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You Show Duel School
You Show Junior Youth
Yuya Sakaki
Yuya Sakaki
The protagonist of ARC-V and the creator of Pendulum Summoning who aspires to a professional entertainer. Later joins Reiji's Lancers in an effort to save the dimensions threaten by the malignant force known as Academia. See Yuya counterparts for more information.
Yuzu Hiiragi (Zuzu Boyle)
Yuzu Hiiragi (Zuzu Boyle)
The heroine of ARC-V and Yuya's childhood friend, she is the daughter of You Show Duel School's headmaster.
See Yuzu counterparts for more information.
You Show Junior
Tatsuya (Tate), Ayu (Allie), and Futoshi (Frederick)
Tatsuya Yamashiro (Tate), Ayu Ayukawa (Allie), and Futoshi Harada (Frederick)
Voiced by: Nanami Niide (Tatsuya), Kyouko Chikiri (Futoshi), Satomi Akesaka (Ayu) (JP); Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (Allie) (EN)
The three children that go to You Show Duel School. At the beginning of the series, Ayu and Futoshi are already students of You Show Duel School. In the end of the second episode, Tatsuya joins the school as well, even after Yuya is accused for a cheater. The three of them accompany Yuya and Yuzu wherever they go and cheer them on. They're the representatives for You Show Duel School in the Junior division of the Maiami City Championship. Tatsuya uses an Entermachine Deck, and is later shown using Deskbots; Ayu uses an Aqua Actress Deck; Futoshi uses a Sketch Deck.
Tropes associated with these kids:
- Two Guys and a Girl: Tatsuya and Futoshi are the boys, and Ayu is the girl. Platonic, by the way.
- Alliterative Name: Ayu Ayukawa.
- Art Attacker: Futoshi's Deck is a Sketch Deck, whose monsters look like they were drawn with crayons.
- Audience Surrogate: Tatsuya, Futoshi and Ayu are the youngest students in You Show Duel School and need to be explained many things; like the difference between Levels and Ranks or the conditions of certain effects. Extra points for being an In-Universe audience for most of the duels.
- Badass Adorable: Surprisingly, they're all quite talented duelists in their own right (if not on the same level as people like Yuya or Reiji). On top of being kids.
- All three of them lose to Reira, though, albeit not without a fight.
- Berserk Button: Making fun of their onii and onee-chans. They were absolutely livid at Sora for making fun of Yuzu and Gongenzaka.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Ayu, according to Futoshi.
- Big Brother Worship: The three admire Yuya and Yuzu and add "-onii-chan" and "-onee-chan" on their names.
- Big Eater: Futoshi remarked upon seeing Michio's full bento that even he couldn't finish that much food.
- The Big Guy: Among the three, it's Futoshi.
- Blush Sticker: Futoshi has this in the opening, and Ayu does it most often in the show.
- Broken Pedestal: Futoshi has this bad for Sora in episode 52.
- Catchphrase: Futoshi and his "shivers." In the English dub, this is change to him "getting the goosepickles". note
- Chromatic Arrangement: Futoshi wears yellow/green, Ayu has red hair and wears pink, and Tatsuya has blue hair.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Futoshi. No, really.
- Cute Machines: Tatsuya's ace, Entermachine Gadget Giant, it has a mechanical bow tie for pete's sake.
- The Cutie: Ayu to whom her parents just state she's absolutely adorable.
- Dub Name Change: Ayu, Tatsuya and Futoshi becomes Allie, Tate and Frederick, respectively in the English dub.
- Fat Idiot: Futoshi is not the brightest bulb, requiring more explanation during duels than the other two. Despite this, he can Duel, managing to beat his opponent in Episode 27 with a pretty good combo.
- Freudian Trio: Ayu is the Ego, Futoshi is the Id, and Tatsuya is the Superego.
- Funny Foreigner: Frederick in the dub is German, and half his dialogue refers to German cuisine. (His favourite ice cream flavour is Pralines and currywurst.
- Good with Numbers: Tatsuya could math Yuya's winning rate percent pretty quickly.
- Graceful Loser: Tatsuya, after he loses to Reira.
- The Load: Futoshi does nothing but make it worse in Yuya's duel with Sawatari.
- Making a Splash: Ayu uses an Aqua Actress deck, which are fish that look like actresses.
- Meaningful Name: Ayu is named after the fish of the same name
. Fittingly, her monsters are fish. - Nice Guy: And Girl. But all three are friendly.
- Only Sane Man: Tatsuya seems to be one for the entire school.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "I'll give you shivers." - Futoshi.
- "Silly Me" Gesture: Ayu does this in Episode 28, when she forgets she can't attack on the first turn.
- The Smart Guy: Among the three, it's Tatsuya.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Ayu took a lot from her mother.
- Sweet Tooth: Ayu seems to really like pudding.
- T. Rexpy: The ace monster of Futoshi's Sketch Beast archetype appears to be Sketch Beast Tyrano.
- Tagalong Kids: They are something like cheerleaders and follow the heroes everywhere they go, but they haven't duel in the first 26 episodes. Futoshi finally duels (and he wins) in Episode 27, and Ayu duels in Episode 28. She loses, but puts up a good fight at least.
- Took a Level in Badass: Post Cosmic Retcon, Tatsuya starts using Deskbots, and utilizes Pendulum Summoning.
- Undying Loyalty: Tatsuya believes that Yuya didn't cheat despite no proof. All three have this to Yuya and Yuzu.
- Weak, but Skilled: Ayu's Aqua Actress deck monster have low attack, but are supported by an array of spells and traps to make them a threat. Reira turns this against her by copying her monsters to receive the boost, while preventing her monsters from receiving it.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- They give one to Sora for not even bothering to duel against the LDS Students. And for daring to insult Yuzu and Gongenzaka for losing, since they tried their best to defend the school.
- Futoshi and Ayu later after the battle royale arc give one to Yuya for being unable to protect Yuzu.
