Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS/Characters

Yusaku Fujiki/Playmaker
A first-year high school student who doesn't like standing out, Yusaku is convinced to try VR Dueling. Uses a Cyberse Deck. As a Charisma Duelist, he is known as Playmaker. Voiced by:Shouya Ishige (Japanese),Jake Paque (English)


 * Ambiguous Disorder:Yusaku has No Social Skills; he is very blunt and direct and doesn't seem to realize that he comes off as rude this way; his emotions don't show on his face or body language even when he verbally states he is enjoying himself; and he has a tendency to list things in carefully ordered categories (of three), going so far as to stretch two ideas to fit three bullet points. These are all potential symptoms of autism.His Revenge Before Reason and Unstoppable Rage on the Knights of Hanoi also indicated that he has developed a posttraumatic embitterment disorder as a result of his Dark and Troubled Past.
 * Aloof Ally:As Playmaker, he has been praised by other Charisma Duelists for his skill and talent. Not that he cares.
 * Anime Hair:The common hair style for every Yugioh protagonist
 * Amnesia:Subverted, he lost his memories long ago, but has lived long enough to get a have a stable personality, albeit one that's a Jerkass
 * Anti Hero:Yusaku is neither Hot-Blooded nor an All-Loving Hero, but a standoffish, serious, and distant Ice King.He would even go so far as to give the Knight of Hanoi a very brutal The Reason You Suck Speech, which is something that only Kaiba archetypes would usually do.
 * Achievements in Ignorance:Justified. He knows how to use a hover board and do speed duels on his first try, but he figures out right away that he must've done both of these things prior to losing his memory.
 * The Atoner: After realizing that Revolver was the same individual who motivated Yusaku during the Lost Incident with the "three reasons" Survival Mantra, Yusaku tries to enforce this trope on him, attempting to convince him to amend his ways by stopping the Tower of Hanoi and walking a new path. Revolver declines, however, and will stop the Tower of Hanoi only when he's defeated in a Duel.
 * Awesome By Analysis:Said to be a genius duelist and hacker who excels at reading people. See EstablishingCharacterMoment below.
 * Badass Back:His Powercode Talker pierces through Faust's Spreader Queen, not bothering to look back as the latter is destroyed.
 * Badass Baritone:Sports a deep voice.His voice is much deeper than any other Yu-Gi-Oh protagonist even being deeper than Atem and Yusei.
 * Badass Boast:"Knights of Hanoi. Wherever you choose to run rampant, I will appear. My name is Playmaker!"
 * Badass Bookworm:He's a hacker who gains fame in the Network World for defeating the Knights of Hanoi in fierce Duels.
 * Badass in Distress:Playmaker gets captured by Ghost Girl so he can be interrogated regarding Aoi/Blue Angel's comatose state.
 * BFS:His Decode Talker wields a greatsword.
 * Big Damn Heroes:As Playmaker he is prone to do this
 * As Playmaker, he saves Blue Angel from being erased by Cracking Dragon.
 * In 15 he saved Ghost Girl before she gets eaten by data storm
 * Saves Shoichi when he got cornered by the Knights of Hanoi in LINK VRAINS a year prior to the series. On a later date he does it again, but this time Shoichi returned the favor after he tried to escape from them.
 * Beginner's Luck:Justified. He knows how to use a hover board and do speed duels on his first try, but he figures out right away that he must've done both of these things prior to losing his memory.
 * Bishonen:See his anime design he looks much more attractive and taller than his predoocseeors
 * Bishie Sparkle: Lonely Brave's deluded fantasy of a bishonen Playmaker is complete with white sparkles.
 * Broken Ace
 * Broken Bird:His Dark and Troubled Past and The Hanoi Project has made him qualify this trope which causes him to be more bitter,sour and vengful driving towards revenge.
 * Brutal Honesty:Playmaker doesn't mince his words when he dismissively remarks that he is disinterested in GO and Blue Angel.
 * Catch Phrase:Some variation of three reasons when analyzing situations or reading people.
 * Cyber Goth:Yusaku uses the Cyberse archetype, which all fit this theme.
 * The Comically Serious:When Kusanagi and Ai teases him over his lack of social skills with womens Yusaku doesnt react at all not even reacting in anger or embrassement and he maintains a deadpan stoic expression as usual and again in 12 he is this with Kusanagi after Ignis shows of his body to them he doesnt react and ignores him
 * The Cynic:He loses all his hope to live and find humanity due to being Kidnap as a child and being treated badly during the Lost Incident.After losing a duel and badly getting totured and not getting enough food he finds fifficult to enjoy dueling,having a happy life and making new freinds and talking about future and he sees this world as a cruel place and is very sour and cynical deepdown.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: One of the most cruel childhoods in the franchise. He and five other children were kidnapped by the perpetrators of the Hanoi Project and kept isolated in almost empty rooms, one child in each. The only thing there was in the rooms were the [=VR=] equipment used to duel against difficult opponents. Defeat WASN'T option. First, they'd be punished for their loss with an electroshock, THEN they'd be deprived of (enough) food. Those kids were literally fighting for their food and risking a heart attack (among other health risks) in the process. Other than that, they've been exposed to isolation for continued periods of time. The whole nightmare lasted for half a year until the kids were abruptly released. HopeSpot You think it finally was over? LittleNo Nope. Despite of the efforts of the therapists (yes, you read that right, despite YuGiOhGX track recordof the previous series), the amount of stress the six children went through was just too much. Yusaku is even shown having nightmares of himself facing the virtual opponent again. In fact, it is heavily implied that Yusaku may be the one who got the luckiest, as everyone else are broken even worse than him. No wonder the poor guy isn't dueling for fun - to him dueling is a symbol of everything he lost, permanently.]]
 * Dark Is Not Evil:His Decode Talker are dark monsters
 * Deadpan Snarker:Doesn't say much when he responds to the AI in Naoki's Duel Disk.
 * -->AI in Naoki's Duel Disk: Hello there.
 * -->Yusaku: Yeah, hi.
 * Defrosting Ice King:Towards Ignis he was very mean and a Jerkass to Ignis when he first met him and find him nothing more than a annoyance as the show goes he gradually soften up to Ignis and comes to care for him deeply and when Ignis came back he Smiled and Playfully teased him for coming back as hostage
 * Electric Torture:Back when he was in confinement, he would be electrocuted every time he lost a Duel in the VR space and be denied food.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: In-universe and lampshaded by Revolver, after Playmaker defeats a Knight of Hanoi.
 * -->Revolver: Playmaker... to think he'd be such a dark horse...
 * Emotionless Boy:Of The Stoic type he is more emotionless than Aoi and hardly changes experession
 * Establishing Character Moment:Yusaku's first appearance is when he's woken up by Naoki at the end of their class. In quick succession Naoki shows off his Duel Disk, discusses Link VRAINS and asks Yusaku if he wants help improving his Dueling skills. Yusaku (who doesn't even know Noaki's name despite being in the same class for a month) has already analysed him by this point and replies no, because there are three reasons he thinks Naoki is a mediocre Duelist. . He talks about his new Duel Disk but not his deck, 2. He hasn't been to Link VRAINS (suggesting a lack of confidence) and 3. "What kind of Duelist judges someone by appearance, anyway?.He does add that he also picked up three reasons Naoki is a good person, but by that point Naoki is too miffed to care.
 * Everyone Has Standards: In spite of his vengeful spirit, he is unwilling to sacrifice uninvolved parties, as demonstrated when Spectre reveals an imprisoned Akira in front of him, who increasingly risks being infected by the prison's virus as Spectre takes damage.
 * Expy
 * Appears to be this for Yusei], being a cool-headed economically troubled Teen Genius and all, but his Playmaker account resembles a Darker and Edgier version of Yuma's first ZEXAL form.
 * His Decode Talker looks like an odd combination between Buster Blader, and Elemental HERO Sparkman. It also serves a similar role to Yusei's Junk Warrior, being a secondary ace monster with 2300 ATK.
 * Shares a few elements with Shark, both being orphans with a Mysterious Past to the audience, someone they want to get revenge on, a Jerk with a Heart of Gold personality, and wanting so help/save someone who has a younger sibling bond with a main cast member.


 * Foil
 * To Yuya Their attitude, deck themes, and appearances are opposites to each other: While Yuya is an entertainer and a All-Loving Hero who enjoys the limelight, Yusaku is an expert hacker and a ruthless Anti-Hero who would rather sit on the sidelines. Yuya believes Dueling should be fun to both himself and everyone watching and never a war tool, while Yusaku doesn't enjoy it and uses it as a tool for his Revenge. Yuya uses a deck full of clowns, circus animals, dragons, and classic magicians, while Yusaku's deck is themed after VR beings, with the added difference of Yuya using a specific archetype with a large amount of monster types while Yusaku uses various Cyberse-type monsters that don't share an archetype. And finally, Yuya has a bright and colorful appearance, while Yusaku appears to be more bleak and realistic.
 * He's also this to all the previous main characters, because he has no personal interest in Dueling and only uses Duel Monsters as a weapon to use for eliminating the Knights of Hanoi. While the previous main characters would never think of turning down a challenge due to their honor as Duelists, Yusaku only accepts if it will achieve his goals and isn't concerned if his reputation suffers for backing down.
 * He is also this to Ai they both lost their memories wanted to regain them while Ai is a comic relief who likes to joke around and will always remain positive Yusaku on the other hand is very serious and cold who never fools around
 * He is also this to Akira they both are stoic level headed young mans who had Dark and Troubled Past despite facing this Akira stiil tries his best to forget about his past and tried to have a happy life and make new friends Yusaku on the other hand is more cynical about it and believes he cant enjoy dueling or have a happy life and make new friends which is justified.
 * He is also this to Specter they both were one of the 6 children that got kidnap during the events of Lost Incident. While Specter enjoyed it and felt like time has moved for him Yusaku on the other hand hates the incident and finds it like hell and . Specter ends up working with the people who were involved during the Lost Incident while Yusaku seeks revenge on them for ruining his childhood.
 * The Fettered: In spite of his vengeful spirit towards the Knights of Hanoi for his stolen past, he is above letting uninvolved parties come to harm.
 * The Gadfly:Claims that he appeared during Dark Onizuka and Genome's Duel so that he can scoff at the former when he loses, to Dark Onizuka's irritation.
 * Genre Savvy:Yusaku carries around a casual LIGHT deck in case another duelist wants to see his deck, and so he doesn't blow his cover.
 * Good Is Not Nice:To unbelievable degrees. He's a hacker, a No-Nonsense Nemesis and a cold-hearted Jerkass who wants to Revenge make the Knights of Hanoi pay the price for their involvement in the "past incident".
 * Good Old Ways:Downplayed, but he uses an older modeled Duel Disk which requires physical cards, as opposed to Duel Disks which can utilize cards in data format.
 * Golden Super Mode:As Playmaker, Yusaku's hair changes color, with the dark blue part becoming magenta, the bright blue part becoming a yellow-ish gold, and the bright pink parts becoming hot pink.
 * The Hero:of VRAINS
 * Hidden Heart of Gold:
 * He isnt a Jerkass deep down and he has strong sense of justice and will help anyone in need who gets hurt by Hanoi even Revolver also noted this.
 * Other than Hanoi Yusaku doesnt hate or have grudge on people who he doesnt consider them as his enimes and he forgived Akira easily despite the latter giving him a Cold Blooded Torture
 * He is caring deep down even if he doesnt show it.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:Subverted. Playmaker's Summoning of Stack Reviver while Cracking Dragon is present on the Knight of Hanoi's Field would've costed the former the Duel if his Monster boasts an original ATK of at least 400 (Playmaker had exactly 400 LP left at the time he Summoned it)
 * Heal Thyself:When a Link Monster co-linked to his Binary Sorceress battles an opponent's Monster and inflicts battle damage to them, he gains LP equal to the amount of damage inflicted.
 * Ice King:He's aloof and is not the type of person whom other people can easily approach to.
 * I Just Want to Be Normal:Prefers to be this until his first play in VR Dueling.
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons:One of his Link Monsters is Firewall Dragon, but it is a Cyberse-Type instead of Dragon-Type.
 * Irony:He doesn't like to stand out but his account name is "Playmaker" and becomes well-known in the Network World for dealing with the threat the Knights of Hanoi poses.
 * Justified. He only cares about not standing out at school and in real life, since as a hacker he could get in a lot of trouble if anyone connected his online persona to his real identity.
 * To follow up with the above, he has made it a point that he wants others to stay away from his battles. However, as VRAINS as a whole it typically under attack, he ends up collaborating with Go and Blue Angel.
 * Ill Boy::Downplayed but he has severe PTSD. His methods of eating are unhealthy and he frequently looks tired and collapse after logging out of LINK VRAINS
 * Kid Detective:He is a hacker who solves mysterious in cool manner
 * Kick The Dog:What Go thinks of him showing up and "snatching" the spotlight (even if it's unintentional). In Playmaker's defese though, he didn't ask for fame in the first place.
 * Light Is Good:His Firewall Dragon is a LIGHT Monster.
 * Limited Wardrobe:Apart from his digital avatar, he's only seen wearing his school uniform, possibly because he can't afford any other clothes.
 * The Magic Poker Equation: His Skill, Storm Access, allows him to randomly add a card found in a Data Storm to his deck. Naturally, the first time he uses it he gains Decode Talker, which is perfectly suited to winning him the duel.
 * Meaningful Name:Yusaku's surname, Fujiki, is Japanese for "wisteria tree".
 * Memetic Hair:His hair is often associated with that of a wisteria; see also Meaningful Name.
 * Multicolored Hair:He has dark blue hair, complete with light blue bangs and traces of pink.
 * Mysterious Past:To the audience. As of episode 4, what happened to him is a major mystery for the viewers.
 * Mysterious Protector:His role as Playmaker. He doesn't even bother revealing his secret identity to others.
 * My Significance Sense Is Tingling:Appears to have he power to "sense" things. Though he might know how it works, the audience doesn't. So far he's used it to:
 * Comprehend and decrypt parts of an extremely complex (and original) algorithm after just a few days of studying it
 * Sense when Revolver's digital presence is nearby (while Yusaku is in the real world
 * Determine that Go isn't a real Knight of Hanoi
 * Naive Newcomer: He's far from naive and he uses Duel Monsters as his personal weapons but he's likely new to Speed Dueling.which Yusaku himself lampshades by questioning whether or not he already knows how to Speed Duel.
 * Nice Job Breaking It Hero: In his second Master Duel against Revolver. Had Playmaker not negated the Effect of Topologic Bomber Dragon, Revolver wouldn't have been able to perform multiple Link Summons due to Topologic Bomber's Effect, much less even Extra Link.
 * No-Nonsense Nemesis:He is not dueling for fun but for Revenge
 * No Social Skills:Kinda. His idea of getting close to Aoi is stalking her around the school, and see BrutalHonesty.
 * Not So Stoic:
 * In Episode 6, he gets a bit agitated as Ignis reads off the inflammatory internet comments about Playmaker not accepting Blue Angel's challenge. Ignis teases that contrary to his attitude, Yusaku does care what other people think of him.
 * Playmaker loses his cool and snaps at Akira in rage after the latter claims that he understands what it's like to lose a loved one.
 * Online Alias:Playmaker
 * Ordinary High School Student:Acts as one but has been working as Playmaker for a while
 * One Hit Polykill:During his duel with Spectre
 * Defied by Spectre. Playmaker attempts to wipe out the entirety of Spectre's LP with the 4000 ATK Multi Sledgehammer, only for Spectre to negate the attack with his Sunavalon Glorious Growth Continuous Trap and redirect it to Sunvine Gardna.
 * Played straight in part three, where in addition to increasing Excode Talker's ATK to 4000, Playmaker's Link Atrocity reduces the ATK of Spectre's Sunavalon Dryatrentiay to 0, allowing Playmaker to deplete all of Spectre's LP with a single attack.
 * Pet the Dog:
 * Spends episode 8 trying to help Aoi/Blue Angel, from taking her to the hospital when he finds her comatose body to willingly walking into a trap to find the computer program that could cure her.
 * In episode 10 he showed genuine concern and worry to Ignis after he was deleted by Revolver's "Fire Prison"
 * The Reason You Suck Speech:Playmaker dismisses the Knight of Hanoi he defeats in Episode 2, in that the latter has no right to call himself a Duelist.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni:The quite and emotionless blue oni to Ignis's red
 * Rei Ayanami Expy:In a male version of this trope he certinely qualifies being her expy Like Rei he is very stoic and emotionless with No Social Skills and has a Mysterious Past
 * Revenge:Vows to avenge his and Shoichi's little brother's as-of-yet unknown past.
 * Revenge Before Reason:Playmaker refuses to relent and allow Akira to handle everything related to the ten-year old incident, even after listening to Akira's past.Later, as pointed out by Spectre, the trope is actually subverted, as despite his desire for revenge, he doesn't have the heart to be cruel and let people suffer for his revenge.
 * Relative Button: If you value your dignity, never, ever tell him to let go of his past hurts (which scarred him and Jin Kusanagi's little brother) and live his present life in happiness. Akira learns this the hard way.
 * Rage Breaking Point::He and Kusanagi snap at Akira, who claims that he understands what it's like to lose a loved one.
 * Rule of Three:Has a habit of listing three things about a given situation or person.
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Go and Blue Angel attempt to confront Playmaker in a Duel after he defeats a Knight of Hanoi, but dismissively remarks that he has no interest in either of them, and proceeds to log out of Link VRAINS.
 * Serious Business:He treats Dueling as a means of hunting down the Knights of Hanoi.
 * Sherlock Scan: In his Establishing Character Moment, he deduces Naoki's personality and skill level in dueling just by listening to him talk about duel disks and VRAINS. This carries over into his duels, where he's very good at analyzing the field and makes moves that seem poor to onlookers, but serve a greater strategy Yusaku is working towards.
 * Shrinking Violet:Averted the reason why he doesn't like to stand out isnt because he is shy or timid but because he is a hacker
 * Played a little straight in #6, where he has no idea how to approach Aoi, and gets nervous before entering the Duel Club room.
 * The Smart Guy:Said to be extremely smart and clever
 * The Stoic: Prefers to distance himself from others due to his Playmaker business.
 * Stop Having Fun Guy:In-universe; he doesn't Duel for fun, and only sees it as a means of hunting down the Knights of Hanoi
 * Sugar and Ice Personality:Yusaku is generally cold,aloof,standoffish and distant with No Social Skills and he may be the first protoganist who is an anti hero but he isnt a bad person deep down and he is actually very kind hearted,caring and has a good heart deep down even if he doesnt show it.He only shows his icy side to everyone else but sugar and kind side to Kusanagi
 * Teen Genius:Said to be an incredibly smart person, good at reading people, and quick-witted.
 * Theme Naming:Like the other protaganist he has kanji 遊. Unlike the previous main protagonists, however, his name has three syllables as opposed to two.
 * Tron Lines:His VR body suit has these
 * Tsurime Eyes:Highlighting his aloofness.The sharpness of his eyes also highlights his determination for revenge against those involved in the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project.
 * The Unchosen One:Yusaku is neither The Chosen One (Yugi,Jaden,Yusei,Yuma) nor an Apocalypse Maiden (Yuya.He just happened to capture Ignis by chance.
 * Unstoppable Rage:Towards the Knights of Hanoi and he's still sour about the "Lost Incident" until now.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid:He used to be a happy cheerful kid who enjoyed dueling and loved duel monsters before getting kidnap for Hanoi Project
 * Vigilante Man:Hunts down the Knights of Hanoi and is branded as an Ensemble Darkhorse by the Charisma Duelists, but SOL Technology Inc. sees him as a hacker.He also trusts only himself to uncover the truth about the ten-year old incident.
 * When He Smiles: During his second Master Duel against Revolver. In spite of the face of adversity he's in after being overwhelmed by Revolver's Extra Linked Monsters, Playmaker manages to smile, to Ai's surprise.
 * You Are Too Late:
 * Fails to stop Makoto from being forcefully dragged into LINK VRAINS (and subsequently being turned into an Another victim).
 * Playmaker is powerless to do anything to prevent Ghost Girl from being purged and the Tower of Hanoi's activation.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair:Most of his hair is blue with pink shades

