Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 087 The Terror of Pegasus!

We're already well acquainted with the terror of Pegasus, chapter. Do you remember that time when Pegasus sealed Sugoroku's soul in a TV? I mean, the TV was an analog device, and somehow Yuugi was able to transfer Sugoroku over to a digital camera, so I'm not quite sure what the rules are when it comes to what Sugoroku can currently inhabit, but... It's still terrifying, guys! Terrifyingly boring, at the very least!

This is why Kaiba shouldn't be so weirdly possessive of Pegasus, even just beating him, because Pegasus has some nasty ways of imprisoning folks.

Yuugi stares open-mouthed at Kaiba as he and his friends remain gathered supportively around the still reclined Jonouchi. Kaiba notices that his little Disk thing is still spinning and yanks it back into his hand while telling his Blue Eyes White Dragon to return to him. Again with the unneeded bravado.

Jonouchi groans as he hunches over and lets out an angry yell, making to stand. Yuugi hovers near his side, as though he could catch Jonouchi if he fell over. Jonouchi pushes on the wrist piece of the Duel Disk and it clicks, releasing from his hand so that he can throw it on the ground with a curse. Kaiba, instead of being pissed that Jonouchi might have damaged his prototype, chuckles and asks Jonouchi if he didn't think that was educational. He tells Jonouchi that he might have been able to win a few matches with some luck and his friends' help, but his false confidence had to be shattered eventually.

Of course, Kaiba is totally ignorant of the fact that Jonouchi's last duel was DEVOID of hints from friends, so he can suck it with his stupid assumptions.

But Kaiba refuses to stop fucking talking, and continues to berate Jonouchi, telling him that he belongs on the ground because he's too much of a loser to stand. Still crouched on the ground, Jonouchi is stung by these words and hangs his head. Yuugi asks Kaiba why he's being such a bag of dicks, apparently because he forgot that Kaiba HAS ALWAYS been a bag of dicks and this shit should come as no surprise.

Anzu stands up and starts chewing Kaiba the fuck out, asking him why anyone should care what he thinks, and what it is he thinks he knows. She tells him that he has no idea what Jonouchi is dealing with and fighting for, and since he knows nothing about the subject, he should keep his trap fucking shut.

Rekt.

Bakura tries to take this a step further by indignantly explaining that Jonouchi's sister is in danger of losing her sight, but Jonouchi yells at him not to say another word. Bakura looks a little taken aback and mutters Jonouchi's name, who doesn't want Bakura to tell the creep Kaiba about something so personal. Kaiba would probably just take a verbal shit all over the information like he does everything else that doesn't affect him. Mai, however, has heard enough to wonder with a pitying expression about Jonouchi's sister's eyes. The cat's peeking out of the bag now.

Kaiba stares down at Jonouchi with a blank face before kneeling down at his briefcase once more to put away his special toy. He says he really doesn't care about why Jonouchi is in the tournament, because even the weakest duelists have their reasons for playing and something to believe in. The only thing he thinks that matters is whether or not said duelist lets themselves be crushed and fails to protect those things. Never mind that someone HAS to lose, no matter how good at the game they happen to be. That's kind of how games work, dude.

Yuugi and Jonouchi stare back at Kaiba as he stands, telling Jonouchi that he'll regret insisting on their duel because he already has the eyes of someone who's too afraid to fight and won't be able to stand as a duelist anymore. Why does he TALK SO MUCH??? He turns around and Yuugi calls after him, lamenting the fact that Kaiba seems the same as before and asking if he hasn't changed at least a little. Yuugi, seriously, what did you expect? For him to be rainbows and sunshine? Kid, you are deluded.

Kaiba pauses.

Motherfucker, I hate that I have him pegged so well. Why can't I also be pure cinnamon roll and not have to worry about the implications of understanding how this asshole thinks?

Yuugi is floored that Kaiba can't bring himself to LIKE him and Anzu puts a hand on his shoulder, kneeling next to him to tell him it doesn't matter what he says. This coming from the girl who shut Kaiba the fuck down. Kaiba just stands there a few feet away for a moment before telling Yuugi to look where he's staring. Yuugi gazes up at Pegasus's castle, knowing that's where the man who created Duel Monsters with his own mind and hands waits with his immeasurable powers. I think you're giving him more credit than he deserves here.

Kaiba says that this island contains all manner of duelists who fight to get to the castle but who will never win because they're REALLY playing into the hands of a god of a card kingdom. Yuugi looks at his duel glove with its star chips in surprise. Kaiba continues by telling Yuugi he has no chance at beating Pegasus even with his skills. He says he's seen Pegasus duel just once, but wonders if he can even call it a duel because Pegasus won without even fighting.

