I had a very weird moment while I was going through this volume. Yu-Gi-Oh! is a dear part of my childhood, to be sure, but I always thought of it as something that both adults and children could enjoy. Although the manga does have a harder edge and some violence it still has plenty of occasions where it'd be perfect for kids to read. The focus on the popular card game is there, but there's also plenty of other games and the rules to them are spelled out fairly clear in the back of each volumes or by the characters.
Anyway, this weird moment made me think, "If I ever have kids this would be a cool thing to teach them." I've never really thought stuff like that before with any sort of seriousness attached to the idea. Dear God, am I actually thinking about deeper and more meaningful stuff than fan service?
These games would be great fun in real life with the exception of the rules that dictate you lose either life, limb, or sanity if you lose in the game. Had this series focused a bit more on the darker stuff this would make an excellent horror series. It has its moments, though.
One of my favorite chapters from this volume was the game of Clock Solitaire. It's kind of short, but it features a date between Anzu and Yugi. Of course, this date ends in disaster as a terrorist threatens to blow up a ferris wheel if someone doesn't play a game with him. It just so happens that Anzu is trapped on the ferris wheel at the time and it is up to Yugi to play the game in order to save her.
There are a few good chapters here and there, but nothing with real meat on it until we get to the ending and meet Bakura for the first time. This will mark the second time in this series that someone else with a Millenium item has been introduced into the series, but this time could be the last time for Yugi and his friends.
Bakura is a quiet guy, but his Millenium Ring has a personality that is a lot less savory than that of the pharaoh stuck in the Millenium Puzzle. Bakura's dark side wants to trap all of Yugi's friends into miniature game pieces and keep them for all eternity so they can do his bidding.
Yugi and his friends begin to play his game of role-playing unaware of just what will happen to them if they lose. They are playing a shadow game without knowing. The real question is how long will it be before Yugi's other self wakes up and comes along to save the day?
I won't find out until the next volume. Successfully cliffhangered.
No comments:
Post a Comment