[C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control 01: The Dramatic Rise and Fall of Ginga Salaryman-san

"Do you wish to make a deal?"

Contract with me and you’ll become a magical girlEntrepreneur!

The love of money is the root of all evil – sapient, Faustian ATMs are mere logical progression.

[C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control, also known as [C] or Control, is an original anime under the direction of Kenji Nakamura with Noboru Takagi as script supervisor.

I’m going to be honest with you. I have no idea who those two are. And after looking them up on MyAnimeList, I’m not really too impressed by their past work.  Holy crap Mononoke, Koi Kaze, Jigoku Shoujo. I take it back.

But fortunately I’m not some kind of anime snob who only watches anime by a certain director/writer or involves certain seiyuu. And it’s a good thing too, because from the look of the first episode, [C] is set to be one interesting ride.

Obviously not going to live past the first 10 minutes.

The introduction to the alternate dimension of The Financial District is made through Salaryman-san.

Salaryman-san doesn’t get much of a backstory apart from being strapped for cash. Bank accounts empty and credit cards maxed out.

What a way to start an anime. Poor dude.

"Take me to The Financial District."

It’s funny how those cringe-inducing yellow frames suddenly look badass with the help of dim lighting and well placed sources of illumination.

It’s probably not Salaryman-san’s first time going to The Financial District, but he’s still thrown off when Driver-san floors it.

An obvious homage to Back to the Future. Driver-san even looks like the old scientist guy.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t awesome.

I think the giant yen coin is supposed to symbolize the Sun.

Like, The Financial District revolves around money in the same way the Earth revolves around the Sun. Or something.

For all I know, it could be the world’s most ostentatious LED screen or a magical artifact that sustains the alternate dimension. I’m betting it’ll be spectacularly destroyed by the final episode.

That girl in the center screencap is named Q. She’s just described as “Souichirou’s asset” at the moment. Obviously not human – and she subsists off Financial District banknotes. And I thought she was just cutely chewing seaweed.

The guy in the rightmost screencap is Masakaki. I’m thinking he’s the physical representation of The Financial District. But right now he just seems to be a secretary/message boy.

The presence of drink brings up interesting questions.

And this dapper-looking gentleman is Mikuni Souichirou.

I’m actually more interested in the wine. The Financial District is an alternate dimension: it doesn’t appear to have much in the way of farmland or food processing plants or whatever – unless that’s where those golden bridges lead to (which would totally ruin its current mysterious, classy image).

So where does the food come from? Someone has to keep making trips between the real world and The Financial District to replenish the stores. I bet it’s Driver-san. That would explain why he always looks so pissed off.

Wtf? Yu-Gi-Oh?!

Perhaps my only gripe about the show so far.

This is The Financial District. People come here to make money. Do they engage in lengendary bouts of stock manipulation and insider trading, demonstrating magnificent distortions of the facial features and accompanied by a snazzy, upbeat electro-piano soundtrack?

No. They battle with summoned monsters.

At least the participants have established power levels. Although the presence of 5 digits implies that there are some battlers out there with absolutely sick power levels.

It’s a lot like Madoka, isn’t it? Every Mahou Shoujo Entrepreneur has a different level of potential. Obviously our protagonist (whom I’ll get to eventually) is going to have a power level in the 4 to 5 digits.

Beginner's luck! Ginga Salaryman-san!

And this was the moment all my misgivings were swept away.

Salaryman-san forms a lightsaber out of Hellnotes (I’m going to call them that from now on) and flashsteps into battle.

Screw the stock manipulation. More salarymen with lightsabers? Yes please.

This is how Pokemon should roll. Detailed decapitation and dismemberment.

Of course, since Salaryman-san is a rank amateur and Souichirou is the reigning King of the Ring…

DIRECT

Dude is classy. We don’t know what Souichirou’s power level is, but Salaryman-san’s power level maxes out at 825. Souichirou’s easily climbed past 825 as he was charging that mega laser buster sword of his.

Oh, some robotic voice proclaims “Direct” before Souichirou unleashes the blade. He is that classy.

Back in the real world.

Our protagonist is 19-year old Yoga Kimimaro, currently studying at the Heisei University of Economics. He lives alone, is holding down 2 jobs at two different convenience stores, and is dirt-poor.

His goal in life can extrapolated from this poignant declaration: “All I want is to live a modest life with my wife and kids.”

Oh, and he’s horny for the girl in the background.

Really, now.

Ikuta Hanabi, probably also 19 years of age. Looks out for Kimimaro, but has a boyfriend.

Since he’ll get an asset of his own, the delightful Mashu (screencap later), it’s a toss-up whether Kimimaro hooks up with Hanabi by series’ end.

