Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 283 The Six Chosen Priests

Sounds like some kind of reality TV concept, like The Bachelor or Big Brother or something. I'm picturing men in religious regalia giving interviews to a camera and getting into catfights with fellow faith leaders in a big extravagant mansion. Just imagine: robed dudes participating in campy game-show competitions and throwing shade at their fellow clergymen. A nun delivering the news of one of them being voted out of the church. Presenting a lucky winner every week with a fetish or cross-stitched quote. 

... I think I might watch that. 

I realize that's not where THIS blinding and hectic scene is going, but I don't know, what I described above might come across as less traumatic. Yami appears to be falling into a dark well of hieroglyphics, and he's got his mouth wide open in a silent scream, because that shit looks absolutely TERRIFYING. 

The flash from the stone tablet subsides in the museum, but everyone continues to hold their arms up over their eyes for a beat longer. Just in case the artifact decides to try to blind them again. Groaning and squinting, they slowly lower their hands, Jonouchi muttering that there was a bright light for a moment and Honda asking just what the hell happened. Suddenly, Jonouchi catches sight of Yuugi still on all fours on the floor, and shouts to him in alarm. They all crowd around him, Anzu inquiring after how he is, but he remains quiet, his face shadowed, holding up his Millennium Puzzle. 

Yup, that expression means EXACTLY what you think it does. Yuugi confirms with tears welling in his eyes that his other self is indeed gone. While Jonouchi and Honda yell in disbelief and for confirmation that Yami is gone, hunching over him in a threatening intimidating way, Yuugi squeezes his eyes shut and cringes. He twists around to explain that Yami is neither in the puzzle nor in his heart, and he doesn't know where he is. 

Anzu is in silent, wide-eyed shock, and behind Bakura's vacant empty expression is asshole!Bakura freaking out a little about Yami being gone. All of them maintain an awkward silence, only broken by Jonouchi's sad "no way". Yuugi hangs his head over the puzzle, holding it to his face as he cries. He questions where Yami is, moaning in his sudden anguish. 

Bobasa steps up to remind them of that World of Memory he mentioned earlier? And how Yami went there? Everyone in this room has the memory of a damn goldfish, judging by how they react with mystified alarm at the term. Bobasa puts on his own poop-face, preparing to further extrapolate:

Doesn't sound too different than a bad trip at the hypno-therapist's, honestly. 

Yami now sits hunched on a throne elevated behind a line of robed individuals, some of them bowing their heads. He looks like he's snoozing before he's approached by short-ish figure softly trying to get his attention. Yami's eyes flutter open as the man clears his throat behind a cloth hanging over his nose and mouth. Not quite as familiar as the masks we're wearing nowadays, but enough for me to be salty about it without thinking. I have been thoroughly corrupted by pandemic times. 

Snapping to attention, eyes wide, Yami asks in confusion where he is. The masked man at his side in turn asks what the great pharaoh is saying, chastising him in the statement that he must always be acting with the dignity befitting a living representation of the gods. This man labels falling asleep on the throne as quite the shameful thing. 

This all goes straight over Yami's head, because he seems to recognize this man as Yuugi's grandfather and addresses him as such with surprise. The man stutters in alarm, identifying himself instead as the pharaoh's vizier, Siamun Muran. Oh the dramatic irony! He insists he's never been called by any other name, repeating "grandpa" as if it is quite the mystifying, if not insulting, term. Who knows? Maybe he's just objecting to the elderly connotations. 

Yami stares, a little flushed and a LOT confused, judging by how he turns the name "Siamun" over in his head. He then looks at the robed folks standing in front of him and wonders what the hell is going on. 

Yami, I don't know why you're having trouble wrapping your brain around this. You didn't have a single problem with people referring to you as a pharaoh when you were living in Yuugi's head, but now that you're dressed for the title it's too much?? 

Some shirtless guy kneels in front of Yami and line of robed people alike, though addresses only the pharaoh, declaring that it is time. Yami grits his teeth, panicked in his complete ignorance of the situation. He leans toward his vizier, having to correct himself and call the man Siamun rather than "grandpa" again, as he whispers a hurried question about what's going on here. Siamun is mystified by Yami's confusion, recoiling and asking what he could possibly mean. So Yami repeats his question, much to Siamun's alarm. 

Or, Yami MEANS to repeat the question, only to cut himself off when he notices the one thing all the robed people have in common and blurts that they have Millennium Items. Siamun is speechless, side-eyeing Yami a moment, before he explains that these are the six priests chosen by the items and they're about to begin the royal court. You know, like he's talking to a fucking MORON. Siamun concludes that the pharaoh must be VERY tired, which is probably the NICE version of what he thinks of what's going on here. 

Yami just latches on to that statement that these are priests chosen by the Millennium Items, staring agape at them. Until the shirtless kneeling guy asks the great pharaoh if they may open the court now, and Yami stutters out an affirmative, prompting the shirtless guy to shout for a prisoner to be brought out. He's a pretty big dude in nothing but a plain skirt at the waist, who's asking for the guards on either side of him to wait as they bark at him where to go and stand. Shirtless Guy announces that the prisoner was caught trying to enter the previous pharaoh's tomb. 

The big guy, missing a tooth, begins to shout in defense that he didn't steal anything and all the treasure was all gone before he even got there. Someone yells at him to shut it, reciting a prepared statement about how the resting place of a pharaoh is the territory of the gods, and anyone who sets foot in that sacred place will face the gods' judgment. While the prisoner gurgles in protest, Siamun says to Yami that there is no end to thieves who would rob royal tombs, and these sinners are judged by the seven holy items/six priests. Presumably by Yami too, even though Siamun leaves that part out of the equation. Yami wonders if the Millennium Items were originally for judging those sinners. 

As if to answer, the priests gather round the prisoner and announce that his crime will be judged by the items. The prisoner, though he looks tough, asks in a halting manner what they're going to do. High Priest Shada is called forth first, in lieu of an answer, and he looks to be the ancient counterpart to ShadI, so I expect to hate him just as much.

What is that, a frikken symbiote? How did Venom get into this dude's chest?

Shada declares that he detects the shadow of an evil "ka" in this guy's heart, just as he suspected. Drawing conclusions beforehand and confirming them through unverifiable means isn't exactly professional behavior in my book, but I also have the omnipotent understanding that this is legit in this particular universe, so I don't really have room to complain. A new guy who looks like Marik's dear old dad with the Millennium Eye installed according to factory instructions introduces himself as the High Priest Akhenaden, and states that he's going to use his item to reveal the true form of that ka Shada mentioned. The prisoner, who has fallen to his knees, throws his head back and wisps of smoke issue from his mouth, presumably at Akhenaden's direction with his arms thrown wide. Yami observes with shock that something is coming out of the prisoner's body. 

Siamun begins expositing that negative emotions like hatred and anger create monsters in men's souls, and that monster eventually takes over the man, causing them to commit crimes and break the divine order of Ma'at. They also increase their own power by creating more rage and sorrow, no doubt encouraging them to keep on walking down that road. Kind of convenient that shitty crime-monsters can be blamed on human universals like NEGATIVE EMOTIONS instead of institutional injustices like poverty. Rich aristocrats are just better at handling their crap, I guess. 

