Kimimaro’s faced with his first battle as well as his first new view of the real world
What They Say:
After being hurled into the Financial District and meeting his asset, Mashu—a petite girl with candy-striped antlers—Kimimaro is forced into a deal against an opponent who wastes no time launching staggering attacks with his monstrous asset.Tweet
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The opening episode of C touched on a number of themes related to the way the world operates when it comes to finances, but it was the introduction of the world known as the Financial District that really captured as it took the idea of battle into an interesting arena. The introduction of Kimimaro came across decently as we got our first look at him and how he was brought into the larger game overall, something in itself is definitely worth checking out because it illustrates some of the strange ways in which it all operates.
The first half of this episode literally thrusts him right into battle as he starts to grasp with what the Financial District is like. While he has huge opportunities in front of him now, it has the balance of needing to participate in weekly fights with other members like him. The visualization of it does feel like any number of other combat shows of this nature where they’re able to whip out different kinds of attacks with amusing themed names, but it has a real sense of style about it that adds something extra special to it, especially because if the visualization of the Financial District itself. What helps him survive and win his first match though is that he’s introduced to his Asset, a very cute and outgoing yet serious young woman named Mashu who essentially lives within his Midas card and does the actual fighting in the battles. There’s a really great sense of choreography to the fight, but also in how we see a number of people operating in the shadows watching Kimimaro, making bets about whether he’ll last, which speaks to how this world operates much the same as the real world.
The sense of the unreal starts to seep into events however when Kimimaro gets back to the real world as he’s now able to see certain things more clearly, such as the classic movie They Live. Money from the Financial District is obviously in circulation in the world, but he’s now able to see it as they’re darker, almost black looking bills that look normal to everyone else. It’s an unsettling moment for him as the entire nature of his life starts to change before him and he has to grapple with the true meaning of things. But in the end, he’s still not aware of the larger things he needs to think about, such as who else he may run into has a card like him, and may have larger designs on him. When he does come across one, one that’s actually fairly charmed by his naïve nature, it’s another eye opening experience for Kimimaro as you can tell he didn’t really expect to come across anyone else who knew what he did.
In Summary:
The second episode of C brings us two very different things to look at through Kimimaro’s eyes and both are very engaging and very well animated. The battle sequence offers a lot of familiar elements to other battle oriented shows and even card game shows, but it’s done with a more grown up sensibility to it that separates it just the right amount while keeping it familiar. The second half focuses on his return to the real world and grappling with how his view of everything is slowly changing now that he’s able to see the truth. It’s a humbling moment in a way and he’s truly only barely scratched the surface of what it means as the real power players move between both worlds with their own plans. C has a very fascinating edge to it and this episode builds wonderfully on it, but it’s also the kind of show that demands watching multiple episodes in a row so you can really immerse yourself in it. It’s definitely one of the few shows aimed at an older audience and is definitely worth checking out.
Grade: B+
Simulcast By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
