Saturday, October 1, 2011

Character: Tatsunagi Suiko

"We need his power. We don't care whether the results [...] are good or bad. There are some things that only someone with the power can do."

Tatsunagi Suiko/立凪スイコ
Age: 17
Voice Actor(s): Terakawa Aimi(Japanese)1, Nikkita Bradette(English)2
Anime Biography: The eldest of the three sisters which comprise Ultra-Rare, Suiko is their leader and is the one who initially presents Aichi with the King of Knights, Alfred. Ever composed, Suiko balances her sisters' conflicting personalities.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
Of Ultra-Rare, Suiko is the sister with the most direct involvement in the series' events. While Kourin and Rekka assist her in observing the regional and national competitions, it's Suiko who can sense the potential for PSY Qualia, and her who compels spotted talent to grow stronger.

Though unconfirmed, she is greatly implied to have had a hand in Ren gaining Qualia one year ago. The only point at which Suiko loses her composure is in the presence of Kai, whom was the most hurt by Ren's quest for power. She appears visibly disturbed while watching his fight at the first Kanto regional tournament, is the only one of the girls to keep quiet when match is over, and Kai reinforces this reaction in ride 23 by refusing to go to her card shop. Furthermore, Ren himself is a high profile figure whom Ultra-Rare have ready access to such that they can call him into their shop at will, suggesting that Suiko knew him before his rise to power, and it is she that he approaches when thanking Ultra-Rare for PSY Qualia in ride 49.

Upon meeting with Suzugamori in ride 23, Suiko makes arrangements to speak with him following the national tournament. Having confirmed his PSY Qualia, she states that she will only make her motives clear at that time.

Suiko is all but confirmed to have some form of power that allows her to sense PSY Qualia, as well as Misaki's natural recall abilities. In ride 40 she has a flashback to an event she didn't see--Aichi's vision of Blazers' Pleasures, that he witnessed through a mutual reaction between his and Ren's Qualia.

To her "chosen ones," Suiko is less than transparent. When Kourin suggests explaining themselves to Aichi in ride 43, Suiko shows hesitance, and ultimately doesn't reveal anything of their motives until much later, in ride 58. She is not above using even her own sisters as tools to achieve Ultra-Rare's goals; particularly, when Kourin challenges a PSY Qualia-possessed Aichi, she smiles as Aichi executes her sister using Qualia to induce a hallucination of the planet Cray, satisfied that Sendou has grown stronger. Kourin's commentary after her defeat shows that Suiko is not just the only member of Ultra-Rare to have something approaching Qualia, but is also alone in knowing what they're after. The other girls are searching blind, unaware of the consequences of their actions or what PSY Qualia really is.

While Kourin seeks out Kai Toshiki late in the season, Suiko disapproves of what she calls being "too involved." And while her sister is away, Suiko is approached once again by Suzugamori Ren, to whom she first implies the existence of a third party at work by stating that if he is to be grateful for PSY Qualia, it should be to "Him." Suiko closes ride 50 satisfied by both of her chosen ones, eager to see their conflicting ideals clash.

In ride 52 Suiko has another rare moment of upset, when Ren begins to divulge the nature of PSY Qualia on national television. She later concludes after the fight between Aichi and Koutei that Aichi will not be able to defeat Ren without using his powers. She also states that all that matters is for Ren and Aichi to fight, as it will reveal the "true meaning" of PSY Qualia; when asked if that's "His" will Suiko does not answer.

Finally, that evening Suiko and her sisters approach Suzugamori Ren for one last time, warning him that the "final judgment" is now. Suiko grants him one final stimulus to spur on his growth, offering to contract Ren either a card of darkness or a card of light.

For choosing the card of darkness, Ren is gifted with Phantom Blaster Overlord, the crossridden form of his most favored vanguard. After Ren uses the card of darkness to crush Kai's attempt at bringing him back, he thanks her for it, leading Toshiki and Aichi both to question Suiko's actions. She states only that she needs his power, and that it Ultra-Rare does not care if the outcome is good or bad.

Having finished her business with Ren, Suiko prepares Aichi for the final battle by offering him an equal contract.

"Suzugamori Ren chose a card of darkness. Light that consumes the darkness...Darkness that blankets the light. Sendou Aichi, which do you choose?"
Sendou misses his chance to choose however, and the two cards merge to form Majesty Lord Blaster. Stating only that she believes this card to suit Sendou the most, Suiko retreats with her sisters to observe the final battle. It's at this time that Rekka becomes possessed by "Him" and the true nature of PSY Qualia as the synchronizing force between Cray and Earth is unveiled. Having observed Ren's defeat and the conclusion of the Royal-Shadow civil war from- the surface of Cray itself, Suiko's final instructions for her sisters are to disappear until they are needed again.

Spoilers end here.

In the second season, Suiko leads Ultra-Rare abroad to act as entertainers for the international VF Circuit. Suiko mostly takes a back seat role this season, while Tatsunagi Takuto fills her role as the season's antagonist and chief manipulator.

Manga Biography: Though absent for the majority of the manga, Suiko appears in a flashback to when Ren, Kai and Tetsu were friends. It was she who broke the boys apart, by engaging Ren in a cardfight in which he would first make use of and become absorbed by the power of PSY Qualia.

In volume 6 of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga, it is revealed when joining Aichi's class that her sister Kourin's surname is Tatsunagi, suggesting her to both be direct family to Tatsunagi Takuto and connected to the Tatsunagi financial group. As Kourin, Rekka and Suiko are all confirmed to be sisters, this also makes each of her siblings Takutos' family.

Spoilers end here.

Fan Culture: Her suspicious behavior and moral ambiguity, as well as her quotes regarding power late in season 1, and the unsettling facial expressions made by her in ride 58 have led Suiko to be compared unfavorably with Kyuubey, a Mephistophelean allegory from the popular 2011 anime, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. This quickly gave rise to the minor recurring meme surrounding Suiko's suspicious behavior and her being a "mastermind" behind anything wrong in the series.


Decks and Play Style
Originally Suiko was only shown to fight once, in the manga, and her specific deck was not shown. Her Japanese voice actor, Terakawa Aimi, cardfights at the pro level3 with a Megacolony deck that she describes as "insect love5." At the Fighter's Road 2012 Seiyuus VF Event Stage, Terakawa fought with the rest of her fellow voice actors (each of them using decks based on their own characters') using her Megacolony deck, which was speculated as pointing to Suiko herself using Megacolony4 .

During the Asia Circuit, Suiko is shown to use an Angel Feather deck, to fit the motif that her sisters established for their idol group. Suiko's particular variation emphasizes the Pegasus series of cards, which gain power when cards are added to the damage zone, and capitalizes on this with Chief Nurse, Shamsiel who can swap cards in and out of the zone when she attacks through her limit break. To support Shamsiel, Suiko includes the Doctroid series of cards, which also add cards to the damage zone in order to bring limit break out early. Her play style is generally more defensive than others, preferring to outlast opponents rather than charge them.

As Rekka herself noted that the clan had just been introduced when the Circuit began, and Kourin fought with a Royal Paladin deck in the first season, the possibility remains that Suiko was only using this deck because the other members of Ultra-Rare were doing so at the time. If she was a cardfighter before the VF Circuit, her original deck would have to have been a clan other than Angel Feather due to it not having existed prior to ride 66.

