Line #84 YMMV/YuGiOhVRAINS


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2	%% Please use "VRAINS", not "Vrains", and ''[=ARC-V=]'', not ''Arc-V''.
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4	* AbandonShipping: Many fans began shipping Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd after it was hinted they had a connection and he called her by her real name. However, most immediately dropped it after episode 76 aired and it was revealed that [[spoiler: said connection was that they were half-siblings.]]
5	* AmericansHateTingle: While the series has a SoOkayItsAverage reputation in the English fandom, it has better ratings in Japan and consistently stayed high in ratings. It was even ranked sixth in a Best Anime of 2019 Japanese poll, beating juggernauts like ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' and ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''.
6	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: With the revelation that [[spoiler:Jin was given LaserGuidedAmnesia after being freed from Bohman and Lightning, and the implication that it's a result of Lightning taking a portion of his consciousness as a means of surviving his duel with Revolver, it puts Lightning's motive behind this into question. Did he deliberately choose to hold onto the data that had the memories of Jin's trauma as a means of atonement, aware he was gonna lose his life after the duel? Did he just pick the data at random and it was by pure luck said data had the memories? Or was he so assured in Bohman's victory afterwards that he didn't think it necessary to cripple Jin with the trauma anymore and was posthumously HoistByHisOwnPetard? The former seems to be supported by how he admits that he overdid Jin's trauma and initially planned on relegating humanity to a small corner of the world rather than destroying it outright.]] Going a step further into Season 3, [[spoiler:his showing Ai how his existence will destroy humanity]]. Was he really trying to KickTheDog, or was he putting on a facade so [[spoiler:Ai would grow strong enough to succeed Bohman and find an alternative route]]? [[TakeAThirdOption Or was he trying to overcome]] [[spoiler:his InferioritySuperiorityComplex by posthumously warning Ai about a BadFuture while masquerading as a villain [[StealthMentor so Ai wouldn't suspect that he was being used to save humanity]]]]? The dub actually muddles this even further, as he claims to have made these calculations when he met Playmaker for the first time.
7	* AntiClimaxBoss: The Commanders of the Knights of Hanoi go down pretty quickly after they're introduced, failing to win a single duel against the protagonists and preventing a look at their plan to accomplish their goals ''without'' [[spoiler:destroying LINK VRAINS]], leaving Revolver and [[spoiler:Spectre]] to do the heavy lifting for the villains for the rest of the season. Even more egregious was Baira and Faust's defeat of an army of AI Duelists in a ridiculous timeframe, as well as how they and Genome defeated several copies of Echo, an A.I. Windy created, particularly since Faust went down in a single episode as opposed to either of his fellows.
8	* ArcFatigue: The second season suffers badly from this. The pacing for the season was rather poor for most of it. The first half of the season took way too long to properly introduce the plot and while the second half improved pacing, it felt as though some duels were either way too long or not as long as they should be. Also not helping matters was the entire season using the same opening "Go Forward", but as with the previous season, yet unlike previous series, it didn't even bother to update the visuals despite them being very outdated halfway through the season.[[note]]To name a few examples, Revolver's new Avatar, Blue Maiden, Bohman's second and third outfits, and any of the Ignis other than Ai and Flame are all absent.[[/note]]
9	* AssPull:
10	** Keeping in [[FranchiseOriginalSin tradition with the previous entries]] the "Storm Access", "Neo Storm Access" and "Master Storm Access" skills used by several characters, most notably Playmaker. They allow the user to access a random card (specifically Extra deck monsters consistent with their deck's theme) from the Data Storm when he has 1000 LP or less. In theory, he should occasionally gain monsters that are not useful for his predicament. In practice, "random" translates to "whatever the writers need to allow Playmaker to stage a comeback", even if, in hindsight, Ai ''might'' be guiding Playmaker to access the correct card for the situation.
11	** More traditionally, Playmaker still has an array of situational cards that only appear for one episode in order to counter whatever threatening move his opponent uses. [[spoiler:Zero Extra Link]] from the Season One finale is one of the more jarring examples, specifically mentioning [[spoiler:Extra Links]] in its text in the few situations where it's happened in the show; its real-life adaptation does not specify that to make it far less situational.
12	** Soulburner's Gate of Fire from episode 60, a Continuous Trap that protects him from 300 or less effect damage, which would be near useless in a game where most burn damage is at least 500... if he [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman didn't just happen]] to be up against a [[DeathOfAThousandCuts Trickstar]] deck, which specializes in doing 200 points of damage at a time.
13	** Bohman and Windy can somehow use their Skills in the middle of a Master Duel, with little explanation as to how other than Windy's claim that he has greater control over the wind due to his element. [[spoiler:However Queen's duel against Ai may give this a simple explanation: They hacked the system.]]
14	** The end of the duel between Blood Shepherd and [[spoiler:Lightning]] had the latter topdeck the exact card he needed to turn the situation twice in a row which was lampshaded in the episode itself as shown by the quote below. It also doesn't help that two of [[spoiler: Lightning]]'s cards, Armatos Lex and Armatos Legio Magica Alcum, had effects which look tailor-made to deal with Blood Shepherd's playstyle.
15	--->'''Ai''': He's really good at drawing.
16	** Yusaku's final turn against [[spoiler:Go Onizuka]] in their second duel can definitely be considered this. After Yusaku failed to use his skill thanks to [[spoiler:Go's Anti-Skill]] and his attempt at winning also negated thanks to his trap getting negated, his new skill Neo Storm Access apparently has an additional effect that conveniently lets him draw 1 card and get an extra deck monster only if his LP is 100 or lower and his first attempt to get a card failed which was never hinted at or mentioned before.
17	** The result of [[spoiler:Revolver vs. Lightning. Lightning opted to go for a DRAW result, but as Revolver gets turned into data, Lightning manages to survive with 1 LP remaining by holding onto one piece of Jin's consciousness data. Setting aside that it's explicitly acknowledged that Lightning cheated, there's no reason to believe that the data derived from somehow digitizing Jin's brain would have any effect on a duel one way or the other. The worst part is that it accomplished little, as Lightning was still too weak and gave himself to Bohman anyway.]]
18	** While Storm Access had already obtained this reaction, as did using skills in Master Duels, Bohman's skills used in his final battle with Playmaker both reek of this: Master Storm Access and the Neuron Link.
19	*** Master Storm Access is the only skill that can be used more than once per duel, and allows Bohman to [[spoiler:add a Cyberse monster to his Extra Deck every turn.]]
20	*** The Neuron Link meanwhile is a program he created that fuels his Master Storm Access by [[spoiler:absorbing the conscious data of victims in VRAINS. When Akira and Emma manage to disable it at the cost of their own lives, he just wills it back to work. When there are no victims left to power it, he uses the data from VRAINS itself. So just when it appears the protagonists manage to stop the Neuron Link and therefore his skill, Bohman manages to just restart it out of nowhere]].
21	** Soulburner's [[spoiler: Burning Draw card (not the Skill) only works if he controls no cards and if there is a Link Monster on his opponent's field, which isn't possible as Zeroboros banished every card on the field. It would have been a dead draw for Soulburner if it weren't for Topologic Zeroboros coming back to the field on his turn, giving him the chance to use the card and [[TheMagicPokerEquation draw four cards to win the duel.]]]]
22	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Has its own part [[AwesomeMusic/YuGiOh here.]]
23	* BadassDecay: Spectre used to be a dangerous individual, fellow Hanoi Project victim alongside [[TheAce Playmaker]], and TheDragon to [[TheRival Revolver]] during the Tower of Hanoi arc, defeating Kitamura, Blue Angel and coming close to defeating Playmaker. In Season 2 though, he's explicitly said to be the weakest of the team that goes to Mirror LINK VRAINS despite becoming capable of Extra Linking[[note]]and implying that Blue Maiden has surpassed him given her presence[[/note]] and gets defeated by Lightning, and in Season 3 he's defeated by Ai offscreen alongside Faust due to a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot as his seiyuu was unavailable for recording at the time. That being said, he's only this trope as a Dueling example goes; his mind games remain very much intact.
24	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
25	** Yusaku may be the most divisive protagonist in the franchise to date. His colder, more reserved and stoic personality lead to many fans dismissing him as boring or lacking real character growth, especially compared to the other, more expressive characters in the series like Revolver and Soulburner. His fans in turn praise him for his complex Duel strategies, the development he ''does'' have throughout the series, his depiction of trauma following the Lost Incident and for being a unique take on the protagonist formula, alongside his development/relationships with Revolver and Ai that form the backbones of Seasons 1 and 3. That, like Yusei before him, he technically never loses a duel across the entire series is also a point of contention due to accusations of plot armour or favoritism (albeit Yusaku has no duels that stand out as egregiously as Yusei vs Jean in terms of the fandom calling foul).
