Predictions and Observations:
Battle With the Black Rose

Episode Aired: December 27, 2008
This Post Posted: January 2, 2009

"It's not a loss if you learn something." Yusei said of Leo's match. Leo didn't get it, but Yusei's right; Leo was pushed to the point that he had to break out of what he'd always done, the combos he liked, and try something he'd never done before. Even though he lost, he raised his game to a level it had never seen before, and that's something to be proud of.

Ransborg and Akiza, not Ansborg and Sakiza -- oopsie. I guess the pronunciation got a little slurred with their titles: "Miss Akiza Yazinski" and "Sir Ransborg"

Knight in shining armor, is Ransborg's description. Funny; Luna called Yusei the same thing: "like a knight in shining armor, but with a deck."

Jack is watching Goodwin and Lezar this whole time; you're saying he doesn't suspect anything? Then again, what's to suspect? As far as Jack knows, Goodwin's trying to track down the Signers for the good of humanity, nothing sinister. But doesn't it strike him as odd, since he *is* a duelist, that Goodwin isn't straightforward about it at all, and as a matter of fact probably couldn't be less so? Maybe I underestimate just how much Jack is on Goodwin's side of all this (depending on his rematch with Yusei, he could be in for a rude awakening), but come on...

"Most who come face-to-face with it never duel again." So Greiger already knew about the Black Rose and all that? We didn't know that bit of info; what else does Greiger know about the Black Rose that we don't?

"Your eyes do vex." Not really sure if that's a complement or not. "Vex" means to frustrate or anger, to cause concern or worry, to get on one's nerves, to make someone nervous; originally from the Latin vexere, which means to shake or disturb. Her eyes specifically, though. They do have kind of an intensity to them; that just means she's a super-powerful duelist with a purpose, though.

"The best Fortune Cup ever". This implies that there have been others; I'd been kind of wondering if this was a regular event. Is it always this financially diverse, I wonder, and is that really why they call it the Fortune Cup?

I think Ransborg's played by Eric Stuart.

I think Greiger's already working on his next match, is what I think. But how much did he learn or guess from talking about this match with Yusei? Did he see that Yusei's arm was hurting him, and does he know what that means? He already knows that Goodwin's intel calls both Yusei and Akiza Signers, I would assume, so the question of whether they had some 'ancient, mystical bond' could be construed as leading. It's weird; with Greiger his motives could be entirely friendly as one honorable duelist to another, or entirely sinister with him very devoted, apparently, to the idea of exposing the Signers. What, I ask again, is his motive for working for Goodwin?

"Like all duelists that battle before me, you hath no mind for strategy!" What I take from this is, Ransborg relies on his opponent's being a bad duelist instead of himself being a good one. I think that's often the difference between our heroes and a loser like him.

I think the two quotes that most define to us who this mysterious Akiza is are:
"Next time you want to play dressup, you should remember that it's not what's on the outside that makes you who you are but what's on the inside!"
"Be careful who you call a witch."
I'll take the first one first. Her purpose in saying it is that cheesy armor and cheesier dialogue do not a knight in shining armor make. But this draws obvious parallels back to Akiza's own costume: the Black Rose. To paraphrase directly onto that situation, just because she dresses up as the Black Rose, with that mask and the big entrance and all, doesn't mean it's who she is. Right now, all we really know about her is that her cards actually frighten and hurt people; in this duel she was called a witch, a sorceress, and in a poetical sense, her style and cards continue with such a theme. Is she telling us that the ominous facade of giant black thorny vines protects, conceals, and overshadows something else, like the worry I thought I saw in her eyes when the tournament first began, or the possibility that, as a probable Signer, she's being blackmailed to compete, or whatever the deal is with this fellow in the brown? Or alternately, is she saying that it isn't the costume that makes her the powerful and frightening Black Rose, it's her own will?
The second one is even more compelling. It's one of those lines that stay with you. Why so sensitive to being termed a witch; why not shrug it off as trash-talk that comes with the arena? Why not even enjoy it, because it alludes and adds to the mystery and power that is the urban legend of the Black Rose? Or is she simply saying, "I wouldn't mess with me if I were you"?

