Characters / Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Manga

A character subpage from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime and manga series, the Oddly Named Sequel to Yu-Gi-Oh!. For the main character page, see here.

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Main Characters

Judai Yuki (Jaden Yuki)

• Almighty Janitor: Despite being one of the best duelists in the Academy, his low-rank of Osiris Red keeps him firmly in this. (Slifer Red in Viz translation).
• Adaptation Personality Change: Subtle, but it's there. Judai in the anime started off a very happy-go-lucky individual who during the first half of the show laughed off the high-stakes duels such as Shadow Games or Society of Light conscriptions until that attitude was torn apart in Season 3, causing him to be much more brooding afterwards. Judai's manga counterpart is more of an in-between, while still a very positive individual throughout the story, he never laughs off the stakes of more serious duels, viewing Shadow Games as dangerous and unenjoyable, and likewise showing a great deal of anger towards the villains who use them to hurt people. In short, he feels like a more realistic take on Judai's overall character, positive yes, but who reacts to the arcane events around him the way an actual person would.
• Adaptational Wimp: Judai has a zig-zagged case of this in the manga adaptation. In the anime, he's basically unstoppable and can overcome almost every challenge that's in front of him. In the manga, this is still the same case for most of its run, up until the the Duel Academia tournament finals, he ends up losing to Manjoume, who he never lost to in the anime, but has become a much stronger character in the manga. Judai's win-loss streak in the manga then gets further skewed, especially when he builds his Masked HERO deck, losing two out of the three duels as opposed to the one loss out of eight important on-screen duels (nine counting his offscreen victory over Chronos, even more counting his briefly shown duels versus nameless students) he had with his modified version of Koyo's deck. These losses with his new deck were against Edo Phoenix and his Vision HERO deck (which had a card that turned his LP from 0 to 100) and a possessed Fubuki (who, like Manjoume, fares a lot better in this adaption). He doesn't even use his Masked HERO cards in the final duel with Tragoedia. He does use his Masked HERO deck in the special chapter against a re-awakened Koyo (but we don't know how that ended up), making his win-loss ratio have more losses compared to his anime counterpart.
• Big Brother Mentor: To Sho.
• Break the Cutie: Not nearly as much as in the anime, but it's hard on him watching his mentor go into a coma, and he briefly falls into a Heroic BSoD during his duel with Reggie, as he knows that the loser will suffer a penalty game.
• Defeating the Undefeatable: Judai and Manjoume do this to each other.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Some things never change. It even sticks after Manjoume beats him right back.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: In the first chapter, he uses some Elemental Heroes he used in the anime such as Wildheart, Sparkman and Bubbleman. In later chapters, he never uses them again in favor of newer Elemental Heroes which were established to be a part of Koyo Hibiki's deck. The HERO cards he used in the anime do appear in his duel against Koyo in the past when he was a kid, including Flame Wingman and Thunder Giant, among others.
• Expy: Judai's characterization in this continuity is based on Joseph Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency.
• Friendly Rivalry: With Manjoume. Infinitely more friendly than in the anime.
• Fusion Dance: As in the anime, he does this a lot; especially for his ace monster, Elemental HERO Terra Firma.
• Henshin Hero: His Masked Heroes specialize in Transformation Summons, which is bascially a hero transforming into another hero in the style of the heroes from Kamen Rider.
• Invincible Hero: Subverted. Unlike his anime counterpart, Judai loses a few more important on-screen duels, despite racking up an incredible winning streak throughout the manga. Outside his loss to Koyo in the past, his first loss after arriving at Duel Academy is to Manjoume in the finals of the Duel Academy tournament arc.
• It Was a Gift: When Manjoume asks how Judai came into possession of Elemental HERO Terra Firma, as it was a one of a kind card that originally belonged to Koyo Hibiki, Judai casually states that Koyo gave it to him, which infuriates Manjoume. While hinted a few chapters beforehand, Judai has a very strong tie to the deck, as his Origins Episode shows that Koyo gave him the deck after his final duel with him.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Quick to do this once people are in trouble/danger, be it Sho's threatened expulsion or Duels of Darkness.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Like in the anime, he defeats Chronos as part of his entrance exam, but while this is brought up, it's never shown, and Ryuga serves as Judai's Warm-Up Boss.
• Red Is Heroic: Judai wears the Orisis Red uniform throughout the manga; even after he graduates.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Ryuga, who forces the students he defeats to give him their cards.
• Sadistic Choice: Chronos forces him to duel Sho. If he wins, Sho will be expelled, and if he loses, his deck will be confiscated. He decides to win, and it turns out that Sho's 0 on the last test, the reason he was in trouble, was not his final grade.
• School Uniforms are the New Black: His professional attire, to Misawa's chagrin. And yes, he stayed Slifer Red.
• Stock Shōnen Hero: Of the GX manga, like in the anime, where's a bit of a Book Dumb slacker but a skilled duelist.
• To Be a Master: Aspires to duel professionally like his mentor, Koyo Hibiki.
• You Monster!: Along with Manjoume, against Tragoedia.

