YuYu Hakusho Manga: 044 The Last Measure!!

I sure hope so. I can't tell you how sick I am of the flat, boring Suzaku, so I'm rather looking forward to an end to this fight. But since I can't quite remember how he's beaten in the anime, nor can I count on the resolution here to be exactly alike, I'm not sure how Yusuke's going to pull this one out of the fire. It seems unlikely he has enough energy to aim an attack with even a fraction of the power that his last one had, even if he manages to reach even DEEPER down for it. He might need some serious help, because his enemy doesn't seem to play by ANY rules that make sense, most of his power coming from his role as a villain in the story and the lack of a need to adhere to any norms of character or fair engagement.

Which would be an AWFULLY terrifying superpower if a real person outside of a cartoon happened to harness it. 

... Wait...

He's LITERALLY cooked. 

A boom of thunder from arcing lightning sounds outside the tower, and the rest of the team below it have their commentary - Kurama says it's going to be a big finish and Hiei predicts that someone's going to die this time. At this point they've taken down ALL the multitudes of Soylent Greens that were preventing their entrance to the tower, so with an insistent grunt, the doors are pushed open, and they announce their intentions to run straight to the top.  

That's just wind kicked up from the amp to Suzaku's upcoming attack, but it's strong enough that Yusuke thinks it could bowl him straight over, his jelly legs quivering at the force. He's convinced he really IS used up this time, in a bad way. Suzaku laughs about how SWEET it is that Yusuke and his girl get to die at approximately the same time, and bids his opponent to enjoy his reunion with Keiko in the afterlife. He does express some appreciation for how "diverting" this impromptu battle was.

"Diverting"? What, precisely, do you have to "divert" from, dude?

Yusuke is alarmed at the renewed references to Keiko, and her image on the screen behind all those Suzakus, calling for Botan to hang on. Suzaku mocks this as her death wail, saying it will be Yusuke's requiem. The image on the screen is shown in the multifaceted eye of a fly buzzing in the room, watching the mass of chuckling possessed people closing in all around the collapsed Botan and Keiko. OHHHH! So THAT'S where the broadcast is coming from! A literal fly on the wall! It's groan-worthy, but I won't lie, at least it's a fair explanation. 

The crying Keiko is thinking at Yusuke as Iwamoto threateningly tells her this is IT for her, bloody fist still carrying those scissors in addition to another's fist clutching a hammer. Tears streak down her face, and she sends out another mental plea to Yusuke. 

What's this? ANOTHER hidden reservoir of energy???

Indeed, his aura flares suddenly, and Yusuke acknowledges that, what do you know, he has a bit of extra energy after all. Much to Suzaku's vexation, of course. He exclaims that Yusuke is alive and full of spiritual power, and sweating, realizes that his life force is charging Yusuke up, expending his very existence to continue the fight. A car battery charged by the running engine comes to mind, although I'm not sure if that's quite the right metaphor. 

In any case, Yusuke pulls back his fist and charges it with his overwhelming aura that is apparently propped up by his urge to keep Keiko alive. As he does so, he confirms that he's using up his life force to kill Suzaku's ass, and declares the demon is going down. Suzaku gapes, admitting he's never faced such raw power, but tries to fire off his Lightning Shockwave before Yusuke can hit him. 

As for how well THAT works...

Did they rip open space and time or something???

Whatever they did, it blows the whole top straight off the tower, alarming the rest of the team with debris ricocheting down the stairs at them, Kuwabara letting out a horrified exclamation. Suzaku still appears whole while he's thrown back back at the top, but his elaborate whistle crumbles under the pressure of his and Yusuke's combined attack. Yusuke, also still whole, miraculously, is conscious enough to acknowledge that he destroyed the whistle as he set out to do, but soon he can't see anymore, can't even perceive Keiko to ensure he did it on time. His last conscious thought is a halting one of hope that he managed to beat the clock. 

Ugh, Suzaku is STILL alive. He complains, in a halting, painful fashion, that his Lightning Shockwave was perfect and he SHOULDN'T have sustained such damage. Suddenly, he gasps as something he sees out of the corner of his eye; a crack in his antenna. Wait, those thin dark-colored forelocks are ANTENNA?? I guess that explains his affinity for insects to the point of using them in an attempt to break into the human realm. He speculates that Yusuke's FIRST Reigun attack might have caused the crack, but dismisses that idea almost immediately. These antenna contain his life force, so he's armored them to Hell and back, making them harder than diamonds. We've talked about how the hardness of diamonds don't translate into them being unbreakable in an Inuyasha review - in short, diamonds are quite brittle at their cleavage points because the chemical bonds in the crystal structure are weaker there, which is why people don't make HAMMERS out of them. 

