Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL ( pronounced ZAY - al [ IPA : / ˈzeɪ . al / ] in Japanese , pronounced ZEK - sul [ IPA : / ˈzek . sʌl / ] in English ) is a " Yu - Gi - Oh ! " anime and manga series and the successor to the " Yu - Gi - Oh ! 5D ' s " series . It was followed by " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ARC - V " on April 6 , 2014 . 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 Monster s . It also starts the use of the Series 7 card layout replacing the Series 3 layout used in later episodes of " Yu - Gi - Oh ! " , and the majority of episodes of " Yu - Gi - Oh ! GX " and " Yu - Gi - Oh ! 5D ' s " . Starting with the show ' s fourth arc , the show was advertised under the name Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL II ( pronounced zay - al [ IPA : zeɪal ] sekando in Japanese , pronounced zek - sul second in English ) , but both NAS and TV Tokyo classify it as the same show , with the episode numbers continuing from where it was left off instead of returning to the start . The first season of the English dubbed version premiered on October 15 , 2011 on the CW4KIDS Toonzai . The second season was brought to CW4KIDS ' s second Cartoon Block , Vortexx . Official English subtitled episodes can be found on Hulu , though only available within the United States thus far . Vortexx came to an end on September 27 , 2014 , and was replaced with a live - action E / I block from named . On July 11 , 2014 , it was announced that new episodes of " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL " would premiere on yugioh . com each week up until the conclusion of Season 3 . As of February 22 , 2015 , all episodes of Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL ( 146 total ) have been dubbed into English . Summary . " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL " . In a city in the near future , Heartland City , kids and adults enjoy Augmented Reality Duel s . Augmented Reality Duels are Duels that use Duel Gazer s and D - Pad s , 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 . The hero is 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 , Reginald . His destiny is changed by a bizarre door he ' s seen in his dreams . 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 " Number s " cards , these two must work together . A series of mysterious and powerful rivals begin to appear before Yuma and Astral including a young boy named Kite Tenjo , revenge - seeking Vetrix and the maniacal Dr . Faker . " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL II " . " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL II " takes place after the first season , starting with the episode " Attack of the Barians : Part 1 " . The curtain falls on the World Duel Carnival , peace has finally returned to Heartland City . But now , emissaries from the Barian World , hostile to the Astral World , are aiming to steal the " Number s " and Astral for themselves . In order to protect him , Yuma , Kite and Shark join together to combat the Barian menace , as they ultimately become involved in the Interdimensional War of two worlds . When the memories of Shark ' s past life , Nash , are awakened , he decides to lead the Barians against Astral World . With Nash restored to the throne and Earth fusing with the Barian World , the Seven Barian Emperors decide to invade Earth for the final battle . When Yuma and Nash finally confront each other , their duel will end the Inter - dimensional War in the most unexpected way . . . Characters . These characters appear in both the anime and manga Manga . The " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL " manga is written by Shin Yoshida , illustrated by Naoto Miyashi and published by Shueisha . Unlike " Yu - Gi - Oh ! GX " and " Yu - Gi - Oh ! 5D ' s " , the " Yu - Gi - Oh ! ZEXAL " manga was released before the anime and follows the same story as the anime up until Rank 009 . 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 . Spin - off . " Yu - Gi - Oh ! D Team ZEXAL " is a spin - off of the series made by Akihiro Tomonaga with the cooperation of Wedge Holdings . This spin - off is non - canon to the anime and manga series , and focuses on humor . Just like in the anime and manga , the series is set in the near future . However , it has no relation to them . Here , Yuma already knows Astral since the beginning , and forms a Dueling Team with Kotori , Tetsuo and Takashi . Music . Opening Themes . Japanese opening theme 1 : Masterpiece Japanese opening theme 2 : BRAVING ! Japanese opening theme 3 : Soul Drive Japanese opening theme 4 : Unbreakable Heart Japanese opening theme 5 : Dual - ism of Mirrors Japanese opening theme 6 : Wonder Wings Ending Themes . Japanese ending theme 1 : My Quest Japanese ending theme 2 : Longing Freesia Japanese ending theme 3 : Wild Child Japanese ending theme 4 : Artist Japanese ending theme 5 : GO WAY GO WAY Japanese ending theme 6 : Challenge the GAME English Themes . English theme 1 : Take a Chance English theme 2 : Halfway to Forever Soundtracks . All soundtracks were released by Marvelous Entertainment . 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 . 4Kids confirmed that an English - language dub would premiere on October 15th , 2011 at 9 : 30 AM . Staff . The following staff are credited .