Is Yu Gi Oh Zexal more beloved now?

[Light Lucario]

Arc V dub I watched all the way… some of the voice acting is super campy. That is what makes it a fun dub though. The worst that happened to it was skipping the middle third in Nicktoons, but at least it was dubbed and aired in Australia or Canada. Does anyone know if there was major censorship in Arc V?

I remember Nicktoons skipping all of season two. In a way, it wasn't too surprising since it took them ages to air all of season one. I still remember seeing some late era Arc V booster packs in Gamestop when season one was still airing. The dub wasn't doing its job of promoting the newest cards when they were already gearing up for Vrains era cards and honestly, it hasn't been doing that job for a long time. But it was still disappointing since skipping an entire season on Nicktoons absolutely destroyed whatever audience the dub would have developed by that point. The long breaks throughout season one certainly didn't help either. I remember that they went on a break after the You Show vs. LDSt trio mini arc and this was after all of season one had aired in other countries, but going from the end of season one with Yuya and his friends getting through the Battle Royal only to jump into the start of the Heartland arc would have confused so many people. I remember a few people watching the dub on Nicktoons commenting on their confusion here as well.

At least it wasn't another case of an incomplete dub. Despite KCM's own problems with the dubs since they got the license, the fact that we don't have to worry about incomplete dubs like we did with 4Kids is still a big improvement. I think that they were putting up season two on Hulu, so it was legally available for people to watch, but it was still a really lousy situation all the same and another reason why it was good that they eventually got Sevens and Go Rush on Disney XD instead of going back to Nicktoons. With how Nicktoons treated both Arc V and Zexal, putting new episodes on YouTube would have given each series much better exposure.

I don't recall hearing much about major censorship in the Arc V, at least not more than the typical dub changes with the dialogue and storyline. I remember more backlash towards the Vrains dub finale since they removed Ai's love confession to Yusaku. While I never cared much for that pairing, or for really anyone in the Vrains cast for that matter, it was still another homophobic edit, which had been a trend with past dubs, and it was trying to make a more dramatic moment into more of a joke. The DM dub definitely could be goofy and silly, but it typically knew when to take moments seriously, which felt less common with the spin-off dubs.

 

[J'onn J'onzz]

I remember Nicktoons skipping all of season two. In a way, it wasn't too surprising since it took them ages to air all of season one. I still remember seeing some late era Arc V booster packs in Gamestop when season one was still airing. The dub wasn't doing its job of promoting the newest cards when they were already gearing up for Vrains era cards and honestly, it hasn't been doing that job for a long time. But it was still disappointing since skipping an entire season on Nicktoons absolutely destroyed whatever audience the dub would have developed by that point. The long breaks throughout season one certainly didn't help either. I remember that they went on a break after the You Show vs. LDSt trio mini arc and this was after all of season one had aired in other countries, but going from the end of season one with Yuya and his friends getting through the Battle Royal only to jump into the start of the Heartland arc would have confused so many people. I remember a few people watching the dub on Nicktoons commenting on their confusion here as well.

At least it wasn't another case of an incomplete dub. Despite KCM's own problems with the dubs since they got the license, the fact that we don't have to worry about incomplete dubs like we did with 4Kids is still a big improvement. I think that they were putting up season two on Hulu, so it was legally available for people to watch, but it was still a really lousy situation all the same and another reason why it was good that they eventually got Sevens and Go Rush on Disney XD instead of going back to Nicktoons. With how Nicktoons treated both Arc V and Zexal, putting new episodes on YouTube would have given each series much better exposure.

I don't recall hearing much about major censorship in the Arc V, at least not more than the typical dub changes with the dialogue and storyline. I remember more backlash towards the Vrains dub finale since they removed Ai's love confession to Yusaku. While I never cared much for that pairing, or for really anyone in the Vrains cast for that matter, it was still another homophobic edit, which had been a trend with past dubs, and it was trying to make a more dramatic moment into more of a joke. The DM dub definitely could be goofy and silly, but it typically knew when to take moments seriously, which felt less common with the spin-off dubs.

The Zexal dub also premiered later episodes on Hulu due to the end of Vortexx. I don’t think Nicktoons ever finished Zexal or original Yu-Gi-Oh, as well as Arc V. It’s too bad, Sevens and Duel Monsters are the only shows to receive a near-complete original TV airing. (Near complete because Kids WB merged some Duelist Kingdom episodes during Weevil and Panik duels, and Sevens skipped some clip shows.)

