Here is the list of the characters introduced in the manga of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V.
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Phantom
Phantom (General)
A mysterious Entertainment Duelist who had hacked into the Leo Corporation's Solid Vision System. Leo Corporation is pursuing him because of this and also because of his ownership of Pendulum Summoning, a method never otherwise seen and which Reiji is attempting to study.
Yuya is the primary personality of the Phantom but also shares his body with three others, one of those being Yuto. They switch out based on which personality is most needed at the time, or in Yuya's case when he wants to entertain someone and won't take no for an answer.
Tropes Associated with Phantom
- The Ace: Never loses in his duels, and if he is in a pinch, his other personalities will switch for him depending on what summoning method is needed.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: While in the anime they're started off as enemies and became comrades at best or, Yuri's case, stay antagonistic till the end. Here they have a closer relationship and are very protective of Yuya and each other, not to mention the whole Sharing a Body thing that started early on. Then it turns out that they're actually brothers in this incarnation.
- Anime Hair: It even changes according to whoever is in control.
- Big Brother Instinct: Yuto, Yugo, And Yuri are not exactly related, but they feel this way to Yuya. One of them will take over if they feel Yuya is being threatened or endangered. Turns out to be more literal, as the four of them are revealed to be brothers rather than split personalities.
- Cessation of Existence: Yugo begins to suspect that Yuya will soon be left alone due to the others fading away, an idea with merit as the others begin to feel weaker and become translucent. As such, they want to try and teach Yuya as much as they can before they disappear. It eventually happens at the end of chapter 38 after they gave the last of their power to Yuya.
- Coat Cape: They all wear a modified version of Yuya's jacket over their shoulders like a cape. It's the only thing that doesn't change when they switch personalities.
- Cool Big Bro: The other three when it comes to Yuya. They're always fighting for his attention, take over when he's in a pinch, and shown to have a Sibling Rivalry to give him the best present on his birthday.
- Dead All Along: Turns out Yuto, Yuri, and Yugo died in the "World Illusion" incident but their consciousness got stuck with Yuya's when he traveled back to the past.
- Declaration of Protection: While they will bicker in many ways, they all promised to protect Yuya from all enemies even if their consciousness are fading from Yuya's mind.
- Face Death with Dignity: After saving Yuya's life, the three remaining ones decided to celebrate Yuya's birthday just before the get swallowed by the explosion.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the future, The older three gave the remaining escape pod to Yuya so he can be saved.
- Instant Costume Change: He can do this whenever he's transforming to his other personalities,
- Kid from the Future: All of them, were in fact, from twenty years in the future.
- Mind Hive: What Phantom truly seems to be. A large number of Yugo's memories with Yuya that were stirred up during and after his duel showed Yuya and Yugo as kids living as separate beings, and when Yugo erased them, he had tears in his eyes over Yuya possibly remembering them, claiming they would cause Yuya nothing but pain and sorrow. Both Yuto and Yuri agreed with him that memories of the three must be erased, and that they would never let anyone hurt Yuya.
- Related in the Adaptation: All four of them are brothers
- Implied Trope. The final chapter of the manga has Yuya promise he and Yuzu will meet again, and when Yuzu is next seen, she's shown meeting a teenaged Yusho. The implication being that Yuzu is Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri's mother; this is later confirmed in the Jump Victory Carnival 2019 official guidebook.
- Sharing a Body: Like Yugi and Yami, this time having 4 consciousness inside a body.
- Split Mind, Split Powers: Every time they swap with one another, they swap the contents of their decks and Extra Decks. Because of their graveyards, fields, and hands don't change, they can perform combos that they wouldn't be able to perform otherwise by using cards that the other personalities left behind.
- Split Personality: All four of them, with Yuya as the dominant force. Subverted as they are later revealed to be siblings.
- Unperson: The ultimate goal of the other "personalities" in erasing Yuya's memories of themselves, to make Yuya forget just who they really are. They all agree that if Yuya remembered who they were, it would break his heart. It failed thanks to the Adam Factor restoring all the memories they shattered.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Thanks to the "World Illusion" event he was sent back 20 years in the past, his father and brothers died, and has no way to travel back to his own time.
Yuya
Yuya Sakaki
An entertainment duelist that is wanted by Leo Corp for hacking into their Solid Vision system. Yuya plays an Odd-Eyes and Performapal deck, with the ace monster being Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, a Level 7 Pendulum Monster.
Tropes associated with Yuya:
- Accidental Pervert: A drowning Yuya is prompted by Yuzu to grab onto her... and he accidentally gropes her. Yuzu elbows him on the forehead in retaliation and covers her chest in embarrassment.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Although still a showman, this Yuya in general is much more of a Deadpan Snarker and loner.
- Adaptational Badass: While he still duels for fun, he doesn't have the Willfully Weak trait of his anime incarnation. Furthermore, he's also an Experienced Protagonist at the start of the manga adaptation.
- Adaptational Intelligence: This Yuya is an expert hacker, while Yuya is somewhat Book Dumb in the anime.
- Amnesiac Hero: He mentions that his memory is full of holes. The other personalities had a hand on that.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Was able to follow through with a complicated strategy that Yugo left behind when they switched places during their battle with Ren. It helps when it was shown that he is used to solving this kind of puzzles thanks to his brothers.
- The Baby of the Bunch: While he's not that childish, turns out he is the youngest of the Sakaki brothers and his older brothers love to fight for his attention ever since they're young.
- Badass Biker: After being taught how to ride a bike by Yugo.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: An incredible Duelist and capable hacker, but easily distracted by the prospect of entertaining small children...or enemies trying to hunt him down.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Yuya ogles the two Performapal girls he summons.
- The Chosen Many: According to Ren, Yuya possesses something called "The Adam Factor".
- Code Name: He's called the Phantom thanks to his Mysterious Past.
- Composite Character: Yuya's Odd-Eyes and Performapals have additional features from his other counterparts:
- Yuya's Odd-Eyes Monsters are influenced by Yuto.
- Performapals Ballad and Barracuda are inspired by Yuri's Predator Plants.
- Performapal Rolling Samber is based on Yugo's Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke.
