YuYu Hakusho Manga: 021 The Muncher of Souls!!

Gracious, this title! On the one hand, it made me laugh out loud the first time I saw it, but that's mostly because the word "munch" is funny to me for some reason. Then, upon reflecting for a couple of minutes, I realized there are an awful lot of soul-munchers out there that seem to be chewing upon the collective spirit of mankind. Like most folks these days, I've had to get a strong handle on how much news I take in on any given day, because I feel like these actual vampires are feasting on my life force every time they do something outrageous, and I take an ENORMOUS amount of psychic damage from it all. 

The people in charge of the USA right now could definitely qualify as soul-munchers. Definitely. 

Guess you're going to have to find some OTHER means of beating him than your fists, huh?

Gouki stomps a foot that has burst out the front of his sneakers, expressing irritation that Yusuke has interfered with his feeding, as if he can claim to be starving in any capacity. He sprints for Yusuke, yelling that the human shall pay for this intrusion with his life. He's awfully angry about Yusuke physically opposing an action he seemed to take out of pure gloating to begin with. 

Anyway, Gouki clocks Yusuke, sending him flying. As Yusuke scoots and skips over the ground with the force of the punch, Gouki shrugs and scratches the back of his head in false apology, saying that it was a bit rough, because he forgot how fragile humans are. Yusuke pushes himself up with an arm, the other feeling around his ribs, coughing. He's horrified that it was this bad when he even turned away from the blow instinctively. 

Great. What a party. 

Yusuke has collapsed again, his fingers crawling through the grass in his attempts, but he realizes in despair that it's no use, he can't MOVE. He's writhing and groaning on the ground, which Gouki judges as good, but then he turns to look over his shoulder at voices floating toward them between the trees. They're shouting to each other about where the sounds of agony seem to be coming from, though they don't seem to have noted them as such, because they're inviting the others in the woods over to where their fire and beer are. Gouki curses the partiers heading their way, grumbling that he's not in the mood. 

Oddly, Yusuke seems to recognize the voice in the surrounding forest, but he's too dazed and in pain to really be able to identify it. Gouki's image blurs as he warns Yusuke to take care not to bother he and his fellow thieves again, if he values his life, anyway. Yusuke curses Gouki weakly, blacking out with the it echoing in his head. 

How convenient. But every convenience has its price, because Atsuko immediately strikes Yusuke on the top of his head as she calls him a numbskull, yelling at him in her rage that he came home a total mess, looking like he had a fight with a pro wrestler. She reminds him that he JUST came back from the dead, and demands that he stop making her worry so much, starting to bawl again. Yusuke gives her a half-hearted acquiescence, telling her to stop crying already. As if this should be a COMFORT to his stressed mother, he says that it would have been way worse if it hadn't been for that voice he recognized. 

It's at this moment that Botan steps in, looking nervous, asking how Yusuke is feeling. He says he knew it was her, while his mother expresses surprise that they seem to know each other. She must step out before the next panel, because Botan explains to Yusuke that she found him by using a special compass called the demonic-aura meter, which apparently indicates the direction and distance of a nearby demon, the range depending on the spiritual power of the user. New gadget for Mr. Bond! Botan adds that she was by herself in the forest making all that noise to distract Gouki, so it was a good thing for her that he didn't come over. I guess that there weren't multiple voices after all.

Yusuke tells Botan that this situation is screwy for him, because Gouki is way tougher than he can hope to be. Botan admits to knowing this fact, and claims that the other two people are even tougher than that. Not sure how she can positively say that when she doesn't know the first thing about them, but okay. She assures him that he doesn't have to tell HER how impossible it is for him to clear the matter up in just a week. He just gives her a serious expression, sweatdropping. No dropping out of this race when there's no alternative, I guess.

Their attention is caught by Atsuko in the other room, murmuring about how creepy something happening in just the next town over is. 

Yusuke's expression sharpens when he hears the newscaster advising residents to remain alert for anything unusual. He turns to Botan and asks for confirmation that Gouki ate the kids' souls, and Botan says this is correct, repeating the fact Yusuke has already learned from Gouki himself that children's souls are his favorite food. She explains that while Gouki can go for years without sustenance, he pretty much goes ham when his appetite is roused. Botan reiterates that no child is safe when he has the Rapacious Orb and he can feed with abandon. 

To Yusuke's enduring disgust, he remembers that gleeful little comment Gouki made about how the soul wriggles and twitches in his stomach. He throws off the covers of his bed, sliding out of it as he asks Botan how long a soul can survive in Gouki's stomach. She tells him that it's a day, at MOST. Yusuke hops to his feet with resolution, and she asks just what he thinks he's going to do. He says simply that he's going to kick Gouki's ass, and when Botan protests with an incredulous reference to his condition, he snaps that he's got no choice in the matter. 

As Botan stares, he says that the soul-eating business sounds bad, given that it should prevent one from going to Heaven or getting reincarnated. Yusuke expresses a certain sober mourning for a person who would lose memories, feelings, who they are, everything that makes them an individual. He says that those kids are basically screwed unless he DOES something. Yusuke adds that he's got his Rei Gun today, so he can't lose. 

That's the most adorable name for an ability I've ever seen in a manga.

After trailing his name for a moment, Botan holds up a finger with a strange ring on it. The ring has a wide band, with little fingers superimposed equally around it, all extending toward he middle knuckle. She says it's something she hadn't meant to give Yusuke until he had a bit more experience, but since the situation is desperate, she's going to gift up this little gadget to help Yusuke's odds. It's called an Aura Booster Ring, which is capable of increasing the power of Yusuke's Rei Gun, with high energy and aura costs to make it happen. Botan warns him that it should only be used as a last resort, because while it gives a big surge of power, Yusuke will be down for the count once he fires it. If he misses, he should consider the whole thing over. She admits she's not even certain THAT will be enough to pierce Gouki's steel-like skin, though. Yusuke gravely says they'll find out.

Looks like Gouki isn't trying all that hard to hide.

Yusuke is in shock over how close Gouki is, 500 meters to the North by his and Botan's reading. He says that there's really only one place the scumbag could be stalking, and that's the playground. I hope it's not JUST a playground, because otherwise it might be a little weird for Yusuke to know exactly where it is.

At said playground, where a bunch of kids are running around without an adult in sight, the Rapacious Orb rolls on the ground and a nearby little girl in overalls picks it up with a curious look on her face. She holds it up to Gouki as he approaches her, offering it back to him and complimenting him on how pretty his "ball" is. He agrees that it's a pretty ball and thanks her, telling her that he'll take that useless soul off her hands since she did him a favor. How magnanimous. When he seizes the orb from her, it draws her soul straight from her mouth, alarming her for the split second while she's still conscious before she pitches straight forward onto her face in the middle of the playground.

WHERE. ARE. HER. PARENTS?

Gouki chuckles at the orb, saying that this latest specimen looks tasty. He looks around when he hears his name called to find Yusuke sauntering up to him, claiming they've got unfinished business. Gouki is... not exactly pleased.

Stupid, but gallant. 

That bottom panel there is the only indication that we have shifted locations, back to the forest where they have at least a bit of privacy. At least, that's what I'm assuming, because there's no word on it. All of a sudden on the next page (after another of those filler panels that is mostly empty, this time featuring the little girl whose soul Gouki just stole off to the side) Gouki has transformed and his ill-fitting clothes have shredded to almost nothing, his trousers having become little shortie-jean-shorts. He tells Yusuke that this is the LAST meal he's going to interrupt, threatening to devour him body and soul. 