You know, out of all the crazy things that are currently happening in the world right now that test my mental fortitude, I think finding out that a dumbass billionaire somewhere had a startup dedicated to making diamond luxury hammers would psychologically BREAK ME. I hate that this is more than a slight possibility. 

Anyway, demon doesn't understand the chemistry of geology, so if he specifically fashioned the armor for his antenna after the hardness of DIAMONDS, that no doubt is the root of his problem right there. He's convinced no normal attack could break that armor, but he collapses onto his face as he acknowledges that Yusuke DID in fact do it. The bond the boy has with the girl was quite a bit more potent than he anticipated. 

Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei climb up through the hole in the floor that once held the dome over the staircase. The former calls out to Yusuke, who he sees laying supine in the rubble. Kurama kneels next to Yusuke and puts a hand on his chest, mumbling that his condition isn't good; Yusuke's aura is depleted and there's barely a heartbeat. Kuwabara offers immediately to give Yusuke an aura transfusion, and I can't help but be reminded of Dracula's rather FREE use of blood transfusions in its story, lol. 

Kurama tries to forbid Kuwabara from this, citing the fact he's barely recovered from his battle with Byakko, but Kuwabara will NOT be denied. He yells that he's not going to stand there and watch Yusuke die, insisting he needs energy, and Kurama's demonic aura will be no good for humans, so Kuwabara declares he's the only option Yusuke has got. Sounds like some dicey logic, but whatevz. He kneels next to Yusuke and charges him with aura, willing the jerk to live. Yusuke's eyes pretty much immediately open and they glare over at Kuwabara in annoyance and rage. 

There's a roar off-panel while Kurama comments to Hiei that they're going to need to carry BOTH boys out of there. Hiei complains about humans being a pain, resigning himself to never understanding why they make such sacrifices for one another. Kurama argues that this quality is what enabled Yusuke to defeat Suzaku, but Hiei only says this is perhaps the case, and seems rather unconvinced. He does say with some certainty that you wouldn't catch HIM almost dying for someone else. 

Kurama points out that if Yusuke hadn't risked it, he'd be dead anyway, and Hiei accuses Kurama of always having to have the last word. Ugh, you two just need to kiss already. 

Once Yusuke and Kuwabara are finally BOTH out, Kurama and Hiei comment on it with little concern. At least the trip back out of here will be quieter, however that's supposed to happen. We still don't have a clue how they all got here in the first place. 

This kid's mom is going to flip the fuck out on him. AGAIN. 

Yusuke sits up in bed, tossing off the blankets, and moans out half-questions about where he is and what happened, a palm pressed to his aching head. Kuwabara compares Yusuke to sleeping beauty while announcing his awakening, and states he's safe and sound in Kuwabara's own room. Gracious, you boys are NOT beating the allegations, are you? Kurama placidly tells Yusuke that he's been out for three days, Kuwabara following up with an excited account of how school has been in total turmoil and classes have been cancelled. He adds that he let Yusuke's mom know he's alright though. I don't know whether to hope she doesn't know Yusuke came to death yet again, or hope she's at least clued in a little. That poor woman. 

Yusuke groans about the three whole days and how he's never felt so beat to death, which is something coming from a guy who's literally been dead before. He suddenly recalls Keiko and Botan and trails in a question about their safety, but a sweating Kuwabara starts in on relating how Iwamoto is getting grilled by the police, and the shitty teacher claims not to remember a single thing he did in that period of possession. He also says that their councilor is recovering from a serious blow to the head too. Yusuke brushes aside this information, trying to ask again what's with Keiko and Botan. Kuwabara starts to babble, asking if he mentioned Iwamoto getting grilled by the police, and tries to swerve into a side-street about what the best part about that is, but Yusuke is NOT having it and demands to know what's the deal with Keiko and Botan again. 

He pointedly asks what Kuwabara is trying to hide, only to get sullen silence from both him and Kurama in response. Yusuke tries to spur them to answer softly at first, then yells, jumping out of bed to grab a fistful of Kuwabara's shirt and tell him not to pull this crap. Once more, Yusuke asks what happened with the girls. 

... Nothing, I guess. 

Yusuke gapes in confusion, while Kuwabara snickers in amusement over how he really had Yusuke going. Even Kurama is giggling over it, but he's trying to pin all of this little prank on Kuwabara thinking he's funny. As if you don't think the same, dude. Kuwabara is straight-up crying, choking out that Yusuke should have seen his own face. You know, when he was panicking over the possibility that Keiko and Botan were DEAD? Hilarious. Yusuke's clenched jaw and fuming expression is all we get to see of his immediate reaction, because the next panel features a kitten in the corner, mostly just a sign that we're going to pause here as Kuwabara gets his head handed to him. As he should, frankly. 

