, stylized as Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, is a Japanese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series and the third spin-off of the ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine between September 1996 and March 2004. The plot follows the story of a boy named Yugi Mutou, w ...

'' franchise, after the preceding ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is the second main spin-off of the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' franchise, succeeding '' Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'', in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Weekly Shonen Jump and the 15th anniversary of V Jump. The series aired in Japan from April 2, 2008 to M ...

''. The manga began serialization in

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The fol ...

's '' V Jump'' magazine from December 2010 to June 2015 and is licensed in North America by

Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

. The anime series was produced by Nihon Ad Systems and

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...

, and its animation was done by

Gallop The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait pos ...

. It aired on TV Tokyo from April 2011 to September 2012, with an English-language version airing in North America between October 2011 and August 2013. A sequel series, titled , aired in Japan from October 2012 to March 2014 and in North America from June 2013 to January 2016. The series aired on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

as part of the

Toonzai Toonzai (formerly known as The CW4Kids from May 24, 2008 to August 7, 2010, or stylized as TOONZAi) was an American Saturday morning cartoon children's television block that aired on The CW from May 24, 2008 to August 18, 2012. The block was ...

and, later,

Vortexx Vortexx was a short-lived American Saturday morning children's television programming block that aired on The CW from August 25, 2012 to September 27, 2014. Programmed by Saban Brands, it replaced Toonzai, a block that was programmed by 4Kids ...

Saturday morning blocks. The series was later broadcast on Nicktoons starting April 12, 2013. After Vortexx ended, new episodes were streamed to

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

beginning July 14, 2014. In Canada, the series aired on YTV starting June 2, 2012, while new episodes of ''Zexal II'' moved to

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...

on May 4, 2014. The series was succeeded by ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V , sylized as ''Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V'', is a Japanese anime series animated by Gallop. It is the fourth spin-off anime series in the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' franchise following '' Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal''. The series aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 6, 20 ...

''.

Plot and setting

Taking place in the near future in a place called Heartland City, the story focuses on Yuma Tsukumo, a young duelist who strives to become the

Duel Monsters The ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' Trading Card Game is a collectible card game developed and published by Konami. It is based on the fictional game of ''Duel Monsters'' created by manga artist Kazuki Takahashi, which appears in portions of the manga franc ...

champion, despite being an amateur. One day, during a duel with a rival named Shark, a mysterious spirit called Astral appears before him, and helps him to win. Astral explains to Yuma he is searching for his lost memories, which have been transformed into 100 cards called , which have been scattered across the globe. The Numbers have the ability to possess the duelists who own them, and bring out their darkest desires. In order to recover his memories, Astral teams up with Yuma to recover the Number cards. After coming up against a boy named Kite Tenjo, who is hunting the Numbers, Yuma and Astral gain the ability to combine their forces using the power of . Entering the World Duel Carnival tournament, Yuma finds himself up against various rivals, including the vengeance-seeking Vetrix and the maniacal Dr. Faker, who wants the Numbers for their own gain. ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal II'' takes place right after the end of the first series. In this new story, as the curtain falls on the World Duel Carnival, peace has finally returned to Heartland City. But now, forces from Barian World, a world hostile to Astral's World, are aiming at taking the "Numbers" and Astral for themselves. In order to protect Astral, Yuma, Kite, and Shark stand together to combat the Barian threat. The gameplay gimmick introduced in Zexal is ''AR Duels'' (''Augmented Reality Duels''), in which both players utilize a head-mounted device known as a ''Duel Gazer'' to observe a virtual reality where the Duel Monsters interact with the environment.

Media

Manga

series written by Shin Yoshida and illustrated by Naohito Miyoshi began serialization in the extended February 2011 issue of

's '' V Jump'' magazine, released on December 18, 2010. The first bound volume was released in Japan on June 3, 2011.

licensed the manga in North America and began releasing the series from June 5, 2012. The manga also began serialization on the digital ''Shonen Jump Alpha'' from July 9, 2012. A spin-off manga written by Akihiro Tomonaga and illustrated by Wedge Holdings, titled , was serialized in Shueisha's ''Saikyō Jump'' magazine from April 2012 to April 2014.

