Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 150 The Gathering

Do you have to sound so foreboding about it, chapter? "The Gathering" sounds like the title of a science fiction horror novel that explores a dystopian convergence of alien life to wipe out the threat of humanity before it can literally destroy the rest of the universe in pursuing its selfish aims. How about something friendlier, like the meet-up, or the convention? How about "The Party" instead, seeing as how I'd like to celebrate having covered a whole 150 chapters of this manga in reviews at your point of reading? We could all dance and drink and play games and NOT think of it all as a "gathering".

I think a poll is in order here...

"The kind of Duel Monsters that continues to increase in complexity so that the chances of someone dueling me remembering all the rules are significantly lower and I become king by my own operation of a Red Queen treadmill!"

You know, I just realized that the chapter is probably named thus BY Kaiba, who probably thinks that even the word "tournament" sounds way too chummy. Becoming genuinely close to someone is likely something he has nightmares about. I'm not being facetious, by the way; given his past, it's probably a very scary notion for Kaiba to become attached to people.

He's thinking about that engraved tablet Ishizu showed him, a place where ancient duelists and their cards slumber, as the perfect place to start his little production. He's standing outside his own building when he mentally urges all the current duelists to gather by the gravestone of their ancestors. The forced metaphors are STRONG with this one. Get it? Forced? Strong? I'm going straight to hell.

Meanwhile, Yami is standing right in front of the tablet in the museum glaring up at it. Like it insulted his mom or something.

There's something here that I didn't notice until now that I had to go back and confirm was in the last chapter - there's something on the upper part of Yami/Yuugi's left arm that looks a bit like a bandage. I think I mistook it for one of those bangles you wear high on the arm, but at the end of the last chapter and here, it started to look more and more like some sort of wrapping. Is this a remnant of Yuugi's injuries in the fire? I'm genuinely curious because I don't know what to make of it otherwise, and if you have an idea yourself, feel free to leave a comment to discuss.

Anyway, as Yami peers at the carving, he questions if it's Yuugi or not. But the more he looks at it, the more he's convinced this is actually HIM, despite the fact that the carving doesn't have the ONE feature that does distinguish him from Yuugi - the lightning bolt streaks of blond up the dark spikes of hair. Was that just a flub on KT's part?

Anzu gapes, wondering in disbelief how this tablet can picture Yuugi if it's 3,000 years old. She thinks back on what Yami said about the Millennium Puzzle, how it has Yami's mind and soul inside it, and haltingly starts to come to a conclusion about who he must be. This thought is finished by Yami out loud, when he declares that he's the spirit of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. The resemblance is uncanny, but you should be a tad more skeptical than THAT, considering this is only the first place you looked for your identity. Are you SURE you want to jump to such conclusions straight out of the starting gate, Yami?

As Anzu hangs her head, Yami chuckles, saying it's no wonder he forgot everything over a whole 3,000 years. Anzu frets about how Yuugi doesn't know this yet, when she SHOULD be fretting about how she and Yami don't know this yet EITHER. Still, Anzu is convinced that Yuugi thinks his other self will always exist in his heart, inseparable from him. If Yami wants to discover where he came from and go to Egypt to look, Anzu wonders if Yuugi would accept that.

Yami continues to stare at the carving, asking himself why his soul was in the puzzle, and why his memories were sealed away in the Millennium Items. He also pays some mind to the duelist opposite the carving that resembles him, the other duelist on it, and decides that it's clearly Kaiba. As much as I think Yami and Anzu are being WAY to hasty in concluding that the pharaoh's carving is definitely him, concluding that the other one is Kaiba is even MORE ludicrous. That could literally be ANYONE, Yami. It has no distinguishing Kaiba-like features. Kaiba doesn't have any distinguishing features himself and looks like 90% of all anime characters ever. He is unremarkable in face, so there's no reason to think that this other person on the tablet would be him.

Making a whole host of other outlandish assumptions, Yami thinks that this means his and Kaiba's current battle (which doesn't actually exist) was predicted by this stone. He wonders what this means, and immediately figures that the answer lies in his lost memories. Man, this guy is making leaps in logic all OVER the fucking place!

A shuffle sounds behind Yami and Anzu, and Yami turns to see what's making it, surprised.

Wow, you look AMAZING for being a thousand years old. What kind of moisturizer do you use?

Yami notices the necklace she's wearing and his eyes widen, identifying it as a Millennium Item. Whether it's by interpreting his obvious stare or just reading his mind like everyone else in this series does, Ishizu tells him that her Millennium Tauk allows her to look into the near future and she knew he would be visiting her. She's also seen that a great battle will be waged in Domino very soon, a statement that has Yami gaping at her in shock. Or creaming his pants at the notion that he'll actually have something to DO again.

Ishizu says that Yami came here of his own will, choosing a fate of fighting. As Yami repeats this phrase as a question, Ishizu tells him that in order to regain his memories, he has to gather all of the Millennium Items together. Well, yeah, we already understood that. Does this mean that Ishizu is going to give Yami HER item? Suddenly done being passively shocked by things he should already be aware of by now, Yami points at her and scoffs. Before he skips off to collect the Millennium Items, he wants to know if she's his enemy. She tells him that though some items have an evil intelligence in them, her item isn't an enemy of his.

Yami remains speechless after this confirmation, so Ishizu continues to speak, saying that an actual enemy will appear before him bearing the last Millennium Item. The "last" Millennium Item? I thought they were all created at once? Or are you referring to the last one that will appear in the series? How do you know that we've seen SHADI'S or BAKURA'S items yet, Ishizu? Does your tauk allow you to see that too?

But Yami doesn't ask these questions, intent instead on being a damn parrot.

Yeah, continue to repeat over and over what she just said. That's SUPER compelling.

Cut to the outside of the museum, where Anzu and Yami exit quietly. The once deserted entrance is now crowded with people, but the pair walk in silence for a bit. Until Yami says Anzu's name and reminds her that Yuugi doesn't know he went to the museum today. He asks if she can keep a secret, not wanting her to tell Yuugi about the stone tablet or Ishizu. What are you going to do if she refuses, Yami? She already knows. I guess we'll never know, though, because Anzu agrees before Yami explains that while Yuugi knows what it means if he regains his memory, he doesn't think Yuugi would be able to accept it at this point.

Anzu says that he's right, but says that there will come a time when Yuugi WILL understand, because he's a tough kid. Yami whips out his and Yuugi's deck from the pouch in his belt, peering at the cards. He muses on how he and Yuugi built the deck together and half of it are due to his efforts. Yami now seems reluctant to keep secrets from Yuugi because he thinks the cards won't trust him either if Yuugi stops. Anzu stares at the cards too, exclamation point above her head, possibly to denote how surprised she is about his flip-flopping opinions about how much Yuugi should know about this whole thing. Yami says that when Yuugi knows who his other self is, that's also when their cards will show their true power. Sooooooo... go ahead and tell Yuugi what's going on then? I'm confused. What did you want Anzu to do again? Keep her mouth shut or blab?

Yami just starts to notice as he's looking around the area that a lot of the people congregated there are giving him some strangely hostile looks. He thinks he can almost FEEL their murderous intent. Shit, are you guys going to get shanked, bro?? Nope! Instead, both he and Anzu are hailed by a friendly shout.

See? There's someone here who DOESN'T want to murder your face, Yami!

Mai opens her arms wide and asks how Anzu and Yami have been in the long while since they've talked, and Anzu answers that they're just fine, asking Mai in turn how she is and complimenting her on how great she looks. Mai hugs Anzu's shoulder and asks in a cheeky sort of way if this little outing with her and Yami is what she thinks it is - a date. Anzu turns red, muttering that it's not like that, but Mai just slaps her on the shoulder, laughing and assuring her that there's nothing to be embarrassed about because it's not like they're not old enough.

