Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS/YMMV

The recap episodes. Are they justified due to production issues, or does the excess number of them between every few episodes tarnish the reputation of the show? Ai: "You also have friends to protect!" Yusaku: *looks at Revolver* "That must be nice."
 * Ass Pull: Keeping in tradition with the other Yu-Gi-Oh! series Playmaker's skill "Storm Access" allows him to access a random card from the Data Storm when he has 1000 LP or less and naturally he gets Decode Talker that has all the specific effects that allow him to win in one turn.
 * Author's Saving Throw:
 * After Yu-Gi-Oh purists cried foul at the format switching to Speed Duels, it was revealed that the old dueling style (known as Master Duels) would still be in effect for ground-based dueling.
 * The disliked lengthy summoning sequence of Link Monsters was replaced since episode 14 with a quicker one done on the field, in line with the summons in ARC-V, to the pleasure of the fans. In addition, the replacement of Masahiro Hikokubo by newcomer Asano Katsuya is well-received and fans feel the show improves as of that point.
 * Base Breaking Character:
 * Naoki you think he is a very funny and a entertaining character or a annoying Fan Boy
 * Takeru Homura, aka Soulburner, the Deuteragonist starting in Season 2. While some see him as an interesting and enjoyable character, others accuse him of being a bland Creator's Pet on the same level as Johan and Crow.
 * Broken Base
 * Some fans are starting to have doubts at the new series based on its use and introduction of the controversial new rules brought on by Link Summoning, while others are excited for the series due to its VR theme and interesting character and story potential.
 * Masahiro Hikokubo, once again, returning as the duel layout director has caused a stir after his last few showings in both ZEXAL and ARC-V. Having written every duel in all the series up to this point, many feel like he is far too burnt out to write any entertaining duels anymore, often pointing to Yuma's "prep for, then sit on, Utopia for the rest of the duel" strategy in ZEXAL and how wooden some of the duels in ARC-V became as the series went on, with the overuse of Action Cards and the infamous "You still take the damage!" Line being uttered every other duel. His defenders, however, point out how Yuma's strategy was at least in character for himnote and how ARC-V was a case of trying to focus on all the summoning mechanics made it hard for certain duels to maintain that focus, and are confident with the series seemingly focusing on only Link summoning, the duels will become a lot more entertaining and natural again now that Hikokubo doesn't have to stress balancing all the summoning mechanics each duel.
 * Catharsis Factor: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.
 * Ear Worm:
 * "With the Wind", performed by Hiroaki "Tommy" Tominaga. It helps that he also sang the first OP to 'JoJosBizarreAdventure'', "[=JoJo=] (Sono Chi no Sadame)".
 * "Believe in Magic", performed by Ryoga, is a good fit for the series' VR-focused themes.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse:
 * Ai is well loved by fandom mainly for being a interesting comic relief contrast to his expies who likes to joke around and play with Yusaku and being voiced by Takahiro Sakuraithough he later becamoes a Base Breaker
 * Emma/Ghost Girl is well love and popular by fandom for her mysterious nature,her interactions with Akira,Playmaker and Aoi and for mercenary
 * Ryoken Kogami/Revolver is one of the most popular character in the franchise mainly for having a badass deck and being the Kaiba of the series.His Popular exploded after it is revealed he is the one who gave Yusaku courage during the Hanoi Project and when his real life design and identity is revealed to the audience which seems to be a universal love for the fandom immeaditly after his human form design is revealed he has been getting many fanarts and is often teased with Yusaku
 * Evil Is Sexy:Revolver a.k.a. Ryoken Kogami was already this to an extent for some thanks to his voice (Japanese version only, where it's rather husky), but especially once his real life appearance was revealed.
 * Epileptic Trees
 * Besides Yusaku many fans are strated to speculate that Aoi,Go,Naoki to a lesser extent, Shoichi's brother and Revolver are one of the 6 lost kids thanks to 1st op where we see Playmaker,Blue Angel,Go and Revolver combining into one and becoming a bird and their are many theories they are similar to Signers and will form a team at some point.Shoichi's brother being one the lost kids has already confirmed
 * Their is also a popular theory going on that Revolver is Kusanagi's brother but that theory seem to be jossed thanks to ep 19 where we alreay learned what happen to Kusanagi's brother.