Jun Manjoume (Chazz Princeton)

• Adaptational Badass: His anime counterpart suffered from The Worf Effect. No such thing happens here, managing to beat Judai in the finals of the Academy's tournament arc, which is something he never did in the anime.
• Adaptation Personality Change: Adding to the above, his personality is much closer to that of season 1 Ryo, being much more stoic, serious and competent than his anime counterpart. His crush on Asuka is also removed completely, though he does still call her "Tenjouin-kun".
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed. While he's still cold and condescending, but he's more nicer and respectful than his anime counterpart.
• Adaptational Weapon Swap: The first of many to play a different deck than in the anime. He uses a more general Dragon-Type deck instead of VWXYZ, Armed Dragons or Ojamas, though he specializes in DARK and LIGHT Attribute Dragons to complement Light and Darkness Dragon.
• Aloof Ally: Is the only Duel Academy student other than Judai with a clue about spirit cards and duels of darkness. Still won't sit with him at the lunch table.
• Anti-Hero: Despite being a lot nicer than his anime counterpart, Manjoume is still a Jerkass and an Aloof Ally.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Still very much this, though, but not nearly as badly.
• Badass Longcoat: Standard for Obelisk Blue students. In the epilogue, he has his black "Manjoume Thunder" longcoat from the anime.
• Blue Is Heroic: An anti-hero version of this trope as an Obelisk Blue Student.
• Dark Is Not Evil: In the epilogue and GX bonus chapter, Manjoume wears his black uniform similar to his anime counterpart's iconic outfit.
• Defeating the Undefeatable: Judai is the first student at Duel Academy to break his win streak. Naturally, Manjoume returns the favor.
• Deuteragonist: His character arc and story have nearly as much impact on the plot as Judai's, and he's also the only other student shown to be capable of speaking with spirits.
• Establishing Character Moment: Buried his best monster, a Spirit Card, to prove that he could duel without any help. By the end of the chapter, this has naturally changed.
• Friendly Rivalry: After Judai beats him, this becomes their dynamic. Sort of. Certainly friendlier than in the anime.
• Humble Pie: He goes into the duel with Ryo cocky, having just defeated Judai. He gets unceremoniously curb-stomped in one turn, with Ryo's life points still at 4000 by the end. It takes Manjoume a few minutes before he can even stand up.
• Morality Pet: Light and Darkness Dragon. Sort of. Manjoume's a more decent person than his anime counterpart from the get-go.
• Mythology Gag: His professional outfit in the Distant Finale is his "Manjoume Thunder" overcoat from the anime.
• The Rival: Judai's main rival that is similar to his role in the anime. Unlike in the anime, however, he's actually formidable enough to defeat Judai.
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Has to prove to his peers that he wasn't only admitted to the academy (and given the unprecedented assignment to Obelisk Blue upon entry) because of his family's wealth.
• Stock Shōnen Rival: Unlike his anime self, he plays this much more straight instead of being a deconstruction. He's an arrogant and aloof duelist, bringing him more in-line with Seto Kaiba from the original. He is not only Judai's equal, but manages to even overcome him in the finals of the Duel Academy tournament. Unlike Seto Kaiba however, he has a much more humble perspective, respecting opponents he believes deserve it.
• The Stoic: As opposed to his anime self, who was reduced to a Plucky Comic Relief character who got no respect.
• To Be a Master: Aspires to duel professionally like his idol, Koyo Hibiki.
• Took a Level in Kindness: While even more of a recluse than his anime self, this version of Manjoume has both a better understanding of his own limits, and more respect for characters who deserve it.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: He used to be a smiley, excitable Fan Boy of Koyo Hibiki. Not only is it adorable, he was the catalyst to being a duelist.
• Worthy Opponent: You're either this, or not worth his time. By the time he's won a duel alongside Sho, he, Judai, Misawa, Asuka, Ryo, and Fubuki all apparently count.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: His ace, "Light and Darkness Dragon".
• You Monster!: Calls Tragoedia this after the latter refers to humans as insects. He states he'd rather be an insect than a monster.

Daichi Misawa (Bastion Misawa)

• Adaptation Personality Change: His anime counterpart's gimmick focused on equations and probability... which is not the case in the manga. While Misawa is still The Smart Guy, these traits are downplayed and he's a very expressive character from the get-go. He's even willing to accept The Magic Poker Equation, admitting during his second duel with Judai that he must believe in his deck just as Judai believes in his (it pays off too, as he manages to top-deck Kasha and get Judai into the red). And of course, his crush on Asuka, which was not present in the anime at all.
• Adaptational Weapon Swap: Manga Daichi plays a Yōkai deck, instead of his science-oriented elemental decks in the anime.
• Ascended Extra: His role in the manga actually stays fairly large compared to his anime counterpart. That being said, it doesn't keep him from becoming any more prominent than a second fiddle rival to Judai.
• Demoted to Extra: After a double duel where he teams up with Asuka and Jim deals him a penalty game, he's rendered unconscious and doesn't get a chance to witness the final duel.
• Disproportionate Retribution: The first time we see him with Judai, he's freaking out because the latter somehow has Asuka's cell number, which is the result of him often borrowing things from her.
• Everyone Can See It: That he's crushing on Asuka, even Judai. ... Except for Asuka. …And Ryo, to Fubuki's annoyance.
• Green-Eyed Monster: See above, as well as when he overhears Ryo talking with her after her loss to David.
• Irony: The genius and analyst of the group uses a deck based on Japanese Folklore.
• Luminescent Blush: While in the presence of Asuka.
• Mythology Gag: In the Distant Finale, his professional duel-wear is the same thing as his anime outfit... in the exams to become a Duel Academy student.
• The Power of Love: Subverted. When he tag-duels with Asuka, his crushing actually gets in the way of his dueling, until he actually focuses back on their opponents.
• The Smart Guy: He's still a very analytical and intelligent person.
• Youkai: His Deck is based on several different Yokai demons, them even classified as its own seperate type in the manga.

