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insaneladybug) wrote2018-04-05 08:07 pm
insaneladybug) wrote2018-04-05 08:07 pm
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Anime vs. Manga Pharaoh's Memories
I may have figured out how to have my OC Khu have a connection with P. Seto in my new timeline. Maybe he's a friend P. Seto made after he and his mother went to the village to hide. He and P. Seto could have become close like brothers, but then went their separate paths when Khu wanted to start a revolution and P. Seto wanted to serve the Pharaoh.
So I'm rewatching season 5 episodes again and I also skimmed through the manga version for comparison. Honestly, aside from the deep conversations Thief King Bakura brings to the palace, I prefer the anime. (No surprise.) The pacing is much better; the manga moves too fast. There's more time to develop things. I prefer Seto being along. I love him helping to defeat Zorc and how he protects everyone during the climax! Most importantly, though, it seems like the manga didn't properly emphasize how horrendous the Kul Elna massacre was. Both versions of the anime did. Even in the dub, they had Ahknadin think on how if Yami Bakura was the sole survivor, his rage would be immeasurable. I don't remember that in the manga, unless I didn't see it. Seemed like Ahknadin only wondered how Yami Bakura knew of the village. And the manga didn't have the part where Atem said that if their positions were reversed, he would feel as hateful as Thief King does.
Then there are curious differences. The anime says that Atem only knows how to wield the Egyptian God Monsters because of the present-day. Therefore, that implies that he didn't use them in the original past. Maybe in the original past, they really did decimate Egypt.
The manga seems way more low-key when it gets to the revelation of the Shadow Game. They're just playing in the back room of the museum. I prefer the anime version of them playing in the Shadow Realm. It's just so much creepier seeing the table suspended in mid-air. And there are many more scenes of them talking in the anime. It's so much more intense.
Then, the Mahad and Yami Bakura duel is way different. (Yeah, I'm just going to keep alternating the names, since to me it's the same person.) In the manga, Yami Bakura activates the traps. In the anime, Mahad does, and it seemed rather dirty the way he did it. First he magically hid the traps and caused Thief King to back up into a bear trap. Those things have got to hurt, gah. He's lucky it seemed to clamp down on the ankle bracelet he was wearing. Then, while he was unable to move, Mahad brought down the pendulums and apparently had every intention of cutting him in half! Of course, once the things were there, Yami Bakura took advantage of them, which wasn't nice either, but I found it interesting that it was the protagonist, the character we're supposed to root for, who was pulling most of the underhanded stuff in that fight. In the original Japanese, when Yami Bakura realizes he's been sealed in, he comments that it's a dirty trick. But the dub has him say something similar later on, when Mahad uses the Shadow Ghoul (which Yami Bakura also then uses to his advantage later).
I actually find Mahad more interesting in the anime. Apparently he's so determined to protect Atem that he's willing to do dirty tricks and doesn't see anything wrong with it. Of course, it's alternately possible that the Ring was starting to corrupt him, as Crystal pointed out. It doesn't seem like he'd be immune to its evil forever. But either way, yeah, I prefer that fight in the anime. I watched it twice in a 24-hour period. I like it both because I find Mahad's characterization more interesting and because, well, I have to admit, I like seeing Yami Bakura not being the one pulling a lot of the underhanded stuff. The anime version of the fight is pretty fun for those like me who like Yami Bakura, but would rather not see him always being utterly sleazy.
Of course, when he takes Diabound and rampages the city, that was probably the most despicable thing he did. But something to keep in mind there is that it happened after he got the Ring and Zorc was starting to poison him. Prior to that, he seemed to focus on just going after the Pharaoh and the priests, which, while not right, wasn't like deliberately trying to harm all the innocent people in town. I'm still not crazy about all the Zorc mess, but I do like that it makes it harder to determine who did what and leaves some hope that maybe Yami Bakura wouldn't have done some of the things he did if Zorc hadn't been getting control of him.
I'd forgotten that strange comment in the manga where Yami Bakura's shadow says that the thief's soul in the Ring senses the location of the Pharaoh's name. That certainly sounds on one hand that in the manga version, the thief is separate from Zorc and Yami Bakura is only Zorc. But there are plenty of other things that indicate otherwise, including the fact that they laugh the same way. In the manga, each character has a unique laugh, and Yami Bakura's is this oddly endearing stutter. In the past, the same laugh is heard from Thief King. So I still think Thief King is part of the entity too. Actually, the fusion of Thief King and Zorc is never really stated in either anime or manga, yet for years it's been accepted as canon, so I assumed it was something the manga-ka said. I came up with the concept that it's really Thief King who is Yami Bakura, but Zorc fused with him and has been poisoning his mind for so many years that now the poor thing thinks he is Zorc. Makes sense to me, and anyway, if Thief King isn't part of the entity, where the heck is he in the anime version? It seems clear that they're the same person too when you notice how really similar their faces are. The expressions, even the way the bangs fall, it's the same. And the Japanese ending has that intriguing clip showing him transforming from present-day to past forms, outright demonstrating their similarities.
