Still, I can think of ONE person who's up there on that stage with asshole!Bakura who might get burned. As Yami holds Slifer's card in the air, summoning it along with a shitload of lightning, I can't help but think asshole!Bakura's face contains an awful lot of terror with his disbelief. So much that he might be inclined to retreat and leave someone ELSE to get burned in his place.
Yami's bystander friends watch Slifer roar in awe, Anzu in particular stammering about this Slifer she's heard... nothing about. Still, it's pretty damn impressive, because that thing's head is about 50 times larger than Yami himself. Just its HEAD. Jonouchi gapes at Yami's god card, but on the other side of things, Kaiba is standing there with his arms crossed wearing a smirk. He's impressed by Yami's draw of a god card on his last turn, and considers him the only valid rival for the title of ultimate duelist.
He is SO up his own ass.
Meanwhile, the "mystery duelist" still in her cabin below, watches the lightning outside, identifying it as one of those god cards. She doesn't seem at all surprised that even the gods do the duelist's bidding, because duh, they're fucking cards. She also reiterates that the person who wins all three of the god cards by the end of the tournament would earn the title of KING, because they rule by DIVINE RIGHT! Get it?
Anyway, more specific to Yami, she knows that once this trial has been overcome, the king's memories will be unlocked, even stating his name. Because if anyone knows who's going to win the whole kit and caboodle, it's her. Oh, and the audience.
Coincidentally, Yami is thinking about how his memories are currently locked in darkness too, and his need to win to shed some light on them. Great timing. This thought is what steels him in the action he's going to take, or I assume so, because he's warning asshole!Bakura to brace himself immediately after.
Asshole!Bakura just stares dumbfounded at Yami instead of taking the good advice. Marik pops back into his head for a gloat, asking if things aren't looking a little bad for this asshole since he's had a god summoned onto him. Asshole!Bakura growls at him, but can't get anything out further before Marik starts evaluating the situation. He tells asshole!Bakura that Slifer's attack points depend on how many cards are in the summoner's hand, and points out that right now, Yami has four. This means 4000 attack points against asshole!Bakura's 3500 life points, much to his panic. It likely grows when Marik reminds him smugly that he's got no monsters to shield him, and he will lose when Slifer attacks.
But asshole!Bakura's eyes are bloodshot, his hackles are up, and he denies the inevitability of dying. Ah, futility. He takes stock of the fact that the monsters Yami used to summon Slifer were brought back with his Deja Vu card, and one of those monsters was possessed by the doll's spirit. According to the rules of Deja Vu, the spirit would be roaming Yami's side of the duel at this time, having been released from its host by the host's sacrifice. Asshole!Bakura's wrinkled nose turns from a grimace to a grin as he sarcastically wonders which monster the spirit should possess.
Get it? Because there's only one? Yet another thing asshole!Bakura should be ashamed of, and he's about to pile on more shameful shit on the garbage fire that is this duel. He commands the spirit to possess Slifer, and it shoots at the god-monster, buuuuuuut....
Yami points at asshole!Bakura and states that he's won, prompting number one fanboy Jonouchi to cheer and urge his friend to finish off his... other friend. Who's not really his friend, but an evil spirit. Man, how much more complicated can this comic get? Jonouchi's assumption is that getting knocked around by a god will turn Bakura back to normal. Good to know there's still a bit of that "beat the hell out of 'em" spirit in Jonouchi yet.
As though waiting for Jonouchi's blessing, Yami announces he's going there. As he's ordering Slifer to attack, Marik wears a nasty grin as he assures a stricken asshole!Bakura that his defeat will serve the purposes of them both. Mostly Marik's though. Asshole!Bakura barks at him in anger and disbelief, but then, something weird happens?
