Leo Akaba


 * "Reo Akaba", the Japanese romanization, and "Professor", the moniker, redirect here.

Leo Akaba ( Akaba Reo), also known as the Professor (プロフェッサー Purofessā), is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime, the husband of Himika Akaba and is the father of Reiji Akaba, though he abandoned the family before the adoption of Reira. He is responsible for Academia's attacks on the Xyz Dimension. According to his voice actor, Leo is a character with high importance and a great impact to the story. Due to his position and machinations, he is the main antagonist of the series.

Appearance
Leo Akaba appears as a middle-aged tan-skinned bald man with light blue eyes, who wears a purple colored militaristic outfit with several black buttons, a purple cape with a black ending, and a pair of grey boots. He also has a black belt with a red line which both end in a button on the front, and what appear to be red circular strings across his chest with a pair of black gloves on his hands. His perhaps most noticeable traits are the armored plate at the left side of his head with what appears to be a red circular lens, and pronounced blood vessels on the top of his head. The red lens can be used for scanning information. In his youth, Leo had a full head of dark gray hair, and wore a light blue flannel shirt with gray slack pants. When he performed experiments on Duel Monsters, he wore a lab coat.

Etymology
"零" ("rei") means "zero" or "nothing", while "王" ("ō") means "king". The normal reading of Reo's name would be "Reiō"; however, it is read as "Reo" instead, so Reo's name is pronounced exactly like "Leo" in Japanese.

Personality
At this point, very little of Leo's personality is revealed. He seems to be heartless enough to abandon his home and family, seen when he forcefully sent Reiji back to Maiami City, and willing enough to commit genocide on the Xyz Dimension and attacking innocent people at Standard Dimension. He is pragmatic not punishing his subordinates for their failures in contrast to Jean-Michel Roget.

He appears to have charisma and be a good leader, as apparently everybody at Academia obeys him and most of them finds it extremely difficult to betray him. Unlike many people in Academia, Leo doesn't enjoy harming others and take pleasure in others suffering. He was shown to be visibly annoyed when Doctor used Parasite Monsters to brainwash the bracelet girls and reacted in shock when Yūri ruthlessly sealed Asuka Tenjōin into a card. Leo showed that he is a very serious man, and feels guilt after the damage he inadvertently caused by supposedly giving birth to Zarc  and his daughter's sacrifice that sundered the Original Dimension  to stop him.

Nonetheless despite his remorse, his fixation with reviving his daughter Ray and destroying Zarc causes him to believe his attacks on the other dimensions are justified regardless of the suffering and maltreatment he engendered onto innocents. This belief ironically made him repeating the same mistake, as it was what led to Zarc's rebirth.

Past
Leo was a resident of the Original Dimension and a professor developing new possibilities with Real Solid Vision. He then decided to use Duel Monsters with it and found out the compatibility between them were perfect. After studying the monsters, Leo was able to give them mass and was praised all over the world for leading Dueling into a new era. However, a Duelist named Zarc started Dueling in a violent manner and declared his desire to destroy the entire world, surprising Leo. He watched as Zarc attacked everyone with his four dragons and escaped the stadium with his daughter. He heard her saying that the monsters are angry at them and remembered the thought that once crossed him: Duel Monster cards have souls. This made Leo realised that the dragons were angry for being continuously used to fight as a mere tools to entertain people. He watched Zarc fused with his four dragons to become Supreme King Dragon Zarc and was shocked that they became one.undefined After his daughter sacrificed herself to stop Zarc, resulting the dimension to be split into four, Leo ended up in Standard Dimension with amnesia. As he got accustomed living in Maiami City with tiny bits of his memories slowly returning, one day, Leo met with Yūshō Sakaki and showed him the Real Solid Vision technology that he once again developed, which gave "Thunder Kids" mass. He told Yūshō about how they can't fantasize about Dueling with it. The two joined forces and developed the Real Solid Vision.undefined Leo's discovery of the technology earned him fame and then he found and built Leo Corporation and married Himika Akaba. As he regained his memories of the Original Dimension, he started to immerse himself with his research to find Ray so much that he neglected both Himika and their son, Reiji Akaba. One day, he suddenly left for the Fusion Dimension without telling anyone in his family, thereby abandoning the company. In Fusion Dimension, he found Serena whom he thought was Ray but found she didn't have Ray's memories. Coming into conclusion that Ray has been split in four dimensions, Leo took control of Academia and used it as a frontline base to enact his plan to unite the Four Dimensions and revive Ray.undefined Eventually, Reiji stumbled into Academia through a teleportation device, but Leo caught up to him. Serena, who was attempting to escape with Reiji's aid, complained to Leo about being stuck at Academia while her comrades were preparing to attack the Xyz Dimension, but he refused to add her to the vanguard squad. Reiji also protested that Leo had abandoned Leo Corporation, to which Leo asked him if he had crossed dimensions just to find him, confusing Reiji even further. The Obelisk Force troops apprehended Serena, and Leo told her that he would definitely find her and bring her back to Academia, regardless of where she ran. He then used a wristwatch-like device to send Reiji back to Standard, but not before telling him about the Fusion Dimension and about him using Academia to help him bring the worlds together.

