Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 141 The Power to Call

Yeah, it's called a telephone. You know, invented by Alexander Graham Bell? Allows verbal contact between two parties at a distance? Been available to the general public for quite a few decades now? So available that we're now carrying cordless, lightweight devices in our pockets? Forgive me, but I don't know if that's something to brag about, chapter.

Unless we're talking about the power to call WITHOUT the aid of a telephone and straight-up telepathy. Then all bets are off.

Oh thank heaven! It looks like we've gotten back a translator that's a little more familiar with English. Of course, they just HAVE to show off how familiar they are with Japanese while they're at it, but I'll take what I can get.

Besides, they're INFINITELY more mockable when they CHOOSE not to translate words properly.

Asshole Bakura scoffs about what a troublesome king someone is being, presumably Yami, because I'm not THAT ignorant of where this story is going. Staring up at the Black Crown's sign, Asshole Bakura begins to mentally exposit at length about how it's the destiny of the Millennium Items to be reunited, as each holds a part of the overall "memory", though the Millennium Ring and Millennium Puzzle both have unknown powerful purposes. His thoughts then veer off to a silent declaration that no one but Yuugi is qualified to hold that puzzle, having already been chosen to be the host of the item three thousand years ago. It was already planning to destroy a tiny gamer's life before that tiny gamer was even born. How lovely.

Wrinkling the bridge of his nose as he smirks, Asshole Bakura thinks that Yuugi is still valuable to him, and therefore whomever is endangering Yuugi is ALSO an enemy to him. Because the enemy of his enemy is etc, Asshole Bakura ignores the "closed" sign on the double doors to the Black Crown and shoves them both open dramatically. They weren't locked? No one locks up anything in this screwy world...

Across the street, a German Shepard is barking like crazy at him as he illegally enters the shop, and a bewildered Honda kneels down next to her to try and calm her down with a pat on the back. Honda wonders aloud if he didn't just see Bakura going into the Black Crown before outright telling his dog BLANKEY to calm dog as he strokes her. BLANKEY? What, does she act as bedding on your mattress as well as a dog?

Anyway, Honda notes that the store is the one Yuugi mentioned he and the others were going to buy that new game today, and assumes hesitantly that Bakura must be going to buy it too. So, further extrapolating that Jonouchi must still be at Yuugi's place after their purchase, Honda pulls Blankey along on her leash so they can visit Yuugi's house as well, warning her not to chew on Jonouchi's shoes when they get there.

Inside the Black Crown, two guards look down at Bakura with sinister smirks, calling him a troublesome guest and informing him that they're closed for the day so he should come back tomorrow. One of them is picking his teeth in the foreground of the panel, so you know they're gangsta and up to no good. Bakura doesn't move, and suddenly the guards get all kinds of offended, asking if he's listening to them beyond his backlit silhouette. Asshole Bakura chuckles evilly, and the guards both look shocked, either by his very defiance of them or by something that's happening off-panel. I can't tell yet. Regardless, it's hilarious, because this little ceiling decoration looks just as upset.

This little bugger is just so scandalized by Asshole Bakura's presence! And the dramatic demand that the guards get the hell out of his way. Without doing a thing that should warrant any kind of shock whatsoever. He's not even making a rude gesture or flailing around.

Which of course makes it small potatoes compared to the scene that's happening in the back of the store.

Man, this is even stressing ME out.

Yuugi stutters at the destruction of his puzzle, tears flying from him wide eyes. Taking some really fucked-up perverse pleasure from seeing Yuugi weep over it, asks mockingly if Yuugi saw his precious puzzle shatter. He's assuming that since the Millennium Puzzle has gone to pieces, that means the whole legend, host and all, will be reset. Yuugi is on his knees sobbing while clown!dad points at Ryoji and tells Yuugi not to worry, since Ryoji will put the puzzle back together again, becoming its new owner. Ryoji looks strangely grim about the prospect.

Crawling toward the pieces clown!dad left carelessly strewn on the floor, Yuugi hiccups as he begins to gather them, more tears escaping him. He squeezes his eyes shut after he looks mournfully down at what was once his other soul's house, thinking that it took him YEARS to solve the puzzle the first time and meet Yami. Yuugi fiddles with the pieces a little more before clenching his fist and glaring up at clown!dad, demanding to know how he DARED to destroy the puzzle and Yuugi's other soul.

Clown!Dad is not the least intimidated by Yuugi's anger, and while that's not surprising, this is also the most intimidating he's been while angry. At least he doesn't just look like he's consipated on a toilet this time. Clown!dad tells Yuugi he'll have to defeat Ryoji before he can get the puzzle back to even BEGIN solving it again, turning his back to Yuugi to throw a snide comment back at him about how he may not even accomplish that without the puzzle anyway.

But clown!dad seems to be the only one who's taking any joy in Yuugi's suffering.

Well, it looks like Ryuji is not just a decent person despite his awful upbringing, but is owed an apology by this reviewer for spelling his name wrong for the entire arc. Sorry boy, I should have chosen the other spelling in the terribly inconsistent and incomprehensible translation before. My bad.

Clown!dad wonders why Ryuji is being so kind to Yuugi, but I think the better question is why clown!dad is such a gigantic piece of shit who will abuse a child for revenge on his grandfather. He seems to be shedding an actual tear through his mask at the sight of of his son acting like a decent human, and I can't tell if it's because he's moved by this or concerned. Either way, he needs to stop being such a shitty person.

Looking closely at one of the pieces he's picked up, Ryuji apologizes to Yuugi for all the agony he and his father put the puzzle through. Yuugi's glare has reverted back to his harmless poop-face, and he looks like he's considering the legitimacy of Ryuji's apology. Meanwhile, Ryuuji turns to his dad to glare at him in turn, who still clutches the top of the puzzle and its chain in his hand. Ryuji, in a hardcore act of defiance, snatches the rest of the puzzle out of his dad's hand, pleading with him not to touch the Millennium Puzzle again, eyes closed in a somewhat exasperated expression.

