Harlin

"Haru" redirects here. For the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL character, see Haru Tsukumo.

Harlin, known as Haru (ハル, Haru) in the Japanese version, is a character and an antagonist in the second season of the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime. He works with Bohman towards their goal, and he is described as a mysterious boy who holds the key to the new plot. Though he is described as Bohman's little brother, in truth he is older than him and is a second-generation A.I. created by Lightning as a prototype to Bohman, tasked with guiding him on his journey.

Harlin

Names
English	Harlin
Japanese Japanese ハル Rōmaji Haru
Personal
Gender	Male
Relatives
Bohman ("Older brother") Lightning (creator)
Duelist
Deck	Hydradrive
Appearances
Anime debut	Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS episode 04747: "LINK VRAINS 2.0"
Appears in Anime Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Voice actors
English	Dan Rosales
Japanese	Ryoko Shiraishi
Harlin

Contents

DesignEdit

AppearanceEdit

Harlin in both his original and military outfits.

Harlin appears as a young boy with orange hair that has a yellow top that flicks up at the sides. His hair has three red highlights; two diamond shaped sections on the temples that almost seem to extend from his eyebrows, and curved section on his orange fringe. Like Bohman, he has orange eyes with yellow borders on the irises.

Harlin appears in two different outfits within LINK VRAINS. In the first, he wears a dark blue long-sleeved shirt with a white blazer with yellow accents, orange pants with yellow accents and the cuffs turned up just past the knees to reveal an aquamarine lining, a pink belt with a silver buckle and an aquamarine, diamond-shaped fastener, and white boots with pink soles. His second outfit is a more ornate military-style garb similar to those worn by Jin Kolter and Bohman; he wears a white mantle with a gold border and a red tip and green shoulderpads with a slight collar. Under this mantle he wears a long black coat with golden edges, red shoulders, and an orange belt. He also wears red gauntlets with golden cuffs, black boots, and white "flared" pants tucked into his boots.

As with all members of Lightning's organization, the Southern Cross star is prominent in Harlin's design; his boots have yellow stars on the ankles, and his blazer has a larger star on the chest. His gauntlets, boots, and mantle over the heart bear it in his military garb.

PersonalityEdit

Harlin's voice actor, Ryoko Shiraishi describes Harlin as possessing lovely expressions, but also countless different types of feelings. He puts these to use to manipulate Bohman, demonstrating casual annoyance at his crude Dueling and the argument between Bit and Boot, and nonchalance at Lightning casually rewriting Bohman's memory.

Harlin does not truly consider himself Bohman's brother in the manner that Bohman does, and downplays his own importance. However, deep down Harlin does indeed come to treasure the time he spent with Bohman, and before being erased, he genuinely calls Bohman his brother rather than out of instruction.

In the dub, Harlin's deeper characterization is significantly changed. He possesses a far deeper self-loathing, believing his brotherly bond with Bohman to be non-existent due to merely being programming. Lightning tells him that Bohman becomes a new person every time his memories are changed, so he is effectively not his brother and does not remember his name; when Bohman does recall Harlin's name after gaining his true memories, Harlin finds himself weeping tears of joy. He is notably more eager to volunteer to Duel Blue Maiden when Lightning brings up the topic, as it would be for Bohman's safety.

AbilitiesEdit

Harlin is a skilled coder, implanting an anti-Ignis program within Bohman to prevent Ai from eating him and breaking through the restricted area of LINK VRAINS. When he uses his Skill, "Marker's Portal", the star on his outfit glows.

EtymologyEdit

Harlin's original name, Haru may be a reference to HAL 9000/Hal from the science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey; a character named "Bowman" also appears in the film.

BiographyEdit

HistoryEdit

Harlin was the first second-generation A.I. created by Lightning in his efforts to unite the Ignis into a single A.I., and the first to use the "Hydradrive" Deck that Lightning created. Lightning later created Bohman, who Harlin taught to Duel using the "Hydradrive" cards. Harlin was assigned to act as Bohman's younger brother figure in order to observe him as he developed by battling Playmaker and Ai.

IgnisEdit

After Bohman stole Jin Kolter's consciousness, Harlin observed him Speed Dueling Playmaker. He noted that Bohman's Dueling was crude, as he lost more than half his LP on his first turn despite only needing to suffer minimal damage to activate his "Marker's Portal" Skill. Harlin continued to observe Bohman's progress, and he was shocked to see Playmaker use a Cyberse Ritual Monster, as that hadn't been in their data on him. That monster's attack revealed Bohman beneath his glowing facade, and as Bohman lamented over his lack of memories, Harlin told him his name and that he was fighting to reclaim their memories. Bohman continued the Duel and almost won, but the effect of Playmaker's Ritual Monster saved him. To Harlin's shock, Playmaker used his own Skill, "Storm Access" to acquire a new "Code Talker", "Shootingcode Talker", and defeated Bohman. Playmaker's Ignis, Ai, attempted to eat Jin's data out of Bohman, but the anti-Ignis program that Harlin had implanted within Bohman repelled him, and Harlin helped Bohman onto his Duel Board and fled. He summoned Bit and Boot to stop Playmaker, but a new Duelist appeared to stop them. Bit and Boot were defeated by the newcomer, Soulburner, who also possessed an Ignis, as Playmaker pursued Harlin and Bohman, and Harlin fired them, engulfing them in flames. He fled to the bottom of LINK VRAINS and into the Restricted Area, bypassing the boundary and escaping with Bohman. Before escaping, he told Playmaker to stay tuned, as something miraculous would soon happen.

Harlin took Bohman to Windy's Cyberse and knelt before the obscured form of Lightning, telling Bohman to do the same. Lightning asked if they'd acquire Jin's data, and Harlin confirmed that they had, but had faced Playmaker and the DARK Ignis, and that Bohman had gained some experience defeating them. He told Lightning that another Duelist had defeated Bit and Boot with the aid of the FIRE Ignis, which Lightning claimed to have anticipated. Lightning admitted that they would eventually be found and they needed to prepare. He ordered Jin's data to be given to him, and Harlin told Bohman to release Jin's data. Harlin watched impassively as Lightning erased Bohman's memory and stated that he would be given new memories.

Lightning altered Bohman's memories to make him believe he was Yusaku Fujiki, and Bohman and Harlin lay in wait in a wind field. When Playmaker reached them, Harlin and Bohman appeared on top of the statue of a soldier and was challenged by Playmaker. Bohman stated he wasn't after Ai, stating he would bring Playmaker to justice and make him pay for his crimes. Harlin watched the entire Duel, curious to see the new power given to Bohman. He was visibly surprised when Bohman forced one of Playmaker's counters, only to reveal he had already predicted it and proceeded to use the cards he really wanted to. After destroying all of Playmaker's monsters, Bohman revealed he was the original consciousness of one of the Lost Incident's victims, trapped outside his own body, and the one inside his real body was none other than Playmaker, showing as evidence the fact he was able to predict Playmaker's every action as a Duelist. Determined to have his body returned to him, Bohman vowed to win. Harlin wondered if Bohman and Playmaker could actually switch places, and found the concept interesting. He wondered if Playmaker was aiming to seal the effect of "Judgment Arrows" again when he revived his "Update Jammer", but Playmaker instead used "Detonate Deleter" to destroy Bohman's monster without battling, and Harlin wondered if Bohman would actually lose. Harlin told Bohman to pull himself together, and he watched as Bohman managed to activate "Storm Access" in the middle of the Master Duel, impressed by the display of power. Bohman Link Summoned "Trident Hydradrive Lord" and attacked, and Harlin cheered, believing his brother had won, but Playmaker was able to survive with 100 LP. Harlin watched as Playmaker made his comeback, shocked that he not only had a "Fusion" card, but that he'd also sent the necessary Clock Wyvern" to the Graveyard earlier in the Duel. Playmaker Fusion Summoned "Cyberse Clock Dragon", which powered up to become stronger than "Trident Hydradrive Lord". Bohman attempted to counter, and Harlin smiled in satisfaction, but the other effect of "Clock Dragon" foiled Bohman's efforts, and it defeated him. As Bohman and Harlin sank back into the clouds, Harlin vowed to Playmaker that his brother would return.

After the Duel, Bohman followed Harlin around Lightning's palace, much to Harlin's irritation. Bohman claimed that he was simply trying to protect his little brother, but Harlin irritably brushed him off. Lightning eventually restored Bohman's memories and told Harlin that he would have to serve as Bohman's servant rather than his brother. Despite this, Harlin found himself crying at the prospect without realizing it, and joined Bohman in looking at a sunset. In the dub, Lightning told Harlin that Bohman would no longer become his brother due to becoming a different person every time his memories were changed, and stated Bohman's forgetting of Harlin's name as evidence; Bohman remembering Harlin's name after gaining his true memories brought him to tears, and Bohman reassured Harlin that they would always be brothers.

Harlin and Bohman transported to Windy's palace after he was defeated by Varis, confronting Playmaker, Soulburner, and the Knights of Hanoi. They remained silent as Lightning revealed that he had been behind the destruction of the Cyberse and declared war on humanity, before they fled to heal Windy. As Playmaker and Soulburner pursued them, Bohman decided to Duel Playmaker to see how much he'd improved, and Harlin remained behind to observe the Speed Duel. Harlin watched as Playmaker opposed Bohman with "Cyberse Magician", wary of his strange counterattacks and shocked by Playmaker's tactics that almost defeated Bohman, though Bohman was able to stay in the Duel. He cheered his "brother" on as he successfully used "Storm Access" in the high-intensity Data Storm around the Ignis Tower, and watched as Playmaker attempted to do the same, pleased that Playmaker was proceeding as they'd predicted. To his shock, Playmaker used a new Skill, "Neo Storm Access", and he resisted Bohman's efforts to stop him from Synchro Summoning the new monster he'd acquired, "Cyberse Quantum Dragon". "Quantum Dragon" almost defeated Bohman, who was forced to end the Duel in a DRAW, and a disappointed Harlin escaped with Bohman to Mirror LINK VRAINS.

Harlin visited Bohman as he was synchronizing with Mirror LINK VRAINS, asking if he was all right and claiming that it was his function to be concerned for Bohman. Bohman replied that Harlin was special, since he was his younger brother, though Harlin dismissed that as a charade on Lightning's part. Bohman admitted that was true, but stated that he wouldn't forget being brothers for a time. Harlin suggested he might understand how Bohman felt when they became one. Playmaker and his allies discovered Mirror LINK VRAINS, and Lightning ordered Harlin to challenge Blue Maiden, Aqua's partner and Akira Zaizen's sister. Both Harlin and Lightning noted the sibling relationship was akin to Harlin and Bohman's façade, and Harlin asked if Lightning thought he could win. Lightning replied that he didn't care, an answer Harlin took to mean that Lightning didn't believe in him. Before he left, he visited Bohman, though he didn't initially say anything about being sent out to Duel until Bohman sensed Lightning had said something to him. Bohman begged Harlin not to leave, as he was his younger brother, and claimed that he wouldn't be able to defeat Playmaker's team. Harlin snapped that he had been born first and had no good memories of being forced to babysit Bohman and left. Bohman protested that Harlin would be erased if he lost, but Harlin claimed he wasn't afraid as he was a failed A.I. and it would be better than listening to Bohman.

Harlin berated himself for seeing Bohman and joined the BitBoots in repelling Playmaker's team. He challenged Blue Maiden, bringing out "Twin Hydradrive Knight" on his first turn and setting it up to counter WATER and WIND monsters, while supporting it with "Judgment Arrows". His choice proved fortuitous, as Blue Maiden was using a new "Marincess" Deck, which was WATER-Attribute, but Blue Maiden was still able to play around the effect of "Twin Hydradrive Knight". He mocked Blue Maiden for calling Zaizen her sibling despite not being related by blood, and rebuffed her claim that he was Bohman's brother. He counterattacked on his next turn with "Coolant Hydradrive", intending to win with a single attack, but Blue Maiden negated its effects and destroyed it. Harlin was able to destroy "Marincess Coral Anemone", but Blue Maiden used her "Shape of Sea" Skill to revive it, claiming that she couldn't lose against someone who had nothing to fight for. Harlin called the concept silly, but suddenly found himself thinking of Bohman. Blue Maiden brought out "Marincess Marbled Rock" and negated the effect of "Twin Hydradrive Knight", then boosted its ATK over even the doubled ATK of "Hydradrive Knight", before defeating Harlin with another Trap Card from her hand that depleted his remaining LP. Harlin was blasted off his Duel Board, and he remembered crying when he tried to serve as Bohman's servant and watching a sunset with him. He realized this was the bond between siblings, and decided that they were indeed his most precious moments, apologizing to his brother and bidding him goodbye before being erased.

DecksEdit

Like Bohman, Harlin plays a "Hydradrive" Deck. He claims that the Deck is different to his brother's and that he was the one that taught Bohman how to Duel. While Speed Duelling, he uses the Skill "Marker's Portal" to access "Judgment Arrows" from his Deck.

Deck
Skill Card: Marker's Portal Main Deck Monster Cards Effect Monsters Hydradrive Booster x2 Spell Cards Hydradrive Impact Hydradrive Rebuild Hydradrive Utilization Judgment Arrows Trap Cards Hydradrive Nightmare Extra Deck Link Monsters Coolant Hydradrive x3 Flow Hydradrive Twin Hydradrive Knight

DuelsEdit

Opponent(s)	Episode(s)	Outcome
Skye Zaizen/Blue Maiden	85	Lose