Saturday, October 1, 2011

Character: Fajr Ali

"Now, picture it! Me, famous and popular with girls all around the world!"
"Let me show you once more, the wild power of beasts. Here it comes! I ride the Guardian of Truth, Lox!"

Fajr Ali/ファジル・アリ
Age: 121
Anime Biography: Team SIT Genius' number 3, Fajr thinks little of other cardfighters, particularly those who he considers "too old" to become skilled. Having spent all his life in Singapore's merciless environment where ability is everything, Ali has zero patience for those who don't take Vanguard as seriously as he does. Despite his young age, Fajr is a womanizer with many female fans.

Note that while "Pajeel" has been used in both fan and official subtitles, and is the translation endorsed by Bushiroad through Crunchyroll, it appears to be a mistranslation of "Fajr". "Pajeel" is not itself a real name or word anywhere in the world, unlike the rest of the cast. Fajr's name is Arabic; Ali is his given name

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
Introduced with his teammates at the Singapore Institute of Technology, Fajr skipped many grades to join the university and participate in the Circuit. He taunts the other cardfighters openly, believing that those who study so late are doomed to failure when pitted against him. Later on Fajr appears in MC Miya's coverage of SIT Genius, as part of the favored team to win Singapore's VF Circuit.


In the Q4 vs SIT Genius round of Singapore's Circuit, Ali is paired up against Kamui, where he threatens to steal his opponent's goddess.
Spoilers end here.

Fan Culture: Fajr has developed some notoriety for apparently having a number of in-universe female fans far older than him, and for desiring their attention in turn.


Decks and Play Style
Ali uses a Locks-based Great Nature deck, evolving from one ride into the next while gaining back cards lost through skills. In this way he's able to retain a great deal of cards in hand while weighing heavily into his opponent's damage zone. Additionally, because each card in the Locks chain gains power from having its immediate predecessor in the soul, Fajr can demand a higher amount of cards out of his opponent's hand by forcing them to call more boosting units than usual, while minimizing the amount of cards he needs to guard with.

Rides 74-Current: Defender of the Constitution (22/50 cards)
Grade 0
x2 Schoolyard Prodigy, Lox (FVG)
x2 Ruler Chameleon CT
x1 Dictionary Goat HT
x3 Triangle Cobra CT
x1 Alarm Chicken ST
Grade 1
x3 Bringer of Knowledge, Lox
x2 Tank Mouse
x2 Monoculus Tiger
x2 Pencil Squire, Hammsuke
x2 Cable Sheep
Grade 2
x2 Compass Lion
x1 Binoculus Tiger
x2 Law Official, Lox
x1 Pencil Knight, Hammsuke
Grade 3
x2 Magnet Crocodile
x2 Guardian of Truth, Lox

Citations and External Links
1. Cardfight!! Vanguard Asia Circuit Hen Ride 70. YouTube, 2012. Web. 3 June 2012.