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Den City/LINK VRAINS
Naoki Shima/Lonely Brave/Brave Max (Brave Battler)
Naoki Shima/Brave Max (Brave Battler)
Voiced by: Chiharu Sawashiro (Japanese), Marc Thompson (English)
Click here to see Brave Max
A classmate of Yusaku's who enjoys Dueling, but lacks the confidence to Duel in LINK VRAINS. In LINK VRAINS, he is known as Brave Max, formerly known as Lonely Brave.
He uses a Beast-Type deck with a monkey theme. He focuses on summoning high level Beast-Type Monsters such as "Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest". However because of his lack of Dueling skill he tends to make some very amateur mistakes.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: In episode 64, Naoki made it seem like he knew Yusaku's secret, to the point Yusaku complied with Naoki's demands to go to a secret place to talk. In episode 65, Naoki revealed what the secret was...only that it was not the one Yusaku was concerned with—or even knew was supposed to be a secret.Naoki: "I know your secret."Yusaku frownsNaoki: Smirks "Hey, Playmaker...is my soulmate, right? And since you're my best friend, you should feel proud too!"Yusaku: Still frowning "What do you want to talk about?"Naoki: Smirks again "I know you have a part-time job."Yusaku looks confused and tilts his head to the sideNaoki: "I saw you working at the hot dog stand. The school forbids working part-time jobs, but I'm not so petty to snitch on you. However..." Postcards suddenly materialize "Help me fill out postcards to enter Blue Angel's handshake event—"Yusaku walks away, disinterestedNaoki: "Hey! Fujiki!" Crashes through the door "I'll snitch you out to Playmaker!"
- Beginner's Luck: The only reason he managed to beat the first Knight of Hanoi he came across was because the guy he was dueling happened to have drawn a bad hand in the beginning of the duel and the fact that he had the Cyberse Wizard in his deck at the time which contributed to his victory.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Ever since Brave Max defeated a Knight of Hanoi using "Cyberse Wizard" and his subsequent encounter with its owner, Naoki believes that he is Playmaker's chosen one and his best friend. Even after his dismal Dueling ability was exposed by Ghost Girl, Naoki is still convinced that he and Playmaker are soulmates as he boasts to Yusaku.
- Brought to You by the Letter "S": Brave Max's helmet sports a yellow V in between his eyes, as well as a hot pink B on his chestplate.
- Butt-Monkey: Every Yu-Gi-Oh! series has to have one, and guess who's the resident butt monkey of VRAINS? Gets brutally roasted by Yusaku within the first ten minutes of the first episodes, is constantly getting snubbed by Yusaku and Aoi, the former being able to barely remember his name half of the time, made a fool of by main or important side characters almost every time he's onscreen. Yeah... Naoki is definitely the resident butt monkey of VRAINS. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links only rubs further salt into the wound by making him a Standard Duelist (an AI-only character whose sole purpose is to give the player someone to Duel and beat easily), putting him lower on the pecking order than characters like Tristan Taylor, who barely even Dueled yet still gets to be playable.
- Bystander Syndrome: Despite calling himself a hero of Link VRAINS, Brave Max just stands idly by while some delinquent penguins harass some denizens.
- Captain Obvious: Brave Max makes a more than useless observation involving the contents of a trash can... which turns out to be garbage; what else did you expect?
- Cowardly Lion: Brave Max puts up a confident front while Dueling, but at the same time freaks out on the inside.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- Gets a good share of focus in Episode #27, where he becomes determined to protect the netizens of LINK VRAINS from the Knights of Hanoi.
- Also gets this treatment in Episode #47; the first half of the episode focuses on him exploring NEW LINK VRAINS and what it has to offer.
- Disproportionate Retribution: He threatens to rat Yusaku out to Playmaker (aka himself) because he refused to help Shima fill out postcards for a Blue Angel handshaking event, or risk getting his secret of working part-time at Kusanagi's hot dog stand publicly exposed.
- Distressed Dude: Was kidnapped in the real world and forced into LINK VRAINS by Faust to Duel for Cyberse Wizard's data and potentially lure Playmaker in order to take his Ignis.
- Gonk: He's rather odd-looking, resembling Teppei Tairyobata from Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V.