26	** Takeru Homura, aka Soulburner, the {{Deuteragonist}} starting in Season 2. Some like him for being a fun, interesting addition to the cast and another Lost Incident victim for the show to explore, being another person for Yusaku to talk to after criticisms of the first season’s lack of character interactions, and for his arc surrounding his guilt over his parent’s dying while looking for him when he was kidnapped. Others dislike his introduction involving him beating Aoi and Go, who (at least at the time for Go) were popular characters, find him faking his fear of ghosts in his duel against Blood Shepherd because he had already gotten over it after a quick pep talk months ago to be cheap, and accuse him of being a SpotlightStealingSquad because of his [[Creator/YukiKaji popular voice actor]] and cards. While his duel against Revolver near the end of the series and the conclusion to his arc are generally well-liked, debates are still heated over whether it was enough to save his character or if it was much too late for him. He's often compared to Crow Hogan from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', another BaseBreakingCharacter, due to both using Decks that were powerful in the real game, but were introduced late into their respective series.
27	* BrokenBase:
28	** Link summoning, and the duels in general, are a rather contentious part of the show. On one hand, there are fans who think that the duels involve far too much of the characters just spamming link summons over and over again and feel that the method isn’t very interesting to watch. On the other hand, there are those who like it, arguing that the duels are much more accurate to the actual card game compared to any of the other shows in the franchise.
29	** From episode 57, the fake out plot about Bohman actually being the real Yusaku. Some fans felt that it was a complete waste of time and that it was extremely obvious it wasn’t going to turn out to be true. Others, however, thought it could’ve been interesting to explore and were [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot disappointed the show ditched it almost immediately.]]
30	* CatharsisFactor:
31	** Spectre meeting his end at the hands of [[spoiler:Playmaker]] is a satisfying as hell sight to watch, considering the atrocities he committed in the name of Hanoi.
32	** Queen getting defeated by [[spoiler:a rogue Ai]] is satisfying to watch especially since she was responsible for the death of his friend [[spoiler:Earth]] as well all the other horrible things she did.
33	* CharacterRerailment: After his [[CharacterizationMarchesOn drastic change]] in personality in season 2, season 3 has Go Onizuka act a lot more like his old self back in the first season, fighting to protect others as he once did. He even uses his original Gouki Deck in duels rather than Dinowrestlers.
34	* ContestedSequel: How ''VRAINS'' holds up to previous anime series is a very contentious topic. The more grounded and gritty characters and story, and the less duel-focused plot, are either a breath of fresh air or completely spit on the appeal of a show based on a children's card game. A lot of the division can be represented by Yusaku himself, with some seeing him as good protagonist and a very realistic portrayal of PTSD who changes slowly over the course of the show, while others view him as a boring GaryStu with little to no CharacterDevelopment. The extremely divisive Link Summoning mechanic being a focal point doesn't assist matters, as it results in the duels more closely resembling the very contentious fast pace of the modern game.
35	* CrossoverShip:
36	** Thanks to their connection to the word "Stardust", many fanart of Ryoken being shipped with Yusei popped up.
37	** Because of her compatibility with Playmaker's Link monsters in the [[TabletopGame/YuGiOh TCG]], [[Characters/YuGiOhSForce I:P Masquerena]] is paired up with Playmaker.
38	* DracoInLeatherPants:
39	** Revolver is meant to be a complex, morally grey character, like most of the characters in the show. While he is ultimately supposed to [[VillainHasAPoint have a point]] on the dangers of the Ignis, he still commits many awful terrorist acts in order to achieve his goals, especially with the Tower of Hanoi, and openly admits to regretting having saved the Lost Incident kids as a child because of how it led to his father being put in a coma. However, because of his pretty looks, sympathetic backstory, and general coolness, many fans like to ignore or downplay his crimes, often excusing it by saying that he was only doing it for his father’s attention.
40	** In canon, Spectre is the TokenEvilTeammate who is hiding a cruel and sadistic personality under his FauxAffablyEvil demeanor, and loves giving cruel {{Breaking Speech}}es to his enemies; the battle with Blue Angel being the best example. Many fans gloss over his negative traits in favor of his [[UsedToBeASweetKid sympathetic backstory]], [[EvilIsCool his awesome duels]] and often portrayed him as an AffablyEvil person or even a BigBrotherMentor to the other lost incident victims in fanworks.
41	* DieForOurShip: Ai tends to get this in fanworks where Yusaku is shipped with someone other than him. The importance of his relationship as Yusaku's partner will generally be downplayed, and he'll often be {{Flanderized}} into being nothing more than the annoying comic relief character who constantly irritates Yusaku, sometimes involving Yusaku physically assaulting him in response. In other cases, he's simply [[spoiler: kept dead after his duel with Yusaku, with no explanation as to why Yusaku didn't even bother trying to look for him like he did in canon.]] This is, of course, if his existence is even acknowledged at all.
42	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
43	** Earth is easily one of the more popular Ignis despite being the least active in the plot, due to his {{Adorkable}} relationship with Aqua and his [[NoSocialSkills lack of social skills]], on top of being the first Ignis to duel in the series. [[spoiler:His horrific and sudden death only fueled this]].
44	** Specter's personality was largely unknown for most of the first season until he dueled Blue Angel, and he quickly became one of the most popular characters in the anime due to his personality of being a sociopath that's ''also'' loyal to Ryoken's plans, [[spoiler:his emotional reaction to Earth's death]], his Sunavalons being a really interesting archetype, and his memetic backstory of being raised by a ''tree''. In fact, on a poll as to which anime deck should be printed, Specter's was ''second'' only losing to Jim Cook's Fossils. This is despite him only getting three full duels in the series and usually being OutOfFocus when he isn't dueling.
45	** Jin Kusanagi is a very popular character due to being Shoichi Kusanagi's younger brother and one of the first revealed victims of the Lost Incident. Many fans wished to see him duel and get more screentime, but unfortunately the show kept him and most of the victims OutOfFocus and his purpose for existing in the show is to motivate Yusaku and Kusanagi during their fight against Hanoi and Lightning (though visually he plays Lightning's cards for him).
46	** Miyu Sugisaki became well-liked due to being Aoi's {{Childhood Friend\|s}} and the only female victim of the Lost Incident with a surprisingly fleshed-out backstory. Similar to the other victims her fans were eager to see her in action, potentially taking up Marincess or Trickstar after Season 2, but like Jin she only existed as motivational fuel for someone else's character development, which in her case is Aoi's.
47	** Windy's unnamed Origin is also well-loved by many fans despite only making a brief cameo in the show. Many fans refuse to accept he is deceased and there are many fanarts and fanfics about him.
48	* EpilepticTrees: Thanks to the JigsawPuzzlePlot, there are several interesting theories.
49	** Aoi/Blue Angel is commonly believed to be a part of the Lost Incident and the child that was used for the basis of Aqua, the WATER Ignis. This [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/f/f3/Hanoi_Project_Victims_Silhouettes_1.png/revision/latest?cb=20180527010252 image]] of the girl is a dead ringer for Aoi as a child further supports this theory. [[spoiler: Episode #76 disproves this theory, however, as Aqua reveals that her Origin is Miyu, a childhood friend of Aoi's, who ''styled her hair like Aoi's'' because she misses her after an incident in their childhood. Yes, they actually explain why the silhouette from many episodes ago looks like Aoi.]]
50	** Thanks to [[Anime/YuGiOhGX Johan]], [[Anime/YuGiOh5Ds Bruno]], [[Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL Shingetsu]], [[Anime/YuGiOhArcV Sora and Dennis]], viewers of the previous series were incredibly suspicious of Takeru Homura. [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/cdd64ec92e2c4c1cefc104443694edb6/tumblr_p725h348qa1tisom3o1_540.png This]] [[FreezeFrameBonus blink-and-you-miss-it]] shot of Takeru popularized the theory that he may have a split personality, and/or simply used to be a delinquent [[FreudianExcuse as a result of the Lost Incident]]. The latter theory was confirmed as Takeru's backstory was further explored, revealing that he was left rather directionless after the incident and the death of his parents, to the point where he all but dropped out of school and spent his time picking fights with people, his only other connections being his grandparents and his friend Kiku, and that he only changed into his present-day {{keet}} demeanor after being inspired by Playmaker, Blue Angel, and Go Onizuka facing the Knights of Hanoi.
51	** SOL Technologies Inc. themselves are InUniverse a major mystery, in spite of seemingly coming off as a typical CorruptCorporateExecutive den. This is thanks to the fact that there is practically no backstory to any of their higher-ups. We only get insight into the members from the middle and the bottom of their hierarchy, leaving everything about them up to debate and speculation.
