Chojiro Tokumatsu

Chojiro Tokumatsu is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. A former Professional Duelist who fell from grace, he is the "Kingpin" of the Facility in the Synchro Dimension, even higher in authority than the local guards. Formerly a bitter man from losing to the Tops and being jailed for cheating, after Dueling Yuya Sakaki and being inspired by his Dueltainer philosophy, he returned to the joyful person he once was. He is also one of the few Synchro allies of the Lancers who aids them during the Obelisk Force attack and believes in Duel Academy's threat.

Appearance
Chojiro is an old man, but retains impressive strength and agility for his age. His jaw is large and unshaven, and his hair is shorter than his facial hair. He dresses simply, wearing an olive-green threadbare robe and brown sandals. This traditional attire is further emphasized by both the theme of both his Deck and the interior of his Facility cell.

Personality
Chojiro is an honorable and entertaining Duelist, having pride in enticing his audience with his signature miracle draws. As such, he strongly encourages his audience and even his opponent to enjoy their Duels, regardless of winning or losing.

He communicates this to his audience with his slogan: "Dueling is life. You only live once. If there are days you win, there are also days you will lose. Do not be ashamed of defeat, do not be proud of victory. All in all, let's enjoy!". He brought it into practice by breaking up fights and teaching adults and children alike to enjoy their duels.

After losing to the Tops Duelists and by becoming the Kingpin of the Facility, Chojiro's outlook was changed to one that valued power and status above all, even stated that cards were the sign of those on top. It was only until his Duel with Yuya helped to revive his passion for enjoying Duels. After this, he started spreading his message once more and felt regret at the idea of defeating Zuzu Boyle and sending her underground, becoming a caring individual again.

Occasionally he makes comments about how much Dueling has changed since his incarceration.

History
Chojiro was a Duelist who sought to bridge the gaps between the Tops and the Commons. He trained young children and broke up fights, encouraging the local population to enjoy their Dueling. He decided to challenge Tops Duelists to Duels, but the stronger cards that they could afford allowed them to defeat Chojiro. The cheers he was used to become boos, driving him to attempt to cheat rather than relying on his famed "miracle draw". He was subsequently imprisoned in the Facility ten years before the start of the series.

Friendship Cup
While eating an exquisite breakfast one morning, Chojiro took notice of Yuya, Sylvio, Crow, Shinji, Gong and Dennis. Later, he had the Security guard bring them to him, and Chojiro's lackeys demanded that Yuya and his friends hand over their cards to him in exchange for good treatment. They refused, and Chojiro showed them the bed-sized stack of cards that he'd claimed over ten years in undefeated Dueling. Disappointed that Yuya wasn't listening to reason, he had the guard bring them Duel Disks and challenged Yuya to a Duel. Performing a long combo, Chojiro brought out "" on his first turn. He was surprised when Yuya performed a Pendulum Summon, wondering if Dueling had advanced to this point in the ten years that he'd been imprisoned, and used "" to return the Summoned monsters back to Yuya's hand. Yuya played defensively with Set monsters as Chojiro skipped his Draw Phase to continue to inflict damage. When Crow and Shinji observed the change in Chojiro's strategy from the past, Chojiro explained how his outlook had changed. Yuya was able to set up an infinite loop that Chojiro couldn't break with his current field, forcing Chojiro to draw. Chojiro felt himself enjoying the Duel for the first time in years and brought out "" and reduced Yuya to 200 LP, breaking his loop. With the crowd cheering them on, Yuya was able to break Chojiro's combo and Pendulum Summon the next turn, destroying Chojiro's monsters and winning the Duel. Chojiro remained happy that he'd enjoyed the Duel.

Chojiro later approached Yuya to organize an Entertainment Duel Tournament. Yuya agreed to join after Shinji convinced him, and Sylvio joined as well. Sylvio made the Duel an Action Duel, where Action Spell Cards were scattered around. Chojiro happily engaged in the Duel and entertained the crowd with his Enjoy Chojiro persona, though Yuya remained unwilling to participate initially. The Duel was plunged into chaos when the Facility guards discovered that Crow, Shinji, and new inmate Damon Lopez were escaping through the air vents. Chojiro was furious to learn that Yuya was using the Duel to mask an escape attempt, but forgave him after Yuya revealed that he was trying to rescue his friend, Zuzu Boyle. Chojiro attempted to hold the guards off and buy time for Yuya to escape, but his lackies distracted the guards instead with a shower of rare cards so that Chojiro could escape as well. Silvio led them to the roof, where they were challenged by the Arrest Corps. Chojiro expressed little patience for Silvio's antics during the chase, though the group were eventually saved by Shay, one of their allies. They attempted to swim from the Facility Island, but were recaptured by Jean-Michel Roger. Fortunately, the Executive Council intervened on behalf of Declan Akaba, the leader of the Lancers. To Chojiro's surprise, his arrest had caused considerable rife among the Commons ten years previously, causing the development of the Friendship Cup. The Lancers and the escaped prisoners were entered into the Friendship Cup.

