For more than 25 years, theYu-Gi-Oh!franchise has proven to be among the greatest card games anime ever created. Despite the premise of the show not being as inherently interesting as other Shōnen series, it has managed to enchant millions of fans since the beginning. The anime accomplishes this by making its duels as exciting as possible.
This trait has helped the franchise remain successful for over two decades and was created specifically for the anime, as it would never work in real life.Many ofYu-Gi-Oh!’s best duelsrely on mystery and tension, which is why characters seldom share information about their cards with the opponent, a practice that would be illegal in official games.
Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Mystery Is An Anime Exclusive Trait
Games Are Made More Exciting Due to a Lack of Information
When thinking about the most exciting duels and thebest players in theYu-Gi-Oh!anime, most fans will remember the amazing strategies used by characters such as Yugi or Kaiba. Several times during its long legacy, this beloved anime has been able to cause hype among audiences by creating complex and shocking plays that no ordinary duelist would overcome.
Nonetheless, when these intense moments are studied carefully, it becomes clear that the anime purposefully altered the rules of the game to help keep the viewers in suspense. This was mostly accomplished by having the characters withhold information about their cards,a strategy that is considered illegal in the real-life version of the game.
Whenever a monster, spell, or trap with a special ability came into play, the owner waited until the right time to reveal it, often whenever the opponent attempted to attack. This decision worked perfectly for the narrative, as viewers would be on the edge of their seats waiting for Yugi to activate his next effect and turn the duel around.
Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Ingenious Solution Would Never Be Allowed in Real Life
Players Must Always Know What Is Happening
Although hiding information from the opponent and viewers helped theYu-Gi-Oh!franchise becomeone of anime’s biggest global successes, the real-life game would never have allowed such a strategy. One of the reasons why many fans find the card game much less interesting to watch than the anime is that duelists need to know every card.
If an opponent asks what a monster, spell, or trap does, the rival is forced to answer or allow them to read the card. This helps the game feel fair and prevents players from cheating by creating their effects. Still, while this concept keeps the game interesting for duelists, it comes at the price of it being quite slow for viewers.
The team of talented writers behind theYu-Gi-Oh!anime franchise had the right idea by keeping the effects of thestrongest cards in the seriesa secret until the right time. Without this, the show would never have been as interesting and intense as fans remember. It is a clear sign of the care that went into creating this incredible anime.