Rides 92-Current: The Hippocampus of God (23/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Hope Child, Turiel (FVG)
x2 Critical Hit Angel CT
x1 Sunny Smile Angel HT
Grade 1
x2 Burst Shot, Bethnael
x3 Pure Keeper, Requiel
x2 Thousand Ray Pegasus
x2 Doctroid Micross
Grade 2
x2 Gatling Shot, Barbiel
x2 Million Ray Pegasus
x2 Doctroid Mechaross
Grade 3
x2 The Phoenix, Calamity Flame
x2 Chief Nurse, Shamsiel

Citations and External Links
1. "Anime Expo 2012." CARDFIGHT!! VANGUARD. Bushiroad, 7 June 2012. Web. 7 June 2012. <http://cf-vanguard.com/en/event/animeexpo2012/#Guest%20Profiles>. 
2. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 6. YouTube, 2012. Web. 7 June 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wePdtdHpHUg&feature=plcp>. 
3. "Aimi Terakawa's Visit to Sabah." World Around Me. Google, 21 December 2012. Web. 31 July 2012. <http://thebeautiful-lifes.blogspot.com/2011/12/aimi-terakawas-visit-to-sabah.html>
4. "About FR2012 Seiyuus VF Event Stage." (σ・∀・)σ. Tumblr, 23 July 2012. Web. 31 July 2012. <http://matibari.tumblr.com/post/27803019647/about-fr2012-seiyuus-vf-event-stage-i-couldnt>
5. "A post about the CFV panel yesterday~" A little bit of everything. Tumblr, 2 July 2012. Web. 4 August 2012. <http://hylianinja.tumblr.com/post/26353842452/a-post-about-the-cfv-panel-yesterday>

Character: "Him"

"If you feel gratitude, please show it to him."

"Him"/
Age: Unconfirmed
Anime Biography: An implied character whom is the root cause of the tragedy one year ago.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
Suiko first alludes to this person in ride 50, during her conversation with Suzugamori Ren on the planet Cray. Rekka is alarmed to see her mention him, but Suiko appears unconcerned, stating that she's certain that Ren will meet him soon. Later on in ride 56 Kourin becomes confrontational with her sister, asking if the fight between Ren and Aichi is "His" will; Suiko refuses to answer, but as she is unwilling to deny it, this is most likely the case.

Though he has not been seen acting directly, this character's presence is felt throughout the first season, as it is him whom first scouted Ren for PSY Qualia, and is most probably responsible for the funding of the Foo Fighter HQ. Evidence for this is present in Ultra-Rare's familiarity in ride 44 with the model of prototype fight system used by the underground fighters, which is the same model used inside the HQ itself.

Ren's flashback in ride 57 provided the first possible view of "Him." In their third press conference Bushiroad confirmed the existence of a new character in the second season, whom is identical to the one previewed. Whether or not this Tatsunagi Takuto and "Him" are the same person is still an open question.

Ultra-Rare appears to be answerable only to "Him." Though in spite of this, Suiko is shown to be the only one with any amount of knowledge as to who he is, beyond being their benefactor.


In ride 64 "He" makes his proper debut, possessing Rekka to use as a means of long-distance communication between Ultra-Rare and himself. This possession appears similar to the visual effects PSY Qualia brings on to Ren and Aichi, and "His" voice during it sounds similar to, albeit at a slightly lower pitch than, the unseen entity which communicated with Aichi in rides 34 and 65. Wishing to personally witness the synchronization of Cray and Earth, "He" explains that Cray is currently at war and that Sendou and Suzugamori are part of a master plan to resolve Cray's civil war.

Spoilers end here. 

Universal Notes: The actual word used to refer to this person is kata, which is gender-neutral and respectful. Like talking about "that gentleman, that lady." So "Him" could be a man or a woman. Hence, this is why Crunchyroll's subtitles started using "you-know-who" in ride 56. A more typical translation would be "person," because 方 is synonymous with (but more polite than) 人 hito.

Fan Culture: The English fanguard took notice of "Him" almost immediately, latching onto the overly detailed background character in ride 57 as his true identity. The aforementioned change in subtitles lead to "His" will invariably being called the "THE WILL OF VOLDEMORT."

Character: Yahagi Kyou

"The guy with the most ability should stand at the top!"
"The Great Kyou rides General Seifried!"

Yahagi Kyou/矢作キョウ
Age: Unconfirmed
Birthday: July 41
Anime Biography: "Crusher Kyou" is rank 4 of the AL4 members, and tends to overestimate his ability as a Vanguard fighter. Like Asaka he gained his position through raw power, but he lacks her enthusiasm for Ren and none-too-subtly conspires against their leader. He uses a Spike Brothers deck, which superior calls other units while attacking in order to make more attacks per turn, using cards like Sky Diver and General Seifried.2

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
Kyou is the only member of AL4 to lose at the first national tournament, and for his loss to Kai is thrown out of Foo Fighter. Broken by his defeat and driven to madness after days of wandering on the streets, Kyou seeks revenge against Kai and Ren by rounding up other expelled Foo Fighters. Hoping to break into the national competition independently, Kyou takes his vengeance team to the next Kanto regional, but his overconfidence once again proves to be his undoing.

Kyou is nothing before Sendou Aichi's PSY Qualia, and as the fight goes on Kyou is gradually reigned in under its power, ending in a hallucination of Ren executing him on the planet Cray much as Aichi would later do to Kourin. His team humbled, they lose confidence in their leader--Kyou will hear none of this, but before he can attempt to convince them to continue with their rebellion, an elite Foo Fighter team, Brilliant Stars, appears before his group. Acting as Ren's personal execution squad, their leader Bidou calls in a crowd of FF enforcers to assault Kyou.3

Yahagi makes one more appearance in ride 53, jeering at the Brilliant Stars' own expulsion from Foo Fighter.

Spoilers end here.

During the Asia Circuit, Kyou and his remnant team resurface, acting independent of the current competition.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
Kyou and his compatriots scheme to draw out Kai Toshiki during the VF Circuit, staging a scenario in which Kyou, under the guise of an abominable snowman, defeats famous fighters from around the world. With the rest of his similarly-disguised team leading said fighters to the "snowman," their plan leads to the defeat of many powerful individuals and to the snowman's rumor spreading, eventually bringing Kai to Kyou's snowfield. As part of "Project Yeti," they would defeat Kai, gain an invitation to the Circuit and then become the top fighters in the world.

Project Yeti is sabotaged by his own underestimation of Kai's strength. In their last turn the mountain at the snowfield's back comes apart from the noise, but Kyou, intending to see the fight through even in death, presses on to make his last damage check. Bitterly telling Kai that Toshiki won by luck, he prepares himself to be swallowed by the avalanche.

Kai carries him free of the snow. Kyou curses him for doing so, insisting that Toshiki will come to regret having ever saved his life, and that one day Yahagi will defeat Kai. He and his accomplices then adapt an unnamed jungle as their base of operations, eventually putting together a plot to travel back to Japan and hijack Souryuu Leon's airplane to the Japan stage of the Circuit, accosting him and his bodyguards and attempting to replace the team in the Japan stage. As in his fight with Sendou however, Kyou is defeated by PSY Qualia.

Spoilers end here.

Manga Biography: Kyou is responsible for overtaking Kamui's old card shop, running out its customers and holding the shop hostage with his fight gloves. Kamui eventually brings Aichi back to face off with Kyou. In the manga he's painted as a more sympathetic character, with something of an inferiority complex and a desire to prove himself. Later on, he even appears friendly toward Aichi.

Universal Notes: His family name contains the kanji for arrow and preparation, coming out as "to build arrows." Kyou is a counterpart to Kamui, made obvious by his use of the "Ore-sama" pronoun.