- Cosmic Plaything: It wouldn't be Yuya if he's not this.
- Cute Monster Girl: Yuya's Performapals are humanoids in this continuity.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Hinted at. He said that he's gone through a lot, and has a smile when he admits to having a lot of holes in his memories.
- Deadpan Snarker: Mostly to Yuzu.
- Ditzy Genius: Badass Duelist and a hacker who is able to break into a massive corporation's key systems. Doesn't read the fine print when offered an "autograph" and lands himself an unwanted manager and teaching job because of it.
- Experienced Protagonist: The Phantom is introduced as an established figure with what seems to be a fair bit of history behind him. This stands in contrast to the anime, where Yuya's father was well-known, but he wasn't.
- Expy: Yuya is similar to Yugi and Atem, in that he and Yuto can both switch in and out of control over their shared body and can influence the other into action. Yuya is also similar to Yugi in that he's kind and thoughtful to others while Yuto is similar to Atem's stoicism and cautious nature.
- Friend to All Children: Like his anime incarnation, this Yuya doesn't like children crying and will risk his safety to entertain a crying child.
- Gratuitous English: Only in the Japanese version:
- "Ladies and Gentlemen!!"
- "It's a Show Time!!"
- "See You Again!"
- In-Series Nickname: Is known by the name "Phantom". Also Called several times "Destiny Factor" by Reiji.
- In the Hood: Unlike the anime, Yuya has a hood included with his jacket, and he usually keeps it up.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He risked his cover in order to cheer up a crying kid with Solid Vision. This resulted in him getting hunted down by the Leo Corporation.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Yuto's blue.
- Stage Magician: His gimmick, although this time he actually incorporates magical tricks and Real Solid Vision in order to get action cards or fooling his enemies. note
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: The Wise Guy to Yuto's Straight Man, being the one who tends to get them into trouble by being obtuse, absent-minded, or just plain too nice for his own good.
- Super Drowning Skills: Yuya does not know how to swim. Yuzu even compares him to a drowning moth. Fortunately for him, thanks to Solid Vision, he can use his monsters to help him.
- Technician vs. Performer: The performer, as he is in the anime.
Yuto
Yuto
Yuto is another of the Phantom's personalities and the first one shown in the story. Contrary to Yuya, Yuto is a more serious and responsible figure, focusing on the Phantom's main mission and getting them in and out of danger unscathed. He is less known than Yuya is, to the point that Yuya's enemies are actually unaware prior to the first chapter that Yuto even exists.
While he treats Yuya something like a ridiculous charge whose antics he has to put up with, he worries about him when he's at risk and chooses to fight Leo Corporation in Yuya's stead in the early chapters. When not in control of the body, he appears as a ghostlike figure alongside Yuya, visible and audible to nobody except him.
Yuto plays a Phantom Knights deck focusing on mostly reactive Trap Monsters, and his ace monster is once again Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, a Rank 4 Xyz Monster until he reveals the Rank 7 Dark Anthelion Dragon, an Xyz-Pendulum hybrid.
Tropes associated with Yuto:
- Adaptation Personality Change: Unlike his anime counterpart, this Yuto is a talkative Deadpan Snarker.
- Adaptational Badass: Dark Anthelion Dragon can gain ATK and heal its controller by draining the ATK of an opponent's monster. And not only it is Rank 7 compared to Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's Rank 4 and has 3000 ATK, but it is also a Scale 10, which compliments Clear Fast's 4 and Venemy's 1 Pendulum Scales.
- Adaptational Wimp: Downplayed. While he's still the same badass from the anime (complete with his Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon), he ends up being backed into a corner by Sawatari, and needed to have Yuya take over.
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Pretty much rings as this in regards to Yuya; he's the one who has to constantly remind him they have more important things to be doing, like escaping crime scenes, than stopping to entertain that crying kid they just passed.
- Combat Commentator: Serves as this when not dueling himself, but in-universe Yuya is the only one who can hear it.
- The Comically Serious: Plays off Yuya as this, especially since he doesn't seem to appreciate Yuya's Entertainment Dueling style all that much, and often protests when Yuya sidetracks them because of it.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has shades of this.Yuto (in reference to Kurosaki): Appearance-wise, he looks just like Dracula.
- Expy: Of Atem, even more than the Main Series Yuto. See Yuya's entry above.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: When he wears a suit and glasses he looks like a completely different, more handsome person, mentioning how grown-up he feels. Lampshaded by Yuya, who tells him he looks like a sharp businessman.
- In Touch with His Feminine Side: He's shown to be good in making boxed lunches and Yuri remarks he would be a good House Husband.
- Mr. Fanservice: In the side story, he's not shy in joining a swimsuit contest and showing off his body.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Despite the fact that by virtue of being one of Yuya's other personalities, he's just as much the Phantom as Yuya is, all their enemies seem to be entirely focused on capturing Yuya and pretty much ignore his additional presence in the body.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Yuya's red.
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: The Straight Man to Yuya's Wise Guy, commenting on the absurdity of his behaviour and dueling philosophy, admonishing him for getting them into trouble because of it, and such like.
- Team Dad: Seems to be the one putting himself in charge of keeping Yuya and the other two personalities on track. To the point he's elected to cover for Yuri and Yugo as they journey off inside Yuya's mind.
- Technician vs. Performer: The technician, as he occasionally comments on Yuya's failure to "properly" pull off a move or an escape.Yuto: You’re a magician and all, but I can’t say I like the way you made your escape. You just put up a smokescreen and then bailed out.
- The Worf Effect: Dissimilar from Atem, Yuto finds himself having to let Yuya take the reins whenever he finds himself backed into a corner.
Yugo
Yugo
Yugo uses a Speedroid deck like his anime counterpart but his ace monster is Clear Wing Fast Dragon, a level 7 Synchro Pendulum monster. Unlike his anime counterpart, his deck focuses on both Synchro and Pendulum Summoning rather than just Synchro.
Tropes Associated with Yugo
- Adaptation Personality Change: His anime counterpart prefers to enjoy Dueling without even bothering about winning or losing. This Yugo, however, is a Glory Seeker.
- Adaptational Badass: Clear Wing Fast Dragon is what Clear Wing Synchro Dragon would have been if it was a Pendulum Synchro Monster.
