Inuyasha Manga: 162 The Blood's Smell

Only a real connoisseur would be able to tell the difference between a sweaty 1953 penny and a sweaty 2007 penny. Sesshoumaru must be so proud of his discerning snout. That's why he's using this tremendous skill for tracking down murderers, and diagnosing serious disease, and... Oh, no, wait, all he's doing is stalking his little brother to figure out why his "inferior" blood has the same smell as him and their father.

It's called genetics, you goof.

Go figure, Sesshoumaru WAS as busy as he's been insisting this whole time... delivering confirmation notices for various registration services. Inuyasha has successfully created his account on Reddit. Congratz.

Kagome grabs him by the sleeve and warns him not to do what Sesshoumaru says, but Inuyasha barks at her to get back. Toutousai peeks around his opposite shoulder and asks if Inuyasha thinks he can win. Inuyasha scoffs and characterizes Sesshoumaru as a guy who's not really interested in the full and enthusiastic consent of his opponents. Sesshoumaru confirms this and repeats his demand that Inuyasha come at him, holding up Toukijin at the ready, and then beginning to lean a charge behind it. If Inuyasha won't take the gracious offer of first strike, then Sesshoumaru will just have to take it instead. How nice of him to extend the paltry illusion of choice here. Totally haven't seen THAT before.

Inuyasha rips Tessaiga from its sheath once more, quipping that Sesshoumaru shouldn't regret digging his own grave. At the same time, though, Inuyasha casts a strained glance at Tessaiga's giant blade, internally complaining about how heavy it is.

The cutting force strikes again, riddling Inuyasha with a thousand little cuts and streams of blood fly out from him as braces behind Tessaiga like it's a shield. Kagome shouts that she KNEW Inuyasha would be able to do little but defend, and Shippou points out that Inuyasha even lost that cutting force battle between the two swords. Quite the difference to his clash with that clown Kaijinbou. Toutousai is not cavalier about THIS match, at least, whining that this is seriously bad.

Miroku asks Toutousai if Inuyasha has no chance, and Toutousai states the obvious fact that Inuyasha can't swing Tessaiga. It DOES speak for itself. Toutousai dwells on how the problem is compounded by the inherently dangerous Toukijin just HAD to end up in the hands of the even MORE dangerous Sesshoumaru, of all people. Meh, I'm less impressed by that part. Toukijin could do better.

While Inuyasha stands panting and dripping blood from his million paper cuts. Sesshoumaru stands back and observes him quietly a moment. The smell of Inuyasha's blood is just a hanyou's right now, but Sesshoumaru recalls the change he smelled in the aftermath of that battle with Goshinki. Note that Sesshoumaru seems to use Goshinki's name here, which he should NOT KNOW.

... Whoopsie-daisy!

Anyhow, Sesshoumaru decides he has to find out for himself what that means. Meanwhile, Inuyasha is certain that if he can't end this all in one swing, he's done for. Sesshoumaru mocks him by asking if he's changed his fighting style up, since he's usually always swinging Tessaiga around like a weirdo. Inuyasha falls for it, growling and hoisting Tessaiga onto his shoulder to run at Sesshoumaru, telling him to shut up.

Sesshoumaru holds off the swing without so much as a grimace, and Inuyasha, of course, ends up on the receiving end of another series of baby cuts. Sesshoumaru blithely states that Tessaiga seems to have gotten a bit heavier, to which Inuyasha spits that it's not just a BIT. Reasoning that Tessaiga at its current weight is too much for Inuyasha to handle, Sesshoumaru implies that his next action is HELPFUL rather than a total dick move.

Yup. TOTALLY doing him a great favor there.

Kagome shouts Inuyasha's name as Miroku gives us the after-action report of how Tessaiga just went flying. I guess if Inuyasha could barely lift the thing, it IS kind of impressive that Sesshoumaru could just flip it away like it was nothing. Shippou says that this is like an adult beating  up on a helpless child, something that he would have some experience with, so his empathy with Inuyasha must be hella uncomfortable right now.

For some reason, Inuyasha goes spinning off into the grass too? I'm not picking up on the physics of this, but no time to dwell. Tessaiga has reverted back to its rusty form and is stuck into the ground at its tip. Inuyasha sits up on his haunches and draws the back of his hand across his bloodied face, cursing. Myouga appears bouncing on his shoulder, urging him to hurry and go retrieve Tessaiga. Inuyasha gives Tessaiga, not TOO far away to reclaim, a brief critical look, and then launches onto his feet and runs toward Sesshoumaru again instead, declaring that he doesn't need the sword. Myouga is shocked, but I don't know why. Dude, have you MET this kid?

Sesshoumaru stands wordlessly with Toukijin's tip raised, waiting for Inuyasha to come at him, just like he wanted. Kagome yells at Inuyasha not to do this, Shippou panicking at Inuyasha's apparent decision to fight Sesshoumaru unarmed from her shoulder. Myouga begs Inuyasha not to act so desperate, but Inuyasha says a heavy sword like that won't help him win the fight at all. This must be the most leisurely jog in the direction of an enemy in the history of ever.

So leisurely that Sesshoumaru has only JUST pointed Toukijin at Inuyasha, accusing him of not knowing his own limits.

Talk about death by a thousand cuts. This poor kiddo is getting SHREDDED.

After landing on all fours a ways away, Inuyasha glares up at Sesshoumaru, thinking he's SUCH a bastard. This, of course, we already knew. Sesshoumaru judges him as merely a hanyou, which I guess means that he's dropped all curiosity about that little change in the smell of Inuyasha's blood he just HAD to investigate earlier. Just an anomaly, no need to continue looking for answers. Yet another course of action simply abandoned by our lord of perpetual laziness, Sesshoumaru!

He raises Toukijin cross-wise and runs for Inuyasha this time, requesting that he die now. Polite. Miroku, Sango and Kagome stand around gaping because they're the best friends EVER guys. At least the former manages to yell at Inuyasha to run away. Inuyasha, however, remains crouched on the ground, head bowed, among the grass blowing in the wind. It's not for fatigue, or weakness, or even a protest of police brutality, though. Sesshoumaru senses something else there, something surprising, and he actually EXPRESSES this on his FACE for once.

Woah, this must be something incredible.

Meh. Seen it.

Kagome worries that Inuyasha is going to transform again, and Toutousai steps forward with puffed-out cheeks to suggest that all Inuyasha's friends flee with him. Before a curious Miroku or Sango can so much as ask a question, Toutousai launches a trail of fire right at Sesshoumaru, who recoils from the edge of the blast. He says Toutousai's name with disdain, glaring at the flames.

Once the fire has subsided, we find that Jaken has rejoined Sesshoumaru and is praising him for being as strong as ever, presumably because he managed to not get possessed by the Toukijin he's holding. Good job not being as weak as Kaijinbou, Sesshoumaru! I'm sure that's praise he can totally feel good about. Sesshoumaru is staring off into the distance when Jaken asks why he didn't bother to pursue them after tracking them all this way. At the risk of feeling endless deja vu: dude, have you MET this kid?

Sesshoumaru remains silent, and Jaken calls to him tentatively, but something tells me that he'll never get an answer to that question.

