Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (遊☆戯☆王5D's（ファイブディーズ）) is a Yu-Gi-Oh! series which began to air in Japan from April 2, 2008, and replaces Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (broadcast as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX in Japan). 5D's is also the first Yu-Gi-Oh! series to be broadcast in Widescreen.

Much like the previous series, it focuses around characters playing the card game, Duel Monsters, despite the fact the 'Duel Monsters' tagline has been dropped from the Japanese title. This series introduces new types of cards such as Synchro Monsters, that are reflected in the Official Trading Card Game. During the series, in addition to regular duels using Duel Disks, a new type of Duel Disk, motorcycle-like vehicles, called "Duel Runners" ("D-Wheels" in the Japanese version) is used, and the duelists engage in games called "Turbo Duels" ("Riding Duels" in the Japanese version). Yusei Fudo, the 18 year-old main protagonist, has "Stardust Dragon" as his main card, which is the cover card for the Duelist Genesis trading card set.

As with the previous two series (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters and Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX), this series has been acquired by 4Kids Entertainment for broadcasting in the United States in September 2008. It began airing on The CW4Kids, starting from September 13, 2008. The English language dub premiered on July 24 at San Diego Comic-Con 2008, where the first English dubbed episode was previewed. Like the previous two series, changes have been made to the plot, cards, localized character names. On June 1, 2009 Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's started airing 5 days a week on Cartoon Network. A manga based on the show began serialization in V-Jump Monthly Magazine from August 2009.

Plot
The main plots of this show are centered around Card Games on Motorcycles. There are many exciting arcs and sagas in which one character plays a card game with another character. Main characters usually win.

''Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's takes place decades after the events of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX''. Unlike GX, however, it does not follow on the story from the previous series, and almost all of the cards used are brand new.

The game of Duel Monsters has changed; a new addition has been introduced to the future of dueling as seen in 5D's: "Turbo Duels". These duels are played in giant stadiums, and duelists ride motorcycles with built-in duel equipment known as "Duel Runner" ("D-Wheel" in the original Japanese version). Domino City has also changed, under the guidance of the head of its public maintenance bureau, Rex Goodwin. Rich and powerful people live in what is now known as "New Domino City" ("Neo Domino City" in the Japanese version), while the poorer class are shunned and live mostly in the slums area, known as "the Satellite". They are referred to in the Japanese version as "Satellite scum" by the inhabitants of New Domino City. An aspiring duelist from Satellite, Yusei Fudo, builds his own Duel Runner, but is betrayed by his best friend, Jack Atlas, who steals his Duel Runner and his most precious monster, the Stardust Dragon. He does this by attempting to murder a small child as a distraction. Two years later, Yusei has built another Duel Runner, and sets out to win back his Dragon. Jack, now known as the Duel King (King of the Riding Duel in the Japanese version), has made a name for himself and his monster, the Red Dragon Archfiend (Red Demon's Dragon in the Japanese version), in New Domino City. Yusei and Jack face each other in a Turbo Duel, and during the duel Yusei is able to regain control of Stardust Dragon. As Stardust and Red Dragon Archfiend battle, a third dragon appears and brings an abrupt end to the fight. This attracts the attention of Rex Goodwin, who reveals to Jack a thousand year old secret, involving the "People of the Stars" (星の民), a pre-Incan civilization, the "Crimson Dragon" (赤き竜), and "Signers" (シグナー). He also reveals to Jack that him, along with Yusei are descendants of them and are destined to face the Dark Signers. Yusei, along with Jack, Akiza Izinski (Aki Izayoi in the Japanese version), and Luna (ruka in the Japanese version) head to the Satellite to face these foes, with the help of Leo (Rua in the Japanese version) and Crow Hogan who becomes the fifth Signer.

After defeating the Dark Signers, Yusei and his friends get ready for the upcoming WRGP tournament, whilst facing off against a new threat with the power to repeal Synchro Monsters. During this time, Yusei encounters a mysterious man who teaches him about Accel Synchro, a super mechanic named Bruno who had lost his memory and a girl named Sherry Leblanc, who is investigating Ylliaster who are reportedly responsible for her parents' deaths. Yusei also goes to a place called Crash Town to save his friend and former Dark Signer, Kalin. The WRGP soon begins, with Team 5D's facing up against tough opponents before eventually coming face to face against the members of Ylliaster themselves.



Synchro Summon
A prominent new feature of the Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's series, is the use of "Tuner Monsters" and "Synchro Monsters". These new cards also update the rules of the Trading Card Game, renaming the Fusion Deck as the Extra Deck.