Ai
A mysterious AI program, sought after by the Knights of Hanoi and SOL Technology Inc., that Yusaku captures by accident.

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese)


 * Adorkable:His comic relief antics are really dorky
 * A Dog Named "Dog":Ignis is given the name Ai by Yusaku because he's an AI.
 * Amnesia:Before he could escape, a Cracking Dragon devoured most of his body, leaving his memories heavily fragmented or outright gone.
 * Artificial Intelligence: One that Yusaku captures by accident, and is sought after by the Knights of Hanoi and SOL Technology Inc.
 * The Atoner:In episode #42, seeing Playmaker continuously fail to perform Storm Access and even getting a forearm ripped off, Ai stepped in and transformed into a larger version of himself to prevent Playmaker from falling. Ai then proceeded to sacrifice a part of himself to repair Playmaker's arm and shield him from the flying debris. He really could have been erased. Even if he could have been erased either by Playmaker losing or being destroyed by the debris and had the slightest chance of surviving by saving Playmaker, he still saved Playmaker from certain death while risking his own life. Ai may have been willing to sacrifice himself because he wanted to make it up to Playmaker for lying about losing his memories.
 * Beware the Silly Ones:After the Knight of Hanoi is about to blow himself up...Ignis transforms into and Eldritch Abomination...and devours him.
 * Later, when Revolver loses against Playmaker in their master duel, he does so again and tears his arm off.
 * Butt Monkey:You can't help feeling sorry for the poor thing after everything that happens to him. UpToEleven And that is after just one episode.
 * In Episode 12 he finally gets some of his Data back so he can reform his original body!... But he's only big enough to be held like a doll and doesn't impress anyone, he didn't even get any of his memories back.
 * Catch Phrase:"Take hold of the wind, Playmaker!"
 * Chew Toy: Literally! He barely escaped after being followed and almost devoured by a Cracking Dragon.
 * Cosmic Plaything: Despite of him dismissing the idea of prayer, he is obviously hated by the Universe.
 * Cowardly Lion
 * Comic Relief:He is the leasnt serious character in the entire show
 * Cry Cute:A comical variant, where he tears up over his Embarrassing Nickname.
 * Deadpan Snarker:Even more so than Yusaku being an AI doesnt stop him from being snarky
 * Distressed Dude:In the first episode he is targeted by both Knights of Hanoi and SOL and later he gets taken to hostage by Yusaku
 * Embarrassing Nickname:"Ai", courtesy of Yusaku. Later subverted when he openly embraces his nickname after Playmaker appears to confront Genome.
 * Eldrich Abomination:Shapeshifts into some sort of monstrosity to consume a Knight of Hanoi who was about to blow himself up to eliminate Playmaker.
 * Expy
 * He like a trickster version of Astral and his personality is similar to Orbital 7.
 * The Friend Nobody Likes:Claims that his own people dislike him.
 * Foil
 * To Atem,Yubel and Astral.Unlike any of them, he is much more goofy and amiable. Also, his purpose is immediately made clear upon his introduction, unlike his more mysterious predecessors.
 * His attitude makes him one to Yusaku.


 * The Gadfly:Being an AI doesn't make him any less capable of teasing Yusaku for being unable to talk to girls.
 * Heroic Wannabe:
 * Humiliation Conga:The first episode alone has him go through all kinds of trouble, but Yusaku capturing him is definitely were humiliation after humiliation keep happening to him.
 * Hidden Depths:Yusaku suspects him of being the one who was responsible for sending and installing Cyberse Wizard's card data into Naoki's Duel Disk.
 * Keet
 * Lovable Coward:After everything he has been through in just the first episode, his cowardice is entirely Justified
 * Lovable Sex Maniac:Though not aggressive about it, Ignis had three sex-scenes on-screen in the first twenty episodes alone. His first guess as to why Yusaku is always busy is that he's making out with Shoichi.
 * MacGuffin:Both the Knights of Hanoi and SOL consider him as this for unknown reasons
 * No Name Given: Before the premier it's only referred to as a "mysterious lifeform".'
 * "No Respect" Guy:Everyone is after him, but no one takes him seriously
 * Plucky Comic Relief:He serves as the main comic relief for the show
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni:The jokissh self centred red oni to Yusaku's blue
 * Saying Too Much:Ai's "panicking" in an attempt to goad Ghost Girl's Primebanshee into attacking Playmaker's Lockout Gardna fails after her AI informs her of Storm Access and the prerequisite to activate it.
 * The Slacker: Back in the Cyberse World, Ai was very carefree and wasn't the working type, and thus was deemed an annoyance by the other Ignis.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Is his Embarrassing Nickname "Eye" or "Ai"? The anime goes with the latter.
 * What Measure Is a Non Human:Most people only see it as a tool. Yusaku's poor treatment of it comes from the fact that he doesn't think it can feel or actually think, just that it's programmed to keep itself out of anyone's control.

Shoichi Kusanagi (Kolter)/Unnamed
A hacker who shares the same motives as Yusaku.he Mysterious Hot-dog Vendor: He works as a hot-dog vendor in the city. However, that is merely a cover, as he is actually a skilled hacker who supports Playmaker in Dueling.

Voiced by: Subaru Kimura (Japanese),Sam Black (English)


 * Berserk Button:Trivializing his past. Even a mention of his and his brother's past by anyone who is not Yusaku is enough to enrage the normally laid-back Kusanagi.
 * Big Brother Instinct:He seems to be involved in Yusaku's mission in order to help his little brother. Downplayed with Yusaku, as he helps him fight life or death battles.
 * Big Damn Heroes:Subvereted Kusanagi attempts to do this to Akira while he was trapped in the trony prision hacking and working out to free him from it only for Akira to sacrifice himself to avoid burdening Playmaker in which he fails to free Akira on time and Kusanagi doesn't take it well
 * Beware of the Nice Ones:He is one of the most friendly and easygoing character in the show but dont piss him off
 * The Confidant:To Yusaku, as possibly the only person who knows about Yusaku's abilities.
 * Cool Big Bro:Acts this to Yusaku
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:He may be a hot dog vendor but he is actually a skilled hacker.
 * Dark and Troubled Past:His younger brother was in the same place as Yusaku.
 * Dub Name Change:He is known as Kolter in the dub
 * The Gadfly:Show some shades of this, teasing Yusaku over his lack of social skills with women.
 * Hacker Cave:His hotdog van doubles as one.
 * Mission Control: Operates as Playmaker's, monitoring his activity and the goings-on of LINK VRAINS from within his hotdog stand.
 * Nice Guy:He seems to be very friendly and the only person Yusaku is most comfortable talking with.
 * Non-Action Guy:Doesn't do any Dueling himself, instead serving as Yusaku's Mission Control.Justified, as his own Dueling skills are novice at best.
 * The Narrator:Narrates the episode previews.
 * Online Alias: Unnamed.
 * Parental Substitute:Possibly. He seems to be the closest thing Yusaku has to a guardian, though he acts more like a brother-figure.
 * Rage Breaking Point:He and Yusaku snap at Akira, who claims that he understands what it's like to lose a loved one.
 * Revenge:Though he is good at hiding it.It is shown deep down he has a deep grudge towards Hanoi for what they did to his brother
 * Secret Keeper:To Yusaku
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair:He has dark purple hair

Takeru Homura/Soulburner
A student of Den City High School. In LINK VRAINS, he is known as Soulburner.He uses a Salamangreat Deck, an archetype of FIRE Cyberse-Type Monsters focused on a Beatdown strategy.