Either his glare is an attention-getter or he ripped a massive fart, because Yami gapes at him a moment, then wrinkles the bridge of his nose and calls Rishid scum. Rishid doesn't appear at all upset by this, holding out his arm with the Millennium Rod grasped in its fist placidly. He tells Yami that he's controlling asshole!Bakura with the rod, to which Yami responds with disbelief. Yami asks if Rishid is really the one who brainwashed Bakura to be that asshole, and Rishid offers proof for his claim - the release of Bakura's native personality.
Sure enough, after a moment of asshole!Bakura hanging his head quietly...
Jonouchi and Anzu freak, referring to Bakura by his first name, this as recognition that he's actually returned to normal. See Jonouchi? No god-beating required. Regular!Bakura whimpers at Yami, asking where he is and what's happening. Rishid points out how badly injured regular!Bakura is, and says that if an attack from Slifer will grant victory for certain, but may also send regular!Bakura into deadly shock. Apparently he's secretly a senior citizen. Explains the white hair, at least.
While Yami's mouth hangs open in horror at this notion, Rishid asks him if he's willing to risk Bakura's life. Yami's expression quickly turns to anger at Bakura being used as a shield by this douchebag, who turns away from the stage like it's no big deal. Jonouchi yells that this sitch isn't at all fair, and Honda shouts at Bakura to wake up, even though he already has? Dude, try to keep up, okay? I know it's difficult at times, but you're on the INSIDE, and you've gotta hold it together for me, man!
Marik praises Rishid's acting as Rishid heads toward the elevator bay at the end of the spectator pit. He's rather not in the mood for compliments, though, claiming he has a pain in his heart that's not from the wind that whips past him up here. Uhhh, yeah, wind doesn't USUALLY have occasion to reach the heart, so...
Back on stage, Yami is calling to Bakura in desperation as he continues to slump in pain on the other side of the duel. He's sweating at the possible consequences of attacking. Marik's smile at Yami's dilemma persists, silently warning him that if he hesitates to act on his last turn, the final letter will appear on the Ouija Board, and he'll lose. It's down to Yami or Bakura. Yami stares at the letters on the Ouija Board, heart thumping and perspiring. Moar Cards Guy pipes up, urging Yami to make a decision, because he only has 30 seconds left in the five minutes allotted for thinking on each turn. I feel like this may be a misappropriation of concern here. I mean, there is a kid who's bleeding and in pain in the duel right now. Perhaps a rematch is in order here? Maybe?
Because Bakura isn't the only one in distress, either. As he listens to Bakura whimper about how painful this is, pleading for assistance, Yami stares impotently. He realizes that regular!Bakura doesn't have the mental strength to withstand Slifer's attack (a determination I would LOVE to know the reasoning behind, BTW), as Moar Cards Guy shouts that there's 20 seconds left. Kaiba is losing his mind with ignorance about why Yami is hesitating here, because after all, it's not like Bakura is hooked up to a death apparatus or anything. He's only bleeding to death. It's fine. He tells Yami to finish Bakura off. Anzu is the only one with any sense when she says this is awful and someone should stop this duel, followed up with Honda's insistence that Bakura should be treated or he'll die. Yami's heart pounds some more, and Moar Cards Guy shouts that he has 10 seconds left.
Meanwhile,
He tells Yami he'll let him win this time, so he should attack, being assured that his little gaming buddy won't die in the process. Yami calls Bakura's name, referring to the asshole, of course, and possibly poised to ask why he should be trusted. Asshole!Bakura says that he needs this body in the end, so he can gain the power of darkness. Or dankness. Regardless of how threatening these plans may be, at the moment, they're a bit further off than immanent failure.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? A rather strange chapter just for the odd decisions on actions and dialogue throughout. The fact that Rishid just attracted attention for no reason was mystifying to me. There was just nothing that I could see actually inciting the collective turn to him when he wanted to talk. If you don't want him to talk, at least make the Millennium Rod glow or something. Not having an obvious reason for the shift in attention from the game to a spectator was jarring and bizarre.
