Thoughts&Observations | Mangá Vol.27-31 Part 10 (Dark Yugi/Yugi VS Yami Marik Part 1/2)

Now we're going to make the transition from volume duelist 23 to 24 (japanese print is volume 30 to 31).
I have finally reached the last duel of Battle City to be seen and read and being the last one before we enter the Memory World Arc, this duel like Dark Yugi VS Kaiba, it will be divided in two parts because it could take the full volume to have this one duel...is that long...
The summary is be a little long while the key points will be less than the previous post, but it's still long...
It will take awhile to get through this duel, not only because is divided in two parts, the number of focused panels is bigger, but even after the duel, there is still the epilogue (you can count that it will be long as well).



Plot Summary:

The duel begins with Yami Marik turn, but before he starts the first turn, he makes the duel into a shadow game, he shows Mai inside a pyramid of glass being consumed by darkness, Dark Yugi seeing this, he panics a little and Yami Marik reveals that this shadow game uses "human sacrifices", in this case the vessels (Yugi being the spirit of the pharaoh host and Main Marik being the one who created Yami Marik inside his subconscious), so if the player loses LP, depending on the amount of lost LP, parts of their body will be consumed to the darkness...when it reaches 0, they die.
The first part of this duel, Yami Marik constantly has the advantage and informs the mysterious disappearance of Ryou Bakura was caused by him, sometimes Dark Yugi can turn the tables, while both Dark Yugi and Yugi try to figure out in how to save Marik and targeting only Yami Marik.
Throughout the duel, other events happens, when the duel is getting dangerous for Marik himself, he is reaching a point being very close to disappear being all that left is his split personality, so Marik makes an effort to speak to Rishid telepathically while Rishid being in coma and revealing his sacrifice that he is willing to make to pay for his mistakes and apologizes to Rishid...as to what is left of main Marik leaves Rishid's room, sometime later, Rishid awakens, Marik gains control of Anzu to inform Dark Yugi about his decision and reveals to the spectators who can't see the shadow game about the special conditions inside this shadow game...


Key Points:

 

I have to say, this shadow game is of the highest level and dangerous too, that is kinda shocking at first... but is more to the characters, specially the ones who are experiencing it as Dark Yugi and Yugi case...

The way Yugi reacts being used as "human sacrifice" is very curious because he is shocked and asks:

"Wh-what's going on...?"

At first one would think Yugi wasn't watching, remember Dark Yugi was shocked and concerned too, worried and panicking a little, Yugi is questioning why he is part of the shadow game when usually he isn't except the ones he said he wanted to fight (monster world and against pegasus), Yugi was not expecting this neither was Dark Yugi, it's clear this isn't the usual shadow game...

What's interesting to note here is that the price in this shadow games is slightly similar to when Yami Marik fought Yami Bakura, based on their life points, the body starts to disappear, this time around is the players have the same kind as the common players not chosen by millenium items, but is the sacrifice get through with their body disappearing, the vessels, so this is "hardcore" shadow game and seems to be painful too...at first we think is Dark Yugi and Yugi who are going through this...

If you want to continue reading, click "Read More" below:

 

Main Marik is the sacrifice to Yami Marik, but here is a curious thought of Yami Marik that he doesn't reveal to anyone is the following...

"If I destroy your vessel, you will die along with him...but even if my sacrifice is consumed by darkness, my own soul will remain...keh heh heh..."

The question is why Yami Marik if he loses, he won't be affected? I think there is enough factors and advantage for Yami Marik about why, for starters he is from Marik subconscious as another personality of Marik from an traumatic event, generally the subconscious tends to be stronger than the conscious and also he is part of a fragmented part of Marik soul/mind, now that Marik is weaker, but then why wouldn't Yami Marik go with him if is the case? Here is the other factor, Yami Marik is the one controlling the shadow game that is being applied here, we have examples that when antagonists used their own shadow games against the protagonist and lost, they weren't really affected, the examples being Yami Bakura from Monster World (that one was created by Yami Bakura) and Pegasus, that's why Yami Marik would get away and main Marik would be the one to suffer if Yami Marik lost.