Yeah, Sesshoumaru's going to take that shit to his GRAVE.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I usually don't have complaints about pacing in this manga, because RT tends to have a really good grasp on flow and timing of events. Unfortunately, that grasp seemed to have loosened a little in this chapter. That page-long interlude where everyone has to get in a comment about how Inuyasha isn't bothering to grab Tessaiga made his run at Sesshoumaru seem to take a LOT longer than it should have. It's not a HUGE extension of time to be annoyed by, I know, but RT has set such a high bar for the flow of her action that I notice even the slightest unnatural pause at this point.

It also seemed like a really SHORT action scene for what it was trying to accomplish. Inuyasha's first transformation was prompted by life-and-death desperation, but he was certainly not at that point in this instance. He was separated from Tessaiga, yes, and he was getting pretty banged up, but it wasn't to the extent it was during the fight with Goshinki, when he had been rendered completely inert and was freaking out about possibly dying. I realize Myouga said that his youkai blood wouldn't ever be settled back to the level it was before the first transformation, but it still shouldn't be at the level of hair-trigger like this yet. There should be degrees of worsening, as was implied before.

All that aside, I did enjoy the bulk of the chapter in a way that was probably not intended. I mentioned in the previous analysis that the tension was kind of gone since Sesshoumaru took up Toukijin, justified by him yet AGAIN deciding to abandon his original intentions, but some humor was added in its stead. I was so tickled by the stereotypical sibling fighting that any chance I had of taking this battle seriously went out the window upon reading the banter. The uppity older sibling teasing of Sesshoumaru when he was asking Inuyasha if he's changed his fighting style, Inuyasha's bratty younger sibling griping when he corrects Sesshoumaru about Tessaiga's weight... it's such genuine BICKERING, and it's hilarious.

Goodness, these two are going to be BEST FRIENDS when they grow up. 

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 220 The Duelist Who Won't Give In!!

Admirable, but sometimes giving in may be the better option. Just like being the "lone duelist" has some rather sad implications attached to it, refusing to give up in a situation that is literally causing severe pain and hallucinations can easily be a really bad decision. If I saw that I was bleeding in the middle of a game, real or not, I would be noping the fuck off to a hospital. Then again, I don't have much pride in the games I play, since I just mess around with them for fun.

Also, Marik doesn't seem like he would be willing to let her leave at this point, if at any. In a recap of Marik's last attack on Mai's Amazon last chapter, as she's coming to a shocked realization that not only is she in pain but also appears to be leaking from the look of the red splatter on her hand, Marik reiterates that because the duelists in this game are linked to their monsters, when the latter gets hurt, the former does as well.

Yup, he's definitely committed to both of them remaining right where they are until one of them keels over.

Mai falls to her knees as she holds a hand to her chest, which appears uninjured in this panel, as her life points dial down to 3600. Honda asks why Mai is acting so weird, and Jonouchi clearly read the script, because he blurts that it's ALMOST AS IF she got attacked just like her monster. Then he yells at her not to give up and go crazy just because she lost a couple hundred points. Easy for the guy who won by default on a reserve of only 50 points in the last match to say.

She's not listening anyway, completely engrossed in staring at what appears to her to be her bloodstained palm. Marik giggles about how Mai's cheerleaders can't see what's going on with her, the visions the attack on her monster caused. He's planning to make it all the worse, thinking that this is just the beginning of his intent to utterly destroy this woman. Why? My guess is because he's a grade-A piece of shit.

The one voice that breaks through Mai's stupor is Yami's, who shouts at her not to let Marik's illusions distract her. She looks over at him in surprise, then back down at her hand, wondering if the blood and pain really aren't real at all. Yami explains that the game of darkness is one of mental struggle, where the player's worst fears are shown them in an attempt to make them lose psychologically. Mai focuses on the word "fear", eyes wide, as Jonouchi and Anzu call out encouragement to her with determined looks. Yami urges her to keep whatever light is inside her shining.

Huh. She got over THAT fairly quickly.

What I thought was a strangely ugly panel layout on the next page was actually the page accidentally folded over upon the time of scanning, so after Mai draws a card and Jonouchi keeps piling on the encouragement as she turns it around to show Marik, I don't know what it is. From what little I can see of the bottom panel of the page, it might be another Amazon, different from the last. At least I can be certain she lays a face down card to end her turn, though.

After a moment of taking stock of both monsters attached by umbilical cord to their respective duelists, Marik says with his signature high-as-pie-in-the-sky face that it's his turn. Mai is certain that she'll be able to use her Amazoness to attack the Executioner, and that Marik won't know what hit him with her face down card. I wouldn't be so sure, if I were her. Just because Marik looks like the world bores the shit out of him as he glances at his newly-drawn card doesn't mean he can't summon the energy for more terrifying illusions. Still, Mai thinks she has this in the bag, because her face down card is not a trap, but the Amazoness's ability. Hoooooow does that follow? I guess she has to justify the purchase of her supplementary special effect Amazoness card somehow. It probably wasn't cheap.

She lays out her plan thus: once her Amazoness is sent to the graveyard due to an attack, she can pay 1000 life points to choose a card from Marik's deck, a deck she narrows her eyes at like it insulted her mother as she imagines the god card she intends to take from it at the end of this effort. I would wish her all the luck in the world if I thought she needed it against Marik, the serial failure.

He's still in good spirits, though, looking up and smiling at her after perusing his hand. He wants to tell her once again that the pain isn't JUST illusion, but I'm not certain he does, because we still have the issue of indistinct speech bubbles paired with imprecise scanlation editing. Regardless, we get a look at both players with their monsters plugged into them like charging cables, then Marik starting to announce what card he's playing.

The inquisitors of old would have been WILD about this device. Mai is shocked that Marik would order an attack on her monster from something that only has 500 attack points, and just as shocked when the grand torture crown flies over and sits itself neatly upon the Amazoness's head. She's not the only one - Jonouchi is amazed that the vice actually made it onto the Amazoness, and Anzu wonders why it's not dead already with just 500 points. One reason is probably that a pair of thumbscrews in an elaborate setup probably isn't ALIVE to begin with.

A tense-looking Yami suggests that this might be the condition of a hidden special ability. Marik affirms that in three turns that the vice won't do a thing to the Amazoness, but when it attacks, it's a doozy.

Does grinding temple pressure not COUNT as doing anything to Mai or her monster? I guess it doesn't, because Marik's explanation of a slow squeeze on the Amazoness's head over three turns definitely carries the color of NBD to him. On that third turn, though, the stylish headwear will drill straight into its head with the screws, which is not NBD for sure, so speed is a factor in his definition. At least that's what it seems until Marik demands that Mai has to feel what the Amazoness is feeling right now, too.

It may not be entirely clear what Marik thinks is actually an action counting as an attack or not, but with Mai standing there screaming with hands on either side of her head, I'd say SHE considers it VERY much an attack. Yami calls out Mai's name in panic as a dense Jonouchi asks why what's happening to the monster is affecting her so much. He was focused on something else when Yami mentioned that whole "illusion" thing RIGHT NEXT TO HIM, I suppose. Maybe pondering his dreams excluding hot older women. He shouts at Mai not to give up again.