Nice cosmology being built here. 

Again, as if to answer his question, a perfectly rectangular stone slab rises on its own between two men standing with their arms crossed, almost twice as tall as they are. Someone shouts at Priest Seto to use his Millennium Rod to seal the monster ka roaring in front of them within the stone. Angular eyes shadowed beneath his elaborate headdress, because we're trying to set up the obvious as a surprise apparently, Priest Seto scoffs and determines that this low-level ka isn't even at the level of an amusement for the pharaoh. Who wasn't even tasked with handling it, so I'm not sure what he's talking about here.

Priest Seto walks up to the snarling monster with head held high, and holds out the rod to it, commanding this dark spirit of chaos to begone and enter the stone. The eye on the rod flashes and the monster begins to dissolve, screaming as Priest Seto directs the essence it's captured into the slab standing behind him. 

Yeah, again, you had people telling you he was here when you were hanging out in modern Japan. Why are you at ALL surprised?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Not a bad introduction to the way this version of ancient Egypt is supposed to work, and how the Millennium Items function in their natural habitat. It was strange that Yami was reacting with such surprise to information he should have been the least surprised by, and I think it was a tad heavy on exposition. While some of it wasn't avoidable, there was some that definitely was. I felt that Siamun spelled out a lot of things that we were seeing play out right then, so his dialog could have been pruned back a lot. Especially since he was already reluctant to offer explanations to Yami, understandably unnerved by the pharaoh asking questions he should already know the answers to. It was therefore a head-scratcher that he autonomously started offering up a detailed elaboration about the philosophy behind the priest's jobs, like he wasn't JUST weirded out about Yami asking what was going on a moment before.

And that philosophy is... hoo, boy. I understand that this is supposed to be a story that's for young-ish boys, adolescents who may not have a developed sense of social problems and what actually causes them, but that's no excuse to blame it all on bad emotions that form monsters in the soul! I think I've touched on this before, but negative emotions are normal, necessary, and sometimes JUSTIFIED, so it's rather frustrating to be seeing this story treating them like something that needs to be exorcised once they form an uncontrollable demon making you do bad immoral things. There's a weird combination of dismissing the material reasons for why someone might commit a crime like tomb-raiding, infantalization of the actor by dismissing their complicated emotional world that is not separate from the conditions under which it developed, and the notion that just having bad emotions MAKES ONE A BAD PERSON. Since Siamun didn't specify that the negative emotions creating this condition to the "ka" soul of a person is due to the improper dealings with these feelings, his explanation gives the impression that if one is to be essentially "good" one should also be free of negative emotions entirely, which... isn't a great message to send to immatures who are your primary audience and who might already be insecure about how they feel about certain things in their life and society. It often just ends up reinforcing really unjust status quos on the whole.

I'm just saying, if we want to overcome shitty conditions like the coming climate collapse and social justice issues, we should probably not discourage our youth from exploring and expressing the negative emotions that are going to arise from those conditions. Not that KT is solely at fault for this effect or anything, but we hardly need any more contributions to the problem, do we?

Inuyasha Manga: 224 Relaxation

Speak for yourself, chapter! I haven't had half a second to relax since I started searching for a house. The market is so hot right now that houses I see on Tuesday are gone by Friday, with nary an opportunity for me to even schedule to see them. I literally have unsettling dreams about house-hunting and it's messing with my head. 

Luckily, I've grown a shit-ton of chamomile over the past few months, and I now have a lovely device that can boast dehydration among its many talents. So, I snipped a few chamomile flowers this morning and popped them into the Foodi for a few hours so I can make a cup of calming tea and chill for half a minute. Wish me luck.

Excuse me while I just stare wistfully at this idyllic image for a minute, wishing I could hang out on the grass like that right now.

Okay, I'm finished.

Inuyasha opens this chapter cursing that Naraku. He, Miroku and Sango are standing on the grounds of the last chapter's abandoned castle, long after Kikyou left it appears. Inuyasha complains that it looks like Naraku doesn't intend to return, and Miroku agrees, adding that moving the castle wouldn't make a difference anymore since the barrier can be busted open anytime now. Mumbling that he might be able to rip Naraku apart right now, Inuyasha reflects on how he was JUST about to finish Naraku off and internally curses again. The disappointment is palpable. 

A narrow sky transition panel, RT's favorite, takes us back to modern Tokyo, where Kagome is sitting in a classroom with an open textbook propped open in front of her. But her head's not in her shiny modern environment, as she's wondering instead if it was okay for her to come back. She thinks that maybe studying in her safe cushy amenity-laden world in such a carefree manner seems kind of inexcusable in comparison to the reality of her friends. 

Well, so much for being carefree...

And just like that we're back in the Sengoku era, where Inuyasha is glaring down at the well complaining that Kagome's late. I guess he didn't have ENOUGH to piss and moan about with the whole Naraku-getting-away business. He's got one foot up on the lip of the well as he asks if Kagome wasn't coming home soon. Sitting on an adjascent wall, Shippou answers that Kagome said she'd be gone two or three days. 

Miroku approaches with Sango trailing behind, telling Inuyasha not to get so worked up. Inuyasha retorts with the question of what Miroku's so calm about. Sango says it's not like this is the first time Naraku's disappeared, and suggests that Inuyasha should probably get some rest too. Looking dumbfounded, Inuyasha asks Sango just what she's talking about, claiming that he doesn't feel tired at all, unlike the frail humans in front of him. Miroku says that's just the thing; if they tried to keep up with his crazy ass, they'd be worn out. I added the "his crazy ass" part, but it was totally implied. Inuyasha glares, accusing MIROKU of being the one who's tired. That might have been an impressive deduction a couple of lines BEFORE Miroku admitted to just that, Inuyasha.

What I assume to be elsewhere, given Inuyasha isn't rushing in for a futile chat, Shinidamachuu are slinking around in the sky. 

Maybe he learned it from you - how else did Inuyasha miss that you were at the castle earlier?

Kikyou thinks about how she's had the shinidamachuu searching far and wide for Naraku's evil aura since the castle was abandoned, but so far they haven't sensed a barrier. She wonders how he could have hidden such a large malevolent presence, head inclined in contemplation.

Yet again we shift to a different location, at night this time. It's distinguishable as Kaede's village by the fact that Sango is sitting on a nearby hill gazing up at the stars. She's contemplating the fact that Naraku disappeared and Kohaku is still with him, asking herself just where he is. At this point, Miroku approaches her, saying her name, and she returns his greeting over her shoulder. 

In Kaede's house, she, Inuyasha and Shippou sit around the central fire, where she chuckles about Miroku going to make a move on Sango. Shippou says it certainly seems like he's going for it anyway, and he reckons Sango is secretly waiting for this as well; or rather, this is Kagome's hypothesis and Shippou is just repeating it like the impressionable little brat he is. He just hasn't gotten past the parrot stage yet, presumably.

