(L) C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control (w/Kenji Nakamura)

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Moci

Spoiler for ep2:

I have a question about the assets. We know there are many types from them, but the biggest part from them looks like some monster. Only Kimimaro and Mikuni have 'human' shaped assets. So this is thre proof, that they future will be really good (i mean the money, not family, etc.)?

Spoiler for speculations following Ep2:

It does seem that Kimimaro and Shoichiro have a particular affinity for human-like "assets". Furthermore, Shoichiro seems to be able to summon more than one asset: he's also capable of summoning the other older-looking asset that wears the Anubis mask, for example.

If Masakaki and Q are to be believed, then Kimimaro's potential is supposed to be stratospheric, like Shoichiro's. Taking that at face value, it would appear that it takes such potential to summon correspondingly powerful human-like assets. That would explain Msyu's ability to stand up against a veteran's asset (and his supposedly bigger "margin" account). And if her power represents Kimimaro's "future", then I guess his future must be quite "bright" indeed.

RPG logic aside, what's interesting is that Kimimaro feels innate empathy for his asset. If it had been anything other than a sexy petanko succubus, would Kimimaro had felt the same way towards it? Msyu observed, for example, that "entrepreneurs" typically do not care about their assets — would you if it looked hideous and non-human?

Which comes first, I wonder: Innate empathy before the beautiful asset, or the beautiful asset that inspires empathy?

It would appear, to me, that the more an "entre" covets, the likelier it'll be for him to end up with a weak and ugly asset. It's noteworthy, then, that Kimimaro still stubbornly clings to his dream of a "normal" life, even though he is now several thousand times richer than he used to be — his humility and empathy are the sources of his "potential" in the financial district.

I suppose, to Kimimaro's credit, that's an indication of his strength of character. (The more cynical among us would credit plot armour but, ah well, I'm willing to cut him some slack for now.)

Whether Kimimaro is able to activate his potential in the real world is another question altogether. That takes us to the another observation: Hell money is circulating in the real world, apparently because of increasing private consumption.

Putting two and two together, it's most likely that the hell notes are finding their way into circulation via the Midas accounts of various entres. With each successful deal, they make more "money", and the natural tendency would then be to spend that cash, be it black or normal.

I've speculated earlier that Hell intends to expand. Money and property is never enough for the greedy, so could this viral-like introduction of hell currency be part of a larger cosmic acquisition plan? My theory still seems very possible, after all.

[JediNight]

Spoiler for Ep2 and Assets:

In thinking about how Mikuni and Kimimaro are similar: Q mentions that he cares Masyu in the same way that Mikuni cared for her when they first met. Mikuni probably sees himself in Kimimaro, but feels that he now "knows better" etc. and was just naive back then. IMHO no matter how empathetic one is, the more money you make the more likely it is to taint you in the end.

One imagines that the inevitable Deal battle between Mikuni and Kimimaro will be him trying to teach Kimimaro a "lesson" about his naivete and money ... and hopefully eventually we see that Kimimaro is able to rise above the corruption unlike Mikuni. Although Mikuni obviously still cares about Q.

As for the humanoid Asset: I would say that having great empathy towards others is what ends up personifying your Asset in a human manner in the first place. If you are ultimately greedy, only seek to use others, etc. then that will be reflected in your Asset being a "monster".

While I don't totally agree with how Bill Gates made all his money, in the end he set up his Gates Foundation with something like 60 billion dollars. That kind of money generates a vast amount of interest even when conversatively invested -- allowing them to do a lot of good things. (They're working on a lot of stuff in the 3rd world like AIDS drugs, cheap technology-based solutions, etc)

[felix]

Originally Posted by Makender

My only question is who the hell pays for a beer with a 10,000 yen bill. If I was the cashier there I would have been royally pissed off.

It’s not a 10,000 dollar bill if that’s what you’re thinking.

10,000 Japanese yen = 122.1 U.S. dollars

[JediNight]

Originally Posted by felix

It’s not a 10,000 dollar bill if that’s what you’re thinking.

