Weekly Bites reveals: Aqua Force never sealed in reboot, Daiyūsha key art

Image 7: "Unite!! Team Q4"
Mitsusada Kenji, 3rd place in the Asia Circuit and a member of "Voyage," has decided to participate in a shop showdown. On this day, Mitsusada suddenly arrives in Card Capital.

Key artwork of Mitsusada "Koutei" Kenji and Super Dimensional Robo Daiyūsha, used as reference while animating the 2018 Cardfight!! Vanguard anime. Daiyūsha will be facing off against Miwa Taishi's Hero deck in the new series. Daiyūsha is voiced by Inada Tetsu, voice of Shinjо̄ Tetsu.

In this week's anime Question & Answer section, Vangarо̄-kun explains that the Aqua Force clan was never sealed in this new continuity, so Leon's lineage was never destroyed, and so he was never seduced by Void. This time, Leon was able to peacefully grow with his friends as a Vanguard fighter.

Rather than a "remake," the new series is a "Reboot" which explores a "what if" scenario for various characters. Those familiar with the previous series will enjoy both reuniting with the old cast and seeing how they're changed by this "what if."

Weekly Bites reveals: Nagisa to use Granblue, Extra Booster 2 sleeves

Image 6 "Declaration of War!! Shop Competition"
Sendou Aichi and friends go to the huge card shop "Voyage" that used to be Kamui's home, and meet the winner and runner-up of the Asia Circuit, Sōryū Leon and Daimonji Gouki.

Gouki will be appearing in episode 6 as a member of Team NwO, Nagisa with Others. He's a rival of Kamui's.

Nagisa is Gouki's little sister, and created Team NwO from the top 3 competitors in the Asia Circuit. However, it seems she considers Kamui a "traitor"...!?

Nagisa and Gouki riding Guiding Zombie. Both of them use Granblue in the new series, with Nagisa undergoing special training to use Gouki's deck.

Upcoming card sleeves for V-EB01 include Marine General of the Restless Tides Algos, King of Demonic Seas Basskirk, Ultimate Dimensional Robo Great Daiyusha, and Sōryū Leon sleeves. There will also be a deck holder themed after Algos.

Navalgazer Dragon teased in Vanguard anime

The fifth episode of the 2018 Cardfight!! Vanguard anime, "Let's Go to Card Capital!" teased several upcoming Aqua Force cards from V-Trial Deck 03: Sōryū Leon in its next episode preview. Among the cards shown are the grade 1 Tear Knight Theo, grade 2 Marine General of the Restless Tides Algos, and the grade 3 Navalgazer Dragon, all cards that debuted in the original Aqua Force Trial Deck six years ago.

Leon himself was briefly shown on television at the end of the episode, getting ready to participate in the Asia Circuit tournament. The title of the next episode, Image 6, is "Declaration of War!! Shop Competition." (In the sense of two shops pitted against one another, likely Card Capital and Voyage.)

The legible text at left reads "Born August 1st, male, blood type B, Aqua Force user. [...] Despite still being a middle schooler, he has participated in various large tournaments. [...]"

Tear Knight Theo and Battle Siren Dorothea.

Marine General of the Restless Tides, Algos.

Weekly Bites reveals: Cardfight!! Vanguard Origin Image 5 episode preview

Image 5: Let's go to Card Capital!!
Learning of the existence of the CF Research Club from Morikawa and his friends, Aichi hopes to become a new member. However, the CF Research Club is caught up in a crisis because of Morikawa and the others' low grades.

Adapted from chapter 4 of Itou Akira's Cardfight!! Vanguard manga.

Souryuu Leon of Team NwO is a 6th grade elementary student in the new series, and an Aqua Force user that became champion of the Asia Circuit. Vangaro-kun wonders why he's taken an interest in Aichi.

The grade 1 unit Tear Knight Theo after being ridden by Leon.

Weekly Bites Reveals: Card Shop Voyage and Team NwO

This week's special guests are voice of Tokura Misaki, Kitta Izumi, and Vanguard evangelist Maeda Seiji-sensei.