Asuka Tenjoin (Alexis Rhodes)

• Adaptational Curves: Not that her anime counterpart isn't curvaceous too, but in the manga her features are slightly exaggerated for this trope, particularly having larger breasts and longer legs.
• Adaptation Personality Change: Her crush on Judai is non-existent in the manga, despite being one of the things defining her character in the anime.
• Adaptational Weapon Swap: Manga Asuka foregoes the Cyber Ballerines in favour of an Ice-themed deck.
• Designated Girl Fight: Against Reggie.
• An Ice Person: All of her monsters are WATER-attribute and use ice as a predominant weapon or magic.
• Kill It with Ice: Her Deck focuses on the distribution of Ice Counters, which can cripple her opponent's offensive abilities.
• Ms. Fanservice: To her annoyance, especially when she unwillingly wins the school beauty pageant.
• Mythology Gag: Anime Asuka does play an Ice-themed deck like her manga counterpart at one point, when Brainwashed and Crazy in the second season of the anime.
• Oblivious to Love: Had no idea why Misawa was dueling Judai, even with the former's Luminescent Blush and Sho calling her a "Siren".
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Her introductory duel is motivated by her desire to be seen as a competent duelist and not just a pretty face.
• The Worf Effect: Like her anime counterpart, she's in the highest ranking dorm. However, she ends up in this several times to display the powers and strategies associated with the Legendary Planets, most of whom she ends up dueling.
• You Go, Girl!: Her main character trait, most prominent in her duel against Judai, where she wants to prove herself as an excellent duelist and not just as a pretty face.

Sho Marufuji (Syrus Truesdale)

• Adaptational Badass: He is much more skilled and driven and toughens up much more quickly this time around. His mistake that caused Ryo to lose faith in him was not misusing a card, but throwing a game he had in the bag to spare the feelings of his opponent. Zig-zagged somewhat though, as (unlike his anime counterpart) the only duel he ever wins in the manga is the tag duel with Manjoume, every other duel he loses. But overall, his cards, tactics and general showings remain better here.
• Big Brother Worship: Has a bit of a case of this toward Ryo, as while the other spectators are rooting for Manjoume, he is completely convinced that Ryo will win. And he turns out to be correct.
• Cute Machines: Still plays Vehicroids, but uses entirely different ones.
• Combining Mecha: Armorroid, the Solidroids and Barbaroid.
• I Let You Win: Throws a duel when he was younger in order to spare the feelings of his opponent, who was on the verge of tears after he had destroyed one of his better monsters.
• Power Armor: He has a card that enables him to thwart direct attacks, but if it gets taken off, he takes all the damage that was prevented.
• Took a Level in Badass: To the point that Manjoume can soon count on him in a partner duel.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Wants to be acknowledged by his brother, and eventually, he is.
• Worf Had the Flu: He lost against Ryuga because of Ryuga's cheating.

Teachers

Ryuga

A new teacher at Duel Academy, who must defeat 50 students to qualify. He plans on using his position to turn the dueling world over to his ideals, but Judai defeats him.

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He puts on a polite act in front of Chronos, but plans on casting him aside when he's no longer useful.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: By and by, he's not too disimilar from the Monster of the Week opponents that peppered the anime throughout, who could be very strange and gimmicky, with short backstories to match. His goal is likewise completely disconnected from the actual plot of the manga.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He wears glasses and is an asshole.
• No Name Given: His first name is never revealed.
• One-Shot Character: Only appears in the first chapter of the manga and is soundly defeated within it. He never appears in the story past this chapter.
• Smug Snake: Like Chronos, looks down on Osiris Red students. He even smugly promises to go easy on Judai if he lets him win, and threatens to expel him if he doesn't go along with it.
• Starter Villain: The first villain who Judai goes up against. He isn't very threatening though, focusing on disabling the duel disk's capability of recognizing Spell cards so that his Cyber Dinosaur can make mincemeat of weaker monsters.
• Warm-Up Boss: He's not particularly skilled at dueling, and wins by cheating. Judai actually had him on the ropes before he summoned Cyber Dinosaur.

