Yusei Fudo
Yusei Fudo is the main protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and was one of the Signers. He is known for and respected by many other characters in the show for his genius style of dueling, his considerable duel skill, and his cool and clever personality. He uses a Duel Runner, which is called the Yusei Go. In the English dub, "Let's rev it up!" is a common catchphrase that he uses when he summons a Synchro Monster. He is also the foster brother of Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan. His deck is comprised of mostly warrior cards which focus around synchroes. His Japanese voice actor is Yuya Miyashita, while he is voiced by Greg Abbey in the American dub version.
Personality[]
Yusei is usually depicted as being serious, calm and clear-minded; even in very dangerous situations. Due to this he rarely acts on impulse and usually thinks things through before he plays any cards, always trying to stay one step ahead of his opponent. This is made obvious during his duels, as he regularly visualizes card flowcharts in his mind in order to devise his strategies. He is also very selfless, and is hesitant to put the safety of his friends, or anyone else at risk.
Yusei and Team 5D's
Yusei sees friends as the most valuable thing a person can have; he believes no one should ever have to be alone, and tries to convince others whom are against friendship that they are wrong. Yusei is sometimes contradicting to his view on "fate". Just before Yusei dueled Halldor, he stated he didn't care about fate, but during his Duel with Halldor, he says if Halldor felt he was fated to face Yliaster, the same applies to him. Yusei gets annoyed at those who reject cards by calling them trash or say that cards are usless, so much so that he doesn't consider them deserving of calling themselves Duelists or even consider them a Duelist. He is also shown to be annoyed when Trudge refers to him or his Deck as "scum", enough that Yusei told Trudge "All you ever say is 'scum' over and over again, don't you know any other words?". It is also revealed
later on in the Dark Signer Arc that Yusei felt guilty about the Zero Reverse incident, and blamed himself before Crow assured him he didn't need to take responsibility for it. He believes that Synchro Monsters are not the bringer of destruction even though Jakob claims it is. He also cares very much for New Domino City's safety, and has even said he will never allow a tragedy like Zero Reverse to ever happen again in the city, even if it means his life. He also told Z-one that nobody has the right to take away another person's future, even it was to save the world. Furthermore, he believes that if there is no present Momentum, then the future cannot be saved. In the English version, Yusei has had a fear of insects ever since a cockroach nested in his ear, as said by Nervin. He was however able to conquer this fear after his Duel against Lenny, though he seemed to show discomfort in his first duel against Roman Goodwin, where he asked if it "was too much to ask to summon a monster with only two legs".
Appearance[]
Yusei Fudo render
Yusei has tan skin, a light muscular physique, black hair with gold highlights, and Bleu de France blue eyes. The upper layer of his hair juts upward while the lower layer arches down. Yusei wears a long-sleeved blue jacket with a high collar and amber gems, over a sleeveless black shirt with a red symbol, and wears gloves below his elbows with an amber gem on them. His lower body consists of black jeans with amber knee pads, a belt with two Deck holsters hidden under his jacket (one for his standard Deck and one for his Turbo Duel Deck), and calf-high motorcycle boots. After episode 5, he acquires a jagged criminal marker on the left side of his face which later was somehow covered in episode 116 and episode 117, which is thought to be covered by makeup. His Mark of the Dragon was a red outline of the tail, which was permanently burned onto his right forearm after the events concluding the Fortune Cup story arc. It is later replaced by the dragon head mark upon his defeat of Goodwin, with Crow receiving his former mark.
Yusei's outfit during the WRGP tournament
During his time in Crash Town, Yusei replaced his Duel Disk with the Duel Disk revolvers used in the town, and he wore a brown poncho over his normal clothes with his Mark of the Dragon designed on it. He wears the poncho in the manga at the start of the D1 Grand Prix. However this poncho is white, lacks the Mark of the Dragon design, and is dirtier.
During the WRGP, he gets a new Turbo Dueling outfit that is similar to his old clothes but is more form-fitting. The new outfit consists of the same blue jacket with amber gems, but the bottom right part is replaced by a black strap with an orange outline. He wears blue jeans with amber gems at the knees and knee-high boots.