 * Thanks to the 1st op which may be Foreshadowing when we Saw Ai and other 5 Ignis's in 1st episode many fans speculated that the Blue Ignis is connected to Aoi/Blue Angel because of her strong resmeblence to her,The orange Ignis is connected to Go because of being muscular like him while the red Ignis is connected to Revolver for having similar hairstyle
 * Many fans guessed that Dr.Kogami used to be a researcher at SOL and was the mastermind of Hanoi Project and that theory has already been confirmed.
 * Many fans guessed that Revolver and Yusaku had a strong connection in past
 * Windy's partner became a hot topic after it was revealed Windy caused him to be a part of a car accident, but it was not revealed if he actually died. It was also never stated when it happened causing 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 to theorize that Kengo is Windy's partner, because the accident that happened to him is similar to what Windy did and because all of his Drone monsters are WIND Attribute.
 * Evil Is Sexy: Revolver a.k.a. Ryoken Kogami was already this to an extent for some thanks to his voice (Japanese version only, where it's rather husky), but especially once his real life appearance was revealed.
 * Fountain of Memes:This is really the best way to describe the fan response to Ryoken Kogami/Revolver. Just about everything about him is subjected to Memetic Mutation: his Narm-filled New Media Are Evil rant, inspiring obligatory gun jokes, his poses, usage of Mirror Force, and even his departure via boat at the end of Season 1.
 * Fandom Rivalry:Mentioning how VRAINS fares compared to the other series in the franchise is an easy way to get into a heated discussion. Leave it at that, please.*Harsher in Hindsight:"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 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-handedly seemed to Nerf the other Extra Deck summoning types. The exact opposite of what the show was trying to promote!
 * Game Breaker: Not only does Playmaker's Storm Access give him the card he needs to win a duel but after the duel, he can re-create the card in real life, essentially making his deck stronger the more times he uses Storm Access. It's essentially a better version of Shining draw from ZEXAL, you just have to survive a Data storm and have less than 1000 LP to use it. The only reasonable balancing factor is that there still is an Extra Deck limit preventing him from carrying everything he has created with Storm Access into a Duel.
 * Harsher in Hindsight:"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 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-handedly seemed to Nerf the other Extra Deck summoning types. The exact opposite of what the show was trying to promote!
 * Hilarious in Hindsight: In Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series there is a Running Gag in which a Jerkass character (Kaiba) tells the Butt Monkey of the series (Mokuba) to shut up whenever he talks. Now in VRAINS we have the same Running Gag with Yusaku and Ai.
 * Ho Yay:Happens very, very rarely for a Yu-Gi-Oh! series
 * Go's strong friendship with Makoto is what drove him to risk everything fighting Dr. Genome.
 * Yusaku is incredibly attached to the mysterious person who gave him courage during the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project, wishing to find them for 10 years by now. If that person turns out to be male, then it has the potential to be one of the best examples in the franchise.
 * In episode 27, Naoki's fantasies Playmaker are interestingto say the least.Most likely just PlayedForLaughs.
 * Yusaku is incredibly attached to the mysterious person who gave him courage during the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project, wishing to find him/her for 10 years by now. If that person turns out to be male, than it has the potential to be one of the best examples in the franchise.
 * In episode #43, the mysterious voice is revealed to be an eight-year-old Revolver, a guy. Despite Revolver being the leader of the organization who had caused him so much pain, the first thing Yusaku did upon realizing this fact was try to reason with Revolver and help him "walk down a new path". This is coming from the same guy who claimed he was an emissary of revenge.
 * In episode #45, despite having Magnarokket Dragon, Topologic Bomber Dragon, Borreload Dragon, Borrelguard Dragon, Borrelsword Dragon, and Topologic Gumblar Dragon—five Link -4 monsters with 3000 attack each—and being left with no hand and only 50 life points thanks to Topologic Gumblar Dragon and being heavily injured from its effect, Yusaku still wants to save Revolver. Despite him having given Playmaker three reasons to despair. When Ai said Yusaku also has friends to protect, Yusaku had a look of recognition on his face. He didn't flash back to Shoichi. Or Aoi. Or Go. The first person who came to his mind was Revolver.
