Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 065 Let the Duel Begin!

Yes, let the duel begin, because I think I nearly went permanently cross-eyed from how much non-action I was slogging through in the previous chapter. There's nothing wrong with character introductions, but when they're all happening at once and there's not much going on around them to temper them, it can get a tad boring. Pacing shouldn't be as much of a problem in this chapter, though, because WE HAVE ARRIVED.

Dangerous? It's only a card game guys. It's not like you're going to turn into jackasses for playing or anything. Wait...

IT ALL MAKES SENSE.

As Yuugi and pals are disembarking from the ship, Jonouchi lets out a ferocious sneeze. Bless you! Yami apologizes to Jonouchi, because this sneeze was initiated by Jonouchi's entirely suicidal attempt to rescue Exodia. Don't apologize, hit him upside his stupid head and threaten to castrate him if he does anything like that again! Well, I mean, the castration part is a little over the line, I admit, but I think he at least deserves a punch.

Jonouchi says his itty bitty cold isn't nearly as rage-inducing as the asshole who threw Yami's best cards into the ocean in the first place. Haga is in the crowd near them, chuckling, and Yami casts him a glare while thinking about how he's going to beat him first.

Vlad the Hair Impaler shouts at the duelists to ascend the castle's steps first to receive instructions for the tournament. As Yuugi's entourage climbs toward the castle, Honda remarks with some exasperation how much this castle and kingdom remind him of the European middle ages. Anzu seems to think this is bourgeois, but she's clearly thinking of a different time period. Everyone is told to wait in front of the closed gates once they arrive for further instructions, and eventually castle staff (looking an awful lot like the ship staff) stand on a balcony, inviting Pegasus to do the honors at his own tournament. Duh.

Douchebag capital of the ocean!

Yami reminds the audience in his thoughts about how Pegasus was the one who sealed Sugoroku's soul into a video. Thanks. It was a whole three chapters ago, so I had forgotten.

Pegasus begins by explaining that only officially licensed Duel Monsters cards will be used in the tournament, and if the competitors didn't bring their most powerful cards as he had hoped they would, he invites them to trade with one another. He then requests that they put on their glove and insert the star chips in the wrist, all of the items that he sent them for the tournament. Everyone takes a moment to do so, being unusually quiet for children.

Pegasus holds up a star chip, telling them that it's their LIFE. I know you're dramatic, Maxy-boy, but JEEEEEEZ. He tells them that they must bet one or more chip on each duel they enter.

There's that translucent hand business again. And yeah, you guys BETTER win. Otherwise, why am I reading this?

Pegasus references "Battle Royale" in his description of how the duels will take place, all over the island. Duelists who collect 10 star chips are the only ones who will be able to enter the castle and compete for the "honors" Pegasus has offered. Yami wonders why a card tournament would need to have such a large arena, and remembers that Haga told him there would be new rules regarding how the game is played. He thinks the games they'll be engaged in will be more advanced than before, but without any specific guesses as to how they would BE more advanced.

Wouldn't want to give away the new rule you've already figured out too soon, huh Yami? And yes, I know HE knows what's going on, because he's one of those main characters that's not allowed to be wrong. How else would you explain how he's allowed to fuck up royally and no one ever mentions it? *coughKaibacough*

Pegasus's final announcement is that the game will begin in an hour and will last for 48 hours after that. Anyone who has less than 10 star chips after that 48th hour are losing losers and will be exiled from the kingdom. What are you ten-years-old, Pegasus? Before he turns and walks back into his elaborate fantasy house, he tells everyone that he prays for their success. I guess that's one way to ensure that your prayers come true no matter what. Yami tells Pegasus to wait in his head as the rest of the duelists around him start milling back toward the stairs. He poses dramatically with all his friends hanging out behind him, reiterating the fact that Pegasus is waiting in the castle where only those with 10 star chips can enter.

WE KNOW.

After an hour, it is announced the island over that the game has started. With 47 hours and 58 minutes remaining, Yami and friends are walking along, and someone suggests they check somewhere in front of them out. Bakura says that the peaceful atmosphere of the island seems to contradict the dueling purpose to it. Anzu points out some other kids just standing around, not playing either, and says they probably don't know what to do. Well, guys, first you take out your cards, then you shuffle them, then you play CARDS. This isn't difficult.

Jonouchi points to a sign, pointing the way to two different areas: a lake to the right and a forest to the left. Yami suggests they go to the forest, because he saw that asshole Haga go that way and he's still hell bent on beating Haga first. Jonouchi says that the path they're on is the one, which contributes nothing whatsoever to the panel or story. In the next panel he's judging the forest as creepy, and I'm wondering how he manages to go ANYWHERE when he's so apt to consider so many mundane places creepy.

Someone calls out to Yami off-panel, and surprise! It's Haga, grinning and holding up his deck of cards. Yami chuckles, saying that at least Haga has the balls to face him. Haga says that if he gets rid of Yami first, the rest of his duels will be cake in comparison, so he's challenging Yami to a duel right now. Yami shouts that Haga ASKED for his spanking, and Haga turns to lead them to a place to duel in the woods.

