Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V Episode 99 & 100

100th Episode! The fun has just begun!

After a long and agonizing arc, the Synchro Realm Arc has finally come to an end. The first half of the episode covering Reiji VS Jean-Rogers turned out not to be as nearly as epic battle as I was anticipating it to be. Instead, it was quite boring- but I think it was justified considering how Rogers appeared to have rigged the system, but what I think was a hologram of himself coming out into the field over and over again, therefore making it look as though he is immortal. It also helped how Reiji was super unimpressed, and decided he will use the exact same tactic on Rogers, of making it a duel with no end in sight until one of them surrenders- and Reiji decided, ‘Nahhhhhh you’re gonna be the one to surrender’. Given the nature of this duel, there was no reason for them to keep fighting until someone caves in, it would be too boring and a waste of time. Instead this was more of a psychological battle, of who was going to crack first- and the one who came on top was Reiji.

Jean-Rogers was desperate to try and turn things into his favor, so he decides to try and manipulate the Lancers into thinking how Reiji has been using them the entire time to raid realms, as part the Proffessor’s plan since he is his son. But Reiji quickly myth-busted that one by then questioning why he was still trying to capture Yuzu and return to Academia. At this point Jean-Rogers is backed into a corner and decides to just run for it, however Jack and Crow were already prepared to block of his escape route but then Jack blew up the elevator, sending him falling and with that everyone assumes Jean is finally defeated. But no, the psycho is still alive and this time he decides since he is going to go down anyways, he might go down with the entire city with him. However the Dimensional Transfer Device didn’t quite work the way any of them anticipated to, and a wormhole appeared, taking him only. With that, he is finally out of the picture… For now. For all that build up, I am not entirely sure if a malfunction happened because… it looks like the Synchro Realm is still interacted… unless it gets transferred to Academia- which would be a very bizarre situation.

You have to admit, the way Yuuya was swinging in to save Yuzu from her fall was pretty slick, and their reunion-AFTER GOD KNOWS HOW MANY EPISODES (I LOST TRACK OKAY), THEY ARE FINALLY FACE TO FACE AND REUNITED.

Ugh my heart, my inner fangirl was squealing and I was getting all these butterflies just watching them look at each other so lovingly deeply and embrace.

I MEAN LOOK AT THESE TWO, LOOK AT THEM! JUST TAKING EACH OTHER IN…

It was so beautiful, so perfect…
It’s too perfect

The second Yuzu and Yuuya let go of each other..
THE BLOODY WORMHOLE ACTIVATED

THEY RIPPED HER AWAY AGAIN!
FUUUUCKKKKKKKKK YOUUUUUUUUUUU WRITERS, YOU FUCKING TROLLS!!!! STOP MESSING WITH OUR HEARTS LIKE THAT, THEY AREN’T PLAYTHINGS DAMNIT! (┛✧Д✧))┛彡┻━┻

Of course Yuuya quickly followed, but he was delayed because Gongenzaka had caught him, and since Gongenzaka was slipping, Shun grabbed him, and then Shun was slipping, so Sawatari grabbed him, and before they know it, all four of them are sucked into the wormhole, leaving Reiji, Reira, Tsukikage, Sora, Jack and Crow remaining in the Synchro Realm, with no way of knowing how to determine which realm they have been cast into. So which realm were they cast into? XYZ Realm, Heartland City! Yuuya and the others are really lucky though that Shun was sucked in too because while the Lancers are now split up, they at least have Shun, who was born in this world and knows the city best.

Now that they are in the XYZ Realm, Yuuya and the others are able to see firsthand how Academia’s Invasion ruined lives. The situation in Heartland City is horrible. The citizens have lost many of the children and fathers, limited food and water resources, and are constantly being terrorized by Academia Soldiers. They have come to fear anyone with a Duel-Disks, as they no longer have their own- or are too afraid to take it out or wear it in the open.

