So, where does this episode (containing a series that's supposed to contain my worst Exhall nightmare) stack up in comparison to the rest of 24' and 25' season IMO? Well...
(Also I'm doing this in text because archive trick has begun to bug out, and I can't be bothered to deal with that)
S: Simon vs Kyle
A+: Ghost Rider vs Spawn, Bowser vs Eggman
A: Hulk vs Godzilla, Dante vs Clive, Ruby vs Maka
A-: Tomura vs Mahito, Joker vs Giorno
B+: Wile vs Tom, Ash vs Yugi, Among Us vs Fall Guys
B: Miles vs Deku, Master Chief vs Doom Slayer (v2)
C: Omni-Man vs Bardock
D: Kratos vs Asura, Blade vs Buffy.
(All are generally (?) unordered within tiers)
I think the one thing that I have to praise about this episode right from go is that it alleviated probably one of, if not, my biggest issue(s) coming off what will be it's largest point of comparison in my mind (that being Red vs Tai) - this being the issue of disingenuity. This is best exemplified by Yugi actually respecting Ash when he wins, as opposed to the 'who the bloody hell was that guy?' ass line of Red vs Tai's ending.
I do think the 3D models of Ash and Yugi are kinda ugly at a standstill, but DevilArtemis made it work for him (and also Luis Cruz, although I am still a bit thrown for a loop that he didn't continue with the sprites he used as a proof of concept a few years ago). That, and while there were a few lines that didn't quite land, there were just as many who did (contrast 'what do you mean all?' and the accompanying exchange, with something like Yugi explaining the terms and conditions of Magic Cylinder, as if Ash was supposed to do anything with that information in... would you call being turned to stone death? (also, I know that's the nature of 4Kids YGO writing, but Yugi... you are aware overexplaining that is something LexDoom got a verbal bollocking for, right?)). Meeting Hirati (or whatever her name was) with the exclamation 'whose that Pokemon?' is a good microcosm of this, because while it did kinda make me facepalm, it's not mocking the characters' intelligence in the same way that comparing Zard X to digiv-I can't even say that with a straight face... was.
Voices are pretty solid as well. Tom Schalk, as well as having the delivery I'd expect from the character, likely be the thing that gets Martin Billany ratio'd wherever he goes, and that's my daily dose of schadenfreude (if you know why, you get a cookie) - although I hear a bit of Justin Briner in his younger 'Yami Yugi' form, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Elise Lovelock, meanwhile, is very Sarah Natochenny-pilled in her delivery, which is both expected and impressive of her.
And the fight pacing was also pretty great at best, with a few bumps in the road (I noticed more than a few instances of Yugi's monsters and Ash's lesser mons just kinda... standing there). But given the amount that both were able to use, Ash's concise use of stuff like G-Max Gengar, Ash Greninja and Mega Lucario (although I would have preferred the 'full shell' Mega Evolution animation), and the way Yugi reacted to a lot of those options, I'd say those were nitpicks. I also noticed the Incineroar suplex, so that was fun.