He takes them to a glass booth, labeled 15 above the door, and Jonouchi recognizes it as a duel box. Haga thinks about what a fool Yami is to fall into his trap and not even know it.

As Yami crosses his arms, Haga notes that he only has one star chip and assumes that means he already lost a game. He says that if he can take Yami's last star chip, he has to leave the island. Oh yeaaaaaah, I almost forgoooooooot...

Haga takes one of his chips out, because he sees that he only needs to stake one, but Yami demands that he stake BOTH. Haga is shocked by this order, but Yami reminds him of what he said before about taking him out first, and of Ryuzaki's "kill or be killed" philosophy of the game. Yami goes on to say that he'll stake his one star chip in addition to his life. Is he essentially inviting Haga to KILL him if he loses? Why does everyone in this story insist on betting completely INAPPROPRIATE things?? Mai bets her body, Yami bets his life... Just play a regular damn game!

Haga seems a-okay with this idea, though, calling it a "twist". Whatever you say, Haga. Yami just glares at him. Haga restates the stakes that they've both put up, his two star chips and Yugi's star chip and life. Anzu and Jonouchi shout from outside the booth for Yami to squash Haga like one of his precious insects, as a couple more kids are congregating to watch the Japanese champion and the guy who beat Kaiba play against each other in the first match of the island. How would they know that other matches aren't taking place elsewhere? Not that this one being the first match wouldn't be fitting.

Each competitor's life points are displayed to the reader and Haga declares the start of the match.

The mammoth is so much cooler, there I said it.

Someone points out that both monsters have the same attack points, and despite this reality, Haga is yukking up a storm. Yami attacks and says that the mammoth attempts to gore the bee with its tusks. Awfully small target, don't you think? That mammoth better have stellar aim. Haga says that the "Killer Needle" on his bee counters the attack. You mean, like THIS killer needle?

Had to be done.

The Killer Bee destroys the Mammoth, and Yami wonders why his monster was the one to be destroyed when they both had equal attack points. Why are you wondering at all, Yami? This has happened several times in the past for no reason. I suppose it's because now there actually IS a reason, and Haga taunts Yami for not having figured it out yet, apparently. He asks if Yami wants to know the reason why they're battling in the forest biome, and some of Yami's curiosity must show through his glare, because Haga launches into a brag about how Pegasus gave him a special preview of how the dueling boxes work in Duelist Kingdom. He encourages Yami to take a good look at the table they're playing on.

Yami looks down and is surprised to see a landscape of trees covering the table. Why was that not one of the FIRST things you noticed, Yami? Seriously, if a table is decorated in a RESTAURANT, I examine it. I don't know anyone who WOULDN'T notice something like this. Crap, how unobservant can you GET??

Anyway, Haga explains that the landscape depicted is that of the island 40 meters in all directions from their humble little booth, 80% forest and 20% wasteland. Since his insects thrive in the forest, they get a field power-up that increases their attack and defense. Yami realizes this is exactly why Haga led him into the woods, to get that power-up. Meanwhile, Haga is yelling that Yami can't beat his insect cards.

Yami chuckles, stroking his chin with his gloved hand, and Haga's face falls as he asks what Yami is laughing about. Yami advises Haga to take a look at his insect monster. The tusk of the mammoth is lodged in the bee's thorax, and it's dying. Haga looks down and realizes the mammoth got a power-up too from the 20% wasteland part of the field. Yami claims that he figured out the new rule when he sat down, and calls Haga an insect compared to him.

No. No, KT. You can't have your main character thinking surprised thoughts in his head in one panel, and then in another panel have him say he knew it all along. That's CONTRADICTORY. You know what that means, right? It means these two things are mutually exclusive and cannot coexist logically.

And no, it's not a matter of Yami bluffing. The whole point of showing the THOUGHTS of a character is to show what they're really thinking at the time of a big reveal or emotional scene. No matter what's going on with their face or body language on the outside, their thoughts and internal reactions don't lie, and showing the audience that means showing them the truth about what the character knew, didn't know, and really feels about what's going on around them. If Yami figured out the rule as soon as he saw the table, he wouldn't have had the realization LATER that the rule was why Haga led him to that specific box. He would have already KNOWN.

Granted, there is the possibility that I have, once again, been confused about what is being spoken aloud and what is being thought. If KT would simply pick a type of bubble he would like to use for one or the other, then maybe I wouldn't have this problem. It's pretty important to delineate where the information you're putting out there is, and he's been kind of sloppy about that for a while now.

But unless the official translators are having the same problem I am, I think I can safely glean from the way the sentences are structured, with Haga's name used instead of "you", that it was supposed to be a thought, and therefore was a completely misused thought.

KT, it seems, wanted to give the readers a mini-red-herring, without understanding how red-herrings work, or what having a window into a character's head is supposed to accomplish. The result was a mishmash of the two devices, and a complete and total flub of what he was trying to get across.

And a roll of my eyes, of course.