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!
Now that it’s over, my main thoughts on the Synchro arc in general would be that while was good it wasn’t exactly great as in some of the things in it could have been done better. However, I guess with the movie coming up it only makes since while some things seem a miss but now that it’s nothing there isn’t much to worry about except what happens next.
I also liked that Reiji used the penalty system in his favor which ironically screwed any of the other Lancers before. Reiji portrayed to Roger that we can literally duel all for eternity and you’ll still lose. It also showed him being desperate enough to have the Lancers turn against Reiji but failed miserably.
The 100th episode while most of the flashback was somewhat unnecessary, it was great in showing a ton of crap the the XYZ Dimension has to go through in general. It kinda makes me even sadder that they been worse compared to Synchro. Even if Academia say what they’re are doing is for the better good, that doesn’t in no means justify in what their actions have caused especially the suffering of those who are innocent and is treated as if it is a game and laugh their asses off. In the end I don’t blame Kaito for carding them in the end.
What I mostly liked about the episode was how much it shows Yuya and Yuto not wanting to do anything crucial to the Academia soldiers which specifies as things that aren’t right with them against Shun(at first) and Sawatari who tried to card them which is understandable seeing that with all the damage they cause sparing them and showing mercy won’t make thing any better for you especially when it comes to war. Overall it’s basically those that go by Ideals/Morals against those who go by what’s human/realistic in which neither side are 100% correct nor wrong.
[spoiler]I am a bit sad that Yuzu was sent to the Fusion Dimension despite being in the same wormhole as Yuya and the others. But I guess it will depend on what it shows in her perspective that the Fusion isn’t enitre bad especially if they have a Yushou School there.[/spoiler]
I like we are able to see Yuuya’s and Yuuto’s similarities, I hope we will be able to see more of Yuuto, either through flashbacks or perhaps his soul will play a bigger role in this arc.
“I don’t blame Kaito for carding them in the end.”
Carding those Academia scums, I’m 100% alright, but should he dare even think about carding Yuya & co. (after he beat them) I’ll place my bet on SHUN thrashing & even carding him since Raidraptors kill special-summoned monsters really quick!
eva in what point in what episode they said this name of leo plan arc area project? was it in episode 99 or episode 100?
Episode 100, when they are fighting against the goons. They are all like, “IT’S ALL FOR THE ARC: AREA PROJECT!!!!!!111”
Indeed. Twas a long wait, but we got two episodes.
Kite…jesus, the scariest part of episode 100’s opening wasn’t the Chaos Giants or the destruction, it was hearing this guy pissed. He’s got the same win record as YUSEI. He seems quite cleverly in line with the original; sealing cards instead of Photon Hand and projecting his repent mantra onto his opponent. I hope that they bring back his whistling.
But GAH! Those episodes were so hard to watch! After a thrilling finish to the Synchro Arc we get what we thought would happen flipped on our heads – so THAT was why everyone else wasn’t in the opening (which now that I know that, I dislike less). And then after all that excitement, we have to sit back through a goddamn clip show… but they redeemed themselves by having our new power trio wreck their opponents.
LOL And the Goons though YUUYA, Sawatari and Gongenzaka were scary. XD
Well, Yuya and Gong can both be scary…and so can Sylvio if Riley (Reira) is anything to go by, hah-hah-hah.
Kaito will take on THE MAN & Sawa-boy first then face Yuya in his Berserk state, he’s just that OP 😀
So happy to see my girl Alexis back! Hopefully they either give her a new deck or GREATLY improve on what she has to work with. She essentially was the Aki of GX. Started off as a really strong character but quickly devolved with her use as the seasons progress (though at least we know she has a thing for Jaden in season 4…..unlike Aki and Yusei -_-)
With the opening, I kind of hoped they wouldn’t have put any of that Yuya circus stuff in there….because it was kind of a mood killer. Some justify it as Yuya finding his own way on bringing entertainment, which is true. But I’m just saying that it seemed like it was more appropriate for an ed-sequence than the actual tone of the opening.
