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George
Yusaku is calm and collected most of the time. Outside of Duels he is shown to be intelligent and clever, 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 Naoki with his observations, then didn't react to Naoki 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 Naoki assumed he wanted to join the Duel Club and Skye assumed he wanted new equipment from SOL. Despite his aloof and calm demeanor Yusaku can be quite sullen when it comes to dealing with Ai's antics.
Despite his introverted and cold nature, Yusaku is both noble and golden-hearted deep down. He is on well terms with his best friend, Kolter and shows sympathy or care to others' situations like when he discovers that everything [[George Gore |Gore]] does is for the his orphanage, but refuses to let others get close to him and join his fight against Hanoi out of concern that they may get hurt.
As Playmaker he is shown to have a cold and serious demeanor, but at the same time he displays some noble traits to his personality, such as saving [[Skye Zaizen|Blue Angel]] when she was about to be attacked by "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]". Because of the [[Hanoi Project]] from ten years ago, Yusaku hates the [[Knights of Hanoi]] and swears revenge against them. He didn't hesitate to capture [[Ai]] and threatened to delete him in order to challenge the Hanoi. As pointed out by Varis he has a sense of justice and will help those hurt by the Hanoi. He is also very confident and has lot of faith in his abilities. He is a determined duelist who never gives up.
The Knight activated a [[Skill]], which angered Yusaku because Ai didn't mention skills. The Knight used "[[DDoS Attack]]" to inflict 1600 Damage to Playmaker and knock him off his [[Duel Board]]. Blue Angel saved Playmaker by using her whip to throw the Duel Board back at him. Ai noted that a fall from that height could've killed them. The Knight reduced Playmaker's LP to 400 and the Data Storm tornado sucked him. Inside the tornado, Yusaku figured out that this was part of Ai's calculations. Ai revealed that powerful monsters reside within the Data Storm, and that Playmaker's skill "Storm Access" allowed him to obtain those Monsters when his LP is 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. Ai saved his life by devouring the Knight. [[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 Ai's programming and gave him the nickname "ai". Yusaku discovered some video logs that were actually Ai's memories. Ai said he didn't understand those memories because most were damaged when he was reduced to an eye, but he did recognize The Knight's of Hanoi's [[Varis|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.<ref name="ep3">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|3|ref}}</ref>
[[File:VRAINS log in.png|thumb|left|Yusaku logs in to the network.]]
The next day a Knight of Hanoi appeared at LINK VRAINS while Ai was back at [[Yusaku Fujiki's house|Yusaku's house]], so Yusaku skipped school to go get his Duel Disk and face the Knight. On his way there, Kolter gave him the "Decode Talker" card which had materialized. Upon arriving at LINK VRAINS, Yusaku 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 triggered a program that stops Playmaker 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, to which Playmaker said that humans' hearts make them do illogical things. Ai was confused by that but Playmaker didn't explain what it meant because 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. Ai again was confused by why humans make illogical contradictory choices. Yusaku stated that Gore's Duel was meant to entertain the audience and Yusaku himself and that he wouldn't quit the Duel. Playmaker proceeded to win by Link Summoning four times in a row and attacking "Great Ogre" 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 want Gore to face the danger of fighting against them.<ref name="ep5">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|5|ref}}</ref>
