Jean-Michel Roget

Jean-Michel Roget (ジャン・ミシェル・ロジェ Jan Misheru Roje) or Roger, is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. He is the main antagonist in Synchro Dimension Arc. He is a resident of the Fusion Dimension who crossed over to the Synchro Dimension, infiltrating the dimension by rising to the position of Director of Security, enforcing the City's law. However, instead of helping Academia as an infiltrator for the invasion, he betrayed them and intended to control the Synchro Dimension and turn it into his kingdom instead, but his plan was thwarted by the Lancers persuading the Tops and Commons to unite.

Appearance
Roget is a pale-skinned man with a long nose, green eyes, and ash-blonde hair that is neatly combed and arranged on top of his head, but flares out into short wings at the back of his skull. Roget dresses in simple, yet expensive clothes, wearing a closed knee-length purple coat that is held shut by silver clasps over an orange collared shirt. His coat has an orange lining and patterns that cause him to appear as if he is wearing a second shorter coat over his long coat. Roget also wears grey dress pants and black dress shoes.

Personality
Roget is a seemingly cold, serious and calculating individual. He is cunning and methodical, being able to calmly take decisions in order to ensure criminals are apprehended.

Roget seems to have a love for Chess as he always has a chessboard with him, and is able to represent a duel's progress through a chessboard by moving the pieces accordingly to the situation in the duel as if he was playing it, even going as far as speaking in monologues of how he is "ahead" of "his" opponent. Because of his use of chess it can be infered that he is a skilled strategist, which is proven in the duel between Duel Chaser 227 and Yūgo, as Roget was ready to call a "Checkmate" during the duel but quickly realized Yūgo's plan and ordered Duel Chaser 227 to cancel his attack, an order that fell on deaf ears and caused his defeat.

During this time it is seen that he is cold and strict with his subordinates as after the Duel he concluded he was done with Duel Chaser 227, going as far as throwing a chess piece that represented him into the trash can.

His cunningness was further emphasised by his machinations to overturn City's structure of power by somehow implanting mind control chips in all of Security's staff to enable the King's Gambit.

He strongly dislikes being on the lower end of the ladder of authority, having turned against Leo Akaba after realizing defecting from his cause would benefit his own person more, and the Executive Council due them blocking his way to absolute power.

To get his own desires, he is not above manipulation to get what he wants, whether it be verbally or general cheating, abusing his position as the Director of Security for his own needs. Once he is cornered, Roget reveals his cowardice nature, refusing to admit defeat and will do anything that will ensure his own safety by sacrificing his own subordinates and using dirty tricks to win in Duel.

Past
Roget used to be a member of Academia working under Leo Akaba. However, his thirst for power and ambition led him to leave Academia and go to the Synchro Dimension where he became the director of Security through introducing Real Solid Vision system. He then began to gather strong Duelists to form his own army to gain control over Synchro Dimension and defeat Academia.undefined

Pre-Friendship Cup
Roget was first seen in Security's control room when Duel Chaser 227 was sent after Yūgo.undefined He watched their Duel and played along with it on his chess board. Roget was ready to call a "Checkmate", but realized 227 was walking into Yūgo's trap. Roget ordered 227 to cancel his attack, but it came too late, leading to Yūgo's crushing victory, much to Roget's internal anger. After 227's defeat, Roget threw the chess piece that represented 227 into the trash can.undefined

Roget supervised the attempted arrest of Yūya Sakaki, Serena, Reira Akaba and Shingo Sawatari. He witnessed how the Lancers activated the "Cross Over" Action Field Magic, which caused errors in Security's software. After turning on security cameras, he witnessed Yūya's attempt at entertaining his officers with "Hippo" cards. He then subsequently bore witness to Serena's Fusion Summon and Yūya's Pendulum Summon, which were new to him as well. When the quartet got away with help from Crow Hogan and his "Raikiri the Sudden Shower" and the other Riding Duelists, he stood up calmly and contemplated the oddities he had just seen and concluded that Yūya and Serena were not the same fugitives from the previous night.undefined

