of the cards, and we need returning characters. I hope we stick with the balance you pointed out.

[@pk_tuneworld]

It's definitely possible I didn't notice it prior. You are right though - going back as far as the OG Yu-gi-oh manga, there were scenes where Yugi was portrayed as rather perverted when talking about or looking at Tea. And there are definitely clips of fan service from the later Duel Monsters anime. I think, when looking into the Go Rush anime and other Rush Duel shows, it seemed like the tropes were a bit more frequent. Should've mentioned the latter in the video. I hope we stick with the balance too! As many comments have pointed out, the game definitely isn't in a bad spot. Sure, maybe there's more waifus being pumped out, but there's a reasonable amount of non-waifu stuff too. Thank you for watching the video and commenting btw :D

[@babrad]

To be fair to Yama, he is the evolution of Abominable Unchained Soul (the original body of the sealed sorcerer) with his full power unleashed that's why he is also called a Soul King (as a Bleach fan I really appreciate this) Then again, I like some edgy arts (like Bystial Aluber or Black Goat) and the Zeus vs Ty-phon scene from the promotional stuff was amazing, but I really miss the old artwork style that's why I immediately gave up Snakes for Yubel trying to escape the trifecta of waifu/megazord/edgelord yugioh has become. And such art I believe even has gameplay implications. It's not a coincidence those 3 types of decks dominate the meta while cool designs are irrelevant (ashened), I now believe the "If IP had the artwork of Dark Jeroid it would have been banned since TOSS" (paraphrased from Farfa, but while it started as a joke it's actually true)

[@pickyphysicsstudent201]

I go back 'n' forth on this issue. I do enjoy *anime* looking cards but there is something to be said for the Monster aethestics of older cards. It was a mix of horror and style. Yugioh was a horror manga, first and foremost and that carried over to the card designs. Something like Dogmatika White Zoa is the exception, nowadays. I wish Konami would lay off the robots 'n' dragons, though.

[@Acidonia150reborn]

I always liked Japanese Creature/Robot Design they used to be so good at it. Then Anime and Games in early 2000's stoped focusing on in it as much and not showing it off as somthing to be proud off of cause it still exists. my Favorite Monster Type in yugioh is Reptiles all their artwork is conistant with certain themes still. So they all are are Snakes,Other Reptilan Features on creatures or are Aliens from other planets.

[@KFC-Warrior]

Quite a pleasant video. Thank you.

[@pk_tuneworld]

No, thank you for choosing to watch it!

[@TheJoethud22]

I love the zexal art style

[@akiradkcn]

Honestly, contrary to what ppl says, ygo always had a big amount of cutesy cards, it wasn't just edgy and spooky monsters. Dut the artstyle itself DID changed indeed, that I can agree

[@nicholascastro5528]

Yeah, YGO’s art style has changed, and I am here for it. 👍

[@coopergarlick4755]

awesome video man. I'm so happy to see you getting the views you deserve.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Thanks for watching it, cooper, appreciate your usual support! I'm very glad that, in spite of the channel's historical role as a sort of hub for PUNK players, people are open to some of these newer videos I'm making. Will still be making PUNK stuff, but will definitely continue exploring this avenue!

[@SoNotAbot]

I am just tired of CGI dragons :c

[@ducklett01god]

Some of them were done right like in dsod with blue eyes chaos max dragon

[@pk_tuneworld]

I haven't actually noticed this trend, though it's probably because I haven't played too many of the dragon archetypes myself. Hopefully Konami does lean away from this!

[@japan100100]

Cards nowadays look like anime cards that have way too much going on in them lol. Missed the simpler grotesque designs of the old days.

[@pk_tuneworld]

I think there is some merit to the busier artwork of the modern day game. It helps build a detailed story + world build. The World Legacy archetypes is probably the best example here, though the Visas lore and DT lore are equally applicable. Nonetheless, I can agree with you that there was a certain charm to older cards being literally like a single monster over a dark color gradient.

[@misterOrca4]

God, finally someone put it into words.

[@MrJuan_Vzla]

I don't really care about the change, but I do like the rugged, muted-colored old style.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Literally, it just hits different. Very nostalgic and, in some ways, has a bit more depth than some of the card art of the modern era! I still like the anime-esque archetypes, nonetheless.

