Yusei Fudo



Yusei Fudo is the 18 year old protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and one of the Signers. At the end of the series, Yusei turned 20. He is known for his genius style dueling, his considerable duel skill, and his cool and clever personality. He uses a red Bike-themed Duel Disk called a Duel Runner. In the English dub, "Let's rev it up!" is a common catchphrase that he uses when he summons a Synchro Monster. When he summons his signature Stardust Dragon in the Japanese anime, he often uses the catchphrase "Take flight, Stardust Dragon!". He is also the foster brother of Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan. He is very good friends with Kalin Kessler whom Yusei has history with.

Personality
Yusei has an overall very noble and heroic personality. He is selfless and kind-hearted, and deeply values the safety of humanity and his friends. Because of this, he is seen by most other characters in the show as a dependable person they can always trust.

Yusei is also usually depicted as being serious, calm and collected; 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 strate



gies. He is also very selfless, and is hesitant to put the safety of his friends, or anyone else at risk. Yusei is also shown to be very mature, being able to tackle many different issues with a cool-headed demeanor. Throughout the entire series, it is very rare to see Yusei angry or flustered. He is also very pragmatic and level-headed when making tough decisions to coming up with a solution.

Yusei possesses much pride within himself, especially when it comes to engineering or dueling. He is very confident during his duels, as shown that he is usually sure of his victories and almost never second guess or waver upon a choice. During the WRGP arc, Yusei does showcase some arrogance, such as during his duel with Andore and Jean.

Despite possessing a confident and ,in some rare occassions, arrogant nature, Yusei is able and willing to put aside his pride and dignity and perform various humiliating act such as kneeling or begging his opponents. As a matter of fact, everytime Yusei loses a duel, he always falls on his hands and knees, with his rear protruding upward, as if he was begging or bowing before his opponent. In some cases, he is actually begging for mercy, such as when he loses to Akiza.

Appearance
Yusei has tan skin, 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.

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.

Plot
Yusei was born in the Tops area of New Domino City. His parents were lead developers for the first Energy system called the Planetary Particle. Dr. Fudo named his son Yusei after the Planetary Particle (Yuusei Ryuushi). As the Zero Reverse was about to take place, Yusei's father placed Yusei an escape pod, getting him out of the vincity before the catastrophe happened. 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.Yusei grew up in Satellite, where he befriended Kalin, Jack Atlas and Crow. As residents of Satellite, they were made labor for the residents of New Domino City and denied many luxuries, often enjoyed in New Domino. Being forced to survive on what he could, Yusei developed hand-to-hand combat and dueling skills. He, along with Kalin, Jack and Crow, became part a group known as Team Satisfaction.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 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, Team Satisfaction have captured all the zones in 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 letting the power get to him. 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 declare war against Sector Security. Yusei leaves the team, hoping that Kalin won't go through with the war, when it's just him. Kalin proceeds with the war and the rest of the gang return to help Kalin, after he is on the run. The team faced Security, in what Kalin believed to be Team Satisfaction's last Duel. Yusei gets in a fight with Kalin after Kalin attempts to murder a Security. 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. Yusei and his friends made several unsuccessful attempts to visit Kalin in prison, until they learnt of his death.

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, 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 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.

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 pipline connecting Satellite to New Domino, 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 manages to defeat Trudge and get out of the pipeline, just before it reopens. Trudge is pushed back down the pipeline as the waste flows in.

Yusei manages to find Jack, who tosses "Stardust Dragon" back to him, telling Yusei he can have it. Yusei refuses, 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 a Crimson Dragon right before the winner is determined. The Dragon causes Jack's already permanent Birthmark 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.

After his arrest, Yusei got a marker, signifying 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 confiscated, Yanagi duels Tanner. Disgusted at Yanagi's poor dueling and his cards, Tanner stamps on the cards, despite their sentimental value to Yanagi. Yusei tosses Tanner back and challeneges him to a Duel, borrowing Yanagi's Deck. Yusei wins and Tanner offers his assistance to him.

Under Goodwin's orders, the warden Armstrong is made carry out tests on Yusei. Armstrong also has Yusei send 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 Tanner, causing Tanner to impose stricter rules and challenge Yusei to a Duel. 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. 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 switchs Armstrong's shocks back on.

Despite Alex's effort, Yusei is ultimately defeated by Armstrong. Yusei relinquishes his pride and dignity, and gets down on fours, begging for mercy and forgiveness. Armstrong mocks and ridicules Yusei. Godwin, who witnessed the entire scene, allows Yusei to leave after seeing Yusei performing such a humiliating act. Yanagi gives Yusei his "Totem Pole" card. Tanner gives him his "Giant Ushi Oni", instructing him to to meet Blister at Bootleg and use the card to prove he met Tanner.