Clown!dad is aghast, asking what his son is saying. Ryuji then apologizes to his father, explaining that this is his and Yuugi's fight, then sets all the pieces of the puzzle on the side of the table. He tells Yuugi to take his seat again so they can continue their game, and Yuugi wipes away his tears aggressively. Ryuji reminds him of their deal to let the winner have the Millennium Puzzle, and that being the reason why he has to keep playing.

The boys stare at each other across the table once they've both seated themselves again, then Yuugi glances over at the pile of pieces on the table that were once his pendant, promising to put them back together without fail.

Is there any nobler cause?

Ryuji calls to resume and Yuugi notes that if he can just bring Ryuji down by one more point, he'll be the winner. After a small pause, looking down at Yuugi's ninja crouched so close to his dungeon master, Ryuji throws his dice with gusto and a shout that Yuugi can only WISH. With this roll, Ryuji commands his God Ogre to attack the ninja, and it does so without any interference this time, slicing it in half laterally in an instant.

Yuugi is disturbed that his only monster on Ryuji's side has been destroyed, and he's only got three monsters left to get over there. His Little Wizard, Duker, and Gorugon are all he has left, the strongest of which is the former. Unfortunately, these stats don't measure up to Ryuji's four monsters including his God Ogre with its 2000 attack points, so things are looking a little grim.

Ryuji assures Yuugi that he can't summon any more monsters, because all his dice, other than the ones in his hand, are already open on the table. Comforting? In the unlikely event that it was, Ryuji ruins it by shouting at Yuugi that it's his turn and he should play his dice. Okay, jeez... Yuugi ponders the fact that he can attack right now, and Ryuji will definitely use this opportunity to get over to his side of the table, so he has to focus on protecting his dungeon master. So, he tosses his dice, then moves Duker closer to his dungeon master for more protection.

While Ryuji throws his dice, he wonders if Yuugi really thinks there's enough time for defense, and smirks when his dice bring up two forward crests. He plans to use a quick attack this time, commanding his God Ogre to move toward the swirling warp crest on the end of its unfolded die. Yuugi gapes at the crest as the behemoth approaches it, not looking very confident at all. Ryuji grins as he informs Yuugi that he is indeed going to use the crest to advance his God Ogre immediately to Yuugi's side.

The God Ogre steps onto the crest, looking for all the world like it's not going to fit inside because it's so beefed up, but in a beam of light it descends into the crest until it's no longer visible on Ryuji's side. Ryuji unnecessarily shouts at it to move through the warp point that it's already gone through. Thanks for that wasted speech bubble, kiddo.

Shouldn't have built your "path of darkness" (TM) on an Indian burial ground, Yuugi.

Except just the one. And not in sing-song voice. At least, I'm pretty sure.

Also, less realistically.

Yuugi mentally curses, knowing that the God Ogre alone is enough to take out his side. He announces that it's his turn with a determined expression and throws his dice, demanding that his scant monsters unite to defend his dungeon master. Ryuji tells Yuugi that it doesn't matter that he's using his remaining monsters as a wall, because they can't block the God Ogre's attack. To illustrate, he commands the God Ogre to destroy the Gorugon after he shouts that it's his turn, and the God Ogre wastes no time in slicing it in half length-wise. Yuugi stares agape at the toy/hologram violence, because I still can't tell what these monster creatures are supposed to be.

Ryuji smiles smugly as he mentally counts Yuugi's remaining two monsters, and Yuugi silently curses again as he rolls for his increasingly hopeless new turn. A summoning, attack, and forward crest are rolled, and Yuugi instructs his Little Wizard to attack the God Ogre with thunder power. So, is that just a sound shockwave, or...? Regardless, the attack isn't effective, because Ryuji drew defense crests from his pool to block the special magic attack.

This can and does get totally worse, though.

Maybe you really SHOULDN'T have fucked around with defense, Yuugi.

Now the God Ogre is advancing on Yuugi's final monster, Duker, which holds up its swords despite its apparent surprise at being the last standing. I assume that's what the exclamation mark means, anyway. It's always pretty difficult to tell. Ryuji, despite telling Yuugi to keep fighting earlier, now tells him to give up, because he can't possibly win with just one monster. Yuugi sweats, speechless, when clown!dad steps into the conversation again, sneering and smarming that Yuugi should finally understand that the Millennium Puzzle belongs to Ryuji by now. Squeezing his eyes shut, Yuugi dwells on the unbelievable insistence that he has indeed lost. Ryuji smirks some more, stating that the puzzle is now his.

In the open doorway, a familiar silhouette leans on the jamb and chuckles that it's no use for Ryoji to try, because he won't be able to reassemble the Millennium Puzzle.

How much you wanna bet no one is going to even notice all the guards Bakura murdered to get in this back room? Their bodies could be strewn about the damn store and they would be somehow invisible to everyone coming out to open in the morning.

Asshole Bakura approaches the table, Yuugi staring speechless the entire time, and leans down to take a close look at the table. He claims to see a way Yuugi couldn't lose, though the situation IS pretty hopeless by the looks of things.

Also known as the "Chosen by the Author to be the Protagonist" syndrome. It's going around this time of year.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm kind of overwhelmed by the whiplash that Ryuji's character is giving me right now. Don't get me wrong, I understand well enough that Ryuji is supposed to be teetering on the edge of realizing that his father's cruelty is too much to this innocent kid, he also STILL wants to be the actual heir of the Millennium Puzzle's power, BUT he wants to win that right to be the one to inherit the power fair and square. These are understandable, human things to feel, and I'm glad Ryuji is feeling them because these feelings make him into a multi-dimensional complex person.

But I'm only just BARELY interpreting those feelings based on the very poor and flat representation they're being given. Ryuji's sympathy with Yuugi is clear enough, but his want of a fair match over the puzzle is less so, and his evil smirk at the end here is just suggesting evil rather than validation in his worthiness to the puzzle. Not just that, but his suggestion that Yuugi just give up was such a backtrack from his encouragement from before that it was like a damn pendulum using a warp crest to skip its arc from left to right. Taking that line out ALONE would have taken away the waviness in character.