Fan Culture: Kyou is the subject of much fan derision, based on both his initial outfit and his outfit from two years ago, which give him resemblance to a call girl. His flashback outfit influenced a large influx of art on pixiv, leading to the fan nickname "Flashdance Kyou."

Decks and Playstyle
Kyou uses a Spike Brothers deck, with a heavy focus on removing units from the field to superior call others. This lets him push a highly offensive game, making more attacks per turn than his opponents can. His primary rearguard is Sky Diver, which with assistance from Dudley Dan, can form a combo that superior calls multiple units in a turn. Meanwhile his favored vanguard is General Seifried, which superior calls the grade 3 Spike Brothers that it drive checks.

Ride 30-77: Crusher Kyou (32/50 cards)

Grade 0 
x1 Mecha Trainer 
x1 Silence Joker CT
x3 Cheer Girl Tiara HT
x2 Cheerful Lynx DT
x1 Sonic Breaker CT
Grade 1 
x2 Wonder Boy
x2 Spike Brothers Assault Squad
x3 Dudley Dan
x2 Cheer Girl Marilyn
Grade 2
x3 Treasured, Black Panther
x2 Highspeed, Brakki
x3 Devil Summoner
Grade 3 
x3 Sky Diver
x2 Juggernaut Maximum 
x2 General Seifried

Kyou's deck during the Asia Circuit employs new Cavalry of Black Steel cards, most notably Demonic Lord, Dudley Emperor. The Emperor's limit break allows him to superior call two Spike Brothers units when he attacks, but only to open rearguard circles. Kyou works this into his strategy by cycling his rearguards back into the deck before attacking with Emperor, in one case re-calling the very same Juggernaut he just cycled back in using Emperor's skill.

Notably, when this deck is later used against Joker X in ride 94, it shows several cards retained from his season 1 deck, including Yahagi's famous General Siefired.

Rides 77-Current: Avalanche Crush Rush (24/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Mecha Trainer (FVG)
x2 Cheerful Lynx DT
x1 Cheer Girl, Tiara HT
x1 Silence Joker CT
Grade 1
x2 Wonder Boy
x1 Reckless Express
x2 Cheer Girl, Marylin
x1 Cyclone Blitz
Grade 2
x2 Dudley Douglas
x2 Treasured, Black Panther
x4 Highspeed, Brakki
x1 Panzer Gale
Grade 3
x3 Juggernaut Maximum
x2 Demonic Lord, Dudley Emperor
x1 Sky Diver
x1 General Siefired

Kyou briefly converts to a Megacolony deck as part of his plot to kidnap and replace Souryuu Leon in the VF Circuit, having been inspired by the strength of insects while traveling through an unidentified jungle. The deck's winning image is based on Megacolony's limit breaker, Martial Arts Mutant Master Beetle, using it and support cards to prevent the opponent's cards from standing with counterblast skills. The deck also takes advantage of the opponent's tendency to use every cards on the field to attack, with Tail Joe and Stealth Millipede, who gain power when all of the opponent's cards are rested, forming 11000-power independent units that can attack opposing cards unboosted, as well as a strong 21000+ line with Master Beetle. Interestingly, the denial nature of this deck is more in line with how he plays in the manga than in the anime. While Kyou's lockdown tactics are highly effective versus Souryuu's Aqua Force deck, he ultimately comes out the loser of the fight and jumps back to Spike Brothers when attempting to sabotage the Japan stage of the Circuit.

Ride 94: Break Time (23/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Megacolony Battler C (FVG)
x1 Shrapnel Scorpio CT
x2 Medical Combatant, Lamprey HT
x1 Raider Mantis DT
x1 Shelter Beetle CT
Grade 1
x2 Gloom Flyman
x2 Phantom Black
x3 Paralyze Madonna 
x1 Stealth Millipede
Grade 2
x2 Tail Joe
x1 Bloody Hercules
x2 Lady Bomb
Grade 3
x2 Martial Arts Mutant, Master Beetle
x2 Bewitching Officer, Lady Butterfly

In the manga Kyou uses a Nubatama deck, cutting down the enemy's hand size, but unlike Ninja Master M his particular deck focuses on preventing the opponent from riding. When his Left and Right Arrestors are at rest, the opponents' vanguard cannot stand; Kyou combines this with the skill of Dueling Dragon ZANBAKU, which stops his opponent from riding a grade 3. These effects were not maintained in the conversion from manga to TCG, and his Nubatama cards became their own separate clan, Murakumo.

Chapter 6-Current: Baku Geki Zan (10/50 cards)
Grade 0 
x2 Stealth Beast, Hagakure  
Grade 1 
x1 Stealth Beast, Chigasumi
x1 Stealth Dragon, Dread Master
Grade 2 
x1 Archer, FUSHIMI
x2 Left Arrestor
x1 Right Arrestor
Grade 3 
x1 Dueling Dragon, ZANBAKU
x1 Twin Swordsman, MUSASHI 


1. "Character birthdays." KeroKero Ace Vol. 50 1 Mar. 2012. Print.
2. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 30. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. 
3. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 42. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2012.

Character: Tatsunagi Rekka

"Welcome! You've come to the card shop, PSY!"
"Rekka's Love Love superior ride, Crimson Impact, Metatron!"

Tatsunagi Rekka/立凪レッカ
Age: 131
Voice Actor(s): Nanjou Yoshino3
The youngest of the three sisters comprising Ultra-Rare. Rekka is the most enthusiastic about her job, bringing service with a smile to the idol sisters' show. As the youngest sibling she also appears to carry out their menial work, greeting customers at the door and bringing them coffee.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
While initially she shows a positive view of him, Rekka's view of Suzugamori Ren changes rapidly as he approaches her sister and her in ride 49. Indignant over his using their shop as a rendezvous point, and having to prepare him coffee, Rekka flips her viewpoint once again when he draws her and Suiko into a vision of Cray. Rekka has little time to be amazed however, as Suiko almost immediately discloses the presence of another party at work in the season's events--this puts Rekka on edge immediately, but Suiko dismisses her fears.

Rekka is present when Suiko contracts Ren his card of darkness, but as she appears to know the least of the three sisters about the events surrounding PSY Qualia, she otherwise plays a background role up until her possession in ride 64.

As the synchronization of Cray and Earth is put underway, Rekka is fashioned into "His" host, becoming a voice for Cray. Though she is apparently unconscious for the duration, Rekka unwittingly assumes leadership of PSY while "He" controls her, and attempts to alleviate Kourin's concerns for the Qualia bearers' rapidly decomposing sanity. It is also through her that this entity transports PSY to Cray in order to witness the planet's unity following the Royal Paladins' victory, personally thanking the other girls.

Spoilers end here.

Manga Biography: Though she has yet to make a proper appearance, in volume 6 of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga, it is revealed when joining Aichi's class that her sister Kourin's surname is Tatsunagi, suggesting her to both be direct family to Tatsunagi Takuto and connected to the Tatsunagi financial group. As Kourin, Rekka and Suiko are all confirmed to be sisters, this also makes each of her siblings Takutos' family.

Decks and Play Style
Rekka fights with an Angel Feather2 deck, first seen in ride 69 of the Asia Circuit. Her deck utilizes damage-swap tactics to retrieve cards sent to the damage zone, and powerful heal skills that allow her to recover damage outside of checking heal triggers. This particular build is geared toward the Ray and Phoenix series, cards which gain power when other cards are placed into the damage zone, with Kiriel and her limit break as the deck's centerpiece.