Yusei is followed by two stalkers at Bootleg, but is pulled away by Blsiter 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 a Security 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 smahes it through the crate. Trudge forces him into another Turbo Duel. 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 and left unconscious outside the warehouse. 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, whilst in the Japanese version, Yusei 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.

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 Bommer 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 hand. As security takes Boomer away, he tells Yusei to be careful in the finals in the English Version.

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.By the end of the Duel begins as he says that her pain which came from all the destruction she caused was turned into one that the other Signers shared. Yusei tells her that the birthmark may hold the answer for her pain, but in order to find out, she must think and love herself. Akiza still intends to deny this by winning the duel without noticing, as pointed out by Yusei, who has seen through her, that she is crying. During the duel, she used her powers to materialize her cards to inflict painful sensations to Yusei as he loses life points.

Despite his valiant 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. Upon loosing, Yusei fell victim to Akiza's psychic powers. Yusei relinquishes his pride and assumes the most disgraceful pose- on his hands and knees, bent-over, face down with rear protruding upward. 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.

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, Dick Pitt reveals himself to be a Dark Signer and states their motives to destroy the Signers. After Dick loses, he has no memory of the Duel, his Deck changes and his dark mark 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 Five 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 old Enerdy system in Satellite is a door to the Underworld 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.

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 Yusei and Crow team up to get rid of them, beating them in a Tag Turbo Duel. After the Duel Yusei and Crow meet up with Rally and his others at Crow's base at 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 old Enerdy system 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 upperhand with "One-Hundred Eye 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. Unable to move, Kalin decides to terminate the duel. From the impact of the crash, Yusei sustained serious injuries, and soon loses conciousness, Yusei is then found impaled in the abdomen by a large shard. 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 birthmark 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 is taken to the hospital, her parents turn to Yusei for help. Yusei is initially reluctant, but prompted by Martha, who teases him for having a crush on Akiza. 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. Once again, he was no match for her psychic powers. During the match, Yusei focused on defeding against her continuous attacks through indirect and burn damage.. A furiated and seemingly berserk Akiza exerted her anger on Yusei and uses her psychic powers to inflict severe pain to Yusei for challenging her and interfering with her revenge against Hideo.

Despite his determination, Yusei suffered another disgraceful defeat by Akiza. Wanting to ridicule Yusei for his failed attempt, Akiza used her psyhic powers and continued her unrelentless assault. Weakened from the duel, Yusei falls victim to her powers. Giving in, Yusei assumed what he felt was a most disgraceful position. He was still struck with disbelief that he’d wound up in this position, at Akiza's mercy

Everyone who witnessed the duel, especially Jack, were suprised to see Yusei begging Akiza for mercy while assuming a humiliating pose where he is bent-over on his hands and knees, with his rear protruding upward. 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.

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. Yusei loses confidence in returning Kalin back to normal and blames himself for Kalin's current state. Jack, who is sickened by Yusei's whining and 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.

When the four Signers return to Satellite along with Mina, Leo and Trudge meet up with Martha. They learn that Rally, Blitz, Tank, Nervin and Crow have disappeared. While everyone is sitting down to supper, Roman interrupts. Jack wants to duel him, but Yusei tells him that its too dangerous to duel here with the flaming geoglyph. Yusei instructs Jack to take Martha and the kids to a safer place.

Yusei duels Roman, while accompanied by Akiza. During the Duel, two of the children are nearly sacrificed to the geoglyph; however, Jack jumps his Duel Runner over the border of the geoglyph and uses his Mark of the Dragon to protect them. Martha, who was on top of a nearby damaged building with Trudge, falls into the geoglyph and gets sacrificed to Summon Roman's Earthbound Immortal Uru. After Yusei Summons "Stardust Dragon", Roman leaves and revives Rally as a temporary Dark Signer to face Yusei. Rally sacrifices himself to help Yusei. To avenge Rally's sacrifice, Yusei swears the Dark Signers will be defeated with everything he has.

The four Signers separate and head to each of the four control units of the Original Ener-D Reactor where their respective opponent is waiting. Yusei head's towards Kalin's tower, but spots a column of light coming from where Luna went. Yusei finds Leo dueling Devack. Yusei tries to stop the Duel, but cannot due to the natures of the Shadow Duel. Yusei is left with Trudge to watch helplessly. He witnesses Luna come back and assist Leo, shortly after Devack Summoned Earthbound Immortal Cusillu. Together the twins, defeat Cusillu and Devack. Afterwards Ancient Fairy Dragon and Regulus appear to thank Luna, who tells them she couldn't have done it without Leo or Yusei. Yusei and the twins proceed to the tower to activate the control unit.

