Inuyasha Manga: 268 Hakushin-Shounin

There's something almost eldritch about the prospect of coming face-to-face with whatever is generating a significant power or obstacle in your life. There's so much of our existences that are out of our individual hands, conditions that are set up and maintained by entities with a limited tangible presence, but an ENORMOUS reach. Thinking about how damn near everything in my life like the clothes I wear, the air I breathe, the food I eat, has been manipulated in some way by the flow of money/power between strange unknowable wealth machines instills in me a deep cosmic horror. 

Maybe meeting a mummy with the power to generate a mountainous purifying barrier that is so indifferent to the actual virtues and sins of the people it judges is similar. Smaller in scope, but ultimately in the same vein.

We're so sorry that your lazy ass has to do just a little more work, Renkotsu. 

He supposes that there was an advantage for Inuyasha being a hanyou after all, what with his youki being the only thing that disappeared in the barrier. Inuyasha scoffs that his body actually feels a lot better thanks to his youki being gone, and this irritates Renkotsu, who pisses about how Inuyasha isn't one to "talk small". That's a strange way of putting that Inuyasha has decided to speak on this as more of an advantage than not, but I don't know if this is just a more direct translation that doesn't go over well or if the translator themselves mangled the sentence. Either way, Renkotsu tries to re-frame this transformation in a negative light by pointing out that Inuyasha is nothing more than a human brat now, while firing a shot from his cannon. Inuyasha runs to just avoid the projectile, his maneuver on the less... springy side now. 

As he books it in the midst of the flying debris from where the cannon fire hit, he thinks he doesn't have the time to worry about Renkotsu now, resolving to run until he finds his way into the mountain. Hopefully he doesn't just follow your ass in there while you're blindly navigating the interior of a mountain you aren't familiar with in order to find your friends/Naraku. This is definitely the best way to prioritize your current issues, pal, FOR SURE.

Narrow... sparkle transition panel, I guess. Sango opens her eyes with a groan and is quick to notice that Miroku is lying sprawled on top of her with alarm. 

Why is it always just when you think things can't be worse?

Sango stammers at Miroku, who remains passed out. She pulls herself out from beneath him only to cringe at a stab of pain in her abdomen, remembering that she was hit by Hiraikotsu. The youkai hovering close by rustle at her while she leans over Miroku and tries to shake him awake, and notices the beads unwound from around his hand. Enduring another stab of pain, Sango is looking disturbed about the story she's able to derive from this visual, that Miroku opened his Kazaana and took in the saimyoushou's poison. More urgently now, she shakes him and calls for him to wake up, but he remains unconscious. 

Shaking, Sango wonders what she should do now, on the precipice of death as she is, muttering at Miroku in fear. Tears well up in her eyes and one drops, splashing on Miroku's cheek. For some reason THIS manages to wake his ass up, his eyes opening and a moan escaping him. Sango addresses him with some relief, and he sighs in relief upon seeing her, haltingly saying he's happy she's awake. Sango looks back over at the threateningly close youkai, only to turn back in yet more alarm when Miroku suggests to her that SHE can at least go forward. She snaps that she won't, stuttering that they have to go together, but he raises his cursed fist to state that he's more or less done too much. 

While there's no question as to why they haven't died together ALREADY with the youkai right outside the door, so to speak.

After a moment of silent NOT dying, Miroku starts to wonder what's going on. He comes to the realization that slowly starting to feel better, and sits up with an arm around Sango as an anchor. Sango addresses him questioningly, and Miroku poses a question of his own: why aren't the demons hovering nearby attacking them? Coming down from her drama high, Sango twists to look, trailing in her notice of the same thing now that Miroku's said something. A tentacle extends from the crowd of minor youkai and stops dead when reaching a point in front of it where it crackles and pops. 

Sango articulates that it's been purified (or narrowly avoided such) in tentative disbelief, Miroku observing that they can't seem to enter. He realizes that they've entered a space of sacred ground again, being so strong as to even purify the saimyoushou's poison in him, presumably why he's feeling a bit better. Miroku stands with a little effort, inviting Sango to get going with him, nodding ahead of them and asserting that there's something there. Sango asks for confirmation that he's alright, and Miroku gives her his assurance, joking that they failed to die together. 

The drama drug really punched a hole in her memory, didn't it?

There's a rumble elsewhere on the mountain, where Inuyasha is half dodging, half being thrown from an explosion from Renkotsu's cannon. Renkotsu saunters through the mist toward Inuyasha with a chuckle, wondering aloud how long Inuyasha will be able to run. With Inuyasha backed up against a sheer cliff of rock, Renkotsu adds that they've found themselves at a dead end, but Inuyasha notices a breeze whooshing between two rocks behind him.

Renkotsu yells at him to die, as you do, firing the cannon yet again. There's another explosion of rock and debris from the cliff face, and when it clears, Renkotsu strolls up to the newest crater he's made in the stone, supposing that it's all over now. But the black stain on the cliff shows no remains, and Renkotsu is at first puzzled by the lack of a body. He soon figures it out, though.

Gotta admire the squeeze Inuyasha was able to perform there. That doesn't look easy to get through.

Guess who strolls up now? Jakotsu greets Renkotsu and asks him what he's up to, an inquiry that is answered with his own name drawled back at him. He tells Renkotsu that he heard from Bankotsu that Ginkotsu has been blown up, and Renktosu confirms this, revealing that he heard from the same source that Suikotsu bit it too. After a pause, Renkotsu asks the INCREDIBLY suspicious question about what happened to Suikotsu's Shikon shard. Does he think he's being at all subtle here? I sure hope not. Jakotsu airily responds that he handed the thing over to Bankotsu, the "duh" on the end merely implied. With a hum, Renkotsu considers how Jakotsu isn't a very greedy guy.

Well, in the specific case of Shikon fragments, anyway.

Renkotsu becomes quite nervous, because it's bad for him that the Shikon shards are being accumulated in Bankotsu's hands, and he supposes that Jakotsu's fragment will soon be joining the rest of them. Before he resolves not to let that happen, of course. With a sly grin, he tells Jakotsu that ACTUALLY, some very interesting things are going down. 

Cut to Inuyasha trotting aimlessly through a whole-ass cave system, light from the moon streaming in through cracks similar to the ones he squeezed through to get there. Inuyasha is impressed with how deep this hole has gone into the mountain, wondering if it leads all the way to the center of the mountain. Suddenly, he hears a swish in the air behind him and leaps out of the way just before something slams into the ground where he stood. He looks to where the blow came from as a voice says it's JUST like Renkotsu said. 

THIS is where the greed manifests. Right here.

Jakotsu giggles that he's super happy, while Inuyasha grasps the still sheathed Tessaiga in front of him for its protection. He remains warily silent, Jakotsu continuing on to say that he's been waiting an AWFUL long time to have a shot at getting him. It's entirely obscured which of the many ways he could mean that phrase, but at least it's clear from Inuyasha's grimace that he is here for NONE of them.

Another narrow sparkle transition panel leads us to Miroku and Sango running through more barrier mist, until they find themselves among the grand pillars and railing where Kohaku, Kanna, and Bakotsu were hanging out a few chapters ago. Sango is in awe that they had ended up in a place like this, Miroku commenting that it looks a lot like one of those mountain temples. Miroku silently adds that this is an intense purity, seeming to indicate that they've reached the very heart of the sacred grounds. 