[@MrJuan_Vzla]

@@pk_tuneworld It's still anime style, as you say, that was the style of the 90s. But to me it feels different, like a "classic" style rather than the more "modern" one. Or maybe it's just the nostalgia that hits us hahaha

[@pk_tuneworld]

@@MrJuan_Vzla Nostalgia is definitely a part of this, though older animes definitely had a unique charm to them. The "imperfections" in the art made those shows feel more grounded and, in a way, more relatable. Don't get me wrong, the modern style is eye-catching + there have been plenty of great archetypes including PUNK, the one my channel originates from. But it's a different vibe idk

[@mr.nylund7941]

Nice calm video! Great audio! :)

[@nightsunglaze]

When i grew up Anime was a guy thing, it was rare girls in your age even like anime^^ you were a men of culture. now goth trend is over populated there are no unique ppl or cool personality its all just follow the followers and trends, everything mixed together and misunderstood

[@Mrboomboompow]

I’ve been playing since I was a kid , I don’t mind the amount of anime decks and all , as long as we get new decks I’m fine I love the artwork

[@pk_tuneworld]

Perfectly valid reason! Like, unless Konami were to just start vomiting out anime decks, that would suck. But, as someone that plays both those archetypes and the more abstract archetypes, what we have going right now is fun! Thanks, by the way, for watching :)

[@Mrboomboompow]

thanks for making the fun video haha Cant wait to see your future videos@@pk_tuneworld

[@Digital_Her0]

I just now noticed Tea drew a smiley face on their hands. It just hit me after all this time

[@pk_tuneworld]

This is unironically me too LOL! I pulled up the clip while editing and only realized then the face that was there. I thought it was just a bunch of random shapes!

[@herlastborn]

It's the "Symbol of Friendship", also a Yu-Gi-Oh! card.

[@TheArchKnight]

I honestly think that the anime became popular because of the internet and social media. That's an obvious statement, but my point lies in how it came to be. When internet was still at its infancy, the only people browsing it every day 24/7 were the people who hadn't had friends to hang out IRL, because those were the ones put aside by the rest of society because they were not the "cool kids", they were "weirdos that like japanese cartoons and video games". But when the internet and social media actually became huge, it was already shaped and occupied by those guys that previously were excluded from society. Now that their territory became cool and trendy, so did they. And so did the media they enjoyed. That's my theory, at least.

[@pk_tuneworld]

I can definitely agree with this! The prevalence of the internet and social media nowadays has let a ton of different communities thrive compared to before. In addition to what you said, I would also add on that all the marketing the internet enables has probably coaxed a lot of people who otherwise may not have ever watched anime prior. E.g., before, advertisements for anime were definitely hard to come by. Most "drama" and "news" were likely spread through word of mouth. In the present day, you can go online and see plenty of media promoting anime, which probably catches the eye of some viewers out there. I appreciate your theory, and also appreciate you choosing to watch this video :)

[@amanewithjesus]

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”’

[@TheArchKnight]

@@pk_tuneworld Very true!!

[@casualtheeduelist]

Yugioh's Art Style Has Changed For the Best*

[@pk_tuneworld]

TRUE

[@Firedrake-SP]

I wish the Yugioh cards would return to the 1996 Kazuki Takashi trademark.

[@yuseifudo6075]

No

[@Firedrake-SP]

@@yuseifudo6075 No? Why?

[@yuseifudo6075]

@@Firedrake-SP Bruh the game was lame as fuck when it wad first created, it wasn't even a playable game, it had no rules in 1996

[@Firedrake-SP]

@@yuseifudo6075 FWI, I was talking about the real-world cards that needed the 1996 Kazuki Takashi trademark back, not the ones from the video games.

[@yuseifudo6075]

@@Firedrake-SP I don't know man, his artstyle while good, I think it will get tiresome pretty fast. The game is 25 years old now, can't expect to stay the same

[@nerdzone]

To be honest art in Yu-Gi-Oh! just got more diverse. You still got your cool dragons and stuff (Branded, Ice Prison etc.), you have space robots (Mathmech, Drytron etc.), you have anime waifus (Sky Striker, Exorsisters etc.), you have some antropomorphic animals, actually a lot of them, you have undead magicians, living magicians, space magicians, you have war machines and war veterans, even desserts and sushi ships. Yu-Gi-Oh! art was always ludicrous but now it is way more diverse and interesting overall imho. I am saying that from the standpoint of a fan from 2002 or something like that.

[@pk_tuneworld]

You're not wrong. Like, sure, maybe there is this push towards more "anime-esque" archetypes. But the game is still incredibly diverse. On top of the examples you've listed, some of the archetypes I'm the most fond of and that I think showcase Yugioh's range are all of the World Legacy archetypes (and just that whole string of lore in general) and DDD. The former tells a such a powerful story IMO and is a great successor (no pun on World Legacy Succession) to the DT lore. DDD, on the other hand, has all of these unique demons based on some of history's classic figures. This is the reason why myself and many others choose to still play the trading card game. It just hits so different versus other card games at times.

