[C] Episode 9: You Get What You Pay For

Be prepared for an excess of Mashyu in this review

With Plan C initiated, a wave of repossession sweeps across the globe, affecting those Financial Districts struggling the hardest. In surprisingly coherent yet bafflingly nonsensical English, the situation of the Caribbean Republic (In the Caribbean) is brought to light; the existence of that notorious island nation regarded as just rumor amidst the collapse of the South American Financial District.

With minimum focus on Yoga, the episode plows forward at a steady, yet significantly quicker pace than previous offerings. As the wave of debt inches ever closer to Japan, Singapore is wiped off the face of the earth and other ill effects begin taking shape, all according to some mad plan that Masakaki’s obviously privy to. However, there is hope in Mikuni; while everyone else was involved in deals for their own personal sake, he was building up his cash reserves for the inevitable stock crash.

He makes a deal with Masakaki to have the money necessary to keep most businesses in Japan from feeling the brunt of the stock plunge, in exchange for 20 years of his life and collateral to be paid in one lump sum at a later date. As such, most of the damage of C is negated, leaving the Japanese stock market none the worse for wear.

However, all is not good as soon after, Yoga begins to notice things reverting back to pre-Financial District conditions. The homeless make the playgrounds their homes, schools are left dilapidated and understaffed, and homes show signs of weathering. When Yoga visits Hanabi, she’s shown to be far more of a wreck. Much like her mother, she’s lethargic and doesn’t seem all too keen on living. Worried, Yoga returns to the Financial District to have a discussion with Jennifer on her wolf asset that has butterfly wings.

The two talk about the current state of affairs of the world that Mikuni “saved”, as well as explaining further how the assets represent the entres’ futures. Because Yoga and his father have (had) very similar assets, the two supposedly had the same financial priorities: Minimalistic living, enough to support a family. It’s also learned that in order to keep from losing his family in his final deal, Yoga’s father committed suicide to spare them the consequences of his loss. Finally, he accepts Jennifer’s offer, since Mikuni’s plan backfired horrendously.

To solidify their relationship as strictly platonic after an obvious come-on by Mashyu, Yoga gives her a gentle peck on the forehead, thus ending this token romance.

Finally, after 9 episodes of indecisive faffing about, Yoga is teaming up with Jennifer to deal with what Mikuni has inadvertently wrought upon the world.

Reaction

With minimal focus on Yoga for the first half and instead concentrating on the big picture, [C] went many new places this episode. For once, it felt like the plot progressed at anything but a languid pace. While it was never bad or hard to watch before, it’s now that things have finally been jolted into high gear. Masakaki was delightful as a villain, Mikuni was appropriately dumbstruck by what he had wrought in his bid to save Japan from C, and Yoga finally took Jennifer up on her illicit offer to save Japan, abandoning Mikuni’s cause in the process. It’s all setup for the hopefully heart pounding finale, and I hope Le Resistance actions only increase from here to bring down the hierarchy of the Financial District.

Even with my knowledge of economics that can be generously called lacking, the parallels between the events in [C] and those in the real world are growing more and more clear with each passing episode.

It was a great episode with a lot going on, and it didn’t make the mistake of the previous one by focusing on Yoga comforting his teacher through his woes. With that, I can comfortably say that it was a great setup for creating a thrilling conclusion, and I can only hope that it takes advantage of such to end on a high note. It’d be a shame if such excellent storytelling weren’t used to its fullest.

Though Yoga will still look derpy as ever.

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