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Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Synchro Dimension Retrospective: What Went Wrong with the Writing

Before we start this review, let’s make something clear: I don’t support Yu-Gi-Oh! shows past 5D’s. I critique them with a straightforward bias. I don’t care about this whole idea of “unity” in the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom, nor do I have respect for anyone’s opinion on the matter—I’m here for my own goals. So, feel free to cancel me if you want. I only play the TCG/OCG for fun and don’t participate in tournaments much since I’m more of a collector. So, if you make even one mistake or disagree with me about Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V being wrong, I’ll block you. I can’t stand the production dilemma and some claims that were never confirmed or were simply false, like it’s 5D's all over again for this brain-dead fandom that keeps making it harder to accept the years that go by.

StardustReaper delves into the origins of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s most memetically powerful series and its mixed reception. The review also discusses the role and consequences of a show where half its staff couldn’t competently fulfill their roles and how this impacted its production, back when the only way to produce a decent show was through competent teamwork. The review explains why the show’s entire production was more problematic than the so-called Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s effect—something that still grinds my gears to this day. Yeah, I have a lot to talk about, so production started on December 30th, 2024, and lasted until...

I’m just going to make this clear to everyone: I will not listen to anyone in the Yu-Gi-Oh! community, forums, or Yugitubers, because most of them are just clickbaiters. Even the so-called "honest content creators" have personal biases and problems, while the rest of the community is just dogshit. Seriously, Yu-Gi-Oh! fans have one of the worst communities I’ve ever seen. People who are afraid to be vocal about it always get shamed, but I don’t care—I’m standing out!

If Yu-Gi-Oh! wants purity and silence over freedom, then we’re living in a clown society.

Before I get to the topic, here are a few notes:

I will not blame 4Kids or any Western localized versions, as I am not hostile toward Yu-Gi-Oh! Western adaptations, nor do I hate them.

I will mention some associations with the real-life game, but as of this post, some of the cards used by characters in the Synchro Dimension have been printed while others haven’t. I might explain why printing certain cards can make the show more watchable, but I won’t focus on this all the time.

I won’t explain why I dislike Yuto here, as that character deserves a separate post.

I’ll use English or sub names (or a mix of both) to avoid starting unnecessary arguments, as I’m not hostile toward name choices.

I won’t bring up the fandom, as I have personal issues with them—especially since 2015 wasn’t a great year for me or for them, given it was the peak of cancel culture.

Finally, I have more experience with the anime than the real-life game. I find the game to be terrible, and I prefer to play casually for fun rather than act like a jerk at locals or nationals.

Can we actually explain why Yu-Gi-Oh! has a bad reputation nowadays? Most of the writing for recent Yu-Gi-Oh! anime wasn’t what people wanted but rather what they got. Back in the day, the writing was better—or at least that’s how it felt. This might explain why the previous Yu-Gi-Oh! series had some influence on Arc-V's downfall.

Let’s start with Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal. After the failure of this series, many fans grew frustrated with Shin Yoshida, blaming his ego and reliance on stereotypes. The show felt like a satire of Yu-Gi-Oh!—almost as if it was trying to deconstruct the franchise but ended up looking like a joke instead. The real issue with Zexal wasn’t just its content but how poorly it performed. It failed in Japan, and in America, it was canceled twice on television.

For those wondering why Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal wasn’t fully dubbed or broadcast in America, the answer lies in its troubled history. While Zexal was fully dubbed, it wasn’t fully aired, and this had a lot to do with circumstances at the time, such as the decline of cable TV and limited internet access for some viewers.

Let’s break it down. Zexal was canceled twice in America. In 2011, after airing only eight episodes, it was put on hiatus due to the 4Kids lawsuit over illegal DVD distribution. Then in 2014, it was canceled again when the Vortexx programming block—its main platform—was replaced by generic content, marking the end of Saturday morning cartoons in the U.S.

Why did this happen? It wasn’t supposed to, but there was a shift in the American broadcasting landscape. Random cartoons airing weekly started to lose favor, and some shows were simply targeted for removal. Western broadcasting at the time faced bias and inconsistency, making it difficult for series like Yu-Gi-Oh! to thrive.

As someone who grew up watching cartoons regularly before transitioning to online platforms, I can tell you it was a challenge to even discuss Yu-Gi-Oh! during this period. The Western adaptation tried to appeal to an international audience but ultimately backfired in certain ways. After Zexal was removed from the Vortexx, its final 33 episodes were made available on Hulu. To this day, Konami hasn’t re-released them on TV, and it’s unclear why they haven’t reconsidered.

One theory is that Zexal became too much of a cringe-inducing show over time, especially during its original broadcast run. It struggled to find its footing and didn’t resonate with many fans. While I don’t want to delve into political debates, I think Zexal was doomed in America from the start.

