Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 092 Enter the Labyrinth!

Oh man, I love that movie! However, now it not only reminds me of the babe, but it also reminds me of the fact the antagonist was our own dearly departed David Bowie. It is a fact that has taken so much enjoyment out of watching that movie that I haven't been able to since the news broke. Even reading this chapter might be too soon, but I'll do my best to cover it.

We miss you, Bowie. We miss you tremendously.

Thumbs up all around! YOU get a thumbs up! And YOU get a thumbs up!

Man, this manga really is a relic of the 90's, isn't it?

Jonouchi starts bragging about how they should have seen his one-shot deadly combo as Honda admires his star chips and Anzu says this story sounds cool bro, even if it was just luck. Fuck your dismissive attitude, Anzu. Honda continues in this vein, asking Jonouchi if he doesn't worry that his streak of luck is depleting his luck for the rest of his life. Jonouchi shouts that's not possible, as I tell him to fuck off too.

YOU get a fuck you! And YOU get a fuck you!!

Yami stands with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face as Jonouchi argues with Honda in the foreground. HE recognizes that Jonouchi's wins weren't the product of luck or miracles, but also to his desperation to win and his concern for his burden. In other words, the strength of a true duelist. Not stoked about Shizuka being condensed down into "burden" status, but at least Yami acknowledges that Jonouchi isn't just getting lucky.

Keith leads his crew out of the cave, muttering they should blow this pop stand. Jonouchi notices this, and turns to shout for Keith to stop. Keith does pause, and Yami mentally questions with surprise whether this is the American prize hunter that Kaiba told them about. Honda seems to be thinking around the same lines, asking Jonouchi if he really got himself in a fight with THESE guys. Jonouchi tells him that he didn't accept a challenge at all, having been kidnapped, dragged down the caves, punched in the face, and generally treated like prey instead of a human being.

Jonouchi asks Keith if he considers himself a duelist why he doesn't play fair next time. Keith curses at Jonouchi, because he won't take being told how to play by a fucking kid. He thinks Jonouchi's request to play fair is laughable, because he believes card games are all about outwitting your opponent, and that starts before the game even begins. If that's the case, Keith failed even WORSE at his objective than he knows. He tells Jonouchi not to talk about shit he doesn't understand, but I think he might try taking his own advice, because he sounds like such an idiot right now.

Keith tells Jonouchi to stop faking being a nice guy and once he does, the prizes and glory will just fall into his lap. Balls, Keith, why don't you just start wearing a fedora already? He opens up his vest to show Jonouchi all his inside pockets containing those many decks of cards, and Jonouchi is appalled by the sight. Keith isn't ashamed of himself, though, because he describes these decks of many themes and dozens of rare cards as his way of beating every poor sap who crosses him.

Except you didn't, so there's that.

Yami asks if there isn't a rule that only allows duelists to have 40 cards on the island, and Anzu says that they checked everyone's decks as they got off the boat that they were allowed to trade on. Keith breaks the news that he's not officially in the tournament, so the rules don't apply to him. Jonouchi grits his teeth and grumbles in his head about what a jerk Keith is. Keith turns to walk away again, and says that there's only one rule he follows, and that's to do whatever it takes to get to Pegasus. He laughs and Kozuka runs to catch up with him while Jonouchi growls.

Yami calls out to Keith this time.

I have a feeling Keith isn't going to going to remember SHIT you say, Yami. Especially since he yuks it up while requesting that Yami stop making him laugh. Keith calls Yami a "baby goth" and I AM ROLLING.

Fists raised, Jonouchi calls Keith a creep as he retreats, wanting to yell that he'll beat Keith, but thinks he's a little too strong to be challenging in that way. Jonouchi, you DID beat Keith, dude. Kozuka may have been the one physically playing the cards, but Keith was telling him what to play. When is everyone going to realize this? I don't know, but Jonouchi resolves to get stronger before the group decides to also get themselves out of this cave. Jonouchi agrees, because he really hates dark places.

As they walk down the tunnels, Jonouchi chats with Yami about how many star chips they both have, and postulate that if they both win their next duels, they'll both make it to the castle. Yami is down with this plan, telling Jonouchi that they'll definitely finish this with their next duels. Jonouchi gives him a 100% affirmative.