 

[Frontier]

I don't recall hearing much about major censorship in the Arc V, at least not more than the typical dub changes with the dialogue and storyline. I remember more backlash towards the Vrains dub finale since they removed Ai's love confession to Yusaku. While I never cared much for that pairing, or for really anyone in the Vrains cast for that matter, it was still another homophobic edit, which had been a trend with past dubs, and it was trying to make a more dramatic moment into more of a joke. The DM dub definitely could be goofy and silly, but it typically knew when to take moments seriously, which felt less common with the spin-off dubs.

The later seasons of GX definitely felt like they were trying to ape YGO Abridged in terms of the dub script.

 

[Light Lucario]

The Zexal dub also premiered later episodes on Hulu due to the end of Vortexx. I don’t think Nicktoons ever finished Zexal or original Yu-Gi-Oh, as well as Arc V. It’s too bad, Sevens and Duel Monsters are the only shows to receive a near-complete original TV airing. (Near complete because Kids WB merged some Duelist Kingdom episodes during Weevil and Panik duels, and Sevens skipped some clip shows.)

I don't recall Nicktoons airing DM, but that might have been before I had access to the channel. I remember when Zexal moved to Hulu, but I don't think that it was due to the end of Vortexx. I think Zexal had already moved to airing premieres on Nicktoons by then. Plus, Hulu premieres started in July 2014 while the Vortexx lasted until September 2014. While I wasn't a fan of Zexal, moving the last thirty episodes to be Hulu exclusive was still a rough deal for anyone following the dub. Nicktoons absolutely could have aired those episodes on TV, but chose not too. It's kind of a surprise that they'd be willing to air Arc V after that, but KCM is desperate for a TV deal to the point where Vrains never aired in the U.S. seemingly because they couldn't get a TV deal.

The fact that only two out of so far eight series have had nearly complete runs on TV is just sad. Not entirely surprising given how none of the spin-offs have been successful in the U.S., but it does show just how the anime part of this franchise has been doing for the better part of a decade.

The later seasons of GX definitely felt like they were trying to ape YGO Abridged in terms of the dub script.

Admittedly, some of those bad dialogue moments were hilarious and 4Kids could make stupid/bad dialogue pretty funny in general, but considering how dark and serious season three could get, going for parody dub style dialogue was not going to help the audience to take things seriously when characters started dying and Judai had his whole depression part of his character arc.

I'll still see people wishing that they would dub season four even after all this time, which is weird given the dub's quality. Granted, out of the two incomplete dubs, GX's ending is rather lackluster. They could have ended it on the clipshow episode, showing Judai coming back home to provide some kind of closure even if they couldn't do season four. Even if I didn't know about the last arc for 5D's, its dub finale still felt like there was obviously more to the story, but it at least offered fans some sense of closure. It's also really funny to see that the 5D's dub ends happily ever after right before the sky breaks apart in the Japanese version.

 

[Frontier]

Admittedly, some of those bad dialogue moments were hilarious and 4Kids could make stupid/bad dialogue pretty funny in general, but considering how dark and serious season three could get, going for parody dub style dialogue was not going to help the audience to take things seriously when characters started dying and Judai had his whole depression part of his character arc.

I'll still see people wishing that they would dub season four even after all this time, which is weird given the dub's quality. Granted, out of the two incomplete dubs, GX's ending is rather lackluster. They could have ended it on the clipshow episode, showing Judai coming back home to provide some kind of closure even if they couldn't do season four. Even if I didn't know about the last arc for 5D's, its dub finale still felt like there was obviously more to the story, but it at least offered fans some sense of closure. It's also really funny to see that the 5D's dub ends happily ever after right before the sky breaks apart in the Japanese version.

I haven't re-watched GX in forever but I don't recall them going too hard on forced/unnecessary jokes in the Supreme King/Yubel arc (which would have definitely been inappropriate).

Of course it still made Bonds Beyond Time incorporating season 4 stuff even though it was never dubbed all the more funnier. Even the show recap only went up to the end of season 3 I think.

 

[Light Lucario]

I haven't re-watched GX in forever but I don't recall them going too hard on forced/unnecessary jokes in the Supreme King/Yubel arc (which would have definitely been inappropriate).

I haven't watched GX's dub in ages either, but I definitely remember Syrus breaking the fourth wall a bit during his solo episode after most of the cast died. Plus, I think that the parody dub level dialogue of the first couple of arcs of that season already would have weakened the impact of the more serious moments. It's hard to take a show seriously after they break the fourth wall, talk about being good at card games and pointing out the bad dialogue in general. Not to mention the season was already dark before they even get to the Supreme King. They had to cut out Viper's death, dance around the death of his adopted son and the second arc had the cast stuck in another dimension with little resources and being turned into dueling zombies. The Supreme King arc was the point of no return where GX, for better or for worse, couldn't be the show it was once, but that wasn't when the season started to get dark.

