Alt. Titles: C, [C], Control C, [C] Control

Year: Spring 2011

Subbed

Episodes: 11

Cat.:  Action, Sci Fi, High Stakes Games

Summary:

Kimimaro Yoga could use a break. At nineteen years old, he's not only a student at Heisei College of Economics, he's also a part time employee and flat out broke. So when an eerie man offers the boy a special ATM card and an exorbitant amount of cash, Kimimaro gives in to temptation – but there's a catch. In exchange for his good fortune, Kimimaro's very future is put at stake, held as collateral by the Bank of Midas and tied to the amount of yen in his bank account. In addition, he must participate in a special battle every week in the mysterious 'Financial District' – a battle where losing against one's opponent can mean bankruptcy, a fate that carries an unthinkable cost in the normal world...

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At first glance this [C] and the "Financial District" might seem like a scary world that is there to confuse you with it's big economics talk. Or it seems like a souped up version of Pokemon where the writers wanted kids to be able to relate to the recent financial issues of the world, using mascots (Assets) and oh-so corny glorious battles to explain.

But that is definitely not the case! Okay the battles were a bit corny, but they were well presented and beautiful to look at.

Words to Know....

Financial District

An alternate reality where Entres make transactions using Midas Money. Once a week, each Entre is summoned to take part into a Deal, but other sources of income include gambling on the outcome of another person's Deal, or information exchange. It is said that there is a Financial District at each of the world's main economic centers, and when a district goes bankrupt, its respective center disappears, with negative impacts in reality at other countries whose economies had connections with said center. It can be shown that the collateral used for a person's future makes up the structures of the Financial District and can be the reason why it mirrors reality.

Entre

Short for Entrepreneur. These are people chosen to join the Midas Bank and participate in Deals in the Financial District. They are given large sums of money with their "future" as collateral. Entres who lose all of their money and become Bankrupt are banished from the Financial District. Since the "future" taken as collateral varies from person to person, so does the outcome of an Entre's bankruptcy, with tragic consequences to them or their loved ones in reality.

Asset

A creature that fights alongside an Entre in Deals. They are said to represent the "future" that the Entre puts at stake when entering the Financial District. By wagering money, these Assets can attack their opponents. Their attacks are called "Flations", and are categorized in three levels of power, "Micro", "Mezzo" and "Macro". Q alone possesses a special attack called "Cannibalization". The combined value of all assets is represented in a huge display set atop the Financial District and can vary depending on the situation of the economy at the region it represents. Hence, if the total assets of a town reach zero, then all assets are destroyed, and the country the economy collocates with, vanishes.

Deal

A battle between Entres and their Assets. Each Deal lasts 666 seconds (11 minutes, 6 seconds), with hits and damage affecting how much money is gained or lost. Dealers use their money to summon their Assets' attacks, or perform "Direct" attacks by creating an energy blade to confront their enemies by themselves. Each Entre is obliged to take part on a Deal once per week but can avoid taking part on one by paying half of his/her fortune.

Midas Money 

A type of money used in the Financial District that has entered the flow of money in reality. Only people chosen as Entres have the ability to differentiate Midas Money, shown to them as black notes, from ordinary cash. It is unknown what effect it has on the real world and there is also much concern about what could happen with the world's economy if Midas Money's flow into it continues or even if one day it suddenly stops. Special Entres with a darkness card can relinquish a part or even all of their "future" to generate more Midas Money.

The heart of this anime lies in the fact that the assets are representative of their entre's future. In fact, in order to enter the financial district, one needs to sacrifice their future as collateral. As such, if an entre goes bankrupt in the Financial District, they lose everything in the real world including their future. Compound this with a flailing economy in the real world, and this has severe effects on reality. Not only has reality become completely dependent on the Financial District, but entres who have lost out often lose hope and commit suicide.

The Financial District was really a physical manifestation of greed.

 Kimimaro and with his Asset Msyu realize of the course of the show how corupte the Financial District is and it's effects on everyones future. There is also stuff in there about family and not throwing your future away, real emotional stuff.

The only problem with this anime is that they tried to tell it in 11 episodes when it at least needed 24, to tie up all the loose ends and not seem rushed. That being said...

I give [C] a 3.5 out of 5.