[@dexterion5940]

From terrifying monsters who will haunt your nightmares to loly/wafus in cosplay.Very sadly to see what Konami allowed itself...

[@yuseifudo6075]

Bro you are biased. Waifus are nowhere near as much as people make it to be

[@AndresSynchro]

I liked the old art until I realized that most of them were just randoms monsters. I wish they would make more cards with souls styles and less waifus or at least combine them.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Yeah, I believe the whole concept of archetypes didn't become a thing until around the GX era. Would be nice to see Konami try and blend some of the more horrific stuff with the "waifu" stuff - at the very least, I would make an argument that the Branded archetype kinda falls into this category.

[@LonggoBonggo]

Rather than animefication, it feels more like the card is now putting more effort to make it all in one art style, or atleast make it all feel like their part of this franchise. For instance if we look to vanguard, they have this same feeling with the artwork were it feels like a vanguard card. That's how i feel with the modern archetypes.

[@kenn5365]

graduated HS in 2011 so I'm a little older but personally feel like once 2012/2013 hit anime became mainstream or I guess the 2010s in general.. everyone and their mom got put on when SAO/AOT started to pop off I feel and ofc all your other points add onto it. I feel like once the mid 2010s hit all nerd culture became fully mainstream. with super hero movies, anime, and gaming. But I get what cha mean bout getting ridiculed in the early 00's I'd get into all sorts of fights due to me purely enjoying the medium. I am just glad nowadays people atleast know about it enough for it to be another normal thing. it is still weird to me seeing merch in most stores cause back then if you wanted any kind of merch it was near impossible to ever see.

[@rb-lw9wi]

Happy New year 🎉

[@pk_tuneworld]

Happy New Year too!

[@amanewithjesus]

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

[@joseortega7815]

This is a major reason why I don't care for modern yugioh. The artwork on these new archetypes doesn't draw me in (pun intended). It's oversaturated with cyber/digital/mech crap, little girl "waifu" cards for pedos, and the monsters that you can't even tell wtf they are. Also, yeah, let's make them extra shiny so we really don't know what we're looking at. Lol I miss the old artwork. The demonic fiends. The crafty spellcasters. The gritty, heroic warriors. The menacing dragons. The rotting zombies. Sure, yugioh had Machines and other guys with mechanical parts or cyber tech armor, but it was done in a tasteful fashion. And our "waifus" back then were big chested creatures like Harpie Lady and the Japanese version of Water Omotics. Lol I've always leaned more towards that old fantasy style of wizards, dragons, knights, barbarians, and demons. That's why I was such a huge fan in the beginning. But hey, if the kids like it, so be it. I had my time with the game.

[@pk_tuneworld]

I'd say there are still some cards within this vein that pop up once in a while. Infernoble could be considered heroic warriors and build upon the cool Noble Knights of the past. The Bystials are really sick + all the other Dragon-based support in recent years (minus Dragonmaid for obvious reasons, lol). Branded, although it has Albaz and Cartesia as key cards - many of the fusions are kinda insane-looking (Granguignol is apparently comprised of hands if you look at its art - Dispater is self-explanatory). And we occasionally have some really abstract decks like Tistina and Ghoti. Nonetheless, I can't blame you if the increasing amount of those other "anime" archetypes is too much. I don't mind it because I'm indifferent to that stuff. But it can definitely be a turn-off for some. Glad you had your fun with the game and hope that whatever you're doing now is equally as fun if not better! Thanks for choosing to watch the video :)

[@akmalfakhruddin7285]

Bystials? Infernoble? Magistus? Burning Abyss? Dark World? Infernity? Noble Kinghts? Phantom Knights? Elementsaber?

[@Hozagen]

The art-style is the reason why I don't watch Zexal, Sevens and why I only watched the last 10 chapters of Arc-V

[@tyrannosaurusrex4600]

The original monsters where so much better then f dragonmaid

[@randomedgygamer2191]

Nothing beats Elemental heroes, thats my style.

[@Ai-Saika]

2023 was BEST year or archetype, Lab, SP, Centurión, Mikakoh(miss out on them) Diabellstarr (reason of not building Mikakoh) so hopefully 2024 gives me something I wanna build.

[@pk_tuneworld]

In spite of the potential increase in anime-esque archetypes, I do think Konami has been hitting the ball out of park with some of these card designs. I have high hopes for 2024 too (and am already hyped for Goblin Riders coming out in the February set, Phantom Nightmare)!