Back on the hillside, Miroku has sat down next to Sango, suggesting she's worried about her brother. She admits to this hesitantly, and while Miroku acknowledges that her worry is reasonable, he advises her not to get too worked up over it. I'd like to see him try to say that to my own habitually-anxious generation. Hoo-boy, that would be a show! Sango side-eyes him, giving him a noncommittal kind of statement. He then says he can understand how she feels, then trails on the "but" at the end of his sentence. Again, Sango says little more than a word in response, peering at him warily. After a moment when Miroku is gazing up at the dark sky and Sango is staring at him out of her periphery, Miroku stands and moves to excuse himself, supposing she wants to be alone. 

Sango makes a confused noise, asking if that's really all. Miroku makes his own puzzled sound (and face) as she explains that she expected HE would come around under the pretense of consoling her, only to do something lecherous. 

He wouldn't want to be a disappointment as a PERVERT, after all. So fucking extra.

The sound of the resulting slap from Sango makes it all the way into Kaede's house, the old woman humming at the sound and Shippou impressed at how strong this one sounds. Inuyasha fidgets in irritation on the roof of the hut now, grumbling about how everyone is slacking off. 

Narrow sky transition panel back to the modern era! At the Higurashi shrine, Kagome pushes open a door to announce she's home. Souta trots up to greet her, following her march down the hall to ask if she knows what excitedly. She snaps at him not to talk to her, convinced she'll forget the stuff she memorized otherwise. She states that tomorrow is a mock math exam, something she needs to concentrate all night on... Or else.

... I've never seen a guy in a manga be THAT cavalier about what is undoubtedly a clear view of a girl's underwear before. To say nothing of how cavalier he has to be to not outwardly wonder how she managed to fall like that. Her limbs are all over the place...

Kagome sits herself upright to demand to know what Inuyasha is doing here, and when Inuyasha answers that he came to pick up her late ass, she gets right up in his face and yells that he's being nonsensical and she's got a test tomorrow. He just kind of leans back, perturbed, asking why she's so mad right now. Probably because she forgot everything she memorized before, just as she feared. 

Later on in the evening, a sigh issues from Kagome's bedroom window. She's scribbling in a workbook at her desk, but she's not exactly concentrating on it. Instead she's fuming about what's happening while she's up to her eyeballs in work. Inuyasha hovers around her, peering at her writing from every angle with what looks like a critical and curious eye. Kagome yells sit, Inuyasha slams into her bedroom floor, and she swings around in her swivel chair to call to her brother.

Souta leans into the room asking what's up, and Kagome bids him to keep Inuyasha company. He pulls an incredulous Inuyasha by the sleeve from his sister's room, suggesting they take a bath together. Kagome repeats her plea to Souta to take care of Inuyasha as they retreat down the hall, then returns to her desk to reopen her textbook. It's not long before she's yanked out of peaceful academic pursuit by a scream in disbelief about some sort of heat. 

Expert drawing of teenage girl attention, Inuyasha. You could win the gold in the ridiculous diversion olympics. 

Kagome throws her desk-side garbage bin at him and screams at him to get out, then melts in frazzled exhaustion over her workbook, complaining that she's forgotten all the formulas she was trying to learn. Cut your losses and head over to a friend's place, kiddo. Maybe headband will hit the books with you.

Downstairs, Inuyasha sits very much like a dog next to the table, where Souta is blow-drying out his hair and Kagome's grandfather browses the paper. Kagome's mother steps into the room with a plate of something, asking the curious Inuyasha if he's staying for dinner. It's just when Kagome looks up and notices that the house has gotten rather quiet when she hears another yelp questioning what this is that her face collapses into annoyance again. Inuyasha has barged into her room again, her mother with the plate not far behind supposing she shouldn't have given him curry. Inuyasha sticks out his tongue, blabbering around it that it hurts now. Kagome just flatly reminds him that he's the same guy who would pretend a hole in his chest isn't a big deal. The fairest of points. 

Later, Inuyasha sits cross-legged on her bed, STARING at the back of her head. Kagome understandably sweatdrops, looking a bit tense, even from behind. She turns to hum at him, about to broach the subject of his scrutiny, and he asks what it is, considering he's not being noisy. She feels that being watched quietly is a bit distracting too, but instead of saying so, she suggests to him that he lie down. He sardonically accepts this invitation, only to suggest in turn that the dipshit at the desk should get back to studying already, since they're going back tomorrow. She deflates and obeys her weird drill sergeant. 

But she's still pretty uneasy, glancing out of her periphery every once in a while, wondering if he plans to watch her all night. She imagines bitterly that he could, with his monster endurance. After a long bout of uncomfortable silence, though, she HAS to look over her shoulder again. Kagome is in utter shocked disbelief that Inuyasha has indeed laid down and appears to be snoozing away. She stands in front of him, glaring, hands on hips, wondering what's with this guy interfering with her studies. Sleeping as he is. The NERVE. 

Her expression softens, though.

Probz by design. He doesn't want people pinching those adorable cheeks while he's trying to get some shut-eye.

Kagome sits down next to the bed, propping her elbows on the edge of the mattress and gazing at Inuyasha while he sleeps. You know, like a creep. She supposes he's the one who's been the most exhausted, and silently encourages him to sleep without worries, at least for tonight. 

What happened to your sleeping bag, princess? The couch? I'm sure there was SOMEWHERE you could have slept.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? RT's unfortunate habit of rapid-firing a bunch of micro-scenes and giving me whiplash is at a PEAK in this one, so that was a bit rough. At least it's clear that most of it is sequential and not all supposed to be happening simultaneously, so that makes it easier to digest. It's also not high-stakes ACTION with tension, quite the opposite, and that helps to make it all feel like a slower flow rather than a snap of the neck every five seconds. Overall, not unbearable. 

I'm a little disappointed that the opportunity wasn't taken to flesh out the meager reaction Sango had to Kohaku's most recent disappearance in the previous chapter. Instead Sango's worry acts as a foundation for another "Miroku is a pervert" joke. While I realize that I shouldn't expect very heavy or deep content out of a chapter named "Relaxation", I'm also not sure what purpose Miroku's flirtatious shenanigans are supposed to serve in the concept either - whenever I've been sexually harassed by a guy/suspected I'm going to be sexually harassed by a guy, I've been very tense and NOT relaxed. 

Still, he didn't seem totally insincere in his discussion with Sango about her feelings. Despite Shippou's speculations that Miroku was just going up there to hit on Sango, Miroku didn't pick a light and easy topic of conversation, tried to empathize and offer advice, and was prepared to walk away when he couldn't maintain the awkward one-sided talk. Granted, he was a tiny bit condescending with his suggestion that she try not to worry so much, but otherwise I think he offered a reliable shoulder, so I'd say he gave it a genuine try to put Sango at ease. His reputation precedes him though, so it's no wonder Sango regarded him with suspicion at first.