Midori Hibiki

Koyo's older sister and a professor at Duel Academy Japan.

• Badass Fingersnap: Whenever she activates the effects of her Spells/Trap cards, she snaps her fingers instead of pressing buttons on her duel disk.
• Badass Teacher: Is about to win against Reggie, until Reggie indicates that if she does, she won't get the information on Koyo's coma. By the time she commits to winning the duel for real, Reggie turns things around and wins against her.
• Cool Big Sis: To Koyo by blood and to Judai by choice.
• Cool Teacher: Compared to Chronos, she's a far more fair instructor.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Uses a Fallen Angel Deck, which are DARK-attribute Fairy (or Angel in Japanese) monsters, but she is firmly on the good guys side.
• Designated Girl Fight: Her only duel shown is against Reggie.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: When she was first introduced, she had a noticeably different design, her hair being styled differently, a smaller nose, softer eyes, and she wore lipstick. Around Volume 4/the Homecoming Tournament arc however, her design shifted towards her more well known version.
• Expy: Carries some traits of Lisa Lisa from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency, being a beautiful mentor to the hot-blooded protagonist, relying on her wits rather than just raw power or clever trickery.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In a sense, giving up a possible chance to awaken her brother so that Judai won't have to face Reggie. She doesn't succeed, though, where she loses to Reggie, and Judai has to duel her anyways.
• Hot Teacher: She's rather beautiful, and some of her students are shown to adore her because of it.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Unlike Chronos, she actually bothers to keep proper records of her students and is generally professional.
• Stern Teacher: Doesn't hesitate to go hard on Judai, although typically does so in a cheerful manner, reminding him that he failed the test and needs to do a makeup exam.
• Worf Had the Flu: She gives up a chance to win in order to try to help Koyo. By the time she's committed herself to finishing Reggie off to protect Judai, it's too late.

Emi Ayukawa

• Agent Scully: There must be a logical explanation for multiple people falling unconscious after dueling today, just like at the Battle City Tournament. There's no way it's evil sorcery like the records claim.

Duel Spirits

Winged Kuriboh

• Big Damn Heroes: After Judai loses to Tragoedia when the latter is possessing Fubuki, Kuriboh saves him from the penalty game. He does it again with Light and Darkness Dragon after Tragoedia's defeat, sealing him permanently.
• Heroic Sacrifice: With Light and Darkness Dragon to seal Tragoedia for good.
• Pokémon Speak: Usually communicates with "kuri kuri".
• Soul Jar: For Tragoedia's heart.

Light And Darkness Dragon

• Buried Alive: Because Manjoume wanted to prove that he could duel alone. Quickly rectified, after he loses to Judai.
• The Dreaded: The Big Bad has an understandable Freak Out when seeing L and D as a Spirit Card holding the Feather of Ma'at.
• Expy: To Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Alongside Winged Kuriboh, to permanently seal Tragoedia.
• Undying Loyalty: To Manjoume, watching his duel with Judai, even after said owner pitched a tantrum and buried him so that Manjoume could try proving that he could duel on his own. Naturally, Manjoume came back.
• The Voiceless: Actions speak well enough when you're a Dragon Spirit.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: The name says it all. Notably, the real-life version of the card counts as both LIGHT and DARK attributes while on the field.

Other Duel Academy students

Seika Kohinata

Winner of Miss Duel Academy two years in a row, she finds herself in a tie with Asuka in her third year as a result of Judai abstaining.

• Achilles' Heel: Her deck features a very high amount of swarming for a Reptile deck...except its overly reliant on Special Summoning from the deck, which means that a good chunk of her consistency goes out the window when a card like Thunder King Rai-Oh is played. That being said, don't think that this takes her down. Since she managed to get enough snakes into her Graveyard, she was able to special summon Snake Dragon Anata.
• Alpha Bitch: She runs on her beauty to get by and is not a pleasant person to interact with.
• Animal Motifs: Snakes.
• Dirty Coward: When she learns the student who hasn't voted yet is an Osiris Red, she challenges him to a duel under the belief it'll be easy to defeat him. If she wins, he votes for her. Is she loses, he votes for Asuka. Once she learns the boy is the very same Osiris Red student who defeated Professor Chronos, she backs out and gets him to duel Asuka. She never thinks about dueling Asuka herself with Judai's vote as the prize.
• Green-Eyed Monster: To Asuka, who didn't want the title of Miss Academia (unlike her, who would have claimed the title three years running), but got it anyway.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Once motivated to duel, she reveals a wicked Snake Deck. She still loses to Judai, though.
• Pyrrhic Victory: She technically wins the title as a result of Judai and Asuka's duel, but concedes it, saying no one would acknowledge her.
• Serious Business: Her view on Miss Duel Academy. Judai and Asuka's indifference infuriates her.

