Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 217 Awakened Darkness!

Sometimes you WISH for darkness to awaken, especially when the light destroying something beautiful. I'm talking, of course, about the burning of the cathedral Notre Dame, which shocked me right to my core. This building was at the root of an historical preservation movement that had never been seen before, and the irony of its spire going down in flames in the midst of renovation was acute. I'm still a little heartbroken, but I can take at least a little solace in the news that a lot of the priceless artifacts within were saved, as well as the famous rose window, even if a lot of the stained glass was lost.

Anything salvageable of Marik might not be so lucky as the treasures in Notre Dame, though, since the only person present who seems to know what's going on with him only spends a few moments mumbling about a dark personality he has to keep from taking out before passing out entirely. All while Marik is clutching his head and groaning. With Rishid out cold, there might not be anything left by the time he regains his senses.

Funny, his hair does ACTUALLY give the impression that fire is engulfing his head. Quite the opposite of darkness, but I'm no stranger to mixing my metaphors.

As Rishid lays on his face, his clouded head conjures the image of two cloaked figures, one tall and one short, holding hands with one another. The tall figure turns to reveal the face of Rishid's adoptive father in profile, looking on him with disdain. The vision says that the fact he can't control god is proof that he doesn't share the blood of the clan. Well, damn, you'd think if your clan was so great at controlling gods then you wouldn't have had such a hard time getting a son in the first place, huh? Speaking of sons, that's who the shorter figure is beside the father, a baby Marik, who looks back at Rishid with concern as he's led forward into the dark background.

Suddenly, Jonouchi's name comes up, and we see a circle of heads against a ceiling backdrop yelling Jonouchi's name, all of his friends. Some of them look angry, some of them look worried, some of them look friendly or even confused, but they all have one thing in common - they're annoying. Jonouchi has his head pillowed on his arms, snoring away, but the shouting gets to him and he opens his eyes a crack. He's actually sitting at a desk in school, ringed by the peanut gallery. Jonouchi lifts his head and yawns as Anzu yells at him that it's time to turn in the papers, and Honda yells at him for sleeping through an entire afternoon's classes. What classes? Have you ever caught a single soul TEACHING in this accursed place?

Watch, this is how Jonouchi realizes that he's a fictional character in a fictional universe. Headcanon.

Now Yuugi is yelling at Jonouchi for forgetting that a Duel Monsters tournament is happening after school. THIS is what gets his attention, crossing his eyes and gritting his teeth in a peculiar expression of sudden, acute alertness. He grabs his bag while Anzu, looking much friendlier now, suggests that he's going to do his best again today. He ignores her comment, riffling through the bag to confirm that his cards and Duel Disk are at the ready. Honda criticizes him for the bag only containing his lunchbox and duel- paraphernalia, but Jonouchi snaps that a true duelist's needs are very simple. "Simple" seems to be synonymous with "unprepared for any of life's other necessities or responsibilities" here.

Jonouchi seems to sense the person in the back of the room behind him, wearing a white outfit and a Duel Disk as he walks toward the door. On his way out, Kaiba smirks at Jonouchi and calls him a trash duelist. Spoken like a true child CEO of a company who had to grow up unnaturally fast. Jonouchi shouts in offense and moves to confront Kaiba, but Yuugi implores him to fight Kaiba in a DUEL rather than a physical confrontation. He is of course right, because we wouldn't want this little dream of Jonouchi's to turn into one of those nightmares where you punch too slow and light to do any damage to your laughing opponent.

Those are the WORST.

Anyway, Jonouchi vows once more that he WILL defeat Kaiba, but then realizes in a panic that there is no time for affirmations. He fumbles with his cards and they spill all over the floor, and he dives to pick them up, calling for his friends to wait as he mumbles about his clumsy mistake. Said friends are already headed for the door, though, and are pretty annoyed at how slow he is, especially Anzu. She has serious mood swings in Jonouchi's brain. She, Yuugi and Honda return to help him pick up the cards, Yuugi insisting they have to hurry and get to the tournament.

After they gather them all up again, Jonouchi is back in his seat, shuffling through them nervously. Honda asks if any were lost, but Jonouchi can only give him a non-committal noise in return while he peers at them. His friends are headed for the door again, Honda and Yuugi calling back for him to hurry up and that the tournament is about to start. For the first time since waking up from his dream-snooze, he appears somewhat confident, and agrees to leave with them. He jumps out of his seat, excited to get started, running for his smiling buddies.

He is so confused, lol!

Yami shout's Jonouchi's name, and Jonouchi peers over at him through still bleary-looking eyes, not quite fully conscious, and giving a questioning stare. He identifies Yami and all of his other friends slowly, and recalls that he's in Battle City. Mai calls him an idiot and asks if he's still asleep, which seems to confuse him a bit more. When he looks forward again, though, seeing Rishid laying face down on the platform and wondering why he's gone down, he starts to remember that when Ra was summoned, it attacked both of them.

Moar Cards Guy steps out in front of the spectators and announces that the duel is over, with Jonouchi being the winner. Again, Jonouchi is just totally confused by this, but his friends cheer, his sister congratulating him on being able to stand his ass up in time. Pretty low bar to clear, but I'll take it. Kaiba isn't exactly happy about it, however. He thinks this wasn't a very good duel, what with Jonouchi's by-default win. But ultimately he's more concerned with how Ra's less-than-solid-looking form opened up the heavens and attacked both players. It was almost as if the sky rained down anger in addition to its crazy winds. And just like that, this musing leads Kaiba to ponder if the Ra card Rishid used was a fake.

Don't know how that follows, but way to jump to the correct conclusion, boyo!

Because Jonouchi is the only person with any fucking COMPASSION right now, he runs to Rishid's side, turning him over to hold him up and demand that Rishid hang in there. Turns out that Rishid's latest pass-out was more like a fake-out, because this dipshit is still awake. His eyes are open, even if they're just slits. He and Jonouchi remain speechless for a moment, until he chokes out Jonouchi's name. He admits that he's grateful for the opportunity to duel Jonouchi, and Jonouchi returns the sentiment, calling him a real duelist as his friends run to join him on the platform.

Like in American Gods? I love Neil Gaiman!

Rishid gestures weakly to Yami, pleading with him to stop "that other". Yami looks unduly shocked by this request, considering he doesn't know what the fuck Rishid is talking about yet. Jonouchi screams at Rishid to hang on, though he's gone limp. I can't tell if it's another fake-out or not, to be honest. Jonouchi keeps holding onto his new buddy, certain that Rishid wasn't brainwashed. He twists around, demanding to know where the real Marik is, the one who made this other guy pretend to be him. Well which is it, Jonouchi? Do you think Rishid was brainwashed or not? You can't have it both ways.

Not that it matters, because "Namu" has stepped onto the platform as well, hanging his head in shadow. When he raises it, he claims that Rishid IS Marik, but just the shadow.

Are you... trying to argue you DIDN'T lie when you said Rishid was you? Because I'm pretty sure that bullshit wouldn't hold up in a court of law. Not when your "shadow" is a solid human being with his own SSN.