Abilities[]
Yusei is shown to be very gifted when it comes to computers and machines, able to build and program seemingly anything as he was to build his own Duel Runner (D-Wheel in the Japanese version) from scrap parts, twice, and how he jams the criminal mark on Rally Dawson. Along with the ability to construct one, he is also shown to be very adept at riding a Duel Runner, evidenced numerous times throughout his duels. He is a highly adept fighter, as evident from how effortlessly he knocked out two of Goodwin's security guards. He appears to have expertise in physics considering the fact that at one point Akiza came to request his assistance on the subject and later takes over his parents' job as head of overseeing the completion of the Ener-D. As Team 5D's team captain, Yusei showed to be a very capable strategist and tactician, able to see through his opponent's plans and devising plans for his own team. He is also an adept teacher as shown in episode 75 when he was helping Akiza Izinski get her Turbo Dueling License.
Plot[]
Yusei as a member of the Enforcers
Yusei was born in the Tops area of New Domino City. His parents were lead developers for the Ener-D Reactor. Dr. Fudo named his son Yusei after the Planetary Particle (Yūsei Ryūshi), as he wished for Yusei to be able to connect people with bonds. As the Zero Reverse was about to take place, before dying, Yusei's father placed Yusei in an escape pod, saving him from the disaster that would follow. Yusei's parents were both killed in the Zero Reverse and Yusei was sent to an orphanage in Satellite, where he was fostered by Martha. Growing up he was interested in auto shop and Jack defended him and his friends from bullies.
Yusei dueling while living in Sattellite
Yusei grew up in Satellite, where he befriended Kalin Kessler, Jack Atlas, and Crow Hogan. As residents of Satellite, they were made to do labor for the residents of New Domino City and denied many luxuries which were enjoyed by the residents of New Domino. Being forced to survive on what he could, Yusei developed expert dueling skills. He, Jack, and Crow, became part of a group known as the Enforcers (Team Satisfaction in the Japanese version). Believing they could never leave Satellite, the team tried to make the most of their lives there. They began taking over various regions. While facing another Duel Gang, one of the members tries to kill Yusei, by throwing him off the roof. Kalin catches Yusei by a Duel Disk cuff, stopping him from falling. As Kalin's platform begins to give way, Yusei tells Kalin to leave him and save himself. Kalin refuses to abandon his friend and pulls Yusei up. With that gang defeated, the Enforcers have captured all the zones in Satellite. They finally dominated the whole of Satellite.
Sometime later, Kalin forces a kid into a Duel and assaults him after winning. The rest of the gang realize Kalin is becoming cruel and is letting the power get to his head. Crow and Jack leave the gang, but Yusei stays by Kalin's side. Sector Security later arrive in Satellite, armed with Duel Runners. Kalin decides to go up against Sector Security. Yusei leaves the team, hoping that Kalin won't decide to go through with the fight when he's alone. Kalin still proceeds with the fight, and the rest of the gang return to help Kalin when he is on the run. The team faced Security, in what Kalin believed to be the Enforcer's last Duel. Yusei gets in a fight with Kalin when Kalin murders a Security Officer. Crow and Jack held Kalin in a room, while Yusei went to tell that he, himself, was the leader, in the hopes that Kalin won't get arrested. Before he could do this, the Securities found and arrested Kalin. As Kalin is dragged into a Security wagon, the officer pats Yusei on the shoulder, thanking him for assisting in the arrest. Kalin sees this and believes Yusei sold him out, but is taken away before Yusei can explain himself.
Jack defeats and humiliates Yusei
Yusei spends his time with Jack, Blitz, Nervin, Tank and Rally. He develops his computer, motorcycle riding and engineering skills and comes into possession of the card "Stardust Dragon". Yusei challenges Jack to a duel and loses. Yusei demands to know why he could not win. Jack replies that he will tell Yusei only if he is willing to beg. Angry and desperate, Yusei gets on his hands and knees, and bow down to Jack. His friends are shock to see Yusei shamelessly prostrating. Jack mocks Yusei by saying that he resembles a dog, and walks away, leaving the bent over and humiliated Yusei without an answer.Yusei was able to pick up TV signals from New Domino City, allowing his friends to witness Turbo Duels. He fell out with Jack after a difference in goals, as Jack wanted power and to lead people.
