arc v watch guide

[rhodochrosite]

might as well crosspost on here so it isn't lost to the depths of my gdocs forever... i am NOT recommending this show because i feel actively bad about inflicting it on anyone but it is unfortunately my fave media property ever, so:



ARC V: A PRIMER

• in general, the quality of this show decreases exponentially from season to season
• bolded episodes are essential, italicised episodes are good/fun but not totally necessary, don’t bother with the struck episodes, everything else is up to you
• episodes grouped together are duels that run over multiple eps

SEASON 1:

1. The Trail of Light, Pendulum Summoning!

• basic plot setup, character intro and duel mechanic exploration but tbh not totally necessary as most of it is rehashed/explained later in the show. still, it’s the first episode i guess

2. The Strongest Evolution Of Dueling!! Its Name is Action Duel

• honestly i skipped the second half of this episode but the first half contains the single occasion upon which yuzu beats yuya in a duel, so watch it for that

3. Dark Town: The Stolen Pendulum Summon!!

4. A Ray of Hope! Block Spider

• pretty fun duel and gets you acquainted with the basics of duelling/pendulum summoning

5. Wannabe Apprentice!? A Strange Fanboy, "Sora Shiunin"

6. The Innocent Toy: Death-Toy Scissor Bear

• introduces sora and fusion summoning

7. Imperial Wrath of Treason - Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon

• this ep is where the overarching plot re: dimensional war kicks off, and introduces yuto and xyz summoning (and my first wife dark rebellion xyz dragon)! really good imo

8. You Show Duel School's Crisis!! LDS Invasion

• introduces reiji and the LDS corporation but mostly setup for the LDS v You Show mini-arc of the next five episodes

9. Judgment of the Stars! Xyz User "Hokuto Shijima"

• gets you more acquainted with xyz summoning, and hokuto’s monsters are pretty, but not otherwise really important

10. Knight of the Secret Stone! Fusion User "Masumi Kotsu"

• gets you more acquainted with fusion summoning and sets up a wonderful masumi v yuzu rivalry. a great duel
• also some good foreshadowing here

11. One With The Sword! Synchro User "Yaiba Todo"

• introduces synchro summoning but again, not otherwise important

12. DDD: King of the Different Dimension

13. Magical Sages Galilei & Kepler

• properly introduces reiji, the Yugioh Rival™. a fun, high-stakes duel

14. Hotblooded!! Shuzo Theater

• unless you really like shuzo ig? nothing really happens in this episode that isn’t explained/referred to later. all you really need to know is yuya gets frustrated over not being the True Pendulum Master he thought he was, and then gets schooled by shuzo

15. Aim For The Junior Youth Championship!!

• introduces the next mini-arc, which is kind of like a training camp arc for yuya? sora and yuzu strike up a fusion summoning mentorship which is really lovely, yuto makes another appearance, and A SINGLE GLIMPSE OF SHUN

16. Genius Master Chef "Michio Mokota"

17. An Exciting Performance!! A Fulfilling Meal!

18. The Two Shadows of Rebellion

• INTRODUCES SHUN!!!! sora/yuzu fusion mentorship fun times continue, yuto and shun meet onscreen

19. The Universe of Knowledge!! Eita Kyuando

20. A Difficult Problem!? Attack Duel Quiz!!

• i hated this duel

21. Beyond the Pendulum

• sooo good. every time i remember this episode i feel so blessed. plot happens but also yuto knocks shun out

22. The Fortunetelling Girl - Mieru Hōchun

23. Arcane Eyes

• if you only watch one of the training arc duels make it this one, it introduces ritual summoning (a personal fave) and yuya summons a new ace monster which in yugioh is shorthand for character development

24. The Wings of Rebellion - Raid Raptors

25. Steadfast Resolve!! Noboru Gongenzaka

• ohhhhhhhh my GOD there is some SERIOUSLY good content in this ep. tense enemy-of-my-enemy compromises between reiji and shun wherein reiji assimilates shun into LDS and shun spends the rest of the season angrily and reluctantly following reiji’s orders
• ok the main point of this ep is actually yuya v gongenzaka, which is a p nice duel i guess? i don’t remember watching it so i probably skipped the second half

26. A New Boundary - Superheavy Koujin Susano-O

• yuya v gongenzaka continues from the last episode

27. Opening!! The Maiami Championship

• training arc is over and FINALLY we move onto the main plot of s1, which is the maiami championship
• all/most of the main players united in the one place! but not much actually happens to further the plot

28. Ayu's Entertainment Aquarium

• introduces reiji's little brother reira but not the most spectacular duel

29. Fusing Melodious Divas!

• MASUMI V YUZU REMATCH!! best and most heartfelt rivalry… i wish masumi was plot relevant T_T
• new ace monster for yuzu!!

