Dragon Ball Z/GT: Integrated - Rules to better integrate the "Score Entertainment" version with the "Panini" version.

Having been a huge fan of the original Score Entertainment DBZ/GT CCG which was available from 2000 and discontinued in 2006, I was somewhat pleased to see that the 2014 Panini TCG had been designed to be fully compatible with the original cards from both the Z and GT sets released by Score.
However, once I had purchased a starter deck for the game and had reviewed the full rules documents available on Paninis DBZ website, I found that the two games are not as fully integrated as I believed.
Although a rule for "Gold" type play exists, this only covers cards which have been directly reprinted in the new game, however, some cards have the same name as cards from the original, but with slightly different effects.
In addition, some card types are missing completely from the new game, although they may be introduced in the future. This is fine for people who have access to  decks and boosters for the Panini version, but as this game is not available in the UK yet, and thus the cards are hard to come by, it makes attempting to play this game somewhat difficult.
Considering that a great number of cards for the original Score Entertainment game are available, it should not be difficult for players to be able to integrate the two games to play DBZ again using both new and old cards, so, to wit, here are my home brew rules for playing the game with both old and new cards...

(Apologies if this is a little long winded, however some items need in depth explanation)


Game Rules

Standard game rules are identical to the rules as presented in the Panini Rulebook v2.0 ( Download HERE ) , with the following notes/amendments (Note:- Unless otherwise stated, at the time of writing, game mechanics introduced for the DBGT CCG are completely disregarded, as are mechanics and cards introduced for the short lived Dragonball CCG released in 2008, as its game engine is completely different and thus incompatible)

#1 - Deck construction

1. Your MP must be at least level 1-3. All the characters levels must have the same alignment, you cannot mix alignments.
2. Your Life Deck must contain exactly 60 cards.
3. You may use a mix of Score and Panini cards in your deck, however if you use a Score game card which has been reprinted in the Panini game, but has different card text, you may only use 3x of the Score version OR 3x of the Panini version. If both versions have exactly the same text, you may mix, but may never exceed 3x copies (named cards are slightly different, see point 8).*
4.  If you are using a mix of Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT cards, you MUST use deck protectors. This is because DBGT card backings are different to DBZ card backings, and will give an unfair advantage if you can see which card is on the top of your life deck.
5.  If a Score card has the same name as a Panini card (or vice versa), but a completely different effect text, this "counts as" two different card names for deck construction purposes.
6. Score game cards are subject to their "Most recent print" text and/or Errata as of the games discontinuation circa 2006. Panini cards are subject to their MRP/Errata as per their documents. (An integrated Banned/Restricted/Errata document is available to view HERE , and will be kept fully up to date)
7. Your Mastery/Tokui-Waza card must match the styled/coloured cards in your deck. If your deck contains cards of different styles/colours, you may not declare a mastery. Colourless/Named cards do not count towards this restriction. If your deck is made using only colourless or named cards, you may declare a Freestyle mastery and use a Freestyle mastery card. (i.e, the old concept of the "Rainbow" mastery has no place in the game any more, not that it ever should have to begin with.).
8. If a named card matches your MP, you may have up to 4 copies of that card in your deck. If a named card does NOT match your MP, you are restricted to only 2 copies of that card, subject to banned/restricted lists, alignment restrictions and/or card text restrictions.
9. If your deck includes "fusion" characters, you may have up to 3 copies of a named card that the fused character is named in, but may not play those cards until you have managed to put that character in play.
10. You may only include 1 copy of any ally (except for Saibamen and Cell Jr...see section "Playing allies" for clarification). The ally must be of the same alignment as your MP, and must NOT have the same name as your MP. In addition, "Majin" characters may only include "Majin" allies.
11. Any allies included in the deck must be at least 1 level lower than the maximum level of your MP (see section on gameplay for putting allies into play).
12. "Hi-Tech" cards may NEVER be included in your life deck.
    

#1a - Sensei Deck.
The Score CCG introduced the Sensei deck mechanic, which as yet, Panini have not. Players may use a Sensei card, under the following rules:-

• The Sensei deck may contain up to the number of cards as specified on the Sensei card itself.
• Cards in the Sensei deck are not "public", and therefore only the owning player may see them at any point.
•  Cards in the Sensei deck are placed face down under the Sensei card.
• At the beginning of the game, the Sensei deck may only contain cards which state "Sensei Deck"** or "Sensei Deck Only".
• The Sensei cards power (if any) may be used as specified by the power itself.

If a player is using a Sensei card, prior to the game starting, they may transfer cards from the Sensei deck to the life deck, using the following "sideboarding" procedure:-

1. Declare you are swapping cards from your Sensei deck.
2. Search through your Sensei deck and remove the cards you want, placing them face down on the table.
3. Take a number of cards from the top of your life deck equal to the number of cards you have removed from your Sensei deck, and place them face down under your Sensei card.
4. Shuffle the cards you have taken from your Sensei deck into your life deck.***

#1b - "Style" restriction.

Some characters are not permitted to use certain styles/colours, due to their race or "in universe" background, as depicted in the TV show. Below is a list of these restrictions:

Red Style:- Available to all characters.
Black Style:- Available to all characters.
Blue Style:- Available to all characters.
Orange Style:- Available to all characters.
Saiyan Style:- Characters with Saiyan Heritage, Saibaimen, Cell.
Namekian Style:- Characters with Namekian Heritage, Gohan, Cell, Pikkon.
Freestyle/Named:- Available to all characters within pre-existing deck construction limitations.


#1c - "XXX Only" cards.

Some cards are marked as being "Majin only". Cards with this keyword may only be used with a character whose name includes the word "Majin", or by the use of the effect of the card "M".

"Heroes/Villains only" cards may only be used by a character whose affiliation matches the affiliation of the card, unless otherwise specified. For example, Hercule/Mr. Satan is nominally considered a hero, but he may make use of "Villains only" cards via his MP card text.

"<character name> only" cards may only be used by the character whose name is specified by the card text. There are no exceptions to this rule.

"Tuff Enuff only" cards were a series of cards intended for use only in "Tuff Enuff" format games/tournaments. For the purpose of these rules, this restriction no longer applies and said cards may be included in any deck.

"League only" cards were a series of cards given as prizes for participation in the Score DBZ CCG organised play events, and were intended to only be used when participating in such events. For the purposes of these rules, this restriction no longer applies and these cards may be included in any deck, subject to deck construction restrictions and errata.

  
#2 - Game Setup

Players should proceed their pre-game setup as follows:-

1. Reveal your MP and set starting power stage.
2. Declare your Mastery.
3. Declare your Sensei.
4. Conduct Sensei deck sideboarding.
5. Decide who will take first turn.
6. Both players shuffle their decks.
7. Begin play.

#3 - Gameplay
Play proceeds in the normal way, with the following amendments:-

Physical Attack Table.
This rule set uses the following Physical attack table.

