Kara Dennison
April 20, 2021 
The stock market has… how do we put this… become the subject of a surprising amount of interest on the Internet. Regular traders leaned in even further recently, and complete newbies were educating themselves. Even with the big excitement past us, there’s lingering interest among some people. To that end… may we interest you in a sci-fi stock market visual novel?
WORLD END ECONOMiCA is a three-part, single-route visual novel — effectively a digital light novel. You can get it now for your computer, or hang out and wait for its upcoming anime adaptation. Whichever you prefer, it’s definitely worth your time… even if you’re not currently eyeing GameStop stonks.
From Isuna Hasekura
If you know the name Isuna Hasekura, you already know what’s in store. The award-winning author showed us all how fascinating the world of economics can be via the fantasy series Spice and Wolf. He took his smarts from fantasy to sci-fi in WORLD END ECONOMiCA, creating a future-world where the Lunar Surface is a booming hub of industry.
Protagonist Haru is a day-trading whiz kid, with dreams of traveling to Mars. By playing the Lunar Surface’s stock market, he can start building toward that dream. When he’s taken in at a church, he meets math genius Hagana, and the pair combine their powers. Haru crosses paths with further brilliant minds, as they navigate the ups and downs of his chosen path.
You’ll Genuinely Learn a Lot
If the world of finance, stocks, and the housing market seems a bit impenetrable, you’re not alone. And yet, WORLD END ECONOMiCA manages to educate and entertain at the same time. Even if you remember only a little of what you read, you’ll come away significantly more informed.
You don’t have to retain everything to appreciate the story, either. Hasekura writes enthusiastically about the world of investment, but he also spins a solid sci-fi narrative about love, greed, and aspirations.
Read up in Advance of the Anime
Last year, a crowdfunding campaign for a WORLD END ECONOMiCA anime skyrocketed to its full funding in an impressively short time. And the funding isn’t even for production — it’s for promotion, as this little visual novel is admittedly less known. Former full-time investor Akira Katayama made a substantial donation to cover production, saying he wants more people to learn about the world of investment.
While the anime will definitely reach a larger crowd, the visual novel will have more story. To get every last little bit of story, you’ll want to pick up all three chapters. Then you can meet Haru and friends in advance, get a jump on the plot, and stare at some gorgeous art.
Will you be watching WORLD END ECONOMiCA when it comes out? Or are you ready to dive into the story right now?