Voiced by: Yuuki Kaji (Japanese)

His New Transfer Student status and softer real life appearance also make him this to Johan and Bruno.
 * Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: His Soulburner persona in a nutshell. Aside from the colors that represent the most common colors of fire (gray is likely to symbolize ash), his hairstyle and scarf also look like a fire. Not surprising given that he uses a FIRE deck and his partner is the Ignis that is not only literally calling himself Flame, but also being the Ignis that specifically represents the FIRE Attribute. Its pretty obvious where he got the inspiration.
 * Badass Boast:Utters one to Bit and Boot before dueling them, accompanied by his crushing a ball of fire in his hand.
 * Big Entrance:Soulburner appears from a whirling burst of flame, and confronts the Bit and Boot pair in Playmaker's stead so that he can concentrate on tailing Bohman and Haru.
 * Break Them by Talking:Soulburner gets on GO's bad side by pointing out that he's incapable of anything but throwing a hissy fit, all because he's no longer number one in LINK VRAINS. This pisses off GO big time.
 * Broken Pedestal: A downplayed case with Go. He still respects him as a duelist but dislikes how he's acting recently.
 * Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl:Although only ambiguously Romantic with Kiku, he was brooding and distant back home, while she tried to coax him out of his behavior.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: He's another victim of the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project. After being rescued, he was taken in by his grandparents and learned his parents died while searching for him, leaving him an Empty Shell and angry at the world, often skipping school for large periods. When he saw Playmaker, Blue Angel, and Go fight Hanoi, he felt like time started moving for him again and left for Den City to meet and work with them.
 * Cyberspace: He uses a Cyberse deck.
 * Expository Hairstyle Change: Prior to his departure to Den City, Soulburner had his hair slicked back like a Delinquent, and later changed it to a more unassuming, kinder style to help him better fit in as a student in Den City.
 * Expy:
 * Of Johan, being a similar character to the main protagonist and joining partway through the series and establishing a great rapport with him.
 * A clear one of Katsuya Jonouchi, being the more fiery duelist with a gambling gimmick.
 * Fashionable Asymmetry: As Soulburner, his right hand is partly exposed, while on his left hand he wears a red gauntlet.
 * Hero Worshipper:Go Onizuka was his hero, his behavior and heroism in the Hanoi incident being what inspired him to come out again, and seeing him wallow in self-pity and be a bounty hunter upsets Soulburner, giving him a Broken Pedestal.
 * Hidden Depths: Takeru may appear cheerful and spirited now, but he wasn't always like that. He got upset when Flame called him out on having been a shut-in who could only fight his own demons and not fight enemies like Yusaku had. He used to describe himself and feeling empty and angry at everything, and that time stopped for him, only starting after learning about the heroes of VRAINS
 * Hikikomori: After hearing of his parents' deaths while they were searching for him, Takeru grew to hate everything and closed himself off from society. He eventually gets out of it after he read the news about Playmaker, Blue Angel, and GO saving LINK VRAINS from the Knights of Hanoi, motivated to move forward and Duel again.
 * Ill Boy:It may not be noticeable at first, but he also has PTSD like Yusaku. This is shown when he gets caught by Blood Shepherd's trap, the shock of the trap causes him to have falshbacks to the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project.
 * Keet:He seems to be this based on how he glomps Yusaku in the second opening.
 * The Lancer: Quickly becomes this upon joining Cafe Nagi, doubling as Playmaker's Sidekick/Number Two.
 * Logical Weakness: As his Burning Draw skill reduces his LP to 100, effects that burn him upon drawing, like the Trickstars, are naturally a problem for him. He cannot use his Skill in such situations until the card is either removed or he has a negation effect in play.
 * Megane: His real life persona wears green glasses.
 * New Transfer Student: He transfers into Den Academy to establish connections with Yusaku, as they were both hostages of the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project.
 * Online Alias: Soulburner.
 * Playing with Fire: Soulburner uses a fire-themed avatar,and a Salamangreat deck, which is composed of FIRE Monsters.
 * Primal Fear: Takeru is afraid of Ghosts, likely due to his experiences with the Zombie-Type Despair From the DArk during the Lost Incident
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni:Soulburner's hot-bloodedness contrasts Playmaker's stoicism and no-nonsense front.
 * Signature Move: His Skill, Burning Draw, has him pay LP so that he only has 100 left, and allows him to draw a card for every 1000 LP he pays. In addition to being a high-risk move, it is also physically taxing.
 * Sixth Ranger:Joins Yusaku and the others as a main character for season 2.
 * Shrinking Violet: While he comes across as Keet, he gets easily flustered when praise is put on him out of a lack of self confidence.
 * You Are Too Late:By the time Soulburner arrives at the entrance of the restricted area, Haru has already escaped into the restricted area without triggering its emergency defenses.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: His Soulburner persona's hair has two opposite shades of blue.

Flame
One of the six Ignis created by Kogami who acts as Soulburners support during duels.

Voiced by":Taku Yashiro(Japanese)


 * Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: He is an Ignis (an AI named after the recurring mythological theme of the theft of fire allowing humans to evolve) who not only named himself Flame, but also is the only one among the six Ignis to actually represent the FIRE attribute.
 * Catch Phrase: Every time Soulburner activates Burning Draw, Flame exclaims "Burn your soul, Soulburner!".
 * Hot Blooded: He's quick to get fired up.
 * Irony:Just like Ai he doesn't really have any dueling skills or knowledge despite being an AI that was born through the torture of kids by
 * Insane Troll Logic: Flame deduces that GO will "go go" and attack based on what his Online Alias suggests. Soulburner can only look at Flame with bewilderment in response. dueling.
 * Large Ham:He's just as bombastic, if not more so, as Soulburner. Just listen to him exclaim "BURN YOUR SOUL, SOULBURNER!!!".
 * Not So Above It All: Flame may be more level-headed than Ai is and doesn't appreciate being compared to the likes of him, but at the same time, he wastes no time demonstrating that he's quick to get fired up during Soulburner and BitBoot's Duel.
 * Not So Different: Despite being more level-headed then Ai and not wanting to be associated with him, he has the same (lack of) dueling skill and knowledge that Ai has and when it looked like Soulburner was about to lose, he loses hope just like Ai does and says it's over for them, because he didn't even know the effect of Salamangreat Heatlio that would let Soulburner win in episode 49.
 * Playing With Fire: He is an Ignis that named himself "Flame", and his physical appearance is flame-based.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni:Despite his color scheme Flame is more level headed contrast to Ai who tends to make a drama out of situations.

Akira Zaizen


Head of SOL Technology’s Security Division A high-ranking SOL employee who oversees the security of the city and the VR Space. He protects the city from hackers.

Voiced by: Shouma Yamamoto  (Japanese),Barrett Leddy (English)


 * Aloof Big Brother:Subverted in regards to his relationship with Aoi. He is described as indifferent towards her, yet advises her to quit Speed Dueling out of concern for her safety and shows legitimate concern for her after she enters a comatose state.
 * Adult Fear:Being responsible for a six-year-old at sixteen, and worrying about how he would provide for her or her getting kidnapped like Yusaku.
 * Animal Motif:He is compared to a HellHound that protects his angel, i.e Aoi, which is lampshaded by Ghost Girl with his monsters, Tindangle Hound and Angel.
 * Badass in Distress:By the time he reaches a defeated Blue Angel, he gets trapped in a thorny prison by Dr. Kogami.
 * Big Brother Instinct:Is very protective of Aoi to the point locking her in the house tp prevent her from going outside after her recovery he also tries to be this to Playmaker after realizing he is the same age as his sister.
 * Casting a Shadow:The Tindangles are DARK attribute.
 * Cain and Abel:The Able to Aoi's cain
 * Cold Blooded Torture:Engages in a hostile interrogation against Playmaker, demanding that he explain Aoi/Blue Angel's comatose state.
 * Cool Big Bro:He does qualifies this to Aoi to some extent
 * Dark and Troubled Past: He and Aoi lost their parents in a car accident, spoiler: and had their inheritance stolen, forcing him to hack for money.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: While the Tindangle mosters are eldritch appearing demons, at the time of his duel, Akira is the Hero Antagonist against Playmaker's Vigilante Man.
 * Defrosting Ice King:Towards Playmaker at first Akira developed a bitter hatred towards Playmaker for stealing Ignis and for thinking he was responsible for putting his sister in coma upon learning the truth that Playmaker was not responsible for putting Aoi in coma he started to trust him and shows concern to him during his duel with Revolver
 * Digital Avatar:Averted he has the same appearance both in and out of LINK VRAINS
 * Easily Forgiven:Even after a hostile interrogation, Playmaker doesn't resent Akira likely because Playmaker's hatred of Hanoi outweighs any possible hatred towards Akira.
 * Expy:
 * Of Reiji, as another cool-headed young man holding a very high ranking position in a company specializing in cars-game card-game related tech.tech that has a hidden purpose. Both Reiji and Zaizen often send others to duel for them while they analyzes the situation from video surveillance. Time will tell if Zaizen takes after Reiji in other ways, though both are introduced to the audience as morally ambiguous characters with mysterious motives.
 * His backstory makes him similar to Kaiba as they both have a Dark and Troubled Past lost their biological parents at a young age.Come from a wealthy family and work really hard in a pestrigious company to support their younger siblings.His determination to protect his sister makes him similar to Joey.
 * Gratuitous English: Addresses Go as "Mr. Onizuka".
 * Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: After a failed attempt to bring Akira out of the thorny prison, he convinces Playmaker to steel his conviction, and to move forward in spite of the sacrifices made in an attempt to stop Hanoi's ambitions.
 * Hell Hound:His animal motif, and his ace monster, Tindangle Hound. In general his deck is based upon the Hounds of Tindalos
 * He Knows Too Much: After Playmaker and Revolver's Master Duel, the higher-ups of SOL Technologies spoiler:demote Akira to Chief and promote his former boss, Kitamura, to Security Chief, out of fear that he would get too curious about the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project.
 * Hero Antagonist:He evolves into this, seeking the truth about spoiler: ten years ago and SOL, while offering to bring it to light responsibly, in contrast to Playmaker's desire for revenge.
 * Heroic Sacrifice::No longer wanting to burden Playmaker, Akira deliberately touches the thorny prison containing him and infects himself with the virus, and presumably gets absorbed into the Tower of Hanoi like Blue Angel did.
 * Improbable Age: Can't be older than his twenties due to his sister's age, and he basically has Godwin's job from 5ds.
 * Innocently Insensitive: He makes an effort to reach out to Playmaker and get him to let go of his Revenge. Unfortunately, due to not understanding how Painful Yusaku's history is, he hits the later's Berserk Button and is called out for thinking he understands him.
 * Justified Criminal: He was forced into hacking at 16 to provide for Aoi, due to asshole relatives stealing his and her inheritance.
 * Knight Templar Big Brother:Is not above using pragmatic methods (such as attempting to interrogate Playmaker Through torture until The Reveal from Revolver) and making sure any hostilities are as good as dead for Aoi's sake
 * Parental Abandonment:He and Aoi’s parents are dead.
 * My God What Have I Done?:He is horrified when Revolver admits that Hanoi is responsible for Aoi's condition, not Playmaker.
 * Manly Tears:Gets a very emotional one after Aoi wakes up from her coma
 * Not So Stoic:Normally putting on a stoic front, he loses his cool when he is unable to forcibly end the Duel between Playmaker and Blue Angel.
 * Not So Different:
 * Our Demons Are Different:The Tindangles are Fiend-Type monsters that utilize flip effects
 * Parental Neglect:Since their parents died, he's been Aoi's guardian, and while his job lets her live comfortably, he has no time to spend with her, so he doesn't notice her emotional problems, him being the major cause of them.
 * Promoted to Parent: After their parents died, Akira took care of Aoi, gaining his job in order to support a stable life for her.
 * Punch Clock Villain: "Villain" might be a stretch, but Akira only opposes Playmaker in Season 2 because it is his job in SOL Technologies. Otherwise, Akira feels deeply indebted to him and is much more interested in making contact with him in real life.
 * Rags to Riches:After enduring many hardships, he eventually worked up to the prominent and well-paying job at SOL to provide for Aoi.
 * Say My Name: Cries out for Aoi after she is defeated by Spectre
 * Sinister Geometry:The Tindangles are shown with a lot of angles, the name being a combination of Tindalos + Angle.
 * Technicolor Eyes: He has cold pink eyes
 * Workaholic:He values work more than anything else
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair:His hair is teal and blue

Bishops
One of the higher-ups of SOL Technology Inc.

Voiced by:IKKAN (Japanese)


 * Chess Motif: Communicates with a hologram of a literal white bishop piece.

Knight
One of the higher-ups of SOL Technology Inc.

Voiced by:Masaaki Yano (Japanese),Sam Black (English)


 * Chess Motif: Communicates with a hologram of a literal white Knight piece.

Rook
One of the higher-ups of SOL Technology Inc.

Voiced by:Koichi Makishima (Japanese)


 * Chess Motif: Communicates with a hologram of a literal white Rook piece.

Queen
A high-ranking member of SOL Technologies Inc.

Voiced by:Megumi Koyama (Japanese)


 * Chess Motif:Is named after the queen chess piece, establishing her authority as a higher-up of SOL Technologies.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Basically her reaction to Akira's hesitation to go after Playmaker.
 * A Glass of Chianti:Just to hammer in that she is a part of a very rich company.
 * The Heavy: While it is likely that the various bounty hunters will do the most of the dirty work, her presence in the 2nd OP and more aggressive approach to collecting the Ignis implies that she'll be the chief antagonist of season 2.

Kitamura
Akira's former boss, and the new Security Chief of SOL Technologies, replacing Akira after Playmaker's Duel against Revolver.

Voiced by: Masayuki Kato (Japanese)


 * All According to Plan:Subverted. For unknown reasons, he had plans to use the contents of SOL Technologies' data bank against the higher-ups and earn himself a promotion... only for things to fall apart for him after Playmaker acquires the data.
 * Ambition Is Evil:However, unlike Roget who was a Smug Snake and tried to strike out on his own, Kitamura is a straightup Slimeball that attempts to throw in his lot with the villains.
 * Asshole Victim: He's turned to data after being defeated by Spectre, after he tries to abandon SOL and join Hanoi.
 * Bad Boss:Calls out on his workers for lagging behind on the development of an AI duelist army, and threatens to cut their salaries by 50% should they continue stagnating.
 * Badass Boast:Subverted. He claims that his AI Duelists excel at the DeathOfAThousandCuts play style, only for one of his AI Duelists to be terminated at the hands of Blue Angel, whose deck also utilises around said play style.
 * Butt Monkey:Constantly claims that his chances of earning a promotion go out the window when things don't go as he'd hoped.
 * Chewing the Scenery: MeanBoss as he may be, he dramatically loses it when AI Prototype Ai-A is defeated by Playmaker, and when the latter infiltrates SOL Technologies' data bank.
 * Dirty Coward:After SOL Technologies loses control to Hanoi, he immediately tries to throw in his lot with them.
 * Establishing Character Moment:Threatening to cut his workers' salaries by 50% for lagging behind on the development of an AI duelist army paints him as a Bad Boss.
 * Even Evil Has Standards:He was completely caught off guard by the very idea of SOL Technologies organizing (what later turned out be mass) kidnappings.
 * Gonk:Kitamura has a large nose and slanted eyes, and while not unrealistically gonky, he looks like a bit of a parody of Asian features.
 * Human Sacrifice:After failing to defeat Spectre, he like many others is turned into data and absorbed into the Tower of Hanoi, with the intent of power the Tower so the Knights of Hanoi can destroy VRAINS.
 * Jerkass:He is very unpleasent towards his workers
 * Killed Mid-Sentence:Begs not to be turned into data as he disintegrates and gets absorbed by the Tower of Hanoi.
 * Multicoloured Hair: Two shades of purple.
 * Only One Name:His given name is unknown.
 * Oh Crap:He rather justifiably freaks out when he realizes that Playmaker has gotten very far in the SOL Technologies main computer before he was detected, but calms down and realizes he can test his Prototype AI's.
 * Smug Snake:He is a very sumg and a arrogant bastard
 * Saying Too Much: Kitamura rants in his office over the fact that Playmaker acquired the data from SOL Technologies' data bank, and hopes that no one will find out, let alone question him, about it. Unbeknownst to him, two of his subordinates overhear him from outside.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: What becomes of him after the conclusion of the Tower of Hanoi incident is unknown, although he was presumably fired based on Queen's comments.
 * Yank the Dog's Chain:His AI Duelist Squad initially has the upper hand against Hanoi's mooks ... only to shortly after be effortlessly decimated by Faust and Vyra.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair:Two shades of purple.

Hayami
Akira's subordinate and admirer.