Pre-Maiami Championship
Leo was first mentioned by Shun Kurosaki when Reiji first confronts him. For yet to be revealed reasons, both Shun and Reiji consider Leo their enemy, with Reiji insisting he is preparing Duelists to confront and defeat Leo.

Round 1
When Reiji and Shun were watching the Duel between Yūto, Sora Shiun'in, and Yūya Sakaki, Yūto revealed that Academia invaded the Xyz Dimension. Reiji stated that this was due to Leo Akaba's ambition. After Sora was transported back to Academia within the Fusion Dimension, Leo was watching over a machine absorbing cards into itself. At the time, he was informed by one of his aides that the forced return program activated once Sora revealed his mission to their enemies within the Standard Dimension. However, Leo clarified that the Standard Dimension was not their enemy and that investigating Sora's memories would explain the situation. After doing so, he informed Yūri about Yuzu Hīragi's existence, claiming that she might be the fourth piece that he was looking for. Because of this, he ordered Yūri to bring Yuzu to Academia.

Round 2
When Sora asked Leo directly to let him return to Standard, Leo granted his request, under the conditions that Obelisk Force would accompany him and that he would retrieve Serena and bring her back to Academia as his main objective.

Friendship Cup Finals
After hearing Dennis' report that Yuzu and Serena were in the Synchro Dimension's City, Leo gave Barrett a new mission to go to the Synchro Dimension with the Obelisk Force and capture Yuzu and Serena. He also informed him that Yūri would also come to the Synchro Dimension.

Xyz Dimension Arc
After Mamoru sent a report about Pendulum Summoning being used in the Xyz Dimension, Leo sent Gloria and Grace Tyler to Heartland to help defeat the Lancers. As a precaution he also sent the Obelisk Force as backup in case the Tyler sisters lost.

Lancers' Infiltration
He received Serena's report that she captured Yuzu, he mused that it was time for Yūshō Sakaki to learn the truth, while he watched Yūshō arrive at Academia with the Doctor. As Doctor monitored how his "Parasite Fusioner" made Rin follow his orders, Leo recognized his results but warned him that Rin and her counterparts are important to the ARC Area Project and not to be harmed. He then looked over to the other monitor to see Yūshō and Asuka.undefined When Sanders contacted him about the Lancers landing on the island's north side, Leo told him to carry out the mission according to the plan and take Yūya Sakaki down.undefined Leo watched Shun and Kaito argue over Ruri's sanity while listening to Doctor wondering if the siblings bond could beat the Professor's will, and merely watched as Doctor ran to do more improvements after Shun defeated Ruri.undefined He watched the Duel between Asuka and Yūri, but was horrified at Yūri's wish to seal everyone in all dimensions into cards to prove he's the strongest, evening standing up when Yūri sealed Asuka into a card.undefined He then watched Yūya Dueled Ruri and noticed something when Yūya told Ruri he was Yūto. He then stood up in surprise when Yūya turned into Yūto and wondered if the second personality in Yūya was something else.undefined He was informed by Doctor that captured Yūya and had his students bring in Reiji, Reira, and Yūshō, telling the latter he's been waiting for him.undefined