Ryo Marufuji (Zane Truesdale)

• Adaptational Badass: In the anime, Ryo suffered a humiliating defeat against Edo that caused him to lose to small-time players, and obtaining the Cyberdark cards for more power ultimately saw his deck stagnate and he himself to suffer from heart problems. None of this is the case in the manga, where in the past, he was the one to deal such defeats to Edo in the past, even looking forward to seeing his improvement, and his deck is much faster in dealing a One-Hit Kill with cards such as Cyber Eltanin in addition to Cyber End Dragon (who despite not appearing in a duel, does have a cameo confirming its existence in the manga continuity).
• Adaptation Personality Change: While still The Stoic in general, he's more expressive than his anime counterpart, smiling in satisfaction from the sidelines more often and being Fubuki's straight man. He even admits to enjoying fighting strong opponents, but it's hardly to the psychotic extremes of his anime counterpart.
• Aloof Big Brother: Reprising his anime role for Sho, but it's downplayed as the story progresses.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: He's still The Stoic, but his personality is a nicer version of his Season 1 anime counterpart. He never became a ruthless Hell Kaiser, and is less snarky in the manga. While Ryo is a Downplayed Aloof Big Brother towards Sho in the manga, his Big Brother Bully traits towards Sho are removed in this continuity, he's more encouraging towards him, and Ryo can also be a bit playful during his conversations with Fubuki.
• Adaptational Heroism: Ryo's role in the manga is similar to his Season 1 anime counterpart, while he wears his Hell Kaiser outfit in the finale but he never became a ruthless villain or Took a Level in Jerkass, which is justified since he never suffered a humiliating defeat against Edo or underwent a Trauma Conga Line.
• Blood Knight: He admits to Edo that he looks forward to fighting strong opponents, as it there is more satisfaction in taking them down.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Manjoume might be an Adaptational Badass who can beat Judai in this 'verse, but he doesn't stand a chance against the Kaiser, who flattens Manjoume instantly and effortlessly through Cyber Eltanin on his third turn.
• Famed In-Story: To the point where his return from studying overseas is cause for a school-wide tournament, and just getting a chance to duel him is the prize for the champion. And Ryo proves that he's earned that reputation by delivering a brutal One-Turn Kill towards said champion, making it one of the biggest stompings in the series.
• Foreign Exchange Student: Returns from being this in America with Fubuki. Naturally, the Chancellor throws a tournament.
• Living Legend: He and Fubuki are legendary at the Academy, including the branches in other countries.
• Mythology Gag: The Distant Finale shows him wearing his Hell Kaiser outfit, though removed from the context of how he got it, considering he's never shown to be suffering the same humiliating defeats as his anime counterpart.
• Oblivious to Love: The only one besides Asuka not to notice Misawa's crush. Fubuki gets annoyed that he doesn't notice.
• Red Baron: Notable in that he gets to stay "Kaiser" in the English translation, unlike the anime. Crocodile points out that lots of people have nicknames like that at the Japanese duel academy.
• So Proud of You: While Sho did lose to Manjoume, his impressive plays and matured attitude convince Ryo that his little brother is ready for the big leagues.
• Theme Naming: His Cyber monsters are named for stars in the constellation Draco.

Fubuki Tenjoin (Atticus Rhodes)

• Adaptational Badass: He goes from a mostly comic relief character who never wins an on-screen duel even when he gets serious in the anime to beating Judai in the manga.
  • This is hinted at much earlier when a flashback shows the end result of what we're led to believe was a complete Curb-Stomp Battle with David Rabb biting the proverbial curb. Remember that Rabb is one of the Co-Dragons who gave Manjoume a rough time when they dueled.
  • Not to mention that he's stated to be one of the "Twin Gems of Duel Academy" along with Ryo.
• Adaptation Personality Change: He's more blunt and always speaks whatever he has in mind compared to his anime counterpart. His attitude towards Asuka's love life is opposite to his anime counterpart. In anime he is The Matchmaker who approves Asuka's crush towards Judai and even helped Manjoume (who is in love with Asuka) to become closer with her, here he disapproves Misawa's crush towards his sister and is more overprotective of her than his anime counterpart. Fubuki also lacks his anime counterpart's Drama Queen trait and isn't flirty to all the girls in the school except Reggie.
• Adaptational Weapon Swap: In the manga, he plays a powerful Wind-themed deck, and neither his possessed Red-Eyes Black Dragon deck, nor his normal Warrior deck.
• The Ace: He has the reputation of being the King and Twin of Gems in the Academy along with Ryo. Not only is Fubuki deadly gorgeous, but he's also a top Duelist and a top academic student in his class with excellent grades.
• Blow You Away: Runs a WIND Winged-Beast Sphere Deck.
• The Charmer: Some things never change, but at least he's polite about it.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: He isn't happy to see Reggie talking with Edo and helping him carry his bag to the dorm.
• Demonic Possession: Falls victim to this, just like half of the rest of the cast.
• Dissonant Serenity: Remains infuriatingly calm during his duels, even when losing half his life points.
• Famed In-Story: Along with Ryo. A welcome upgrade from his anime counterpart.
• Foreign Exchange Student: Was this in America with Ryo, before he returns a bit late. Or early. It involved a crush.
• Lady Killer In Love: Has followed Mac back and forth across the Pacific. Post-Demonic Possession, she doesn't seem to mind his presence.
• Red Baron: Fubuking/Rhodie (or possibly "King Atticus.") Asuka doesn't like it.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Makes a remark to this effect while watching Misawa and Asuka's tag duel and noticing Misawa's crush on her.
  Fubuki: As her older brother, I'll never allow it.
  • It is the opposite from his attitude toward Asuka's love life in the anime.
• Worf Had the Flu: He loses to Edo because Tragoedia forcibly prevented him from activating his trap.