Weekly Bites episode 3, start! Stand up, Vanguard!

The fourth episode is titled "Misaki's Secret!!"

Episode summary
Card Capital's shop clerk Tokura Misaki takes an interest in Sendou Aichi, who changed greatly through Vanguard even though he lacked fight experience. Accepting Aichi's invitation, Misaki begins her first fight.

This is an early preview of Card Shop Voyage, a large shop that Kamui used to go to. Famous cardfighters like Daimonji Gouki and Mitsusada Kenji attend it, and Vangaro-kun wishes he could go too.

Team NwO (Nagisa with Others) is made up of Daimonji Nagisa, her older brother and the Asia Circuit's runner-up Daimonji Gouki, Asia Circuit champion Souryuu Leon, and third-place in the Circuit Mitsusada Kenji. Team NwO will challenge Card Capital in the new anime series.

This a significant divergence from the 2018 anime series' source material, Itou Akira Vanguard manga. In the original manga Kamui's shop was unnamed, and had been overrun by Foo Fighters lead by Yahagi Kyou.

English Aqua Force Trial Deck and Extra Booster 02 to launch August 31st

The official Cardfight!! Vanguard English Twitter account tweeted today that V-Trial Deck 03: Sōryū Leon and V-Extra Booster 02: Champions of the Asia Circuit will be launching simultaneously in English August 31st, 2018. The Aqua Force TD and its accompanying booster will be arriving 28 days after Extra Booster 01: The Destructive Roar, and is to be followed by TD04: Suzugamori Ren and Booster Set 02 in September. The release date for TD03 and EB02 is the same as the Japanese release date for BT02.

Champions of the Asia Circuit contains support for the Aqua Force, Granblue, and Dimension Police clans, comprising cards used by Team Nagisa With Others (NwO) in the 2018 Cardfight!! Vanguard "Origin" anime. It will launch in Japan July 20th, as will the Aqua Force Trial Deck.

V-EB02: Champions of the Asia Circuit card listing

To be updated as new cards are revealed.

Release dates: 07/20 (JPN) 08/31 (ENG)
MSRP: 300 yen per pack, 3600 yen per box (JPN)

Contains cards for Aqua Force, Granblue, and Dimension Police.

Contains 58 types of cards; 3 Vanguard Rare, 6 Triple Rare, 8 Double Rare, 13 Single Rare, and 28 Commons. Further features 3 Special Vanguard Rare, 3 Origin Rare, and 4 Secret Rare.

Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom (V-EB02/00?)

• Imaginary Gift: Accel
• Illustrated by KAZTO FURUYA; original Maelstrom was illustrated by Murayama Ryūta.

 King of Demonic Seas, Basskirk (V-EB02/00?)

• Imaginary Gift: Protect
• Illustrated by Maeda Hiroyuki, his illustrator from BT02: Onslaught of Dragon Souls.

Ultimate Dimensional Robo, Great Daiyūsha (V-EB02/00?)

• Imaginary Gift: Force
• Illustrated by Akitaka Mika, his illustrator from BT08: Blue Storm Armada.

V-TD03: Sōryū Leon card listing

To be updated as new cards are revealed.

MSRP: 1500 yen + tax (JPN)
Release Date: 07/20 (JPN) 08/31 (ENG)
Comes with paper playmat and First Guide for beginners.

Contains 14 types of cards, 53 in total; 34 Normal Units, 16 Trigger Units, and 3 Gift Markers
The Trial Deck will contain 4 Front Triggers and 4 copies of Marine General of the Restless Tides, Algos.

Each deck contains 4 perfect defense cards and 4 Marine General of the Restless Tides, Algos. Each display case contains six Trial Decks.

Marine General of the Restless Tides, Algos (V-TD03/00?)

