Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Arc-V

Story:
Normally, we would have a specific summoning method for each series. Arc-V, however, uses all the ones introduced so far. Besides summoning, it uses elements from all of the series to create an interesting story. Although it is childish, it is not as childish when compared to ZeXal, but not at serious as 5d's. The show introduced characters using decks that actually would be somewhat competitive in the real game where in the other series unlike the other series. They added a time limit and other things to make it closer to the real rules. They introduced a dueling method called "Action Duels", but ... it just feels silly.

Art:
The style of art makes the characters appear childish and silly which was the aim of the series, but I don't like that. I was hoping they would make the art more like GX and 5d's. The art is pretty average and, even though it's similar to ZeXal, I feel that the art is still inferior to ZeXal when, for example, they summon their ace.

Sound:
The sound effects in Yu-Gi-Oh! were always good. It fits the anime perfectly. The voice actors fit their voices. The soundtrack is pretty good and it almost lives up to 5d's. The opening song is not that great, but the ending song is pretty good.

Character:
Theproducers of Arc-V mentioned in an interview that the main protagonist, Yuuya, was meant to be childish to make the audience say,"Wow, he's a kid just like me!" However, I don't think this was a very good idea because I don't think kids actually feel that way when watching and their audience consists of more than children. I would prefer if it was more like 5d's where the characters talk with daze (だぜ). This makes the characters less likable to me. It has only been 18 episodes, so there is not a lot of character development.

Enjoyment:
Even with the bad characters, the very fact that it uses things from the previous series makes it very enjoyable. I think that fans of the series will enjoy it a lot. However, I don't think people that have not watched the other series would appreciate it as much.

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Story - 6

It had a lot of potential, perhaps it wasn't too original or something,but had enough potential to make a really good plot. At the very begining it was pretty awful, but later along with reveal of some characters it got interesting and well-written. Sadly with arrival at Synchro it got worse. (I am not ... even going to mention Xyz arc which is just terrible, only episodes including Academia even keeping some class.)

Art - 6

Character design is really strange (still can't compare to JJBA, tho). Characters are really..... colorful ? Well, anyway some episodes animation is just gr8, some are looking disgusting, totally off model... just in case you are wondering why did animation quality dropped so drastically down it's probably due to Zexal's beautiful animation and DSoD's movie. Obviously it would be a sin not to mention some of the amazing boss monster's CGI animation ('yuu's dragons etc.), although it is not as fluid as Zexal's (thanks for having incredibly high animation budget Zexal) it still is pretty impressive.

Sound - 9

Nothing less expected from Kotaro Nakagama! Creator of Code Geass's ost did great job. Some of the most memorable tracks are "DDD", "Swing! Pendulum of Souls", "Wavering Feelings", "Looming Monster".

Characters - 7

The main protagonist is cliche and sometimes irritating. His development is season 1 was okey but later in Synchro it totally collapsed. The main female is just a joke, I used to respect her for her dueling skills and passionate soul, but later in the series she became another cry.


Fortunately we have some other great characters in exchange (sadly they all got either dropped or creators went totally wrong with their development). Sora, Serena (probably the only good female character in the show), Shun, Reira (whose "development" is like, stepping back to Battle Royal arc time) and probably the best character - Reiji.

Enjoyment - 7

Some duels are fun (Yuya vs Jack, Reiji vs Yuya, Sora vs Shun, etc...), others are pure savage, overall show is quite fun to watch, tho.

Overall - 7

I think I already said everything I think about this anime. I have pretty mixed feelings about it. It had potential, plot was well-written, but along with time it totally collapsed.

I really enjoy watching yugioh 5D's. I even watched it twice.. But arc v is not

To make it short, I really hate Yugioh arc v very very much...

What I like for this series are:
1. Introducing pendulum summon
2. Introducing old characters from previous series (but they are different though)

But, I hate it because:
1. Duels dependent too much with action cards.. The character duel with run and jump to many place to gather the action card, for me, it is cheating.. Yuya cheat too much.. The duels in overall make me want to vomit.
...
2. For me, Yuya characteristic is as bad as Yuma. Different with Yusei, Yuya is too childish and too reckless.

3. Sometimes, I don't really understand. The characters battle just to decide whether the opponent is good or bad.... "Oh yeah.. I lost.. So, you are a good person"... "Oh yea.. I won. So, I can make you smile".. "Oh yea.. I lost, I can smile now".. It is too childish..

Again, I wanna say
I am an avid Yugioh Player and also play Yugioh online (Accelerator, YgoPro, duelingnetwork). For me, the duel in anime is suck. Too much dependent on action cards and action cards.. The duel length is mostly very very short... In average only 4 or 6 turns.. And yea, in anime, we rarely saw Yuya hold on attack, because actually Yuya does not really have cards to negate attack, so he dependant with action cards, which is for me is cheat..

There are some duel worthy to mention, that is duel with Zarc (because they cannot use action cards though) and Yuya's father vs yuri (also without action cards). Other than that, the duel is cheat and not worthy to watch.



I hope there remove action duel and make the better plot and characters for the next series... Or I will just drop it.

"Arc-V is the best YGO since Mugen" - Me, 2015

Oh Arc-V how did you go so wrong, you promised me so much, yet you failed to deliver. I really need to learn from Sagume to stop from praising so much until you were done.

YGO Arc-V is one of the most spectacular failure within YGO history, it is one of the best example on how to mess up what you promised to your audience. So let us dissect it carefully to see how it fails.

Arc-V plot began with Yuya's story in the Standard world, at this point, the story was like a mystery, we followed ... two route, one bright route, with Yuya where we see the daily life stuff, all happy and that stuff, while a second route with Yuzu were we see the dark menacing plot about an inter-dimensional war with hints that something sinister and evil lays dormant underneath the fragile scenary of happiness.

It was this initial story telling that drawn me in, the contrast of light and dark, kept me intrigued and full anticipation. At this point the story was very good, we follow Yuzu for the truth and Yuya for the lies.

However it was at episode 50 after the invasion by the obelisk force, that the story began to degrade, the first was the introduction of the theme of "EGAO", I guess the point the directors are trying to make was to try to reach the happy ending no matter what, always try to do the best, all that stuff. But the issue with this is that the authors have no idea how to show this idea. And this issue showed severely in the Synchro arc.

For the entire Synchro arc, the issue was the war between the poor and the rich, the idea of elite vs commoners, the powerful vs the weak. How a world torn between the two would end up so badly. This issue is not something that can be solved easily, and it showed not just by the forced tournament arc that killed the pace, but also in the ending, with all the EGAO world things.

