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Ai
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{{About|the character|the voice actress[[archetype]]|Ai Horanai""A.I.""}}
{{Infobox character
| headers = true
| ja_name = Ai
| romaji_name = アイ
| it_name = IA
| pt_name = Ia
| nicknames = Ignis (by [[SOL Technologies]] and the [[Knights of Hanoi]])
| other_names =
* Mysterious Lifeform (謎の生命体, ''Nazo no Seimeitai'')
* Mysterious AIIgnis's Control ID - IGN006<ref name="ep41">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|41|ref}}</ref>* Dark Ignis|deck = * [[@Ignister]]/[[A.I.]]
| appears_in_anime = ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS]]''
| anime_debut = {{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1|ref}}
| en_voice = [[Michael Liscio Jr.]]|ja_voice = [[Takahiro Sakurai]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/yugioh-vrains/staff/|title=Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS staff|publisher=TV Tokyo}}</ref>| pt_voice = {{voice actors|pt|Yuri Chesman}}
}}
{{quote|text=Seize the wind, Playmaker!|source=Ai<ref name="ep1ep2"/>|AI's don't pray! They only make calculations to win!}}
'''Ai''' ({{Ruby|Ai|アイ}}) is a character appearing in from the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS]]'' anime, the deuteragonist in the first and second seasons, and the main antagonist of season 3. He is also the final antagonist of the series. His name He is one of the six [[Ignis]], representing the [[DARK]] [[Attribute]], and he was given by created from [[Yusaku Fujiki]] . His name was given to him by Yusaku and [[Shoichi KusanagiCal Kolter]]. Ai is As an AI program with Ignis, he has free will known as an [[Ignis]], and is sought after by both [[SOL Technologies]] and the [[Knights of Hanoi]] . He was captured and imprisoned inside Yusaku's Duel Disk.<ref name="ep1">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1|ref}}</ref> Yusaku released him after they stopped the [[Tower of Hanoi]], but Ai was forced to return after he found the [[Battle for the Cyberse(world)|hid Cyberse]] destroyed. Following his and Yusaku's victory over [[Bohman]], Ai is left as the last remaining Ignis. He takes on a human appearance, and he is able to manifest this appearance in the Cyberse real worldthrough hacking a [[SOLtiS]]. He was captured into becomes the main antagonist of the third season, taking [[Yusaku FujikiRoboppi]]'s Duel Disk under his wing after giving it free will and forced planning to be use SOL Technologies for his Duel AIown ends.
==Design==
===Appearance===
{{Multiple image|align=left|image1=Ai.png|width1=220|image2=Ai Human Form.png|width2=270|footer=Ai's original and human appearances.}}
Ai is a small digital humanoid being. Like other Ignis, Ai has markings over his body, in shape of lines and circles, which are tinted with a purple color. When he becomes angry, Ai turns into a fiendish shape, with six tentacles, a large yellow eye and mouth, with two of his eyes on the center of his body. When Varis's "Cracking Dragon" ate his body, Ai was reduced to an eye, though he retained his ability to project his monster form. However, when he ate Varis's arm, Ai regained his body.
Ai's human form takes cues from both his A.I. body and Yusaku. He retains yellow eyes, and his hair becomes a very dark blue lined with gold, extending to the nape of his neck in jagged spikes. He has five crooked locks of hair resembling Yusaku and Theodore's; purple with pink centers. He wears earrings shaped like his A.I. form's head, and at his throat is a blue diamond symbol. Due to hijacking a waiter [[SOLtiS]], he initially wears a waiter's uniform in the real world; a white shirt with a black bowtie, a charcoal waistcoat and shoes, and a long black apron. In digital worlds, and later in the real world, Ai dresses very extravagantly in a flashy suit with military trappings. He wears a light purple shirt with puffed sleeves and black cuffs fastened at the neck with a black ascot with red gem in a gold brooch, a black high-collared mantle with a gold lining and red interior, tasseled shoulder pads, gold cord binding the mantle with red buttons, and the same diamond symbol on the back, a knee-length sleeveless coat of the same color but with a lilac interior under that, black pants, and black shoes with grey toes.