As Marik laughs his ass off and Mai screams, Yami is just a bit concerned that her heart has been captured by Marik's darkness. He trails a worried thought about what will happen to Mai if this whole debacle continues, and a third Eye of Horus shines in the center of his forehead much like it is on Marik's. Yami demands Marik stop the duel, but Marik lazily says that he knows the game of darkness can't be stopped. When he wins, Mai will die, and that's all there is to it, apparently. Yeah... don't count on it, bro.

Yami looks like he's about to tear Marik's throat out if he manages to pry apart his grinding jaws. Marik isn't threatened by this, though, in fact encouraging Yami to keep up that rage - they'll compare the immensity of their respective angers when their own Millennium Duel (TM) comes along, and Marik is betting his is going to be more impressive. All Yami can think is that he cannot forgive Marik.

Meanwhile, Mai is doubled over, trying to regain some control over her reaction. Yami calls to her, but she forces out a request for him to just stop, because this is HER battle.

Besides, what's a little pain to a lady? We endure that shit every month for the peace of mind of not being pregnant.

Mai reveals her face down card, Hand of Burial, which wipes the smirk off Marik's face and makes him look slightly annoyed. When Mai explains that this card is going to let her send a monster to the graveyard, Marik shoots down the notion of the Vice being put on a bus, because it can't be moved in its current position. I'm guessing because it's hugging its new victim's head too hard to be removed or something.

But Mai scoffs and asks who suggested she was going to use Hand of Burial on HIS monster. Marik's look of annoyance grows when she announces the monster she chooses for the sacrifice is her own. A giant hand with nails that need clipping phases through the floor below and seizes the Amazoness's legs, pulling it down to the figurative underworld and out of the Vice's grip. Marik mutters about her sending her own monster to death. To be fair, the Amazoness didn't look too terribly torn up about it - being spared horrific torture is probably a bonus.

Mai confirms that she has indeed killed her own monster, in order to take advantage of Amazoness's special ability, Chain of Death. Again, Marik is looking a bit annoyed, but it does little to negate his perpetually stoned face. He isn't affected by much. Not even this:

You gotta admit, it is refreshing not to see a brat throwing a tantrum over getting a taste of his own cult-built-around-stealing-trading-cards medicine. It's almost as if he *gasp* knew it was a possibility!

Well I'll be god-damned and go to hell, he even looks like he's somewhat appreciative of it! Albeit in a dazed kind of way.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I have some mixed feelings about what's going on here, because it still feels like KT is hopping between attitudes while trying to kind of merge them. One moment, Mai is thanking Yami and company for their support and help with seeing that the things happening aren't entirely real, and the next moment she's telling Yami to butt out of her business. It's a little discordant the way it's written here, and I'm not sure if that's KT's doing or the scanlator, but there's some conflict and it's a little awkward.

However, I know what the aim of this is, despite the iffy presentation. Yami informing Mai of the illusory nature of the game was just that; INFORMATION. It wasn't a value judgment on what she should be doing and whether this is good for her to be doing in the first place. His later comments to Marik WERE value judgments, though. He was trying to get the whole thing to stop, and since he hadn't been successful in appealing Mai at the beginning, he was turning to Marik to demand HE stop the game. That's the core difference between her being grateful to Yami when he pointed out her injury was illusion, something she could move past to keep fighting, and his desperate bids for everything to end. The moment Yami started insisting the duel had to stop, that's when his "help" was infringing on her will. He's not being supportive here, he's being patronizing and deciding he knows better than Mai about whether she should continue fighting, and she's fully within her right to tell him to fuck off and let her keep going no matter what happens. She's a duelist, and that's what she's going to do, whether it's good for her or not. He doesn't get to make that decision for her.

Not that I don't understand Yami's concern. He tried the same shit with Yuugi back when Jonouchi was brainwashed, because his worry that he would lose someone close to him was valid. But when it comes down to it, there's no stopping people from doing what they feel they have to do. All you can really do was what Jonouchi was doing the whole chapter - shrug your shoulders and continue supporting the hell out of the people you love, despite not personally understanding why they're doing this at all. 

Why does all this sound so familiar? It's not like this little side-plot of a woman asking a guy to respect her autonomy in a tricky situation has been a feature in the news la - OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH...

Inuyasha Manga: 161 Toukijin's Master

Ahh, dramatic irony, the familiar feeling of having to wait for your favorite characters to get the memo you got special access to ages ago. A part of me is surprised that no one has questioned why or how Kaijinbou came across Goshinki's fangs to begin with; what are the chances of some random sword smith just happening upon an enemy's remains a mere day or so after Inuyasha murdered him? Probably about as many as an enemy's remains have NOT disintegrating immediately after battle, which are close to zero.

Come to think of it, that bit of surprise has shifted onto me now for not noticing how convenient it was to this plot line that Goshinki's body hung around in a heap for Sesshoumaru to pick up.

Sly, RT. Sly.

Oh yeah, THIS little brat is pissing and moaning about something. I forgot.

Toutousai asks if there's something wrong with a noncommittal hum, and Inuyasha demands that him not fuck around. After a moment to look at his hand gripping Tessaiga, Inuyasha says it's incredibly heavy, and again asks what Toutousai did. Toutousai dismisses it as the fang of Inuyasha's that was used as filler, and bids Inuyasha pay it no mind.

Kaijinbou giggles that having a sword you can't swing must be pretty useless, and points Toukijin at Inuyasha, renewing his vow to rip both sword and hanyou apart. Toutousai cups his hand around his mouth to direct a lazy shout at Inuyasha that if he can't lift Tessaiga, then he'll die. He cannot be ANY MORE unenthusiastic. Kagome protests that Toutousai is being awfully irresponsible, but that doesn't appear to have much of an impact.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha is grunting as he tries to haul the heavy sword over his shoulder. He manages to hoist it up onto his back while he runs to meet Kaijinbou and Toukijin.

Kaijinbou starts to disparage both Inuyasha and Tessaiga as nothing special, but suddenly, he starts to be torn to shreds. The onlookers all stare in shock, except for Toutousai, who looks like he's thinking about what he's going to have for lunch or something. Have I mentioned I want to be him when I grow up yet?

The only thing that's left of Kaijinbou is his hand, still gripping Toukijin while its tip is embedded in the grass below. Well, that was anticlimactic. Miroku expresses some confusion over Kaijinbou literally falling apart, and Toutousai explains that regardless of wielding a formidable sword, Kaijinbou's body was super weak and couldn't withstand Tessaiga's cutting force. Wait, you're telling me that Inuyasha's human form withstood Toukijin's cutting force with just a few scrapes, but Kaijinbou couldn't keep it together for five seconds against Tessaiga? I don't know, I think this suggests more than just that Kaijinbou was super weak.

Anyway, Toutousai disdainfully calls Kaijinbou a stupid novice for being possessed by his own sword. This, at least, we can agree on. Inuyasha, panting, allows Tessaiga to revert into its more manageable form, then turns to Toutousai, calling him a bastard. Toutousai coolly asks Inuyasha if he's got another problem, but Inuyasha is actually still on about the first. He gets right up close and taps Toutousai on the forehead with the blunt edge of Tessaiga, asking how he's supposed to fight with such a heavy sword, given it's hard enough for him to manage one solitary swing.

