It's clear from the get-go that the writers had the overreaching plot of Arc-V planned from the beginning. As a result, there's a lot of foreshadowing to see.
WARNING: This page is meant to describe events as they related to much later, very significant ones. Thus this page will have no spoiler marks at all. So, please, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
- Sora discards Fusion Recovery early on in his Duel with Yuya, a card that would only be useful in a deck with at least one Fusion Monster. Then he does the same with Instant Fusion. These hint at his Death-Toy Bear.
- Constellar Pleiades, Gem-Knight Master Diamond, and XX-Saber Gottoms, the ace monsters of the LDS Extra Deck course representatives, all appear in Strong Ishijima's commercial in episode 1.
- Sora offhanded comment after his duel against Yuya that everyone knows how to Fusion Summon where he's from and Yuto's comment that Sora "isn't from around here" hints that he's from the Fusion Dimension.
- Also as a rewatch bonus, take a look at Sora's reactions whenever Xyz is brought up. In the first instance he stops in the middle of his eating in class when Yuzu mentions it. Then during the duel with Hokuto, the Xyz user for the LDS trio, he makes snide comments to himself whenever Hokuto tries to bust Yuya's chops over his skill. Not to mention he's the one to explain how Xyz works to the Kids. Him being a Hunter of Xyz users should know all about their methods.
- Also as an added bonus Sora is ironically the first one to point out what the DD in the Different Dimension cards is when Yuya first duels with Reiji. While also hinting at some familiarity with the cards as when his playstyle changes as he makes a comment about something in his playstyle being "Completely Different."
- Yuto's attack on Sawatari hints that the Academia is a school. Which sets up that it's an alternative version of Duel Academia.
- The scene in the first opening when there are four cards with Yuya's outline hint at Yuto, Yugo and Yuri. Yuya's alternative selves.
- In combination with the scene in the third ending where Yuya and his counterparts are shown on cards and Yuzu and Serena also being shown on cards with Yuzu being where Rin and Ruri are clearly meant to be, this is made much more explicit.
- The line Reiji says during his duel with Yuya, "I've prepared a large taste for you of the power of the kings who rule the Different Dimension," while having a Fusion, a Synchro and an Xyz Monster on the field clearly sets up the fact that there are multiple dimensions based on which Special Summon method they use.
- In Yuto's first episode, he asks Sawatari about the Academia because of his LDS pin, Sawatari says everyone in the LDS gets one when they enter the school and it is dropped. This hints that Leo Akaba is the head of Academia explaining why LDS and Academia have the same pins. This is brought up again when Dennis shows the Obelisk Force his pin to get them to help him out.
- It was hinted that there was more to Yoko then just being a loving mother in episode 14. The reveal that she was a gang leader was shocking though.
- Yuto's flashback of his duel against Yugo seems very odd when we meet Yugo. The flashback makes much more sense when you realize Yuto thought Yugo was Yuri.
- Tokumatsu's statements about a punishment for a jailbreak are much more important when he reveals that losing in the Friendship Cup, sends the loser to a lifetime working in a garbage processing plant is the same punishment.
- This was hinted even earlier during the first Shun vs Dennis duel. When Shun was on the ropes someone commented that if Shun lost, he would end up deep in the hole. It's revealed that there is a garbage processing plant underground for losers.
- The reveal of the Common's true nature was foreshadowed in Episode 55. When Yugo was dueling 227, it showed the Commons were enjoying the duel as much as the Tops were. Showing that they were similar to the Tops.
- Yuya and Yugo syncing up was foreshadowed in episode 37. When Yuto and Yugo fall into their Superpowered Evil Side, they both talked about destroying everything till their words synced up.
- The four girl's bracelet colors were foreshadowed by the first opening and ending. The first opening had 4 cards with Yuya's outline and Yuya was holding 4 popsicles in the first ending that had the color of the gems on the Yuzu's bracelets.
- Dennis using Xyz Summoning as his cover despite hailing from an organization that looks down upon Xyz hints that Dennis used to be a spy posted in the Xyz Dimension before he was posted in Standard.
- Dennis' rather calm attitude when he just arrived in the Synchro Dimension and the fact that he was very good at being a street performer hints at his days as an Xyz mole where he did the same thing
- Kurosaki's dream was given a minor foreshadow when we first see him in the Synchro Dimension, smiling as he wins a duel.
- Roget's purple attire hints at him being originally from the Fusion Dimension.
- Tokumatsu states that before he went to jail, the City didn't have Real Solid Vision. Which makes sense as episode 76 reveals that the Executive Council started implementing Real Solid Vision because Tokumatsu was sent to jail and made the Commons riot.
- Sora's attitude towards Yuya in episode 48, from his hesitance to acknowledge him to his detached mockery during their duel, hints at the nature of Sora's internal struggle. While he's fully loyal to Academia, he does truly value Yuya as a friend and wants to carry out his mission without hurting/involving Yuya or Yuzu.