 

I have to say I love their interactions every single time, they are my favourite characters (not a puzzleshipper, I just like their bond and how unusual it is and I admire their characters and the personal growth they go through), in the times they both interact, Yugi shows how strong his heart is without even realising it, specially when he chooses to help and support or shielding/protecting someone (when he shielded Jounouchi and Honda from Ushio, the karaoke chapter, the carnival games, Monster World and recently Dark Yugi is witnessing it from very close, technically it started from Pegasus when he was beginning to acknowledge him, when he truly shined was the duel against B!Jounouchi and became more clear and obvious), this is one the moments when it shows Yugi is actually being stronger than Dark Yugi and also being his emotional support, not only that, he helps Dark Yugi to not lose focus on the duel, because in this duel sometimes Dark Yugi becomes too concerned about Yugi well-being and Marik too.

Another detail in this scene that I find particularly moving, when Yugi says he made this decision to help him to find Dark Yugi's memories and giving him votes of confidence while understanding, accepting and willing in doing his duty as his vessel and Dark Yugi's situation and Dark Yugi reaction is visible that he is very moved and grateful for his full support.

There is another noticeable trait of Dark Yugi, he is easily inspired and motivated by others support coming from bonds he shares with, Kaiba through their rivalry and seeing him as friend that inspired him to improve his skills and challenging his own views and principles, Mai with who he shares the same growing principles about being a true duelist, Jounouchi from his courageous spirit, Anzu being a good confidant friend regarding his thoughts, feelings and worries, Honda giving constant votes of confidence, Ryou in staying sharp, Yugi being, of course, his kindness like it is in this case, making all these to be "the power of unity" that he so firmly believes in.

 

Kaiba, he is stubborn, but here is himself refusing to admit he sees Dark Yugi as friend by thinking:

"Yugi...will you actually rely on my card...on another duelist's strength... to win a duel you have so little chance of winning? If you lose this duel, you will realise your foolishness..."

Kaiba, if he has given the card that could actually help sealing Ra's ability, then that means he is willing to help and is rooting for Yugi to win yet he prefers to be stubborn about his views, even if the the chance is small, there is still a chance either way, but like I said in previous post, this is also a test of skill and strength of Dark Yugi's and his beliefs...

Now on the pack of panels on the side focusing in Ishizu specially, what she is thinking is quite right, if Yami Marik wins, because he has and uses the millenium rod, the world will be in danger, so Dark Yugi is carrying a heavy weight to prevent a very grim future too, saving Marik from Yami Marik can help prevent a future of darkness...no pressure, Dark Yugi.

 

Once again it shows his growth and the huge amount of experience he gained, this is from after fighting Yami Marik, he wasn't like this with Rishid, Jounouchi dueling against an "elite" and tricky player like Yami Marik (above advance level, since is rare) and there is also shadow game must have made Jounouchi instincts and intuitions get sharper, he looks at it with maturity too, and as an honourable mention about his growth, he makes a pretty good guess what the third power of Ra might be.

Again another little conversation between Kaiba and Ishizu, I think this one is the last of their conversation, the fact he calls her by name to have an answer to a pondering question in him about Yami Marik's deck to confirm his suspicions about it, it shows a lot of respect he has for her as player, duelist and discuss a little about the duel, he initiated himself, coming from him, that's kind of big deal, because it isn't something he usually do with someone (so far, besides Ishizu, is Mokuba only).

