Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions

Note: This review contains unmarked spoilers relating to the events of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime/manga.

In celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, a new movie, The Dark Side of Dimensions, was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2016, set to take place after the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series. I happened to attend the panel at which this was announced, which featured a special appearance by Yu-Gi-Oh! creator/mangaka Kazuki Takahashi, who would have heavy involvement in story and designs for the movie (he even did a special live drawing of Yugi just for that panel). In anticipation of this, Takahashi also created two special Yu-Gi-Oh! chapters called TRANSCEND GAME, bridging the gap between the original series and the new movie; these chapters have since been translated to English by Viz Media, distributed in the English version of Weekly Shonen Jump (the December 19^th, 2016 and January 2^nd, 2017 issues in particular, for those who are curious).

Though the movie was released in Japan in time for the 20^th anniversary, it was not until recently that the movie began a limited theatrical run in the US; due to circumstance, I had to view this movie at the rather luxurious iPic theater, though this did not affect my thoughts on the movie itself. There was also a special card handed out to movie-goers, a (tournament-legal) Gold Rare Obelisk the Tormentor. Overall, I thought the movie was a good expansion on the original story and a worthy celebration of the franchise.

One year after the events of the original anime (six months after the original manga in the Japanese version), Seto Kaiba (Eric Stuart) is working on a new design for the Duel Disk, while at the same time looking for a way to once again duel Atem. Meanwhile, Yugi Muto (Dan Green), Joey Wheeler (Wayne Grayson), Tristan Taylor (Greg Abbey), Téa Gardner (Amy Birnbaum) and Bakura Ryou (Ted Lewis) are contemplating their plans after graduating High School. At school, they meet a boy named Aigami (Daniel J. Edwards), whom they simultaneously do and do not remember meeting before. It isn’t long before Aigami begins using the power of a mysterious artifact to further his desire to reshape the world and prevent the re-awakening of Atem.

L-R: Téa Gardner (Amy Birnbaum), Yugi Muto (Dan Green), Bakura Ryou (Ted Lewis),
Joey Wheeler (Wayne Grayson), Tristan Taylor (Greg Abbey) discuss their graduation.

For what it is, the story is actually pretty easy to follow, though it generally assumes you are already a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan who is familiar with the original story. Seto Kaiba seems to be the one actually taking central focus this time, rather than Yugi Muto, although Yugi’s contributions to the story show that he is certainly not forgotten. Those who are fans may need to explain the story for uninitiated viewers, though the 10-minute extra included with the Bonds Beyond Time Blu-ray does an effective job of explaining some of the major canon events prior to the Millennium World Arc.

The new character and main antagonist Aigami gets more of a fleshed-out backstory than some prior movie-exclusive villains, a result of his increased screen time in the 2-hour feature, which also includes back-stories of a handful of other new characters. Some other new characters only exist in the movie as a form of cannon fodder for Aigami’s abilities, and so we do not really get to know that much about them aside from some very basic information. In spite of any shortcomings, the movie can get really funny in places, both in dialogue and in some visual aspects, and it can also get a little emotional at some points for longtime fans of the series.

Though the movie is stated on the official Yu-Gi-Oh! website to take place after the anime by Studio Gallop, fans of the manga can get a bonus out of being able to spot some minor cameos from characters who never appeared in said anime, which is evidence of the original intention of taking place after the manga. A running element is Joey’s attachment to his Duel Disk, which seems to take more after the design of the Duel Disk in the manga, where it was one solid piece, although this is muddied a little by an appearance from the anime-style Duel Disk, which had the ability to fold into a more compact shape. This, however, is only a minor tidbit in the grand scheme of things.

Seto Kaiba (Eric Stuart) will go to great lengths to get another
chance to Duel Atem.