They quickly reach the dais on which the mummified monk is sitting, his hands crossed in front of his chest with beads hanging off of them. Sango identifies the Sokushinbutsu with alarm, Miroku addressing him directly as Hakushin-shounin. 

If you want to abuse the word, maybe?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? One of the things I keep being reminded of as this story goes on is that one of its key appeal factors is how accessible its characters are. They feel like genuine people, react to things in genuine ways, and in this particular case, fail to be logical in a very believable manner. Inuyasha convinces himself that his top priority is still just to find his way into the mountain, ignoring the fact that whether he keeps trying to discover a cave or stops to face Renkotsu, he has no good options in this situation. In his human form, his only weapon a sword that will stay a blunt rusted slab, he's not got great odds in a fight right now. Still, running to seek the way into Mt. Hakurei with Renkotsu on his heels doesn't afford him any better chances either, as is emphasized at the end of the chapter. It wasn't Renkotsu himself that followed him in there, but he's forced to confront the fact that ending up wandering in a strange cave system has probably TRAPPED him more than anything. But ultimately, it was understandable why this might have seemed the better option when he made his decision, especially when he ended up being pushed further into it by his very environment. 

It's also somewhat understandable that Sango doesn't IMMEDIATELY clock the fact that the youkai are hanging out, but not advancing at first. She wakes up in pain, Miroku is unconscious from saimyoushou poisoning, and she sees a mass of youkai nearby - right off the bat the situation is hopeless and fraught enough that it's no wonder her mind immediately jumps to the conclusion that this is the end. Miroku doesn't figure it out right away either, just as discombobulated as Sango and with just as much reason to look at the youkai sitting just within view and assume they're about to attack. His first clue as to the truth of the matter was that he was starting to feel BETTER from the deadly poison, an internal barometer that Sango didn't have. It was a clever, straightforward way of helping two characters who were too injured and afraid to take careful notice of their real situation.

My only real question here is what the STRUCTURE of this barrier is at this point. Is Crazy-Eyes up there producing a smaller, more concentrated barrier around him and his isolated temple, and then a thinner bubble of a barrier surrounding the whole mountain, with Naraku and his youkai hanging out in between? I'm not quite clear on how this works, but it doesn't surprise me. Just as it's one of RT's great strengths to make her characters accessible and understandable in very important ways, it's one of her weaknesses not to give the mechanics of these things much thought.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 326 Gather, Ghosts!

Little bit late, isn't it? Halloween season has already come and gone, the jack-o-lanterns have done their jobs and chased the roaming malevolent spirits away, and they've returned to their tombs as per tradition. Now we're calling them back out to gather? Can't we just let the dead rest instead of insisting they entertain us for all eternity? Is this just a thinly veiled metaphor for my own tendency to drag out and painstakingly reread all my old favorite stories that have long since become irrelevant to the world's literary focus? 

... Maybe?

At least these story-ghosts won't scream in my face in frustration over their limbo state, though.

We see again asshole!Bakura shielding his eyes against the explosion that reduces his life points to 2900, before Yuugi announces that it's not over yet. Asshole!Bakura grits his teeth as Yuugi informs his Marshmallon that his opponent is wide open at the moment. It opens that creepy upside down smile to reveal two rows of sharp teeth, flying at asshole!Bakura to chomp down on the guy's raised arm and take his points down to 2600. Asshole!Bakura looks... less than happy over this. 

While some wisps of smoke clear (not digital in this particular case, since their Duel Disks are purely imaginary here), asshole!Bakura scowls about Yuugi putting up an awfully big fight for being a mere vessel. I have a feeling it's just NEVER going to hit him that his view of "vessels" is reductive, even when he loses this thing. Yuugi just glares at him back wordlessly, because there's clearly no point in trying to talk to the guy.

Jonouchi and Honda pump their fists in the air and cheer about Yuugi tearing that jerk apart, but Anzu is strangely silent. She's looking at Yuugi and thinking about how Yami was always the one who fought the duels before this moment, but now Yuugi is the one who has to fight to save Yami. Observing the determined glare on Yuugi's face, she assumes he must be thinking about how he has to be strong, has to help Yami back to the place he belongs, etc. It's not a bad assumption, just a little simplistic.

But not nearly as simplistic as the other boys - Jonouchi gushes over how Yuugi hasn't lost a single point yet, and is kicking butt... until Honda points out the evil grin that's spread across asshole!Bakura's face. Honda asks with suspicion what this guy is up to, a question he no doubt won't have to wait long for an answer to. Asshole!Bakura giggles that the vessel knows how to play cards too, as he now sees. Yuugi frowns, looking a little put-off by the epithet he's been given, as asshole!Bakura says that any duelist will get a high when facing a truly worthy opponent. But, too bad for Yuugi, asshole!Bakura characterizes himself as just a killer, prepared to get HIS high when he's watching Yuugi bleed to death. He then promises to show Yuugi a battle worse than anything he can imagine, but fails to specify in what way. I can't EASILY see asshole!Bakura giving Yuugi such a bad challenge that Yuugi ends this thing with all his point intact and bored as fuck, but the way he's been playing so far...

What the fuck is this weird Conjuring shit?? We even get a good close-up on the chubby doll faces that definitely live up to their "accursed" name. 

Jonouchi, of course, recoils, pointing and asking what the deal is with the creepy dolls with their red and black gift boxes. Asshole!Bakura asked Yuugi which of the boxes it'll be for him, since they both have to choose and he's going first, warning him with his despicable grin that one of the boxes is cursed. Yuugi thinks in alarm on this "cursed" business, asshole!Bakura thinking that the red box gives life to the player who chooses it while the black one casts a curse over the field of play. Thanks for reiterating what it says on the card, dude, appreciate your panel filler. Yuugi takes a moment to wonder which box he's going to choose, red or black, then comes to a decision on the red box, which he points out. 

Asshole!Bakura must have been gunning for that curse to begin with, because his grin doesn't waver as he acknowledges the choice, and that the black box is his. Jonouchi grinds his teeth while he worries about what's going to happen with the red box Yuugi picked. Asshole!Bakura urges them all to just wait and see, with Yuugi regarding him in pure suspicion. The ribbon unwinds and the red box opens up of its own accord, blasting plumes of smoke into the air. Asshole!Bakura points at Yuugi with a gameshow host smile, saying he chose wisely, because every card placed in either of their graveyards henceforth gives him 200 life points, a permanent effect. 

Jonouchi hoots in celebration that Yuugi hit the jackpot with that one, Honda joining him in his elation, but Yuugi is still looking VERY wary as he asks asshole!Bakura just exactly what the BLACK box does. Asshole!Bakura chuckles, thanking Yuugi for the curse, to which Yuugi responds with alarm. Unable to help himself, asshole!Bakura proceeds to let them all know that the black box destroys the player's graveyard. 

Yuugi's jaw is slack with shock at this pronouncement, Anzu wondering what that even MEANS. The black box at last opens to answer, plumes of smoke rising into the air before Yuugi's alarmed gaze.

But asshole!Bakura assures Yuugi that he doesn't have to be afraid, because these ghosts can't attack or defend at all, so they're not dangerous. It's no wonder Yuugi has a bad feeling about this, though, because there's not a chance in HELL that asshole!Bakura doesn't have a card handy that will change that "not dangerous" status around. 

