Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 042 Get A Million Yen!!

To pay for the therapy, right? Yeah, Yuugi and pals seemed fine in the last chapter, but they must be repressing some serious trauma from Death-T. Unless, of course, trauma only exists when it's convenient for the plot and the heroes have better things to do than dealing with their emotions around a day at a park designed entirely around trying to murder them. Who has time for that? There are games to play!

Ahem. Yes, I would LOVE to get a million yen, though it wouldn't quite pay off my student loans. But I have a feeling this opportunity isn't being offered to me. Who's the lucky contestant who gets to try? Why, it's...

That's right, Jonouchi is about to take part in a game show! I'm actually surprised this plot hasn't come up before, considering the constant references to "penalty games" this manga has. Game shows are the ones that pioneered Yami's grand punishment strategies, so it's nice to see credit given where is due.

Jonouchi is already dreaming about living a life free of part-time jobs when Honda reminds him that he's not even at the starting gate yet, let alone the winner of the race. Jonouchi is determined, however, because his father is a gambler as well as a drinker, and they've been running from debt-collectors for a while now. Jonouchi looks forward to a swift end of that pitiful existence.

Anzu exposits that Jonouchi has been working for his own living expenses for a long time. Honda talks about how Jonouchi is famous for having his paper route regardless of the school rules Anzu was scared of when keeping her Burger World job a secret. Famous? Really? Maybe more infamous?

Just like this clunky exposition. Can't find a better way to get us this information, Takahashi?

Anyway, Jonouchi calls the person who picked his application for the show a god, and Yuugi suggests they all go to the television station to watch the show. I recall that you're especially familiar with the parking garage there, Yuugi... Jonouchi is grinning as his brain is stuck on a loop fantasy of having a million yen.

At the station, behind a door marked "program creation," someone asks who's going to be on the show today. Jonouchi's application picture looks surly, in spite of the person who drew it stating that his application was very eye-catching in rainbow colors. That's actually a really good strategy, Jonouchi. They always recommend making resumes stand out in bold new ways too.

Gee, can you tell he's a villain?

Later on the set of the show, the game is starting, and as the announcer welcomes the audience to live television and their show, Jonouchi awkwardly hovers half-concealed behind a divider on the set. When he comes out the announcer introduces him as their sixteen-year-old challenger. He waves to Yuugi and Honda in the crowd, and his friends wave back, Honda encouraging him to go for that million.

The Producer sits behind the control center operators as they switch to Camera 2. He commands them to put his application information on the screen, and the guy in front of him complies. The Producer is convinced the ratings will rise from people relating to such a pitiful situation.

The Announcer tells Jonouchi and the audience that it's time for the first game.

Well, that's quite the generous shot they're giving him, isn't it? What's with those chicks dressed in bunny costumes, though? Is that a very removed reference to a lucky rabbit's foot? Otherwise I don't know how those costumes could possibly relate to the show unless it was produced by Hugh Hefner.

Headcanon.

Yuugi and the others cheer Jonouchi from the stands, and Jonouchi is confident that they can count on him. Jonouchi throws the dart while he compares the game to pie, in simplicity, though the board looks an awful lot like pie and I'm hungry. The dart is embedded in the board while it's spinning, and when it stops, it's shown to have landed JUST outside the "loser" slice. The Announcer declares a pass on the game as Jonouchi sweats about how close he was to losing. But he's soon to perk up when he notes that he's got one hundred thousand yen so far, and he's more cross-eyed than ever. Yuugi and Honda are cheering again from the audience, Honda calling Jonouchi the best in Japan.

The announcer says that their next game is for five hundred thousand yen just before he explains it.

Well that escalated quickly. Is Kaiba still in his coma, because if not I'm inclined to believe he's the mastermind behind this one. Only if there's one million volts in those wires, though. The Announcer calls for the game to start and Jonouchi tries to hurry through the maze while still careful not to let his helmet touch the wires. He motivates himself by reminding himself that five hundred thousand yen is on the line, even though he gets nervous about the time ticking down. All the same, he makes it to the goal without getting shocked and wins the money. One of the Playboy Bunnies puts a medal around his neck representing the additional yen he's won while the Announcer shouts the fact over his microphone. Jonouchi looks more cross-eyed the more ecstatic he becomes.

The audience is jubilant at his progress too, especially his friends who shout that he's doing great. Honda says he only has one more game to win until he wins that sweet million. The Announcer calls for a commercial before the final game and Jonouchi has time to reflect on his progress. He's lost in the fantasy of what winning the million yen will mean for his relationship with his father, imagining that the two of them will finally get along and let go of all the nastiness of the past. Jonouchi is so optimistic, it's kind of making me tear up.

Yuugi says the game is so tense that he has to pee before the final round and leaves Honda and Anzu talking with each other animatedly. In his search for the bathroom, Yuugi thinks he could meet an idol, considering this is a TV station. Don't make me think about Chapter 2 anymore, Yuugi, we agreed it was a horrible mistake that should never have happened. Yuugi passes the Producer as he and a lackey are speaking about the current show. The Producer asks how the reception to Jonouchi is and his assistant says it's great. Then he asks for confirmation that there's no way Jonouchi can win his final game, and the assistant answers in the affirmative.

Yuugi freezes and turns to watch the two men walking away. The Producer just continues talking loudly about how the audience will be devastated when Jonouchi doesn't win, and that unhappiness brings in ratings. He then laughs at the notion of actually giving money to a pauper like Jonouchi, because their goal is to be capitalists, not philanthropists.

