Released in 2016, but Jan 27, 2017 inside the USA. (Poster and all images/video via Konami & Screenvision Media)
An anime film review? What’s this have to do with engineering? Well… It features one of the most egotistical genius-engineers in film - of all time!
- Spoilers below -
Yu-Gi-Oh! was created by Kazuki Takahashi in 1996 and has had a long run. It shot up in popularity with the animated series back in the early 2000s. The original cast’s story seemingly ended in 2004. But, this film comes around to continue their story.
Oh, but this is an anime, kids stuff, right? NO, it is not. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions (YTDSD) has a story boiled down to a kind person, for a greater good, seeks to end the life of another person. Of course, that is the hero of the series, Yugi Mutou; the seminal character of the series. The plot contains deaths, guns, and a lot of complex twists. It has flashy colors and monsters, but that’s where it ends for kids.
If you are a fan of the series, you’ll love it, since it’s the heroes on another adventure. If you are not a fan, you’ll never see it. But, I want to talk about one of the main characters, Seto Kaiba – the series’ resident genius-engineer who brought the game to “life.”
Towards the beginning YTDSD, Seto Kaiba reminds why he’s an awesome engineer. While pontificating over his latest technological creation, he drinks from a water bottle, crushes it, and throws it, says “fire whoever designed that bottle. Kaiba Corp’s products shouldn’t bend that easily.”
Yes, bad news for that designer, but great that Kaiba demands better. While we drown in all the poorly designed products, Galaxy Note 7 for instance, wouldn’t it be nice if a “Kaiba” demanded perfection?
You could almost look at Seto Kaiba as an egotistical, self-serving, Elon Musk. In YTDSD he designed and uses a space elevator that takes him to a low orbit research center. He creates a neurally linked computer interface, like an EEG. He uses real-time data, big-data, that accessible with a thought and slight command for analyzing any situation. Kaiba changes the fictional world for the better. But, of course, he uses all that to play a card game.
Through the original series, Kaiba started a company to build a glasses-free augmented reality (AR) platform to show the card “come to life” and battle each other. First a console based stadium to a mobile hologram projection, later in the seasons. While every other character was dealing with their “drama,” Kaiba never stopped innovating. It’s an unsung background plot development that didn’t escape the eye of this engineer.
With games like Pokemon Go! showcasing how popular AR can get, AR like in this series could become a reality. In fact, there is a Yu-Gi-Oh! AR game and a Virtual Reality already in the works for Oculus Rift. This is my point with Yu-Gi-Oh!, it inspired many and continues to inspire more today.
I will admit, back in the early 2000s, during the original run of the TV series, I explored the idea of using real world tech to expand the card game.
Here was my big idea: I would use image recognition techniques, or text scanning, to translate any card on a play area. A computer would then handle resolving of all moves the players wish to make. Sort of like electronic chess from the 80’s. IE: This monster attacks this one… the system would determine if a monster is destroyed and everything else that follows.
However, the year 2000 didn’t offer the level of available tech like we have today. By the time Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and the sort showed up, overall popularity of the show was down. And, my interest was out the window. The spinoff shows just didn’t blow my hair back.
If anything, perhaps Seto Kaiba has, or will, inspire some young Yu-Gi-Oh! fan to get into engineering and innovate. Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Transformers, and many others have a strong track record of doing so. Hopefully, Seto Kaiba will not inspire real-word egotistical engineers!
I will leave you with the touchstone Seto Kaiba quote from YTDSD, I hope you apply it to your engineering life, just like I am:
"I’ve never settled for mediocrity as an acceptable standard, and neither should you." (Segment pulled from promotion video for the film, here)
Now, I will give some critique of the actual movie:
Pros
- A new story by the creator Kazuki Takahashi.
- The gang all back together.
- Seto Kaiba, his ranting, and being a dynamic genius-engineer.
- A long awaited update and conclusion.
- Overly complex plot for a card game action adventure. Yes, this is a pro. It keeps you interested throughout.
- No typical Hollywood cliché story details or dialog.
- The final battle takes place in a stadium. The sound and imagery makes me wish there was a real card game elevated to this level of spectacle.
Cons
- There were a few dialog sequences that seem over the top and long winded. Mostly that of the main antagonist. It just makes you want to fast-forward to scenes with our original heroes.
- Battle sequences lacked the fun of the final duels in the original series.
- Not enough showcasing the tech in the story. The drama and the card game are more important, I suppose.
- Playing in theatres, almost nowhere.
My score: 3.49 / 5.00
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More fun facts:
Seto Kaiba and Yugi Mutou playing Yugi's new game four years after the conclusion of this film. The drawing was made by the series creator Kazuki Takahashi. See more at his Instagram here.
Yu-Gi-Oh! as a name, has a literal translation of “Game King” or even King of Games. The way it is written in English isn’t quite right, but it works for proper pronunciation.
Think Yu-Gi-Oh! is a small blip in the world?
The franchise consists of the original run animation, 5 spinoffs, 4 movies, video games, mobile game with 30 million players as of 2017, novels, the manga, and of course the billions of cards sold worldwide. Think about this, some individual cards sell for thousands of dollars to collectors and fans! If you feel like binge watching this series, it is 224 episodes and a few movies of pure joy.
