Inuyasha Manga: 085 Inuyasha's Heart

It's about time we're focusing on that, honestly. It's probably working on overtime right now; straining itself to pump blood that's mostly gone in reduced pressure, then straining even HARDER during a fall off a massive cliff that will surely end in its stopping altogether. Man, Inuyasha's heart is a BOSS right now. Surely the real hero of this entire arc so far.

It may be a tragic hero by the time the next panel rolls around, though, which shows the misty bottom of the cliff where the creepy peach/head tree stands and near it, the corpse of the Peach Man. Someone points this out, though I'm not sure who, and Kagome is beside herself, asking where Inuyasha is in a panic. Miroku and Shippou stand beside her, back to their normal sizes, leaving me wondering how in the world THAT managed to happen. Hooray for unexplained resolutions!

Anyway, Shippou suggests that maybe Inuyasha was crushed beneath the Peach Man's bulky body, and Kagome utters a disbelieving stutter at this. Miroku sticks the end of his staff under the Peach Man, shouting that they have to get Inuyasha out from under there. He kneels to put all his weight on the end of his makeshift crowbar as Shippou tries to just throw all HIS weight into trying to roll over the Peach Man, whom he complains is awfully heavy. Kagome just desperately calls Inuyasha's name, because she couldn't try to help out Shippou's efforts or anything. No, she's being super helpful by sitting there, heart hammering, praying that Inuyasha's okay.

Meanwhile...

Man, that tree must be extra soft to have cushioned his fall like that. No branches poking him or anything? Lucky.

Inuyasha sits up, rotating his shoulder with little more than a look of annoyance on his face, though that was the same arm that the Peach Man broke before. Those youkai powers work FAST to heal serious injuries, don't they? He thinks about what a pain it is that his powers don't return more quickly than they do when he hears a wail from below him.

It's Shippou, a fountain coming from both his eyes as he cries about how Inuyasha is dead. Kagome is in denial about this interpretation, saying it can't possibly be. Shippou's weeping continues while he defends his outburst, pointing to how Inuyasha had all those horrible wounds and then fell from that cliff in his human body, so there was no way he survived. Kagome hangs her head, looking too scared to say anything in response.

Miroku implores Shippou not to cry, telling him they'll hold a memorial service, and Kagome finds her voice again to begin complaining that they still don't know if Inuyasha is dead, but is cut off by Miroku's impromptu eulogy. He says that Inuyasha surely accomplished his goal, which was protecting Kagome even if he had to die doing it. Inuyasha rests his chin on his hand, looking bored at his own funeral, and Kagome hangs her head again, clutching at her chest. She says she's not at all happy Inuyasha would do such a thing, a suddenly Inuyasha is alert and flabbergasted at how she's not crying. HE WANTS TO SEE YOU WEEP, DAMMIT!!

Instead, Kagome begins to rant about how his powers were gone and he was still a reckless idiot, looking more angry than sad. Though Miroku and Shippou are more somber and tearful about it, they agree that Inuyasha is a big moron.

You guys are in troooooouuuuuuble...

Kagome's eyes widen at hearing Inuyasha's voice, but she doesn't immediately jump up and latch onto Inuyasha like Shippou does, who bawls that Inuyasha is alive. Inuyasha casually apologizes for disappointing them, prompting a somewhat annoyed Miroku to ask what the hell he's so sour about anyway. No shit, he's being awfully pissy for someone who only narrowly escaped death. I would be pretty damn grateful to still be alive, but then again, I'm not a douchebag. Inuyasha snarks that he doesn't die so easily, so worrying over him is pointless, all while eying Kagome's back as she's hunched in the opposite direction.

Inuyasha sputters out of confusion as Kagome shoots up and demands to know how he could be so reckless, tears still streaming down her face. He yells at her that he was saved, it's okay, so she should stop crying, but she insists she's NOT crying, even though she totally is. She collapses on the ground wailing through her hands that she's just really glad he's okay, and Inuyasha sits next to her in a stupor, heart pounding, trying to figure out if she wasn't actually angry. This boy clearly doesn't understand the concept of "mixed emotions."

Meanwhile, the Peach Man's body has randomly decided to start disintegrating. Why now? Fuck if I know. Miroku and Shippou observe this with some awe, Shippou trying to put it into words and trailing off as he clings to Miroku's shoulder. In the next panel Shippou has disappeared from Miroku's shoulder as he looks to the tree, which hisses much like its creepy gardner's corpse. The heads on it begin to reform, transforming into actual peaches in a stream of ethereal light. And Shippou's back again to trail off once more in a comment about the ninmenka fruit. Miroku explains that the souls of those men can now move on to Heaven because the Peach Man's spell is broken and the people in the box garden should be freed by now as well. I guess those spells were less important to break than the one keeping Miroku and Shippou small, because we can't have two of the mains stuck tiny for an inconvenient amount of time or anything.

Back in Tokyo, Kagome is sitting at her desk with a pencil in her hand, sighing. She's having some trouble studying, leaning her desk chair back absently and wondering if it was alright for her to come back home. A single panel cuts to the Feudal Era again in order to show Shippou insisting Inuyasha rest while Kagome's gone while clinging to his arm, Inuyasha downplaying his injury to just a little pain in his right arm, and Miroku informing Inuyasha that his arm was actually broken pretty badly. Awkward placement of panel is awkward. Back with Kagome, she considers how hard it must be to be a hanyou like Inuyasha, then picks up the piece of the Shikon no Tama around her neck to examine it. She recalls how Inuyasha told her when they met that he planned to use the jewel to become a full youkai, but also remembers how Kikyou once suggested he become human instead, and he had planned on it for Kikyou's sake. Kagome wonders how he feels now.

Yeah, that's what that guy who just died said. You know, Inuyasha, the guy who ate it while you were a "weak" human? Remember that?

Inuyasha says that if he met an enemy who was stronger, it would be all over for him. Isn't that true for full youkai as well? Miroku points out what I just did about Inuyasha defeating the Peach Man while he was human, asking if that wasn't enough for him. Inuyasha is up in arms, asking if he even realizes how much trouble that was for the hapless hanyou, so Miroku supposes that no, no it was NOT enough for him. Miroku decides to change the subject to this hypothetical future in which Inuyasha HAS turned into a full youkai, questioning whether Inuyasha would still be himself. This appears to shock Inuyasha somewhat, driving him to ask Miroku what it is he means incredulously. As if he doesn't already know.

