Comics / Manga

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Volume 1

By Leroy Douresseaux
July 11, 2011 - 11:39

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Volume 1 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! series, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s comes after Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and before Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexa.  Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s is set in New Domino City and focuses on the city’s hottest game, Turbo Duel.

Turbo Duel is fought from the seats of Duel Runners, a kind of Duel Disk that is a motorcycle-shaped vehicle.  Players, of course, fight with cards that can summon various monsters and assorted fantastic creatures and beings.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, Vol. 1 (Yusei, Turbo Duelist!!) introduces the series’ central character, Yusei Fudo, a new Turbo Duel hero.  He is the toughest duelist in Satellite, a district in the outskirts of New Domino City.  The story opens with Yusei accepting a duel challenge from Sect, whose goal is to beat Yusei, although he is like a kid brother to Yusei.

Determined to get better so that he can beat Yusei, Sect ends up at the mercy of Skeleton Knight, an urban legend among turbo duelists.  Yusei also finds himself facing off against two clearly superior duelists, Jack Atlas AKA “The King” and Akiza Izinski, the Queen of Queens.

[This volume includes a Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s trading card.]

THE LOWDOWN:  I’ve read very little Yu-Gi-Oh!, and my most recent encounter with this franchise was two volumes of Yu-Gi-Oh! R.  Yu-Gi-Oh! is enjoyable kid stuff – shonen manga for young male readers.  Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s is even more simple-minded and geared towards obsessive Yu-Gi-Oh! card collectors who may also to read Yu-Gi-Oh! manga.  Sometimes, while reading a Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, I get tired of having to stop and read a card every time a player draws one.

But I enjoyed reading Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s.  The art and visual storytelling by Masashi Sato seemed way too simple at first – at least to me.  With each chapter, however, the art grew a little more involved, dramatic, and even a little more complex.  I’m surprised; this is a better than expected read.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Anyone who has been reading the other Yu-Gi-Oh! manga series will want Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s.

B

 

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12