[ORIGINAL] CARDFIGHT!! Vanguard

Kids from all over town converge to play Vanguard, a card game that seems to be the biggest thing going around. Aichi Sendou, a shy and timid boy with a rare card, the Blaster Blade, who just started playing this new card game. How will a soft-spoken middle schooler stand up to a professional like Toshiki Kai?

After Aichi plays Blaster Blade, he and Kai recall their first meeting. Back then, after seeing a young Aichi beaten up, the young Kai cheered him up by giving him Blaster Blade, telling Aichi to imagine himself as a strong warrior like the card. With that in mind, Aichi got absorbed into Vanguard, creating his own deck in the hopes of playing against Kai, who had moved away.

Concerned for her brother, Aichi's Little sister, Emi, secretly follows Aichi and friends to the Card Capital. There, Emi is astounded by all the people in the shop, including Aichi, Morikawa, and Izaki, playing Vanguard. It is then that the card shop's manager, Shin Nitta, appears and introduces Emi to the world of trading card games.

After taking a look at Aichi's deck, Shin decides to show him "something nice". Shin has Aichi battle Misaki Tokura, who, despite working at the card shop, has never actually participated in a Vanguard fight before. Nonetheless, after Shin gives Misaki a special deck, she and Aichi begin their cardfight.

Aichi goes to the card shop to buy a booster pack in the hopes of getting a Grade 3 card. When he arrives, he sees a grade-school kid, Kamui Katsuragi, convincingly defeating Izaki in a cardfight. Aichi challenges Kamui, but he refuses, noticing that Aichi is not a strong player.

In the commercial center they lost they're way, but Aichi found the card shop called PSY. There, they try out the shop's special Vanguard Fight Stage. It oddly reacts to Aichi, which leads to a woman, Kourin Tatsunagi, challenging him to a cardfight. When the two begin the battle, Aichi is surprised that the stage brings the cards to life.

Shin introduces the "Standing Fight Table" to enrich the experience of a Vanguard fight, with Morikawa and Kamui being the first to play on it. After Kamui once again beats Morikawa, Aichi and his friends return to their homes but then see Kai walking back to his home. Wanting to learn where Kai lives, Aichi, Kamui, and Miwa try to follow him.

The Card Capital Shop Tournament begins soon, but Aichi is hesitant to play in it, even after making a new deck. However, when he learns that Kai will be in the tournament, Aichi decides to enter as well.

The Card Capital Shop Tournament finally begins. In the first round, Aichi must play against Izaki while at the same time, Morikawa battles Misaki. Since this is his first time in a tournament, Aichi grows nervous. His tournament jitters get the better of him as he makes many amateur mistakes.

Kamui and Kai advance to the second round of the tournament, along with Ninja Master M, an eccentric player who dresses and acts like a ninja. He meets Aichi, who deduces that he is actually his teacher Mark Whiting, but he denies that claim .

Aichi makes a comeback by calling more units from his deck to boost the power of The King of Knights, Alfred, forcing Ninja Master M to use most of his cards to guard against his attacks. As a result, M is left with no cards to defend himself from Aichi's last attack.

It's the semifinals: Kai plays against Misaki, and Aichi once again battles Kamui. Both Aichi and Kamui want to win for their own reasons; Aichi wants to fight Kai again while Kamui hopes to gain Emi's affection upon winning the entire tournament.

The semi-finals come to a conclusion and the final match in the shop tournament is underway! Aichi challenges Kamui, trying to get revenge for his previous loss. Since their last fight, the gap in their skills has closed considerably. Aichi puts everything he's got out there in order to reach that fight with Kai he's aiming for.