Yami's hair blows into his teeth as he clenches them in response, but he looks a bit too appalled to notice. Jonouchi is in disbelief, insisting that this CAN'T be the guy who brainwashes folks. Who knows why he's so resistant this fact, considering HE was the one whose instincts were in high gear when they first met back up with "Namu" at the blimp. You'd think Jonouchi of all people would be at least a little vindicated.

And Kaiba, of course, has no thought on "Namu" lying about his identity, pretending someone else was him, and manipulating everyone else for no discernible reason. No, Kaiba's only thought in this moment is that Marik is the one who has the god card Ra. One-track mind, this boy.

Marik says his shadow is useless now, a guy whose existence meant that he couldn't show himself. Yeah, go ahead and blame Rishid for your stupid, useless plan. Unless he's not talking about the plan at all. He goes on to say that the actor who will be playing his shadow now will be the understudy - the OTHER Marik, a guy whose methods are weak and personality will bring disaster. Poor casting choice. Opening night is going to be a riot. Literally.

Yami's eyes widen in shock as he realizes Marik is saying he ALSO has another personality. I know, right? I was hard pressed to identify even ONE personality in there. Now he's telling me there's two? Pshaw. #2Marik (Get it? Because he's a shit.) says that his other personality is predisposed to fear the dark, but he LOVES darkness. All the while his edges blur as though he's vibrating, because nothing gets a guy off harder talking about how much he loves darkness.

Then he says some nonsense about the opposite of a shadow being the shadow, which is not the binary I learned in school. Regardless of what this cryptic statement means, one thing is clear to #2Marik despite Rishid's loss; the people who can control the god cards are the ones connected to the Millennium Items. Kaiba is the first to call bullshit on this assertion, saying that he doesn't give two shits about the Millennium Items, but he can still control Obelisk. #2Marik chuckles, and informs Kaiba that he too has Millennium memories. Kaiba acts like he doesn't understand what #2Marik is talking about, as if he WASN'T presented this idea by Ishizu way back at the beginning of the arc.

The again, he nearly threw a full tantrum back then, so I guess #2Marik should count himself lucky that Kaiba isn't being a toddler about it this time.

Yami, you didn't even NEED Ishizu to suggest that Kaiba was the one on the tablet when YOU first saw it, so what's your excuse for this surprise? I swear, it's no wonder he needs to go on a quest to find his pharaoh memories when he can't even remember his own thoughts regarding a stone tablet THREE DAYS AGO.

Meanwhile, the blimp keeps chugging along, with our "eighth duelist" still hanging out inside her room. I wonder if SHE remembers her first meeting with the yahoos over her head. She's aware of one thing at least; Marik's real darkness has awakened. Her excuse for not lifting a finger to prevent this from happening? That there's no deviating from the fated path, and they're all just headed into the future with no light or hope. Sister of the fucking year, I tell you.

Marik's forehead glows with the eye etched onto it..

Man, he's been hitting the drugs SUPER hard today.

I would say that #2Marik doesn't have control of the blimp, but the guy who DOES isn't ever going to turn that thing around for anything, let alone to stick it to a shitbird with ironic rebellion. Let's face it.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? The dream was a refreshingly cute way to get Jonouchi to stand up. It gave us just a little bit of a break from the anxiety of the moment, and it reconnected us to the beginning of the series with the imagery and setting. Putting them all back in the classroom, Kaiba back in his Death-T clothing, is a reminiscence that puts how far we've come back in perspective and fosters this nostalgic feeling that suggests in the back of our mind of innocence lost. Not just Jonouchi, but ALL of them are so deep in this nightmare revenge plot of Marik's, that the past and where they started almost seems like it was always a dream, right before you wake up to the brutality and cruelty of a reality in which people can give you a lot more trouble than mere inconvenience. It's a vivid image.

Also, the dream was done really well. I've always struggled writing dreams, either making them too surreal and goofy, or too boring and subtle. I think KT strikes a good balance with the dream scene that makes it seem like a dream that someone could actually have. I think we're all familiar with the dream where we have to be somewhere, but for some reason we can just never get there. Classic. And of course the fact that he's kind of rooted to his desk seat or the floor the entire time until he finally stands up was a really good vehicle to get the ball rolling on Jonouchi's actual standing.

Unfortunately, the second half of the chapter mostly irritated me, because there's several instances of the characters just out-and-out forgetting things that should have been easy for them to remember. It draws some attention to the likely fact that KT probably forgot what happened way back when the arc began. Understandable, given all of this has been drawn out far longer for the publishing schedule than the time that's passed in the story. Still, its written down. You can just... go back and look, bro.

Inuyasha Manga: 158 The Oni Sword

It's not looking good for my poor tablet. I managed to keep the thing running even after an unfortunate crack to the screen formed from the corner I dropped on the concrete when the strap to my purse broke. When the touch screen stopped working altogether shortly thereafter, I just started using it like a laptop. But even then, the typecover started to fail on me, the battery, and even the charging port. It acknowledges that it's plugged in but for some reason refuses to charge until I've unplugged and plugged it back in multiple times. After an update today, it was on single-digits in the battery range, and would not charge for more than two minutes no matter how many times I followed the ritual.

I think the thing is at death's door, and I'm at my wit's end. You should have seen me screaming and wailing at it earlier. I imagine it looked a bit like this:

Almost identical. The only thing that's different is there's no sulking teenager telling me to shut up already because I could have fixed it by now if I hadn't spent all that time bawling. I'm more than thankful for that, because I don't know how I'd handle it. Toutousai certainly isn't taking this backtalk lying down, though. He let's Inuyasha know that fixing the sword is going to be easier said than done. Inuyasha is rightly sweating at this declaration, and asks hesitantly if this means it CAN'T be fixed.

It looks like Toutousai was just busting Inuyasha's balls, because he's peering at the pieces of Tessaiga with critical DRY eyes, stating that his skill is great enough to fix the sword in three days and nights. Not great enough to make it a bit less shatterable in the first place, though. The only thing Toutousai needs that he doesn't have is a filler. Inuyasha repeats the word as a question while Toutousai chooses a big pair of iron tongs, clanging the ends together. He tells Inuyasha to open his mouth, and Inuyasha yawns wide naively, even asking if this is how Toutousai meant for him to do so.

I swear, Inuyasha can be such a cinnamon roll sometimes.

Worse than my dad threatening to tie my loose tooth to the rear bumper of his truck. Damn.

Inuyasha bops Toutousai over the head with his fist, demanding to know what the fuck he's doing. Toutousai is undaunted by the big lump growing on his skull as he tells Inuyasha to calm his shit, because his fang will grow back in a mere half-day. That's convenient. Wouldn't want our handsome protagonist to wander around through the rest of the story missing a tooth.

Meanwhile, another handsome, this time antagonist - or is it more of an ambivatist? - is enduring more screams from a tiny baby girl. This time, they're angry, because Rin insists that she's going somewhere with Sesshoumaru and Jaken. Jaken yells back at her that she's a dumb brat who will die of asphyxiation if she follows them into a place with a poisonous atmosphere. Rin takes on a more deferential tone when she looks up at Sesshoumaru, who still carries Goshinki's head by a horn, by the way, and asks if he'll come back for her. Sesshoumaru doesn't answer, just tells Jaken that they're going on their errand after a long pause. As he and Jaken head off, Rin clutches the reins of the two-headed dragon creature, calling to them to come back for her.