52	** Windy's partner became a hot topic after it was revealed Windy caused him to [[spoiler:be a part of a car accident, but it was not revealed if he actually died. It was also never stated when it happened to cause people to link the car accident to other accidents such as the death of Akira's and Aoi's parents or the accident Kengo Dojun/Blood Shepherd and his mother were a part of since they were all caused by traffic accidents. Some even went as far as to theorize that Kengo is Windy's partner just like with Aoi above, because the accident that happened to him is similar to what Windy did and because all of his Drone monsters are WIND Attribute. Episode 88 disproves this theory, for Windy's origin is finally revealed briefly in a flashback and he's a teenager around Yusaku's age who seemed to have moved on from his trauma for he had friends]].
53	** Some like to theorize that Queen is [[spoiler: really Yusaku's mother. The reason is their similar hair colors and Yusaku's unknown parents.]]
54	* FandomSpecificPlot: The simulations Lightning shows to Ai is used by fanfic writers to create AlternateTimeline stories, most involving Ai and Yusaku saving each other in different ways.
55	* FanficFuel:
56	** The BadFuture glimpsed in episode 120 and [[spoiler: Ai's involvement in the destruction of humanity before or after Yusaku's death]] are all largely unexplored other than a few vague details, leaving lots of room for fanfic writers to fill in the gaps.
57	** While they don’t go through with it, Ai's offer to Yusaku to fuse together just like [[Anime/YuGiOhGX Judai and Yubel]] has created a lot of interest in what they would look like had they actually fused.
58	** [[spoiler: Due to Windy attempting to murder him,]] little is known about Windy’s Origin, creating lots of room for fanfic writers to explore what his life and personality may be like.
59	** After [[spoiler: Ai and Roboppi]] gained human forms due to the introduction of [=SOLtiS=] androids, many have become curious in what the other Ignis may look like with human forms [[spoiler: as they all killed before the [=SOLtiS=] were released.]]
60	* FanNickname:
61	** ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Try'' for the series itself, mainly for its TagLine and ArcNumber being a recurring theme.
62	** Thanks to its recap episodes, the show is sometimes called "Yu-Gi-Oh! Recap"
63	** With the introduction of Speed Duels, many fans would usually call it "Duel Links: VRAINS Version".
64	** [[Film/KungFury HACKERMAN]] for Yusaku. Sometimes [[TotallyRadical Skater Boi]] instead or "Wisteria" after his hair color and surname.
65	** Certain groups have shortened Ignis into "Iggy".
66	** Hot Dog Guy for Kusanagi (Kolter). Sam Black has embraced this one.
67	** Dr. Kogami's appearance in Episode 42 earned him the nickname "Labcoat Jesus". He's also sometimes called "Dr. Creator/{{Konami}}", as an obvious LastSecondWordSwap. [[spoiler: Also somewhat symbolic and ironic given Kogami's history of "dying" years ago, and now working against what he created, being seen as similar to Konami "betraying" their roots.]]
68	** Due to Spectre's resemblances to the two characters in appearance and personality[=/=]deck archetype respectively, he's sometimes called "Budget Edo" or "Budget Yuri".
69	** "Daddy Ryoken" after Revolver's [[{{Bishounen}} real-life appearance]] was revealed. Some nicknames him "Stardust Boy" after Stardust Road and as a callback to [[Anime/YuGiOh5Ds Yusei]].
70	** Takeru/Soulburner got the nickname "Crow 2.0" or "Crowburner" as he quickly became [[SpotlightStealingSquad part of the main cast]] and the show promoting his Salamangreat deck at the same time.
71	** Revolver vs Soulburner got the nickname "Battle of the Structure Decks" in certain circles.
72	** Some call Roboppi's humanoid appearance as [[Anime/YuGiOhArcV "Sora"]]
73	* {{Fanon}}:
74	** In fanfictions, Windy's unnamed origin is usually named after terms for wind like Zephyr or Kaze as a nod to his Ignis' attribute[[note]]Zephyr means West Wind in Greek, and Kaze is wind in Japanese[[/note]]. He's usually depicted with a brash or mischievous attitude like Windy himself.
75	** Since nothing was ever revealed about his parents, it's popular for Yusaku to be depicted as an orphan in fanfictions. There's also a popular headcanon that his TrademarkFavoriteFood is hotdogs since it's the only thing he's shown eating in the show.
76	** Thanks to his rather bizarre connection with trees, a good number of fans like depicting Spectre as a CaringGardener that tends to plants even when nothing like that is ever shown in canon.
77	** It's not shown where or when Playmaker and Revolver acquired [[spoiler:Accesscode Talker]] or [[spoiler:Topologic Zeroboros]] respectively. The general assumption is they acquired them during the Speed Duels against [[spoiler:Ai's clones]] but this is never confirmed and [[spoiler:Ai himself]] doesn't seem to recognise them when he sees them in the series.
78	* FanPreferredCouple: While Takeru gets a MaybeEverAfter with his ChildhoodFriend Kiku in the last episode, his most popular pairing is with [[TheHero Yusaku]], likely because he has quite a bit of HoYay with him while Kiku only appears in a couple of episodes.
79	* FountainOfMemes: This is really the best way to describe the fan response to Ryoken Kogami/Revolver. Just about everything about him is subjected to MemeticMutation: his {{Narm}}-filled NewMediaAreEvil rant, inspiring obligatory gun jokes, [[AssKickingPose his poses]], usage of [[spoiler: Mirror Force]], [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer and even]] [[spoiler: ''his departure via [[http://miss617.tumblr.com/post/172592949677/what-a-great-send-off-revolver-got boat]]'']] at the end of Season 1.
80	* GeniusBonus: [[GeniusBonus/YuGiOh Here.]]
81	* GrowingTheBeard: While the second season's first half started with an interesting premise, it suffered from several problems such as several characters being thrown out of focus in favor of Soulburner & Playmaker, who made a good chunk of the cast seem like fodder, as well as slow pacing to the main arc. Come the second half, the focus on Playmaker and Soulburner has been toned down, each of the neglected characters were given their own storylines such as Go [[spoiler:implanting an AI chip in his brain to get stronger]], Aoi [[spoiler:befriending Aqua and getting stronger as Blue Maiden]], Ghost Girl & Blood Shepherd's relationship and Revolver reuniting the Hanoi to destroy the Ignis, in addition to improving the pacing substantially. In addition, the duels were far better received up until the Mirror LINK VRAINS duels, which are quite contentious.
82	* HarsherInHindsight:
83	** "Take a step forward and try!" The theme of not being intimidated and giving up when things seem too complicated can be painful to hear after the massive fanbase outcry when Link Summoning and changes to the rules of the game that was set in stone for ''decades'' was introduced, easily eclipsing the original vocal complaints Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum got ''combined''. More than a few prolific [[FanNickname YugiTubers]] ended up swearing off the card game as a result. In other words, instead of taking a step forward and trying it out, several of them ended up quitting at how overly complicated Link Summoning was and how it single-highhandedly seemed to {{Nerf}} the other Extra Deck summoning types. ''The exact opposite of what the show was trying to promote!''
84	** Back in season 1 Akira offered to take Ai from Playmaker/Yusaku so that he could live a normal life and that he would shoulder the burden of discovering the truth himself. This was a selfless kind offer Akira made to a person he barely knows, but [[spoiler:after SOL Technologies killed Earth, it's heavily implied the same would have happened to Ai if Yusaku were to accept his offer or if Akira won the duel. Termination could also have been Flame's fate had Soulburner lost to Blue Girl.]]
85	** During Season 1, people had speculated GO was a Lost Incident victim, similar to how people thought Aoi was since Earth looked quite similar to him. Although the theory has been disproven due to Earth being [[spoiler:Spectre's Ignis]], in episode 81 [[spoiler:Go is now shown to be fused with Earth's decompiled data. So, the theory about them being partners became true in a terrifying way]].
86	** Ai’s remark that he will become ''Ai Onizuka'' in response to the AI chip becomes cringy after episode 80 where it is revealed that [[spoiler:Earth was integrated into Go Onizuka, meaning that if Playmaker loses to GO, then Ai will potentially be integrated into GO.]]
87	* HeartwarmingInHindsight:
88	** The female Lost Incident victim was shown in a flashback to have a similar hairstyle to a younger Aoi. Later, it's revealed [[spoiler: said victim, Miyu, was once Aoi's close friend.]] Despite the fact their friendship was brief, it had such an effect on her that it's the most powerful memory Aqua gets from her [[spoiler:in her coma.]] Meaning [[spoiler:Miyu]] probably started wearing [[spoiler:Aoi's]] old hairstyle as a way to remember her.