- I Just Want to Be Badass: Subverted. While he defeated a Knight of Hanoi not long after he entered LINK VRAINS for the first time, he ultimately considers himself unworthy of carrying on Playmaker's legacy, and quickly returns Cyberse Wizard to Playmaker after he arrives to confront Faust.
- Inadequate Inheritor: Brave Max quickly returns Cyberse Wizard to Playmaker, believing himself to be unworthy of carrying on Playmaker's legacy.
- Insane Troll Logic: Brave Max's claim that "Metal Baboon" can't be returned to his hand because it's a Link Monster baffles both Ghost Girl and Blue Girl. The fallacy in his claim, however, is that Extra Deck monsters like "Metal Baboon" are still valid targets for return-to-hand effects, as they simply return to the Extra Deck instead.
- Loves My Alter Ego: A huge fan of Playmaker, but he dislikes Yusaku for being a Jerkass.
- Mistaken for Badass: Emma and Aoi believe he must secretly be a great duelist if Playmaker is interested in him... only to find out that he's really an amateur, which annoys Aoi because she had set up a Blue Angel event in order to get him into VRAINS.
- Mr. Exposition: Explains to Yusaku about the Another Syndrome, a recent phenomenon where people are forced into Link Vrains and subsequently gone into a coma. Unfortunately for him, Yusaku was already up-to-date with the information, meaning Naoki didn't have to explain it to him but already did for the viewer's convenience.
- Nonstandard Character Design: He's the only character who doesn't have a realistic body or face proportions. His Brave Max persona averts this as he looks like a Big Fun guy.
- Online Alias: Initially went by Lonely Brave, but changes it to Brave Max shortly after he is congratulated by a few netizens for defeating a Knight of Hanoi.
- Paper Tiger: His Brave Max avatar is heavily armored and physically imposing, but he's not much of a duelist.
- Saying Too Much:
- Faust overhears Naoki boasting about being Playmaker's supposed chosen one, then punches him in the gut and holds him hostage.
- Ghost Girl warns Brave Max not to openly admit that he is best friends with Playmaker due to Playmaker being a bounty target in NEW LINK VRAINS.
- Subverted in that he doesn't reveal that Yusaku was the one to save him in the real world while Playmaker saved him in VRAINS, instead only being frustratingly vague when Aoi asked him, which would have likely led Emma and Aoi to connecting the dots. Justified on Shima's part, however, as he legitimately doesn't know Playmaker's real world identity.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Defied. After luring Yusaku to a discreet location in school, Shima has no problem claiming that he knows of Yusaku's secret... of working part-time at Kusanagi's hot dog stand. Shima tries to coax him into filling out Blue Angel handshake event postcards or risk getting his secret publicly exposed, but Yusaku casually walks away, while Shima threatens to rat him out to Playmaker (aka himself).
- Small Name, Big Ego: He has no problem openly claiming that he is Playmaker's chosen one and best friend, while at the same time coming off as a guy who can do nothing but talk a big game, as noted by Ghost Girl.
- Took a Level in Badass: Subverted. While Episode #27 demonstrates his courage to enter LINK VRAINS for the first time and also sees him defeating a Knight of Hanoi, his Duel with Ghost Girl in Episode #60 reveals his lack of Dueling skill due to some very amateur mistakes made on his end.
- Troll: Scoffs at Yusaku's decoy deck, describing it as amateurish. The Duel Club president calls Naoki out for it, although Yusaku doesn't disagree with the latter.
Yamamoto/Frog and Saito/Pigeon
Yamamoto/Frog and Saito/Pigeon
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese, both), Marc Thompson (English, Frog), Billy Bob Thompson (English, Pigeon)
Pigeon (left) and Frog (right)
A pair of LINK VRAINS reporters.
- Accidental Misnaming: After Playmaker defeats Revolver and thus saving the network world, Frog calls Pigeon Sato to celebrate, but Pigeon then corrects him that his name is actually Saito. Later, their boss also calls Pigeon Sato instead of Saito.
- Amusing Injuries: If there's ever a dangerous situation, it's a good bet Frog is going to be comically injured somehow. For example, when the pair are flying through the data storm surrounding the Tower of Hanoi, Pigeon deftly dodges all the shards, only for the camera to pan out and reveal Frog was pincushioned by everything Pigeon dodged.
