«Yu-Gi-Oh 25th anniversary» cards means one specific thing in the Japanese OCG: the Quarter Century Secret Rare (QCSR) — a champagne-gold rarity Konami created in February 2023 to mark 25 years since the OCG’s Japan launch, followed two years later by a dedicated 100-card booster, Quarter Century Art Collection (QCAC). Nothing else carries the QCSR rarity’s champagne-gold foil and anniversary watermark, though Konami has since used the «Quarter Century» name on other, separate products — more on that below.
This guide separates the two things people mean when they say «25th anniversary Yu-Gi-Oh cards»: the QCSR rarity itself, and QCAC, the set built around it. It also covers what Konami did next, so you can tell a genuine Quarter Century-era card from a newer rarity that looks similar but isn’t part of the anniversary line.
Quarter Century Secret Rare launched in February 2023 and officially replaced Prismatic Secret Rare as the OCG’s standard top secret-rare foil as of Duelist Nexus (April 2023) — its last Japanese appearance was a special Blue-Eyes White Dragon set in April 2025. The dedicated booster, Quarter Century Art Collection, released February 22, 2025 with 100 cards. It’s listed on our site without a displayed price — enquire via Quick Order. A newer OCG booster, Limit Over Collection: The Rivals, is currently listed at ¥7,455 (~$47) and shows how the OCG’s rarity system kept evolving after the anniversary.
Yen figures below convert at ¥159/USD (September 2026). Only prices for products currently on our own site are given — no third-party market prices are quoted anywhere in this guide.
What Is the Yu-Gi-Oh Quarter Century Era?
The Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game (OCG) launched in Japan on February 4, 1999 under Konami. Add 25 years and you land in the 2023–2024 window — the «Quarter Century» the name refers to.
Konami marked the anniversary in two stages, and this is the part that causes confusion: the rarity came first, the dedicated set came later.
- February 2023 — Konami introduced the Quarter Century Secret Rare rarity in the Japanese OCG booster Rarity Collection Quarter Century Edition.
- February 22, 2025 — Konami released Quarter Century Art Collection, a 100-card booster built specifically around reprinting classic cards in QCSR (and Secret Rare) form.
So «a 25th anniversary Yu-Gi-Oh card» most precisely means a card printed in the QCSR rarity, whether that card came out in 2023, 2025, or one of the sets in between that also used the rarity. The two sections below cover each half in turn.
Quarter Century Secret Rare: The Anniversary Rarity
Quarter Century Secret Rare (QCSR) is a Secret-Rare-foil-treatment card variant. It’s identified by a speckled holographic champagne-gold card name and a printed «Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game 25th Quarter Century» watermark in the text box — the watermark is the giveaway if the foil colour is hard to judge from a photo.
Its timeline, as documented, runs like this:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| February 2023 | Introduced in Rarity Collection Quarter Century Edition, to commemorate the OCG’s 25th anniversary. |
| April 2023 | Officially replaced the Prismatic Secret Rare rarity, starting with Duelist Nexus (Japan). |
| February 2025 | Became the signature rarity of the dedicated Quarter Century Art Collection booster. |
| April 2025 | Last documented Japanese appearance — a special Blue-Eyes White Dragon ukiyo-e framed set. |
Because QCSR replaced Prismatic Secret Rare as the OCG’s rarity of that tier, several sets released between April 2023 and April 2025 carry QCSR cards without being «anniversary sets» in name — QCAC is the set built entirely around the concept, but it isn’t the only place the rarity shows up.
Inside Quarter Century Art Collection (QCAC)
Quarter Century Art Collection is the OCG booster built specifically to showcase QCSR. Released in Japan on February 22, 2025, it’s structured as:
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total cards | 100 |
| Cards per pack | 4 |
| Packs per box | 15 |
| Rarity spread | Secret Rare and Quarter Century Secret Rare availability is specified card by card rather than applying uniformly to all 100 entries. |
The set isn’t just a rarity reprint exercise — several cards received brand-new alternate artwork exclusive to QCAC. Dark Magician Girl got a third distinct artwork, and both Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician received new artworks that are QCSR-exclusive within this set.
These four are the Ultra Rare printings from the box — the same characters are also chaseable in QCSR form within the same set. For the complete 100-card breakdown, see our QCAC card list and our earlier QCAC concept guide, which covers the set’s structure in more depth than this article does.