[@shuredeye1576]

Good video loved it

[@pk_tuneworld]

Thank you for choosing to watch it, appreciate the kind comments :D

[@AnotherWindaSimp]

As a spellcaster user, I liked how simply gagaga girl design was

[@Shadowrulzalways]

Keep in mind, Yugioh is actually for a teenage demographic in Japan. Remember the Yugioh manga and anime is a Shonen. Shonen is a demographic term for both manga and anime that are mainly targeted towards early to late teen boys between 12 and 18 years. And Weekly Shonen Jump is confirmed by the current chief editor Hiroyuki Nakano, to be targeted towards teen boys. Which he has said numerous times in his interviews and that the magazine has always been that way since day 1 of it’s publication. Which would be 1968. And Yugioh came from this magazine and is part of it. The artstyle of Yugioh was scary and violent in the OCG due to that reason. It was targeting a teen demographic. And the OCG still does too this day. The Yugioh OCG (Official Card Game) is confirmed on the back of every pack, deck or set to be for ages 12 and up. “対象年齢12才以上” (Translation: “Target age 12 years and older”) You will find this exact Japanese text on the back of every pack or deck you buy that are OCG. This implies, it’s for early to late teen players. Because “12 and up” ratings are considered standard teen ratings in Japan and other countries. Not to mention the Konami official OCG tournaments are age restricted as there are only 3 classes: Challenge: Which is for junior high school students Regular: For high school students Expert: For anyone from junior high to adult age. Understand that junior high students are between 12 and 15. So that means they are keeping Yugioh OCG tournaments strictly for players the OCG is rated towards. Locals are not under such restriction but Konami official ones are. But hey, it’s Japan. They are known to be very strict with their rules. And keep in mind, the Yugioh OCG was rated “12+” since 1999 and still is too this day. Understand this was rated 12+ by Konami themselves. So that speaks a lot. And before you bring up Yugioh Sevens, Go Rush and the Rush Duels game, I am aware of those. But those are different. Those are made to be for kids because Konami intended to make a more child friendly Yugioh card game as the OCG was too complex for kids to play and comprehend and has been since day 1. So the Rush Duels game was made to compensate. Rush Duels is a different game and the anime spin-offs that feature it, are not considered part of the mainstream Yugioh anime as the mainstream anime and manga focus on the OCG (which is the primary version of the game). And the anime of Sevens and Go Rush are Kodomo-Muke which means it’s for children.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Really, really strong point to bring up here and one I now really wish I had brought up in the "Was Yugioh Always Like This?" segment. I understood Yugioh was meant to be marketed towards boys but couldn't put my finger on why when composing this essay. The anime being classified as "Shonen" seals the deal - I completely forgot about this point. Outside of the clear definition you outline, it's evident through writing/ looks that many of the classic Shonen shows are meant for teenage boys (Naruto, DBZ, or my favorite, Bleach). Though the OCG, as you mention, still uses some of those scary and violent arts, we could maybe even argue the archetypes that lean into moe culture might be an evolution of Yugioh's identity as a Shonen since the anime-esque archetypes have definitely become more popular among young people. I won't bring up Sevens or Go Rush to necessarily refute your point - it's very clear that, overall, they are marketed towards kids. I do think though that the more streamlined animation of those shows (putting aside the simplicity of the game + card arts), however, could still be considered an extension of anime's evolution as a form of art. That's what I meant when I brought them up in the video, but if that's not what it seemed like then I'll elaborate if I follow this video up or make something similar. Goes to show that I should always do a little more research to comprehensively flesh out a work like this! Thank you for choosing to watch the video, and if you do end up having anything else to add to this discussion, I would welcome it.

[@Shadowrulzalways]

@@pk_tuneworld Well I was just bringing up that point. The Yugioh OCG is clearly marketed towards early to late teens due to the age range alone as 12 and up is a teen rating in Japan. But the Rush Duels variant was stated by Konami to be the only adaptation of Yugioh marketed to kids as it was made to be simple and easy so kids can play as the OCG was deemed too complex and has been since 1999.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Ah, I probably misjudged your tone. Some commentor's feedback was a little more negative so wasn't sure what to make of yours at first. Though, again, I do appreciate your in-detail dive into the matter. The point that Yugioh was a "Shonen" is a pretty important one that could've been brought up in the video. Your input and other's input points to the "Was Yugioh Always Like This" as a portion of the video I could've written better (and will do so for the next time I tackle a history-esque prompt).

[@jo-ri-oh8950]

We need more Myutant...