Next thing we know, Botan is explaining what Yusuke missed in her chipper way, strange in contrast to her statement about how it was a close call and they thought they were goners. She even recounts how she got knocked in the head with a big grin on her face. But she says that when she came to, she saw all the possessed assailants sprawled out, and so she knew Yusuke had triumphed. He's sitting cross-legged on the floor, just as chipper as her, expressing his massive relief that they're okay. Kuwabara is laying insensible beside him, a Japanese-style gravestone pinning him at his back to symbolize how Yusuke beat him damn near to death. 

Yusuke claims that it's all over, but he sees Keiko glaring with intense displeasure at him from beside a still beaming Botan, so it's clear there's still some hard feelings here. 

Good luck, brother.

He blurts to her that he knows this was his fault, and when she turns silently to listen to him, he says he was stupid, encouraging her to chew him out because he deserves it. She steps toward him, still wordless, and raises an arm into the air with a whoosh. Yusuke sweatdrops, anticipating a physical rebuff coming, but she instead brings down her hand to hold her index finger up in front of his nose. He's REALLY sweating now, but lets out a confused noise in face of the strange gesture. 

Keiko tells him that Botan gave her the whole story. Like, the WHOLE story? Keiko doesn't really elaborate, but she does say that the next time he gets a mission like this, she wants him to tell her about it before he goes. She asks for his promise that whenever possible she'll be the first to know what's going on. As Yusuke stares in mild shock, she explains that she doesn't want to be left fumbling in the dark and then only informed of everything after the fact. A reasonable expectation, if she's going to be placed in this kind of danger by these little escapades of Yusuke's all the time. He says he understands why she would want this, and apologizes, but Keiko says she's not asking for a "sorry" but a promise. As they continue walking, Yusuke swears he won't let anything else happen to her, which is NOT the promise she asked for! She points this out, and Yusuke winces, pausing for a second before insisting that there won't be any more missions as dangerous as this one. Rightfully so, Keiko is not to be placated or diverted in attention, and says that shit doesn't matter. She demands the promise she ASKED FOR. 

Gracious, what is Yusuke's allergy to just TALKING to this girl in earnest???

Just pick one, they're all pains. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I feel like YT is trying to have his cake and eat it too with this one, but it actually works. On the one hand, Yusuke is given MULTIPLE second-winds when Keiko is threatened or otherwise particularly visible, so we get the classic "power from the desire to protect someone important" trope that is a staple in the Shonen genre. On the OTHER hand, we have Yusuke's ultimate victory following the established pattern in this particular story, which is based mostly on luck and accidental vulnerabilities. I think it's interesting how these two seemingly contradictory tropes were combined at the end of this arc, to give us a taste of how truly powerful Yusuke could end up being given the motivation, but also clue us in on the fact that all the power in the world isn't all that useful if you don't know WHERE to aim it. ;)

I'm truly perplexed why Yusuke was unwilling to promise to keep Keiko informed at the end of the chapter, though. It make sense that the simplest thing he could do when he goes on any mission is let Keiko know of what it consists, so she can be on the alert for anything weird or funny happening around her and prepare accordingly. And he has said within the past couple of chapters that she's not some fainting waif, but a badass who is PERFECTLY capable of protecting herself. Why he wouldn't be super on-board for the easiest way of keeping them both alert and safe, the option that requires the absolute LEAST amount of effort, is the biggest mystery in this whole story. Maybe solving that one should be the next mission, lol. 

Kuwabara and Kurama have made it on my shit-list for this one. I do not enjoy pranks where one is made to believe someone they love is hurt or dead. Not cute. Not funny. Yusuke should have beat the shit out of Kurama too for that one, frankly. 

Swerve: If I'm at all erratic in my posts in the coming weeks and months, I would like to offer my apologies. I'm doing all the protests, observations, and political actions that I possibly can handle right now, and I can't guarantee there won't be *ahem* CONSEQUENCES for that doled out by the fascist state that is now occupying the soulless husk of the United States. If anyone in the States reading this is also doing their best to defend and protect their neighbors during this difficult time, solidarity forever friends, and I'm hoping for your safety as well as your sustained energy for what will no doubt continue to be a hard fight. For anyone outside the USA, don't buy anything from here if you can help it, and certainly don't come here. Fuck the World Cup, your safety is SO MUCH more valuable. 

Stay safe everyone. <3