- Adaptational Wimp: Averted. Unlike Yuri and Yuto, Yugo defeated his opponent without needing to have Yuya take over.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Played for laughs in his first meeting with Yuzu.Yugo: I'm Yugo! Are you Yuya's girlfriend?
- Badass Biker: Like his anime counterpart, Yugo has a duel runner.
- Big Brother Instinct: He's the most protective of the three and really loves to show off to Yuya, and even planned to win a Turbo Duel for Yuya's birthday.
- Big Damn Heroes: Took over Yuya when the latter loses consciousness due to the damage done in his duel against Sora and was able to drive both himself and Yuzu back to his hideout.
- Declaration of Protection: He says that he would protect Yuya no matter what during his duel with Ren.
- Drives Like Crazy: He drove so fast against his duel with Ren that he lost his grip in a corner, causing him to fall off a cliff.
- Expy: He's obviously the D-Wheeler version of Jonouchi and Yuma.
- Fatal Flaw: Refusing to let his opponent take the lead. This cost him a few rounds and almost got himself falling off a cliff.
- Glory Seeker: He loves to win, and will push himself just to be ahead of his opponents. It's implied he likes to win for Yuya's admiration ever since they're kids
- Heroic RRoD: He pushed himself to the limit fighting Ren and was knocked out for a few chapters.
- Hot-Blooded: Like his anime counterpart or even more so. Yugo even said that he gets worked up too easily. Unfortunately this and his opponent pushing his buttons causes him to drive so fast that he slides and falls off a cliff.
- Pretty Boy: Enough that Yuzu blushed when he flirted with her.
- The Rival: To Ren who's also a speed dueler. Likewise, Ren actually wants to have a fair fight with Yugo.
- The Worf Effect: Unfortunately for Yugo, Ren has smartened up in their second Duel thanks to his White Aura Biphamet and his link weakening thanks to the Adam Factor, which ends with him tagging with Yuya to solve this problem.
Yuri
Yuri
Yuri is one of Phantom's personalities. While he displays more concern for Yuya's wellbeing than some might expect of him, he continues to be ruthless to enemies, chiding Yuya for being "soft" and taking over when a colder hand is needed. Yuya doesn't see him as often as Yuto, but is obviously still familiar enough with him to complain the first time Yuri takes over the body in the manga - notable in that, like Yuya, he appears capable of taking control without permission from the current personality.
Like in the anime, he is shown to play a Predaplant deck spearheaded by powerful fusions monsters like his Starving Venemy Dragon, which also happens to be a Pendulum monster.
Tropes Associated with Yuri
- Adaptation Personality Change: Went from being Professor Leo's Number Two to a gentleman.
- Adaptational Badass: Starve Venemy Dragon is a Weak, but Skilled version of Starve Venom Fusion Dragon with the ability to gain 500 ATK by stealing an opponent's monster effect and inflict 500 damage to the opponent at the cost of being demoted to a Level 7 monster with 2500 ATK.
- Adaptational Heroism: While Yuri is a psychopathic bastard in the anime, this one has a kind and caring personality. Zigzagged in Scale 8 when he states that he doesn't care about Sora's motives for winning the duel and that Sora and his sister can both die for all he cares. However, it's revealed in Scale 9 that Sora was lying to convince Yuya to forfeit and Yuri was just calling his bluff.
- Adaptational Wimp: This is the side effect of his Adaptational Heroism. Despite being a badass in his first appearance, he comes very close to losing to Sora, forcing Yuya to take over again. He makes up for this in the rematch against Sora however, where Yuya is struggling against Sora before Yuri takes over and wins the duel.
- The Comically Serious: Just like normal, he sweat-drops when Yuzu complains his monster isn't a hottie.
- He also assumes that Yuzu would be disappointed if he switched back with Yuya, complete with blush sticker.
- Then there is his reaction when Sora activated bubble wall.
- Dark Is Not Evil: His Predator Plants are DARK and may look evil, but he's a Sociopathic Hero at best.
- Establishing Character Moment: To separate himself from his more psychopathic counterpart, his first scene is with Yugo inside of Yuya's mind riding off to parts unknown and lamenting on erasing their memories to keep Yuya from remembering something.
- Expy: Thanks to Adaptational Heroism, Yuri becomes a gender-flipped Aki with Atem's ruthlessness.
- Good Is Not Soft: Yuri might not be a Jerkass in this version, but his first words to Yuya in the manga are to point out that Yuya is too soft, and Yuri's hand is needed to get them out of their current situation because of it.
- Green Thumb: Predator Plants as normal. And his birthday present to Yuya is a bouquet of roses he made.
- In Touch with His Feminine Side: Just like Yuto, he loves to make bouquets for Yuya ever since they're kids. Then there's also his remark that Yuya needs to go on a diet in a side chapter.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Yuri is merciless to his opponents and completely fine with hijacking Yuya's body against his will, but everything he does is to protect Yuya and he seems to have developed a soft spot for Yuzu.Yuri (to Sora): I told you! I don't care! I won't forgive anyone who hurts Yuya!
- Knight Templar Big Brother: He thinks Yuya is too soft and forcibly takes over his body to deal with the current situation.
- Narcissist: Calls himself a hottie, and wonders if Yuzu would be disappointed by switching back to Yuya.
- Power Copying: Starve Venemy Dragon can do this on an opponent's monster.
- The Rival: To Sora, and he was actually able to defeat him on their rematch.
- Sociopathic Hero: Not really a flat-out psychopath, but he has no problems taking over Yuya's body in an attempt to get rid of Sora.
- Utility Weapon: Carries a whip to grab action cards.
- Would Hurt a Child: His response to Sora's "sick sister" story.Yuri: Who cares about that!? You can both die for all I care!
Shuzou Duel School
Yuzu Hiragi
Yuzu Hiragi
The daughter of the Shuzou Duel School's owner. She plans to recruit the mysterious duelist known as "Phantom" in order to attract more students. While coming off as a bit of a cheapskate given her father's tendency to drive their duel school's funds into the red on a monthly basis, she cares deeply about her father's situation, and her first order upon contracting Yuya unwillingly is for him to continue his mission. She still insists he teaches at Shuzou Duel School on the side, though.