You Show Faculty
Shuzou Hiiragi (Skip Boyle)
Shuzou Hiiragi (Skip Boyle)
Voiced by: Mitsutaka Itakura (JP); Tom Wayland (episodes 1-8), Billy Bob Thompson (episodes 8-present) (EN)
Yuzu's father and the current owner of You Show Duel School. He runs a Guts Master deck, which relies on swarm tactics and Special Summoning, similar to Yuzu's Fantasia Deck.
Tropes associated with Shuzou:
- Achilles' Heel: His Guts Master monsters can't use their effects in defense mode.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Embarrasses Yuzu before her duel with Masumi, by picking a field to highlight her 'cuteness.'
- Bumbling Dad: Due to his Hot-Blooded nature.
- Badass Teacher: As the principal of You Show duel school.
- Catchphrase: "Burning" and "hot-blooded."
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's actually a skilled duelist, capable of executing a combo to snatch Yuya's Pendulum monsters from his hand, and then play them himself. He established a field that could have granted him victory, but since his combo involved skipping his battle phase, Yuya managed to secure victory on the next turn.
- Dare to Be Badass: Challenges Yuya to set the precedence for Pendulum summoning, just like his father did for Action Dueling.
- Didn't Think This Through: Picks a star-based field for Yuya's duel with Hokuto... despite the meaning of Hokuto's name (the constellation Big Dipper, or the North Star).
- Doting Parent: He cares very much for his daughter.
- Eccentric Mentor: He's pretty odd, though well-meaning.
- Everyone Has Standards: Yoko's fangirling is too much for even him.
- Expy: His character has some parallels with Might Guy.
- Fiery Redhead: His hair color fits his Hot-Blooded personality.
- Foil: To Leo Akaba of all people due to having various similar relationships. They are both close friends to Yusho and father figures to Ray in a sense who deeply love her that they regained their erased memories of her but as people they are the exact opposite. Shuzuo is a Hot-Blooded Lovable Jock that truly cares for his students and who believes in Yusho's ideals while Leo is a detached scientist who takes advantage of his students to form an army and teaches the Academia the exact opposite of Yusho's ideals. Shuzuo has a good relationship with Yuya, even entrusting Yuya to save Yuzu while Leo despises Zarc and is determined to kill him.
- Good Parents: He is arguably the best parent in the series. Having the most screen time out of all the parents, worrying about Yuzu's odd behavior after meeting Yuto and happily cheering for her. Episode 53 shows he took Yuzu everywhere and would even stop in the middle of a pro duel to change her diapers.
- Hot-Blooded: Yuya looked subdued by comparison. Shuzou even screams the term. His deck even has this theme, the Guts Master monsters. Shuzou is so hot-blooded that his name is even written with burning letters on the Versus Character Splash, a characteristic that everybody else lacks.
- Heel: He insulting Yuya while in their duel, just when Yuya feels very depressed, it's enough for Yuzu and the children to boo him all the time.
- Large Ham: When you can make Yuya look quiet, you're definitely this. And then there's his "manly fainting noises". note
- Lovable Jock: All his Guts Masters also have a sports theme to them. He himself appears to be wearing a track suit. And he is a kind teacher and loving father.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Parodied in episode 14. Shuzou challenges Yuya to a duel in order to get him out of his blue and inspire him to become a better duelist; after a good lecture about how his fears have leave him paralyzed in one place, Yuya manages to pull himself together and win with a One-Turn Killer combo. As Action Duels actually hurt you, Shuzo gets knocked out and Yuya screams his name while cradling him in his arms and a very Kung Fu movie ending scene plays out... until Yuzu smack her dad's face with her paper fan to wake him up.
- Opinion Flip Flop: Refused to have Yuya duel Strong Ishijima...until he is offered a new Solid Vision dueling system in exchange.
- Personality Powers: The Hot-Blooded coach that values team work has a deck of FIRE-attribute monsters, based in different kind of sports and that have effects that increases the number of monsters at his side and protects them of being destroyed.
- Playing with Fire: His deck's attribute, fitting to his personality and motifs.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a critical one to Yuya for being a pessimist, not being able to accept another Pendulum summoner, and for not coming close to his father's skills. He continues to mock him through their duel, provoking him to be better.
- Secret Test of Character: Delivers one to Yuya in Episode 14, to get him out of his Heroic BSoD.
- Shipper on Deck: One could see Shuzou as this for YuyaXYuzu. The two have had multiple bonding moments throughout the series, and every time Shuzou was there, he didn't bat an eye, yet when Dennis hit on her in Ep. 44, Shuzou was furious.
- Spell My Name With An S: The anime romanized his name as "Syuzou".
- Training from Hell: In Episode 21, he's shown vigorously practicing drawing using a machine that holds thousands of cards.
- Willfully Weak: Yoko says that Shuzou has all the talent to be a professional duelist, but he considers that there are things more important than winning.
- Zerg Rush: None of the Guts Master monsters (as of Episode 14) have attacks over 1800, but their effects can summon a lot at once, to overwhelm an opponent. Though they have effects to protect each other from destruction in battle, and destroy the opponent's attacking monster.
Yusho Sakaki
Yusho Sakaki
Voiced by: Hiroki Tochi (JP), Michael Liscio. Jr (EN)
He is Yuya's father, Yoko Sakaki's husband, an Entertainment Duelist and the founder of the You Show Duel School. He was the Action Duel Champion until three years ago, he suddenly disappeared.
He uses an Entermate/Performapal deck like his son, though he doesn't seem to use Pendulum monsters. Befitting his Stage Magician persona, his strategy involves predicting the opponent's moves and using sleight-of-hand illusions to control the field or stop the enemy's strategies. He focuses on Continuous Spell cards, which work in tandem with his Sky Magician.
Tropes associated with Yusho:
- The Ace: People who really respect him praise Yusho for his performances and skills. Reiji even describes him as a pioneer of Action Duels. Also, in the first episode, Strong Ishijima believes that he can only become the true champion after defeating Yusho. Reiji originally intended Yusho to be the leader of the Lancers. He lives up to that reputation when he finally duels Yuri, of all people, and until Yuri busts out Superior Polymerization to summon Clear Wing and Starving Venom at once, Yusho was in control of the duel and probably would have won if he'd made it to his third turn. And he did it without even needing to utilize any form of Extra Deck summonings.