Asshole!Bakura places another card face down, and then plays a monster in defense called "Necrosoldier", which just looks like another toy tin soldier type with a popgun propped on its shoulder and a sword in the other hand. The only thing to distinguish it as mildly creepy is its beady black-ringed eyes, which honestly doesn't hold a candle to Marshmallon's upside down razor smile. How is ONE of Yuugi's monster's outperforming the entire spooky lineup of asshole!Bakura's themed deck on the horror front? He must feel so embarrassed right now...

Except that when he ends his turn, he's still pretty cocky as he thinks that he's going to rip the word "victory" from Yuugi's mental dictionary. He's just really good at hiding his embarrassment, I presume. Yuugi wonders what he's up to before he starts his own turn, but he doesn't get to utter another word before asshole!Bakura interrupts him to inform him that his declaration means he can activate Necrosoldier's special ability. Ugh, I'm beginning to see why asshole!Bakura and Zorc Necrophades are so chummy. Neither one of them can seem to shut their TRAPS for two seconds. 

Anyway, asshole!Bakura explains that his Necrosoldier loves him some company. You know, like misery. Since there's only one of them out there during asshole!Bakura's standby phase, another one can appear - which it does. There are two of them now, much like the twin dolls, because asshole!Bakura's garbage always seems to come in twos. Yuugi notes that the attack and defense of these soldiers are both zero, but he's damn sure they're going to be trouble. On the other hand, he's able to announce that his Silent Swordsman advances to level 5 on this turn, raising its attack points to 3500. He knows that with those two shield monsters on asshole!Bakura's side, he can win this thing if he can manage to summon one more monster here. 

Shit. He jinxed it.

He summons up Silent Magician, which is another of those neato leveling monsters that asshole!Bakura hates so much, a short little dude with a white robe outfit and a staff similar to the Dark Magician. Jonouchi and Honda express their excitement over Yuugi's upcoming monster combo attack that is TOTALLY gonna get asshole!Bakura. Totally. Asshole!Bakura responds to all of this with a flat expression, which should have been a tip-off, honestly. Instead of reading the signs that he was so good at doing before, Yuugi instructs his Marshmallon and Silent Magician to attack the Necrosoldiers, and Silent Swordsman to take down asshole!Bakura directly. The monsters advance rapidly, and disturbingly, in the case of Marshmallon.

Don't we all wish, Yuugi. Don't we all wish.

Asshole!Bakura activates a trap card, stopping the sword falling on his head midair at the last moment, something that doesn't escape the gaping Yuugi. Grinning, asshole!Bakura adds that this is a permanent trap called The Narrow Corridor, negating a third attack from the opponent, should one occur, of course. While asshole!Bakura mocks how this is too bad for his enemy, Yuugi scoffs over how his third monster couldn't attack, and he won't be able to attack with more than two in the future, because this is a permanent trap. 

Jonouchi curses over how close this was to being a victory for Yuugi, but Honda points out that asshole!Bakura has lost his shield monsters, predicting that Yuugi will definitely win on the next turn. Dammit Honda, stop jinxing this shit for us!! Yuugi ends his turn on a less than celebratory note. Asshole!Bakura's face is practically splitting for how wide his grin is, thinking that once he plays this next and final card in what he calls "the ceremony of death", there's no stopping it. Congratulations on finding the ONE situation in which that phrase would not be a gross and absurd over-exaggeration, well done you dork. 

Yuugi sweats a little as he waits for asshole!Bakura to begin his turn, and he's not making it easy on him. Asshole!Bakura drags the start to his turn a little as he slowly pulls out a permanent spell card from his hand and pronounces that he's playing it directly.

I thought at first that this wasn't great, but then Yuugi thinks about how this must include all the monsters floating around in homeless wandering about because asshole!Bakura got rid of his graveyard, and now it's dawning on me that this is DEVASTATING. Yuugi is sweating pretty hard when he realizes that this is a terrible combo for him. 

Anzu looks to Jonouchi to explain why this is so bad, because she observes that asshole!Bakura has to be taking a big risk as well, since they both have to discard their decks. After a moment of speechlessness, Jonouchi tells her to trust him that this is particularly bad for Yuugi, because asshole!Bakura doesn't have a graveyard to discard his cards TO. She's suddenly hit with the reality that this means Yuugi is the ONLY one who will have to discard cards, and Jonouchi draws out an agreement with her new horror. He counts the "ghosts" on asshole!Bakura's side of the field for a total of six monsters out there, and six cards Yuugi will have to discard each turn, and it will be even MORE soon. Yuugi stares down at his Duel Disk in alarm, with the knowledge that asshole!Bakura is trying to destroy his deck. 

Asshole!Bakura starts to pull a card from his hand, proclaiming he's going to move on with the game while all this shit sinks in. He summons another doll, a "Necromannequin" with its articulated limbs all misassembled limbs and two heads (one of which is sprouting another arm) sticking out at odd, vaguely horrifying angles. Asshole!Bakura informs Yuugi that it's his turn now, adding that another Necrosoldier shows up with the beginning of Yuugi's portion of the round. Yuugi recoils a little, since the new count is EIGHT monsters, EIGHT cards he'll have to discard every turn, and it'll get even worse if he summons more. 

I know what I'D do, but it would probably involve me losing and dying, so... don't take advice from me. Ever.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? At first I was thinking the success of asshole!Bakura's strategy entirely depended on Yuugi picking the red box, which would be a bit of a gamble on his part. But I figured out a bit later than I should have that it doesn't ACTUALLY matter who's graveyard is destroyed, because it would fuck over Yuugi no matter what. If Yuugi had chosen the black box, and his graveyard was destroyed, he's not losing monsters at the rate that asshole!Bakura is. That means that asshole!Bakura would have fewer cards to discard by the end stage of his strategy, AND would be getting paid in life points when he discarded them, which would mean he would be racking up points while Yuugi couldn't touch him with his strongest monster due to The Narrow Corridor card. The only question here is what the cap on Silent Swordsman's leveling up is, but whatever it is, there's still plenty of opportunity for asshole!Bakura to get rid of it in various ways. It's a little more challenging for him, but only a little. 

As it stands, all asshole!Bakura needs to do in this case is run out Yuugi's deck. By then it doesn't matter how many life points Yuugi has accumulated through the red box's gift, he automatically loses, as has precedent in Battle City. 

This is... far more impressive a setup than I had assumed at first. Not just because BOTH choices of Yuugi's were clearly thought-out to some degree do solidify the legitimacy of this as a viable strategy. There's also the GREAT work of establishing Yuugi as a contender here, really showing off how good and competent he is, and making it look for all the world that he had this thing in the bag... and then pulling the rug out from under him. And US, as an audience! I'm in awe of how intense the struggle has become over the course of just this one chapter. I expected the tension to rise to a degree, but by showing how great Yuugi is at this game, showing how much asshole!Bakura seemed to underestimate him, and then showing that asshole!Bakura CAN adapt and is prepared to face a greater opponent than he had at first anticipated with an actually pretty firm strategy that could ultimately benefit him either way is damn near GENIUS. 

I'm genuinely floored. This could be one of the greatest chapters in this story. I certainly LOVE it like it is.

Inuyasha Manga: 267 At the Limit

I don't know if I believe that. Every time I think some kind of limit has been reached, for stubbornness or stupidity or malevolence or what have you, it turns out that boundary can be pushed just a bit further. Living at this point in history is just teaching me that nothing is a match for the desire to maintain the status quo AT ALL COSTS. Facing rising fascism? Absurd levels of inequality? Actual existential threats to the human species? You will always find an alarming number of people arguing that nothing should ever change ever even though all our current practices were what got us INTO these messes. Just capitalism your way out of all the drawbacks of capitalism! That makes sense, right?

