"Imperial Wrath Awakening" is the thirty-ninth episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. It first aired in Japan on January 18, 2015 and in Australia on December 27, 2015. Nicktoons aired on October 15, 2017. It became available with official subtitles via Crunchyroll on November 29, 2016.

Yuya's opponent is Iggy Arlo from the Bandit Warrior Academy in the second round of the Arc League Championship. Facing against Iggy who claims that victory is everything, Yuya tries to make his opponent smile with his Entertainment Duels. However, with his violent Dueling methods, Iggy forces Yuya to a corner. And then an abnormal change occurs before Yuya...


Yuya has learned who he will face in the second round of the Arc League Championship. Recalling his eyewitness of Yuto's disappearance, Yuya already begins to stare down his opponent, Iggy Arlo, disapproving of his dueling style and hoping to make him smile again.

But first, Gong Strong of the Strong Dojo has his duel against Abracadabra Academy's Trick Tagart. Wearing a blindfold, Gong is adamant that he won't be deceived, and having located his opponent, orders "Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo" to finish off the rest of Tagart's 400 Life Points. Tagart is taken by surprise as he loses, and the Action Field dissipates. Allie, Frederick and Tate note that Yuya's duel is up next, and Nico Smiley proceeds to introduce the respective competitors, starting with Yuya, who comes out to a cheering crowd which he acknowledges respectfully. Skip notices his students appearing worried, and his daughter Zuzu reminds him of Yuya's opponent, Iggy Arlo, and the match from yesterday. Frederick recalls the way Kit Blade was put to the sword, and Zuzu recalls that Iggy was the previous year's runner-up. Gong takes his seat next to Zuzu as a spectator, remarking that the Junior division's incumbent winner entered the Senior division this year, making Iggy the favourite to win the Junior division this time. Iggy makes his entrance while a Bandit Warrior colleague strikes a tam tam, silencing the audience with his menacing demeanor.

Allie comments on how Iggy's entrance is already making her scared. Skip explains that the Bandit Warrior policy is not to smile at your opponent, and that winning at all costs is what matters. Headmaster Ryozan Godagawa faced criticism in the past for his style, but it fairly won numerous dueling titles for him. Tate is surprised at his strict policy. Skip says it's no surprise; the Bandit Warrior Academy also doubles as a boarding school for their students, meaning that they're usually not allowed to leave the premises. They're also banned from seeing next of kin until they become professionals under their school's watch. Despite their harsh regime, Bandit Warrior Academy welcomes a large number of applications every year, because they're only second to the Leo Institute in terms of the number of professional graduates. Skip finishes his explanation by noting that Iggy Arlo is that school's standout performer by far.

Nico Smiley puts on the "Bamboo Battleground" Action Field Spell for this duel. Yuya finds himself at the front of a bamboo shelter while Iggy is standing on an isolated rock peak. As Iggy strikes a combative pose, Yuya defiantly states, for the first time out loud, that he disapproves of the way Iggy duels. Wasting no time, Iggy begins the Action Duel chant, and Yuya recites his lines aggressively in response. Iggy lets Yuya go first; in response, he summons "Performapal Silver Claw", and immediately hitches on the wolf-like monster. Yuya acknowledges the crowd as they cheer, but then Allie and Frederick notice that Yuya's about to collide into something. Yuya ends up brushing the leaves of the bamboos onto his mouth, which gives Allie, Frederick and Tate a laugh. Skip comments on how Yuya is able to entertain regardless of the opponent he's facing, but Zuzu isn't sure. Recalling her conversation with Yuya yesterday, she has an idea of how he truly feels, having seen Yuto disappear before his eyes. Zuzu is amazed that Yuya isn't backing down after all that he's been through.

Yuya ends his turn, and Iggy responds by drawing. He Normal Summons "Hayate the Earth Star" without Tribute because Yuya controls a monster while he doesn't. With its 300 ATK advantage, Iggy has his monster attack Yuya's. Yuya tries to hide in the bamboo shelter, and finds an Action Card ahead of him. However, Iggy throws two shoots to slow "Performapal Silver Claw" down, and within moments, he is ahead of Yuya and takes the Action Card for himself. With that, "Hayate the Earth Star" knocks Yuya off his monster and destroys it, knocking 300 Life Points off Yuya. Yuya doesn't forget to mention that his "Performapal Silver Claw", as a Pendulum Monster, retreats into his Extra Deck when destroyed. Iggy brings his turn to a close.

