Kirifuda, Shoubu

切札勝舞

The show's protagonist. He aspires to become a great duelist like his father. Shobu maintains a positive attitude throughout the series, insisting on dueling for fun rather than simply for winning. He is brave, strong, and true. He uses a Fire Civilization deck, which later becomes a Dragon Deck. He has many main cards, including Bolshack Dragon, Garkago Dragon, Bolmeteus Steel Dragon, Bobazaar Dragon of Destiny, Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon, and most recently, Bolshack Yamato Dragon. His surname's kanji "切札KIRI-FUDA" literally means "The Trumph Card", "The Ace Card" or "The Winning Card". His name's kanji "勝舞Shou-Bu" is a combination of his father's name "勝利Shou-Ri", which means "Victory" or "Victor", and his mother's name "舞Mai", which means "Dance"; thus, "勝舞Shou-Bu" means "Victory Dance" or "Dance of Victory". The pronunciation "しょうぶShou-Bu" is also a pun on "勝負Shou-Bu", which means "Win (or) Lose" or also "Duel."