During Dennis Macfield and Noboru Gongenzaka's Duel, he observed them and witnessed Dennis performing the Pendulum Summon displayed by Yūya earlier as well as an Xyz Summon, studying the mechanics and correcting Melissa Claire's claim that Dennis' Pendulum Summon was the first ever recorded. He concluded Dennis and Gongenzaka are part of Yūya's group, placing more black pieces on his chess board.undefined Detecting a Pendulum Summon in the Underground Dueling Arena, he ordered Security to be sent there immediately, deducing that his targets might be hiding out there.undefined After the Lancers and Crow Hogan were arrested, Roget had Serena separated from the other Lancers and sent to "special confinement" because he was interested in her Fusion Summoning tactics.undefined Roget asked one of his subordinates on how Serena was doing, and he reported that Serena initially resisted, but eventually calmed down. The Security director decided to pay Serena a visit.undefined He was contacted by one of his staff, telling him that Yūgo and Yuzu, who were wanted, had applied for the Friendship Cup and he was shown their application forms. He told her to accept their applications, and muttered to himself that arresting them at the Friendship Cup would serve as an example to the Commons. He later left in a limo to go see Serena.undefined Later after the Lancers, Crow, Shinji Weber, Damon and Chojiro Tokumatsu broke out of the Facility, Roget and the other Security members recaptured Tony, who was assisting in the break out. He arrested them and was about to take Serena away, promising to take good care of her. However two representatives of the Executive Council appeared, telling him that they wanted to see the captured people and that the Security Bureau must comply. He argued that they were troublemakers and that they disturbed the peace in Commons. Holograms of the rest of the Executive Council appeared. The representatives told Roget that they would be the ones to judge that. They ordered him to bring the escaped inmates to them, and he had no choice but comply. At the Executive Council, Roget argued that the Lancers and their allies were disrupting the peace and had the testimonies of the escaped prisoners to prove it. Shingo responded that they broke out by chance. When Shingo asked why he and the others were arrested, Roget countered that they were resisting Security. Yūya argued that the Security started it in the first place when they arrived in the Synchro Dimension. Roget repeated his argument and stated that the Lancers came from another dimension, which confused the Council and Chojiro. He continued that he arrested the group because he wanted to investigate their foreign Summoning techniques - Pendulum, Fusion, and Xyz. Yūya said that he and the Lancers didn't come here to cause trouble. After this, Reiji appeared with Reira and Tsukikage. He supported Yūya's claims by stating that they came to the Synchro Dimension to protect it against Academia and join forces in the dimensional war. During Shingo's explanation of the Lancers being Duel soldiers, Roget laughed at the idea of the dimensional war.

The Council responded that they learned of the Lancers and the Dimensional War from Reiji. Roget asked if they believed that "nonsense". The Council replied that they did not know, since there were people from other dimensions present. Azul used Jean's argument of investigating the Lancers against him. Roget countered that their aim was to invade the Synchro Dimension, which Yūya, Shingo, and Gongenzaka quickly refuted and pointed out that Academia were the true invaders. Roget said that it was up to the Security, not the Lancers, to protect this world, but the Council replied that it was their job. The Council proposed they examine each of the Lancers and their allies to prove they were not enemies. Reiji suggested that they would do so by participating in the Friendship Cup to prove their skills as Duel soldiers. After the chairman's explanation of the Friendship Cup, Yūya reminded his friends that they needed to find Yuzu, which made Roget realize that she was one of Yūya's allies. When Yūya asked if Yuzu was arrested, Roget denied it, adding that she was an important Duelist who also entered to Friendship Cup and confirming that she was safe. He agreed to Reiji's decision and proposed that Yūya Duel Jack Atlas for his exhibition match, since he was the most adept at Pendulum Summoning. He added that Jack would be the one to verify Yūya's strength, which Reiji and the Council agreed to.undefined He observed the Duel from his office, with a mysterious figure standing behind him.undefined

Friendship Cup
When Yūgo and Yuzu exposed themselves he had Security attempt to arrest them, but was prevented from doing so by the Executive Council, causing him to lose his temper at being opposed.undefined When Shinji antagonized the crowd against the Tops in his Duel, Roget remained calm, as Security could have handled any riots.undefined Later, he explained to Sergey that he would have him Duel Serena later, in addition to crushing the hopes of the common people in the Friendship Cup by defeating Jack Atlas. He sent a "Goyo Emperor" Fusion Monster to Duel Chaser 227, a participant in the tournament, offering to reinstate him if he defeated Yūya Sakaki in his Duel the following day.undefined Despite 227 losing again, Roget was satisfied that the match had served his purposes.undefined

Security Rebellion
Following Dennis' defeat, he ordered for the Security to get ahold of Dennis, but Sora saved Dennis before either the Security or the Council take Dennis into their custody. Roget then resorted to use the "King's Gambit" plan to make all the Security members search and capture Dennis. At the same time, he ordered the Security members to hold captive Reiji, Reira, and the Executive Council, revealing that he was rebelling against the Academia and came to Synchro Dimension to make the dimension his own personal kingdom, declaring he won't listen to anyone's order even if it's Leo Akaba. Having found out Reiji's identity as Leo's son, he offered Reiji to work together with him since they were sharing the same enemy, but Reiji refused because he found the idea ridiculous; Reiji believed that allying with someone who only sought to control the City would provide him with no benefits. Roget lamented the rejection and asked Reiji on how long he could continue bragging before disappearing. In his room, an infuriated Roget lashed out at his chessboard, stating that with the Council sealed, they would be no problem to him, even if they had Dennis in custody. Knowing that if Leo were to capture Yuzu and Serena his plan would be all for nothing, Jean ordered Sergey to defeat and take Yuzu to him in the second round.undefined