He’ll probably defeat Souichirou and have to choose between staying in The Financial District where he’s top dog and gets to bang Mashu, or returning to the real world where he’ll have to claw his way up the corporate ladder while Hanabi may not even leave her boyfriend for him.

It’s too early to tell if [C] is going to have some sort of moralistic message. But right now I’m rooting for the boring option because I prefer my girls to not have horns growing out the top of their heads.

Ginga Salaryman-san, you will be missed.

Kimimaro’s train ride home is disrupted by Salaryman-san hurling himself in front of the train.

Technically, he lives beyond the first 10 minutes, but that’s if you count the OP (I’ll get to this later too). We’ll probably have to wait 2-3 episodes to discover the consequences of losing in The Financial District.

Plus/Minus points to the writing for the passenger comments. They’re all like “Someone jumped? Damn I’m going to be late”. A possible take-that at the enduring reputation of the Japanese people as civic-minded souls?

Through the looking glass.

Back at home, Kimimaro gets a visit from Masakaki. I’m surprised at his lack of surprise.

Even after Masakaki teleports into his room, Kimimaro’s not in the least startled, just annoyed. Maybe teleporting jester/clowns are a way of life in the future.

Long story short, Masakaki forces Kimimaro into a pocket dimension and gives him the Kyubey speech, what with the battling witches for grief seeds battling Entrepreneurs for fame and fortune at the risk of losing his ‘future’. Hey at least he’s honest, right?

Kimimaro rejects the offer, so Masakaki opts for a more seductive approach.

Kimimaro-kun daisuki!

Just kidding.

Thats about 6070 USD at current rates.

Kimimaro discovers a cash injection into his bank account.

It’s probably not enough to afford a car, and definitely not enough to retire on, but for a kid who needs to work 2 jobs just to pay the bills…

This is why Masakaki is superior to Kyubey. Admittedly, I doubt Madoka wants cash, but I’m pretty sure Masakaki would have figured something out. Maybe give her a 1 month trial period on being a Mahou Shoujo and free cakii.

It’s definitely better than throwing her friends into dangerous situation after dangerous situation and going MADOKA CONTRACT WITH ME.

Who knew ATM withdrawals could be epic too?

Poor shmuck that he is, Kimimaro can’t resist the cash.

And Masakaki sweeps him off to The Financial District and the next episode.

OP: Matoryoshika- NICO Touches the Walls.

Holy crap look at the size of Souichirous laser blade.

I don’t know what Matoryoshika means, and I’m too lazy to search now, but I do like the choice of punk for the OP. (To think I’m trying to comment on music genres.)

I’d post more screencaps, but it’s pointless since just about every moment of the OP is awesome. I especially like the various currency banknotes and the accompanying art shift.

ED: RPG – School Food Punishment

I think this is the first ED Ive seen where the Japanese subtitles are included.

A more low key song and ED. It’s actually quite standard J-pop, but I like it.

Final Impressions:

[C] reminds me most of Subarashiki Kono Sekai, or The World Ends With You, a brilliant DS RPG in which dead people stake their most treasured possession (memories, ambitions, physical objects) as an entrance fee to the Game, in which they battle monsters and complete trials, all for a chance at reincarnation.

Likewise, the Entrepreneurs stake their ‘future’ as an entrance fee to The Financial District, where they battle other Entrepreneurs and their monsters for money.

Given that it’s the first episode, I’m sufficiently entertained by the mere presence of the world and the antics of Masakaki and the battle sequences, but I hope the series will eventually explore the connections between The Financial District and the real world (starting out with the currency conversion rates and why Ginga Salaryman-san was compelled to kill himself), and possibly even why it exists.

I certainly hope Takagi Noboru doesn’t think he can get away with a Rio:RainbowGate!-plot in which Kimimaro defeats and earns money every week as he saves up to buy a present for Hanabi.

Characters-wise, I’m still on the fence. Kimimaro is not brash or angsty, nor is he prone to exaggerated reactions – which I like – but I’m worried he’ll turn out to be as unresponsive as Dragon Crisis!’s Ryuji. But so far, there aren’t any such signs of crippling stupidity.

I’m actually more interested in Hanabi. I’d like to know what she sees in her boyfriend. She looks happy with him, but then again she’s also going out of her way to help Kimimaro. Maybe they’re really good friends, but it didn’t seem like it. Maybe Masakaki’s right and she’s a gold digger.

Conclusion:

It’s really too early to tell where [C] is going, but the first episode shows promise. They’ve started well – can they keep the story going without degenerating into a monster-of-the-week crapfest?

And finally –

This is Mashu. She has horns.