Yami seems perfectly undaunted by all of this, changing the subject casually to what Mai is doing there. She cocks his head at him, confused by his ignorance. She asks if he didn't get the info, because it would be super weird if he were here on accident. He repeats the word "info" as a request for elaboration, and Mai is shocked that it really IS just a coincidence that he's in the area right now. She's sure that he must have felt the battle-atmosphere of the square by now, with all the ne'er-do-wells skulking as they are across the panel. Yami confirms that, yes, he has sensed the presence of DUELISTS. Must be some kind of duelist AURA or something.

Mai says that these people are duelists from all over the country, who also happen to have really menacing grins. Looks more like they're planning to drag victims into an alley and shoot them than duel them, but hey, what do I know? Mai explains that over the past few days, some invitation or clue started circulating online and in card magazines, urging people to go to where ancient duelists and their cards slumber in the stones at a certain date and time. Since now is that time, Mai reckons with some excitement that they're supposed to announce the biggest duelist tournament ever in Japan here. Yami smiles at the notion of a duelist gathering.

Never heard of that middle guy before. Some famous duelist HE is...

Mai side-eyes Yami, thinking that his duelist instincts must verge on psychic if he just happened to show up here. In the next panel, those instincts appear to be going haywire as someone walks up a few feet behind him.

You know where YOU should show up, Kaiba? A hospital, because there's something that looks super broken and painful about the way you're standing right now...

Mai murmurs to Yami that word on the street is Kaiba was the one to spread that little clue she was talking about before everywhere. From this small hearsay, Yami is able to deduce that Kaiba is the one hosting this tournament. Never mind that he doesn't know if what Mai heard is at all accurate or not. At least, not until Mokuba starts shouting his head off about how it's just like his big brother planned for a crowd of duelists from all over the country to turn up here. Kaiba then begins addressing said crowd in an authoritative voice, yelling at them to listen up and informing them that the day after tomorrow will see the beginning of a new Duel Monsters tournament.

Tuesday? Really? Don't most of these little bastards have school and such... Oh. Yeah, nevermind. Fuck it.

Ryuzaki shouts that it's on, trying to make his excitement sound like determination. Kaiba explains that there are two conditions to enter this tournament of his, one of which is that contestants must have a 40-card deck with at least one rare card. The second condition is that they must also have one of his (likely exorbitantly expensive) next generation Duel Disk, which he displays for them on his arm. Talk about arm-candy!

Everyone behind Yami oohs and ahhs over the strange piece of machinery, but Yami just crosses his arms to hide his curiosity over the new design. Kaiba says that the winners must get the losers' rarest card in a duel, an ante that Yami is even more intrigued by, as Kaiba explains that this also means the winner of the tournament gets everyone else's rare cards. He's wearing a smarmy smirk as he says so, looking all kinds of smug because he thinks it'll be him. Everyone else in the crowd is convinced that win will be theirs too, shouting and carrying on about how those cards are going to them. Another dude asks where this tournament will be held.

Yeah, that'll go over REAL well with all those poor souls who managed to make it to adulthood and run the damn economy by actually going to WORK on Tuesday.

So, what do I think of this chapter overall? I'll start by saying that I think it was a good move making Yami show up to a meeting that he was meant to be at without even realizing it. It's intuitive and shows very well this concept of his fate that he only partly controls. At first I thought Ishizu's comment about Yami choosing his fate was somewhat contradictory, but this incident makes it exude a certain amount of sense. While there's an invisible force pushing him in the a certain direction, he also consciously made the decision to go along with it and work with the current. It's kind of contradictory to Kaiba, who's fighting that current, but is being swept up in it anyway by his own desires to acquire more power (cards) for himself and his self-interested ends.

But, that's the only praise I can really put on the chapter. Every "discovery" that is made by Yami and Anzu is on assumption alone. There is no real logic to it; there are so many gaps between the information they're given and the conclusions they reach that they're better called CANYONS. Even if they SUSPECT that their determination is the correct one, they can't make that claim for sure because there's too much data missing. All they have is resemblance, which means that their conclusions are foregone. Though they're ultimately RIGHT, it doesn't change the fact that they shouldn't be so ready to go with it until they have more of a clear line of reasoning. Since they didn't wait, Yami sounds nothing but arrogant and delusional here.

It's almost like he read the script. Hey, Yami, did you read the script?

Inuyasha Manga: 091 Distrust

Uh, yeah, the amount of distrust floating around was already well established in the last chapter. Naraku pretty much oozes suspiciousness, so much so that I suspect it's the main ingredient in that miasma he's always spewing. I bet you can downright SMELL nefarious purpose on his breath when he talks. Or McDonald's. I always get those smells confused. A confusion that might go a long way in explaining why so many people are tricked into doing Naraku's bidding.

I'm just saying, if it smells like someone had McDonald's for lunch while they're telling you to do something, RUN.

Worst. Potluck. Guest. EVER.

Inuyasha rushes forward, shouting that Naraku won't get away, but he and Miroku are suddenly accosted by a wave of miasma from Naraku as he continues to retreat. He flies off, cloud of grossness spiraling behind him while he informs Sango that he'll be waiting for her at the castle, instructing her to kill Inuyasha and then come back. Sango glares up at his shrinking trail of miasma, wondering for the first time if she can really trust Naraku. What tipped you off that he might not have your best interests at heart, Sango?

Kirara pads up to Sango gingerly, and Sango looks at her with surprise before kneeling down to pick Kirara up. Stroking the cat as it hugs her shoulder, Sango is relieved to know that at least ONE of her loved ones made it through this ordeal. Still, she's more than willing to send Kirara off rather than keeping her close, the latter of which would be MY instinct. I'm no warrior, though, so... Sango is glaring at Naraku out of her periphery as she mutters some instructions to Kirara; follow Naraku and kill him if he does anything weird.

Does wearing a baboon mask when baboons aren't indigenous to Japan qualify under that definition? Because it sure would under MINE.

Kirara appears to have a moment of wide-eyed comprehension, then...

Kirara is a BOSS.

Inuyasha makes to go after Naraku as well, telling him to just fucking wait, but Sango's boomerang hurdles across his path so he's forced to lean out of the way of the flying debris it carves out of the ground. Inuyasha looks over his shoulder and groans at the arc it takes to land back in Sango's hand. Sango claims she's going to exterminate him right here, eyes still narrowed and menacing despite her suspicion of Naraku. Inuyasha calls her a bitch for still being stuck on this notion of killing him, but she isn't listening. She trails off in a speculation of what will happen if she doesn't finish him soon, while lifting Hiraikotsu over her head and making for another attack. She knows she'll die soon, and doesn't want her time to run out before she can carry out her final mission.

Sango flings her boomerang at Inuyasha again, forcing him to back off once more. Frustrated, Inuyasha throws Tessaiga straight out in front of him, blade pointed straight at Sango's footing.

She can't quite reach it before Inuyasha gets all up in her face, saying that since she's lost her weapon, it's his turn. Sango throws her poison beads again, but Inuyasha takes a swipe at a strap holding her mask to her head and it pops right off her face. Her eyes widen and she immediately covers her mouth and nose, shocked that she lost the mask. She's even more shocked when Inuyasha grabs her hand and pulls her out of the poison cloud of her own making. Sango is downright flabbergasted that the guy is saving her, but decides not to believe it, since he's the bastard that destroyed her village.

Now that's just ungrateful.

Inuyasha's annoyance increases by about 300% by this point and he calls her a bitch again while he glares. He yanks the sword from his arm, asking how she can STILL not see that she's been deceived by Naraku. He also questions if she even knows she's covered in her own blood. Apparently she didn't, because she shakily asks what he means, which she can see when she looks down to where blood has already dripped into the ground where she's kneeling. Sango lifts her hand and examines it, wondering how, since she doesn't even feel any pain. Couldn't POSSIBLY be that jewel shard you agreed to take from Naraku, could it?

