I’m no expert on superhero comics, but from the movies and TV shows that I have seen, there seems to be a general pattern between them. The pattern goes like this: an ordinary person gets superpowers and uses them to fight criminals, then a criminal organization creates or hires super villains to fight the superhero so they can continue their crime spree, and that cycle goes on for eternity. When I think about superhero comics, Yu-Gi-Oh! is definitely not one that comes to mind. Nevertheless, I have noticed that it also follows this same pattern.

Yugi was just an ordinary boy until he solved the Millennium Puzzle and inherited the powers of the Shadow Games. With his newfound powers, Yugi was able to stand up to bullies, and in turn, made new friends. In this story, it’s not criminals that the hero fights, but rather abusive bullies. This series will eventually give us some foes worthy of being called supervillains. As for now, Yugi is stuck facing run-of-the-mill bullies-of-the-week. Who will he stand up to in this chapter?

Karaoke Torture Night

The chapter begins with Yugi riding the bus to school when he sees a boy from his class named Hanasaki.

“Good morning, Hanasaki!” says Yugi.

The boy turns his head back to glance at him, but quickly turns it forward again.

“I haven’t spoken to Hanasaki all that much,” thinks Yugi, “His invisibility rating is almost the same as mine in class.”

“Emergency Stop!” calls the bus driver, as the vehicle comes to a screeching halt. Yugi skids to the back of the bus where he hears a loud thumping noise. He looks at the seat behind him and sees a big brute-like figure sitting with his arms crossed and listening to loud music.

“Uh oh, that’s Sozoji from Class C,” says Yugi, “I hope he doesn’t notice me.”

But it was too late.

“Stop right there, Yugi!” says Sozoji, “The place right next to me is open! Have a seat! There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. It’s about time for another one of my famous ‘All Night Solo Live Shows!'”

According to Yugi, this is Sozoji’s monthly recital. Yugi has experienced it twice in the past. Sozoji calls several audience members to a karaoke room (you pay) and he displays his beloved singing voice until morning. Testimonials from past participants include:

“I’ll never go again.”

“I was sick for three days after.”

And

“Gahh! Please Stopp!!!!!”

Sozoji orders Yugi to sell 10 tickets for show. They are 2,000 yen each. The date is three days away. Sozoji cracks his knuckles and says, “You know what’ll happen to you if you don’t sell those tickets!”

An Unexpected Salesman

When Yugi arrives at school, Jonouchi notices that something is up.

“Is something bothering you? Tell me! I’m here for you man,” cries Jonouchi.

“Really, it’s nothing, but thanks anyway,” responds Yugi. He is worried that Jonouchi will pick a fight with him. (Is that really a bad thing?) And he doesn’t want to subject Anzu to Sozoji’s terrible singing voice. (Well that’s very noble of him, but they’re a team, aren’t they? They’re supposed to help each other get out of trouble.)

Yugi is worried he will return home without selling any tickets. When he passes by the locker, he sees Hanasaki and is tempted to sell him a ticket.

“What am I thinking?” thinks Yugi, “Just because Hanasaki is my friend…Just because I haven’t talked to him all that much. I’m such a jerk.”

Yugi says goodbye to Hanasaki, but before he can leave the school, Hanasaki asks if he could buy one of the tickets he is holding. It’s for Sozoji’s concert.

“Sorry, but I don’t have any money right now.” says Yugi, “So let’s do this! Give me all of those tickets. You just need to pass them out, don’t you?!”

“Is that really okay, Yugi?” asks Hanasaki.

“Yup. Then if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”

“Thank you, Yugi!”

As he walks away, Hanasaki thinks Yugi isn’t as gloomy of a guy as he thought. Unfortunately, Sozoji was just around the corner and saw the whole thing.

Betrayal of the Heart

With 15 tickets in his pocket, the day of the recital came, and Yugi was the only one who showed up.

“Are you saying you didn’t even sell one ticket?!” screams Sozoji.

“I’m sorry,” says Yugi, “but everyone was busy today, but I’ll listen to your songs, Sozoji.”

“Damn right, you’ll stay with me all night, and it’s gonna be a live show of blood!”

Sozoji makes Yugi wear a pair of headphones and cranks up the volume tenfold. He screams into the microphone, causing Yugi’s ears to split.

“Now, before the next song, let’s introduce our special guest,” says Sozoji. He pulls back the curtain behind him and reveals a beaten-up Hanasaki.

Seeing his injured friend causes Yugi to become filled with rage and transforms into his alter-ego.

Yami-Yugi asks Sozoji if he is a coward, and if he isn’t, then he shouldn’t try to escape the game he is going to start. Yugi finds two toys called Sound Pierrots in the karaoke room and places them on the table. These pierrots have sensors in them that will detect sound and cause the clown to start dancing.

The rules of the game are simple, each player is to remain perfectly silent so as to not trigger the sensor. The first player to make the clown dance loses.

“What will happen if you lose?” asks Sozoji.

“I give you my life,” responds Yugi, “But if you lose, you have to play a penalty game!”

Game Start!

As Sozoji remains silent, he noties that Yugi’s headphone jack is dangling precariously from the edge of a glass. If he can just wait for the jack to fall, this game will be his. Sozoji pays close attention to the jack, but as the anticipation intensifies, his heart begins to race.

Suddenly, Sozoji’s clown starts dancing.

“But the jack hasn’t fallen,” cries Sozoji, “Then what’s that sound?”

Yugi points to the loudspeaker behind him and says, “That’s the sound of your heart!”

“Impossible…the mic…and I put the volume to max!”

“Your habit of holding onto the mic no matter how much it annoys people has done you in. You lose, Sozoji. PENALTY GAME!! BEAT FESTIVAL!”

The Penalty Game causes Sozoji’s heart to beat louder and louder until the sound becomes unbearable to listen to.

“Rock music has eight beats, right?” says Yugi, “I hear that came from the basic rhythm of the heart–the rhythm that most stimulates a person! From now on, you can sing to the beating of your own tell-tale heart.” (Edgar Allen Poe reference?)

Thoughts

So far, Yugi has stood up to three bullies, namely Ushio, the Director, and Sozoji. Of these three, Sozoji seems to be the least interesting, mostly because he seems to be a discount Ushio. In addition, Hanasaki seems like a beta version of Yugi Muto (as if that were even possible). Ushio is the most intriguing of the three and would make a decent recurring villain. Unfortunatley, Chapter 1 is the last we will see of him (until Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s).

I don’t usually give scores to episodes or chapters because I feel like they tend to be fairly arbitrary, but if I had to, I would probably give Chapter 1 a 10/10, Chapter 2 a 6/10, and Chapter 3 a 3/10. A 10 doesn’t necessarily mean the chapter is perfect, but that it’s one of the best in the series. Chapter 4 is another one I would rate a 10/10. The first time I read it, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Want to know what happens? Be sure to follow my blog for more Yu-Gi-Oh! manga reviews!

Of course, you could always read it yourself at https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/yu-gi-oh. (Not sponsored)