Yuma Tsukumo is the main protagonist of the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL series. He is a young Duelist who aspires to be the greatest, despite his amateur skills. He finds himself reluctantly partnered with a Dueling spirit called Astral. Together, they pursue the "Numbers" to recover Astral's scattered memories, becoming a Number Hunter while cultivating his Dueling abilities during their adventures. After being victorious in the World Duel Carnival, Yuma is the Duel Champion of Heartland City.[20] He is also the Original Number's other half that was separated from him, during Astral's battle with Don Thousand long ago. As Yuma cooperates with Astral and assists him in the gathering of his "Number" cards, Yuma learns the truths that connect him to his destiny through his beloved father, Kazuma Tsukumo, and becomes an important participant in the Interdimensional War between the Astral World and Barian World.
Appearance[]
Yuma appears as a young boy with tan skin, red eyes, and black and red spiked hair that points out and upward. He wears a red Duel vest with a white hood and a purple tanktop with a green "D" symbol, standing for "Duel". Yuma also wears white pants with designs of three orange moon crescents attached to one another with yellow outlines at the bottom, a white brown-stripe belt, and black with blue streaks shoes with white straps.
At school, he wears a white shirt with red-lined sleeves and collar, a red tie, blue pants and brown shoes. In his nightwear attire, he wears a red-white t-shirt grey pants, and sometimes green slippers, but Yuma mostly goes barefoot around his house.
Personality[]
Yuma is a hasty, energetic, and cheerful young boy who likes to challenge himself to do anything that seems impossible, which he normally fails at. Undaunted by his failures, he states that doing these challenges gets him fired up and will eventually accomplish what he sets out to do. He calls this challenge his "kattobingu" spirit ("feeling the flow" in the dub), which his father taught him. Even Yuma would sometimes doubt himself when depressed, yet he'd still go through with his trials, such when he had shown up for his Duel with Reginald Kastle. Yuma told Astral it was because of his promise to his father is the reason he doesn't to do things halfway, believing it was like "betraying" his father if he did so Yuma greatly loves his parents and treasures the the key they gave him,
shown when he was depressed when Shark broke it and nearly had a panic attack when he lost it, but really just ran out the house without it. In his house, Yuma sleeps in the treasury attic full with memories and artifacts of his parents' adventures and trips instead of his own bedroom. He looks up to his father and carries on his challenging, never-give-up spirit and catchphrase "kattobingu". It was said that Yuma picked up his personality from his father's spirit and his mother’s affection. While he tries to hide it, Yuma quite sensitive on the subject of parents and misses them. Astral says that deep in Yuma's heart, he struggles with the sadness of losing his parents and tries to live up to their teachings. Many have pointed out how similar Yuma is to his father, Charlie McCay told Kari how Yuma had inherited his father's "kattobingu" spirited,[2and Vetrix and Quinton commented how Yuma and Kazuma shared the same beliefs in bonds and friendship.Dr. Faker has also noted how much Yuma is similar to Kazuma, especially when Yuma assisted Kite Tenjo in trying to rescue him.
Prologue[]
Yuma grew up with his loving parents, Kazuma Tsukumo and Mira Tsukumo, older sister Kari Tsukumo, and grandmother Haru Tsukumo. Since he was young, Yuma had been going to the same school as his childhood friend, Tori Meadows, since their families were always been good terms with each other. As a child, he got the constant attention and affections of his parents, to his sister's chagrin. Very close to his parents, he would sometimes go on camping trips or rock climbing with his father.
Due to his poor Dueling skills and constantly proclaiming that he will become a Duel champion, Yuma was frequently teased by others. One day, after losing a Duel against a few classmates and was teased about it, Yuma became depressed and sad. His father noticed this, and took him camping in the mountains to cheer him up and have a "man talk". Despite his father attempt to cheer him up, Yuma continued sulking and refused to talk about his problems.