While not visibly a duelist yet, Yuzu is quite intelligent, having come second only to Kurosaki at a mental math tournament a few years prior to the series, and takes an interest in Yuya's mission as the Phantom.
Tropes associated with Yuzu:
- Aborted Declaration of Love: Fell in love with Yuya for real, and she was about to confess her feelings in the final chapter, but Yuya cut her off and promised that they will meet again one way or another before making her sleep using his ace card.
- A-Cup Angst: She's irritated when Yuya summons the buxom Performapals Uni and Corn.
- Adaptation Personality Change: This Yuzu is greedier and more interested in boys. She tries to get Yuya to teach at Shuzou Duel School, while paying him less than minimum wage and charging him for management. She also drools at Ballad and Barracuda, calling them "hotties", but is disappointed when their fusion creates a disgusting plant monster.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: She's never Yuya's childhood friend since he's 20 years from the future so she's more of a jerk to him than in the Anime. Then the epilogue reveals that she's actually his mother in the future and Yusho, who she treats as her uncle in the anime, is her husband.
Yeah... - Adaptational Wimp: Oh boy, while in the anime she's a bonafide action girl and even has a respectable win-loss streak. Here she never even duels once, and only focuses on making money to save her dad's school and drooling on hotties.
- Age Lift: Retroactively, this version of Yuzu is an adult who would later mother Yuya and his three older siblings.
- Composite Character: Played with. As seen in The Reveal of Yuzu being Yuya's birthmother, she shares traits with Yoko Sakagi. But given Yuya's existence as a Living Macguffin in the anime, he's not blood-related to either Yoko or Yusho.
- Enraged by Idiocy: In regards to both her father and Yuya.
- Good with Numbers: She won second place in the Mental Arithmetic tournament.
- Money Fetish: This Yuzu cares deeply for money. But to be fair, her family is in a rough financial state.
- Pervert Revenge Mode: She goes after a drowning Yuya, who cannot swim, to save him, and when she prompts Yuya to grab onto her... he gropes her. Yuzu elbows him on the forehead in retaliation and covers her chest in embarrassment.
- Related in the Adaptation: Implied Trope. The final chapter of the manga has Yuya promise he and Yuzu will meet again, and when Yuzu is next seen, she's shown meeting a teenaged Yusho. The implication is that Yuzu is Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri's mother; this is later confirmed in the Jump Victory Carnival 2019 official guidebook.
- The Scrooge: Tries to get Yuya to teach at the school for 500 yen per hour...which is less than minimum wage. And when she actually hires him by tricking him into signing a contract she attempts to charge HIM 1000 yen an hour for management, after trying to negotiate with her she begrudgingly offers him 100 an hour only AFTER their school becomes famous.
- Posthumous Character: Due to The Reveal in the final chapter, Yuzu would've been long dead in the future "World Illusion" incident.
Shuzou Hiragi
Shuzou Hiragi
The owner of the Shuzou Duel School, who has all the enthusiasm of a good principal, but none of the business sense needed to keep his school open. When we first see him, his duel school is on the brink of shutdown due to lack of funds, and it's Yuzu who's the one to make him see sense and try to save the school.
While he seems to have accepted Yuzu's idea to have Yuya teach at his school, his attitude towards the Phantom's multiple personalities is less enthusiastic.
Tropes associated with Shuzou:
- Adaptational Wimp: In the anime, he does well against Yuya; in here, he is curbstomped by Kurosaki.
- Distressed Dude: He is kidnapped by Kurosaki.
- Hot-Blooded: Just the same as the anime.
- Manchild: Comes off as this a bit; it's Yuzu who has to take responsibility for the duel school financially, as well as scouting out new talent to bring students, while all he contributes is enthusiasm.
Leo Corporation
Reiji Akaba
Reiji Akaba
The head of the Leo Corporation. He wishes to capture the mysterious duelist "Phantom" for hacking into his company's Solid Vision System. Little is known about him as yet, but he is attempting to research the Phantom's summoning method, Pendulum Summon, and to this end has recruited a three-man special squad to track down and defeat him: Sawatari, Shun and Sora.
Like his anime counterpart, he plays a D/D deck but with a different aesthetic and playstyle. He focuses solely on using pendulum monsters whose effects allow him to reduce the stats of his opponent's monsters, the damage he would take or even his opponent's pendulum scales to zero.
Tropes associated with Reiji:
- Adaptation Personality Change: In terms of leadership, he's more of a Bad Boss than his anime counterpart. He also sees Yusho as a Broken Pedestal for the loss of his father in the aftermath of the "World Illusion" incident.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: This Reiji didn't take his father's death very well.
- Arch-Enemy: His rivalry with Yuya is even more hostile than in the anime. This has something to do with the latter being Yusho's son.
- Bad Boss: At times; he tells Sawatari not to make excuses for losing to Yuya and brushes him off to begin research into Pendulum Summoning and tends to be rather demanding in regards to the Phantom being brought in. However, he's also quite loose with his own rules if one of his specialists goes to get things done without proper clearance, such as when Kurosaki goes to fight Yuya himself.
- Badass Biker: Rides a motorbike in Scale 14 while going after Yuya.
- Berserk Button: Speaking ill about his father is a good way to get the normally calm Reji to snap at you.
- Boring, but Practical: His DD deck doesn't have any Extra Monsters or the Deal with the Devil-based Covenant cards, but makes up for its zero-themed effects.
- The Chosen Many: It is implied by Ren that Reiji might have "The Adam Factor" like Yuya.
- Combat Pragmatist: As much as he can be while not having been on the field himself. When Yuya beats Sawatari, Reiji has his men prepare to ambush Yuya as soon as the Action Field drops, and when Kurosaki holds Shuzou hostage to make Yuya duel him, Reiji simply lets the duel continue with no comment.
- Crazy-Prepared: Just like in the anime, Reiji has already ordered a large aircraft to Antartica by the time he went back from space.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Again, the DD monsters.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Reiji's Final Boss Monster is named "GO-DDD God Zero King Zero God Reiji".
