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Blaster Pair
In General
- Adorably Precocious Child: They may be a pair of badass magical girls, but they're still little kids, and as such often act their age, typically by making fun of Ibuki and Suiko.
- Badass Adorable: They are young girls who are able to fight against Jammers by summoning units and are shown to have enhanced physical skills.
- Ripple-Proof Memory: Subverted, although Emi still remembers Aichi as her brother, she and Shuka are not immune to Jammer's disruption of history which is why they need the help of Ibuki and Suiko who do remember the original history.
Emi Sendou
Emi Sendou
Gear Chronicle (Force)/Royal Paladin (Force)
The younger sister of Aichi Sendou, she is one of the main protagonists of the series and forms the "Blaster Pair" alongside Shuka.Unlike the other protagonists, Emi Sendou is not a Vanguard Fighter herself and instead fights against actual Vanguard units. However she does have a vast collection of cards which she summons to fight against Jammers. She does however try out a Gear Chronicle Deck, but is unable to use it properly due to not knowing the rules of game itself. In the final episode she briefly uses a Royal Paladin deck centered around Blaster Blade before returning everything back to normal.
- Alternate Self: She's not the same Emi as the one from the V Series, rather, she was born out of the same distorted reality that Aichi was when he never received Blaster Blade, and only remembers her older brother as a somewhat quiet but still kind person rather than the Vanguard player he is in other realities.
- Break the Cutie: She loses her brother who turned out to have become insane & evil out of his own will, constantly has to question her trust in her friend Shuka and eventually loses said friend once she sacrifices herself.
- Composite Character: She is the alternate self of Emi Sendou, wears the same jacket Aichi wore in the Foo Fighter Arc, and has Kai's goal in Legion Mate of getting Aichi out of a castle along with using a Blaster Blade which is implied to have been Aichi's.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Gender aside, while Shinemon's story at the beginning is a more down to Earth story about a teenager developing into an adult and where more or less everything is decided with Vanguard, Emi's story is an Affectionate Parody of the magical girl genre where she fights against an evil organization by summoning actual units to fight for her instead of Vanguard.
- Irony: Despite being able to summon actual units, she doesn't play Vanguard herself and has no idea how the game actualy works.
- Magic Staff: She wields one that can summon units.
- Magical Girl: She transforms into one with Shuka's magic.
- Oblivious to Love: She's still absolutely oblivious to Kamui's obvious feelings for her, to the point Shuka says he's pretty much doomed in getting her to notice him.
- Skewed Priorities: When Shuka hits Ibuki on the head with her card binder, she was more concerned about her card binder.
- Summon Magic: She can summon Cray units by putting their cards into her staff using a process called "Realize".
- Tragic Keepsake: The jacket she wears is the last thing Aichi left before his disappearance.
- Worthless Yellow Rocks: While she does consider every card precious and chastised Jammer Ibuki for throwing away a deck, she has no idea how valuable some cards are as shown when the deck she tried to use against distorted past Ren being Gear Chronicle! A deck known in that era for being mysterious and very powerful.
Shuka
Emi's fairy servant who supports her in combat, Shuka's existence and goals are one of the driving questions of the series.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: When she tells Suiko she's an Elemental, rather than the human girl she looks like, Shuka fears Emi might lose trust in her and thus hasn't shown her real self. She later reveals that even she doesn't know what she is, and that she just thinks she's an Elemental. She also is able to manifest wings and fly with them at will.
- Ambiguously Evil: Episode 7 makes a point to demonstrate Shuka isn't what she appears to be. In addition to sporting Hellish Pupils while going to the Tatsunagi Residence, she never tells Emi why she was being chased when they met, and she acts intentionally vague. She claims to Suiko that she is one of the Elementals, the same race of spiritual beings that once inhabited Cray much like Valkerion, but Suiko is unsure whether or not she can even trust what she says. Complicating matters further is that both Zerachiel (a Jammer) and Mask, the Dark both all but say that the distortions are because of her, namely her "flower-picking", with one of the sticking points behind Mask, the Dark not trusting the Blaster Pair being Shuka's refusal to tell Emi what that means. It's ultimately revealed that while she isn't evil, she'd been hiding a lot from the others, including the fact the distorted world is ultimately because of her.
- Back from the Dead: Despite having to kill herself as a side affect of destroying her binder, she returns in the final episode as a human, albeit with no memory of her identity as a "Flower Picker", but just as willing to become friends with Emi.
- Been There, Shaped History: Shuka is the one who created Vangaro due to leaving one of her drawings with Ryuzu.
- Brutal Honesty: She outright calls Ibuki creepy and evil when he is right next to her.
- The Gadfly: She has a bad habit of teasing or mocking Ibuki and Suiko to their faces.
- Hellish Pupils: When she heads back to the Tatsunagi mansion ahead of Ibuki and Emi, she sports these a number of times while no-one is around to see.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In order to stop Aichi she destroys her card binder, which also kills her due to losing her role as "Flower-Picker".
- Identity Amnesia: She doesn't remember just what she is, and only knows she was a "Flower Picker", someone who could hear the voices of the cards and gathered cards abandoned and forgotten. She thinks she may be an Elemental, but she isn't certain.
- Mundane Solution: Once the Blaster Pair is unable to get a Blaster Dark from Mask, the Dark. She simply tries to find another copy at a cardshop with the only problem being that it is hard to find due to its rarity.
- Only One Name: To further her mysterious nature, she is only known as "Shuka" and has no known surname or if she had one at all.
- Original Generation: She has no known Outside World counterpart or is based on any character of the original series.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The world being distorted is ultimately her fault. Namely, she stole Blaster Blade from a young Toshiki Kai. In doing so however, Kai never gave Blaster Blade to Aichi, meaning Aichi never gained his love of Vanguard. The ripple effects from there caused Aichi to instead create Sanctuary and lead to the distorted world. Upon seeing the world distort, she immediately broke down and tried to hide the fact from the others, hoping that if she returned Blaster Blade to Aichi things would just go back to normal, but was ultimately exposed by Ren and Rekka before she could. Even after getting the chance though, it ultimately fails to affect him.
Allies
Units
The Blaster Pair don't fight enemies on their own. Instead, using the process called "Realize", they can manifest units to fight for them. While they largely just use cards from Emi's binder, they occasionally borrow other cards or have cards manifest for them.
- Adaptational Heroism: Even units that are evil in the lore like Darkface Gredora have been Realized to fight on the side of the Blaster Pair.
- Fusion Dance:
- When both Blaster Blade and Blaster Dark are Realized, they can use the Blaster Wand to fuse them together and call forth Majesty Lord Blaster. This is contingent on them having the Majesty Lord Blaster card, though, and once Aichi steals it they can't form him despite having Blaster Blade and Blaster Dark.
