Mythology Gag / Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V throws this out in full force with a reference to every past series in some form seemingly (or literally) becoming integral to the plot:

General:

• The beginning of the fourth opening recalls Yusei doing something similar in Asu e no Michi ~Going My Way!!~.
• The first shot of Yuya in the fourth ending recalls Judai in the same position in Endless Dream.
• The sequence of shots of pairs of Lancers in the fourth ending is reminiscent of shots from Close to You showcasing team 5D's.
• The Friendship Cup is a combination of the Fortune Cup and WRGP, with the consequences of losing are the same as in Crash Town.
• From what we've seen from flashbacks and as of OP 5 Academia's invasion of the Xyz Dimension is eerily similar to Z-ONE's Bad Future. Academia's Ancient Gear Chaos Giant are giant robots like the Machine Emperors who go amok and nearly destroy the entire world. The only differences is how the other party is armed, with the Xyz Duelists armed with duel disks and Z-ONE's resistance with conventional weapons and Academia has someone controlling the robots opposed to a freak accident causing chaos.
• Each of the four Yus uses similar types to those used by previous protagonists:
  • Yuya uses spellcasters, warriors and beasts, like Yugi's magicians, warriors and Berfomet/Gazelle.
  • Yuto uses warriors, like many of Yuma's monsters.
  • Yugo uses machines like most of Yusei's synchron tuners.
  • Yuri uses plants, like Yubel, who later merged with Judai.
  • Noticeably, each one recalls the protagonist of the series centered about his extra deck summon (and Yuya's first summons where a beast and a spellcaster fusions, just like Yugi), and also Yuri is similar to a main character that appears later and is actually a villain (at first), just like he not only he's the last Yu to appear, and takes even more to receive some focus, but he's also the one not being a good guy.
  • The four dimension dragons also follow this.
    • Odd-Eyes is a level 7 with the same attack as Dark Magician. It has connections with other spellcasters and is usually summoned quickly and simply. (Dark Magician has Dark Magic Curtain, Sage's Stone and Dark Magic Veil, while Odd-Eyes has Pendulum Summoning)
    • Clear Wing Synchro Dragon has a similar design to Stardust Dragon, the same summoning conditions and monsters needed (non-specific so it's splashable), same stats and a defense effect.
    • Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon has the same stats, Rank, summoning condition and monsters needed (2 Level 4 monsters making it also being splashable). The same as Number 39: Utopia.
    • Starve Venom Fusion Dragon is the only one that does not follow this. It is a simple to fusion summon monster while Elemental HERO Neos is the opposite, simple to use AS fusion material. However, in the real version, it does have a similarity: the materials have to be on the field, just like with the Contact Fusions unique to Judai.
• Zarc has a number of similarities to Zorc and Judai.
  • One of Zarc's names is The Supreme (Dragon) King Zarc, just like Judai's other personality, the Supreme King
  • Zarc can also talk to Duel Spirits like Judai
  • Zorc was stated to have been created by the evil of men's hearts, Zarc was originally a normal guy that slowly grew evil as he become more and more aggressive to appease the audience.
  • Judai fused with Yubel, whose true form is a dragon, Zarc fused with the four dimension dragons.
• The fact that Yuto and Ruri seem to be the only outright Official Couple among the counterparts is likely a nod to the fact that ZEXAL, on which their native Xyz Dimension is based on, is the only Yu-Gi-Oh! series where the male and female leads (Yuma and Kotori) actually seem to get together by the end.

Episode specific:

• In episode 4, Yuya's the effect of Performapal Kaleidoscorpion, Kaleid Mirage, which allows his Odd-Eyes Pendulum to attack any Special Summoned monster Sawatari controls. Odd-Eyes gets two mirage doppelgängers who ram their entire body on the enemy monster. An obvious reference to Shooting Star Dragon's Stardust Mirage.
• In Episode 8, we see a shot◊ of a duelist and behind him are a silhouettes of Yugi's monsters: Curse of Dragon, Celtic Guardian, Mystical Elf, Giant Soldier of Stone, Berformet, Gazelle and Beaver Warrior.
• Kurosaki and others seal people away into cards, much like Pegasus did in Duel Monsters. Though, it later turns out that the Duel Disks are able to do that, not because the duelists have magical powers or something.