Trial Deck 03: Souryuu Leon and 04: Suzugamori Ren to launch July 20th, August 10th, V-BT02 for August 31st

More details on Bushiroad's Cardfight!! Vanguard product lineup for 2018 emerged from a flyer this weekend, giving us hard dates on the upcoming Aqua Force and Shadow Paladin Trial Decks, as well as the game's second booster set. TD03: Souryuu Leon will launch July 20th in Japan, and TD04: Suzugamori Ren will follow on August 10th. The still-unnamed Extra Booster 02 will launch on the same day as TD03, expanding Aqua Force, while V-Booster Set 02 will launch three weeks after its corresponding Trial Deck on August 31st. V-BT02 features support for the Shadow Paladin, Dark Irregulars, Pale Moon, and Murakumo clans.

Bushiroad has also confirmed that its first official tournaments of the Standard format will be starting up in June. For the Bushiroad Card Fight 2018 tournament series, the Osaka regional qualifier will be held June 2nd, the Sapporo qualifier on June 9th, and the Fukuoka qualifier June 30th. The Nagoya regional qualifier will follow on July 7th, and Hakata on July 28th. This means that the three clans in EB02--Aqua Force, Granblue, and Dimension Police--will be added to the format just eight days before the Hakata regional.

Today's Card Analysis: Blue Storm Marine General and Soldier, Despina and Rascal Sweeper

The Japanese cards of the day are a pair of support cards for the Maelstrom subclan, Marine General Despina and Soldier Rascal Sweeper. Rather than being blanket support for the Blue Storm subclan as a whole these cards specifically require a Maelstrom vanguard, providing new life for the Aqua Force clan's original boss card. The commons come as part of G-BT02: Flying Flowers, and some have interpreted their debut as indicating a revival legion for Maelstrom. While the set's space for a revival has already been taken up by Dragonic Kaiser Crimson, a new Maelstrom card altogether may be anticipated.

For the time being, Maelstrom cardfighters have the support unit previously released in VGE-BT16 and the Japanese run of BT17, Mako Shark Soldier of the Blue Storm Fleet (previously known as Shortfin Mako Soldier of Blue Storm Armada.) Mako Shark's skill allows any of your own limit break 4 abilities to activate irregardless of damage, in some cases allowing for faster setup than a legion deck because of being live on the third turn of the game. The primary Maelstrom vanguards are thus Blue Storm Supreme Dragon Maelstrom and his Link Joker-tainted crossride Blue Storm Karma Dragon Maelstrom “Яeverse.” Glory Maelstrom, while an effective finishing move at endgame, is a limit break 5 that cannot benefit from Mako Shark. Do not mistake this lack of synergy for a lack of viability; when used properly with the cards introduced today, Glory Maelstrom can make it impossible for the opponent to guard from their hand.

Blue Storm Marine General, Despina
AUTO (Rearguard circle) When this unit boosts a vanguard with "Maelstrom" in its card name, if it is the fourth battle of that turn or greater, during that battle, your opponent cannot call grade 0 cards from their hand to the guardian circle, and during the end phase of that battle, return this unit to your deck, and shuffle that deck.