With his friends' help, Yusei was able to make his own Duel Runner. However, Jack stole the Duel Runner and "Stardust Dragon" in order to escape to New Domino City and become the "Turbo Duel King." Yusei had considered these stolen items to be "bonds of friendship" belonging to him and his friends and vowed to get them back.
Yusei's Duel Runner
Two years later, after building a new Duel Runner with the help of Rally, Blitz, Tank, and Nervin, Yusei makes plans to venture to New Domino City to recover "Stardust Dragon" from Jack. In the process, he runs into Trudge, a Public Order Security officer, who wants to arrest Rally for stealing an acceleration chip. (In the English version, Rally was framed.) Trudge agrees to duel Yusei under the condition that if Yusei won, Trudge would forget the events of that day; if Trudge won, Yusei would give himself up to Trudge. After accepting the challenge and losing, Trudge swears to crush Yusei, but lets him go. While the only pipeline connecting Satellite to New Domino City, which is a chute for waste, was closed for maintenance, Yusei took advantage of this to escape to New Domino. On the way, he gets chased by Trudge, who forces him into a Turbo Duel. Yusei wins one second before the hatch to New Domino started closing. Avoiding the trash flooding through the pipeline, Yusei slipped through the maintenance hatch right before it closed, leaving Trudge stuck in the pipeline now full of trash.
Yusei duels Jack after reuniting in Neo Domino
Yusei manages to find Jack. Jack tosses "Stardust Dragon" back to him, telling Yusei he can have it. Yusei refuses and tosses "Stardust Dragon" back to Jack, saying that he would rather duel him for it to prove he can get it on his own. Jack agrees, but their Turbo Duel is interrupted by the appearance of the Crimson Dragon right before the winner is determined, later revealed to have been Yusei. The Dragon causes Jack's already permanent Birthmark (Mark of the Dragon) to glow and burn as well as revealing Yusei's Mark, the Dragon's Tail. Yusei is arrested shortly after for trespassing into New Domino while Jack leaves safely. Rex Goodwin and Lazar, who had been monitoring the Duel, reveal that if the Crimson Dragon hadn't appeared, Jack would have lost.
Yusei dueling while trapped in the Facilities
After his arrest, Yusei was scarred with a large mark on the left side of his face that signified his criminal record, and was sent to the Facility, where he met Tenzen Yanagi. Yanagi informs Yusei of the Crimson Dragon and the Signers, telling him that those who have the birthmarks were chosen by the People of the Stars. Yusei's birthmark is the Crimson Dragon's Tail, which appears on his arm when he fights alongside Stardust Dragon or encounters another Signer.
Yusei meets former pro Duelist, Bolt Tanner, who imposes a Duel. Since Yusei's cards had been taken, Yanagi duels Tanner. Disgusted at Yanagi's poor dueling and his cards, Tanner stamps on the cards, despite their sentimental value to Yanagi. Yusei knocks Tanner down and challenges him to a Duel, borrowing Yanagi's Deck. Yusei defeats him without ever attacking once and Tanner offers his assistance to him.
Yusei suffers from electrical shocks during his duel with Armstrong
Under Goodwin's orders, the warden Armstrong is made carry out tests on Yusei. Armstrong also has Yusei sent to a different part of the Facility. Yusei's new cellmate Alex offers Yusei a chance to escape through a tunnel he's been working on for months. Yusei agrees to come if they can take Tanner and Yanagi too. However Armstrong has Tanner and Yanagi beaten for knowing Yusei. Yusei stands up to Mr. Armstrong, causing him to impose stricter rules. Goodwin then unexpectedly shows up, and grants Yusei freedom from the Facility - on the condition that he defeat Armstrong in a duel and come to work with him. Yusei, though feeling suspicious, accepts Goodwin's offer. Yusei refuses to escape with Alex, as Tanner and Yanagi are unable to come too and escaping wouldn't grant true freedom. Without a Deck to use against Armstrong, the other inmates give Yusei cards to use against Armstrong.
