Shoichi Kusanagi Kolter ( , " Kusanagi Shōichi " ) is a character appearing in the " Yu - Gi - Oh ! VRAINS " anime . Operating out of a food truck called Café Nagi , which doubles as his and Yusaku ' s base of operations , Koulter is an ally of Yusaku Fujiki in his fight against the Knights of Hanoi , with integral knowledge of the LINK VRAINS . Design . Appearance . Koulter is a young man with fair skin and grey eyes . His purple hair comes to the base of his neck , and it has multiple small bangs brushed over to hide his forehead , and he also sports a small goatee . Koulter dresses simply , wearing a brown trench coat over a purple hoodie with a bronze zipper and light blue shirt , and teal pants tucked into burgundy boots with prominent black soles . Personality . Koulter is a rather friendly individual . He ' s shown to be sympathetic towards Yusaku and hopes he can one day enjoy Dueling again . He also regrets dragging him into the fight against the Knights of Hanoi . Behind his friendly easy - going nature , Koulter harbors an intense anger and hatred towards the Hanoi Project just like Yusaku , though he doesn ' t actively show it unless triggered enough , like when he listened to Akira Zaizen talk about the possibility of Aoi being kidnapped . Koulter angrily said that Akira doesn ' t truly know what the horrible trauma he felt was like . Abilities . Being the owner of a food truck , Koulter is a capable cook ; he was seen cooking hotdogs . Like Yusaku , he ' s a talented hacker . He was able to get information about SOL Technologies ' activities and helped Yusaku capture Ai in the latter ' s Duel Disk . He was also able to figure out that Aoi Zaizen is " Blue Angel " . On several occasions , he has hacked surveillance camera ' s in both LINK VRAINS and the real world alike with little effort . He is noted to routinely erase footage , article , and picture of Playmaker in the network . Biography . History . Ten years ago , Koulter ' s younger brother was kidnapped for the Hanoi Project in the past . Even though his brother was rescued , he still suffered intense PTSD that he apparently never recovered from , prompting Koulter and Yusaku to fight against the Knights of Hanoi , whom they believed to be responsible for the incident , to get revenge . Hanoi . Koulter and Yusaku discussed SOL Technologies and Hanoi ' s recent movements . Koulter told Yusaku about the Data Storm and that it could help Yusaku enjoy Dueling again . He also mentioned SOL was looking for an AI on the run and that they were planning a full scan of LINK VRAINS to find it . Hearing this , Yusaku came up with a plan to capture the AI and use it as a trump card against Hanoi and closed Café Nagi , despite Koulter protesting that he was expecting customers that night . The two hackers managed to capture Ai into Yusaku ' s Duel Disk during an attack from the Knights of Hanoi . Koulter was surprised when a Data Storm occurred when " Playmaker " challenged a knight . He was worried when Yusaku was sucked into a Data Storm tornado , and was relieved when Yusaku won the Duel . Koulter and Yusaku spent the next few days trying to figure out Ai ' s programming , but Koulter struggled to understand the complicated algorithms that Ai was made out of . He then suggested to come up with a name for the A . I . , to which Yusaku decided to name it " Ai " , a pun on " eye " . He was also impressed that the card data Yusaku obtained from the Data Storm was becoming a physical card . Trying to scan footage from " Ai ' s " memories caused the Knights of Hanoi ' s leader to track them down , however Koulter shut down Café Nagi ' s power before they were found . The next day Koulter gave Yusaku the " Decode Talker " card that had finished materializing before he went to LINk VRAINS to fight a supposed Knight of Hanoi that appeared . When the Knight turned out to be Gore , a program that prevents Playmaker from logging out was activated by SOL Technology . Koulter worked on an escape route for Yusaku , but Yusaku refused to use it . After the Duel ended , Koulter scolded Yusaku for not using the escape route , but also suggested that they could recruit Gore for their fight against Hanoi . Koulter discovered that the real identity of the famous idol " Blue Angel " is Aoi Zaizen , a classmate of Yusaku . He thought about Yusaku meeting Aoi so they could get closer to Akira Zaizen in order to get more information about SOL Technologies regarding his brother and Yusaku ' s memories , however he also doubted the plan would work because of Yusaku ' s poor social skills . A few days later , he was shocked when Playmaker and Blue Angel began a Duel before getting interrupted by a customer . After the Duel concluded and Aoi was put in a coma , Koulter hacked into the hospital ' s records to find out about Aoi ' s condition . Ai protested that hacking into the hospital was a crime , to which Koulter casually said that hacking already was a crime in the first place . Ai explained that Aoi had been infected by a virus from Hanoi ' s card and the only ones with the anti - virus were Hanoi themselves . " Blue Angel " appeared claiming that she wanted a rematch against Playmaker . Koulter knew right away that she was an impostor and instructed Yusaku to ignore her because it was clearly a trap , but Yusaku went into LINK VRAINS anyways because he felt it was his responsibility to save Aoi . Varis ' s appearance and subsequent manipulation of LINK VRAINS caused Koulter ' s cameras to go offline , though he was briefly able to use SOL ' s cameras and later Ghost Girl ' s . He was displeased when Ghost Girl ' s camera stopped recording , making him unable to watch anything inside LINK VRAINS . To watch the Duel , Koulter used the bugs in the Knights of Hanoi ' s program that created the Data Storm to open a path for Ghost Girl to enter the Data Storm ; she had her cameras record the Duel between Playmaker and Varis , allowing Koulter to watch it . Koulter was glad that Playmaker won against Varis and carried him after he logged out since the former took a lot of strain during his Duel . Since Yusaku was interested what became of Aoi , Koulter went to show she was recovering . Yusaku fell asleep and Ai commented how lazy he was , but Koulter claimed heroes needed to rest . Ai started bragging , so Koulter went to analyze what kind of program he ate from Varis . Realizing Koulter would look into his " private parts " , Ai called him a pervert and refused to say anything . Once Yusaku woke up , Koulter sensed he was thinking what Varis told about Ai . Since they did not know how to prove if Ai was actually alive , Ai claimed it , indeed , was alive . Ai used the program he obtained from Varis to recover his body back . However , Ai ' s size didn ' t impress Yusaku and Koulter , who tried to analyze if Ai regained some of his memories , even if Ai wanted them to be excited that he regained his body . A few days later Emma Bessho ran into Café Nagi , but neither she nor Koulter recognized the other as " Ghost Girl " or " Playmaker ' s assistant " . Emma ordered a coffee and two chilli dogs and mentioned she was interested in Dueling Playmaker , causing Koulter to wonder what kind of Duelist she is . Yusaku noted that Koulter looked exhausted , to which Koulter said that he was tired from spending all night deleting " Playmaker " files and videos that people constantly post on the network . Yusaku offered to help him with the clean up , and in doing so he inadvertently deleted a big scoop that would ' ve revealed everything Playmaker and Koulter know involving Ai and the Knights of Hanoi . During the night , Koulter called Yusaku to come to his food truck and showed him an encrypted message on an internet forum , sent to him from Ghost Girl . Koulter explained he had created a program to navigate her to enter the Data Storm during the Duel with Varis . The two read how she demanded a Duel from Playmaker , with Ai as wager . Yusaku accepted , stating that she offered a backdoor to SOL Technologies ' data bank , and Koulter confirmed that fact , showing she did send a bit of the data as proof . Yusaku asked of Koulter to reply that Playmaker would accept her challenge . Ghost Girl soon entered LINK VRAINS , and Yusaku went to do the same . Koulter wondered if Yusaku would really go and Duel her , since she could ' ve set another trap . Yusaku claimed he had to uncover the truth behind the incident , hoped in the data bank there was some information about Knights of Hanoi , and sensed some determination in Ghost Girl , despite her weaknesses . Koulter watched as Ghost Girl and Playmaker confronted each other , and wished of the latter to acquire the backdoor . Seeing how well Ghost Girl made her moves , Koulter wished that Playmaker would be careful of her . While watching the Duel , Koulter was baffled how complex the Duel was , being unable to predict the outcome . After Playmaker won and obtained the program , Koulter went to analyze it . He