Yu Gi Oh!

[Palamon]

Yu Gi Oh started out as a manga. The first series had nothing to do with the cards. The series was created from the mangaka's desire to create a main character who doesn't hit people. After the first series, the second manga came out with focus on a card game called Duel Monsters. This spawned an anime series (and if you include season 0, I guess this was part of it), and of course, real life counterpart cards. 4kids has a dub in production for almost all the Yu Gi Oh anime. After the original, more Yu Gi Oh series have of course spawned. These include Yu Gi Oh GX, 5Ds, Zexal, and the recent Arc V, which is ongoing. There's also the Capsule Monster spinoff, and plenty of video games.

Now...
Favorite series?
Favorite character?
Do you collect the cards?
What do you like about Yu Gi Oh and why?
What are your thoughts on Arc V?
Discuss the most recent episode and your thoughts~. (Spoiler tag, please.)

[Shruikan]

Ah, Yu-Gi-Oh, the only card game I still play. I've been trying to keep up with the series, but it's been hard since series 3 of Zexal doesn't seem to be available outside of the US :( Let alone Arc-V. I've recently started re-watching the first series though(I'm currently at the part where Joey's dueling Rex) though in duelist kingdom the rules seem to be that whoever can make up the most convincing effect for there mosters wins. :P
I do also keep up with the Zexal Manga, which I'm at volume 6 of. I have all the Original Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga as well, the ones from before Duel Monsters took over, and Joey (Or Jonouchi) had the weirder hair.
Anyway,

Favorite series? Tough one, I'd have to say the second series of Zexal, thi first was kind of bland, but once Vetrix showed up it got better.
Favorite character? Ray Shadows. (Zexal Spoiler)

Spoiler:

Though I've only seen three or so episodes after he revealed he was really Vector, so that might change if I can get ahold of the last series

Jesse Anderson comes second
Do you collect the cards? Do I?! I've been collecting them since the first Yugi & Kaiba starter decks were released. I did take a breack for a while around late GX/early 5d's, but it now get at least one new deck a year. Recently I have a Noble Knights deck, thanks to the boxed set released. :)
What do you like about Yu Gi Oh and why? The thing that appeals to me most about Yu-Gi-Oh! are the moster designs, sort of like pokemon. I build my decks around cards with cool artwork, and mainly watch the series to see what some of the newer cards look like in an anime. Aside from that, the card game is a complex game that has grown to have near unlimited deck combinations, unlike the pokemon TCG, which just ditches the old cards when new ones come along.
What are your thoughts on Arc V? I'd like to watch it someday?
Discuss the most recent episode and your thoughts~. Same as above^ :P

[Vishnal]

Favorite series? Arc-V, hands down. I stopped watching YGO! for a couple years and probably wouldn't have given it another shot if I hadn't seen some gifs of Yuya. I thought he looked kinda cute, so I watched Arc-V. Now it's my favorite anime.
Favorite character? Current fave is Yugo. I also really like Yuya, Dennis, Sora, Ruri who hasn't even had a speaking role, but damn she's pretty, Serena, Rua (Leo), Ruka (Luna), Aki (Akiza), Carly, Crow, and Johan (Jesse).
Do you collect the cards? I did when I was a kid. Considering picking up some High Speed Riders packs if they're still available because I want to get my hands on Clear Wing Synchro Dragon.
What do you like about Yu-Gi-Oh! and why? The wacky hairdos. Can't go wrong with those :|b But seriously, Arc-V has a good plot that has so far spanned the entire series, and the characters are interesting and are pretty well-written. And I like 5D's because I'm Synchro scum you can't go wrong with dueling on motorbikes. Which is funny considering I thought they were overdoing it when 5D's first came to the states.
What are your thoughts on Arc-V? See above.
Discuss the most recent episode and your thoughts:

Spoiler:

Bird fight ftw.

[Kurosaki]

Favorite series? Arc V, but before that GX was my favorite.
Favorite character? By series it's Joey, Judai and Johan tie, Crow, Shark, and Shun.
With Arc V I also love Serena and Yuuya a lot. EVERYONE IS PRECIOUS.
Do you collect the cards? Yeeep. I play on and off, but even if I don't use em, I like collecting some of them.
What do you like about Yu Gi Oh and why? I like everything about it. The card game is interesting, and I like the characters for the manga and the TV shows. As far as the show goes, the aspect of hologram dueling has always been awesome to.
What are your thoughts on Arc V? I love it so far, it kinda got me back into YGO in general, after Zexal kinda made me lose interest except for nostalgia purposes. Nowadays I've seen some of Zexal and it's okay, but it took me a few years. lol
Discuss the most recent episode and your thoughts~.

Spoiler:

HOLY DANG, I WANT SHUN TO WIN, BUT ALSO I JUST WANT CHARACTER EVOLUTION IN SOME WAY. I didn't expect them to duel, but I'm loving it.

[Vishnal]

Just got done watching the most recent episode and

Spoiler:

SHUN LEGIT. SMILED AND FISTBUMPED CROW. I MUST BE DREAMING.

I'm slightly disappointed Shun lost because I would've loved to see him go up against Yuya or Sergey, but at the same time, Crow winning was also kinda expected and I'm not too upset by his victory.