Toutousai stares with his wide, fishbowl eyes at Inuyasha significantly, asking if he really wants to know how he can handle the newly heavy Tessaiga. Both Kagome and Inuyasha look eager, the latter even leaning closer with curiosity, asking if there's a way. Toutousai says it's simple. Then they share a moment of a super awkward silence. You can FEEL the weird atmosphere here.

Inuyasha claps Toutousai on the shoulder with a laughing grin, because it would be ludicrous if Toutousai suggested that he just build up his muscle as a solution right now. Toutousai gulps in response, and gets a new lump on his head to replace the one in his throat from Inuyasha's fist, who is a bit irked to learn that this was in fact going to be the advice. Seems Inuyasha doesn't WANT to even lift.

Miroku asks if their conversation is finished as he walks by, clearly more concerned about the immediate problem of the sword and hand still clinging to it stuck in the ground a short distance away. He says that the sword's evil energy has decayed, though it appears to still be emitting that marbled evil energy atmosphere that so often composes the background. Toutousai also comes a bit closer and hums, stating that Toukijin is stained with the malice of both Kaijinbou and Goshinki, and determines that such a thing should be destroyed.

Before they can even begin to talk about how one would go about such a thing (I mean, do you have to drop it in Mt. Doom or something?), dark clouds gather in the sky and an ominous sound echoes through them. A ball of fire rockets from behind the clouds and hits Toukijin in a dead target, incinerating Kaijinbou's hand and causing Inuyasha quite the fright/confusion. A two-headed dragon with one of its muzzles removed for shooting fireballs and a familiar rider have emerged from the clouds now as they head down to the ground.

That dragon would be a killer in Mario Kart. And just going to the grocery store.

Inuyasha and company stare in disbelief, Toutousai peeking out from around Inuyasha's shoulder. Inuyasha demands to know what Sesshoumaru's doing here, and Sesshoumaru retorts that this is HIS line, because he was just following the sword. He muses on what has become obvious to everyone by this point; the ogre Inuyasha killed sought revenge even after it became a sword. Again, Inuyasha and Kagome in particular look alarmed, while Sango reiterates that Sesshoumaru knows Toukijin came from Goshinki's fangs, and Miroku trails a statement about what that means. Sesshoumaru of course completes it by admitting that it was HIM who had Kaijinbou make the sword.

What a shock!

Kagome makes a hesitant noise, and Toutousai sticks his head out from behind Inuyasha to warn Sesshoumaru not to touch Toukijin. He's convinced that even Sesshoumaru will be overcome and possessed by Toukijin's evil aura, just like Kaijinbou. Sesshoumaru scoffs at his advice and grabs hold of Toukijin anyway.

I guess Toutousai doesn't know Sesshoumaru nearly as well as he knew Kaijinbou. He might think he's better off for it too, because after both he and Miroku note simultaneously how quickly that evil energy is dissipating, Toutousai sweats like crazy at the sight of this creepy guy's own jerk aura beating the shit out of the sword's. Even in terms of pure energy, Sesshoumaru will fuck your shit up.

Sesshoumaru scoffs again, concluding that this means Toukijin seems to have chosen its master. He tells Inuyasha to draw so he can confirm a little something about him. Gee, I wonder what THAT could be.

90% of the manga, right there.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? While the previous chapters did everything they could to minimize Kaijinbou as a threat, it was still a bit confusing that he went out so fast. As I said above, it kind of implies that Inuyasha's human form is stronger than Kaijinbou, and I'm not sure what to take from that. It DOES go along with the repeated message that hanyou are not necessarily weaker than full-blooded youkai, but then Inuyasha's more intense fears around being human this time around were kind of diminished by this too. Sure, just because he could withstand cutting force from Toukijin for longer than Kaijinbou could from Tessaiga doesn't mean he would have survived as a human for long, but the seriousness of Inuyasha's vulnerability is just undercut when a clown comes around only to literally fall apart after a few minutes despite it. There was a level of gravitas lost there, because even though we weren't meant to expect MUCH from Kaijinbou, I was still expecting a bit more of a struggle.

Yes, Toukijin itself was meant to be the real threat here, but even IT was just completely subdued by Sesshoumaru before it could really do much damage, which it would have undoubtedly done more of than its new master. Granted, Sesshoumaru will make up for Kaijinbou's lackluster performance, but that's a low bar to clear, and his heart just isn't in KILLING Inuyasha. He's proven this time and time again, even out-and-out WALKING AWAY from opportunities to murder him. Sesshoumaru simply doesn't have the level of animosity toward Inuyasha that Goshinki and the vessel for his hatred do, and appears to be operating more out of curiosity about Inuyasha's transformation into a full youkai than anything else at this point.

So, in conclusion, RT is playing hot-potato with different levels of threats here, and she seems to have eliminated everyone BUT the guy who we're all pretty sure isn't going to put his all into a fight to the death. The tension has at this point gone from the scene.

You know, it just occurred to me that I sound like a bloodthirsty Roman disappointed by the lack of lion mauls in the Colosseum today.

Hm.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 219 Game of Darkness!

I kind of wish I was more timely in covering this chapter, what with the new and final season of Game of Thrones coming out and being ripe for all the jokes. Then again, there's already recaps of each episode on NPR that have made all those jokes, everyone else has pointed out the rogue Starbucks cup in a shot multiple times, and I don't even watch that show anymore. Too much creepy incest/pedo shit for my taste. Even worse in the books.

All in all, I think I can afford to mostly ignore Game of Thrones, even if its tagline is more apt than ever for Yu-Gi-Oh as well. Marik has certainly been trying to honor a "you either win or you die" dichotomy.

Considering he's failed to follow through on the last murder plot, I don't know if I should be particularly worried for Mai.

Mai is certainly worried for herself, though, as Marik promises to give her the worst feeling ever. His less-than-threatening vocabulary is made up for by the darkness he's spreading with his evil magic wand, and Mai looks around in panic, wondering what's going on as she notices that everything is being engulfed in darkness. But Jonouchi and friends also come to her attention, cheering for her to win, much to her surprise. They stand with determined looks on their faces, and Mai hangs her head silently. Perhaps the first indication that she regrets acting like such a douche earlier?

Nope, she turns and starts scolding Jonouchi for not doing what he was told and staying back. Mai shouts that she's used to fighting alone and demands that he leave, but Jonouchi tells her not to push herself too hard. He says they recognize her as a great duelist regardless of her bluster, and a friend. She's rendered speechless again for a moment, then scoffs and her only retort is "whatever" and a toss of her head. Totally.

Marik scoffs too at the concept of their friendship, and looks forward to having the honor of sacrificing Mai in front of all the spectators declaring their friendship. How this would be an honor isn't clear, but I have to admit I don't give a shit. It's at this point that our spectators just start to notice the dark fog covering the platform. How observant of them. Honda says its as if the fog is clogging his throat and it's harder to breathe. Jonouchi says that even the field is covered up. You don't say! The focus of everyone and the main even happening right now is covered in dark? Why do you suppose....???

