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Episode
GuideEpisode 137: Battle for the Bronze, Part 3 (The Road to Becoming a True Duelist)
Joey has 100 life points, and only Hayabusa Knight on the field in defense. Kaiba says Joey was a fool to challenge him. Maybe now Joey will realize what he should have known all along—he's worthless, and shouldn't have been in Kaiba's tournament in the first place.
But Joey says he finished in the top four, just like Kaiba. And once he wins this duel, he'll outrank Kaiba! He draws, thinking that before he can win, he has to destroy Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But it's going to take a little luck, and a lot of faith.
Joey summons Baby Dragon (700 DEF) in defense mode and ends his turn. (Cut from the US version is a shot of Otogi saying it isn't easy to beat Kaiba, and wondering if this is the end for Jounouchi.)
Tristan says Joey's going to need their support. So where's Yugi? (Japanese Honda says there should still be some way. He turns to Yugi for confirmation, but Yugi isn't there.) Téa's still gone, too. They should have been back by now. Duke agrees—Joey needs all of them.
On top of the Duel Tower, Ishizu explains that Marik's good side was able to confront his evil side by controlling Téa's body. But his good side is weak, and won't last much longer. She asks Yugi to stop Marik's dark side by defeating him in their duel, and Yugi promises her that he'll defeat Marik. He just hopes defeating him will reverse the damage he's done. Ishizu does, too.
(Japanese Yami says he knows that the Tomb-Keepers guard his lost memory, and that's why Malik hates him. Therefore, it's his responsibility to fight Malik in this duel, and defeat his dark side and save him. And also to save Mai and Bakura, who were defeated in the Dark Game. Isis thanks him.)
Téa comes to, wondering where she is and why she's there. The last thing she remembers is Joey dueling Kaiba.
Kaiba tells Joey that the Blue-Eyes is ready to devour him. Duke and Tristan agree this doesn't look good—Joey has monsters to defend his life points, but none of them is strong enough to attack. He'd better think of something fast!
Kaiba draws, and plays Stop Defense, forcing Hayabusa Knight into attack mode. Mokuba cheers—his brother is going to win! Kaiba orders his Blue-Eyes to attack Hayabusa Knight and wipe out the rest of Joey's life points. (Japanese Kaiba orders the Blue-Eyes to "smash the bonkotsu.") Kaiba says it's over.
But Joey activates his trap card, Nutrient Z, which increases his life points by 4000 when he takes battle damage of 2000 points or more. After the attack, his life points are now 2100! Tristan cheers, and Duke says that now Joey has more life points than Kaiba does! (Japanese Honda says Jounouchi is hard to deal with, and Otogi agrees—"Hard to deal with" is Jounouchi's strongest point.)
Angrily, Kaiba sets one card and ends his turn, saying that making one decent move doesn't impress him. (Japanese Kaiba grumbles that this guy just won't admit he's beaten.) But next turn will be his last. And the Blue-Eyes roars its agreement.
Joey knows it's a long shot, but he can still win, if he can just draw the right card. (Japanese Jounouchi knows Kaiba's right. One more attack, and he'll lose. But there is always possibility in his cards....)
Joey draws, exclaiming with relief. He's drawn Time Wizard! He plays it, and everyone waits for the hand to turn... and turn... and turn... and Joey wins! Duke and Tristan cheer, while a thousand years pass, and Baby Dragon evolves into the Thousand Dragon. Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon disappears in a whirl of smoke. Joey is boggle-eyed at the thought that he is about to win! But Kaiba smiles as he watches, then commands his Blue-Eyes to return to him. He's activated his trap card, Interdimensional Matter Transporter, which sent his Blue-Eyes to another dimension to protect it from Time Wizard's effect. Now it's back, just in time to tear Joey's Thousand Dragon to shreds. (Japanese Kaiba tells Jounouchi he'll never beat him with his gamble deck!) Mokuba cheers his brother's move, while Duke and Tristan look on in shock.
Kaiba says that Joey may depend on luck to win his duels, but Kaiba depends on his skills. That's the difference between them. Joey lifts his head and laughs out loud. "You really kill me!" he says.
Kaiba thinks he's lost it. But Joey says he finds Kaiba ridiculous, and tells him to lighten up. They're fighting a great duel, and Kaiba should relax and have fun.