One thing I noticed is that Thief King is usually unhinged while in the present-day, he as Yami Bakura is usually calm, cool, and collected, until towards the end of season 5, when he is clearly losing it. I would say the fusion with Zorc caused the change in personalities and maybe Zorc calmed him for a time, but near the end of the series when it finally looks like he will achieve his goal, it becomes obvious that he is still out of his mind. The manga calls him The Mad Tomb-Robber, interestingly enough.
I like that the anime, even the original anime, wasn't crazy about how the manga version really is a killer. He is definitely not the same person between verses; the anime version likes to steal souls, or send people into the shadows, but those things can be reversed. I think that even if one subscribes to the original anime version of what he did to Bonz and company, it can be reversed. In all the media I've known, characters who get dragged to the underworld both body and soul can be saved. I go with the dub version, but yeah, I think they can be saved either way. Of course, the anime version is still a sadistic little creep, but the things he does are definitely different from his manga counterpart.
I do regret that we don't see much interaction between Bakura and Yami Bakura in the anime, but on the other hand, that gives way to imagination and the possibility that they interact differently in the anime than in the manga. I do like that in the manga Yami Bakura outright says he likes Bakura, something I'd forgotten, and that he granted the boy's wishes. Of course, he did it in twisted ways, trapping souls in game pieces so Bakura would never be alone, but it was sweet in a creepy way. And I love when he got protective of Bakura after the gym teacher was so mean. I keep the protectiveness for my anime verse, and although Yami Bakura doesn't seem to be as twisted in the anime, it's always interesting to me that he fully believes Bakura will help him with his first plot and is shocked when Bakura refuses. Possibly he thinks Bakura is too submissive to refuse, but it's interesting if he thought Bakura would help for another reason. And then there's the intriguing comment he makes in season 5 that Bakura promised to help him get all the Items. That was never explained. Why would Bakura promise that? Interesting mysteries to think about.
In any case, whoever and whatever Yami Bakura is, I must unashamedly say I love my post-canon verse where he as Thief King survives Zorc's destruction and is helped by Bakura. All of his goals are gone, so he has to come up with new ones, and Bakura's kindness and compassion, which has been slowly working on him all along, finally soothes his hate and his insanity and he is able to start a new life for himself and get a second chance with the Infinity Ring. Since canon never really says what happened to him, and I don't take the spin-offs or Dark Side of Dimensions as canon, I insist on believing that my version is what happens after canon. :) That's the fun thing about such fanworks; no one can really be wrong since canon has stopped. The continuation can be anything one wants it to be.
So I'm rewatching season 5 episodes again and I also skimmed through the manga version for comparison. Honestly, aside from the deep conversations Thief King Bakura brings to the palace, I prefer the anime. (No surprise.) The pacing is much better; the manga moves too fast. There's more time to develop things. I prefer Seto being along. I love him helping to defeat Zorc and how he protects everyone during the climax! Most importantly, though, it seems like the manga didn't properly emphasize how horrendous the Kul Elna massacre was. Both versions of the anime did. Even in the dub, they had Ahknadin think on how if Yami Bakura was the sole survivor, his rage would be immeasurable. I don't remember that in the manga, unless I didn't see it. Seemed like Ahknadin only wondered how Yami Bakura knew of the village. And the manga didn't have the part where Atem said that if their positions were reversed, he would feel as hateful as Thief King does.
Then there are curious differences. The anime says that Atem only knows how to wield the Egyptian God Monsters because of the present-day. Therefore, that implies that he didn't use them in the original past. Maybe in the original past, they really did decimate Egypt.
The manga seems way more low-key when it gets to the revelation of the Shadow Game. They're just playing in the back room of the museum. I prefer the anime version of them playing in the Shadow Realm. It's just so much creepier seeing the table suspended in mid-air. And there are many more scenes of them talking in the anime. It's so much more intense.
Then, the Mahad and Yami Bakura duel is way different. (Yeah, I'm just going to keep alternating the names, since to me it's the same person.) In the manga, Yami Bakura activates the traps. In the anime, Mahad does, and it seemed rather dirty the way he did it. First he magically hid the traps and caused Thief King to back up into a bear trap. Those things have got to hurt, gah. He's lucky it seemed to clamp down on the ankle bracelet he was wearing. Then, while he was unable to move, Mahad brought down the pendulums and apparently had every intention of cutting him in half! Of course, once the things were there, Yami Bakura took advantage of them, which wasn't nice either, but I found it interesting that it was the protagonist, the character we're supposed to root for, who was pulling most of the underhanded stuff in that fight. In the original Japanese, when Yami Bakura realizes he's been sealed in, he comments that it's a dirty trick. But the dub has him say something similar later on, when Mahad uses the Shadow Ghoul (which Yami Bakura also then uses to his advantage later).
