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Yugi Muto/Yami Yugi
- Accidental Pervert: Twice in one chapter. He accidentally gets a handful of Komaru's chest in Chapter 47, and later a faceful of Téa's.
- All-Loving Hero: Despite what Celeste has done, Yugi is 100% willing to embrace her as a friend.
- It gets brought up again by Hina and Toko in chapter 97, the latter finding it "kind of hot".
- Because Destiny Says So: Yami holds a very high faith in what is written in the Egyptian Scriptures, and regards it as his destiny to defeat Marik. While part of the reason he doesn't want people dueling Marik is because he's genuinely concerned for their safety, another part is that he thinks only he can beats him.
- This line of thinking gets brought to a screeching halt by Junko in chapter 100. She states that you could call anything destiny once it's accomplished or to fly in the face of choice, ultimately believing that "destiny" is merely a word with a lot of power and a guiding compass of someone's decision making process. Yami finds it hard to argue.
- Death Glare: The Pharaoh gives a rather intense one to Hajime for betraying his trust (ironic considering he himself betrayed Kaiba's trust in the same manner) at the end of the 4-Way Battle Royale.
- He also gives one to Weevil in chapter 75 right before playing Berserker Soul.
- Demoted to Extra: Due to sharing the spotlight with the Dangan Ronpa characters, duels such as the Arkana Duel, the duel with Strings, the duel at the pier with brainwashed Joey and the duel against Gansley are skimmed or just mentioned. He still plays a role in the story, he just isn't focused on much until the Battle City Finals. Averted in the Orichalcos arc where most of his canon role remains intact, and in some cases expanded upon.
- He seems to be coming back to the forefront of "main character" ever since starting at Hope's Peak Academy, though it is notable that he seems to vibrate in and out of the plot only when he's called for. Many fans point out that Dueling Trigger Finger has no true main character and is an ensemble based story.
- Drunk on the Dark Side: Yami, while under the influence of the Seal of Orichalcos.
- Fake Ultimate Hero: Discussed and deconstructed. Celeste and Yugi are both well-aware that Yami is the one who carries them through duels; the former uses this knowledge to blackmail Yugi into dueling her alone, while Yugi's self-confidence has taken a bit of a hit, making him strive to prove himself.
- Friendless Background: Mentioned briefly as a plot point—Téa was his only friend growing up, Joey and the others only came about recently. So Yugi never saw the point in getting a cellphone.
- Hero Antagonist: Played with and downplayed, mainly in regards to Yami and arguably more of an In-Universe example. While the Pharoah has never exactly been an openly antagonistic character in terms of his role, his interactions with the Danganronpa characters have been far from friendly.
- Just before their duel at the Battle City Finals, he tries to talk Makoto out of dueling him. While he sees it as just being concerned for Makoto's safety, the others see it as a sign of cowardice or even fear on his part.
- Hajime briefly gets on his bad side after the former refuses to heed to his words in order to challenge Marik himself.
- His constant preaching about one's destiny being inevitable towards Kaiba is viewed as rubbing Kaiba's nose in and even gets Chiaki to speak up against him.
- Heroic Safe Mode: After his duel with Junko, at first it seems taking his soul has caused a Heroic BSoD on him and not this trope, but after giving Junko's comatose body to Mukuro and mentally slapping his cheeks, Yami is back in action and ready to take the fight to Dartz, showing that not even Junko's despair and the loss of Yugi will slow him down when he really needs to stand tall and fight evil.
- Honor Before Reason: Yugi. When Nagito off-handedly tells him he can have Exodia back if he wants, Yugi turns him down since the cards resonate with the luckster. This is despite Yami urging him to accept and the fact his victory over Marik would be easier with them.
- I Gave My Word: Holds fast to this, even practically outright stating it.Yugi: You have my word, and my word is my bond.
- This gets played for drama in chapter 98 where he makes a promise to go away with Junko for a weekend, and therefore can't go to the beach with Téa that same weekend because he already made a promise to Junko.
