Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS/Heartwarming

Season 1

• In the first episode, Ignis fully intended on [sacrificing himself or going on the run forever to stop the Knights of Hanoi from destroying the rest of the Cyberse. And from what we know, Ignis wasn't liked by the rest of the Cyberse, meaning he was willing to do this even for people who likely treated him terribly.
• It's subtle, but the way Shoichi looks out for Yusaku, believing what he says about "sensing things" and shutting down his business for a day to help him program is kinda sweet.
• Go returns to his gym after being defeated by Playmaker and wonders how he's ever going to face the children of the orphanage after that loss. Then the light turn on and we see the children applauding Go for his exciting match. Despite what Go thought before, the children still see him as their champion and hand him their home-made champion's belt, which Go accepts with a wide grin. Some shots after it even show him happily playing with the children, his spirits clearly lifted after being so down and angry before.
• Go Onizuka would have made Yuya proud with his entertainment dueling style. By the end, Yusaku was enjoying their duel, even if his stoic nature doesn't allow him to change expressions.
• Yusaku falling for an obvious trap because it gives him a chance to help Aoi.
• Akira getting very emotional after Aoi wakes up from her coma, relieved that she is okay.
  • Also, when Yusaku leaves link VRAINS, he asks Shoichi whether or not Aoi is alright.
• In 16 Aoi stopped attending school after recovering form her coma and Yusaku is worried that she doesnt attend school reguralry and hasnt shown up in LINK VRAINS since her duel with him he went around the school to see if she is there and even asked Naoki what happend to her.This shows Yusaku is still caring and selfless underneth his icy

cold nature

• A double one in episode 17: Zaizen ready to drop the mission immediately for the sake of Aoi, and Ghost Girl stopping him and telling him that he should trust her ability to take care of herself.
• Akira, after looking into the Data Banks on the Lost Incident now wants to help Playmaker return to a normal life. While Playmaker obviously isn't having any of this, Akira's intentions are pure and knowing what kind of background he already has, Akira will shoulder Playmaker's issues as well.
• As if to respond to him in kind, Playmaker has his Firewall Dragon, whom at the end of the duel is allowed to direct attack, send Tindagle Hound and Tindangle Angel from the graveyard back to his hand thus Tindangle Acute Cerebus would go to 0 and he still attacked it anyways, even though he could always bounce Acute Cerebus back to the Extra Deck giving him a direct attack opportunity as well. He reason he did it this way? Tindangle Hound and Tindangle Angel represent Akira and Aoi, thus in his eyes they shouldn't be in the graveyard. And while Akira did want to stop Playmaker's revenge, he says that Akira still has a light in his life and that he shouldn't follow him into the darkness.
• Go's friendship with Makoto; defending him from bullies when they were younger and despite being opposites they got along well.
• Yusaku showing a great deal of concern for Go during his duel with Dr. Genome and eventually going off to help him.
  • When Playmaker makes it there, he does not directly interfere with Dark Onizuka and Dr. Genome's duel, but rather attempts to encourage GO to win in his own special way.
• It's small, but the fact that Playmaker/Yusaku is actually willing to work with Go and let him duel the Knights of Hanoi shows that he's starting to trust other people a little more.
• Because of his demotion, Akira has been home more recently to Aoi's delight. While that matter was resolved, Aoi is still conflicted about the more recent events that happened. Akira initially thinks that Aoi does not want to be with him, but Aoi gently reassures him that is not the case and is glad that they can interact for a change.
• Emma, seeing how conflicted Aoi was about wanting to help Playmaker/Yusaku and Go or listen to her brother, reveals her identity to her and convinces her to go back to Link VRAINS.
• When Blue Angel is dueling Baira, she is cheered on by 3 kids who are cosplaying as some of the main character's signature monsters: (Cyberse Wizard, Gouki the Great Ogre, Trickstar Black Catbat). The message conveyed was clear: They are rooting for the main trio to defend Link VRAINS from the Hanoi.
• Akira praising Aoi thanks to her as Blue Angel she was able to save the victims of Another this made Aoi happy and gave cheerful smile to Akira which is really heartwarming because this is the first time we get to see her being genuinely happy and she gives her first genuine beautiful smile as Aoi IRL compared to her Stepford Smiler as Blue Angel and this also shows that Akira is slowly starting to acknowldge her as Blue Angel and allows her to go to LINK VRAINS
• While it also doubles as a Tear Jerker in present, [this photo] of the Kusanagi siblings is pretty adorable.
• Zaizen's last thoughts after sacrificing himself not to burden Playmaker are for Aoi and the fact that they'll be together again.
  • Despite Spectre's taunts, the fact that Playmaker holds back when Zaizen's taken hostage, putting his safety (and let's remember Zaizen originally pursued and trapped him) before his vengeance shows that he's not completely consumed by it, and he actually cares about people.
• During his Duel against Revolver, GO declares his determination to protect LINK VRAINS so the orphanage children can continue to smile.
• After seasons of strained rival-father relationships, it is nice to see Revolver and Dr. Kogami care for each other as much as they do. Doctor Kogami is willing to put his life at risk, if not lose it entirely, to allow his Son to overcome a rough Data Storm, while Revolver immediately ends a duel in a draw upon seeing his father's heart rate become erratic.
  • Also in that episode, Ai is willing to sacrifice himself to save Playmaker, even though Playmaker said in the previous episode that they aren't friends. Sure, he comes back a few minutes later, but Ai believed he would die, but did it anyway.
• It's subtle but the fact that Ryouken/Revolver knew about Playmaker/Yusaku and Shoichi and yet did nothing about it shows a bit of his hidden kindness as he could have just refocused the Knights of Hanoi's efforts to finding Yusaku and not Playmaker. It also shows that Revolver values his rivalry with Playmaker, and not Ryouken's battle against Yusaku, as his duels with Playmaker seem to be the only time where he truly enjoys himself.
• Yusaku letting Ryouken leave. Yusaku wanted Ryouken to find his own path and let him leave to search for it. It's because Yusaku knew he would come back. Whether to continue what he began or finally befriend Yusaku, Yusaku let Ryouken make the decision for himself.
• Yusaku releasing Ai at the end of episode 46. He knew that Ai wanted to go back to the Cyberse world, and allowed him to do so.
  • Following this, it is hinted that Yusaku may actually miss Ai despite seeing him as an annoyance.