I really enjoyed the latter part of the chapter with Inuyasha bugging the SHIT out of Kagome. Not only was it just funny, but it reminds us in an entertaining way that Inuyasha is, at his core, a 15-year-old boy. His behavior is typical of any teenager poking his girlfriend to get her attention, ESPECIALLY when she's busy and doesn't have the time for his shit. We needed that reminder too, because whenever they're traipsing around in the wilds trying to find and kill Naraku, he's always trying to puff-up and look tough. It's nice to see him just get to be... a kid.

I cannot stress enough how good I think RT is at writing characters as their ages, not accidentally making them too mature or too juvenile, but right where they should be mentally. This chapter is really a highlight of that, and it's always a joy to read. Take note fantasy writers - I see you guys out there writing babies like they're 30 and the elderly like hyperactive teens. The bar has been raised and people are still slamming into it for some reason...

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 282 Voyage into Memories

I do that quite enough already, thank you. Involuntarily too, like an ambush rather than a journey. I'll be washing dishes, writing emails, watering plants, when my brain will all of a sudden bring me back in vivid detail to moments in my life I'd rather forget. It's like my own mind is a bully waiting in the wings just to mock me when I least expect it. The worst part is, I know NO ONE ELSE remembers this crap but me, and yet I'm not allowed to retire that memory myself. 

Beware, Yami. Memories can be a damn CURSE.

Prime example of this principal right here. I've seen this shit in my nightmares. 

Demanding to know who this fat dude is, Jonouchi somehow manages to be incredibly rude AND overlook the real issue with Bobasa's body all at once. That takes some exceptional talent at cluelessness, Jonouchi, well(?) done. However, Bobasa keeps in good humor about it, laughing and saying he's happy to meet the kids. Not here to fight, this one.

Yami is still stuck on the depressions in Bobasa's skin for the Millennium Items, failing to hide how disturbed he is. But not as much as Jonouchi is failing with his absolute horror in the background. When Yami gets past this basic fact, though, his eyes widen and he notes that Bobasa has the key and scales in his torso. He wonders why Bobasa has Shadi's Millennium Items, while Jonouchi warns him to be careful because this guy might be another enemy after the rest of the items. 

Bobasa shakes his hands, and his who body, in denial, asking that they please believe he's not an enemy. Jonouchi points and says it's a "fat" chance that they'll believe he's not. Get it? Because Bobasa is fat. Funny. He then mentions that the Millennium Items currently embedded in Bobasa belonged to Shadi, who put their lives in danger with shadow games. Oh good, at least he's noticed THAT much beyond this new guy's weight. Strangely, he seems to be the first one to comment on Shadi's crappy behavior in a while too, which is an odd combination of astute and obtuse. 

Admitting he's from the tomb guardian clan, and that he's served Shadi for a number of years, Bobasa insists that he means none of them harm. He claims Shadi ordered him to come and PROTECT Yami, to which Yami expresses some understandable suspicion, arms crossed. Bobasa says that Shadi only really wanted to discern if Yami was the true pharaoh for whom they've waited for 3,000 years, and that's why he psychologically abused tested him with the shadow games.

Bobasa goes on to reiterate that it's the sacred duty of their bloodline to watch over the pharaoh's soul and the Millennium Items. You can get away with ANYTHING if you call it a "sacred duty" apparently. Jonouchi isn't buying it, reminding him that Marik was also from Bobasa's sacred bloodline, and he ALSO tried to kill the assembled kids. Bobasa says that though their clan was united once, they split into a couple of factions due to disagreements and rivalries over the items they were supposed to be protecting. He seems to realize that this is not at ALL reassuring, so he insists that the clan itself is not Yami's enemy, and that he himself came to Yami by the will of the Millennium Key. Yami stares, stoically silent. 

Though he seems disappointed, Bobasa says he understands if it's too soon for them to trust him yet. Then he asserts that he will accompany Yami on his journey, and he will be trustworthy in time. Dude, I don't think inviting yourself along on deeply personal journey is going to make you as trustworthy as you think... He gestures to his grotesquely indented chest as he says that once Yami can trust him, then he can be relied upon to keep the Millennium Items in his care, since he's a human safe and willing to give his life to protect them. Yami tells him that even if he believed in him, he wouldn't let Bobasa have the Millennium Puzzle, which he holds up to indicate.

He... does know that fabric can be cut and ripped, right? 

Jonouchi is disturbed yet again by Bobasa swallowing the key, in disgusted disbelief that the guy actually did it. Bobasa amps up the gross by hurking and then sticking out his tongue with the key laid upon it, announcing that he can bring it back as well, since his stomach is the safest place for it. Both Honda and Jonouchi freeze in horror, wondering who the hell this guy is, if he's some sort of circus freak. 

Bobasa clears his throat in sudden seriousness, declaring it's time to get to the point. He lowers himself to one knee, left foot out in front, of course ;). He addresses Yami as Master Yuugi at first, then corrects himself to say the soul of the pharaoh instead, stating that by the will of the god cards he came to the museum. I don't know if it was the GOD CARDS so much as the only place they knew of that might have further clues to Yami's memories, but hey, whatever the circus freak says. 

Yami looks taken aback by the phrase "World of Memory" as Bobasa warns him not to look away no matter how painful the experiences that await him there. He extends that warning to Yami's entourage, a vague omen that Jonouchi can't help but question, shaking his fist and demanding to know what "fatty" means by that. Yami overrides Jonouchi's general question by asking Bobasa just exactly how much he knows about his memories and the secret of the Millennium Items. 

Bobasa has returned to his feet and turned back toward the museum steps, and he looks over his shoulder to tell Yami that the answers to all puzzles lie in the World of Memory, something he has to see for himself. Yami glares, Anzu side-eyes him nervously, and Bakura looks rather dazed in the background. Behind his vacant expression, asshole!Bakura wonders about this World of Memory as well. Oooh, something this prick doesn't understand about the situation? Yes please!

They follow the enormous Bobasa as he walls through the entrance to the museum and through the exhibit, dwarfing all the other people milling around in there. Seriously, he looks damn near twice as tall as everyone else. As they walk along in his leading shadow, Anzu addresses Yami, who looks over his shoulder with an easy-going smile, asking what's up. BOOOOOOO! Thumbs-down! Bring back the murder grin!!!

Then again, maybe it's better if he's not directing THAT expression at Anzu...

She flushes and flaps her hand dismissively, stuttering that it was nothing, she was just remembering the last time they were there together. Yami says he sees, clearly not drawing any significance from that, but Anzu hangs her head a little and frowns while her face returns to its regular color. She muses on how she called him "Yuugi" like always, but she's aware that he's a completely different person in Yuugi's body, not even some other part of him. She figures this guy who's been sharing Yuugi's body and name since she's known him must have a name of his own from 3,000 years before that he lost along with his memories.

At this moment, they're passing a gift shop, and noticing it gives Anzu an idea. She thinks the shop HAS to have the thing she has in mind, as this building houses an Egyptian exhibit. She bolts off, promising her friends that she'll be right back, and Honda shakes his fist as he tries to tell her to leave the souvenirs until later. Anzu ignores him, peering into a glass case. She points to what she wants for the clerk, and after she's got it, she runs back out of the store, apologizing. Then, holding her fist to her chest, she addresses Yami again, still by Yuugi's name, of course.

