In defense of DSoD
Yugi DID proove that he was the better duelist as he was completrly holding his own against Kaiba and initialy Aigami, Atem only appeared when all the supernatural shit started happening, it was more of Atem rewarding Yugi for never backing down against insurmantable odds, by that point it wasn't a duel anymore, it was a battle against an ancient egyptian eldritch horror so the good guys needed their own magic BS to win, which is completely fair

The thing about Kaiba in DSOD, not once did he let the rules hold him back.
When Aigami tried to disappear him, he rejected it with technology.
He pulled Obelisk out of the ground.
Kaiba was the only one who thought Atem would come back from the afterlife, they called him crazy, but Kaiba was proven right at the end. When Yugi asked him how he knew Atem would come back, “You have your bond with him, and i have mine.”

Even if it’s established that seeing the Pharaoh again was a one way trip, I have no doubt that he Kaiba would screw the rules and find a way back.

Darts: only if destroying an innocent soul concerns you
Kaiba: nah, as a CEO of a mayor company i do this every day

DSOD made Kaiba the best rival in Shonen. Correct me, which rival went to the lengths he went for a salty runback. Like he made a space elevator afterlife transporter to play a card game against your dead rival. Dedication.

16:35 - actually, Paradox doesn’t steal Neos, he stole Rainbow Dragon and Cyber End Dragon and so Judai attacked him to get them back. Neos only disappears because of the Paradox’s time travel preventing its creation, which is why Neos comes back when Yusei and Judai travel back in time.

You forgot to mention that Bonds Beyond Time is actually canon to 5D's! In the final arc which was never dubbed, it's revealed that Paradox was a member of Yliaster and close friends with both Z-one and Aporia! It's the only time in the entirety of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise where a main series actively references the events of a movie.

Yugioh dark side of dimension still my favorite Yugioh movie all time

I might be wrong but I think the reason why Kaiba was gonna die if he reached the afterlife in transcend game was because he didnt have the quantum cube (to travel to different dimensions). In the ending of dsod we see a frame that shows us he brought the cube with him, (I don't think he would bring it unless he needed it for something important) knowing that Kaiba has the skills to deflect it's energy when he came across Diva he could probably enhance it's power if he posseses the cube. We also see in the ending the black purple dust coming out of Kaiba, similar to Diva when he was in a dimension and he sees the ring. So in a way Kaiba might be planning on returning to Mokuba and not completely abandoning him if the quantum cube is able to take him back.

I like the author's drawing of the end of the original series; as I feel like it's a return to the original manga's spirit and the author's overall love for games of all kinds.

I would've loved to see the DM vs GX crossover movie. I think it wouldn't just be Yugi vs Jaden but also Joey vs Chazz, Mai vs Alexis, Kaiba vs Zane etc.

I really don't get why you didn't like the ending of DSOD. The entire movie is about Kaiba not being able to accept the death of the one and only person that allowed him to change as an individual, realize who he really was and what he had lost growing up (something you can't understand without reading the original Manga). Kaiba's story in the manga ends at the end of battle city, where he entrusts Atem with his support and goes on as a changed individual. In this movie, he doesn't just chase after Atem because he wants to prove himself as the superior duelist, I mean the only fact he loses to Aigami moments prior, or that he never went to the afterlife to beat Pegasus (the only other person who beat him) proves victory wasn't what he really was chasing after. What he really after was Atem, his rival, his only friend.
In the last moment of the movie, he goes on his one way trip because he couldn't move on, because he couldn't live in a world where Atem wasn't. It's tragic, and it's a sensitivity the Anime version of Kaiba lacks. Kaiba isn't just some egocentrical douchebag, he's a tragic character that didn't get to say goodbye to the one man that allowed him to become a better person.
Although I agree, Atem definitely shouldn't have come back during that final duel.

That duel with Pegasus in the Waking the Dragons shouldn't really count since that Pegasus was just Alister in disguise.

Two things I loved about DSOD was Yugi's major confidence boost. This is the king of games here. He stepped up to duel Aigami and then immediately switched up to give Kaiba the business.

Second, Yugi's endgame strategy was just like what he did with Atem too but with a little change. For Atem, he negated monster reborn to show the dead no longer needed to linger in the world of the living. But for Kaiba, Yugi gave him his monster reborn to show that they're now in opposite positions. Where Kaiba talked of moving on and not obsessing over the past, here he is clawing at a chance to get back the pharaoh while Yugi is choosing to look ahead and live the life he wished for when he first put the puzzle together.

I always thought it would have been cool if instead of the 3 protagonists fighting together they each fight him in their own times and instead the movie goes back and forth showing the duels and paradox would be using monsters from the other times, ie yugi vs paradox with malefic stardust and synchros, yusei vs paradox with malefic fusions and jaden vs the classic dm malefic monsters. It would also be cool if the 3 protagonists all won the duels by the same method like a destiny draw or something.

Wait... but Pegasus in Waking the Dragons was actually Alister in disguise. So doesn't really count as a rematch for Kaiba getting his win.

My headcanon for the ending of DSOD is that kaiba goes to the afterlife, looses to atem, and as punishment just to fuel his spite, gets sent back to the living world so that he cant vs atem anymore. and then the illustration future continues.

For those wondering or talking about it, Kaiba does return after DSoD. The creator confirmed it before passing away. He had some art drawn up and one is of Yugi and Kaiba in a Satellite playing a game. Which he confirmed as a Canon event in the storyline after DSoD. Hope that helps!

in waking the dragons, kaiba doesnt duel pegasus, he duels the oricalcos guy who starts the duel in pegasus cosplay

The Kaiba and “Pegasus” duel in the filler arc was not an actual duel against Pegasus it was a duel against Aliester disguised as Pegasus. The argument makes no sense.

... Actually that wasn't Pegasus in Waking the Dragon, it was Alister. Also, Paradox never stole Neos; he just ran away plotting to now go after Pegasus and kill him. And Paradox connects back to 5d's with Z-ONE. Plus, Yusei wouldn't agree as that means Neo Domino ceases to exist as does his friends. But I agree, Bonds Beyond Time is great but B? And we did get Judai vs Yugi in Season 4... SHAME IT WAS NEVER DUBBED.
... B? Hmm... okay. I do like the illustration as Kaiba was able to move on and Yugi began to move to his future too.