Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 151 Rare Hunters!

The internet, arbiter of all useless bullshit knowledge the world over, tells me that the Rare Hunters are the mythically inspired "Ghouls" discussed a couple of chapters before by Kaiba and Ishizu. Despite how the thematic element to their name was revealed by the most inappropriate character in that room, I still think the thematic tie-in was a good one. Why did the official translation, which I am apparently presented with today, decide to go with this non-thematic name instead?

I mean, this just makes them sound like poachers instead of card-thieves.

Sure don't LOOK like people who like killing rare animals, but I'd keep my endangered species locked up just to be safe, Japan.

Speaking of Japan, we must have missed the part of the conversation where they told Lord Marik here what country Domino is even IN. Otherwise, I'd have to conclude that KT didn't think to mention it because Japan is the only country in this world aside from Egypt that matters, and that's just SILLY.

Lord Marik chuckles about how convenient it is when all your prey gather in one place. So convenient that you'd think he'd be a bit more cautious about going through with exploiting them. But NOOOOO, he thinks this is going to be oodles of fun and commands his Ghouls to unleash the Rare Hunters. Wait, so the Rare Hunters AREN'T the same thing as the Ghouls? They're just underlings? YOU LIED TO ME, INTERNET!!

Anyway, Marik tells them that the Rare Hunters should target Domino City, with no reservations about this at all. He sure is a CUNNING foe to our main characters!

At the school no one ever learns in, someone shouts about Battle City in disbelief. It turns out to be Jonouchi, demanding confirmation from Yuugi that starting tomorrow, there will be duelists getting their game on in the streets. Yuugi says that it's true to his halo of friends, and there's a lot of great duelists in town. Jonouchi clenches his fists and grinds his teeth over Kaiba not telling him, thinking he should have gotten an invitation being the #2 duelist in all Domino City. There's a poop joke here, but I'm not sure how to make it.

Honda asks Jonouchi if he's going to enter with an air of incredulity, and Jonouchi yells at him that OF COURSE he'll enter because why WOULDN'T he? Jonouchi turns to Yuugi to ask if he'll be entering and Yuugi affirms this, thinking he wants to challenge Kaiba fair and square, and this will be his big chance at that. Jonouchi is also thinking about Kaiba, but viewing his motivations for hosting a tournament with suspicion. He internally vows to stop Kaiba, whatever he's up to.

Yuugi warns Jonouchi that they can't lose a single match in the tournament, at least at first, because it has an ante rule. Jonouchi is confused by this, so Yuugi explains that you have a bet a card before you start a match, and the winner gets the loser's card, specifically a RARE one in this instance. Jonouchi is alarmed that the card has to be rare, looking sick at the notion of losing his Red Eyes Black Dragon in a duel.

Honda, being a douchebag once more, asks Jonouchi if he's sure he wants to risk having to give away the only thing of value he owns. At first, Jonouchi blindly affirms that his Red Eyes Black Dragon is a family treasure, then blurts in anger that Honda better watch what he says about him. He suddenly gets a sly, confident look when he says that it's actually great, because if he wins he'll get a whole BUNCH of rare cards. Honda warns him flatly not to be greedy. Yuugi tells Jonouchi hesitantly that there's one more condition to entering the tournament, an admission that Jonouchi regards warily.

Jonouchi appears to remember when he LAST had to handle the prototype of that machine, and he's again alarmed. Yuugi says his grandfather's shop doesn't sell the Duel Disk, but some card shops are already selling it and he's thinking of buying one. Aren't you already committed to entering the tournament that REQUIRES you to buy one, Yuugi? Jonouchi, looking determined now, tells Yuugi he's going to buy one as well, since he'll need it for the tournament.

Honda asks if Jonouchi has money and Jonouchi shouts that he doesn't, but he'll get it with willpower. Somehow. Honda wishes him all the sarcastic luck in the world. Jonouchi suggests they head back to Yuugi's place after they buy their Duel Disks, because he wants Yuugi's opinion on the new deck he's built. He put it together yesterday, but he's still not sure about it, so Yuugi agrees to have a peek once they've gotten their tournament requirements all met.

Walking down the street, Yuugi admits he's kind of lost since he's never been to the store they're heading to. Anzu points to a corner where a card shop is (the one she and Yami went to on their date?) and asks if it could be that one. Yuugi is sure that must be the one and asks Anzu how she knew about it, and sure enough, it was the one she and Yami went to yesterday. Yuugi is excited to hear it, then thanks Anzu for the previous day, because Yami appears to be feeling a bit better now. Anzu says this is good, but gets conspicuously uncomfortable when she asks what Yami told him about what they did yesterday. If you're all weird about it, Anzu, he might draw some pretty weird conclusions...