On our own site, the QCAC booster box (carton) is listed without a displayed price — enquire via Pedido rápido.
What Came After QCSR: Rarity Innovation Didn’t Stop
QCSR’s last documented Japanese appearance was April 2025, but that didn’t mean the OCG stopped inventing new top-tier rarities. The Grand Master Rare tier debuted in Limit Over Collection: The Heroes, released in Japan on February 28, 2026, and carried into its companion release three weeks later, Limit Over Collection: The Rivals (LOCR), released in Japan on March 20, 2026 — a useful, more recent example of the OCG’s rarity system still evolving.
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total cards | 80 (38 Ultra Rare / 42 Super Rare) |
| Cards per pack | 4 |
| Packs per box | 15 |
| Top rarity | Grand Master Rare — official spec: «100 cards limited with unique serial numbers,» applied to only 18 of the 38 Ultra Rares |
| Other new design | «Extended Art» frame-breaking card design, available as both Ultra Rare and Prismatic Secret Rare |
| Full rarity spread | All 80 cards are also available as Prismatic Secret Rare and Secret Rare |
Grand Master Rare is not a Quarter Century-era rarity. It’s a separate, later rarity tied to the Limit Over Collection line’s numbered-card concept — introduced in The Heroes and continued in The Rivals — not to the OCG’s 25th anniversary. The two are worth keeping apart: QCSR marks a specific 2023–2025 anniversary window and a specific champagne-gold look with the 25th-anniversary watermark; Grand Master Rare is a 2026 numbered-serial concept with no anniversary tie-in.
What the two sets share is the underlying pattern: Konami keeps building new top-of-set rarity concepts (QCSR in 2023, Grand Master Rare in 2026) rather than reusing an old one indefinitely. If you’re trying to date a card by its rarity name alone, check which set it came from before assuming it belongs to the anniversary line. For the complete LOCR card list, see our LOCR card list and Limit Over Collection concept guide.
Where to Buy Yu-Gi-Oh Quarter Century Cards from Tokyo
We ship sealed Japanese OCG product from Tokyo. Two boxes from this guide are currently on our site:
- The Quarter Century Art Collection booster box (carton) — listed without a displayed price; sourcing requests go through Pedido rápido.
- The Limit Over Collection: The Rivals booster box, currently listed at ¥7,455 (~$47).
For a related Quarter Century-era product not covered in depth above, see our Quarter Century Chronicle: Side Pride card list. For anything not listed on our site, Pedido rápido is the fastest way to send a sourcing request.
Preguntas frecuentes
What does «Yu-Gi-Oh 25th anniversary» refer to?
It refers to the Quarter Century Secret Rare (QCSR) rarity, which Konami introduced in the Japanese OCG in February 2023 to mark 25 years since the OCG’s February 4, 1999 Japan launch, and to the dedicated booster built around it, Quarter Century Art Collection (February 2025).
What is a Quarter Century Secret Rare (QCSR)?
A Secret-Rare-foil-treatment card variant identified by a speckled holographic champagne-gold card name and a printed «Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Game 25th Quarter Century» watermark in the text box. It officially replaced the Prismatic Secret Rare rarity as of Duelist Nexus, April 2023.
How many cards are in Quarter Century Art Collection?
100 cards total, sold as 4 cartas por sobre and 15 packs per box. Secret Rare and Quarter Century Secret Rare availability varies by card.
Is Grand Master Rare a Quarter Century-era rarity?
No. Grand Master Rare is a separate, newer rarity introduced in Limit Over Collection: The Heroes (February 2026) and carried into its companion set, Limit Over Collection: The Rivals (March 2026) — a numbered-serial concept applied to a subset of each set’s Ultra Rares, with no tie to the OCG’s 25th anniversary.
When did Quarter Century Secret Rare last appear in Japan?
The last documented Japanese appearance is a special Blue-Eyes White Dragon ukiyo-e framed set released in April 2025.
Can I buy Quarter Century Art Collection from Samurai Sword Tokyo?
The QCAC booster box (carton) is on our site but listed without a displayed price — sourcing requests go through Quick Order. A related current OCG box, Limit Over Collection: The Rivals, is listed at ¥7,455 (~$47).
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