Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 155 Millennium Battle

I would be totally excited by the prospect of a Millennium Battle (TM), but I know how many chapters of this manga I have left to get through, let alone this ARC. I have no delusions about the likelihood of a truly epic battle between Marik and Yami right now, given how prematurely climactic that would be. There's nothing wrong with a little teaser for what's to come, though. A little sneak-peek, maybe.

Or, we could just reiterate what was at the end of the last chapter. That's cool too.

Yami seems astonished that Marik is one of the, and I shit you not, he actually uses the phrase "chosen ones" here. I feel like I should be doing a shot here. Is that normal? Anyway, Jonouchi decides to tell Yami what he's already figured out by having ears; Cloaked-guy sounds and behaves totally different from before, so it's almost as if someone else talking through a microphone took over his body. Not!Cloaked-guy confirms that this is correct, because it's not Cloaked-guy who is talking. Beyond the sight of our mains...

Isn't that... literally EVERY Millennium Item's power, to some degree? Bakura's ring and Yami's puzzle allow their spirits to kind of take over the bodies of their wearers, and Shadi's scales allowed him to make zombies of Anzu and Yoshimori so they weren't in control of themselves. I suppose Pegasus's eye and Ishizu's tauk don't fully CONTROL people as much as they're just super invasive for the target. Still, it seems to me that the powers of these items allow some degree of mental insurrection of complete strangers, so it's not as though Marik here should inspire very much surprise from Yami and Jonouchi.

Thankfully, Yami doesn't look alarmed by the information, but immediately assumes this must be the enemy Ishizu was talking about with the seventh Millennium Item. Jonouchi gets all indignant and calls Marik a creep for taking over minds. Though Jonouchi makes no mention of manipulating bodies is creeper behavior, Marik puts his complete control of his minion on display by making him do a little dance, twirling and everything. Marik says it's fitting for a loser like Cloaked-guy, but I've never known losers to do dances in response to that. Usually they mope.

Marik goes on to says that, if he wants, he can take control of ALL the Rare Hunters in Domino City at once, but since they're all super elite skilled players, he doubts he'll have to go that far. Yami ask-yells at Marik why he's in this tournament, and why his Ghouls are here too. Marik scoffs and answers that it's to get his hands on those god cards, ancient monsters resurrected in the modern day. Yami gapes at the mention of god cards, and oh yeah, I had forgotten that Ishizu didn't say anything about them to him.

Or, at least, I think she didn't, because the next panel is a picture of the tablet he saw in the museum, with overlaying bubbles saying that the ancient Egyptians believed the three slabs held ultimate power, naming off the god monsters on them.

So, who's talking/thinking here? Not Yami, because he gapes at the phrases "the title of king" and "the power of darkness" like he's never heard them before. That latter one he shouldn't have any trouble recognizing, though, considering it was on the box to his special puzzle.

Marik tells Yami that he and his Ghouls have two of the god cards already, and know that the remaining card is with someone in Domino. Yami shouts that the Rare Hunters must be there to get that card, which is... kind of redundant, kiddo. He wonders who could have the third god card, while Marik taunts him by claiming he was lucky he only faced the weakest of the Ghouls. Because Marik is such a nice guy, though, he hands over Jonouchi's stolen card (which he acknowledges was STOLEN, by the way) and a puzzle card as the terms of Cloaked-guy's loss.

Yami takes the card while Jonouchi stares stony-faced at the action. Then Marik informs Yami that this game has only begun, because a Rare Hunter with a god card is already in town. He's confident that even with Yami's skills, it'll be instant death for him if he goes up against the Rare Hunter. Marik laughs evilly, but Yami is wearing a smirk when he says they'll see. With this comment, Marik is left a bit speechless, and Yami continues by stating that he'll put an end to Marik's plan. The far-off Marik smirks too, holding up his Millennium Rod as he does so. Yami hopes that he'll recover his lost memories in the process of beating Marik, while mentally declaring that Marik's Millennium Rod summoned him to battle.

Out loud, he insists that even if Marik's cronies attack him with god cards, he can't lose. Silently, he adds that there's somewhere he has to get to, before speaking up again with a point at Cloaked-guy, promising to beat Marik.

Guys, PLEASE stop referring to yourselves as the chosen ones. It's cracking me up, even if it IS technically true.

Marik tells Yami that he's looking forward to having his ass beat meeting Yami, and presumably withdraws his control of Cloaked-guy so he falls to his knees then on his face in the plaza. Jonouchi nudges Cloaked-guy with his shoe, confirming that he is indeed out cold. He muses on how tough this Marik must be if he has the power to control people, and wonders where in the city he could be hiding.

Yami turns and extends Jonouchi's Red Eyes Black Dragon to him, but Jonouchi just stares at it again, face stony once more. Eventually, he closes his eyes and admits that he can't take the card. Yami frowns, but pulls the card back a bit, waiting for an explanation. Jonouchi says that if he takes the card, he feels like he'll be further from becoming the true duelist he's trying to become. "True duelist" repeats in Yami's head as Jonouchi tells him that the Red Eyes Black Dragon card means more to him than anything in the world, since it's been with him for ages now. Duelist Kingdom wasn't THAT long ago, bro. Jonouchi still thinks he's been leaning on it for too long, though, and accepting it won't help him grow. Also, he's convinced the card won't WANT him to have it the way he is at this moment.

If your Red Eyes wouldn't want you to have it after letting Yami win it back for you, that seems pretty freaking cold. I mean, the Blue Eyes White Dragon is plenty okay with Kaiba, despite his underhanded and downright horrible means of getting it... I'm sure THAT won't come up again later.

Jonouchi says he's going to leave the card with Yami for the time being, and Yami looks a bit more comfortable with holding it now as he repeats Jonouchi's name in his head. Jonouchi holds up his brand new forty-card deck that he put together as he tells Yami he's still qualified for the tournament with his puzzle card and his original rare card, the Time Wizard. Hell, JONOUCHI is even fully aware of how pointless this little side-trip was.

He vows that he'll become a true duelist in Battle City, with Yami staring at him wordlessly. Not sure if this is because he's waiting for Jonouchi's monologue to come to a close because he read the script, or because he's zoning out. Jonouchi asks Yami to promise him that if he does okay in the tournament and he can call himself a duelist with confidence, the two of them can duel as well. Yami remains quiet for just a panel more.

Jonouchi, I thought you and Yuugi had a thing going since the digital pet chapter. Don't go being unfaithful now!

With renewed vigor, Jonouchi turns and thrusts a fist in the air, shouting that the tournament is just getting started and asking who wants a piece of him. Presumably no one in the area, because we don't immediately get smacked in the face with another duel. Yami stares after his friend, thinking that he had been waiting to hear those very words from him. He tucks his deck back in the pouch on his duelist utility belt, intending to hold onto the Red Eyes Black Dragon until such a time that the two of them can face each other as true duelists. Jonouchi silently begs his Red Eyes Black Dragon to wait for him, because he'll become strong enough to get it back some day. Yami and Jonouchi walk in opposite directions, both looking forward to that day in the misty future when they meet again.

And so ends that colossal waste of time.

Half an hour into the tournament, Jonouchi is wandering through Domino streets, looking for his first duel. He excitedly spots one taking place where a group of other duelists are gathered and finds it's Dinosaur Ryuzaki up against that Esper Roba kid no one has ever heard of before this tournament. The latter is pointing at the former, saying that his supernatural powers allows him to see every one of Ryuzaki's cards. Ryuzaki growls, wondering how he can know what cards he has. I seem to remember you were stumped by a similar trick some time back, Ryuzaki. At some point you should stop being surprised by people claiming to be psychic.

Roba further explains that he's knocked out Ryuzaki's monster with his Hypnotic Pendulum, called Mesmeric Control on the actual card. Wow, isn't it just the most convenient thing that he's explaining exactly what's happening in the game the moment Jonouchi and the audience show up? Ryuzaki's monster snores, and Roba informs its owner that the game's up.

His nameless monster was SO important to him!

Ryuzaki is doubled over in shame, groaning about how bad it was that he couldn't even TOUCH Roba's life points. The crowd talks amongst themselves regarding that, and how Roba has already won two matches, making Jonouchi look somewhat intrigued. Roba holds out his hand in an expectant fashion, asking for Ryuzaki's rarest card, as well as his puzzle card. Ryuzaki curses before handing it over, only for Roba to scoff at it. We never see what it is, just Roba smirking as he claims he can't use it in his psychic deck. Then he yells a question at the other gathered duelists, asking who will be the next to face him.

At first, everyone looks uncomfortably at one another, then they start to scatter. Someone gives Roba a hard pass, another not wanting to risk Roba seeing his cards, despite being skeptical of his psychic status. Another guy gulps and mumbles that he'll play somewhere else. Jonouchi looks around at all of them with some disbelief. His expression hardens as he thinks about this Esper Roba.