10,000 Japanese yen = 122.1 U.S. dollars

I think he knows that. It's just that in the US it's still frowned upon to pay for most things in denominations above $20, especially at a convenience store. (Although alcohol is expensive over there, so 2 twelve packs could easily cost you over 4000 yen from a konbini)

A lot of places have a counterfeit-pen that they basically mark every $50 or $100 bill that they get to check that its real .... if they even take bills that large. Some places won't even accept denominations above $20 which I don't see how thats even legal considering its still legal tender...

Whereas when I was on my trip in Japan I never once saw them mark a bill, and I spent at least 150,000 yen while I was there. (JP Post ATMs only dispense in 10,000yen bills as well)

[ars89]

Spoiler for ep 2:

So Kimimaro thrown right into the thick of things without an explanation and ends up winning. I credit that to his asset which is the embodiment of his future. Meaning he has a potential successful future.

So he's similar to Mikuni. Maybe that's why he visited him. He either wants to help him achieve his potential or teach him a lesson.

Have to say Mashyu is awesome. Looked like she took a lot of damage though. Like how they actually showed her doing rehab exercises.

I wonder if the Midas bills flowing into the real world will be a problem.

[felix]

Originally Posted by JediNight

I think he knows that. It's just that in the US it's still frowned upon to pay for most things in denominations above $20, especially at a convenience store.

I had no idea counterfeit bills were such a big issue over there.

[Deconstructor]

Spoiler for Episode 2 and Speculah:

This episode confirms the usage of economic concepts will be very basic and simple. I'm glad the show is relying more on fictional concepts, like the injection of money from another dimension. Now we know why inflation is so bad in Japan... it was all coming from the damn Financial District. I can't help but shake the feeling Midas money will have future implications. It's kind of like black market or blood money... the result of "deals" unseen by the general public. The only problem I can think of now is the Midas money disappearing from the real world, leading to economic collapse. However, I don't know how or why the money would disappear. Maybe the Financial District or Midas Bank goes bankrupt or something.

Like most fictional works, the more human an asset looks, the more powerful it usually is. Take Kimimaro and Mikuni's assets: they look like normal girls wearing some crazy outfits. But they're probably going to win more battles than they lose. I think there's a TVTrope page for the trope I'm citing...

The repercussions of failing to make a "deal" once a week seem bad. Bad stuff also happened to Kimimaro's father, as the viewers are told. It just fits to speculate Kimimaro's father was also an "entrepreneur" but failed to close a deal. Afterward, his whole life spiraled downward, resulting in Kimimaro having very little money and two deceased parents.

[JediNight]

Originally Posted by felix

I had no idea counterfeit bills were such a big issue over there.

I don't think they are, businesses are just anal about it IMHO. Since generally most people only use up to $20 bills. Usually it's just ghetto people that use the bills, I dunno why. They love carrying around all their money in $50 and $100 bills like it makes them rich or something. Even if they don't believe in having a bank account you could get it in $20s... They should know people don't like taking the larger bills.

And really, as long as the bills are of the newer multi-color gradient variety, they're darn near impossible to counterfeit convincingly I would imagine. Very easy to just look/feel the bill and tell it's real. (I think they even use a slightly different paper than for the $1 bills, at least it feels different to me)

[orion]

Originally Posted by felix

I had no idea counterfeit bills were such a big issue over there.

It's an issue over here. Cashiers check all bills where I live. Also, you have to watch out for Canadian coinage as it's useless in the US.

[Anh_Minh]

I'm somewhat disappointed. I thought it'd be a bit brainier than "supernatural fights with random economic terms thrown in".

Oh, well. I'll still wait and see where it's going.

[Makender]

Its just messy to use such large denominated bills to pay for such small transactions. Counterfeit bills like the 100 dollar bill were a big problem with it being the most popular with Russian counterfeiters as I recall. Giving them that much change is just a pain in the ass too. That's my major gripe. Guess I would hate working at a convenience store in Japan.

