Toei series: I watched a few episodes back in the day, and my first exposure was the movie. Don't have much interest in it honestly but surprised it's never been made legally available in the US even though the manga has and is just if not more brutal.
Duel Monsters: Basically everything except the Millenium Arc (I just don't have any interest in it), though note unlike everything else primarily dubbed. I watched Duelist Kingdom subbed awhile back, and one day I'll finish it.
Oh I watched the movie in theaters and Capsule Monsters, but have yet to watch the Darkside of the Duel or whatever it's called. Maybe because I feel the promotion for that ruined Arc-V which I was enjoying lol.
GX: This hit right when I learned about subs and so I watched the first two seasons as they aired, which basically corresponded to my own High School experience which was cool. Dropped it in Season 3 when it got too dark, and didn't pick it up though I read summaries of what happened...a few years later I watched Season 4 and considered it one of the highlights of Yu-Gi-Oh honestly. Still need to watch the last half of Season 3, right now I'm halfway through Season 2 watching it on and off over the last couple of years.
I watched the first season of the dub and found it fun though TBH I found how gaggy it got distracting and kind of obnoxious. Anyway I haven't touched a dub since.
5Ds: First 52 episodes or so...HYPE. I mean it stumbles a bit during the Dark Signers, but probably Yugioh at its best. For some reason as a kid I was very aggressive in defending Season 2 on Janime.net back in the day but then I quickly realized it kind of lost the plot...potentially due to a cult as we later learned? I've only seen like ten episodes of the second season and have like almost 100 episodes left to watch, but from what I hear it's a ton of long, repetitive Duels.
Also I've yet to watch the big crossover film haha.
Zexal: Skipped over this when it was airing because it was aimed at newer fans, watched about 40 or so episodes of it awhile back and enjoyed it...it's definitely different from previous seasons with the lack of basically any classic cards or summoning methods, but was fun at the very least. For some reason everything else is subbed on Crunchyroll but this series, I had to use fansubs, and thus haven't had an easy way to try and pick things up. I've heard people say Zexal II gets good but I don't know if I'll ever get around to it.
Arc-V: I really enjoyed watching this show when it first aired, it had a fun plot that kept you guessing and entertaining characters. Though I usually let a couple months pass before catching up. I thought the Synchro Arc was actually really good, but it undoubtedly lasted so long it felt the show rushed through the Xyz and Fusion stuff after that...maybe the cast was working on the Darkside of the Duel? I have about 30 episodes left. Last episode I remember was this really ugly filler with a pirate captain, which seemed like a reference to the awkward GX episode with the pedophile submarine captain lol.
VRAINS: I remember watching the first few episodes and disliking it a lot. Just seemed to throw you into the plot without explaining anything. I've watched like 30 episodes or so over time, and just found it pretty unremarkable except for the kickass OP. Most people don't seem to have high opinions on it, perhaps because it introduced some controversial rules in the main game...those have since been reversed but I don't have much interest in finishing this.
Sevens: I've been watching this weekly since it aired and it's really fun...every Duel is only an episode so it has a quick pace, it has fun characters, and, well, it's a comfort show to enjoy at the end of every week. Hasn't quite hit the same high as the more "mature" series, but I really appreciate when kid shows actually seem to give a damn to atleast make you feel good even if the animation is pretty ho-hum. Reminds me the younger spin off of Digimon, Appmon, with the same vibe and surprising heart.
Duel Monsters: Basically everything except the Millenium Arc (I just don't have any interest in it), though note unlike everything else primarily dubbed. I watched Duelist Kingdom subbed awhile back, and one day I'll finish it.
Oh I watched the movie in theaters and Capsule Monsters, but have yet to watch the Darkside of the Duel or whatever it's called. Maybe because I feel the promotion for that ruined Arc-V which I was enjoying lol.
GX: This hit right when I learned about subs and so I watched the first two seasons as they aired, which basically corresponded to my own High School experience which was cool. Dropped it in Season 3 when it got too dark, and didn't pick it up though I read summaries of what happened...a few years later I watched Season 4 and considered it one of the highlights of Yu-Gi-Oh honestly. Still need to watch the last half of Season 3, right now I'm halfway through Season 2 watching it on and off over the last couple of years.
I watched the first season of the dub and found it fun though TBH I found how gaggy it got distracting and kind of obnoxious. Anyway I haven't touched a dub since.
5Ds: First 52 episodes or so...HYPE. I mean it stumbles a bit during the Dark Signers, but probably Yugioh at its best. For some reason as a kid I was very aggressive in defending Season 2 on Janime.net back in the day but then I quickly realized it kind of lost the plot...potentially due to a cult as we later learned? I've only seen like ten episodes of the second season and have like almost 100 episodes left to watch, but from what I hear it's a ton of long, repetitive Duels.
Also I've yet to watch the big crossover film haha.
Zexal: Skipped over this when it was airing because it was aimed at newer fans, watched about 40 or so episodes of it awhile back and enjoyed it...it's definitely different from previous seasons with the lack of basically any classic cards or summoning methods, but was fun at the very least. For some reason everything else is subbed on Crunchyroll but this series, I had to use fansubs, and thus haven't had an easy way to try and pick things up. I've heard people say Zexal II gets good but I don't know if I'll ever get around to it.
Arc-V: I really enjoyed watching this show when it first aired, it had a fun plot that kept you guessing and entertaining characters. Though I usually let a couple months pass before catching up. I thought the Synchro Arc was actually really good, but it undoubtedly lasted so long it felt the show rushed through the Xyz and Fusion stuff after that...maybe the cast was working on the Darkside of the Duel? I have about 30 episodes left. Last episode I remember was this really ugly filler with a pirate captain, which seemed like a reference to the awkward GX episode with the pedophile submarine captain lol.
VRAINS: I remember watching the first few episodes and disliking it a lot. Just seemed to throw you into the plot without explaining anything. I've watched like 30 episodes or so over time, and just found it pretty unremarkable except for the kickass OP. Most people don't seem to have high opinions on it, perhaps because it introduced some controversial rules in the main game...those have since been reversed but I don't have much interest in finishing this.
Sevens: I've been watching this weekly since it aired and it's really fun...every Duel is only an episode so it has a quick pace, it has fun characters, and, well, it's a comfort show to enjoy at the end of every week. Hasn't quite hit the same high as the more "mature" series, but I really appreciate when kid shows actually seem to give a damn to atleast make you feel good even if the animation is pretty ho-hum. Reminds me the younger spin off of Digimon, Appmon, with the same vibe and surprising heart.
