Thoughts&Observations | Mangá Vol.20-26 Part 1 (Battle City Break Part 2)

I finished the first part of Battle City, but this time I will be covering 7 volumes, the duels around this time are longer therefore plenty of duels which starts at the end of a volume, however not making transcriptions of the duels hasn't changed, I will still make a small summary of it and focusing more on the plot and the characters.

In the english licensed version is "Duelist"vol.13-19.
For being a Battle City Break, the main focus will be Yugi and Dark Yugi.

Plot Summary:

We left off with the end of the duel of Jounouchi against Haga, as a result with Jounouchi's victory.
The second part of Battle City starts with Kaiba Corp using their surveillance system to find the god cards around the participants but with no success since the wielder of Slifer The Sky Dragon hasn't dueled yet...then transitions to Marik just arriving to a port close to Domino City (80km of difference), discussing the plans with his subjects, informing he won't be on the sidelines anymore but still in hiding as he rides in his moto getting himself ready for the duel including his "silent doll".
The scene changes again starting to focus on Dark Yugi and Yugi conversations, their conversation will be interrupted by Marik through his "silent doll" and challenges Dark Yugi.

(what a small summary I just wrote...)

Key Points:

 

That's some technology right there, Kaiba! Kaiba's obsession with games is impressive, specially when it comes to Duel Monsters/Magic and Wizards, he can grow a bit impatient...but it shows that even Kaiba without being in the building, the company can work pretty well independently, Kaiba could give himself a vacations once in awhile because sometimes he seems he doesn't take any vacations.

 

Kaiba is quite straight to the point even to his employees, he is quite confident about the technology of his company, he does trust his employees enough to do the job they were hired for (such a practical way of thinking), but Kaiba having plenty of fighting spirit and quite passionate about games makes him the type of leader who goes to the front lines.

We get some info about their technology, the surveillance system being the same as the U.S. military, when Kaiba goes big, he really goes big, at least he doesn't have big delusions of grandeur (only some of it xD).


If you want to continue to read, click "read more" bellow:

This particular scene of panels, to some extent he does consider himself a duelist, also in Marik's deck, he has god card as the "silent doll" (the one with the god card slifer the sky dragon), which means the deck Marik is holding in this panels hold Ra, the sun dragon, setting up in the future of this tournament will appear eventually but saved for last, being the most powerful god card out of the three.

 

Yugi's ability to think ahead is impressive, he looks impatient, but I don't think it it is...

"The Ghouls want to kill you! They could be plotting something horrible as we speak!"

Yugi is already suspecting the worst (one thanks his quick thinking and reasoning), Marik might attempt to brainwash their friends, of him wanting to attack and control the mind of the pharaoh spirit's friends, scarily his suspicions are correct and at the same time wanting to help Dark Yugi to recover his memories.

While Dark Yugi was surprised at this proactive side of Yugi when Dark Yugi is being more reactive about Marik situation, I think it shows another interesting detail that differentiates from one another is how they respond to danger, but now looking back it was always like this, Yugi was proactive in a more quiet manner due to his reserved personality but this time with sense of urgency.

It's not the only thing that surprised him, with what he said:

"You're trying to get back something important to you...!I can't let them stop you!"

It wasn't just surprised but realising that Yugi already knows what's Dark Yugi purpose for entering the tournament and already figure out who Dark Yugi is (a spirit of deceased pharaoh) and that Yugi knows that Dark Yugi has already discovered his own identity.

 

Yugi is revealing to Dark Yugi and to the readers (probably more confirming suspicions of the readers) he knew from the start Dark Yugi was searching for his memories and is the spirit of a deceased pharaoh (in indirect manner because of his memories, pharaoh's memories).
 I can speak for certain scenes of the suspicions Yugi had about Dark Yugi being a deceased pharaoh, I did approached in previous posts about this subject, he did suspect and realising he couldn't avoid it anymore, I think when Yugi asked Dark Yugi if he was a spirit of a king, Dark Yugi replied he doesn't know and doesn't remember anything or his name, I think in that moment confirmed his suspicions by putting 2 with 2, the spirit of millenium puzzle has no memories and the tablet of pharaoh's memories, he knew it from that time and what it meant if he were to accept it(which is why Yugi cried and say he would give his own memories to Dark Yugi so he  could stay with them forever, but deep down knew that couldn't really happen).
The fact Dark Yugi is so quiet as Yugi is revealing what he knew already, it shows he was probably feeling some guilt and also deep down impressed that Yugi already knew and also realising it was since that time from the hospital, if look at the direction Yugi is looking at in the panel "it's your memories, isn't it?" he is looking at the sky and more towards to the rooftop of the buildings, I think is a hint Yugi knew since that time, he will be truly surprise what comes next (picture below);

This was one of those moments he was really surprised when Yugi revealed it was Yugi's duty as well but as his vessel to help him getting back his memories, this is a first time he heard of it, it shows Yugi didn't told him everything what Dark Bakura said to Yugi who revealed it was the duty of the vessel of the pharaoh soul to retrieve his memories just as Dark Yugi didn't told him about his meeting with Ishizu and discovery about his identity, interesting to note is what Dark Yugi was hiding from Yugi which he was about an information he already knew, but Dark Yugi kinda surmised Yugi might have known already, but this addition to "Yugi's duty" was new, so Yugi was a bit ahead of him.