When his father began to tell him about the "other universe", Yuma perked up and was encouraged to always challenge and to strive for hope. When asked about his aim, Yuma answered by saying his aim is to become the Duel Champion. Although, Yuma
mentioned how people laugh at him, his father told him not to care about it, and never to give up on that drive and to always continue for it. After a friendly Duel and before he was about to go sleep, Yuma asked his father what his dream is, to which his father answered by saying his dream is to go to the end of the world. Yuma laughed at this because the Earth is round and there is no end, and the two laughed together at the notion. When his father was found after the snowstorm accident, Yuma noticed the Emperor's Key in his hands and stared at it. Sometime later, he Dueled against some bullies and lost, then was mocked to the point of tears welling up in his eyes. Then his father showed up, shouting him encouragement and tossed him in the key. Moved by this, Yuma started to always wear the key and do "kattobingu".[21] After his parents went missing
and were assumed dead, he is looked after by his grandmother and Kari, who began to forbid him from Dueling, but he still does it behind her back.Although, unknown to Yuma, she did this because of her promise to their parents to protect him, and that their father warned her about being careful with Yuma's Duels because one day a great destiny would awaken from one of his Duels.One day at school, Yuma shouts out his ambition to his class and was mocked by Bronk Stone. Angered, Yuma challenged him to a Duel and lost, but continues to Duel him ever since. The two eventually become friends, but Yuma still regularly lost to Bronk.[58]
Sometime after gaining the key, a door shaped like the head of a demon, wrapped in chains started haunting Yuma in his dreams, causing him to have the same nightmare almost every night. In that dream, he meets the door upon a old zig-zag raised path and a voice says; "Whoever opens this door will obtain a new power, but in exchange will lose what they appreciate the most.", and seems to make his key react to this. However, Yuma always wakes up before he can open it and appears to have never told anybody about his dreams.
Zexal[]
Yuma was plagued by nightmares of a demonic gate, with a voice saying that whoever opens this door would receive a new power but in compensation they would lose their most precious thing. Yuma wondered about his most precious thing as the key lit up, but the ground below him suddenly crumbled away causing him to fall into an abyss. Waking up, Yuma fell out of the hammock in his attic and commented that he was having that same dream again. Then he noticed that his clock struck at 8 o'clock and realized that he is late for school. Yuma moaned at Kari for not waking him up, but she told Yuma that he's in middle school, he should wake himself up, causing Yuma to pull a face behind her back. Dashing outside, Yuma bid goodbye to his grandmother, Haru, but when asked if he had breakfast, he insisted that he didn't need it and is late. His grandmother was unhappy by this and caught the collar of his shirt with her broom and lifted him off the ground. She demanded that Yuma eat something, and he complied. Yuma rushed through the neighborhood and leapfrogged over a Litterbot and caused it
to spin out of control. As he continued running, Yuma ran into Bronk, who leaped in front of him on his skateboard, and challenged him to a race to school. Accepting the challenge, Yuma raced in front, but when they proceeded to run down a flight of stairs, Bronk kicked a Litterbot into Yuma's path, causing him to hit the bot, causing his belongings to fall out of his messenger bag, including his Deck. As a couple of the Litterbots went rampant in order to pick up what they perceived as litter, Yuma, insulted, screamed at them that what they were calling "trash" was his Deck.
At Heartland Academy, Yuma tried completing various tasks ranging from his "20 stack challenge" to swimming the length of the pool, which he failed to do and was laughed at by his classmates. When Tori asked why he did all of those things since he going failed at, Yuma explained that she just didn't understand and that the important thing was to keep fighting and as
long as you don't give up, you will someday succeed. Grasping his key, Yuma said the
key opened many possibilities and with it he felt that he can do anything. During the school break, Yuma witnessed Bronk losing his Deck to Shark in an Ante Duel. When Yuma stood up for Bronk, Shark asked Yuma what was most precious to him, to which Yuma looked down at his pendant. In response, Shark broke Emperor's Key in two and kicked a piece into the bushes. Shark offered Yuma a chance to get Bronk's Deck back by Dueling him with his own Deck on the line on the line on Sunday. Later at night, Yuma suffered the same nightmare and then spent the entire day depressed and sad. After school, Yuma was confronted by Bronk about Dueling Shark, which Yuma planned to do, and was touched when he learned that Bronk recovered the missing piece of the key.