- Action Dad: Just because he has an adopted son doesn't mean he can't kick butt.
- All-Loving Hero: Just like Yuya. He is understandably not happy with the Academia's methods, but he stated he was willing to forgive them if they truly apologized
- All There in the Manual: Model sheets give us the name of his ace monster, Sky Magician.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Successfully deduces Yuri's strategy and counters it through sheer deductive reasoning.
- Back from the Dead: He returns in Episode 141 after the birth of the Pendulum Dimension.
- Batman Gambit: Pulls one off in Episode 132 to destroy Yuri's Super Polymerization.
- Be Yourself: He told a young Yuya, he wanted Yuya to be himself.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- He arrived just in time to save a shocked Asuka from the Juvenile Officers in episode 106's flashback. And considering the Xyz Dimension Duel Disk he was wearing and how bruised he looked when he saved her, it was probably mere coincidence that he arrived in the nick of time and in the right place.
- He stops Yuya from defeating Leo at the price of defeating Reiji in episode 129.
- Big Good: Played With in a different way from Reiji. He arrived in Heartland before Academia invaded it and taught the young people dueling skills that have helped them, but he also left one day. But he's currently in the Fusion Dimension working against Academia. He arguably steps up to the role from episodes 130 to 133 when he essentially rallies the remaining good guys to stop Zarc from reviving before facing Yuri himself.
- Broken Pedestal: He was the Champion and went missing three years prior to the series' start on the night of the Championship match, and is now thought of as a coward. He's this to the Xyz Dimension as well. Acting as their teacher before Academia attacked, but disappeared mysteriously one day, courtesy by Edo. They call him a coward as well.
- Catchphrase: Yuya's "The fun's just getting started!" was originally Yusho's.
- Chekhov M.I.A.: Yusho has been missing for three years but he's mentioned enough times to know that he'll show up eventually. Also, his disappearance is strongly suggested to be due to a kidnapping. He's actually been dimension hopping since his "disappearance". His disappearance from Standard lead him to the Xyz Dimension, where he taught Heartland how to duel, then he wound up in the Fusion Dimension, where he created a second You Show Duel School hidden away somewhere in the city.
- Dented Iron: His duel against Edo has taken its toll on him. His leg is injured and he can barely walk as a result
- Dirty Coward: He's considered one by the citizens of Standard for vanishing before a Championship match, and by the Xyz Dimension for doing the same right before Academia attacked. In the latter case, he implies that Edo Phoenix was somehow responsible for stranding him in the Fusion Dimension. When we meet him, it's easily an subversion.
- Disappeared Dad: He's been missing for three years. This is because he's been travelling across dimensions.
- Expy: He's pretty much Kazuma Tsukumo with a new profession. They even look alike to the point that they may canonically be alternate world versions of each other.
- Foil:
- He's one to Leo Abaka. They created actually recreated Real Solid Vision in Standard and left their family three years ago and are deeply involved with the Interdimensional War. But Leo not only willingly abandoned his family for his daughter and started the war. Yusho joined the war to stop Leo and has shown to be a loving father to Yuya.
- He's one to Zarc. They are both entertainers that changed the dueling culture of their dimensions. But Yusho was a positive influence while Zarc changed dueling into a blood sport. A large differing point is how they gained and regarded their fame, Yusho at first wasn't popular and got criticism for his dueling style before winning everyone over and then was willing threw his fame and good name to stop a war. Zarc accidently won the audience's favor despite it not being what he wanted to do but willingly played along before the resulting frustration caused him to hate humanity as a whole.
- Friend to All Children: He's shown that he adores children.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: As close as one can get with card games. He intervenes in the duel between Leo and Yuya and Reiji and plays a trap that restrains Yuya because Yuya was going berserk and awakening Zarc.
- Go Out with a Smile: Yusho's final actions before he is carded by Yuri is to smile to Yuya, hoping that Yuya will be able to smile in the face of adversity no matter what. Deconstructed; his carding sends Yuya into a blinding rage. Reconstructed in the following episode when Yuya draws Smile World and calms himself for his father's sake.
- Good Is Not Dumb: Episode 129 reveals that while Yusho wanted to convince Leo to peacefully give up, he had prepared a trap card that would forcefully restrain Leo if need be.
- Good Parents:
- Flashbacks indicate he was a good father to his son.
- He vows to prevent Zarc's awakening after restraining Yuya with an illegal trap card before he could defeat Leo at the cost of finishing off Reiji as well.
- After losing to Yuri, at first scared and shocked. The minute he sees how broken up Yuya is, he instantly smiles to remind Yuya to keep smiling as Yuri cards him.
- Handicapped Badass:
- Just because his leg broke during his Duel against Edo doesn't mean he can't Duel properly. Dennis learned it the hard way.
- Yuri even learned this when Yusho was able to force Super Polymerization back into his Deck through good old manipulation and planning.
- Hidden Depths: Himika and Reiji suspect that his disappearance might have to do with their enemies. At the very least he's been to the Xyz Dimension and is currently in the Fusion Dimension opposing Academia.
- In the Blood: Yuya's ideals of entertaining the audience and his opponents and that duels should never be used as a tool for conflict all come from Yusho. Subverted when we learn that Yuya isn't his biological son.
- Large Ham: The flashback in Episode 52 pretty much cements him as one.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Has this realization during Yuya and Reiji's duel against Leo when he notes that by raising Yuya, he is directly responsible for facilitating Zarc's return to power.
- Mythology Gag: His cards are all designed to Call-Back to Yami Yugi. This is most prominent with his Sky Magician being his response to Yami Yugi's Dark Magician, but he also has "Binding Swords of Impact" (Swords of Revealing Light), "Miracle Silk Hat" (Magical Hats), and to a lesser extent "Magician's Right Hand" and "Magician's Left Hand" are named after Glory of the King's Hand and Glory of the King's Opposite Hand.
- Nice Guy: Each flashback has shown him to be a kind and loving father. After he finally appears on the show, he's kind and loving person to everyone.
- Papa Wolf: No one is going to hurt his son if he has anything to say about it, not even Yuri. He's even willing to risk Zarc's revival to protect his son.