• Yuzu is found to be learning Fusion Summon, the primary form of summoning from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.
• In a flashback, Yuto is found to be dueling Yugo riding a motorcycle summoning a white dragon, referencing Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.
• Yuto and Kurosaki's ruined world is very similar to Heartland City from Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL. Episode 36 confirms that it is Heartland.
• One of the buildings in the Action Field in episode 14 is called "Stardust," another called "Shining Draw."
• During her introduction in episode 22, Mieru Hochun uses Arcana Force monsters to tell fortunes.
• Kurosaki uses Rank-Up-Magic cards, like many characters in ZEXAL.
• Academia is very similar to the Duel Academia from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. The people from Academia also use similar Duel Disks and uniform.
• There is a Duel School called Psycho Duel School, featuring Jinzo — Lord as its mascot monster. This is probably a reference to Makoto Inotsume's Psycho Style, which focuses on the Jinzo archetype (or the Jinzoningen — Psycho archetype in the OCG).
• In Episode 36, Yuya and Yuto's reactions when they summon their respective dragons is just like when a Signer would summon their dragon against another Signer in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. Also, Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion's reaction to each other is similar to how the Signer Dragons would react to each other. Taken even further with Dark Rebellion and Clear Wing. Both Yuto and Yugo get Glowing Eyes of Doom, something that happened with Yusei and Jack during the first clash of Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend.
• In Episode 39, Yuya and Yuto fuse together spiritually in a sequence clearly homaging Yugi and Atem doing the same back in Duel Monsters.
• Yuya's Superpowered Evil Side is very similar to how Atem acted when he first started taking over Yugi, and to Judai's Haou.
• The fact that Yuya Xyz Summons for the first time during the episode numbered as 39, is a reference to Number 39: Utopia (Kibou'ou Hope).
• Yugo seems to think that Clear Wing Synchro Dragon can let him travel through time on his D-Wheel. The Crimson Dragon actually did that for Yusei during the Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time.
• Yoko's title when she was a motorcycle riding boss girl was ''Shooting Star Yoko''. The title is in Japanese ("nagareboshi"), however.
• Yuya's Xyz Pendulum upgrade for Odd-Eyes is Supreme King Black Dragon ("Haoh Kokuryu") Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon.
• In episode 47, Yuya wonders about the dark force inside him, while a shadow◊ similar to Yami Yugi's◊ in the opening of the original Toei YuGiOh anime appears behind him.
• Episode 54 is full of this for 5D's. With Security, Tops, and duel roads opening up when a riding duel is starting and. The episode even begins with a narration mirroring the narration in the "Believe in Nexus" and "Going My Way" intros to 5Ds, and the episode ends with "Riding Duel, Acceleration!"
• Episode 55 continues the trend of 5D's gags with Security using Jutte Knight/Fighter, Lost Star Descent, Goyo monsters and Gate Blocker.
• Yuzu first interaction with a riding duel is her sitting on someone else's D-Wheel while they duel. Just like Aki's first interaction with a riding duel.
• In Episode 60, a Security guard is briefly seen playing the Wii game Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Wheelie Breakers with much of the UI removed on a PSP-like handheld device.
• Jack's stock entrance before his duels against Yuya and later Sergey is lifted directly from the first scene of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, with a holographic display of the words "KING JACK ATLAS" over a king playing card projected onto the stadium, and Jack pointing one finger in the air and proclaiming "There is only one King, and that is me!"
• In Episode 64's duel between Yuya and Jack Atlas, Jack's Red Demon's Dragon Scarright is a large call back. From it's similar attack name to the original Red Demon's Dragon. To the fact Scarright's right arm has a rib like item on it's right arm either referencing how Jack broke his right arm in 5D's or that in the final duel of the series Yusei's Junk Warrior broke Red Demon's Dragon's right arm. Scarright is also probably a reference to Scarlet, aka Scar-Red Nova Dragon.
• When Yugo draws the card he needs to win in episode 72, his thought process for his strategy is the same animation used when Yusei was thinking of how to win.
• Introduced in episode 75, Satellite Cannon Falcon is reminiscent of a certain other Satellite Cannon.
  • Perhaps coincidental but Satellite Cannon Falcon was introduced in an alternate universe from 5D's which had a location named The Satellite. Ironically in Arc V the location doesn't exist.