At night, Yuma planned to use a Deck constructed by his father, as opposed to his usual Deck, but didn't understand how to use the cards properly. During the Duel, Yuma makes several amateur mistakes and Shark quickly gained an advantage. As Shark taunted him to give up, Yuma argued that he wasn't someone like that because he had always believed in himself. Ripping off the key from around his neck, Yuma stated that his "kattobingu" would never disappear, as the key began to shine brightly. Yuma then found himself in front of the demonic door again. He was given to the opportunity to open it, and does so with the key. After he opened it, a mysterious figure flew towards Yuma, who was then trapped within a sphere made of blank cards. The sphere shattered and Yuma was returned to the park where he was still Dueling Shark. A dark force enveloped Shark and he Xyz Summoned "Number 17: Leviathan Dragon". Surprised at Shark's power, Yuma began to feel as though he wouldn't be able to win. However, a strange entity appeared next to him and told him to stand up and win. The entity revealed himself to be Astral, a Duelist from another world, shocking Yuma. As Yuma talked with Astral, he noticed his friends, and everyone else, couldn't see him. Astral tried to take over Yuma's Duel, stating that he had to win at all
costs with Yuma complaining that it was his Duel. Astral tried to order Yuma around, intentionally or not, to gain the advantage against Shark. However, Yuma refused to listen to Astral as he was taken down each turn. When Astral informed him that his own life fades as Yuma's Life Pointsdecreased, Yuma took Astral's advice and uses "Monster Reborn" to Special Summon "Gagaga Magician" from his Graveyard. Astral gifted Yuma with "Number 39: Utopia", an Xyz Monster. Having never owned an Xyz Monster before, an excited Yuma Summoned it by overlaying "Gagaga Magician" with "Ganbara Knight". Astral stated that "Utopia" is the power he has entrusted to Yuma and that he must use it to win the Duel. With this card, Yuma made a comeback, and managed to pull off a win using it in a combo with "Double or Nothing!". Shark was returned to normal, and returned Bronk's Deck as promised, which Yuma thanked him for. As Shark left, Yuma tells Shark he
had a lot of fun and said they should Duel again someday just for fun.[1]
With this win, Yuma began to gain a following around his school, as Shark was known to have pro-level Dueling skills and Yuma was known for having amateur ones. One day, the network at school mysteriously went down, and Yuma's teacher, Mr. Kay, allowed them to use the day to Duel instead, as they could not access their virtual textbooks with the network down. Yuma Dueled his class's chairman, Caswell, but Astral was not present, so Yuma did not have access to his Extra Deck of "Numbers". As a result, he lost a crushing, one-turn defeat without inflicting a single point of damage to Caswell. When Kari picked Yuma and Tori up from Heartland Academy, she told them that she managed to find the location of the person who uploaded the Crashbug Virus, which was in the school's library. Kari forced Yuma and Tori to scope the location out for anyone suspicious.
Yuma and Tori suspected Caswell of being responsible for the network going down, but he would eventually lead them to the real culprit, Mr. Kay. Mr. Kay had been possessed by one of the "Numbers" and Duelled Yuma using "Number 34: Terror-Byte" and the "Crashbug" series. After arguing with Astral, Yuma was able to overcome him by Summoning both "Utopia" and "Leviathan Dragon". Mr. Kay revealed that he had no ill intentions and simply wanted to bring happiness to the city with a virtual "Crashbug". Astral determined that the "Numbers" amplify the emotions that their vessel already had, malicious or not.