Kagome runs up to Inuyasha to fuss over his injured arm and ask if he's alright, to which he shortly states that he's just fine. Sango still sits on the ground in front of him wordless, her sword stuck in the ground behind him so she can't reach it. After a moment, Sango collapses right onto her face, making Shippou and Kagome freak a little. Kagome drops to her knees beside her, hands hovering like she doesn't know what to do, Shippou shouting that Sango is dead. Kagome insists that Sango has only fainted, but she looks too nervous to be sure.

Inuyasha kneels down next to Kagome to look closer at Sango, and Kagome informs him that Sango has a Shikon shard in her back. Speechless a moment, he eventually realizes this must have given her the strength to fight, though he had known she was badly injured from the smell of her blood since the beginning. He curses Naraku for his intentions to make Sango fight until she died.

Meanwhile, Miroku is running after Naraku's cloud of concentrated nefariousness, shouting that he won't lose sight of that bastard. Just then, however, Miroku skids to a stop in front of a deep fissure in the ground that he can't jump over and he curses. It just isn't his day. Or IS it? He looks up to see something flying overhead.

SUCH A BOSS.

Miroku leans forward and thanks Kirara for giving him a lift, and together they rapidly gain on Naraku. It appears Naraku has noticed this, though it's difficult to tell with the mask, and doesn't really matter anyway. Miroku yells Naraku's name and proceeds to bitchslap him across the baboon face with his staff regardless, slicing through one of those douchebag wasps in the process.

That'll show 'em! Or it would if Naraku didn't just EXPLODE at that kind of violence.

Yeah, I'd be disturbed too if my enemy turned out to be made of a million different branches of mutated intestine. That's what that looks like to everyone else, right?

Until each end of those intestines forms itself into hand tipped with sharp nails and proceeds to lunge at Miroku and Kirara. Death by aggressive groping would be a poetic end for Miroku, despite how he's shredding the intestine-arms that come at him with his staff. Unfortunately, Kirara doesn't deserve this, and is the first of them to be tangled in the web of limbs, by the throat no less. Miroku's left arm is caught next, though I'm not sure why, since it wasn't the arm that was tearing up Naraku's intestine-limbs.

Miroku and Kirara are slammed to the ground by the tentacles coiled around them.

Sentient organs that grope and grasp. It's like looking in a MIRROR, isn't it?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? This chapter really puts a spotlight on just how far Inuyasha's compassion stretches, and it's pretty far. He's in a frustrating situation, having to focus on Sango's attempts to kill him despite his urge to chase Naraku, and all because Sango believed Naraku when he said that Inuyasha killed her village. Sango is forcefully diverting his attention and doing it out of having been duped no less, but Inuyasha never becomes truly angry with her, just annoyed. He showed enormous restraint against someone who had outright hatred for him, someone it would be all too easy to go too far in defending himself against because she was really trying to hurt him.

Sango's situation of being injured and deceived by Naraku must have struck a mighty chord with Inuyasha, considering Kikyou's final situation was so similar. It makes sense that he might be thinking along these lines, and showing restraint with Sango out of empathy, especially considering his face when looking over the collapsed Sango. All that said, knowing Inuyasha's hatred for being inconvenienced and his easy provocation into a tizzy, it's amazing to know how far he can stretch that phase of displeasure before becoming outright angry.

Also, how smart he can get in the heat of battle. It's was a pretty good idea to force Sango out of the line of her weapon's return. Not sure I could have thought of it.

Actually, I'm certain I COULDN'T have.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 149 A Place to Belong

Oh great, I'm going to be hit with a ton of angsty bullshit, aren't I? Let me be honest; I just celebrated my 29th birthday on the 30th. Though most people still mistake me for a teenager (sometimes to seriously CREEPY effect), I'm LOOOOONG past the perpetual brooding about why I exist and ponderings about where I belong. This might be a little difficult for me to wade through, mostly because my default answer to those questions nowadays amounts to:

Well said, Morty. Well said.

But, since Yami is the literal center of the Yu-Gi-Oh universe, I have to admit that answer doesn't apply, and there IS something to his pontifications on our first page.

Whatever helps you sleep at night, kiddo. It's not like you're going to be ill-adapted for ANY inevitable change now that your mantra basically glues you to the present situation. No cause for concern there.

Ahem.

Anyway, it's Sunday, according to a label on a panel showing the outside of Yuugi's house/Sugoroku's game shop, not that you could tell from people leisurely strolling about and kids playing outside instead of stuck in a school that remains strangely devoid of teachers. Inside Yuugi's room, he's looking consternated as he complains he can't decide which of his new wrist adornments look better on him. As Yuugi peers in the mirror, desperate to figure out which bracelet to wear, Yami appears behind him, asking why he's up so early looking at himself in the mirror and if there's something wrong.

Yuugi smiles and tells Yami he asked Anzu on a date today. Yami winks and tells his partner to go for it, but Yuugi corrects him, saying that HE'S not the one going to see Anzu today. Perplexed, Yami gives Yuugi a questioning looks while Yuugi winks back at him, giggling. This can only mean trouble...

I'd be nervous too, girl. Yuugi's plotting, Yami's clueless, and you've got a weirdly unfinished shadow hovering around your feet there. What, did KT just give up on it or something?

Anzu thinks back to the previous day at school, where Yuugi asks her if she is free on Sunday. She repeats the word "free" as though THAT'S the confusing part of the question. Perhaps because she's always chained by her narrative function of eye-candy and she wonders if he's asking if she ever gets a breather from it. Yuugi confides in Anzu that Yami is in low spirits lately, and he won't tell him what's wrong, but speculates that Yami might feel better if he goes out with Anzu. Anzu is immediately a stuttering mess, but I guess that's how she accepts invitations to go out, because here she is, honoring the sudden specific request to meet at Domino station at 10 am.

Looking around, she blushes as she catches sight of someone clad in especially fetching black leather today.

I imagine he was thinking this is the closest he'll ever get to going on a date with Anzu himself. Don't know why he cares, since he obviously has his intense bromance with Jonouchi going for him, but whatevz. The real question is what the translator was thinking leaving that speech bubble up there blank. Couldn't have put an exclamation point in there or something? Sheesh.

Anzu silently tells herself she can do this, just before Yami asks hesitantly where they're going. She suggests with a slight stutter that they go for some tea at the Red Bubble Tea Shop, and Yami complies without so much as an affirmative. At the shop, they sit at a table with beverages, Yami staring out the window while Anzu continues to make suggestions. She bought some tourist magazines that have some ideas, and tells him they could just walk about the place, or go play at a location she points out in the periodical. No dice. He just sits there, arms and legs crossed, not saying a word as he gazes out the window.

Yami, I get that you were tricked into this and don't want to be here, but you could at LEAST not passively hurt the girl's feelings. Whatever happened to that attraction you expressed for her in the early chapters? Or was that only when she was asleep and not talking? *shudder*

Anzu wonders why he's not saying anything, internally complaining that she's getting a headache. Perhaps brainfreeze from the bubble tea she's sucking down in order to further offer conversation that's not being maintained? Yami continues to give her the cold shoulder, but Anzu tries again to start a dialogue, this time giving him a compliment on his cool new bling. Yami raises an arm to look at the bangles and hums, saying he didn't choose these bracelets, and that Yuugi has no taste when it comes to accessories. The first time since they were at the station that he opens his mouth and it's to talk smack about Yuugi. I'm getting less and less sympathetic for this douchebag for the awkward situation he was forced into. Say something NICE for once, you ingrate.

