Cardfight!! Vanguard G: Stride Gate-hen

Cardfight!! Vanguard G: Stride Gate-hen serves as the third season of the G series, airing in 2016 as a continuation of the overarching narrative involving the vanguard fighters. Produced by TMS Entertainment, the season was designed to elevate the stakes of the series by introducing the Stride Gate arc, which focused on the mysterious antagonist Ryuzu Myojin and his goal to utilize the mysterious Stride Gate to reshape reality according to his ideological vision. This narrative shift marked a departure from the more localized tournament settings of earlier seasons toward a global, high-stakes conflict that challenged the protagonists' philosophies regarding the game.

The season is notable for its intricate character arcs and the formal introduction of the Zodiac Time Beasts, a clan that played a pivotal role in the season's mechanical and story-driven developments. The animation direction maintained the visual standards established by TMS Entertainment for the franchise, emphasizing dynamic, card-driven combat sequences that integrated new mechanics like the stride ability into the plot. Upon release, the series was well-received by the existing player base for deepening the lore of the Vanguard universe and providing a darker, more philosophical tone that matured alongside the series' core audience.