At school, a student named Flip approached Yuma to ask for his autograph for defeating Shark and eventually gifted him with a "Baby Tiragon" card in return. Yuma was excited to have his own Xyz Monster, but Tori and Bronk's reservations about Flip and their several attempts drag him away from Flip prevented him from accepting it. After school, Yuma received the fan-mail containing the "Baby Tiragon"
card, and was questioned by Kari if he been Dueling even though he was forbidden to. Unknown to Yuma, Flip framed him in many incriminating situations of mischief and emailed the pictures to his classmates. The next day, Yuma was confronted by his classmates and tried to defend himself, but no one believed him due the pictures and everyone, except for Bronk and Tori, avoided him. Depressed, Yuma went to the Heartland Shopping Mall, and found Flip, who challenged him to a Duel Yuma thought he would have a friendly Duel with Flip, but it turned out be far from it. The "Baby Tiragon" card was a trap, and Flip stole "Utopia" via the effect of "Ultra C". Flip then revealed that the autograph Yuma signed was a contract agreeing to ante his Deck in the Duel. Flip went on to steal "Leviathan Dragon" as well, and appeared possessed by
both "Numbers". Astral was sealed in an orb of light as his power weakened, but urged Yuma to protect "Baby Tiragon". Yuma did so and used its effect to let "Stinging Swordsman" attack directly. With his Continuous Trap Cards returned to his hand, Flip lost the "Numbers" and they returned to Yuma. Yuma won the Duel with them, and attempted to return "Baby Tiragon". Flip told him to keep it and the two leave the Duel as friends.Sometime later, Astral was watching a TV show while Yuma was asleep. "The Sparrow". He was fascinated by the show as the Sparrow appeared to be from a different dimension as well. Yuma was woken up by the sound of the episode and switched the TV off, only to be bugged by Astral about him believing Sparrow may know something about his memories. Yuma tried to explain it's all fiction, but after failing to convince Astral, he reluctantly switched the TV back on, even though the episode ended. The next day, Yuma arrived at school to Duel someone, only to be prodded by Tori and Astral to visit the Sparrow, who was shooting a scene in town. Flip caused a distraction to get them inside, where they saw the Sparrow practicing alone for his shoot. Astral, still believing the show was real, grew wary of the costumes to the side of the set, and in an attempt to convince Astral they're not real, Yuma ended up being flung about in the air by a hook. While Astral pondered over whether Yuma could fly as he can, Yuma dropped his Deck in front of the Sparrow, who grew concerned. After Yuma dropped to the ground, he was saved from the security by the Sparrow, who discovered Yuma was a Duelist, and took him to his dressing room. Pleased to meet a Duelist, the Sparrow gave Yuma back his Deck and Yuma happily agreed to have a Duel with the Sparrow upon his request. After the Sparrow was spooked at the sight of a spider, Yuma laughed at his sudden change in demeanor and learned that the Sparrow is nothing like his character off set. Hearing his situation, Yuma comforted him by saying he should be himself, with the latter telling
him his real name, Nelson Andrews. The two become friends, but before they could Duel Nelson's mother forced Yuma out. Before he left, Yuma promised Nelson that they would Duel someday, but Nelson's mother continued to push him out, leaving Nelson to sorrowfully say "Nelson Andrews doesn't matter" and that no one could save him. On the streets, Yuma lamented on Nelson's tough star life, with Astral asking Yuma why the Sparrow was also called Nelson. This let Yuma convince Astral that TV wasn't real. After Astral grew disappointed that Nelson couldn't tell him about his memories, Yuma asked Astral if he's lonely, only for Astral to reply he didn't know what the word meant. Yuma explained it, but instead of answering, Astral told him that he thought Nelson may be lonely. Meanwhile, Nelson was possessed by a "Number" card and attacked several people in town, taking his TV persona as his real one. After hearing about it, Yuma and Astral headed off to find him. They eventually did find Nelson, only to learn he was possessed, and under the impression he was the Sparrow.