Allie and Tate claim that Iggy unfairly stole an Action Card from Yuya. Yuya notices the same gesture that Iggy used before, and reacts to it with disdain. Yuya says he'll duel the way he believes in, and draws his next card. He is pleased with his draw: "Performapal Trump Witch", and sets the Pendulum Scales with her and "Timegazer Magician" in his hand. Using his normal chant, he Pendulum Summons "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon". This draws a positive reaction from the crowd, as well as Allie and Frederick. Iggy mulls over what Yuya said just after he Pendulum Summoned, and Yuya reiterates that duelling is about having fun. Despite Iggy persisting he's only here to win, Yuya continues to say the same thing while agreeing that Iggy's aim is also his. Yuya proceeds to Normal Summon "Performapal Camelump" and begin battle. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" attacks "Hayate the Earth Star". But because it is the only monster Iggy controls, "Hayate the Earth Star" blocks Yuya's attack. As Yuya beckons over "Performapal Trump Witch", the You Show Youths notice Yuya about to do something similar to what he did during his duel with Sylvio. He activates the Pendulum effect of "Performapal Trump Witch", enabling him to Fusion Summon using the other monsters as material. As Zuzu anticipates, "Performapal Camelump" and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" fuse together, and Yuya chants: "The beast that survives in the scorching land. Become one with the mysterious dragon, and create a new power! Come forth, ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Level 8, Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

Nico Smiley recognizes this as a Pendulum Fusion, noting that because the Fusion Materials were Pendulum Monsters, they retreat into the Extra Deck. Iggy suddenly has a recollection of him being a young boy under Ryozan's tutelage; on apparently his first day at Bandit Warrior Academy, Iggy is following Ryozan with a sad look. On his right, he sees a younger Yuya having fun with his dad. Ryozan warns Iggy once more that dueling is no fun; his parents bought the Duel Disk that he is holding, and he'll no longer see them until he graduates. Remembering that distinctive sparkle from Yuya's goggles, Iggy addresses his opponent, which he remembers from that day, and remarks that it was destiny that he would face him in a duel. Yuya remembers nothing about Iggy, so is told to carry on. "Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" is ordered to attack, but Iggy this time plays the "Evasion" Action Spell to negate the attack. Iggy then requests Yuya to end the turn, so that he can start his. Yuya does so, with the promise that he'll be entertained.

Iggy draws, and Normal Summons "Tenma the Sky Star" without Tribute since he controls an EARTH monster. Iggy then plays "Polymerization" and begins a Fusion Summon, chanting: "The stars racing through the heavens, soaring above the earth, now become one, and shine as the star of the eternal conqueror! Fusion Summon!" as "Idaten the Conqueror Star" takes to the field. As Nico marvels at the responding Fusion Summon, Gong notes that the two Fusion Monsters are level on ATK. Yuya suddenly starts running for an Action Card. Iggy notices, and reminds Yuya of "Idaten the Conqueror Star's" effect. Having heard this, Zuzu realizes that it means Yuya will take 3000 damage. While Yuya continues to run, Iggy swiftly takes out a piece of bamboo and throws it in front of Yuya, causing him to trip over. Iggy then equips the "Magic Star Sword" onto his monster, explaining that while it's equipped, he can discard a Spell Card that he adds to his hand, in order to have the equipped monster gain 100 ATK. As he applies this effect by discarding the Action Card he beat Yuya to, Tate notes that Action Spell Cards count as cards added to the hand, so the more he adds, the more he can discard and gain ATK.