Yusuke doesn't respond, all his concentration going into his plan to pull out all the stops. He throws a punch at Gouki's gut, but his fist bounces back, bleeding. Gouki says that for a detective, Yusuke doesn't do much research on his game - he informs Yusuke that this body he's attacking is hard as steel and would blunt a sword. No Gouki, it's worse than him doing no research; he has a team that gives him this information and just forgets it immediately. 

Gouki throws a punch in turn, and Yusuke ducks out of the way so it lands on a tree instead, the second that Gouki has decked straight in half. Yusuke barely avoids the falling trunk, then immediately seizes it, charging at Gouki with it like a battering ram. 

Uh, Yusuke, how many more demonstrations do you need that this guy's skin isn't going to give to most weapons?

Gouki grips the log, which is grating against his abs like Parmesan, scoffing that Yusuke just doesn't get it. He swings the trunk at Yusuke and whacks him back with such a force that I'm surprised Yusuke doesn't end up unconscious. Like the trooper he is, he shakily pushes himself into a squatting position, internally cursing over the fact that his only chance is the Rei Gun, but he's not even sure that will be enough, having the same doubts at Botan. The panel is focused on the ring she gave him as he considers a viable target on Gouki's tank of a body - the eyes - but admits to himself that he could only get one at EXTREMELY close range. Then, Yusuke has an epiphany around that very phrase.

Without waiting for an answer to his question of whether Yusuke has said all his prayers yet, Gouki bids him to die.

Oof, that looks like it hurts. 

While Yusuke is lying there, Gouki stomps one of those massive feet on his back, drawing a cry of pain from the boy. Gouki DROOLS over the tone of Yusuke's voice, which he says is dripping with fear and pain, admitting that it's making his mouth water, because Yusuke can't SEE that from his vantage point. 

Meanwhile, Yusuke's back emits some awful crackles as Gouki grinds his foot into it, and Yusuke in turn emits a piteous yell. Gouki smarms about how Yusuke's back is creaking like it's going to snap, claiming this is a beautiful sound. See above GIF. 

But ANOTHER snap sounding behind Gouki catches his attention, and whips around to see a young boy in a baseball cap who's been unlucky enough to stumble on the scene. The boy recoils and cries that Gouki is a monster, literally, who immediately labels the boy as a witness. Some pressure must have been taken off the groaning Yusuke, because he's at least stopped screaming, thankfully. Though he resumes almost immediately in order to lift his head and issue a warning to the boy to run away NOW.

This is not the kind of child predator that this kid was warned about. 

Gouki lands right in front of the kid, cutting off his escape, and the boy gives a terrified peep as he cringes away again. The giant ogre kneels to examine his trembling prey, saying that he's actually quite delighted that this very young and deeply frightened has come along, a soul steeped in delicious fear. It takes Yusuke a moment, no doubt due to his abused torso not being able to belt out the way it could before, but he stutters out his protests on the boy's behalf, demanding that Gouki let him go. Gouki is already drawing out the kid's soul through his gaping mouth though, the Rapacious Orb in one hand and the other hand holding the child steady by the neck and shoulders. He warns Yusuke that he's next, but Yusuke's groan of despair is more on behalf of the other kid's soul than the impending loss of his own.

The young boy collapses on the ground on his front, with a vacant gaping expression, while Gouki burps. Yusuke squeezes his eyes shut and clenches his jaw in his grief. Gouki turns back to him, griping about how Yusuke is still defiant even though he can't move, but assuring him that he'll soon join the little boy's soul in his stomach. Comforting, I'm sure. He seizes Yusuke's head and yanks him up to look him in the eye, mocking Yusuke for being so puny and troublesome at the same time, Yusuke unable to do much but gurgle in response. As Gouki opens his drooling jaws, he estimates that Yusuke's soul should be well-marinated by now, and lunges with the announcement of his intent to dine.

Reflexes of a CAT, this boy!

It turns out that Yusuke is perfectly capable of talking, and he says he was just waiting for Gouki to open his big fat mouth. Gouki inarticulately glugs at him as Yusuke holds up a ringed finger gathering a shining aura, and he asks if Gouki's INSIDES can handle a sizzling dish that his OUTSIDES might endure with ease. 

Ah, the old glutton finally found something he couldn't swallow. Don't read any double entendres into that. 

A group of tailed lights rise from Gouki's obliterated head, and Yusuke counts them as they fly off, concluding with a sigh of relief that all five are present and accounted for. The kid that just collapsed sits up a moment later, sputtering incoherently. Yusuke places a hand on each of his shoulders and tells him to relax, assuring him that they were just shooting for a movie, but also warning him not to go TELLING anyone about this odd experience of his. He punctuates this last point with a rather frighting sharp-toothed curling grin, and the boy is clearly trembling again when he agrees not to say a thing. No doubt he's not certain if he's speaking to yet ANOTHER monster.

Better hope that the other two thieves are a bit more fleshy and soft. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I really liked Yusuke's creative problem-solving in this one, it came across as a genuinely clever process of elimination. Knowing that Gouki's skin was impervious, it would naturally occur to Yusuke to aim for an eye, but it immediately struck him how small a target it would be that might not even bring the giant creep down. It was a stroke of genius to prop Gouki's mouth open with a stout branch from the demolished tree as well. Of course, it came with a LOT of risk, given that he could have gotten his arm chomped off in the process, or may have even died before he had a chance to face that wide mouth target the way he wanted, so there was A LOT of luck in addition to strategy involved. But it did strike a really nice balance, and kept the tension high throughout the fight.

Skipping over Gouki and Yusuke's trip back to the remote woods to fight kind of made my brain itch? I understand why it was necessary, given Gouki's aversion to having to "clean up" after an exposure, and the unlikeliness that there could be anything happening during their return that would interest the reader, but I can't help it. I'm still imagining the awkward silence the whole way, or the lame-ass insults they could shoot back and forth as they hike up to the remotest spot they could. It's such a conspicuous hole in the continuity that I'm having trouble NOT filling it with stupid garbage, lol!

I'm stoked by Botan rescuing Yusuke at the start of the chapter, but her continuing to show up in the flesh is raising some questions for me. Why HER, specifically? She's a spirit guide to newly deceased souls, which seems like it would be an awfully full job all on its own. Is there no one else to help Yusuke? Are there no other Underworld Detectives he could shadow, or spiritual guides for them that can give him his pointers and gadgets? It's SUPER weird that there are like THREE people in the whole of both worlds that can be involved in this, and none of them are very good at fighting or apprehending criminals. 

Lastly, I know that there's a cultural difference regarding how much autonomy children are given in Japan versus the USA - in Japan, toddlers are allowed to go to the store by themselves and run errands for their parents all the time and this is considered pretty normal. Japanese cities are actually walkable and you don't have to dodge cars constantly (ironic, given the very beginning of this manga), but there's also a preponderance of safety officers and other authorities about that make it harder for kidnapping to occur. I realize that my personal reaction of demanding to know where these kids' parents are all the time is mostly due to the fact that I live in a hell-country that is built for cars and our police let kids be gunned down in their presence all the time, if they're not being child predators themselves. 

