Day: December 27, 2025

Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0 is an Underrated Gem

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , ,

Have you ever seen the show DEATH BATTLE! before? The famous web series where two characters from pop culture are pitted together in a fight to see who would win. Well, it just so happens that they aired their final episode of the year, and it was one that, one way or another, was going to make people upset: Ash Ketchum vs Yugi Muto. The Pokémon champion vs the King of Games. I couldn’t take sides in this fight, but it reminded me of how much I love Yu-Gi-Oh! growing up. And that led me to a part of the franchise’s history that I had only heard about, but never seen until now: Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0.

When people think of Yu-Gi-Oh!, they think of either the card game or the anime that initially inspired it (or its spin-off sequels). So, it might come as a surprise to learn that the anime that became world famous in the 2000s was not the first adaptation. That distinction belongs to a little-known anime created by Toei in 1998. Dubbed Season 0 by the fans, the series largely covers the first fifty-nine chapters of the original manga, AKA the days before Duel Monsters became the franchise’s focus. And while I think that Takahashi made the right call by pivoting to the card game that he would ultimately invent, it’s fascinating to see what the early days of the franchise were like.

You know what’s even cooler, though? Atem, or as most people remember him by, Yami Yugi, and seeing him being even more of a badass than we remember.

Not Quite the Story You Know

By now, most people know the premise behind Yu-Gi-Oh!. The card game that everyone plays, Yugi and his band of supportive friends, and his supernatural roommate/brother from another mother, Yami Yugi. That remains consistent across every adaptation of the original series, and that doesn’t change here.

What does change, and what will likely surprise anyone who hasn’t read the manga or only knows the 2000s anime, is Yami Yugi. Because Season 0 might as well be known as Yami’s King Von era, as he was a menace to society. At least the worst aspects of society.

Most of the episodes in Season 0 tend to follow the same basic formula. Some wicked person decides it’s a good idea to cross Yugi or one of his friends. Yugi would inadvertently turn into Yami Yugi, who would proceed to challenge the offender to a Shadow Game that he makes up. And when he eventually wins, and they cheat, he subjects them to a penalty in the form of an ironic punishment.

Take Tea hostage and threaten to shoot her and Yugi? He’ll make them think they’re on fire.

Kidnap one of his friends for their sick fantasies? Make them think they were eaten by their virtual pet.

Fire the nurse looking after Joey’s sister for not going out with you and letting your patients die? Their zombies will get you!

You would think that after all of these examples, people would learn not to mess with Yugi or his friends. Then again, we always have Kaiba.

Kaiba Was a Menace Back in the Day

If there was a Mount Rushmore for the greatest anime rivals in history, Seto Kaiba would be up there next to Vegeta. The battles between him and Yugi are the stuff of legend, not to mention one of my favorite things from my childhood. But while his ego might be the size of a blimp, the Kaiba most people know isn’t actually a bad guy.

What if I told you that wasn’t always the case?

Much like how we see in the 2000s anime, Yugi and Kaiba clash over Grandpa Mutou’s precious White Dragon card. Whereas he got his butt whooped in the Duel Monsters anime, in the original, it was a draw. But if Season 0 was Yami’s King Von era, then the same could be said for Kaiba. Not only does he keep trying to best Yugi without regard for his safety, he even hires four mercenaries to threaten Yugi and his friends, leading us into the legendary duel that ends up starting the series. Except this one isn’t as cool.

If there is one aspect of the series where I feel like its successor does better, it has to be how it handles Duel Monsters. Granted, when Takahashi added the card game, he never intended it to become the focal point of the franchise. But it just got so popular that it…happened. And sadly, this early version of the game lacks many of the rules or cool factor that would come to define the game. Which also means that when the time comes for the duel that would spark Yugi and Kaiba’s rivalry, it’s not as epic or dramatic. It actually makes me wonder what it would have been like had someone decided to create a single, consistent series.

Don’t get me wrong: I love the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime that I grew up with, but that doesn’t mean I won’t acknowledge its flaws. The second anime actually took a lot of creative liberties with the storyline, especially when it came to Kaiba. In the manga, he actually left the story after Battle City, while he kept showing up in the anime because he’s just that good. It also means that there were a number of things about the final arc that would get changed up. But seeing Season 0 and how it turned out has gotten me thinking: what if we could do it all over again?