Or not. Yuugi, still all smiles, tells her he was only informed about the tournament. Anzu says a little "oh," figuring that they must not have talked about Ishizu or the stone tablet. Yuugi breaks into her thoughts about this by mentioning that something IS rather weird here, because Yami has a policy about not playing tournaments with an ante. He would say he couldn't part with his precious cards like that, along with a few other choice words...

Sheesh, I get it, I get it. I'll take good care of my fucking trading cards, manga. Shit...

Yuugi says this is why Yami never wants to take cards from other people. Though Yami could potentially end up with a ton of rare cards winning the tournament, Yuugi is convinced he must have another reason entirely for entering. Anzu was only listening in curiosity to the monologue before, but gapes in shock at Yuugi now, remembering how Yami said this is actually a battle to regain his memory.

They've finally arrived at the store they were looking for by the next panel, Anzu pointing it out a little too eagerly. As they go in, she's convinced that Yuugi will figure out what Yami is up to before too long, because their hearts are too close for them to keep secrets from one another.

Someone in the shop yells that they'll be right with the group walking in, but Yuugi takes the initiative to go right up to the counter to ask if the man behind it has any of the new Duel Disks. The man surmises they must be duelists entering the tournament tomorrow, which Yuugi and Jonouchi confirm. The cashier looks on a shelf behind him, chatting away that he's been busy with customers like them all day long, but he JUST happens to have five left. He wants to know their names, which isn't suspicious at all. Yuugi freely gives his name, but Jonouchi looks really sick about giving his, wondering if the cashier is checking some sort of blacklist.

The cashier does indeed type Yuugi's name into the computer, and confirms it's there, Yuugi with a confused question mark over his head. He's even more confused by the cashier's shout that what he's seeing on his screen is excellent. Yuugi asks what the cashier means, and the cashier says that he's only looking Yuugi up in a duelist database, which WOULD exist. Kaiba Corporation apparently went out and collected data on all the duelists in the country and sent it to hobby stores like the cashiers, data that encompasses deck-type, level, tournament record, and social security number number of rare cards. This seems like it should be illegal since Yuugi is clearly surprised and therefore didn't VOLUNTEER this information, but hey...

The cashier informs Yuugi that his level is the very tippy top, at eight stars. That's a weird number to top your scale. Yuugi blushes, all bashful at the high value placed on his skill.

"I'm proud to be able to remove another obstacle from your path, young main character!!"

Yuugi is just ecstatic that he's been given this expensive piece of equipment for nothing but being himself, as the cashier explains that Kaiba Corp sent a memo to he and the other shops selling his device that only duelists of level 5 and above are allowed to get Duel Disks. Kaiba continues to be a terrible businessman who makes terrible decisions that will only LOSE him all the money he spent developing these fucking toys.

Asking if Kaiba really said that, Yuugi realizes that Kaiba must actually be weeding out the unworthy participants of his tournament. Meanwhile, Jonouchi is frantically asking what HIS level is, and the cashier types in his name to see. Seeing the screen, the cashier apologizes, because the level shown to him is a measly 2. Jonouchi is grinding his teeth at the fact that he's been appraised so low and he's ineligible, while the cashier lightly suggests that maybe he'll get into the next tournament. Until, of course the cashier looks closer at Jonouchi's entry on the screen, specifically the rare card section. It shows the Red Eyes Black Dragon, and the cashier is practically frozen solid at how rare of a card that is.

Jonouchi continues to growl about what a low-life that Kaiba is, Yuugi giving his condolences to his friend, when the cashier comes out of his shock. He somehow easily changes that 2 to a 5 on Jonouchi's page and then cheerily tells Jonouchi he made a mistake, and that Jonouchi is a level 5 after all! Oh happy day!! Jonouchi is immediately overjoyed, darting to the counter with a grin as he's presented with a Duel Disk. He lifts it high in celebration over how he's in the tournament and his Duel Disk is free too.

The cashier thanks them as Jonouchi cackles on his way out, but the cashier's face is decidedly sinister while he watches them leave.

Okay, Mordecai.

Sometime later, when night has fallen, Jonouchi leaves Yuugi's place with his Duel Disk tucked under his arm, waving and thanking his friend for giving him a whole slew of tips. He promises Yuugi that he'll do his best at the tournament the next day while they each hold up their respective decks in a sign of solidarity. Jonouchi turns and leaves with a casual goodbye.

Jonouchi's walk through the streets is lonely, and he comments on how late it is, suggesting that the time just flew by while he was playing cards with Yuugi. Someone in a barely familiar cloak enters Jonouchi's field of vision just around a corner, and Jonouchi looks a little worried. I don't blame him, because I would be, but for decidedly different reasons.