Voiced by: Chihiro Ikki (Japanese),


 * Dirty Coward: Has no problem bombarding Soulburner with explosives via her tablet, all to prevent Akira from being demoted for failing to capture Flame. GO calls out on SOL for their underhandedness, and blocks a hit for Soulburner and gets out unharmed.
 * Pointy Ears: Just like Emma Bessho, her ears are slightly pointed.
 * Satellite Character: Her entire character is based around her being Akira's subordinate.
 * Tender Tears: She bursts into tears after her tablet was confiscated by Akira, and admits to him that she attacked Soulburner out of fear that Akira would get demoted if SOL fails to capture Flame.
 * Yandere: Has shades of this when she, by herself without asking for help or even telling anyone else, started attacking Soulburner while he was dueling Go Onizuka in an attempt to prevent the possibility of Akira being demoted again.

Go Onizuka (Gore)/Go 鬼塚
A Duelist who uses a Gouki deck. As a Charisma Duelist, he is known as Go 鬼塚.As a BountyHunter, GO operates a Dinowrestler deck, which also revolves around a Beatdown play style.style, as well as monster protection, preventing attacks on his monsters or the activation of spells and traps.

Voiced by: Daiki Hamano (Japanese),Daniel J Edwards (English)


 * Attention Whore:His first spoken line in the series is to complain about Playmaker supposedly taking his spotlight, hinting that he has a big ego dispite his friendly demeanor.This is Deconstructed at the same time: Go grew up in an orphanage and as thanks, decided to become a Charisma Duelist so he earn money, could repay their kindness, and make children happy.
 * Anti-Magic:His Dinowrestler monsters prevent the activation of spells and traps when they attack like Ancient Gear monsters. It appears that Mirror Force really bothered him.
 * Back from the Dead:His Skill, Fighting Spirit, Special Summons all Gouki Monsters destroyed by battle in the same turn.
 * Blown Across the Room:Gets blown out of the room he was testing Speed Dueling on by a Data Storm.
 * Brought to You by The Letter "S"":The G on his belt.
 * The Bus Came Back:Returns seventeen episodes after his Duel against Playmaker.
 * Cool Big Bro:Acts as one to the orphaned Kids
 * Childhood Friend:Despite their differences in personality, he and Makoto were on good terms since their childhood.
 * A Darker Me:Invoked in his Duel against Genome. GO equips Gouki the Dark Mask onto Gouki Thunder Ogre, turning it into Dark Thunder Ogre, and follows up by changing his wrestling persona into Dark Onizuka.
 * Dark and Troubled Past:He used to be an orphan with money issues, and Playmaker stealing his fame by accident is Serious Business for him.
 * Digital Avatar: Averted; he sports the same appearance both online and offline.
 * Dishing Out Dirt: His Gouki monsters are EARTH Warrior-Type Monsters.
 * Disproportion Retribution:The real reason he became a Bounty Hunter for SOL Technologies in the first place? All so he could take down Playmaker and reclaim his reputation as the number one Duelist in LINK VRAINS so people will appreciate him again.
 * Deliberate Injury Gambit:Twice; Dark Onizuka has Dark Thunder Ogre destroy Rising Scorpio with a hammer throw, depleting his own LP so that Dark Thunder Ogre can increase its ATK to surpass that of Genome's Helixx Marmotroll.
 * Discard and Draw:As part of his Face Heel Turn, he ceases using his Gouki deck in favor of a Dinowrestler one.
 * Expy: He's basically a hunky Giragi and his dueling style is similar to Jack Atlas
 * Face Heel Turn:
 * Invoked in his Duel against Genome. GO discards his entertainment style and Duels like a heel, changing his wrestling persona into Dark Onizuka.
 * Does this in Season 2 where he becomes a Bounty Hunter for SOL hunting down Playmaker
 * Friend to All Children:Don't let his looks and Attention Whore attitude fool you, as he's really nice towards children and doing his Charisma DUeling job to give them a better life.
 * For Happiness: Vows to protect LINK VRAINS so the orphanage children can continue to smile.
 * Foil:To Blue Angel. While in the Hanoi arc Blue Angel realized she wants to duel for others and not just herself, Go comes to the conclusion it is ok to duel for himself and not others. In addition, while Blue Angel is grateful to Playmaker for saving her and doesn't appear bothered by being overshadowed, Go deeply resents it and will stop at nothing to beat Playmaker for the sake of his pride.
 * Full-Body Disguise:
 * Disguises himself as a Knight of Hanoi to lure Playmaker into Dueling him.
 * Later disguises himself as Playmaker to lure Dr. Genome into Dueling him.
 * Graceful Loser:Laughs as he acknowledges his defeat at Playmaker's hands.Subverted later on
 * Gentle Giant: Despite his stature and build, he has a friendly and kind-hearted demeanor outside of LINK VRAINS.
 * Go Out with a Smile:As he disintegrates and gets absorbed by the Tower of Hanoi, all GO can do is deliver one last smile and leave Playmaker to deal with Revolver.
 * Human Sacrifice:Disintegrates and gets absorbed by the Tower of Hanoi after he is defeated by Revolver.
 * Humble Hero: As a result of his orphaned upbringing. Subverted later, when his Pride and resentment towards being second best to Playmaker leads to his FaceHeelTurn.
 * It's All About Me:Boasts that he is King of Link VRAINS, and is not happy with the fact that Playmaker has become widely discussed after protecting Link VRAINS from a Knight of Hanoi.
 * It's All My Fault:Blames himself for being unable to stop Makoto from becoming an Another victim.
 * It's Personal: Cares not for the whole bounty hunting thing, as all he cares about is taking down Playmaker so that he can restore his reputation as the number one Duelist in LINK VRAINS.
 * Manly Tears:Subverted, but he is moved regardless when the orphanage children continue to acknowledge him as the champion of Link VRAINS even after losing to Playmaker.
 * Motive Rant:GO throws a big hissy fit all because he's not number one, playing the victim card and views himself as nothing but a stepping stone for Playmaker, and thus vows to take him down to not only become number one again, but also so everyone will appreciate him.
 * Near Villain Victory:Exploited. He lets his opponents get the upper hand so that he can stage a comeback, which forms the basis of his entertaining Dueling style.
 * No Sell:His Gouki the Giant Ogre is unaffected by the card effects of Monsters boasting ATK equal to or lower than it does.
 * Online Alias: Go 鬼塚.
 * Rated M For Manly:He's well-built, and runs a Gouki deck.
 * Real Name as an Alias: His online handle is based on his real name, and is written in a way that it's homonymous.
 * The Rival:He is a Friendly one to Playmaker
 * The Reason You Suck Speech:Disguised as Playmaker, GO dismissively calls the Knights of Hanoi who confronted him garbage unworthy of Dueling.
 * Revenge:Vows to get back at Dr. Genome for turning Makoto into an Another victim.
 * Reforged Into a Minion: Not literally, but discussed by Soulburner. Lampshaded by Soulburner, who labels GO as a lap dog working for SOL Technologies; or rather, a Sore Loser incapable of anything but venting his frustrations.
 * Shout Out:He's one giant homage to ProfessionalWrestling. His Gouki monsters are wrestling-themed anthropomorphic animals, Go himself looks like a wrestler, his debut episodes include a lot of references to wrestling, and his story (orphan who got into dueling to support himself, donates his winnings to the same orphanage and is a hero to the kids there) is straight from a wrestler's Kayfabe backstory while also echoing the real life charity work they do.
 * Sore Loser: Since the conclusion of the Tower of Hanoi incident, he's really sore over the fact that he's no longer number one in LINK VRAINS, and thus discards his reputation as a Charisma Duelist and becomes a BountyHunter, all so he could get back at Playmaker.
 * Spiteful Spit:Dark Onizuka literally spits poison mist on Genome's face after activating Gouki Poison Mist. Genome calls out on him for cheating
 * Tyrannosaurus Rex:His new ace monster, Dinowrestler King T Wrextle.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass:Started off as a Gentle Giant and borderline Nice Guy for his care of orphans, albeit with a bit of an ego. Come Season 2 he undergoes a Face Heel Turn because he can't stand being number two.
 * Worlds Strongest Man:Has a reputation for being the strongest Duelist in LINK VRAINS. Even after losing to Playmaker, the orphanage children continue to look up to him as the champion.
 * Yokai: In this case, Japanese ogres.
 * You Are Too Late:Arrives too late to stop Dr. Genome from turning Makoto into an Another victim.

Kengo Dojun/Blood Shepherd
A ruthless bounty hunter acquainted with Akira and Emma, hired by SOL Technologies.to capture Playmaker's Ignis. In LINK VRAINS, he is known as Blood Shepherd. Uses a Drone deck, which relies on burn damage and direct attacks and locking down his opponent's Link Monsters.

Voiced by:Takanori Okuda (Japanese)


 * An Arm and a Leg: In the accident that crippled his mother, his arm was crippled, requiring him to get a mechanical one.
 * Artificial Limbs: In real life and on his avatar
 * Badass Cape: He wears a desperado style cape to go with his cowboy theme.
 * Combat Pragmatist: Will do whatever he needs to get the job done, such as using his allies as decoys or rigging a duel disk AI to lie to his opponent.
 * Cool Plane: ED3 showcases several 'Battle Drones' alongside him (which also appear in OP2).
 * Dark and Troubled Past: He almost lost his mother and arm due to a malfunctioning AI in their taxi cab, and before that his Dad is absent or dead for unknown reasons, forcing his mother to work.
 * Decomposite Character: Wherein Shoichi embodies Shun Kurosaki's Big Brother Instinct and Dark and Troubled Past, Blood Shepherd embodies every negative and/or violent aspect of Kurosaki, except reckless vengeance. Their main choice of monsters are pretty similar (the mechanical 'Raidraptors' vs the 'Battle Drones' which are literal hunter drones). He has demonstrated great dedication to hunting down Playmaker very much like how Kurosaki initially hunted down any Fusion user he came across. To drive it further home, his civilian identity wears clothes that are almost identical to Kurosaki's and hides his face with shades and a scarf, with the colors being the main difference between their outfits. In addition, Drone monsters function a lot like Raidraptors, implementing burn damage, direct attacks, etc.
 * Disappeared Dad: His father is nowhere to be seen.
 * The Dreaded:According to Akira, Blood Shepherd has a reputation for being a ruthless bounty hunter who mercilessly hunts his prey.
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
 * Kengo loved his mother greatly, and her near-death on her birthday after their AI-Taxi crashed drives his anger towards AI.
 * Implied for Emma. He and Ghost Girl appear to have a hidden connection and when he saved her from the hacker's bomb, he called her by her real name before leaving.
 * Evil Genius:Extremely cunning and has proven himself as one of the best hackers in the series.
 * Evil Sounds Deep: Before the incident which crippled him and his mother, he was an even-voiced, yet upbeat guy. Since his involvement in the bounty hunting business, however, he speaks in a low-pitched, intimidating voice.
 * The Faceless: In the real world, Blood Shepherd covers his face with a pair of sunglasses and a scarf. His face is fully revealed in a flashback, and he's fairly normal looking.
 * Foil: A surprising one for Revolver, of all people.
 * Both of their parents they've loved very much were rendered comatose as a result of an incident involving AI; Revolver's father after trying to create the Ignis in order to make the world a better place, unlike Kengo's mother who ended up hospitalized due to an AI malfunctioning.
 * Both of them detest AI, but wherein Ryoken is a Knight Templar who despises any and all AI and tried to destroy the world's network just to ensure the 6 Ignis would never be a threat (never mind the fact that he uses the Cyberse type Topologic series of Link Monsters), Kengo is a Bounty Hunter who despises AI, but tacitly accepts that an AI that is under direct human control is still useful.
 * For all his talk about his comrades being sacrificed for the Tower of Hanoi, it is Revolver himself who rendered them in such a state. Blood Shepherd blatantly used Akira and Ghost Girl as bait during a mission, but ultimately protected Ghost Girl when their target tried to retaliate.
 * Even their parents, for that matter. Dr. Kogami is a scientist whose project to create AI that could solve any and every human problem ultimately resulted in the company that he worked for turning against him and using them to gain massive wealth. Kengo's mother is heavily implied to be a simple middle-class single parent near retirement.
 * Both of them caused their parents' downfall unwittingly. When he was just eight, Ryoken secretly reported the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project to the police, which resulted in the six children that were kidnapped to be released, but ultimately got the attention of SOL's higher-ups who infected Dr. Kogami with a virus that resulted in him getting bed-ridden; Kengo's mother was rendered hospitalized after Kengo convinced her to use an AI-driven taxi.
 * Both of them devoted their lives to their parents' well-being. Revolver spent his entire later childhood and most of his teenage years for the sake of making amends for his father's condition. Kengo was willing to give up on a chance for college just so he can take care of his mother.
 * Revolver had roughly a thousand subordinated, Kengo on the other hand either operates solo or in very small groups.
 * Freudian Excuse: He believes that AI should be controlled and overseen by humans, because on his mother's birthday, the taxi they were in was AI controlled but malfunctioned and caused them to drive into an otherwise avoidable accident, rendering her paraplegic and his arm nerve dead.
 * Hand Blast: His mods allow him to fire energy blasts out of his hand to take out opponents
 * I Work Alone: Despite being part of a Bounty Hunter team, he always works on his own accord, and has zero tolerance for being ordered around.
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch: Ruthlessly deals with the two delinquent penguins, who were hackers that modded themselves to hurt others, and has also picked a fight with him.
 * Mage Killer: His Drone deck has a lot of means to counter Link Monsters, which spells trouble for him when Playmaker Fusion Summons.
 * Momma's Boy: He just wanted to work to support his mother so she wouldn't have to work anymore...and then she nearly died.
 * Nice Hat: Dons a light purple hat with numerous pointy edges and green trimmings.
 * Online Alias: Blood Shepherd.
 * Only in It For the Money: Lampshaded by Ghost Girl; Blood Shepherd affirms that monetary rewards are what mark his status as a professional bounty hunter.
 * Otaku: Called a military/weapons otaku by Ai, and treats his Drone monsters as if he were a commanding officer from afar.
 * Pet the Dog: In a flashback, despite previously using Akira and Emma as decoys against a hacker, he steps in to protect Emma from the hacker's bomb, pushing her out of the way and shooting it down.
 * Purple Is Powerful: His civilian persona has purple hair, his avatar is rife with purple, and is repeatedly noted to be a formidable bounty hunter.
 * Rule of Three: He often counts to three but never acts on the third count.
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here:He leaves immediately after the emergency rescue program was completed by Emma, which frees Soulburner from Blood Shepherd's trap.
 * Sore Loser: He doesn't take kindly to Ghost Girl interrupting his Duel with Soulburner by bailing Soulburner out of Blood Shepherd's trap, and attempts to blast her for it.
 * Space Cowboy: Blood Shepherd's avatar is that of a futuristic armored cowboy.
 * Start of Darkness: The near loss of his mother turned him into a brutal laconic Bounty Hunter that ruthlessly destroys hackers.
 * The Unfettered:He'll use whatever means imaginable to achieve his goals, and doesn't give a damn if anyone gets hurt as a result.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Prior to the incident which crippled himself and his mother, Kengo was an upbeat guy who cared very much for his mother's wellbeing.

