Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (anime)/Characters

A list of characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime and manga series, Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo to Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Judai Yuki (Jaden Yuki)


Osiris Red. The top student at Duel Academia and the series protagonist, whose character in Season 4 is practically unrecognizable from his character in Season 1, due to a brutal Break the Cutie arc in Season 3 and being used to demonstrate the realistic psychological trauma of many tropes from the original series and shonen anime heroes in general on a kid.

Voiced by: KENN (Japanese) and Matthew Charles (English)


 * Almighty Janitor: Is Osiris Red, the lowest tier that is mocked for being full of stereotypical losers, but is the best duelist in the academy.
 * Big Brother Mentor: To Sho and Kenzan.
 * Big Eater
 * Bi the Way: Blushed when close to a female duel monster, implied to like Johan (Yubel called him out on it. Twice.), and canonically loves Yubel, a hermaphroditic duel monster.
 * Book Dumb
 * Catch Phrase: "Gotcha!" in the original / "And That's Game!" in the dub..
 * "Get Your Game On!" in the dub when starting a duel.
 * Chosen One
 * Chronic Hero Syndrome
 * Empathy Pet: Winged Kuriboh
 * Even the Guys Want Him
 * Expy: Yugi Mutou (in his role as the hero and his skill) and Katsuya Jounouchi (in his personality).
 * The Fool: To the point that Saiou uses the eponymous tarot card to represent Judai in his predictions.
 * Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Always accompanied by his Catch Phrase.
 * The Hero
 * The Magic Poker Equation: There are real life duelists who would kill for the luck Jaden has, able to top deck the exact card he needs several times per duel. Shots of his hand often show a series of seemingly unrelated cards, then he'll draw the card he needs to put them all together in a combo. If he has no hand, he'll probably draw Bubbleman, Fifth Hope, Pot of Greed, or something that lets him draw more cards. Any time he ever plays A Hero Emerges his opponent will always pick the one card in his hand that would save him. And if he uses a card like Card Trooper to mill cards from his deck, every single time he does once of the milled cards is Necroshade or Necro Gardna.
 * Magnetic Hero: Ninety-five percent of the people he Duels end up as being his friends afterwards. Lampshaded in-universe.
 * Meaningful Name: Yuuki Juudai --> "a courageous teenager". ... No kidding.
 * Plot Armor: Thanks to the Magic Poker Equation. You could make a drinking game out of how many times Jaden goes against an opponent with a better deck and wins through sheer luck, but after Season 1 you'd need a liver transplant.
 * To Be a Master
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Fried shrimp.
 * True Companions: He seems to inadvertently make new friends without trying. Actually commented on in-universe.

Seasons 1-2:
 * The Ace
 * Blithe Spirit
 * Boring Invincible Hero
 * Cavalier Competitor
 * Chaste Hero: One must wonder how sheltered he must be from the world outside of dueling if he doesn't even know what 'fiancee' means...
 * Determinator
 * Idiot Hero
 * Indy Ploy
 * Keet
 * Kirk Summation
 * The Messiah
 * The Power of Friendship
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech
 * Screw Destiny
 * Shonen Upgrade: His Neos Deck.
 * Strategy Schmategy: Ryou even manages to convince him his strength in dueling is his unpredictably.
 * Tiger Versus Dragon: The Dragon to Misawa's Tiger.
 * Warrior Therapist
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: Make sure you realize what show you're in before you think of Duel Monsters as, "just a game."

During and Post Heroic BSOD in Season 3:


 * Being Tortured Makes You Evil
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * Break the Cutie
 * Broken Ace: As part of the Deconstruction of The Ace.
 * Broken Messiah
 * Creepy Monotone
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
 * Deconstruction: Of pretty much all of the above listed tropes.
 * Evil Costume Switch
 * Evil Makeover: For his monsters
 * Evil Overlord
 * Face Heel Turn
 * Fallen Hero
 * Fatal Flaw: His impulsiveness.
 * Fusion Dance: Of the Power Boost variety, with Yubel
 * He Who Fights Monsters
 * Kaleidoscope Eyes (Eyes of Gold)
 * Leeroy Jenkins: His impulsiveness is deconstructed during this season.
 * My God, What Have I Done?
 * My Greatest Failure
 * Pay Evil Unto Evil: The Supreme King's method of trying to avenge Johan.
 * Protagonist Journey to Villain
 * Reincarnation: Learned he was the reincarnation of The Supreme King, The Chosen One to protect the universe.
 * Shonen Upgrade: His powers as The Supreme King, and his merger with Yubel.
 * Spikes of Villainy
 * Split Personality Takeover
 * Super-Powered Evil Side: The Supreme King
 * Trauma Conga Line: Hooh, boy.
 * Unstoppable Rage

Season 4, post crossing the Despair Event Horizon:


 * Anti-Hero
 * The Atoner
 * Creepy Monotone
 * Darker and Edgier
 * Dark Is Not Evil
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Deconstruction: Continues
 * Green Lantern Ring: Seeing past illusions, manifesting duel spirits, immunity to Darkness' Lotus Eater Machine, among other things.
 * Growing Up Sucks
 * Grumpy Bear
 * Heroic Safe Mode
 * Hurting Hero
 * Ineffectual Loner
 * Jade-Colored Glasses
 * Jerkass: In many other characters' opinions, at least.
 * Kaleidoscope Eyes (Mismatched Eyes)
 * Rage Against the Mentor: Played for laughs.
 * Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids
 * Split Personality
 * The Stoic

Johan Andersen (Jesse Anderson)
"Introduced in Season 3; the top student of North Academia and owner of the only set of Gem Beast cards. He quickly becomes Judai's best friend and closest partner in the struggle to save reality in Season 4."

Voiced by: Kanako Irie (Japanese) and Christopher C. Adams (English)


 * Ambiguously Gay: Rainbows and frills, anyone?
 * Bishonen
 * Chosen One: Said to be one, but of what is never revealed.
 * Dude in Distress: His disappearance sets the events of the latter half of season three in motion.
 * Empathy Pet: The Gem Beasts
 * Everything's Better with Rainbows: His ultimate monster, Rainbow Dragon
 * Evil Makeover/Evil Costume Switch: When possessed by Yubel.
 * Expy: Judai
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Triggers Judai's Heroic BSOD.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: His voice actress voiced Camula of the Seven Stars in the first season.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Sho Marufuji (Syrus Truesdale)
"Judai's original best friend and Sidekick, a role he fights to keep in Season 2 but gradually leaves behind to pursue his own Character Development in Seasons 3 and 4."

Voiced by: Masami Suzuki (Japanese) and Wayne Grayson (English)

Juudai's best friend and sidekick, Sho Marufuji (U.S. name: Syrus Truesdale), whose feelings for his friend toe the line between brotherly and Ho Yay (if anything, this is exaggerated by several lines of dialogue in the dub, and has netted him rivals for Juudai's attention/affection in the form of Tyranno Kenzan and Overseas Champion Johan Andersen); he has unquestionably had the most Character Development of all the characters, symbolized by his promotion to a higher dorm every season.


 * Badass Adorable
 * Little Brother Instinct: Interestingly enough, exhibited towards Ryo in season 4, after Ryo becomes confined mainly to a wheelchair or hospital bed.
 * Blind Without'Em
 * Catch Phrase: In the dub, he has "Wait up!" and "Way to play, Jay!"
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: His Character Development is accompanied by dorm promotions and changes of uniform from Red to Yellow to Blue.
 * Cute Machines: His Vehicroid monsters.
 * Dude in Distress: Frequently ends up as the hostage.
 * Dub Text: His relationship with Jaden
 * Fire-Forged Friends: With Kenzan.
 * Hidden Depths
 * The Lancer: Of the Best Friend variety.
 * Perverse Sexual Lust: Black Magician Girl and Thunder Nyan Nyan
 * Promotion to Parent: To an extent, towards Ryo in season 4. Revealed later in the Darkness arc that
 * The Rival: To his older brother by the end, previously to Kenzan in Ho Yay Love Triangle over Judai.
 * The Short Guy with Glasses
 * Sidekick
 * The So-Called Coward
 * The Watcher : Actively tries to become one of these in season 3, after Judai's Heroic BSOD.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Tyranno Kenzan (Tyranno Hassleberry)
"Ra Yellow. Enters Duel Academia in Season 2 and decides to become Sho's rival for the role of Judai's "little brother.""