His date insists that the bracelets really ARE cool all the same, and Yami decides to tell her how long Yuugi spent staring in the mirror and picking them out, just to be a little douchier. Then, he tells her he's surprised, because Yuugi spends far too much time worrying about the feelings of others while not expressing his own. Anzu becomes a little meek when she tells Yami that Yuugi worries a lot about him all the time. Yami doesn't have anything to say to that, apparently, he and Anzu spending a moment to stare each other down. He looks at the table to see one of the magazines in front of him and sighs a little. He draws a parallel between their uncertainty on where to go for their date and his general uncertainty on where to go with his future/past, which only perplexes Anzu, because she's not familiar with the latter issue worrying him at the moment.

Yami is smirking as he wonders what kind of person he is, really. A garbage one. Clearly. And it's not because he doesn't know where he came from or where he wants to go now. Regardless, he's again trying to convince himself that staying in this same place just as he is suits him just fine. Anzu speaks up, having gleaned a little of what he means from his wistful attitude, and tells him that she herself doesn't know were to go; in fact, no one really does. She says that even though nobody knows what's ahead, they should keep on going, head held high and believing that ahead of them is a place they want to be. Yami appears a little surprised by this, maybe because Anzu's wording makes her advice actually sound really terrible, but she keeps on keeping on. Anzu reminds him that she wants to study dance in New York when she graduates high school, and with his hum acting as noncommittal encouragement, she explains that as they sit there she gets closer to that goal second by second and minute by minute. She begins another thread of her argument by pointing out that time has a limit, but then stops.

This statement has reminded her that YAMI'S time with them has a limit too, because his Millennium Puzzle will someday have to go back to where it came from. She's brought out of her dark reverie by Yami reciting a quote, presumably from Yuugi, telling her not to worry and that her dream will definitely be reality someday. She smirks, saying that hearing these words from Yuugi has made her feel more confident, but she also knows it's not easy to make her dream come true. Still, she wants to believe her dream will come true, even if the odds are slight.

Well, that's one way to seize the day, isn't it?

They walk down the street until they see a place that Yami expresses interest in entering: a shop that specially sells trading cards. By the time he's bought a pack or two of cards, he's looking much happier, much to Anzu's bewilderment. The pack he opens contains "Hand-Sealing Sword of Light" which is probably SUPER different from Swords of Revealing Light. Yami seems stoked about it anyway, excited about how good a card it is and telling Yuugi about it. Anzu says she's happy for him, and he asks where they're going next.

She points to a place down the way that she suggests they head to, an open faced arcade with a big flashy sign over the entrance. Once they're inside, Anzu remarks about how long it's been since she's been in an arcade, and Yami passes up a perfect opportunity to tell her the story of the last time when HE was in an arcade, getting stolen from Yuugi yet again and being won back by Jonouchi. Instead, he just talks about how there are a bunch of games he hasn't seen before. BO-RING.

As Anzu shouts that some dude is super good at some game we can't see, Yami's attention is drawn to an area of the arcade that has an awful lot of folks crowded around it. It's an elaborate dance game like DDR, and a guy is getting his dance on as the crowd looks on, furiously moving his feet to the instruction of the machine.

Didn't your mama ever tell you to be careful what you wish for?

Yami is pondering the dance battle game with a smirk, Anzu commenting that there's still a spot left up there. Sounds like she's trying to subtly encourage Yami to try it out, but Step Johnny seems to have heard Anzu's statement over the music and bleeping of the dance machine. He asks if SHE wants to compete against him, much to her and Yami's irritation. Yami tells her she doesn't have to compete, especially against someone like Step Johnny, but Anzu smirks as she starts to remove her jacket. She says she can't refuse a DANCE competition, and she would totally ignore all his objections to it anyway. Regardless, he starts to call her back while she heads up to the stage, urging him not to worry.

Excited shouts accompany Anzu's standing on the button pad next to the one Johnny is already occupying. Johnny proposes a bet to her, and she makes an uncertain sound. He leans over all slimy-like and tells her that if she loses, she has to go out with him tonight. I'm about to ask why he hates himself enough to think of going on a date with him as a penalty for losing a game, but then he leans closer and suggests that it's BECAUSE she wants to lose and be his date that she decided to challenge him to begin with. Uhhhh, I think you might not have a good grasp on chronology here, dude, considering you only proposed the bet AFTER she agreed to go up against you?

That aside, Anzu thinks the guy is just all-around foul, and shouts that he's making her angry. He doesn't answer, and the both of them focus on the screen while the machine gives them the cue to get ready. After a moment, it announces their battle is a go, and Johnny does this weird thing where he holds up his hand and it looks like he's shielding his face? I don't know. Anyway, they start flailing like nobody's looking, even though their audience is captivated by their sweet moves. All I see is the two of them in various strange poses, because the motion is somewhat difficult to parse in a comic.

In any case, it looks like Anzu has begun to accumulate some fans at a certain point, who tell her how amazing she is and not to lose to Johnny. Johnny is sweating up a storm, glaring at Anzu and thinking she's no ordinary person. As Yami stands off to the side with his arms crossed and a smirk, Anzu smirks as well, determined glower in place. The crowd cheers about their progress to the third round and Johnny's falling behind.

That's... a weird way to fall off that machine... It's even weirder in the next panel when he's still ON the machine as Anzu stands with her hands on her hips looking down at him triumphantly.

Oh well. Yami seems impressed and Anzu seems worn out but proud of herself, just before we leave the arcade. Anzu stretches, saying that she feels a whole lot happier after that, and more capable too. 100 yen well-spent! Yami leans on some railing overlooking the ocean and after a pause wonders aloud what his own capabilities are. A shot of the Millennium Puzzle hanging around his neck leads into Yami outright telling Anzu that his current self exists inside the puzzle. She's wide-eyed and speechless at this comment, so Yami continues.

He says there is a place where the seven Millennium Items are kept, and the puzzle is from that place. So, that's one question answered, Yami! You know where you come from! Good job! He suggests that if he goes there, he can learn something about himself, like why he exists and where he should go next. I'm tempted to place the GIF from above down here too, but it might be a bit overkill. Anzu is hanging her head quietly when Yami says that if he doesn't go to find himself in Egypt, then things can stay the way they are, just fine.

Anzu asks him haltingly if he really believes that, which surprises Yami somewhat. In his head, he's thinking that he WANTS to know who he is and which place he should go. Out loud, he says that if things remain the same, he can stay in Yuugi's heart forever, something Yuugi hopes for too. Anzu is quiet again, affirming to herself that both Yuugi's care about each other a lot. She begins a thought about being "really" something-or-other, but we may never know what that is. When she looks up, she's grinning, stating confidently that two hearts be damned, Yuugi has to count on his own. She encourages Yami to be honest with himself, and Yami stares at her a moment before admitting that there's one place he wants to go.

Oh good idea Yami; take your date to relive some horrible trauma. While Anzu looks up at the building with a concerned expression, you can almost SEE the PTSD coming on. Yami insists that there could be a clue to his past here, and Anzu absently goes over the words "Yuugi's past" in her head, probably REALLY concentrating hard on not showing that fight or flight response. Yami continues, stating that he knows he should go here, but a part of him is resisting it, afraid. Yeah, that's kind of rational, in this case.

Still, Yami smiles at Anzu, saying that he's made his decision because he met with her today. She smiles back silently, and Yami again goes over those burning questions about who he is, where he comes from, and where he's going in his head. He starts toward the building, suggesting they go, and Anzu repeats her advice to hold his head high and stand tall while she jogs toward the museum as well.

Useless panel is useless. Thanks KT.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Despite my jokes about my intolerance for teenage angst, this chapter was really satisfying regarding Yami's internal struggle. Yes, most angst is boring and often insufferable, but his isn't, because it's only too legitimate. After hearing Pegasus's appraisal of the Millennium Items as containing "evil" spirits, and especially after having dealt with a legitimately evil spirit in the ring before even that, Yami has a good reason to be nervous. And that's not even to mention all the not-so-nice things he's put the villains of the series through. He probably has a harder and harder time thinking of himself as essentially good the more he thinks about all of these factors. I know I have the same problem, despite the fact that I've never done half the shit Yami has.