- Identity Amnesia: Yugi in the prologue, at least until the very end.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While calling Yami a "jerk" may be stretching too much, he is a bit more aloof and prideful than Yugi. Even so, his is still undoubtedly one of the good guys who is only out to do the right thing for everyone's sake.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Yami expresses this in light of Yugi sacrificing his soul to the Orichalcos in his place.
- He shows similar regret when he realizes how overboard he went attacking Weevil with Berserker Soul.
- The Napoleon: He's quite sensitive about his height, albeit not as much as Fuyuhiko. Chiaki was pleasantly surprised when she saw that she was actually taller than him when she compared their heights.
- Pragmatic Hero: Yami, in contrast to Yugi. As said, he's all-too willing to accept Nagito's offer of returning Exodia, despite not having beat him for it.
- Pride: Yami's already very proud in canon, but arguably moreso here. Due to the narrative framing, sharing the "main character" place with others, and the Screw Destiny messages the Dangan Ronpa protagonists like, the Pharaoh lecturing about destiny being inevitable and him being the only one who can defeat Marik comes off as arrogance.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When Weevil pranks him by ripping a card in half and claiming that "Yugi is gone forever", Yami plays Berserker Soul and continues to attack Weevil even though the latter's life points hit 0 after the second attack. In canon, Téa stops him. But that is not the case in this story. Junko is present instead of Téa and she actually eggs Yami on to continue attacking, injuring Weevil to the point that the resulting tumble off the train and down the cliffside more than likely ended up killing Weevil.
- Secret Test of Character: Celeste helps orchestrate his pier duel with Joey as a way to see what was more important to Yugi—his friend, or winning. Yugi passed it, choosing Joey over winning the duel.
- Take Up My Sword: Before he loses his soul to the Orichalcos, he entrusts the Millennium puzzle to Yukizome to protect her which also ensures that that Great Leviathan doesn't automatically awaken afterwards.
- Taking the Bullet: Yami sends his Black Luster Dragon - The Chaos King to intercept an attack meant for Yukizome's Bakunawa during the RPG battle against Dartz. However he immediately gets reprimanded by Yukizome (whose proven herself a lot stronger than she appears) for his Senseless Sacrifice as Dartz's Orichalcos Mercury finishes him off not long after.
Joey Wheeler
- Adaptational Badass: While Joey was already quite the competent duelist in canon, he was still Over Shadowed By Awesome by the likes of Yugi and Kaiba in terms of skill level and cards. Here, not only does he rack up more impressive wins under his belt, but his deck is a lot stronger due to winning several powerful rare cards (one of even included The Wicked Dreadroot at one point) that make his spoils of war from canon look positively cute by comparison. In addition, when he duels against Kaiba during the Battle City Finals (as opposed to an unofficial duel); he comes extremely close to winning him and actually makes Kaiba work for the victory compared to the times they have dueled in canon where the duels were mainly one-sided in Kaiba's favor.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: In this fic, Joey never obtains Jinzo, Insect Queen and the Legendary Fisherman during the Battle City arc with them being replaced by Battleguard King, First of the Dragons, Thunder King, the Lightningstrike Kaiji and (temporarily) the Wicked Dreadroot.
- Always Someone Better: How Joey takes the resolution of the Canadian Nationals arc. He loses to Celeste in the finals. This renews his spirit to always keep trying and getting better.
- Amicable Exes: He and Natsumi used to date back in middle school, and though they still bicker when they meet again, it's light-hearted. Until she reveals she's working with Dartz.
- Badass Normal: Like in canon, he's neither tied to an ancient power nor owns any special cards. All he relies on is simply his own guts and instincts which has allowed him to go toe in toe with most of his opponents, even if they're Ultimates.
- Empowered Badass Normal: When he obtains the Claw of Hermos during the Orichalcos arc.
- Berserk Button: Natsumi really pissed him off by stealing a well-paid for burger and eating it in front of him. Of course, this was intentional.