So don't try to convince me otherwise, chapter! I'm onto you!

Don't point out the insanity of it, Kagome - something else I've learned is that they've rebranded obviously unhinged nonsense as "alternative facts", so it does literally NO good.

Inuyasha says that they have no time to sit around discussing it, then yells over to Kouga, who he suggests is still hanging around (informed by his Super Sniffer, no doubt). Kouga steps over the hill that was concealing them, his lackeys peeking out from behind it. Two-Tone mumbles that Inuyasha is onto them out of worry, but Kouga asks ol' "Dog-Turd" what he wants now. Inuyasha tells him to stay here and protect Kagome. When Kouga walks over to stand next to Kagome, asking what's going on, Kagome explains to him that Miroku and Sango have been gone behind Mt. Hakurei's barrier for a bit longer than they should have been. Inuyasha insists he's the only one that can go, despite the fully human and armed Kagome being RIGHT THERE - clearly what he REALLY means is that he's not willing to let her go by herself and not have himself there to protect her in case Naraku jumps out and gets her. But he's not going to SAY that, of course. Instead he reiterates that the sacred grounds shouldn't be as harmful to him as a full youkai.  

Kouga wraps an arm around Kagome's shoulders and encourages Inuyasha to get after it, saying he doesn't mind one bit. Inuyasha yells at him in a sudden rage not to hug her shoulder like that, nor TALK to her at all either. But without any more insecure deliberation, he turns to run through the barrier, only calling over his shoulder that Kouga is dead if anything happens to Kagome while he's gone. He fades in the misty barrier, Kouga's underlings wondering if he'll be okay and asking if the barrier wouldn't ALSO be painful for a hanyou like him as they walk closer. Kouga doesn't engage in the speculation, but Kagome says Inuyasha's name softly while she watches him go, pleading silently with him not to overdo it. 

Inside the barrier, it crackles around Inuyasha as he pushes through it. He's not stoked about how this feels, thinking it's much worse than he imagined. But he keeps going like the stubborn little monster he is. 

Meanwhile, farther up the mountain, and after a small dark transition panel, Sango's Hiraikotsu is dropped across the newly created gap in the stairs up to the next level in the path ringing the mountain's center pit. 

Miroku has never before sounded so much like a frat bro.

The horde holds off on attacking him, Miss Kagura silently staring as he advances along his makeshift bridge and the stairs beyond, not giving them any orders. Miroku sweats bullets, scoffing about even this rabble valuing their lives. Kagura wonders in astonishment about the health of that priest, given how much poison from the saimyoushou he must have taken in through his Kazaana. But not only is he still moving along, he pauses to heft Sango's giant boomerang over his OTHER shoulder before he starts racing back up the stairs weighted down with both. It doesn't escape him that the youkai horde is immediately on his tail the moment he bolts. 

Even more massive wasps fly into his Kazaana, and he is once again wracked with poisoned pain. Leaning casually on the railing, Kagura thinks that the bastard is really desperate, and she's not particularly interested in ending up in that hand-void of a dude behaving like a trapped rat, so she resolves not to get too close. Not that it matters. As he huffs it along the path with another life weighing on his shoulders, sweating bullets, Kagura considers how unfortunate it is for Miroku that Naraku isn't in the direction he's going. 

The horde keeps following Miroku, creeping up behind him, and he silently pleads that they get no closer as he keeps an eye on the movement in his periphery. He trails in a thought about what will happen if he opens up the Kazaana one more time as he topples onto his face. He keeps a protective arm around the still unconscious Sango, straining to look over his shoulder, with a groan. Miroku thinks at Sango to forgive him. 

I think you'll both be lucky if she even gets the CHANCE to forgive you, friend.

Narrow sky transition panel! A sneeze rings out among the hills, which comes from a shivering sniffling Jakotsu, grumbling about how cold it is for him. Next we see him, he's riffling through a trunk next to an overturned cart with its occupants slain, the implication being that he murdered them for a proper shirt. A true highwayman if there ever was one. He pulls out a kimono that he doesn't really seem to like, but he hums that it will have to do. As he's shrugging it on, he hears his name behind him, and turns to see Bankotsu approaching with a wave, and stating he's been looking for his fellow mercenary. 

Guess what we get another of to indicate the passage of a little time? Bankotsu and Jakotsu sit on the steps of a small shrine building, where Bankotsu says he heard from the saimyoushou that Suikotsu is also dead. Jakotsu confirms this, sighing that Suikotsu had a miserable ending. With a small gasp, Jakotsu reaches beneath his collar, claiming to have just remembered something - the Shikon fragment that he pulled so improbably from Suikotsu just before he flounced, something he calls a souvenir. Bankotsu stares at the shard in his palm, saying Jakotsu's name softly to ask in disbelief if he's giving this to him. Jakotsu responds that it was Bankotsu in the first place who told them to hand the shards over when they had them. 

What's your definition of "good"? Apparently being the only one in the world Bankotsu can really rely on, because that's his elaboration when he claps Jakotsu on the back with an elated expression. He adds that Jakotsu is just a tad weird, but that doesn't matter, and Jakotsu laughs in a little disbelief at the declaration from his leader. I don't think Bankotsu has much room to talk, but this is probably why they get along so well.

More narrow sky transition panels! And one that depicts some spidery lightning effects rushing past the viewer. After briefly taking over Inuyasha's point of view in pushing through the barrier, we see him in profile, still running but sweating quite a bit in the amped effort. Panting through gritted teeth, he says with some difficulty that it was just as he thought, he's not being purified, and is "okay". Just because you're not disappearing in a puff of smoke doesn't mean that you're okay, dude.

As if to illustrate my point, Inuyasha suddenly falls to a knee with a groan, wondering why his body won't move anymore. He supposes that this means he'll be in danger if he goes any farther, and proceeds to ask himself what's going to happen now. The answer comes pretty much right away, with a voice behind him asking what's wrong and if he's not going ahead.

... Son of a SHIT.

As Renkotsu approaches, he talks about how unlike Inuyasha it is that he shouldn't notice an enemy in the area that arrived before him. Inuyasha strains to stand, and practically whines that it's Renkotsu again, before smarming that the Shichinin-tai seems to be a bit short-handed. Renkotsu doesn't respond to the sarcastic remark, hoisting his cannon onto his shoulder, commenting that Inuyasha was in a hurry to go forward before, but even a hanyou should be purified if he continues on. The barrier energy crackles around Inuyasha's shoulders while he growls in reply. 

Renkotsu demands that Inuyasha get to that appointment to be purified already, firing a shot from the cannon. Inuyasha still has the strength to leap out of the way well in advance of the shot landing, so THAT'S good. The bad news? Mid-spring he's suspended in the air with a nasty electric shock from the barrier, like a dog crossing an invisible fence line. Renkotsu scoffs that it's over, but as the smoke from the cannon shot and fried youki clears away, the moon overhead shines on a fully intact Inuyasha lying just beyond the crater from the shell he avoided before. 

Inuyasha moans, then calls Renkotsu a sucker and begins to declare his living state, pushing himself up on a fist. Note that neither his hair nor claws are shown during these panels. 