 

In Yu-Gi-Oh! lore, this kind of intense moments when all depends on the draw of the next card, term created for this is "Destiny Draw" (the term comes from "Duelist of Roses" video game), when characters draws the card they need the most, this happens often with Dark Yugi and Jounouchi (counting Yuki Judai), as for Yugi and Kaiba not really because these two usually have a very good draw of cards and rarely need "Destiny Draw", Yami Bakura is somewhere in the middle (sometimes he needs "Destiny Draw" and other times don't), another ones with the level of good draw in cards is Yami Marik/Marik, Rishid and Ishizu.

On topic of the scene, Dark Yugi hoping, expecting and sensing to be the card Kaiba gave him, by this time Dark Yugi already figured out the other Ra's ability.
Ishizu's perception is she finds that:

"Yugi's deck...! It's the place where souls meet!"

Before she thought it was the Duel Tower and now she sees is Dark Yugi/Yugi deck, I don't think she was really wrong about the Duel Tower to be the place, in a sense it is because this duel and moment happens in the Duel Tower, the main place is still their deck but the stage for it is the Duel Tower.

 

It shocks the others when Dark Yugi puts the card he just drawn facedown with his eyes closed, Mokuba knowing Dark Yugi has a tendency to draw the right card when he needs it, he suspected straight away it was Kaiba's card, Kaiba is speechless and shocked at first and then his thoughts and judge reaction...

Kaiba should know better than anyone, one would think he would be used to Dark Yugi "destiny draw" already 😆, when the judge Isono is starting to call out on Dark Yugi, Kaiba interrupts, even though he was shocked by this kind of act of Dark Yugi but interested to watch what will come out of it and let it slide just to see if is his card or not...

The line above ending with "!" and not "!?" in the panel pretty much confirms that he did kinda figure out and suspicious what would be the third power of Ra, he probably had similar suspicions as Jounouchi but with a little more detail, he is surprised but by the concept of Yami Marik fusing with Ra god card, not really by the third power since he already suspected.

 

How Dark Yugi knew? it's not just "Destiny Draw" of need of the card, but the fact he knew it was Kaiba's card, I have a theory, Dark Yugi being a spirit of someone who died, he can sense more acutely and naturally when it comes to sense or feel the presence or even see  spirit or spiritual energy and the sort (Jounouchi when he was fighting Kaiba), Kaiba is ,of course, shocked and speechless.

 

I may dislike Yami Marik a lot, but I have to admit that he does have a good sense of humour, a little twisted and dry but funny (the "father-killer" is still pretty funny to me), I even feel a little bad for laughing at this scene, what he says here is actually funny and ironically true...

Now on to Dark Yugi reactions to seeing Marik losing a lot of LP and to what Yami Marik stating about the irony of the duel itself, you can tell that he does feel a lot of empathy for Marik and mostly responsible for the fate of the tomb guardians, he is trying to make amends and take responsibility (when it comes to sense of justice and responsibility, he takes it very seriously), but does Dark Yugi thinks it was him in the past when he was alive who put the main family of tomb guardians under such circumstances? or is it being the spirit of the pharaoh of whose memories the tomb guardians given their life to protect? or both? I would think it's both, but at this time it would beg the question, was the pharaoh idea or the pharaoh after Dark Yugi or someone who worked for the royal family?

Can I say again that I love their interactions?

"Other self! If I keep Fghting, Marik will die...but...if I'm defeated, you'll fall prey to the darkness... What do I do?"

The area of the panel is written "other self!", you would think is Yugi, but it isn't, because Yugi addresses Dark Yugi as "other me", Dark Yugi is the one saying it, if you remember in the battle against Pegasus , Dark Yugi addressed or referred to Yugi as "my other self" or "you" (only after Pegasus fight he started to address him as partner), but here is slightly different of how he is addressing Yugi, but the meaning behind the change "my other self" to "other self" is very different, Dark Yugi in the beginning of the series, he thought he was Yugi's other self, or really Yugi and part of original Yugi, this time Dark Yugi being very conscious of who and what he is as being a separate entity from Yugi, both being two entities and identities, their case being two spirits sharing the same body for a peculiar purpose (the quest of the pharaoh's memories and Dark Yugi go to afterlife).

