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theseventhl's review against another edition
2.0
I can say with all honesty that this manga was a waste of time. It's an irrelevant, forgettable part of the overall Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. Fortunately, this book is a quick read. Unfortunately, the whole series is five volumes long. Five volumes?! One only shudders as the thought of so much filler material included in so many books. You'd be better off rereading all 30+ volumes of Yu-Gi-Oh classic.
You can read my complete review of YU-GI-OH R volume one at my manga review blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/
You can read my complete review of YU-GI-OH R volume one at my manga review blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/
millennial_dandy's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up to 4
Yu-Gi-Oh! content I haven't yet consumed? In the year of our Lord 2022?! Love that for me.
Granted, this spin-off series wasn't conceptualized or written by Kazuki Takahashi, but as an active member of the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom on AO3 (and fanfiction.net before it) that's hardly new territory for this fan.
So it wasn't put together by the man himself, but was it good?
Yeah, I'd say so.
I, like many other reviewers starved for content, agree that the premise of this mini-series is its strength. The idea of wrapping an arc around the fallout from Pegasus's disappearance/death (pick your poison) at the end of Duelist Kingdom is a good one that was criminally under-explored in the Duke Devlin/Dungeon Dice Monsters filler arc. Having the 'big bad' be Pegasus's protegee is much more compelling, and such a person is much more likely to have a meaningful grudge and the skills to do something about it. I also like the continuity of Kaiba's 'Solid Vision' technology being at the center of another Pegasus adjacent plot as well as how having it be the center of another in-universe story bolsters the worldbuilding.
Speaking of bolstering world building, author Akira Ito made a couple of neat additions that build off of stuff we already know about the Yu-Gi-Oh! world:
1. Solid Vision, Plus
We know from the main series that as Kaiba continues to tinker with his own Solid Vision VR software it becomes more and more, well, solid, and harder to distinguish from reality, so the idea that Yugi and co. hadn't realized that Tea had already been kidnapped by the time they first encounter Tenma feels reasonable and honestly, pretty creepy.
2. Duel Professors
Given that Ito worked on Yu-Gi-Oh! GX he obviously knew where dueling was going in-universe, so it was a cute little nod to the idea of a duel academy in the future to have Tenma's henchmen be 'Card Professors', and it was also a little bit of retroactive ground laying.
3. Accessible Duel Disks
Maico Kato not only had the most aesthetically interesting deck of anyone in this volume, she was also the most fleshed-out as a character, and one of only a handful of older duelists we meet in the entire series that has an 'on-screen' duel. Moreover, she is (if memory serves) the only duelist we ever meet in DM that isn't able-bodied, and certainly the only duelist in a wheelchair. And she gets her own customized Duel Deck that sits on her lap.
I thought that was nice to include from a visibility standpoint, and also in-universe acknowledgement that you don't have to be able-bodied to be able to access Kaiba Corporation's technology. I like that this by extension means that their research and development department (if not Kaiba himself) cares enough about accessibility to have modified Duel Discs on the market.
However, despite having really good bones, I have to agree with a lot of other reviewers that the execution wasn't always the best. Other reviewers have pointed out the sloppiness of the writing of the duels themselves, which is a big problem if we're meant to read at least thirteen speed duels before returning for the final duel against Tenma.
Additionally, it was a big missed opportunity, since Tenma is supposed to be connected to Pegasus, not to have him feel more like Pegasus. Not necessarily derivative of Pegasus in terms of mannerisms, but give the man some type of theatricality and sense of fun. This guy takes himself way too seriously to be Pegasus's protegee. Hell, I'd buy that filler villain from Battle City, Arcana, being Pegasus's protegee before I'd buy it of hecking Tenma.
Finally, a lot of people seem to dislike that there's a sliding backwards in terms of character development when it comes to the main cast (Joey specifically), and that the Pharaoh feels a bit out of character, but full disclosure: I never cared enough about the Pharaoh as a character to notice anything ooc and given that this entire arc is plot rather than character-driven I don't really care if the character development from Battle City didn't carry over.
