Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 340 The Ties That Bind

Being all tied up in something can be a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, being bound can provide a sense of stability and security, and on the other, it can be restricting as hell. Trying to find out where you feel the most of the former and least of the latter is tricky, because while we can't avoid ties altogether (no matter what all those "freedom" evangelists might claim in all their hypotheticals), knots are hard to untangle in the cases where you've made a pretty big mistake or it's time to move on. You don't want to tether yourself to the first thing that offers you a fair amount of security and then be stuck watching it deteriorate around you like a melting glacier you depended on to keep you cool and collected. That's an untenable position.

... Not that I'm having that problem right now or anything.

At least you're not surrounded by talk about a monster-recession too, Yuugi. 

Jonouchi comments seriously on what a close match this is, but acknowledges that Atem is still thinking one step ahead. Ishizu thinks on how Atem is like an iron fort, and the outcome of the fight will depend on whether or not Yuugi can breach that fort. I should note that both of them keep referring to Atem as the "other" Yuugi or self. Just to draw some attention to how reluctant everyone STILL is to separate the two even mentally.

Yuugi's eyes are closed, and he thinks about how he's trembling, but not because he's afraid. His eyes open again, and he's adopted a small determined smile when he thinks about how happy it makes him that Atem is actually taking him seriously. Again, Yuugi reiterates in his mind how his "other him" winning means he stays here in this world. He starts to interpret the deck that Atem has chosen for this duel, translating it into a nonverbal expression of the sad feelings he would have if he has to lose the bonds he has with Yuugi and his other friends. I'd say it's a bit of a stretch, but Yuugi's had this dude sharing intimate mental space with him for literal years by this point, so it would be weird if he WASN'T able to accurately read Atem's emotions through any number of small cues. 

Inclining his head in a somber expression, Yuugi knows he feels the same way, but when he looks back up with full poop-face on, he is certain Atem has to return and that he HAS to defeat him. He announces that his turn is over aloud, after all that internal dialog. 

Uhhhh, excusez-vous? This shit opinion only exists because you didn't see Yuugi absolutely SPANK asshole!Bakura before. 

Atem demands they all behold his spell card, "Tricky's Magic 4", which comes as a surprise to Yuugi, who is in disbelief that Tricky can use different spells. Apparently this one is a cloning spell, because Atem explains that since there are three separate gadgets fastened onto Stronghold, Tricky can split into three identical monsters as well. As it proceeds to do so, Yuugi's mouth hangs open in further disbelief, and no doubt we can ALL predict what's coming next.

Yup, Atem announces his intent to sacrifice them.

Oh boy, I think Atem might be taking Yuugi a little TOO seriously, lol!

Yuugi gapes up at Obelisk in terror, sweatdropping and generally looking a little ill about it. Its own expression can't really be read - it looks kind of like some sort of giant Cenobite with its perpetually exposed teeth and gums. Jonouchi and Honda look up with alarm at the god Atem summoned, concluding that this perfect, incredible deck was built to blast Yuugi away and he's not showing the least bit mercy. Anzu is speechless, though her shock is somewhat less pronounced than the others'.

Atem commands his Obelisk to strike. 

I think the seriousness has calcified.

As Yuugi doubles over, digital smoke wafting off his back, Ryoji comments in awe about how that one attack took out all of Yuugi's monsters, and Bakura says that Yuugi will be finished off with a direct attack next turn if he can't do something on this next one. Meanwhile, Atem plays a single card face down and ends his turn, of course. While Yuugi and Atem continue to stare down one another across the manufactured distance between them, Jonouchi shouts at Yuugi not to give up (I guess this looks an awful lot like it to him), though Honda points out that the Swords of Revealing light are still out there and asks how Yuugi can possibly defeat a god. 

Yami is still peering at Yuugi across the way, and for a moment Yuugi's face looks kind of shadowed. But then...

Would you prefer he CRY? Because I would. But then again, I'm not a badass, so...

Everyone's sort of nonplussed by Yuugi's little smile here. Ryoji says Yuugi's name with shock, Bakura wonders aloud if Yuugi has some sort of trick up his sleeve, and Sugoroku answers that Yuugi is IN FACT quite cornered and there's no turning back for him, but he too is perplexed as to why he's wearing this weird expression. Anzu suggests that maybe Yuugi is expressing some happiness because he wants Atem to stay, but Honda snaps at her not to be so stupid, and Jonouchi insists that NO ONE would grin when he's about to lose, adding that Yuugi isn't that kind of duelist. The kind that Jonouchi doesn't think exists anyway. Cool. 

