News: Aichi Returns as PSY Qualia Zombie in Cardfight!! Vanguard Manga

Now, will you all fight? Against me...

A commercial for the next month's issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine has starred Yonaga Tsubasa in the role of Sendou Aichi, awakened from his sleep in the ongoing chapters of Itou Akira's Cardfight!! Vanguard manga. The current story thread concerns Aichi having been turned into a PSY Qualia zombie after losing a fight against another zombified character in a previous issue. PSY Qualia zombies approximately equate to the Link Joker chapter of the anime's Яeverse cardfighters, but originate from Ibuki Kouji and a partner antagonist "Cold Walker" rather than Void. Unlike Яeversed fighters, zombies are endowed with the PSY Qualia ability to see the future of a fight. The original commercial, along with a transcript and translation of Aichi's lines, is provided below.

While the anime presented a hypothetical scenario of Aichi being Яeversed in episode 144, this was never realized during the course of the Link Joker chapter's run. Previously Itou stated through Twitter that he first proposed the Яeverse concept to the anime staff; it's likely that he took influence from the anime's unrealized scenario. The Monthly Bushiroad commercial below provides a quick view of the upcoming chapters of both Cardfight!! Vanguard and Cardfight!! Vanguard G, as well as the issue's PR♥ISM-Duo promotional cards.

月刊ブシロード。
Monthly Bushiroad.
さあ、ファイトしましょうよ。僕と…ふふ。
Now, will you all fight? Against me...Haha.
新世代の彼だって僕を止められない。
Even the new generation cannot stop me.
聞こえる、白と黒のハーモニー。もう限界などないのです。
I can hear it, the Harmony of white and black. Soon, there will be no more limits!
イメージしてください。その先に見える、新たな世界を。
Please picture it. That which you saw before, a new world.
月刊ブシロード七月号。六月四日発売！
Monthly Bushiroad, July issue. On sale June 8th!

Analysis: Leon & Aqua Force

Ride 90 raised a number of interesting points about the Circuit's current mystery man, Souryuu Leon. Like Ren before him, Leon arrives at the center of a general arc shift that leads towards the answers to this season's questions. His introduction bring with it a number of important points from which we can glean clues toward this season, most tellingly the history of the Souryuu line.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 and Asia Circuit spoilers follow.

Leon phrases his family history as "a fairy tale." This is an important point to take note of, because it points out that the history of the Souryuu family is just as legendary as Aqua Force itself. The tale's basic narrative describes an event that actually happened, but the specifics of how it happened may differ significantly from reality. The entire text of the tale is given below.

"It's a story that took place long, long ago. There were rivalries between several clans here on Cray, and history told the tales of their conflicts. But then their longstanding state of chaos came to an end.

A clan with the mighty power of righteousness appeared, overwhelming the other clans, taking over Cray, and enforcing strict discipline. This absolutely invincible armada was Aqua Force. Because of Aqua Force, the now-orderly Cray entered an age of peace.

And then, my predecessors, the Souryu people who wielded the Aqua Force power, gained power in our world, until they controlled the Seven Seas.

However, these days of glory, which they thought would last forever, suddenly came to an end. All of the Aqua Force soldiers disappeared. No one knows the details of what happened.

The repercussions of the disappearance of that clan extended to this world. Aqua Force's power was lost. As a result, the Souryu people were driven away from the Seven Seas. Somewhere along the line, the very existence of Aqua Force became a legend. Only my family, the last of the Souryu, knows the truth about Aqua Force as we pass it down through the generations."

Several key points are made within Leon's "fairy tale." First, the Souryuu family itself is just one group of remnants of an entire ethnic group, the Souryuu people. And second, this is "ancient history"--old enough that Doctor O points out that he never even saw Aqua Force within his own lifetime up to now, old enough that Leon spent his entire life with Aqua Force sealed. And the style of ship shown in the flashbacks is even older than that, being a Chinese junk rig that dates back from the Han dynasty, opening the possibility for the Souryuu-Force dominance to have taken place as early as 2000-1800 years ago. While this is a far cry from how Aichi explained Vanguard in the first season as being just the game that gets the most of their attention right now, it does provide some sense of scale for how far back the Souryuu line is intended to go. Thematically their history is a classic exodus of an ethnic group, similar to how the Ainu inhabitants of Japan were driven north by the South Korean immigrants that would become today's Japanese, or to the Jewish exodus from Egypt.

Third, statements regarding the state of Cray. Leon notes that before Aqua Force's first control of the planet, rivalries between different clans had arisen. Although the anime does love to go on about clan-based clashes, most of the conflicts seen in the card lore are between nations, and the flashbacks accompanying Leon's narration seem to reflect that. The units fighting all belong to the Dragon Empire, United Sanctuary, Star Gate, Zoo or Magallanica; their individual conflicts in these scenes also line up, with Megacolony units fighting the Nova Grapplers (some of whom have ties to the Dimension Police, Megacolony's extradimensional enemy), the Megacolony fighting Granblue (border nations, although Magallanica's status as a physical "country" is dubious) and the Dragon Empire fighting whomever is available (how they are breathing underwater is an open question.) This is interesting because after the Force was sealed but before the Royal-Shadow civil war came about in BT04, these nations were in similar political positions. Dragon Empire was seeking to expand its borders (primarily into the US that they were rammed up against), the Dimension Police and undercover-Police-in-Nova-Grappler that turned up in BT03 and 02 were fighting Megacolony, and Zoo's only opponent was once again, the (at the time) two Magallanica clans. It seems that these conflicts are Cray's natural state, and without any governing force to stop them, the different nations go right back to fighting one another.

Now, what did the Aqua Force accomplish? Nation-clan unity. All of the different clans, and nations as well, obeyed Aqua Force's concept of justice and strict discipline, organizing the entire planet of Cray under one banner. And what did the Royal-Shadow-Kagerou coalition force accomplish? The very same nation-clan unity. As Takuto observed in ride 66, "You'd think this army would be able to fight and vanquish any enemy." Both unifications ended with an outside party sealing the clans responsible for leading Cray. Yet this force made no immediate moves after breaking the armies apart, seemingly satisfied that the planet was once more divided. The outside party that created these seals seems to wish only to preserve Cray's perpetual war between the divided nations, possibly out of fear for what a united army could accomplish against them. The mass invasion seen toward the end of the first season, and the subsequent sealing of the Royal Paladins, Shadow Paladins and Kagerou seems to be a drastic measure taken in response to the clan leaders becoming too powerful--both the Royals and Shadows were seeking to unite the world, only with the Shadow Paladins operating an autocratic society over a federation, so had the outside party merely sealed the Royal Paladins, Blaster Dark's faction would have stepped in right away to fill the power vacuum. And had they both been sealed, it would create a power imbalance between Dragonic Overlord The End and the rest of the world, letting the Dragon Empire (easily the largest of any individual nation) unite Cray in the same way as Aqua Force.