They continue down the cave and come to a fork in the path, and Jonouchi thinks the exit is to the right. Honda believes in Jonouchi's sense of direction, even if he thinks it's a little doggish, and agrees that they'll take a right. Jonouchi points out the exit once they view it ahead, and runs toward the sunlight because he wants to feel its warm embrace. But Yami notes something eclipsing that sunlight with some confusion. The confusion turns to panic as the eclipse quickly completes and Jonouchi is shocked that their exit is being blocked.

Holy shit, Keith! You're literally sentencing them to a HORRIBLE death!

Because he's just that awful, Keith peeks into the cave before it's completely blocked up and calls Jonouchi and pals losers. Jonouchi asks him what it is he thinks he's doing, and Keith answers that though the law of the island is to win with duels, he has his own laws, and they involve winning with murder apparently. He says now that he's so close to Pegasus's castle, they are just in his way and he encourages them to just stay in this grave. Keith tells them not to worry though, because someone's bound to find them even if it takes a few years.

The kids are shocked by the actions of this scumbag, but Jonouchi finally gets up the courage to tell Bandit Keith that he's going to beat him. I guess it's just one of those things that Jonouchi wants to say before he dies. Keith tells the "champ" Jonouchi to scream all he likes right before the boulder rolls into place in front of him.

In the silence, Jonouchi vows to get at Keith even if he has to dig his way out of the cave, which he might very well have to do.

Outside, Keith is laughing while Frankenstein's Monster huffs about not being able to move anymore. Kozuka worries that maybe that was a bit much of them to do, but it's already done and Keith is ready to get to the next order of business, which is kicking Kozuka in the gut. As Kozuka skids along the ground, Keith thanks him for losing to such a n00b. Kozuka whimpers that he just played the way that Keith told him to, but logic is not in Keith's ego's interest, because he wonders why Kozuka lost if he played exactly the way Keith told him. Uhhh, because your strategy wasn't as airtight as you thought? He kicks Kozuka again, in the face this time, while Frankenstein's Monster and Story Time look on in alarm.

Kozuka lays on the ground, groaning, and Keith spits on him as his final act of shaming. Keith turns away from Kozuka, telling him that he may as well die since he's a useless lump with no star chips now. Kozuka stutters Keith's name through his pain, but Keith wants nothing to do with him anymore. He turns to his other two stooges and asks how many star chips they have. They both confess that they each have five, and Keith grins because there's enough for one person at least.

He demands that the stooges give him their star chips, much to the affront of Frankenstein's Monster. Keith angrily informs the little nerds that the only reason they got as far as they did is because of him, which neither of them bother to argue with, looking put out. Each hands Keith their chips and Keith praises them for their obedience like they're toddlers, demanding the duel glove as well. He thinks that these stooges all just about outlived their usefulness right around the time he thought. He congratulates himself on collecting all of the chips he needed without engaging in one stupid duel, and promises that he's coming after Pegasus to get his revenge for the humiliation caused him.

And he only indirectly killed a whole group of children and beat the shit out of another group of them to do it! He is the worst.

Back in the caves, the boys are all attempting to push the boulder out of the way of the exit, but are having no luck. Seriously? Those three stooges were able to push it no problem without Keith's help, but you FOUR can't manage it? Bullshit. Anzu hangs out behind them, possibly the last bit of muscle they would need to get the rock out of the way, but I guess we'll never know because GIRL.

Honda supposes they'll have to find another way out. Jonouchi says that the left passage goes to the duel box but then dead-ends, and Bakura follows this up by stating that the right hand passage would lead to the castle on the surface. Anzu is about to praise Bakura on his stellar sense of direction when she sees that he's using the Millennium Ring to inform that sense. Bakura is holding up the ring with the needle pointing out from him, toward the right passage. He's looking a bit strange, too.

Yami, you might wanna take that thing away from him. Just saying.

Honda suggests that they take the right passage for now, saying that they won't get lost if the ring keeps working. He's grateful that Mai gave them her lantern, so they didn't have to walk in the dark too. Mai's trip prep really did everyone some favors, didn't it?

They walk along the passage for a while, and Honda comments on how they have yet to find an exit. Jonouchi has noticed that the tunnel is getting narrower as well, and how the walls have gotten smoother and more like intentional masonry.