 * Speaking of which, in a recent official art displayed in animedia to celebrate Valentine's day, Yusaku is depicted as receiving a lot of chocolates, and one box in particular is heavily hinted to be from Ryoken/Revolver. Hint, it's the bullet-patterned one.
 * In full force with Spectre, who has Undying Loyalty towards Revolver and doesn't mind getting destroyed for his sake.


 * Holy Shit Quotient:Revolver using a classic card, revealed to be Mirror Force in his Duel against GO, came as a surprise for many.
 * Informed Flaw:Both of Storm Access' limitations, having 1000 LP or less and requiring to dive into dangerous data storms. The first is a downplayed example since it would be an actual limit in real life (how much of a limit is still debatable), but in a show where the main characters is always brought on the verge of defeat by an opponent he doesn't curb-stomp, it's guaranteed to be always met. The other one, however, is a straight example, since the data storm look life-threathening in the first duel, but become a formality after that.
 * Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Yusaku continues the trend of the main protagonists being this. He has already been shipped with Aoi, Emma, Shoichi, Jin, Ai, but especially Revolver/Ryoken Kogami. Just minutes after he was revealed, Takeru Homura a.k.a. Soulburner was added to the list and when he isn't shipped with Yusaku in a more traditional manner, Fan-Art either portrays him as a Third Wheel or uses him to form an OT3 by adding him to almost any of the previous listed pairings, most often ones being Yusaku x Revolver x Takeru and even Yusaku x Jin x Takeru.
 * Lost in Medias Res:: Some viewers find the series confusing and difficult to follow. Both because nobody outright explains how speed duels or Link summoning works, and because it's clear that the audience knows far less about the plot than the main character does.
 * Magnificent Bastard: Lightning is the true mastermind behind the entire plot. During the Lost Incident he mentally tortured his then 6 years old Origin Jin Kusanagi, and made him the Empty Shell he is today, then he implanted a computer virus on his creator Dr.Kogami and made him think SOL was responsible for putting him comatose, avoiding punishment. Years later he destroyed his home world using Bohman to prevent himself from being suspected and rewrote the pure Windy's program and forced him to become his loyal ally. After imprisoning Aqua he implanted a computer virus on her Origin Miyu so that the former can't join forces with her, he then stole Jin's consciousness and turned him into lifeless puppet and uses him as a meat shield whenever he is in a disadvantage situation. Even after being on death's door from his duel with Revolver, Lightning was able to empower Bohman, his creation, which grants him a desirable outcome despite his condition.
 * Moral Event Horizon:
 * Windy crossed it after its revealed what he did to the Lost Incident victim he was based on. He hacked into the car the victim was driving and forced it into a heavy accident. Its not expressly said but the implication is the Lost Incident victim died, meaning Windy killed the person he was based on.
 * And Lightning crossed it in a different way instead of killing his partner, who turns out to be Jin, he had Bohman steal his consciousness data and transformed him into a puppet.
 * Memetic Badass: Mirror Force, for the sheer unexpected nature of the card, and how much in-universe hype it gets.
 * Memetic Mutation: Even before the series started, fans were already making jokes about the series.
 * Until it was confirmed that VRAINS would feature duels on hover boards, many of the first fan comics featured pretty much any skater stereotype possible. Totally Radical being in full effect.
 * Yusaku's hair, which is often associated with that of a wisteria. It helps that his surname is Japanese for "wisteria tree", too.
 * "Take a step forward and try!" The Tag Line and the central theme being how kids shouldn't be intimidated to try new things often gets poked fun at as a sign that Konami has realized just how overly complicated the card game has become over the years and are trying to encourage players to not give up because of it.
 * "Take a step forward and die!" or "Step forward...AND DIE ALREADY!" are also became popular jokes among the fandom as, going into VRAINS, the new rules and focus on Links would heavily Nerf several decks.
