Cardfight!! Vanguard G / Characters

Characters appearing in the anime (and related media) of Cardfight!! Vanguard G.

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Main Characters

Team TRY 3

The main characters of Cardfight Vanguard G. Formed after Kamui decided to pair the three up together randomly. At the end of Stride Gate, they become legendary Cardfighters as Generation Masters, the fastest to achieve that title after winning all the G Quests. They have disbanded at the start of Vanguard G NEXT to pursue their own futures and formed their own teams.

Breaking the Fellowship: At the conclusion of Stride Gate, TRY 3 disbands in order to focus on their future goals, each then forming their teams for the Under 20 Tournament.
- Chrono forms Team Strider with Taiyou Asukawa and his classmate, Kazuma Shouji.
- Shion joins the nearly-defunct Fukuhara High School Vanguard Club alongside Club President Henri Hayao, and Former-Demise member Rin Hashima.
- Tokoha recruits Satoru Enishi and Kumi Okazaki with Jaime Alcaraz as their coach, with Jaime naming their team Jaime Flowers behind their backs.
Chromatic Arrangement: Chrono is associated with the color Red, Shion with Blue and Tokoha with Green.
Image Song: They have one titled "Hybrid Generation", released as an opening song for the DV Ds included with issues of the Monthly Bushiroad magazine.
Misfit Mobilization Moment: How they came together, thanks to Kamui.
The Rival: To each other during NEXT.
Three Plus Two: During the final part of Stride Gate, Team TRY3 fight alongside Taiyou and Am against Ryuzu and the Company.
True Companions: After a couple of quests and tournaments, they eventually become this. More evident through GIRS Crisis and Stride Gate.
Worf Effect: All three members were defeated by Onimaru Kazumi to establish how powerful he is.

Chrono Shindou

Gear Chronicle

Voiced by Mark Ishii (JP), Sam Duke (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chrono_gc_6.png

^{Click here to see his appearance from NEXT onwards}

A young man whose parents died when he was young, Chrono fights with his own power. He uses the mysterious Clan, Gear Chronicle. Initially uninterested and dissatisfied with the world, Chrono's interest is aroused when he discovers a Vanguard deck and a map in his locker, leading him to Card Capital 2. As the show progresses, the tone shifts to place emphasis that Chrono is at the centre of a scheme that's been brewing for about a decade, from quite a stack of circumstances putting him into the position.

By Season 4, he's become a student at Tokyo Metropolitan Harumi High School and now works at Card Capital 2 while Kamui works at a new location. With Taiyou and newcomer Kazuma Shouji, he enters the U20 Cup under their new team called Striders.

The Ace: By NEXT, Chrono has become a Generation Master with Shion and Tokoha. Many players visit Card Capital 2 just to fight him. The same thing happens after Chrono, Taiyou and Kazuma win the Under 20 Championship.
All Your Powers Combined:
- Due to how Relay Fight rules work in the anime, Chrono ends up using Shion and Tokoha's cards to defeat Ren.
- During his fight with Ryuzu in episode 49, all of the other characters end up summoning their avatar cards who lend their strength to Chrono's Chronojet Dragon. This results in the creation of Chronodragon Gear Groovy which, fittingly, is also an example of this trope itself.
Anime Hair: Shaped like a magatama of all things.
Call-Back: He gives a card to a bullied kid, just like how Kai gave Blaster Blade to Aichi.
Chosen One: He has an incredible imagination and is often hinted toward the other characters, especially Ibuki, that he is necessary for their plan.
- The Chosen Many: As the series continued, it was revealed that more and more people hold powers like him, that they are all potential Peacemakers. Unlike the others though, Chrono has much greater potential. The only character to come close to matching this is Luna.
  - To complement this, he was told by Nome Tatsunagi that compared to other characters like Aichi, he's actually not all to special, but his imagination and potential allows him to be on a level similar to them. Let's just say that creating Chronodragon Gear Groovy was no easy feat for someone who is basically a normal person.
- He is important in a different manner , The Apostles refer to Chrono as The Singularity due to the accidental connection with Chrono Dran. This also makes him the most viable candidate to be Gyze's vessel, the one who can be diffrode to Gyze himself.
Clock Punk: A thematic element of his Gear Chronicle cards.
Crack Defeat: He loses to Nagisa after she triggers 5 Straight Critical Triggers. The point of this defeat was for Chrono to learn from Nagisa that Kamui joined the Under 20 because of Ibuki.
Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You / Disappeared Dad: His father's disappearance was caused by an incident between him and Ryujin Myoujin involving Depend cards and Gear Chronicle.
Dark Is Not Evil: He is the protagonist of the show and uses Gear Chronicle, a clan from the Dark Zone nation.
The Dreaded: The sight of him is enough to scare several bullies, with one commenting that apparently he beat up a high schooler once...
Friend to All Children: He's exceptionally good with kids, in return the kids really love Chrono.
Hereditary Hairstyle: That swirly hairstyle of his? Turns out he inherited it from his mother.
Hidden Eyes: A very frequent user, and more so as time goes on.
Image Song: He has one alongside Taiyou and Kazuma titled "Believin'", originally released in the DVD boxes for NEXT/Z.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: Chrono recently has been having dreams that appear to actually be repressed memories. The most recent one being aftermath of Ryuzu and Rive's summoning of Chrono Dran, in which his father took both Chrono and Chrono Dran away, telling Chrono to forget about Vanguard.
Meaningful Name:
- His surname means new path, reflecting his role as the new protagonist.
- His first name is similar to the greek word for time, referencing Gear Chronicle's ability to manipulate time.
Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Over time he shows that he is really a nice guy that simply prefers to be alone. His preference for being alone even being lampshaded by Ibuki. He has a soft spot for kids.
Naïve Newcomer: To Vanguard, though Kamui does comment he fights incredibly well for a beginner.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After Ryuzu tried to attack him with the manifested Chronofang Tiger, Chrono unlocked and summoned forth all his Zodiacs. When they weren't enough to take on Chronofang, Chrono noticed Ryuzu dropped his other Zodiacs, then invokes Godzilla Threshold by unlocking those units as well. Ryuzu, however, prepared for this. After collapsing due to using too much energy, Ryuzu had Wakamizu transport the physical beasts to his orbital facility, then took all the unlocked depend cards for himself. Now Ryuzu only needs the Monkey before the Stride Gate is fully opened....
- To make matters worse, the capture of Chrono Dran has caused both his Chronojet Dragon and Chronodragon Nextage to become faded, rendering them unusable for now.
- In Vanguard GZ, Chrono had used the Zeroth Dragon Dust in order to save Kazuma from Gyze's possession, and lost. And thus because he had failed to win after using his Zeroth Dragon, his G-Units are all destroyed. This includes Chronodragon Nextage and Chronodragon Gearnext, and unlike before, there's no way of getting them back... until he doesn't but it took him transporting himself to the Planet Cray and meeting up with Chrono Dran to reinable his G-Units.
Parental Abandonment: He used to live in an orphanage. It is later revealed his aunt took him in, but seems to be away from home quite a lot for a guardian, mostly leaving Chrono alone in the house to fend for himself.
- To be exact, he was sent to the orphanage as his aunt was still underage to get custody on him when his father went missing. On the last few episodes of the season, it was revealed to Mikuru that her brother Rive's disappearance was actually because of an incident with the villain while he's stopping him from using the Depend cards. But, if the existence of the mysterious cloaked guy who has Chrono Dran as his companion before the latter was summoned by Chrono's Depend card is any indication, there might be more to Ibuki's story than what is currently revealed.
Plot Armor: He follows in the footsteps of Buddyfight's Gao Mikado by winning every single game despite his inexperience, even when it would make more thematic sense for his opponent to win. Any game he would lose is interrupted before it ends. A chink in the armour appears when he loses his second match against Kouji Ibuki, and lost against Mamoru before that in a 3vs1 fight alongside Shion and Tokoha. Finally his loss to Shion pretty much seals that it is possible for Chrono to lose every once in a while, just not as often as Aichi did. By the time Stride Gate and NEXT come along, this has become zigzagged depending on where the plot needs Chrono at the time.
- To put things more in perspective, in big matches he often relies on one of two methods to gain victory, sometimes both: His newest stride unit and good trigger luck. Often times, he's put in a scenario where he has to stride to create a favorable scenario, which is the point of Gear Chronicle in general, although he has more reliance on Chronodragon Nextage. Where his plot armor shows is that he's often put in a scenario where he needs multiple triggers to end the game in which he, without hesitation, puts the first trigger power (and critical if it has it) to the Vanguard and proceeds to trigger another one and a third one if he needs to.
Poor Communication Kills: Ibuki and Mikuru's knowledge that his father is indeed still alive and not being told has lead him to seek out Ryuzu, possibly forshadowing a Face–Heel Turn.
Real Men Wear Pink: Due to living alone the majority of the time as his Aunt is away from home, he's learnt how to do basic house chores and is a really good cook. During the festival in episode 16, he takes making Takoyaki really seriously.
Red Is Heroic: Being the main character, red is his signature color as it is the color of his vanguard circle.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Shion's blue.
The Runaway: Runs away from home after catching Mikuru out about her knowing Rive is still alive somewhere. Shion points out that he stopped coming to school in this time.
Running Gag: His hair - either as a point of recognition, nicknames or choice of snack (in the case of Kanzaki's horses).
Super Gullible: When he hear Nagisa's story and Morikawa's story. He believe the stories even thought it never happen.
The Stoic: His normal state, to the point we're introduced to him holding up traffic by standing in the way without any sign that he's worried or cares.
- Not So Stoic: During his fight with Ibuki in GIRS Crisis, when Ibuki starts to doubt Chrono got any stronger and wasn't worthy of the Depend cards drove Chrono into a Rage Breaking Point, calling Ibuki out on dragging him in this mess in the first place.
Tiger Versus Dragon: He has this dynamic with Ryuzu via their ace units, but oddly, the personalities are inverted: Chrono is the hotblooded one despite using the dragon.
Trauma-Induced Amnesia: He doesn't remember the accident that Rive is claimed to have died in (from which he carried Chrono away and Myoujin deemed him a traitor), where Chrono summoned Chrono Dran to Earth.
Unique Protagonist Asset: His Gear Chronicle deck. However, it's later revealed there is at least another user of this clan.
- No longer true as of GIRS Crisis as Gear Chronicle cards have been released to the public.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Pretty much all of the events that occured in G happened due to a young Chrono summoning Chrono Dran from Cray to Earth, creating a connection between the the two worlds that Ryuzu would latter exploit to create the Stride Gate. This, in turn, made Different World Ride possible, allowing Gyze's apostles to come to Earth and start working on their plan to bring back their sealed master.