Restart Yu-Gi-Oh! from the Beginning?

I’m serious. What if some studio had the guts to start the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime over from the actual start? We could keep the best of both series, including the changes the anime made that were for the better, especially near the end, but do our best to keep it truer to the manga. And best of all, we could keep the darker elements thanks to 4Kids not being around with their pesky censors! It’s just something to think about.

Regardless, though, this whole thing has reminded me of why I fell in with Yu-Gi-Oh! in the first place. It’s Takahashi’s legacy of gaming, and as a fellow gamer myself, I respect that. Also, it’s got me playing Master Duel, and I’m enjoying it.

Scarlet Finally Satisfies her Fist in Finale to Her Anime

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , ,

May I Ask for One Final Thing? Ep 13 Review

Scarlet, when I do my annual list of best waifus for 2025, you are going to be on it. Because you are just built different. Even when having to face down your brainwashed ally, Prince Julius, do you give up? Do you hold yourself back while trying to get through to him? You do not. Instead, you go full bore so you can stop him because he’s standing between you and Terenezza. The final episode of what might be one of my favorite anime for 2025, and Scarlet doesn’t hold anything back!

So, Terenezza continues to prove how stupid she is as she watches with incredulity as Scarlet refuses to back down from fighting the mind-controlled Julius. She fully expected Scarlet to be wracked with despair from this turn of events. But when she isn’t, she’s quick to call her absolutely heartless.

Then we proceed to get a look at what her life was like back in Japan before she got isekai’d. Even as a high schooler, she resented everyone around her for being happy when she wasn’t, and she psychologically projected her insecurities onto others. She wanted to prove that everyone could be as shallow and petty as she could be and see them wracked with despair. To make them suffer the same way she has.

Terenezza Was Never Heroine Material

I normally sympathize with people who are suffering from trauma. I take mental health pretty seriously. But with all disrespect, Terenezza really is a b****. So she was ignored all her life and not treated as the center of attention like she wanted to be. And now that she’s in another world, she thinks that she’s owed adoration when she’s done nothing to deserve it? Does she know how many Isekai protagonists had to work to become liked and admired? Rimuru Tempest got the best possible build to start his Isekai life, but he had to put in the work to build an entire nation and loyal following. Naofumi was framed for attempted assault by some b**** and had to endure an entire country being out to get him before proving himself. And Rudeus Greyrat may have had his knowledge from his past life to give him a head start, but he still has to work on his personality flaws. Yet even with the power of an actual goddess on her side, Terenezza still wants to complain about things not going her way?

No wonder she can’t be the heroine. She’s just not cut out for the role, whereas Scarlet is. And to prove it, she does what any great heroine does in a time of crisis: uses the power of love to ruin the vilainess’ plans.

True Love’s Kiss

Julius’ own blessing is actually something super embarassing: Heroic Tale, which only activates when the person the bearer loves the most is in danger. When that happens, they enter giga-CHAD God mode and are unstoppable. You can guess where this is going.

It should come as no surprise that the two end up kissing. Their dynamic, as strange as it may seem, has always had this romantic edge to it. Personality-wise, the two compliment each other so well. In fact, it makes me wonder why they weren’t engaged in the first place instead of Scarlet and Kyle.

At any rate, Terenezza crashes out and is possessed by Palmia herself. But like I said before, even with an actual god in her corner, she’s still a *****, and it doesn’t take much effort for Scarlet to send her blasting off like Team Rocket. She’ll live…probably.

All’s Well that Ends Well

And so, our tale of Scarlet the crash-out queen comes to an end. With Terenezza bested, the rank and file Palmians see her for the fraud she is and quickly return to Dianism. Especially since Saint Diana, or rather, Saint Sanya, saved them all. The leaders of the Palmians are arrested, and their religion is disbanded. The remaining foreign armies stand down. Dios becomes an agent for Julius in exchange for a pardon. And order and peace is restored as Sanya restores the barrier crystals. All is right with the world…until Scarlet realizes that Julius put himself in danger on purpose just to get her to do what she did. Punch time!

I have to admit, I didn’t think that I would like this show as much as I have, but I was pleasantly surprised. The fall 2025 anime season hasn’t had as many good anime that I can write about on this blog, but this kept me going. At least starting next month, we will be in for a feast.

I Give “May I ask for One Final Thing” a 4.5/5