When the Killer Whale geoglyph appears, Yusei finds Crow dueling against Greiger, who is now a Dark Signer. Yusei tries to talk them out of the Duel, but both feel that they are fighting for the people they love and refuse to stop.After Crow's duel, Yusei proceeds to Kalin's tower, intending to save him. Both engage in a Shadow Turbo Duel. Towards the end of the Duel, all of the birthmarks disappeared from the Signers' arms and then unite to form an image of the Crimson Dragon on Yusei's back. Because of this, Yusei is able to Summon "Savior Star Dragon" and destroy Kalin's Earthbound Immortal. Yusei manages to reconcile with Kalin before the Dark Signer turns into dust.

Yusei heads to Rudger to request a final Duel. During the Duel, he learns of what happened in the Old Enerdy incident and more about his father. Yusei manages to defeat Rudger, but in the latter's moment of defeat, Rudger triggers an explosive that destroys the bridge they were dueling on, leaving Yusei to fall into the pool of Old Enerdy.

Yusei ends up in a strange place, where people who died during the Zero Reverse accident reside. The souls start to attack him, but are stopped by Yusei's father. Professor Fudo helps Yusei to escape the Underworld.

Yusei and his companions go up through the same stairs they used before. In the distance, they see purple sparks and deduce that Jack has won his Duel and activated the third safety switch.

Yusei goes to the last tower, where Akiza is dueling. He encounters Sayer in disguise, who lures him into a room. Inside, Mina is locked in a cage below. Sayer reveals himself and tells Yusei that Akiza is not a friend but a mind slave of his. He quickly subdues Yusei and throws him into the cage with Mina. Before leaving, Sayer seals the cage by using a Hinotama and fills the cage with water before leaving them to die.

After being rescued by Trudge, Yusei confronts Sayer, who by then has gained control of Akiza. They get into a fight and Sayer reveals that he was the one who killed Misty's brother, Toby. Just when Yusei was about to be blown off the building, he tricks Sayer into revealing this to Misty through his Duel Disk's microphone. After Sayer is eaten by Misty's Earthbound Immortal, Yusei snaps Akiza out of her daze and she manages to defeat Misty. However, the sun sets before they can activate the safety switch, and so the Condor geoglyph appears in the sky.

Yusei, Jack and Crow face the last Dark Signer, Rex Goodwin in a 3-on-1 Shadow Turbo Duel. Crow protects Yusei from the effect of "Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca", and his Life Points become 1. Yusei and Jack continue the duel without Crow. After Jack is unable to duel, Yusei has his Life Points reduced to 1. The Crimson Dragon mark on Rex disappears and three of the five birthmarks return to their original owners, with the Head Birthmark instead going to Yusei and the Tail Birthmark choosing a new owner in Crow. Yusei then summons "Majestic Star Dragon" and defeats Rex. The Crimson Dragon uses "Majestic Star Dragon" to gain a physical form and destroy the King of the Netherworld.

Yusei, Jack and Crow face the last Dark Signer, Rex Goodwin in a 3-on-1 Shadow Turbo Duel. Crow protects Yusei from the effect of "Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca", and his Life Points become 1. Yusei and Jack continue the duel without Crow. After Jack is unable to duel, Yusei has his Life Points reduced to 1. The Crimson Dragon mark on Rex disappears and three of the five birthmarks return to their original owners, with the Head Birthmark instead going to Yusei and the Tail Birthmark choosing a new owner in Crow. Yusei then summons "Majestic Star Dragon" and defeats Rex. The Crimson Dragon uses "Majestic Star Dragon" to gain a physical form and destroy the King of the Netherworld.

Half a year after the Duel with Rex Goodwin, Yusei spends most of his time preparing his Duel Runner for the World Turbo Grand Prix. He assists in investigating damage caused to Duel Runners, caused by Ghost and ends up dueling Ghost. When it appeared that Yusei was beginning to have the upper hand, Ghost summons his Synchro Killer, "Meklord Emperor Wisel". Utilizing "Majestic Star Dragon", Yusei was able to defeat Ghost and discovered that he was a robot. After meeting with Trudge, he explained that the robot he faced was known as a Duelbot and that it was a test robot designed to see if they could be used in Sector Security's forces. Yusei feels that something big was coming and had to prepare for the worst.

He goes to Duel Academy and duels Heitmann, a teacher who plans to expel Leo and Luna's class because they are weak for using low level monsters. Using some cards that the kids gave him, he wins the duel and proves that low level monsters can overcome high level ones.