- Roget's interest in Fusion Summoning hints at him being from the Fusion Dimesion. But notice whenever he sees someone fuse, he isn't particularly happy, while it could be chalked up to his stoic nature, it hints that he left the Academia, as seeing Academia members means they will find out that he defected.
- Kurosaki's status as a Friend to All Children (children from Academia excluded for obvious reasons) has been hinted at. First when he reacted slightly to the cries of children during his duel with Sora, then his anger at Reira being brought to the Synchro Dimension was probably his way of expressing concern for Reira's safety.
- Kaito recognizes the Sakaki surname instantly upon hearing it, hinting towards connections to Yuya's Disappeared Dad. Not a moment too soon, since the next episode promptly reveals that Yusho Sakaki taught Heartland about dueling, then somehow ended up in the Fusion Dimension and established another You Show Duel School.
- In episode 117, there is a Freeze-Frame Bonus regarding Yuri and Serena's profiles. Their files include "Z-ARC_001" and "RAY-A_001", respectively. Then episode 126 reveals the characters Zarc and Ray.
- Ray being the Professor's daughter is hinted by their profiles in the Revival Zero file, "RAY-A_001", Ray Akaba.
- Zarc has been foreshadowed throughout the entire show.
- After awakening, Yuya's hair points up looking like Zarc's hair.
- Yuya's ability to create new Extra Deck monsters is shown by Yuya having seeing a vision of the new monster. He states he's releasing the monster, that hints at Zarc's ability to speak to Duel spirits. Yuya has been calling upon duel spirits when in trouble and they respond and give him the knowledge to summon them to his world.
- Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon and Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon both have the Supreme King title in their names. At first it seems like a shout out to Judai. But Episode 126 reveals that Supreme Dragon King Zarc was a fusion of the four dragons and Zarc. Both Rebellion and Raging are fusions of two of the dimension dragons.
- With the reveal of the Meta Origin during episodes 126 - 127, the foreshadowing resultant of the Rewatch Bonus was such that is almost became an inside joke in the fandom note but some of the most notorious were:
- In a flashback Reiji remembers finding the files for the Revival Zero project that his father tries to accomplish along with photo files of Serena and Yuri, both files have names: Ray_A_001 and Z_ARC_001 next to their names respectively as it turns out this was an huge hint of their identities as Reincarnations/Fragments of the resident Big Good and the ultimate villain of the series: Ray Akaba and Zarc.
- Reiji's mastering of the four Special Summon Methods and him being the son of Leo was an early hint of Leo backstory from the Original World where all those summon methods coexisted
- The Family Theme Naming of the Akaba Family (All of them have the kanji for Zero in their names) as well as the name of The Professor's plan of Revival Zero was a hint to the name of the actual Big Good of the series: Ray, which in turn is the Professor's daughter from the Original World and thus Reiji's half-sister
- There's the numerous hints at the bracelet's powers, from the girl's names: Yuzu (Citron, holly plant), Serena (Moon), Rin (Cold), and Ruri (a type of bluetail bird) and their respective archetypes themes of their decks that hint at the Kachou Fuugetsu note aesthetic principle. It's also the power source of the En Nature Cards, the only known way to defeat Zarc.
- The fact that all the girls and the boys (minus Yuri and Serena) all lived close by and had a strong relationship hints and Yuzu's bracelet in particular warping the Yu's away from each other it's an early hint to the fact that their original impersonations: Zarc and Ray respectively were actually ArchEnemies whom faced each other in their past lives and the girls are supposed to keep the boys in check of never coming together and thus reviving Zarc again
- Doubles as a Bilingual Bonus but Reira being able to communicate with Ray's spirit and eventually becoming her host is hinted through the kanji's of his name: 赤;(Zero = Rei = Ray) and 零(Ra = Rashiban = Compass) or in other words: He literally became Ray's compass
- The reveal that Real Solid Vision gives body to the actual duel spirits is hinted throughout the series. Throughout the series, various monsters have shown self-awareness and hints of a personality. With such examples Odd-Eyes either being kind and silly or violent depending on Yuya's mood or Trapeze Magician helping Dennis in his last moments in his duel against Kurosaki.
- Ray's use of the four nature cards, Wind, Birds, Flowers and Moon are heavily foreshadowed throughout the series.
- Each of the girl's monsters have are connected to one of the themes. Yuzu's aces have flower themes, Serena's monsters are the Moonlights, all of Rin's monsters are WIND attribute monsters and all of Ruri's monsters are Winged-Beasts.
- Each of the girl's bracelets resembles one of the four nature cards that fit with their monsters. Yuzu's bracelet's gem looks like a flower, Serena's the moon, Rin's looks like wind and Ruri's looks like a bird's feather.
- It's stated early on that LDS has a monopoly on the extra deck summoning methods. This is strange when the previous extra deck summoning methods were widespread in previous series. This foreshadows that Standard isn't the original Yu-Gi-Oh! dimension and Standard didn't originally have any extra deck methods.