The show’s writing staff didn’t do it any favors. Zexal tried to do too much and too little at the same time. It over-focused on Xyz summoning and the villains while leaving the rest of the characters underdeveloped or outright forgettable. People hated the show because it came off as lazy and incompetent. Its number-based plotline and dimension war were dull, and the overarching story lacked direction. The "Number vs. Number" battles, which should have been the series’ centerpiece, became repetitive and uninspired.

Yoshida’s involvement didn’t help either. While co-writing the manga, he seemed to burn out, which might explain the anime’s lackluster quality. Fans eventually glossed over Zexal's flaws, claiming it was a masterpiece because of its animation or comedic elements—or even because of fan-driven "shipping" narratives. But for most viewers, it was a mess, riddled with generic shounen tropes and a lack of respect for a cohesive, standalone story.

The protagonist, Yuma, was cringeworthy to the point that his design made people dread each episode. The pacing was sluggish, thanks to the director’s mismanagement, and the reliance on gimmicky cards in real life added to the confusion. Ratings weren’t good in the U.S. or internationally, and while Japan’s reception was never fully confirmed, it wasn’t enough to salvage the show’s reputation.

Despite all this, Zexal became a polarizing topic. Some fans gatekeep the series, calling it underrated without acknowledging its flaws. Unfortunately, this kind of blind defense has led to biased discussions about its quality—especially in spaces like Yu-Gi-Oh! Reddit, which often feels like an echo chamber.

When Arc-V arrived, much of the lingering hate from Zexal seemed to carry over. While Arc-V had its own problems, it’s clear that the damage done by Zexal influenced fans’ expectations and reactions to the series that followed.

The Western broadcasting of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V was a complete mess. It took forever for the show to finish airing in America, and this likely stemmed from a combination of factors. At that time, America seemed less invested in Yu-Gi-Oh! dubs, partly because of the toxic nature of the fandom and their lack of self-awareness.

Another reason might have been the overly vocal Yu-Gi-Oh! fans on social media, who often created unnecessary drama and contributed to the negativity surrounding the franchise. However, my experience with the show is more personal. To me, it’s less about what the fans or broadcasters did and more about deconstructing the production itself.

Arc-V had many production issues that can be analyzed from multiple angles, and those issues ultimately hurt its reception in the West.

The Real Problem with Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V

When Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V was first announced, fans had high hopes. Some even claimed it would become the next gold standard of the franchise, potentially standing alongside 5D’s or Duel Monsters. But as the series progressed, it became clear that Arc-V was falling far short of those expectations. By the end of its run, it was regarded by many as one of the franchise’s biggest disappointments. Let’s dive into the key reasons why Arc-V failed so miserably.

But here is the real problem that people refuse to accept. Some claimed that Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V would be known as the next gold standard, comparable to Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or even Duel Monsters. However, it failed in every sense, and I can explain why.

Part of the reason why Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V failed was because the second arc of the show dragged on for far too long. This caused character arcs to stagnate, restart, or never reach proper resolutions. Some characters were relegated to dorms, while others were completely forgotten. The reintroduction of legacy characters only made things worse, as they stole valuable screen time from the main cast.

The third season of the show was so poorly handled that it caused animators to leave production unfinished, creating a toxic environment in the studio. The primary writer of Arc-V—who I’ll address in a moment—was a total jackass who ruined 100% of the production. He was lazy and incapable of writing cohesive episodes, which ultimately led to the series' downfall.

The main writer of Arc-V, Kamishiro Tsunomi, is a total mess. He clearly hated working on the show because he struggled with original content. He had a tough time with the early episodes and later episodes in Season 2, which earned him the nickname "the lazy man." He can’t handle creating original works—his strength lies in adapting existing ones. For example, he adapted Hunter x Hunter and D.Gray-man without issues, but when I watched him write Casshern Sins back in 2008 (around the time I got into anime), he wasn’t as much of a disaster. That work had more collaboration with Yasohoko Kobayashi, a Toei writer, and they worked together well.

However, in Arc-V and even in Zexal, Tsunomi just couldn’t make it work. His writing is confusing, and it’s no surprise that Konami eventually blacklisted him. He’s not great at writing original content and often contradicts himself, which made the story fall apart. The fandom even called for a boycott of him after he stereotyped the last arc with terrible writing. Unfortunately, things got worse.

Early episodes and the information surrounding them were a mess. When new episodes aired, we didn’t get much information, just titles and rumors. One rumor that stuck was that Tsunomi was using his ego to control the staff. Apparently, he wanted to make the staff revolt because he couldn’t stand anime fans demanding to know every detail ahead of time. It was clear why someone like Yoshida took a break during the series.

I haven’t even mentioned Dark Side of Dimensions, which took away both animation and production budget. Why does Studio Gallop struggle with animation funding so much in the 2010s after 5D’s? It’s baffling, especially when Zexal had a higher budget than Arc-V.