Jonouchi calls to Ryuzaki, who tells him not to even think about it. It's not just cards that Roba can predict, but strategies too, and Ryuzaki is convinced Jonouchi doesn't stand a chance if HE was beaten. How exactly do you remember when you and Jonouchi went head to head in Duelist Kingdom, kid? Because I seem to recall that Jonouchi was wracked with self-doubt and STILL beat your ass.

Jonouchi asks if Ryuzaki really thinks that he can't beat Roba, and Ryuzaki all but says "duh!" in response. So, in turn, Jonouchi states confidently that he WILL beat Roba, throwing Ryuzaki for a loop at first. Ryuzaki's expression devolves into exasperation as he judges Jonouchi as an idiot since he can't figure out what he's thinking. Stiiiiiiill got beat by him, kiddo.

Meanwhile, Jonouchi remembers how he swore to Yami about becoming that true duelist. He declares that the first step is to take on any opponent, no matter what.

Someone you're undoubtedly going to underestimate forever, regardless of him beating you.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I wish I could say the previous chapters were justified by this one, because I really like the idea of getting a little taste of our villain for the arc, as well as Jonouchi getting more development added to his story. I enjoyed watching Jonouchi overcome his self-esteem issues so much during Duelist Kingdom, and it would be great to see him overcome more obstacles now.

Unfortunately, I don't think a Duelist Kingdom character arc is going to happen for him again here. I've mentioned before that he has no stakes in this tournament, and this new quest of his to become a true duelist doesn't add any. It's just a ham-handed attempt to get him involved in a plot he has no legitimate business being in. He's already been through this whole song and dance before, so this feels like a rehash of what he's already been through rather than a new obstacle to his character.

It doesn't help that what the definition of what a "true duelist" is happens to be so obscure. Sure, Jonouchi outlined one of the "steps" to that goal at the very end of the chapter, but what does challenging every opponent you find really help in cultivating this person he wishes to be? What is the end product he's trying to reach? What do WORDS MEAN???

Inuyasha Manga: 096 Holy Weapon

Happy solstice, everyone! Today is the longest day of the year, and I'm already feeling it. Between a lingering ache in my left arm that's been plaguing me since last night and anticipating a few phone calls from a couple of insurance companies with various excuses as to why they can't possibly believe my account of an accident that an official police report agrees with, I'm in it for the long haul. What better ritual could represent this longest of summer days than continuing a grand ritual that has been on my agenda for longer than a year now? And with a series that gets rather selective complaints about its excessive length!

Truly this is a sign. A sign of how I'm going to need ever more patience the longer I linger in this life.

That's... vague. Come on, Sango. Are you a youkai exterminator or an armchair philosopher?

Furthermore, what kind of cat IS Kirara. Not only does it seem against a cat's very nature to willingly swim through water, but this one has FLAMES on it's paws in its transformed state. Shouldn't that be uncomfortable for Kirara? Or the fish in the now boiling water?

Out of the mist ahead, Sango indeed starts to make out a shape, which Taroumaru identifies as the Suijin's Torii gate. Inuyasha glares at the emerging gate as he takes a wild guess about what this means.

That's a pretty swank pad. I think I saw it on an episode of MTV Cribs once. In a waiting room.

Kagome gapes at the fact that there's a huge-ass shrine right in the middle of a lake. Ah, that's nothing! The sheer weight of the gold in Venice's grand architecture is sinking it. At least this building is made with the practical material of WOOD.

Miroku seems much more concerned with the sacrifice that's already inside, which actually appears to REMIND Taroumaru, stirring him into a panicked stutter in his orders at the mains to hurry up their rescue. He insists that they have to save his friend before Suijin finds out that his dad made a switcheroo. But he quiets down when he spots that there are a couple of fish-faced guards on either side of the entrance holding spears and looking menacing. Taroumaru ducks, telling the others to hide from them, but Inuyasha leaps above his head straight toward the entrance and the guards, asking what hiding will get them.

Kagome literally applauds Inuyasha's strength and Shippou cheers while Taroumaru gapes in disbelief at the scene in front of him. Inuyasha has now easily shouldered the giant wooden plank securing the door, and is kicking the guards around some more, just for good measure. He turns to remind everyone that they're in a hurry and they need to get going.

Meanwhile, the kid in the mask from the palanquin is within the compound, being escorted down a walkway by what appears to be a couple of catfish on legs. They reach a large room partially hidden by screens, which they kneel in front of to present the sacrifice. There is a person sitting on a cushion far back behind the curtain, who acknowledges them rather dismissively. He tells his sacrifice to come close to him and said sacrifice stands to walk through the small opening in the screen in front of him. Then, shaking, he falls into a bow again.

The hollow-cheeked and heavily eye-lined water god utters a questioning noise when he sees the boy's scratched and dirty hands. He calls the boy on this, deducing that he is not the village head's child. The boy twitches in alarm as the Suijin stands and asks what the meaning of this attempted deception is. The child begins to beg the god, asking for pardon on behalf of his friend and for Suijin to eat HIM instead. Suijin's arm extends out and stretches, the claws at the end catching the kid in his masked face so hard, he's blown backwards by the force before being lifted by his head.

Well, that depends entirely on whether you had "honor" to begin with, pal. I wouldn't argue in favor of it, given you're in the habit of eating the children of a village you regularly fuck up for no discernable reason. But, hey, maybe you have a different definition of that word than I do. Teach the controversy, and all that jazz...

Of course, the kid is speechless, probably only partially due to the fact that his mouth is being held shut by Suijin's crushing grip on his jaw. Cracks are appearing in his mask. Suijin promises the child he'll be torn apart and fall down on the village with the rain. How is that a WORSE punishment than being eaten? He's going to die either way, isn't he?

Suijin is distracted by a few thuds and a crash happening off frame, which is exactly the kind of commotion we were waiting for.

Kicking ass and not bothering to take names, because who gives a shit WHO these jerk fish are??

More jerk fish come running at them with their spears, calling Inuyasha and crew scum while reminding them that they're on holy grounds. Someone should probably remind Suijin too, huh? Inuyasha opts instead to just keep his fists flying, letting them do the talking. The fish-faced guard he clocks falls to the walkway and most of his body dissolves away, leaving a scuttling crab to skitter out of the fancy clothes he was in.

As Miroku knocks one of the guards off the walkway and into the water below, Sango says that they don't have to kill the guards. Miroku agrees, and when the fish-faced guard hits the water to turn back into a regular old fish-faced fish, he alerts everyone else to the fact that these guards are nothing but creatures from the swamp.

A moment later, they all barge in on Suijin holding up the little servant boy by his face, and Suijin gives them another extended questioning noise. Inuyasha is confident in his own assertion that this must be the people-eating Suijin. Last in the room is Taroumaru, who is shocked by the scene in front of him. The kid in Suijin's grip somehow manages to utter Taroumaru's name, and Taroumaru calls out to the other kid in turn, whose name happens to be Suekichi.

Suijin is still holding Suekichi aloft as he stares at Taroumaru for a moment. He looks pleased when he notes that, though dirty, Taroumaru must be the REAL headman's son. Well done, Veronica Mars. *eyeroll*

Taroumaru lunges forward, fully prepared to be the sacrifice if it means Suijin will let his friend go, but Inuyasha asks with annoyance what it is Taroumaru hired them for. Inuyasha then accuses Suijin of actually being a youkai. He lunges at Suijin, promising to reveal the god's true nature as he draws Tessaiga. But Mr.Fantastic Suijin stretches out his arm not holding a small child by the head to grab onto a pole poking out of the decorative coral around his little seating area. Next thing Inuyasha knows, a powerful blow strikes Tessaiga and he's knocked backwards to the floor. To his astonishment, when he lifts Tessaiga to look for damage, its form has reverted back to a rusty piece of garbage.

I guess... not...

But to be fair, Inuyasha probably wasn't going to notice it even existed unless you were holding it. I mean, I didn't, and I pick apart every aspect of every chapter.

Inuyasha makes to run at Suijin again, without Tessaiga, about to ask what the fuck that matters when Miroku holds out an arm and warns him to wait. Before Inuyasha can get a protest out, Miroku says with some nervousness that this is bad, because he's observed that the halberd is a true holy weapon. Inuyasha is snide when he asks so what, either out of arrogance or ignorance or both. Kagome is picking up what Miroku's putting down, though, slowly concluding that the child-eating monster who has finally put Suekichi down but is still gripping him by the back must be a read god, given that he has a real holy weapon.

Still defiant, Inuyasha mocks them for chickening out when they came all the way here, stating that, god or not, Suijin is just as bad as any youkai. Sango steps forward and says that Inuyasha is being stupid, because dealing with a god is much worse than dealing with some puny youkai, and angering them could result in being cursed for life. Miroku agrees, rephrasing that it's dangerous to attack recklessly.

Yeah, you guys DID just bust in there assuming that the guy was a youkai. And you know what assuming makes you and me...

