Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 053 The Millennium Enemy, Part 4

When I was in college, I was introduced to a guy that would later become a stalker by a mutual friend. I got a BAD feeling about the dude the moment I shook his hand, but because I didn't want to be rude or judgmental, I decided I needed to at least give him a shot. A couple of weeks later, he was refusing to leave my dorm room until past midnight, pounding on my door every fifteen minutes the next day, and hanging around outside a friend's door so he could eavesdrop on our conversation for two whole hours.

What's the point of this story, you may ask? Well, much like Yuugi, I had a feeling that someone I was interacting with wasn't quite right. And, much like Yuugi, I gave this person a chance in the interest of not coming off as rude. However, UNLIKE Yuugi, I never made that mistake AGAIN. Boy needs to learn to listen to his instincts and run the other way when someone just seems wrong somehow. Especially in his position, when he's being challenged to games all day and night that could AT LEAST maim or kill him, he's got to develop a sense of discernment at some point. If he doesn't, his life is just going to be FILLED with a struggle against people taking his soul, or murdering him, or...

Oh. Oh, wait, I get it. That's the point, isn't it?

Anyway, Anzu is bored enough with their game that she's decided to take a little snooze. With her eyes open. Yuugi keeps yelling her name to no avail, while Jonouchi and Honda wonder what's wrong with her and how she could have passed out like that. Certainly not from boredom, because who would be bored by an interactive story game with moving, talking pieces? I'm not being facetious here, I'm really asking.

Other Bakura chuckles, but his laugh appears in the double lined speech bubble that indicates narration for the game, so I'm wondering if he's actually chuckling for Zork? Does Zork need someone to chuckle for him? The other pieces with souls could talk, so why not him? I still have no idea how to interpret the way these events are playing out, obviously.

Yuugi goes from looking concerned over Anzu to glaring at Other Bakura. Yuugi demands to know what he's done to Anzu, but Other Bakura denies having done anything that's outside the rules of the game. He's still talking in narration bubbles. Other Bakura warns Yuugi that their game is the ultimate RPG, which came out awfully late if you ask me. Warnings usually come BEFORE you get yourself into a situation that is distressing or dangerous, don't they?

The three remaining players repeat the phrase "ultimate RPG" like it's a question, and Other Bakura patronizingly reminds them of what he said before: in RPGs you play a role, transcending reality to step into a character's shoes and complete an adventure. Jonouchi reminds Other Bakura that he didn't answer the question of what he did to Anzu, and Other Bakura tells him to relax because Anzu is alive and well, within the world they've been playing.

Anzu's piece looks over the landscape of the board, and wonders what happened to her from the other side of the problem. So, I can assume her movement is REAL, now, right?

Look on the bright side, Anzu; last time you were turned into a "doll," you were robbed of all consciousness and autonomous thought. This time you appear to have just astral projected into an object that may or may not have been inanimate before. You're like Prue Halliwell, except without the additional power of telekinesis. That's cool, yeah?

No... no that show was pretty bad, now that I think about it. No worse than this comic, though, to be honest.

Anzu's piece screams, and Yuugi is pretty darn sure that he's not imagining it this time. Jonouchi confirms that the piece DEFINITELY sounds like Anzu. Yuugi calls out to Anzu and she returns his shout from inside the piece, and Yuugi is faced with the reality that she has indeed become the game piece.

Other Bakura elaborates on why this happened by saying that all of the players' fates are determined by the roll of the dice. When Zork rolls a double zero, or one of the players rolls a double nine, the rules of darkness governing the game dictate that the player affected should be sealed in their piece. Yuugi recognizes those darkness powers that Other Bakura is talking about, but doesn't say this out loud. Other Bakura announces that the only way to get Anzu, and any other souls that have been sealed in their pieces, is to defeat Zork.

