Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V/Characters: Difference between revisions

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==The Lancers==
==The Lancers==
===Noboru Gongenzaka (Gong Strong)==
{{quote|Voiced by: Yohei Obayashi (JP), Billy Bob Thompson(EN)}}
One of Yuyas best friend who is seen regularly hanging around with him. He is not the student of You show instead he is a heir to his family dojo but he is regularly seen hanging out with his friends in Youshow. He later becomes one of the lancers. Gongenzaka's Superheavy Samurai deck has no Spell or Trap cards at all, and many of his monster effects can only be activated when he has no S/T in his Graveyard
----
*[[Acrofatic]]: Well, he's more big than fat, but the sizeable guy goes on morning runs. Episode 30 shows that he's actually pretty muscular.
*can learn, he doesn't care if he has to beg.
*[[Badass]]: Karate-chopped through Battleguard Mad Shaman's spike without flinching. He also saves Yuya by holding up a stone pillar twice his size with no injury. Granted, it was Solid Vision, but still dangerous. Also, he fought his way halfway to Kurosaki's solitary confinement cell armed only with his (metal) geta.
*[[Badass Back]]: In his duel against Ankokuji, he goes into the arena and gives him the back in order to show his dislike for him as well as to show his new black belt. And damn, he looked badass.
*[[Beware the Nice Ones]]: He's really a nice and easy-going guy, but get on his bad side or face him in a duel, and he'll show you what Steadfast Dueling is really about.
*[[The Big Guy]]: He is very definitely one of the bigger characters. His deck also runs a Stone Wall strategy.
*[[Bully Hunter]]: He protected Yuya when they were younger, from those who wanted to beat him up for being a coward's son.
*[[Catch Phrase]]:
**"Unforgivable, this is unforgivable, [person name]!"
**Also some variation of "The manly Gongenzaka!"
*[[Childhood Friends]]: With Yuya.
*[[Determinator]]: He never gives up, believing in his deck to the end. And if he get's hit by an attack, he'll keep himself on his feet and get pushed backwards, unless it wipes him out.
*[[Dub Name Change]]: Gong Strong.
*[[Everything's Better with Samurai]]: His deck's motif.
*[[Expy]]: He's essentially a beefed-up version of Jonouchi and Tetsuo.
*[[Foil]]:
**He's one to Yuya. They are both heirs to their schools with unusual decks, Yuya having a Pendulum deck and Gongenzaka uses a deck without Spells or Traps. Yuya is a Stepford Smiler, while Gongenzaka is very open about his emotions. Even their dueling styles are the exact opposite, Yuya runs about using Action Cards compared to the steady Gongenzaka that refuses to budge.
**On the Lancers he and Sawatari are foils. Gongenzaka is steadfast and loyal friend that has willing let stepped out of the limelight to protect them while Sawatari is an egoistical glory hound who can't stand anyone badmouthing him. Gongenzaka understands the emotional effects of being a child soldier while Sawatari was giddy at being a Lancer. Gongenzaka is loyal to his dueling style while Sawatari has changed his decks after each lost.
*[[Gentle Giant]]: He can be a bit stuffy, but he's a pretty nice guy.
*[[Good Is Not Soft]]: One of the nicest, most morally upright characters on the show, and he's proven himself perfectly capable of kicking lots of ass.
*[[Graceful Loser]]: He didn't really mind losing to Yuya and was simply happy to force Yuya to pass his limits. And again when he is defeated by Crow.
*[[Heir to the Dojo]]: And heir of said dojo's Dueling style that he uses with pride.
*[[Hot-Blooded]]: Odd example; he's a very staunch and enthusiastic proponent of his own family's Steadfast Dueling style, which means that he doesn't care for the other Hot-Blooded characters running around during Action Duels, as "real men don't make unnecessary movements." While he can be very emotional, Gongenzaka is one of the most level-headed characters and tries tokeep the others in line when they are acting unreasonably.
*[[Japanese Pronouns]]: The manly Gongenzaka uses the masculine pronoun ore.
*[[Large Ham]]: The manly Gongenzaka is most definitely this.
*[[Last Name Basis]]: His family name is used to refer to him both when he references himself and by all his friends. His father is the only person who calls him by his first name.
*[[Let's Fight Like Gentlemen]]: The manly Gongenzaka values honor and mutual respect in duels.