Miroku poses the query of whether Inuyasha has ever heard of anyone using the Shikon no Tama for good. Inuyasha answers with some hesitation that no, he has not. So, Miroku proposes a hypothesis that those who use the jewel end up losing themselves, which makes Inuyasha scoff, incredulous again. He says he never said he wanted to be a nice youkai, but Miroku brings up the obvious fact that Inuyasha wants to protect Kagome, and wants strength for that reason as well as for its own sake.

... Maybe they taste good?

Shippou has latched onto Miroku's arm again by the next panel, tearfully asking why it would be him and Kagome, and not Miroku too that Inuyasha would dine on. Miroku loftily answers that he would have run away LONG before that point. Inuyasha glares across the fire at him, speechless a moment, probably thinking about how best to broach what a weird combination of shrewd and dickish Miroku is. At least, that's what I'm thinking.

Instead, Inuyasha turns his gaze to the ground and mentally declares that all this is a bunch of crap. He rationalizes that all the youkai after the jewel he's met so far were rotten from the beginning, hesitantly telling himself his heart won't change. Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetie.

Cut to daylight over a village, where someone is screaming about something coming from the forest. You thought I was going to say "somewhere," didn't you? Think again! Someone asks the exterminator to take care of it, a giant centipede, for them.

Excuse my head-scratches, but aren't exterminators supposed to carry spray nozzles full of bug poison rather than a giant boomerang? I mean, granted, you'd need a pretty big nozzle for a big bug like that, but...

The boomerang the exterminator throws cuts straight through the body of the centipede and returns for her to catch, as boomerangs do. As the two halves of the body collapse to the ground with a thud, a shining speck detaches from the wound and the exterminator picks it from the ground where it falls, identifying it as a Shikon fragment. A villager with a bandage around his head is astonished by it while the exterminator explains that it was this little fragment that turned the centipede into a giant monster. Then she borrows a shed for a bit to shed her black suit and cool mask.

When she emerges...

And boom! It's time for an after-hours beer.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The end in particular is super exciting for me because I'm fangirl squealing over the new character introduction. It was short, sweet, and incredibly intriguing because of how much information we're getting out of just three pages. We now know that this person makes a living exterminating youkai, she has an incredibly specialized weapon that doesn't appear to operate on magic like Kagome's, and the Shikon no Tama came from her birthplace. We get just enough of a taste of who she is that it makes us want to take another bite. If there's one thing RT knows how to do, it's introductions.

And it's a good thing, because she sure as hell didn't do the rest of the chapter very well, mechanics-wise. I don't understand her decision to change Miroku and Shippou back to their original sizes so prematurely. I suppose it could have revolved around how Kagome was supposed to get down the cliff without Shippou being a regular size, but I'm not sure why she couldn't have just gone down the way the guy from the first chapter tried to descend in the first chapter of the arc. It looked like he would have made it down the mountain if the Peach Man hadn't gotten him first.

It's not like Miroku and Shippou had to be normal size for the beginning of the chapter. Miroku didn't manage to get the Peach Man overturned to check beneath him anyway, so it's not as though Kagome couldn't have tried and failed to do it herself at Miroku's tiny instruction. Then the rest of the chapter could have played out more or less the way it had before, except with Miroku and Shippou transforming back to themselves along with everyone else, when it made sense.

Sure, I still would have been asking why it had to be so long after the Peach Man died, but it would have been a more ironic question. We all know the other characters HAD to think Inuyasha was smashed by the Peach Man in order to start eulogizing and Inuyasha to get mad that Kagome wasn't crying over him until she was. There wasn't any other way to pull that crap off, so we don't have to pretend there's any other reason for it.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 143 Battle of 0 Attack Strength!

Seems to me that this is bound to be more of a massacre than a battle. The God Ogre may as well straight up murder some infant in a crib for how much of a "battle" it's going to engage in with Yuugi's new monster. Hell, the new monster may as well BE a baby in a crib, but I suppose the stupidity of Ryuji designing his game with a monster that LOOKS as helpless as it is would be a little too on the nose. He's supposed to be a game-design genius, so what the fuck is his excuse?

"Puzz?" As in "PuzzLE?" You know, forget what I said about the "being too on the nose" earlier, because KT is clearly not above that.

Also, what happened to Yuugi's dismay upon seeing those zero attack points? Apparently it has been replaced by a half-determined look at noting that his dungeon master only has one point left now, and wondering how Puzz is going to handle the enemy's attack. Cute little Puzz looks up innocently, like it don't have a clue. It's adorable because it will be slaughtered! Presumably.

Ryuji laughs and mocks the idea that just because Yuugi managed to summon a monster means that he'll win. He asks how Yuugi can let a creature without any attack points or weapon strike him, and I have to second that question. That just seems cruel and unusual to your poor cute monster, Yuugi. Yuugi seems to realize in THIS moment that the attack of Puzz is zero and THERE'S that horrified dismayed face I was wondering about. Seems the end of the last chapter kind of jumped the gun on it.

The comparison Ryuji makes to his massive God Ogre sure isn't flattering, and even Yuugi's dungeon master is quaking in its little sweaty leg-stems at the looming figure of the God Ogre behind it. Yuugi is beginning to realize that because Puzz's attack is nonexistent, of course it cannot stand up to the opponent, and this means he loses. He squeezes his eyes shut and internally questions what the ever confident Yami would do in his place. He finds himself wanting desperately to hear Yami's voice guiding him, but instead all he hears is asshole!Bakura snapping at him to stop thinking about useless crap. Yuugi's eyes snap open again but he's speechless while asshole!Bakura tells him that this is his test; the final test Yuugi has to pass in order to prove he's qualified to hold the Millennium Item and be king. Somehow I doubt even other Millennium Item hosts have to go through this bullshit, especially not that piece of garbage Shadi, so I call malarkey. Malarkey I say!

Yuugi is confused and surprised by asshole!Bakura's use of the word "king," though I'm pretty sure Ryuji has also used the term at least once in connection with the holder of the Millennium Puzzle before. He asks what king asshole!Bakura is referring to, but asshole!Bakura demands he listen to his extremely simple explanation that there is only one person who can solve the Millennium Puzzle, that person is destined to recover the pharaoh's memories, and that person is Yuugi. Yuugi gapes while asshole!Bakura says that he's there to make sure all that comes to pass.

