Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS/Characters/Knights of Hanoi

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 Hero:Come Season 2, although he still wants to destroy the Ignis, he holds a better relationship with Yusaku and acts cool and aloof, though ultimately helpful towards him, and puts aside his desire to kill Ai and Flame as he recognizes that Lightning and his faction are a much bigger issue.
 * 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
 * At Least I Admit It: Revolver doesn't bother hiding the fact that he remains dedicated to fulfilling his spoiler:late father's wishes of terminating the Ignis, and shoots down Playmaker's suggestion of letting go of his past hurts, instead outing him as a hypocrite on the grounds that Playmaker was once filled with a desire for vengeance.
 * 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. *Bishonen:Masked and hidden for majority of the First Season until his face reveal in episode #43. He basically fits the bill with his pretty face, light-blue eyes, long eyelashes, and slender build.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:
 * Black and White Insanity:Like his father, he adamantly believes that all of the Ignis must be terminated, including the ones who demonstrate no active hostility towards humanity.
 * Break Them by Talking :He tears apart Lightning verbally during their Duel, exposing his opponent for the petty motives behind the atrocities he committed leading up to the Cyberse World's destruction and Bohman's creation. Lightning explodes and attempts, without success, to silence Revolver from saying any more.
 * Byronic Hero:Charismatic, elegant, attractive, introspective, idealistic, ruthless in the pursuit of his goals, tragically flawed who's making amends for his father's conditions and carrying the guilt of his choices in the past.
 * 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)
 * Cassandra Truth: Time and time again, Playmaker fails to heed Revolver's warnings about what the Ignis are really up to. As revealed in the second season, [Lightning and Windy are both working together to rule over humanity from a Cyberse World beyond human reach, and Revolver instigating a Duel against Windy only adds fuel to the fire, regardless of the outcome of the Duel.
 * Defrosting Ice King: Despite claiming he would never be Yusaku’s friend and he still regretted being Yusaku’s voice of hope, in episode 73, Ryoken took the time to code a program that would protect Yusaku from being attacked like Jin had been attacked. He delivered it personally despite the risks of exposing himself since he knew Yusaku would trust him. Ryoken claimed he did this because an enemy of his enemy is his friend, but he seems to be starting to warm up to Yusaku.
 * Death of 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.
 * Enemy Mine: Double Subverted. Revolver initially defies it as he intends to delete Ai along with the antagonistic Lightning and Windy, but after Playmaker and Soulburner go after them, Spectre suggests the enemy of their enemy is their friend, and Revolver decides to let them fight it out for the time being.
 * 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.
 * Guilt Complex: He blames himself for pretty much everything that happened, because of his decision to save\ the victims of the Lost Incident, which eventually led to his father's condition.
 * Hairstyle Inertia:His hair is in the same style as it was in his youth.
 * 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
 * Insane Troll Logic: In episode 70, he claimed just because Ai called out to Lightning as Windy was being erased, he was the same as all of the Ignises. Even though Ai wants to coexist with humans and not subjugate them.
 * 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.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure:He actually cares deeply for his lieutenants, :even admits his regrets when they fell into a coma due to his obsession with Playmaker, and displays a level of concern for the victims of Lost Incident behind the scenes. All the while seeming like an indifferent jerk in front of them.
 * Right for the Wrong Reasons:His analyzing of the Ignis as a whole proved that as a group they would be a threat to humanity. He failed to study them as individuals which showed that while coexistence was possible for all Ignis save for Lightning, who singlehandedly leads the Ignis into becoming the threats with his corruptive influence on all other Ignis. His son eventually figures it out in his stead after his death.
 * The Strategist:Naturally. Aside from his sheer badassery in Dueling, he also demonstrates a lot of capacity for critical-thinking and a well-developed sense for tactics. As stated in Episode 69, he doesn't charge into an enemy's territory without a plan. He is leader for a reason.
 * 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.
 * Sheathe Your Sword: He does absolutely nothing in his Duel against Soulburner, leaving himself wide open for a direct attack. Soulburner attempts to deliver a One-Hit Kill, but his hesitation holds him back, abruptly ending the Duel with no result.
 * 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.
 * Took a Level In Badass: He makes a triumphant return in the second season and demonstrates that Playmaker isn't the only one with new skills by showcasing the might of Synchro Summoning.
 * 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.
 * The Worf Effect: Lightning refuses to accept an outright defeat from Revolver, instead taking both himself and his opponent out. The Duel was thought to have ended in a DRAW... but Lightning barely hangs on with 1 LP due to what little he had of Jin's consciousness data remaining, which he converted to extra LP to keep himself in the game. Lightning's status as leader of the rogue Ignis isn't just for show, not losing a single Duel up to that point.
 * 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), Billy Bob Thompson (English)


 * 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.
 * Sorry That I'm Dying:He can do little but apologise to Revolver before getting his consciousness data taken by Lightning.
 * 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.
 * The Worf Effect:He's effortlessly defeated by Lightning, to demonstrate the threat that the latter and his organisation pose to humanity. Justified, as Spectre was classified the weakest out of the five members in Playmaker's group.
 * 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.
 * Porperly Paranoid: Dr. Kogami was heavily afraid that the Ignis would attempt to subjugate humanity and eventually eradicate them. Lo and behold, that's exactly what Windy and Lightning want to do.
 * 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), Wolfe Scott (English)


 * 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.
 * Our Demons Are Different: His Helixx deck is made up of Fiends that are based upon DNA.
 * 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),Ryan Andes (English)


 * 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 (Clarissa Turner)/Baira
One of the Knights of Hanoi who gave the Data Gale to Dr. Genome.

Voiced by:Ami Koshimizu (Japanese),Syndi Szabo (English)


 * Ancient Egypt: Her deck is mummy themed and she uses Temple of the Kings, and some of the surgical elements her monsters are based upon surgical instruments used in the mummification and embalming process.
 * 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.
 * Deadly Doctor: Thematically, she is a doctor that uses a deck based upon mummies and surgical implements and virus cards.
 * 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.
 * Mummy: Baira uses a Dark Mummy deck, with elements of PlagueZombie due to her use of Virus cards.
 * 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.