Jonouchi's explanation is far simpler: haltingly, he says Yuugi is just... having fun, much to the further confusion of Honda and Anzu. He elaborates that right now, in this duel, Atem is throwing everything he can at Yuugi, and Yuugi himself is loving it. Anzu looks at him with a dawning realization as Jonouchi further explains that this is the first time these two have faced each other as rivals (not to mention PHYSICALLY), and while Yuugi has always been kind of following along in the shadow of Atem, they're coming at one another head-on. Anzu considers the words "always" and "following", and she looks a little ashamed here, gazing at Yuugi as if she's JUST noticed that he's also going through some shit.

Jonouchi recalls on the boat when Yuugi confessed that there was something he hadn't yet told his "other self", and Jonouchi silently encourages Yuugi to make that leap.

And hey, Atem seems to be down with this too, thinking at his partner to bring it on. 

Yuugi begins by setting a card face down, then brings out little Silent Swordsman, Level 0, into the fray, at 1000 attack points. I don't bother to mention defense because Yuugi has indeed summoned it in attack position. Yuugi just keeps mystifying everyone today - Atem is in a little disbelief over the questionable move, and Marik openly questions why, since Obelisk will be dealing a whopping 3000 points of damage if it attacks, bringing the duel to a swift end. Jonouchi grinds his teeth with anxiety.

But Atem seems to be working out what's going on here. He thinks that Yuugi must have Time Jump hidden among his face down cards, and when he activates it, it'll bring Silent Swordsman's level up with the 3 turns it blows over. However, the attack strength would STILL only be up to 2500 at that point, still far below what is needed to defeat Obelisk. Atem assumes that this was some sort of attempt to scare him into holding back, instead of working out that there's probably ANOTHER piece of this move that he's not quite grasping yet. 

Atem calls out the start of his turn, quickly summoning Big Shield Guardna for backup defense, as you do, and commanding Obelisk to attack. As the giant fist is coming in for a mean punch to the diminutive Silent Swordsman, Yuugi throws out his hand to trigger one of his face down cards, Time Jump, just at Atem had supposed. Atem is secure in his reading of the situation, and his knowledge that Silent Swordsman still doesn't have the power to survive Obelisk's attack. But when Yuugi announces that this isn't ALL, Atem is taken aback once again. 

Yuugi plays his SECOND face down card, Crumbling Axe, the text of which instructs the player to lower the selected monster's attack by 500 points each for every turn it was hanging out face down. Yuugi reiterates that Time Jump raises Silent Swordsman's level (so he's all grown up now and his massive hands and feet are much more proportional to his body now), and Crumbling Sword lowers Obelisk's attack points. 

Well, if Yuugi wasn't having fun before, he sure is now.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It's a good thing that Yuugi's here to do some interpreting on Atem, because to me, his opinions/feelings in this duel are kind of erratic. Half the time he's thinking that Yuugi can't surpass him or that Yuugi is trying to scare him into going easy on him or something, and the other half he's summoning gods and encouraging Yuugi to bring it in a genuine way. He's so all over the place that I'm having a lot of trouble getting a read on the guy. 

But since this is my blog, and I really should TRY to come up with an analysis of viable motivation that covers all of his contradictory statements/actions, I'm thinking there's a contrast being drawn here between Atem's repeated attempts at seriousness and Yuugi's almost laid-back taking the whole experience in stride. As Jonouchi said, it's clear Yuugi is having FUN here - he's treasuring what could potentially be his last minutes with someone so close to him and at the same time using them to express himself and his feelings about the situation and their face-off. In a way, Yuugi is MAKING this the conversation that he admitted he wanted a couple of chapters ago, saying what he's wanting to say, which is that Atem doesn't have to be concerned about how things will turn out when he has to go, because Yuugi is a capable and strong individual in his own right.

But Atem isn't using the duel as a medium like Yuugi is. Beyond Yuugi's observation that the deck Atem put together is a statement on his fears about severing ties with all his friends in going away, Atem appears to be trying to dissociate himself from the intimate nature of this duel. He's trying to treat it like one he might have with any of the antagonists they've met from the beginning, as an exercise of his judgment with a just outcome. Whether he feels good or bad about it (which seems to shift every second), he's already drawn the conclusion that Yuugi CAN'T win this duel, and he's going to be staying. Atem clearly doesn't think Yuugi is bad, but he has assumed that Yuugi is WRONG, and this needs... correcting, just like the other wrong-headed folks he's dueled. So, Atem's treatment of the duel as a cold hard judgment of skill leaves him missing a lot of what Yuugi is trying to SAY with the moves he makes, including the pretty obvious stuff.

But hey, maybe now that Yuugi has taken down Obelisk, he's going to get wise and start paying a bit more attention. One can only hope.