C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control - Episode 10

Mikuni may have deflected the onrushing "C" from taking too big a hit on Japan in the previous episode, but at what cost to the future of the country and those within it?  More pertinently, the threat of this financial tidal wave isn't even over yet after all...

We join this tenth episode of the series as North America sets itself up to deal with the current crisis - something that it does easily with its power and wealth, but with little concern for the rest of the outside world.  Thus, their reaction only serves to hit other currencies hard, effectively turning the "C" back on itself and moving it towards Japan once again - a move which sees Mikuni headed straight for the Midas Money printing press once again, Japan's future be damned.

The prospect of seeing the country's future damaged and destroyed further spurs Satou and Kimimaro into action, with seemingly only one possibility before them to turn things around - defeating Mikuni and taking his "Darkness" card which only he possesses, as this is the key to controlling the Financial District's money printing.  Obviously, this isn't exactly a simple task given Mikuni and the Starling Guild's power when it comes to Deals, and for that reason the duo hire Taketazaki to use his information network in an attempt to cause hyper-inflation to the Japanese Yen, in the hope that its intrinsic link to Midas Money will cause that currency's value to collapse as well and in turn strip Mikuni of much of his power.  While Kimimaro is tasked with taking on Horii, Satou saps with Mikuni himself - needless to say this is never likely to end well for all concerned, but does Kimimaro really have what it takes to win back Japan's future?

There's certainly no doubting that we really reach the crux of [C]'s matters in this episode - Kimimaro finally mans up and decides what he needs to do, even if it is for ultimately entirely selfish reasons related to his feelings towards Mashu.  Again, the allegorical side of the series to matters of real-life finance are both entertaining and thought-provoking as they strike against living, breathing concerns and problems - however, things seem to start tripping up as the episode progresses, culminating in what effectively feels like a deus ex machina with credit cards which cheapens the entire approach of Kimimaro and Satou with an "oh well, that plan failed, but you win anyway by some kind of arbitrary decision which doesn't make much sense" kind of ending which felt deeply unsatisfying, even if it does create the require battle for Japan's future to take up the final episode.  It's the kind of clumsy scripting which has plagued [C] throughout but feels far more readily apparent at the "business end" of the series, and it's really a shame to see it dissolving the intensity and importance of a fantastic concept.