If Ryuji is on the fence, that's fine, but being on the fence doesn't mean vaulting over it back and forth continuously. SIT on the fence, dammit!

Inuyasha Manga: 082 Toukajin's Kitchen

Oh, is the Food Network picking up a new show from the Peach Man? That would be quite the program. Imagine learning how to prepare both human flesh AND the antacids required to remain on the diet. Pickling, shrinking, and tenderizing human meat, that last one with just your round, jolly belly to work with, of course.

Can't be any more disgusting than Ginormous Food. *gag*

And if you do, you might find yourself facing an even BIGGER problem.

Pun intended.

Meanwhile, as night lays heavy on the remote house on the cliff, Inuyasha continues to grunt and twist in his thorny bounds, cursing and bleeding. Good job doing exactly what the Peach Dick wants, dude. He yells in pain as the thorns dig deeper and his blood drips onto the floor. Seriously, that fire-rat robe has become inexplicably useless, hasn't it? It worked fine for Kagome when she and Inuyasha faced Yura, but now it's just failing at the most basic level.

Hey, fire-rat robe:

And yet, Inuyasha blames his damned human body for all his troubles; mostly his inability to tear through the vines like he normally would have. He prays again that Kagome will be safe until he can come to rescue her.

Back at the box garden, the Peach Man leans over it, contemplating who he should swallow. He complains that they're all just skinny, bad-tasting men though, so I guess he was pondering the question for no reason. The Peach Man scoops a handful of miniature people out of the garden, all their limbs askew, and pauses in surprise when he opens his fist to take a look at what he caught.

What tipped you off?

The Peach Man flicks away the skinny men he was complaining about earlier, mentioning that he doesn't remember capturing such a tasty-looking thing as Kagome, because he's not exactly the sharpest tack in the box, he doesn't really connect this fact with Inuyasha's comments in the last chapter. Instead, he doesn't look the gift horse in the mouth, and declares it an awfully good day, having gotten a rare hanyou to eat as well.

I wouldn't make such a judgment JUST yet, Peachy.

Kagome translates "hanyou" in the obvious way, asking the Peach Man frantically if he's really met Inuyasha. The Peach Man brings his fist with the mini girl in it closer to his face and stares at her, asking if she's friends with the hanyou. Kagome dismisses his question, posing her own about whether or not Inuyasha is okay, and promising not to forgive the Peach Man if he did anything to Inuyasha. This panel also reveals that Miroku and Shippou managed to sneakily cling to the Peach Man's sleeve so he didn't notice them. Kagome didn't think to do that instead?? Why did she go straight for the Peach Man's damn PALM??

Shippou is in awe at Kagome's attitude toward such a big opponent, heart pounding. Miroku admits that she IS rather fearless, but he doesn't appear to be nearly as impressed. The Peach Man chuckles, calling Kagome a lively one, and claims that eating her while she's so small would be a waste, so SQUEEZES her until she passes out. Passing out being really the only issue caused by this. Spoiler alert.

The agape Shippou and Miroku call out Kagome's name, but the Peach Man doesn't seem to hear this. Or, at least that's the implication, because on the next page we return to Inuyasha bleeding out in the column of thorny vines he's been caught within. He's slumped, looking exhausted, as he thinks that he's lost too much blood and his vision is getting blurry. The Peach Man leans into the room, noting that Inuyasha is still alive. As he slopes into Inuyasha's view, he drops a bundle of clothes on the floor, which Inuyasha sees and identifies quite clearly despite his blurry vision.

Inuyasha gapes at the clothes while they sit on the floor without Kagome inside them, and his heart pounds as he tries to silently deny what that means. The Peach Man sits his ass down on another of his massive jars, asking Inuyasha what the deal with his horrified face is. Inuyasha demands to know what the Peach Man did to Kagome, and while he takes a sip from a gourd-flask, probably full of antacids, he tells Inuyasha not to worry because he'll see Kagome again REAL soon. Inside his stomach, of course. Inuyasha's eyes widen, asking in disbelief if the Peach Man has eaten Kagome.

Oooooh, you done it now, Peachy.

Or not. Inuyasha lunges toward the Peach Man, shouting he won't forgive him, though rather ineffectively because he's still restrained by the vines. They creak against Inuyasha's efforts, and Miroku and Shippou stare when they pop out of Kagome's discarded clothes, Shippou saying Inuyasha's name in horror. I think 90% of Shippou's lines in this arc are going to be people's names.

The Peach Man chuckles, telling Inuyasha that it's no use because he'll never get through those vines. Miroku's preoccupation with this scene is that it appears Inuyasha has become inexplicably human. Shippou informs Miroku that Inuyasha really HAS become human, though doesn't explain how or why. Regardless, Miroku shakes off his initial shock, and rips the beads off his hand, muttering that he doesn't know how much power he has at his much reduced size. Still, he points that Kazaana up and starts to suck.

It's super effective!

Super DUPER effective!

Inuyasha groans as he stands from the debris, in which the Peach Man is buried. His legs are sticking out of the tangle of vines and ceiling, Inuyasha clambering over it to get to him. Inuyasha asks Kagome to hold on, intending to slice open the Peach Man to get her out of there. Before he can do that, though, he hears his name called somewhere within the rubble. Inuyasha's eyes widen when he sees those calling to him are a mini Miroku and Shippou.

Down a flight of stairs, Kagome's shoes lay on the floor discarded among some human bones, because the Peach Man is a filthy piece of shit who never cleans up around this place.

See? She's just as confused about these animal servants as I am.

Kagome's gaze slips from one of the weasels scraping a knife against a whetstone to the crackling fire in the hearth, and concludes tentatively that she's in a kitchen. Then she sees a basket piled high with skulls in the corner and frets that she'll end up like that too, shivering. Kagome shouts that this has to be a joke and moves to get the hell out of dodge before that can happen, but a couple animal servants block the door, knives in hand. She stops short, miffed at their interference, before all of their attention is drawn back toward the door, behind which a tapping is growing louder.