While enjoying his newfound supremacy over [[SOL Technologies]], Ai toys around with more casual outfits, including a purple kimono with dark purple lining and a violet sash (and turning his hair into a mustache and beard at the same time), before settling on a dark violet shirt, black pants, a purple short-sleeved jacket, white gloves and socks, and wooden clogs with purple straps. He ties his hair back with a long white headband and accessorizes with paper fans.
===Personality===
Ai frequently tries 's failure to interact save the other Ignis leaves him heartbroken and for the rest of Playmaker's final Duel against Bohman after this failure, he becomes consumed with rage until Bohman is finally defeated. Following the final Duel against Bohman and the deaths of the other AIsIgnis, Ai becomes consumed by loneliness and regret, and these feelings are only worsened when he learns of simulations that predict the destruction of humanity and the death of Yusaku due to his existence. Ai became similar to Yusaku in many ways, becoming stoic, serious, calm and calculating, although he does his best to hide this behind acting playfully and frivolously, Ai becomes far colder and bitter in truth; sparing [[Skye Zaizen|Blue Maiden]] from being erased to know his pain of failing to protect everyone and embracing the use of [[Lightning]]'s "[[Judgment Arrows (later anime)|Judgment Arrows]]". [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] theorizes that Ai may simply have spared Blue Maiden to prevent [[Pandor]] from being erased from existence, showing a more social side but this is always left disappointed because theynever confirmed. Despite his projections, some fragments of Ai're not as capable of free thinking s true personality do shine through, most notably in his Duel with Gore, where he enjoys the Duel due to how close Gore is able to bring him to defeat and regards him as a worthy opponent for rediscovering himself.
===Abilities===
[[File:Ai Devours a Knight of Hanoi MemberDataStormTrick.png|left|250px|thumb|Ai about to devour a Knight of Hanoi memberand [[Flame]] using [[Data Storm]]s as shields.]]As an AI belonging to [[Ignis]] who created the [[Cyberse (world)|Cyberse]], Ai has some degree of control over it. He is the only one who knows its location and can unlock data from it to start a [[Data Storm]]. Ai can manipulate Data Storms in other ways, such as using them a shield to negate other wind storms.<ref name="ep55">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|55|ref}}</ref> Ai is shown to be far more sophisticated than other AIsA.I.s, being fully capable of thinking and acting on his own free will and showing emotion; because of that Ai is considered to be an actual living being. According to [[Shoichi KusanagiCal Kolter|Kolter]], Ai is built out of highly complicated algorithms that even Yusaku couldn't fully decode. Ai' s memories are stored in the form of video logs. However, Ai's level of free will is limited by the fact that he is still an AIa computer program, as such he can't comprehend why humans do actions that would seem illogical and contradicting with each other. Ai was the first of the Ignis to demonstrate natural instinct; the other Ignis developed their own instinct by observing Ai.
[[File:Ai Devours a Knight of Hanoi Member.png|thumb|250px|Ai about to devour a [[Number 10 (character)|Knight of Hanoi]].]]Ai's [[Skill]] is Storm Access which is given to Yusaku after being trapped in Yusaku's [[Duel Disk]]. As he didn't trust Yusaku, he withheld the full extent of his Skill, Neo Storm Access, until he decided the time was right. Whilst trapped in the Duel Disk, he can also act as a Duel AIA.I. Inside Link LINK VRAINS, Ai is shown to be able to transform into a monster, which he did to devour a Knight of Hanoi member and a [[Dark Angel (anime)|card infected by Hanoi]]. Ai has the ability to sense a Knight of Hanoi's presence through the cards in their Deck, such as when he knew immediately that [[George Gore|The Gore]] was pretending to be a Knight and when he discovered the Hanoi-affected card in Blue Angel's Deck and could tell when it was drawn. After Playmaker defeated Varis, Ai regained his full body and can materialize himself in the real world, though he still can't leave Yusaku's Duel Disk. Ai also possesses Link Sense, an ability that he shares with Yusaku.
