[C]-Control Episode 8--Burning Paper

Moving quickly away from the slow pace of the last episode, Kimimaro finally makes up his mind and the real danger of the Financial District is revealed. A last major question is presented: Who or what is "C"?

Screenshots/Commentary:


This showed up for a split second in the last episode as well. Regardless of what Mikuni is planning, the country's fall is coming fast.


Unfortunately, it's worse than that.


So the Financial District doesn't just steal people's individual futures, it steals the future of the country itself?


This guy looks weirder IRL than he does in the Financial District.



More Mashu discussion. I wonder what exactly the relationship is/was...


Who knows? There hasn't been a lot about her organization lately.



One of several "before and after" shots in the first half of the episode, as well as an example of how things went off-model at certain points. I mean, just look at Kimimaro's hands.




Whatever happened to her, something changed in this scene.




The crows circling overhead say different.



Standing on the edge of a roof is not the place to have a laid-back conversation.






It's the last thing he has left to give, and if even that doesn't work, at least it's all over... Such sad logic. D:




This is an interesting distinction to make. He didn't just lose something important to him, he also lost his drive to live, which is what the Financial District really takes away.


*rant about paying for CGI instead of good animation here*


LOL. What a troll.


...But still a very creepy troll.








This was an interesting scene: continuously rising to the top only to end up back at the bottom. Possible symbolism?



This brings up the problem with compensation: money doesn't bring the dead back to life.



I wish I knew exactly how dependent these markets are on each other, since this only came up in this episode.




Looks like there's a mole in the guild...




And Mikuni goes over to the dark side, backing out of the one justification he had for his actions.





R.I.P. :C




A weird development, since she was so enthusiastic about it before. I wonder how this will be connected to the larger plot.






The Financial District really has a thing for making kids disappear. D:





Another question that appears to speak to the central theme of the series.





Mashu confirmed as Kimimaro's future daughter?






Finally! Some resolve!


Setting up for the last couple episodes.






And the gloves are about to come off.




Final boss?


Nice use of light to show that they are now on different sides.










And there goes Singapore.

Thoughts: Like Episode 6, the animation quality in this episode is horrible at times, but the advancement in the plot and characters is highly interesting. A few key questions were finally answered, with Kimimaro finally standing up for what he believes in and the ultimate cost of the Financial District is revealed. I wish that the previous episodes had taken more time to develop the impending collapse of the country caused by the Financial District rather than the Mikuni backstory recap and Yoga/Mashu teasing that was rendered moot by the reveal towards the end of the episode. I also wish that there had been more development for Hanabi, the girl that Kimimaro likes, since it's unclear where her strange actions this episode are coming from and how they're related to the story. Overall, though, it looks like the stage is set for the finale and I look forward to seeing how Kimimaro tries to resolve the problem as well as finding out what "C" really is.

Screenshots from Funimation.com and Hulu.com.