Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 036 A Ruthless Final Battle

*Snooooooooooore*

Oh! Crap! Sorry, I was just taking a nap! That last chapter put me straight to sleep. I hope Seto was watching, because he could have used a snooze to reduce those bags under his eyes. He's up next though, so he'd better get his ass in gear. And make sure he's bringing his A Game, because I don't need another sedative.

I hate naps... Always makes me feel like I missed something...

Oh, good, I didn't miss a thing. I'm just in time to tell Mokuba he's stupid for thinking pulling the exact same shit as in his last match with Yami would give him an edge. He doesn't look so much upset as constipated on the next page, though. Jonouchi and Anzu are cheering Yami's victory while the guy holding Jonouchi hostage is looking on in disbelief. The audience is surprised to see Mokuba's loss, but are at the same time wondering who the "pointy-headed" kid that beat him is. Jonouchi takes issue with the description and shouts at the crowd that his name's Yuugi and he's his friend, though this information doesn't make Yuugi/Yami any less pointy-headed.

Jonouchi grows serious all of a sudden, thinking about how Yami is that much closer to facing Kaiba. Meanwhile, back in the booth, Yami is leaving his seat as Mokuba is hunched over the board and tantruming at his loss, refusing to believe the reality that he lost. Yami announces that he's leaving, thinking about how it's time for him to meet up with Kaiba on his way out of the box. Mokuba calls out for him to wait before he's clear of the doorway but Yami doesn't stop, not even turning around.

Mokuba admits that he can't understand how he lost; he had the best monsters with the highest levels and Yami had nothing to start with. How did he manage to win? It's unclear whether or not Yami is even hearing Mokuba, but he DOES notice Kaiba appearing on screen above the box behind him and turns around in surprise, just as Jonouchi sees this as well. Kaiba expresses his impatience and boredom with his own parade of fuckery, so he encourages Yami to take the elevator to the Duel Dome above. Yami assures him that he's on his way, so Kaiba should keep his pants on, jeez.

Why don't you keep your comparisons of your brother to a clingy puppy to yourself, Seto. This interaction does answer my question from the chapter before last, though. Seto Kaiba has accomplished his goal of emotionally distancing himself from Mokuba so as to be able to subject him to the torture of his "death simulation." He's officially completed his transformation into a total island of crazy. We all know that it's not going to give him an edge in his duel against Yami, though.

Curious, is he looking at a different monitor than the one with which he was talking to Yami? He was looking straight at Yami in the last few panels, but he seems to have strategically placed the monitor he's looking at Mokuba through so he can have that sidelong glare of a disappointed father or something. Weirdo.

Mokuba is shocked that his brother would inflict the penalty game on him, even as the holograms start to waft in like smoke. Looks more like Shadi's illusions here, but whatevz. He starts to stutter out a beginning of what I assume will be begging, but he takes too long and is soon staring the "sensation of death" straight in its monstrous face, screaming. As Yami is walking away, he hears Mokuba's screams and looks over his shoulder at the booth, because he can't believe Seto is giving his own brother the punishment either.

So, he knows that the "sensation of death," which was originally Yami's idea by the way, is too horrifying to inflict on family members. Why inflict it on anyone then? Why did you do this thing to Kaiba? No one should have had to deal with this crap!

Mokuba is pulling at his face as a monster roars into it, shouting for help from Seto. It breaks my heart that he's still expecting help from Seto after he's the one who insisted Mokuba endure this. From behind Mokuba, a hand reaches through the swirling holograms and its owner calls out to him, bidding him to take hold. Mokuba laces his fingers with the other hand's and is pulled from the booth before the dragon monster can chomp down on his face with its virtual jaws.

The moment that Mokuba recognizes the hand belongs to Yami, he snatches his own hand away. Mokuba struggles to ask why Yami helped him, Yami half-turned away already. Yami smiles at him, saying that his friend's support was the reason he was able to beat Mokuba. He's completely flabbergasted by the term, dropping to his knees as he remembers how Seto told him he'd always be a loser if he didn't let go of the notion that the two of them should express brotherly love. He curses the memory while Yami walks away again.