Kaiba scowls. He doesn't have fun. Joey says, then Kaiba's an even more miserable person than he thought. But Kaiba furiously says Joey doesn't know anything about him! He duels to gain power and to be the best, not to have fun. But when Yugi beat him, he stole his glory once again.
Joey tells Kaiba he was good, but Yugi was better. He doesn't understand why Kaiba can't accept that. Kaiba says he doesn't expect someone like Joey to understand. Joey asks what that means, but Kaiba just wants to get on with the duel.
(In the Japanese, the conversation goes like this: Jounouchi laughs and says, "You're strong, Kaiba!" Kaiba smiles. "You won't admit your failure?" Jounouchi says no, he doesn't think so. "It's exciting to fight against a strong warrior. That's the greatest fun!"
(Kaiba scowls. "You think this is fun?" Jounouchi is taken aback. "What's wrong with that? Why do you duel, if you don't think it's fun?"
("As a bonkotsu, you'll never understand it. I won everything by fighting! Victory is everything to me! But..." He remembers his loss to Yugi, and can't speak. Jounouchi just shrugs. "I don't want to know about that at all!" Then he realizes he has no cards to play. "Turn end." Kaiba says, "Let's end this farce.")
Kaiba draws Thunder Dragon, which he discards in order to add two more Thunder Dragons from his deck to his hand. Then, he plays Polymerization to fuse the two Thunder Dragons into Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, and plays Quick Attack so that it can attack in the same turn it's summoned. Now Joey's Thousand Dragon is facing two powerful dragons—Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, with an attack of 2800, and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with 3000!
Yugi helps Téa up. She says she's little freaked out about all this. She never sleepwalks, especially during the day! Little Yugi wonders if he should tell Téa that Marik took over her mind, but on second thought, maybe not. (Japanese Yugi wonders why Malik was after Anzu, but Yami doesn't know.) She asks if Joey ever finished his duel with Kaiba, and Yugi says he left while they were still dueling. If they hurry, they should get there before it ends.
Kaiba attacks Thousand Dragon with Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, reducing Joey's life points to 1700. Then he sends the Blue-Eyes to finish Joey off with a direct attack.
Joey loses. Mokuba cheers, telling Joey that he did okay, but he's still no match for his brother. But Kaiba just says he could have beaten Joey blindfolded and it was all a waste of time. Kaiba starts to walk away, but Joey tells him to hold on. Kaiba says, let it go. It's over.
Joey says it's not over. Kaiba may have beaten him this time, and he might beat him the next time, but Joey's going to keep coming back until he wins. Joey Wheeler doesn't give up. Kaiba says Joey will never have the skills to defeat him. (Japanese Jounouchi says that's his road to becoming a True Duelist. Kaiba just says a fool can't be cured until he dies.)
Joey's about to go after Kaiba, but Tristan and Duke grab him, telling him that it's not worth the effort. Joey agrees, He dueled his best, and he made Kaiba sweat a couple of times. (Japanese Honda and Otogi remind him that Yugi's final is about to begin.) They start to leave, as Joey complains that Yugi and Téa didn't stick around to see the end of his duel. That's not cool! (Japanese Jounouchi walks away still saying he almost won!)
Kaiba says to Mokuba, let's go. There's no reason to stick around this dump any more. (Japanese Kaiba says, "My Battle City is over.") Mokuba says there's one more duel. (Cut from the US version is this shot of Mokuba saying that there's still the final, and then running after Kaiba as he says it's meaningless.)
Ishizu confronts Kaiba, advising him to be present at the final duel. She tells him that Yugi will need his help to defeat Marik and fulfill his destiny. But Kaiba says no thanks. Battle City is over for him, and as soon as he puts this behind him, the better. He tells her to leave him alone, and starts to walk away. (Japanese Ishizu says, Kaiba doesn't think Yugi with his two God cards can defeat Malik's Ra deck, does he? Kaiba agrees that the possibility is very low. There is terrible power in the God Ra. But it's nothing to do with him. He starts to go, saying he doesn't care who wins.)
Ishizu tells Kaiba that walking away now is a huge mistake. Kaiba says, let me guess, you read that in one of your ancient fairy tales. She tells Kaiba that his own future is at stake. He stops. (Japanese Ishizu says Yugi needs Kaiba's power to win. Kaiba asks if she heard that from some boring oracle. Ishizu speaks two words in ancient Egyptian: "Pret kreto," and Kaiba stops, startled that he understood what she said.)
