Yu☆Gi☆Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions

Obsessed with revenge against the King of Games, Seto Kaiba commences an excavation in Egypt to find the fragments of the Millennium Puzzle, which once retained the spirit of the "counterpart Yuugi." However, a cloaked man steals two pieces of the Puzzle and disappears before it could be reconstructed. Meanwhile, now in their final year of high school, Yuugi Mutou and his friends plan for their futures, unaware of the danger lurking close by.

Yu☆Gi☆Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions tells the tale of vindictive forces distorting reality in whatever way they please. Will Seto and Yuugi move past their differences and save the world, or will Seto's own greed get the better of him?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kaiba, Seto Main

Tsuda, Kenjirou Japanese

Mutou, Yuugi Main

Kazama, Shunsuke Japanese

Aigami Main

Hayashi, Kento Japanese

Yami Yuugi Supporting

Kazama, Shunsuke Japanese

Jounouchi, Katsuya Supporting

Takahashi, Hiroki Japanese

Yami Bakura Supporting

Matsumoto, Rica Japanese

Bakura, Ryou Supporting

Matsumoto, Rica Japanese

Mana Supporting

Mazaki, Anzu Supporting

Saitou, Maki Japanese

Kaiba, Mokuba Supporting

Takeuchi, Junko Japanese

Jitsumatsu, Teruaki Producer

Kuwabara, Satoshi Director

Matsuoka, Hiroki Sound Director

Makino, Yoshitaka Episode Director

Reviews

Apr 6, 2025

Hammontron

Recommended

(This review was written on October 24, 2024)

You know what? 10 out of 10! I'm serious! Despite the manga already having an incredibly satisfying ending, this movie was the perfect conclusion for the series as a whole. Every original thing that was introduced in this movie pays off, fitting in perfectly with everything that has already been established to bring the overall narrative to a tight conclusion. Every character is handled beautifully in a way that captures the growth they all experienced in the manga while more than hinting at the wonderful opportunities the future holds for them. Every plot-point is wrapped up perfectly in ... an incredibly satisfying way that ends the story on a beautiful note, even if it hurts a bit that this is truly the end. While it may seem like I'm just checking off a list of things the film does right in order to justify it as an ending to the story, there is one thing I need to talk about in detail. One character to be precise.

Seto Kaiba. This guy is easily one of my favorite characters in all of anime and manga, and this film truly concluded his arc better than I could've possibly hoped. I won't deny that I actually had some nervous curiousity about how his character would be handled in this movie, seeing how well his character arc concluded when he made his exit in the manga. However, while the manga did wrap up the character arc that he had been going through since the start, it did leave the door open for a continuation of his rivalry with Yugi and "the other one" (spoilers!) Thankfully, this film takes that somewhat loose-end of his character in the best and most over-the-top direction they could! I won't give any details away, but as far as his relationship with Yugi goes, this film epically concludes and I couldn't be happier for my boy!

Talking about the film from a technical perspective, it's amazing! The animation is simply excellent, whether it be the beautiful and sharp 2D animation of the characters, or the impresively detailed yet sleek designs of the monsters that are actually given incredible CG treatment! I knew ahead of time that Takahashi actually personally animated the shot of Yugi putting on the new duel disk for the first time, and seeing it made my heart so full. The sound design is on point with an amazing score (for the subbed version anyway) that made all of the extremely hype moments as impactful as possible!

It actually breaks my heart that Takahashi is no longer with us, having tragically passed away in an accident just over two years ago, because I genuinely would've made an attempt to let him know just how much this series had an impact on me and how I'll always cherish the story and characters that he created. I'm at least glad that he was able to write this film to finally conclude the amazing story he started in 1996, as it shows just how spectacular he was at what he did. Rest in Peace, Takahashi. Thank you for everything.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Dec 14, 2017

Actar

Mixed Feelings

To preface this "review" some pointers:

- There will be SPOILERS. If you haven't seen the movie yet, don't read this review if you don't want to be spoiled. Definitely do come back after to share your opinions. I would love to hear what you guys thought of the movie. Am I in the minority?
- I am perfectly fine with nostalgia bait. The problem is when producers think that a show can succeed based on nostalgia alone.
- I am aware that this is a sequel to the manga and not the anime, accounting for some of the discrepancies. Yet, some of the characters actions ... were just bizarre, in my opinion.
- Finally, please do not let my opinion of the film ruin your experience with it. This is my personal opinion and my opinion alone.

