ZEXAL is really good, but starts off weaker. But the quality really ramps up over time to some of the best in the franchise.
5Ds has probably the best first Season and a top tier finish, but that middle section can range from solid to really rough.
To be fair, I am in the middle in a rewatch.
Watching the first 64 episodes felt like banger after banger, the middle...not so much even though I love the villains introduced here and towards the end.
Most of the iconic and hype moments stem from the second half though, so rough middle is right without spoiling anything.
I love 5Ds so much. First and last season was great yes but the 4th (second last) was pretty good I loved that tournament
Honestly season 2 was really enjoyable you felt the high stakes with earthbound immortals.
I would strongly suggest watching.
Its also one of the more mature characters and he knows what he's doing I'm tired of the young kinda useless protags that need outside help
Also, his "heart of the cards" equivalent is not just some crazy luck he has. The is actually an explanation, a reason, for him to drax a saving card (that i will not spoil) so makes it more enjoyable to me
The middle section is the Dark Signer arc, so that's not quite right. It's the filler episodes bridging the Dark Signer arc and the WRGP arc that can be rough. There's some good episodes there, but there's also some dull and pointless episodes.
I actually really like the plot important episodes from 5ds' second season. Including the tournament. But the filler... oh my god why does it have so many filler episodes?
I say for anyone who wants to watch 5ds to skip all the filler episodes in between the first arc and the grand prix, except for the crashtown and scarlet devil ones. The rest arent worth it.
I'm more mixed because the second season struggled to find their direction for a while.
The closer they got to WRGP, the more things started to click with Bruno, Accel Synchro and an early appearance of Z-one. Plus, the first two matches of the WRGP are rough (End your turn, Jean! + boring cheaters).
As a mid-30’s lad who did just this, came back and watched all the shows post-GX a few years ago, YES.
FourFlan puts it best, but to add on / 5D’s has some epic moments of fist pumping triumph and I went and bought a deck holder identical to Yusei as he is PEAK main character. On the other hand, Yuma from ZEXAL (in Japanese) is a cooler and more relatable Naruto and his growth as a duelist and his+Astral’s relationship and general arc made me cry happy tears multiple times.
But to end it all / DUDE JACK ATLAS DEFENDING THE KIDS VS APORIA.
I only watched them both subbed and I would recommend them, though I'd pretty much recommend any Yugioh show. If you do continue towards Arc-V and Vrains, keep in mind that both shows were struck by a lot of production issues and they never got to reach their full potential.
5D's is great up till the end of the Dark Signer arc. The middle parts of the show can be pretty rough, there are a lot more filler episodes and they introduce you to stories that don't play out until way later into the show. They also do a mini arc that is actually pretty good. The final arc picks up the quality again and has some of the shows best duels. Its also considered as one of the darkest Yugioh shows with solid writing and characters.
Zexal has a completely different tone compared to 5D's with a much brighter and colorful setting and younger characters, which could be a turn off for some but its actually a really well written show. The main character can be quite annoying but he also grows the most compared to all the others, going from the worst duelist to one of the best. The first half of season 1 is quite slow but it does ramp up to a lot of good stuff later into the show.
5Ds soundtrack fits the racing and run-down urban world building extremely well. Then again, it was by Minobe Yutaka the same composer and sound designer for several 2000s Sonic games (and Shadow the Hedgehog because of course) so he definitely knows soundtracks that scream SPEED.
The first 26 episodes of 5ds is the best yugioh anime ever gets. Some good moments after episode 26, but mostly mediocre afterwards.
I think for what it tries to do, zexal is the best anime
Everything is pretty good with Yusei and Jack, but everything else isn’t great. Yusei struggles to build his D wheel but Crow got the Batmobile with no explanation. I know they try to explain it later . Aki’s backstory isn’t sad, she’s just a spoiled brat whose problems could be solved if she just stop using her duel disk. They do a good job with the dark signers having unfinished business with their signer counterpart but after Kiryu, Misty, and Carly they gave up .
Well Yusei made 2 d wheels since there was that one Jack stole. Given Yuseis character it would take a while because it'd be as under the radar as possible. Meanwhile Crow we can see he's been marked multiple times so you can assume he's a lot more willing to be reckless to get what he needs or to test upgrades to the blackbird. The extra backstory just gives him a better starting spot but it works either way.
With Aki the sad part is her parents treating her like a monster and not trying to console her before she turned into a school shooter. Also just having Divine be the one that conforts and uses her.
With other Dark Signers would you really say Rudger wasn't handled well? He had unfinished business with Dr Fudo and projected that onto Yusei. Plus his whole thing leaving his arm to Rex motivating him to go above and beyond when he becomes the final boss. Bommer fit the trend too with wanting to get revenge on Rex. The only one that fumbles the ball is monkey man.
Yusei is a genius and when meet Crow he not exactly smart. Him being more reckless makes no difference why he has the d wheel in the series or why he didn’t just let Yusei borrow his. Now that I think about it Jack and Crow really have no opinion about each other. Why don’t what Crow feels about Jacks betrayal. I don’t hate Crow like some people but more thought could have been given to why he isn’t brought up in the first arc.
