Tasuku Ryuenji

"I don't get it! With each fight it's the same result! Why can't I defeat the Purgatory Knight? Gao could do it, so why can't I? Is he better than me?"

- Tasuku Ryuenji

"Tasuku Ryuenji" (龍炎寺タスク Ryūenji Tasuku) is one of the primary characters featured in Future Card Buddyfight. He is a 7th grader. He is also a member of the Buddy Police. After his sense of justice as corrupted by Kyoya Gaen, he joined Disaster under the alias "Purgatory Knight" temporarily.

During season one he used a Dragon World deck, and his Buddy monster was Jackknife Dragon. His core gadget is called "Star Pulser" .As the Purgatory Knight, he used Darkness Dragon World with Purgatory Knights Leader, Demios Sword Dragon as his buddy and his Dark Core gadget was his armor. During season two he uses Star Dragon World with Star Guardian, Jackknife as his Buddy.

He is voiced by Souma Saito in the Japanese dub, and by Cole Hanson in the English dub.

Name
His first name is written in katakana, the writing system often used for foreign words, and most likely has no specific meaning. His surname's Kanji can translate to "Dragon(龍) Fire(炎) Temple(寺)".

Appearance
Tasuku has white/blue colored hair. The right side of his hair appears tame, but it spikes out towards the left side. He also has pinkish reddish eyes. Tasuku wears an orange vest with a pocket and the Buddy Police symbol. Above his vest are pauldrons that rest on both shoulders. On the back of his vest is a small pocket that presumably holds Core Deck Cases. Underneath his vest is a teal jumpsuit extending from his wrists to his lower knees and a black shirt. He wears orange fingerless gloves that end on a black strip that reveals his hands, and also wears elbow pads.

In his school uniform, he wears a blue coat with dark blue and red accents on it. Also a blue tie with red lines, a white button up shirt, blue pants and brown shoes.

It is unknown what people thought about his looks, but effectively he still has the ladies falling for him, as shown when Paruko described "his clear eyes that draws you in and his perfect dazzling smile".

Personality
Tasuku maintains a rather cool personality and is loved by the public for his kindness. Despite only being thirteen, in the anime he is shown to be more mature than most characters as he wishes to grow up faster, earning a high position in the Buddy Police Force. It was mentioned several times that he doesn't usually hang out with kids, and he prefers to see himself as an adult.

There are times when he is shown to be an airhead and is humorous in his own way when he thought "Kitten Shirt" was Noboru's name and the fact that he didn't realize he couldn't go to the abandoned shaft alone without a buddy skill, later stated by Gao. In the male expects, he is stated to be scary yet having a cute face, teased by Elf.

The bond between Tasuku and Jack is deep to the point of protecting and treating each other like family. Both are willing to sacrifice oneself for the other. Although there are a few grudges shown (Rouga Aragami/Wolf for example), he is also very forgiving and give others chances to redeem themselves.

He doesn't back down when it comes to protecting others and is willing to go so far as to take risks and defy direct orders, even if it means sacrificing on his part. This however, was exploited by Kyoya Gaen to break his sense of justice, and after having been fired from the Buddy Police after having been put constant restrictions from adults, "he fell into the Darkness" and joined Disaster.

After having joined Disaster under the alias "Purgatory Knight", he became cold and hostile, sharing Kyoya's view of adults being the cause of the problems in the world and that kids are powerless against their power. He also showed some level of self-hatred over being unable to help his family during The Disaster.

Tasuku is very stubborn and can take things too far when it comes to justice, likely a result of his trauma over "The Disaster". According to Jack, Tasuku is unable to accept the fact that he made a mistake. After his time as the Purgatory Knight, Tasuku was left disheartened, shocked, and ashamed of what he had done, going as far as feeling unworthy of being Jack's Buddy. With Jack's encouragement however, he was able to snap out of it and return to his normal self.