Season 2

• Episode 47
  • Ai and Linkuriboh hugging each other after being separated for many years and seeing that they both are the only known survivors of the Cyberse World.
  • Aoi thanking Yusaku for finding and bringing her to a hospital in episode #8.
  • Akira is angry at his boss Queen for setting a bounty on Playmaker and asks why they need to hunt him. Queen tells him that Playmaker still has the Ignis, she also tells Akira that he himself is in charge of the Bounty Hunter team, after that he looks visibly angry about this.
  • Ghost Girl was also invited to be a Bounty Hunter for SOL Technologies to hunt Playmaker, but she doesn't intend to accept it, because she still owes him.
  • Shoichi visits his brother Jin who was starting to recover after hearing the truth of the incident. **Shoichi also invites him to live with him inside his hotdog stand and that he just wants to be with him. Too bad Jin got attacked by an avatar during the conversation and got his soul stolen from him.

After finding out what happened to Jin, Yusaku immediately heads into LINK VRAINS to pursue the avatar.

• • Ai reuniting with Yusaku after three months. Ai first tries to tell him what happened with the Cyberse world, but Yusaku tells him to save his story for later. Instead of feeling down as usual whenever he does that, Ai feels happy knowing that Yusaku hasn't changed a bit and that it feels like the good old times again
    • Ai also gives Yusaku cards he found in the Cyberse World including Linkuriboh. After looking at the cards, Yusaku smiles and says that the cards aren't bad. Considering what Linkuriboh does, he definitely appreciates the gift Ai got for him.
• Episode 51
  • Soulburner is simply fanboying over Go Onizuka and the fact that he's able to duel him. While he becomes disappointed by his obsession with Playmaker and his decision to abandon his Charisma Duelist life, Soulburner tells him that he is his inspiration, being one of the three duelist to take on the Knights of Hanoi directly, and a very powerful duelist as well, it took him out of his depression to find Playmaker and help him on his missions.
• Episode 53
  • When Aoi insists on going to link VRAINS with Emma to help uncover the truth, Akira lets her, telling her to return safely. This shows that while he still cares about Aoi's safety, he knows that Aoi is ready to go to link VRAINS.
  • When Aoi reveals her new avatar to Emma, Emma acts like a Cool Big Sis and is pleased to see that it resembles the Ghost Girl avatar's outfit, commenting on how mature she looks, and even names it Blue Girl
• Episode 60
  • Soulburner sacrificing himself so that Playmaker isn't caught in Blood Shepherd's trap.
  • Also Akira, Emma and Aoi worrying about the fact that SOL Technologies is hunting Playmaker even though they are working for them and are technically his enemies. They all are clearly very grateful to him and owe him a lot for saving them from the Tower of Hanoi.
• Episode 63
  • This episode reveals that Flame already managed to help Takeru overcome his trauma by giving him a speech that he's the one limiting himself and that he needs to go forward, get himself reborn and seize the future with his own hands.

Episode 64

• When Shoichi knew that his little brother Jin got traumatized from his experience from the Lost Incident. The first thing he does is stop his focus on sports and instead start studying programming in order to find the people responsible for Jin's trauma and help his brother recover. It really shows how much he cares about his brother if he's willing to do all that so that Jin can recover and go forward.
  • Also noted with how he refers to Jin as his dear younger brother (the words that Shoichi used can also translate into "most beloved"), showing his strong love for him.
• Also, Playmaker (though he goes by "unknown" at this point), saving Shoichi, then Shoichi returning the favour by helping Playmaker escape from the nights on Hanoi.
• The sheer fact that Yusaku, who was clearly a lone wolf at the time, actually took Shoichi's advice and went to Cafe Nagi to meet him. Yusaku didn't have to meet up with him due to his personality, but knowing that he did show up meant that he really wanted to trust Shoichi and was willing to team up with him to get revenge
