is the third spin-off anime series in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and the fourth anime series overall by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo. It was directed by Satoshi Kuwahara and produced by Studio Gallop. The series aired in Japan on TV Tokyo between April 11, 2011, and September 24, 2012. The second half of this series, dubbed Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal II in Japan, aired from October 7, 2012 to March 23, 2014, in a different time slot from that of the original series. The story follows young duelist Yuma Tsukumo who partners up with an ethereal spirit named Astral, as they search for the 100 Number Duel Monsters cards, which will restore Astral's memories and power. Following the end of the first series, which ended in Season 3, Yuma and his friends now find themselves up against the evil forces of Barian World.
The English-language adaptation of the series premiered on The CW's Toonzai programming block in the United States on October 15, 2011, and aired through August 10, 2013. The English-language version of Zexal II, produced by Konami, began airing in North America on The CW's Vortexx programming block on August 17, 2013. The series would eventually move to Hulu on July 14, 2014, beginning with Episode 114. Since then, most of the episodes have aired on Mondays on Hulu. On December 14, 2014, the episodes on Hulu began to be uploaded on Sundays instead of Mondays, with the exception of December 6, 2014, which saw Episode 135 being uploaded on a Saturday, because the following Sunday was National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The regular airing pattern was broken again when the series finale (Episode 146) aired on February 21, 2015, a Saturday, instead of on a Sunday.
Twelve pieces of theme music are used for the series, with half of them being split between the two series: six opening and six ending themes. For episodes 1–25, the opening theme is by mihimaru GT while the ending theme is by Golden Bomber. For episode 26–49, the opening theme is by KANAN while the ending theme is by DaizyStripper. For episodes 50–73, the opening theme is by Color Bottle while the ending theme is by moumoon. For the 4Kids and Konami English dub versions, the opening theme is "Take a Chance" for all episodes. For episodes 74–98, the opening theme is by Hideaki Takatori, while the ending theme is by Vistlip. For episodes 99–123, the opening theme is by Petit Milady (Aoi Yuki and Ayana Taketatsu), while the ending theme is by FoZZtone. For episodes 124–145, the opening theme is by Diamond☆Yukai, while the ending theme is * by REDMAN. However, for Episode 146, the Season 3 Japanese opening theme was not used. For the Konami English dub version, the opening theme is "Halfway to Forever" for all episodes that air in the US.
Series overview
Zexal episode list Season 1: Number Hunter (2011)
Season 2: World Duel Carnival (2011–12)
Season 3: World Duel Carnival Finals (2012)
Zexal II episode list Season 4: Barian Invasion (2012–13)
Season 5: Mythrian Number War (2013)
Season 6: Barian Emperor Onslaught (2013–14)
Specials
See also List of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal II episodes (the follow-up series to Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal)
References General
Specific