Shion Kiba

Royal Paladin

Voiced by: Jun'ya Enoki (JP), Cole Howard (EN, credited as Cole Hanson)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shion_gc.png

^{Click here to see his appearance from NEXT onwards}

An elegant young man skilled in fencing, Shion is Chrono's rival. Shion is the heir of the Kiba family, with a packed schedule to carry out numerous duties in preparation for taking over as the family head. Vanguard was the first activity he took up as a choice of his own and, like Aichi, he uses the Royal Paladin Clan. In GIRS Crisis, after being betrayed by his uncle and losing a fight to regain his family's heirloom, the family's company is taken over incredibly shortly after he became the head. As a result, Shion's parents relocated to be with some supportive relatives while Shion insisted on staying behind to track down Ace and reclaim what was stolen from him.

By NEXT, Kiba is attending Fukuhara High School and uses much of his time as head of the Kiba family. He joins Henri Hayao in the Fukuhara High School Vanguard Club and joins the U20 Championship to save it.

Awesomeness by Analysis: He asks to check Shouma's Soul and drop zone in Episode 46 of Stride Gate so that he can work out the chance of a Trigger appearing in Shouma's Drive Check.
- He exhibits this traits even earlier on. In the first season of G, he is often The Strategist of Team TRY 3. And is the first to come up with plans and strategy to defeat Kanzaki after their loss at his hands, going so far as to compile fight records of all three members and figure out his deck build, down to predicting that Kanzaki has a hidden ace up his sleeve in the form of Aurageyser Doomed (Damned in Japanese) before Kanzaki even play it.
The Ace: Shion has a reputation for being the best at everything. On top of being drop-dead gorgeous, a fencing prodigy , a skilled Cardfighter (which earned him the title of Generation Masters along with his teammates), and being Famed In-Story (a celebrity with his position as a heir of Kiba, skill and Chick Magnet status), and he's also an academically gifted student who is top of his class. He's also an Princely Young Man that came from a rich influential family
Beware the Nice Ones: Shion is a friendly and kind person but during the G Quest award ceremony when Shouma rubs in Shion's face about Myoujin taking over the Kiba Corporation with help from Am, he's livid about it and gives him the violent beatdown after which Kouji pulls him away from Shouma and even so he holds strong grudges against Am who's remorseful about it.
Borrowed Catchphrase: Uses Kai's catchphrase in episode
Shion: Final Turn!
- Kai gets him back by stealing this little number during another rematch.
Shion: Stride the Generation.
- As well as starting to use the for his Stand Up phrase.
Chick Magnet: His manners and good looks attract many females, young and old. In Episode 18, he gets overwhelmed by all the girls who showed up at Card Capital wanting to cardfight him. Even the nurses and old ladies love this kid. It carries over to his High School life.
Childhood Friends: With Yuya Karasumori.
Graceful Loser: He's quite nice to Chrono after losing to him, which only angers Chrono. That said, he does feel angry (at himself) for losing.
Gratuitous French: When attacking with his units, he uses french fencing terms.
Shion: Rassemblez! En garde! Prêts! Allez!
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold
Heroic BSoD: Enters one after TRY3's loss to Team Demise, telling them he's going to quit Vanguard. It takes him finally beating Chrono to snap him out of it.
- Has another one in season two when Ace manipulated him into fighting him for the future of Kiba Corp. and lost. This time, it's Kai who broke him out of it. And broke him hard, he did.
Heroic Sacrifice: He pushes Shouma out of the way of falling rocks, but is crushed by them instead.
Iconic Item: Blue Sky Knight, Altmile. It was the first Vanguard card he obtained.
Innocent Blue Eyes
Image Song: Has one alongside Rin and Henri, titled "To Go Higher." It was originally released in DVD boxes for NEXT.
Manipulative Bastard: He is this to Rin who he convinces to join the Cardfight Club by telling her that Mamoru would observe.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Had he not accepted Ace's challenge and lost, his family's corporation probably wouldn't have been taken over.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: When Shouma appears towards the end of GIRS Crisis, Shion flies into a rage and begins pummeling him. He's so enraged that when Ibuki tries to hold him back, Shion throws him off and continues before being restrained a second time.
Princely Young Man: Of the Prince Charming type. He's the heir to the wealthy Kiba family, and is friendly and well-liked by his classmates.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Chrono's red.
Riches to Rags: During GIRS Crisis, due to being screwed over by Ace.
Strong Family Resemblance: Shion really takes after his mother in terms of appearance, having the same blue eyes and blonde hair as hair as well as a similar hairstyle.
10-Minute Retirement: Following his defeat against Shouma, Shion announces that he's quitting Vanguard and leaves the team. He's back by the end of the next episode, thanks to Chrono convincing him.
Unexplained Recovery: Despite having been crushed by falling rocks, Shion appears unharmed during the last episode of Stride Gate without any explanation whatsoever.
- Averted: A freeze-frame bonus◊ in episode 50 of Stride Gate shows us that Shion was taken to a hospital as soon as the Judgement ended.
Unstoppable Rage: Ibuki had to stop him from beating Shouma to death in episode 25 of GIRS Crisis, after the latter's Kick the Dog.
What Beautiful Eyes!: Am thinks his eyes are beautiful.

