Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 285 Bakura, King of Thieves

I've seen quite a few men in my day claim to be kings. Guys from middle school shop classes declaring their regency over power tools to incoherent old farts who drape everything they own in gold and direct their followers like a deranged army. I have seen would-be emperors strut and preen like self-important peacocks, with just as little understanding that they are just as fragile and vulnerable, and that their thrones are completely imaginary. I could fill many volumes with details of the dominions built entirely on delusion and their eventual crumbling when their builders realize none of it is real. In fact, most of these volumes already exist, and are called HISTORY BOOKS.

But if I've seen anyone who might actually deserve the title of king, if for nothing else than the sheer irony of it all, thief!Bakura could be the dude.

"Faith willing" isn't a phrase that inspires a lot of confidence, if I'm honest, Bobasa. That's not even evoking some personified deity, it's just telling me to BELIEVE really hard that this door will be found.

And I'm not very good at just BELIEVING things, so I feel like this is asking a lot. :(

As usual, Yuugi and company hung up on the last thing Bobasa references, in this case "the true door". Bobasa affirms their interest in this topic and talks seriously about the world of the pharaoh's memories beyond that, but he's really going to have to slow down here. Jonouchi and Honda are blown away by the claim that Bobasa can take them into Yuugi's soul, of all places, while asshole!Bakura pays close attention behind a practically drooling regular Bakura. Yuugi himself remembers the one time he visited Yami's "room" in his head, the endless maze with thousands of doors, unable to tell the floor from the ceiling, like the soul in there had lost its memories and didn't know where to go. Weird that this statement is set up as a simile, despite the fact that this is the ACTUAL situation here, no simile required.

Poop face activated, Yuugi thinks about there being ONE door in there that leads to Yami's memories. And just like that, everyone (or at leas the overzealous CONSCIOUS ones in the group) starts shouting that they're going for it and cheering. No further questions about the logistics, no more explanations. Just needed a little more superficial resistance to the idea to pad out the chapter a tad and then off we go! Bobasa's whole body shakes with a hearty chuckle, but snaps back to seriousness when he demands they wait as he reaches beneath his vest - before they begin, HE'S the one who who will determine who will enter Yuugi's soul. 

Dude's a little desperate to be important, isn't he?

Honda, Bobasa said EVIL and DECEPTION would tilt the scale, not a mind permanently entrenched in the gutter. 

Bobasa says it's not a matter of whether he trusts them, and rather the concern that anyone with evil in their hearts could be trapped in Yuugi's soul accidentally, and is really for their own good that he's testing them like this. He proceeds with Anzu, who stands straight and tense as Bobasa declares her okay to go, to her relief. Bobasa moves to hold the scales in front of Jonouchi and Honda, saying they're both okay too, the two of them rather pleased with themselves over it. No surprise about either of these outcomes, of course.

... And no surprise there either! Yu-Gi-Oh not taking any risks today.

Bakura rubs the back of his head, complaining that he wants to find Yami too, and Jonouchi barks that Bakura is their friend. But Bobasa is having none of it; he tells Bakura that he must leave here immediately. He thinks on how the scales sensed a shadow in young Bakura's soul, and wonders if THIS is the kid who holds the Millennium Ring. No points for guessing that one, Bobasa, Bakura totes that damn thing around with him without shame and wouldn't hesitate to whip it out when mentioned. 

Sighing that he'll just go home then, Bakura heads for the door, waving goodbye on his way. He does firmly state that they HAVE to bring Yami back, though, which might be the most assertive we've seen him in a while. It's not a lot, but it's something. Jonouchi calls out to him, but he whirls around and runs the rest of the way out the door, claiming that he'll see them later. There's a bubble connected to his parting wishes that says "I hate him!" and I'm very confused, until in the next panel, while Yuugi is expressing pity for Bakura, Bobasa is wondering if his hatred is because Bakura is wearing the Millennium Ring. Love it for KT that he's committed to making odd dialog/thought representations this far into the comic. Speech bubble confusion forever, dammit!

While Bakura runs out of there with tears in his eyes, his asshole doppelganger smirks at him from slightly out in front, thinking this all works just fine for him. He doesn't need to go now; if you'll recall, a piece of him is already in the puzzle, hanging out. As you do. 