Transfer students

Reggie Mackenzie

A duelist from Duel Academy America. She's possessed by Tragoedia, but unlike her step brother, she's trying to fight it.

• Amnesiacs are Innocent: While she's a complete jerkass whilst serving under Tragoedia, once she loses her memories after losing to Judai, she reverts to the kinder and demure personality she had as a child
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Acted under Tragoedia's orders before conspiring against him.
• Co-Dragons: With David.
• Dark Action Girl: She's a very skilled Duelist and managed to defeat both Asuka and Midori in a duel. She even came close to defeating Judai in a Shadow Duel. When she was a kid, Reggie managed to defeat Koyo the world championships at Las Vegas.
• Designated Girl Fight: Against Asuka and Midori, though she Duels two male characters as well.
• Disc-One Final Boss: For Judai.
• Eagleland: Blonde, blue-eyed, and an absolute Type 2, who wears a school uniform more fit for the Navy.
• Gender-Blender Name: "Reggie" is a gender-neutral name.
• Hoist by Their Own Petard: See Smug Snake.
• I Let You Win: To Misawa; a panel after the attack lands shows her hand, which could have ensured her victory.
• Jerkass: Even moreso than David, referring to her opponents as "human stepladders" and jerking people around even without the excuse of being possessed.
• Last-Name Basis: Often called "Mackenzie" or "Mac" for short. Her father seems to be the only one who uses her first name.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: After her defeat, she forgets much of what she did on the island.
• Light Is Not Good: Uses an Angel Lord Deck. However, once she's defeated, she reverts back to the way she was before her father was possessed, and is considerably nicer, with Edo remarking on the change.
• Love Interest: To Fubuki.
• Manipulative Bitch: She adores jerking her opponents' emotions around, preferrably by their "shackles" (read: love for each other).
• Smug Snake: Remarks on David's loss of a shadow game he started as his own failure to follow through, then goes on to get Professor Hibiki trapped in one, wins by being a Manipulative Bitch, and loses her next one to Judai.
• The Starscream: Wants to not only get out from the Big Bad's thumb, but take his power for herself.
• The Unfettered: Sees human bonds as "shackles," and claims to have gotten rid of hers long before.
• Took a Level in Kindness: After her defeat and subsequent memory loss, she's far nicer.

David Rabb

The other Duelist from Duel Academy America and is also possessed by Tragodeia and after the Duel Spirits.

• Ax-Crazy: He deeply enjoys Shadow Games and the power they give over his opponents.
• Berserk Button: Sorta. When reminded about his loss to Fubuki just before dueling Asuka, he immediately OTKs her.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Very much on the 'Crazy' part.
• Combat Sadomasochist: Gets half his body (temporarily) blown away in his duel with Manjoume and thinks that it gets him going.
• Co-Dragons: With Reggie.
• Eagleland: Blond, blue-eyed, and a particularly Jerkassy Type 2, who wears a school uniform more fit for the Navy.
• Foreign Exchange Student: He and Reggie are students from the American Duel Academy on an exchange program.
• Heroic Build: Subverted. Definitely has one, except he's not heroic.
• Hoist by Their Own Petard: Calls a Shadow Game against Manjoume. Loses.
• Jerkass: Jim calls him a jerk in passing, and he wants to fight Fubuki because he defeated the person he wanted to defeat. He's also a jerk to the opponents that he defeats, looking down on them.
• Put on a Bus: After his loss to Jun, he suffers the side effects of the Shadow Duel and is left comatose for the remainder of the series, only waking up once Judai and Jun defeat Tragoedia.
• To the Pain: Rants on about how he enjoys pain in his duel with Manjoume.

James Crocodile Cook

• Adaptational Villainy: He goes from being a Nice Guy in the anime to one of Tragoedia's minions, but with an added dosage of Ax-Crazy.
• Combat Sadomasochist: Again, like David, hinted when he laughs after beating Misawa in a Shadow Game and commenting that he loves the close wins.
• Eye Scream: Guess what's under the bandages. It's a piece of crystal jammed into his eye that he can use to communicate with Tragoedia.
• Flat Character: Downplayed. Because he's one of Tragoedia's thralls for most of his appearances, we don't really get a look at what he's really like independent of Tragoedia's influence. Under Tragoedia's influence is a different story, since he's just as Ax-Crazy as David.
• Making a Splash: His Alligator cards are WATER-Attribute, and his Legendary Planet is The Tyrant NEPTUNE.
• Nonindicative Name: His uses an Alligator Deck. No crocodiles to be found.
• Sinister Scythe: A colossal one is wielded by NEPTUNE.
• Slasher Smile: Sports a nice one while possessed by Tragoedia.