A "Synchro Summon" is activated when a player summons a Tuner Monster and tunes it with one or more non-tuner monsters on the field. Based on the sum of the levels of each monster, a Synchro Monster of that level can be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck. For example, when a Lv3 Junk Synchron tunes itself with a Lv2 Speed Warrior, the Lv5 Junk Warrior can be summoned. These monsters can also be tuned once again in order to summon higher level Synchro Monsters such as the Lv8 Stardust Dragon. These monsters may also contain additional attributes based on the monsters that were used as material for the summon. For example, a monster's ability to not be destroyed during battle is passed onto the Synchro Monster.

In the second season, there are "Dark Synchro Monsters" that can only be Synchro Summoned by subtracting the level of a non-tuner monster with a "Dark Tuner Monster", thus creating a negative Level. For example, a Lv8 Dark Tuner Monster can be tuned with a Lv3 Monster to summon a Lv -5 Dark Synchro Monster. Dark Synchro and Dark Tuner cards are exclusive to the anime, though can be used in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4. Dark Synchro Monsters featured in the anime are released as regular Synchro Monsters.

The third season introduces two variations of Synchro Summoning: Accel Synchro, in which a Synchro Tuner monster can be tuned with another Synchro monster, even during an opponent's turn; and Double Tuning, in which certain Synchro Monsters require two Tuner monsters to Synchro Summon instead of one.

Duel Runner
As well as the normal standing duels, the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! series features the "Turbo Duels" ("Riding Duels" in Japanese version), an all-new style of duel in which the players ride "Duel Runners" ("D-Wheels" in Japanese version), motorcycles with Duel equipment. Compared to the previous series, dueling with Runners contain some special rules. First, the duel is entirely played using the field spell "Speed World", which is activated by both players when the duel begins; it is possible to force a duel with someone on a Duel Runner by playing the card (a tactic generally used by Security when pursuing someone). Second, only spell cards designed to work into this field, known as Speed Spells, are allowed in the duel. Each spell needs a number of "Speed Counters" to be activated. Each duelist starts with zero Speed Counters and its number increase by one in each standby phase(there are two of these in one turn), up to a maximum of 12. The number of speed counters also affects the actual speed of the Duel Runner. A player's Speed Counters are reduced by one for every 1000 points of damage done to their Life Points. In the third season, Turbo Duels use an upgraded version of Speed World, called Speed World 2. On top of using Speed Spells, Speed Counters can be traded in for effects such as damaging the opponent or drawing an extra card. Also, counters are no longer lost when taking damage. New Domino City has built specific lanes dedicated to Turbo Duels, that separate themselves from the regular traffic when a duel is activated. The duel is called off if the lanes become damaged. When a winner is decided, the Duel Runner of the defeated duelist shuts down automatically. In the manga, Speed World and Speed Spells are not used.

The Duel Runner features the card platform, sitting in front of the duelist, a stand for the cards in hand, which allows the duelist to ride with one hand while using the cards with the other, and a compartment for the deck located in the player's wrist. Cards sent to graveyard are inserted in a slot also located in front of the duelist. In some Duel Runner models (called hybrid models), the card platform can be detached from the bike and function as a standard Duel Disk for old-fashioned duels. An example of a hybrid model is Yusei's red Duel Runner. Other models such as Crow's Blackbird have been modified to include different formations such as a flight mode. Normally, Turbo Duels are played with the Duel Runners on auto-pilot, though more recent instances, such as Shadow Duels and tournaments, have players drive manually. In the third season, Leo and Luna use Duel Boards, Energy powered skate-boards that connect to their Duel Disks and allow them to Turbo Duel. Unlike normal Duel Runners which automatically have Speed World and Speed World 2 integrated, they must insert the raw card into their Field Spell Card Zone. Because of how the Duel Board is designed, it is significantly slower than the motorcycle based Duel Runner.

In the Japanese version, previews for an episode where a Turbo Duel would take place often end with the phrase, "Riding Duel, Acceleration!" This phrase is also often used at the beginning of a Turbo Duel in the third season onwards.

Anime
''Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's began airing on TV Tokyo from April 2, 2008, following the end of the previous series, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX''. As with the previous two series (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX), this series has been acquired by 4Kids Entertainment for broadcasting and began airing in the United States in September 2008. It began airing on The CW4Kids, starting from September 13, 2008 and was later moved to Cartoon Network. Beginning May 29, 2010 the series once again began airing in 1-Hour episode blocks on The CW4Kids. Like the previous two series, changes have been made to the plot, cards, localized character names, as well as edits to violent scenes. In Germany, the first 64 episodes were adapted from the 4kids version, whilst episode 65 onwards are based on the Japanese version.

Manga
A manga series based on the show written by Satou Masashi began serialization in V-Jump Monthly Magazine from August 2009. Like the manga adaptation of ''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'', the adaptation features an original storyline, different monsters, and various differences from the anime version.