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The same natural dynamic between the main characters is at play here, with a little more focus on Sango as the new addition to the group. I like how her expertise works its way into the chapter, and I like that Miroku appears to be on the same page with her every step of the way. They have a similar background in dealing with youkai, though his is more on the spiritual side of things and hers the more physical. They already seem like they're getting along splendidly, but not to worry, because Miroku is going to fuck that up real soon.

I also like the emerging dynamic between Sango and Inuyasha. While Sango isn't necessarily antagonistic toward Inuyasha, she's not afraid of shutting down his more reckless ideas. She didn't disagree with him when he said that Suijin basically may as well be a youkai, implying that she's come across issues like malevolent gods who are capable of causing much more destruction than a youkai on a more personal scale as well as a larger one. Sango's expertise even backs up Inuyasha's passion here, though she does end up insulting him while she's using it. So, while the two of them will very quickly make a phenomenal team, they'll also grate on each other's nerves quite a bit.

As for Suijin's likeness to a youkai here, despite his "real god" status (for now), I'm beginning to realize that this is yet another example of how the system of good and evil don't seem to mesh too well with reality in practice. It's not just a concept that breaks things down into easily digestible but impractical bits, but a real tangible force in the world, given how the "good" holy weapon easily overcame Tessaiga's "bad" youkai transformation. Yet, the "good" weapon is clearly being wielded by a remorseless monster, while Inuyasha's "bad" weapon is a force for justice here. There is a HUGE disconnect between the colloquial terms associated with these weapons/characters, and their actual messy roles in the story and world.

Perhaps we're just using the wrong words here? *shrug*

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 154 To Destroy a Deck!

Destroying the deck of some jerkwad that we're never going to see again after this moment is a pretty weak reason to take this detour. Not that there aren't WEAKER ones, mind you, but this is down there in strength. Unless, of course, KT pulls a totally unprecedented move and actually has Yami lose this one despite all his efforts because of his snap decisions and vastly overgrown sense of righteous indignation on behalf of his friend. Wouldn't THAT be something?

Heh, fat chance, Writch. As per usual, Yami's arrogance is being framed in a rather different light here. Especially in the next panel when Cloaked-guy is just SO SHOCKED that Yami knows his strategy, heart beating wildly and mouth gaping. Yami smirks, chuckling as he tells Cloaked-guy to watch as his Exodia deck is destroyed.

Yami is shown looking at his hand, right at the top of which is Lightforce Sword. Nothing like a lightsaber to bring down a gigantic five-part beast. Jonouchi is grinning, impressed that Yami figured out Cloaked-guy's strategy in just three turns. Goodness, the last chapter was only THREE TURNS?? This duel might outlast my will to stick it out! Jonouchi recalls that Yami didn't listen when he tried to spill the beans on Cloaked-guy's deck, citing Yami's confidence that he could beat Cloaked-guy no matter what tricks he had in his favor. Jonouchi mutters that Yami has taught him another valuable lesson, about the confidence of a duelist and a little thing called pride.

Or a guy who almost always seems to be right about just about everything.

Cloaked-guy has put his smirk back on, though, mentally congratulating Yami for figuring out his strategy, but thinking that it's too late anyway. He does, after all, already have four of the five pieces of Exodia he needs, and is going to draw the fifth on his next turn. He knows because he's got those superfluous contact lenses on that let him see through his cards. That sure is doing him some serious good, as made evident by the next couple of panels.

Oooh, that's a question I haven't had to ask in a while - did Cloaked-guy speak aloud, or did Yami read his mind? Does it matter? I'm not sure anymore.

Yami has drawn the trap card "Chain Destruction", which Yami immediately realizes the play of which will prevent him from summoning a monster on the same turn. It's a risk that he's willing to take, because he's certain Cloaked-guy has most of the pieces of Exodia by now. Besides, the next panel shows pretty clearly that he's still got Chimera on his side, though Cloaked-guy has his two wall monsters up and acting as his sentries.

Yelling that he's making a move, Yami's ready to fight. He places his Chain Destruction face down and uses his Chimera to attack the Stone Statue on Cloak-guy's side. Chimera roars and charges, busting through the rock creature with a move called "Impact Dash". That thing has a REALLY hard head, apparently. The pieces of virtual rock rain down around an unimpressed Cloaked-guy's head while Yami shouts that it's the end for the statue.

Smirking, Cloaked-guy silently encourages Yami to break all his wall monsters while his points remain on their perch at 4000. He's pretty certain that the moment Yami's turn ends, Yami will also end the game by losing. Yami, bookending his attack with yet another card he plays face down, ends his turn. This pleases Cloaked-guy, who does this weird internal laughter as he grins at Yami and announces it's his turn, thinking he's won. Yami is sweating when he pontificates in his head about how the card he just put down will only work at a particular phase in Cloaked-guy's turn, and how it's all over if he misses the window. Good thing everyone in this comic compulsively shouts about everything they're doing 24-7, then, huh?

Cloaked-guy reaches for the card on top of his deck, elated about how he's going to win once he's got it, and ALLLLLLLMOOOOOOST draws it on his announcement.... Until Yami deems this very second the "phase" he was thinking about before. He points, telling him to hold his horses a moment before Cloaked-guy draws so he can activate his spell card. While Cloaked-guy wonders what card Yami's playing THIS TIME, Yami flips it to reveal that it was Lightforce Sword! The gaping Cloaked-guy can only repeat the name of the card in his head.

Flinging swords around like that is bound to put out someone's eye someday. Luckily, this time it was only a hand. Exodia's right hand, to be precise, with the sword pinning it right on that field between them. Yami smirks at having caught Exodia's arm, and I assume he's rather proud of the fact that his hologram managed to influence a physical card like that. Somehow. No one else seems to notice this, more impressed with the fact that it's the celebrity Exodia's hand. Jonouchi cheers about the victory.

A sweating Cloaked-guy groans in his upset, but Yami's not finished with him yet. He points, as he does for 90% of his existence because his mother apparently never taught him manners. Yami says that Exodia's hand touching the field activates his trap, flipping it to show that it's indeed Chain Destruction. Bet you can't guess what THAT does! Cloaked-guy is astonished at this spell/trap combo, or the use of the former to trigger the latter. Yami explains that his trap not only destroys the target monster on the field, but every duplicate in the hand and deck of the user. This, of course, leads him to smugly declare that Exodia will never awaken, his right arm being taken out of the running altogether.

Somebody's having a bad trip...

Yami continues to blabber on about how Exodia's pieces can never be brought back from the graveyard, and Cloaked-guy has no way to win without Exodia, because the biggest weakness to an Exodia-based deck is losing one of the pieces. I feel like Cloaked-guy should be sitting in a pew for how preachy Yami's gotten here. Although, I AM kind of digging how this scene harkens back to when Yami would explain a villain's punishment to them when they were clearly not listening. Throwbacks are fun.

Pointing again, Yami announces that Cloaked-guy has lost, and Cloaked-guy agrees, albeit a bit on the dazed side of horrified. His eyes start to pop as he insists that it can't be, because his deck was all ultimate and shit. He clutches his head and screams, throwing some sort of fit, though it's not because he's sad for his loss. Once we get a look at his front, we're alerted to the fact that welts are raising on his forehead into the shape of an Eye of Horus, just like Yami observes himself with horror. Cloaked-guy cries for help, claiming that someone is coming, and generally shrieking.

Jonouchi runs over, asking what's happening and if it's Yami who's doing it. Yami just stares gaping at the guy screeching in front of him like a wild animal. Eventually, Cloaked-guy stops screaming, announcing that the person he was yelling about before, Lord Marik, is finally here. With a sudden burst of strange aural light around Cloaked-guy's form, a voice issues from him that is clearly not Cloaked-guy himself. The possessor asks Yami if he's the Yuugi he's heard about, while Yami balks at the changed speech and manner of Cloaked-guy.

The possessor claims that Cloaked-guy is actually the weakest of the Rare Hunters, and the group's strength is actually much greater. He seems to realize ho much he's freaking out Yami and assures him that this possession was not meant to surprise him. How it was supposed to AVOID doing that, I'm not sure. The possessor explains that he's throwing his voice through this shell of the Cloaked-guy right now, and is actually quite a bit farther away. He managed to do this by implanting a bit of himself in Cloaked-guy so he can control him whenever he wants and make him do whatever. Yami likens it to a remote control, still looking pretty shaken.

He narrows his eyes again, though, demanding to know who this possessor is. The possessor responds that he's another who has been chosen by the Millennium Items, but just as Yami is wrapping his head around this, the possessor says that this was all only an introduction and that it was nice to meet him.

Oh, don't worry, I promise not to forget about you as soon as it's convenient.

Wait, who are you again?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Well, as I'm sure anyone familiar with my reviews thus far have noticed, this review is a little sparse on choice panels from the source material this time around. There just... wasn't much to show here, and it didn't help that there wasn't a whole lot of content either. Most of the chapter was dedicated to a turn-and-a-half, which is quite a scant bit of writing to stretch. Not the MOST scant, mind you, because that award goes to chapter 39.