Later in the season Rekka incorporates Crimson series superior ride cards as support for Kiriel, increasing the soul to fuel her Lightning Charger's custom boost skill, while also providing an alternative ride of similar strength from Metatron and a way to bring out Kiriel into the rearguard from the damage zone.

Rides 69-Current: The Gifted and the Brilliant (33/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Thermometer Angel  (FVG: Rides 69-93)
x1 Crimson Heart, Nahas (FVG: 93-onward)
x1 Critical Hit Angel CT
x2 Sunny Smile Angel HT
x1 Rocket Dash Unicorn CT
x1 Bouquet Toss Messenger DT
x1 Rampage Cart Angel CT
Grade 1
x2 Thousand Ray Pegasus
x1 Crutch Rifle Angel
x1 Pure Keeper, Requiel
x1 Burst Shot, Bethnael
x3 Crimson Mind, Baruch
x1 Lightning Charger
Grade 2
x2 Holy Zone, Penemue
x2 Love Machine Gun, Nociel
x1 Gatling Shot, Barbiel
x2 Iron Heart, Mastema
x2 Crimson Drive, Aphrodite
Grade 3
x2 The Phoenix, Calamity Flame
x3 Circular Saw, Kiriel
x3 Crimson Impact, Metatron

Citations and External Links
1. "ウルトラレア." KeroKero Ace Vol. 45 1 Sept. 2011: 22+. Print.
2. Cardfight!! Vanguard Asia Circuit Hen Ride 68. 22 Apr. 2012.  
3. "Yoshino NANJOU." Anime News Network. Web. 22 Apr. 2012 <http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=55281>

Character: Mitsusada Kenji

"I have powerful subjects. That's right, just like Caesar, the emperor of Rome, I combine them to receive great strength."
"The righteous spirit is everlasting and blazes up even higher! Superior crossride! Ultimate Dimensional Robo, Great Daiyusha!"
Mitsusada Kenji/光定ケンジ
Age: Unconfirmed; attending high school
The national champion from two years ago, and the captain of Team Caesar. Kenji loves Roman history and models himself on Gaius Julius Caesar; it's for this reason that he's called "Koutei," the emperor of Team Caesar. Despite his public persona being based on the late dictator, his references to Caesar more often refer to the entire line of emperors named "Caesar" rather than Julius Caesar himself.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow. 
Kenji is the first person shown to fight Suzugamori Ren, facing him in the final match of the season's first national. 

Kenji is humiliated in the fight, defeated by an opponent that's still at grade 2. Humbled by Ren's Qualia, Koutei takes note of the one other team to score a win against Ren's team, and arranges to meet with them through their manager, Nitta Shin. At this training camp, Teams Caesar and Q4 form a powerful bond, working together to improve their decks in preparation for the second half of the tournament season.

Having made friends with Q4's Kai Toshiki, Kenji makes his following appearance at the next national, where he eventually ends up pitted against Sendou Aichi. Though Kenji quickly recognizes Aichi's Soul Saver Dragon strategy and prepares accordingly to negate it, he isn't able to anticipate Sendou bringing out Alfred Early. Ultimately, Kenji loses the match, and sits out the remainder of the season on the sidelines. 
Spoilers end here. 

During the Asia Circuit chapter, Kenji goes on to participate in Tatsunagi Takuto's VF Circuit, renewing his position as Team Caesar's leader. While they come out as strong players in the Singapore stage, scoring several points toward their overall performance, Kenji's real time to shine is in the Seoul stage.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
Koutei eventually ends up in a rematch with his old rival Suzugamori Ren, where he demonstrates the skill that earned him his national title by initiating a superior crossride of the Ultimate Dimension Robo, Great Daiyusha while under the effects of their fight's "Stand 3" special rule. By focusing on creating a strong center line in addition to setting up his superior ride sequence, Koutei surpasses Suzugamori with Great Daiyusha's limit break and comes out as the only member of Caesar to win his match against Team NAL4.


Following the events in Seoul however, Koutei chooses to retire from the competitive scene to attend school at the Singapore Institute of Technology, the same school as Team SIT Genius members Christopher Lo, Lee Hsien Loong and Fajr Ali. Although saddened by having to leave his team behind right in the middle of the Circuit, and plagued by the question of whether he even has a future at SIT while trying to compete with such young prodigies, Koutei chooses to make the trip regardless, vowing to not participate in any tournaments until his graduation.
Spoilers end here.

SDRD Biography: According to Bushiroad's April 1st website, in the Super Dimension Robo Daiyusha spinoff anime, Kenji's father commands the Earth Defense Organization "Caesar." Mitsusada is a first-year highschool student at Jigen High1, who loves robots and is obsessed with model kits. Yuri and Gai are his friends from childhood, and Ren recently transferred into his school. He originally mistook the robot Daiyuusha for a fragment of a falling space shuttle, and was saved by it from the Shadow Paladins at the eleventh hour by the Dimensional Robo. He later persuaded Daiyuusha to join his father's group. Kenji has an inner sense of justice that his new robot friend leads him to discover.

Universal Notes: Koutei's surname, Mitsusada, is written using the kanji 光定. Because Japan's writing system was adopted out of China's, kanji have two readings, the Chinese reading and the Japanese reading. As Yuri explained in ride 26, the Chinese reading of Mitsusada is "Koutei" meaning "Emperor." 

Interestingly, the animation for his Great Daiyusha combination sequence shows Goyusha emerging from Daiyusha after purging his original armor components, suggesting it to be a new configuration rather than an add-on to Daiyusha itself.

Decks and Playstyle
Koutei uses a Dimension Police deck, which initially has Workerpod Saturday as its starter. By ride 56 however, he has switched over to Enigman Flow, using the Enigmen line of cards to maintain a combination of grade security and hand advantage. His deck builds up toward Enigman Storm, which like Daiyusha before it, gains an extra critical when other units' skills are used to power it up in preparation for an attack.

As a finishing move, Koutei brings out Commander Laurel, using the grade 1's skill to rest 4 units and stand his vanguard for an additional twin drive. The attack that follows is very nearly unstoppable.

Rides 33-82: Koutei (30/50 cards)
Grade 0
x3 Workerpod Saturday (FVG: Ride 33)
x1 Enigman Flow (FVG: Present)
x1 Justice Cobalt CT
x2 Guide Dolphin ST
x2 Cosmo Fang ST
Grade 1
x1 Karenloid Daisy
x3 Diamond Ace
x1 Glory Maker
x2 Enigman Ripple
x1 Cosmo Roar
x1 Commander Laurel
Grade 2
x1 Masked Police, Grander
x1 Twin Order
x2 Enigman Wave
x1 Platinum Ace
x2 Cosmo Beak
Grade 3
x1 Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha
x1 Enigman Shine
x3 Enigman Storm

Kenji's second deck makes use of the combining Dimensional Robo units, patterned after the anime super robot boom, and off of the Brave series in particular. Accordingly, he uses the deck's skills to bring together three vehicle units with his first vanguard Goyusha at the center, creating the deck's GaoGaiGar analogue, Ultimate Dimensional Robo, Great Daiyusha. Like his previous deck, this one focuses on creating a powerful vanguard, utilizing the Dimensional Robo soul skills to create an unstoppable center line.

Rides 82-Current: Dictator Super Combination: Burning Justice Sword! (25/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Dimensional Robo, Goyusha
x1 Justice Cobalt CT
x2 Justice Rose HT 
x2 Army Penguin DT
x2 Dimensional Robo, Daibattles CT
Grade 1
x2 Dimensional Robo, Daimariner
x2 Dimensional Robo, Dailander
x2 Speedstar 
x1 Diamond Ace
x1 Glory Maker
Grade 2
x2 Cosmo Beak
x1 Dimensional Robo, Daidragon
x1 Cosmic Rider
Grade 3
x3 Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha
x2 Ultimate Dimensional Robo, Great Daiyusha

1. "Jigen" can mean "Dimension."

