The Iconic 2000s Fantasy Anime Phenomenon That Needs A Reboot

There are a few ways the Yu-Gi-Oh reboot could go. The first is a pretty similar story to the original anime but modernized and filled in a bit more. It would be especially exciting now, with anime having a broader audience base. In the United States, the anime was released by 4Kids, a company known for making anime appear much more childish than originally intended. 

Because of their involvement with the American release, the dubbed version of Yu-Gi-Oh was made to be much less dark and included some questionable dubbing. Having a reboot with a more faithful English adaptation could be really exciting and play on people’s nostalgia. 

The second option would be to make the Yu-Gi-Oh reboot more faithful to the original manga. The anime veered pretty wildly away from the manga. Many of the characters had different personalities, and there were a lot more deaths.

One of the most interesting changes, however, would be how little card battles there actually are. The Yu-Gi-Oh anime is completely focused on card battles, but in the manga, there was a wide range of games, including something similar to a tabletop RPG game, gambling, and even interesting games based on keeping your heart rate down. 

In a time where anime based on games are somewhat popular, like Chihayafuru, After School Dice Club, and Kakegurui, a Yu-Gi-Oh reboot with a wide range of common and uncommon competitions could be more interesting than one simply based on cards. 

Of course, the series reboot would have to be done very carefully. The original manga artist, Kazuki Takahashi, passed away in 2022. Doing a reboot without his permission could be seen as disrespectful, so the Yu-Gi-Oh reboot would need to be done by a team that really cared about the series.

Personally, I think that following the manga closely would be a way to make a Yu-Gi-Oh reboot that’s far more interesting, and still pays respect to the manga artist. It would bring his original story to life, and show a side of the story many viewers haven’t seen yet. 

We’ve seen proof that reboots don’t have to be inherently bad. The Fruits Basket reboot was actually better than the original in many ways, such as following the entire story of the manga, and delving deeper into the character’s backstories. The Yu-Gi-Oh reboot could be much the same, and bring in new fans while also acting as a bit of nostalgia for the original fans. 

Speaking of nostalgia, if you want to go back and watch the original series for yourself while waiting for a Yu-Gi-Oh reboot, the show is available on a number of platforms, including Crunchyroll, Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. However, if you’re looking to watch all five seasons on one platform without paying anything extra, Hulu and Crunchyroll are the best options.