30. The Tested Resolution of Steadfast Heart

• gongenzaka’s first round duel so watch it if you really like him i guess but eh, not a very fun duel imo

31. The Howling Whirlwind - Yōsen Lost Tornado!

32. White-Hot Battle! Entertainment Duel Show

• one of the BEST duels in the entire show! i really loved shingo’s new deck in this ep and i’m sad he never used it again

33. Future Metropolis Heartland

34. The Combining Demonic-Beast VS The Evolving Falcon

• another absolutely incredible duel, one of the best in the show, and finally sheds some light on the interdimensional war
• really great animation too
• made me extremely emo

35. The Academia and The Resistance

36. The Resonating Dragons

37. The Destiny that Starts Moving

• oh boy

38. The Four Dimensions

• nothing really happens but yuzu and yuya go over everything they know about the dimensional war so could be helpful if you’re confused

39. Awakening of the Imperial Wrath

40. The Warrior of Academia

• INTRODUCES SERENA!!!!!!!!!!!

41. The Land of Ambition - Duel Academia

42. Battle Royal Begins

• i mean, i guess this ep is important to explain the next few episodes’ premise but it isn’t super interesting. basically the championship finals are a battle royale style showdown where everyone is let loose into an action field to duel each other

43. The Marvelous Exchange Student "Dennis"

44. Sora Shiun'in, Storms Forth!!

45. Antithesis and Synthesis

46. The Rebellious Supreme King Black Dragon

• yuuya gets a new ace monster and the situation with yuto is explained
• SERENA AND YUZU TALK (AND FALL IN LOVE)

47. Yuri of The Cold Smile

• introduces yuri!!
• yugo returns to the plot, shun gets wrecked, all in all a good ep

48. The Wounded Falcon

• serena and shun interact for the first time T_T
• finale duel/s begin!

49. Duels with Smiles

• a really solid finale
• fun fact this was the first arc v episode i ever watched
• more info on the interdimensional war + the Lancers are introduced

SEASON 2:

50. Lancers, The Chosen Warriors

51. Raise the Banner of Revolution - Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon

• very important plot-wise, objectively not such a great duel but i love it primarily because it contains the only canon interaction my rarepair ot3 ever got

52. The Legendary Grandmaster Revives!!

53. "Smile World" - A Duel Filled With Smiles

• technically... not super plot important but extremely important in my heart
  

54. The Synchro Dimension "City"

55. Public Safety Coercion - The Duel Chasers

• intro to synchro dimension and riding duels!! yugo and yuzu are super cute

56. Security's Perfect Encirclement!!

• lancers arrive in synchro and get into a duel with security blah blah some good serena moments tho

57. "The Black Whirlwind - Crow Hogan"

• INTRODUCES CROW the love of my life, he’s a cameo chara from yugioh 5ds

58. Invitation to the Dark Duel

• shun v dennis riding duel!!! SHUN ON A D-WHEEL

59. Underground Riding Duel!!

• watch the first half for the end of shun v dennis
• watch the second half to see crow duel but this is such a stupid duel, yuya and crow get into a fight over whether Smiles (yuya) or Finding Enough Food To Survive And Not Fucking Die On The Streets (crow) are more important
• cute yuya + reira moments tho

60. No Cards, No Pardon

61. The Man Who Threw Away Drawing

• chojiro’s alright i guess, his deck is v pretty
• one of the less annoying Defeat-->Total Worldview Change and Friendship duels

62. Great Entertainment Duel Tournament!!

• more duelling in jail
• tbh the entire jail subplot is skippable

63. King of Captors - Goyo King

• probably skippable but shun has some cool moments in this ep so i can’t in good faith strike it out

64. Duel King - Jack Atlas

• MY ONE TRUE FAVE JACK ATLAS is introduced this ep, he is also a cameo chara from yugioh 5ds! ignore everything arc v tries to tell you about their relationship they’re married
• good duel, yuya finally gets some more introspection/development

65. The Shattered Entertainment

• nothing really happens except yuya’s existential crisis, jack backstory and more setup for the friendship cup arc

66. Opening Duel!! Crow vs. Gongenzaka

• not plot important but please watch this duel i love crow

67. The Light and Shadows of the City

• more explanation about the friendship cup and reira backstory
• there’s good akaba brothers moments in this