Voiced by: Hiroshi Shimozaki (Japanese) and David Wills (English)

Tyranno Kenzan (U.S. name: Tyranno Hassleberry), introduced in Season 2, a dinosaur-obsessed student with actual "dino DNA" flowing through his veins from an accident (and for some reason fancies himself a wannabe Army drill instructor in the dub). Originally fought with Sho over Juudai's attention (and affection), but quickly found a new rivalry with fellow fossil enthusiast Jim "Crocodile" Cook in Season 3.


 * Ambiguously Brown
 * Artistic License Biology: DINOSAUR DNA
 * Artistic License Medicine: He's injured his leg! Quick, let's replace it with the fossilized dinosaur bone he just dug up.
 * The Berserker: He blames it on dinosaur DNA.
 * The Big Guy
 * Fire-Forged Friends: With Sho.
 * Hunk: Despite being 15 at the start of the series, he's quite handsome and already has a bodybuilder's physique likely as a result of digging for fossils.
 * Informed Ability: Said to be on the top of his class dueling-wise. He's won a single on-screen duel, however.
 * Kaleidoscope Eyes
 * The Rival: With Sho in a Ho Yay Love Triangle over Judai.
 * Southern-Fried Private: He talked like one in the dub, but instead of being The Idiot From Osaka in the original, he punctuated sentences with the onomatopoeia for explosions.
 * Verbal Tic: Ends sentences with "-saurus!" and "-don!" in the original.

Jun Manjoume (Chazz Princeton)
"Obelisk Blue/Slifer Red. Judai's first rival. Originally a rich snob who looked down on everyone else, he went on a short journey to find himself in Season 1 and came back much more honorable, despite his attempts to hide it, and determined to succeed because of his merits and skill rather than his money."

Voiced by: Taiki Matsuno (Japanese), Tony Solerno (English, Episode 1-89) and Marc Thompson (English, Episode 90 onwards)

The Rival and Worthy Opponent to Judai. Though initially a high-ranking member of Obelisk Blue, he experiences a losing streak and drops out, going on a journey to find himself and ending up at the North Academy duelling school. Though he rejoins Duel Academy, he is forced to start over at Slifer Red and decides to keep wearing his black North Academy uniform. He eventually makes it back up to Obelisk Blue.

He also has the power to see and hear monster spirits. Unfortunately, his "spirit partners" are the Ojama Trio, three rather disgusting and tactless monsters that frequently annoy him. He grows fond of them over time but will never admit it under any circumstance.

He gets significantly better treatment in the manga: Instead of the Ojamas, his spirit ally is the Light and Darkness Dragon, whose power even scares the Big Bad.


 * All Love Is Unrequited: Despite his massive (and often hilarious) crush on Asuka, the poor guy was doomed from the get-go.
 * Anti-Hero: Type III
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Badass Nickname: Manjoume Thunder!
 * Brainwashed and Crazy: Season 2
 * Evil Costume Switch
 * Light Is Not Good
 * Rival Turned Evil
 * The Dragon: To Saiou
 * Break the Haughty
 * Butt Monkey: After his character development, Manjoume tends to have absolutely horrendous luck.
 * Cain and Abel: With his older brothers
 * Catch Phrase
 * Japanese version: "Ichi, jū, hyaku, sen, Manjōme-sandā!"
 * English version: "Let's Chazz it up!"
 * Dark Is Not Evil
 * Empathy Pet: The Ojama Brothers
 * Expy: Seto Kaiba
 * Freudian Excuse
 * Good Is Not Nice
 * Great Detective: In his own mind, that is.
 * Impossible Hourglass Figure
 * Insistent Terminology: In the Japanese version, he insists that people show him respect by addressing him with the -san honorific: "Manjoume-san da" ("It's Mr. Manjoume"). This leads to his in-universe nickname of "Manjoume Thunder" when he transfers to a new school and his new classmates mistake "san da" for the Japanese pronunciation of "thunder".
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: His Armed Dragons.
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Mecha: His VWXYZ monsters in the anime.
 * Jerk Jock: Pre-Character Development, he was shaping up to be Judai's Draco Malfoy.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Post-character development.
 * The Lancer: Of the Rival variety.
 * Lonely Rich Kid
 * Lost in Translation: His "Manjoume Thunder" nickname in the Japanese version- a nickname born from a Japanese wordplay pun- was replaced by "Let's Chazz it up!" and "The Chazz" in the dub. Unfortunately, this removes the explanation for why he starts using more lightning-based cards and symbolism after acquiring the nickname.
 * Love Makes You Crazy: His crush on Asuka
 * Noble Demon
 * "No Respect" Guy: Despite quite possibly being the second-best duelist at the academy, he sure doesn't get much respect.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
 * Parental Abandonment: True, this applies to 99% of the characters, but he's the only one with two older brothers who appear to be his guardians.
 * Plucky Comic Relief: Alternates between being this and being badass.
 * Punny Name: His nickname Manjoume Thunder ("sanda" in Japanese) is partly a pun on his Insistent Terminology.
 * The Rival
 * Screw the Money, I Have Rules: He eventually rejects his brothers' plans and tries to go pro without their connections.
 * Self-Made Man
 * Spell My Name with a "The": The dub has him called himself "The Chazz."
 * Third Person Person: The aforementioned "Manjuome san-da" can be translated as "It's the Manjoume" under some circumstances. The dub retains this, where he calls himself "The Chazz."
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Towards his older brothers in Season 1.
 * The Worf Effect

Asuka Tenjoin (Alexis Rhodes)
"Obelisk Blue. Judai's designated female love interest and the token shonen fanservice girl... which she hates. Kind, friendly, not-at-all proud or arrogant like most Obelisks, but has a predictably hard time in a series where she's surrounded by boys and Ho Yay."

Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese) and Priscilla Everett (English)

Asuka Tenjoin (U.S. name: Alexis Rhodes), the kind and pretty "Queen of Obelisk Blue" and Juudai's closest thing to a heterosexual love interest (as well as the Grace to Ryou Marufuji's Will). Also, Manjoume and just about every other boy in school has HUGE crushes on her (two have dueled Juudai out of sheer jealousy of her admiration for him), to the great delight of her older brother Fubuki... and to Asuka's own despair.