Aichi's conclusion is that Aqua Force disappeared in the same way that the Royal Paladins did. Along with the previous idea, this point clears Aqua Force's name. In the months leading up to BT08's release, Aqua Force was--based on its card lore as a once-sealed set of heroes suddenly returning without explanation to impose their "justice" on Cray--speculated to be the invaders from rides 63-66 that the Royal Paladins led Cray's coalition force against, and were subsequently sealed by. The idea was that AquaFo had somehow unsealed itself by trading the other clans' heroes in. In addition to their lore and the timing of their release coinciding with three other clans being sealed, it would naturally make sense for a new antagonist's clan to be the culprit.

However, since AquaFo was sealed in the same way as Kagerou, the Royal and Shadow Paladins, then there is no room for them to be the culprit as the means of sealing is clearly not in their hands. Furthermore, for AquaFo to also have been sealed by this means and be sealed by it beforehand requires more "masterminds" than if the same group sealed all four clans. Ride 63 clearly posits this mystery antagonist as a solidified, united front rather than two warring factions. Trying to integrate two masterminds makes the theory too complicated.

The trouble with ruling out Aqua Force is that they were the strongest candidate until now, especially given the importance given to the dragon silhouette in OP03 and Aqua Force's introductions of Navalgazer and Blue Storm Dragons. In terms of other Ito productions, on first viewing the silhouette in my mind immediately recalled the Wicked Eraser from Yu-Gi-Oh! R, much in the same way that Phantom Blaster Dragon evoked The Wicked Dreadroot or The Wicked Avatar's Obelisk/Dreadroot forms. Closer examination reveals prominent horns and legs on the silhouette more in line with a traditional Chinese dragon, putting the validity of this comparison into question. Put simply, the best mysteries have their answers in plain site. Cardfight's previous season relied on that model for conveying information about Suiko, but its overarching storyline required less digging, as answers to questions like Takuto's initial appearance were instead squirreled away in subsequent episodes. In all likelihood, we're back to the sealing party being a clan that we've never met, and will still not meet until later episodes.

Point four is the added stress on Earth and Cray being connected. Suiko wanted to manipulate Qualia bearers into synchronizing Cray and Earth in the first season, to cause the cardfights on Earth to permanently shift the power balance on Cray, although she did this without a particular favorite as to who the balance would shift towards. Leon's narrative however, describes the Souryuu people from falling into decline after Aqua Force was sealed, going from unrivaled dominance over the seven seas to a fringe island people shrouded in legend. This is the first time that we hear of Cray affecting Earth on a large scale, as opposed to Earth affecting Cray, and establishes that the connection runs both ways. Leon seems to be manipulating this principle in the reverse of how Suiko did--to bring his family back into power over the world, he cardfights with the Aqua Force clan that they are connected (possibly synchronized to), so that the Aqua Force on Cray will become unsealed and rule over Cray once more. If Aqua Force dominates Cray, then it follows that the Souryuu family dominate Earth.

As a closing point on Souryuu history, Leon does not actually make reference to "cards" in the history. The way in which he talks about Aqua Force as wielded by the Souryuu people refers to it as "the Aqua Force power" suggesting that rather than their dominance coming from a card game, the Souryuu people had some other means of connecting themselves to Aqua Force. Given that the series openly mocked the idea of an ancient card game back in ride 84, it's unlikely that Cray's previous interactions with Earth were in the fashion of a two-thousand-year-old TCG.

Note that Leon is lying in paragraph 4. First he states that "no one" knows what happened, but when explaining his motivations he references a "seal," suggesting that there is an unstated portion of this "fairy tale" that refers to the Aqua Force being sealed, which as mentioned is a fact already corroborated by the card lore. In paragraph 5 he says "My family [...] knows the truth about Aqua Force" expanding the scope of knowledge to the entire Souryuu family. All we can really conclude from this is that Leon is not an exclusively reliable narrator. In addition to this, the Souryuu people have a prophecy regarding Leon himself, recorded here for reference;

"When a star in the eastern sky glitters, a Souryu child shall come. From infancy, that child will be embraced by the wind and proclaim justice throughout the world. All nations will witness the second coming of the Souryu. That's a prophecy passed down to my people, the Souryu. And I am that Souryu child!

I will be victorious at this VF Circuit and make it known to humans all over the world...that Aqua Force has come back! That's when the seal will be lifted, and the day will come when my family once more holds sway over the world."

The star in the eastern sky may be a reference to the end of season 1, which does indeed have a "star" (actually "His" inner circle) rise up in the eastern sky (the sky of Japan.) Confusingly, the part stating that a Souryu child "shall come" does not seem to refer to the birth of the child, but instead to them coming to the land of that eastern sky, Japan.

The verb used in the prophesy itself is 来る kiru, which in Japanese usually refers to the direction of coming or approaching to a place, not to coming into existence as is common in English. Interestingly, the prophecy itself is chronologically the first Earth-recorded mention of contact with Cray and of PSY Qualia, which the Souryuu family knows as "the wind." Compare Cray's legends from ride 64, in which Qualia is only implied through mention of "vanguards" that would determine the outcome of conflicts on Cray.

"When those two activated their Psyqualia for the first time, they became the Vanguards told of in our legends. The ones who will deal with the chaos on our world and lead us down the correct path. The true power of Psyqualia involves synchronizing those who possess that ability with our world. [...] Similar situations have happened in the past. But each time, the former Vanguards were leaders..."

In these last two lines, "He" made the first known mention of the Souryuu family in the series, suggesting the connection between a human vanguard becoming a leader on Earth coinciding with a clan's wartime dominance on Cray.

Unlike Aichi but more similar to Ren, Leon is able to use his Qualia outside of a fight, visually represented by a clouded blue sky--even in indoor locations. Leon is repeatedly framed with these representations throughout the episode, even when his Qualia isn't otherwise indicated as active, and he uses the wind not just to guide his cardfights but also to determine who his partner in battle will be, and to thrust Aichi into a vision of Cray similar to the one that Takuto brought him into back in 66. This use of a backdrop visual is the first time that the Circuit has used other indicators to signify a use of Qualia; back in season 1 a gathering of flames had this position. This implies that Leon's Qualia is in some way on the same level as Ren and Aichi's once were, building up his power and reinforcing the Messianic imagery that the Souryuu legends characterize him with.