Still, the pacing was very slow and clunky, almost STOPPING on occasion. A big example is when Yami was waiting for Cloaked-guy to say he was going to draw his card; a whole PAGE was dedicated to this when a small panel or two would have done just fine. I think KT was trying to play it off as suspense, given Yami's words on the previous page alluding to having to pull this off at the exact right moment, but it comes across as dull. Since this is a card game, the sense of urgency is just not the same as if the monsters and magic were actually there. If they were, the rules could literally restrict the movement of opposition in a way that isn't the case with cards and holograms, so I just ended up yawning more than teetering on the edge of my seat.

That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by the "meeting" of Yami and Marik at the end. I feel like the duel has more meaning now that it was used to introduce a protagonist and antagonist in an interesting way, even if the mechanism to get them here was low on appeal. I would have liked it if KT had dispensed of his dimestore suspense and given a bit of that wasted space to more interaction between Yami and Marik instead.

But, hey, what can you do?

Inuyasha Manga: 095 Water God

YAS QUEEN! Ever since I started reviewing Inuyasha chapters, I have been looking forward to this moment! This is, by far, my favorite arc in the entire series! If you're wondering why, the short reason is that this is the point at which our main group is finally complete, but I'll get into the details after I've combed through the thing obsessively as I do with every other chapter. If you're feeling bad for me because my favorite arc is in the first 100 chapters of a 500+ chapter story, well...

You're not wrong.

Did you check the freezer? When I lose stuff, it turns out I just put it in the freezer a lot of the time.

Inuyasha asks Sango if she's SURE she can't remember even one tiny little detail about the castle where she feel into Naraku's trap. Sango stares daggers at him, repeating for probably the billionth time that if she DID remember, she would already be there sawing off Naraku's head. She's a better person than I am, because I would have decked him for that snide mention of me falling into a trap, but she keeps her fists to herself.

After a small pause, Miroku suggests that they give up on finding the castle, to which Inuyasha pointedly asks what they should do instead. Miroku simply states that they find Shikon shards, because as long as they collect them, Naraku will have to come after them. Miroku walks over to Sango smoothly (at least according to the translation on the sound effects) and kneels in front of her, asking if that's alright with her considering how badly she wants revenge right away. She agrees that it IS annoying, and trails off in agreeing further that they should just go after the shards instead. Miroku insists he understands her feelings as Kagome and Inuyasha peer at him with wide-eyed curiosity from behind.

Kagome, I'm pretty sure that people insisting that women in Sango's position should just have to "put up with it" is the very reason Miroku acts the way he acts. Because he knows everyone is just going to let him do whatever he wants and make all his excuses for him? You all would be so much kinder to him and everyone else if you started letting him know that behavior ain't gonna fly. Just saying.

Elsewhere, nearby, a scattered group of men are picking around in some rubble of what looks to be various houses when one of them points out that a palanquin containing a sacrifice is passing by. Another man states that the procession is because the flood was particularly bad this time, and asks whose child is up for sacrifice this time. An old man says that "Suijin-sama" indicated with an arrow someone called "Nanushi-sama", someone high up in their little village, no doubt. Another gaunt and sorrowful man says that that is indeed the rumor, and yet another sighs that almost ALL the young children of the village have been given up as sacrifices now.

From behind a nearby tree, Inuyasha, Kagome and Miroku are eavesdropping. Miroku asks if they all heard that, and Kagome summarizes what she got as just a statement of sacrifices for "Suijin-sama". Up in the procession, a man in a bit finer dress than those around him hangs his head as he walks beside the palanquin. A guy behind him tries to commiserate by saying to Nanushi-sama that this is rather pitiful, and it's no wonder this doesn't sit well with the guy. Pretty insensitive way of saying that, jackass.

Nanushi snaps a question about what that guy was saying, then justifies the procession by insisting that it's to protect the village from Suijin-sama's curse. The palanquin has an ellipse-filled speech bubble issuing from it while Nanushi says that OF COURSE they have to give up their children. Suddenly right up next to them, Inuyasha asks if this "Suijin" isn't just a strange youkai. Nanushi and the rest of the procession gape, stuttering in their struggle to make sense of the weird kid in red that just showed up. Miroku pushes Inuyasha back in order to get into the view of the men, telling them to back Inuyasha no mind. He says he overheard their conversation, pleading with them to let HIM appease the god instead of their sacrifice. The men in the procession look hopeful, asking if Miroku can really do such a thing.

But Nanushi gets angry, shouting at Miroku for trying to confuse the people of the village; a trickster in nice clothes. The village men meekly protest that Nanushi hasn't even heard the stranger out, but again, Nanushi is having none of that. He scoffs, saying that if they rely on these suspicious people then Suijin will become enraged, and the village will be COMPLETELY destroyed. A look at the village's uprooted trees and houses half-buried in mud give an idea of how much worse he's implying it could be. Nanushi begins to cry, saying that now his OWN child is up for sacrifice, he can only pray like the other parents have done. He admits he STILL can't face the other children who may become sacrifices in the future.

Inuyasha glares at the man while Kagome and Miroku stare at his tears, wide-eyed and in Kagome's case, somewhat confused. But it's not Nanushi she's got her alarmed eye on, or at least not the elder.

Nanushi turns to see that the child has peeked through the curtains and shouts in a mild panic to his men to get a move on, because they've got to get him to the church on time to the shrine by the end of the day. The procession carries on, leaving Inuyasha and company staring after them.

Later, when they are settled around a campfire, Sango expresses her distrust for Nanushi, because there at the end, it seemed like he almost WANTED to sacrifice his child. Miroku agrees that it looks like trouble, before Kagome hesitantly says that she thought she saw something strange inside the palanquin. Sango encourages her to spit it out, despite how difficult a time Kagome is having actually describing it. Eventually Sango figures out what Kagome's on about, and informs her it was a mask she saw. Kagome's eyes widen and she seems blown away as Miroku further elaborates that it's for the sacrificial ceremony. Sango, you realize you were just criticizing a man for seeming to WANT to sacrifice his child earlier, and now you and Miroku are talking about the ins and outs of the ceremony around child sacrifice like it isn't a big deal?

Inuyasha tosses a pebble up to catch it, asking what the rest of them want to do. He questions if they should leave it alone, before he flings the pebble off to the side and produces a yelp from a nearby patch of grass there. A grass mat lifts to reveal a pair of eyes blinking at them from underneath, giving Kagome and Shippou something of a bewildered shock. Inuyasha asks who this bastard who has been following them since the procession left is, and said bastard stands, holding up the corners of a large blanket filled with unknown items while he approaches. He throws out an end of the blanket and the items fall out, everything from coins to a teapot to bolts of fabric.

Oh boy! Your secret santa is fucking GENEROUS. I just got a crappy ornament this year...

Miroku holds up an incense-burner, studying it and commenting that it's awfully high-class. Sango spreads a length of fabric before her, saying it's also worth a lot. Secret-Santa-Kid is pleased that they've picked up the items he threw at them, because according to him that means he's hired these assholes to go and kill the Suijin with him. His words, not mine. Kagome gapes at the kid, trailing off in an assessment of him.

Inuyasha kneels in front of the cocksure youth, staring at him a moment while he stares right back, then knocks him over the head with his fist without the slightest change in his blank expression. Kagome reprimands him, reminding Inuyasha that he's handling a CHILD so roughly, but Inuyasha says she doesn't need to make a big deal out of it, holding the little dude by the collar and head to limit his angry thrashes. Shippou advises the kid that he should just apologize to the overgrown child, even if he doesn't mean it.

Those guys are so casual leaving this child to fucking die.

"Have fun at your playdate with a monster!"

An unmanned boat with a dragon bust adorning the front comes gliding through the lake toward the gazeebo the child is perched upon, and the men identify it as Suijin-sama's pick-up service. Well, at least the little dude doesn't have to SWIM to his death. Convenient.

Meanwhile, Secret-Santa-Kid is cutting through some bulrushes, talking about the pick-up ship as well, and how they can follow it to Suijin's place so they can beat up the god where he eats the sacrifice. He turns to confirm this plan with his newly hired crew, but they're bickering. Inuyasha is asking if the goods Miroku is holding aren't stolen, Miroku tries to pass it off as A-Okay, and Kagome is insisting that it is, in fact, NOT okay. Secret-Santa-Kid demands to know if they're listening.

Kagome asks Secret-Santa-Kid whose child he is, and he pauses suspiciously for a moment before he informs them that it's none of their business, calling them all assholes again. So, Inuyasha bops him on the head again, with the same hilarious blank expression as before. This changes when he leans down, glaring with exasperation at the kid when he lets him no that under no circumstances have he and his crew agreed to help their secret santa. Secret-Santa-Kid is flabbergasted by this, staring up at Inuyasha as the grass rustles in the wind around them. Eventually he stammers that if they don't hurry, the whole village may be destroyed as well as the single sacrifice. Inuyasha and Kagome look down at him in question.

