Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 332 The Stone Slabs of the Modern World!

It does seem like the modern world has its own versions of "stone slabs" sometimes. I mean, in the United States, we already have a whole subsection of Christian culture that constantly relates everything back to a reference to the ten commandments of the Bible, but that's certainly not all. Our founding documents are rarely ever read widely, but people still reference them like they're unquestionable holy writ. I don't know if it's because our country is relatively young compared to most of the rest of the world or not, but there's a weird impulse here to legitimize any opinion/position on most public topics with the invocation of our older writings like as if they have been handed down from on high. And that's just one example of this strange behavior.

But I have a feeling that the modern slabs the chapter is referring to are going to be more positive associations than otherwise.

Honda calls to Yami to hang in there, but he calls him "Yuugi", and with Yami himself uttering a cry of Yuugi's name to our the non-pharaoh in surprise, it might get a little confusing to figure out which of these guys people are talking to for a minute. Jonouchi just tells Yami not to worry, that they'll take it from here. Yami looks up at them in a daze, mouth ajar as he considers his partner and the others standing in front of him, having come to defend him. 

Anzu kneels next to him to try and gently prop him up, repeating Honda's advice to hang in there. Yami just mumbles to her to be careful, and that Zorc is strong. At the very least, he's strongly annoying with his constant yapping. Anzu looks closely at his unfocused gaze at the ground and her assessment isn't good; he's hurt pretty badly. But she ALSO notices the cartouche that she gave him back in the museum, dangling from around his neck. That'll be AWFULLY important, I'm sure.

Yuugi and Jonouchi glare up at Zorc, the former with a grimace, but the latter grins in contrast to the sweat at his temple when he scoffs that this guy is a big one. Zorc responds with his own scoff that the pharaoh still has allies, and that they're fools to stand against him. Yuugi downright screams at Zorc that he won't let him hurt Yami anymore, referring to Yami as "the other me", a phrase that Zorc repeats back in question. It's only a moment before he figures out what this means: they're not from Egypt, not memories from 3,000 years before, but new memories made by the pharaoh since awakening in the modern world. Jonouchi yells up at him that they're not memories at all, but his real honest-to-goodness friends. Regardless of the distinction, Zorc doesn't really give a shit - he says that no matter how many of them side with Yami, they will never win the battle of memories, and will just die along with the pharaoh.

He is just DRIPPING badassery at this point. Kid is on fire!

Zorc says that in that case, Yuugi can die BEFORE the pharaoh for all he gives a shit. Whether out loud or in psychic connection, Yuugi addresses Yami to tell him that the Duel Disk held up on his arm contains the deck that Yami himself built, the one they fought all those duels together with throughout the series. Yuugi had to switch it in after removing the deck that he SPANKED asshole!Bakura with, of course. Yami stares in awe, his gaze much more focused now. Yuugi asserts that each card in their shared deck is filled with their spirit, and suggests that they fight together, which Yami agrees to wholeheartedly, probably on both counts. 

Hey man, YOU had zombie armies, it's only fair. 

Jonouchi announces that it's his turn, narrating his draw from the deck in his Duel Disk. Zorc seems kind of confused that the ka seem to be sealed in the little pieces of paper Yuugi and Jonouchi are using, wondering if these could be the stone slabs of the modern world. Congratulations Zorc! You said the title! Though, considering how much you flap your gums, it was only a matter of time...

I guess Jonouchi is taking a while to make his move, because Mahado takes a moment to fly up next to Hasan and deliver the hopeful message that they might still have a chance to defeat Zorc. Hasan appears surprised that Mahado's there - must have missed the last page for some reason. Mana's DMG flies up on Mahado's other side and asks her master if he can feel the strength of their ba, and Mahado affirms that their desire to protect the pharaoh is joining into a brilliant light around them. Indeed, Yuugi, Jonouchi, Anzu and Honda are putting out a pretty strong collective aura. 

At last, Jonouchi is ready to summon his monster, bidding Zorc to take a look at it. 

Pretty standard, but I'm not complaining.

Yami marvels at the returned Red Eyes Black Dragon. I guess it HAS been a minute since he's seen it? Meanwhile, as she stands guard over the concentrating Mana, Isis wonders who these strange people who can summon ka to protect the pharaoh are. People who were totally invisible until now, I guess. 

Zorc takes on a slightly mocking tone when he expresses surprise that those of the modern world can also summon ka, but Yuugi and Jonouchi aren't willing to let him get out another stupid word. They both command their monsters to attack, Red Eyes firing a Black Fire Bullet and Dark Magician a Magic Blast simultaneously. Zorc groans, but I'm suspicious of how genuine the distress is. Yuugi and Jonouchi are stoked at the direct hit, asking aloud if Zorc is dead yet.

Oh. Oh boys. Did you think it would be that easy?

With Mahado and Red Eyes looking on in anticipation of the results of their attack, the smoke clears from around a chuckling Zorc, who says that whatever that was won't work. 

Imagine being destroyed from a blast of dragon inferno semen, lol. Actually, I shouldn't poke fun, there are undoubtedly people who would be totally into that on the internet.

All our characters flinch and groan as the blast hits them, which is quite mild in the grand scheme. Hasan has his wrists crossed in front of him, grunting as he swears to protect the pharaoh until his strength gives out. He puts himself in front of everyone else, arms spread wide now to absorb the worst of the attack. Red Eyes Black Dragon unfortunately burns away anyway, much to Jonouchi's dismay that it happened in just one blast. Yuugi screws his eyes shut tight against the intense fire. Honda asks of his friends a frankly DISTURBING promise that they not die before him, a single line that forces me to do a double-take on his whole character. Anzu is just thinking of Yuugi while she's drawn more like a blushing love interest than a girl in genuine danger. What is with everyone making me uncomfortable right now??