- Big Brother Instinct: For Serenity, natch. All his winnings from Duelist Kingdom were invested into her eye surgery and college fund, and he's very protective of her safety. Chapter 77 just shows how far he is willing to go to support her even at his own expense.
- Book Dumb: He has a hard time understanding strategy and thinking ahead. Even Celeste's attempts at giving him pointers aren't producing much fruit.
- Born Lucky: Not as much as Nagito, but quite a few of Joey's cards rely on the roll of the die, and usually work out.
- Chick Magnet: So far, he's been teased with three girls—Celestia, Mai, and Ibuki. Chapter 65 also reveals that he and Natsumi were dating back in middle school.
- A Day in the Limelight: The Canada Nationals arc features him as one of the primary main characters alongside Mai and Byakuya.
- Determinator: The worse his situation gets, the more bull-headed and resolute Joey becomes on escaping it.
- Dumb Blonde: Is street smart, but not so much book smart.
- Graceful Loser: Despite his issues with Kaiba and the loss of one of his strongest spoils from the tournament, Joey takes his loss against him with stride and bounces back to his usual self almost immediately.
- He also takes his loss to Celeste in their rematch rather well.
- Gut Feeling: He instantly gets a feeling that "Namu" isn't to be trusted. He is, of course, completely right.
- Heroic Willpower: As in canon, he's able to throw off Marik's mind control at the end of his duel with Yugi through sheer force of will.
- Hidden Depths:
- Despite his lack of critical thinking skills, he has what Celeste calls a frustratingly effective poker face.
- He also shows wisdom and foresight on occasion, like when talking about how he knows he isn't cut for anything more than pro-dueling at best, and will probably end up in a dead-end job somewhere. He knows better than to spend money on his future, so he focuses on securing Serenity's instead.
- I Let You Win: Unbeknownst to him, Yugi allowed him to win their duel for Red-Eyes Black Dragon in Chapter 60, out of recognition of Joey's strength and will.
- Idiot Hero: He's none too bright, relying on guts, luck, and brute force to win his duels. But he's also kind-hearted, protective, and loyal, making for a true friend and a reliable person to have at your back.
- Nice Guy: In spite of all his flaws; deep down, Joey is a kind-hearted and selfless guy who will always have others' backs when they need it.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Everyone seems to love bringing up his reliance on and loss of Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
- Red Baron: During the KC Grand Prix arc, Gundham graciously gives him the title "Ultimate Eliminator" due to him defeating multiple Ultimates in dueling.
- Slobs vs. Snobs: The slob to Kaiba's snob.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- Because he never duels Marik during the Battle City finals, Joey never ends up in a comatosed/near-death state as in canon thus allowing him to spectate the rest of the tournament without his friends worrying about him.
- He also does not lose his soul following his climactic duel in the Orichalcos arc, thus allowing him to participate in the final battle against Dartz.
- Took a Level in Badass: From the start of the Battle City tournament up until his elimination during the finals, Joey not only strengthens his deck thanks to the very powerful cards he's won but his dueling skills have also improved substantially. So much that he was able to put Kaiba to his limits.
- Underestimating Badassery:
- Both Fuyuhiko and Peko go after him during the early parts of the tournament, thinking him to an easy target without his Red-Eyes. Ho boy were they ever wrong...
- Kaiba does this towards him in spades as per canon, which makes their duel during the Battle City Finals all the more surprising for Kaiba (even if he still ended up winning).
Téa Gardener
- Childhood Friends: With Yugi, who she's known since they were kids.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Clearly doing her best to mark her territory of Yugi and Yami from Junko. When Junko kisses the Pharoah straight on the lips after their duel in Chapter 80, she gets downright livid.
- Insecure Love Interest: Now that Yugi is an Ultimate, she feels this way about her relationship with him.
- Marshmallow Hell: Subjects Yugi into one during their reunion in Chapter 47.
- Only Sane Woman: In a world that doesn't just have her own cast, but the very wacky Dangan Ronpa cast as well, she stands out for her common sense and normal attitude.