Anime

The

was first teased on December 9, 2010, revealing details would be unveiled at the Japanese encore screening of '' Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D: Bonds Beyond Time'' on February 20, 2011. The series' name was revealed on December 13, 2010, via a leak from the February 2011 issue of ''V Jump''. It was revealed that Satoshi Kuwahara would be the director, that scripts would be supervised by Shin Yoshida, that Masahiro Hikokubo would choreograph the duels, and that Hirotoshi Takaya would adapt the character designs for the anime. A one-minute promotional video was released on December 17, 2010. The anime aired on

between April 11, 2011 and September 24, 2012. A second series titled ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal II'' aired between October 7, 2012 and March 23, 2014 in a different time slot. Overall with both seasons, the total number of episodes are 146, plus 3 specials. An English adaptation by

4Kids Entertainment 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English- dub ...

premiered on October 15, 2011 on

. Although, TV Tokyo and Nihon Ad Systems filed a lawsuit against

and demanded the termination of the ''

'' licensing agreement with them in March 2011, a

stay of proceedings Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a t ...

was ordered preventing the termination of the contract or the resale of the franchise until a ruling was decided. Following the bankruptcy of 4Kids, all ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' assets were acquired by

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has ca ...

's subsidiary, Konami Cross Media NY (which at the time was named 4K Media Inc.). The series aired on

Saban Brands Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2010 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, part of Univision Commu ...

block until it dissolved on September 27, 2014 and aired on Nicktoons from April 12, 2013. Episodes from #114 onwards were streamed on

. Ultra Kidz premiered the series in the United States with Latin American Spanish dubbing on June 1, 2018.

Music

There are five official soundtrack CDs, all released by

Marvelous Entertainment (MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; the ...

. * The first, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Sound Duel 1'', was released on September 28, 2011. * The second, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Sound Duel 2'', was released on September 19, 2012. * The third, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Sound Duel 3'', was released on May 15, 2013. * The fourth, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Sound Duel 4'', was released on November 13, 2013. * The fifth, ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Sound Duel 5'', was released on November 19, 2014. ;Opening Themes * by mihimaru GT (Eps 1–25, Ep 146 ending) * by Kanan (Eps 26–49) * by Color Bottle (Eps 50–73) ;Second season * by Hideaki Takatori (Eps 74–98) * by Petit Milady ( Aoi Yuki and

Ayana Taketatsu is a Japanese voice actress and singer.Doi, Hitoshi"Taketatsu Ayana" ''Seiyuu Database''. January 3, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2011. Biography She attended Nihon Narration Engi Kenkyujo, a voice actor training school before becoming affili ...

) (Eps 99–123) * by Diamond☆Yukai (Eps 124–145) ;Ending Themes * by Golden Bomber (Eps 1–25) * by DaizyStripper (Eps 26–49) * by

Moumoon Moumoon (stylized as moumoon) is a Japanese pop duo comprising YUKA (vocals) and Kousuke Masaki (guitar). The band's name is a portmanteau of the French word "mou" (soft) and the English "moon". The duo met at a summer rock festival in 2004; af ...

(Eps 50–73) ;Second season * by Vistlip (Eps 74–98) * by FoZZtone (Eps 99–123) * by REDMAN (Eps 124–145) ;English Opening Theme * "Take a Chance" by Michael Brady, Shane Guenego, Arthur Murakami, & Surefire Music Group (Eps 1–73) * "Halfway to Forever" by Michael Brady, Shane Guenego, Arthur Murakami, Jonathan Lattif, & Surefire Music Group (Eps 74–146)

Trading Card Game

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal added new gameplay elements to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, in which Master Rule 2 came into effect by introducing the XYZ Monsters into the game. These black-colored cards do not have levels, but are categorized by Ranks, which are located on the opposite end of where the Levels were. XYZ Monsters are summoned from the Extra Deck by stacking multiple monsters on the field of the same level on top of each other and placing the desired XYZ Monster whose Rank is the same as the two stacked monsters' levels. During gameplay, the stacked materials become "XYZ Materials", or "Overlay Units", which are used to trigger the XYZ Monster's effects by being sent to the graveyard.

Video game

A video game based on the series titled was developed by

and released in Japan for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generati ...

on December 5, 2013. It was released as ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal: World Duel Carnival'' in North America on September 25, 2014.

References

External links

* * {{Gallop (studio) 2011 anime television series debuts 2011 manga 2012 manga 2012 anime television series debuts Adventure anime and manga Anime spin-offs Augmented reality in fiction Comics based on television series Fantasy anime and manga Gallop (studio) Shōnen manga Shueisha franchises Shueisha manga TV Tokyo original programming Viz Media manga Yu-Gi-Oh! Yu-Gi-Oh!-related anime Animated television series about teenagers