The popular card battle series Yi-Gi-Oh! bested the likes of Dragon Ball Z, Berserk and Hunter x Hunter to be crowned the Best ’90s Anime.
The Facebook page Anime Tournament recently held a 32-contender bracket contest to establish the best anime show of the ’90s. The tournament received an upset victory as the crown unexpectedly went to Yu-Gi-Oh!, which won with 9.9k votes compared to the second-place winner, which scored 7.1k. The Duel Monsters series defeated a collection of anime classics in the process.
Other Popular ’90s Anime
The silver and bronze medals went to Neon Genesis Evangelion and Dragon Ball Z, respectively. Yu-Gi-Oh! won each of its brackets against Digimon Adventures, Sailor Moon and Initial D before heading into the final. Many voters expressed surprise at a slew of unexpected outcomes throughout the tournament. For example, Cowboy Bebop, which many expected to go all the way, was shockingly outvoted by the acclaimed but less ubiquitous Initial D. Many were also surprised that Neon Genesis Evangelion beat the iconic Yu Yu Hakusho in the semi-final. Other notable anime in the line-up included Berserk 1997, Hunter x Hunter, Trigun, Pokemon and more.
Despite the surprise victory, there was a massive outpouring of support for the Yu-Gi-Oh! series, with a collection of voters discussing its impact on their childhood in the comments. On the other hand, many criticized the decision and questioned whether the show should have been included in the first place. There was a debate in the comments as one user remarked that while there was a Yu-Gi-Oh! series produced in 1998 the anime most people associate with the franchise, Duel Monsters, wasn’t broadcast until the year 2000. A major source of contention came from the page’s use of the Duel Monsters logo instead of the 1998 anime’s logo, only adding to this confusion.
The Previous Anime Tournament Winner
Anime Tournament holds regular events to determine a collection of fan-voted titles. The most recent one held before the ’90s anime contest was to determine the “Most Badass Old Man” in anime. Yamamoto from Bleach took the victory in that one. The next contest scheduled by the page will focus on the “Best Couple” in anime.
The Yu-Gi-Oh! property began in 1996 after the manga, created by Kazuki Takahashi, began its serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump. This kickstarted the franchise and helped it become a multi-media phenomenon, including multiple anime, spinoff manga, numerous video games and a massively influential physical card game.
Yu-Gi-Oh! is available to stream on Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu.
Source: Anime Tournament, via Facebook
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