Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V is a Japanese manga series illustrated by Naohito Miyoshi and written by Shin Yoshida. The series is an adaptation of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-Vanime with the same characters and setting, but a different story. The series began serialization in Shueisha's V Jump magazine in August 2015, and also began serialization by Viz Media in English in its digital Weekly Shonen Jump on August 24, 2015.
Plot
The story takes place in Maiami City, where the Leo Corporation developed Solid Vision which became an inseparable part of daily life due to its ability to give physical mass to data. Its application to Duel Monsters created an interactive experience that save rise to challenging Action Duels where duelists to traverse environments to locate Action Cards to help them in a pinch. The story follows Yuya Sakaki, a mysterious Entertainment Duelist with the ability to Pendulum Summon and little memory of his past. Nicknamed Phantom, he is on the run from the Leo Corporation after hacking into their system to freely manipulate Solid Vision technology for his own use. He has three other personalities within him: the collected Xyz Duelist Yuto, the sadistic Fusion Duelist Yuri, and the overconfident Synchro Duelist Yugo. While escaping from Leo Corp agents, Yuya meets Yuzu Hiragi who tricks him into signing a teaching contract at her father's Syu Zo Duel School in exchange for her assistance. Yuya is later revealed to originate from Maiami City two decades in the future, sent to the current timeline by his father Yusho to find a Duel Monster card of omnipotent power called "Genesis Omega Dragon" that gives one the power manipulate reality itself. But Yuya finds opposition in Leo Corp's president Reiji Akaba, who is also from the future and blames Yusho for destroying their era when he stole the G.O.D. card from his father Leo Akaba. Furthermore, altering his memories unbeknownst to him so to burden him with who they really are, Yuya's alternate personalities were actually the spirits of his older brothers who merged into Yuya's body after they died protecting him during the calamity. The two parties ultimately join forces when Yuya and Reiji find themselves targeted by a third faction led by a mysterious woman called EVE, who needs the Adam Factor energy that Yuya and Reiji possess to restore G.O.D's true power so she and her followers can create an ideal reality for themselves. After series of duels, Yuya and his brothers finally confronts EVE and G.O.D, with Yuya recovering his memories in the process. When Yuya was close to give in to G.O.D's temptation of having his whole family back, his three brothers sacrificed themselves to give their remaining powers to strengthen the Adam Factor inside Yuya, granting Yuya the card God-Eyes Phantom Dragon that eventually defeats G.O.D. The spirit of Adam than manifests and reunites with EVE, leaving together with her. However, before Yuya can destroy G.O.D, Reiji interrupts as he wishes to have G.O.D to continue his father's legacy, leading to another duel between the two. Yuya emerges victorious and destroy G.O.D, opening a path that leads to another dimension where G.O.D's creator is. Yuya, Reiji, Ren, and Isaac decides to confront the creator of G.O.D while Sora stays with Shun and Shingo. Before leaving, Yuya assures Yuzu that they are destined to meet again and gives his ace monster to her. Days after the battle, Yuzu meets the young Yusho, indicating that she'll meet Yuya again in the future like he had told her.
The manga received lukewarm reviews. Amy McNulty from Anime News Network gave the first volume rating of 1.5, praising Yuzu's character her interaction with Yuya. She also commented that "the highlight of the volume is easily the detailed monsters the Duelists summon during their Duels, which range from adorable to menacing, popping out from the page in oftentimes full-page spreads". However, she criticized the overuse of screentones as "it results in a patchwork look that draws the eye too much to the tones when they should fade into the background more naturally" and the limited scope of audience, citing it will satisfy longtime fans and younger readers who find thrills in the escalation of projected card battles, but it's unlikely to bring any new older readers into the fold. Nik Freeman from the same site criticized the changes in the backgrounds of several characters. He states their backgrounds are considerably less imaginative than their anime counterparts, particularly Yuya and Yuto sharing one body from the very beginning, Shun Kurosaki has been changed from "a vengeful former freedom fighter to a considerably more basic pseudo-masochistic thrill-seeker", and he found Yuzu's change to be the most disappointing who is now a "completely one-note character". However, he praised the portrayal of the Action Duels, finding it a bit easier to get into the Arc-V manga than other adaptations of the franchise for new readers. Rebecca Silverman from the same site gave the volume more positive review, rating it 2.5. She praised the introduction of the volume with "an air of sci fi-flavored mystery into the otherwise fairly standard story". However, she noted that the artwork feels like a few too many panels crammed on each page, and almost all of them showing action of some kind. The monsters and hairstyles of the characters are creative, as are the page layouts, but finds it can be a little overwhelming at times.
