So overall, this was actually pretty good. I loved the visual upgrade the series' style got. I loved seeing all the characters again. I mean, my score basically shows that I liked it over all. However, there were a few things that detracted from it for me.First off, Kaiba's sudden overwhelming obsession to bring back the Pharaoh. I get it, he believes in the ancient Egypt stuff now, but... given how the series ended, I don't understand why he'd be obsessed with dueling the Pharaoh and not Yugi, the person who actually defeated our favorite puzzle spirit. Also to the point where he would risk his own life to travel through space and time just to duel the man again. This is almost insane levels of obsession to the point where it kind of detracts from his character. While duel monsters was always important to him before, in the series he never really went to these extremes for it. Still, his overall part in this story was pretty amazing. He was made out to be a complete bamf and earned every glorious second of it. Plus his intelligence was really shining based solely on the technological advances he's pioneered since the series. Like, dang, boy's got serious smarts. Also apparently some good one-liners.Now on to the main conflict. Okay, so... This was pretty much entirely Kaiba's fault due to his obsession over bringing back the Pharaoh. The reasoning behind the antagonist's motives were somewhat flimsy. Kind of a basic "we don't want to lose our ultimate power" kind of thing on the surface (and holy cow was Diva OP as heck. It's a shock he didn't just wipe out the universe while he was at it). Props to the writers for finding a way to tie in the series and create this kind of mind-blowing story for Shadi, though. As to my thoughts on Diva and Shadi's child followers, well, they're a bit mixed. Diva (and a diva he truly is in terms of angst) is a character I can sympathize with. However I am a little disappointed that at the end of it all it was really the spirit of the millennium ring that issues the greatest threat. The return of the Pharaoh was great. There really is no way to describe the scene so I really suggest that even if people don't watch the movie, they should just track down that scene and take it in. The build up and tension was amazing and honestly I'd watch this again multiple times.As to my opinion on how the whole ending turns out, well, given the opening scene with Kaiba winning against hologram Yami/Atem and then him not losing to Yugi later on (and this purposefully being shown to the audience), I get the feeling the end probably actually is the time that Kaiba beats the real Pharaoh in a duel and redeems himself even though we never actually see the duel happen. This was basically a movie focused on Kaiba, after all, and it shows his change in attitude about the past and dueling into something akin to his own version of the heart of the cards, meaning he's finally dueling on a level that is equal to that of the Pharaoh. Heck, I'm actively rooting for him to win just based on all he's done and accomplished just to get that far. While I wish I could see that duel play out, I have little doubt about the outcome given all this movie has shown and hinted at.

Satoshi Kuwabara co-writes and directs this original anime. The stakes could not be any higher as the rivalry between Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba reaches the boiling point. The risks never so great; one wrong move, one wrong card...or one card short. The right monsters at the wrong time. The battle is for two key pieces of the Millennium Puzzle.You don't need Yu-Gi-Oh cards or even be a follower to enjoy the fantastic cinematography. Lack of Yu-Gi-Oh knowledge will not keep you from enjoying this film. The game is not over until it is over! Card playing prowess reigns supreme.Character voices supplied by: Dan Green, Kenjiro Tsuda, Eric Stuart, Daniel Edwards, Kana Hanazawa, Laurie Hymes, Kazunari Kojima and Kento Hayashi.

I give this movie a 1 because well, the writing is terrible compared to the original series. Secondly, the movie teases you all 2 hours long that Atem (Yami Yugi) will return, but you never hear him speak. There's only still shots that show him but he never speaks and it's a cheap way to cash in on die-hard fans. Secondly, all the characters are one dimensional and serve no purpose. Kibas action in the movie at the end makes no sense at all. I hope my review doesn't spoil anything but if you are going to watch a Yugioh movie, it's only fair that you know you won't get to hear the main voice actor that made the series the success that it was.

It's strange that I went to go see this flick at all. I was never into Yu-Gi-Oh! But the Dark Side of Dimensions made card game playing look awesome. those card battles look great when the characters from the cards just popped out and came to life and did their attack moves. it was pretty fun to watch. Thank god the movie was English dubbed as it would kill me to have to read all the characters yelling out the explanations to how the card works.The character design was really cool and Yu-Gi-Oh! had some cool characters in it. Not a bad experience, almost made me wish I saw the beginning before I saw the end.http://cinemagardens.com