Yu-Gi-Oh Lego Contest Vlog :D

My emotional journey through the 'It's Time to Duel' Lego contest. >///<

I didn't mean for this to be over 2hrs long, but I didn't want to cut out any of of the parts showcasing other ppl's builds. Even though I admittedly had big dreams of winning (lol), I also wanted to celebrate everyone else -- because everyone clearly worked really hard and I'd still be happy to know that someone else's dream came true!

Looking back now that I'm several weeks removed from the competition, I don't believe I really deserved to win compared to many of the other builds. The process was fun and exciting, though! As was editing the video. I really enjoyed making the Lego titles and transitions! :3

I actually had a list of fifteen builds I thought would would be among the three to five contenders for the semi-final fan-vote, and only two of them were picked. 

Though I guess I'm not entirely surprised by that, because I was making selections based on diversity and what I thought stood out among the different categories or genres of builds that emerged, as well as a variety of monsters and themes.

If anyone is curious about the builds I picked, here is the list I made. tbh, I felt weird about putting my own on there, but I decided to include it as sort of a manifestation thing xD

(Keep in mind that I might have overlooked some really good builds, and I feel bad for only highlighting these ones. This was by no means a thorough assessment :'3 You should go look at them all, because this is just a small sample of all the amazing work to see!)

Anyway, here's the list (not in any meaningful order) with some brief explanations:

1. It's Time for Duels!!! by Niamor.crt

This one is a lot of fun. Building the entire world of Duelist Kindom in microscale is incredible. There's so much detail and storytelling to explore. The clever way they tucked in features like the maze duel with the Paradox brothers reminds me a little of a Polly Pocket.

2. Yugi VS Pegasus Custom Arena by AJBuilderCol

This is another one I loved for its play value. The lifepoint counters and the overall thoughtfulness that went into giving the completed set interactive and creative features made it really special.

3. Duel Across the Millennia by Moccermommy

Omg, one of the winners! I really like the design of this build. It does a lovely job of celebrating Yu-Gi-Oh's lore and the connection between past and present. I love the focus on the rivalry between Seto and Yugi/Atem, and it does a really great job of translating iconic elements of the series into Lego in a way that represents multiple aspects of its story. 

4. Summoning Slifer the Sky Dragon at Battle City - REDUX by DarkAnimal

Another winner!! x3 This one is really clean and striking. I think the display has a great composition. Slifer and the duel disk are both very well-made!

5. Kuriboh Diorama: Duelist Kingdom Finale by TheBrickTechnician

This was another build I thought was wonderful for its creativity and play features. I really liked how many characters and monsters they were able to represent. The trap door under Bandit Keith was a great touch and part of what sold me on it! The whole thing just brings the Duelist Kingdom finals to life in a really fun way.

6. Yu-Gi-Oh! Yugi VS Kaiba by CARLIERTI

Another really cool build! I adore the colours and the way the box opens and closes. It's a wonderful display with a ton of life and detail.

7. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Yugi vs Kaiba by terauma

This was actually the build that I thought would push mine out of the competition because it was such a great diorama of a specific duel! xD It looks incredible in both composition and construction, and as a faithful depiction of Yugi's first duel with Kaiba!

8. Blimp Showdown - Slifer the Sky Dragon's Arrival by SecondVividPenguin

It would be really cool to have a blimp set. And the details on this one were absolutely delightful. Just having Lego-Kaiba's face on the screen that flips down gives it a ton of extra life and personality!

9. A Shadow Duel Like No Other (Yugi VS Bakura - Duelist Kingdom) by LordCubicVijam

I showed this one in the video as well, but it just looks so satisfying to play with!! I still can't get over the how good the miniature versions of the card art look, and how incredible it would feel to slot them into those card zones xD

10. Yu-Gi-Oh! – Legendary Summons Display! by Water Leaper

Adore this one!! There's so much in one set, and I still think the game shop serves as a great representation of the series. As a fan, I also absolutely love the micro-scale domino city. Wonderful work was done here in incorporating so many iconic landscapes into such a tiny map. 

11. Pegasus Castle – Relics of Duelist Kingdom Finale by Korzeniasty

I love this take. As I mentioned, one of my first ideas for this challenge was how epic it would be to have a Lego set of Pegasus’ castle. This build represents the series in such a creative and refined way!

12. Duelist Kingdom: Yugi vs Kaiba by ChevalierCitronVital

Super dynamic display. There’s so much energy in this, and it does an awesome job representing both Duelist Kingdom and, again, that iconic rivalry!

13. My build omg

Lucky number thirteen :'3 I included this as a bit of a wish, and because I was challenging myself to own my work and believe in it.

14. A Mountain of Monsters: Duelist Kingdom Reimagined by Debrewo

A unique and beautiful build. There is a ton of creativity in the implementation of different scales and the way everything is built into the mountain. 

15. Battle City Tournament Final Duel by Falkorich

Another really interesting depiction of a specific moment in the anime! I really like the design. Having those rounded cloud shapes in Lego look awesome, as does the sculpt of Ra and how they were able to represent the scale of him compared to Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl! 

Like I said in the video (and earlier xp), of the 3-5 builds that were supposed to be selected, my thinking was that they would choose one one or two to represent each one of the categories we were provided to build from:

• Awesome display models of your favorite duelist and their trademark monster (or monsters)!
• Dynamic dioramas of duels between two iconic characters as seen in the anime – make sure you showcase the duel faithfully as it happened!
• Cleverly curated monster(s) built into a creative display!

Or one or two different builds representing different styles/genres of builds that emerged organically. 

If any of the people mentioned happens upon this blog, just know that all of you and more were winners to me! 

I felt like I shouldn't share my predictions publicly at first, because I didn't want to single anyone out or make anyone feel like their build wasn't good enough. However, since most of these weren't actually picked, I thought maybe it would be nice to showcase how special I thought they were!

And again, there were even more that were just as good, so it's definitely worth taking a look at all the entries!

Sorry this blog also ended up being very long, lol.