What would you do with a "magic" cell phone?

Plot Summary: On November 22, 2010 ten missiles strike Japan. However, this unprecedented terrorist act, later to be called as "Careless Monday," does not result in any apparent victims, and is soon forgotten by almost everyone. Then, 3 months later... Saki Morimi is a young woman currently in the United States of America on her graduation trip. But just when she is in front of the White House, Washington DC, she gets into trouble, and only the unexpected intervention of one of her fellow countrymen saves her. However, this man, who introduces himself as Akira Takizawa, is a complete mystery. He appears to have lost his memory. and he is stark naked, except for the gun he holds in one hand, and the mobile phone he's holding with the other hand. A phone that is charged with 8,200,000,000 yen in digital cash.  - Anime News Network

I was a little surprised at the fact Takizawa wasn't arrested immediately for public indecency. Instead, it turns out that Saki gives him her coat and scarf, and then later realizes she had her passport in one of her coat pockets. Meanwhile, Taki is looking through this oddly designed cell phone in hopes it will provide him with some information as to what's going on. He then finds out he's one of twelve people that has been tasked with (forced to) restore Japan to it's former glory.  The whole thing is a game of sorts, and whoever does not accomplish that goal ends up dead. Taki decides that even though he has no idea how he got to D.C. or exactly who he is and why he can't remember anything, that he's going to play the game...and win.  The catch is that he has to accomplish this before he runs out of money.

Did I mention Takizawa lives in a shopping mall that he bought with his eight billion yen? Saki took a liking to Takizawa pretty much right away, so instead of returning home to her regular life, she tags along with him for a little while. Little does she know there are people trying to get rid of Takizawa, or Number Nine as he is referred to. Eventually, Takizawa meets Saki's friends and decides he will help them start a business venture that's been in the works for some time. It's not long before they get caught up in the chaos surrounding Takizawa, and it's a good thing because hackers are always an asset when you need information. 

And then there is that small matter of twenty thousand people that all went missing at the same time. It's only toward the end of the second disc that Takizawa manages to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, with help from the owners of Eden of the East, as well as some fellow Selecao.

I liked this much more than I thought I would. Right away I wanted to watch the mystery unravel, and marveled that one need only make a phone call and a woman named Juiz will get the job done. She (?) will grant any request no matter how large, small, or even morally questionable.  There's quite a bit going on during this series, and though there are some truly bizarre points (naked people...lots of naked people) I thought everything flowed rather nicely in that everything made sense. The animation isn't over stylized or unnecessarily cutesy even despite the many times when Saki's friends looked like this: O_O Despite the intrigue, and rather dark themes, I think the humor of the series actually complimented the over all plot, and didn't seem out of place. It's a little ironic really, with the ten year anniversary of 9/11 almost here, this is when I finished  the series. I mention this because the characters talk about the events of that day in a very poignant and serious manner, but U.S. politics never entered into the conversations. In fact, one of the major plot points is that the characters have to stop their own version of 9/11 from happening.

I recommend this highly. It's got a lot of emotional moments however brief, and the characters are likable, even the ones who aren't exactly on the level. As far as dubs go, I couldn't have asked for a better cast. Jason Liebercht (Takizawa) and J. Michael Tatum (Kazuomi) are fantastic.  The rest are top notch as well, but these two are personal favorites of mine. (Although, it seems Tatum has been type cast as 'the guy with glasses' or a business man. He also voices Kyoya from Ouran High School Host Club among many, many others. Liebercht's portrayal of Takizawa seemed very natural even right from the beginning. I was quite satisfied with how he was able to make the transitions from serious to comical, and make it seem easy.

I could have easily given a five star rating, but there were some points where I found myself a little confused.  Between the conspiracy and the almost side story of Eden of the East's origins, I found it a tad bit easy to become distracted. 

Now to get my hands on the movies.  Oh and, I think it goes without saying, but this isn't even remotely geared for kids.