[@fabrizioorpianesi6670]

I… honestly never really thought about this topic a lot. I’m the type of guy who will look at the cards, look at what they do, and if I like, I try, if I like after that, I stick to it. Whether the art style is anime or not, whether it’s generic or not, I really just want to enjoy this card game playing the decks I love without people telling me what is weird and what isn’t For your information, Traptrix is indeed one of my decks. No I don’t jerk off to them, I just think that plants and insect luring their prey into their traps by giving them a false sense of security is a really cool concept

[@pk_tuneworld]

That approach to card games is a very solid approach though. It's not like this topic is necessarily an alarming one that everyone needs to know about. The game is still doing fine as a whole. Even if there might be a few more of these "anime cards", it's not detracting from your ability to enjoy dueling. So long as you're happy, that's what should matter at the end of the day!

[@TheUkaners]

Because tbh people are weird and the even weirder ones like their anime waifus…

[@saxophonebuizel2458]

8:05 VISSSAAAASSSS STARFRROOSSTT

[@Seraphim653]

The cards are looking more animie if that makes any sense at all

[@joelkarito7572]

Sevens did not help

[@pk_tuneworld]

Though I'm not a fan of Sevens and I do use it as part of my argument, the series is very much intended for kids. The way the anime looks + its plot + the card art for Rush Duels could be excused by that fact. Again, Yugioh is a company - can't blame them for doing what works.

[@NadirON]

ciao Dario che stai guardando questo video, ti auguro una buona serata!

[@ZackeroniAndCheese]

My favorite archtype aesthetic is Predaplant

[@Traeger91]

A lot of card artwork has become overly busy. Some of it even reminds me of those fan created cards, where an image is cropped to fit the center. There's also very little uniformity in the artwork, even between cards released in the same set.

[@BWSamurai69]

I literally built Infernoble because of the card art. Like the link 1 Charles reminds me of a knight going through a Naruto style power up. It is one of the coolest things I’ve seen. Not to memtion Angelica and gearfried. If it weren’t for that deck I would have quit. The art style is definitely having a big impact into the game in my experience at least

[@ImMacke3000]

I really hate that the artwork of yugioh has become more and more waifu-ised

[@ImMacke3000]

@@DiamondDM13 i get that people will be horny for waifu artworks, but like... theres p0rn, and its free

[@幽霊船-o4h]

Honestly good video but way too late. I feel the waifu anime artstyle change started with GX. So like 20 years ago 😅 Heros, lightsworn, cyberangels, D.D etc Also it isnt much that the artstyle changed. It more like it got standardized. The first monsters were drawn by kazuki Takahashi. And many card artworks were simply screenshots from the manga colored. Modern cards are made by hired artists and freelancers together. So they had to find a standard so everything looks coherent and not made by hundreds of different people. This happened around GX and earlier. So yes Yugioh artstyle has changed. But that was more than 20 years ago and this video title seems like very misleading bait.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Great points and criticisms to bring up! We've definitely had these "anime-esque" archetypes for a while now. Beyond just Heros, Lightsworn, and Cyberangels, some of the really old cards from the first couple of sets fall into this category too. I mentioned a few in the video, but the list could also include things like the Witch of the Black Forest or any of the Amazoness cards. Nonetheless, I would argue that the art style has "changed" in the sense that we've been getting much more of these types of archetypes than we have prior. Though I apologize if you didn't like the title! I also appreciate you bringing up the point on how modern cards are made as I wasn't actually aware of that. It does make more sense - saves more time and money for the company as opposed to funneling all work onto a handful of people.

[@幽霊船-o4h]

@@pk_tuneworld thanks for actually reading and commenting. I do like that the video ends on a positive note and that grotesque or weird monsters still exist in a healthy mix between the anime waifu husbando cards

[@pk_tuneworld]

@@幽霊船-o4h No worries! Yeah, in my opinion I think this is one of the better videos that I've put out, but every video has its flaws. As I said, the title can be seen as clickbait. I also think the introduction to the video could have been more brisk as to keep more viewers entertained. And, I feel like comments are really nice because they teach me a lot of things. Yours was insightful - someone else also dived into details on what a "shonen" actually constitutes which provided some needed detail for the "Was Yugioh Always Like This" chapter. I'm glad you liked the way I ended the series - these videos, though definitely a thesis in their own way, are meant to prompt discussion. Happy to talk more, and I appreciate your feedback!

[@amanewithjesus]

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

[@Lunati_Qu3]

And dont forget the dinosaur archetype which is look like were drawn by a kindergarten which is totally fine

[@fabrizioorpianesi6670]

If you’re talking about Doodle Beast… it’s called *Doodle* Beast for a reason I suppose

[@pk_tuneworld]

I remember seeing that in the Arc V anime and thinking "there's no way they actually print this archetype" and then they did. Such a silly archetype that surprisngly can do stuff.