After a moment of silent staring as it dawns on the both of them that Kagome is nekkid, Kagome shrieks and sits back in the water, and Inuyasha turns away rapidly, eyes still wide and unblinking. He slides down the door frame to sit on the floor, sighing in relief while Kagome gapes at him, realizing that she's alive and well.

Kagome stands again, now that Inuyasha is looking so deliberately away. Speechless at first, she approaches him and asks about those bloodstains he's covered in. Inuyasha scoffs at her, saying it's only a scratch, removing his fire-rat robe in the midst of posturing. He throws it over his shoulder at her, and she catches it with a confused expression. Inuyasha tells Kagome to put the thing on, though it may weird her out with all the blood soaked into it.

I'm glad you're okay with Inuyasha's blood, Kagome. Looks like you'll be seeing a LOT more of it in the near future.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Miroku and Shippou made a BIG mistake not waiting until Inuyasha already sliced open the Peach Man before telling him Kagome was elsewhere. But it's the kind of mistake that illustrates why these characters are so easy to read as realistic people. The last time Miroku and Shippou saw Kagome, she'd been deposited in a tub in the kitchen, in line to be butchered for a meal, so they had no way of knowing how much time they had to get Inuyasha down to save her. Details like these, where urgency is emphasized by indicating that the characters DON'T know that their fellows are okay, and have no WAY of knowing, are very important to keeping characters believable and understandable.

Another masterfully conducted scene was that moment when Inuyasha and Kagome see each other again. Yes, there is a second of awkwardness because of her nudity, but it's not overplayed or drawn out. It's only a second, and then Inuyasha expresses genuine relief that she's alive, and turns back on his tough-guy attitude (perhaps amped a little to cover up the moment of weirdness they both experienced). They're in a perilous situation and they ACT like it, not lingering on embarrassment where there are much more important things to worry about.

And it's unbelievable that I should have to give out kudos for something so simple as that, but... well too many authors overdo the sexual tension joke, and it ends up more irritating than funny because they've forgotten that essential "timing" part of comedy.

This chapter irritates me in a different way; by forgetting that the fire-rat robe is supposed to be separate from Inuyasha and have demonic powers even when he doesn't. Inconsistencies... ugh.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 140 The Link Being Destroyed

You know, it's been quite a while since I've included a title page in the beginning of a review, since they tend to be rather useless (especially Inuyasha's *cough*). This one seems significant enough to show, however.

Yeah, my ridiculous and mocking cold-open has become the useless bauble in the face of this. There's no need to speculate, even in a sarcastic, misleading way, what this could possibly mean. I'm actually kind of freaked. Does this mean Yuugi has lost? I sure as hell hope not! Maybe Ryoji is just going to be a dickbag and go back on his word to let Yuugi have back the puzzle?

Or maybe he'll just forget he made that deal in the first place, considering his bout of short-term memory loss here. Clearly he doesn't remember Yuugi pointing out his rare black die to him mere moments ago.

Ryoji, exposition monologuer that he is, reiterates that some rarer black dice have special crests like the warp crest on the inside for those readers entering this match late. He also repeats that when two of those warp crests are on the table, monsters can be transported into the enemy's territory in no time. He's real upset that Yuugi managed to send a rare black creature over to his area before he could activate his own rare black crest in his own second rare back die. Boo hoo.

Meanwhile, Yuugi is fretting that Ryoji expanded his path to block most of Yuugi's options for expanding his, there being only one more space for him to unfold a new die. Looking at his new warp crest, Yuugi knows that he has to send his monsters through it in order to win this game. Yuugi rolls and is delighted to roll two forward crests that allows his ninja monster to move two spaces closer to Ryoji's clown!dad dungeon master. The Black Ninja dashes around the corner on the path to stand in front of the enemy dungeon master, kunai out and at the ready. Ryoji gapes, horrified that the Black Ninja is so close to bringing him down a point.

Again, cry me a river, Ryoji.

Suddenly grinning, Ryoji tells Yuugi that he's actually pretty great, because Ryoji never imagined he'd get as far as evening the score between them. Ryoji is determined not to let his newly validated opponent attack his dungeon master again, however, and throws his dice. All three land with their summoning crests facing up, and Ryoji is thrilled about those triple crests, meaning this can't be good for poor Yuugi.

Ryoji explains to Yuugi that if a player gets triple crests, the resulting summoned creature is powered up by one level. And, of course, since one of those dice he rolled is his other rare black die, Ryoji is of course going to summon that one and bring it up a level. He sets it in an area on his right and presses on its face so it reveals God Ogre level three.

Well, Yuugi's boned, and he knows it. Gaping, he repeats the name of the monster in disbelief while Ryoji begins to offer a smug debriefing on his following moves. He uses three magic crests in his crest pool to activate the diamond sword for his God Ogre, increasing the monster's power to 2000. The crests glow as they float around the little monster on the table. Why? Because it has to look engaging, even if it looks expensive and impractical in the same turn. The God Ogre also grows to several time its original die-size to tower menacingly over Yuugi's Black Ninja, because that's a thing that little toys in dice can do, yessiree.

Yuugi frets that this is bad, because the Black Ninja can't even kind of go up against 2000 attack points, but then remembers his crest pool and all those unused crests within. Ryoji orders his God Ogre to attack Yuugi's Black Ninja, and it lifts its sword to do just that, swinging down and leaving only smoke in the wake of the strike on the ninja. A smiling Ryoji thinks he's done it, but Yuugi asks if he's sure, prompting him to take a closer look.

Ryoji is taken-aback yet again for seeing unexpected something there.

Yuugi tells Ryoji that he activated three of the forward crests in his crest pool to activate the special ability of his ninja, the camouflage effect.  Because when you blend into your background, you become immaterial as well, so their strike goes right through you.

Ryoji is floored by Yuugi's ability to take fast advantage of the rules of this game to turn his crisis around, prevailing. To him, this is proof that Yuugi truly IS as great as it took to solve the Millennium Puzzle. To me, this is proof that someone needs to tell Ryoji that Yuugi's ability to solve the puzzle has nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not he can figure out the rules to his convoluted clusterfuck hack-job of a game, considering Yuugi solved that puzzle long before Ryoji's stupid game was even out.

