Anime Review | Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s: Season 1 (Lights, Camera, Action!)

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's: Season 1 (UK Rating: 12)

For many over here, watching "cartoons" that were in fact Western releases of anime, was their actual introduction to the style, and also the start of a lifelong passion for the medium. Depending on the age of the fans, each has their era of cartoons/anime and each will argue vehemently that their era was the best. The 2000s had plenty to argue about, from the Western world there were series like Teen Titans and Avatar that captured the feel of anime, while significant anime series got their Western versions, too. Anime like Pokémon, Inuyasha and, of course, Yu-Gi-Oh.

The Yu-Gi-Oh originally introduced to Western audiences was actually the adaptation of the second anime series entitled Duel Monsters. This dub from 4kids lasted a massive five years, with over 200 episodes, and when the original series ended, its fans got to enjoy uncut re-releases along with movies and games. A spin-off series entitled Yu-Gi-Oh GX was released while the original series was still running in 2005, with the same insane hairstyles and focus on a card game. This series, 5D's, is the second spin-off. Set in the far future, the game decides to change things up a little. Hang on to your sense of disbelief, as in this world the Duel Monster card game has been revved up to actually take place on motorcycles called Duel Runners…

It's a familiar premise: a future world where the rich and wealthy live in the opulence of Domino City, while the poor are relegated to living in Satellite, an area where the trash and sewage of Domino City ends up. The series starts by establishing a rivalry: former best friends from Satellite, the hero Yusei Fudo and his rival Jack Atlas. Yusei dreamt of getting his friends out of Satellite and to Domino City, so he built a Duel Runner and planned to take on the Turbo Duels of the city. These Turbo Duels in the Kaiba Dome are open to all and the champion becomes a star. Yusei hopes to become champion and to use that fame to move his friends out of Satellite. With his custom Duel Runner and prized Stardust Dragon card in his deck, he had a chance until Jack defeated Yusei in a Turbo Duel and stole both Yusei's Duel Runner and Stardust Dragon. Since that day, Jack has become the famous undefeated champion in Domino City, using what he took from Yusei, but now Yusei has finally built a new deck and a new Duel Runner to begin the first steps to taking his revenge, getting his card back and getting his friends out of the slums.

This is the 4Kids version and comes heavily edited and cut with numerous changes to the original. As a result, 4Kids has become a 4Letter word to many fans of the anime world and with good reason. Its overzealous editing, often cutting out huge plot points and ruining the source material, sadly is present, as ever. Similarly, the dub work is terrible. The English dub work of 4Kids' releases is often one of the biggest complaints from fans and, again, this is sadly the case here. This is on par with the horrendous One Piece dub, as the voice actors seem to be doing comedy voices at points, with put on accents that sound completely absurd.

It's not all bad, and Yu-Gi-Oh fans will be happy to know the same card battles which were such a high point of the original, are back and just as enjoyable, even when they are performed as Turbo Duels. There's also plenty of content for the price tag, with this huge first season having over 24 hours of duelling to enjoy… although, perhaps enjoy is the wrong word.

5/10

Average

A series that was on a collision course from the get-go, combining the 4Kids butchering with a series that takes itself a little too serious, results in something even the most ardent Yu-Gi-Oh fans will have trouble with. Hopefully, one day the original Japanese version of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's will get an unedited release and the Western world will be able to see how the two compare.