89	** Aoi's decision to fight for others back in season 1 becomes this when one considers her friendship with Miyu, a Lost Incident Victim. Aoi didn't know it back then, but when she joined Playmaker's war against the Hanoi, she was fighting the people who made [[spoiler:Miyu]] suffer.
90	* HesJustHiding:
91	** Hardly anyone is convinced that [[spoiler:Windy succeeded in killing his own partner]]. This is because [[spoiler:he didn't have a name upon being shown as a partial silhouette, further leading fans to believe he's still alive]].
92	** By the end of the series, [[spoiler:all of the Ignis get this treatment, with many citing Ai's implied survival at the end of season 3 as proof that the others could have survived their fates as well.]]
93	* HilariousInHindsight:
94	** In ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' there is a RunningGag in which a {{Jerkass}} character (Kaiba) tells the ButtMonkey of the series (Mokuba) to shut up whenever he talks. Now in ''VRAINS'' we have a similar RunningGag with Yusaku and Ai.
95	** In the dub, Yusaku and Ai have the same [=VAs=] as [[Anime/YuGiOhZexal Dumon And Mach]], another pairing of an amnesiac with an extraterrestrial being that is part of a set.
96	** Fans often cite Decode Talker as Yusaku's ace monster over Firewall Dragon due to its higher number of appearances. Come Season 2, and Decode Talker only had a brief cameo taking out a [[{{Mook}} BitBoot]][[note]]forty episodes since Season 1 ended[[/note]] before finally reappearing in episode 92 in full, while Firewall Dragon had appeared twice before then, albeit used to [=OTK=] a minor Duelist the first time and [[spoiler:received an alternate form in Firewall eXceed Dragon]] and an upgrade in the [[spoiler:Link-5 Firewall Dragon Darkfluid]].
97	** Minami Takahashi voicing Roboppi in this series becomes very entertaining come ''Anime/YuGiOhSEVENS'', where she voices Asana Mutsuba, a character who ''hates'' drones like Roboppi.
98	** And on the English side, Yusaku was voiced by Jake Paque, who later voices Kaizo in ''Anime/YuGiOhSEVENS''. He's gone from enduring a sassy AI to voicing one.
99	* HoYay: As with all the other titles in the franchise, [[HoYay/YuGiOhVRAINS it has its page now.]]
100	* IKnewIt:
101	** In a hilarious variation, almost everyone assumed that the 'terrifying' card Revolver used to defeat Ghost Girl was the entirely mundane [[spoiler:Mirror Force]], as confirmed when [[spoiler: GO Onizuka]] falls victim to it as well.
102	** While [[spoiler:Aoi]] & [[spoiler:Aqua]]'s relationship is not what many expected, many people from the beginning of the series predicted they would eventually team-up. Come episode 77 it finally happened.
103	** Most people predicted that Alyson Leigh Rosenfield would likely be voicing Queen after she trolled Twitter about it prior to her debut episode.
104	** Most people expected [[spoiler:Kusanagi to betray Yusaku]] when the second OP more or less spoiled it.
105	* ItsShortSoItSucks: The third season and to a greater extent, ''VRAINS'' as a whole, gets this for being the shortest season and series in ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' history. To give a comparison, Duel Monsters lasted 224 episodes, ''GX'' 180, ''5D's'' 154, ''ZEXAL'' 146, & [=ARC=]-V 148. ''VRAINS'' only has 120 episodes, and Season 3 is only 18 episodes. Not only is that strange considering the anime typically takes 3 years to finish, but there were also a lot of plots and characters that still needed development. This caused many to view the series as rushed so that ''Anime/YuGiOhSEVENS'' could avoid the well-known production issues that plagued ''VRAINS''. However, ''SEVENS'' ended up having even ''less'' episodes than ''VRAINS'' (92 episodes), which ended up starting a new argument in the fandom about how long a series should be.
106	* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: One complaint in the show is that story arcs generally follow the same formula: Big bad is revealed and wrecks havoc in LINK VRAINS, everyone teams up to defeat them, almost [[WeAreTeamCannonFodder all the good guys get erased and their actions are rendered meaningless by the villains]], leaving Playmaker to save the day. The villain gets defeated then releases all captives, rinse and repeat. The only difference is who's the BigBad and who joins Playmaker's faction.
107	* ItWasHisSled:
108	** Revolver's use of [[spoiler:Mirror Force]] has become pretty well-known given the nature of the twist.
109	** [[spoiler:Lightning]] being the BigBad and being behind absolutely ''everything'' in the series due to the MemeticMutation.
110	** [[spoiler: Ai gaining a human form and]] taking the reigns as the BigBad for the final season is also fairly common knowledge.
111	* JerkassWoobie: Yusaku comes off as an antisocial jerk willing to do anything to get the information he needs, and will eliminate anyone who gets in his way. All of this though stems from the incident 10 years ago [[spoiler:where he was kidnapped and held hostage for an unknown period of time and forced to duel AI duelists if he wanted to eat. Every time he lost, [[ElectricTorture he was electrocuted severely]] and denied food until he won again. Several times he nearly gave up only for a mysterious voice—confirmed to be an eight-year-old Revolver in episode 43—to teach him his "three things" habit as a method of survival. By the time he was rescued, the kidnappers had already lost their use for him and left him with a severe case of PTSD that exists to this day. [[BrokenBird No matter how much he wanted to interact with others, no matter how much therapy he received, Yusaku was plagued with nightmares and mental illnesses-induced stress attacks]]. Now he vows to get {{Revenge}} on those who ruined his life, and knows the path he walks is one of darkness, one he doesn't want to drag others on.]] And this is only at the ''start'' of the series.
112	* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Yusaku continues the trend of the main protagonists being this. He has already been shipped with [[RescueRomance Aoi]], [[MsFanservice Emma]], [[RudeHeroNiceSidekick Shoichi]], [[BirdsOfAFeather Jin]] and [[ScrewYourself his Playmaker persona]], but '''especially''' LoveConfession Ai]] and [[IWillFindYou Ryoken]]. Just minutes after he was revealed, Takeru [[{{Foil}} Homura]] [[OnlineAlias a.k.a.]] [[PlayingWithFire Soulburner]] was added to the list and when he isn't shipped with Yusaku in a more traditional manner, FanArt either portrays him as a ThirdWheel or uses him to form an {{OT3}} by adding him to almost any of the previously listed pairings, most often ones being Yusaku x Ryoken x Takeru and even Yusaku x Jin x Takeru.
113	* LGBTFanbase: Even by ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' standards, a franchise that has a long and storied history for its queer fanbase, ''VRAINS'' managed to make an impact through Yusaku and his dynamics with Revolver and Ai especially that lead to both ships (Datastormshipping and Aiballshipping) becoming some of the biggest pairings in the franchise- especially Yusaku and Ai, which is arguably canon due to [[spoiler:Ai's actions in Season 3 being born out of love for Yusaku and his final words being an outright love declaration.]] The fact that the show has very little ShipTease or plots focusing on heterosexual romance compared to past series also helped.
114	* LostInMediasRes: Some viewers found the series confusing and difficult to follow in the first twenty episodes, both because nobody outright explains how Link Summoning works, and because it's clear that the audience knows ''far'' less about the plot than the main character does.
115	* LoveToHate: Lightning. TheChessmaster, AwesomeEgo, and a ColdHam megalomaniac willing to enslave humanity all rolled into one small Ignis body that it makes him a more compelling antagonist than Bohman. Fans now love to [[MemeticMutation blame Lightning]] for every little thing that happened in the franchise, from plots from the previous shows up to ''cards being put on the ban lists.''
116	* MagnificentBastard:
117	** "[[TheCracker Revolver]]", real name Ryoken Kogami, is the leader of [[Characters/YuGiOhVRAINSKnightsOfHanoi the Knights of Hanoi]] one of Link VRAINS' best duelists. After his father, Dr. Kiyoshi Kogami was put on life support, Revolver swore to eliminate the Ignis in his name, believing their existence to be a threat to humanity. Combining new cards with older Trap Cards, Revolver holds his own against several opponents, only losing through foul play or his opponents being even better. After being defeated by Yusaku Fujiki in the climax of season 1, he returns to form an EnemyMine with the heroes and sets his sights on [[ArcVillain Bohman]]'s faction. During his duel with Soulburner, he gives him advice on how to move on from his trauma and faces his eventual defeat with dignity. In the end, Revolver and the Knights of Hanoi [[HeelFaceTurn reform]] and decide to safeguard Link VRAINS, with him giving Yusaku a card to use in the final battle.