[@RadiantAeon]

my brother missing monstrous meta important cards in Bystials Or even Chained, yeah they have the one link-2, but the those are definitely monstrous Unfortunately Konami's not likely to go back in artstyles, especially with the death of Takahashi.

[@pk_tuneworld]

Oh yeah, after reading all the comments, I regret not including more examples to refute my bringing up the "anime-fication" idea. I do acknowledge my point could be wrong at the end of the video + show examples of non-anime archetypes like Rescue and Flunder, but showcasing the Bystials or Dispater or etcetera would've helped the rebuttal and thus the efficacy of the video as a whole. It is genuinely a shame Takahashi is gone - his particular vision for Yugioh carried the game for so long. Nothing outright wrong with Konami's newer takes on the game, though I miss the charm of the old cards. Thanks, by the way, for watching and commenting!

[@LoomYgo]

banger video

[@pk_tuneworld]

Thanks for choosing to watch it :)

[@Dekross]

Say what yall want but times change and the imagery also does in everything. The clothes, the shows, the art everything changes. And now we have insanely beautiful cards like the Icejades. People shitting in the new art is just blinded by nostalgia. We should be pleased that we have both old cards and newer ones with more harmonized artsyle. I personally love the new art (I also love the old one).

[@duduvec5971]

Good, have you seen ashen and snake-ash? I love these cards.

[@xhxir5294]

gaming very gaming indeed

[@larhyperhair]

Errrrm EVERY HAND TRAP? what about, ahem, Nibiru 🤔🤔🤔🤔 Just kidding I promise I'm not a dick, I 100% agree with you I dislike that effectively every good hand trap is a dead Loli, I feel like I'd be a lot less annoyed at cards like ash blossom if they looked like zombies and not bait

[@pk_tuneworld]

Hey, even if you were being serious, it's potentially valid criticism. Sure, everyone throws the Ghost Girls around as the premier hand traps, but cards like Nibiru, Dshifter, and the Bystials are still present in the format (albeit a bit more situational at times). Do wish Konami would make more of the latter though!

[@luigivercotti6410]

Honestly, the modern waifu cards don't feel like "anime" to me, as I understand it. They feel like Genshin Impact. There's a pretty big difference, and it's probably mostly due to the tons of smooth gradients and soft shadows that in my mind are the antithesis of the edgy (more literally than figuratively, like, lots of edges and corners), "cool", punk-like aesthetic. Genshin itself leans closer to a manhwa artstyle for me, which again can be similar to specific western comics. Yu-Gi-Oh has always _been_ anime, it's just back then it was more Akira/NGE/Berzerk-ish and now it's a lot more Pokemon/SpyxFamily/HunterxHunter-ish. Personally I prefer the former by a pretty wide margin. I mean, Ancient Egyptian "dark" mythos crossed with cyberpunk plus the MC dresses like a dominatrix? That's gold, that's one of the coolest mix-ups of ideas ever. Egyptology is known for encooling basically everything and making it awesome I think. The elements of mystery, oldness, hyucked-up stuff, and alienness are perfectly in balance. By far the coolest sibling out of the 3 common mythologies to rip off (Greek and Norse)

[@Sigismund697]

remember that time when Anime meant animation and therefore in the eyes of the Japanese Mickey mouse, Naruto and A time to Screw were all anime? yeah me neither since now there's tons of people that seem unable to understand that there's different artstyles from different artists and Takahashi the writer of YGO had not been involved directly with the production of YGO cards for years before his death besides those taken from the manga which itself had already been divorced from the animes beyond main character design since GX , instead the card game involves tons of different artists making tons of different designs and ALL of them could be considered anime if they were animated

[@Guythatlivesaquietlife]

Yugioh now is anything we can have pretty things like sky striker raye to horrendous creatures like dis pater

[@pk_tuneworld]

That's what makes the game so unique! Sure, maybe there has been a gradual increase in these so-called "anime-esque" archetypes. Nonetheless, you still have a great variety of different strategies you can play. Yugioh just hits different versus other card games at times :D

[@Guythatlivesaquietlife]

No other card game is like yugioh, that's the reason why the game is still going strong

[@Neko_Medic]

My problem with YU-GI-OH's modern art style is not that it's anime, it's that it's generic AF.