Tokoha Anjou

Neo Nectar

Voiced by: Emi Nitta (JP, Season 1 - 3), Aina Aiba (Season 4), Emma Duke (EN, Season 1 - 3), Anna Barker (EN, Season - 4)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tokoha_gc.png

^{Click here to see her appearance from NEXT onwards}

The third new protagonist, Tokoha is a born and raised citizen of Tokyo who uses a Neo Nectar deck. She's the younger sister of the Kagero Clan Leader, Mamoru, and grew up in his shadow. She also frequently lends a hand when the branch hosts events and shown to have a great passion of food.

By NEXT, she is now studying in Paris and helping the local Vanguard Association. After circumstances in Paris, she comes back to Japan with Jaime and forms a team with Enishi and Kumi as Jaime Flowers.

Badass Adorable: Tokoha is more than capable of asserting herself, and has been able to instill fear among those who provoke her wrath. She's also able to easily switch back to happy and cheerful.
Berserk Button:
- Tokoha doesn't like being referred to as Mamoru Anjou's sister.
- Also be very careful with how you approach food. She's not called the stew boss for nothing.
Green Thumb: Uses a Neo Nectar deck.
The Heart: She's usually the voice of reason within her team, and is very sweet and kind.
Heroic BSoD: After Mamoru is wounded protecting her in the attack on the Dragon Empire branch.
Her Heart Will Go On: A non-romantic example. She joins the Under 20 Championship after Miguel's death to honor his memory.
Iconic Item: For her, it's Ranunculus Flower Maiden, Ahsha.
Image Song: Has one alongside Kumi and Enishi titled "Amenochi Blooming Smile♪" .^note "Blooming Smile After Rain♪" It was originally released in DVD boxes for NEXT.
Meaningful Name: Her first name is a shortened form of 常春 (Tokoharu) meaning "everlasting spring".
Reluctant Fanservice Girl: During the Beach Episode, Tokoha feels embarrassed to wear a bikini in front of her male teammates.
Say My Name: At Am after she and Luna attack her brother's branch.
- With Miguel, post-mortem.
Smurfette Principle: The only girl in team TRY3.
Successful Sibling Syndrome: Due to her brother's reputation as a skilled fighter and position as the Kagero clan leader caused her to feel overshadowed by him, a feeling which wasn't helped by people refering to her as Mamoru Anjou's little sister. Growing out of this mindset and asserting her identity beyond her relationship with her brother is a major part of her character arc during the first season.
Trauma Conga Line: In addition to having to fight former friends, Tokoha has had to witness the destruction of the Dragon Empire Branch, the injuring of nearly all the Branch Managers, and the hospitalization of her older brother who took the hit her, all caused by said former friends. Needless to say, Tokoha is understandably depressed.
We Used to Be Friends: With Luna and Am. With Am willingly apart of Company and Luna now Brainwashed and Crazy, they are allies of Ryuzu and Tokoha's enemies. Despite this, Tokoha has routinely tried to convince them to abandon Ryuzu and convince them they are still friends. With Luna she had success before the afformentioned Brainwashed and Crazy, but Am is another story. Following Am's Heel–Face Turn and their subsequent rescuing of Luna, this trope is thoroughly averted.

Teams formed for U20

Team Striders

Left to right: Kazuma, Chrono, and Taiyou

The team lead by Chrono Shindo with Taiyou Asukawa and Kazuma Shouji.

Chromatic Arrangement: Similar to Try 3, Chrono is red, Taiyou is yellow, and Kazuma is blue.
Embarrassing Nickname: Chrono wanted to name the team Striders thinking Stride means to transcend... except as a verb, it means to walk with long, decisive steps in a specified direction.
- Although as a noun, Stride would mean a step or stage in progress toward an aim which isn't too far off from transcend.
Image Song: "Believin'", included as an extra with DVD boxes of NEXT/Z.

Taiyou Asukawa

Gold Paladin

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taiyou.jpg

^{Click here to see his appearance from NEXT onwards}

A young boy Chrono meets at Card Capital 2, Chrono teaches Taiyou how to play. Taiyou proves to have great skill and untapped potential, something that leads him to enlist in the United Sanctuary's training program, slowly succumbing to their Might Makes Right Philosophy. After being defeated by Chrono and shown the true joy in Vanguard, he becomes one of Chrono's closest friends. When Chrono decided to enter the Under 20, Taiyou becomes the first one to join.

Ascended Extra: He starts off as a one off character, gained more screen time by the end of Season 1, back down to an extra during GIRS Crisis, becomes more prominent during Stride Gate, and by NEXT, he finally gets to fight on a team alongside Chrono.
Did Not See That Coming: During his rematch against Chrono, he was caught off-guard when the latter used his newly acquired Upheaval Pegasus.
Face–Heel Revolving Door: Replaces Kariya as Team Demise's 3rd member. Quits after losing to Chrono, and remains at the new United Sanctuary as a staff member.
Locked into Strangeness: After undergoing special training, part of his hair turns white. His hair returns to normal by time GIRS Crisis occurs.
Meaningful Name: His name can be read as sun, and some of his cards have names that refers to the sun.
Naïve Newcomer: Prior to his fight with Chrono, he didn't know the rules of the game.
Took a Level in Badass:
- He went from being a newcomer to a good fighter in a short amount of time.
- Taken again in his rematch with Hiroki after receiving advice from Kanzaki.
- Taken much further when he defeats Tokoha.

Kazuma Shouji

Shadow Paladin

A student in Harumi High School with great potential as a Cardfighter. He joins Chrono and Taiyou's team for the U20 Championship. He is however the younger half-brother of Kazumi Onimaru, leader of the favored Team Diffrider. Due to feeling inferior to Kazumi, Kazuma developed an inferioty complex that made him forfeit games before a result is determined rather than seeing things through, though has grown past this thanks to Chrono and Taiyou.