believed he could crack the code , and noticed Yusaku was sleeping once more . Koulter showed his analysis of Ghost Girl ' s program to Yusaku : the backdoor entrance to the SOL Technologies ' mother computer , whose schematics looked like a maze . Koulter and Yusaku were nevertheless impressed by Ghost Girl , who managed to hack and find this . Koulter promised to be ready when the school was over , and Yusaku would be able to infiltrate the network the following night . On that night , Koulter showed the location of the data bank , warning that the path to it was filled with traps . However , he did make countermeasures against them , and Yusaku praised him for such speed . After Yusaku went into the LINK VRAINS , Koulter programmed an artificial device for Playmaker to hold onto to avoid traps , with a rope to prevent him from being detected , and gave directions to Playmaker where to go to . As security traps were set to stop Playmaker , Koulter programmed a " Sphere Kuriboh " as a decoy . After Playmaker passed Area A , Koulter saw there was a Data Storm . He wanted to give up , due to all the danger , but thought the Data Storm wouldn ' t be as harmful if Playmaker continued on . After Playmaker defeated Prototype Ai - A , Koulter navigated him to the data bank . Koulter watched as Playmaker confronted Akira , and wished the former would obtain the data . As Akira claimed he would set things straight with the data , Koulter and Playmaker became furious , saying Akira understood nothing about them . Koulter watched the Duel , and was furious to be reminded that his brother was a part of the Hanoi Project . He was also shocked to hear SOL Technologies ' data bank contained the name of the mastermind behind the project . Koulter was frustrated to see Playmaker could not attack , and Akira would win the next turn . Later , Playmaker defeated Akira and logged out , Koulter praised him for acquiring the data . The two hacked into Ai , and found out the Hanoi Project ' s leader was Dr . Kiyoshi Kogami , an employee from SOL Technologies , who alone worked on the project in secrecy . The two concluded SOL Technologies covered up the incident , else the company ' s reputation would ' ve been ruined . Ai doubted the man could have done this on his own , and thought Akira was involved , but Koulter reminded him Akira , back then , was 16 and was not employed at SOL Technologies . Koulter and Yusaku failed to find the project ' s goal , but most shockingly , they discovered Dr . Kogami died seven years ago . With the food truck positioned at the coast , Yusaku was doing research . Koulter invited him for a break , and gazed upon the ocean . Yusaku pointed out Koulter won ' t get many customers at that place , but Koulter assured him the famous coast was named Stardust Road , known for the luminous plankton that rarely gather at night , and thought the person living near the coast may have seen that . Koulter failed to gather new info from SOL Technologies ' data , and Yusaku saw that data from ten years ago was actually deleted . Still , they knew the company was involved , even if Akira knew nothing about the incident before . Koulter felt a bit relieved that Dr . Kogami passed away , thinking their revenge was over . Yusaku reminded him they still didn ' t know about the goal of the incident , and Koulter still wanted to rescue his brother from darkness , even if they had no clue where to continue . Yusaku still remembered Varis knew some things . Koulter stated Varis was not seen recently , but Yusaku believed he was not the type that would simply disappear . Another . Inside the van , Koulter showed to Ai and Yusaku the footage of a camera , when a person turned into an Another , which happened six minutes before midnight . Ai noted there were no white hands taking the person into LINK VRAINS . Koulter told them the person had not recovered yet , and showed pictures of more Another patients in the hospitals . Ai and Yusaku knew this was the same accident with Blue Angel , who was infected by a virus . Koulter believed someone wanted people to be turned into mindless people , but has not find out what happened to their LINK VRAINS ' avatars . Koulter showed more data , and Yusaku analyzed all of the Anothers were great Duelists with old - type Duel Disks , and all of them were hackers , too . The trio realized Playmaker , or Ai , were the targets . Yusaku reminded the importance of uncovering the truth behind Lost Incident , and as noted by Ai , they had to stop people from becoming Anothers . Koulter showed a list of possible targets , from which the first was Makoto Kimishima . Later , Koulter and Yusaku watched the Knights of Hanoi Dueling people , and turning them into Anothers . Yusaku decided to go into LINK VRAINS , even if Koulter believed he would be at a disadvantage , and Ai wished to feel secure . Surprisingly , they saw " Playmaker " battling the Knights of Hanoi , by stopping their programs and tossing them away from their D - Board s . Dr . Genome confronted " Playmaker " , who revealed himself to be Gore . The latter stated he came to save Makoto , and knew Playmaker ' s identity , which displeased Yusaku and Koulter . Koulter watched as Playmaker came to Gore . Later , Koulter and Yusaku went to find who was the Another virus ' creator . At the van , Yusaku shushed Ai , who was amused to read all the criticism against Kitamura and SOL Technologies . Koulter analyzed that if the Knights of Hanoi took over LINK VRAINS , they ' d soon find Playmaker . Yusaku believed they could prevent that by looking into the origins of Anothers virus . The next day , at the van , Koulter woke Yusaku up , reminding he had to go to school , and promised he ' d continue working . After Yusaku returned , Koulter found nothing new . Ai believed Koulter gave up , who replied he was just getting started . Yusaku let Koulter rest , who went to cook some fries and cheese dogs . Yusaku and Koulter ate the food , and watched Blue Angel confronting Baira . Koulter and Yusaku analyzed the videos , and the latter saw Baira behind one of the Anothers victims . Koulter drove his van to the warehouse district . He took a break when Yusaku went to rescue Naoki . One night , fearing he and Yusaku could soon be in danger , Koulter wrote a report , mentioning the Knights of Hanoi were real people . He named the report as " File No . 1007 : Kusanagi Report " . He noted the prowess of Playmaker and his allies , but feared the countdown to the day their destinies would change had already started . He also wrote that he still thought of his brother , Jin , and wished that the reader of this report would tell that to his brother when they meet him . He was visited by Yusaku and Ai , who felt something big was about to happen . Koulter served a customer , who told him it would be the last time he would visit the stand , and Koulter suspected the customer would move away . The customer looked briefly at Yusaku , and walked away , with Koulter telling he was also located at the plaza . As the customer walked away , Ai claimed Koulter needed a mascot like him . Koulter replied Ai would make a lame customer , and was interested what was Yusaku doing . Yusaku pointed out the Knights of Hanoi have been purged from LINK VRAINS . Koulter noted Anothers ' incident has been resolved , but also reminded Varis was still out there . Ai thought Varis had retreated , but Yusaku doubted that . Suddenly , Yusaku and Ai felt a pulse within LINK VRAINS , and asked Koulter to scan through the network . Koulter worked on scanning , and just as Yusaku and Ai sensed another pulse , Koulter saw the LINK VRAINS infrastructure changed . Koulter tracked Playmaker ' s activity , and as the pulse was emitted from the network , Koulter was shocked at the readings . Koulter monitored LINK VRAINS , and found a new reading of energy within the network . Yusaku and Ai joined Koulter , and watched hundreds of tentacles wrapped a beam that was shot in the sky and destroyed LINK VRAINS ' cyberspace . Yusaku , Koulter and Ai watched as the tower appeared in LINK VRAINS , causing the cyberspace to be absorbed . Since Yusaku obtained Ghost Girl ' s data , Koulter promised to look into it . Ai noticed the avatars were being absorbed , and not just buildings or roads - Yusaku knew this was Varis ' s doing . Koulter analyzed Ghost Girl ' s data , showing the Tower of Hanoi . Yusaku remembered Varis ' s words , and deduced if the Hanoi ' s game was over , the world would be destroyed . Koulter continued analyzing the data , seeing the link between the top , where the LINK VRAINS network was , with the underground erasing system , with the center being the core of the latter system . Ai was shocked , seeing how much data has been absorbed , as Koulter noted that speed has not decreased . Koulter counted six rings would be crafted from this system , one per each passing hour . He realized that once every ring is crafted , a pulse would be sent with