Despina is how this strategy comes together. In exchange for returning her to the deck at the end of the battle, Despina can make it impossible for the opponent to call grade 0s from their hand when defending a Maelstrom vanguard. In order to achieve this you have to reach fourth battle conditions, which coincides with the original Maelstrom and “Яeverse's” requirements for their own skills to activate. Another trade-off to the skill is that both Maelstrom units get +5000 power with their limit breaks, but with Despina's boost this only makes a 20000-power lane, and most vanguards of the current format have defensive bodies of 11000 power. Since the opponent is forced the guard with grade 1 and 2 cards, without a perfect defense card or quintet wall in hand this still requires three 5000-shield units to create a two-to-pass defense, but still falls short of Maelstrom's maximum potential. Maelstrom “Яeverse” answers the problem with his passive defensive bonus from having Supreme Maelstrom in the soul, making a 22000-power lane on par with most legion vanguards. Thus for the first time, Despina has made crossride “Яeverse” a viable contender against its breakride competitor. As stated before, this also makes a strong endgame with the 2012 crossride Blue Storm Supreme Dragon Glory Maelstrom. When Glory Maelstrom attacks a vanguard, his ultimate break counterblast 1 gives him +5000 power and prevents the opponent from guarding with grade 1 and greater cards, most notably among those perfect defense cards. Although this was generally underwhelming in the time of BT09: Clash of Knights and Dragons, when you form a crossridden offense that cannot be guarded with trigger units or perfect defense cards, it is possible to reach the point where the opponent has as high as a seven card hand and still cannot drop even one card to protect against the attack. A cautious opponent can be anticipated to use that seven card hand much earlier to avoid ever reaching this point. Since this means surrendering either Maelstrom or “Яeverse” Maelstrom's skills for the rest of the game in order to dedicate to Glory Maelstrom, and going to a level of damage that is just a brush away from death, it requires careful monitoring of the opponent's hand and drop zone. If you don't play this monitoring game while on the original and “Яeverse” Maelstroms, you won't be able to bring the opponent to the crucial 5 damage line to make that dedication viable. Glory Maelstrom has no innate second critical, and if the opponent turtles on early defense to stay at the 3 to 4 damage mark, it can cause your final turn push to fall apart. As for the drop zone, you don't want to crossride Glory only for a sixth damage heal to leave you unprepared to close the match out. The actual gameplay of Glory is not what needs to be focused on when strategizing for the deck, but getting the opponent into a situation in which they will be vulnerable to that ultimate break turn.

The second card of the day is Blue Storm Soldier Rascal Sweeper, whose skill is a variation on that of Banding Jewel Knight Miranda from BT14: Brilliant Strike. Like Miranda, Sweeper is an 11000-power attacker exclusive to Maelstrom, but the difference between them is that Miranda came with a secondary on-hit skill attached that could power up a rearguard by +3000 power; in place of this Rascal's secondary skill activates at the end of the battle that he attacked. If that battle was the first of the turn and you have a Maelstrom vanguard, Sweeper's skill allows you to exchange his position with that of a rearguard behind him. (Note that the skill cannot activate if there are no other rearguards in his column, so you cannot use this just to prevent any frontrow units from being exposed.) Rascal is effectively an improved Storm Rider Basil, with his +2000 power bonus allowing him to hit base 11000 vanguards, and because the power boost will trigger regardless of the number of battles you can also use him just as an attacker if position changing is unnecessary.

Blue Storm Marine Soldier, Rascal Sweeper
AUTO (Rearguard circle) When this unit attacks, if you have a vanguard with "Maelstrom" in its card name, this unit gets Power +2000 until end of that battle.
AUTO (Rearguard circle) At the end of the battle that this unit attacked a vanguard, if you have a vanguard with "Maelstrom" in its card name, and if it is the first battle of that turn, choose another of your rear-guards in the same column as this unit, and exchange positions with this unit. (The state of the card does not change)

The primary way to make use of this is in conjunction with either another copy of Rascal Sweeper, or Marine General Gregorios, who can act as a 12000-power attacker for any Blue Storm vanguard. Since all of the current Maelstrom units are also Blue Storm units with subclan overlap, Gregorios synergizes strongly with them. By leading with Sweeper, then using his first battle skill to move Gregorios up front and attack with him, then attack with a third rearguard column (Marine General Ianis would be a good choice; if his attack hits the vanguard during the third or greater battle of the turn, you can then draw a card) you can set up Maelstrom and “Яeverse's” fourth battle skills. Maelstrom automatically gains +5000 power, and if its attack hits the vanguard can counterblast 1 to draw a card and retire one of the opponent's rearguards. Maelstrom “Яeverse” instead has to pay the counterblast 1 up front, as well as rest and lock a standing rearguard (what would have been Ianis' booster in our example). In exchange, “Яeverse” gets both the +5000 power boost and an additional critical to give the opponent an incentive to guard, then if its attack does not hit “Яeverse” is able to use the same draw and retire effect. Along with Spyros and Wheel Assault, Sweeper makes it easier to set up these extensive combo skills. With Mako Shark quickening the window of activation for the Maelstroms, the Blue Storm Dragon becomes a devastating early game option while the Karma Dragon both provides a stable crossride defense to sit on and wears the opponent down in the mid to late game. Glory Maelstrom is most suited for after “Яeverse” and his rearguards have pushed the opponent to five damage, as when his ultimate break is used with Despina it guarantees that the opponent can only survive by intercepting (for one-to-pass without especial intercepts) or by checking a heal trigger.

