Let's get the nasty bits outta the way first: the English dub is a little... janky... at times, and the animation at times is actually laughable.
That being said, I have an undying love for this show. I watched it (for the first time ever) when I was sixteen, so it's not just the nostalgia. The plot at times gets taken off track, but when it follows the original manga storyline, it's really well done and very interesting. The vast majority of the side characters are pretty one- dimensional, but some, such as Seto Kaiba, the Ishtar family (Marik especially), Ryou Bakura, and Thief King Bakura have interesting character arcs and are actually pretty complex. Themes of abuse, sacrifice, and working together are explored very well
Don't get me wrong, you kinda have to peer closely at it to really get it, but I think this show deserves to be peered at. On the surface, it appears to be just a Pokémon ripoff, but it has its own elements and really great characters that I just enjoy.
That being said, it is an incredibly long series, and I definitely suggest getting started with "Season 0", the Toei Animation series. It's 27 (?) episodes long, and if you can get over the fact that it's not in English (4Kids found it too violent and so didn't dub it) and that the animation is even worse than this series, I think you will really enjoy this series.
That being said, I have an undying love for this show. I watched it (for the first time ever) when I was sixteen, so it's not just the nostalgia. The plot at times gets taken off track, but when it follows the original manga storyline, it's really well done and very interesting. The vast majority of the side characters are pretty one- dimensional, but some, such as Seto Kaiba, the Ishtar family (Marik especially), Ryou Bakura, and Thief King Bakura have interesting character arcs and are actually pretty complex. Themes of abuse, sacrifice, and working together are explored very well
Don't get me wrong, you kinda have to peer closely at it to really get it, but I think this show deserves to be peered at. On the surface, it appears to be just a Pokémon ripoff, but it has its own elements and really great characters that I just enjoy.
That being said, it is an incredibly long series, and I definitely suggest getting started with "Season 0", the Toei Animation series. It's 27 (?) episodes long, and if you can get over the fact that it's not in English (4Kids found it too violent and so didn't dub it) and that the animation is even worse than this series, I think you will really enjoy this series.