Since duel disks were invented it's become par for the course that losing lifepoints stings a bit, for the sake of realism. Some monsters, however, are powerful enough that it does more than sting, such as the case where Yugi was reluctant to attack Bakura with Slifer while Bakura was injured, or, the case I keep thinking about around this, the case in "Schooling the Master", after which match Shroud declared that Zane's opponent "won't walk for months." In comparison to that (after which the crowd also booed), this is relatively mild. I'm going to make a crazy hypothesis that, following such duels as the latter example, there was something of a backlash against duel disks that cause serious injuries. Especially, I add parenthetically, if Zane Truesdale had anything to do with the current pro league; Marufuji Ryo did, in the sub GX canon that never became Dub, set out to found a new pro league with Sho. I have this crazy fantasy, of course, that they succeeded and the League we now see in 5D's is their handiwork. If it is, I'm not surprised that duels that cause injuries are less acceptable now than they were in GX's time. It may also just be that duels that have such potential have been around longer and public opinion has continued to shape it. The Rose's cards did damage because they apparently come to life; apparently duel disks don't do that anymore. By the standard rules of the Yugiohverse, by the way, that makes this something of a shadow game. In any case, we're still wondering why her cards come to life, if it has something to do with her Signerdom, or what.

I'd say that if one move is memorable in this duel it's the Mark of the Rose/Vengeful Servant combo there. Akiza pulled a Change of Heart, essentially (and I keep in mind that that card represents Bakura, whose picture is probably beside the dictionary definition for narrative Shapeshifter), but only-- mark that this was ALL she did-- used it to return Ransborg's monster to him as a Trojan horse. She didn't attack him with it or release it (to use the 5D's terminology) to summon something else. Also interesting is the way in which it happened; it didn't get possessed or forced to join her field, like we've seen happen with Change of Heart and its other quivalent cards (Brain Control, etc.); the Knight ceremonially swore fealty to her instead. To me that seems a bit unusual for this sort of move. I think it added to her mystique as a "witch" or a "sorceress" that Ransborg's knight was so, well, "bewitched" by her.

Of course I couldn't let this post go out without some discussion, such as it is, of Akiza's cards. Here's what I've got: beautiful, deadly... and even more powerful when they die. The first two are relatively self-explanitory. The third, I'd say, is what's between the lines on this. But it's true; as soon as Black Garden died and crumbled, Black Rose Dragon rose from its brittle brown leaves. To me this implies that adversity makes her stronger, if her card is strongest when it dies-- who else does that remind you of? As a final note, Yubel is the only other duelist we know who duels with plants.

Leo and Dexter seem to have switched sides; they're not so much fans of the Rose anymore.

The announcer said that, in fairytales, when it comes to knights vs. dragons, it doesn't end well for the dragon. Akiza's victory implies an addition to that: "...But this is no fairytale."

What's THAT supposed to mean?! And who the heck is he?! "Not a bad win, Akiza. But I got a bad feeling that your real fight is just about to get started." To me it seems that that statement is made far too gleefully to actually be a bad feeling, and I'd be surprised if that's genuine concern. He was unimpressed by her win, calling it "not bad", suggesting that he's seen her do better or that, as people he associates with go, she's nothing special. And the "nothing special" we're talking about is getting booed because she frightens the whole audience. But her real fight is about to get started, eh, ominous figure? Would you, perchance, have a hand in that?

In friendly homage to the Bard, a bit of this post in verse:
Who is that weirdo in the brown?
Do we dare compare him to Shroud?
Does he beguile and push the Rose around?
No, serious, who is that trenchcoat-wearer?
Friend or foe, I ask. Her worried air--
Is it because of him she's a despairer?
For, third time that she's seen out of disguise,
Backstage just after unseen fireworks fly,
She sits at a table, worry in her eyes.
So, that? Or something else, for as the Rose,
She's a Signer (fairly sure); we know
That means she's under fire 'til she glows,
And since if not a bribe then it's a threat,
(And it's not some nice bribe, I'm reckoning),
Last two, DS: who's Goodwin threatening?
But back to brown-coat (not an Independent);
If not Goodwin or both, it's her weird friend that
Has Akiza worried and defendant.

I'm reminded of Name of the Game: "why's everyone... speaking like they're in some bad Shakespearean play?" But that aside, a word or two in defense of our language as remembered in Shakespeare. If the reader has studied any Latin language like French or Spanish, "thou" is more familiar than you think. It's the English language equivalent of "tu", which is the familiar "you" (with "you" itself being the formal, like "usted" or "vous"), which, unlike in Spanish or French, has since fallen out of use. "Thou" is used to address close friends, inferiors, people you don't like, and generally people you aren't very formal and polite towards. "Thou" being a subject, it also has its own verb conjugations (I am, you are, it is...), which is where the "hath" and "hast" come from. If I'm not much mistaken, "thou" is the subject pronoun (like "I"), "thee" is an object pronoun (like "me"), "thy" is a possessive adjective (like "my"), and "thine" is a possessive pronoun (like "mine").
And a word or two in defense of the Bard: Shakespeare is often considered inaccessible and arcane, for utterly obsessed scholars only, and it is a skill to be able to read it and understand it simply because it's written in an English we barely speak anymore. But we've held onto it because the work itself is so darned incredible; this guy writes a story more intricate, layered, and creative than plenty of modern novels, one that appealed to everyone who watched it from scholars and royalty down to peasants who liked a good poop joke, and often did so in *rhymed meter.* I'm not even going to go off on the show for butchering it, because what's done is done and such silliness as that, in addition to many other hilariously stupid moments ("And as long as it keeps on spinning a-round, a-round, a-round, we will be the masters of the universe!!!!"), give the show its charm. But I want everyone to know, since it's an opportune moment to say so-- Shakespeare rocks.
But I find it a bit hard to believe that an actor as talented and seasoned as Eric Stuart would have so little regard for Shakespeare-- I get the feeling that Ransborg's poor usage, terrible grasp of pronouns, apparent resistance to properly using the word 'the' in favor of "thy" or "thine", lousy verb conjugation, and general lack of basic grammatical common sense were all on purpose, because Ransborg is, after all, a hack.
Since Shakespeare is an English-language thing, I wonder how Ransborg spoke in the original Japanese?