68. All-Out Rebellion- Bee Force

• god fucking… if you really want to see shinji’s meme bee deck skip this and watch ep 78 instead

69. The Sprinting Divas

• a good duel!! yuzu hasn’t duelled in so long it’s so nice to see her deck again

70. An Out-Of-Reach Shout

• serena duels very briefly but i’ll take what i can get
• jack, reiji and reira have an incredibly awkward dinner together

71. The Sword of White Silver

72. Slaying the Dragon!! Yugo vs Sawatari

73. The Crawling Losers

• i cannot in good faith bold this bc it’s p much a recap episode but it’s the 777th yugioh ep and it has a special tribute op that made me cry

74. Mask Of The Clown

75. Curse of the Resistors

• ONE OF THE BEST DUELS IN THE SERIES, really really good in terms of plot importance and characterisation and plot reveals etc, also particularly nice art and animation

76. King's Gambit

• another largely recap ep, if you’ve been skipping a lot of eps maybe watch this to make sure you’re up to speed

77. The Beauty of Destruction

78. Storm of Revolution

79. The Enlightened Paladin

80. Reunion that Transcends Dimensions

81. Our Respective Battlefields

82. The Ultimate Falcon VS The Black-Feathered Thunder

• SUCH a good duel, really top tier content (honestly shun’s duels are pretty much the best duels in the series, and i say this objectively)

83. The Bond Between Teacher and Disciple

84. Dice Roll of Destiny

85. Crystal Wings

• ugh... i hate this duel but i recognise its importance both to the plot and to serena’s character but it sucks anyway and yugioh doesn’t deserve its female characters
• gorgeous cgi though

86. Unyielding Resolve

87. The Memories of the Beast

88. One Strike of Lightning!

• look this duel is important but tbh i skipped it bc i hate brainwashing plots

89. Invasion! Obelisk Force

90. The Beacon of Revolution

91. Converging Fates

92. A Tragic Reunion

93. The Destructive Duel Machine

94. The Right Arm that Carved Souls

• it’s a jack duel so i can’t tell you to skip it but it’s not a very good duel so i can’t tell you not to skip it
• carries more emotional weight if you’ve watched 5ds, there’s some callbacks in this

95. The Duel You Believe In

96. Borrowed Words

97. The Sublime Super Paladin

98. Towards the Only Path

99. The Eternal Duel

• this is bolded bc it’s the finale episode and like objectively important but i did not enjoy this duel
• also. honestly. it’s all downhill from here

SEASON 3: god what is even the point

100. The Metropolis of Despair, Heartland

• introduces heartland (;__;) and kaito, who is a cameo character from yugioh zexal! where tf is zexal’s second cameo chara

101. Galaxy Eyes

102. The Merciless Hunter

• check out kaito’s SUPER HOT ace dragon

103. The Brilliant Machine Angel

• introduces fusion dimension and asuka, who is a cameo character from yugioh gx!

104. The Hero Named "D"

• WELCOME BACK YUTO
• edo is a cameo character also from yugioh gx

105. Bonds of the Resistance

• this is… probably the last good duel?? RLY good

106. Arc Area Project

• plot explanation and finally we get to see yuri duel

107. The Duel-Starved Amazoness

108. Amazoness Trap

• pretty unnecessary duel but 1) the tyler sisters are hot and i’d let them card me anytime 2) the amazoness deck archetype is a classic fave 3) it’s a shun duel

109. The Falcon Perishes on the Battlefield

• watch to see shun get wrecked and pass out

110. The Torn "Smile World"

111. Pendulum Heart

• look objectively this duel is plot important etc but it’s just so representative of everything i hate about duels this season. characters switch allegiances way too fast and the egao philosophy reverts to its reductive and basic s1 incarnation
• but i still love edo

112. Toward a City Filled with Smiles

• our heroes travel to fusion dimension

113. The Thirst for Carnage

• i’m fond of kachidoki (guy from ep 39) so i enjoyed this duel but it’s up to you

114. Supergalaxy Shining in the Darkness

• REALLY good. doesn’t make a lot of sense but good and sad

115. Duel Pirate Captain Solo

• let me explain. definitely watch up until serena does The Thing for that Good Sereyuzu Content then skip the rest of the duel bc it’s stupid and sucks

116. Guardians of the Sun and Moon

• some cute yugo moments
• duels are against random side characters but watch for yugo summoning crystal wing and kaito summoning neo galaxy eyes?

