Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 062 Countdown!!

Unless we're counting down to a holiday like Halloween or Christmas, I always assume countdowns are bad. They're always on bombs or timed challenges when you have a million things to do. Ever heard of Benjamin Button? Yeah, that guy had some serious backwards issues. Counting up is the only way to go, baby! You only get more the further you go!

This message has been brought to you by the Counting Appreciation Association of America.

Anzu, can you see these shadow creatures right now? She looks a little too shocked to not be able to see this, though Sugoroku confirmed that he couldn't earlier...

On the other hand, she could just be reacting to Pegasus's smug grin. Pegasus looks pretty pleased for a guy who's losing now, and we all know what that means - the tables aren't really as turned as we thought they were! Pegasus claims that Yami's move was impressive, but he still knew that the Dark Magician would be the card played and only took the damage to keep things fair keep Yami thinking things are less obviously stacked against him. There, fixed that for you, Pegasus.

Yami knows that he's telling the truth, because the destruction of the Rogue Doll was recorded on the tape, making it impossible for his trick to just be subliminal. There's something else going on here. Pegasus says that it's time for the real duel, and Yami confidently tells Pegasus to bring that shit on. Since there's only so much time left on the tape that Pegasus has recorded on, he suggests that they keep their game below the fifteen minutes he puts on a clock in the upper right corner of the screen. I fucking knew it!!

Now all we need is for Pegasus to have accidentally stopped recording over the weird deviant porn inevitably contained on this tape and scar Yami and his friends/grandfather for life.

Anyway, Pegasus states that the person with the higher life points once the counter reaches zero is the winner. He also says that the loser gets a penalty game, as is tradition. Yami is either worried or excited about this, but it's a little difficult to tell. I'm going to say worried, because excited would weird me out. Pegasus thinks about how he's been scanning Yami's mind, so Yami can't possibly win. He's convinced it's Yami's destiny to participate in his Duelist Kingdom tournament. Insert evil laugh here.

A minute has already passed before Yami shouts at Pegasus to get on with it, because if they waste time the counter will reach zero. Wouldn't that be a good thing, since you're winning right now, Yami? Pegasus agrees, and reminds Yami that it's his turn. Forgetting whose turn it is, Yami? Weaksauce. He yells that his Dark Magician will kill Pegasus's Devil Dragon as it strikes a jaunty pose. Pegasus isn't intimidated by this prospect, ready to kick magician ass. With a battle command, the monsters face each other. Though Jonouchi is sweating, he gives an encouraging cheer to Yami, who smirks as he says he has this one in the bag.

Dark Magician launches a Black Magic Attack, and Yami declares the turncoat dragon dies. Pegasus dramatically exclaims and clutches at his head, life points reduced to 300. Yami, having not quite realized this is an act yet, tells Pegasus that his life points are dwindling and that he's NOTHING. Uhhh... This game was invented by this guy, and he's made more money than you can possibly imagine, and you're calling him nothing? Perspective, boy. Perspective. Also hubris.

Pegasus doesn't say anything as he looks overly-pouty. Sugoroku is silently proud of his grandson for fighting so well. He thinks if Yami keeps the Dark Magician on the field, as the most powerful of the spellcasting cards, he'll win. Pegasus demurely says it's his turn and draws a card, all while gloating in his head that Yami doesn't know he's pulling the strings. Yeah, it's not hard to play a guy like a fiddle when he gets a big head over TWO successful moves. Pegasus looks at his next card and is delighted at what he sees there, lying about how he doesn't believe it.

Are those puppet heads growing out of that eyeless, noseless creature's shoulders? I think the temperature in her just dropped ten degrees.

Yami is impressed with the rarity of the card, given that he's never seen it before. Do you judge how rare a card is by how often you've seen it, Yami? Seems a little ego-centric of you. Not that the whole universe isn't, mind you, but you could still have a little humility. The Illusionist laughs creepily as Pegasus grins from behind it. Sugoroku isn't so sure about how well Yami's doing anymore.

Anzu points out that the Dark Magician's attack points are higher than that of the Illusionist, so he should be able to crush it, but Sugoroku tells her that's not necessarily true.

Sooooo, you're telling me that the box with the rules in it lied to me?

Anzu asks him if that means that monsters can still lose if they have higher attack points but aren't the correct type, and Sugoroku says YES THAT IS JUST WHAT HE GOT FINISHED TELLING YOU ANZU KEEP UP. He says that's what makes strategy so important in Duel Monsters. I don't think the word "strategy" is the one you're looking for here.

So, after this incredibly long-winded exchange, Pegasus resumes his turn by saying he's not done yet, and combines Illusionist with a card called "Eye of Deception", attacking the Dark Magician with both the cards. Yami says he's ready, because if he wins the battle, he wins the game. The shadow creatures are commanded to dance battle for their masters.

Apparently, after the dust clears, neither one is the victor and it's a tie. Yami glares and Pegasus is being all dramatic again as he mumbles how close he was to beating this child. Five minutes remain on the clock, demonstrating yet again that Takahashi has no idea how time works.