This is done in the interests of fairness, as many characters from later Score version sets have much, much higher power levels than their Panini counterparts. Physical Attack table B is included due to the effect of the Location card "Majin Buus House", which modifies the game conditions to use it instead of the "Standard" one.

Energy Attacks.
Unless otherwise stated by the card text itself, the cost for performing any energy attack is 2 power stages, and the damage, unless otherwise stated by the card text itself, is 4 life cards if not blocked. This is also subject to any modified cost/damage effects, for example, if there is a card in play which increases or decreases the cost of  performing energy attacks by X amount of power stages, then apply that modifier to the attack cost before paying it. Similarly, if a card text increases or decreases the damage dealt by attacks, apply that modifier once the attack has become successful.


Location/Battleground Cards.
If you have these in your deck, you may play them from your hand during your preparation stage, however you may not declare a combat on the same turn as you played a Location/Battleground.
Location/Battleground effect texts affect both players unless otherwise stated.
If a player plays a Location/Battleground while there is already a location in play, the older location is discarded, there may only ever be one location in play at a time, regardless of who owns it.


"Non-combat" cards.
These cards are normally played from your hand during your preparation stage, however some cards may allow you to put them in play from the hand, discard pile or life deck during the combat stage.
The Score DBZ card game classified these under the umbrella term "non-combat" cards, to be played during the "non-combat" phase, this however has changed since the release of the Dragonball GT card game, "non-combat" cards have been separated into two distinct types:-

• Drills - Any non-combat card that has the word "Drill" at the end of its name is played from the hand during the preparation stage. Drills are discarded whenever your character levels up, unless another card effect states otherwise. Drill effects are always "on"from the moment they are played, and only affect the controlling player, unless otherwise stated by the card itself.
• Setups - Any non-combat card which does not have the word "Drill" at the end of its name is now classed as a "Setup". These cards are normally played from the hand during the preparation stage, and their effects are normally activated during the combat phase in place of making an attack. Unless otherwise stated on the card itself, Setups are usually one use only and are discarded as soon as their effects have been activated and used, however some Setups have lasting effects regardless of whether they are still in play or not. This will be specified on the card itself. Setups are not discarded when your character levels up.

Dragonballs are usually classified as non-combat cards, this is because, unless otherwise stated by another card, they can only be played from your hand during your preparation stage, but their effects are resolved immediately.****

The Drill/Setup moniker has been carried over to the Panini game.


Anger/Levelling up.
The Dragonball GT CCG introduced a method of levelling characters up via removing cards from the discard pile from the game. This mechanic is exclusive to the GT card game and has not been carried over either into these rules or the Panini rules. In general, the only way to level your MP up is by reaching 5 anger, although there are some cards which allow you to level up via their effect text.

Playing Allies.
Allies are normally played from the hand during the preparation phase. When you play an ally from the hand, that allies level must be equal to or lower than your MPs current level. For example, Player A has a level 3 Goku as his MP, and has level 4 Krillin and a level 2 Tien in his hand. Player A cannot put Krillin into play until he has levelled Goku up, but may play Tien now.
NOTE - Saibamen and Cell Jr.s. - Unlike other ally cards, Saibamen and Cell Jr.s are not restricted to one copy per deck. Both of these character types are seedlings/clones and thus multiple copies of them can be in play at the same time, either from the hand or via a card text effect. You may not include any more than 3x copies of each individual "type" of Saibaman/Cell Jr in any deck. Other than that, Saibamen/Cell Jr.s follow the same rules as per any other ally card.
The following cards are available for this ally type....
Saibamen - Saiyan saga - Lvls 1 through 4 (card numbers #243,#244,#245 & #246)
Cell Jr.s - Cell Games Saga - Cell Jr 1 lvl1 (#94) Cell Jr 1 lvl2 (#115) Cell Jr 2 lvl1 (#98)
Players may never control more than 9 allies at a time, allies in play may never be "replaced" and may only leave play if they are discarded via effect text or are subject to a critical damage effect.
Players do not discard allies when their character levels up.


#4 - Combat phase.

The combat phase proceeds as stipulated in the Panini v2.0 rulebook, with the following annotation:-

"Combat" Cards.
 These cards have been renamed "Event" cards in the Panini version, but are treated in the same way, basically Combat card = Event card

#5 - Victory Conditions


This rules integration has been written as an adaptation of the old Score "Tuff enuff"play format, in which the only main victory condition available to players was via a "Survival" victory (i.e, one of the players runs out of cards in their life deck).However, even under this format some cards in the Score version were printed with alternative victory conditions as part of their card text, for example, the card "Dragons Victory" or the card "Cosmic Backlash". These cards may still be played under this format and the player using them is granted the win if they successfully fulfill the victory conditions as specified on the card (which incidentally are usually extremely difficult to achieve).


Players may use these rules to play "standard" format if they wish (i.e to win via either Survival, Dragonball or MPPV) , however during the Score years it was found that both Dragonball and MPPV victories were ridiculously easy to achieve, hence most players and tournaments would adopt the "Tuff Enuff" format in order to ensure satisfying play.
It is suggested that players agree which format the game will be played under prior to beginning the game in order to avoid arguments, crying, fighting and butthurt.

Suggestions on alternate Victory conditions:-

MPPV
As characters were available in levels 1 through 5 in the original Score game, an MPPV may only be achieved if both players maximum character levels are equal. If one player has a character whose max level is 3, and the other players max level is 5, neither player may claim an MPPV.
(This victory condition represents characters in the show giving up when they realise that any resistance is futile, and thus makes for a rather boring game considering some styles and MP cards are geared toward gaining large amounts of anger and leveling up.)
Dragonball Victory
So long as a player controls 7 Dragonballs of the same type (including Alt versions) they win the game the moment they play their seventh Dragonball, unless a card has been played or is played in response to the playing of the final Dragonball that states otherwise.
For example, Player A controls Earth Dragon Balls 1 through 6, and manages to steal Player Bs Namek Dragon Ball 7...Player A does not win due to the Dragon Balls being of different types.
(This victory condition represents the characters assembling 7 Dragonballs and using wishes to get rid of the enemies...Victory via this condition is slightly more difficult than an MPPV however it can still lead to a boring game as some deck types can specialise in deck searching to quickly bring out Dragonballs and/or stealing an opponents Dragonballs. For a game based on combat mechanics, the concept of winning a game by simply searching out 7 cards is not terribly within the spirit of either the game or the TV show)
 
The "Overkill" Rule.
"Overkill" was a rule introduced under Score tournament format rules, specifically for use in "Tuff Enuff" tournaments. When a player beat their opponent via survival victory, and the final damage would result in the opponent being at -7 or higher life cards, then the opponent would be eliminated from the tournament, regardless of the stage they were at or their standing. This rule is not used in this rule set. 