 * Link Start! explanation
 * HYPE VRAINS.explanation
 * Ever since the information on Shoichi Kusanagi being a hacker assisting Playmaker while hiding behind a hot dog vendor facade was revealed, Yusaku is often depicted as a part-time hot dog vendor
 * Moe:Yusaku is this for some fans.
 * Memetic Badass:Mirror Force, for the sheer unexpected nature of the card, and how much in-universe hype it gets.
 * NarmAny viewers who is remotely familiar with UsefulNotes/Vietnammight have a hard time taking the name Knight of Hanoi seriously it is the same name of the country's capital city Hanoi
 * Narm Charm:
 * Kengo Dojun/Blood Shepherd is ridiculously edgy, but also played completely straight and a Magnificent Bastard. His intro in particular is a case of this.
 * Aoi's Magical Girl style Transformation Sequence into Blue Maiden 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.
 * Never Live It Down:The recap episodes have become this to the point where they have become a meme and a drinking game on this very page. It doesn't help that there are so many in just the first season.
 * No Yay: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 white sparkles.
 * Older Than They Think: While Speed Duels were popularized by Duel Links, they were originally made for the Duel Terminal arcade machines.
 * Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Naoki Shima was initially the series' resident Scrappy, for being a gonkish annoying character that constantly trying to talk a big game, and mocking Yusaku for his older duel disk and for playing a casual LIGHT deck, which is actually a decoy from his real deck. Although the events of Episode 27 mitigates this, giving him Character Development by conquering his fear and going into VRAINS, even beating a Knight of Hanoi.
 * The Scrappy: As of Season 2, Go gets a lot of heat. Aside from ditching his old Gouki deck in favor of Dinowrestlers, his reason for pulling a Face–Heel Turn is very petty to the point of undergoing Training from Hell just to get his hands on Playmaker for being better than him. He even played a part in Earth's permanent termination and dismisses the Lost Incident as just another Tuesday, making him the worst character in VRAINS thus far.
 * Self Fanservice:While they are already good-looking, Playmaker and Soulburner are nonetheless often drawn more muscular in Fan-Art, usually a swimmer physique.
 * Stoic Woobie:Yusaku and Jin.
 * Uncanny Valley: Revolver's character design give him yellow eyes that pupils, landing him right into this trope. TropesAreNotBad, however, as it allows him to more unsettling.
 * The Woobie:
 * Ai. The poor just can't catch a break through got hunted by the Knight of Hanoi and being treated incredibly poorly by Yusaku despite just saving his life just a few moment before.After he finally returns to his home after five years of running and hiding, instead of seeing the paradise he and the other Ignises have created, all he could see was a wasteland there, his fellow Ignises are nowhere to be found and the only shown survivor is Linkuriboh.
 * Jin Kusanagi is probably the biggest Woobie of this series. Just like Yusaku he is a kid who got kidnapped and tortured during the lost incident, but unlike Yusaku he is only an Empty Shell after the incident. And after learning the truth of the incident and starting to make a recovery, he gets his soul stolen after his brother Shoichi asks him to come live with him. And after learning the truth of the incident and starting to make a recovery, he gets his soul stolen after his brother Shoichi asks him to come live with him.
 * So far compared to the other girls, Aoi has taken a ridiculous amount of abuse over the course of this series. Both physically AND mentally. Beforehand, the worst each girl ever went through was being brainwashed by a villain. A special note does go to Aki who was momentarily put in a coma and Yuzu who suffered a 10 Episode death, so far in Vrains, Aoi has lost her parents at a relatively young age and been 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 34, which ended with her landing face first into the ground and put into another coma.
 * What an Idiot!: Viewers are flabbergasted that GO failed to use Gouki Poison Mist against Revolver, which would not only inflict 700 damage, but also prevent Revolver from activating his Set Mirror Force on the same turn, and allow GO to deliver a One Turn Kill.
 * Win the Crowd: The first episode of the dub that was shown during the re-run of Pyramid of Light received rather positive reactions, and the announcements by several of the voice actors have been praised too, given that half of them clearly enjoy being associated with the series.