Yuugi interrupts Ryoji's stupid, unnecessary thoughts to tell him that it doesn't matter if he takes away the Millennium Puzzle, because he won't be able to destroy the chained relationship Yuugi and the spirit inside have no matter what. Are you sure you want to describe that relationship in terms of being "chained" Yuugi? Yuugi says that he and Yami always fight together, and seeing Ryoji's gaping disbelief at this declaration, he decides to intensify how crazy he sounds by saying that he hears Yami's voice in his head. He also thinks that no matter what he has to do, he won't give up, then shouts at Ryoji that he won't be defeated.

Well, hearing voices or not, Yuugi is really following through on that promise to win.

Yuugi knows that he only has to attack one more time to win, but a smirking Ryoji isn't planning on letting him do that. Regardless, Yuugi doesn't give a crap about revenge or hatred or this matter of the succession of the Millennium Puzzle. It's all good just playing a game against Ryoji like this, whatever that means.

Meanwhile, clown!dad has his head stuck through the wall again to spy and curses Ryoji. He questions how a little boy like Yuugi could possibly be so much trouble. Deciding that he can't stand just watching anymore, clown!dad pushes on the wall he's spying through to rotate the panel, revealing the secret door it was the whole time. Yuugi is shocked by him bursting into the room, Millennium Puzzle still dangling from his hand by its chain, screaming that he'll never forgive Ryoji if he loses to Sugoroku's grandson. At first, Yuugi notes in disgust that he's that damn clown that put him here, then that said clown still has his puzzle.

Ryoji glares over at his dad and says the word like his father burst in on a party and is pulling him back to the car by his ear. Clown!dad holds the puzzle up, reminding Ryoji that it's been twelve years since his defeat by Sugoroku over the Millennium Item. WAIT. Ryoji said earlier that the match happened before either he or Yuugi were born. I would be more inclined to believe clown!dad's version of events, but at the same time, it's been established that Ryoji has been told this story a million bajillion times. What, did he forget he's not eleven years old?

Anyway, clown!dad states that this conflict has been stirred back up, this time by a different generation. That's for that, Captain Obvious. Yuugi isn't listening, demanding that clown!dad give him back the Millennium Puzzle. Clown!dad tells Yuugi that the one who deserves the Millennium Puzzle isn't Yuugi at all, but Ryoji. Ryoji himself glares shiftily, clearly uncomfortable with this assertion now. Yuugi tries to explain how valuable the puzzle is to him, since it contains another soul, and demands it back yet again, but clown!dad refuses once more, gritting his teeth beneath his mask.

Ryoji shouts at his father that this is his and Yuugi's fight, and not to interfere again, but this just upsets clown!dad even more. He questions what Ryoji said and if his son even understands his feelings. Silently, he plans to distract Yuugi some more so that Ryoji can gain the upper hand again, by doing this:

You uh... having a little conniption fit there? And here I was making fun of YUUGI'S poop face...

Sweating, Yuugi stares wide-eyed at clown!dad, who soon takes a break by directing a malicious question about Yuugi's previous comment regarding how his separation from the puzzle won't break his relationship with Yami. Clown!dad presumes that even if that's true, he'll destroy the puzzle itself, as Yuugi yells at him to stop. Yuugi jumps out of his chair, and I can't tell if he pushes clown!dad or not, but regardless, clown!dad isn't really paying Yuugi any mind. He's preoccupied with the fact that he can't tear the puzzle apart like he wanted, and nothing happens.

Still, he thinks he'll just have to use his hatred for Sugoroku to take the thing apart, and after an inexplicable panel with speedlines and sound effect I can't read, clown!dad manages to slide a piece from the puzzle triumphantly. He continues by removing the main piece with the Eye of Horus on its face, and Yuugi is losing his SHIT screaming at clown!dad to stop. Ryoji isn't looking too keen on this horrible torture either, glaring agape at his father.

Yes, because THAT'S what Yuugi must be worried about. His hard work putting that thing together. Sure.

Meanwhile, a pair of sneakers are planted on the sidewalk outside, with their owner holding up the Millennium Ring with its pointing needle. Asshole Bakura says that something is happening to the Millennium Puzzle as he stares up at the Black Crown and thinks the king is in trouble.

Oooooh, foreboding.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Well, I have to admit that I wasn't expecting Yuugi and Yami losing their link THIS way, though I definitely should have. This was the only way it could have happened, considering how often we're told as the audience that the puzzle is a prop for a king of games that never loses. Granted, if Yuugi couldn't beat Ryoji in a game he created and skimped on explaining adequately before they started, I think it would have led the narrative in a more nuanced direction. However, this would take the story off on a huge detour to make Yuugi emotionally motivated to get the puzzle and Yami back, which I imagine would have deviated too far off the path on which KT wanted the story to go.

And that clearly involves Ryoji's sense of truth being recalibrated. He's been raised to believe that this guy who has the puzzle doesn't "deserve" it, and that HE'S actually the one worthy of wielding it. But you can see the gears turning in Ryoji's head now. He sees how Yuugi is playing, sees his ingenuity and tenacity in getting back the puzzle, and it's obvious that this is causing Ryoji to start questioning that fundamental story that his father has been pounding into his head for years. He's beginning to see why Yuugi was able to solve this puzzle, and it's becoming clearer to him that Yuugi came by this artifact and its solution honestly.

I just wish there wasn't such a huge discrepancy in WHEN this match between Sugoroku and Ryoji's father actually took place. Let's have a little consistency here, please? I hate having to scratch my head over basic temporal facts like this.

Inuyasha Manga: 081 The Light in the Belly

The light of the Shikon fragment in the Peach Man's belly button, no doubt. That'll be quite the beacon for Inuyasha in the coming chapter. Although, come to think of it, I'm a little surprised that shard isn't joining Inuyasha inside the Peach Man's stomach. The Peach Man eats everything else he comes across, even if it causes him severe heartburn, so it's some kind of miracle that the guy didn't swallow the jewel too. Maybe the Shikon no Tama tastes really bad?

