High above the futuristic Maiami City rises the Leo Corporation, a company whose Solid Vision technology creates holograms with mass. Yet for all its power, a single hacker slips through their net time and again: the notorious Phantom, who accesses their Solid Vision for his own ends. Yet even as the choppers circle, Yuya Sakaki, one “aspect” of Phantom, isn’t ready to let a little corporate muscle stop him from finding his destiny OR from wowing the crowds with his dashing performances. Dueling takes a turn for the swashbuckling in theYu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V manga!

Right from the start, ARC-V makes it very clear that it will not be like its Yu-Gi-Oh! manga predecessors. In the past, most print adaptations from GX onward would follow the same basic setup: protagonist starts with his own friend posse well in place, then a supernatural entity makes the scene, a low-stakes duel or two follows, and finally a villain emerges to turn their worlds upside-down for the rest of the series run. This time? NOPE! 

Yuya starts out on the run, pursued by the Leo Corporation’s private SWAT team. It also seems that his only starting friend or ally is Yugo, an alter ego whose body he shares. And no, it’s not clear if this is possession (ala Yugi and Dark Yugi), a split personality or something else; in another departure from the standard, ARC-V withholds immediate explanation for the exact nature of the bond that the two share. 

Ambiguities aside though, Yuya’s a pretty likable guy, with a Jaden-esque fun-loving front that he combines with a showman’s swagger all his own. Yuto, meanwhile, has a more serious no-nonsense characterization like Dark Yugi from the original Series, yet unlike Dark Yugi, he comes off more as Yuya’s equal and partner. 

Meanwhile, Yuzu Hiragi doesn’t begin her story on much happier terms. She might not be a fugitive like “Phantom,” but her father’s school is on the verge of bankruptcy and she needs to attract new students FAST. Inspiration strikes when she sees the Phantom’s chase and decides that enlisting such a big-named duelist would give her dueling school the, er, draw that it needs. And what bigger name could there be than a notoriously skilled outlaw?

No, seriously, that’s her sole reason for taking an interest in Yuya. Who needs friendship when you have…moxie?
Heck, even Reiji Akaba comes off as more than a mere CEO-flavored evil overlord. By Yu-Gi-Oh! villain standards, he’s pretty dang ambiguous: no sadistic smirking, no outright villainy, just some vague apprehension about the “Phantom” and a power he apparently possesses. Which, at this point, could mean anything.

The manga also brings out ARC-V’s signature Action Duels, which are (shall we say) pretty sweet! The Solid Vision holograms expand on the ordinary dueling strategies by forcing duelists to find Action Cards hidden throughout treacherous virtual landscape called Action Fields. The first duelist to grab one gets an advantage not found in his hand or ordinary dueling deck, making each duel into a race to nab said advantage first! Plus, to defy the standard even further, we have a callback to Xyz Summoning courtesy of Yuto! So, in other words, Yuya’s Pendulum Summoning skills will not be the series’ sole focus.

Also, the art is top-notch once again! Zexal’s artist Naohito Miyoshi returns to the page and it shows! The art quality’s amazing throughout the volume, and the Action Duels let the duelists break away from even the gorgeous futuristic city and access an unlimited range of lush locations. I’m jazzed to see what their imaginations cook up! 

By the end of the volume, we’ve had a serious rush and a pretty solid hook into the next volume. This is the beginning of a Yu-Gi-Oh! tale that is both a fantastic entry into the series and a unique adventure in its own right. I have no idea where this story’s going, but I have a feeling that there be dragons!

Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V Vol. 1 is available here. The physical volume of the manga comes with an Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon. 

by Chris Turner