Thoughts&Observations | Mangá Vol.34 Part 1/3 (The King of Thieves Strikes Again!)

I'm now entering the volume 3 of Memory World (Volume 34 in Japan), 4 volumes to go :3...
I'm quite glad, it's going smoothly, not as fast as I wish to, but still nice pace nonetheless, there is interesting details from certain panels I will bring up that I'm looking forward to.


Plot Summary:

This recent discovery of an extremely powerful Ka, because this mysterious woman is weakened from lack of nutrition and hydration (food and water) plus wounded, so he order the guards to take to the hospital wing of the palace and others to stay guarded at the city in case thief Bakura comes back, the priests go back to the palace now with priest Seto being very satisfied with the results of his "Ka-Hunt"...the priests come back to the palace and report to the pharaoh, but Dark Yugi still feels uneasy not for just about Kaiba's request, also about thief Bakura...the gang excited about the priests coming back to the palace, they follow the priests...

The gang can only reach the entrance of the palace, despite them being able to go through places like ghosts, however they can't do it with the palace for some reason...
As time passes, the night arrives and Yami Bakura "shadow spy" watches over the city floating in the air and then is watching thief Bakura eating in a bar, who attracted attention wearing and holding gold pieces, the men tries to gang up on him and thief Bakura releases his Ka to kill the men surrounding him...thief Bakura continues eating.

Priest Seto speaks to priest Akhenaden about his search for Ka was successful and discovery over a powerful Ka that rival the gods and could defeat thief Bakura's Ka and resides inside a woman, but her body is very weak so he is letting her resting and recover, so then he can take her Ka, when priest Seto leaves, priest Akhenaden is disturbed by priest Seto with a important revelation...
While priest Seto pays visit to the hospital wing to check the progress of the mysterious woman recovery, the shrine of wedju guarded by priest Akhenaden is invaded by thief Bakura, who didn't came to kill him but to give an offer...priest Akhenaden tries to defend himself but thief Bakura is quicker puts him in invisible binds against the wall, they have an important talk, takes priest Akhenaden's millenium eye and implements a part of him from the millenium ring in the millenium eye, then puts it back to where it was, leaving priest Akhenaden unconscious...
Dark Yugi reading ancient scrolls has a bad feeling of something terrible about to happen, the officers goes to the pharaoh to inform that of signs thief Bakura is around the city from the tavern where he was eating, Dark Yugi gets himself ready to follow him, the same for priest Seto from officers informing him thief Bakura was back and attacked priest Akhenaden leaving him severely injured and unconscious...the rally battle between Dark Yugi/pharaoh and thief Bakura is about to begin...


Key Points:

 

Priest Seto is from shock to sinking in to very pleased that they found a Ka worthy to protect the kingdom and defeat thief Bakura, one of the guards speaks the urgency for the girl's recovery about her health and then another guard asks if they take her to the prison with the others, priest Seto authorise the guard request in taking her to the palace for medical treatment, at first it looks like is giving her this kind of treatment because of her Ka...but is it really or is just that? (if we look at her, just her glance we had from previous post, it's quite telling she has a pretty face...blue eyes as well, it has been told to draw people in).
Priest Seto tells his guards...

"No one is to speak of this to the pharaoh! We don't have the luxury to be as merciful and lenient as in the past."

Even though I don't agree with this method, he is not attacking or threatening, he is being forceful, he could be doing this in a more tactful manner, by explaining the situation and recruit those who would be willing to help defeat thief Bakura and that way would be more effective to find people with strong Ka, oh well, this is priest Seto with extreme methods tendencies and short-sighted...very similar to Kaiba, as long no one innocent is being harmed for the time being...

If you wish to continue reading this post click "Read More" below:

 

It was good call into following them, but then something strange happens when they reach the palace, they can't get through to a point Jounouchi goes against the wall, it's hilarious and even funnier the slapstick humour on him makes me laugh (this kind of humour usually doesn't, but with Jounouchi somehow works for some reason, with Kaiba would be much more funny though), I think is how it's expressed in the panel is what makes it funny for me...they're wondering how they can't get through the wall if we remember in previous post, we can't be sure because Jounouchi already fall the floor, but the effect did imply he hit his head against the wall when he tried to punch the men bullying the mysterious girl...it might be because it's the buildings are unaffected by "ghosts"...