Character: Sendou Aichi

"I've become stronger, haven't I? But I'm still not there, am I? I have to become even stronger...or you won't recognize me." 
"Stand up, my avatar...Ride! Blaster Blade!"

Sendou Aichi/先導アイチ
Age: 152
Birthday: June 062
Blood Type: B2
Voice Actor(s): Yonaga Tsubasa (Japanese)3, James Beach (English)4, Jeon Gwang ju(Korean)5
Anime Biography: Series protagonist. A somewhat timid, but gentle boy who has been bullied regularly. Four years ago, Aichi had a sudden encounter with Kai Toshiki, who encouraged him to become stronger and more outgoing. Since then Aichi has respected Kai deeply, and made every effort to engage him in a Vanguard fight. Sendou Emi is his sister, and Sendou Shizuka his mother.

The first season's initial episodes focus on Aichi's personal and emotional growth, as he learns to trust in others and stand on his own feet. This is the time at which Aichi makes the most mistakes in the series, as he is still a beginner, and where his primary character flaw of pursuing greater strength without regard to the harm he does to himself first emerges. With prodding from the manager, Nitta Shin, Aichi eventually enters Card Capital's shop tournament and qualifies to enter the Kanto regional competition. Together with Kai, Misaki and Kamui, Aichi forms Team Quadrifoglio to represent his shop.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
Despite making it past the Kanto regional, Aichi's team is crushed by the competition at the national tournament, withdrawing with a 1-2 win-loss ratio. It's at this time that Aichi first loses faith in himself and those around him, right as he learns that Kai is a former member of the Foo Fighters--the team which ousted his from the national tournament. AL4's leader, Suzugamori Ren, convinces Aichi that he is the weak link on Q4, and that if he had won even a single match at the nationals, they would have made it through the elimination round.

While Aichi attends the joint training camp between Team Q4 and Team Caesar, his self-doubt lingers. At this point, the Qualia that he first felt at the Kanto regional begins to emerge in earnest, and Aichi starts ceding more and more control of his fights to this mysterious power.

From rides 35-42 Aichi begins a gradual descent. His obsession with power blinds the boy, as he continually slips deeper and deeper into PSY Qualia's promises of strength, while losing sight of why he first sought to grow. Rather than make new friends, Aichi pushes others away. And though in ride 23 he was only receptive to the Qualia of others, able to sense--and feel great pain from--the presence of Suzugamori Ren, by 35 he can "hear the voices of the cards" and is no longer the master of his own deckbuilding. As time goes on Aichi's skill with PSY Qualia develops, until he can foresee strategies and start to torture his opponents with visions of Cray.


This power does not come without its drawbacks. PSY Qualia saps Aichi's physical strength, leading to his repeated collapse in the second Kanto regional and Tokyo national.

From rides 43-50 Aichi's relentless pursuit of strength wears on him until it brings the young fighter to his knees. The power of PSY Qualia gradually turns Aichi into a second Suzugamori Ren, until Ren himself is drawn to the boy and accelerates the Qualia's growth by offering Aichi a Shadow Paladin deck. In a vain attempt at securing himself as invincible, Aichi agrees to use the Shadow Paladins in his upcoming national fights, and in doing so sees his team past the elimination round where his Royal Paladins had failed him once before.

In ride 50 Kai finally confronts Aichi with the aid of Kourin and the underground fighters. During this fight, Aichi unleashes all of his rage and solipsism on Kai, making every attempt to torment the man he once admired;

"I've gotten stronger. I'm not the same person that I was long ago. Why? Why won't you understand?! I'm strong! I got strong!"
"Now you'll admit that I've gotten strong, right?! To fight you! Come on, look, Kai! This is my power!"
Surpassing Qualia before the boy's very eyes, Kai breaks Aichi's strategy using his friend's Royal Paladin deck against him. Kai pulls a surprise move by riding what was Aichi's signature card in the manga, Alfred Early, to make Aichi understand that real strength is found in the self and one's friends, not in the abstract supernatural. Realizing that Qualia has only made him weaker, Aichi surrenders and takes back his old deck, reconstructing it to face off with Ren in the national competition.

Aichi approaches Suzugamori Ren during the opening ceremony, attempting to return his old Shadow Paladin deck. With disdain for the separate path Aichi has chosen to walk along with PSY Qualia, Ren casts aside the cards, marking Aichi as his enemy.

On the first day of the final rounds, he pulls off an advanced form of his old Blaster Blade tactics, defeating former national champion Mitsusada "Koutei" Kenji with an Alfred Early ride. Playing his Royal Paladin deck flawlessly, Aichi wins Q4 into the last match against AL4, but that same night is called in by Kourin of Ultra-Rare to witness Kai and Ren's fight at the Foo Fighter HQ.

There Aichi sees Kai floored by Suzugamori's Qualia. In the battle's aftermath, Suiko approaches him with a contract, offering Aichi a choice between a card of darkness and a card of light. Before Aichi can give his answer however, the cards spontaneously converge into Majesty Lord Blaster; Suiko offers no explanation, stating only that she believes this card to befit him.

In the final match Sendou confronts Suzugamori directly, accusing him of making a mistake in rejecting Kai, who had risked himself to reach and save Ren from his wild power. Ren resists Aichi's attempts initially, instead luring him into reawakening his PSY Qualia.

At the moment that Sendou is prepared to show Ren despair, their mutual PSY Qualia finally achieves Ultra-Rare's long standing goal, synchronizing Suzugamori and Sendou's fight on Earth with the ongoing war between Royal and Shadow Paladins on Cray. With Kai's intervention however, Aichi breaks free from his Qualia's grasp once more--only to be left too weak to fight back against Ren, and in question of just who the real Sendou Aichi is.

Unable to guard Phantom Blaster Overlord, Aichi barley scrapes by in the final battle of season 1, pulling a sixth damage heal trigger. In his last turn Majesty responds to the boy, and firming his resolve, Aichi states that he is both the Sendou Aichi who craves power and the Sendou Aichi that rejects power. Turning both light and shadow on Ren, he finishes the battle between them and the war between paladins with Majesty Lord Blaster's skill.

In the ensuing clash, Ren is pulled back to reality. Aichi is crowned Japan's fourth national champion, and following the tournament decides to be the Aichi he always was. After that day, he can no longer feel PSY Qualia. Rather than being bothered by it however, Sendou chooses to fight with his own strength, and not borrowed power.
Spoilers end here.

During Asia Circuit, Aichi reprises his role as the captain of Team Q4. For this season he switches over to the Gold Paladin clan, using the Incandsecent Lion, Blond Ezel and the Great Silver Wolf, Garmore.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
While teaching a new player the rules of Vanguard, Aichi is suddenly drawn into a vision of Cray. Witnessing firsthand the sealing of the Royal and Shadow Paladins, as well as the Kagerou, when he awakens Aichi finds his deck to have been replaced by a Gold Paladin one. Disoriented, he finds that the rest of his teammates believe that he had always used a Gold Paladin deck.

This sudden change comes just in time for Team Q4 to receive a formal invitation to the Asia Circuit in Singapore, hosted by the Tatsunagi Financial Group. Although devastated by the theft of his deck, Aichi quickly reconciles that he needs to assemble the team and fast. After besting Kamui in a fight, he's able to get his comrade traded from Team Handsome into Q4 for the season, and Misaki agrees to attend immediately. Kai however, resolves to find his own path to Takuto.