- Enemy Mine: When Reiji and Yuya are having a private talk over being time travelers, he makes it clear that he still doesn't trust Yuya in Scale 28. Unsurprisingly, Yuya has already expected this, since they're only teaming up to retrieve G.O.D. from Eve.
- Expy: He's essentially Kaiba as a "Well Done, Son" Guy. Justified, since his father is on a completely different level than Gozaburo.
- Godhood Seeker: After obtaining Adam's portion of the Adam Factor Reji decides to absorb Yuya's half and then use the power of Genesis Omega Dragon to become a god.
- Hunter of Monsters: He wants to stop Yuya from acquiring Genesis Omega Dragon and destroying the world.
- It Has Been an Honor: Says this to Sora, Sawatari and Kurosaki just before leaving with Yuya and the others to fight the G.O.D creators and knowing they can't come back.
- Kid from the Future: Like Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri, he's also from twenty years in the future.
- The Man Behind the Man: Hasn't shown himself to Yuya directly yet, but has been responsible for all his opponents so far.
- My Hero, Zero: Reiji's deck has a zero motif.
- Mysterious Past: Reiji appeared out of nowhere three years previous and took over the Solid Vision industry.
- He also share's a connection to Yuya mentioned in Scale 7 when Sora questions Reiji about his true motives.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: "I have zero interest in your Entertainment Dueling!"
- Not So Stoic: In comparison to his anime counterpart, he's much more easily surprised and wrong-footed by things such as Yuto's existence and Yuya's taking over for him during their duel. However, this allows him to make decisions on the fly.
- Nothing Personal: Reiji tells Yuya that he's not to blame for Yusho's actions during the "World Illusion" incident, which might've costed Leo's life, but as "originals", they're destined to fight against each other. Yuya grimly agrees with it.
- Numerological Motif: Fitting with his namesake, his deck is based on the number zero.
- Overly Long Name: Divine GO-D/D/D Zero King Zero God Reiji. Its attack is even worse: God Force End Ending Epilogue Eternal Rest.
- Shaped Like Itself: Zero God Reiji's appearance is shaped after Reiji himself.
- The Watcher: Part of his DD deck theme.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Seems to have benign intentions, given that his interest in Yuya also stems from them both being "one of a kind" duelists apparently capable of deciding the fate of the world, but expresses no fault with his agents using tactics like hostage-taking to lure Yuya out.
- You Can't Fight Fate: He believes in this, as Yuya can attest.
Shingo Sawatari
Shingo Sawatari
A member of a special squad working for the Leo Corporation. Similarly to the anime, he thinks of himself as much tougher than he is and likes to show off, but also takes his work quite seriously and his response to losing to Yuya is to actually go and try to improve his skills for a rematch. His reasons for working for Reiji are unknown, but given his uniform, there's a chance he's simply a high-ranking student.
He runs a Monarch Deck, so far focused on DARK Monarchs such as Erebus the Underworld Monarch and Angmar the Witch Monarch, using cards that help with their summoning or allow for their effects to be re-used.
Tropes associated with Sawatari:
- Adaptational Badass: During his duel against Yuto in the anime, every move Sawatari made ended up backfiring and benefited his opponent, resulting in his defeat by a One-Turn Kill. Contrast with his manga incarnation who uses his knowledge of the Action Field to nearly defeat Yuto. However, he does have trouble with Yuya's Pendulum Monsters, which is justified as they hadn't been seen yet.
- Adaptational Heroism: Although an antagonist at the start, he is more of a Punch-Clock Villain, also shown when he later interacts with Yuzu when Reiji and Yuya are missing, where both of them share information to help each other.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Downplayed, while he is still a Large Ham he isn't a Smug Snake and is instead more of his group's Only Sane Man and Punch-Clock Villain, and he is a lot nicer than he was at the start of the manga.
- Casting a Shadow: The Monarchs he uses all have the DARK attribute.
- Crazy-Prepared: He snatched Sora's gloves that had Reiji's fingerprints in them because he thought it would be useful, and it is when he and Kurosaki need to find out where Reiji went.
- Dark Is Not Evil: He is much nicer than his main counterpart, and is fairly polite to Yuzu when they meet.
- Large Ham: It wouldn't be Sawatari without it.
- Mr. Fanservice: In the side story, he's not shy in joining a swimsuit contest.
- Only Sane Man: Ironically, he is this on the squad, having the relatively minor flaw of being a Large Ham compared to Kurosaki's Blood Knight antics and Sora's psycho behavior. By comparison, he is the most level-headed, especially noticeable when he and Kurosaki are left alone due to Sora's defection and Reiji going off.
- Our Zombies Are Different: Erebus is a Zombie-type monster.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Unlike Blood Knight Kurosaki, when he's off the clock he's pretty amiable.
- Tsundere: To Sora, who brushes off Kurosaki mocking him for his concern over Sora by claiming Sora owed him candy.
Shun Kurosaki
Shun Kurosaki
A member of a special squad working for the Leo Corporation. Is obsessed with serious duels and playing on the edge of defeat, stating that "coming back to life is the only joy I know!" He acts on his own to lure out and duel Yuya, as he loathes people who enjoy dueling and don't take it seriously, and is stated to have been picked up by Reiji on the underground dueling circuit. He doesn't care about Reiji's mission or tactics; he's only interested in playing "real" duels against powerful opponents. After his loss to Yuya, however, he seems to have softened slightly and reconsidered his attitude.
As in the anime, Shun runs a Raidraptor deck, but with cards that he's never played there. His ace monster this time is the Rank 4 Xyz Monster, Raidraptor - Blade Burner Falcon whose effects relies on him having less life points than his opponent.
Tropes associated with Kurosaki:
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Inverted, in that he's never suffered terribly or struggled to survive like his anime counterpart, but still has the same level of "Stop Having Fun" Guys and Teeth-Clenched Teamwork.
- Awesome, but Impractical: His ace is Blade Burner Falcon and it's effect allows him to boost his attack if his attack points are below his opponent's by at least a 3000 point difference, not very useful for regular playing styles compared to his anime counterpart's but Shun's "On The Edge" Shtick allows him to make the most of it since he goes for OTK comebacks.
