Growing up in the early 2000s, there was a handful of shows that I would consider as my “go-to” tv shows every single day after coming home from school. Among those shows were cartoons like Jackie Chan Adventures, Pokémon, Static Shock, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While all of those shows were great in their own right, none of them were my favorite. That special honor was reserved for one of my favorite cartoons of all time, Yu-Gi-Oh.

I can’t quite put my finger on what was so enjoyable about Yu-Gi-Oh. Maybe it was the designs of the cards, each one very unique with their own special abilities. Maybe it was the complex duels that took place during the show, showcasing the skills of each duelist, with Yugi usually p🀅ulling a victory from the jaws of defeat. Causing a 10-year-old me to constantly watch the show on the edge of my seat. Or maybe it was the interesting characters that became almost like best friends for us. Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Téa; their friendship unbreakable even during the most stressful parts of the show.

Even with🎉 how amazing the show was, there were many things in the show that stand out as glaring problems that we pretty much just ignored. In this list, I will talk about all of these problems, and hopefully give you a new look into one of the greatest kids cartoons of the past two decades. So without further ado, let’s jump into the list.

25 Going To The Shadow Reღalm

via: twittercom

For a kids show, there were some pretty high stakes in Yu-Gi-Oh. In pretty much every major duel, the loser of the duel would be sent to the “shadow realm.”🐎 The shadow realm was only really present in the US edit of the show, because in the original version, the loser of the duel would actually have their life ended!

That’s pretty messed up for a kids show, and should really make you not want to play the card game. But for som💯e reason it just made us want to watch and play more!

24 Cheat To Win 🥃

via Yu-Gi-Oh Wiki

There was so much cheating in Yu-Gi-Oh that pretty much goes unpunished throughout the show. The main villain, Pegasus, even uses a magic eye that tells him what cards his opponents ♏are using! Duelists use scare tactics, life-threatening situations, computer hacking, and all-powerful magical items to help them in their duels. That’s a lot of cheating…

There is even one duelist who steals Yugi’s most powerღful cards and throws them into the ocean! That’s not even remotely fair, and the duelist is still allowed into the competition. Come on, man.

23 𝓡 ♊ Who Needs Rules?

via: twitter.com

Speaking of cheating, one of the most glaring problems in the first couple of seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh is how much the duelists disregard the rules of the card game that they’re pl✃aying. Mainly, in summoning extremely pow😼erful monsters without sacrificing weaker monsters.

An example of this is Seto Kaiba, who should have❀ to sacrifice two weak monsters to summon his favorite Blue Eyes White Dragon. But he never does this! He brings out the powerful card without sacrificing, even though it’s against the rules.

22 Possessed By A Spirit ౠ

via Maxamillionpegasus Wiki

One of the main problems with Yu-Gi-Oh is that the main character is actually possessed by 💎the spirit of a Pharaoh who is no longer alive! Even though he is o🎃bviously possessed, and he even gets taller when the Pharaoh takes over his body, none of Yugi’s friends seem to notice, or care, at all!

This is not even really mentioned for the first few seasons of the show.

It’s pretty much just ignored by eve♓ryone. How nobody can tell that there are two people inhabiting one body always confused me as a kid, but I decided to just roll with it like everyo✃ne else.

21 🍌 Becoming A Good Duelist

via YouTube

One thing I definitely noticed as a kid when watching Yu-Gi-Oh was that Joey starts out as a bad duelist. His deck is bওad, he doesn’t even know the rules, he basically can’t beat anyone. But without a🐻ny practice he becomes one of the best duelists in the world, seemingly overnight.

It just doesn’t make sense.

But, like everyone else, I just ignored this leap in logic because I loved the show and the characters so much. But if you ⛄really think about it, Joey should not have been one of the best duel❀ists in the show, especially if you look back at how bad he was in the beginning.

20 🐎 Friℱendship Is Powerful

via: elfbean.deviantart.com

One thing that always kind of bugged me in the show is how the four main characters, Yugi, Joey, Trist෴an, and Téa, are somehow able to use their friendshওip as a kind of magic. They are even able, at one point, to block Pegasus’ magic all-seeing eye from intruding into Yugi’s mind to see what cards he’s playing, thus stopping him from cheating.

Thi✃s is never really explained other than the fact that, well, they’re just really good friends. It 🦋doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but we decided to ignore that.

19 💙 Overpowered Cards

via Yu-Gi-Oh Wiki

This number in the list is kind of associated with the point above about cheating in the show. D♑uring the final round of duels in tꦇhe first season arc, Maximillion Pegasus, the so-called creator of duel monsters, uses a special deck created just for specific duels.

He even uses cards that were deemed too powerful for the general public!

Yet somehow, other than the characters remarking on how that’s unfair, nothing is done about it. Perhaps because the characters realize how villainous Pegasus is, they’re toꦏo scared to do anything about ♏it. But it’s definitely not right.

18 ♉ Following A Formula

via Yu-Gi-Oh Wiki

Have you ever noticed that most duels in the first few seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh seem to happen in the same way? Yugi or another main character gets lured into a duel somehow, they’re flustered at the beginning of the duel and they begin to lose. Then their friends yell encouragement at them and suddenly they remember how to use their deck and pull victory out of nowh🐠ere.

Even though every duel almost has the same formula, we just don’t care because we🌠 love the show so much. Can you blame us?

17 Look Atﷺ T𒅌hat Hair!

via: youtube.com

Let’s be honest, one of the main things wrong with Yu-Gi-Oh is the hairstyles of all the main characters. They’re just not realistic, and they would look absolute💦ly ridiculous in real life. Weird hairstyles is a standar♑d anime trope, but it doesn’t make it any less dumb looking.

But then again, if everyone in the show had normal hairstyles, would the characters really be that iconic? I think the story itself would still shine through, but I’d definitely love to see what a live-action remake of Yu-Gi-Oh would look like.

16 ✱ Come On, 4kids

via: youtube.com

The US version of Yu-Gi-Oh was actually heavily edited for western audience💯s compared to the original Japanese anime. Instead of a duelist’s life ending if they los🐻e a duel, in the US, they would be sent to the shadow realm.

The US production company, 4kids, was the company responsible for all of the edits.

The production company also edited out pretty much any reference to physical harm that was present in the original. They edited out guns, fistfights, slaps, and more! So definitely watch the original Japanese version if you want the full Yu-Gi-Oh experience.