#6 - Miscellaneous

Card "timing"
DBZ Card game does not have "timings" per se, like many other card games do, play usually takes place under either a "Effect > Response" system, or a "cumulative simultaneous" type system.
Card effects, regardless of type, generally resolve immediately unless another card is played which nullifies them.
Here are some examples of the "Effect > Response" system:-

• Player A declares a Combat and plays a Combat/Event card from their hand, Player B responds by playing "Trunks Energy Sphere", which nullifies the effects of a Combat/Event card. Player As card effect is nullified, so it is discarded without its effect resolving, then the initiative shifts to Player B, who is free to play an attack or Combat/Event card from their hand, use a setup card, use a Sensei or Mastery power or use their MP or Allies card power.

Cumulative Simultaneous effects all resolve at the same time, no one effect takes precedence over another.
Here is an example of Cumulative Simultaneous effects:-

• Player A is using the Cell Saga Saiyan mastery. They also have the location "Protective Shelter" in play, as well as "Vegetas quickness Drill". Player A declares a combat. As all three cards have effects that state "when entering combat...." they all kick in immediately, BEFORE Player B draws their cards. For the three cards cumulative effects, Player A draws the bottom two cards of their discard pile, then mills the top card of his life deck to reveal a saiyan card, which allows him to draw a further 2 cards from his life deck. Player B draws the bottom card of their discard pile due to the effect of protective shelter, then draws 3 cards form their life deck to complete the "entering combat" phase.

Effect "chains"
Effect chains are extremely rare in the DBZ card game, however there are some situations where they can be unavoidable. Here are two examples of chains I have encountered in the past:-

• Player A plays "Tiens Tri beam", an energy attack which when played remains in play to be used 2 more times in the current combat. Player B responds by playing "Goku Swiftly Moving", a card which blocks an energy attack, and then remains in play as a copy of the card it was used to block. When the initiative switched to Player B, he uses "Goku Swiftly Moving" to imitate "Tiens Tri Beam", Player A responds by playing a copy of "Goku Swiftly Moving", thus copying the copy of "Tiens Tri Beam". The net effect of this chain is that Player A now has, in effect, 2 copies of "Tiens Tri Beam" in play, while Player B has one, meaning player A can use it 5 more times, and Player B can use it 2 more times. It gets really complicated if one of them uses another "Goku Swiftly Moving" (yes, that actually happened to me).
• Similar to above, Player A plays "Saiyan Destiny", a physical attack which stays in play to be used 1 more time in the current combat, Player B responds by playing "Trunks Swiftly moving", a physical block which copies the attack it was used to block. Player B then uses "Saiyan Destiny", which Player A responds by playing their own "Trunks Swiftly Moving", meaning Player A now has a "Saiyan Destiny" which can be used 3 more times (again, this has actually happened to me a couple of times). 

Score "Saiyan" and "Frieza" Saga card text wordings.

When the game was originally released in 2000, cards printed in the Saiyan and Frieza Saga sets had card text which was somewhat vague with regards to their in game effects, reading more like an attempt to tell a story rather than being clear and concise instructions to game players as to what the card actually did.
With the release of the Trunks saga set, card texts became much clearer and more standardised.
Players using cards from the Saiyan and Freiza saga sets should refer to the MRP/Errata document for clarification on unclear text.



Glossary of terms.

"Mill" - To purposefully discard cards from your own life deck, usually as part of a "cost" of using a cards ability, or when you force an opponent to discard cards from their life deck as part of a cards effect (which does not count as damage). In the Panini version, this mechanic is referred to as "Destroy".

"Constant Combat Power" - Some personality cards include this keyword as part of their effect text. The effects of a constant combat power are always "on" in a similar manner to a drill card, and cannot be ignored unless a card played specifies it does so.

"Omni Block" - Some cards specify that they may be used to block either a physical or energy attack, a player is free to use an Omni block in response to most attacks, unless otherwise specified, for example, some cards have text which renders them unblockable by any means, or are "Focused" (see below).

"Empower X" - A game mechanic introduced in the "Fusion Saga" set. Cards that contain the keyword "Empower X" can inflict additional life card damage at the cost of not using the cards secondary effect text, for example "Energy Attack for 5 life cards. Empower 3. Raise your anger 2"
In the above case, the player must choose to pay 2 power stages to do 5 life cards of damage AND raise their anger by 2, OR to pay 2 power stages and empower to do 8 life cards of damage.

"Focused" Attacks - Focused attacks are a game mechanic that was introduced in the Cell Saga set. Cards that contain the keyword "Focused XXX Attack" (they come in both physical and energy flavours) are declared like any normal attack, however if the defender wants to block that attack, they must use a block that specifically states that it blocks that kind of attack. "Omni blocks", such as "Time is a warriors tool" or "Smokescreen" may not be used in response to a focused attack. Cards with the text "Defense Shield" may be used, providing that they specifically block that kind of attack, and are not "Omni blocks".

"Defense Shield" - A keyword introduced in the Cell Saga set. Defense shields act as a one use per turn only "free" block. Defense shields are most often encountered in the form of certain drills, however some character cards have this keyword as part of their card powers. In addition, some cards from previous sets were erratad to include this keyword, as their effect was the equivalent to the new mechanic. (please refer to the Errata document for these cards)

"Cherry Picking" - Whenever a player searches their deck for a particular card or cards, unless other wise specified, they MUST show the cards they have picked to their opponent before placing them in their hand. The deck is then shuffled.

Notes.


*.An example of this is the card "Saiyan Light Jab", which has been reprinted in the Panini version, however the Panini version has "Endurance 2", whereas the original did not. A "Legal" deck may only contain 3x Score version or 3x Panini version, NOT both.


** Cards that say simply "Sensei Deck" may be placed in either the Sensei deck OR the life deck during deck construction. 


*** Cards Taken from the Sensei deck are placed back there after the game is over. Cards placed in the Sensei deck from the life deck are placed back in the life deck after the game is over.

 **** If you capture a Dragonball from an opponent by inflicting critical damage, or by using a card which allows you to steal one, its effects resolve as soon as you take possession of it.


Edit History.
06/12/15 - updated formatting and made some minor rules edits.
08/12/15 - updated to include Physical attack table requirements.
10/12/15 - clarification on deck construction restrictions, victory conditions and ally rulings, added additional items in the glossary. Added full Banned/Restricted/Errata link.


No copyright infringement is claimed or intended. the above document has been collated by a fan of the game for use by other fans of the game. No profit will be taken from either the creation, use or distribution of this document, which wholly contains information freely available from the respective copyright owners website based gaming materials.
Copyright of Dragonball Z and all associated names, trademarks etc etc belong to their respective owners.

Anime Review - Cardfight!! Vanguard - Link Joker (Eps 105-163) 2013

Right then, so, I've made it to Vanguards 3rd series....Link joker... , although a more accurate translation from the original Japanese would be "Chain joker", but never mind...
At the time of writing, only 48 episodes of the 59 episode series have been Released for free viewing on YouTube in English, so this review is somewhat incomplete, however the storyline is pretty simple to understand.