In Season 2, Tasuku continued to feel guilty about his wrong doings as the Purgatory Knight. He also tries desperately to be more like Gao, just as Gao wants to be more like Tasuku. With Jack's encouragment, however, Tasuku overcomes both of these feelings.

Season 1
Tasuku has been revealed by Commander I to have a tragic past as he was present in an event known as "The Disaster" where he met Jackknife Dragon before the Buddy Police rescued him, he joined the Buddy Police sometime after this. During his time in the mountains after the disaster, he feels parents and society in general have sheltered kids like him and therefore he wants to prove he can take care of himself and make his own decisions, however Commander I says he might be trying to grow up too fast.

In episode 1, Tasuku first appeared driving a Buddy Police car. Using his Buddy Skill, he flew to the top of the Sky Tower along with Jack to bust a fugitive, ending the match with his signature card, Gargantua Punisher. After Gao draws a Buddy Rare, Tasuku is sent to give him a Core Deck Case. In the end, he accepted an unexpected challenge from Gao.

In episode 2, Tasuku stated that he was happy because the fights he had gone through were mostly based on work and criminals and he didn't have much time to enjoy a normal one. He is revealed to be only a year older than Gao and his friends, a seventh grader in middle school. During the fight, he held back on the first turn, giving Gao an advantage to damage half of his life. He later displays great strategies and nearly won, but Gao finished him with a lucky draw, thus losing the match. Despite the loss, he is shown to be very cheerful and positive about it and declares Gao as his rival while giving him Gargantua Punisher, which further surprises everyone.

In episode 3, he briefly appeared in the beginning with Gao giving his Dragobrave to him, while Gao accepted Gargantua Punisher.

In episode 5, Tasuku leaves school early and arrives at the scene in the Photon Metal Mine, narrowly protecting Takihara from an attack from Wolf. He asks Gao evacuate the scene immediately. Gao replies that Wolf is using a mysterious power which goes against a buddy skill. Tasuku dodges an attack from Wolf, allowing him to see the affects of the cards. He requests Commander I to use Future Force. Then, with Future Force, Tasuku is granted the same ability as Wolf and proceeds to defest him. He activates the Buddy Police Kekkai, sealing all of them in.

Rouga tried to break Tasuku's core deck case and is shocked when his attack is broken easily. They buddyfight and Tasuku is about to defeat him with Gargantua Punisher that Gao lent to him when the satellite that conjures the barrier is broken. Wolf escapes within a dark lightning.

Reinforcement is called in. Soon the area is flooded with Buddy Police Officers. Tasuku is bidding the teacher a safe trip back. He is surprised when the teacher asks to give his regards to Commander I. Before he can think about it, Gao demands to know what ability he used. Tasuku denies and says it's better that he doesn't know, that buddyfighting should be fun and returns Gargantua Punisher. He slowly backs away and leaves when Drum awakes, leaving them to their business.

In episode 6, Tasuku is there to watch Gao's match against Rouga. He expresses his disapproval at Gao's method of fighting. Later, he overhears Gao talking to Neginomiya in the classroom. Content on hearing Gao's decision, Tasuku leaves, determine to not fail.

In episode 33, Tasuku is watching the rematch between Gao and Shosetsu from the sidelines. The audience and he himself is later surprised when Gao summons Legendary Brave Tasuku to the left zone, freaking out that there are two Tasukus. With Gao winning the match and Rouga acknowledging that Gao is a worthy rival, Tasuku takes measures into his own hands and demands Rouga to turn in, stating that he doesn't deserve to be Gao's rival. As Rouga refused to be capture, Tasuku decided to use Future Force, but the request is denied by the detectives back at Buddy Police headquarters. Rouga attacks him with a spell card. Jack grabs Tasuku and fly away before the attack could hit. Takihara later receives news that Tasuku is relieved from his duties.