News: Souryuu Leon Returning for Link Joker, Shadow Paladins

A wall advertisement for the third season of Cardfight!! Vanguard, Link Joker, has just broken the news of Souryuu Leon's return to the anime. While this was already mentioned in Bushiroad's December 5th press conference, exactly in what capacity had not been revealed at the time. Leon's new coat and cravat--speculated to be a school uniform to go with Link Joker's theme--appear to be patterned off of a 1748 dress uniform for a Royal Navy lieutenant, albeit simplified. This is similar to previous imagery used by the series to tie the Souryuu family to the sea, as well as to the past.

In addition to this, Suzugamori Ren has been confirmed to be using a Shadow Paladin deck for the duration of Link Joker. Each character depicted on the poster is shown with their clan for the current season, with Aichi being featured alongside Liberator-based Gold Paladin, Kai with Dragonic Descendant, Misaki with her new Oracle Think Tank units and Ren with Phantom Blaster Dragon and Blaster Dark. This suggests that Trial Deck 10, already known to be a Shadow Paladin trial deck, will feature Ren as its cover character.

(via twitpic)

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.

Character: Charlene Chen

"Surprised, aren't you? For us, doing something like that is a breeze."

"Eh? It's pretty hard!"

—Gillian and Charlene, Ride 90

Charlene Chen/蒼龍シャーレーン
Age: Unknown
Anime Biography: The younger of two sisters that act as escorts to the Souryuu heir Leon, Charlene is a somewhat absent-minded woman who forms one third of Team Dreadnought. Skilled in both martial arts and cardfight, her role is to both protect Leon and act as his teammate in the VF Circuit's competitions. While on the surface she is the more passive of the sisters, Charlene becomes intense when angered, belying her outward appearance.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
Charlene makes her debut in rides 87-91, accompanying Gillian and Leon to Hong Kong in order to score points as part of Team Dreadnought. While nominally just another team seeking to qualify for the final stage in Japan and an international trophy, their real goal is the total revival of the Souryuu family that once ruled the seven seas with their naval might. In order to accomplish his goal, Leon continually calls on the "wind," PSY Qualia, which eventually guides him to step into the fray himself for the Hong Kong tagfight finals, with Charlene as his partner. Through them the finals are won, and the three then proceed on a flight into Japanese waters. Here they are accosted by Yahagi Kyou and his Avengers, who plot to replace Dreadnought in the Japan stage of the Circuit. However, Charlene and Gillian easily fend off their assailants, then leaving Leon to finish Kyou off in a cardfight.

Charlene is speculated to be a member of the Souryuu family, due to her wielding the Aqua Force clan that according to Leon in ride 90 and outside rumors in 83, is supposed to be accessible only to them. There are multiple explanations for why her and her sister's surnames differ from Leon's--although the Souryuu people have allegedly dwindled to a single family, the size of the family is unstated, so there is a possibility that they come from a branch family and are Leon's distant cousins. Historically, when the political dominance of a particular, large family over one territory becomes important, the end result is a multiple lines of first, second, third and onward cousins growing increasingly distant from one another, each with their own children to hold strategically valuable offices and ensure that there will always be a legitimate heir to the family's central point of authority. Therefore, "Chen" may be but another branch in the Souryuu line, removed in some way from Leon's main family.

Another explanation is that Charlene and Gillian come from a different house than Leon. In Japanese custom it is commonplace for children to take the names of the parents that they were raised by or the family that they were raised with, so in the event of a divorce or some other dividing of children, two groups of children born to the same parents would only have the surname of one parent and not the other. If this were the case, then Charlene and Gillian would be Leon's sisters, raised in the Chen house rather than the Souryuu house.
Spoilers end here.