Staring open-mouthed at the retreating retro villains, Yuugi thinks that if they're being truthful, then Jonouchi has been set up to lose. He grits his teeth while thinking there's no way he's going to let them get away with that shit.

The Announcer speaks to the audience again, reminding them that if Jonouchi clears the final game, he'll win one million yen.

"Scar," "tissue" and "trash" are some odd words to put on that roulette board. And I'm beginning to wonder if Jonouchi's eyes are trying to look at each other through his nose when Jonouchi thinks about that money and promises that he'll definitely win. Honda and Anzu cheer Jonouchi on, seemingly not noticing that Yuugi still hasn't come back from the bathroom. The Bunnies spin the wheel and the Announcer says that once Jonouchi calls for it to stop, it will do so. Jonouchi's heart pounds as he watches the spinning board.

From behind one of the stage backdrops, the Producer and assistant watch Jonouchi watching the board. The Producer reminds his assistant to press the button his finger is hovering over when Jonouchi says the magic word.

Both of you know this, so why are you bothering to say it out loud? It's almost as if you have to let the hero know what your evil plan is so he can thwart it! Clumsy exposition is clumsy.

Speaking of the hero, he's conveniently standing right behind the Producer in order to hear the conversation they would never be having if they were halfway decently written. He's holding two ropes tied somewhere out of the upper right side of the frame when both Producer and assistant turn and look at him. Did he make a sound that would make them do so? Not that I can see.

The Producer tells Yami to get out of there because this area is for authorized personnel only. No ancient Egyptian revenge spirits allowed! Yami just chuckles, asking if those punks feel lucky and want to make his day. The Producer asks what the hell he's talking about and Yami directs his attention to where the ropes he's holding leads. There's a can of paint on a scaffold above them, which has one of the two ropes tied to it. How... did he have time to set that up? For that matter, how does he have time to be having this conversation? Shouldn't Jonouchi have called "stop" by now? I can't imagine why he would be standing there for minutes upon minutes without someone telling him the show only lasts so long. Also, Yami would have had to have been REALLY quiet to set that up right behind the Producer and assistant without them noticing if we ignore the time issue...

Balls, it's just wrong, everything about this is wrong and impossible.

Except for that, of course. I'm always down with antagonists having a viable reason to be invested in agreeing to Yami's games. The Producer growls about how Yami knows their secret, though I don't know how they could justify calling it a secret when they speak so openly about it all the time. Anyhow, he's in a hurry and has to stop Yami from telling, so he commands his assistant to take one of the ropes.

The assistant is shocked at first, but agrees, standing to take the right rope while Yami takes the left. They each tie a rope to their wrists and get ready, set... The paint bucket is pulled off to the right!

Now he doesn't know which switch to push because they're all red. He assumes that if he doesn't fix the game, Jonouchi will win and he'll have to pony up the dough. I don't know man, there's still a chance the wheel won't land on the slice for a million yen. It's still not a sure thing.

Yami states that it's time for some judgment, because his true nature has been revealed. I would argue it was pretty clear before you even played the game, Yami, but okay. Pointing, Yami says the name of the penalty game is "Mind on Air." Yen signs appear in the Producer's eyes as he screams, a sound that apparently no one hears only a few feet away on the set. The Announcer tells Jonouchi to call out "stop," so I guess he was waiting for a while. He's praying for success as he calls for the roulette board to halt.

Looks like the Announcer is sweating a little as he presents Jonouchi's check to him, so he may very well have been expecting Jonouchi to lose as well. Jonouchi is oblivious, staring at his check with admiration, and crossed eyes. Jonouchi grows confused, though, when he hears someone shout to stop broadcasting because something strange is happening. Someone in a headset asks what's wrong while the Announcer points off-panel at something.

The Producer is demanding money from the paupers at home while grasping at the lens of a recording camera. The Announcer laments that their show just went straight down the tubes as various stage hands try to pull the Producer away from the camera. Yami supposes that the only real poverty was that of the Producer's mind, and asks him for confirmation of that, knowing full well that he can't answer.

Weeks later, Jonouchi is crying and cursing. Honda asks why, and Anzu tells him that due to the production company's bankruptcy, the check they gave him bounced. I'd cry too, Jonouchi.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It was too reminiscent of the type of poor quality I thought we had left behind already. The dialogue of the antagonists was especially painful, because all that was missing was the literal mustache-twirling. And I get it, okay? Money is the root of all evil. Kind of picked that up after a couple of chapters, so we don't need beat that horse into a pulp. By far the biggest problem I had, though was the blatant exposition regarding how the roulette wheel was rigged. Takahashi didn't even ATTEMPT to disguise it or give it better context for existing, he just threw it in there like people tell people about things they already know all the time.

Speaking of time, Takahashi's weird lack of regard for how it actually works came back in this one. Sure, this game doesn't take long to play, but Yami would have had to set it up by climbing up a rattly scaffold, and if they weren't to hear that, he would have had to have known where they were heading and get there before him. Unless everything was already set up to begin with, in which case, wow, that's a bit of serendipity for Yami, now isn't it?

Lastly, I feel like making fun of Jonouchi's efforts at the end with the cartoonish panel kind of belittles the reasons he wanted that money in the first place. He's seriously in a bad place with his dad, and he thought it might be fixed with the money and paying off those debts. That's naive, but it was a fantasy I thought was incredibly human and moving in how important he thought the money would be to patch up his relationship with his father. It was a serious tonal shift that made the chapter seem cheap and like a joke on Jonouchi's serious money problems.

What a dick thing to do, Chapter. You should be ashamed.