#quick play spell

[ygoartreviews]

Limiter Removal

Limiter Removal is one of those iconic Cyber Dragon deck cards that basically everyone knows about, so much so that I didn't realize it's actually used in other contexts in the anime as well. Because of the close association, though, a combo like this just felt inevitable, and now we finally have it! Part of me is almost surprised that it didn't end up being a separate (but related) card altogether, but it's great nonetheless. I really don't think my words will add much here. It's a cool alt art that feels like it's been a long time coming. I DO have a very specific comment to make, however. And that is... Well. You can absolutely kill me for saying this, but Cyber End Dragon's pose looks identical to the iconic He Man pose from Fabulous Secret Powers (perhaps better known as "HEHEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA").

Rating: 10/10, Cyber End Dragon says, "Hey. What's going on?"

[ygoartreviews]

Gladiator Beast United

Never give up! With the help of your Gladiator Beast comrades, you too can become a force to be reckoned with! I really like this interpretation of fusion; it feels super unique when compared with the usual Polymerization monster swirl effect. Instead, here we have Gladiator Beasts Lanista and Retiari directly lending their power and beings to Gladiator Beast Vespasius so that he can evolve into something greater. And hey, I think it's really fitting that this fusion card feels so different, because GB fusion monsters aren't summoned with Polymerization! I love how the color choice in this clearly separates the background from the foreground, with Vespasius illuminated in bright blues and greens while the area beyond the other two takes on softer lavender tones. The energy auras were a great way to add lots of movement to this, and they’re expertly placed so as not to cover up Vespasius’ important details.

Rating: 8/10

[ygoartreviews]

Yummy☆Surprise

Surprise! These Lollipo Yummys are going on a trip! Actually... Being honest, I have no idea what the hell is going on in this card (aside from these Yummys being caught in a candy vortex). I wish I fully understood what they’re spiraling towards; the best guess I have is that they’re some sort of gaming machine/arcade appliances, but I really have no idea from this viewpoint. At least the Yummys seem happy! I love that you can see their cute little paw pads here. It adds so much character and cuteness. I will say: I keep misinterpreting the candied ears of the one on the right as simply a part of the background (because the colors match so well), so it ends up looking like it has three ears instead of two. Or like a Badtz Maru kind of head shape. Colors are great though, and the swirling vortex provides lots of motion.

Rating: 8/10

[ygoartreviews]

Ojamatch

I personally think this is the only acceptable depiction of Ojama Green with a torso. 1) You can't really even see it because of his arms, and 2) It actually looks normal with his head and limbs in this one. I also just think his referee outfit makes him look cute here. Back to the main focus of this, why did Ojama Black decide that pitting poor little Ojama Yellow against Armed Dragon LV5 of all monsters would be a good idea??? Armed Dragon doesn't even look like he's broken a sweat, while on the other hand, Yellow looks like he's broken all of his bones (and then some). A detail I love about this is, with the way Yellow's tears are drawn, it looks like his eyes are melting out of his eye sockets from the sheer pain he's in. Not that him being in pain is good, it just really helps sell how he's feeling when paired with the full body tremble lines, his bruises, and the wacky shape of his mouth. I still can't believe Black would be cruel enough to put Yellow through this :(

Rating: 8/10

[ygoartreviews]

Rainbow Refraction

Time for Rainbow Dragon to do a sweet action pose showing off its signature move! I feel like this art specifically emphasizes the point I mentioned yesterday that Rainbow Dragon is like white light through a prism. After all, refraction is the phenomena that creates rainbows, and while the majority of the beam being fired off here is just pure white, you can see the actual rainbow colors as a gradient outlining the beam. What's more than that, it's also projecting that super cool rainbow halo around Rainbow Dragon's head. It is inverted from how you'd typically see a rainbow, but I think the inversion helps it match up with the primary background colors (purple and blue). I also just gotta say generally: the colors in this art fucking rock. All the bright, prismatic colors combined with exceptional shading/highlights just make this art really stand out. (I also can't get over how much depth the background seems to have??? Like the bottom right corner just has this optical effect that makes it seem like you could reach out and touch it).

Rating: 10/10

[ygoartreviews]

Berserker Crush

Oh no, this time, Kuriboh's fucking pissed. While I love Kuriboh (and by extension, Winged Kuriboh), I must admit that the name of this card had me pretty confused until I learned that "Berserker Crush" is Winged Kuriboh LV9's attack name and not the one belonging to regular ol Winged Kuriboh. I was definitely expecting a much different image to appear when I searched this card (a much different monster, at the very least). So, it would've been much more fitting to depict the LV9 version here instead of the base version, but Winged Kuriboh being here instead did make for kind of an adorable little surprise, even if he does look like he's angry and going to crush you. It's definitely fun to see some dynamic motion from a Kuriboh card for once, rather than just cute little puffball pose. I also think it's fun that the motion line from his fist looks like it connects with the white swirls from the background, implying that Winged Kuriboh did a little twirl to power up his attack.

Rating: 8/10

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Forbidden Droplet

This is one of those cards where, if I owned the physical version, I doubt I ever would've noticed the little ghostly men holding down Darklord Nasten. An extra fun little detail there is that they're even holding him down by the hair. The strength implication here, even with there being so many, is insane, honestly. No wonder Nasten looks utterly terrified. Which brings me to my favorite part of this card. We all know Condemned Darklord, but man, I think the framing of this card really elevates her look. This lady looks like a demon. Gone is the deceptive niceness in her face and demeanor, replaced with pure, uncaring malice. The strong shadows around her eyes and especially on her nose even make her face look more like a skull, and the lighting is just enough to make her skin look gray and sickly instead of pure white. Can I just say though... Nasten doesn't look like he was meant to ever lay down, because his chest muscles look like they're breaking his body.

Rating: 9/10, she still can't get enough of those forbidden items, huh

[ygoartreviews]

Dragoroar

It's December, and you all know what that means, right? Time to remember the 21st night of September, and what better way than with a card involving Earth, Wind, (Water), and Fire. Easily the most hilarious part of this card is Redox in the top right. Clearly the most logical place to put the Earth attribute, vestigial winged, heavy ass dragon is directly in the sky, rocketing down towards Blaster like a meteor. Which, by the way, background-wise, this card feels like it should only really have Tempest and Tidal here. There's a raging thunderstorm in the sky and a roiling, edge of the planet sea there, but absolutely no fire or volcanoes or whatever else for Blaster, and Redox only kinda gets the rocks that are hurtling down with him (also just realizing now that there's a whole landmass at the bottom there........ It blends in so well with the water that I thought it was ALL water..............). I also must say... Tempest does not look good at all from the side. It feels like someone other than the person who did the art for the individual dragons drew this one, because I don't think Tempest's eye is supposed to be positioned like that (there's some other noticeable stylistic differences too). All in all, the boys got together to roar at each other, and it seems to be causing some havoc.

Rating: 7/10, Do you remember? Now you do