Presumably after taking a few minutes to find their way in this maze, they approach a big open room and gape at what they see.

Acrobats! They freak Jonouchi out by leaping around over his head and landing with amazing grace. He asks what they are, bouncing around like they're out of a martial arts movie, and they're only too happy to introduce themselves.

Neither of these guys remind me of the babe. But, it looks like they might remind me of these guys:

We'll see how this pans out.

Jonouchi looks dumbfounded as Anzu snickers in the background. One of the brothers asks the other if they have a few lost travelers in their maze and the other answers that it wouldn't be much of a maze if people weren't getting lost in it. Fair. Yami notices their duel gloves and wonders if they're superfluous assholes.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The superfluousness is killing me already!

The brothers say that if the lost kids have come to find the right door or path, they have to face them at the table in a duel. Man that comparison to the knockers was TOO apt. Yami looks like this only just occurred to him, though he saw the duel gloves earlier. Quantum Yami strikes again! The table in the center of the room is indeed a duel table, though it's different from the ones they're used to. The table has four chairs instead of two, and one side of the table sports two doors, mirroring those at the back of the real room.

The brothers ask two duelists to step forward because their duel will be two-on-two instead of just the one-on-one. Yami and Jonouchi are surprised by the idea of a tag-team match, while the brothers explain themselves. If they are beaten, the travelers will find the right way, but if the duelists run away, they'll forever be lost in darkness. Yami says with a glare that it looks like they've got no choice in the matter, but Jonouchi is smirking when he tells the brothers to bring it on. They both repeat the fact that they're not going to get out of the tunnels if they can't win the duel.

The seating arrangements have the brothers sitting behind the doors, and Yami and Jonouchi on the other end, examining the table. The brothers call this table the labyrinth field, but this has Yami wondering just where the labyrinth is on the tiles of the table. He observes that the two doors represented in two places, are called Mei and Kyu, and each of the brothers guards a door. Yami thinks that one of the doors has to lead to the surface, and the only way to get at the doors is to beat Mei and Kyu's guardians.

But the brothers smirk, because as per the orders of Pegasus, it's their job as the labyrinth superfluous assholes to make sure they never get beyond this spot or these doors. They call the start of the duel and one of them immediately goes first, playing a Labyrinth Wall card. This card allows walls to rise out from between the tiles on the table, forming the labyrinth that the field is named for and answering Yami's question from earlier. He's put off, thinking that this is a truly new experience for him.

Ah, there's nothing like your first foursome, Yami.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Keith has an amazing capacity for maintaining self-delusion, though I'm not exactly surprised. I was curious to see how Keith would handle the loss, and I guess I just underestimated how hard he would deny reality. It was a good foil to Jonouchi's second-guessing of every step he takes and his brushing off of the undeniable fact that he's actually developing his skills pretty well. Not to mention that Keith is incredibly realistic as that guy who refuses to acknowledge that he lost, just outright denying the possibility that the loss was even his.

Not that he doesn't have a smidgen of vulnerability in this viewpoint. He inner monologues a couple of times during and after the duel that he's managed to gain chips without "sullying" his hands on a game. He also bragged in the previous chapter about how he's beaten opponents who gave up cards due to PTSD around them before. It seems to me that these two things are connected, as KEITH is the one with an aversion to participating in actual duels until he faces the man who humiliated him. He won't even call it a loss whenever he refers to it, even in his head, because that would be admitting he faced Pegasus even through his proxy, Tom. Of course, that would also be admitting that his proxy Kozuka wasn't responsible for the loss of the duel with Jonouchi too, and the way Keith had been mirroring the duel between himself and Pegasus, flipping the script so that KEITH was the master giving instructions, would all be exposed as an elaborate set of mental gymnastics covering up his issues dealing with his first loss.

And speaking of gymnastics, how about these labyrinth guys, huh? I'm not too stoked that they're superfluous assholes, but there's no other reason they would be hanging in a cave instead of out dueling with others, is there? They also seem to be somewhat interesting, tied into an intriguing theme. It's almost as if KT came up with this idea and didn't know how to stick it into the narrative without creating a whole group of adults hired by Pegasus to take out duelists in the tournament.

Hmmmmm....