I do, however, care a great deal about Kaiba's characterization, so I'm going to need Ito to get that right when Kaiba makes his appearance in the story in volume 2 or else my review shall be nothing short of absolutely scathing.
Yu-Gi-Oh! content I haven't yet consumed? In the year of our Lord 2022?! Love that for me.
Granted, this spin-off series wasn't conceptualized or written by Kazuki Takahashi, but as an active member of the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom on AO3 (and fanfiction.net before it) that's hardly new territory for this fan.
So it wasn't put together by the man himself, but was it good?
Yeah, I'd say so.
I, like many other reviewers starved for content, agree that the premise of this mini-series is its strength. The idea of wrapping an arc around the fallout from Pegasus's disappearance/death (pick your poison) at the end of Duelist Kingdom is a good one that was criminally under-explored in the Duke Devlin/Dungeon Dice Monsters filler arc. Having the 'big bad' be Pegasus's protegee is much more compelling, and such a person is much more likely to have a meaningful grudge and the skills to do something about it. I also like the continuity of Kaiba's 'Solid Vision' technology being at the center of another Pegasus adjacent plot as well as how having it be the center of another in-universe story bolsters the worldbuilding.
Speaking of bolstering world building, author Akira Ito made a couple of neat additions that build off of stuff we already know about the Yu-Gi-Oh! world:
1. Solid Vision, Plus
We know from the main series that as Kaiba continues to tinker with his own Solid Vision VR software it becomes more and more, well, solid, and harder to distinguish from reality, so the idea that Yugi and co. hadn't realized that Tea had already been kidnapped by the time they first encounter Tenma feels reasonable and honestly, pretty creepy.
2. Duel Professors
Given that Ito worked on Yu-Gi-Oh! GX he obviously knew where dueling was going in-universe, so it was a cute little nod to the idea of a duel academy in the future to have Tenma's henchmen be 'Card Professors', and it was also a little bit of retroactive ground laying.
3. Accessible Duel Disks
Maico Kato not only had the most aesthetically interesting deck of anyone in this volume, she was also the most fleshed-out as a character, and one of only a handful of older duelists we meet in the entire series that has an 'on-screen' duel. Moreover, she is (if memory serves) the only duelist we ever meet in DM that isn't able-bodied, and certainly the only duelist in a wheelchair. And she gets her own customized Duel Deck that sits on her lap.
I thought that was nice to include from a visibility standpoint, and also in-universe acknowledgement that you don't have to be able-bodied to be able to access Kaiba Corporation's technology. I like that this by extension means that their research and development department (if not Kaiba himself) cares enough about accessibility to have modified Duel Discs on the market.
However, despite having really good bones, I have to agree with a lot of other reviewers that the execution wasn't always the best. Other reviewers have pointed out the sloppiness of the writing of the duels themselves, which is a big problem if we're meant to read at least thirteen speed duels before returning for the final duel against Tenma.
Additionally, it was a big missed opportunity, since Tenma is supposed to be connected to Pegasus, not to have him feel more like Pegasus. Not necessarily derivative of Pegasus in terms of mannerisms, but give the man some type of theatricality and sense of fun. This guy takes himself way too seriously to be Pegasus's protegee. Hell, I'd buy that filler villain from Battle City, Arcana, being Pegasus's protegee before I'd buy it of hecking Tenma.
Finally, a lot of people seem to dislike that there's a sliding backwards in terms of character development when it comes to the main cast (Joey specifically), and that the Pharaoh feels a bit out of character, but full disclosure: I never cared enough about the Pharaoh as a character to notice anything ooc and given that this entire arc is plot rather than character-driven I don't really care if the character development from Battle City didn't carry over.
I do, however, care a great deal about Kaiba's characterization, so I'm going to need Ito to get that right when Kaiba makes his appearance in the story in volume 2 or else my review shall be nothing short of absolutely scathing.
cuddlesome's review against another edition
4.0
Basic overview of the whole series with some spoilers ahead, boys.