His real dilemma here is whether he bites the bullet and figures out who he is, for better or worse, or he continues to share an identity with someone else. This dilemma is presented VERY well, because Yami has said many times that it's fine that things stay the way they are, but each time the context around that phrase changes the essential emotion behind it. Each time you get MORE of an impression that despite Yami's fears about finding out who he is, not having his own past and identity is a whole range of negative as well, from resigned to bitter to even frightening in its own right. It may be "fine" that things stay the same, but it's not great. It's not even good. It's stagnation and the uncomfortable notion that he'll be spending the rest of his time with Yuugi as just one of his accessories; Yami would NEVER be his own person, separate and complete in his own right.

I don't know about you, but that scares the HELL out of me, which is why it's actually kind of understandable that Yami was acting like a brat at the beginning of the chapter. Not only is he used to only being in control of he and Yuugi's body when they're playing games, but he's also used to being cooped up in that mind room, brooding about the frustrating fact that he has no idea who or what he is. He's scared and nervous and uncertain, not to mention not really in his element playing a game, so it's natural that he would be a bit distant and defensive. Again, this is something I myself do all the time.

Anzu's handling of the situation was really kind of brilliant, because she basically pushed him to make decisions all day long. They were little things, like picking where they went and what they did, but they helped really get him into the mindset of solving his bigger problem: deciding if he was going to find out who he is or continue on the path he's already traveling. She also demonstrated to him a decision that further defined the kind of person she is. Yami pointed out that Anzu didn't have to go up against Step Johnny, and in fact she could have walked away without it having any effect on her whatsoever. She could have decided that things were okay they way they were before her dance battle. But, she decided to go for it anyway, even though there was a chance the whole thing could turn out negatively for her. It was a smaller decision than Yami's with a lot less at stake, but she did manage to show that moving forward is worth it.

If only those panels on her dance battle hadn't been so clunky, though. Maybe a blurred limb here and there to imply movement? No?

Inuyasha Manga: 090 Nemesis

Oh no! Miroku and Sango are getting married, but they discover that those giant ogres of Sesshoumaru's have created a rapidly-aging of Inuyasha in the hopes that he can negotiate some sort of peace for their race, constantly exploited by Sesshoumaru! And as they destroy this evil clone, Jaken is killed in the blast! But don't worry, because another little green dude has downloaded Jaken's brain and returned to Sesshoumaru's service! Happy day!

At least, that's what I assume is going to happen in this chapter based on its name.

Why does ANYONE attack you, Inuyasha? Usually the only two answers are that you offended them in some way, or they just want to beat the shit out of your because you're a hanyou. Granted, her response to his question suggests it could go either way...

Sango throws her boomerang at him again, shouting that it's revenge for all the villagers. Inuyasha is even more confused now, asking Myouga what Sango is going on about. Myouga admits he doesn't have a clue just before Inuyasha dodges the second strike from the Hiraikotsu, flinching as debris from the ground pelt him. Kagome comments that something needs to be done about the boomerang and Miroku holds up his right fist, saying he's on it and yanking away the beads.

This is going to be a consistent issue for you, isn't it Miroku?

Kagome identifies the Saimyoushou, Shippou urging Miroku not to suck them in and avoid getting himself poisoned. Miroku has already wound his beads back around his hand and arm, wondering what the insects are doing there with some confused incredulity. Inuyasha appears more shocked than anything, eyes wide and mouth gaping. He immediately starts to put the pieces together, though his conclusions are colored with disbelief. But, sure enough...

Again with this piece of shit TROLL!

Naraku chuckles, telling Inuyasha to resign himself and take punishment from Sango. Inuyasha's eyes narrow and he calls Naraku a bastard before charging at him with Tessaiga raised, proclaiming that this ends now. Naraku mutters to Sango to finish Inuyasha quickly because the effect of that shard he gave her won't last much longer, and Sango snaps that she knows already. Yeah, dude, stop NAGGING.

Sango throws Hiraikotsu again at the oncoming Inuyasha, but he just leaps right over it, launching himself straight at Naraku with his sword poised for a landing straight onto Naraku's Baboon-clad head. A slim chain wraps around Inuyasha's ankle and he's pulled down to start making out with the ground again. Sango is holding the other end of the chain, having pulled it from a secret compartment over her right elbow. I guess that padding wasn't just for Sango's eventual learning to ride Kagome's bicycle after all.

She insists SHE'S his opponent, and Inuyasha shoots back to his feet to call her a bitch again and threaten to kill her first if she doesn't step off. Myouga stutters Inuyasha's name in utter scandalized rebuke, but Sango isn't the least bit taken-aback, daring Inuyasha to just try as she leaps at him with her weapon raised.

Shippou has it all figured out, blurting that Sango thinks Inuyasha was the one who attacked her village, and Kagome follows this up with a statement that Sango has been deceived by Naraku. I don't know if anything more obvious has ever been said, Kagome, but okay. A moment later, Kagome gets a look at Sango from behind and is struck by a shocking fact. No, it's not that Sango's ass just won't quit, it's that she has a Shikon shard in her back. Though, both those things are true.

Meanwhile, Sango throws her boomerang at Inuyasha yet again, pushing back his blade yet again, against which onslaught he can only grunt. As the boomerang starts to turn back, Inuyasha lunges forward, intending to attack before it can return to Sango. However, Sango is one step ahead, throwing a pair of beads at Inuyasha that she calls poison dust. Inuyasha has to back off again when the beads explode at his feet into a cloud, and he covers his sensitive nose at the smell of a miasma in the cloud.

Sango, safe in her nice mask, chuckles. She says that guys with ears like his are generally weak to scent attacks. It's all part of the balance system of the really awesome RPG that this manga will NEVER GET. Inuyasha sweats and continues to hold a hand over his nose and mouth as he realizes he can't get close. Naraku is sitting off on the sidelines giggling about how Sango sure is a great youkai exterminator. A pair of familiar sandals step up to him and after a slight moment of surprise, Naraku greets the priest with sarcastic grace.

Yeah, good luck with that. Naraku comes right out and says he won't LET Miroku punish him, giant wasps surrounding him in order to drive the point home. Besides, Naraku tells Miroku that all of the Shikon fragments will soon belong to him, as well as all of Miroku's base. Glaring, Miroku admits he has no idea what Naraku is planning, but he lunges as he yells that this is as far as Naraku's getting. Naraku pulls a sword from NOWHERE and blocks a blow from Miroku's staff, defensively stepping back. He's not too great at hand-to-hand combat, though.

That didn't take long. The hand flops on the ground, Kagome and Shippou giving a congratulatory cry to Miroku. Miroku isn't finished yet, though, swinging down his staff again and smashing the ground in front of a rapidly leaning Naraku. Naraku falls down, seemingly cornered with Miroku's staff pointed at his masked face. Miroku tells him to give it up, but Naraku scoffs.

Is that the BEST last word you can think of, Kagome? You really need to invest more thought into the important question of what you want the last thing people hear from you is going to be. Someday.

Because it's not today. Both Miroku and Inuyasha turn distracted from their respective battles to freak over Kagome being in danger. Miroku dashes to try and stop the disembodied hand's attack, but Inuyasha makes it there before him, throwing himself in front of Kagome and slicing Naraku's hand to bits with Tessaiga. He only has a moment to detect a sound above him, the whir of Hiraikotsu above him and Kagome, before he seizes Kagome and dodges the boomerang. It carves up the ground they were just standing on while they retreat, and Naraku's hand reforms and flies at them again. With its palm free of a sword, it manages to snatch at Kagome's collarbone, alarming her.

Hey! Stop being so rude, Naraku! That's MY job!