The Duels in the movie are presented spectacularly, especially since the cards are actually translated into English, similarly to the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie Pyramid of Light, except with card text closer to that of the wording style in the real-world Trading Card Game as of the movie’s release. The only way to get a good look at the card text, though, would be to be able to pause the movie in any future home video release, though this I felt was a nice touch, as was the fact that Duelists start off with 8000 Life Points (LP) like in the real-world game, as opposed to the 2000 or 4000 LP rule used in most iterations of Yu-Gi-Oh! fiction. While the normal style of Dueling is still present, a new style of Dueling is introduced known as Dimension Dueling, which is used exclusively in Duels involving Aigami. While the concept is interesting, the pacing of a Dimension Duel admittedly gets a little muddy at times, especially on Aigami’s part.

The animation is some of the best ever seen in Yu-Gi-Oh!, making the Duels themselves a true spectacle. The CG used for some monsters is also improved over what can be seen in the anime or Bonds Beyond Time, blending in better with the traditionally-animated elements. A highlight is also Kaiba’s new Duel Disks, at times seeming influenced by and improving upon the designs seen in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal spin-off series. Kaiba’s new Duel Disk in particular, featuring virtual cards, is animated amazingly well, standing out against all other Duel Disks seen in the series thus far (as of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V spin-off).

The sound design is really good, particularly with the sounds made during Duels. Returning characters share the same voice actors they had in the 4Kids dub of the original anime, which works well for consistency, and they put out great performances that display a refined experience with their characters, especially Dan Green and Eric Stuart as Yugi and Kaiba respectively. Daniel J. Edwards does a good job voicing antagonist Aigami, displaying a good range with the character and capturing his emotions throughout the course of the feature. The background music is also good, although a highlight would be the new mix of the English Yu-Gi-Oh! Theme that plays during the credits.

Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions is a well-executed continuation of the original story, though it was definitely made with Yu-Gi-Oh! fans in mind. The film has one of the best examples of Yu-Gi-Oh! animation to date, and the plot and action are relatively straight-forward, with the exception of the Dimension Duel concept. The callbacks to the original manga provide an interesting touch, plus the returning voice actors do a good job in reflecting how much their characters have changed in the intervening period of time in-universe. Those who are uninitiated may get lost, especially during the actual Duels, and so may need a short explanation of preceding (original series) Yu-Gi-Oh! lore before going in. Those who are longtime fans of the series should definitely check out the two TRANSCEND GAME chapters as well, as they provide some insight into the exploits of Seto Kaiba preceding the events of the movie proper.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D: Bonds Beyond Time

For those who are unaware, Yu-Gi-Oh! is a popular anime and manga series created by Kazuki Takahashi in 1996 which follows a boy named Yugi Muto on his journey to uncover the mysterious past of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who resides within the Millenium Puzzle, an artifact which hangs around his neck. Throughout the course of the series, Yugi fights a number of villains through the Duel Monsters card game, with each duel bringing new challenges to overcome. Since the conclusion of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series, a number of spin-off series were produced in an effort to continue promoting the official Trading Card Game: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal and, currently, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.

Yu-Gi-Oh! is also no stranger to film. The first film, known as Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie, was exclusively released in Japan in 1999 and based on a Japanese-only Yu-Gi-Oh! series animated by Toei Animation, a series nicknamed “Season 0” by fans. The second film, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, released in 2004 and marketed in the US as Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie, was based on the more well-known Yu-Gi-Oh! anime produced by Studio Gallop and Nihon Ad Systems and remains ambiguously canon. In 2010, a third movie subtitled Bonds Beyond Time was released in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime adaptation and serves as a crossover between the first three Yu-Gi-Oh! series. In the US, the film received a limited theatrical release in 2011 with 10 minutes of additional footage to give some backstory on the three main characters and an exclusive Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon card distributed to theatergoers. We had first seen Bonds Beyond Time in 3D during this run and, in anticipation of a screening of a fourth Yu-Gi-Oh! movie, The Dark Side of Dimensions, decided to view it again, this time at home on a Blu-ray.