I don't think she has anything to worry about; she's far too adorable to leave behind.

And woah, suddenly we're in Florida. How did THAT happen?

The bastards he's referring to are of course Sesshoumaru and Jaken, the former of which starts identifying their gracious host as Kaijinbou, a swordsmith who wouldn't stop making evil blades, so Toutousai refused to be his master anymore and tossed him out on his ass. Note that Sesshoumaru, conspicuously, does not say who he is, as was requested. Rude. Kaijinbou focuses in on Toutousai's name, though, which still makes him sick even though he hasn't heard it in a while.

Sesshoumaru drops Goshinki's head on the floor, Kaijinbou looking a little shocked at this, and asks he thinks he can make a sword out of the fangs of this ogre. Kaijinbou crawls next to the head to inspect its mouth, but when he leans away, he's unimpressed. He says a good sword could never be made out of such "dead" fangs. Are fangs ever ALIVE? I'm pretty sure they're always pretty dead...

Wordlessly, Sesshoumaru draws Tenseiga from the sheath at his side, and Jaken looks around at him in question. He seems a little confused by the fact that Sesshoumaru is using the sword that brings shit back to life, for some reason. He must not have been following the conversation. While he's catching up, Sesshoumaru sees a couple of little imp-creatures glaring at him from on top of Goshinki's head, what he calls pall-bearers of the next world.

"You crazy, bro?"

But a moment later, Kaijinbou's eyes alight at a new crackle of energy coming from Goshinki's head. He reexamines it, running his hand along the nose, amazed that it seems so much different from earlier. Not as different as it would be if the newly living face you're caressing caught your arm in its teeth.

Come to think of it, that's a really disturbing concept, being a head brought back to life. Imagine if Goshinki was conscious and TALKING. A glutton like him might be devastated at the separation from his stomach. Imagine him waking up, unable to move, unable to feed, with this stranger poking at his face and he without the power to do anything about it. Just imagine what that would be LIKE.

Freaked out yet?

Goshinki's alterego. You're welcome.

Sesshoumaru is willing to communicate one, solitary fact to Kaijinbou: the now living fangs of the ogre head before him broke Tessaiga, forged by that asshole Toutousai who expelled him from his magic sword school. Kaijinbou doesn't appear to be paying much attention, muttering about how these teeth are really something else, and how they'll make a super dope sword. I'm really excited to see this thing now!

Meanwhile and elsewhere, Kagome is kneeling by a stream, dunking a water bottle she brought with her from the future to fill it up while Shippou supervises. Seriously, he's got his little arms crossed and has this straight-backed demeanor of a tight-ass manager, it's kind of hilarious. Kagome says that Tessaiga should be done by the following day, trailing her sentence on a "but", which Shippou finishes by griping about how the timing sucks. Why?

You know you've got the right friends when they shock you by looking normal occasionally.

Miroku explains that hanyou like Inuyasha lose their youkai powers once a month and take on a human appearance, further stating that this information is a critical secret to maintaining Inuyasha's relative safety from enemies who might want to take advantage of the time of weakness. Inuyasha eyes him with disdain, asking if it isn't a bit strange that the number of people who KNOW this secret is gradually increasing. Kagome, having returned from the water's edge, assures him that this is actually a-okay, because it means his friends are increasing as well, but Inuyasha pouts in response. It seems that "you got a whole bunch of buddies who might get hurt in an ambush during these times" isn't exactly a satisfying answer to him.

Later on, while Inuyasha sits on his own, he examines his regular nails and thinks about his anxiety around having his human form. Not having fangs or claws makes keeps him awake waiting for the morning to come. His name is called and he turns to see Kagome walking up with two pop-tab soda cans, offering one to him, and all he can think is that he may not even be able to protect the life of a single solitary girl.

But you HAVE, kiddo. TWICE. Don't you remember?

Kagome sits next to him in the grass and asks if it wouldn't be better at this *ahem* delicate time to not be so far away from everyone else. Inuyasha scoffs at the suggestion, and tells her to quit yapping at him, because sometimes he's got things to think about. She DOES stop talking, but she peers at him pointedly until he becomes unnerved and asks her what she's looking at. With a somewhat sad look, she asks him if he still wants to become a full youkai after all that business with Goshinki.

He thinks back to the incident with a perspective he doesn't appear to have considered yet - that he might have then become a full youkai for a while. Head hanging, Kagome admits that she was really scared at the time, and Inuyasha twitches, like a switch is flipped and he's suddenly in a rage. He screams in disbelief at her comment, reminding her that if he hadn't transformed, Goshinki would have devoured all of them. Shit boy, cooooooooool it.

Luckily, Kagome doesn't get peeved in return, and starts to explain that's not what she meant at all. She tells him that no matter how horrific his face had seemed, that wasn't what worried her. As he wonders if his face was really THAT terrifying, Kagome elaborates that her fears were about how it had seemed his heart had gone somewhere far away. He's the one staring now.

Inuyasha stutters that Kagome is being an idiot, and says that no matter what happens to his body, he's still himself. He insists that he won't forget about her, but she doesn't look so sure, even though she says okay in response. Mentally, she pleads with Inuyasha not to forget her.

I don't know, I tend to not want people who yell in my face like fucking lunatics to remember me, but those people also aren't likely to rip me apart on sight, so...

Back in Florida, it looks like Jaken has gone back to Kaijinbou's alone, calling for him through the curtain over the doorway to his shack. Jaken reminds him that he said the sword would be ready by the third day, and peeks around the curtain to ask how the thing turned out. Bad idea, let me tell you.

Great job, Sesshoumaru. You have ensured that Goshinki can continue being a dick even after death. Well done.

So, what do I think of this chapter overall? I know a lot of people don't like Jaken, but I'm very amused by him - gives me a heavy Grumpy the dwarf vibe, I've gotta say - so I was actually quite upset by that last page when I first read this. It was just such a horrible death for a comic-relief character, which mildly traumatized me. Also, I think I was a bit freaked by the LACK of gore, if that makes any sense. Like you would very much expect to see organs and junk flying out of him, but the fact that you don't is almost surreal in a creepy way here. I don't know if I can describe it, but it still gives me the shivers.

But it's not the only thing on this page in particular that was shiver-worthy. Kaijinbou appears to have been affected in much the same way that Inuyasha was very recently - overcome by an uncanny bloodlust. I don't think this is a direct parallel to Inuyasha's situation, though, seeing as how it's very unlikely Kaijinbou is a hanyou for the reason that he wouldn't be able to handle his own home or Toutousai's mountain once a month alone. But, it is rather chilling to think that Goshinki's essence as a character is tied so thoroughly to what one might call a hedonistic mindset. He IS that pleasure of killing, in the respect that even PARTS of him have the potential to instill this self-destructive joy in murder.