Come to think of it, that makes the most sense. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Flawed as this arc has been, one of the things about it that I find so impressive is the ability of RT to steadily build and maintain the pressure on these characters as she has. With a few strategic releases here and there, she's managed to keep the tension at the snapping point for a long string of chapters. The balance of letting the characters and audience breathe a little by letting up the tiniest amount, then pulling that string even tighter than before keeps one on the edge of the seat. This is another of those latter moments, where we're all (including Inuyasha!) wondering what else can POSSIBLY go wrong, only to be handed yet another, worse difficulty. RT's adherence to the adage "torture your darlings" is damn near perfect, and you have to hand it to her for that.

But once again, I have to question her on the particulars of the MECHANICS of the world she's barely built, because the ending of the chapter brings up one pretty hefty question. Principally, it's implied that being "purified" for a youkai is akin to death; there's no coming back from purification, and you're gone the moment you cross that threshold. This would also imply, in my mind, that if Inuyasha's youki has been purified behind the barrier, it is similarly GONE, unable to be recovered once out of the barrier. But, spoiler alert, it is NOT. I will not give you any hope that there is an explanation as to how Inuyasha got his youki back either. This is one of those things that just BUGS me about the series. 

Still, the exchange between Bankotsu and Jakotsu was a little funny, huh? RT's comedy chops are as sharp as ever.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 325 The Silent Duelist!

You're kidding. A duelist who doesn't endlessly talk about everything they're doing at any given second throughout the entire game? No wordy descriptions of card effects, no snappy shit-talking, no astonished reiterations of tricky moves? I'll believe it when I see it. If one of these kiddos manages to keep his mouth shut the whole time, I'm guessing the other will compensate by giving TWICE as much commentary. I do think that by this point, KT had gotten a bit more confident in his art and has let it speak for itself quite a lot more than in the previous half of the comic, but I don't know if I buy that he had gotten as confident as this title would suggest. That would be pretty dope, but I'm going into this a skeptic. 

And wary. Very wary of that little upside down smiling creep treat. I'm more disturbed by it than I am the skeleton horseman over here. Yuugi is looking somewhat shocked at him though. Jonouchi worries aloud that there's no way Yuugi's jelly-blob can possibly beat the thing, but Honda yells at him to just hang in there. Yuugi appears to steel himself, acknowledging the call to keep on keeping on, and mentally urging Yami to watch, because he's sure he'll defeat asshole!Bakura with his new deck. Not sure if Yuugi has a suspicion that Yami is a player on high that might be able to see him, or if it's just an expression, but off course this would lead to him finding Yami's true name. That in itself would indicate a pretty tough fight won, I suppose.

Meanwhile, asshole!Bakura IS watching his opponent sharply, chuckling over the 500 defense points the gooey monster has and wondering if this is REALLY the deck Yuugi visualized when he dreamed up that Duel Disk. He imagines this will be easy, commanding his Death Knight to ride forward. 

Asshole!Bakura thinks at first that he's got that little grinning twit dead to rights, but a moment later is shocked when the Death Knight's sword hasn't cut all the way through it. A growl of frustration escapes the skeleton horseman is the sword bounces back up, leaving not so much as a dent in Marshmallon. It's really a shame I was allowed to see that coming the way I was. 

Yuugi mockingly tells asshole!Bakura that it's too bad for him, since Marshamallon is invulnerable to normal weapons, and we're shown the card again as if it wasn't a big flashing spoiler for us before. Yuugi's friends all cheer, asshole!Bakura scoffs in anger, and I pout like the giant baby I am. 

Asshole!Bakura recovers quickly from his initial irritation, promising to set a trap that will kill Yuugi instantly with a little chuckle. He sets one card face down, ending his turn on this minor note. Yuugi draws a card, announcing it's his turn again, and looks a little surprised by the card he just picked. He places another card face down, then...

Okay, at least THIS card doesn't appear to be a spoiler.

Jonouchi regards the Silent Swordsman with a perplexed air, admitting he's never seen it before. Anzu has picked up on the fact that the deck Yuugi is using now is different than the one Yami uses, explaining this to the boys and concluding that Yuugi must have built this one himself. It dawns on her that Yuugi isn't JUST Yami's dueling partner, but has been developing his own ability this whole time too. Real sad when the other personality sharing your body has been considered the default will behind your entire partnership for THIS long, honestly.

Asshole!Bakura announces his turn, and as he's drawing his new card, he considers the Silent Swordsman with its 1000 attack one of those really annoying monsters that raises its level every turn. Not a fan, apparently. He considers killing it now, but is wary that it was played in attack position, which to him means that Yuugi WANTS him to be reckless and take it out now. After all, he's noted the two face down cards Yuugi has sitting there, one of which he does not doubt is a trap. 

Suddenly, asshole!Bakura yells that he's playing a spell card from his hand. 

Jonouchi and Honda are on edge, shouting about how the trap cards on Yuugi's side have been blocked and convinced that the Silent Swordsman is gonna get it. But Yuugi smiles, much to asshole!Bakura's shock, and mocks him again for thinking that EITHER of his face down cards are traps, because NEITHER are. He flips and activates one of them, a card called "Marshmallon Glasses". Looks like a pair of googly-eyed goofy frames that have an image of Marshmallon smack in the center of each lens. The card says that whichever monster is equipped with them only has eyes for the seductive Marshmallon and will attack it every time. And who can blame that monster, really? *shivers*

Yuugi declares that the glasses go on Death Knight, and they look absolutely hilarious on a skull that's otherwise supposed to be intimidating. It's a total horror-killer, and I love it. Asshole!Bakura is not at all as amused as I am, fuming over how the stupid glasses make his Death Knight only see the jelly monster. Yuugi points out and reiterates that now the skeleton horseman can only attack Marshmallon now, because I guess that KT thought this could NOT be overstated. 

I can't quite make out what the Marshmallon is doing there - is it clasping little jelly hands above its head in victory, or making some sort of rude gesture? The latter certainly has precedent. 

At first, asshole!Bakura is super annoyed, growling about how Yuugi has stopped him with a COMBO of puny monsters. But he's soon grinning again, encouraging Yuugi to laugh while he can, because he's setting up the most powerful trap combo they've ever seen. Not that anyone WAS laughing or anything, but...

He plays another card face down, and again, ends his turn on that. Yuugi accepts this without note, and announces he's about to go. He does consider how Silent Swordsman's attack rises to 1500 due to him leveling from zero to one, but knows he can't defeat Death Knight's 1900 attack until the next turn. Having established this to himself, he breathes an "okay" and begins to pull a card from his hand for his battle phase.

Asshole!Bakura tells him to stop right there, yelling he gets to use a certain card at the very beginning of Yuugi's battle phase - a trap card called "Ghost Beckoning". Both the card shown and asshole!Bakura are in agreement, that this induces Silent Swordsman to attack. Said swordsman lunges forward with an exclamation point to indicate its surprise at moving at some other will than Yuugi's. Jonouchi and Honda again freak at Silent Swordsman's certain death if it attacks now. Yuugi STARTS to declare is use of another card to counter, but then trails off in the sudden suspicion at asshole!Bakura's grin that this isn't ALL there is to the trap. 

And indeed, asshole!Bakura turns over another of his face down cards to activate a second trap, much to Yuugi's alarm. 

Watching this duel is taking fucking YEARS off Jonouchi's life, I SWEAR.