Kenmochi and Yoroizaka
A pair of Bounty Hunters who accompany Go.Kenmochi uses a Gouki deck like Go did before his Face Heel Turn.

Voiced by:' Ryota Suzuki (Yoroizaka),Yusuke Tonozaki (Kenmochi) (Japanese)


 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy:Yoroizaka scoffs at Playmaker for attempting to return the Tributed "Gouki Riscorpio" to his hand via "Security Dragon's" Effect rather than "Gouki the Solid Ogre", which received an ATK boost due to "Gouki Twistcobra". This was intentional on Playmaker's part, however, as he shortly afterwards brings out "Firewall Dragon" and co-links it to two other Link Monsters and subsequently clears Yoroizaka's Field of Monsters completely, leading to his defeat.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:Both Playmaker and Soulburner circumvent the trap activated by SOL Technologies like it's no one's business. The same cannot be said for Kenmochi and Yoroizaka, however, as the trap blows up on them, sending them flying off into the distance.
 * Only One Name:Their given names are unknown.
 * Oh Crap:Kenmochi freaks out when he realises that the Effect of Playmaker's "Cyberse Annihilation" will deal enough damage to deplete the rest of his LP and cost him the Duel.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Kenmochi sports a light pink afro.

Aoi Zaizen (Skye Zaizen)/Blue Angel/Blue Girl
A classmate of Yusaku's who uses a Trickstar deck. As a Charisma Duelist, she is known as Blue Angel.

Voiced by: Yuki Nakashima (Japanese),Emily Carmer (English)


 * Action Girl:She is also a very skilled duelist and she can put her opponents in big disadvantage during her duels
 * Adrenaline Makeover: Her VRAINS Avatar transition from the cutesy Blue Angel to the mysterious and spicy Blue Girl.
 * Amazon Brigade:All of her Trickstars are females
 * Ambiguous Disorder:Out of Vrains her lack of emotion and suspicion of others (if not for good reason) bring up a few possible ailments, among them depression.
 * Angelic Beauty:Her Trickstar deck and VR forms are these
 * Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance:Her blazer is designed to look like her tie has blue wings, and her stage name is "Blue Angel."
 * Animal Motif:PrettyButterflies, as shown by her backup avatar being a simple butterfly.
 * Badass Adorable:She is kawai and cute as Blue Angel.As Blue Angel she has most of her cute movements
 * Breast Expansion:Blue Angel has noticebly bigger breast than Aoi in real life she might have added a bigger buxom to her Blue Angel avatar to play better the Idol persona.
 * Broken Angel:After losing to Spectre, he causes her Blue Angel wings to break.
 * Big Brother Worship:Has a brother complex, and wants to admit to him that she Duels.She also has a minor case for Cool Big Sis Emma, even patterning her Blue Girl avatar after Ghost Girl's look.
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * Saves Playmaker by launching his D-Board back to him with an energy lasso after he falls off.
 * Again in 16 she saves him before the Prototype AI can take his duel disk
 * Bifauxnen:She is a girl and wears skirt but she looks more boyish.Averted as Blue Angel where she is a girly Idol Singer.
 * Boobs of Steel:As Blue Angel she has big breast and is considered to be one of the best duelist in LINKV VRAINS
 * Boyish Short Hair:Her hair reaches down her lower nape averted in her VR form where she has long hair and is tied into Girlish Pigtails
 * Break the Cutie:
 * She ends up getting corrupted by Specter and her duel with Playmaker has made her humilated in front of the audience
 * She again suffers this trope during and after her duel with Spectre see Humiliation Conga below
 * Cain and Abel:The cain to Akira's Able
 * The Corruption:Afflicted by this by the appropriately named Dark Angel card that Specter slips into her deck, making her go berserk.
 * Color Character: BLUE Angel
 * Color Motif:BLUE, fitting Aoi in her real name, Online Alias, and due to being blue, i.e depressed, for a long time.
 * Convenient Coma:Ends up being one after her duel with Playmaker
 * Curtains Match the Window:She has light brown hair and eyes
 * Clothing Damage:After her loss to Spectre her skirt becomes tattered.
 * Dark Action Girl:Became this tempory when she was under the influence of Hanoi spell card and she came extremly close to defeat playmaker even if she lost
 * Dangerously-Short Skirt:Its short as Kotori from zexal
 * Death By a Thousand Cuts:One of the Trickstar's main focuses is dealing small amounts of burn damage under certain conditions.
 * Death Glare:Gave a stern creepy one to Naoki when he started barging to Yusaku about her brother
 * Dub Name Change: To Skye Zaizen, having implications of blue sky where angels come from.
 * Digital Avatar: An angelic idol singer as Blue Angel and a more serious mercenary one as Blue Girl.
 * Escapism:Aoi's Blue Angel persona is revealed to be based upon a Blue Angel in a book her brother always read to her as a child, about a lonely angel that cried blue tears and pretended she was didn't hate being alone, but eventually befriended other angels and fought against the forces of evil to find happiness. Her taking on this persona in Vrains is her own attempt to do so.
 * Emotionless Girl:She is stoic and emotionless as Yusaku in real life compared to her Genki Girl self as Bue Angel
 * Empty Eyes:While Brainwashed and Crazy Her eyes lose all luster, marking her possession.
 * Expy: She's usually seen as a Bifauxnen amalagamation of Anzu, Asuka, and Aki. Her first name even starts with the letter "A".Her being a orphaned Lonely Rich Kid makes her similar to Mai
 * Face Plant:A dark example, where Blue Angel gets blown away before landing on the ground head-first, courtesy of Spectre. Ouch.
 * Facial Markings:As Blue Angel, Aoi has a clover on her cheek, as part of her idol image.
 * Feather Motif:White feathers fall and scatter while she is trapped in her mind due to the Knights.
 * Flower Motif:Her Trickstar monsters are named after various flowers.
 * Foil:To Go Onizuka. While in the Hanoi arc Blue Angel realized she wants to duel for others and not just herself, Go comes to the conclusion it is ok to duel for himself and not others. In addition, while Blue Angel is grateful to Playmaker for saving her and doesn't appear bothered by being overshadowed, Go deeply resents it and will stop at nothing to beat Playmaker for the sake of his pride.
 * Fingerless Gloves: Elbow-length ones as Blue Girl
 * Genki Girl:As Blue Angel her personality is this being happy and cheery who gets excited so easily contrast to her Aoi personality.
 * Girlish Pigtails: As Blue Angel, her hair is tied up like this.
 * Hair Decorations: Her twintails in her VR form are held up by dark blue bows.
 * Humiliation Conga:Suffers this twice
 * The first one was when dueling playmaker after she was being infected by Hanoi virus she went insane an end up being defeted by him and this was broadcast live to her brother and her fans and she went in coma after being defeated by him and recived many abuse in socail media the next ep which damaged her reputation as charisma duelist she soon got better though
 * She again suffers this during her duel with Spectre who humilated her by Break Them by Talking and giving her a Reason You Suck Speech which made he brutally defeats her.
 * Human Sacrifice:After her loss to Spectre, she is converted into data and absorbed into the Tower of Hanoi.
 * Hero Antagonist: Like Akira before her, she duels Soulburner after Playmaker and he rejected her and Ghost Girls attempts to help them to find out what the Ignis really meant, and they initiated the duel as Windy's sketchy suggestion. Even then the duel is rather civil, unlike the rage-filled duel Soulburner had with Go.
 * Idol Singer: In addition to resembling a Magical Girl, Blue Angel also takes on the appearance of an idol.
 * Lovely Angels: Forms a duo with Ghost Girl in Season 2 as Blue Girl
 * Lady of War: Her Trickstar Lightstage are this fitting her calm and quite personality
 * Lonely Rich Kid:She lives in a well-to-do apartment, essentially alone due to her step brother's constant working.
 * Love Freak: Accused of this by Spectre, who mocks her for her Blue Love that she shares for others in her attempt to be Blue Angel.
 * Magical Girl: Blue Angel take on the appearance of a blue-haired magical girl with twintails and angelic wings marked with hearts and purple four-leaf clovers.
 * Meaningful Name: Her online handle, Blue Angel, references the fact that she uses a Trickstar Deck, which is composed of Fairy-Types.
 * Multicolored Hair: As Blue Angel, her blue hair sports light blue highlights.
 * Nice Girl:She may have a hard time trusting most people, but she is still a sweet girl and is eager to help people in need if they help her.
 * No Sell: Her Bella Madonna is unaffected by other card effects while its Link Arrows point to no Monsters.
 * Online Alias: Blue Angel.In Season 2 when working with Ghost Girl she is known as Blue Girl
 * Parental Abandonment:She and Akira's parents died in a accident when they were young
 * Reality Ensues: Due to Blue Angel being a popular duelist, her deck is well-known, characters such as Baira and Specter to know how to counter her typical strategies.
 * Split Personality:As Aoi she is serious,quite,calm and collected who hates standing out like Yusaku but as Blue Angel she is cheery,energetic,upbeat and perky
 * Stepford Smiler:Her bubbly and cheerful personality in LINK VRAINS is actually a facade and the reason why she is so bubbly in LINK VRAINS is because she hides her sadness while in the chaos of LINK VRAINS.
 * Strong Family Resemblance:Looks like a younger version of her mom
 * Slipknot Ponytail:After her defeat by Playmaker, her twin-tails fall out as she falls.
 * Sugar and Ice Personality: she's cruel underneath her energetic surface. This is reflected in Holly Angel's counterpart, Trickstar Sweet Devil, who uses a staff lined with thorns to attack, but is a LIGHT monster.
 * Tall Dark and Bishojo:Oh yes
 * Trauma Conga Line:Basically the latter half of Episode 7 is this for her. First, she learns that her Gradual Grinder strategy allowed Playmaker to use his game breaking skill to get the monster he needed. Then she starts feeling the effect of the "Dark Angel" card which messes with her mind. After that, she realizes that Playmaker is about to OneHitKill her and tries to reduce him to 0 LP before he can do so, only to to be stopped and forced to use the "Dark Angel" card. This results in her getting MindRape from Hanoi's program. Finally, she loses anyway and is put into a coma in the next episode. To top it off, this was all streamed live to both her fans and her brother.
 * Troll: The Trickstar's secondary focus is to mess with her opponents by forcing them into a serious disadvantage. For example banishing their entire hand and making them draw a new one thus thinning their decks or suppressing one of their Set Cards and forcing them into sending the card to Graveyard if it can't be activated during End Phase.
 * This Is Unforgivable!: Blue Angel initially challenges Baira of the Knights of Hanoi because she happened to be in a bad mood, only to harbor a grudge against Baira after Aoi finds out that she was responsible not only for her condition, but for the Anothers in general.
 * Took a Level in Badass: Come Season 2 she had worked on remedying her Weak, but Skilled nature, upgrading her deck with a fusion monster and more abilities that allow her monsters to have higher attack. Unfortunately she is still leftOvershadowed by Awesome.
 * Vocal Evolution:During her Duel against Spectre, her voice is somewhat deeper, highlighting her determination to defeat him.
 * Weak, but Skilled: Aoi herself notes that her decks weakness is her monsters low attack, despite its devastating effects and works in Season 2 to make her deck stronger by including methods to increase her monsters attacks.
 * Well Done Daughter Girl:More like "well done, sister" girl, but she strongly desires to be acknowledged by her older brother.
 * Winged Humanoid: Sports a pair of white wings engraved with hearts and purple four-leaf clovers in her VR form.
 * Wings Do Nothing: Blue Angel sports white angelic wings, but are only there for show.
 * Whip It Good:Uses an energy lasso to launch Playmaker's D-Board back to him.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: As Blue Angel, she sports blue hair with light blue highlights.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Blue Angel's socks reaches up to her thighs, complemented with a large, puffy skirt. Downplayed with Aoi's real life appearance, who wears a Dangerously Short Skirt and socks that don't reach her knees.As Blue Girl she wears hotpants with socks and boots like Emma.

Naoki Shima/Brave Max
He is Yusaku's classmate and loves Dueling, but he’s not too confident about his skills, and has never Dueled in Link VRAINS. He’s a fan of Playmaker.

Voiced by: Chiharu Sawashiro (Japanese)


 * A Day in the Limelight:Gets a good share of focus in #27, where he becomes determined to protect the netizens of LINK VRAINS from the Knights of Hanoi.
 * Artifact
 * Believing Their Own Lies: Ever since Brave Max defeated a Knight of Hanoi using Cyberse Wizard and his subsequent encounter with it’s owner, Naoki believes that he is Playmaker’s chosen one and his best friend. Even after his dismal Dueling ability was exposed by Ghost Girl, Naoki is still under the impression that he and Playmaker are soulmates as he boasts to Yusaku.
 * Distressed Dude: Got kidnapped in RL and forced into Link VRAINS by Faust to duel for Cyberse Wizard's data and potentially lure Playmaker in order to take his Ignis.
 * Expy:
 * He looks like Teppei from ARC-V
 * His design and personality wise and him being a Fat Best Friend and classmate to the main protagonist makes him similar to Tetsuo
 * Fat Best Friend:He is Yusaku's classmate and is very friendly with him much to Yusaku's annoyance and  is fatter compared to him him unfrotunately Yusaku is shown to frequently ignore him and refuse to return his friendship..
 * Fan Boy:mostly to Playmaker but he is also a fan of Go and Blue Angel as well as other charisma duelist
 * Gonk: He doesn't look good
 * Inadequate Inheritor:Brave Max quickly returns Cyberse Wizard to Playmaker, believing himself to be unworthy of carrying on Playmaker's legacy.
 * Insane Troll Logic: Brave Max's claim that "Metal Baboon" can't be returned to his hand because it's a Link Monster baffles both Ghost Girl and Blue Girl. The fallacy in his claim, however, is that his Monster is still a valid target for "Altergeist Silquitous's" Effect, only that it doesn't return to his hand, but rather, his Extra Deck.
 * I Just Want To Be Badass: Subverted. While he defeated a Knight of Hanoi not long after he entered LINK VRAINS for the first time, he ultimately considers himself unworthy of carrying on Playmaker's legacy, and quickly returns Cyberse Wizard to Playmaker after he arrives to confront Faust.
 * Locked Out of the Loop:Is completely unaware that his classmates are Playmaker and Blue Angel resepctively
 * Mr. Exposition: Explains to Yusaku and the audience about Another Syndrome, a recent phenomenon where people are forced into Link Vrains and subsequently gone into a coma. Unfortunately for him, Yusaku was already up-to-date with the information, meaning Naoki didn't have to explain it to him but already did for the viewer's convenience.
 * Mistaken for Badass:Emma and Aoi believe he must secretly be a great duelist if Playmaker is interested in him... only to find out that he's really an amateur, which annoys Aoi because she had set up a Blue Angel event in order to get him into VRAINS.
 * Online Alias: Initially went by Lonely Brave, but changes it to Brave Max shortly after he is congratulated by a few netizens for defeating a Knight of Hanoi.
 * Saying Too Much:Faust overhears Naoki boasting about being Playmaker's supposed chosen one, then punches him in the gut and holds him hostage.
 * Troll:Scoffs at Yusaku's decoy deck, describing it as amateurish. The Duel Club president calls Naoki out for it.
 * Saying To Much:
 * Faust overhears Naoki boasting about being Playmaker's supposed chosen one, then punches him in the gut and holds him hostage.
 * Ghost Girl warns Brave Max not to openly admit that he is best friends with Playmaker due to Playmaker being a bounty target in NEW LINK VRAINS.
 * Subverted in that he doesn't reveal that Yusaku was the one to save him in the real world while Playmaker saved him in VRAINS, instead only being frustratingly vague when Aoi asked him, which would have likely led Emma and Aoi to connecting the dots. Justified on Shima's part, however, as he legitimately doesn't know Playmaker's real world identity.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair:Green in this case