Secret-Santa-Kid begins to spill the truth about the sacrifice, but Kagome as already figured it out. Pointing, she asks if he's the REAL child of Nanushi, and sacrifice to Suijin-sama. As he sweatdrops, Secret-Santa-Kid recoils, but says nothing at first. Miroku leans down to examine the kid now sweating bullets, saying that now Kagome mentions it, it does make a lot of sense. Inuyasha adds in a flat tone that it also explains his arrogance, like he's one to talk.

Miroku deduces that the child in the palanquin was a substitute, to which Secret-Santa-Kid finally responds that he is indeed the heir to the village head, Taroumaru. Awww, I was having fun calling him "Secret-Santa-Kid". He curses his father, who would always tell the other parents to grin and bear it when it was THEIR children being sacrificed, but made an about-face when it came time for his own son to be put on the chopping-block. Nanushi hid Taroumaru away, and took the child of one of their servants instead to put the mask on.

Loftily, Miroku suggests that he COULD call Nanushi a stupid father, but Inuyasha isn't nearly as generous when he flat-out calls Nanushi a stupid father. Kagome asks Taroumaru if he wants to save the other child and Taroumaru admits that the other child is a friend of his. From off the panel, someone says that they should go and get that ship, then. It's Sango, all decked out in her youkai-exterminating splendor, assuring Taroumaru that she'll be working for her own sake. Miroku reminds them that they're also saving a person while Inuyasha looks exasperated. Kagome sunnily suggests to him that they get going, prompting him to scoff and disregard whether it's a god or a youkai altogether.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The one point against it is that it wasn't nearly as beautiful as the last, so I had the opposite problem with this one in that I had difficulty finding panels that were worth featuring in the recap. Not that I think the chapter is HORRIBLE for this, by any means. That last one was a tough act to follow, and I feel a little like I was spoiled a bit by the overwhelming style of it, and that's why it may have been difficult to get that same effect out of this chapter.

And this chapter stands very well on the fact that it's giving readers a solid story for our group to interact with. It's clear this heartbreaking situation of a god's destruction of a village through multiple means (directly flooding the village while feeding on the young who would grow to sustain the community) is sustained. This is a village ready to break from the abuse it's taking, and it's no wonder the villagers under Nanushi dared to become hopeful that Miroku might be able to do something about it. But, it's also no wonder that Nanushi was immediately suspicious of this, because being under the thumb of an abuser for so long makes you wary of anything that could set that abuser off. Since he's taking a huge risk passing someone else off for his son anyway, he's already stretched to his limit as far as how daring he's willing to be. He may be a "stupid father" as Miroku and Inuyasha assessed, but he's also refreshingly complex for a character that we're never going to see again after this arc.

Speaking of refreshingly complex, I cannot tell you how amazing it is EVERY time I read this arc and see our protagonists interact as a complete team together for the first time. Every word, every action, every gesture is so... natural. It seems strange of me to say that, because that should be a given, but then I'm reminded of all those other stories I've read/seen in which dialogue is cardboard, characters are wooden and the dynamic between them seems forced because the plot demands it.

Here, I honestly feel like the characters BELONG TOGETHER. They mesh, even when they're bickering, because it all feels like they're reacting in a natural, understandable way. This is what makes Inuyasha so accessible to such a wide array of people - the characters are real and they behave believably, not just in response to what's going on around them, but to each other as well.

It's just at this point, RT hasn't QUITE gotten used to picturing them in a way that implies they're all in the area of the shot yet. I was scratching my head through most of the chapter trying to determine if Sango was actually around or not. I COULD pass that off as Sango not being comfortable hanging around like a bud at this point, but as everyone reading these should know by now, I'm not a fan of using headcanon to explain details that should be implied in the source material to begin with.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 153 Duel of Vengeance!

May as well be called "Duel of Wasting My Time" if you ask me. Why did this need to happen again? Is this necessary for the plot of the story in any way? Jonouchi and Yami are already buds, we don't need more proof of that. The wider narrative is being put on hold for Yami's side-track to get the card back now. This duel basically has no stakes because Jonouchi doesn't NEED to participate like he did back in Duelist Kingdom. Someone give me one good reason as to what relevance this has to ANYTHING going on right now.

Oh boy, Yami is talking to Jonouchi as if he's a child running out into traffic and Jonouchi is talking to Yami like he's the father who won't listen to whatever excuse he had for hitting his sister. Can't possibly see what's wrong with THIS dynamic.

I am going to hate this duel so fucking much.

Yami starts to define the term "Ghoul" as it applies to card counterfeiters and thieves as though the guy he's growling at doesn't already know what he is, and then he drops the fact that Cloak-guy and his friends have chosen Domino as their next target like small-talk. Cloak-guy all but says "duh", pointing out that all Japan's best duelists are gathered in one place and ripe for the picking. His next sentence is NEW information, if you can believe that; he says that Rare Hunters are actually a subset of Ghouls that are sort of like their combat division. His words, not mine. Then he declares that they will be taking this tournament and ALL the rare cards in it.

Livid, Yami calls Cloak-guy scum and shouts that he'll crush every single one of the Rare Hunters, pointing at his first target. Cloak-guy just smiles, wondering if Yami thinks he can beat his ultimate Exodia deck. Jonouchi tries to interject with the fact that, yes, this guy has ALL Exodia pieces in his deck three times, but Yami doesn't want to hear it. Yami just tells Jonouchi to shut up and not worry, because he'll get his Red Eyes Black Dragon back. Ever wondered what it's like to be a woman, Jonouchi? Because you got a real good taste of it just then.

Yami insists that he and Jonouchi are entering the tournament together, which might have been sweet if this shit wasn't so unnecessary. Jonouchi looks touched anyway, though, as well as a little shocked. He slips pretty seamlessly into frustrated anger, though, when he thinks at Yami that this isn't a guy he can beat just like that. The Rare Hunters have decks full to the brim with rare cards, real and fake, so they're the best in the world. Jonouchi insists he HAS to warn Yami about this guy's particular deck, but Yami cuts him off again, holding out his palm, much to Jonouchi's shock. Yami tells Jonouchi that no matter what unfair bullshit Cloak-guy has got up his sleeve, Yami himself has no right to get an unfair advantage of knowing Cloak-guy's strategy. Two wrongs don't make a right, kids!

Cloak-guy does this hilarious thing where he starts to ask Yami if he has a name, but then decides he doesn't care and tells Yami to come at him, bro. I'm not sure if this is actually funny or if I'm just trying to find SOMETHING to like about this chapter already. Regardless, I giggled. Jonouchi tries in vain to get another protest in, but Yami is already pulling his deck from his belt. Why does that sound wrong?

Yami holds it up and declares that it will crush Cloak-guy, not matter what, and Cloak-guy just grins while Jonouchi looks defeated and tired. Cloak-guy says he admires Yami's fighting spirit, but Yami is going to learn that it takes more to win a duel. He adds a mental aside that he'll take Yami's best card in the process. Yami and Cloak-guy turn their backs to one another for some reason while they insert their decks into the machines on their arms, and the plaza clock ticks closer to 9 am. Another duelist kid points out that the first duel of the tournament is already starting by the clock tower and that guy Yuugi is in it. Another kid calls it the first duel of the tournament thoughtfully, and yet another runs to go watch.

At least tournament rules actually apply this time.

As their machines whir to life, I notice that they each start out with 4000 life points, which twice the amount they had in Duelist Kingdom. This is the first rule listed on the LONG list of Battle City rules that I didn't even bother to read all the way through because I am the worst. I'm also having trouble remembering if Kaiba mentioned that during his spiel in the last chapter. Oh well, it says it on their Duel Disks, so I suppose it wasn't the most important of things to mention.

Yami says that he's first, demanding that Cloak-guy draw five cards. He complies and chuckles when he sees his hand.

Sure, yeah, whatever.

Yami glares at his opponent as Jonouchi wonders if he can figure out Cloak-guy's strategy. Well, it's not THAT difficult a strategy to wrap one's brain around. After a moment of letting the wind blow around their feet dramatically, Yami decides to actually start his turn, setting two cards on his Duel Disk. One of them is face down and the other is Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in attack. When Yami announces he's done, Cloak-guy draws another card and he's pleased to see it's Graceful Charity. He plays it with a flourish, drawing three cards and discarding two, as you do. His hand now has three of the pieces of Exodia instead of just the two. Looks like things are going well for him right off the bat.

Yami peers at Cloak-guy, defining Graceful Charity as a hand exchange card in his head. Wasteful panel is wasteful. Jonouchi prays that Yami manages to beat Cloak-guy before he builds Exodia, but he doesn't have to worry about that just yet. Cloak-guy summons Statue of the Aztecs in defense, which surprises me because it's amazing that he has any cards other than his multiple copies of Exodia and Graceful Charity. Yami classes Cloak-guy as a "turtle" style player, meaning he's got to get through his defenses (2000-defense-point wall monster and all) to hurt him.

Cloak-guy mentally chuckles again, urging Yami to concentrate on fighting the monsters while he collects Exodia's pieces at his leisure. Yami draws a new card after declaring his turn, and does some science all in this game.

Oh snap, that's actually kind of dope.

But Yami totally ruins this moment by referring to "super expert rules" as the reason he can't attack on the same turn his creature has been Frankenseined up. Who in the WORLD thought it would be cool to call these rules "super expert"? Kaiba?

It was Kaiba. I know it.

Yami threatens to destroy Cloak-guy's monster on his NEXT turn, though, who just smiles and silently tells him to keep talking to the wall. It's his turn so he draws a card, and it's another Graceful Charity card, which he uses to draw three cards and discard two. Yami looks somewhat disgruntled that Cloak-guy changed his hand out again, and Cloak-guy is disappointed that he got another right arm of Exodia in his new cards, despite drawing the head as his fourth piece. He pouts, though he knows there's a chance the card will turn up because he has three of each. Cloak-guy perks up though, reminding himself that all he needs now is the left arm and he'll be set.

He looks up at Yami glaring at him and smirks, wondering if a little boy like that really thought he could beat the Rare Hunters. He seems proud of the fact that he's a grown man picking on children as he recounts mentally that they have developed a ton of techniques to pull one over on duelists, like the x-ray contact lenses he's wearing right now that are JUUUUUUST strong enough to see through the back of his next card printed with special ink that can be detected by them. So, he has contact lenses that can detect a special ink on HIS cards, but they can't do shit to detect what's on anyone else's cards, making it so that he just has a slight foreknowledge of what he's going to see on his next turn anyway. Is that about right? Do I have a good grasp of the situation?

You are quite possibly the most pathetically useless person Yami has ever faced, Cloak-guy. And that was a LOOOOOOOOW bar to clear.

Good. Then maybe there will be STAKES to Yami's next duel and I'll actually care again.

Jonouchi nervously assumes that Cloak-guy has to have at least a couple of Exodia pieces by now, silently urging Yami to figure this out and stop Cloak-guy somehow. Cloak-guy drawls that it's his end phase and it's time for him to summon another monster, so he plays Gear Golem the Moving Fortress in defense at 2200 points. Yami gapes at yet another high-defense wall monster, wondering what exactly it is that Cloak guy is trying to do, since he's not trying to attack at all. Since Cloak-guy will never even scratch his life points this way, Yami is confused as to how he plans to do it, thinking back on the hand-shuffling Cloak-guy has been doing thus far.

Yami snaps his fingers when he figures it out, smirking at Cloak-guy. He points and shouts he knows what Cloak-guy is planning, which is met with another smirk, though this one is less confident. Cloak-guy assumes that Yami is bluffing, but Yami tells him that he won't summon Exodia. Cloak-guy is taken-aback that his see-through strategy was so transparent, and Jonouchi cheers.

Great, fantastic. Can we get this over with in SOME fashion? I'd like to get to the real story sometime, please.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I think I may have made that abundantly clear all throughout the recap, but in case you missed all my snide remarks, I thought it was boring as watching paint dry. There's a ticking time bomb here, to be sure, but there's just no suspense attached to it. Partly because we keep getting exclusive knowledge of just what cards the cloaked guy has and when he has them, so we always know exactly what each of his expressions mean when he makes them. If we were left as in the dark as Yami, it might have been a little scary KNOWING the guy would eventually get all the pieces of Exodia, but sitting on the edge of our seat not being able to figure out when.

But even THAT wouldn't have made this chapter good. It would have been BETTER, but not good, because in the end, I have to ask again, WHAT DOES THIS MATTER? If there were even a remote chance of Yami losing, it would be different, because he would end up losing his best card and be worse off for his impulsive move. Since we know he's going to win, though, that tension is just not there. So what happens if he wins? He and his hetero-life-partner get to skip off toward more matches in the tournament? The whole deal is about getting Jonouchi into the tournament, which isn't necessary or important in the first place. They just want to hold hands while they play cards.

I suppose this is what passes for a dramatic start to the tournament for KT, but I'm unimpressed. Tying the characters in knots just to engineer drama isn't clever.

Inuyasha Manga: 094 Birth of the Jewel

No, it doesn't have anything to do with a mommy and daddy jewel loving each other very much. That would be far too cliché. Also it would be kind of weird for Sango to give her new friends "the talk" for a multitude of wonky reasons. Although, from an audience standpoint, that would be comedy GOLD. Just imagine how Inuyasha and Kagome would react to ANYONE giving them a rundown on all the nasty shit they won't admit they want to do to each other. Hell, just imagine MIROKU, nodding along, even trying to correct Sango at some points because he's had more sex than my 29-year-old ass.

Someone draw a comic of this. Please and thank you.

Wow, Inuyasha is being awfully considerate carrying Sango. I thought he would have refused to do such a thing, considering in the last chapter he thought she should have been up-and-at-'em already.

Sango confirms that he and she are talking about the same thing, but as they approach the massive mummy lump in the back of the cave, she draws his attention to the fact that all the youkai were merged into one to increase their powers. Everything from dragons to spiders all formed one massive youkai in the mummified pile, and Sango says it was all to destroy one single human. Kagome repeats the human bit, encouraging Sango to go on, and she continues by stating that the human was eaten.

Miroku looks up at the desiccated person sticking out of the top of the formation, vindicated by Sango's assessment. He assumes by the age of the armor on it that this used to be an ancient general, but Sango corrects him on this.

Meh, I'll just keep on calling them priestesses. The reference seems like gratuitous foreign language to me.

Inuyasha doesn't act surprised by this, because it makes sense to him that a priestess would be a hundred times more effective an opponent to youkai than any samurai. Kagome's lost in her head, making comparisons between this woman's long past life fighting youkai and Kikyou's. She looks rather sad about this.

Sango says that the woman lived in a time when the central government of Japan was still intact, but there were still a ton of people who died in wars and famine. The corpses and near corpses of all the wretched humans were eaten by the youkai, increasing their already strong population.

Not having any eyes clearly did not get in the way of HER job.

With her immense spiritual power and handy sword, Sango explains that Midoriko could destroy up to 10 youkai at a time. Kagome asks if this was driving out their souls and purifying them, and Sango says Midoriko could do that with literally ANYTHING, not just youkai. She lists off the things in the world that had four souls Midoriko could purify; humans, animals, trees, and rocks. One of these things is not like the others, and it's confusing to my stupid Western brain. Kagome, however, is more alarmed at the fact that Sango said that there are four souls, or SHIKON.

Miroku begins to exposit on the Shinto mode of thought around "Shikon", which is made up of Ara-mitama, Nigi-mitama, Kushi-mitama, and Saki-mitama, coming together to form one whole spirit that lives in the heart. Sango, Kagome and Shippou were staring at Miroku before, but it's nothing to how Inuyasha is looking downright lost at Miroku in the next panel as he continues to drone on about what each of these "mitamas" mean. They are courage, kinship, wisdom, and love respectively, maintaining human nature between all of them.

Y'all for real right now? I'm surprised he even had to explain this, what with the culture being STEEPED in this kind of lore and everything.

Inuyasha leans toward Miroku expectantly, asking him to go on, and Miroku tells him simply that if one does evil, their shikon falls down into evil. Sweatdropping all over the place, Inuyasha is speechless for a moment, before exploding that Miroku should stop changing things around. Miroku calmly asks Inuyasha if he should start his explanation all over again, but Sango cuts him off to condense it into the statement that souls can become either good or evil, depending on one's actions.

Once Miroku concurs with this, bowing his head, Sango continues her story about super-priestess Midoriko, who exorcised shikon and had a LOT of experience transforming youkai powers to nothing. They, in turn were afraid of Midoriko, and started waiting around corners and in back alleys to shank her. Or trees to bite her eyeless face off. But they were never able to get the jump on her in any way, because they all ended up being purified.

So, they decided they needed a soul of massive evil in order to take on her gargantuan spiritual powers. Kagome understands at this point why the youkai fused, but asks how. Since they're sitting on the ground due to Sango's healing needs, Sango is able to lean forward and point out something on the bottom of the mummy that no one noticed before. One more feature that Kagome's eyes widen at.

Kagome asks if that is also a human over a close-up on the face, and Sango answers by telling her that there was a man who secretly loved Midoriko, and this weakness allowed the youkai to take possession of him. Using an evil human heart as an anchor is apparently the easiest way to allow the youkai to merge, so that's how it happened. Kagome has a revelatory look on her face, because she seems to have heard this story before. Inuyasha is speechless again, looking just as enlightened as she, but Miroku has a somewhat dark look as he says Inuyasha's name.

He's the one to say out loud that this story sounds a lot like that of Naraku, bearing a strong resemblance to the tale of the wild-thief Onigumo who submitted his body to youkai, allowing Naraku to rise in their place. This is news to Sango, and she begins to ask for more details on Naraku's story, but Inuyasha encourages her to go on, wanting to know if the priestess won or lost against these youkai. He's staring up at the shadowed face of the mummy.

EPIC. Can you draw out THIS manga RT? I would really like to see this whole situation fleshed out in more detail. It's so BOSS.