So that means... if the D-Tector didn't pick up any energy from Akiza, either Akiza's no Signer or the D-Tector is only useful if Goodwin should need to whack something with his purse ("It's my most inspired invention yet! It's amaaayzing! And-- fits in your purse."). If Akiza's no Signer, what were Yusei's and Jack's Signs reacting to? And if the D-Tector makes a better doorstop, what was it picking up on from Luna? We know Akiza's seriously powerful; her cards come to life, for cryin' out loud. She recognized Yusei's Sign and reacted strongly to it, using the word "also", which implies that *she* 'also' has one, or alternately, ran into someone else who 'also' does. At this point, I'm more likely to trust Jack and Yusei's actual Signs over some wacky machine, even if it was probably just built to make a beeping noise and a visual report when it picks up the same things we've already seen Zigzix's sensors *successfully* pick up during Jack and Yusei's match, from which he gleaned that the energy spiked when Stardust and Archfiend attacked each other. What about this-- the D-Tector didn't d-tect anything because Akiza's no Signer and her power isn't Ener-D, but Yusei and Jack did because she's something else, something equally powerful. That would make Black Rose Dragon a bit of a red herring as Akiza's equivalent to Archfiend and Stardust, because it wouldn't, then, be one of the five dragon cards Yunagi spoke of. What does he have to say about this, since he knew Stardust was one of them? Also in support of this crazy little theory-- Luna said that she could feel Akiza's cards in pain; what Signer, what born duelist, would abuse or misuse his or her cards to the point that they warrant such a description? Unless of course they're in pain because, deep down, so is she; Yusei's cards said he was very sad, and that was quite possibly unasked-for, which means they were probably pretty worried about him. Wonder how he's doing now that all he can really do is hope Blister found Rally and the others safe? Is it too far-fetched to say that Yusei's cards might be in some pain, too? But if Akiza *is* a Signer, and the D-Tector *is* more than just an amayyyyzing paperweight, why didn't the D-Tector pick up any Ener-D coming from her? Well, her cards come to life, and as far as we know Jack's and Yusei's don't; I've wondered before if Akiza has discovered how to actively use the raw power that comes with being a Signer. What if she's also discovered, in discovering this magic, how to magically cover her tracks, to cause her power to be untraceable? If Akiza isn't a Signer, what is she, why did she set off Yusei and Jack's 'arm alarms', and how does she *do* that? If the D-Tector is just a toaster with a satellite dish stapled on, how long do we have before Goodwin and company notice, what the heck did it pick up from Luna, and are we sure that Luna's the Signer, not Leo?

Yeah, you heard me (read me, whatever). At this point, silly unreliable Zigzix creations aside, we have equal evidence to support either of the twins being the Signer. To begin with, Luna definitely talks to card spirits, and Leo never said he couldn't. Then it was Leo who reacted to Yusei's Sign, and envisioned a Sign in the form of a glowing red claw; could mean he saw it on his own arm, Luna's, or someone else's altogether. Then, we have Goodwin's intel, of course, which seems pretty darn sure that Luna is the Signer; but Goodwin and Co. apparently didn't know she had a twin until they looked it up. We have that Luna reacted to whatever it was Zigzix cranked up in the stadium to pressure her inner power into revealing itself, but since we may not be able to trust the good ol' D-Tector, that much is circumstantial. We have also that Leo, not Luna, was the one who said that it seemed as though he'd met Akiza before, and Greiger asked Yusei the same thing: had he met her before? Some deep, mystical bond? Yusei seemed surprised that he somehow *knew* she would win; Jack was silent, but seemed to be right there with him. That suggests that there is, indeed, a deep mystical bond; we can't really say whether that's characteristic of Signers, because Jack and Yusei, the only two confirmed Signers (to us), were so close to begin with that they might be that able to predict each other without any magical powers at all. Yugi, Atem, Joey, and Kaiba were interconnected that way, and, in Joey's case at least, there wasn't much magical about it. Jaden shared that connection with a few rivals, such as Chazz, Aster, Jesse, and Zane, and similarly it wasn't magic, just rivalry. Anyway, though, if either of the twins expressed that sense of being connected to Akiza, is was Leo, not Luna. However, he could just have been referring to that she seems familiar because she's the Black Rose and he has, in fact, met the Black Rose. Luna, however, seems to be nearly as agitated in this duel as she was in the other one, possibly because she's still feeling Akiza's cards in pain.