Ishizu says she knows that Kaiba is able to read the ancient text, and he knows what is written on the stone. The sorcerer may have been the Pharaoh's rival, but he was also his friend. Kaiba must do for Yugi what the sorcerer did for the Pharaoh five thousand years ago—help his friend. Without Kaiba, Yugi can't save the world from destruction. (Japanese Ishizu says these are the words on the stone carving, a three thousand year old stone found in the Pharaoh's temple. The words are prayers for the dead, and were dedicated to the dead Pharaoh by a friend.)
Kaiba again starts to leave, but Ishizu goes on. If Kaiba continues to deny his ancient heritage, the entire world will suffer because of his stubbornness. His rivalry with Yugi has been in existence for thousands of years, and will continue to exist for all eternity. As a skilled sorcerer, he constantly challenged the Pharaoh, strengthening his skills in battle. It was with his help that the Pharaoh was able to save his people. History is now repeating itself, and Yugi needs him.
(Japanese Ishizu tells Kaiba that the person who left this emblem of friendship on the stone was the priest, who wrote the words on the carving himself:
"The dead body lies in a vessel covered by sand and dust—
Gold also lies there, and also a sword
The body wrapped in a sheath of time—
The corpse does not bear the king's name
In that time on the battle field of the soul—he cries out
A poem of war
A poem to a friend
Guide him to the place where long ago souls crossed." *)
Kaiba angrily tells Ishizu that's enough. He hosted this tournament in order to become Number One, not to help Yugi. Ishizu tells him he's wrong. He was destined to put on this tournament, and if he leaves now, he'll be turning his back on mankind. (Japanese Kaiba says, "What are you trying to say, Ishizu? I'm not interested in three thousand year old words written on a stone." Ishizu reminds him that he put on this Battle City Tournament because of the God cards, and there is one duel left to be held on this Duel Tower—the battle for the Pharaoh's soul.)
Kaiba says that the Duel Tower stands as a symbol of his hatred for his father. He can't stand the sight of it. She taunts him about running away from his father, and tells him that this is about more than him and his family. (Japanese Kaiba tells Ishizu, "You'll be sorry if you keep saying such stupid things!" This shot of Kaiba clenching his fist is replaced in the US version by a shot of Kaiba looking up at the Duel Tower.)
(Ishizu tells him he must open his mind and accept it. The Duel Tower he built is the crossing of souls, a sanctuary he built with his own soul.)
Kaiba defiantly insists that he designed this whole tournament, and he was robbed of his victory. But he can still bury his past by destroying the Duel Tower. (Japanese Kaiba insists that the Duel Tower is an emblem of his hatred for Gozaburo. He was going to be Duel King on top of the tower, to prove that he defeats everything! This shot of Kaiba is cut from the US version. The shot of Kaiba looking up at the Duel Tower which follows is moved to the scene above.)
(But he says it's all meaningless now. "Maybe I should sink myself into the sea now.") He tells Mokuba to prepare for detonation.
Sad-eyed, Mokuba doesn't go. Kaiba angrily asks if he heard him. Mokuba says he heard him, but he doesn't think destroying the tower is going to solve anything. All it will do is cause more destruction and more hatred. (Japanese Mokuba protests, "We don't have to let Yugi be involved in our anger and hatred!")
Kaiba is shocked. (Cut from the US version is this scene where Mokuba says that he hated Yugi and the others at first, too, but they fought for him on Pegasus's Island, and rescued him from the Ghouls. They treated him as their friend.)
Mokuba goes on, with tears in his eyes, saying he thinks Yugi was right. Kaiba is filled with hate. He remembers Yugi telling Kaiba that he was dueling for all the wrong reasons, fueled by anger, hate, and jealousy, and the denial of his past. Yugi'd said that Kaiba would never be a success until he had defeated the monsters inside his heart. He also remembers Joey telling Kaiba that they were fighting a great duel, so why didn't he relax and have fun? Mokuba asks Kaiba why he never smiles any more. Their childhood wasn't the best, but they had fun sometimes. He wants it back the way it was! Kaiba says those days are over, but Mokuba cries out they don't have to be! Kaiba can change! Instead of causing more damage, why doesn't he help Yugi win, and prevent more damage? If he knows the secret to defeating Marik, he should tell Yugi.