The Origin of Four Dimensions
He saw Reira, wondering who he was and told Yūshō he wasn't a genius since the Solid Vision was just reproduced from existing technology. He revealed to them that it was developed in the United World and asked them why the only difference between the Four Dimensions were the Summoning methods. He then revealed how the United World had all of them and the Solid Vision was already put to practical use there. At that time, he wanted to give new possibilities and create a Solid Vision that was more vivid, lively, and flexible. He then used Duel Monsters with it and found out there were perfectly compatible but unintentionally opened Pandora's Box. His research brought forth powerful monsters with mass and he was praised as the person for leading Dueling into a new era. But the technology led the world to ruin due to the people's frenzy and the appearance of Zarc. He also revealed how Zarc evolved Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz with their finest dragons and stood at the top of the Dueling world. Then, when the people celebrated that day, Zarc declared he'll destroy the world and summoned his four dragons to attack everyone. He then remembered how Duel Monsters had souls, which appeared in the worst possible way by giving them real bodies, thereby materializing their anger. Since their bodies made from Solid Vision, normal weapons had no affect on them and the dragons had begun to take revenge. He told them how the four dragons swallowed Zarc's and became the Ultimate Monster: Supreme King Dragon Zarc. The only thing that could fight Zarc, who had godlike power was a Duelist just as strong. Leo felt responsible for creating that demon and couldn't afford to give up, even if it meant sacrificing himself to save his world. When Reiji called it made-up story to calm Reira, Leo angrily told him it truly happened, since it took place in front of his eyes and that world would enter its final moments because of Supreme Dragon King Zarc.undefined When Yūshō questioned him about Zarc, Leo told him how the four dragons were responsible for combining into that monster and when it split, the world did as well for each summoning method. He was then contacted by a Academia member who told him that Yūya escaped from the Doctor's lab, surprising him. He then told the Doctor to bring the girls as fast as he can and saw Yūya enter his inner chambers. As Yūshō tried to convince him not to involve the children and tell him the full story, Leo told Yūya he's finally gotten this far and told Yūshō that Yūya isn't his son. When Yūya told him to give Yuzu back, Leo told him, he's trying to bring back the truth. Yuzu and her counterparts then appeared behind him in tubes and was told by the Doctor that is ready. When the Doctor wanted to deal with Yūya, Leo thought he couldn't win and listened to him express confidence in his work. When the Doctor told him that they should be sharing a similar curiosity in confronting challenging research as fellow researchers, Leo turned him into a card due the Doctor's dangerous thinking and his own past curiosity that caused the Supreme Dragon King's birth. When Yūya tried to run to Yuzu, Leo blocked his path and told everyone how he created four cards that could defeat Supreme Dragon King Zarc but were stolen by his daughter Ray, who used them herself to prevent Leo from sacrificing himself. When she defeated Zarc, he was sent to a strange town where only standard Duels happened and recreated the Solid Vision while meeting Yūshō around that time. He revealed that the devil also divided into four due to Ray's sacrifice and became aware of it due to his memories coming back. He then obsessed with the possibility that Ray must be somewhere in the Four Dimensions. When Reiji revealed why he was looking his father, Leo stated how he came to the Fusion Dimension and told him he didn't go to Academia for a war of aggression. He believed in Ray's survival and found it in Academia, which was Serena due to her spitting image and bracelet. However, she didn't have Ray's memories and remembered that Ray's shadow spilt into four when the Supreme Dragon King divided. He then thought that what if Ray was also divided in each of the Four Dimensions. He then revealed that the girls are reincarnations of Ray and plans to revive her, using the ARC Area Project for that purpose. He then revealed ARC-V to everyone, which will bring back the fifth dimension and Ray completing Revival Zero. He asked Reiji to lend his power to defeat Yūya because he is the reincarnation of Zarc and Ray sacrificed and spilt herself to defeat him. He then revealed how Yūya merged with Yūto and increased in power, saying they have to bury that destructive power to prevent the devil's revival. When Reiji refused to help him and follow his beliefs with Yūya, Leo told him that belief will bring about a ruined world and challenged them to a Duel.undefined