As a curiosity I asked the Author of YGO Mugen, AiYe, on his opinion on the Synchro arc. His resulting opinion is that the Synchro Arc should end with Synchro world destroyed, showing that divided we fall, also to avoid actually giving a solution to this problem because there is no solution. Synchro Arc should have erupted into a war arc, with Shinji leading one side, against the elite council and roger on the otherside, with Fusion mopping them both up. Instead it ended on "EGAO".

This is the source of all the issues with Arc-V, for a show about a war between four dimensions, the show itself is caught between two dimensions, on one hand eager to tackle hard deep problems, on the other hand it needs to appeal to young kids who can not understand this. Unlike YGO Mugen, the demography of Arc-V and the people who follow it are completely different, and in its effort to appease both, it failed spectacularly, ending in a way, neither appealing for the older demography, nor the young demography.

Second issue would be the pacing, like I said Synchro killed the pacing of the show with the tournament arc. It basically did a reset on all progress of the story and repeated the story of Standard, Tournament->Obelisk->Yuzu runs->Yuya confused about EGAO. This basically wasted 50 episodes, and its not like there aren't the pieces to improve it. Shinji's existence should have been the core of the arc, it should be about the commoner and elites go to war, to both gave Yuya a sight of the darkness so that he may grow and understand what it means to face adversity and smile at the end. Instead with the killed pacing it rushed the XYZ and Fusion arc with bad episodes that topped Nico's bad review list. Such a shame.

In the end Arc-V is a show that got crushed under its ambition and its own lack of skill. A shame for the show that had the potential to rival YGO Mugen.

5th Part of Yu-gi-oh based on the famous children's card game (CCG).

Each part is completely separate from the others, with minor references or crossovers in some cases, though nothing important that you need to know before watching.

They don't make up the rules either like Part 1, which is likely the most familiar series to people here.

It's 83 episodes long so far, I remember it picking up around episode ~15 for me and again somewhere in the 30s. I mean a general improvement in quality, it doesn't drop down between them.

Like the other arcs, Duel Monsters is akin to a major sport, and ... also a major way of battle.

Action Duels are just cards appearing across the Solid Vision Field, mostly quick-play spells but it depends on the arena chosen. Solid Vision Fields are a false environment, though they hold their own structures akin to real world structures, I would assume they have safety features installed due to the lack of major injury.

Story - 7

Set in Miami City, on the coast of Nippon, Duel Monsters is the biggest thing in town. Thanks to the Leo Corporation, run by its president Reiji Akaba and it's introduction of "Solid Mass Vision", Action duels have reached worldwide popularity. Sakaki Yuya, the son of the former highest ranked duelist, Sakaki Yusho is our protagonist.

Yuya aims to become the worlds best entertainment duelist, just like his father :) though three years prior to the series Yusho mysteriously disappeared and he has yet to reappear. Ishijima Strong, the man who Yusho was to face before his disappearance sends Yuya an invite to duel on behalf of his Father in an exhibition match. It's kind of odd how slow the series starts, when he is meant to be a world champion.

During the exhibition match, Yuya discovers a new dueling technique, Pendulum Summoning which leads onto his path to become the best entertainment duelist there ever was. Smiles, not victories are his goal.

Inspired by the summoning method, a number of new duelists attend You Show Duel School, and a mysterious doppelganger of Yuya is rumored to have appeared which sets the wheels in motion for our adventure. There's a lot more to the story but that's too far in the series for me to non-spoiler it, but the world isn't just peaceful dueling.

It starts slow, gets running, then takes another while to really introduce the plot to viewers.

Art - 8

It's good, I don't really know what else to say. I like it.

Sound - 9

I think most tracks really capture the moment, they done well on this. OP/ED aren't extra special but the music used within the anime itself is really neat.

Character - 8

I already covered Yuya, the only other non-spoiler characters I can introduce is Yuzu, Yuya's childhood friend and the best duelist at You Show Duel School, with Yuya being an average duelist bordering a 50% winrate at whichever level 14 year olds play at, at the start of the series.

Generally most of the characters are memorable and likable, most the side characters are interesting and there are relatively few "I found 3 action cards in 5 seconds" moments in the series, especially the more it goes on. They spend a while to introduce new summoning methods, though for someone barely familiar with XYZ and Synchro that helped me to understand what was going on easier.

Pause and rewind if you don't understand how something works.

Enjoyment - 8

I like it. Check out Dueling Network if you want to play online, it's kind of fun to use decks from the series, the series and real life rules are slightly different.

I guess that's all, if I wrote anything dumb or repeated myself let me know and I'll edit it.

To all Yu-Gi-Oh! fans I am sending the people who created this show a letter to get them to redo the ending. Tell me what you think of it, we can’t let Arc-V end the way it did. Please help me, boycott anything that has to do with Yu-Gi-Oh! until the creators agree to change the ending by bringing Yuya & Yuzu’s counterparts back to life and restore Reira to his true self.

Dear Director Katsumi Ono



Hi my name is A.J. DeNofa, I live in Pennsylvania in America and I have been
watching the dub for Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V since February 2016 as well as the
Japanese version on ... the internet. I want to say that I have never gotten so
emotionally attached to a show as I have with this one, but I don't mean
that in a good way. This series had the worst finale ever. Why? Why did you
end it without bring Yuya & Yuzu's counterparts back to life? I was looking
forward to that part the most. I had no idea you were going to just let them
die!