Chojiro heard the Commons servants mocking the contestants outside his room, and was preparing to scold them, when he overheard them discussing the Underground Labor Facility that the defeated contestants were sent to. He reasoned that this was likely true, given similar rumors that he had heard about escaped prisoner during his time at the Facility. Bribing his way out of his room with a "" card, he visited Yuya to tell him about the rumor, though he was shocked to learn that the Executive Council could be monitoring them. One of the contestants in the Cup, Riley Akaba, ran in and hugged Yuya, unwilling to participate in the tournament. Chojiro ignored the frantic pleas of his doorman and listened to Declan and Yuya argue over Riley, who was revealed to not want to harm Shinji, his opponent in the Cup. Declan ordered Moon Shadow to take Riley's place. Chojiro's doorman eventually panicked and returned "Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit" to Chojiro, refusing to lose his job. When Yuya tried to get Riley to stay with him rather than Declan, Chojiro cautioned Yuya against forcing Riley to do so against his will in the same manner that Yuya had criticized Declan for and returned to his room.

After Shinji rallied the audience in his Duel with Moon Shadow, Chojiro was selected next to Duel Zuzu Boyle. Feeling sorry about the idea of sending a girl like her to do forced labor underground, he apologized loudly, making Zuzu feel uneasy. During the Duel, Chojiro returned to his past Dueling style with drawing, using the risky "" to bring out his "". Saving "Ameshikou" and his LP from Zuzu's assault with "", he then turned to an even greater risk with "Choshobu", putting the Duel at risk if he didn't draw a "Cardian" with the draw it allowed him. He managed to draw one and proceeded to Summon five "Cardians" and Synchro Summon his "", destroying "Mozarta" and putting Zuzu in a tight situation with its effects, which negated both Spell Cards and the effects of monsters it battles. Zuzu, however, played around these effects by using "" from her hand, turning the tables on "Gokou" and defeating Chojiro. He congratulated her on winning and when she asked if he knew Yuya, he asked her if they were in love, which caused Zuzu to smack him with her fan. Chojiro then recited his motto about people having to enjoy Dueling above all and disposed of his riding suit before leaving the Duel Palace.

Chojiro and Gong later witnessed Gallager and his cronies taunting recent arrival Duel Chaser 227, and they ordered him to stop, furious at Gallager's attitude. Gallager then explained to them about the history of Jean-Michel Roger.

Friendship Cup Finals
According to Frank, the other laborers in the underground facilities with him, Zuzu, Amanda and Tanner were trustworthy according to Chojiro, which kept them safe in that part of the underground. When Gong and Crow couldn't find Zuzu, he decided to check the control room while they spilt up to check somewhere else. When he got to the control room, he found his two lackeys and was happy. When Gong, Sylvio, and Chojiro reunited with Yuya, Moon Shadow, Sora, and Riley, they found that Zuzu and Celina were captured by Sergey and Barrett, respectively. They also learned that Roger was a defector of Duel Academy who planned to use Zuzu as a bargaining chip to protect the City and his plans to turn the Synchro Dimension into his own kingdom. When Yuya and Gong were about to leave as well, Chojiro tricked Sylvio into staying back as well to protect Riley and Sylvio changed his mind. After watching the Commons and Sector Security's battles escalate, Chojiro and Sylvio argued about how to get through. Before they come to a decision, Riley's traumatic memories again caused him to join the battle before being calmed down by Shay. When they arrived at the Capital Building, the front entrance was blocked by Sector Security. Before they could come up with a plan, Declan arrived and destroyed their Trap Cards with "". After defeating Sector Security, they went get Yuya on Shay's "Raidraptors", where they found Yuya, Gong, Sam, Frank, Amanda and Tanner on the bridge to the Duel Palace about to be attacked by Commons who had mistaken them for retreating Tops. Once he was in the stadium, Yuya challenged Jack to a Duel.

Chojiro helped the Lancers in fending off Sector Security when they stormed the Duel Palace, defeating a "" with "Ameshikou". During the Duel after Yuya managed to withstand the attack of Jack's "" Chojiro commented that Yuya got them all worried for nothing. When the Lancers went to quell the Commons' riot, Chojiro believes that they might be the City's saviors. After watch Jack Synchro Summon "", Chojiro theorized that Jack is arrogant because there wasn't an opponent that could push him higher until Yuya appeared. He was also amazed when Yuya Pendulum Summon five monsters. Chojiro was happy when Yuya defeated Jack but was angry when the Executive Council appeared. The Council broadcasted via holograms their confession of the true purpose of tournament, resigned and disbanded, and dissolved the Tops and Commons system. Everyone widely clapped and agreed, and celebrations continued.

Heartland City
Chojiro aided in the rebuilding of New Domino City and its new merged society. He and Shinji Weber told the remaining Lancers to leave that work to them go to fight Duel Academy, accompanied by Crow and Sora.

Deck
Chojiro runs a "Flower Cardian" Deck, which focuses on gathering specific "Flower Cardians" on the field to bring out powerful Synchro Monsters to overwhelm the opponent, simulating the use of Hanafuda playing cards. Because he used to rely on his drawing skills prior to his incarceration and once cheated to ensure he got the card he needed, he developed an unbeatable combo of using "" to discourage drawing cards by locking down his draw and damaging his opponent. By taking the first turn, and through his ace monster's effect, he never draws any cards, and when he does require drawing cards, he uses effects to stack the top of his Deck so he won't rely on any drawing skills to get what he needs.

He returns to his previous Dueling style after his Duel with Yuya, using many effects that let him draw additional cards in order to swarm the field with "Cardian" monsters, but come with high penalties should he fail to draw a "Cardian" such as "". However, he still uses "Lightshower".

Prison cards
During his time in the Facility, Chojiro received many cards as bribes from his fellow inmates to get him to lessen the rules on them.