However hesitant he is to name this phenomenon, Yami seems to know that this is a game of darkness. Marik is convinced that Yami should know what this is too, which he connects with thoughts of hatred that are like, and I shit you not, "having a dark layer of darkness in the dark night." Dark-ception? I don't know, but it is absolutely ludicrous. Anyway, Marik says that these dark dark dark thoughts are the opening for the game of darkness, presumably also talking about Mai's insecurity about her friendship with Jonouchi and company as well as his own issues. One of these things is about a billion times worse than the other, but sure, you can create a false equivalency there. No problem.

Yami notices the Millennium Rod in Marik's hand and realizes that this is the tool with which he's creating the game of darkness, and yells at him to stop. But Marik ignores him, focused on his own inner musings about how the darkness has swallowed up his hatred, and it won't be released until he sends Yami into the darkness too. What, is Yami a laxative to your severely constipated-with-hate darkness? Marik's weird mental meandering gets even weirder when he thinks that Yami should know the darkness is hungry, and he'll feed Mai to it as a sacrifice. Seems like she would just add to the constipation, though, what with not being the one the darkness needs to release Marik's hate. Maybe he's just thinking that Mai is the one thin mint that will pop that darkness like a balloon?

Gross. Half-digested hate.

Yami warns Mai that this duel is dangerous and will cost her life if she loses, insisting that she back out while she can. Mai fires back that Yami must think she's an idiot, because he has to know as well as she does that backing out of a challenge she's already accepted is shitty enough that she may as well be dead instead. Damn girl, you're just escalating at record speed today, aren't you? You'd think she was trying to reach the other side of the solar system by the end of the arc or something. Yami shouts her name in concern, but she just smiles and assures both him and Jonouchi that she's going to win no matter what happens, because she's fighting for them too. Awwww. it's almost as if she didn't just tell the both of them off for trying to cheer her on in the last chapter.

Yami still looks upset and tense at this response, but Jonouchi is all for her confidence, declaring that she can win, and she's back to being the Mai they know and love.

To what end, though? If the only thing that will release your intense hate is to make YAMI a sacrifice, then what the fuck is Mai's sacrifice here going to do to help with that goal? Or are you just feeding a beloved pet with her? I don't understand the point of ANY of this.

Yami remains speechless, though troubled by Mai's stubborn intent to see this duel through. Jonouchi isn't looking much more enthusiastic, but more accepting of the obvious fact that they're not going to be able to stop any of this. Yami just thinks that Mai HAS to win this. Boy is EVERYONE here going to be disappointed.

Mai lifts her Duel Disk on her arm at the ready, and declares that she's coming for Marik. Marik says that their game of darkness can begin. Honda and Ryuji call encouragement to Mai, while Yami wonders exactly what I am - why is Marik doing all this? But all he can really do is think at Mai to be careful at this point.

Mai announces that it's her turn, and summons a muscular woman in a bone-bedazzled bikini holding a big blade - the Amazon Swordswoman in attack. She also sets a card face down to end her turn. Smiling, Marik says Mai's name, drawing her attention to something she should have noticed coming out of her chest.

Marik identifies the connecting rope as the "life line", which Mai repeats incredulously. Marik explains that she'll feel the pain of her monster, and it's the most terrifying and painful part of the game. He seems pretty excited by the prospect, what with his declaration that this is going to be better than any of the duels they've had before. Mai is put off by the pure insanity she sees in Marik's eyes but Marik don't care. He's too busy taking his turn.

Something tells me you're going to make MAI perform the demonstration for how this connection affects a player.

Mai just glares at Marik, evaluating that he's got the upper hand in terms of attack points. She's probably factoring in her own face down card, which would explain why she's not looking terribly nervous, even when Marik starts describing the game of darkness being a world of illusion and seduction, offering to show her the fun only duelists can have in the dark world. Is he... is he coming onto her?? Ugh, what an unpleasant thought. Where's my mental floss?

Marik declares an attack, and Mai seems pretty pleased by this. As Marik's Executioner thrusts a wrist-blade in Amazon's face and he shouts at it to die, Mai thinks she's got him, and activates her trap card, Amazon Phalanx. Marik chuckles at this, which is weird, because a whole team of backup bow-women firing arrows at my own monster wouldn't be so funny to me. But hey, different strokes and all. Then the arrows are shown embedded in the shins and knees of the Executioner, and the giggling suddenly makes sense.

Figures Marik would find something so lame funny.

Mai says the Phalanx not only stops an enemy monster in its tracks, but also reduces the attack points by 500, so she tells her original Amazon to attack.

Yes, Marik's head DOES look like it's at a weird angle, and yes, it is EXACTLY why you think it is.

Oh man, that is SICK! I have to admit that I am 10,000% more awake than I had been in the previous two duels. Not gonna lie.

Marik's right hand holds up his head so he can see the cards in his left as he reveals that the special ability of his Executioner is to allow him to play any magic or trap card directly from his hand. While he mulls over what to choose, Mai's friends shout to her from below, asking if she's alright. Normally, I would point out that Marik might need the concern a bit more, having become the Headless Duelist from every cheesy ghost story that likely exists in this world, but from their point of view, he appears whole. Not a scratch on him.

Honda says that whatever happened to make Mai freak out is pretty weird, and Anzu elaborates that all they've been able to see are Mai and Marik in normal upright dueling position. As more general encouragements are shouted to Mai, Yami is looking almost as distressed as she is, because he's certain that in the game of darkness, she's seeing some serious shit right now. It's like she's on shrooms and he's trying to figure out how to bring her down from the bad trip.

Marik has meanwhile chosen the card he's going to use - Life Rope. He says it not only brings his monster back, but gives it 800 extra attack points, for the price of discarding his hand. Mai is still freaking on the other side of the platform, eyes bulging, because THIS GUY'S HEAD JUST FELL RIGHT THE FUCK OFF. Marik decides he's going to set it back on his shoulders again, and as he does so, asks Mai why she's so scared. He mentions that it was HER monster that cut off his head and it was super painful, as though any of that should make her LESS scared. However that's supposed to work, it's not, especially when he follows up with the promise that he'll deliver twice the amount of pain on her as payment.

A promise he makes good on right away, ordering his newly revived Executioner to attack and kill the Amazon with its claw-like wrist blades. It slashes the Amazon across the chest, digging deep tracks diagonally across its torso. Mai is frozen in absolute terror.

... Shit, did I just enter some kind of horror film?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I think this is my favorite in all of Battle City so far, and I'm not even kidding. I was expecting something of a throwaway mini-arc, a few chapters of nothing substantial, since we all know the outcome of this one, and the falling-out Mai had with her friends was kind of tossed in the previous chapter. Boy, was I blindsided by what this turned out to be, though. I can't overstate how in AWE I am.