Making all the people who call you "shit" LITERALLY correct, Inuyasha. For that reason alone, the stakes are HIGH.

Inuyasha looks to the side where a glow has caught his eye. He's surprised the light is shining there, and absently reaches out to touch the flesh it's showing through. Inuyasha yelps and pulls his hand away from the acid-lined stomach, then curses, muttering that his ordeal is going to start getting a hell of a lot more painful pretty soon.

Outside the Peach Man's distended belly, where the Shikon fragment is glowing from his button, the Peach Man himself reclines on his side while he swings Tessaiga thoughtfully. His servant weasels wordlessly keep him company as he states that no matter how he looks at it, Tessaiga is just a rusty garbage sword. He goes from examining to swinging it up and down again, recalling Tessaiga's transformation when that brat Inuyasha held it.

Back inside the Peach Man's stomach, Inuyasha has removed his scabbard from his belt and holds it out in front of him, planning to punch a hole right through the flesh in front of him with it. He shoves the scabbard into the stomach lining toward the jewel's light with a grunt, and it's enough to get the Peach Man's attention. He looks down at his stinging navel with concern, then slaps it, bidding that it settle down.

Inuyasha is flung back by the force of the slap, sent screaming into the acid pool at the bottom of the Peach Man's stomach. He curses at the pain in his fist holding the scabbard for making contact with the stuff, and uses the sheath as a crutch to pull himself out of the acid again, even as more drops of the caustic substance drip from above. Inuyasha is alarmed to find that his sleeve is full of growing holes being eaten through the material when he takes a good look at it. Never mind that the fire-rat fur is supposed to be separate from him and his human transformation once a month so it shouldn't be so vulnerable to digestion as he is, nothing to see here, move along.

His eyelids droop much like his weakened body over the Tessaiga's sheath, and he wonders if this is really it for him. Pssssst, Inuyasha: 500 chapters left to gooooooo... Suddenly the scabbard pulses.

This sheath's technology is so far ahead of its time. It's only been very recently that modern society has been able to conceive of a home calling a resident to let them know that they left the stove on or something, so I'm kind of impressed with this scabbard and its emergency summoning services.

Inuyasha is stoked that Tessaiga is nearby, because this means he could be saved. Outside the Peach Man, the Tessaiga twitches from the floor where he discarded it, causing him to stare in question while one of his rodent servants pours him a drink. Inuyasha screams for Tessaiga to come to him, and...

Yeah, that's a totally appropriate reaction to being stabbed in the gut with a sword. Totally.

Tessaiga doesn't actually penetrate the skin, though, bouncing off and clattering to the side. The Peach Man still looks down at his smoking navel with some horror, however, just as Inuyasha gapes at the in-pierced flesh in front of him for how the sword must have rebounded again. The Peach Man covers his mouth with a hand, starting to appear ill. The soup of acid around Inuyasha begins to roil and churn, alarming him. The Peach Man grunts behind his hand before vomit explodes from his mouth violently, as well as something else.

Is it juvenile of me to be so amused by all the vomiting of inappropriate things in this manga?

Don't answer that.

The Peach Man thrashes around in agony after his sick-fit, and Inuyasha spends a split moment groaning himself before grasping the Tessaiga again. He swings the blade sideways at the Peach Man, cursing him, but again, the Peach Man's belly just pops back out without a scratch on it, flinging Inuyasha back into the steps behind him.

Rage consuming him, the Peach Man's eyes become bloodshot while he curses Inuyasha, jumping up to do the world's most threatening belly-flop of all time. For real, the Peach Man is all shadowed and sinister as he dives right on top of Inuyasha. Then he just looks like a gigantic balloon as he makes contact with the floor under him, and Inuyasha, whose eyes bulge and mouth trails blood.

After a brief moment of silence in which the Peach Man lays on top of Inuyasha, he clambers out of the crater he caused and is confused when he looks down at his unconscious victim. Taking hold of Inuyasha by the hair, he pulls Inuyasha's head out of the crack in the stair it made and looks closer at him, tentatively identifying him as the same youkai he ate before. Well who the hell else would he be? Didn't eat anyone else within the last chapter, did you?

Did you??

Good question. I too am wondering why he didn't just shove you right back into his un-discerning face-hole like he's clearly prone to doing with every person he comes across.

The Peach Man looks over his shoulder to ask Inuyasha if it's because he's a hanyou that he looks different now. Inuyasha doesn't answer, so the Peach Man continues as he hauls a giant pot over next to his victim. He tells Inuyasha that since hanyou meat is so rare, the Peach Man plans to drain him of his blood, pickle him, and save him for snacking later. Inuyasha groans, possibly because the Peach Man is just ripping off Urasue at this point. He strains against his binding thorns, trying to take a swing at the Peach Man, growling that all that dude seems to think about is eating.

Of course, the Peach Man encourages him to fight all he wants, because it'll dig the thorns into him more and he'll drain all the faster. It's not because of this that Inuyasha pauses, though. He actually sees the Shikon shard Kagome lost shining from the Peach Man's belly button clearer now, and stutters out a jumble of words at a confused Peach Man before finally asking coherently who he got the fragment from. The Peach Man repeats the question, then calls Inuyasha stupid, because he just found it in his house and that makes it his, duh.

Inuyasha falls speechless, thinking that Kagome must be here in this den if the Shikon fragment is here.

Regular-sized opiates must go a LOOOOONG way in a tiny world.

Miroku approaches Kagome to tell her that he too has been trying to call out to the denizens of this box, but they don't respond, like they're just empty shells. Shippou says that it's more like they're under some kind of spell, to which Kagome responds that they're just fine. Miroku looks down and sees the pit of a peach near one of the men's hands, then looks over to some still moving men who are picking fruit off the trees and kneeling at the river to drink from it and says he understands now. And that's why he's knocking the fruit from these poor men's hands and yanking them away from the river, right?