(Mokuba tells his brother that he thinks what Yugi and Jounouchi said is true. He recalls what Yugi said after the duel, that the duelist's enemy is not only the monsters on the field, but the monsters of anger, hatred, and desire in his heart. "When you defeat all of these enemies, the road to become a True Duelist will open up in front of you." And he recalls Jounouchi's laughter in the middle of his duel with Kaiba, even as he's about to lose, telling Kaiba that it's fun to fight against a strong duelist. Mokuba says that his brother was once like that, too. He loved games in his heart. "I loved your smile then." He begs his brother to promise him that when the Duel Tower sinks into the sea, his hatred will be erased along with it. Mokuba wants his old brother back!)
Kaiba stares at the Duel Tower. How can he help Yugi? The reason he organized the Battle City tournament was to defeat Yugi! (Japanese Kaiba wonders, Can he do it? Can he erase his hatred, as the Duel Tower sinks into the sea?)
Téa and Yugi greet Joey, Tristan, and Duke at the bottom of the tower. Téa asks if the duel is over, and Joey asks what's the deal walking out on him when he needed them! Yugi says it's not what Joey thinks (Japanese Yugi apologizes), but Tristan says it's okay, Joey got his butt kicked. The only thing they missed was watching Kaiba make him squirm. Joey steams, while Duke tells Tristan to ease up—Joey did a pretty good job. Kaiba just did a much better job! Téa tells Joey he'll get him the next time—or the time after that. Joey tells them to drop it and concentrate on Yugi. He's about to fight the duel of his life against that evil creep, Marik! (Japanese Jounouchi goes on arguing with Anzu while Yugi watches, them, smiling.) Yugi turns to look at the Duel Tower. It's his turn to go on the field.
Atop the tower, Marik waits. Soon all three God cards will belong to him, and the world will cower at his feet. Yugi and his friends arrive, and Marik thinks the Pharaoh will soon learn what suffering is all about as he joins his friends in the Shadow Realm. He laughs evilly. (Japanese Malik thinks, "I'll tear you apart and let you taste the joy of death.") Joey warns Yugi that Marik is dangerous, a nutcase who plays by his own rules. Joey tells Yugi if he beats Marik, he'll save Mai, and the entire world. (Japanese Jounouchi says it's his fault he couldn't save Mai, so now he asks Yugi to please defeat Malik and save Mai.) Yugi says he'll do his best.
Marik thinks that Yugi thinks that having two Egyptian God cards will give him the advantage, but even Slifer and Obelisk together are no match for the Winged Dragon of Ra.
At the foot of the Duel Tower, Kaiba tells Ishizu that Yugi's chances of winning against Marik are slim. (Japanese Kaiba says Yugi has only a three percent possibility of winning. With One Turn Kill, Ra's power can't be compared to the other two God cards.) But Kaiba says that he holds the one card that can defeat Ra. But it's not just a matter of holding this card—it has to be played in a certain way to take down Ra. (Japanese Kaiba says the card would only raise Yugi's chances to twenty percent.) Kaiba begins to walk away, and Mokuba asks where he's going.
To the top of his Duel Tower, he says. Mokuba laughs happily. Does this mean he's going to help Yugi win? Kaiba says, just follow me. (Japanese Kaiba thinks, "Interesting. Let's make it a twenty percent duel!")
In the elevator up to the top of the Duel Tower, Kaiba thinks he could just stand by and watch Yugi fall at the hands of Marik. He'd enjoy watching Yugi lose. But it might be interesting to see if Yugi has what it takes to use this card. (Japanese Kaiba remembers Yugi saying that the strength of his friends brought him victory. He'll entrust this card with its possibilities to Yugi. Can Yugi create a miracle?)
Kaiba walks out onto the tower as the dueling platform rises, and Roland announces the beginning of the final duel. He tells Yugi to hold on. He has something Yugi needs. "Take this," he says, as he flings the card at Yugi. This is the ultimate test of Yugi's skill, he thinks. If he plays this card correctly, there's a slight chance he'll defeat Marik. If not, it's all over. (Japanese Kaiba thinks, there are no miracles, no strength of friends in the world at all. Yugi's failure will be the proof.)
To Be Continued...
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* This is my own translation of the poem on the stone from the manga.
It may not be 100% correct, but I think it's a little better than the
mangled version the subtitles give us.