Of course it still made Bonds Beyond Time incorporating season 4 stuff even though it was never dubbed all the more funnier. Even the show recap only went up to the end of season 3 I think.

They basically had no choice since they would have wanted to dub Bonds Beyond Time, but it does make GX's dub ending both funnier and weirder. They strongly imply that Jaden had died after merging with Yubel since Syrus talked about him being "in the stars" in the final line of the series, only for him to be fine running around Italy in the movie. I guess we can imply that the events of the rest of the series does play out in the dub's continuity despite the season being undubbed,

 

[Frontier]

I haven't watched GX's dub in ages either, but I definitely remember Syrus breaking the fourth wall a bit during his solo episode after most of the cast died. Plus, I think that the parody dub level dialogue of the first couple of arcs of that season already would have weakened the impact of the more serious moments. It's hard to take a show seriously after they break the fourth wall, talk about being good at card games and pointing out the bad dialogue in general. Not to mention the season was already dark before they even get to the Supreme King. They had to cut out Viper's death, dance around the death of his adopted son and the second arc had the cast stuck in another dimension with little resources and being turned into dueling zombies. The Supreme King arc was the point of no return where GX, for better or for worse, couldn't be the show it was once, but that wasn't when the season started to get dark.

I'm just going off of memory vibes but I do feel like the Supreme King duel/Aster vs Adrian/Zane vs Yubel/Jaden vs Yubel was dubbed well at least.

They basically had no choice since they would have wanted to dub Bonds Beyond Time, but it does make GX's dub ending both funnier and weirder. They strongly imply that Jaden had died after merging with Yubel since Syrus talked about him being "in the stars" in the final line of the series, only for him to be fine running around Italy in the movie. I guess we can imply that the events of the rest of the series does play out in the dub's continuity despite the season being undubbed,

I have to wonder what it was like for dub only people with no awareness of season 4 to come in and see Jaden with Yubel .

I can't say for certain if season 4 exclusive characters have been dubbed in Dual Links but since Z-One was I wouldn't be surprised if that did happen.

 

[Light Lucario]

I'm just going off of memory vibes but I do feel like the Supreme King duel/Aster vs Adrian/Zane vs Yubel/Jaden vs Yubel was dubbed well at least.

I have to wonder what it was like for dub only people with no awareness of season 4 to come in and see Jaden with Yubel .

I can't say for certain if season 4 exclusive characters have been dubbed in Dual Links but since Z-One was I wouldn't be surprised if that did happen.

They haven't added any season four characters in Duel Links yet, unless we count season four Judai himself who is labeled Judai/Yubel. They haven't added Darkness or Fujiwara yet, but I suppose it's possible.

 

[J'onn J'onzz]

I'm just going off of memory vibes but I do feel like the Supreme King duel/Aster vs Adrian/Zane vs Yubel/Jaden vs Yubel was dubbed well at least.

I have to wonder what it was like for dub only people with no awareness of season 4 to come in and see Jaden with Yubel .

I can't say for certain if season 4 exclusive characters have been dubbed in Dual Links but since Z-One was I wouldn't be surprised if that did happen.

In the dub, when I first saw the movie before season 4, I assumed Jaden is a ghost like Yubel and Banner. That he somehow became an incarnated duelist ghost, like Shadi. I was more confused about why he was in Venice.

 

[Bluebaron]

Nah only the first 3 series people kinda care about.

 

[Light Lucario]

Nah only the first 3 series people kinda care about.

While those are held in a high regard among fans, I wouldn't say that people don't care about the other series either. You can find fans for the later series, even the Rush Duel series, so it's not like the fanbases for those series are nonexistent. In the case of Zexal, it's reception has definitely changed from what I've seen at least over time. It still wouldn't be considered one of the more popular series among western fans, but I remember how much backlash it got during and after its run. Now it's more common to see people say that they like Zexal.

It kind of reminds me of GX in that regard. GX was really hated back in the day, more so than I think any of the other spin-offs since it was the first one, but now its a pretty beloved series even for western fans. I don't know if Zexal will become as popular or beloved among fans like GX has, but the general opinions I've seen have started to change at least, which is nice for Zexal fans. I still want that to happen for Arc V so much.