Shingo Sawatari

Shingo Sawatari (シンゴ, Sawatari Shingo), known as Sylvio Sawatari in the Dub version, is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. He was appointed by Reiji Akaba, to steal Yūya Sakaki's Pendulum Monsters. To do this, he disguised himself to be a fan of Yūya and acted like a nice person. After defeated by Yūya, he proclaims himself Neo Sawatari (ネオ Neo Sawatari) as being reborn and new (probably referring to "Neo" for that reason). In Maiami Second Junior High School, he's from class 1. He is one of the Lancers.

Appearance
Silvio has short brown and blonde hair, styled in layers. He generally wears the Maiami Second Junior High School uniform, with his LDS badge pinned to the collar.

Personality
Shingo is initially shown to have an inflated ego as a "Perfect Duelist", being selfish, pompous, and incredibly egotistical similar to Jun Manjoume from the GX Series. As such he enjoys being praised by his crew and showing off in front of everyone, although he doesn't take kindly to anyone who interrupts him. His defeat at Yūya's hands caused him to develop a grudge against him, but also caused him to develop some of his mannerisms. Shingo also often makes gestures relating to darts when he feels they suit the situation.

He shows a degree of cunning, pretending to be friends with Yūya in order to steal his "Stargazer Magician" and "Timegazer Magician". After he managed to steal them, he then imprisoned Yūya's friends to force him into a Duel. Throughout the Duel, he continuously mentioned how he was now the chosen one, able to Pendulum Summon. Shingo is also shown to be extremely materialistic, valuing only rare cards. This is shown in his Decks which are initially comprised of only Parallel Rare cards. Furthermore he seems to be quite shallow with cards, judging them solely for their ATK or DEF values and their Level regardless of what effect they may have.

Despite this, not only did he develop some of Yūya's mannerisms after his first defeat at his hands, but during their second Duel, he also developed a similar attitude and Dueling style, enjoying entertaining the crowd and encouraging Yūya to do the same. He accepted his second loss to Yūya gracefully and told him that he'd Duel him any time he wanted. He later showed sincere sympathy for Yūya when he was depressed after Yuzu's disappearance.

Immediately after using Pendulum Summon for the first time, he became fascinated by the newly discovered Summon type. He quickly called it "the best" and went great distances to obtain Pendulum Monsters. He was also shown to be upset when Gongenzaka took his Pendulum monsters and when Shun used them. At one point he even assumed he was the first Duelist to Pendulum Summon and bragged about Pendulum to Security while at the Synchro Dimension.

Shingo also displays great comradie during his time as a Lancer by protecting Crow from a large security guard during the prison outbreak and saving Tsukikage's life from the Obelisk Force.

He has a tendency to use his father in an attempt to gain an advantage in certain situations, this was shown as he threatened to use have his father fire Security when they were arresting him, likewise he attempted to use his influence to get food at the Facility instead of having to pay the costs of a powerful card but failed both times.

Abilities
During his Duels, Shingo has displayed his incredible cunning through various strategies that have allowed him to outplay powerful Duelists such as Yūya and Yūgo. He is also very acrobatic as shown in his Action Duels. While a novice with the D-Wheel, he quickly adapted after utilizing it for short while.

Meeting Yūya
Shingo was contacted by Reiji Akaba to obtain Yūya Sakaki's Pendulum Monsters, no matter the means, while he threw darts at a picture of Yūya.

After class one day, he approached Yūya and his friends, throwing three sucker-tipped darts at Yūya before introducing himself, stating that he was a fan of Yūya and his Pendulum Summoning. Yūya was going to show his friends a Pendulum Summon at his own Duel School, but Shingo offered the use of the Center Duel Field at LDS.Yuzu Hīragi wasn't happy about it, but Yūya's other friends all agreed, and Shingo showed them around the school before he took them to the Duel Field. There Yūya and his friends were met by Shingo's crew of friends: Ōotomo, Yamabe, and Kakimoto. Shingo asked to show his crew Yūya's Pendulum Monsters, and Yūya reluctantly showed him his "Stargazer Magician" and "Timegazer Magician". Shingo promptly swiped them and showed them to his crew, before announcing his intention to keep them.