Alright... Here we go. I do apologize for the stream-of-consciousness ranting. It's like my mind is actively trying to erase the movie from my memories.

First off, it started off well enough, with the reintroduction of the characters and what they were up to after all the time. I particularly liked how they framed the story with Anzu's dream of going to New York. However, that's when things started to go South.

Essentially, to sum all of the problems up into one word, it was contrived... and rushed. Sorry, that was two words. In my opinion, everything that happened in this movie happened because they needed it to happen. They needed new monsters - insert a hundred different variations of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that had no build-up, reason for existing or proper differentiation (more on this later). They needed a new enemy that had to be related to the cast somehow to make him relevant - shoehorn in some subplot was never hinted at or talked about in the original series so it felt like it came out of nowhere. They needed Atem to appear again and appear he did EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE!

Urgh... the plot. Don't even get me started. I've already talked about the shoehorned-in villain, but boy does it get better. The plot was unnecessarily convoluted and yet still managed to be contrived and seem like it came out of nowhere. What in the world was with this collective consciousness nonsense? Why is it important and how does it relate to anything? Why was Kaiba's Duel Disk perfectly equipped to combat his powers? Seriously, it could have been anything else and have been much better explained and understandable. How could Kaiba pull out a God Card from the ground and play it with his virtual system?

Speaking of Kaiba, that subplot with his obsession was really at odds with Aigami's plot. There was hardly any correlation. Not to mention, sure he was obsessed with Yugi, but they really pushed his obsession a little too far in this one. Though, I have to admit, that would have been a compelling enough story in and of itself if they had taken their time to expand on it. At the end of the movie, people were actually LAUGHING at his hyperbolic obsession with Atem. Going back in time to duel Atem? Yeah, that's not obsessive at all. Seriously, Javert he is not. Also, Kaiba removing the Millennium Puzzle from the crypt and actually solving it with technology was kinda cool, but it completely ruined the mystique of the items. Wouldn't it have been even cooler if his high-tech machines failed to solve the puzzle?

That climax... Oh God. Remember how I was talking about them introducing new monsters for the sake of it? Well, screw duel tactics and anything of the sort, the ending was just a monster spam that got boring after the 100th "HERE'S A MORE POWERFUL MONSTER THAN YOURS". Seriously, if I have to sit though another Cubic monster and Blue-Eyes iteration that has zero differentiation from one another... This was obviously because they were rushed for time. They had a quota of monsters to push and there was no way they could dedicate 30 minutes to build up a single monster.

Also, the GOD DAMN CG. Why are some monsters like the Black Magician and the Black Magician Girl in normal 2D, simulated-cel animation while many of the other monsters were rendered in 3DCG? Seriously, STICK TO ONE. It's horrendous enough that they used CG, but if they had made ALL the monsters CG, there would have been at least a point! You know, creating a disconnect between the real and the virtual? But no, we can't have our Black Magician Girl be polygons, can we?

This is a perfect example of an unnecessary sequel that was made for the sake of being made. Regardless of what the creator said, I felt zero passion from this project and everything was paint-by-numbers and forced. For a fan, I really don't think I would have missed out if I hadn't seen it. Personally speaking, the ONLY good thing that came out of this was seeing Anzu actually fulfilling her dream. Anzu is adorable. Oh, and the bonus card and goodybag as well. That was pretty good.

Maybe I'm exaggerating. Maybe I just need to calm down and watch it again. And watch it again I will, because as a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, I'm willing to give it another chance. But at this moment, while I'm a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan, I am not a fan of this movie.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jun 10, 2024

StardustSynchro

Not Recommended

Nostalgia Bait Gone Wrong!

This movie was made to cash in on my childhood, and it failed miserably since I outgrew Duel Monsters years ago.Today I decided to review a movie that I've had a visual loathing problem with since its inception back in 2016. I need to go into more depth because I can't simply ignore it.I have finally decided to review Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions and its mixed reception at the box office. There's a lot to talk about with this movie, and I hope I can cover it all since MyAnimeList has a limit on the amount of text and characters ... I can use.I am also going to explain two major topics. One is about production problems and nepotism, and the other is about reception and box office gross.