 * Action Girl: Ping-pongs between this and Faux Action Girl (particularly in Seasons 3 and 4). She's considered one of the seven best duelists in Duel Academy, but she merely wins against filler opponents and has a victory in a plot-important duel only twice. However, she manages to push her opponents pretty close to defeat before having the tables turned on her and is able to hold her own against the guys (Judai, Fubuki, and Manjoume), as well as battle people that gave the rest of the cast some issues (Titan, for example). The major question is if she lives up to her hype, which YMMV.
 * All Love Is Unrequited: Does not reciprocate Manjoume's crush on her, and
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: With Those Two Guys, Momoe and Junko
 * Brainwashed and Crazy: Season 2, by Manjoume
 * Evil Is Deathly Cold
 * Evil Is Sexy
 * Hypnotize the Princess: Saiou does this to her, making her even more Brainwashed and Crazy then prior.
 * Mind Control Eyes
 * Woman in White
 * The Chick
 * Dance Battler
 * Deadpan Snarker: When exasperated, particularly in the dub.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Hello, Nurse!: Something she's not happy about at all.
 * Idol Singer NOT!
 * Kill It with Ice: When brainwashed.
 * Male Gaze
 * Magic Skirt
 * Married to the Job: Cites being in love with dueling as one of her reasons for rejecting Manjoume's advances.
 * Ms. Fanservice: And quite self-aware about it, too!
 * Name's the Same: When partnered with Rei. Could also count as a possible Shout-Out to that series.
 * Only Sane Man
 * Platonic Life Partners: With Ryo.
 * The Smurfette Principle
 * So Beautiful It's a Curse: In the manga her introductory duel is actually motivated by her desire to be seen as a competent duelist and not just a pretty face. Judai seems to get this, which causes Asuka to fall for him pretty hard by the fourth season.
 * Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Subverted. She hates being mistaken for a diva, and is really nice. She just gets really annoyed by some of Manjyoume's and Fubuki's more foolish antics.

Hayato Maeda (Chumley Huffington)
"Osiris Red. Judai's and Sho's roommate in Season 1 before graduating and leaving to work at Industrial Illusions."

Voiced by: Takehiro Hasu (Japanese) and Ted Lewis (English)


 * Animal Motifs: Koalas.
 * Big Eater: Ridiculously intensified by the dub.
 * The Big Guy
 * Hidden Depths: Mediocre duelist, highly talented artist. In his Crowning Moment of Awesome, he gets to use a card he himself designed.
 * Put on a Bus
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Grilled cheese sandwiches, though only in the dub.
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy

Daichi Misawa (Bastion Misawa)
"Ra Yellow. The top student in Ra Yellow and smartest student at Duel Academia... at least before a disturbing romantic rendezvous in mid-Season 1; his shtick in Season 2 changed from being a genius to being forgotten by all the characters and ignored by the recruiting Cult."

Voiced by: Yuuki Masuda (Japanese) and Eric Stuart (English)


 * Awesomeness By Analysis: At first...
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Born in the Wrong Century: Would have fit right in among the geniuses of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and received much more respect.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Butt Monkey: Season 2
 * Celibate Hero: Oooh, boy...
 * Crazy Prepared: Opponent tossed his deck into the lake? No problem—he's locked and loaded with 6 more decks to spare!
 * Deal with the Devil: Saiou promised Misawa that people would remember him and he would get the respect he deserved if he joined up. Pity it didn't actually work that way.
 * Demoted to Extra: Season 2 onward, and pointed out in the canon as his reason for joining the Society of Light.
 * Dude, Where's My Respect?: Cited as the reason for his Face Heel Turn and Heel Face Turn in season 2. By season 3 he's given up and chooses tostay in the different dimension.
 * Expospeak: Seems to be the sole reason for him to reemerge from the bus on occasion.
 * Fake Brit: In the dub.
 * Go Mad from the Revelation: He had a Freak-Out when he realized that he had a crush on White Magician Pikeru.
 * Hard Work Hardly Works
 * Huge Girl Tiny Guy: Misawa is taller and has a larger build than most of the main cast, and yet he's still dwarfed by Taniya, his eventual love interest.
 * Light Is Not Good
 * The Magic Poker Equation: Averted, and making him one of the few characters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe who doesn't rely on it. He uses mathematical formulas and science to fine-tune his decks to perfection, thereby minimizing the variable of luck in his duels and making his decks very precise and strategic. Unfortunately most of his opponents do rely on this trope and have Plot Armor to boot.
 * No Guy Wants an Amazon: At least, he thought he didn't...
 * "No Respect" Guy: Season 2
 * Number Two
 * Put on a Bus: Multiple times
 * The Rival
 * The Smart Guy
 * Tiger Versus Dragon: The Tiger to Judai's Dragon.
 * The Worf Effect: Beyond his one win against Manjoume, despite dueling impeccably, he never wins another duel... until he joins the Society of Light during Season 2...and even those wins are only against unnamed characters.

Ryo Marufuji (Zane Truesdale)
"Obelisk Blue. Sho's older brother, nicknamed the Kaiser. Originally the top student at Duel Academia who prided himself on dueling with respect and honor, before a devastating loss to Edo Phoenix prompted an unexpected and long Face Heel Turn."

Voiced by: Takeshi Maeda (Japanese) and Scotty Ray (English)

Ryo Marufuji (U.S. name: Zane Truesdale), Sho's Aloof Big Brother, who goes by his nickname, the Kaiser; once the best of the best, he had a serious breakdown after losing a duel to Edo Phoenix.

Season 1:
 * The Ace: A variation. Described as "perfect" on multiple occasions, effortlessly defeats the main character in his first on-screen duel, and is the undefeated best duelist at the Academy. Only duels three times in the season (two of them against Judai) because they couldn't figure out how to make it dramatic anymore. Not quite charming, and definitely not hammy, but he fits the bill. Sets him up for a brutal Deconstruction in Season 2.
 * Aloof Big Brother
 * Always Someone Better: The first to defeat Judai, who probably counts as a form of Unknown Rival, and is barely disputed as superior (at least until the Graduation Duel).
 * During the Phantom Demons arc, he easily destroys a villain without taking a single hit, before she forces him to make a Heroic Sacrifice for Sho. Judai very nearly loses against the same villain in the next episode.
 * Anti-Hero: Type II
 * Badass
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Badass Nickname: Kaiser
 * Big Brother Instinct
 * Bishonen
 * The Comically Serious
 * Deadpan Snarker: Heavy on the deadpan, and more so in the dub.
 * Expy: Seto Kaiba, predominantly the Aloof Older Brother aspect.
 * Good Is Not Nice
 * Heroic Sacrifice: For Sho in Turn 32
 * Lonely at the Top: Shows signs of this, not that he seems to mind.
 * The Magic Poker Equation: Hoo boy. Topdecks all of the cards he needs to bring out his ace monster, Cyber End Dragon, within 3 turns, tops. To be fair, his entire deck is based around summoning it, and real life decks can achieve similar results.
 * Married to the Job: A borderline example; similarly to Asuka, he states that he is devoted to dueling and uninterested in relationships. Of course, this was said to a middle school Fan Girl, so take that as you will.
 * Meaningful Name
 * Oblivious to Love: Extremely obvious in Turn 20.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname
 * Perpetual Frowner
 * Platonic Life Partners: With Asuka.
 * The Quiet One
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Fubuki's red.
 * The Rival: For Judai in the beginning; for Sho in the end.
 * Sadistic Choice: In episode 32, Camula gave him a choice between sacrificing Shou to win the duel, or standing down and losing his own soul and his Key. See Heroic Sacrifice.
 * The Stoic
 * Not So Stoic: Has a few moments. Turn 20, in which Rei shows up with a massive crush, has a lot of moments.
 * And the end of the Graduation Duel, when he and Judai both stretch out on the floor, laughing their heads off.
 * Tall, Dark, Handsome and Snarky
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Season 2:


 * Anti-Hero: Type V
 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
 * Badass Nickname: Now Hell Kaiser.
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Being Tortured Makes You Evil
 * Blood Knight: You know...with card games.
 * Broken Ace: So, so broken.
 * Break the Haughty
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: Hell Kaiser's new black uniform.
 * Combat Sadomasochist: Comes to enjoy the pain from the electric shock collar and dishing it out as well.
 * Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Tail Deck of Cyber Dark monsters
 * Deceptive Disciple
 * Despair Event Horizon: Hits it hard in episode 65, triggering his Freak-Out and Face Heel Turn.
 * Electric Torture: Although it originally drove his Freak-Out, he eventually grows to like it.
 * Evil Costume Switch
 * Evil Feels Good
 * Face Heel Turn
 * Fingerless Gloves: Wears a studded pair in the Pro League, pre-Freak-Out.
 * Freak-Out
 * The Gift: Deconstructed more brutally than with any other character besides maybe Judai.
 * Heir to the Dojo
 * Hell-Bent for Leather
 * Jerkass Dissonance
 * Kick the Dog: His duel with Sho.
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch: Firing Saruyama.
 * Limited Wardrobe: Still wears his school uniform after graduating (pre-Freak-Out).
 * Nietzsche Wannabe
 * Not Brainwashed: Just broken and batshit insane.
 * Shonen Upgrade: His Cyberdarks.
 * Shower of Angst
 * Slasher Smile: Countless times post-Freak-Out.
 * Too Kinky to Torture: Initially hates the electrodes; afterwards starts using them regularly for this reason, and also because he's just that screwed up.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Shown in Turn 83
 * Villain Protagonist

Season 3:


 * Anti-Hero: Type V --> Type IV
 * The Atoner: Arguably
 * The Berserker
 * Big Damn Heroes: Has a moment like this where he saves Sho and Ojama Yellow. Sets Sho up for a borderline Heroic Safe Mode.
 * Death Equals Redemption: Having found out that he's dying, he spends most of the season looking for one last great duel. However, he also repeatedly saves his brother's life, snaps Judai out of a Heroic BSOD with a Heroic Sacrifice, and is generally loses most of the harsh, psychotic persona of season 2.
 * Death Is Dramatic: He kicks Judai's pathetic whining ass back into gear about five seconds before he dies.
 * Dying Moment of Awesome: He quadruples the attack points of his greatest monster, and despite his losing the duel, snaps Judai out of his Heroic BSOD, something that three other Heroic Sacrifices had failed to do previously.
 * Good Is Not Nice
 * Heroic Sacrifice: against Yubel.
 * Secretly Dying: Until it becomes impossible to hide, he tells no one of his heart condition and brushes off any kind of concern from those who do notice the pain he's in.
 * Spirited Competitor: He spends almost the entire season looking for someone strong enough to give him one last amazing duel.
 * This Is Your Brain on Evil, Up to Eleven

Season 4:


 * Back from the Dead
 * Contractual Immortality: Though it's unclear whether or not this is something he wants.
 * Doing In the Scientist: His heart problems weren't due to dueling with electro-shock collars but the dangerous forbidden deck he used.
 * Heel Face Revolving Door: Comes to his senses and gives up the Hell Kaiser persona thanks to Sho.
 * Ill Boy
 * Unexplained Recovery: In contrast to the explained revivals of the other characters, he just randomly shows up. In his case, he literally has heart failure before fading away, whereas the others simply fade away, but were really trapped in another dimension.

Fubuki Tenjoin (Atticus Rhodes)
"Obelisk Blue. Asuka's older brother and Kaiser's best friend, missing for the first half of Season 1 and brought back a dangerous mystery that would not be solved until Season 4."

Voiced by: Koji Yusa (Japanese) and Jason Anthony Griffith (English)


 * Big Brother Mentor: For Manjoume
 * Badass in Distress: Becomes this one in episode 159 where Yusuke put a gas on him which made him unconscious and Axel has to rescue and hospitalized him
 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Bishonen
 * Chekhov MIA:Though mention often by Asuka and Royo he doesn't appear physically until epsiode 28
 * Chick Magnet
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Beneath his carefree, goofy exterior lies one of the best duelists in the school.
 * Disney Death:In Season 3, he is killed when he is sacrificed for Brron's ritual, but is revealed to being held in another dimension by Yubel and is returned to Duel Academy at the end of the season.
 * Enemy Within: Darkness
 * Evil Is Not a Toy
 * The Ghost:until episode 29
 * Informed Ability: He's considered to be one of the best duelists at Duel Academy. Despite this, he never wins a single duel on-screen. Though to be fair, two of his opponents were Judai and Hell Kaiser Ryo, and it's implied that he wasn't playing seriously in his duel against Asuka.
 * Mask of Power: Darkness
 * The Matchmaker: For Asuka, despite her protests.
 * Put on a Bus: Multiple times, with one return offering no explanation as to where he even was.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Darkness is associated with Red Eyes Darkness Dragon.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Ryo's blue.
 * Shipper on Deck:: Supports Manjoume's attempts to win over Asuka. Which tend to fail spectacularly. He also supports Asuka being with Judai or Ryo. Really, he just wants her to end up with somebody.
 * Sympathy for the Devil:In his duel with Yusuke. He didn't care about what Yusuke was doing, he was just glad he was alive, calling him his friend and apologized that he didn't save him the first time.
 * Targeted Human Sacrifice:Becomes a sacrifice in the 3rd season to Brron's ritual to complete the Super Polymerization card that required several negative emotions to create. Atticus providing the negative emotion of anguish.
 * That Makes Me Feel Anguish: In the 3rd season his negative feeling of anguish becomes a key sacrifice to Brron's ritual for the creation of the Super Polymerization card. Atticus expresses his anguish to Jaden before he is sacrificed stating his feelings of helplessness being sacrificed.
 * Tall,Dark Handsome and Snarky: He is very tall and handsome
 * Totally Radical: In the dub, even when under the influence of Darkness.
 * Totally Radical: In the dub, even when under the influence of Darkness.

Edo Phoenix (Aster Phoenix)
"Judai's new rival in Season 2. By day, he's the top duelist in the Pro League and the unfortunate dupe of his manager and best friend Saiou in recruiting members for the Society of Light Cult; by night, he prowls dark alleys dressed up as Duel Monsters, defeating criminals in an attempt to find the man who killed his father."

Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese) and Pete Zarustica (English)


 * Anti-Hero: Type III
 * Badass
 * The Dulcinea Effect: For Amon's girlfriend Ekou in Season 3. This even confuses him, not just the viewers.
 * Expy: Seto Kaiba
 * Fire-Forged Friends: With Judai, though the latter would have you believe they were friends earlier than that.
 * Also with Ryo in Season 3.
 * Grumpy Bear
 * Heroic Sacrifice: See The Dulcinea Effect.
 * Jerkass: He wouldn't be a Kaiba expy if he weren't, though he's arguably worse than Kaiba in some ways.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: During Season 3, he becomes this.
 * Missed the Call: Nope, you're not The Hero, nor The Chosen One...nor The Only One Allowed to Defeat You!
 * Oedipus Complex: With his adopted father, DD.
 * Orphan's Plot Trinket: The Destiny Hero cards
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In his first duel with Judai.
 * Refuge in Audacity: Mocks Ryou's Cyber Dragons, yet accuses Judai of not showing proper respect to his Destiny Heroes when the latter shows how amazed he is by them.
 * The Rival
 * Totally Radical: His speech in the dub tends to follow this pattern.
 * Shoot the Dog
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Is it Edo, or Ed? Most people go with Edo, although some would argue that Edo is a botched translation and it really means Ed anyway.
 * Then again, some people bring up the Stealth Pun in his name; Phoenixes were very popular in artistic depictions of the Edo period.
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky
 * Tsundere: Male version and probably non-romantic; type B example towards Saiou and type A towards Ryo in season 3.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: Apparently thinks he's Batman.
 * You Killed My Father

Rei Saotome (Blair Flannigan)
"Osiris Red. Initially a one-shot character with a crush on Kaiser, she returns at the end of season two and earns her way into the academy by becoming runner-up in the Genex Tournament, despite still being too young to enter the academy the normal way. Develops a major crush on Judai, to which he is predictably oblivious."