Yusei later has the misfortune of being targeted by a rival team from the Grand Prix and kidnapped. He is rescued then by Akiza and as the 2 of them escape from the truck he was trapped in, a female Turbo Duelist named Sherry LeBlanc appears. Yusei and Sherry then engage in a Turbo Duel, with Akiza witnessing as she's sitting on his Runner. Sherry offers Yusei a spot on her team for the World Racing Grand Prix. Sherry questions him, asking him what is his purpose. The Duel finishes with no result.

Yusei then asks Jack to Turbo Duel to see if he can win without using a Synchro Summon. Jack ends the duel with no result. Later, he and the others went to the WRGP celebration, but in the middle of the celebration, a partycrasher by the name of Dobocle interrupted it. After he was stopped by Akiza's "Black Rose Dragon", Trudge sent reinforcements after him, but Primo got to him earlier. One of the Security agents thought that he was Ghost, so he informed Trudge. After Yusei heard that, he quickly went to follow Ghost, but he is then challenged by the mysterious masked duelist, Vizor. Vizor shows Yusei how he can surpass his own limits through the use of a new method: Accel Synchro Summon. Yusei is intrigued and vows to surpass his limits, because he knows that Accel Synchro Summoning is the only way to beat "Meklord Emperor Wisel".

Yusei watches Akiza during her Duel Runner lessons, and helps her improve and learn various Duel Runner tricks. When Akiza passes her Turbo Dueling exam by dueling Trudge, Yusei congratulates her and welcomes her to the world of Turbo Dueling.

After these events Leo asks Yusei to construct him a Duel Board so he can duel with Lester. After a night of construction he completed the board for him. The next day Yusei notices his mark glowing, signaling him that Luna's dueling. After Luna and Leo lost their fight with Lester he's determined to defeat Ghost and his "Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity" and learn about Accel Synchro.

Crow has always known Yusei as a man who keeps his feelings to himself rather than share them with his friends. Yusei left before Jack and Crow woke up one morning to try and match the speed of Accel Synchro. He believes that he lucked out during his Turbo Duel with Ghost and that he would've lost had the Crimson Dragon not shown up in time.

Yusei, however, could not reach that speed, and stops off at the place where Old and New Domino City began to change. Jack and Crow later find him, and he reveals his unease around Ghost. He also tells them that he suspects that Yliaster is behind everything, as Roman had told him that it was a man from Yliaster who set him down the path of becoming a Dark Signer. Furthermore, they are using the WRGP for a plan, if Sherry's story proves true. The three decide to work towards mastering Vizor's Accel Synchro as a means to effectively combat the new Yliaster plot and protect the city.

Mina and Trudge invite Yusei, Jack, and Crow to dinner, attempting to convince them to take in Bruno, an amnesiac with mechanical aptitude. After a mishap in which Jack believes Bruno vandalized his Duel Runner, Yusei takes up the favor and clears the misunderstanding. The two bond due to similar knowledge and make progress with developing the engine.

Later that night, while the four are asleep, someone breaks in and steals the engine program. The next morning, they try to hack into Security's database, which includes a simulation duel. After Crow and Jack fail the simulation, Bruno steps in and easily beats the simulation. Finding out that Lazar has stolen the engine program, they follow Lazar through a mall, where they almost lose sight of him due to holographic technology. Bruno and Yusei follow Lazar to a factory, where they are separated. Bruno goes to call for help while Yusei finds and subdues Lazar.

Using the stolen program, Primo activates a legion of Duelbots, and leaves after activating a self-destruct sequence to destroy the factory. Primo also traps Yusei and Lazar in a room with a Guard Robot programmed with knowledge of Yusei's strategies and a Lockdown Deck designed to stall him as the self-destruct sequence counts down. While the rest of his friends escape, Yusei defeats the robot, and Lazar helps Yusei escape. Lazar warns Yusei about the enemies he will be facing before departing.

Later Yusei travels out far to a small western town called Crash Town where the town is a battle ground for two gangs, one side has his friend, Kalin. He observes from up on a cliff where he meets Barbara who explains the history of the city. The Duel Gangs in the area duel for money, but if they lose, they become slaves and are forced to mine in a mountain for the rest of their life. Yusei watches a duel between Kalin and a gang member, which he quickly defeats in one turn. After the duel he tries to call out to him as he is riding away, but Kalin simply rides off, paying little mind to his appearance. Yusei realizes that he needs to duel him to get him back, and he and Barbara create a plan to rescue him when he loses.