- Berserk Button: While you're in LINK VRAINS, don't address Frog as Yamamoto.
- Back for the Finale: They reappear in the final episode carrying their boss while being chased by giant bugs before being saved by Ghost Girl and Blood Shepard.
- Blown Across the Room: During GO and Revolver's Duel, the impact of Giant Ogre and Borrelsword's blades clashing is intense enough to send Frog and Pigeon flying off into the distance, subsequently cutting out live footage taken by the duo.
- The Bus Came Back: Having been Put on a Bus in Episode 49, they finally return in Episode 83, once again seeking out Playmaker to cover his exploits. Crosses over into Back for the Finale for Season 2.
- Butt-Monkey: Nothing ever goes right for their journalism endeavours.
- Crazy-Prepared: After Playmaker upgrades his D-Board, Frog upgrades Pigeon's flight capabilities in order to keep up with his speed.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Frog will blast at Pigeon if addressed by his real name, Yamamoto, while in LINK VRAINS. There are, however, a number of instances where he doesn't.
- Funny Background Event: The missile Frog straps to Pigeon's back proves to be too potent, and sends them smashing into a rock formation. Ghost Girl and Blue Maiden, who saw the crash and the plume of smoke from the impact, simply dismiss it as a hapless person who couldn't control their D-Board properly.
- Hidden Depths: During Ghost Girl and Playmaker's duel, Frog is able to keep up with and ascertain the strategies they are using, like Ghost Girl not attacking so Playmaker can't use his skill. This suggest that, despite his attitude, he has top notch duel skills.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: Noted in Episode 83, as they once garnered 100 million views during their covered of the Hanoi crisis. Now, they are reduced to scraping the bare bottom for leads on Playmaker and were conned into covering Brave Max, who claimed that Playmaker would show up if they followed him. That episode only netted them 100 views, 80 of which were from Brave Max himself.
- Hypocrisy Nod: After the calling Pigeon 'Sato', Frog does apologies for using Pigeon's real name when Frog hates being called Yamato online. Pigeon only cares that Frog got his name wrong.
- Intrepid Reporter: They're willing to risk their lives for a story and stay in LINK VRAINS even while the Tower of Hanoi is nearing completion.
- Noisy Nature: Pigeon occasionally coos like a pigeon.
- Online Alias: Frog and Pigeon.
- Only One Name: Frog's and Pigeon's real given names are unknown.
- Put on a Bus: The duo did not make any appearances from Episode 49 to Episode 83. Justified by most of the action taking place outside LINK VRAINS or in areas blocked off to the general populace. Happens again after episode 104.
- Saying Too Much: Turns out the tadpole on Yamamoto's head is actually their boss in disguise. Unfortunately, the boss overhears that Yamamoto is aiming for his position, so he doesn't give the duo a bonus.
- Skewed Priorities: In spite of the danger they're in while the Tower of Hanoi is on the verge of activating, Frog vows to obtain footage of Playmaker so that the pair's scoop will last a lifetime even if they get erased. Playmaker tries to warn them to leave for their own safety, but the pair decline to do so.
- Tagalong Chronicler: After Revolver catches the pair eavesdropping on the formation of his alliance with Playmaker's group and the decision to reactivate the Tower of Hanoi, he captures them but lets them follow along to record the events after they beg him.
- Those Two Guys: Rarely seen apart from each other.
- Throw the Dog a Bone:
- Due to a previous report which was supposedly successful, the pair are allowed to remain in LINK VRAINS to report on its goings-ons after the Tower of Hanoi emerges.
- Also during the Tower of Hanoi incident, Kusanagi invokes this trope by anonymously sending Playmaker's coordinates, disguised as an opportunity for a scoop, to the pair so that Kusanagi can monitor Playmaker's Duel with Spectre.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: They just can't get the footage they need, no matter what. And then, come Season 3, despite their footage of Playmaker vs Bohman becoming the number one video, their boss refuses to give them a bonus!
MC
MC
Voiced by: IKKAN (Japanese), Daniel J. Edwards (English)
An unnamed LINK VRAINS commentator.