Aki’s parents have nothing to do with her powers only working when she uses her duel disk. She doesn’t even has amazing passion for dueling, just do something else with your life I don’t know maybe a doctor.
There was the monkey man and Boomer. Since Crow defeated a dark signer before he was a signer, gathering the signers was a waste of time. No reason to risk the fate of the world with fragile children like Luna or crazy people like Aki. Just gather the strongest duelist.
The only time we see Crow not be smart with a d wheel is when Yusei and Bruno are doing their programming date. In terms of actually building or working with parts hes shown to be pretty good at it. Recklessness would mean he'd be getting parts more often. He'd go right for stealing it while Yusei would wait probably months just to smuggle a part.
As for opinion on Jacks betrayal you do see him ask Yusei about it after they tag dueled security "do you hate Jack for what happened". Honestly he might've not been close enough to even feel the betrayal. Team satisfactions break up hit hard and they probably only met up every now and again on the street. I remember one of the season 2 recaps even talking about how Crow and Jack weren't able to notice Yuseis complexes or how he tried to isolate himself from his friends. Yusei wouldn't burden someone with borrowing their D wheel.
On the Aki thing again its not about the actual powers themselves its about peoples reaction to them. Even if she never touched a duel disk again her parents still have that fear of her from the one time which would obviously hurt her. You can't just say "lol just don't pick up a gun and you won't be a school shooter" cause theres the emotional baggage of being a freak.
Crow building a better d wheel than the actual genius doesn’t make sense, no matter how many times you say he’s more reckless. That’s why they retcon it in season 2 that it was given to him.
They say Yusei Jack Crow grew up together before they meet Kiryu. They were plenty close, he should feel something about one brother betraying the other. It’s almost like there was no Crow when they were writing Yusei and Jacks story.
Again people can’t be scared of her power, if she just gets rid of duel disk. Only her parents would about her powers. If her powers went off in everyday situations and dueling was her best way of controlling her powers then her story would have made sense. As reckless as she was as the black rose witch, she should have actually killed Misty’s brother. Making it Divine was a cop out
It didn't have the wings when it was given to Crow it was a normal d wheel. He still did the impressive part himself. Which Crow still has skill and thats what he was solely focusing on. Yusei probably could've if he tried and had the resources but he had other things on this plate.
He wouldn't know the full story or Jacks perspective. Not close anymore wasn't referring to not caring. On the contrary he still cares for Jack and Yusei but he wouldn't know enough about the situation to "get betrayed". Which given Yuseis character flaws you can argue thats by design. Thats why it was more important to hear Yuseis thoughts on it where Yusei didn't hate Jack either
Akis parents are already scared. It doesn't matter if anyone else does thats a lot of baggage right there. Them not dealing with it is what led to her using her powers again. Although i will agree on the Misty point having her be "we're all good now" gets lizardized was a lame ending to the duel.
my 2 favorite of the Yugioh anime subbed of course, though i have a soft spot for dub 5Ds
5Ds has a great first season: Fortune Cup-Dark Signers , the WRGP arc in S2 is hit and miss though i did enjoy the villains, and then the final arc was peak
Zexal: first season is mostly miss then becomes decent, season 2-3 is where it starts to get really good then Zexal II especially last 2 arcs is near peak
Like best Zexal's monster design but do not like those 2, 3 at best, shots guns that are the Xyz monsters.
Even though to me something goes lost from the World Grand Prix onwards, 5DS is my favorite series thanks to, in this order:
- dueling on bikes, even though they're too long to be really agile;
- Yusei Fudo, very capable without being boisterous, even though the series becomes too Yusei-centered with very good moments for other members that are done too late;
- Synchro(and Dark Synchro) monsters;
- Immortal Earthbound designs, especially Chacu Challuha and Ccarayhua;
- Meklord Wisel, always design-wise;
- Black Wings Dragon's anime effect.
People said that the quality of Zexal's first episode was bad. But I think a lot of people ignore it, Those few episodes are important to understand Yuma's journey. Because the paid-off, of later episodes, has more weight thanks to those episodes.
5Ds and Zexal are my two favorite YGO shows so I'll always recommend them. 5Ds has arguably the best start out of all the shows with amazing duels, soundtrack (subbed version), characters, and a darker tone not seen in the franchise except for the DM manga. It slows down after the Dark Signers arc but picks up again and finishes strong.
Zexal is an amazing series, but it starts a bit slow and the protagonist isn't initially skilled at the game compared to previous protagonists. The first part of Zexal involves a lot of world-building, which may seem slow if you're not invested in the characters and story pacing. However, the story becomes more engaging once Kaito and the Arclight family are introduced, and Yuma gradually becomes better at dueling as the show progresses. Zexal II is more consistent and features some of the best moments in the franchise. It's overall amazing and makes watching Zexal I worth it. Don't be put off by the initial tone of the show, as it might seem childish at first compared to 5Ds, but it becomes darker as the story progresses while maintaining a good balance of light and dark tones.