While Yuugi continues to look mystified at asshole!Bakura, clown!dad chips in to laugh away asshole!Bakura's concerns, insisting that the person to win this game is the next successor to the Millennium Puzzle and that's clearly Ryuji. Apparently he's not grasping the notion that there's still only one person in the world who can SOLVE the thing, and that must be why asshole!Bakura is so pissed off, wrinkling his nose and cursing at clown!dad. At least, that's the only explanation I can think of for this anomalous outburst.

An impatient Ryuji points at Yuugi, asking if he's done with his turn, because the inventor of the game would like to move during his next one already, thank you very much. Yuugi looks utterly frozen with a whole host of emotions and remains speechless.

Boy has no interest in all these other douchebags; HE IS ON A MISSION.

Yuugi observes all three of the pieces clustered on his side of the table, noting that Puzz is an armor warrior and though its attack is zero, it has to have a special ability. He determines that he has to take a huge risk to find out what that ability is and he'll make his final move his next turn. Ryuji has apparently not taken Yuugi's silence as a concession that his turn is over, because he's just staring at Yuugi over the table, politely waiting for him to finish thinking. He intends not to let Yuugi activate Puzz's special ability, because he reads minds for fun. Ryuji declares it's his turn, and this makes Yuugi's dungeon master all the more nervous with the God Ogre hovering over it from behind.

Ryuji chuckles that Yuugi doesn't look much different than his cowardly little dungeon master running from the God Ogre, and Yuugi just sweats on his side of the table. Holding up a fist balled around his precious dice, Ryuji insists that this is the final turn, and tells Yuugi to get ready for it. He throws the dice, two of which land on a forward and attack crest, which he uses to call out his attack on Yuugi's dungeon master right in front of God Ogre. God Ogre steps up another space and obeys, swinging down its Ultimate Sword straight for the enemy dungeon master's pointy little hat. Ryuji brags about how he won because Yuugi's dungeon master can't run any more, while Yuugi doesn't appear to be sweating nearly as much now.

Hmm, I didn't actually see the hit land and the bad guy is gloating already?

Goodness gracious me! Who could have seen THAT coming?

Well, at the very least, I didn't anticipate that little dude turning into a shield, so I guess I can't get TOO up-in-arms about the predictability of this. And Puzz is a STRONG shield at that, making the God Ogre's Ultimate Sword bounce right the fuck away. Impressive, as well as horrifying to Ryuji. While Ryuji is stunned into uncharacteristic silence, Yuugi takes the opportunity to remind Ryuji of what he said about Yuugi's dungeon master simply running away. Yuugi asserts that his dungeon master will no longer run, but turn to fight. He's going to need an actual weapon to do that, don't you think Yuugi? Unless you're planning to just bludgeon the God Ogre with Puzz.

Come to think of it, that might not be such a bad idea.

Ryuji regains his smirk in record time, in turn reminding Yuugi that Puzz doesn't have any attack power, so the big question is how Puzz is going to defeat God Ogre. Yuugi concedes that Puzz doesn't have any attack power, but that's only because it was transformed into the armor of his dungeon master. Noooooooo... it didn't have any attack power BEFORE it was transformed either, remember? A panel showing the dungeon master holding Puzz-the-Shield out in front of it also contains a nice panel informing the reader that Puzz can turn into armor if it's fed defense crests. You know, in case they weren't paying attention to the last couple of pages or something. Gotta HAMMER that information in our stupid little brains!!

Gritting his teeth, Ryuji fumes about how it looks like Yuugi already knew about Puzz's special ability. Did he forget that he made sure the game's details were not divulged to the public before this very day or is he suggesting that there may have been information leaked? Either way, Ryuji just brushes Yuugi's suspicious knowledge of the game off like it doesn't raise a ton of questions and informs Yuugi further that turning Puzz into armor requires so many crests that he only has one left in his pool. Displaying his dice on his open palm, Yuugi knows he'll have to bet his next move on the crests that come up on them this turn, announcing said turn with determination.

Before rolling, Yuugi thinks if he can get two of the crests he needs, he's home free. He tosses the dice, and while they spin, he urges them to show him what he's looking for. Both he and Ryuji stare at them anxiously.

Are you starting to get an idea of what asshole!Bakura was talking about before, Ryuji? He don't play. Except when he does. Which is all the time. You know what, never mind, I don't know what I'm talking about.

Yuugi shouts at Puzz's special ability to activate again, this time with the attack crests he just rolled and the single defense crest left in his pool, so Puzz begins a transformation once more.

Uh, need I point out again that Puzz didn't have attack power before? I mean he had low DEFENSE before, but it makes sense that the defense crests he used to activate Puzz's transformation would multiply that already low defense like the crests multiplied Duker's attacks in one turn right? But anything times ZERO is still ZERO - that's basic math. Are we multiplying off of the DUNGEON MASTER'S attack strength? I don't think the dungeon master had attack strength either.

What the balls kind of sense does any of this make??

I am so confused.

So very, very confused.

Ryuji is stunned once more, on a more permanent basis now, taking mental stock of how he no longer has any monsters and his last one fell to Yuugi's dungeon master boasting 2500 attack strength. Sweating, he stares in utter disbelief at the outcome. Clown!dad gropes the air furiously, bellowing about Ryuji's incomprehensible defeat. Asshole!Bakura chuckles about how Yuugi is the REAL chosen wielder of the Millennium Puzzle, just like he said. Ryuji continues to wonder how it could be that Yuugi is the true successor, because I guess I spoke too soon on the subject of Ryuji beginning to question everything his father told him. It's a problematic pattern of mine.

Yuugi addresses Ryuji, saying he never thought about being a successor to the puzzle like Ryuji is thinking. It's not really the way Ryuji assumes it is, which brings out some confused anger in Ryuji when he asks Yuugi what it is he fought for then. Yuugi begins his argument in terms of "wanting," but chooses to cross that out and revise.

You also REALLY seem to need a tissue. Your nose is running something FIERCE bro.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? This chapter was the embodiment of how this game has been weak from the start. All of the errors and shit decisions from the previous chapters were amped up to 11 in this one, starting with Other Bakura's presence. It was less amusing and more grating here, because though he insists that Yuugi will win by virtue of the fact that he's the chosen one, Other Bakura says he's there to make sure it happens. If it's going to happen anyway, why do you need to make sure of it, dude? That makes no sense, you're superfluous, don't talk anymore.

