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???