Ema Bessho/Ghost Girl
A mysterious woman hired by Akira to defeat Playmaker

Voiced by: Yuna Kamakura (Japanese)


 * Action Girl:She doubles as Dark Action Girl she is a very talented and a skilled duelist and is one of the toughest opponents Playmaker has faced
 * A Day in the Limelight: Episode 53 focuses more on her backstory and her interactions with Akira & Blood Shepard 3 years ago
 * Alliterative Name: Her Online Alias, Ghost Girl.
 * Alpha Bitch:The most bitchiest and unpleasent female character in franchise she is very selfish and cunning
 * Awesome By Analysis:She uses her skill and strategy to lock down Playmaker, using methods to keep Playmaker's lifepoints above 1000 so he can't use Storm Access on her, only failing because he used an effect to lower his lifepoints twice, using her own skill to stop the first time.
 * Badass Adorable:Not to the level of Blue Angel but she does have some cute movements especially during her duel aganist Playmaker and her fanservice pose to Frog and Pigeon when she deleted their data
 * Bait and Switch:Disguises herself as Blue Angel to lure Playmaker into Link VRAINS and capture him for interrogation.
 * Big Damn Heroes: She was able to complete the escape program and give it to Soulburner so that he could escape his duel against Blood Shepherd. The interesting twist is that it could also be considered this to Blood Shepherd, because Soulburner was going to win the duel with a direct attack, but Blood Shepherd also has a face-down card which may have won him the duel, making the true victor and person she saved unknown.
 * Biker Babe:Seen riding (and jumping off of) a motorcycle in the OP.
 * Blood Knight:Very interested in dueling Playmaker, though Akira makes it clear she is to find his identify instead.
 * Brought to You by the Letter "S": Ghost Girl's NEW LINK VRAINS avatar has her wear a belt buckle with a yellow "G" on it.
 * Cool Big Sis: Acts like one to Aoi, being concerned about her well being and acting in a cool elder sister fashion, and is pleased when Aoi's stealth avatar resembles her Ghost Girl one, even naming it Blue Girl, even if she was worried about Akira sending Aoi with her.
 * Cool Mask:Ghost Girl covers her mouth with a black mask.
 * Costume Evolution: Come Season 2 her avatar is partially redesigned, using some brighter colors and ditching her face mask
 * Everyone Has Standards:Ghost Girl may be very fascinated by treasure, but she has no intention of hunting down Playmaker, a fugitive in NEW LINK VRAINS, just to reap the monetary reward that comes with his capture.
 * Expy:
 * Appears to be for Mai as they both have very similar personality and have a great pride for their beauty and are willing to use dirty tricks against mens Though Mai soon got better
 * She is also this Luka Millfy they both are cunning and greedy and would sell anything at high price
 * Graceful Loser:Has no hard feelings losing to Playmaker, and hands over the backdoor to SOL Technologies' data bank to him as promised.
 * Heal Thyself:Her Secret Cure Skill has her excavate her deck until she reveals a Monster card (other cards revealed prior is sent to the Graveyard), which is then added to her hand, and she and her opponent both gain LP equal to that Monster's ATK.
 * Hired Guns:She's a mercenary duelist, hacker, and investigator that works for Akira, but also takes jobs for others in SOL Technology.
 * Human Sacrifice:After losing to Revolver, Ghost Girl is converted into data and absorbed into Hanoi's seed, becoming the base power source for their tool to destroy VRAINS, the Tower of Hanoi. Whether or not there is the possibility of saving her is unknown.
 * [[I Owe You My Life[[: Due to Playmaker's actions back during the Tower of Hanoi incident, Ghost Girl refuses to become a bounty hunter.
 * Killed Mid-Sentence:Ghost Girl warns Playmaker of Revolver's unknown Trap card as she gets purged from LINK VRAINS entirely.
 * Know When To Fold Them: After Blue Girl is forcibly logged out after her loss to Soulburner, Ghost Girl opts to go, unable to go on without her partner, and not having the heart to attack Soulburner when he is exhausted.
 * Lovely Angels: Forms a duo with Aoi in Season 2.
 * Ninja:
 * Online Alias: Ghost Girl
 * Our Ghosts Are Different:Although the actually archetype is made up of spellcasters, the Altergeists are made up of poltergeists from around the world
 * Something About a Rose:She throws a rose at Playmaker's feet to spring a trap on Playmaker.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Multiple shades of pink and purple

Roboppy
A robot who works as a maid at Yusaku's house

Voiced by: Minami Takahashi (Japanese),Sam Black (English)


 * Bowdlerise: Claims that "idiot" or some variation thereof is a forbidden word.
 * Catch Phrase:"Idiot is a forbidden word."
 * Expy:To Lillyboth they both are robots who work as maid at the house of the main protoganist of their respective seies
 * Ship Tease:She is often teased with Ai
 * Spell My Name with an "S":Crunchyroll subs have her name transliterated as "Roboppi".

Ryoken Kogami/Revolver (Varis)
The enigmatic leader of the Knights of Hanoi.

Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi (Japanese),Daniel J Edwards (English)

Cyberse-Type Monsters on the field, hand, and Graveyard, prevent them from attacking, and cannot be targeted for attacks (although this doesn't stop either player from attacking directly) or by card effects. At least two Cyberse-Type Link Monsters on the field are a prerequisite to activate this effect. As demonstrated in his Master Duel against Playmaker, this, too, affects Ignis, causing him to malfunction and fade away.
 * Anti-Magic:A variant. His Fire Prison Field Spell functions as an anti-Cyberse card, in which it can negate the effects of all
 * Anti-Villain: Like Dr. Kogami he wants Yusaku to understand that the Ignis has the capacity to harm humanity and they need to be stoped in order to save it.Despite being the BigBad main antagonist of the series, he is just trying to take care of his father and finish his plan of destroying the Cyberse and Ignis all for the greater good. His father created the Ignis to save humanity from a currently unknown threat only for the Ignis to turn on them and have the ability to lie and cheat. He feels like he has to destroy the Ignis to not make everything worse.
 * Arch Enemy:As the Big Bad of Season 1, Revolver appears to be is the first most openly villainous antagonistic rival since Death-T Kaiba
 * Badass Baritone: A deep voiced man in charge of Knights of Hanoi
 * Badass Boast:Claims that he is capable of taking down the entirety of Link VRAINS should he have a reason to
 * Badass Longcoat: Returns to this tradition which was broken by Reiji
 * Big Bad: He leads a group of Cyberspace busting maniacs and the main antagonistic force to Yusaku/Playmaker. Behind the scenes though, Dr. Kogami is the real mastermind, while Revolver is merely his protege..
 * Blow You Away:He is capable of manipulating Data Storms.
 * But Now I Must Go:
 * A Child Shall Lead Them:It's unknown how old Revolver exactly is, but he is much younger than Faust and Baira, who were already adults when he was a child, and he is the leader of the Knights of Hanoi.
 * Char Clone:The first Kaiba Expy who is not only outright evil, but is also actively working with the villains.
 * Cool Mask:He wears a mask that looks like a visor of sorts.
 * Composite Character: Aside from being a Kaiba Expy he has elements of Bandit Keith due to his gun-based dragon aces, and of Z-One's gang due to his desire to destroy the new type (Cyberse in place of Synchro)
 * Death By a Thousand Cuts:The effect of their Cracking Dragon involves reducing the ATK of a Monster Summoned by the opponent equal to their level multiplied by 200 (as long as exactly one Monster is Summoned at a time), and inflicts the lost amount to the opponent as Effect Damage. Needless to say, Link Monsters are unaffected by this Effect since they don't possess levels.
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones:Shown caring for his hospitalized father.
 * He is on the receiving end as well: Faust and Baira, his two associates, clearly care for his well-being and see him as a younger sibling. Baira is even concerned that he will have to take on the burden of becoming the worst cyber terrorist in history should their plan succeed.
 * Evil Counterpart:Physically to Yusaku and his Playmaker alter ego. Made sense that Revolver is wearing white clothing in stark contrast to the latter's black.
 * Evil Albino: His appearance in real life.
 * Expy
 * Arguably to Kaiba in the Death-T arc: He's the opposite of the main character, has a dragon-like ace monster with 3000 ATK and an opposite attribute, and is introduced as a villain.
 * His Topologic Bomber Dragon is the Cyberse equivalent of Jack's  Red Daemon's Dragon.
 * Aside from being Kaiba expy
 * The Faceless: The top half of his real world identity's face is obscured.
 * Foil: To Reiji He and Reiji are opposites to each other: the latter is a Well-Intentioned Extremist, leads the Lancers in an attempt to stop the Arc Area Project (which ultimately resulted with the resurrection of a Satanic Archetype Omnicidal Maniac), and is quite respectful towards Yuya, while the former is just as villainous as the likes of Marik and Placido, leads the Knights of Hanoi in his campaign to annihilate Link VRAINS, and is openly hostile to Yusaku.Furthermore, Reiji's goal is to stop his father's schemes, while Revolver's is to accomplish his father's dream.
 * In the show he is surprising one for Blood Shepherd, of all people.
 * Both of their parents they've loved very much were rendered comatose as a result of an incident involving AI; Revolver's father after trying to create the Ignis in order to make the world a better place, unlike Kengo's mother who ended up hospitalized due to an AI malfunctioning.
 * Both of them detest AI, but wherein Ryoken is a KnightTemplar who despises any and all AI and tried to destroy the world's network just to ensure the 6 Ignis would never be a threat (HypocrisyNod never mind the fact that he uses the Cyberse type Topologic series of Link Monsters), Kengo is a BountyHunter who despises AI, but tacitly accepts that an AI that is under direct human control is still useful.
 * For all his talk about his comrades being sacrificed for the Tower of Hanoi, it is Revolver himself who rendered them in such a state. Blood Shepherd blatantly used Akira and Ghost Girl as bait during a mission, but ultimately protected Ghost Girl when their target tried to retaliate.
 * Even their parents, for that matter. Dr. Kogami is a scientist whose project to create AI that could solve any and every human problem ultimately resulted in the company that he worked for turning against him and using them to gain massive wealth. Kengo's mother is heavily implied to be a simple middle-class single parent near retirement.
 * Both of them caused their parents' downfall unwittingly. When he was just eight, Ryoken secretly reported the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project to the police, which resulted in the six children that were kidnapped to be released, but ultimately got the attention of SOL's higher-ups who infected Dr. Kogami with a virus that resulted in him getting bed-ridden; Kengo's mother was rendered hospitalized after Kengo convinced her to use an AI-driven taxi.
 * Both of them devoted their lives to their parents' well-being. Revolver spent his entire later childhood and most of his teenage years for the sake of making amends for his father's condition. Kengo was willing to give up on a chance for college just so he can take care of his mother.
 * Revolver had roughly a thousand underlings, Kengo on the other hand either operates solo or in very small groups.
 * Graceful Loser: Downplayed. While Revolver calmly accepts his defeat to Playmaker in their second Master Duel and agrees to stop the Tower of Hanoi, he warns Playmaker that the Ignis remain a threat to humanity, and vows to fulfill his destiny someday.
 * Hypocrite:Despite his opinion on Link VRAINS allowing people to lie to each other, Revolver also uses an alias and has an avatar that makes it hard to really get behind what he is trying to accomplish.
 * Hypocrisy Nod:Doesn't care that the Topologic Bomber Dragon he acquired is a Cyberse-Type, and gloats that it's fun to fight poison with poison.
 * The Heavy:Revolver the first seasoner functions as the major antagonistic force of.
 * I Have Your Wife:Holds Aoi hostage through a virus to force Akira into compliance, and to a lesser extent provoke Playmaker's sense of justice.
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons:Uses a Vullet deck which is composed of DARK Dragon-type monsters. He also has his Cyberse-type Topologic Bomber Dragon.
 * Irony:The Knights of Hanoi are out to destroy the AI World that is Cyberse, yet Revolver possesses Topologic Bomber Dragon, which is a Cyberse-Type Monster. He claims it is because it is fun to fight poison with poison.
 * I Gave My Word:He keeps his promise and gives Playmaker the removal program for the virus in Aoi's brain after he's defeated by Playmaker.
 * Ironic Name: Revolver's real first name, Ryoken, can translate to "forgiveness/tolerance". He definitely can't tolerate AI and he doesn't seem to be very forgiving.
 * It's All My Fault:Blames his obsession with uncovering Playmaker's real world identity for the downfall of the Three Lieutenants of Hanoi.
 * Just Following Orders:Dismisses the idea of fighting for others or for oneself, and acts only in accordance with Kogami's wishes.
 * Light Is Not Good:In contrast to Yusaku's Dark is Not Evil attire, Revolver's outfit is primarily white.
 * Magic Poker Equation:It is revealed during his first Duel against Playmaker that he, too, can utilise Storm Access
 * Meaningful Name:Revolver may either refer to "revolt" or the six-rounded handgun.
 * My Greatest Failure:He deeply regrets reporting the Lost Incident because it led his father to being imprisoned for three years by SOL Technologies.*More Dakka:Uses an energy lasso to launch Playmaker's D-Board back to him
 * New Media Are Evil:He holds this opinion, not liking how VRAINS basically lets people lie to each other, seeing it all as a falsehood before life and breath.
 * Not So Stoic:When Ai eats his arm he looks visibally disturb.
 * Online Alias:Revolver or Varis in English dub
 * The Rival:As opposed to Go's Friendly Rival, Revolver is actually Yusaku's main (and downright bitter) rival.
 * The Reveal:In his Duel against GO, Revolver uses a certain Trap Card which he also used against Ghost Girl to destroy all of her Monsters It turns out to be Mirror Force
 * Real Men Wear Pink: In real life, he wears a pink v-neck shirt.
 * The Stoic:Out of duels Revolver is calm and collected individual.
 * Slasher Smile:Breaks into one after he discovers Playmaker's identity from camera footage.
 * Saying Too Much: Had Revolver not mentioned Stardust Road, Yusaku wouldn't have been able to track down his whereabouts in the real world.
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Interrupts Akira's interrogation of Playmaker, threatening to destroy the entirety of Link VRAINS if Akira doesn't comply with Revolver's request to Duel Playmaker.
 * Taking You with Me: Invoked in his Speed Duel against Playmaker. Revolver Summons Condenser Deathstalker to the Main Monster Zone pointed to by Topologic Bomber Dragon's upper Link Arrow so the latter can destroy all cards in both players' Main Monster Zones, and take advantage of the former's effect to force a tie between him and Playmaker.
 * The Unfettered: Revolver refuses to stop the Tower of Hanoi, and will do whatever it takes to ensure that the Ignis is terminated, even if it means decimating the entirety of humanity.
 * Tsurime Eyes: Highlighting his stoic and no-nonsense nature.
 * Well Intentioned Extremist: He is very caring and loyal towards his father and his goal of destroying Link VRAINS and the Ignis in order for the further safety of the greater good for humanity.
 * Weaksauce Weakness:His Fire Prison can't be destroyed by other card effects, but it destroys itself when the Cyberse monsters it traps leave the battlefield. Considering it doesn't prevent them from being tributed and also gives the opponent every reason to (since their monster zones still counts as occupied), it's quite a flaw.
 * Worthy Opponent:He expresses his desire to rematch Playmaker and defeat him after losing his first Duel against him. He admits to his father that he wants to track Playmaker down even though it would jeopardize their plans.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair:Multiple shades of red

Specter
A member of the Knights of Hanoi. He serves as Revolver’s assistant. He calmly analyzes the events in LINK VRAINS and reports them to Revolver.