Nope, he just speculates that eating and drinking here takes away the ability to think. Freaking USELESS. Kagome isn't trying any harder, though, just saying that she gets it now as she holds onto Shippou. Shippou says happily that as long as they don't eat or drink, they should be fine, and Kagome agrees. Miroku makes the off-hand comment as he walks away that they'll starve eventually and Shippou squeals his dismay, Kagome agreeing with that as well. You're such a big help, Kagome.

She looks up at the sky, so like the real one, and thinks that they have to get out of there somehow. Just then, the atmosphere starts to churn in the center, both Miroku and Kagome pausing to stare in wide-eyed shock.

Wow, he really DOESN'T think of anything other than eating, does he? Suddenly those fat jabs Inuyasha was making in the previous chapter seem a tad justified...

Kagome rushes TOWARD the Peach Man's hand, suggesting to Miroku that they grab onto it, and Miroku agrees that it's now or never. Meanwhile, Inuyasha mentally begs Kagome not to get captured, hoping she'll wait until his powers return. Not really an option for either of you, dude, but okay.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm always glad when characters use old rules in new ways to remind the audience of character and plot ingenuity. Tessaiga's sheath and its call to the sword isn't new, but it's come-back in this new situation puts a twist on how it's used. This combined with the NEW rule stating that the Peach Man can't be cut gives us something of a hilarious result, at least as far as I'm concerned. It could have become something of a corner RT wrote herself into, but she went with the flow and came out of it with something a little unconventional.

How she put all her characters into danger so there was no way some of them could just sit around while just one of them had an adventure is always something I'm going to praise, too. I mentioned this back in Sesshoumaru's second appearance, how RT could easily have forgotten that the other characters existed for a time while she focused solely on Inuyasha and his brother, but she didn't take the easy route. Same with this arc. Everyone is getting themselves into trouble, as people are prone to do, and it really brings out their potential within the story.

As much as tournament-style story lines are popular in manga (not just Yu-Gi-Oh, mind you), that format leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to simultaneous development of various characters while they all deal with their own shit. Inuyasha is good at making use of all its characters at the same time, so that there are things happening everywhere in the story rather than just in one central area, and it gives the illusion of the story being a little bigger in scope because it involves so many more people.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 139 Rare VS. Rare

Happy New Year, friends! After 2016, I'm more than ready to start fresh with a new Gregorian cycle that doesn't suck. If I start this one out with a review, maybe it'll be a proper beginning. Nothing like celebrating my husband's return home from deployment by ignoring him to write a few sarcastic words on a Yu-Gi-Oh chapter about one rare game piece going up against another rare game piece, right?

I am the WORST spouse.

Oh yeah, I remember where we left off now! While Yuugi struggles to get back his stolen puzzle, we struggle to parse the confusing translation of the event. We're already thematically in line with our protagonist!

Yuugi and Ryoji glare at each other wordlessly over their special and probably expensive game table, until Ryoji chuckles once more. He's really pleased to see that, as he imagined, Yuugi isn't a cowardly baby and his solving of the Millennium Puzzle wasn't just a lucky accident. Yuugi remains quiet, wondering why Ryoji thinks he even NEEDS the Millennium Puzzle. It's not as though Ryoji NEEDS the puzzle Yuugi, anymore than ANYONE would need any magical amulet that would allow them to dominate in various games. He just WANTS it. REALLY BAD.

Recalling that Ryoji said his father had challenged Sugoroku over the Millennium Puzzle and lost, Yuugi also wonders if this game is supposed to be revenge. Or perhaps it IS said out loud, because Ryoji appears to reply in the next panel where it's written that of COURSE it's revenge, and once again I am confused on when these bubbles are supposed to indicate thought rather than speech. Ryoji confirms that he's enacting revenge against Yuugi for making his father a monster, even though that was Sugoroku and by his own admission was before Yuugi was even born. Having a little difficulty distinguishing the young and old Mutos, dude?

But, there IS more to Ryoji's motivations than simple revenge, of course.

IS it Yuugi's turn? Didn't he just run you over with his giant rolling boulder trap of a monster? Or was he allowed to do that during Ryoji's turn? And if so, how does Yuugi KNOW that without being told??

Yuugi picks up a new die from his dispenser while thinking he won't give up, or maybe he says it, I don't know. He knows that if he keeps Gorugon right where it is now, in front of the closest enemy monster to keep it from advancing, then his dungeon master should be safe from any more immediate attacks. However, he also knows that playing defensively just won't cut it, because he'll have to find a way to get to Ryoji's dungeon master to win. With this in mind, he tosses the dice, and luckily throws two summoning crests and an attack crest.

Triumphantly holding up his fist, Yuugi says he can summon now, and does so. The walls of his chosen die fold out to reveal a humanoid monster in armor and a cape, holding two swords. It's called Duker Twin Swords Level 3, and its ability is that it can "attack continuously following numbers of attack crests". Don't ask me what that means, because I'm scratching my head pretty hard here. Duker can also move forward two spaces when the player rolls a forward crest, which is at least understandable.

And then, I'm thrown right back into confusion again when Yuugi says that Duker will stand by for now, and he'll "remain power course of attack crests into a crest pool".

lol, wut?

Okay, so I'm guessing that he's saying he's going to save that attack crest for later by putting it in a "pool" of unused rolled crests, which Ryoji confirms he can do after the fact. Apparently, players don't have to use crests as they roll them and pull them from the pool whenever they want. Wow, isn't it miraculous that Yuugi just KNEW that intuitively? He didn't even have to ask! What a relief that he didn't have to learn from either watching Ryoji do the same or making a mistake, and he could just be right automatically without any messy repercussions or growth! Wouldn't THAT be a waste of our time?????

It's Ryoji's turn, and he throws the dice, getting the same summoning and attack crests as Yuugi did in his.

So, crest pools are a thing now. Have we mentioned that? We even get handy diagrams to show what crests are in the pools of both players in the next few panels, which suggests that the players have been keeping track this whole time. Or, maybe it's the table that has been showing this information the entire game, and that's why Yuugi knew? At least in that case, the table's existence isn't solely predicated on an elaborate dice shuffling system.