Amon Garam (Adrian Gecko)

• Adaptational Heroism: He's nowhere near the villain he was in the anime. Not having Echo around to play Lady Macbeth helps, along with him and Sid having a far more mundane and normal life. However...
• Adaptational Jerkass: His anime counterpart, while cruel, maintained a calm and polite demeanor towards Judai and his friends. Here however, he's an arrogant snob who openly looks down on Judai, and can barely contain his contempt towards Johan and Edo either.
• Big Brother Instinct: Why does he want to become a professional duelist? To pay for his little brother's operation! Awww...
• Demoted to Extra: He went from being one of the major antagonists of the third season to a minor character and Unwitting Pawn to Tragoedia.
• Related in the Adaptation: He and Sid were adoptive siblings in the anime. In the manga, they seem to be related by blood.
• Serious Business: His view on duels, given his different motivation from everyone else (Being able to pay for Sid's surgery), which also leads to him being something of a Sore Loser.
• Sore Loser: He hates losing, especially since Principal Mackenzie promised to submit an application to the student who won more duels than the Japanese students during the exchange matches, which would give him the money needed for Sid's surgery. Whenever he loses, he ends up having mad inner monologues to himself as he storms away from the dueling field.
• Spared by the Adaptation: He didn't necessarily "die" in the anime, but he was nowhere to be found after Season 3.
• Time to Unlock More True Potential: His Sealed Beasts depend on the Sealed Mantra Spell to activate their effects, without it they're essentially Normal Monsters.
• Underestimating Badassery: Acts this way toward Judai, partly because he saw him lose against Edo Phoenix.

Johan Anderson (Jesse Anderson)

• Adaptation Personality Change: Johan in the manga is almost completely identical to his anime counterpart in terms of disposition, but he's a Beetle Maniac in this version, and is quite willing to pack in monster destruction traps such as Mirror Force, which his anime counterpart was against doing.
• Beetle Maniac: And the rest of the Insecta Class, apparently.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Don't be fooled by his wacky behavior, he's a more observant duelist than one might think and his deck can shift from slow stall tactics to immense, swift beatdown once he has his field prepared. See Not-So-Harmless Villain below.
• Bug Catching: Apparently his main pastime.
• Cloudcuckoolander: "Hey, did you see a butterfly go through here?"
• Demoted to Extra: No Gem Beast cards, no big friendship development with Judai, just one instance of possession and a lot of bug chasing.
• Dub Name Change: Oddly enough, in Volume 7 of the English manga, he's called "Johann", but switches back to "Jesse" in Volume 8 and 9.
• Friendly Enemy: He's brought to the academy to duel against the Japanese students, but hits it off well with Judai and Sho.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Especially when he gets possessed during his duel with Sho. He immediately summons The Tripper Mercury and wipes Sho out.

Austin O'Brien (Axel Brodie)

• Amateur Sleuth: Attempting to find the source of the Shadow Duels, and actually does a decent job before...
• Demonic Possession: The real reason he was sent to Duel Academy, just like every other American!
• Demoted to Extra: He goes from one of the bigger supporting characters in the anime to a minor character doubling as an Unwitting Pawn to Tragoedia.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Tragoedia covers his tracks well.
• Meaningful Name: His Legendary Planet is Mars, and his monsters all have military-themed names (Electro Sergeant, Division etc). Mars was the Roman God of War.
• Shock and Awe: What his Deck theme seems to be at first due to his Machines having names like 'Electro Sergeant'.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: And probably didn't fit over his arms.
• Visual Pun: His Division monster looks like the sign for a division equation.

Edo Phoenix (Aster Phoenix)

• Adaptation Personality Change: He's still as slick as his anime counterpart's public persona, but he's depicted in a more mundane manner in the manga, being a bit of a Sore Loser from how Ryo and Fubuki constantly defeated him during their junior days, and rubbing his victories over them in his face.
• Adaptational Wimp: He defeats Judai in a far more spectacular manner than his anime counterpart, yes, but Edo in the anime was built up defeating Ryo, whereas in this continuity, he constantly lost to Ryo and Fubuki in their younger days, and even his victory over Fubuki was because of Tragoedia literally making Fubuki unable to activate the trap card that would've blocked Trinity's attack.
• Age Lift: In the anime he's one year younger than Judai, here Edo is around the same age as Ryo and Fubuki, since he's also a senior high schooler like them and is two years older than Judai.
• Childhood Friend: He's implied to be this with Mac.
• Evil Counterpart: The Grand JUPITER to Judai's The EARTH.
• Hero Killer: Is able to defeat Judai, Fubuki, and Asuka in duels, even if he did have significant help in the latter case, but ultimately loses to Tragoedia.
• Tyke Bomb: Tragoedia claims to have raised him for this purpose.
• Unwitting Pawn: Just like his anime counterpart with Saiou and DD, has no clue that his adoptive father and mentor is Tragoedia's puppet, or that he's giving people over to Tragoedia.