Revision as of 21:38, 2 June 2016


The Main Characters

Yuya Sakaki

Voiced by: Kensho Ono (JP), Michael Lisco Jr(EN)

The main protagonist of the series Yuya aims to become an Entertainment Duelist to make people smile. As the series goes on he is forced to abound his entertainment style and focuses on dealing interdenominational war in order to save his childhood friend Yuzu but he will try his base to make people happy and smile.As the show goes on Yuya learns that he has doppelgangers who share his face: Yuto (Xyz), Yugo (Synchro) and Yuri (Fusion).


  • The Ace: He's the best duelist of the You Show Duel School, though there are only six students there.
  • All-Loving Hero: Yuya deeply cares about making people happy and smile through duels even his enemies.
  • Always Save the Girl: While he gladly helps the Lancers and wants to save the dimensions, he makes Yuzu's safety his top priority. He spends the Friendship Cup dueling so he can broadcast his message of peace to the Tops and Commons, but wanted to forgo his duel so people could help Yuzu after she crashed into a building. Reiji even points out how Yuya keeps putting Yuzu before everybody. It also doesn't stop at just Yuzu bu the also intends to save Ruri and Rin as well who are the xyz and synchro counterpart of yuzu
  • Anime Hair: Like his predecessors in other Yu-Gi-Oh! installments, his hair is pretty out there. However, it's more subdued in comparison, and the "out there" part comes more from the hair colors; half red and half green.
  • Badass: He nearly took down Strong Ishijima, the world champion, and that was before he got his Pendulum Cards, with which he did win. His badassery has only increased since then as he continually brings out ever stronger Extra Deck monsters and evolves his dueling to new heights, trouncing many powerful opponents and holding his own against Reiji Akaba, a world-famous dueling genius. In the finale of Season 2 he beats Jack Atlas, the King of Riding Duels who was previously invincible for years and is the strongest duelist in the Synchro Dimension.
  • Badass Adorable:He gets somany cute movemnets
  • Badass Biker:He becomes a riding duelist during the synchro saga and he is shown to pull some amazing stunts while riding a big
  • Badass Boast:Gave a pretty nice one during his second duel with Jack where he declares that he will save the city and make everyone smile
  • Badass in Distress:He was capture by roger who intend to mind control him
  • Berserk Button: Using duelings as war is a major button for him
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Yuya is the one of the most nicest character you would have interact in the show so far but when he gets angry he is more scarier than any other characters
  • Big Brother Instinct: He has grown protective towards Reira while in the Synchro Dimension and uses his duels to both protect him from Security and in attempts to make him smile. In episode 59, he's more worried over Reira's disappearance than he and the others being captured by Security. In episode 67, he questions Reiji's decision to allow Reira to join a dangerous battle and declares to him that if Reiji would not protect Reira, he will.
  • Big Brother Mentor: Yuya acts this to the students of Youshow as well as Reira
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • In Episode 4, when Yuzu and the kids finally fall, Yuya has his newly returned Pendulum Monsters rescue them.
    • In episode 89, he arrives just in time as Reira starts to suffer from PTSD and exhaustion.
    • In episode 99, when Jack and Crow's Big Damn Heroes moment nearly kills Yuzu in the progress, Yuya saves her from her fall with the help of Whip Viper and Discover Hippo.
  • Book Dumb: Yuya mentions in Episode 19 that he is bad at science and math.
  • Butt Monkey: He has his movements
  • Character Development He gets somany development in the series so far
  • Childhood Friends: With Yuzu and Gongenzaka. He met Gongenzaka 3 years ago and has been friends with Yuzu at least since the opening of the You Show Duel school.
  • Chess Motif: Roget sees him as the White Knight.
  • Dark is not Evil
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: How does Yuya beat Jack in Episode 98? By using Niranva High Paladin's Pendulum Effect to weaken Red Dragon Archfiend Tyrant, allowing Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to finish it off with a rainbow-colored Spiral Strike Burst.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Jack becomes a lot friendlier towards Yuya at the end of their second Duel, even though he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  • Determinator
  • Disappeared Dad: Yuya's father Yusho was a popular Duelist, but three years ago, he no-showed an event and hasn't been seen since. Mentioning anything about his father is one of the only times Yuya won't be smiling.
  • Expy: Mostly of Judai with his surface personality and somehow of his appearance, and Yuma with his backstory, with a dose of Yusei's dueling style, and his inner depression about what he thinks may be his fault. Also of Yugi and Kaito Kuroba. His Superpowered Evil Side gives him another parallel with Judai, and his dragon resonating like the Signer Dragons is another parallel with Yusei. His belief that every card has a use is also like Yusei. That being said, see Contrasting Sequel Main Character.

see tears in his eyes, hinting at his Stepford Smiler personality.