It is a bit disappointing to see the 100th episode turned out to be 95% Recap, 5% New Content, but I suppose it is somewhat justified, since is has now been one hundred episodes and they were able to explain a bit on Shun’s end of how he got the information he needed to track down Reiji in the first place. I definitely spoke too soon when I said earlier how Shun would make a great guide, because he left them wandering around by themselves while he goes off alone to check up on the status of the Resistance. Unfortunately it appears they has been more or less wiped out, or had chosen to scatter and lay low tin order make it more difficult for Academia’s soldiers to eliminate them. One of those who remain appears to be Tenjou Kaito (an existing character from Zexal series). As far as I can remember, I dropped Zexal at episode 35, at that point I found it was just too stupid to watch, and ever since I never touched it again. So with that being said, I am extremely unfamiliar with Tenjou Kaito’s character, so I will be treating him as I would for newly introduced characters.

But hey, while it was for most part a boring episode, at least we were able to learn something new: the ARC Area Project!
I believe this is the first time we are actually given a name for Akaba Leo’s ambitious utopia project, and for the first time we are given a clue behind the meaning of the series’ title. The question now is: What does ‘ARC’ and  ‘V’ stands for? I am starting to speculate if ‘ARC’ is actually an abbreviation for something else (or maybe I am overthinking it… I probably am). As for ‘V’, just so that I am clear, I always perceived the ‘V’ as a roman numeral, it means the title can be read as ARC-Five (though I always just say ARC-V because I’m lazy and it hasn’t been outright confirmed quite yet). If that is to be the case (and most likely so), then given the context we know as of right now, there are four realms: Fusion, Synchro, XZY and the Standard World. If the title is by any chance referring to the number of realms, then I wouldn’t be surprised if there were to be a Pendulum Realm (though fans would love to have a Ritual Realm) or something else entirely. The only other way I could interpret a fifth world is the said Utopia, because in a way, it would be considered the fifth once they are all merged together- but I don’t think that’s a good thing at all, if anything GAME OVER because everyone’s respective counterparts would lose their own lives to whoever is the most dominant- or so that’s how I imagine it after seeing the chaos ensue with the dragons and respective counterparts.

But that wasn’t the only thing that caught my attention. When Yuuya and Gongenzaka tells them they are there to put an end to Academia’s Dimensional Warfare, the goons were confused and responded with, “We are only completing out mission as ordered by the Professor”. In other words, they don’t see their invasion as a crime, but a part of the course of actions required to accomplish the ARC Area Project, to restore the world. This is exactly the same mindset both Sora and Selena had in the beginning. They truly believed what they were doing was a good thing, just as these goons and everyone else who serves Academia. It makes you wonder how were they trained, what idea did they drill into their soldiers’ heads to give them the justification to capture and trap citizens from different realms in cards and destroy their beautiful cities? Do they perceive their actions as a cleansing/renewal process? What is with this ‘Hunting Game’ we have heard about a couple of times over the series. Are the citizens perceived as aliens/nuisance that require them to either be removed or eliminated? Is that why the hunt is treated as a game? I have so many questions about Academia’s soldier’s mentality, and how they are being instructed, so I am looking forward to learning how the Professor promoted this ambitious project in the first place (I mean Reiji didn’t fall for it, he was like, “WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” like every other sane person in the world).

I am so thankful the Synchro Realm is FINALLY over, WE ARE FREEEEE!!! I am excited to see what this season/arc has in store for us. I wonder where Yuzu has been cast off too- I am hoping she did not fall into Academia, that would be a grave problem… Finger crossed that she is in Heartland and will at least try to lay low. Yuuya had tried to reach her through his duel disk, but either she is not in this realm or as one would expect, there is no signal available in Heartland, only limited to Academia’s Soldiers’ network. It is will also be interesting how Reiji and the others will regroup since the team is now effectively split up… Actually now that I think of it… Maybe Yuugo can help- ah, but the OP implies he might be transferred to Academia.

Finally, the new OP Song is really cool, it isn’t as upbeat as some of the earlier ones, but I really like the darker tone and the lyrics. It is definitely makes me more excited for this season. Yuuya’s entertainment will be very important in revitalizing the city’s hope and reminding them of what duels are truly supposed to be about, fun. As for the new ED Song, I am not entirely sure if it is for ARC-V or The Dark Side of Dimensions movie (which I am really excited to watch, it looks AMAZING). Either way, I love it a lot, it’s a great song!

PS: Let’s all take a moment to thank you Monosubs for their hard work!