Why Dark Yugi in this moment isn't calling him partner but "other self"?
At first it is bit weird, why this moment, but if you look at the tone and the entirety of what he is saying to Yugi, it is of great respect and seeking advice to Yugi, which is unusual of Dark Yugi seeking someone for advice, in fact, it might be the first time he asks for advice (when it comes to advice, it's usually him giving advice or others giving him advice without him asking), it shows great amount of humility growth on Dark Yugi's part because he is facing a moral dilemma, it shows that Dark Yugi knows and is well aware of when it comes to moral fiber or when your ethic/moral conduct, Yugi is stronger than him.

Also this time as well, it can be clearly noticed that he is more worried about Yugi (specially him since he is his vessel and does care for him - responsibility and the close bond they share) and Marik (empathy and responsibility) than himself, it's not fear of losing anymore within him like it was in Duelist Kingdom against Kaiba, but extremely concerned for Yugi's life and Marik too.
It's so nice seeing Dark Yugi's character development. :)

Yugi's response is also very interesting:

"Our true enemy is Marik's evil side! Is there a way to defeat him...and just him?" 

Look at this line from Yugi, he is the one getting closer to the answer to this moral challenge, he is thinking of how they're going to defeat only Yami Marik...:)

 

How is Marik reaching Rishid here? remember when Marik mentioned that even though he couldn't brainwash Rishid but his voice could in other words speaking with him telepathically in the duel between Jounouchi VS Rishid? yeah, what's left of Marik speaking to him, it's clear that Marik did put a part of him in Rishid through the Millenium Rod, since Rishid can't be brainwashed, so it's only for him to be able to talk to him telepathically, in this moment is Marik at his lowest point and given up on himself and willing to make a very crucial decision...

 

This is a very emotional scene (it gets me a little teary and I'm not a fan of him), it shows his character development and humility but it's based mostly on guilt and sadness, if we look at it, he is actually getting weaker, as for why...even though he is the main Marik, it is said that the subconscious tend to be more powerful than the conscious, but the consciousness tend to eventually gain control, but it seems his negative emotions makes him weaker and his subconscious(Yami Marik) stronger, for example, Yami Marik bases on aggressive negative emotions such as anger, hatred and revenge and a little submissive negative such as sadness and pain, the Marik at this moment is emotionally vulnerable with submissive negative emotions and how he is dealing with his guilt about his actions from his consciousness and subconsciousness.
Guilt is a negative emotion, it is a necessary emotion, but depending in how you face it, you can drown yourself with it or improve yourself in a positive way...Right now, Marik is reaching his lowest point...

The way Marik is speaking to Rishid, it's telling that deep down, he is very grateful, appreciative for his unwavering loyalty and protected him from Yami Marik and feeling very guilty in how he treated him, realising that he actually depended a lot on Rishid, too much actually, since he was a child, Marik's DID (dissociative identity disorder) isn't his only mental problem/desease/illness, there is another one it implies is this codependent relationship between Marik and Rishid (Master/little brother and guardian/big brother), also Marik dependency on Rishid, this time around he is aknowledging it and trying to work on it (similar to Yugi and Dark Yugi, but this case is much more severe because it was since they were children while in Dark Yugi and Yugi is fresh but working on it due to their special circumstances that I do mention many times).

 

In this particular duel, I love how the panels are drawn, it's really gorgeous but Kazuki Takahashi step up his game is in Memory World Arc and the Ceremonial Duel (specially this one).

Here is the first reveal of Marik of his own decision and being well aware that Dark Yugi is holding his full strength back, in attempt to buy time in creating a solution to save Marik and defeat only Yami Marik..., it's curious Jounouchi (his reaction to this is so funny xDD) and Dark Yugi were a little slow, more Jounouchi, but Ishizu and Yami Marik were quick, for starters it's probably because Yami Marik can see Marik controlling Anzu very clearly like he did when part of him was in Bakura, Ishizu...well she could hear him when Marik asked her for help telepathically and she was a wielder of millenium tauk, she mudt be able to see and sense him a little...