Not that Kaijinbou wasn't already primed, what with being practiced in creating a bit of evil destructive tools in his day, if Sesshoumaru's short history is anything to go off of. Still, it must take a pretty powerful drug to produce that kind of high in a guy who's already used to the hard stuff. I mean, Toutousai told him to get lost over it, so he must have been on some nasty shit. Lucky Inuyasha wasn't handling Goshinki like a weapon, else he may never have been able to come down from his own high.

Speaking of which, what an odd experience it must be for that kid to go from one extreme to the other in just a couple of days time. No wonder he's on edge. Though he's been known to get a bit offensive in his defensive from time to time, yelling at Kagome like that was by far the worst we've seen of this impulse because he's on more of an emotional roller coaster than we've ever seen. Given the high of feeling like he could murder the whole world and it would be the greatest thing ever, it's understandable that his human form would look even weaker than it does normally, thereby intensifying those normal feelings of anxiety during this time.

It was nice that Kagome appeared to see his lashing out for what it was; just emotions running especially high at the worst possible moment. She was compassionate with him, which is the best time to be, if she has to choose. Of course, Kagome isn't in the habit of expressing fear with overcompensation of bravado, though, so it was inevitable that her habit of butting heads with Inuyasha wouldn't have manifested here. What's interesting is that she's less afraid of being horribly killed if Inuyasha doesn't remember who she is in a fit, and more about being forgotten by him to begin with. It seems like a strange thing to focus on when death might be on the table in such a scenario, but all the close-calls with death in this world have been avoided thanks to Inuyasha. Because he remembers her, has this relationship with her, she feels safe and like she can make it out alive. But the moment Inuyasha stops being Inuyasha, whether by freak accident or by a wish on a tainted jewel, all of that security is as gone as Inuyasha himself.

Lastly, Rin's pleading with Sesshoumaru to come back for her was sad, because at this stage, there is not a lot to suggest that he would come back at all. It's possible that this is the very first time since she was revived that she was asked to stay by herself. Being left alone can be frightening for any child, but for a kid who probably still has memories of fending for herself after her family was killed, it must be a life she's DESPERATE to avoid going back into. Sorry to say that Sesshoumaru doesn't give much indication that he will come back, either, aside from leaving her with the two-headed dragon. He might not be too terribly committed to bringing her up yet, something he must have realized would be a necessity if she continued to follow him around. While this had me grumbling about irresponsible little pricks bringing life (back) into the world with their magic swords only to consider abandoning it, I do have to admit it's not a light responsibility. Plenty of young men grapple with the concept of fatherhood, so I don't see why Sesshoumaru would be much different than them.

As for Jaken, he's just a crotchety old man who wants those kids to get off his DAMN LAWN! Or is that me? I don't know.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 216 Judgment of the Gods

Oh pshaw! What kind of use is the judgment of GODS? Do you know how often I berate myself on a daily basis for the most minor of infractions? Did I step too heavily on a creaky floorboard? I'm a loud, obnoxious, inconsiderate piece of garbage who is disturbing my neighbors below. Did I accidentally leave leftovers in my fridge? I'm a wasteful, ungrateful whelp. Did I forget to use my turn signal when changing lanes? Clearly I'm a careless shit who is endangering the lives of everyone around me!

I mean, it's no wonder that most of us don't hear from gods like, EVER, considering we're perfectly content to do their jobs for them. And if it's not we that are willing to do the job on ourselves, it's always someone we're trying to impress. When Marik encourages Rishid to knock out Jonouchi with Ra by suggesting his control of the god card will prove he's a member of the family, Rishid's thoughts immediately turn to his adoptive father SCREAMING at him. If this, and his consequent action of raising the fake Ra card from the shrine box behind him to summon it, isn't a sick attempt at self-punishment, I don't know what is.

I'm not sure if I should be relieved that the translator has reduced the number of gods involved in this judgment to the singular - even one of these things has been known to fuck everything up for your average human, and this one looks PISSED.

Dwarfed by a single claw on this giant creature, stands in awe of it forming before him, jaw slack. The bystanders have a similar reaction, with Yami gritting his teeth in anxiety at the sight of this god card come to life. Kaiba, once again, is the only one whose amazement is tinged with an admiring smile at the up-and-coming god. He better not drool to hard over this thing, because his blue-eyed dragon might get super jealous.

Man, these are big fuckers, aren't they? Try to smack THAT with a flyswatter.

Rishid implores Jonouchi to look at the god's form, one that normally would have taken 3 monsters as a sacrifice whose attack and defense would add up to the final god's stats. Since Selket ate Jonouchi's monsters, though, it was able to take on the points from those as the necessary sacrifice instead. Handy. The final attack on Ra is 5225 points, and Rishid points out that it's more than enough to end this whole deal once it attacks. Jonouchi repeats the attack number in disbelief, while even YAMI is admitting that there can't be a way for his buddy to win this fight. Hanging his head, Jonouchi thinks it's all over.

Marik sends mental congratulations to Rishid for controlling that copy of a god, proving that he's a member of the guardian clan. What he's actually happy about is the fact that everyone will believe that Rishid is him now, and his shitty plans can keep chugging along. We still don't know the details of this plan, which will undoubtedly make it easier for Marik to pretend it's going swimmingly despite everything he attempts being an utter fail. Still, he's willing to divulge that his plan involves figuring out what Kaiba's deal is, as he gives Kaiba a serious side-eye. It's bothering the shit out of Marik that that ancient tablet depicting Yami is also depicting Kaiba, even more so that Kaiba's likeness seems to be carrying an approximation of the Millennium Rod. He wants to read Kaiba's memories for more information on what Kaiba's doing with HIS dildo artifact. It's HIS, dammit! No one else is or was allowed to have it!

Anyway, back to the game. Rishid is telling Jonouchi to prepare himself for impact. Jonouchi's supporters yell his name and wait tensely for the end. Kaiba's smile has only grown creepier as he thinks Jonouchi should be grateful to be a sacrifice for a god, a lab rat sacrifice, anyway. Would YOU be grateful for that, Kaiba? Somehow I think you would be rather upset about having to be a sacrifice, so maybe you should stop trying to dictate how other people should feel about losing their ass here. Elitist garbage mill.

Marik has a similar grin on his face as he urges Rishid to finish off Jonouchi with the god power, which is now Rishid's power too, just in case he needed the ego boost to get the deed done. Rishid calls out the order to attack on a groaning Jonouchi, but Marik drops his eyes in surprise at a distraction downward. No, it's not his boner, it's his Duel Disk, which has started to smoke from the deck slot. This is making Marik sweat and he draws his arm closer to his face to peer at the contraption on his arm. He wonders if this means the real god card in the machine has become angry.

It could be that, or it could be the water you poured all over it earlier.

Uh-oh, that doesn't look good.

All the little flying glowy things *shrug* appear to be zooming all around the blimp, while Ra hides in a swirling vortex of doom above. Rishid guards his face with an arm as he internally questions why the shadow of Ra is giving him and everything else the evil squint right now. Marik's eyes widen at the sight of Ra in comparison to his card, because this is not what he's supposed to look like. As the glowing streamers converge in the center of the vortex and flash inside of it dangerously, Marik knows Rishid using the fake card REALLY pissed off Ra. Like, REALLY.

