Yu-Gi-Oh the Movie

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

Yugioh the Movie

By Drake
26th Aug 05

Yugioh the movie wasn't that great. Unless you've watched the entire first 3 seasons, you won't be able to fully comprehend the intensity of Kaiba's rivalry with Yugi, nor the importance of the Egyptian God Cards. And if you can't, then the movie is wasted on you. Only a Hard-core fan can really enjoy the movie.

You want to imagine what this is like? Imagine the characters from 'The Mummy' movies playing poker. Yugi and the gang (minus Yami and Kaiba) are pulled into the Millennium Puzzle, where they battle mummies as they try and cut off the source of Anubis' power. Cool, right? But leave it to Yugioh to throw in one of the friendship rants during what should have been a cool fight scene, thereby making the scene a mockery.

The action inside the Puzzle takes a back seat to what is actually the REAL plot. Anubis appears for about 10 minutes, that's IT. The real villain is Seto Kaiba. He duels Pegasus' Toon deck, and beats him, winning 'a card that can beat Yugi's god cards' in the process. He then takes Yami on.

The actual duel is good, but as in the show, is half ranting, half dueling. Yami continually tries to convice Kaiba to stop the duel, which he senses is far more then just a duel. Of course, in true Kaiba style, the CEO of Snotty-ness doesn't. He continues to duel, ignoring the fact that a voice is whispering what movies to use into his ear the whole time. Kaiba needs to get over himself and admit that Yami is better.

On the up side, Kaiba's plan actually works. He activates a trap called 'Pyramid of Light', removing all of Yami's gods from play! Combined with a tricky combo that drains Yami of ten cards from his deck whenever he attacks, and we have to admit, Kaiba seems to be the obvious winner.

Yami, in true Pharaoh style, pulls a rabbit out of his hat in the form of 'Sorceror of Dark Magic', a monster tough enough to rip apart the ten-card combo and even trounce a Blue Eyes. Of course, another new card is ready to take him down. Kaiba offers his Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon as tribute to summon the Blue Eyes Shining Dragon. The dragon promptly kills the mage. Oh well Yami, so much for a trademark comeback!

In the end, Kaiba should have won. But once again, the only thing stronger then the 3 God Cards proves to be Kaiba's ego. He tries to offer his BESD as a tribute to destroy the Pyramid of Light, then he plans activate his other trap and summon back the 3 gods under his control, beating Yami with his own strongest cards. Ouch, seems like that would make anyone give up dueling huh?

Too bad someone ancient and evil doesn't like this plan. Anubis orders Kaiba not to, claiming he needs the Pyramid of Light (as we find out, the Pyramid is Anubis' Millennium Item, and looks like a blue Millennium Puzzle). Sop he takes Kaiba out and rises up to finish Yami on his own. He calls of Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia, and combines them into Thenian the Great Sphinx.

Well, in the end, the trap IS destroyed, and Yami uses the card Kaiba had to revive them, and then uses them to beat back the oversized Egyptian. If I remember correctly, during this time, Yugi cuts off Anubis' power in the Puzzle. Of course, Anubis is pissed, and turns into a gigantic dog to kill Yami (after all the soul stealing, a normal death is a breath of fresh air really). Kaiba and Yami try to hold the boy off, but nothing works. In the end, they destroy the Pyramid of Light and defeat Anubis, with no small help from the BESD.

Overall, I give this a 6/10. It's good for what it is, but the action is too divided between a battle against the undead and the duel. Kaiba should really get a hobby. It says that the movie is 3 years after Yugi started dueling. You'd think that Kaiba would have gotten over his defeat by then. Apparently not.

The movie is worth watching on TV, but not really buying unless you've already seen it. It's good, but as with the Inuyasha movies, the Yugioh movie, as far as the series is concerned, never happened. No references to Anubis is ever made in the series, and we never see any of the new cards like the BESD ever again.

Memorable Quotes

Anubis; It is no longer time to duel! Now it is time to die! (fires some sort of deadly flame breath)

Pegasus (to Grandpa); Come on old man, Anubis is gone. No one can suffer a loss that humiliating and come back for more. Well, no one except Kaiba-boy that is. Oops, did I say that out loud?

Anubis (while fusing his Sphinxes into one); as your modern sayings go, two heads are better then one (you can't tell by the card pic, but Thenien does indeed have 2 heads)

Movie Tagline; Even eterniy doesn't last forever (I hope the guy who thought up that lame line got fired)

-- Drake 26th Aug 05

Yu-Gi-Oh the Movie Images