As a final note on the possibility of the D-Tector being a dud, Risa (my sis) notes that Akiza didn't even break a sweat on Ransborg, and suggests that as the reason we didn't pick up any Ener-D.

It occurs to me that what I really want to see, besides Yusei kicking Shira's robed tush and taking the tournament, is Akiza and how she interacts with the rest of the characters we know. So far, we've only seen a tiny, tiny bit of that-- the hallway scene-- and I realized just now that that's why that bit is important (though what it tells us, who knows just yet). To begin with, in terms of what I'm fairly certain we'll see, Yusei now knows that Akiza's the Black Rose, and he has a few questions for the Black Rose, and Akiza knows both of those things. When she found out that Yusei was "also" a Signer, she panicked, suggesting that she probably won't want to answer said questions, or at least that she wants to keep her distance from Yusei, because the only thing that kept things from picking up where they left off was that no one (with the exception of us and Goodwin, who are just too darn smart) knew that she was the Black Rose. So I see a bit of a conflict of interest there; Yusei would sure like to speak with Akiza, but that's the last thing she wants. Then again, unless we end up having Commander Koda vs. the Professor next (which could happen), Yusei's about to duel. Then again, Commander vs. Professor is the perfect, and only, opportunity for such a conversation, because unless Yusei loses out to Shira (don't make me laugh), both he and Akiza are in the next round of matches and if one of them isn't in the arena, the other will be-- it would be Yusei vs. Greiger (that's gonna be good, count on it) and Akiza vs. whichever of the two losers left in her bracket is slightly less of one. So essentially Yusei will only have the duration of Commander vs. Professor to manage to get her to chat, and Akiza has to avoid him for that long. And then, assuming that they both win their semifinal matches, there's of course the opportunity of the duel itself and, (say it with me) in a duel, the truth always comes out.

Just for the sake of it, I calculated it out, and this is my 220th post, with a total of 405 episodes; that's over half the canon. Not bad for someone who only joined the fandom a month before the movie came out (purely by coincidence, don't hurt me). Over the years, this post is something I've always been proud of; it's seen me grow up, from the days when I spelled "Millennium" with one "n", through some of my darkest times, when I could still be happy that it was almost Saturay morning. For anyone who even only reads this one post, for anyone who's ever read my post, thank you.

"Surprise, Surprise" is the episode up next. In terms of the tournament bracket, we've had one match from each side and, logically, Yusei's up next, against Shira. What's the big surprise? Yusei, I recall, said once, "I'm all *about* surprises." (The Facility II) I'd say that if Shira's planning to be anything but cannon fodder in this tournament, he's in for an unpleasant surprise. Is Luna about to get an unpleasant surprise in the form of an attempt to expose her Sign? Is Goodwin about to get an unpleasant surprise in the form of figuring out that the D-Tector can't tell a Signer from a flowering shrub? Or, these are all unpleasant surprises. How about a pleasant one: Blister meets up with Rally and the others, and they get a pretty big surprise to see Yusei dueling alongside the best in New Domino, even if it *is* blackmailed. I bet they'd be proud, once Blister explained to them that of course Yusei didn't just imitate Jack's betrayal. Or, this would be a surprise: Goodwin and Lezar go jump in a lake, Yusei and Jack have that rematch and then become friends again, Rally and the gang get safe passage to Domino, Zigzix moves into the spinning teacup ride at the local Kaibaland, Mina gets a job that she can actually do, Sir Ransborg finds himself a nice dueling ren fair and finally learns to say the word "the", Trudge gets a clue, Blister patches things up with Arrow, someone refers to Rally by a gender-specific pronoun, and in the same sentence mentions the exact number of years since the invention of the duel disk, and then goes on to discuss the whereabouts of every single character in the last two series we've been wondering about, and after that the City and the Satellite decide to mutually put aside their differences and just be Domino City, Yusei finds that lost puppy everyone seems to think he has, and everyone lives happily ever after. Even Akiza's cards.

'Til then! -Clio

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