118	** [[UltimateLifeForm Bohman]] is the main obstacle of Season 2, [[DragonInChief designed to surpass his creator Lightning]]. Throughout the series, he gains enough experience watching and participating in duels to become an increasingly dangerous threat to the heroes. Bohman's strategy involves manipulating attributes and negating the effects of monsters who share attributes with his own. [[NobleDemon Not without a sense of honor]], Bohman is respectful to his enemies and when Lightning tries to hide behind a hostage, [[EvenEvilHasStandards he takes that advantage away in disgust]]. After a grueling final duel with Yusaku, Bohman peacefully expires [[GracefulLoser without holding any resentment to his enemies]], pleased to be together with his brother Haru.
119	** [[spoiler:[[RogueProtagonist Ai]], having become the last surviving Ignis, is the final antagonist of the series. Upon running simulations of what would happen should he continue to exist, [[SelfSacrificeScheme he came to the realization that he must be destroyed]]. This leads him to turn against his former allies and [[ZeroApprovalGambit become a villain so dangerous that Yusaku would have no choice but to put him down]]. Creating a new deck and hijacking a SOL Technologies' [=SOLtis=] android, Ai defeats the heroes while remaining one step ahead of them throughout his crusade. When eventually faced against his old friend Yusaku, Ai gives him the greatest challenge he's ever known [[AffablyEvil while holding no animosity towards him]]. [[DyingDeclarationOfLove Admitting that he loved Yusaku before disappearing]], Ai proves himself to be one of Link VRAINS' most influential figures.]]
120	* MemeticBadass:
121	** [[spoiler:Mirror Force]], for the sheer unexpected nature of the card, and how much in-universe hype it gets.
122	** Topologina Nabee, an apparently non-existent card that Ai thought Pandor would use. Ai even claims that she would have won had she used it, despite not knowing if it exists. The fandom has since jokingly hyped it up as the ultimate card.
123	** Brave Max's hilarious win against the Knight of Hanoi after he bricked and him [[FreezeFrameBonus owning an]] [[DeaderThanDead Evenly Matched]] card has the fandom sarcastically say he's one of the best duelists in the show.
124	** [[https://i.imgur.com/FfX18Gs.jpg This unnamed duelist]] is declared by Reddit to be able to defeat ''anyone'' [[FreezeFrameBonus thanks to]] [[GameBreaker his Kaiju cards]].
125	** Cyberse Clock Dragon being used to close out three of Playmaker's duels led to many declaring it Playmaker's new ace monster, despite never being called as such in the series itself. Even in duels where it isn't the finisher, it ends up taking out a massive chunk of the opponent's life points.
126	* MemeticHair:
127	** Continuing the tradition of crazy anime hair in the franchise, Yusaku's is often associated with that of a wisteria. Bonus points considering the fact that "Fujiki" is Japanese for "wisteria tree", too.
128	** Ryoken's purple-blue highlights have been compared to [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Wooper's]] gills.
129	** Revolver's second avatar's hair has been compared to axolotl gills.
130	* MemeticLoser:
131	** Aoi/Blue Angel suffered from this heavily from the fandom. The bar was already low in terms of expectations for Aoi due to being the lead female character in a ''Yu-Gi-Oh'' anime (especially coming off ''Arc-V''), but several different events such as Spectre humiliating her in Season 1, Soulburner countering her Trickstar deck with one of the most situational counter-traps in franchise history and the [[https://imgur.com/gallery/iBoKu0H infamous image of her losing and pratfalling]] made her a joke for several years. The finale outright ending with her saying "I didn't really do anything" was taken out of context as her admitting to her own perceived uselessness throughout the entire series.
132	** Firewall Dragon was marketed as Yusaku's ace monster and has some powerful effects that made it a GameBreaker in real life. However, for the times it showed up against significant opponents, the Dragon was either Summoned in a situation where its effects could not be used efficiently, or the opponent had a negation ability ready. To rub salt in the wound, Firewall Dragon would get banned in real life and written out of the series in the middle of season 2.
133	** Cyberse Quantum Dragon is often mocked for its terrible track record in the series. Of all extra deck monsters in Yusaku's deck, it was the only one who never won a duel, failing to win the duel of its debut, as it ends in a draw. A fact made more jarring by the fact that [[spoiler:Yusaku went undefeated for the entire series and said draw being the only two times, and the last time Yusaku DOES NOT win]] making its inability to secure a win even more jarring. Cyberse Quantum Dragon would later get summoned in both season 2 and season 3 finale, got its effect nullified, and does nothing of note.
134	* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/YuGiOhVRAINS Has a page now.]]
135	* MemeticPsychopath: Thanks to the DarkerAndEdgier tone of the series, we get a few of these.
136	** [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/cdd64ec92e2c4c1cefc104443694edb6/tumblr_p725h348qa1tisom3o1_540.png This shot]] of Takeru (only appearing for a split second) almost single-handedly gave him this reputation among many fans who speculate that he may have developed a violent split personality as a result of the Lost Incident in order to cope with the stress. Though this turned out to be [[{{Jossed}} unfounded]] with TheReveal that this is how he used to look before moving to Den City, and that his personality issues simply extended to mild anger and feeling empty.
137	** Due to being an EmptyShell, Jin Kusanagi is seen by many as just about a single step away from JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. Lightning appears to be invoking this in-universe by having him squeeze [[spoiler:Specter's]] data and then telling him to hold off.
138	** Thanks to his sneaky demeanor, Haru gets this treatment as well.
139	* MoralEventHorizon:
140	** It's hard to determine which action of [[spoiler:Lightning's]] is where he crossed it:
141	*** Mentally torturing Jin as a child, leaving him as the EmptyShell he is today. Even he admits that he went too far with that one.
142	*** His first chronological action of implanting the virus into Dr. Kogami and letting him believe it was [[spoiler:SOL Tech]] that was responsible, causing the Knights of Hanoi to target them in addition to the Ignis in the first place.
143	*** Him rewriting the once innocent [[spoiler:Windy]] into the monster he currently is for the sake of gaining an ally and made him [[spoiler:harm his own Origin]].
144	*** Destroying the Cyberse World and framing humanity to justify launching a war on them.
145	*** Enslaving the consciousness data of [[spoiler:Jin, his Origin]].
146	*** The true reason for his enacting a war on humanity being due to an InferioritySuperiorityComplex.
147	** Queen has two possible points in the same episode. [[spoiler:Either when she continues to greenlight the AI chip experiment on Go despite the effects it's having on him for the sake of money, or when she orders the [[CruelAndUnusualDeath termination]] of Earth, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman ignoring his cries that he is alive.]]]]
148	* {{Narm}}: Has its own section on the [[{{Narm/YuGiOh}} franchise's page]].
149	* NarmCharm:
150	** Kengo Dojun[=/=]Blood Shepherd is ridiculously edgy, but also played completely straight. His intro in particular is a case of this. Taken up to eleven by the dub, where his voice is edgy as well in comparison to the more subdued Japanese version.
151	** Aoi's MagicalGirl style TransformationSequence into Blue Maiden [[spoiler: after teaming up with Aqua]], while considered a bit cheesy, is also considered awesome as it marks her transition to a full protagonist alongside Playmaker and Soulburner.
152	** Every old-school Trap Card Revolver uses is rather unexpected and funny, because of how much hype there is for their usage despite being well old cards everyone knows, but at the same time they completely fit with Revolver's personality and they just work!
153	** The English dub has this painful exchange after Varis summons Borrelsword Dragon, but considering its notoriety in the TCG/OCG it can seem rather appropriate.
154	--->'''Gore:''' Gotta admit, looks intimidating.
155	--->'''Varis (apparently highly offended by this):''' It doesn't just ''look'' intimidating. ''(quick zoom)'' It ''is'' intimidating!
156	* NeverLiveItDown: Spectre defeating Aoi in such a way that has her literally [[FacePlant land on her face]] is the moment that fans will often bring up when talking about her. It certainly doesn't help that this was after she already had spent a chunk of the series recovering from a completely different debilitating loss that knocked her into a coma, and she wouldn't win another duel for a ''very'' long period afterward, even if she would [[TookALevelInBadass significantly improve]] and even go on to go toe-to-toe with the BigBad by the end of the series.
157	* NoYay: Playmaker and Brave Max. It doesn't help that one of Brave Max's deluded fantasies of Playmaker features him with exaggeratedly fancy eyelashes, accompanied with [[BishieSparkle white sparkles]].
158	* OlderThanTheyThink:
159	** While Speed Duels were popularized by Duel Links, they were originally made for the Duel Terminal arcade machines.
160	** Many viewers decry Windy and Bohman for using Storm Access in a Master Duel. However the skill only just gives them a new Extra Deck monster in the middle of a duel, which is not something new to the franchise.[[note]][[Anime/YuGiOhGX Aster being allowed to put Destiny End Dragoon in his Fusion Deck during his duel against Chazz]],[[Anime/YuGiOh Yami adding The Eye of Timaeus to his hand (after drawing a card in his Draw Phase) upon it being given to him in his duel against an Orichalcos Soldier]] are two examples before this became a staple in the franchise.[[/note]] However the stark difference is unlike those examples is that Windy and Bohman were actually called out by the characters in-universe for cheating, and Windy actively admits it.