==Biography==
===History===
Ai and the other Ignis were created by [[Kiyoshi Kogami|Dr. Kogami]] to be the saviors of humanity; Ai was created from [[Yusaku Fujiki]]. Alongside his fellow Ignis, Ai evolved and they created the [[Cyberse (world)|Cyberse]] and the [[Cyberse]] monsters. Their progress worried Dr. Kogami, who predicted the A scientist programmed .I. and humanity would become enemies.<ref name="ep43">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|43|ref}}</ref> Despite this, Ai and the other Ignis continued developing the AI Cyberse; Ai's sector becoming a massive chasm due to his laziness. In Ai's words, the Ignis would never try harm humanity, and would rather live in their own world.<ref name="ep45">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|45|ref}}</ref><ref name="ep11" /> Ai preferred to slack off with "[[Linkuriboh (character)|Linkuriboh]], and he was often at odds with [[Aqua (character)|Aqua]] due to his carelessness and laziness. After one escapade where they almost fell over a waterfall, Aqua scolded him for not acting as was becoming of an Ignis. The incident put him at odds with [[Earth (character)|Earth]], who told him to stay away from Aqua.<ref name="ep66">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|66|ref}}</ref><ref name="ep67">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|67|ref}}</ref> [[File:Ai eaten by cracking dragon.png|thumb|250px|right|Ai is devoured by "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]".]]Five years prior to the start of the series, the [[Knights of Hanoi]] launched an attack against the [[Cyberse (world)|Cyberse]] and captured the Ignis protecting it, except for Ai who wasn't present. Ai arrived, noting that it was a good time to be hated by his own kind. He stole vital information from the life form Cyberse and hid it within himself, disconnecting it from the rest of the network which forced the Hanoi to have free willstop the attack. Despite being crushed by a "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]", his eye survived. Remembering Ever since, he had been running from both the story Knights and SOL Technologies.<ref name="ep1" /> In order to combat the Knights of how Hanoi, he hid a god took Cyberse Deck in [[Den City]] and he guided Yusaku and the brother of [[Jin Kolter|one of the forbidden flame other victims]], [[Cal Kolter]] to meet one another and find the Deck, hoping that they would defeat the Hanoi.<ref name="ep117">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|117|ref}}</ref> ===Pre-Tower of Hanoi===[[File:Ai inside Yusaku's Duel Disk.png|thumb|250px|left|Ai trapped inside Yusaku's [[Duel Disk]].]]Ai remained hidden from both the skies [[Knights of Hanoi]] and [[SOL Technologies]] in LINK VRAINS for five years, but as he watched [[Yusaku Fujiki|Playmaker]] confronting a Knight of Hanoi, he was eventually detected. SOL Technologies initiated a security scan, and their drones and gave it a [[Number 10 (character)|Knight of Hanoi]] pursued them. During his escape Ai fell into a trap created by Yusaku Fujiki, who saved him by absorbing him into his [[Duel Disk]], thus necessitating the defeat of Playmaker in order to recover Ai.<ref name="ep1" /> Ai realized immediately that he had been captured by his Origin and the peoplepartner that he had arranged for him, but despite his plans for Yusaku to aid him, he didn't trust Yusaku and withheld this fact from him, claiming that he'd lost his memories.<ref name="ep41">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|41|ref}}</ref> Ai doubted that Playmaker's Deck was strong enough to defeat the AI was named as Knights' "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]", and he generated a "Ignis[[Data Storm]]"that initiated a [[Speed Duel (VRAINS)|Speed Duel]].<ref name="ep11ep1" />
After the Duel concluded Ai panicked when Yusaku returned home devoured the Hanoi's program and detected that they had Roboppy put him back on the shelfinfected Skye with a virus to keep her comatose. When Yusaku found them, Ai told Yusaku and Kolter that the only way to remove the virus was to get an anti-virus from Hanoi. Right after that had arrived home early, to which Yusaku said a Knight of Hanoi [[Emma Bessho|"Blue Angel"]] impostor appeared and revealed , demanding a rematch. Despite knowing that it was a secret room he used trap, Yusaku went to go confront the impostor, hoping for a chance to obtain the anti-virus. Upon arriving however, the impostor turned the entirety of LINK VRAINS. As soon as they