Shingo vs. Yūya
He offered Yūya the chance to Duel to get them back, much to the anger of Nakajima, who was monitoring Shingo for Reiji. Reiji allowed Shingo to Duel Yūya. Shingo tossed Yūya some of his Common cards to replace his Magicians, calling them trash cards. To ensure that Yūya would Duel, Shingo had Yūya's friends placed on top of one of the bridges in "Prison Tower of Darktown," furthermore endangering them with the prospect of their perch being damaged by Action Trap Cards. On the first turn, Shingo drew "Stargazer Magician," but was instructed to retain it in his hand by Reiji. Instead, he Summoned "Lightning Board" and pursued Yūya, destroying his "Entermate Whip Viper" after it was weakened by Action Trap Cards. Yūya continued to play defensively, but to no avail; on Shingo's next turn he drew a card that allowed him to add "Stargazer Magician" to his hand and he proceeded to Pendulum Summon his "Darts Shooter" monsters with Reiji's assistance. Shingo was amazed at the Summon, declaring himself a chosen one.

He put Yūya on the ropes with his "Darts Shooter" monsters, though Yūya proceeded to create an attack lock with the card he'd taken from Shingo - "Block Spider". Shingo nullified the lock on his next turn by negating the effects of his Pendulum Monsters. In response, Yūya increased the DEF of "Block Spider" to the point that only Shingo's "Ultimate Darts Shooter" was able to land a hit. Yūya then reclaimed his Pendulum Monsters with "Empty Fishing" since their effects had been negated and proceeded to Pendulum Summon the next turn himself, using his Pendulum Monsters to allow "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" to destroy all of Shingo's monsters, while Shingo frantically tried to dodge the shockwaves. Yūya then finished Shingo off with Shingo's own "trash card", "Block Spider". Despite his loss, Shingo ordered his crew to take the Pendulum Monsters by force, but Sora Shiun'in knocked out Shingo's friends, then Shingo himself out with his lollipop stick.

After his defeat, he acquired new cards that he tested out against one of his crew. They praised him, calling the cards strong, but Shingo corrected them, claiming that it was him that was strong, and stating that he had all the qualities of a "Perfect Duelist". After using a few expressions similar to those that Yūya had used, his friends wondered if Yūya had rubbed off on Shingo, but he denied it and vowed he would crush Yūya.

Shingo vs. Yūto
He was later hanging out with his crew in an abandoned warehouse, waiting for his favorite food, and chastised his friends who had brought it to him, for being late. As he was eating, Yuzu, who had overheard Shingo's crew talking about Shingo's wish to defeat Yūya, arrived, surprising him to the point that he choked on his food. Yuzu demanded that he Duel her, continuously denying Shingo his attempts to speak. When he protested about this, she angrily called him a coward and a second-rate Duelist, infuriating Shingo. Yuzu continued to insult Shingo, and he furiously agreed to the Duel. Before they could, the door to the warehouse opened, revealing a mysterious masked figure, who activated a strange Duel Disk. Shingo Dueled him instead, mockingly dubbing him "Knight-kun" for coming to Yuzu's rescue. "Knight" placed his entire hand face-down on his first turn, and Shingo seized his chance to bring out "Möbius the Ice Monarch", then Released it to Summon "Möbius the Frigid Ice Monarch," destroying all five of "Knight's" Magic Cards.

Despite this, "Knight" activated his three "Phantom Knights Shadow Veil" Magic Cards from the Graveyard, Special Summoning them as monsters to defend against Shingo's attack. On his next turn, "Knight" used the remaining cards to Xyz Summon, to the surprise of Shingo, "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon." The two exchanged insults about how the other failed to live up to their expectations, before "Knight" used his Xyz Monster's effect to halve the ATK of "Möbius" twice, adding the stolen ATK to "Dark Rebellion" in addition, and reduced Shingo to 100 Life Points with a single attack. The force of the impact sent Shingo flying, despite the match not being an Action Duel. "Knight" questioned Shingo about LDS's connection to Academia, holding up an LDS badge. Shingo replied that the badge was worn by all LDS students and that he knew nothing of Academia. "Knight" turned to leave, but Shingo refused, pointing out that a Duel was still on. He played "Ice Rage Shot" in an attempt to defeat "Knight", but "Knight" negated the Trap using "Phantom Death Spear" and inflicted enough damage to win without even turning his back. The spear pierced Shingo's jacket, pinning him to the wall in shock. "Knight" then removed his mask to reveal that he resembled Yūya to the point that Shingo and his friends believed that he was Yūya. Shingo passed out from the stress of the Duel and his crew carried him away in fear.