Voiced by: Eri Sendai (Japanese) and Lisa Ortiz (English)


 * Action Girl
 * Ascended Extra
 * Bokukko
 * Brooklyn Rage: In the dub.
 * Damsel in Distress: By mid-Season 3.
 * Dub-Induced Plot Hole: Her age
 * Expy: Rebecca Hawkins, who actually had a near-identical Dub-Induced Plot Hole of her own.
 * Fan Girl: First for Kaiser, then for Judai.
 * Ill Girl: Briefly in Season 3
 * Name's the Same: When partnered with Asuka.
 * She's All Grown Up: And how!
 * Sweet Polly Oliver: In her introduction.
 * Zettai Ryouiki

Martin Kanou (Marcel Bonaparte)
"Ra Yellow. A friend of Rei's, who becomes the vessel for the Yubel after Cobra's fall. The son of Vice-Principal Napoeleon, he has major self-worth issues."

Voiced by: Asako Yoshida (Japanese) and Sebastian Arcelus (English)


 * Deal with the Devil
 * Freudian Excuse
 * Parental Abandonment

Austin O'Brien (Axel Brodie)
"The champion of Duel Academy's west branch, who trains for duels via life-threatening high wire stunts, which he claims aide his drawing skills. Initially a pawn of Cobra, he eventually becomes a valued friend to Judai."

Voiced by: Naru Kawamoto (Japanese) and Marc Thompson (English)


 * Abnormal Ammo: Cards.
 * Badass
 * Black Best Friend: Well, sorta.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Against The Supreme King to save Judai.
 * Kill It with Fire: His whole Deck is based on this concept combined with gunplay.
 * The Gunslinger: Yes, with trading cards. That explode upon impact.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills
 * Token Minority
 * Voodoo Shark: Fire-attribute cards apparently explode. This makes perfect sense to everyone and is never contested.

Jim "Crocodile" Cook
"The champion of Duel Academy's south branch, who carries a crocodile on his back in a special backpack. Becomes friends with Judai and company after dueling Kenzan, and provides a nice amount of Comic Relief even in the darkest parts of the series."

Voiced by: Naoya Iwahashi (Japanese) and Tom Wayland (English)


 * Chekhov's Gun: His covered eye—really the Eye of Orichalcum, used to bring Judai out of his Heroic BSOD.
 * Crazy Prepared: Came to Duel Academy with an EMP detector for no adequately explored reason.
 * Drives Like Crazy: In a fossilized truck
 * Empathy Pet: A crocodile named Karen.
 * Eyepatch of Power: Well, bandages of power at least.
 * Gratuitous English: Hilarity Ensues.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Against The Supreme King in a failed attempt to save Judai. O'Brien's own sacrifice finishes the job.
 * Land Down Under
 * Meaningful Name
 * Nice Hat: A fedora.
 * The Nicknamer: Gives Kenzan the nickname "Dino Boy" and calls Asuka "Tomorrow Girl" (Her last name, Tenjoin, means "Tommorrow's fragrance").
 * The Power of Friendship: How he hopes to save Judai from himself.

Yusuke Fujiwara
"Fubuki's former best friend, initially thought to be dead. The second host of Darkness."

Voiced by: Makoto Naruse


 * Bishonen
 * Evil Is Not a Toy
 * Mask of Power
 * Parental Issues
 * Remember the New Guy?

Professor Chronos de Medici (Dr. Vellian Crowler)
"The head professor at Duel Academy, and initial (albeit non-lethal) antagonist. Looks down upon Osiris Red students, particulary Judai, whom he calls "drop-out boy"."

Voice actor: Hiroshi Shimizu (Japanese) and Sean Schemmel (English)


 * Dude Looks Like a Lady
 * As Long as It Sounds Foreign
 * Hidden Depths
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Noble Demon
 * Sadist Teacher
 * Verbal Tic: Na no ne.

Daitokuji Sensei (Professor Lyman Banner)
"The head of the Osiris Red dorm and Alchemy professor and a mentor for Judai, until he's revealed to be The Mole - and then later, the Reverse Mole."

Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese) and Wayne Grayson (English)


 * Absent-Minded Professor
 * The Atoner
 * Chew Toy: After becoming a Spirit Advisor, he's often swallowed by his cat Pharaoh.
 * Cool Teacher: In the first opening, "Kaisei Josho Hallelujah", you can see him on a motorcycle. And in episode 13, he sicced his cat Pharaoh on some evil scientists.
 * Double Agent
 * Easily Forgiven
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Kindhearted Cat Lover: Think about it. He has a cat, he says "nya" at the end of his sentences? That's proof enough.
 * Mentor Occupational Hazard
 * Obfuscating Stupidity... er, Cowardice
 * Right-Hand-Cat: His cat Pharaoh.
 * Spirit Advisor
 * Verbal Tic: Japanese version only - while Daitokuji-sensei often says "nya", Japanese cat meow, at the end of his sentences, other languages eliminate it altogether, and give him a German accent due to the fact he teaches alchemy.
 * Why Did It Have To Be Vampires?
 * Verbal Tic: Japanese version only - while Daitokuji-sensei often says "nya", Japanese cat meow, at the end of his sentences, other languages eliminate it altogether, and give him a German accent due to the fact he teaches alchemy.
 * Why Did It Have To Be Vampires?

Principal Samejima (Chancellor Sheppard)
"Duel Academy's principal and former master of the "Cyber Style", which Ryo inherited."

Voiced by: Masami Iwasaki (Japanese) and David Wills (Engish)


 * Adults Are Useless... and depressed by his awareness of that.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Season 3 would have gone a lot different if he hadn't brought Professor Cobra to Duel Academy, making his scheme possible. To make matters worse he leaves just as all of the students are passing out due to the Dis Bands.
 * Old Master
 * Reasonable Authority Figure

Napoleon Kanou (Jean-Louis Bonaparte)
"Chronos' replacement during the former's reign as Duel Academy headmaster and Martin's dad."

Voiced by: Naoki Tatsuta (Japanese) and Mike Pollock (English)


 * The Dragon: To Chronos
 * Evil Counterpart: He's Chronos pre-character development.
 * Fat Bastard
 * Hidden Depths: Season 3 has him actual care about the students, mostly brought on by the presence of his son Martin.
 * Put on a Bus: Left to spend time with his son Martin, so he was absent in season 4.
 * Sadist Teacher
 * The Starscream: He tried to undermine Chronos and get Osiris Red torn down and turned on him at first when a job opportunity was avalible with Pegasus.

Kagemaru
"The Big Bad of season one, who spends most of said season off-screen. Also the chairman of Duel Academy's board of directors."

Voiced by: Mugihito (Japanese, old), Nobutoshi Canna (Japanese, young), David Wills (English, old), and Marc Thompson (English, young)


 * A God Am I
 * The Chessmaster
 * Deal with the Devil
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Hidden Agenda Villain
 * Karma Houdini

Takuma Saiou (Sartorius)
"The leader of the Society of Light Cult, the main threat of Season 2; the vessel for the Light of Ruin."

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese) and Maddie Blaustein (English)


 * Affably Evil
 * Always Need What You Gave Up: Loses his powers at the end of season 2 and misses them dearly in season 4.
 * Because Destiny Says So
 * Big Bad: Season 2.
 * Big Brother Instinct: Willing to capture Judai for Darkness to save his sister, Mizuchi.
 * Big Damn Heroes: His rescue of Judai in Season 4.
 * Blessed with Suck: His power to see the future.
 * Creepy Monotone
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: The first Yu-Gi-Oh! villain to actually have no desire to play a card game for the fate of the universe. Until he's forced to.
 * Drives Like Crazy: In a van, then on a motorcycle.
 * Expy: Possibly for Dartz.
 * Hannibal Lecture
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Hypnotize the Princess: To Asuka, making her even more Brainwashed and Crazy than before.
 * I Just Want to Be Normal: Flip-flops on this one throughout the series.
 * Kill Sat
 * Light Is Not Good
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * More Than Mind Control
 * Tarot Motifs: His entire deck, to go along with his Fortune Teller persona.
 * Ubermensch
 * Younger Than They Look: He's around 17 or 18 years old, but he looks like a full-grown adult.