Jonouchi curses, then declares that he'll crush Zork as he rolls the dice. Unfortunately, he does the exact opposite, rolling that dreaded 99 instead of a critical. He curses again and sweats. To make things that much worse, Other Bakura is very disappointed that Jonouchi touched the dice when it wasn't his turn to roll them. Other Bakura points in an accusatory way as he states that by rolling without his permission, Jonouchi has disrupted the flow of the game and must be punished. Jonouchi only has time to flinch before he too collapses on the table, with Yuugi calling out his name in distress. Yuugi and Honda stare at his unconscious body in disbelief.

Now it's Jonouchi's turn to wake up in the world of the game, disoriented and confused. Anzu notices that he's joined her and is devastated, because this is a club she wanted no one else to be in. Yuugi calls down to Jonouchi's piece, and Jonouchi looks up at him, asking what he should do. He's so much taller than Yuugi, it must be even weirder for Jonouchi to be looking up at him than it was for Anzu.

Yuugi doesn't say anything, presumably because he has not IDEA what they should do at this point. The only thing he can think to do is yell and glare at Other Bakura, who seems entirely unfazed. In fact, he seems almost amused as he tells both Yuugi and Honda to be extra careful, because there will be no one left to roll the dice if they're trapped in the game too. That means an automatic game over and victory for Other Bakura, though, and more living pieces for future victims to lose to. This probably has him tickled pink, actually.

Positively PINK.

Anzu and Jonouchi are looking up at Yuugi while he grinds his teeth. Anzu tells him that they have no choice but to fight now, and Jonouchi encourages him to roll the dice in their place. That's a great idea, Jonouchi, except that we don't know if that's within the rules or not. Remember what happened when you picked up the dice and it wasn't your turn? You should - it was only a couple of pages ago.

If Yuugi CAN roll for his friends who are trapped, what happens if those same friends get hit with a critical or fumble while they're already in the game? Probably nothing GOOD, that's for sure.

Yuugi looks shocked at the suggestion at first, but he doesn't get a chance to say why. Other Bakura suggests they continue their game, with Honda's magic gunman being the next who's slated to attack Zork. Honda acknowledges his turn with a determined face, but it looks like Zork has a little something to tell him. There's a chance that Honda will be overcome with fear at his overwhelming power before he can attack, and will be frozen. Other Bakura continues in this vein by saying that if Honda rolls less than a 70, he'll have the courage to attack Zork, but if not, Zork will attack him first. Other Bakura demands Honda roll.

Honda shouts that Other Bakura can't mess with his head, because he's not scared. Still, he grips the dice awfully hard as he growls at his shaking fist. He insists that he's trembling with rage instead of fear, and Other Bakura just requests that he let the dice decide his real feelings. I'm... pretty sure that's not how feelings work, Other Bakura, but okay. Yuugi encourages Honda to roll, and Honda lets go of the dice with a falsely confident exclamation.

Are these some kind of truth-telling fortune dice or something?? And does the magic gunman have its own personality and thoughts? I guess that would explain why the pieces could move before, but that raises so many other questions. What happens to the magic gunman when Honda inevitably gets sucked into his body? Will he go to board game/RPG heaven? Do he and Honda coexist in a similar way to Yami and Yuugi? Will this end with EVERYONE having another personality?

I think... I'm reading way too much into this, and I would like to blame the summer heat, but I know it's just my obsession with trying to make some sense of how the pieces in this game are supposed to function.

Honda calls Other Bakura a bastard, and I'm sure that'll show him what for! Other Bakura doesn't seem very affected by this devastating insult and says that he's rolling for Zork's first move, a direct hit on Honda. The dice spin on their tips all fancy-like, and come to a rest on, you guessed it, double zero. Yuugi and Honda stare in open-mouthed horror at the super critical roll, Yuugi noting that this is the second time in a row that Zork has rolled one. He yells that Other Bakura has fixed the dice, but Other Bakura just insists that the dice don't lie. Honda growls before he flinches and collapses as well, Other Bakura laughing maniacally while his latest target wakes up in his new body. Jonouchi's piece looks like he wants to lean forward to comfort Honda as Honda's piece slumps in shame. He begs them to believe he wasn't scared as he curses.