Shingo exaggerated his injuries and was subsequently hospitalized. His father vowed revenge on Yūya, and was deciding on legal action, but they were visited by Himika Akaba, who instead suggested she let them handle it, to prevent Mr. Sawatari from attracting attention during the upcoming election. Shingo's crew later accused Yūya of attacking Sawatari, claiming that their friend was in great pain - in reality, Shingo was happily chowing down on melons in bed. He was later discharged from hospital, and he approached Yūya and Yuzu, offering Yuzu his handkerchief and telling Yūya that he shouldn't eat so messily in front of a lady. He joked that he'd heard that Yūya had attacked someone else, but he knew Yūya wasn't responsible, believing him incapable of defeating Professor Marco, even with Yūya's "cowardly" Pendulum Summoning (a fact that he hadn't told his father, given that they hadn't seen each other since Shingo had been discharged). He justified this statement by pointing out that only Yūya had them (not knowing that Reiji also had Pendulum Cards), and commented that LDS was attempting to mass-produce Pendulum Monsters, which he would obtain to get his revenge. He told Yūya that he'd see him at the Junior Youth Championship and then casually walked away, as that was all he'd come to say.

Maiami Championship
At the Maiami Championship, he accompanied the Course representatives and Shun. His first Duel was to be against Yūya the next day.

Round 1: Rematch Against Yūya
Shingo entered the arena the next day dressed in homage to Mabuta no Haha, proclaiming himself the world's greatest Duelist, and calling himself "Neo New Sawatari". Shingo claimed that Pendulum Summoning would be Yūya's downfall, and pointed out his (unfounded and quickly disproven) grudges against Yūya. They began their Duel, with Shingo unveiling his new "Yosenju" monsters and adding cards to his hand. Yūya Pendulum Summoned next turn and fought back, but Shingo used his "Yosenju" cards to deny him Action Cards and add "Yosenju" Pendulum Monsters from his Deck to his hand and Pendulum Summoned "Mayosenju Daibakaze." He then activated his "Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village" to send the cards bounced to Yūya's hand back to his Deck instead, and cleared his field when the self-returning effects of his "Yosenju" monsters triggered his "Yosen Whirlwind", returning the cards to Yūya's hand and thus to his Deck. Despite his pinch, Yūya simply laughed and Set his remaining cards, and then turned to find more Action Cards. Shingo brought out his "Yosenju" legion of monsters again the next turn and wiped Yūya's field clean, but this triggered the effect of Yūya's "Nameless" card, which caused Shingo's own monsters to become subject to his deadly combo. Shingo was impressed, but attempted to end the Duel that turn anyway. Yūya was able to use a "Great Escape" Action Card to end the Battle Phase, leaving Shingo's field and hand almost bare. Admitting that he was enjoying the Duel, when Yūya didn't Pendulum Summon the next turn and the crowd chanted for it, Shingo delivered, Pendulum Summoning two "Yosenju" and using them as Releases to Summon "Daibakase". Yūya was able to reduce his damage, and after the crowd began cheering for a Pendulum Summon again, Shingo encouraged Yūya to live up to their expectations, keeping "Daibakase" on the field since he'd Release Summoned it. Yūya was able to replenish his hand and bring out "Odd-Eyes," again, then damage Shingo, who kept "Daibakaze" on the field by destroying "Yosenju Sarenshinchu". Much to Shingo's shock, Yūya Fusion Summoned during the Battle Phase and brought out "Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," which also had 3000 ATK, and both Shingo and Yūya leapt for Action Cards. Shingo attempted to inflict damage to Yūya since his monster had been destroyed, but Yūya had gotten "Miracle," which had prevented his monster's destruction, allowing the effect of "Beast-Eyes" to go through and wipe Shingo out. Though he refused Yūya's hand up, Shingo took the loss gracefully, offering to Duel Yūya any time, and both of them waved to the cheering crowd. Afterwards, Reiji had Nakajima retrieve Shingo's Pendulum monsters to have them mass-produced off-screen causing him to abandon his "Yosenju" Deck.

