This review was wrote after watching S01E26. My current rating of the show is always based on the overall up to the point I watched. If I change my opinion, I will add an "edit" section at the end of this review.
DISCLAIMER: this is the review of a 25 year-old cinephile who knows this anime is just a card game propaganda for Japanese kids.
Remember when "card games on motorcycles" was the biggest meme? Then came "Vrains", with "card games on hoverboards", but it's about the same, right? Well, how about "card games with aliens on spaceship-towns"? Bruh. Every Yu-Gi-Oh that comes out manage to surpass the main plot insanity of the previous one. And for some reason, I still get surprised.
Honestly, the only reason I keep up with this franchise is because I've been doing so since 2014 ("Zexal"). Because it's "easy" to watch a 24min episode per week. And besides, the franchise still has its moments, sometimes: crossovers and references from other Yu-Gi-Ohs, old cards being used in the anime for the first time, epic or beautiful speeches and soundtracks (hell, I got goosebumps when Sevens Road Magician from the previous anime got summoned by Yuna as a remastered version of his soundtrack blasted in the background), great relationship and interaction between characters. But the truth is that the franchise is all over the place and, lately (since "Sevens"), completely stupid.
Insanity aside, all of the Yu-Gi-Ohs before "Go Rush" have an at least interesting story, but they're completely drowned by enough duels to justify a 100-episode anime. I mean, it's a card game show, right? But even with the endless creation of new cards and the often changes of the game rules, the duel-to-solve-problems format has been going on for 22 years. And to this day, the duels keep getting more and more complicated to the point I don't bother trying to remember any cards (also 'cause most of them are only used once), nor their effects card effects. The franchise got extremely dull years ago, and I even struggle to watch the 24min episode per week. At this point, all that I expect from this franchise is a somewhat interesting story and the stuff mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Unfortunately, "Go Rush" even lacks an interesting story, leaving little to be attached to. I mean, the main plot is about an intergalactic war of aliens, so maybe it should be "interesting". But then I remember that it's only supposed to be a card game anime, that the main plot is, once again, gonna be left aside for many of episodes filled with countless forgettable duels and that the ending of "Sevens" was a disaster, even for someone who wasn't expecting much, so I'm not being able to feel or expect anything from "Go Rush". For me, this is the emptiest Yu-Gi-Oh, so far.
I thought "Sevens'" story was bad and felt empty compared to previous Yu-Gi-Ohs, but it had the one silver lining that was Otes. For "Go Rush", I don't even see a silver lining. As mentioned, I expect absolutely nothing from this anime, so, unlike "Sevens", I doubt I can feel disappointed, regardless of how it ends. I believe relief is all that I'll feel.
The anime franchise should've ended a really long time ago, but after so many years living weekly with it, I admit that a part of me would mourn if they decided to fully kill it. And to be honest, I still hope for a massive crossover between all the protagonists (and since the franchise stopped making sense since "Zexal", they wouldn't have to worry about explaining how).
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