- Ship Tease: With Yugi. Junko pretty much milks this for all its worth by flirting with Yugi right within her presence, with Téa reacting as she (and the readers) would expect. With Junko now officially attracted to Yugi and being all too willing to torture the competition, Téa could be in serious danger...
Tristan Taylor
- Adapted Out: His crush in Serenity from anime canon is completely absent in this story. Instead he retains feelings for Miho which later becomes official when she returns to the real world.
- All Men Are Perverts: He checks Akane out appreciatively the first time he meets her.
- Butt-Monkey: He's used as the metaphorical whipping boy for Byakuya to test his new deck against, facing and losing to him twenty-five times.
- Deadpan Snarker: He gets a couple good hits in.Tristan: Only one voice could sound that annoying in only two words.
- Distressed Dude: After losing to Miho in the virtual world. She doesn't want his body, she just wants him to stay with her, and kidnaps him.
- Epic Fail: He loses to Byakuya twenty-five times in a row, as Duke snarks. He also acts a lot like an amateur in his duel with Miho, going down in just three turns.
- Hidden Depths: He actually used to be a lot more presentable and rule-abiding—he was actually even an honor roll student. Miho's death hurt him so much he just gave up. Mai even lampshades it by admitting she had no idea he was so complex.
- The Mourning After: Miho was his first love, and losing her hurt him so much it caused an entire personality shift.
- Official Couple: With Miho after the latter's return to the real world.
- Ship Tease: With Miho who was his first love ever since middle school and whose death caused a radical shift in his personality. Comes full circle later in Chapter 47 after Miho is finally brought over back to their protagonists' side, and the two become an Official Couple upon returning to the real world.
- Tempting Fate: When preparing to duel Miho Nosaka during the Virtual World arc he thinks "How hard can she be?" He loses in 3 turns.
Mai Valentine
- Adaptational Badass: In the original, Mai was the infamous recipient of The Worf Effect. Here, she has won 2 out of her 3 on screen solo duels—Won against Sonia and Valon, lost to Gundham and she could've actually won that one. And in group duels, she's usually the one pulling the most weight and really shows how her experiences in the pro circuit help her keep up with younger, but skilled duelists like Joey, Komaru, and Ibuki.
- Adaptational Heroism: Downplayed. While Mai is already one of good guys in canon, she did pull a Face–Heel Turn during the Orichalcos arc which is non-existent in this story.
- Amazon Brigade: In addition to running prominently female monsters, she also runs the Amazoness archetype.
- Badass Normal: She's neither a God Card/Legendary Dragon wielder, nor someone tied to an ancient power yet is able to go toe to toe alongside those who are.
- Berserk Button: Don't bring up her age.
- Blow You Away/Winged Humanoid: Her signature Harpies.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She's none too happy about Joey's relationship with Ibuki and Celeste.
- Cool Big Sis: Many of the female characters regard her as such, and Mai reciprocates with affectionate but fierce protectiveness. It especially shows with Komaru; when Nezbitt challenges her to a duel, Mai immediately steps forward and tells him to duel her instead.
- A Day in the Limelight: Is one of the main characters of the Canada Nationals arc, alongside Joey and Byakuya.
- Honor Before Reason: During her duel with Gundham in the Battle City finals, Mai gets a substantial early lead as a result of Gundham not thinking properly due to him being consumed by rage towards Marik after the latter sent Sonia to the Shadow Realm and could easily have capitalized on this for an easy win. Despite this, she gives Gundham a Get A Hold Of Yourself Man speech, allowing him to duel normally...even if it resulted in her loss.
- The Power of Friendship: As a result of her character development both from canon and in this story; Mai's life has changed for the better. She even admits to Natsumi that if not for this, she would probably be the one joining Dartz instead of her.
- Restored My Faith in Humanity: Mentions that Joey's kindness has done this in Chapter 44, especially when she decides to effectively do a trust fall with Ibuki in the three-way duel.