Ooooh, fancy bling!

Yami dangles it in front of his crossed eyes, asking what it is. Anzu explains it's a cartouche, a name-plate, that the ancient pharaohs always had their name's carved on. Yami notes that there's no name on the one she gave him, and she says she intended for him to carve his OWN name on there. He gapes at her, repeating the phrase in his head, dumbfounded. Winking at him, Anzu states that once he gets his memories and name back, this will mean he'll never forget the name part again, at least. Assuming he can bring this little dealie in the Millennium Puzzle/afterlife with him, of course.

As he stares at the cartouche in his palm, he recalls the ones on the stone slab they're revisiting today were scratched out to erase the pharaoh's name on them, and realizes that Anzu must have figured out he'd forgotten his name too. Well, if you remembered it, wouldn't you have corrected everyone calling you "Yuugi" by now?

Meanwhile, Anzu thinks that she had a little bit of a selfish motive as well; she wants to know Yami's name too. Probably not JUST because it's awkward to refer to two different friends by one name all the time. There's not even a family initial that you can tack on there to differentiate like we did with the multiple Brittanys and Eriks in my classes growing up. Yami thanks Anzu, telling her he'll always treasure her gift, and she blushes in happiness this time. The cute hurts. 

Here it is, in all its stony glory. We get a good under-shot of Jonouchi and Honda's chins, thrust out as they stared in tense awe at the stone slab they heard so much about. When they've had a chance to examine the picture in the center, they're alarmed to find that one of the figures genuinely looks like Yuugi. Honda makes the leap to the conclusion that the other figure is Kaiba, but again, I don't see how anyone can make that claim. Kaiba's hair would have to be at least 40 times as wild as it currently is for me to see where he and Ishizu were coming from. 

Yami steps forward, thinking that the time has come. He's confident that Marik's back-tattoo showed him what to do - he has to present the god cards to the tablet of memories. As he draws them from the Millennium Puzzle box, he wonders what will happen after that. He's too focused on the stone tablet in front of him to notice Jonouchi murmuring to him meekly in the background, peering over the tops of those cards and their likeness on the slab. Yami is sure the answers are here, so he holds the three cards out for the tablet, and it looks a tad silly when you think about how this is a kid dramatically thrusting trading cards at a rock in a museum. 

Of course, if I were to witness a scene like this in reality, I would go from laughter to calling an ambulance in less than a second.

Uhhhhh.... Hm. Well that's one way of living in the past. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Being slightly annoyed at Jonouchi constantly referring to Bobasa's weight as a reflexive insulting move aside, I found this chapter very interesting. Bobasa seems genuinely friendly and kind, if not a little on the dense side. Not only is the notion of literally locking one's clothes just absurd on the level of effectiveness against thieves who happen to have scissors, but the way he defended Shadi gave the impression of simple innocence. He comes across as a big kid, mostly, one who just wants to do the best job he can and believes they can all get along. I think he's absolutely wrong to be rationalizing Shadi's continuous shitty behavior, especially considering I seriously doubt Bobasa could have done THAT to his torso on his own, but that is kind of what I expect of someone with his level of starry-eyed innocence. He's going to assume Shadi had good or noble, and believe him when he says so, because it's clear Bobasa wouldn't THINK of hurting someone with maliciousness himself. He's just a giant cinnamon roll; even when he gets serious there at the end of his introduction, he doesn't have an intimidating bone in his body.

Speaking of cinnamon rolls, how about Anzu's adorable gesture? It really was touching and shows how much she cares about Yami's current situation, not to mention she's got a little bit of cheeky knowledge of ancient Egypt herself. Don't know if she had an interest in Egypt before or after she met Yami, but girl did some research. I appreciate research, as well as how she smartly uses it in a context that's meaningful to her friend and herself. Her small admission that she has a vested interest in knowing just who Yami is for herself is a nice touch too. It gives her character another layer in terms of her intelligence and how she expresses her support to Yami even if his eventual goal is something that is a little bit distressing to her. She manages to prioritize her own feelings in a way that doesn't negate her helping him in any way she can. It's impressive. 

You know, people give her shit for how obsessed she seems to be with friendship, but you've got to hand it to her - she's good at it. When she's not accusing random dudes of sexually harassing her to get her crush's attention anyway. Still not impressed with that shit.

Inuyasha Manga: 223 The Abandoned Castle

Great. Yet another mansion sitting empty, inaccessible to regular people. Don't get enough of that in real life, clearly. Sure, my own search for a home and property of my own is bringing into sharper focus just how barely affordable abandoned homes of fairly MODEST size are to me, an extremely lucky person who was barely able to scrimp and save her way into a decent down payment. I can't even imagine how ridiculously impossible it would be to resettle a "castle" and its land by someone other than someone who's extremely wealthy and prestigious right off the bat.

Of course, even a bourgeois prince or warlord might find THIS particular property rather impossible to claim, what with the poison permeating every square inch of it. Unless they're used to Chernobyl-like conditions.

Maybe this dude could be a taker. After he's done with his intended child-murder, granted. 

While Rin lies there unconscious, Kohaku twists to stare dead-eyed at Sesshoumaru, sickle still raised and... Shikon shard glowing? I thought Kagome was the only one who could see that kind of thing? Anyway, Kohaku's sickle-hand and arm tremble a little as the douchey voice in his head tells him to kill the girl again, then he stands up and faces Sesshoumaru instead in a defensive stance. Sesshoumaru lets out a humorless chuckle and lifts a freakishly large hand to display freakishly large claws, laying down some hard sarcasm about Kohaku opposing him. I would pay the big bucks to see him roast RT on how she apparently forgot how to draw in this panel. 

Unable to respond in his puppet-state, Kohaku just kind of creeps forward, guarding his face with his raised sickle-hand. Then his name is yelled off-panel. 

That'll show him for being magically controlled against his will to do horrible things! 

Kohaku is knocked back into the grass, Sesshoumaru looking on with a displeased frown on his face. Kagome rushes forward to check on the little girl lying on the ground, cradling her to examine her closely. After a moment, she calls it - little Rin is okay, she's just fainted. Inuyasha sighs with the relief that they made it in time. He then turns to Sesshoumaru to tell him to lay off Kohaku, given that Kagome confirmed his brat is fine. Sesshoumaru pauses before stating that Inuyasha is wasting his time protecting Kohaku, because the kid seems to want to be caught in some freakish claws no matter what.

Sesshoumaru glares past Inuyasha to indicate his point; Kohaku has stood up with his sickle raised yet again. Inuyasha gapes at the Sango's little brother, scooting forward once more with his dead-eyed stare. With an inner groan, Inuyasha realizes this must be part of Naraku's suggestion, for Kohaku to provoke Sesshoumaru and make him kill him. 