- Berserk Button: Don't duel if you're not serious, and for the love of god, don't interrupt his duels.
- Blood Knight: He loves being in combat heavy duels, and hates fun ones.
- Challenge Seeker: Goes out of his way to find strong opponents who can put him on the brink of defeat before he comes back.
- Combat Sadomasochist: Justified. His ace monster, Raidraptor - Blade Burner Falcon, gains 3000 ATK (from its base 1000) if his Life Points are 3000 or more less than his opponent's. Although his reaction to getting hurt makes you think that he's secretly a hotblooded masochist.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: His response to Yuya trying to explain they're not so different - he calls bullshit and tells Yuya he'll become his sacrifice.
- Good with Numbers: He beat Yuzu in the Mental Math tournament a few years back.
- Hypocritical Humor: Most likely a matter of differing circumstances, but gets a moment of this in Scale 8 when he practically erupts with rage at the idea that Reiji might have taken Sora's "sick little sister" hostage, and Reiji won't answer as to whether it's true or not.Kurosaki: Taking hostages is inexcusable. It's inhuman! Answer me, Reiji Akaba! Depending on your answer, I may dispense justice!Sawatari: (thinking) But he took a hostage himself...
- I Owe You My Life: Seems to take this attitude as of the end of his duel with Yuya, stating to himself that he'll repay his "debt" one day.
- Large Ham: He's shoutier and more melodramatic than his anime counterpart, which is notable because this variation doesn't seem to share his counterpart's traumatic backstory to explain it.
- Mr. Fanservice: In the side story where wears his coat over his swimsuit.
- Nightmare Face: Of the Psychotic Smirk and Slasher Smile varieties while he's dueling Yuya.
- Not So Above It All: After spending two chapters decrying Yuya's Entertainment Dueling in the most brutal and angry ways known to man, his reaction to Yuya's shenanigans after the duel are a Blank Stare and Sweat Drop, followed by a reluctant snort of laughter.
- Happens again in Scale 8, when Sora claims Reiji has his sister as a hostage.
Kurosaki: (visibly distressed) What a rotten thing to do... - "Stop Having Fun" Guys: In-Universe example. He hates people that duel for fun.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Mentally complains about having to receive orders from Sawatari.
- Terrifying Rescuer: Saves Yuzu and Shuzou from a potentially fatal fall during his duel with Yuya...and then immediately goes off on them for ruining his "serious duel".
- This Cannot Be!: Expresses this just before losing to Yuya, but it's immediately followed up by a Graceful Loser moment where he admits to himself that Yuya did well, and won soundly.
Sora Shiun'in
Sora Shiun'in
A member of a special squad working for the Leo Corporation. His motives for joining Reiji are unknown, but he seems to have some suspicions about Reiji's goals and intentions, and thinks he might be lying to them about Yuya. He looks down on his fellow special squad members to some degree; Sawatari for his grandstanding and idiocy, and Kurosaki for his overly serious opinion on what dueling should be for.
Like in the anime, he plays a Frightfur deck specializing in Fusion summon using the Fluffal and Edge Imp monsters but with added focus on inflicting burn damage. Later on the story, his deck changes to include regular Frightfur monsters on top of his Extra Deck ones.
Tropes associated with Sora:
- Adaptational Heroism: Here he is working under Reiji and alongside Kurosaki instead of being their enemy. He's still Cute and Psycho though. Even after his true allegiance is revealed, his motivation makes him more of an Anti-Villain.
- Crocodile Tears: Implied to have done this on Yuya during their Duel in Scale 8, only for a pissed off Yuri to show up. Though, it is ambiguous whether or not he has a sister. Turns out he does.
- Cute and Psycho: Not to his main self's extent, but he still has smug and sharp-eyed faces, he is still sadistic, just a lot more composed about it.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Yuya defeats him by making his lifepoints zero exactly. This is what angers him more than anything, not that he lost but that he held back. Sora then uses Action Cards to MAXIMIZE damage to himself, and blowing up the building they were in.
- Easily Forgiven: While Kurosaki and Sawatari didn't take his betrayal well, they didn't hate him nor disowned him, and even stayed by his side after his duel with Yuya/Yuri.
- Fake Memories: Sora manipulated his own memories in order to infiltrate the Leo corporation. His reason for doing so was that his actual personality was too "intense" and thus too suspicious.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: Two of his Fluffal monsters, specifically his Pendulum Monsters, are this, being a chubby baby angel and a monkeyish devil.
- Heel Realization: Realized his erroneous ways after Yuri's "The Reason You Suck" Speech and that he threw away his friends thanks to his shortsightedness.
- I Lied: Claims this when Yuri doesn't buy his claims. Except, not completely as it turns out.
- Manchurian Agent: Is one for Eve's group, having manipulated his memory so that he could infiltrate the Leo Corporation.
- Sweet Tooth: As par for course.
- Villainous Breakdown: Yuri gave him a brutal "The Reason You Suck" Speech in regards to his reason for serving G.O.D. Namely, The Genesis Omega Dragon can't actually save Miu's life and he got tired of seeing her die all over again in parallel worlds. After leaving her, regret came back and now he's looking for another way to be with her again, not realizing that Miu's soul got corrupted into Frightful Nightmary. This ends up making his Heel Realization
Leo Akaba
Leo Akaba
A researcher on Solid Vision and Reiji's father. He was first mentioned, alongside Yusho Sakaki, for triggering the "World Illusion".
Tropes associated with Leo:
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Compared to his anime counterpart, who is a generic Evil Overlord (though he's never hideous to begin with), this Leo is a middle-aged sexy scientist.
- Adaptational Heroism: He seems to have a good relationship with his son, Reiji and his friend, Yusho compared to his anime counterpart.
- Demonic Possession: The G.O.D card was able to possess him, becoming obsessed with experimenting on it causing it to go out of control and destroy the future.
- Good Parents: Appears to act like a typical father towards his son.
- Posthumous Character: If Reiji's words are true, then he's presumably killed off during the "World Illusion" incident. Yusho might be involved with this. Although it was an inversion, cause he was actually the one who set off the explosion, and Yusho was forced to use the "World Illusion" to turn back time.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Wears one compared to his anime counterpart.