Yusei shamelessly begs for mercy after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Armstrong
The next day Yusei faces Armstrong, using the Deck of random cards. The Duel is setup to shock players if they suffer damage, but Armstrong rigs the arena to stop himself receiving shocks and uses surveillance cameras to see Yusei's cards. Alex, however uses his tunnel to sneak into a security room and switches Armstrong's shocks back on. Despite Alex's effort, Yusei was ultimately defeated. Yusei falls onto his hands and knees, begging for mercy from Armstrong. Goodwin who witnessed the entire duel, was shocked to see that Yusei would assume such a disgraceful position, though Goodwin decides to free Yuei. Before his release, Yanagi gives Yusei his "Totem Pole" card. Tanner gives him his "Giant Ushi Oni", instructing him to go to Bootleg, order some milk, and ask for a guy named Blister, then use the card to prove he met Tanner.
Yusei is followed by two men working for Goodwin at Bootleg, but is pulled away by Blister on his Duel Runner. Blister jams the signal emitted from Yusei's criminal mark to stop them being followed.
Despite believing it to be suicide on Yusei's part, Blister helps him in infiltrating an Impound warehouse to recover his Deck and Duel Runner.
Disguised as an electrician, under the pseudonym Yusei Adams (Taro Daimon in the Japanese version), Yusei was able to sneak into the warehouse. When he gets to the crate, where his Duel Runner is held, he is ambushed by Trudge. Yusei hops onto his Duel Runner and smashes it through the crate. Trudge forces him into another Turbo Duel. While trying to escape, Trudge closes all the security doors, making Yusei's chances of escaping very slim. However, Blister blows up the elevator door and at ground floor, Yusei rides out while Trudge gets stuck in the elevator. Soon he catches up. After Trudge starts physically attacking Yusei, Blister arrives to help, having had a change of heart over what Yusei told him about friends. Yusei wins the Duel, but is electrocuted by a huge crowd of Security and left unconscious outside at the Tops, where the richest people live. Luna feels Yusei's pain and rushes outside with Leo, only to find Yusei outside their front door unconscious.
Fortune Cup Saga[]
Yusei duels Leo while taking refuge in the Tops area
Yusei is later given refuge by the twins Leo and Luna. In the Japanese version, he fears that he would only cause them trouble by staying, but they manage to talk him into a Duel and staying for the night. In the English version, Yusei has lost his memory after his Duel with Trudge and can't even remember his name. He duels Leo in the hopes of regaining his memory, which he eventually manages to retrieve. In the Japanese version, Yusei does not suffer from amnesia, and is reminded of Rally through Leo's personalities.
After leaving the twins, he is threatened into participating in the Fortune Cup by Lazar, who holds his Satellite friends hostage. Yusei is later given more incentive to participate when Jack gives "Stardust Dragon" back and personally demands that he face him. In the quarter-finals of the Fortune Cup, Yusei faced Hunter Pace, disguised as Shira, and won, moving to the semifinals. His opponent in the semifinals is Greiger.
Yusei duels Hunter
After Yusei defeats Greiger, Greiger attempts to take revenge on Goodwin for what he did to his village, but Yusei manages to stop him. Before security takes Greiger away, he tells Yusei to fulfill his own mission. In the English version, Yusei stops Greiger from knocking down the tower Goodwin was in to get revenge on what Goodwin did to his village, but a spike broke through the glass at the top of the tower (where Goodwin is) from the collision with Greiger's Duel Runner and Yusei's Duel Runner and Goodwin stopped it with his metal hand. As security takes Greiger away, he tells Yusei to be careful in the finals in the English version.
Yusei duel with Akiza during the Fortune Cup finals
Yusei faces Akiza in the finals. Previously, he had thought that she only felt anger and rejection. But after Akiza's first move, he notices and points out that she has a pleasure and joy for destruction. Akiza replies that cannot be true, however, later on the duel, after people insult her again, she accepts it all because of being the "Black Rose". According to her, this other side of her is the one who enjoys destruction all because of the powers caused by the Mark of the Dragon. He learns that after she was found by Sayer, he told her to feel but not to think, to let him do that for her. But even still, she puts on her mask just to feel; this prompts Yusei to fight this duel to change her.