Joining the opposing gang, Yusei duels Kalin the next day. During the duel, Kalin reveals his guilt for becoming a Dark Signer and fighting Yusei, and thus wishes for defeat so that he may die. When Yusei defeats Kalin, however, Barbara double-crosses him, which causes him to be hauled off to the mountain along with his friend as Lawton arrives. Yusei disables the shock collar around his neck and attempts to convince Kalin to escape with him, knocking him when he refuses. Yusei takes Kalin and escapes into the mine, retrieving his Duel Runner with the help of West and Nicko. When Lawton appears to stop them, Yusei initiates a Turbo Duel with him to allow his friends to escape, almost losing to "Gatling Ogre". The duel in interrupted due to Kalin's appearance, and Lawton uses dynamite to escape, throwing Yusei and Kalin off the mountain. Returning to the town (recently renamed Lotten Town), Yusei and Kalin duel Lawton. When Lawton is pushed into a corner, however, Barbara takes West and Nicko hostage and demand Kalin and Yusei's surrender. With the arrival of Crow and Jack, Lawton attempts to escape, but Kalin borrows Yusei's Duel Runner and finishes Lawton off. With Lawton defeated and the town renamed Satisfaction Town, Yusei, Jack, and Crow bid farewell to Kalin, who stays behind in the liberated town.

World Racing Grand Prix
After the events at Satisfaction Town, Yusei returned to New Domino City where he meets with Trudge and Mina to find out more about Bruno. However, a bomb explodes and another bomb threat is issued, causing an evacuation of the building, but Yusei and Bruno become unable to escape. Finding Sherry, who set off the first bomb, they pursue her, but her butler Elsworth is able to stop Yusei and challenge him to a duel. Yusei defeats the butler, and convinces him to try and stop Sherry. As they enter the room where Sherry was attempting to analyze Zone's mysterious card, the analysis computer mysteriously begins to glow and the four are transported to a mysterious white space with a comma-shaped machine, which analyzes them. The four wake up on the shore shortly after the event.

He later appeared to help Crow work out the kinks in his Duel Runner with Bruno's help, finding a strange circuit in the process. He later watched Crow's duel against Bolton and is the first to know that he is dueling with an Anti-Blackwing Deck. While watching the duel, his birthmark, along with Crow's and Jack's, began to glow as Crow summons his Black-winged dragon. Crow defeats Bolton, who is arrested but gives the three new, more powerful engines.

Forming team 5d's for the WRGP, the group headed out to the practice track to get a feel for their new engines. During this practice run, Crow accidentally ran into a member of Team Unicorn. Andre, the team's ace, challenges Yusei to a Turbo Duel, which he accepts. During the Duel Yusei realizes that Andre can analyze every possible scenario before playing his cards, like himself. Summoning Stardust Dragon, Yusei attempts to seize victory, but the time limit for the practice run stops the duel. He also notices he did not have a confirmed victory because of Andre's unknown set card.

During the first round in the WRGP, Yusei faced off against all three members of Team Unicorn because Jack and Akiza lost to Andore. Yusei was able to claim victory over Andore, who managed to halve Yusei's Life Points before losing. He then struggles against Breo's Mill Deck, but manages to defeat him with "Junk Destroyer". Yusei then barely defeats Jean without any cards in his Deck. With this, Yusei pulled off a seemingly-impossible victory and won the first match of the preliminaries.

He celebrated their first victory with his teammates when Sherry arrived to discuss what had happened to them up until now. They discussed the events about Ghost and the Meklord Emperor monsters, Lester, what she, Yusei, and Bruno saw that day at the Sector Security's compound, and the Fake Jack Atlas/Imposter Jack Atlas. Sherry believed that Yliaster is behind all this and that they are being targeted because they are the Signers, which everyone is shocked to hear that Sherry knows about. The next day, Yusei, Jack, and Crow decided to see how Team Unicorn is doing in their match. Once they got there, they discovered that they lost due to their Duel Runners crashing unexpectedly in their match against Team Catastrophe.

Ark Cradle: Final Confrontation5Dx143_Yusei_dueling_Bruno.jpg
Despite knowing what future he may have if he went, Yusei decides to go up to Divine Temple. At first, he planned on going alone, but the rest of the team convinced him to let them go with him and fight by his side. With the help of Team Ragnarok and Vizor, they make it to Divine Temple. They were suddenly separated into three groups because of Z-one's trickery. Yusei travels with Vizor to the center of Divine Temple.

Vizor and Yusei reach their Planetary Gear and find that there was no opponent there to face them. However four orbs float towards Vizor and engulf him in light, forcing a complete return of his memories. Vizor then faces Yusei and removes his visor, revealing his true identity. He identifies himself as Antinomy, who is an ally of Z-one and Yusei's opponent. Yusei is reluctant to face Antinomy, knowing that he was Bruno, but thinking of his mission and everyone that was relying on him, he accepts the Duel.