Back in the exhibit, Bobasa has the kids all form a circle with him, telling them to join hands and clear their minds. Jonouchi and Honda balk at the order to join hands with one another, because they're secretly three years old somehow. They smack at each others' wrists, though Honda has no problem holding Yuugi's hand in the foreground. Jonouchi's other wrist has been seized by Bobasa, Bobasa holds the Millennium Key up high with the other, and a flushed Anzu tugs at the corner of his vest in lieu of having his hand. She's got Yuugi's left hand, though. 

They all close their eyes, Yuugi promising Yami silently that he'll find him. Bobasa chants aloud for the door to open, and the way to be made clear. Anzu, Honda and Jonouchi all think of Yami simultaneously. Bobasa thrusts the key higher in the air, demanding it lead them into the soul of the one chosen by the Millennium Puzzle. 

They're on their way to a real shit-show, if the next page is anything to judge by.

I mean, at the very least, they're perfectly within their rights to side-eye you. You've been weird enough. 

Yami gives this intruder a critical look, repeating his title in disbelief mentally, while thief!Bakura chuckles darkly. Shada holds out his Millennium Key in front of him for some reason, informing thief!Bakura that bursting into throne room without an invitation is a serious crime, and that he won't be forgiven. Is it a more serious crime than dragging a corpse out of its tomb and parading around with it? Because I feel like THAT would be the thing that bothered me the most if I were present for this spectacle. 

Thief!Bakura gestures to the gold trinkets scattered on the floor, and says he took them from Akhenamkhanen's tomb, fully ignoring the threat inherent in Shada's statement. As he should. He says he wants something more than these baubles, though, and that's the collection of Millennium Items the priests before him are carrying. Thief!Bakura offers to ask nicely for them ONCE, but the question doesn't really come across as sincere, believe it or not.

Priest Seto, from whom I'm now pretty certain Kaiba inherited his dorky laugh, says that it takes courage for a miserable thief to stand before six priests. He promises to make sure the canopic jar they put thief!Bakura's guts into is a somewhat larger one. Yeah, snappy comeback from a dude who should know that the intricate mummification process with the extra step of removing organs and putting them in expensive jars was only really reserved for royalty. Are you TRYING to validate this strange thief's delusions of king-hood or what? 

Akhenaden jumps in to bid thief!Bakura to listen; the Millennium Items maintain the law and order (read: status quo upheld by a state monopoly on legitimate violence) of this world, and the only one who can hold them are priests who have trained their souls, and the divine pharaoh of the land, of course. Akhenaden states that if a person with an evil heart like thief!Bakura were to touch these objects, his very soul would burn away and he would die as punishment from the gods. I would say that's ONE way to deter someone from fondling your things, but in this case, it's not really working. Thief!Bakura says he's just excited and wants them even more now with a deranged chuckle. Are we certain this guy doesn't just WANT to die, with world-shattering bang?

As if he hasn't picked up on this romantic affair thief!Bakura is having with death right in front of them, Priest Seto tells him not to worry, as he'll be dealing out a punishment of death long before it gets to the point where thief!Bakura touches the items. Thief!Bakura spreads his arms wide in welcome of the challenge, offering to take on all the priests at once. 

Yami sits there quietly watching all this with his arms crossed, and Siamun tells him not to worry. He says the thief should be the one worrying, because no one in their right mind would stand up against the magic of the six priests. Yami asks if there's a monster in this intruder's soul as well, and Siamun answers that there may very well be, estimating that it's a very low-level weak one since they're talking about a thief. 

Well if this doesn't take me all the way back to the beginning of the manga! When we were getting these kinds of blurbs on the rules of this week's game and all that... Good times. 

Between two more guards, who apparently DIDN'T get thrown against the walls, another stone slab slides up into view, something that Yami notes with alarm. Siamun says thief!Bakura's evil ka will soon show its true form, and be sealed into the slab by the magic of the priests. That's his expectation at least, and call me crazy, I'm starting to think it may skew a bit from that expectation. Thief!Bakura is standing in a slightly defensive, wide stance, but there's a big grin on his face.

Things start going wrong right away. The guy with the Millennium Scales (whose name I don't believe has been revealed) draws everyone's attention to the fact that they're swinging quite wildly in his hand and are unable to measure his evil. Mahado's Millennium Ring is rattling around his neck as well, to his shock and dismay. Isis predicts through her necklace that the shadow in thief!Bakura will bring disaster to the world, and Akhenaden's Millennium Eye glows, apparently showing him a bottomless pit of shadow in thief!Bakura's soul hiding a powerful hatred. 

And this is with the guy just STANDING there smiling. Thief!Bakura thinks that the term "law and order" is laughable, and is certain he'll show them the true nature of the Millennium Items: a power that can destroy the world. 

You and every other anime villain. Get in line.

Akhenaden warns Shada that the shadows of this man's soul are deep, and to be careful. Shada gives a one-word affirmative, then holds out the Millennium Key again, apparently this time to use it. He calls upon the power of the key to lead him into the sinner's soul and the key glows accordingly, providing him with a hyper-zoom into the darkness of thief!Bakura's soul. A gigantic snake with it's jaws yawning wide is what greets Shada in there, which he greets with complete disbelief. 

Shada gasps and stumbles back, Akhenaden asking what's wrong with alarm. Panting and sweating, Shada has to catch his breath before he stutters that thief!Bakura's ka is too great. He even gestures to the stone tablet that rose out of the floor with the key, saying that it's WAY to small to seal this particular monster. Well, so much for Siamun's shitty predictions. Akhenaden refuses to believe this while thief!Bakura chuckles. Akhenaden is at least able to give the brief warning that thief!Bakura's ka is about to appear right before it does. 

... I gotta hand it to him. It's pretty cool.

Thief!Bakura corrects them - this isn't a demon, but a god, the great "Diabound". Though he's only been acquainted with the rules of this soul-monster concept for like five seconds, Yami seems to already be drawing conclusions about what this means. Siamun says with panicked indignation that this is impossible, since he JUST got done explaining that a god-type ka can't possibly exist in an evil heart of a thief. I feel like this is grounds for re-evaluation of how you guys think of these creatures and how they form, but at the same time, there's not a deeper definition of what makes a god-monster above than good soul=god above, so something tells me they didn't think too hard about it in the first place. 

It's time for some philosophy! Thief!Bakura chuckles some more, asking them what "evil" even IS, and if being loyal to what these simpletons think is right is all it takes to be "good". These are not bad questions, actually. Priest Seto scoffs at them though, at points the Millennium Rod at Diabound, demanding that the items not be underestimated. He commands the evil ka into the stone tablet, and it seems to be compelled inside it just like the first demonstration, directed into the rock as thief!Bakura looks furious in the background. Diabound's image is imprinted on the stone when Priest Seto asks if thief!Bakura sees now. But thief!Bakura fires back the suggestion that this isn't over. 

Sure enough, the stone begins to crack from the center, and Priest Seto looks alarmed at it.

There's nothing more quintessentially Kaiba than acting overly cocky despite how thoroughly he's been defeated, so proto-Kaiba over here is really establishing the brand nicely. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? A lot of the same kinds of things from my analysis on the previous chapter apply to this one too, concerning the split between following Yuugi's/Yami's individual quests and the interesting build of this version of ancient Egypt. There's not much new to say except that it was genuinely heartbreaking watching Bakura run off crying because he couldn't go to find Yami too; this kid is always the short end of the stick in this story, and I can't help but wonder if he's ever going to get a little bit of a break. Poor little bastard.

At first I was a little annoyed by the overly simplistic ideas behind Siamun's explanation of the development and levels of monsters, but since those black-and-white shallow assumptions are being CHALLENGED by our main villain, it now intrigues me. I get the impression that the Millennium Items and their use is connected somehow with the actual function of this system, whether the items somehow control or influence it in some obscure way. Thief!Bakura bringing up the unknown, suppressed history of the items in the chapter just reinforces my suspicions. I'm really looking forward to the possibility of a more complex and interesting monster origination system than the one described here. 

Also, Diabound is pretty frikkin' sick. It might give Summoned Skull a run for its money as my favorite.