- Passing the Torch: Zigzagged. Yusho knew that Yuya could fulfill his dream of making everyone happy with dueling but he never tried to push Yuya to take that dream.
- The Paragon: Yusho's entertainment dueling created the start of Action Dueling. It could said it was because of him Standard didn't develop the same violent tendencies as the Original Dimension.
- Parents as People: Yusho is consistently shown to be a kind, loving and supportive dad to Yuya. And once they reunite, Yusho continues to prove that he loves his son, adopted or not. But at the same time due to Yusho leaving three years ago, Yuya had to deal with being bullied and mocked. But once its revealed that Yusho left to stop the interdimensional war, Yuya happily accepts his disappearance.
- Perpetual Smiler: He always has a warm smile on each time we see him. But he is shown to have a serious side.
- Punny Name: Yusho sounds a lot like You Show, his own Dueling school's name and hints at his flashy Entertainment Dueling style.
- A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Zigzagged with Dennis, who is evil since day one but truly loved Yusho's Entertainment Dueling style to the point of growing obsessed with it but he hasn't changed his alignment at all.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Dennis in Episode 112 for not polishing his Entertainment Dueling skills "since that time" and only focusing on captivating the audience with his flashy theatrics without trying to say anything with his dueling.
- Revenge: Downplayed. Yusho feels he has to avenge Asuka and the rest of You Show students that were carded by Yuri.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: He saves Reiji and Leo from an Awakened Yuya by deliberately playing an illegal card to restrain the latternote , triggering the anti-cheating mechanism on everyone's Duel Disks and terminating their Duel before Yuya could defeat Reiji and Leo.
- Spell My Name With An S: His names is romanized as "Yusyo" in the anime.
- Spirited Competitor: He was really happy when his acrobatic style was catching on and decided to polish his abilities in order to become an example to newest generations.
- Stage Magician: Both he and his Sky Magician give off this vibe. Episode 132 shows that this is the motif of his deck.
- "Stop Having Fun" Guys: Like his son, he's an invoked inversion. He butted in Yoko's duel in her flashback in episode 52 cause they were using dueling to settle fights. He swiftly saved Yoko's friend so she could duel for fun.
- Technical Pacifist: Like Yuya, his go to method to stop conflict is to talk things out but if he's forced to he'll resort to violence.
- Troll: Against Dennis in Episode 112.
- Unwitting Pawn: To Zarc. He realizes that Zarc may have put Yuya under his care so Yuya could learn for him in the hopes of regaining his dueling skill.
- World's Strongest Man: For Standard, to the point Strong didn't feel like he was the champion till he beat Yusho.
- Worthy Opponent: To Strong Ishijima, who even hoped to lure Yusho out by challenging Yuya.
You Show Former Students
Sora Shuin'in (Sora Perse)
Sora Shiun'in (Sora Perse)
A student who joined the You Show Duel School at the early part of the series, but he eventually leaves it when the story goes on.See The Lancers for more information.
Gongenzaka Dojo
Noboru Gongenzaka (Gong Strong)
Noboru Gongenzaka (Gong Strong)
Yuya's best friend and reliable companion. He joins the Lancers alongside Yuya. See The Lancers for more information
Leo Corporation
Reiji Akaba (Declan Akaba)
Reiji Akaba (Declan Akaba)
The young and mysterious CEO of Leo Corporation and a user of all summoning methods.See The Lancers for more information.
Nakajima (Claude)
Nakajima (Claude)
Voiced by: Yuuki Hayashi
Nakajima works at Leo Corporation for Reiji. He appears to work directly under Reiji and his mother.
Tropes associated with Nakajima:
- Cool Shades: He always wears glasses that cover his eyes, even from the sides similar to Neo.
- Expy: Serves a role similar to Saruwatari/Kemo and Mr. Crocketts/Croquet or Isono/Roland in Duel Monsters.
- Number Two: Seems to serve as one for the Akabas' though his exact position is ambiguous.
- Only Sane Employee: Verges into this at some points.
- Pet the Dog: Deeply concerned about letting the LDS trio draw out Kurosaki, since they are just children.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He always wears a smoking suit.
Tio (Herk)
Tio (Herk)
Voiced by: Takahiro Fujiwara
He is an elite Duelist and employee of the Leo Corporation, and in charge of investigating Marco's disappearance, first making his appearance showing Marco's damaged duel disk. He is later defeated and sealed away in a card by Shun Kurosaki.
Tropes associated with Tio:
- And I Must Scream: Had his soul taken by Kurosaki.
- Clueless Detective: He was capable enough to find the culprit, Kurosaki who had been the one to defeat Marco, but then promptly gets beaten as well.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: A cleft one.
- Nice Guy: He's made to keep quiet about Marco, but he is nothing but kind to the Masumi and her friends.
- The Worf Effect: Called one of the school's aces by Mrs. Akaba, yet he lost to Kurosaki.
LDS Faculty
Himika Akaba (Henrietta Akaba)
Himika Akaba (Henrietta Akaba)
Voiced by: Kikuko Fujimoto (JP), Lianne Marie Dobbs (EN)
The chairwoman of LDS, and Reiji's mother. Her job seems to consist of going around the world to claim other Duel Schools under the banner of LDS, creating a huge network which Leo Corporation controls. She sets her sights on You Show after the attack on Sawatari gives her an excuse to pin it on Yuya and propose a wager with You Show on the line.
Tropes associated with Himika Akaba:
- Ambiguously Evil: She's a bit corrupt, but neither her or Reiji seem to be outright evil, not to mention her humanizing features such as caring for those that work under her. Then it's revealed that they're planning to defend against an invasion from Leo Akaba, so her actions seem more justified considering the circumstances. And then we find out the reason why Reira is so messed up, putting her back to this
- Benevolent Boss: Though ruthless to other duel schools, she's shown to care about her employees.
- The Atoner: Her attitude towards Reira when she see Reira sacrifice himself to protect all of reality.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Though she and her son ultimately have good intentions, they are still the conflict creators in the earlier arcs before Acadamia rears its head.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: She's ruthless to other duel schools, but actually subverted, in that she is aware of Reiji's plan and actively supports him in it.