 

According to Bobasa:

"That is the strength of the pharaoh's will! His desire to keep out intruders repels us!"

I guess it explains a lot, buildings be it a house, palace/castle, prison, buildings in general makes you feel safe, guarded and protected (that's the point of such, protect ourselves from intruders, rain, storms,etc), since this is inside Dark Yugi's memories, he can have this sort of capacity and power in this world of memory...

Jounouchi makes it clear that he does feel hurt and calling him jerk (I find it rather amusing) being treated as intruder, you see from the rest of the gang's expression that they do understand his side because they also feel bit hurt as well but Yugi...

"It's not like that, Jounouchi! We'll get to see the other me sometime!"

Yugi is right, he understood the other side, they have to remember Dark Yugi doesn't know his friends are inside the world of memory, he doesn't have that kind of omniscient power, since is mixed with his consciousness reliving and recovering his memories in a sense inside his own subconsciousness (but at the same time isn't), that's why...

 

Yugi and the gang wants to see Dark Yugi so he can know that they're there for him when he needs them and inform him about their mission in searching Dark Yugi's lost name and also Yugi wants to confirm a few theories he has) and remind Dark Yugi in a sense that he will re-live his death...straight away after Jounouchi's complain and this Yugi's thought, it was almost instant in the next panel (the panel ensemble on the right), Dark Yugi sensed their presence for a small moment...even his vizier asked if there was something...the priests arrive the city...
(side note: I love how that panel is drawn, in fact every single panel of Dark Yugi in his pharaoh outfit, I can't help but be impressed in how he keeps those details of his outfit, lots of hard work in here)

 

When the priests report on strengthening the guard and saying not even a mouse could slip by, Dark Yugi suspects they didn't do exactly as he ordered, they have bend a little bit despite his restriction of movements he has given to them, also he still has a bad feeling about it not just what they have been doing in the city but also suspicions as theirs that thief Bakura is actually alive...then we see this scene himself looking at the puzzle thinking...

"I heard a voice...trying to tell me something...from my millenium pendant..."

I think it has to do with two things, he must have heard Yugi's thought for a little and also a part of his subconscious memories that knows what is going to happen next, since this is a repeat of what happened before he died and came to eventually die... (in his conscious he doesn't have all the memories, but is in his subconscious).

 

I think this scene is important to notice, there is a certain difference between Yami Bakura and Dark Yugi in their memories recovery, Yami Bakura seems slightly ahead of Dark Yugi, why is the case? there must be a number of reasons, this world of memory was made for Dark Yugi to experience and remember at it's pace, until the present moment of the world of memory, Yami Bakura is an intruder, he wasn't supposed to be here and is a spy shadow of Yami Bakura, but he doesn't remember everything, only slightly ahead...but there is more to Yami Bakura (with the implications he might be Zorc and thief Bakura so far, a mix of both), I think what might make him recover a little faster than Dark Yugi, Yami Bakura isn't playing the role of thief Bakura like Dark Yugi is playing his role as pharaoh...Yami Bakura shadow is the bystander not the one "experiencing" and "re-living" it but Dark Yugi is.

 

If you see, Yami Bakura is very pleased, because the fact of Yami Bakura being the bystander getting the memories faster instead of replaying his role, since this world of memory was created for Dark Yugi to relive his memories, Yami Bakura is gaining a huge advantage, as bystander is like re-reading a book you haven't read in a long time, but for Dark Yugi is experiencing his own memories like as if he is the main character experiencing his past inside the book, the events will repeat no matter how many times you re-read them, fascinating! It makes a cool parallel between these two spirits sealed in items.