  • Friend to All Children: Yuya seems to care deeply about children, being close to the kids in You Show and becoming very protective of Reira the second he saw that Reira was scared.
  • Full-Name Basis: He and Reiji refer to each other by their full names.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Yuya was already disliked and called a coward by the Commons. Episode 80 has them brand him as a spy for the Tops and hated even more. Roget coming to congratulate him does not help. It only gets worse when even Sam and Crow lose faith in him.
  • Heroes Love Dogs: He loves his mom's pet dogs.
  • Heroic BSOD:Happens somany times
  • Identical Stranger:Like Yuzu he has three
    • First is Yuto who is a member of Resistance ad has come from warzon XYZ Dimension
    • Second is Yugo who is a hot headed d-wheeler from synchro dimension and is searching someone precious to him
    • the last one is Yuri who is a physcophatic academia soldier
  • Idiot Hero:At times but gradually grows out of it as series progress
  • Kick the Son of a Bitch: Whenever it's his Superpowered Evil Side, he usually decimates his opponents and they deserve it.
  • Kind Hearted Cat Lover: He loves his mom's pet cats.
  • King of Games: Dethrones Jack and takes over his position as "King", not only in Riding Duels, but also in Entertainment Dueling.
  • Large Ham: He tends to treat Duels like a show, so he is very hammy and dramatic, although not all the time. He's much more normal outside of a duel though.
  • Loser Son of Loser Dad: His father got a reputation as a Dirty Coward for his no-show and disappearance. Many people mock Yuya and declare that he must be a coward as well.
  • Multicolored Hair: His hair is both red and green. It mimics the Pendulum Card color scheme.
  • Nice Guy:He is a friendly and a outgoing person
  • Only Sane Man:
  • Red Is Heroic: He is the main character, he has red hair, red eyes, a red shirt, a red Duel Disk and his ace is a red dragon.
  • Tears of Joy:
    • He is so moved by Yuzu's duel in episode 69, he starts crying.
    • Again in episode 99 when he and Yuzu are briefly reunited.
  • Took a Level in Badass: So many times
  • Worthy Opponent: He sees Gongenzaka, Reiji, and Sawatari as ones. And after Episode 97, Jack calls him "interesting".

Yuzu Hiragi (Zuzu Boyle)

Voiced by: Yunna Inumara (JP), Emily Jenss(EN)

The main heorine of the series and Yuyas Childhood Friend unlike Yuya she is quite rational and rather quick to use her temper.She often carries a paper fan in her person in which she uses it on Yuya and her father whenever they pisses her off similar to Yuya Yuzu has doppelgangers through out other dimensions: Ruri (Xyz), Rin (Synchro) and Serena (Fusion).Yuzu uses a Meldious deck that focuses on Special summoning but after losing to Masumi she decided to learn fusion summoning from Sora and now she specilize in fusion summoning


