Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters started airing in 2000, and then was dubbed into English by 4Kids Entertainment. I started watching the show in 2021, on a whim.

My favorite character in this series was Noa Kaiba, even though he's from a filler arc and was never in the original manga. I just really liked the virtual world arc. I love a ghost trapped in a computer! Its a neat concept!

Another one of my favorite characters is Ryou Bakura, especially since I started reading the original manga. Also, I knew nothing about the card game going into this show, so its interesting to look back on now, now that I know a lot of the rules of the game. The early seasons of this show really do not use the actual game rules!

Yu-Gi-Oh GX has caused me permanent psychic damage! This is both a good and a bad thing. I know that this is the Yu-Gi-Oh series I will never rewatch again in its entirely, because there are just so many odd filler episodes. I cannot watch the tiger episode again. I won't do it.

That being said, a lot of my favorite characters and moments are in this show. Chazz is one of my favorite characters overall - he is likeable enough that you end up getting attached to the Ojamas too by proxy, even though they are (intentionally) some of the ugliest character designs that have ever graced a television. Jaden is great, Zane is great (even when he sucks), Syrus is great. The duel between Chazz and his older brother is one of my favorites in the series, both because of Chazz as a character and also because of the weak monster handicap (I love a weird gimmick!).

At some point I'll probably go back and watch some of the Yubel episodes subbed. I love the 4kids dubs, but I think I missed out on that arc a little bit because of the dub censorship choices.

Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds is actually the one Yu-Gi-Oh series I have not seen much of. Long story short, I started to watch it right after GX, but I had already watched 9 straight seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh in a row, and it was a bit jarring that Yusei's English actor played Tristan in DM. Not that he does a bad job or anything like that, it was just a bit distracting since I had just seen DM. I'll get back to it at some point. It seems like a lot of people would call it their favorite... so maybe I'm just saving a good one for last?

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal is my favorite! It's the Best One! After not watching any Yu-Gi-Oh for a while I picked it back up with Zexal sometime in 2024, and it quickly became my favorite. Yuma and Astal are very good, both as individual characters and as a duo. Yuma is my favorite protagonist. Sometimes the 'power of friendship' protagonists in these kinds of shows can fall flat, but I think they do a good job with Yuma. Its not just empty platitudes here, Yuma works hard in this show to reach out to the people around him.

Shark is my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh character in the whole franchise! I love the bully to friend arc he's got going on. The reveal about his backstory is very good (I won't spoil it). The English dub actor does a great job. I'm struggling to think of more things to write here. He's just my favorite because he's the coolest. Anyway.

Heartland city is also one of my favorite locations in any fictional world, from a design perspective. It's futuristic without being generic. The color palatte is very nice - a strange choice, but it works. The litterbots are such a weird detail but I love to see them.

Another Yu-Gi-Oh series I haven't finished; I'm about half way through it. Yuya is great, though the poor boy is so stressed. Someone tell him he doesn't actually have to smile and act like he's having fun all the time. Shay is another one of my favorites - He's in the wrong show I think, surrounded by all these goofy theater kids, but that just makes him more fun. The set up for this show is so weird, with the multiple dimensions based off of card game mechanics. I have to wonder what this show was like for anyone who watched it as their first Yu-Gi-Oh...

Also, I think the first Shay vs Sora duel is probably the best in the series? They did a great job with having Sora lose the nice act over the course of the duel. Sora's deck is one of my favorites, design wise, just because it works so well for the character. Fluffy cute creatures that look sweet but are full of knives and saws.

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal might be my favorite, but Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains is the one I think about the most. Its. So. Sad.
I love the virtual world concept - especially watching it a few years after it aired, with the context of current AI and Metaverse stuff... not that it's some deep comentary on that sort of thing, but it is interesting. Varis had a point.

I will defend Yusaku, I don't understand how some people say he has no personality. Being quiet and stoic is still a personality. I love Yuma, but I don't want every protagonist in this series to be Yuma. Also, Spectre is such a fun concept - a guy who has the same tragic backstory as the protagonist, but he was fine with it. He liked it actually. I wish they did more with Skye, the celebrity duelist thing was such a cool concept that they just dropped. (I wish they did more with many of the girl characters in this series, but that's an entirely different conversation...)

Its honestly impressive that this show is as good as it is considering all of the behind the scenes issues. You can see the cracks when you watch it, but they still managed to make a compelling show. I just can't help but wonder how it would have ended it they had had all the time and resources they needed...

Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens! A big switch from Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains, but its good! Yuga is probably one of my favorite protagonists. This show has some slow points, there were a couple of the arcs I liked less than the others, but it sticks the landing so well. Probably one of the best last episodes I've seen.

The girl characters are treated so much better here. Asana is my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh girl - I love the heavy machinery / equastrian theme (it makes sense when you see it) she has going on. She's an antagonist for a bit, but she's a good person! The other girls in this show are strong too - Romin, Mimi, Ranze, Tiger. Mimi in particular is a fun concept. She's a pretty goofy character, but her ambition really becomes a driving force in the plot at times.

Not much to say about Yu-Gi-Oh Go Rush yet, I've been watching it as the English dub comes out, so I'm only about 20 episodes in. Again, a number of strong girl characters. At the moment Yuhi is a real underdog character - I'm rooting for him to have some strong moments, but I'm not worried about it not happening. There's still lots of time for that. Yudias is very likable. I don't understand yet how this connects to Sevens, but I have my theories...

We'd better see Otes in this. That's one thing Sevens did not explain at all. Who is he???