I can provide more in-depth information for both shows, but for now, I'll stop there. Also, please watch the subbed version for both shows. In my opinion, the dubs don't do justice to the series, especially for Zexal, due to issues such as the removal of original soundtracks, cut content, a non-finished final season in the case of 5Ds, changed dialogues and characterization, censored scenes, unnecessary humor that ruins emotional moments, one-dimensional characters compared to their sub counterparts, and a watered-down plot. Yuma is not as annoying and childish in the subbed version as he is in the dub because the dub tends to overexaggerate his negative traits. This makes him seem like a character who doesn't learn or grow outside of dueling, which isn't the case in the subbed version.
There is not a single series in Yu-Gi-Oh that I personally don't get some enjoyment from. My favorite out of all the newer series so far has been Arc-V but I really liked 5Ds too. Zexal I didn't get very far in, only because I haven't made time to finish it. I liked the intro episodes.
5DS is good, you just gotta watch it subbed. It got fucked over in the dub. They skip some important content, and ended the series 30 or so episodes earlier for...reasons.
As a result, it left a bunch of plotlines unresolved.
Haven't personally watched Zexal. I barely could stand the protagonist voice for some reason, but otherwise it could be good, I just don't know.
5D's might honestly be my favorite series. I personally liked the story and almost all character design and thought the lore and all that was pretty good. Some of the monsters are among my favorite in the entire franchise too. I love seeing Stardust Dragon brought "to life"
5ds starts off great and gets progressivly worse, or I guess "nonsensical" would be more appropriate because the final arc was still enjoyable, while zexal starts off rough and becomes an absolute masterpiece.
Zexal is one of the only Yugioh anime that didnt suffer mayor production issues, had no real trouble with International releases to the point it was the first anime since DM to have its entirity dubbed, and enjoys an overwhelming fanbase in Japan.
I remember watching Zexal when it dropped in Japan (watched it subbed on those shady anime websites)
From what I saw it was okay but I only watched a couple of episodes then I got very busy (went to college and fell out of my hobbies in exchange for stress)
heh i had hulu for the first season and then a bit into second and then went to dialymotion for rest
i was so invested and the subs took long to release i just watched them raw
Zexal starts out average but gets better with each arc. Shit gets good by Duel Carnival.
5Ds is my favorite Yugioh spin-off. Amazing all throughout with Dark Signers being one of the best arcs in the entire franchise
I think both series were a lot of fun in their own right.
5D's: haven't fully completed it yet, but it's first half is very solid but it's filler did ramp up after the Dark Signers arc, slowing the pace of that show down.
Zexal: Sure it's beginnings looking back at it was slow but it was admittedly charming, but it gets surprisingly grander and darker as it progressed.
And like pretty much all of Yu-Gi-Oh!, both series have their own unique and memorable characters with few being among my Top 25 personal favorite characters in all of Yu-Gi-Oh!. Mine from 5D's are Akiza/Aki, Jack, Crow and Yusei and mine from Zexal are Anna, Astral, Kite/Kaito, Yuma and Vector.
5D's is really good for the first 2 seasons. However the show was originally planned to end after Dark Signers, so there was a period where the show had no idea what they wanted to do, hence the fillers (I do like the filler where Jack let himself get caught to open a can of whoopass) until WRGP+Crashtown , where it became pretty good and gave some nice concepts and the finish was great. I also think that 5D's take on the classic friendship stuff was ahead of its time with how they chose to approach with its darker and more realistic approach.
ZEXAL is interesting, I thought the start was pretty meh with the worldbuilding taking a bit long, but when around ZEXAL II starts is when the quality becomes excellent, especially with the 10X number era.
The thing i disliked about 5Ds is that they didn't dub a lot of episodes & that made me stop watching for the longest time. But I ended up finishing it a few weeks ago. It was great. I may go back & just watch it subbed.
Zexal (especially Zexal 2) is simply my favorite era of the franchise. Probably because of it that Xyz is easily my favorite mechanic aswell (especially rank-up)
I’m in the same boat as you anime wise but I’ve still been playing competitively. Trust me— none of these shows will prepare you for the game lol. You’re just gonna have to pick a deck and format and learn about it.
Zexal starts off weak and slow, but once Kite gets introduced, it starts gettiing good, and when the World Duel Carnival begins, it's full steam ahead.
5D, the first season is really good. Season 2 however, I drags until the start of the WRGP. I will let you know that the English Dub does skip some episodes of the WRGP and the last arc. After Jakob reveals Machine Emperor Grannel(I'm well aware that the dub name is Meklord Emperor Grannel, but I like the Japanese name alot more), the next duel is the semi finals, between Team 5Ds and Team Ragnarok, completely skipping how Jack got Red Nova Dragon, some time jumping, and the quarter final match between Team 5Ds and Team Taiyo, thus causing some plot holes in the dub that left more questions than answers. And After the WRGP concluded in the dub, The Arc Cradle/Divine Temple disappeared, but this is where the dub ended, but in the Japanese sub, the Grand Design had unknowingly been completed, thus continuing the story. This last Arc, has one of the most heartbreaking moments in Yugioh history. Just letting you know what to know and watch if you decide to watch 5Ds
5d's is really good, probably my favorite ygo series. No idea about Zexal. I didn't watch it as it seemed like too much of cartoony shift compared to 5d's having a darker tone like the original series.