Not an insignificant part of this is the horror aspect turned up to 11, because everyone knows I love me some horror. It's the KIND of horror as well, Marik manipulating Mai into seeing things that no one else can see and feeling pain for essentially no reason. The misfire of Mai's pain receptors might seem like the bigger issue here, but in all seriousness, I'm more disturbed by concept of her hallucinations, and it being a such a giant degree of separation between herself and her recently reconciled friends. In a sense, it's a "be careful what you wish for" cautionary tale. Mai insisted and insisted she was alone, didn't need anyone else, and could face anything by herself. Now that she's facing something that no one else can, she is for the first time in a a place no one else can support her through - her own head. No matter how much Jonouchi and company want to help her, they can't experience anything happening in the illusion, and therefore are totally ineffective from the outside.

Mai's literal mind-over-matter approach might be the death of her, because KT really upped the stakes on this one. Marik presents the loser's death as an inevitability, so there is a CHANCE she might not make it through this. Knowing Marik's track record for getting his shit done, though, I'm willing to bet there's a bit of wiggle room in this, even if this Marik is several times as evil as the other one and managed one insignificant kill. Still, it is very nice to see KT making the effort and not just rush through this one in order to get to past the more predictable content. He made it interesting, and that's commendable.

Plus, I'm really enjoying the parallel between Marik's projections being fake but their effects being real, and the way the Duel Disk does the same thing with the monsters in the game. Not sure if that was intentional, but it's entertaining. Really makes bolsters my growing opinion that the Duel Disk is like an eighth Millennium Item or something.

Inuyasha Manga: 160 Tessaiga Revives

Geez Tessaiga, rub it in my face why don't you. Inuyasha's giant sword is bitten in half and Toutousai fixes it in three days. Meanwhile, it's not just my tablet that's dying on me, but also my phone. Last night, it kept dropping internet connectivity, despite there being absolutely nothing wrong with my wifi. I spent the first half of today wandering around the internet trying to figure out how to fix it, leading me to have to factory reset the damn thing, and it STILL won't stay on my wifi. Talking to the manufacturer customer support got me a shrug and suggestion that I should contact my phone company for a replacement.

If only they had as much pride and emotional investment in their product as Toutousai has in his swords...

Does playtime USUALLY end with you getting your head split open? What are you, EIGHT?

Shippou, sitting on Inuyasha's shoulder, points out that Kaijinbou seems to be moving around just fine, despite his head injury. Kagome and Inuyasha are too stunned by this to speak, though the former silently draws the conclusion that Kaijinbou is being controlled by the sword he's holding. What tipped you off?

Kaijinbou goads Inuyasha into coming at him, bro, teasing that he must have gone weak at the knees with cowardice and this must be the reason he's hiding behind the weaklings he's hanging with. Inuyasha's shock turns to a sharp glare, but Shippou warns him not to get provoked. Inuyasha barks that he's not that simple minded, then immediately reasons that Kaijinbou came to fight him originally, so there should be no running or hiding from him, and leaps forward anyway. Oh, that will DEFINITELY convince everyone that you're not doing this out of defensive impulse.

Miroku shouts at Inuyasha to stop as he's being passed, along with Kagome left behind, and Shippou clings to her shoulder now accusing Inuyasha of having such a simple personality.

Aw, dammit! Didn't Shippou get Inuyasha's bullet-proof logic??

Toutousai starts droning about how he was wondering what all this uproar was about, but he's cut off by Inuyasha snatching Tessaiga out of his hands, accusing him of being late. As he bounces from Tessaiga's sheath and onto Inuyasha's shoulder, Myouga adds his voice to the chorus of discouragement Inuyasha is getting for his decision to fight. Inuyasha seems surprised he's there, presumably because Myouga is usually running away from fights. Myouga reminds him that Tessaiga can't transform when he's in human form. There's apparently no exception for when enemies call into question his courage.

Toutousai casually mentions how long a while it's been since he and Kaijinbou have seen each other, and Kaijinbou responds with disgust that Toutousai is still alive. Well, nice to see you too, douchebag. Toutousai spots Toukijin in Kaijinbou's hand and is being conversational as all hell when he acknowledges that Kaijinbou has made yet another evil sword, and asks what's up with the evil aura. He may as well be talking about the fucking weather. It's beautiful, I wanna be him when I grow up.

Kaijinbou chuckles again, convinced that they'll see now, once and for all who's the better sword smith between the two of them. Miroku asks for confirmation from Toutousai that he and Kaijinbou know each other, and Toutousai readily admits that Kaijinbou was a disgraceful student of his along with the fact that Kaijinbou has already been expelled from magic sword school. He explains that this dude...

Are you SURE the baby blood was why your sword could cut well? What was your methodology in this experiment? Did you have a control sword that DIDN'T contain baby blood? What about other material variables?

My point is, your findings wouldn't meet the rigor required to be published in Scientific American, and it's not even hard to be published in THAT rag.

Kaijinbou tells Inuyasha to draw, planning to smash apart Toutousai's prized Tessaiga right in front of his eyes. Inuyasha totally gives up on serious rationalization as he draws Tessaiga and shouts that there's no need to hold back on this bastard. Except the one to wait until Tessaiga can be in a useful form, of course.

Having made yet another transfer over to Toutousai's shoulder now, he asks in a panic if Tessaiga is stronger now. Toutousai says with absolutely zero concern for the situation that it's a BIT stronger, but Kagome says that "a bit" isn't nearly enough. Sango stresses that this sword Inuyasha is up against is made from the fangs of the oni who bit it apart, and Toutousai STILL can't bring himself to be worried, chuckling in a "this is gonna be GOOD" kind of way. Man, I wanna BE him when I grow up!

When Inuyasha plows into Kaijinbou sword-first, Tessaiga curves quite a bit, but at least it isn't damaged. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Inuyasha.

Ooh, that looks like it stings.

Sweating, Sango frets that just the clashing of the blades made Inuyasha bleed, and Miroku calls this Toukijin's cutting power. I'm guessing that's kind of like telekinesis, but for swords. Did Kaijinbou's baby-blood sword have a comparable "cutting power" to this one? Look, I'm just trying to get some actual data here instead of Kaijinbou's wishy-washy nonsense, stop looking at me like that!

As he lunges forward with Toukijin raised, Kaijinbou chuckles and says that it's all over. Inuyasha blocks the direct blow from his position on the ground with Tessaiga, but that "cutting power" bypasses this altogether to give him a few more nicks. Regardless, Inuyasha overpowers Kaijinbou, pushing him away and himself to his feet at the same time with a strong horizontal slash. Inuyasha is hunched and bloody, but strangely optimistic when he says he's relieved that Tessaiga seems to be just a little harder.

Ignoring the obvious innuendo there, because it's old hat in this series by now.

Shippou has found his home on Toutousai's shoulder, it seems, because he's still there when he declares happily that Tessaiga didn't break. Toutousai isn't quite as impressed, pulling on his beard and giving a lackluster "DUH" statement in return. Kagome is far more worried about her boyfriends body, though, implying that there won't be much of one left if this keeps going the way it is.

Kaijinbou finishes Kagome's thought with another chuckle and a statement that Inuyasha will be in shreds before the sword breaks. Inuyasha retorts that it's too bad that Toukijin's cutting edge is such a nasty customer, because its wielder's arm is nothing special. OOOOOOOH, sick burn! As a stir of power surrounds him, his canines grow, and his nails extend into claws, Inuyasha says Kaijinbou should have slain him on the FIRST swing, before his human form started receding and his hair turned gray silver. Again, Shippou's grin is wide while he observes that Inuyasha has started to transform, and for the first time, Kagome joins him in the smile, for dawn has finally come.

