Ahh, Yu-Gi-Oh. Such fond memories. I remember as a kid getting up every Saturday morning to watch a new episode. I first heard about this film on Youtube and decided, "Aw, what the hell? Let's watch it for old times sake". And while it's definitely fun to watch, it's far from perfect.
Pros:
While I don't pay too much attention to animation and art style, there's no denying that the art and the CGI in this film is stunning. The Duel Monsters in particular really look and feel alive in this film.
Little Yugi gets to show what he's made of without Atem and he doesn't disappoint. He managed to defeat Diva and would've won against Kaiba had Diva not interrupted. Plus his little threat against Kaiba at the climax was the most badass line I've heard from him.
Atem's Big Damn Heroes moment at the end of the film is truly something to behold.
The English voice actors reprise their roles, and if anything, they sound even better than in the show.
Cons:
Kaiba suddenly summoning Obelisk the Tormentor to defeat Diva is a blatant Ass Pull that was done for no other reason than Fanservice and just so Kaiba didn't lose too early in the film.
The fact that Joey doesn't have a major role in the film is an insult to the character. He's not the best Duelist, to be sure, but he's still skilled in his own right and a duel between him and Diva would've been interesting.
The rules of Diva's Dimension Duels are badly explained to the point that you think he's making it up as he goes along.
Diva himself... is not a very good villain. Don't get me wrong: his voice actor is great and a Composite Character of Marik and Bakura is interesting on paper, but the execution is poor. For one thing, he's not really that intimidating being a little kid. Also, he's not an effective villain as he constantly gets outsmarted to the point that Kaiba makes a better villain than him. Also, his motives are pretty shallow and selfish. He wants to kill Yugi and prevent Atem's return just so he can keep his powers and he wants to kill Bakura for something that wasn't even his fault.
Kaiba's characterization in this film is also pretty dumb. He's willing to force two kids to duel him just so bring Atem back all because he can't get over the fact that the guy beat him in a children's card game. Kaiba, let it go, man.
Overall, it's a fun film and definitely worth a watch, but there's room for improvement.
Impressive Film, But Needed Some More Polish.
Ahh, Yu-Gi-Oh. Such fond memories. I remember as a kid getting up every Saturday morning to watch a new episode. I first heard about this film on Youtube and decided, "Aw, what the hell? Let's watch it for old times sake". And while it's definitely fun to watch, it's far from perfect.
Pros:
Cons:
Overall, it's a fun film and definitely worth a watch, but there's room for improvement.