Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 070 Things That Don't Change

You know what they say, the only thing that doesn't change is that EVERYTHING changes. Something's gotta give and all that jazz. There's always some way that life throws you a curve ball and you've got to change in order to deal with it. So I don't know what this chapter means by referencing MULTIPLE things that don't change. Not in my experience, buddy, right down to this volume, which has changed to number 9.

But maybe I'll be proven wrong.

Maybe one of those things that don't change happens to be Jonouchi's skill level at this game?

Anzu cries out Jonouchi's name as Honda wonders aloud if there's any way their friend can win. Come on, guys, it's only the beginning of the match. Calm yourselves. Yami is keeping it together, mentally asking Jonouchi to do the same, because he's confident Jonouchi can still bring home the gold.

Jonouchi's points have dropped to 1610 against Mai's untouched points, and I wonder what complicated calculation the high-tech booth did in order to determine how many points he had to lose. His monster's attack was the same as Mai's when she attacked, but I guess she gets extra force because she's in the air and...? I got nothing.

Jonouchi is less concerned with his points, mind fixed on the question of how Mai knew her card was Harpy Lady. Dude, FOCUS, because Mai's trick really isn't important right now. Mai internally giggles at what she knows is Jonouchi's distraction with her card trick, and is convinced it will help her win.

Deciding to just move on, Jonouchi plays "Demon Hunter Kojikocy" which is also powered up on the plains. Yami grits his teeth, realizing that it's useless for Jonouchi to attack with just one card, because he sees Mai going for a combo. She has her eyes closed when she turns over another of her face down cards that constitute her hand, and reveals an Electro-Whip.

I'm picking up on a BDSM theme. At least I only peeked into the closet rather than walking full on into KT's porn collection this time though. Still uncomfortable, but not skin-crawlingly so.

As Jonouchi's life points go down again, the only thing he's thinking about is how she managed to read the card before she turned it over. It's just a slight-of-hand trick, Jonouchi, SERIOUSLY. Mai tells Jonouchi that cards like his last weren't going to be able to beat her harpy, which becomes more beautiful, elegant and powerful with every turn. What do those two former points have to do with anything? I dunno.

Jonouchi is visibly flustered now, telling her to take a look at his new warrior card, "Warrior of Gardna". Mai picks up another face-down card from her hand, and calls it "Cyber Bondage" before she flips it, turning out to be correct once again. The harpy is dressed in a leather bodice with extended metal nipples that I'm pretty sure she stole from Madonna's closet, which amps up her attack and defense points. Mai commands her to destroy her new opponent with her whip, and the harpy complies with relish.

Down to 810 points, Jonouchi winces at the blow. Mai asks him mockingly if he's learned that he's only prey to her. He's not paying attention, because he's still questioning how she manages read cards face-down. He speculates that she may have ESP, while Yami silently begs Jonouchi not to let the trick get to him. Too late, bro.

Why? Because you can't figure out her stupid trick that doesn't actually affect gameplay for you?

Anzu tries to cheer Jonouchi into bucking up from the other side of the glass, and Mai notices this, pointing and demanding Anzu's attention. Anzu blinks at her, so Mai attempts to repeat the words Anzu said about the duelist hearing the cheerleaders' feelings, and those feelings helping them to win. Mai turns her finger on Jonouchi and demands that Anzu help him to win, because he needs all the "feelings" Anzu has to give. Anzu looks embarrassed that her words were used to mock her friend.

Mai asks if they understand that feelings are useless now. She offers some more advice to Jonouchi that he shouldn't expect to be a successful duelist and play with his friends too, because friends easily turn to enemies in this game. Well, I guess if you believe that the words "opponent" and "enemy" are synonymous, which is fundamentally flawed.

Jonouchi looks down dejectedly as Mai continues her speech, claiming that the only person a duelist can trust is themselves and this is the lesson he should take from his inevitable defeat today. Jonouchi again looks like someone punched him in the stomach.

Anzu yells at the sky that Mai's monologue is making her super mad. After Yami sees this, he looks back at Mai, LIVID. Did he need Anzu to be mad before he could get mad too? What is anger to him, an orgasm? Yami shouts that he WILL make Jonouchi win, and he can do it with just one word too! Abracadabra? Mai stares at him after his outburst, but doesn't ask any questions.

Yami approaches the glass as Jonouchi and Anzu look on curiously, telling Jonouchi to answer a riddle he's going to give him.

