Cardfight!! Vanguard: Difference between revisions

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* [[Bishonen]]: Kai, Kenji from Team Caesar, and Ren. [[Viewer Gender Confusion|Ren]] [[Dude Looks Like a Lady|especially]]. Aichi is more of a cute little boy. An entire team of these also makes an appearance, complete with [[Bishie Sparkle]] and the name Team Good-looking Men.

** And then there's the Foo Fighters sub-team, Brilliant Stars, which is full of [[Bishonen]] with obligatory [[Bishie Sparkle]], and even has an accompanying team of [[Fan Girl|fangirls]].

* [[Black Knight]]: The Shadow Paladins. Particularly Blaster Dark, given the second opening plays up the contrast between it and [[White Knight|Blaster Blade]].

* [[Blessed with Suck]]: {{spoiler|Misaki has a perfect memory, which as Kamui points out, could help the team analyze their opponents' Decks and prepare counters. Unfortunately, this 'perfect memory' seems so perfect she literally cannot forget anything and the memories even force themselves on her at times, including the traumatic ones involving her parents' deaths. Episode 24 details quite nastily the effect this has on her, culminating in an utter emotional breakdown.}}

{{quote|'''Misaki''': There are some things I don't want to remember.}}

* [[Blue Eyes]]

** [[Innocent Blue Eyes]]: Both Aichi and Emi have them. As do Misaki and the shop cat.

** [[Icy Blue Eyes]]: Asaka has these.

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** The 40th promotional card of Cardfight Vanguard is [http://i39.tinypic.com/fveovt.png Blaster Keroro: Sgt. Frog cosplaying as Blaster Blade].

*** The fact that he belongs to his own Clan makes fans think that there'll be more Cameo Cards in the future.

* [[Can't Catch Up]]: A ''lot'' of emphasis is placed on {{spoiler|Aichi and Ren's attempts to try and get good enough at Vanguard for Kai to acknowledge them, and how they are ultimately led to embrace their [[Psychic Powers|PSY]] [[The Corruption|Qualia]] to try and get stronger.}}

* [[Caramelldansen Vid]]: The [[Cardfight Vanguard]] version can be found [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sZeiLP517I Here.] There are spoilers in it, but (with the exception of {{spoiler|the three knights used in the final fight of the first season}}) they are about general character development and not plot events.

* [[Card Games]]: Duh.

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* [[Cross-Dressing Voices]]: Kamui.

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: At first, Misaki looks like the type who'll get curbstomped by Aichi since she's never played before. Then she proceeds to crush him, revealing that even though she's never played, she picked up the game rules just by watching from the counter of the card shop.

** Miwa is more of a straight example.

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: Every single Kai Cardfight after the first. Any game against [[Crippling Overspecialization|Morikawa]] becomes one in short course. {{spoiler|This rapidly becomes much less funny in Episode 24 when Misaki beats Aichi this way. It should be awesome. Seriously, it isn't, mainly because of the fact that the viewer can see just how screwed-up Misaki is to the point ''that she's hearing her dead parents' voices in memory announcing her plays''.}}

** {{spoiler|Ren versus Kenji Mitsusada, at the final fight of the National Championship. Completely one-sided. In fact, we never saw Ren Ride a Grade 3 unit, just the Grade 2 Blaster Dark. Despite that he won with no trouble at all.}}

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** Ahem, I believe it's "manager".

** Though the fact it was around when Misaki was around seven or eight may move it out of the 'kitten' age.

* [[Dark Is Evil]]: Team AL4 all run dark-themed Clans, Spike Brothers, Pale Moon, Dark Irregulars and Shadow Paladins. [[Sarcasm Mode|Surprise surprise]], they're the villains.

* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: Episode 64 shows that darkness isn't always necessarily evil with a single moment.

{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Aichi''': [[Wham! Line|Light isn't the only thing standing beside him.]] Darkness also stands with the [[Big Good|King of Knights]]. Stand, my avatar! I call... Blaster Dark!}}}}

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** Break the limit... Limit Break!

* [[Digging Yourself Deeper]]: An example shows in Episode 24. {{spoiler|Misaki is having the memories of her parents' deaths come back strongly, and is literally torn between the game and the memories. All the others, bar Shin (who can tell something's wrong), are doing is talking about how her [[Blessed with Suck|'perfect memory']] will help them win Nationals. }}

* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: As {{spoiler|Aichi}} falls further under the influence of Psyqualia, his attitude during battle begins to take this stance. What might be worse is that he gives off both a more confident presence than before, but also a sort of "broken" feeling even though he's now more powerful.

* [[Double Standard Abuse (Female on Male)]]: Nagisa's [[Unrequited Love]] for Kamui tends to lead to her chasing and tackling him despite his highly vocal protests. This is [[Played for Laughs]].

* [[The Dragon]]: Tetsu to Ren.