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I'm always a fan of chapters with a ton of action that flows well and draws a reader through the chapter. This chapter definitely delivered on that for the most part, with fast panels not containing much, if any, dialogue. I always appreciate it when we don't have characters chatting for half the time when they could be in a fight for their lives, ESPECIALLY when the issue they're fighting over is a miscommunication like in this instance. The fact that Sango was tricked into thinking Inuyasha was the one who killed her village would only be undercut by constant dialogue between the two of them demonstrating they have all the ability to set the record straight.

Also Miroku learned from his mistake the last time and totally went after Naraku while Naraku was sitting on his ass watching Sango carry out his dirty work. Learning characters are always a plus.

What's a minus to this chapter is there being nothing but standing around for Kagome and Shippou to do. Action chapters, before this point, generally included something for ALL the characters to do, and it made the flow of the story feel smoother and the characters more real. When characters are ACTING, they're always more interesting and more relatable. Unfortunately, with nothing for Kagome and Shippou to do, they were relegated to an object status that only spurred action from the other characters. That will unfortunately become more of a problem the further in the series we delve.

Now, that's not to say that I have any suggestions that would have given Kagome or Shippou some actions that would have given their role in the battle more meaning. Unfortunately, with the character saturation of the chapter being as high as it is, and future chapters promising an even higher rate, there WILL be characters just standing around sometimes because there are no more tasks that need to be taken on. This is a risk that any author writing a story with a team of main characters is going to have to deal with, and it sucks.

But as far as how fun the chapter was to review on my birthday...

... Meh, it was okay.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 148 The God of the Obelisk

Oh great, yet another peacock strutting around as if the whole world is a shrine to its dick. I get far too much of that from the men I meet on the regular thank you, and in a professional setting to boot! If this stream of fellas who have egos as big as deities isn't going to stem anytime soon, can they at least tell me where they get those attitudes that suggest they've been WORSHIPPED all their lives? Seriously, I could use some of that cockiness to get me through most days. Sharing is caring, guys.

Did I say "guys"? I'd like to narrow that down to specifically Mr. Kaiba, since it appears this official-looking translation has dropped us right into the territory of one of the more notorious of the pricks I just described above. He has enough ego to envelope the world TWICE, so I know there's enough to spread. Selfish bastard.

But at least he's a selfish bastard who has finally come into his own fashion. He's wearing his iconic white sleeveless flared coat with the black turtleneck underneath for the first time here, and I want to call it Chic Dork Couture and one of the only successful attempts of sexualizing a male character I've ever seen, all at the same time. It's confusing, but that's just another day ending in "y" for Writch here.

Kaiba is standing in the middle of a large room, observation window to his right, and a hanging robot a ways in front of him. Someone announces that the main computer system is ready, and Mokuba shouts from his place behind the observation window that everything is ready to go for his big brother, set to start whenever Kaiba wants. Many men in lab coats are looking rather busy in the behind Mokuba, probably trying not to get specially noticed by elder Kaiba. I can just imagine what happened to the last guy who caught his attention.

Too true, Eliot. And besides, Kaiba is too stoked to ruin anyone's life today - he's finally testing the next generation Duel Disk!

I guess someone was complaining that Kaiba's Duel Disk required physical effort to make it work. Some layabout who didn't expect a card game to require one to get winded! The fool!

In his head, Kaiba thinks of Yuugi (or Yami, as it were) as the person he recognizes as a rival, because people are apparently just LINING UP to have a rivalry with this guy *eyeroll*. In fact, Kaiba is convinced that only (Yami) Yuugi and he have TRUE pride. I'm tempted to ask for a definition of the word "pride" here, but I know there isn't one. Kaiba is excited to start a brand new battle with (Yami) Yuugi once this new Duel Disk on his arm is complete and I'm sure his heart is beating faster just thinking about it. Snrk.

Even if Kaiba were to believe that it is Yuugi on that ancient tablet Isis showed him, he would dismiss any significance of it anyway because that's just a relic to him. He considers the era right now as his, and he's only interested in the enemy in front of him. This leads him to wonder if (Yami) Yuugi is really just the embodiment of an ancient grudge seeking honor from the past, and if that's the case...

Where is all that wind coming from??

A man with long white hair and immaculately sculpted facial hair announces that the deck is set in the duel machine, and orders that the tactics level be set to maximum. The robot in the room with Kaiba clicks and whirs as it inserts the deck into the slot on its own built-in Duel Disk, proclaiming that the deck is detected. Mokuba is stoked to finally see his brother duel against the machine, but Mr. AwesomeBeard says that he's not sure Kaiba can beat the DuelBot. Mokuba completely overreacts, telling Mr. AwesomeBeard to shut up, because there's no way his brother will lose to some computer. Unfazed, Mr. AwesomeBeard explains that the DuelBot is using Kaiba's own deck from Duelist Kingdom. Mokuba is alarmed, asking in near panic if that means it has all three Blue Eyes White Dragons in it, and Mr. AwesomeBeard confirms this, saying this is what Kaiba ordered. Looking nervous, Mokuba eyes the window where his brother will be fighting his own ultimate deck.

Kaiba takes out a new deck to use and puts it in his new Duel Disk, thoughts affirming for the audience that this one contains the god card given to him by Isis, who is called Ishizu in this translation. Kind of wished I had started with that version of the name, because it's super awkward using a name for her that has *ahem* negative connotations these days. Fuck it, I'll just use Ishizu from now on.

Staring down his robot opponent, Kaiba internally monologues some more about how this is more than a test of the Duel Disk, but also a test of Obelisk, wondering how it will fare against his carefully constructed deck with the Blue Eyes White Dragons he so unscrupulously collected. That unscrupulous part was inserted by me, by the way, in case I fooled you into thinking that Kaiba had developed a sense of self-awareness at some point. Sorry. He didn't.

Kaiba shouts at the observation window that he's ready to go, and Mr. AwesomeBeard starts pushing all kinds of buttons to turn the auto-dueling system on as well as the DuelBot itself, though it was plenty on before when it put its own deck into the Duel Disk. Let's ignore it and how dirty it all sounds for the moment, shall we? Mokuba gapes at his brother through the glass, appearing pretty worried.

Yup, aaaaaaaany day now!

For real, though, the DuelBot opens with a killer summon, a Blue Eyes White Dragon right off the bat. Shit, KAIBA never managed to do that. Mokuba is freaking out, yelling at his brother to watch out as Mr. AwesomeBeard is fretting in the background. Kaiba insists he's fine, drawing a card, putting one face down, and playing "Invitation to a Dark Sleep", which produces a cloaked figure sitting in midair with limbs crossed. The DuelBot says it detects a threat and it's now its own turn, but remains speechless about an attack so the Blue Eyes White Dragon stays docile.

Kaiba notes this, soon realizing that the DuelBot is cautious of his face-down card, impressed with how good its tactics are despite it being just an artificial intelligence. Is being wary of an unknown variable a way of beating the Turing Test? Seems like it should be. Someone shouts about how the DuelBot played Lord of Dragons, abbreviated on the card to just be Lord of D. I wonder if the person making that decision looks back on it now with regret or mirth... Anyhow, whoever is shouting says that the computer made a super brilliant move, because as long as Lord of Dragons is in play, all dragons on its side are immune to magic attacks. The audience thanks you for your direct explanation of the card's function to it.

Growling, Kaiba silently gripes about how the Blue Eyes White Dragon would have gone to sleep if the DuelBot had attacked, but the DuelBot saw through that move. Kaiba shouts it's his turn and plays Steel Ogre Grotto #2, a machine-like monster that I guess Kaiba hopes his DuelBot will fall in love with? As Kaiba faces the humongous holograms summoned by the DuelBot, Mokuba is devastated that the computer has put Kaiba on the defensive, claiming to know his new deck wasn't strong enough.

Kaiba IS actually sweating while the DuelBot starts its turn, drawing a card.

Why is this kid constantly surprised by things he really shouldn't be?