When Kolter uncovered Skye Zaizen's identity as Blue Angel, Yusaku realized that Skye was a student at [[Den City High School]] and his classmate. Kolter suggested meeting her in order to find out if her brother [[Akira Zaizen|Akira]], who was the Security Manager at SOL Technologies, knew anything about Yusaku's past or [[Jin Kusanagi|Kolter's brother]]. However, he then started teasing that talking to Skye would be impossible for Yusaku because of his lack of social skills. Nevertheless, Yusaku managed to track her down with Ai's help, and followed her to the [[Duel Club]], where Naoki caught up to him. He feigned ignorance when Naoki 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. When another member, [[Sato]], showed him his Duel Disk, he pretended to be interested, commenting on the fact that it was the latest model. Skye remarked that he knew a lot, but he said it was only because Naoki had bragged about it earlier. Meanwhile, Ai tried to start a conversation with Skye's Duel Disk, which made Skye notice 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 handed her his dummy Deck instead. Ai later complimented him on this, but Yusaku told him to be quiet, as a meeting was in progress.<ref name="ep6">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|6|ref}}</ref>
Playmaker and [[Ai]] watched an eclipse blocking the virtual sun in [[LINK VRAINS]]. Ai remembered people in the ancient past were scared of such events, and was surprised people, even today, were still afraid. Playmaker replied people remain the same, unlike technology that advances. The latter proclaimed the light was blocked by darkness, and confirmed to Ai he meant about the Lost Incident. He would not let the incident be buried in darkness, and would uncover the truth. Later, Yusaku was at school, and remembered how someone spoke to him during the Lost Incident project. [[Naoki Shima|Naoki]] called out to Yusaku, reminding him the class was over, and thought he was one of the "Athnoers". Yusaku walked away, and Naoki told him "Athnoers" were people trapped in LINK VRAINS, noting a lot of students haven't attended the school. He believed it was due to cursed [[Duel Disk]]s, which, at midnight, emit white hands that drag people into LINK VRAINS, leaving the people's bodies "hollow". He thought no person would return back to their old-selves, even if they were taken to the hospital. Ai thought this had relations to [[Skye Zaizen|Blue Angel]], but Yusaku shushed him, since Naoki could hear him. Naoki doubted Yusaku would become a victim, since they were usually people with promising Dueling future. Yusaku advised him to stay away from the Duel Disk and walked away from Naoki, who wished Playmaker would set things straight. Before leaving, Yusaku corrected him the term was "[[Another]]s", not "Athnoers", which made Naoki furious, since Yusaku knew everything already. Inside the van, [[Kolter]] showed Ai and Yusaku the footage of a camera, when a person turned into an Another, which happened six minutes before midnight. Ai noted there were no white hands taking the person into LINK VRAINS. Kolter told them the person had not recovered yet, and showed pictures of more Another patients in the hospitals. Ai and Yusaku knew this was the same accident with Blue Angel, who was infected by a virus.<ref name="ep22">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|22|ref}}</ref>
Kolter believed someone wanted people to be turned into mindless people, but has not find out what happened to their LINK VRAINS' avatars. Kolter showed more data, and Yusaku analyzed all of the Anothers were great Duelists with old-type Duel Disks, and all of them were hackers, too. The trio realized Playmaker, or Ai, were the targets. Yusaku reminded the importance of uncovering the truth behind Lost Incident, and as noted by Ai, they had to stop people from becoming Anothers. Ai noted Yusaku was a cool hero of justice, even if the latter claimed that was unnecessary. Kolter showed a list of possible targets, from which the first was [[Makoto Kimishima]]. Yusaku traced the person to his house, and saw lights at his window. Yusaku broke through into his room, and saw he became a victim. In addition, he and Ai watched Makoto's avatar inside LINK VRAINS being confronted by [[Dr. Genome|a person]], who wished to know if he was Playmaker and had [[Ignis]]. Yusaku and Ai saw the person casted some glitter, causing Makoto to fall asleep and fall off the cliff, but was saved by [[George Gore|the Gore]]. Playmaker watched as the Gore confronted the person, Dr. Genome, who placed the virus into Makoto, only to draw Playmaker out. Yusaku came to the hospital, where he heard Gore swear to defeat Dr. Genome. Gore saw Yusaku and realized he was also concerned about Makoto, who attended the same school. Yusaku gave his name to Gore, and left. At the van, Kolter and Yusaku watched the [[Knights of Hanoi]] Dueling people, and turning them into Anothers. Yusaku decided to go into LINK VRAINS, even if Kolter believed he would be at a disadvantage, and Ai wished to feel secure. Surprisingly, they saw "Playmaker" battling the Knights of Hanoi, by stopping their programs and tossing them away from their [[Duel Board]]s. Dr. Genome confronted "Playmaker", who revealed himself to be Gore. The latter stated he came to save Makoto, and knew Playmaker's identity, which displeased Yusaku and Kolter. Yusaku did not know if Gore really knew his identity, but was still frustrated. The group watched as Dr. Genome activated the [[Data Gale]], conjuring black tornadoes for the [[Speed Duel]].<ref name="ep22"/>