This is also comparable to how OP03 frames Aichi in a similar sky toward the end, making these two out as rival counterparts.

Leon says that he's going to test Aichi to see if "it"--presumably the Qualia he sensed from Sendou--was real. Why does he want to know? Why is it important to Leon that Aichi have PSY Qualia? What we need to keep in mind is that in a fight between cardfighters with PSY Qualia, Earth and Cray become synchronized. This was Takuto's reasoning behind distributing Qualia to Chris, Aichi and Ren, but we aren't entirely clear on what Takuto's long-term goal is. Leon's known goal is the total revival of the Souryuu family's rule, and by necessity the revival of Aqua Force. Synchronizing their fight will therefore allow the Force to defeat the Gold Paladins, giving them considerable weight as a faction and solidifying their strength by showing them to the inhabitants of Cray as stronger than the inheritors to the Royal-Shadow coalition. It's important to Leon that Aichi's Qualia be active because without it, this is just another cardfight.

Also note that because both Kamui in 83 and Leon in 90 identify Aqua Force as being used exclusively by the Souryuu family, Gillian and Charlene are most likely either Leon's sisters or cousins, as they would have to be of the Souryuu family line themselves to have access to the clan. Their presence in flashbacks to Leon's childhood backs this. The Souryuu history implies that the once-massive population of Souryuu people has now dwindled down to a small family, but based on the actual size of that family, the sisters may either be very distant cousins created through selective marriages to guarantee "Souryuu purity" across generations, or direct siblings intended to assist him in revival of Souryuu power. The direct siblings case is less likely due to their differing surname (Chen) but the girls being cousins or half-sisters to Leon is possible. The emphasis on "strict discipline" and the general Naval theme of Aqua Force, taken into account with their connection to the Souryuu family, suggests that Souryuu children were brought up in a strict environment that emphasized obedience to senior "officers" or family members, with Leon and his sisters/cousins being raised for the sole purpose of fulfilling the Souryuu legend. And Leon's determination to fulfill this legacy can be glimpsed from a young age in these flashbacks, making him out as someone who believes wholeheartedly in the revival of the Souryuu.

On closing notes, Leon uses the phrase "my" Vanguard, putting him more in line with the manga cast, and also separating him from characters like Aichi, Kai and Ren, who were presumebly influenced by Daigo.

Term: PSY Qualia

"I hear the voice of the cards!"
-- Suzugamori Ren¹
"When a cat knows a mouse can't get away, it lets it do what it wants for a while."
-- Miwa Taishi²

PSY Qualia is a state of amplified cognitive function that improves an individual's intuition and perception.³ While its effects are varied between individuals, the most common characteristic are a state of overconfidence and an ability to "see" one's victory in a Vanguard fight ahead of time. Both in the anime and manga, PSY Qualia is the root driving force behind Cardfight!! Vanguard's conflicts.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.

Etymology
PSY Qualia comes from a combination of terms; "Psy" from the Greek word psychikos ("of the mind") and the Latin term qualia, meaning "what sort" or "what kind." Qualia (singular quale) is used to describe subjective conscious feelings. An example of a quale is the sensation of looking at a color.

As qualia is a plural term, PSY Qualia can be taken as a description of many feelings, such as the voices that lead its user through battle. PSY Qualia are then "feelings of the mind."

In chapter 10 of the manga Tetsu gives the formal spelling of PSY Qualia, ＰＳＹクオリア(Romaji; PSY kuoria.)³ This spelling is agreed with by how the anime presents the card shop PSY's logo on its sign.

Characteristics
Individuals identified with Qualia are shown to experience periods of emotional high during their Vanguard fights, where they become extremely competent regardless of individual skill, and do not need to think their moves out ahead of time. According to both Suzugamori Ren and Sendou Aichi, a user can "hear" their cards speaking to them, showing them how to defeat their opponents. In the manga Tetsu defines this as "perceive[ing] the relationships between the inhabitants of the Planet Cray [...] depicted on [the] cards."³

As shown in ride 23, those with even very underdeveloped PSY Qualia can sense other Qualia bearers, and for Sendou this is physically painful.

Early encounters with Qualia are typically described as hearing a voice from Vanguard cards, a form of paracusia comparable to schizophrenia or mania. Afflicted persons tend to see their cards "fly" before them.¹

Though often described as a "power," PSY Qualia more closely resembles an acute psychosis.

Side Effects
Prolonged use of PSY Qualia is shown to end in severe withdrawal symptoms. In rides 41, 42 and 45 Sendou Aichi collapsed after overextending himself while fighting with Qualia, and in the latter half of his match with Bidou Kiriya he demonstrates severe addiction to it. This addiction is expanded on by Suzugamori Ren in ride 43, where he states that Sendou will eventually be so drunk in power that he will be unable to fight without Qualia's support.

Although he does not suffer these particular effects today, in ride 40's brief flashback Ren was shown to have fainted at least once from post-Qualia sickness.

Qualia's hold over its wielder can be intensified by emotional need. Through rides 43 up to 50 Sendou becomes gradually consumed by his desire for Kai Toshiki's recognition, ignoring Bidou's pleas for mercy while thinking only of growing stronger. This hold is extremely difficult to break, and promotes further use of the power.

In rides 63-65 Ren undergoes a progressive degeneration in sanity, contorting his facial features beyond the limits of human muscle structure, and in these episodes as well as the past of ride 47, begins to make increasingly delusional comments. He states a desire to expand Foo Fighter to overseas regions, believing it to be "simplicity itself" in using his power to do so, earlier stated as "taking over the world." Ren follows this by saying that "all people will fall on their knees before my power." Suzugamori also accuses Tetsu of being unjustly afraid of PSY Qualia, and torments him with a vision of Phantom Blaster Overlord as punishment.

During his final match with Aichi, Ren expresses phantom limb-type feelings, that he swung a sword while standing perfectly still and that abstract power fills his body when it does his Overlord. Unlike in his previous use of Qualia as a torture mechanism, Suzugamori appears to have felt either purely hallucinogenic side effects, or the end result of Cray's synchronization with Earth.




True Purpose
Revealed by "Him" in ride 64, PSY Qualia's true purpose is to synchronize events on Earth with events on the planet Cray. Individuals compatible with the power are selected and aligned to conflicting sides, so that when one aligned side on Cray falls, so will the human fighter; more importantly, the reverse is also true. It is because of this that Aichi and Ren were given their power, to resolve the battle between the Royal and Shadow Paladins. "He" also states that PSY Qualia was previously foretold in Cray's legends, suggesting that there have been bearers before these two.