Yuma knew he had to Duel Nelson to set him free, but then he revealed his "Numbers" card - "Number 83: Galaxy Queen", which puts Yuma in a tough spot. Seeing that the "Number" was like Nelson's soul, Yuma called Tori and told her to bring Nelson's mother to the site of the Duel. As Yuma was push into a corner by Nelson, Yuma proclaimed that he would save Nelson. When Tori showed up with Bronk and Mrs. Andrews, Yuma explained how Nelson was the one attacking people. When Nelson's mother tried to talk to her son, he brushed her off her off, but Yuma told her how watch the Duel and sees how Nelson views her. Yuma and Astral debated whether they should attack, and they finally decided that they must, if they wanted to free Nelson. Yuma attacked "Galaxy Queen" with "Utopia", but Sparrow had one last Trap: "Star Sparrow Forever", reviving "Esper Star Sparrow" with 0 ATK, in order to save "Galaxy Queen". Despite this, Nelson lost the Duel. Astral absorbed "Galaxy Queen" from Nelson's body. Nelson returned to his normal self and reunited with his mother, causing Yuma to remember his own mother. Later, Yuma, Tori and Bronk walked on a bridge as Yuma talked about the day's events. When Yuma and Tori got into an argument, Shark rode by on his motorcycle and observed Yuma, but Yuma didn't notice. Later, Yuma and Astral watched the conclusion of "The Sparrow" show, and Astral made Observation No. 10 - "The parent-child relationship is something I understand"
One day at school, Bronk said that it was strange that Yuma never once won a Duel against him, but had been winning against many powerful opponents recently. Tori asked what was wrong with that and Bronk responded that bringing it to them was more suited for losing. Bronk speculated that Astral may really
exist, as Yuma only began to win after he started talking about him. Yuma enters the room and said "Hi", seemingly unaware of that fact that he was wearing leather pants and an oversized fur coat. Yuma asked why everyone is staring, and Tori told him she couldn't take it anymore. She said that she knew it wasn't polite to comment on someone's fashion sense, but she needed to do so in this case. For the last three days, Yuma had shown up to school in strange outfits; the last one was a bee costume. Tori told him that everyone would laugh if he kept dressing like that and pulled out a standing mirror, telling Yuma to see for himself. He looked horrified, and Bronk asked how he wasn't aware what he was wearing. Tori went on to tell him that that was not all - strange things had been showing up around him lately: Yuma's lunch box was decorated fancily, he suddenly got a 100% on a test and yesterday he was actually able to clear the jump he usually missed in gym class.[63]
Astral appeared and tells him that he had been watching; it happened again last night - someone came into his room and messed with his things. Yuma asked why Astral never told him. Astral responded that Yuma never asked him. With Astral already there, he didn't believe that adding more strange things to the room wasn't unnatural. Yuma threw off the fur coat and vowed to find the person responsible, but Tori teased him that his being full of spirit didn't change how terrible his outfit was, and Yuma responded that it wasn't as if he enjoyed dressing this way. She told him he had absolutely no fashion sense. Yuma asked about her, and she retorted that at least her fashion sense was better. Yuma asked her to show him, and she told him they would go shopping this Sunday to buy Yuma new clothes, which he agreed to, and told her to meet him at 3PM at theshopping mall
The next day, Yuma was waiting for Tori at the mall, surprised she was late, but then group of cats approached Yuma, with the one at the front having a note in its mouth. When Astral was startled by the cats, Yuma asked if he
was scared of cats, but Astral denied this and claimed that it was only because he hadn't recorded them in his observations yet. Yuma jokingly told him that cats are very sensitive to the supernatural, so they can definitely see Astral, who responded that it seemed the cats are looking at Yuma. Noticing the note, he picked it up and sees it was tied with Tori's hair ribbon. He read it, and determined that Tori has been kidnapped. Yuma followed a cat to a cat-themed mansion. He burst through the front doors screaming Tori's name, to find a parlor is full of more cats, and many statues and paintings of cats. A girl emerged from upstairs and welcomed him, introducing herself as Cathy Katherine, but told him to call her "Cat-chan". Astral said he recognized her, and told Yuma she was always staring at him from afar. Yuma seemed to know her, but after thinking about it, he said he has no idea who she was, to Cathy's disappointment. Yuma asked where Tori was, and why Cathy would do something like this. She responded that it was because Yuma was hopeless. Yuma seemed confused and told her to just give Tori back. Cathy turned around and said that she will if Yuma could beat her in a Duel, but she wanted something if she won. Yuma questioned if "Numbers" are involved and Astral said that if that's the case, they have no choice, but to win, but Yuma told him that there was no need to tell him that. Throughout the Duel, Cathy tried confessing to Yuma that she loves him, but Yuma defeated her with "Baby Tiragon" and Astral attempted to collect her "Number" before realizing she did not have one. Yuma walked over to Cathy to help her up and asked her where Tori is, making Cathy blush.