Duel against Yūya and Reiji
Leo revealed that he already started the process to fuse the girls back into Ray and the Four Dimensions back into one. When Yūya brought out "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon", Leo remembered it as "Odd-Eyes Dragon" which angered him. He watched Reiji Pendulum-Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summon, saying he took up arms while he was gone. His Extra Deck was sealed away when Reiji used "Contract with the Monopoly Seal" to prevent him from using the three summoning methods Reiji used. Leo told Reiji that Yūya is an avatar of Zarc and shouldn't deny it any longer by joining him but Reiji still refused. When Reiji told him that if he don't fuse the dimensions with ARC-V, Zarc won't revive and the Four Dimensions will be at peace. However, Leo still believed that Zarc would revive even if he didn't create ARC-V, especially since Yūya already absorbed Yūto. Leo then surprised everyone when he set the Pendulum Scale with two "Spirit Reactor's" and used the effect of one to copy Yūya's "Timegazer Magician" Pendulum Scale in order to Pendulum Summon "Spirit Tech Force - Pendulum Governor" and "Spirit Crystal - Salamander Core". He then used the effect of "Pendulum Governor" by Releasing "Salamander Core" to destroy "Odd-Eyes" and "DDD Flame King Temujin", unsealing Fusion Summon, and inflict damage to Yūya and Reiji. Leo used the second of "Pendulum Governor" to prevent Reiji from attacking with "DDD Gust King Alexander" and "DDD Wave King Caesar". He told them that they couldn't do anything nor his plan will be disturbed. Leo criticized Reiji's leadership with the Lancers and that their one plan don't the consider the possibly of the enemy exceeding their expectations. When the girls capsules started to glow, Leo revealed it was only a matter of time until ARC-V starts up and that Ray's revival is at hand. Leo tried to convince Reiji one more time but noticed Yūya's awakening and revealed its Zarc dwelling inside him. He told Reiji to make the decisive decision and join him to prevent the devil's revival. Leo took 2400 Effect damage from the effect of "Entermate Gatlinghoul" and was about to lose when Yūya used the second effect of "Gatlinghoul" to destroy "Pendulum Governor" and inflict damage to "Pendulum Governor's" ATK.undefined Leo used the Pendulum Effect of "Spirit Reactor" to negate the attack by using Reiji's monsters. Leo contacted a Academia member for ARC-V's energy reading and told him to increase the input speed before Zarc revives. When Reiji brought out "DDD Death Great King Hell Armageddon", Leo thought it was futile because he won't take much damage until Reiji used "Illegal Contract with the War God" to lower "Pendulum Governor" and increase "Hell Armageddon's" ATK. However, Leo used "Dis-swing Fusion" to stop Reiji's attack, take control of "Hell Armageddon", and Fusion Summon "Master Spirit Tech Force - Pendulum Ruler". He laughed and told Reiji he hasn't changed, making him easy to read and a second rate Duelist. He then declare he'll destroy "Gatlinghoul" and Yūya but Yūya used "Twin Big Shield" to protect "Gatlinghoul". Leo told Yūya he will defeat him before Zarc could absorb his Synchro and Fusion alter egos and revive completely. He Pendulum Summoned "Spirit Crystal - Salamander Core" and "Spirit Crystal - Sylphid Core" but had to return "Salamander Core" back to his hand due the effect of being Special Summoned from the Extra Deck. He told Serena that the effect of "Salamander Core" can only activate when Pendulum Summoned from his hand. He then used the effect of "Pendulum Ruler" to use the effect of "Sylphid Core" twice by Releasing it. He destroyed "Twin Big Shield" and "Illegal Contract with the War God" to deal double damage to Yūya and Reiji. He was then informed that ARC-V will reach 30% and was happy he was closing in on daughter's revival. He told them to keep adding energy since it should able to accept faster and activate ARC-V as soon as possible. Leo destroyed "Gatlinghoul" and used "Hell Armageddon", giving Reiji's monster the honor to kill Zarc's atler ego, to attack directly but Yūya used "Evasion" to dodge it. When Yūya threatened to bury him, Leo told Yūya it was useless due to "Pendulum Ruler" and "Hell Armageddon". When Yūya brought back Odd-Eyes" and Summoned "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", Leo see it as Zarc's and declared that Yūya no longer exists. He was surprised when Yūya brought out "Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon" and all cards except "Pendulum Ruler" and "Hell Armageddon" were destroyed by the effect of "Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon". When Yūya destroyed "Hell Armageddon", Leo didn't damage due to the effect of "Dis-swing Fusion" causing Reiji take damage instead. Leo learned that ARC-V will enter the designated range and told them to hurry and revive Ray. He was then attacked and sent flying into his chair but before he could be defeated, Yūshō used "Binding Swords of Impact" on Yūya, which terminated the Duel, surprising him. He learned Yūshō that the card he gave was a failure due to a bug where it doesn't disappear when the Solid Vision goes offline. He also learned that Yūshō brought the card to remind Leo the basics and thought of using it to bind him but never on his own son.undefined