Another very famous set of panels that everyone likes to share on the web! It's tender that Mokuba has kept that picture on him for the games today, a reminder that Seto Kaiba wasn't always a horrible person. He was a regular, even HAPPY, kid from the looks of things. According to Mokuba's commentary here, he used to ENJOY games rather than obsessing over them, and he had to gradually become even the comparatively mild version of himself that would steal cards and hit classmates in the face with briefcases.

Since that's the only version of Seto Kaiba I'm familiar with at this point, I'm kind of missing HIM. Jerkface is way better than homicidal maniac any day. Except for when the homicidal maniac is this:

That's perfectly fine.

Mokuba looks back up at the retreating Yami and wonders if maybe he can... thought left incomplete. I would have too, because that sounds stupid even in your head, Mokuba. Yami steps into the elevator.

Kaiba snaps shut his briefcase, and is followed by a bodyguard as he somberly walks toward the final stage of his Death-T park. He grows a grin when he thinks that what is coming next will complete his revenge. The floor for Death T-4 is clearing, because the kids in the audience are scrambling to get to the next floor to watch the match between Kaiba and the pointy-headed champion of the last game they watched.

The guy holding Jonouchi hostage is ready to take Jonouchi and Anzu upstairs to view the game too, and Jonouchi requests the best seats in the house. He wants a good view of Kaiba's butt getting kicked, but when I first read that line, I left off the last two words, and it had me laughing harder than I ever have while reading this comic. No lie.

Jonouchi snatches a cellphone from his captor too, saying he needs to make a call. He dials while the guard checks his pocket to find that indeed, Jonouchi just pilfered HIS phone. Anzu asks who Jonouchi is calling, and he says he's calling the hospital where Hanasaki is keeping an eye on Sugoroku per Jonouchi's request. Wow, not only was Jonouchi the one to call the ambulance, but he also called up Hanasaki to go to the hospital to check on his condition too.

Jonouchi, you are surprising me with your level of maturity, responsibility and care here. This is possibly the best thing anyone could have done for Sugoroku and Yuugi in this situation. Well done, sir.

Hanasaki answers the phone, initially apologizing for taking so long. He's happy to hear from Jonouchi, but doesn't have great news. Sugoroku is in emergency surgery, and it's been an hour since he went in. The doctor isn't optimistic about the outcome either. Apparently he isn't the most professional either, because I don't know why else he would be telling this to a non-family member. Maybe Hanasaki is hanging out with Yuugi's parents and heard the news through them?

Does Yuugi have parents?

Jonouchi asks Hanasaki to stay with him a bit longer and Hanasaki is much obliged. He sits down on a bench after the phone call and begs Sugoroku to hang in there too, silently. Sugoroku himself is lying on a hospital bed with an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, thinking only of Yuugi. He wouldn't have to worry about Yuugi if he hadn't encouraged him to try and beat Kaiba. Just saying.

Anzu asks Jonouchi how Sugoroku is doing after he's off the phone, and he's frank when he says the news isn't the best. He also tried Honda's cellphone and got no answer, so he wonders out loud if things could get any worse. I don't know if they can, but trust me, Jonouchi, you're doing all the right things to counteract them. Keep being you, kid. He says they can't do much else at this point than watch their friend fight, so that's what they have to do.

As they are pushed up to the top floor of Kaiba Land, Yami is still taking that elevator. He thinks of all the people he's fighting for, and how it was because of Kaiba that they were hurt. He promises not to forgive him, but I'm skeptical of that claim considering how present Kaiba is in the rest of this manga. Yami reaches his destination to the sound of cheers.

That's a big different than his cramped duel booth downstairs. Kaiba welcomes Yami to the final stage of his revenge plot, patronizingly attaching a "kun" to the end of Yuugi's name. At least, I assume it's patronizing, considering they're not friends in the least. Yami doesn't seem to be at all impressed with it either, the rage he's displaying at seeing Kaiba in the next panel.