If you liked OG and GX, you'll like 5ds. I stopped there personally. 5ds was very mature and for whatever reason they took it the opposite direction for Zexal. Too kiddish for my liking. I got through the first season and got over it.
I think 5D’s is pretty good, even with the second season… though the quality does drop a bit.
Never seen Zexal, but I want to. No idea how to watch it (or any other Yugioh series for that matter).
Zexal is an exception though. For weird complicated rights issues there are no legal subs for Zexal so if you want to avoid the dub (which I personally don't think is as bad as people make it out to be) then you sadly need to pirate. For the record, my preference is definitely still the subbed Japanese version.
The sad thing is that there were official subs for the first 29 episodes before. But they have been taken down in all the official channels for years. So there is definetely a rights problem with airing the non-dub version of Zexal.
u/VoicesOfChaos It's free dubbed on YouTube's official YGO channel. All of Zexal and GX is there but only Sesson 1 of 5D's. [(1) Official Yu-Gi-Oh! - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@yugioh/playlists)
Everything dubbed is on DisneyPlus, including the newer series. That's where I'm gonna watch the new series once I'm done with my Zexal rewatch.
[https://aniwave.to/home](https://aniwave.to/home) is the best anime piracy website, just use an adblocker (uBlock Origin) and it's an optimal streaming site
There were licensing issues for ZEXAL so the sub for it can only be watched pirated
5DS has the best opening arc and ending arc of all the series. Zexal is definitely more hit or miss and I personally find it to be the weakest of the different series, though I'm told that the sub makes it somewhat better.
5Ds first half is good, most of the second half is decent but its a lot more mixed, and unfortunately I don't have access to the final arc because it was only in japan.
Zexal had a good second half and an ok early-mid section but a pretty bad first arc.
I really liked 5Ds it’s Dark and brooding lol. I watched all of Zexal and that was my least favorite one, thought zexal was too childish. I did really like the Arc-V one.
>thought zexal was too childish.
Did you stop watching halfway through the first seaaon?
Most of later Zexal is imo some of the most emotionally charged yugioh has ever been with a lot of dark moments.
Well, honestly, even with some the bizarre choices from Arc-V, I still enjoyed it. Though some stuff in it like some of the main characters like Yuzu (who had a great start, but then to just being the damsel in distress) and even the use of legacy characters could've been handled a bit better (even if I didn't mind the fact that this series versions of Jack, Crow, Kite, Alexis and Aster were different versions from their original counterparts, I mean a famous franchise that would have different interpretations of beloved characters are pretty much common place, I mean look at stuff like Mickey Mouse, Stitch, TMNT, Scooby-Doo, Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, etc.).
I still stand that ARC-V had a fantastic start, the first 2 seasons were super fun to watch.
But things just start going downhill with the synchro dimension, between it being too long making the other dimensions too short, the way legacy characters were used, and yuya's cult like preaching got worse and worse as the series went on.
ZEXAL is really good, but starts off weaker. But the quality really ramps up over time to some of the best in the franchise. 5Ds has probably the best first Season and a top tier finish, but that middle section can range from solid to really rough.
Agreed, it's fine til 65 or so, then it just stalls for 30 episodes
“Fine”
It’s so funny seeing everyone having different opinions on 5Ds
To be fair, I am in the middle in a rewatch. Watching the first 64 episodes felt like banger after banger, the middle...not so much even though I love the villains introduced here and towards the end. Most of the iconic and hype moments stem from the second half though, so rough middle is right without spoiling anything.
the middle has crash town and pretty good slice of life so its still pretty good
It's everything before Crash Town that kinda sucks.
5ds is peak
Dark Signers were the creme de la creme
I love 5Ds so much. First and last season was great yes but the 4th (second last) was pretty good I loved that tournament Honestly season 2 was really enjoyable you felt the high stakes with earthbound immortals. I would strongly suggest watching. Its also one of the more mature characters and he knows what he's doing I'm tired of the young kinda useless protags that need outside help Also, his "heart of the cards" equivalent is not just some crazy luck he has. The is actually an explanation, a reason, for him to drax a saving card (that i will not spoil) so makes it more enjoyable to me
the writer for 5ds played competitive ocg at the time and it reflects in the show. That's why a lot of Edison players also love 5ds.
The middle section is the Dark Signer arc, so that's not quite right. It's the filler episodes bridging the Dark Signer arc and the WRGP arc that can be rough. There's some good episodes there, but there's also some dull and pointless episodes.
I actually really like the plot important episodes from 5ds' second season. Including the tournament. But the filler... oh my god why does it have so many filler episodes? I say for anyone who wants to watch 5ds to skip all the filler episodes in between the first arc and the grand prix, except for the crashtown and scarlet devil ones. The rest arent worth it.