Who are actually totally different from Ghouls! Despite how indistinguishably they dress from one another. This is confusing.

Jonouchi has heard of the Rare Hunters, a gang of thieves who steal rare cards from duelists, and Jonouchi has FEELINGS about gangs, guys. One of the Rare Hunters holds his arm, sporting a Duel Disk, up as he asks Jonouchi if he's ready. Jonouchi suddenly has his own Duel Disk out of its box and on his forearm as well, vowing to take the Rare Hunters down like the crooks they are. With that, they announce their duel and boy does this take me back to Duelist Kingdom, friends. Nostalgia is a distinctly unpleasant feeling in this instance.

His opponent summons a monster called "Hannibal Necromancer" which sounds like a certain cannibal learned how to continue feeding on his victims forever or something. Jonouchi summons Panther Warrior, which he uses to slice the top of Hannibal's skull clean off. He taunts that one swing was enough to bring Hannibal down, and asks sardonically how his hooded opponent likes them apples. Said opponent doesn't answer, just playing Graceful Charity, allowing him to draw three cards and discard two. He follows up this move by playing Three-Headed Geedo in defense and grinning creepily. Jonouchi doesn't seem to notice the warning signs, though to be fair he never does, and commands his Panther Warrior to attack the Three-Headed Geedo.

It lunges forward to slice up the monster and with no obstacles. Still the hooded guy grins. Jonouchi asks if this is all he has, silently celebrating that he's totally in the lead. The hooded guy plays Graceful Charity again, and Jonouchi wonders what it is with this guy and always changing the cards in his hand. We get a peek into the hooded guy's head while he mentally encourages Jonouchi to get playing with his defensive monsters until he's prepared his hand. Because he truly IS evil, the hooded guy plays Death Hand as a pun and a card in defense. Jonouchi wonders why the dumb chicken won't attack, but apparently doesn't really concern himself with it, because he immediately makes a play of his own. A big one.

Just what the hooded guy wanted to see, I'm sure.

He asks Jonouchi if this is his rarest card, snarking that Jonouchi's arm must be heavy with the burden. The hooded guy promises to lighten that arm up real soon though, drawing a card. Then he grins even wider, freaking Jonouchi out as he says he wins.

Are Ghouls and Rare Hunters the same or aren't they?? Make up your mind, chapter!

Also, Exodia is still a boss, even when counterfeit. That is all.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The whole thing was pretty much a joke at Jonouchi's expense. First he's unknowingly making fun of himself, then Honda is making fun of him, Kaiba's having a good laugh from behind his easily editable database, and then he is targeted as a weakling by the new villains before the tournament even starts just to fuck with him even more. It was a series of escalating jabs at Jonouchi, half of which didn't make much sense within the context of the chapter.

First, Kaiba's give-away of his new technology that he spent time and money developing only makes sense if he's SELLING it to everyone who doesn't make the cut for the tournament. Then he can at least be making SOME of his development money back, but the cashier says that the ONLY people who can get it right now are tournament participants, and for free to boot. If it were really ONLY available to this small subset of the public, then Kaiba would be marking up that price like a motherfucker, but he's not. Why? Because the Duel Disk can't be out of Jonouchi's reach for the next scene to be as visually engaging as Duelist Kingdom

If you think about it, it wasn't even necessary for the cashier to give him a Duel Disk in order to inform his Rare Hunter pals that Jonouchi was walking around with a Red Eyes Black Dragon. The tournament hadn't even begun when he was accosted by the Rare Hunters, so it's not like Jonouchi HAD to be in the tournament in order for him to be a target. Kaiba giving away the Duel Disks and the Rare Hunters getting to him before the tournament started were in the chapter for the purposes of making the small part at the end look cool and of making Jonouchi lose a part of his qualification to get into the tournament to begin with.

Which basically just GIVES AWAY the future plot point where Yami gets the Red Eyes back for him, because he's incapable of getting it back himself after the tournament starts. All of this, the nonsensical business practices and attack outside tournament hours, was just so Yami could LOOK COOL WHEN HE GETS JONOUCHI BACK HIS FUCKING CARD.

I can't even with this. I wouldn't be surprised if that whole speech of Yuugi's regurgitating what Yami says about taking and losing cards wasn't just an allusion to this whole thing too, and that was the only good part of the chapter in my eyes. It delved a little into how well he knows Yami and how all of this looks kind of suspicious to him, but he also never ASKED Yami outright why he wants to join the tournament. It was kind of brilliant, but now I'm getting a little queasy wondering if it's just a front for Yami to play hero again.

You know what's really infuriating, though? Since this happened before the tournament, there was no ante, no stakes, and therefore, Jonouchi isn't bound by tournament rules to give up that rare card of his. I bet that's all conveniently forgotten by the next chapter though.