They sit opposite each other in the dome, arms crossed and glaring. Kaiba says that there's no point in talking and they should just get on with their game as he takes out his cards and slaps them on the table between them. I agree, Kaiba, I think you, in particular, should stop talking. Forever. He demands to see Yami's cards, and Yami agrees, bringing out Sugoroku's precious soul deck.

Kaiba begins monologuing in his head, unfortunately for the audience, about how Yami crawled this far only to die, because Seto's deck has the Blue Eyes White Dragons that no card can beat. Goodness, this is worse than him talking out loud! Let's go back to that. He instructs Yami in how they should shuffle each others decks and suddenly I'm wishing he'd just shut up again. Why does he have to annoy me with everything he says??

As they're shuffling, the crowd is excited about the impending duel, while Jonouchi looks on with worry. After each player gets their respective cards back, Kaiba declares the beginning of their game with another creepy grin. Yami draws a card, one of many in Sugoroku's deck that he believes in thoroughly. He thinks he's going to win as he and Kaiba hold their hands up and Kaiba chuckles.

Well, that was a rapid fire start, one that Kaiba seems pretty pleased with, despite how Yami shot him in the face with his fiery balls. Will Kaiba's unflinching arrogance win it for him after all? Nah, no one is remotely fooled by this bravado.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It did give us a little more information on the background of Seto and Mokuba to further support the conclusions already drawn so far, but not enough to draw any new ones. We now know that there was a time when Seto wasn't a slave to winning and games, but after that day the picture was taken, something dramatically shifted in his life and he began to become more and more "demon-like." Mokuba doesn't hint at how fast the transformation was, just that it started that day. I maintain that it was slow enough for their bond to remain until relatively recently, because otherwise Seto would not have told Mokuba so much about his first defeat.

Other than that, there's not much to analyze there that hasn't been before, many times over.

But I do want to nod again to how RESPONSIBLE Jonouchi has acted in reaction to Sugoroku's condition. That surprised me, but in a very good way, because it's not coming out of nowhere. He asked after the guy who sold him the shoes, and it was the very FIRST thing he said after Yuugi told him what condition the shop keeper had been found in. Despite how badly he'd been treated in that chapter, he was concerned over the man's condition. That's not a bad setup for his actions and care for Sugoroku here.

Still, I'm so IMPRESSED. Jonouchi, how did you go from punchline to the absolute best? You're SO my favorite right now!

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 035 Deathmatch on a Gameboard

Well, half-time is officially through. The show was a tad on the emotional side, for both protagonists and antagonists, but at least there wasn't a wardrobe malfunction for the FCC to complain about. Actually, I think the protagonists could have benefited from one particular strip tease that would have kept one of their friends by their sides, but there's no getting around the drama keeping on clothes has caused in this game. Funny, you'd think it would be the other way around.

Anyhow, back to the action!

That's the long of the short of this next match, yeah. Yami and Mokuba are glaring at each other, each with his own thoughts. Yami is ready to beat Mokuba so that he can have a go at Kaiba. Mokuba is determined not to let Yami have that go. They are both unwilling to budge.

Mokuba points at a capsule dispenser machine in the corner of the booth, telling Yami that they both will get their capsules from it, and that this one will be identical to the match they played before. Except for the giant board beneath them projecting real-time holograms of their match for an audience. That's a little different.

Deja vu aside, Yami agrees to get his capsules from the machine and turns the lever, which delivers him a Level One capsule. Mokuba, surprise, is thinking about how he's rigged the machine again to give him the strongest monsters while Yami will have to play with weaker monsters. That didn't work last time, Mokuba, what makes you think it will this time?

After a brief recap panel of the rules of Capsule Monster Chess and the board, Yami realizes Mokuba is pulling the same crap he was in their last match, because their monsters are so conspicuously unequal in power. It's not clear if Mokuba knows that Yami knows what he's up to, because he just instructs Yami to set up his formation, warning him that it had better be a good one. Yami ponders what a good formation to fight Mokuba would look like, noting two areas on the board where an ambush wouldn't be easy to pull off. A metaphorical light bulb goes on over his head.

Mokuba directs Yami to reveal the monsters in his capsules while Mokuba also reveals his. He seems awfully proud of his "W" formation of his five monsters, and calling Yami a shrimp as he shows it off. Kid, you are in NO position to be calling anyone a shrimp. When he sees the block formation Yami has set up on his side of the board, three in the front and two in the back, Mokuba laughs. He says it's pathetic for them all to be drawing together like the weaklings they are, and that Yami is just as pitiful. He really doesn't seem to see history repeating itself here.

Yami sweatdrops as he thinks about how Mokuba's monsters are too strong, and this will be the only strategy allowing him to put up a proper fight. Mokuba calls out for the start of the match, for the third time, I think, and the crowd gathered in the bleachers around them grows excited. The monsters are projected onto their virtual field below, and they stare down the opposite sides of the fields as if they were real.

Jonouchi calls out to Yami that he has to win. He knows Yami can't see he and Anzu, but he's showing his support as well as he can, very literally watching his back. Mokuba claims the first move of the game, moving his Armorzaurus forward the amount of spaces it can go dictated by the high-tech board that displays the moves that can be made. Mokuba points at Yami with an announcement that it's his turn.

Yami just crosses his arms and closes his eyes, saying nothing. Mokuba repeats himself, asking if Yami heard, and Yami says his formation is fine how he set it up. Mokuba is confused and angered by Yami's refusal to move a piece, thinking he must be planning something. Mokuba lies to himself that he's not at all worried about this nuh-uh, and he'll just invade Yami's side of the board and attack him, because he can't possibly be prepared for such a thing.

Nope, that unconcerned look on his face is just ignorance. He couldn't POSSIBLY see that coming. Granted, he could be taking a snooze. Yuugi has been through some exhausting crap today, and Yami is using his body after all.

As Mokuba's monsters move forward one by one, the audience around them exposits that while Yami hasn't made even one move so far, Mokuba's army of monsters is slowly marching into his territory. Jonouchi can't make heads nor tails of what Yami is up to either, while Yami holds that same pose. I would still think he's napping, except another sweatdrop has appeared on his face. The audience again narrates the panel, which shows Mokuba's monsters surrounding Yami's. Mokuba thinks he's won.

Sorry not sorry.

Yami's eyes suddenly open and he wordlessly picks out his Beeton to move forward. The audience are intrigued that he hasn't quite thrown in the towel, but Mokuba thinks he's a little too late, and commands his Armorzaurus to attack his Brain. No, really, that's the name of the monster. LMFAO.

Yami appears surprised, as Mokuba pulls a Billy Mays and says there's more! The Armorzaurus attacks another monster in the same turn using its special attack, rolling right over Yami's Toppo. Mokuba laughs, pointing out that Yami only has three monsters left. In the virtual board below, his monsters cower. Yami isn't ready to give up until the very end, though. Mokuba is convinced that he only needs Armorzaurus to wipe out all of Yami's monsters now, and so sends it after Yami's Mogrin next.

The hologram Mogrin looks afraid at first, but then grins at its attacker. It burrows into the field, causing surprise for both Armorzaurus and Mokuba, who narrates the Mogrin's actions as though that will make them any less true. Armorzaurus rolls right past the Mogrin and because it can't stop, its attack hits Mokuba's Megaton right in the face. Both monsters are destroyed.

Mokuba knows Yami must have planned that from the beginning. Yami patronizes him by giving him another "lesson" about how he should use fewer strong monsters and more with rare abilities, ending with telling Mokuba that he also only has three monsters left. Someone echoes this message, probably the audience, those sheep. Jonouchi is impressed with how Yami turned the tables.

Yami moves forward his Squid Ninja, despite acknowledging the fact that his monster is a Level Two that can't match the power of the monster he's attacking, Mokuba's Level Five Zoid M. He says that even a low level monster can defeat a higher level monster, though, as he silently asks the Squid Ninja for forgiveness. Turns out the special attack for the Squid Ninja is a suicide attack, blowing up itself and Zoid M.