Battle Royal: Duel Against the Obelisk Force
During the Battle Royal, after the video feed for all of the areas was cut, Shingo took advantage of his father's influence to barge into Reiji's control room and ask what was going on, as he wanted to see how far in the tournament Yūya would get. Reiji allowed him to stay and offered him a chance to take place in a revival match. Reiji explained the situation regarding Serena, Shun, and the invading Obelisk Force to Shingo and sent him to assist Serena, Shun, and Tsukikage. He arrived in time to use an Action Card to save Tsukikage. He explained why he was here, but was then shocked by the intrusion penalty of 2000 LP, a detail that Reiji had not warned him about. Despite this, he claimed that he'd show them why he was "LDS's strongest". Showing off his new "Abyss Actor" Pendulum Deck, he managed to destroy one of the Obelisk Force's "Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog"'s without triggering their combo, though this inadvertently allowed the Obelisk Force to bring out "Antique Gear Ultimate Hound Dog" and halve their Life Points. Gongenzaka then joined the Duel, using his card effects to transfer Shingo's Pendulum Cards to Shun's hand, which allowed Shun to win the Duel with "Raid Raptors - Revolution Falcon". Shingo celebrated jovially, and later saw the climax of Yūya's inconclusive Duel with Sora Shiun'in. After the expiration of the Battle Royal, Shingo commented to Reiji that he'd chased out the Academia soldiers as he'd been asked, suggesting that this made him one of the Lancers now. When Gongenzaka asked him about them, Shingo explained that the Battle Royal had been a selection exam for the Lancers.

When Yūya asked Reiji why they'd been fighting as opposed to the Youth and Pro teams, Shingo explained that the Youth team were wiped out, save one, which was why he'd been sent to help. When Serena revealed herself to be from Academia, Shingo believed her to be a spy, and questioned her until Tsukikage stepped in to fend him off. Reiji then reassured them that Serena was no spy. During Yūya's Duel with Reiji, Shingo filled Dennis in on Reiji's Dueling and he expressed sympathy for Yūya's loss of Yuzu and surprise upon Yūya's loss to Reiji.

Departure
After Reiji's victory and being informed that they would cross dimensions, Shingo entered the arena with the Lancers, cheerfully waving to the crowd. Hearing comments about his father's influence, as the crowd believed Shingo to have reentered the tournament despite his first round loss, Shingo snatched Nico Smiley's microphone and silenced the crowd by explaining that Reiji had allowed him to take place in a revival match to become a Lancer, which followed by Himika's announcement of the existence of other dimensions and the dimensional war. The next day, he arrived at LDS to prepare to depart with the other Lancers, dubbing them the "Shingo" generation due to having let his use of Pendulum Summoning go to his head, a term that Gongenzaka pointed out the faults in. He and Shun objected upon hearing that Reira will also joining them, expressing his skeptism of Reira's capabilities until Reiji assured that Reira is as strong as all of them. Reiji revealed that they would be going to recruit allies in the Synchro Dimension and revealed that he had upgraded their Duel Disks to generate an Action Field and travel between dimensions. Shingo joined the Lancers in traveling across the dimensional boundary.

Duel Against Security
Shingo arrived in the Synchro Dimension with Yūya, Serena, and Reira, and the group were immediately accosted by Security, claiming that they were wanted for trespassing in Tops-exclusive areas. Unaware as to what the Security members were referring to and incensed by the rudeness, Shingo rashly challenged them to a Duel, ignoring Yūya's protests. He was swiftly taken out with a One-Turn-Kill and apprehended, and when Yūya Dueled another Security he expressed frustration at not being able to help. He later bragged about Action Cards and Pendulum Summoning, inadvertently alerting the Securities to the function of Action Cards. Although Serena defeated her opponent, Yūya was put in a tough spot and more Security officers arrived. Shingo managed to get free and face-off against them, but fortunately they were saved by a Synchro user and his gang.