DD (The D)
"The first vessel for the Light of Ruin, which infected the card he stole from Edo Phoenix's father before he killed him."

Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese) and Marc Thompson (English)


 * Four Eyes, Zero Soul
 * Killed Off for Real
 * Shout-Out: In the dub, he states his real name is Kyle Jables

Light of Ruin (Light of Destruction)



 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Exactly What It Says on the Tin
 * Light Is Not Good
 * The Virus

Professor Cobra (Professor Viper)
Yubel's initial pawn, who aides her in order to revive his adopted son.

Voiced by: Masaya Takatsuka (Japanese) and Sean Schemmel (English)


 * Deal with the Devil: with Yubel.
 * Evil Laugh
 * Evil Teacher
 * Killed Off for Real
 * Obviously Evil
 * Meaningful Name: Uses a Deck of venomous snake monsters.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Lampshaded by Syrus in the dub.
 * Necromantic: To revive his adopted son, Rick.

Amon Garam (Adrian Gecko)
"The champion of Duel Academy's east branch. Initially a neutral character, he actively attempts to thwart Cobra's plans before aiding Yubel. Disappears for a considerable length of time and appears in the third alternate dimension harnessing the powers of Exodia in an attempt to rid himself of Yubel's influence."

Voiced by: Nobuya Mine (Japanese) and Darrun Dunstan (English)


 * A God Am I: Wishes to become the King of the alternate dimensions.
 * Badass Bookworm
 * The Chessmaster
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Deal with the Devil: Makes a deal with Yubel in a bid for power, later tries to use Exodia's power to escape her grasp.
 * Genre Savvy/Meta Guy: Dub only.
 * Evil Redhead
 * Evil vs. Evil: against Yubel.
 * Fail O'Suckyname: According to Chazz in the dub.
 * Four Eyes, Zero Soul
 * Improbable Weapon User: He uses what appears to be a card called "Short Circuit" as an explosive device.
 * Killed Off for Real
 * Knight Templar
 * Lima Syndrome
 * Meaningful Name: Derived from an Egyptian cloud diety, Amun. Amon uses a Deck of cloud cards in his first two duels.
 * Scary Shiny Glasses: During his bid for power.
 * The Philosopher: Cogito ergo sum.
 * The Smart Guy: Among the foreign champions.
 * Utopia Justifies the Means: His goal is to become the king of the dimension and build a world without suffering, hatred and poverty.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist

Yubel
"The main antagonist of season three, behind all the others. A possessive duel spirit from Judai's youth, she seeks him out due to a promise made by Judai's past life - with Judai himself has no knowledge of. Driven mad by the Light of Ruin."

Voiced by: Hiromi Tsuru (Japanese, female voice), Hisao Egawa (Japanese, male voice), Cassandra Morris (English, GX), and Eileen Stevens (tenth anniversary movie)


 * Ambiguous Gender: Go to a forum and ask what Yubel's gender was when it was human. I dare you.
 * Ax Crazy
 * Big Bad: Season 3.
 * The Chessmaster
 * Clingy Jealous Girl
 * Creepy Monotone
 * Deadpan Snarker: Post Heel Face Turn
 * Demonic Possession: over Martin and Johan.
 * Disproportionate Retribution
 * Expy: Of Yami Bakura and Yami Marik. She has the same hairstyle as both, a third eye like Yami Marik, gets similar bugly veins and a Nightmare Face to the latter as well, and has just as much craziness as both before her Heel Face Turn.
 * Face Heel Turn: Gets corrupted by the Light of Ruin after being sent in space by Judai.
 * Heel Face Revolving Door: ... And regains her sanity after fusing with Judai.
 * Forgotten Childhood Friend
 * Victorious Childhood Friend
 * Fusion Dance: With Judai
 * Karma Houdini
 * Knight of Cerebus
 * Love Makes You Evil
 * Literal Genie: She eventually does reunite Cobra with his son...by killing him.
 * Manipulative Bitch
 * Mismatched Eyes: Inherited by Judai after their Fusion Dance.
 * Murder the Hypotenuse: Or possess him, in this case.
 * Poisonous Friend
 * Psycho Ex-Girlfriend, technically...
 * Red Right Hand
 * Reincarnation Romance: ... on second thought, don't go there.
 * Stalker with a Crush
 * The Other Darrin: The tenth anniversary movie replaced Cassandra Morris from the anime with Eileen Stevens.
 * Villainous Breakdown
 * Xanatos Roulette
 * Yandere

Trueman
"The envoy of Darkness, who demonstrates an ever-increasing number of inhuman powers - teleportation, shapeshifting, ripping holes in the dimensional fabric to duel Judai, possession and the ability to erase people from existence, to name a few."

Voiced by: Hozumi Gouda


 * Cool Shades
 * Grand Theft Me: He doesn't so much swap bodies as copy their appearance, but he fools the entirety of Duel Academy's student body into thinking he's Sorano.
 * Meaningful Name: He claims he has no name, but tells Judai to call him "Trueman" as he always speaks the truth.
 * He's also called Mr. T.
 * Mega Manning: His deck becomes more and more powerful every time he duels as he collects cards from his fallen victims.
 * Me's a Crowd
 * New Powers as the Plot Demands
 * The Dragon: To Darkness
 * Unperson: Any duelist he defeats is erased from existence and memory and all evidence that they ever existed vanishes.

Darkness (Nightshroud)
"Initially a minor villain in season one, he briefly returns in season two, and ultimately as the Big Bad of sefason 4. He works through Trueman before revealing himself in the end."

Voiced by: Hozumi Gouda


 * Anthropomorphic Personification: of Darkness.
 * Assimilation Plot
 * Big Bad: Season 4, making him the Final Boss.
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Enemy Within: For Fubuki
 * Expy: Partially for Yami Bakura, in that they are both initially minor recurring villains that end up being their respective series' final Big Bad.
 * The Grim Reaper: More or less has this look, physically, though he lacks a scythe.
 * Unknown Rival: A very rare case of an inversion, seeing as he's the Big Bad. He doesn't seem to regard Judai any differently from the rest of the cast, having no personal issue with him whatsoever.

Yugi Mutou (Yugi Muto)
"The former world champion and protagonist of the original series."

Voiced by: Shunsuke Kazama (Japanese) and Dan Green (English)


 * The Faceless: His eyes are never revealed in GX's time, but they are in the past.
 * Passing the Torch: The first episode.

Seto Kaiba
"Founder of Duel Academy and designer of the Duel Disks."

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese) and Eric Stuart (English)


 * Batman Gambit: His deal with the elder Manjoume brothers in Turn 35.

Pegasus J. Crawford (Maximillon Pegasus)
"Creator of Duel Monsters and owner of Industrial Illusions."

Voiced by: Jirou Jay Takasugi (Japanese) and Darran Dunstan (English)
 * Big Good
 * Character Development: Has become noticably more composed and mature.
 * Secret Test of Character: His duel with Chronos and Napoeleon.

Judai Yuki (Jaden Yuki)

 * Big Brother Mentor: To Sho.
 * Break the Cutie
 * Eleventh-Hour Superpower:
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Ryuga, who forces the students he defeats to give him their cards.
 * Sadistic Choice: Chronos forces him to duel Sho. If he wins, Sho will be expelled, and if he loses, his deck will be confiscated. He decides to win, and it turns out that Sho's 0 on the last test, the reason he was in trouble, was not his final grade.
 * Sentai/ShonenUpgrade: Masked Heroes.
 * The Hero
 * To Be a Master: Aspires to duel professionally like his mentor, Koyo Hibiki.

