Money is essential for everything. While we can enjoy luxuries such as a short trip if we have enough cash, we are always concerned about food, hot water, and electricity if we are strapped for cash.
In this article, we will introduce five carefully selected anime works deeply connected to money, which can shake up our lives and feelings of envy and desire. The stories range from thrilling tales of people putting themselves in danger in the pursuit of money to comedic depictions of the gap between the rich and the ordinary.
So please check out the works you are interested in.
1. C – The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
An original anime by Tatsunoko Productions aired on Fuji Television’s late-night anime slot “Noitamina” in 2011, and a social game linked to the program was also distributed. The story takes place in 21st-century Japan, which is in the midst of an economic crisis. Yet, from the verge of bankruptcy, the government-affiliated financial institution “Sovereign Wealth Fund” miraculously manages to rebuild the country’s finances.
However, although the financial crisis was averted, the people’s lives remained as difficult as ever. The protagonist, Kimimaro Yoga, who lost his parents early in life, is a stable university student who works part-time jobs to make ends meet. When he could not afford it, Masakagi, an emissary of the financial district, appeared and invited him to the financial district, saying, “I will give you a loan with your future as collateral. ……
The story is a financial battle in which students are forced to fight for their assets and live with a partner asset that symbolizes the future. It is a unique work that skillfully combines financial terminology and battle elements.
2. Kaiji: Against All Rules
This is an anime adaptation of Gambling Revelation Kaiji by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. The first season aired from 2007 to 2008, and the second aired in 2011 as Kaiji: Against All Rules.
The main character is Kaiji Ito, who has led a self-indulgent life as a freelancer since moving to Tokyo, enjoying drinking, gambling, and playing pranks on luxury cars. However, he is saddled with the debt of a friend who had been his guarantor in the past, and with no way to repay it, he decides to get on a gambling boat.
He faces off against other debtors in the same situation, gambling for a price: if he wins, he wins a large sum of money, but if he loses, he has no guarantee of life. The various types of gambling that appear in work and the brilliance and guts that the self-indulgent Kaiji shows each time he takes on a big game are always a treat. The adversarial battles in which poor Kaijis take on rich ones will make your hands sweat!
3. Golden Kamuy
It is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name that is still being serialized in Weekly Young Jump as of 2020. The first and second seasons aired in 2018, and the third is scheduled to air in October 2020.
One winter day after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, former army soldier Saichi Sugimoto, a gold digger in Hokkaido, is told by a middle-aged man about the “buried gold of the Ainu people. The location of buried gold, stolen and hidden by a confident man, was tattooed on a man in the same cell in prison.
Sugimoto is convinced that the story of the buried treasure is confirmed when he sees a middle-aged man attacked by a brown bear and killed and a tattoo on his back that looks like a map. So Sugimoto and an Ainu girl, Asiㇼpa, overcome their predicament of being attacked by a brown bear, and together they search for the buried treasure!
In search of the buried gold, they fight for the escaped convict, Shisei, in the coldest part of the country. The story also has excellent gag elements, such as unexpected dishes prepared by Asiㇼpa, who has a wealth of knowledge about nature, and comical scenes.
4. Hayate the Combat Butler
Here are some anime works featuring wealthy people. This work is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday, and the fourth series was broadcast from 2009 to 2013.
The main character, Hayate Ayasaki, who attends a public high school, is a hard-working student who lives off of his part-time job to pay for his living expenses and school fees in place of his parents, who love to drink and gamble.
However, his parents disappeared on Christmas Eve, leaving behind a letter and an IOU! They had created a debt of 15,684,000 yen and sold him to the yakuza to pay it off. So he ran away from the yakuza and tried to kidnap a girl for a hefty ransom ……. He is supposed to kidnap a girl and get the ransom, but by chance, he ends up working as a rich man’s butler!
The world of the super-rich, including a school whose grounds rival those of Suginami Ward and a residence that is unrealistic in both feet and luxury, adds to the fun. There is comedy, romance, and battles for the success of the rich.
5. Ouran High School Host Club
It is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same title that was serialized in the girls’ manga magazine “LaLa” and broadcast in 2006. The main character, Haruhi Fujioka, who lives with her father, is enrolled as a particular student at the private OURAN Gakuin High School, where the rich gather.
While searching for a quiet place to study amidst the glitz and glamour of the school, he ends up in a secret garden, the Host Club. Furthermore, he inadvertently breaks a high-class vase and is asked to pay 8 million yen in damages – and he is not the only one.
He was about to become a scullery maid when his neutral appearance caught his attention, and he was assigned to serve a quota of 100 nominated customers. In a school with the motto “first, family; second, money,” the comedy between the noble students and Haruhi, a commoner, can be enjoyed. Haruhi has a refreshing personality and a sharp sense of humour, but her work reveals her weaknesses.
Enjoy the way money is portrayed because of anime!
In this issue, we have introduced five anime works in which money is deeply involved in the story. Each of these works features a variety of characters, from the rich to those who struggle with their financial situations.
The charm of anime is that you can enjoy unimaginable rich people’s lives and life-threatening gambling easily and animatedly. So please enjoy the production that enhances the original works and watch the results you are interested in.