This manga is truly one of a kind. It has a strong sense of realism and shows human nature when faced with the danger of diving into a world like trading : the endless spiral of wanting to recover everything that was lost, even if it means sinking deeper into debt, the loss of common sense, the loss of rational thinking, lying to oneself, the unhealthy side of certain social relationships, the many financial, psychological, and physical consequences, the acceptance of losing everything, the shame of losing everything, and in the worst cases, the point of no return… But obviously, the most disturbing and most realisticaspect of all is the abject human greed, that is limitless.

Many times, I found myself relating to the main characters. Not because I’ve done FX trading (I haven’t), but because those human reactions : wanting to get everything back, lying to yourself, impulsivity, etc., etc. also happen in small, everyday situations in life.

Yes, I’ve lost 20 matches in a row in a video game, thinking: “As soon as I get one win back, I’ll stop, I promise. But I can’t stop on this many losses, I need to recover at least a bit of what I lost.” That’s what I was telling myself. But now, looking back, I’m actually glad I lost those games. It was just a game. Would I be able to say the same thing if it were about money?

This manga educates us. It helps us better understand how the economy, trading, and investing work, and it makes us aware of the dangers behind them, etc.
But the beauty, the artistic, mind-blowing beauty, lies in the message it delivers. It’s NOT saying “run away! don’t invest, don’t do FX trading!” NO. Depending on your interpretation, I’d even say it encourages it. But there’s a clear difference between investing or trading in a healthy, controlled way, and literally gambling... That’s the message of the manga.

That being said, there are still some negative points about the manga. I feel like it can lead readers to think, ‘If I study and am disciplined enough, I can make money in forex like Mochiko-chan,’ which is false for 90% of people. In my opinion, for the vast majority of people, FX trading will always still be no different from gambling. So stay away, folks.

Still about Mochiko, as a character, she was written a bit awkwardly in my opinion. She is just objectively a bad person, there is almost no nuance. And yet, almost everyone in the manga seems to think it’s no big deal, and no one has cut ties with her. I mean, in real life, someone like that would face consequences. She doesn’t. Still, I’m glad she was able to get a somewhat redemption toward the end of the first major arc.