Jonouchi is freaking out, stuttering out a demand for an explanation, but Rishid doesn't answer. Partly because he doesn't have one, partly because he's freaking out too in his own subdued bug-eyed way.

The streamers are coming back down now, resembling long arrows as they dart down to the platform below. They hit multiple spots around Jonouchi, and he's frozen in place, gritting his teeth. Marik calls this the anger of Ra manifesting on the offending players. Uncharacteristically, Marik is not pleased with this, and is actually looking quite horrified. Jonouchi's supporters call out to him in anxiety. Rishid stands stock still on his side of the platform.

Yeah, in addition to being shouted at and threatened by your shitty dad, you clearly deserve being struck by lightning as well. That seems fair. /sarcasm

Marik stares open-mouthed at Rishid, screaming his name internally, as he falls forward onto his face, unconscious. But those light spear/arrows aren't done shooting down at the platform. They're still going for Jonouchi as well, whose only crime was being present. He flinches away from the light spears, sweating and groaning, while all his friends can do is shout his name.

"Aaaaaaaand fuck this guy too! This is giant bird JUSTICE, dammit!!!"

Jonouchi falls to his knees to the tune of his name being shouted by Honda as well, and then on his face as the light spears stop falling and the vortex begins to dissipate. Both Jonouchi and Rishid lay there on the smoking platform. When Yami and the rest of the peanut gallery run to his aid, Moar Cards Guy intercepts them, holding his arms out to bar them from rushing the platform. He says the duel isn't over yet. I don't know, dude, it looks pretty fucking OVER to me when both opponents are laying inert in the middle of the ring.

Honda calls Moar Cards Guy an idiot, pointing out that very fact, but Moar Cards Guy insists that since they both have life points left, since the weird light show was only an attack on the players and not on their points. And you're not questioning this because...? Seems rather funny to me that an attack on the players would not affect their points in the game, but what the fuck do I know? I'm not even a referee in a nonsensical tournament!

Mai asks how the winner will be decided then, presumably so she can know when she's ALLOWED to go and assist her friend with the lightning strike to his belly. Moar Cards Guy says the first person to stand and continue dueling is the winner. Okay, another question: what about that five-minute rule? If neither of them stand by the end of that, can you let someone fucking HELP THEM??? Or will we ignore that and just stand here with our thumbs up our asses while these dudes just lay there in agony INDEFINITELY?

Man, this tournament is FUCKED.

Jonouchi's friends and family scream at him, trying to get him to get up. Meanwhile...

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Rishid's explanation isn't exactly helpful, full of holes, just like the one that lightning burned through his middle. Something about him sleeping, and Marik's true hatred within... It all seems to come down to some dark personality being awakened when he falls. You mean he's not going to be just a weird asshole anymore? Not sure how it could get much worse than that, but carry on, I guess.

So, Rishid lays his head down again, in a motion that looks like full unconsciousness. Marik holds his head and grinds his teeth in response. Jonouchi's supporters shout at him some more, and Moar Cards Guy announces that the two duelists have one more minute to rise before they're both disqualified. Oh thank goodness there's SOME reason in this dipshit.

You're two hundred chapters late to the cool-Millennium-personality-switch scene, Marik. I would say sorry, but I'm not.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It's reminded me that I will probably never get over the fact that this manga just doesn't have adult characters that can DO anything, you know, ADULT. I'm just consistently amazed by how adults are conspicuous in their absence in the story, and when they're not, they're conspicuous in the fact that they refuse to act in a responsible manner. There has not been a SINGLE adult in this entire story who has taken charge of a precarious situation, insisting that the kiddos get the care they need for various injuries and such, when they exist at all of course. KT just writes them like the kids, and it's so obvious that he only made them adults because he HAD to. He has enough of a sense of realism that he realizes the police, the teachers, and most of the employees of this child billionaire are going to be grown people, but he just can't write them as adults, because that would disallow a lot of the events playing out the way he wants them to.

Now, I understand the irony of a 31-year-old woman complaining about the lack of adult presence in a story written for children, but I can't help talking about how much anxiety this is producing in me right now. I'm knee-deep in the stuff, I swear.

It was profoundly sad to see Rishid realize that this god was trying to punish him, and his assumption that it was because he wasn't really a member of his clan. The image of his adoptive father screaming at him in memory at that moment just drove the point further home; Rishid's rejection has been divinely confirmed, at least to his own mind right now, and that is just heartbreaking. We all have to deal with feelings of insecurity and wondering if we belong, and I'm even willing to bet that most of us have felt at one point or another that there was some god out there punishing us, designating us as unlovable.

But the thing that Rishid seems to have forgotten here is that he was using a fake card, the very kind that Marik had conducted his experiments with and described the results being of this very sort. If Rishid had been using the real card, this whole situation might have turned out differently. The issue here seems to me to be about using a copy, not using the card altogether, but there hardly seems to be much of a control group here. The only other two who are using god cards are special ancient Egyptian avatars or something, so I don't know what would happen to a normal everyday Joe if he tried.

Regardless, of why the punishment is taking place, it's a severe overreaction and Ra needs to stop throwing tantrums over nothing. Like that thing has any idea what it's like to be a human living in the world.

Oh, and I have very little sympathy for Marik's little headache there. It's the least he should get for being a jerkass. Peace!

Inuyasha Manga: 157 Instinct

The concept of instinct is a murky and suspicious one. Many actions of non-human animals are characterized as reflex of survival, built into their very DNA, and yet a human person lashing out in pain is considered a calculated act. We consider the complicated networks of hive insects as mere mechanisms for successful propagation, but our own societies are treated as the results of genius. Can we really separate reason and instinct from one another when we use rationalization to reach flawed conclusions all the time, and supposedly "instinctual" creatures perform in accordance with logic? Are they different things altogether, or are neither of them true, approximations of our own bias toward our own species?

Hold tight, because the Inuyasha chapter I'm covering today... addresses none of this. Enjoy.

Maybe its the sudden vivid technicolor. I mean, MY blood isn't boiling, but I do feel like I've stepped out of Kansas and into the Land of Oz. Kind of weird that a violent rampage has caused color to fill the world.

Looking back at Goshinki's head sitting atop the mound of his own pulverized flesh, Inuyasha thinks he still hasn't killed enough. Yeah, well, sometimes I feel like I haven't had enough CAKE, and it turns out I'm dead fucking wrong, doesn't it? Comparing murder to cake aside, I think you ought to consider that your palette might be lying to you, my dude.

Inuyasha's eye twitches to his periphery, where he hears a sound. It's Kagome, approaching with hands held up, saying his name. He acknowledges her, yelling for her not to come near him. She recoils in shock as Inuyasha explains he doesn't know what he'll do in his current state. The MURDER state. Shippou says Inuyasha's name in concern as well, while Sango wonders aloud just what the hell happened to him. Miroku answers that Inuyasha's youki has gained some considerable strength, and Sango responds that it seems almost like he's become a TRUE youkai.