Yusaku, Kolter and Ai watched the Gore confronting Dr. Genome. Since Gore claimed to have known Playmaker's identity, Kolter remembered Yusaku did run into Gore at the hospital, but Yusaku claimed it was impossible. Once Gore equipped himself with a mask and declared himself as "Dark Onizuka", Ai thought that was a tacky thing to do. Yusaku and Kolter realized Gore changed his battling style to a heel, and would not hold back. Ai was surprised to see Gore actually had his "[[Gouki Riscorpio (anime)|Gouki Riscorpio]]" attack "[[Helixx Marmotroll]]", causing the former to be destroyed, since it had less ATK. However, Ai noticed this was to have Gore gain an advantage, as 500 LP was inflicted on Genome, and Yusaku added that was how a heel fights. Ai noticed Gore started using his brain to win, while Yusaku noted Gore still wanted to win, in his own way. Just as Gore was to win, Genome played "[[Regeneration Cure]]" to stop the damage, and everyone saw Genome had the advantage. As Genome tributed "[[Helixx Necro Darwin]]" to defeat Gore, Yusaku became displeased. Ai suggested he could enter LINK VRAINS to save Gore. Yusaku who saw Gore barely saving himself with the effect of "[[Gouki Octostretch (anime)|Gouki Octostretch]]", decided to take Ai's advice.<ref name="ep23">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|23|ref}}</ref>
Yusaku and Ai logged into LINK VRAINS and Playmaker motivated the Gore in a sarcastic manner, which made him to defeat Genome. After Gore defeated Genome, he then approached Playmaker and realize that Playmaker didn't come to mock him. Instead, he came to motivate him but Playmaker didn't give a straight answer. Gore then told him that he wanted to team up with Playmaker and defeat Hanoi. They saw Blue Angel, and Gore also offered her to join forces with them. The next day Yusaku didn't go to school and teamed up with Gore, defeating various Knights of Hanoi. After defeating another Knight, Playmaker and Ai then interrogated him about the removal program that can cure the victims of Another. However, before the Knight could explain, he was erased by [[Kyoko Taki|someone]]. Gore then asked him about Blue Angel's whereabouts, but Playmaker didn't know where she was, and remembered she left all of a sudden. The two then discussed about the creator of removal program. Sometime later Yusaku, Ai and Kolter then watch [[Kitamura]] making a public announcement that he developed an army of AI Duelists to confront the Knights of Hanoi.<ref name="ep24">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|24|ref}}</ref>
At the van, Kolter analyzed that if the Knights of Hanoi took over LINK VRAINS, they'd soon find Playmaker. Yusaku believed they could prevent that by looking into the origins of Anothers virus. The next day, at the van, Kolter woke Yusaku up, reminding he had to go to school, and promised he'd continue working. After Yusaku returned, Kolter found nothing new. Yusaku let Kolter rest, who went to cook some fries and cheese dogs. Yusaku and Kolter ate the food, and watched Blue Angel confronting Baira. Ai noted Blue Angel was cornered, but Yusaku shushed him, since they were still working. Kolter and Yusaku analyzed the videos, and the latter saw Baira behind one of the Anothers victims.<ref name="ep25">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|25|ref}}</ref> Yusaku and Kolter then hacked into Baira's profile and found out her real identity as [[Kyoko Taki]], a doctor who works at [[Den Hospital]] and they were able to find out her home address. Yusaku then went into her apartment and Ai warned him it could be Hanoi's headquarter as he went inside he was greeted by a security guard robot, who asked him who does he want to visit. But, Yusaku remained silent as Ai told him to say something before anything get suspicious the robot then threatened him if he doesn't answer he would be held under suspicion. When Kolter took control of the guard and guided him to Kyoto's room, Yusaku found her in LINK VRAINS and watched Blue Angel defeat her. He and Kolter also witnessed the victims of Another getting cured and logging out of LINK VRAINS. As Baira suddenly disappeared, they thought she logged out and decided to interrogate her about the removal program but witness her getting purged by Varis.<ref name="ep26">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|26|ref}}</ref>