arrived, both into a trap to capture Playmaker and Ai quickly figured out the Knight was fake. The "Knight" revealed himself herself to be Ghost Gal. [[Go OnizukaAkira Zaizen]]appeared and tortured Playmaker, who wanted believing him to challenge Playmakerbe the culprit of Skye's condition and swore to reclaim Ai. Ai looked up information about Go, Playmaker was uninterested and attempted Ai tried to log out but a program from SOL prevented him from doing soexplain that Hanoi were the real culprits to no avail, until Varis appeared and blackmailed Zaizen into releasing Playmaker so he was forced to they could Duel Go. <ref name="ep8">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|8|ref}}</ref> During the Duel, Ai continued researching Go noted that Varis didn't have an A.I. in his Duel Disk; Varis replied that he didn't trust A.I. and found out that Go donated most Ai must be destroyed to prevent the virtual fiction of VRAINS from destroying the world. Ai was shocked when Varis used "Storm Access" during the Duel, as it was his money to signature program, and when he saw Varis use the [[Den City's orphanageCyberse]] "[[Topologic Bomber Dragon (anime)|orphanageTopologic Bomber Dragon]] where ", he grew up. When Go let himself take 2000 Damage when he had called him out on his hypocrisy of wanting to destroy the chance to avoid [[Cyberse (world)|Cyberse]] while borrowing power from it, Ai was confused about why humans make illogical choices. Playmaker said it Varis countered that claiming that he was because of their hearts, but didn't explain what that meant because Ai' algorithm-based thinking wouldn't understand it"countering poison with poison".<ref name="ep4ep9">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|49|ref}}</ref>
[[File:Ai vanishestalks with Playmaker.png|thumb|left|"Fire Prison" causes 250px|Ai talks to disappearPlaymaker about Ghost Gal's tactics.]][[File:Ai sea.png|thumb|Ai, After Yusaku left him at sea.]]As the Duel progressed, Revolver gained the upperhand, and worrying that they might losehome, Ai led Playmaker flexed his muscles to another Data Storm, where the two obtained [[Firewall Dragon (anime)|a dragon]]. However, Revolver activated the Trap Card, "[[Remote Rebirth (anime)|Remote Rebirth]]"impress Roboppi, and combo-ed it with the effect of "[[Topologic Bomber Dragon (anime)|Topologic Bomber Dragon]]", ending the Speed Duel in a draw. Following he claimed thatonce he was completed, Revolver dragged Playmaker and Ai inside a Data Storm, where they began a [[Master Duel]]. As the Duel went on, Revolver activated the effect of would "[[Fire Prison (anime)|Fire Prison]]start doing that again", eliminating all [[Cyberse]] cards from the field, as well as making Ai seemingly vanish into thin airwhich made him and Roboppi blush.<ref name="ep10ep13">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1013|ref}}</ref> Ai woke up at sea"played" with Roboppi, and remembered how "Fire Prison" erased his program. Though claimed Yusaku wouldn't watch them, since he was surprised by deep in thought, though Roboppi had to quickly toss him back to the surroundings, shelf when Yusaku came in. Yusaku took Ai felt somewhat sleepywith him to Café Nom, even if he never where they learned that Ghost Gal had felt this before. When challenged Playmaker called out to hima Duel, wagering a backdoor program to SOL Technologies' data bank for Ai woke up and came back after Playmaker summoned "[[Firewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]" and "Fire Prison" was destroyed. Ai was concerned if Playmaker loststated they didn't have to accept her challenge, and panicked but to see his displeasure, Yusaku nevertheless did so, as he only had 600 LP left. Ai was amazed to see interested in the two dragons, until Revolver used the effect of "[[Borreload Dragon (anime)|Borreload Dragon]]" to take control of "Firewall Dragon"data from SOL Technologies' data bank.<ref name="ep11ep14">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1114|ref}}</ref>