  1. 65:Just seeing Playmaker/Unknown and Unnamed's interactions is just heartwarming in general. Even though they just met for a day or two, they were already an unstoppable team.
  2. 66:Despite Kusanagi's wariness over Earth's message on the forum, Yusaku still wants to check it out in hopes that there might be a clue to finding Jin's consciousness. This causes Kusanagi to ease up and trust Yusaku's judgment, showing that Jin is always his first priority.
  • • Despite Ai's nature as comic relief, he genuinely cares about his Ignis friends as shown when he interacts with Earth who he names and how he talks about the other three Ignis.
    • Ai naming Earth. Also Earth naming Aqua, first Ai tried to give her a name for convenience, but then Earth decides to do it himself and gives her a name that while it still makes it obvious what her Attribute is. It still is better then what Ai tried to give hernote .
• In 67:
  • Playmaker tells Earth three reasons why he and Ai are partners, which moves Ai's heart. Seeing how he found Ai annoying in Season 1, it's a huge upgrade. Not to mention, Playmaker still remembers how Ai saved him from falling after revealing that he had no lost memories. It shows that Yusaku does have a sense of gratitude and he is slowly developing into a kinder person.
  • Earth's relationship with Aqua.
• In 68:Yusaku is shown to be interacting with Roboppi directly for the first time. He even takes her out to Kusanagi's truck, which is her very first time outside. She gets fascinated with the sights and even befriends a butterfly.
  • Yusaku tells Takeru to stay at the truck just in case if the place Ai went to could be a trap. Seeing how Soulburner got stuck in a trap back in #60, Yusaku's words show that he doesn't want Takeru to be captured again.
  • Even if they tried to forcefully reprogram him to their side, Windy and Lightning treating Ai like an old friend and equal. Lightning in particular outright states that despite how they treat him, all the Ignis consider Ai the wisest of their kind.
  • On that same token, Playmaker and Ai believing in the possibility that humans and the Ignis can coexist peacefully and trying to convince Lightning and Windy of that even when the latter attempts to convert him to their side via Data Storm.
• In 70:In a weird way Ai calling out to Windy when the Knights try to kill him after Revolver defeats him in a duel, shows us he truly cares about his fellow Ignis. Despite the fact that Windy along with lightning tried to kill him in order to rewrite his data which in turn happened a few minutes before and learning that Windy possibly killed or at least crippled his partner.
  1. 71:The reason why Flame is for coexistence between humans and Ignis? It's because he sensed that his partner, Takeru, has unlimited potential.
  • Playmaker's tone changes when talking to Jin. He normally uses 'omae'(a rude way to say 'you' in Japanese) when talking to someone, but he uses 'kimi' (a polite way) when talking to Jin.
• 72:Playmaker comforting Ai when he gets upset from seeing the fake Cyberse World destroyed, because it looks like his home.
  • Playmaker actually follows Ai's advice that he should defeat Bohman now. Playmaker could have just not listened and told him to shut up as usual, but Ai told him sincerely he felt troubled about this after hearing a voice that tells him Bohman is too dangerous. Playmaker had enough reason not to do that and follow his own judgement, but he decides to follow and trust Ai's judgement or rather instinct instead.
  • In general this episode really shows us how far Yusaku's and Ai's relation went despite Yusaku's denial of being friends.
• 73:Remember when Ryoken said he would never be Yusaku’s friend and when Ryoken said he still regretted being Yusaku’s voice of hope? Well, he bothered to create a program that would protect Yusaku from being attacked like how Jin was attacked and delivered it personally to Yusaku. It’s not like he copy-and-pasted that program from the internet. Ryoken must have taken a lot of time to meticulously code with his knowledge of the Ignis algorithm; Ai even called it an incredible program.
  • Also, Ryoken could have had one of his Knights deliver the program in his stead. After all, Yusaku knows how all of them look like and Ryoken visiting was quite dangerous as without him, the Knights would lose its leader. Ryoken didn’t do that because he knows Yusaku would trust him and trust him a lot.

