• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  
• Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
  
• Audio Codec: Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit), English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/24-bt)
  
• Subtitles: English
  
• Subtitles Color: White
  
• Region: A (Region-Locked)
• Rating: TV-14
  
• Run Time: 275 Mins.
  
• Discs: 4 (2 x Blu-ray + 2 x DVD)
• Digital Copies: N/A
  
• Studio: Funimation Entertainment
  
• Blu-ray Release Date: October 30, 2012
  
• List Price: $69.98
  

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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Series
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

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The Series

[Rating:4.5/5]

C-Control: The Money and Soul of Possibility another of the series from Fuji TV’s Noitamina (“Animation” spelled backwards) meant to expand the demographics of the genre beyond the primarily young male viewership. With animation partially reminiscent of Redline and a plot that borrows pieces from The Matrix and Ghost in the Shell, C-Control: The Money and Soul of Possibility is an anime series that is rather apposite to the times we are in. Economics major Kimimaro finds himself down and out and wishing he had more cash when he is approached by a stranger offering him a way out. It’s a Faustian deal in which he must must put up as collateral his future in exchange for access to untold amounts of wealth in the Financial District, an alternate world where he must fight opponents. Winning means he gets more cash that he can use in the real world, but losing could mean bad things happening to him, his family, his friends, and others in reality. He will be given an Asset, Mashu, who will fight with and fore him to the bitter end. The more he gets drawn into the world of the Financial District, the more Kimimaro realizes the woeful impact it has on reality and it forces him into an inevitable showdown with one of the District’s most powerful warriors with the fate of all of reality hanging in the balance.

Dirty deals, corrupt bankers, black money, stock market crashes, avarice, deep recessions, C-Control: The Money and Soul of Possibility sounds less like a fictional account of an alternate world than the one we’re living in right now, which is what makes it downright riveting. Along with the usual doses of sci-fi, the series has some fantastically done character designs and beautiful backgrounds with dazzling amounts of color. The only thing I’ve seen in recent times that bests this is Redline.

Video Quality

[Rating:3.5/5]

The animation looks gorgeous, but the transfer of it from Funimation doesn’t look so hot. This mid-bitrate AVC 1080p encodement shows a lot of compression noise, color banding, and softness that distracts from the viewing pleasure and overall impact of what could have been a spectacular, reference anime release.

Audio Quality

[Rating:4/5]

Fortunately the lossless audio mixes in Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 make up for the less than stellar video quality. The original Japanese track is obviously a more subtle mix with the dialogue upfront and mostly remaining in the phantom center. The stereo spread is good, through dynamic range seems rather mild. The English mix becomes much more aggressive, opening up the soundstage by placing things behind you, bringing dialogue back just a tad and expanding dynamic range by a much wider margin. Low frequencies, however, don’t really benefit too much more, surprisingly, and they remain rather mild even with the LFE.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:3/5]

Outside of the two English cast commentaries, much of the supplied extras are promotional, although there is a “C-Conomics” feature that explains some of the series vernacular and provides an episode guide.

The supplements:

• Episode 05 Commentary (English)
• Episode 11 Commentary (English)
• C-Conomics 101:
  • Fundamentals
  • Episode Crash Course
• Promotional Videos (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:02:04)
• Original Trailer (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:00:32)
• Original Commercials (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:01:06)
• U.S. Trailer (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:01:46)
• Textless Opening Song – Matryoshika
• Textless Closing Song – RPG
• Funimation Trailers

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4/5]

This is an inventive series with beautiful animation, great action sequences, and a story that hits home given the times we are in, what more could one ask for? Oh, yeah, I know, a better transfer from Funimation! This one doesn’t quite do the trick, although it isn’t the absolute worst that I’ve seen.

Additional Screen Captures

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Purchase C-Control: The Money and Soul of Possibility on Blu-ray Combo Pack at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com