But, really? NO adults around at all? NONE? Not ONE? Weird.

Inuyasha Manga: 320 Inadequate Arrow

Arrows are generally pretty dependable, as far as projectiles go. As long as you've got a bow, you should be able to fire them off at will, and it's a skill issue as to whether or not they strike the target. Unless we're talking about one that is made out of brittle materials, has a tip that's made of rubber or something. Hopefully the whole thing isn't completely flaccid, but if it is, there might be a few additional problems to address. Problems that are pretty inconvenient to pop up at this critical moment. 

Inuyasha, always such a delightful young man.

Housenki invites Inuyasha to TRY and take the Shikon shard out of him while a darkness spreading through his diamond body, as Sango observes. Miroku says that the corruption from the fragment must be spreading, likely the conclusion that they're all coming to. Myouga begs Inuyasha to hold back on Housenki, given that he's a friend of Inuyasha's father, and he's not a bad youkai. My father's friends weren't "bad guys" either, but that didn't stop a couple of them from being assholes to my sister and I. 

Inuyasha raises Tessaiga again in preparation for attack, saying that if he could beat the guy by holding back, he absolutely would. He swings, letting loose a Kaze no Kizu.

The bystanders (by-fliers?) gape at the smoke and mist shrouded scene - it's impossible to see exactly how the attach landed at first, even for Inuyasha, who questions from his perch on the back of his skele-bird whether he got him. But as the smoke clears, another of those glares from the diamond armor of Housenki flashes at him. 

He can't aim worth a damn, but his dodging is top-notch.

It's shocking to Sango, Miroku, and Shippou that Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu had no effect whatsoever, per Sango's outburst expressing as much and the agreeing gapes from the others. I guess Myouga wasn't kidding about that "hardest jewel in the world" thing. Inuyasha grunts as he sets down on Housenki, continuing to avoid diamond spears thrusting out of his new perch. He manages to look up just in time to see a set bearing down on him from above, and lunges out of the way before they crash into Housenki's own body. With his initial momentum, Inuyasha makes for Housenki's head and body, thinking he has to get near that fragment somewhere in there. He was going to need some luck to begin with, considering Kagome is going to have trouble directing him to it from that distance, but Housenki's mouth is filling once more with diamond spikes, aimed straight at Inuyasha.

Sango throws her Hiraikotsu in aid, blocking some of the onslaught of spears from reaching Inuyasha before it returns to her. Hovering nearby, Kagome is thinking that they have to do something to stop Housenki's attacks, and when she sees the dark glow indicating the corrupted fragment just behind Housenki's head, she determines that it might be helpful for her to try and purify that Shikon shard. She nocks an arrow and aims, convinced she can probably do it through this means, and fires striking precisely where she had seen the fragment with an impressive flash of light. Inuyasha ducks to avoid the wind and diamond fragments flying in all directions. 

Dammit, is this guy invincible or what??

Kagome is taken-aback by how her arrow DIDN'T purify the shard she shot. Sango cries that the arrow didn't reach the Shikon fragment, and Miroku is in awe of how that body of Housenki's is like armor. Worse than that, it's LITERALLY armor. Myouga pipes up from Kagome's shoulder again, saying that it's actually more problematic than they're aware; Housenki is a greater youkai who lived to an advanced age, so Kagome's spiritual power is actually LOSING to his experienced youki. 

After a short pause, Kagome suggests to Myouga that she just has to increase the spiritual power. She begins to draw the arrow Kikyou gave her from her quiver with the intent to use Kikyou's power combined with hers. 

Did... Did Kikyou program an electric shock into the arrow to keep Kagome from using it before she's supposed to???

Inuyasha gapes up at her in surprise as she cradles her hand to her chest and questions why that would happen. With some disbelief, he thinks that Kikyou's arrow rejected her. Inuyasha recalls how Kikyou told him to hand the arrow to Kagome, saying that it was up to Kagome whether she used it well or not. 

Inuyasha wonders what this means, if it's impossible for Kagome to use the arrow, and is at last interrupted in this wild speculation by Housenki vomiting more diamond spears at him. He groans, holding up his arm against the onslaught, which makes that fire-rat robe of his so much more impressive if it can block that kind of attack. While he's glaring at Housenki, he notices that more diamond spears are growing out of the spot where Kagome's arrow struck, at angles to cover over the area. 

His reasoning? While Kagome's first arrow didn't reach the Shikon shard by itself, it's not like it had NO effect. So when Kagome fires her second, non-Kikyou, arrow into the same spot as before, a few sparks of purification winking off the diamond armor, Inuyasha leaps at it with Tessaiga raised over his head with the express intent of striking there as well. 

The peanut gallery collectively gapes at the spikes having broken, while Inuyasha himself quickly observes that he's got his chance to grab the Shikon fragment out Housenki's back. Housenki drawls that they're all a bunch of fools, and proceeds to whack Inuyasha with a diamond-studded arm. It looks like it REALLY hurts. Inuyasha flies backward, groaning, his face bloodied and eye winced shut.

You were aware the whole time that you weren't acting completely on your own will? Asshole.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'd like to start by addressing some science here, interestingly enough. Yes, diamonds are hard, in the sense that they are very resistant to being warped or changed in their crystalline shape, but they're not exactly tough. They can be broken very easily along their cleavage points. This is why having a diamond hammer wouldn't work super well, but diamond saws or other cutting implements are extremely useful. That makes this chapter somewhat compliant with the science, though it may be in an accidental way. You can see that Inuyasha's last attack does manage to shatter the diamond spikes covering the Shikon fragment's location when Kagome fires on that place to mark it, demonstrating the brittle nature of the stone - whether that is meant to convey the actual physical behavior of diamonds or if it's supposed to show how strong Kagome and Inuyasha can be in their combined attacks isn't clear, but I'm choosing to go with the former interpretation to satisfy my own knowledge of geology, lol!

Kikyou's arrow preventing Kagome from drawing it was both annoying and somewhat logical, if the contradiction makes sense. Kikyou told Inuyasha that the arrow's tip was coated in Onigumo's grave dirt like always, so it's clear she MEANT it to be used specifically against HIM at the right time, not anyone else. Using the arrow here would be an awful waste, considering who it was optimized against. STILL, Kikyou did say that it was up to Kagome whether she would use it to greatest effect, and that can't be true if it's repelling her hand whenever she tries to use it in a way that Kikyou wouldn't want her to. The line about it being up to Kagome was more cryptic and dramatic, but it was literally a LIE, and she should have told Inuyasha straight up that the ARROW would determine when it was best used, and not Kagome. Now the poor girl is feeling more confused and inadequate than ever, and I'm lamenting yet again how Kikyou is being written in a way that is FAR beneath her dignity as a character. All to further push a boring rivalry that doesn't need to be a thing. 

The girls do not need to be fighting! Why are we doing this???

Finally, this is, to my memory, the second time Myouga has mentioned AGE as a multiplier on youkai power, the first being way back when they faced that toad youkai who possessed that lord of the castle. I really would like to know more about this, because Myouga and Toutousai have both cited relationships with Inuyasha's father, so they are also fairly old. Toutousai has already proven that he can kick some ass when the occasion calls for it, but I am wondering about Myouga. The little flea has been arousing my suspicious for some time, because he really does seem to know more than he's letting on like... 90% of the time. Are there some devastating powers he's hiding somewhere about his tiny person? 

