16 year old Jaden Yuki is running late for his entrance exam to enter Duel Academy. When he arrives, the exam proctor uses his personal deck in an attempt to bar Jaden entry.
- Adaptational Badass: In real life, Winged Kuriboh only protects the user from battle damage after its destroyed. Here, it negates Ancient Gear Golem's ability to deduct the difference between its attack points and the opposing monster's defense points from Jaden's life points during destruction.
- Chekhov's Gun: The episode begins with Jaden literally bumping to Yugi. Yugi gives Jaden the Winged Kuriboh card. This saves him during his duel against Dr. Crowler.
- Chekhov's Gunman: This episode introduces us to multiple characters that end up playing an important role in the series, even if it doesn't look that way at first. In particular, Zane makes his first appearance here and doesn't appear again until episode 7, where we finally learn who he is and what his connections to Alexis and Syrus are.
- Didn't See That Coming: Crowler is an expert duelist (as one would expect from a teacher at an academy teaching Duel Monsters), but he still gets caught off-guard by Winged Kuriboh's special effect. Zane even points out that no one can be expected to know everything about the game.
- Evil Is Petty: In the dub, Crowler refuses to test Jaden simply for being late, when it wasn't even his fault as the train he took was late (of course, how a Japanese train could be late is something else).
- Rewatch Bonus: "Something tells me it belongs with you." The true meaning of Yugi's line when he gives Jaden Winged Kuriboh becomes apparent in the series finale, when Jaden will travel back in time and meet Yugi's younger self. (Yugi has already met Jaden, but Jaden hasn't met Yugi before this.)
- Stable Time Loop: The series finale reveals the first scene is part of said loop.
- Supernatural Aid: The Winged Kuriboh card — a gift to the hero from his predecessor that helps him in battle.
- A Taste of Their Own Medicine: Crowler uses his Ancient Gear Golem's special effect to deplete Jaden's life points. Jaden wins by doing the same thing with his Elemental Hero Flame Wingman.
- Theory Tunnel Vision: Crowler has so little expectations of Jaden's dueling skills just for being late that he mistakes Jaden for a complete amateur, which gets him blindsided several times. Jaden even has to point out that he does understand the basics of the game during his final turn.
- Threshold Guardian: Dr. Crowler — Jaden has to defeat him to begin his adventure.
