YU-GI-OH!
RYOU BAKURA

I will do what I can to hold him back...

            You cannot destroy me. I will return for I am the darkness...

Bakura may be an under-rated character, but don't underestimate him. He may just surprise you. He plays an important role and is quite possibly the most confusing character on the show. But he's definitely one of the most interesting characters you'll ever come across.

Like many of the other characters, Bakura's life did a 180 when he received the Millennium Ring as a gift from his father. Never did he imagine that owning a piece of jewelry could cause so much pain.

Unlike Yugi's other half, Bakura's dark side isn't very nice. In ancient times, he was a thief. And this dark thief has his sights set on ultimate power. To gain this power, Yami Bakura is on a mission to find all seven millennium items.

Using the powers of the Millennium Ring, Yami Bakura has the ability to rip souls from their bodies. The points of his ring also point in the direction of other millennium items. Yami Bakura also has a twisted sense of humor. In the first series, he turns everyone, including his other half, into game pieces for his own fun.

To gain the power he seeks, Yami Bakura will do almost anything. When he first encounters Malik and is debating whether or not to be on Malik's side, he accepts by licking a knife and stabbing himself. He seems to have a thing for blood and rare flesh. At certain times in the manga and anime, you see him licking blood (even that from Pegasus's eye after he rips it out) and eating rare meat.

Unlike other owners of the millennium items, Bakura's dark side is in control of the ring. When in control, he usual blocks out the real Bakura. For this reason, a lot of the time Bakura seems to wake up with no memory of what has happened, but the real Bakura knows one thing every single time - no matter what his dark half has been up to, it's not good.

Perhaps Yami Bakura does this to avoid interference. Or perhaps he unconsciously does this to protect the innocence of his other half. Even though Yami Bakura doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself, and wounds Bakura's body many times, the only other person he even slightly cares about is the real Bakura. A few times he even says that no matter what, he'd never let anything happen to Bakura (Of course he says this is a way that makes one think that Yami Bakura only cares about the body he's in).

The real Bakura is often mistaken as a shy loner or a wimp. This is not the case at all. Upon realizing his evil half, Bakura noticed that not only he was in a lot of pain, both physically and mentally, but the people around him were constantly put into dangerous situations aswell. Bakura felt that the only way to protect the people he cared about was to distance himself from them.

Bakura has a fighting courageous spirit. He never gives in to his dark half and fights against him until the end. On a few occasions, Bakura even sacrifices himself in order to allow his dark half to be defeated. The real Bakura may be enslaved, but with what little free will he has, he puts up a fairly strong fight.

Near the beginning of the second series, Yami Yugi faces Yami Bakura for his friend's souls. With the help of the real Bakura, Yugi and his friends believe they have banished Yami Bakura to the shadow realm never to return. However, this is not the case. As the real Bakura soon discovers, as his free will is ripped away by his evil half once again. Even after attempts at throwing the ring away, the ring always returns to Bakura's neck. Maybe the real Bakura subconsciously doesn't wish anyone else to suffer what he goes through.

Later in the series, Yami Bakura faces Yugi, and then later faces Yami Malik. However, Yami Bakura is no match for his powers, even with the real Malik on his side. As he is defeated, Yami Bakura states that he can never be killed, for he is darkness itself.

Yami Bakura is referred to as the darkness a few times throughout the series. Even though he's dark, there's something very desperate about Yami Bakura. It's almost as if part of him is fighting for something more than himself. However, like the others, his memories are also missing.

Bakura's deck is made up almost entirely of demonic cards. Seeing the real Bakura's personality, this is quite strange. But after viewing his dark half, it makes sense. However, it's a little weird that they both seem to play with the same demonic deadly deck. The deck reflects the duelist. If this is the case, both sides of Bakura are demonic in nature.

Bakura's favorite card is called "Change of Heart". This is very symbolic of his character. Change of Heart is half demon and half angel that allows a player to take control of any monster on the field. And so this card is a lot like Bakura. Half of him his evil and half of him is good. Sometimes, though, Bakura can be very confusing. Even the characters in the series have trouble telling his dark and light sides apart sometimes. Yami Bakura sometimes acts kind to trick others. But after seeing Yami Bakura's behaviour, acting can only get you so far. When is it Bakura, and when is it his Yami?

But I cannot help but compare Bakura to a ying-yang. The elements of light and dark are always battling in perfect harmony. But there's no definite light and dark. For you see, a little bit of the dark exists in the light, and a little bit of the light exists in the dark.

Somewhere deep inside of him, two lost souls are waiting to be freed.