- Education Mama: A dueling example towards Reira. She wants to make another prodigy out of him, like Reiji, but it's implied that all she got was traumatizing him until the point he's afraid of her and pushes himself to win in order to not enrage her. Eventually it's revealed that Reira isn't really her son, but an orphan that was rescued from a war-torn nation. He threw away his sense of self as a defense mechanism and can only emulate others, so if anything she's just trying to make him into another Reiji.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She cares for her sons, and she cares for Marco and Tio, and wants to see their souls freed. Subverted for Reira; he was only ever a puppet to her.
- Even Evil Has Standards: She is appalled by the possibility that someone is taking and sealing away the souls of duelists.
- Freudian Excuse: Reiji stated that she started changing when Leo abandoned her.
- Jerkass: She almost explicitly admits that she wants to punish Yuya for embarrassing LDS.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Maybe more of a bronze or silver one, but she does care for her sons and employees. Or at least she cares about ONE of her sons...
- Knight Templar: She'll do whatever she thinks it'll take to help her son Reiji defeat her husband. Including grooming Reira to be her puppet against him.
- Out of Focus: She has the least screen time and storyline out of the four Akaba and the recurring LDS characters, despite being the company money manager, Reiji and Reira's mother, and the (ex-)wife of the Big Bad of the show Leo.
- Morality Pet: Is on good terms with Reiji, though they interact formally, and also cares about Marco.
- My God, What Have I Done?: In episode 142, she shows a huge amount of grief for how she treated Reira and is desperate for him to be happy.
- Playing Card Motifs: Her is the heart suit. Shown by her hair resembling a heart.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Shockingly she's this. After Yuya and Reiji's second duel, she cancels the MCS and reveals to the interdimensional war to the world. She and Reiji further announce that the Leo Duel Schools have been re-christened "Lance Defense Soldiers," and their dueling curriculums worldwide will be made open to the public to train them to defend themselves should Academia attack again.
- Start of Darkness: Reiji states Leo abandoning her was when she started to change.
- Wicked Stepmother: Or at least a very morally ambiguous one, but adopting Reira to be a soldier against Academia, puts her into this.
- Xanatos Gambit: In her first appearance, she uses Sawatari's loss to her advantage. She quickly sets up a school match between her school and You Show, with the bet that if her group wins, You Show will be taken over by LDS, and if You Show wins, they'll drop the charges of Yuya attacking Sawatari. This allowed her to repair her school's reputation, gain further control of the Dueling world, and gain control of the Pendulum Summoning method while also studying Yuya to boot. And if they lose, they really don't lose anything, to say nothing of the fact that because it's three one on one matches, even if Yuya wins, he can't turn the tables for his fellow Duelists, especially as LDS has a monopoly on all advanced Summoning methods.
Marco
Marco
The professor that teaches the LDS Fusion course. He mysteriously went missing during the LDS and You Show duels. He was discovered to have had his soul stolen by Shun Kurosaki.
Tropes associated with Marco:
- And I Must Scream: His image in the card is visibly terrified. Later freed by series end.
- Bishie Sparkle: In Masumi's flashback.
- Brainy Brunette: He is a professor.
- Nice Guy: According to Masumi, though we haven't seen enough of him in person.
- The Worf Effect: Called one of the school's aces by Mrs. Akaba, yet he lost to Kurosaki.
LDS students
LDS Junior Youth
Shingo Sawatari (Sylvio Sawatari)
Shingo Sawatari (Sylvio Sawatari)
An egotistical LDS student and The Rival to Yuya. He eventually joins The Lancers. See The Lancers for more information.
Yamabe, Ootomo, and Kakimoto
Yamabe, Ootomo, and Kakimoto
Voiced by: Daiki Hamano (Yamabe), Sho Nogami (Ootomo), Takumi Watanabe (Kakimoto)
Shingo Sawatari's three lackeys, and members of LDS. Kakimoto appears to have a Darts deck like Sawatari, unless it was borrowed to show off Sawatari's Frost Monarch deck.
Tropes associated with these three guys:
- Beleaguered Assistants: They put up with a lot of crap from Sawatari.
- Meta Guys: They lampshade Sawatari suddenly becoming dramatic and hammy.
- Obviously Evil: Three sketchy looking guys the lackeys of an antagonist? Who knew?
- Punch-Clock Villain: When not around Sawatari or being paid to do something, they are pretty normal.
LDS Extra Deck Course Trio
Hokuto Shijima (Dipper O'Rion)
Hokuto Shijima (Dipper O'Rion)
Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae (JP), Daniel J. Edwards (EN)
Hokuto Shijima is is the representative for the Leo Duel School Xyz Summon course. He runs a Constellar Deck.
Despite being a very arrogant jerkass, he respects Xyz Summoning and was shown to be not amused after learning the fact that the one who attacked LDS uses Xyz Monsters. Episode 24 also shown him to have extremely strong bond with his fellow summon representatives from LDS.
He is later sealed in a card by Serena when she went on a one woman rampage against Xyz users before Reiji set her straight. He is later freed and seen by series end.
Tropes associated with Hokuto:
- And I Must Scream: He is defeated by Serena and sealed in a card. Later he is freed by series end.
- Broken Win/Loss Streak: Prior to his loss to Yuya, he was on a 40-win duel streak.
- The Cameo: Shows up by series end to watch Yuya's final duels against Jack and Reiji.
- Color Failure: Prone to this when someone is dismissive of him.
- Combat Pragmatist: During his duel with Yuya he went out of his way to time his attacks so as to disrupt Yuya's attempts to grab Action Cards.
- Corner of Woe: He ends up in it twice during the LDS vs. You Show duels.
- Demoted to Extra: Granted he was sealed in a card, making it less frustrating than his friends, but after his role in Season 1, he became this in Season 2. By series end, he's freed, though he has no speaking role and is seen with the rest of the secondary characters witnessing Yuya's final duels against Jack and Reiji.
- Dub Name Change: His name is changed to Dipper for the English dub.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Being reminded of his failure by Masumi is enough to send him to his Corner of Woe.