He's getting ALL the side-eyes from me. I don't care if the narrative never takes it in that direction.

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 020 The Deadly Trio

These things always seem to come in threes, don't they? People talk about the "dark triad" of toxic personality traits that seem to be inexplicably attractive rather than repulsive, and the three big bigotries that seem to always come as a package deal (racism, homophobia, and misogyny). As a personal example, I find that if I'm suffering sufficiently from one difficulty, like an illness, two others often pop up to keep it company. They say three's a charm, but I'll be damned if it isn't also a curse just as frequently. 

I don't know, maybe look for the guys sporting horns and fangs? 

I swear, that was a joke, but when Yusuke continues scanning the crowd, he's taken-aback to spot a guy with a heavy frown and a square-ish head sporting literal horns. Yes, they're fairly small, two of the larger on either side of the forehead at the hairline, two smaller slightly positioned closer to each other and lower, and another popping out of the hair in his widow's peak, in the center of them all, but they're noticeable all the same.

The other two seem to be more incognito at least. 

Sweatdropping, Yusuke wonders if it could be these three he's looking for, because they seem to be real chummy. He acknowledges that the shorter one and the one with the flowing locks are pretty normal-looking, but the horns on the bigger dude remind him of his first encounter with underworld forces when he first returned to life. Yusuke takes a step in their direction, but is immediately distracted by a knot of people forming behind his back, who are muttering about a kid who collapsed, asking each other if he's sick or something. Yusuke casts them a critical look while the suspicious three continue strolling off. 

Cut to the Spirit/Underworld!

Wait, I thought they were ALL criminals, but two of them haven't even been convicted of anything??? Must be using the infamous fascist USA definition of the word "criminal"...

Botan is apparently reciting all this from a notepad with leaves folded over the top as she's gotten done covering the information on them. At this point, she suggests to Koenma, with all due respect, that she thinks this is a VERY bad idea. She says that Yusuke is no match for these villains, and they don't know the first thing about Kurama and Hiei. FINALLY, someone is pointing out how insane it is to be putting a greenie on this dangerous errand. 

Koenma is sweating pretty profusely as he agrees with Botan, saying that he had PLANNED to start him on easy assignments and let the boy work his way up to the more challenging ones, right and proper. But he insists that there's no time, because they've got to get going on this shit. Does the Underworld only have ONE detective? Generally there's a whole department of them... 

Botan hesitantly asks how much time they DO have, and Koenma announces that they have one week in human terms, pointing with authority at... nothing. Sweating now too, Botan yells that they can't do this in one week. Koenma murmurs that they have to, because his Daddy Dearest gets home from a business trip in one week. Wait, I thought he was back. Did he immediately leave again? Botan gulps at the invocation of the REAL King Enma, whose very hairy and tusked face looms behind her to illustrate just how scary the dude is. 

Apparently, the three stolen treasures are among King Enma's favorites in the Underworld, so the prospect of him getting home and finding out they've been stolen is what has Koenma sweating so hardcore. Botan asks if this means big trouble, and Koenma confirms that his dad's rage will embrace Heaven and Earth, resulting in earthquakes, natural disasters, the usual fare when he gets pissy. There's a comment of resignation that you can't stop an old man when he's angry. Even in spirit, men are clearly not encouraged to manage their own fucking emotions. Koenma predicts a bigger shake-up than the great Kanto earthquake in this case, possibly the eruption of Mt. Fuji, and he says that's just the collateral damage, because their punishment will be worse. Botan can only make an incoherent nervous noise, but why would SHE be included in this? Was SHE in charge of guarding the damn treasures?

I'm sure it'll go over well.

Scene shift to the human world, among a forest of bare trees. It appears that Hiei is relishing the nasty-ass crimes they can commit with their cool new toys they stole. He holds up the Conjuring Blade, expositing about how it can turn any human into a demon, Gouki's Rapacious Orb that the big guy is holding up can suck out human souls, and the pocket-sized Mirror of Darkness that Kurama frowns down at in his hand emits a great power during the full moon. Thanks Hiei, it's almost as if you have an audience to tell these things or something, how convenient. 

He's still gushing about how he can create an army of man-eating beasts with the sword he holds, and Gouki readily offers to feed it with the souls he gathers with the orb. 

He certainly looks a lot less enthused than the other two.

Hiei and Gouki react with shock, the former asking if Kurama is ditching them, and he unapologetically says that's exactly what he's doing. Hiei calls Kurama a wimp who's gone soft since he started living among humans. Gouki expresses the opinion that Kurama shouldn't be able to just walk off with a split of the loot, holding out his hand and demanding the mirror. Kurama coolly tells him that he'll keep the mirror, because he needs it for something. I mean, why the hell else would he steal it?

Gouki's ire has been raised, and after muttering that Kurama always had a smart mouth, he pulls back the hand he had extended for the mirror into a fist, winding up for a punch. Kurama seems perfectly prepared to just take the hit, as Gouki announces that the smart mouth has been asking for this very thing, so maybe he agrees? 

It looks like "Go ahead, bozo" comes from Gouki, but I'm not sure if it works in the context of the conversation. Besides, the next panel is this one:

Yeah, that previous quote definitely came from Yusuke.

Gouki is thoroughly distracted, asking how Yusuke knows about the treasures, and I THINK it's Hiei who asks who Yusuke is. The speech bubbles aren't the clearest in this section with the clutter of characters. Anyway, Yusuke mumbles about how he didn't think he would find these guys as soon as he has, then points a thumb at himself, declaring to the clowns that he's Yusuke Urameshi, Underworld Detective, and they're under arrest. 

Unsurprisingly, Gouki appears a little confused by the title of "Underworld Detective" so Hiei says that Yusuke must be the Underworld's new bounty hunter. He expresses some incredulity over the strange fact that Yusuke emanates no power whatsoever, and Gouki asserts that he could off Yusuke with one hit. Yusuke is a little irritated that his introduction was not impressive in the least. Hiei thinks that perhaps, since Yusuke was chosen by the Underworld, he could have hidden qualities in addition to the obvious arrogance. He leaps into the air declaring that if Yusuke IS indeed trouble, it'll keep. Not sure what that means, buddy, but cool. Hiei must have disappeared in the speed lines, because Yusuke is astonished by how he just leaped straight out of there. 

Kurama quietly thinks that he'd best avoid trouble too, and starts walking off. Yusuke notices, however, and starts after Kurama, ordering him ineffectually to hold it. But Gouki intercepts his path, telling HIM to hold it, because it won't take three of them to handle him. 

I think this might be over exaggerated a little by the fact that Gouki isn't wearing clothes that FIT.

After a filler panel showing Hiei admiring that sword he stole on the left side of a white void that takes up literally HALF the page, Gouki says he's going to have a quick snack first. He raises the orb in his fist again, which Yusuke correctly identifies as the Rapacious Orb, and sticks a forefinger and thumb through its membranous skin as he exposits about how this very useful item sucks out human souls. Again. 

Gouki pulls his fingers out of the orb again, dragging the tail of something pinched between them. He says that before he had this baby, he always had to rip apart human bodies to get at their souls to eat them before. Yusuke gapes and sweats at the salivating Gouki, who is complaining about the "off" flavor that the dismemberment of the soul's body would impart, and how he would have to dispose of the carcass afterward. Gouki's drool drips out the corner of his mouth as he gazes hungrily at the little glowing tailed ball of light, saying that the orb ensures the soul comes out fresh and sweet, without any fuss, and he can have as many as he wants. 