  • Also from episode 75, Kurosaki And This Is for... sequence is eerily reminiscent of Atem's infamous Berserker Soul-fueled No-Holds-Barred Beatdown against Haga/Weevil in DM. Yuya begging him to stop is also similar to Anzu/Téa stopping Atem's rampage before he "killed" Haga.
• Yuya's message in episode 79 is that "no card is useless".
• Yuri's dragon is named Starve Venom Fusion Dragon, calling back to Cobra's deck in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.
  • Like Black Rose Dragon, Starve Venom is a dragon with plant features. Unlike Black Rose, this is played entirely for Nightmare Fuel.
    • Also, both Starve Venom Fusion Dragon and Black Rose Dragon have mass destruction effects. (Venom destroys other monsters when it's destroyed while Black Rose can destroy all cards on the field when summoned.)
• During his duel against Barrett and Yuya, Sergey plays an Earthbound Deck, clearly based on the infamous Earthbound Gods/Immortals used by the Dark Signers from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds. He's also claimed to have come Back from the Dead just like its members.
• Sergey "fuses" with his D-Wheel similar to how the Three Emperors of Yliaster combined with their D-Wheels. His Duel Machine's lance-like arms are functional and can be used as such in a manner similar to how Z-ONE used giant mechanical arms during his duels. After he gets sent plummeting off the track, the damage he sustains mirrors the damage Placido sustained after taking Shooting Star Dragon's attack from Yusei: being torn in half from the waist, due to being fused with his D-Wheel and being forcibly torn off, and losing his left arm.
• Jack revealing his secret ultimate card, Red Demon's Dragon Tyrant, is an absolute slew of callbacks to 5D's. As he is about to Synchro Summon it, he finds himself confronted with a broken bridge - and jumps over it by forcing his D-Wheel into overdrive, which surrounds his bike and his monsters with a bright red aura just like the one that surrounds Yusei and his monsters whenever he would perform an Accel Synchro Summon. Tyrant itself is a large homage to Scar-Red Nova Dragon, the ultimate form of Red Demon's Dragon in 5D's, having near-identical horns and requiring what is known as a "Double Tuning" to Synchro Summon, a method that causes the Synchro rings to appear orange and fiery rather than green and futuristic. Finally, Jack actually invokes the Crimson Dragon in Tyrant's summoning chant, despite him showing no indication of being a Signer in this continuity, and the dragon itself flies past Scarlight in a cameo during its transformation into Tyrant.
  • During the next turn, Yuya makes his own callback to 5D's when he Pendulum Summons five monsters at once. The monsters take the form of five streaks of light which fly through the air, each of them a color of the rainbow except purple, just like Shooting Star Dragon when it splits into five copies of itself through its effect. When the streaks of light all converge, they resemble the end of Yusei's Duel with Aporia, when all five Shooting Star Dragons fly through the air and hit Aporia's ace monster all at once, destroying it.
• In episode 98, the way Yuya defeats Jack is similar to how Yusei defeated Jack in the last episode of 5D's. Yusei powered up his low-Level monsters to give Junk Warrior an immense boost that not only overpowered Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon, but also reduce Jack's Life Points to 0. Yuya powers up all of his monsters and attacks Jack's Tyrant with four of his weaker monsters while backing them up with the Pendulum Effect of Nirvana High Paladin, weakening Jack's monster with each attack and then Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon deals the finishing blow while doubling the Battle Damage, causing Jack to lose the duel.
  • His strategy also bears a striking resemblance to Yusei's winning play against Z-ONE, where he used Clustering Wishes to power up his ace Stardust Dragon enough to defeat Yliaster's leader's seemingly invincible boss card by combining forces with the other Signer Dragons.
• In episode 99, Roget's attempt to suck the whole City into a massive black hole is eerily reminiscent of the Zero Reverse from the original 5D's.
• Episode 100 ends with Kaito standing in front of Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, an Xyz upgrade of his Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL ace, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. He even delivers his Catchphrase, "Are you ready to repent?"
• Episode 101 has Kaito's summon chant for Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, which is lifted almost verbatim from the chant he used for Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL. The only difference is driven by this Kaito's motivation: instead of calling on Galaxy-Eyes to embody the light of hope, he orders it to embody a wrathful god of revenge.
  • Its attack name takes elements from both Photon and Tachyon Dragon: "Cipher Stream of Annihilation".
