The genius behind Goodwin is that he's probably the first villain a Yugioh-watching-age kid has ever seen who's constantly mixing truth with lies that they have to puzzle out
The man's evil, there's no question there. But he also can't possibly be lying about everything. The Crimson Dragon is real, the four Signers are experiencing things that at least somewhat track with what he's saying, and the Dark Signers are clearly evil and make no secret that they're out to get the Signers in the same way the Earthbound Immortals fought the Crimson Dragon. So every time he gives more information about the events of 5000 years ago, or how the Signers' powers work, or what they need to do to save the world, it's a constant game of trying to figure out what's true, what's a lie, and what's a literal-genie truth he's twisting to serve his own ends. And given that most of the target demographic's experience with anime kids' show villains has been guys like Giovanni, that's a pretty big leap.