I find a certain little detail from Yami Marik in this scene being a bit strange...in his thought about a part of Marik inside of Anzu...

"So my other persona was hidden inside her too...But once the original is gone, the scraps left inside of others will die too..."

It seems that Yami Marik didn't knew or forgotten, but doesn't sound as something forgotten but he didn't knew, I think the reasons for this is like the last hidden Ra power Marik didn't knew but Yami Marik did, the other reason must be that he uses Anzu only to move around behind the scenes after the duel against b!jounouchi, when is necessary, since then he didn't ever put Anzu in danger, he was actually cautious, he mind-controlled her to awaken Yami Bakura, to ask Ishizu for help in hiding Rishid and now this moment when Yami Marik is fighting someone in giving a message to Dark Yugi that he is prepared to die (he is determined about this decision).

The other mention of Yami Marik is what will happen once the original is gone, the other scraps of him will be gone too, so one wonders why Yami Marik doesn't, it's actually pretty simple, Yami Marik is a part of main personality of Marik that has been splitted and is the subconscious, while the parts of Marik in others is from his main personality in general and implemented when he was and is conscious, because if Marik main consciousness is gone then the same would be applied to his other conscious parts in others.

 

Jounouchi's reaction in seeing Anzu beind mind-controlled by Marik is hilarious in such a serious moment, it's too funny, Jounouchi kinda knows is Marik, he acts like this because he thinks is weird Marik's voice coming through Anzu...

Yami Marik is very confident that no one can destroy him...why is that? he knows Dark Yugi is holding back for Marik and even if Yami Marik is defeated, it's Marik who will disappear and not Yami Marik being the split personality (since those who creates the shadow games, if they lose, they won't be affected by the shadow games, only become weakened and takes time to recover)...

Now Marik finally asking Ishizu this important question, why Rishid and Ishizu didn't told him anything about who truly killed their father being himself, his split personality...you can tell he was very disturbed for being ignorant of this and the reveal of who killed their father...

 

I think some of the reasons why they didn't ever told him is because at the time, Marik was too young, he was 11 years old, then has he grown older, they really avoided and the reason why they didn't reveal later, the belief of "ignorance is bliss" and what she said above, this implies that she knew this would happen, like she said herself that the only fate she wanted for her little brother Marik was to keep on living, basically she entered the tournament to prevent Dark Yugi to hold such heavy weight and not have to ask help from him to save Marik from unfair revenge on Yugi and Dark Yugi, she knows is partly her and Rishid's fault for not telling Marik anything later...

It's saddening to see Marik lost his confidence in getting rid of Yami Marik himself...

Then Marik here claims that this is Dark Yugi's final test as pharaoh, in other words, to gain the right and access to the information he needs to start his quest for the restoration of his memories, Dark Yugi reaction is more of surprised by this Marik's decision, but also feeling more pressure as well...

Once again, Dark Yugi, no pressure...poor him, it keeps giving him more pressure, you can tell by his expression that he is holding back...

Jounouchi finally realises that Dark Yugi is holding back his full strength but doesn't know the reasons, since it isn't a normal duel, not even a normal shadow game to begin with, which is what Marik will start to reveal to others...

 

Jounouchi is shocked by this reveal, you can tell in the last panel, the Yugi he means is "the Yugi he knows" - the original one being the sacrifice and Marik, he is also very disturbed too, it's actually a very sick one too and understands now that Dark Yugi is trying to save Yugi (being his host and cares for him too) and Marik (for Ishizu's request, he feels responsible for it and feels empathy for Marik's fate), of course Jounouchi is more worried about Yugi (since the gang is very protective of him, specially Dark Yugi, Jounouchi and Anzu).

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