Voiced by: Kajimoto Daiki (Japanese)


 * Achilles Heel:Exploited by Playmaker, who uses Excode Talker to seal the Main Monster Zones pointed to by Spectre's Sunavalon Daphne so he can't take advantage of those unoccupied Zones. Spectre, however, gets out of it by revealing an imprisoned Akira in front of Playmaker.
 * Ambiguous Disorder: As a result of the Hanoi Project, Spectre becomes a sadistic excuse of a human being to the point of torturing Blue Angel in the cruelest way possible
 * Break Them by Talking:
 * He engages in a lecture in his duel with Aoi, bring up her Escapism with the Blue Angel persona and the book it was based on, as well as her loneliness and misery when her parents died. She returns in kind by pointing out that if the book resonated with him he must have a similar past, which he admits.
 * Also looks down on Playmaker as weak-willed for being unable to sacrifice uninvolved parties in spite of his vengeful spirit. Playmaker doesn't receive it well at all.
 * Cool Mask:Averted; Specter is (so far) the only member of the Knights of Hanoi that doesn't wear one.
 * Composite Character:Spectre resembles Edo in appearance, but his behavior and deck bring Yuri to mind. His deck's play style is similar to Aki relying on control tactics.
 * Companion Cube: Since infancy, he grew attached to a certain tree, which was his only source of psychological comfort, and didn't take it well when the tree was gone by the time the Lost Incident concluded.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: A MysteriousPast that Aoi realizes must be similar to her own, and he owns up to it but doesn't elaborate.
 * Dirty Coward:Disadvantaged thanks to Playmaker's Excode Talker sealing two of his Main Monster Zones, Spectre, as a last resort, reveals an imprisoned Akira in front of Playmaker, who gloats that as he takes damage, Akira further risks being infected by the thorny prison's computer virus. Unwilling to put Akira in danger, Playmaker ends his turn after bringing out Excode Talker.
 * The Dragon:Is Revolver's right-hand man.
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: An... interesting variation: despite not knowing, nor caring for his biological mother, Spectre regarded the tree which took care of him with the utmost adoration. In duels, seeing his Sunavalon monsters (which represent said tree) destroyed / chopped down (which happened to the real tree) sends him into a fit of rage. Seeing them burn to cinders is even worse
 * Even Evil Has Standards: He finds Kitamura to be disgusting and turns him to data rather than let him join Hanoi.
 * Evil Laugh:Lets one out after he defeats Blue Angel.
 * Evil Counterpart:He is revealed to be one for Yusaku as they were both apart of the Lost Incident and were affected by it, however while Yusaku is haunted by his experiences and felt like time has stopped for him Spectre enjoyed the experience and felt like time moved forward for him. Yusaku is also hinted to have had a happy childhood before the Lost Incident while Spectre spent most of his time alone. Furthermore, Yusaku hates the Knights of Hanoi for what they did while Spectre joined them and pledged his loyalty to Revolver.
 * Evil Is Hammy:Bombastically breaks out an Evil Laugh as he stands in front of a defeated Blue Angel.
 * Expy:His overall role is similar to that of Yuri and Vector.
 * Outside series, his similarities to King Leo / Tatsuya Sudou are...slightly uncanny. A fondness for NightmareFace, sadism, and taking pleasure and pride in the past incident that scarred all the others who participated in it - he incinerates the blue angel book out of sheer spite much like Tatsuya enjoyed burning things in general, and is generally a sick person who latched on to the white-clad main villain, becoming his dangerous second in command.
 * Faux Affably Evil: A ruthless and sadistic Knight of Hanoi who communicates with formal and polite linguistics, he takes pleasure in breaking Blue Angel mentally, from tearing and incinerating the "Blue Angel" picture book in front of her, to parting with a "The Reason You Suck" Speech as.
 * Friendless Background:Because he had no family, he was unable to mingle with others and often spent time by his lonesome since his childhood days.
 * Green Thumb:Uses a Plant Deck.
 * Heal Thyself:Some of his Monsters' card effects involve regaining LP equal to the amount of Battle Damage he takes from his opponents' Monsters.
 * Light Is Not Good: Unlike Yuri's horrific looking plants, Spectre's Sunavalon are pretty and revered to as a holy. Despite this he is a brutal maniac and PsychoSupporter of Hanoi.
 * Nightmare Face:He makes several disturbing faces while mocking Kitamura and Blue Angel.
 * Nightmare Fetishist:Spectre went through the same event that lead to Yusaku's trauma and enjoyed every moment of it.
 * Not So Different:Blue Angel attempts to invoke this against him, stating that he must have had a Dark and Troubled Past as well if the Blue Angel picture book resonated with him.
 * Not So Similar: Like Yusaku, Spectre was one of the six children kidnapped during the Lost Incident. Unlike Yusaku, however, Spectre enjoyed every moment of his time in captivity, and felt as if time moved forward for him; his only concern being that he couldn't be with a certain tree who mothered him since infancy.
 * Plant Person:The Sunavalon archetype is based upon dyrads, some being a face on a tree, but others being humanoid plants.
 * Parental Abandonment: As an infant, he was left behind in a tree located behind an orphanage by his biological parents.
 * Psychopathic Manchild: Spectre is a Knight of Hanoi who revered a certain tree that cared for him since infancy as sacred and motherly; this trait carries on through his Sunavalon Link Monsters. He also has no problem sadistically torturing and toying with Blue Angel during his Duel with her.
 * Rage Breaking Point:
 * Playmaker's Excode Talker sealing the two Main Monster Zones pointed to by Sunavalon Daphne was the last straw for Spectre, who then plays dirty by revealing Akira, trapped in a thorny prison installed with a computer virus, in front of Playmaker.
 * The real last straw, however, was Playmaker destroying his Sunavalon Dryatrentiay. Spectre completely loses his shit and snaps at Playmaker for destroying what Spectre revered as sacred and motherly.
 * The Reason You Suck Speech:
 * Mixed with Break Them by Talking,he disses Aoi for being a worthless blue angel who is unable to save him as he wipes out the rest of her LP.
 * He also dismissively labels Playmaker's sense of justice as lame, and calls him weak-willed for being unable to sacrifice others in spite of his vengeful spirit.
 * Relative Button:As Playmaker and Ai find out, destroying Sunavalon Dryatrentiay was a terrible mistake, as Spectre completely loses his shit and snaps at Playmaker for destroying what Spectre reveres as sacred and motherly.
 * Slasher Smile:Most of his smiles are disturbing and creepy as shown in his interactions with Kitamura and Blue Angel.
 * Stone Wall:The Sunavalon archetype has a variety of life point recovery and DamageReduction tactics to keep his lifepoints high, but can switch over into a MightyGlacier depending on some of the monsters.
 * Token Evil Teammate:A rare villainous example. Among the upper echelon, where the Three Lieutenants and Dr Kogami are guilt-ridden atoners and Revolver is merely a bit of a smug WellIntentionedExtremist with some NobleDemon tendencies, Spectre stands out as a FauxAffablyEvil Sadist that enjoys corrupting and toying with Blue Angel, as well as making a variety of psychotic expressions.
 * This Cannot Be: Reacts in surprise to Akira sacrificing himself, something that Spectre did not anticipate Akira would do.
 * Undying Loyalty: To Revolver
 * The Unfettered:Pledges his loyalty to Revolver and vows to remain by his side until the end, not giving a damn about what happens to the network world.
 * Virtue Is Weakness: After successfully using Akira as a hostage to deter Playmaker from winning, Spectre deduced virtue was his opponent's weakness.
 * Villainous B.S.O.D.: After losing to Playmaker, Spectre joyfully says he regrets nothing and goes Laughing Mad, before freezing in horror at the sight of his Sunavalon tree burning. Remembering his childhood and shedding tears, he could only call it "Mother" before getting buried under the burning debris.
 * Would Hit A Girl: Has no problem torturing and toying with Blue Angel during his Duel with her.

Dr Kogami
The enigmatic scientist that works alongside the Knights of Hanoi.

Voiced by:Takayuki Sugo (Japanese)


 * Alliterative Name:Kiyoshi Kogami.
 * Anti-Villain:He honestly sees his actions as something needed to be done for the greater good.
 * Back from the Dead:Was said to have died seven years prior, but resurrected from the dead solely to bring an end to the entirety of the network world.
 * Beard of Evil: Zig-Zagged, as it is dubious how evil is he exactly.
 * Dark and Troubled Past:A former researcher for SOL who invented the case.Ignis, SOL saw the Ignis as an opportunity for big money, and, fearing that they would be seized by authorities, SOL covered up the Lost Incident and put Kogami into a comatose state. He would eventually be reconstructed as an avatar by his son, Revolver, with intent to terminate the Ignis.
 * Dead All Along:Died seven years prior, and presently exists only as an avatar in the network world.
 * Establishing Character Moment: See Offing the Offspring below. Talk about Well-Intentioned Extremist...
 * Hate Sink:The atrocities he committed in the name of Hanoi's cause, lack of remorse for his actions, and shameless gloating makes you want to punch him in the face.
 * Knight Templar:Staunch supporter of the destruction of the Cyberse.He is willing to turn thousands of people into data just to construct the Tower of Hanoi, doing which will kill not only everyone made apart of the Tower, but also everyone in Link VRAINS, including the Knights of Hanoi themselves, and himself
 * Labcoat of Science and Medicine:Wears a white lab coat just to hammer in that his role in the plot is science-based.
 * Mad Scientist:: Not really. He is calm and level-headed, but still believes that destroying the Cyberse is a necessity for humanity.
 * Man Behind the Man:He appears to reveal only himself before Revolver, and the Knights of Hanoi exist to realize his dreams.
 * Mysterious Past: Oh, yes. Given that it is stated to be related to the mysteries of the Cyberse, his past will probably have to be elaborated on much, much later.
 * My God What Have I Done?:Implied to be the one responsible - or at least among the ones responsible - for the creation of the Cyberse. For unknown reasons, he greatly regrets it in the present.
 * Non Action Guy:More of Non-Action Big Bad. He is The Man Behind the Man for Hanoi and has yet to personally duel anyone.
 * Nothing Personal:Bears no mal intent towards Akira and doesn't hold it against him for being dismissive of revenge, but will take him down in a Duel regardless if he gets in the way of Playmaker's desire for revenge.
 * Offing the Offspring:: Invoked this trope when he metaphorically compared destroying the Cyberse to a parent killing its own child.
 * The Reveal:He was the mastermind of the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project.
 * The Stoic:He is very calm and level headed and never shows emotion.
 * Science Is Bad: Downplayed, as he specifically targets only one product of science.
 * Shadow Archetype:To Yusaku. Both are calm, analytical people who rarely show emotion and want revenge on people who wronged them i.e The Knights of Hanoi for Yusaku and SOL Technologies for Kogami. However, while Yusaku still cares about the well-being of others, it doesn't seem to phase Kogami much that people, both in and out of Link VRAINS, will die when the network is destroyed because of the Tower of Hanoi.
 * Villainous Friendship:The cryptic conversation between him and Revolver had a formal tone, yet Revolver still expressed some sympathy toward Dr. Kogami due to the latter's past. Dr. Kogami in turn assured him not to worry about it and just focused on the task at hand. Revolver even apologized to him when he needed to suddenly leave due to his father's health needs. Overlaps with Intergenerational Friendship.
 * The Unfettered: Is not above risking everyone's lives to achieve his goal of the Ignis species' termination.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: The most straightforward example so far. He genuinely appears to believe that the destruction of the Cyberse must be carried out for the greater good.

Dr. Genome
A Knight of Hanoi responsible for turning Makoto Kimijima, a childhood friend of Go Onizuka, into an Another victim. Uses a Helixx deck.

Voiced by: Takuya Kirimoto (Japanese)


 * Affably Evil:Speaks in formal linguistics, and is just as sadistic, if not moreso, than any Knight of Hanoi.
 * Cool Mask:Wears a mask with a red lens which obscures his left eye.'
 * Convenient Coma:Ends up being one after his duel with Go
 * Evil Genius:Is the most analytical and intelligent of the generals and his desires of perfected DNA are his defining goals within Hanoi.
 * I Gave My Word:Doesn't bother resisting when GO acquires the virus removal program from him after their Duel.
 * Jerkass:Like the other Knights of Hanoi he has no problem attacking other random duelist in LINK VRAINS and turning them into Anothers and he saw no remorse for what he did to them
 * Meaningful Name:: As Dr. Genome points out, "genome", which refers to all genetic information in DNA, is a combination of "gene" and "chromosome", and notes the similarities to DNA and programming patterns. He uses this knowledge to expose a Playmaker-disguised GO.
 * No Sell:Some of his cards involve negating Battle and/or Effect Damage he would've taken from the opponent.
 * Once per turn, he takes no Battle Damage from battles involving his Helixx Marmotroll.
 * His Helixx Necro Darwin enables him to negate Effect Damage from his opponent (as well as doubling its current ATK).
 * His Regeneration Cure negates damage that he would've taken from Dark Onizuka's Gouki Serpent Splash, and subsequently prevents him from losing the Duel.
 * Perpetual Smiler:Often seen with a smug expression, and also highlights his sadism.
 * Smug Snake:He enjoys underestimating his opponents and thinks he is often above them.
 * You Can't Fight Fate:Claims that one's destiny, Duel, and everything else about them is predetermined based on their DNA. Dark Onizuka, however, dismissively remarks that only he decides his own fate.
 * Your Answer to Everything:He won't shut up about DNA.