Decks and Play Style
Like all Dreadnought members, Charlene fights with an Aqua Force deck. Her particular build is Navalgazer-centric, as it lacks the unique Maelstrom cards of Leon's deck, and also unlike Leon it makes use of limit break support like Reliable Tactical Commander to trigger Navalgazer's skill early. Where Leon uses Algos to gain card advantage, Charlene instead relies on Valeria, using an inverse strategy that retires the opponent's rearguards instead of directly increasing her own scope of control.

Rides 90-91: A910 Howitzer (18/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Erikk
x3 Mother Ship Intelligence CT
x2 Enemy-Seeking Seagull Soldier ST
Grade 1
x2 Tear Knight, Theo
x2 Dorothea
x1 Emerald Shield, Paschalis
x2 Torpedo Rush Dragon
x1 Reliable Tactical Commander
Grade 2
x2 Lazarus
x1 Valeria
Grade 3
x2 Naval Gazer Dragon

Character: Souryuu Leon

"I needed power...I didn't care if it came from [...] the devil. I happily joined hands...If I could attain that power, I vowed to defeat my opponent, even if they happened to be a god! And you people are no exceptions!"

"Wash away all vice in the flow of a furious flood. Its name is righteousness! I ride Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom!"

Souryuu Leon/蒼龍レオン
Age: Unconfirmed; enrolled in a high school as of Link Joker
Voice Actor: Kanbara Daichi (Japanese)
Anime Biography: The son of a mysterious family shrouded in rumor, Leon is an enigmatic figure who claims to be directed by "the wind." First appearing in card shop PSY to fight the world-famous Daigo, Leon is immediately recognized for his use of the legendary clan, Aqua Force. An unrivaled clan that had long ago conquered the world, Aqua Force vanished into myth much like the Royal Paladins that would go on to follow it in recent times. The Souryuu family however, continues to wield this clan even today.

Leon is also the leader of Team Dreadnought, with the twin sisters Gillian and Charlene as his teammates.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
Upon meeting him, Kourin immediately identifies Leon as someone possessing "the new power." Suiko does not know of him personally, nor does she know if he possesses this "new power," but seems to recognize his surname, suggesting that she is well aware of the Souryuu family's use of Aqua Force. "He" seems likewise aware of the family, as their past relation to Cray is mentioned briefly toward the end of season 1.

Leon makes continuous reference to "the wind" both in his fights and out, and is able to tell when his final turn has come while fighting Daigo based on the wind "stopping." This wind that Leon speaks of is in fact his own extremely powerful PSY Qualia, evolved to a level on par with Suzugamori Ren's. Unlike Aichi, Leon is able to use his Qualia outside of battle, using it to determine where he should go next to achieve his goals and who his allies will be at any given moment. Following his defeat of Daigo, Leon states that he intends to fight Aichi in the future, and makes this aim a reality at the Hong Kong stage of the VF Circuit.

Related Articles: Analysis: Leon & Aqua Force

Leon's true nature is as the legendary savior of the Souryuu people, an ethnic group that in the ancient past dominated the seven seas with the power of their mysterious "Aqua Force" power. In reality, their fate was directly connected to the Aqua Force clan on Cray, and when that clan was subjugated by an outside party, the Souryuu people's own power was shattered and they were forced on a mass exodus away from the seven seas. Driven into a single ruined fortress, they survived on the brink of destruction for years as their population dwindled down into a small chain of family lines, what is known today as the Souryuu family.

From generation to generation, the Souryuu family handed down the true nature of Aqua Force, and along with it a legend of a child whose life would coincide with the appearance of a star in the "eastern sky"--that of Japan. Leon was raised as this savior, and when this star appears toward the end of season 1, he embarks on a journey to revive the Souryuu family, manipulating Earth's relationship to Cray by cardfighting with what remains of the Aqua Force clan to free them from their sealing on Cray. By shaking the Earth with their appearance, Souryuu is able to gradually loosen their bonds and empower the Force, in turn bringing prosperity back into the hands of the Souryuu family.
Spoilers end here.