Edit: Oh and if anyone ever tried to pay for anything with a $10,000 bill I'd laugh in their face for about a minute, ask them if they robbed the central bank's visitor center, and then tell them to get the hell out. This reminds me of the time I tricked my mom into believing I obtained a $2001 dollar bill complete with the image of George W. Bush gracing the bill. It is a magnificent denomination.

[Keroko]

Never really got the impression it was going to be anything brainy (girl with horns pretty much told me 'supernatural fights' in bright neon letters) so I haven't really stumbled upon any major disappointments so far. Minor one being the sometimes awkward use of 3D.

Speaking of 3D though, I did like how Masakaki was 3D throughout the episode. They should keep that. It really gives him a feeling of something not quite of this world.

[felix]

Originally Posted by Keroko

Minor one being the sometimes awkward use of 3D.

Like the time in his house, that was kind of not cool. I’m not saying 3D doesn’t work, cheap 3D doesn’t work. Out of the things I like, the use of English for one and the gibberish side-thing, it’s a nice touch. I also like the world in general, and the general mindset of the characters, it feels forced at times but overall it’s original and interesting.

[Suzuku]

I'm wondering...did the NoitaminA producers take some of the budget that would have went into this show and use it for Ano Hana instead? The difference in production values between the two shows is just night and day. Ano Hana has movie-level quality, while C is just full of derp. This has to have been a conscious decision. Maybe Kenji wanted the budget to be low to match the theme of money in the show and give it a certain layer of depth by improvising with such a low budget?

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by orion

It's an issue over here. Cashiers check all bills where I live. Also, you have to watch out for Canadian coinage as it's useless in the US.

Yeah I remember a few years back when I was working as a cashier. You were pretty much ok with checking up to $50 under the scanner yourself, but had to call in a shift manager to check the $100. So they could be used, but it would be inconvenient to do so since you'd have to wait a little bit.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by Used Can

Finally, the battle system seems very uninteresting. So far, it seems the whole financial setting thing is just there to sound cool, rather than to actually be used in real market operations, which I think is rather sad.

Having read some of the material that has been released in magazines, I'll just say that everyone needs to think outside the box a bit more. The box being economics/the market as we typically see it.

Originally Posted by JediNight

Whereas when I was on my trip in Japan I never once saw them mark a bill, and I spent at least 150,000 yen while I was there. (JP Post ATMs only dispense in 10,000yen bills as well)

You can get 1,000yen bills from them too. Oh, and in Okinawa, whilst US money could be used in many chain stores (combinis, or the equivalent of $1 shops), they didn't accept $100 bills at all.

[totoum]

Still have no idea where this is going but at least it's a fun ride.


Time for some random seyuu fanboyism and trivia:
-Hakura Tomatsu,I love her in these kinds of roles so that alone would keep me watching.
-Hakura Tomatsu and Uchiyama Kouki are our lead duo here,both starred in Shiki as Natsuno and Megumi,the more I think about this the creepier it gets.

[JediNight]

More well-known roles for me for Haruka Tomatsu would be Nagi from Kannagi, Lala from To-Loveru, and Shiho from Zettai Karen Children.

Odd tibbit: The VA for Q did Inko-chan from Toradora lol...

[Makender]

Originally Posted by totoum

-Hakura Tomatsu and Uchiyama Kouki are our lead duo here,both starred in Shiki as Natsuno and Megumi,the more I think about this the creepier it gets.

A fated pairing in financial hell after horrific deaths as vampires/jinrou? I like.

[Keroko]

Originally Posted by felix

Like the time in his house, that was kind of not cool. I’m not saying 3D doesn’t work, cheap 3D doesn’t work. Out of the things I like, the use of English for one and the gibberish side-thing, it’s a nice touch. I also like the world in general, and the general mindset of the characters, it feels forced at times but overall it’s original and interesting.

If you mean the time in this episode, that is actually one of the times where it does work. It sets Masakaki apart from the 'normal' characters and really turns him into something not-quite-human.