Following the resolution of this conflict in 65, Aichi states that he can no longer feel the presence of--and presumably, cannot access any longer--PSY Qualia. This is possibly attributed to Cray no longer requiring Earth's synchronization, as their war was already over by that time.

Symbolism

In the Japanese language track of Vanguard's first season finale, Sendou uses "もう一人の僕 mou hitori no boku" to describe himself in a state of PSY Qualia. This is a phrase originated by Yu-Gi-Oh!, a 1990s manga series for which Vanguard's primary creator, Ito Akira, originally worked on as an understudy to Takahashi Kazuki. Commonly translated as "the other me," the phrasing in the original text was used to differentiate Mutou Yugi from the nameless spirit that would possess him in card duels. While it was used fondly in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Ito's use of it in Vanguard lends credence to the idea of PSY Qualia as a criticism of the "other me," as Sendou's persona under PSY Qualia is a vicious, power-hungry individual. While Aichi ultimately accepts this other side of himself as a fault that he was running away from, what Vanguard has already established of Qualia continues to stand, and he himself does not continue fight with PSY Qualia after accepting this self.

Notable Individuals
Suzugamori Ren -- Chronologically, the first afflicted with PSY Qualia, and the first to be shown on-screen. Ren has been known to foresee the outcome of fights, send others into a hallucinatory state, torture the defeated with sourceless pain and glimpse up to several hours into the future.

Sendou Aichi -- The second afflicted person, Sendou first felt his power in ride 22, and began to utilize it fully starting in 34. Like Ren, Aichi has used his power to foresee his victory and induce hallucinations, but perhaps due to its relatively undeveloped nature, he has not actively used it outside of cardfights. Unlike Ren, Aichi's Qualia develops into an entirely separate personality over time, and this becomes a source of guilt for him late in the first season.

Shinjou Tetsu -- The first person known to have PSY Qualia used on him, by Ren. Tetsu is afraid of Suzugamori's Qualia. In the manga, he suggests himself to also be afflicted.

Suiko -- Highly implied though not outright confirmed to have PSY Qualia. Suiko is able to sense individuals possessing PSY Qualia or the people for it, as well as Misaki's photographic memory, and in ride 40 she recalls a vision of Cray that only Aichi was a witness to. In the manga, it was Suiko who first hooked Ren on the power.

Citations and External Links
1. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 57. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.
2. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 48. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

3. Ito, Akira. Cardfight!! Vanguard Volume 2. Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 2011. N. pag. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. 

4. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 57. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

Character: "Him"

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

"Him"/方
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 方 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: Kai Toshiki

 "Just watch. This is who I really am! Burn everything in this world to ashes with your apocalyptic fire...Dragonic Overlord!"

Kai Toshiki/櫂トシキ
Age: 15¹
Birthday: August 28⁵
Voice Actor(s): Satou Takuya(Japanese)², Ryan Luhning(English)³, Kim Yeong Seong(Korean)⁴
Anime Biography: Four years ago he was a cheerful boy that helped Aichi cope with the bullying he was facing at school, but Kai moved away shortly after that. Having just moved back Kai now keeps little company, though Taishi insists on being Kai's friend.

Outside of official matches, Kai frequents the battlegrounds of the "underground fighters," intentionally going up against cheating players to make his fights more difficult.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
Four years ago, Kai's parents died in a sudden accident. He was in fourth grade, and was taken in by his uncle's family, whom he moved away with. Three years later, in middle school, he befriended Suzugamori Ren and Shinjou Tetsu, becoming a founding member of Team Foo Fighter in a bid to enter the Vanguard national competition. For the duration of spring term they grew to be close friends, but as the autumn dawned on them Ren underwent a sudden transformation.

Suzugamori had been endowed with PSY Qualia, and this power very quickly devoured him at a much faster rate than it would later Aichi--within a day of acquiring it Ren was capable of causing physical harm to others through Qualia, even throwing his Tetsu across their practice room. Once Ren hired the Kashiwagi Construction company to build the Foo Fighter's headquarters, Kai decided he'd had enough; he challenged Ren to a fight, in which Ren used his powerful Shadow Paladins to overwhelm Kai.

While the fight ended prematurely due to Ren's sudden collapse, Kai chose to walk out on the Foo Fighters where Tetsu lingered. Emancipated, he moved out of his uncle's town and enrolled in high school, where he would meet Miwa Taishi and Sendou Aichi again. Having watched Ren become consumed by PSY Qualia once before, and found himself helpless then, Kai initially remains in denial as Aichi starts to develop his own powers. Toshiki ignores repeated warning signs, avoiding people out of guilt, afraid of the incident with Ren repeating.

Come ride 43 Kai fails to stop Aichi from being absorbed by PSY Qualia. Kai confronts his friend in a bout after the elimination round of the national tournament, using Aichi's own discarded Royal Paladin deck against the boy. With Alfred Early as his trump card, Kai makes Aichi realize that real strength comes from oneself and one's friends, not from supernatural forces.

While he keeps away from fighting in the national tournament out of respect for how far Q4 has come, on the night before the final match between Q4 and AL4, Kai makes an appearance at the Foo Fighter headquarters, and challenges Ren to a fight at the very stage where they once clashed one year ago. With the modern Foo Fighter team, Ultra Rare, and Aichi as witnesses, Kai brings out his avatar's crossridden form, Dragonic Overlord The End, in a bid to wrest Ren from Qualia's control.

Kai fails. Thanks to Suiko's prior intervention and Ren's highly evolved PSY Qualia, The End is slain by Ren's own crossride, Phantom Blaster Overlord. Kai walks away from the fight in an emotional valley, pleading on his knees for Ren to come back to his senses--Suzugamori disregards his old friend, stating that this "The End" of their friendship, and that all he needs now is the limitless power of Qualia.

In the finals Kai watches Q4's matches from the stands, and proves instrumental in preventing Aichi's powers from relapsing. Screaming across the stadium for Aichi to stop, he barely pulls the boy back from his other self's control. When the match closes with Sendou the victor, Kai shares a final silent moment with Ren before the Foo Fighters pull out of the competition.

Toshiki's final fight of season 1 is against Aichi, closing the season just as he began it.

Spoilers end here.