But I haven’t yet mentioned the major reason why Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V’s production was more of a disaster than any of the previous series. Around 2016, one animator vented her frustration on Twitter, which caused a lot of people to wonder what she meant. When translated, it turned out she was upset because Kamishiro Tsunomi was lazy about guiding the production or planning what to do next. She also couldn’t get the animation sheets on time, which understandably made her angry. Back in the 2010s, you could get canceled for being negative or openly critical, but this person managed to send a message to future generations to ensure that such a situation doesn’t repeat itself.

Arc-V’s production was so chaotic that it made Yu-Gi-Oh! GX look like it had a much cleaner production process. I haven’t even mentioned the ratings, which, though just numbers, were still important back then. Ratings—good or bad—meant a lot to those involved, as they had to cope with the impact on the show. Arc-V was so toxic that it negatively affected the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom, especially since many fans of Arc-V hate 5D’s due to how Ono was more biased toward his nostalgic work rather than focusing on the story.

Arc-V ended up being a shallow Yu-Gi-Oh! anime with no clear direction for its endgame. So, what’s next?

The reason Yu-Gi-Oh! is so popular is that it’s been good from day one. However, people refused to accept it because it was so good that they blamed its advertising instead of appreciating its quality. Over the years, this led to a lot of people avoiding the game and spin-offs altogether. Frankly, Yu-Gi-Oh! has some of the worst fans—I loathe them sometimes.

The real problem with Yu-Gi-Oh! is that many fans are blinded by those who hate its success. They unfairly place all the blame on 4Kids, even though 4Kids was just a localization company. Ironically, Yu-Gi-Oh!’s own success created a toxic environment in the 2010s, making it impossible to talk about without getting dragged into negativity. Nowadays, the most toxic thing is Master Duel. That game turned the Yu-Gi-Oh! hype into trash. I honestly wonder when Konami will realize that Yu-Gi-Oh! fans are just so stubborn, blinded by biased hate or mindless hot takes.

People talk about the game now, but back in the 2000s and 2010s, the anime was all the hype. It’s no wonder newcomers get confused. I’ve even met people who can’t stand Yu-Gi-Oh!’s marketing because they can’t afford the cards or learn the game due to the fandom's toxicity. I remember years ago when that YouTuber Forneverworld—a grifter and cringe-baiter back then—said he never watched 5D’s and hated Arc-V before it even aired. My memory of that is crystal clear. These days, he’s irrelevant, but it still bugs me.

Here’s another issue: Yu-Gi-Oh! communities, particularly online, feel like a poor man’s version of Bulgaria. No offense to Bulgaria, but the fandom mirrors its struggles—chaotic, poorly organized, and rife with misinformation.

Take Reddit, for example. It’s a hellhole where people spread lies, like the rumor that 5D’s failed in Japan. Why is this even a topic? Because certain fans bring left-wing politics into it, twisting everything. 5D’s was created with themes that aligned more with traditional values, emphasizing community and perseverance. Most people don’t get that. The Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom has become a space for hyperactive manchildren who can’t process information properly.

On top of that, a lot of the so-called “news” about Yu-Gi-Oh! production—especially around 5D’s—is clickbait nonsense. It’s exhausting to see baseless theories being shared as facts, often with fake links and sources that don’t check out.

I forgot to mention that Arc-V started showing signs of weakness in 2015, which really upset people on Tumblr and Twitter, causing them to spill hate that I’ve seen firsthand. Heck, 2015 was also the year Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima left Konami because he wasn’t buying into any of its nonsense. That’s why 2015 sucked so much!

Okay, now onto the next topic.

What’s even bad about talking about the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime instead of the card game?

When discussing the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, it’s clear that Yu-Gi-Oh! fans are 100% clueless—more than someone with Trump Derangement Syndrome. It’s just like how John Cena turned heel and admitted to having a toxic relationship with his fandom in the Netflix era of WWE. Yu-Gi-Oh! fans are like John Cena fans when they abuse the meme “You can’t see me” or the annoying “What is even Yu-Gi-Oh!” meme. Because of this, it creates stereotypes that I absolutely hate and loathe to death.

Most of the American Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom doesn’t even understand what the anime does or how it plays out. They rely on bad jokes, get mad when their headcanons aren’t validated, and just act like assholes. For example, I don’t have screenshots, but in my early days in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V fandom, people acted like spoiled elites and mocked others' hard work. These people were mostly part of the former Arc-V fringe group led by ReijiAkabutt and her cronies—Chomsai, BlueEyesWhiteGarden, Cypsman2, Pxiao, and ColorfulWatcher. If you go through their archives, you’ll see that they were some of the worst Yu-Gi-Oh! fans I ever had to deal with, as they are all woke Americans.