Jun Manjoume (Chazz Princeton)

 * Adaptational Badass: His anime counterpart suffered from The Worf Effect. No such thing happens here.
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Deuteragonist
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: His whole Deck.
 * Special mention goes to Light and Darkness Dragon, the only spirit card in the manga besides Kuriboh and dangerous enough to scare the Big Bad.
 * Screw the Money, I Have Rules: Has to prove to his peers that he wasn't only admitted to the academy because of his family's wealth.
 * The Rival
 * The Stoic: As opposed to his anime self.
 * To Be a Master: Aspires to duel professionally like his idol, Koyo Hibiki.
 * Yin-Yang Bomb: His ace, "Light and Darkness Dragon".
 * You Monster!: Calls Tragoedia this after the latter refers to humans as insects. He states he'd rather be an insect than a monster.

Daichi Misawa (Bastion Misawa)

 * Disproportionate Retribution: The first time we see him with Judai, he's freaking out because the latter somehow has Asuka's cell number, which is the result of him often borrowing things from her.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: See above, as well as when he overhears Ryo talking with her after her loss to David.
 * Irony: The genius and analyst of the group uses a deck based on Japanese Folklore.
 * Luminescent Blush: While in the presence of Asuka.
 * Ship Tease: With Asuka.
 * The Smart Guy
 * Youkai: His Deck.

Asuka Tenjoin (Alexis Rhodes)

 * Designated Girl Fight: Against Reggie.
 * Hello, Nurse!: Hates it (see Ms. Fanservice), but doesn't always notice (see Oblivious to Love).
 * Kill It with Ice: Her Deck focuses on the distribution of Ice Counters.
 * An Ice Person: All of her monsters
 * Ms. Fanservice: To her annoyance, especially when she unwillingly wins the school beauty pageant.
 * Oblivious to Love: Had no idea why Misawa was dueling Judai, even with the former's Luminescent Blush and Sho calling her a "Siren".
 * Ship Tease: With Misawa.
 * You Go, Girl!

Sho Marufuji (Syrus Truesdale)

 * Adaptational Badass: Admittedly starts out as weak as before, but toughens up much more quickly this time around.
 * Cute Machines: Still plays Vehicroids, but uses entirely different ones.
 * Combining Mecha: Armorroid, the Solidroids and Barbaroid.
 * Power Armor: He has a card that enables him to thwart direct attacks, but if it gets taken off, he takes all the damage that was prevented.
 * Took a Level in Badass: To the point that Manjoume can soon count on him in a partner duel.
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Wants to be acknowledged by his brother.

Koyou Hibiki
"A professional duelist and World Champion who serves as both Judai's and Manjoume's inspiration and gave both of them their spirit cards. Is in a coma after losing a shadow game."


 * Big Brother Mentor: To Judai
 * Take Up My Sword: Knowing he was going to fall into a coma due to a shadow game, he gave Judai his deck and jacket.

Winged Kuriboh

 * Big Damn Heroes: After Judai loses to Tragoedia when the latter is possessing Fubuki, Kuriboh saves him from the penalty game. He does it again with Light and Darkness Dragon after Tragoedia's defeat, sealing him permanently.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: With Light and Darkness Dragon to seal Tragoedia for good.
 * Pokémon-Speak: Usually communicates with "kuri kuri".
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter
 * Soul Jar: For Tragoedia's heart

Midori Hibiki
"Koyo's older sister and a professor at Duel Academy Japan."


 * Badass Teacher:
 * Cool Big Sis: To Koyo by blood and to Judai by choice.
 * Cool Teacher
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Uses a Fallen Angel Deck.
 * Designated Girl Fight: Her only duel shown is against Reggie.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: In a sense,.
 * Hot Teacher

Emi Ayukawa

 * Agent Scully: There must be a logical explanation for multiple people falling unconscious after dueling today, just like at the Battle City Tournament. There's no way it's evil sorcery like the records claim.
 * Hello, Nurse!: Quite literally.

Seika Kohinata
"Winner of Miss Duel Academy two years in a row, she finds herself in a tie with Asuka in her third year."


 * Alpha Bitch
 * Green-Eyed Monster: To Asuka, who didn't want the title of Miss Academia (unlike her, who would have claimed the title three years running), but got it anyway.
 * Let's Get Dangerous: Once motivated to duel, she reveals a wicked Snake Deck. She still loses to Judai, though.
 * Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Has a snake deck.

Reggie Mackenzie
"A duelist from Duel Academy America. She's possesed by Tragoedia, but unlike her step brother, she's trying to fight it."


 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Co-Dragons: With David.
 * Disc One Final Boss: For Judai
 * Gender Blender Name
 * Light Is Not Good: Uses an Angel Lord Deck.
 * Love Interest: To Fubuki.
 * Jerkass: Even moreso than David, referring to her opponents as "human stepladders" and jerking people around even without the excuse of being possessed.

David Rabb
"The other Duelist from Duel Academy America and is also possessed by Tragodeia and after the Duel Spirits."


 * Ax Crazy
 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Combat Sadomasochist
 * Co-Dragons: With Reggie.
 * Jerkass
 * Obviously Evil
 * One Turn Kill: Against Asuka.
 * To the Pain: Rants on about how he enjoys pain in his duel with Manjoume.

Tragoedia
"The Big Bad of the Manga, an Ancient Egyptian manifestation of a man whose village was slaughtered to create the Millennium Items."


 * Achilles' Heel: The Feather of Ma'at.
 * Big Bad
 * Body Surf
 * Demonic Possession
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Energy Absorption: The Planet Series cards he distributes to the American students sap small amounts of energy from Duelists to aide in his resurrection.
 * Expy: Of Dark Bakura from Yu-Gi-Oh!.
 * For the Evulz: He claims at one point that he has no goal, he's simply bored. He later reveals this isn't true.
 * Karmic Death:
 * Meaningful Name: "Tragoedia" is Greek for "Tragedy".
 * The Man Behind the Man
 * The Power of the Sun: The Supremacy SUN, though it combines it with Casting a Shadow due to being a DARK Fiend-Type and having a solar eclipse in the card art.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: ACCURSED PRIESTS!!!
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Inflicts Penalty Games on his minions when they fail him.

Ryo Marufuji (Zane Truesdale)

 * Aloof Big Brother
 * Badass: OTKs Manjoume.
 * Badass Nickname: Notable in that he actually gets to stay "Kaiser" in the English, unlike the anime.
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons
 * Oblivious to Love: The only one besides Asuka not to notice Misawa's crush.
 * Theme Naming: His Cyber monsters are named for stars in the constellation Draco.

Fubuki Tenjoin (Atticus Rhodes)

 * Adaptational Badass: He goes from comic relief in the anime to beating Judai in the manga.
 * This is hinted at much earlier when a flashback shows the end result of what we're led to believe was a complete Curb Stomp Battle with David Rabb biting the proverbial curb. Remember that Rabb is one of the Co-Dragons who gave Manjoume a rough time when they dueled.
 * Blow You Away: Runs a WIND Winged-Beast Sphere Deck.
 * Badass Nickname: Fubuking. Asuka doesn't like it, though (or its less badass English counterpart, "Rhodie".)
 * The Comically Serious: Fubuki has some movement like when he notices Misawas crush on Asuka and gets annoyed when Ryo doesn't notices it
 * Demonic Possession: Falls victim to this, just like half of the rest of the cast.

James Crocodile Cook

 * Ax Crazy: Is the only one of the foreign champions who willingly aides Tragoedia. Just as crazy as David was.
 * Eye Scream: Guess what's under the bandages. Just try to guess.
 * Making a Splash: His Alligator cards are WATER-Attribute, and his Legendary Planet is The Tyrant NEPTUNE.
 * Non-Indicative Name: His uses an Alligator Deck. No crocodiles to be found.
 * Nice Hat
 * Sinister Scythe: A colossal one is wielded by NEPTUNE.
 * Slasher Smile: Sports a nice one while possessed by Tragoedia. The Eye Scream didn't help.