- Spell My Name With An S: Viz's English translation uses Reo instead of Leo.
Eve's Faction
General
- The Ageless: All of them stopped aging after giving themselves to G.O.D or, in Ren's case, returned back to his prime years. But it had has the side effect of disfiguring scars as a sign of their burden of crossing space and time so many times.
- Anti-Villain: All of them may fight against Yuya and Reiji's group but they're Affably Evil at best or Forced into Evil at worst. Once Yuya defeated the Genesis Omega Dragon they're freed from their contracts. Eve disappears with Adam and Isaac and Ren teamed up with Yuya and Reiji to fight the card's creators.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: All of them to Eve and the Genesis Omega Dragon as part of their contracts.
- Mark of the Supernatural: All of them have disfiguring scars on different parts of their body as the punishment of crossing the space-time continuum so many times. Ren has his on his right side of his face, Eve and Isaac on their left side, and Sora's mark is on his back. It disappears once Yuya defeats G.O.D.
- Wistful Amnesia: It's revealed that they lost most of their memories of their first lives, and can only remember important parts of their lives after living in a lot of timelines. Eve seeks to retrieve all those memories with the G.O.D. Card.
Eve
Tropes associated with Eve:
- Big Bad Wannabe: Initially appeared to be the main antagonist for the manga continuity as her plans drive the plot forward. But the G.O.D card possessed her after she lost the duel with Yuya.
- Demonic Possession: Genesis Omega Dragon takes control of her after she summons it to avoid losing to Yuya.
- Distaff Counterpart: Of Leo's anime counterpart, being the main antagonist of the story.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Ren mentioned that she and Adam used to have a romantic relationship with each other until G.O.D. came along.
- Expy: Physically resembles E'Rah.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: At the end of Scale 18, her face is finally seen with a burnt scar on the left side of her face. When G.O.D. takes control of her, her scars expand to cover her entire body. They finally disappear completely after she is defeated by Yuya.
- I Will Find You: Searches for Adam over many timelines in order to reunite with him. Although the G.O.D card twisted that into searching for Adam's power instead.
- Meaningful Name: Eve is named after the first woman in the Hebrew myth and falls in love with a scientist whose name is Adam.
- Mythology Gag: Eve's Extra Deck Monsters are based on the Sangemna/Sacred Beasts, Temporal Machine Gods/Timelords, and Numbers respectively.
- Like Reiji's anime incarnation, she summons a Fusion, a Synchro and an Xyz monster in a single turn.
- Mysterious Watcher: Eve was watching the duel between Sora and Yuya and not much is known about her so far.
- Oblivious to Love: Averted. She is aware of Isaac's feelings for her.
- Rule of Symbolism: Her Mystic Factor monsters are associated with the Three Wise Men.
Ren
Click here to see him unmasked
A masked man who works for Eve. He rescues Sora after the latter's duel with the Phantom before investigating Yuya's memories. He is a Riding Duelist and uses a White deck that uses monsters resembling various sea creatures with the ability to become tuners when revived from the graveyard to perform Synchro summons.
Tropes associated with Ren:
- The Ace: He paints himself as one for Riding Duels, and he has the skills to back it up.
- Affably Evil: Heck, forget affable, he shows outright and sincere concern for Yugo during their Riding Duel. Still invading Yuya's mind though.
- Back from the Dead: Due to his monsters' ability to become Tuner monsters when special summoned from the graveyard in order to Synchro Summon even stronger monster, which he calls Samsara Synchro, reviving them is a major element of his playstyle.
- Him too. After dying during a bad turn in the midst of a Riding Duel, Genesis Omega Dragon resurrected him by rewinding time. In exchange though, Ren had to serve G.O.D. once his normal life ended, i.e. Sixty years later.
- Badass Biker: Ren is not only a Riding Duelist but is a even better Riding Duelist than Yugo of all people! Considering who he really is, it shouldn't be a surprise.
- Graceful Loser: Accepts his loss to Yuya calmly and even told Yuya all about his motivations. Isaac even says that he dueled Yugo for his peace of mind.
- Honor Before Reason: The D-Wheel that he uses during his first duel with Yugo is stated to be equal to Yugo's own; anything else would have been unfair.
- Identical Stranger: Appears to be one for Reiji, especially his hairdo. Zig-Zagged once his mask breaks and he styles his hair. While he doesn't look like Reiji anymore, he looks like an older Yugo. The reason behind it is that he's a descendant of Yugo.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Without his mask, he's a Bishounen with very long hair. Once he spikes up his bangs though, you get what Yugo would look like in a few years.
- Meaningful Name: Ren means Lotus Flower, which is representative of resurrection and reincarnation. Guess what his deck does?
- Moby Schtick: Referenced in White Aura Whale, which is themed after Moby Dick.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: His D-Wheeler career in a nutshell. Ren idolized a Riding Dueling prodigy implied to be Yugo, and strove to become a Pro to follow in his footsteps. While he had the skill, he didn't have the funding, tech, or the famous background to obtain good sponsors. He did eventually get invited to a famous tourney, but didn't have the necessary specs for his Runner, and while he did get the latest model, his father had to divert his entire fortune and deteriorate his health for it, and was slowly dying by time Ren found out. As he was about to make the winning move and fulfill both his father's and his own wishes, he ran over a butterfly, causing his single wheel to skid, sending him flying, and the impact killing him. While Genesis Omega Dragon did resurrect him by rewinding time and allowing him to win, he had to serve G.O.D. once his mortal life ended.
- Space Whale: While flying in the duel zone instead, White Aura Whale is one, in contrast to other whales in the game such as Fortress Whale and Earthbound Immortal Chacu Challhua.
- Two-Faced: His scar covers almost all the left side of his face, which he keeps hidden with his bangs.
- Villainous Rescue:
- Goes to save Sora from falling after the room he was in was destroyed.
- When Reiji is about to make his move on Yuya, Ren shows up, interrupting their Duel as a result.
- Worthy Opponent: Thinks of Yugo and later Yuya as this, even using a duel runner compatible to Yugo's in order to make it a fair fight.