Kagome attempts to sooth Inuyasha by reminding him that there's no longer any enemies around, but Inuyasha just stares at her open-mouthed, sweating, and still red-eyed. Good of Kagome to be the sober one in this seriously bad trip.

... And Inuyasha's face has turned back to normal when he lifts his head to ask Kagome what the fuck that was about. Turns out all anyone needs to do to sober up is to slam their face into the ground. Need to remember that one if I'm ever on shrooms alone. So, never.

The three bystanders lean forward to peer at him, Shippou expressing some tentative relief that he appears to be back to normal from atop Miroku's head. Meanwhile, Kagome kneels on the ground in front of Inuyasha and launches a hug onto him, thanking goodness for his normalcy. Inuyasha just lets out a sound of surprise, eyes wide at the embrace. When she pulls away, she asks what he'll do, and at first he's confused by the question. Then they both look over at the broken Tessaiga laying in shards on the ground some ways away. A sad reminder of how Goshinki bit it right in half a few minutes before.

At that moment, Inuyasha thought he might die, but he doesn't finish the recap of what happened after he felt he really didn't want to die. Recalling that his body felt very hot is as far as he's willing to go with it.

A word of thanks breaks through his thoughts, and Inuyasha turns the other way to see the pair of children whom he had inadvertently saved. The boy clarifies that he's thanking Inuyasha for avenging their parents, but Inuyasha can't help looking back at Goshinki's gross pile of remains. He says, "vengeance" wearing consternation on his face. Internally, he has to admit that this hadn't been his goal at all. He looks down at his reduced claws, knowing he just enjoyed the shit out of tearing up Goshinki. You can tell he feels pretty bad about it, even though he would have had to dispatch that shit-talking glutton eventually anyway. Letting the fucker live would have just meant he would go on to swallow the whole damn world like an asshole.

Rumbling storm clouds have appeared, and Shippou looks over his shoulder at them with apprehension. Inuyasha and Kagome look up at the sky as well when a loud crack sounds.

Dammit! Those aliens are dropping their fucked-up failed experiments back on the earth at random again!

Wait a minute, this fucked-up failed alien experiment looks familiar...

Miroku uses his staff as a crutch to pull himself to his feet, asking if this isn't Toutousai's bull. You know, the old guy who made Tessaiga? Sango is confused that just the bull has appeared without an apparent rider. That's because a minuscule, less-than-apparent one jumps at Inuyasha from the bull's nose, calling his name. Barely a moment passes the greeting before little Myouga latches onto the tip of Inuyasha's nose and starts sucking the blood from it.

Inuyasha face-palms, Myouga squished flat by his palm, floating down into it when Inuyasha pulls his hand away. Kagome addresses him with some surprise as Miroku limps forward to ask if Myouga had run from their dangerous group over to Toutousai's crib. Myouga is, of course, very offended at the implication that he's a coward, complaining that it's very disrespectful. Inuyasha and Kagome come to the conclusion that he protests too much.

Myouga ignores the accusations at this point, unable to argue against them, choosing to ask Inuyasha if something happened to Tessaiga. Inuyasha asks in turn whether he's correct in assuming that's why he came back.

Good thing you missed it, considering you might have gotten a lot worse than flattened if you popped in any earlier.

Myouga snaps that Inuyasha should go and collect all the pieces of Tessaiga instead of just staring at him waiting for a meaningful statement from his shady ass. Kagome clasps her hands in front of her, looking delighted that it seems Tessaiga can be fixed.

Some time later, long after Inuyasha has picked up the pieces of his broken sword and left the area, Goshinki's rotting pile of ground flesh still lays there like the unwanted entrails at a meat processing plant. Out of the eternally mist-shrouded distance comes a figure, running for the mound of Goshinki remains. No wait, TWO figures, and they also look familiar.

Hey, this kiddo isn't looking too bad for having been bitten to death by wolves! And she's TALKING now. Who knew that being mute by acute trauma could be cured by even MORE trauma? Seems kind of counter-intuitive...

Anyway, this cute little girl cringes at realizing the ogre is in pieces, while the less cute little Jaken wonders out loud who did this. He's answered from behind that it was Inuyasha. Of course. Jaken looks back and addresses the approaching Sesshoumaru, not quite daring to ask for elaboration. All Sesshoumaru says is that Inuyasha didn't exactly escape this encounter uninjured himself. Then he reaches for one of Goshinki's horns.

Awwww, isn't that just like kids? SCREAMING in public? I'm getting stress flashbacks to when my sister was young enough to throw tantrums in the grocery store, and...

... Ugh, me duele la cabeza...

Sesshoumaru is a champion of concentration, though, focusing entirely on how the ogre's teeth are covered in the smell of Tessaiga. He's vindicated in his original thought that the ogre's fangs bit the sword apart. He slings the big head over his furry shoulder like a weird sack and announces that they're leaving now. Jaken questions, indirectly, Sesshoumaru's choice to bring the head with them. Rin is running around in circles, screaming like Kevin McCallister.

Man, I cannot WAIT for this adorable little bastard to go around setting home-defending traps for Naraku to bungle into, because this is what she was born to fucking do, fight me.

Right now, though, Sesshoumaru can't abide all the screaming, and he tells the little girl whom he calls Rin to stop making such a racket. She immediately snaps to attention arms stiff by her side and back straight as she complies with a "yessir". Well shit, if this guy isn't dad of the year. Jaken glares at Rin despite how obedient she's proven herself to be, thinking she's a damn brat. He also thinks that she never shuts up, a funny thing, given that he recalls she couldn't speak before being revived with Tenseiga. Yes, rather odd.

He doesn't dwell on this strange thing that really OUGHT to be dwelt upon, though, because he's more interested in internally complaining about how Sesshoumaru has decided to cart this little girl around with them. Between adorable orphan girls and giant ogre heads, Jaken thinks it is high time the former is gotten rid of. I guess the latter hasn't been around long enough to truly annoy Jaken yet. As Jaken sighs for how irritating everything and everyone in his life is, Rin looks around at him and comments on how he's been sighing an awful lot. The sad thing is, I have been doing the same for a lot of the same reasons these past four years of my life. I can sympathize.

Not a hip admission, I'll warrant, but it has to be said.

We jump to Sesshoumaru's head, who has an entirely different set of concerns. He's able to discern pretty much everything that happened here due to the smells, but he can't quite wrap his brain around the fact that the smell of Inuyasha's blood seemed to change. It didn't smell like a hanyou's blood, but was closer to the smell of his own and their father's. Time to bust out the magnifying glass and deerstalker cap, I suppose.

Cut to our main gang gathered next to Inuyasha sitting cross-legged on the back of Toutousai's bull. Myouga bounces in Kagome's upturned palm as he states that humans can't go to Toutousai's place, so Inuyasha will have to go on alone. By the next panel, Inuyasha is already gone and the rest of them are seated around a campfire. Miroku asks Myouga why he didn't go with Inuyasha, and at first Myouga doesn't answer. He asks if Inuyasha really did transform, with a nervous expression.