Aso/Faust
One of the Knights of Hanoi who gave the Data Gale to Dr. Genome.

Voiced by:Satoshi Mikami (Japanese)


 * The Brute: Is a Genius Bruiser, nearly as smart as Dr. Genome and Baira, but will resort to more physical action than the rest, including fighting and kidnapping in both worlds. He can also defeat multiple AI programs at once.
 * Big Creepy-Crawlies:Uses Motor Worms, an archetype of Insect-type Monsters.
 * Convenient Coma:Ends up being one after his duel with Playmaker
 * Cool Mask:Wears a mask with a red lens which obscures his left eye.
 * Hostage Situation:He holds Naoki captive so the former can lure Playmaker into LINK VRAINS and capture Ai.
 * Killed Mid-Sentence:Attempts to inform Playmaker that humanity's future will be in shambles thanks to the latter and the Ignis species, only to be purged before he could finish talking.
 * Multicolored Hair:Multiple shades of purple.
 * Pragmatic Villainy: Upon learning Playmaker and Soulburner's true identities, he immediately suggests attacking them in real life to steal their Ignises, but Revolver quickly puts a stop to that plan.
 * Online Alias:Faust
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair:Multiple shades of purple.

Kyoko Taiki/Baira
One of the Knights of Hanoi who gave the Data Gale to Dr. Genome.

Voiced by:Ami Koshimizu (Japanese)


 * Chekhov's Gunman:Heavily implied to be one of the doctors from when Aoi was comatose.
 * Computer Virus:She was the one responsible for creating the virus that turns people into Another. Appropriately, her deck uses Crush Card Virus style Virus traps.
 * Cool Mask:Wears a mask with a red lens which obscures her left eye.
 * Convenient Coma:Ends up being one after her duel with Blue Angel
 * Dark Action Girl:The only female member of Hanoi shown, she and Faust are shown wrecking the Kitamura's AI Duelist Squad.
 * Dark Chick:Is the only female general of the group and the creator of Another. Her morality conflicts her at times and acts as an Evil Counterpart to Blue Angel, which she lampshades during their Duel.
 * Early Bird Cameo:Her first actual appearance was back in #8, where she is seen next to another doctor while Akira is watching Aoi in the examination room.
 * Everything's Deader with Zombies:Uses Dark Mummies, an archetype of undead Monsters.
 * Graceful Loser:Baira has no hard feelings losing to Blue Angel, and returns the Anothers back to their former state.
 * Heel Face Door Slam:After losing to Blue Angel and returning the Anothers back to normal, Baira is purged by Revolver.
 * Hospital Hottie:She is a doctor in real life
 * Multicolored Hair:Has shades of light brown and orange.
 * Mythology Gag:Her deck features Temple of the Kings, a card used by Rishid in the Duel Monsters series, and Virus Traps, a tactic used by Seto Kaiba. She also carries Virus Mail, previously used by Ukyo Kitano against Yuma.
 * Online Alias:Baira
 * Pink Means Feminine: The only shown female Knight, her secondary color scheme is pink.
 * Woman in White:All the knights wear white, but she is the only female knight, her second color being pink.
 * Spell My Name with an "S":Is her Online Alias "Vyra" or "Baira"?
 * Zettai Ryouiki:Grade B.

Haru
A mysterious boy who works together with Bowman towards a certain goal.

Voiced by":Ryoko Shiraishi(Japanese)


 * Child Prodigy:Let's see...he analyzed Playmaker's data to learn his strategies, coded Bohman with an anti-Ignis program, and seems to be under the age of 13 based on his avatar.
 * Crazy-Prepared: Haru ensured that Bohman was equipped with an anti-Ignis program in the event that Bohman lost and would get his memories consumed by Ai.
 * Hidden Depths: Was okay with the silhouetted figure "resetting" Bohman's memories in episode 50. Just what is he hiding to be okay with someone doing such a thing to his older brother?
 * Sibling Team: Is working with Bohman, his older brother, to regain their memories.
 * Spell My Name With An S: Is it "Haru" or "Hal"?
 * You Have Failed Me: He quickly fires Bit and Boot after the pair fail to defeat Soulburner.

Bohman
A Duelist whose real identity is shrouded in mystery.

Voiced by:Kenji Matsuda(Japanese)

Playmaker: It's possible to use a Skill during a Master Duel?
 * Deliberate Injury Gambit:Bohman will allow himself to take damage so that he can meet the prerequisite for activating his Skill, Marker's Portal, though at the same time, his LP need only be less than or equal to its original value of 4000, thus allowing him to activate it as he sees fit and making the need to take damage redundant, assuming his current LP doesn't exceed its original value.
 * Fake Memories: Playmaker buys none of Bohman's claims that he is the real Yusaku, deducing that Bohman was imprinted with fake memories pertaining to his true identity.
 * Grand Theft Me: In episode 57, Bohman claims Yusaku unintentionally did this to him during the Lost Incident. Apparently, Yusaku was a backup made from Bohman's memories and an accident switched their places. In the following episode, however, Playmaker completely dismisses Bohman's claims that he is the real Yusaku on the grounds that Bohman was imprinted with fake memories.
 * Heal Thyself:His Property Spray Trap allows him to Tribute one of his Monsters and gain LP equal to its ATK.
 * Hunk: Has a muscular build, boasts a six-pack, and sports fancy facial features.
 * Identity Amnesia:After a diguised Bohman is exposed by Playmaker via Cyberse Magician's attack, Bohman questions his own identity, which he is quickly reminded of thanks to his little brother Haru.
 * Loophole Abuse: Bohman somehow manages to activate a Skill (which turns out to be Storm Access, of all things) during a Master Duel, even though they are generally present only in Speed Duels. Lampshaded by Playmaker.
 * The Magic Poker Equation: It's revealed during Playmaker and Bohman's Master Duel that Bohman, too, is capable of using Storm Access.
 * It's Personal: After awakening with new memories, Bohman bears a personal vendetta against Playmaker, and vows to push him into a state of despair in a Master Duel.
 * No Name Given: His real name is unknown
 * Sibling Team:Is working with Haru, his little brother, to regain their memories.
 * Spell My Name with an "S":Is it "Bowman" or "Bohman"?
 * Your Soul Is Mine:A disguised Bohman sucks away Jin's soul and escapes into LINK VRAINS, leaving Jin an Empty Shell.

???
An unknown individual who leads an unnamed faction which Bohman and Haru are members of.

Voiced by:Issei Maeda (Japanese)


 * Arc Villain: Quite likely, as he holds authority over both Haru and Bohman (in fact, they are expected to literally bow down when greeting him).
 * I Lied: According to Bohman, the unknown figure supposedly promised to restore his and Haru's memories after turning in Jin Kusanagi's data. The figure quickly shoots him down by claiming that it's all in his head, and resets his memories.
 * The Man Behind the Man: He's the one responsible for manipulating Bohman's memories

Windy
One of the six Ignis created by Kogami. The human he was created from is unknown.

Voiced by:Chihiro Suzuki (Japanese)

ute
 * Blow You Away: He is an Ignis based on the WIND Attribute, with his entire body being primarily light green, a colour also commonly associated with the wind element.
 * Everyone Has Standards: While he refuses to directly aid them, he does provide relevant support to the heroes by agreeing to clear the path towards the villain base.
 * Gallows Humor: Used a monster that destroyed his home as the basis for a prank.
 * Properly Paranoid: Refuses to find the kid used to create him because he believes that humans in general cannot be trusted. Given that one of the victims is Spectre, his paranoia is well placed.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Unlike Ai and Flame, Windy has red eyes.
 * Tension-Cutting Laughter: His very first scene upon his proper introduction is him laughing his butt off after the heroes get a taste of his dry sense of humor.

Earth
One of the six Ignis created by Kogami. Is based on the EARTH attribute. Earth uses a "G Golem" deck, an archetype of EARTH Cyberse-Type Monsters. His human partner is assumed to be Spectre.

Voiced by: Fumihiro Okabayashi (Japanese)


 * Catch-Phrase: "I am socially awkward."
 * Dishing Out Dirt: He is an Ignis based on the EARTH attribute, with his entire body being primarily orange and brown, a colour commonly associated with the earth element.
 * A Dog Named "Dog": An Ignis based on the EARTH attribute named Earth.
 * No Social Skills: Earth himself points out his lack of social skills by reiterating from time to time that he is socially awkward, and doesn't communicate in any more than a few words per sentence.
 * Rock Monster: His "G Golem" Monsters are golem-styled Cyberse-Type Monsters.
 * Shared Family Quirks: Earth makes a dueling AI out of a dead tree, making Playmaker believe Earth is Spectre's Ignis. Also, when both Link Summon, their circuits do not appear in the sky like everyone else’s, but on the ground.
 * The Spock: Earth finds the best solution to a situation is the straightforward, logical answer. He duels Yusaku/Playmaker to find out if he and Ai are a good reason to side with humans or not.

Aqua
One of the six Ignis created by Kogami. Is based on the WATER attribute.

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese)


 * Dope Slap: Gave one to Ai so hard it sent him and Linkuriboh through the ground, leaving Impact Silhouettes for both of them.
 * Girlish Pigtails: She has them on her head.
 * Living Lie Detector: Ai and Earth both claim she could easily discern truth from lie.
 * Making a Splash: She is an Ignis based on the WATER attribute, with her entire body being primarily light blue, a colour also commonly associated with the water element.
 * Number Two: She served as the Sub-Leader of the Ignis before the Cyberse World was destroyed.
 * Smurfette Principle: She is the only female Ignis.

Light Ignis
One of the six Ignis created by Kogami. Is based on the LIGHT attribute.


 * The Leader: Ai considers him this, he's described as calm, cool and collected which fits the leader role.
 * Light 'em Up: He's an Ignis based on the LIGHT attribute, with his body being primarily light yellow, a colour commonly associated with the light element.
 * The Smart Guy: Ai also said he's too smart and because of that he can't understand him.

Jin Kusanagi
Shoichi Kusanagi's younger brother and a friend of Yusaku.Like Yusaku he was one of the 6 kids kidnap during the events of Lost Incident.

Voiced by:Ryota Suzuki (Japanese)


 * Ambiguous Disorder:He is heavily implied to suffer the same problem as Yusaku.Like Yusaku he is still suffering from the shock of the incident and PTSD and hasn't recoverd from it.But his fate is much worster than Yusaku.
 * Broken Bird:His Dark and Troubled Past being improsend as a child and underground hellish experiment has made him this
 * Break the Cutie:Being one of the children that got kidnap for Hanoi Project has hit this trope really hard for him.Once Upon a time he was just a normal 6 year old instead of The Stoic,broken,Empty Shell we know him today then he got kidnap and was imprisoned for 6 months and was badly totured and develop a deep trauma which made him to close his heart from the world
 * Chekhov MIA:He is mentioned often by Yusaku and Kusanagi and like Yusaku he was also involved in Lost Incident 10 years ago and he finally appears in ep 47
 * Dull Eyes of Unhappiness:Highlighting the trauma that he suffered during the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project. Even though he gets better after the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project was brought to a closure, his eyes remain dull and lifeless.
 * Emotionless Boy:Heavily implied to be more emotionless than Yusaku and the Hanoi project has made him an Empty Shell when we see him each time he doesnt show any emotions at all
 * Empty Shell:The Hanoi project and all the hell and toture he has been through has made him suffer even worse than Yusaku he is still shock about the incident and he is uanble to leave
 * Expy
 * He is this to both Mokuba and Haruto due to him being the missing younger brother that the older brother Kusanagi has to go through hell to find and take care of him serving as a motivational fuel to his older brother makes him a bit closer to Haruto.
 * He is also this to Ruri both of them got kidnap by the antoganist orgainzation Hanoi and Academia respectivelly they both have older brothers who work with their close friends Yusaku and Yuto respecivtely to save them
 * Dark and Troubled Past:He was also suffering the same fate as Yusaku
 * The Ghost:He has been mentioned by Yusaku and Kusanagi multiple times since the start of show and we get to see him only in flashback and has yet to appear in person. He finally appears for real in ep 47
 * The Stoic:He often has a emotionless expression on his face.
 * Strong Family Resemblance:He looks a lot like a younger version of his older brother
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid:Just compare Jin in his teeanage and childhood self he appeared to be cheerful child before getting kidnap nowadays he is very distant and broken who rarely smiles
 * The Voiceless:While he gets much better after he is informed that the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project was brought to a closure, he doesn't talk at all.Until episode 64 where he finally gets to speak
 * Yank the Dog's Chain:Just when you thought things were getting much better for Jin after he is informed that the Lost Incident/Hanoi Project has been brought to a closure, an unknown yellow figure (later revealed to be Bohman) sucks his soul away and escapes into LINK VRAINS.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair:Purple in the case

Yamamoto/Frog
A Link VRAINS reporter.

Voiced by":Tomokazu Seki (Japanese)


 * Berserk Button: While you're in LINK VRAINS, don't address Frog as Yamamoto.
 * Butt Monkey:He and Pigeon can never catch a break
 * Do Not Call Me Paul:rog will blast at Pigeon if address him by his real name, Yamamoto, while in Link VRAINS.
 * Online Alias:Frog
 * Sempai Kouhai:Is referred to as "sempai" by Pigeon, implying that he is the more experienced of the two.
 * Skewed Priorities: In spite of the danger they're in while the Tower of Hanoi is on the verge of activating, Frog vows to obtain footage of Playmaker so that the pair's scoop will last a lifetime even if they get erased. Playmaker tries to warn them to leave, but the pair decline to do so.
 * Those Two Guys:With Pigeon
 * Yank the Dog's Chain:He and Pigeon never gets the footage they needed

Pigeon
A Link VRAINS reporter.

Voiced by":Tomokazu Seki (Japanese)


 * Butt Monkey:He and Frog can never catch a break
 * No Name Given:His real name is unknown
 * Online Alias:Pigeon
 * Sempai Kouhai:He addresses Frog as "sempai", implying that the latter is more experienced.
 * Those Two Guys:With Frog
 * Yank the Dog's ChainHe and Frog never gets the footage they needed

MC
A Link VRAINS commentator.

Voiced by":IKKAN (Japanese)


 * Combat Commentator: Reports on the events occurring in a Duel in LINK VRAINS, combined with bombastic delivery.
 * Large Ham:Wouldn't be an MC if it weren't for his bombastic delivery.
 * No Name Given:His real name is unknown.