In Singapore, Sendou misses his chance to speak with Takuto directly, interrupted by the Tatsunagi spire's security. To his surprise, Kourin of Ultra-Rare is familiar with the company top, and assures Aichi that success in the Circuit will allow him to meet his mysterious stranger. Receiving the Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel as a gift from her, he rebuilds his deck to account for the new card and musters the determination to face the Circuit head-on.

However, Aichi's progress comes to a roaring halt when Tatsunagi Takuto appears before him in his match with Christopher Lo during the tournament finals. Takuto forcibly awakens the two fighters' slumbering Qualia, setting a power-mad Lo on Sendou while Aichi, bewildered and suddenly unfamiliar with Qualia, finds himself unable to rely on the power.

Because of his hesitation, Q4 fails in both Singapore and Seoul, the finals of which are played against Team New AL4. Losing to Suzugamori Ren's revived PSY Qualia and his Spectral Duke Dragon-style Gold Paladins, Sendou is devastated by his loss to his own clan. Spending the following training camp abroad at a resort island, Aichi is advised by Suzugamori to give in to Qualia. However, Ren cautions Aichi that even if he uses the power, he's not guaranteed to win; as Koutei demonstrated versus Ren in Seoul, and as Aichi had in the Japanese finals, PSY Qualia can be surpassed.

Using his old Royal Paladins as inspiration and accepting the Gold Paladins as his comrades rather than as tools, Aichi then constructs a new deck to retrieve his sealed clan with, making its formal debut in Hong Kong.

This ends in failure due to his defeat at the hands of Souryuu Leon, forcing Aichi to reconcile his defeat with what he had learned at the training camp. One more time, Sendou approaches Suiko at the card shop PSY, seeking help from Ultra-Rare in becoming strong enough to pass through the final stage of the Circuit, the Japan stage. Although confident at his strength within his own country, Aichi is nonetheless overcome with doubt from his failures at Singapore, Seoul and Hong Kong, and these doubts manifest in full in his third fight versus Kourin.

Ultimately Aichi defeats her by mastering the Gold Paladin play style, and leaves PSY with a new card handed out to him spontaneously by the shop, seemingly in response to his growth. Aichi then restructures his deck once more, this time redesigning it around two cards; the Incadescent Lion, Blond Ezel that he received from Kourin, and the Blazing Lion, Platina Ezel that willed itself to him.

Following the close of the Japan Stage of the VF Circuit, and the start of the Final Stage, Aichi is able to finally achieve his goal of reaching Takuto. Within moments however, he and the other qualified cardfighters are drawn into a space created by Takuto to connect Earth to the planet Cray. There, Takuto reveals the full extent of his plot. The sealing of the three clans was masterminded by Void, a malevolent force of nothingness which seeks to overtake Cray entirely and wipe out all life. This was done to cripple Cray and prevent it from fighting back, and the plot worked, throwing the once-united planet back into chaos. Just as Suiko once manipulated Aichi and Ren to create individuals with powerful Qualia to put an end to the civil war, without regard to ethics or the sanity of those individuals, Takuto orchestrated the VF Circuit to select for four such individuals to lead Cray out from the chaos and defeat Void.

However, the plan is not perfect. Souryuu Leon, the last heir to the Souryuu family and the legendary savior of both them and Aqua Force, infiltrated the VF Circuit as a double agent for Void. With his wildly-evolved PSY Qualia and mastery of the powers that Void handed to him, Souryuu betrays Tatsunagi, draining him of his own powers and leaving the boy for dead.

When accused of betraying Cray itself, Leon reminds Takuto that the Tatsunagi family is not sinless. Despite later claiming to "trust" the leaders that he selected, Takuto used the VF Circuit winners as pawns just as Leon is now using him. To prevent the total annihilation of his family line and unseal the Aqua Force that had been abandoned by the clans that he is now turning the tide against, Leon is willing to temporarily bend his knee to Void. Encouraging the others to listen to their own wind rather than Takuto himself, Leon makes headway for the end of the constructed space, reinforcing himself with Void's power in preparation to do battle with any who would stand in Void's way.

"The tragedy that once befell the Souryuu people will happen to the entire Earth. The land will rot. The seas will dry up. All of Earth's blessings will be lost. All of life will be robbed of the will to live...Earth will become a planet of death."
With the leaders scattered inside of the space, Sendou consults Takuto for advice. Claiming that Leon's ambition is blinding him and that, should Void complete its journey from Cray to Earth through his space the entire world will feel the Souryuu tragedy, Tatsunagi persuades Aichi to use his Qualia to hunt down Leon and defeat him. Losers are not permitted to exist inside of the path to Cray. To lose a cardfight there is "the same as death," so by exploiting this principle they can stop Leon and confront Void directly.

Aichi agrees to Takuto's plan, and along the way receives guidance from the sealed Blaster Blade, but finds his path obstructed by Chris, whose Qualia has evolved completely beyond his control and left him as the same shell of his former self as Aichi had been late in the first season. To oppose him, Sendou brings out his Blazing Lion crossride and seizes the power of an ultimate break, completely overwhelming Lo and upsetting his "foregone conclusion" just as Kai had once done for Aichi.

While Christopher is brought back to his senses before vanishing from the space, the delay ends in unnecessary casualties. Aichi arrives too late to confront Leon himself, leading Kai and NAL4 to take his place. Despite Kai having his own legendary crossride, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD" to fight with, Leon's Qualia renders himself virtually invincible and brings out Aqua Force's own keystone play. Like Chris, Kai has suffered defeat, and disappears pleading with Aichi to stop Leon.

The fight is an uphill battle for Aichi, with no clear way for either side to take advantage. For every move that he makes, Souryuu has a countermove prepared, and Sendou is forced to call on the power of his PSY Qualia that he had once resisted, to destroy Leon. Just when it seems that the tide would have turned however, with Blaster Blade spontaneously responding to his feelings as the Gold Paladin Blaster Blade Spirit, Souryuu raises up his own trump card: Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom.

Back into a corner and wholly reliant on a heal trigger to bring him through, Aichi turns to the borrowed power of the Gold Paladins and Platina Ezel to finish off Glory Maelstrom, repelling Void from Cray.

In the final stage held the next day, in the finals Aichi once more defeats Christopher Lo, becoming the VF Circuit international champion.
Spoilers end here.

At the start of Link Joker, Aichi transfers into Miyaji Academy for high school, where he finds his hobby put down by peers and teachers alike, who are more concerned with academic studies and issues of globalization than games. Having to cope with being talked down to like a child and unable to find a school club or friends to fit in with, Sendou eventually convinces his classmate Ishida Naoki to try a cardfight with him. Ishida, though initially reluctant, becomes fired up by the game and eventually buys a Narukami trial deck, forming a small bond with Sendou.

Aichi's primary struggle in the third season becomes the distance between himself and his old friends, reverting to his timid personality in an alienating environment like Miyaji, and the relative uselessness of his hobby in comparison to a serious world of academia where most of his classmates are preparing for college rather than playing card games.

Manga Biography: In the manga, Aichi was originally a student along with his sister at Miyaji Academy elementary. He later transferred to Hitsue for middle school after facing severe bullying at Miyaji, and would later go on to meet Kai in Card Capital. While he would meet Misaki and Kamui as in the anime, their shop's spontaneous invasion by the Foo Fighters forces the Card Capital gang to strike back and try to regain Kamui's shop from gang's control.