Seeing as how Yusaku installed the program immediately after Ryoken told him what it was, Ryoken was right.

• • Ryoken words his reason as the enemy of his enemy is his friend, but it’s probably more than that. After all, based on that logic, he could instead have done nothing and watched as Lightning—another one of his enemies—take out Yusaku and Ai—another Ignis—before facing Lightning himself. It’s not like he and his Knights didn’t have the skills nor motivation to do so. It’s because Ryoken cares about and respects Yusaku so much, he would take the time and risk to go out of his way to protect Yusaku. He even said that after Yusaku survives his fight against Lightning, they will settle the score. Because Yusaku is someone worth doing that for. Ryoken is starting to warm up to Yusaku.
  • Ai reveals to Playmaker the upgrade of his Skill, Neo Storm Access. Playmaker tells him he has remarkable timing to finish it at this moment. Only for Ai to tell him he lied and that he could always use it, but kept it a secret. Playmaker smiles and says that's more like him. This whole exchange feels a lot more like acquaintances or rather friends who have known each other for a long time instead of hostage and hostage-taker.
• 74:Yusaku or rather Playmaker meeting up with Akira in real life so that he can tell him about the situation of the Ignis. He even tells that in the worst case scenario that he's the last hope for LINK VRAINS. It's really touching that Yusaku trusts Akira enough to tell him that information in case he would fall against them especially when consider how much of a loner he was at the beginning.
  • Earth rescuing Aqua despite the fact breaking the prison she's kept in would injure him and when they are pursued by GO, he pushes her off so that at least she's safe.
• 76: Aoi and Miyu's friendship. Miyu befriended the lonely Aoi when no one else did. They played together, but it was only for a brief time until Aoi protected Miyu by lying to her mother that she lost Miyu's mother's ring and not her daughter. Aoi's lie was the end of their friendship, but Miyu never forgot Aoi for her memories were strong enough to allow Aqua to find a fragment of them.
  • Akira reassuring Aoi about the lie she made. It shows how good of a person he is as a brother to Aoi (despite being siblings for only a year or so at the time) and as a person in general.
  • Akira's statement about the Ignis and how he believes humans shouldn't do what they want with them because they aren't God.
  • Aqua built a monument for Earth in his domain. His grave is a tree with a stone attached in the middle and covered with branches that form a heart-shaped motif.
  • Aqua trying to heal Miyu from Lightning's virus. Despite not meeting her formally, Aqua was still willing to heal her Origin but the attempt became futile.
  • Also, Aqua's unwavering determination for coexistence despite knowing the atrocities SOL Technologies did to Earth. The reason for her strong attachment to humanity is because of a fragment of Miyu's memories containing Aoi, who Miyu still considered a dear friend despite their friendship being brief.
  • Aoi sleeping on a couch in Emma's apartment. Aoi is usually reserved and keeps to herself, so seeing her being open with Ema shows how much she has matured throughout the show.
• 77: Aoi is essentially Miyu's Ryoken. The drive to meet her again after six months of torture was what allowed to perservere through the Lost Incident. Also, she wore her hair in pigtails, most likely to remind herself of Aoi.
  • Aqua stated that Aoi saved Miyu while Aoi believed it was the opposite for Miyu had changed her. She only had Akira, so Miyu coming into her lonely life was a blessing for her.