So, the story takes up some time after Team Q4 are victorious in the Asia circuit tournament, and Aichi has progressed from junior high school to senior high school, but, having switched schools, this means he now only really sees the other members of Team Q4 and his circle of friends when he visits Card Capital. The first few episodes of the series deal with Aichi attempting to start a "Cardfight Club" at his new school (Japanese schools place a heavy emphasis on extra curricular after school activities as a way of increasing student socialisation and learning opportunities) , however he finds that even with his enthusiasm, plus assistance from some of his friends, the prefect of the student council opposes him at every opportunity.
Its at this point the series makes a fairly big change to the established format and group of core characters, as many characters from previous series are relegated to being supporting or background characters, even Aichi himself is missing from several episodes during the mid series, where many of the stories concentrate on other characters facing problems with the series antagonist storyline, the "link joker".
"Link Joker" is the name given to a new aspect of the Void, who was the main enemy throughout series 1 and 2. simply put, the Void has now refined its tactics for conquering the planet Cray by instead of manipulating people who have "PsyQualia" powers, it applies its evil influence to anyone it can find, simply by having a cardfighter that is has possessed beat other players, who it in turn possesses by means of a technique called "Reverse". Those who are "Reversed" generally become evil, and their personality traits become a mirror opposite of their original standing, for example, in Kais case, he goes from enjoying a good game of Vanguard to simply wanting to win at all costs, generally by annihilating his opponents through the use of overpowered card mechanics, or in the case of Kenji, he goes from wanting to spread the message of truth and justice, to becoming a despotic tyrant obsessed with power. Generally, those who have been Reversed can be identified by the fact that their eyes go "dead" and they gain red facial tattoos whenever they use their power.
Only a few people, namely Aichi and Leon, are capable of resisting the power of Reverse, which not only makes the possessed evil, it also replaces cards in their deck with evil Reversed versions of their best cards.
The only way to release someone from being possessed is to bet them at a game of vanguard, which Aichi and Leon, then later joined by some of the others start doing once the Voids evil plot has been discovered.

This series gets really boring halfway through when they go back to having entire double episodes concentrating solely on a card by card play through of games, although this time round the "action" is stretched out by having cut scenes featuring flashbacks which fill in some of the lesser known characters backgrounds, which is pretty good as through this method we find out that Tetsu originally had no interest in vanguard until he met Ren, and that Kenji was originally rather crap at the game until he met  Gai and Yuri and learnt enough from being beaten by them to increase his skills and eventually surpass them.

This series also introduces a couple of new characters into Aichis circle of friends, namely Shingo Komoi, a fan of Aichi and a pretty good Vanguard player, and Naoki Ishida, a young man who originally tried to bully Aichi but was amazed by how confident Aichi became when playing Vanguard, so much to the point that he starts playing Vanguard himself being as he has never had a proper hobby himself before and finds he quite enjoys playing the game both of these characters end up being reversed at one point, and Aichi saves them).
One interesting-ish plot development is a growing attraction between Kourin (of the pop group "Ultra Rare", now a student at Aichis school) and Aichi, something which is played on after she is Reversed and becomes obsessed with Reversing him so they can be together.


So, thus far the series is fair to middlin' in content, although the storyline is basically the same as the YuGiOh! GX "Society of Light" storyline, insofar as an outside power begins beating people at a card game in order to convert them to their cause, with the fate of the world decided by who comes out on top. it really drops the ball mid series though by returning to the long drawn out cardfights between players during which the characters exchange tense and somewhat boring dialogue, again, a departure form series 2s in game dialogue, most of which was actually entertaining and somewhat funny.

My verdict on this series is that they shouldn't have tampered with a winning formula and gone back to the ridiculously over serious tones of the original series, but nontheless it isn't a bad watch.

Cardfight!! Vanguard - The Movie: Stand up!, Vanguard! (2012)

So, feeling a little drained after watching the "Asia Circuit" series in the space of 3 days, I decided that the best way of having a rest from watching Cardfight!! Vanguard was to..... watch a movie based on the same thing.....

Just a warning before you read on, this review/recap contains spoilers, so if you haven't seen the film and don't want the storyline completely ruined, go watch it first.



Ready?, Ok....

This 2012 "Movie" (although like many Japanese movies based on popular TV shows, it is actually more of a TV special than a cinema piece) was made following the success of the first TV anime series.
Unlike the anime series however, this is a live action presentation, and, oddly, the actual card game is simply used as a springboard to tell a story, rather than being a critical part of the storyline overall.
That's not to say this is a bad film, but it certainly isn't a good one either.

The storyline goes as follows:
Hiroki is a shy young boy who is bullied a lot at school. One day, he is attacked by a gang of bullies and attracts the attention of a mysterious stranger called "Daigo" (translates roughly as "great power", played by the Japanese musician/voice actor of the same name, who is playing an exaggerated version of himself). Daigo, in an attempt to save the boy, and impress an attractive teacher from Hirokis school, ends up getting himself beaten up by the kids, however, after the bullies run away, he finds out that Hirokis teacher, Maria, is worried about him, so Daigo takes it upon himself to help the boy come out of his shell.
Daigo gets himself appointed as a "Special teacher" at the school Hiroki attends, by saying he is a "Genius" and a graduate of Harvard University (although the diploma/certificate he shows to prove his credentials is from the "HarvardA university", and is obviously fake), and embarks on a campaign to cheer Hiroki up and get him to do something other than sulk.
As it turns out, Hiroki is a fairly depressed kid, as he is regularly left home alone by his workaholic father, and his mother died some years previously, which deeply affected Hiroki emotionally. To make matters worse, Hirokis father, on the rare occasion when he does actually see and speak to him, is very dismissive of Hiroki's hobby, which is playing the CCG "Cardfight!! Vanguard", dismissing it as a stupid waste of time and not the activity of a man.
Daigo finds that Hirokis passion for Vanguard helps him gain confidence, and that Hiroki is pretty good at the game, so he encourages him to challenge the lead bully, Teru, to a game, Hiroki reluctantly does, and suffers a humiliating defeat.
Daigo however, doesn't give up, he learns as much as he can about the game and then offers Hiroki encouragement in pursuing his hobby, even though Hirokis father is still disinterested and abusive to his son about it.
Daigo, along with Maria, encourage Hiroki to enter a Vanguard team tournament, in order to prove his worth and get revenge on Teru for his bullying by beating him in fair competition. The first few rounds go well, and "Team Hiroki" manage to get through to the finals against "Team Teru", which will be held the following day, however disaster strikes when Maria (who is also pretty good at the game herself) is injured in an accident, and is left unable to play in the finals. Daigo approaches Hirokis father to replace her, but again he is dismissive, and Hiroki is angered by his fathers uncaring attitude. Via a flashback sequence, we learn that Hirokis mother was the one who bought Hiroki his first Vanguard starter deck, and regularly played the game with him, even when she was in hospital dying from some unspecified illness. Hiroki says that his father was never there for him, or his mother, and that he has never once shown any emotion over the mothers death.
The tournament comes, and Hirokis father attends, at first though pleading that he cannot participate because he is busy with work, but is eventually persuaded to put work second, just for once.
The final gets underway, with Hirokis father going first, using the deck that Hirokis mother built, he is defeated.
Daigo goes next, and manages to beat Terus "Special Teacher", who throughout the film has shown himself to be a bit of a sadist and spent his time teaching Teru to be the same, which causes the teacher to make a childish outburst before fleeing the building screaming like a child because he lost.
Finally, Hiroki plays against Teru, and, after a very tense match, Hiroki again loses, meaning Teru is awarded the prize for overall winner, however, Hiroki earns Terus respect and friendship by showing he can stand up for himself, Hiroki also learns that unlike what he had previously thought, his father did visit his mother shortly before she died, where they discussed Hiroki and how his mothers illness was affecting him, but he was unable to show his emotion because he dealt with his wife's death by throwing himself into his work rather than confront what had happened.

