Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 030 Do Not Make A Sound!!

After the last chapter's near constant dialogue from the antagonists about their non-existent skills, this chapter title has me ECSTATIC. Really? You don't say. The game this time involves staying quiet and not saying things that clearly don't need to be said? Wait, didn't we already have a game like that in Chapter 3? Well, since that was a good chapter, I think I can deal with the encore. Just as long as the villain isn't thwarted by his own heartbeat this time around. That would be some heavy lifting indeed.

We pick up right where we left off, with Jonouchi being inappropriately happy that they just cleared their first death match. If Kaiba put him in a Colosseum with a hungry lion he'd probably be orgasming. But, not because he's a badass who loves death. Just because he's acting like an idiot.

Yuugi reminds him that the last game nearly put them six feet under, and that Kaiba's probably going to turn the danger up the farther they go. Honda agrees, telling everyone to watch out for the next "attraction." Shouldn't you be watching out for a certain tiny baby you brought along, Honda? What's Anzu doing carrying him again?

Anzu is asking this question herself, and Honda apologizes, but Jouji is liable to pitch a fit if he's separated from his new crush. Said crush is on the edge of pitching a fit herself, in utter disbelief that she's been relegated to both caretaker and sexual toy, all in one fell swoop. It is pretty amazing how Takahashi managed to combine two aspects of sexist portrayals of women for Anzu here. You don't see that level of dedication to a douchy stereotype very often.

The baby says Anzu's name with a creepy little chuckle, and Yuugi looks on with his poop face. No, sorry, that's actually his anger face. I don't think I'll ever stop confusing them. Jonouchi is confident that whatever is ahead of them, they'll conquer it. Honda and Yuugi agree, all skepticism thrown away, as Kaiba watches them on his monitors.

He calls them morons for being so arrogant after just beating Death T-1. They have no idea what they're in for with the other games he's arranged. Kaiba is surprised that they managed to beat the first game with more ease than he anticipated. He ultimately admits that it would have been a disappointment if Yuugi had lost so early, wasting the rest of the park Kaiba built especially for him. A voice announces on an intercom that Yuugi and his group have left the first attraction and are headed for the second and Kaiba chuckles. He wonders how they'll fare in the upcoming "Horror Zone."

Kaiba, you ARE a horror zone.

 Cut to Yuugi and friends staring open-mouthed at something in shock.

My creepypasta loving heart is moved by this setup.

Jonouchi is scared shitless, observing that everything beyond this point gets super creepy. Honda sympathizes with Jonouchi by telling him a chill is going up his back too. He insists that they have to keep going, though, and Yuugi agrees. Jonouchi invites Anzu to go ahead of him, and she asks where his spine went in the last couple of seconds. Jonouchi admits that he's no good with horror, after which a small robed figure behind him welcomes them all to the horror portion of their games.

Who else is reminded of a tiny little invader with big dreams of subjugating all humans?

This familiar figure tells the group that if they want to live, they probably shouldn't scream so much in the future with a chuckle. Jonouchi is indignant that he should be told not to scream by someone who snuck up behind him. The figure tells the group to follow him to the next attraction, and as they do, Yuugi points out that it's Kaiba's butler under the cloak. Jonouchi recognizes him too, still surly after his moment of weakness.

The butler tells them that this fun house ride will take them the rest of the way to their destination. Jonouchi is not keen on this prospect, asking if they're really supposed to ride it. Yuugi asks where the ride will drop them off, but the butler just drops a cryptic statement about knowing when they get there. Honda states the obvious by saying they have to use the ride to get to their next game, and Jouji calls Anzu's lap as his seat.

The butler stands on a platform and asks everyone to sit down on the car. Anzu complains that the seat is too hard, Jouji is satisfied with the softness of his seat, Yuugi glares at him, and Jonouchi just whimpers. After a chuckle from the butler, a cuff comes out of the arm of his chair and locks his arm in place, and the same happens to his friends. Helmets with microphones attached descend on their heads. Honda and Jonouchi shout that they're stuck and are unable to move.

Jonouchi shouts at the butler, asking what he's planning to do with them. The butler chuckles again, saying another game of death has begun. Yuugi appears surprised by this, and once more, I'm wondering why. The butler tells them that Murder Mansion is the place they're all going, a place more terrifying than any in Death-T. I don't know if any place is more terrifying than another when you're always in danger, but whatevz.

Yuugi is terrified already, just from all the talk. On their way there, however, the butler invites them to enjoy his mini game, "Electric Chair Ride of Death," which might end up killing them if they're unlucky. Jonouchi asks the useless question of what the name of their game means. Oh well, I guess it's a lead-in to the butler explaining the rules of their game.