Then Ryuji thinks that he's not going to LET Yuugi use Puzz's special ability, because he's apparently forgotten the rules to his own damn game that the other player can use crest pool crests during their opponent's turn. And granted, he could have been counting on Yuugi being too ignorant of the ability and scared to make a mistake, but if that's the case, he should have referred to Yuugi's FEAR being the preventing factor here, not himself.

After Yuugi takes the risk, Ryuji looks just absolutely shocked and seems to assume that Yuugi knew the special ability all along, but never questions HOW. He just carries on the conversation like they're NOT playing a game that has been shrouded in enough mystery until this day that Yuugi should never have been savvy to that information. And it was so blatant of a shift in Ryuji's demeanor and train of thought that I do have to wonder if it wasn't some attempt at hanging a lampshade, but if that's the case, it failed. Drawing attention to your laziness isn't a lampshade, KT, it's just admitting that you're lazy, flat out.

And the biggest disappointment of this chapter was when Puzz transformed into a sword that inexplicably gave attack points to the dungeon master and itself. Since the crests don't seem to work with points themselves, only as directors of action, the only way they could manage this is if they DO have point values and no one knew about it until the very last second. And even then, somehow the crests would have to go from MULTIPLIERS to ADDITIVES in order to overcome the fact that they're modifying something with zero attack strength.

But at least this horrid, no-good, very-bad game is finally over. Finally. I will not miss it.

Inuyasha Manga: 084 The Bow's Transformation

What bow is that? Kagome's has been conspicuously absent throughout the whole arc, which is funny, because you'd think she'd want to keep it around her at all times at this point. It is, after all, her only advantage in a fight, especially without Inuyasha being fully capable of protecting her, a possibility she was well aware of when she, Miroku and Shippou went up the cliff to join him. It seems to me that a bow and arrows would be essential to going and assisting him anyway.

Uh-oh, did RT forget about Kagome's bow until now? Naughty naughty.

The Peach Man should really consider growing a sweet mustache to twirl with lines like that.

He mockingly states that Inuyasha has made his choice, preferring death over drinking the human-life-juice. Inuyasha glares and retorts with a question about who said anything about him dying. He won't drink the human juice, but he sure as hell won't be dying in a fight with that bastard Peach Man either, thereby debunking THAT false dichotomy. To back up his point, Inuyasha fearlessly leaps at the Peach Man, but the Peach Man doesn't think Inuyasha-logic sounds so much convincing as fun, waving his staff and sending more spiny vines at Inuyasha easily. Inuyasha holds his forearm up to protect his head, the vines grazing it instead. He lets out a groan, but manages to get close enough to the Peach man to grab hold of the staff, pushing back against the Peach Man with it.

Unfortunately, the Peach Man has a free hand and smacks straight down on Inuyasha's head with it. He goes down with a stunned look while Kagome shouts his name and mini!Shippou despairs that there's no way Inuyasha can do this as a human. He turns to mini!Miroku to suggest the Kazaana, but it turns out that Miroku has already had it open for a time, holding out his palm in the direction of the Peach Man hopelessly. Miroku says the best he can do right now is drag over the Peach Man, but Shippou observes that all Miroku is really doing is sucking up bits of dust. Well at least the Peach Man's place will be a little cleaner. Around the skulls anyway.

Sweating, Kagome desperately looks around for a weapon she could use.

Fresh out the box and everything! How fortuitous! Almost TOO fortuitous!

Kagome climbs over the thorned vines, shouting at Inuyasha to wait for her, but I doubt he's paying much attention. The Peach Man's big stony hand is at his throat and chest, constricting his air while the owner of it asks what Inuyasha's problem is. The Peach Man complains that after all that blustering, Inuyasha appears to be all talk, Inuyasha cursing silently.

While picking up the bow, Kagome is addressed by the old hermit, whose flower pot was upset in the scuffle. He tells her not to bother with the bow and arrow, because something so simple won't defeat the Peach Man now. Kagome shouts back at him that she will defeat the Peach Man, most definitely, then stands up to draw that Peach Man's attention straight toward her nocked and drawn arrow like a boss-ass bitch.

For reals, guys.

The old hermit realizes that a purifying power is coming from Kagome's arrow, and just as he's about to realize what that means, a splatter of blood causes Kagome a wide-eyed expression.

What a cheap piece of shit! Right out the box and everything!

Inuyasha thinks Kagome's name as he looks in her direction out of the corner of his eye, probably not clear on what exactly is happening right now. The once astounded Peach Man giggles and apologizes, because he never bothered to take care of that bow, so it's no wonder it broke. Tears fill Kagome's eyes as they stare at the busted edge of the bow, Kagome herself consumed with disbelief and disheartened. The Peach Man says she couldn't have shot through his body anyway, of course, and tells Kagome to wait a while so he can torture Inuyasha until he's dead. After that he'll be able to snack on her to his heart's content.

Inuyasha groans again, reaching up to grab hold of one of the thorns on the vines next to him. He breaks it off the vine and stabs it into the Peach Man's eye, yelling at him not to be so full of himself. The Peach Man screams, recoiling from Inuyasha at first, then lunging back down at him with an enraged curse as he lays his fist into Inuyasha's arm. Inuyasha hovers his other hand over the arm the Peach Man snapped, noting with astonishment that it's broken. Kagome cries his name, horrified.

Her attention is brought back over to the overturned flower pot when the old hermit requests that she please bring down his former student. After Kagome utters a bewildered sound, the old hermit repeats his request, begging her to somehow do it for him and all those who were eaten. I don't know how he expects her to be motivated by the suffering of HIM, considering in the short time she's known him, he's admitted to being an unwitting agent of power for her current foe, but there you go. The old hermit's petals start to shed and his roots begin to morph before Kagome's astonished gaze.

The Peach Man better not live to realize that or he'll be PISSED.

Speak of the devil, Kagome glares over to where the Peach Man has lifted a fatigued Inuyasha by the collar, threatening to tear him apart. She sees the glow of the Shikon no Tama through his back and nocks that arrow with the delicate vine coiling round the shaft. You'd think something like that would interfere with the accuracy of the shot, but I guess the old guy had to go out looking good. She fires and the arrow speeds right for the light she's looking to hit, so it didn't make any difference anyway. It makes contact, a big sphere of light marking impact, which Inuyasha's wide eyes have spotted over the Peach Man's shoulder. The Peach Man himself doesn't appear to be affected painfully by this, not uttering a sound as he glares out f his ruined periphery toward Kagome, whose arrow burned a hole through the back of his vest.