After father and son are reconciled, Daigo announces that Hiroki no longer needs him, as he has learned everything he needs to, but just as he leaves, Hiroki challenges him to a game of Vanguard....







This film is very, very Japanese, and was never really intended for consumption by non-Japanese audiences, so is somewhat difficult to watch in places unless you at least have a basic understanding of Japanese custom and culture.

I do like that the film takes place in the "real world", and not the "Anime world", with the characters being believable and not over the top anime stereotypes, and quite simply, the story boils down to one of an emotionally scarred boy reconnecting with his cold and distant father over a shared interest.
The fact that this interest is Cardfight!! Vanguard is purely incidental and only included for marketing reasons, hell, Hirokis passion could have been for playing chess, creative writing or even freestyle disco dancing, it wouldn't have mattered in the slightest.
I also like how during the scenes where the game is being played it is portrayed as the game would be played in real life, without all of the anime trappings of holographic characters, burning justice backgrounds and so on, and I also like how the game play scenes are kept brief, showing only "important" parts of play and the match outcomes.Similarly, I also like how they didn't go down the route of portraying the game as a worldwide phenomenon, with thousands of fans watching games in ridiculously oversized stadiums, instead portraying the game as it really is, namely small groups of people getting together to play a game as a hobby, and not as a lifestyle choice. Finally, I like how the film is expressly NOT used as a marketing vehicle for selling cards to viewers, as although cardfight cards are shown, very few of them are specifically named, and none are really described as being "ultimate awesome unbeatable" etc etc.

The film does not benefit from its short run time of 80 minutes, as the scenes in which Hirokis back story are filled in are somewhat rushed, and in some cases a little bit non-sequitur, also, Daigos being there and backstory isnt explored at all, but that can be excused being as that he plays the role of "mysterious stranger/mentor", as explaining his background would remove some of his mystery.
On the subject of Daigo, it is rather strange by western cultural standards for a strange man to take such an interest in the life of a child he barely knows, however this is a fairly standard trope in Japanese entertainment (hence "mysterious stranger/mentor") but it is not without any kind of equivalent in western fiction, Doctor Who being the first one that springs to mind.
I think this film suffers badly from the limited budget and poor writing imposed on it by being a niche TV special.

So all in all, "Stand up!, Vanguard!" isn't a bad film, it isn't a good one either, and certainly wouldn't be recommended to those who are looking to get a taster of the Cardfight universe.

Anime Review - Cardfight!! Vanguard - Asia Circuit (Eps 66-104) 2012

So, following on the heels of the first series, "Cardfight!! Vanguard - Asia Circuit" forms the second series of the Cardfight!! franchise. At only 39 episodes in length (probably because by this point there was no need to spend many episodes explaining game rules and card types) the series is shorter and much more to the point than the original series.
Again, this series is Available to watch for free on Youtube

The series begins a couple of weeks after Team Q4 is declared victorious in the national Vanguard tournament. Aichi, Kai, Kamui and Misaki have all gone their separate ways, in order to have some "time off" from the game.
One day, Aichi goes to Card Capital to find the shop deserted apart form a mysterious boy whom says he has an interest in playing Vanguard, so Aichi plays a game with him to teach him the basic rules. Throughout their battle, the boy keeps making cryptic statements about Aichis cards being "retro", and that Aichi needs to find his "Limit Break". Then during one turn, the boy speaks Aichis name, despite Aichi never actually telling him it, the next thing, Aichi wakes up and finds himself standing alone in the shop. He also finds that his deck, containing both Royal and Shadow paladin type cards has been replaced by a new deck containing cards from the new "Gold Paladin" clan, and the mystery gets stranger when his friends insist that he has always used a Gold paladin deck
Aichi seeks out Kai and tells him about the mysterious boy, and finds that Kai's Kagero deck has also been replaced by a new deck themed around the Narukami clan, and he too doesn't remember Aichi's old deck, or his own. Kai challenges Aichi to a game there and then, saying that if Aichis story is true, then he will need to practice with his new deck. During play he stumbles over what to do with the unfamiliar cards, however Kai points out that Aichi needs to stop behaving like a spoilt child and open himself up to new gameplay strategies, and with that, Kai demonstrates the new game mechanic of the "Limit Break", which utterly defeats Aichi in a single move.
Later, Aichi finds out that Team Q4 have been invited to participate in the VF Circuit (Vanguard Fighter) , an international level competition with teams from all over Asia meeting to play Vanguard to decide which team is the best.
He initially has some trouble forming a team, as Kai has completely disappeared, Misaki is indifferent towards playing, and Kamui has joined Team Handsome instead. Aichi however is successful and manages to take Team Q4 initially to the Singapore leg of the championships, then on to the Korean leg, Hong Kong leg, and then finally to the Japanese leg.
During the tournaments, Aichi makes it his goal to find the mysterious boy who swapped his deck and find out just what is going off, both here on Earth and on the planet Cray, along the way meeting up with old friends and making some new enemies. The battles they participate in are also made difficult by the addition of random game conditions, such as limiting the time that can be taken over turns, randomising attack targets etc.
Eventually, the mystery is solved, although the story of the battle for planet Cray is far from over....




This series is much better than the first series, as it benefits from actually having a decent and coherent story arc that stretches over the run.
In a brilliant marketing move, the series not only both makes sure it maximises sales of cards by prominently featuring a new card set with a new game play mechanic, but also encourages RL players to buy more cards by having Aichi face a problem encountered by most CCG players, namely having to change their play style to accommodate changes in game play and learning to adopt different play styles as opposed to just building and playing the same deck all the time.
That said though, once again, most of the on screen action takes place at the gaming tables of the tournament, however unlike the previous series, effort is made to make the games, and the characters dialogue whilst playing, interesting to watch and listen to.

So, I'd rate this series "quite good"

Anime Review - Cardfight!! Vanguard Series 1 (eps 1-65) 2011

Been a while since I indulged in my weeaboo leanings and watched any anime (YuGiOh! Arc-V doesn't count) so after seeing loads of people spunking off over it down at the local games shops, and finding out that the entire series is available to watch for free on Youtube, I thought I'd give Cardfight a try.