- Xanatos Gambit: His true aim against Yugo is this. If he wins, he gains access to all of Yuya's secrets. If he loses, he merely confirms that Yuya possesses The Adam Factor.
Isaac
Tropes associated with Isaac:
- All Love Is Unrequited: Issac has feelings for Eve who is in love with Adam.
- The Atoner: For not being able to save Adam's life when he could have.
- Evil Counterpart: Of Reiji. Even his Mirror Imagine monsters look suspiciously similar to Reiji's DD Magical Savants.
- The Evil Genius: Seems to be this for Eve's group.
- Expy: Looks like a bespectacled version of Christopher Arclight.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He wears glasses and he's a villain.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: His defeat comes as a result of Reiji using the effect of Zero Paradox and his trap card Zero Gravitation in conjunction with one another to use Isaac's combo with his Reflector monsters against him.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Accepts that Eve has fallen in love with Adam and urges her to reunite with him.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Scar aside, Isaac is relatively good-looking and has long hair.
- Mirror Monster: His Mirror Imagine deck are Pendulum Monsters themed after mirrors.
- Stealth Pun: The name "Mirror Imagine" sounds like "Mirai Majin", which means "Future Demon" in Japanese.
- Stone Wall: Stat-wise, his Mirror Imagine monsters have high DEF and either low or no ATK at all.
- Villain Respect: He finds Reiji to be a genius. Impressive since Sora says Isaac actually is a genius.
Others
Yusho Sakaki
Yuya's father. He used to work with Leo Akaba and was first mentioned alongside the former for being the ones who triggered the "World Illusion" incident.
Tropes associated with Yusho Sakaki:
- Age Lift: Retroactively, this version of Yusho is a teenager who would later father Yuya and his three older siblings with Yuzu.
- Be Yourself: His reason for stopping his research with the G.O.D card, and that he wanted to see Leo smile one day. Unfortunately, Leo became possessed by the card after that and caused the end of the world.
- Fling a Light into the Future: Inverted. He sent Yuya to the past so that the latter could have a chance at finding more about G.O.D.'s true nature and creator in order to defeat it.
- Good Parents: Just like his anime counterpart, he's this to the four brothers, and without his Disappeared Dad status, Yuya grew up being a mentally well-adjusted person. Although he gets too busy with his research from time to time.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He stole the G.O.D card from the military facility in a misguided attempt to stop its research. This only served as the catalyst for the dragon to appear and destroy the world that he had to do the "World Illusion" event in order for a chance to stop it.
- Posthumous Character: Like Leo, he didn't survive the "World Illusion" and only made appearances in flashbacks. Then he physically appears in the final chapter as a teenager and meets Yuzu for the first time.
Miu Shin'in
Sora's little sister. He claims Reiji is using her as a hostage to force him to duel Yuya to ensure her safety but Yuri takes over and exposes the truth that he was lying about having a sister in order to make Yuya lose. But it turns out that Miu is real with Sora having lost his memories of her.
Tropes associated with Miu:
- Delicate and Sickly: Sora refers to her as being sick. He later explains that Miu suffers from an illness that couldn't be cured. She still died even after Sora made a deal with G.O.D
- Expy: Being the ill little sister of another character who serves as said character's motivation, she is this to Shizuka Kawai/Serenity Wheeler from the original manga. Subverted when it turns out Sora lied about her existence, and then double-subverted when it turns out he didn't.
- Real After All: Turns out Sora does have a sister.
Adam
Tropes associated with Adam:
- Ambiguously Brown: He's dark-skinned compared to Eve and were stated to be refugees in a war zone, but his country of origin is not specified.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: He unwillingly became one thanks to using the G.O.D card and had to trap its powers inside him, causing him to vanish and travel across time.
- All-Powerful Bystander: Has a good reason for it. He got the G.O.D's powers after disappearing and could have seen Eve anytime he wants. But he was still holding a fragment of G.O.D while EVE was holding the G.O.D card itself and feared G.O.D might take back the Adam Factor if he goes near it.
- Big Good: Serves this role for the manga.
- The Chooser of the One: He was the one who chose to give the Adam factor to Yuya and Reiji.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Absorbed most of Genesis Omega Dragon's energy which caused his soul to be scattered across space-time as the Adam Factor.
- Meaningful Name: Adam is named after the first man in the Hebrew myth.
- Non-Action Guy: He's not good at dueling and knows it so he waited and seek strong Duelists to be entrusted with the pieces of G.O.D power that he has stolen, namely Yuya and Reiji.
- Spear Counterpart: Appears to be a dark-skinned male version of Ray Akaba from the anime continuity.
Genesis Omega Dragon
A dragon Pendulum Monster that is responsible for destroying various worlds.
Tropes associated with Genesis Omega Dragon:
- The Corruption: Anyone who uses or experiments the card form has a chance of getting possessed by it. It influenced Yusho and Leo to create the Solid Vision technology created by Adam in order for it to manifest in a wormhole.
- Deal with the Devil: What his offers basically are. He can give people near death a second chance at life and render them ageless but in exchange, they will have to serve it after their lives end.
- Demonic Possession: Takes over Eve's body after she summons him.
- Didn't See That Coming: Didn't expect that Yuya will be able to summon the God Eyes Phantom Dragon with his brothers' help
- Greater-Scope Villain: He is this for the manga.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: Allows people that summon him to give them the time that they desire and proceeds to destroy the world around them.
- Meaningful Name: Its acronyms spell out GOD, and is responsible for a lot of otherworldly things happening.
- Mythology Gag: This card being a "God card" that is said to "have the power to decide the fate of the world", is surprisingly similar to the Numeron Code from Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL
- Outside-Context Problem: Nothing is ever known about the Genesis Omega Dragon, with the only thing they're sure is that it will bring on the The End of the World as We Know It and that whoever holds it will gain unimaginable power. Even the scientists who researched it can only guess from what they'd seen firsthand.
- Planet Destroyer: It's shown that it was able to destroy a lot of planets before coming to earth.
- Villainous Breakdown: Suffers this when Yuya was able to chain so that it can't take his turn, and pretended to slip up to give it a false hope of winning before getting decimated by God Eyes Phantom Dragon