He yells at Yuugi that he can't let that happen, because, as indicated on the card above, the Silent Swordsman's attack will bounce back and deal twice the damage on Yuugi himself. Yuugi sweats, wide-eyed, while asshole!Bakura says it's too late. He declares that Zoma is already dead as Silent Swordsman rips through it, and it disperses. Yuugi looks on with even more nervousness, Jonouchi helplessly just commenting on how BAD this is. Asshole!Bakura narrates how Zoma is now turning into ectoplasm, and then advises Yuugi to prepare himself for the coming 3000 points of direct damage to the player.

Zoma sweeps around Silent Swordsman, ectoplasmic jaws open wide at Yuugi, whose poop-face is more intense than ever in the face of this attack; he is no longer sweating, though. Anzu whines in concern at Yuugi, the other two bystanders gaping in horror. 

Yuugi throws out an arm, and asshole!Bakura grimaces at him out of pure rage and disbelief.

... Pardon?

Yuugi explains that by the power of this card, they've advanced three turns in an instant, and the power of asshole!Bakura's ectoplasm is neutralized. Not certain how this necessarily cancels out the effect that still should have happened three turns ago now, but maybe I'm missing some intricacy regarding how Zoma can't bounce everything back because the turn it's supposed to be acting on is technically already passed? Regardless, it's real ironic that Zorc isn't the only one who gets to use wacky time control powers here! Take that, loser creep god!

Like all our favorite infomercials, Yuugi assures asshole!Bakura that this isn't all. Asshole!Bakura's expression sours all the more as he notes the bigger buffer version of Silent Swordsman, which Yuugi declares has advanced to level 4. It's got a hefty 3000 attack points now, and Yuugi commands it to attack during an extreme zoom onto its serious scarred eye. It lunges forward and slashes the level 4 sword in a criss-cross pattern over the Death Knight, which literally explodes the damn thing into pieces. Asshole!Bakura grunts, his life points reduced to 2900, and cursing that little brat Yuugi.

Anzu, does that actually MEAN anything, or are you just talking out of your ass?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The title appears to be drawing a parallel between Yuugi's Silent Swordsman monster and himself, and how his understated role in the story up to this point has been hiding a LOT of power that no one really noticed until this point. I made fun of Anzu in that last line of the recap, but I guess I can kind of see what she was getting at. With Yami being the more front-facing between him and Yuugi, he presented as a lot more boisterous and outspoken, as opposed to Yuugi being a quiet, supportive type. But just because he hasn't been shouting from the rooftops with every step about how much he's capable of doesn't mean he hasn't evolved into a juggernaut himself. He's just been a lot more reserved about it.

I believe any reader who's been paying attention isn't all that surprised by Yuugi's strength and ability here, but it is somewhat cathartic to see his friends finally have the chance to observe and acknowledge this fact. We as an audience have the benefit of a more omniscient viewpoint that allows us insight into Yuugi's growth along WITH Yami regardless of how often he was taking charge in duels. There's obviously a REASON he refers to himself and Yami as PARTNERS, rather than asshole!Bakura's view of regular sized Bakura as a mere HOST. Yuugi and Yami are a team, both lending skill and cunning to every gaming effort, and that has become more apparent as the story has gone on.

But the other characters haven't been able to see that for themselves yet. The scant few times that Yuugi has been the one in charge of the game, he's been actively trying to put the breaks on a game that was dangerous (with Kaiba), or no one else was around to see this (with Ryuji). He's been front and center so infrequently, and fairly vulnerable when he was, so I don't blame his friends for having such a shock when the sensitive, kiddish Yuugi turns out to be a badass. There's been barely any indication to them until this moment that there was another dimension to his growth as a character.

Nor to his enemies - asshole!Bakura gives every impression that he thinks Yuugi's going to be a cinch to pull one over on. As I mentioned above, he views the regular Bakura as a host first and foremost, with the occasional artistic talent to lend to their operation. He doesn't see Yuugi as anything more in relation to Yami either, so seeing him get flustered and frustrated when Yuugi hands him his ASS above is nothing short of DELICIOUS. It's like candy watching it slowly dawn on asshole!Bakura that this is not as easy as he had assumed it would be. 

See what happens when you make friends and allies rather than underlings/sentient furniture? Not that asshole!Bakura would be capable of actually endearing himself and his cause to sweet soft Bakura. That kid would recoil at the first word. Hell, he probably DID, and that's why asshole!Bakura didn't bother manipulating him in the nicer way and just went for the repression/memory wipe method for the duration of the story that we saw.

But that's just a little headcanon. Don't mind me.

Inuyasha Manga: 266 Corridor

Not title related, but the last couple weeks were one HELL of a ride for me and most everyone else I know. With Elon Musk finally going through with his purchase of Twitter (grudgingly, it seems) and terrorizing/eliminating the workforce there, an uproar has arisen that I don't think anyone foresaw. I've not been on Twitter - my social media home for the past few years has been Mastodon, so I thought the most this whole debacle was going to affect me was to give me a good laugh at the SqUiDlOrD's expense. I was VERY wrong. There's been an influx of new users into the Fediverse from Twitter, and we've all been scrambling to accommodate everyone. I've been on way more than usual to give advice and comb through the federated timeline to find new folks to follow/interact with, and there have been WAY more than I can keep up with. By 11/3, there were over 200,000 new people, including KATHY GRIFFIN. 

So to say that this has been a major disruption to some of the more popular instances is... a bit of an understatement. 

Still, if YOU'RE looking for a new platform to join after the utter disaster of the Elon Musk Twitter takeover, you can find a list of instances (servers) here to choose from depending on your interests and what's available: https://instances.social/list#lang=&allowed=&prohibited=&min-users=&max-users= , and feel free to follow me on @Writch@pagan.plus . I just posted pictures of my cinnamon rolls. 

They are good. 

Yeah, dude, you have NO idea. 

This seems to be confirmation to him that the barrier around Mt. Hakurei was to conceal the evil within; a bit lit the chocolate coating surrounding the sickly sweet cream center of a Cadbury Creme Egg. You can't convince me those things aren't a pure evil delivery device, fight me. Miroku and Sango run along the tunnel until they are shocked to find themselves emerging from it onto a fenced-off path running along the edge of a cavernous pit, another path shown even farther up its sheer face, and there are probably more as you zoom out. Miroku calls this a corridor, but it strikes me more like one of those gallerias with multi-storey walkways that look onto a central fountain/courtyard type setup. All it needs is a couple escalators and some shops, and voila, Naraku can go full capitalist.

Sango pushes her mask over her mouth, citing the terrible evil aura in there. There's a rustle above them and they look up to be even more surprised than before.

These are evidently not the kind of youkai you feed every day, because they're looking mighty hungry to me.

Sango identifies them as Naraku's youkai, and Miroku says they're not content with hiding anymore, ripping the beads from his right hand. Before he points his palm up, though, they spot a few Saimyoushou hovering in the horde, and Sango jumps out in front of Miroku poised to throw Hiraikotsu, warning Miroku not to used Kazaana, and avoid the inevitable poisoning that would ensue. Her boomerang rips through the mass of youkai handily, and Miroku supports her by throwing out his paper charms and neutralizing the ones still in one piece, calling this "judgment". Hm, I think I pulled that Tarot card for today. Odd.

Seems to me that the ONLY ones who could come all the way up there are ordinary humans. Kagura sort of acknowledges this with a subsequent comment about how that jerk Inuyasha wouldn't be able to come in at all. While Sango recognizes Kagura a bit late, Kagura says she'll observe their courage for getting this far, before slinging some crescent wind blades from her fan and promising them they won't get back alive. 