Video games
There are several videogames developed by Konami based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's franchise.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Wheelie Breakers is a racing game for the Wii console in which players can use cards to lower other people's life points and overtake them. Unlike the card game, monsters use Speed Counters in order to attack their opponents, and players don't lose if their life points hits zero, rather they spin out before they can continue racing. Characters ride in Duel Runners, whilst those without them use holographic versions. The Promotional cards are Skull Flame, Burning Skull Head and Supersonic Skull Flame. The game was released in Japan on March 26, 2009, North America on May 19, 2009 and Europe on September 18, 2009.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Stardust Accelerator for the Nintendo DS is more representative of the trading card game, continuing the World Championship series of games. The game uses World Championship 2009 software, and also features a story mode, in which a duelist tries to get his memory back, though it more or less follows a similar plot to the first season. The Promotional Cards are Infernity Archfiend, Infernity Dwarf and Infernity Guardian. The game was released in Japan on March 26, 2009, Europe on May 15, 2009 and North America on May 19, 2009. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Reverse of Arcadia, also for the Nintendo DS. Set during the Dark Signers arc, the player controls a former member of the Enforcers who has been brainwashed by the Arcadia movement. The promotional cards are Stygian Security, Samurai Sword Baron and Stygian Sergeants. It was released in Japan on February 18, 2010, North America on February 23, 2010 and Europe on March 26, 2010.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4, for the PSP system, is the fourth game in the Tag Force series. The game also features the Dark Synchro and Dark Tuner monsters from the 2nd season of the anime. The game was released on September 17, 2009 in Japan and in North America and Europe in November 2009. The Promotional Cards are Warm Worm, Worm Bait, Regret Reborn.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Decade Duels is currently in production for Xbox Live Arcade, due for release in Summer 2010. The game will feature online leaderboards and voice chat functionality, as well as the ability to buy extra cards via Xbox Live Marketplace.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Duel Transer is currently in production for the Nintendo Wii system. Over 3,900 cards will be included in the game, and the game will feature Wi-Fi to enable the dueling with players around the world. release in Japan is spring 2010 and US is 9/14/10.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 5 is currently in production for the PSP system. It's is the fifth installment of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force series. It uses the Official Card Game Master Rules and 5D's anime characters. Includes 4,500 cards up to at least Starstrike Blast, including Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste, Shooting Star Dragon and Scar-Red Nova Dragon. Currently Yusei, Leo, Luna, Lucciano, Sherry Leblanc and Bruno are confirmed characters in this game. It is set for a 2010 release in Japan

Movie
A 3D movie, Yu-Gi-Oh! Movie: Super Fusion! Bonds that Transcend Time, was released in Japanese theatres on January 23, 2010. It features Yusei travelling back in time and teaming up with Yugi Muto and Jaden Yuki to defeat a new enemy named Paradox. An English version is currently being developed by 4Kids Entertainment.

Japanese

 * Opening themes
 * 1) "Kizuna" (絆-キズナ-) by Kra (Episode 1-26)
 * 2) "LAST TRAIN -Atarashii Asa- (LAST TRAIN -新しい朝-) by Knotlamp (Episode 27-64)
 * 3) "FREEDOM" by La-Vie (Episode 65 - 103)
 * 4) "BELIEVE IN NEXUS" by Masaaki Endoh (Episode 104 onwards)
 * Ending themes
 * 1) "START" by Masataka Nakagauchi (Episode 1-26)
 * 2) "CROSS GAME" by Alice Nine (Episode 27-64)
 * 3) "-OZONE-" by vistlip (Episode 65 - 103)
 * 4) "Close to You" by Alvino ~Alchemy vision normal~ (Episode 104-onwards)
 * Insert songs
 * "You say... Asu e" (You say…明日へ) by La-Vie (Episode 72, 90, 92)
 * "Clear Mind" by Masaaki Endoh (Episode 109, 110)

English
4Kids held a poll on its website allowing viewers to vote for their favorite out of several potential theme songs for the dub. At certain intervals, songs were eliminated from the competition. In the end, Hyper Drive received the most votes.

"Hyper Drive" (All Episodes)

Germany

 * 1) "Hyper Drive" (Episodes 1-64)
 * 2) "Freedom" by La-vie (Episodes 65 onwards)

Title misinterpretation
Though "5D's" stands for "5 Dragons", it has been incorrectly quoted as standing for "5 Duel Scoop" by 4kids. V-Jump magazine printed a feature in its "Yu-Gi-Oh! Ōkoku" (Yu-Gi-Oh! Kingdom) series in which "5DS" (without the apostrophe) was labeled as "5 Duel Scoop," with "scoop" referring to the information within the feature itself. Merchandise, television commercials, the logo itself, and other references all state the name as "Faibu Diizu". ICv2 News also has the name "5 Duel Scoop" incorrectly listed in its 4Kids article. In the 4Kids version, 5D's stands for 5 Dimensions, and is labeled when televised in the UK as such. The real meaning of the title is revealed when the signers and their friends take part in the World Turbo Duel Grand Prix as "Team 5D's" in allusion to the five marks of the dragon they possess.