Abusive Parents: While he lived with the Onimaru family, everyone there including his own father treated him terribly, never acknowledging his accomplishments, blaming him for things he didn't do, and taking it as a given that he was worthless and could never compare with Kazumi. Eventually, his father even had him and his mother thrown out of the house altogether.
Because You Were Nice to Me: He ultimately decides to stay on Team Striders and help Chrono and Taiyou because they saw his potential as a cardfighter after he spent so much time being looked down on and giving up when things got bad for him. He wants to live up to the expectations they see in him and not let them down.
- This is also why he cares so much about his big brother. Kazumi was the only person in their family who cared about and tried to encourage him... which, of course, made his eventual abandonment all the more painful.
Can't Catch Up: As a child, his older brother was simply much better than him. His father had always preferred his brother over him because of his brother's accomplishments. This caused a huge inferiority complex, especially when it came to Vanguard. Try as he might, he simply was unable to defeat his brother. All of this gave him his defeatist personality and he also started being more of a street punk. And despite showing his improvements throughout NEXT, he still cannot defeat Kazumi, though as Kazumi was forced to diffride with Shiranui, he wasn't really fighting Kazumi during those fights.
Character Development:
- A major part of his early character arc is to believe in himself and not just quit when the situation looks bad. His character arc is completed by the second time he fights Kazumi as he states that he will not give up saving him no matter the outcome.
- When going to see Kanzaki for training, he is given a stone to carve out a unit. However, he hesitates a lot stating that after everything is over, he's not sure where to go from there. He gives the stone back uncarved, showing that he will find his answer, but just not now.
Dark Is Not Evil: He plays using the Shadow Paladins, he wears dark clothing and he appears uncaring about most things like a common street punk, but he's a loyal friend and nice guy underneath it all. In fact, of all the Shadow Paladin players in this show, Kazumi is the only one that did not start off as an antagonist.
Demonic Possession: After losing to Noa/Chaos Breaker Dragon, he became possessed by Gyze altering his deck and adding in the United Sanctuary's Zeroth Dragon, Ultima.
Fire-Forged Friendship: He joins Team Striders when Chrono and Taiyou see his potential when he would rather give up if he's losing. After Chrono is held hostage by a rival gang in a case of mistaken identity, Kazuma faces the leader in a cardfight with a handicap but Chrono cheers him on even when he's pushed into a corner. After saving Chrono, Kazuma decides to stay on the team and improve himself, not wanting to disappoint his friends after all they went through for him.
Hidden Depths: Underneath his cold demeanor lies a cardfighter with a lot of potential, something Chrono picks up on and is the reason why Chrono wants him on the team.
Know When to Fold 'Em: He forfeits the fight to Chrono when he believes he is unable to win, despite the next card being a heal trigger keeping him in the game. He later forfeits to Mamoru after he clears his board, though many viewers have noticed that he barely pulled any triggers during the game meaning he was bound to get quite a bit.
Zerg Rush: His preferred battle style. He hits his opponent fast out of the gate with a Grade 1 swarm if he can afford to. If his opponent tries to retaliate by retiring them, then they just fuel his Ritual abilities.

Fukuhara High School Vanguard Club

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/team_fukuhara_g_2.png

Left to Right: Rin, Shion, and Henri

The same Vanguard Club from the original series, this time with Club Captain Henri Hayao and includes Shion Kiba and Rin Hashima. In order to keep their club active, they agree to participate in the Under 20 Championship allowing them to keep the club active if they place high enough.

Image Song: "To Go Higher". It was released as an extra with DVD boxes of NEXT.
Saving the Orphanage: Or club. Because of the decreased interest in Vanguard in Fukuhara, the school board is considering disbanding it while its former members are content with going to local card shops. Shion vows that they will win the U20 to help show that the Fukuhara Vanguard Club is still the best High School Vanguard team.
School Uniforms are the New Black: Similar to the previous members, they each wear the High School Uniform when they cardfight. But with the original team, they were in a High School Tournament. The U20 is a general tournament and the team only wears their school uniforms to represent their school.

Rin Hashima

Angel Feather

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rin_sg.png

^{Click here to see her appearance from NEXT onwards}

A popular Cardfighter who hides a cruel streak, she served as member of Team Demise who obtained enjoyment from utterly humiliating her opponents. She held particular disdain for Tokoha, due to feeling humiliated after losing to her older brother Mamoru. After leaving Demise, Rin becomes a more traditional Tsundere, poking fun at Tokoha while reigniting her spark after Company's attack on Dragon Empire, with her feelings regarding Mamoru leaning more towards Precocious Crush. When searching for member for the Fukuhara High School Vanguard Club, Shion gets her to join by using her Precocious Crush on Mamoru against her, making Mamoru think she joined when he was visiting.

The Ace: The current Vanguard Queen
Ascended Extra: She started from a member of the antagonist team, was Demoted to Extra for two seasons, before becoming be a primary character in NEXT as a member of Fukuhara High School Cardfight Club.
Alpha Bitch: She's a popular cardfighter due to her looks and skill but she really likes psychologically tormenting her opponents. Not to mention she torments poor Tokoha before they had their fight. Such as when she stood on a bag of treats that Kumi got for her and sprays her with water in the restrooms calling her a 'cockroach'. While she's since toned it down by NEXT, she still acts haughty and treats Henri like a servant.
Armor-Piercing Question: Shion asks Rin what her goal is going to be at the U20, or if she's just going to keep being bored and letting Shion string her along. She, of course, responds with her typical tsundere attitude.
Berserk Button: Always looks to press the buttons of her opponents during fights.
- She gets annoyed when she doesn't get her way and Tokoha's optimism pisses her off. Mamoru is also a touchy subject for her. By NEXT, she's grown out of this one.
- Ignoring her is another touchy one.
- Ordering her around gets you a death glare.
Big Eater: Outside of fights, she usually can be seen with something in her mouth. Downplayed in that not many seem to make a big deal out of it.
Blood Knight: Shows a hint of such an attitude in Episode 19 of NEXT. Fed up with being led by Shion, she challenges him, threatening to leave the team. During the fight, she gets increasingly worked up, and THEN comes this line:
Rin: It's hot! My blood is boiling! It feels good! This is it, this is what I wanted!
- Shown more clearly in her fourth fight against Tokoha during the Under 20.
Break Them by Talking: How she finds out what really happened at Dragon Empire from Tokoha. As the media won't release what happened, Rin ask questions to Tokoha in order to see a reaction, simultaneously breaking down Tokoha even further and further.
Character Development: Compare her from Season 1 to NEXT. She basically went from a cruel, manipulative cardfighter to a tsundere who got dragged along due to Shion's meddling and Mamoru's insistence to a blood knight who desires to turn pro to face and defeat strong opponents.
Foil: To Shion actually, more so than even Tokoha. They are both very popular and very talented individuals, especially when it comes to their High School lives. But while Shion is sociable, hard working and looks forward to new challenges, Rin pushes people away, gets by with her talents and looks and gets bored really easily.
Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: After beginning her fight with Tokoha and noticing Tokoha wasn't putting her all into the fight, Rin decides to deliver this to her.
Rin: Fight, Tokoha Anjou! Lift your head up!
Rin: I don't know what happened, but Rin Hashima's not so soft that you can beat her with a fight that avoids reality!
Rin: Whether it was dumb luck or a coincidence or a miracle, even though it was only once, what kind of attitude is this for a fighter who beat me?!
Heel–Face Turn: While not necessarily an ally, Rin is on more civil terms with Tokoha and Mamoru, and midway through their match, attempts to try and reignite Tokoha's spark.
- A more straight example is when she joins the Fukuhara Cardfight Club for the U20 Cup. Although this is because of Shion's meddling.
Jerkass: At first, but she became a Jerk with a Heart of Gold after Character Development.
Luminescent Blush: Gains this when she gets near or is praised by Mamoru Anjou.
Ms. Fanservice: The Beach Episode depicts her wearing a bikini.
Ojou Ringlets: While her financial status is unknown, she has two large ringlets that frame her face. Though Fukuhara High School is known for its high class students so she is a bit more well off than other characters.
Precocious Crush: She has one for Tokoha's older brother, Mamoru Anjou. While initially it was pure hatred due to her feeling humiliated, after leaving Demise she started to slip out of hating him and developed one for him, albeit in a Tsundere manner.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here:She quits Team Demise and storms out the stadium after she loses to Tokoha.
Smurfette Principle: The sole girl in Team Demise and the Fukuhara Cardfight Club.
Sore Loser: In some regards, she only plays Vanguard because she wins almost all the time. Her first big loss was to Mamoru Anjou who attempted to teach her some humility but it backfired.
- When Tokoha beats her in their rematch, she downright quits Team Demise.
  - By Vanguard G NEXT, she no longer gets this way.
Took a Level in Kindness: Downplayed, in that she is still a Tsundere and Alpha Bitch, but she isn't as harsh as she once was, and will acknowledge the skills of those that impress her regardless of how she originally treated them.
Tsundere: After quitting Demise, she stops by Dragon Empire to tell Mamoru that she doesn't care she lost to him, and that everything he told her doesn't matter, a Luminescent Blush on her face the entire time.
Ryutaro: Methinks the lady doth protest too much. Isn't that what they say? [Rin drives her heel into his foot.] Aaahh!
- After seeing Tokoha, she tries to act cool when Tokoha approaches, then gets pissed when Tokoha doesn't notice her, following her down the courtyard. During her cardfight with Tokoha she delivers a Get a Hold of Yourself, Man! on her, but hides behind her ego while doing so. When asked by Tokoha why she came to the hospital, she yells it doesn't matter, blushing the entire time then letting out a pout. She then visits Mamoru and insults him while he is asleep, but runs off and leaves a bouquet of lollipops for him before he wakes up.
- Plays straight in NEXT where she is more convinced to do anything with Mamoru around, something Shion is more than willing to take advantage of. Episode 38 even shows her more dere side towards Mamoru, even going out of her way to let him know about her desire to turn pro.
Villainous Breakdown:She really loses it when Tokoha is on the verge of winning during their rematch.
Worthy Opponent: Considers Tokoha one after losing to her.
Rin: Whether it was dumb luck or a coincidence or a miracle, even though it was only once, what kind of attitude is this for a fighter who beat me?!