- They can also use the Blaster Wand to achieve "Superior Realize", in which they can allow others to Ride units rather than just summon them. They mainly use this to allow Kai to become Blaster Blade, but they also use it to let Suiko become Solidify Celestial, Zerachiel, Miwa to become Asura Kaiser, and Kai to become Dragonic Overlord "The End", and later, Dragonic Overlord "The X".
- The believed final battle takes it up a notch, as in addition to having Kai Ride Blaster Blade and Ren Ride Blaster Dark, the Pair allow Suiko to become Zerachiel, Rekka to become White Lily Musketeer, Cecilia, Kourin to become Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel, and Ibuki to become Harmonics Messiah.
- Holding Back the Phlebotinum: Majesty Lord Blaster is their strongest Unit, one capable of destroying three Jammers simultaneously. However, it can only be Realized by instigating a Fusion Dance between Blaster Blade and Blaster Dark, and since Emi and Shuka don't always have access to Blaster Dark and need Mask, the Dark to lend it them, they can't bring out Majesty Lord Blaster. To make it even worse it gets taken by Aichi who seals it, thus ensuring they lost their trump card against him.
- Humongous Mecha: When they Realize Exxtreme Battler, Victor, they enter the cockpit on it's head and pilot it themselves.
- Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Strong feelings can allow them to create cards to be used.
- Suiko's passion for Ultra Rare combined with her desire to be Neutral No Longer and her kind treatment of Wingal allowed them to summon Wingal Brave.
- Ibuki's passion for Vanguard allowed them to summon forth Alter Ego Messiah.
- Ibuki's bond with the distorted Gouki and Gouki's respect for Ibuki as his coach allowed them to summon Vampire Princess of Night Fog, Nightrose.
- Emi's resolve to correct the distortions even if she doesn't know if people would be happier in the original world allows her to summon Masked Magician, Harri.
- The Worf Effect:
- Their initial go to unit is Blaster Blade. However, after he is heavily injured defending them when they invaded Sanctuary, he is regularly defeated when facing the Jammers, requiring another unit who either defeats the Jammer themselves or team up with him.
- When facing Master of Fifth Element, the Blaster Pair call forth Susanoo, Yasuie, and Wingal Brave to face him and his units, each one central in taking down a prior Jammer. To establish just how strong Master of Fifth Element is however, he easily destroys all three with his magic.
- While Evil Governor, Darkface Gredora is able to easily deal with units summoned by SK4, she's easily destroyed when Aichi Rides Majesty Lord Blaster.
- Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit's mere Realizing is enough to make all of Kourin's units stop in fear of him. He is however swiftly beaten by Kourin after she Rides Incandescent Lion, Blonde Ezel.
- All of the Units the Pair realized over the series join together to try and free Aichi, but are all swiftly beaten and killed by Aichi as Majestly Lord Blaster.
Kouji Ibuki
Formally the chosen warrior of Brandt and now the Vanguard of the Messiah, Ibuki was dragged into the conflict with the Jammers by Nome Tatsunagi as a means of atoning for his sins. Now stuck in the if world, the only way he and Suiko can get back to their own world is by helping the Blaster Pair.
For tropes on Ibuki, see his section here under Brandt.
Suiko Tatsunagi
The eldest of the Tatsunagi sisters and one of the "Called Walkers", she's dragged along with Ibuki after he's summoned to the if world. Now resolving to be Neutral No Longer, she works with Ibuki and the Blaster Pair to fight the Jammers.
For tropes on Suiko, see her section here under Tatsunagi Foundation.
Mask, the Dark
The original Ren Suzugamori wearing a Paper-Thin Disguise, he tends to pop up now and again to lend aid to the Blaster Pair. He's stuck in the if world too, and trying to save Aichi from Sanctuary by working with the Blaster Pair.
For tropes on Ren, see his section here under Foo Fighter.
Rekka Tatsunagi
The youngest of the Tatsunagi sisters and one of the "Called Walkers", she's been aiding Ren from behind the scenes while stuck in the if world with him. She tried to pass herself off as a Mysterious Watcher too, but failed by calling herself "Mask, the Rekka".
For tropes on Rekka, see her section here under Tatsunagi Foundation.
Toshiki Kai (Unmarked Spoilers)
An alternate version of Kai who never gave Aichi his copy of Blaster Blade. This Kai was never abandoned by his parents, resulting in him being significantly more happy and cheerful but also caused him to abandon Vanguard for other things.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Because his parents never abandoned him, Kai grew up with a much more cheerful disposition, reminiscent of how he was when he was a kid. Even as he starts to remember the original timeline, he's still largely nice and happy, just a bit more reserved.
- Determinator: Discussed Trope. Kai admits part of the reason he loved the Dragonic Overlord so much was because of how it always stood back up and refused to stay down, and identified with that. Part of returning to his original self involves him becoming like this again.
- Fusion Dance: While he initially used "Superior Realize" to become Blaster Blade and fight alongside the Blaster Pair, after being given the Dragonic Overlord The End by Mamoru, he uses it to merge with the already Realized Dragonic Overlord, becoming The End himself.
- Ghost Memory: After some prodding from Miwa and playing a game with Ibuki, Kai slowly began remembering his original life, and with it, Aichi, coming to a head when Shuka gives him Blaster Blade.
- Iconic Item: Even without his memories of his old life, the Dragonic Overlord will always be his Avatar. Just finding a copy while borrowing a Kagero deck is enough to jog loose a large amount of memories, and hardens his resolve to fight for the old world to come back.
- Mythology Gag: As a member of the main cast and trying to save Aichi, he takes to wearing a red vest much like his Original Incarnation did in the Legion Mate arc.
- Not Himself: This Kai is one who never grew up jaded and reliant on Vanguard after suffering Parental Abandonment as a kid. As such, he has a much more positive temperament and better life, being a rugby star, rock music fan, and internet streamer, the only thing lost being his love for Vanguard. Even as he gains a Ghost Memory of his original life though, the conflicting origins initially cause him grief, namely the prospect of losing his parents, but he eventually resolves to Set Right What Once Went Wrong, even if it will rob him of his happy life and change who he is, since living a fake life isn't fulfilling to him.
- Parental Abandonment: Averted, as one of the bigger causes behind his distorted history is that his parents didn't disappear. With his parents still in his life, he grew up much happier and is more openly kind.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: While he's aware doing so will rob him of his happy life with his parents, he can't bear to know people are suffering just so he can have a happy life, and while it does hurt, he's willing to give it all up and bring back the old world if only so Ibuki, Shuka, and Aichi no longer have to suffer.
- Sixth Ranger: He's set up to become this to the main protagonists, the 2nd ED, Horizontal Oath, focusing on him as he struggles to reach Aichi while joining the others, and trying to restore the world to what it once was.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Lampshaded in the End-of-Episode Silliness for -if- Episode 15, where Ibuki and Suiko discuss how Kai has effectively taken the position of main character since his re-introduction, not helped by the 2nd ED, Horizontal Oath, focusing entirely on him.