Yuzu vs. Sergey
He later watched the duel between Yuzu and Sergey and was outraged when Sergey lost control and crashed Yuzu's D-Wheel instead of capturing her and had Security apprehend him.undefined

Yūya vs. Shinji
He later watched the duel between Yūya and Shinji and when Yūya was pushed into a corner, Roget thought it was all over. However, Yūya Synchro Summoned "Enlightenment Paladin" to defeat Shinji much to Roget surprise. He left his office, satisfied.undefined

Discussion with Yūya
Roget met Yūya as he returned to the Duel Palace. He expressed his great admiration in Yūya's Duel with Shinji, especially when Yūya showed his Pendulum-Synchro Summon. Roget said that Yūya is the only person he could rely on. This has made Shinji suspect that the Duel was fixed from the start. Roget countered by saying that if the Duel was fixed from the start, then Shinji's loss may be a part of it. Before Shinji could argue, Roget put him in his place and sent him in the Underground Labor Facility. Yūya remembered seeing Sora so he attempted to escape with his D-Wheel, but a Security officer blocked him. After hearing Yūya's claim of having found Yuzu, Roget told the officer to let Yūya go. Yūya left and Roget secretly sent an officer to follow him. Sora noticed this, so he grabbed Yūya without being noticed and the two hid. As the two discussed the events that happened, Roget eavesdropped on the conversation via a tracking device set by an officer. Now knowing that Dennis has been sent to Academia, he feared that Yūri may come in the Synchro Dimension soon. Hesitantly, he sent an order to secure both Yūya and Sora.undefined Once Yūya was captured, Roget had him brought to his office to watch Shun and Crow's duel. Roget attempted to manipulate Yūya into working for him by agreeing with his ideology of duels filled with smiles and happiness.undefined Unfortunatley for Roget, Yūya refused this offer and attempted to stop him from ordering Yuzu's capture and decided to lock Yūya up.undefined He later decided to implant Yūya with the same Mind Control Chip that Sergey was implanted with in preparations for his semifinal duel with Crow Hogan.undefined

Yūgo vs. Serena
During Yūgo's Duel with Serena, Roget arranged for the duel lanes to shift so that Yūgo would be unable to fully concentrate. He did this for Serena, who he hoped would win, as she would be someone The City would rally behind during the invasion. He succeeded on this part, as Yūgo was unable to grab an Action Card, since he had to maneuver his D-Wheel to avoid falling both times.undefined Roget's plan was going accordingly as desired until Serena decided not to grab an Action Card and let Yūgo turned the Duel around and win. Roget was irritated as he needed Serena to win the Duel so he could have greater control of the masses.undefined

Reira vs. Security
Roget sent Security to recover Serena, however, Reira was able to defeat all three officers. Reiji regained control of the Council's building after defeating all of the officers, which infuriated Roget even further. With Yuzu and Serena no longer in his hands and Reiji causing interference with his plans, Roget instead chose to eliminate Reiji and the Council with Sergey and Security by speeding up the Friendship Cup first semi-finals match on the same night as a distraction.undefined

Yūya vs. Crow
Roget later decided to implant a chip inside Yūya's duel helmet prior to his duel with Crow. While Yūya was dueling, Roget activated the chip which sent high levels of electricity into Yūya's brain in an effort to force him fight aggressively. In the end, this worked as the massive amount of pain caused Yūya to sync with his counterparts and force all of them to enter The Awakening.undefined Roget was so pleased with the Duel that he even tried to have the course changed to give Yūya an Action Card. However, this was stopped due to the Summoning of "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" and the destruction of the circuits. He became frustrated when he learned that the Obelisk Force had invaded the City as well. He sent Sergey to parry the invasion and told Security to remain and protect the building under the belief that Yuzu and Serena were inside.undefined

Capturing Yuzu
Once Sergey took care of the Obelisk Force soldiers at the Security building, Roget sent him to capture Yuzu and Serena. Roget became infuriated when Sergey let Serena be captured by Barrett, but he still was able to take Yuzu.undefined

