These last five episodes although they weren't perfectly executed, are some of the most bold episodes of all Yu-Gi-Oh! Here is why they are so good:
The fight against Jesse wasn't the highlight of the finale, even though it was a good duel, unlike the duel against Sartorious in season 2 or the old man who tried to take the Sacred Beasts in season 1. Those were boring and predictable battles that saw Jaden win and only that. Here there was an emotional stake to the duel in that Jaden was trying to free his friend from Yubel's control. As the duel ended the stakes got even higher emotionally speaking. Yubel duelled against Jaden in the hope of uniting him and her into a single world united also from those 12 dimensions. It's nice to see overarching plots and threads that are tied and resolved here. That makes this finale all the better. The duel itself wasn't bad with a lot of turnarounds to keep you guessing what's gonna happen up until the end. The best thing happens at the very end when Jaden takes Yubel's Superpolimerization and fuses him and her after understanding her history through a flashback. Here is the only weak thing in this finale, in that we get a flashback about Yubel and somehow there was a younger version of Jaden back then who was the Supreme King and somehow she was supposed to protect him, but also now in the present because he might be reincarnated? What? Nah, whatever... moving on. It's a bit clumsy and contrived but at least is something that explains her motivations and make her more than "I've been waiting all this time to get my revenge on you pharao" type of villain. Wait... pharao? Wait what? So in the end Jaden unites with Yubel and all of his friends return safely to the Academy, however only Jaden is the one who doesn't come back. The last scene is of a devasted Syrus crying out for Jaden, implying that this might very well be permanent.
What a wonderful ending to a fantastic season of Yu-Gi-Oh. Probably one of my all time favorites arcs in this franchise. Even though it somehow borrows the same idea as in Duel Monsters where the main protagonist has a spirit that posseses him, this whole arc is about developing Jaden's character, finding that spirit and uniting with it. It's quite a nice piece of storytelling that keeps you invested until the very end and nails the ending in the most original way possible. Great! 10/10.
The fight against Jesse wasn't the highlight of the finale, even though it was a good duel, unlike the duel against Sartorious in season 2 or the old man who tried to take the Sacred Beasts in season 1. Those were boring and predictable battles that saw Jaden win and only that. Here there was an emotional stake to the duel in that Jaden was trying to free his friend from Yubel's control. As the duel ended the stakes got even higher emotionally speaking. Yubel duelled against Jaden in the hope of uniting him and her into a single world united also from those 12 dimensions. It's nice to see overarching plots and threads that are tied and resolved here. That makes this finale all the better. The duel itself wasn't bad with a lot of turnarounds to keep you guessing what's gonna happen up until the end. The best thing happens at the very end when Jaden takes Yubel's Superpolimerization and fuses him and her after understanding her history through a flashback. Here is the only weak thing in this finale, in that we get a flashback about Yubel and somehow there was a younger version of Jaden back then who was the Supreme King and somehow she was supposed to protect him, but also now in the present because he might be reincarnated? What? Nah, whatever... moving on. It's a bit clumsy and contrived but at least is something that explains her motivations and make her more than "I've been waiting all this time to get my revenge on you pharao" type of villain. Wait... pharao? Wait what? So in the end Jaden unites with Yubel and all of his friends return safely to the Academy, however only Jaden is the one who doesn't come back. The last scene is of a devasted Syrus crying out for Jaden, implying that this might very well be permanent.
What a wonderful ending to a fantastic season of Yu-Gi-Oh. Probably one of my all time favorites arcs in this franchise. Even though it somehow borrows the same idea as in Duel Monsters where the main protagonist has a spirit that posseses him, this whole arc is about developing Jaden's character, finding that spirit and uniting with it. It's quite a nice piece of storytelling that keeps you invested until the very end and nails the ending in the most original way possible. Great! 10/10.