161	** Each season only having one opening theme. While many fans complain about how the opening themes stay the same for each season, ''Anime/YuGiOh'' and ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' had nearly every season use the same opening theme for the duration of their run, and in the former’s case, for nearly two and a half seasons. The difference here though is that those openings would often be updated when a new arc or new developments would pop up, whereas ''VRAINS'' openings would be updated within the first dozen or so episodes before leaving them as they are for the rest of the season, despite any new developments that take place after.[[note]]WARRIORS from the original series was a notable exception, only updating the ending shot.[[/note]]
162	* OneTrueThreesome: Where to even begin?
163	** In general one character may be shipped with both the civilian persona ''and'' the LINK VRAINS avatar of another character. For example, Blue Angel (and more recently and quite prominently Ryoken) has been shipped with both Yusaku and Playmaker.
164	** Yusaku has [[RuleOfThree three]] main HoYay {{OT3}}s (without LINK VRAINS avatars): 1) with the Kusanagi siblings; 2) with Ryoken and Takeru; 3) Takeru and Jin.
165	** Yusaku is shipped with both Ryoken and Revolver and both versions of Revolver.
166	** As an extreme take on PairTheSpares, things like Takeru x Spectre x Jin aren't unheard of.
167	** Taken up another notch by Takeru, [[ScrewYourself whose current self is simultaneously shipped not only with his Soulburner persona, but also with his past self from before coming to Den City]]. Not too strange considering the clear differences between the two versions of the same character's civilian persona.
168	* PreemptiveShipping: Yusaku and Aoi were shipped as soon as early prerelease info on them dropped due to the potential for identity shenanigans between their irl and VR personas as well as the fact that protagonists and main girls in the franchise up to that point were always {{Implied Love Interest}}s with plenty of ShipTease. However, when the show finally aired, the ship began to steadily drop in popularity over the course of the first season due to a lack of any substantial interactions other than them occasionally working together to fight a common enemy. Yusaku learns about her identity as Blue Angel early on without much fanfare and shows little interest in actually getting to know her personally while Aoi is shown to be grateful to both of his identities for helping save her at the beginning of the show but not much else, not learning of his identity as Playmaker until 15 episodes from the end, which seems to signify the start of their friendship at best and is their last notable interaction.
169	* RetroactiveRecognition: Quite often you will find a fan of ''Manga/MyDressUpDarling'' being shocked that Shōya Ishige's first major role was Yusaku and not Wakana Gojo.
170	* RoboShip: Fans shipping Yusaku with Ai increased in season 3 after [[spoiler: Ai's [[{{Bishonen}} [=SOLtiS=]]] form]] was revealed. The pairing exploded even more in the final episode after Ai's true motivation for his actions was uncovered.
171	* RootingForTheEmpire: People that are saddened by [[spoiler:Earth's demise in Season 2 by the hands of SOL Technologies]] will be cheering for [[spoiler: a rogue Ai]] during his duels against Queen and Go Onizuka in Season 3.
172	%%
173	%% Moderator notice: Don't re-add the Naoki example without discussing it in https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13598973560A64980100 first.
174	%%
175	* SelfFanservice:
176	** While they are already good-looking, Playmaker and Soulburner are nonetheless often drawn more muscular in FanArt, usually a swimmer physique.
177	** Revolver's first avatar gets this treatment in fanart, turning his creepy face into a bishonen one. Some even draw his avatar with irises, but always keep the yellow eyes.
178	* ShockingMoments:
179	** Revolver using a classic card in his Duel against GO, revealed to be [[spoiler:Mirror Force]], came as a surprise for many. Particularly as a card that was hyped up ''in-universe''.
180	** Playmaker performs a Ritual Summon in episode 48. The only other main character who used Ritual Monsters is Yugi from the [[Manga/YuGiOh original manga]] and ''[[Anime/YuGiOh Duel Monsters]]'' anime.
181	** Playmaker Fusion summons "Cyberse Clock Dragon" in episode 54. ''Fusion Summoned'', just when it seemed like Link Monsters would be the only Extra Deck monsters featured in the ''VRAINS'' anime. To top it all off, he managed to raise "Cyberse Clock Dragon's" ATK to ''7500'' and subsequently take out Blood Shepherd.
182	** "Half Shut", a spell card from the 5D's era, was used by Bohman. Unlike many legacy cards that appear in later series, like Monster Reincarnation or [[spoiler: Mirror Force]], the card was not used by many Duelists (only being used ''once'' by Yusei), and is not iconic. To see such a legacy card used, and by a major antagonist like Bohman, wasn't expected by anyone.
183	** Continuing the use of legacy cards, Playmaker before he got his Cyberse deck used several of them some of which were included in Starter or Structure decks for his Code Talkers. These cards include "Photon Thrasher" which is the most shocking since it's a ''Monster'' card used by Kaito Tenjo from ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' (complete with its summoning animation from said series), old time favorite "Marauding Captain", the infamous "Limiter Removal" and a card well known to the meta "Forbidden Lance".
184	** Upon Revolver's return in Season 2, he uses another card that caught many longtime fans by surprise [[spoiler: Magic Cylinder]].
185	** Not only did the reintroduction of Synchro Summoning, courtesy of Revolver, wow the fans, it was also accompanied by a unique animation sequence, differentiating itself from the ones used in ''5D's'' and ''ARC-V''.
186	** The fact that GO allowed an AI chip [[spoiler:to be implanted into his brain to improve his dueling capabilities and give him a chance to defeat Playmaker]] is quite shocking, especially compared to his personality in the first season who prefers to put on a show.
187	** Most people expected that when SOL Technologies captures an Ignis, the Ignis will simply be imprisoned and forced to make Data Material. Nope. In episode 75, it is revealed that [[spoiler:SOL Technologies will go as far as to ''kill'' an Ignis to harvest data as seen when they dismantled Earth with a laser bit by bit for his data until nothing remained]].
188	** Like with Synchro Summoning, the reintroduction of Xyz Summoning, courtesy of Playmaker, is also complemented with an entirely new animation sequence, differentiating itself from the ones used in ''ZEXAL'' and ''ARC-V''.
189	** Fans lost their minds over Episode 92's premise, which has Kusanagi confront Playmaker in a Duel, making the shot of Kusanagi where his face is framed in shadow in [=OP2=] finally relevant.
190	** Bohman summoning a [[spoiler:Link-'''5''' monster]].
191	** Soulburner actually defeating [[spoiler:Ryoken Kogami/Revolver]], a first in the franchise for characters with these roles.[[note]][[spoiler:Jonouchi/Joey never defeated Kaiba]].[[/note]]
192	** Going one step ahead of Bohman, [[spoiler:Ai summoning a LINK-'''6''' monster]].
193	** Meta examples:
194	*** The artist performing [=OP2=], "go forward", is revealed to be KIMERU, the same artist who performed the final OP, "OVERLAP", for the original series.
195	*** Music/BandMaid performing [=ED4=], "glory", was welcomed by fans of the band, regardless of their familiarity with the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' franchise, on the grounds that the popularity of ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' would help the band gain increased exposure.
196	%%* SignatureScene: The Dub's scene where a Knight of Hanoi makes fun of Shima for dabbing in public.
197	* SoOkayItsAverage: Pretty much the general consensus of the fanbase compared to the [[Anime/YuGiOhArcV previous series]]. Fans noted that the show played their tropes safe and done away with the whole mystic angle of the franchise, lots of wasted character and story potential with only a few high moments in the series.
198	* SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing: The dub is widely considered a huge improvement over the [[Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL past]] [[Anime/YuGiOhArcV two]] installments, with some solid performances, well-written scripts, and surprisingly, quite a lot of meta humor with lines that wouldn't be out of an AbridgedSeries.
199	* TaintedByThePreview: Shin Yoshida's reveal as the series writer again (not director, mind you, that title belongs to Hosoda Masahiro) sparked this reaction for some, especially after his work for ''[[Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL ZEXAL]]''.
200	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
201	** Onizuka changing his deck from Goukis to the comparatively worse Dinowrestlers in Season 2 wasn't well-received.
202	** Few will argue Playmaker acquiring the old summoning methods to be a bad thing at all, but his eschewing of Firewall Dragon (bar a duel against a minor duelist) and the code Talkers (save Shootingcode Talker, which got DemotedToExtra) in Season 2 in favor of those cards have not been well-received. Firewall Dragon is at least considered understandable due to its powerful effects and notoriety in the [=TCG/OCG=], and yet ironically has had more appearances in Season 2, including a notable appearance in Playmaker's second duel with Go alongside [[spoiler:its Xyz counterpart, "Firewall eXceed Dragon"]]. The code Talkers themselves only appeared in Playmaker's final two duels.