Despite his valient efforts, he was ultimately no match for Akiza and her Black Rose Dragon. She effortlessly defeats him without losing a single life point, humiliating him in front of the entire Neo Domino City. Yusei falls on his hands and knees after recieving multiple hits from Akiza's monsters. Akiza uses her psychic powers to force Yusei to bow before her, while begging more mercy. The entire crowd, including Jack, laughed and mocked Yusei. Akiza proceeds to exit the cental arena, leaving a humiliated and bent-over Yusei laying on the ground in pain.
He faces Jack near the end of the Fortune Cup. Although he is pushed to a corner in the middle of the Duel, Yusei wins using various combos with "Stardust Dragon" to destroy Jack's "Red Dragon Archfiend" and becomes the new King of Turbo Duels. He tends to ignore his victory however, concerned about the vision of the Spider Nazca Line which he and Jack saw during the Duel.
Following his victory against Jack, Yusei flees the stadium with Tanner, Yanagi, Luna, and Leo to avoid being mobbed by reporters and fans. They hide out at Blister's place at the edge of the city.
Yusei spots a man with a glowing birthmark. Believing him to be a Signer, Yusei chases him to a construction site where he faces him in a Shadow Duel. The opponent reveals himself to be a Shadow Drone and states their motives to destroy the Signers. After Grady loses, he has no memory of the Duel, his Deck changes, and his Mark of the Shadows disappears. Yusei runs away after Security appears to examine the damage caused by the Shadow Duel. After returning to the hideout, Security led by Trudge track him down. Yusei walks out to meet them and says he wanted to talk to Goodwin anyway (in the English version, Yusei called Trudge to take him to Goodwin).
Yusei is taken to meet Goodwin at an incomplete bridge pointing in the direction of Satellite. Here Goodwin tells him about the battle between the Crimson Dragon and the Earthbound Immortals, where the Signer Dragons sealed the Earthbound Immortals in the Nazca Lines. Goodwin says that those bearing the mark of the Crimson Dragon and the Earthbound Immortals' servants, the Signers and Dark Signers have been battling for 5,000 years. Their battle is destined to determine the fate of the world. The Original Ener-D Reactor in Satellite is a door to the Netherworld itself, which the Dark Signers plan opening, to release the evil sealed in the Nazca Lines. Yusei understands Goodwin deliberately isolated Satellite from New Domino to restrict the battlefield to Satellite, only harming the Satellite residents. Yusei requests that they evacuate Satellite, but Goodwin says can't, since it would allow the Dark Signers to target the city, insuring a greater amount of casualties. Goodwin arranged a helicopter to airdrop Yusei and his Duel Runner into Satellite.
Yusei reunites with Crow
After arriving in Satellite, Yusei is reunited with Crow. The two head back to Yusei's Satellite hideout, where he is reunited with Rally and the others. Security had been following Crow, so everyone splits up. Crow takes on the Security, and Yusei arrives to help, resulting in a Tag Turbo Duel. After winning the Duel Yusei and Crow meet up with Rally and his others at Crow's base at the Daedalus Bridge. Here Yusei tells his friends about the disastrous vision shown by the Crimson Dragon and the story told by Goodwin. He listens along with the others the story about the man who made the bridge. During the night both he and Crow had head to the B.A.D., where the Original Ener-D Reactor is. They are confronted by Kalin, who is now a Dark Signer. Kalin shows great hatred to his old friends and forces Yusei into a Shadow Turbo Duel. Kalin takes the upper hand with "Hundred Eyes Dragon". Yusei is able to comeback with "Stardust Dragon", but Kalin turns the tables and Summons his Earthbound Immortal, "Ccapac Apu". Before Yusei is defeated his Duel Runner breaks down and the Duel is canceled. Yusei is then found impaled in the abdomen by a large shard.(In the English dub, the shard and blood was removed, despite the fact that the scene in which Rally and the others watching it was not, and he is said to have cuts and bruises.)
Crow takes him to Martha's refuge facility, in order to receive the required surgery. Dr. Schmitt, assisted by Martha manage to save Yusei's life. After waking up he sees that Rally and the others brought his Duel Runner all the way from the B.A.D. Yusei gets scolded by Martha for putting himself in danger, without asking his friends for help. She reminds Yusei of his idea of "believing in friends" as they will always be there supporting and helping him out. As he recovers, he checks his Duel Runner and thinks that Kalin is too powerful for him to defeat.