It also managed to create enough of an impact to make the jewel fragment the Peach Man shoved into his navel pop right out, which Inuyasha notes with some amazement. Kagome stares at the bow in her hands as it disintegrates, because the old bastard's power was apparently only enough to make it viable for a single shot. What kind of mystical magical hermit WAS this guy??

Couldn't just pick back up the jewel and shove it back where you had it huh? Just HAD to fly into an irrational rage over something you could EASILY have fixed?

What was I saying about neuro-degenerative diseases in the last one?

Inuyasha shouts at Kagome to get down as he rams his shoulder straight in between the Peach Man's shoulder blades, using his own momentum to shove him out the open lattice window behind Kagome and over the railing. Unfortunately, Inuyasha's own momentum has done the same to him, and he's right behind the Peach Man in running straight over that cliff. Kagome sits back up, looking confused for a split second, but quickly realizes there's something more missing than Inuyasha meant to get rid of.

A completely sober Peach Man tells Inuyasha that it's too bad for him, because he'll die, and Inuyasha looks resigned when he says that may be. Still, he doesn't really care as long as Kagome is alive. You know who DOES care, though? KAGOME, who screams over the cliff after until he disappears from sight.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? While I am rather miffed by how obvious it was that RT made a whoopsie-daisy in forgetting Kagome's bow in the beginning of the arc, I'm also kind of impressed with how she didn't try to cover it up by going down a road that would have ultimately made less sense than Kagome stepping in. Literally all the other characters were handicapped in some way, so she was the only viable option when it came to bringing down the power level of the villain. It came down to shoehorning in her preferred weapon that everyone would know she should have brought with her to begin with, or trying to make one of the other characters inexplicably more able than her despite their disadvantages, and I think she made the right choice.

It's also comforting to know that she at least TRIED to make the task difficult. Kagome could have just used the plot convenience bow without a problem, but RT decided to kick up the tension of the moment by making the plot convenience bow break before it can fulfill its convenience, thereby making the audience think that there's no other way for her to shoot arrows AND giving the old hermit a reason to believe that Kagome is capable of defeating the Peach Man. It was a risk, but I think it paid off.

And it didn't even defeat the Peach Man, but distracted him and brought down his strength enough to give Inuyasha the opportunity to make that final push. There's an altogether different tragedy that comes with the fact that in spite of their working in tandem as they have learned to do, Inuyasha has chosen to sacrifice himself in order to ensure that Kagome comes out of the situation alive. He's not thinking of what she'll do without him from that point on, but only of her life at the moment, an in-the-present attitude he has expressed before, though this time to a new extreme.

I find it kind of satisfying that the last time his momentary perspective was employed, he also made a remark about how foolish humans were for thinking they'll die in every little difficulty, and he's essentially doing the same thing here with his own dramatic "death" scene. A little ironic, yeah? 

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 142 Solve A Millennium Puzzle

That might be pretty fun, but I don't think it would be possible. For starters, I'm no gaming genius like this story insists you have to be in order to solve the puzzle. I have a hard time just aiming at an enemy in FPS games, and get frustrated because I waste a shit-ton of ammo trying shooting at open space before I realize that the enemy has been BEHIND me the whole time. If I'm that bad at mindless shooty games, I doubt I could wrap my head around a brain teaser like the Millennium Puzzle.

Also, I'm pretty sure the puzzle is a UNIQUE artifact. There's not multiples of it floating around, despite what that indefinite article implies in the title. The Millennium Puzzle is VERY SPECIFIC to just the one, and I very much doubt Yuugi would be handing it over to little old me to take apart and reassemble.

At least not after this incident.

I bet Yuugi wishes you had told Ryuji that YESTERDAY, so all this nonsense and trauma could have been avoided. Then again, I doubt asshole!Bakura's smug proclamation is going to get Ryuji to abandon this elaborate revenge plot, especially when his clown!dad is so insistent.

Yuugi leans forward, noting that the Millennium Ring is clearly visible and controlling Bakura. Asshole!Bakura giggles at him, having noticed that he noticed, and assures Yuugi that he's on HIS side this time, having become a better man. Yuugi is speechless in his suspicion, looking ANYTHING but convinced, and asshole!Bakura observes this too. He reminds Yuugi of what Pegasus said at Duelist Kingdom, that the seven Millennium Items are all pieces of the pharaoh's memory, and that fact gives he and Yuugi the same goal: to gather the items. Losing even one of those items will be inconvenient to their plot, so there's no reason not to team up now. Yuugi is looking apprehensive, wondering if asshole!Bakura is being truthful.

However, looking across the table at Ryuji, Yuugi realizes that whether or not asshole!Bakura is his enemy isn't really the point. He decides he has to figure out how to win the game in front of him at the moment, for Yami.

Just keep an eye out for any sudden movements from that asshole who is known for his stabby behavior, that's all I'm saying.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Yuugi thinks about what asshole!Bakura told him about turning the tables, but he just doesn't see a way out of the corner he's in now. asshole!Bakura glares at Yuugi, arms crossed, as he thinks at Yuugi that someone who solved the Millennium Puzzle SHOULD be able to find the final way out of this situation. But Ryuji isn't buying this rhetoric. He laughs, saying that it's impossible that ANYONE should be able to get out of the mess Yuugi is in. Mocking asshole!Bakura for his calm stoicism, Ryuji tells him it's a little hard to believe that he'd be that interested in the Millennium Items. Is it necessary for someone to be leaping around and shouting his head off to be a fanboy?

Don't answer that.

Ryuji informs asshole!Bakura that HE'LL be the next owner of that puzzle, but asshole!Bakura retorts that he and his weak-ass soul would be burned to a crisp if he ever put it on. Oh yeah, the Millennium Items do that, don't they? Shit, now I'm DOUBLY hoping Ryuji doesn't win. I mean, he's a little shit, but he certainly doesn't deserve immolation. Asshole!Bakura tells Ryuji that he'll still have to think about solving that damn puzzle to begin with anyway. Smirking, Ryuji invites him to just keep on barking away, then points at Yuugi to shout that it's his turn now, so he'd better roll the dice.