Kai encounters Tatsunagi Takuto at the start of the Asia Circuit just as Aichi did. Opening the season 2's first fight with Dragonic Overlord, Toshiki is surprised that a neophyte like Takuto could guard his attack.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
In the aftermath of their fight, Kai's deck is replaced with a Kagerou one and his memories are sealed. Tatsunagi, having introduced Kai into a timeline where the Royal Paladins, Shadow Paladins and Kagerou never existed, takes his leave of the boy. Dismissing what he can recall of their fight as a dream, Kai departs, and after Aichi confronts him about the changes to his own deck the next day, challenges Sendou to a fight.

Using Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion and the powerful Limit Break skill for the first time, Kai defeats Aichi but finds nothing in the battle. Unfamiliar with and unwilling to use his new Gold Paladin deck, Sendou has already limited himself too deeply to seize victory. Though his memories of Blaster Blade briefly resurface, they are just as soon shut down and the two of them are interrupted by an announcement for the VF Circuit.

Aichi recognizes the Takuto advertising the Circuit as the same one who stole his deck. Though Kai no longer remembers the Royal Paladins, he trusts Aichi, and tells him to find his own path to Takuto as he will find his.

Kai eventually comes to join Team Foo Fighter New AL4, reforming the team with Ren and Asaka. He participates as a mainline member during the Seoul Stage of the VF Circuit.

Spoilers end here.

Manga Biography: Similar to the anime, Kai helped Aichi out when he was young in the manga, and he is currently a pro player revered for his strength. However, Kai is also much less cold in the manga, and more willing to hang around with the other customers of Card Capital.

Spoiler warning: Details for Volumes 2 through 5 follow.
Unlike in the anime, Kai's parents never died. Instead, Kai's father created a steep financial debt for his comapny, and Kai was abandoned by his parents, to be moved around between different relatives' homes. Meeting up with Ren and Tetsu and forming the original Foo Fighters restored some of his love for life, but Kai became further depressed and isolated after Ren became absorbed by PSY Qualia, from a chance encounter with Suiko. (Although not outright stated, it has been speculated that the company his father worked for was in fact the Tatsunagi corporation.)

Kai eventually chooses to confront Ren directly, allowing Tetsu and Asaka to entertain him in their apartment while he waits for Suzugamori's arrival. Chapter 14 closes with him having broken Asaka in a completely one-sided fight, but in his following match with Ren, Kai is dominated by Qualia, struck down by a rapid succession of The Dark Dictator's and Phantom Blaster Dragon's skills. Kai is completely drained by the battle, and while he tries with all his strength to prevent Aichi from fighting Ren and activating his Qualia again, Sendou goes against his wishes by fighting Ren in his place. Sendou eventually manages to defeat Phantom Blaster Dragon and bring Ren back to his senses, with the Foo Fighters and Team Q4 becoming friends.

The manga's first "season" ends with Kai and Aichi beginning one more fight, which becomes the first chapter of its second "season" (in terms of the plot's development when compared to the anime.) During their fight Sendou shows signs of losing control of his Qualia, being unable to restrain it versus Kai--Kai in turn encourages him to use the power, believing that he'll defeat it even so. However, in the second chapter it becomes readily apparent that Kai himself is developing symptoms of PSY Qualia.
Spoilers end here.

Universal Notes: Kai uses the Japanese pronoun "Ore," a very masculine and casual way of talking. Design-wise, his counterpart is Tetsu, who makes the exact opposite decisions that Kai does throughout the series.

Fan Culture: Kai has acquired a reputation in the English fanguard for his unintuitive name. While this is more obvious to Japanese fans due to how Japanese naming order works, "Kai" is his last name, and Toshiki is his first. Toshiki is a very unusual first name, but this is backed by how his name is written--in Vanguard, all surnames are written with kanji, and all given names with katakana.

Decks and Play Style
Kai's deck is a dragon-based Kagerou clan deck, built around retiring the opponent's rearguards and gaining bonuses from that. For most of season 1 he has no defined playstyle, alternating between different vanguards as necessary to suit each fight. However, this lack of cohesion is ultimately a weakness that goes unexploited by his opponents, and Kai refines his deck with the rest of Q4 in ride 35.

Rides 1-34, 49 & 57: Raging Dragon of the Empire (Anime) 48/50 cards
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Runner Undeux
x1 Lizard Soldier Conroe
x2 Dragon Dancer Monica DT
x3 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Lizard Soldier, Ganlu ST
x2 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT
x2 Demonic Dragon Mage, Raksha CT
x1 Gatling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT
Grade 1
x3 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x2 Flame of Hope, Aermo
x2 Wyvern Strike, Jarran
x2 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x2 Demonic Dragon Guru Kinnala
x2 Iron Tail Dragon
Grade 2
x2 Blazing Core Dragon
x3 Dragon Knight Nehalem
x1 Wyvern Strike, Tejas
x1 Dragon Knight Aleph
x1 Berserk Dragon
x2 Relentless Sutherland
Grade 3
x2 Dragon Monk Goku
x3 Dragonic Overlord (TD02/001)
x1 Embodiment of Victory, Aleph
x1 Vortex Dragon
x2 Blazing Flare Dragon
x2 Dual Axe Archdragon

Kai's second deck is built around the Amber Dragon line, which guarantees both grade security and hand advantage. Kai makes the dubious choice of using Lava Arm Dragon a rearguard, and brings Aermo in as a holdover from his old deck to help aid with draw power. While this deck has much more intense retire abilities than his old one, Kai mainly uses it to whittle down his opponent's hand in the two fights that it was featured in.

Rides 35-51: Empire II 34/50 cards
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x3 Gatling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT
x2 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT
x1 Amber Dragon, "Dawn"
Grade 1
x1 Iron Tail Dragon
x2 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x2 Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara
x2 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x1 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x1 Flame of Hope, Aermo
x2 Amber Dragon, "Daylight"
Grade 2
x2 Dragon Knight, Nehalem
x1 Flame Edge Dragon
x1 Blazing Core Dragon
x1 Amber Dragon, "Dawn"
x1 Lava Arm Dragon
Grade 3
x1 Blazing Flare Dragon
x1 Dual Axe Archdragon
x1 Vortex Dragon
x3 Amber Dragon, "Eclipse"
x1 Dragonic Overlord

Kai's third deck, designed wholly to counter Ren's, is built on crossriding from Dragonic Overlord to Dragonic Overlord The End. In order to take advantage of being able to activates its skill following the drive check, Kai combines The End with the Flame of Hope, Aermo to cycle out cards from his hand. This lets him activate The End's Persona Blast mid-strike. Kai shows some difficulty using this deck compared to his previous ones, as his hand is practically empty by the time he crossrides.