Mokuba fumes over how Yami's monster took his with it, and Yami states that the road to a previously unheard of "evolution spot" has been opened up, with no monsters guarding it. Mokuba recognizes now that Yami sacrificed his other monsters to get Beeton to the evolution spot, and is looking pretty upset. He realizes that his monsters are too far away to stop Beeton, as Yami moves him forward. Since the "evolution spot" raises a monster's level by three, every square Beeton moves brings him closer to becoming the strongest monster. Yami keeps moving the Beeton, with no resistance from Mokuba until it reaches that square.

An eloquent defense of puberty, Yami! Wait, is that Yuugi behind you? Is this an analogy for Yuugi's transformations into Yami? Are we comparing the Millennium Puzzle to the evolution spot here? Because I'm not sure that really works. I'm pretty sure not just anyone can wear the puzzle and bring out Yami...

Mokuba can only watch as Hyper Beeton flies across the board at Yami's command and attacks his Namahaagan with its Horn Attack. Mokuba stares in shock and anger as he confirms this information through gritted teeth. The crowd is cheering against him now, declaring that he only has one monster left.

Now Hyper Beeton and Bigfoot face off and Mokuba mistakenly says that this next battle decides the game. Not if you win, Mokuba; have you forgotten about the weird Mogrin thing? Anyway, Mokuba is giddy because he knows that Hyper Beeton has a great attack at long range, but close range battles are not its forte, so Bigfoot will win.

Yami and Mokuba both call out for the monsters to fight, and they both throw down, looking like they just go right past each other at first. However, to Yami's chagrin and Mokuba's delight, the virtual Bigfoot looks back at virtual Hyper Beeton with a grin as it is destroyed. Mokuba is jubilant as he calls out the result and Yami grits his teeth.

Mokuba asks if Yami thought he had forgotten the last opposing monster, and judging by Yami's face, I'd say he thought that as much as I did. Mogrin pops out of the field below, and someone from the audience is just remembering him out loud too. Everyone has always got to be speaking whatever they think, don't they? Mogrin is right next to Bigfoot, and it growls down at the little guy as it quivers. Mokuba is stoked to win, and eager for Bigfoot to use his namesake on Mogrin. Mogrin can talk, I guess, shielding its head with little claws as Bigfoot's gigantic foot hovers over him and muttering that it's all over for him.

Anyone else reminded of Fist of the North Star?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAaaaaaa.... Classic.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I was generally bored, if I'm honest. This game was too similar to the last time Mokuba and Yami played it, right down to Mokuba cheating, Yami calling him a brat and laying his gaming wisdom out before him in a mocking tone. It made it seem like an identical battle, despite the different monsters and moves.

The only thing really new about it was that "evolution spot" part, which was obviously only there so that Takahashi could make an analogy to Yuugi evolving and becoming stronger too. It's occurred to me that Yuugi's transformations into Yami are not necessarily being referenced here, but Yuugi accepting Yami as a part of him instead. Either way, I think the "evolution spot" should have been introduced as a setup in Mokuba and Yami's first match, even if it was never used. The analogy would have been a lot less forced in that case. At the very least, it should have been introduced at the beginning of THIS match, instead of right before it became relevant.

Granted, I did like a small element of it. I thought that the reproduction of the game below them in holograms was a good idea, because otherwise that game certainly wouldn't have been much of a spectator sport. However, it was the only thing that made many of the moves possible in the game. How would anyone playing Capsule Monster Chess with a regular board and no holograms have pulled off the special move that allowed Mogrin to burrow into the board? For that matter, if you're only allowed five pieces to begin with, how does one end up evolving one of their monsters to something else at the "evolution spot?"

It seems to me that Takahashi ended up making the mistake of building the game and moves around what the holograms could do rather than what could happen with actual pieces. Without those holograms, this game makes no sense.