Henri Hayao

Narukami

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/henri_20.PNG

A timid second year student of Fukuhara High School and captain of the Fukuhara Cardfight Club. Inspired by the former Fukuhara High School Vanguard Club's victory against Team Dreadnought, Henri wished to join the club himself, only to find the club barely functioning by time he could thanks to drop in interest after the former members graduated. With Shion's joining, Henri wants to prove to the school board that the club is worth keeping around, and aims to use the Under 20 as a means to do so. While he has great potential as a Cardfighter, his tendency to overthink things and lack of self esteem leads to him making mistakes.

Ascended Fanboy: He worked his way to attend the same school as Ren Suzugamori and fight in the same Cardfight Club. He also gets to fight on the same team as Generation Master Shion Kiba and former Team Demise member and Vanguard Queen Rin Hashima.
Character Development: Similar to Kazuma, Henri has a lot of confidence issues. But while Kazuma's issues have him push people away, Henri's have made him timid and clumsy, unable to speak up and take action when he needs to. By the finals of the Under 20, he has not only got over his crippling timidness, but his skills have put him on par with his teammates, who were already distinguished cardfighters already, and even Team Diffriders.
Hidden Depths: At first glance, he's a timid nobody. Outside of cardfights, he lacks the charisma needed to keep members in his club, resulting in it consisting of just him and Shion. In them, he was too intimidated simply by fighting Shion to play effectively, wasting a lot of guards early and failing to bolster his formation with rear guards. However, as Shion notes, he's capable of easily acknowledging these faults and facing them, learning from his mistakes. He seems to have a lot more potential than anyone but Shion gives him credit for.
So Proud of You: After Ren saves Henri from Noa, Ren thanks Henri for helping save the Fukuhara Cardfight Club and tells him as a captain of the same club that he is a worthy successor to him. Henri, who joined the club because of Ren, is more than elated to hear this.
The Leader: He's the captain of the Cardfight Club, even though Shion is typically associated as the leader.
Throw the Dog a Bone: After losing every onscreen cardfight since his introduction to the series, episode 36 finally gives him a chance to shine when he beats Verno Fahrenheart, a member of Team Diffrider, and convinces Shion to go challenge Chrono to a cardfight, just like Shion has wanted to do all U20.

Team Jaime Flowers

Left to right: Satoru, Tokoha, and Kumi

A team led by Tokoha Anjou joined by Satoru Enishi and Kumi Okazaki. Jaime Alcaraz serves as their coach, and is responsible for their team name, having done so without their input.

Embarrassing Nickname: I'll give you one guess as to who named the team.
Image Song: "Amenochi Blooming Smile♪". ^note "Blooming Smile After Rain♪" It was included as an extra with DVD boxes of NEXT.
Sixth Ranger: While not an official member, Jaime does serve as their coach and is responsible for naming them.
Worf Effect: Of the three teams established by the TRY 3 members, this team is the first team out of the Under 20, each eliminated by Team Diffrider to show how powerful they are (Satoru, up til that point was undefeated as well).

Kumi Okazaki

Oracle Think Tank

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kumi_gc.png

^{Click here to see her appearance from NEXT onwards}

A friend of Tokoha who attends the same school as her and Chrono. She uses an Oracle Think Tank deck, focusing on the Battle Sisters archetype. A prodigy at the game, she tends to offer support for TRY 3 from the sidelines rather than play herself. Come NEXT, she joins Tokoha's team in the Under 20 Championship as the third member, while also serving as the Morality Pet for the other members.

Affectionate Nickname: Affectionately calls Satoru "Enishichi" soon after joining the team, much to his confusion.
Beware the Quiet Ones: The soft spoken friend of Tokoha who's a beginner at Vanguard. Despite the fact she's just started, she's really skilled.
Can't Catch Up: How she feels in regards to her teammates Tokoha and Satoru.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Tokoha. The two are often together, the third ending song for NEXT is devoted to them, and the fourth ending has numerous scenes of them close together at the beach.
Morality Pet: To both Tokoha and Satoru.
Nice Girl: She was one of the few to see past Chrono's intimidating exterior after he helped her out.
Nun Too Holy: Her preferred deck, the Battle Sisters, are all nuns with a penchant for being Ax-Crazy. Weapon Wise, they range from More Dakka to Absurdly Sharp Blade's.
Plot Armor: Played with. While she does win more often than not, they are usually insignificant fights. How she wins those fights are a different story in which out of the blue, she would just randomly double or triple trigger, guaranteeing her victory from there. A more straightforward example is when she defeats Emi by triggering a Critical and a Stand trigger.
Shrinking Violet: On the surface, but those that know her better know she's more a Genki Girl.
The Pollyanna: It's hard to find a frown on Kumi's face.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly girl to Tokoha's Tomboy.

Satoru Enishi

Dark Irregulars

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enishi.png

^{Click here to see his appearance from NEXT onwards}

The young Branch Chief of the Vanguard Association's Dark Zone branch. He is secretly a part of Company and works for Ryuzu Myoujin with the hopes of bringing forth a perfect future. After losing to Tokoha, he begins to see himself as a sinner and becomes The Atoner and resigns from his position. In NEXT, he joins Tokoha's team in the U20 Championship as a way to make amends, soon forming a bond with the team.

