Yu-Gi-Oh the Movie

Publisher
Warner Bros.
Director
Hatsuki Tsuji
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
90 mins
Year
2004

Yu-Gi-Oh the Movie

By Jonathan Chapman
16th Dec 04

Ok, I read a dozen reviews of this movie. They all said it was horrible. So what did I do? That's right.. go out and rent it. Call me a masochist, but it really wasn't that bad. First of all you have to know what to expect. You have to like the game. They explain a lot about what they're playing but the movie is much cooler when you've played the cards they're playing in the movie. It's sort of like the 3D-glasses effect that makes an ordinarily sub-par experience acceptable. I suppose the fact that's in anime doesn't hurt either.

Let's talk about the story. Apparently in the ancient past, magic existed and was used by the rulers of Egypt through a game called Dual Monsters (Yugioh basically). Yugioh put together an ancient artifact and now has a symbiotic relationship with an ancient pharaoh of Egypt. Their spirits are entwined. The pharaoh is the dominant one when Yugi is dueling. Yugi has won tournament after tournament and is apparently famous world-wide. Then the evil Egyptian god, Anubis, uses his dark magic to give Yugi's dueling arch rival, Kaiba, the cards he needs to beat Yugi (which are actually an evil trap). This is when the real story begins (and man is it short).

The art in Yugioh is pretty standard. There's a little of the CGI effects when monsters are destroyed. There's a lot of still-shots, but it's more fluid than Record of Lodoss or Berserk with the still backgrounds. My favorite scenes involve the near-hentai-like cards such as Injection Fairy and Dark Magician Girl (which were toned down quite a bit for the American movie). There's fire, laser beams, and a horde of dragons and monsters.

The music was pretty decent. Kaiba got his own rock song, which is pretty hilarious. There are some scenes that are just ridiculous. I don't think this movie was created in Japan, so of course the dubbing is perfect. There were some moments that make you actually believe this was a movie, rather than an extended TV show - but those were far and few between.

The characters are pretty static. I enjoy Kaiba being who he is, but Anubis and the Yugi-friend-squad were pretty much cheerleader characters that were a waste. They served no purpose except to try and promote those tear-jerking scenes that no one appreciates.

Besides the minor problems, there were many scenes that didn't make sense at all. How can Kaiba have two of a restricted/banned card in his deck? How can
cards ignore the game they're apart of? How can the bodies of dead Egyptians be inside the puzzle? There are just so many holes in the plot.

So do I recommend this movie? Of course.. that is if you're into the game or are a masochist like me. Make no mistake; this is fun to watch. But on a whole, it's just not wholesome and will leave you lacking for a good plot and memorable characters. This pretty much makes the rewatchability nil. So I'd recommend you do like I did and just rent the movie.

-- Jonathan Chapman 16th Dec 04

Yu-Gi-Oh the Movie Images