Decks and Play Style
Leon cardfights with an Aqua Force deck, attacking with each unit in a specific order to trigger their skills in turn. Battle Siren, Dorothea is used to empower his vanguard, primarily Navalgazer Dragon, whose limit break activates with the same timing as her, creating a 26000-power column that helps to force Navalgazer's rearguard-standing skill past the opponent's defenses. His Assault series cards activate their skills in the fourth or greater battle, well supporting Navalgazer's ability, while Algos and Cynthia search the deck for the needed pieces of Leon's strategy.

Souryuu later reveals a new strategy, integrating the Storm Rider series of cards that swap positions with the cards behind them after attacking to let him enter third and fourth battles more easily, and as a new main vanguard the 11000-power Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom. Maelstrom's own limit break gives him +5000 power in the fourth battle onward, forming a similar 26000-column with Dorothea while just touching 20000 with Erikk, and allowing him to retire an opponent's rearguard while drawing a card if the attack hits and the opponent is still left standing. This exceptionally brutal strategy helps to corner his opponents swiftly, and works even better in the Hong Kong stage's tagfights, where his teammates employ similar strategies.

Rides 82-99: The Vast Trident (43/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Officer Cadet of First Battle (FVG: Rides 82-90)
x2 Officer Cadet, Erikk (FVG: Rides 90-Current)
x1 Sea Otter Soldier of Pyroxene Communication DT
x1 Battleship Intelligence CT
x2 Medical Officer of Rainbow Elixir HT
x2 Enemy-Seeking Seagull Soldier ST
x2 Dolphin Soldier of High Speeds, Raids ST
Grade 1
x3 Tear Knight, Cyprus
x1 Battle Siren, Dorothea
x2 Accelerated Commando
x1 Tear Knight, Theo
x1 Splash Assault
x1 Diva of the Battlefield, Cynthia
x1 Emerald Shield, Paschal
x2 Storm Rider, Eugene
Grade 2
x2 Marine General of the Restless Tides, Algos
x2 Matchless Trench Titan
x3 Tear Knight, Lazarus
x1 Coral Assault
x3 Storm Rider, Basil
Grade 3
x2 Vital Anchor, David
x1 High Tide of Water Future, Xenophon
x1 Navalgazer Dragon
x3 Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom
x2 Storm Rider, Diamantes

After seizing additional power in order to secure the Souryuu people's freedom and unite Cray, Leon refits his deck to account for his new ace in the hole, the legendary Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom. As the manifestation of a legendary dragon from ancient history that passed judgment on warring peoples, Glory Maelstrom is the ideal form of his Maelstrom avatar card, but as an ultimate break-bearing crossride is slow and difficult to use. Souryuu, having to cope with holding only one copy of Glory Maelstrom, bases his deck around versatility, support for the original Maelstrom, and the judgment of his wind to guide him to Glory. With Glory Maelstrom's ultimate break, he not only receives the +5000 power of the original Maelstrom, but also denies his opponent the use of grade 1 and higher units for defense, forcing them to block with trigger units while stopping perfect defense cards in their tracks. Unlike any of his previous decks, this one is much more focused toward critical with no stands seen in the Circuit's airing, and to cope with Maelstrom's original form being blocked frequently he relies on Penguin Soldier for added draw power.

Rides 99-Current: The Absolutely Invincible, Absolutely Righteous Aqua Force (28/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Tri-holl Dracokid (FVG)
x2 Battleship Intelligence CT
x2 Supersonic Sailor CT
x1 Medical Officer of Rainbow Elixir HT
x1 Otter Soldier of Pyroxene Communication DT
Grade 1
x2 Tear Knight, Cyprus
x2 Tear Knight, Theo
x1 Emerald Shield, Paschal
x2 Penguin Soldier
Grade 2
x1 Coral Assault
x1 Tear Knight, Lazarus
x2 Storm Rider, Basil
Grade 3
x4 Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom
x4 Storm Rider, Lysander
x1 Storm Rider, Diamantes
x1 Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom