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{{redirect|Playmaker|the ''Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL'' card|""Playmaker"" (card)}}
{{Infobox character
| headers = true
| ja_name = {{Ruby|藤|ふじ}}{{Ruby|木|き}} {{Ruby|遊|ゆう}}{{Ruby|作|さく}}
| romaji_name = Fujiki Yūsaku
| other_names = * Playmaker(プレイメーカー, ''Pureimēkā'')* Unknown (アンノウン, ''Announ'', Japanese version only)<ref name="ep64">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|64|ref}}</ref>
| age = 16
| gender = Male
| school = [[Den AcademyCity High School]]| anime_deck = [[Cyberse]]
| appears_in_anime = ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS]]''
| en_voice = {{voice actors|en|[[Jake Paque]]}}<ref name="Yusaku English VA">[https://twitter.com/jakepaque/status/1033444031815196672 Jake Paque's Twitter]</ref>| ja_voice = {{voice actors|ja|Shouya Ishige|Kana Omuro|e2=(younger)}}
| anime_debut = {{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1|ref}}
}}
'''Yusaku Fujiki''' ({{Ruby|藤|ふじ}}{{Ruby|木|き}} {{Ruby|遊|ゆう}}{{Ruby|作|さく}}, ''Fujiki Yūsaku'') , known as '''Playmaker''' (プレイメーカー, ''Pureimēkā'') in [[LINK VRAINS]], is the main protagonist of the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS]]'' anime.<ref name="jumpfesta">{{cite web | url = https://ygorganization.com/jump-festa-2017-latest-information-stage/ | title = The Organization {{!}} <nowiki>The Organization | [Jump Festa 2017] </nowiki> Latest Information Stage: 6th Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime</nowiki> | publisher = YGOrganization | date = December 17, 2016 | accessdate = December 17, 2016}}</ref> When Dueling A victim of the [[Hanoi Project]], he battles against the [[Knights of Hanoi]] in order to avenge his past with the aid of his friend [[Cal Kolter]] and the [[LINK VRAINSIgnis]]that he has captured, he [[Ai]]. He is known as '''Playmaker'the Origin of Ai. In the second season, Yusaku becomes entangled in the kidnapping of [[Jin Kolter]]'s soul and the hunt for the people who destroyed the [[Cyberse (world)|Cyberse]], teaming up with fellow Hanoi Project victim [[Theodore Hamilton]] and Theodore's own Ignis, [[Flame (character)|Flame]].
==Design==
===Appearance===
[[File:YoungYusaku.png|thumb|100px|Young Yusaku.]]When he was a child, Yusaku wore a brown jacket with a green shirt. He wore blue pants and , brown boots, and didn't have pink accents on his light blue bangs yet.
===Personality===
{{Quote|That's right. I am the emissary of revenge. I'll crush the [[Knights of Hanoi]].|author=Yusaku Fujiki<ref name="ep12"/>}}Yusaku may be the first ''Yu-Gi-Oh !'' protagonist who is an anti-hero. He is not a bad person, but he can appear cold and apathetic. Yusaku is described as a boy who doesn't like standing out at school, not that he's timid or shy but because he is a hacker. Due to a certain incidentthe trauma of the Lost Incident, he generally tries to avoid contact with others and only seems to trust [[Shoichi KusanagiCal Kolter|Kolter]]. HoweverYusaku is calm and collected most of the time. Outside of Duels he is shown to be intelligent and clever, he gets drawn into encounters but also calculating, standoffish, reserved, and somewhat anti-social. He prefers to distance himself from others and doesn't usually interact with people , not even remembering his classmates' names after a month in school. When [[Naoki Shima]] tried to be friendly with him, Yusaku casually admitted to being a loner and inadvertently irritated Shima with his observations, then didn't react to Shima storming off. In public, Yusaku comes off as rather awkward and often doesn't know how to answer questions, leading others to assume things about him, such as when Shima assumed he wanted to join the Duel Club and Skye assumed he tries out Dueling for oncewanted new equipment from SOL. Despite his aloof and calm demeanor Yusaku can be quite sullen when it comes to dealing with Ai's antics. In the dub, Yusaku is substantially snarkier, particularly when it comes to dealing with Ai.<ref name="jumpfesta" />
Despite his introverted and cold nature, Yusaku is calm both noble and collected most of the timegolden-hearted deep down. Outside of Duels he He is shown to be intelligent and clever, but also calculating, standoffish, reservedon well terms with his best friend, Kolter and somewhat anti-social. He prefers to distance himself from shows sympathy or care for others and doesn't usually interact with people, not even remembering his classmates' names after a month in school. When situations like when he discovers that everything [[Naoki ShimaGeorge Gore|Gore]] tried to be friendly with him, Yusaku casually admitted to being a loner and inadvertently irritated Naoki with does is for his observationsorphanage, then didn't react but he refuses to Naoki storming off. In public, Yusaku comes off as rather awkward and often doesn't know how to answer questions, leading let others get close to assume things about him, such as when Naoki assumed he wanted to and join his fight against the Duel Club and Aoi assumed he wanted new equipment from SOL. Despite his aloof and calm demeanor Yusaku can be quite sullen when it comes to dealing with Ignis's anticsHanoi out of concern that they may get hurt.
Following the events of the first season, Yusaku slowly begins to change, and this is largely due to his interactions with Ai and Varis, who he discovered to be the Ignis based on him and the person who kept up his spirits respectively. He also doesnand Ai gradually build up a rocky, but trusting relationship, and after learning Varis't seem s true identity, Yusaku casts aside his desire for revenge and attempts to save Varis from himself, expressing a desire to carry animosity towards othershave a friend for the first time. In the dub, this is taken even further, as Yusaku openly declares that he is also fighting for his fallen allies and impresses upon Roken the damage that his actions would cause both to the world and to himself. As he stated states in his final Duel with Bohman, Yusaku comes to believe that his allies expanded his views and that there are experiences one can only learn by accepting one's friends. Though still quiet and anti-social, he didnbecomes far more willing to work with other people; teaming up with [[Theodore Hamilton]] and [[Flame (character)|Flame]], and later even extending an offer to Gore to work together again despite Gore't hate Akira for s negative feelings towards him. When his foul tortureclosest friends fall in the war with the Ignis, making it clear that Yusaku is heartbroken; he only hates is further traumatized after being forced to defeat Kolter, though this is eased by Kolter anticipating the Knights of Hanoiscenario and asking him to do so, and infuriated by Soulburner's defeat at Bohman's hands.
===Abilities===Yusaku is said to be an intelligent hacker who possesses considerable ability and who solves mysteries in a cool manner. Cool-headed and extremely clever, Yusaku's real skill is in his hacking and cracking abilities. He was able to hack into SOL Technologies' systems to find Ai, which both SOL and the Knights of Hanoi had been hunting, within a few minutes and in the middle of a security scan, and managed to capture it into his Duel Disk while leaving the Ignis with no means to escape. He has been fighting the Knights of Hanoi for some time without leaving any trace of his actions as "Playmaker", and keeps a dummy deck to mislead others when in public. Yusaku combines his high intellect with his hacking abilities to quickly come up with plans and think on his feet. An observant individual, he is good at reading people. When Dueling, Yusaku keeps a close eye on his opponent's body language and expressions to know when they're planning something, and as such, he usually isn't surprised when something unexpected happens.
When in a [[Speed Duel (VRAINS)|Speed Duel]], Yusaku's [[Skill]] is "[[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]", which allows him to randomly access a never-before-seen card [[Cyberse]] [[Link Monster]] from a Data Storm when his [[LP]] are 1000 or lower, at the cost of having to venture into the Data Storm (it would also appear that the more he uses this Skill, the easier it becomes for him to execute it, as when he used it in his Duels against the Knight of Hanoi and Go OnizukaGore, he struggled greatly, and had to use his left hand to steady his right arm; however, when he used it in his Duel against Blue Angel, he didn't struggle as much, nor did he steady his right arm). The cards obtained using this ability can then be converted into physical cards outside of LINK VRAINS using appropriate technology; also, as stated by [[Emma Bessho|Ghost Gal]], "Storm Access" is a unique skill that not just any Duelist can use. He can also teleport back to his D-Duel Board should he fall off from it during a Duel, though he would first need to stop his fall to do so. During the second season, his Skill evolves, becoming "Neo Storm Access" and in addition to allowing him to add other types of Cyberse Extra Deck monsters to his Extra Deck, it can also be used a second time and allow him to draw a card if it fails and his LP is 100 or less.
Yusaku also displays a strange ability to sense and see things in the network world when not logged incalled [[Link Sense]]. Yusaku has had this ability from a young age. Similar to IgnisAi, he can also discern a Knight of Hanoi's presence through their cards, which allowed him to immediately determine that Go Gore was not a Knight of Hanoi and know when Blue Angel had drawn the card that was affected by Hanoi's influence. He can hear and feel the pulse of his Cyberse monsters. In the dub, this ability is even stronger, as he was able to briefly perceive the seed of the Tower of Hanoi rather than simply sense its presence when it reacted.
===Etymology===
Like the protagonists of the previous five series ([[Yugi Muto]], [[Jaden Yuki]], [[Yusei Fudo]], [[Yuma Tsukumo]], and [[Yuya Sakaki]]), his name contains the character「遊」(Yu). In a break from tradition, however, his first name contains three syllables instead of the usual two.
His given name contains the characters "game" (''Yu'' 遊), and "work" (''Saku'' 作). His surname, '''Fujiki''', means "[[wikipedia:wisteria|wisteria]] tree", the blue-and-pink coloring of which matches that of his hair. The kanji of his given name can also be translated as "playing" and "making", which is most likely the pun of his VR name "The Playmaker".
==Biography==
===History===
[[File:Young_Yusaku_found_in_a_forestYoung Yusaku loses.png|thumb|left|250px|Yusaku losing a Duel during the Hanoi Project]][[File:Young Yusaku found in a forest.png|thumb|250px|Yusaku is rescued from the Hanoi Project.]]Yusaku mentioned once ran into [[Roken Kogami]], knocking his Deck over. As he picked up the cards, Yusaku and Roken asked one another if they played ''Duel Monsters'', and Roken offered to show Yusaku his Deck at his house.<ref name="ep58">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|58|ref}}</ref> But once Yusaku arrived at the [[Knights Kogami family's house]], he was kidnapped as part of the [[HanoiProject]] stole and he woke up in a white, empty room, with VR goggles. Yusaku was forced to [[Duel]] continuously for six months, and was penalized for losing with electrocution and starvation. During Yusaku's imprisonment, a voice told him not to give up, and advised him to think of three reasons to continue fighting. Yusaku asked who the voice was, but the voice told him he'd soon go home. After six months, the system was disbanded, and while Yusaku was rescued, the Incident was covered up and not mentioned in the media. Yusaku developed PTSD due to the torture he suffered during the Incident, and though he received treatment for it and was treated normally by society, he found himself unable to recover from the tragedies he'd suffered.<ref name="ep19">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|19|ref}}</ref> Eventually, Yusaku decided to take action and face his pastown destiny by taking revenge on those who had wronged him, though he still kept the advice to think of three reasons to continue fighting to his heart. When <ref name="ep11" /> He learned that the "Lost Incident" that he had been put through was youngercalled the "Hanoi Project", and he and five other children were rescued after an unknown incidentdecided to hunt down the hacker group the [[Knights of Hanoi]], believing them to be responsible for the "Hanoi Project". He shortly recollected worked alone under the alias "Unknown" (in the dub, he simply did not use an alias at one point all), rescuing another Duelist from the Knights of Hanoi, [[Cal Kolter|Unnamed]]. Unnamed tried to ask if Unknown knew anything about the Lost Incident, but Unknown simply told him to log out. Unknown later rescued Unnamed again, asking why he kept logging in. Unnamed explained that he most likely surfed was fighting for his little brother's sake, and Unknown distracted the Knights of Hanoi to allow Unnamed to get beyond their field that prevented him from logging out. Unknown then challenged one of the Knights to a Duel, countering his "[[Limiter Removal (anime)|Limiter Removal]]" with "[[Forbidden Lance (anime)|Forbidden Lance]]" and his own "Limiter Removal" to power up "[[Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow (anime)|Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow]]" and defeat the winds Knight in a single attack. As he fled from the other Knights, a portal appeared above him and the voice of Unnamed told him to jump into it. The portal logged Unknown out, and Unnamed told him to come to [[LINK Café Nom]].<ref name="ep64">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|64|ref}}</ref> Yusaku visited the hotdog stand and met with Cal Kolter, who was shocked to learn that he was so young and asked if he was a victim of the Lost Incident. He explained that his brother, [[Jin Kolter|Jin]] before they disappeared, had also been a victim and had been significantly changed by the experience. Kolter offered to team up with Yusaku, describing him as the ultimate spear, while Kolter could act as the ultimate shield, and Yusaku agreed.<ref name="ep1ep64" /> At some point Yusaku and Kolter quickly became a strong team, defeating several Knights of Hanoi, but making little progress in their goals for revenge. Yusaku began fighting wondered if the Knights were hunting the [[Cyberse]] monsters because they were scared of them, and he decided to investigate an urban legend of a Cyberse Deck in a secret dungeon. As he and Unnamed explored the dungeon, Unknown had to save Unnamed from a booby trap, and he noted that if one lost their [[Duel Disk]] in LINK VRAINS, they couldn't log out. They managed to find the Deck, but the way was blocked by a Duel Puzzle that a Knight of Hanoi undertook. Unknown observed the Ancient Ghost's [[Extra Link]] and watched as the Knight of Hanoi under attempted to win by attacking with the alias [[Megamorph (anime)|powered-up]] "[[Update Jammer (anime)|Update Jammer]]", but was defeated by "Playmaker[[Chaos Burst (anime)|Chaos Burst]]" with and logged out by being devoured by a monster. Unknown then undertook the challenge himself, cautiously observing his cards in his [[Graveyard]] and [[Shoichi KusanagiExtra Deck]]as well as in his hand and on his field at Unnamed's helpsuggestion. Another Knight of Hanoi arrived as Unknown realized the solution, and Unnamed chained the Knight up to buy Unknown time. They deduced that destroying five monsters with "[[Thunder Crash (anime)|Thunder Crash]]" and then reviving them with "[[Torrential Reborn (later anime)|Torrential Reborn]]" would inflict enough damage to win, but they controlled a [[Token monster]], as the Knight pointed out, which would not be revived. Unknown was able to assemble the necessary field to trigger the combo, defeating the Ancient Ghost. They sprinted to the sarcophagus, but it was empty, and the Knight mocked them before logging out.<ref name="ep65">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|65|ref}}</ref> Yusaku realized that the layout of the field had been a map of Den City, which depicted the location of the Cyberse Deck in the real world. Sure enough, when he and Kolter went to the unfinished first bridge of the city, they found a room with arrows leading to it and the "[[Secure Gardna (anime)|Secure Gardna]]" card on the door, with the Cyberse Deck inside the real sarcophagus. Kolter declared that the power of the Deck would allow them to combat the Knights of Hanoi. <ref name="ep65" /> With the powerful Cyberse Deck in hand, Yusaku took up the alias of "Playmaker" , and soon became a famous [[Duelist]] within Link LINK VRAINS, with no one knowing what his real identity is because he and Kolter always deleted his activity logs.<ref name="ep1">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1|ref}}</ref> ===Knights of Hanoi===At school, Yusaku met [[Naoki Shima]], who started bragging to him about his new [[Duel Disk]]. Yusaku attempted to leave, but Shima offered to teach him how to Duel. Yusaku rejected his offer saying Shima did not seem very strong, but probably not a bad person either. Yusaku's remarks annoyed Shima, but he didn't think much of it. Before leaving, he wondered about a rule set where there were only three Main Monster Zones.<ref name="ep1" /> [[File:Yusaku and Kusanagi disccussing.png|thumb|left|250px|Yusaku and Kolter talking about the A.I.]][[File:Playmaker Saves The Blue Angel.png|thumb|250px|Playmaker saves Blue Angel.]]Yusaku later met up with [[Cal Kolter|Kolter]] and they discussed how both [[SOL Technologies]] and the [[Knights of Hanoi]] were chasing after [[Ai|an A.I. program]] in [[LINK VRAINS]]. Upon learning that SOL Technologies had scheduled a full scan of Link VRAINS that evening to try and find the A.I., they quickly started working on a trap to catch the A.I. themselves. Although Yusaku successfully captured the reluctant A.I. in his Duel Disk, one of [[Number 10 (character)|the Knights of Hanoi]] threatened to destroy LINK VRAINS. Yusaku quickly logged into LINK VRAINS as Playmaker and saved [[Skye Zaizen|Blue Angel]] from the Knight's "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]". He then challenged the Knight to a Duel, putting the A.I. at stake. The A.I. voiced his doubts that Yusaku's Deck could beat "Cracking Dragon", and stirred up [[Data Storm]] in LINK VRAINS, starting a [[Speed Duel (VRAINS)|Speed Duel]] between Yusaku and the Knight.<ref name="ep1" /> [[File:Knight of Hanoi laughs at Playmaker.png|thumb|left|250px|Playmaker being overwhelmed by the Data Storm]]As Playmaker rode the Data Storm, the A.I. explained how Speed Duels differed from [[Master Duel]]s; including that there were only three Main Monster Zones, causing Playmaker to wonder if he already knew about Speed Duels. Ai offered to help Playmaker Duel the Knight, but Playmaker refused, reminding Ai that he was his hostage. The Knight took the first turn and swiftly Summoned "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]". Playmaker counterattacked with "[[Cyberse Wizard (anime)|Cyberse Wizard]]", using its effect to change "Cracking Dragon" to [[Defense Position]] and inflict damage to the Knight. He failed to destroy "Cracking Dragon", something Playmaker had expected due to the Knight's confidence.<ref name="ep2">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|2|ref}}</ref> [[File:Playmaker Storm Access.png|thumb|250px|Playmaker uses the "Storm Access" Skill.]]The Knight activated a [[Skill]], which the A.I. hadn't mentioned, irritating Playmaker. The Knight managed to knock Playmaker off his [[Duel Board]], but Blue Angel saved Playmaker by using her whip to throw the Duel Board back at him. The Knight reduced Playmaker's LP to 400, and he was sucked into the Data Storm. Playmaker realized that this was part of the A.I's calculations. Ai revealed that powerful monsters resided within the Data Storm, and that Playmaker's skill "[[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]" allowed him to obtain those monsters when his LP was below 1000. Playmaker obtained "[[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]", which he used to win the Duel. As the Knight fell off his Duel Board, Yusaku declared that the Knight had no right to call himself a Duelist.<ref name="ep2" /> Playmaker attempted to interrogate the Knight, only for the Knight to attempt to kill him by self-destructing. The A.I. saved his life by devouring the Knight's avatar. [[George Gore|The Gore]] and Blue Angel appeared and challenged Playmaker, but he simply said he wasn't interested and logged out. Yusaku and Kolter spent the next few days trying to figure out the A.I's programming, giving him the nickname "Ai". Yusaku discovered some video logs that were actually Ai's memories. Ai claimed that he didn't understand those memories because they were damaged when he was reduced to an eye, but he did recognize the Knights of Hanoi's [[Roken Kogami|leader]]. Later that night, messing with Ai caused the Knight's leader to sense their location and travel there; Yusaku asked Kolter to shut down [[Café Nom]]'s power to prevent them from being found, though he caught a glimpse of the Knight's leader and his [[Borreload Dragon (anime)|dragon]].<ref name="ep3">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|3|ref}}</ref> [[File:VRAINS log in.png|thumb|left|250px|Yusaku logs into the network.]]The next day a Knight of Hanoi appeared in LINK VRAINS while Ai was at [[Yusaku Fujiki's house|Yusaku's house]], so Yusaku skipped school to get his Duel Disk and face the Knight. On his way there, Kolter gave him the "Decode Talker" card which he had materialized. Upon arriving in LINK VRAINS, Playmaker quickly figured out that the Knight was an impostor. The Knight revealed himself to be The Gore, who wanted to defeat Playmaker and recover his title as "VRAINS' hero". Playmaker rejected his challenged, but SOL Technologies triggered a program that stopped him from logging out until he defeated Gore. With no choice, Playmaker started the Duel. When Gore made an intentional misplay and took damage, Ai questioned why he would make such an illogical move; Playmaker replied that humans' hearts make them do illogical things. Ai was confused by that statement, but Playmaker didn't explain what he meant, claiming that Ai's algorithm-based thinking wouldn't comprehend it.<ref name="ep4">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|4|ref}}</ref> Gore [[Link Summon]]ed "[[Gouki The Great Ogre (anime)|Gouki The Great Ogre]]"<ref name="ep4" /> and reduced Playmaker's LP to 100. Playmaker could've reduced the damage he took but chose not to, and refused to use the escape route that Kolter had built, confusing Ai again. Playmaker stated that Gore's Duel was meant to entertain the audience and his opponent and that he wouldn't quit the Duel. Playmaker proceeded to win by Link Summoning four times in a row and attacking "Great Ogre" [[Link Bumper (anime)|three times]] with "Decode Talker". After the Duel, Kolter suggested they should recruit The Gore for their fight against Hanoi, but Yusaku rejected the idea, saying that he didn't to drag Gore into their fight.<ref name="ep5">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|5|ref}}</ref> Kolter uncovered Skye Zaizen's identity as Blue Angel, and Yusaku realized that Skye was his classmate. Kolter suggested meeting her in order to find out if her brother [[Akira Zaizen]], the Security Manager at SOL Technologies, knew anything about Yusaku's past or [[Jin Kolter|Kolter's brother]]. However, he then started teasing Yusaku that talking to Skye would be impossible because of his lack of social skills. Nevertheless, Yusaku managed to track her down with Ai's help, and he followed her to the [[Duel Club]], where Shima caught up to him. He feigned ignorance when Shima inferred that he wanted to join the club, and when [[Hosoda]] invited him in, he nervously tried to opt out until Ai said thanks on his behalf, which upset him. Yusaku introduced himself to the rest of the club, and the other members introduced themselves as well, including Skye. [[Sato]] showed him his Duel Disk, and Yusaku pretended to be interested, commenting on the factthat it was the latest model. Skye remarked that he knew a lot, but he claimed that it was only because Shima had bragged about it earlier. Skye noticed that Yusaku's Duel Disk was a card-loading model, the same as Playmaker's. When she asked to see his Deck, he obliged, but he handed her his dummy Deck instead. Ai later complimented him for doing so, but Yusaku told him to be quiet, as a meeting was in progress.<ref name="ep6">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|6|ref}}</ref> That evening, he watched Blue Angel issue a public challenge for Playmaker to Duel her. Ai suggested that he should accept, but he refused, since he only approached Skye attempting to acquire a lead on his stolen memories, and he only Dueled against the Knights of Hanoi. Despite this, he was visibly embarrassed when the MC declared that Playmaker wasn't a man if he didn't accept. The next morning, Ai read various posts on social media making fun of Playmaker for not accepting. He soon bumped into Skye again, and they greeted each other. As they walked to class, Skye asked him why he wanted to join the Duel Club, not believing it was because he loved Dueling. Yusaku tried to ask about her brother, she replied that people only ever approached her to ask if her brother could give them a new Duel Disk or a job at SOL after graduation. She lamented that her brother didn't trust her, and ran off. Ai tried to warn Yusaku about a problem he'd noticed with Skye's Duel Disk, but Yusaku wouldn't hear of it.<ref name="ep6" /> In class, Ai claimed that a Knight of Hanoi had appeared. Yusaku went to the balcony behind the Duel Club to enter LINK VRAINS, but instead of a Knight of Hanoi, he found Blue Angel, who remarked that he had finally accepted her challenge. He was initially oblivious, but angered when he realized that Ai had sent Skye a text on Playmaker's behalf challenging her. To his shock, Ai explained that Blue Angel had [[Dark Angel (anime)|a Hanoi card]] in her Deck, and he realized that this was what Ai was trying to tell him earlier. He wondered why Blue Angel would join Hanoi ,and Ai suggested that Hanoi might be using her to lure him, and asked him what he would do, since he wanted to defeat Hanoi. He accepted Blue Angel's challenge, beginning the Duel.<ref name="ep6" /> Playmaker was quickly at the mercy of Blue Angel's [[Trickstar]] Deck, which repeatedly dealt him [[effect damage]] while powering up the [[ATK]] of her ace monster, "[[Trickstar Holly Angel (anime)|Trickstar Holly Angel]]", and he noted that the offensive strategy was very efficient. He Summoned "Decode Talker" and attacked "Holly Angel", but the attack failed and "Decode Talker" was destroyed instead. Ai commented that Blue Angel was putting pressure on them, but Playmaker noticed that Hanoi's presence was getting stronger as Blue Angel drew [[Dark Angel (anime)|her next card]]. Playmaker was reduced to less than 1000 LP, allowing him to use his Skill and gain access to "[[Encode Talker (anime)|Encode Talker]]", which he promptly Link Summoned. Blue Angel realized that Playmaker was taking advantage of the damage that she was inflicting to him, and tried to end the Duel by using her Skill, but failed because Playmaker was protected by "[[Defect Compiler (anime)|Defect Compiler]]". In response, she played Hanoi's card, "Dark Angel", and immediately fell under their influence. She flew into a berserk rage and started screaming, much to Playmaker's and Ai's concern. He ended the Duel as quickly as possible by destroying "Holly Angel" with "Encode Talker", defeating Blue Angel in one hit, but not before she succumbed to mental damage from "Dark Angel" and fell unconscious.<ref name="ep7">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|7|ref}}</ref> [[File:VRAINSChurch.png|thumb|250px|Yusaku is caught in "Blue Angel's" trap.]]Playmaker found Blue Angel unconscious while Ai devoured the "Dark Angel" card. He was forced to log out when security bots approached them, and he found Skye comatose on the roof of the school. He answered Skye's phone when Zaizen called, and took Skye to the hospital. There, he met Zaizen in person, who thanked him and asked about his relationship with Skye; Yusaku claimed that they were just classmates. Yusaku, Kolter, and Ai later discussed Skye's condition and a possible cure. Ai explained that he detected that Skye's brain must be infected by a virus when he devoured Hanoi's card, and that the only ones with the appropriate anti-virus would be Hanoi themselves. [[Emma Bessho|"Blue Angel"]] then appeared on the [[Den City|city]]'s screens challenging Playmaker to a rematch. Despite knowing that it was an impostor and most likely a trap, Yusaku claimed that it was his responsibility to rescue Skye; if the impostor was a Knight of Hanoi he could get the anti-virus; if it was a SOL agent he could explain them what happened to Skye. After logging in, he identified Blue Angel as a fake, but he was trapped by her as she revealed herself to be "Ghost Gal". Zaizen then logging into LINK VRAINS, and proceeded to torture Playmaker, believing him to be responsible for Skye's condition, despite Playmaker and Ai's claims of innocence. [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] appeared and claimed that he would challenge Playmaker for Ai, threatening that Skye would never wake up unless Playmaker defeated him in a Duel. Zaizen released Playmaker, and Varis departed. Before Playmaker took his leave, Zaizen pleaded with him to save Skye, despite his brutal treatment towards him. Playmaker replied that he didn't hate Akira; he only hated the Knights of Hanoi.<ref name="ep8">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|8|ref}}</ref> As Playmaker and Varis rode the Data Storm, Playmaker expressed his desire to battle the Knights of Hanoi and uncover their true identities. Varis replied that he didn't care about Playmaker's identity and stated that his only goal was to retrieve the [[Ignis]]; a term that surprised Playmaker. Both sides agreed on the conditions for their Duel: if Playmaker won, they would get the anti-virus, while if Varis won, he would claim Ai. Varis declared his hatred for AIs and his belief that the Ignis would lead everyone to destruction. Varis blamed Playmaker for assisting Ai and swore to eliminate him. Varis then engulfed LINK VRAINS in flames to provide a fitting setting for their Duel.<ref name="ep9">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|9|ref}}</ref> As the Speed Duel progressed, Playmaker defeated Varis's "Cracking Dragon" with "Decode Talker" once more. Varis revealed that he had the same Skill as Playmaker's and Ai's: "[[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]". With it, Varis summoned "[[Topologic Bomber Dragon (anime)|Topologic Bomber Dragon]]", and began to gain the upper hand.<ref name="ep9" /> Fearing they might lose, Ai led Playmaker to another Data Storm, where the two obtained [[Firewall Dragon (anime)|a dragon]]. However, Varis activated the Trap Card, "[[Remote Rebirth (anime)|Remote Rebirth]]", and combined it with the effect of "Topologic Bomber Dragon" by reviving "Capacitor Stalker", ending the Speed Duel in a [[DRAW]]. Following the DRAW, Varis dragged Playmaker and Ai inside the Data Storm, where they began a [[Master Duel]]. Varis played defensively with "[[Fire Prison (anime)|Fire Prison]]" and "[[Linkbelt Wall Dragon (anime)|Linkbelt Wall Dragon]]", limiting Playmaker's moves. He brought out "Encode Talker", but failed to destroy Varis's monsters, and instead set up to Link Summon "Decode Talker" the next turn. However, as soon as he Summoned "Decode Talker", Varis used the effect of "Fire Prison" to eliminate all [[Cyberse]] cards from the field, as well as causing Ai to vanish.<ref name="ep10">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|10|ref}}</ref> Varis explained the Ignis to Playmaker; they were A.I. with free will that he believed would attempt to conquer the world. Playmaker refused to believe him, so Varis Link Summoned "[[Borreload Dragon (anime)|Borreload Dragon]]", the monster Yusaku had seen when Varis had been looking for him, and attacked Playmaker directly. Despite his situation, Playmaker remembered the words someone had told him long ago: three reasons to live and win Duels. Playmaker called out to Ai, asking him to lend him his power, as he proceeded to [[Link Summon]] "[[Firewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]", and ultimately destroyed "Fire Prison," returning Ai to consciousness. The two of them shared friendly banter, until Varis used the effect of "Borreload Dragon" to take control of "Firewall Dragon". Playmaker countered the attack with "[[Cynet Refresh (anime)|Cynet Refresh]]", destroying and then reviving "Firewall Dragon", before re-Summoning "Encode Talker" as well, declaring that their real battle was just beginning.<ref name="ep11">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|11|ref}}</ref> Playmaker attempted to return "Borreload Dragon" to Varis's hand with the effect of "Firewall Dragon", but Varis informed him that it couldn't be targeted by effects. Playmaker targeted "Magnarokket Dragon" instead, but this triggered its effect to send "Firewall Dragon" to the Graveyard, though Playmaker's "Cynet Refresh" protected his dragon. Varis was amused, and ended his turn. Much to Varis's surprise, Playmaker had "Firewall Dragon", protected by "Encode Talker", attack "Borreload Dragon", who had more ATK. With "Battle Buffer", "Encode Talker's" ATK was raised, impressing Varis. To counter it, Varis reduced the ATK of "Encode Talker" with the effect of "Borrelad Dragon", destroying "Encode Talker". While "Firewall Dragon's" ATK was raised by "Battle Buffer", Varis's "Rokkets" had regained their effects. Varis claimed the match was over, as Playmaker could not attack anymore but, Playmaker [[Recoded Alive (anime)|revived]] "Decode Talker", whose ATK was boosted up to destroy "Borreload Dragon". However, Varis used "Borrel Refrigeration" to make "Magnarokket Dragon" destroy itself to destroy "Decode Talker". Varis smiled, seeing how close he was to his victory, with Playmaker having no cards nor attacks to execute. Playmaker refused to lose, and claimed he wanted to uncover the events that had happened ten years previous, to recover the time he had lost, and to save the person that saved him. Varis was surprised that to learn Playmaker was involved in such an incident, and Playmaker claimed to be the emissary of revenge. Varis claimed Playmaker was a fool to help SOL Technologies without knowing the truth. Playmaker refused to listen, and using "Parallel Port Armor", he had "Firewall Dragon" attack once more, destroying "Borreload Dragon" and defeating Varis.<ref name="ep12" /> Playmaker demanded that Varis reveal his true identity and those of the Knights of Hanoi. To his shock, Ai transformed into a monstrous form and devoured Varis's arm in order to get his data back. Varis fled, but he he gave the anti-virus for Blue Angel's coma to Playmaker. Playmaker accompanied Ghost Gal back to the church where Zaizen and Blue Angel were, using the antidote to cure Blue Angel and allow her to log out of LINK VRAINS. Zaizen thanked him for saving Blue Angel, but Playmaker logged out before he could finish. Exhausted from the Duels, Yusaku asked Kolter if Skye was alright before collapsing and falling asleep. Yusaku dreamed about Varis's words regarding Ignis with free will, which caused him to wake up. Kolter sensed he was thinking about what Varis told him. Ai defiantly claimed that he was indeed alive, and he used the program he obtained from Varis to regain his full body. However Ai's size didn't impress Yusaku and Kolter, who tried to determine if Ai regained some of his memories.<ref name="ep12">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|12|ref}}</ref>
[[File:Playmaker attempted to interrogate the Knight, only for the Knight to attempt to kill him by self-destructingat data bank. Ignis saved his life by devouring png|thumb|250px|Playmaker reaches the Knightdata bank. [[Go Onizuka]] Playmaker asked Ghost Gal and Blue Angel appeared Zaizen why they were in the data bank. Ghost Gal explained that they were after the data, and challenged Playmakerrealized that he was just used as a decoy for them to enter the data bank. He ordered Zaizen to move aside, but Zaizen refused and informed him that he simply said had learned what happened to Playmaker ten years previously. Zaizen claimed he wasn't interested and logged out. Yusaku and Shoichi spent had the next few days trying right to figure out Ignis' programming know about the Incident and gave Playmaker asked him to hand the nickname "ai"data over. Yusaku discovered Zaizen instead asked Playmaker to hand over the Ignis and leave, wanting to shed some video logs light over the Incident, but Playmaker claimed that were actually Ignis' memories. Ignis said he would be the one to reveal the truth since it didn't understand those memories because most were damaged when he was reduced personally involve Zaizen. He challenged Zaizen to an eyea Master Duel, but he did recognized The Knight's of Hanoi's [[Revolver|leader]]. Later that nightbetting Ai for the data, messing with Ignis caused the Knight's leader to sense their location and travel thereZaizen accepted, Yusaku asked Shoichi seeing this as the only way to shut down [[Café Nagi]]'s power to prevent them from being found, though he caught a glimpse of the Knight's leaderdefeat Playmaker.<ref name="ep3ep18">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|318|ref}}</ref>
Analyzing what the victims had in common, Yusaku and Kolter realized that the victims were all skilled Duelists and hackers with old models of Duel Disk; the perpetrators were looking for Playmaker was quickly and Ai. Deciding that they needed to stop more people from being Deleted, they looked at a list of possible targets and Yusaku visited the mercy house of Blue Angel's [[TrickstarMackendrick Kellenbocker]] Deck, which repeatedly dealt him but arrived too late to prevent [[effect damageDr. Genome|a Knight of Hanoi]] while powering up from Deleting Mackendrick after the Knight realized that he did not have an Ignis. The Gore saved Mackendrick's body, and confronted the [[ATK]] of her ace monsterKnight, "[[Trickstar Holly Angel (anime)|Trickstar Holly Angel]]"Dr. Genome, and who confirmed that he noted that this offensive strategy was very efficientattempting to draw Playmaker out. He Summoned "Decode Talker" Yusaku alerted the paramedics and attacked "Holly Angel" went with itMackendrick to the hospital, but where he heard Gore swear to defeat Dr. Genome. Gore met Yusaku in person for the attack failed first time, believing he was concerned for his schoolmate, and "Decode Talker" was destroyed insteadYusaku introduced himself before leaving. Ignis commented that Blue Angel was putting pressure on That night, the Knights of Hanoi] attacked and Deleted more Duelists, and Yusaku decided to log in and stop them. To their surprise, but someone disguised as Playmaker noticed that defeated the Knights of Hanoiand drew out Dr. Genome. The imposter revealed themselves as The Gore, claiming he knew Playmaker's identity and betting it on a Duel with Genome in exchange for the cure to Mackendrick's presence Deleted virus. Yusaku did not know if Gore really knew his identity, but was getting strongerstill frustrated. The group watched as Dr. Genome activated the Data Gale, conjuring black tornadoes for the Speed Duel. At that moment<ref name="ep22"/> As the Speed Duel continued, Blue Angel drew Gore donned a mask and declared himself as "[[Dark Angel (anime)|Dark Angel]]Grim Gore", Hanoi's cardAi thought it was tacky, but Yusaku and Kolter realized that Gore changed his battling style to that of a heel. During Yusaku's next turnDespite the advantages he gained, he Grim Gore was reduced to less than 1000 LPnearly defeated by Genome, allowing him to use his Skill and gain access to after Ai suggested Yusaku log in and save Gore, Yusaku did so after Grim Gore barely kept himself in the Duel.<ref name="ep23"[[Encode Talker (anime)>{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|23|Encode Talker]]"ref}}</ref> Playmaker logged in and he motivated Grim Gore in a sarcastic manner, which he promptly Link Summonedand Grim Gore performed a face turn and defeated Genome. Blue Angel Gore realized that Playmaker was taking advantage of the damage that she was inflicting on hadn't come to mock him, but to motivate him. He suggested an alliance with Playmaker and tried the watching Blue Angel to end defeat the Duel by using her SkillKnights of Hanoi, but failed because and Playmaker was protected by "[[Defect Compiler]]". In responseaccepted, she played "Dark though Blue Angel"abstained. The next day Yusaku didn't go to school and teamed up with Gore, and immediately fell under defeating various Knights of Hanoi's influence. She entered into After defeating a berserk rage and started screamingKnight, much to Playmaker's and Ignis's concern. He ended Ai interrogated him about the Duel as quickly as possible by destroying "Holly Angel" with "Encode Talker"Deleted removal program, defeating but the Knight was erased before he could explain. Gore then asked Playmaker about Blue Angel in one hit's whereabouts, but not before Playmaker didn't know where she succumbed was, and they discussed [[Baira|the creator]] of the removal program. Sometime later Yusaku, Ai and Kolter watched [[Kitamura]]'s public announcement of an army of A.I. Duelists he had developed to mental damage from "Dark Angel" and fell unconsciousconfront the Knights of Hanoi.<ref name="ep7ep24">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|724|ref}}</ref>
==Relationships==
===Shoichi KusanagiCal Kolter===Shoichi Kolter is one of the very few people Yusaku actively interacts with. The two are close friends and work together to fight The the Knights of Hanoi. Yusaku shows trust in ShoichiKolter's hacking abilities and even gave a brief smile when talking to him. Likewise, Shoichi Kolter hopes Yusaku can one day enjoy Dueling again. Shoichi Kolter also teases Yusaku about his poor social skills.
===Naoki Shima(The Brave Battler)===When they met, Naoki Shima tried to befriend Yusaku and Duel him, but Yusaku showed little interest and irriated Naoki irritated Shima by criticizing his Dueling and analyzing him, despite Yusaku saying Naoki Shima isn't a bad person. Despite their initial encounter, Naoki Shima continues his attempts to befriend Yusaku and he often sits with Yusaku during class, much to the latter's annoyance. Naoki Shima is a big fan of "Playmaker", unaware that he's Yusaku. Yusaku has a tendency to forget NaokiShima's name repeatedlyand keeps ignoring Shima due to his belief that he doesn't need friends. However, when Shima was kidnapped by [[Faust]], Yusaku showed genuine concern for him.
===Knights of Hanoi===
Yusaku holds a deep grudge against the Knights of Hanoi over an unknown incident in and believes they're the culprits of the pastHanoi Project. He swears revenge against the Hanoi and fights them whenever they make an attack. The Hanoi consider "Playmaker" to be a threat and plan to defeat him in order to retrieve Ignis Ai which "Playmaker" had captured. ===Ai===[[Ai]] sees Yusaku as a partner, but Yusaku initially considered Ai to be nothing more than an object he needs to gain the upper hand against the Knights of Hanoi. He threatened to delete Ai in order to challenge a Knight, and ignored his pleas not to go back to VRAINS. Yusaku has little patience for Ai's antics and often doesn't let him talk. Nevertheless, Ai supports Yusaku in his Duels, though he claims to do so out of a desire for survival. Ai also seems to enjoy teasing Yusaku, but knows when things get serious. Likewise, Yusaku follows Ai's advice when needed. Despite being rude to Ai most of the time Yusaku slowly grows to care about him to some extent; this was seen when Ai was affected by [[Roken Kogami|Varis]]'s "[[Fire Prison (anime)|Fire Prison]]". Ai seems to have gradually warmed up to Yusaku and is keen on treating him like a friend, though the feeling is not mutual. In the dub, Yusaku is less harsh to Ai, denying his claims less coldly and often snarking gently at him rather than outright insulting him. When Yusaku learns that Ai was based on him and that he had been lying to him, he coldly claims that Ai isn't his friend and that he never cared about him. (In the dub, Yusaku implies that he claims this for Varis's benefit, though he is still angry with Ai.) Despite this, Ai still saves Yusaku during their Speed Duel with Varis, and Yusaku continues to oppose the destruction of the Ignis. During his Master Duel with Varis, he and Ai have a heart-to-heart talk, and Yusaku directly asks Ai what the Cyberse is like. Despite this, he claims that he doesn't have a friend to Varis (despite Ai's clear irritation at such a claim) and Yusaku and Ai do not agree on the topic of Roken. Once he defeated Varis and the Knights of Hanoi, Yusaku released Ai, lightly joking with him before he left and seeming regretful that Ai had. Once they reunite in the second season, Yusaku and Ai's relationship is far more positive and they work together better. Yusaku no longer insults or demeans Ai as he previously did, though he still rebukes him when needed. The two of them continue to grow closer in the ensuring Ignis War. Following their victory over Bohman, Ai parted ways with Yusaku again, grief-stricken over losing his fellow Ignis By the third season, their relationship has become strained due to Ai's defection and agenda against SOL Tech. Yusaku is emotionally hurt by Ai's apparent betrayal, and is conflicted about whether or not to trust Ai or fight him. He ultmately decides to oppose Ai in the hopes of stopping him and saving him. Yusaku also displays sympathy for Ai as he could understand how hurt Ai felt over the loss of his Ignis friends. 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. ===Skye Zaizen (Blue Angel)===Skye and Yusaku are classmates, though Skye is not aware of his alter-ego but she seems be suspicious of his identity as Playmaker after noticing he has the same Duel Disk as him and asked to see his Deck in order to confirm his identity. As "Blue Angel", Skye is shown to develop an interest in Yusaku's alter-ego, "Playmaker", after he saved her from a "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]". She is shown to be grateful for "Playmaker" for saving her and she even saved him in return after he fell from his Duel Board.
In the dub, Yusaku was shocked when he discovered that Aoi may have ties to the Knights shows somewhat more of Hanoi showing a connection with Skye; openly declaring that he never thought of her as an enemy, but he was still willing to duel her. He was visibly disturbed is fighting for Blue Angel during his second Speed Duel with Varis and stammering awkwardly when Hanoi's card began damaging Aoi so he rushed tries to end downplay calling the Duel as quickly as possible, out of concern hospital for her well being. After the Duel, Yusaku felt it was his responsibility to help Aoi recover from her coma and willingly walked into a trap set by [[Ema Bessho|Ghost Girl]]accidentally implies that she may not be special.
===Go Onizuka George Gore (GO OnizukaThe Gore)===At first, Yusaku was indifferent to Go Gore who considers his alter-ego, "Playmaker", to be his rival. Go Gore was mad at Playmaker for stealing his spotlight and this grew worse when the children at the city orphanage, which he volunteered and donated to, started seeing Playmaker as a hero instead of him. After defeating him, Yusaku acknowledged Go Gore as a worthy opponent and started to respect his Dueling style, and even admitting to have enjoyed Dueling him. When Shoichi Kolter suggested recruiting Go Gore for their fight against Hanoi, Yusaku objected by saying that he did not want Go Gore to face this kind of danger. After Gore defeated [[Dr. Genome]], Yusaku became more willing to let Gore fight against Hanoi in the wake of the [[Deleted]] crisis and they formed an alliance. After his defeat at Varis's hands in the dub, Yusaku goes as far as to claim that he is also fighting for Gore's sake when he confronts Varis during their Speed Duel. By Season 2, Gore developed a grudge against Playmaker for being the one to defeat Varis and save LINK VRAINS, and became a SOL Tech bounty hunter in order to duel and defeat Yusaku. Yusaku had no interest in fighting Gore, instead believing they could still be allies. After Gore implanted the AI chip into his brain and defeated and captured Earth, Gore once again reaffirimed that he only cared about defeating Playmaker, forcing Yusaku to accept that Gore was no longer his ally, and was now a dangerous enemy. By the time of their second duel, Yusaku intially attemped to reason with Gore again but to no avail. After learning Gore had implanted Earth into his chip, Yusaku showed no heasitation in dueling Gore or any concern when Ai attemped to reterive Earth's data from him after deafeating Gore. By Season 3, the two of them are once again on friendly terms after Gore had the AI chip removed
===Akira Zaizen===
Despite having a brief interaction with Yusaku at the hospital he wa Zaizen was grateful to him for locating his sister and informing him about her comatose status. He questioned Yusaku about his relationship to Aoi Skye and the latter responded they are only classmates.
On the other hand, Akira Zaizen dislikes Yusaku's alter ego "Playmaker" for having stolen IgnisAi. Akira Zaizen grew to utterly hate Playmaker after his Duel against Blue Angel which resulted in Aoi Skye falling comatose. Akira Zaizen immediately assumed that Playmaker was the culprit for AoiSkye's predicament and worked with Ghost Girl to with Ghost Gal to turn all of LINK VRAINS into a trap to capture Playmaker. Akira Zaizen then mercilessly tortured Playmaker and refused to believe Playmaker's explanation that it was Hanoi's fault for Aoi Skye being comatose. However, upon being informed of his mistake by Revolverby Varis, Akira Zaizen reluctantly freed Playmaker and was surprised that Playmaker didn't hate him for what he did. He was grateful to for Playmaker for saving Skye from the virus. In their next encounter inside SOL Technology's database, Akira displayed pity for Playmaker after discovering the data he was after, even insisting that Playmaker trust him to reveal the truth in his stead. Compared to their previous encounter, Zaizen even demonstrates sadness for Playmaker, especially when he realized that Playmaker was Skye's age. Zaizen felt that Playmaker shouldn't waste his youth chasing after the Hanoi Project and wanted to handle the situation himself, only for Playmaker to immediately refute Akira's claims and maintain that he deserved to learn the truth himself. When Zaizen is captured and threatened by Spectre during his Duel with Playmaker, Playmaker refuses to attack Spectre out of fear for Zaizen's safety and instead plays defensively, despite Zaizen continually urging him to attack without worrying about him. Zaizen eventually takes it upon himself to sacrifice himself so that Skye's prior loss to Spectre wouldn't be in vain, and his absorption by the Tower of Hanoi enraged Playmaker, and he subsequently vengefully defeated Spectre. ===Roken Kogami (Varis)===When first informed about a hacker named "Playmaker" who was defeating Hanoi members, [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] initially suspected Playmaker was an agent from SOL Technologies but rejected the idea because SOL would act more publicly and dismissed Playmaker. It wasn't until Playmaker captured Ai that Varis became interested in him. Varis then switched all his efforts into defeating Playmaker before SOL did, as doing so was the only way to capture Ai. Playmaker, on the other hand, hates Varis for being Hanoi's leader and vowed to defeat him and discover his true identity. During their first Duel, Varis claimed that he wasn't interested in Playmaker's identity and considered him to be just another of the many people who hates the Hanoi. However, during their second Duel, Varis recognized Playmaker's speech pattern of listing out three reasons and was disturbed when Playmaker mentioned about a certain incident that happened ten years ago. He chides Playmaker for siding with SOL Technologies without knowing the truth and, after the Duel, is eager to uncover Playmaker's true identity, to the extent of requesting more time from his father before the completion of Hanoi's program, in which the latter agrees under the condition it did not take too long. After they learn one another's identities, Yusaku and Roken's relationship changes substantially. After realizing that Roken not only saved him, but also talked to him while he was captured and taught him his three reasons philosophy, Yusaku became determined to save Varis from himself, wishing to become his friend. He threw aside his desire for revenge and stated that he wished to create a new future with Roken. Despite Yusaku's efforts, Roken rejected his offer and continued to oppose the Ignis. Nevertheless, Yusaku still trusts Roken deeply and continues to hope that they can become friends. He believes fiercely in his capacity to change, begging him not to destroy Jin's data in order to defeat Lightning as this would revert Varis back to his old ways. ===Emma Bessho (Ghost Gal)===Emma showed an interest in Playmaker. After witnessing his Duel against Blue Angel, Ghost Gal caught him in a trap under Zaizen's orders to interrogate him about Skye's condition. Her interest in him continued to grow after watching him defeat Varis and Dueling him herself, even admitting that he exceeded her expectations. The two explored LINK VRAINS underground, though Ghost Gal continued to deceive Playmaker by letting him go in the wrong direction which led to him and Ai being chased by a data monster. Before being absorbed by the Tower of Hanoi, Ghost Gal entrusted Playmaker with the data for the Tower and attempted to warn him about Varis's dangerous card. Playmaker in turn was angry for not being able to save her and vowed to do so, passing on her advice to Blue Angel and The Gore.
==Deck==
===Cyberse===
====Knights of Hanoi====[[File:Yusaku and his monsters.png|thumb|250px|Yusaku (as Playmaker) with "[[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]" and "[[Firewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]"]]Yusaku uses a '''[[Cyberse]] Beatdown Deck''', which he initially found after solving an urban legend. <ref name="ep64" /><ref name="VRAINSED3">''Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS'' Ending 3: [[BOY]]</ref> His main strategy involves using methodically calculated moves to overwhelm the opponent with [[Link Monster]]s. His early turns are usually slow, with him setting up his bigger combos for later while analyzing the opponent's strategies. Once his field is set up, he performs multiple [[Link Summon]]s multiple weak Link Monsters at once to finish off then use them as Materials for his stronger ones such as the opponent"[[Code Talker (archetype)|Code Talkers]]", usually by powering up his and "[[Decode Talker Firewall Dragon (anime)|Decode TalkerFirewall Dragon]]". His other Link Monsters can also act as support for his primary ones. Yusaku also makes regular use of cards which banish themselves or other cards from the [[Graveyard]] or hand to activate effects, granting him access to a steady stream of resources even with an empty field or hand.
[[File:Decode Talker materializing.png|thumb|left|250px|"Decode Talker" materializing into a real card]]After capturing [[IgnisAi]] and unlocking the "[[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]" [[Skill]], he can obtain new Cyberse [[Link Monster]]s when his [[LP]] are 1000 or belowduring a Speed Duel when a [[Data Storm]] is near. To this end, as such he usually allows himself to drop below 1000 LP. This The Link Monsters gained this way expand his arsenal of monsters for the current Duel and future Duels alike and typically help turn a disadvantageous situation in his favor. As shown with "Decode Talker", the data of the Link Monsters added by his Skill can materialize into real cards with the proper equipment. In case the opponent tries to prevent "Storm Access" from activating by not dealing damage, Yusaku also serves uses cards with effects that require him to pay LP to get around it. During his Duel with The Gore, spectators likened this strategy to make the Gore's habit of letting his opponent think they have take the lead, then making a comeback from a pinch.
Yusaku also used three copies of "[[Sphere Kuriboh (anime)|Sphere Kuriboh]]" as shields during his infiltration of [[SOL Technologies]]' data bank. Whether or not they are in his Deck is unknown.<ref name="ep16"/> {{Decklist|Knights of Hanoi| skill = [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]|normal monsters =
* [[Bitron (anime)|Bitron]] x2
* [[Digitron (anime)|Digitron]]|effect monsters =* [[Backlinker (anime)|Backlinker]]
* [[Backup Secretary (anime)|Backup Secretary]]
* [[Condenser Death Balancer Lord (anime)|Balancer Lord]]* [[Bitrooper (anime)|Bitrooper]]* [[Boot Staggered (anime)|Boot Staggered]]* [[Capacitor Stalker (anime)|Condenser Death Capacitor Stalker]]* [[Cluster Congester (anime)|Cluster Congester]]* [[Cyberse Gadget (anime)|Cyberse Gadget]]
* [[Cyberse Wizard (anime)|Cyberse Wizard]]
* [[Defect Compiler(anime)|Defect Compiler]]* [[Dotscaper (anime)|Dotscaper]]
* [[Draconnet (anime)|Draconnet]]
* [[Dual Assembwurm (anime)|Dual Assembwurm]]
* [[Fault Tolerlancer]]
* [[Flick Clown (anime)|Flick Clown]]
* [[Interrupt Resistor (anime)|Interrupt Resistor]]
* [[Latency (anime)|Latency]]
* [[Link Infra-Flier (anime)|Link Infra-Flier]]
* [[Linkslayer (anime)|Linkslayer]]
* [[Lockout Gardna (anime)|Lockout Gardna]]
* [[Protection Wizard]]
* [[Rescue Interlacer (anime)|Rescue Interlacer]]
* [[ROM Cloudia (anime)|ROM Cloudia]]
* [[Salvagent Driver (anime)|Salvagent Driver]]
* [[Scan Doll]]
* [[SIMM Tablir (anime)|SIMM Tablir]]
* [[Stack Reviver (anime)|Stack Reviver]]
* [[Striping Partner (anime)|Striping Partner]]* [[Swap Cleric (anime)|Swap Cleric]]|link monsters =* [[Binary Blader (anime)|Binary Blader]]* [[Binary Sorceress (anime)|Binary Sorceress]]* [[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="decode">Yusaku This card is obtained this card with his via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 002|episode 2]].</ref>* [[Encode Talker (anime)|Encode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="encode">Yusaku This card is obtained this card with his via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 007|episode 7]].</ref>* [[Excode Talker (anime)|Excode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="excode">This card is obtained via [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 015|episode 15]].</ref>* [[Firewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]<ref group=Notes name="opfirewall">This card can be seen with him is obtained via [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in ''[[With The WindYu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 010|episode 10]]''.</ref>* [[Flame Administrator (anime)|Flame Administrator]]
* [[Honeybot (anime)|Honeybot]]
* [[Link Bumper (anime)|Link Bumper]]<ref group=Notes name="link">This card is obtained via [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 005|episode 5]].</ref>* [[Link Devotee (anime)|Link Devotee]]* [[Link Disciple (anime)|Link Disciple]]
* [[Link Spider (anime)|Link Spider]]
* [[Multi Sledgehammer]]* [[Powercode Talker (anime)|Powercode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="powercode">This card is obtained via [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 028|episode 28]].</ref>* [[Recovery Sorcerer (anime)|Recovery Sorcerer]]* [[Restoration Point Guard (anime)|Restoration Point Guard]]* [[Secure Gardna (anime)|Secure Gardna]]* [[Security Dragon (anime)|Security Dragon]]* [[Space Insulator (anime)|Space Insulator]]* [[Talkback Lancer (anime)|Talkback Lancer]]* [[Transcode Talker (anime)|Transcode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="transcode">This card is obtained via [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 042|episode 42]].</ref>* [[Underclock Taker (anime)|Underclock Taker]]* [[Vector Scare Archfiend (anime)|Vector Scare Archfiend]]<ref group=Notes name="vector">This card is obtained via [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 017|episode 17]].</ref>|spells =* [[Alert Lancer]]* [[Arrow Charge]]* [[Battle Buffer]]* [[Cybersal Cyclone (anime)|Cybersal Cyclone]]
* [[Cyberse Annihilation]]
* [[Cyberse Cache]]* [[Cynet Universe Backdoor (anime)|Cynet UniverseBackdoor]]<ref group=Notes name="discard1">This card is * [[discardCynet Defrag]]ed via the * [[card effectCynet Storm (anime)|effectCynet Storm]] of "* [[Salvagent Driver Cynet Universe (anime)|Salvagent DriverCynet Universe]]" in * [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 007|episode 7Disconnect Linker]].</ref>
* [[Effect Cowl]]
* [[Frontline Disturbance]]
* [[Link Atrocity]]
* [[Link Processing Failure]]
* [[Linkage Hole (anime)|Linkage Hole]]
* [[Security Block (anime)|Security Block]]
* [[Spam Mail]]* [[Spool Code (anime)|Spool Code]]* [[Zero Extra Link (anime)|Zero Extra Link]]|traps =
* [[Cyberse Beacon (anime)|Cyberse Beacon]]
* [[Cyberse Shatter]]
* [[Cynet Refresh (anime)|Cynet Refresh]]
* [[Doppler Phase Coating]]
* [[Drop Frame Wedge]]
* [[Limit Code (anime)|Limit Code]]
* [[Link Restart (anime)|Link Restart]]
* [[Link Surge Counter]]
* [[Overload Anchor]]
* [[Parallel Port Armor (anime)|Parallel Port Armor]]
* [[Recoded Alive (anime)|Recoded Alive]]
* [[Shield Handler (anime)|Shield Handler]]
* [[Three Strikes Barrier (anime)|Three Strikes Barrier]]
* [[Transaction Rollback (anime)|Transaction Rollback]]
* [[Urgent Link]]
| tokens =
* [[Congester Token (anime)|Congester Token]]
* [[Gadget Token (anime)|Gadget Token]]
* [[Link Token (anime)|Link Token]]
* [[Spool Token (anime)|Spool Token]]
* [[Stag Token (anime)|Stag Token]]
}}
====Ignis====
Prior to the events of this season, Yusaku added other support for Summoning methods to his Deck, including [[Ritual Monster]]s, [[Fusion Monster]]s, [[Synchro Monster]]s, and [[Xyz Monster]]s, in addition to support cards like "[[Cyberse Witch (anime)|Cyberse Witch]]". He also acquires "[[Linkuriboh (anime)|Linkuriboh]]" from [[Ai]], and continues to acquire new Link Monsters like "[[Clock Spartoi (anime)|Clock Spartoi]]" through "Storm Access". His Skill later evolves, becoming "[[Neo Storm Access]]", which not only allows him to add other Cyberse Extra Deck monsters to his Deck from the Data Storm, but can be used again if it was unsuccessful and he has 100 or less LP, while also allowing him to draw another card. He focuses less on his "[[Code Talker (archetype)|Code Talker]]" monsters and more on other Link Monsters and his new Summoning methods.
During his final Duel with [[Bohman]], Yusaku acquires one of the first [[Link 5 Monster Cards|Link-5]] Link Monsters, "[[Firewall Dragon Darkfluid (anime)|Firewall Dragon Darkfluid]]". Subsequently, Yusaku combines his two strategies; allowing him to build a steady field through use of multiple Summoning methods and beginning to use his "Code Talker" monsters again.
{{Decklist|Ignis
| skill =
* [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]
* [[Neo Storm Access]]
|normal monsters =
* [[Bitron (anime)|Bitron]]
* [[Digitron (anime)|Digitron]]
* [[Protron (anime)|Protron]]
|effect monsters =
* [[Backup Secretary (anime)|Backup Secretary]]
* [[Bitrooper (anime)|Bitrooper]]
* [[Boot Staggered (anime)|Boot Staggered]]
* [[Catche Eve L2 (anime)|Catche Eve L2]]
* [[Clock Wyvern (anime)|Clock Wyvern]]
* [[Code Generator (anime)|Code Generator]]
* [[Cross Debug (anime)|Cross Debug]]
* [[Cyberse Gadget (anime)|Cyberse Gadget]]
* [[Cyberse White Hat (anime)|Cyberse White Hat]]
* [[Cyberse Wizard (anime)|Cyberse Wizard]]
* [[Defcon Bird (anime)|Defcon Bird]]
* [[Degrade Buster (anime)|Degrade Buster]]
* [[Dotscaper (anime)|Dotscaper]]
* [[Dual Assembwurm (anime)|Dual Assembwurm]]
* [[Firewall Guardian (anime)|Firewall Guardian]]
* [[Flame Bufferlo (anime)|Flame Bufferlo]]
* [[Flick Clown (anime)|Flick Clown]]<ref group=Notes name="linkback">This card is [[sent]] from the top of his [[Main Deck|Deck]] to the [[GY]] via the [[card effect|effect]] of "[[Link Back (anime)|Link Back]]" in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 067|episode 67]].</ref>
* [[Grid Sweeper (anime)|Grid Sweeper]]
* [[Launcher Commander (anime)|Launcher Commander]]<ref group=Notes name="clockdragon67">This card is [[sent]] from the top of his [[Main Deck|Deck]] to the [[GY]] via the [[card effect|effect]] of "[[Cyberse Clock Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Clock Dragon]]" in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 067|episode 67]].</ref>
* [[Link Infra-Flier (anime)|Link Infra-Flier]]
* [[Linkslayer (anime)|Linkslayer]]
* [[Micro Coder (anime)|Micro Coder]]
* [[Poisoning Blocker]]
* [[RAM Clouder (anime)|RAM Clouder]]
* [[Sea Archiver (anime)|Sea Archiver]]
* [[SIMM Tablir (later anime)|SIMM Tablir]]
* [[Stack Reviver (anime)|Stack Reviver]]
* [[Storm Cipher (anime)|Storm Cipher]]
* [[Threshold Borg (anime)|Threshold Borg]]
* [[Trash Hacker]]
* [[Widget Kid (anime)|Widget Kid]]
|tuner monsters =
* [[Cyberse Synchron (anime)|Cyberse Synchron]] (later played with [[Cyberse Synchron (later anime)|a different effect]])
|ritual monsters =
* [[Cyberse Magician (anime)|Cyberse Magician]]
|fusion monsters =
* [[Cyberse Clock Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Clock Dragon]]
|synchro monsters =
* [[Cyberse Quantum Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Quantum Dragon]]<ref group=Notes name="cyberse">This card is obtained via [[Neo Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 073|episode 73]].</ref>
|xyz monsters =
* [[Firewall eXceed Dragon (anime)|Firewall eXceed Dragon]]<ref group=Notes name="xceed">This card is obtained via [[Neo Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 082|episode 82]].</ref>
|link monsters =
* [[Clock Lizard (anime)|Clock Lizard]]
* [[Clock Spartoi (anime)|Clock Spartoi]]<ref group=Notes name="clock">This card is obtained via [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 054|episode 54]].</ref>
* [[Code Talker (anime)|Code Talker]]
* [[Cyberse Wicckid (anime)|Cyberse Wicckid]]
* [[Cyberse Witch (anime)|Cyberse Witch]]
* [[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]
* [[Decode Talker Extended (anime)|Decode Talker Extended]]
* [[Doublebyte Dragon (anime)|Doublebyte Dragon]]
* [[Detonate Deleter (anime)|Detonate Deleter]]
* [[Elphase (anime)|Elphase]]
* [[Encode Talker (anime)|Encode Talker]]
* [[Firewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]
* [[Firewall Dragon Darkfluid (anime)|Firewall Dragon Darkfluid]]
* [[Flame Administrator (anime)|Flame Administrator]]
* [[Link Devotee (anime)|Link Devotee]]
* [[Link Disciple (anime)|Link Disciple]]
* [[Link Spider (anime)|Link Spider]]
* [[Linkuriboh (anime)|Linkuriboh]]
* [[Pentestag (anime)|Pentestag]]
* [[Protocol Gardna (anime)|Protocol Gardna]]
* [[Proxy Dragon (anime)|Proxy Dragon]]
* [[Recovery Sorcerer (later anime)|Recovery Sorcerer]]
* [[Security Dragon (anime)|Security Dragon]]
* [[Shootingcode Talker (anime)|Shootingcode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="shootingcode">This card is obtained via [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 048|episode 48]].</ref>
* [[Transcode Talker (anime)|Transcode Talker]]
* [[Tri-Gate Wizard (anime)|Tri-Gate Wizard]]
* [[Update Jammer (anime)|Update Jammer]]
* [[Zombie Prosaber]]
|spells =
* [[Cyberse Annihilation]]
* [[Cyberse Bridge]]
* [[Cyberse Pride]]
* [[Cynet Codec (anime)|Cynet Codec]]
* [[Cynet Fusion (anime)|Cynet Fusion]]
* [[Cynet Mining (anime)|Cynet Mining]]
* [[Cynet Optimization (anime)|Cynet Optimization]]
* [[Cynet Ritual (anime)|Cynet Ritual]]
* [[Decode Destruction (anime)|Decode Destruction]]
* [[Dimension Link]]
* [[Grid Rod (anime)|Grid Rod]]
* [[Link Back (anime)|Link Back]]
* [[Link Bound (anime)|Link Bound]]<ref group=Notes name="AI">This card is shown when he adds "[[Linkuriboh (anime)|Linkuriboh]]" to his [[Main Deck|Deck]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 047|episode 47]].</ref>
* [[Link Drive]]
* [[Link Satellite]]
* [[One-Time Passcode (anime)|One-Time Passcode]]
* [[Resume Mace]]
* [[Spool Code (anime)|Spool Code]]
* [[Suspend Wand]]
|traps =
* [[Arrow Break]]
* [[Break & Reuse]]
* [[Cure Conversion]]
* [[Draw Discharge (anime)|Draw Discharge]]
* [[Excess Lesser Linker]]
* [[Link Cancel]]
* [[Link Ration]]
* [[Link Rush]]
* [[Packet Link (anime)|Packet Link]]<ref group=Notes name="AI" />
* [[Return Risk Reservoir]]
| tokens =
* [[Clock Token (anime)|Clock Token]]
* [[Cynet Token (anime)|Cynet Token]]
* [[Gadget Token (anime)|Gadget Token]]
* [[Link Token (anime)|Link Token]]
* [[Ration Token]]
* [[Security Token (anime)|Security Token]]
* [[Spool Token (anime)|Spool Token]]
* [[Stag Token (anime)|Stag Token]]
}}
====Ai====
Yusaku continues to build upon his combination of his "[[Code Talker (archetype)|Code Talker]]" monsters and his other Extra Deck Summons, including more cards that can support both and the cards to search the necessary monsters from his Deck. Via combining his ace monsters, he can create a lock with the effects of "[[Cyberse Magician (anime)|Cyberse Magician]]", "[[Cyberse Clock Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Clock Dragon]]", and "[[Cyberse Quantum Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Quantum Dragon]]" by controlling two of them at once in addition to a Link Monster. Prior to his Duel with [[Ai]], [[Roken Kogami|Roken]] gives him "[[Borreload Furious Dragon (anime)|Borreload Furious Dragon]]" to combat Ai's use of "[[Judgment Arrows (later anime)|Judgment Arrows]]", and Yusaku subsequently includes cards to give him the necessary materials to Fusion Summon it.
{{Decklist|Ai
|effect monsters =
* [[Backup Secretary (anime)|Backup Secretary]]
* [[Bitrooper (anime)|Bitrooper]]<ref group=Notes name="clockdragon118">This card is [[sent]] from the top of his [[Main Deck|Deck]] to the [[GY]] via the [[card effect|effect]] of "[[Cyberse Clock Dragon (later anime)|Cyberse Clock Dragon]]" in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 118|episode 118]].</ref>
* [[Clock Wyvern (anime)|Clock Wyvern]]
* [[Cyberse Gadget (anime)|Cyberse Gadget]]
* [[Cyberse Wizard (anime)|Cyberse Wizard]]
* [[Degrade Buster (anime)|Degrade Buster]]
* [[Dotscaper (anime)|Dotscaper]]
* [[Flame Bufferlo (anime)|Flame Bufferlo]]
* [[Formud Skipper (anime)|Formud Skipper]]
* [[Garbage Collector (anime)|Garbage Collector]]
* [[L2 Cachevalier]]
* [[Linkslayer (anime)|Linkslayer]]
* [[Metal Molephosis]]
* [[Overfloater]]
* [[Parallel eXceed (anime)|Parallel eXceed]] x2
* [[Sea Archiver (anime)|Sea Archiver]]
* [[Widget Kid (anime)|Widget Kid]]
|tuner monsters =
* [[Cyberse Synchron (later anime)|Cyberse Synchron]]
|ritual monsters =
* [[Cyberse Magician (anime)|Cyberse Magician]]
|fusion monsters =
* [[Borreload Furious Dragon (anime)|Borreload Furious Dragon]]
* [[Cyberse Clock Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Clock Dragon]]
|synchro monsters =
* [[Cyberse Quantum Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Quantum Dragon]]
|xyz monsters =
* [[Firewall eXceed Dragon (anime)|Firewall eXceed Dragon]]
|link monsters =
* [[Accesscode Talker (anime)|Accesscode Talker]]
* [[Clock Spartoi (later anime)|Clock Spartoi]]
* [[Cyberse Wicckid (anime)|Cyberse Wicckid]]
* [[Cyberse Witch (anime)|Cyberse Witch]]
* [[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]
* [[Firewall Dragon Darkfluid (anime)|Firewall Dragon Darkfluid]]
* [[Exslayer]]
* [[Linkross (anime)|Linkross]]
* [[Proxy F Magician (anime)|Proxy F Magician]]
* [[Splash Mage (anime)|Splash Mage]]
* [[Transcode Talker (later anime)|Transcode Talker]]
|spells =
* [[Cynet Backdoor (anime)|Cynet Backdoor]]<ref group=Notes name="clockdragon118" />
* [[Cynet Closure]]
* [[Cynet Fusion (anime)|Cynet Fusion]]
* [[Cynet Optimization (anime)|Cynet Optimization]]
* [[Cynet Ritual (anime)|Cynet Ritual]]
* [[Cynet Universe (anime)|Cynet Universe]]<ref group=Notes name="clockdragon118" />
* [[Drastic Draw (anime)|Drastic Draw]]
* [[Link Pressure]]
|traps =
* [[Code Hack (anime)|Code Hack]]
* [[Limit Code (anime)|Limit Code]]<ref group=Notes name="clockdragon118" />
* [[Recoded Alive (anime)|Recoded Alive]]
| tokens =
* [[Clock Token (anime)|Clock Token]]
* [[Cynet Token (anime)|Cynet Token]]
* [[Gadget Token (anime)|Gadget Token]]
* [[Link Token (anime)|Link Token]]
}}
====Card changes====
Over the course of the series, some of the cards used by Playmaker have been changed with regards to their effect or type. This is the list of cards which he used previously.
{{Decklist|
|effect monsters =
* [[SIMM Tablir (anime)|SIMM Tablir]]
|tuner monsters =
* [[Cyberse Synchron (anime)|Cyberse Synchron]]
|fusion monsters =
* [[Cyberse Clock Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Clock Dragon]]
|link monsters =
* [[Clock Spartoi (anime)|Clock Spartoi]]
* [[Recovery Sorcerer (anime)|Recovery Sorcerer]]
* [[Transcode Talker (anime)|Transcode Talker]]
|traps =
* [[Link Restart (anime)|Link Restart]]
}}
===Past===
Prior to obtaining his [[Cyberse]] Deck, Yusaku played a mash-up Deck that focused on swarming the the field with monsters to be used as [[Link Material|material]] for [[Link Summon]]s. The Deck was shown to have been quite reactive to his opponent's plays, including cards like "[[Forbidden Lance (anime)|Forbidden Lance]]".<ref name="ep64" />
{{Decklist
| effect monsters =
* [[Exarion Universe (anime)|Exarion Universe]]
* [[Marauding Captain (anime)|Marauding Captain]]
* [[Photon Thrasher (later anime)|Photon Thrasher]]
| link monsters =
* [[Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow (anime)|Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow]]
| spells =
* [[Forbidden Lance (anime)|Forbidden Lance]]
* [[Limiter Removal (later anime)|Limiter Removal]]
}}
===LIGHT===
Additionally, Yusaku has a '''[[LIGHT]]''' dummy [[Main Deck|Deck]] for situations in real life where he has to show his Deck to other [[Duelist]]s. The Deck is poorly built extremely basic in addition to using very old cards, to make it seem seems like Yusaku is an a regular untalented Duelist.<ref name="ep6vrainsep6">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|6|ref}}</ref>
{{Decklist||normal monsters =
* [[Neo the Magic Swordsman (anime)|Neo the Magic Swordsman]]
|effect monsters =
* [[Hoshiningen (anime)|Hoshiningen]]
|spells =
* [[Black Pendant (anime)|Black Pendant]]
* [[Goblin's Secret Remedy (anime)|Goblin's Secret Remedy]]
|traps =
* [[Reinforcements (anime)|Reinforcements]]
* [[Trap Hole (anime)|Trap Hole]]
==Duels==
{| class="wikitable card-list"
! scope="col" | Opponent
! scope="col" | Episode(s)
! scope="col" | Outcome
|-
| Unknown Duelist || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 011|11]] || Lose (flashback)
|-
| Unknown Duelist || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 019|19]] || Lose (flashback)
|-
| Unknown Duelist || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 019|19]] || Lose (flashback)
|-
| [[Knights of Hanoi|Knight of Hanoi]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 064|64]] || Win (flashback)
|-
| [[Knights of Hanoi|Knight of Hanoi]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 001|1]] || Win
|-
| [[Knights of HanoiNumber 10 (character)|Knight of HanoiNumber 10]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 002|2]] || Win
|-
| [[Go OnizukaGeorge Gore|George Gore/The Gore]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 004|4]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 005|5]] || Win
|-
| [[Aoi Skye Zaizen|Aoi Skye Zaizen/Blue Angel]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 007|7]] || Win
|-
| [[RevolverRoken Kogami|Varis]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 009|9]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 010|10]] || [[DRAW]]
|-
| [[RevolverRoken Kogami|Varis]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 010|10]]-? [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 012|12]] || Win|-| [[Emma Bessho|Emma Bessho/Ghost Gal]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 014|14]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 015|15]] || Win|-| [[Prototype Green-A]] ||[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 016|16]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 017|17]] || Win|-| [[Akira Zaizen]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 018|18]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 020|20]] || Win|-| [[Knights of Hanoi|Knight of Hanoi]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 024|24]] || Win|-| [[Faust]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 028|28]] || Win|-| [[Spectre]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 035|35]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 037|37]] || Win|-| [[Roken Kogami|Roken Kogami/Varis]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 041|41]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 042|42]] || DRAW|-| [[Roken Kogami|Roken Kogami/Varis]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 043|43]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 046|46]] || Win|-| [[Bohman]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 047|47]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 048|48]] || Win|-| [[The Shepherd]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 053|53]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 054|54]] || Win|-| [[Bohman]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 057|57]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 058|58]] || Win|-| [[Kenchi]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 062|62]] || Win|-| [[Yozaka]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 063|63]] || Win|-| [[Earth (character)|Earth]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 066|66]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 067|67]] || Win|-| [[Bohman]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 072|72]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 073|73]] || DRAW|-| [[George Gore|George Gore/The Gore]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 081|81]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 082|82]] || Win|-| [[Bit]][[Boot]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 086|86]] || Win|-| [[Cal Kolter]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 092|92]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 093|93]] || Win|-| [[Bohman]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 099|99]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 102|102]] || Win|-| [[Ai]] copy || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 106|106]], [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 108|108]] || Win|-| [[Ai]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 117|117]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 120|120]]|| TBDWin
|}
==Trivia==
* Yusaku used every type of Summoning that had been introduced during the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|VRAINS]]'' series, except [[Pendulum Summon]]ing due to it not being featured.
** This makes him one of two characters to use [[Fusion Monster|Fusion]], [[Ritual Monster|Ritual]], [[Synchro Monster|Synchro]] and [[Xyz Monster]]s all together, the other being [[Ai]].
* With only 31 Duels, Yusaku has Dueled the fewest times of any anime protagonist.
* Similar to [[Jaden Yuki|Jaden]], three of Yusaku's Duels ended in a [[DRAW]].
* In early plans for ''Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS'', Yusaku was going to be a newcomer to ''Duel Monsters'', which would have fit the show's original theme of "Take a step forward and try".{{citation needed}} This was changed before the series was released.
* Yusaku is the first spin-off protagonist whose Deck centers around a newly introduced monster Type (in this case, Cyberse).
* Yusaku is the first protagonist since [[Yugi Muto|Yugi]]:
** To have three different colors in his hairstyle's design.
** Whose [[Signature card|ace monster]]'s Type is neither Warrior (like Jaden and [[Yuma Tsukumo|Yuma]]) nor Dragon (like [[Yusei Fudo|Yusei]] and [[Yuya Sakaki|Yuya]]).
** To successfully perform a [[Ritual Summon]].
* Yusaku is the first protagonist since Jaden to:
** Use [[Field Spell Card]]s in his Deck.
** Not have his father be central to the plot of his series.
** Have never been defeated by his [[Roken Kogami|rival]].
* Yusaku is the first protagonist since Yusei to:
** Use [[Normal Monster]]s in his Deck.
** Have never lost a Duel within the present main storyline.
* Yusaku is the only protagonist:
** Who has never lost a Duel to another human.
** To have neither of his parents, or any family, seen or mentioned at any point.
** Who is not a close friend of the [[Skye Zaizen|heroine]] of his series, although he does occasionally work with her.
** Who never participated in a tournament or [[Tag-Team Duel]] (unless Yusaku fighting Bit and Boot, 2 Duelists in 1 body, counts in the case of the latter).
* Yusaku has several similarities to Yusei, despite having a much harsher demeanor than the latter.
** Both have "Fu" as the first part of their surnames.
** Both are incredible hackers.
** Both have suffered great hardship in their youth.
** Both are noble and look out for others, but at the same time keep some distance from others so they don't get involved in their conflicts.
** Both commonly have Duels while riding on [[D-Board|fast]] [[Duel Runner|vehicles]].
** Both are highly intelligent and have great strategic skills in dueling that often make use of recycle tactics.
** Both have not worn anything around their necks.
** Both were once considered criminals in their series.
** Both have only lost Duels in flashbacks that take place prior to the beginning of their series.
** Both have never been turned evil at any point in their series like the other protagonists, though Yuma never actually turned evil as Astral embraced evil power and merged with him into Dark ZEXAL.
* Yusaku and Yusei also both have similar monsters in their Decks.
** Dragon-themed primary ace monsters with 2500 ATK and defensive effects that focus on protecting other cards ("Firewall Dragon" and "[[Stardust Dragon (anime)|Stardust Dragon]]").
** Warrior-themed secondary ace monsters with a DARK Attribute, 2300 ATK, and offensive effects that focus on gaining strength from other monsters ("Decode Talker" and "[[Junk Warrior (anime)|Junk Warrior]]").
** Effect Monsters that can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from its controller's Graveyard in Defense Position, but with its effects negated, upon being Normal Summoned ("Cyberse Gadget" and "[[Junk Synchron (anime)|Junk Synchron]]").
** Level 1 EARTH Normal Monsters with 100 ATK and DEF ("Protron" and "[[Unicycular (anime)|Unicycular]]").
* Much like [[Sherry LeBlanc]], Yusaku has 1 or 2 people they can actually trust (in Yusaku's case, he only had Kolter). Also, both of them had a desire for vengeance against the organization that took the lives of someone important to them, despite having different backgrounds (Yusaku against The Knights of Hanoi and Sherry against [[Iliaster]]).
* Yusaku is the first character to use five different Summoning methods ([[Link Summon|Link]], Ritual, [[Fusion Summon|Fusion]], [[Synchro Summon|Synchro]], and [[Xyz Summon|Xyz]]).
* Yusaku's ace monsters with a draconic appearance have the same color scheme as the card type of that monster: "Firewall Dragon" is blue ([[Link Monster|Link]]), "Cyberse Clock Dragon" is violet ([[Fusion Monster|Fusion]]), "Cyberse Quantum Dragon" is white ([[Synchro Monster|Synchro]]) and "Firewall eXceed Dragon" is indigo, which is close to black ([[Xyz Monster|Xyz]]).
* Yusaku is the only character in the ''VRAINS'' series to use more than one Fusion Monster (albeit the second monster didn't originally belong to him).
* Like Yugi and Yuma, Yusaku dueled against his partner in the final episodes of his series. All three also used a new monster at the Duel's climax (in Yusaku's case, it was "Accesscode Talker").
** Unlike Yugi and Yuma's monsters, which represented their own individual strength, Yusaku's seems to represent his bond with Ai (hinted in the summoning chant).
** All three have used cards that can be seen with deep meaning behind them and were key in their victory. For Yusaku, it was "Recoded Alive" which was also used to defeat Varis in both of their Master Duels. Of the three, Yusaku's is the only one to be a Trap instead of a Spell.
** Also unlike Yugi and Yuma, Yusaku used a [[Borreload Furious Dragon (anime)|card]] that was not his for his final Duel. Although his was given to him, rather than offered.
* Each of Yusaku's four non-Link ace monsters has at least one gameplay difference from the other three.
** "Cyberse Magician": The only one to not be a Dragon-themed Extra Deck monster (instead being a Spellcaster-themed Main Deck monster).
** "Cyberse Clock Dragon": The only one to require a specific monster as part of its Summon method (in this case, "Clock Wyvern"), and to have an effect that activates upon its Summoning.
** "Cyberse Quantum Dragon": The only one to not have an effect that increases its ATK.
** "Firewall eXceed Dragon": The only one to not be a Level 7 monster from the "[[Cyber]]" archetype (instead being a Rank 4 monster from the "[[Firewall (archetype)|Firewall]]" archetype), and to not have an effect that protects other monsters from attacks or card effects while a Link Monster is on the field.
==References==
<references group="Notes" />
{{Yusaku Fujiki pages}}
{{Characters/VRAINS/Anime}}
[[Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS characters]]