Yuya, sensing this, goes for the next Action Card he sees, but Iggy barges him and grabs the Action Card for himself, applying "Magic Star Sword's" effect again. He does this another four times, increasing "Idaten the Conqueror Star's" ATK to 3600. Frederick is not pleased at what he sees, but Tate and Allie are even more worried, knowing that the next Action Spell Card Iggy grabs will defeat Yuya. Yuya, knowing this, is now running as fast as he can for the next Action Card he sees. But Iggy is matching him in pace, and tells him that he's been on a path of sunshine for as long as he knows it, while Iggy has been on a path of darkness, and won't lose to someone like Yuya. Eventually, both of them see an Action Card in front of them. Iggy tries to distract Yuya by entering his monster into battle. "Idaten the Conqueror Star" attacks "Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon". Yuya jumps for the Action Card, but at the next moment, an explosion is heard from inside the bamboo shelter. Skip, Gong, Zuzu and the You Show Youths all get worried for Yuya, but as the smoke clears, Iggy is placing his foot over Yuya's left wrist, about to steal the Action Card in Yuya's left hand. Nico announces that the attack had already landed, and Yuya stays standing in this duel with 100 Life Points. Thus, Iggy reluctantly ends his turn.

Waiting for Yuya to begin his turn, Iggy notes the darkness racing within Yuya's heart. Within moments, the area around Iggy and Yuya darkens as the former repeats his prophecy. Suddenly, Yuya appears to seize up. The next moment that he can see, he sees nothing but darkness. But as he turns, he sees Yuto staring at him. They happen to touch each other simultaneously, and merge into one. Iggy gasps when he sees Yuya's eyes become an eerie shade of red. Speaking in a calmer tone, Yuya begins his next turn. He plays the Action Card that he prevented Iggy from taking, which was "Mad Hurricane". It clears out Yuya's field, returning his cards to the deck. Skip is wondering why Yuya is doing this. At the next moment, Yuya sets the Pendulum Scales again, this time with "Performapal Turn Toad" and "Performapal Cheermole". Although he can only Pendulum Summon Level 4 monsters using this setup, he has two in his Extra Deck to call on: "Performapal Silver Claw" and "Performapal Camelump". Gong is wondering at Yuya's next course of action. At the next moment, Yuya stacks the two monsters together to build the Overlay Network, and chants: "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

Nico is horrified that Yuya can now Xyz Summon. Zuzu recognizes the monster as Yuto's. Declan is watching from a Leo Institute meeting room and also wonders where Yuya got that card from. The awakened Yuya detaches one Overlay Unit from his new dragon, and halves the ATK of Iggy's monster and having the dragon gain the ATK it cut from its target. So, "Idaten the Conqueror Star" drops to 1800 ATK and "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" goes up to 4300 ATK. However, Yuya repeats the process by detaching the second Overlay Unit from "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", making it power up to 5200 ATK and dropping "Idaten the Conqueror Star" further to 900 ATK. Iggy is alarmed at what this means. The awakened Yuya pays no heed, and launches straight into battle. As "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" prepares to launch its attack, Iggy tries to use his monster's effect. Yuya calmly states that it won't work on a monster without a Level. Iggy is shocked, he thought "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" was Level 0. Wasting no time, the dragon's "Mauling Mandible Charge" cleans up "Idaten the Conqueror Star" and all 4000 of Iggy's Life Points.

Zuzu concerned

Zuzu notices the change in Yuya's attitude.

The Action Field dissipates but the stadium remains unlit, having suddenly plunged into darkness earlier. Nico announces the duel's winner, but the audience stays silent. Skip tries to applaud but nothing happens. Allie and Tate notice Yuya's change of demeanor, and Zuzu watches on with similar concern. Suddenly, Yuya's eyes return to normal, and he regains his senses. Yuya sees his fallen opponent and runs up to him. Iggy brushes him away and tries to bow apologetically to his comrades, but they had left just moments ago. Then Yuya looks back on his supporters, including the You Show team, and all stare back blankly. He wonders what he's feeling, let alone why.

Featured Duels

Gong Strong vs. Trick Tagart

Duel is shown from an unspecified turn. Gong controls "Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo" (2400/3800), while Trick controls no cards and has 400 Life Points.

Gong's turn
"Susanowo" attacks directly (Trick 400 → 0).

Yuya Sakaki vs. Iggy Arlo

Yuya VS Isao

Yuya vs. Iggy

At the start of the Duel, the Field Spell Card "Bamboo Battleground" is activated, as per the rules of an Action Duel. It will allow the players to use Action Cards, but they may only have one in their hand at a time.

Turn 1: Yuya
Yuya Normal Summons "Performapal Silver Claw" (1800/700).