Unlike the previous series, it has been one to be continued after another
with this one. The suspense was literally killing me. I don't want to be
disrespectful or anything, but how could you guys end the show like this? I
thought that during Yuya & Reiji's duel Yuya was going to successfully get
Reira to smile and that was going to not only pacify Zarc, but also restore
Reira to his true age and bring all four girls back so we can see them smile
during the duel. Yuzu should've been there for Yuya's big duel with Reiji.
That was the part I was looking forward to the most all series long, Yuya's
dueling making the girls smile. Then after the duel Yuya's pendulum would
react to the girls' bracelets and that would separate the 4 boys back in to
their own bodies. Ever since Yuto was absorbed into Yuya, I always assumed
he and the other counterparts were going to be restored in the finale along
with Yuzu and Reira was going to regain his true age. I'm glad Yuya beat
Reiji and Yuzu came back, but their counterparts should've comeback as well.
They were such great characters. I see no upside to leaving both sets fused
together. You can't just leave their spirits inside their bodies that's
sick. Sure each set used to be one person, but we all wanted them to be
revived as individuals. They had dreams of their own and people who loved
them. I had such high hopes for this series. I had all these little happy
fantasies of what life would be like for them all in the end. I figured once
restored they would all return to their individual lives. Yuto & Ruri would
be in a relationship and return to Heartland with Shay (who has now lost his
sister and best friend). Yugo & Rin would patch up their duel runner, return
to Synchro and re-prepare for the next Friendship Cup. Yuri would turn over
a new leaf & leave Duel Academy to find himself. And Serena would either go
with Yuri or help Edo & Asuka fix things up in Duel Academy. This is
supposed to be a kids' show, by saying their spirits are inside Yuya & Yuzu
you are saying they are practically dead. Try explaining that to a child
when they ask what happened to the characters they've come to love. We
didn't even get to hear any last words from the girls since episode 129 and
Yugo & Yuto never got to say goodbye to the girls they love. We can't tell
what that was with them just smiling at each other as spirits. This whole
fusing them into one was forced upon them, they didn't get any say. And the
one responsible for taking their lives (being Leo Akaba) just gets to go
back to his family with everyone okay with this arrangement? No! It doesn't
make any sense. He needs to pay for his crimes and all 8 counterparts
should've been brought back. Ending it like this has completely killed by
love for this show. I can never watch another Yu-Gi-Oh episode again from
any series. It I'm not the only one who feels this way. You will see there
are quite a lot of people weren't too happy about the ending. Watch the
reviews and read the comments from these links!

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIimEZoX1sg>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIimEZoX1sg


<http://angryanimebitches.com/category/anime-catagory/anime-currently-coveri
ng/yu-gi-oh-arc-v/>
http://angryanimebitches.com/category/anime-catagory/anime-currently-coverin
g/yu-gi-oh-arc-v/

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU-iw-AuVek>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU-iw-AuVek

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54EEE44HBDo>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54EEE44HBDo


<https://www.reddit.com/r/yugioh/comments/61lkd3/yugioh_arcv_finale_discussi
onlivesubbing_the/>
https://www.reddit.com/r/yugioh/comments/61lkd3/yugioh_arcv_finale_discussio
nlivesubbing_the/


<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugeIXypRcdk&index=51&list=PLIWSqZgoGuySJezr
tHK2joJuUb_sfNHb2>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugeIXypRcdk&index=51&list=PLIWSqZgoGuySJezrt
HK2joJuUb_sfNHb2



I was also hoping you'd have 150 episodes, but you only did 148. You
could've had Yuya & his counterparts engage in a battle royal for 149 & 150.
I'm glad it's two more than Zexal had, but at least they had a good finale.
They brought everyone who seemingly died back just as they've done with the
first 3 series. That should've been done with this series. This series had
so much potential, but it has been filled with such disappointments. That
picture of the 8 counterparts together at the end of the show's 6th ending
theme gave the impression that they were going to take that shot when they
were all together. I was hoping once all the counterparts were revived and
Reira was back to his old self again it would be a happy ending for
everyone. You brought everyone back in the final episodes for the last 4
series, why didn't you do it for this series? Please tell me you aren't
really going to leave it like this. I didn't completely watch the last three
episodes, but when I saw the ending I was so distraught that all that
sadness went straight to my stomach. I've been sick since because I just
couldn't stop getting upset over how you ended the show without bringing
Yuto, Ruri, Yugo, Rin, Yuri, & Serena back to life and now I have this
constant need to vomit even though I haven't been able to. I had to be taken
to the hospital. I can hardly sleep or eat. I don't want to tell you how to
do your jobs, but please don't let Arc-V end this way. The way you ended it
was just wrong. We still don't even know how Yusho Sakaki ended up in the
Fusion Dimension and there are still holes in the counterparts' origins. And
I am not the only one who feels this way. This show was supposed to all be
about making people smile, but it's not making us fans smile.



I have 3 options on how you can fix this.



1. Redo the last episode. Have Yuya make Reira smile during his duel with
Reiji and when that pacifies Zarc's soul, Ray revives Yuzu, Serna, Rin, &
Ruri as individuals thus allowing them to watch the rest of the duel and
then after Yuya beats Reiji, their bracelets react to Yuya's pendulum and
their combined power brings Yuto, Yugo, & Yuri back to life allowing each
set of counterparts to reunite with each oither as well as their other loved
ones.



2. Create two more episodes into a special where Yuya & Yusho duel and
towards the end Yuya, Yuzu, and their counterparts finally separate.



3. Create a movie with part of the plot involving Yuya & Yuzu trying to
separate from their counterparts. Feature elements from the manga. Yuya &
Yuzu are seeking a way to remove their counterparts from their bodies and
revive them. They encounter a new enemy named Ren from the original
dimension who wants revenge against Zarc by destroying Yuya and tries to do
that by trying to get his hands on the infamous Genesis Omega Dragon.
Together with their friends and counterparts, Yuya & Yuzu must get the
dragon card first and stop his boss Eve.



4. Again, redo the last episode and create two more episodes in which Yuya
duels his counterparts in a battle royal. Or a tag battle royal with each of
the girls partnering with the guys. I came up with this:



Episode 148 - The episode starts with a flashback of when Yuya & Yuzu met as
babies when Yuya's mom placed Yuzu in his play pen with him saying she is
sure they are going to be the best of friends. Shorten the duel between Yuya
& Reiji to 15 minutes into the episode. After the first 11 minutes Yuya
finally makes Reira smile, thus Yuzu, Serena, Rin, & Ruri are brought back
from the Arc-V machine and Reira regains his actual age and they all enjoy
the rest of the duel. Once Yuya beats Declan the girls' bracelets separate
Yuya's counterparts from him. The boys have an emotional reunion with the
girls they love (except for Yuri & Serena as they don't know what they are
to each other). Yuya & Yuzu especially get all teary when they confess how
they really feel about each other. Yugo & Rin reunite and Rin apologizes to
Yugo for what she did to him and their Duel runner when she was possessed.
Yuto & Ruri reunite as well with Shay and their friends. Yuto & Yugo make
amends for their previous misunderstanding. Yusho & Yoko also have a teary
reunion. Also, Heartland City is fully restored. Barrett apologizes to
Serena for sending her back to Duel Academy. Leo Akaba apologizes to the
girls for what he did to them and accepts his daughter's fate. The girls
however let him know that Ray always had the ability to comeback by
her-self. The 4 girls just simply needed to be together and Ray could revive
her-self. They demonstrate by briefly becoming Ray together. Ray tells her
father the truth about her relationship with Zarc. How his real name was
Yukio Otum (Zarc was just a stage name he came up with) and they were in
love with each other. Ray didn't comeback because she knew Yukio's soul
would split into 4 and so she allowed the same to happen to her so she could
be with him and her counterparts could guide his like guardian angels so
they wouldn't turn evil. With Zarc's dark half gone, Ray announces that
Zuzu's bracelet will stop keeping Yuya and his counterparts away from each
other. Leo Akaba accepts the fate his daughter has chosen for herself and
they say goodbye to each other. Ray re-splits her-self back into Yuzu,
Serena, Rin, & Ruri. Yuri, now freed from Zarc's influence, sadly apologizes
himself to the girls and everyone else for the evil things he did. Yuri
decides to atone by leaving Duel Academy and give up dueling. Serena tries
to stop him, but can't get the words out as they don't any sort of
relationship. However, Yuya then challenges Yuri to another duel.

