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Was Yu-Gi-Oh Better WITHOUT The Card Games? (Season 0 Analysis, Reaction And Review)

Daiya Beatus

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I recently watched the Toei Animation Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime, colloquially referred to as Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0, and I was surprised to find out that Yu-Gi-Oh! had not always been solely about card games, instead it used to be about games in general. So I thought I would make this video, in order to share my reactions, thoughts and opinions on this very interesting, darker toned era of this beloved anime series...

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Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro
00:03:02 Season 0 Characters Summary
00:09:07 Analysing The Games Of Season 0
01:00:02 Outro

20 Comments

@YunoYudu97 1 year ago

Yoooo, finally a comprehensive review of the Toei series

@Diabl0Mask 1 year ago

I always found Jonouchi more badass in the manga, not only because he was introduced as a strong delinquent, but the way he was drawn always kept that sharp look on his face even later on when he became an underdog, in comparison the Duel Monsters anime turned him into a comic relief idiot by filling his screen time with cartoonish faces.

@setteplays 1 year ago (edited)

50:10 In the manga Exodia also represents his friends, but with Yami and Yugi separated instead of Miho. It’s very intentional, just like the millennium puzzle itself.

And the movie is called a movie because it aired on theaters along with the first digimon movie and a Dr. Slump movie. It all adds up to a feature length film.

Nice review! I love to see people’s impressions on this anime

@Iris_1217 1 year ago

Man, the Dragon Block segment is so different in the manga. Imori isn't possessed, he's just evil and wants to steal the Millennium Puzzle. Also he dies.

@Shattercoin 1 year ago

9:30 there's not actually any lore implications, they're just straight up the same guy because despite how advanced 5Ds is it canonically takes place within 50 years of OG DM

@BobFauci 1 year ago

34:45 I noticed you mentioned she didn't mindcrush her because of respect for each other. I can't be sure, but I think it may be more that she didn't cheat and kept her end of the deal. Mind Crush is a Punishment, and all of his Punishments are for people who Cheat or don't keep their ends of the bets.

@KudoTsurugi 1 year ago

59:28 To answer the movie question, the Season 0 movie was shown in something called the Toei Anime Fair, a series of collected short films released in cinemas biannually. Depending on the length of the movies shown, it would screen 2-3 short films at a total runtime of 90 minutes.
Fun Fact: the Yu-Gi-Oh season 0 movie was screened alongside the first Digimon short movie, "Digimon Adventure"(the first third of the Americanized 'Digimon: The Movie)), and one of the Dr Slump short films.

@nightmarearcade2663 1 year ago

Personally I feel like the card game was just too vital to Yu-Gi-Oh's current day popularity to say it was better without it. To this day I've always wondered how Yu-Gi-Oh would've gone if Takahashi never leaned into the card game. Which is probably why season 0 is so special to a lot of fans as it gives you what's essentially a glimpse into a universe where Yu-Gi-Oh never became card game focused.

@auroresidio3176 1 year ago

9:30
Easy enough: Yami fresh out of the Puzzle was so nasty and vindictive after centuries trapped in a jigsaw taht he also made him immortal to make sure he suffered for eternity after the terrible sin he committed of "being the first mother flipper to have wronged his baby boy Yugi"...that, or the writers of 5Ds really liked season 0 and made a character exactly like him as a reference.

@CynderSpirit 1 year ago

Season 0 was basically the manga adaptation of Yugioh, I honestly wish we could get a renewed version of this series and they can honestly release it for mature audiences since its more acceptable for animation these days.

@nickkelley9139 1 year ago

Your point about Exodia really just causes the decision to make Miho a main character go from some inexplicable decision to seemingly a case of absolute brilliance from the writers. If they did that on purpose, serious kudos to them, and it makes me wish Miho stuck around.

@lefteron6804 1 year ago

Fun fact about the lazer tag game in the manga, instead of Jonochy getting immediate taken out he managed to sneak up on one of the mercenaries and dropkicked him in the back of the head leaving him unconscious. Then Honda through a series of events managed to take out the other two.

@DerekLiu-vz3cl 1 year ago

The different games definitely made the series more interesting but you can't deny the series wouldn't have been the success it would be today with the card game.

@duncanfery9377 1 year ago

Something nice about Junoichi's past is that his father is a gambler and a big part of his deck is bet based

@s.l.r.9407 1 year ago

Season 0 and the manga are great, people are missing out!

@yusharider 1 year ago

I've always loved the tabletop arc in this show. Especially now that I'm dming a yugioh themed game.

@AceWolf456 1 year ago (edited)

I like you breaking down each episode, it's cool hearing your input. You also have a really good voice, I like listening to you talk. You're one of a few creators who I watch both edited videos and vods.

@lefteron6804 1 year ago

I do reccomend a read of the manga. There are many stories that aren't adepted and those that are, are very different. This series also has many original stories, such as Kaiba's lutenants.

@ambersummer22 1 month ago

19:11 ahhhh, so this is the spiky haired kuriboh from the Dragon Ball FighterZ mod

@KingSpectre844 1 year ago

50:10 Counterpoint, if you include Yami as his own person then the friend group is actually 6 (5 without Miho) so even in the manga, the metaphor still maps on quite well numbers-wise. Throughout the series, Yami forges his own bonds with these kids even if he only initially steps up for them on Yugi's behalf. I'd argue that, even without the others explicitly knowing that Yami is his own person and not just another side of Yugi, at this point the crew would consider Yami a valued friend, distinct from Yugi, and vice versa.

There's a fair amount of subtlety regarding the early dynamic between Yugi and Yami, and how that interplay is reflected in the friend group, in the early chapters/season 0 that I really appreciate.