As Akiza is about to duel Misty, Yusei's mark reacts. He rushes outside and sees Hummingbird and Lizard Earthbound Immortal marks. He is aware a Duel between a Signer and Dark Signer is about to begin, but is unable to assist. After Akiza is taken to the hospital, her parents turn to Yusei for help. Yusei is initially reluctant, but prompted by Martha, who teases him, asking if he had a crush on Akiza and that if they did have a special connection with her, he should ask her out, agrees to try.
When Akiza awakens, she is initially glad to see Yusei, but after seeing her parents, turns against him. Unable to calm her, Yusei tries to reach her by dueling. Yusei takes damage through the Duel, but Hideo steps in to protect him. With Hideo's determination, Yusei is able to show Akiza that her parents love her.
Mina shows Akiza and Yusei information regarding the Arcadia Movement and Sayer's true motives, involving the abduction of children to create an army of Psychic Duelists. Yusei comforts Akiza from the devastation.
Jack punches Yusei to help renew his confidence
The Signers are invited to Rex Goodwin's house. Despite his distrust of Goodwin, Yusei decides to go, as this is the only way he get information on the Signers and Dark Signers. Yusei asks about reverting a Dark Signer back to normal. Goodwin reluctantly tells them that Dark Signers cannot be brought back as they are dead and no longer of this world (Otherwise is said in the English dub). Yusei loses confidence in returning Kalin back to normal and blames himself for Kalin's current state. Jack, who is sickened by Yusei's self-doubt, punches him in the hopes of returning some sense to Yusei. Jack's actions and words, along with some moral support from the twins, restores Yusei's confidence.
Trivia[]
Whenever Yusei is involved in a duel confrontation with Akiza , he is always defeated despite him being far more skilled than her (he is usually outsmarted or manipulated in some way). These losses are depicted in a way to clearly show a strong and valiant Yusei defeated in a most disgraceful manner where he was not just simply succumbing to Akiza's prowess. Upon defeat,. No matter how the battles transpired, when engaging in combat with Akiza, two events will always occur without fail - the battle will conclude with Akiza as the victor and Yusei suffering a bitter defeat while being in a pose where he is on his knees, face planted, and his butt shoved up. This pose not only symbolizes Yusei suffering a disgrace defeat, but also him being stripped of his dignity and honor from being defeated.This was showcased when Yusei fought Akiza during the Preliminaries finals. During this fight, Akiza outsmarted Yusei when she led him into a trap involving her Black Garden. Yusei was utterly defenseless. The match ended Akiza defeating and humiliating Yusei. The prideful leader of Team 5D's now finds himself being forced down on all fours with his butt in the air. Yusei's defeat at the hands of Akiza sparked much contraversy in 5D's. As the protagonist, Yusei is arguably the best duelist, boasting a near perfect record. His loss to Akiza is depicted in a way to clearly show a strong and valient Yusei defeated in a most disgraceful manner. Fans often ridicule Yusei, joking that when Akiza cracks her whip, Yusei gets on knees, bend down, and sticks butt up. Furthermore they often laugh at Yusei's defeat pose, because it appears that Yusei is forced to prostrate before Akiza while begging for mercy. - A running joke among fans is that Yusei is afraid of whips and vines. Akiza relies to materializing rose tentacles and Black Rose Dragon (with thorn whip equipped) to manipulate Yusei's body after every one of his defeats.
Fans often joke that Akiza is the best duelist in 5D's. After winning the WRGP and the Fortune Cup and saving Neo Domino from Z-one, Yusei challenged Akiza to one final duel. The duel wasn't shown, but the result shows Akiza cracking a whip and the Turbo Dueling Champion, Shooting Star of Satellite, and Leader of the Signers bent over on his hands and knees with his butt shoved up.
During the staged live action fan Yu-gi-ph! 5D's, Yuya Miyashita, the voice actor of Yusei, performed several was involved in several duels with various characters. When Yusei loses to to Akiza, Yusei pleaded for mercy and was forced into in a humiliating pose where he leaned on his hands and knees, and his butt were pushed up. Unlike the anime, Yusei's pants have been lowered and his underwear show. Yusei ass is ready for spanking.