Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time

As Yusei Fudo ponders the state of New Domino City, Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan cheer him up with the idea of riding on their Duel Runners. As they ride, a mysterious Turbo Duelist called Paradox challenges Yusei to a duel. Yusei summons his Stardust Dragon but Paradox seals it inside a card and disappears with it. They later discover an article that shows a mysterious battle in the past of Venice, Italy that Yusei knows did not happen in history before. Compounding the situation, New Domino City is vanishing. As a result, the Crimson Dragon appears, giving Yusei's Duel Runner the ability to travel through time.

In the past, Jaden Yuki is attacked by evil versions of stolen monster cards in Venice, Italy, including Stardust Dragon. As Paradox prepares to kill Jaden, Yusei and the Crimson Dragon arrive and protect him. Afterward, Paradox flees to an earlier point in time. Jaden tells Yusei that he was pursuing Paradox, who stole his friends' cards. Yusei explains to Jaden the situation, and they decide to work together. Jaden pulls out a computer and uses the Manjome foundation's database to pull up an article, which states that Paradox killed Pegasus, using Stardust and other famous dragons. Suddenly, Jaden's Neos card disappears like Stardust Dragon did, and this era starts to vanish as well. Yusei and Jaden travel back even further in time to try to prevent Pegasus's death. Years earlier, Maximillion Pegasus is hosting a duel tournament in Domino City, which Yugi Muto is attending with his maternal grandfather Solomon. Paradox uses his newly acquired monsters to attack the event, killing Pegasus, Yugi's grandfather, and several bystanders, but Yugi survives. Yusei and Jaden arrive, and the Crimson Dragon transports them and Yugi 30 minutes back in time before Paradox's attack, in order to stop him, as Pegasus' premature death would drastically alter the course of history. After learning about Paradox's actions, Yugi decides to join them by letting the Pharaoh take over. Jaden notices his Neos is back and proclaims that right now, all their cards are safe from being destroyed by any alteration already done to time.

The trio then confronts Paradox, who reveals that he comes from a dystopian future far beyond Yusei's in which the world lies in ruins and nothingness, and claims that the only way to fix it is to eliminate Duel Monsters from history. However, the three heroes protest that by doing so, all the future events and people associated with Duel Monsters will be erased as well, and they challenge him to a duel. By combining the powers of their key monsters, Yugi, Jaden and Yusei defeat Paradox. After the duel, the three say goodbye to each other and promise to meet again someday. The latter two return to their respective time periods. New Domino City returns to normal, and Yusei returns to his own time, optimistic for what the future holds.

In July 2009, Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time was first announced through Shueisha's magazines as a short film to be screened at the Jump Super Anime Tour to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime series.[1] It was revealed in the November issue of V-Jump magazine, that the animation would be a 3-D film.[2] The film's imagery, however, was originally produced in 2D, and then was converted to 3D by the company Qtec.[3][4] The 3D effect is emphasized in scenes where computer graphics are used, such as in the scene when the Duel Runners and the cards appear.[3]

The film's official website released a 65-second trailer in September 2009,[5] and a 139-second trailer in December.[6] On January 21, 2010, before the film's release, a guidebook titled Yu-Gi-Oh! 10th Anniversary Animation Book was publisher under Shueisha's V Jump Books line.[7] It contains an interview with Kazuki Takahashi—the author of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga—and information about the film's story and characters and was accompanied by a poster of the film.[7] The film was released in Japan on January 23, 2010; those who attended the premiere receiving a promotional Malefic Red Eyes Black Dragon card.[8] The film received an encore screening in Japan which was held on February 20, 2011, which included ten extra minutes in 2D.[9][10] Bonds Beyond Time was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 15, 2011 by a partnership between King Records, Marvelous Entertainment, and Pony Canyon.[11]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time debuted at number six in the Japanese box office charts, earning over US$1 million in its first week from around 124 theaters.[29] It grossed $2,017,928 in Japanese theatres, making it the 125th-highest-grossing film released in Japan in 2010.[30] The DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film reached number two in the best-selling lists of their respective media. In the first week, the DVD edition has sold 5,488 copies, while 4,653 copies of Blu-ray has been sold in the same period.[31][32] It was the film's UK distributor Manga Entertainment's second-best selling anime release of 2011.[33] A representative of Manga Entertainment said, "I think [it was] because it was available in Asda and Morrisons, came with a free rare card and was stupidly cheap on [the] shelf".[33] When it was broadcast by TV Tokyo in 2014, the film earned a 0.3 percent television viewership rating.[34]

Andy Haley from UK Anime Network praised the English version and stated it is "arguably preferable even to the original Japanese audio". Haley praised the film "for keeping its focus and plot progression impeccable tight", which made it "an intense, non-stop experience". However, Haley said the film was created to increase the sale of cards; he commented it has "plot holes that even kids will see through as it serves only to bring its three characters together at one time and nothing more".[27] Writing for The Guardian, Phelim O'Neill affirmed it has "a very limited style of animation" and that it may be exciting for children but for anyone over ten, "it'll be hard to see this as anything other than a shouty, tacky advert for things you'll never buy".[35] Chris Homer of The Fandom Post praised the film's animation and the matching up of the three protagonists. He criticized it and stated the time travel and the antagonists motives are not well developed, "if at all about why he wants to get rid of what is basically a card game".[23] Total Film's Jamie Russell wrote it is difficult for a non-fan of the series to appreciate.[36] Bridget Fox, writing for Neo, also said it is "not for non-fans" but that it is good entertainment with "its frenetic pace, the capable animation, and its refusal to overcomplicate matters".[37]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time.

• Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time at IMDb
• Official Japanese website
• 2nd Official English trailer & Official English website
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia