Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 166 Eyes that See the Future

More psychic characters? Listen, real or fake, I think the whole psychic bit is wearing a bit thin by this point. Can't we just be happy with the non-psychic and barely psychic characters that we already have instead of getting a new one every five seconds? I know we live in a consumer society that encourages us to throw away everything we own when it's not working perfectly anymore, but seriously, CHARACTERS should be honed and perfected rather than just replaced.

After all,

If this garbage tournament isn't being sold for scrap, then we should probably be giving the characters in it more of a chance too.

According to comic, about three hours have passed since the start of said tournament. Someone is shouting, asking if somebody else has found "them" yet. The next panel reveals the shouter as Anzu, fists on hips, while Bakura and Sugroku converge on her location and admit that they found nothing. Consternated, Anzu wonders aloud where they could be, mumbling that Yuugi should get a cell phone. Hey, take it up with his grandfather; that guy is clearly the one doing the monetary support in that home. All Yuugi's mother ever did was brandish ladles.

Bakura shades his eyes, still looking around, but also warning that it could take a while to find someone in the large city. Sugoroku whines that he wants to take a break. Scratch that suggestion to take the cell phone suggestion to him, Anzu. Not sure he's up for the responsibility of a cell phone plan.

Anzu suddenly turns to Bakura and starts chewing him out for having to wait on him for half an hour. Bakura apologizes with a sheepish smile, admitting that he stayed up all night writing his new tabletop campaign. Just watch out for that upside down and the Demogorgon, kiddo. #StrangerThingsFTW.

Anzu continues to grind her teeth, now over Honda going on some sort of trip, imagining him waving cheekily over his shoulder with a bag slung over his back. Deep down she's worried that everyone is kind of drifting apart these days. Bakura gives her a reassuring smile and tells her not to worry, because no matter where Yuugi is, he's doing fine because he's the literal best at this game. Or, at least half of him is.

This does nothing to quell Anzu's determination and she insists that they keep looking, against Sugoroku's continued pleas that they stop and rest for a moment. They keep walking around at her behest, Bakura amazed at how many people there are dueling everywhere. He happens to look over and see a crowd that draws his curiosity. It's a group of people marveling at someone shadowed in the foreground, who according to them, has been in the exact same spot since the previous day and hasn't done so much as taken a bite or drink of anything. Someone says this has to be some sort of record as Bakura sidles up to the crowd, trying to see what they're all looking at. When he finally does, he seems rather smiley about it, and Sugoroku has joined him with a reluctantly impressed face.

Woah. I'm not one to judge by appearances normally, but he looks like the human embodiment of a Mr. Meeseeks's attitude.

Sugoroku supposes that this mime is doing that trapped-in-a-glass-case routine, and for some reason, this seems to make Bakura think that he has license to get all up in the mime's face. Dude, that is the HEIGHT of rude to a street performer. You best BACK UP. Bakura does the opposite, shouting at the mime's stone face for his attention. EXCUSE YOU, BAKURA.

This freaking child. Can't take him anywhere, I swear...

But because this mime is a true professional at the height of his career (I assume), he doesn't so much as twitch. Bakura frowns, thinking that he can't feel any life from the guy at all, as if he's some sort of doll rather than a person. I'm sure that doesn't have anything whatsoever to do with the warning Yuugi got from Marik in the last chapter.

Anzu barks that this guy isn't a duelist, so they should just go. Bakura reluctantly follows, even though he clearly has a connection with the lifeless mime guy. The clock in the center of the plaza chimes noon, which prompts Sugoroku to whine some more about how he's starting to get hungry. He suggests to Anzu that they go get lunch, and this gives her an epiphany about where Jonouchi is.

Cut to the entrance to a restaurant called "Beef Buster". No lie. I don't know if this is an accurate translation or if it's just a joke name the translators came up with, but I am struggling not to laugh in front of my coworkers right now.

Could it have been the gigantic piece of card game machinery attached to his arm that gave him away? He of course adopts the smuggest of expressions when he announces that the guy behind the counter is correct. Not sure how he does all this while he's stuffing his face, but you know, he's talented like that. Jonouchi claims you can't draw cards on an empty stomach, and even a warrior needs a break. I wouldn't doubt that he needs to eat if he wasn't being so insistent.

But the guy behind the counter is only too happy to have Jonouchi as a customer, regardless of how confusing his need to provide excuses for EATING. He tells Jonouchi to eat the restaurant's beef with his blessing, and gives him a side of pickles for free. Aww! How nice! Jonouchi's exuberant nomming isn't being so nice to his neighbor at the counter, though. He keeps smacking the guy with his Duel Disk, like a sharp elbow to he face. Finally, Jonouchi's neighbor demands that he take the Duel Disk off his arm, because it's in the way. Jonouchi is immediately annoyed by this, threateningly leaning over his neighbor to ask him what he's talking about, declare that the Duel Disk is part of his arm, and say that the guy may as well cut his whole arm off while he's at it.

And they say GIRLS are overly dramatic.

Jonouchi's neighbor is pretty disturbed by this behavior, and the guy behind the counter tells Jonouchi to stop bothering his other customers, significantly less jovial now. Jonouchi reluctantly says he'll knock it off if his server says so, and then turns to his neighbor again to let him know that he's only forgiving him because the dude behind the counter gave him free pickles. I don't think HE'S the one in need of forgiveness here, but I've been considered rude for merely EXISTING before, so maybe I'm not the best judge of the intricacies of manners.

Jonouchi slips his Duel Disk off his arm and sets it on a table behind him before leaning back into his food. At the same time, a shifty-looking squirt is walking by between Jonouchi and the table, sweatdropping as he does so. Jonouchi notices this while he's taking a sip from his hot drink, just in time to see the shifty squirt snatch up his Duel Disk and make a dash for the door. Jonouchi spits his drink right in his neighbor's face, ever the gentleman he is, calling the kid a punk for stealing his equipment. He's about to go after the thief when the guy behind the counter reminds him that he hasn't paid yet. He slaps a coin on the counter with a curse before running out the door, shouting at the squirt to get back there. Across the street, Anzu is there to recognize Jonouchi as he chases a kid down the road like a maniac.

He reaches out and grabs the squirt by the collar.

Said little jerk is hunched on the a park bench in the next panel, telling Jonouchi that he's sorry and he'll never do it again, and asking that Jonouchi not hurt him. Jonouchi reattaches his Duel Disk to his arm, questioning why the squirt tried to steal it in the first place. The squirt explains that he was upset because he was in the tournament today too, but he lost to someone very good in his first duel. Sorry kid, but it has to happen to SOMEONE. That's kind of how tournaments work. How this tournament DOESN'T work, however, is the winner taking the loser's Duel Disk as well as all his cards, which is what the squirt says happened to him.

Jonouchi is flabbergasted by this while Anzu clarifies that the squirt took Jonouchi's Duel Disk in order to challenge the kid he lost to before. The squirt confirms this was exactly his logic, and he was going to give back Jonouchi's Duel Disk once he won back his own. Sugoroku hums and strokes his chin, doubting the story that this kid is a tournament-ranked duelist. Jonouchi tells the squirt that his plan would never have worked, because a duelist's deck is made from the soul of the guy who built it. He insists that only that person can bring out its true power, and the squirt would have lost even if he had used Jonouchi's deck. Jonouchi assures him that his problems are over, though, because HE'LL go up against the scoundrel that stole the squirt's deck!

Anzu looks skeptical when she asks Jonouchi if he's sure, and Bakura suggests he wait and see how good the guy is before he challenges him. Jonouchi ain't hearing it, determined not to let the guy get away with it. He hates guys who steal cards from weaker players, after all. Guessing that doesn't apply to puzzle pieces...

The squirt asks if Jonouchi will really beat this mysterious duelist for him, and Jonouchi promises to waste him. The squirt says he's going to go get the dude for Jonouchi to pummel then, and runs off. When he's gone, Sugoroku advises Jonouchi to check his deck, because the squirt may have stolen some of his cards. Jonouchi seems pretty upset by the implication that he was tricked, which makes Sugoroku stutter out a little of a backtrack, saying that he only meant to be on the safe side of things. Glaring off into the distance, Jonouchi mutters that everyone is so cynical these days, which receives a few gapes in response. He tells his friends and honorary grandfather that they've just got to have faith. When Bakura says his name with an unreadable expression, Jonouchi asks what they can trust if they can't trust people.

Boy, do I have an answer for YOU, coming from the dystopian hell-hole I do these days! What a time to be alive!

Anyway, Jonouchi rambles a bit about how he has faith in his future, and is going to continue fighting in the tournament to end up in the same place as Yami. Anzu appears amazed at his words, somehow. He's not paying any attention, still expositing on his plans to duel Yami, though he's not concerned with whether he wins or loses, because either way he can hold his head high as a duelist. He says that if he can carve out that future for himself, then perhaps he can show HER a future as well. I was confused by this, but Anzu is on top of her friend-code and deduces right away that Jonouchi is talking about his sister Shizuka. She asks him how Shizuka is and if she's recovered from that surgery Yami gave him the money for, and receives the worst of news.

WHAT??? Are you fucking for REAL right now, bro????

After a panel of speechless shock between her, Sugoroku and Bakura, Anzu has pretty much the same reaction as I did, recalling with some distress that Jonouchi told his friends that the surgery was successful. Jonouchi says that there weren't any complications or anything, but she's resting at a hospital near his mom's place and doesn't have the courage to take off the bandage. Anzu and the others are speechless once more, during which time Anzu hangs her head as she realizes Jonouchi entered Battle City for his sister.

Wow. It's deja vu all over again.

Jonouchi happily announces that if he can win the tournament, he's going to go see his sister and show her the face of a guy who won his future, along with courage. Anzu, Sugoroku and Bakura respond with smiles and looks of determination. Jonouchi urges them not to tell Yami/Yuugi about this until after they duel however, because he's only told them and Honda so far. Anzu agrees not to say anything. Fair, considering Yuugi has already learned that one of his friends is trying to keep shit from him. Maybe best to spread those revelations out a bit.

Speaking of Honda, though, Jonouchi would like to know where he is if not with Anzu and the rest of them. Anzu scratches her head, saying that Honda was supposed to be there, but he's gone on some sort of trip. For whatever reason, this prompts Jonouchi to yell that Honda is a dirty rat. Sure, I guess.

Is this little shit looking for sympathy over the fact that stealing things is difficult? Cry me a river.

The bespectacled villain he's speaking with doesn't seem to care much about this sob-story either, only interested in whether the squirt managed to do what he told him to. The squirt confirms with a grin that he did indeed slip two of Haga's cards into Jonouchi's deck. Oh, did I mention that the bespectacled villain is Haga, the first to lose in Duelist Kingdom? Sorry, I just forgot to give a crap.

Anyway, the squirt talks about what a moron Jonouchi is for falling for it, and Haga laughs and rolls his eyes like he's on an acid trip. It's kind of freaking me out. He thinks that Jonouchi is as good as dead now, what with parasite cards like his Parasite Paracide destroying his deck from within. Am I the only person who remembers that a deck is only supposed to have 40 cards in this tournament? Am I the only one who cares?

The squirt haltingly asks Haga if he'll hand over the rare card he promised for a job well-done. Haga makes like he just remembered, and presents the squirt with a card, seemingly graciously. At first the squirt is grateful, until he actually sees the face of the card he got.

Haga, just because the squirt is a "bug" in the colloquial sense doesn't mean you should squirt Raid in his eyes. And anyway, don't you LOVE insects? What are you doing carrying that around with you?

While the squirt is crouched on the ground screaming with his hands over his eyes, Haga asks him rhetorically if he said Jonouchi was waiting in the square, chuckling. As he walks out of the alley, he plans to beat Jonouchi, luring Yami out with news of his friend's defeat so he can crush him too. Haga fantasizes about repaying Yami twice over for the humiliation dealt him in Duelist Kingdom, and I'm betting that's going to STAY fantasy. Still, he thinks he's got a SUPER insect deck now when he steps into the square and up to Jonouchi, who frowns at him. Haga announces that they've met again, and Jonouchi recalls that Haga was once a Duel Monsters champ in Japan. With all that "you again!" business out of the way, Haga is ready to do this thing, grinning with narrowed eyes.

Meanwhile, at what looks to be a remote train station, FAR from the city, someone seems a bit frustrated. It's Honda, accompanied by Ryuji, wondering aloud exactly where they are, having had to look further in the sticks for something than he had anticipated. Ryuji says that they should still be able to make it back to the city before dark, at least. Winking, Honda teases Ryuji for being someone who just HAPPENS to be going the same way as him but is also following him pretty far. Ryuji scoffs, admitting to have heard about Jonouchi's sister and owing Jonouchi and his crew a favor. I'm not so sure Yuugi/Yami DOESN'T know about this, considering even RYUJI knows about it.

They look for a map to get going, and eventually reach their destination, a beat-up looking hospital called Yonezato.

Yeah, let's milk the shit out of this miniscule subplot while we still have the chance!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I've felt like a chapter has taken FOREVER before, but this one was probably the longest in feeling that I've ever covered so far. Granted, part of it was that I had to take several days to write this post up, because I've started a new job and haven't quite gotten used to juggling this and a different workload yet. Still, it's ONE chapter of a manga, which wasn't the greatest at holding my attention. I suspect that's because it wasn't the best at holding KT's attention either. I can't think of many other reasons why it would cover so many places, points of view, and plotlines, in combination with a regression in motivation.

Because that's the only thing I can call Jonouchi's sudden reference to his sister here. At some point, KT must have realized that Jonouchi's reasons for being in this tournament were really weak, so he went back to reasons he knew were solid in Duelist Kingdom... without realizing that the stakes were no longer there. She's cured, she's just afraid to take off that bandage, so Jonouchi's sudden focus on her and her fear is weirdly misplaced.

Now, if SHIZUKA was the one who contacted Honda or one of Jonouchi's buds and asked them to come and get her, thinking the urge to see her brother would give her the kick in the ass she needed, it would be good motivation for HER. I would have been only too happy to see that, actually, given that it would add a little more dimension to Jonouchi's otherwise one-sided struggle to get Shizuka the care she needed. Add in a little guilt for her own perception of wasting the money he spent if she still can't see, and you've got yourself a decent side-plot there. But with Shizuka just passively sitting there, without the will to even aspire to taking off her bandages, it's putting the focus on the wrong hero here. This isn't Jonouchi's struggle to overcome, and KT just has him appropriating it so that he can give SOME meaning to the stupid decision to have Jonouchi join the tournament in the first place.

I'm not sure why the mime was covered in this chapter either. I understand that he's Yami's next opponent, that much is obvious. But it looks like he's just here to fill space. There's no point in Bakura yelling at him like an idiot or taking special note of him at all. I suppose he had to be introduced at some point, but what was the purpose of doing it here, when we had SO MANY OTHER CHARACTERS to pay attention to at the moment?

Just about the only thing I liked about the chapter was the addition of yet another old Yu-Gi-Oh villain to the I-Don't-Understand-Why-I-Lost-Last-Time-And-Am-Going-To-Double-Down-On-My-Cruelty list. It gives me satisfaction knowing that they're going to lose again, because every god you can name knows that I don't get that kind of satisfaction from seeing similar characters in real life. Quite the opposite, actually.