They better not have the GX character’s (including Edo) personalities different from their actual counterparts. Meaning that while Jack and Crow are alternate versions, they still shared some common traits from their original personalities. Just saying this because the guy who is directing Arc V directed 5ds, so re-writting Jack and Crow would come easier for him. Alexis, Edo, and Kite were from different directors so hopefully they don’t seem to be entirely different.
Though I rewatched GX in 2014, I hardly remember her character so hahahahaha I won’t notice any differences like I had with Jack and Crow. xDDDDD
Since it’s a two-episode special to conclude the TROLOLOLO Synchro arc (which gave us some intriguing characters & tons of character development but overall a hurdle to story progression) and move on to Xyz & Fusion arc I’ll give my comments on separate episodes:
Episode 99- ROGER what a magnificent bastard trying to exhaust Reiji to death by using hologram bullshit but of cuz Reiji’s endless loop of KOs screwed him over, then him trying to make Yuya & co. turn against Reiji but still got face-palmed, & Jack that’s NOT how to save Yuzu you could’ve killed her with Scarlight’s attack, but rolls in the bittersweet moment when Yuya reunited with Yuzu only to be separated again due to Roger’s insanity on his cross-dimension device sucking almost everyone to Heartland (or Academia)!
P.S. Yuya getting separated from Yuzu again & again is officially a running gag in the show now, the writers sure love torturing this “couple” huh?!
Episode 100- MAN my heart almost died seeing Heartland being decimated by those Academia cunts ;_; Yuya & co’s interaction with a lone family who’re paranoid at everything foreign seriously T_T And here comes yet another recap episode about Synchro arc’s events when Yuya & co. are owning several Academia punks but Kurosaki’s flashback actually added some details of him wandering to Standard to pursue Reiji and we got another grip of Yuto’s pacifist nature…HOLY SHIT KAITO WITH DAT GODDAMN GALAXY EYES CIPHER DRAGON AT THE END!!
“I am extremely unfamiliar with Tenjou Kaito’s character” Seriously Eva I read one of your old ZEXAL reviews and heard you ranting about Kaito stealing away Shark’s soul XD (So you are ready to view him negatively I assume)
Next week Kaito is gonna be hostile towards Yuya & co. to the point it pissed off both Gongenzaka and Sawatari to duel him, which they would obviously lose because Kaito’s REALLY OP in ZEXAL (seriously does Sawatari ever beat a major character for the whole show?!), things will really get ugly if Kurosaki don’t arrive and do something!
[spoiler]More spoilers:
-Yuya will eventually step in to duel Kaito in his rage mode (a.k.a. Berserk state) in episode 102.
-Yuzu and Yugo confirmed to be in Academia with Tenjoin Asuka ready to help the former & apparently a You Show school is in Fusion Dimension?
-Edo Phoenix will hunt down Yuya in Heartland for having a grudge towards his dad Yusho..?![/spoiler]
Jean-Rogers was the most magician bastard ever. His seiyuu was amazing, gotta give all the props to him! I do expect to see him again in the future however- unless he really did get sucked into a void dimension.
LOL I can’t remember my coverage of Zexal at all- I would have to look back to see my thoughts from back then. I vaguely recall my distaste towards the general cast, which was one of the key factors that turned me away from the series. Hahahahaha xD Let’s see how he will appeal to me this time! The contrast between “then and now” will be interesting!
Also please use the spoiler tag when speaking of spoilers. If you don’t remember how to do it, just check the FAQ page, i have instructions there.
‘ARC’ stands for ARC (Augmented Reality Combat) System
similarly AR Vision stands for Augmented Reality Duel
that makes no sense
the ARC System is dub for “Solid Vision with mass” aka Real Solid Vision
Thanks for the correction.
It also stands for Academia,Resistance,City(the first letters),while V both means five and is the way a pendulum swings
Ah I didn’t even that of that!!!!
Seeing you have feels for the YuyaxYuzu cute reunion reminded me how much you fangirled in the past about YuzuxYuto hahah! How things change right? Also, at this rate Yuya and Yuzu will stay together for more than a couple of minutes only at the end of this spin-off!
Kaito from Zexal was somewhat similar to Shun down to having a younger sibling and commiting questionable actions in order to save the said sibling.
