Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 003 Hard Beat

Here I am at chapter 3! Judging by the previous installments of the series, I have a fifty-fifty shot of actually enjoying it. Takahashi managed to draw me into the story really well with that first chapter, but the second... let's just say I'm hoping it was just a case of the "terrible twos." Still not even close the worst thing I've ever read, though, so I suppose I should be grateful.

Well, now, who is this? This bespectacled boy on the right? Looks like Macaulay Culkin in "My Girl." Is he going to get stung to death by bees?

Yuugi starts off this chapter by telling us that when he waits for the bus in the mornings, he thinks about how great that day is going to be. I assume this is some sort of Affinity Manifestation, but I prefer working on the level of Creation Manifestation myself.

In all seriousness, though, this is a really positive message to send readers. I'm enjoying the insight into Yuugi's essentially positive outlook, and the underlying encouragement to the audience to embrace positive thinking in their own lives.

The bus is crowded when Yuugi boards, and he can't find a seat. He sees a fellow classmate, Hanasaki, whom he didn't even realize took the same route as him. Yuugi calls out to Hanasaki, and is hurt when Hanasaki looks around at him and immediately turns away again without a word of greeting. Why you gotta be so rude?

Yuugi rationalizes this by thinking about how they hadn't really talked before anyway, and Hanasaki is always really quiet and doesn't socialize much. He doesn't seem to note that Hanasaki actually looked a little scared for the moment we saw his face.

The bus makes a sudden stop and Yuugi is thrown into the... back...? Wait, that's not how physics works. He would have been thrown FORWARD, because he would have been keeping the momentum of the bus before it had to stop. This is why seat belts keep you from flying out the windshield when you slam on the brakes of a car.

Maybe he just bounced off of another person and... no, no, everyone is LEANING in the direction he fell! This doesn't make sense!!

Okay... Not going to obsess over this. Yuugi looks around and notices that the very back of the bus is empty except for a boombox, a pair of legs and a very awful noise.

Yuugi identifies the person those legs are attached to as Souzouji, and he backs up real quick, hoping the headphones and closed eyes meant he wasn't noticed. Unfortunately, Yuugi isn't that lucky, and Souzouji calls out to him, inviting him to sit down next to him. He tells Yuugi that he's having his monthly concert in three days, and wants Yuugi to come see him sing at the karaoke bar.

Souzouji has a reputation for being a terrible singer, and other people Yuugi has spoken with have literally been made sick by the guy's voice. Yuugi doesn't have a chance to turn down the invite, because Souzouji hands him some tickets to sell to girls. If he doesn't... Surprise, Souzouji is going to use his fists on Yuugi.

I'm beginning to think Kazuki Takahashi had some serious issues in school. Serious. Issues.

Yuugi is depressed by the time he gets to school, thinking that some other day will have to be a good one. He's greeted by a chipper Jonouchi, who picks up on the fact that Yuugi is not in a very good mood right away. When Yuugi denies anything is wrong, Jonouchi launches into a speech about how, though he has FINALLY realized there's no idol in the school, he'll shift his efforts to BECOMING an idol for Domino High. Yuugi isn't listening.

Cool your balls, Jonouchi.

Yuugi insists there's nothing wrong and Jonouchi decides that he's convinced by this second denial. He wanders off to sexually harass Anzu and catch her fist with his face while Yuugi thinks about how he can't tell his friends about what happened on the bus. If Jonouchi knew, he would get into a fight with Souzouji, and if Anzu knew, she would just have to listen to Souzouji's awful voice.

Although, given how specific Souzouji was about Yuugi inviting girls, I'm not certain she wouldn't have cause to punch him too.

Yuugi goes the whole day without even revealing he has the tickets, let alone selling them, when he comes across Hanasaki again in the hall. He calls out to him, preparing to make a pitch, but stops himself. Even though Hanasaki isn't his friend, he can't bring himself to indirectly cause his eardrums to burst. Yuugi covers for himself by saying goodbye, but Hanasaki has more to say than during their meeting on the bus.

Well, that explains Hanasaki's unwillingness to talk earlier. Yuugi learns that Hanasaki was given five tickets to sell, but no one has bought one yet. Turns out that he's not much of a salesman of a product he's not too excited about himself. Yuugi, feeling bad, offers to take Hanasaki's tickets and sell them himself. That way, he thinks, only one of them will have to deal with Souzouji's shitty concert.

I'm... actually moved by this. Yuugi is genuinely kind, and that's more than you can say for about 90% of the Shounen heroes I've read about. Good on you, kid. You're alright.