Yusaku, Kolter, and Ai watched as the tower appeared in LINK VRAINS, causing the cyberspace to be absorbed. Since Yusaku obtained Ghost Gal's data, Kolter promised to look into it. Ai noticed the avatars were being absorbed, and not just buildings or roads - Yusaku knew this was Varis's doing. Kolter analyzed Ghost Gal's data, showing the Tower of Hanoi. Yusaku remembered Varis's words, and deduced if the Hanoi's game was over, the world would be destroyed. Kolter continued analyzing the data, seeing the link between the top, where the LINK VRAINS network was, with the underground erasing system, with the center being the core of the latter system. Ai was shocked, seeing how much data has been absorbed, as Kolter noted that speed has not decreased. Kolter counted six rings would be crafted from this system, one per each passing hour. He realized that once every ring is crafted, a pulse would be sent with high-density data, affecting every machine or program - every piece of technology existing in the world would cease function, as if the world has no computers at all. Ai thought it was safe as long as they did not enter the network, but Yusaku was certain Varis thought of that, and made something that would still erase Ai. Kolter continued his analysis, seeing even devices not connected to the network would also be affected, as an electromagnetic pulse would be sent out, even to erase Ai. While Ai was frustrated, Kolter was overwhelmed, knowing Varis made all of this just to erase an Ignis. The trio watched Kitamura - Akira's successor in SOL Technologies - battling a Knight of Hanoi, named [[Spectre]]. They saw how Spectre erased Kitamura, and the former threatened to do this to anyone that dared entering LINK VRAINS. Yusaku swore to stop the Knights of Hanoi, by shutting down the core. Kolter warned him there were no Data Storms in LINK VRAINS, except near that tower.<ref name="ep32">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|32|ref}}</ref>
This did not stop Yusaku, who wished to end this feud with Varis, and logged in LINK VRAINS. He quickly met up with the Gore and Blue Angel, the latter explaining she was fighting for everyone, as those people look up to her. The Gore exclaimed the same, since he was the hero that needed to protect LINK VRAINS. Ai noted how full of energy Gore was. Gore noted that was the Ignis, who yelled out he had a name, Ai. Playmaker explained he came to stop the Tower of Hanoi, rescue Ghost Gal and confront the mastermind, Varis. Blue Angel was shocked to hear Ghost Gal had vanished too, at the hands of Varis. Gore asked about the data Ghost Gal gave to Playmaker, who reported Varis intended to destroy LINK VRAINS, using the tower. Blue Angel realized if the network would be destroyed, then all the people absorbed would be destroyed, too, hence why Playmaker exclaimed the importance of stopping the tower's completion, and Ai added it would prevent him from being erased. Gore asked how to stop the tower, and was told Varis had to be defeated. Ai warned the time limit was six hours before the tower was completed. Gore and Blue Angel promised to go there, but Playmaker replied it was better if they stayed home, in safety. This actually motivated Gore and Blue Angel to protect the children and the absorbed people, including Ghost Gal. Playmaker did not care, but asked of them to be careful. He reminded them one of them had to defeat Varis, who, according to Ghost Gal, wielded a powerful card. The trio promised to meet up against and went in different directions.<ref name="ep32"/>
[[File:The whirlwind.png|thumb|Playmaker looks at the whirlwind from afar.]]
After hearing about Yusaku's traumatic past, Skye felt a great feeling of sympathy for him.
===George Gore(The Gore)===
At first, Yusaku was indifferent to Gore who considers his alter-ego, "Playmaker", to be his rival. 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 Gore as a worthy opponent and started to respect his Dueling style, and even admitting to have enjoyed Dueling him. When Kolter suggested recruiting Gore for their fight against Hanoi, Yusaku objected by saying that he did not want Gore to face this kind of danger.
| [[Number 10 (character)|Number 10]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 002|2]] || Win
|-
| [[George Gore|George Gore/The Gore]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 004|4]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 005|5]] || Win
|-
| [[Skye Zaizen|Skye Zaizen/Blue Angel]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 007|7]] || Win