Yusuke recalls the shouts of the people in the busy square, who were all in a confusion of what was wrong with the child who collapsed. He shouts that he bets he knows where the soul Gouki has in his grasp came from, and Gouki confirms that he got it fresh today. He drops it on his tongue and, just as he says, gulps it down the hatch. As Yusuke stands frozen in horror, Gouki gloats about how he likes the way a live child's soul wriggles and twitches in his stomach.

Were you ever in any doubt?

Just name your fists "Ipecac".

Gouki goes down like a sack of rocks, and Yusuke looks down on him laid out on the ground, scoffing at this so-called demon he's been able to knock out with so little effort. Yusuke looks over his shoulder to where the soul is floating through the trees, and thinks with relief that it seems to be okay. Suddenly, a looming presence at his back cause him to turn and jump back to put some distance between himself and the newly risen Gouki. 

Gouki is smiling, at least, telling Yusuke he's pretty good for a human. Smirking with a hint of nervousness, Yusuke repays the compliment by saying that Gouki TALKS pretty well for a demon, and adds that with how hard he hit Gouki, the demon shouldn't even be able to stand. With a mocking question as to whether that's so, the already straining fabric of Gouki's shirt shreds when his muscles bulk up even further in an instant. Yusuke's teeth are clenched and eyes bulge as he watches the horns on Gouki's head lengthen, his teeth grow and sharpen, and a load of hair sprouts from his shoulders, like some sort of werewolf transformation. 

Thanks Yusuke, but I think I lost my appetite. 

A tremendous whoosh is produced by Gouki's arm as he swings it at the flabbergasted Yusuke, who barely avoids the blow that crashes through a tree trunk instead. He doesn't quite escape it entirely, though - we see that Gouki's claws have ripped through Yusuke's uniform in parallel shreds. It doesn't look like there's any blood, so maybe he's managed remain un-wounded through pure luck there out pure luck. Although, he did get a nasty scratch along his cheek.

Gouki squeezes his fist to shatter the tree trunk he's already splintered, offering yet another compliment to Yusuke about how quick on his feet he is. Yusuke yelps that Gouki is a whole-ass monster, and is fully convinced he's screwed because he stands exactly ZERO chance against a thing like that. When he catches sight of his own finger, he remembers that he has the spirit gun, but is demoralized further when he realizes the end of his finger isn't glowing. This is when he recalls what Koenma said about him getting one shot a day. He laments the fact that he wasted that shot on Iwamoto earlier today as the collateral damage of the tree finally creaks and falls upon Gouki turning around. 

Iwamoto ruins everything again. I hate that dude. 

Worse than that. You've been dead before - this is the threat of oblivion. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I was... not impressed, for a few reasons. What I liked the most about this installment is the lampshade hung on Yusuke being sent to confront three opponents who may be too much for him to handle. It's legitimately funny that Koenma's motivations for this are absurd in their depiction of King Enma, who is characterized as a danger to the world for such small reasons. He may as well be a giant toddler, just like his son. This sadly doesn't interrogate the destructive issue of outsized male rage, but it does present it as somewhat ridiculous how easily a KING OF THE UNDERWORLD can fly off the handle due to a perceived loss of control over objects in a vault. 

It's all downhill from there, unfortunately. We get sparse biographies of our three antagonists, and two out of three of them have NO CONVICTIONS. All the same, Botan speaks of them all as though they're crazy dangerous, though there is absolutely no evidence of anyone but Gouki being truly a threat at this point. It strikes me that this might be because YT is planning on making Hiei and Kurama main characters fairly soon, and doesn't want to give them pasts from which they will need SIGNIFICANT redemption, at least not yet. At the moment, though, it's just a very conspicuous contradiction in characterization. 

I'd like to also talk a little about the PAINFUL exposition in this chapter. I was literally wincing when Hiei started talking about each of the items they stole and what they do. Way to break my immersion, dude, acknowledging my lurking there and listening to your conversation like that, because there's no way that Kurama or Gouki have no idea what their artifacts do or why they have them. It's additionally weird that Hiei doesn't elaborate AT ALL about the reason he gives for stealing the sword to raise a demon army. That'll probably come up later when Yusuke confronts him one-on-one, but here, it's just odd that he would be so specific about the artifacts' powers, but not about why they stole them in the first place. 

Then there's Gouki. He's Co-Captain Exposition here, explaining mockingly to Yusuke how he eats souls and why it's better than he can get them through the orb instead of ripping apart their bodies, which is a little clumsy, but fine. I'm mostly just wondering throughout the scene why he cares to tell Yusuke ANY of this, although I suppose I can see it as something of an intimidation tactic. But my real issue comes from when he says at the end of the chapter that he likes the flavor of pain and fear in his fresh souls, even though he just got done telling us that he doesn't like the flavor of the ones where he has to dismember the victims. Which is it? Because it seems very much a contradiction in what he claims he likes. 

Finally, the chapter doesn't look the BEST. There's a whole HALF A PAGE dedicated to a mostly empty filler panel of Hiei, who has left the scene entirely. And that static image of Kurama up there? It kind of looks like a teenage fan who only just learned the basics of drawing anime figures from one of those goofy "How to Draw XYZ" books you can get at craft stores. I mean, YT could have at least drawn him half-turned away and waving to make the panel slightly more dynamic, but no. It just looks flat and boring.

Yeesh, the disappointment. This one must have been under a major time crunch.

Inuyasha Manga: 319 The Fragment's Intent

This oughta be good. I've heard a LOT about the intent behind various weird shit for pretty much my whole life, and have learned to regard with skepticism any third party that claims to have correctly interpreted those intentions when they're not easily ascertained. I'd need several hundred extra arms and legs to count all the bad faith actors who seek to supplant their own interpretation as the ONLY possible true understanding of the intentions of entities who, for whatever reason, cannot or will not be interviewed about these directly. These days, if someone is declaring anything other than their OWN intentions, I side-eye them real hard. 

Not that intentions are much help in excusing the actual results of them, but that's another discussion altogether. 

Squatter's rights, fam.

The skull sitting in the middle of its spiky nest repeats Inuyasha's claim that this is his father's remains back as a question, asking for confirmation apparently. Then the skull stretches out a long-ish neck of spikes, revealing it has a couple of short antlers on either side of it. It asks directly if Inuyasha is saying that he's the son of the leader of the dogs. 

Before he can answer, Myouga hops excitedly on his shoulder, eager to present a theory as to who this could be - Housenki. He asks the possible Housenki if he doesn't recognize his old pal Myouga. Meanwhile, Sango repeats the name, while Miroku refreshes our memory that we were already told how Housenki created the black pearl for Inuyasha. 

Housenki, or his skull, anyway, at last seems to acknowledge Myouga, and so identifies Inuyasha in addition.

You can almost hear the screeching sound of old dial-up internet trying to connect.

He says that it certainly is the case that he created the black pearl for Inuyasha at his father's request, but also that Inuyasha must have already used it to come here, and therefore the black pearl must have vanished. Though his face isn't exactly expressive, Housenki doesn't seem particularly happy when he says that there shouldn't be any reason that Inuyasha should be allowed to come here again, not matter who he (or his father, I guess) is. 