Though not outright confirmed, Suiko implies both during her talk with Kourin in ride 58 and in her contract with Aichi that The End is the card of light she can entrust to fighters. However, Suiko never contracted Kai, so even she isn't sure where he gained his copies of it.

Rides 57-66: His Life As Fuel (31/50 cards)

Grade 0

x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe

x3 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT

x2 Gatling Claw Dragon DT

x1 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x3 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT

Grade 1

x3 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr

x1 Flame of Hope, Aermo

x2 Flame of Promise, Aermo

x2 Demonic Dragon Guru, Kimnara

Grade 2

x2 Berserk Dragon

x1Dragon Knight, Nehalem

x3 Burning Horn Dragon

Grade 3

x3 Dragonic Overlord

x4 Dragonic Overlord The End

At the start of Asia Circuit Kai is given a new deck, this one filled with Narukami units. Geared toward all-out attacks on the vanguard and making use of counterblasts in exchange for power, his deck's trump card is Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, which attacks the opponent's front row equally, blocking their intercept while clearing their field in the same move.

Rides 66-Current: Resonance of Thunder Dragon (36/50 cards)

Grade 0

x1 Lizard Soldier, Sisin (FVG: Ride 67)
x1 Lizard Soldier, Saishin (FVG: Ride 77-on)

x2 Old Dragon Mage DT

x1 Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x1 Demonic Dragon Nymph, Seiobo HT
x1 Malevolent Djinn CT

Grade 1

x2 Red River Dragoon

x1 Lightning Stone Jinn

x1 Thunder of Hope, Helena

x2 Lizard Soldier, Riki

x1 Wyvern Transport Corps
x2 Wyvern Guard, Guld
x1 Photon Bomber Wyvern

Grade 2

x1 Gale Thunderclap Jinn

x3 Thunderstorm Dragoon

x1 Shield Blade Dragoon

x1 Bright Jet Dragoon
x2 Demonic Dragon Berserker, Garuda
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x2 Hex Cannon Wyvern

Grade 3

x2 Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion

x1 Thunder Break Dragon

x1 Plasma Bite Dragon
x2 Djinn of the Lightning Flash

Like in season 1, his manga deck is also a Kagerou deck meant to clear the opponent's field of rearguards, but it supports the counterblast-heavy clan better with Bellicosity Dragon. This dragon's skill lets him unflip damage previously used to pay costs, allowing Kai to last in prolongued fights. Meanwhile, Hidden Dragon Striken is unable to attack, but confers additional power and critical on the vanguard that rides it. Kai demonstrates considerably more skill than his anime counterpart, combining Striken's skill with superior ride cards like Cruel Dragon to simultaneously gain the effects of Striken while also avoiding those superior ride's drawbacks; he faces and holds his own against multiple Qualia cardfighters throughout the manga, always pushing them to their breaking points before they can make any kind of comeback.

Chapter 1-Current: Raging Dragon of the Empire (Manga) 11/50 cards
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Runner, Undeux
x1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Raksha CT
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Lizard Runner, Nafud ST
x1 Red Gem Carbuncle DT
Grade 1
x1 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x1 Flame of Hope, Aermo
x1 Guard Gryphon
x1 Lizard Soldier, Raopia
Grade 2
x1 Dragon Armored Knight
x1 Bellicosity Dragon
x1 Hidden Dragon Striken
x2 Dragonic Gaiearth
x1 Berserk Dragon
Grade 3
x2 Dragonic Overlord
x2 Vortex Dragon
x1 Dragonic Waterfall
x1 Cruel Dragon

Citations and External Links
1. "櫂トシキ." KeroKero Ace Vol. 45 1 Sept. 2011: 8-9. Print.
2. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 1. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. 
3. "Cardfight!! Vanguard English Version - NicoNico Channel." NicoNico Channel. NicoNico Douga, 11 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://ch.nicovideo.jp/channel/vanguard-dub>.
4. "Kai Toshiki." MyAnimeList. CraveOnline Media, LLC., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://myanimelist.net/character/39492/Kai_Toshiki>.
5. "Character birthdays." KeroKero Ace Vol. 50 1 Mar. 2012. Print. 

Character: Suzugamori Ren

"Despair to the powerless...And all the glory to the one with the power!"

"Swallow up everything in darkness, my avatar! I ride Blaster Dark!"

Suzugamori Ren/雀ヶ森レン
Age: 15/16 (Approximately)
Birthday: December 12¹
Voice Actor(s): Abe Atsushi(Japanese)², Roger Rhodes(English)³
Anime Biography: Founding member and rank 1 of the Foo Fighters. Ren is the national champion from two years ago, and enters this year's tournament registered on three separate FF teams, attempting to organize a Foo Fighter versus Foo Fighter final match. Tetsu believes Ren to be obsessive in his hatred of Kai.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
Ren is only halfway successful. The final match is FFAL4 versus Team Caesar, the previous year's championship team. Ren fights Koutei in the finals, using his powerful Qualia to dominate the battle.

Two years ago Ren was Kai's closest friend, and together they comprised the three original members of Team Foo Fighter. However, driven by a desire to meet Kai's expectations for their team, Ren found himself gifted with a sudden and unpredictable case of PSY Qualia that rapidly evolved within him. During a training "accident" in which Tetsu was thrown across the room by Ren's powers, Kai began to first question his friend, and the reveal of Ren's master plan was what finally compelled Kai to turn on him. Ren had commissioned Kashiwagi Construction to build the Foo Fighter headquarters, where he would gather strong fighters and pit them against one another to selectively create the strongest team in the world to "conquer Japan." Disgusted by Ren's lack of faith in their team, Kai challenged him to a match in the still-incomplete HQ.

Ren first used his Blaster Dark to gain an advantage, but the fight was called off prematurely as a result of his collapse. Kai walked out on Ren that day, while Tetsu stood by his friend to prevent Ren's PSY Qualia from advancing even further. Filled with hatred for his betrayer, Ren continued to push his limits with his Shadow Paladin deck, gathering over five hundred individuals under the banner of Team Foo Fighter. Later that year, he would be crowned the national champion on Team FFAL4.

Approximately one to two years later, Ren is called in by Suiko to appear in the mysterious card shop, PSY, and be tested by Kourin in a mirror match. Ren agrees so readily, and crushes Kourin in a one-sided fight. Having displayed his Qualia sufficiently, he leaves the girls impressed, and then proceeds on to become the national champion in the August nationals of that year.

