Look, I don't think there is any circumstance where I could ever look somebody dead in the face and tell them with my whole heart and soul that I genuinely actually legitimately recommend that they watch Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, a 154 episode anime about a trading card game played on motorcycles. You're probably now thinking, "so why would a grown ass man watch 154 episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh on motorcycles and write an entire review about it?" Honestly, there isn't really a proper answer to that question that isn't just me shrugging my shoulders, but what I can tell you is that over the last year-plus that I spent taking my time to get through it, I actually ended up having a pretty dang fun time watching Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's.

First and foremost, in order to properly enjoy Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, or any Yu-Gi-Oh anime for that matter, you kinda have to go in with the proper expectations. I'm not saying that I went in expecting it to be complete ass, but there is a certain level of quality that you expect from these series that you just sorta have to roll with. Studio Gallop, as much as I appreciate what they do, is not exactly a powerhouse. That isn't to say the animation is garbage, but it just isn't consistent to the level of any sort of popular series of today (and filled with rather unfortunate monster CGI). I will say, however, that the moments that need to look good look great, with the climaxes of duels and coolest summons having this sort of badass embellishment when it comes to the sakuga. Part of why I always thought Yu-Gi-Oh was so cool as a kid was due in part to these dramatic moments getting the "way cooler than it needs to be" animation they deserved. For that, I do applaud Studio Gallop, as it always seems like they've captured the soul of the original series as well as possible given the format of each subsequent release. Some of the moments really had me unexpectedly excited, to be quite honest. There is nothing quite as cool as Yusei drawing a card with that extra sakuga flair and initiating a duel-ending combo as a Masaaki Endoh insert song starts to play. Maybe it's nothing special when you compare it to like, an actually good anime with a better studio and a more accessible concept, but the little kid in me thinks this is the coolest thing ever.

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I could probably do a whole spiel about the plot, characters, world, etc, but I mean... The plot exists so that the characters can play Yu-Gi-Oh against each other on motorcycles. The characters have motivations that result in battling each other on motorcycles. The entire world is based on the fact that the most popular form of entertainment is, you guessed it, playing Yu-Gi-Oh on motorcycles. As ridiculous as it is, the duels are actually really entertaining to watch, and even though it really doesn't change anything at all, the battles on the bike are just... Cooler. It's childish, but there's something about these battles that just compels me to pay attention. It definitely helps that it feels like some of the best duels in the Yu-Gi-Oh series as a whole are in this edition. Even when it wasn't protagonist Yusei and his rival Jack Atlas squaring off in the finals of the first tournament, or tortured soul Aki Izayoi wreaking havoc on Yusei's deck, I had a shockingly good experience watching some of the lesser duels. The WRGP arc had some excellent matches, and I nearly preferred some of the more grounded strategy found in the quarter and semifinal duels to the "save the world" sci-fi boss battles near the end of the anime.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this anime, honestly. There isn't much to say in terms of character arcs or anything like that, but Yusei is a great stoic protagonist who loves his friends type guy, Jack Atlas is an excellent rival to him and probably the highlight of the anime otherwise, and the twins Lua and Luca have some nice growth despite getting benched for Crow Hogan, who is at least fun to have around. The only genuine gripe I will spend my energy to muster is the treatment of Aki Izayoi, who was a complete fan favorite in a series where female duelists are constantly getting shafted, which she eventually did. It's unfortunate that the reason this happened was simply the incompetence of the writers following series creator Kazuki Takahashi's departure after the Dark Signers arc, although some fans would have you believe that an extra long pregnancy and sex cult scandals resulted in the downturn of the show, but that's a whole other can of bizarre worms. Regardless, I found myself pretty attached to this cast by the end and I was sad to see them go.

There are just little things that draw me enjoy to Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's as much as I did. I appreciate the commitment to trying to make these sweeping stories about ancient gods and time travel to prevent cursed timelines work in a scenario as ridiculous as card games on motorcycles. I love each character and the chemistry they have with each other. I love the soundtrack, which actually blew me away with how damn good some of these tracks are. I can't explain to you why I sat through 154 episodes of it over the course of 14 months with a long ass break in the middle and chose to watch it over literally anything else better worth my time, but I can say that I really had a good time with Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. Call it a guilty pleasure, a nostalgia trip to a better time, whatever is fine with me. I won't tell you to watch it, or proclaim that it's peak fiction or a hidden gem, but it's got some heart, it's got some dope moments, some bangin tunes, and it's got badass dudes riding motorcycles who take advertising a children's card game way too seriously, and that's good enough in my book.

Some stupid, long, poorly paced, dramatic, trashy fun is good every once in a while.