Oh god, this movie is going to suck, isn't it? Oh, wait. It is!

In The End It has to be this way:
To me, Dark Side of Dimensions will always be the movie that killed my interest in Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, despite it being the third movie primarily focused on Duel Monsters. Let's delve into a bit of history regarding the Yu-Gi-Oh! movies. Firstly, there was the Toei Yu-Gi-Oh! movie from the late 90s, which was never released on DVD or Blu-ray, either because it was non-canon to the story or simply never considered canon. It's never been explained why it wasn't released on DVD. Then, in the early 2000s, we got the first movie for the Gallop Yu-Gi-Oh! series, Pyramid of Light, which received mixed reception. In its defense, it was created to rival Pokémon movies, but unfortunately, it didn't succeed. This led to the fandom's first uproar, with some blaming Takahashi for it. However, Takahashi wasn't responsible for it; it was actually 4KIDS who commissioned it from Japan. It's surprising that people are still misinformed about this in 2024. Next, we had Bonds Beyond Time, which was the only good movie in my opinion. And then, we have this disaster I'm reviewing.

Two Birds and One Stone Troupe:
Now, let's delve into two topics I want to cover simultaneously: Animation and Directing. I'm going to be quite salty about this one. You see, one of my pet peeves is the apparent nepotism and the overemphasis on pretty colors and stereotyping in this movie, which I strongly oppose. This isn't me being biased or offering subjective criticism; I detest the prioritization of 'pretty colors' over substance. In today's media landscape, there's a tendency to mock older shows for not being 'flashy action,' 'self-inserted,' or 'well-made.' People often jump on the bandwagon and promote fake agendas like 'nepotism,' which is another problem I need to address. You cannot judge a movie solely based on animation. This isn't just the recurring issue with My Hero Academia and its animation; it's a problem I like to call the Yugioh Zexal fiasco.Animation production is expensive and often costs way too much. Despite how much money a show or movie makes, its value is ultimately determined by its reception at the box office. Personally, I disliked My Hero Academia because its cinematic animation received more positive reviews than its main series did. It felt like MHA was using the movies as a platform to showcase better fights because the main series itself seemed lazy and uninteresting. So, what does this have to do with the review? Well, people tend to be aggressive towards the media and often blame anime studios for being outdated or lazy. Studio Gallop was never a mainstream studio nor was it financially stable. The Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and movies had above-average production quality before the Zexal era, but then it shifted towards flashy visuals and over-the-top animation, which I found to be a mishap of nonsense. In fact, this movie is why I've disliked its production since 2014 because Konami seemed to be on a death wish to produce another movie that would likely result in financial losses. The movie was primarily focused on impressing the audience, trying to position itself as a 'savior,' but it ultimately failed miserably since people could see the excessive cost of production. The biggest problem with the movie lies in its direction, which was mediocre and poorly choreographed. To make matters worse, it was helmed by the same director I loathe, Satoshi Kuwabara. His tendency for poorly paced animation hiccups makes him a prime example of how not to hire a good director. Kuwabara comes off as lazy and immature in his approach to production. However, Yu-Gi-Oh! fans seem to get upset when his work is criticized, even though it's riddled with flaws. People often only point out issues with localization, blaming the wrong sources. But in reality, the direction of the movie was mediocre at best. He was responsible for the previous screw-up known as Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal and its mixed reception in the West due to the disaster of the anime. He was in charge of that series from day one. What I found particularly strange is that he never gave interviews or tried to explain what was even happening in the show. He appeared mostly lazy and inconsistent, in my opinion.

Nepotism Is as it's peak:
This section is about Takahashi, who didn't understand his own logic in the first place. While people defended the movie for its flashy animation and nostalgia bait, Takahashi received universal criticism because he is solely at fault for this movie's failure. In the 2010s, people didn't blame him enough for Zexal, but he was blamed for this movie being a total disaster. It focused on stereotypes, dehumanizing the first Yu-Gi-Oh! show by portraying the characters as nothing more than jerks, and in the process, proving the critics right. In fact, this movie catered to those wanting another political card game war, leading to many people being divided due to his ego once again being involved.

