Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL
Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL遊☆戯☆王 ＺＥＸＡＬ(ゼアル)BULLSHIT
Anime series
Directed by	Satoshi Kuwabara
Studio	Studio Gallop
Network	TV Tokyo, BS Japan
Original run	April 11, 2011 —
No. of episodes	19 as of August 15, 2011
Manga Series
Authored by	Kazuki Takahashi / Studio Dice (original concept) Shin Yoshida (story) Naoto Miyoshi (manga)

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL (pronounced zayl [IPA: zeɪl]) is a Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga series, set in the near future as the successor to the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's series.

The anime first aired on April 11, 2011 in popular evening slots in Japan on TV Tokyo. It introduces the Xyz Summon mechanic and Xyz Monsters.

Characters

See: Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL characters

• Yuma Tsukumo
• Ryoga Kamishiro
• Astral
• Kotori Mizuki
• Akari Tsukumo
• Haru Tsukumo
• Tetsuo Takeda
• Kaito Tenjo
• Cathy

Summary

In a city in the near future, Heartland, kids and adults are nuts about Augmented Reality Duels. Augmented Reality Duels are Duels that use D-Gazers and D-Pads, which when the two are used together, whether on the ground or in the sky, cause monsters to erupt from buildings and fight each other; it's a super-charged duel!

But there's no one in town who's crazier about dueling than our hero, Yuma Tsukumo. At a beginner level, he's a Champion at absolutely losing. Due to a chain of events, Yuma ends up challenging the number one delinquent at his school, Ryoga. The Duel before him will greatly change Yuma's destiny...!

A bizarre door that usually appears in Yuma's dreams suddenly shows up in the midst of this fight. When Yuma unlocks this sealed door, countless lights fly from it and escape. And when Yuma comes to, he sees the mysterious entity, Astral, who came from a parallel universe, standing before him.

In order to regain Astral's lost memories, the flying lights from the door that have turned into the 99 "Numbers" Cards, these two must work together. Just what is the purpose for Astral's appearance in our world? And what on earth is with these new monsters known as "Numbers"? A series of mysterious and powerful rivals begin to appear before Yuma and Astral, slowly unraveling the mystery...

And so, this duo is about raise the curtains on a new dueling legend!

Plot

The series is set in the near future. Something unexpected happens as Ryoga Kamishiro challenges Yuma Tsukumo to a Duel. When the mysterious entity Astral appears before them a new legend begins.

See also: Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL chapter listing

Music

Japanese opening theme 1: Masterpiece

• Performer: Mihimaru GT
• Episodes: 001-

Japanese ending theme 1: My Quest

• Performer:Golden Bomber
• Episodes: 001-

Episodes

Main article: Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL episode listing

Development

An encore screening of Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time on February 20, 2011 in Japan contained details on the production of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL. The second 2011 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump included details of the screening a competition on how one hundred and ten readers can win passes to see it.

Staff

The following staff are credited.

Original character draft	Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Dice (Weekly Shōnen Jump)
Planning	Yukio Kawasaki (TV Tokyo) Masanori Miyake
Director	Satoshi Kuwabara
Series composition	Shin Yoshida
Duel composition	Masahiro Hikokubo
Character design	Hirotoshi Takaya
Monster design	Seiji Handa
Mecha accessory design	Mitsuru Owa
Art director	Takashi Nakamura
Color scheme	Ayami Minowa
CG producer	Futoshi Nagara
CG direction	富田和仙
Photography director	Kendi Akazawa
Editor	楫野允史
Sound director	Hiroaki Matsuoka
Sound production cooperation	Jinnan Studio
Music	Conisch Yutaka Minobe Yasufumi Fukuda
Music Production	Marvelous Entertainment
Music collaboration	TV Tokyo Music
Casting cooperation	Ai Ninuma (Neruke Planning)
Animation producer	Furuya Daisuke
Producer	Ryo Sasaki
Animation production	Studio Gallop
Production	TV Tokyo / NAS

External links

• tv-tokyo.co.jp Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL official site