The Atoner: Satoru believes that he was supposed to die in place of a girl he bonded with at a hospital, and truly regrets being the one who got to live. After noticing how much similar Luna's sacrifice for the stride gate was similar to his friends sacrifice leading to the disease's cure, he vowed that he would protect Luna and make sure the future she wants come true, doing for her what he failed in doing for his friend.
- In a more traditional example, NEXT shows he wants to do right with Vanguard after causing so much damage, firstly by making amends with those he hurt.
Character Development: Throughout NEXT, one thing that Satoru wanted to figure out was where he was going after leaving the Dark Zone branch as its Branch Chief. He wanted to show others how fun Vanguard is but wasn't sure how to go about it. By the time he fough Kamui, he was still lost in what he wanted to do, even asking Kamui for a remach once he found his purpose. He found that purpose when Onimaru Kazumi was chewing out Kumi saying how worthless her Vanguard was, telling Onimaru off declaring that he will protect her Vanguard. Every subsequent fight after that was reaffirmation of how he will protect his teammates Vanguard. After the Under 20, obviously unable to participate the next year due to his age, Ibuki offers him his old position as Brance Chief again, happily accepting it.
Chick Magnet: Appears to be quite popular with girls.
Dark and Troubled Past: As a child, Satoru was diagnosed with a rare disease that gave him a 50% chance of dying. While at the hospital, he met a girl there with the same disease, and the two quickly bonded. After she collapsed one day, Satoru promised her that he would show her a beautiful future. Unfortunately though, she died soon after. In a twist of fate, A cure was discovered soon after her death, leading to Satoru's life being saved. This led him to believe that it was her sacrifice that let him live, when he wanted to sacrifice himself for her. Then Ryuzu arrived, and promised him a way to make that future a reality....
Declaration of Protection: To a girl who he used to visit in the hospital, and more recently to Luna - or her through Luna.
- He takes up this role again with Tokoha under the request of Jaime Alcraz.
- He later declares this against Onimaru Kazumi when he fights for Kumi and indirectly, Luna and Am.
Heel–Face Turn: After being defeated by Tokoha, he resigns from being Dark Zone manager and becomes The Atoner. Come NEXT, he joins Tokoha's team to make up for his sins, firmly establishing him as a protagonist.
Improbable Age: Downplayed. He's the chief of the Dark Branch Zone but is only 18 years old, making him the youngest of all six Branch Chiefs. He turns 20 by the time NEXT comes around which barely makes him eligible for the Under 20.
Knight Templar: He's working for the future he promised for a girl important to him, no matter what is done to achieve it, and renews this before Luna.
Morality Pet: By NEXT, Satoru sees his teammates and Rummy Labyrinth as these, easily enraged if someone hurts them. Onimaru is no exception.
Not So Stoic: Enishi is very stoic and reserved compared to his teammates, but when Kazumi hurt Kumi and Rummy Labyrinth, he lost it.
Sixth Ranger Traitor: Of the six branch leaders, he is the only aware of and on-board with Myoujin's ambition. Though they see it as a betrayal against what the Association should stand for, he claims to be the only one still following it in the way its founder desires.
The Stoic: He tends to rarely loose his cool and keeps a rational mindset, even when he is surrounded by his teammates comedic movements. But the Stride Gate arc reveals that his stoicism is a mask just to hide his misery.

Jaime Alcaraz

Aqua Force

Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio (JP)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jaime_7.jpg

I feel it... in my heart!

A Vanguard fighter from Spain, Jaime is part of the European Circuit, but was invited to Japan by Mamoru. While he seems easily distracted, he is passionate about many things, Vanguard among them.

The Ace: He's shown to be ridiculously charismatic, easily making friends with people within five minutes of meeting them, a champion-level Vanguard fighter, and even skilled at crafts he's only just taken up.
Catchphrase: Apart from his use of amigos, he also has...
Jaime: I feel it... in my heart!
- The dub changes it to:
Jaime: My heart is...overflowing!
Gratuitous Spanish: Indeed, amigos.
Iconic Item: Thavas. He's had the card since he was a kid.
Latin Lover: Done twice, and while his charm works on a random woman, Tokoha is having none of it.
Making a Splash: Aqua Force
Malaproper: Downplayed, but he does screw up once in a while.
Parental Abandonment: It is revealed he used to live in an orphanage and was taken care of by a man named Emilio.
Supernatural Gold Eyes: He has bright gold eyes and uses Aqua Force, established previously as a special Clan.

Supporting Characters

Team Trinity Dragon

Originally the new Goldfish Poop Gang, through much experience they have grown into legitimate rivals to Try 3.

Non-Indicative Name: Despite their team being called Trinity Dragon, all three of them play clans with very few to no dragon units. Lampshaded by Chrono. Ironically Tsuneto's ace unit is Susanoo, where one of his forms is called Dragon Destroyer Battle Deity, Kamususanoo.
Overshadowed by Awesome: The Trinity Dragons are clearly a competent team. They made a deep run in the regional tournament arc before losing to TRY3, actually outright won at least one of the G Quests, and defeated Wakamizu in their third successive fight against him with some clever application of what they learned about his deck and playstyle from the other two. TRY3, however, is still leagues above them, so when they fight the Dragons still wind up looking like a bunch of chumps.
Shoo Out the Clowns: Subverted. While they serve as the comic relief, unlike Morikawa and Izaki, they continue to be somewhat involved with the plot, such as waiting for TRY3 near the end of the G Quest for Tsuneto and Chrono to fight, ensuring Chrono makes it to Grade 3 if he wins and serving as Team Striders last obstacle before they could enter the U20, later helping Kazuma and Taiyou train for the next stage. One notable example is when they discover Wakamizu's base for collecting Stride Force and defeat him, unintentionally giving him the last of the Stride Force Company needed for their plans and being filled in on Plan G by Kamui.ms Team Strider with Taiyou Asukawa and his classmate, Kazuma Shouji.
- At the beginning on Z, Tsuneto ends up dragged into relics after trying to save Chrono and works with him and any others trapped to find a way out.
Team Rocket Wins: Though they're usually portrayed as inferior to the main characters and especially Chrono, they manage to defeat TRY3 in a special fight where each team only uses one member's deck, but each team switches who is playing every turn. And that's every turn, not just either team's own. However, this leads to TRY3's Misfit Mobilization Moment.
- Long after the previous example, when the Trinity Dragons find themselves in trouble in a Company facility for the SECOND time, Wakamizu challenges them. If even one of them can defeat him, they all walk out scot free, and if they all lose they become his prisoners/lab rats. Though it takes all three of them to pull it off, Kei manages to actually beat a member of Company. It's really just too bad what happens next...
Took a Level in Badass: In the time between the end of Stride Gate and NEXT, they've developed into incredibly strong cardfighters.
- It's shown in a flashback that had asked Kamui to help them train and thus, Kamui, Miwa and Naoki all put Trinity Dragon through a Training from Hell where they kept losing. But in doing so they started to gain the respect from the rest of the patrons of Card Capital 1 and eventually they even started winning.

Tsuneto Tado

Oracle Think Tank

The #3 ranked fighter at "Card Capital 2" and the leader of Trinity Dragon. Though a nice person at heart, his enthusiasm for Vanguard manifests as youthful arrogance and immediately puts him at odds with the apathetic Chrono.

Beady-Eyed Loser: This character trait is even inflicted on units he rides.
Fanboy: Idolizes Mamoru and treats any chance he has to fight him as a blessing.
Foil: To Morikawa. Both often boast about being strong fighters only to lose to the protagonists, fanboy over their respective idols, and are generally treated as the comic relief. But while Morikawa continues to use nothing but Grade 3's despite his skill with a balanced deck, generally blames his losses on luck and treats Aichi as if he were his subordinate, Tsuneto, and by extension his team, all go through Character Development to actually become stronger cardfighters, take their losses well and have a mutual friendly rivalry with Chrono.
Lampshade Hanging: Mocks Chrono for using an archetype that coincidentally resembles his name.
The Leader: Of Trinity Dragon.
Spear Counterpart: to Misaki in terms of Oracle Think Tank players. While Misaki's decks are majority filled with woman, Tado's majority are filled with Men, right down to having Setsuno as his ace compared to Misaki's ace in Amaterasu.

Karl Yamaji

Dimension Police

The Smart Guy of Trinity Dragon. He plays a supportive role by using his computer and intelligence to analyse the game. He plays a Dimension Police deck.

Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: His deck specifically focuses on the Enigman Sub-Clan, giant aliens based on the Ultraman franchise.
The Smart Guy: Of Trinity Dragon. He analyse the game using his computer and his intelligence.

Kei Nagara

Great Nature

The Big Guy of Trinity Dragon. The definition of a gentle giant, he loves nature and plays a Great Nature deck.