In episode 34, Takihara is saying goodbye to Gao and his friends, while Tasuku remains silent during the whole exchange, prompting Gao to ask what's wrong. In order to hide Tasuku's situation and save him from answering, Takihara made an excuse saying Tasuku might be too tired and led him into the vehicle. At the end of the episode, Tasuku stands alone at the top of the Buddy Police headquarters watching the sunset, unaware that he is another candidate to wield the Disaster Force and Kyoya is keeping a close eye on him.

In episode 41, he was present in the Castle Store BuddyFest by the Jackknife statue signing autographs. During his encounter with Gao in the BuddyFest, he learns that Gao was also targeted by Disaster and watched the battle between Daviade and Gao. He was shocked that Gao was able to use Future Force to defend himself from Daviade's Disaster Force. In episode 42, Tasuku is seen in his school grounds learning about the Grim Reaper through the rumours when Zanya pays him a visit. Tasuku is unable to answer Zanya's question of why the Buddy Police refuse to take care or accept help from Zanya's father. Tasuku states that he couldn't do anything and proceeds to leave. Enraged by this, Zanya questions the title of Tasuku holding the title of "Shounen BuddyPolice" and declares that he would fight the Grim Reaper himself. Tasuku retorts back he shouldn't be doing it, proclaiming to leave it to the Buddy Police. Zanya accuse that the Buddy Police isn't doing anything, does that count as bringing justice. Tasuku is speechless and Zanya flies off. Tasuku appears at the playground where it was presume to be the last Grim Reaper attack. He reflects upon Zanya's words but is still unsure of his decision when two kids ran past him having fun, prompting him to continue. Along the way, Tasuku spots Gao and is about to call him. He is stopped when he finds out that Gao and his friends are also looking for the Grim Reaper. He keeps quiet and leaves. Tasuku follows the sound of Buddyfighting. He meets up with Gao and co just in time to see Zanya's defeat. Akatsuki runs up to Tasuku, begging him to help return Tsukikage. Tasuku is shattered from this and looks away, not able to answer him.

In episode 43, Zanya is wallowing in sadness from losing his buddy, Tsukikage. Tasuku wants to help but is rejected by Akatsuki, furious at Tasuku for not helping. Tasuku blames himself and said he should have been the one fighting the Grim Reaper as being part of the Buddy Police.

Tasuku goes to the Buddy Police headquarters. He is surprised and asks why Stella is dressed in a middle school uniform. Stella denies and said it was part of her orders. Instead of Commander I, he finds Seiichi Nobari taking over the duty. Nonetheless, he reports the Grim Reaper has been stealing buddies and decks. Sueroku Shido plainly corrects him saying that people are making a fuss of borrowing while imitating an overdramatic attitude, which made Stella rolled her eyes at his immaturity. Tasuku continues to tell them about the Dark Core Deck Case which they ignored. He asked for his core deck case and is immediately shot down.

Tasuku leaves the office and is about to leave in dejection when he overhears Takihara. Tasuku walks up to him and Takihara greets him, quickly shutting the phone. Tasuku says that he should take action since they discovered Disaster's hideout. But Takihara retorts saying they have no proof. Tasuku realizes that the adults won't believe the children's word (him). Takihara says that the world of adults have certain laws that needs to be obeyed. Tasuku leaves in a fit, not knowing that Commander I and Takihara are only doing this to protect him.

On the way back, Tasuku meets Fujimiya Kazane and learns that Shido Magoroku possesses a Dark Core Deck Case and is using Darkness Dragon World. Tasuku now knows that the Buddy Police headquarters has been invaded. Tasuku thanks her and said to leave it to him. He looks at the headquarters, swearing to find the truth even if it means doing it alone. He says goodbye to the Buddy Police. Tasuku infiltrates Aibo and began his searches in Magoroku's office when he is interrupted by one of Disaster's members. Elf is about to attack Tasuku using Disaster Force when Neginoyama intrude purposely, effectively making Elf retreat. Neginoyama, now revealed to be Captain Answer, lends his Core Deck Case to Tasuku and tells him to go to an abandoned shaft near year Photon Metal Mines. Tasuku vows to bring it back in one piece.