Antinomy and Yusei mount their Duel Runners and the setting changes to outer space, where the two of them ride along a white path near a star, which becomes a black hole that the loser would be sucked into.

Antinomy begins his assault quickly by Synchro Summoning T.G. Hyper Librarian on his first turn, allowing him to draw 1 card for each Synchro Summon. Though Yusei tries to destroy it by Synchro Summoning Junk Berserker, Antinomy blocks that attack and, during his turn, performs an Accel Synchro Summon bringing out his T.G. Blade Blaster which does a great amount of damage to Yusei, putting his life at 1600. After that, Yusei does an Accel Synchro as well and counter-attacks, decreasing Antinomy's Life Points to 1800. Antinomy then tells to Yusei that Accel Synchro is nothing more than a mere exhibit and, by putting T.G. Blade Blaster back to the Extra Deck and bringing back its material monsters, along with Synchro Summoning T.G. Recipro Dragonfly, Antinomy performs a Delta Accel Synchro, bringing out T.G. Halberd Cannon. Due to its effect, Antinomy was able to prevent Yusei from banishing his "Shooting Star Dragon", as well as allowing Yusei to summon a monster. However, Yusei then pulls off a combo with his weakened "Shooting Star Dragon" with "Balance Shooter" and "Endure Soul" to successfully defeat Antinomy.

As the black hole starts to absorb Yusei and Antinomy, Antinomy tells Yusei to save the world. Yusei, confused, seeing how Antinomy was trying to destroy New Domino City, asks why. Antinomy responds that despite him getting his memories back, he has seen Yusei's possibilities, and thus believes in him. Yusei calls to Antinomy as Bruno, to remind him that he was a part of Team 5D's, as well as their friend. Remembering his memories with the team, Bruno tells Yusei to master the Delta Accel Synchro. As Bruno's Duel Runner falls behind, Yusei tries to save Bruno, but Bruno reminds him that only the winner could escape. Bruno then removes his visor and uses his Runner to push Yusei out of the dimension, and falls back himself after doing so. After Yusei escapes the dimension, he sees Bruno's damaged visor and mourns over his death.

Once he caught up to his friends, he informed them of his duel with Bruno and that he showed him a way to defeat Z-one. They all found in a strange room filled with junk. Once they confronted Z-one, Aporia appeared and challenged him to a duel. However, Aporia quickly falls to the might of Z-one's and gives Yusei's Duel Runner the power of flight to fight Z-one with. Yusei receives the other from his friends and begins his battle against Z-one.

Yusei battles Z-one with great skill and power, summoning his friends' Signer Dragons despite Z-one's tactics. When Yusei deals damage to Z-one, however, his mask breaks, revealing a mark similar to Yusei's mark. After Z-one explains his appearance, he Summons and overwhelms Yusei with 5 Timelords. Yusei struggles to defend himself with, but a shockwave from the Divine Temple colliding with New Domino city thrusts him off his Duel Runner. Yusei was close to giving up, but seeing his father one last time before he recovered gave him the inspiration he needed. With this he achieves and uses his friends' Signer Dragons to his final monster,, which decimates the Timelords. When Z-one counterattacks with the final Timelord,, Yusei uses his final card,. It allows him to summon his. Yusei declares that his dragon is the combined form of everyone's wishes, and it will not lose. He activates another effect of Clustering Wishes, which increases his monsters ATK by the total number of attack points for every Dragon-type Synchro Monster in his graveyard, raising his Stardust Dragon's ATK to 23000, and by sending the Signer Dragons back to his deck, he can force a battle with Sephylon, the Ultimate Timelord. Thanks to his friends' dragons, Z-one's final defense has been destroyed. With the combined wishes of everyone in New Domino City, Yusei attacks with Stardust Dragon, obliterating Z-one's life points and winning the duel.

After the Crimson Dragon transports his friends away from the Divine Temple, Yusei flies at its core with the intent of sacrificing his own life to stop the structure (Believing it will be his final role to the city). Z-one then appears to redeem himself, rescuing Yusei and sacrificing himself instead. Yusei then returns to his friends, who become overjoyed to see him after his supposed death.