Midoriko looks like she's being impaled by a tentacle, and where have we seen that noise before, as Sango says it seemed like Midoriko's own soul was absorbed. At the moment that happened, Midoriko gathered the last of her power and seized the soul of the youkai. Her own soul was taken into the mix and forced from her body, killing both her and the youkai with a blast from both her front and back.

Her heart popped out of there too?

Metal.

Sango says that even though both bodies were destroyed and abandoned, the battle between Midoriko and the youkai in the jewel continues. Kagome looks bewildered by this, but Sango goes on, telling her that it seems the person who holds the jewel tends to get better or worse depending upon their own soul, purified if good, corrupted even more if evil. Hundreds of years later, the jewel has passed between numerous humans and youkai on several occasions, and her grandfather managed to bring it back to the exterminator's village. Kagome repeats the words "brought back" like a question, and Sango elaborates that he got it on an extermination mission, and died from the wounds he got in the fight soon after.

By the time it got to him and the village, though, it was already corrupted badly. Inuyasha automatically makes the connection to how Kikyou came by the jewel to purify it. Kagome seems to have come to the same conclusion, and taken it a step further by suggesting tentatively that because Kikyou purified the jewel, Naraku was born. Miroku agrees with this, stating that Naraku wanted the jewel corrupted, and wanted to corrupt Kikyou's heart with hatred so he could suck up malicious blood with the Shikon no Tama. Sango says that would mean the cycle starts all over again.

Kagome thinks about how Kikyou died holding the Shikon no Tama, going to her funeral pyre with it, and that SHOULD have ended the cycle entirely. Keyword "should". She looks somewhat guilty when she realizes that it managed to make it's way back in time with her.

Inuyasha ain't nobody's patsy, you hear???

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? First let me express how difficult it was to choose certain panels to feature in this review. This whole chapter was downright BEAUTIFUL. There were a couple I could have left out, but for the most part I really had to hold myself back from putting nearly every single page on here without so much interjection. Not just the art, either, but the way the story was told was so natural and believable - this is a legend passed down from generation to generation, and it showed. From the little detail about how long the battle took to, well, what I have to jump to next.

I made fun of Midoriko not having eyes here, but in reality, it serves the tone of the story as Sango tells it very well. This was so long before our current tale that no one in that cave could know what Midoriko looked like, and so her most identifiable features, those windows to the soul so to speak, aren't filled in. They are as vague as the scant information that makes up her legend, and seeing this nondescript individual battling a giant monster in such a legendary sense adds a sort of mystery and awe to the whole thing. Not to mention all the creative ways RT came up with to avoid showing key features of Midoriko is to be applauded. Well done.

I'm side-eyeing Miroku's explanation of Shikon, though. Not because it's so prevalent throughout Japanese culture, mind you, because my culture has a lot of Christianity built into it and I couldn't tell you anything specific about the Bible, so that's not all that unbelievable to me. The unbelievable part is that Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippou were so confused by it. It's actually not that difficult of a concept to understand; four attributes to a spirit that can fluctuate and depending on their balance affect the whole state of the soul doesn't take a lot of brain power to absorb. I'm not sure who RT was trying to appeal to with this assurance that it's okay if you don't get it, because your favorite characters don't either, but it's a little on the strange side of pandering.

What I'M struggling to understand is the definition of good and evil here. We begin with a simple base idea that, depending on the balance of the four essential souls, a spirit can become good or evil. According to Sango's story, youkai are subject to this as well, because this is how Midoriko vanquished them, by changing up the balance of these souls, right? But the same thing wouldn't vanquish a human; purifying them just makes them better people instead of destroying them altogether. Why? Because youkai are born of suffering and all those negative nasty things surrounding humans? But we know that's not true, because Shippou appears to have been born like any human would have, and he's also not a monster hungry for blood. But because he's a youkai, he would be disappeared as well? Because youkai are just naturally in a state of evil no matter what good characteristics they exhibit? Like that man who secretly loved Midoriko. Was it the love itself that was weak/evil or was he taking it too far; obsessed with this woman to an extent that he would hurt others in order to be with her? What do these terms of good and evil mean if they're only tied to action or actor when it's convenient?

There's something inherently unfair to this weird little system that I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around, and I'll probably have even more of that trouble when I reach a certain very popular arc in the future. Stay tuned for that huge nuclear meltdown.

For now, I'll just focus on Inuyasha's little declaration at the end as another really solid point to this chapter. However the mechanics of the Shikon no Tama function, it really comes down to the fact that the jewel has the effect of magnifying the basic nature of a person, and that leads to it recreating the circumstances of conflict under which it was manifested. I love how Inuyasha interprets that as conscious manipulation and because he's so hard-headed and contrary, he refuses to play along with it. I can think of no other thing that's more "Inuyasha" than trying to stick it to someone or something telling him what to do.

Fuck you, Shikon no Tama! You're not Inuyasha's REAL dad!

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 152 Battle City Begins!

Are we certain this city isn't a bit too chaotic to house structured battles? Ever since readers were introduced to this hellscape of limited adults and children committing all kinds of havoc on each other, I've been considering Domino to be a setting befitting a Lord of the Flies tale - consistently revealing man's brutal nature in a series of over-the-top violent acts that kids just end up engaged in, like it's their job or something. Sure, we've been getting away from that with more current storylines, but Duelist Kingdom and our previous arc have revealed ANOTHER violence that Kaiba seems all too ready to invoke upon Domino now; the economic kind.

But before we dive into that...

Oh yeah, this completely unnecessary duel happened. It was such a forced and contrived conflict that I was hoping it didn't really happen for the sake of the story, but, there it is.

Jonouchi is aghast that his opponent in the cloak managed to draw all five pieces of Exodia, and Cloak-guy chuckles as he explains that they ghouls are master counterfeiters, capable of replicating even Exodia. He doesn't explain why Exodia would be more difficult to produce than any other cards, instead opting to mention that he has three of each of Exodia's pieces in his deck, and that no duelist can beat him. Jonouchi growls, starting to describe Cloak-guy with some choice adjectives, but Cloak-guy smacks him upside the head with the Duel Disk still strapped to his arm.

Why did Jonouchi let this guy get close enough to hit him? Furthermore, why is Jonouchi not defending himself?? He's an experienced street-brawler! He should be wiping the floor with this guy! But for some strange reason he's brought down to his knees when he stayed on his feet while being beaten with an array of crazy things back in the early chapters of this manga. Maybe he's gone soft?

Cloak guy commands one of his cloaked homies to steal Jonouchi's Red Eyes Black Dragon and the homie reaches for it, successfully pulling it off a weakly protesting Jonouchi on his hands and knees. The cloaked homie admires his new acquisition and how it shines in the moonlight - you know, BEFORE that whole tournament thing. He looks forward to the morning when the town will be overrun with little dueling kiddoes, meaning a good hunt is in the cloaked gang's future, and a particular tasty morsel that has the God of the Obelisk card.

Yeah, I think you'll have to work a bit harder for that one, guys.

As the cloaked gang walks off, they exposit that they already have the Sun Dragon Ra card and Slifer the Sky Dragon, and if they get Obelisk, they'll have all three of the invincible god cards. That sure is how math works, mmhmm. Jonouchi has collapsed all the way onto his belly now, cards scattered around his face in the pavement as he mumbles uselessly that Yuugi should watch out, because they're coming.

When the sun comes up outside Sugoroku's game shop, he's standing outside, holding a broom above his head horizontally as a salute to the sun and laughing that jolly old elf's laugh of his. He looks back at the building and comments on how Yuugi's light was on all night, meaning that those "two" boys must have been up all night putting their tournament decks together. Is he under the impression that Jonouchi is still there, or is he referring to Yuugi and Yami as different too, now?

You made a pile! Good job!

Yuugi peers through his blinds, astounded by the fast arrival of morning, while Yami holds their new deck up to examine. Uhhhhh, how is this happening? They've shown up separately before, but one has to be spectral since they share the same body - so each of them manipulating physical things with two bodies is super impossible here. They ARE holding the cards and pulling at the blinds with opposite hands, so maybe it's really the one body represented as two for the picture?

Yeah. We'll go with that.

Yami fits the deck comfortably in it's loop on his card utility belt, addressing Yuugi as he does so. Yuugi asks what's up and Yami admits that this isn't just any tournament to him, but a battle to find himself. Yuugi appears confused by this statement, wondering what that means. Yami doesn't elaborate, saying instead that he'll need Yuugi's help to win the fight. While he holds up the belt with the cards inside, he tells Yuugi that no matter what he'll keep faith in the cards they chose together in every duel, and that Yuugi should keep his words in his heart. Yuugi happily agrees, no longer looking confused, though Yami is being more vague than ever. He knows better than anyone that Yami would never duel just to get a rare card, but he won't ask what Yami is fighting for or what he wants either. Yuugi's cool just riding along to find the answer.

You two are so adorkable.