I actually find Mahad more interesting in the anime. Apparently he's so determined to protect Atem that he's willing to do dirty tricks and doesn't see anything wrong with it. Of course, it's alternately possible that the Ring was starting to corrupt him, as Crystal pointed out. It doesn't seem like he'd be immune to its evil forever. But either way, yeah, I prefer that fight in the anime. I watched it twice in a 24-hour period. I like it both because I find Mahad's characterization more interesting and because, well, I have to admit, I like seeing Yami Bakura not being the one pulling a lot of the underhanded stuff. The anime version of the fight is pretty fun for those like me who like Yami Bakura, but would rather not see him always being utterly sleazy.
Of course, when he takes Diabound and rampages the city, that was probably the most despicable thing he did. But something to keep in mind there is that it happened after he got the Ring and Zorc was starting to poison him. Prior to that, he seemed to focus on just going after the Pharaoh and the priests, which, while not right, wasn't like deliberately trying to harm all the innocent people in town. I'm still not crazy about all the Zorc mess, but I do like that it makes it harder to determine who did what and leaves some hope that maybe Yami Bakura wouldn't have done some of the things he did if Zorc hadn't been getting control of him.
I'd forgotten that strange comment in the manga where Yami Bakura's shadow says that the thief's soul in the Ring senses the location of the Pharaoh's name. That certainly sounds on one hand that in the manga version, the thief is separate from Zorc and Yami Bakura is only Zorc. But there are plenty of other things that indicate otherwise, including the fact that they laugh the same way. In the manga, each character has a unique laugh, and Yami Bakura's is this oddly endearing stutter. In the past, the same laugh is heard from Thief King. So I still think Thief King is part of the entity too. Actually, the fusion of Thief King and Zorc is never really stated in either anime or manga, yet for years it's been accepted as canon, so I assumed it was something the manga-ka said. I came up with the concept that it's really Thief King who is Yami Bakura, but Zorc fused with him and has been poisoning his mind for so many years that now the poor thing thinks he is Zorc. Makes sense to me, and anyway, if Thief King isn't part of the entity, where the heck is he in the anime version? It seems clear that they're the same person too when you notice how really similar their faces are. The expressions, even the way the bangs fall, it's the same. And the Japanese ending has that intriguing clip showing him transforming from present-day to past forms, outright demonstrating their similarities.
One thing I noticed is that Thief King is usually unhinged while in the present-day, he as Yami Bakura is usually calm, cool, and collected, until towards the end of season 5, when he is clearly losing it. I would say the fusion with Zorc caused the change in personalities and maybe Zorc calmed him for a time, but near the end of the series when it finally looks like he will achieve his goal, it becomes obvious that he is still out of his mind. The manga calls him The Mad Tomb-Robber, interestingly enough.
I like that the anime, even the original anime, wasn't crazy about how the manga version really is a killer. He is definitely not the same person between verses; the anime version likes to steal souls, or send people into the shadows, but those things can be reversed. I think that even if one subscribes to the original anime version of what he did to Bonz and company, it can be reversed. In all the media I've known, characters who get dragged to the underworld both body and soul can be saved. I go with the dub version, but yeah, I think they can be saved either way. Of course, the anime version is still a sadistic little creep, but the things he does are definitely different from his manga counterpart.
I do regret that we don't see much interaction between Bakura and Yami Bakura in the anime, but on the other hand, that gives way to imagination and the possibility that they interact differently in the anime than in the manga. I do like that in the manga Yami Bakura outright says he likes Bakura, something I'd forgotten, and that he granted the boy's wishes. Of course, he did it in twisted ways, trapping souls in game pieces so Bakura would never be alone, but it was sweet in a creepy way. And I love when he got protective of Bakura after the gym teacher was so mean. I keep the protectiveness for my anime verse, and although Yami Bakura doesn't seem to be as twisted in the anime, it's always interesting to me that he fully believes Bakura will help him with his first plot and is shocked when Bakura refuses. Possibly he thinks Bakura is too submissive to refuse, but it's interesting if he thought Bakura would help for another reason. And then there's the intriguing comment he makes in season 5 that Bakura promised to help him get all the Items. That was never explained. Why would Bakura promise that? Interesting mysteries to think about.
In any case, whoever and whatever Yami Bakura is, I must unashamedly say I love my post-canon verse where he as Thief King survives Zorc's destruction and is helped by Bakura. All of his goals are gone, so he has to come up with new ones, and Bakura's kindness and compassion, which has been slowly working on him all along, finally soothes his hate and his insanity and he is able to start a new life for himself and get a second chance with the Infinity Ring. Since canon never really says what happened to him, and I don't take the spin-offs or Dark Side of Dimensions as canon, I insist on believing that my version is what happens after canon. :) That's the fun thing about such fanworks; no one can really be wrong since canon has stopped. The continuation can be anything one wants it to be.