In one of the speech bubbles coming from Yuugi on the next panel, it appears that he says "catch!", though I can't possibly tell what that's in reference to. Is he throwing something at Ryuji? Is Ryuji throwing something at HIM? Is this translation in error? Hard to tell, honestly, but it's probably the latter explanation. Yuugi has a fist raised, determined to keep going until the end. Asshole!Bakura glares at Yuugi, mentally urging him to pay attention to the dice.

Are you paying attention, Yuugi?????

Yuugi notes that the God Ogre is at 2000 attack points, and wonders how he should have Duker attack it. According to a little box of information I'm sure Yuugi doesn't have the benefit of seeing like the audience, Duker is able to attack continuously with a long string of attack crests. And wouldn't you know it, Yuugi happens to HAVE a long string of attack crests in his crest pool. Oh happy day! Still, he looks like he's at a funeral regardless. Doing the math in his head, all of his attack crests add up to just over 2000 points, and that SHOULD be enough for Duker to destroy the God Ogre. He's betting it all on this turn as he calls to Duker to attack the God Ogre, activating all his attack crests to increase Duker's power by six times. Duker does some flashy sword maneuvers, surrounded by those empowering crests, then goes for the God Ogre's stupid tiny helmet on its stupid tiny head.

But wouldn't you know it, just when Duker is leaping toward the God Ogre with twin swords extended, a smirking Ryuji moves one of his monsters forward with crests from HIS pool, having known all along that Yuugi would pull that move. So instead of striking down the God Ogre, Yuugi's Duker slices off the head of that dragon creature from earlier whose name I'm too lazy to look up. Yuugi is astounded that another monster jumped in from the side right into his blow, being carved up INSTEAD of the God Ogre. It remains unharmed while the dragon dissolves into mist like one of Pegasus or Kaiba's holograms.

Ryuji laughs like a maniac about how his low-level creature is gone, but his God Ogre remains, making Yuugi's move totally worthless now. Duker stares up at the God Ogre with ellipses in a speech-bubble next to it, which was kind of unnecessary given that it never speaks anyway. I guess the theme of this page is worthlessness, huh? Yuugi slams a fist on the table, grunting and squeezing his eyes shut in dismay, and asshole!Bakura just glares. Ryuji announces with gusto that it's his turn, and Yuugi's eyes are open wide again in horror at this revelation.

Ahh, hubris. Alright folks, we're taking bets on the likelihood of some obscure and heretofore unmentioned rule swooping in to save the day here. Who's in?

Yuugi's stare is hollow, his mouth agape, as he thinks he has no monsters left and he's lost. Ryuji reminds Yuugi that his dungeon master still has two hearts left to eliminate yet, so they should keep the game going until the end. I want to say this is Ryuji trying to be comforting, assuring Yuugi that it's not over for him JUST yet, but that big cocky grin is kind of throwing me off my read.

One hand curled into a fist, and the other held up to his temple as he curses, Yuugi rolls his dice. Somehow. The dice all land on different crests, and Yuugi determines that he has no way to defend, so he grips the top of his dungeon master's hat to move him away from the danger. But the God Ogre zooms right up behind the dungeon master anyway, to the tune of Ryuji's laughter as he tells Yuugi a dungeon master can't run away once it's in the attack range of the God Ogre. He commands the God Ogre to attack Yuugi's dungeon master, and the sight of that giant armored creature smacking the cartoonish dungeon master in the back with its sword is a tad comical, for better or worse.

A heart disappears from the dungeon master's cache, and Yuugi's eyes are squeezed shut once more when he mentally bemoans that he'll lose next turn. Clown!dad, whom I was a little surprised was still in the room, points at Yuugi to gloat that he's lost, and also look back at Ryuji to tell him he's done a good job, proving his worth as the son of an abusing douchebag clown. Someone just punch him, PLEASE. Clown!dad picks up the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle sitting on the side of the table where Ryuji left them and presents them to him, telling him to try and save the new toy he's won. Ryuji looks MORE than happy to accept it now, grinning at his assumption that he's beaten Yuugi and therefore the puzzle has chosen him to be its new host. He indeed begins to put it together, planning to solve it in time for it to transfer its powers over to him.

Asshole!Bakura seems amused by this, watching with a giggle before he reminds Ryuji of what he said before - Ryuji won't be able to solve it. Ryuji scoffs and tells asshole!Bakura to keep barking, claiming to have solved many harder puzzles than the one he's fiddling with now. Asshole!Bakura is insistent, however.

But we're not sticking around to hear the reasoning behind that statement because off to Yuugi's house we cut, where Jonouchi, Sugoroku, and Anzu are hanging out in front while Honda has met up with them. Jonouchi is skeptical of Honda's claim that he saw Bakura head back into the Black Crown, asking if he's sure. Honda's dog Blankey continues to bark like crazy as he confirms this and Anzu asks if Bakura has disappeared uselessly. What is she here for again? Jonouchi cringes away from Blankey, demanding that Honda do something about her. Afraid she's going to bite or that she's fallen in love Jonouchi?

Honda does nothing to assuage Jonouchi's concerns, instead inquiring about Yuugi, whom he hasn't seen. Sugoroku informs him that they also don't know where he is, and Anzu says they're quite worried now. Honda is shocked to learn that Yuugi is missing, only for Jonouchi to further mention that Yuugi disappeared inside that store just like Honda said Bakura did. He doesn't think this is at all good, Sugoroku agreeing that something weird is going on while they both glare at the Black Crown.

Sugoroku becomes eager to head to the store and look again, though whether it's at more merch for that brand new game or his grandson is not exactly clear. On their way, Honda tells them that there's something else he wants them to know; he saw Bakura holding the Millennium Ring again. Jonouchi is up in arms and now Anzu is the one asking if Honda is sure. Honda admits that he saw asshole!Bakura come out at Duelist Kingdom, but when he followed and watched Bakura since they came home, he didn't see anything unusual so he didn't mention it. Way to sit on the knowledge of potentially destructive behavior, Honda.

Sweating, Jonouchi repeats that this seems bad before they all run toward the Black Crown in order to find out just what's happening over there. If anything has happened to Yuugi at asshole!Bakura's hands, blame dickbag!Honda for not speaking up sooner.

Yuugi's inside, wearing an extra-constipated face while he concentrates on his dice.