Nepotism characterized the movie, with character assassination and story points being dropped in favor of it being a love letter to Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 6 that never happened. This whole movie is just Pyramid of Light recreated with dumb animation borrowed from Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V's production, solely to improve the movie and divide the fans once again. He tried to cover the movie's tracks under the rug because he couldn't take the fact that he knew personally if he stole animation or writing budgets from another ongoing Yu-Gi-Oh! project, it would lead to fandom wars.

Many Yu-Gi-Oh! fans know that he screwed up big time and never apologized for the movie's faults. People are split because of Takahashi's opinions and his ego regarding how Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal turned out to be a disaster, as he was involved in that series but left at some point to start early production on Dark Side of Dimensions. Many fans say that Takahashi wasn't very involved with the series, but for reasons he doesn't want to take part in a show. The reason for this is that Takahashi has an ego that lets him anger the fandom because the story wasn't in favor of anything but solely overpowering the show's credibility and creating a dumpster fire, just like how Zexal became that way.In short, he is the reason why Yu-Gi-Oh! is doomed. He can't seem to improve the story and let it progress, as his original anime, Duel Monsters, was never fully adapted. The manga was left with plot holes and a lack of depth due to arcs being cut too soon. In short, Yu-Gi-Oh! was doomed because any show past 5D's became unlikable and disrespected. This man wanted to push an agenda, much like how Zexal was supposed to be Duel Monsters 2.0.

We hated ARC-V for this?
That brings me to the production itself, which was undermined by his lackeys and others who tried to make this movie happen. The movie was made sometime between 2014 and 2016, and it's largely at fault for stealing the budget from shows like Arc-V. I'm not one to just jump on the bandwagon and start supporting a movie because someone told me to. There is no movie in the whole universe I have ever been hyped about just because many people tell me to support its production rather than focusing on the actual story and characters.Studio Gallop was never a mainstream studio like Studio Mappa or Studio Bones. Gallop was a studio meant to handle shows made for children, not mainstream abominations that performed terribly at the box office. These movies were universally panned because their stories were either handled poorly in the manga or never completed. The studio often misled their fandom, promising that the movies would be gold standards, but this was a lie. The movies were more meant to be tie-ins rather than delivering what the fandom demanded.

The Box Office Disaster
The movie was a box office disaster, failing to recoup its production costs and falling short of expectations. Despite the hype and nostalgia surrounding the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, The Dark Side of Dimensions couldn't draw in enough viewers to be profitable. This was partly due to the overly ambitious budget that prioritized flashy animation over a coherent and engaging story. Fans were left disappointed, and critics panned the movie for its lack of depth and substance, leading to its poor performance at the box office.

The Duels
The duels, which should have been the highlight of the movie, were also a letdown. They were poorly choreographed and lacked the strategic depth that fans loved in the original series. Instead of thrilling, intellectually stimulating matches, the duels in The Dark Side of Dimensions felt rushed and overly reliant on flashy visuals. This focus on style over substance left many fans feeling cheated. The duels failed to capture the essence of what made Yu-Gi-Oh! great in the first place, ultimately contributing to the overall disappointment with the movie.


Overall
The movie is just nostalgia bait 101. You can't tell me that many people have a bias for it just because of the animation and pretty colors. In fact, people hated this movie because it was made with money taken from another project, which left their fandom unhappy. If you tell me that I'm being negative because I prefer 5D's, which was universally better than this movie, it's only because you refused to watch 5D's. I'm starting to believe that Konami never planned for this movie; it was a last-second attempt to make money.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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	Poll: Yu☆Gi☆Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Ana - Apr 25, 2016	94 replies	by Biisoo »» Oct 5, 2024 10:44 AM
	I blame this stupid film for the CGI crap i watched 2 hours Phasar2022 - Aug 2, 2021	8 replies	by HikarieChan »» Apr 17, 2023 12:24 PM
	i really enjoyed it as a fan of yugioh audac1ous - Feb 6, 2017	1 replies	by HikarieChan »» Apr 17, 2023 12:22 PM
	I really want a sequel series of the Classic yu-gi-oh Pac99 - Feb 4, 2022	8 replies	by HikarieChan »» Apr 16, 2023 7:17 PM
	How do you feel about Atem's well-defined biceps and Kaiba's new rippling abs? Dull_Lull - Feb 13, 2020	8 replies	by Early_Morning »» Feb 6, 2022 12:49 PM