Now, I mostly don't watch modern animes (YuGiOh! Arc-V doesn't count) simply because I don't like the way that most modern animes have gone down the route of being all emo to make them more down with the kids at the expense of sex demons and lots of gratuitous violence and swearing, however I must admit a slight fondness for animes based on gaming, so, therefore, I should like Cardfight....hmmmm.

 So, the story arc of the first series, and what a series it is too coming in at a whopping 65 episodes, revolves around, as many of these types of show do, the card game "Cardfight!! Vanguard", which is said to be the most popular card game in the world.

Aichi Sendo is a teenaged boy who is a bit of a loner and gets bullied a lot, however one day his favourite trading card, "Blaster Blade", which was given to him as a gift (even though at the beginning of the series he has no interest in playing CCGs) is stolen by two bullies who plan to use it to beat the local Cardfight champion, Kai (who originally gave Aichi the Blaster Blade card).
Aichi races to the games shop "Card Capital" to beg for his favourite card back, however Kai has already beaten the bullies and taken "Blaster Blade" for himself, so Aichi challenges this as yet unbeaten "Cardfighter" to a game with the prize for winning being that Aichi gets his card back.
Aichi, despite never having played Cardfight!! before manages to win and finds that he rather enjoys the game, so he becomes a regular visitor to Card Capital, eventually becoming one of the stores top 4 players, earnig himself a place on the store team in the national Cardfight tournaments.
Through paying the game, Aichi gains a lot of self confidence, as well as making new friends, however, as always, he makes enemies in the form of another Cardfighter called Ren, who has the mysterious power to be able to see the outcome of games before they have been played, and thus remains the worlds unbeaten Cardfight Champion, as he basically abuses his power to cheat.
Aichi finds out that he too shares Rens power, and it begins to corrupt him, however through various struggles, Aichi and his team mates emerge victorious at the Cardfight national championships on their second attempt....

Phew!, 65 episodes....yeahhhhh.
First off its worth stating the obvious that the series exists purely as an advertisment designed to sell Cardfight game cards to viewers, however, unlike YuGiOh!, the series does NOT misrepresent card powers, what cards you see on screen would be exactly the same as they would be if you bought a pack or sealed deck of them in real life, so that is a bonus right there.

The first 20 or so episodes make sure that the viewer understands the games rules of play, which is a good thing being as that having watched loads of games of Vanguard in real life, up until I watched this series I had absolutely no idea what was going on, so at the very least, I could now play a game of Vanguard without having to refer to rulebooks or ask my opponent what to do (I will also state that despite asking several Vanguard players how you play in RL, none of them could be arsed showing me...tight arsed bastards!, probably didn't want me to crush them or something...grr).


So, did I enjoy this series?, well,t he answer to that question is a simple "meh".
While I liked the overall premise of the series, and the fact that the show teaches you how to play the game and presents you with varying styles and strategies of play, I did not like how for the vast majority of the time, the show consists of two people playing a game of cards whilst making snidy comments to each other.
Even the overall story arc of series 1 was pretty boring, and went on waaaaayyyy too long to hold much interest to anyone who isn't interested in the game. Yes, yes, I realise that YuGiOh! does exactly the same sort of thing, however the "game playing" portions of that show are interesting to watch because they genuinely do add something to the story, whereas Cardfights in game dialogue simply consists of the players trading thinly veiled insults whilst playing the same cards over and over and over again and then waiting until either one of them fucks up or one of them gets lucky and manages to pull the right card during their drive trigger phase so that they annihilate the other player (this is probably a harsh observation being as that the RL CCGs game mechanics are at fault here, however devoting a whole 65 episodes to seeing the same people play the same game over and over again gets a bit tiresome).
Yeah, Team Q4, as Aichi and his mates are called, literally play the same opponents over and over again and its dead obvious what they are going to play and whether they will win or lose before they have even started trading insults.

There are 3 (at time of writing) follow up series, "Asia Circuit" , "Link joker" and "Legion Mate", I haven't watched any of the others yet but I'm going to give them a chance, as hopefully story will take precedence over scenes of people standing at gaming tables.

Babylon 5 & Gaming: a retrospective.

I'm on a bit of a B5 kick at the moment, and this, in conjunction with my renewed interest in wargaming in general got me thinking about the various attempts to bring the B5 universe to the tabletop.

The universe of Babylon 5 is, like Star Wars and Star Trek, a vast and quite detailed one, with various races all sending ships of various sizes and types zooming around the big black until invariably at some point they will meet up and start shooting at each other for some reason. Hell, the TV show did this a lot, so therefore it should have been a fairly simple task to transfer the on screen action to the tabletop with a minimum of fuss and make it enjoyable enough and popular enough for it to be a decent seller.
Unfortunately though this didn't seem to happen, for many and various reasons...

...and so it begins....

Babylon 5 Wars

The first "official" stab at making a playable B5 miniatures game came courtesy of Agents of Gaming (AoG). Launched in 1997, B5 Wars (as it became known) is considered to be part of B5s official "canon", being as much of its development was overseen by J. Michael Straczynski himself, who took a fair bit of interest in it.
The game itself follows the usual wargaming formula of players building fleets to a set number of points (usually making a fleet of between 3 and 15 ships, depending on size, point cost and/or scenario requirements if being used), and then having a space battle using the games somewhat complex rules.

This was one of the things that proved to be the games undoing, as its first edition was deemed by the gaming public at large to be much to difficult to be able to play with any level of enjoyment, instead of epic battles in the B5 universe, play ended up being a series of book keeping tasks, tedious dice rolling activities and arguments over vagaries within the games core rule set and expansions.
Within a year of the games debut, a "Second edition" was released, which dispensed with some of the more tedious rules and streamlined or clarified the remainder, however, even with these changes, game play was still difficult and somewhat unrewarding.
Another problem with the game was availability of miniatures. While the game recommended that for the "best" experience you should be playing with official AoG miniatures, AoG were happy for players to use tokens in lieu of actual models, which for some ships and/or factions within the games source books was the only way to play them as miniatures were either not available for quite some time, or were never released, leading to much frustration amongst fans of the game.
On the subject of miniatures, B5 wars miniatures that had been released were somewhat difficult to obtain, this, added to AoGs problems in finding miniatures sculptors, as well as a somewhat disorganised release schedule, meant that even though the game was nominated for an Origins award in 1999 (It lost to Diskwars, another game which has since faded into relative obscurity) , it still wasn't a big hit, and production of miniatures and source books was discontinued in 2001.

I personally owned a couple of B5 Wars miniatures, although I didn't pick these up until the early 2000s, at what I can only describe as a significant markdown from their original asking price, and they were still sealed in their boxes, never opened or assembled.
Although the pictures on the boxes made the promise that the miniatures contained within would look awesome once assembled and painted, the reality couldn't have been further from the truth.
Made from some kind of white metal, the miniatures themselves were covered in so much flashing that it was in some cases, difficult to tell what was and wasn't supposed to be there, added to this problem was that for some unknown reason, I could not get the parts to stick together properly, regardless of what glue I used, and I tried a hell of a lot of different ways to get them to stick together, up to and including using solder and a blowtorch, which did nothing but melt the miniature and render it completely unusable, but by then I didn't care about it anymore, and the whole lot went in the bin.
As for the games rules, I laid hands on a copy of the 2nd edition rulebook at one point and tried to read through it and understand the game, but it was a rather boring and tedious process, and I just gave up on it.