- Summon Magic: While not perfect, he can partially Realize units and summon them for aid.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The 2nd ED for the season not only spoils that he survived Death Army Guy's crash, but that he becomes the Sixth Ranger to the Blaster Pair, Ibuki, and Suiko.
- Transformation Trinket: Unlike the Blaster Pair who Realize units to fight for them, Kai has them use "Superior Realize" on his Blaster Blade and aim it at himself, allowing him to ride Blaster Blade and fight on his own.
- Tsurime Eyes: While initially introduced with much softer Tareme Eyes, after he's slowly forced to remember his original life, his eyes take on their original sharper look.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Further explored via the distortion caused by Shuka claiming Blaster Blade. Having never given Aichi Blaster Blade, Kai's life turned out a lot differently. He grew up much happier thanks to his parents staying in his life, and became a rugby star, rock music enthusiast, and streamer, while Vanguard simply faded from his memories.
- Walking Spoiler: It's very hard to talk about him without talking about the revelations in Episode 13 and on.
Antagonists
Aichi Sendou
Emi's older brother and the protagonist of the original series, he has vanished from normal history with only Emi, Ibuki, and Suiko able to remember him. Now, he serves as the leader of Jammers and owner of the dark castle Sanctuary.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Without Vanguard in his life, Aichi's had it a lot rougher. While he did put on a brave face for Emi, the bruises and bandages on his face indicate the bullying never stopped for him, he was left severely jaded and more closed off, and his dreams constantly being plagued by visions of Kai ultimately gave him little sleep and were driving him insane. Learning about the original timeline just cemented his Sanity Slippage.
- Adaptational Villainy: While season 4 Aichi of the original series sealed himself away to prevent the return of the Void, this Aichi only cares about destroying Vanguard no matter the cost.
- Aloof Big Brother: Downplayed. While he's happy upon learning Emi wants to come see him, upon learning she wants him to come home, he rejects her and tells her to simply forget about him. He later shows no compunctions with killing her if she stands in his way.
- Alternate Self: His current self is ultimately a domino effect caused by never being given Blaster Blade by Kai, namely because Shuka took it from Kai before he could give it to Aichi.
- Big Bad: He is set up to be this due being the leader of the Jammers.
- Brainwashing for the Greater Good: From his perspective at least. The members of SK4 had their old memories erased by Aichi, with only Kourin seeming to remember anything. Breaking free of this causes them visible distress, and outright pain in Shingo's case.
- Cool Mask: Mixed with Cool Shades, he wears an orange visor combined with a mask, which covers his whole face, but is able to move the mask part down to show his mouth.
- The Corruption: Noted by Emi, Shuka and Suiko to have been distorted or affected by those occurring, resulting in becoming the villain ruling Sanctuary. It's not quite as simple though. The main distortion was never meeting Kai and getting Blaster Blade, but upon learning of his old life by Takuto, the latent Imagination he had overwhelmed him and spawned Sanctuary, reawakened his PSY-qualia, and gave him all his current abilities. Everything else was of his own free will.
- Demonic Possession: He's able to Ride units still, even if they aren't his own. He does so when the Blaster Pair try to summon Majesty Lord Blaster to defeat him, using it's power to instead send them and their friends flying from Sanctuary. Doing so also allowed him to take said card from them, which he then proceeded to seal in Crystal so no one could use it again.
- Evil Overlord: He is the lord of a castle called Sanctuary and the Big Bad.
- Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: He may look like his gentle self underneath that armor, but he now has a seething hatred of Vanguard. Shuka simply showing him Blaster Blade was enough to send him into a rage and attack her.
- Faux Affably Evil: He's seems perfectly nice and willing to help out random strangers, but it's largely a façade. He's much more callous and tyrannical underneath his exterior, and normally hides it well. It's just that if Vanguard is brought up, he flies into a rage and drops the act.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Demonstrated in no better way than his absolute brutalizing both Kai and Ren, particularly the latter while wielding his Majesty Lord Blaster Ride. He not only effectively throws Ren around like a ragdoll but positions himself to kill him at one point. Even when Ibuki, Suiko, Kourin and Rekka intervene, he savages them all the same and does what no-one before him has done successfully: wipe out Vanguard from the planet.
- I Reject Your Reality: He denounces the original timeline and finds it unfathomable that he could ever enjoy Vanguard, and wants to make sure said reality never returns. When Emi tries telling him the current timeline is distorted and he's not himself, he declares the current timeline is the true timeline and nearly lashes out at her for daring to suggest he liked Vanguard.
- Irrational Hatred: He has a seething disdain for Vanguard, to the point Shuka simply showing him a card sends him into a rage. He's made clear his intent is to wipe Vanguard from the face of the Earth. He explains his hatred comes from the belief that Kai would be much happier without Vanguard in his life, but despite numerous people, including Kai himself, telling him Vanguard brings happiness, he refuses to listen.
- Knight Templar: Much like Ibuki before him, he believes Vanguard does nothing but make people miserable, and wants nothing more than to wipe Vanguard from the face of the Earth as a means of protecting it. He doesn't care if it can bring people happiness either, in his eyes, Vanguard needs to die.
- Large and in Charge: He is the Big Bad and is as big as Monarch Sanctuary Alfred if not even bigger. It's ultimately the armor itself though, since outside of it he's his normal height.
- Light Is Not Good: His armor is similar to the Royal Paladin units he summons, but he leads an evil organization which disrupts time.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Whenever Kai tries to Cardfight, he's sent into immense pain and nearly collapses. Because of this, SK4 desperately want to capture Kai and detain him inside of Sanctuary so he can't Cardfight anymore.
- Mythology Gag: He is clearly one to season 4 Aichi of the original series, due to being the Big Bad in their arcs who reside in a castle which the main characters try to get him out of.
- Not Brainwashed: For the longest time, the Blaster Pair, Ibuki, and Suiko operated under the belief that Aichi was simply being manipulated or that a distortion was responsible for his turn to evil. While his not receiving Blaster Blade and meeting Kai was the catalyst, everything else is of his own free will, something Emi is forced to accept for herself.
- Not Himself: It's noted by many that Aichi may seem like himself upon first glance, there is something fundamentally wrong with him. Shingo realizing this is enough to make him a Broken Pedestal.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's ostensibly trying to keep Kai from Vanguard so Kai can live a happy life, but his Motive Rant to Takuto suggests that the real reason he's doing all this is so that he can feel successful at something after a miserable lifetime of achieving nothing and being constantly bullied. Because of this, he doesn't care if he ends up making a lot more people unhappy through his actions or going against what Kai actually wants.