Amon Garam (Adrian Gecko)

 * Big Brother Instinct: Why does he want to become a professional duelist? To pay for his little brother's operation! Awww...
 * Time to Unlock More True Potential: His Sealed Beasts depend on the Sealed Mantra Spell to activate their effects, without it they're essentially Normal Monsters.
 * Took a Level In Kindness: Compared to his anime self.

Johan Anderson (Jesse Anderson)

 * Beetle Maniac: And the rest of the Insecta Class, apparently.
 * Bug Catching: Apparently his main pastime.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: "Hey, did you see a butterfly go through here?"
 * Demoted to Extra: No Gem Beast cards, no Ho Yay with Judai, just one instance of possession and a lot of bug chasing.

Austin O'Brien (Axel Brodie)

 * Amateur Sleuth: Attempting to find the source of the Shadow Duels, and actually does a decent job before...
 * Demonic Possession: The real reason he was sent to Duel Academy, just like every other American!
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: Tragoedia covers his tracks well.
 * Meaningful Name: His Legendary Planet is Mars, and his monsters all have military-themed names (Electro Sergeant, Division etc). Mars was the Roman God of War.
 * Shock and Awe: What his Deck theme seems to be at first due to his Machines having names like 'Electro Sergeant'.

Edo Phoenix (Aster Phoenix)

 * Evil Counterpart: The Grand JUPITER to Judai's The EARTH.
 * Tyke Bomb: Tragoedia claims to have raised him for this purpose.
 * Unwitting Pawn: Just like his anime counterpart with Saiou and DD, has no clue that his adoptive father and mentor is Tragoedia's puppet, or that he's giving people over to Tragoedia.

Elemental Heroes
Judai's core deck theme revolving around low-level monsters based on comic book superheroes, they can fuse together and use support cards to perform powerful combos.


 * Barbarian Hero: Wildheart.
 * Bat Signal: Hero Signal.
 * Elemental Powers: The base heroes all conform to one of the common elements: Avian, Sparkman, Burstinatrix, Clayman, Bubbleman, Necroshade, Blade-Edge, and eventually Neos. Then in the manga we get Plant-based Heroes like Knospe and Woodsman.
 * Fusion Dance: Their key strength, almost any two heroes can fuse together, so Judai always has plenty of options when it's time to fuse.
 * Gatling Good: Rampart Blaster
 * Light'Em Up: Shining Flame Wingman, Electrum, and Neos and some of its fused forms.
 * Magikarp Power: Without their support cards or Fusion cards the individual heroes are pretty weak. But once you get the cards you need for a combo or a Fusion, watch out.
 * Power Gives You Wings: Flame Wingman and Shining Flare Wingman.

Neo Spacians
An archetype based on cards Judai designed as a child, they were sent into space on a time capsule and infused with cosmic energy. They consist of the six base Neo-Spacians, Elemental Hero Neos, and some other non Neo-Spacian cards that still fit the general theme/idea, like Rallis the Star Bird.


 * Bat Signal: N-Signal
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Dark Panther.
 * Elemental Powers: One Neo-Spacian for each of the game's six Attributes: Flare Scarab, Grand Mole, Aqua Dolphin, Air Hummingbird, Dark Panther, and Glow Moss.
 * Energy Beings: Glow Moss
 * Fusion Dance: Contact Fusion, a unique method of fusing not needing a Fusion-type card to initiate.
 * Sapient Cetaceans: Aqua Dolphin.
 * Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Once Judai picks them up in Season 2 most of his victories in the rest of the series come about due to a Neo-Spacian, Neos, or some fusion of the two.
 * This Is a Drill: Grand Mole.
 * Yin-Yang Bomb: Chaos Neos

Cyber Dragons/Cyberdark Dragons
Ryo's key deck theme, he uses the Cyber Dragons in Season 1, prefers the new Cyberdarks in Season 2, and in Seasons 3 and 4 utilizes both with deadly efficiency.


 * Animal Mecha
 * Breath Weapon: Cyber Dragon's attack, Evolution Burst
 * Dark Is Evil/Light Is Good: Ryo is a good guy when using Cyber Dragon, but following his Face Heel Turn he uses the Cyberdarks to fit his new persona
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Once he turns back to good he still uses the Cyberdarks. However, the only usage he makes of the Cyber Dragons while evil is as fodder to power up the Cyberdarks, so Light Is Not Good is mostly averted.
 * Dragons Up the Yin-Yang: Played straight as can be with the Cyber Dragons and Cyberdarks representing the two halves of the symbol.
 * Evil Counterpart: The Cyberdarks to the Cyber Dragons.
 * Expy: Ryo's status as an Expy of Kaiba is hard to dispute when Cyber End Dragon looks like a combination of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon. By the same token, Cyberdark Dragon could be considered an Expy of Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
 * Fusion Dance
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons
 * One-Hit Kill: Ryo uses Chimeratech Overdragon to perform one, signaling his Face Heel Turn. Dedicated real life decks using Cyber Dragon and its variants can also pull these off.
 * Our Dragons Are Different
 * Power Trio: The Cyberdarks

Ojamas
Manjoume's spirit partners, to his disgust. Although he never stops insulting them, they become a key part of his deck as he adds more support cards for them over the course of the series.


 * Combination Attack: Ojama Delta Hurricane
 * Fusion Dance: Ojama King
 * Knight in Shining Armor: Ojama Knight
 * Meaningful Name: "Ojamashimasu" is a Japanese phrase roughly translating as "pardon me for interrupting/intruding". It's why the flavor text on the card mentions the Ojamas always butt in on things, and why their stronger cards fill up the opponent's Monster Zones.
 * Plucky Comic Relief
 * Shout-Out: Their mannerisms in the dub are based on the Three Stooges.
 * Stone Wall: Ojama King has 3000 defense, and Ojama Knight trails just after it with 2500.
 * Underwear of Power

Destiny Heroes
Edo's main monster themes, based on characters in British literature.


 * Bat Signal: Destiny Signal
 * Dark Is Not Evil
 * Evil Counterpart: To the Elemental Heroes, naturally.
 * Shout-Out: Many to English literature, such as Double Dude being based on Jekyll and Hyde.
 * Time Master: Their effects revolve around time control, with effects relying on doing things on later turns. For example, Diamond Dude lets you discard the top card of your deck, and if it's a Spell you can activate its effect on your next turn.

Phantom Demons (Sacred Beasts)
Three powerful and dangerous cards sealed under Duel Academy - Uria, Lord of Searing Flames; Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder; and Raviel, Lord of Phantasms.


 * Awesome but Impractical: At least with the God Cards, getting three monsters onto the field was fairly feasible. But good luck summoning these guys, whose summon requirements are to tribute three Continuous Traps, three Continuous Spells, and three Fiend-type Monsters.
 * Awesome but Practical: On the other hand, if you set up your deck specifically around them (for example, if you run a pure Fiend Deck for Raviel)...
 * Cards Of Mass Destruction: Once in play they begin to drain other cards of their energy.
 * Dem Bones: The three all bear skeletal features, Hamon being the most prominent.
 * Dub Name Change: Completely reversing the intent for them to be evil versions of the God Cards by calling them "Sacred Beasts".
 * Evil Counterpart: Of the Egyptian God Cards in the original series.
 * Large and In Charge
 * More Teeth Than the Osmond Family
 * Nested Mouths: Uria
 * Playing with Fire: Uria's attack.
 * Shock and Awe: Hamon's attack.
 * Spikes of Villainy