Kagome pipes up with a polite interjection, having observed a familiar glitter deep within that extended "neck" of Housenki, identifying it as a Shikon fragment. She asks why he brought the shard of the jewel here, much to Inuyasha's shock. He makes an accusatory declaration that Housenki has one after all, and demands that he hand the fragment over before he gets hurt. He must not have ever heard the phrase "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar". 

No surprise there. 

Housenki explains that he's a youkai who rules over jewels, so one of his abilities is to hear the voices of them. I like that he even kind of rhymes there. He has a small flashback to when he was still living, but feeling like he probably didn't have long left, sitting in his giant clam shell, bent over a Shikon shard he came across in his palm. Housenki claims that the fragment spoke to him, telling him not to allow the Shikon no Tama to be complete again. Apparently, the shard is aware that most of the others are in the hands of an evil entity and have become corrupted, and it is certain if it gets mixed up with them it'll get corrupted as well. The company you keep and all...

Kagome and Inuyasha listen in rapt attention to this account, the latter with his hand resting on the hilt of Tessaiga. He's probably doing this out of an abundance of caution, but it's not the GREATEST look when he just got done kinda sorta threatening Houseki. Houseki is still telling them about how the Shikon fragment wished to come with him to a place where the evil entity couldn't reach, namely, the youkai graveyard. In the trailing silence after this speech, a sweating Myouga advises Inuyasha that it's best to give up on this, and to leave the Shikon shard to Housenki. Inuyasha demands to know what Myouga is talking about, reminding him (and informing Housenki at the same time) that Naraku got here the moment before they did. He asserts that Naraku is hiding SOMEWHERE, seeking that fragment. 

Housenki says in his staunch, stubborn way that he's not going to give up the shard to anyone who comes. 

Did he just grow some diamond arms? Bad news. 

Myouga is sweating even MORE heavily now, trying to persuade Housenki to hold on, that they can all have a rational discussion about this. Not likely. 

He's almost as bad at aiming as Inuyasha.

Inuyasha tells Kagome not to move from her spot on the flying skeleton, then before she can even call his name in concern, he jumps off their perch, drawing Tessaiga. As he swings the sword down, he advises Housenki to get a clue about who his friends and enemies are. Again, I'm going to re-emphasize, that whole bit about "hand it over before you get hurt" sounded an awful lot like a threat, kiddo. You haven't exactly been communicating "ally" so far. 

Oooh, I felt my OWN teeth rattle with that.

Myouga shouts at Inuyasha that this kind of attack will not work, too little too late. He's hopping excitedly on Kagome's shoulder now as he points out the obvious fact that Housenki's arm is a lump of hard diamond. Kagome inquires as to when Myouga got to be on HER instead of Inuyasha, as if she doesn't know. 

Out of Housenki's gaping jaw collects a bouquet of sharp diamond spikes and he practically projectile vomits them at Inuyasha, who barely dodges upward with a cry of surprise. Inuyasha manages to drop onto another of those skeleton birds just kind of drifting about. From Kirara's back at a distance, Miroku mutters that Housenki is so violent, and there's no chance to reason with him. Between him and Inuyasha, there was never going to be an option for that. Kagome has hung back next to Miroku and Sango, where Myouga whines into her ear about how he can't believe Housenki is going for Inuyasha. She doesn't reply, examining the scene in silence before she sees something shocking. 

They are so easy to corrupt, aren't they?

Kagome shouts a warning at Inuyasha to be careful, because the Shikon shard in Houseki's body has gone black. Inuyasha looks up at her in surprise, and Sango wonders aloud what's going on. Miroku starts to pontificate upon how the clarity of the Shikon fragment should depend on the holder's heart, and based on Housenki's earlier explanation, it doesn't seem like he brought the shard here for his own selfish purposes. Miroku trails in his conclusions, hesitating to say just exactly what this means to him. Suddenly, Kagome becomes aware of a marbled darkened atmosphere around her, and says she feels several corrupted Shikon fragments, judging them to be Naraku's based on the size of them, and I'm sure, the fact that he's the one with the biggest collection. 

Sango at last vocalizes that this must be influence of Naraku's corrupted fragments, while Miroku turns to her with a slightly panicked demand to tell them where Naraku is. Kagome stays quiet for a moment, looking around her at the jagged peaks poking out of the mist in the distance. 

Has he become omnipresent??

Inuyasha turns back to Housenki, which I guess has been sitting there politely waiting for the conversation to subside in the nosebleed seats. He asks Housenki if he heard all of it, warning him that if he keeps carrying the corrupted shard, it will eat at his soul, advising him to let go of the thing right now. Housenki insists that it's nonsense for such a small amount of corruption to make him lose himself. 

Something tells me you were counting on that anyway.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It's been a while since I've really liked a new character/monster design in this comic, because for a long time they all seemed to be somewhat generic. Housenki's isn't AMAZING, but it does contain some of that original creativity in design that was part of what drew me to Inuyasha in the first place. I like the fact that his body and powers are something of a transformation more toward the powers that he had in life. Through his flashback, we can see that he looks nothing like this, and resembles much more his son that we met at that clam shell way back when. So the fact that his appearance has come to reflect more closely the very jewels that he had such a close affiliation with, and even sort of resembles the Shikon shard he brought with him to the graveyard, is a fun decision. 

Housenki is also somewhat hilariously SLOW. The guy takes forever to respond to Inuyasha and company, which a couple of times delays his reply through whole adjacent conversations. Myouga doesn't really speak to this quirk either - he's more concerned that Housenki would attack Inuyasha, so I'm thinking the guy has always been thus. It might be another deliberate decision, putting his response time on par with geological time, since he's so in-sync with the rocks around him. If so, VERY funny, had me giggling the whole time. 

Inuyasha being so caustic and confrontational is actually how I like to see him, and was a great way to complicate the interaction with Housenki. He has come to retrieve the Shikon fragment, and is never one to be polite about it, but he's especially anxious about it because Naraku could be lurking around any corner and prepared to perform some trick to get at this last piece of jewel. Of course he's wanting to just grab the Shikon shard and get out of there, and his already underdeveloped persuasion skills are going to be truncated a bit with the frustration of dealing with a stubborn old dude who refuses to see that he's not looking to misuse the damn thing. 

Meanwhile, Housenki's motivations are pretty clear, and it makes sense that he would be suspicious of Inuyasha. He's got good reason to believe that Inuyasha already used the black pearl he made, because Inuyasha already has Tessaiga on him, and that was the reason Inuyasha's father commissioned the jewel, after all. And after working so hard to use up the rest of the jewels he made to make sure he couldn't be followed, Housenki is going to be a little peeved that ANYONE found their way there at all. That's going to mix with Inuyasha's anxious impatience like oil and water. A confrontation was inevitable, even WITHOUT the added complication of a corrupted jewel shard. 

And RT has managed to make me very nervous, because I am wondering where Naraku has got to. Kagome's statement that it seems like he's everywhere puts in me a strange idea that he's managed to disperse himself in the air like he's turned into the very miasma he's always spewing. The ability to do that would be insidious, but also just plain gross.

I mean, are they BREATHING HIM IN right now????

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 019 Action!!