Ai yelled at and Playmaker were surprised to see Zaizen there, who claimed that Ghost Girlhe's next attack would deplete all of his LPd expected Playmaker. As Playmaker Special Summoned <ref name="[[Lockout Gardna]]ep17"/> Ghost Gal revealed herself as well, and Ai knew they would have enough LP accused her of losing to continue and even use Storm Accessthem on purpose to give them the backdoor route, though Ghost Gal pointed out that she still had the opportunity to obtain Ai if she'd won and exclaimed how "bad" this would behad been fine with either outcome. HoweverAi cursed her for being so cunning, which Ghost Girl knew Ai was just pretending, and decided not Gal took as a compliment. Zaizen refused to attack. Ai was in shockhand over the information from the data bank, and so Playmaker told challenged him this acting stinkedto a Duel, making betting Ai sniff himselffor the data, which Akira accepted. Ai continued watching was displeased that being bet had become normal, and as the Duelbegan, and commented how Ghost Girl he noted that Zaizen was foiling their strategies, and wondered what her Skill a stiff man like his strategy. He was. Using Secret Cure, Ghost Girl increased both her and Playmakerunnerved by the frightening appearance of Zaizen's LP with "Altergeist Meluseek's[[Tindangle Hound (anime)|Tindangle Hound]]" ATK, making Ai comment how the latter punished them before already. Still, and Playmaker paid the LP to activate brought out "[[Scan DollFlame Administrator (anime)|Flame Administrator]]'s" in combination with "Decode Talker" to combat the ATK reduction effect, of "Tindangle Hound" and Ai praised him, encouraging him to use Storm Accessdestroyed it. Since Ghost Girl Zaizen was in the Data Storm, Ai was surprised that Playmaker went able to save her, even if they could be swallowed inside, too. Coming out of the Data Storm, Ai commented how Playmaker behaved like a hero. With revive it with "[[Excode Talker Tindangle Angel (anime)|Excode TalkerTindangle Angel]]" brought out and able to attack twice, Ai smiled, claiming it is over for Ghost Girlend the Battle Phase. At the end of Duel, Ai explained it was realized Zaizen played a stressful battle, [[Flip monster]] Deck with unique strategies and would've ended in defeat if it wasn't for him. After Ghost Girl leftencouraged Playmaker to crush Zaizen, Ai asked what was in as the SOL Technologies' data bank. Playmaker admitted he did not know, but hoped there was some info about himself, ten years agoeffect of "Tindangle Hound" hurt his pride.<ref name="ep15ep18">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1518|ref}}</ref>
==Relationships==
===Ignis===
Generally speaking, Ai appears to have a sibling-like bond with his fellow Ignis despite initially claiming they didn't like him. During the war between the humans and Ignis, Ai remained loyal to his partner along with his fellow Ignis, Flame and Aqua, while Lightning and Windy opposed them as enemies. Despite everything Ai deeply cares for his fellow Ignis as seen at how he was heartbroken over Earth's demise at the hands of SOL Technologies, as well as the demise of Aqua and Flame. Upon reuniting with the Ignis inside Bohman, Ai attempted to save them but failed to do so. In turn, his fellow Ignis (barring Lightning), entrusted Ai with the last of their powers to help stop Bohman. Ai was heartbroken in having to leave his friends trapped within Bohman, shedding tears of grief and expressing immense anger toward Bohman for harming them. Ai was left in grief over the loss of his friends. As a result, he left Playmaker and eventually betrayed him and his allies, supposedly due to his guilt and sadness over losing his fellow Ignis. Ai created memorials for his Ignis friends in the ruins of the Cyberse as a tribute to them. Ai also based his "[[@Ignister]]" monsters off of his fellow Ignis and his feelings for them regardless of the differences they may have had. In his final Duel with Playmaker, Ai envisioned the spirits of his fallen Ignis friends with him as he used their incarnations to Link Summon "[[The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister (anime)|The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister]]".
===Flame===
Of all the Ignis, Ai appears closest to Flame. Ai appeared happy to see Flame again following the destruction of the Cyberese and worked together with their human partners to find the other Ignis. They share many similarities such as their belief in coexistence between humans and the Ignis, and both have teamed up with their Origins from the Lost Incident to achieve this. They also care deeply for their partners and would do anything to protect them, even sacrificing themselves. Although they often snark and insult each other, they do care for each other like brothers and will worry if the other is in danger. Ai was distraught by Flame's demise. In his final moments, Flame convinced Ai to take his power along with the other Ignis' in order to help Playmaker to defeat Bohman, before bidding farewell to his friend.