- Insufferable Genius: He is one of the favorites to win the Championship and the ace of the Xyz course, but he is overall arrogant and cruel.
- Jerkass: Not quite on Sawatari's level, but he deliberately times his attacks to harm Yuya and to prevent him from getting Action Cards. Also, he and Yaiba badmouth Yuya's father until Reiji yells at them to shut up.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Maybe not quite gold, but he is concerned about Professor Marco and seems to be friends with Masumi and Yaiba as well.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Reiji alters his memories of Kurosaki so that he doesn't draw suspicion during the tournament.
- Light Is Not Good: Constellars are LIGHT monsters, and while not evil, he is a jerk.
- Meaningful Name: "Hokuto" is the Japanese name of the Big Dipper constellation, so he naturally runs Constellars. When a space-themed field is picked for his Duel with Yuya, he comments that it's the perfect field for him. Cue Shuzou freaking out as he realizes that this is right, and Sora commenting that Hokuto's name should have given it away.
- Minor Injury Overreaction: He flips when Yuya makes him lose 500 Life Points.
- Pet the Dog: He complimented Yaiba's X-Saber deck, though Masumi
asks if that's just due to his loss. And another one, when he is concerned over Professor Marco's disappearance. - Plot Armor: Conveniently saved from having his and the others' souls stolen by Kurosaki thanks to LDS staff and Reiji showing up. And then he is sealed into a card by Serena.
- Put on a Bus: Time will tell if he ever gets released from the card Serena sealed him into. However, the fact he is shown when Reiji mentions making new Lancers out of Yuya's generation suggests he may be released. Later by series end, Hokuto is freed.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: His loss to Yuya. He takes it badly whenever anyone, especially Masumi, brings it up.
- Sanity Slippage: He freaks when Yuya damages his Life Points, and tries to hit him with a meteor shower from Constellar Tempest.
- Serious Business: Doesn't like hearing that Xyz summons are being abused, such as the case with the perpetrator.
- Star Power: He uses a Constellar Deck, whose members are based on stars and constellations.
- Two Guys and a Girl: With Masumi and Yaiba.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Masumi and Yaiba
- The Worf Effect:
- In a 3-on-1 with Masumi and Yaiba against Kurosaki, in spite of collectively emptying Kurosaki's hand and field and reducing his LP to 10, he OTKs all three of them at once.
- He later loses to Serena off-screen and is sealed in a card, showing that Serena is threat. Serena commented that dueling him was a total disappointment.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: He's the only member of the LDS trio to make it to the second round. He is then taken out by Serena and loses his planned match to Michio by default.
Masumi Kotsu (Julia Krystal)
Masumi Kotsu (Julia Krystal)
Voiced by: Arisa Kiyoto (JP), Kate Bristol (EN)
Masumi Kotsu is the representative for the Leo Duel School Fusion Summon course. She runs a Gem-Knight deck.
She was shown to have learned Fusion Summon (and possibly dueling in general) from the LDS professor Marco and has grown attached to him ever since. Episode 24 also shown her to have extremely strong bond with her fellow summon representatives from LDS.
Tropes associated with Masumi:
- Action Girl: She's the only one of the LDS duelists to win their duel, and beats Yuzu in only two turns, the first of which she couldn't attack on.
- Ambiguously Brown: Looks vaguely Egyptian.
- Amnesiac Dissonance: After having her memories wiped, she regards Kurosaki as just another duelist, when before she was terrified of and hated him.
- Ascended Extra: Of the three LDS representative students, Masumi is shown the most, due to her being more proactive in trying to find Professor Marco's aggressor. She is also roped into Yuto's business, since she, along with Yuzu and Sora, keep witnessing his disappearance act with Yuzu's bracelet.
- Berserk Button: Yuto became one for her when she believed he kidnapped Professor Marco. Later on, her hatred passed to the real aggressor, Shun Kurosaki. Related is insulting Fusion Summoning, because Professor Marco taught it to her. She later loses this "button" when Reiji reprograms her memories to forget of Kurosaki's role in Marco's sealing thus becoming indifferent to him.
- Berserker Tears: She has them when she remembers Marco and how he might be missing when talking to Yuzu and Sora.
- Brutal Honesty: To her allies and enemies, Hokuto is the most frequent target.
- The Cameo: Shows up by series end to watch Yuya's final duels against Jack and Reiji.
- The Comically Serious: Most of the time, due to her Brutal Honesty, and her reactions to Hokuto going to the Corner of Woe.
- Deadpan Snarker: Snarks about Hokuto's loss when the moment calls for it, all while keeping the same expression.
- Defeat Means Friendship: With Yuzu after their second duel.
- Demoted to Extra: Despite being an Ascended Extra in Season 1, after her second duel with Yuzu, she has faded away entirely. She doesn't appear in the third opening or become a Lancer, despite Foreshadowing that she and her friends would be at least somewhat relevant. Though she reappears in Episode 52, giving foreshadowing that she'll join the Lancers, at least for the Standard Dimension Division. Subverted in that nothing comes of this and she was shoved into the background like the rest of the secondary characters. She is seen again by series end, though without any speaking role and merely witnessing Yuya's final duels against Jack and Reiji.
- Designated Girl Fight: With Yuzu twice.
- Fridge Horror: An in-universe example. When she sees the claw marks where three LDS students lost to Kurosaki, she becomes even more scared of what happened to Marco.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Most Gem-Knights have the EARTH-Attribute.
- Graceful Loser: After losing to Yuzu, Masumi recognizes her as a Worthy Opponent and gives her her 'Crystal Rose' monster.
- The Gadfly: Teases Yuzu and Yuyu for a touching moment.
- Gemstone Assault: Gem-Knights.
- Hoist by Her Own Petard: Yuzu uses a Trap Card to summon one of Masumi's monsters to her own field, and then uses the monster's effect to Fusion summon. Masumi was utterly shocked.
- Hot for Teacher: What other reason it could be of Masumi's reminiscence of Marco having a lot of Bishie Sparkle and Love Flowers? It would also explain why she's so hellbent in finding him and his aggressor.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: Thought Gem-Knight Master Diamond was Masumi's ace? Wrong. Her true ace is Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond.