Yuugi shouts Honda's name, looking down at his position on the board, then looks back up to glare at Other Bakura. Other Bakura tells him he's the only one left, and Yuugi just continues to glare, so Other Bakura tells him that he has to roll for his friends moves all alone now. He also lets him know that if any of the hit points on the pieces reach zero, they'll die, so he better not fail them. Well, I guess at least ONE of my questions has been answered.

As Other Bakura laughs, Yuugi's attention is drawn to the board, where his friends all call out to him and tell him they're counting on him. Way to amp up the pressure, guys. Yuugi stares at them all. Other Bakura announces that it's time for Zork's counter-attack, and asks Yuugi to roll the dice. If it's Zork's turn to attack, then why would Yuugi roll the dice? Yuugi's stare at his friends turns determined.

I... can actually see where Yuugi's coming from here. The most responsible thing he could do to ensure that his friends DON'T die is to become a doll too, so they won't have to fight and lose health. He knows he's not in a fair fight, and he's not the one who can pull victories out of the fire. Not like the guy he's going to be leaving his body to. This is actually the best way Yuugi can handle this.

Other Bakura is shocked, though, stuttering as he asks for confirmation that Yuugi WANTS to become a piece. Yuugi's friends are also flabbergasted by his request, but Yuugi is adamant. He will fight alongside his friends and risk his life too. Said friends are seriously shocked, but don't appear to be trying to talk him out of it. Other Bakura says that it's easy to turn Yuugi into his piece, but if he does this, he asks who will roll the dice with Yuugi gone. Yuugi doesn't answer... out loud. Other Bakura acts like some sort of magnanimous benevolent dictator by pretending to contemplate the request, saying it's his job as Game Master to accommodate player requests when possible. All pretense aside, Other Bakura says he'll go ahead and do it, reminding Yuugi that it'll be game over as he does.

Yuugi wakes up in the body of his piece, surrounded by the living pieces of his friends, looking sad. Meanwhile, Other Bakura is gloating about how the players all turned into dolls and how complete his victory was. But this is short-lived, because his eyes grow wide in shock.

Look at that cocky fucker. What's wrong, Other Bakura? Didn't realize you weren't the only spirit hiding in a Millennium Item until just now?

Yami's not really interested why Other Bakura is staring, reminding him that they're in the middle of a game, doncha know. He tells Other Bakura that he's about to roll the dice for magic gunman's attack against Zork, and when he does so...

YEAH. FUCK THAT MONSTER GUY!

Zork groans as Jonouchi's piece cheers Honda's for his sharp-shooting. Honda's piece doesn't at all hate to tell Other Bakura that he told him so; he has friends that he trusts, so there's no way he was afraid of Zork. Other Bakura's not really listening though, because he's still hung up on the fact that another Yuugi exists. In the meantime, Yami is telling Zork that he'll crush him, with calls from his friends to encourage him.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Well, now that our pieces are officially possessed, I think I'll be complaining a lot less about them moving around and no one batting an eye from now on. Aside from that, the dice mechanic is interesting. I could see how, since this is a shadow game, the dice roll of the player would reflect how the player was feeling. Other Bakura DID, on the other hand, think that he can influence the outcome of a roll, but I'm beginning to think that only really applies to one that he makes. If that's the case, it would make his cheating far less complete, and give the confident Yami a window in which to kick some ass.

There's not much else to talk about in this chapter, because it was just a bunch of souls being put into game pieces consecutively. However, I'm really looking forward to Yami and Yuugi seeing each other for the first time. The last time that Yuugi lost his soul, he wasn't put in a position in which he could watch Yami work his magic, so I think this occasion will be an opportune one for the two of them to actually get acquainted. I'd like their separate-but-connected nature to be elaborated upon, but I don't know if that's possible to do in this first meeting.

I'll settle for just seeing what their first words to each other will be.