- Combat Commentator: Reports on the events occurring in a Duel in LINK VRAINS, combined with bombastic delivery.
- Large Ham: Wouldn't be an MC if it weren't for his bombastic delivery.
- No Name Given: His real name is unknown.
- Opaque Nerd Glasses: Wears a pair of yellow-framed eye-obscuring glasses at all times.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Completely disappeared from the story after Blue Angel and Baira's duel.
Makoto Kimishima (McKendrick Kellenbocker)
Makoto Kimishima (McKendrick Kellenbocker)
Voiced by: Ryota Suzuki (Japanese), Wolfe Scott (English)
Click here to see his Avatar
Go's childhood friend and a student of Den Academy who gets turned into one of the Another victims by Dr. Genome.
- Childhood Friends: Despite their differences in personality, he and Go have become close since childhood.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Used to be this to Go, to the point of enabling Go to overcome his former self's violent impulses.
- Informed Ability: Stated to be a strong duelist, yet Dr. Genome managed to defeat him seemingly effortlessly.
- Satellite Character: Everything revealed about his character is related to his friendship with Go.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Isn't seen again after waking up from a coma.
- The Worf Effect: Easily defeated by Dr. Genome to establish Dr. Genome as a legitimate threat.
Other
Kiku Kamishirakawa
Kiku Kamishirakawa
Voiced by: Miyuri Shimabukuro (Japanese), Ashley Eileen Bucknam (English)
A friend of Takeru's who lives in his grandparents' hometown.
- Alliterative Name: Kiku Kamishirakawa.
- Back for the Finale: She makes her first non-flashback appearance joining Takeru in entering LINK VRAINS.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The gentle girl to Takeru's brooding boy; she cares deeply for him and attempts to break him out of his shell after the traumatic experiences he endured during the Lost Incident.
- Damsel in Distress: In the episode 61 flashback, she is held captive by the Mizunumas and their gang so they can coax Takeru into Dueling Ryujiro; she is let go when Takeru comes alone with his Duel Disk.
- The Gadfly: She has no problem teasing Takeru about his fear of ghosts, something he doesn't appreciate her doing.
- Mistaken for Romance: Is mistaken for Soulburner's 'girlfriend' when they're seen together in LINK VRAINS.
- Motherly Side Plait: Fittingly, despite being the same age as Takeru, she obviously cares about him.
- Nice Girl: Though she doesn't get much screentime during a flashback of Takeru's past, she's concerned about Takeru's wellbeing, and tries to convince him to attend school again.
- Only Friend: Heavily hinted to be just about the only one among her peers to care about Takeru back in his previous town, prior to his departure to Den City.
- The Reliable One: Wholeheartedly accepts to take care of Takeru's grandparents while he is away.
- Satellite Character: Her appearances in Takeru's flashbacks revolved around her friendship with Takeru, and her attempts to coax him out of his depression. Borders on Satellite Love Interest come the series' conclusion, as she ends up going to Link VRAINS with Takeru but is nervous about it, even almost falling when they enter, until Takeru catches her in a Bridal Carry and holds on to her. She then calls him cool, which makes him blush.
Ryujiro Mizunuma (Ridley)
Ryujiro Mizunuma (Ridley)
Voiced by: Sho Nogami (Japanese)
A duelist from Takeru's hometown who is part of a gang of delinquents alongside his older brother. Ryujiro plays a Zombie deck which employs a Beatdown strategy supported by spells and traps that let him add the pieces needed for his strategy to his hand.
- Delinquents: Is a member of a delinquent gang led by his older brother.
- Dirty Coward: Is smug and conceit while he hides behind his delinquent brother, but get him by himself and he will do anything to prevent himself from getting hurt.
- Everything's Deader with Zombies: Ryujiro uses Zombie monsters, including older ones like Plague Wolf and Despair from the Dark.
- Red Baron: He happens to have one, which is "Mad Marsh". On top of it, he also calls himself the "Dragon god of the bottomless swamp". Takeru isn't impressed but Flame finds the latter name stylish.
- Smug Snake: Tries to be a threat and appear stronger than he actually is, whether by use of his older brother or by his self-proclaimed dueling skills.
- Starter Villain: He is the first opponent Takeru faced in his journey to be "reborn".