Sensing Sendou Aichi's Qualia, Ren makes a direct appearance before the boy and offers him a Shadow Paladin deck to further advance his powers. Aichi agrees, and Ren watches from the sidelines as Aichi grows in greater strength, feeding him his own Foo Fighters to spur on the Qualia. However, Kai interrupts this process by defeating Aichi in a fight firmly in the boy's favor, ruining Ren's intended plan by convincing him of Qualia's weaknesses.

Disregarding Aichi as a failed project, Ren returns to his original goals. While perturbed by Aichi's staunch refusal to use PSY Qualia against Team Caesar, Ren disregards Team Q4, stating that "the gate to hell is already open before all of you."

The evening preceding the match between AL4 and Q4, Ren is once more approached by Suiko of Ultra-Rare. Having previously warned him that it is time for "final judgment", Suiko offers Ren a choice of contracts; a card of darkness or a card of light. Ren firmly sides with darkness without a moment's hesitation, and is gifted several copies of Phantom Blaster Overlord, the crossridden form of his preferred grade 3. Ren demonstrates the card's strength, along with his PSY Qualia's final state, by crushing his old rival Kai Toshiki beneath his heels.

Against Dragonic Overlord The End, a crossride of comparable power, PSY Qualia is the difference that confirms Ren's absolute belief in his powers. Walking away from their clash satisfied, Ren declares that this is "The End" of their friendship, and all he needs now is the limitless power of PSY Qualia.

In his final match with Aichi, Ren's Qualia activates in synchrony with Sendou's, synchronizing Earth to the planet Cray. It's through this match that the outcome of the Royal Paladin-Shadow Paladin civil war is determined; while Ren, and in theory the Shadow Paladins are defeated, Aichi's use of Majesty Lord Blaster unites the two clans to work together peacefully rather than through the destruction of another. Having seen his almighty power fail him, Ren seemingly regrets his actions, reinviting the recently-fired Asaka into Foo Fighter and leaving the field after a moment of reminiscence with Kai. Along with Aichi, his Qualia seemingly enters dormancy following this, and Apex Limited 4 is disbanded.

Ren's primary character trait is ressentiment, falsely assigning blame for his frustrations on a source other than himself, which he believes to be outside his control—Kai Toshiki. In this way, Ren has cultivated an enemy that justifies his state of mind, and allows him to escape culpability for his actions by victimizing himself.

Throughout the first season, Suzugamori is firmly established as one of the most powerful cardfighters, representing the pinnacle of evolution for PSY Qualia and the final stage at which a Qualia-bearing fighter may ascend to. Until the season finale he is never featured as having lost a fight, and he has some capacity to predetermine the future.

Spoilers end here.

During the Asia Circuit, Ren resurfaces with the rest of AL4 once more, participating in the Seoul Stage of the Circuit.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
Ren is joined by Kai and Asaka as part of New Apex Limited 4, with Tetsu taking a back seat during their fights in Korea. Like Aichi at the end of the first season, Ren's PSY Qualia has become subdued, and during his fight with Aichi in Seoul it is reawakened by Tatsunagi Takuto.

Absorbed into a vision of his victory as engineered by Qualia, Ren is consumed once more by power. Reverting into his original persona, he faces Aichi preparing to unveil his new Spectral Duke Dragon to the people of Seoul.

Spoilers end here.

Manga Biography: First seen in chapter 5, Ren is the leader of the Foo Fighter cardfight gang, and uses Vanguard Fight Gloves to torture players. He brings the Foo Fighters to Aichi's town to sate his thirst for greater battle. While kind on the surface to Tetsu and Asaka, he shows a darker side to Kyou and in his fight with Misaki. His silly persona is stressed slightly when compared to the anime, as when he nicknames Misaki "MisaQ." 

Universal Notes: Ren's surname is a location-based name like Aichi's given name, in this case the Suzugamori execution grounds. The grounds were used in the Edo period for the execution of criminals, anti-government conspirators and Christians. Ren alternates between "Boku" and "Watashi" pronouns. He appears to be based on a character Ito had previously designed, Tenma Yako. 

Fan Culture: In 2011 the Japanese art website pixiv decided that Ren's birthday was on 12/12. This idea was later canonized in Kero Kero Ace magazine. Each year around this time artwork of Ren getting slammed in the face with cake will crop up. Fans tend to call the Ren seen in flashbacks "Baby Ren."

Decks and Play Style 
When called in by Ultra-Rare in ride 23, Ren demonstrates his skill in a mirror match by flawlessly playing a mixed clan deck he had never before set eyes on. Here we see the first shades of Ren's strategy, carefully maintaining his hand and erasing Kourin's advantages to prevent her from dealing damage.

Ride 23 25/50 cards
Grade 0
x1 Sphere Magus HT
x3 Bermuda Triangle Cadet Caravel
x2 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
x1 Dream Eater DT
Grade 1
x3 Battle Sister, Chocolat
x2 Blazer Pleasures
x2 Weather Girl, Milk
x2 Battle Sister, Cocoa
Grade 2
x2 Top Idol Aqua
x2 Maiden of Libra
x2 Lady Bomb
Grade 3
x3 Top Idol Flores

Unusual for an antagonist, and a Shadow Paladin fighter at that, Ren is a master of defensive play. His primary strategy is to stall out his opponent's attacks until their hands are too small to effectively guard, and this is aided by his main line of Blaster units gaining power from having others in the soul. He then brings out Phantom Blaster Dragon, sacrificing lesser rearguards that preserve his hand like Nemain and Badhabh Catha to gain overwhelming offensive power for that turn, using Apocalypse Bat to strengthen his Blasters and force his way. These shrewd tactics combined with his Qualia's foresight make Ren virtually invincible in straightforward battle.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
Following his selection by Ultra-Rare in ride 23, Suiko appears before Ren to contract him a card of darkness or a card of light with which to power up his deck. Ren chooses darkness unhesitatingly, and receives Phantom Blaster Overlord, the Blaster Dragon's crossridden form. This comes at even less cost to him than his original grade 3, and as demonstrated in ride 58, is well capable of ending a game on the turn it is ridden.
Spoilers end here. 

Much of Ren's deck was implied or hinted at briefly before its debut fight in 57; Blaster Javelin can be seen for less than a second in ride 33, Blaster Dark is the star of that same episode, and Gai implies Fullbau to have been Ren's starter in ride 45. In 49 we can see several cards from his deck splayed out over PSY's fight table.