Ugh, no, I already want to take a break. I have gone so long without doing any regular activism that my recent foray into a political action group has been somewhat overwhelming. It's like working out after an extended period of hanging out on the couch - the muscles have atrophied somewhat, and I have to find a nice, easy set of exercises to start with to avoid burning out right off the bat, or throwing out my back. Besides, I have a lot more going on in my 30's than I did when I was in my late teens/early 20's in college. Trying to rearrange my schedule to accommodate more stuff is VERY challenging. 

But, just like working out, if I don't do it now, I risk having a much reduced quality of life later on. 

This has been me every morning my alarm blares this winter. 

Atsuko is kneeling next to Yusuke's bed, leaning over the side with a wide-eyed alarm as Yusuke picks up his alarm clock to check it. He asks his mother what's going on, since it's only seven in the morning. Hoo boy, am I jealous. I have to drag my ragged ass out of bed at FIVE. Atsuko haltingly states, with some amazement, that he woke up, then her face screws up in a follow-up wail over a repetition of that fact. Partly in sleepiness and partly in just mental exhaustion, Yusuke begs his mom not to do this again. She sobs that she can't help it, because she's so afraid that he won't wake up, just like before. 

Yusuke reflects on how it's been five days since his mom found out that he'd revived, five days after Keiko did, and Atsuko has been behaving like this ever since. Flawed and neglectful as she is, Atsuko's going to be carrying the trauma of almost losing her child for a long-ass time, sorry Yusuke. 

There's a large, two-page title spread with Botan in jeans and a jacket, dressed MUCH down from her usual kimono fare, Yusuke glaring in question through a magnifying glass at the reader, Koenma's head larger than life looming in the background, and a long-haired silhouette standing off to the left. It's a lot, but not really saying too terribly much yet. 

Next we see Yusuke walking through the gates of the school, dozens of classmates pausing to stare, muttering their alarm that he's back, and even a few running away from him, declaring his presence is too weird. Yusuke is annoyed that they're all acting like he's a zombie (not too far off the mark, frankly), trying to brush it off as nothing new. 

I gotta say, I'm becoming more and more interested in what Atsuko's DEAL is. Girl has connections...

Yusuke is muttering about how coming to school still sucks, and dreaming of making plans to cut out one day, when a hand falls on his shoulder from behind. He turns to greet a serious-looking Kuwabara, who expresses his approval that Yusuke has managed to return to life, because that gives HIM another shot. He vows that THIS TIME, it'll be himself sending Yusuke to Hell, and chuckles that he should enjoy the life he has left. One of Kuwabara's friends asks if he wasn't going to THANK Yusuke for saving Eikichi, but Kuwabara barks at him to shut his trap. Yusuke just quietly sweatdrops at his retreating back, wondering what's WITH him. Well, he can't very well make out with you here and now, can he?

Yet again, Yusuke is approached from behind, Takenaka slapping some kind of notebook on the back of his head. He passes him, casually calling back to Yusuke that it's his first day back, so he shouldn't dawdle. Takenaka is looking REAL pleased with himself. Or, maybe he's looking pleased with Yusuke, it's difficult to say. After a moment of speechlessness, Yusuke's temper starts to boil over. He starts to rant that this does it, he's taking off, when yet ANOTHER voice addresses him at his back.

It's Keiko, of course, who asks him what the matter is, encouraging him to come up to the school with her, because the bell's about to ring. She looks perfectly nonchalant, and this appears to confuse Yusuke. He's mildly flustered that she's acting like nothing's different since her actions when he was revived. He supposes that to her, it was just CPR. When she calls back to him to get a move on, he says okay in a resigned kind of way. 

OR, hear me out, you could just invest that time and effort into THERAPY. 

In the school gym, several boys are squeaking around on a basketball court under the net, one of them asking where Urameshi is. Another answers that he's in the bathroom, and there's a comment dropped that they won't see him again for a while then. Yusuke is one of THOSE, then, lol. Indeed, he's squatting, but not in the bathroom. it's next to a wall outside, where he's examining a little tiny keychain-like magnifying glass. He's wondering what good it can be to a detective, and clearly he does not have my obsession with Sherlock Holmes. 

He recalls Botan telling him about his new job as underworld detective - the main responsibility being to solve crimes in the living world that have some underworld/spirit world connection. As she rummaged in her fortune-telling cloak, she informed Yusuke that Koenma will send her with the assignments the young detective has been given, and some items that will be of use to him. She pulled out the little trinket that Yusuke is now examining, which she presented with some enthusiasm and the declaration that it's what every detective needs as a "See-Through Glass". A little unfurled scroll info box tells us that it allows the user to see through solid obstacles, like walls. 

Unsure about giving that to a teenage boy, but okay. 

Yusuke didn't react with nearly as much enthusiasm, hesitantly accepting it, but also asking for confirmation if there will be more of these tools. She told him that there will be six more, and that underworld devices require a considerable amount of spiritual power to use, so he'll have to learn how to use each one at a time. Well, at least there's a cost, so that might stop him from using this dealie for less-than-honorable purposes in the meantime. 

Back in the present, Yusuke strolls off, tossing the little glass up and down, with the affirmation that he doesn't need to look through anything at the moment. He also decides he doesn't give two shits about P.E. so he dismisses going back there. The teacher from above, whose name I don't remember if he even has one yet, and I don't care enough to look up, is lurking around the corner and smirks, thinking this is just as he figured. 

Behind the door of Yusuke's classroom, 2-B, this teacher is rummaging through the school bag of one of the absent students who are at gym. 

Don't you have WORK to do, my dude???

Mr. AxToGrind at first plans to put the items HE stole in Yusuke's bag, but then he decides it's better to put them in the incinerator, since it'll be more suspicious if they're never found. Weird for a guy like him to be choosing "suspicious" over "damning", but who am I to criticize his unhinged way of carrying out a grudge? He holds up what looks like a pen with a dragon curled around it, calls it an interesting little geegaw, and pockets it himself. So much for the incinerator. 

I think I know where THIS is going...

After the bell rings and the kids are back in 2-B, there's some frantic cries of dismay that certain things are gone. Someone asks a boy called Takai what's gone, and he says it's his lucky fountain pen with the gold dragon around it, a one-of-a-kind piece. Takai snaps that it was in his bag before they went to P.E. as others in the room start discovering that watches, calculators, and other such things have gone missing. 

All of a sudden, when Yusuke comes onto the scene, everyone stops grumbling about their missing objects and glare at him in an accusatory fashion. He sweatdrops at them, asking what they're all looking at. Keiko steps in front of Yusuke and tells them that they're too quick to assume guilt, but Takai is quick to point out that Urameshi was the only one who wasn't in P.E. 

Mr. AxToGrind appears again, asking what's going on here, as if he doesn't know. It must be some time later when Yusuke is insisting that he didn't take anything, and he gets a PUNCH IN THE FACE from Mr. AxToGrind and a command to stop lying in return. He can't be ALLOWED to assault a student like that, RIGHT??? Apparently, he IS, because comrade Takenaka is in the room, asking if this dude has actual proof that Yusuke took anything. Mr. AxToGrind says that Yusuke had the opportunity and is just the sort to seize it. He cites a statistic about the incidents of stealing being way down while Yusuke was gone, and even brings up a rumor about Yusuke's mother pretty much blackmailing the principal to get her son back in school. Mr. AxToGrind glares over at Yusuke and says that it's like mother, like son, and Yusuke calls him slime in return. Tempers are definitely running a bit high. Would be convenient if this budding brawl between student and faculty were to get interrupted.