So the Lord of D plays its flute and a magical substance floats from it, which isn't at ALL a scenario that could easily be turned into a fellatio reference. Nope. The mystical jizz from the flute envelopes the hologram cards in front of the DuelBot as it proclaims that it will summon all the dragons from its hand. Mokuba, Mr. AwesomeBeard and especially Kaiba are all tense as hell, because they know what's coming.

And that's why condoms are important, kids.

Kaiba grits his teeth, internally pulling a Shatner as he haltingly thinks about how the three dragons at once are the deadliest combination there is. In another unfortunate translation fuck-up, Mokuba calls out to Kaiba using "Kaiba" instead of Seto or big brother or something that makes sense. Mr. AwesomeBeard questions whether ANYONE can beat the strategy that Kaiba is now faced with, especially considering the fact that it's his own. Another lab coat wearer in the room says that NO ONE can beat it.

After a panel depicting him with grinding teeth and a heartbeat in his ears, Kaiba suddenly envisions (Yami) Yuugi, soon with the same three dragons facing him as are now facing Kaiba. Kaiba thinks that (Yami) Yuugi stood up to those dragons without fear, believing in his cards and taking on the challenge with courage. (Yami) Yuugi won that match, so Kaiba must be referring to the one he orchestrated at Death T rather than Duelist Kingdom. He also refers to fear as being the greatest monster duelists must face, and though he doesn't admit it, he must be feeling a ton of that right now, especially since the DuelBot is not initiating an attack by all three Blue Eyes White Dragons at once.

As the attack dissipates in the centers of cyclones absorbing it, Mokuba cheers for his brother and Kaiba announces with a smirk that it's his turn now. He's ready to bet everything on the card sitting at the top of his deck, drawing only to become somewhat surprised by his new card.

Well, what do you know? Kaiba pulled a Yami!!

Meanwhile, Mokuba wide-eyed with wonder beholding the legendary card that Kaiba was talking to him about. Kaiba reapplies his smirk, admiring the Obelisk deity as the ultimate power. Then he sacrifices his two other monsters in order for Obelisk to absorb their power and souls too. Obelisk grabs hold of the Steel Ogre and Invitation to Dark Sleep, which I will henceforth refer to a Sleepy Creepy. Mr. AwesomeBeard is alarmed that Obelisk is killing its own allies, asking if this is the cost of its massive power, and the other lab coated guy confirms that its power is indeed rapidly rising.

Kaiba points at his Blue Eyes White Dragons, commanding Obelisk to attack them.

Jeez, didn't Kaiba claim to be in love with that card? Domestic violence...

While the Blue Eyes White Dragons all dissolve into nothing, the DuelBot shouts about errors and being unable to compute. Even the control panel inside the observation room is sparking up a storm, causing Mr. AwesomeBeard to jump back with a comment about how the system is going haywire, unable to take it. Mokuba just gushes about how great the Obelisk card and Kaiba are for destroying monsters and taking away life points.

Kaiba glares at his malfunctioning robot now that the game is over, only thinking about how there are two more legendary cards to collect out there. He's determined to find those cards and grab them for his own, becoming the king of duelists in the process. Notice how I didn't capitalize that title? Yeah, it doesn't deserve to be capitalized. Eat it, Kaiba.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Other than the panel where Kaiba takes another stint into overreaction-town, this was one of his stronger chapters. I certainly got a better, more comprehensive view of who he's supposed to be and how he operates here than I did in the previous two. Where those were confused and meandering, this one is focused; Kaiba uses his vast technological resources to test his new acquisition, and is very deliberate in doing so. In every way, he's demonstrating how important the future is to him, looking forward instead of back. He not only places Yami on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of what Ishizu told him, which it's clear he's not even certain he believes, but also in terms of a representation of those losses in his own past that he's trying to let go. If, for the sake of argument, Yami really IS pictured on the tablet, it only proves that Yami is a relic himself, stuck in a past that is long gone, and all it will take to overcome him is a mad dash forward without looking back.

Which makes it a tad ironic when Kaiba looks to a past duel between himself and Yami for inspiration on how to move forward in a duel that seems hopeless for a win. Not only does he still have an attachment to all those past losses to Yami, otherwise singling out Yami as his only real opponent wouldn't even enter his mind, but he uses that existing attachment to his own advantage. Kaiba LEARNS from the experience, having picked up that Yami had to overcome his own fear in order to win. So is Kaiba rushing into the future to overtake Yami in the race, or just to catch up? It's a very "tortoise and the hare" question.

As for his new outfit and how I mentioned it's a more successful sexualization of a male character that I've seen, that deserves a bit more elaboration. Kaiba's coverage may be from head to foot, but it's form-fitting, with the loose part flaring at the hips, drawing the eye to long legs and where they meet. There's also the winged shoulders on the coat that broaden Kaiba's shoulders quite a bit to accentuate a more masculine style. I don't know if it's intentional, but it's pretty effective. Effective enough to explain to KT why his least favorite character ended up being one of the more popular ones...

Just saying.

Inuyasha Manga: 089 Mummy

You know, for how many times I've read this story, you would think I'd remember a mummy being in there somewhere. Kind of drawing a blank here right now, though. To be honest, that might just be because I'm watching a lot of Hammer horror films these days, and the mummies I see there are a very specific kind. Got Egyptian mummies on the brain, so it's kind of ironic that I would be covering the manga that doesn't have ANYTHING to do with that at this time.

Me and my inconvenient viewing habits.

Sounds like wishful thinking to me. Sure enough, Sango's eyes snap open beneath a sheen of sweat on her face and she glares at Naraku, telling him not to kid himself. She insists that until she kills Inuyasha, she won't die. Naraku scoffs, saying that's alright, but expressing some skepticism that she'll be able to fight in her injured state. As she pushes herself up with some effort, she huffs that exterminating youkai is her job.

Sango flashes back to when she was still in the young master's castle, and they sat across from one another while he asked if she was REALLY going to avenge her family no matter what. This is when Naraku offers to go with her to be her guide, being useful with his vast knowledge of many different youkai. The young master urges her to return to the castle and be well cared-for if she accomplishes her goal.

But as she climbs a path up the side of a mountain behind Naraku, using her giant boomerang as a crutch, she's certain that she won't be returning to the castle, because she won't be lasting much longer. Sweating and shaking, Sango prays that her body will hold out for that final job it has to perform.

Yeah, you know a place to produce various important items for use in the community? Generally, forts made it a point to have the essentials made in-house to make them more self-reliant in the event of an inevitable attack, so I'm not sure why Myouga even bothered to mention this, let alone why Kagome seems at all surprised about the information. Myouga specifies that the bones and shells of exterminated youkai were used to craft armor and weapons in said workshop as they peer inside at a wide array of such half-finished projects in a typical armory building. My only question is how the exterminators manage to make sure those youkai they exterminate don't dissolve into thin air on them, because I've come to expect that's the only way you know when the things are really dead.

Myouga explains that after the exterminators have used all they can, the remaining youkai parts are carted to the edge of the village, and deposited in a limestone cave, in front of which Inuyasha's group now stands, staring at the entrance. Kagome hesitantly asks if this is where the Shikon no Tama was born. Though her question is met with silence, Kagome is getting a bad vibe from the cave and doesn't want to go in. When she comes out of this contemplation, she shrieks at Inuyasha and Miroku to wait their asses up, because they've already headed inside, walking over an array of youkai bones and looking around curiously. Inuyasha yells at Kagome to get with the program already, forgetting she doesn't have his and Miroku's spelunking experience that they acquired in Onigumo's cave. How thoughtless.

Kagome catches up to them only to yell in disbelief about their weird desire to go into the weird cave, and Miroku suggests she can cuddle up to him if she's scared. Inuyasha snaps at him for thinking perverted thoughts yet again. While they bicker, they walk closer to a misshapen silhouette rising out of dark back of the cave, glowing.