- I Shall Taunt You: "Your eyes have no luster".
- Lady of War: Although younger than most and a duelist in a cards game, she counts. She's a calm and cold Ojou, and her Gem-Knight deck has a more regal bearing. Her Gem-Knight Lady sub-archetype is especially elegant.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Reiji alters her memories of Kurosaki so that he doesn't draw suspicion during the tournament.
- Luminescent Blush: Gets one after Yuzu saves her from falling in Episode 29. Les Yay!
- Meaningful Name: Masumi means beauty or purity, she is considered beautiful by Futoshi, and uses a Gem-Knight deck.
- Not So Stoic: She's normally calm, but the incident with Kurosaki has her freaking out and a lot less composed, visibly showing fear.
- She also screams like a girl at expected moments, like when the destruction of a monster knocks her over, or she is knocked off the bridge.
- The Ojou: Implied. Her father owns a jewelry store, she goes to a prestigious (and maybe expensive) Dueling school and her Gem-Knight Deck gives her an air of nobility.
- Oh, Crap!: Two in Episode 21. When she sees the gouge marks left by Kurosaki's attack, and when he himself appears.
- Personality Powers: She has the noble-looking Gem-Knight Deck, and is the nicestnote and calmest of the LDS students.
- Plot Armor: Conveniently saved from having her and the others' souls stolen by Kurosaki thanks to LDS staff and Reiji showing up.
- Precocious Crush: On Marco, considering he's likely in his twenties at earliest and she's fourteen.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: She is the only one to win her duel, though she is not evil by any stretch.
- The Rival: For Yuzu.
- Shipper on Deck: In a snarky way, for Yuya and Yuzu.
- Signature Move: Hers is Gem-Knight Master Diamond.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only girl of the LDS students shown.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Normally cold, she is very concerned when her teacher Marco goes missing, and intends to find him.
- Tsundere: Hilariously becomes one towards Yuzu after losing to her.
- Two Guys and a Girl: With Hokuto and Yaiba.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Hokuto and Yaiba
- The Worf Effect: In a 3-on-1 with Hokuto and Yaiba against Kurosaki, in spite of collectively emptying Kurosaki's hand and field and reducing his LP to 10, he OTKs all three of them at once.
- Worthy Opponent: To Yuzu after their rematch.
Yaiba Todo (Kit Blade)
Yaiba Todo (Kit Blade)
Voiced by: Kengo Takanashi (JP), Robby Sharpe (EN)
Yaiba Todo is the representative of Leo Duel School Synchro Summon course. He runs an X-Saber Deck.
He is the one who taught Synchro Summon to Gongenzaka. Episode 24 also shown him to have extremely strong bond with his fellow summon representatives from LDS.
Tropes associated with Yaiba:
- Anime Hair: Is spiky and long, though the color is realistic.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: The Kid Samurai uses X-Sabers.
- Barbarian Long Hair: Fitting to his Kid Samurai appearance.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: The end of his eyesbrows are very thick.
- The Cameo: Shows up by series end to watch Yuya's final duels against Jack and Reiji.
- Cute Little Fangs: Has a fang sticking out of his mouth.
- Demoted to Extra: He appears a lot in the Qualifying Mini-Arc, teaches Gongenzaka how to Synchro Summon, but then in Season 2, he loses to Kachidoki and ends up off screen for a while. He reappears in Episode 52, giving foreshadowing that he'll join the Lancers, at least for the Standard Dimension Division. Subverted in that nothing comes of this and he was shoved into the background like the rest of the secondary characters. He is seen again by series end, though without any speaking role and merely witnessing Yuya's final duels against Jack and Reiji.
- Jerkass: Less so than Hokuto, but still rude to Gongenzaka and mocks Yuya's father.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He was worried about Professor Marco, and ended up helping Masumi try to find him. Shown again in episode 23, when he agrees to train Gongenzaka in Synchro Summoning. He even supports and cheers on Gongenzaka in his first duel in the tournament.
- Kid Samurai: He's a little older, but he gives off this vibe in appearance.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Reiji alters his memories of Kurosaki so that he doesn't draw suspicion during the tournament.
- Meaningful Name: "Todo" means "sword". Also, "Yaiba" means "blade" or "edge (of a knife)". He plays X-Sabers. Shuzou picked the "Sword's Graveyard" field because of it.
- The Mentor: To Gongenzaka, surprisingly enough, in terms of Synchro Summon.
- Messy Hair: Fitting to the modern Samurai character stereotype.
- Oh, Crap!: Looks about ready to soil himself when Gongenzaka first shows up to request assistance from him, seeing as Gongenzaka looked ready to commit grievous bodily harm. After it became a Flat "What".
- Pet the Dog: Worried about Professor Marco when he went missing. And he later agrees to Gongenzaka's request to teach him Synchro Summoning.
- Pride: Largely due to the remarks that he's getting from his friends, he's not happy when Gongenzaka doesn't initially do well with his Synchro Summoning.
- Plot Armor: Conveniently saved from having his and the others' souls stolen by Kurosaki thanks to LDS staff and Reiji showing up.
- Two Guys and a Girl: With Hokuto and Masumi.
- Unusual Eyebrows: Of the Fiery variety.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Hokuto and Masumi.
- Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: He uses it to find Action cards by swinging it hard enough to make gusts of wind that blow the cards up.
- The Worf Effect:
- In a 3-on-1 with Masumi and Hokuto against Kurosaki, in spite of collectively emptying Kurosaki's hand and field and reducing his LP to 10, he OTKs all three of them at once.
- It happens again in Episode 38, where he lost to Kachidoki and was physically assaulted so badly that he required medical care.
LDS Exchange Students
Halil
Halil
Voiced by: Ayumu Murase
Halil is an exchange student from the LDS Anatolia branch and belongs to the Fusion Summon course. He's one of the top 16 Junior Youth participants and uses a Genie and Lamp deck.
Tropes associared with Halil:
- And I Must Scream: He is sealed in a card by Yuri in Episode 47. Later, by series end, he is freed.
- Anime Accent Absence: Averted, as he does have an accent. However, his accent is obviously an English accent, since his seiyuu was born in Los Angeles, but Halil comes from Anatolia, so his accent should be Turkish or Arabian or etc.
- Badass Adorable: He's so incredibly energetic, and adorable in his interactions with Yuzu.
- Badass in Distress: Defeated and sealed away by Yuri. Later freed in the restored dimension.
- Call-Back: The first monster he plays in La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp, one of Kaiba's original staple beatsticks.
- The Cameo: Shows up by series end to watch Yuya's final duels against Jack and Reiji.
- Catchphrase: "I'll learn from this."
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: His outfit and eyes are based on the De-Fusion card◊.
- Cute, but Cacophonic: He has a very high-pitched and shrill voice. To make it more confusing, his voice actor is male.
- Epic Fail: His attempt to Pendulum Summon for the first time fails because he put the cards in the wrong place. He tries again and again until Yuzu explains how to do it.
- Expy: He looks identical to Aladdin and he even uses Genies and Lamps.
- Funny Foreigner: He is shown to be a funny character with a very strong accent.
- Gratuitous English: He throws some random English words when he speaks, but the English isn't bad.
- Keet: He gets very excited easily, just like when he draws his second Pendulum Card, saying outloud what he has drawn.
- Nice Guy: He gives Yuzu her second Pendulum Card, so they can start their duel and he has an overall friendly personality.
- Playing with Fire: His Lamp deck consists mostly FIRE monsters.
- Worthy Opponent: He respects Yuzu for defeating Masumi.
Olga
Olga
Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa (JP), Eileen Stevens (EN)
Olga is an exchange student from the LDS Nordic branch and is from the Synchro Summon course. She's one of the top 16 Junior Youth participants and uses an Arctic Beast deck.
Tropes associated with Olga:
- Action Girl: She's one of the top 16 of the Junior Youth duelists, alongside Yuzu.
- And I Must Scream: She is sealed into a card by Yuri in episode 47. Later, by series end, she is freed.
- Anime Accent Absence: She and Dennis don't speak with an accent like Halil.
- Badass Longcoat: Her fur coat serves as one.
- Badass in Distress: Defeated and sealed away by Yuri.
- Braids of Action: Has two of them.
- Expy: She looks a lot like a blend up of Elsa and Anna.
- The Cameo: Shows up by series end to watch Yuya's final duels against Jack and Reiji.
- Crash-Into Hello: How Yuzu meets her during Olga's duel with Gongenzaka. Since Yuzu is dueling Halil, it turns to a tag duel between Olga & Halil vs. Gongenzaka & Yuzu.
- Designated Girl Fight: Subverted at first, since she is dueling Gongenzaka, not Yuzu. Until Yuzu and Halil join their duel and it turns to a tag duel.
- An Ice Person: Her deck seems to be based of ice monsters.
- Ice Queen: Fitting her appearance, she seems to be quite cold of a person.
- Mythology Gag: A Nordic duelist that uses Synchros. Team Ragnarok, anyone?
- Not So Stoic: She's normally calm and composed, though she gets understandably angry when Yuzu crashes into her. Later becomes scared and apprehensive when she runs into Yuri.
- Pretty in Mink: Her outfit.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She's cold, but does show a somewhat sweet side, agreeing to team up with Halil despite her clearly finding him a bit annoying.
- Youthful Freckles: Fitting to her foreigner design.
Dennis Mackfield
Dennis Mackfield
An LDS exchange student from Broadway, he's more than he seems. See Fusion Dimension for more information.
LDS Junior
Reira Akaba
Reira Akaba
The shy younger brother of Reiji Akaba. Later becomes part of the Lancers. See The Lancers for more information.''
LDS Youth
Yuu Sakuragi (Kev Ravenwood)
Yuu Sakuragi
Voiced by: Takumi Watanabe
Yuu Sakuragi is a student from the Xyz Summon course. He was the previous year's winner of the Junior Youth Division and is currently a participant in the Youth Division of the Maiami Championship. He is Serena's second target, but Reiji intervenes before she can assault him. Sakuragi runs a Prophecy deck.
Tropes associated with Sakuragi:
- The Cameo: Shows up by series end to watch Yuya's final duels against Jack and Reiji.
- Custom Uniform: Not really uniform, and he's the only one of the top 8 LDS Youth students who actually wears a school uniform. No, his Duel Disk is lighter colored than the rest of the seven, which have relatively the same color. This might hint that he might have more importance than the rest of them. Turns out that what makes him special is that he was the only one of the top 8 duelists NOT to get wiped out by the Obelisk Force members and he quickly turns into a crying screaming mess.
- Dark Is Not Evil: His Hierophant of Prophecy is a DARK-Attribute, though he seems to be a good person.
- Dirty Coward: After his friends were sealed away into cards and was saved by Yugo from a similar fate, he doesn't bother to thank Yugo for the trouble and abandons the cards in favor of leaving the city as fast as he can.
- Dub Name Change: His monsters:
- Magical -> Prophecy
- Hierophant Heiron -> Hierophant
- Informed Ability: You think someone who won the last Junior Youth Championship, who is chosen to be a member of Youth Team and is running a Prophecy deck must be strong, right? He is almost defeated by the Obelisk Force, and he runs away after Yugo has saved him.
- Nice Guy: He's soft-spoken for his screen time. However, he does appear to dislike Kurosaki for his rudeness. However, Kurosaki's disdain became well-justified as demonstrated above.
- Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: Defeated Kachidoki in the Junior Youth finals of the previous year's Maiami Championship.
- Paper Tiger: He's a skilled enough duelist to win the Junior Youth tournament, but he folds like a pansy when it comes down to it. Granted, Reiji may have not been completely up front about what he would be up against.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The pressure of dueling with strong unknown opponents and their strange abilities effectively scares Yuu enough to abandon his duty in protecting the city, and he hightails it out of there.
- Tarot Motifs: His Prophecy Deck.
- Ungrateful Bastard: He doesn't thank or even look at Yugo for saving him from the Obelisk Force.