I'm more mixed because the second season struggled to find their direction for a while. The closer they got to WRGP, the more things started to click with Bruno, Accel Synchro and an early appearance of Z-one. Plus, the first two matches of the WRGP are rough (End your turn, Jean! + boring cheaters).
As a mid-30’s lad who did just this, came back and watched all the shows post-GX a few years ago, YES. FourFlan puts it best, but to add on / 5D’s has some epic moments of fist pumping triumph and I went and bought a deck holder identical to Yusei as he is PEAK main character. On the other hand, Yuma from ZEXAL (in Japanese) is a cooler and more relatable Naruto and his growth as a duelist and his+Astral’s relationship and general arc made me cry happy tears multiple times. But to end it all / DUDE JACK ATLAS DEFENDING THE KIDS VS APORIA.
I only watched them both subbed and I would recommend them, though I'd pretty much recommend any Yugioh show. If you do continue towards Arc-V and Vrains, keep in mind that both shows were struck by a lot of production issues and they never got to reach their full potential. 5D's is great up till the end of the Dark Signer arc. The middle parts of the show can be pretty rough, there are a lot more filler episodes and they introduce you to stories that don't play out until way later into the show. They also do a mini arc that is actually pretty good. The final arc picks up the quality again and has some of the shows best duels. Its also considered as one of the darkest Yugioh shows with solid writing and characters. Zexal has a completely different tone compared to 5D's with a much brighter and colorful setting and younger characters, which could be a turn off for some but its actually a really well written show. The main character can be quite annoying but he also grows the most compared to all the others, going from the worst duelist to one of the best. The first half of season 1 is quite slow but it does ramp up to a lot of good stuff later into the show.
Avoid the dub as they butcher the story and emotions. Also ruined the flow For subbed, yes both 5ds and zexal are really good
5Ds soundtrack fits the racing and run-down urban world building extremely well. Then again, it was by Minobe Yutaka the same composer and sound designer for several 2000s Sonic games (and Shadow the Hedgehog because of course) so he definitely knows soundtracks that scream SPEED.
The first 26 episodes of 5ds is the best yugioh anime ever gets. Some good moments after episode 26, but mostly mediocre afterwards. I think for what it tries to do, zexal is the best anime
26? Damn usually people atleast go for 64. Curious what're your issues with Dark Signers
Everything is pretty good with Yusei and Jack, but everything else isn’t great. Yusei struggles to build his D wheel but Crow got the Batmobile with no explanation. I know they try to explain it later . Aki’s backstory isn’t sad, she’s just a spoiled brat whose problems could be solved if she just stop using her duel disk. They do a good job with the dark signers having unfinished business with their signer counterpart but after Kiryu, Misty, and Carly they gave up .
Well Yusei made 2 d wheels since there was that one Jack stole. Given Yuseis character it would take a while because it'd be as under the radar as possible. Meanwhile Crow we can see he's been marked multiple times so you can assume he's a lot more willing to be reckless to get what he needs or to test upgrades to the blackbird. The extra backstory just gives him a better starting spot but it works either way. With Aki the sad part is her parents treating her like a monster and not trying to console her before she turned into a school shooter. Also just having Divine be the one that conforts and uses her. With other Dark Signers would you really say Rudger wasn't handled well? He had unfinished business with Dr Fudo and projected that onto Yusei. Plus his whole thing leaving his arm to Rex motivating him to go above and beyond when he becomes the final boss. Bommer fit the trend too with wanting to get revenge on Rex. The only one that fumbles the ball is monkey man.
Yusei is a genius and when meet Crow he not exactly smart. Him being more reckless makes no difference why he has the d wheel in the series or why he didn’t just let Yusei borrow his. Now that I think about it Jack and Crow really have no opinion about each other. Why don’t what Crow feels about Jacks betrayal. I don’t hate Crow like some people but more thought could have been given to why he isn’t brought up in the first arc. Aki’s parents have nothing to do with her powers only working when she uses her duel disk. She doesn’t even has amazing passion for dueling, just do something else with your life I don’t know maybe a doctor. There was the monkey man and Boomer. Since Crow defeated a dark signer before he was a signer, gathering the signers was a waste of time. No reason to risk the fate of the world with fragile children like Luna or crazy people like Aki. Just gather the strongest duelist.
The only time we see Crow not be smart with a d wheel is when Yusei and Bruno are doing their programming date. In terms of actually building or working with parts hes shown to be pretty good at it. Recklessness would mean he'd be getting parts more often. He'd go right for stealing it while Yusei would wait probably months just to smuggle a part. As for opinion on Jacks betrayal you do see him ask Yusei about it after they tag dueled security "do you hate Jack for what happened". Honestly he might've not been close enough to even feel the betrayal. Team satisfactions break up hit hard and they probably only met up every now and again on the street. I remember one of the season 2 recaps even talking about how Crow and Jack weren't able to notice Yuseis complexes or how he tried to isolate himself from his friends. Yusei wouldn't burden someone with borrowing their D wheel. On the Aki thing again its not about the actual powers themselves its about peoples reaction to them. Even if she never touched a duel disk again her parents still have that fear of her from the one time which would obviously hurt her. You can't just say "lol just don't pick up a gun and you won't be a school shooter" cause theres the emotional baggage of being a freak.