Yami thinks that he might win just by playing out the final five minutes in defense, but immediately dismisses that as a coward's way. A coward's always wiser than a dead man, Yami. Yami draws a card, telling Pegasus that he'll take his life points down to zero and not stop fighting until it's all over. Pegasus smirks at him, but Yami must have missed it.

The card Yami drew is a good one; Celtic Guardian Level 6! It appears in a plume of smoke like the rest of them. Yami notes how it not only has higher attack points, but no disadvantage in comparison to the Illusionist, making him the winner if he attacks. Sugoroku jinxes Yami yet again by crossing his arms and grinning, thinking similar thoughts to him. Yami calls out his attack and as the Celtic Guardian raises his sword, Pegasus smirks about how Yami fell for it.

Yami can't imagine that the Illusionist moved at all, not even in a lightning fast way he couldn't see, and wonders how it managed to attack. The Celtic Guardian gives a painful grunt before he collapses and a silhouette emerges from behind him. It's the Dark Magician, looking a bit more sinister than before, and with a gigantic Eye of Horus plastered over his abdomen.

Finally, Yami figures out why the Eye of Deception was played by Pegasus in the last turn, to take over the Dark Magician for one turn. He wonders if Pegasus is able to tell the future, but doesn't bother to ask. He scoffs at a grinning Pegasus as their life points are displayed, Yami now at 200. Pegasus says it's the end of his turn, even though it wasn't his turn, and also draws attention to the fact that there's only 13 seconds left on the clock. Pegasus claps and patronizingly tells Yami he did a good job and their duel was a good one.

With 8 seconds left, Yami states that the game isn't over yet and grabs a new card, thinking he's not ready to give up. Pegasus just stares as Yami looks at his new card.

Will he even win if he attacks in time? That's the question I'm asking.

Ooooooh, bummer man. Or maybe not, I don't know. Pegasus is teasing Yami by saying that he MIGHT have lost if Yami's attack had reached him in time... or he might not have. What a douchenozzle. Yami growls as Jonouchi calls his name, looking shocked at his loss. Pegasus praises Yami's talent and predicts that they'll meet again at Duelist Kingdom. I'm not sure what Yami's look paired with the exclamation points here is supposed to mean, but I guess it looks impressive.

Pegasus cites trading card games rules of taking a losing opponent's card, before saying flippantly that Yami doesn't have any cards he wants. However, he supposes he'll just take something important to Yami instead, for collateral and insurance that Yami won't try to back out of the upcoming tournament. He points at Yami and friends, declaring a penalty game, as the screen becomes so bright that everyone has to shield their faces from the light. The light dies down and everyone lowers their arms from their squinted eyes, except for Sugoroku, who collapses onto his back.

Yami wonders what just happened just before Jonouchi asks after an unconscious Sugoroku. Yami scoots over to shake him and ask what's wrong too, but Sugoroku's still open eyes are listless and empty. Pegasus draws everyone's attention away from Sugoroku with a promise to show Yami how he was able to read his mind during the game, hand brushing away the curtain of hair from his left eye. Yami stares in shock.

Look at those veins pop! Yami seems as repulsed by his first view of the eye as I am. Pegasus's hair falls back into place as he tells Yami to meet him at Duelist Kingdom to get back the special thing he took with his penalty game. Pegasus disappears into static, and another form in the fuzz takes his place, calling out Yuugi's name.

That's right, regular kidnapping just didn't cut it for Pegasus. He pulled a SUPER KIDNAPPING. Hardcore.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I think the countdown should have started from five minutes, because it would have fixed the most egregious problems with this chapter. Most notably, it bugs me to DEATH that only two turns passed in almost ten minutes. It didn't even take me TWO minutes to read the pages regarding those turns, and that includes all the exposition Sugoroku had to drop about how the card game REALLY works.

Speaking of how the card game REALLY works, are we going to continue to get new, complicated and unnecessary rules all throughout this huge arc? I mean, I understand the addition of magic and traps in the game, but this whole class system of intricate weaknesses based on the influence of various other classes overrides the most basic rule of the game - higher attack points win. Without shadow games or holographic systems that keep score for you, the kids playing this game would have to engage in mathematical gymnastics just to play, and that seems excessive for a children's game.

All that aside, I feel like the expressions of the characters are becoming more and more ambiguous? Otherwise, the copious use of exclamation marks is starting to confuse me. A lot of the time they're paired with Yami staring with his mouth open, but it seems like the reaction shouldn't be shock, but confusion. It's a fine line, I realize, and I'm not one to talk, not being able to draw worth half a penny. Still, I think the expressions might have been a little easier to read earlier, and the more angular the style became, the less expression actually revealed. I find the art evolution here to be more uniform and generic, which isn't helping my interpretation of the underlying feelings of the characters.

What DID I like? I enjoyed the fact that Pegasus trapped Sugoroku in a television. That was creative and fitting.

*shrug*