I don't know what kind of math asshole!Bakura uses, but it doesn't seem to be kind most of the rest of us do.

Meanwhile, across the table, Ryuji isn't looking so cocky anymore, hands trembling, sweat pouring down his face. He's getting nowhere with that puzzle, wondering why he's not solving it already. Maybe it's a whole hell of a lot harder than you gave it credit for? Also it took Yuugi some years to do it, so I wouldn't expect you could do it faster than him. Asshole!Bakura chuckles some more, repeating again that Ryuji won't be able to solve the puzzle he's struggling so hard with, because Yuugi's the only one who can.

Yuugi looks like he's had an epiphany around the puzzle all of a sudden, peering a bit closer at the layout of the path on the table, where particular space catches his eye.

Well hot damn kid!

Yuugi is stoked that he got those summoning crests and begins to choose a die to summon. Though Ryuji tells Yuugi it was useless to roll summoning crests now, he doesn't exactly look happy about it either, though he does seem to perk up when he explains that Yuugi's space is too small and complicated to find a die that will fit inside it when it unfolds. Oh good, I'm glad we've finally established that the pattern for the dice unfolding is actually predetermined at the END OF THE GAME. Thanks for that, KT.

Having chosen his die, Yuugi is determined to take his chances with it, setting it in the tiny space he spotted before. Ryuji has regained his smirk, thinking that Yuugi can't possibly be successful with the die he's chosen, while Yuugi thinks if he doesn't solve the puzzle of this space with this particular die, he's lost the game. He calls for the die to unfold and it does so, not hitting a single existing path as it does so.

This game is trolling you SO HARD, Yuugi.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Other Bakura was somewhat entertaining in this chapter, but I'm not sure he really BELONGS here. So far, all he's done is allude to some mysterious way Yuugi could turn things around and giggle every once in a while at how daft Ryuji is for trying to take the Millennium Puzzle for himself. Would things have been any different without him there at all? I doubt Yuugi would have given up if he saw he was losing, because he was determined to see this game through to the end long before Other Bakura even showed up. Half the time I was laughing with Other Bakura at Ryuji's stupidity, and the other half I was asking what exactly he was accomplishing by being here. It's all so conflicting.

However, I didn't feel that way about Yuugi's final move of the chapter. It was a creative and intuitive way to look at the problem, pondering the negative space much in the way one does to put together a standard puzzle flat puzzle. It works to re-establish Yuugi as the creative flipside to Yami's more straightforward eye on games, too, which is a kind of poetic justice in this situation. Ryuji created a complicated game that contains elements of puzzle-solving in order to trip Yuugi up once he's been robbed of Yami, but he ends up dealing with the half of the partnership that's less obstinate in his methods and more flexible in terms of his thinking. His attention to what's NOT there helped him in this instance.

I also really love the end, where in the final panel Yuugi is appalled that he's managed to summon a creature with ZERO attack strength. He's not out of the woods yet because a brand NEW challenge has presented itself in opposition to Yuugi's goal. Subsequent struggles really keep the pace up on the stakes in this arc, and I'm always down with that.

You done good, KT. You done good.

Inuyasha Manga: 083 The Hermit's Medicine

Oh boy, it's the episode of Toukajin's Kitchen where we learn the recipe for his patented antacid medicine! 100% guaranteed not to do a damn thing for your heartburn, but you can keep it in humongous jars in your house so you have THOSE fabulous accessories to accent your otherwise hideous house! This Peach Man is a regular Martha Stewart, innee? I can't wait for the episode teaching the viewer how to decorate with artfully strewn human bones.

... STILL better than Ginormous Food.

Especially not when, some ways down the stairs, Inuyasha is sitting there on a step EYES CLOSED AND LEANING AGAINST THE WALL, SLEEPING! No, go ahead, get some rest. It's not like you're being chased by a horrifying cannibal freak or anything.

"But I'm so exhausted... and REALLY thirsty."

Shippou and Miroku pop out from beneath Inuyasha's sleeve, crawling on his scratched and battered arm. Shippou comments on how Inuyasha really got beaten up, and Miroku trails off in saying that Inuyasha would be better off not moving around with all these wounds, but there's not time for rest. Then why is he sitting there not moving?

I'm glad you asked! Miroku and Shippou are startled by some approaching steps, but it turns out to just be Kagome.

Kagome needs to make one of those videos showing all the creative ways you can tie a scarf or something. After she manages to drag Inuyasha's sorry ass out of there, of course.

She leads him to were she found their exit; a latticed door leading to a balcony over a long drop of cliff beyond. Inuyasha hangs his elbow over the railing of the balcony, looking quite exasperated as he asks Kagome if this is really what she considered their way out. When Kagome questions if that's not a VALID assumption, Inuyasha facepalms HARD. I don't know what he expected, considering he had to leap up a sheer cliff to get there in the first place.

Removing his hand from his now determined brow, Inuyasha declares that he has their plan, but Kagome immediately rejects it. When Inuyasha points out that she hasn't even heard what he's going to say yet, she states her assumption that he was going to suggest that she escape on her own and she doesn't want to, so there. They both turn to face the room again when a voice behind them asks if there's anyone there. What, they weren't talking loud enough for you? Although, I suppose it wouldn't be a surprise if they were whispering, given their "on the lam" status and everything.

At least THIS guy gets a nice flower petal mane to pretty him up, unlike those poor saps on the tree below. They don't get SHIT.

Kagome kneels next to this old guy and asks if he was devoured by the Peach Man too, and he replies that it his mistake for teaching a monster like the Peach Man his wizardry, eliciting a look of shock from Inuyasha. Kagome is looking kind of concerned too, asking if this means the old dude is also a hermit. Hanging his head, the old guy shamefully admits that the Peach Man was his apprentice.

Inuyasha grabs the old guy by his stem and calls him a bastard, Kagome taken aback but stuttering at him to wait a sec before pulling the dude up by his roots. Claiming to be amazed that the old guy is a hermit (more like blinded with rage by the looks of things), Inuyasha demands to know why the old guy would ever teach his magic to a youkai like the Peach Man. The old guy doesn't look intimidated - just a bit grim and tired - as he tells Inuyasha that the Peach Man is NOT, in fact, a youkai at all, but was an ordinary human person. Inuyasha is speechless again.

What's wrong with THIS place? Looks like the most pleasant area in your whole stupid compound, honestly.