Kagome confirms that this is indeed what happened, and asks in turn if this has anything to do with Tessaiga breaking. Sheepishly, Myouga says it does, and reiterates what they already know about Tessaiga, being a sword of protection left Inuyasha by his father. He further explains that in addition, it's meant to put a leash on Inuyasha's youkai blood (my pun is very much intended).

Both Kagome and Miroku make curious, surprised sounds, so Myouga elaborates that if Tessaiga is broken in a fight, it is likely he might die as a result, unless his instinct to live awakens his youkai blood. Meaning lengthened nails and fangs, angry youkai markings, and hyperrealistic blood-eyes like in a bad creepy pasta. Myouga says that once this youkai blood has been awakened once, it's not possible to put it back to bed again, because he's already had a taste of that sweet sugar high of tearing apart his enemy. Just bouncing off the walls until midnight. I feel a bit more justified in comparing to to cake when I say it like this, leave me alone.

I feel like there are a couple of examples of pure youkai in your very group who might be right to take offense at this attitude to youkai hearts, Kagome.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I know in the last chapter I was willing to give this new transformation of Inuyasha's a tentative seal of approval for at least presenting a character challenge. However, there are some issues with the struggle and what it represents straight off the bat, ones that I think Inuyasha fans are duly familiar with.

The first is, of course, the fact that Inuyasha did not have Tessaiga for his whole life. He only recently came to possess it, which left both his practical and blood protection just utterly bare before the time Kagome pulled it out of the dais. I very much doubt that he NEVER, not even ONCE, came across a situation in which he might die in a fight before he could get his hands on that sword. Hanyou are supposed to be under constant suspicion at best, and getting a bunch of outright abuse from humans and youkai alike at worst. We can't be told this one second, and then the next be expected to believe that Inuyasha didn't get seriously fucked up in a fight in the years before Tessaiga was in his life the next.

And no, Inuyasha did not have Tessaiga all along in the black pearl within his eye. The black pearl opened a PORTAL to the border between life and afterlife, and THAT'S where Tessaiga was before Inuyasha got it. I know this is a common argument for how Tessaiga's protection could extend to Inuyasha even before it came into his possession, but it's not a very good one, in spite of it being possibly the best we've got. The best I can think of in alternative to it is that the sword seals Inuyasha's youkai blood regardless of his possession of it, just having to be whole as a stipulation. I hope I'm not exactly spoiling things when I hint that this will be proven dead wrong not too much later in the story though.

In addition to our mechanism not making much sense becausethisisliterallyRT'ssolutiontowritingherselfintoacornerwhatdidItellyou?, it's also further confusing our conception of youkai as beings. The characters themselves always present a fairly black-and-white view of these beings, as malevolent, violent things that just want to murder everything in sight. Youkai themselves, Goshinki and Myouga, talk about the joy of killing as if this is the undisputed motivation of all youkai. And yet, in the same chapter, we get the exact opposite view of a pure youkai (and proud of it, thank you very much) preserving the life of a little girl, showing her discipline, and yet indulging her like he's damn-well adopted her. We see the OPPOSITE of bloodlust and the joy of killing right here, and then two panels later, we get a bunch about how Inuyasha is now going to crave murder now that he's had a taste of it because that's what youkai do.

I'm inclined to the complex interpretation. There's an element of the actual truth of how youkai function being obscured by a lack of understanding, and paring down the matter into simpler, more digestible bits for the sake of expediency. We do this all the time in real life as well, try to separate muddy, unclear subjects into their working parts, and miss the forest for the trees in the process. I also like the idea that these characters are just plain WRONG about how youkai are, because I've said before that I think it gives them an aspect of realism.

But the more I look at this transformation issue, the more I'm suspicious that it's the product of necessity, not having anywhere else to go. If you disagree, that's fine, but here's something to consider: Inuyasha was already recovering from grievous injuries before this battle, so why, after being nearly eviscerated by Goshinki and hung out to dry, did he not collapse back into a dying heap on the ground after being brought back to his senses? Seems all healed now, isn't that strange?

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 215 The Proof of Family!

Odd, I've never had to prove I'm part of a family before. Usually the family I have membership with will tell me when I've been accepted into the fold, without any real effort on my part. I can imagine that the "families" that require a membership ID card are the kind that are more about bonding over their hate of the out-group than their love of each other. You know, the kind that form intricate fantasy roleplay around being "wizards" in their organizations centered around their disgusting racism.

Pro-tip, any group that requires an identity that is convenient to a image or ideology isn't worth the trouble. Get yourself some actual friends.

Like Jonouchi here - he's getting pure encouragement, not a demand for blood. The demand for blood was all his own before, although it looks like he'd just settle for a muted victory at this point.

He's speechless as he stares at the horrible Selket, despairing at the the fact that it keeps absorbing all his monsters and has an attack score of 4000 already. That would wipe him out even if his life points were all there, not just at 50. His hand is a bleak prospect, because it contains nothing that can help him turn this dismal situation around. So, for lack of anything else to do, Jonouchi keeps his Baby Dragon in defense and ends his turn.

Rishid looks at him sharply and asks Jonouchi if he REALLY wants to continue, even when it's come down to this. Jonouchi, lacking sweat or outward concern, appears to have come to terms with the hopelessness of his position. Still, he plans to keep going until his life points reach zero, no matter his chances. Rishid admits, out loud, in fact, that Jonouchi is unbelievably fierce. Jonouchi's previously determined expression turns to shock at the unexpected compliment.

With the spectators below, Shizuka refers to her big brother in some awe. Mai addresses Yami when she says that no matter how much she values friendship, a duelist has to face the facts, and the fact is that Jonouchi can't win this one. Yami responds by telling Mai to just LOOK at Jonouchi. Look at that face:

... Yeah okay, he can be a true duelist all he wants, but it doesn't mean he's going to WIN, Yami. What are you even ARGUING right now??

Rishid announces that it's his turn, and performs the obvious action; he commands Selket to attack Baby Dragon, which is consumed in a similarly disturbing way to Jonouchi's other two monsters. He declares evolution of Selket as well, even though I'm not sure I can tell how it changed. Protruding mouth? *Shrug* However it happened, it's at a whopping 5325 attack points now. Jonouchi just stares at the improved monster placidly, though. He can give no more shits, whether to his pants or Rishid.

Now, Rishid reminds Jonouchi that it is his last turn, and Jonouchi says he has no choice - he has to end his turn. Honda clenches his fist in solidarity with Jonouchi while all of the spectators regard the scene with sorrow. Mai is sure this is it, it'll all be over when "Marik" decides to attack next turn. The real Marik smirks about the absolute zero chance Jonouchi has, thinking Rishid has won. Rishid just silently stares ahead.

Jonouchi mumbles something about being able to see something that can't be seen, something of a familiar phrase at this point. Rishid is understandably confused, though, as is Mai, though Yami beside her doesn't seem surprised in the slightest. Jonouchi claims to have a strange feeling he can't identify. Even though he was prepared to lose, he seems to think he's discovered a feeling of "surpassing" winning, when he's started seeing shapeless things. At this point, the translator is apologizing for how weird all this sounds, since this is a translation of a copy that was already translated to Chinese. It's clearly a reference to his and Yuugi/Yami's inside riddle, but in what way is a little obscure.