Ryoji tells Yuugi through his smirk that he'll be using the crests in his pool this turn to let his Flame Armor monster attack, and Yuugi glares down at his monster facing it with determination. Or the need to waddle to the bathroom. I'm still not entirely sure. He sweats as he thinks that nothing else can destroy his creature, and it's phrased in such a way that I'm not certain he wants Duker to come out of this battle alive. Maybe he's randomly picked up on another obscure rule that I'll have to scratch my head at again.

Shouting for the activation of his two forward crests and attack crest out of the pool, Ryoji sends his Flame Armor Dragon stomping toward Duker to slash it good. Flame Armor swings down its dragon sword onto Duker's head, but just before it makes contact, Yuugi holds out a staying hand and shouts that he's activating a couple of crests in his own pool. Duker crosses its swords like the two attack crests on either side of the panel.

You sure did, Yuugi! Unfortunately, Ryoji's reaction is a bit of unexpected mirth. Yuugi gapes, so Ryoji explains that Yuugi did well to destroy Flame Armor, he knew all along what crests were in Yuugi's pool and that his dragon would die long beforehand. Still speechless, Yuugi glares in surprise while Ryoji continues to inform him that this game isn't about the attack and defense of creatures. He chuckles again, telling Yuugi to take a look at the table, since he seems to not quite understand what he's talking about yet.

Yuugi curses when he looks down, utterly shocked.

Ryoji confirms Yuugi's upsetting realization that he hardly has any more space to summon anymore, making Yuugi curse again while he squeezes his eyes shut. Speaking of taking up space, Ryoji launches into an explanation about how the six sides of a die can open up in a 3x4 area on the table, and there being 30 possible iterations into which the die can unfold. Knowing which of those to use takes some technique and foresight, and that's a fair assumption, but seeing as how this game only came out today, and no one yet has that technique down except for Ryoji himself... Well, I guess I don't really need to reiterate how unfair this is. We're already familiar with that, I'm sure.

But the chapter assumes we're NOT familiar with a concept that is the dead horse it's not quite done beating yet, Ryoji explaining for the umpteenth time that the dice unfolding create the path and a large army of monsters to reach the opposition's dungeon master, creating higher odds to win. Thanks for the reminder, dude. Yuugi grinds his teeth over the fact that Ryoji's monsters outnumber his and there's no comparison.

Ryoji declares that it's his turn, pulling a die from his dispenser. He smirks when he looks closer at it, because he got the one he wanted. Ryoji holds the die out to Yuugi to look at, identifying it as a rare black die, one that has a special ability indicated by a slight shading of the summoning crest. He also observes that his next die is a rare black die, and I'm not sure how, because the summoning crest is facing away from him. Oh well. Ryoji tells Yuugi that rolling with two rare black dice can activate a special combo, and to wait for a super fun time.

Yuugi doesn't look like he's ready for whatever brand of fun this is supposed to be, sweating as he thinks over Ryoji's forewarning. Ryoji rolls his dice with a declaration, and two summoning crests come up along with a magic crest. He sets up his rare black die where he wants it to unfold, pressing on the top, and a moment later, the die opens up to reveal a pair of black wings. Yuugi is preoccupied with confusion over how Ryoji summoned this creature in his own area, not bothering to set it up to attack.

If that's a warp crest, where's the Starship Enterprise? I call bullshit!

Yuugi must be repeating the warp crest phrase in a questioning way, because Ryoji tells him that this is one of the rare crests on the inside of rare black dice. Apparently, it can be activated when two rare black dice are on the table, where one is the entrance and the other is the exit, making it possible to appear instantaneously across the field by traveling through them. Yuugi rephrases this as though his shock adds anything to the information, then peers at his half of the field to note that there's only space enough for one more summon. Across the table, Ryoji is planning to place his next rare black die in that very spot in order to be able to instantly transfer his monster army into Yuugi's area, certain that he'll win if this scheme works.

Suddenly, Yuugi is smiling a little, telling Ryoji he missed one tiny little thing. Ryoji gapes, asking what Yuugi could possibly mean. Yuugi holds out his palm, revealing that he ALSO has a rare black die. Ryoji looks flabbergasted, though I don't know how he managed to miss that when he's been following all the REST of Yuugi's moves so closely. It's Yuugi's turn, he rolls, and the dice fall onto two summoning crests with an attack crest as well. Yuugi is stoked by his good luck, and places his die in the only place he's allowed anymore to begin its unfolding.

Before we can see what it is, it jumps into its warp crest lightning fast, alarming Ryoji with how quickly it activated that warp. He watches his own monster's warp crest with some surprise.

What else is a ninja for?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall. It's more of the same frustrating crap with Yuugi inexplicably knowing rules that he has no business knowing the way the story has been told so far. Yes, I think it would have been perfectly possible that the table was showing him he had a pool of his unused crests, and that would have tipped him off, but my problem is that we never SAW such a thing. Since we didn't see it, there's no reason we should assume the CHARACTER could see it. In fact, my suspicion is that KT only during this chapter came up with the rule in the game and just SHOVED it into the middle of the chapter in order to introduce some variety into the ways Yuugi was engaging with it. He didn't even bother to TRY to blend it in with the edges or smooth out the bedding before the publishing. This has frantic deadline anxiety written ALL OVER IT.

Not just in that way, either. Ryoji's plans (and past actions) to place his own dice in Yuugi's area were treated as a given, but Yuugi's options were apparently limited to his own area for summoning. Now, I'm GUESSING that this has to do with a new summon needing to connect with your previous summons, but that's not explicitly stated. It may just be the translation, but I feel like the information is jumbled and full of holes. The further we go in this game, the more questions I have about how this crap even WORKS.

This game was very clearly not thought out very well or planned, and it's a pretty painful fact to look at in this one. I mean, Duel Monsters isn't exactly the most developed game, but it looks GLOSSY compared to this. I'm WINCING. Seriously.