That's... not one word. Did you mean the answer is one word?

Jonouchi repeats the riddle like a question in his head, looking surprised. Yami just gives him a small smile. Meanwhile, Mai is laughing at the prospect of Jonouchi beating her because he solved a riddle. She says that she wants to see this "strategy" in action and sarcastically encourages Jonouchi to go ahead and try. Jonouchi returns to his dejected face, thinking that he knows the answer to the riddle by looking back on when he was the one riddling Yuugi and the answer was friendship. He doesn't know how that answer will help him now, though.

Yami watches Jonouchi looking upset and almost looks exasperated. Give him some time, dude. Jonouchi sees Yami watching him and makes a silent apology, while thinking he's too dumb to figure out what else Yami could mean, not knowing what he's trying to tell him. Jonouchi closes his eyes and wishes he could see his sister and that she was there. He looks up out of the box and at the sky, thinking he's a bad brother for not being able to fix her eyes and remembering that heartbreaking moment when she said she wanted to see him one last time.

He curses out loud, squeezing his eyes shut. He wonders if the world of blindness is pitch black like he's experiencing now, and thinks he can't possibly let Shizuka go to that world.

After a moment, he notices he smells something, and his eyes snap open again as he asks what it could be. When his eyes were open, he had just thought the smell was Mai's perfume, but when his eyes were shut, he noticed that there were many different perfumes that were distinct from one another. Mai urges Jonouchi to take his turn, saying that she doesn't have all day. Somehow I don't think you have a hair appointment on this remote island, sweetie.

Jonouchi says that he knows what her card trick is, shocking Mai. He explains that she's sprayed all her cards with different scents in order to tell them apart by smell. You know what that reminds me of? Scratch and Sniff stickers. I miss those.

See? You weren't too dumb after all! Mai is just dumbfounded that he should be able to figure out her aroma-tactics, being a n00b and all. He has a NOSE, doesn't he? I don't know what his status as a newbie has to do with it. But, you know, Mai's got to mention irrelevant shit every five seconds.

Jonouchi stands wearing a huge grin as he says that he couldn't pay attention to the game because she kept him freaked out with what he thought was some kind of occult power. But now that he knows better, he's confident again and calling her a faker. She wasn't FAKING anything, Jonouchi. She was just pulling a fast one. Still, Jonouchi's friends cheer for his working brain. He looks at Yami with thankfulness.

Mai hunches over the table, fists raised and teeth grinding, saying she doesn't care that he figured it out because he still can't beat her. Jonouchi lets her know that he's not intimidated by her talk, telling her how it's funny that his friends watching over him have made him realize that she's not as tough as she first appeared to be. He's ready to take up her challenge of beating her in LESS than 100 years.

He finally takes his turn while Mai stares at him in shock, laying down Baby Dragon in defense mode. Yami recognizes it as a card he had given to Jonouchi while they were training. Jonouchi silently asks Yami to watch as he uses the special card. Mai is laughing again, saying the card is more appropriate for babies, but at least Jonouchi was smart enough to put it in defense mode so her attack on it won't take down his points. She decides NOT to attack it this time, though, instead playing a different card.

And thus begins her story of perpetual regret. Not that it's readily apparent, because...

Anzu laments that Jonouchi is already no match against just one harpy, because she's a jerk friend. Honda just encourages Jonouchi to hang in there. Jonouchi gulps at a winking Mai, who lets him know that she can't attack when she plays Kaleidoscope, so it's his turn. Jonouchi draws a card, sweating, and plays Garoozis, a Godzilla-looking monster that also gets a power-up from the plains. Mai commands her Harpies to all attack Garoozis and punish him for just existing, I guess.

Jonouchi's life points are all the way down to 120, and thinks he doesn't have a card that can beat all three of her monsters. Her laughter is back again with her statement that he just experienced her Harpy Ladies' 10 hit combo, a move that proves her previous statement about her the harpies always getting more beautiful and powerful. Jonouchi slumps, thinking he's backed against a wall and can't possibly win.

Yami has his hands up against the glass, thinking at Jonouchi not to give up. He knows that Mai's strategy is a simple matter of powering up a single monster with lots of magic cards, and its critical weakness is that there are no other monsters in the deck. If Jonouchi can take out the Harpy Lady, he's cleared for victory, so all has to do is draw another card that Yami gave him. Jonouchi remembers the riddle, and appears to simultaneously flash back to this giving of this special card.