Episode 149 - In an attempt to get Yuri to properly smile through dueling,
Yuya challenges Yuri, Yugo, & Yuto to a battle royal and they accept. Each
of the girls standby the guys as they duel.

Episode 150 - The duel continues. In the final turn, Yuya uses Odd-Eyes
Absolute Dragon on Yuto, Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon Yugo, and Odd-Eyes
Vortex Dragon & Pendulum Dragon on Yuri. Yuya wins the duel and successfully
makes everyone smile. After the duel, Shingo tries to hit on Ruri and Rin
(both of whom have no idea who he is), but is met with disdain by Yuto &
Yugo. At the end, the counterparts say their goodbyes to each other and
return to each of their respective dimensions with the promise of seeing
each other again. Yuto & Ruri start dating with Shay's blessing. Now that
the tension between Tops and Commons is over, Yugo & Rin decide go on a long
trip together in their duel Runner with the hopes of participating in the
next Friendship cup. Yuri leaves Duel Academy (which is now being reformed
by Edo & Asuka) and goes on a journey of self-discovery with Serena joining
him to keep him company and also find her-self as well. The Doktor, Captain
Solo, Barrett, Jean-Michel Roger, & Sanders are all made to pay for their
crimes. Leo Akaba turns himself in for his war crimes. Sora decides to stay
with Yuya's family in the Pendulum dimension and resume attending the You
Show Duel School. Reira also starts going to You Show as he has made friends
with the kids there. After being rescued by Sora in a situation, Aura shifts
her love from Yuya to him since she met him the same day she met Yuya. As
for Yuya & Yuzu, the two of them go on their first date together and share
their first kiss with each other.


Epilogue

(this can be used for any of the 3 options)


We now fast forward 12 years later. Yusho Sakaki is now the Mayor of
Paradise City. Yuya has become a pro duelist and is now married to Yuzu with
a boy (of age 7) and a girl (of age 5) of their own. Yuzu and her children
head to the You Show Duel School where Yuya is at and also where their son
will be going. They meet up with Yugo & Rin who are also married now with
two boys of their own as well as Yuto & Ruri who also have kids. Serena is
also present. They all show up at You Show for the demonstration duel
between Yuya & Yusho. Yuya's wife and children cheer him on while he duels
his dad. The last shot is the picture of Yuya, Yuzu, Yuri, Serena, Yugo,
Rin, Yuto, & Ruri from the end of the show's third ending which they took
together before returning to their respective homes.

THEN END.

I'm sure to you guys what you had for the finale may seem like it was a good
ending but it isn't. The spirits of Yuya & Yuzu's counterparts reviving
inside of them is just not the same as having them actually revive as
themselves. All 8 of the counterparts should've revived when Zarc was
defeated and the last 10 episodes should've just focused on restoring Reira.
You guys took too long in getting Yuzu to come back and the reunion between
her and Yuya wasn't as emotional and romantic as I was hoping for. I'm a guy
and I usually don't get into romantic stuff. This season didn't do Yuzu
justice at all. She was only in like 18 episodes and didn't get to duel or
do anything heroic at all. I'm sure she and the other girls were like sick
of being the damsels in distress. I was hoping to see the guys have a
romantic reunion with the girls they love and see more action from Rin &
Ruri. After learning about them for 3 seasons we should've gotten more from
them than what was given. Yuya didn't even get to beat one major bad guy in
a dueltaining match. He didn't get to be that much of a hero. I get that
maybe you guys don't want to be predictable, but please be predictable! Give
your audience what they are expecting because it is what they want. Until
you guys change the ending or find some way to bring all 8 counterparts
back, I am boycotting anything to do with Yu-Gi-Oh and I'm going to
encourage others to do the same. That means no watching season 3's dub, no
VRAINS, playing the games, or watch any of the other previous series until
you grant this request. I don't mean to rant and sound like an angry person,
but I can't let you guys end ARC-V like this. Please don't let it end this
way. End it the right way.

Please give me a response by ether letter, email, or phone call. Preferrably
all in English


P.S., I am sending this letter in Japanese too just in case you can't read
English.



Sincerely,

A.J. DeNofa

Alright,my first review and or therapeutic anger removal plan,what should i do first,why ARC-V of course,the anime that really didn't grab my attention due to how childishly boring it looked,but went and took a light Zexal II phase that made my attention span go "Ooh,that's nice, watch it!".

And oh boy was that mistake I ever regretted.

(Keep in mind that i will be spoiling very much of the story here,so,you are free to scroll really fast through this story section,and jump right into the other sections I'll put so you can learn more about ARC-V,and not about the story.)

Le Story Section.

The story is arguably the worst ... out of ALL the Yu-gi-oh series',even being worse than TDSOD (that's The Dark Side of Dimensions,for those who don't get it).How bad do you ask? It's bad enough that I gave it a ONE!! O N E!

But before I cover my spirit in anger,let's take a look on why it's bad.
As i said,I will spoil the story before the events of ARC-V,which are explained in the final arc (heh,get it,arc?) of the series,so this is the final warning for you to avoid it.