Spoiler warning: Manga details follow.
While fighting Kyou, one of Ren's underlings, Sendou undergoes a gradual enlightenment in hearing the voices of the cards, and as his newfound powers develop he becomes more ruthless in battle.

Their struggle to stop the Foo Fighters' use of fight gloves, electroshock instruments which torture the user when they take damage, eventually culminates in Kai mounting his own independent counterattack at Suzugamori's apartment. Aichi watches Kai's Dragonic Waterfall suffer defeat at the hands of Phantom Blaster Dragon, and is subsequently drawn into a mirror match with Ren's Shadow Paladin deck. Trying to understand Ren's feelings of hatred and despair, Sendou is eventually able to finish him with a last-minute draw into Exculpate the Blaster, realizing through communication through their Qualia that Suzugamori had been subject to the same sadness and bullying that he himself had been.
Spoilers end here.

In volume 6 Sendou transfers back into Miyaji for high school, intending to confront his past. He eventually participates in the Asia Circuit national tournament, placing first, with Koutei coming in second and Ren in third. To his surprise, Tatsunagi Kourin joins his class, just after the first meeting at the Circuit award ceremony. Rather than the King of Knights, Alfred, Aichi's manga self uses Alfred Early as his primary grade 3 unit, and he begins the story using Graeme instead of Stardust Trumpeter as his FVG. However, Soul Saver Dragon is still supported by his deck.

Universal Notes: In all incarnations Aichi uses the Japanese pronoun "Boku," a pronoun used exclusively for male speakers. "Boku" is a nonthreatening pronoun reserved for young boys, and has largely been replaced by more masculine or assertive pronouns in daily speaking. His counterpart in the series in Ren, which is all but stated by their actions in rides 43 and 50, and Suiko's narration at the end of the latter episode. The two also share opposing birthdays, as Aichi was born on 6/6 while Ren was born on 12/12.

Fan Culture: The alternate Aichi seen in rides 43-50 is frequently called "Yandere Aichi" by fans, combining his name with a Japanese term for a sociopathic character in a relationship (usually the girl, though it can go both ways) who murders her rivals for someone's affection, or murders the person they love so that no one else can have them.

Decks and Play Style
Main Article: Evolution of Sendou Aichi's Play Style

Tied to his personal theme of friendship, Aichi uses a Royal Paladin deck for the majority of the series, which focuses on swarming the field with many other units that are weak individually but powerful together. Aichi's strategy primarily uses a superior ride and deck-searching skill to ride Blaster Blade as his grade 2 vanguard, then utilizing Blade's skill to retire opponent rearguards. He also adapts two other tactics for his deck early on; the first is riding the King of Knights, Alfred as his grade 3 and calling other units to increase Alfred's power, and the second is to ride Soul Saver Dragon and give power increases to his already-called rearguards.

Rides 1-34 (47/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Barcgal (FVG: Rides 8-34)
x2 Stardust Trumpeter (FVG: Rides 1-7)
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3

Aichi's second deck is a modification to his first, perfected using cards from the second and third booster sets. With Yuri's coaching he's able to create a winning image, using High Dog Breeder, Akane and Pongal to add Soul Saver Dragon to his hand, then using the Saver Dragon's skill to empower his rearguards. While the tactics he employs with this deck are nearly the same as his first, they are refined to omit unnecessary cards and achieve his intended results more quickly.

Rides 35-42 & 51 (39/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Barcgal (FVG)
x3 Flogal ST
x2 Future Knight, Llew CT
x2 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x1 Little Fae Marching Band ST
x2 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x1 Margal DT
Grade 1
x3 Little Sage, Marron
x2 Young Pegasus Knight
x1 Wingal (PR/0007)
x2 Pongal
x1 Soul Guiding Elf
x2 Flash Shield, Iseult
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Blade
x2 High-Dog Breeder, Akane
x1 Gigantic Dozer
x1 Knight of Truth, Gordon
x2 Knight of Silence, Gallatin (BT01/021)
x2 Swordsman of the Blaze, Palamedes
Grade 3
x1 Solitary Knight, Gancelot
x3 Soul Saver Dragon
x1 King of Knights, Alfred
x1 Swordsman of Explosive Flames, Palamedes
x1 Alfred Early

Aichi's key cards while using his Shadow Paladin deck are Blaster Dark and Phantom Blaster Dragon. His strategy is to use Fullbau and Blaster Javelin to add Dark to his hand from the deck, keeping card advantage early in the game, then using the Blaster Dragon's skill to retire his rearguards for extra power and critical. Worth noting, though Aichi puts every effort into riding Phantom Blaster Dragon during his four fights held with this deck, he only ever hits with its Damned Charging Lance in half of his fights, against Bidou and Gunji. In general, while Aichi plays Shadow Paladins well, he lacks the same level of skill that he had with his own Royal Paladins and his strategy lacks the offensive push that Ren's does.

Rides 43-50 (30/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Fullbau (FVG)
x3 Grim Reaper CT
x1 Abyss Healer HT
x1 Abyss Freezer DT
x1 Darkside Trumpeter ST
Grade 1
x2 Blaster Javelin
x2 Black Sage, Charon
x2 Doranbau
x2 Nostrum Witch, Arianrhod
x2 Dark Shield, Mac Lir
Grade 2
x2 Blaster Dark
x3 Skull Witch, Nemain
x3 Dark Knight, Rugos
Grade 3
x2 Phantom Blaster Dragon
x1 Dark Metal Dragon
x2 Dark Mage, Badhabh Catha

Though incomplete, Aichi's fourth deck is shown to use cards from BT05 in a form that builds in concert with his old strategies. His new starter accommodates for the September 5th Barcgal ban, and Alfred Early is now implemented with the intent of bringing out Blaster Blade a second time.

Sendou's final deck of season one is a mix deck, incorporating Blaster Dark into it. This build is supported by his count of "Blaster" deck searchers--Wingal Brave and Starcall Trumpeter--as well as rearguards themed around having a "Blaster" vanguard.

Rides 51-66 (37/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x1 Barcgal
x1 Flogal ST
x1 Future Knight, Llew CT
x2 Quiet Sage, Sharon ST
x1 Margal DT
x1 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x1 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x1 Alabaster Owl CT
Grade 1
x3 Little Sage, Marron
x1 Flash Shield, Iseult
x3 Knight of Friendship, Kay
x2 Pongal
x2 Lake Maiden, Lien
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Blade
x1 Knight of Loyalty, Bedivere
x1 Knight of Truth, Gordon
x1 High-Dog Breeder, Akane
x2 Knight of Silence, Gallatin (BT01/021)
x2 Starcall Trumpeter
x2 Blaster Dark
Grade 3
x2 Soul Saver Dragon
x1 Swordsman of Exploding Flames, Palamedes
x1 Alfred Early
x1 Solitary Knight, Gancelot
x1 Majesty Lord Blaster

During the Asia Circuit, Sendou is forced to switch temporarily to a Gold Paladin deck. This new deck, rather than being an outgrowth of the primary style he developed as a Royal Paladin cardfighter, shows heavy influence from the King of Knights strategy Aichi developed early in season 1. Using the Great Silver Wolf, Garmall he can superior call a grade 2 or lower Gold Paladin unit, and use his limit break to gain power while attacking vanguard units.

