Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 294 The Invisible Door

You know what I DESPERATELY want in my new house? A hidden bookcase door. Not literally invisible by the traditional definition, but functionally so, and SO COOL. I have zero secrets to hide behind such a door, and it would be such a ludicrous investment, but I can't help it. My inner child demands it every time I go to the room at the end of the hall to the right, designated my personal reading room. Of all the things that I could do to spruce up this house, this shouldn't even be on the list, and yet...

*Sighs wistfully*

Oh yeah! That's still happening, isn't it? Wow, how much time has passed since they astral projected in there?

I hope they brought snacks. 

That doesn't seem to be the biggest concern at the moment, though. Jonouchi is currently screaming bloody murder over a massive skeleton monster rushing at him from behind another door he's decided to open. He slams the door shut again, falling on his backside in his hurry to fling himself away from the threat, and mumbling about monsters and doors when asked what's wrong by Honda. Yuugi tells him it serves him right for always charging through the doors as he does, which may be a little harsh, but fair all the same. I mean, if the guy hasn't learned his lesson that he's got to be on the lookout for tricks and traps yet...

Looking around critically, Honda comments on how long they've been in the labyrinth of doors, questioning if they're ever going to make it out. Anzu looks at her watch only to exclaim that it has stopped, Yuugi gaping in disbelief at her. She confirms that indeed, the hands have stopped precisely when they were zapped out of the museum, and no time has passed since. Though we did not see it, we're supposed to buy that she checked her watch compulsively right before they were sucked into Yami's mind chamber, I guess. As Anzu shows a tantruming Jonouchi her wrist in the background, Honda facepalms, asking in exasperation if this is all a dream. 

He, Yuugi and Anzu all begin to walk off again, at his incomplete suggestion that they keep looking, when Jonouchi shouts at them to hold it. Honda asks over his shoulder what's up with Jonouchi, who responds that they shouldn't go that way - he's been marking every door they've tried with a magic marker smiley face, thrusting his thumb at one to his right. Honda seems somewhat enthusiastic that this is a good idea, but Yuugi likens this to "tagging", only on someone's soul, and Anzu has an even LESS flattering comparison; a dog marking its territory. It's also a very shaky one, but nice try to draw a forced parallel that has been old since Duelist Kingdom, girl. Stay classy.

Anyway, Jonouchi points at the door he drew on and reiterates that they've already been this way, and extrapolates that they're going in circles. Honda and Yuugi glance around in worry, and Jonouchi makes a frustrated exclamation. 

Despite his *AHEM* polite request, no clues are forthcoming. The labyrinth remains still and silent in the wake of the shout. Bobasa tells them that shouting won't help matters, and they must find the door on their own. 

Yuugi looks around, then approaches an unmarked door ahead of him, which does not escape Anzu's notice. He doesn't hear her saying his name, a sort of revving issuing from the door he's walking toward. Yuugi wonders why his heart hurts more the closer he gets to it, and instead of this driving him in the other direction, he reaches for the handle and pushes the door open. Like the little masochist he is. 

Yeah, there's the answer to THAT question...

Yuugi sees again how Kaiba is drawing his thumb across his neck, yelling at Yami to slit his throat with his cards. Yami is gritting his teeth as he regards Kaiba with anxiety. At this point, Jonouchi and Anzu have joined Yuugi at the door hovering above the scene, all of them realizing with shock and confusion that this is the duel with Kaiba at Duelist Kingdom. Yami's Celtic Guardian stands frozen mid-run, sword at the ready, while Yami growls in his indecision, Kaiba glaring at him across the parapet. We know where this is going: Yami shouts that he's going to do it, much to Yuugi's panic, and tears well in Yuugi's eyes as the attack proceeds at Yami's yell of Kaiba's name. 

Best and most timely action ANYONE could have taken there.

Jonouchi kneels down next to Yuugi and tells him to snap out of it, but Yuugi is still wide-eyed and panting. He says that fight was HARD on Yami, then asserts that Yami's most painful memories must be behind that door they just had a peek behind, claiming his heart ached too the moment it opened. Or, before it opened, per the moments previous. Anzu asks if this was Yami's attempt o block out the things he doesn't want to remember, and Yuugi tells her that Yami swore never to open the door again. I guess he got WAY more from opening that door than a revisit to that duel from a different angle, huh?

Though Jonouchi had a comforting hand on Yuugi's shoulder in the last panel, he curses now, spitting that they should give him a break. He says that Yami and Kaiba were different people at that point, asking how long Yami is planning on clinging to the past. Speaking of Kaiba, Jonouchi is channeling him HARDCORE right now; peas in a pod at the moment these two are! Never thought I'd see the day! Jonouchi turns to kick the door and yells that you have to get OVER things like this, to be strong. After the small conniption fit, Jonouchi runs a hand down the totally undamaged door and asks what Yami thinks friends are for anyway. 

Helping you move? 