117. The Sinister Bell's Chime

• i hated this duel beyond words HOWEVER it is literally the only screentime rin ever gets
• reiji does his job as plot-device-explainer but god does anyone give a fuck about arc v’s plot at this point

118. Survival Duel

• there is some nice edo/yugo interaction but it is not really worth it

119. The Little Bird Trapped in Darkness

• i loathed this duel even more than rin’s duel but again it’s some of the only screentime ruri gets and i am a kurosaki stan first and foremost so. watch this episode while loudly cursing arc v and yourself for still watching

120. Battle Beast

• watch up until crow does The Thing then skip the rest of the episode, again cursing arc v

121. The Wicked Brand

• watch until jack learns what has happened to crow if you want arc v-verse validation for jack/crow. otherwise don’t even bother with this episode

122. Glory on the Academia!

• speaking as an academiafucker this episode and in fact this entire mini arc is bullshit

123. The Glorious Mechanical Dragon

• THIS is the good (relative to the extremely shitty academia content prior) academia content
• however i am angry about [redacted etc]

124. The Revived Phantom Knights

125. The Blazing Dragon

• same deal as eps 117 and 119 but listen i’m a desperate sereruri shipper i need all the content i can get
• also serena tazes shun
• FUCK THIS SHIT

126. The Day the Devil Was Born

127. Revival Zero

• FINALLY SOME PROPER PLOT EXPLANATION AND BACKSTORY but honestly
• does anyone care

128. Decisive Battle! Spirit Tech Force

• watch if you like reiji/yuya or would like to finally see reiji get some characterisation after 3 seasons

129. Glimpse of the Supreme King

• sure, it’s plot important but the anger experienced while watching this episode pretty much outweighs that

130. The Greedy Venomous Dragon

• watch for yuri’s excellent facial expressions and a most beautiful dragon

131. The Light Shining in Eternal Darkness

• it’s reira v reiji and i crave akaba brothers content so

132. The Peerless Entertainer

• watch until yuri v yusho starts, unless you really like yusho? i don’t so i skipped the last bit of this ep

133. A Dazzling Entertainment Show

• watch if you like yusho

134. Allure of Darkness

135. The Trembling Dimensions

• i love yuya/yuri so i enjoyed these episodes
• introduces [deep sigh] zarc
• the next few episodes are basically the entire cast duelling zarc two at a time sorted by summon type. quite honestly just skip to ep 140

136. Reign of the Supreme Dragon King

• edo and sora’s turn to vs zarc
• recommend bc zarc fuses himself with his dragons

137. The Rebellious Supreme King's Dragon Servant

• shun and kaito’s turn to vs zarc
• ugh.
• however, it is a shun duel

138. The Shadow-Winged Dragon

• gongenzaka and jack’s turn to vs zarc

139. The Eyes Tainted by Darkness

• crow and shingo’s turn to vs zarc
• get really annoyed bc this whole farce could have ended episodes ago if shingo had duelled zarc first

140. Pendulum of the Soul

• this duel still sucks but ray is now here

141. Junior Youth Championship

• setup for the last few episodes which honestly should not exist because the plot premise is so mind-numbingly stupid i still can’t believe it actually happened
• fucking arc v faked out of a lotus machine plot
• in what universe does ‘we gotta make a demon baby smile by showing it duel livestreams or else the world will end’ sound like a good idea

142. Overflowing Memories

143. Soul of the Supreme king

• GOD WHO CARES

144. The Cursed Gear Mask

• a shockingly good episode, like actually good and not just in comparison with the general shittiness of this season
• congratulations @ dennis for having one of the only whole and intact character arcs in the entire cast

145. Unending Rebellion

• this episode is really good up until the like last 5 minutes
• if dennis won at arc v shun is definitely the biggest loser

146. Dimension Highway

• watch for 1) jack 2) jack yelling at yuuya 3) the rest of the yu4 who show up for like 3 scenes 4) the dragons
• be stunned into disbelief that arc v’s penultimate duel involves a legacy character and not one of the, you know, actual arc v cast

147. The Unleashed Dragons

• watch if you like reiji/yuya and would like to see more of them interacting
• some weird zarc apologism going on here

148. The Miracle Drawn by the Pendulum

• GORGEOUS new dragons
• reiji’s monsters are callbacks to previous yugioh installments which made me v emo
• single scene of reiji laughing
• objectively this sucked as a finale but i cried a lot. like. god i’m tearing up thinking about it. i hate arc v. I WISH I NEVER WATCHED IT