The Big Guy: He is the tallest member of Trinity Dragon.
Big Damn Heroes: When Tsuneto collapsed from hunger in Episode 25, Kei went off and quickly came back with a large amount of fruit.
Eyes Always Shut: Very rarely does he open his eyes. One time his eyes are shown open is during his Stride Sequence.
Gentle Giant: Taller than most of the cast, yet soft-spoken.
Friend to All Living Things: In Episode 25 he gets surrounded by woodland animals reassuring them he's not scary.
Our Dragons Are Different: Couple of his Stride units are Omniscience, Dragons who are animals transformed into Wild Dragons. Like Managarmr, a wolf and Fernyiges, an Owl.

Rummy Labyrinth (with Saya)

Left to Right: Luna, Saya, and Am

An idol group conprised of two members. They are the image characters for the G Quest organized by the Vanguard Association. Unbeknownst to most, they were also candidates for the role of Peacemaker in Ryuzu Myoujin's plans. They later form a team with Saya for the Under 20 Championship under the name Rummy Labyrinth with Saya.

Demoted to Extra: Am and Luna were initially introduced as major characters with crucial roles and continuous development, bordering on part of the Main Cast alongside TRY 3 and Ibuki. By NEXT, their role and significance has diminished, and by Z, despite being confronted by Shiranui like other potential candidates for Gyze, they only really return towards the end to assist in fighting off Relics.
Idol Singer: All three are ones for their own reasons. Am (initially) was one to get money for her hospitalised Parents, Luna (initially) was to be with Am, and Saya (initially) was so she could shine outside of her mother's shadow. All three eventually came to the same conclusion to use their work to spread the joy of Vanguard to others.
Nice Girl: All three are incredibly nice people, though in Am's case it took awhile for her real color to shine through her Ace persona.

Luna Yumizuki

Pale Moon

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/293030.jpg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lunayumizukinext.png

NEXT Onwards

One half of the Rummy Labyrinth duo. A Naïve Newcomer to Vanguard, Luna holds great potential beneath her Rose-Haired Sweetie exterior. She cherishes her partner Am greatly, and would do anything to help her.

Brainwashed and Crazy: She is temporarily made a tool of Company to use the Stride Gate. She goes on to destroy the Dragon Empire branch even before the members of Company manage to win against any of the Association members present.
Catchphrase: Has one she uses when working as an idol.
Luna: Moonlight is my magic.
Chastity Couple: With Am. Blushing when Saya caught them holding hands in the dressing room.
The Chosen Many: Like Chrono, Luna is a Peacemaker, allowing her to control Zodiac Time Beasts. Unlike others but like Chrono, her powers are greater than others. This however led to her becoming an Empty Shell when she tried to give Stride Force, leaving her as nothing more but a tool to open the Stride Gate. Her "soul" is currently among the wills of the Zodiac Time Beasts.
Empty Shell: Her taking up the role of Peacemaker came at the cost of her sense of self and all purpose other than as a weapon to summon units. She goes back to normal after Am beats and rescues her.
For Happiness: Her personal reason for entering the U20 is to spread happiness through Vanguard.
Identical Stranger: To the girl Satoru used to visit in hospital.
Lethal Chef: The meal she, Naoki, and Shingo made during the Zoo branch's G quest was pretty bad. Bad enough to send Shingo to the infirmary.
The Load: Feels as though she's this to Am. Definitely not in Company's eyes.
Meaningful Name: Both her given and family name refer to the moon and her clan of choice is Pale Moon.
Morality Pet: To both Am and Satoru.
Naïve Newcomer: She is only beginning to play Vanguard, with Team TRY3 teaching her the rules. However, she did know some of the rules beforehand.
Psychotic Smirk: When she steps up to summon the Zodiac Beast brought along to decimate the Dragon Empire branch.
Rose-Haired Sweetie: Luna has pink hair and her official profile describes her as kind and pure-hearted, and it shows in series.
Unwitting Pawn: She was in the dark about the entire plot and Rummy labyrinth's purpose until shortly into Stride Gate.

Am Chouno/Ace

Granblue

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/298491.jpg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amchounonext.png

NEXT Onwards

One half of the Rummy Labyrinth duo. Am's partner, she hides a Dark and Troubled Past behind a happy front. She doubles as Ace, the member of Company responsible for the Kiba takeover. Motivated by her desire to revive her comatose parents, she wouldn't let anything stop her. Upon Luna being put in danger by her actions though, she defected and sought to right the wrongs she committed as Ace, with her ideals of spreading happiness as an idol and with Vanguard soon becoming genuine.

The Atoner: After her Heel–Face Turn, she tries her best make amends to all those she wronged. While some let her be Easily Forgiven, others like Shion take more time. Even by NEXT she still feels she has to make up for what she's done, namely with Shion.
Catchphrase: As part of her idol job, she as one.
Am: I'm the whimsical dreaming butterfly.
Chastity Couple: With Luna. Blushing when Saya caught them holding hands in the dressing room.
The Chosen Many: Like Luna and Chrono, Am is a Peacemaker, which allowed her to summon the Zodiac Time Beasts into the real world. Unlike them though, her power isn't as great, causing her to suffer from fatigue after summoning them.
Dirty Business: Played with. When Tokoha confronts her over ruining Shion's family thinking this is in effect, she tells her outright that she enjoyed tricking Shion into having his own family lose control over the Kiba Corporation. However, other aspects of her behavior seem to contradict this statement. Just prior, she had said she would do whatever she needed to in order to open the Stride Gate, no matter how horrible. Additionally, when Tokoha tried to confront her at the Dragon Empire Branch, Am couldn't look her in the eye, and looked back at Tokoha with a sorrowful expression as she left. By the time her Heel–Face Turn occurs, it's clear she was lying to herself in order to make it easier on her conscience.
Am: I thought a rich kid who knew nothing about reality deserved it!
Easily Forgiven: Shion rejects Am's apology when she comes to Team Try 3 for help, having not forgiven her for her actions as Ace while Tokoha and Chrono, who had befriended Am before, forgive her.
Heel Realization: After Luna becomes an Empty Shell by becoming a Peacemaker, Am began to regret having getting Luna involved. She decided that saving her parents wasn't worth sacrificing Luna, and tried to run away with Luna's comatose body. Satoru, however, refused to allow it.
- Heel–Face Turn: After losing to Satoru, she defected to the heroes while making amends with Try 3 and vowing to rescue Luna.
Homeless Hero: After losing to Satoru, Am was evicted from Company. With nowhere else for her to go, Am was left lying against a wall in the rain, begging for someone to save her. Most likely subverted by NEXT, as both she and Luna are Rummy Labyrinth again, allowing her a home to go to again.
I Will Protect Her: She doesn't want Luna getting involved with the plan behind closed doors and insists she take the burden alone. It doesn't work out at first, and Luna pays a hefty cost when she steps in to lessen the strain on Am. The second time does work out, after Am defeats Luna and rescues her from the Stride Gate.
I Lied: After winning her fight against Shion, she reveals to him that she lied about the takeover of the Kiba Corporation being nearly complete.
Manipulative Bastard: She plays Shion like a fiddle. She provokes him into a cardfight with the Kiba corporation and family heirloom on the line, then uses his eagerness to do so against him by showing the fight to political and business VIP to convince them of Shion's immaturity, leading to the Kiba corporation being taken over.
Meaningful Name: Her last name can be translated as Butterfly Field and she calls herself a butterfly when using her catchphrase.
Morality Pet: Luna is one to her, and she herself is one to Satoru.
Sixth Ranger: After her Heel–Face Turn, she serves as this to the heroes, being one of the Five Arbiters on the Heroes side.
Walking Spoiler: Ace being her alter ego pretty much seals this.
We Used to Be Friends: She and Tokoha had a genuine friendship after getting to know of one another. Though she may be a Well-Intentioned Extremist, as she was on Ryuzu's side, the two became enemies, something that caused Am great guilt, preventing her from even looking Tokoha in the eye. Following her Heel–Face Turn and their subsequent rescuing of Luna, this trope is thoroughly averted.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Her parents are both in a comatose state after a car accident, and she truly believes the only way to save them and reverse the damage is to open the Stride Gate. To do that though, she is willing to do anything, no matter how terrible. Even if it means breaking the bonds she has with others. She grew out of this after her Heel–Face Turn, even further after Shion offers resources from the Kiba Corp. to aide her parents come the epilogue.