Sango and Miroku book it along the path just before the blade smashes the area they had been before, totally obliterating it. A fresh wave of weak youkai fly down from above, and they have to battle their way through it, Sango interpreting this to be a command for them not to go any farther. Miroku concludes that this has to mean Naraku is nearby and they're on the right track, shouting out to Sango to go the way he is. I would expect this if the path forks, but it doesn't seem to, so I don't know what this panel is doing here except as a filler of some sort. 

They run for a set of stairs leading to a higher tier of the path, and Kagura scoffs, calling them fools as she throws another wind blade their way. 

Sango yells at Miroku to go on ahead, but he refuses, while the horde continues to descend on them. Declaring that their priority should be to determine Naraku's location, Sango throws Hiraikotsu to slice through the fresh wave of youkai horde, with the added bonus of heading toward Kagura on the other side. Kagura looks mildly shocked that Sango seems to expect to clobber her next, then adopts an angry expression when she swings her fan upward and reminds Sango that she's a wind-user. The motion redirects the oncoming boomerang up and away from its target, eliciting a curse from Sango. 

As she follows the arc of Hiraikotsu up, Sango sees a familiar figure standing on an even higher tier of the path - Kohaku standing there looking over the railing at her impassively. Sango stares in alarm at her little brother, very effectively distracted. Kagura mocks her with a sardonic question about why she's looking away, waving the fan again.

Oooh, buddy, that looks like it hurts!

The force of the blow from her own weapon propels her onto the floor, landing hard on her side and groaning as she falls unconscious. Miroku yells her name, jumping back down to her side of the stairs and running to her side. He kneels next to her, confirming for himself that she's conked out entirely.

That's going to be really rich coming from you eventually, Kagura. 

The youkai horde start for Miroku again, but he turns to meet them, yanking the beads off his hand in the process. Kagura reminds him that the Saimyoushou are at the ready, so he shouldn't be able to use the Kazaana for fear of their poison. Miroku suggests that she doesn't know very much about him; he says that if he can trade beloved Sango for a marginally longer life, then he doesn't NEED his life at all. Convoluted sentiment, but heroic all the same. He points his black-hole hand at the oncoming youkai.

Well, you know what they say. Garbage in...

Kagura leans away from the wind pulling at her from Miroku's hand, in disbelief that he really did open it. Again, that hindsight dramatic irony tickles me. Meanwhile, the Saimyoushou fly into the Kazaana, and pain shoots through Miroku, making him groan and sweat. He still holds up his arm, though, knowing all the while that the poison of the insects is spreading through him quickly. Sango lays there, helpless. 

Narrow sky transition panel! Kagome is standing at the base of the mountain, Shippou's poofy little fox tail poking out of the crook of her arm, and she mutters with worry that Sango and Miroku are late getting back down to them with a report. They're TOO late, so Kagome is sure something has happened to them. A bubble from off-panel tells her to wait here, while Shippou gurgles in her arms. She couldn't step a ways off that barrier for the kid's sake, I guess. 

Inuyasha appears with Kirara mewling on his shoulder, announcing that HE'S going to run and check out the mountain himself. Kagome makes a questioning noise, asking what he's saying, because she was pretty sure he couldn't step on sacred ground like any other non-human.

I don't know if you should be so confident in the rules of this barrier. They let through murderous creepoids with mild nausea while rendering harmless baby children like Shippou completely inert. Who knows what an exception to the strict binary might mean for this overly sanctimonious wall?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I have indicated before that Kohaku is my favorite character, and I am delighted to see him almost every time he appears, but "almost" is the key word here. It really seemed like his only purpose showing up when he did here was to incapacitate Sango and create drama. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; drama is after all precisely why we read stories. But when the drama is obviously contrived and it's clear that the creator didn't care enough to present a REASON why a certain drama was arising. Kohaku wasn't fighting, for all we know, he has NO REASON for being there. Now, if RT had inserted a couple of panels where Kagura was instructing Kohaku to reveal himself to Sango to distract her, or better yet, if Kohaku wanted to take a peek at this mysterious woman whose face won't leave his memory, that would have shown us the first domino being toppled. As it stands, given how Kohaku expressed resistance to the idea of fighting Sango, it's very conspicuous that he should just show up to a fight with her in it out of the blue.

Seeing Miroku unreservedly fighting to stay with and protect the knocked-out Sango is somewhat sweet, but I'm a little bummed that her badassery was cut so very fast. I'm not complaining, because despite the abrupt trigger for her to lose her concentration, I know why it had to happen. Honestly, while Kagura may be grateful for a chance to exercise her battle skills, she just doesn't have the loyalty to Naraku to put up a good enough fight to match Sango and Miroku together, nor does Kohaku. It really was necessary to take ONE of this power couple out in order to squeeze any amount of tension out of the scene. Still, I kind of wish it could have been Miroku to go down? Although, I also get that he has to have the opportunity at some point to declare some reciprocated feelings for Sango, and that may as well have been now. I'm just a brat and want to cheer on Sango the slayer. Sue me.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 324 Battle in the Shrine!

It's no surprise the fight continues, since we're right in the thick of things, but I'll be damned if Yami wouldn't love a little break right now. Not only has he been grinding along in an escalating battle for several chapters now, but he's projecting into two places and realities at once! I get tired just cleaning my house and fall asleep READING now, so I can't even imagine what that kind of hustle is like. Somebody get this kid a nap, STAT.

Or a fucking BOMBSHELL, that works too I guess!

Hasan says Yami's dad spent his time on his deathbed worrying over what havoc the Millennium Items might wreak on the world. This led him to give his soul to seal a spirit into the Millennium Tablet, or the Tablet of the Pharaoh's Memories. So, Hasan got his ass planted in the tablet by a dying old dude? Did... did I read that right???

I seem to be the only one who has even MORE questions than before here, because after Yami's initial shock, he just marvels at how his father sacrificed himself to protect the kingdom and his son too. An image of said father is superimposed over the tablet across the room as Yami thinks about him, and he wonders if his dad's actions were all for nothing, since in spite of that effort...

Sure seems like that was one of those world-destroying things your dad was trying to avoid, for sure.

Zorc himself addresses Hasan, deducing that he must be a spirit from the afterworld if he's lived through all that hellfire that was just spat at him. Hasan responds that as long as there is light in the afterworld, even Zorc will cast a shadow, which Hasan identifies as. Have we come around again to the polarities of good and evil being switched to dark and light respectively again? Who knows? Zorc laughs that Hasan will be easy to crush if he's just a shadow, which makes me think he's never actually encountered a shadow before. He does realize that shadows are already flat and not really capable of being condensed down to the two-dimensions it already occupies, right? 

Oh well, KT was never really big on physics...

Hasan says that a shadow only disappears when its OWNER is destroyed, which is another technically untrue claim, and I really wish they would stop dragging out this metaphor because they both SUCK at it. But no, now Akhenaden jumps in on it, giggling about the "shadow" part of the metaphor, and adds that he himself has become Zorc's reflection in gaining his awesome powers, which is surely greater than a shadow! A more detailed but still two-dimensional image is just so much better than a crummy shadow, guys! Zorc thinks this deranged assignment of value to a physical phenomenon is interesting (because OF COURSE he would), and encourages Akhenaden to go ahead and reflect his power at Hasan and destroy him, fully giving over this opponent to his little priest minion. 

