C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control 2 – Explaining the Open Deal Battle System, and What C May Mean
That was one hell of a battle, right? First, I have to say I’ve seen some chatter online the past few days about how this show reminds people a lot about Yugioh, and quite frankly I’m appalled at the rush with which people assume all shows with cards are alike. Most will likely quietly move away from these idiotic assertions over the next few days, but many might say what is up with that whack battle system. You’ll deride the show for its lack of explanation, or the fact that Mashu didn’t sustain any real damage during the battle. But, with a quick lesson, you’ll be up to speed. (Partially talking out of my ass, but I do almost have two degrees in this general area, so, you know, not really.)
Not that this necessarily applies, but this post in no way constitutes financial advice.
First, the facts:
1. The monsters, some of which are really cute, devilish, and moe, are called assets.
2. The characters seem to using their futures as collateral
3. The assets can still fight after they take damage.
4. If you don’t protect yourself, you will go bankrupt. Episode 1 suggests you die if you go bankrupt.
Now for the fun part. Let’s assume for a minute that we are talking about the real world, and you have a real financial asset. It could be a house, a currency position, or a general stock. For the purposes of explaining the issue, I’ll use a currency position. Now, you don’t really need to understand the ins and outs of how you make money in these transactions, but the key point is this: If your position has lost money, you do not need to pay until you close your position, thus the concept of an open deal. However there is one caveat to this rule in most instances. If you are losing too much money on your position you are going to have to pay at least some of it back. This is called a margin call. But what if you don’t have the money? Well, then you are presumed to be out of assets. Then, long story short, you are bankrupt.
Mashu so cute
Getting back to the show, Mashu, the asset, taking damage during the battle compares to the value of an asset dropping. Using a house asset as an analogy; the value of your home can fall, but the house is still your house. Same thing applies here. Mashu took damage, but not anything happened. However, that doesn’t mean she or Yoga are impervious. This requires a little more understanding of what a margin and a margin call are, as it was mentioned pretty prominently within the episode. Think of it like a line of credit at a casino. Richer people can bet more money without actually giving the casino any cash until they lose a predetermined set of money, when compared to normal people who need to put their cash on the table as soon as the play. Surprisingly, it doesn’t appear that Yoga or Mashu reached the point where they had to pay a margin, but I am looking forward to what might happen if it does. Further, I would like to know the differences between Yoga and some of the other more veteran players when it comes to the amount of their margin.
And all that still doesn’t explain why the hell Mashu was so powerful with her awesome fire attack thing. The show did give a theory about how Yoga caring about Mashu as the reason for her power, which is plausible. However to explain it requires trying to explain why most people who enter the Financial District lose right away, and another use of my house/property analogy.
So cute
While C could stand for a lot of things, I’d like to believe that it stands for credit. A lot of people borrow to improve their standard of living with every intention of paying back, as a way to increase the quality of their life. The thing is, a lot of people extend themselves a bit too much. Thus far, Yoga seems content with the simpler things in life, and protecting Mashu. However, many fall victim to the problem of spending too much and forgetting about the value of their assets/homes, which ultimately is their undoing. I hope that Yoga doesn’t fall victim to this problem, but it seems like he has ample possible “distractions” around him, so I doubt it.
