[C]-Control Episode 7--Walking the Same Road

A slower episode this time around as the show re-iterates Mikuni's motivations in the first half and begins exploring the possibility of Mashu and Kimmimaro having a relationship in the second half. This is all well and good, but it's nothing that the show hasn't touched on before.

Screenshots


Nice hair. He really took the college rocker thing seriously, huh?



Further reinforcement of the central theme of the series.


The first shot that we get of Mikuni's little sister. I like the design choice of having an extra line in her eye, making them look slightly closed even though they're open.


I'm a little curious about the circumstances behind this, since it's implied that Mikuni would still be making music if this hadn't happened. It's probably just another bit about a "fragile" future, however.




Not too different from what Mikuni is doing now with his guild.



That's what people who didn't make it say.


I liked this shot; the wide range captures the helpless feeling.



The ant colony imagery in the first half was pretty interesting, and a good metaphor for what was happening.


I don't like the choices he made, but the man did have good business sense.



This seems a lot like the conversation from the last episode...


This is the only time in the episode where we get a full view of Mikuni's father. The rest of the time, you could only see his suit or one of his eyes.


But it's obvious that he tried anyway. Ouch.




It wasn't until I watched this episode a second time that it occurred to me that Mikuni's Asset represents his sister, with the whole "Sleeping Beauty" thing.


Haven't seen him for a while.


This short scene was pretty interesting in the way that it showed how, once, Mikuni was like Kimimaro.


I feel like there should be some rock music in the background to accompany the slow-motion walking.


I wonder...


Well, it's worked so far.


I have to admit, Mashu getting more interested in food is pretty cute.


Come on! Even in the recap section we can't see how they won?



We've noticed. It took him almost half the show to decide to join the guild.



The million dollar question. Pun intentional.


This is honestly an interesting train of thought. The show might wait until the last second to resolve it, though.


The guy does worry too much. Even considering what's at stake, constantly thinking about it isn't going to change much.




Maybe his future is in pro wrestling? Or becoming a demolition man?




Figures that there would be pervs with human-looking Assets.



I found this really sweet. Even though nothing is probably going to come of it, I ship these guys a little bit now.




Think of it this way, Yoga... You're a better caretaker than those other guys.




Aww.


Like...what? I don't like the face he's making here.




Meanwhile, the present continues to change thanks to the Financial District.

Thoughts: While it was interesting to see the events that made Mikuni what he is today, as well as speculate further on what the "Assets" really are, I don't think that any of this merited an entire episode. At least, not unless the writers are planning to go somewhere with it. Mikuni has mentioned his sister's death before, and the discussion about the "Assets" was just that--discussion. It added nothing that the viewer didn't already know or could infer on their own. Mikuni's half of the episode does seem to suggest that there some bigger work at play (since he believes that the Fiancial District itself is trying to manipulate him), but with only a handful of episodes left, I doubt that we will get to see whatever is really controlling the Financial District, if at all. With the way the series has been focusing on the concept of a fragile future, it's much more likely that more attention will be spent on the idea of Assets being a "lost" future going forward. Unfortuneately, as cute as Mashu is, the content in this episode wasn't a great as the ones that preceded it. With only eleven episodes, I expected tighter storytelling than this. Hopefully this was just a slowdown episode before things ramp up for the finale.

Screenshots from Funimation.com and Hulu.com.