- Shipper on Deck: For Yugi/Yami and Téa.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- Because of Yami Marik claiming Sonia as his first victim instead of her, Mai remains active in the Battle City arc, even accompanying the group during the Virtual World arc.
- Because her canonical Face–Heel Turn during the Orichalcos arc never happens in this fic: Not only does Mai continue sticking around, but she also participates in the final battle against Dartz.
- Taking the Bullet: She leaps in the way of Noah turning Joey to stone, briefly becoming petrified.
- Tsundere: Type A for Joey. She inwardly wants to impress him, yet will deny this and/or get defensive about it. Her asking Joey if he's glad to see her unhurt in the virtual world, then bopping him on the head when he makes a snarky comment about her age, is perhaps the truest Tsundere behavior of all.
- Weak, but Skilled: Her Harpie/Amazoness deck lacks the sheer raw power that many other decks have, but more than make it for by their swarming potential, sneaky effects, and powerful Spell/Trap support.
- This also extends with Mai herself during the RPG battle against Dartz: Being a non-dragon wielder, her monsters lack the devastating damage output that the rest of her teammates have. However a lot of her monsters had powerful special abilities that were able to debilitate Dartz's Orichalcos minions and allow her teammates' monsters to attack with impunity.
Ryou Bakura/Yami Bakura
- Big "NO!": Yami Bakura has this reaction in Chapter 28 when Chiaki uses Heavy Storm to destroy his Destiny Board, just when he was one letter way from its automatic win condition.
- Demoted to Extra: In canon he was working alongside Marik and was a Battle City finalist alongside Yugi and the others. Here, his partnership with Marik is only hinted once in a throwaway line by Marik, and his spot as a finalist was taken by Espa Roba. In addition, his defeat by Marik in a Shadow Game takes place entirely off-screed between Chapters 37 and 38. He seems to be returning, allying with Junko during the Grand Prix arc.
- I Have Many Names: What Yami Bakura tells Junko. She settles on Florence.
- Killed Offscreen: Was apparently defeated by Marik in a Shadow Game in between Chapters 37 and 38, as he later seen in a comatosed state at the medical wing in the latter chapter along with Sonia. Per canon, he gets better.
- This Cannot Be!: Yami Bakura gets this reaction in chapter 28 when Chiaki stands up against him after almost being taken by the Shadow Realm and summons Thunderclap Skywolf to take out the rest of his Life Points.
- Villain Team-Up: Yami Bakura joins forces with Junko around the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix arc.
Duke Devlin
- Adapted Out:
- His crush on Serenity from anime canon is omitted entirely. Instead it is Mahiru who is the object of his affections.
- Is completely omitted from the Orichalcos and KCGP arcs, contrasting his minor supporting role in canon.
- Amazon Chaser: He grows even more enamored with Mahiru when seeing her stand up to Kaiba. He also expressed a minor interest in Chiaki when she did the same in Chapter 32.
- Casanova Wannabe: Tries hitting on Mahiru.
- Deadpan Snarker: He gets a couple of great hits in on Tristan's "dueling ability" in Chapter 45.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Compared to his canonical debut appearance, as he himself admits to Mahiru and Serenity.
Serenity Wheeler
- Adaptational Badass: Downplayed. Serenity may not appear in a duel during the Virtual World arc, but she is still much more competent than in canon, where she didn't even know how defense mode worked in her first ever duel. It's stated, during the Canadian Nationals arc, that during a casual tournament that included low-level players like Mahiru, Hiyoko, and Ibuki, Serenity came in 2nd with only a preconstructed deck. And later in Despair Arc Part 1, she narrowly loses to Miaka, even showing off some intense focus and analytical abilities. And that's not even getting into how smart she is that she was able to skip two years of middle school and end up in high school in the same grade as Joey and Yugi. This trope is downplayed because her large intelligence didn't help her get into Hope's Peak's main course and she's still leagues behind talented duelists like Joey and Hajime.
