How far are you willing to go for a large sum of money?
Would ya:
- Sell your soul for it?
- Sell someone else for it?
- Steal it?
- Kill for it?
Just how far are ya willing to go?
This is the problem to the Male lead protagonist of the Read
Life is MOney
Drama, Psychological, Shounen, Thriller
Mangaka: ASANIJI Teru
Artist: YAGURABA Tekka
Year: 2011
Original Publisher: Square Enix
Serialized In: Gangan Online
Volumes: 0 –Ongoing
Summary:
Supposedly you have a love one that’s really sick and in need of a crucial operation… if someone offers you salvation to your monetary problems, what would you do, would you accept? This is a decision impose on Meguru. His little sister is in need of a heart transplant and he is in need of 100 million Yen. An offer comes his way to participate in a Gambling game… it’s not an ordinary game where you gamble with money – you gamble with your life.
CAG Impressions:
Money, money, money… they say it makes the world go ‘round. Hmmm… 
Nightmare Game
Meguru sits in a bar drowning his woes over money away in alcohol. One drink after the other until the Bartender told him he was drunk and being a nuisance to the other customers. Meguru felt he had the right to drink. Becoming a crying mess and pestering the bartender for another, a drink comes flying his way from a customer. This stranger sits next to Meguru and he began to pour out his problems. He has a little sister Mawaru-chan, who is in the hospital with Heart Disease and needs a life saving heart transplant operation. He takes on jobs to pay the medical expenses.
One day, a person approaches him and offers to help by forming a support group. This support group came up with a “Help Save Mawaru-chan” campaign. Meguru gave everything he had in him for the cause by handing out pamphlets and giving speechless. All the hard work was paid off by reaching 100 million yen in donations. However, the group disappeared with all the money leaving him penniless, lost of credibility and him being criticized by the public.
I would do anything for money for Mawaru, even if I have to die. –Words of Meguru
The man gave him a suggestion: try gambling. Meguru replied that gambling was throwing away one’s money. The stranger continued on by asking if Meguru wanted to save his little sister, and he could get a fortune – in a forceful but legitimate way. It was a high risk, high return gambling game known as the Nightmare Game.
Meguru began laughing. He commented that he, the stranger whom pay for his drink has come up to him asking for a gamble. The stranger replied that one doesn’t gamble with money, but with one’s life. A 50% chance of being dead or alive. However, if he wins, he would get a large prize. Meguru wanted to know how much…
100 million yen.
Meguru is blown away. Such a large sum of money to be given a the award. The man shows him pictures of happy people who had played and won the prize money. Meguru refused to believe. He was asked how good was his life at the moment; doing jobs that was slowly earning him money and all of his efforts were going to waste. He [Meguru] was actually living the life of a loser and he has a shot to turn his life around. Meguru turns to run and the man catches him by the arm. He said he had no choice of running away and after he thought about it, he could tell him his answer the next day. He gives Meguru his business card with his name printed on it: Torameishi Tetsuo. Meguru crumbles up the card and told himself, he would do things his way.
The next day at his construction job, he held fast that he was going to continue working his different jobs because at some point, he would be rewarded. A worker from the site calls out to him and told him Mawaru had collapse. He rushes to the hospital and was told by the doctor he didn’t know how long she would survive and she didn’t have much longer to live. She was in need of the transplant soon. Going inside her room, Meguru took out the crumpled business card with trembling hands. Later in the hospital cafeteria, he is sitting with Torameishi, who asked if Meguru have decided. He decided to play the game.
Torameishi gives him a piece of paper to write down all of his information and he would be in touch. Meguru goes back to his sister’s room and at some point, he falls asleep and wakes to her bed empty. She was on the floor playing. He yelled at her for being out of bed after having a seizure the night before and she doesn’t remember having one. He promised that if she rest for the day, he would come and play with her everyday moving forward, making Mawaru quite happy.
The following day would be her birthday and he asked what she wanted; she replied she didn’t want anything, but was happy he was her brother and thanked him for being by her side for the past seven years. Overwhelmed, Meguru rushes out of her room. He felt he should be the one dying instead of she. His phone rings and upon answering it, it was Torameishi. He informs Meguru that at 9 pm, some men was coming for him and advise him that resistance was futile. Two grisly men came and swoops Meguru up and proceeded to take him away. His sister saw the commotion and wanted to know who the men were and where her was going. She started to run to him and he yells for her to stay back. Apologizing, he said he would explain everything to her later.