Flashback time!

And I thought the beginning of this arc tried too hard to play up the popularity of this game. Shit. Kaiba gives some stats about how the game is so popular in the USA that there are lots of tournaments with huge cash prizes, estimates existing that the numbers of players are in excess of 20 million. Among these players are professional duelists who go around seeking that prize money called Card Professors.

... What? Why are they called that? Do they also teach people how to play at community colleges and do research and write theses on the theory of CARDS?

That is the stupidest name for a group of duelists I have ever heard and I have heard the term "PLAYER KILLER".

This is his picture on the Card University website, and he's up for tenure this year!

I will burn everything.

Keith issued a challenge to Pegasus, which Pegasus was at first not interested in indulging until a metaphorical lightbulb went off over his head and he added a couple of conditions to his acceptance. He wanted the prize of this duel to be one million volts dollars and for it to be held in a stadium capable of holding 50,000 people in addition to it being broadcast nationally so that the stadium, TV station, sponsors and Pegasus could make a pretty penny off of it.

Kaiba says that he was invited as a guest who got to sit in the front row, and his seat allowed him to not only see the official duel, but Pegasus's preliminary activities, which were gathering kids unfamiliar with the game and eagerly teaching them how to play. In Kaiba's flashback, a kid is excited that he did a thing, while Pegasus explains to his opponent how to counter the thing. The original kid apparently does something cool again and Pegasus is impressed, calling him a wonder boy and declaring his disbelief that the kid is just a beginner. As the kid chuckles shyly, Pegasus asks him what his name is. His name is Tom, but he immediately voices concerns that Duel Monsters is kind of expensive and his allowance won't cover a habit.

Pegasus is moved by this kid's plight and gives him the deck of cards he's been playing with as his contribution to a card addiction well fed. Tom is ecstatic, and thanks Pegasus happily. Then Pegasus encourages all the kids to look at the camera and smile for his publicity.

After this, the host of the stadium announces the beginning of the duel.

Keith IMMEDIATELY starts off the game by calling Pegasus a hippie because of his long hair and implying that he's a pedophile. This will TOTALLY end well for him with opening statements like that. He says it's an honor to duel him and begin the process of convincing everyone that he is the best at this game ever. Keith tells Pegasus that he's shuffled the deck and asks if Pegasus is ready to start.

Pegasus remains silent, but Keith draws his hand without waiting for an answer, marveling at the awesome hand he's already got. But when he looks past his cards at Pegasus, he's shocked. Pegasus is still sitting with his arms crossed, not having drawn his own hand yet, so Keith yells at him that the game has fucking started already.

Wait a moment, isn't this KAIBA'S flashback? How should he be able to remember something happening that he couldn't have known was going on?

Ignoring that little error in perspective and point of view, the chapter returns us jarringly to Kaiba's narration, in which he tells us that Pegasus starts writing on a piece of paper and then does something unbelievable. He shouts at Tom to come over, and Tom obeys, wondering what's going on as Pegasus invites him to sit in his chair at the table. Pegasus pats Tom on the head and tells him that he'll be dueling Bandit Keith instead. Tom wants to know that Pegasus is joking, and Keith tells Pegasus to stop messing around.

Pegasus still refuses to talk to Keith, telling Tom not to worry because if he does exactly what's on the paper he gives him, he will win. Pegasus then walks away from the table, waving, as Tom and Keith both protest. He flops down in the chair next to Kaiba and greets him jauntily, Kaiba returning the greeting with some hesitation and confusion. Pegasus tells Kaiba that he's looked over his proposal for the virtual reality boxes and thinks it's a great idea for both of their companies to join forces around.

Kaiba's WTF face here is PRICELESS.

He manages to invade Keith's head too while Keith is thinking about how Pegasus ran away rather than lose to him and how at least he'll win for sure now. Pegasus is clearly not the only one with mind-reading powers here. Keith is meanwhile a total jerkface to Tom as he throws down a card and tells the little brat to hurry and play his own card. Tom stutters as he reads his instructions on what to play when Keith plays that particular card, playing Flying Elephant in attack mode, nullifying Keith's fissure effect (?), and winning.

Keith is overwhelmed with open-mouthed disbelief while Tom goes over how the astounding paper details every card Keith would play and describes how to beat him in every detail. Keith snatches away the paper, floored by how Tom is right as he reads it over with bulging eyes. He then yells in frustration, jumping up and throwing cards all over the place like a giant toddler.

Pegasus happily announces that Tom wins and Kaiba just stares at this spectacle in silent shock. Pegasus promises to talk more about the details of their virtual reality stuff later as he stands to walk over to Tom. He leads Tom over to the cameras, where he proceeds to tell everyone watching that his game is the greatest, one in which a novice can beat a seasoned champion. Then he quotes the price and where you can get the cards as Kaiba continues to just stare at how Pegasus managed to turn the tournament into a commercial for Duel Monsters.