  • Action Girl:She is also a duelist like Yuya. She proves to be this where she Badassly defeat Masumi in their rematch.She is also the only girl along with Olga to make it to the junior youth top 8
  • All-Loving Heroin:Much like Yuya Yuzu cares about keeping everyone safe and is deeply against harming others but like Yuya she has also gotten bitten in her ass
  • Always Save The Boy: She deeply wants to end the Interdimensional war and will do anything to keep everyone safe, but if she thinks Yuya either is hurt or depressed, she will drop whatever she was doing to help him. Yugo even lampshades this after her duel in episode 69.
  • Amazon Brigade: Her deck seems to mostly contain female, Fairy/Angel-type Fantasia monsters.
  • Badass Adorable: She has her cute moments.
  • Biker Babe:She becomes a D-Wheeler during frendship cup arc
  • Berserk Button:
    • Meriu became this to her whenever she calls Yuya darling.
    • Taking pleasure in hurting others pisses her of like anything
  • Break The cutie:Not to Yuyas extent but she does gets tortured as well
  • Burning with Anger:In episode 27 when Meriu called Yuya darling she burst out in anger like anything
  • Butt Monkey: She was this in Episode 55 when she was reasonably nervous about a dueling while riding on a motorcycle and that it was Yugo driving it.
  • Character Development:The first few episodes played up to her Tsundere side like she had a very short tempered but after meeting Yuto and suffering some Heroic Bosed she becomes more serious and determined to protect her friends no matter what and her paper fans are now usally reserved for her father
  • Childhood Friend:With Yuya
  • Clingy Jealous Girl:She gets angry whenever Meriu calls her darling
  • Cool Big Sis:Acts this to the students in Youshou
  • Determinator: In Episodes 3-4, she refused to give up even as she was dangling from a tower. Also demonstrated by her will to fight for her friends and school. She later spent an entire night running away from Yuri in Episode 47.
  • Demoted to Extra: In the Synchro Dimension arc, where she went from the Deuteragonist to just a member of the (many) supporting characters.
  • Dub Name Change: Zuzu Boyle.
  • Damsel in Distress:Despite her skills and when she is cornerd by Yuri she begs Yuya to save her.Later Sergey kindnapp her and took her to roger
  • Expy: Partially of Anzu and Aki, due to being the Nice Girl best friend of the main character that defends him from bullies that belittled him (albeit with Gongenzaka doing so more physically), and her undefined abilities as a bracelet wielder bringing the analogue with Aki being a Signer, and suffers great confusion over them. And Kotori, for having the most open attraction and reciprocated at that to Yuya, due to a lot of Ship Tease between them.
  • just horrifying.
  • Girlish Pigtails: She wears her hair in this style, complete with blue barrettes.
  • Girly Bruiser: Both she and her deck are overtly feminine, and she's proven herself to be a capable duelist
  • Hair Decorations: A pair of blue clips over her pigtails.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Like any Tsundere, she has this, but she has mainly grown out of this by character development.
  • The Heart
  • Heroic BSOD: After she encounterd Yuto she was confused by his resemblance over Yuya it only took about eight episodes for her to recover
  • Identical Stranger: Like Yuya, she has three. They also each wear a bracelet just like her, although their bracelets don't seem to exhibit any powers. Professor's plan revolves around gathering all four of them for unknown reasons.
    • To Ruri, a comrade of Yuto's, and Kurosaki's younger sister. This is why Yuto dueled Sawatari in her place, and why Kurosaki mistook Yuzu for Ruri when he first saw her.
    • She's also one to Serena from Academia, as revealed in Episode 38.
    • And Rin, Yugo's precious person, who grew up in the slums and wanted to make a name for herself. She also has bracelet, but hers does not function the same way as Yuzu's.
  • Light Is Good: Her monsters are LIGHT monsters.
  • Living MacGuffin:She and her counterparts currently serves as this to Professor Leo Akaba for currently unknown reason
  • Ms. Fanservice: Averted for the majority of the time, which differs her a lot from the other YGO heroines. She gets her first fanservice moment in episode 62. Her second is a silhouetted Shower Scene in Episode 106.
  • Multicolored Hair: Has dark pink hair and two bangs that are light pink, similar to Serena, Ruri and Rin.
  • Nice Girl: She's kind-hearted and shows it most of the time, though she won't hesitate to use her paper fan as a weapon when the situation calls for it.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech:She and Reiji gave Roget a very good one in episode 98 fore his Sore Loser and Dirty Coward attitude
  • Rose-Haired Sweetie:
  • Ship Tease:Mostly with Yuya
  • Took a Level in Badass: Attempts this by asking Sora to teach her about Fusion Summoning. The results are finally shown in Episode 29, "The Fused Divas."
  • Tsundere: Type B.

Reiji Akaba (Declan Akaba)

Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (JP), Billy Bob Thompson (EN)

The mysterious 16 year old CEO of Leo Corporation. He is a genius duelist with good brain.After traveling to Fusion Dimension three years ago before the current event Reiji rescued a young girl named Serena from academia who looks identical to Yuzu and learns from her his fathers plan to unite the four dimension ever since then he became against of his Father Leo Akaba and creat a organisation called Lancers in which he is the leader to defend his hometown and defeat Academia. Reiji uses DD deck which is a dark fiend type monsters and that deck mainly specializes in Fusion,Synchro and Xyz summoning.later he created his own Pendulum summoning