- Sanity Slippage: Without Vanguard in his life, Aichi was left a lot more mentally fragile thanks to the never ending bullying and being plagued by dreams of Kai. Upon learning his life is a false one from Takuto, he snaps, and becomes determined to wipe out Vanguard and give Kai a happier life, regardless of who gets in his way, even Kai himself.
- Shoulders of Doom: He has a massive set of shoulder pauldrons with his armor, each one as big as his head.
- Start X to Stop X: His tool to destroy Vanguard? Vanguard units. Even when he despises Vanguard, Aichi is inextricably linked to it due to his massive imagination.
- Summon Magic: Just like Emi he can summon units to fight for him, but more rapidly in numbers.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Even without Vanguard, he was still this, and Emi is desperate to get him back as such. Rather, that's what she thought. In truth, Aichi was a lot more cynical and jaded as a result of the bullying never ending, and upon learning about his old life from Takuto, he began undergoing Sanity Slippage and let all his pent up issues out.
- Villainous Breakdown: He has a minor one upon seeing for himself that Kai is fighting alongside the Blaster Pair. He starts repeatedly begging Kai not to touch Vanguard before clutching his head in pain, Lion Mane Stallion appearing to bring him back to Sanctuary.
- World's Strongest Man: As Takuto points out, in the original world, Aichi had one of the strongest Imaginations possible, which greatly aided him with Vanguard and allowed him to help many people. Without Vanguard in this timeline though, Aichi's Imagination was largely left untapped until he learned of the old timeline, in which it began to overflow and created Sanctuary, while simultaneously giving him a variety of abilities. And when forced to ride Majesty Lord Blaster, he proves nigh unstoppable.
- Yandere: His actions ultimately stem from the idea that Kai's life would be a lot better without Vanguard in it, so he goes to great lengths to try and stop Kai from interacting with Vanguard. When everyone, Kai included, tries to get through to him that Vanguard is good and that Kai wants it in his life, Aichi rejects and attacks them, telling Kai he's doing this for his own good, leading to Kai telling him to stop projecting his own desires onto him.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The moment Shingo manages to regain his memories and says Aichi should love Vanguard again, he calls out for Kourin telling her to silence Shingo.
Jammers
The Jammers are people possessed by their units, creating distortions in time by altering their actions.
- Adaptational Villainy: Several of the units are normally rather heroic on Cray, or at least neutral. As Jammers, they are Always Chaotic Evil, and seek to cause distortions to further the goal of Sanctuary.
- Always Chaotic Evil: The Jammer's mere existence causes temporal anomalies, and they need to subject people to Demonic Possession to do so. This actually causes conflict between Emi and Shuka in Episode 8 after being discussed. When Emi sees Misaki she is convinced that, even if she is a Jammer, she isn't doing anything malicious and is just trying to help her uncle. Shuka meanwhile is adamant that the Jammer's need to be destroyed, and tries to guilt trip Emi by telling her that if they don't take care of her, she'll never see Aichi again. Instead, Emi gives Shuka an Armor-Piercing Question and asks her if beating the Jammer's really will bring Aichi back, shortly after running off. It becomes a moot point however once Emi finds out Misaki is a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, and while Shuka is all ready to get back to work, Emi's a lot less enthusiastic.
- Demonic Possession: They are possessed by units they've used, and part of the Blaster Pair's job is freeing the people they've possessed.
- Distinguishing Mark: Every Jammer has the Japanese letter じ (short for "Jammer", じゃまー) somewhere on their body. While some have it manifest on easily visible locations like on the forehead, others have them permanently present but hide the markings to avoid being detected.
- Ibuki's is located on his forehead.
- Esuka's is located on her chest above her cleavage.
- Tetsu's is located on the back of his right hand.
- Asaka's is located on the lower right of her stomach, hidden by her Sailor Fuku.
- Kyou's is located on his forehead.
- Misaki's is located on her right thigh, hidden by her short skirt.
- Nagisa's is on her forehead hidden under her bandana.
- The demon possessing Eru has his located underneath the bandages covering his left hand.
- Ryuzu, Kanzaki, and Ryutaro all have their's on their foreheads.
- Suiko's is located on her forehead.
- Fighting from the Inside: External stimuli can cause their hosts to start remembering their original lives, at which point the Jammer is forced to either reveal their unit self or fight for control back.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Twofold. Jammer's lose any memories of their lives before they were possessed and created distortions, and any signs they are able to remember is indicative of their host Fighting from the Inside. Any Jammer's restored to normal likewise forget ever being possessed and the distorted timelines they inadvertently created. Eru however subverts the first part, as he is not only aware of his original timeline, but aware of the distortion and the Alternate Universe brought about by the series going through a reboot.
- Laughably Evil: They are more or less parodies of the original character they possess. The only subversion is the demon possessing Eru's arm, being a genuinely malicious entity trying to invoke Be Careful What You Wish For and tormenting Eru for it's own pleasure. It's later revealed that several of these distortions are thanks to Ren goofing around instead of doing his job initially, and that's why they're so goofy acting.
- Make Wrong What Once Went Right: Their goal is to change the past to undermine Vanguard, and their modus operandi for doing so is possessing key figures from the past and altering their actions.
- The Minion Master: The Jammers are capable of calling forth other units to fight for them. They're mostly from the same clan as the Jammer, the one time that was not the case being Asaka using Kawanami possessed by Fullbau.
- Monster of the Week: They are the primary enemies the Blaster Pair, Ibuki, and Suiko face off against every week during the first 12 episodes. They are distorted versions of the original characters who are possessed by units whom they can turn into when fighting.
- Mythology Gag: The Jammers are ones to the Diffriders from Cardfight!! Vanguard G, being antagonistic units subjecting people to Demonic Possession with a Distinguishing Mark on their body that need to be defeated in order to free their hosts.
- Poke the Poodle: While they are causing distortions in the timelines with their actions, most of their actions are goofy at best and petty at worst.
- The ones that play this straight are:
- Ibuki is just The Prankster, stuffing garbage in Chrono Shindou's shoe locker.
- Esuka is in Suiko's place in Ultra Rare, and her end goal is to ultimately make their popularity tank.
- Tetsu's repurposed his VF gloves, originally instruments of torture, into a line of electrotherapy devices for losing weight. In fact restoring his history causes him to do actual bad deeds since he goes back to conquering shops with said instruments of torture.
- Misaki's wants to expand "Meat Capital" from a simple butchery into a full on chain and is studying to do so, and the worst thing she does is overwork Shin (and later Emi) and deny his desire of opening a card shop.
- Nagisa bullies her big brother, Gouki, and prevents him from getting better at Vanguard.
- The Vanguard Association tries to create a mascot unappealing enough to tank Vanguard's popularity, but their bickering means they don't even get to create a distortion before they're stopped.
- The subversions are:
- Asaka was aiming for an entire empire where people are treated as subservient animals.