Rides 66-70 (24/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Grassland Breeze, Sagramore (FVG)
x1 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x1 Elixir Sommelier HT
x1 Fortune Bell ST
x1 Silent Punisher CT
Grade 1
x2 Precipice Whirlwind, Sagramore
x1 Blessing Owl
x1 Charjgal
x2 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x1 Silver Fang Witch
x2 Evil Slaying Swordman, Haugan
Grade 2
x1 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x2 Sacred Guardian Beast, Nemean Lion
x2 Sleygal Sword
x1 Charging Chariot Knight
Grade 3
x1 Great Silver Wolf, Garmore
x1 Sleygal Double-Edge
x2 Battlefield Storm, Sagramore

In anticipation of the upcoming Asia Circuit, Aichi reconstructs his deck shortly after arriving in Singapore in ride 70. His new construction uses the Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel he received as a gift from Kourin as its focus, pressing the game with the unit's limit break. To strengthen his early game, Aichi switches his first vanguard to Kyrph, using its skill in conjunction with Beaumains and Gareth to superior ride Ezel.

Rides 71-85 (32/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Crimson Lion Cub, Kyrph (FVG)
x2 Silent Punisher CT
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x1 Elixir Sommelier HT
x2 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x2 Greeting Drummer ST
Grade 1
x2 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x2 Player of the Holy Axe, Nimue
x3 Silver Fang Witch
x1 Little Battler, Tron
x2 Halo Shield, Mark
x1 Sleygal Dagger
Grade 2
x2 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x3 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x1 Sleygal Sword
Grade 3
x1 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x2 Knight of Fury, Agravain
x2 Battlefield Storm, Sagramore

Built in the style of his previous Royal Paladin decks, Aichi's third Gold deck omits Kyrph much as his last Royal deck omitted Barcgal. Using Spring Breeze Messenger as his new first vanguard, Sendou gears this deck toward superior calling key units to prepare for following turns, planning out his fights step by step. As a followup tactic, Spring Breeze and Viviane are used in the hopes of calling out Lop Ear Shooter, who can then call White Hare in the Moon's Shadow, Pellinore to activate Pellinore's superior ride mid-battle, standing his vanguard much as Suzugamori Ren had done earlier in the season with Spectral Duke Dragon. This deck is one of his definitive builds of the season, bringing together all of his past strategies along with what he had learned from the fighters he met overseas.

Rides 86-95 (35/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Spring Breeze Messenger (FVG)
x3 Speeder Hound DT
x1 Elixir Sommelier HT
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x2 Silent Punisher CT
Grade 1
x2 Player of the Holy Axe, Nimue
x2 Listener of Truth, Dindrane
x1 Halo Shield, Mark
x2 Blade Feather Valkyrie
x1 Little Battle, Tron
x2 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
Grade 2
x4 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x2 Lop Ear Shooter
x2 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x2 Flash Edge Valkyrie
x1 Gigantech Commander
Grade 3
x1 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x2 White Hare in the Moon's Shadow, Pellinore
x2 Sleygal Double-Edge

Aichi's final deck of the season is built in the style of his final Royal Paladin deck, converting to Ezel-based skills rather than Blaster-based ones. Despite this return to an Ezel focus, Sendou continues to avoid Kyrph, instead relying on a card with more targets, Dreaming Sage Corron. With Corron he can search out any piece in the Ezel crossride series, adding either Blond Ezel or Platina Ezel to his hand at will. Because of this new focus, the deck is reoriented around quickly putting together an ideal field using Ezel, Nimue, Kahedin and Silver Fang Witch, to bolster its strength with Platina afterward. Sendou treats Platina much as he once did Soul Saver Dragon, relying on his ultimate break only for the turn that he rides him rather than sitting on its high base power and waiting to use the break later. Despite the superior speed that War-horse, Raging Storm could afford him, Sendou's take on the deck eschews this card and as a result is somewhat slow.

Rides 95-104 (31/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Dreaming Sage, Corron (FVG)
x2 Dantengal CT
x2 Elixir Sommelier HT
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x1 Silent Punisher CT
Grade 1
x2 Halo Shield, Mark
x3 Player of the Holy Axe, Nimue
x2 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x2 Silver Fang Witch
x1 Advance of the Black Chains, Kahedin
Grade 2
x1 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x2 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x1 Knight of Passion, Bagdemagus
x1 Blaster Blade Spirit
Grade 3
x1 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x2 Battlefield Storm, Sagramore
x1 Great Silver Wolf, Garmore
x3 White Hare in the Moon's Shadow, Pellinore
x1 Blazing Lion, Platina Ezel

Following the unsealing of the Royal Paladins and the beginning of the third season, rather than converting back to the clan that he had used for four years previously, Sendou chooses to stay by the Gold Paladins and rebuild his deck around the cards that he relied on in the first season, reimagined as Gold Paladins. These cards, drawing from the Liberator subgroup, each gain power for having either a vanguard or a certain number of rearguards with "Liberator" in their name. Despite being less developed compared to his previous decks, Sendou is nonetheless extremely proficient with his new strategy, based on a combination of Blaster and Soul Saver play. The Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred, rounds out the strategy by bringing him the base 11000 defense that he enjoyed under Phantom Blaster and a limit break that gives him +2000 power for each Liberator rearguard, without the restriction of being unboostable. This gives Sendou a powerful late game, able to reach numbers that Alfred never could previously.

Rides 105-Current (31/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Angelic Liberator (FVG: 105-108)
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG: 108-Current)
x1 Fortune Liberator ST
x2 Elixir Liberator HT
x2 Weapons Liberator, Gwydion DT
x2 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x1 Flogal Liberator ST
Grade 1
x2 Little Liberator, Marron
x1 Future Liberator, Llew
x2 Pomerugal Liberator
x1 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x2 Halo Liberator, Mark
x1 Liberator, Flare Mane Stallion
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Blade Liberator
x2 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
x1 Zoegal Liberator
x2 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x2 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
Grade 3
x1 Dignified Gold Dragon
x3 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot
x1 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred

Aichi's manga deck is, like his initial anime deck, built with Blaster Blade and Soul Saver Dragon in mind. However, his primary grade 3 is Alfred Early. Aichi plays much more conservatively in the manga, rarely calling any units except to rush the opponent when riding to grade 3, and is less aggressive with deck searching. Beginning with volume 6, Sendou starts to incorporate Blaster Javelin Normally as a key grade 2 ride, soulcharging two units to call two High Beasts. Exculpate the Blaster is included as a temporary transformation sequence for Blaster Blade, to wipe out his opponent's field and overwhelm them with power derived from an alternative soulblast.

Chapter 1-Current (19/50 cards)
Grade 0
x2 Graeme (FVG)
x1 Flogal ST
x1 Giro
x1 Margal DT
x1 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
Grade 1
x1 Little Sage, Marron
x1 Mirubiru
x1 Knight Squire, Alen
x1 Wingal
x1 Guiding Sage, Zenon
x1 Flash Shield, Iseult
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Blade
x1 Knight of Silence, Gallatin
x1 Patriotic Sage, Benon
x1 Blaster Javelin Normally
Grade 3
x1 Alfred Early
x1 Soul Saver Dragon
x1 Exculpate the Blaster

Citations and External Links
1. "先導アイチ." KeroKero Ace Vol. 45 1 Sept. 2011: 2-6. Print.
2. "AICHI SENDOU." KeroKero Ace Vol. 51 1 Apr. 2012. Print. 
3. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 14. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
4. "Cardfight!! Vanguard English Version - NicoNico Channel." NicoNico Channel. NicoNico Douga, 11 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://ch.nicovideo.jp/channel/vanguard-dub>. 
5. "Aichi Sendo." MyAnimeList. CraveOnline Media, LLC., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://myanimelist.net/character/39539/Aichi_Sendo>.