The story,or at least what starts the story,starts with the man named Z-ARC (HAH,I GET IT) who's an Entertainer Duelist (kinda like a gladiator in the roman times) in the Original Dimension (we'll call it OG dimension,because we all about that hood bruv Xd Xd *insert shit laughing emoji*) who's a top duelist in the newly made ARC system (no,I did it one time,and a second one,not a third one),which is basically an advanced version of Augmented Reality from Zexal. Z-ARC claims that he can speak with the monsters in his deck,specifically,his 4 dragons,Odd-Eyes,Dark Rebellion,Clear Wing,and Starve Venom Dragon. After he accidentally injured a duelist,he was shocked and horrified,but fuck it,the audience liked it,so he kept doing them.So his personality changed to be a more violent one,to make the audience cheer,and that way, he became World Champion,but it was unsatisfying for him. SO HE JUST DECIDED TO DESTROY EVERYTHING AND THEN UNITE WITH HIS 4 DRAGONS WITH THE HELP OF A CARD CALLED ASTROGRAPH SORCERER TO MAKE HIMSELF MORE POWER,BECAUSE FUCK ME IF IT'S NOT A GOOD KIND OF VILLAIN,IT'S A POWER HUNGRY SHIT VILLAIN!! Military (oh hey someone finally had the rationality to use military to stop a world-ending threat,finally) proved useless against Z-ARC,duelists,being of the same thread (Looks like someone wasn't using Tier 0 decks...).But,Akaba Ray stepped in,and used 4 specific cards,to counter Z-ARC and his deck,killing him,and making him vow revenge against her.Shitty Deus-Ex Machina aside,it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows,because the OG Dimension got separated to 4 dimensions,being the counterparts of the 4 extra deck mechanic in Yu-Gi-Oh,(not counting the Links,because fuck Links),Fusion,Xyz,Synchro,and the undiscovered Pendulum,with the same case being for Zarc and Ray.
Anyyyyyyways,after 15 years passed and a boy named Yuuya Sakaki with his ace monster being Odd-Eyes Dragon,discovers Pendulum Summoning,which wins him the match and the tournament,apparently.After that,Akaba Reiji takes interest in Yuuya and Blah blah blah the story is so uninteresting and boring at this part I'd rather skip it to the interesting parts,plus i already spite the story enough,i don't wanna talk about it more,see it for yourself,you'd only find the Synchro arc interesting,because that's the only good thing the guy who created ARC-V's story is good at,that and making badass looking dragons (yes,I'm talking about the 5D's story director man.).

The Art section of this series,is...meh in my honest opinion. It's okay I guess,for being an art style that's been consistent for years,nothing new,nothing interesting. HOWEVER,the CGI truly outshines the most here, I don't know why the final episodes didn't even wanted to use CGI on some characters' final boss monsters (looking at you,Gogenzaka,Reiji,and Shun),perhaps insufficient funds? Whatever,it's a 5.

The sound gets a 7 because GOOD LORD THE TRACKS HERE ARE GOOD! Steadfast Duel,Swing Pendulum of Souls,DDD,they're all so good! And openings 3 and 4 are great too,though the final one...no.

Characters get a 3 because good god are they most poorly developed,I'd say that Yuuya gets the most development out of them all,you know,because of story and MC bias. Same can be said about the MC's love interest,Yuzu,and the two guys from the Xyz Dimension,Shun and Yuuto. BUT DON'T WORRY GUYS CHARACTERS FROM THE OLD SERIES EXCEPT DM ARE RETURNING,I'M SURE THEY WI-nope,they're as bad as the original characters,with little to no development,with Jack getting the better of it,and Kaito,Edo,and Asuka,the worst of it. Anyways,i like Yuuri because of his personality,Reiji because he plays like any guy playing Yu-Gi-Oh in real life would,and Jack because...he's King.

Enjoyment,yeah it's a 5,it could've been a 7-8,but due to the bullshit called "Action Cards" it made "Action Duels" more boring,because we would expect the outcome much easier,while in the previous series' it made for more tension. If only they hadn't forgotten about Action Traps...

Overall,i gave it a 3,it had a lot of wasted potential for this to be the shows 20th anniversary (is it?) show,i wish the dragons could have more depth,AKABA LEO AND Z-ARC HAVING BEEN BETTER VILLAINS,AND THE ENDING TO BE MORE SATISFYING.
But i guess it ended,so we won't see that end...
At least it's over no-Oh no.
NOT THE VRAINS NOT THE VRAINS OH GOD!

------------------------------ALERT! CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS!-----------------------

I won't take long writing this. I don't know if you can call this a review either so I don't know if I', helpful or not. It's my fist time doing this, but Oh well. Here I go:

Arc-V is the fifth installment of the Yu-Gi-Oh! series. It takes place in Miami City. Dueling has evolved in to Action Dueling allowing the duelists to touch their monsters and ride on them. The story follows Sakaki Yuya, a yong boy aiming to become a great Entertainment Duelist like his father Yushou, who disappeared 3 years ago.

The art hasn't really improved since Zexal (in ... my opinion), but they still managed to pull it off. The music is great. It fits the different situations.

Character development is great. You can see the change within Sawatari, Reiji, Reira and Kurosaki along the way. I think it's the best character development in the history of Yu-Gi-Oh!, but hey, that's just my own opinion.

Pros: Great music, lovable characters (Serena for the win! <3), return of old characters and so much more.

Cons: Animation, the whole Yuzu thing (I really wanted her gone, but oh well.), too little appearances of Reira (in my opinion.) and more stuff (I don't bother mention at this moment.)

Overall thoughts: It was a great show and very entertaining. Every episode kept me nervous, made me laugh and so much more! I really don't care about those coots who doesn't like Arc-V. I LOVE IT! It's on my top Yu-Gi-Oh! list as number 1 beside GX! So my overall rating is 10/10

Story (7): It's not that bad. Feel it can be daunting to understand if you didn't watch the four Yugioh series before it but it gets explained pretty well in my opinion.

Art (7): Visually appealing for the most part, colorful in many ways and the entertainment duel part of it makes it better.

Sound (7): Suspenseful soundtrack in some of the duels, easy to recognize themes for characters.

Character (6): The new characters are kinda whatever. They aren't unlikable but they aren't anything new personality wise.

Enjoyment (6): Sorry but the action cards really damaged this score for me personally.

Overall (6): It's alright, not terrible but nothing too ... special.


Main reasons I like this show:
- The abundance of extra deck summoning types. This is as close to real Yugioh as your going to get at the moment in deck diversity.
- The skill displayed was pretty good to be honest for the characters.

Main reasons I dislike the show:
- Action cards are new levels of plot armor lol. Maybe people like this but it gets very difficult to disregard it when they play a constant key to characters not losing.
- The ending. No spoilers but just the ending.