I'm definitely in the minority here, but I like Yu-Gi-Oh! R just fine. My favorite things about the original series mostly involve the blending of goofy and dark elements and I think this spinoff manages that. You just sort of have to roll with the nonsense to enjoy it. See: the basic premise behind the weaksauce antagonist and the retreading of the concept of God cards. See also: Bandit Keith, a reoccurring minor antagonist from Duelist who Pegasus killed by way of... handgun... in a very literal sense... effectively coming back as a zombie.
I think the biggest shortcoming is that because of the nature of the story it's just a gauntlet of a bunch of minor characters with no real stake in the plot. They're fun, quirky Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, but there are only a true few standouts. After that, there's the problem of how Anzu is handled, but I just have to raise my hands in surrender at this point with YGO's complete inability to write its main female characters with much sense of nuance.
The one A+++ part is the rematch between Jounouchi and Bandit Keith. That was INCREDIBLY satisfying and I enjoy the themes about existentialism and death a LOT. Managed to singlehandedly solidify Keith as one of my favorite characters, slimeball that he is, and further encouraged my love of Joey boy.
So, in summation, it would be a stretch to say this spinoff is GOOD, but it has its moments and I enjoyed it.
I'm definitely in the minority here, but I like Yu-Gi-Oh! R just fine. My favorite things about the original series mostly involve the blending of goofy and dark elements and I think this spinoff manages that. You just sort of have to roll with the nonsense to enjoy it. See: the basic premise behind the weaksauce antagonist and the retreading of the concept of God cards. See also: Bandit Keith, a reoccurring minor antagonist from Duelist who Pegasus killed by way of... handgun... in a very literal sense... effectively coming back as a zombie.
I think the biggest shortcoming is that because of the nature of the story it's just a gauntlet of a bunch of minor characters with no real stake in the plot. They're fun, quirky Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, but there are only a true few standouts. After that, there's the problem of how Anzu is handled, but I just have to raise my hands in surrender at this point with YGO's complete inability to write its main female characters with much sense of nuance.
The one A+++ part is the rematch between Jounouchi and Bandit Keith. That was INCREDIBLY satisfying and I enjoy the themes about existentialism and death a LOT. Managed to singlehandedly solidify Keith as one of my favorite characters, slimeball that he is, and further encouraged my love of Joey boy.
So, in summation, it would be a stretch to say this spinoff is GOOD, but it has its moments and I enjoyed it.
xangemthelibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
To start, I do realize this is made by someone who worked with Kazuki Takahashi, so obviously it isn't going to be the same as the classic Yu-Gi-Oh series. I am going to continue to read the rest of the series, because I want to see what will happen (and I honestly wanted the cards that came with the books so I've actually already bought all five). Well, here goes!
Many others have noted the same complaints I find with this first volume. The characters seem off, especially Yugi. There are times when his facial expressions are totally unlike how he usually is, and I can't easily forget the inconsistencies in the art and during the duels (like the first Card Professor duel where Lew uses Castle Gate's card effect even though it was in defense mode and not attack mode)
Overall, especially reading this right after finishing the Duelist Arc, I find this underwhelming...the duels with the Card Professors are kinda boring and I often find myself skimming through those. I'm also slightly worried about what is going to happen in the next 4 novels, especially since Yugi is apparently already nearly halfway through the Card Professors.
Many others have noted the same complaints I find with this first volume. The characters seem off, especially Yugi. There are times when his facial expressions are totally unlike how he usually is, and I can't easily forget the inconsistencies in the art and during the duels (like the first Card Professor duel where Lew uses Castle Gate's card effect even though it was in defense mode and not attack mode)
Overall, especially reading this right after finishing the Duelist Arc, I find this underwhelming...the duels with the Card Professors are kinda boring and I often find myself skimming through those. I'm also slightly worried about what is going to happen in the next 4 novels, especially since Yugi is apparently already nearly halfway through the Card Professors.
kowai_mangl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
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