- Kyou had become a brutal warlord esque gangleader and tried to have Ibuki and Suiko executed for crossing him.
- Eru's demonic arm devours anyone with even a smidge of hostility, and forces them into cooking contests while trapped in his arm. Because he can't control it however, he fears if people refuse to stay away from him, it will eventually devour the entire world.
- The ones that play this straight are:
- Pokémon Speak: A lot of them devolve to only saying "Jammer" when they reveal their true forms.
- Red Herring: To make it even harder to identify a Jammer, there are also sometimes other characters who act and look completely different, but are actually just a part of the distortions caused by the Jammer.
- Because of his acting like Ren and Asaka's fangirling over him, Ibuki was initially under the impression Kawanami was the Jammer. After actually cardfighting him though, it was revealed he isn't the Jammer, rather he's been possessed by Fullbau. Asaka was just using him as a cover for her, and the minute he lost she begins treating him like a dog again.
- It at first seems like Gouki is the Jammer due to suddenly being Prone to Tears and wearing sleeves. Ibuki quickly figures out it isn't him though when he declares he does want to surpass Kamui one day and is passionate for Vanguard. Shuka ignores him though after someone puts ghost pepper flakes in Emi's coffee, convinced it's Gouki being a Crazy Jealous Guy for Kamui, only to reveal the real Jammer was his sister Nagisa, trying to frame her brother so he won't keep training.
- Eru seems to show all the tell tale signs of being a Jammer, possessing legitimate demonic powers, an arm that devours people, and his "Hoodfight Club" being in place of the Cardfight Club. However, not only is he aware of the Alternate Universe and wants it restored, he genuinely doesn't want anyone getting near him lest his arm devours them, and considers his powers a curse. The actual Jammer is the demon possessing his arm, as Shuka figures out after seeing him devour someone.
- Downplayed, if 11's preview blatantly showed Chronotiger Rebellion with a Jammer mark on his head, implying Ryuzu was the Jammer. The episode itself revealed he was only one of three Jammer's, with Ryutaro and Kanzaki being the other two. It is also noteworthy that from experience, Suiko and Ibuki expected one of them to be the Jammer, while the other two are most likely decoys.
- Running Gag: Every time Ibuki tries to cardfight a Jammer, he either gets attacked or just rejected. If he actually does get to cardfight a suspected Jammer, then it will turn out they aren't the Jammer.
Kouji Ibuki
Possessed by Docking Deletor, Greion, instead of putting the Gear Chronicle deck inside Chrono Shindou's shoe locker, he becomes The Prankster, attempts to throw the deck away, and just shoves trash in the shoe locker.- Evil Is Petty: He puts trash inside Chrono's shoelocker with childish glee and it is implied he does this regularly.
- Giggling Villain: He giggles a lot while saying "Jammer". This is even how he unintentionally attracts Emi and Shuka's attention which prevents the loss of the Gear Chronicle.
- Mythology Gag: Ibuki's appearance is heavily based off his appearance in Cardfight!! Vanguard G.
Esuka Hibino
Possessed by Holy Great Sage of Black Shadows, Isabelle, instead of leading Cardshop Esuka, she replaces Suiko as a member of Ultra Rare, in turn changing them from a top idol group to an up and coming group.- Dreadful Musician: While she may have the passion to sing, her voice isn't that great for the songs Ultra Rare sang. And while she was purposefully trying to make them tank in popularity, her singing while fighting the Blaster Pair proves she wasn't faking that.
- You Remind Me of X: She expresses attraction to Ibuki, largely due to the real Esuka Fighting from the Inside causing her see him as Shinemon.
Tetsu Shinjou
Possessed by No Life King, No Death Anchor, Tetsu is a teenage entrepreneur who has expanded his electrocuting VF gloves into an entire line of VF products that promote good health.- The Artifact: The "VF" name becomes this since they originally stood for Vanguard Fighter, but instead Tetsu thinks it stands for Victory Physical. He doesn't realize the word "physical" starts with a "p" in English until Suiko points it out.
- Eccentric Millionaire: He certainly gives off this vibe especially since some of his products are rather weird such as gloves including phones along with a brief and swimsuit version of the gloves.
- Young Entrepreneur: He is still in high school, but he owns a company that sells health products throughout the world.
Asaka Narumi
Possessed by Silver Thorn Dragon Tamer, Luquier, Asaka's affections appear to no longer be for Ren, but Kawanami. In truth however, she's manipulating Kawanami so as to turn Fukuhara into the starting point of her "Bow Wow Empire", where people would be treated like domestic animals and be subservient towards her.- Laser-Guided Amnesia: While it initially seems like the distortion made her forget Ren, turns out Rekka erased her memories of Ren specifically after Ren was goofing around and making distortions.
- Love at First Sight: Even with a case of Laser-Guided Amnesia making her forget Ren, she still falls for him when he appears as Mask, the Dark. Though she ends up starting the Running Gag of calling him "Mask, the Shoulder Pads", and quickly becomes his fangirl.
- The Man in Front of the Man: She first appears as Kawanami's fangirl/suboridinate like she was for Ren, but she is the actual Jammer manipulating him to hide her identity.
Kyou Yahagi
Possessed by Dueling Dragon, ZANBAKU, Kyou has become a warlord after losing his passion for Vanguard due to being Deleted by "Bukki", aka Kouji Ibuki, now leading a gang of thugs under the moniker of "Team Asteroid", and taking on Ren's name as his own.- I Just Want to Be Badass: Kyou's reaction to being Deleted is largely because he always wanted recognition from Ren, but because he was Deleted, he can never get that. What's worse is, Ren did recognize Kyou, and even considered him a friend. It's just that Ren, being the airhead that he is, kept forgetting Kyou's name, so Kyou refused to believe that to be the case.
- Mythology Gag: His personality while possessed is reminiscent of his personality from the original Cardfight!! Vanguard, namely while leading Team Avenger.
Misaki Tokura
Possessed by Goddess of the Full Moon, Tsukuyomi, Misaki is no longer the strong willed yet still nice girl with a Photographic Memory, but is now a Shrinking Violet and The Ditz, struggling to remember something she said two minutes ago. She wants to study hard so as to take care of the business from Shin and expand it.- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: While she may seem like a shy and innocent girl, she's still a Jammer, and her behavior is revealed to be an act. She's been forcing Shin to keep making croquettes for their "Meat Capital" business despite Shin wanting to sell cards, and forces Emi to help him when she came by to help Misaki study. She repeatedly denies being a Jammer as well until Mask, the Dark reveals the location of her Distinguishing Mark.