===Windy===
Of all the Ignis, Ai appears the least close to Windy. While the two of them were once on amicable terms, Ai expressed annoyance at Windy for his attitude. They later became enemies following the revelation that Lightning and Windy sought to eliminate humanity, while Ai opted to remain loyal to his partner. Despite this Ai does care for Windy as seen when he told Lightning to save him from being terminated by the Hanoi. However, Ai was not bothered by Windy's demise following his loss to Soulburner. Ai later learned that Windy was in fact reprogrammed by Lightning into being evil, much to Ai's horror as Windy was previously easy to talk to.
===Earth===
Ai and Earth are on good terms with each other despite a rocky relationship. Earth often felt jealous of the attention Ai received from Aqua due to his goofiness, at one point even confronting him over it. Ai, in turn, shows frustration to Earth's social awkwardness, although he can understand it being socially awkward himself. Despite this, Ai cares deeply for Earth, as seen when he hugged Earth (unknowingly) upon their reunion, as well as cheering for Earth during his duel against Gore. Despite being confident Earth would win, Ai was horrified when Earth was defeated and captured and was heartbroken upon learning that Earth was terminated by SOL Tech. Earth's demise served as a major turning point for Ai as he began to resent humanity for their actions. During Playmaker's rematch with Gore, Ai was focused on avenging Earth, only to be further horrified enraged upon learning Earth has been implanted into Gore's A.I. chip. Upon Gore's defeat, Ai attempted to retrieve Earth's data from Gore but was only able to retrieve "[[G Golem Crystal Heart (anime)|G Golem Crystal Heart]]", which he proceeded to return to Aqua as he knew that was what Earth would want. Following his defection from Playmaker and his agenda against SOL Tech, Ai vowed to personally avenge Earth by defeating both Queen and Gore who were responsible for Earth's termination and successfully did so.
===Lightning===
At first Ai and Lightning appeared to be on mutually respectful terms, but they quickly became enemies following the revelation of Lightning's plan to overthrow humanity. Ai and Lightning serve as polar opposites to each other as Ai believes in coexistence with humanity and is kind, loving and loyal to his friends, while Lightning seeks to overthrow humanity and is cold, selfish and will do anything it takes to achieve his goals even harming his fellow Ignis. As the Ignis War progresses Ai grows to hate Lightning for his horrific deeds such as destroying the Cyberse, rewriting Windy's programming and learning of Lightning's part in causing the demise of the other Ignis in his attempt to unite them into Bohman. Prior to his demise Lightning claimed Ai still didn't understand the truth of the Ignis, which was later revealed to be that because Ai was the last remaining Ignis, he couldn't coexist with humanity and would instead cause its destruction. This revelation caused Ai to turn on humanity at an attempt at suicide. To achieve this Ai claimed to carry on Lightning's wishes and added "[[Judgement Arrows (later anime)|Judgement Arrows]]" to his deck as a symbol of Lightning's will. Ironically, Ai actually fears becoming similar to Lightning, to the point where he would rather be erased. Despite all the atrocities Lightning has committed, Ai still misses him as much as the other Ignis.
===Aqua===
Ai and Aqua have a rocky relationship, as Aqua would often berate Ai for his laziness and goofiness, at one point even physically hurting him. Despite this, they still care deeply for each other and were happy to see each other again upon their reunion. Both of them believe in coexistence with humans and have joined with human partners to achieve this. Ai was heartbroken by Aqua's termination at the hands of Bohman and confronted him over it. Even after her death, Ai holds Aqua in high regard, berating Blue Maiden for allowing Pandor to occupy the space Aqua once did.