Sergey vs. Jack
The next day Roget calmly watched as the Commons rioted City and took advantage of Yūgo's absence to change the semi-final match of the Friendship Cup into a match between Sergey and Jack. Before the Duel, he contacted Jack and apologized for making him Duel on such short notice. Jack reassured Roget that he didn't mind and would always accepts a challenge. Roget invited Yuzu to his office to watch the final part of his plan, have Sergey defeat Jack in order to destroy all hope for both Tops and Commons, then make himself their new symbol of hope thus becoming the ruler of the City. Roget watched in delight as Sergey merged with his D-Wheel, described him to Yuzu as the perfect Duel machine.undefined When Sergey Summoned "Earthbound Servant Geo Gremlin" and "Earthbound Servant Geo Gremlina" Jack had to choose to either destroy his "Red Daemon's Dragon Scarlight" to survive another turn or let Sergey gain life and take his attacks. Roget explained that Jack's only choice was to destroy "Scarlight" but that would still cause his defeat, and declared "checkmate" on the king. However, to his surprise, Jack chose to keep "Scarlight" alive, and survived Sergey's turn. The intensity of the Duel caused his mind control to malfunction; Roget desperately ordered Sergey over and over to take an Action Card and win with the effect of his Field, "Earthbound Plain", only for him to ignore them. Ultimately, Jack won the Duel and Sergey fell to his apparent demise leaving Roget to watch in disbelief and scream in frustration as his plan completely backfired.undefined

Commons Rebellion
Although Sergey survived his fall, Roget soon lost his link to Sergey and instead ordered Security to enforce martial law on City. When he appeared on holographic screens to announce the change in law to the people of the City, Yuzu pushed him aside, knocking Roget's chessboard over, and she urged the Tops and the Commons to stop fighting and recognize Academia as the real enemy. Roget shoved Yuzu away and closed the connection. The Lancers continued to unravel his plan; Yūya Sakaki was able to return to the Duel Palace and challenge Jack to a Duel. Roget furiously claimed that he wouldn't let Yūya Duel, but he was interrupted by a message from the now-freed White Taki, who cheerfully told Roget that he was not the highest authority in the City anymore. Roget was enraged by Taki's interference.undefined Roget tried to stop the Duel by sending five Duel Chasers,undefined but Jack easily defeated them all and Yūya able to survive by using an Action Card, allowing the Duel to continue. To make things worse, Sora and Tsukikage infiltrated the building and destroyed the brainwashing system that was controlling the Security members, leaving Roget without any pawn to be used anymore.undefined

Duel Against Reiji
In desperation, Roget confronted Sora and Tsukikage who has freed Yuzu from her cell and easily defeated them both. He took Yuzu with him and destroyed the elevators so he will be the only able to escape. Seeing his action, Yuzu mocked him for being the loser and pointed out the fact that he was running away back to Academia, something that Roget insistently denied by saying it was only a momentary retreat. Reiji then appeared with Reira and Tsukikage, pointing out Roget's cowardice that he was planning to present Yuzu to Leo so he won't be branded a traitor and he then told Roget to free Yuzu and apologise to the people of City for his actions. Roget furiously refused, leading Reiji to a room that trapped them both. There, Roget decided to take Reiji back to Academia as well, thinking it would pleased the Professor. Refusing to go with him, Reiji challenged him to Duel, which Roger accepted. Roget started the first turn by Fusion summoned "Antique Gear Devil" that he then equipped with equip magic card "Antique Gear Magic Shield", inflicting 1000 damage point to Reiji.undefined Reiji, however, responded by Fusion Summoning "DDD Dragonbane King Beowulf" and Synchro Summoning "DDD Hexblood King Siegfried", then using the latter's effect to negate "Magic Shield" before attacking with "Beowulf" and "Siegfried" to defeat Roger. Almost immediately, Roget vanished, and subsequently reappeared while the Duel was in progress, which—although penalizing him for half of his LP—allowed him to start the Duel all over again. Undeterred, Reiji repeated the process, defeating Roget again—but again, he reappeared with 2000 LP. Reiji explained to Roget that, owing to the effects of the "DD Magical Savant Thomas" and DD Magical Savant Nikola" in his Pendulum Zones, as well as his "Forbidden Contract with the Devil King" and "Contract with the Demon World Pendulum", Roget was now caught in an infinite loop; no matter how many times he reentered the Duel, Reiji was guaranteed to win. His plan foiled, Roget was then revealed to be above them in another room, wearing a holographic interface and keeping Yuzu close by. He tried to turn the Lancers against Reiji by revealing his connection with the Professor and lied about his goal, but Yūya and the others decided to trust Reiji since the fact that Roget taking Yuzu hostage proved his own lie. Roget fled the scene into an elevator, Yuzu in tow, and a chase ensued that culminated in Jack's "Red Daemon's Dragon Scarlight" destroying the elevator. While Yuzu was rescued by Yūya, Roget apparently plummeted into the shaft, but climbed out only minutes later. Driven mad by his lost, he decided to destroy the whole Synchro Dimension with him by activating a machine that would send them to the gap between dimensions. However, the device malfunction and created a dimensional gateway. As the gateway appeared, Roget was the first to be swept away as he screamed.undefined

Trivia

 * He is one of the only two characters to be presumed dead in the series. The other one being Sergey.