Guess who's not alright, though. Yeah, I guess Souzouji stalks the people who are supposed to be selling his tickets. I can't imagine why else he would be listening to that conversation. He just needs to deal with the fact that no one wants to listen to him sing, just like I just need to deal with the fact that no one wants to read my writing. *sob*

Yuugi doesn't sell a single ticket by the time the "concert" comes around, so he heads there all by himself with bells on. Literally. Souzouji isn't impressed.

Well dude, if you want people to party with you, maybe you shouldn't be so awful at partying. I'm pretty sure threatening to draw blood and demanding people listen to you sing shitty karaoke is what's keeping people away. Otherwise, you might have thrown a killer costume party, there, Elvis.

Souzouji demands Yuugi use headphones to listen to him sing, which he plugs in and turns all the way up to eleven. When he begins his favorite song, it looks like Yuugi is riding on a jackhammer.

Is that you, Adam Levine?

Souzouji decides to take a break from his karaoke nightmare and introduce his "special guest," who happens to be Hanasaki, bruised and glasses broken. Wait, did Souzouji jump Hanasaki TWO DAYS AGO and keep him there this whole time?? That is cruel and unusual punishment just for giving those tickets to Yuugi, dude. I feel seriously bad for this kid.

I feel even worse when Yuugi kneels next to Hanasaki, lamenting he made things even worse, and Hanasaki says it was just his "divine punishment" for trying to trick Yuugi into buying a ticket. Both of you are just too nice.

Here comes someone who will put the blame where it REALLY lies; with the oversized asshole in the Elvis costume who nurtures the delusion that his singing doesn't feel like stabbing yourself in the temples with ice picks at all costs. He really IS Adam Levine.

Yami Yuugi unplugs his headphones with dramatic flair and is wearing an uncharacteristic frown. Isn't he always grinning like the murderous maniac he is?

Oh, no, wait, there it is.

Souzouji notes that Yuugi's eyes are no longer those of someone who is taking his bullshit, and assumes he wants to fight. Yami asks Souzouji, in turn, if he's a coward. If he's not maybe he'll play a game with Yami.

Those are the ugliest things I've ever seen. And I don't know if I believe that Souzouji would allow Yami to take time preparing a game he hasn't even agreed to. I don't know many bullies who are very good at controlling their fists, even in the short amount of time it probably took Yami to set his dancing clown dolls on the table.

This game is basically the same one you played in the car on a road trip when your parents were done listening to you and your siblings bickering in the backseat. Yami is essentially calling our antagonist a shrieking child here, and I think that's not a bad comparison.

Souzouji confirms the stakes: if Yami loses, he loses his life; if Souzouji loses, he gets a penalty game. If I were him, I would be asking what the hell a penalty game is, but I guess no one cares that this term doesn't actually explain anything concrete. He, and every other villain in this manga so far, has essentially agreed to play without any idea what he's betting.

Yami and Souzouji sit on opposite ends of the coffee table in the room, completely silent. Souzouji is thinking about how stupid it is that a karaoke room should be silent, but he's ready to start belting it out again once he wins in a "one-hundred-song medly of death." I guess he really is aware of how bad his singing is, if he thinks he can kill someone with it.

Souzouji notices the headphone jack balanced on the glass in front of Yami, and is super excited for it to fall. So excited, in fact, that his heart is beating like mad in anticipation. Man, this isn't a lap dance, it's a goddamn headphone jack. Jonouchi wasn't the only one who needed to cool his balls.

The creepy clown doll in front of him starts dancing, signaling his defeat, but Souzouji can't figure out what's making it move, since the jack hasn't fallen yet. Turns out, his heartbeat, and the mic, were so loud that the speakers were picking it up. Yami announces that because Souzouji refused to put his microphone down, he lost, and therefore it's time for his penalty game.

Souzouji's heartbeat is so loud now, even without the microphone, that it's booming in his ears. Yami helps the limping Hanasaki out of the karaoke place with some more misplaced wisdom about how Souzouji has become a human drum set. How many times do I have to say that I don't think the antagonist is listening??? Especially not this one! His heartbeat is too loud, because of you, Yami!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I thought it was much better than the last. No unnecessary panels, the game's result didn't seem like cheating, and I really loved the deeper look into our protagonist and what makes him unique among other protagonists in other series. I really enjoyed how selfless he tried to be, even with someone he hadn't ever talked to before, and his general policy to be as positive as possible. It was a breath of fresh air.

It just makes me dislike the previous chapter that much more, though. It didn't have any of these qualities, when it needed them that much more. These first few chapters should be chock full of this kind of information and character development, and the closer to the first chapter they are, the more they should have. Chapter 2 would have been better off being Chapter 10, because of its lack of anything significant added to the characterization of the main characters.

Since my faith has been restored in this series, I'll press on to the next chapter with a more positive outlook. Thanks for the advice, Yu-Gi-Oh.