Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS (遊☆戯☆王VRAINS, Yūgiō Vureinzu) is a Japanese anime series animated by Gallop. It is the fifth anime spin-off in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise.[3] The series aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from May 10, 2017 to September 25, 2019.[4] It was simulcast outside of Asia by Crunchyroll[5][6] courtesy of Konami Cross Media NY. It premiered in the United States on November 3, 2020 on Pluto TV. The term 'VRAINS' derives from 'Virtual Reality' (VR), 'Artificial Intelligence' (AI), 'Network System' (NS). The series revolves around the exploits of the protagonist Yusaku within the virtual world named VRAINS. In addition to featuring previous summoning mechanics, VRAINS introduces the new "Link Summon" mechanic. The series was succeeded by Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens, which premiered in Japan on April 4, 2020.[7]