Its 2021 and I'm finally getting to this series after being out for 7 years. Took me about a week to finish and I can give a honest review. Though I'll try doing a no spoiler version, but if I do have a spoiler I'll label it

Story: It has such a great story, and I loved almost every minute of it. Of course it has alot of flaws, but even with those flaws I still find the overall story enjoyable. The flaws are mainly with the characters which I'll talk about in character tab. As far as the dueling mechanic for in real life ... dueling. For it's time it was almost accurate to a T. It just forgot the aspect that alot of people usually beat their opponent by turn 2-3.

In the show my favorite thing had to be the 10 second skip button as I do enjoy duels sometimes, but most of the duels is just taking 10 seconds to summon this and that, and this has this ability, etc. Etc. Like I get it. That's what yugioh is, but I was more interested in the overall story. So I did skip some duels at times. And that let me speed through the entire series. I did watch the important duels because I'm like alright how does Yuya beat this person?

(Spoilers) First Arc was about Yuya and friends just introducing them, and what they can do.
Second Arc Hey there's a championship going on, but it's also where you learn the biggest secret that their are 3 other dimensions compared to your own. And yours is the Standard dimension while the others are Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz. The fusion dimension is trying to take over the other dimensions other the guise that they're trying to unite the dimensions into one.
3rd arc going to the synchro dimension to find allies to fight the fusion dimension. But learn that they have their own problems of Rich vs. poor people, and they despise each other
4th arc resolving that issue
5th arc accidentally going to the xyz dimension, but resolving their problems anyway. As the Fusion dimension took over the Xyz, and now you're trying to show them a different way of life.
6th arc. The second main villain reveal the main protag was the main villain all along, and main girl is a reincarnation that beat you long ago and also the second main villain's daughter. And he was just trying to revive his daughter, but in doing so did not realize that he was accidentally reviving the main villain. And now the main protag's main villain reemerge and everyone do their best to beat the main protag back into his regular self until main girl's descendant beats him back into his usual self. And now the main protag had to prove that he can control the keys to make sure main villain doesn't reemerge again, while also finding away to revive main girl. Though lets just say everything ends the way you wanted it to, and it's a happy ending to finish this long explanation.


Art: Simply put, it's great. I like the style of alot of the characters.

Sound: I like alot of the openings and endings.

Characters: You watch Yuya grow as a character, and he really carried the show. I mean he is the main protag after all. Though at times he gives in to a dark side, but learns better to control it

Yuzu-Beginning of the series she had great character development until she became a mary-sue mid way and all she ever said was Yuya in different ways. She honestly would've been a possible favorite if not for that.

As for the other characters they were all fine, and each have their individual quirks and things you could love about them.

Overall: Even with all the flaws I enjoy this series alot, and would probably show it to kids who want to enter into anime. I love the different aspect and emotional swings in the show, but the overall message was to make everyone smile and enjoy the show or duel. Because the it's made for everyone to have fun

Allow me to preface this review by saying that Arc V is in no way shape or form deserving of a 10. I'm just a biased individual when it comes to this series.

Part of the reason that I enjoy this particular Yu-Gi-Oh generation is because of how silly and stupid it is. Right out of the gate we have a kid whose dressed like one of Santa's little helpers with a drug addiction, who wears Naruto's necklace and hangs out with a bunch of elementary schoolers. It's weird. It really is. But what makes it fun for me is that unlike most of the characters ... in 5D's, Gx and DM, he's not the only one that looks wacky as hell but so do most of the other characters. Yuzu by far has to be one of my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh females just based on her attitude and the fact that if only she wasn't a female in a YGO series she's alluded to actually be a damn good duelist, which is why Aki from 5D's is another one of my favorites. Plus Yuya is certainly a hell of a lot less annoying than Yuma in zexal.

However, you have to really enjoy the stupidity of Arc V to like the story. It has some really nice dark moments that are rarely shown in recent YGO series (really only if you watch the sub tho, don't watch YGO dub like almost ever). However the story falls flat by being a bit too complicated. Later on due to some dimension bs we see some fan favorite characters from past series but they feel like shoe ins at first. Then there's a whole 5 different versions of Yuya that specialize in certain things which brings me to my next problem with this series.

Why tf do people only know how to do certain things? They literally had a class on how to fusion summon which I can explain to you in one sentence: "Use polymerization on appropriate materials to summon the appropriate fusion monster from the extra deck." Now sure there is contact fusion and stuff but that's easy to explain as well. Even worse is how knowing how to XZY summon is a god tier ability to these clowns. It's probably the easiest from of extra deck summoning I don't fucking understand why a whole school exists just for summoning methods.

Speaking of summoning methods, thanks to protagonist powers that Yuya pulls out of his ass in the first episode, we are introduced to the TCG's worst nightmare for like a year: Pendulum summoning. The dumbest and most hilarious form of summoning that for some reason required a chant to perform. Which never existed. Until now. Right as he was gonna lose.
Anime Logic.

Yet...even with all of that, I loved ever moment, even the stupid ones. Yuya is probably my favorite YGO character besides DSOD Yugi, and his story has some very emotional beats that would've played out better if they were more consistent.
So in all honesty? Arc V is around a 5 or 6 in terms of everything but characters...but for me it was a 10 that I will continue to parody until Konami sues my ass.

tl;dr: Do NOT watch it. Even as a test ride, please don't.


Do you think Yu-Gi-Oh! could EVER get worse? You're served.

Arc-V starts with a decent purpose, an anniversary series that brings all past heroes of the franchise for cameos, what could go wrong, right?

No, not right.

Turns out it's a trainwreck. An interdimensional war is happening and who could stop it? A clown. Yuya is the worst main character in the franchise, and arguably one of the worst of all time, everything about him is wrong. The "rival" is more like a mentor, with no affinity between them, and you don't know when an arc ... starts or finish.

The plot is terrible (not that ygo is outstanding on it, but this time they surpassed themselves in how bad it could be) and the series had to be carried by the past heroes cameos.

That said, the OST is outstanding, just behind the 5D's one.

Not to mention how Arc-V brought pendulum summon to the game it was trying to sell, which wrecked havoc in the format, and left collateral damage until today.

I finally finished Arc-V with an odd taste in my mouth, the last few episodes felt very pulled out of the ground with a dusting of an attempt to give a sense of finality to the show as a whole. It took me from April to September, with a break in-between because the series was a bit draining for me to watch. I rather enjoyed it when I started, but a friend gave me a warning about the end, how it wasn't very climactic, and they were right in the sense of the word.