Back in Yuugi's room, Jonouchi is holding the box for the Millennium Puzzle, which he says he recognizes. Yuugi confirms that the puzzle came from it, and Jonouchi repeats what Yuugi said was inscribed there, "something you can see but can't see." Yuugi opens it and shows Jonouchi that it contains some of his more valuable cards now, and remembers that he meant to give Jonouchi an important card that he should take to the island with him. It's "Time Wizard" which can be used in combination with Baby Dragon to turn it into and adult by fast forwarding 100 years, among other things.

Well, if it isn't a mighty coincidence that Mai told Jonouchi he couldn't beat her in 100 years...

Yuugi hands it to an eager Jonouchi, saying it's very reliable, while Jonouchi thanks him. Flashback ending, Jonouchi has now remembered that card too. I guess he must have randomly played Baby Dragon earlier, then, because I thought he planned to do it from the beginning. Mai sneers that Jonouchi only has one turn to live now, and asks him why he doesn't just give up and give her his cards right now. Girl, you want CHIPS, not cards.

Jonouchi doesn't have Time Wizard in his hand right now, so he puts a shaking hand over his deck to take his one last chance at drawing it. Yami mentally encourages him to trust the cards, but Jonouchi isn't looking too trusting when he squeezes his eyes shut. Looks more like he's waiting for the axe to fall. He picks draws, praying for the card he took to be it. The Millennium Puzzle glows, the wearer's eyes shut in concentration.

Boy you'd better not be cheating with that amulet...

Mai doesn't appear to recognize the card, so Jonouchi explains that it speeds up time by 100 years to turn his Baby Dragon into an adult. Yami chuckles as he thinks that Jonouchi forgot that the Time Wizard can do more. Jonouchi tells the wizard to do its magic and it grows the Baby Dragon into a Thousand Dragon with 2400 attack points. Why is it called "thousand" when it's only one hundred years that's gone by?

Mai isn't impressed, saying that the senile dragon isn't anything in comparison to her Harpy Ladies stronger attack power, and directs said harpies to attack. A moment later, she is shocked.

And sagging boobs. Such is the nature of time. Yami chuckles again in his head, because the harpies grew old and lost their powers just as he predicted. He thinks maybe the loss of beauty was too cruel to Mai, but with a smirk. Hey, she's going to have to face it at some point anyway, given that it happens to everyone.

Jonouchi cringes at the sight of the old hag harpies he created and admits he didn't know the card would do that. He recovers quickly though, commanding his dragon to attack with its nose breath. Nasty. Mai grimaces at her sudden loss as Honda and Anzu jump for joy at the miracle of Jonouchi's win. Jonouchi thanks Yami for his support, and Yami gives him a smile paired with a thumbs-up.

As he's leaving the table, Jonouchi tells Mai that despite his poor credibility as a duelist, he knows about something that doesn't change after 100 years. When Mai asks what it is, Jonouchi repeats the riddle of something that you can show but can't see. A much nicer sentiment than Yami offered Haga, that's for sure.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Mai reminds me very loosely of the teacher WAAAAAAY back in Chapter 7. Remember that? She too was obsessed with her appearance and vain, which annoyed me back then because that was her only motivation and personality trait. Everything that she was hearkened back to that stereotypical and flat point. Mai has definitely taken up that particular torch, with all her references to beauty and horror at wrinkles and grey hair. It's still annoying that KT can't seem to imagine a female antagonist who isn't so preoccupied with how she looks.

That being said, Mai IS more complicated than that, because she's not a straight-up villain like the teacher, and she has more in her head than looking good. Mai has mentioned more than once now that she doesn't think very highly of the band of friends cheering one another. Throughout the chapter she's sneered at the idea that support from friends can impact a person's gaming performance, and even expressed the sentiment that friends eventually turn on you if they end up playing as an opponent.

This is a perspective that directly opposes the theme of the manga, which is the power of friendship. I'm interested to know how Mai came to believe it, because that's probably a very interesting story. It's probably more interesting in connection with her obsession around beauty and using it as a weapon. Maybe this is a classic story of a woman scorned?

In other news, Jonouchi won a star chip! Not without some heavy suggestion from Yami, though, which will probably drive him into a depression after the initial high of winning wears off. Again, he's the type who needs to prove that he's capable of being the best, and his confidence will drop when he inevitably thinks of Yami's help as the crutch preventing him from standing on his own. Stand or fall, Jonouchi HAS to know if he's capable of winning on his own.