  • The Ace: He's a pro and runs the largest gaming business in the world, all at the age of 16. He's also the first duelist to use every Extra Deck summoning method (Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and Pendulum), something that wasn't accomplished by another character until Yuyu gained Enlightenment Paladin in episode 79.
  • Achilles in His Tent: He's the leader of the Lancers, but because of his Japanese VA's busy schedule, he doesn't get to say or do much to the point that he only dueled twice in the show's first season.
  • Adjusting Your Glasses: He adjusts his glasses by the bridge a lot in his duel with Yuya, showing that he has a well thought-out strategy and a few tricks up his sleeve.
  • All According to Plan: Says this very casually to "losing" Tsukikage in the Friendship Cup. Reira, and the Executive Council are disturbed.
  • All Your Powers Combined/Master of All: His deck is based around performing every kind of summoning. So far he's displayed Fusion, Synchro and Xyz, and the elemental theme of his monsters makes it possible he's also got an EARTH Ritual monster we haven't seen yet. Not to mention his Pendulum Monsters.
  • Aloof Big Brother: Towards Reira; he may be a little distant with him, but it's clear that he cares for his little brother. He starts out as the only person Reira seems comfortable around.
  • Ambiguously Evil:
    • He's initially presented as an antagonist, then turns out to be a respectful and decent guy, then turns out to be engaging in shady activities behind the scenes. By the time of Episode 36 when he true motives are revealed, it's clear he has good intentions, but is willing to do very morally grey things for the greater good.
    • During their duel, Roget attempts to invoke and exploit this, claiming that it's entirely possible that Reiji is in cahoots with his father and that they are both playing Standard and the Lancers for fools, and how they should just abandon him because of it, but right one cue when Reiji points out the flaw in this logic, Yuya goes and declares that they will trust Reiji no matter what, thus calling the bluff.
  • Anti-Hero: Everything he does is to stop his father, Leo Akaba who started a war between the Fusion and Xyz dimensions and does seem to honestly care for his town. But he has done a lot of morally gray actions in his quest, from manipulating his students and allies, to lying to his allies so he can experiment on their possibly dead ally's Duel Disk, and willingly using teenagers as soldiers.
  • Archnemesis Dad: The MCS is actually a way to distillate the strongest duelists in order to fight his father. He also flat out calls Leo Akaba his enemy.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: In their second duel, Reiji asks Yuya if he is fine with leaving the other carded even if Yuzu is all right.

Awesome by Analysis: He was able to create a Pendulum counter deck based on his knowledge on Yuya's duels.

  • Badass:
    • He's one of the best duelists in the world, and he proves it. To date, the only duel he lost is one where he forfeited to Yuya, at a time when it wasn't fully clear who would win or lose. Then in Episode 51, he deals Yuya his first defeat since the second episode.
    • If you defeat the Arc Villain during your first turn, and you are able to defeat every hologram of the villain whenever they begin their turn, you are offfically the most badass character of the series.
  • Badass Bookworm: Being a CEO at age 16 and a professional duelist at age 15 certainly qualifies him even before we see what he can do.

He proves it even more when he duels, having mastered every form of summoning. He proceeds to show this by summoning a Fusion Monster, a Synchro Monster, AND an Xyz Monster in just two of his turns. He does this again 8 episodes later, but in one turn. It's pretty much explicitly stated that he managed to make his own Pendulum Monsters. Granted, they malfunction at first, but that's still a pretty big achievement.

