12,950
edits
Changes
Missed a bit.
On June 1, 2017, Crunchyroll began airing the show with subtitles, which became available in American English, German, Brazilian Portuguese, and Mexican or Latin American Spanish. Future episodes will be simulcast. The English dub had a sneak preview at the end of a special screening of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light]]'' in theaters where the first episode was aired; it airs in Canada every weekend day at 1pm on Teletoon - East starting from September 2018. The second season began airing with a different runtime; every Sunday at 1pm on Teletoon - East starting from September 2019.
The series stars [[Yusaku Fujiki]] as the main protagonist, and takes place in a high-school setting, featuring Virtual Reality Duels in a cyberspace constructed with [[LINK VRAINS]], the latest in virtual-reality technology. As with the previous three spin-off series (''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's|5D's]]'', ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL|ZEXAL]]'', and ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V|ARC-V]]''), ''VRAINS'' introduces and focuses on a new type of Summoning: [[Link Summon]]ing, though the second season gradually reintroduces the previous Summoning methods. (, with the exception of [[Pendulum Summon]])ing.
==Story==
[[File:VRAINS-VR Form Promo.png|thumb|left|Promo art of [[Yusaku Fujiki]] as Playmaker, and "[[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]".]]
[[File:VRAINSLogo.png|thumb|150px|The Japanese ''VRAINS'' logo.]]
The series is based in a world roughly ten years from now, where a massive Virtual Reality Network called LINK VRAINS has been established. It's a suspenseful, thriller-style story in which Yusaku Duels in order to learn the truth of the events surrounding his past.<ref name="interview">{{cite web | url = https://ygorganization.com/niceroleniceactorgo/ | title = <nowiki>The Organization | [VRAINS] Further Character Info and Story Info</nowiki> | publisher = YGOrganization | date = May 6, 2017 | accessdate = February 23, 2018}}</ref>
There is a city where network systems have evolved: [[Den City]]. In this city, with the advanced network technology developed by the corporation "[[SOL Technologies]]", a Virtual Reality space called "[[LINK VRAINS]]" (Link Virtual Reality Artificial Intelligence Network System) has been developed. By using LINK VRAINS which was built inside the Network System, Duels unfold where Duelists change their appearance separate from their real life identities, and in this VR Space people became excited over the latest way to Duel.
[[File:Vrains_Promo_Poster.png|thumb|right|Poster for ''Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS'', depicting Yusaku as Playmaker and his ace monsters, "Decode Talker" and "[[Firewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]".]]
However, in "LINK VRAINS", a mysterious hacker group that hacks via Dueling has appeared: [[The Knights of Hanoi]]. Their goal is to destroy the "AI World" known as "[[Cyberse (world)|Cyberse]]" that exists somewhere in the depths of the Network.
==Development==
As of episode 14, Masahiro Hosoda stepped down as director and was replaced by Asano Katsuya. It's to be noted that as As of this episode, the backgrounds of LINK VRAINS and the Link Summoning methods were changed and added more detail, and the point gauge for Link Monsters depicts the monster's [[Link Arrow]]s. <ref name="newdirector" /> As of the same episode, the series is under the supervision of Satou Tatsuo (best known as the director of the ''[[wikipedia:Martian Successor Nadesico|Martian Successor Nadesico]]'' series).<ref name="Ep.14 credits">{{Episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|14|ref}}</ref>
Production issues behind the scenes have forced the show to include a large number of "recap episodes", which the series has become notorious for. Asano Katsuya took to Twitter to apologize for these episodes after [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 038|the fourth such episode]]; explaining that they were needed to allow them to slowly improve the series.<ref name="VDapology">{{cite web|url= https://comicbook.com/anime/2018/02/09/yu-gi-oh-vrains-production-issues-director-speaks/ | title = <nowiki>Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS' Director Addresses Its Production Issues The Organization</nowiki>| publisher = comicbook/anime | date = February 9, 2018 | accessdate = August 27, 2018}}</ref>