Pre-Friendship Cup
After being given shelter by Crow, Shingo thanked him for saving him and his comrades, a gesture that incidentally interrupted Yūya. He then lied about being an undefeated Duelist (possibly out of grief for his earlier loss) from another dimension, which caused Crow great confusion before Yūya clarified things. Shingo later listened with the other Lancers about the Tops, Commons, and Riding Duels. He was surprised to learn that any common arrested by Duel Chasers were immediately sent to prison camps without trials. After Crow returned without information, Shingo decided to leave with Serena since they needed to regroup with Reiji and the others, despite Yūya's protest. Shingo took notice of the posters of Jack Atlas around the City, they later learned that he was the strongest Duelist in the City after Serena defeated a boy in a Duel. Shingo noted that Serena seemed to be focusing on Dueling more than finding Yuzu, and Serena replied that she was also looking for strong Duelists. They decided to return to Crow's place and found Crow and Yūya Dueling. Unbeknownst to them, they had led Security to Crow's place and they were quickly arrested.

The Facility
While being sent to prison, he constantly yelled at the officers that he was the son of a mayor in a failed attempt to be set free. He tried to this again to get better food rations from the prisons cook instead of paying with a rare card but failed. He considered to give out rare cards once he found out that the guards can be bribed by rare cards, but Yūya and Gongenzaka strongly objected to easily treat their cards like money. He later witnessed Yūya's duel with Chojiro where he expressed great shock and concern upon witnessing him shut down Yūya's Pendulum Summon with ease.

Great Entertainment Duel Tournament
After Yūya's victory over Chojiro, he and Yūya ate a delicious lunch with Chojiro when Chojiro used his influence to get better food. At the Great entertainment duel tournament in the prison, Shingo explained the roles of action duels to Chojiro and the inmates before beginning the chant. However, Yūya was sad at the moment and didn't aid Shingo in the chant at first. Shingo took the first turn and retrieved an Action Card acrobatically to compensate for not being able to draw on the first turn. At this point he Pendulum Summons his ace "Big Star" and amasses the crowd while explaining the summon. After Yūya and Chojiro's turn, he drew 2 cards via a continuous cards effect. He watched happily as Yūya regain his fun persona but this turned to shock and fear when Yūya played "Hippo Carnival" to block Shingo from getting an Action Card and sent him flying. Shingo jumped at the action card from where he was sent flying but was too late to grab it and crashed into the kitchen where Crow and the others were in the process of escaping.

Prison Break
After the prison riot broke out, he saved Crow from being attacked by a large security guard and gave him a thumbs up for respect to which a grateful Crow returned. He was about to be attacked by the same guard, but was saved by Chojiro. When Chojiro's lackies passed out rare cards as a distraction, Shingo took the chance to get a Deck full of rare cards to an embarrassed Yūya's comedic surprise before helping Yūya and Chojiro preform a finishing firework show and escaping through the vents. They ended up at the rooftop where they were quickly confronted by the Arrest Corps. Shingo confidently challenged them alone, only to be quickly overpowered and had no choice but to escape by jumping from the roof, something that scared Shingo so Chojiro must grabbed and jumped with him, landing safely on Yūya's "Entermate Trampolynx". Unfortunately, they ended up at a dead end and once again cornered until Gongenzaka and Shun arrived and defeated the Arrest Corps. They regrouped with Crow and his friends and proceeded to their escape plan, but this turned out to be a trap set by the Security led by Roger who had captured one of Crow's friends. Before they can be taken back to the Facility, the Executive Council ordered Roger to bring them to their place where Shingo and Yūya revealed that they were from Standard Dimension and they came to Synchro Dimension to help them fighting against the Academia. However, Roger accused them as being the invaders themselves, much to Shingo and Yūya's protest. Fortunately, Reiji, along with Tsukikage and Reira arrived to clear up the situation and have them prove their alliance by entering the Friendship Cup. Shingo and the others were then taken to their room, except for Yūya who was chosen to become Jack's opponent. As he was taken away, Shingo told Yūya to show the people of the Synchro Dimension of their strength.