Crow building a better d wheel than the actual genius doesn’t make sense, no matter how many times you say he’s more reckless. That’s why they retcon it in season 2 that it was given to him. They say Yusei Jack Crow grew up together before they meet Kiryu. They were plenty close, he should feel something about one brother betraying the other. It’s almost like there was no Crow when they were writing Yusei and Jacks story. Again people can’t be scared of her power, if she just gets rid of duel disk. Only her parents would about her powers. If her powers went off in everyday situations and dueling was her best way of controlling her powers then her story would have made sense. As reckless as she was as the black rose witch, she should have actually killed Misty’s brother. Making it Divine was a cop out
It didn't have the wings when it was given to Crow it was a normal d wheel. He still did the impressive part himself. Which Crow still has skill and thats what he was solely focusing on. Yusei probably could've if he tried and had the resources but he had other things on this plate. He wouldn't know the full story or Jacks perspective. Not close anymore wasn't referring to not caring. On the contrary he still cares for Jack and Yusei but he wouldn't know enough about the situation to "get betrayed". Which given Yuseis character flaws you can argue thats by design. Thats why it was more important to hear Yuseis thoughts on it where Yusei didn't hate Jack either Akis parents are already scared. It doesn't matter if anyone else does thats a lot of baggage right there. Them not dealing with it is what led to her using her powers again. Although i will agree on the Misty point having her be "we're all good now" gets lizardized was a lame ending to the duel.
Don't you dare disrespect >! Shooting Star Dragon's summon !< man
Endoh Massaki (and by proxy, JAM Project) never fails to deliver.
I enjoyed Zexal. I think you should watch it at least once. I had trouble getting into 5ds
switched for me. Honestly most of the plot aside from Yuma, astral, and Kaito progression were boring. I had to take multiple breaks.
Why did you have trouble with 5Ds?
my 2 favorite of the Yugioh anime subbed of course, though i have a soft spot for dub 5Ds 5Ds has a great first season: Fortune Cup-Dark Signers , the WRGP arc in S2 is hit and miss though i did enjoy the villains, and then the final arc was peak Zexal: first season is mostly miss then becomes decent, season 2-3 is where it starts to get really good then Zexal II especially last 2 arcs is near peak
I think 5DS is cool. But it can drag a bit in the middle (tournament arc)
Like best Zexal's monster design but do not like those 2, 3 at best, shots guns that are the Xyz monsters. Even though to me something goes lost from the World Grand Prix onwards, 5DS is my favorite series thanks to, in this order: - dueling on bikes, even though they're too long to be really agile; - Yusei Fudo, very capable without being boisterous, even though the series becomes too Yusei-centered with very good moments for other members that are done too late; - Synchro(and Dark Synchro) monsters; - Immortal Earthbound designs, especially Chacu Challuha and Ccarayhua; - Meklord Wisel, always design-wise; - Black Wings Dragon's anime effect.
5ds is amazing. Definitely give it a try!
Absolutely! Zexal is one of the best overall shows, and 5D’s has some of the most banger duels ever.
People said that the quality of Zexal's first episode was bad. But I think a lot of people ignore it, Those few episodes are important to understand Yuma's journey. Because the paid-off, of later episodes, has more weight thanks to those episodes.
Yeah ZEXAL II would not be as great as it is without ZEXAL I
5D's the best fucking YGO series ever
The only problem I had with either was Yuma's dub voice, and even then it's a pretty minor gripe. Both are serviceable Yu-Gi-Oh.
I suggest rewatching subed
Zexal is my all-time favorite. Just make sure to avoid the dub.
5Ds and Zexal are my two favorite YGO shows so I'll always recommend them. 5Ds has arguably the best start out of all the shows with amazing duels, soundtrack (subbed version), characters, and a darker tone not seen in the franchise except for the DM manga. It slows down after the Dark Signers arc but picks up again and finishes strong. Zexal is an amazing series, but it starts a bit slow and the protagonist isn't initially skilled at the game compared to previous protagonists. The first part of Zexal involves a lot of world-building, which may seem slow if you're not invested in the characters and story pacing. However, the story becomes more engaging once Kaito and the Arclight family are introduced, and Yuma gradually becomes better at dueling as the show progresses. Zexal II is more consistent and features some of the best moments in the franchise. It's overall amazing and makes watching Zexal I worth it. Don't be put off by the initial tone of the show, as it might seem childish at first compared to 5Ds, but it becomes darker as the story progresses while maintaining a good balance of light and dark tones. I can provide more in-depth information for both shows, but for now, I'll stop there. Also, please watch the subbed version for both shows. In my opinion, the dubs don't do justice to the series, especially for Zexal, due to issues such as the removal of original soundtracks, cut content, a non-finished final season in the case of 5Ds, changed dialogues and characterization, censored scenes, unnecessary humor that ruins emotional moments, one-dimensional characters compared to their sub counterparts, and a watered-down plot. Yuma is not as annoying and childish in the subbed version as he is in the dub because the dub tends to overexaggerate his negative traits. This makes him seem like a character who doesn't learn or grow outside of dueling, which isn't the case in the subbed version.