There's a scattered crowd hanging out in Domino City Plaza as of eight in the morning, most of them examining the cool doohickeys they purchased just yesterday. I say most because one older guy slouches through the crowd, adjusting his glasses and wondering what's going on with all these weird people with their fancy arm-fashion. One of these weirdos tells the old man that "NORMS" like him better keep their distance. Instead of following this up by claiming he's from Newgrounds, his friend states that the town is about to become a battleground.

Close enough.

Cut to Yami wearing his jacket like a cape again while he stands around in the crowd. He worries about Jonouchi's tardiness, but his attention is immediately diverted by Mai approaching him with a friendly shout and wave. Yami greets her too, just before she affirms that this is the place and it's almost time, with everyone gathering under the big clock in the center of the plaza. Yami agrees that it's almost time for the tournament rules to be announced, because KT doesn't know how to write small talk.

Mai makes their meeting less awkward by bringing the subject back around to Jonouchi, asking if he shouldn't be entering. Yami confirms that Jonouchi should be there any minute and Mai all but squees in response. She's genuinely happy that he seems to have made the cut, before Ryuzaki and Haga make their appearance nearby, commenting on how long it's been since they've seen Yami and Mai. Mai is obviously LESS happy to see them, saying their names in a somewhat biting manner. Ryuzaki points his finger, demanding attention for his declaration that Mai and Yami are going to pay for what they did on the island. I understand making Mai pay, since she was a total asshole to him in Duelist Kingdom, but what the fuck did Yami do?

Haga jumps into the bragging ring to warn Mai and Yami that it won't be as easy to beat him this time, because his insect cards are many times as powerful now. Ryota (Otherwise known as fun ocean bro) pops up to laugh at the insect deck of Haga, because his Fortress Whale is bound to swallow him whole once he sets his eyes on it. Ryuzaki shouts that if they're going to compare sizes, his dinosaurs are massive.

First of all, please don't, because we all know what you're compensating for with those "dinosaurs". Second, whales would still win that size battle by their sheer tonnage alone, boy. Better recognize.

Mai is already tired of these clowns and their petty bickering, so she suggests to Yami that they walk away. Yami complies without so much as a peep of protest. Elsewhere, it looks like Cloak-guy is sitting outside a coffee shop holding a steaming mug and tapping on a little laptop, much like I'm doing now. Unlike me, he's pouring over the tournament roster, muttering that #312 has quite a nice rare card as well, basically picking out his victims for the tournament to come. Pshaw, I picked out MY victims ages ago.

An speaking of picking out victims...

His corporation determined the eligibility of each duelist standing in the plaza by their ranking in this completely subjective database, and all their Duel Disks are proof of that! Kaiba is very methodical about picking his victims. Yami holds up his arm sporting the Duel Disk as though Kaiba can see this as Kaiba continues, stating that their tournament will take place in the entirety of Domino, which he has okayed with the civic authorities of the city.

This place has POLICE??? Oh yeah, I remember those ineffectual bastards from the card bomber fiasco. Of COURSE they agreed to this nonsense.

Kaiba says that no matter where any two duelists are within city limits, they may duel if they meet up. He specifies the more mundane aspect of the tournament of 40 cards per deck, just in case someone was thinking of pulling a fast one, I guess. Then, when he mentions that the winner gets to choose which of their opponents rare cards they want, I'm a little surprised. I thought the ante was discussed BEFORE the game? Whatevz. Kaiba describes the effect that winning has on your game, making it stronger and stronger, but losing makes it hard to catch up. He doesn't mention taking cards out to keep their decks at 40 cards for the tournament, but maybe you're SUPPOSED to play with extra or fewer cards the more you win/lose?

Yami muses on how the ante rule, players at risk of losing or gaining rare cards, will make this tournament as cutthroat as it gets. Meanwhile, Kaiba says that according to his reports, there are 48 participants in the tournament as a whole, but only eight of those will make it to the finals. This is quite the shocker for the crowd, but Kaiba presses on about the location of the finals, which is a secret, but within the city's limits, just like the rest of it. Yami looks astounded at this development, and I'm not sure why. He SHOULD be saving that shit for Kaiba's next reveal, which is that HE doesn't even know where the finals are out of fairness, because he will also be participating in his tournament.

But everyone is still hung up on the fact that they don't know what this secret location means, and someone shouts a question about how they're supposed to find it, then. Maybe Kaiba can see them, because in answer to this, he asks them to look at the underside of their Duel Disks, which has a transparent card stuck to it.

Kaiba is holding his own card up to his face when he describes it as a puzzle card. He says that all 48 of them will reveal a map of Domino when stacked together. Yuugi understands that each card has one piece of the map, but bumps up against the fact that there are only eight finalists. Not to mention the fact that being able to see a whole map through the different layers of 48 cards would probably be impractical as shit. Kaiba rescues this failing idea with the information that each card comes equipped with a special prismatic coating, so that when any six cards are stacked together, a light shines on the location, which will be their finals location.

He confirms that yes, indeed, all of the puzzle cards of the loser go to the winner of each duel. Kaiba grins as he tells the audience that only those who collect six puzzle cards will be able to reach the finals. We get a panel focusing on some of the more memorable duelists from Duelist Kingdom, Mai and Yami getting their own, and then the crowd throws up their arms in celebration and a collective cheer.

Over the backdrop of a blimp flying over the city and the clock, Kaiba announces that the tournament starts at nine, so they should all probably scatter. One of the nameless duelists panics about the less than half-hour he gets to move to his preferred spot, while another just stands in the middle of the plaza threatening to duel anyone who so much as looks at him. Ryota runs toward the ocean and Haga heads perpendicularly away from him.

Mai peaces out, telling Yami that they'll go head-to-head the next they come across one another, and Yami agrees eagerly. However, as the time approaches nine, Jonouchi tears into the plaza, and specifically the coffee shop where Cloak-guy was enjoying his hot beverage a couple of pages ago. He still is, as a matter of fact, and Jonouchi is pointing at him with menace. Yami wonders where in the hell Jonouchi's been all this time, but Jonouchi is still facing the unconcerned Cloak-guy, sipping from his mug. Jonouchi shouts that he's been looking for Cloak-guy, who is good at disappearing in the crowd but not hiding his snake-like eyes. I don't see how it's not the other way around, given that cloak should make him pretty distinctive in a crowd, but shrugging it off now.

Cloak-guy takes a big obnoxious slurp from his mug before telling Jonouchi that since he has no rare cards, that should mean he doesn't get to enter the tournament.

While you flopped around on the ground like a dying fish.

Yami asks Jonouchi what happened, and Jonouchi finally notices that his friend is there. He warns Yami that there are Rare Hunters in this tournament and to be on his guard. Yami's thoughts reflect Kaiba's when HE heard about the ghouls from Ishizu, calling them a crime syndicate that rules the gaming underworld. I still can't really believe something so dumb exists, sorry comic. Cloak-guy continues to sip at his mug and giggle at the same time, giggling at the same time. I'm expecting him to choke at some point?

Finally, Yami asks the question he should already know the answer to, if that doesn't mean they took Jonouchi's rare card. He looks pissed, glaring at Cloak-guy, and Jonouchi tries to talk him down from dueling this guy, claiming that NO ONE can beat him and his homies with the cards they have. Cloak-guy grins, and Yami decides right then and there that he won't forgive him OR his homies. He informs Cloak-guy that anyone who steals a duelist's cards has to answer to the almighty card master that is Millennium Puzzle Spirit. I may have exaggerated that last part. Maybe.

Jonouchi shouts Yami's name, more desperate for him to take sensible advice, but Cloak-guy is already standing to egg Yami in the other direction, asking if Yami wants to duel him. In his head, Cloak-guy adds that Yami would be facing his Exodia deck. Jonouchi urges Yami to hold up a minute, but Yami shouts at him to stay out of the way as Yami gets his card back.

Hey, Yami's reminding me of someone close to him right now. Who could it be...?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The beginning just reinforced my irritation over the Jonouchi's treatment in the last, but here it was even more blatant. The Jonouchi in past chapters would not have gone down nearly as easy as he did here. It took one hit, when in the past, it took a lot more from better weapons. I'm not by any means saying that Jonouchi should have won this particular fight and not lost his card (although I SHOULD be, given the bogus setup of nonsensical happenings that led up to the moment), but he should have at least put up the fight I know is in his character.

It's even worse at the end of the chapter, when he's just standing there while the guy who robbed him is sitting there. As impulsive as he's been shown to be throughout the series, it seems out of character for him to be hanging back. And deferring to Yami so quickly and easily even as he's trying to convince him not to fuck with this Rare Hunter is just bizarre. Everything about the interaction between the three of them seems unnatural and wooden, because this in not how our two main characters normally act.

It seems like the story is trying REALLY hard to convince me that Yami is not only good and just, but also powerful. The thing is, it takes ACTUAL development in order to convey that power to the audience, not contrived plotlines that go against core character traits. All KT has done here is convince me that he doesn't know how to pull off his own plot ideas without characters being bent all to hell in the process.