  • Batman Gambit: Does this to Yuya in their second Duel.
  • Benevolent Boss: Even more so than his mother
  • Berserk Button: Dont insult or badmouth Yuya or the Sakaki family
  • Big Damn Heroes: Greets Roget by finishing Yuzu's "The Reason You Suck" Speech, followed by demanding him to unhand Yuzu. Roget obviously refuses and opts for giving her to Academia to save his own skin, forcing Reiji to take drastic measures.
  • Big Good: In spite of his morally ambiguous ways, he's the closest thing the show has to one, as he's dedicated to protecting Maiami from the forces of the other dimensions, and is fundamentally opposing Professor Leo Akaba, who's responsible for the war between Academia and the Resistance.
  • Big "Shut Up!": Shouts at Hokuto and Yaiba to make them stop trash talking Yuya's dad, declaring that he highly respects Yusho for being a pioneer in Action Duels.
  • Brutal Honesty: Outright tells Yuya that he can't save Yuzu with his naivety and self-righteousness
  • Character Tics: Primarily adjusting his glasses.
  • The Chessmaster: He's implied to have spent the last three years preparing for the inevitable inter-dimensional war when it comes to the Standard Dimension, and likes to be aware of everything that happens in the city to make sure it doesn't interfere with his plans. Episode 52 reveals that the Leo Duel Schools that have been set up around the world were a cover; they're actually Duel Monster-type military training camps where duelists learned the skills needed to prepare for the war with Academia, and with said war beginning the schools are opening to the public so everyone can learn to defend themselves in case of a second invasion.
  • Chick Magnet: As seen in Episode 27, he has a lot of fangirls.
  • Composite Character: A lot of his traits draw on aspects from previous Yu-Gi-Oh! rivals, most notably Seto Kaiba:
    • He's a sixteen year old CEO of a gaming corporation who uses a monster with a 3000 ATK Level 8 monster, which he runs three copies of in his Deck, and they are also the only ones that exist in the world (Though it's not a Dragon-type or something with "dragon" in the name).
    • He also considers his father an enemy (though for different reasons than Kaiba).
    • He does have a little brother, drawing parallels to Kaiba, Kaiser and Kaito.
    • He also channels Jack Atlas, as he mentions kings a lot in his summoning chants, and his monsters are named after famous conquerors. Ironic considering Jack is a character in this series.
    • Moving away from rivals, he also has some similarities to Rex Goodwin, with his morally ambiguous actions for some unstated duel, and keep an eye on duelists to bring out their potential.
    • His playing style is essentially a mix between Atem and Kaiba's playing styles. Like Kaiba, Reiji plays a lot of powerhouses and can defeat the opponent through overwhelming beatdowns, but he has much more varieties and relies a lot on Spell Cards and combos, like Atem. And like Atem, Reiji does not focus on a single ace monster, but has a an entire army of reliable monsters in his arsenal.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: His Duel against Roget is basically this. He defeats the first Roget hologram with an OTK, and then he defeats the second one during the hologram's Draw Phase. Reiji would repeat the same combo to all of the next holograms.
  • Deadpan Snarker:Towards Roger whenever he speaks to him he will often snark and him.He also snarks at Yuya during their second duel
  • Dark Is Not Evil: In spite of his DARK Fiend-Type deck, Reiji is a polite and reasonable person and proves to be a Well-Intentioned Extremist.
  • Dub Name Change: Reiji to Declan, and DD to D/D.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: How "bad" he is is anyone's guess, but he's on very good terms with his mother Himika, though she's also bad and they're quite formal with one another (likely because of their positions within Leo Corporation, though).
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Though he is an antagonist at first, he's easily the nicest LDS associate so far, and yelled at Yaiba and Hokuto for badmouthing Yusho Sakaki.
  • Everyone Has Standards:Reiji might be a very morally ambiguous character but even he was uncomfortable about using Reira, a very traumtized child, to battle against the Academia. He also seems fine with the idea that Reira is gaining a will unlike Himika.

And according to Tsukikage, he won't abandon his comrades, meaning that the loss of his first team of Lancers was likely unintentional.

  • Evil Laugh: Delivers one in Episode 13 after he realizes the true potential of Pendulum Monsters.
  • Foil: To Yuya, they are both the aces of their schools and are Pendulum users. While Reiji is well respected as the head of the top duel school at the start of the series, Yuya is looked down upon because of his father and is a member of a duel school made up of only 5 people. They both hide their emotions, Yuya using laughter and smiles compared to Reiji's stoicism. Their relationships with their fathers are completely different as well. Yuya's father disappeared but Yuya still thinks very highly of him, while Reiji doubts his father even cares enough about him that he would be a useful hostage. his is furthered in their methods in dealing with the interdimensional war. Yuya attempts to still bring smiles to his opponents, while Reiji is willing to do anything to gain the upper hand against the Academia, even willing to sacrifice his men. Also, Reira also sees both of them as brother figures and both Reiji and Yuya care about him in different ways.
  • Frontline General: In spite of having command of an entire corporation, Reiji has a habit of confronting enemy agents in person, doing so with Kurosaki and Serena and Barrett. Later going personally with the Lancers to the Synchro Dimension.
  • Improbable Age: In a stunning homage to Kaiba, Reiji is the head of a corporation which practically owns Maiami City at just 16, as well as being a pro duelist at the same time. On top of that, he's basically leading the effort to deal with an interdimensional war.