===Yusaku Fujiki (Playmaker)===
Being trapped in Yusaku's Duel Disk, Ai somewhat reluctantly acts as Playmaker's Duel AI A.I. for the sake of staying safe from Hanoi and SOL Technologies. Ai offers frequent support and pulls mischievous acts and jokes on Yusaku, but he originally treats Ai as a hostage and is sometimes rude towards him. Yusaku gave it him the nickname "Ai" (a pun on "A.I." and "eye"), much to his annoyance, though Ai eventually came to like the name. Despite the rockiness of their relationship, Ai seems to have gradually warmed up to Yusakuand is keen on treating him like a friend, though initially the feeling is not mutual. Throughout Season 2 the two on them continue to snark and insult each other, though they are also able to work together seamlessly and gradually grow closer as partners and friends. Following Bohman's defeat, Ai defects from Yusaku to pursue his rebellion against humanity. Yusaku appeared hurt and conflicted by Ai's apparent betrayal but decided to fight against Ai in the hopes of saving him. Yusaku was incredibly reluctant to duel Ai, due to everything they had been through together, however Ai forced Yusaku's hand and the two of them dueled each other. Throughout their duel, Yusaku repeatedly showed reluctance in fighting Ai and tried to convince him to stop, however Ai refused to back down. Yusaku eventually defeated Ai, who then revealed that he lost intentionally in order to save Yusaku, Yusaku in turn was touched and heartbroken by Ai's demise. It is later implied Ai survived and that Yusaku is searching for him. Yusaku and Ai serve as foils to each other as while both started out as happy individuals, both were subjected to an immense emotional trauma that hurt them severely, while Yusaku started out as cold and anti-social, Ai was a happy and friendly individual with friends he cared deeply for. As the series progresses, Yusaku begins opening up and is able to make friends with others, while Ai loses his Ignis friends in the Ignis War and turned against humanity. During his duel against the Zaizens, Ai echoed Yusaku's statement from Season 1 during his duel against Akira, claiming that time has stopped moving for him and that he can't move forward unless he defeats all who stand in his way. ===Cal Kolter===Both Ai and Kolter are shown to be on good terms with each other, unlike Yusaku. Kolter is generally shown to care be very friendly with Ai and they both like to tease Yusaku for his poor social skills towards women however Ai can be annoyed with him at times. ===Roboppi===The two appear to have some sort of romantic relationship. Roboppi appears to have some feelings for him and Ai in return is shown to blush when it praises him. It is currently unknown if his feelings for it are mutual, but he uses it to make him set free and promises he would make it smarter. When he left a backup of him in it, it gained free will and developed a brotherly relationship with him. ==Deck==Ai uses an '''"[[@Ignister]]"/"[[A.I.]]"''' Deck that focuses on continuously swarming the field using "[[Ignister A.I.Land]]" and using monsters as seen materials for multiple Summoning methods, including [[Ritual Summon|Ritual]], [[Fusion Summon|Fusion]], [[Synchro Summon|Synchro]], [[Xyz Summon|Xyz]] and [[Link Summon]]ing. His monsters are based on the Ignis; the Main Deck monsters gather advantage and the necessary cards to perform his Summons, while the effects of his Extra Deck monsters are often more powerful when he showed concern when controls more "@Ignister" monsters and many of them also activate during battle. Ai's most common combo is to Link Summon "[[Dark Templar @Ignister (anime)|Dark Templar @Ignister]]" via swarming the field with "A.I.Land" and "[[Linguriboh (anime)|Linguriboh]]" and then use the effect of "A.I.Land" to trigger the effect of "Dark Templar", reviving more "@Ignister" monsters to continue his chains of Summons. If he Link Summons "Fire Phoenix @Ignister" in this manner, it allows him to activate the [[Link Spell Card]] "[[Judgment Arrows (later anime)|Judgment Arrows]]". His Deck also has stall capabilities via the effect of "[[A.I. A.I. Wall]]"; he uses this variant to hold off [[Yusaku Fujiki|Playmaker]], [[Roken Kogami|Varis]], and [[Theodore Hamilton|Soulburner]]. The Spell and Trap Card support featured in the Deck contains art of the Ignis form of Ai, reflecting his self-centered nature; [[Pandor]] notes that Ai is adept at escaping danger with this support. Ai's ultimate move is to use all six of his "@Ignister" boss monsters to Link Summon "[[The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister (anime)|The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister]]", the first [[Link 6 Monster Cards|Link-6]] [[Link Monster]], whose high [[ATK]] and immunity to card effects make it nearly indestructible. {{Decklist||effect monsters =* [[Achichi @Ignister (anime)|Achichi @Ignister]]* [[Donyoribo @Ignister (anime)|Donyoribo @Ignister]]* [[Doshin @Ignister (anime)|Doshin @Ignister]]* [[Doyon @Ignister (anime)|Doyon @Ignister]]* [[Gatchiri @Ignister (anime)|Gatchiri @Ignister]]* [[Gussari @Ignister (anime)|Gussari @Ignister]]* [[Hiyari @Ignister (anime)|Hiyari @Ignister]]* [[Pikari @Ignister (anime)|Pikari @Ignister]]|tuner monsters = * [[Bururu @Ignister (anime)|Bururu @Ignister]]|ritual monsters =* [[Water Leviathan @Ignister (anime)|Water Leviathan @Ignister]]|fusion monsters =* [[Earth Golem @Ignister (anime)|Earth Golem @Ignister]]|synchro monsters =* [[Wind Pegasus @Ignister (anime)|Wind Pegasus @Ignister]]|xyz monsters =* [[Light Dragon @Ignister (anime)|Light Dragon @Ignister]]|link monsters =* [[Dark Templar @Ignister (anime)|Dark Templar @Ignister]]* [[Darkwight @Ignister]]* [[Fire Phoenix @Ignister (anime)|Fire Phoenix @Ignister]]* [[Linguriboh (anime)|Linguriboh]]* [[The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister (anime)|The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister]]|spells =* [[A.I. A.I. Wall]]* [[A.I. Contact (anime)|A.I. Contact]]* [[A.I. Love Fusion (anime)|A.I. Love Fusion]]* [[A.I. Mine]]* [[A.I.'s Ritual (anime)|A.I.'s Ritual]]* [[A.I.dle Reborn (anime)|A.I.dle Reborn]]* [[CompromA.I.se]] * [[FA.I.ghting Spirit (anime)|FA.I.ghting Spirit]]* [[Ignister A.I.Land (anime)|Ignister A.I.Land]] x2* [[Judgment Arrows (later anime)|Judgment Arrows]]* [[TA.I. Strike (anime)|TA.I. Strike]]* [[TA.I.med Technique]]|traps =* [[A.I.Q (anime)|A.I.Q]]* [[A.I. Shadow (anime)|A.I. Shadow]]* [[A.I.'s Hymn]]* [[A.I.'s Show (anime)|A.I.'s Show]]* [[HA.I.]]}} ==Duels=={| class="wikitable card-list"! scope="col" | Opponent ! scope="col" | Episode(s)! scope="col" | Outcome|- | [[Queen]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 104|104]] || Win|-| [[Dr. Genome]] & [[Baira|Klarissa Turner/Baira]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 106|106]] || Win |-| [[Yusaku Fujiki|Yusaku Fujiki/Playmaker]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 106|106]], [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 108|108]] || Lose (Ai copy)|-| [[Theodore Hamilton|Theodore Hamilton/Soulburner]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 106|106]], [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 108|108]] || Lose (Ai copy)|-| [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 106|106]], [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 108|108]] || Lose (Ai copy)|-| [[Faust]] & [[Spectre]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 107|107]] || Win |-| [[George Gore]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 107|107]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 108|108]] || Win|-| [[Pandor]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 108|108]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 109|109]] || Win|- | [[Akira Zaizen]] & [[Skye Zaizen|Skye Zaizen/Blue Maiden]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 110|110]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 111|111]] || Win|-| [[Yusaku Fujiki|Yusaku Fujiki/Playmaker]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 117|117]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 120|120]] || Lose|} ==Trivia==* Ai's Ignis form is featured in the artworks of most of the cards of the "[[A.I.]]" archetype.* Ai is the only Ignis who has used every type of Summoning introduced up to the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|VRAINS]]'' series, except for [[Pendulum Summon]]ing due to it not being featured ([[Earth (character)|Earth]], [[Windy]], and [[Lightning]] only had Link Summoning in their algorithms; neither [[Flame]] nor [[Aqua (character)|Aqua]] dueled without their partners).* Along with Lightning, Ai is one of two Ignis:** Who [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] has referred to by their human name.** Who have won a Duel (Earth and Windy having lost both Duels they participated in; Flame and Aqua having never been shown dueling).* The very last scene of ''VRAINS'' where Ai wakes up as an eye and looks around wonderingly was deleted during his Master duel against Revolverlater reused in the Duel Link announcement trailer for the VRAINS Sector.
==References==
<references />
{{Ai pages}}
{{Characters/VRAINS/Anime}}
[[Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS characters]]