Nagisa Daimonji
Possessed by King of Demonic Seas, Basskirk, instead of the girly little sister of Gouki's with a crush on Kamui, she's now a crass and delinquent esque bully to her brother Gouki.- Breaking Old Trends: Compared to the way other Jammers operate, Nagisa is rather off:
- For starters, whereas the Jammers are usually focused on in their episode and only reveal their true forms at the end, Nagisa doesn't even appear until the episode is almost over. Instead, the episode is largely focused on her brother, Gouki.
- Jammer's typically possess people and turn into their true forms, their hosts only being freed after the Jammer is defeated. Nagisa however is quickly tossed aside by Basskirk after her mark is revealed, leaving her to be held by Gouki while the Blaster Pair fight Basskirk.
- The unit's that possess people are typically units they've actually used, even if they aren't the avatar card. Nagisa is possessed by Basskirk, a card she's never actually been shown to include in her deck.
- Jammer's tend to either exposit over how they are distorting history, or make clear from the outset how via their actions. Nagisa however never elaborates on what she's distorting, with Mask, the Dark having to assume she's trying to keep her brother Prone to Tears without outright confirmation.
- Jerkass: From what little is shown, she's extremely rude and crass to her brother Gouki, and tried to frame him for putting ghost pepper flakes in Emi's coffee to stop him from getting better at Vanguard.
- Out of Focus: She's the first Jammer who is not the focus of the episode they appear in, the focus instead being on her brother Gouki.
Eru Nakagami
Possessed by Master of Fifth Element, Eru is now the leader of the "Hoodfight Club", aka the Psychic Research Society, and cursed with legitimate demonic powers that threaten to devour the world. Eru however is not the Jammer, rather the demon possessing his arm is.- Alternate Self: Eru is unique amidst the Jammers by not being his V Series self under Demonic Possession, but his original incarnation being possessed. Not only does he still have his memories from that world as well as his club mates from there, he has memories of his V Series incarnation and the memories made by the distortion, causing him to consider himself the third Eru.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Eru always wanted to have actual powers. He got them alright, but is unable to control them. He even wonders if this is his punishment for trying to change the world.
- Breaking Old Trends: Following Nagisa's lead, Eru also functions differently from other Jammers.
- Jammers beforehand tend to directly possess a person. Eru however is not only aware he is suffering from Demonic Possession, but he tries to keep others away from him so his arm can't devour anyone like the Jammer wants. As Shuka explains, this is because Eru is not the Jammer, rather the demon possessing his arm is.
- Jammers prior were all shown to possess the V Series incarnations of characters, and once beaten, are returned to that reality. Eru however is his original series incarnation, and upon being defeated is returned to that reality, as evident by his Psychic Research Society refusing to vacate the club room promised to the Cardfight Club, something that didn't happen in the V Series due to his club not being a thing there.
- Jammers prior only instilled personality changes to their hosts and created distortions by changing events from occuring. Eru however is granted actual demonic abilities, his eye letting him see people's auras, and his arm threatening to devour anyone with hostile emotions near him, trapping them in a pocket dimension.
- The Distinguishing Mark of the Jammer is located somewhere on the hosts body, either hidden by clothing or physically appearing when they reveal themselves. Eru however is noted by Shuka to not be the Jammer, and the mark is instead on the back of the left hand of the demon possessing him.
- Demonic Possession: Of a different sort than the average Jammer. Master of Fifth Element acts a demon possessing Eru's arm and eye, and as such Eru himself is not the Jammer. This allows Eru some degree of control and causes him to try and prevent people from getting near him so his arm won't devour them.
- Distinguishing Mark: Suiko notes that Eru typically bandages his right arm and left eye, but as a result of the Jammer, the opposite is the case. This also confirms to Suiko that the demon is his arm is not Eru despite looking like him, it's the Jammer just taking on his form.
- Flash Sideways: Eru possesses memories of three different timelines, causing him to consider himself the third Eru and thinking it's his fault the other timelines are no longer around. The first timeline he remembers is his original timeline, the original series, the memory shown being his cardfighting Leon. The second timeline he remembers is the V Series, where he became a member of the Cardfight Club and went to the Koshien with them. The third timeline he remembers is the distorted timeline, where he has actual powers rather than being a self-admitted chuunibyou.
- Magical Eye: Eru's demonic eye is an actual thing now, so beneath the bandages on the right side of his face is a glowing red eye with black sclera, and purple tattoos around it and on his forehead. Said eye allows him to see the auras of those around him.
- Red Right Hand: Eru's demonic arm is also an actual thing now, so beneath the bandages on his left arm is a red skinned and sharp clawed demonic arm. Anyone with hostile intent that gets near him is immediately devoured by said arm.
Vanguard Association (Ryuzu Myojin, Yuichirou Kanzaki and Ryutarou Oyama)
Possessed by Chronotiger Rebellion, Claret Sword Dragon and Dragonic Vanquisher respectively. The three head members of the Vanguard Association competing to decide the association's mascot, in truth their aim is to tank Vanguard's popularity by creating unappealing mascot characters.- Breaking Old Trends: Yet again, these three don't follow the same rules as previously established Jammers.
- For starters, the fact all three of them are Jammers. Normally, only a single Jammer appears, and while other people can be turned into their units, they're typically Brainwashed and Crazy and just minions of the Jammer. These three however all are actual Jammers, and actually butt heads with each other over how to enact their distortion and fighting the Blaster Pair.
- Jammers tend to only be faced after they're already made the distortion, and once defeated any traces of the distortion are erased while reality is returned to normal. These three hadn't even made the distortion yet, largely due to their bickering over which design to use and kidnapping people to help them. As such, once they are beaten, the only thing that changes is they're no longer bickering over a design and go with Shuka's design for Vangarou. Everything else remains though, including Nanami, Toneri, and Tatsuya retaining their memories of what happened.
- Captain Ersatz: All their final mascot designs are this:
- Oyama's final design downplays it compared to the other two since its just a super deformed Mask, the Dark, but it follows a similar name convention to Kamen Rider BLACK RX since he just changes the name by replacing "Dark" with "Vanguard" while adding "RX" to the end.
- Kanzaki's final design is clearly Voltron just with cat heads on it, even named Meowtron, which is especially ironic considering he turned down one of Nanami's designs for being a Doraemon rip off and fearing being sued.
- Ryuzu's final design is clearly a chibi Space Sheriff Gavan complete with an explanation for how long his transformation takes.
- Epic Fail: These three didn't even manage to create a distortion before being beaten thanks to their endless infighting.
- Large Ham: Kanzaki on his own is this, but all three of them are this while designing mascots.
- Serial Escalation: Unlike other Jammers, Ryuzu is possessed by a Grade 4 unit instead of a Grade 3.
- Serious Business: The competition to decide the mascot was enough reason for them to abduct people to help them, and was what ultimately kept them from actually creating a distortion.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: First up Ryuzu is possessed by Chronotiger Rebellion, a grade 4 unit with 15000 base power, and is supported by two other Jammers. In order to defeat them the Blaster Pair needed the power of Mask, the Dark's Blaster Dark to form Majesty Lord Blaster.
- We ARE Struggling Together: They should be working together since they all Jammers and members of the Vanguard Association, but their infighting caused them so much time that the Blaster Pair defeated them before any distortion could take place.
- Wolf Pack Boss: Unlike other Jammers who just summon units and are alone, there are a total of three of them, who all attack the Blaster Pair at once, but this is also deconstructed since they spend so much time infighting they failed to accomplish anything.
Suiko Tatsunagi
Possessed by Solidify Celestial, Zerachiel, Suiko taught Ren about his PSYqualia just like the original timeline, but without Toshiki Kai to long after, he became a merciless fighting machine to discourage people from playing Vanguard.- The Corruptor: She told Ren about his PSYqualia just like in the original timeline, but only did it to make him a remorseless fighter.
- Out of Focus: Much like Nagisa before her, Suiko doesn't receive much focus until it's time to fight her, the focus instead being on the distortion she created, Ren.
- Squishy Wizard: Unlike most Jammers, she can easily be beaten physically by the Blaster Pair. Instead, she focuses on summoning Mobile Hospital, Feather Palace to fight for her.
SK4
In General
- Adaptational Villainy: Their original selves were much nicer and genuinely kind people. As members of SK4 however, they are generally unpleasant (not even being Affably Evil), prone to infighting, and aiding Aichi in his goal to distort history and eliminate Vanguard.
- Atrocious Alias: As members of SK4, they've all taken on a codename, comprised of their Color Motif and a type of storm. Problem is, the combinations they come up with aren't that good, and there's no internal consistency.
- Kourin is initially referred to as "Yellow Typhoon".
- Naoki is initially referred to as "Orange Hurricane", but later changes to "Orange Cyclone".
- Shingo is referred to as "Cream Tornado".
- Miwa is initially referred to as "Pink Hurricane", but later changes to "Pink Typhoon".
- Ibuki is referred to as "Silver Juggler".
- Suiko is referred to as "Blue Storm".
- Rekka is referred to as "Red Tempest".
- Cool Mask: With the exception of Morikawa, they all wear a visor that covers the upper half of their face.
- Divided We Fall: As a united front, they're pretty powerful, the Blaster Pair needing to summon nearly all of their units to fight them. After Miwa joins however, cracks begin forming amidst the group, with Kourin more openly keeping the others from seeing Aichi and doing things behind his back, Miwa largely being an Aloof Ally, and Shingo and Naoki regaining portions of their memories culminating in the two defecting.
- Elite Four: They are outright called the Four Generals, who fight for their leader, Aichi Sendou, personally.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: None of them can fathom why people would enjoy Vanguard, nor why Kai would want to give up his happier life by taking up Vanguard again. This is largely due to their love of Vanguard being sealed away by Aichi, as upon regaining their memories, Naoki and Shingo regain their love of Vanguard.
- Face–Monster Turn: Once Kourin is left as the only member remaining, she begins trying to capture and forcibly recruit others into the group by rewriting their memories. While she succeeds at doing so with Ibuki by turning him into Silver Juggler, Miwa, Rekka, and Suiko were acting as The Mole, and Ibuki himself would be freed shortly after being recruited.
- Fake Memories: While they refuse to admit it, they're all distorted versions of their real selves, and if prodded enough can experience a Ghost Memory of their real life. Experiencing them however does nothing but send them into denial, forcing them to claim it's nothing but a lie. Shingo later reveals that Aichi himself sealed their memories away, under the intent it would make them happier.
- In Spite of a Nail: Despite Aichi only meeting and befriending Naoki, Shingo, and Kourin thanks to Vanguard, the former two thanks to forming the Miyaji Cardfight Club and the latter thanks to her being in Ultra Rare, the three of them all still met Aichi and became fiercely loyal to him, even sharing his hatred of Vanguard too.
- In the Hood: With the exception of Morikawa, all of the generals keep their hoods up. They remove these hoods when they appear before the Blaster Pair.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: They don't care if their actions are immoral or evil, if it is what Aichi desires or for his benefit, they'll do it with no issue. With the exception of Kourin, they all eventually subvert this, as Naoki and Shingo's memories are restored due to wanting to help Aichi without going to any extremes and seeing he's Not Himself respectively, while Miwa was in reality The Mole and always acted like the Aloof Ally.
- Non-Indicative Name: After Morikawa was banished from Sanctuary, they were a group comprised of only three members. This gets brought up by Miwa when he joins them. They're reduced to three again once Naoki defects, then two when Shingo defects, then back to three when Ibuki is brainwashed, then back to two again when Miwa reveals he was actually The Mole. By Episode 20's end, Kourin is all that is left.
- Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome: All of them were Protagonists in the seasons prior, though to a much lesser extent in Morikawa's case, but now all serve as major antagonists under Aichi. Naoki and Shingo subvert this upon regaining their memories, whereas Miwa subverted it entirely due to being The Mole.
- Summon Magic: Unlike Jammers, who turn into the Units, the members of SK4 instead summon units to fight for them using the same method the Blaster Pair does, Realizing. This is specifically tied to them being loyal to Sanctuary however, as once Shingo openly declares his Heel–Face Turn, his Magatsu Storm vanishes, Kourin outright saying "Traitors don't get to have powers!"
Kourin Tatsunagi
The middle child of the Tatsunagi sisters and one of the "Called Walkers", she is the leader of SK4 and Aichi's right hand.
For tropes on Kourin, see her section here under the Miyaji Academy Cardfight Club.
Katsumi Morikawa
One of SK4, he faces and is swiftly defeated by the Blaster Pair in the first episode, causing him to be banished from Sanctuary.
- Advertised Extra: He's shown amidst the Four Generals in the intro despite being beaten and banished before the intro even plays!
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The Spike Brother units he summoned end up tackling him due to being unable to stop their trajectory.
- Starter Villain: The units he summons only use brute force and have simple evadeable attacks which the Blaster Pair exploids to defeat him without even summoning a unit themselves.
- You Have Failed Me: Due to being defeated by the Blaster Pair so easily, he was banished to the Outside World.
Naoki Ishida (Unmarked Spoilers)
Formely Aichi's classmate when he was a kid, he now serves as one of Aichi's SK4. While initially more ruthless than his normal self, once he regains his memories he quickly tries to do what he can to save Aichi from himself.
For tropes on Naoki after regaining his memories, see his section here under the Miyaji Academy Cardfight Club.
- Adaptational Villainy: Despite having the Face of a Thug, Naoki was a rather good natured person, his worst flaw being a bit of a temper. Here, he has no issue with kidnapping Kai's parents and holding them hostage to try and force him to join Sanctuary, even threatening their lives if he has to. Gets subverted after he regains his memories.
- Ghost Memory: After being attacked by Kai as Blaster Blade, he remembers his original self's My Greatest Failure, in how he failed to stand up for Aichi when they were younger, and expresses discomfort at gaining this memory. He slowly begins remembering his original life afterwards, and resolves to save Aichi from himself.
- Heel–Face Turn: After being granted his memories again, he resolves to try and save Aichi himself, but fails and is subsequently transformed by Shingo to fight the Blaster Pair and Kai. Once he's freed, Kai gets him to join them in trying to save Aichi.
- My Greatest Failure: Twofold. Upon remembering his original one of failing to stand up for Aichi, he holds it against himself for Aichi becoming the leader of Sanctuary. As such, he tries to take Blaster Blade and give it to his younger self, so that he'll be the one to give it to Aichi, simultaneously reigniting his love of Vanguard and making them close much earlier. Being unable to however nearly sends him into tears as he can only pound his fist on the forcefield stopping him.
- Reforged into a Minion: After regaining his memories causes him to try and defect, Shingo forcibly transforms him into Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon, and forces him to attack the Blaster Pair and Kai. He's fortunately defeated by Kai and freed.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: A downplayed case. After having his memories partially restored, he agrees with the idea that Aichi needs to receive Blaster Blade as a child and love Vanguard again. However, he still seeks to obey Aichi's desire to give Kai a happy life, so he intends to give Blaster Blade to his younger self, and direct him to give it to Aichi, thinking this will get Aichi interested in Vanguard while simultaneously forming an earlier bond with Naoki, and keeping Kai from getting involved in Vanguard. Unfortunately for him, something stops him from entering the area.
- Shock and Awe: He still favors Narukami units, but it's taken up a notch after being forcibly transformed into Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon, where he strikes with lightning charged gauntlets.
- Walking Spoiler: Hard to talk about him without first mentioning he was a member of SK4, and then the first to defect from the group.
Shingo Komoi (Unmarked Spoilers)
A student at Miyaji Academy and proud older brother, he idolizes Aichi and willingly serves as one of SK4. While originally more sycophantic to Aichi, he care for his little brother Shinji and outrage at Aichi callously rejecting his own little sister was enough to restore his memories, and he now hopes to bring back the true Aichi he idolized.
For tropes on Shingo after regaining his memories, see his section here under the Miyaji Academy Cardfight Club.
- Adaptational Villainy: While Shingo could be haughty, he was still a nice person and steadfastly loyal to the entire Miyaji Cardfight Club, with even his relationship with Naoki being a case of Vitriolic Best Buds. Here, he's loyal first and foremost to Aichi, and will gladly transform Naoki into a Unit for defecting. Subverted upon regaining his memories.
- Big Damn Heroes: He arrives with Emi on Magatsu Storm just in time to stop Incandescent Blond Lion, Ezel from slashing Shinji, using a Ninja Log to substitute for him and having Magatsu Storm grab him.
- Broken Pedestal: The main reason he remained with SK4 was because of his admiration for Aichi, believing him to be unfailingly kind and pure. So upon seeing Emi's distress over not seeing her brother, he willingly asks Aichi to see her and brings her to him. So upon seeing Aichi so callously reject Emi and reiterate his intent to destroy Vanguard, he comes to realize this is not the Aichi he admired, regaining his memories and performing a Heel–Face Turn.
- Cool Big Bro: He's extremely nice to his little brother Shinji, clearly torn upon learning he's been looking for him and wanting to play Vanguard. Seeing Emi's distress of Shinji wanting to see him was enough to convince him to let Emi see Aichi, his instincts as an older brother making him think Aichi would welcome her. It's because of this that Aichi's callous rejection of Emi turns him into a Broken Pedestal and inspires a Heel–Face Turn for Shingo.
- Easily Forgiven: Naoki doesn't hold it against him for having him Reforged into a Minion once Shingo has his Heel–Face Turn.
- Ghost Memory: When Emi claims to know the real Aichi and his "cute smile", Shingo claims he's seen Aichi's smile plenty of times, only to realize that for all he's served Aichi, Aichi's never smiled in front of him, and yet he still remembers it. Then, when the Blaster Pair summon forth Stealth Dragon, Shiranui and point out he should recognize it since it's a Nubatama unit, he denies this only to remember playing a Nubatama deck in the Miyaji Cardfight Club. The dissonance between his memories causes him physical pain, and leaves him open enough to attack.
- Heel–Face Turn: While initially devout to Aichi, upon seeing Aichi reject Emi and realizing he's a Broken Pedestal, Shingo regains his memory and quits SK4, joining up with the Blaster Pair, Suiko, Kai, and Naoki is trying to help Aichi.
- Ninja Log: Right when it looks like Kai has managed to defeat him alongside Dragonic Overlord, he uses this and manages to escape.
- Undying Loyalty: Even after starting to remember his original life, he remained loyal to Aichi's will, and proceeded to reforge Naoki for trying to defect. This changed upon seeing Aichi as a Broken Pedestal after rejecting Emi, allowing him to regain all his memories and have a Heel–Face Turn.
- You Have Failed Me: Upon finding Naoki to have regained his memories, he forcibly transforms Naoki in Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon and forces him to fight the Blaster Pair and Kai.
Taishi Miwa (Unmarked Spoilers)
Kai's best friend of sorts, he's brought in to replace Morikawa as a member of SK4 following Morikawa's defeat. In truth, he's The Mole, spying on SK4 from the inside.
For tropes on Miwa, see his section here under Card Capital.
Spoiler Character
After being captured by Aichi and Kourin, Ibuki is tempted by Kourin into joining SK4 after praying on his guilt while acting as the Deletor's Vanguard, namely his guilt for what he did to Suiko in particular.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Unlike the other members of SK4, he's explicitly been brainwashed by Kourin after preying on his feelings of guilt.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Subverted. While the Blaster Pair, Suiko, and Kai all try appealing to his memories and bonds and they do cause him visible distress, he keeps resolute and tries to Delete Kai, only failing thanks to Miwa Taking the Bullet. It takes Kai as Dragonic Overlord "The X" declaring he'll reduce Ibuki's mistakes to ashes for him to finally be freed and remember his old life.
- Love Makes You Evil: It was the bond he forged with Suiko over the course of their adventure that made his guilt for her the strongest, allowing Kourin to tempt him into creating a distortion and force him into joining SK4.
- Starfish Aliens: To further emphasize his being brainwashed, he no longer uses his Messiah units, instead using the Deletors once more.
- Summon Magic: As a member of SK4, he gains the ability to Realize units, namely his former deck, the Deletors.
- A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: After being prayed upon by Kourin over his guilt towards Suiko, she tricks him into lunging at the point in time where he would have deleted Suiko, creating a Temporal Paradox due to two Ibuki's being present, allowing Kourin to not only create a distortion, but turn Ibuki into a member of SK4.