Awkward.

Yusuke is frozen in absolute shock, gaping and sweatdropping, repeating a noise of bewilderment that might actually form a question if he could get a handle on one. He stares at Koenma over Mr. AxToGrind's shoulder, and he blandly asks Yusuke if he's going to take that shot or not. Yusuke is way too distracted by Koenma's frantic explanation to even listen - apparently the underworld treasure vault has been broken into, and three items have been stolen: the Conjuring Blade, the Mirror of Darkness, and the Rapacious Orb. You Spirit World folks really know how to name shit, huh? Anyhow, as Mr. AxToGrind turns to see what it is that Yusuke is staring at, Koenma tells Yusuke that the culprits are at large and presumably hiding out in Human World. 

You, uhhhhh, gonna put a kiddo that you just stuck in a spirit detective role over the weekend hunt down some MOST WANTED CRIMINALS??? 

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Yusuke thinks at Koenma to buzz off, because he's busy. Mr. AxToGrind is still examining the air behind him in an attempt to see what's got Yusuke so distracted, and is not finding a single thing, while Koenma yells at Yusuke not to be stupid. He lectures Yusuke on what will happen if these villains get to wield their stolen goods in the human world, or if a human manages to get their hands on them. The three dark treasures have the potential to be turned into deadly weapons that could harm or manipulate hundreds of people. Big trouble, in other words. 

Yusuke jabs a thumb at himself as he continues to think furiously at Koenma his own current issue; the faculty members here think he stole stuff, but he didn't. Koenma says that of COURSE Yusuke didn't steal the items, and points at Mr. AxToGrind, accusing him instead. He tells Yusuke to check the guy's pocket with the lens Botan gave him, and when Yusuke questions what he's talking about, Koenma snaps that the classmate's pen is in Mr. AxToGrind's pocket. Koenma, my dear, sweet, baby child... if you know all about this stupid petty business, how could you possibly need Yusuke to risk his mortal ass going after massive Underworld criminals?

I'm sure we'll come back to that... Meanwhile, Yusuke holds the glass up to his eye.

Good thing he could verify the pen was there before he had to reach into this man's pocket.

With a sardonic note, Yusuke observes that he seems to have found Takai's lucky pen. Mr. AxToGrind tries to claim that it's his, and that they're fairly common, but he is stuttering a sweating a bit. Yusuke asks if that's so, because Takai said before Mr. AxToGrind entered the room that this ugly little trinket is one-of-a-kind. Thank you, Yusuke, that thing IS truly gaudy as all hell. Becoming all the more flustered, Mr. AxToGrind backpedals and completely changes the story, saying he MEANT to say that Takai asked him to hold it for him this morning. Yusuke asks why Takai said he lost it after P.E. then, and Takenaka follows this up with his own question about what exactly is really going on here. 

An awkward silence stretches until Mr. AxToGrind decides to dig his hole even DEEPER. He says that Takai forgot, and trails in citing that with all that other stuff missing, he must have panicked. What, like you're doing right now, dude? He blurts that he has to get to a meeting and speedwalks for the door, but Takenaka calls Mr. IWAMOTO back because they're not done. Oh yeah! THAT'S his name, lol! Iwamoto curtly declares that they ARE done.

Yusuke mutters that he's a creep, which is accurate. Koenma impatiently urges Yusuke to go and investigate now that he's been acquitted, but Yusuke is not willing to let Iwamoto just GET AWAY with trying to frame him - douchebag's gotta pay. Koenma expresses some incredulity that Yusuke JUST got off the hook, but is now willing to get into real trouble by striking a teacher, but Yusuke don't give a fuck, because he's PISSED. Koenma sighs that Yusuke should get his revenge without being seen, then, to which Yusuke demands to know how. Koenma demonstrates extending his pointer finger toward a target, and instructs Yusuke to focus on the very tip of it, picturing energy from his whole body concentrating on that one point. 

Peering at his own finger, Yusuke notes pretty quickly that it's glowing and getting warm. Koenma further instructs him to take aim at the target and pull the trigger in his mind. He's got a sly kind of expression as he does so, giving me the impression that he's rather enjoying enabling Yusuke's base impulse here. As Yusuke points his glowing finger-gun at Iwamoto, he thinks how nuts this is, while Takenaka is STILL trying to get Iwamoto to return and clear up what's actually happening. 

Bet you won't feel stupid about it from now on.

Iwamoto's glasses are knocked askew and he goes DOWN. Yusuke marvels at his own finger while Takenaka wonders aloud about what would make Iwamoto pitch over like that, asking if the garbage teacher is alright. With growing delight, Yusuke declares that this thing actually works. Koenma is lecturing again, calling what Yusuke just did a "Rei" Gun, with "Rei" meaning "Spirit". There's a silhouette of a human body illustrating with arrows the flow of aura/energy/chi running through the whole thing up to the finger, Koenma explaining that it's the concentration of that energy into that single point. He claims that it packs twice as much punch as a physical one, but warns Yusuke that at his current level of ability, he only gets ONE shot a day, so he encourages the TEENAGE PUNK to be judicious with it. 

Good to know that your whims and satisfaction come before stopping a bunch of underworld creeps. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? To begin with, I'm touched by Atsuko's reaction to Yusuke's awakening. It strikes me as oddly realistic for the circumstances. Atsuko is by no means a GOOD mother, but this doesn't mean that she doesn't care deeply that Yusuke is alive, and that she can't have trauma related to his near-miss with death. She's a complex character, and I very much appreciate that. I would have also appreciated a little bit of a hint as to why Atsuko went to the lengths she did to get Yusuke back into school, though, since in her first appearance, she encouraged him to drop out because he was skipping classes that were costing her some money. I'm curious to know if perhaps she thinks that Yusuke's survival of such a grave near-death experience is a sign that he's meant for bigger things and wants to encourage a little more academic effort from him, OR if she just kind of wants him out of her hair as she conducts her shady relationships with the Yakuza on the side. 

It struck me as INCREDIBLY irresponsible of Koenma and Botan to rope Yusuke into this role of their detective without any indication that he has the right to refuse it in the last chapter. Now I'm downright HORRIFIED that Yusuke's second "case" is to apprehend much more formidable antagonists, with nothing but a goofy little magnifying glass and a square-one command over some basic spiritual powers at his disposal. It's all the more frustrating when Koenma so easily points to the real culprit who stole all those items from the students, because it suggests he can innately do what the special magnifying glass can, AND he has the wherewithal to be able to draw conclusions that Yusuke didn't even have the mindset to do. If the King of the underworld is back, and Koenma has more free time to yap at Yusuke now, then why isn't HE taking care of this? Why does he need Yusuke at all?

This chapter would have been MUCH better if Yusuke had been able to solve this issue of him being framed by himself instead of having the answer handed to him. That way, we could have SEEN how he's suited to exposing the truth and pointing to the real culprit of a case, and WHY he has been given this enormous responsibility of Underworld Detective. As it stands, he has the solution pointed out to him by someone else, who is INSISTING that he absolutely needs Yusuke's help as detective while doing all the detective work in the current issue himself. It's SO backwards.

Also, I really hope that Yusuke's little spirit bullet knocked the desire to get a damn HOBBY into Iwamoto. Dude is incredibly lame.