203	** Although better justified with the plot, due to Aoi teaming up with [[spoiler: Aqua]] and needing to have a deck that wouldn't immediately alert SOL who she was, replacing the Trickstars with [[spoiler: Marincess]] has not been well received by many fans, as Trickstars were the first female protagonist deck to sell and play well, whereas [[spoiler:Marincess]] has been accused of having boring monster designs and features that simply could have been added to the existing Trickstar deck. [[spoiler: Not to mention switching from a LIGHT deck to a WATER deck made her much more vulnerable to Bohman's deck, whereas adding WATER attribute monsters to the Trickstars would have given her more coverage.]]
204	** The fact that unlike the previous ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' series, this series does away with the mysticism that characters had to deal with interfering with their normal lives.[[note]]''DM'' had ancient spirits, Millennium Items and memories of Egypt, ''GX'' had the Light of Destruction, Sacred Beasts and Darkness manifested in corporeal form, ''5D's'' had the Crimson Dragon, Dark Signers, and future robotic abominations, ''ZEXAL'' had the Astral and Barian Worlds, Number Monsters, and the Numeron Code, and ''ARC-V'' had the dimensional war, dimensional counterparts and a god-like dragon monster threatening apocalypse.[[/note]] Instead this show focuses almost entirely on the world of the internet, with traces of the Matrix thrown in; logging into the network, whatever happens to you in the net affects your real body, etc. Not to mention the more realistic takes on people (kidnapping, PTSD, humans vs AI, etc.) Some fans miss the actual magic involved that gave life to these cards and drives the plot.
205	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
206	** Haru gets this as he is portrayed as a sneaky character but gets less focus every time he appears and the only episode where he does get focus, he [[spoiler: loses and dies.]]
207	** Aoi's Blue Girl persona is heavily underutilized, only appearing in a couple of episodes before the transformation to Blue Maiden and only dueled once against [[TheLancer Soulburner]], which ended in her loss. [[AdvertisedExtra But people wouldn't really know that with the huge amount of focus she has on the opening and endings.]] And it is not helped at all by the OffModel problems with Blue Maiden that her previous appearances didn't have.
208	** Season 3, due to being less than 20 episodes long, wastes many of the characters as [[spoiler:Ai and Roboppi]] proceed to erase them like flies, including all of the Knights of Hanoi bar Revolver, Spectre included[[note]]His seiyuu was unavailable to record lines[[/note]], and every other character only gets a single duel. It's taken to the extreme with [[spoiler:Aoi]], who is spared after dueling, but then doesn't do anything for the rest of the series.
209	** Pandor is introduced with a ton of red flags surrounding her, particularly Revolver's claim that any thoughts of opposing humanity would be erased from her, which just screams to be bypassed. In the end, other than telling Ai to flee rather than taking him in, she never displays any signs of rebellion, and is dismissed until the end of the series after [[spoiler:Ai takes over SOL Tech]], serving little purpose in the scheme of things.
210	** The Hanoi Commanders are heavily underutilized, only getting one important duel and barely any focus for the rest of the series. Special mention goes to Faust who unlike the other 2, only gets one episode to duel with hardly any build-up.
211	** Outside of Yusaku, Takeru, and technically Ryoken, the Lost Incident victims get little in the way of focus during the series. While Spectre gets the most out of the remaining four, it's only as TheDragon to Ryoken, with his status as a Lost Incident victim being largely superficial. Jin is mainly Kusanagi's motivation in Season 1, then largely a LivingMacguffin in Season 2. Miyu serves little purpose outside of giving Aoi a reason to be involved in the Ignis Warfare arc and Aqua a reason to partner with Aoi. Finally, Windy's origin is supposedly KilledOffscreen with little to go on about him, only being killed to highlight how depraved Windy is [[spoiler:after Lightning warped his programming]]. Any potential relationships they could have had with their Ignis or how they dealt with their trauma is likewise unexplored, the only exception being Jin's trauma causing him to become an EmptyShell.
212	** Queen is introduced as the BadBoss of SOL Technologies and was teased as a villain in season 2 thanks to all the KickTheDog moments she did on-screen. Then Ai defeats her in the start of season 3, then [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse nothing is heard from her ever again, not even if she wakes up from her coma.]]
213	** SOL Technologies, or the higher-ups Bishop, Rook, and Knight specifically, are shown to be an OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness hunting down the Ignis for their own gain and slowly set up to be a CorruptCorporateExecutive with their involvement with the Lost Incident. [[spoiler:Ai closed SOL Technology and opened LINK VRAINS for free and they're implied to be fired.]]
214	** The structure of SOL Technologies being based on chess pieces also hinted at an individual even higher ranked than Queen; a presumed King. They did eventually appear in Season 3, confirmed to be the three major stockholders of the company, but showed up for two minutes to tell Zaizen to capture Ai and were never heard from again.
215	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
216	** The Another/Deleted virus is resolved within four episodes, leaving the [[spoiler:Tower of Hanoi]] to take up the mantle of giving consequence to Duels.
217	** Baira and Faust hint at an alternative to Revolver's plan and the potential for division within the Knights of Hanoi, but as mentioned under AntiClimaxBoss, both of them are defeated before this can be explored.
218	** Season 3 has Ai duel GO in retaliation for what GO did to Earth...ignoring the fact that ''Specter'' is Earth's origin and should've been the one facing off the latter or Ai should've acknowledged Specter in some way. (Then again, Specter's seiyuu was unavailable at the time).
219	** The concept of Charisma Duelists. It's similar to ''[[Anime/YuGiOhArcV ARC-V's]]'' entertainment duelists only it happens on hoverboards and without action cards. Only two charisma duelists are introduced (Go Onizuka and Blue Angel) when it's hinted there are a lot more of them when Akira scrolls through a list of Charisma Duelists. While they did have some good entertainment duels in the first season, it was quickly forgotten as the story got DarkerAndEdgier and the two moved away from their entertainment personas.
220	** There was focus on Blood Shepherd's investigation on why SOL Technologies is hunting down the Ignis and his dialogue with Akira suggested they were creating their own Ignis [[note]] It's hinted to be the Divine attribute, the only card attribute that's not an Ignis.[[/note]], which caused Blood Shepherd to quit and go solo. Unfortunately, nothing came out of this subplot as Queen was easily dispatched by Ai and Roboppy who took over SOL Tech.
221	** Yusaku joining the Duel Club and interacting with his classmates. He did join it as a way to get closer to Aoi, but he was never shown attending it again and even Aoi and Shima barely bring it up.
222	** Playmaker and Revolver didn't have a rematch after their fourth battle when it was teased multiple times they would clash again, with Revolver rematching Soulburner instead.
223	** Yusaku's Link Sense rarely gets any focus ever since the start of the series. It's hinted a few times to be connected to Ai's instincts and Bohman even hints that it can be used to bridge the gap between AI and humans, yet all of this is later forgotten about.
224	** VRAINS itself could have been a more impressive location. Instead of taking advantage of it being a virtual location and creating various fantastic landscapes, most of VRAINS seems to consist of a regular city with some weird colors. Even then, most of what we see usually consists of small streets, alleyways, or the tops of buildings. We see the Ignis creating more diverse environments, but these are few and far between.
225	* ToughActToFollow: Playmaker and Varis/Revolver's final Duel at the climax of Season 1 to all the other season finales, as it had a solid cat-and-mouse feel with Playmaker trying to avoid [[spoiler:Mirror Force]] before Revolver switches gears with his [[spoiler:Extra Link]], with plenty of interaction throughout and concludes with the most solid part of CharacterDevelopment for Playmaker and establishes the relationship between him and Revolver going forward. By contrast the final Duel with Bohman was against a character already derided as uninteresting with a much more disliked deck and consisted of long summoning chains with no interaction beyond Bohman repeatedly abusing his overpowered Skill, to the point the last episode is entirely devoted to Playmaker Summoning monsters until he can bring out [[spoiler:Firewall Dragon Darkfluid]], and while the final Duel with [[spoiler:the rogue Ai]] was loved emotionally, the dueling again generally consists of non-interactive summons until it's actually time for the monsters to battle.
226	* UglyCute: Go Onizuka as a child. It looks like his adult head was pasted on a tiny child's body.
227	* UnderusedGameMechanic: For all the fanfare it received at the climax of Season 1, [[spoiler:Extra Linking]] barely appears in the series, with only a puzzle duel and the duel between [[spoiler:Specter and Lightning]] in Season 2 giving it any focus. The finales of the other Seasons instead went with [[spoiler:high-Link monsters or multiple Summoning methods; despite his Code Talkers being capable of doing so, Playmaker never creates his own Extra Link]]. Part of the reason for this may be due to the game itself attempting to move away from the mechanic, after it turned out to be a GameBreaker--the only card to ever explicitly mention it in its text, Topologic Gumblar Dragon, is banned.
