Hey, Yuugi and his ilk leave their mark in their way, and those less focal leave theirs in others. It's nice to think that the place is one in the same, though. There's something poetic about that image.
While I swoon over the idea of the many methods of gaining notoriety from top to bottom in a stadium, the chapter starts with a recap of how only the duelists who passed the initial stage in Battle City even know this is where the finals take place. Another panel says that right now, eight strong duelists have gathered to fight for the "King of Duelists" title.
Wait. Eight?
Four of the SEVEN, Mai, Yuugi (I guess Yami forgot his keys on the inside of Yuugi's head and ran to grab them), Jonouchi, and Kaiba with his back turned to the others because he's too much of a snob to even LOOK at the rest of them, are standing in a semi-circle in the center of the field. A shot of his watch, then the Moar Cards Guy announces that there are only fifteen minutes left until the time-limit. Well, what do you know? Kaiba intended to go away for a half-hour, but only stayed gone for lest than ten minutes. He must have come running when he heard Yuugi had arrived.
Anyway, Moar Cards Guy says that if the final finalist doesn't manage to get here by seven sharp, whoever the hell that is will be disqualified. Mai says that they already know five of them have showed up, and Jonouchi says that actually leaves three that aren't there. So far as you've SEEN, anyway. Yuugi knows that one of those finalists they haven't spotted yet is Marik.
Jonouchi casts a wary look over at Barkura, who stands with his head inclined, watched by a bemused Anzu as well. She and the rest of his friends group at his back. She asks urgently if his wound is alright, Honda stares with aggressive suspicion, Jonouchi exclaims that they were surprised to hear Bakura had fled the hospital, and Yuugi chastises him for his recklessness in attending a tournament in his unhealthy state.
Jonouchi leans in, though he looks a bit unsettled by Bakura's bloody bandage, asking if he's having any problems with it and if it isn't still oozing. Bakura pokes at it and says it's all good, and invites Jonouchi to touch it if he wants. Jonouchi yells at him not to joke around, while Anzu sweatdrops and tries to convince Bakura that it's better for him to go to the hospital, but Bakura isn't hearing it. He leans his elbow in Jonouchi's face and insists there's no problem, demanding he look.
Yuugi keeps his distance from the exchange, looking a little disturbed. He wonders if it's just him or if it really does seem like Bakura's being manipulated by the Millennium Ring. Well if the little twerp would just leave the thing at home... Whether it's the Millennium Ring's doing or not, Yuugi thinks Bakura being in the tournament is rather unbelievable.
Anzu and Jonouchi agree, because they're both pretty suspicious when the latter asks when Bakura participated in the first part of Battle City, and adds that he would have to have collected six puzzle cards to know where he was going. Bakura doesn't answer the question, just happily holds up a finals entry card that he already traded his puzzle cards for. Anzu mumbles that he shouldn't even have a Duel Disk, though. Did you forget those guys trying to beat his ass for stealing theirs, Anzu?
Bakura doesn't remind her, not addressing this odd fact either. He just says his secret combo is super powerful, and he wants to join Yuugi and Jonouchi as a duelist to fight together. That wouldn't be weird if it were a goal of yours from the start, but this sudden drive to join your friends is probably what's making them look at you sideways, Bakura. Jonouchi says that even as an established duelist, he had a bit of trouble trying to get the Duel Disk, questioning how Bakura got one again.
Wow, I guess everyone really DID forget those guys who accused Bakura of thievery. A thing Bakura uses to his advantage when he holds up a finger and states that it's a secret. And what does the guy who set up this whole tournament and the restrictions on participating (including having a sufficient dueling record) have to say about this? NOTHING, of course. Kaiba isn't even paying a wit of attention, eyeing one of the entrances to the field from his periphery when he hears footsteps coming from it. Yuugi whirls around at the steps, but Kaiba remains calm as he thinks another contestant has arrived. Indeed, a silhouette is emerging from the mouth of the entrance.
He walks up to Anzu and Jonouchi, greeting them with an "it's been a while" bit. As Anzu asks if Namu is competing in the finals too, politely, Yuugi asks Jonouchi if this Namu is known to him. Jonouchi gives a simple nod of his head and affirmative sound, while "Namu" pretends to have only luckily cleared the first part of the tournament, and to be nervous about being surrounded by such strong people. Yuugi and Jonouchi don't say anything, both looking at "Namu" with heavy suspicion. In fact, Jonouchi thinks his mind has been rather cloudy since he met Namu...
Jonouchi leans forward and starts to address Namu without the slightest subtlety, appearing ready to accuse Namu of some pretty ugly things, but he's interrupted by Bakura. He's excited to see the guy who saved him again, and "Namu" plays along, asking if Bakura's wound is alright. Bakura says it's no problem once more, and Anzu takes it upon herself to introduce Namu to a speechless Yuugi. Jonouchi looks vexed when Anzu goes so far as to call Namu their friend and asks him to confirm, sweating and squinty, until he reluctantly agrees. Yuugi is sweatdropping too, raising an eyebrow and placing a forefinger on his cheek, supposing that if Anzu says it, it must be true. Jonouchi tells himself he thinks too much, remembering how Namu was beaten up in order to protect Bakura from those other guys. Great, the one time Jonouchi does just UNDER enough thinking, he thinks he's doing too much. I suppose that's what they call irony.
Meanwhile, Namu identifies Yuugi, who is still awfully wary and quiet.
Not sure which is more evil, when I put it like that.
In any case, Marik counts himself and asshole!Bakura as the two consciousnesses that inhabit Bakura's body with the blank expression. He really thinks that regular Bakura is no longer in the picture here, I guess. Marik, still clasping hands with Yuugi, reflects on how he had to make deals just to get at Yuugi's Millennium Puzzle. I can't tell if he's resentful of this though, because in the next panel, he's internally giggling, ready to start this thing.
Suddenly, Bakura lurches forward and tells Yuugi to look at the Millennium Ring that he refuses to leave THE FUCK AT HOME, as he holds it out. One of the needles along the outside is pointing off to the left, responding to something out of sight, as Bakura suggests urgently. Yuugi seems shocked that the Millennium Ring is here at all, and I'm surprised he's not suggesting they all go on a quest to take that sucker to Mordor by now. I would have.
Regardless, Bakura announces that SOMETHING will be here soon. What, do you ask?
Kaiba glares at him, asking a silent question about whether this is the guy who has the Ra god card. Meanwhile, Yuugi watches "Marik" walk up to him and cast a menacing look down at him as he passes nervously. Kaiba brings his question of if this is Marik out in the open, addressing the tattooed man directly. The response isn't direct - he says instead that no matter what, he has to defeat Kaiba and Yuugi (Obelisk and Slipher respectively) in order to take back the god cards. Well if that isn't a deflection, I don't know what is.
Yuugi, "Namu", and Kaiba all stand without comment. Yuugi thinks he feels a "horrible fighting aura", which can't POSSIBLY have anything to do with prejudice. No sir, those tattoos and the dark skin don't have a THING to do with Yuugi's assessment. The real Marik lets out a satisfied scoff.
The Moar Cards guy has an announcement to make now that seven out of eight finalists have gathered in the stadium. Though the everyone who wins the preliminaries in Battle City are led to Domino Stadium, it isn't actually where the finals take place. Yuugi makes a confused noise while Moar Cards guy says the real stage will soon be appearing before them, looking up into the sky. Yuugi and Jonouchi also roll their eyes up in astonishment at the news, still questioning what this all means.
The sound effects should have given them an idea.
How inspired a name. Did you come up with that, or was it Kaiba?
Jonouchi ponders this name, beginning to ask if there should be any deeper meaning read into it, but is interrupted by Moar Cards guy, who declares that the first round of the finals, what some might call the semi-finals, will take place at 1,000 meters in the air. And yet the news drops like a drama bomb. He encourages everyone to go aboard, because everything starts at exactly seven o'clock. You mean it's not seven yet? Damn, this is the longest fifteen minutes ever.
While ascending the stairs extending from the ground to the underside door into the blimp, Mai smiles at the concept of a battle in the sky. She says it must be really happy, and whether she means the battle or the blimp, I'm not certain. Jonouchi also seems excited, agreeing and putting in his own incomprehensible comment about how "it's burning already". I don't know, guys. Yuugi wonders where the blimp is going to fly, though, which is a fair question. Where is this shadowy corporation taking them anyway...?
As all the hangers-on begin to climb the stairs as well, Moar Cards guy waves his arms in protest, stating that anyone without a pass card into the tournament can't ride on the ship. Anzu starts complaining, claiming this is nonsense and there should be no problem letting them ride the blimp. Wow, someone has gotten a little entitled. Is that her or Marik talking? Yuugi twists around to cast a questioning glance on the scene on the stairs below.
Mokuba interjects that he ALSO doesn't have a pass card, and orders that Yuugi's entourage be let onto the blimp. Moar Cards guy starts to protest to HIM now, but Anzu and the rest of the non-finalists are already rushing up the stairs, verbally accepting Mokuba's kindness as well. Moar Cards guy impotently stutters out disconnected words to discourage this, but it's no use. Mokuba is just watching with a blank astonishment.
It's now Kaiba's turn to go up the steps, silently excited that the battle has finally begun. Except it hasn't? Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves here?
Moar Cards guy looks at his watch and determines that the time is almost up, reiterating that the Battle Ship will be leaving at exactly seven o'clock. He assumes that in the end, the eighth duelist isn't going to show up, turning toward the stairs himself. He hears approaching footsteps behind him, though and looks around in surprise. Another lone figure has emerged from the entrance, and this one is a bit curvier than most of the others.
Though he continued to gape at the person walking up to him in her draping dress, he doesn't put up a fight when it comes to doing his job. He confirms her status in the finals through her puzzle cards and exchanges them for a pass card. He says she's able to head onto the blimp now.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The way it establishes not only who the final cast of players is in the finals, but also their feelings toward each other, is particularly inspired this time around. I loved seeing Jonouchi's suspicion for "Namu" when they came face-to-face again, because out of everyone there, he SHOULD have the greatest paranoia. His brain probably feels like a wrung sponge right now, and he's linked it to the guy whose presence he can vaguely link to the beginning of mental cloudiness. It's really interesting that he's the one who has to be the one drawing these connections, since he's usually the dense one in the group, but it makes sense. He's also the one who has completely broken free of Marik's brainwashing. Anzu, unfortunately, still appears to be being used.
It was a pretty clever move that I'm a little impressed with, to be honest. At first I wasn't sure why Marik would bother to keep a link to Anzu, since she featured so little in the ultimate power play he set up earlier, but this was smart. She's not a duelist, so she can't fight directly in the tournament with the others, but she's close enough to Yuugi and the others to vouch for him whenever he wants her to, and take suspicion off him.
Another layer of clever is stacked onto using Rishid as a stand-in for him. Big, threatening guy with tattoos on his face? That is a recipe for INSTANT judgment, and Marik seems to be well aware of that. It's a great strategy to further diffuse attention and just blend in, and it's working so hard on Yuugi up there.
And here I was thinking Marik was a bit of a dunce. Clearly he's not a bad strategist, and by extension, neither is KT. I'd keep my eye on him...
To be fair, I'd assume Rishid was Marik too, if only because he's wearing the same menacing robes as everyone else Yugi dueled against earlier.
ReplyDelete"Namu" getting into the tournament finals by dumb luck is a horrible excuse, though.
True, Rishid IS wearing the "uniform" so to speak. Still, rarely do you find maniacal cult-leaders who are willing to not set themselves apart from their flock visually, so it's a bit suspicious regardless.
DeleteI understand that "Namu" wanted to make himself seem very non-threatening and innocent in every sense, but that doesn't mean he had to pretend to be an incompetent who bumbled his way into the finals! There's a balance there he just did NOT hit. But they all bought it... to certain degrees, anyway, so I guess I can't criticize. *shrug*