Well, I mean, isn't that essentially what it was anyway? The whole point is to continue to sell cards, right?

Back in the present, Yuugi is still kneeling on the ground gaping at Kaiba's back. He thinks about this Mind Scan technique and how he KNEW that Pegasus could read his opponents' minds. That's fair, but how does KAIBA know that this technique is called a Mind Scan by Pegasus? That's the question you should really be asking here. Jonouchi thinks that if Kaiba is right, then Pegasus has inhuman powers.

Kaiba says he doesn't know what kind of trick Pegasus used (even though he's apparently savvy to what it's called), but he thinks that there's a possibility he can win if he uses his Duel Disk. Yuugi has his poop-face on again.

If you only ALMOST lost it, don't you still have it? That makes no sense, Kaiba. Shut up.

With a pulse, a shadowed Yuugi calls out to Kaiba once more, but it's actually Yami coming out to say hello! Yami tells Kaiba that they have precious things to protect just like him, so they'll protect them. Kaiba glares.

Good for you, Kaiba. Good for you. *Eyeroll*

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? That head-hopping in Kaiba's flashback REALLY got to me. That was a very poorly executed stint of exposition that ruined the immersion of the story. When one character inexplicably has access to other characters' thoughts, that's one thing, but also accusing one of those characters whose thoughts he inexplicably has access to of mind-reading? Irony at its worst, because that's just shoddy writing. What makes all this even more frustrating is that these head-hopping moments weren't even NECESSARY. If KT had left them out, the scene and conclusion Kaiba drew wouldn't have changed. They were just THERE, ruining everything.

But, despite this highly annoying setback in the chapter, Kaiba was really great here in a lot of ways. After getting called out for his harshness to Jonouchi, he reveals that his attitude about Jonouchi and losing runs deeper than winner's gloating; he really thinks that Jonouchi doesn't stand a chance because he's not capable of doing everything it takes to win and stand up for what he wants. To Kaiba, Jonouchi represents someone who isn't taking what he wants or believes seriously enough to mow down the obstacles in his way, and so he may as well sit down, shut up, and leave the field open for people who want their victory bad enough. It doesn't matter to him what Jonouchi is trying to accomplish in this tournament, because whatever it is, he's just TRYING until he takes it seriously enough to just accomplish it.

This is why he's so insistent that he'll be the one to take Pegasus down - he needs to do this in order to get Mokuba and his company back, and he is determined to do this with his own gumption. If he can't do it, to him it means that he wasn't fighting hard enough and he'll have failed to protect everything important to him. This is even if Yami beats Pegasus first, because far from being able to believe that these are circumstances out of his control, Kaiba will always believe there was something he could have done to get to Pegasus first.

And then there was the bit where he told Yuugi that his friendship disgusts him. Again, as much as I HATE being able to identify with Kaiba on this, I can very easily see this from his point of view. He will never be able to be friends with Yuugi and company because from his point of view, the moment they entered his life is when it started falling apart. Yami's shadow game mystified, excited and broke Kaiba all at the same time, and he grew obsessed not only with recreating that experience, but also getting revenge on Yami by inflicting a similar experience on him. This brought about his defeat in Death-T, and his Mind Crush Coma, which lasted for a whole year and put his company's reputation in the tank in such a way as to encourage his major stock-holders to turn to underhanded dealings.

This all culminates in Kaiba being absolutely fed up with Yuugi and pals, because Yuugi's friendship has never done him any good. All it's done is screw everything up and leave him with a broken brain. After all that's happened, I really can't blame Kaiba for not wanting anything to do with Yuugi and his friendship because, quite frankly, a friend who continuously tries to break you to teach you "lessons" and make you change into the person they think you should be isn't a friend at all.

And, no, I'm not saying that Kaiba is not at ALL at fault for a lot of the happenings here. You see that there is no shortage of criticisms of him above. No matter what, there is no excuse for kidnapping, assault, and trying to murder people with deadly theme parks. Not to mention, Kaiba is just a douchebag in general. But when it comes down to it, his relationship with Yuugi is just abusive on both ends, and I'm glad Kaiba is putting his foot down and saying that they will never be friends.

That said, Kaiba did seem to mellow out after his little outburst, explaining some of his logic behind thinking he's the only one who can beat Pegasus. It may just be my imagination, but it seems to me that he lingered in order to tell Yuugi this because he doesn't necessarily want to be on ENEMY terms with Yuugi. He just wants Yuugi to understand that he's drawing a line in the sand.

For now.