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* [[Ironic Echo]]: [http://i52.tinypic.com/30078d1.png MOVE IT! IF YOU ARE NOT GRADE 3, I HAVE NO USE FOR YOU! NO USE FOR YOU! NO USE FOR YOU! FOR YOU! FOR YOU! YOU! Morikawa: Crap!]

* [[JAM Project]]: Sings both the 1st and 2nd opening. They're also scheduled to sing the opening of the second season.

* [[Jerkass]]: Ren.

** [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]: On a level, Kai. Kamui to some extent as well, who can get pretty rude towards people he doesn't respect.

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Ren, fullstop. {{spoiler|After Aichi's loss to Tetsu, he shows up, initially to talk to Kai, but it quickly turns into the guy pretty much verbally kicking Aichi up and down the street over the loss. And the worst part is, it looks like it's [[Heroic Blue Screen of Death|sinking in]]...}}

** Another case of Kick the Dogs or World:

{{quote|'''MC''': Could you say a few words to Cardfighters across the nation?

'''Ren''': Everyone was quite strong. *changes to a Slasher Smile* [[Take That|Please continue doing your best at wasting time and effort]].

'''MC''': And how about a few words to the people you fought against?

'''Ren''': There's nothing to say.

'''MC''': Then what did you think about the tournament this year?

'''Ren''': It was boring. }}

** {{spoiler|Aichi}} at the end of Episode 47, Kamui's expression in the next episode certainly carries a heavy hint of 'kicked dog'.

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* [[Magical Girl]]: Top Idol Pacifica looks and acts a bit like one.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: One of the meanings for the kanji for Sendou is 'vanguard'.

** Team Foo Fighter AL4 may turn out to have one. 'Foo Fighter' was a term used by WWII fighter pilots to refer to what we now call 'UFOs'. Of course, it's also a [[Punny Name]].

* [[Mind Rape]]: Ren to Aichi in Episode 64.

* [[Minor Injury Overreaction]]: May overlap with [[Shout-Out]]. Morikawa freaks out whenever he takes damage and visibly cringes, in a way that is reminiscent of [[Yu-Gi-Oh (anime)|another card game anime.]]

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** Mr. Invincible, Soul Blast! Aichi: SAY WHAT?! Kamui: With Mr. Invincible's skill, I stand all units!

** Another [[Oh Crap]] used for comedic effect is in Episode 37: Emi: First check! *Critical trigger* I got it, what good luck! Kamui: [[Tempting Fate|Bravo! Go ahead, draw one more (critical trigger)]]! Emi: Second check! *Critical trigger* Look! Two stars! Kamui: C-congrat- *gets hit by Flores [Emi]* ...ulations!

** Kyou gets this in Episode 41 when {{spoiler|Aichi}} starts to remind him of Ren. Especially when {{spoiler|Aichi}} calls a second Young Pegasus Knight to replace the defeated first, having predicted that Young Pegasus Knight would be the card he won the game with.

** All the major characters at the Finals when {{spoiler|Aichi plays Blaster Dark, fearing that he'll change under Psyqualia's influence again.}}

* [[One Steve Limit]]: Averted with regards to the game. Because the card-pool is so small, currently several characters run the same cards. This is best shown by Episode 6 where Aichi faces another Royal Paladin player, and the first few turns consist of the two playing off the exact same cards.

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** {{spoiler|To say nothing of Aichi's behavior in Episode 41...}}

*** {{spoiler|All the more aggravating in that Kai takes that exact next episode to push the poor guy over the edge [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|BECAUSE]] his out of character actions reminded him too much of Ren.}}

* [[Our Angels Are Different]]: Soul Savior Dragon looks very much angelic, though it is referred to by Aichi as a ''god''.

** The clan Angel Feather is filled with angels who worked as nurses, and some wield gatling guns. Justified since some of them served as security to the medical team on the battlefield.

* [[Our Dragons Are Different]]: Aichi's Soul Saver Dragon looks more like a cross between a knight, a dragon and a (female) angel than a typical dragon. So far he (she?) is the obvious exception, as most of the other dragons we have seen look pretty typical.

* [[Our Mermaids Are Different]]: Top Idol Flores is a cross between a mermaid and an idol singer. Arguably the same goes for Top Idol Aqua, maybe for Blazer Pleasures and Girls Rock, Rio looked more like a gill girl than a mermaid. Bermuda Triangle Cadet Caravel seems to be a more usual type of mermaid.

* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]: Aichi more-or-less realizes that Ninja Master M is actually Mr. Mark within five seconds of meeting him. To be fair, the man himself threw out a hint:

{{quote|'''Ninja Master M:''' Have you figured out how you would survive? ''(This is a [[Call Back]] to the first episode where Mr. Mark asked Aichi how he'd survive in a given historical period during a history lesson)''}}

** Kamui, in the first National Tournament, tries to disguise himself with [[Epic Fail|just a pair of glasses]]. His disguise was immedately saw through by Eiji and Reiji though.