 

For priest Seto giving report to priest Akhenaden, despite both have the same rank job position, it shows he thinks of priest Akhenaden very highly about what he is keeping secret from the pharaoh and other 3 priests except for priest Akhenaden and Shada, admiting that his Ka-hunt/search went better than he expected, there was 20 people he was able to to get hands on with stronger Ka, the other thing is about the prison that the pharaoh doesn't goes there so he wouldn't find them, priest Akhenaden thinks he is going a little too far mixed with other reasons...we'll get there in this volume posts and next volume...

 

I have to disagree to most of it, but his words means something else from within him...

"Sin creaters fear in one's heart...fear leads one to endless darkness!"

This statement varies from person to person, in this case is a guilty conscience for the rest of your life, it fits perfectly for priest Akhenaden, which might be what priest Akhenaden is trying to warn him...likely from experience...then again priest Seto brings up a valid and practical point and then talks about a Ka that rivals the gods, judging from priest Akhenaden's reaction, he is shocked at the possibility but also something else deep hidden in him...?

 

Priest Seto speaks of the woman with this god Ka, to whom he is talking and speaks about, he sounds merciless for someone who let the woman rest to recover her strength and then intends to use her Ka for his own Ka, but first things first, he will test on prisoners while she is resting before he tries it since she holds such a powerful Ka...but is he being as he sounds for now...? then he speaks the name they have given to her Ka...The White Dragon.

 

Then we have the reveal, yes, the warning he was trying to give to priest Seto was based on his guilty conscience related to what himself has done before and the millenium eye is the constant reminder because of that the more guilty he feels, the more vulnerable his mind becomes to the darkness (it's important to remember guilty and regret and remorse is different, guilt has to do with wishing of being clear of conscience of your mistakes even if is a trauma, regret that you wish you haven't done something, remorse is feeling terrible about a mistake that you take responsibility and try to make amends, it's possible to do it healthy, but priest Akhenaden is negatively and heavily guilty conscience inclined), he speaks that priest Seto is doing similar act as he, priest Akhenaden did and also being revealed to us...he is the father of priest Seto, priest Seto himself doesn't seem to know...then thief Bakura arrives to the shrine of wedju that Priest Akhenaden is guarding, but is their conversation in relation about "You are trying to commit the same sin I once did...", we'll get later in this post...

 

This looks normal so far, priest Seto checking in about her health status, despite being a room in the palace that is called isolation tower, it doesn't sound like an hospital at all and even less with this room with bars to prevent her to escape, just in case, what I find it strange is something here, while she is resting, couldn't he draw it out with priest Akhenaden without hurting her and then seal it in a stone tablet like he forced priest Shada to see other people's Ka? I think he is holding back that ruthless side when coming to her but isn't realising yet or not completely...

"Lady of the White Dragon", in his mind currently calls her lady (by the way, this kind of name title didn't existed yet even though in ancient Egypt women had more rights than most of other ancient civilisations and high ranked too but even then wasn't common, the closest title to lady at this time was "hereditary noblewoman", but he gives her only in his mind and is counterpart to "hereditary nobleman" and that is the case for priest Seto (the guards usually address the priests as "lord" title (then again, counterpart of lady), which means it has double meanings behind these thoughts of him and for him creepily watching the Lady of the White Dragon sleeping...

"Lady of the White Dragon...How much pain must color your blue eyes before the dragon is released to the heavens? I will make the white dragon my servant, no matter what...even if I must sacrifice the life of the wielder..."

He remembered well of her blue eyes he noticed straight away before knowing of her Ka, for him to mention, well...blue eyes always stand out (people with light color eyes always stand out as I have said before in previous post), it is considered very attractive and aesthetically beautiful trait, it holds the familiarity about the blue sky, but him referring her as lady of the white dragon and thinking of her blue eyes, we can easily assume he was and is attracted to her, the last lines of his thoughts it kinda says he wants both, her Ka and the "Lady of the White Dragon" but also steeling himself for the practical action for the kingdom (get her Ka)...