America is just spoiled with too much money, culture, and whatever else they have. Their healthcare system is terrible, with insanely high medical bills. They don’t know much about other countries, often act ignorant or even racist, and get overly sensitive when someone makes a joke—whether good or bad. They also become nasty whenever Trump tweets something and constantly demand that America is the only country that should be catered to.

Since 2013, most Americans have had awful takes on the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime because they’re mostly Gen 1 purists who refuse to accept anything beyond the original series.

And don’t even get me started on this person named Sephirex. I used to respect him, but now he’s a joke in the modern Yu-Gi-Oh! world.

Yu-Gi-Oh! fans, in general, care more about the card game than the actual people involved in the fandom.

But then there are people even worse than the far-left Yu-Gi-Oh! fans—just outright bad people. Here’s a list of Yu-Gi-Oh! fans I actually consider to be woke.

I’m not going to include SliferTheSkydragon, DemonAtemu, Xthedarkone, or anyone else who wasn’t as bad. This is only about people who had a real negative impact.

Also, Azenzone, who does Precure reviews, is mostly a Precure/Tokusatsu fan, and I want to avoid him at all costs because he can’t make good content.

Now, onto the worst fans I’ve ever met.

Sephirex, who I just mentioned, is a Canadian-American Yu-Gi-Oh! fan who is 100% woke because he constantly blames white people. He made bad satire videos about Yu-Gi-Oh! GX in the past, but after his YouTube channel got terminated in 2019, he shifted his focus to hating Donald Trump on Twitter—before eventually leaving for BlueSky. He also never understood that 5D’s is the only Yu-Gi-Oh! series that tackles prejudice and bigotry. But since he’s so far left, I doubt he’ll ever wake up from that mindset.

VoiceOfChaos, who streamed Yu-Gi-Oh! anime back in the mid-to-late 2010s, is another example of how much people have changed. They turned woke, either because they’re stupid or just unwilling to be real. That dude was worried about Arc-V getting canceled when Zexal was the one that actually got backlash for its bad writing.

Mangakamen is another example of a woke American who, in my opinion, is more of a douchebag than a real fan. Mainstream culture influences Americans faster than a cheeseburger hits their stomachs.

DarkXyzDuelist from Tumblr (Anna) is one Yu-Gi-Oh! fan I remember who hated 5D’s and praised Zexal, but they were really just in it for the fanart and had little actual interest in the show.

Mizael Mizanity is one fan I didn’t want to bring up, but now that she’s gone, I can just say: Good riddance to that woke, abusive bitch.

YGOEverything is just as woke, and everything about him is built to make himself look good. By now, he’s more irrelevant than he was in the late 2010s. He’s been a dick to my friends, and he cares more about clickbait than making real content.

These people alone are examples of how bad the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom has become due to their influence and inflated egos. I could name even more, like TCG ANIME (YGO) or Linkara when it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh!, but I’m on a mission here.

So, let’s get back on point.

Now, let’s talk about the duels.

In my opinion, ARC-V has the worst duels I’ve ever watched—far worse than anything from the Rush or VRAINS era. The duels feel lazy, poorly scripted, and just brick after brick. The duel choreography is a mess, and I feel like Kamishiro completely failed at whatever he was trying to do.

Even Masahiro Hokubo seemed to struggle to make the duels relevant in any way. The issue isn’t just about the real-life meta—it’s about how this anime fundamentally mishandled its mechanics.

Pendulum Summoning, in particular, is too problematic because it relies too much on placing cards in the Pendulum Zones and sending them to the Extra Deck when tributed or destroyed. This makes duels feel repetitive and unbalanced.

Besides that, ARC-V did have one of the most impactful duels in Yu-Gi-Oh! history, with a script that had many key moments. However, as the duels progressed, they became more problematic, and I can see why the fandom hates them.

While I have problems with ZEXAL and its duels, no Yu-Gi-Oh! series has a worse duel script than ARC-V. The issue is that ARC-V had very little impact on the duels and focused too much on making them feel overly complex instead of well-structured.

ZEXAL, despite having repetitive duels, at least kept most of them polished up until Episode 135. After that, they became garbage, and I felt like I could write better duels myself.

The biggest problem with ARC-V is that its duels lack impact, constantly reuse old cards, and introduce fewer and fewer new ones. This, combined with poor writing choices, made the duels feel uninspired and frustrating to watch.

Characters like Yuri, Barrett, Kaito Tenjo, Aster Phoenix, Serena, and Ruri in ARC-V relied on the same combos constantly instead of progressing their strategies to make duels more interesting. Their playstyles felt repetitive due to poor writing limitations and plot constraints, making the duels stale instead of engaging.

For example, Barrett from the Fusion Dimension used the exact same strategy every time—summoning two monsters to bring out a Fusion Monster that never even got printed in the real-life card game because Konami was too lazy to release it.

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