• Episode 105 has Edo Phoenix revealing his new ace monster, D-HERO Dystopiaguy which shares a name with Dystopia the Despondent, the ace monster of the Big Bad in the ZEXAL manga, with Dystopiaguy even being introduced in Heartland's ruins. However this may be coincidental as Dystopia is its TCG name, and it was known as Anti-Hope, God of Despair in the OCG.
• Episode 106 has Yuri attacking the Fusion Dimension's version of You Show Duel School. The monsters used by each of the 5 duelist who faced Yuri are reminiscent of the ace monsters of Judai's friends in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX:
  • "Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill" belongs to Sho.
  • "Master of Oz" belongs to Hayato
  • "VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Dragon" was used by Manjoume during his first duel with Judai, while "Ojama King" became one of his ace monsters later on in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
• In Episode 110, Edo/Aster uses a Duel Anchor (via a Field Spell) to force Yuya into dueling him, just like Team Satisfaction did to their opponents in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, and just as Kaito (who happens to be present) did in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
• Captain Solo from Episode 115 is a reference to Anacis from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Additionally, he is a Villain of the Week notionally tied to the metaplot of the series with out really progressing the plot. This is similar to many duels in season 1 of GX.
• Episode 116: While Apollo is a clear reference to Rin's solar imagery with Yugo, Diana is a bit trickier, being a reference to Kaito's last moon-based duel, where he literally dueled Mizael on the moon.
  • Also, there is Kaito's crescent shaped duel disk in ARC-V to reference that duel.
• The Japanese title of episode 119 is "Yami ni Ochita Kotori".
• The Battle Beast which debuted in episode 120 seems to be based on Taira Taizan.
• Once again, Asuka's removal from the plot involves the Super Polymerization.
• In episode 124, Yuya and Yuto performed the same technique that Yugi and Dark Yugi used multiple times in the original manga.
• Episode 126 is full of these.
  • One could draw some parallels between Ray & Zarc and the Creator God of Light Horakhty & the Great Evil God Zorc Necrophades respectively.
  • Zarc like Judai and Ruka, can see and talk to Duel Monster spirits.
  • A lot of monsters from the various series are shown in the flashback.
  • After Zarc fused with his dragons, we see him as part of his dragon just like Yami Marik and the Winged Dragon of Ra. He also grows wings that make him resemble Vector.
  • Zarc's name and role as an Evil Counterpart of the protagonist feel rather like a nod to the Red Herring in 5D's of Z-one being a future Yusei, though reversed in that Zarc came before Yuya.
• Episode 133: Yuya's flashback shows The Masked Beast, a ritual monster used by Lumis and Umbra against Kaiba and Yugi in the original DM anime.
• Episode 136: Zarc has two powerful cards with 'Zero' and 'Infinity' in their names. Just like Darkness, the final antagonist from the GX anime.
  • Zarc also becomes one/his monster form, which shows his human form as a part of it, and in 140 as he's getting defeated and trying to retake control of Yuya's body, his face visibly distorts. These are definite callbacks towards Yami Marik, how he fused with the Winged Dragon of Ra and his various facial distortions.
• Episode 139: Once agian, Jack is knocked off his D-Wheel in a hilarious fashion.
• Episode 146: When Yuya and Jack are in between dimensions when on the interdimensional highway, it resembles the last part of Yusei and Jack's duel in the Fortune Cup when they had the vision of the Dark Signers.
  • The tuner that Yuya uses to summon Clear Wing is a Synchron, an archetype of tuners that Yusei used.
• Episode 147: A version of Red Daemon's Dragon is defeated for the final time in the series trying to punch out the boosted attack of the hero's original ace? Are we talking about Red Daemon's Dragon Scar-right vs Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon or its original incarnation versus Yusei's Junk Warrior?
  • Reiji's new Extra Deck/Pendulum Hell Armageddon monsters each resemble a previous Big Bad:
    • Purplish Hell is a winged demonic entity with a draconic...tail/crotch. Exactly like Zorc Necrophades, but also of Diabound. His smaller wings bring to mind Darkness from GX, in which the latter used as his Duel Disk. Both series had only Fusion monsters.
    • Whitest Hell is mechanical and has two disconnected floating clawed hands like Z-One.
    • Darkness Hell resembles Don Thousand's armored form