But almost immediately after this grand speech, Inuyasha gives Tessaiga a startled look, like it's not at ALL what he expected.

What's your problem, kid? Looks fine to me.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I found Toutousai quite delightful in this chapter, I'm sure you noticed. He was a great way to diffuse the tension here, because otherwise we might have taken Kaijinbou a bit too seriously. I think the point of Toutousai's lackadaisical attitude here was to have a person who know Kaijinbou personally to frame him in a non-serious way. Understanding that Toutousai is so much more acquainted with Kaijinbou and his body of work is reason to give his opinion of the guy more credence than everyone else's, and Toutousai's opinion is clearly "WHATEVER" all the way.

It's not only humorous, but it reinforces what everyone else has been saying this whole time - Kaijinbou isn't the enemy they have to be worried about. It's Toukijin. Not that it matters too much to Inuyasha, of course. He's just always got his focus on the guy talking shit. But even he did his part to totally de-fang Kaijinbou, with his ridiculous justifications as to why he should fight him.

It's almost as if no one took Kaijinbou seriously from the beginning. Good judges of character, the lot of them.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 218 The Lone Duelist

I know those feels. I was alone on my birthday, when my husband was out to sea and all my friends were out of range. It was nice to have the day off to myself, when I could do whatever I damn well pleased with no one around with competing suggestions, but at a certain point I didn't know what to do with myself. Do I go to the beach? The park? Stay in and shitpost on the internet as one does? I ended up settling on staying in and baking myself some honey-lavender cupcakes.

But much like dueling, it is a rather sad thing to be doing alone.

After a page detailing who has made it to the next stage of the finals (Yami and Jonouchi), and who has yet to make their play for a spot (Marik, Mai, Kaiba and "Mystery 8th Duelist"), we take a break to visit the aftermath of the absolute chaos in the previous chapter.

How magnanimous of Kaiba to spare fifteen minutes for the remaining tournament participants to ponder the possible hospitalization that could result from a loss in their upcoming card game. Or is it a terrible disservice? I honestly have no idea. Could be both.

Inside the medical room, Rishid is lying tucked into a cot, unconscious. Someone in the horseshoe of visitors around the doctor next to the bed asks how Rishid is, and the answer is some vague nonsense about his brainwaves being pretty normal and perhaps the shock was too much for him, blah, blah, blah. No doubt those kids wouldn't have any right to know how Rishid is anyway.

Hanging her head, Anzu voices some concern over how many people in this tournament have been hurt, because Bakura is still resting injured in another bed. Jonouchi wonders why Rishid is still under when the both of them got hit with the god lightning, and Honda disdainfully suggests that Jonouchi is just lucky. Ignoring this comment, Jonouchi says that they don't even know Rishid's real name, the only tidbit of information about him coming from Marik on the mysterious man being his shadow. Not a lot to go on, but Yami speculates this to mean, tentatively, that Rishid is Marik's partner.

Jonouchi grits his teeth, refusing to forgive Marik for being so cold as to not give a shit about his own shadow in addition to brainwashing people so often, even though no one asked him to. Mai mumbles that she feels bad for this guy who's all alone now that he's been betrayed by Marik. At the mention of Rishid being by himself now, Jonouchi looks like he has an epiphany. He realizes that he only won because he stood up before the time limit. Took him an awfully long time. Maybe becoming fully conscious is a bit of a process for him.

His friends give him inquiring looks when he tells them, cryptically, that he thinks he knows why he won the duel. Jonouchi reveals that he saw all of them in his dream.

On the flip side, this means Rishid would rather lay there in a coma than deal with Marik's shit for one more second. In fact, you could say that angry god card actually did Rishid an enormous favor. Thanks, Ra!

While everyone else make noises of affirmation or otherwise stay silent and smiling, Honda says that it's no problem, but a free lunch as repayment might be nice. Jonouchi gets all flustered and upset at the suggestion, forgetting that HE threatened (jokingly) to blackmail one of his friends for free burgers not too terribly long ago. A friend that could easily remind him of said incident, given that she's standing only a short distance away at the moment.

This hypocrisy goes unremarked upon by anyone, however, and KT decides to focus in on a smiling Mai, who contemplates the concept of friends here. Like it's a novel thing that hadn't already been made perfectly clear back in Duelist Kingdom for her. Maybe it wasn't, though, in which case it's a tad strange that she would go to all the trouble of encouraging and delivering the sister of a guy whom she didn't even consider a friend.

Anyway, the doctor promises to take care of all the injuries piling up, and reminds the kiddos that they're going to be drawing the next two duelists to compete here pretty soon. *Hinthintgetthefuckoutofherehinthint* So, they all file out of the medical room, Jonouchi leading the way with Shizuka hanging admiringly at his elbow. Mai runs up to his other side, wanting to ask him a question. He looks somewhat alarmed when he asks what it is, and she questions if he saw her in his dream too.

... Well that came out of nowhere. Jonouchi clarifies that she means in the dream with "the others", then takes a moment to think about it and sweatdrop. When he's done, he grins and says that most of his dreams take place in the classroom, and he figures that's why she wasn't there, because she can't POSSIBLY be in high school. As Mai begins to blow a gasket in disbelief and anger, Jonouchi runs ahead of her, waving, and promising that she can be the teacher next time. Anzu looks upon the scene from behind the both of them with a measure of pity, while Mai starts considering the term "idiot" now.

Lesson: don't ask questions when at least one of the answers is going to seriously upset you.

Yami comes up behind Mai and says that she might be playing in the next match, and she's got to win. I'm sure this is supposed to be encouraging, but it doesn't receive a reply, just a wordless glance back at Yami. Yami looks a little put out by her cold reception. Meanwhile, Anzu somehow teleported ahead to intercept Jonouchi by the cheek, pulling him along as he yelps that he's in pain, and demanding to know how he can be such a moron. Face flushed, scratching his cheek meekly, Jonouchi doesn't have an answer any more than Mai did for Yami's statement to her.

She's hanging her head sadly until she looks up, wondering what it was she was doing. Mai reminds herself that she was fighting along before she met these babies, winning by herself and not asking anyone for help. You also weren't depending on being in the dreams of other people for your happiness, which I think is the real issue here. Mai starts to go into what really makes her proud as she shoves her Duel Disk on her arm, and it's not entirely clear here - something about how one is only truly safe when they're by themselves, because in this ruthless world, things that hurt others can't hurt them? There's a bit of guess-work in the interpretation, forgive me. The translation and I haven't come to an understanding.

One thing IS perfectly clear, though.

Yup. That sure is your identity.

The order in which everyone arrives here is just confusing to me. I though Jonouchi was ahead of Mai? I don't know, maybe he took the scenic route to the bingo machine.