Rides 33-80 (34/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Fullbau
x1 Grim Reaper CT
x2 Abyss Healer HT
x2 Abyss Freezer DT
x2 Death Feather Eagle CT 
x1 Darkside Trumpeter ST
Grade 1
x3 Blaster Javelin
x1 Gururubau
x2 Black Sage, Charon
x3 Dark Shield, Mac Lir
x1 Apocalypse Bat
Grade 2
x2 Blaster Dark
x1 Dark Knight, Rugos
x2 Skull Witch, Nemain
x1 Demon World Castle, Donnerschlag
x1 Demon World Castle, Fatalita 
x2 Knight of Nullity, Masquerade
Grade 3
x3 Phantom Blaster Dragon
x3 Phantom Blaster Overlord

During the Asia Circuit, Ren's Shadow Paladin deck is sealed and replaced with a Gold Paladin one. While these cards accurately mimic the Blaster Dragon's play style, substituting Blaster Dark with the Vortimer line, they include a significantly higher count of retire-based abilities in addition to the defense skills they inherited from his previous deck. Additionally, the Duke Dragon retires at the end of the battle phase rather than in the main phase, allowing him to make use of his units before sacrificing them.

Rides 80-104 (26/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Black Dragon Whelp, Vortimer (FVG)
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x2 Falcon Knight of the Azure DT
x2 Elixir Sommelier HT
x1 Silent Punisher CT
Grade 1
x1 Scout of Darkness, Vortimer
x2 Blade Feather Valkyrie
x2 Sleygal Dagger
x1 Halo Shield, Mark
Grade 2
x1 Flash Edge Valkyrie
x2 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x2 Black Dragon Knight, Vortimer
Grade 3
x2 Spectral Duke Dragon
x3 Gigantech Destroyer
x1 Great Silver Wolf, Garmore
x1 Convicting Dragon, Chromejailer Dragon

In ride 82 Ren borrows Tetsu's deck for the Seoul finals, using the Dark Irregulars to get a greater perspective on his own. Several of Tetsu's backup strategies are displayed in the final match, taking advantage of Blade Wing Reijy's skill to soulcharge three copies of any unit on the field from the deck. Ren handpicks Demon Bike for this purpose, combining this with Demon Bike's own power-gain skill to create a 22000-power line with two extra critical from Reijy's skill.

Ride 82 (45/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Greedy Hand (FVG)
x3 Cheshire Cat of Nightmareland (HT)
x3 Mad Hatter of Nightmareland (DT)
x3 Blitz Ritter (CT)
x2 Dark Knight of Nightmareland (CT)
Grade 1
x3 Yellow Bolt
x4 Courting Succubus
x4 Alluring Succubus
x2 March Rabbit of Nightmareland
x4 Demon Bike of the Witching Hour
Grade 2
x2 Blue Dust
x3 Emblem Master
x3 Dark Soul Conductor
Grade 3
x4 Demon Chariot of the Witching Hour
x2 Dark Lord of Abyss
x2 Blade Wing, Reijy

Ren also borrows Morikawa's deck for his match with Misaki in ride 85. Performing well with it in spite of the deck's shortcomings, he's nonetheless held down by the incredibly high count of grade 3s in the deck, mainly sticking to an established Gold Rutile combo with Storm to make repeated use of his counterblast.

Ride 85 (30/50 cards) 
Grade 0

x1 Turboraizer ST (FVG)

x1 Dragon Dancer Monica DT 
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT 
x1 Lizard Soldier Ganlu ST 
Grade 1 
x2 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr  
Grade 2 
x1 Dragon Knight Nehalem 

x2 Super Electromagnetic Being, Storm

Grade 3 
x2 Juggernaut Maximum 
x2 Demon Eater 
x2 Tyrant Death Rex 
x4 Stealth Dragon Void Master 
x3 Demonic Dragon Berserker Yaksha 
x3 Monster Frank 
x1 Hell Spider 
x2 Asura Kaiser
x1 Gold Rutile

Ren goes on to borrow Emi's deck in the same episode, testing his aptitude with Bermuda Triangle while Misaki tries out her new empty soul build. Ultimately deciding that the deck is "not for him," he still manages several advanced maneuvers by bringing out the Pearl Sisters.

Ride 85 (28/50 cards)

Grade 0

x1 Bermuda Triangle Cadet, Riviere (FVG)

x2 Drive Quartet, Flows HT

x2 Drive Quartet, Ressac ST

x2 Drive Quartet, Shuplu CT

x2 Drive Quartet, Bubblin DT

Grade 1

x1 Mermaid Idol, Ellie

x2 Mermaid Idol, Felucca

x2 Mermaid Idol, Sedna

x2 Mermaid Idol, Riviere

x1 Blazer Pleasures

x1 Pearl Sisters, Perle

Grade 2

x1 Top Idol, Aqua

x1 Pearl Sisters, Perla

x2 Mermaid Idol, Flute

x1 Super Idol, Riviere

Grade 3

x1 Top Idol, Pacifica

x3 Super Idol, Salem

x1 Top Idol, Riviere

Following the Shadow Paladins' unsealing, Ren picks up the Revenger subgroup as his new deck for the third season, Link Joker. In the style of the first season, this deck is revealed one card at a time, and the Shadow Paladins appear to have the same corrupting influence on Ren that they did in the past.

Ride 117-Current (1/50 cards)

Grade 2
x1 Blaster Dark Revenger

Ren's manga deck is originally only seen fleetingly, used against Misaki in volume 3. He easily overpowers the girl with a Blaster Dragon ride.

The deck makes a second appearance in chapter 16, during a fight with Kai. Ren rides an alternative vanguard, "The Dark Dictator," based directly on the King of Knights, Alfred. Dictator's skill gives him +2000 additional power for each Shadow Paladin in his rearguard circles, while also giving front row Shadow Paladins +5000 power.

Chapter 12-Current (13/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Fullbau
x1 Death Feather Eagle CT
Grade 1
x1 Blaster Javelin
x1 Nightmare Painter
x2 Black Sage, Charon
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Dark
x1 Blaster Axe
Grade 3
x1 Phantom Blaster Dragon
x1 The Dark Dictator

Unknown Grade 
x1 Blaster Rapier
x1 Blaster Dagger
x1 Blaster Owl

Citations and External Links
1. KeroKero Ace Vol. 51 1 Apr. 2012. Print.
2. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 23. Perf. Atsushi Abe. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 15 June 2012.
3. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 23. Perf. Roger Rhodes. NicoNico Douga, 2012. Web. 15 June 2012. <http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/1339491057?via=thumb_watch>.