high - density data , affecting every machine or program - every piece of technology existing in the world would cease function , as if the world has no computers at all . Ai thought it was safe as long as they did not enter the network , but Yusaku was certain Varis thought of that , and made something that would still erase Ai . Koulter continued his analysis , seeing even devices not connected to the network would also be affected , as an electromagnetic pulse would be sent out , even to erase Ai . While Ai was frustrated , Koulter was overwhelmed , knowing Varis made all of this just to erase an Ignis . The trio watched Kitamura - Akira ' s successor in SOL Technologies - battling a Knight of Hanoi , named Spectre . They saw how Spectre erased Kitamura , and the former threatened to do this to anyone that dared entering LINK VRAINS . Yusaku swore to stop the Knights of Hanoi , by shutting down the core . Koulter warned him there were no Data Storms in LINK VRAINS , except near that tower . Koulter watched as Playmaker continued on to the Tower of Hanoi , and noticed Blue Angel Dueling Spectre , who defeated Kitamura earlier . He measured five hours and thirty minutes before the Tower of Hanoi was complete . He was displeased to see Blue Angel lost the Duel against Spectre . He noticed Playmaker made a stop at the tower , and wondered if he met up with the enemy . Since there was no footage inside LINK VRAINS , he decided to give the reporters - the Frog and the Pigeon - the location of the next battle . Koulter was pleased that the Frog and Pigeon arrived to the coordinates he gave them . He was not pleased , however , to see Playmaker Duel Spectre , who defeated Blue Angel . He was surprised to see Akira was captured , and started coding . Koulter watched the Duel , and hoped the item he gave to Yusaku could help Akira escape . Koulter completed the code , causing Akira to vanish . However , the trap was too complex , and the attempt failed , making Koulter curse . Seeing Akira touching the vines and vanishing , Koulter slammed his fists in frustration . He watched Go Onizuka Duel Varis , hoping the former would stop the tower ' s completion . Koulter watched the Duel until Frog and Pigeon were blown away , thus cutting the video link he had . Koulter worried about the video link being cut . When the link was restored , he saw Varis and Playmaker on their D - Boards , and thought this was the final Duel to conclude the incident from ten years ago . Since Varis knew more about the incident , for the sake of his brother , Koulter desired Playmaker to defeat Varis , who dared him , with the cost becoming a victim . Seeing debris was falling on Playmaker , Koulter reminded even a single fragment could harm them . He watched the Duel , and realized Varis used the flashing card , " Mirror Force " . Koulter continued watching the Duel , and was shocked to see Dr . Kogami ' s appearance . He also feared Playmaker would be absorbed into the Data Storm when the Duel ended . Koulter was shocked at the events . Yusaku managed to get out , although strained , as Ai explained the shockwave made them log out . Koulter admitted his shock upon seeing Dr . Kogami alive , and explained his son must ' ve logged out , too . Regardless , he reminded the Tower of Hanoi was still active . Still , Yusaku asked of Koulter to drive to Varis ' place . Yusaku explained Varis mentioned Stardust Road and its phenomenon , and explained that Koulter knew a person living close to it must ' ve seen that phenomenon , making Koulter realize they were near Varis ' place . During the sunset , the group came to Varis ' house , where they confronted Varis . Varis noted Playmaker has found this place . He already knew Yusaku Fujiki ' s name , and that of Jin Kusanagi ' s brother , Koulter . Varis introduced himself as Ryoken Kogami . Koulter noted Ryoken was Dr . Kogami ' s son , but the latter explained his father has just passed away , which made Koulter curse he could not reach to him earlier . Yusaku asked Ryoken , referring to him as Varis , for more information that they had the right to know about . Ryoken confirmed that , so Yusaku asked the reason behind his actions , if the Lost Incident had been about creating Ignis . Ryoken explained the story about Kiyoshi creating Ignis , about its goal , their evolution and the prediction Ignis would become an enemy of the humanity . Yusaku decided to confront Ryoken , while Koulter went to his truck to watch their confrontation .