Story -- 4/10

Going into the show, I'd say I gave the story ... about a 5-6 with Yuya being introduced, and the plot falling into place with a deep gloss over of the deeper side of the bigger plot that tried to be a plot. Then, everything went into fairly good pacing and I was feeling good about things. The duels were nice and spread, the new characters were nice to get introduced to, and then a few arcs later the story took a bit of a shift. The shift that happened is why I gave the story a 4.

Frankly, I didn't enjoy the Synchro Dimension Arc as much as I should have. Sure it was great to see a few Legacy character make an appearance in their Arc-V versions, but it was dragged on for too any episodes in my opinion. Though I know a good chunk of the plot focused around the invasion of that dimension, I felt they could have sped it up by not doing the long tournaments.

Then, the whole meat and potatoes of the show, The Academia Arc, the realization of what Yuya and Yuzu were. That part was rather enjoyable, and seeing all the bonds Yuya made with the characters, Legacy or otherwise, just made me smile. The story itself fell through at the final episodes. Seeing what happened for the awkward yet somehow viable reason was a bit over the top in a dislike-able manner for me. They could have just ended with the Zarc defeat and leave it, but they wanted to milk it by adding on episodes.

Art -- 6/10

As far as Yugioh shows go, they have pretty amazing art in terms of style and animations for the cards and effects used in duels. In first watching it, I had given it, in my mind, an 8 for the art. The one thing that brought it down to a 6 now, was that annoying use of CGI with Yuya and his monsters, namely Odd-Eyes Dragon. It was subtle I guess, but I caught it every time it happened and it made me stop watching for a few seconds to even a few minutes till I could recognize or try to wrap my head around WHY they had made that move ONLY for Yuya and not anyone else. (I don't know any time when any other duelist had CGI for an entrance or attack, correct me if I'm wrong.) It just felt really out of place with the usual animation of the show.

Everything besides that was great.

Sound -- 8/10

Okay I enjoy a good OST, and all the Yugioh series before have had great OSTs, Arc-V is no exception in the slightest. There were a few specific tracks I really enjoyed as I watched, two of them being centered around Gongenzaka, and his Steadfast Dueling. Every time I heard either his character theme or duel music, I was pumped. (and jus not because he's my favorite character which I'll get to later.) The other track that played and I was on the edge of my seat was a specific track for when there was tension around characters and a duel, though mostly focused on Kurosaki, another character I like. That track just had me bouncing toward the end and I love the atmosphere it brought to the scenes.

As far as OP/ED songs go, I'd have to say my favorite OPs were "Hanate/Unleash", "Kibou no Hikari/Light of Hope, and "Kirifuda/Trump Card" and ". "Hanate" just got me so pumped to watch and I was singing along when I got the lyrics down. "Kibou no Hikari" was just so moving for the arc it was used with and made me really feel for the characters and the struggles they were facing. And last but not least, "Kirifuda" was another one I enjoyed quite a bit and I got excited when I kept hearing the word Kirifuda spoken in the show. And as for ED it'd have to be Future Fighter. Hearing Yuya and Reiji's VAs singing together was so cool.

Characters -- 6/10

Now there were TONS of likable characters in Arc-V, some good, but also some bad.

Yuya and the other three Yu-boys were interesting, Yuzu and the other girls, not so much. Yuzu was so flat and all she ended up being was a huge plot device and constant damsel in distress, and her being so pertinent to the overall plot was not a reason to make her like that. Serena didn't get too much development, but she was made to be headstrong and able to bend things to her own path. I hated that Rin and Ruri got next to no development at all. I feel like they should have, since their respective saviors each got a chunk.

I didn't like Yuya at the beginning, he was way too childlike, though he's 14 his personality didn't remind me of the other protags. Yugo was so real and able to be understood in his showing, and the same went for Yuto in my opinion. Yugo did have a real one-track-mind, but he was focused on his goal which made for a great character always striving to do right and reach his goal. Yuto was a very fate driven character, as he and Kurosaki suffered at the hands of the enemy, seeing their dimension crumble. His bravery in the face of hardship made me like him so much more than Yuya. And Yuri, a real good show of a crazy character, but his sly viciousness was a likable trait as he worked for the enemy.

Another enemy I had a love/hate relationship with was Roger. He was such a good fit as a villain to try and control the dimension and thwart the Lancers. He had things going for him, though he gradually descended into madness as was seen later on in the Synchro Arc. In all the series I've seen, Roger takes the #2 cake for best villain, the #1 going to the Three Pure Nobles from 5Ds.

Now onto my favorite character, Gongenzaka. He stood out to me the moment he was introduced. Possibly because I have a fondness for straightforward yet manly characters, and he really fit the bill. His dedication to being steadfast and unmoving for the most part, and being highly supportive of Yuya and others just made him my favorite all the more. Also, his footwear was a thing in itself. The guy wore sandals made from cinder blocks, how is that not badass?? And his eventual release from his Steadfast Dueling toward the end with his increased desire to see his best friend succeed and save the world was so moving.

Enjoyment -- 7/10

I really enjoyed the show as a whole, with the good and the bad, so I gave it a 7. The OST was lovely, the duels were enjoyable for a time till they got redundant and boring. The character development and things they all went through was so amazing to see, the good and the bad. I was constantly on the edge of my seat when watching several episodes in a day and having to stop at a cliffhanger!!

Overall -- 6/10

I have to give the overall score here of 6. It was a real roller coaster of a show, it took my heart and mind on separate trips, broke and repaired them, made me laugh, and made me cry. It wasn't the best, but not quite the worst Yugioh series as people make it out to be. Would I rewatch it? Maybe, just to see my man Gongenzaka. Would I buy the DVDs to collect, YES.

Yugioh Arc-V was an experience.

Yugioh Arc V is a great tribute to Yugioh’s history up to that point. The nods to the other shows could have easily overtaken Arc V, but the show knows to keep its focus on the main characters. The duels were fun and did not overstay their welcome (with a few exceptions). The characters were nothing special. Yuya has the same youthful idiot personality like a lot of the previous protagonists and his life interest is just The Girl. But they weren’t annoying like in Zexal, I even liked some of them. It was a nice return to form for the franchise. I would be ... okay with Arc V being the last Yugioh series.