 

We have to remember this world of memory is mostly made of his subconscious memories, as we clearly seen in the previous post , and as I previously pointed out in the Prelude of the World of Memory post that it was implied the world of memory is still inside the puzzle, but a different dimension from the maze, the maze was dimension of it's own of the puzzle and was purposely hiding another dimension made mostly of his subconscious, this tingling sensation from the puzzle Dark Yugi felt as a bad feeling and premonition is his subconscious self knows what is going to happen next and warning the conscious self that still has yet to continue to recover his memories from here on out with terrible things starting to happen...

A small cool detail, the panel ensemble on the left when Dark Yugi is having a bad feeling, he is not sitting in his throne but on a different division in the palace, he seems to be reading a scroll, being a royal and the pharaoh, it must be written in hieratic text, another evidence that he is indeed recovering memories from the past to this point, by now from the looks of it, he remembers how read it and write these texts, a detail worth to pay a close look (nice touch, Takahashi-Sensei).

 

This scene set up for many things hinting that maybe the real creator is priest Akhenaden and main reason of why the village of Kul Elna is ruins and how thief Bakura mentions and speak to priest Akhenaden knows the truth...

"I could tear you limb from limb right here...but that wouldn't be enough...it wouldn't make up for Kul Elna."

Thief Bakura knows who is the real culprit, not just to the readers...to the priest Akhenaden and how he is speaking in the last line, it does mean for sure "I know you're the one who did it, no point in hiding it under the «holy priest tunic»", the reason why he also faults pharaoh that's something I'll discuss in volume 4 and 6, if we notice thief Bakura showing his anger much more vividly to Priest Akhenaden and more personally, he is right...it wouldn't, no matter what it was, it was something that killed an entire village, the death of the culprit wouldn't make it...

"You can still hear them, can't you...? The death screams of Kul Elna, the village of thieves...I am the sole survivor of that village... of Kul Elna..."

He knows full well who caused what happened in the village of Kul Elna and who created the millenium items...

"Now...This city, too will drown in blood... and you'll be the one to spill it..."

As we have seen above about priest Akhenaden in in his thoughts implied that like priest Seto is doing, committing inhumane methods with the prisoners and the Ka-hunt behind the pharaoh back without his permission, it means priest Akhenaden done the same, omitted few things from the former king about the millenium items like he did to other priests then later revealed only to priest Seto confirming that what mostly what thief Bakura said was true...

Since Thief Bakura can sense his guilty conscience and fear based on it, he intends to make the priest Akhenaden to do it but more bluntly and openly in due time...

 

His revenge is more or less like this, drown more in his guilt and his darkest desires coming to the surface...specially the evil inside the millenium eye being upgraded by implementing a part of thief Bakura using the millenium ring...parasite mind, if thief Bakura falls, he will fall down with him and also knowing an important element in the creation of the millenium items (it will be approached in volume 4 and 5) by making him "the ruler of shadows" and from priest Akhenaden reaction, he seems to know about this thing of "ruler of shadows" as well...

 

I find very interesting this particular priest Seto thought...

"Bakura...that scum...First Mahado and now Lord Akhenaden..."

So he was really disturbed by Mahado's death not just for thinking of him dying left their situation quite dire, he must have thought through it was inevitable and now this, he does care about Mahado to an extent while referring to priest Akhenaden as "Lord Akhenaden", it does show he thinks very highly of priest Akhenaden, then priest Kalim assures him he is still alive but unconscious and also he notes an important detail, that thief Bakura took the millenium eye and left without it, priest Seto must have thought that thief Bakura is planning something and he must be close by...

 

It doesn't add much to the main story in detail, but is such a beautifully drawn panels, it would be a waste not to mention, my favourites in these panels has to be the horses and Dark Yugi riding one of them (flashily too), it's just gorgeous, I'm not into horses myself, it just really stands out to me with those sketchy lines to create shadow and shading while keeping the detail of Dark Yugi's pharaoh outfit (I just love those details), it must have been a pain to draw...as thief Bakura already summoned his Ka riding a horse he just stole and Dark Yugi readying himself for battle summoning Slifer The Sky Dragon...

See Ya Next Post!