After a squinted look from Rishid, though, Jonouchi continues on, trying to explain himself. He says he probably didn't notice it before when he was too focused on winning, but now he remembers what Yuugi said about seeing something that you cannot see. Mai looks down at Yami in a sort of accusing way, which made me giggle a little, I'm not going to lie. Jonouchi lists all the things that Marik did that he can't forgive, brainwashing him, making him fight in a soul-crushing death match between him and Yuugi, etc. Yami and Yuugi are both paying close attention.

Rishid bows his head, acknowledging the vengeful attitude, but reminding Jonouchi that even a sudden rush of anger won't help him win now. Jonouchi isn't done rambling, though, because he begins to describe his hatred from "Marik" as pretty intense when the duel started. BUT, it's slowly faded over the course of the game, and to top it off, Jonouchi says he's recovered his corrupted memory. The real Marik gives the scene a sharp look, because he probably knows where this is going by now.

OOOOOOOOOH SNAP!

Again, Yami seems about as unsurprised as it's possible to be, describing Marik as the enemy that can be seen yet is not seen. He concludes, of course, that there is someone else around who is the real Marik. It better not you guys any time to identify the actual Marik at this point, given there's only ONE other person who it can be now.

Kaiba complains that Rishid isn't the guy who has Ra, because that is literally the only thing he gives a shit about anymore, so Yami ignores him. He's too busy acting all superior for recognizing that Rishid's manner of operation is OBVIOUSLY different from the person who brainwashed everyone. So, Yuugi poses the question where the actual Marik is. Yami brings up the fact that none of them have seen the eighth duelist yet, except Moar Cards Guy, of course, but I doubt he'll provide a recognition-sparking description for Yami or Kaiba.

Yami also casts a suspicious glance into his periphery, where "Namu" stands. As Rishid internally groans, Marik thinks with a sour expression that their plans will be fucked if this noise keeps happening. Rishid blurts that no one's listening to a loser like Jonouchi anyway, so it doesn't matter what his feelings tell him. Also he announces that it's all going to end on this turn. He commands Selket to attack the 50-point Jonouchi, who is finally sweating again, apologizing to Yami silently, because this is it for him.

Marik mentally bids Rishid to stop with urgency, much to his shock. He asks Marik why with a shifty look in his direction, all while Jonouchi is bracing himself for the attack, breathing hard and sweating. Marik has another idea.

Not an original and unlikely to be a GOOD idea, given his track record, but an idea nonetheless.

Rishid begins to protest, but Marik doesn't look happy at the push-back. He reminds Rishid that the plan is to make it appear that he is Marik. Then he appears to be trying to convince Rishid that he IS Marik, ordering him to summon that god in the box. Rishid recalls that the card is a mere copy, though, and is still hesitant. So Marik tries the tactic he did before, with more conviction, insisting that if Rishid is a member of the clan with a strong heart, he should be able to control the god. He uses the fact that he can project his thoughts into Rishid's head without fully brainwashing him as proof that Rishid is 100% part of the family.

When Rishid points out that he doesn't have the BLOOD of the clan, Marik rounds that particular obstacle by suggesting their dead father will accept him if he's able to control the god card. This is the argument that gets to Rishid, thinking on his father with a gape. Being called a servant is what he remembers, though, which isn't exactly a happy thing. He hangs his head, Marik nags him to prove he's a member of their family, and he lifts his chin with a renewed look of determination.

Of course, this whole time, Jonouchi has been standing there in confusion because Selket has hung back. Where's Moar Cards Guy to holler at RISHID for approaching the time-limit on his turn, huh? Yami notes from the sidelines that Selket hasn't attacked, another of his amazing observations. Lucky for him, Rishid has broken from his stupor in order to issue an explanation as to why this is. He intends, this turn, to prove he's the owner of Ra. Jonouchi is blown away by the mention of the god card, Yami is is some disbelief, and the only one who appears to have a somewhat placid reaction to this claim is Kaiba, who is convinced without proof that this guy is Marik, holder of Ra.

Rishid says that Ra is in the box behind him, and all he has to do to bring it out is sacrifice Selket and half his life points. The peanut gallery is speechless, staring in anticipation. With no one to interrupt his potentially self-destructive attempt to get into this club full of assholes with a voice of reason, Rishid goes ahead and makes both the required sacrifices. The virtual image of the god card rises from the box in the shrine, Rishid bidding it to awaken. Marik wears a lazy smile, as usual looking perpetually high.

That doesn't look like a dragon. It looks like a big-ass bird.

Not that it doesn't have everyone impressed, though, which I'm sure is perfectly warranted. I'll just have to wait until the next chapter to share the awe. I hope I don't get any of Kaiba's specifically, though, because that just looks creepy.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm not sure what the translator found so confusing about their own translation here, which is a bit of a switcherooo on our roles here. Granted, the translation was awkward, being a secondhand one, but it took a lot less puzzling to figure out than some of the previous chapters done in this manner.

And upon understanding it, I found it a rather poetic statement. KT found a way to tie Jonouchi and Yuugi/Yami's personal riddle into an opposite situation to its original conception; spotting an enemy instead of spotting a friend. Jonouchi was essentially blinded by hatred and a deep desire to exact justice on a man who had caused him and his friends extensive hurt so far. It wasn't until he got to know the opponent in front of him through a mode of bonding that has been tried and true for him in this particular tournament (see Ryota and Roba) that he begins to realize that he's misdirecting his rage. This ISN'T the guy who did those horrible things. It's somebody else, and Jonouchi was only able to see that when he let go of his focus of winning and getting justice, broadened his vision to include what information Rishid was transmitting himself, through his actions and sense of honor. Something that Jonouchi could SEE, but didn't PERCEIVE until he realized it was there.

When Jonouchi called Rishid and Marik's bluff, I was AMAZED. It was a great twist, because while I never saw it coming, it was absolutely inevitable. Jonouchi is by no means a thinker, but he feels his way through things. His emotions are big, and he's got great intuition about the people he engages with. This scene really utilizes not only this, but also his suspicions about Namu when he comes back into contact with him at the beginning of the semi-finals. Up until this moment, he could feel something was up, that something just wasn't right. A fantastic payoff, and further justification to counter my complaints at the beginning of Battle City. KT is absolutely proving that Jonouchi's place here is important, even if the start of his involvement was just a little rocky.

My only disappointment was in Rishid. He let himself be talked into a doozy, especially when it took so many misfires before hitting that one sore spot to get there. Marik played him like a fiddle, and on some level I think he knows that. He doesn't automatically make his sacrifices and summon Ra, but allows a moment to pass for a possible voice of reason to sound among the chaos.

Gee, if only a certain EIGHTH DUELIST could have been bothered to get her ass up on deck to prevent whatever crazy shit is going to go down. Oh but who can blame her? It's not like she has an ancient artifact that allows her to get a good idea of what could happen in the future or anything...