Behind him, Honda has his arms crossed and is seething as he suggests Jonouchi regularly forgets things that are inconvenient for him immediately. Anzu says Yuugi/Yami are more sensitive than he is, and Honda says they're not "thick-skinned" like Jonouchi. Jonouchi demands to know what's with them, and throws out his arms as he promises that ONE DAY, he'll show them the inside of HIS soul, and it will be wide and bright. Honda flatly says that it sounds more like it's empty, and Anzu flushes when she admits it sounds boring. Ya'll just hating on my boy Jonouchi and I don't know why. XD

There's a disbelieving yell, and a shout that they shouldn't be arguing right now. Jonouchi and Honda are about to exchange blows and Anzu has her arms around Honda in preparation to pull him back as they all blink in surprise at Yuugi. Yuugi says he was just thinking that at first, he assumed this maze was like a lost soul, showing the uncertainty Yami had about which path he should take. But now, Yuugi suggests it might be the opposite, his friends all gaping and asking what he means. Yuugi in turn asks if it might be THEIR souls being tested, then questions if they've noticed there are only monsters and traps no matter which doors they open, looking around at the multitude they've been wandering amongst the whole time. He says the more they meander through the maze, the more complex it gets, the more doors there are. Anzu takes a glance around too, and declares he's right about there being more doors than when they got there. Yuugi mumbles about what he's been wondering...

A weird idea, considering this is supposed to be the room for YAMI'S heart, but he's MIA at the moment so I'm guessing the labyrinth has to work with SOMETHING.

Yuugi elaborated that the more they wander, the more they worry, and the more complicated the maze seems to get. Anzu protests that this has to be Yami's labyrinth, referencing the memory of the duel with Kaiba as proof. Yuugi tells her that was HIS memory, actually, uncertainty, shame, and everything he felt when Yami was dueling. Closing his eyes, Yuugi says he'll never forget what almost happened that day, and this revelation was what helped him figure this deal with the maze out. Jonouchi, Honda and Bobasa stare at him as he thinks about ALL the doors being fakes, but he knows the key to the true door is hidden somewhere.

Jonouchi's graffiti striking a chord, is it?

He turns back to the rest of them, urging them to focus on the reason they came here in the first place, Jonouchi and Honda giving him questioning looks while he closes his eyes and holds his hand out in front of them. Anzu closes her eyes too, thinking of how she wants to see Yami again. Honda grits his teeth and thinks on the query of where the heck Yami is. Jonouchi also closes his eyes and contemplates Yami. They all hold out a hand each, clustered together like an old-fashioned huddle. 

Bobasa looks astonished at this exercise, having heard about it from Shadi, who is apparently a football fan. As he regards the kids standing together and focusing on Yami, Bobasa recalls that the power of the Millennium Puzzle is that of unity. Yuugi is convinced that the way will be opened if they keep concentrating, and, miraculously, a shaft of light appears between them.

Is there anything in this comic that you CAN see? I feel like there's a lot of emphasis on invisible stuff...

The whole room seems to part, revealing a path to tall narrow opening in the wall that streams light onto the group. They go to the edge, Yuugi at the forefront of the expedition, and he's the only one who seems excited rather than... alarmed and concerned. Honda is in disbelief, to say the least, when he starts to exclaim where they appear to be.

I mean, a fairly predictable destination, given our expectations.

Yuugi is in absolute awe at Yami's world/the world of memory. As they're gazing out the door, asshole!Bakura lurks behind them in the shadows, mentally chuckling. We only get the briefest reminder that he exists, however, because we return to Yuugi thinking that somewhere in this place Yami is waiting. He even imagines Yami's form superimposed on the sky much in the same way Yami did for them. 

Yuugi happily suggests they get down there, Jonouchi balking at the idea of jumping from all the way up there. There doesn't look to be a ladder, though. So bombs away?

Honestly? I would probably have to be carried out of there too. Definitely NOT the skydiving type.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? In contrast to the callbacks a couple of chapters ago that seemed more like a rehash, especially in establishing Priest Seto's characterization, the callback in this chapter struck me as masterful. The reintroduction of that smiley face drawn on the door, almost seeming to be a subconscious impulse on Jonouchi's part, and Yuugi's epiphany stemming from it, was a wonderful way of pulling in a powerful motif that I didn't expect. The way they drew that smiley face on their hands way back in Death-T seemed a coping mechanism more than anything at the time, but turning it into a literal KEY to supporting Yami here kind of blew me away. It draws on the implication of the invisible marks our relationships leave on us, how the people in our lives linger through the impact their love has had on us, and transforms the friendship between these characters into a tangible asset in their goals.

Just... a beautiful utilization of the imagery at the beginning of the comic, and I love it. 10/10, I am FLOORED.

My only real criticism here is how everyone was shitting on Jonouchi for an action that saved their asses. Marking largely indistinguishable doors when they've already tried them is a damn good idea anyway, but when what you use to mark them leads to a realization that gets them to the exit? Homeboy deserves an apology, especially from the two who were claiming his soul was empty and boring. I don't remember either of THEM dominating in duels they were not expecting to win and their independence arc being validated through becoming a competent competitor. 

All I remember them doing is standing on the sidelines smarming all day every day.