Activating ARC-V
He then learned that ARC-V was at fifty percent and left his throne room to watch over ARC-V. As the throne room sealed itself off, Leo said that they can no longer turn back.undefined He wondered how long Yūya's binding will last, wanting to revive Ray first. He stated that by putting the girls into ARC-V first, the world would be one and Ray could revive along with a certain card. He then told the staff to hurry up and increase the life energy. He was then told that ARC-V's energy was at sixty percent and Yuzu being transferred into it.undefined After watching Yūri asborb Yūgo and getting close to Yūya, Leo ordered his staff to hurry up and transfer Ruri into ARC-V, so Ray could come back as soon as possible.undefined He then had Rin transferred into ARC-V and wanted Yūshō to endure his Duel with Yūri so Ray could revive soon.undefined As he watched Yūya and Yūri's Duel, Leo was worried about Zarc reviving if it ends and hurried up Serena's transfer into ARC-V. He was then informed about her transfer and had his throne move away from ARC-V as it activated.undefined After being informed about ARC-V's startup and the Fusion Dimension's interference, Leo stated that ARC-V will expand and capture the Four Dimensions to mix into it and revive as a original united dimension and Ray. He then activated the Isolation Dome to prevent Zarc's integration into ARC-V until those four cards and Ray return. He wondered why Ray hasn't revived yet and asked for a life reaction inside the core. When it couldn't confirmed, he wanted her to hurry and come back.undefined

Revival of Supreme King Dragon
As his throne gets close to ARC-V, Leo checked to see why Ray wasn't reviving no matter how many times he checked and wondered if the life energy was insufficient.undefinedAfterwards, it is mentioned by Ray that Leo intend to defeat Zarc by separating the dimension again using the four cards Ray used in the past.undefined

Duel Against Zarc
Leo took the four En cards and joined the Duel against Zarc, receiving an intrusion penalty. Leo asked Zarc if he still remember him, which Zarc answered that he did. Leo vowed to defeat Zarc on Ray's behalf and sacrifice himself to take responsibility for his actions. He used "Spirit Collapse" to send "Pendulum Ruler" to the Graveyard stating that since there are three Fusion monsters in the graveyard, the conditions to activate En Cards have been met. He was surprised when Reiji joined the Duel, who told Leo he wasn't the only person who caused Zarc to become evil. Leo prepared to use the four cards, but Zarc activated "Supreme King Brutality" to send the cards to the Graveyard and inflict 600 damage for each sent card, defeating Leo. He was then sent flying into the building and caught by Reiji.undefined

Zarc vs. Ray & Reira
Leo got frustrated as his plan to seal Zarc was gone and believed there was nothing to stop Zarc now, but Reiji told him they still have hope as everyone that Dueled Zarc believe Yūya's soul is inside of him. When Zarc revealed that he was the true founder of Pendulum and vowed to win their next battle, Leo realized that the opponent Zarc meant was Ray. When Zarc began attacking with his Supreme King Servant Dragons, Leo was confident Reiji wouldn't take damage since his monsters were no defense positions. However, he was worried when Zarc added piercing effect to "Odd-Eyes" and inflict damage on Reiji. When Zarc attacked again to finish Reiji, both of them were saved by Tsukikage from "Supreme King Dragon Zarc's" attack that could've crushed them. Leo was once again was shocked when Ray returned and joined the Duel by possessing Reira's body, and he continued to watch the Duel with Reiji and Tsukikage from afar. He was relieved when Ray and Reira used the En Cards to destroy "Zarc" and his "Supreme King Servant Dragons" that significantly weakened Zarc. When Reira and Ray finally defeated Zarc with Yūya's help, Leo thought that the world was about to split into four again, but Ray and Reira prevented the same thing from happening again by sealing Zarc inside Reira's body.undefined

Redemption
Following the battle with Zarc, Leo returned to his efforts of reviving Ray. He became aware of Yūya's revival in the Standard Dimension, now the "Pendulum Dimension", and managed to collect what appeared to be Ray's spirit, though he was unsure that it was Ray and theorized that as Zarc's fragments had revived as Yūya, Ray's fragments would eventually revive as Yuzu Hīragi. Shun Kurosaki, Ruri's older brother, Yūya, Sora and Asuka entered his chambers, and Shun demanded to know where Ruri was. Leo claimed that Ruri was gone, just as Yūto was. Shun grabbed Leo's shoulder and tried to punch him, and as Asuka tried to stop Shun, Leo replied that Shun could hit him all he wanted. He expressed remorse for being so caught up in reviving Ray that he had dismissed the lives of the four girls that she had split into. Shun lowered his fist, and he left to Duel Yūya.undefined Leo continued on working to revive Ray while everyone watched Yūya and Jack Atlas' Riding Duel.

Trivia

 * Most of Akaba family have some attributes based from Playing card suits. Leo's collar and ornament on his head are spade-shaped.