WARNING SPOILERS DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS SHOW IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO TALK ABOUT IT WITHOUT SPOILING ANYTHING I tried as good as I can to keep it spoiler free but there are a few things I can't not spoil so consider this your warning if you want to watch it


this show it's a tragedy it had the potential, the potential to prove EVERYONE who ever said "Yugioh.... they should have stopped making those after INSERT DM/GX/5DS HERE" wrong. Season 1 was set up to do just that it had EVERYTHING YOU COULD HAVE WANTED IN THESE SHOWS it had likable ... characters, (ESPECIALLY THE FEMALES A RARITY IN THIS FRANCHISE) it was dark and mature but it never felt so dark to the point where it was overbearing, stakes were clear, unlike most shows these days MC's were allowed to lose so it didn't feel like you knew how a fight was gonna end when it started, and it had a story an AMAZING CONCEPT. It's been 4 years since it ended and I still to this day ask myself "how did they fuck all of this up". season 2 was mostly filler with a cocktease that made us think "YES FINALLY SOMETHING INTERESTING" only for nothing to come off of it. season 3 came and got off to a good start and I was thinking "Ok maybe season 2 was just a production break because of DSOTD it'll be back in form now" oh how wrong was I. Everytime I think of dropping a show I tell myself "I sat through all 148 episodes of Arc-V I CAN DAMN WELL SIT THROUGH THIS" it took me dropping the show 5 TIMES IN IN THE SPAN OF 30 EPISODES IT GOT THAT BAD, complete with the most ridiculous case of Talk No Justu by the main character who went from annoying crybaby to generic good guy to god mode Gary Stu I've seen(a least until season 5 of Steven Universe's finale happened) tand then we get to the final arc and when you think this can't get worse it somehow did..... first of all, the show decides all those great characters we had in season 1 they don't matter anymore, those female characters it was praised for they're now living macguffins, and the guy who was set up to be the main villain's plan is the dumbest plan I have ever heard in any work of fiction, the MC just god mode gary stu's everything in all but one duel (Which was ironically the best duel in the show)and the ending was rushed where they decided "HEY ALL THOSE CHARACTERS YOU LIKED THEY CAN GO FUCK THEMSELVES THEY'RE DEAD OR THE CHARACTER THEY'RE DOING EVERYTHING FOR IS DEAD TOO" (and this is one of the better yugioh endings) I have to give it a 5 because of how godly season 1 is but this is the one show pretending everyone died after season 1 might bet the preferable outcome .

ALSO NOTE while I hate to sound like that web but don't watch the dub it's legit considered unwatchable, not only are there a few scenes/plot lines edited or altered to be more kid friendly bu
it's loaded with performances from people who either didn't know what they were talking about or were here just to get an easy paycheck and leave (One of the guys would go on to do Attack on Titan's dub and he's one of the only few people in the dub who actually with his performance sounded like he was actually trying and wanted to be in this), dated by 2015 pop culture references, a ton of outdated celebrity impressions and the ultimate tell tale sign of a bad dub A CRINGY RAP OP (And it's not even funny bad like the One Piece dub op)

ARC-V is one of the most controversial YGO series - you either love it or you hate it. I fall in the former category, and I thought I'd talk about why I think it's great.

The story is easily one of my favorites of the franchise. The premise starts off simple: Yuya Sakaki and his friends want to become entertainment duelists: professional duelists who specialize in making duels into entertaining performances to wow the audience. With the power of a new way to summon monsters, Yuya is propelled into the public eye, for all the good and bad that entails. Over the course of the show, ... the plot unravels into a tale where Yuya's optimism and resolve is tested as he becomes embroiled in an interdimensional war.

Being a narrative about war, genocide and trauma, the story has a lot of dark elements. But surprisingly, it doesn't feel particularly aimless or edgy. These themes are explored well and make the world and its inhabitants very deep and compelling. The characters (especially Yuya) constantly deal with these somewhat realistically and with a lot hardship, but it makes the victories all the sweeter. By the end of the show, Yuya's struggles throughout the journey have shaped him into a better, more dynamic and interesting character.

Side-note: the foreshadowing game in this show is strong. There's a throwaway line during the first episode that hints at the main villain and how they fit into the story. A lot of characters' hidden motivations are hinted at well in advance. Things are easy to miss, but if you go into the show looking for clues, you're bound to see the puzzles as they fall into place.

Unfortunately, the story is far from perfect. While you have tons of great characters with interesting personalities and fun decks, the show isn't able to fully explore them. The show feels like a mad dash towards the finish line in the last 30~ episodes, so many characters and ideas never reached their full potential. The show feels like it ran out of time to tell its story, so it just hastily created what it could and ran with it, ultimately leaving a rather unsatisfying conclusion with a lot of wasted potential. It's especially disappointing because the rest of the series is so strong. But at least some of the major ideas were explored well, and the story is still engaging.

But if you're looking to get into the card game, this is the show for you. The duels start off simple, and they walk you through all of the major summoning mechanics. All mechanics are treated with this impressive, grand air about them, making them feel very big when you're watching the show. It draws you in and showcases the best of what the game can offer. That said, while you don't need to be familiar with the older shows or the card game, this show will reward you for being familiar with them. Watching the previous seasons will help you enjoy tons of Easter eggs, clues and references to those seasons.

The duels themselves are neat. Most of them are Action Duels, which allow the players to explore an interactive field and try to claim one-off cards to help them out of tight situations. This cuts down on the need for characters to conveniently draw into extremely situational cards that would be useless in any other situation. Unfortunately though, the duels are let down by many of them have questionable writing; expect most of Yuya's duels to have him get battered until he has a few hundred Life Points left, then overcome his enemies with a one-turn-kill. Effect or battle damage is applied liberally. There are still a lot of fun and impressive strategies, but the general formulaic nature of the duels brings them down.

The show's art style is interesting; you have the outlandish character designs that have been cropping up in the franchise around Zexal, but more subdued and grounded. Like they strike a good balance between weird and reasonable. Backgrounds and scenes often have surprisingly good animation, which makes sense as duels are meant to be entertaining spectacles. Unfortunately, it loses focus because you have a lot of off-model moments and weak animation. While the show continued to have well-animated moments, it felt like the animation budget was running out and weak, misshapen shots become more and more prominent. There's speculation that the show's budget was siphoned off for the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie that was released at the time, and after looking at the last 48 episodes, I completely believe it.

In terms of music, ARC-V's soundtrack is some the best the franchise has ever had. In a franchise with tons of fantastic tracks found in all series, this show stands out with tracks that range from ethereal and enchanting, to foreboding and dramatic, to really cool tracks that get your heart pumping.

Voice acting is another strong point. You have the charismatic Kensho Ono voicing the lead, adding a lot of fun and charm to a character already brimming with it. But you also have people like Tetsuya Kakihara, Shinpei and Shinpei Takagi, Aoi Yuki and Masamichi Kitada to provide impressive performances.