Kohaku throws the sickle, because Inuyasha's basic impulse to deck the kid completely overrode the practical matter of disarming him entirely. Did it just not occur to him to take the damn thing away, or is there something in the Inuyasha constitution that guarantees the "right to bear sickles" or something?

Inuyasha pulls Tessaiga to knock the Kohaku's sickle off course with a frustrated curse.

Oooh, look at Cujo over here. So scary. 

And with a sense of humor so DRY. Sesshoumaru looks over his shoulder to quip that he didn't know Inuyasha liked him well enough to divert Kohaku's weapon. Dude, put some moisturizer on that shit, it's PARCHED. In no mood for jokes of any kind, Inuyasha asks what the balls his brother is talking about, warning him he'll get shredded if he doesn't let go of the kid. Sesshoumaru just squeezes all the harder on Kohaku's neck, despite Kagome's insistent protest from the ground. 

Sesshoumaru, of course, isn't listening. He's wearing a harsh glare as he regards Kohaku in front of him, a sour kind of expression. 

Oh, I'm sorry, is Kohaku ruining your fun by not being in terrified agony? Is this just not AMUSING for you anymore????

Ass.

Sesshoumaru drops Kohaku, prompting an open-mouthed astonished stare from Inuyasha. Clearly, he was expecting to have to cut off the OTHER arm to get Kohaku free of Sesshoumaru's blood-thirsty grasp. In Kagome's arms, Rin's eyes flutter open and she utters a little groan. The virtual stranger who's holding her says that she's awake, but Rin doesn't even seem to notice. She catches sight of Sesshoumaru immediately and is immediately bubbly at his presence. I'm not even kidding either, there's what looks like soda carbonation floating around her head while she says his name. 

But then she sees Kohaku sitting on the ground in front of Sesshoumaru, and saddens right up, saying Kohaku's name in a subdued, depressed kind of way. Kohaku swiftly hops up and books it out of there, running toward the treeline. Sesshoumaru just stands there, watching him flee, while Inuyasha notes how he's not going after Kohaku. 

A gust of wind directs Inuyasha's attention upward, where Kagura has swept up Kohaku on her giant feather. Not dangling him over the side, so you can already see how much more favor Kohaku has with her I guess. Although, to be fair, Kohaku is a bit too big for dangling. Following in the recent pattern, Inuyasha says Kagura's name just in acknowledgement. 

Kagome hums at Sesshoumaru before timidly thanking him for "forgiving" Kohaku. Sesshoumaru grouses that the kid was TRYING to die by his hand, and Inuyasha gives him a bit of a sarcastic comment about how he noticed. Sesshoumaru regards them out of his periphery, stating that he just didn't want to play into Naraku's expectations of him. But we know what was REALLY in his head. 

Lol, BYE strange child! Try not to trip and land on your face anymore!

Anyway, as Kagura's feather props both her and Kohaku's crouching forms in the air, Kagura remembers Naraku's orders to take the Shikon fragment from Kohaku's corpse. Apparently, that was the part of his plan he was ultra sure would go just the way he imagined, even though it depended on a dog youkai who spontaneously decided to take care of a tiny human child murdering ANOTHER less-tiny human child. Seems like a stretch to me, but I've also read through this whole story three times before this, sooooo...

Kagura side-eyes Kohaku, for the first time sizing him up as MORE than the obedient slave she thought he was. He didn't kill the hostage, and wasn't killed by Sesshoumaru, accomplishing neither of the tasks Naraku assigned him. Kagura tells Kohaku that he won't live long if he continues to defy Naraku like this, to which Kohaku responds with a silent blank stare.  Of course, Kagura realizes that she could give herself the same advice. They fly off into the distance. 

Back on the ground, we're briefly back with our main protagonists. Acknowledging that Kohaku is gone again, Sango is offered apologies by Kagome, who says she and Inuyasha couldn't stop him. Sango assures her that it can't be helped and gazes at the sky, thinking it's enough that he's safe. And that's it; a narrow band of three panels catching Sango up on her missing brother's status. Missing but alive. Cool.

In the stark light of day, Naraku's castle sits atop its retaining wall, quiet. 

I mean, Inuyasha already kicked in the door, no sense in Naraku locking it again on his way out. 

Kikyou reckons this means he's thrown away his whole castle, and hidden himself elsewhere. Seems like a reasonable conclusion to draw, while staring around at the collection of silent abandoned buildings. But something does strike her as strange - whenever Naraku hid himself in the past, she was able to sense the barrier wherever he happened to set up shop. In this case, she can't sense anything, his barrier is gone, and it's like he's disappeared from the face of the Earth. 

No necessarily. There are PLENTY of things that happen in this story for no good reason at all. Count yourself lucky that this isn't one of them.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? As has become quite common in this manga, the end of this arc seems to be a little rushed, with very little time dedicated to exploring the characters' reactions and the emotional aftermath of what happened. Not only did Rin spend the scantest expression on her new friend/would-be murderer as he fled the scene, calling into question whether she really even REMEBERED Kohaku trying to slice her before she passed out, but she didn't even seem to notice the actual strangers who had appeared except when she was leaving. No trace of the curiosity from her about who the hell these people are, or what their relationship is with Sesshoumaru. It's strange, because just prior she was bombarding Kohaku with questions like she was a reporter at a press conference. What happened? 

And the three panels spent just glossing over Sango's response to Kohaku disappearing again was... disappointing. It was so lacking in depth, even though I think Sango's gaze into the distance in the last panel was attempting to put some sorrow into the mix. It succeeded in a VERY minor way, but more than anything it drew attention to how quickly this was being wrapped up, and how Sango really deserved at least a little bit more time dedicated to developing those emotions on her. Probably a page would have done it better.

Otherwise, I did feel Sesshoumaru's suspicion that he was being had was well-communicated. Considering he just wasted a bunch of time at Naraku's castle in the thick of one of his traps, recognizing when he's walking into another one is the least he could manage. And his snotty, contrarian position of refusing to do what Naraku expects because Naraku isn't the boss of him is exactly the kind of thing I would expect of him. Kind of ironic, come to think of it. 

But while I'M not really surprised by Sesshoumaru's behavior, it makes sense that Naraku might have thought he would behave otherwise. As I mentioned before, it's implied that in the space of Inuyasha's trip to Shiori's village to graft some barrier-busting abilities onto Tessaiga, Naraku had taken a break spying on him to spy on Sesshoumaru instead. It wasn't really enough time to get any REAL intelligence on how prone Sesshoumaru is to just walk the fuck away from a fight if he's bored or annoyed with the circumstances. You'd think he would have at least a little on an idea from when he and Sesshoumaru first "worked together", but who knows what the saimyoushou were able to communicate about that incident, which by its singular nature does not a pattern make. 

Still, it is pretty weird that it never occurred to Naraku that Sesshoumaru might refuse to kill a child. Again, it's not like the guy didn't adopt one whom Naraku didn't JUST kidnap to spur a reaction from Sesshoumaru. Whatevz.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 281 The Truth of the Artifact!!