As Yusei Fudo (Greg Abbey) contemplates the state of New Domino City, two of his friends, Jack Atlas (Ted Lewis) and Crow Hogan (Tom Wayland), challenge him to a duel to cheer him up. While the three of the them ride on a bridge, a mysterious man named Paradox (Sean Schemmel) shows up and steals Yusei’s ace card, Stardust Dragon, before disappearing into the past. Using the power of the Crimson Dragon, Yusei travels back into the past and rescues Jaden Yuki (Matthew Charles) from Paradox before the two of them travel back further to rescue Yugi Muto (Dan Green) from a dark fate. The three duelists then face off against Paradox in a duel to determine the fate of both the Duel Monsters card game and the world.

L-R: Yami Yugi (Dan Green), Yusei Fudo (Greg Abbey) and
Jaden Yuki (Matthew Charles) about to face off against Paradox.

Since the movie is short, clocking in at about 50 minutes, the story is pretty simple and the plot is fairly easy to follow. However, it does rely heavily on viewers already having familiarity with the three main duelists and their adventures, though mainly Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, to make the most sense. As such, viewers who are not familiar with the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise may get easily lost in trying to understand the character relationships and the unnecessarily complicated card game, the latter of which a seasoned fan will more easily be able to follow. An additional ten minutes of footage explaining Yugi, Jaden and Yusei’s backstories can be viewed as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray, but it still may not help the uninitiated that much.

Fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise may also want to know that this movie is actually canon, specifically to Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, as Paradox and his exploits are relevant to a future arc of the series. For those who are wondering, the movie takes place between episodes 80 and 86 of 5D’s.

As for the actual duel, it’s a rare opportunity to see characters from across multiple series duel with each other, much less with the fate of the world at stake at the same time. However, the main heroes seem to fairly easily retain control over the duel despite the best efforts of Paradox. Despite this, it’s entertaining and a good chance to see fan-favorite cards interacting with each other. In addition, the interactions between the heroes occasionally produces some good humor.

Due to the increased budget of this movie, it has higher quality animation compared to the anime series it’s based on. Character and card animations and movements are much smoother and the quality is more consistent. While most of the movie uses traditional animation, there are some moments when CG animation is used, though it is pretty obvious when placed against the traditional elements, particularly when applied to the monsters. This creates a temporary visual contrast that can take one out of the moment, but fortunately these moments are infrequent enough they don’t detract from the overall experience.

As for the voice acting, the dub uses the 4Kids voice actors that viewers have come to associate with their respective characters. Whatever one’s opinion of 4Kids may be, the four most prominent voices, Greg Abbey as Yusei Fudo, Sean Schemmel as Paradox, Matthew Charles as Jaden Yuki and Dan Green as both Yugi Muto and Yami Yugi, do a pretty good job with their respective characters and display their chemistry with each other well. At the same time, since I personally had watched each season of Yu-Gi-Oh! for several years, I can’t imagine the idea of anyone else doing these voices.

Sean Schemmel voices the villainous Paradox.

The music choice is also pretty interesting. While there does appear to be an original score in places, the dub makes a pretty neat choice with incorporating music from the Duel Monsters, GX and 5D’s seasons of the show whenever the character from that series is most prominent in a given scene. For instance, when Jaden attacks with a monster during his turn, music from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX plays in the background. The music during the credits even consists of the dub themes from each of the three versions of the series, which can double as a nostalgia bomb for anyone who grew up watching these characters in action.

On a final note, I remember the 3D version during the limited theatrical run having a pretty effective use of the technology. Unfortunately, a 3D copy on home video is hard to come by, so we had to view it through a 2D Blu-ray. On the upside, it also includes the original Japanese version with subtitles, which some people may find attractive.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D: Bonds Beyond Time is an enjoyable movie for fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. Its straightforward plot and dramatic duel make for a decent addition to the canon of the spin-off material and is excellent fanservice for fans who have wanted to see their favorite characters and cards interact with each other against an original, though not very fleshed out, villain. While it is easy to recommend to fans, it would be very difficult for the uninitiated to follow along with the central duel, let alone care about the story or characters. In that case, it may be worth trying to view the bonus feature on the Blu-ray for some semblance of an explanation as to who Yugi, Jaden and Yusei are, but its effectiveness is not guaranteed.