Yuma had same dream again about the mysterious door demanding him that if he opens this door he will receive a new power but in compensation they will lose their most important thing. Yuma thought about his most important thing as the key reacting making the ground below him suddenly crumbles away causing him to fall into a big hole. Later Yuma witnessed as his friend, Bronk Stone dueling Shark and lose the duel getting his deck taken. Yuma tried to stop them, but end up with Shark breaks his key from his neck and throwing away the pieces. Then he makes the proposal to Yuma to win back Bronk's deck, if he defeated him in a duel. The day before the duel, Bronk gave Yuma the lost piece of Emperor's Key and built so well
his confidence again. On the day of the duel, Shark quickly took the lead and pulled Yuma already in the second round for half his life. Yuma's amateur skills seemed to have no chance against Shark. Shark taunted him to give up, Yuma urged that he will not give up because he has always believed in himself. Yuma’s key began to glow brightly again and was brought to the door. Yuma's key is self-repairing and Yuma now had enough courage to open the door with the key. A bright light came out and for a few seconds Yuma seemed to be surrounded by Sphere Field of blank cards that are scattered in all directions. Back in reality, a foreign power was at moment begin to take possession of Shark and he Xyz Summons Number 17: Leviathan Dragon. It looked even worse for Yuma, a strange entity,Astral, appeared next Yuma. Astral told Yuma that he is a duelist. Yuma and Astral initially not familiar, which led to frequent litigation. With help ofAstral, Yuma obtained
Number 39: Utopia and win the duel. After the Duel, Shark was back to normal and returned Bronk's Deck as promised.
Since the duel is Astral bound to Yuma, Astral can only be seen and heard by Yuma, why Yuma's friends doubt sometimes about Astral's existence. One day at school, the network mysteriously went down, and Yuma's teacher, Mr. Kay, allowed them to use the day to Duel instead, as they could not access their virtual textbooks with the network down. Yuma Dueled his class's chairman, Caswell, but Astral was not present, so Yuma did not have access to his Extra Deck of "Numbers". As a result, he lost in one-turn defeat without inflicting a single point of damage to Caswell. Forthright and honest, Yuma is shown to assist others if they are in trouble, despite their protests, as he challenged Shark to reclaim Bronk Stone's Deck. Yuma even challenged Nistro and Dextra to a Duel in order to defend Flip (who cheated other participants), whose punishment is having his Deck confiscated and Nistro planning to physically punish him. Yuma believes Duelists cannot be bad people and believes a Duel to be a clash of souls. Yuma's good-nature appears to make him naive as he believed that Flip really had good intentions, even after his friends had warned him he was a swindler from the start. Even after Vector exploited Yuma's trusting disposition, Yuma resolved that he would not allow this deceit to color his perspective and doubt everyone he meets
World Carnival Arc[]
A few days before the World Duel Carnival starts, Yuma waited for his Heart Pieces, but they didn't arrive as Yuma forgot to register online. When his friends reminded him, he quickly tried to register, but the registration time had already finished. Yuma panicky immediately ran into a building to ask for a Heart Piece, but the guards didn't let him enter until Mr. Heartland appeared and gave him a Heart Piece. Afterwards, with Yuma and Tori talks about how he can finally fulfill the promise he made with his father to become the Duel Champion. Astral tells Yuma that he must win since the tournament should have many Number holders. Yuma tells Astral that he doesn't plan on just winning, causing Astral to asks Yuma why he doesn't plan on fully winning since that would mean Yuma wouldn't be fulfilling the promise he made with his father. Yuma explains to Astral that he has thought to himself for a long time about what Dueling means to him. Yuma tells him that ever since he met Astral, he started to win despite losing all the time before, but when he lost against Shark and Kite, he understood that he could lose something important from losing for the first time, but he never hated Dueling despite it.