Hasan calls everyone his friends as he bids them to listen, and because their eyes were mostly shut until now, there's a shout of surprise that he's shielding them, probably from Yuugi (not sure, though). Not responding to this revelation, Hasan tells them that they won't win against the strong Zorc with just cards, reminding Yuugi and company that their mission was to find the pharaoh's true name in the tomb. Jonouchi calls out that they KNOW, and they found it indeed, prompting Yami's eyes to widen, and I'm assuming there's a renewed hope in there now. He certainly doesn't look listless anymore. Jonouchi clarifies that of course the name was written in Hierglyphs and they couldn't read it, so they committed the characters to memory, BURNED in there, by his description. Hasan urges them to make the pharaoh SEE his name, as the only way to get this advantage rolling.

WHAAAAAAAAAT?????????

No Hasan, why did you have to secretly be that BAG OF DIIIIIIICKS?

On the other hand, if there is one character in this thing that definitely deserves to be dissolved by Zorc fire spooge, it's Shadi. And he's gone almost as soon as he's revealed, so I don't have to endure his garbage. Little blessings, little blessings.

Anyway, Zorc expresses his surprise to see that MOST of them, save "Hashadi", have survived his... emissions. They're still pretty exhausted and unsteady on their feet, though, groaning and not really having any snappy comebacks anymore. Jonouchi pants, gaze unfocused, but a more energetic Yuugi darts to his side, calling his name in concern. Jonouchi curses, saying that he lost an awful lot of life points when Red Eyes was destroyed. He's got just 1600 life points, but he tries to stand up a little straighter, even if he declares his realization that losing all their points in this world does mean they're done for. He quickly changes the subject to how they're going to beat this Zorc jerk, though. No need to dwell on a VERY probable death. 

Zorc tells these fools that there's NO way to defeat him, and his next attack will kill all of them, which is pretty much what ANYONE would say, bluff or no. Still, Yuugi contemplates the question of how to defeat Zorc anyway, recalling that Hashadi said the power was in Yami's real name. He's just hung up on how they're supposed to transfer such knowledge to Yami. With the ground as unstable as it is, it's not like they can draw what they saw in the tomb on the sand.

As Yami once again looks utterly exhausted and a little hopeless, Anzu once again notices that blank cartouche hanging around Yami's neck, this time having an epiphany about carving the name on it. She calls to everyone to join hands, and think real hard about what those symbols in the name looked like in the tomb. Although the boys respond with confusion at first, they quickly do what she says without question, piling their hands on top of each other directly in front of Yami. Their eyes are closed and they're concentrating HARD on that name.

Well I'll be goddamned and go to hell!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I have a feeling that a couple of you were gleefully awaiting the moment when I discovered that Hasan was Shadi, knowing how much I LOATHE that guy. I hope the meltdown was epic enough for you, lol! I am SO mad about it, because the framing is deliberately trying to turn him into this saintly type of character with his sacrifice. I personally don't care if he sacrifices himself - this doesn't erase all of the complete douchebaggery he performed in the past, dammit! You're not convincing me he's actually good, chapter! It ain't happening!

In fact, I'm finding Shadi more confusing than endearing after this. I got the impression from the chapter where Bobasa transformed into Hasan that it only happened when the Millennium Items were all at home in the tablet. If Hasan was Shadi all along, though, how was Shadi walking around in the beginning of the manga of his own volition, imposing shadow games on poor Yuugi and friends? Are there multiples of HIM like there are multiples of Bakura? Did he use the Millennium Items to split his soul among various hosts as well? If I'm missing a piece or two of this puzzle, please do enlighten me, as I am quite bewildered. 

But the bulk of this chapter was a little heady for the characters I actually like, and I'm a little amazed at seeing a side to them that has been hidden until they are faced with literal death. It's not just Yuugi, though his sudden surge of confidence and righteousness born from his desire to snatch Yami from the brink of oblivion while staring into it himself is particularly visible. Honda's strange request that the rest of his friends not die before him, Jonouchi's sober articulation that he's lost a lot of REAL life energy and will die if hit again. The whole group standing in a huddle and focusing on their last shot at winning this thing, all knowing that if they fail, they will not come out of this alive. All of these are performed with sober dignity, children facing their own mortality without sadness or regret, because they're doing all of this to rescue a loved one, and the world by extension. From just a couple of lines and actions, the situation's weight is so much heavier, the possibility of death so much deeper in the knowledge that our characters fully understand that they are staring into the abyss. And they're doing it with some serious courage. The heroism is palpable. 

And can I just say how satisfying it is to see Anzu's gesture toward the beginning of their adventure pay off tremendously right now? Not only did it turn out to be quite a practical tool to have on hand for fulfilling their quest, but Anzu was also the one who noticed its utility in the end, because she was the one who got it for Yami. She WOULD be the one to remember that it's there and be able to suggest it as the solution to their problem, so it makes total sense to have her be the one to bring everyone together in the end to collectively manifest the name on the cartouche. I'm sure the logic of this in no small part came from their demonstrated ability to recreate Duel Disks out of thin air from memory in this "Memory World" too. It was a clever application of established rules. Anzu is on POINT right now.

This is also HIGHLY reminiscent of the time when she had them all gather their hands to draw their friendship symbol on them back in Death-T. It rhymes beautifully with the previous moment and creates an overall harmony in the story that lends some of its importance back and forth between them both. It's probably one of the most satisfying setups and payoffs that I've seen in a serialized manga like this. 

Also - no one questions Anzu in her call for everyone to get together and think real hard on those symbols. No one wastes time telling her that this is a silly thing to do. As a woman who has always been second-guessed for most suggestions I've ever made throughout my life and just generally taken less seriously, I REALLY appreciate this. Like, REALLY.