Team 5D's Future
After his Duel with Z-one, Yusei becomes a researcher for New Domino City. However, he is unsure if he wants to continue as a researcher or continue on as a duelist. After a call with Crow, he decides to throw for all his friends. During the party, Jack challenges Yusei to a duel to regain his former title to which Yusei himself accepts. Despite a valiant effort on Jack's part, Yusei defeats Jack, who decides to leave New Domino to pursue his own future. The night before everyone goes their separate ways, Yusei shares one last moment with Akiza, who is trying to confess to him her feelings' before they leave each other. Yusei takes her hand, and the two stare into each other's eyes intimately. Yusei decides to stay in New Domino to protect it, as he says farewell to Akiza, who has decided to study medicine abroad, Crow, who has decided to leave to return to dueling, and to Leo & Luna, who are leaving to live with their parents. With one last ride together, Crimson Dragon appears and removes all the Signer marks, allowing the heroes, including Yusei, to move on to their respective futures, without the heavy destiny of protecting the world anymore.

3D Bonds Beyond Time
Yusei appears in Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time, where he joins forces with Yugi Muto and Jaden Yuki to face off against Paradox, a Turbo Duelist who can travel through time, and to save "Stardust Dragon", who was stolen. While Yusei is riding with Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan, he is suddenly challenged to a Turbo Duel by Paradox. Yusei quickly Summons "Stardust Dragon" by tuning his Junk Synchron with Junk Warrior. Paradox, however, has been waiting for this, as he uses his powers to capture "Stardust Dragon" and turn him to a "Malefic" monster. Paradox bids Yusei farewell & tells him to perish along with his era, as he disappears into the past. Yusei, Jack and Crow look through the archives to find where Paradox disappeared to, until they find a record of "Stardust Dragon" attacking a duelist named Jaden Yuki in Venice. Bringing all of the Signers together, they summon the Crimson Dragon, who opens a hole in time into the past. Yusei then follows the dragon into the past to Jaden's time. The Crimson Dragon intercepts "Stardust Dragon"'s attack at Jaden and "Elemental Hero Neos", disappearing in the process. Paradox is confused by Yusei's appearance in the past, as Yusei looks at "Stardust Dragon" before Paradox takes his leave. Jaden, glad to have survived, tells Yusei what Paradox's true intentions are to kill Maximillion Pegasus, thus preventing the creation of Duel Monsters to change the future. Using Jaden's powers, the two travel to the time of Yugi Muto, only to find Paradox attacking an event where Pegasus was giving away cards to young children. Paradox attacked the crowd with Cyber End Dragon, killing almost everybody, including Pegasus, and Yugi's grandfather, Solomon Muto. Yugi was the only survivor amongst the ruins, as he mourned over his grandfather's death. Yusei and Jaden confront Yugi and ask for his help against Paradox. Yugi agrees to help. The three travel 30 minutes back in time. Paradox arrived at the event again, but this time, was confronted by Yusei, Jaden, and Yugi. Although they tried to persuade him to stop, Paradox refuses to do so, and a 3-on-1 Duel begins with Yugi, Jaden and Yusei sharing 4000 Life Points. Yusei shows his skills as a Synchro duelist by Summoning "Junk Gardna". However, after Yugi manages to rescue "Stardust Dragon" and destroy Paradox's "Malefic Paradox Dragon", Paradox Special Summons his most powerful card, "Malefic Truth Dragon". He then fuses himself with the dragon, and destroys all of Yusei, Jaden and Yugi's monsters on the field. Yusei loses hope and prepares to surrender, until Yami Yugi and Jaden manage to convince him to keep fighting until the end. With new hope, Yusei manages to re-Summon the monsters Paradox destroyed in his last turn and gets a power boost from trap cards played by Yami Yugi and Jaden, increasing "Stardust Dragon's" ATK to 10000, allowing him to destroy "Malefic Truth Dragon" and defeat Paradox. With Paradox defeated, all the damage he caused is repaired. Yusei bids farewell to Yugi and Jaden, before returning to his own timeline, where his friends await. Yusei vows to protect the future so he can meet Yugi and Jaden again. In this non-canon episode, Yusei has another Turbo Duel with his rival, Jack Atlas. During the duel, both Yusei and Jack summon their ace monsters and evolve them with Assault Mode Activate, creating Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode and Red Dragon Archfiend/Assault Mode. Although Jack struggles to defeat his rival, Yusei still ultimately wins, by attacking Red Dragon Archfiend with the combo of Stardust Dragon with Skill Successor and Synchro Destructor. This episode was also released to help promote the Crimson Crisis set, as many of the cards used in this duel was from the Crimson Crisis set.