Yuma tells Astral that Dueling means bonds and connection to him, and that Dueling and fighting are different. Astral doesn't want to agree to him since he would disappear if he lost, but Yuma tells Astral that he understands how he feels and will do anything to save him. However, Yuma has realized that there is something exceeding winning and losing. Astral asks Yuma what he will do about Kite, where Yuma answers that he will lose his soul if he lost, but it won't change his Dueling. Then Tori worries what would happen if Yuma really lost his soul, but Yuma tries to comfort Tori and promises to win the tournament. The day the WDC started, Yuma went to the opening ceremony and listens to Mr. Heartland explains the rules. Just after the Carnival starts, Striker hits Yuma in the face with a soccer ball filled with cards, challenging him to a Duel.
Striker quickly reduces Yuma's Life Points and prevents him from attacking with his Soccer-themed Deck. During the Duel, Striker reveals that he used to play soccer in his older brothers' team, but Striker doesn't play as a team, so he quit the team and started Dueling instead. Yuma manages to win the Duel with his new Xyz Monster, "Muzurhythm the String Djinn" and reminds Striker that he likes to play soccer and rejoins his brothers' team. Striker gives Yuma his Heart Piece, earning his first Heart Piece.
Yuma's second opponent is Cody Callus. Cody thinks that a Duel is only about power and uses Digvorzhak, King of Heavy Industry". Yuma proves him wrong by defeating him without using any Xyz Monsters, instead, he reduced his monster's ATK to 0 and destroyed it with "Kurivolt" who only has 300 ATK and inflicted effect damage. With Cody's defeat Yuma now has 3 Heart Pieces; however, so far, only two pieces fit together, meaning Yuma will still need to collect three more fitting pieces. His third opponent was Anna Kaboom, who was always carrying a cannon with her, which reflects in her Duels since she uses a beatdown strategy through effect damage. Even though Yuma defeated her, it was revealed she wasn't an actual participant in the tournament so she couldn't give him a Heart Piece. As Anna flew away, she thought of Yuma and developed a crush on him, along with a feeling of hatred immediately after, because those thoughts distracted her, causing her to smash her head against the railroad and she blamed him for it.
Yuma's fourth opponent was Tombo Tillbitty, who plays by the rules of "Basket Rule" meaning he had to pull a vegetable from a basket at random and eat it every time he wanted to attack. Yuma was not able to attack for most of the Duel because he pulled a tomato every time he was about to attack and he said he hated tomatoes until Tori said that if he lost she would force Yuma to eat his food and Duel meals with tomatoes every single day. Scared of the thought of it, Yuma forced himself to eat one and after that, he thought that Tombo's tomatoes were delicious. Yuma won the Duel by Summoning a new Xyz Monster "Melomelody the Brass Djinn" and using the effect of "Gagaga Girl" and gaining his fourth Heart Piece.