Outside the hospital, they checked him for weapons and told him to put all of his possessions in a envelope. Getting inside a car, he comes face-to-face with Torameishi. Meguru exclaimed he didn’t expect to “it” to be so soon. Torameishi chuckled and replied that it was his ‘bad’, things came up. He continued to chuckled and Meguru wanted to know why. Torameishi told him that he was now in the game and did he think he had a chance of winning. Meguru couldn’t believe it. Torameishi stated he had cheated to get him. It was no an accident that he had met him in the bar and the fact that Meguru needed 100 million yen. Since the beginning, the gamble game was Meguru’s purpose.
Torameishi has been following him and took the opportunity to get his information and when they were at the bar, got Meguru to talk about his circumstances. Because he tried to run away from the game, Torameishi took fraudulent action and he used Meguru’s circumstances against him. Meguru lunges at Torameishi while screaming that he knew the whole time and the guards held him back. He was told how Torameishi paid a doctor to give her sleeping pills. That’s why she didn’t know she had a seizure. He couldn’t believe that the doctor would do something like that. Meguru swore he would beat the game.
With a wicked grin on his face, Torameishi informs Meguru that the “winning 50% chance” was a lie and the Nightmare Game is a psychological warfare and he just lost with his bad luck and wanted to know why did he still want to win – even though he had been tricked. Meguru screamed to be let out of the game while trying to fight off the two guards. They had arrived at their destination and Torameishi bid him and his sister, a farewell and enjoy making “friends with these people.”
Meguru was escorted blindfolded to a facility and when he took it off, he saw he was not alone.
A man in a devil’s mask casually walks in and announced that everyone had gather and he was going to be serving as the moderator. He was Black Tapia. They were now going to begin the game of a mental prison game.
The Mental Power Death Game
Two key Elements to the Game:
Bracelets: Each participant has a bracelet attached to their wrists. They had the ability to measure their heart rate and how much one sweat. The bracelets read their “Emotional Instability” until their deaths. When their anxiety exceeds a certain numeric value, the mental prison would build up and collapse, thus they die.
Always stay calm to tame your emotions effectively… this is the Mental Prison.
Sixth Sense Dice: Painted on the dice were the five senses of man: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and also Spirit. Everyone had to roll the dice. Whatever sense that comes up, the player will be deprived of it. (i.e. if one got Sight, they will be given a eye mask; if one got Hearing, they would receive headphones; Smell, one would get nose plugs; Taste, lose one’s taste by being gagged and lastly, Touch, one would receive a dose of anesthesia and would be paralyzed from the neck down) If one loses all their senses, the world will be distorted around their spirit. Also, if one rolls the same Sense twice, there would be no change.
If one role Spirit, they will not lose any of their senses thus far.
Everyone is prepared to die with their own life for an investment. – Black Tapia
Any rule violations will disqualified the player.
The Rule about the Money
50 million yen would be given equally between each participant. If a player dies, the money will be divided equally among the survivors.
A Crucial Condition
If over half of the participant dies, the game is over. Meaning, only 5 people have to survive.
Any Acts of Violence is Prohibited.
All rooms have security cameras. If an act of violence is detected, the player would be immediately disqualified.
Layout of the Facility
The main room is called the Salon, where the Dice Game will be played. While they’re in the Salon, their bracelets would stop functioning because the Dice Game could agitate their mental power. The other rooms were:
- a Movie Screening Room,
- a Music Room,
- Art Room and
- Library
- Private Quarters.
Each player had their own room. They had access to a phone, but only to call rooms that were listed which included the “Guards Room”, considered to be Customer Support.
The Game initially start at Midnight.
Before the game began, each player roles the dice to see what sense would be taken away. Meguru has to roll to see what will be taken from him. With the strong conviction that he was going to beat the game, he rolls the dice…
This deadly game is ALL about the “Mental.” The higher your fears and anxiety, the quicker you are to your own death. Each player knows this and will play to win. Who will be come allies,who will play fair and who won’t.
I find this read exciting. Full of suspense as you read how each player deals with the game with their dis. Totally recommend it. This read is brought to you by Shedgescans (Linkie-Links).
Rating: 9.0/10
Okay then… have another I want to try and finish up today. So on that note…
Laters!