Brace for exposition! Normally I'd sigh and prepare for things to be a little slow over the next few pages, but even if that is the case in this instance, it's information that I've been anticipating in some form for a while. This actually has me nervous - I'm wondering if any of my previous speculations and suspicions are even close to what is going to be revealed here. Just how far off base was I through this whole manga, and what curve-balls is KT going to throw in here to keep the tension going even after a couple of important facts get dropped? 

Although, I have to admit, I probably wouldn't be nearly as anxious for whatever revelations lie ahead if real life weren't also dropping important information on me in the meantime. My husband and I were pre-approved for a home loan yesterday, and now we're getting into the nitty-gritty of shopping and digging up the history of our options. There's too much there to learn, and I'm a little overwhelmed, so maybe that attitude is leaking into my feelings about this comic. 

I just hope there are no secret murders in the houses we check out that we discover too late. 

You see? This is the exact kind of revelation I want to avoid in the home-search. This is exactly why the Millennium Eye is being offered for so cheap, Yuugi, don't buy it!!!

While Yuugi's alarm bells are going off, asshole!Bakura maintains his smirk, that is until he seems to realize his is the next line. He explains to Yuugi that when he solved the Millennium Puzzle, he released the pharaoh's soul into this world, and it became his duty to to reawaken the pharaoh's memories as the chosen one. We already got this information a lot more organically throughout the previous chapter, but okay, go ahead and waste everyone's time. He also tells Yuugi that in order to accomplish his fated duty, he needs all the Millennium Items. Yuugi remains silent, giving asshole!Bakura his poop-face, forcing asshole!Bakura to continue to break this down even further unnecessarily to keep the scene moving along, something I kind of admire Yuugi for here. Asshole!Bakura keeps holding out the eye, identifying it as one of those Millennium Items he was just talking about, and reiterating that he's giving it to Yuugi to use it for its intended purpose, all because Yuugi refuses to move or speak. 

Perfect way to stick it to this piece of shit, honestly. 

Asshole!Bakura proceeds to give Yuugi his worthless fucking word that he'll hand over the Millennium Ring once he gathers the rest of the items, holding it up too with his free hand just to illustrate his point. You know, just in case Yuugi isn't hesitating on purpose and his brain is actually frying. In reality, Yuugi is just wondering how much it is asshole!Bakura knows about those damn items.

A no less impressive recall is expected from a kid who performed weird "intuition" strengthening games toward the beginning of this comic. It doesn't say anything good about mine that I remembered the "intuition" game here before the memory tablet. 

Anyway, Yuugi goes right ahead and asks asshole!Bakura if he knows about the memory tablet, and what happens if all the items are put into it. Asshole!Bakura asks for clarification if Yuugi is referring to the tablet in Kul Elna, no doubt just to flex; a lot is implied just from his knowledge of the village's name where it can be found. He tells Yuugi that the memory tablet is an artifact that connects this world and the world beyond, launching Yuugi into agape disbelief and shock again. While Yuugi play-acts the goldfish, asshole!Bakura says that placing all seven items in the slab opens the door to the afterlife. 

Yuugi repeats this final phrase in awe and asshole!Bakura asks, in slight mocking fashion, if Yuugi knows what this means. As Yuugi contemplates his Millennium Puzzle in his palm, asshole!Bakura silently gloats about how Yuugi DOESN'T know what's on the other side of that door: a shadow power the asshole is after. That's what we on this side of the screen call a BFS, or Big Fucking Surprise. The "S" can also stand for Sarcasm. 

After a moment of hesitation, Yuugi says he kind of knows - it's his duty to send the other him, or rather the pharaoh's soul sealed in the puzzle, to the afterlife. Asshole!Bakura gives him a single finger-gun, crying bingo, and smarms that this is what Yuugi gets for solving that puzzle, great power and great responsibility. All that spider-jazz. Again, he promises to help out Yuugi however he can, holding up the fist with the Millennium Eye wrapped in it. 

Oh great, throw a small heavy object at the most unathletic kid in this whole story. That's showing him solidarity. 

And it WORKS? Yuugi seems to think he's being FRIENDLY here. But this is the kid who somehow turned his bully into his best buddy, so that tracks. He also compares this mild assholeishness to how asshole!Bakura used to be after the Millennium Items and tried to kill him, which is a fair one. Perhaps I'm just too sensitive to mild assholeishness. Kinda explains how I'm slowly becoming more and more intolerant of my time at the grocery store...

Anyway, Yuugi thinks he can't trust this asshole THAT easily, and asshole!Bakura notes with a smirk that he looks pretty suspicious. Yuugi demands he explain WHY he wants to help with this task so much. After a small pause, asshole!Bakura holds up his own Millennium Ring again and looks down at it, saying he too is a soul sealed in an item 3000 years before. He admits he can't do anything without a host body, and with a twisted smile claims he wants to go to the afterlife too, once the pharaoh does. Yuugi still looks suspicious, and I don't blame him. Asshole!Bakura isn't exactly wearing the kind of expression that suggests he's yearning for the sweet release of death.

Nevertheless, asshole!Bakura wonders if that was the correct answer. He knows the seven items aren't enough all on their own to open the door; apparently there's another key he needs. Asshole!Bakura recalls Marik said that the god cards won in Battle City have the power to restore the pharaoh's memories, and this key he needs is somewhere in those memories. His plan is to let Yuugi do all the work and swoop in to steal the key. Ah, history repeating itself, I see. Asshole!Bakura better hope he doesn't end up like Sugoroku's unfortunate guides...

Yuugi holds his hand up to his chin, contemplating asshole!Bakura. There's no telling what the guy is up to, but Yuugi DOES know it's his duty to collect those Millennium Items. As he clutches the Millennium Eye in his fist, he counts the four he has now: the puzzle, the necklace from Ishizu, the Rod from Marik, and now Pegasus's eye. He recalls the three that are left are Bakura's ring, and the scales/key that belong to shady Shadi. 

Asshole!Bakura interrupts Yuugi's train of thought by asking for confirmation that he's going to the museum with his friends after school today, and says his host is looking forward to the outing. Yuugi just stares at him, holding the puzzle box close. Asshole!Bakura assures him that he'll soon find another piece of the mystery of the pharaoh's memories, in addition to his god cards, of course. He then turns and begins to walk away, promising to watch from the shadows, and that they'll meet again. 

Yuugi watches him leave, and I assume it's him transitioning us to the dawn and the schoolyard in the next few panels, claiming that with the rising sun comes their greatest adventure yet. 

Well I know THIS isn't where it happens. If there's one thing this manga has taught me over the years, it's that NOTHING happens at Domino High. Especially not learning.

Jonouchi is exuberant all the same, though, greeting Yuugi loudly at his desk. Yuugi responds with a very muted good morning in return, prompting Jonouchi to notice how tired he looks and sounds, and ask if he got any sleep. Yuugi smiles through the grogginess and vagues that there was a lot going on last night. Jonouchi at first asks what he means by that, and when he thinks he's cottoned on, he leans in and whispers a request for Yuugi to return the VHS tape he lent to him because he just got his VCR fixed. Holy shit, the PORN gets a call-back! That's hilarious!