- Demoted to Extra: Compared to anime canon, at least for Battle City. First off she does not play any part in rescuing Joey when the latter nearly drowned after the forced deathmatch between him and Yugi and second of all, she does not even accompany everyone else to the Virtual World instead staying behind the blimp.
- This is subverted as of late, and looking to go in the other direction. Serenity is seamlessly squeezed into scenes repeatedly during the Canadian Nationals arc, arguably giving her character more depth than canon ever did. She's currently even attending Hope's Peak Academy as a reserve course student.
- Hero-Worshipper: She really looks up to Mai and Mahiru because of their confidence and protectiveness.
- Self-Deprecation: When wondering about what she'll do after her eyesight is back, Serenity sadly muses that it probably won't matter, because she's only average at everything she does.
Miho Nosaka
- Ascended Extra: Big time. She goes from a minor character in Season 0, to a minor antagonist with a redemption arc, then finally rejoining Yugi's circle of friends.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Miho was first mentioned in Chapter 11, as being a former member of Sayaka's Sweet Orchard group before she died from a car accident. Fast forward to Chapter 45 and she makes her appearance in the Virtual World.
- Curbstomp Battle: Delivers one to Tristan during their duel.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Being stuck in Noah's virtual prison has not been kind to her psyche.
- Heel–Face Turn: Pulls one in Chapter 47 after Makoto and everyone else assures her that she has not been completely forgotten and that they will be there for her.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: She was initially a minor antagonist during the Virtual World arc, before officially joining Yugi and his circle friends by the end of Battle City.
- Light Is Not Good: In both her duels, she uses all light-attribute monsters, including her Deck Master Dunames Dark Witch. However, while not a villain per say, she is definitely an antagonist.
- Lonely Together: She and Noah were all the other had while trapped in the virtual world.
- Love Redeems: Platonic love, but being reassured by Joey, Makoto, and Byakuya that no one has forgotten about her in the real world, that Sayaka is still trying to raise money to save her, and that they all still want her around, is what gets through to Miho and turns her to the heroes' side.
- Morality Pet: To Noah. He snaps when he thinks the Big Five are going to go after her.
- Not Quite Dead: Despite the mentions of her death back in Chapter 11, it appears that she survived via her mind being digitized into Noah's virtual world.
- Official Couple: With Tristan, upon her return to the real world.
- Older Than They Look: Downplayed. She's the same age as Yugi and his friends, but still looks as she did in middle school while in the Virtual World. No longer the case after returning to the real world where her body matches that of her age.
- Only Friend: To Noah. She was the first human being stuck in the virtual world, and they quickly ended up bonding.
- Ship Tease: With Tristan, obviously. Chapter 48 also adds a smidgen for her and Noah, with Kaiba mocking her as his girlfriend.
- Third-Person Person: She has a tendency to talk like this.
- Tragic Villain: She's just a young girl who's been trapped in a virtual world for two years and has slowly been going mad from it. She also believes that all her friends in the real world have forgotten about her, which fuels her possessive and anger behavior. At the end of the day, Miho is as much a victim as an antagonist. And fortunately, even the 'antagonist' part changes.
- Walking Spoiler: Just look at all this white.
- Yandere: Towards Tristan big time, when Téa, Tristan and Duke come across her in Chapter 45 she duels Tristan in the hopes his mind stays with her forever which is something she actually accomplishes.
Solomon Muto
- Sdrawkcab Name: Still goes by Abdnarg Otum in the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix.
- The Mentor: Serves as this to Byakuya at one point during Battle City.
Rebecca Hawkins
- Demoted to Extra: In canon, Rebecca plays a minor, if not supportive role in the anime. In this story, she has all of one major scene And ends up getting her soul stolen by Nagito for her troubles.
- This is later subverted as she does show up in the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix arc like in the anime.
- Worthy Opponent: Nagito views her as this despite her being too young to be considered an ultimate. He even mentions that she has potential to become one.