Tasuku excuses himself as he visits Gao, meeting an overenthusiastic Hanako fawning over him. He is shocked that Gao was expecting him. Tasuku humbly replies that he was another buddyfighter who he fought before. Gao disagrees, saying that their battles aren't cheap, but special, then expresses his fear that this was going to be Tasuku's last fight. Tasuku tells him that he is going to investigate the Dark Core Deck Cases and uncover the mystery of Darkness Dragon World, and due to some circumstances, the Buddy Police won't be helping and this mission is a life-risking procedure. Gao cuts him off and demands why Tasuku didn't say they should go together, saying that even though he isn't as experience as him, he wouldn't allow Tasuku to go somewhere dangerous alone. Tasuku thanks him and requests permission from Gao's father. Gao's father accepts and they fly off with Gao's buddy skill.

Along the way to their destination, Tasuku explains to Gao about the situation at hand. Gao and Drum couldn't believe that Jack got sealed up by the Buddy Police. Gao later states how Tasuku is planning to go to Fuji without his buddy skill. Tasuku also realizes that and together they laugh.

They arrived at their destination and were immediately attacked by the security robots. Tasuku pushes Gao away and tackles Drum to dodge the lasers. He activates Future Force through Captain Answer's Core Gadget and busts into Disaster's lair. Tasuku expertly uses Hero World to block off Shido's attacks and combine Ultimate Cardburn. It is later revealed by Rouga that Tasuku was the one who brought cards from the Hero World to reality. In the heat of battle, Sofia interrupts and requests a talk. Tasuku complies and reverts back. Gao runs off to confront Kiri, leaving Tasuku alone with the other members.

Tasuku questions the reason of handing out Dark Core Deck Cases. Kyoya stops playing the organ and returns Tasuku his Core Deck Case. He said that "even after 'The Disaster', the adults have not changed one bit. The only ones who can save the worlds is us, children. So that's why we are chosen, you and I." He continues: "The only ones who can save this world is you and I only. You have the requirements to be my friend, that is, if you prove it by winning a buddyfight. Questions are after that." Tasuku agrees to fight both Davide and Shido.

In the stadium, Tasuku confirms that it is his deck but he doesn't recognize a certain card, wondering whether it is a challenge from Kyoya. Tasuku later reunites with Jack who promises that will win. He Buddycalls Jack to the right zone, earning an extra life point.

In episode 44, Tasuku won the fight against Davide and Shido with the card Kyoya slipped into his deck, by turning Jack into an item card, a rare card that turns him into a mere weapon with a high defense and the critical of 5 known as Jackknife "Gold Ritter". After that, he is challenged by Kyoya with his buddy, Azi Dahaka. He is shown to have lost in the end and was knocked out cold on the floor.

In episode 45, he is taken away by Disaster. He was mentioned at the end when Elf tells Gao and his friends that he might know what happened to Tasuku during the Gaen Cup.

From episode 46 onward, he appears in his Purgatory Armor and is teamed up with Rouga and Sofia in the Gaen Cup.

In episode 53, He fought Noboru in the first round of the semi-finals with his buddy, Purgatory Knights Leader, Demios Sword Dragon and fights for Darkness Dragon World. During the match Zanya became to realize that the purgatory knight is Tasuku as he heard his say "Let's go to work" as he is well known that Buddy Police Officers always say that before engaging into action and Gao recognizes his Purgatory Sword, Fatal that resembles alot like Dragonblade, Dragobrave which he gave to Tasuku for Gargantua Punisher. Zanya rush to the stage to prove that he's right, with Gao, Drum, and Akatsuki following him to restrain him from stopping the match. Zanya begins to question him why he wears that armor to hide his face. As he continuously shouts at Purgatory Knight enraged, Noboru also knows too and throws his core Gadget at the helmet. Therefore, as a shock to everyone in the audience, even Paruko and Rouga in silence, the Purgatory Knight is revealed to be Tasuku as Zanya had feared. Tasuku shows no reaction to his identity being discovered, just kept a cold expression.