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* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]:

** [[Hot-Blooded]] Kamui and [[The Stoic]] Kai have this dynamic. {{spoiler|In episode 26, this culminates in an angry outburst from Kamui, who quits Team Q4 for the remainder of the tournament because he can't stand to fight alongside Kai anymore.}}

** Card Shop PSY has the energetic, outspoken Rekka ("blazing flame") and the calm, patient Suiko ("water tiger"). They're [[~~Colour~~-Coded for Your Convenience]].

** Card Shop PSY has the energetic, outspoken Rekka ("blazing flame") and the calm, patient Suiko ("water tiger"). They're [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience]].

* [[Red Shirt]]: Wearing black Fight Gloves is a good general indication that you won't be lasting long. Made especially clear with {{spoiler|Yahagi Kyou}} as he is the ''only'' {{spoiler|Foo Fighter}} to lose a match. Subverted by {{spoiler|Jurassic Army}} who quickly established themselves as the series' [[Badass Normal]] team.

* [[Red String of Fate]]: Played with in-universe: In episode 21 Nagisa throws and ties an actual red string on Kamui's pinky (despite the two being on opposite sides of the playfield), and then declares she loves him. Kamui is... not thrilled by the obvious implications.

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** His eyes are 'finally' shown in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment in Episode 18, and another - just as brief - moment in ep. 22. And then a rather longer one in Episode 24. [[Tear Jerker|There's a reason for that.]]

* [[School Uniforms Are the New Black]]: Pretty much played straight at first, but subverted when everyone gets new casual outfits for the summer.

* [[Sempai Kouhai]]: Team Caesar seems to take this approach with Team Q4, going so far as to invite them to the Caesar [[It Makes Sense in Context|Vanguard Training Camp.]]

* [[Serious Business]]: Card games, what else?

** Averted too, to some extent. When it comes down to it, Cardfight Vanguard is really just about kids playing a card game casually, without worrying about [[Yu-Gi-Oh (anime)|the fate of the world]] or [[Duel Masters|monsters that actually exist and can hurt players.]]

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* [[Spoiler Opening]]: The first opening shows a lot of characters that appear later in the series. Some appear relatively early (Kamui in Episode 5 and the PSY trio in Episode 6) while others appear (much) later {{spoiler|(Gouki and co do not appear until Episode 14, after the Shop Tournament ends, while Ren Suzugamori appears first in Episode 23, after the Regionals end)}}. Averted with the second opening.

* [[Status Quo Is God]]: In episode 51, Morikawa {{spoiler|receives a well-balanced deck when he forgets [[Crippling Overspecialization|his own]], and wins every fight he's in.}} Then at the end of episode 52, {{spoiler|he "powers it up" with a bunch of Grade 3's, and goes back to always losing immediately.}}

* [[Stealth Insult]]: Ren Suzugamori's dialog consists of either this or just flat out insults.

* [[The Stoic]]: Kai.

* [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]: Mr. Mark in Episode 11, when asked about the bag he's carrying:

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** And Knight of Godspeed, Galahad, as well. Activating his skill twice and getting a double Critical Trigger gives you a Critical 5.

** Taken to another level with Vajra Thunder Emperor, Indra. It gets a Critical 6 when you have another 3 units of the same name in your Rear Guard and gets a double Critical Trigger. All in the cost of Counter-Blast 1.

** This trope basically works every time a player gets a double Critical Trigger when your opponent is at 5 damages.

* [[They're Called "Personal Issues" for a Reason]]: This is pretty much Kai's response to Aichi, Miwa and Kamui following him to find out where he lives and what caused his personality to change.

* [[This Loser Is You]]: In Episode 32 after {{spoiler|Aichi loses his round, and knocking Team Q4 out of the tournament (for real)}}, Ren proceeds to rub it in has face. Furthermore, the next episode has the team only able to watch as Team AL4 completely pulverizes the competition {{spoiler|and not surprisingly win the Nationals}}.

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Aichi due to his {{spoiler|PSY Qualia}} in Episode 41.

* [[Took a Level in Badass]]: Aichi due to his {{spoiler|PSY Qualia}} in Episode 41.

** In episode 51 {{spoiler|Morikawa of all people. He forgot [[Crippling Overspecialization|his deck]] the day of the free-for-all shop tournament and Shin loaned him a structure deck.}} He spends the rest of the episode curbstomping people {{spoiler|while moaning about how the deck ony has one Grade 3 unit.}} [[Status Quo Is God|It doesn't last, though...]]

** {{spoiler|As of his victories against Koutei in episode 56 and Ren in episode 65, Aichi is officially [[Badass]] even without PSY Qualia.}}

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[[Category:Nakamura Productions]]

[[Category:Toshihiko Masuda]]

[[Category:Cardfight!! Vanguard]]

[[Category:Fantasy Anime and Manga]]

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]