In a few hours the second season of Kaijudo will premiere on the Hub Network. While I haven’t watched any of the first season, the people at Hub were nice enough to give Major Spoilers an early look at this episode and it got turned over to me. So with that in mind, let’s take the jump and take a first look at Kaijudo: Clash of the Duel Masters together.
SUMMARY
Pros
Looks good with interesting monster designs.
An ongoing storyline that looks to become quite in-depth
Cons
Only one of the main characters interested me.
READER RATING!
[ratings]KAIJUDO: CLASH OF THE DUEL MASTERS “THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT”
Voice Actors: Scott Wolf, Phil Lamarr, Kari Wahlgren, Dee Bradley Baker, Grey DeLisle, John DiMaggio, Andrew Kishino, Freddy Rodriguez, David Sobolov
Writers: Marty Isenberg, Andrew R. Robinson, et al
Previously in Kaijudo: The main trio of kids, only one of whose name I remember, did what was never done before and went through the “veil” into the Creature Realm. After convincing most of the elder masters this was a good idea, they sent the “Lords” of the different kingdoms back to the Creature Realm. Season two opens with a bit of a monologue on how this may have not been the best of ideas, setting up what the season is going to be about.
IT’S PRETTY
Visually the show looks good. It isn’t anything exceptional but I definitely can’t complain about any of the looks either. Many of the monsters that we saw are quite interesting in design and, as such, easily recognizable from what parts of the card game I’ve played. The human characters are at least different enough to have variety, but none of them quite grabbed me. The three main kids hit certain tropes, but it was mostly the “main character,’ the “girl,” and the “smart kid.” Of the three, Gabe, the latter, was the one who was most interesting, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
NOT SURE WHERE THE DUEL COMES IN
The initial setup of the series and episode felt almost clichéd, and in parts it was. The title of the episode “The Butterfly Effect” relates to the real-world idea and is even voiced within the show to explain how the Creature Realm would affect the “real world.” And for a bit I felt like this was going to be about it for the series and I was only going to finish out the episode to give a fair chance before completely brushing it off.
Of course, once the monsters appeared that all changed. Summoning the monsters was Gabe’s idea, but was brushed off by the adult masters until one of them suggested it. Once the monsters arrive, one of them reads a note declaring war against the others nation and we decide it’s time to head into the Creature Realm. From there we resolve a battle, but not much more and I have to say I liked that. The episode ends with the main characters split and a pretty big mystery beginning to unfold.
BOTTOM LINE: Way better than expected
If I’m honest with everyone, I wasn’t really interested in this series to start with. Now I have to say I’m not only interested but rather impressed. The season looks like it is going to have an ongoing arc that is present throughout the entirety and that is something I can get behind. On top of that, though most of the characters didn’t get much in the episode, I can see where the potential for some good development exists. The Butterfly Effect itself earns a decent 3.5 out of 5 stars, but the episode has me wanting to seek out all of season 1 and I am thoroughly looking forward to the next episode. Honestly, I feel I’m not giving the credit the show deserves. At the very least, watch this episode and find out if you want to watch more.