The fact that Kengo and Emma's father still thought of Kengo before his passing despite abandoning him and his mother.

• • Ghost Girl's account isn't deleted after Blood Shepherd hesitates to do so after hearing about their father's last words.
  • Ai and Flame happily greeting Aqua after she partners up with Aoi. And then the three Ignis and their partners riding off, determined to stop Lightning.
• 81: When Playmaker meets GO again who still wants to beat him in order to regain his pride. The first thing Playmaker does is not immediately fight him despite what he did to Earth, but rather plead to him to fight with him once more since Lightning's faction is currently a big threat to humanity. Even though GO refused, it's still heartwarming for Playmaker to keep pleading to GO to fight together as comrades once more instead of immediately fighting.
• 82: Aqua gets her Crystal Heart card back. Both Ai and Flame mention how Earth will be more at peace now that his most important card is in safe hands, easing Aqua's mind.
• Episode 83 "Irregular Meeting": Yusaku, Ai, Takeru, and Flame's heart-to-heart moment at Stardust Road. Yusaku believes he is at fault for what happened to GO Onizuka, but Takeru manages to tell him otherwise. Yusaku then tells Ai to live their lives in hiding from bad humans who would try to use them for nefarious purposes. Ai and Flame are moved by the fact that they have lives. This moment shows off Yusaku's character development profoundly as he cares about Ai and smiles the most he had ever did.
• Episode 84 "Past That Cannot Be Quieted":
  • Yusaku allowed Takeru to duel Ryoken because Yusaku wanted Takeru to sort his feelings out; Takeru would not be able to work with Ryoken if he still held ill will. In other words, Yusaku strongly implied that he no longer holds ill will toward Ryoken, the leader of the Knights of Hanoi.
  • After Ryoken revealed his identity, Yusaku stepped in and revealed that Ryoken was only eight during the Lost Incident and that he in fact saved them. Proving that even after all this time and all that has happened, Yusaku is still grateful to Ryoken.
  • Takeru realizing that Revolver calling him to the meeting despite not being a programmer was Ryoken's way of apologizing for what had happened back then. He compliments Flame and tells him that he understands humans much better than himself. The whole moment was heartwarming since Flame is usually the hot-headed one of the two, so their roles had switched.
  • This bit of dialogue before the Tower of Hanoi was reactivated is quite interesting. In other words, Yusaku STILL wants to find a new future with Ryoken in it and Ryoken even considered the possibility. Looks like Ryoken really is starting to warm up to Yusaku!
    • Yusaku: "We believe in different futures. But by working together on this plan, we may find a new future."
    • Ryoken: "I'll remember that."
  • Bohman and Hal's interaction. Bohman considers Hal to be special to him for he is his little brother. Hal thinks otherwise since he was ordered by Lightning to be his younger brother despite being created before him. Hal seems to be developing emotions that he cannot comprehend because of Bohman.
• Episode 85 "True Tears":
  • While Playmaker, Soulburner, Blue Maide, Revolver, and Spectre are on their way to Mirror LINK VRAINS, Blue Maiden almost falls off her board...but she's saved by Playmaker who proceeds to tell her to be careful, not knowing what will happen to her if she gets lost in the void between Mirror LINK VRAINS and Old LINK VRAINS.