Yuugi is genuinely confused at first, but another couple hints from Jonouchi has him blushing mad, and he begins whispering back that his grandfather found that tape. Oooh, that must have been awkward as hell. He begins to go into what Sugoroku DID when he found it (confiscated for his own use, no doubt) when Anzu comes out of nowhere to clap Yuugi on the back and wish him good morning, scaring both boys half to death. She asks what they were talking about, as if she didn't HAVE to sneak up behind both of them consciously from the door  IN THE FRONT of the classroom, and Jonouchi starts denying talking about a thing while Yuugi returns her greeting in a panic. 

There is nothing good about this morning for either of you and you both know it.

Jonouchi makes the same observation on Bakura - commenting on the lines under his eyes and how tired he looks. Don't worry, I'm sure it's just a coincidence that both he and Yuugi look like death this morning. Bakura rubs an eye and acknowledges his plight, complaining that he couldn't seem to drag himself out of bed. Yeah, I wouldn't be able to find the motivation to claw my way back to this useless institution either.

Anzu leans on Yuugi's desk, asking him if he brought the cards, to which he gives her an enthusiastic affirmative. He puts that whole damn puzzle box on on his desk. You know, that one someone stole right off the desk in his room last night? I suppose there's at least a couple of ex-delinquents keeping an eye on it now, or staring down at it in awe, rather. Between the five of them, they should be able to keep track of the damn thing. Right?

Yuugi fans the cards out for everyone to see once they're out of the box, and Honda gets the opportunity to hold them too, though he doesn't look too stoked about it. He asks critically what they can do for Yami's memories that they haven't done already, and Yuugi admits he's not quite sure himself. Jonouchi snaps that this is why they're going to the museum, and Honda asks sarcastically what's over THERE that's so important, if they've got an exhibit on trading cards now. Honda over here, bringing the hard-hitting questions like a real journalist or something. Jonouchi whines that he can't be expected to know the answers, and that's entirely fair. 

Anzu mopes, recalling what's in the museum: the tablet depicting Yami as an ancient pharaoh. She supposes she's the only one who's seen it. I mean, do those other guys you hang with strike you as the kinds who would visit a museum in their off time? Anyway, Anzu sads about the meaning of Yami really being the pharaoh's soul trapped in the Millennium Puzzle, that he has someplace to go back to like Ishizu said. She addresses Yuugi, who gives her a questioning glance, and asks if Yami would forget all of them if he gets his original memories back. She's got a mighty shine in her eyes and looks on the verge of tears. 

Everyone just kind of stands there in awkward silence for a moment, and Yuugi says Anzu's name as he gapes at her hanging her head. Then he winks at her while holding the puzzle around his neck. It flashes and glows. 

I mean, he probably won't forget those things on the video tape Sugoroku confiscated either, soooooo...

Anzu maintains that blush in the panel above when she seems somewhat taken aback that it's Yami. I don't know why, since we see YAMI more than we see the original owner of his shared body these days. Jonouchi drapes and arm over a bewildered Honda's shoulders with a huge cheesy grin, agreeing that of COURSE they won't be forgotten, they're friends forever. Anzu stutters her agreement as well, and it's super awkward that she's the LAST person to jump on board the "friends 5eva" train. You'd think she'd be the conductor. 

Yami smiles up at them while the excitement of discussing their everlasting friendship drives who I'm assuming to be Jonouchi (this panel is a shot of the ceiling with speech bubbles) to proclaim they should get to that museum already. Who I'm assuming to be Honda reminds this blockhead that the school day has only just begun and it's not even first period yet, as if THAT matters in this comic. Someone else tells Jonouchi to cool it, and another says they'll go AFTER school. 

Lucky for us, we get to skip straight to the part where the kids are filing out of the building at the end of the day. Can't imagine what it would have been like sitting there reading about them not learning and playing card games all day. Wait... 

The kiddos all stand dramatically in front of Domino Museum, and a deadly serious Jonouchi says that it's about time they came here. To be fair, class in Domino High likely WAS a big waste of time for them. But you know. Don't want to end up in truancy court. Yami thinks about how the secret of his memories are here, before they all spot a turbaned head up the steps of the museum before them. The mouth below the turban, crowned with a mustache and beard, greets whom he correctly presumes is Yuugi/Yami. His distinctive hair gave him away once again. This stranger on the steps says he's been awaiting Yami's arrival. 

Jonouchi bristles unnecessarily and comically, demanding to know who the heck this guy is. The big round-faced man introduces himself as Bobasa, looking entirely nonthreatening. 

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK DID SHADI DO TO YOU???? I swear, Shadi's list of inhumane crimes grows every time he's mentioned! It's wild!!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I had something of a hard time getting through this one, partly because there weren't a ton of interesting panels to feature in this post. It's something to be expected from a chapter that mostly consists of shot-reverse-shot dialog with a smattering of close-ups. Not a lot of ACTION in this one, which I'm okay with in general, except that I ended up recapping a conversation full of information that wasn't all that new and delivered in a super awkward way. But you also get the impression that the discussion isn't so much about the content as it is about the dynamics of suspicion and devious plotting surrounding it. Asshole!Bakura trying to get Yuugi to trust him despite how ridiculously untrustworthy he's been up until this point and Yuugi reluctantly playing along because he knows he needs this guy's cooperation to get the job done was the interesting part... but it couldn't QUITE overpower the somewhat dull, repetitive talk screening it. There was literally nothing else they could discuss in order to have the underlying dynamics at play, though, and at least we've got a couple of tiny new details to mull over: Kul Elna isn't a place I remember being mentioned before, so that's neat - at least a specific destination for a little trip is dropped here. Little things.

I feel a little conflicted on that friendship talk toward the end, too. On the one hand, Anzu has a history of moping over the eventual departure of Yami, and it makes sense that she would be doing so more now that the departure is creeping ever closer. Still, I'm not sure I buy that SHE would necessarily worried about him forgetting about them all when they're separated. It seemed more like something YAMI is mulling over and fretting over; he was the one bring it up in the last chapter when he started rambling about having new memories with his friends even when he regains the old ones, and now Anzu is a mouthpiece for the concern that the old memories might override the new ones. I don't know if KT wanted to reassure fans who might have been nervous over this particular issue that hadn't really been touched upon before, or if he just wanted to reinforce Yami's affirmations from the night before, but it seems a little discordant that Yami would be the one to express some uncertainty through outward reassurance in the last chapter, and then solid confidence that this is nothing to worry about at all in this one. 

As for Mr. Bobasa above... I find myself both horrified and amused at the same time. It's a weird, uncomfortable feeling, like some sort of fever dream. It might very well be the beginnings of one, from what I've been told. I'm aware that, during this arc, KT was hospitalized and had to plow ahead with writing the story despite his condition due to his deadline, so I'm already prepared for things to get WEIRD. If this is the beginning of that, I can't even GUESS what's going to go down later. 

Stand by for the freaky shit, apparently.