- The fifth opening has a scene of Leo dropping the Bracelet Girls into the Machine behind him. Episode 127 reveals the machine is meant to fuse the dimensions and the bracelet girls.
- In season 1, Yuzu asks Shuzou where her bracelet came from and he admits he has no idea, she just came with it. Episode 128 reveals he wasn't lying. Yuzu one day just appeared in front of Shuzou with her bracelet and he never thought it was strange.
- Yoko tells Yuya that Yuzu is a precious gift to Shuzou in episode 52. Turns out she was completely correct, Ray sent Yuzu to Shuzou.
- Throughout the series, we gotten a lot of information towards the counterpart's families which all hint that they don't actually have biological families.
- Yuzu states her mother is dead and Shuzou has very fuzzy memories of her birth.
- Yugo and Rin are stated to be orphans.
- Yuri states his earliest memories were of Duel Academia and he doesn't have any family.
- Serena and Yuto's families are never talked about.
- Ruri's only known relative is Shun.
- The only Yu-boys and Bracelet Girls who have last names are the ones with at least one known relative. Yuzu has Shuzou, Yuya has Yusho and Yoko, and Ruri has Shun.
- In past Yu-Gi-Oh series, children usually highly resemble their same sex parent or grandparent. The fact that Yuya doesn't resemble Yusho hints that they aren't biologically related.
- This is slightly debatable, as some of the fans were commenting on how these two characters looked similar long before the reveal. However it should be noted that the biggest trait Yuya and Yusho share is the shape of their hair- something that differs between all of Yuya's counterparts.
- In Yuya and Mieru's duel, they flip a coin to see who goes first. The coin is unique in one side is a dragon while the other is a demon. We later on find out that Zarc, Yuya's original form was both.
- Similarly, Mieru's prediction for Yuya's future during said duel involves him having a "Fate of destruction", and that he would suffer a large failure that would result in his future being engulfed in darkness. In the duel itself it's taken as Yuya's struggles and bad luck would result in a terrible injury when the duel field falls on him, it's actually referring to his future during Season 3, with his "Fate of destruction" referring to Zarc's status as the destroyer of the original dimension. Likewise, Yuya does indeed suffer a great failure, failing to save Yuzu, followed by him being engulfed in darkness, him absorbing Yuri and becoming Zarc.
- Yuto's Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's anime effect can only be activated to a level 5 or higher monster. While it's effect is effective against monsters from Standard, Fusion and Synchro dimension, it is useless in Xyz Dimension because duelists there would be using Xyz Monsters and Xyz Monsters don't have level. This is a subtle hint that Dark Rebellion originally belongs to a place where Xyz Monsters are not the only extra deck monsters, namely the original dimension before split into four.
- In the Xyz arc, Edo mentions that the Professor states that after the Fusion of the dimensions, those that were carded will be freed. Episodes 138 and 139 proves that Leo was telling the truth. The integration of the dimensions is twisting reality itself so everyone carded is coming back.
- The City's behavior becomes this when you realize the public of the Original Dimension was even worse.
- Reira's dueling style is based around the three extra deck summoning methods with continuous spell cards. This becomes important when we learned that Ray's signature cards, the En Nature cards are continuous spell cards that need the three extra deck monsters in the graveyard to activate. And guess who became her host in episode 140.
- Waaay back in episode 5, Yuya has a dream about winning some big championships and getting a trophy (which is interrupted by Sora). Fast forward and that same trophy and arena show up in Zarc's backstory, it's the same one he won right before he became a god.
- When the Lancers travel to the other dimensions, cards from past series the dimensions are based on are used. 5D's era cards are used by the Synchro Dimension citizens, Zexal era cards are used by the Xyz Dimension citizens and GX era cards are used by Fusion Dimension citizen. This foreshadows that Standard isn't the original timeline but a recreation of the DM world as plenty of DM era cards are either used or shown.
- The You Show School vs LDS duels foreshadow the development of Yuya, Yuzu, and Gogenzaka's Extra Deck development as they fight their corresponding opponent:
- Yuya takes on the Xyz expert Hokuto and manages to win against him. Later on, Yuya starts wielding Xyz Monsters after assimilating Yuto, his Xyz counterpart, having the summoning method forced on him instead of taught unlike Yuzu and Gogenzaka.
- Yuzu loses to Fusion maestro Masumi, and opts to learn how to use Fusion Summoning from the Fusion Dimension fighter Sora in order to prepare for future matches against her.
- Gogenzaka duels Synchro fighter Yaiba to a stalemate and opts to learn how to Synchro summon directly from him, seeing as Synchros rely entirely on monster cards rather than spells or traps.
- Finally, Yuya takes on Reiji who utilizes EVERY summoning method including Yuya's Pendulum Summon. Their duel was inconclusive, but it was clearly one-sided on Reiji's favor. Later on, Yuya is able to use every summoning method at the end of the anime after assimilating with all of his counterparts, finally able to take Reiji on as an equal.