Babylon 5: Fleet Action!



AoGs next stab at a B5 Miniatures game came towards the end of B5 Wars' life in the form of B5:Fleet action!.
Appearing in mid 2000, B5:FA was intended to compliment B5W insofar as it allowed for larger fleets to be used for battles than B5Ws "small skirmish" type action.
The miniatures for B5:FA were much smaller scale and more often than not single piece miniatures that used "standard" (ie, Battletech sized) hex bases.
The rules for B5:FA were fairly different to B5W, emphasising fleet level tactics over individual ship tactics, however again AoG fumbled the ball, as on paper the FA rules were simpler, in practice, especially so after source books started coming out, they became rather difficult to understand and once again, required a lot of tedious book keeping exercises, head scratching over rules problems and lots and lots of tedious and, more often than not, unnecessary dice rolling. The problem of rules vagaries became more prominent once the source book containing the Shadow fleet came out, who, due to the way their rules worked, made it difficult, if not impossible for them to be defeated.

Again, like B5W, miniatures for this game were difficult to come by, with many promised miniatures never appearing, although unlike B5W miniatures, FA miniatures seemed to have better quality control and the few that did require assembly glued together quite well with just normal super glue.

Unfortunately, before B5:FA could have the creases in its game play ironed out, the Babylon 5 TV series was cancelled and AoG lost its rights to produce B5 material, and it ceased production in 2002, with AoG declaring bankrupt soon after.

I had a small Earthforce fleet for B5:FA however i found it difficult to actually play any games due to the limited availability of miniatures, and the limited number of players here in the UK. The game wasn't bad per se, but it wasn't terribly user friendly either.

Both the AoG B5 miniatures games still enjoy a cult following online, with many home brew source texts and rules addendum's being published by fans.

Babylon 5 Collectable Card Game

Although not a miniatures wargame, the B5 CCG was probably the most successful B5 Game to be released.
Like other CCGs before and since, the B5 CCG required players to purchase packs of cards to build gaming decks with, and offered a variety of strategies by which to win. One noteworthy thing about this game was that it actively encouraged games to be multiplayer matches, that is, more than the "standard" CCG trope of being just 2 players, it also encouraged players to work together in some fashion in order to win.
The game itself turned up in 1997, and over the course of its life had 8 full sets released at retail, with various promo cards being released as tournament prizes for organised play.
It was also noteworthy for incorperating elements of RPG type play into its mechanic, as well as for quite closely following the storyline of the TV series.
Quite rightly, the B5 CCG is regarded as being one of the best CCGs ever released, as its fairly simple rules coupled with complex strategies make it an interesting game to play, even for the casual gamer.
However, the CCGs fate was sealed in 2001 when Warner Brothers, the owners of the B5 franchise, pulled the rights for Precedence Entertainment, the games publisher, to produce any further B5 related materials, and also ordered them to destroy any remaining stock they had.

I started playing the B5 CCG in about 2001, it wasn't a bad game but it did take some getting used to, especially if you were used to playing games such as Magic: The Gathering and/or Pokemon TCG. At one point following the games discontinuation you could buy whole boxes of starter decks for as little as £2, with booster boxes going for as little as £5 as games retailers sold off their remaining B5 CCG stocks cheap in order to offload stocks of a game that had been abandoned.

Oddly enough though, Precedence Entertainment closed it doors at roughly the same time as AoG did after losing their B5 licence, as none of their other products enjoyed the popularity as the B5 CCG.

Babylon 5: A Call To Arms

ACtA, as it came to be called, turned up in 2004 as a "compliment" to Mongoose Publishing's Babylon 5 RPG.
Fan reaction to the game overwhelmed Mongoose somewhat and they were very surprised at how quickly the games popularity soared, to the point at which the game won the 2004 Gamers Choice award at Origins.
This was because, unlike B5W and B5:FA, ACtA was actually a good, user friendly game, with a fairly reliable miniatures supply containing miniatures that were of good quality and were easily obtainable via games shops or purchased from Mongoose directly.
A "second edition" version of the game was published in 2007, representing updates in game rules and actually incorporating feedback from players (!!!) , as well as expanding available source materials.
However, the good times were not to be long term, as in early 2008 Mongoose announced that they were no longer going to produce miniatures or rules updates for the game, citing that the cost of miniatures production coupled with the amount of stuff needing to be produced was no longer cost effective for them, and, as such, they were disposing of their entire stock of ACtA miniatures at a discount via their website.
This decision affected all of Mongooses miniatures games at that point, so as well as the ACtA miniatures ceasing production, miniatures for other lines such as their Starship Troopers game were also sold off and abandoned, with Mongoose deciding to concentrate on their pencil & paper RPG systems instead.

I never played or physically held an ACtA miniature or book, as it was released and vanished during the time when I wasn't interested much in wargaming, but from what I understand the game was much better than the previous efforts and still enjoys something of a cult following to this day.



Its a shame really that despite the rich history contained within the B5 universe and so much enthusiasm for it amongst fans that it has been difficult to produce and sustain a B5 wargame of any description, but I can understand why larger games companies are hesitant to take the task on as B5 hasnt enjoyed the mass popularity that similar things such as Star Wars and Star Trek have, plus with no plans to relaunch the series, and the lackluster reception of spin off series' it seems that gaming in the B5 universe will be limited to dusty old legacy games, RPG books and home brew rules for quite some time to come.

Anime Review:- Yu Gi Oh! 5D's

Yu Gi Oh! 5Ds (meaning "5 Dragons") was the 2008 follow up to Yu Gi Oh! GX, and was based on the manga of the same name.
Running for 154 episodes (although not all of them were dubbed for western release), 5Ds marked an, albeit unsuccessful, attempt to make the series take on a more serious tone, this time round being aimed at the older teen/young adult market, this is fairly evident throughout the first three series (episodes #1 to #65), however the "seriousness" was toned down somewhat afterwards.

Set roughly 10 to 20 years after the events of Yu Gi Oh! GX, most of the series' action takes place in and around "New Domino City", a new technologically advanced utopia built on the remains of the original Domino city (as seen in the original Yu Gi Oh! anime) which is powered by a mysterious power source known as "Ener-D". However, all is not good in paradise, as for the most part, the society of New Domino City is a very elitist one, with "undesirables" being banished to a run down area of the city named "satellite", which is located on an island in New Domino's bay, and once you set foot there, you arent legally allowed to leave (although on rare occasions, exceptions to this rule are made, so long as the rich people see some advantage in it for themselves,which doesnt happen often).
In this future time, the power source "Ener-D", or "Duel energy" as it is sometimes called, has been discovered to be a plentiful source of clean, cheap energy, so much so that it literally powers everything in both New Domino and Satellite. Ener-D is is produced by collecting and harnessing the power generated by people both watching and participating in Duel monsters competition, the more exciting the duel, the more Ener-D is created.
This has led to the invention of a new and more risky type of dueling known as the "Turbo Duel", in which participants ride on Ener-D powered motorcycles (called "Duel Runners") around increasingly dangerous courses, all whilst playing a game of Duel Monsters.