228	* UnexpectedCharacter:
229	** Prior to its anime debut, the last thing you'd expect Cyberse Magician (the cover card of Cybernetic Horizon) to be is a ''Ritual'' Monster.
230	** Fusion Monsters were expected to appear in the series at one point given the booster name "Soul Fusion" (which came after Cybernetic Horizon that reintroduced Ritual Monsters). On the other hand, however, it was Playmaker, and not Soulburner as people anticipated (due to the "Soul" in the booster name), who reintroduced the Extra Deck Summoning method in the second half of his Duel against Blood Shepherd, where he Fusion Summoned "Cyberse Clock Dragon". Blue Girl and Soulburner, too, both follow suit in their Duel two episodes later, Fusion Summoning "Trickstar Band Sweet Guitar" and "Salamangreat Violet Chimera", respectively.
231	** Xyz Monsters were also expected to appear since the summoning methods before it were already used, but after three monsters with similar effects, no one expected the Xyz Monster, Firewall eXceed Dragon, to be a counterpart and support to Firewall Dragon especially since Firewall Dragon is not only severely OutOfFocus for an ace monster of the protagonist, but is also banned in both formats[[note]]"Firewall Dragon" was banned in the TCG on December 2018, and January 2019 in the OCG[[/note]].
232	** While [[spoiler:the Extra Link]] was foreshadowed by episode summaries, few people saw the [[spoiler:Link-5 monsters]] in the climax of Season 2 coming.
233	** While everyone expected Revolver to use his fusion monster Borreload Furious Dragon, no one expected [[spoiler: him to give it to Playmaker to make its debut.]]
234	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Dr. Kogami. While he has agonized over his decision to destroy the Ignis (to the point of comparing it to killing his own children), he has not once showed any regret over [[spoiler:kidnapping six children and subjecting them to torture so horrific that his own son briefly betrayed him]], unlike the others that were involved.
235	* ViewerGenderConfusion: Roboppi's gender has been up for debate since their debut. Due to their high-pitched voice, them being a robot maid, and a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything scene]] they shared with Ai, most were under the assumption Roboppi was female. That said, they always used the Japanese pronoun "Oira" (オイラ), which is an unambiguously male pronoun. [[spoiler:After they and Ai received human forms however, and Roboppi's was shown to be an androgynous child, the debate arose again.]] After the official translation suggested they were referring to themselves as male, many began assuming Roboppi was always male. The actual line used the gender neutral term "ii ko", which can refer to both "good boy" and "good girl", but it was adapted as male to match Roboppi's use of "oira". Roboppi's gender is still unofficial. However, the confusion only happened in the West, as Roboppi referring to themselves using "oira" meant no one in Japan assumed them female.
236	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Since Episode 14, the quality of the animation has shown remarkable improvement. Episode 39 in particular features absolutely beautiful animation and Episode 116 has one of the best-animated duels to date.
237	* TheWoobie:
238	** Ai. The poor thing just can't catch a break after getting hunted by the Knight of Hanoi and being treated incredibly poorly by [[{{Jerkass}} Yusaku]] despite just ''saving his life'' just a few moments before. [[spoiler: After he finally returns to his home after five years of running and hiding, instead of seeing the paradise he and the other Ignis have created, all he could see was a wasteland there, his fellow Ignis are nowhere to be found and the only shown survivor is Linkuriboh.]] It only gets worse during the second season, as [[spoiler:all of his fellow Ignis are killed during it, prompting his FaceHeelTurn]]. He tries to be an IronWoobie in Season 3, but it's not fooling anyone.
239	** Jin Kusanagi is probably the biggest Woobie of the series. Just like Yusaku, he is a kid who got kidnapped and tortured during the lost incident, but unlike Yusaku he is only an EmptyShell after the incident. [[spoiler:And after learning the truth of the incident and starting to make a recovery, he gets [[YourSoulIsMine his soul]] [[YankTheDogsChain stolen]] after his brother Shoichi asks him to come live with him. Not only that, but his consciousness data was also made into Lightning's slave; he is forced to abide by Lightning's will and [[AndIMustScream while he can still see and hear, he cannot speak nor control his own actions]].]] Mercifully, the third season gives him a break.
240	** Aoi lost her parents at a relatively young age and was forced to constantly move from one place to another with her brother, suffered from what looked to be anxiety and depression throughout Season 1, been brainwashed by the Knights of Hanoi and put into a coma, and been ''brutally'' defeated by Spectre, the one responsible for putting her in a coma in episode 34, which ended with her landing face-first into the ground and put into ''another'' coma. Season 2 isn't any easier on her, as she has to deal with learning that her childhood friend Miyu was a victim of the Incident, and though she forms a partnership with [[spoiler:Aqua, she loses her pretty quickly and is quite horrified by the loss]]. And then in Season 3, rather than losing while Akira is ForcedToWatch again, [[spoiler:Ai specifically spares her after he defeats her and Akira and tells her that he'll make her feel the pain he's feeling before erasing Akira in front of her]].
241	** Takeru was a Lost Incident victim as well, and similarly to Yusaku, he never really recovered until before his entry to the series. ''Unlike'' Yusaku however, he also wound up with PTSD from a certain monster and had to deal with the loss of his parents. He largely snaps out of this thanks to Flame, but meeting Revolver puts him on the path of revenge and then [[spoiler:he loses Flame at the climax of the second season]]. His arc in the third season has him deal with the trauma of having argued with his parents the last time he saw them and his leftover grudge against Revolver, in addition to being blamed for [[spoiler:Flame's death]] by Roboppi.
242	* {{Woolseyism}}: The writers for the dub make excellent use of the hindsight they have of the series to alter or flesh out certain plot points to the series' benefit.
243	** In the dub, Charisma Duelists are known as Celebrity Duelists, which is a less ambiguous term that more easily establishes who they are meant to be in-universe.
244	** The Anothers are known as "the Deleted" in the dub, which fits the setting more.
245	** Aoi Zaizen's first name probably wasn't going to as appreciated overseas due [[LostInTranslation most people not knowing that Ao is Japanese for the color "Blue"]]. To remedy this, it was changed to Skye, [[FridgeBrilliance and what color is the sky associated with]]?
246	** Yusaku's CharacterDevelopment kicks in earlier and more gradually in the dub, whereas in the original version, he remains roughly static until his final duel with Revolver. He claims that he's also fighting for the allies he lost, specifies the effects that Varis's actions will have on the world as the reason for stopping him, while still maintaining his desire for revenge, and his words to Ai when he finds out he [[spoiler:lied to him]] are far less harsh than in the original.
247	** It's small, but Bit and Boot sound more distinct due to their vastly different speech patterns in the dub, making it easier to tell which one is speaking.
248	** One rather derided moment was Flame not knowing the effect of Heatleo during its debut, since he gave the deck to Soulburner in the first place and presumably created it. The dub has him instead just act like they're going to lose for the sake of drama.
249	** Flame's LargeHam speech about the meaning of his name would've been lost in translation, leading to the English dub turning his name into a representation of a [[FunWithAcronyms acronym.]] This was used to absolutely tear-jerkingly effect when [[spoiler:Flame passes during the Duel with Bohman]].
250	---> '''Flame:''' F for Ferocious, L for Leader, A for Awesome, M for Magnificent, and E for Elucidating!
251	** Zaizen often got criticism for acting passively in Season 2. The dub has him outright confirm that he is working against SOL Tech from the start, and he actively attempts to stop Playmaker's capture.
252	** In the dub, Aqua cautions Ai not to die because if any of the Ignis did it would break her heart. Earth promptly tells Ai not to stay away from Aqua, but instead not to break her heart, which fits in with his dueling strategy of protecting Crystal Heart.
253	** When Lightning first meets Playmaker in the dub, he claims to have calculated that any path Ai and Playmaker go down would lead to disaster. [[spoiler:As Season 3 would confirm, he was right]].
254	** The high-end Ignis plot point is removed when Blood Shepherd confronts Akira in the dub, instead, it's changed into creating a new batch of more advanced AI. This also ties to season 3 when [[spoiler:SOL Tech introduces the [=SOLtis=] androids.]]
255	** Roboppi’s condition is made much sadder in the dub, where instead of being incapable of handling the intelligence upgrade, it’s instead mentioned that he lacks the emotional upgrade to fully cement it, and ends up glitching as a result, with his previous persona reasserting itself to [[FightingFromTheInside avoid hurting Soulburner, who he recognises as a friend]].

Context YMMV / YuGiOhVRAINS