This is deconstructed in the Battle Royal mini-arc. While the Battle Royal plan is sound on paper, in reality it runs into problems. Underestimating how long the invasion would go on, he forces the town to stay in the stadium, causing some to question what is going on. His first bunch of Lancers' decks were mismatched, lowering their efficiency as a team, which leads to their defeat. And his attempt to keep the invasion under wraps puts the MCS duelists in danger. All these problems show that while he's intelligent, he's lacking in experience.

  • Invincible Hero: The most competent and ruthless among the "Kaibas". So far, his only loss is against Yuya in their first Duel because he threw himself out of the ring to deal with Marco's disappearance.
  • Japanese Pronouns: The CEO of Leo Corporation uses the formal pronoun watashi, which also fits to his respectful character. He used to use "boku" until he learned what his father was doing, after which we actually see him switch to "watashi".
  • The Leader: Of the Lancers. Most of them get captured in three days in the Synchro Dimension when he's not around.
  • Noble Demon: His DD deck contains Fiend-type monsters, but Reiji is the leader of the heroes and his noble goals.
  • Not So Stoic: His Big "Shut Up!" moment. He exploded. Again in Episode 13, where he performs an Evil Laugh and while his face is covered by his hand, his eyes look crazy. His backstory reveals that he wasn't stoic three years ago.
  • Oedipus Complex: Cares for his mother, not to a creepy extent, but hates his father, Leo Akaba.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: In a flashback in Episode 86, Reiji takes on every single Security guard holding him and the Council hostage, simultaneously. He beats all of them.
  • One-Hit Kill: Of course, The Ace of the Lancers, Reiji is also capable of this. He defeats the Arc Villain Roget in one turn. Furthermore, even after it is revealed that Roget can re-join the duel everytime after losing thanks to his hologram clones, Reiji simply uses a loop combo that defeats every hologram during its Draw Phase.
  • Out of Focus: In Season 2. While everyone else is running around the Synchro Dimension dueling and getting Character Development, Reiji has spent most of the season talking to the Executive Council in their chambers, watching the others duel, and very rarely taking some action to further his unrevealed overarcing plans. He does duel the Arc Villain in the end of the season, though.
  • Pet the Dog: While Reiji is morally ambiguous, at least he's a Benevolent Boss who has complete faith in Yuya and the Lancers because he knows that they're the ones who will beat the crap out of Security and Academia.
  • Power of Trust:He has a great faith and trust in his fellow lancers
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Berates the Exective Council for their Dirty Coward attitude, telling them that those who prefer being neutral and sitting on their asses have no right to talk about the future.
  • The Rival: To Yuya, despite being a Broken Pedestal to the latter.
  • Scarf of Asskicking: Instead of having a Badass Longcoat that defies gravity and has a Dramatic Wind, Reiji has a scarf that does and has all of that. His scarf is more badass when you learn that he's been a duelist with the potential needed to be a pro since he was 15, owns the famous Leo Duel School at 16 and he specializes in all types of summoning.
  • Sugar and Ice Personality:He mostly shows his icy side but deep inside his heart he is on sugar side despite being morally ambiguous which he does shows his sugar side at times
  • Shut Up, Hannibal!: His response to Roget's offer and cowardice.
  • Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: His attitude towards Yuya's kindness.
  • The Smart Guy: While the Leader of the Lancers, he is also The Strategist and the most intelligent member.
  • The Stoic: He's usually calm and collected and rarely shows emotions.
  • Supporting Leader: He is the leader of the Lancers and the tritagonst, so he is definitively this.
  • Tranquil Fury: He's visibly angry when the Executive Council insults Yuya and none of the Synchro Dimension cares about what happens to the losers of the Friendship Cup.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Episode 41 showed him as a :Nice guy three years ago who would willingly rescue a girl he didn't know. In the present, while he still has good intentions, he is a rather gray character.
  • The Watcher: After his duel with Yuya he has done little in the way of getting directly involved with the plot. Mostly observing Duels from his private room and having Nakajima run errands for him, such as giving Kurosaki a Pendulum Card and having him take Yuto's Duel Disk. This is justified since he's running the tournament and creating an army to defend against the Fusion Dimension. He's finally got another duel as of episode 40 with Barrett from Academia and another one against Yuya in Episode 50. He returns to this role during the Friendship Cup until its final moments.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: As stated in Anti-Hero, he just wants to protect his dimension but he has done some really dark things in his quest.
  • When He Smiles: Lets out one of these after Reira hugs him in Episode 95.
  • Worthy Opponent: Considers Yuya one and doesn't even consider that he is the perpetrator attacking LDS students.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Aside from his silver hair color, it's actually fairly subdued.
  • Younger Than They Look: For a 16 year-old, he appears more like 18 or 19. The demeanor and voice might have something to do with it.