Does every game shock the loser with one million volts of electricity? Sheesh, Kaiba, at least get a little more creative... Jonouchi is horrified by the prospect of the deadly shock, though he was facing the same thing in the last game. To be fair, at least he could move to dodge a potential hit. Yuugi says that only Kaiba could come up with such a stupid terrible attraction. Jonouchi shouts at everyone not to make a sound, no matter what.

Thanks Jonouchi. I'm sure there was someone thinking of NOT staying silent. Yuugi shouts back that Jonouchi is the one who's worried about making noise, and considering how he couldn't keep his mouth shut in the last game, he SHOULD be. He stutters out a denial, but everyone knows how obnoxious he is.

Anzu crosses the line into tantrum mode, crying that she wants to go home. Yuugi apologizes to Anzu, taking responsibility for her being there in the first place. Noooooo, Yuugi, she's there because she applied for a job in a death theme park and got it, then realized the game she was hired for was made specifically to kill her friends and quit. Keep up, won't you?

Jouji clutches at Anzu possessively, claiming loudly that he'll protect her. He thinks he'll win her heart by being heroic during their ride. Yuugi and he glare at one another, as if there's nothing better to be worried about than where Anzu's affections are pointed. The butler has taken his seat behind all of them in the meantime, complete with helmet and cuffs as well, because he plans to take a shock if he makes a sound too.

Wha... This guy is not only playing fair, but he's taking the same risks as the other players? This not only makes him better than Kaiba, but SHADI. Can you believe that? Me neither, he has to have some kind of trick up his sleeve.

The butler tells everyone to prepare to begin their horror journey and calls for the game to start. The car rolls through a set of doors and into darkness, everyone silent as possible with the command hanging over their heads. The butler thinks about how he's not only Kaiba's head of staff, but also a torture expert that will have no problem finding a way to make all of them scream. He also knows how to keep totally silent himself, so he's confident he'll be fine while he draws a reaction from the others. See? I was right! He'll torture them while he gets to sit in his chair completely without incident.

Still taking a risk that Shadi wouldn't though.

They all roll along in the dark, Jonouchi cursing in his head, while the others just sweat. After a time, the butler anticipates the first horror on the road.

I don't know, butler, they seem to be holding their own pretty well. Even the guy who says he's not good with this stuff is just cursing in his head. The car continues rolling along without any of the kids making a sound, which disappoints the butler somewhat, so he decides to kick it up a notch. A keypad pops up within reach of his restrained hand and he presses a couple of buttons. Jonouchi gets a blast of air to the face from his chair. The butler presses another button, and cartoon hands with Mickey Mouse gloves and everything pop out of the chairs behind them and begin prodding at the kids faces. Also, an extra one emerges from Anzu's chair to fondle her breast, because all the gods ever know that girl isn't sexually harassed or assaulted enough.

Why would the groping hand even be programmed into the chair? They didn't know ANY women would be there, let alone Anzu. For that matter, why were there four seats? Seems awfully convenient for there to be exactly as many seats as people who decided on a whim to come along.

Everyone is sweating and uncomfortable, but still silent. The butler tries various combinations of his tortures to get them to talk, including having grotesque little faces pop out on springs from the chairs as well, to no effect. Although, Anzu looks a little like she's orgasming, which is somewhat gross considering the sexualized add-ons to her torture. She's thinking that she can't take it anymore, and Yuugi is picking up on the fact that she's breaking down.

I feel like I've accidentally stumbled into Takahashi's sexual fantasy, and I didn't sign up for this. If I wanted to be reading ecchi horror, I would have found something fitting that description. Can someone PLEASE put this manga back on track? PLEASE.

Jouji also notices that Anzu is having a rough time of things. He doesn't care about the other three, but he's determined to prove himself heroic and a man to his crush. Unlike Yuugi, Jouji has freedom of movement, so he slides off of Anzu's lap and begins crawling back to the seat of their guide. Yuugi knows that he's their only hope.

The butler declares silently that he'll just keep prodding them until they squeal, and throws in an evil mental laugh for good measure, just as Jouji crawls to his feet. Jouji thinks that it's time for his special strategy, and the butler thinks that his next press of a button is going to be curtains. But he looks down and is astounded that little Jouji is sitting in his lap smiling at him in an innocent way. He's wondering how a baby got in his lap, which is a fair thing to wonder. Did he not feel Jouji crawling up there?