Kagome notes the stonelike quality of the Peach Man's body, specifically in the belly, where the Shikon fragments he's got shoved in his navel have already started to change him. Inuyasha scoffs disbelievingly at the notion that the Peach Man was once human, though tiny!Miroku clings to his shoulder and claims he's heard that humans can turn into youkai. Pics or it didn't happen, Miroku.

Oh yeah...

He says that in this case, the evil of the Peach Man's mind was extraordinary, but the Peach Man don't wanna hear NONE of that crap. He tells tiny!Miroku to shut his trap, and as he waves his staff at Inuyasha and company, he yells that he just wanted to be strong.

Inuyasha shields Kagome from the conjuring of more of the barbed vines he's so familiar with by now by wrapping an arm around her and jumping out of the way, shouting to look out. He's not fast enough, and his back is grazed by them, Kagome alarmed by his gritted teeth and pained expression. He lands heavily in her lap, groaning and squeezing his eyes shut, while she calls his name. The Peach Man says that humans are super weak, small and cunning, that last one not really unique to humans in this universe. Again, Naraku is a prime example.

Anyway, the Peach Man continues to blather on about how humans spend their lives toiling in mud from dawn to dusk, growing old and dying, his parents among those numbers. The Peach Man decided he was too good for that kind of pathetic death, so he became an apprentice to a stupid hermit. Said hermit doesn't protest the insult, probably because he's pretty convinced of the same by this point.

The Peach Man keeps monologuing away, explaining that after he had trained for a couple of years and mastered a couple spells, he studied his masters scrolls a bit when that master was away. Hey, remember when there were some folks you had to kill right in front of you and you let them live while you were telling your life story, Peach Man? You should, because it's happening right now.

"... that's how I became a cannibal."

"Wow, that story was totally unnecessary. No need to kill me with the staff; I'm starting to die of just BOREDOM."

Although it IS interesting to note that skinny waif in the picture is how the Peach Man used to be. I guess the abuse of eating came with his first taste of human flesh.

The Peach Man STILL isn't done, stating that the recipe for the elixir of eternal youth was still locked up in the hermit's head, so that's why the old guy was allowed to keep living on like a houseplant. I don't remember anyone ever asking you why that was, man, but okay. This does spark some recognition in Kagome, however, because she recalls that the man's head they were talking to at the bottom of the cliff said that the heads growing from the tree were ninmenka, or the medicine of eternal life for the Peach Man.

Disgusted, Kagome expresses some indignation that the Peach Man killed and ate all those people just for eternal youth, though he was human as well. The Peach Man asks what could possibly be wrong with the strong eating the weak, comparing his cannibalism to a snake eating a frog. Well, snakes aren't generally subject to severe irreversible neuro-degenerative disorders when they eat frogs, so there's that.

Kagome begins to get all kinds of flustered by this, intending to retort, but Inuyasha sits up, telling her to stop. He says that the Peach Man will never come around to her way of thinking, likely because if he can overcome the nearly universal taboo of eating people, those walls are probably already pretty high. Inuyasha pushes himself into a kneeling position while he says that since he's a hanyou, he sympathizes with having a disgust with the human body's weakness, and the want to be strong. Kagome's heart pounds as she stares at Inuyasha, making a noise that I'm not sure is altogether approving at the beginning of this speech. I'd be kind of disturbed if the guy I liked started empathizing with a cannibal too.

However, Inuyasha comes back around to shout that bastards like the Peach Man make him sick. The Peach Man asks if Inuyasha is really trying to lecture him right now, even though he can barely stand. Inuyasha groans, pushing to his feet by leaning on the lip of a big jar filled with human bones, because there's an overabundance of those around. He grips the lip harder when he says that for a bastard like the Peach Man...

You can guess how well that goes, can't you? The Peach Man turns to the left, hooks Inuyasha's head in the crook of his elbow, and flings him around to the opposite wall through the redirection of that momentum. When he falls, it's into another jar, but this one isn't filled with bones.

Yeah, that's pretty fucked. Inuyasha stares in horror at the heads strewn on the floor in front of him, only to hear the voice of the actual hermit urging him to drink a bit of the juice the heads were fermenting in. Shooting into a sitting position and looking behind him at the old guy, Inuyasha stutters in disbelief that this stuff should be called "medicine." The old guy admits that the Peach Man made it, an imitation of the eternal life elixir that he's been wanting so badly, though it DOES have the power to heal wounds instantly. While Inuyasha gapes, the old guy tells him to drink it if he wants to be saved.

Kagome protests this idea with horror on her face, but the Peach Man chuckles, echoing the old guy's suggestion. The Peach Man says the fight will be more interesting if Inuyasha is livelier, to which Inuyasha scoffs. He stands again, asking who would drink such a disgusting thing.

At the very least because Inuyasha is so thirsty after losing so much damn blood.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It's kind of fascinating to me that the Peach Man objects so much to being called evil. He's so offended that he launches into a long exposition-fest to explain just what his motivations really are, which I'm both amused by and kind of amazed by as well. He's gone to a lot of trouble to rationalize all that he's doing, because he couldn't possibly be bad for breaking the cycle. He got out of the hopeless situation his parents lived and died in, didn't he? He beat the system. And every step he takes to gain and maintain power is all justified, because it's just natural that a big fish would eat all the little fish in the pond, right?

The Peach Man is probably the best villain this series has seen so far. Maybe he's the best one PERIOD. His motivation is to escape the human condition, what he sees as an endless cycle of wallowing and pain. But rationalizing is in itself a very HUMAN quality. You won't ever see that snake in his analogy rationalizing eating a frog, or even another snake, because they just DO that. It's obvious that the Peach Man really had to CONVINCE himself that he has the right to do what he does, and that's his tragedy. As much as he wants to be the biggest baddest predator instead of a meek worm chewing dirt, there's no escaping the fact that he's had to make himself believe that worms taste better than dirt. Not to mention to ignore the fact that the other humans he thinks are so weak are building and sustaining the power he wanted so much. Where does that power come from if not from his sustenance? Devouring the hermit should have taught him that.

But his rationalizations will have kept him from realizing that HE'S the weak one feeding off human flesh that somehow has the miraculous power of keeping him young and strong, as well as the magic flesh of the hermit. It will probably have also kept him from realizing that there's undoubtedly a REASON the hermit never actually USED the youth elixir he presumably knows.

Oh well.