Thankfully, Yami's the one to break off this awful out-of-control metaphor chain, demanding to know from Akhenaden why he betrayed them and sold his soul to Zorc. Akhenaden explains that Yami is the living god of this world, controlling the three gods and all he surveys, but he can't see into the true darkness that affords power beyond that of the divine right of kings. 

Except, apparently the massive hulking god behind you, I guess. What qualities make Zorc able to touch this power that other gods can't? His willingness to let his toothed dong hang out there all day? 

Akhenaden continues to shoot lightning at Hasan and Yami, demanding that the pharaoh bow to him as he falls in death, adding that he former king should do that too, as an incoherent afterthought. Yami screams, eyes popping, as Hasan admits haltingly that he can't move under the yoke of such massive power and hatred. He's about to admit defeat at this rate, when Yami looks up with tired shock and Akhenaden yells in disbelief. 

It's Mahado, who's flown in front of both Hasan and Yami to counter the lightning attack from Akhenaden with and Afterworld Warp. As Yami looks up at him with relief and thankfulness, Akhenaden growls about the damn spirit magician of the pharaoh. Mahado urges Yami to look behind him, indicating that time has started moving again.

Looks like a fun party you guys just joined. With the word "fun" doing a bit of heavy lifting, as usual.

The recently reanimated medley of priests stands and stares for a moment while Zorc tries to be deep and says that there is only the darkness of death at the end of time. He adds that they're fools to stand against him, but Yami insists that he's wrong, and that their spirits will light the end of time. Is this another of those really janky metaphors, or...?

Yeeeeeaaaaah, "fun" is doing some REALLY heavy lifting for this dude in particular.

His reaction is quickly passed over, though, so we can see Hasan warn Yami that the evil one's power is almost infinite, and there's only one way for them to stand against it. Yami assumes that this must be the thing his friends are looking for, his lost name.

An exercise that has suddenly become very dangerous for them. In the tomb, Jonouchi is screaming that it's coming, referring to the statue approaching him from behind with its ominous sword raised. As the blades start swishing through the air, Jonouchi starts sprinting, alarmed that the statues have started attacking them. In the background, Honda is also flinching away from an approaching statue, appearing to be on a totally different path. They were all in an neat little line before, what the hell happened??

Yuugi flees another statue, yelling out that it's like time started back up again suddenly. No shit, Sherlock. Honda shouts to look out, since these mannequins are looking to kill them, and he's not much interested in finding out if they can. A fair worry, considering these statues appear to sense them where the other denizens of this world cannot...

After some scrambling terror, the group finally collapses on the platform at the other side of the chasm, panting from the effort of dodging all those swords. Yuugi doesn't let them rest for long, though, insisting that they have to keep going. Jonouchi dabs at his sweating face with what looks like a handkerchief, complaining that there's probably more traps ahead. But they walk through another passage unmolested, and come upon the straight path across another deep pit, leading to a shadowed dais on the other side. Yuugi's mouth hangs open in shock at what he sees there. 

You WOULD be. 

Yuugi blurts asshole!Bakura's name in utter disbelief, and Jonouchi asks what he's even DOING there. Asshole!Bakura spreads his arms wide in welcome, asking for confirmation that they're here to find the pharaoh's true name. He thrusts a thumb behind him to tell them that it's back there, the thief's soul in his Millennium Ring sensing it. Asshole!Bakura says he's not about to let them get to it, though, and this is as far as they're getting in their quest. He holds up his fleshy Duel Disk sprouted from his arm, announcing they'll have to defeat him before they can pass.

I don't know if asshole!Bakura WANTS to give off Black Knight energy here, but...

Yuugi gives him a full poop-face glare as asshole!Bakura asserts that this time it's for real. He reminds Yuugi what he said before they were interrupted before, about each of them having 4000 life points. Yuugi picks up the trailing thread without hesitation, lifting his own arm with a regular Duel Disk clasped over it, recalling that you die when those life points run out and that this is a shadow game. Grinning, asshole!Bakura says he's right.

Anzu calls to Yuugi in warning, saying it's too dangerous, and Jonouchi gapes in horror as Yuugi retorts that it's okay and he HAS to accept this fight. He's not showing the slightest sign of nervousness as he focuses entirely on helping his other self find his real name. Yuugi walks a little ways onto the path, asshole!Bakura already out there as well. Asshole!Bakura gestures to his gross Duel Disk and informs Yuugi that they both have their ideal 40-card decks in the machines they imagined already. The decks will conveniently randomize so they don't know which of their ideal cards will come up once they shuffle, though. 

Yuugi immediately picks a card from his hand, declaring that he's going first. He puts that card face down and summons... a marshmallow. No, I'm serious, it's a LITERAL Marshmallow, with a little upside down smiley face like that emoji. The card says it can only be damaged by spells and special abilities, but I don't know how that's an asset when EVERYONE has those two things. Seems weird, but then again, Kuriboh was dumb to everyone who came up against it so far, so who am I to say how this thing fares in a game? 

Asshole!Bakura gives Marshmallow the same general assessment that Kuriboh tends to get, too, which is a smug proclamation that it's a weak monster. Probably a good sign. He shouts that it's his turn as he draws a card.

No pressure, surely you can beat an armored skeleton on a horse with 1/3 of a S'more. 

So what did I think of this chapter overall? It brings up way more questions than it answers, and its answers aren't quite as satisfying as I'd hoped. Learning that Hasan was put into the Millennium Tablet by Yami's dad with the last of his strength is a bit like the ancient book that contained the instructions on how to make the Millennium Items; suggesting far more complexity and lore than there is time or space to elaborate upon. Sure, it sounds plausible that Yami's father could put a spirit in the tablet given previous mechanics with the items, but how did he learn to do this? Mahado said that he told the former pharaoh about the true nature of the Millenium Items just before he got sick and died, so that hardly leaves a lot of time for him to find out the intricacies of what his item was capable of. It doesn't even leave a lot of time to ponder and figure out the worst-case-scenario regarding what the Millennium Items could wreak. Either there's an implication here that Yami's dad knew about the information Mahado gave him long before hand and was already working on counteracting it, or it's just another problem in the vein of not properly considering how much time what he's proposing might take, like the story of the creation of the Millennium Items to begin with. 

I am VERY curious about how those statues started attacking Yuugi and company - Honda made a very slight reference to the fact that they hadn't really been solid matter in this world since they got here by suggesting there's a chance they couldn't be touched by them. They (Jonouchi in particular) had been unseen, unheard, and untouchable to all the other people there upon arrival, but these statues are able to perceive and pursue them the moment time started moving again. Honda's comment could have been a small lampshade on the problem, but I can't help questioning it, because there's a couple of interesting possibilities. Having been designed and produced by the priest Siamun, perhaps they are able to detect non-corporeal or spiritual intruders as well as those of flesh-and-blood, which implies that Siamun is not JUST concerned about physical looting but some otherworldly threat, and that would be a very cool angle to explore. Alternately, since this isn't the REAL tomb, but a game world reproduction, the statues are more a mechanic/puzzle than an NPC, so of course it stands to reason that they would behave the same no matter what and who entered the tomb to get to the dais on the other side. It's probably the latter, because that's the most straightforward answer, but I'll keep an eye out for hints from Siamun in the future, just in case.

My main hope is that they don't try to build a rickety tower of metaphor anymore. They Jenga'd it all over the place, and I hated every second of it.