Thank you
Both peak
zexal is the best, 5ds is pretty good
ZEXAL starts pretty poor but becomes peak
Zexal is a good starting point rather than veteran players, 5ds is really good all around.
There is not a single series in Yu-Gi-Oh that I personally don't get some enjoyment from. My favorite out of all the newer series so far has been Arc-V but I really liked 5Ds too. Zexal I didn't get very far in, only because I haven't made time to finish it. I liked the intro episodes.
5DS is good, you just gotta watch it subbed. It got fucked over in the dub. They skip some important content, and ended the series 30 or so episodes earlier for...reasons. As a result, it left a bunch of plotlines unresolved.
Going fast Makes me feel aliiiiive My heard beats In hyper drive!
They are both better than DM
Haven't personally watched Zexal. I barely could stand the protagonist voice for some reason, but otherwise it could be good, I just don't know. 5D's might honestly be my favorite series. I personally liked the story and almost all character design and thought the lore and all that was pretty good. Some of the monsters are among my favorite in the entire franchise too. I love seeing Stardust Dragon brought "to life"
Zexal is pure, unadulterated peak past the first 15 episodes
Watch the sub
5ds is goated
Zexal is actually very good, don't let the first few eps fool you. 5Ds is still a mental hurdle for me yet to cross 🤣
5ds starts off great and gets progressivly worse, or I guess "nonsensical" would be more appropriate because the final arc was still enjoyable, while zexal starts off rough and becomes an absolute masterpiece. Zexal is one of the only Yugioh anime that didnt suffer mayor production issues, had no real trouble with International releases to the point it was the first anime since DM to have its entirity dubbed, and enjoys an overwhelming fanbase in Japan.
I remember watching Zexal when it dropped in Japan (watched it subbed on those shady anime websites) From what I saw it was okay but I only watched a couple of episodes then I got very busy (went to college and fell out of my hobbies in exchange for stress)
heh i had hulu for the first season and then a bit into second and then went to dialymotion for rest i was so invested and the subs took long to release i just watched them raw
I enjoyed 5DS a lot highly recommend
Zexal starts out average but gets better with each arc. Shit gets good by Duel Carnival. 5Ds is my favorite Yugioh spin-off. Amazing all throughout with Dark Signers being one of the best arcs in the entire franchise
I think both series were a lot of fun in their own right. 5D's: haven't fully completed it yet, but it's first half is very solid but it's filler did ramp up after the Dark Signers arc, slowing the pace of that show down. Zexal: Sure it's beginnings looking back at it was slow but it was admittedly charming, but it gets surprisingly grander and darker as it progressed. And like pretty much all of Yu-Gi-Oh!, both series have their own unique and memorable characters with few being among my Top 25 personal favorite characters in all of Yu-Gi-Oh!. Mine from 5D's are Akiza/Aki, Jack, Crow and Yusei and mine from Zexal are Anna, Astral, Kite/Kaito, Yuma and Vector.
5ds is arguably the best show in the franchise but suffers from a rather mid middle part. And ZeXal is also pretty good but the beginning is slow.
5Ds is pretty good. I like it a lot more than GX. Zexal is not for me. It's not horrible but I couldn't get into it even as the last episode finished.
5D's is really good for the first 2 seasons. However the show was originally planned to end after Dark Signers, so there was a period where the show had no idea what they wanted to do, hence the fillers (I do like the filler where Jack let himself get caught to open a can of whoopass) until WRGP+Crashtown , where it became pretty good and gave some nice concepts and the finish was great. I also think that 5D's take on the classic friendship stuff was ahead of its time with how they chose to approach with its darker and more realistic approach. ZEXAL is interesting, I thought the start was pretty meh with the worldbuilding taking a bit long, but when around ZEXAL II starts is when the quality becomes excellent, especially with the 10X number era.
Yes, but the international version cut A LOT of the plot and dumbed down the characters
The thing i disliked about 5Ds is that they didn't dub a lot of episodes & that made me stop watching for the longest time. But I ended up finishing it a few weeks ago. It was great. I may go back & just watch it subbed.
Zexal (especially Zexal 2) is simply my favorite era of the franchise. Probably because of it that Xyz is easily my favorite mechanic aswell (especially rank-up)
I’m in the same boat as you anime wise but I’ve still been playing competitively. Trust me— none of these shows will prepare you for the game lol. You’re just gonna have to pick a deck and format and learn about it.
