First Look: C The Money of Soul and Possibility Control

Title: C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
Genre: Sci-Fi

Summary: The Japanese government was rescued from the brink of financial collapse by the Sovereign Wealth Fund. For its citizens, however, life has not improved, and unemployment, crime, suicide, and despair are rampant. Kimimaro, raised by his maternal grandmother after the disappearance of his father and the death of his mother, is a scholarship student whose only dream is to avoid all this and live a stable life. One day, however, he meets a man who offers him a large sum of money if he’ll agree to pay it back. From then on his fate is radically altered as he’s drawn into a mysterious area known as “The Financial District.”

First Look: This anime definitely has one of the best concepts and relatable factors of any anime out this season. I’m very surprised with the amount of good Sci-Fi coming out as of late. The story pulled me in with the opening battle scene inside the Financial District. The idea of using money, stocks, bonds, etc. is pretty neat. Plus the robotic voice that says which move they are using is kind of cool. The whole anime has small details here and there that make it stand out compared to the rest of the series this season. So far it is one of my most looked forward to series because of what it has done with modern society’s goals and viewpoints.

The capital system basically says “The more money you have, the better your life will be”. It also has the negative connotation  of “If you are successful that means someone else is as equally unsuccessful”. Basically it is trying to say that many modern societies have become a dog-eat-dog world. The anime portrays such a belief in an entertaining and easy to understand way. With only four episodes under by belt so far, I still have a few questions about the series. Since the series as of now has an unknown number of episodes, I’m curious how it is going to go. Right now I feel like the series is just getting started. It hasn’t really explained what the Financial District really is or how it has so much influence. There are so many mysterious characters that I’m dying to find out about. My hopes are the series is 20+ episodes, that’s about the only way I can see them tying all the loose ends together without rushing. Then again, I have been wrong before and sometimes short series can really pack a punch.As a poor college student I can also relate a little to the main character. Although my father didn’t kill himself, and I’m not exactly in a struggle to make ends meet, I do know what it’s like to not have all the cash in the world. Whether it be to take that special girl out on a date, or hang out with friends, money seems to be revolved around everything. Find a cheap way to have fun is becoming more and more difficult when you are exposed to things like game consoles, amusement parks, movies, and even schooling. Of course there are also ways to “cheat the system” like downloading movies and games illegally, but even those have consequences. It’s not like you can download a house to live in. Another thing that the anime brought in was risk. A lot of fundamental concepts like “you have to spend money to make money” and “big risk equals big gain” are also introduced. The series pulled me in when this joker of a man comes in talking about betting a person’s future for endless money. I’m not sure if it is the vague term “future” or what, but there seems to be a lot of people in on the deal. The streets of the Financial Distract are full of people just looking to make a profit. Makes you wonder what people would go through to get some change in their pockets. Everything about the world has to do with money. And who is the one that is in control? The one that has all the money of course.

The animation is also pretty neat. Creating the world known as the Financial District was kind of interesting. The gray, blank buildings, endless sky, and a large counter of the world’s money ticking away. Fights between two members of the distract can be viewed by anyone, anytime, from anywhere. The fights have been pretty cool to watch, but one thing that is a bit disappointing is the CG/animation mix. Masakaki seems to always have a very unnatural look. The anime seems a bit inconsistent with his animation as well. At times he is drawn just like everyone else, and others he is a bulk strange looking creature. Kind of makes them look lazy in my opinion. But overlooking that one little detail I still enjoy the animations quite a bit.

Final statements: The biggest appeal right now would have to be the story so I’m keeping it on watch since that is one of my main reasons for watching a series. The animation and soundtrack are pretty cool. I’m very curious about the different characters as well. It doesn’t seem like a main plot has quite developed so I’m also curious how this is going to pan out. I’d say pick it up for this season if you can.