He tells them that his Buddy Police days are over and explains how corrupted it and the adults who are in charge have become, Before he could say anything else, the transmission was blocked by Examiner Shido. Noboru talks to about what Commander I told him that he needs time to grow up and kid things and that he needs his help. Tasuku became angry with Noboru of treating him like a child and explains that he "became an adult" to change that. and proceeds to win the fight with Distortion Punisher!!.

In episode 54, Gao confronted him of joining Disaster until he said wasn't manipulated, he joined willingly which shocked Gao. He explained after he lost to Kyoya and his buddy, Azi Dahaka, Kyoya asked him that the Future Force and the Disaster Force are the same power and what is the difference between them. Kyoya even knew Tasuku that he's wants to grow up in order to help and protect people and what he's trying to achieve is just a pipe dream. He explains to him that adults only care about themselves, criminal fighters use buddy monsters to commit crimes and The Buddy Police who swore to the law and protection that now become corrupted under the influence of Sueroku Shido and Nobari. what shocks Tasuku that Kyoya said that he's been a puppet for the Buddy Police the entire time and cut his strings for using the Future Force.

During the final fight against Gao, he coldly states that he is no longer the Tasuku Gao had known in their first fight and reminds him that Gargantua Punisher!! was his originally card. He brutally fights Gao, attacking him 6 times in one turn, and when his life drops to 1 he taunts Gao that he can use Roaring Slash!! Gargantua Punisher!! to win the game. Gao hesitates, but decides to activate it, allowing Tasuku to use Distortion Punisher!!'s "Counter Final!!", declaring that no one will stand on his way.

Gao is able to survive the Distortion Punisher!! with his Dragon Return System, and Tasuku survives the Gargantua Punisher!! with Crush that Body, and Sustain Mine. Suddenly, a Darkness Dragon World Monster appears, which Tasuku didn't expect to happen that soon. Tasuku tries to attack it, but finds out that his Disaster Force is rigged to prevent him from damaging Darkness Dragon World monsters. The Buddy Police arrives accusing Kyoya of being responsible for that happening, but Tasuku reveals that they were planning to use Disaster Force to combat those monsters, and reassures his distrust of the Buddy Police. Unknown to him, Kyoya is lying to him, and Disaster is actually helping the Darkness Dragon World invade Earth.

Tasuku and Gao resume the fight, when Gao brings Jack Tasuku loses his composure and tries desperately to destroy him with Demios, only to misplay and allow Jack to defeat Demios, leaving Tasuku completely defenseless. Jack figures out that Tasuku has second thoughts about trusting Kyoya, and when Sofia tries to rig the fight and hurt Jack, Tasuku defends him. Suddenly, Tasuku's Dark Core is destroyed and his normal Core Gadget returns to him, allowing the fight to continue and let Jack deal the finishing hit to defeat Tasuku. The exhaustion from having his Dark Core causes Tasuku to fall unconscious, leaving Jack to take care of him.

Tasuku was taken to the hospital where he was left in a broken mind state of guilt and shame. Jack visited him to help him forgive himself for his mistakes and admit that he did a mistake in the first place, even going into SD form despite hating to do so to cheer him up. With their friendship repaired, he and Jack go visit Gao to encourage him for his fight against Kyoya, and then are requested by Kiri to help fight the Darkness Dragon World invasion.

