Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 122 Betting to Win

This title reminds me of all those reality game-show contestants who say, "I didn't come here to lose," or "I came here to win". No kidding, why don't you tell me something I DON'T know? Do they just not know what else to say about their motivations, so they come out with the most generic winner's phrase in existence? Is that what KT thought too? That he couldn't think of a good title to describe the chapter, so he just slapped a vague platitude that could describe literally everyone in this tournament on it?

Yami is glad to see Jonouchi's trump card out and at the ready, but Anzu is looking a bit consternated by his side. He pays no attention to this, thinking that if the Time Roulette works, Keith's monsters will age and their attack points will go down. It's roulette vs. roulette, folks! Imagine if THAT were the chapter's title.

Jonouchi isn't finished, though, because he slaps down a monster card as well. Baby Dragon's hologram appears grinning on the table, because Jonouchi is planning to turn it to Thousand Dragon and turn Keith's monsters to old piles of junk. Keith thinks Jonouchi can go for it, since he ALSO has a face down card along with his lingering smirk. Jonouchi announces that he's starting the Time Roulette, and the Time Wizard springs into action, lifting its wand. The needle begins to spin.

Anzu laces her fingers and prays it's a win, while Yami contemplates the big gamble Jonouchi is taking, since losing means that his monsters are destroyed and he loses half their attack value in his life points.

My fingers are crossed as the needle comes to a stop on the "WIN" position! I dig that! Partly because it's awfully difficult to type with your fingers crossed.

Jonouchi congratulates himself on a gamble well-played, and announces the Time Magic as the Time Wizard raises its wand. Time goes at a super fast rate, instantly making all the monsters in play older by a thousand years. The Baby Dragon is shown growing up in stages, until it turns into the hunched and badass figure of the Thousand Dragon. Keith's Barrel Dragon is turned rusty and rickety. Yami is stoked that Jonouchi's plan worked, the Barrel Dragon's points went down, and it can be beaten with Thousand Dragon.

Thousand Dragon is sicced on Keith's weird gun creature, unleashing a fiery breath on the Barrel Dragon through both nostrils. Jonouchi says a triumphant goodbye to the Barrel Dragon that was blown away. Keith mentally chuckles, thinking they'll see about that, because he said his machines were invincible. He moves to turn over the face down card he had mentioned before, Shouting that it's the trap called Time Machine. Jonouchi and Yami each gape.

Well, gee Yami, could it have something to do with the TIME MACHINE on Keith's side of the table? Should be pretty obvious what's going on, if you ask me.

Keith calls out his Russian Roulette attack yet again and the barrel of one of the guns clicks into place. Thousand Dragon is blasted with a bullet while Keith shouts no fantasy dragon is a match for his mechanical one made of guns. I can think of at least one that would be. Jonouchi is floored when his points reduce to 650, wondering what exactly it is that Keith DID.

Luckily, Keith has an explanation; the card can bring back any card that is destroyed from a turn before. He says that the worn-out Barrel Dragon acted as a decoy and the Barrel Dragon from the past traveled forward in time to kick Thousand Dragon's ass. It's not rusty because it came from when BEFORE the Time Wizard was played. There's even a nice little diagram there showing a fork in the timeline where the Barrel Dragon skipped over the turn that turned it rusty in order to show up in the future and attack the Thousand Dragon. It appears that this is supposed to be similar to this:

Which is a bit... wrong, considering Keith's play didn't create an ALTERNATE timeline as much as he just skipped over the turn that turned his monster to rust. That in itself doesn't make any sense, because his monster wouldn't have been around to be turned to rust in the first place if it skipped over that turn, so... Paradox, anyone?

Yami despairs internally that Jonouchi's attack was wasted because of the Barrel Dragon showing up again from the time when it was new, which means there's nothing he could have done. Because Jonouchi's Time Wizard combo was so thoroughly defeated, Yami has to admit that Keith is a REALLY strong opponent. Jonouchi gulps and wonders if Keith guessed what he was planning.

Keith informs Jonouchi that he memorized his cards back when he was dueling Kozuka, and that he's an amateur without a strategy. My eye is beginning to twitch every time I read the word "amateur" in this comic. Keith tells Jonouchi to read his lips as they say that he has no chance against the machines. He urges Jonouchi to play another monster, because Keith is itching to kill more of them.

Jonouchi draws a card, sweat at his temple, playing Kojicocy in defense.

Oh good, another gambling machine that will probably seem less like a gamble every turn it's used successfully in a row. At least the title makes a little more sense now, given the proliferation of Keith's gambling cards.

Jonouchi stares at the machines, and Keith asks if he's speechless and if he wants to surrender. Of course, he gives Jonouchi a hearty "fuck you" while he fires another shot at Jonouchi's monsters, claiming that he'll kill Jonouchi when he's good and ready. Are you denying him the right to give up, Keith? Because I don't think you have the power to do that, dude. Jonouchi closes his eyes against the virtual smoke of the latest attack, opening them again to show a somewhat discouraged look. Anzu worries at Yami that Jonouchi will lose at this point, with all his monsters getting mowed down as they are. Yami appears to be thinking along the same lines, without articulating anything but Jonouchi's name in his head.

After playing another monster to see it get a bullet in the face, Jonouchi glares at Keith, trying to mentally persuade himself that it's not over yet. He looks down at his hand to see the Red Eyes Black Dragon, which he can't play at the moment because it will be killed by the Barrel Dragon. He just needs to draw a certain card...

Jonouchi follows up his draw with playing a face down card, and then Red Eyes Black Dragon in attack to end his turn. Keith sneers at the strongest card in Jonouchi's deck, because it's no match for the bullets from his Barrel Dragon. He promises to make his kill of the Red Eyes Black Dragon a clean shot, if that's what Jonouchi wants. So kind /sarcasm. Keith shouts that this is the end, failing to note Jonouchi's hard expression across from him.

Keith commands Barrel Dragon to kill the Red Eyes Black Dragon, and it takes a shot while advancing on the fantasy creature. Jonouchi grins, saying he's been waiting for this as he turns over the card he laid face down earlier, bidding Keith to check it out. Keith stares in shock as Jonouchi reveals Copy Cat to him, intending to copy one of his cards.

A MUCH more attractive metal dragon than Keith's for sure. Yami cheers that Jonouchi once again came back from the brink of defeat.

Or at least back to the United States, which is going to be pretty much the same thing come January.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Jonouchi's foresight has definitely improved a LOT since his first few duels. We actually SAW him thinking about drawing a specific card to use in tandem with the Red Eyes Black Dragon, thinking several steps beyond losing his monsters at the moment. Keith is right, though, because that's not exactly a STRATEGY. It's thinking about what you're going to do beforehand, but it's not taking an opponent's weaknesses into account and planning a few steps ahead of them in order to exploit those weaknesses.

Still, Jonouchi IS creeping up on understanding how to do just that. He's developed the skill of forethought, so working on actual strategy is the next step. But winning this duel isn't going to do him any favors in that department, because he still has to face Yami in the final match. It might be difficult for him to learn the lesson of strategy while he's in a duel with his best bud.

We'll see, though.