Oh yeah, I guess that IS a mummy in a more general sense. Like I said, blame my inconvenient viewing habits. I always do!

Inuyasha and company stare in shock and horror at the desiccated corpse, Kagome looking a bit queasier than the rest, as Inuyasha stutters out a question about what the hell this is. I'm scratching my head too, because mummification shouldn't really be possible in a limestone cave, where the water has carved out a cave from its slight acidification. I don't know if the extreme temperatures or complete immersion in dryness or water is present in an environment like this, but... I guess magic can just explain it away. I don't know.

Myouga tells Inuyasha this is exactly what it says on the tin after Inuyasha asks for an answer again, so Inuyasha has to glare down at Myouga and tell him outright that he can't figure it out and that's why he's asking in the first place. Myouga remains awkwardly speechless anyway, and Shippou mutters with some irritation that Myouga clearly doesn't know either. Kagome takes a stab in the dark, tentatively labeling it a youkai mummy as she leans in for a closer look. Miroku asks if she thinks it's a youkai, because from where he's standing, it looks like a HUMAN has become somewhat fused with a youkai, but is HUMAN nonetheless. Kagome gapes blankly, looking like she's not quite comprehending what that means, or even mesmerized by the sight of the mummy.

Nothing you can do about it NOW, is there? Save that worry for when you need it, which I suspect will be fairly soon, what with someone coming to murder Inuyasha. AGAIN.

Miroku supposes that this little feature of the cave is not something the villagers would talk about, implying that he doesn't think that they would be willing to answer any questions the group had if those villagers HAD been alive. A fair assumption, because I don't know if I would be capable of properly explaining such a thing myself if I lived there. Hell, I have a hard enough time explaining to people that I grew up in the actual South Park.

Meanwhile, Sango drops to her hands and knees, no longer even able to use her boomerang crutch anymore. Naraku turns to her, asking if she's in pain, and her answer is only a frustrated curse between heavy pants. Convinced that at this rate, Sango will die on the way, Naraku pulls out a Shikon fragment and displays it to Sango, offering the option of trying it out. She looks both unsettled and suspicious as she glares at the glowing shard between Narkau's thumb and forefinger, and demands to know where and how he managed to get it. Naraku vaguely states that he got it some time ago, and quickly moves on to repeat his generous offer to lend it to her. He says that it's only a common thought that the jewel is an inherently evil thing, but he's under the impression it can be used for good as well by some people. Sango's suspicion is slowly being replaced by desperation.

Back with Inuyasha and crew, it looks like they've left the village and are rapidly moving through the forest. Miroku, a little irritated because he's been talking to Inuyasha with no response so far, makes another request to sit and rest for a while. Inuyasha makes a questioning noise before reminding Miroku that he was the one who wanted to go and talk to the people in the exterminator village, and now that they're not going to accomplish that... Miroku says that he's concerned for Kagome's ability to take the breakneck pace they're making away from the exterminator village, a concern for which Kagome looks flattered. Inuyasha asks Kagome directly if she's tired and she confirms that she didn't get a lot of sleep since yesterday. She admits that she's a bit hungry too, a tear forming in her eye while Inuyasha gapes at her, flabbergasted.

Then he states flat-out that she's such a selfish girl, making her scoff in disbelief. She asks what his problem is, because she's been putting up with his bullshit silently until now, followed by a shout that she's only human and she'd die if she always tried to keep his pace.

Yes, this is the very next panel; no, I haven't accidentally skipped any and; yes, this is bizarre and confusing for me too. What the ways in which Inuyasha should state his affection for Kagome has to do with his lack of understanding that she needs to eat and sleep, I'm not entirely certain. Maybe there's a pun here in the original Japanese that I'm missing? I'm shrugging so hard right now, and even moreso when Myouga asks in shock when Inuyasha made a proclamation of love to Kagome. Inuyasha doesn't DENY this happened, opting instead to tell Myouga to shut up.

Crap, I feel so OLD reading about teenage bickering about stupid shit that doesn't matter.

Suddenly, Kirara perks up in Kagome's arms, twitching its little head to stare alert at the surrounding forest. Shuffling sounds behind Inuyasha and he turns toward the noise just in time.

She was awfully close, so I'm a bit surprised Inuyasha didn't smell her in the vicinity. I guess he loses that sense of smell whenever he's getting into pointless and nonsensical arguments with friends or something. How convenient.

Looks like somebody's feeling a bit better! Magical steroids work like a charm, it seems.

Inuyasha is back to confused gaping as Myouga stutters Sango's name. Kagome asks if Sango is someone from the village they had just visited, but her question again goes unanswered, this time because Sango throws her boomerang at Inuyasha with a shout of its name. Myouga begs Inuyasha not to fight with Sango, but Inuyasha is already drawing Tessaiga while he shouts that there's no time for peace. His blade connects with Hiraikotsu just in time, and though the force of the flying boomerang pushes him back a bit, he is able to knock it off course. Miroku is so shocked by the fact that Tessaiga was pushed back that he has to shout that part aloud, apparently. Thanks for the recap, Miroku. Your input is invaluable.

Wait...

Inuyasha, crouching and glaring at Sango, mutters to Myouga that it doesn't really look like they can talk things over. At least not when Sango goes in swinging.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? If the two threads of this chapter have any connection, it's through the common condition of ignorance between Inuyasha's group and Sango, although Sango is dealing with the added issue of active disinformation being fed to her by Naraku. She's in a particularly vulnerable position mentally for it, too, because she's hungry for revenge, but her body isn't up to the task. Her mental and physical anguish combined is the perfect condition under which Naraku can manipulate Sango into doing his bidding, because she's more likely to believe the more convenient lies his telling her if it means that she can die in the comfort of knowing she did all she could to avenge her village. She doesn't have time to be cautious, to wait for less suspicious versions of the story to come along, or to refuse that magical artifact that will make her stronger for as long as it takes for her to finish the last job she's going to do. So, despite her doubts, she does as Naraku suggests and uses that jewel shard as well.

On the opposite end, it seems that Inuyasha and his friends have nothing BUT time. It seems to them that all the people who could give them some idea as to what the Shikon no Tama is and why it exists are all dead, and even if they were alive, it's doubtful they would have talked openly with strangers about it. Otherwise, Myouga would have truly been able to tell Inuyasha what that mummy in the cave was, and they wouldn't have had to speculate about it. Myouga is the MASTER of information in this story, and even HE was unable to eavesdrop his way into the know this time. So, all they can do is take a look around the ghost town, speculate a bit on what the creepy corpse could possibly have to do with it all, and high-tail it out of there so they don't have to be creeped out so hard.

Which I'm assuming is why Inuyasha was in such a hurry to leave the village. We got an intimate look into Kagome's head and how she felt going into the cave, unsettled and afraid, but Inuyasha's near constant state of confusion and question, and the awe with which he expresses it, indicates he was feeling similarly. I was thinking perhaps when he called Kagome selfish, he was criticizing her for whining about hanging around in the cave, only to whine about their rapid retreat from the cave when he was trying to put some distance between them and it. However...

Here's the thing: sometimes I feel like I write these reviews in a haze of confusion when something isn't quite translatable. Most of the time, I'm able to understand perfectly what's being said, but in those rare cases I can't, I'm usually able to glean a little from the context around it. But the closest I think I can get to a possible understanding of this is that Miroku is referring to the complicated, roundabout ways in which Inuyasha expresses affection for Kagome that can come off as callous and rude sometimes. Perhaps Miroku thinks that Inuyasha was trying to get Kagome away from the cave because he noticed that Kagome was uncomfortable there, but became irritated when Kagome wasn't grateful they were in a hurry to leave the area. Something of an abstract connection, I know, but sometimes I'm missing a linguistic filter, and I need to improvise for the sake of my sanity.

Perhaps I should start learning Japanese in order to make sense of this noise... and perhaps that's a really piss-poor reason to learn a different language...