But just as fast as Jouji appeared, he leaves, crawling away from a confused butler with an evil grin. There's a panel that shows Jouji looking back with his grin, paired with a thought bubble saying "Go to hell, baby," and I'm not certain if it's supposed to be Jouji thinking it, or the butler. It's all very unclear.

A smell starts wafting from the butler's lap and he looks down in horror...

You were bragging earlier that you can withstand torture and know how to psychologically scar others with those same torture techniques, and you scream at some kid shitting in your lap? Some torture expert you turned out to be, being so ridiculously disturbed by poop.

Still better than the "mercenaries" in the last chapter though, and the fairest villain Yuugi has faced in a long while. Hats off to you, Butler Dude.

Jouji has crawled back into Anzu's lap and given her a thumbs-up, thinking that he'll do anything for the woman he loves. Anzu just stares straight ahead with confusion as Jouji leans back into her and assures her in his head that everything's alright now. Yuugi grins at him, claiming that because he beat the butler all by himself, he's a pretty cool guy. No, he's still a despicable little brat with no understanding of personal boundaries. He just happened to do something heroic with that characteristic, which I'll admit was a good use of character on Takahashi's part.

Their car rolls to a stop at its destination and Honda pulls his helmet off without incident, announcing that they made it, so it's alright to talk now. He asks Yuugi and Anzu if they're alright, to which the respond in the affirmative, then Honda turns to Jonouchi to ask him the same. Jonouchi has fainted, and after an initial shock, Honda speculates that's probably how he survived their trip. Jonouchi opens his eyes groggily, but then lets out that scream he'd been holding in from the beginning. Yuugi informs him that he's safe because the ride is over.

Jouji makes fun of them all by calling them stupid, and asks if Anzu agrees. She ignores him while looking up at something out of frame.

Not going to say a kind word about your dead butler, Kaiba? A little eulogy? "He served not only me, but the ideals of torturing one's enemies, and died upholding those ideals"? Guess not.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I enjoyed the fact that our antagonist participated in his own sick game, at least in part. He wasn't AS complete a cheater as Kaiba, and his arrogance and risk ended up killing him in the end. It felt more like poetic justice this time, as opposed to just the amped up drama of all of the unfair advantages Kaiba's vast resources award him.

Also, it gave our baby Jouji something to do that was unique to his particular character, and it justifies his existence to me. Sure, in the last chapter, he was crucial to their plan to win the game too. However, as I pontificated upon AT LENGTH at the end of the last chapter, I found the entire chapter depended on the antagonists talking and thinking too much. Jouji's role here was much more organic, depended entirely on his baby-ness as well as his intense desire to impress Anzu, and evened the playing field in a way the antagonist didn't expect. That's way more valuable to the story than what he did in the last chapter.

But, in a way, Jouji's critical role here REINFORCED Anzu's presence in the story as the love-interest whose only purpose is to induce action from another character. It didn't help that this chapter continued on the sick route of reducing Anzu's existence to that of a constant victim of sexual assault. Takahashi didn't have to draw a hand groping her chest. He didn't have to make her expression uniquely sexualized either, because he's had her gritting her teeth and making scared faces before that didn't look like she was in the middle of being fingered. He did it anyway, though, and it makes me wonder how much further he'll go with this train. Will the next chapter feature Anzu losing her clothes in a game? Will the one after that have her running around in her underwear all oiled up?

And this train actually runs parallel to another that's been bugging me. Kaiba admitted that he had no idea that Anzu was even hired, and no idea that she was there, so why does this sexual torture exist for a female player that is not even supposed to be there? Hell, I explained why it was a stretch to think that Kaiba even anticipated HONDA being there too, so the fact that the horror fun house car even has more than two seats to begin with is somewhat absurd. Unless you're assuming that after Kaiba is done murdering Yuugi with these games, then he'll re purpose them for use by the general public and take all the dangerous parts out, this makes no sense. I already talked about how no one should have to make up headcanons just so the original material can make actual sense, too.

This is just Takahashi assuming that everyone reading his story is too dumb to notice its inconsistencies and not bothering to think through the writing decisions he's making. He's taken up the habit of putting things in the comic that he thinks look cool, despite how little sense they make when someone references the rules of the universe he's already set up. It's lazy, contrived, and assuming the worst about the intelligence of his readers.

At this point, I'm wondering if this whole "Death-T" arc wasn't an ill-thought-out attempt to get the people who were asking for more Kaiba to hate him so that Takahashi didn't have to write any more about him, and it backfired magnificently. I would laugh SO HARD if that were the case. FOREVER.