The next day he and Kiri go to Kabala's lab to destroy the portal but are forced to fight Davide and Magoroku, who were guarding the entrance. Using their Future Force, him and Kiri take down their enemies, but then realize that they were just stalling and the portal opens, and Kiri is shot down by Sofia. With Rouga's help, he got to the control room where the portal was opening. After Kyoya was defeated, Tasuku couldn't disable it. Sofia hit the self destruct button and escaped. With the buddy police and Ultimate Card Burn's help, they managed to stop the machine from creating a black hole. Many days later, Tasuku said to Gao he was going to do some training in Dragon World, and Gao gave back Tasuku his Roaring Slash! Gargantua Punisher!!, which transformed back into the original. Tasuku gave Gao a blank card, saying he will use it to create his own impact. With that, Tasuku went and did some training.

Season 2: Hundred
At the beginning of Season 2, Tasuku is still away training so Gao took his place at the Buddy Police until he returns.

In episode 9, He and Jack were training with Armor Deity, Dynamize posing as Tasuku's former persona, Purgatory Knight. After having failed to defeat Purgatory Knight countless times, Tasuku admitted to Gao that he still felt guilty for his mistakes in the past and was reluctant to use "Gold Ritter".

With Jack's encouragement, he was able to defeat Purgatory Knight with "Gold Ritter". As a reward, Dynamize gives him a new power, Star Dragon World. With it, he is able to defeat a Hundred Demons and rescue Tenbu, but was left too exhausted and unable to return to the Buddy Police yet.

In episode 13, Tasuku and Jack return to earth to challenge Ikazuchi to a Buddyfight with Star Dragon World, which everyone was surprised, even Paruko.

Commander I places Tasuku as official leader of the Buddy Police Youth.

In Episode 19, He had a conversation with Count Dawn about Gao's change since his first loss. He states that Gao felt he wanted to be saved by a hero. if that was true, Tasuku thinks that Gao is unable to use Dragon World decks anymore.

In episode 21 tasuku battles against suzaku Kenron after the match Kenron takes jack so he can use him to travel back to star dragon world. Star pulsar stays with jack and leaves too

Abilities
Future Force: Tasuku has the ability to use Future Force, a power that makes the cards real. It is revealed that the Buddy Police does not directly control it and Tasuku is able to use Future Force with other decks and core deck cases, as revealed in Episode 43 when he barges into Disaster's lair.

Buddy Skill: Tasuku's Buddy skill is 2 glowing discs that manifest on his feet and allow him to fly. The discs leave a green fog like trail as Tasuku flies.

Reflexes: Tasuku has shown amazing reflexes through his experiences as being a Buddy Police. For example, in Episode 5 when he dodges Rouga's attack, and Episode 43 when he pushes Gao away and tackles Drum to save them from the lasers.

Creation: Tasuku is able of creating his own Impact cards. This is visibly seen as 2 unknown cat-like eyes creating the cards. He also owns blank cards which he can give to others so they can create their own impacts as well.

Disaster Force: During his time as the Purgatory Knight he obtained Disaster Force through his Dark Core. However, his Disaster Force was rigged to prevent him from damaging Darkness Dragon World invaders.

Trivia

 * According to June 2015's issue of Animage, his birthday is on May 5th.
 * In the first previews Tasuku appeared to be advertised as the main protagonist of the anime.
 * It is not detailed in any other character's point of view, but whenever Tasuku creates a new card, he is engulfed by darkness and a pair of cat-like eyes will appear in the background. Gao experiences this once when he accepts Gargantua Punisher from Tasuku. It may be a special ability or a hint to what is going to happen..
 * Tasuku's Blood Type is AB, as revealed by a Japanese Magazine.
 * In Legendary Brave, Tasuku's flavor, it says, "The me in this world seems to try a little too hard." 
 * Tasuku's use of the Purgatory Knights and joining Disaster after having used Dragon World and fought for what he believed was justice mirrors the lore of the Purgatory Knights.
 * Tasuku somewhat mirrors Aichi Sendou from the Cardfight Vanguard! anime. Both are blue haired males who use the protagonist deck on their series' respective first season, but midway through their season they switch a darker counterpart of their decks and temporarily become antagonists with nasty personalities. They are both eventually returned to their senses by their rivals by using their previous signature cards against them.