Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions (2017)

Excellent, a Must See

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

So overall, this was actually pretty good. I loved the visual upgrade the series' style got. I loved seeing all the characters again. I mean, my score basically shows that I liked it over all. However, there were a few things that detracted from it for me.First off, Kaiba's sudden overwhelming obsession to bring back the Pharaoh. I get it, he believes in the ancient Egypt stuff now, but... given how the series ended, I don't understand why he'd be obsessed with dueling the Pharaoh and not Yugi, the person who actually defeated our favorite puzzle spirit. Also to the point where he would risk his own life to travel through space and time just to duel the man again. This is almost insane levels of obsession to the point where it kind of detracts from his character. While duel monsters was always important to him before, in the series he never really went to these extremes for it. Still, his overall part in this story was pretty amazing. He was made out to be a complete bamf and earned every glorious second of it. Plus his intelligence was really shining based solely on the technological advances he's pioneered since the series. Like, dang, boy's got serious smarts. Also apparently some good one-liners.Now on to the main conflict. Okay, so... This was pretty much entirely Kaiba's fault due to his obsession over bringing back the Pharaoh. The reasoning behind the antagonist's motives were somewhat flimsy. Kind of a basic "we don't want to lose our ultimate power" kind of thing on the surface (and holy cow was Diva OP as heck. It's a shock he didn't just wipe out the universe while he was at it). Props to the writers for finding a way to tie in the series and create this kind of mind-blowing story for Shadi, though. As to my thoughts on Diva and Shadi's child followers, well, they're a bit mixed. Diva (and a diva he truly is in terms of angst) is a character I can sympathize with. However I am a little disappointed that at the end of it all it was really the spirit of the millennium ring that issues the greatest threat. The return of the Pharaoh was great. There really is no way to describe the scene so I really suggest that even if people don't watch the movie, they should just track down that scene and take it in. The build up and tension was amazing and honestly I'd watch this again multiple times.As to my opinion on how the whole ending turns out, well, given the opening scene with Kaiba winning against hologram Yami/Atem and then him not losing to Yugi later on (and this purposefully being shown to the audience), I get the feeling the end probably actually is the time that Kaiba beats the real Pharaoh in a duel and redeems himself even though we never actually see the duel happen. This was basically a movie focused on Kaiba, after all, and it shows his change in attitude about the past and dueling into something akin to his own version of the heart of the cards, meaning he's finally dueling on a level that is equal to that of the Pharaoh. Heck, I'm actively rooting for him to win just based on all he's done and accomplished just to get that far. While I wish I could see that duel play out, I have little doubt about the outcome given all this movie has shown and hinted at.

Satoshi Kuwabara co-writes and directs this original anime. The stakes could not be any higher as the rivalry between Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba reaches the boiling point. The risks never so great; one wrong move, one wrong card...or one card short. The right monsters at the wrong time. The battle is for two key pieces of the Millennium Puzzle.You don't need Yu-Gi-Oh cards or even be a follower to enjoy the fantastic cinematography. Lack of Yu-Gi-Oh knowledge will not keep you from enjoying this film. The game is not over until it is over! Card playing prowess reigns supreme.Character voices supplied by: Dan Green, Kenjiro Tsuda, Eric Stuart, Daniel Edwards, Kana Hanazawa, Laurie Hymes, Kazunari Kojima and Kento Hayashi.

The thing I can tell you for sure is this: I want more of this. This movie was amazing and it ignited something long forgotten from my childhood in me. This movie is all what gaming is about, and no other series does it better. While it was made to be with more advanced game-play, and not for newer players, it took a risk in being more inclined to a specific audience. And that for me is worth a 10 start in itself. Nowdays movies try to please everyone, and please no one, but they knew their fan-base and gave them something they needed. Also, they nailed it with the quantity and quality. This movies has a lot of content that could peak your interest. I really missed this series and now it proved that, the author's success is well deserved.

Without a doubt my favorite thing about this Movie is it brought all the previous voice actors back together to what I consider a wonderful conclusion to the Original Yugioh Franchise. Was it absolutely astonishing? No, not by a mile. But I must admit this movie had a ton of fan-service that always makes me happy to see. Of course this movie isn't for everyone but that doesn't mean it's a fun experience. It's actually much more mature than I actually expected which in my ideal that is pretty nice, especially for long time fans. It's very nicely animated as well, and always a treat is that I think they did a immensely wonderful performance with all the Characters. Sure some fall apart but I think Dan Green did a wonderful job as Yugi Moto again. Of course all speculating of how I think they did a great job, I would say the only flop of this film is it's more directed to the fans, though that doesn't mean you can't get into it. It's plentiful with wonderful characters, unique backstories, and amazing performances. This is defiantly a watch for anybody interested!