Yugi being his self-deprecating self still thinks it was thanks to Dark Yugi only that he got friends, there is a line of Yugi bugs me a little in the last panel when he says "didn't have any friends" before meeting Dark Yugi, because he already had one friend, who was Anzu, a childhood friend, maybe it was because at the beginning he saw her as his crush, it surprises me he hasn't realized he always had 1 friend, Anzu always saw him as friend since they were kids, maybe it's because she wasn't always present like it is recently, if he felt this alone before meeting Dark Yugi, it kinda indicates before Anzu wasn't always present or Yugi didn't ever talked about his problems to her or opened to her as much due to his reserved personality, I would say it's both of what I indicated in this paragraph.

It shows Anzu and Yugi's relationship is bit of a complicated one, if you remember at first chapter of the series, it given hints that she hasn't been in Yugi's house for quite some time, I think it was after Yugi shown his side secret (the millenium puzzle) for him opening up to her a little so she came to visit Yugi, Anzu as you know have been busy working part-time jobs to fight for her dream in becoming a dancer and practicing for it as well, so she couldn't always be present and also they didn't shared most interests in common.

These two panels are curious ones, because it's the aftermath of the panel when Yugi was saying to him "It took me years to complete the millenium puzzle...that's how I got to meet you...You gave me courage when I was weak and didn't have any friends..." and then Dark Yugi glances at him and it seems remembering at the time when Yugi was making this wish, we the readers only got to know his wish when Ushio was beating him up and Yugi hadn't completed the puzzle at the time, which means, Dark Yugi knew about the wish as he was building the puzzle for 8 years, so Dark Yugi knows more about Yugi than is letting on and was looking out for him for some time even before the puzzle being completed, basically the only ones who know about this Yugi's wish is Yugi and DarkYugi.

Yugi in the first panel was continuing what he said to Dark Yugi that now he has lots of friends and claims Dark Yugi made his wish come true but Dark Yugi replies to Yugi that it was himself who made his wish come true, so he knows Yugi made himself shield to Jounouchi and Honda, Death-T event, Millenium Enemy arc and among other events of the series, and I agree completely with him and also implies he didn't really ever consider Yugi weak and also knows full well why the "Yugi's gang" is friends with Yugi which I pointed out many posts ago (Death-T arc and Duelist Kingdom) also being the reasons why they are so protective of Yugi, I'm including Dark Yugi as well in Yugi's friendship's circle).

This moment is important, very important to Yugi's character development and Yugi character arc, he admits to Dark Yugi and to himself is quite dependent on Dark Yugi (but he also admited to Anzu indirectly in Duelist Kingdom  - after he was punched by Keith, he is quite dependent on his friends in general, even for emotional support, so is not just Dark Yugi, this time was bit more direct to Dark Yugi), but if you noticed he didn't finished the sentence with what he was thinking and kinda interrupted what he was about to say (about how he can't let Dark Yugi protect him forever, it has many meanings for him which will be approached in future posts in more detail) with something else...

 

Yugi is also being honest here, it's one of the many reasons why he wants to help him, he feels in debt with him as well not just grateful, also Dark Yugi was surprised how willing he is to help him and at the same time quite moved by it after find out his purpose of entering the tournament and come to that decision to help him on his own and at the same time being willing to repay for Dark Yugi's help after all he learned and knew about Dark Yugi without even really telling him and ask him.
After this moment their bond between spirit and host becomes stronger, for being a bit more honest and Yugi confronting himself and Dark Yugi with what he knew already.

 

Grrr, calling Yugi's vessel...as if it's the only thing he is...
Anyway moving on, I disagree Dark Yugi and Marik on the fate matter here and he can't avoid it, like Kaiba I don't believe in fates and predestination, Dark Yugi at this time didn't fully realise, even if there wasn't fates or predestinations, he would still fight because he is in this tournament to fight for his memories, he wants to know himself, because all he knows he is from egypt and a spirit of a deceased pharaoh,,,

He is getting hyped already...

And also he can't ignore what Marik is doing for long, your sense of justice and righteous personality, this isn't destiny, it's a choice and decision Dark Yugi making and usually makes, being more of a reactive person.

These panels isn't following the exact sequences, I just wanted to chose these to connect the dots of Marik explanation.

I do mostly disagree with Marik to huge amount, he was able to understand well how the mind works with millenium rod, but it has faults, he limited himself to what the power of perception the millenium rod could give to him, like the millenium eye to Pegasus reading someone's mind, one at a time and for relying on it for so long, his real skills and experience became smaller and rusty, he learned all this by controlling someone's brain (brain perceptions and information that receives and control it), not really the mind and soul, also depends on the strength of will, soul, mind and heart of the ones is controlling, the weaker it is the easier is to control, but the stronger it is then the harder it is to control, that's what Marik isn't aware of it yet and will learn it soon.
When he said the human mind is more fragile than the body, well I can't completely agree with him, in some circumstances are true, for example like habits and routines that if have bad ones is extremely hard to change, but there is a reason why humans were born with free will giving the ability to control and chose how to act and behave.
Marik saying "my overwhelming «charisma and dominance» combines with a person's internal image of «God», it's easy to control anyone!", plenty of ego much, someone having be getting easy, I bet he never controlled a strong-willed person or someone with a very strong personality before (probably most rare hunters are weak-willed, in other words, easy to control), well he will soon and regret it :p.

Sorry for taking long to post this entry, lots things happened in the last months...
See Ya Next Post!