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An anime that surpassed my expectations after initially dropping it. What seemed to be a run-of-the-mill show, equipped with an average protagonist and a premise that appeared to only exist for the sake of dramatic fight scenes, ended up touching on much more philosophical topics than I could have expected.

C takes place in a world where in an alternate dimension, the financial district, people called Entre (short for entrepreneurs) fight alongside a partner called an Asset to gain Midas money. Gaining access to that dimension requires trading your future in exchange for Midas money; And losing all of your money means losing said future. In ... essence, exchanging freedom for wealth.

To be very clear, even if it uses a lot of terms specific to finance and centers its theming around it, C is NOT about money, and I would not advise you to watch this show if you are looking for an anime that goes in-depth about economics. The economy in C is unrealistic, and the Deals going on between Entres are far from being representative of actual trading of any kind.

The same can be said about C's approach to character development. Kimimaro is the average indecisive student whose most defining trait is the fact he's hard-working, and 11 episodes doesn't leave a lot of room left for character development, with the exception of the growing relationship with his asset Msyu which felt pretty satisfying to watch.

While both of these statements sound like legitimate points away from the show, I intend for them to serve as disclaimers, rather. C does away with a lot of conventions to leave room for its important concepts to breathe, and as long as you go into it without expecting a course on finance or a character-centric show, it has a lot to offer.

As the form, great animation quality, with some use of 3D here and there without it feeling jarring, and impressive fight scenes between the solid hand-to-hand fight choreography and the flashy attacks of the Assets. As the substance, the fundamental ideological conflict between the present and the future, and which should be preserved over the other.

That philosophical question permeates the show's worldbuilding and defines how the show handles both its characters, that serve the purpose of ideological points of reference over being a cohesive part of the events unfolding, and its setting, where the economy between countries and the fights between Entres are metaphors for the deeper questions the show wants us to ask ourselves.

Overall, C is an easy watch, thanks to good structure and fast pacing in a well-animated package. While it requires overlooking the details of its setting to see the bigger picture, it rewards the viewer not just by exploring that important philosophical question, but by also touching on some interesting sociological topics here and there, and leaves the interpretation up to the viewer.

Oh, and the ED slaps.

A great show about a socially awkward bookworm discovering himself and the worth of his knowledge and passions through a new hobby, his first club activity: Quizzes.
First of all: No, you do not need to have a particular interest in quizzes in order to enjoy this show. Quizzing is the backdrop to this story of self-discovery and coming of age; An interesting and unique backdrop at that, but this is of course up to personal taste.

Now that this is out of the way, let's get into some details.

The animation itself is nothing out of the ordinary, but is more than enough to showcase each character's ... individuality both in design and in movement: It also goes a little extra in all these moments where characters buzz in to answer. I wouldn't point it out as remarkable either way. Voice acting is also par for the course, although the way the questions are asked and pronounced the same way as in actual quizzes makes for great immersion, especially as we are clued in that the way a question is asked helps in getting the answer faster, among other things. It makes the actual competition believable, and entices the viewer to try and figure it out for themselves too- Even if the questions are generally related to Japanese culture, hence quite difficult to get, which might be too alienating for some.

Where Fastest Finger First shines is through its characters and their growth, especially for our main character. He thinks of himself as a misfit, as someone who doesn't belong in the social world of club activities, used to spending most if not all of his time in the library reading books; He fits the bill for the typical anime nerd, and what's impressive is how the events of this anime change him into someone who is confident enough to follow his heart and do all he can to excel at his hobby even when looked down upon. He comes to understand that his uniqueness is valuable, and makes him nothing less than an equal to the others, if not someone who can stand out and be recognized.

TL;DR: This is a show about high schoolers discovering themselves through a unique "sport": Quizzes. Watch this if you like emphasis on character development, casual shows about hobbies like Yuru Camp or Animegataris, and/or learning about random interesting things on uncommon topics!