If Yugo ends up winning the next match I'd like to see him go against Crow instead of Yuya (though lbr it'll probably be Yuya vs Crow).

EDIT: APPARENTLY SHUN HAS A SOFT SPOT FOR KIDS (but they always run away from him); THAT'S THE CUTEST THING.

Also @Kurosaki this is super relevant to you.

[Kurosaki]

Also @Kurosaki this is super relevant to you.

OH MY GOD OK

Spoiler:

I'VE ONLY SEEN SPOILERS SO FAR CAUSE I CANT WATCH IT UNTIL AFTER WORK
BUT HE LEGITIMATELY SMILED AND I AM CRYING ;__;
i didnt expect their duel to take this turn, gonna be honest

[Vishnal]

Most recent episode just finished airing!

Spoiler:

First, THAT PREVIEW. YUGO ACTUALLY TRIES HUGGING SERENA AND GETS HIS BUTT KICKED... MAN I CANNOT WAIT FOR NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE is it next Sunday yet.

Next, MY SHIP. ...Well, ONE OF MY MANY YUZU SHIPS. (I ship Yuzu with all four Yus, with Serena, and with Sora. I'll probably end up shipping her with Rin and Ruri too.) BUT IT'S ONE I REALLY LIKE. I'm glad we finally got to see Sora and Yuzu interact again and even duel together; the dancing scene between their monsters was excellent <3

Someone please post after me; I really, really, REALLY cannot wait for next week's episode and will most definitely want to talk about it without having to edit my post.

EDIT: OH MY GOD (latest episode spoilers)

Spoiler:

THIS EPISODE TURNED OUT GREAT. I CAN ONLY HOPE THE REST OF THE DUEL IS LIKE THIS.

BUT I CANNOT GET OVER YUGO CONSTANTLY TRYING TO GLOMP SERENA IN THE BEGINNING BECAUSE HE THINKS SHE'S RIN ONLY TO HAVE HER KEEP PUNCHING/PUSHING HIM AWAY.

AND ROGER IS A BASTARD FOR TRYING TO PUSH THE DUEL IN SERENA'S FAVOR. IF SHE WINS I WANT HER TO DO IT WITH HER OWN SKILL, NOT WITH HIS HELP. AND I WANT HER TO WIN. (I will obviously not be upset if Yugo wins; however, Sergey vs. Serena makes more sense and I would prefer Yugo either go underground or somehow escape and meet up with Yuzu.) ALSO, I HOPE SERENA UNDERGOES CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT JUST LIKE SHUN. SHE COULD REALLY USE MORE LOVE IN GENERAL TBH.......

AND THE MONSTER UPGRADES BOTH ARE GETTING SEEM REALLY AWESOME. CRYSTAL WING SYNCHRO DRAGON CANNOT WAIIIIIIIIT.

[Palamon]

Whoops.

The most recent episode, which was a week ago, got me thinking about Rin. I'm wondering when she'll appear in person...

[Vishnal]

Probably whenever they hit Academia, which won't be a while since there's a planned Xyz arc. (Though, who knows, maybe she and Ruri/Lulu (if you prefer dub names) will show there.)

Really looking forward to this episode, even though I already know who is going to win thanks to episode summaries someone provided.

ALSO, there is another Yu-Gi-Oh! movie coming out feat. the Duel Monsters cast (i.e., Yugi and co.). Here is a clip:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wshKFmiaYtQ
video tags why aren't you doing your job properly... It's really amazing how far this anime has come in terms of animation. The art looks absolutely fantastic <3

EDIT: Latest episode commentary~

Spoiler:

I'm mixed. There were things I liked, and things I didn't like. Opinion might change when I finally watch the episode subbed. Who knows.

What I liked:

-Serena receiving character development (and smiling...her smile is so cute ;w;)
--Also, Serena and Yugo's interaction post-duel
--Admittedly, Serena saying "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN" was a bit strange... I know others are complaining that the sort of development she went through doesn't fit her, but I don't mind it???

-Serena and Yugo's new monsters (Crystal Wing is pretty <3)

-YURI

-An extended trailer for next week's ep.? (I think; Idk I didn't watch the preview and someone linked it) showing Yugo pursuing Yuri

What I didn't like:

How Yugo won. Serena seemed to finally realize someone was bending the odds in her favor and was dueling without Jean's assistance. Yugo, on the other hand... I think Yuya pretty much controlled his actions (albeit without Yugo knowing)? At least in Yugo's duel with Sawatari, Yugo had control over what he was doing most the time; the only thing Yuya really did was nab him an Action Card. Honestly, it felt more like Yuya won against Serena than Yugo :c Given that Yugo's gonna be up against Sergey (because come on, Yuya vs Crow was seen miles away after the latter's victory against Shun), I imagine Yuya would be controlling Yugo a majority of the time if the duel happens.

Now, for some speculation: Since Yugo's gonna be pursuing Yuri, it's quite possible they'll end up dueling, with Yugo losing. Speculation is that Yuri will absorb Yugo's soul (or fuse with it—just like how Yuya overlayed with Yuto), which would mean Yugo vs Sergey wouldn't happen. They'd probably have Yuya duel him after dueling Crow in that case.

[Palamon]

New episode is out! I haven't seen it yet, but I know Yuri probably plays a big role in it, aha. Missed him.