Yuusei Fudo is a resident of Satellite, and the son of one of the scientists who first discovered the properties of Ener-D. Yuusei is a tough street smart kid, and a fairly good duelist, who aspires to leave Satellite behind and make a life for himself in New Domino, however circumstances conspire against him, most notably the fact that residents of Satellite are not allowed to leave the island.
Yuusei manages to get off the island, and eventually runs across a former friend turned enemy, but he also learns that he is one of the fabled "Dark Signers", five individuals descended from an ancient people who are destined to use the five sacred dragons to save the world from evil.

Initially the series is a very dry watch, with the overall message highlighting the every day struggles of the disadvantaged to overcome their lot in life and make something better for themselves, but from about series 2 onwards, the tone of the series returns to the fantasy/adventure type storytelling commonly associated with the previous series, with bad guys showing up and trying to take over/destroy the world with their various evil plans etc.

The series was heavily critisised for the invention of "Turbo Duels", which make very little sense, however the series did see the introduction of the "Synchro summon" game mechanic, which changed the strategic options available to players in the real life card game as well as characters within the series (although like previous series, many cards shown on screen and their effects are somewhat exaggerated, or just completely different to how they behave in real life)

I didn't enjoy the series that much, its attempt to darken the storylines spectacularly backfired as storylines became difficult to follow, or just plain boring. None of the characters were particularly interesting, in fact, other than Yuusei himself, I couldnt tell you any of the other characters names, simply because none of them really mattered much.

I would have to say that of all the five (at the time of writing anyway) Yu Gi Oh anime series', 5Ds is most definitely the weakest and least memorable, lacking the epic storyline of the original series, or the fun factor of GX.

Anime Review:- Yu Gi Oh! Arc-V

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V (Pronounced "Arc-Five", the V is intended to be the roman numeral) is the fifth series and fourth spin off of the ongoing Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise.
At the time of writing (July 2014), there have only been 13 episodes aired in Japan and it has yet to be dubbed into English.
Debuting on the Japanese TV Tokyo network on April 6th 2014, the series follows the adventures of Yuya Sakaki.
Yuya is a second year student at the "You Show" Duel school, who wants to follow in his fathers footsteps by becoming an "Entertainment Duellist", a form of professional duelling in which thanks to the invention of the "Solid mass" holographic system (basically a machine which creates solid light holograms), allows duellists to put on a show for spectators by physically interacting with the creatures they summon in a realistic 3D environment.
Yuya is a fairly optimistic lad, a lesson imparted on him by his father, however he is also sad as his father vanished for no apparent reason on the eve of one of his most important duels 3 years before the start of the series, so all Yuya has left to remember him by are his memories of spending time with him, and a mystical pendant, and the pendant is where Yuya derives his special powers.

During a duel in the first episode of the series, Yuya discovers that his pendant can unlock a hitherto unknown game mechanic for Duel monsters, namely, the pendulum summon. During the duel with the man whom his father was supposed to duel 3 years previously, Yuya is being beaten quite badly, however he takes solace from his fathers advice to "smile through adversity", and the pendants power transforms the effect monster cards in his hand into a new type of card, the Pendulum monster, which allows him to rapidly summon several powerful creatures in a single turn, winning him the duel. At first he is accused of cheating, however the Duel management system which is running the duel recognises the new game mechanic as legitimate, and pretty soon Yuya becomes something of a celebrity, however, even though he enjoys his new found fame somewhat, it also draws the attention of the "Leo Duel School", a rival duelling academy that is owned and run by the insidious Akaba family.

Although only 13 episodes have aired thus far, I've quite enjoyed the series, as it manages to blend the action of the original series with the fun factor of GX, and unlike 5Ds it doesn't take itself too seriously. Im looking forward to watching the remainder of the series as there have been the starts of what could be some interesting storylines.

Anime Review - Yu-Gi-Oh!

Based on the original Manga by Kazuki Takahashi, Yu-Gi-Oh! was a 2000 - 2005 anime which consisted of 5 complete series, 1 sub series and 1 movie.

The series is a fairly faithful translation of the original manga, however obviously some changes had to be made due to violent, sexual and religious content, changes which also included new characters and story arcs being created to replace unfilmable ones from the manga series.

The series focuses on Yugi Moto, a young man who has a particular knack for puzzles and gaming.
at some point prior to the series' beginning, he manages to solve a puzzle given to him by his grandfather, who in turn found it during his time at an archaeological dig in Egypt.
As it turns out, the puzzle is one of the millennium items, a series of seven magical artifacts created 5000 years ago by the nameless pharaoh to trap an ancient and dark magic which very nearly destroyed the world.
Although he doesn't realise it at first, Yugi's completed puzzle contains the spirit of the nameless pharaoh, in whom he finds a kindred spirit, as both of them have a skill for gaming and puzzles, and Yugi can call on the pharaohs skill during his favourite game, "Duel Monsters".

The series itself consists of five story arcs, all of them revolving around Yugi and his friends battling against evil forces who use dark magic in an effort to conquer or destroy the world by various means, and these schemes are usually thwarted by the playing out of various games which have some sort of connection to the ancient world.

To people who are familiar with the card game, the first series may seem strange as the depiction of gameplay on screen is not the same as how the game is played in real life, this is due to the 1st series using the games original Japanese rules, which bore more resemblance to the "Top trumps" card game, albeit with a slightly altered game mechanics to make it more "tactical". This discontinuity was addressed during the second series (aka - the "Battle city" story arc) when the "Battle City" rules were used in a competition organised by Seto Kaiba, which were pretty much identical to the rules of play for the real life CCG, with slight discrepancies to allow for better on screen action (for example, certain cards and/or their in game effects were misrepresented, and cards were used that still don't exist to this day as plot devices) 

As the series went on, the story lines became more fantastical, and eventually Yugi and the Pharaoh learned the truth that the Pharaoh had locked away within his own mind, which drew the series to its final conclusion.

All in all, the series was very good, albeit being a bit of a niche interest one. I first discovered the series being shown on Sky one on a saturday mornings and found it to be quite interesting when I gave it a chance, despite having no interest in it prior to this. I liked the way how the characters developed over time to become more than the simple archetypes they were initially presented as, and it also helped generate my interest in the real life card game and video game series.

Yu-Gi-Oh! has since gone on to have spin off series' in the forms of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds and currently Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, all of which have their own plot lines but all of which have their core focus on using the card game as a plot point, so its obvious that the series is stil as popular now and will continue to be popular for some time to come.