Mai looks around and notices that neither Marik nor the eighth duelist are present, and is annoyed at their apparent lack of bother to so much as show up. She's not going to forgive duelists like them. Before, she was totally willing to overlook the fact that Marik was a brainwashing prick, I guess. Kaiba stands nearby, as usual smirking over his fantasies of defeating Marik, getting that Ra card, and eventually beating Yami at long last. One track MIND, that boy.

Moar Cards Guy announces that the lucky draw of numbers begins now, as the machine starts to bounce the numbers around inside it. We're reminded that MARIK (not Namu) is number 1, Kaiba is 3, Mai is 6 and the "mystery" eighth duelist is 8. Mokuba shouts that it should be his big brother up there dueling this time, as though the bingo machine gives two shits what he thinks about it. Jonouchi says that this will also determine the last two duelists for the fourth round, which must be something of a relief to everyone. No more goofy Blue Eyes White Dragon themed bingo machine.

Mai stares, Kaiba reiterates that his only target is Marik and his god card at this point, and the numbers pop around in the machine.

No surprise there, with the chapter's setup. She bows her head in silence as Yami calls her name and Jonouchi encourages her to go get 'em. The shout bubble over Kaiba's head isn't translated, but I can guess it's not a HAPPY exclamation. The only way for him to get what he wants now is for 8 to exit the machine next.

Mai glares, but when Moar Cards Guy announces that the machine is starting up to determine her opponent, she begins to walk the fuck off. Jonouchi twists to remind her that whoever she's dueling hasn't come up yet, but she states that she'll beat him or her regardless, and that the next time she and Yami or Jonouchi meet, it'll be on that platform in the next stage of the finals. Yami says her name again, and Jonouchi starts jogging after Mai, offering to come and cheer her on. She glares at him out of her periphery and snaps at him not to even THINK about coming, because she's a fighter who fights alone, and she doesn't need the cheers of others.

Jonouchi is of course cowed, flushed and sweatdropping once more, with Anzu standing there watching the whole scene with the same pity as before. Mai continues on her little tangent, suggesting that it makes her laugh that duelists like Jonouchi need others to help win their battles.

WOAH, WOAH, WOAH, girl, that is a serious overreaction! Just because a guy didn't dream about you in his god-lightning-induced nightmares doesn't give you license to be a super-asshole! I expect that shit from Kaiba, not you, Mai! You're better than that! And if you're not BETTER than that, you're certainly too fucking OLD to be behaving like this! Do TRY to remember you're talking to CHILDREN here!

The child she's insulting is certainly taking it hard, even though he's trying to brush it off with a teeth-grinding "whatever" in the next panel. Mai just keeps walking, and it's a bit difficult to read her expression in profile. Is she as ashamed of herself as she should be? Who knows? Anyway, hey, Moar Cards Guy is still drawing out the selection of Mai's opponent. Big surprise there.

The real surprise is of course where Marik happens to be instead of watching that bingo machine. He's next to Rishid's hospital bed in the medical room, putting back together the Millennium Rod to reveal that the handle is actually a sheath for a small hidden dagger at the end of the top. Where's that doctor that promised to take care of everything while the kids went to find out who was dueling in the next round? Slumped over in the corner where Marik stabbed him with his tiny dagger.

Shit, this tournament just took a fucking TURN. At least a person can come back from brainwashing, but murder is murder, bro.

Marik mutters about having to send each of "them" to the darkness, and it's not immediately clear who's included in this group, but my guess is it's a pretty wide net. He turns to Rishid and begins addressing him as though he can hear, talking about the symbols carved in his face being a seal for his hatred, and as long as he's alive, his "other self" is sealed up forever. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

Seems like there's more than just the announcement that you're due for a duel that's keeping you from just stabbing Rishid's forehead, dude. Those hard drugs are pulling you in ALL kinds of directions.

Marik and Mai are pretty in alliteration as they face off on the platform atop the blimp. Mai thinks about the rumors saying Marik's the one with the god card Ra, probably spread by Kaiba, because he can't even THINK about anything else, let alone TALK about another topic. Marik is just thinking that the darkness is hungry. Whatever. Mai's continued thoughts aren't too much more complex, just centering around having to use her deck to beat Marik and gain his ultimate god card. Goooooood luck, especially when Marik is over there planning to sacrifice you to the darkness, girlfriend.

I assume Moar Cards Guy is the one to announce the start of the duel and the names of the competitors, because he's off-panel, the feature being Mai from Marik's side of the platform. Marik holds out his arm, his cape flutters around him in the wind, and his "third eye" glows. When he's finished trying to look cool, he holds the Millennium Rod out in front of him and bids the shadow game to begin, which prompts a swirl of dark tendrils to extend out from the rod. Mai is alarmed being enveloped by the blanket of darkness, and how it covers everything. She's sweating, unable to breathe, a line of figures hurrying into the spectator pit below going unnoticed by her. She has to admit she's pretty scared of this duel, and who can blame her? She's the first to get the "shadow game" treatment, after all.

But she's got support in her pioneering predicament, whether she wants it or not.

You may as well face it; acting like a dick to these people is not the way to keep them away from you. I'm not sure there IS a way.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I really liked the explanation of how Jonouchi's dream tied into why he was able to wake up to begin with. It seems almost obvious now for how simple it is, but I suppose I needed someone to actually SAY that he had something, a group of someONES to return to, and that it stood in stark contrast with Rishid's situation. The imagery was pretty clear too, in Rishid's vision as he was on the edge of consciousness - the in-group he was trying so desperately to gain access to just dismissing him and walking off into the darkness. It was poignant, and I'm surprised I missed it.

Almost as surprising was Mai's complete tantrum here, though in a way I suppose it had to be done. Mai's defeat here is inevitable. She's only in the finals because there had to be someone along that the audience was already familiar with, and there's no way Marik will be eliminated by anyone BUT Yami, so she's toast, story wise. But we still need to be able to relate to her in order for the duel not to be boring and a bit of a slog, so KT gave her an emotional issue to conflict her during the meat-and-potatoes of the match.

The reasons for this are solid, and I totally understand why this decision was made for Mai's character, but boy do I HATE it. It's not that I think she shouldn't be upset as an adult, because smaller issues have made me upset, and I'm older than she's supposed to be. And it's been a while since she's been in contact with the group, so she's bound to feel like the odd one out, not being around near constantly like the others in Jonouchi's dream. No matter how friendly everyone is with her, she's just not part of the core group, and insecurity is just about certain in a situation like that. I know from experience.

No, my real issue with this is the cliche easily cleared-up misunderstanding it evokes. There are so many ways that this just wouldn't have been an issue that it came off as contrived. While it makes sense that Jonouchi wouldn't think it a big deal, and come across as even a bit callous, his explanation still tried to justify WHY she wasn't there. It was clear he was a bit confused about her absence from the dream when his attention was drawn to it, so that in and of itself suggests that he didn't understand at first why one of his friends WOULDN'T have been present.

And if he had thought about it a tad more, he might have mentioned that Shizuka wasn't there either, but Kaiba WAS, and Kaiba's not a friend to anyone. He's just a bag of dicks.

I suppose what I'm getting at here is that both Jonouchi AND Mai were doing just enough idiocy to drive the next mini-arc, because if they had gone over that very fine threshold, it might not have happened at all.