Yu☆Gi☆Oh!: Sevens is, as the name implies, the seventh instalment in the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" franchise. Quite frankly, if you want my opinion summed up in a flash, it's a breath of fresh air from the otherwise stagnant state previous anime found themselves in. As such a statement implies, Sevens is radically different from its predecessors. To give you a list, it's: Slice of life focused, got tight knit 12 to 15 episode arcs, good about not forgetting plot points and, most importantly of all, it's light-hearted. It takes a more comedic angle of attack compared to the more traditionally heroic predecessors. This means that Sevens has alot of jokes, puns and catchphrases in it; this may be off-putting to some. In my opinion, the show was hitting all the right spots with its comedy. Mileage may vary, however, as I recognize it's not something everyone is going to appreciate or enjoy. Naturally, even for those who do enjoy the comedy, not all of it is going to land for every person. To me, though, the quality of gags is consistently high enough to be an entertaining ride start-to-finish.

That being said, while Sevens likes to goof around a lot, that doesn't mean there's no story to be found. We follow our main character, Ohdo Yuuga, as he tries to change the rigid world of dueling by installing his new "Rush Duel" format of rules. He has all sorts of misadventures trying to protect his new format, together with the help of some friends he picks up along the way of course. There's always a new antagonist out to destroy rush duels once and for all. As you may have guessed, Rush Duels play a very important part in the story. If you're not familiar with them, though, you may ask this: what *are* they? I'll give you a rundown, but I'll be assuming you know how the original game works. To be short about it, it's a completely separate format with its own card pool made up of largely new cards, separate from the main game of "Yu-Gi-Oh!". You can normal summon any number of times in the turn. The player for their turn draws until their hand is up to 5 cards. There are only 3 monster and spell/trap zones and, finally main phase 2 is entirely gone. It goes straight from the battle phase to end phase.

With the quick explanation of *what* rush duels are out of the way, one thing you're going to have to live with in this show is that EVERY duel is a rush duel. Master duels are not the focus here, and won't be for the forseeable future of the franchise... and unfortunately for Sevens, if it falls short in any department, then its duel writing would be that. Most duels in Sevens are only one episode and during that time last only four turns. With the format being entirely new, this doesn't help its early duels to stand out. While the latter half of the show can keep things exciting due to building on mechanics established earlier, the first half of Sevens will feel painfully slow (which is ironic, given the nature of the duels) as plays are overly simplified for the sake of easing new players into a new game. Duels can also feel incredibly... rushed. As stated, however, this problem is mostly resolved in the back end of the show. There are also other aspects that stand out as much, much stronger.

For one, the character writing in Sevens is positively charming. While it's true that most characters have a gimmick to them that they refuse to drop at any point in the show, they still manage to be more than -just- their gimmick. Almost everyone you'll meet, even the one-shot characters, is endearing in their own unique way. The cast bounces off each-other well and the core cast of characters, especially our protagonist Yuuga, are all incredibly likeable. You genuinely want to root for these kids as they try to fight and work towards their dreams, especially as their goals are often innocent and very admirable. Sevens' character writing is incredibly optimistic, with very little cynicism to be found. It makes for a refreshing breather from how miserable some of the other shows could get at their most dramatic.

The story is also a positive, as while not always the most complex, it does keep building on itself. Not a single plot point is forgotten and even a character who's only shown up once in the first 10 episodes can suddenly make a quick reappearance to help out in the final arc. There are some signs of rushing the plot near the end, but overall you get the sense that the writers knew what story they wanted to tell and kept building to their intended climax. Sevens takes a slight mystery aspect to it, where it leaves the audience guessing as to what the bigger picture is. It helps draw an interconnected thread throughout the various mini-arcs and, overall, these elements work incredibly well to tell a coherent and consistent tale across its 92 episodes. While Sevens doesn't pretend to get dark for even a moment, there's still an incredibly fun ride to be had.

As you may have guessed, I personally really like the show. It's charming in so many ways and so very, very different from everything else in its franchise. If you go in with an open mind and don't expect the traditional "Yu-Gi-Oh!" experience, you might find a lot to like here. Even if you don't, there is no world in which sevens could be considered a bad show. There are certainly more issues you could raise with the characters and story writing than I presently have, this is true. That doesn't mean that its lows are awful by any means, though. Its quality is consistent, for better or worse, and if you like the first few episodes even a little, there is no doubt you'll enjoy the rest of the show as it only gets better over time.