Yu-Gi-Oh 3D: Bonds Beyond Time preview report

Written by Robert Frazer on 30 May 2011

Yu-Gi-Oh is one of Japan’s great international franchise successes, a statue born up on many pillars of multiple mangas, animes, and of course the collectible card game that the Guinness Book of Records enthuses is the most popular in the world – even if I have nothing to compare it to, twenty-two billion cards sold is certainly a whole lot of plastic!

I came in to the shore before catching this wave, though – when I was starting out in high school even Pokémon and its own wildly popular card game was only a vague prospect spoken of in Nintendo Power magazine in the way medieval Dutch traders might step down from the gunwales of their cogs and spin tales of spice-laden Kush and Cathay beyond the steppes of Muscovy. The fad amongst my generation of first-years was Magic: the Gathering, and as I came to prefer guns over swords and space marines over dwarves, I gravitated away to Games Workshop’s tabletop wargames and sunk my allowance into toy soldiers instead of trading cards.  So, I came to the Piccadilly Apollo for Manga Entertainment’s special preview presentation of the new theatrical movie Yu-Gi-Oh 3D: Bonds Beyond Time not knowing quite what to expect and, if I’m perfectly honest, half-dreading an afternoon of tiresome juvenilia to endure more out of duty than desire. My prejudices were unjustified, though, and I left the preview pleasantly surprised by an uncomplicatedly enjoyable experience, and the impression that dedicated fans of Yu-Gi-Oh would build on that with even more favour.

In the heart of the fashionable West End on Regent Street and just off of Piccadilly Circus – and, appropriately, literally across the road from the new Japan Centre – the Apollo was an accessible and appealing setting with which to be introduced to a new movie. With its long, low lobby area, suffusing the walls and ceiling with the soft glow of recessed lighting and unobtrusive highlights of chrome in the frames of television mounts, the Apollo actually has an understatedly classy and dignified atmosphere that you would not normally associate with a multiplex, giving the impression of a saloon in a yacht. The gently subdued environment is a pleasing and comfortable luxury, and by being compartmentalised by the porches to each screen there was still a quiet area at the end where you could sit out if need be. The pleasant decor of a well-maintained lounge was as much a welcome introduction as the day itself, and Manga had chosen its site well.

The air did become a little close as the lobby filled, so the free drink on offer was much appreciated and taken advantage of – hopefully I won’t succumb to the stereotype of the journalist sponging off of all of the complimentary snacks at press events too quickly...! The heat was generated by a strong crowd of eighty to a hundred, largely comprised of children – a large school party from Dover represented most of them, part of a gaming club encouraged by the teachers with the aspiration of development through play, encouraging young pupils to develop their critical thinking and comprehension through understanding the cards and their strategies. As the children all seemed quite absorbed, engaged and lively, I’d say that the project is turning out to be a success.

One thing that did disconcert me with the presence of all of these kiddies and tweens, though, was the risk of getting drawn into some toe-curlingly embarrassing party event with foam swords and... gregarious actors. However, I needn’t have worried – matters were quite informal, and as the kids settled on the couches and broke out their duelling decks they made their own fun quite happily. Other than an official photographer taking photos of guests underneath the Yu-Gi-Oh posters and a pair of stands demonstrating the card game it was quite low-key; the demo booths were constantly mobbed by people wanting to challenge the staff and I would have appreciated more of them, but I wouldn’t call it poor organisation because given the number of decks that were being cut elsewhere in the lobby you could tell that there weren’t many beginners to service in the first place. They also did accommodate people who weren’t able to reach the front of the press before the show and left the booths manned for some time after the movie, which did allow me to give the game a try. It was an interesting experience – very fast-paced; I never imagined that I could call a card game blistering, but even a total beginner like me was arraying attack lines and setting off traps in short order. Maybe the process was too streamlined, pared down so far it cut into the bone of game structure and crossed the border from simple to simplistic, but as this was an introductory session there may be hidden depths that I wasn’t yet privy to, and everyone else certainly seemed pretty intent!

The fast pace of the game remained even if I did slow proceedings down by trying to rotate my cards and ‘tap’ them as if I was still playing Magic: The Gathering, much to their bafflement and my embarrassment!