  • The episode delves a little further into Bohman and Haru's relationship. After Haru is instructed to duel Blue Maiden to buy Bohman time to get ready for the upcoming battle, he stops by to see him one last time and Bohman advises him not to duel Aoi not because he doesn't have faith in him like Lightning, but rather concern for the fate of his brother. In general the episode showed that Haru was ordered to be Bohman's younger brother despite being created first and once Bohman's consciousness was perfected, Haru was ordered to be his servant instead and seemed as if he genuinely liked the idea that he and Bohman were brothers. Despite Lightning orders and knowing full well what their relationship really is, Bohman still considered Haru his younger brother and wanted to protect and make memories with him as an older brother would do for his younger sibling. Meanwhile, despite Haru's indifference to how Bohman felt, he genuinely did enjoy being Bohman's brother, and his defeat/deletion brought Bohman to tears assuring Haru that they'll always be together
  • A special mention goes to Blue Maiden who when Haru tried to write off her relationship with Akira as not a real sibling relationship since they aren't blood related. Aoi retorts that even if her and Akira aren't blood related they still had each other when they had no one else, they made memories together, genuinely enjoy being around each other and that their hearts are connected even if they are step-siblings, a speech that leads Haru to the realization that he and Bohman are brothers since they bonded in a similar way, regardless what Lightning said. **Extra points for AOI ZAIZEN for feeling that way and calmly explaining that to Haru when most likely S1 Aoi/Blue Angel would've been immensely rattled/bothered by that comment and lashed out at Haru for it which shows how much she's grown since then.
• Episode 86: "Wisdom of the Deprived"
  • A subtle one from both Spectre and Playmaker. When being confronted by Lightning, Spectre mentions that he felt an emptiness in his chest when he sensed Earth's death 10 episodes prior, Playmaker describes what Spectre felt as losing a part of himself and Ai immediately asked if Playmaker is saying that he is a part of him since he was created from him like Earth was for Spectre, to which Playmaker of course rights off. Regardless of Spectre's alliegence to the Knights of Hanoi or Playmaker's at times insistence that he and Ai aren't friends, both of them do care about their Ignis in someway since they are essentially a part of them since they were created from them.
• Episode 87: "Chain Destruction"
  • A subtle one, but after Spectre is defeated the shock and concern in Revolver's voice as he watched him fall and Spectre apologizing to Revolver for losing is heartwarming in the sense that you see that Revolver genuinely cares about Spectre and that they are really friends *Episode 91: "Proud Maiden":
  • Akira encouraging Aoi to keep up the fight against Bohman and not give up hope and win the duel. This shows Akira's trust that Aoi is not a little kid anymore and that he trusts her to keep up fighting.
  • When Blue Maiden knew she couldn't win against Bohman, in her last moments she apologizes to Aqua for reaching their limit only for Aqua to reply that It Has Been an Honor to be her partner.
  • Bohman letting Aoi Zaizen/Blue Maiden meet her brother one last time so that she can say goodbye as a sign of respect to her fighting spirit and because he knows how painful it is not to say goodbye to a loved one since he lost his "little brother" Haru.don't get many moments of them interacting outside of business.
• Episode 96: "Lightning's Crime":
  • When he sees that Lightning and Revolver are dueling, Playmaker rushes to them. He is still injured from his duel with Kusanagi, but he tells Ai that his pain is nothing compared to Soulburner's, who just lost to Bohman. He then makes the following vow:

Playmaker: "I won't let everyone's sacrifices go to waste. And I promise to get revenge for my team!"