[@minabasejderha5972]

....... Have you *seen* Dis Pater? Edit: To be clear, I am not saying that a singular example disproves a trend. If given any time, I could come up with way more. The thing is... I have actually seen way more of a willingness in the last few years to lean into the dark and horrific, the eldritch and Lovecraftian. To be honest, I think what you are witnessing instead is that there are way *more* cards being made in the same amount of time than there used to be, and so way more examples you can pull up recently. But the Dracoslayer, World Legacy, and Abyss lore arcs have had both intense body and cosmic horrors. Whereas when I think back to the Duel Terminal lore.... most of it is pretty Cutesy. Even Gem Knights are kinda cute in their way. If you want a solid reason for a revent change though... The mainline sets have not had anything featured in any anime. Vrains was the last time there was an anime that the main cardgame was based on. In that case, I could see an argument that in order to retain a human element in the game, there may have been an attempt to make sure that *in the game* there are animeish/human characters to hold onto in any new lore (which is largely what is actually happening when people dismiss such characters as waifus or husbandos, it's just human characters we are meant to be attached to), since there are no longer such characters in the anime to lean on. But whether this account is true would need statistical evidence showing that there actually has been a steady increase in the last 3-4 years. An alternate theory might just be that Konami has responded to the popularity of Sky Striker in particular. But again, you'd need evidence that this has actually eclipsed other kinds of art/characters in recent years. I am far more partial to the theory that it is just because the art direction has gotten a lot more intentional and coherent. It used to be really hit or miss and scattershot. Some of the art was great. Some was mediocre. And some was almost comically bad. But rarely was there a coherent effort made to capture a particular genre or mood with any series of cards. Cards would be undead or demonic perhaps (like Dark Ruler Ha Des), but rarely actually scary. Cards would be cute (like Watapon), but not as actively and intensely as, say, Melffys. More recently, however, it has felt like doing something cutesy (like Vernusylphs) or doing something horrific (such as Amorphages) was an intentional choice to go in a coherent aesthetic direction. And if you want a specific time, I would say I started noticing this ever increasing intentionality of the art some time during Zexal. And I just attribute this to them getting more and more practiced artists over time, as well as perhaps more specific aesthetic forethought.

[@pk_tuneworld]

So, I will agree with you that more concrete evidence for the particular theory I’m throwing out would definitely benefit my argument. My video details a lot of observations, though actually crunching the numbers would make it more convincing. Nonetheless, I do try to acknowledge that my viewpoint could be wrong - I understand Dispater exists, and the last couple of minutes has me briefly discussing the possibility I’ve over-exaggerated the trend. The concept that these more humanoid/ moe culture archetypes are sort of like compensation for a lack of a main series anime is really, really interesting. Someone else brought this idea up in the comments, and I’m glad you think the same way. I can definitely see it, and it might be an interesting topic to research if I want to follow-up this video essay in the future. I do want to say though: the arguments that Duel Terminal was considered “cutesy” and that there was a lack of intentionality in older cards could go either way. The first Hidden Arsenal set (2009) featured some genuinely puzzling and ugly cards like Ally of Justice and Worms. Even some of the archetypes in the early lore/ that same set that could be considered “cutesy” like Mist Valley or Ice Barrier still had plenty of grotesque monsters on top of the humanoid creatures. Decks like Gem-Knight and Gusto did come out two years later (2011), but this era also saw its own abberations like Steelswarm, Evilswarm, and Vylon. Overall, DT, in my view and arguably in many other’s view, is just as rich and diverse as new era stuff like you mention (Dracoslayer, World Legacy). And, maybe this is just me misunderstanding your take on “intentionality”, but I might argue that past 2005ish many Yugioh cards did have a clear vision in mind. GX saw some of the game’s first true archetypes like Cyber Dragon, Heroes, and Roids. All of these are coherent and capture a specific mood/ genre, and since then Yugioh has capitalized on the archetypes strategy. Happy to discuss more though - I admit that the video + myself are not perfect, and so I appreciate talking on the topic.

[@thekittenfreakify]

We've añways had both things

[@plabcentral630]

Never though about it. Kinda miss the really Wierd stuff. Although the bird normal summon deck is pretty funny.

[@dantegallardo1974]

i'm sick and tired of waifu cards...

[@yuseifudo6075]

Bro you are biased. Waifus are nowhere near as much as people make it to be

[@dantegallardo1974]

@@yuseifudo6075 I now see the errors of my ways..snake eyes fire king has opened my third eye

[@mindofgod1543]

2014?? Anime was taboo 2000-2010 in the West. You just didn't bring it up in high school unless you were in like-minded company.