Saya Yatomi

Bermuda Triangle

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/286295.jpg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/teamrummylabyrinthwithsayau20opening.png

NEXT Onwards

An idol singer who was invited to perform at the Kagero branch, she made regular appearances until joining Rummy Labyrinth.

Ascended Extra: Originally a One Shot character, she returned in Stride Gate once more before becoming a full on supporting member by joining Rummy Labyrinth.
Cool Big Bro & Cool Big Sis: Sees all the members of TRY 3 as this, adding the proper honorifics when addressing them as well.
Idol Singer: Not only is she one but her clan of choice is comprised of mermaid idols.
Sixth Ranger: She joins up with Rummy Labyrinth for the Under 20 as a way for the three to spread their love of Vanguard to others,.
Verbal Tic: Ends her sentences with myuu.

Team New Nippon

Left to Right: Noa, Arata, and Makoto

A group of new characters participating in the Under 20 Championship who declare themselves the successors of former national champions, Team Nippon, Rive, Shin and Mark's old team. They consist of Arata Nishizawa, Makoto Asada and Noa Hoshizaki.

Locked Out of the Loop: The team truly believes that after Nationals, Rive had passed away and Shin now travels the earth sharpening his skills. Of course none of these are true.

Arata Nishizawa

Tachikaze

The leader of team New Nippon. Really looks up to Rive Shindo and desires to fight Chrono because of this.

Hot-Blooded
Idiot Hero: He wanted the team to stick together in order for them to fight Team Striders all at once. Except everyone's spread out to fight as many fighters as they can.

Makoto Asada

Murakumo

A member of team New Nippon.

Determinator: He's a lot more passionate than he lets on, but he believe in his team and will fight on.
The Smart Guy
Refusal of the Call: Originally did not join up with Arata simply because he though Arata wanted a Murakumo player to match Team Nippon. As it turns out, it was simply coincidence.

Noa Hoshizaki/Chaos Breaker Dragon (Former)

Link Joker

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/noahoshizakinext.png

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cfvgz_chaosreveal.jpg

Noa possessed by Chaos Breaker Dragon.

A member of team New Nippon. After finding a gate made by Team Diffrider, he is forcibly Diffrided with Chaos Breaker Dragon, and soon left his team to further the goals of The Apostles.

Admiring the Abomination: As his Diffride ends, he tells Chaos Breaker Dragon that he admires him for having the strength to keep to his convictions no matter what, something that Noa hopes to obtain one day.
The Corrupter: As he did in the past, Chaos Breaker Dragon is responsible for the corruption of numerous individuals. Unlike last time, The Corruption was forced Diffriding, the units that came all sharing his goal.
Demonic Possession: Gets possessed by Chaos Breaker Dragon. He attempts to in turn inflict this on Kanzaki in Episode 45 of NEXT, but Kanzaki resists it. Before that, he traveled the world searching for Vessels for The Apostles, forcing each one into Diffriding.
Dude Looks Like a Lady: Despite the long hair, boy shorts, more petite figure and the girlish way of acting, Noa's a boy.
From Nobody to Nightmare: As Noa, he is a sweet if odd kid who made bonds with both his teammates and Chrono. After being forcibly Diffrided by Chaos Breaker Dragon however, he is responsible for the assembly of The Apostles, and serves as one of the bigger threats to the heroes.
Hope Spot: Chaos Breaker gives Chrono one in the first episode of G Z by letting him think he's getting through to Noa, before revealing that it was just something he let Chrono see to get his hopes up.
Knight of Cerebus: While Team Diffrider was mysterious, Chaos Breaker Dragon's Diffriding of Noa is what kicked the story into high gear and made the plot darker with it, by turning the Cloudcuckoolander into a powerful threat.

Vanguard Association

The Friendly International Vanguard Association, or FIVA for short, is as the name suggests, a group dedicated to promote Vanguard and support cardfighters.

The most senior members of the Association are the Clan Leaders. In addition to organising public activities within their designated district, each Clan Leader is also a world-class Cardfighter and considered one of the strongest users of their respective clan.

Mamoru Anjou

Kagero

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Tokoha's older brother. He works for the Vanguard Association's Dragon Empire and is the Kagero Clan Leader.

The Ace: He isn't the Kagero clan leader for nothing. He's strong enough to beat Chrono, Shion, and Tokoha in a 3vs1 fight.
Beleaguered Assistant: Often has to deal with his superior's antics.
Beware the Nice Ones: Pretty easygoing and even tempered even under a heavy workload (except when his boss pushes his slacking too far) but if you successfully manage to piss him off like Enishi and the Company did, he WILL hand you your ass.
- On a more humorous note, he has little patience for Chief Ryutaro attempting to get out of paperwork and push onto him, and will go as far to engage a manhunt if necessary.
Big Brother Instinct: He's not comfortable with sending Tokoha, or any of TRY3, into the more dangerous steps of the plan against Myoujin.
Cool Big Bro: He is a loving and supportive bro to Tokoha, and he also acts as this to Chrono, Shion, and Trinity Dragons.
Crazy-Prepared: Has the Dragon Empire branch layered with traps in the event Chief Ryutaro tries to get out of doing paperwork again.
Fanboy: To Kai. He even believed Kai should be the Kagero Clan leader when he himself was appointed.
Forgotten First Meeting: Has met Rin Hashima before but, unlike her, doesn't remember it.
The Lancer: To Ibuki's Big Good. Mamoru tends to get annoyed if Ibuki invokes Locked Out of the Loop on him.
Nice Guy: Which is reflected in how relaxed the Dragon Empire is, hosting numerous events.
Not So Above It All: Despite being annoyed with Ryutaro's antics, Mamoru will galdly join him when the situation calls for it.
Playing with Fire: His Kagero deck.
Taking the Bullet: He takes a hit from a real unit which was aimed at Tokoha, and given the extent of his injuries, more than likely saved her life.
Unwitting Pawn: He and all the other clan/branch leaders were unknowingly help Myoujin's plan with the hosting of the G Quest. He wasn't impressed and brought it to light to his colleagues.

Ryutaro Oyama

Narukami

Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (JP)

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The boisterous and idiosyncratic head of the "Dragon Empire" branch. In addition to his regular duties (which he mostly fobs off onto Mamoru), he serves as the Narukami Clan Leader.

Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He is the Head of the Dragon Empire Branch and as such holds the most authority there. However, he often pushes his work onto Mamoru, runs off to play Vanguard while dressed as Vangarou, and announces Mamoru's presence in the event he is nearly caught so the fans will crowd around him
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": We never get to know his real name, as everyone refers him as Section Chief. His name is finally revealed in episode 40 of G.
Reasonable Authority Figure: After seeing Chrono's conviction, he is willing to postpone the meeting between the heads of the various branches, so that Team TRY3 can have their rematch against Team Demise.
Shock and Awe: Narukami.
Strong as They Need to Be: Ryutaro is an extremely powerful Card Fighter. However, he prefers that both he and the opponent have fun and enjoy the game, so he will often lower his power to match that of or be just above the opponent's power.