His fifth opponent was Charlie McCay, who plays cards with Die Roll effects and possess "Number 7: Lucky Straight" that gives luck to the player who has it, so Charlie wins all the Duels he plays. Charlie also used this card to steal cards and other things, among them being one of the Numbers, "Big Eye", so Yuma chased him and challenged him to a Duel on top of a train. Yuma defeated him because he "split the sun in two", as Charlie said that if the sun is split in two, the luck of "Lucky Straight" would run out. Yuma destroyed Charlie's "Sun Scale", which symbolizes the sun, and then Summoned "Number 39: Utopia Ray" for the win. After that, Charlie returned the stolen Number card to Yuma and receiving "Lucky Straight" as well. During the second day of the WDC, Yuma and Tori Meadows went with Bronk and Caswell met with the Asian Champion, Quattro, in a clearing for a Duel. Although Yuma was wary of Quattro due to Shark, Quattro seemed kind, Yuma changed his opinion of him until Quattro activated the card "Gimmick Box", he showed his real face, which is cold and malicious. He started to make suffer Caswell and Bronk, causing Yuma to become angry. After the Quattro's win, Yuma challenged him to a Duel, but Shark arrives and challenged him too, but Quattro went away. Trey, who is
Quattro's brother, challenged Shark to a Duel, and Yuma watched it. Throughout the Duel, Yuma worried about Shark, but cheered him on and was happy that he won. After the Duel, Yuma is irritated by whats going on with Shark and Quattro, and angrily says "Dueling isn't a tool for revenge!". Despite Tori's attempts to take his mind off it, Yuma snaps at her for trying to cheer him up, in which Tori walks away hurt. After a request from his sister to look for a Duelist named Cameron Clix, he wonders where Tori went, and Astral clarifies that he said some hurtful things to her, which he denies. Upon running into Cameron, they Duel, with Tori's life at stake due to Cameron's prediction with his photo. When Cameron Summoned his "Numbers" card, Yuma was pushed into a corner.However, Astral told Yuma to ignore the photo's Cameron showed him. By doing so, Yuma was able to Summon "Utopia Ray" and win the Duel. Unfortunately, this didn't stop the prediction of Tori's fate, but Kite and Orbital 7 showed up and managed to safely put the ship on the ground, which Yuma thanked him for. With Tori safe, Yuma got his fifth Heart Piece and "Number 25: Force Focus"
Later, he Duels Nistro and Dextra in Flip's place, as Flip collected Heart Pieces using his "tricky ideas" until Nistro and Dextra found out. He Duels without the help of Astral, as Astral is being cornered inside Emperor's Key by Number 96, he is unable to use the Numbers and is struggling against the teamwork of Nistro and Dextra. As the Duel continues, their combination overpowered Yuma and drastically lowered his Life Points. On an attempt to turn the Duel around, Yuma managed to Summon "Utopia", surprising Nistro and his partner as he holds a "Number" card. After noticing their "Photon" cards, Yuma identifies them as being affiliated with Kite, and told them that he has Dueled Kite. Unable to counterattacked, Yuma gave up hope when they reduced him 100 to Life Points, but Astral returned and was briefly visible to everyone watching the Duel - revealing to Nistro and Dextra he is in possession of the Original Number. With Astral's help, Yuma execute a winning move and won the Duel.
Trivia[]
- Yuma's catchphrase: Kattobingu daze, ore! Often shortened to just "Kattobingu" when referenced or used by other characters. (Truthfully, it's a made-up word.). In the English Dub, "Feeling the flow!", used less often. Also "High five the sky!" and "Get set to get decked!"
- He really seems to be the least intelligent out of the series's protagonists. He's actually closer to Jounouchi than he is to Yugi, both as a beginner and in his general personality.
- Out of all the protagonists, Yuma demonstrates the most pride and arrogance, yet suffers the most defeats. To balance his arrogance, every time he loses a duel, Yuma is forced to assume shameful pose where he falls on his knees, bends forward and face plants, while shoving his rear up as if he's begging for mercy. He shares this trait with Yusei Fudo.
- Yuma's color motif is red: Yuma's hair, eyes and parts of his clothing aside, the number 39 on Hope/Utopia is also red and for a while Hope was the only Number monster with a number of that color.
- A running gag is Yuma's forgetfullness: He forgot to register for the World Duel Carnival, forgot his invitation to the WDC Finals party, and forgot the Heart Pieces he spent a whole arc collecting when he went to the Finals. He's also misplaced his deck and Key more than once.