Heartland is indeed depressing, no matter the opinion about Zexal spin-off knowing how cheery and happy it was in the original just makes the Arc V version 10 times more depressing, for once I felt Yuya instance was adequate because Heartland desperately needs hope.
Indeed the writers are trolls, everyday must be 1st of April to them.
The ED is indeed for the Arc V, they just pulled 5d’s when they were making BBT and using the movies’ clips.
I ship both, but since Yuuto been MIA (aka trapped with Yuuya’s soul) Yuuya x Yuzu is my priority pick. XD PRECIOUS BABIES!!! BOTH ARE GREAT GUYS!!!!!!
Yes I remember Kaito struggling to save his sibling in Zexal, I don’t think I stuck around long enough to see the results! XD
Thanks for the confirmation, I really love the new ED, i’m glad it’s official.
You nailed it, Yuto being killed off too early was the reason why people wasn’t as hyped up about him like ever. Also, I’ve always had an issue with Yuto’s VA (who is actually the twin brother of Yugo’s VA) because everytime Yuto speaks it sounds like an amateur mumbling! AND finally that brought me up with goddamn RURI, we’ve just reached the centurion mark for Arc V and she still didn’t get a speaking role at all, like Kaito was introduced like months ago and he already spoke but Ruri, that was 2 years ago and she’s still mute even in flashbacks :p
I honestly didnt expect the duel to be all that amazing really, i mean it had to only take up half an episode. We didnt have the time to have a really intense duel. Not to mention it was very obvious that Roger isn’t a very strong duelist at least not compared to the top duelists like Shun, Sora and Reiji, you can just tell from looking at him.
I was more entranced but how calmly and badass Reiji dealt with him. Whenever he thought he had Reiji fooled or cornered Reiji was like ‘Bitch Please!’
And YES! THAT ROPE SWING WAS SLICK! And our Fruitshipping hearts just burst at that moment when they finally embraced! I actually thought i was going to die from joy!
And yes! That was SOOOO fucking annoying! The trolls!
You have to admit it was time for the dreaded recap episode… i cant remember if we had one in arcv before now (remind me if we did…). I agree that the 100th episode really wasn’t that spectacular! However i think they did include it in the best possible way, by having Yuya use the recap to explain his point about dueling not being used for fighting and how he has evolved through his experiences. And he also brought smiles to a family that feared dueling before and now see that it might be possible to enjoy it again.
Yes, i admittedly nearly fell asleep from hearing the recap… but they did switch to Shun occasionally so that did keep my interest.
But funnily enough i expected them to run into Kaito at the resistence base… i dont know why i did because honestly him mistaking them for enemies and attacking ruthlessly is honestly more his style!
I think I hyped it up too much for myself because it’s been SOOOO LONG since we’ve last seen Reiji actively duel. And yes, Jean isn’t THAT powerful, especially since he has a weak mind… sorry not sorry.
I agree, the recap itself was well executed, and mixed well with the new content scenes, which helps keep the audience interested enough to continue watching the episode.
Hahaha yeah Shun kept me awake too! xD
I’m looking forward to how Shun would handle this Kaito attacking Yuya & co. situation if he ever showed up :p
Since the Maiami Championship was dubbed to the Arc League Championship, what will the Arc Area Project be dubbed into?
I’m glad the Synchro arc is over. The new Op is quite refreshing as it isn’t bright and cheerful as the others were. I’m super hyped for the return of Zexal characters but I’m really excited for Gx characters (its my favorite series after the original). I was Asaka in the Op and I was boarding the hype train. Also, I wonder how Yugo ends up in Academia fighting Yuuri. That will be interesting to see how it unfolds.
Is the Arc Area Project related to the Arc League Championship?
Do you know that the new opening name is Light of Hope,, reference to Number 39 Kibou oh Hope perform by the group Unknown Number.
Fun fact, during the heartland flashbacks, they included a few meta cards like Dracossack and Castiel, which makes me wonder how they lost in the first place.
Also, did you see how the soldiers carded that one family? if you pause on that screen, you can see that the baby was sealed into a card as well.
Have fun 4K.
Spoiler:
[spoiler]I know you hate spoilers, Eva but I wonder if it’s better for you to know that Yuzu is actually in the Fusion Dimension, just as you speculated.[/spoiler]