What ZE(X)AL
Not entirely sure what to make of the first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal. It's kind of nice to see (what I assume are) homages to the previous series -- mysterious artifact that is retrieved by friend and calls forth a mysterious person (DM), talk about Duel Monsters cards being/not being trash (5D's), and... actually, I'm not sure how it relates to GX, since I never watched it. Maybe the school atmosphere?
But it's not exactly all that interesting. Yuma is okay -- I don't hate him but I don't love him like I did Yugi and Yusei (but it is very cool that he can do kick-ups -- I counted two in the first episode alone :D). I found it hilarious how, even though the technology has gotten so advanced, the tactics are as basic as the moves Kaiba made in his first duel with Yugi. And yet the bystanders are still blown away by them. "ZOMG AN EQUIP MAGIC CARD!?"
I think I'm most interested in seeing how the relationship between Yuma and his sister plays out. None of the other protags have had siblings (if Jaden does, please correct me), so the focus was always very much on protag and friends. So that's something I'm interested in. Also wondering if Synchro Summoning will play a part in the show too, or if it was just a 5D's-exclusive thing. I liked it when people Synchro Summoned -- it's cooler than Exceed Summoning, I feel -- so I'll be sad if there's no more of that.
Animation is nice, but the character designs are all kinda... weird. Not bad. Just weird.
But it's not exactly all that interesting. Yuma is okay -- I don't hate him but I don't love him like I did Yugi and Yusei (but it is very cool that he can do kick-ups -- I counted two in the first episode alone :D). I found it hilarious how, even though the technology has gotten so advanced, the tactics are as basic as the moves Kaiba made in his first duel with Yugi. And yet the bystanders are still blown away by them. "ZOMG AN EQUIP MAGIC CARD!?"
I think I'm most interested in seeing how the relationship between Yuma and his sister plays out. None of the other protags have had siblings (if Jaden does, please correct me), so the focus was always very much on protag and friends. So that's something I'm interested in. Also wondering if Synchro Summoning will play a part in the show too, or if it was just a 5D's-exclusive thing. I liked it when people Synchro Summoned -- it's cooler than Exceed Summoning, I feel -- so I'll be sad if there's no more of that.
Animation is nice, but the character designs are all kinda... weird. Not bad. Just weird.