Turn 2: Iggy
Iggy draws and subsequently Normal Summons "Hayate the Earth Star" (2100/0) without Tribute as Yuya controls a monster and he does not. Yuya attempts to find an Action Card, but Iggy beats him to it. "Hayate" attacks and destroys "Silver Claw" (Yuya 4000 → 3700).

Turn 3: Yuya
Yuya draws "Performapal Trump Witch" and subsequently activates it (Right Pendulum Scale 4) and "Timegazer Magician" (Left Pendulum Scale 8) in his Pendulum Zones. Yuya Pendulum Summons "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" (2500/2000) from his hand in Attack Position. He then Normal Summons "Performapal Camelump" (800/1800). "Odd-Eyes" attacks "Hayate", but Iggy activates the effect of "Hayate" to negate the attack, as it was attacked while Iggy controlled no other monsters. Yuya activates the Pendulum Effect of "Trump Witch", letting him use monsters he controls as Fusion Material Monsters for a Fusion Summon. He fuses "Odd-Eyes" and "Camelump" to Fusion Summon "Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" (3000/2000) in Attack Position. "Beast-Eyes" attacks "Hayate", but Iggy activates the Action Card "Evasion" to negate the attack.

Turn 4: Iggy
As he controls an EARTH monster, Iggy Normal Summons "Tenma the Sky Star" (2100/0) without Tribute via its own effect. Iggy activates "Polymerization", fusing "Hayate" and "Tenma" on his field to Fusion Summon "Idaten the Conqueror Star" (3000/2200) in Attack Position. Iggy equips "Idaten" with "Magic Star Sword". Iggy finds the Action Card "Evasion". Since a Spell Card was added to his hand, he activates the effect of "Magic Star Sword", sending it to the Graveyard to increase the ATK of "Idaten" by 100 (3000 → 3100). Yuya finds an Action Card, but Iggy beats him to it. He then activates the effect of "Magic Star Sword" again ("Idaten" 3100 → 3200). This occurs four more times ("Idaten" 3200 → 3300 → 3400 → 3500 → 3600). "Idaten" attacks "Beast-Eyes", with Iggy activating the effect of "Idaten", letting him reduce the ATK of any monster it battles whose Level is at most its own to 0 ("Beast-Eyes" 3000 → 0). Yuya and Iggy race to grab an Action Card, and Yuya manages to take it, but the attack continues and "Beast-Eyes" is destroyed (Yuya 3700 → 100).

Turn 5: Yuya
Yuya activates the Action Card "Mad Hurricane" to shuffle all cards he controls into his Deck. He then activates "Performapal Turn Toad" (Right Pendulum Scale 3) and "Performapal Cheermole" (Left Pendulum Scale 5) in his Pendulum Zones. Yuya Pendulum Summons "Camelump" (800/1800) and "Silver Claw" (1800/700) from his Extra Deck, both in Attack Position. He then overlays his two Level 4 monsters to Xyz Summon "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" (2500/2000) in Attack Position. Yuya activates its effect, detaching an Overlay Unit to halve the ATK of a Level 5 or higher monster Iggy controls and add that amount to its own ATK ("Idaten" 3600 → 1800), "Dark Rebellion" 2500 → 4300). Yuya activates the effect of "Dark Rebellion" again, detaching another Overlay Unit to halve the ATK of "Idaten" again and add that amount to its ATK ("Idaten" 1800 → 900, "Dark Rebellion" 4300 → 5200). "Dark Rebellion" attacks "Idaten". Iggy attempts to activate the effect of "Idaten" to make the ATK of "Dark Rebellion" 0, but since Xyz Monsters have Ranks instead of Levels, the effect cannot be used. The attack continues and "Idaten" is destroyed (Iggy 4000 → 0).

Featured cards


Yuya Sakaki
Iggy Arlo
Gong Strong
Action Fields
Action Cards
Computer monitor


  • This episode is one of the very few episodes of the entire anime that shares its English and original Japanese title.


In other languages

Language Title
Flag of France French Le réveil de la colère Impériale
Flag of Germany German Gespaltene Persönlichkeit
Flag of Italy Italian Una furia insolita
Flag of South Korea Korean 역린의 각성
Flag of Thailand Thai กระตุกหนวดเสือ