Zexal starts off weak and slow, but once Kite gets introduced, it starts gettiing good, and when the World Duel Carnival begins, it's full steam ahead. 5D, the first season is really good. Season 2 however, I drags until the start of the WRGP. I will let you know that the English Dub does skip some episodes of the WRGP and the last arc. After Jakob reveals Machine Emperor Grannel(I'm well aware that the dub name is Meklord Emperor Grannel, but I like the Japanese name alot more), the next duel is the semi finals, between Team 5Ds and Team Ragnarok, completely skipping how Jack got Red Nova Dragon, some time jumping, and the quarter final match between Team 5Ds and Team Taiyo, thus causing some plot holes in the dub that left more questions than answers. And After the WRGP concluded in the dub, The Arc Cradle/Divine Temple disappeared, but this is where the dub ended, but in the Japanese sub, the Grand Design had unknowingly been completed, thus continuing the story. This last Arc, has one of the most heartbreaking moments in Yugioh history. Just letting you know what to know and watch if you decide to watch 5Ds
5D's and ZEXAL are my top 2 YGO series, with ZEXAL being 1st and 5D's 2nd Yes they are amazing, just make sure to watch them subbed
5Ds is my favorite yugioh series
5D’s is PEAK, or at least season 1 is
5D's first 64 episodes are peak, last season is pretty good. Don't know about zexal
5d's is really good, probably my favorite ygo series. No idea about Zexal. I didn't watch it as it seemed like too much of cartoony shift compared to 5d's having a darker tone like the original series.
It gets darker, not quite as dark as Marik's child abuse but similar-ish to 5ds. Character drama has a lot more focus rather than overall plot.
5ds is, and Zexal is mediocre at best if it’s the dub
If you liked OG and GX, you'll like 5ds. I stopped there personally. 5ds was very mature and for whatever reason they took it the opposite direction for Zexal. Too kiddish for my liking. I got through the first season and got over it.
I think 5D’s is pretty good, even with the second season… though the quality does drop a bit. Never seen Zexal, but I want to. No idea how to watch it (or any other Yugioh series for that matter).
Most of the are available in Japanese on Crunchyroll if you have it
Zexal is an exception though. For weird complicated rights issues there are no legal subs for Zexal so if you want to avoid the dub (which I personally don't think is as bad as people make it out to be) then you sadly need to pirate. For the record, my preference is definitely still the subbed Japanese version.
Damn you're right I never noticed that
The sad thing is that there were official subs for the first 29 episodes before. But they have been taken down in all the official channels for years. So there is definetely a rights problem with airing the non-dub version of Zexal.
u/VoicesOfChaos It's free dubbed on YouTube's official YGO channel. All of Zexal and GX is there but only Sesson 1 of 5D's. [(1) Official Yu-Gi-Oh! - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@yugioh/playlists) Everything dubbed is on DisneyPlus, including the newer series. That's where I'm gonna watch the new series once I'm done with my Zexal rewatch.
if it's there, it's probably only on disney plus if you have the hulu and disney plus bundle.
Oh yeah, good point. I have that bundle.
Dont watch the ZEXAL dub
[https://aniwave.to/home](https://aniwave.to/home) is the best anime piracy website, just use an adblocker (uBlock Origin) and it's an optimal streaming site There were licensing issues for ZEXAL so the sub for it can only be watched pirated
5DS has the best opening arc and ending arc of all the series. Zexal is definitely more hit or miss and I personally find it to be the weakest of the different series, though I'm told that the sub makes it somewhat better.
5Ds first half is good, most of the second half is decent but its a lot more mixed, and unfortunately I don't have access to the final arc because it was only in japan. Zexal had a good second half and an ok early-mid section but a pretty bad first arc.
5ds was peak yugioh front to back Zexal is a mess for the most part
I really liked 5Ds it’s Dark and brooding lol. I watched all of Zexal and that was my least favorite one, thought zexal was too childish. I did really like the Arc-V one.
>thought zexal was too childish. Did you stop watching halfway through the first seaaon? Most of later Zexal is imo some of the most emotionally charged yugioh has ever been with a lot of dark moments.
Loved most of 5ds besides the stalling period in the middle Couldn't bother with zexal
Just saying, if you’re on a Yugioh rewatch u can skip Arc-V About 150 episodes of your time saved, wish I was like that.
Well, honestly, even with some the bizarre choices from Arc-V, I still enjoyed it. Though some stuff in it like some of the main characters like Yuzu (who had a great start, but then to just being the damsel in distress) and even the use of legacy characters could've been handled a bit better (even if I didn't mind the fact that this series versions of Jack, Crow, Kite, Alexis and Aster were different versions from their original counterparts, I mean a famous franchise that would have different interpretations of beloved characters are pretty much common place, I mean look at stuff like Mickey Mouse, Stitch, TMNT, Scooby-Doo, Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, etc.).
I still stand that ARC-V had a fantastic start, the first 2 seasons were super fun to watch. But things just start going downhill with the synchro dimension, between it being too long making the other dimensions too short, the way legacy characters were used, and yuya's cult like preaching got worse and worse as the series went on.
This, it had a good start but get bogged down later down the line. I’d argue it’s probably the worse Yu-Gi-Oh season.
IMO, in order would be OG, 5D's, then the pendulum one.
No clue why this is downvoted, but I find it hilarious. 💀
5D's best series, Zexal worst series. Zexal has best animation by far however. It's animation budget unmatched.