Review of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal

This review will be based on the original Japanese version, not the edited English version. Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, the 4th series of the whole Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, was a massive disappointment compared to the previous three series. Unlike the previous three, where they were all connected chronologically. But Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal has no connection to any of the previous three series at all. So basically, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal is a series on its own. It does not serve as a sequel to Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s. This series should never have existed, but unfortunately, it did came to existence. This series is a lot more childish compare to any of the previousthree series, which made this series far less enjoyable than the previous three series. Some people thought that Zexal is a sequel, as some monsters from Duel Monsters and Duel Monsters GX were seen in episodes 15. But there is still not enough proof that this is a sequel. Fusion, Ritual, and Syncho monsters (and Tuners) were never used in this series. There were no reference to Neo Domino City either. Instead, we get a childish-looking city called Heartland. The only special type of cards they use are called Xyz.

I almost dropped the whole series of Zexal. But what kept me watching was due to the storyline. The storyline seemed decent so far, but still not the best compare to the previous three series. The plot mainly involves dimensions, revenge, and…in the case of Yuma (the main protagonist), searches for his father and collect 99 ‘‘Number(s) Cards’’ for Astral, an alien messenger from the Astral World. The first few episodes were quite boring. They were like fillers to me. Nothing really happened, just duels after duels and get some Number Cards. The pace is almost like the beginning of Duel Monsters GX, which was also quite slow. The plot seemed to be moving a bit just after about episode 20, which got interesting, and got me at least hooked a bit, and it became more interesting in the World Duel Carnival arc. If the plot isn’t good, I would’ve scored a 4 or 5 for this anime and would’ve stopped watching. The plot is the only reason why I’m looking forward to the second part of this series, ‘’Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Second’’, nothing else.

Zexal has a lot of annoying parts if anybody have noticed. Unlike the previous three series, where the plot and other things were almost unique to each other. But in Zexal, there were a lot of things that resembles the previous three series:
- The Emperor's Key that Yuma wears on his neck is a similar idea to the Millennium Puzzle that Yugi wears.
- Astral is a being who is connected to that Key, just like the Pharaoh (Atem), who had a connection with the Puzzle.
- Kaito after transforming into his duelling form looked really similar to Jack Atlas from 5D’s.
- Xyz monsters followed mostly the same summoning conditions as Sycho monsters from 5D’s.
- The World Duel Carnival where there are some implications behind the tournament reminds me of the Fortune Cup and the WRGP (World Riding Grand Prix) in 5D’s, since these tournaments all had some dark intentions behind the scenes.
- Both Astral and the Pharaoh were searching for their lost memories.
- The Xyz cards have the same background colour as the Dark Syncho cards in 5D's.
- And most obvious one, Yuma’s height is like Yugi’s; His hair style is like Yusei’s; His attitude is almost like Judai’s.
There maybe more than the ones I listed. But all these were quite annoying. It shows the laziness of the producers, who should at least try to make this another unique Yu-Gi-Oh! series. But they failed.

The animation was good. I liked the CG effects for some of the Xyz monsters. But I hated the art style for the characters and some other monster cards! It deviates completely from the art styles of the previous three series. For me, Duel Monsters and 5D’s have the best art styles. Duel Monsters GX is also good. But Zexal failed to have a decent art style. All the buildings were too colourful, and too much different colours on them. Also, some characters such as Tokunosuke and Tetsuo, don’t even look like a normal human. Not to mention Yuma’s hair looked ridiculous with the pinky colour in the middle!

The opening and ending themes in Zexal were really good. Particularly the 2nd opening and ending songs. Though I hated the 3rd opening song for some reason. The OSTs in each episode were good, but not all of them though. Some OSTs for duels were really good, as they capture the tension during the duels.

The mightiest annoyance in Zexal are the characters. I loved Yugi, Judai, and Yusei very much from the previous three series. As all of them had a great character development. Judai was a bit annoying sometimes, but in later episodes, he bacame a decent character. I was expecting Yuma to be a decent character too, but he turned out to be the worst protagonist ever! He is amateur at duelling at the start of the show, so it’s almost like everything starts on a new page. The re-explanation of how to play the card game was just annoying, Yuma’s childish behaviour was intolerable, especially during duels that were meant to be really serious. But he is not as annoying as Tokunosuke and Takashi. Both of them were really annoying and should be kicked out from the whole series! Cathy (or Cat-chan) is also quite annoying. But at least Kaito and Ryoga were very interesting characters. Both were really serious during tense situations and never acted childish at all. Kotori was a good character as well. Most of the main villains were ok, particularly Tron, as the theme of revenge comes from him.

I enjoyed this series, but not very much. The duels were ok, but somehow not as exciting to watch as the other series. Yuma vs. III is the only duel I liked so far. And the duel against one of the main villains (Dr. Faker). The plot is the only thing that made this series at least worth watching. For those who hate childish characters like in this series, then Zexal would not be the anime for you. But if you are a big fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! and have no bother of annoying characters, then you might like this series.