Relationships
Jack Atlas Jack and Yusei have known each other since they were little kids. Along with Crow they always seemed to be together. When they were in their teens, they joined The Enforcers, led by Kalin. After Kalin was arrested, Jack was offered the chance to go to New Domino City and become the duel champ. Jack and Yusei still seemed to be friends, but when Jack tied Rally up and put him in a boat, he gave Yusei the option to either duel him, or save Rally. When Yusei went to save Rally, Jack stole his Stardust Dragon. Their friendship seemed to end then and there, but later on, you can see that Jack and Yusei are like brothers and will always be best friends. Most of the anime's first season is driven by Yusei and Jack's rivalry, which has many similarities to Yugi and Kaiba's from the first series. Crow Hogan Both Yusei and Crow have been friends since they were kids growing up. The two trust each other as much as Jack and Yusei trust each other. However, there are instances where Yusei and Crow will disagree with each other. Despite this though, Yusei and Crow still respect the other's decision and support each other. Kalin Kessler Yusei met Kalin back at a young age when he was in a group known as The Enforcers with Jack and Crow. Kalin was the leader of this group, and it is said by Jack that all three of them thought of Kalin as their "Savior". Yusei has a higher respect and concern for Kalin than Jack and Crow, as he was the only one who stayed when The Enforcers separated. He tried to give himself up to Security in order to save Kalin from punishment. Even after Kalin attempted to take his life, Yusei continued to try to save him. Later in the series, after Kalin's Resurrection, Yusei received a letter and headed out to Crash Town to bring Kalin to his senses, after he claimed he wanted to die in a duel.

Akiza and Yusei are both experienced Duelists and Signers. Yusei has helped out Akiza many times and she always tries to return the favor by helping him, hinting at her special feelings for him. It is not exactly shown straight out whether Yusei shares the same feelings for Akiza, though Martha appeared to be aware of them as she has teased him about liking her.[20] Also, in the English version, he made no objections when Martha said Yusei was right and that Akiza was pretty. Also in the English dub, he states that she is beautiful like her "Black Rose Dragon" during their Duel in the Fortune Cup finals.

Yusei has displayed protectiveness and care for Akiza. When Lyndon held Akiza's hands in some manner, Yusei pulled Lyndon back rather forcefully, as though it was out of jealousy, and Akiza has a shocked look on her face after this. He has also demonstrated that he has a considerable amount of trust in her, since he gives her his "Stardust Dragon" to use against Andre during the WRGP

Trivia
- Yusei's catchphrases: "Is that so?" in the Japanese version, usually before making his game winning move. "Let's rev it up!" in the English dub, typically when summoning Junk Warrior.

- Yusei's summoning chants: "Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!" "Clustering the shine of stars will illuminate a new miracle! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Arrive in light, Savior Star Dragon!" "Clustering crystal dreams open the door to a new evolution! Become the path its light shines upon! Accel Synchro! Be Born, Shooting Star Dragon!" "Clustering stars become one, as new bonds will enlighten the future! Become the path its light shines upon! LIMIT OVER ACCEL SYNCHRO! Light of evolution, Shooting Quasar Dragon!" "Clustering stars will call upon a new force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Junk Warrior!" "Clustering minds will now become a new force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Blaze on, Nitro Warrior!"

- Yusei is the only Yu-gi-oh! hero that is defeated by the female protagonist of the series. As a matter of fact, Yusei suffered a total of three losses during Yu-gi-oh! 5d's, all of which were by Akiza. When Yusei is defeated by Akiza, he always is force into a pose where he is on his hands and knees with his rear protruding upward. Yusei shares with fate with Crow and the other duelists Akiza defeated.

- Yusei is prone to One-Turn Killing his opponents, notably with Nitro Warrior. At the beginning of the Crash Town arc, Yusei does a One-Turn Three Kill with his Nitro Warrior.

- He is named after the Planetary Particle (Yuusei Ryuushi) which his father discovered. Like the particle, which joined every other particle together, his father wanted Yusei to be someone who could join other people together through bonds - which is exactly what he became.

- Yusei has several signature moves: Always changes across the series. Junk Warrior, then the entirety of the Stardust line, and finally Junk Warrior again. In the series' finale, it becomes apparent that they symbolize Yusei's current position. Back when he used Junk Warrior at the Satellite, he was focused on being the center of his friends' bonds. Throughout the series, his regrets and self-sacrifices make him closer to the Stardust theme of self-sacrifice, while still having the characteristics from Junk Warrior. At the end of the show, with every problem solved, he's closer to Junk Warrior again.

- In the dub episode 2, it was revealed that Yusei has a phobia to insects. He overcame the fear at the end of the episode

- Yusei is quite skilled in karate, as shown in episode 25, when he single handedly fought through several security guards.

- His personality is similar to Yami Yugi while serves as a direct contrast to Jaden Yuki.

Opponents

 * 1) Aporia