I had a similar reaction to Bakura's sudden heavy bleeding when he came out of being possessed. I understand why it happened at that time in the story, to increase drama and tension, but it was too sudden not to question. This one is a little tricky, however, because even if an explanation exists as to why this would happen, there's nowhere in the chapter KT could have put it. It would have broken up that tension it meant to build and ruined it, so I can see where he was stuck between a rock and a hard place here.
Same with Kaiba's reaction to Bakura's situation being leagues different than the horror he had when Yuugi faced Jonouchi on the pier. At first I was a little annoyed at what I saw as an inconsistency in character, but rethinking it, I'm a little less annoyed. Kaiba isn't acquainted with Bakura like he is Jonouchi, there's not a surefire 100% guaranteed death going to happen if Bakura loses, and most importantly, Kaiba is REALLY REEEEEAAAALLY nervous about not being able to face Yami sometime in the finals. As he said before, Yami is the only one that can be called a rival, so of course he would panic at the prospect of Yami being eliminated in the tournament without getting to duel him.
Besides, the game was almost finished, and it would be a nightmare setting up a rematch not knowing when Bakura was going to be well enough to try again. And just like that, there goes your whole tournament, all that planning and the blimp wasted because of a few measly seconds...
But seriously, what's the deal behind regular!Bakura not having the strength to withstand Slifer's attack? I feel like KT is being kind of dismissive of Bakura as a character at this point. The spirit in the ring is really important, but Bakura is just along for the ride because he's the host, and it's a little sad to me. He's in a similar position to Yuugi and you could do so much with that, story-wise, like revealing complex ways in which he's fighting the ring's spirit, or have him bond with asshole!Bakura in a weird way. There may have been a hint of that in the part where asshole!Bakura gets a bit uncomfortable with regular!Bakura's suffering before he takes over again, but the dialogue indicates it's just pride and the need to be dignified in losing.
Regardless, seeing regular!Bakura's side of this relationship a bit more often would enrich his part in the manga. As it stands, he's literally been reduced to a body that the spirit of the ring needs to complete his nefarious plot, and KT already objectified the shit out of Anzu, and that was already too much.
Bakura being sidelined sucks, but I'm assuming this relationship is basically a darker take on Yugi's symbiotic relationship with Atem. Basically, if Atem kept exerting more control over Yugi to the point he was never able to assert himself at all.
ReplyDeleteAlso, God Cards seem to cause the effects of Shadow Games whenever played, so I imagine that Bakura wouldn't be in a great spot taking a "real" attack while he's confused, bleeding, and doesn't have any kind of guard up whatsoever.
As far as Anzu knowing what Osiris is, I'm going to assume that's because of Marik possessing her.
I also meant to add this, but I have to imagine that this situation is probably uncomfortably close to "Attack me and I'll jump off the castle, Yugi." for Atem.
DeleteDon't get me wrong, I'm all for showing this as a darker, more disturbing version of what Yami and Yuugi have, but I think KT did that better when Bakura was first introduced and was actually... a character. Now, he just acts as a vehicle for asshole!Bakura, and has no power to fight/even show minor concern over his condition. At least back in the first part of the manga he had some reaction to what was happening with the Millennium Ring. It's just... disappointing.
DeleteSame thing with the recreation of that kind of "I'll kill myself if you move to win" situation - I liked it better when it was Kaiba and didn't seem it was a cheap callback rather than a desperate move of someone who has nothing left to lose. I guess this whole thing appears like a hollow echo of what KT did before to me, if I'm being honest.
But it does make sense that the god cards would kind of create a lot of those shadow game effects around their summoning; it already looks like Kaiba's technology ACTUALLY summons the monsters depicted on the cards to me, and the gods just being souped-up monsters would probably have souped-up influence on reality, rather than just the minor ones of regular monsters.
Also, Anzu only being allowed to have an opinion about the actual game through her possession by another involved character kinda checks out, lol!