On Wednesdays, we’re reading Yu-Gi-Oh! here on JonathanLack.Com – specifically, as explained in Part I of this series, we’re looking at how many people are killed in the surprisingly violent original manga, and which characters rack up the biggest kill counts. And today, we’re continuing with our penultimate installment, with Volumes 36 and 37 of the manga.
Volume 36 is not as eventful, in terms of death, as the momentous previous two volumes, but there are two big ones: First up, 1 Kill for Thief King Bakura as he murders Priest Kalim in this scene:
And then, in a climactic moment of triumph, the Pharaoh and his remaining Priests team up to kill Thief King Bakura, with the Pharaoh's servant Mahado (the Dark Magician) getting the killing blow. So that’s 1 Kill for Yami Yugi.
Now onto the penultimate entry in the series, Volume 37!
And before we dive fully into this eventful tome, I need to explain The Bakura Situation. Because there are really four distinct Bakuras at this point in the series, and explaining the 'kills' from this point forward necessitates differentiating:
1. Ryo Bakura, the human boy in present day, owner of the Millennium Ring
2. Thief King Bakura, the human villain in past, servant of Zorc Necrophades
3. Yami Bakura, the embodiment of Zorc Necrophades residing in the Millennium Ring
4. Fragment of Yami Bakura, a piece of the Millennium Ring spirit left in the Millennium Puzzle, causing mischief
With that in mind, Volume 37 starts with ‘lil Yugi getting his first kill of the series, dispatching of the Fragment of Yami Bakura in a duel! It's a really good duel too, the first with ‘lil Yugi's own deck, and he kicks Bakura's ass. 1 Kill for Yugi Mutou!
Meanwhile, Priest Shada, weakened by Thief King Bakura in Volume 36, is finally finished off here by Zorc himself in Volume 37. In the same way we count Yami Yugi and The Pharaoh as the same character, since one is the spiritual embodiment of the other, Yami Bakura and Zorc Necrophades are counted the same too. So that’s 1 Kill for Yami Bakura/Zorc as he deals the finishing blow to the poor Priest.
Siamun, the Pharaoh's adviser modeled after Grandpa Mutou, comes out to battle with Exodia, but is slain alongside his monster, again by Zorc Necrophades. And if it's not clear he's dead, we even see body slip into a fissure in the earth later in the volume. 1 Kill for Yami Bakura/Zorc.
This next one takes some explaining. Priest Akhenaden, the Pharaoh's Uncle and the one who sells out to Zorc, is also Priest Seto's father (making the Pharaoh and Seto cousins). He wants Seto to inherit the darkness and rule Egypt, in a very Darth Vader-style arc:
To try pulling Seto into darkness, Akhenaden kills Kisara, the woman whose soul houses the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. A tragic scene, and 1 Kill for Akhenaden, bringing him to a triple-digit total of 100 kills.
At the end of Volume 37, the Pharaoh's friends – ‘lil Yugi and company – join the battle, but are almost vanquished by Zorc, until the mysterious Hasan steps in and shields them, giving his life in the process. We then learn he was Shadi all along! 1 Kill for Yami Bakura/Zorc.
With all hope almost lost, the Pharaoh's friends reveal they found his true name: the key to vanquishing Zorc! The Pharaoh speaks his name – ATEM! – and summons God. Three Gods, in fact, who become THE God – Horakhty, creator God of Light! 1 Kill for Yami Yugi, or as he shall henceforth be known, Atem!
NEXT WEEK: We come to the end of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and of our grand competition to see which character can rack up the most murders. Who will win? Who will be left standing? And who will get the final kill? The answers may surprise you.
OFFICIAL YU-GI-OH! KILL COUNT AS OF VOLUME 37
Thief King Bakura: 166 kills
Akhenaden: 100 kills
Atem (Yami Yugi): 14 kills
Gelbek: 8 kills
Yami Bakura (Zorc Necrophades): 8 kills
Seto Kaiba: 6 kills
Yami Marik: 3 kills
Creepy Mime: 2 kills
Katsuya Jonouchi: 2 kills
Marik Ishtar: 2 kills
Siamun: 2 kills
Shadi: 2 kills
Baby Joji: 1 kill
Kisara: 1 kill
Mahado: 1 kill
Pegasus J. Crawford: 1 kill
Priest Seto: 1 kill
The Sea: 1 kill
Yugi Mutou: 1 kill
Catch Up on the Complete Yu-Gi-Oh! Kill Count Series:
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