The Lancers

=Noboru Gongenzaka (Gong Strong)

Voiced by: Yohei Obayashi (JP), Billy Bob Thompson(EN)

One of Yuyas best friend who is seen regularly hanging around with him. He is not the student of You show instead he is a heir to his family dojo but he is regularly seen hanging out with his friends in Youshow. He later becomes one of the lancers. Gongenzaka's Superheavy Samurai deck has no Spell or Trap cards at all, and many of his monster effects can only be activated when he has no S/T in his Graveyard


  • Acrofatic: Well, he's more big than fat, but the sizeable guy goes on morning runs. Episode 30 shows that he's actually pretty muscular.
  • can learn, he doesn't care if he has to beg.
  • Badass: Karate-chopped through Battleguard Mad Shaman's spike without flinching. He also saves Yuya by holding up a stone pillar twice his size with no injury. Granted, it was Solid Vision, but still dangerous. Also, he fought his way halfway to Kurosaki's solitary confinement cell armed only with his (metal) geta.
  • Badass Back: In his duel against Ankokuji, he goes into the arena and gives him the back in order to show his dislike for him as well as to show his new black belt. And damn, he looked badass.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: He's really a nice and easy-going guy, but get on his bad side or face him in a duel, and he'll show you what Steadfast Dueling is really about.
  • The Big Guy: He is very definitely one of the bigger characters. His deck also runs a Stone Wall strategy.
  • Bully Hunter: He protected Yuya when they were younger, from those who wanted to beat him up for being a coward's son.
  • Catch Phrase:
    • "Unforgivable, this is unforgivable, [person name]!"
    • Also some variation of "The manly Gongenzaka!"
  • Childhood Friends: With Yuya.
  • Determinator: He never gives up, believing in his deck to the end. And if he get's hit by an attack, he'll keep himself on his feet and get pushed backwards, unless it wipes him out.
  • Dub Name Change: Gong Strong.
  • Everything's Better with Samurai: His deck's motif.
  • Expy: He's essentially a beefed-up version of Jonouchi and Tetsuo.
  • Foil:
    • He's one to Yuya. They are both heirs to their schools with unusual decks, Yuya having a Pendulum deck and Gongenzaka uses a deck without Spells or Traps. Yuya is a Stepford Smiler, while Gongenzaka is very open about his emotions. Even their dueling styles are the exact opposite, Yuya runs about using Action Cards compared to the steady Gongenzaka that refuses to budge.
    • On the Lancers he and Sawatari are foils. Gongenzaka is steadfast and loyal friend that has willing let stepped out of the limelight to protect them while Sawatari is an egoistical glory hound who can't stand anyone badmouthing him. Gongenzaka understands the emotional effects of being a child soldier while Sawatari was giddy at being a Lancer. Gongenzaka is loyal to his dueling style while Sawatari has changed his decks after each lost.
  • Gentle Giant: He can be a bit stuffy, but he's a pretty nice guy.
  • Good Is Not Soft: One of the nicest, most morally upright characters on the show, and he's proven himself perfectly capable of kicking lots of ass.
  • Graceful Loser: He didn't really mind losing to Yuya and was simply happy to force Yuya to pass his limits. And again when he is defeated by Crow.
  • Heir to the Dojo: And heir of said dojo's Dueling style that he uses with pride.
  • Hot-Blooded: Odd example; he's a very staunch and enthusiastic proponent of his own family's Steadfast Dueling style, which means that he doesn't care for the other Hot-Blooded characters running around during Action Duels, as "real men don't make unnecessary movements." While he can be very emotional, Gongenzaka is one of the most level-headed characters and tries tokeep the others in line when they are acting unreasonably.
  • Japanese Pronouns: The manly Gongenzaka uses the masculine pronoun ore.
  • Large Ham: The manly Gongenzaka is most definitely this.
  • Last Name Basis: His family name is used to refer to him both when he references himself and by all his friends. His father is the only person who calls him by his first name.
  • Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: The manly Gongenzaka values honor and mutual respect in duels.