Friendship Cup
Shingo watched the Duels on the first day of the tournament, furious that he wasn't being picked, but somewhat pacified by the exquisite dinner that he received. He was angry that he still wasn't Dueling on the second day when Yūya Dueled Duel Chaser 227, but was concerned when Yūya was close to losing. The next day was Shingo's turn to duel Yūgo. He entered the stadium and took the first turn by frantically driving his D-Wheel causing Yūgo to remark he wasn't a bad Riding Duelist. After Pendulum Summoning on his first turn, Yūgo brought out "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon" and destroyed "Big Star". However, Shingo quickly used a cunning combo with Abyss continuous magic and monsters to not only lower Yūgo's life points massively but also "Clear Wing"'s Atk to 0. When Shingo was about to land a game winning attack, Yūya and Yūgo's mind linked perfectly and caused Yūgo to take on Yūya's abilities and grab and Action Card to reduce the damage to 550 to survive. Shingo, and a spectating Yuzu, where further shocked when Yūgo said Yūya's catchphrase and proceeded to Synchro Summon again to increase all the levels of each monster so Clear wing could destroy them and gain their ATK. After getting this boost Yūgo attacked Shingo and won. Shingo was frustrated at first but grew happy when he saw how excited their duel made the audience and went to thank Yūgo for the duel and to respond to the crowd. He then noticed how Yūgo looked like Yūya to the latters agreement. Before they could talk further, Shingo was then grabbed by Security and taken to the Underground by force much to Yūya's sadness and Yūgo's suprise.

Underground Labor Facility
Shingo was taken to the Underground Labor Facility despite his constant objections, where the staff that escorted him explained the rules of the place. Upon arriving, he found Gongenzaka and Chojiro were arguing with Gallager and other prisoners regarding their treatments at the facility. After learning that one had to win consecutive Duels in order to leave, Shingo immediately accepted the rule and challenged the group to a Duel.

Shingo was, along with the Lancers, put to labor when they met up with Crow who told them about the Obelisk Force arriving. They decided to escape to aide Yūya when Tsukikage arrived to give them back their Duel Disks. After Shinji led a prison Break, Shingo followed Shun to the elevator to escape when they were cut off by security. Shingo and Shun defeated them but were then surrounded by Arrest Corpss but we're inadvertenly saved by Damon activating a converter belt, sending the Arrest corps away.

Deck
Shingo's Deck change over the course of the anime. He has used four different Decks, with it finally being confirmed that his "Abyss Actor" Deck will be his last.

Darts Shooter
Shingo initially plays a "Dart" Deck. All the cards in this Deck (besides the "Magicians" he stole from Yūya) are Parallel Rare.

WATER Monarch
Shingo later plays a WATER Monarch Deck, which focuses on destroying Magic/Trap Cards and Summoning "Möbius the Frigid Ice Monarch". Like his "Darts" Deck, the cards in this Deck are Parallel Rare.

Yosenju
Shingo uses a "Yosenju" Deck during the Maiami Championship. Shingo focuses a lot of his strategies on swarming the field with his "Yosenju" monsters to accumulate counters on his "Yokai Shrine of Trials" which he uses to gather the necessary cards for his strategies. He also uses a lockdown comprised of "Mayosenju Daibakaze", "Yosen Whirlwind" and "Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village", returning his opponent's cards to their Deck, putting them in a pinch. This Deck, unlike his previous two, is not comprised of Parallel Rare cards. After his Duel with Yūya, Reiji had his Pendulum cards retrieved for mass production, which is why he ceases to use this deck.

Abyss Actor
Shingo uses an "Abyss Actor" Deck during the invasion of the Fusion Dimension Warriors. It is supported by "Abyss Script" archetype of Magic Cards. Like his previous "Yosenju" Deck, it is not composed of Parallel Rare cards. According to Katsumi Ono, this is the last time that Shingo's Deck will change and he will continue to use this Deck. This decks main strategy is to mass Pendulum Summon and replenish the hand through effects and spells while building a strong formation.

"Trash Cards"
Shingo had a number of cards he offered to Yūya Sakaki as "compensation" for taking his "Stargazer Magician" and "Timegazer Magician". He described them as "trash cards" that fit Yūya perfectly. Yūya chose to add "Block Spider" to his Deck as a result.

Rare Cards
During his escape from the Facility, Shingo managed to grab a Deck full of rare cards that were used as a distraction to escape. His only known card is "Dark Mirror Force" and it is implied he recieved some Synchro monsters as some facedown cards were seen in Shingo's extra deck while dueling Yūgo.

Duels
Despite his losing record, Shingo is a good Duelist in his own right due to his unique strategies that overwhelm powerful Duelists like Yūya and Yūgo.