So seven episodes in and this series is legitmately good! Not just better than Zexal (low fucking bar), legitimately good and entertaining.
The characters are fun and interesting, still sort of archetypical but fleshed out and explored enough where they don't come off as simple two dimensional cardboard cutouts. Yuuya isn't the greatest protagonist in the world but at least he has a legitimate character arc with his desire to live up to his father as well as the plethora of insecurities along with it, legitimate emotional conflicts that make me invested in the character. The other characters are fun and quirky, thank fucking God for Yuzu, a female character with some goddamn initiative and who's not just a cheerleader. The designs are much better and fun and pleasing to look at. The direction is much less obnoxious, it's still a bit shoneny and over the top but that's fine, that's hwo all the Yu-gi-oh series were, Zexal just upped it to fucking eleven and was so in your face with the close angle shots and the opponents somersaulting over and over when hit by an attack, this is much more restrained and precise in its directing.
The story so far is a big question mark since you don't really know where it's going. I'm fine with it though, the characters are interesting enough and I really like the pacing, it's slow but methodical, it fleshes out the characters well and every episode, there's a new plot element introduced that ties into the main story. It's not just random pointless filler duel of the weak, there's a clear vision and direction to the show that makes me very hopeful.
The best stuff are the duels, easily the duels, holy shit I love the duels. First fucking duel had Swamp Battleguard, SWAMP BATTLEGUARD! That's so awesome. I was so sick of the duels in Zexal which all boiled down to, I use this Maurding Captain like card to summon another monster like it and EXCEED summon and now I'll spend the rest of the duel powering up this monster and it's chaos variants. Here's there's actual strategy, different forms of strategy, where the duelists win using different cards focusing on different aspects of the game. And it's all fun and creative and the strategies and deck themes fit the characters using them! The best duel so far was the fusion duel, a honest to god fusion monster with a pretty good effect! The pendulum summoning isn't annoying as I thought, a bit overused but we're just at the start and already their weaknesses are being exploited and I doubt Yuuya is going to go the entire season lucky enough to have the two pendulums and three monsters in his hand. Even the first exceed summon was interesting using cards from the graveyard intentionally sent there by anticipating the opponent's use of a Monarch deck. The duels are a tad simple and over-explained, they're kinda talking to cheap seats with them but fuck it, I'll take simple because at least it's smart and easy to follow and interesting not like Zexal where cards had a million goddamn effects that had nothing to do with each other and you couldn't follow anything.
I really aired praise on the show when I'm only seven episodes in, it could turn to complete shit from this point on for all I know. And it's not thaaaaat good either, but you know neither was 5Ds at the start but it took its time and it ended up being really good. And this new show is taking its time too and I really like that and really hope it pays off. Either way, after Zexal, it's SUCH a breath of fresh air. It's good to watch Yu-gi-oh again not out of a sense of obligation but for being legitimately interested and entertained by the show.
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Oh and one thing I forgot to mention, this show is funny, really funny, I never laughed once during Zexal but cracked up in the first episode of Arc V!