[@pk_tuneworld]

You're probably right, I was just recounting my particular experience with the topic. At my particular high school (2014 as I said in the video), it still felt like anime wasn't fully a norm, so I still felt insecure. I actually think it would be interesting to research this topic deeper 🤔

[@mindofgod1543]

@@pk_tuneworld To be fair, I was in college around 2014 with mostly older people, no downtime on campus anyway to discuss Anime, but it was certainly a big hit at the hub during 2007-2011 with very small-knit groups you could call "geeks". With any other social demographic, it just wasn't ever brought up. I didn't mean to discount your experience, I'm sorry.

[@pk_tuneworld]

@@mindofgod1543 No need to apologize, I think your point is still valid! After all, (1) it's possible to interpret that line in the video as me claiming the taboo era to be at that point + (2) if such an interpretation was made, you might be accurate that 2000-2010 is a more accurate era and thus accurate in calling me out. I'll probably spend some time in the future out of my own personal interest to study the topic.

[@DrunkTigerGrill]

We need both Summoned Skull AND DMG for the agme to be Yugioh We are seeing the animfication of media in general, look at league of legends or valorant hell even battlefield and cod have anime in it I love anime, look at my pfp but I also love Giant dinos smashing or sharks xyzing(mecha is anime i guess...) We need both! Maybe a bit more Archfiends these days and less mikanko would do us good.

[@sovereignblastoise6767]

Tbh when they gojng to start making fullart cards??

[@sejadlulic8377]

I prefer the old style card artworks. No more "waifu"-archtypes. I cant stand them and wont buy them. I dont mind if there exist 1 or 2 of them (like mais cards back in the days) but not like 1/3 of the new product like it is today. Not cool.

[@talhachaudhry2387]

My problem with modern Yu-Gi-Oh cards is that they are very indistinguishable from on another. They are all the same anime style looking characters. One of the reasons why I got into Yu-Gi-Oh was because there was so much variety in the monster design. It makes Yu-Gi-Oh lose its identity which is disappointing.

[@yuseifudo6075]

You gotta be kidding me 🤦🤦

[@talhachaudhry2387]

@@yuseifudo6075 it's kinda true

[@yuseifudo6075]

@@talhachaudhry2387 did u even look at the cards? Hell, Yu-Gi-Oh has one of the most diverse set of artstyles in any card game,

[@talhachaudhry2387]

@@yuseifudo6075 That was the case, once. It's all generic anime looking dudes now. Maybe I am being a bit cynical but you can't convince me this isn't true. It's done like that because anime has more mass market appeal

[@yuseifudo6075]

@@talhachaudhry2387 Bruh. How Do u even say that? Mtg has literally one art style,same with pokemon and hearthstone, while in Yu-Gi-Oh you have medolche, you have ashened, you have bystials, you have zues, you have melfy, you have spright, Endymion, Rescue ace, purrely,and i can go on forever, go look at yhem onw by one and tell me if they seem generic or the same Just look at the 25th anniversary video and tell me how can't you distinguish between the different archetypes. You're just biased towards old Yu-Gi-Oh my friend

[@namenlosNamenlos]

That's just how it is. 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@gamerwolffang2722]

0:51 you say beautify the art, but have you seen the Albaz lore? Mainly Zoa's evolution Or Visas lore in which he's over comed by all the negative emotions n power becoming a grotesque monster And not to mention the Elder n outer enitities

[@emmyfoder3458]

The original Duelist Kingdom card artwork was/is the best. The anime on the other hand needed to be polished for modern viewers.

[@pk_tuneworld]

You know, it is kind of interesting: there's no denying this change in art style has definitely benefited the game in terms of attracting more modern players. Nonetheless, mainstream culture seems to be going back to some of the more antique looks and materials from times past. E.g., younger people thrifting for older style clothes, adults buying older style equipment, or friend groups preferring more rustic-looking social areas. Maybe Konami might end up returning to some of the Duelist Kingdom-style art (which you could argue they are already doing given retrains of Yugi's cards in Legacy of Destruction).

[@emmyfoder3458]

@@pk_tuneworld The change in artwork was a marketing tactic to attract younger consumers. I don't mind some change but the style is inconsistent. The anime aesthetic is dominant while random cards that look somewhat like the old style (or like they belong in Magic the Gathering) are thrown in. The Prophecy deck is a good example with most cards having cartoon-like characters except for cards like Destroyer of Prophecy and Wheel of Prophecy. Now we are also seeing the archetypes becoming more cute as time goes on to attract kids. Konami has made it clear that the want to make Yugioh more child-friendly with Speed Duel being another example in terms of artwork and game mechanics.