The Mastermind

Tragoedia

The Big Bad of the Manga, an Ancient Egyptian manifestation of a man whose village was slaughtered to create the Millennium Items.

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• Achilles' Heel: The Feather of Ma'at, until he gets to full power when he duels.
• And I Must Scream: Was subjected to this in the past, sealed in a realm of endless darkness, unable to do anything, even die, in his own words. Once he's freed, he uses this specific method of punishment as his default Penalty Game whenever he or his thralls defeat opponents in a Shadow Game.
• Big Bad: Of the manga. He is the threat from start to finish.
• Body Surf: Since he lacks a physical body he needs to possess other duelists to duel and in order to survive he tends to switch his possession from person.
• Demonic Possession: He can posses other peoples bodies and looks very demonic.
• Eldritch Abomination: Think Diabound, but far, far worse. You might be getting close to Tragoedia.
• Energy Absorption: The Planet Series cards he distributes to the American students sap small amounts of energy from Duelists to aide in his resurrection.
• Expy: Of Dark Bakura and Zorc Necrophades from Yu-Gi-Oh!. He is an ancient evil from Egypt like them, and is also a total psycopath whose goal basically amounts to destroying everything because he wants to.
• For the Evulz: He claims at one point that he has no goal, he's simply bored.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He used to be a spy from Kul-Elna trying to get information on the buried treasures of the royal tombs, but after learning of how his people were slaughtered, he became a horrific monster, his own mind becoming the same as the ka he spawned, and after being sealed and then freed in the modern-day, condemns hundreds of duelists to a Penalty Game of eternal darkness.
• Karmic Death: He is killed by a fusion of the two Duel Spirits he tried to wipe out, the divine will of the Millennium Items that he despised so much.
• Knight of Cerebus: The GX manga is much more Slice of Life oriented than the anime, and has no big cosmic threats...but Tragoedia's introduction is utterly nightmarish, akin to the original manga, and he casts a literal shadow over the story with his impending arrival and the damage he's personally dealt to others before the story starts. None of his scenes are played for comedy whatsoever, and he's always treated as an arcane danger.
• Light Is Not Good: He has The Sun as his planet card.
• Meaningful Name: "Tragoedia" is Greek for "Tragedy".
• Take Over the World: Defied. He outright considers the idea to be comical.
• The Man Behind the Man: And he impressively maintains this up until the end of the story.
• The Power of the Sun: The Supremacy SUN, though it combines it with Casting a Shadow due to being a DARK Fiend-Type and having a solar eclipse in the card art.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: And he was so powerful that he wasn't even completely sealed in his tablet, still being capable of speech, requiring it to be shattered in an attempt to keep him placated. Played straight with his heart, though.
• Sinister Silhouettes: In his early appearances possessing the principal's body, and from the crystals he gives to some of his subordinates.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: ACCURSED PRIESTS!!!
• Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: As seen in Knight of Cerebus, but this particularly deserves explaining. The GX manga is by and by very mundane and subdued compared to the total mood-shifts of the anime, but the tone is still generally very quiet and peaceful, and the story very character-based. These factors ultimately combine in making Tragoedia completely and utterly terrifying as the story slowly builds him up, first through Koyo's mysterious affliction and coma, and then when he begins manifesting through the American students to enact Shadow Games, a reaction very much helped by the manga version of Judai being utterly intimidated and horrified by them. He feels very much like a horror villain dropped into an slice-of-life story as a result.
• Villainous Breakdown: Once Ma'at takes the field and Judai is able to make the moves he needs to destroy The Sun.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Inflicts Penalty Games on his minions when they fail him.

Other characters

Koyo Hibiki

A professional duelist and World Champion who serves as both Judai's and Manjoume's inspiration and gave both of them their spirit cards. Is in a coma after losing a shadow game.

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• Big Brother Mentor: To Judai.
• He's Back!: After being inflicted with a Penalty Game by Tragoedia some time before the events of the manga, he was rendered comatose. After Tragoedia's defeat, he finally wakes up, and in the ending, ready to take on all challengers, starting with Judai.
• Sickly Prodigy: Koyo was one of the best duelists in the manga and was the world champion. However, after losing to a mysterious duelist in a Shadow Game, he was inflicted with a Penalty Game that affected his heart, where every time he dueled seriously, every card he drew would shorten his lifespan, essentially "depleting the deck of his heart," where he was then admitted into the hospital where he'd meet Judai. He tries entering the tournament in order to show Judai the cool duelist side of him instead of the frail patient in the hospital, but ends up being sent back after a sudden heart attack before the finals. Feeling his time is almost up, he challenges Judai as his last opponent for his retirement duel. He ends up falling into a coma after winning against Judai, passing on his deck and Winged Kuriboh to him. After Tragoedia is defeated for good, Koyo makes a full recovery and heads back to the Pro League.
• Take Up My Sword: Knowing he was going to fall into a coma due to a shadow game, he gave Judai his Elemental HERO deck, Winged Kuriboh, and jacket.
• Worf Had the Flu: Judai actually managed to defeat him once, but he did so while Koyo was not using his normal deck.

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